FoundationsofTaoistPractice.pdf

FOUNDATIONS OF TAOIST PRACTICE

by Jampa Mackenzie Stewart

When you try to define Taoism, you immediately run into trouble. The great

Taoist philosopher and author of the Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu, begins his first chapter

with the warning words,

The Tao that can be described is not the eternal Tao.

The name that can be named is not the eternal name.

Thus Westerners are not the only ones who have a hard time defining Taoism;

the Chinese have had difficulty time agreeing on just what Taoism is for millenia.

Taoism is sometimes defined as a ritualistic religion, as a philosophy, as Chinese folk

religion, as alchemy, as a system of magical lore, or as a series of health practices similar

to yoga. The adherants of each school often look with disdain on the others as being

heterodoxy, heresy, or simply incomplete portions of the great Tao.

The Chinese word Tao (pronounced "dow") means "the way, the path." In the

common sense it refers to the way of doing anything, or the pathway to some

destination. In its higher meaning, Tao refers to the way of the universe, the way things

are. As a spiritual system, Tao means the way to achieving a true understanding of the

nature of mind and reality, to the way of living in harmony with the changes of Nature.

Thus the Tao is the goal, the path and the journey all in one.

A Taoist then, is "a follower of the Way," the same title by which the early

Buddhists and Christians dubbed themselves. The earliest Taoists appeared at least four

thousand years ago in a time when people lived close to Nature and were awed by its

power and its mystery, whose agricultural lives and deaths were intimately intertwined

with the fluctuations of floods and droughts, heat and cold, day and night, and the

changing of the seasons.

Just as the Judeo-Christians believe that God created humanity in the image of

God, so too did the Taoists conclude that each person is a microcosm of the universe,

and that the patterns of human society are a microscopic reflection of the cosmic

patterns. These early Taoists saw that Nature was in a constant state of flux and

change, and that these changes followed certain discernible and orderly patterns. They

reasoned that by watching the changes in Nature and by understanding these patterns,

they could apply Nature's principles to their own lives and thus move into harmony

with the flow of the universe, with the Tao, with themselves. The person who attains

highest union with the Tao is called a hsien or immortal, one who has "Returned to the

Source," to the true ground of being.

Over the centuries many branches of Taoist teachings grew, all aimed at

integrating the various activities of one's daily life with the Tao. These include such

diverse disciplines as meditation, dietary guidelines, Chinese medicine, Qi Gong ,

martial arts, sexual practices, military strategy, astrology, outer and inner alchemy,

divination, magic and talismans, ritual, Feng Shui (geomancy), sacred architecture and

the arts. Yet the Taoist arts were originally designed as a wholistic, mutually

supportive and interdependent framework within which one could cultivate oneself to

achieve the fruit of immortality.

As in Tantra, Taoists have always viewed knowledge as power, and are usually

secretive and discriminating about who receives the full transmission. Even if a capable

disciple meets an accomplished master, it still takes decades (if not a lifetime) to practice

and master the many aspects of Taoist study. As a result, nowadays most people

calling themselves Taoists study and practice only one or two branches of the Taoist

arts. The late 20th century teacher Cheng Man-Ching was highly lauded as a "Master of

the Five Excellences" because he had achieved skill in just five of the Taoist arts: martial

arts, Chinese medicine, painting, poetry and calligraphy.

Thus, the Taoist arts have become divorced and isolated from the trunk and

roots of Taoism. Moreover, most of the arts have become secularized. Clinically,

Chinese medicine in modern practice is usually applied more to remedial care than to

promoting spiritual super-wellness. Meditation has become largely a stress

management tool. Chinese astrology, divination and geomancy are nowadays used

more for gaining success in business, romance and home siting than for achieving

spiritual breakthrough. Contemporary people more often study Qi Gong and the

martial arts for health, fitness and personal power than for laying the groundwork of

immortality.

Despite the achievements of health, wealth and love, the only certainty in life is

that it will end in death. Maintaining health and wealth is of limited value if one's life

lacks meaning. I believe that while the aforementioned benefits of the Taoist arts are

both real and good, the ultimate goal of Taoism is immortality. Immortality is

synonymous with enlightenment, conscious union with the universal mind, and with

the attainment of a spiritually transformed body that will last forever like heaven and

earth.

Therefore the purpose of this article is to examine the various Taoist arts from the

perspective of the Taoist yogi on the path to becoming an immortal, to see how all of

these branches relate to the trunk of Taoist beliefs and goals.

THE BASIC VIEW OF TAOISM

Although there are many diverse arts flowing from the wellspring of Taoism, all

of these different arts are grounded in the same set of principles, what Taoists see as the

fundamental laws of Nature applying to all things, high and low. These principles form

the core of Taoist "general systems theory." By developing a working knowledge of

these natural principles, you will have the master key to open the mysterious portals of

the Tao.

Wu Ji

In the beginning, nothing existed. In Chinese this is called Wu Ji (meaning

absolute nothingness). Wu Ji is synonymous with the Buddhist word sunyata, meaning

emptiness, the void, pure openness, no boundary. Wu Ji is also sometimes referred to as

the mystery, the nameless, the great mother, the source. Thus Lao Tzu says, "That

which can be named is not the eternal name." Words cannot describe Wu Ji; it is beyond

any thought, idea or concept, yet it can be directly experienced. Conscious realization

of Wu Ji is called "Returning to the Source."

The first principle to manifest out of Wu Ji is primordial energy. The Chinese call

this energy Qi . Qi (pronounced "chee") means breath, air, wind, or energy, and is

similar in meaning to the Sanskrit word prana, the Hebrew word Ruach (breath of God),

and to the Tibetan word rLung.

Qi is the force of all movement, from the movements of waves and sub-atomic

particles to the movement of stars and planets. Qi is the force moving world systems

into creation, existence and destruction; everything manifests out of Qi, exists as a form

of Qi, and returns to Qi . In living creatures it becomes the life force and source of all

metabolism. Qi is even the root of the movement of consciousness, of thought, sensory

awareness and emotions.

The activity of Qi is what holds things together: atoms, molecules, our bodies,

the earth, the solar system. When the pattern of Qi becomes exhausted, death occurs,

the life force leaves, buildings disintegrate, change occurs.

Yin And Yang

The nameless is the mother of heaven and earth.

---Lao Tzu

As soon as Qi appeared, it moved as Yin and Yang. The Chinese character for Yin

depicts the shady side of a mountain, while the character for Yang depicts the sunny

side. Thus some characteristics of Yin are earth, receptiveness, darkness, cold, moisture,

heaviness, descenscion, contractiveness, stillness. Yang, by relative contrast, is heaven,

creativity, brightness, warmth, dryness, lightness, ascension, expansion, activity.

Everything in the relative world of existence can be viewed in terms of Yin and

Yang. However, Yin and Yang are not separate; they are like the two poles of the same

magnet. Thus, nothing is entirely Yin nor entirely Yang; each contains the other. The

interdependent existence of Yin and Yang is known as Tai Ji (the Most High). Tai Ji and

Wu Ji are seen as inseparable.

Yin and Yang create each other; as soon as you have a front, you must also have

a back. Yin and Yang check and balance each other; if something is too hot, you balance

it by adding cold. Yin and Yang also transform into one another; activity naturally

transforms into rest, night transforms into day.

Life is peaceful when Yin and Yang are in harmony and balance, when the

transitions from Yin to Yang and Yang to Yin are gradual and even. When either Yin or

Yang becomes too extreme or when the transitions from Yin to Yang are unusually

sudden and abrupt, harmony and balance are lost. These imbalances may appear as

health problems, relationship difficulties, trade deficits, or unseasonal weather; all the

changes in the universe can be analysed by understanding Yin and Yang.

Wu Hsing - The Five Phases

Yin and Yang are further subdivided into Wu Hsing. Wu means five, while hsing

means form. Thus Wu Hsing is translated as the Five Forms, Five Phases (of Qi

transformation) or most commonly as the Five Elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and

Water. The Five Phases describes in more detail the stages of Yin and Yang changes.

The first phase is Wood, the lesser Yang, the phase of generation. Wood is

associated with new plant life and growth, with spring time, with the planting and

sprouting of seeds, with the east and the dawning of the new day.

The second phase is Fire, the Greatest Yang, the phase of expansion and

radiance. Fire is associated with the full bloom of plants, with summertime, with the

south and with mid-day.

The third phase is Earth, the balance of the Yang and Yin forces, and the phase of

stability. Earth is associated with the ripening and maturing of the seeds and fruits of

plants, with late summer, with the center and with late afternoon.

The fourth phase is Metal, the lesser Yin, the phase of gathering. Metal is

associated with reaping the harvest, with autumn, with the west and dusk.

The fifth phase is Water, the greatest Yin, and the phase of storing and

contraction. Water is associated with storing the harvest, with winter, with the north

and with mid-night.

When the Five Phases are in balance, they work in two ways: they generate and

nurture each other and they control and restrain one another. The Generation Cycle

( Sheng Cycle) occurs when the phases interact in their natural order: Wood nourishes

Fire, Fire creates Earth (ashes), Earth generates Metal (the distillation of minerals), Metal

creates Water (condensation), and Water nourishes Wood. This is also called the

mother - son cycle.

The Controlling Cycle ( K'o Cycle) occurs when every other phase relates: Wood

restrains Earth (plants prevent soil erosion), Fire controls Metal (a blacksmith's forge),

Earth restrains Water (a dam), Metal controls Wood (screws and nails, a woodworker's

tools), and Water controls Fire.

The following chart illustrates other correspondences of the Five Phases. Of

particular importance to the Taoist yogi are the relationships to the internal organs of

the body, and the emotions.

The Pa Kua

The Pa Kua or Eight Trigrams are a further differentiation of Yin and Yang. The

Pa Kua are represented in octagonal configurations corresponding to the eight points of

the compass. The I Ching (Classic Book of Change) is based upon the 64 possible

combinations of the Pa Kua, and represents a more minute analysis of the stages of

change in the universe.

The named is the mother of the ten thousand things.

Ever desireless, one can see the mystery.

Ever desiring, one can see its manifestations.

---Lao Tzu

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