I first met the Zen master in San Francisco, where he was operating his tea house. Many yoga disciples visited him. His tea contained the 5 elements, earth, water, fire, wood and metal. He developed the tea in a small province in China and brought it over to America. He also practiced vegan eating with 2 gallons of tea a day. His tea house was also residence to his disciples, students that wanted to learn true zen practices. Three years later, once the Sivananda Yoga Ashram in San Francisco was about to shut down, I called him up. He was now living in Oakland, building a tea house and also a temple. He told me to come visit him. We talked for hours, almost like we had years of catching up to do. Perhaps from past lives. He told me to move in and gave me 19 tea blocks. He said, 'drink this every day and prepare'. I did exactly what he said. I could feel my body shifting already. I then moved in with the zen master. Zen master didn't do yoga, so he was delighted to see my practice. He meditated, the buddha way. He emphasized the middle path. I woke up every day early in the morning, did my yoga practice at 4:30am and then had tea with him at 6am. We talked about everything. It was almost like he was projecting his soul on me. He said, 'I am only looking for golden students'. While at practice with the Zen master, he closed his eyes and said, 'your left kidney is not working. But I will fix it. Just keep drinking the tea'. His favorite food is millet, a grain that is normally fed to the birds. It is very light on the body and extremely high in vibration. We ate millet most of the time. He offered hot bean sauce, for spices, but only bought from a vegan food company. He also emphasized that food has energy, where it comes from. Always eat from people higher in consciousness, or cook it yourself. He wouldn't let me do the dishes, or cook. We worked on 1 meal a day, cooked by the zen master. The fruits and vegetables bought from the farmers market. After a couple of weeks, I figured out his diet. Pure vegan, no onions and garlic and drink 2 gallons of tea a day. He said, 'you can become enlightened by just this practice. The whole dao is between pee and poop. Study it.' Zen master could smell from the body odor what the person ate, he inspects students deeply and provides very calculated wise words. I did chakra healing for him one time and heard intuition, 'just serve the master'. He had lived in temples while he was in China at a very early age. He is big on karma yoga, building tea houses and temples, for himself and also his students. He is building businesses every where, spreading zen in America. One time a student ate a burger king fish sandwich and went to the bathroom. When he came out, zen master smelling it, walks into the bathroom, asks him what he ate. The student responded, however Zen master knew exactly what he ate. He scolded him and said if he wants to live with him, then practice or he is wasting his time and must leave. Zen master is the true living buddha on this earth, a validated sage and master. My diet is based on his principles for years, since living with him.