Cultivating the Tao


Book Description

Cultivating the Tao is a complete translation of one of the main works by the renowned Taoist master Liu Yiming (1734-1821). Divided into 26 short chapters, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the basic principles of Taoism and an introduction to Taoist Internal Alchemy, or Neidan, authored by one of the greatest representatives of this tradition. Liu Yiming was an 11th-generation master of the Longmen (Dragon Gate) lineage. Having recovered from severe illness in his youth, he undertook extended traveling that led him to meet his two main masters. In 1780, he settled in the Qiyun mountains, in the present-day Gansu province. Since then until his death he devoted himself to teaching and writing. His works mainly consist of writings on Neidan and of commentaries on major Neidan scriptures. Liu Yiming grafts Internal Alchemy onto the teachings of the Book of the Way and Its Virtue (Daode jing) and of the later Taoist tradition. Few other masters have illustrated the relation between Taoism and Internal Alchemy as clearly as he does in this book.




Cultivating Stillness


Book Description

A principal part of the Taoist canon for many centuries, this Lao-Tzu classic is an essential overview of the Taoist practice of internal alchemy, or qigong Equanimity, good health, peace of mind, and long life are the goals of the ancient Taoist tradition known as “internal alchemy,” of which Cultivating Stillness is a key text. Written between the second and fifth centuries, the book is attributed to T’ai Shang Lao-chun—the legendary figure more widely known as Lao-Tzu, author of the Tao-te Ching. The accompanying commentary, written in the nineteenth century by Shui-ch’ing Tzu, explains the alchemical symbolism of the text and the methods for cultivating internal stillness of body and mind. A key text in the Taoist canon, Cultivating Stillness is still the first book studied by Taoist initiates today.




Healing Love through the Tao


Book Description

A new edition of the bestseller • The first book to reveal in the West the Taoist techniques that enable women to cultivate and enhance their sexual energy • Reveals Taoist secrets for shortening menstruation, reducing cramps, and compressing more chi into the ovaries for greater sexual power • Teaches the practice of total body orgasm For thousands of years the sexual principles and techniques presented here were taught by Taoist masters in secret only to a small number of people (sworn to silence), in the royal courts and esoteric circles of China. This is the first book to make this ancient knowledge available to the West. The foundation of healing love is the cultivation, transformation, and circulation of sexual energy, known as jing. Jing energy is creative, generative energy that is vital for the development of chi (vital life-force energy) and shen (spiritual energy), which enables higher practices of spiritual development. Jing is produced in the sexual organs, and it is energy women lose continually through menstruation and child bearing. Mantak Chia teaches powerful techniques developed by Taoist masters for the conservation of jing and how it is used to revitalize women's physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. Among the many benefits conferred by these practices are a reduction in the discomfort caused by menstruation and the ability to attain full-body orgasm.




Foundations of Internal Alchemy


Book Description

Originally written for Chinese readers, this book provides a clear description of the Taoist practice of Internal Alchemy, or Neidan. The author outlines the four stages of the alchemical practice and clarifies several relevant terms and notions, including Essence, Breath, and Spirit; the Cinnabar Fields; the "Fire Times"; and the Embryo. The book is based on the system of the Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality), one of the main sources of Internal Alchemy, and contains about two hundred quotations from original Taoist texts. Table of Contents Foreword, vii INTRODUCTION, 1 The Basis: Essence and Spirit, 3 STAGES OF THE ALCHEMICAL PRACTICE IN AWAKENING TO REALITY, 11 The Four Stages, 13 "Laying the Foundations," 15 Main Points in the Practice of "Laying the Foundations," 20 The Functions of Essence, Breath, and Spirit, 36 Terms Related to the "Coagulation of the Three Treasures," 52 Conclusion of the Stage of "Laying the Foundations," 63 "Refining Essence to Transmute it into Breath," 65 "Refining Breath to Transmute it into Spirit," 99 "Refining Spirit to Return to Emptiness," 109 CONCLUSION, 119 The "Arts of the Way," 121 Tables, 123 Glossary of Chinese Characters, 133




Taoist Secrets of Love


Book Description

ented here make the process of linking sexual energy and transcendent states of consciousness accessible to the reader.




Entering the Tao


Book Description

Master Hua-Ching Ni uses straightforward language and personal experiences, as well as traditional stories and teachings of the ancient masters, to impart the wisdom of Taoism, the Integral Way. His teachings promote a simple, natural, healthy, and happy way of life that lays the foundation for spiritual self-cultivation. Master Ni emphasizes that it is important first to establish a good understanding of basic spiritual principles and then begin to realize this wisdom in daily life by adopting practices and attitudes that help to conserve, nourish, and refine the subtle energy. Among the topics he discusses in short, accessible passages are: • Basic spiritual self-protection • Self-reliance • Emotional balance • Do's and don'ts for a healthy, natural lifestyle • Sleeping and dreaming • Diet • Love, sex and marriage • Meditations and invocations from the Taoist tradition




Taoist Meditation


Book Description

A curated collection of ancient texts that shed light on the full breadth of Taoist meditation practices The ancient meditation techniques of Taoism encompass a wide range of practices—with an aim toward cultivating a healthy body as well as an enlightened mind. These selections from classic texts of Taoist meditation represent the entire range of techniques—from sitting meditation practices to internal alchemy. Most of the texts appear here in English for the first time. Selections are taken from the following classics: • Anthology on Cultivation of Realization: A document from 1739 (Ming Dynasty) that emphasizes development of the natural, social, and spiritual elements in human life. • Treatise on Sitting Forgetting: A Tang Dynasty text that sets meditation practice in terms familiar to Confucians and Buddhists. • Sayings of Taoist Master Danyang: Wisdom of the Taoist wizard and representative of the Complete Reality School. • Secret Writings on the Mechanism of Nature: An anthology taken from one hundred sixty-three Taoist sources, including ancient classics and works on meditation and spiritual alchemy, along with admonitions and teachings of the great Taoist luminaries. • Zhang Sanfeng's Taiji Alchemy Secrets: A treatise on the inner mediation practices that are the proper foundation of the martial art Taiji. • Secret Records of Understanding the Way: A rare and remarkable collection of talks by an anonymous Taoist master of the later Qing dynasty (1644–1911). Traditional teachings with a sometimes strikingly modern bent.




The Tao of Vegetable Gardening


Book Description

The Tao of Vegetable Gardening explores the practical methods as well as the deeper essence of gardening. In her latest book, groundbreaking garden writer Carol Deppe (The Resilient Gardener, Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties) focuses on some of the most popular home garden vegetables--tomatoes, green beans, peas, and leafy greens--and through them illustrates the key principles and practices that gardeners need to know to successfully plant and grow just about any food crop. Deppe's work has long been inspired and informed by the philosophy and wisdom of Tao Te Ching, the 2,500-year-old work attributed to Chinese sage Lao Tzu and the most translated book in the world after the Bible. The Tao of Vegetable Gardening is organized into chapters that echo fundamental Taoist concepts: Balance, Flexibility, Honoring the Essential Nature (your own and that of your plants), Effortless Effort, Non-Doing, and even Non-Knowing. Yet the book also offers a wealth of specific and valuable garden advice on topics as diverse as: - The Eat-All Greens Garden, a labor- and space-efficient way to provide all the greens a family can eat, freeze, and dry--all on a tiny piece of land suitable for small-scale and urban gardeners. - The growing problem of late blight and the future of heirloom tomatoes--and what gardeners can do to avoid problems, and even create new resistant varieties. - Establishing a Do-It-Yourself Seed Bank, including information on preparing seeds for long-term storage and how to "dehybridize" hybrids. - Twenty-four good places to not plant a tree, and thirty-seven good reasons for not planting various vegetables. Designed for gardeners of all levels, from beginners to experienced growers, The Tao of Vegetable Gardening provides a unique frame of reference: a window to the world of nature, in the garden and in ourselves.




The 49 Barriers of Cultivating the Dao


Book Description

If you wish to purchase this book at a reduced rate of 33.33$ including shipping/postage, please visit our shop: https://purplecloudinstitute.com/product/the-49-barriers-of-cultivating-the-dao/ The 49 Barriers of Cultivating the Dao is an essential manual for cultivating and refining one's Inner Nature and Inner Character. As such, it is a revelatory guide to the fundamental basis of Internal Alchemy. In the first stage, a person's Inner Nature, their conduct and character, should undergo a tempering process. This lays the foundation for refining one's Life-Destiny, a transformation of one's physical form and ultimately the sublimation of one's body into a Golden Immortal. The 49 Barriers of Cultivating the Dao walk the reader through the obstacles that emerge in this process and give detailed and invaluable advice on how to overcome them. Originating from the Script for Penetrating Through the Barriers, written by Liu Yi Ming in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), this treatise has been edited and revised by the Daoist Master Xing De in order to extract and distil its most profound essence. Accompanying each barrier is an extensive commentary by Xing De. These are frank, humorous, and replete with down to earth and lively examples to clarify the meaning and contemporary relevance of this ancient text. The commentaries are also deeply knowledgeable in Chinese tradition, bridging Daoism with Buddhism, Confucianism and even Christianity, and possess a rare mystical depth stemming from Xing De's long-term practice. The barriers in this treatise symbolize blocked gateways obstructing the students' progress on the Upright Dao. It is as if attempting to clear customs without the right passport. If one believes that one can simply avoid or bypass these checkpoints, one will be stopped and barred from passing through. There are countless trials on the path, and until such time that each barrier is unobstructed and a clear thoroughfare achieved, one must continue to forge ahead with the unwavering faith that it is possible to accomplish in this life. 欲海無邊,法度有緣。 The Sea of Desires is boundless, and the Law delivers those who are predestined. Profound, accessible, and a welcome addition to the Daoist texts now becoming available to Western practitioners. --Bill Porter, author of Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits This is a welcome addition to the literature of the Dao. --Deng Ming-Dao, author of 365 Tao Four people, Liu Yi Ming, Xing De, Johan and Jen, representing generations of lineage, have created an aid to present and future Daoists. May this nourish all those on the path to realization. --Josh Paynter 理文,translator of the Daoist Morning and Evening Altar Recitations




Awakening to the Tao


Book Description

This collection of brief meditative essays illustrates the ancient philosophy that holds the key to success in all aspects of life The Tao is the ancient Chinese "Way" that has inspired numerous books, from The Tao of Physics to The Tao of Sex. This book, written by an 18th-century Taoist adept, might be called ”The Tao of Tao.” In 142 brief meditative essays, author Liu I-ming uses simple language and natural imagery to express the essence of the wisdom that holds the key to success in every human endeavor.