Echo of the Universe

Hi Hachuu and welcome How does one "get started" or maybe more pointedly phrased - "could you show me the way to the Way?" ... what a question; however not easily answered. As a suggestion; at first, go slow, be sceptical but open to listen, be patient, be diligent with your practice - there is no one correct way. (agree with @theLearner - in the beginning less is more.) i would suggest selecting a few books/research to give yourself a good understanding of the Daoist landscape. Language & terminology, philosophy, practices, rituals etc. are sometimes barriers to westerners - persevere! Find a few authors, teachers, gurus (beware the snake oil) that know what they taking about and resonate with you! From your book selection - my 2cents *Chinese Shamanic Cosmic Orbit Qigong by Zhongxian Wu : Zhongxian Wu i believe is the real deal. have read the book and it provides a sound approach and finer detail to performing this form of Qigong as well as some great bread crumbs to follow. It however will not provide yourself with a detailed understanding of the theoretical background of Neigong, Qigong, the Dao, etc which you may be seeking. *Understanding Reality by Louis Chang: i would rather suggest that you read an alternate translation by Fabrizio Pregadio - Awakening to Reality(Wuzhen pian) as he provides clear explanations for each of the poems allowing the reader to "decode" some of the - as you described - "cryptic vocabulary" Some of my first introductory books and authors *Damo Mitchell - the philosophical art of change [Pub: singing dragon] - Heavenly Streams - meridian theory - White moon on the mountain peak - The Alchemical Firing Process of Nei Dan - (if you reading Awakening to Reality you'll understand the White moon reference ) *The Mages of Java - Costa Danaos - interesting side note - search documentary "Ring of Fire" & John Chang (Dynamo Jack) on youtube. I get a smell of blended fiction and non-fiction with this book - a great Sunday read however! *Opening the Dragon Gate - Thomas Cleary [pub: TUTTLE ] *Lao Tzu - Dao de jing - challenging read - would park this until you get a handle on terminology, symbolism and basic philosophical understanding. *Secret of the Golden Flower (alt. Awakening to Reality or Sitting in Oblivion)- 2 versions offer a clear translation. *Various other ancient daoist texts and canons - some of which are available on this site authors to look out for i found to be useful: Alan Watts Alexandra David-Neel Livia Kohn Fabrizio Pregadio Jerry Alan Johnson Thomas Cleary Damo Mitchell Yang Jwing-Ming .. many more i hope this provides a small spring board ... and a point of departure in some direction.

absolutely! If you are not familiar with this channel i suggest that you also watch the 4 part set of "inner worlds, outer worlds" Life Changing!!

@Fa Xin - i see that the url for the Terms and Rules is not resolving? [http://thetaobums.com/topic/19575-forum-terms-rules/] not resolving 404 error being displayed i am hoping to get a handle on the flowery language used by many daoist authors and uncover the true understanding of the terms and expressions used in most of the translated works available today. I have been fortunate enough to have stumbled across a few authentic teachers/messengers which have provided sound stepping stones thus far which i wish to elaborate on. @thelerner - thank you

A big hello to everyone here from South Africa! By way of introduction, i have been captivated for quite some time with eastern philosophy; the spiritual, martial and medical elements and practices; the alchemical and esoteric mythology and everything in between. i hope to gain a better insight and understanding from all of the scholars and teachers here at [Dao Bums] as well as share where i can. Looking forward to conversing with all of you soon ....