mbanu

Most likely they're at work. Lao-tzu was a government librarian. Chuang-tzu worked in the lacquer industry. Some Taoists were doctors. Some were farmers. Some were in the military.

Music can be used successfully to boost or temper the various organs (TCM has been known to study this). However, in the long run, it can cloud the mind, which may be counterproductive. Same sort of issue as using practice-boosting drugs. Best for short-term definite use, rather than long-term indefinite use.

Oho! And a quote from Master Plato to seal the deal! "You know, if you watch the cyclic energy behind the attacks on this board, you will see the same cool pattern: It starts with those who have nothing to say. They will author posts like this: 'Does anyone know how to maximize yin/yang energy?' 'Isn't it cool how I felt this light when I did my microcosmic orbit.' 'My meditation and their influence upon the population in Harlem, New York.' Clearly these people have much deeper things the wish to ask, but haven't spent enough time walking the talk to even know what they are, let alone phrase them. So, they half-ass it around looking to start on-line relationships with other numb-nutz who have less experience than they do. On the other hand... We have those who have gotten a little deeper and see how the problem is in all of that watery, desire-based stuff. They KNOW what the question is, but don't have the courage to say it. The question is: 'PLEASE HELP ME WITH THIS FUCKING MESS!!!' Since nobody helps them, they spit all their deep shit on the board, which usually takes the form of ass-fucking, racism, etc. Then again... There is still a final category of idiot. I am talking about those who THINK they know everything and drone on and on about some obfuscatory practice where on mixes the yin and the yang of some far off person and produces an inverted, upside-down steaming practice in outer space while riding a bicycle or whatever the fuck is the latest rage among IT professionals who also happen to be Taoists. So the solution is: IT professionals have got to get out of their heads and start doing some serious butt-fucking. The ass-fuckers have got to do some steaming (no dead squirrels involved!). The idiots have got to spend a little more time listening instead of talking. Oh, and by the way: FUCK YOU ALL YOU STINKING CUNT MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!!!!!!!!" You're doing your best.

Why do you feel stuck? Where's here? Flow where? Do what? Why? How? In the meantime, Yeh Ch'u:eh asked Wang Yi, saying, "Do you know for certain that all things are the same?" "How can I know?" answered Wang Yi. "Do you know what you do not know?" "How can I know!" replied Yeh Ch'u:eh. "But then does nobody know?" "How can I know?" said Wang Yi. "Nevertheless, I will try to tell you. How can it be known that what I call knowing is not really not knowing and that what I call not knowing is not really knowing? Now I would ask you this, If a man sleeps in a damp place, he gets lumbago and dies. But how about an eel? And living up in a tree is precarious and trying to the nerves. But how about monkeys? Of the man, the eel, and the monkey, whose habitat is the right one, absolutely? Human beings feed on flesh, deer on grass, centipedes on little snakes, owls and crows on mice. Of these four, whose is the right taste, absolutely? Monkey mates with the dog-headed female ape, the buck with the doe, eels consort with fishes, while men admire Mao Ch'iang and Li Chi, at the sight of whom fishes plunge deep down in the water, birds soar high in the air, and deer hurry away. Yet who shall say which is the correct standard of beauty? In my opinion, the doctrines of humanity and justice and the paths of right and wrong are so confused that it is impossible to know their contentions." and The greatest Virtue is to follow Tao and Tao alone. The Tao is elusive and intangible. Oh, it is intangible and elusive, and yet within is image. Oh, it is elusive and intangible, and yet within is form. Oh, it is dim and dark, and yet within is essence. This essence is very real, and therein lies faith. From the very beginning until now its name has never been forgotten. Thus I perceive the creation. How do I know the ways of creation ? Because of this. I've found meditation can help, sometimes. It needn't be a complicated one. Go for a walk somewhere quiet. Concentrate on the sound of your footsteps.

Yes. Quite so. But then, so is Taoism. Anything that can cause powerful benefit can, under incorrect circumstances, also cause powerful harm. I know that Taoism at least comes with a child-proof safety cap in the form of the fact that even correctly translated Lao-tzu and Chuang-tzu are often 2 parts cryptic gibberish to 1 part gibbery crypticisms, with a funny story or three thrown in. Or at least, they are until you provide the right context. The teachings are formed like a prism; shine the light in one way, out comes one angle; shine the light in a different way, out comes a different one. The most dangerous angles can't normally be unlocked without the right context; and usually if you have the right context, you are desperately in need of them. I would think that Buddhism must surely have something similar; After all, they are two separate solutions for the exact same problem.

A quote from "Health Preservation and Rehabilitation" from the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Basically the TCM view, (at least as I've come to understand it) with a few jumbled attempts to mesh it with Western equivalences. ----- Sexual strain means exhaustion due to intemperance in sexual life. Young boys and girls, when reaching adolescence, become gradually sufficient in the kidney-qi and a substance called "Tiangui (gonadotropic harmone)" develops within their bodies. Activated by this substance, they begin to experience the secretion of sperm, menstrual onset and gamomorphism. At this time they possess reproductive power and thus have the desire for sexual intercourse. This is a normal physiological phenomenon and is indispensable, too, for the continuation of mankind and multiplication of nationalities. "Origin and Changes of Rites", The Book of Rites said:"Both men and women on this secular world have sexual desire." Common Sayings on Gerontology also states: "Sexual desire for men and women is as natural as yin and yang exist in nature." Ge Hong once said: "Human beings cannot go without sexual life. And without sexual intercourse human beings are liable to diseases from stagnation. So those who suffer diseases from bitterness hidden in their mind due to protracted suppression of their sexual desire will experience short life. Indulgennce in sexual life will result in failure for one to enjoy longevity. Only temperance in sexual activities can keep human beings healthy in the body and the mind." (Bao Puzi's, Inner Treatise) This shows that sexual life to the moderate degree plays an important role in longevity. But what is temperance? Our forefathers have accumulated rich experiences on this. Sun Simiao in the Tang Dynasty said: "The way for a man to ward off indulgence is to have sexual intercourse twice a month." "Those at their fifties have sexual intercourse once twenty days while those at sixties totally refrain from it." (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies) Liang Zhangju also stated: "In keeping fit, the most important thing is to accumulate the essence. The heart (mind) governs the body; accumulation of essence in the heart leads to mutual support between qi and blood, resulting in the physique being free from diseases. That is why gentlemen take good care of essence but are cautious in sexual activities. Strong young men have sexual intercourse once ten days; men of middle age, twice the intermission for the strong young men; men above fifty (beginning of senility), twice the intermission for men of middle age; and men above sixty, twice the intermission for men above fifty." (Tuian's Informal Essays) Individuals, however, differ in sexual desire and sexual power; thus a unanimous frequency of sexual intercourse is not desirable. A Book on Helping Cultivate Essence, Qi and Vitality to Prolong Life said: "Men reaching the age of sixty ought to totally refrain from sexual intercourse. Those who are still healthy and strong however, should not suppress their sexual urge. Protracted suppression without emission will lead to carbuncles." For this reason, Xu Lingtai, a physician in the Qing dynasty, advocated "naturalness." He pointed out: "Sperm, as a living substance, is produced when sexual urge is stirred. There would be no production of sperm without heat. To be naturally free from sexual urge is beneficial, suppression brings harm and overindulgence leads to exhaustion. To have sexual intercourse naturally, without any difficulty or reluctance, is in conformity to the natural law." In recent years, some people have put forward three principles to determine the frequency of sexual intercourse. a. Sexual urge is stirred up naturally and becomes so strong that sexual intercourse is the natural result; whatever reluctance or perfuctoriness is called excess. b. The whole course of sexaul [sic] intercourse is completed naturally, without any uncomfort physically or psychologically. c. Neither sleep nor mental state during the next day is affected by sexual intercourse. But temperance should be exercised in sexual life. Overindulgence damages health and shortens life span. That is why ancient experts on health preservation likened overindulgence to "an axe or saw that break the bone," (Longevity and Life Preservation, by Gong Tingxian, the Ming Dynast) "a cup of poisonus wine, or an axe that cuts life." (Volume I, Miscellaneous Notes during the Guixin Years, by Zhou Mi, the Southern Song Dynasty) They suggested that "avoiding sexual life is like dodging thieves," (Records of Trivial Matters) taking temperance in sexual life as imperative for preserving health and prolonging life. 1) Checking Sexual Activities to Protect Essence According to TCM theories, the kidney stores the reproductive essence whereas overindulgence in sexual intercourse is most likely to damage the kidney-essence. "Discussion on Ways of Invasion of Pathogens and Symptoms of Viscera Diseases", Chapter 4 of Miraculous Pivot said: "Excessive sexual activities injure the kidney." That is why experts on health preservation through the ages all laid emphasis on "abstinence from indulgence in sexual activities to conserve the essence" (Elementary Medicine, by Li Chan, the Ming Dynasty) and considered checking sexual activities to protect the essence as an indispensable link in keeping fit and prolonging life. Long Zunxu, a physician of the Ming Dynasty, said: "Man has his body from the endowment of essence and blood from his parents. When he comes of age, however, he, with the development of sexual urge, drains the endowed essence in the river of love and the ocean of lust. He who has exhausted his essence young will die young; he who has exhausted his essence later will accordingly die later; and he who has exhausted his essence later still will not be able to enjoy the full life span. If one wishes to keep healthy and enjoy longevity, the only way is to totally refrain from sexual life so as to protect the essence. The life of vitality is governed by the essence as lamp depends on oil for light and fish relies on water for life. Lamp goes out at the exhaustion of oil and fish dies when water is dried up. But the foolish mistakes misery for pleasure and forgets life at the sight of women, He does not know that he dies with the exhaustion of the essence." (Admonitions for Men and Women) Therefore, they pointed out: "Those who are good at health preservation ... should keep away from women for a period of time and take good care of themselves so as to save the essence of life from damage." (On Inquiring the Properties of Things, by Zhu Zhengheng, the Yuan Dynasty) The key to checking sexual activities lies in keeping the mind clear from avarice and wild fancy. Our forefathers held that "at the sight of pretty women the sexual desire is aroused." "The rising of sexual desire leads to the birth of ministerial fire, resulting in the spontaneous emission: as ministerial fire is stirred up, the essence releases even without sexual intercourse.: (Admonitions for Men and Women, by Long Zunxu, the Ming Dynasty) To this end, care must be taken to foster ethics and values-"to look at and listen to nothing that goes against etiquette" as well as "to stay away from the obscene so as to maintain the mind calm," acquire a correct outlook in sexual life and genuinely manage to achieve the ideal state of thought that "whatever obscene scenes cannot attract one's eyesight or perturb one's mind;" only thus can the goal of checking sexual activities to protect the essence and prolong life be attained. Long Zunxu said: "Those who are good at health preservation give first priority to getting rid of carnal desires." (Admonitions for Men and Women) (A note here: The previous paragraph could be interpreted as supporting "mortification of the flesh" ala certain religious orders. This is mostly due to poor word choice in translation. It is trying to say that the key to stabilizing one's sexual desires is in adjusting away from a mindset that promotes sexual objectification. As an example: There is nothing inherently erotic about simple nudity, yet a mind accustomed to thinking in patterns of sexual objectification will find it such, whether they want to or not. Repressing the eroticism ("mortification of the flesh") is not desired or effective here, rather the goal is to change the thought patterns away from the objectification that forces it, allowing one to recognize the person rather than simply their flesh. -mbanu) Checking sexual activities to preserve the essence should be started from adolescence; "beginning to conserve one's health at old age is just like starting to save after becoming impoverished, when even the utmost frugality would be of no help." (Tuian's Informal Essays, by Li Jing, the Qing Dynasty) Adolescence is just the time for youths to grow and develop. Their kidney-qi is becoming sufficient but their muscles and bones are not yet strong enough, so "the most important thing is to prevent them from experiencing sexual activities so early as to exhaust their natural essence. (Lenglu's Medical Talks, by Lu Yitian, the Qing Dynasty) "Activating the reproductive essence by having sexual intercourse with a woman when it is not so full to drain brings on defect of the body, resulting in indescribable diseases some day." "Starting sexual activities too early for men damages their reproductive essence and kidney-qi while beginning sexual activities too early for women injures their blood and essence." (Longevity and Life Preservation, by Gong Tingxian, the Ming Dynasty) It can be seen clinically that there are quite a number of men who become prematurely senile or even are bedridden with lingering diseases and die young because of loss of the kidney-essence resulted from marrying too early and having children too early and overindulgence in sexual pleasure. Therefore, the ancients energetically advocated late marriage, suggesting that "men marry at the age of thirty while women marry at the age of twenty." They particularly emphasized that "young men should keep away from women as their qi and blood are not substantially abundant." (Confucius's Family Teachings) Middle-aged men are harassed by all things and are weakening in the kidney-qi; they must not capitalize on their strong constitution for overindulgence in sexual pleasure. The aged who are weakening in the essence should all the more "hurry away from sexual activities and refrain from carnal desires," (Treatise on Refraining Sexual Intercourse) to postpone senility and die a natural death. Adcording [sic] to An Unofficial History of the Three Dynasties, a man named Bao Hui at the time, though eighty-eight years old, was still "energetic" and "could walk without any difficulty." When asked about the method of keeping fit, he replied: "I've got a kind of bolus. It is a secret recipe which is not to be passed on to others." The inquirer asked what it was. With a smile, Bao Hui answered: "I've had 'sleeping-alone-boluses' for fifty years." All the audience burst into laughter. 2) Taboos on Sexual Activites According to the theory of health preservation in TCM, to avoid sexual strain, special care must be taken to exercise the taboos on sexual activities in addition to checking sexual activities. Our forefathers have accumulated valuable experience on this. To make a comprehensive study, they are presented as follows: First, when being overfed or extremely hungry. When in hunger, man suffers from insufficiency of the essence and qi in the zang- and fu organs, and thus it is forbidden to have sexual intercourse, which would cause further loss of the kidney-essence. When man has eaten his full, qi and blood would gather in the stomach and intestines; sexual intercourse would impede the digestion and absorption of the spleen and stomach, impairing the production of qi and blood. That is why Gong Tingxian of the Ming Dynasty said in Longevity and Life preservation: "Having sexual intercourse on a full stomach injures qi and blood." Second, when it is extremely hot or cold. In summer, when it is sweltering hot, the yang-qi is most exuberant. While in winter, when it is freezing cold, the yin-qi is most excessive. Intemperance of sexual life will all the more consume the kidney-yin and the kidney-yang, resulting in deficiency of both yin and yang, so the worthy of the past taught: "When it is extremely hot or cold, man must not indulge in sexual life." (Widerange Records of Affairs) Third, when emotions are in excess. When the five emotions are in excess or in disorder, there will occur disorder of qi and obstructed flow of blood; thus sexual intercourse is forbidden. A Book on Helping Cultivate the Essence, Qi and Vitality to Prolong Life said: "To have sexual intercourse with effort in anger leads to deficiency of essence and stagnation of qi, resulting in carbuncle and cellulitis. To have sexual intercourse in fear leads to relative deficiency of yin and yang, giving rise to cold limbs, spontaneous perspiration, night sweat or consumptive diseases from constant overstrain." Fourth, those who are frail and deficient of qi. Those who are always thin and weak suffer from insufficiency of qi; sexual intercourse at this time will further decrease the insufficiency and thus lead to a premature decrepitude and short life. Gong Tingxian of the Ming Dynasty pointed out: "Men who are weak in physique should refrain from sex and marry [sic? marriage?] until they become strong." (Longevity and Life Preservation) Fifth, when the body and the mind are tired. Protracted standing, walking or doing heavy work lead to fatigue of the limbs and trunk and flaccidity of the muscles and bone. At this time rest is badly needed to recuperate, so sexual intercourse is forbidden. Long Zunxu of the Ming Dynasty said: "Scholars who work hard at books most need temperance in sexual activities. Those who work with brains but do not exercise temperance in sexual life will suffer from fire aroused by sexual desire; the fire will consume the kidney-yin; the consumption of the kidney-yin will make the fire all the more flaming, which will damage the lung-metal, resulting in tuberculosis." (Admonitions for Men and Women) Sixth, drinking wine to stir up sexual urge. Wine or spirits, which has a excitatory function, is likely to arouse sexual desire. But, as it is acrid in flavour, very hot in nature and poisonous, it is liable to consume the essence and injure yin. Therefore, drinking wine to add up pleasure and seeking satisfaction from indulgence in sexual intercourse are bound to result in exhaustion of the primordial qi of the kidney, entailing untold troubles. Sexual intercourse is particularly forbidden when drunk. Sun Simiao of the Tang Dynasty said: "Sexual intercourse is forbidden when drunk; to do otherwise will lead to, for the better, darkish complexion and cough and, for the worse, the failure of channels and vessels of the zang-organs or even loss of life." (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies) Seventh, using tonics to invigorate yang. Taking tonics that invigorate the kidney-yang can satisfy momentary pleasure by enhancing sexual urge and increasing sexual power. But as they are dry-hot in nature, protracted use of large doses is bound to exhaust the yin-essence, ultimately resulting in deficiency of both yin and yang and premature senility. The aged who are weakening in energy and decreases in sexual desire are particularly forbiden to indulge themselves by invigorating yang with tonics, in order to observe the natural law.

Stagnation and heat problems aren't caused by retention so much as they are exaggerated by retention. The underlying problem is usually a byproduct of having genetics and diet geared for cold weather and an active lifestyle when most lead sedentary lives in temperature controlled environments. Having weak kidneys brought on by chronic sleep debt, dehydration, sexual excess, and an over reliance on stimulants doesn't help, either. The kidney problem is tricky, because to retain the sexual essence, one needs good kidneys, but without that ability, they can be hard to rehabilitate. Retention is also difficult without making certain psychological adjustments. Many men are raised in cultures that encourage sexual objectification for various reasons. Unfortunately, this can make the ministerial fire harder to work with, as every time one sees another person, the focus is on the body, not on the person. One shouldn't swing into "mortification of the flesh" territory, but one should cultivate the ability to communicate heart to heart, rather than cock to mouth. This is a lot easier said than done. Alchemy practices tend to make all of this a lot worse, as one is generally more experienced with the warm up phase than the cooling down practices. All of this should be worked on if one wants to enjoy the benefits of retention. However, the benefits of sexual moderation are open to everyone.

Give me a beer.

How would you say their writings come to different conclusions than the original Taoists? All of the Taoists produced their writings before achieving wu wei. At most, even Lao Tzu was working with only a 3/4 understanding of the Tao when he dictated the Taoteching; otherwise he wouldn't have spoken. Each Taoist had their own personality, and their own fate. This exposed different aspects of the Tao to them at different times, which influenced which parts of the Tao became clear to them, and which remained hidden. The shape changes, but not the form; The perspectives are different, yet the Tao is the same. With wood from a hundred-year-old tree, they make sacrificial vessels, covered with green and yellow designs. The wood that was cut away, lies unused in the ditch. If we compare the sacrificial vessels with the wood in the ditch, we find them to differ in appearance: one is more beautiful than the other. Yet they are equal in this: both have lost their original nature. So if you compare the robber and the respectable citizen, you find that one is, indeed, more respectable than the other: yet they both agree in this: they have both lost the original simplicity of man.

Chinese astrology has an interesting theory on this. It divides all repercussions into the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Man, or in this case, Fate, Luck, and Personal Effort. They are all more or less the same, but on different scales. At the bottom is Personal Effort, the choices that one makes as a human being with choices. However, a person does not exist in a vacuum. As they make personal choices, so too are millions of other individuals also making personal choices, and so have they been, collectively, since well before any one individual was born, and in all likelihood well after they will die. This is the trick to understanding. When a bunch of people make decisions for themselves, they are usually only thinking of themselves, or their immediate friends and family, or their own family line. They are not working together as a species towards any particular goals, except those ingrained within biology to mate and die. Because of this, when taken as a whole, the combined personal actions of many people create a sort of turbulence. This turbulence is called Luck. Taken over a long span of time, Luck and Personal Effort create Fate. For instance, the location of the United States is fated. Same with China. Same with England. However, it wasn't always so. It is fated because the decisions that cumulatively made it so went into motion long before the current generation of people were born, and the sheer momentum by this point has become so vast that any single person or even group of people would have trouble changing it. Untold numbers of people would have to be moved, untold amounts of property would have to be destroyed and rebuilt, and even then, there'd be the problem of history. All the history of the United States that makes it the United States already happened, and it happened with certain people, in certain places, that it is now beyond our power to change, even if it wasn't, several hundred years ago. That is Fate. People have no control over their own fates, but then Fate, due to its nature, tends to be broad and sweeping. Fate provides the framework in which Luck and Personal Effort reside. Through their interaction, the people of today create the Fate of the people who come after them, as the people before us created our fates. One leads to the other leads to the other.

The quote must be taken figuratively. In this case, China stands for a land of opportunity. The general idea is: Being born human is rare. Being born human in a favorable situation is rarer. Those who stumble upon the Tao are the rarest of them all.

I can't speak for we, but I can speak for I. I believe immortals exist, or at one time existed. I say believe because really I haven't enough evidence to consider it a certainty of any sort. Perhaps it's simply wishful thinking. I'll certainly never meet any of them. Maybe in my dreams, for what they're worth. However, the Heavenly immortality formulae that I've seen make sense up to the point the transmissions break down, and the Earth immortal practices make sense from a theoretical TCM perspective, as far as I can tell (since the only real bottleneck there is prenatal jing, and if you can figure out a way of replenishing it while avoiding death due to violence or illness, well...), although I've never seen any specific formulae for them. Considering the sheer volume of stories about immortals, not only in Chinese culture but in most of the ancient world, there surely must have been something to base the exaggerations on? Just as Eastern culture has a bias to assume their ancestors were much smarter and wiser than they are, Western culture has a bias to assume their ancestors were much stupider and easily duped. I'd argue that really we're more or less the same as they were in those respects, and while we shouldn't take their stories as gospel, we shouldn't necessarily brush things off or not assess them seriously, either.

Depends on how you define it. In the enlightenment arena, past a certain level, masters become useless as masters because they no longer have the minimum required attachment to their students, and because of this lose their ability to teach. Enlightenment doesn't occur through osmosis. This is also the reason why traditionally so many students have gone into seclusion past a certain point in their cultivation (and then are hunted down by their juniors and pleaded to for instruction ); because they have reached the level beyond which effective teachers no longer exist, besides the Tao and themselves. In the immortality arena, I would assume the highest-level masters would be the immortals, no?

One story says Lao-tzu was a librarian. You're in good company. Forced detachment isn't the goal, natural detachment is. If you have concerns, they must be confronted, not thrust away. To do so effectively, one must make certain internal preparations. Read the Tao Te Ching, read Chuang tzu, (multiple translations!) and not just when you're feeling like taking on the world. I've found insight often comes clearest when the walls in one's brain have been worn down due to heavy burdens. Simple meditations like sitting-forgetting or walking meditation can also help bring certain understandings. Try listening to a windchime on a slightly windy day, or taking a trip in a porch rocking chair around sunset.

From a philosophical standpoint, Taoism is somewhat indifferent about the afterlife. As the problem of the Tao encompasses both the living and dead, the ultimate goals remain the same, whether in life or in death. Religious Taoists have a sizable pantheon that blends into the traditional folk religions, and the immortals have their various dwellings on earth and elsewhere. The alchemists studied the question from more of a nuts and bolts view. I have heard one theory which might be considered a form of reincarnation, if only in form rather than spirit. The idea is that there are two main "spirit" groups in the body, named the hun and p'o. These were not formed in the body, but entered the body at various times. They are not sentient. I've never heard anything of their true origin. The p'o, attracted by sexual energy, enter during conception, while the hun enter when the birthed baby takes its first breath. The hun and p'o interact with one another, producing a sort of conversation. This conversation is the heart shen. This shen is the root of personal consciousness. Some have speculated that the number of hun and p'o involved in the conversation explain the level of awareness in the being, and that plants and animals have a lesser amount. When the hun and p'o in a body stop their "conversation" for whatever reason, the heart shen dissolves and "you" die. No afterlife, any more than a conversation continues on once both parties have stopped speaking. The hun wander off. The p'o linger around the corpse, but eventually go on their way as well. Certainly these hun and p'o will combine with others and have new "conversations", but even if the topic is the same, even if the number of parties are the same, even if it is the exact same spirits, the words will always be slightly different, and will create new heart shen.

If people are lucky enough to be able to drink cow's milk, they might as well take advantage of it. As with many things, of course, it is only good from healthy animals, and taken in moderation. A lot of the problems surrounding milk consumption come from people who ignore these facts.

Depends. Taoism's primary goal is grasping Te and through it Wu Wei. However, one can also use one's knowledge of the Taoist principles that underline the workings of the world to train it to do interesting and novel things which, while always in a state of Tao, are not always in a state of Te. Taoist sexual alchemy is an example of this. From the ultimate goal of grasping te, sexual alchemy appears to be a step backwards. 16 Horses have hoofs to carry them over frost and snow; hair, to protect them from wind and cold. They eat grass and drink water, and fling up their heels over the prairie. Such is the real nature of horses. Palatial dwellings are of no use to them. One day Po Lo appeared, saying: I understand the management of horses. So he branded them, and clipped them, and pared their hoofs, and put halters on them, tying them up by the head and shackling them by the feet, and putting them in stables. As a result, two or three in every ten died. Then he kept them hungry and thirsty, trotting them and galloping them, and grooming, and trimming, with the misery of the tasseled bridle before and the fear of the knotted whip behind, until more than half of them were dead. The potter says: I can do what I will with clay. If I want it round, I use compasses; if rectangular, a square. The carpenter says: I can do what I will with wood. If I want it curved, I use an arc; if straight, a line. But on what grounds can we think that the natures of clay and wood desire this application of compasses and square, of arc and line? Nevertheless, every age extols Po Lo for his skill in managing horses, and potters and carpenters for their skill with clay and wood. Those who govern the empire make the same mistake. Now I regard government of the empire from quite a different point of view. The people have certain natural instincts: to weave and clothe themselves, to plough and feed themselves. These are common to all humanity, and all are agreed about this. Such instincts come from nature. 17 And so in the days when natural instincts prevailed, men moved quietly and gazed steadily. At that time, there were no roads over mountains, nor boats, nor bridges over water. All things were produced, each for its own proper sphere. Birds and beasts multiplied; trees and shrubs grew up. The former might be led by the hand; you could climb up and peep into the raven's nest. For then man dwelt with birds and beasts, and all creation was one. There were no distinctions of good and bad men. Being all equally without knowledge, their virtue could not go astray. Being all equally without evil desires they were in a state of natural harmony, the perfection of human existence. 18 But when philosophers and prophets appeared, tripping up people over charity and fettering them with duty to their neighbor, doubt found its way into the world. And then, with their preoccupation with the performance of music, and their fussing over ceremony, the empire became divided against itself. However, this ignores the fact that progress in the Tao follows a spiral, not a line. Before learning can be given up, it must first be cultivated, before one may discard their love of life, they must gather enough of it such that it no longer has value. That which shrinks Must first expand. That which fails Must first be strong. That which is cast down Must first be raised. Before receiving There must be giving. This is called perception of the nature of things. Soft and weak overcome hard and strong. Fish cannot leave deep waters, And a country's weapons should not be displayed. I would argue that sexual practices aren't Taoism so much as they are popular with Taoists. Kind of like Jewish culture is different than Judaism.

...or maybe just an excuse to bicker and pass the time. In it, a medley of different objects are paired off, and you decide if they're more yin or more yang in context, and why, then add a few of your own. Dogs vs. Cats Daoism vs. Buddhism Hunger vs. Sleepiness Ninjas vs. Pirates Coke vs. Pepsi ...discuss?

If you're practicing sexual yoga or anything heat producing like that, whiskey is probably a bad idea. It's hot and acrid in nature, and while great for kickstarting the immune system and a whole bunch of other things (they don't call it the water of life for nothing ) it can easily produce heat problems when there's no need for it. Beer on the other hand, is cooling (usually), and can help clear up liver qi stagnation. However, beer served American-style (just above freezing and extremely fizzy) tends to be very hard on the digestion. In general, though, drunkeness tends to cause problems in any practice that involves qi manipulation. I'd avoid it for those.

Ah, I understand now. My apologies. There are many motives covered under the blanket of Daoism, I was not sure which goals you were driving at. As for immortality, there is no complete and safe public transmission of the Ghost, Earth, or Heavenly immortal styles in the West that I know of. An Earth style is discussed in things like the White Tigress series, but not in any sort of meaningful way. The Healing Tao works and spinoffs by people like Yudelove contain a large number of Heavenly immortal practices, but grow fuzzy just when it starts getting really dangerous, around the formation of the spirit body. They also downplay the importance of cooling off when not training the furnace for transformation, so it's easy to get toxic heat problems if you're not careful. You could possibly cobble together the missing steps if you were adventurous, but I'd suggest finding a teacher. Nothing really helpful written about the Ghost style, either, although the basics are popularized in many a horror story. Not really a style worth pursuing anyhow. Until you find a teacher, I'd suggest pursuing the Human style. There's a lot of written information available, as most of the style has been codified into Traditional Chinese Medicine's general advice for longevity. It has no techniques for circumventing the jing problem, but started early and practiced steadily, it greatly improves the chances of one reaching their 90s-100s still hale and with all their faculties intact. Two books in English I've found useful are The Mystery of Longevity by Liu Zhengcai and Health Preservation and Rehabilitation by the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. As for superpowers and resistance techniques, these have mostly been taken over by the martial artists, and are still generally available if you are part of the proper lineages. A few things to note, however. First, is that almost all of these practices greatly burn jing in long-term use, if burning it somehwhat effectively. Second, some of the practices aren't really as useful as they once were. For instance, Iron Shirt training really never recovered from the Boxer Rebellion, IMHO, as while effective against the likes of spears, knives, and arrows, was not equipped to deal with the amount of force delivered by a bullet. I don't know if modern practicioners have improved on this weakness, but if so it hasn't been shared with the public, as far as I know. Good luck in your studies.

The difference between meditating and watching TV can be quite slight, depending on what you're watching. If insight can be found cutting up an ox, surely it can be found playing a game of Scrabble. If you have trouble with stillness meditation, go on walking meditation. The trick isn't in what you do, but how and why you do it. Te isn't found in the trappings of a thing, but in the spirit.

Consciousness Studies? In such a case it is not surprising that the yogi is stern. Many students attracted to such programs are already suffering to some degree from New Agism, which must be nipped in the bud if the students are to have any luck in advancement. Sloppy multiculturalism and a glorification of mysticism must sometimes be corrected in the Zen manner, with a board to the head. Before one can understand the true connectedness of all things, one must have an understanding of the things themselves. Before one can level out boundaries and distinctions, one must first understand their reasons, shape, and form. Cups are sometimes filled with the illusion of emptiness. That is not to say that the heart should be closed off from practice. Ridgidly going through the motions of technique without grasping their spirit is no better. My advice would be to listen to what he says with an open mind, and to do one's best to replace ""more body and heart centered as opposed to mental" with "equally centered. with more time spent on those things that I am weakest in".

Cultivate the Human path of immortality for now, rather than screwing with the Heaven, Earth, or Ghost paths. The Human path is fairly well-documented, and not dangerous to follow at all. It will not provide longevity on the scale of the more advanced paths, but followed correctly it will keep one hale & healthy, and extend one's life as far as can be expected without special techniques. The standard quote is until the age of 100, although this number depends on when the practices were started. Also more importantly, it creates a solid foundation for more advanced practices, if a teacher is found later on. The Human path is written about in many Chinese medical books on longevity and healthy lifestyle. Life Cultivation and Rehabilitation by the Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine is a good English collection. Or, for a less technical work, The Mystery of Longevity by Liu Zhengcai is also good.

People will believe what they want to believe. The five colors blind the eye, after all. The anology I've used for the jing/qi/shen thing is that it's like a candle. Postnatal jing is like the wax, prenatal jing is like the wick, qi is like the flame, shen is like the smoke.