Rainy_Day

ChiDragon, I believe the best course of action would be to translate the relevant sections of the Heshanggong and Wang Bi commentary, and then let you decide. Scotty, Yes, I intend to translate "Lingbao Bifa" eventually. Just let me get warmed up on some easier stuff first.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I believe the way to start is with something short and easy. This way, I build up momentum once I have a sense of accomplishment. I'll make my decision in the next few days and get started. If anyone else still has other suggestions, please feel free to continue to the conversation.

Yes, but the article linked is clearly in large part fabricated. It is quite obviously put together for discouraging Christians from pursuing qigong and related spiritual practices. This does not benefit anyone. Moreover, Daoism is also a religion. While some Daoists may take the high road and not respond to this kind of thing, surely it's not incorrect to defend one's faith. ... And to clarify, I have nothing against Jesus Christ per se. I'm sure he is a fine spiritual master in his own right, although perhaps not entirely fitting the description given by certain interpretations of the Bible...

Well, you shouldn't assume that the article is entirely genuine. What is more likely to have happened is that the narrator used to study qigong, had some bad experiences with it (but not anywhere near the extent described in the article), and then, upon conversion to Christianity, put together "an account of his sinful past" - a combination of hearsay, fantasy, and personal drama. The fact is - and I'm saying this out of a concern for truth rather than spite - A lot of Evangelical Christians have a mentality of the end justifying the mean, when it comes to religion. For comparison - There are innumerable books and articles written by Evangelical Christians confessing to their Wiccan past - none of which is at all plausible to anyone with a passing familiarity with Wicca. ... I do not deny, of course, that problems may arise with supervised or unsupervised qigong practices. Nevertheless, the website linked above is unlikely to be a reliable source of information.

What is especially interesting is that you didn't feel the need to talk about it for the first three days. This was the same experience I had some years ago. I think we definitely experienced the same thing, if on different levels (because yours seems more intense than mine). I feel, though, that after that experience some years back, I was strongly pulled back into the current of ordinary life, such that now that experience seems no more than a distant memory from a lifetime ago.

That was an interesting read. I've had similar experiences before, but then those experiences would subside, and I would drift back into ordinary consciousness. I would be definitely interested if the author can keep us posted on his experiences (e.g. if they change).

So sad... And for a measly 3,000,000 yuan...

Actually, a thought just came to me. Maybe the distinction here is: (1) If in pursuing your spiritual path, you feel like hero looking up a mountain he's about to climb, feeling excited, confident and fearless about the prospect, then you're doing something you actually want to do. (2) If in reading spiritual books and doing spiritual practices, you feel like you're trying to shelter yourself from the hurt and pain of the world, then you're doing a spiritual bypass. What do people here think about this analysis?

That's, of course, the ideal. (More accurately, one amongst several ideals, because there are also teachings where you simply leave the world to become a hermit.) If you read traditional Chinese novels (such as The Dream of the Red Mansion), then you'll definitely find people who did not live up to the ideal. The primary Neo-Confucian attack on Buddhism was that Buddhist monks did not marry and have children. This was a big no-no in Chinese culture - You're defaulting on your obligation to your ancestors if you don't have kids. I guess this point is no longer relevant in today's world, since so many people don't have kids due to lifestyle choices anyway - Buddhist householders might actually be more traditional and have more kids than the average Chinese household. (A while ago, however, a famous genius math student left his study to join a monastery. A heated debate ensued in the Chinese net.) ...... As for the Eastern/Western issue which some other commentators have mentioned, my personal view is that it really doesn't matter. Just pick a path and stick with it, meanwhile being respectful of other paths as much as possible. The fact is that Eastern teachings are actually more accessible to a lot of Westerners now than "Western teachings". (Without going into the fact that a lot of "Western teachings", e.g. Golden Dawn, Wicca, are actually reconstructed or even invented traditions. Since all traditions ultimately come from somewhere and have to be "invented", I don't mean any less respect to invented traditions. However, the issue of Eastern vs. Western is a false dilemma in my view - Daoism absorbed a lot from Manichaeism, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity, too. The way I see it, the way traditions converge and diverge is simply messy. It's never an easy task to categorise something as Chinese, Western, Indian, or otherwise.)

I myself have definitely been guilty of "spiritual bypassing" in the past. Some commentators above suggest that spiritual bypassing might be less common in traditional societies. I'm not sure I completely agree with this. I guess the real question is how do you know if you're doing a "spiritual bypass". In traditional Chinese society, critics of Buddhism and Daoism often portray spiritual practitioners as trying to escape the world due to a lack of bravery in facing life. In rebuttal, Buddhists and Daoists would say that they have simply realised the meaninglessness of mundane goals. I guess the only real safeguard is to find a realised teacher. But then the question becomes how to find such a person.

Well, a lot of 内丹 texts espouse 三教合一, especially since 全真派 advocates it. The discourse of 性理 is common to Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism. 《悟真篇》 says: 迨夫汉魏伯阳引《易》道阴阳交姤之体，作《参同契》以明大丹之作用，唐忠国师于语录首叙老庄言，以显至道之本末，如此岂非教虽分三，道乃归一。奈何后世黄缁之流，各自专门，互相非是，致使三家旨要迷没邪歧，不能混而同归矣！ This is an example of advocating 三教合一. 《修真九要》 says: 吾愿学人，不论在家出家，若欲辨切身大事，将世事先须尝探一番。尝探来，尝探去，尝探到没一些滋味处，始知万缘皆空，性命事大，从此把身外一切虚假之事一笔勾消。脚踏实地，寻师访友，勇猛精进，为道忘躯，自然一诚格天，祖师暗中提携，当有真人度引矣。 This is an example of using Buddhist terminology, e.g. 万缘皆空. 性命双修 is an important theoretical component of many 内丹 methods. My understanding of this is that some 内丹 texts teach that 禅宗 deals with 性 but not 命.

A lot of 内丹 texts incorporate Buddhist ideas. If you're working from a text, and you want to be absolutely sure, you should post more of it on here. But as others have pointed out, it is a Buddhist statement.

上载几句话上来就可以了。这个论坛有很多人都懂汉文。 Just put up a few sentences. A lot of people know Chinese in this forum.

The difficulty here is with the Chinese language, because a word can often mean a slew of things, depending on the context. For instance, in the context of the Yijing, 阴阳不测之谓神 - What is unpredictable in its yin and yang is shen. In the context of Mencius, 聖而不可知之之謂神 - A person who is sagely and unpredictable is shen. Chinese medicine, alchemy, and Daoism also have particular definitions for shen, depending on the context. The most basic definition of shen, of course, is a god or spirit. Therefore, my recommendation (if you're not keen on learning Chinese) is to figure out how terms relate to each other in the particular context you're interested in (rather than trying to extrapolate a general definition covering all fields).

Traditionally, Daoism had strongly political aspects: (1) Both the Celestial Master and Supreme Peace lineages were in essence movements to create new societies based on theological principles. (2) Most Chinese dynasties used Daoism to create political legitimacy. For instance, the Tang rulers saw themselves as descendants of Laozi. The Song rulers worshipped the Northern Emperor (Xuanwu) as the patron god of their dynasty. Especially in the second sense, rulers in China used Daoism in the same way rulers in Europe used Catholicism. In the first sense, Daoism was a millenarian movement (like many Christian millenarian movements). After the Song Dynasty, Daoism was marginalised by two trends: (1) Neo-Confucianism created an exclusive, sectarian version of Confucianism, which was not entirely comfortable with Daoist influence. (Prior to Neo-Confucianism, most students of the Confucian Classics did not have a problem with Daoism. In fact, many Tang Dynasty Daoists were deeply conversant in the Confucian Classics. There was no clear division between Confucianism and Daoism prior to Neo-Confucianism.) (2) Foreign rulers, e.g. the Mongols and the Manchus, did not favour Daoism. (This fact should be counterbalanced by the understanding that the first Daoist theocracy was established by the Tabgach. Non-Han nationalities were involved with Daoism from very early on.) As a result of this marginalisation, Daoism, which originally flourished as an elite national faith, drifted downward to reside with the common people. Furthermore, the new Daoist lineages discarded aspects of their ancestral heritage to fit in better with Neo-Confucianism. It should be kept in mind that even prior to modern Chinese history ("modern" defined here as post-1840), many minority nationalities also adopted Daoism. This process continued well toward the end of the Republican Era (1949). One should keep this in mind while determining how "missionary" traditional Daoism was. Different lineages had different strategies for propagation - Some lineages were very proactive in spreading their teachings.

Hi everyone! I registered here, because there seemed to be so many experienced Daoist cultivators here! I've hit a road-block with my cultivation practices, and I'm wondering if anyone here can help me. To cut to the chase: I've always meditated on and off, doing a whole bunch of stuff. A while ago, I noticed that there was a lot of pressure building up in my head. It would wander all over the place, but tends to stick around my forehead and the back of my head. I've tried leading it down to my yongquan and my dantian. Usually, I can feel some qi going down, and I would feel some relief after a session like this. But the qi would generally come back again soon. I'm wondering if the problem is that my ren meridian is not open. Whenever I focus on my dantian, I would feel some qi flowing really slowly down my ren meridian. But it never seems enough. Should I keep focusing on my dantian in an effort to lead my qi down? (Btw, I've talked with a number of "qualified qigong instructors", but they all give me different answers. I'm so confused...) Thank you all for reading!

Hi everyone! Just thought I would do a small survey. How many people are interested in both Western and Chinese alchemy? By Western alchemy, I mean practical alchemy, as in elixirs, tinctures, etc. Also, is anyone interested in external alchemy in the Chinese tradition? By external alchemy, I mean the Chinese version of practical alchemy, where you use real minerals and herbs.

The most important Daoist texts are written in Classical Chinese. The Mien people, for instance, are Daoists. Even though they don't speak Chinese in everyday life, when they perform Daoist rituals, they still have to learn Chinese characters to work the invocations. There are probably some texts written in Vietnamese, Japanese, and Korean. Today, of course, there are many introductions to Daoism in Western languages, but generally speaking, if you want to progress in Daoism, you will have to pick up a lot of Chinese vocabulary relating to Daoism along the way. Personally, I feel one of the most important tasks facing Daoists today is to translate the most important texts of the Daoist Canon into English. This way, all nations will have a chance to share in the Daoist heritage.

Well, I'll bite. It depends on how you count lineages and traditions. Roughly speaking, Daoist lineages are divided into Quanzhen and Zhengyi. Quanzhen, or Complete Reality, is focused on internal alchemy. Zhengyi, or Orthodox Unity, is more diverse and is noted for rituals. These two main branches are subdivided into many different lineages. What happened was that by the Yuan Dynasty, a new religious movement under the name of Quanzhen was sweeping North China. This forced the existing lineages to consolidate under the name of Zhengyi. In history books, you will often come across lineages which no longer exist independently, but whose teachings are incorporated into existing lineages. There are family lineages, too, which don't necessarily fit into either Quanzhen and Zhengyi. Shamanism has always had a close relation to Daoism. Often, shamanic lineages are classed as heterodox lineages - e.g. On a lower rank than orthodox lineages. There are many ways to involve yourself in Daoism without ascribing to a Daoist lineage at first, e.g. through Chinese activities like martial arts, feng-shui, divination, etc. However, if you want to progress on the path, eventually you will have to find a teacher who knows Daoism. I hope this helps.

Well, the thing with Daoism is that different traditions have different views on things. There isn't one right answer. Roughly speaking, on the one hand, Daoism generally is not into honour, if what you mean is picking fights with people for perceived insults or injuries. The classical texts like the Daodejing teach the benefits of meekness (as you may read from the commentators before me). On the other hand, the traditional orders definitely have set ways of doing things, including respect for your teachers and upholding the good name of your lineage. There is also the view that you must stand up for justice when necessary.

Get Eva Wong's Shambhala Guide to Taoism. (You can find it on Amazon.) That book gives a solid overview of Taoism. You can branch off from there to study what you like. Interesting aspects (just off the top of my head): immortals, alchemy, magic, astral travel, mythologies, divination, feng-shui, martial arts, etc. I can recommend other books when you're finished with that one. The thing with Daoism is that you can't really learn by yourself. Eventually, you have to find a teacher. The good thing is that there are a lot of resources today on the net (including English resources for those who don't speak Chinese). Livia Kohn is a great Daoist teacher, too. I think she's starting a Daoist order somewhere in California?

My first post here. Nothing special about me, just a regular Daoist cultivator.