Yellow Bamboo - Balinese White Magic

By Dr Alvin G. Donovan III

(Yellow Bamboo is a Balinese White Magic type of Martial Art and Spiritual practice that are becoming more well known in the West the last couple of years.  This article by Dr Alvin G. Donovan III, a Yellow Bamboo Master,  gives a personal first-hand report about how he first got to know about this system)

I must admit I have always been a sceptic when it comes to magic or the supernatural. When I was in graduate school getting my 2 Doctorate degrees in counselling psychology and hypnotherapy I was trained to look at all such phenomenon in a scientific way. At the time I believed that it all came down to some kind of power of suggestion or hypnotic trance. Since retiring to Bali a few years ago my personal experience has led me to change my beliefs.

The reason for me retiring to Bali was simple. I wanted to live my life-long dream of surfing perfect waves every day. I had found a secret spot on the west coast of Bali with world class uncrowded waves and built a simple home right on the beach. Little did I know at the time I was also living on what is to local Balinese very sacred holy ground.

I found out about Yellow Bamboo or Bambu Kuning as it is known to Balinese from another expat in our village. She told me stories of people being knocked down from over 10 meters away in the classes and also developing mystical spiritual powers of healing and protection. When I discovered there are more than 30,000 practitioners here in Bali I had to find out more.

Once I asked around to a few of my local friends I was amazed to learn that several of them were already practitioners. When I asked them why they never told me about it they simply replied "You never asked me!" Makes me wonder what else I am missing out on by not asking.

Eventually I was introduced to the local master of Yellow Bamboo in our village by the name of Pak Nyoman. It was kind of funny because I had seen Pak Nyoman around before and he seemed a very powerful being. He exuded a power I just could not put my finger on. The first time I had a private meeting with Pak Nyoman I had to have my friend Wayan there as translator as I spoke almost no Indonesian at the time.

Pak Nyoman explained that Yellow Bamboo is the key to all success in life and that the powers you develop must be used only for good for yourself and others. He then gave me an article which was printed in the British magazine "Kindred Spirit" and also a video documentary about Yellow Bamboo.

When I first watched the video with some friends and saw Yellow Bamboo practitioners knocking down attackers from a distance I really did not believe it. It seemed impossible to believe but I was hooked. I had to learn this magic for myself to see if I could do it or not. You can now see these videos on the www.yellowbamboo.com website free.

Imagine being able to knock down others from a distance! What tremendous personal power.

So then I went back to Pak Nyoman and told him I was ready to give it a try and would become a really serious student. We agreed to go to the next full moon initiation ceremony to be held at the Yellow Bamboo headquarters in Singaraja on the north coast of Bali. On the way to Singaraja that night I was the most excited, scared and nervous I have every been in my life!

When we arrived to the headquarters of the Yellow Bamboo the first thing I noticed was I was the only foreigner there out of the hundreds of people there. Pak Nyoman explained that most foreigners do not really believe in magic and very few have been interested to join.

The first order of business was a personal consultation with the founder of Yellow Bamboo Pak Nyoman Serengen. I found Pak Serengen to be a very real, genuine and loving individual. We went into his small Balinese style consultation room with the customary canang sari and incense. I am not sure how to describe the encounter except to say I really felt for the first time to be in the presence of a real sage.

Pak Serengen asked me a few questions such as "How long have you lived in Bali? What do you like about it here? So, you are interested in the spirit?" He seemed positively impressed by the fact that I was already practicing yoga and meditation on a daily basis. He then seemed to take a bit of time to decide whether he would admit me or not. I have come later to find out that Pak Serengen wants to make sure that new members really are serious and not into it only for entertainment.

Once Pak Serengen made the decision to let me join he then put his hand on my back for a few minutes. I felt an amazing vibration never before felt. Then he sprinkled me with holy water and the consult was over. Pak Nyoman looked relieved and happy that I was deemed worthy to join.

The next step was I had to take my passport photocopy to the main office and fill out the registration forms. At this time I was issued my uniform, some Yellow Bamboo stickers and a keychain. Also included was the level 1 instruction sheet. It was at this time I learned there are 13 levels in the Yellow Bamboo and you must attain level 5 before you can apply to become a certified teacher.

Today I am level 12 and the only westerner to be a certified teacher but I digress. Now comes the initiation ceremony. There were several hundred people there. We all sat in front of or to the side of a raised altar. On the altar was Pak Serengen and 4 other priests. The ceremony began with Pak Serengen giving about a 30 minute lecture on Yellow Bamboo and what one should do during the initiation and the practice thereafter.

Next the initiation began with all of us singing the Gyatri mantram. The entire atmosphere changed dramatically once this happened. Next one of the priest began chanting special mantrams and at this stage I felt a white energy coming into the top of my head in waves of pure energy. This was the first time I have ever felt such a powerful pure energy. Once the chanting was over we all took off our t shirts, except for the ladies.

We then approached the altar for the holy water and rice. The priest pours holy water onto your hands. The first time you put the water onto the top of your head. Second you put the water on your forehead. Third you drink the water and last you put it all over your body. Then you are given 5 kinds of rice to eat and before you know it you are done.

The next day is a day for fasting. You are allowed to eat only white rice and drink plain water. Before eating the rice you ask God to give you nourishment from the rice. The day is spent in quiet contemplation of the power of God. Then in the evening you begin the first of your daily mantra repetition and breathing exercises. Having done yoga and meditation before I was familiar with the concept of mantra repetition and breathing exercises. The Yellow Bamboo mantra and breathing are however very different from any I have ever done before.

In fact I can say that I have practiced yoga and meditation for over 20 years and after just the first month I experienced more spiritual development and experiences of the superconscious state (samadhi) than in all the years of doing yoga and meditation.

The next day I began the physical exercises of Yellow Bamboo. They are the most different and strenuous exercises I have ever done in my life. You can see them on the Yellowbamboo.com website for yourself. Every Sunday at 5PM on the beach in front of Petitinget temple next to La Luciola restaurant there is a free class for YellowBamboo. I suggest you go there to see for yourself.

I asked Pak Nyoman how many classes would I have to attend before I was ready to knock down attackers. He gave me the typical Balinese answer "Up to you". After each class we end with what is called a "test of personal power" which lets you and your teacher know how much power you have developed. After 3 classes I felt ready to defend. After the third class I stood about 20 meters away from 4 men who would try to hurt me mortally. I must confess I was confident and scared to death at the same time but felt ready to give it a go.

To prepare myself I silently said my level 1 mantra, breathed in and then Pak Nyoman gave the signal to attack. As I saw them coming my automatic reflexes took over. Before I knew it, the 4 men were writhing on the ground in pain! See the videos at Yellowbamboo.com for yourself.

I can only say that if I had not done it myself I never would have believed it possible to accomplish. Now, I must say that Pak Nyoman, my personal teacher has been a very excellent teacher and serious about my development and diligent. He has helped me every step of the way and even has done some "on the job" training in healings.

He first taught me the 4 steps of Yellow Bamboo healing. Step one is to pray to God to heal the person, either in front of you or from a distance. The next step is to physically or in your imagination to put your hand on the afflicted part of the person you are healing and to burn the poison for a minimum of 5 minutes. Then you pull out the poison from the person and put it into the ground. Follow-up by putting a protection energy on the person.

I had been practicing healings for about one month when I got the chance to do it seriously. At about 10PM one night Pak Nyoman called me and said "Come quick and bring your video camera" When I arrived there was a man there who had been bitten on the foot by a deadly snake. Talk about on the job training! I followed Pak Nyomans instructions and after about 20 minutes, the man who had been carried in was now able to walk out on his own. You can see the video of this at Yellowbamboo.com.

Yellow Bamboo is for those who are interested in healing and protecting themselves of others and for those who are interested in a rapid and cohesive spiritual development.

Over the past years I have graduated to higher and higher levels and each level has been more mysterious and wonderful than the last. Now I am a certified teacher at level 12 and will graduate to level 13 at the next full moon ceremony. Maybe you would like to join me there?

Dr Alvin G. Donovan III is the author of the best selling self help book "Make More Money NOW" and has served on the faculty of most of the largest management institutes all over the world