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Some interesting things on their cultivation- came from a National Geographic documentary but it seems they don’t sell the full video anymore.
An interesting view into modern Quanzhen Taoism. Several of those martial arts guys have VCD’s out, one of them covers different Qigong exercises, and meditation postures (sitting, sleeping etc.)
Very moving…
Hey, I didn’t know that Lao Tzu spoke about doing good deeds! Are you sue this is REAL Taoism, Max? I dunno…
i found it suprising that the guy was so determined to become a god because he “wanted to be worshiped”. …….yeah, by who?
to me, worship and admiration from others may come but only as by-products of our sincerity, integrity and devotion to truth.
but to seek the worship of others…..huh?????????????????
His desire seems to go against what taoist theory presents and definitey Lao Zi, one could use this as an example of the twisted, extreme of this system of desire to be immortal, his free will to become worshipped? What a poor example of our tradition?
In the Shaolin arts, there are such skills. They can take a decade to develop, through the training.
Hi Plato,
Do you mean that ‘good deeds’ have nothing to do with REAL taoism? Sorry to disagree…
As much as I dislike the ‘moral majority’, I do feel that benevolence should be the core of Taoist practice. It is something that I have been struggling with for years, but there is no alternative I feel.
The problem of ‘being good’ to me is that it is rather boring. Being ‘bad’ is much more exciting, especially when sex is concerned. However, I also feel myself slipping in my practice then. Practicing the ‘Inner Smile’ simply cannot go together with filling the mind with images of rape…
Maybe this is something Michael Winn was hinting at in his 5th love: “I love untying the knot of the core mystery entangling human sexuality and spiritual development.”
To me the Taoist appreciation for sex and the material world does not mean approval of how thinga are. Taoists have discovered opportunities in ‘this world’ that other religions have ignored, but in a way we still have to choose between heaven and hell…
So I think that whether you are Christian, Buddhist or Taoist makes not such a difference after all: the basic struggle is the ethical question, there is no escaping it (unfortunately).
The book “Zen at War” gave me a good insight into what can happen if there is intense practice, but benevolence is ignored. Then such peculiar notions arise like D.T. Suzuki’s “the sword itself that does the killing”. Yeah, right…
“May the Force be with you”,
Wandering Oak
<<<<To me the Taoist appreciation for sex and the material world does not mean approval of how thinga are. Taoists have discovered opportunities in 'this world' that other religions have ignored, but in a way we still have to choose between heaven and hell<<<
Exactly! Right on
Yes, I was being sarcastic about a long-past thread with Michael. 😉
Naturally Taoism should be about good deeds. And tearing up brothels!
Hi Max,
You were right about all the things you said about emptiness. When I tried the methods, my ignorance towards it melted away. Thanks. I agree that Master Nan is enlightened from looking at his Grass Mountain, excellent book. I need to get my hands on his other books!
How long have you been studying with this Taiji teacher? He teaches Old Yang Style, right? I might make my way to NYC one day and meet him, but that’s far away now.
Fajin
What they talk about as cultivation has nothing to do with the alchemical techniques that were taught on some of M.Winns trips at Daoist mountains.
This guy is from Taiwan, and is into the “qi moving people without touch” thing. An interesting skill if you want to bother taking the time to develop it. Whether or not its effective against non-disciples is another story.
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