Good Daoist Meditation Books

[Sloppy Zhang]

Hey guys, so, as I've said a few other places, I've been doing some zen like meditation for a while now, after learning it through karate and some kendo.

 

Recently though I've become interested in learning some daoist meditation/qigong practices. The only daoist related stuff like that I know is from a little exposure to it through taiji, but that is mostly through standing meditation. I've looked through a lot of old threads on these boards as well as lots of other websites, and I always find a jumble of information... quite confusing.

 

Anyway, I know it's not really the best thing to learn from a book, but I'm not in a position where I can track down a teacher, or anything like that at the moment so... I'm looking for any good book recommendations about daoist meditation/qigong stuff. Since I'm mostly a beginner, something generally comprehensive with some basic foundational exercises practices would be the best.

 

I know that Yang Jwing Ming has some books out there but... I've read a bit of Yang's stuff on taiji, and while it gave a good foundation for me when I was new to the terminology and cultural stuff, later on... I don't know, a lot of reviewers say he mostly translates other stuff, and I tend to agree. I found other books on taiji that were much better, so I am hesitant in getting some of his qigong books. Also, Mantak Chia's name seems to be popping up a lot, but I'm not so sure about him and I've heard some mixed reviews on him as well...

 

Though of course if anyone has either one of their books and has had great experiences learning from it, please share your thoughts

 

And that's about as much as I know. Any book recommendations or even websites with good beginner level information/practices would be greatly appreciated.

Edited November 29, 2008 by Sloppy Zhang

[Aetherous]

It's a pretty simple book, but The Art of Chi Kung by Wong Kiew Kit is a book that has good practices and is fairly comprehensive. If you work with it, it'll be a great start, and something to refer back to over the years.

 

I have paged through Opening the Energy Gates of your Body by BK Frantzis, and it looked decent. In fact I'll probably go pick it up tonight.

 

Also, a traditional Chinese medicine book: Between Heaven and Earth. It's good to be able to have some knowledge so you could potentially heal yourself from any negative results you get from your practices (yes it's very possible). I like this book because it has food recommendations as well as charts to help you diagnose what the imbalance might be. I think working with TCM is a must for properly doing any spiritual practices. Often times people mistake imbalances as good results.

 

..and yes my text is wild!

[Sloppy Zhang]

It's a pretty simple book, but The Art of Chi Kung by Wong Kiew Kit is a book that has good practices and is fairly comprehensive. If you work with it, it'll be a great start, and something to refer back to over the years.

 

I have paged through Opening the Energy Gates of your Body by BK Frantzis, and it looked decent. In fact I'll probably go pick it up tonight.

 

Also, a traditional Chinese medicine book: Between Heaven and Earth. It's good to be able to have some knowledge so you could potentially heal yourself from any negative results you get from your practices (yes it's very possible). I like this book because it has food recommendations as well as charts to help you diagnose what the imbalance might be. I think working with TCM is a must for properly doing any spiritual practices. Often times people mistake imbalances as good results.

 

..and yes my text is wild!

 

Thanks for the book ideas. If you do end up getting "Opening the Energy Gates of your Body", come back and let us (well me + whoever else is reading and is interested ) how it turns out.

 

Also, thanks for bringing up the subject of TCM, that's also something that sounds good to know

 

And I thought the text was pretty cool myself

[froggie]

Thanks for the book ideas. If you do end up getting "Opening the Energy Gates of your Body", come back and let us (well me + whoever else is reading and is interested )

 

Me

Edited November 28, 2008 by froggie

[Sloppy Zhang]

Me

 

Glad I'm not the only one

[benny]

It's not a book but have you seen the film Spring Summer Fall Winter and Spring? Korean film about Buddhists?

 

It is a good meditation on the Dao.

[Aetherous]

I purchased Opening the Energy Gates of you Body. It's okay for beginners...has some good information. If I were you I'd go to a bookstore and just take some time to read it over there.

[Aetherous]

Actually I take that back!

 

After reading it more, I see that it's a great book. I recommend buying it.

[YMWong]

The Gold Pavilion: Taoist Ways to Peace, Healing, and Long Life (Paperback)

by Michael R. Saso (Author)

 

 

YM

[Sloppy Zhang]

I purchased Opening the Energy Gates of you Body. It's okay for beginners...has some good information. If I were you I'd go to a bookstore and just take some time to read it over there.

Actually I take that back!

 

After reading it more, I see that it's a great book. I recommend buying it.

 

Well then, I'll definitely give it a look (it's actually popped up a lot in recent discussions for me, so I'm happy to see it come up on this thread as well )

 

The Gold Pavilion: Taoist Ways to Peace, Healing, and Long Life (Paperback)

by Michael R. Saso (Author)

 

 

YM

 

Seems like an interesting read, thanks for the recommendation

[Aetherous]

Yes, thanks for recommending The Gold Pavilion...I will check that out!