Gert Beirer, who was born in Austria in 1945, studied Zen, meditation, Kung-Fu, Qi Gong and acupuncture in Asia. He was given the name Genro (“Origin of Joy”) Xuan Lou, Laoshi (Laoshi = “Spiritual Master”) by Zen Master Tetsuo Kiichi Nagaya Roshi. Genro Xuan Lou, Laoshi was named Zen (Chan) Master by the Abbot and Grand Master Kun Kong at the Lingyin Temple (Shakyamuni Buddhism) in Hangzhou, with whom he studied 11 years, by Abbot and Zen Master Shi Chan Ming in Wuhan, Province Hubei, China, and was also named Shifu or “Spiritual Teacher” in 2009 by Shi Xue Feng, Abbot of the Ding Shan Temple in Germany.
After returning to Europe, Genro spent decades as a therapist and business consultant, and has been heading the Qi Gong Master School in Austria for many years, practicing in accordance with the Wuhan-Yangsheng style. Genro Laoshi has lectured at universities, appeared on TV, held seminars on a variety of spiritual and self-help topics, taught Qi Gong courses and published articles and books on meditation, Zen, motivation and communication, storytelling, body-reading, sexual Kung-Fu, autohypnosis and many more topics.
Q&A with Genro
How did this project begin? A deeply spiritual friend and longstanding pupil who is also a native speaker of English proved to be an indispensable pre-requisite and a real blessing for this international project in doing an English version of a book I wrote earlier, and successfully expanding upon and updating it.
Tell us some more about your book. A look into the emptiness is a view into the abundance of all Being and Non-Being. The longing of the seeker on the spiritual path can only be fulfilled by finding. If you want to know more, join us in wandering along the pathless path together.
Who will this book appeal to? People who pose the ultimate questions to doctors, therapists, teachers, political leaders and other authorities, and who end up being left behind without answers, consolation, fulfilment or liberation.
Why is this book relevant today? This book is relevant as long as someone still believes in relevance or irrelevance!
What makes this book unique? Many books seemingly provide formulas on Being. “Find the Seeker!” does not fob people off with such supposed remedies. On the contrary, the book is stimulating and inspiring and brings light into the darkness of people’s previously futile searches.
What was the hardest part of writing this book? There is no person who can transform what is formless into the form of words without losing the formlessness. The Tao that one describes is not the eternal Tao (Lao-Tzu).
What was your favorite chapter (or part) to write and why? In the essence of the book, there is nothing we would have had to leave out or explain in more detail. We have no favorites and there are no parts we do not like.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them? Compassion leads us to want to help people avoid a path to realization which is full of thorns. However, it is always insufficient to want to put this possibility into words. We did what we could not help but do.
What’s your inspiration or who is your inspiration? What inspires you to get out of bed each day? Who is the one who wants to find out how particularly inspired she or he is if “I AM” is realized? It is absolutely of no use to the reader if importance is attached to Genro or Cliff being one way or the other! It is important to understand this.
What is your favorite motivational phrase? In the words of Chuang-Tzu: “Heaven, Earth and I live together. All things and I comprise an inseparable Oneness.”
What advice would you give to your younger self? This book!
What books have most influenced your life? Please see the section in the book on additional reading.