sabin1star

I had some questions about Hsin Tao but I've since found 3 other systems that look a lot more interesting. Please disregard this thread.

thanks for posting this. it reminds me of the Wugong Journal which was discontinued years ago.

I empathize with your decision. Discussion boards are a good place to put information out there, answer a few questions, and then move on. If I were doing a particular qigong method that I felt comfortable discussing (I wouldn't want to start answering questions for the general population without the approval my instructor) I would describe it in general and answer some basic questions. I wouldn't give out personalized advice in public and I wouldn't go into great detail on a discussion board. Imagine that I wanted to learn northern shaolin kung fu. Actually I do but that's another story. Am I going to go on a discussion board to ask detailed questions of all the movements, expression of jin etc.? No. If I wanted really detailed instruction I would go to a teacher. People have to understand something - the people that teach qigong or even traditional wushu owe the general public nothing in terms of explanations. It's not their job to promote their art. If they want to promote it and put the information out there (by choice) it's for you to act on if you are interested. I'm not defending or endorsing kunlun bliss as I've never done it. for sincere inquiries you have two kinds the general and the specific. General inquiries can be answered publicly. specific detailed questions should probably be answered in person from teacher to student. If the teacher wants to answer questions on a board like this or through e-mail it's best done privately assuming that the questions are being asked by a dedicated student. My sifu teaches emei kung fu and other styles. If I ask him a detailed question he'll answer it in a way that he thinks is appropriate given my skill level. If a stranger e-mails him with detailed inquiries about kung fu he will probably ignore them or tell them to come to the school. My advice to people is this - try to gain a decent background with the generalities of qigong. I recommend Yang Jwing-Ming's DVD series 'Understanding Qigong." Look at some of the books about chinese medicine offered at Redwing Books. That will really help you in the long run. When you encounter a qigong method that you want to learn you have to keep in mind that not every school of qigong or even daoism will have the same conceptions about various components of chinese medicine and qi theory. That's one reason why you have different schools. If you really want to learn something you should plan on visiting an instructor at some point. DVDs and books are great but you have to eventually learn this stuff in person to gain skill and also to resolve your doubts. Discussion boards are a great way to stay current and get exposed to different things that are being taught. They're not good for detailed instruction. Adjust your expectations accordingly. And again for the record I am not a kunlun bliss practitioner. I have no opinion of it. If you think something is BS you may be right and in any case it's not for you.

I'm really looking forward to learning about this system and I'm sure I'll buy the DVDs and the book. I have nothing but high regard for you Spirit Ape and I'm sure you'll do a great job. I respect your accomplishments in qigong and traditional wushu. I know who you are and it's all good. People like to talk smack on discussion boards - I hope you don't take any of it (here or anywhere else) to heart. Your skill in chinese martial arts is real and your skill in qigong is real from what I've seen and read. I would prefer a Burning Palm book first but that's because I would like to know about the overview of the Burning Palm system as far as qigong cultivation and martial aspects. It probably makes sense though to just put stuff out there in the near term so people can start training. I know Doo Wai has a few of these systems and it's good that they are finally going to get out to the public in the correct way - through legitimate students.

Are there any members that have done the tridaya course?

thanks for posting this information about YXQ I would love to learn more about it.

I think these people are deluded, but regardless this stuff absolutely does not belong in taoist discussion forum. It should have been put in the off-topic section. I fail to see how this thread relates to any of the following: qigong, neigong, religious daoism, chinese history, asian history, chinese martial arts etc. If it doesn't relate to any of those topics why would it be appropriate for this forum? It belongs in the off-topic section and that's not too hard to figure out. Maybe the author of this thread believes that lawnmowers or automatic sprinklers are part of a government conspiracy. Should they also talk about that in this forum? Maybe the author is a keynesian, a free trader, an economic nationalist, or someone who is lukewarm about the world trade organization. Should they start a thread about that? And what's their favorite sports team? Why don't they talk about that as well? Another possibility is we could have thread talking about the US presidential election in 2012. why not discuss that?

Why hasn't this been moved to the off topic section?

yes I'm in a traditional wushu (kung fu) program. northern wai jia styles of traditional wushu (kung fu). I'd rather not talk further about cma on this board though. I'm hear to talk about qigong, neigong etc.

thanks for all the replies.

[edited]

When I look back on the late 90s I'm grateful for some things. I left Mantak Chia's system because I thought it was a poor fit for me (fire method vs. water method) and because I thought some of the information in his practices was either inaccurate or simply less than optimal in terms of how to do things. But I'm not bitter because he did a lot to publicize qigong and raise awareness. I've done some other qigong practices that I think are far better, including those of my current teacher. If someone came to me and said where should I start I would probably recommend Daniel Reid's books which I think are absolutely fantastic and informative. I really think Daniel Reid Has set the bar for excellence in terms of general information on qigong. Every person out there (everyone who is doing qigong or even yogic practices) is on a journey whether they are in Healing Tao or whatever. I respect them for getting into this stuff. I just hope that we can be positive and help each other on this board. I'm not a big fan of lineage battles in qigong and I'm well aware of some of the big names that don't have verifiable lineage. I judge people on what they can do and on the quality of their information. I think that's something we all have to do to stay honest and to keep our 'edge' so to speak. Healing Tao didn't work out for me. I won't disparage it but I also won't recommend it. If you are doing kunlun bliss or qi dao or whatever that's fine with me. In fact I may even ask questions about some of those practices. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I don't want to become bitter and jaded to the point where I can't trust anything or anyone unless they are teaching 8 sections brocade with unquestionable lineage & background. And I would like to see others lighten up as well. There is a lot of incredible stuff out there with and without verifiable lineage. I don't assume that shaky lineage stories imply fraud. The truth is out there IMO. I can say that I've benefited (in terms of my cultivation) from being less judgmental of others. As long as they're not doing western new age stuff or anything like that. If it's eastern and you say it's authentic I'll take you at your word. If I investigate further I'll judge a given practice on the merits: the quality of the information (specific breathing strategies used etc.) and what the practice does for me. Let's help each other and not tear each other down.