Was at the Paris workshop and have mixed feelings.
Was very skeptical at first and almost didn't go after seeing the "Lama Thunderbolt" video and the Hollywood-like website. (I spoke with some others there who were also turned off by the website!).
Ended up going after being persuaded by a friend who'd already done a workshop elsewhere, and because I've done Qi Gong and was curious about this new practice and any similarities (if any) to Qi Gong.
About 60% of what Max said sounded true and relevant and/or echoed what other traditions say.
However, there were some things he said that seemed contradictory or even quite exaggerated or even completely untrue! I've studied under Tibetan and (later) Thai Buddhist masters, and have travelled extensively in Tibet/Nepal/India/Japan, and have done several retreats in Asia and in France, so I might have had a bit more knowledge/experience in that than some of the other people at the workshop. That is no doubt why I was a bit more critical.
It seemed almost as if he was trying to impress, which is not necessary with a room full of people who are open and listening, having paid and braved Parisian traffic to be there. Also, the Asian dress look made it seem like he was trying to pose as a master, whereas just being in normal occidental clothes would have made him seem much more sincere. He gave the impression almost of being insecure, which doesn't make sense since he is obviously intelligent and has obviously spent a great deal of time investigating different traditions and practices.
Perhaps it was due to him being in a different European country, with different cultural energy?
Maybe the energy in Paris is too analytical, "cartesien", and he did not feel completely calm ?
Anyway, it's too bad, because for me personally, these factors blocked, I believe, my experience of the Kunlun energy. More importantly, he had warned us against learning energy transmission practices from a teacher unwilling to tell you about his lineage, but then he never clearly explained his own! That was another important factor which made it very difficult for me to "let go".
I think if I had had a bit more information, I would have felt more comfortable receiving a transmission from an unknown person like him. He never discussed his lineage explicitly in the beginning nor at the end! He would evoke "the old masters" and Tibet, Nepal and China, and sometimes sprinkle Buddhism in there as well, but it was not clear for anybody where his knowledge came from. Also, there was a lot of ambiguity with the use of the word "enlightenment", maybe it was the translation (?). But Kunlun seems to me a strictly physical and mental practice. There was no mention of compassion or unconditional love, for example, but maybe that is my Buddhist view?
Anyway, there was about half of the group (I think) which obviously experienced Kunlun energy, in softer and louder forms... Two people (very normal, ordinary looking) were very loud, speaking in strange unknown languages, falling off their chairs laughing, singing, shouting, etc...
Well, on the positive side, I have since then read many postings on this forum (good and bad) + his bio on the kunlun website and watched the small video on the Kunlun website in which he explains how he came to this practice and where it originated, and now I am a lot clearer on that. It's too bad he did not explain this at the Paris workshop! I spoke with other people there who felt as much "in the dark" as I.
Also, having witnessed other people's experience and having felt something subtle, slightly like what they describe, I do intend to try the practice at home and see what happens. It seems like a genuinely good practice - at least that is my feeling on the matter.
At the end of the day, it's what the people feel and see for themselves that matters. Dressing like an Asian guru and telling fanciful stories (about 220 year-old dragon ladies in caves and about meditation practicioners who stand for 3 weeks without eating or drinking) isn't necessary IMHO and just detracts from Max's image and message I think. (Well, at least in France where we analyze everything !) It would be interesting to hear what the crowd was like in Haute Savoie and their experience.
