Featured Article: At the trailhead
Spring Cheng, Founder of Mystic Trails
Right now you are standing at the very beginning of a Mystic Trail. You might be wondering: what is this trail? Where is it leading to? What kind of terrain
will it cover?
 Frankly, I do not have well-defined the answers to these questions. In fact, I hope through this journey we can find these answers together. What I can offer is a little history of Mystic Trails. I was born and raised in China and I spent most of my adult life in U.S. I have always been pained by the fact so little is known about China in the West. At the same time, I am also frustrated by how distorted the impression Chinese have about American culture. About two years ago, I started Mystic Trails out of a simple desire to provide westerners authentic experiences of China, including the natural beauty of the remote wilderness, the mysteries and legends condensed over the extended history, and the people and their real lives. Soon, Mystic Trails attracted a number of people who aspired to serve as a bridge between the communities we visited in China and the our community in U.S. We have partnered with a Seattle based non-profit organization Crooked Trails to launch community service projects. I realize that Mystic Trails has taken on a life of its own. I do not need to, nor can I, shape where the trails will go to and how they will unfold. All I need to do is to enjoy each single step, no matter how small it is. As a mountain climber, I find that quite exciting, because the uncertainty only makes the trip all the more intriguing.
 Mystic Trails are more than just physical trails meandering in the mountains in the far east. This e-journal is another branch of the trails that will bring you the stories, thoughts, reflections, questions and insights collected throughout our travel experiences, on literal and figurative trails. Perhaps factors such as time, finance or physical condition may limit people’s ability to travel the physical trails. However, as long as one opens one’s mind and heart, there should be no limitation in terms of how far our mind can travel and how much our heart can contain.
Mystic Trails is intended for each one who has come across it. Even if I were never to meet or talk to you, the fact that you are reading this line and the very thoughts you have in your mind are having certain effects on the course of this trail. This is not just an esoteric notion; this is an extension of what scientists have observed on small particles in the field of quantum physics. By simply turning your eyesight onto a particle, you are participating in shaping its course of action and its future. Similarly, there will never be an “observer” on this trail; everyone is a participator.
With that, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all of you. I invite you to join us in shaping the course of Mystic Trails!
Your voice
We would like to hear your voice here! As you read our e-journals, share your questions, ideas or thoughts with us, especially if you have different opinions. We will pick comments or questions (or some questions) to address in the next issue. We encourage and embrace different opinions because they enable us to learn the most.
China Through Shelly's eye
Introduction by Spring Cheng
 In October of 2006, Shelly Lynn went on a pilgrimage trek around the sacred Mt. Kawa Karpo in the Tibetan region of Southwest China with Mystic Trails. After coming back, Shelly wrote short stories about her personal experiences on the trip. In these stories, you will learn, not so much about the details of where she has been and what she has seen or done on the trip, but more about what her heart has experienced during this lifetime adventure. In this special column, we will publish Shelly’s stories as a series.
1. Songzanlin Temple
by Shelly Lynn
 The Songzanlin Monastery was, for me, one of the most touching places we visited in China. Not only was the art and architecture stunning, but I have rarely ever been in a place that felt so much at peace. Though there were film crews documenting the making of a mandala, construction teams building new halls, and dozens of tourists milling about, I never once saw an ounce of concern, impatience, or frustration on the face of a single monk.
 While people in our group made their devotions and circles around a Buddhist shrine, I was focused on the monk who was watching their ministrations. Now, I spend my life trying to sort out truth from lies based not only on evidence but on body language and social cues. I watch to see how questions cause people to react. I look to see which direction their eyes move when I ask them to remember something inconsequential so I know how they will react if they are relaying something truthful. I watch for fear responses, frustration, submission, or guilt. I have come to expect that nearly everyone I meet in my professional life has an agenda. But when I looked into the eyes of that monk I was struck to the core. I have never experienced eyes so clear. They were totally free of worry, doubt, fear, or intention. They were simply good. Clear, kind, and good. Meeting him was one of the most memorable parts of my trip even though it only lasted a moment. Just being in his presence made me want to be a better person.
Editor’s note: Built in 1679, Songzanlin Temple (also known as Guihua Temple) is the oldest and largest Tibetan Buddhism temple in Yunnan province. Built along the mountains with a magnificent facade, the present monastery is a faithful imitation of the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. It is said that the fifth Dalai Lama chose the site of the monastery through divination. Currently, there are 800 monks and three living Buddhas in the temple.
Did you know ... ?
Contrarary to the common perception that Chinese is a ethnically homogenous group, there are at least 56 distinct ethnic groups within Chinese population, each with their own language and rich cultural tradition. Yunnan Province at the southwest China is home to 25 ethnic minorities officially recognized by the government.
Upcoming Event
Tibet Festival at Seattle Center, August 25 - 26, 2007
To fund-raise for the Tibetan school the last Mystic Trails travelers visited, we Trails will exhibit woodcarvings and paintings made by children and teachers at Puli Tibetan School. For preview of their arts, please go to here.
Puli Tibetan school is the one
of the few school in Dechin County that offer Tibetan language
classes and other culture-related subjects in their curriculum. In
the past 10 years, it has fed and sheltered dozens of children who
otherwise have no financial means to go to school.
 Left is
a wood carving made by children at Puli Tibetan School.
Contributors
| Roy Kuraisa |
Monica Wilson |
| Priscilla Moore |
Shelly Lynn |
| Sally Beane |
Bruce Frank |
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