Slim

Why not try and get to a weekend workshop somewhere.

Fabrizio Pregadio has revised and expanded his article "The Way of the Golden Elixir: An Introduction to Taoist Alchemy."

It's a 72 page long historical overview of neidan. It's nicely formatted and pretty to look at and free.

Here's the link:

http://www.goldenelixir.com/files/The_Way_of_the_Golden_Elixir.pdf

Merry Christmas!

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.

Is it appropriate for a Daoist (say part of a lineage or school like Quanzhen) to recite a Buddhist mantra and has anyone seen anything of this sort done?

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.

Don't think.

Go for it. Their stuff is a good place to start out and with the right teacher you can go deep.

It's not classical tai chi, but it is neigong. The founder was a student of Liang Zipeng and definitely had something. A handful of his close students have also developed some deep stuff. The problem is many don't teach anymore, and the local teacher you have there might not have anything either. But still, better than a book.

Also they approach their art as Daoist cultivation. So there is a lot of focus on transforming the body, etc.

At the least you would get a good workout and begin preparing the body for other stuff. And who knows what teacher might blow your way in the future.

Was the moon especially strong the last couple of days?

Yes.

Here is a list of nine internal alchemy texts, each has a short description, and each has been translated into English.

www.goldenelixir.com/press/occ_01_9_taoist_books.html

(There is a free PDF download on the upper right.)

The texts in the list are all important to the neidan tradition, however I doubt any would be much use for "preliminary neidan study." Good luck though.

You might start with Damo Mitchell's book Daoist Nei Gong. It presents qigong in a context of Daoist cultivation.

Also Bruce Frantzis' book Opening the Energy Gates of the Body is a good intro to the topic as well.

Thanks for the videos ChiDragon. Good back-to-basics stuff. I like the image of a baby breathing in the first one, very Daoist.

Not that I know of. It's not in the Zhengtong daozang anyway.

In terms of choosing a style the teacher will be important as well.

Because of the subtle and non-visable aspect of tai chi finding good instruction seems to be very important. I would suggest more important than considerations such as style, especially if you are interested in applying tai chi as a martial art.

Of course if you have great teachers in all the styles available then go to town

I'm rather fond of Fabrizio Pregadio's translation work. His focus is mainly on important texts of alchemy. You could check out his website www.goldenelixir.com.

Thomas Cleary has also translated a number of texts, what he lacks in accuracy he makes up for in quantity.

Enjoy your reading.

PS if you like the early stuff the Neiye is also worth looking at. Although perhaps not historically important (it was lost for a couple millennia) it is a fun read. You could check out Harold Roth's translation.

any idea what the classical characters might be for Ganying??

感應

五行 is the "Five Categories" rather than "Five Phases"

 

四大 is the "Four Greats" rather than the "Four Elements".

That depends on context.

Both systems are understood and spoken of in Chinese philosophy, medicine, cultivation, and so forth. In China the five phases are called the 五行 and the four elements are called the 四大.

 

The former refers to five states or phases of existence: growing/rising; expanding/flourishing; diminishing/falling; contracting/storing; and stable. It does not refer to literally to the materials of wood, fire, soil, metal, and water, even though those materials are used to represent these five states/phases.

 

The latter refers to the four fundamental constituents of the physical universe. The idea came to China alongside Buddhism and is considered an originally-Buddhist concept here.

 

When spoken of in China by those who understand this vocabulary there is no contradiction, because the two systems refer to different ideas. Therefore, in a single sentence one can refer to both systems without confusion nor need for reconciliation or melding, because the phases refer to phases and the elements refer to elements.

Well put.