Taoist Practices

[Eric Yudelove]

Hello Fellow Taoists:

I stop in occasionally to see what is happening on this site and once in a while post a message. One of the reasons I don't come here that often is that it appears to me that most practitioners on this site are involved with the philosophical side of Taoism(Tao Te Ching,Cleary,etc) with some Chi Kung exercises thrown in and the rich world of Taoist practices are ignored. I do Taoist practices with my wife, everyday, we don't sit around talking about our inability to talk about the real Tao, we leave that to take care of itself.

I could understand what I'm seeing on Tao Bums if this were, say 1985, but so much has been revealed about what the Taoists did with their time other than discussing the finer points of Taoism since then.

Other than a handful of books on Taoist philosophy and "The Secret of the Golden Flower" by Wilhelm in 1941, until approximately 1980, the actual practices of the Taoists were basically unknown in the East and the West.

In 1965 the estimated population of Taoists in China was 2,000,000. In 1975 it was 50,000. In the intervening years came The Cultural Revolution, and like a dragon eating its own tail, China wiped out it's Taoist heritage. They now are sorry for this and have just acknowledged the Taoists and China's cultural loss and recently had a Taoist "Convention" in Beijing.

As a result of the Cultural Revolution, those Taoists who could, fled China. They settled in countries and island nations in the Far East. To support themselves, they taught the long time secret Taoist practices.

By 1980, authentic teachers migrated from the Far East to other parts of the world. Most of what they teach can be found in the "Taoist Canon". This is a 6000 page collection of Taoist practices dating back possibly thousands of years. There is no index and except for a few minor translations of specific topics, it's all in Chinese and would be highly inscrutable even if it were in English. The higher practices of inner alchemy were always an oral tradition, it being impossible to pass this knowledge on through the written word. A Master's energy was always necessary for this.

I've studied a lot of Taoist books over the years, don't get me wrong, but for 20 years I studied Taoist practices with a Tao Master. I wrote 3 books on the subject including 2 fourteen week courses on Taoist practices and finally was named a Master by my teacher more than 10 years ago. I now spend a good deal of my time in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the shadow of Mt. Washington.

I'm not trying beep my own horn here. It's just that I'm curious if there is simply little interest in Taoist practices here or some suspicion about the subject, or that it is merely just a misconception on my part. I'm not looking to sell anybody anything or teach anybody anything. The only person I teach these days is my wife, and she's really something!

 

May the Chi be With You,

Master Eric Yudelove

[三江源]

Eric, hi. Glad to hear all is wonderful with Sparkle. I can imagine you dont have a much of a need or feeling to post here. I'm sorry about it - because it would be great for us if you posted here - but I understand it.

 

I'm hoping you might tell us more about Jezebel.

 

I regard your books as key texts. Written with heart as well as wisdom and clarity.

 

Happy New Year.

[gendao]

In 1965 the estimated population of Taoists in China was 2,000,000. In 1975 it was 50,000. In the intervening years came The Cultural Revolution, and like a dragon eating its own tail, China wiped out it's Taoist heritage. They now are sorry for this and have just acknowledged the Taoists and China's cultural loss and recently had a Taoist "Convention" in Beijing.

As a result of the Cultural Revolution, those Taoists who could, fled China. They settled in countries and island nations in the Far East. To support themselves, they taught the long time secret Taoist practices.

By 1980, authentic teachers migrated from the Far East to other parts of the world. Most of what they teach can be found in the "Taoist Canon". This is a 6000 page collection of Taoist practices dating back possibly thousands of years. There is no index and except for a few minor translations of specific topics, it's all in Chinese and would be highly inscrutable even if it were in English. The higher practices of inner alchemy were always an oral tradition, it being impossible to pass this knowledge on through the written word. A Master's energy was always necessary for this.

I've studied a lot of Taoist books over the years, don't get me wrong, but for 20 years I studied Taoist practices with a Tao Master. I wrote 3 books on the subject including 2 fourteen week courses on Taoist practices and finally was named a Master by my teacher more than 10 years ago. I now spend a good deal of my time in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the shadow of Mt. Washington.

Well as you said, a large amount of Taoism got wiped out by the Marxist Cultural Revolution in China. So, many torches did not get passed down, even in China.

 

And of the masters who fled overseas, most are older and can speak only Chinese. This of course makes passing the torch down to anyone here who cannot also speak Chinese far more difficult. Not to mention that these authentic masters are very few in number, to begin with.

 

So, I think due to the very limited access to these rare masters, many monolingual Americans relied upon books in the 80s & 90s and the internet now for what little Taoist instruction they can get.

 

Thing is, Taoism tends to attract more solitary seekers, not masses of blind followers. It's not heavily commercialized and "pushy" like evangelical religions. Water seeks its own level and Taoism is like the water vapor up in the clouds...

 

Just outta curiosity, who is your master, btw? And what has he attained?

Edited February 4, 2010 by vortex

[Eric Yudelove]

Eric, hi. Glad to hear all is wonderful with Sparkle. I can imagine you dont have a much of a need or feeling to post here. I'm sorry about it - because it would be great for us if you posted here - but I understand it.

 

I'm hoping you might tell us more about Jezebel.

 

I regard your books as key texts. Written with heart as well as wisdom and clarity.

 

Happy New Year.

 

Dear Cat:

Jezebel is a golden brown spotted Bengal Cat. She's about 8 1/2 months old now. I got her from a breeder who has long been involved with breeding and experimental breeding programs for Bengals.

The Bengal cat is actually a domesticated Asian Leopard Cat. It isn't a pussy cat at all.

Jezebel isn't my 1st Bengal. My 1st Bengal looked much more like a pussy cat with spots and stripes. Jezebel looks and walks like a jungle cat. The breed has been greatly improved since I bought my 1st Bengal. She has an incredibly sweet and funny disposition. She is very smart and loves to play. When she was just about 13 weeks old I was in my bedroom and she jumped up on the bed and started meowing at me. When I went over to her, she ran to the other side of the bed. I walked away and she started meowing at me again, when I finally walked over to her again, she ran to the other side of the bed. After about 4 rounds of this, I realized that she had made up her own game and was playing with me. I was really impressed with her intelligence. She is also incredibly beautiful, graceful, and photogenic.

She also absolutely adores our dog Tarot. They play all the time. Tarot is a Kishu, a very rare breed from the southernmost island in Japan, Kyushu. They were named a national treasure in Japan in 1934 and are extremely difficult to get out of the country. There are only 2 breeders in the world outside of Japan. Tarot is a wonderful dog. You can see him at:dogbreedinfo.com. Click on purebreeds at the top of the page. When the next page comes up, scroll down then press K. Next,scroll down to Kishu Ken(dog)and press it and Tarot's pictures and profile come up.

Tarot looks like an all white medium size Akita. He is a very handsome dog. Kishu's are strong willed dogs but love to be trained. Hunting dogs by nature, they were trained to hunt wild boar, bear and deer. He has AKC titles in Novice and Advanced Rally, a 2nd place Obedience win and needs 3 more points from the American Rare Breed Assoc. for his Championship.

My wife Sparkle is simply the finest woman I ever knew. What more can I say. If I could figure out how to do it, I'd post photos here. She's been a runway model, a ballerina, an attorney, a writer and my loving Sorceress.

Currently we are collaborating on a children's book with the working title " The Dragon Master and the Pussy Cat Dragon".

I'm glad that you found my books helpful on your Way.

 

Eric

Edited February 5, 2010 by Eric Yudelove

[Reader]

 

I regard your books as key texts. Written with heart as well as wisdom and clarity.

 

 

I would like second this.

 

I just want to thank Eric for his book titled "Taoist Yoga and Sexual Energy".

 

Hope you are well.

[UTI]

Personally I don't have the courage to round up the means and go on a seeking trip for a master, since this would involve 4 other people who have their own lives to live. I do my best on my own, I live according to taoist ideals, practice twice a day, follow a special diet, take herbs, and try to contemplate emptiness and tao as much of my waking time as possible. My taiji teacher is a layman of longmen taoism, and I'm just on the verge of feeling I can ask him more about it, and maybe get introduced to the practices. But I've only practiced under him for 6 months, and he's quite traditional-minded when it comes to this stuff.

 

But on your journey, didn't you ever have obstacles, forks in the road where you later had to backtrack, hardships that had to be overcome to find a way to dedicate life to a taoist ideal?I feel it's quite easy to fall into the simple rewards of theoretical discussions, mudslinging, and the desire for knowledge without actual gain.

 

I haven't read your books, but I have heard much about them. If I wasn't already on a longterm plan for my practices I would get it and start working with it, but reading it now would only disrupt my resolve, which is fragile enough as it is. However, thank you for making taoist practices more readily available to westerners!

[Heny Wang]

I've studied a lot of Taoist books over the years, don't get me wrong, but for 20 years I studied Taoist practices with a Tao Master. I wrote 3 books on the subject including 2 fourteen week courses on Taoist practices and finally was named a Master by my teacher more than 10 years ago. I now spend a good deal of my time in the White Mountains of New Hampshire in the shadow of Mt. Washington.

I'm not trying beep my own horn here. It's just that I'm curious if there is simply little interest in Taoist practices here or some suspicion about the subject, or that it is merely just a misconception on my part. I'm not looking to sell anybody anything or teach anybody anything. The only person I teach these days is my wife, and she's really something!

 

May the Chi be With You,

Master Eric Yudelove

 

May i know where did you learn your tao from?

May i know the title of your book?

 

regards

Heny

[Eric Yudelove]

I was one of Mantak Chia's original American students. I started studying with him in 1981 and studied with him for over 20 years. I also studied with a number of other teachers but not to the same extent.

In 1999, Chia named me a master and I really haven't studied with anyone except a number of books for the past 8 years.

The names of my books are "The Tao & the Tree of Life", 100 Days to Better Health Good Sex and Long Life-A Guide to Taoist Yoga and Chi Kung" and "Taoist Yoga and Sexual Energy". These books have been translated into 20 languages worldwide.

 

Eric Yudelove

[metal dog]

Thanks for this Eric. I will check out The Tao and the Tree of Life book.

[Spiritual_Aspirant]

I was one of Mantak Chia's original American students. I started studying with him in 1981 and studied with him for over 20 years. I also studied with a number of other teachers but not to the same extent.

In 1999, Chia named me a master and I really haven't studied with anyone except a number of books for the past 8 years.

The names of my books are "The Tao & the Tree of Life", 100 Days to Better Health Good Sex and Long Life-A Guide to Taoist Yoga and Chi Kung" and "Taoist Yoga and Sexual Energy". These books have been translated into 20 languages worldwide.

 

Eric Yudelove

 

 

Hi Eric,

 

I have a copy of your book "Taoist Yoga and Sexual Energy" and it's very informative and interesting. Are you still active at writing or teaching?

[Eric Yudelove]

Hi Eric,

 

I have a copy of your book "Taoist Yoga and Sexual Energy" and it's very informative and interesting. Are you still active at writing or teaching?

 

 

One day, Bohun Wuren went to see the philosopher Liezi.

But as soon as he saw all the shoes laid outside of Liezi's house he turned and walked away.

A servant saw Bohun Wuren do this and called to his master Liezi that a guest had appeared but was leaving instead of entering.

Liezi rushed outside and when he saw that it was Bohun Wuren, he called out:

"Master Bohun, you've come all this way, why don't you come inside and teach me?"

Bohun Wuren stopped and turned to Liezi and told him:

"I cannot do this.I told you before to keep the light within yourself and not to let others see it. You are gathering followers instead of keeping them away.

One who knows does not speak but one who speaks does not know. You had to go and reveal your brightness and attract all these people. You show petty intelligence instead of great wisdom."

Then he turned and walked away.

 

Eric Yudelove