Qui-Dao

dr. yang jwing-ming is a serious researcher, scholar, and an expert in Qin Na, White Crane and perhaps other external martial arts, but I don't he has actually studied from any famous Nei Qong masters. I share the common belief that one needs a real nei gong master in order to really master the craft, not just by reading books. I have read several of his books and watched several of his dvds, he is very good in explaining the qing gong theories to beginners, but not a lot in actual practices and routines, I think he assumes that if after read his books watched his dvds, if one decides to take on a practice, one should practice under a master/teacher. I certainly will not practice this stuff on my own. There are original text and also videos (by real ShaoLin monks) of this stuff in Chinese language which you can download via eMule, just search the words 易筋经 and 洗髓经 on verycd.com. Hope this helps.

rain, please check your PM.

Exactly, for example, this restaurant has the best selections of Chinese casseroles, it's one of its specialties, in Chinese version of menu there are 20 or more varieties of casseroles, but I see only 5 on the menu online.

I am very sorry I just can't recall the name, this is a problem of being a bum, you just don't care the names and small details of things any more The menu of Oriental Garden from your link looks about right, but then again they always serve us Chinese a separate menu in Chinese so I can't be 100% certain it is indeed the same restaurant. We could meet at the Bank on the corner of Elizabeth and Canal, I am pretty sure is a Citibank, it has a huge lobby that can fit a hundred people so the rain won't be a problem, the restaurant is just a stone throw distance from the bank. The best Chinatown restaurants are all close by in the vicinity, so within a 5 minutes walk we have access to the finest Chinese restaurants in the city, I have tried most of them and stick to only a few, the one on Elizabeth tops my list for its value, menu selections, big tables for group gathering, and of course most importantly, the taste of the food! This is a all-around good Chinese restaurant, they are specialty restaurants too that I know but since everyone has different taste of different style of food, I think this one is the most suitable for the event.

South side of Canal, a couple of doors off the corner. I am very sorry for not remembering the name of the restaurant but I can promise the food there is superb!

No, not that place, that's a banquet house for weddings and big events, the restaurant I am talking about is a door or two next to it, closer to the Canal street side.

My bad, I am terrible in remember names, and won't be able to find out the name of the restaurant unless I make a trip to Chinatown which is not possible for me this week due to my hectic schedules during the week. The restaurant is on the Elizabeth street right off the Canal street, across the street of the police precinct. We could meet at corner of Elizabeth and Canal, I know the food there is superb, has a huge menu so I am sure everyone will find the dishes of their likings, has large round tables, and the price is quite moderate. It's a very busy place but getting table at 2 PM should not be a problem. If anyone has better suggestions I am all ears.

Sorry for not making my statement clear: I don't mean that Japan or Japanese culture is superior than China/Chinese culture, but rather that Japan knows how to take other's inventions, improve upon them, and make them even better than their original form, that's all. Whether we like it or not, it is what it is, Japanese make better quality and more efficient cars for many years before American car manufacturers finally woke up to the reality, admitted it, accepted it, and do something about it, and the similar examples are too numerous to recount them here.

Japan doesn't like to reinvent the wheels, doesn't like to create things from scratch, it's strength lies in it's ability to adapt, to take what others invented and improve upon them. make them better. Chinese has an old saying: Indigo comes from blue but is superior than blue. I think Japanese truly understand that old saying.

Organized/institutional religions hijacked the spiritual philosophies and use them as tools for mass control, anything that later become -ism, is in bad hands, is to be stay away from. Their weapon of choice is FEAR, followed by mass murder and torture, if they feel their control and power is threatened, just look at the history of all major religions and one can see that this to be the case. It is too sad that so many people (those who are so called "religious people") couldn't see this simple truth.

New to Tao practices, have a very elementary but monumentally important question: is masturbation harmful to men's health, or only the excessive masturbation is harmful? I am happily divorced after 7 years of marriage with wonderful sex during my marriage, but I am not interested in marriage any more and I am not going to chase women just to get laid, and I don't want relationship with women any more because it's really not worth the effort. When I have sexual desires I simply just masturbate and discharge. I don't need to do that daily and I hardly ever do it more than once in a single day. The benefit of not needing to chase women for sex and not having a relationship is that now I have all the time to myself to do whatever I please, and I devote almost all of them to my spiritual studies and pursues now, to move out of the "humanity" Matrix if I may. Am I damaging my health with this life style I am living now? Should I seek Taoist sexual practices means to stop masturbation and to retain the Jing? Please advice! Thanks so much!

I know a very good Chinese restaurant on Elizabeth street off Canal, don't remember the name of the restaurant. It's a very popular restaurant for locals to gather in big groups, the food there is the best I know in Chinatown (personal of course), but I kind of feel confident about my taste since it is validated by the fact that the restaurant is packed by locals in almost all times while others are empty. and yes, it has meat, fish, and even better veggie dishes than Buddi (since Buddi changed chefs). I will be happy to go anywhere anyone suggests, it would be good to know other good places t eat. I am local here since 1986.

Don't forget that Japanese accepted and adapted Chinese language, with it Chinese culture, value system, customs, and "technologies", at the time when China was way ahead in civilization and human development (including, of course, language), by thousands of years. Once they adapted the language, they have no choice by to be "domesticated", but some how their own spirit awaken and with the help of the introduction of western thoughts, Japan transformed. Japan is a fascinating case of human and culture evolution in a time span of about one thousand years, not a very long time human history, but long enough and recent enough to deserve our serious contemplations.

Thanks for the suggestions Lin. I will go wherever everybody wants to go, it would be nice to just get together with a bunch of Tao bums in person. I ate at all these other veggie restaurants you mentioned, I wouldn't call them real veggie restaurants, but rather "regular Chinese sans meat and fish". There is a fundamental difference between the real Chinese vegetarian cooking, and the "regular Chinese sans meat and fish". We call the formal 素斋, the latter may be called 素食, but even that is a stretch in my opinion, I still think a better term for that to be "Chinese sans meat and fish". Buddi restaurant used to be a true 素斋 restaurant with real chefs from China, but that has changed about two years ago, it's not a real 素斋 any more, but still it is slightly better than the others in Chinatown.

Hi, I am new to the forum, also sort of new to the Taoist practices, but Tao has always been my center of my inner world, both consciously and unconsciously, I guess Tao is a gift to Chinese people, whether we are/were aware of it or not, we are influenced by the Tao traditions from our culture and our upbringings. After living foolishly for all these years (I am over 40 now), I am returning to my origin, hence the nick Qui-Dao. I am learning more about Tao everyday now and am starting to learn to practice QiGong regularly. I Live in NYC. It is my pleasure to be part of the community! Gui-Dao

Oddly enough, I do! Strangely, I don't practice QiQong, but when I saw that book more than 10 years ago one Sunday in Chinatown, I was drawn to it and bought a copy, thinking that one day, when I have time to study and practice Qi Gong, it would be something I want to explore. It has been sitting on the shelf collecting dusts for all these years, I am going to read it now just for the sake of it. I also have Dr. Yang Jwing Ming's Xing Yi Quan, don't know if they are the same practice or something different. So much to learn.... Tao bliss you! What a good idea. What's the address of the hospital you sent your books too?

There is a nice vegetarian restaurant on Mott street off Bowery Street, I think the name of the restaurant is something like "Buddi", the best real vege restaurant in Chinatown, very good food and has nice big round tables that can accommodate 10-12 people each, just a thought.

Thanks for your comments Taoren. I have no interest in Taoism as a religion or a belief system. I love Tao (as in Tao De Ching) as philosophy of life, nature and universe, although I must admit I know so little about it. I want to study and practice ancient Chinese Taoist practices: Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Meditation, etc., they are not the same as Tao the philosophy, but their foundation is the philosophy of Tao as referred to in Tao De Ching, at least that is how I understand it. But truthfully, they are not completely separated, they are entangled in some way, shape or form, but I try to separate them conceptually for my own sake, like I said, I want to steer clearly from the religious aspect of "Taoism". Religion and Spirituality are two different things. I have no religion, I don't buy into any belief system, but I do seek spiritual enlightenment as my life's goal, or shall I just call it Tao for the simplicity?

I am wondering about the same! All I can hope is: no matter what KunLun practice is, please don't turn it into another Falundafa!

I am new to the forum, if it's OK I would like to take this opportunity to meet the fellow Tao bums, Chinatown is a great place for such gathering, I am looking forward to the meet-up!