dwai Posted June 10, 2007 Dear Friends, Firstly, my warm greetings to you all. Hope you are all doing well. I've been drawn to this website in course of some searches on some specific topics. Needless to say I found the answers I had been looking for and that's why will refrain from what these searches were (for). I've been practicing Tai Chi (sans it's Taoist underpinnings) since the past 5 odd years (with earlier background in Hard Martial Arts) -- first via (Dr. Paul Lam's) videos on the 24-forms and then later from my present teacher George Bolger (who is a student of Master Liao, Oak Park, IL). I've been following the learned conversations here on this forum with great interest and am learning a lot. My special subject of interest is in the phenomenon of Chi (and the various camps about what it is) from an academic perspective. I also study the similarities between Taoism and India's (my country of origin) Vedic traditional philosophies (needless to say, I see a huge volume of overlap). This comparative study helps me understand each of the two systems better (complementary) and hopefully helps me navigate the often confusing waters of the Spiritual aspirant a little better. Regards, Dwai Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sean Posted June 15, 2007 Welcome to The Tao Bums, Dwai. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
cheya Posted June 18, 2007 I've been practicing Tai Chi (sans it's Taoist underpinnings) since the past 5 odd years (with earlier background in Hard Martial Arts) -- first via (Dr. Paul Lam's) videos on the 24-forms and then later from my present teacher George Bolger (who is a student of Master Liao, Oak Park, IL). My special subject of interest is in the phenomenon of Chi (and the various camps about what it is) from an academic perspective. I also study the similarities between Taoism and India's (my country of origin) Vedic traditional philosophies (needless to say, I see a huge volume of overlap). This comparative study helps me understand each of the two systems better (complementary) and hopefully helps me navigate the often confusing waters of the Spiritual aspirant a little better. Hi Dwai, Welcome! As part of your interest in the phenomenon of Chi, have you read Master Liao's books (Nine Nights and Chi: How to Feel Your Life Energy), and also have you checked out the free feel-your-energy tutorial at astraldynamics.com? These resources have been tremendously helpful to me both in chi practice and in understanding WHY I'm practicing (besides the fact that I just love it!) I'm interested in how your understanding of the Vedic tradition is helping you to understand the Taoist traditon and the phenomenon of chi. Care to expand a bit? All the best, Cheya Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dwai Posted June 29, 2007 Hi Dwai, Welcome! As part of your interest in the phenomenon of Chi, have you read Master Liao's books (Nine Nights and Chi: How to Feel Your Life Energy), and also have you checked out the free feel-your-energy tutorial at astraldynamics.com? These resources have been tremendously helpful to me both in chi practice and in understanding WHY I'm practicing (besides the fact that I just love it!) I'm interested in how your understanding of the Vedic tradition is helping you to understand the Taoist traditon and the phenomenon of chi. Care to expand a bit? All the best, Cheya Hi Cheya, I have indeed read Master Liao's books (Tai Chi classics, Nine Nights and How to feel your life energy). I have to check the tutorial you mentioned though -- thanks. The biggest drawback in studying the Vedic traditions is that there are miles of debris of unqualified people (non-practitioners such as the "famous Indologists") dumping silly literal translations from an ancient language (Rig Vedic samskrit) and leading to misunderstandings. A very good place to learn something about what the Vedic traditions mean is here -- http://medhajournal.com/columns/indic-clas...lf-brahman.html My own experience (relatively new at both rediscovering my Indic roots, as well as learning Taoist concepts) leads me to believe that the Chinese "Tao" is also the Vedic "Brahman", the huge body of overlaps in the esoteric details of the pranic system and the Chinese meridian system, practices of Kriya and similarities in the Microcosmic orbit practices, etc are phenomenal. Unfortunately, the understanding of most things Indic is tinted with an outsider's (mis)understanding of these (thereof and/or literal translations). My Tai Chi practice has helped me bridge that knowledge gap (from an Insider's perspective -- since both types of practices are in essence similar). Warm Regards, Dwai Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
