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It's the zhengtong daozang. The one put together in the Ming (I believe 1445).

Who knows?! If it does though that means in 3016, a 1000 years from now, some of us will still be hangin' around on the Tao Bums talking the same old stuff.

I've noticed the trend as well. It's interesting to watch. In 2015 there were three new books on neidan published in English. I think it's fine. In the last couple centuries in China neidan has been very popular. In the late Qing dynasty in Beijing alone hundreds of books were published on the subject. The language of neidan made its way into popular fiction as well. In the public's mind neidan became seen as the height of Taoist practice. Maybe that trend will happen here in the West as well. Or maybe more people are ready for neidan. Like opendao said, finding a good teacher has always been hard, even in China. And I don't think that will change here in the West either. But neidan is also not meant for everybody, especially the higher levels. When people aren't ready for it they won't find it. And that is okay.

Hi can someone change my user name to my real life name please? Nathan Brine

Lifeforce, go for it. She's there if you need her. As to the topic itself it kind of got me thinking about whether Guanyin is Buddhist or Taoist or local religion etc. My sense, based on experience and study, is that Taoists throughout Chinese history were quite happy incorporating the various deities into their practice. The kind of deity is not what really differentiates Taoists from others. It’s more how they approach the divine that matters. The Taoist approach seems to be more self-focused, more self-reliant. Back in the 90s when I first got started on the Taoist path, I was with a teacher who was heavily influenced by the Three Teachings movement (Confucian, Buddhist, Taoist). He was a big Guanyin (Kuan Yin) fan, in the school we even had a Guanyin altar. He was a Taoist priest yet he also was very comfortable using Buddhist chants and Confucian ceremonies. And more than just paying lip service. Although his first lineage was Taoist he also had been initiated into Confucian and Buddhist lineages. During my first training with a Taoist altar I was shown how the various elements on the altar are a reflection of the self. The lamp is the light of our spirit, three cups of water represent the Three Treasures of jing, qi, shen, and fruit represent the internal organs etc. By worshiping at the altar we are focusing on and empowering the self. This seems to stands in stark contrast to others who worship a deity in order to get something (a common practice in China anyway). Kristofer Schipper writes about his experiences with Zhengyi Taoism in the south of Taiwan back in the 60s. He describes how the outer altar of the deity is not the true altar. There is an inner altar, the altar inside the body that is of prime importance. The priest goes inside the body to pay homage to the spirits and energies that make up one’s internal landscape, and that is where the true work is done. I think by incorporating the deities, but using them as a means of connecting to the self, Taoists stand apart from other groups.

Hi NotVoid, not quite the question you were asking but I asked Mr. Wang a similar one. I asked him once about what kind of training schedule I should follow. He answered me, "don't schedule." Keep it natural. Practice when you want. Of course he was answering me personally and I tend towards over-control (I've noticed that he will answer the same question in different ways depending on who's asking). Another time he said don't sit too much, just 5 or 6 hours a day. I guess it really depends on what we want out of the practice. I just remembered another one, in an old talk Mr. Wang gave to his students in the late eighties. Someone asked how long they should sit for. Mr. Wang answered sit until it begins to hurt, then keep going for another 2 hours. Sometimes I wish I had taken up golf Charles Crawford have a wonderful time (hope I did't scare you off).

Taiji fashuo is such a fun text. I worked on it for my MA thesis. For tai chi classics translated into English I would recommend Lost T'ai-chi Classics from the Late Ch'ing Dynasty by Douglas Wile. He also translates the Taiji fashuo and a host of others. And there is so much Taoist and neidan language through out the Taiji fashuo text. It's interesting how much neidan language and methods made their way into the realm of martial arts. The origin of the text is also quite mysterious. It wasn't written by Yang Banhou (he didn't have the requisite classical Chinese chops necessary to write it), and no ones really sure who did. It was composed sometime in the later half of the 19th century, and secretly passed down within the Yang and Wu families until it was published in the early eighties in Hong Kong. (Edited once for clarity)

Thanks Dawei!

Hi Tech Support, I double posted a topic by mistake. Would you be so kind as to delete it for me. It's in upcoming events, posted at 7:58pm: Internal Alchemy Program in Vancouver Spring 2016 (keep the 8:00 as I already deleted the contents in the 7:58 one). Thanks in advance.

My sense is it's best not to over think the question of celibacy too much. I found celibacy to be very helpful for my practice of internal alchemy. But that's me at this time. Give it a try. See how it affects one's practice. Pay attention to one's body. Internal alchemy has clear benchmarks: are we able to achieve the same results before and after ejaculation? I found for myself that the path to celibacy was a natural one. As I began working on certain stages of the alchemical process I just didn't want to ejaculate. Also, as a family man I know for me celibacy is not permeant. And I don't think it need be. It's just what works right now.

Or even Korea; apparently the training for traditional and Western medicine is keep quite separate there as well.

As mentioned above, there is also a difference between practicing with trees at night and during the day. I only practice at night.

Yes, good point. My teacher mentioned that it's an exchange. We get qi. They get emotion. I like trees

Why not try and get to a weekend workshop somewhere.

Lighting depends on the kind of meditation. For quiet sitting I find it doesn't matter, just sit and forget. However, for internal alchemy it's helpful to have the environment as black as black can be. It helps when working with the Shenguang and the light body.

Everywhere you go, there you are.

Hey, Feng Zhiqiang's stuff. Looks good!

Hi CoolBreezy, my suggestion is don't worry about if Daoism is a religion or philosophy. If it resonates with you then dive in and see what it has to offer. Before the twentieth century the Chinese language didn't even have a word for religion. Religion and philosophy are Western labels based on a Western experience. I would suggest throwing them out and approaching this stuff on its own terms. After a time you might even throw out the term Daoism. "The Daoism that can be spoken of is not the real Daoism" (sorry couldn't help it )

Here's a link to a talk by Andrew Nugent-Head on the subject: www.traditionalstudies.org/video-the-state-of-chinese-medicine-in-china-today/ I know a number of Mainland Chinese doctors who are also pretty into the whole Classical Chinese Medicine thing. There's definitely something to it.

Yes. There are some more fundamentalist Daoist groups out there that don't like any Buddhist stuff mixed in, but my sense is they are in the minority. With my first Daoist teacher we would regularly use Buddhist chants side by side with Daoist chants. And my second Daoist teacher travelled through Tibet for years learning from the head of a Tibetan Buddhist lineage. For both of these teachers Daoism was their day job so-to-speak but they still had no trouble mixing things up. My second teacher is a lineage holder of a major Daoist lineage in China, and has a lot at stake in making sure his lineage gets passed on. So even at the level where a person is heavily invested in Daoism there is still a lot of flexibility. But I guess that's a product of the training: flexibility and non-attachment.

The Three Teachings as one (Sanjiao heyi 三教合一) has been a powerful cultural movement in China over the last 1000 years, the three teachings being Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. The two Daoist teachers I have had over the years were very comfortable drawing from both Buddhism and Confucianism. So yes, many do mix it up. My sense is that with Chinese traditional stuff the most important thing in terms of identity is who your teacher and lineage is, not so much broad conceptual categories, such as Buddhist or Daoist. If you don't have a teacher it doesn't matter too much; just follow what resonates with you. My Daoist teacher reminded me a couple of months ago that the practices I was learning were not the way, but just stuff that helps us on the way to understand our true self. This might apply to your question. Perhaps our "particular path" is also broader then any spiritual categories.

I stumbled across this short radio clip on the BBC website about scientific research that "proves" telepathy: www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29093700 I wonder if this will open up more acceptance of higher level Taoist practices, like shengong, with the broader public.

I suppose it's fundamentalism then that gets in the way, whether religious or scientific.

You might want to check out this book by Robert F. Campany- To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth: A Translation and Study of Ge Hong's Traditions of Divine Transcendents www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520230347

You could check out this set of books: http://www.bookdepository.com/Taoist-Canon-KM-Schipper/9780226738178 It's not the Taoist Canon, but it's a great English language resource to become acquainted with the Ming Dynasty Canon. It has descriptions of each and every text. You might be able to find a copy at your local library.