Taoist Internal Alchemy and the book 'Taoist Yoga'

[Iskote]

Edited October 19, 2009 by Iskote

[gendao]

Note that in his translations:

 

Positive = yang

Negative = yin

Generative force = jing

Vitality = qi

Spirit = shen

 

Therefore, "positive vitality" = yang qi.

 

I think he should have just stuck with the original Chinese words, as these subs just make it more confusing.

 

Fantastic book though (despite the repetition)! It's very deep.. Everytime I read it, I understand more that I had just glossed over before.

To hold on to the center to realize the oneness of heaven and earth is achieved only by uniting the sun and the moon. The sun stands for the heart (li) and the moon for the lower dan tian cavity (under the navel) (kan), respectively symbolized by the dragon (the female or yin qi) and the tiger (the male or yang qi).

 

When oneness of heaven and earth is achieved and the lights of the sun and moon mingle in front of the original cavity of spirit (zu qiao in the center of the brain between and behind the eyes*) this is the macrocosmic alchemical agent of One Reality. This is the place (between and behind the eyes) where the jing, qi & shen unite, where heart and intellect are void and where there is neither the self nor others.

 

In front of the cavity of spirit (between and behind the eyes) true qi looks like a (radiant) circle which is called the Supreme Ultimate (taiji), the Golden Elixir (jin dan) and the Original Awareness (yuan jue).

 

* I'm assuming the pineal gland

For example, in just this one section alone (which I just added a few simple translations & conversions to) - he covers kan & li alchemy, jing-qi-shen-xu refinement at the pineal gland and the emergence of the Mysterious Gate (xuan guan 玄關).

The Valley Spirit refers to yang shen [pure spirit]; with just one drop of yang shen uniting with the ching and qi, the Spirit Embryo is born.

For during each additional purification by microcosmic fire, the prenatal jing, qi and shen will become one, and the practitioner will be aware of the presence of the circle of light, somewhat similar to the bright sun in mid-heaven which appears in front of him. ...this circle is called the Mysterious Gate (xuan guan). This Mysterious Gate is the most wonderful and profound cavity which is the Supreme Ultimate (taiji) in the human body.

 

The Taoist Scriptures say: 'This cavity lies in the center between heaven (head) and and earth (lower abdomen) in the human body.' The patriarch Qiu Zu said: 'It is wrong to seek in in the body and it is equally wrong to search for it outside. For when it manifests (xiantian prenatal state?) it becomes a cavity and when it does not (houtian postnatal state?) it is undiscoverable.' The Xin Ming Kui Zhi says: 'The Mysterious Cavity is boundless; awareness of it, free from all clinging, is real achievement. This Mysterious Gate manifests in the condition of utter stillness but if a thought arises, it immediately slips into the postnatal realm and vanishes at once without leaving any trace. If it is further sought it cannot be found because of the clinging to form.'

On a sidenote, the Gospel Of Thomas shows some vague parallels to this process too:

3 Rather, the kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you.

22:4 Jesus said to them, "When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower,

5 and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female,

6 when you make eyes in place of an eye, a hand in place of a hand, a foot in place of a foot, an image in place of an image,

7 then you will enter [the (Father's) domain]."

 

39:1 Jesus said, "The Pharisees and the scholars have taken the keys of knowledge and have hidden them.

2 They have not entered, nor have they allowed those who want to enter to do so.

3 As for you, be as sly as snakes and as simple as doves."

 

84:1 Jesus said, "When you see your likeness, you are happy.

2 But when you see your images that came into being before you and that neither die nor become visible, how much you will have to bear!"

 

85:1 Jesus said, "Adam came from great power and great wealth, but he was not worthy of you.

2 For had he been worthy, [he would] not [have tasted] death."

 

106:1 Jesus said, "When you make the two into one, you will become children of Adam,

2 and when you say, 'Mountain, move from here!' it will move."

Edited October 18, 2009 by vortex

[voidisyinyang]

Iskote

 

Check out this vid. I'm watching it for the FIRST time and I'm not done yet but then I opened this thread at the same time -- and both deal with sex and yoga....

 

 

Now then you ask me

 

"can you give me a quote?"

 

NO because I gave my copies away of Taoist Yoga -- even though the people receiving this book (and MANY other books on spirituality) do not take the books and teachings seriously -- they're TOO ATTACHED to sex, drugs, work, etc.

 

Still I give the books to prove that I'm not attached to the books yet I also take the books seriously!? Think I read too much? Here's a book for you -- YOU try reading! haha. Most do not have the mind focus because they're too caught up in their girlfriends, drugs, work, etc.

 

So I'm not sure the exact quote but it's referenced in Taoist Yoga around Chapter 10 or so that after the 7 day fast you will have the ability to give females ORGASMS through your external 3rd Eye energy.

 

Can you find this reference? It's a bit opaque -- but quite clear if you study the book.

 

So I discovered accidentally that indeed I had this ability. I was sitting in full-lotus in public -- WHY? -- because females were hitting on me so strongly to suck off my stored up jing (chi) that I had to take preemptive defense action.

 

But then my "preemptive defensive action" in full-lotus in public became offensive in that a young female stood directly in front of my full-lotus 3rd Eye gaze -- with her backside to me -- a young, high school Asian female. She SHRIEKED as we had a mutual climax. Then she was giddy with delight!

 

I had to accept the reality of what happened. Then I tested it out and posted my results for open criticism, calling it the "O at a D" Orgasm at a Distance over at http://breakingopenthehead.com That was about 3 years ago -- since then I've initiated HUNDREDS of females in the Twin Cities, Minnesota and all I can say is that the "yoga" scene in the Twin Cities is THRIVING!!! Females want more of this orgasmic energy!!

 

Now then -- "Taoist Yoga" states that even though you have this ability to give females orgasms DON'T DO IT because females will just WANT IT MORE!!

 

Well -- guess what? The sex mutual climax is HEALING ENERGY -- females want it more because MOST MEN suck off females! Sure very forward lusty slut females suck off males instead of males sucking off females! More power to the lusty liberated sluts! Again if males can't control the lower half of their body then they deserve to be sucked off instead of using violence (anger) to scare the females into submission and then suck off the females.

 

A lot of males are Number 2 males (based on Gurdjieff's Mahayana consciousness system) this means their "positive vitality" -- the essence of their personality -- their character -- their subconscious ELECTROMAGNETIC essence chi is stuck in their lower chakras.

 

Taoist healers KNOW HOW TO TRANSMIT ELECTROMAGNETIC MALE CHI ENERGY OUT OF THEIR THIRD EYES -- this is the healing love energy.

 

The book "Taoist Yoga" is based on males keeping females in a submissive controlled state so the females do not suck off the males - (therefore the males do not have to fear losing their chi energy).

 

This is misogynist control as alchemy -- I'm not going to share seeing this misogynist control in action by high level powerful Taoist alchemists. Let's just say that up until the 1980s females were not supposed to talk in public when with males! It's a long history of patriarchy and females have been secretly fighting it all the way.

 

For example it's well-documented now that over 10% of children are born from not the husband -- the female marries into money and then the female secretly sleeps with a "stud" (lower class, physically more robust male). So then the female raises a more physically robust child in a more wealthy mentally robust male household....

 

Controlled evolution -- secret subversion! And when the economy tanks then the female just becomes a "slut" -- takes on more males to get more money!! And if the female is totally economically independent because she has to be, then all the more reason to be MORE of a slut -- the more the female can suck off the males the better her chance of being dominant in the workplace!!

 

So when "Taoist Yoga" states you can give females orgasms but don't do it because the females will just become sluts, wanting more and more orgasms, - I say MORE POWER TO THE FEMALES because as tantra teaches it's a free energy exchange MUTUAL PSYCHIC CLIMAX --- what I call the

 

"O at a D" orgasm at a distance. Mantak Chia teaches this as well....

 

Yes this is the real secret -- as "Taoist Yoga" states, alchemical powers are based on the most shameful thing in society -- sex energy. And so there you have it.

 

But for real tantra the male-female sex exchange quickly becomes so intense it can only be completed in seclusion -- in the secret of the night -- in the privacy of marriage, etc. Because you have to transcend love, transcend the BROKEN HEART of love (from orgasms the heart chakra opens up -- after about 10 - -then REAL LOVE kicks in!!) - nothing is more painful -- and then the

 

positive vitality as chi is stilled by the compassion of the sadness lung energy. Eros of the "over-excitement" of the heart chi energy combines with the slow lung samadhi energy to create

 

"compassion"

 

again this is detailed in "Taoist Yoga" (it's the MORE ADVANCED PRACTICE -- the lung sadness energy as slow breath combining with the heart over-excitement energy) --

 

CAN YOU GIVE ME A QUOTE???

 

And so real Nirvikalpa Samadhi -- real "Emptiness" of Taoism is beyond the "over-excitement" or love of the heart -- it's "pure awareness" or the

 

"internal nature" of Taoist Yoga. The whole body is FILLED WITH CHI and then transcended into SHEN outside of the body -- post-death to pure consciousness or "internal nature."

 

Notice how "internal nature" is not focused on in "Taoist Yoga" yet the student asked about it in the beginning and the end of the book.

 

The fact is that the "immortal" body of Taoist Yoga is still SHEN -- it's astral light that transforms the physical body -- it's the "positive spirit" or yin pre-natal vitality jing....

 

But when the body is finally vaporized into pure light shen -- where does that light go in the infinite "universe"?

 

That's right it returns to "eternal nature" what I call the "female formless awareness" -- the pure consciousness that is the beginning and start of Buddhist and Hindu Vedic meditation -- the Emptiness or "spirit of the Valley" of the Tao Te Ching...

 

The Cosmic Mother will never be unveiled as it's stated in another source (forgot the origins -- Egyptian -- Greek?)

 

As Master Nan, Huai-chin states there are DIFFERENT LEVELS OF EMPTY AWARENESS....

 

Taoist Yoga takes you to the "final" level -- the Supreme Complete Enlightenment of Mahayana Buddhism -- past the "rainbow body" -- yet Advaita Vedanta is the "direct path" of left-brain logical inference (the left-brain vagus nerve going to the right side of the heart). Advaita Vedanta as mind yoga relies on complete separation from females.

 

So there's 3 different angles

 

there's the tantric sex yoga -- still found in the "diamond body" path of Tibetan Yoga (but also the underclass Tantra tradition of India and the Bushmen tradition of Africa).

 

There's the full-lotus alchemy of Taoist Yoga and Kriya Yoga in India (both relying on the microcosmic orbit or small universe)

 

And there's the mind yoga of Theravada Buddhism and Brahmin Vedic meditation.... and Dgzochen in Tibet, etc. -- relying on no contact with females -- even visual contact!

 

Each is a different degree of female-male sex relations --- which is right or wrong? We'll only the pure consciousness is right or wrong -- beyond the two! haha.

[Dainin]

Side Note:

Drew, the guy you referred to who was supposed to have lived to 250 year old or there abouts

was Lee Ching-yuen (Li Ching Yun). One account I read said he was born in 1678 and died in 1930,

although that would be hard to prove for certain. :-)

There's more about him here:

http://plantcures.com/Lichingyun.html

Best wishes from Iskote...

 

 

Just to add a side note to your side note, Stuart Alve Olson has translated what is purported to be Li Ching Yun's writings on Eight Section Brocade: Qigong Teachings of a Taoist Immortal: The Eight Essential Exercises of Master Li Ching-yun .

 

He also has an Eight Brocades Workshop DVD set which sounds quite extensive and detailed. I ordered the book last week, so if I like it I'll probably get the DVD set eventually.

[Iskote]

Note that in his translations:

 

Positive = yang

Negative = yin

Generative force = jing

Vitality = qi

Spirit = shen

 

Therefore, "positive vitality" = yang qi.

 

I think he should have just stuck with the original Chinese words, as these subs just make it more confusing.

 

Fantastic book though (despite the repetition)! It's very deep.. Everytime I read it, I understand more that I had just glossed over before.For example, in just this one section alone (which I just added a few simple translations - he covers kan & li alchemy, jing-qi-shen-xu refinement at the pineal gland and the emergence of the Mysterious Gate (xuan guan 玄關).On a sidenote, the Gospel Of Thomas shows some vague parallels to this process too:

Hi Vortex. Yes, his translation may not have been entirely literal in all cases, but I believe the

translator took a lot of care to try to convey the spirit and meaning of what was written as best he could.

 

I'm not quite sure I understand the point you were trying to make above. Yes, it is true the

internal alchemy steps written of in the book include working with both yin and yang or negative

and positive essences or energies, but all these essences or aspects or whatever already exist within,

and are cultivated entirely within the individual. The point I was trying to make is this particular book does

not speak at all of dual sexual cultivation, or deriving essences/energies from interaction with another individual in any way, or at least as I mentioned previously I don't recall any such references in the book.

But maybe I am just missing your point altogether?

Anyway, yes, the book describes what appears to be a fairly complex procedure, and it seems

quite understandable that many advise that one requires the guidance of an accomplished teacher

to undertake such practices.

 

I practice quiet sitting meditation as best I can on my own, but I may seek out a teacher

someday if the opportunity arises and I feel a good connection to the teacher. Like many people I work

full time, and have other resposibilities as well, so I currently have somewhat limiited time for such things.

I would think that if a person can maintain their practice at two to three hours of meditation a day fairly consistently, they should be able to make at least some degree of progress, but just how far one can go without a teacher I couldn't say. The book certainly makes a good reference for those of us who are interested in Taoist cultivation practices and internal alchemy. I can't recall if the author of this book ever states whether

he thinks one can progress at all in such practices without the direct guidance/assistance of a teacher or not. It does seem that having an accomplished teacher would be advisable for the serious practitioner though.

It seems to me there are too many places a person might go wrong due to misunderstanding

or error or other factors, and one may possibly end up messing themselves up in some way or other.

For that reason I practice stillness meditation and just allow things to progress as they will, and I try to minimize conscious interference in the process as much as I am able to. I'm still a beginner though,

so any comments I make are presented purely from that perspective.

 

Best wishes...

[gendao]

The point I was trying to make is this particular book does not speak at all of dual sexual cultivation, or deriving essences/energies from interaction with another individual in any way, or at least as I mentioned previously I don't recall any such references in the book.

The Northern Taoists practiced internal "tantra," while the Southern ones espoused dual-cultivation with a partner. This book obviously represents the Northern method.

 

And I had no real point...just commentary. And I make a lot of posts to myself here for my own future reference.

Check out this vid. I'm watching it for the FIRST time and I'm not done yet but then I opened this thread at the same time -- and both deal with sex and yoga....

 

 

So I'm not sure the exact quote but it's referenced in Taoist Yoga around Chapter 10 or so that after the 7 day fast you will have the ability to give females ORGASMS through your external 3rd Eye energy.

 

Can you find this reference? It's a bit opaque -- but quite clear if you study the book.

 

So I discovered accidentally that indeed I had this ability. I was sitting in full-lotus in public -- WHY? -- because females were hitting on me so strongly to suck off my stored up jing (chi) that I had to take preemptive defense action.

 

But then my "preemptive defensive action" in full-lotus in public became offensive in that a young female stood directly in front of my full-lotus 3rd Eye gaze -- with her backside to me -- a young, high school Asian female. She SHRIEKED as we had a mutual climax. Then she was giddy with delight!

 

I had to accept the reality of what happened. Then I tested it out and posted my results for open criticism, calling it the "O at a D" Orgasm at a Distance over at http://breakingopenthehead.com That was about 3 years ago -- since then I've initiated HUNDREDS of females in the Twin Cities, Minnesota and all I can say is that the "yoga" scene in the Twin Cities is THRIVING!!! Females want more of this orgasmic energy!!

 

Now then -- "Taoist Yoga" states that even though you have this ability to give females orgasms DON'T DO IT because females will just WANT IT MORE!!

 

Well -- guess what? The sex mutual climax is HEALING ENERGY -- females want it more because MOST MEN suck off females! Sure very forward lusty slut females suck off males instead of males sucking off females! More power to the lusty liberated sluts! Again if males can't control the lower half of their body then they deserve to be sucked off instead of using violence (anger) to scare the females into submission and then suck off the females.

So, when yang qi? shoots out your 3rd eye, where in their body do females suck it up? And then shoot it back out to you...which you re-absorb where in your body? I'm just curious what points form this dual-cultivation circuit?

 

As far as jing/yang qi loss from ejaculation...Chinese alchemists simply say there is a measurable loss each time.

Every time a man ejaculates, it costs 12 baht of xiantian qi. In a humans houtian stage, they always get ill through nocturnal emission, masturbation and overactive sexual behavior. This speeds up senility, illness and death. Before tiankuizhi, qi of xiantian gets 384 baht and never loss anima. Practicing houtian back to xiantian exercise, it is necessary to control the loss of anima.

Edited September 27, 2010 by vortex

[Iskote]

Iskote

Check out this vid. I'm watching it for the FIRST time and I'm not done yet but then I opened this thread at the same time -- and both deal with sex and yoga....

I'll have to check out that video at a later time. I don't have access to high speed

internet at the present.

 

Now then you ask me

"can you give me a quote?"

 

NO because I gave my copies away of Taoist Yoga -- even though the people receiving this book (and MANY other books on spirituality) do not take the books and teachings seriously -- they're TOO ATTACHED to sex, drugs, work, etc.

 

Still I give the books to prove that I'm not attached to the books yet I also take the books seriously!? Think I read too much? Here's a book for you -- YOU try reading! haha. Most do not have the mind focus because they're too caught up in their girlfriends, drugs, work, etc.

 

So I'm not sure the exact quote but it's referenced in Taoist Yoga around Chapter 10 or so that after the 7 day fast you will have the ability to give females ORGASMS through your external 3rd Eye energy.

 

Can you find this reference? It's a bit opaque -- but quite clear if you study the book.

...

 

Sorry Drew. I can't find or recall any such reference in the book 'Taoist Yoga'. I think

you are either reading something into the book that I don't believe is in there, or

you are perhaps mixing up with a passage from another book altogether. I'll concede

I could possibly have missed such a comment somewhere, but I really don't recall seeing anything like that

anywhere in the book at all. I am not denying in any way that there are those from other traditions who include sexual practices in internal alchemy or related, just that it does not appear to be at all part of what is described in the book Taoist Yoga.

 

Best wishes...

[voidisyinyang]

where in their body do females suck it up? And then shoot it back out to you...which you re-absorb where in your body? I'm just curious what points form this dual-cultivation circuit?

 

Vortex -- WITCH asked me this same question already but I'll be happy to repeat myself for you....

 

The electromagnetic energy is based on complementary opposites -- so it's naturally attracted to and sucked up by the female electrochemical energy. Now this jing -- female electrochemical energy -- can be the Lower Body of the qigong practitioner or it can be other males or females -- but again FEMALES naturally have internal climaxes -- females naturally have MORE jing female electrochemical energy (because they don't have external ejaculation). When the male has external ejaculation the sympathetic STRESS kidney energy is activated against the parasympathetic vagus nerve internal female climax.

 

So when the female sucks up the male chi energy that actually HEALS the male practitioner because energy blockages are EXTRA energy in the body that need to be harmonized. The full-lotus harmonizes the energy but you need a catalyst -- you need to activate the yin-yang energy exchange. If you are relying simply on shooting your male chi energy into the lower half of your body -- where the female electrochemical jing energy is stored -- there is not nearly the same attraction as when a

 

female sucks up your male chi energy. So now that your male chi energy is being sucked into the female that means any sickness in your body (imbalanced female electrochemical jing energy) gets sucked up and transduced -- harmonized -- by the full-lotus

 

VORTEX

 

and so you can transduce that EXTRA sick subconscious female jing energy now into male chi energy and then this male chi energy shoots into the female -- meanwhile

 

you SUCK UP the female's extra female jing energy into your body -- it was EXTRA for her -- which is why she was so able to suck you your MALE chi energy.

 

Now then if you have previously planned on shooting your extra male chi energy into the lower half of your body then what's wrong with your extra chi energy going into the female's lower body.

 

In fact the OM Mandi Padme Hum (the chant that is the foundation for Tibetan yoga) means "jewel of the lotus" which actually means the

 

Yoni or sex organ -- lotus means the vagina -- the vulva of the female! And indeed that is WHAT BEST SUCKS UP THE MALE CHI ENERGY.

 

But as the female sucks up more male chi energy and as the male sucks up more female chi energy then a "free energy cycle" is created which both

 

bypasses "generative fluid" male ejaculation and food (physical material energy). Normally food in the male turns into generative fluid for ejaculation.

 

So as the cycle continues then the male chi energy is sucked into the female at higher and higher chakras -- leading to the opening of the HEART LOVE CHAKRA after about 10 mutual climaxes.

 

Keep in mind that the female internal climax is different than the male ejaculation. For the female (and the male internal alchemical climax) the first two climaxes are build-ups to what would be the normal male external climax.

 

So 10 mutual climaxes are actually 30 internal climaxes -- but each mutual climax is a deeper intensity. Also these build ups are accumulative -- they don't need to be done in one session -- so the mind-body remembers the previous psychic mutual climax experience and builds on it.

 

Then after the heart chakra opens up the male chi energy goes directly to the female heart chakra and there is a true erotic love connection instantly with energy transmission through eye contact.

 

After that the heart chakra has to be transcended, as I've mentioned, which means including the lungs as sadness for slower breath, and going past BREAKING THE HEART -- so obviously this can not be done in just mundane settings since heart-break is a very powerful emotion that stops all other mundane worldly physical activity.

 

This is what was described before how "true tantra" relies on already transcending physical sex, etc. Yet the physical transmission with a physical female still occurs. At an even deeper level then the male can be fed by the Dakinis -- the spirit goddesses.... this is AFTER THE THIRD EYE IS FULLY OPEN.

 

Thanks for asking.

 

 

 

it's referenced in Taoist Yoga around Chapter 10 or so that after the 7 day fast you will have the ability to give females ORGASMS through your external 3rd Eye energy.

 

Iskote -- I'm serious -- Taoist Yoga says DO NOT DO THIS -- I'm not saying Taoist Yoga teaches sexual practices! I'm saying Taoist Yoga admits you will have this ability but DON'T DO IT!! So if you do not want to look for this passage that's alright -- it won't jump out at you -- it's stated in somewhat symbolic language but others have found it. It's very clear if you really study the text....

 

 

 

I'll have to check out that video at a later time. I don't have access to high speed

internet at the present.

Sorry Drew. I can't find or recall any such reference in the book 'Taoist Yoga'. I think

you are either reading something into the book that I don't believe is in there, or

you are perhaps mixing up with a passage from another book altogether. I'll concede

I could possibly have missed such a comment somewhere, but I really don't recall seeing anything like that

anywhere in the book at all. I am not denying in any way that there are those from other traditions who include sexual practices in internal alchemy or related, just that it does not appear to be at all part of what is described in the book Taoist Yoga.

 

Best wishes...

[Iskote]

Just to add a side note to your side note, Stuart Alve Olson has translated what is purported to be Li Ching Yun's writings on Eight Section Brocade: Qigong Teachings of a Taoist Immortal: The Eight Essential Exercises of Master Li Ching-yun .

He also has an Eight Brocades Workshop DVD set which sounds quite extensive and detailed. I ordered the book last week, so if I like it I'll probably get the DVD set eventually.

Yes, thanks, I have come across that book on Amazon and elsewhere.

It looks like it would be an interesting book, but I don't know if it provides

any further information about Li Ching Yun's life. The eight pieces of brocade

practice seems to have many variations, but it is a fairly long lasting practice

I think, so it presumably is a worthwhile practice. I've practice a sitting

variation of it, and although I don't know how much it helps as I also practice

other practices, it does seem like a worthwhile practice, especially for those

who do a lot of sitting practice.

 

Best wishes...

[voidisyinyang]

Stuart Alve Olson's book does not focus on full-lotus -- the practitioner, again, relied on living in the mountains....

 

Now then Iskote -- I looked in the googlebooks preview for Taoist Yoga -- it's not in there....

 

But I do remember that "Taoist Yoga" states if you practice this ability to give females' orgasms you can not achieve longevity or immortality -- you can MAINTAIN YOUR HEALTH but that's it....

[Iskote]

...

Now then Iskote -- I looked in the googlebooks preview for Taoist Yoga -- it's not in there....

But I do remember that "Taoist Yoga" states if you practice this ability to give females' orgasms you can not achieve longevity or immortality -- you can MAINTAIN YOUR HEALTH but that's it....

Hi Drew. I skimmed over the entire book (Taoist Yoga) again and I couldn't find anything relating

to giving women orgasms at all, or anything like that. Sorry. There are passages on how

sex drains one's vitality, and I did find this passage in Chapter 4 which points out that one can

practice the preliminary methods of internal alchemy to prolong their life span and improve health, but one

needs to be of "high spirituality" and really apply themselves seriously if they want to have a chance at acheiving "immortality".

The quote is as follows (page 33 in my edition - Third Printing 1980):

"My book, though written colloquially, is for the benefit of the practicers who should read

this chapter carefully; those of high spirituality who strive to advance progressively will

acheive immortality whereas those of little determiniation can at least prolong their span

of life and so enjoy longevity, for this chapter is also a precious guide to improve health."

 

It's really not overly important to me whether there are any side references to dual cultivation

or other such practices or related phenomena in the book. I mainly just wanted to point out

this book describes practices that differ in a number of ways from what many have come to know

as Taoist internal alchemy in the west. When many people in the west hear the term

Taoist internal alchemy, they immediately think of Mantak Chia or others who have

promoted and popularized methods that include dual cultivation or other sexual related

practices. This book does not describe or promote any such practices, but instead outlines

the steps and background information of an internal alchemy meditation system, from start to finish,

which I believe originates from the Quan Zhen school of Taoism. I don't however know which specific

branch of Taoism that the practices the author describes in the book originate from.

 

If anyone knows any details about the author's life and what specific branch of Taoism his practices

originated from, I'd be interested to hear about it. The author does mention that he consulted many so

called masters and that he found only a few of them to be authentic and teaching genuine practices.

He said he came across many 'masters' that were teaching false or at least inferior practices, but he

didn't go into much more detail than that. I think he does mention a few of his teachers' names and

some of his fellow students in the book though.

Again, the author's name was 趙避塵, 'Zhao Bi Chen' (Pinyin) or 'Chao Pi Ch'en' (Wade Giles),

and he was supposed to have been born in 1860. Does anyone know anything more about him?

 

Best wishes from Iskote...

Edited October 20, 2009 by Iskote

[voidisyinyang]

Thanks for looking -- I agree with what you say. I've had several males masturbate to "Taoist Yoga" -- nasty! haha.

[宁]

drew, we're supposed to find the female counterpart inside our own bodies, did you manage to do that?

 

if so, the o's at d's would become fiewer, wouldn't they?

[voidisyinyang]

You can read my latest post and comments at my blog for more details

 

http://naturalresonancerevolution.blogspot.com

[gendao]

Edited October 21, 2009 by vortex

[AugustLeo]

.

[YMWong]

While it is true that Chao Bichen, author of the original version of the "Taoist Yoga" book, was (also) a Longmen Pai descendant he actually studied various things and followed different taoist and buddhist masters.

So his teachings were named after his sobriquet "Thousand Peaks" and his schools is referred as Qianfeng Xiantian Pai (Thousand Peaks Pre-Heaven School).

 

It is obvious therefore that one can find huge differences between "Taoist Yoga" and Quanzhen.

 

By the way, Longmen Pai and another six schools are OFFSHOT of the original Quanzhen School so they also differ from Quanzhen in many ways.

 

Not all Daoist schools require their follower to get into full lotus and, as a matter of fact, for example some Maoshan derivatives utilize the kneeling position (which is still common in Japan where it got from ~Tang dynasty China).

 

However, full lotus is BY FAR the most common requirement in many daoist schools and often actually mandatory to start learning

 

YM

[Iskote]

Edited October 25, 2009 by Iskote

[Iskote]

Edited October 25, 2009 by Iskote

[Iskote]

I just reread the introduction section in Eva Wong's book 'Cultivating the Energy of Life', and it does

provide some good background on the Wu Liu sect, its practices and beliefs, and how it diverged from

the Long Men branch of Quan Zhen. Basically, according to Eva Wong in the introduction of the book,

Wu Chung Hsiu (Wu Chong Xu) was unhappy with the way the Lung Men (Long Men) branch had been

evolving since its inception, so he eventually broke off from the Long Men sect:

 

"By the late Ming, the change in spiritual priorities within the Lung-men sect was beginning to cause

discontent and disillusionment among some of its members. One of them was a high-ranking

initiate named Wu Chung-hsiu, who felt that blind devotion and harsh discipline were not

conducive to spiritual training. Wu tried to reform the sect from within but was unsuccessful.

In 1615 he left the Lung-men sect and wrote the Huo-hou Ching, (Treatise on the Phases of

Applying Fire). In this treatise, Wu laid out a program of spiritual training that combined the methods

of stilling the mind and the techniques of conserving and circulating internal energy.

Wu Chung-hsiu's synthesis of what he called the 'best' of the northern and southern forms

of Complete Reality Taoism [Quan Zhen] found a large following among people who wished to

learn the arts of longevity but were not interested in the orthodoxy and devotional practices

of the Lung-men sect."

 

Eva Wong provides a lot more background information about the Quan Zhen sect and the

Wu liu sect in her introduction as well.

For example:

 

"The Complete Reality school of Taoism founded by Wang Ch'ung-yang was one of the most influential

Taoist sects that emerged in the Sung dynasty (960-1279 C.E.). Advocating the dual cultivation

of body and mind, it synthesized the internal alchemical arts of longevity, the meditation

techniques of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism, and the ethics of Confucianism. After the death of

Wang Ch'ung-yang, the Complete Reality school was split into a Northern branch led by

Ch'ui Ch'ang-Chun, who was one of the Seven Taoist Masters, [hmm, is she referring to Qiu Chuji or

who exactly? Is this another name he went by?], and a southern branch led by the famous internal

alchemist Chang Po-tuan. The difference between the two branches of the Complete Reality school lies

in their approach to the cultivation of the body and mind. First, the northern branch taught that mind

should be cultivated before body, while the southern branch advocated that body should be cultivated

before mind. Second, the northern school of Ch'ui Ch'ang-Chun disapproved of the use of sexual yoga

to gather internal energy, while the southern school of Chang Po-tuan did not.

Finally, the initiates of the northern branch took monastic vows of celibacy, while the practitioners

of the southern branch were primarily laypeople. Given these differences, it is not surprising that

the northern school attracted young practitioners, while Chang Po-tuan's sect appealed to older

people. "

 

When reading about how the various Taoist sects came into being, and where they derived from,

it becomes obvious that Taoism was something that was constantly evolving and was subject

to various influences over time as well. In some ways it is simliar to how Christianity evolved

and split into different traditions and 'churches' over the centuries, although Taoism appears to

me to be a lot more ecclectic than Christianity overall in its evolution.

 

Best wishes...

[voidisyinyang]

Yeah -- thanks for typing that out. I had read Eva Wong's little concise book and it has the same diagrams as the BOOK Taoist Yoga -- so....

[YMWong]

Thanks YM! What is the source of this information? Do you know of a book/resource that details

the various Taoist branches and sects?

 

Hello Iskote,

 

it seems you have found below that many info can be gathered from the web already.

 

In any case, apart from having read tons of books and met various poeple, I know the nephew of Zhao (Chao) Bichen who lives in Beijing and strives to follow up in his grand-father footsteps

 

YM

[voidisyinyang]

YM Wong -- that's awesome! How is it possible that Westerners attend these Qigong Medical Universities? You have to study Chinese first right? Or.... are there other alternatives? thanks.

 

quote name='YMWong' date='Oct 25 2009, 04:29 PM' post='151342']

Hello Iskote,

 

it seems you have found below that many info can be gathered from the web already.

 

In any case, apart from having read tons of books and met various poeple, I know the nephew of Zhao (Chao) Bichen who lives in Beijing and strives to follow up in his grand-father footsteps

 

YM

[YMWong]

YM Wong -- that's awesome! How is it possible that Westerners attend these Qigong Medical Universities? You have to study Chinese first right? Or.... are there other alternatives? thanks.

 

Zhao Mingwang, nephew of Chao (Zhao) Bichen, do not teach at 'qigong universities' but runs a private practice place in Beijing

 

Few, if any, of those government connected (Universities, hospitals etc.) have skills or knowledge at a decent degree

 

YM

[voidisyinyang]

yeah that makes sense -- and if you get to do "private practice" you'd have to know Mandarin I think or the local dialect. The qigong master I took classes from knows tons of the dialects and has studied with even the teacher of Yan Xin! http://springforestqigong.com -- Chunyi Lin -- and now the Mayo Clinic refers patients to Chunyi Lin! He heals cancer, M.S., etc. and has testimonies from doctors and has co-written with Mayo Clinic Dr. Nisha Manek for the Mayo Clinic medical textbook....

 

His classes are through the community college -- but he has only 1 REAL student -- an African-American former kungfu master who is now the FIRST African-American qigong master -- Jim Nance.

 

http://springforestqigong.com -- be a great article! haha.

 

thanks for the feedback.

 

Oh also Chunyi Lin studied with Master Zhang -- of the Dragon Gate school -- doing the 49 day full-lotus fast in the cave -- no water, no food and no sleep!

Edited October 26, 2009 by drewhempel