Master Logray

North China is quite dry that water buffalo don't live. The word "Immortal" is a loose translation. It refers to a class of beings, than pure living forever or be one with the Tao. Taoism is the rare system that claims man , or animals, can be transformed into gods, or at least god-like beings, with a system. In modern terms, immortals are self-made meta-humans, or supermen. Immortals still die in spite of very long life. Be one with the Tao which is enlightenment does not make one into an immortal. There must be a transformation of physical body. It is called the inner alchemy. It is not a mind thing. As @Bindi wrote, there are different levels. The 1st level is actually a ghost. Level 2 and 3 have long lives, but still live on earth. You might find them in the back mountains of Wu dang. It has be sighted that one flies. Level 4 and 5 are no longer very human. But it is not sure whether the highest level can reach the capabilities of an inborn deity.

Taoism is probably one of the most diverse and decentralized system. People may follow one or more of the following streams. People engage in one area may not know much about another area. Philosophical: study Yi Jing, Dao De Jing, pursue a Tao way of life Religious: just like other religions, deities, gods Magical: rituals, ceremonies, exorcism, spells, talisman Immortality: What this forum is mainly about, internal works Others: Fortune telling, Chinese medicine, some martial arts like Taichi Ordinary: visit temples, worship ancestors and so on This forum seems mainly touch on philosophical, immortality. So Q1/2, anyone can claim to be a Taoist. Q3 Taoist magic is more ritual magic. Q4, many Taoist Sifu works alone and not attached to any organization. Q5, the most interested question. The ZhengYi Path (one of the two major Taoist Paths) deals with ghosts and demon frequently, like inviting deities into their bodies, a very close touch. Q6 Taoist on TV/movies are mostly a much exaggerated and fantasized version of ZhengYi, simply because things like meditation or philosophy are totally boring.

Then how to identify them is a problem. I read that Indian is full of gurus everywhere.

Directly go into meditation is very difficult for modern man. Try Hatha Yoga for flexibility, Chikung or Pranayama for preparing the mind before meditation. It is easier to deal with the "Monkey Mind" hurdle.

Do such masters still exist in India?

Taoists (some branches) are powerful magicians too. Their magics could include stage magic, mentalist skills, cheating, superstition, plus some real supernatural skills.

Being Taoist, we are against cold showers, unless you are doing it under noon day sun directly under the tropics. Personally I feel without a strong will is part of you for your whole life. It is good to have a stronger will. But spending so much efforts to completely change your personality or change your person as a whole, is it worth it? Does it justify the potential costs?

Slight undernourishment keeps sexual drive down. Certain foods to be avoided. Keep away from people and outside stimulation, Buddhist visualization of women as bones. Living in a temple. All these help. But don't forget celibacy is a mean or a requirement to the higher end. It is not the end itself.

Technically rotating the sounds is not a good idea. It means same stimulus to all the organs/channels, which may range from stagnant, weak, normal to over-active. Chinese medicine would recommend checking the organs strengths before undergoing stimulation or repression. Movements with the sounds may enhance the effect, but also can dilute the concentration. Inaudible sounds are frequently made by Buddhist monks. There is practical consideration when they are doing it for hours. Prolonged making sounds would deplete them. It is very different from normal city dwellers doing it for 10 mins a day.

This is an interesting subject. I think most people would not care whether Lao Zi was a true person or not. They are more interested to know if he became a true immortal afterwards.

The attention should be drawn inward during training. Music is doing the exact opposite, producing negative effects too.

These are very modern ones.

Corona also kills in another way. It jams up hospitals and ICUs. What happens if someone involves in accidents, or having potentially critical conditions but cannot get into a hospital timely?

Flu doesn't have long term effect. More and more studies indicates the virus can affect lung, liver and the brain with sustained damages.

I was not referring to any particular case. @Earl Grey, ZZ is basically a standing posture. Compare with other ChiKung exercises, it doesn't mess with breath, not mess with the mind, not on flexibility. All these are more prone to problems than ZZ. How can it be more dangerous? ZZ does have weaknesses. The primary one seems to not being effective. Perhaps it is so boring and test one's endurance that not many people are keen to put real efforts on it. Most people seem just skip it and move on to movement exercises or meditation.

Millions is not overstatement, it is understatement. China mainland alone has 1.4 billion people. If 10% of them ever doing exercises in the Chikung/Taoist/Buddhist family in their lives, it is 140 millions people. Even 5% is 70 millions. It is much more than "millions". ZZ is generally regarded as basic exercises of Chikung. In fact China authorities group everything directly or indirectly involve Chi or meditation under Chikung, including Yoga too.

You are right. But there are millions of middle aged or old people doing all sorts of more complicated Chikung exercises everyday, with minimal or questionable guidance. There are no complaints of chi deviation. For knee and spinal problems, may be, but many of them are already having neck, spine and knee problems anyway. The trainings don't seem to make their situation much worse to warrant seeing doctors. A diligent self-learner might know more about the intricacies than those people.

ZZ is the easiest and safest Taoist exercise to be self-learned. If ZZ cannot be learned on the internet, then practically all Taoist trainings including Taichi are not available to most people, because finding a good enough teacher is not easy in the western world (eastern world not much better). Some of the members here are real experts in ZZ, practising many hours a day. But for ordinary people, a duration of 20 to 30 minutes a day wouldn't be more dangerous than most outdoor sports.

I think the form could be result of long term training and conditioning, so when the time comes, it automatically happens of its own accord. Regarding the Taoist/Buddhist methods, the term method and tradition may not be the appropriate terms. The proper wording would be "system", because a system comprises of methods, traditions, knowledge and so on. A certain Taoist system could have similar components with some Buddhist systems. But from an overview, they are different. It is alright to compare and contrast, yet borrowing ideas and methods may not be beneficial, explaining something in another system's language could be prone to problems. Unfortunately it happens a lot.

The concept is easy, but very difficult. When a person enters that state, he somehow has to revert to a certain degree of everyday consciousness to capture the essence while maintaining the alternate consciousness.

The style is important depending on one's level. If a person reaches the higher levels e.g. simulated combats, all styles are similar. If it is only the elementary i.e. all the lengthy movements and associated trainings, then the difference is a lot, Chen and Yang are as if 2 different martial arts. The advice to find a reasonable teacher who is accessible from one's location is very prudent consideration. And in some situation, this is the only consideration, other than cost.

Exactly! Cultural expansion by commercialism is a recent phenomenon. Historically cultural change is often accompanied by power and violence.

TCM has been around for few thousand years. Naturally it adapts to the population which is a function of genetics, climate, live styles, food and culture. And TCM is a very personalized system too. When TCM meets an American of 300 lbs, eating western diet, having genes from Europe or Africa, how would it respond? e.g. if the normal dose is 3 grams per medicine for a 120 lbs Chinese, how much dose is for an American? Can the same herbs to be used, bearing in mind the patients may have been eating/doing something not in the eastern world, e.g. drinking cold tap water as in another thread. All these questions are not answered.

Always drink water after meals, after coffee, after snacks.... It substantially reduces tooth decay.

I think the title sounds like approaching traditions from the position of commercialism.