exorcist_1699

Creation , thank your comments. The concept of Taiji is important in Taoist practice . It is said that human body is just another Taiji , or every human body has its own Taiji inside . In fact, some people , at certain stage of their cultivation, naturally find two twisted qi wrestling in their dantian areas like a Taiji ball .

I have to say, I take Buddhism seriously . I always have great respect towards other religions ,especially Buddhism . In fact , any criticism on Buddhism , no matter from myself or others , first arouses unrest inside me .I remembered when I was very young I first read the " Diamond Sutra" ( its Chinese version , of course ) I was fascinated by its magnificent , eloquent style and sensed that it definitely is talking about some great intelligence totally different from all sciences and philosophies ( Taoism, to me , of course is not just a philosophy ) . Even only view the " Heart Sutra " and " Diamond Sutra" as some kinds of literature , you still find them masterpieces ( of translation) . From the Chinese Taoist point of view, the two-thousand history of the blending between Taoism and Buddhism already solved most quarrels .It is under new historical context , towards a different group of audience , that the solved issues are raised and argued again .

If our body is something illusory, why most kinds of Buddhist meditation/practices ask people to start from certain posture of sitting and mudra ( special positions of hands)? Is it not contradictory ? The explanation can only be , by following certain posture and mudra , people can initialize some kind of energy or qi that help them towards Enligtenment. If it targets at getting a peaceful mind, then nothing better than lying or sitting there in freeform styles; sitting there straight in certain uncomfortable posture conversely makes our mind unrest . Please don't think that I am anti-Buddhism ; quite the contrary, what I am against are those vulgar , mediocre Buddhists who only have superficial understanding of Taoist practice. Taoist jing-qi-shen framework is much delicate and deep than what they can understand . We Taoists adopt a much realistic attitude towards our physical body and its spiritual aspects. To me, better able to fight off every loose tooth or wrinkle on our face before talking about those big things. Why ? Unable to fight off a loose tooth or a wrinkle means the qi we initialize likely be low -quality one, which accordingly defintely can't help us jumping upwards to the level of Shen ( something similar to Awakening or Enlightenment in Buddhism ) . So, they are not only related , but closely interlinked . Of course, if you think that your body is illusory, then there is no need to worry about the wrinkles on your face. Or, why should there exist a relationship between those wrinkles and Enlightenment? Just shake off the pseudo ego then Enlightenment come upon you . Easy and quick? However, without pushing to the utmost of emptiness,hardly can a mind generate a Buddha Heart; And, Taoism sharply notices that without jing and qi's help, hardly can a mind settle down and push itself to the utmost of emptiness.

Being a Taoist, it seems I am too chattering . And, as one Taoist saying claims : " Whoever knows Tao, whoever keeps silent ; Whoever talks about it , whoever doesn't really know it" , (知者不言,言者不知) it seems inappropriate. Yet in most cases, language is the only means to express Tao in this world . Taoists , although not as ambitious as Buddhists try rescuing all people in this world , still think that part of the people can be led to a better place , higher level . So, they try to talk , and insist that a good philosophy is okay but not enough . When you suffer from a loose ,aching tooth and can't eat, no matter how good a philosophy about life you get, what use ? Yet real Taoists know that by refining jing to higher -quality qi ( where higher jing also hidden ) , loose tooth can be fixed , even fallen one reborn...and if they not try to tell, who will know??? Mediocre Buddhism will tell you that there is no loose tooth existed at all , no aching tooth , or even no tooth... Of course, if your ability is high enough to forget all pains and sufferings at one stroke , Buddhist way of cultivation is really a superb one ...yet who know the secret of it ?

I would say that Taoism adopt a more realistic attitude towards our cultivation by recognizing that most people , when they start their practice , are in some kind of entangled status . How we live, sleep , eat , having sex...are all affecting our mind, our achievement, so all have to pay attention to , be carefully studied . After all a pseudo-mind is not so easily got rid off from us , and Enlightenment is unlikely to come upon most people . By reading many Chinese Zen master/monks' biography , you can know how difficult for people to attain the breakthrough, and even after, the guy who had succeed it , couldn't tell people exactly the steps how it happen ....not to mention the fact that most of them were gift guys, and became monks at very young age . On the other hand, Taoist way of forgetting our body : "坐忘" (sit forgetting ) , clearly is something methodical: It is only by forgetting all physical forms , can we initialize high -quality qi . Yet it does not say that the body is illusory for all things , no matter physical or spiritual, are just different expressions/forms of qi . This argument is very important for those waiting and worrying about how qi is going to lead them to Shen. In a word, Taoist steps are clearer or as you say, " more coded".

I think there are historical reasons: My understanding is that Buddhism started spreading to the West through India and Nepal monks and British guys due to Britain's occupation of India. Zen Buddhism's introduction to the West was much later , partly through a Japanese professor called 鈴木 大拙 (すずき だいせつ), i.e.. D.T.Suzuki, his writings in the 1950's .So, as a whole, its spread to the West is much earlier than Taoism . Although the famous book " The Secret of Gold Flower" was translated into German and read by some people in Europe in 1930's , it can only be viewed as a separate case . It was only when Bruce Lee's and other HK 's Kungfu films started to be broadcasted in the West, and the opening of China from the year 1980 that the features of Taoism are gradually known to the people outside China. As I live in the East, so I know little about Taoism-related things happening in the West . I am astonished to hear that "Taoism is much more expensive!"

Both Taoism and Buddhism claim that the yin-mind (陰識 ) , seed of eternal transmigration , is the source of all our sufferings: it is short-lived , limited and unfree . Having it changed to a Yang-Shen , I think should solve most problems. Besides, your idea makes me think of an American film called " Cocoon" I saw before , I think we humans living on this globe are not living the highest form of existence . As far as I know, we are always exploring things unknown and super...

Hi, Goldisheavy Taoist emphasize on "Way, Fortune,Companion and Place" , its implications are unique and are quite different from those of Buddhism; I try to explain them as follows in the sequence of importance: 1) Way( 法 ): Understanding the correct ways is always the most important thing . However, knowing the complete and correct steps does not necessarily guarantee that we can 100% succeed in attaining immortality . The other 2~3 conditions are also necessary: 2) Fortune (財) : There are two aspects: 2a) Internal fortune : It refers to how much jing and qi we had / accumulated when we came across the Taoist way . Insufficient jing and qi prevents us from attaining the "feeling" or level, therefore makes us doubt the power of Tao. In this sense, it seems karma- related. Meeting Tao in young age and stick to it is therefore something fortunate. 2b) External fortune : It refers to physical wealth or force which safeguard our physical body.As long as we have not attained the stage of nourishing Yang-shen(陽神) and controlling it at our own will , the safety of our physical body is still something important . So, external fortune is somehow needed . 3) Companion ( 侣 ) :Also divided into two : 3a) Internal : It is said that an Immortal person "不死人" will arise from us , at certain stage , guiding us safely through the process.. 3b) External: Our friends/partner who safeguard us in the whole process of cultivation: -)In the case of Dual cultivation , it refers to the opposite sex : As long as Yin and Yang are inter-dependent, in cultivation when both qi and shen are having intercourse, for example , whoever wakes up first , she/he should not leave the spot carelessly, putting the other in great danger .. -) In the case of Single cultivation . It refers to the partner who safeguards us in emergence: for example : when in very deep meditation ( for days ) ,somebody may not be able wake up himself, he therefore relies on his partner to call him / hit a drum besides his ear... 4) Place (地) : Famous mountains and caves that already accumulate lot of good- quality of qi , which help our cultivation.

What I know are ji ren ( 至人; Super-person ) and Jin Ren ( 真人, Real -person) ;Both refer to some kind immortals . One important saying is "至人無夢" . ( The Super -person does not dream ) .

Yeah , this is important. To different people ,both Buddhist and Taoist ways have their respective entanglements , and they are likely to be life-long . Without some sort of Awakening , people can't experience what high-quality /pre-heavenly qi is , and are inclined to think that consciously circulating qi around their bodies is some kind of achievement. Some even think that the macro-cosmic circulation is just another route of circulating qi in their bodies , which of course, is wrong . The ideal Taoist way of initializing qi ,at the start , is : while your mind paying attention to nowhere ( similar to "external emptiness") , it still is capable of initializing some qi inside . This way is quite different from the Buddhist one as right at the beginning, it does not try skipping the crucial element/medium : qi . Unfortunately there are very few writings of the West school, which started by a master called Li Ci Yue ("李西月" )in Ching dynasty , translated into English so far . I think the "point" is how the jump towards Awakening possible . The threshold seems to be very high , in fact , all Zen 's Koan target at this issue . Sometime few guys had got it but were not so sure, so they needed their masters to "verify " it, this is the main reason why those strange Koan were recorded . Taoist talks about the "point" , about the jump is clearer , ie , from the yang in the "Kan" trigram .....also referred as 道心 (Taoist Heart), 不死人 ( Immortal Person)..etc Without Taoist Heart , human mind can't be tamed; without an emergence of immortal person , mortal person can't be rescued. It is naive to believe those written on Buddist Sutra literally that people can make a sudden turn to Englightenment without help....

Japanese's difficulties are not in speaking , pronunciation or grammar. All mentioned are simple . The difficulties of this language lie in Kanji , different pronunciations of kanji due to its historical links to the Chinese culture ; many kinds of "habitual" expressions that always are attached to the end of sentences; double negations as implicit and circumlocutory way of expressions, many unsystematic rules...etc. As all emphasizes /changes are put at the end of a sentence , totally different from English, learning Japanese is definitely a good way of sharpening a static mind.

Every way of cultivation has its own benefits and problems . Because there is a huge , nearly impassable gap between a static mindless status and the status of Awakening , Buddhist type of method's trap is mainly at making people entangled in unproductive mindlessness ( also called "pseudo-void " ("假空" ) )and letting them think that they have achieved something, which unfortunately is not. Taoist ways are mainly to ask people to pay attention to some place in their body so as to initialize qi . Circulating post-heavenly qi is mistakenly be viewed as some kind of significant achievement and people always expect to have stronger feeling of qi , which clearly is incorrect. The feeling of qi is common in most Taoist practices, which are difficult to avoid and for people not attaching to . The West school's way of shifting our attention from inside to outside of our body therefore gets the benefits of the Buddhist method, but evading those potential issues of Taoist practice .

I doubt any way of deliberately circulating qi yourself appropiate . It seems better let qi tell you what it is and how it acts , not your telling qi how to behave .

Generally speaking , all Taoist schools follow the way of Yin and Yang, claiming that no other ways can achieve immortality besides it . However, whether the intercourse of yin and yang can be attained by Single or Dual cultivation, there are difference. For example , the North school sticks to Single cultivation,insists that the they are all in an individual , despite of sex , so it is possible to accomplish the intercourse without the help of other sex . On the other hand , South school claims that as we human beings are split into male and female , and any individual , after the period of adolescence , is lack of either yin/yang to return to his/her pre-heavenly status, so the opposite sex is needed. That means Dual cultivation is the right way ( it doesn't necessarily mean all members of this school follow the Dual cultivation , somebody ,for example, the famous Master Bai ( 白玉蟾) does practice Single cultivation ) Another criterion to classify schools is the starting point of their practice . In most cases, the North start from the upper dantian ( examples: " the Secret of Golden flower" and " 性命法訣明指" ) while the South school starts from the lower dantian. Starting point is important because anyhow people do need some "feeling" , some feedback , otherwise they don't know how to start and proceed . The West school start not from anywhere of our body , but emptiness outside it; So, its method is special . The benefit of starting from external emptiness is that comparing with falling into pseudo-void, which is the frequent mistake Buddhist method commits , attaching to or reacting to all things happen in our body/mind is the most common mistake people who follow Taoist methods mostly commit. Situate ourselves outside at the beginning or during the process of our practice does solve a lot of problems . Besides, the West school has its own way of Single and Dual of cultivation . It is up to people's conditions and choice to adopt any one. I don't know much about the East school , so I can't talk about it here . How about starting from visualization ? some people may ask . As visualization is never thought as any decent /right way in Taoist legacy, so of course, we ignore it here .

A little difficult to identify his writings, yet two famous ones related to him are : "太乙金華宗旨" ( ie , the famous book " The Secret of Golden flower"); another one is the record of talks between Lu and his master: "鍾呂傳道集" Lu 's significant place in Taoist history is that he is clearly the source of the North School and West School .

Hi, Dao Zhen Glad to see you post here again .

"秀才兵書"古今中外都有 . 在這裡是指貌似具體 , 但是無實際內容的修煉指示 , 這裡真的不少 .

Unfortunately comparing with the Eastern "Mysticism ", Western Mysticism can't tell us any concrete steps at all . A religious system without concrete steps towards god/God is really a mysticism . Comparing with Taoist starting point from jing ,then qi.... to unifying with Tao/Wuji/pre-heavenly qi outside, Taoist way is intricate , clear and every step provable . Buddhism has its ...But how about the Western one? Maybe it is because there is an impassable abyss between Man and God in the Western legacy while in the East, there is no such an abyss . An individual can become god , or even close to God...Maybe it sounds arrogant , not humble enough , yet it is really the Chinese legacy for they discovered qi , and mastered the concrete steps of assimilating its highest form two thousands years ago .This is why Taoists dare to claim: 宇宙在乎手, 萬化生乎身 Even in Greek tradition , the gap between gods and Man is not so big.

The importance of "Zhouyi cantong qi " ("周易參同契") is that it is the oldest writing after Laotse , which accomplishes the transformation of philosophical Taoism to religious Taoism . Immortality no longer remains some kind of philosophical or artistic expression as those recorded in the writing " Chunagtze", but having the concrete steps that people can follow, verify , and attain themselves. Yet when talking about about concrete steps, it is the book"Wuzhen pian "("悟真篇") which tells us the most . Anyway, both books insist that there is only one way towards immortality , the way of yin making intercourse with yang.

I think likely they are : Laozi ("老子") Huangting jing ("黃庭經" ) Zhouyi cantong qi ("周易參同契") Wuzhen pian ("悟真篇") If talking about concrete steps , the last one is the most important .

Watch this one :

Generally speaking, start from focusing at upper dantian , i.e. , inside area between our eyes, is much more difficult than starting from the lower dantian, an area also called the "sea of qi" ("氣海") .In many cases, students who start from focusing at lower dantian can get some feeling of qi easily , while people pay attention to the upper dantian sense nothing, but initializing symptom of high blood pressure . So, you need to have more skill and patient to start from the upper dantian , it also means you need to have more intelligent disciple to learn it and make it success. Unfortunately, in the early decades of the 20th century, in the Beijing area , there seemed to have no such high intelligent person , so although Zhao claimed several thousands of followers and 17 disciples who knew the complete steps(know the complete steps does not necessarily mean they can put them into practice and in the end attain the goal), there is no outstanding figure later comes out from his school . His claim that he could ignore, although partly ,the old taboo of carefully choosing disciples and not too widely spread Taoist secrets otherwise Punishment would come from Heaven , to me , sounds a little strange . Is it because it was the eve of the Japanese invasion (1931 ) ? However, foreigners' invasions of China are so frequent in the Chinese history : the Huns, Turks, Mongols....so it should not be the reason . Or, is it because of the coming of Western science? However, Western science and technology came and became influential so early in the years before the 1840 Opium War, not starting from Zhao's times, and ,other contemporary Taoist masters in 19th century did not raise the strange idea as Zhao later did.

Comparing with other writings written /edited by /from those widely recognized Taoist masters Liu Yi Ming (劉一明), Li Xi Yue(李西月) , Liu Hua Yang (柳華陽), Wang Yuan Ji(黃元吉 ) and their teachings in the Ching Dynasty (A.D. 1636~1911), the book "性命法訣明指" is unlikely to be superb ; it appears tedious and trivial ( not because of its conversational form ) ; yet this kind of triviality gives people an impression of detailed and deep. Readers who have /can read other Chinese Taoist writings simply can sense that, so I will not go into details here . Just mentioned few points : for example, Zhao's method starts from asking people to focus at the position generally called upper dantian , yet what is this method 's( or starting point "起手")relation to the small cosmic circulation is unclear ; Besides, if people start from focusing at it, instead of the general way of starting from the lower dantian , does the route : " making use of yang in Kan so as to grasp the Yin in Li " still apply ? In the book , he mentions several times the important acupuncture point " 生死竅" (life-death point) , yet never is it really be told to the readers where it is ... The relation between the so-called " 祖竅"(original "cave") and Magic Gateway "玄關" is also untold... So, even a master who claims ignoring the old taboo of " punishment from the heaven" ("天譴"), and spreads widely the secrets of Taoist practice , in his puzzle , there are still so many missing blocks..