wudangspirit

Cameron, You're correct I am a close disciple of Master Chen's. Corinne is my lineage sister. I wasn't by any means going to switch systems however, just wondering about Kunlun because there seems to be a lot of talk about it here and wanted a little perspective on it. I really appreciate the insight and feedback. Wudangspirit

VERY NICE! this encompasses the true foundation of inner cultivation. You have to give up the need in order to realize your true self and once you do there are no limitations. This is what you call being a pillar between heaven and earth with your feet solidly planted on the ground and your head (spirit) in heaven as a guide. Well done and Tao Bless! Wudangspirit

You'll have to excuse my ignorance of the Kunlun system...so I have a few questions. My background is in Wudang internal cultivation as passed down from generation to generation at Wudang to my master and then to my generation so I really haven't practiced any others. As it sounds, Kunlun is much different from the methods I'm used to as in it seems that there is much attachment to the sexual desire and gratification in the Kunlun method. I'm probably getting that mangled but is that true? It seems that although you play the importance of generating energy, it would leak through the emotional desire and attachment to the actual method thereby still losing "jing" essence. I just would like to know about Kunlun since it seems a lot of posts here are about it. Thanks and Tao Bless, Wudangspirit

The issue of Jing and losing it has been a topic for many years of those who cultivate. In my opinion and training, it is necessary to conserve jing. Now that can be done in many ways. One is through limiting the frequency of sexual acitivity. I say limiting not abstaining totally. The other is giving up the need for attachments such as ego, emotions etc. Taoism has strict rules to follow if you want to follow the immortality path. Those rules shouldn't be taken lightly. However, everything in moderation to live a normal, long life. It's about following your nature and your intent. If your intent is to follow a strict Taoist path and transmute jing to qi and qi to shen and become immortal and raise the spirit then you have to follow the rules. It's pretty simple. However, don't look for shortcuts and exceptions. There are none. Wudangspirit

Lost Monk, My wife is actually from the city of Guangzhou. It's a city in the south not far from Hong Kong. I've been there and to other places in China several times on business. I've seen all aspects of China. China is actually quite free in daily dealings and have a higher standard of living than we do here, especially in big cities. So, don't believe the crappy propaganda that the Western press is spitting out. It's bogus. We only see and believe what the cultural revolution has show us. China has changed 200% since then. It's actually great place to live now. Wudangspirit

Lin, You are 100% correct. In "Modern" Taoism there is more emphasis on the physical practice. However, traditional teachings tell us there has to be complete balance on spiritual and physical. You have to keep your physical body strong in order to house a good spirit. You have to cultivate your spirit otherwise your body will leak yuan qi and die. Taoism spends a great deal of time on cultivating spirit. The ideas of ego, true self, reality and detachment from desires and mundane post heaven pleasure. I think in my opinion, there should be more taught on these key elements. I know that true initiates into Taoism by Taoist priests do have these teachings. I think we should open those teaching up more. Great comments! Tao Bless amd Amituofu Wudangspirit Lin, You are 100% correct. In "Modern" Taoism there is more emphasis on the physical practice. However, traditional teachings tell us there has to be complete balance on spiritual and physical. You have to keep your physical body strong in order to house a good spirit. You have to cultivate your spirit otherwise your body will leak yuan qi and die. Taoism spends a great deal of time on cultivating spirit. The ideas of ego, true self, reality and detachment from desires and mundane post heaven pleasure. I think in my opinion, there should be more taught on these key elements. I know that true initiates into Taoism by Taoist priests do have these teachings. I think we should open those teaching up more. Great comments! Tao Bless amd Amituofu Wudangspirit

WYG, The Dan Tian "Elixir Field" is what it is. In one of the Wudang Qigong practices there is movement called creating or "making" the dan. I think building is the correct word. It's something we're born with however, according to Taoist Alchemy theory, we lose our pre-heaven state after birth. Along with that we lose our knowledge of pre heaven concepts such as Dan Tian. So we have to still ourselves and rebuild. In other words refresh our post heaven memories. This isn't easy and takes a step by step approach along with correct breathing and concentration or stillness. Does this help or should I elaborate more on this? Good subject.

A Taoist thinks of how to get the hell out of the building before he/she gets burned.

I have one problem with your comment on no difference between Tao and God theory... Actually the big difference is in the follower. Taoists believe that we have total free will and we can make our own destiny and dreams happen through non-attachment and free ourselves from the mundane by cultivation. This concept is totally different from the Christian view of what "God" has in store for us. Tao is Tao because the name is within the concept. Tao "way" is just a name given to call it something. "God" in the Christian sense has been given an attached overall governing body. As Taoist we attain"?" Tao by stillness in cultivation. No God or governing body does this for us. Yes we have a pantheon but those would probably be most related to the Catholic concept of "Saints". Everyone has their Tao. Your Tao is YOUR Tao. Wudangspirit quote name='Taoist81' date='Jul 3 2008, 03:40 PM' post='68341'] But when a true Christian (i.e. one who really believes, not just in emergencies) prays, it is as Jesus taught, that is, "Thy will be done". Even Jesus subjected his petitions to God to "God's will". So in the end, there is no difference. A believer can pray for answers or health etc. all day long, and it will change nothing unless it is already God's will to do something. Similarly, a Taoist, following close to the Tao will see the "will" of the Tao carried out in his life. He may do an I Ching reading for answers, or perform a sacrifice to some deity, but in the end the Tao simply "is", just as God simply "is". Prayer and meditation are simply ways to bring the individual closer to the "divine". "I do not know its name. Call it Tao. For lack of a better word I call it Great." says Lao Tzu. Similarly in the deeper mystic traditions of the Abrahamic faiths, the highest concept of God that man can com close to imagining is titled "I am" or rather simply "Being". Beyond that is the Limitless and Nothing. So, in the deepest ways, there is no difference between Tao and "God". In the baser forms of religion, there are differences in some ways, in that "god" would simply be lower than the Tao. No different than the many Taoist deities that one can petition for changes in your health or bank account. Agree on some parts. True Taoism is self cultivation by transmuting Jing to Qi and Qi to Shen and Shen to Void to Tao. The religion came later. However, as a practicing Taoist from the Wudang Longmen Neidan Pai Sect, we do have religious music and ceremonies but those are just ways of raising our spirits and bringing other spirits into our lives. Blessings. Well put! Tao is Tao. God is God. In the Taoist world......"JUST WORDS! JUST WORDS" Lin, Well put and well respected answer. This is an answer of pure virtue The difference of Christian and Taoist Concepts.... Christians believe through their good actions on earth according to what Jesus has taught them they can "go" to heaven. As Taoist we believe by cultivation, virtue and purifyng by non-attachment we can "grow" into heaven and become one as heaven.

Taomeow explanation is correct according to the oral traditions of Taoism for sure. I'll help you look into any documented forms. This topic is very fascinating. At Wudang there are a couple of very traditional I Ching Masters still on the mountain. I'll ask my lineage uncle, Zhong Yun Long, to see if this can be explained. My Master Yun Xiang Tseng, may also know of it. Tao Bless

Don't forget about Liangyi in the direct translation and diagram.... Wuji - Taiji - Liangyi - Bagua

As a practicing Taoist, you should respect the five elements as it is a practice of the Taoist culture. In the I Ching practice, yes they are different and separate. I was giving you a practical application in how they are really used. If you are just going by theories then you are correct they are separate. However there comes a time when you have to apply those theories. As for TCM, you should look into that further because your diagnostic skills would be less than zero without the five element theory. I Taoism the Wuxing theory explains how elements are created or restricted. I hardly can believe that you'd disregard this knowledge as false or non-existent. Maybe you could give me more detail of why you think this way. In I Ching yes, there are 8 gua with 64 hexagrams and you can interpret the Earlier Heaven or the Later Heaven theories. However, to use them correctly is to use both because of their reasonings and situations. There is more to I Ching than theory and illustrations. You have to tap into the something beyond what's in front of your nose in order to see the true meanings. However, this can be done only after you have extinguished your ego and learned to theories inside and out. Tao Bless

Hope I don't intrude on the conversation... From my studies and experience the two will go hand in hand when it comes to applications. The I Ching by iteself possesses a multitude of functions and usages. The Bagua or Eight Trigrams explains the correlations of the hexagrams and numerology. If you take a deeper look at these numbers, they are used in many of the tradtional methods of feng shui, inner alchemy, astrology and more. According to Taoist practice, these are the numbers of heaven. They can be used to explain a lot. When used in feng shui they are combined with the Wuxing theory. The I Ching masters also possess a certain amount of pre-heaven intuition. There are some things that cannot be explained. At Wudang, where my lineage is from, those studying the I Ching also study Wuxing and all other aspects of numerolgy and taoist astrology. Tao Bless, Wudangspirit

Chapter 19 reminds us of giving up our post heaven intelligence and to go back to our pure self so we can cultivate our pre-heaven energy. This verse is an important step in Taoist cultivation. Thanks for the reminder! Wudangspirit

We only know beauty as beauty because there is ugliness We only know good as good because there is evil.... It is nature to have Yin/Yang balance. You cannot know these things unless you have a comparison in post heaven knowledge. In Taoism we try to learn to see things for what they truly are and not what we "think' they are by post heaven knowledge. Try not to attach to these things or make judgments and tell yourself "they just are". You'll be able to float to the top of the whirlpool that drags most of us down. This is a great topic and discussion. Thanks for sharing. Tao Bless, Wudangspirit

WYG, Zhang Sangfeng teachings are usually oral at Wudang. There are a lot of schools there that are said to teach original 13 postures and internal type arts. However, unless you are really in that sect you're not going to get the real oral traditional teachings that have been past down for 15 generations. Once again I refer to my lineage uncle Zhong Yun Long and master Tseng Yun Xiang. They are the only surviving lineage holders of the Zhang Sanfeng Branch at Wudang that are able to transmit this knowledge. However, there are a few hermits in the mountains at Wudang who have this knowledge as well but it would be very hard for them to teach you. You can try to learn forms from youtube as the others have discussed but you won't learn the essence of the teachings. My suggestion would be to sign up for Master Chen's seminar this summer in Atlanta as he is coming back from Wudang for that brief time to teach an intensive on these teachings. Then you can ask him in person to see if any of his students can carry on teaching you. Good luck and Tao Bless, Wudangspirit

Kingfred, Our practice at Wudang is the "kicking" method. You sit on the floor with legs crossed then grab the right foot with the left hand and extend the left using the right hand to keep the knee straight. You'll "kick" to the right, left, up and straight 27 times then repeat this on the opposite leg bringing in the leg each kick. I hope this makes sense and helps. It helped me a lot and also helps your knees. Wudangspirit

Mewtwo, Fengshui has all kinds of sects and practices. However, Fengshui is also very intuitive once you've got a foundation. There are basic rules then you also have to know Taoist Cosmology, Constellation charting, I Ching and other modalities to have a complete, well-rounded Fengshui practice. Fengshui can be used in a lot of situations. As for Black Hat? Not sure if it is a fraud or not. There could be fraudulant people practicing for sure like in any other sect or practice. Tao Bless, Wudangspirit

Yoda, Sorry for the late response.... In Taoist practices of exorcism or driving the ghost spirit away there are several methods. If this ghost is not evil it is much easier. A ghost spirit is one in the Yin world. They have died before their time or have a lousy destiny and are lost in that world and don't know it. Your family member needs to light some incense and walk around with that in the area where the ghost is and tell them to tell the ghost that they are no longer in this realm and they need to go home. I know it sounds hokey but they need to tell them to go to the bright lighted path and don't look back. Tell them that they can no longer function in this realm. They should go quietly. Ghosts that are very active need to go away. They will not do you any good. Hope this helps, Wudangspirit

I would recommend going the the Master Within Intensive. This will give you your foundation. The others are great however if you could only pick one I'd do the intensive this will encompass a lot of things you are talking about. Wudangspiirt

Wu Liu, My suggestion is to start with meditation and then go to the seminar in atlanta. That is with my Master. I was initiated into the Wudang Longmen Nei Dan Pai (Inner Elixir Schoo） several year ago under Master Chen. Whatever you decide however, you should follow the guidance of a teacher. I only mention my Master because you brought that up. Also you need to know that Taoism is about following your "tao"or way. So after you get a foundation from a teacher you still need to listen to your inner self and nature for guidance. Tao Bless, Wudangspirit

Meditation and Taoism is about non-attachment. Motion comes from stillness. Returning is the motion of the Tao. If you mind is goind in all directions wait til it calms before beginning your meditation. Quiet sitting is a way to calm your mind. Wu Wei er Wu Bu Wei....Do Nothing and Leave Nothing Undone..... Wudangspirit

A true help in this matter would be to go to a good TCM doctor and have them diagnose what is causing the problem. In TCM we treat the cause not the problem in most cases. I could give you suggestions but without actually seeing the person or knowing what the TCM diagnosis is it would only be guessing and you don't want to guess when it comes to people's lives. However, to build the kidneys (which may not even be the cause), you can get black (silk) chicken along with Dong Quai, red dates, and other various herbs (this is a common formula) and make a strong concentrated beverage. This will change the hormone levels and also strengthen the kidneys. However that is mostly for women. Biggest suggestion...go see a TCM doctor that is highly recommended. Tao Bless and sending qi to your friend... Wudangspirit