Empty Vessel
Winter 2019
$5.95 U.S. $6.95 Canada
DISPLAY UNTIL MARCH 2020
The Journal of Taoist Philosophy & Practice
IN THIS ISSUE
• Chinese New Year of the Rat • Cha Dao: The Way of Tea • Grasping the Dao of Chinese Bodywork (Tuina) • Reflections on Emptiness and Form
Editor's corner Hello readers!
O
nce again we enter a new season and embrace all the tidings that come with it. As we get prepared to enter a New Year and reflect on the past, we also set goals for ourselves for the upcoming year. I’ve been thinking about the intentions I have for the aspiring year, and I don’t take that lightly. I’m not speaking of resolutions such as dieting or starting a new hobby that will only fade after a week. I want to set up my path for the New Year spiritually and as much aligned with the chi as possible. Some of the principles I’ve set for myself include: Listen more, speak less; put out positivity into the world; and try and set aside time to be still. As for my time with the Empty Vessel I hope that we can continue to provide you with the tools and information to assist you on your journey. Please contact us at our email EmptyVesselMag@gmail.com or through our website www.EmptyVessel.net. Until next season.
Heather Hernandez Editor
The Empty Vessel — Page 2
Q&A: China trip 2020 We interviewed Jessica Kolbe, who offers Qigong, Tai Chi and meditation classes, workshops, corporate, travel, retreats, certifications, trainings and private healing sessions, and asked about her upcoming trip to China for 2020. What are you looking forward to the most during the trip? We love being in the serene and majestic Wudang mountains where we study qigong and tai chi with master Zhou Jinbo. The delicious food and Panda centers are also highlights! How many people are in the group, typically? Our groups are small, between 12 to 18 people. The average age is about 63 years old. What’s the most unusual thing people will get to do on the trip? Practicing the ancient arts of Qigong and Tai Chi in the ancient temples are a once in a lifetime experience. We also enjoy joining the local people in the parks for morning practice. Find more information on page 17 or visit chinatrip.mystical-abode.com or QigongSB.com.
A Journey into Daoist China with Solala Towler Hangzhou • Wuyi Mountains • Chengdu • Qingcheng Mountain October 12-27 2020
Please join us this October as we explore Daoist China...we will begin our journey in Hangzhou where we will go boating upon the famous West Lake, visit the temple of the famous Daoist alchemist Ge Hong and drink tea at some of the traditional teahouses there...then we will take a fast train to the beautiful Wuyi Mountains in southern China, a World Heritage Site, and home of the famous Wuyi oolong tea...we will ride down the river on rafts, visit ancient Daoist temples and drink lots of local tea... from there we fly to Chengdu where we will eat hot pot and visit the pandas...we will also be staying on Qingcheng Shan, where we will study the local master there, as well as witness the daily Daoist ceremonies in the nearby temple...one day we will hike to the top of the mountain for a special tea ceremony with Daoist priests...then we will spend a few days in retreat at a quiet temple at the back of the mountain before we leave for Mei Guo (Beautiful Country) and home... All along the way we will practice Wuji (Primordial) Qigong each morning, have Dao talks each afternoon on the principles and practices of Daoism, have group meditation each evening and take part in many rich and soulful gongfu tea ceremonies...
We will be visiting very few tourist places other than the famous Panda Reserve outside Chengdu...instead this trip will be an opportunity to go deeply into Daoist practices...each day, each moment, each step on our journey will be an opportunity to engage with the ancient teachings of Laozi and Zhuangzi and make them a part of our own life journey...
Cost for this 16-day trip $5800 all inclusive double occupancy $6500 single occupancy What’s included • Roundtrip airfare from U.S. to China and back • All train, bus and airfare within China • All hotels, meals, classes • Local and national guides and translation • Excursions and sightseeing • All tips and gratuities For further information and to register call 541.345.8854, or write to solala@abodetao.com. Visit our website at www.abodetao.com for intinerary updates.
Solala Towler has been teaching qigong and the Daoist arts for over 28 years. He was publisher of The Empty Vessel magazine for 25 years and has had 12 books on the Daoist arts published, including The Inner Chapters of Chuang Tzu (Watkins) and Practicing the Tao Te Ching: 81 Steps On the Way (Sounds True). He has recorded 4 cd’s of meditation music and is a founding board member and past president of the National Qigong Association. He has been traveling to China since 1993. We will be working with Dana Xu (Xu Shu Xin), a delightful and experienced guide. She will travel with us for the whole trip and be our guide, translator and confidante in the Middle Kingdom.
China as a spiritual journey and life changing experience!
Winter 2019 — Page 3
What is Taoism?
What is Taoism?
Tao is referred to as The Way, as in direction, in manner, source, destination, purpose and process. In discovering and exploring Tao, the process and destination are one and the same. Lao Tzu describes a Taoist as the one who sees simplicity in the complicated, and achieves greatness in the little things. It is a simple and natural way of being in our bodies and our psyches, and sharing the Way of being with all life we come into contact with.
Taoism Origins Taoism was long established before Lao Tzu wrote the Tao Te Ching 2,500 years ago. It originated in the ancient shamanic roots of Chinese
civilization. For many centuries Taoism was an informal way of life, a way followed by peasant, farmer, gentleman philosopher and artist. Followers of the Way studied the stars in the heavens and the energy that lies deep within the Earth. They meditated upon the energy flow within their bodies and mapped out the roads and paths it traveled upon.
The Way The Way is a deep reflection, learning from Nature which is considered the highest teacher. It is a belief in life, a belief in the glorious procession of each unfolding moment. The Way is a deeply spiritual life, involving retrospect, balance, emotional and spiritual independence and responsibility with awareness and
a deep connection to the Earth and all other life forms.
Taoism Today Taoism in China and the West today is often divided in two forms, Tao Jiao and Tao Jia, or religious Taoism and philosophical Taoism. Many scholars argue that there are not two distinct forms of Taoism, and in many ways they are right. There is a great intermingling of the religious form of Taoism and it various sects and the philosophical Taoism of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu (Zhuangzi). Many people who follow the Tao do not consider themselves religious people, do not go to temples and are not ordained priests. Rather these forms exist side-by-side and within each other.
‘There is no greater danger than underestimating your opponent.’ — Lao Tzu The Empty Vessel — Page 4
Contents Winter 2019
Volume 26 Number 4
Features Chinese New Year of the Rat.......... 8 Cha Dao: The Way of Tea........ 14 Grasping the Dao of Chinese Bodywork (Tuina)........ 34 Reflections on Emptiness and Form........ 22 Taoism in the Seasons .................. 11
Departments Directory / Classifieds ........39 Poetry Corner .............. 12 Book Reviews .............. 13 Like us on Facebook @EmptyVesselMagazine Or visit
www.EmptyVessel.net
The Empty Vessel The Journal of Taoist Philosophy and Practice Publishers Dr. Nicole Noles Collins & Christopher Collins Editorial, Design, Advertising Dr. Nicole Noles Collins & Heather Hernandez Facebook Team Dr. Nicole Noles Collins, Christopher Collins & Heather Hernandez The Empty Vessel: A Journal of Contemporary Taoism is published quarterly by DaoDog Press, 3440 Conway Blvd. Unit 1D, Port Charlotte FL 33952. Subscriptions are $27 per year (U.S. funds). International subscriptions are $33 per year (U.S. funds). ©2019 DaoDog Press, all rights reserved. The Empty Vessel is not responsible for opinions or statements expressed by authors or for advertisers' claims. Advertising rates are available by calling The Empty Vessel /Vitalichi Acupuncture at 941-979-9793 or emailing daodogpress@gmail.com. The Empty Vessel is dedicated to the exploration of Taoist philosophy and practice. It is open to sharing the various traditional and contemporary teachings in a nondiscriminatory manner. We at The Empty Vessel believe that it is in using these practices and attitudes of the ancient achieved ones that we can best benefit from them and in doing so, be able to affect change in the world around us.
Winter 2019 — Page 5
The Empty Vessel — Page 6
Contributors Susan Levitt is an astrologer and feng shui consultant in San Francisco, CA. She is the author of several books including Taoist Astrology. For more info about Year of the Rat and lunar astrology visit www.susanlevitt.com. Michael Robbins, M.A. L.M.H.C., has been studying Taoist practices for more than 40 years. He is a student of the Diamond Approach of A.H. Almaas, is a psychotherapist in Somerville, MA and teaches Qi Gong. More information at www. michaelrobbinstherapy.com. Dan G. Reid is the author and translator of The Heshang Gong Commentary on Lao Zi’s Dao De Jing and The Thread of Dao. Dan is now a Licensed/Registered Massage Therapist and a practitioner of Chinese medicine, Cranial Sacral Therapy, and other Chinese modalities. Solala Towler founded the Abode of the Eternal Tao in Eugene, Oregon, in 1993. He also created The Empty Vessel magazine, which he published quarterly for 25 years until 2018. Solala has had 12 books published on the Taoist arts, and offer tours to China, I Ching readings and courses in Taoism. He can be reached at solala@abodetao. com/www.abodetao.com.
•••
Poetry Contributors
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— Michael Sheffield Winter 2019 — Page 7
By Susan Levitt Rat year is a time of strong endings and fresh beginnings because Rat is the first sign of the Chinese zodiac that starts a new 12-year cycle. Anticipate scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, and an increase in technological inventions. Creativity flourishes, with advancement in everything from artificial intelligence to soil analysis on Mars. Chinese New Year is the second new Moon after Winter Solstice. Rat is considered a lucky astrology sign, making Rat year a time of abundance and good fortune. Social Rat loves the pack, so this year is ideal to work collectively to launch new strategies. Ventures begun in a Rat year are fortunate, but only if well planned. So plan, organize, then plan again. Rat is a doer who cares about performance, progress, and rewards. Anticipate The Empty Vessel — Page 8
scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, and an increase in technological inventions. Creativity flourishes, with advancement in everything from artificial intelligence to soil analysis on Mars. During a Rat year there is a focus on money for both personal and global finance, like the last Rat year 2008 of the Great Recession. 2020 brings an even stronger focus on international markets, excessive wealth, and real estate because it’s a Metal year. Autumn and winter are the most fortunate seasons.
people raised out of poverty. But Metal also represents weaponry, and Rat year can bring collective militarization. Metal personality traits include strength, independence, focus, intensity, righteousness, and fluency in speech. The Metal personality is very determined and powerful. One born in a Metal year succeeds by being less opinionated, accepting change, and gracefully releasing the past. The element Metal rules the lungs in Chinese Medicine so take care of your lungs this year, especially in autumn.
Metal Rat
Rat Personality
Of the five Taoist elements Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood, this is the year of the Metal Rat.
Those born in Rat years (1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996, 2008, 2020) are smart, sharp, funny people who are highly perceptive. They are excellent at analyzing data to arrive at the correct conclusions, and can quickly figure out how to solve problems. Their quick wit and style makes them popular, and are delightful when they turn on the charm.
The element Metal represents money and the resources of Mother Earth such as gold and silver. Anticipate fluctuations in world economies and shifts of political power. There can be a financial reset of rich and poor, with more
Feng Shui for 2020 Metal Rat Year By Susan Levitt Create good luck in 2020 Rat year with good feng shui! Feng shui is part of Chinese medicine whereby health can be restored and maintained in a calm, peaceful environment. 2020 is a Metal year. In feng shui, the element Metal is represented by the clean, pristine environment. If there ever was a time to reduce clutter, it’s now. Rat year is an excellent time to organize and clean up, especially organize and clean up your financial records. There is always a focus on money in a Rat year.
METAL YEAR
The room to enhance in Rat year is the bedroom that correlates to the Element Metal. (5 Elements info below.) Metal is a yin element, and the bedroom is a yin room for quiet, rest, and sleep. Make your bedroom a healing sanctuary. Rats are nocturnal animals. The hours of the Rat are 11 pm – 1 am. Those born during Rat year or hour can have a predisposition for insomnia. The Rat mind is always working and thinking, creating and planning. So 2020 is the year to create a peaceful bedrooms for you and your family.
The best metal for the Ox charm is silver or silver tone. The best color for the charm is silver or white. For those who collect charms in jade, a green jade Ox is always delightful, and can be worn in all years except Sheep. A green jade Ox is most fortunate for those born in Wood Ox year 1985. The next Wood Ox year will be 2045.
Five Elements Taoist feng shui is based on the 5 elements of Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood: FIRE/HEART/LIVING ROOM – In Chinese medicine, the element Fire is represented by the heart. The living room is the heart of the home. Your living room is best with accents of the bright and lively Fire colors red, purple, orange, and all shades of red. Bright accents stimulate conversation and activity. Strong Fire brings passion, energy, and creativity.
Do not wear an Ox charm if you were born in Sheep year because Ox is opposite Sheep. I was born in Sheep The lucky charm for Rat year is an year, so no Ox charm for me. But if Ox charm, the full body not just the an Ox charm is inspiring, stabilizing, head. and protective for you, then 2020 is your year for an Ox charm, and is Rat’s harmony trine of compatibility recommended for those in Ox’s har- EARTH/STOMACH/DINING is with another Rat, Monkey, and mony trine Ox, Snake, and Phoenix ROOM – In Chinese medicine, the Dragon. Outside of the compatibility (Rooster). element Earth is the stomach. The trine, Rat’s closest ally is hard-workdining room is where we eat and ing Ox. Next year Metal Ox 2021 will In 2021 the year of the Metal Ox, the digest food. The dining room is best be time to follow through and com- lucky charm will be a silver or white in earthen tones of gold, terra cotta, plete what was stared in this Rat year. Rat. And full body, not just the head. or other soft yin colors. Red paint in
Lucky Charm
Winter 2019 — Page 9
a dining area is too stimulating and people eat too fast. Then start at your front door. Clean your entry to welcome Strong Earth brings stability. balance, and patience. all the good luck that will come into your home and place of business in the new year. Wash, sweep, or vacuum the METAL/LUNGS/BEDROOM – In Chinese medicine, front steps, porch, entry hall, lobby — whatever the entry the element metal is the lungs. The bedroom is where is where you live. we sleep and breathe deeply while resting. Best bedroom colors are white, cream, and soft pastels. Avoid bright Make this area clean, well lit, and inviting. Check the enbig prints on bedding and drapery, especially in a child’s try’s lighting fixtures, make sure the doorbell works, and room, because it’s too yang and not restful. Strong Metal paint touch-ups on scuff marks. Add an welcome mat if brings logic, clarity, and needed. Or replace an intelligence. old one if it’s worn out its welcome. WATER/KIDNEYS/ BATHRO OM – In For a business, make Chinese medicine, the sure that your entry is element water is the clean and inviting, and kidneys. In the baththat there is good sigroom, paint this room nage with clear address in a soft, quiet, and numbers. A business calm color for peaceful must be easy to find, elimination of waste and attractive to enter. and for soothing bathOne third of business ing or showering. Light success is good feng blue is fine. Strong Washui at the entrance. ter brings wisdom and serenity. WO OD/LIVER/ KITCHEN – In Chinese medicine, the element wood is the liver. Wood is used in a kitchen to feed the cooking fire. The kitchen must be kept very clean because this is where food is prepared, so white walls are best. But green accents or a plant are recommended to introduce the Wood element into this Wood room. Strong Wood brings growth, enthusiasm, and enthusiasm.
First Thing Seen
What is the first thing seen when you enter your home? Your eye goes somewhere, so direct the eye by organizing each room so that the first thing seen sets a pleasant tone to make the room inviting to enter.
Make sure that the first thing seen in each room is clean and inspiring. You do not want to see a pile of paperwork or any type of clutter. Stay tidy, especially during The energy of any room can be transformed by adding a this element Metal year, the time for a clean, pristine coat of fresh paint. If all rooms of your home have white environment. or ivory walls, all white is too much of the element Metal that can lead to arguing. So paint one room with color. Or add a backsplash of color on one wall, or trim a room Lucky Plants with color. Don’t know which room to paint? Paint the room that’s in the most need of sprucing up. It can be fortunate to add healthy plants and flowers to your home and workplace to increase abundance. The energy of a room is brightened by the addition of flowers How Luck Enters and plants. And plants offer fresh oxygen. Where to start? By developing tidy habits. Stop mess before it builds by maintaining the habit of tidying up before you leave your home or office. Then a peaceful environment awaits you when you return. Especially at your place of work, it’s not favorable to leave a mess over the weekend. The Empty Vessel — Page 10
Indoors or out, it’s best to have plants that stay evergreen all year, and that do not lose their leaves in any season. Lucky flowers are orchids, peonies, and lilies. Roses are fine in a home or office, but remove them if there’s arguing (influence of the rose’s thorns.) Avoid thorny plants like cacti. Plants with round and soft leaves are better.
Taoism in the Seasons Winter is the most Yin of all the seasons, in this cold dark season it is important to replenish your body’s energy and be still.
Ideally you should be going to bed earlier and sleeping late so as to not to disturb the Yang.
Winter is associated with the Water Element and the kidneys. To harmonize with the season, cultivate your mind and body chi in preparation for the burst of energy in the springtime.
Eat seasonal foods to nourish chi such as nuts and root vegetables.
Avoid cold food and drinks.
The Chinese New Year in 2020 falls on January 25th, and the festival will last to February 8th, about 15 days in total Refrain from using negative words on the Lunar New Year. Examples include: death, sick, empty, pain, ghost, poor, break, and kill.
Red envelopes containing money are traditionally given in the New Year for good luck to children, parents and elders, friends and even co-workers.
It is bad luck to sweep,
take a shower, or cut your hair on New Year’s Day
so as to keep the good luck in the new year.
Firecrackers that were once used to ward off evil spirits
are still used to celebrate the New Year despite a ban on the practice in certain cities. SOURCES: CHINAHIGHLIGHTS.COM • CHINESENEWYEAR.NET • ENERGYARTS.COM • WUWEIWISDOM.COM
Winter 2019 — Page 11
Poetry Corner Send in your poetry submissions and art to daodogpress@gmail.com. Send high-resolution images as attachments and copy in the body of the email.
Winter Solstice
By Michael Sheffield
Again the closing circle of the year Holds in its great embrace Sun shining in the blue The drifting clouds Storms driving hard And the healing black of night Buds bursting, fruits gathered The eagle, salmon and the bear High stony mountain slopes Streams flowing to the sea Laughter and tears
Lives lived Lives lost Hearts broken Hearts healed again
In the circle of eternity In the heart of hearts We all come together Holding hands Saying Yes! We are all here We come We go We will return
Winter Solstice Blossom
By Michael Sheffield
Slowly An urge to become Held in the dark earth Rises through the roots Streams through the stems And swells the bud Slowly The Empty Vessel — Page 12
A flower of ten thousand petals Opens Holding countless possibilities That will in time Come to fruition Will wither Then pass away Leaving no trace Like geese in the sky On their journey Back to the source
Tea Mind
— tea as meditainto our deepest
ing the Tao Te Che Tao, Inner ChapCha Dao (Singing
A Journey Through the Dao of Tea
by Solala Towler
s and conferences ong, tea ceremony ism.
A Journey Through the Dao of Tea Tea Mind Tea Heart
inese tea.
Tea Mind Tea heart
Tea Heart
ophy and practice e, the Way of Tea, essays, taking the umination.
a and the U.S., So-
New from Solala Towler!
delicious and rare
ll be full of sweet-
by Solala Towler
Tea Mind, Tea Heart is a journey into the world of Chinese tea — tea as meditation, as a way to commune with nature, and as a journey into our deepest self. Drawing on his thirty years of studying Daoist philosophy and practice — including qigong, Daoist meditation and of course, the Way of Tea, Solala weaves a magical web of stories, poems and essays, taking the reader on a journey of deep exploration and inner illumination. Illustrated with over fifty full-color photos from China and the U.S., Solala’s book is an offering from the heart and soul of Chinese tea.
Available in print book format as well as e-book format from Amazon.com or from www.abodetao. com/store/. “If you approach your life like you are pouring a pot of delicious and rare tea and you are sharing that with others, your life will be full of sweetness and delight.”
Winter 2019 — Page 13
Cha Dao: The Way of Tea
By Solala Towler
My partner Shanti and I often invite friends over for tea. We find it is a more simple offering, yet one that allows us to drop deeply into conversation. We have tea Using one’s intuition and soul to and snacks and often spend hours experience tea fully, as both an visiting. Yet our tea party is a little artistic expression and a Tao, is different than what most people what “gong fu” tea is all about. Aaron Fisher (Wu De) think of as a tea party.
yes, gongfu martial arts.
The simple act of serving tea and receiving it with gratitude is the basis for a way of life called Chado, the Way of Tea. With a bowl of tea, peace can truly spread. The peacefulness from a bowl of tea may be shared and become the foundation of a way of life. Shiatsu Sen XV
Another name for what we are doing here is pin ming lun dao or “savor tea, discuss Dao.” Usually, when we talk about drinking tea we would say he cha but here we use a different term, pin. Pin means something more than just drinking tea. The character for pin is made up of three squares, which represent three mouths, as in the three sips we take at the beginning of the ceremony. Not only that but it has a quality of savoring or going slowly or really letting not only the flavor of the tea but the energy of the tea enter our being in a deep way.
The Empty Vessel — Page 14
Our type of tea is called gongfu cha. Gongfu (goong foo) is one of those misunderstood terms in Chinese that most people associate with martial arts (called wushu in Chinese). Gongfu actually means anything that you study, practice and get good at. It can be gongfu gardening, gongfu painting and
Another way of looking at pin is like this: In classical Chinese culture, Pin is also the way of study and the achievement of Enlightenment. The next character, ming, means high quality tea or a special kind of tea. This can be an expensive tea or just one that carries a lot of meaning for us. In this way we are offering our guests much more than just a cup of tea. We are sharing something deep and profound. To quote Master Wu again, If we pick up the teacup and just swallow the tea without paying any attention to the tea, then drinking the tea will be meaningless to us. With heartfelt observation during our tea drinking, we can learn the Dao of tea, including the knowledge of the tea, the healing and cultivation functions of the tea, and the philosophy behind the drinking of the tea. The last two characters in the phrase we are discussing, lun dao, refer to lifting the conversation into the realm of philosophy or some other high minded conversation. I find when I do Daoist gongfu tea ceremonies that the tea really opens people up to be better able to grasp the Daoist teachings that I share as well. There is just something that is relaxing yet also stimulating about this simple ceremony.
We also shower the outside of the pot before each steeping. Then, we put a measure of tea into the pot, let it steep for just a few minutes, and then pour that out as well! This is called “washing the leaves” and gets rid of any dust left on the leaves. I also call it “waking up the leaves.” It allows the flavor and goodness of the leaves to really open and improves the flavor of the tea. Then we add water again and let it steep a few moments more and pour the tea into the small cups. We pick up the cups, holding them with our thumb and first finger on the sides and our ring finger on the bottom and align them with our heart (middle dantian) so that the cha qi or qi of the tea can align with our heart or shen energy. First we admire the color of the tea. I often use small glass gongfu cups so that the color of the tea is easily seen. White cups work for this as well. When we look at the color we are connected to the tea medicine through our eyes to our shen or spirit. This also happens when we hold the tea in front of our middle dantian or heart center.
Another term for tea in Chinese is chayao or “tea medicine.” Yet another term is yang sheng yin liao or “the drink for nourishing life.” In gongfu tea we use a special tea table, which either has a moveable tray underneath it a place to catch waste water and tea or a tube running down to a bowl under the table. This is because gongfu tea is a lot like water play (and who didn’t enjoy water play as a child)? Also, we use tiny little teapots and even tinier little cups. Actually it’s a lot like playing with a child’s tea set, except the tea utensils are made of special clay called yixing, a very porous clay that has been used for tea utensils for hundreds if not thousands of years. It is very porous clay that works well for tea steeping. This clay is so porous that it is said that if you use a pot for a number of years you will be able to just pour hot water into it and out will come tea! We first pour hot water into the pot and then pour it out, much like the English do, to warm up the pot. We also pour hot water into whatever cups we will be using as well. This is why we have the tray or tube, to catch all the water we are pouring out everywhere. Winter 2019 — Page 15
Then we lift the cup to our noses and take a deep sniff, allowing that cha qi to enter our bodies via our nostrils and go right up into our head. Each tea has a unique smell and often each cup will have one as well. In this way we connect the smell of the tea to our qi or vital energy body. After this we take one sip and let it sit in our mouths, if it’s not too hot, to once again allow the qi of the tea to enter our whole being. This also connects the energy of the tea to our jing or original essence body. To continue, we take three small sips. The first one we taste with the tip of our tongue, the second with the middle of our tongue and the last with the back of our tongue. You may be amazed at how different each sip can taste. When we drink the tea, we need to slow down and feel the different kinds of energy in each small sip of tea with different parts of the mouth and the heart. Zhongxian Wu This tea is a plant (wood), which is grown in the ground (earth), up towards the sun (fire) and watered by the rain (water). In this way it represents the five elements. The yixing teapot represents the minerals in the earth or the element metal. The Japanese tea ceremony, chanoyu, is a much more formal, sober affair and the tea master takes much longer to serve the tea. The Chinese tend to be more informal and so the Chinese tea ceremony, while allowing for meditation on the five elements, the character, and the spirit of the tea and the joy of sharing the tea and the moment together, is much shorter and quite informal. Traditionally the time of sharing tea is a time for catching up with each other, perhaps sharing some poetry or calligraphy or just enjoying each other’s company. As I said, a few hours goes by in a flash. Whenever I teach qigong The Empty Vessel — Page 16
classes we always have a tea session and practice pin ming lun dao. Tea has many health benefits as well. Tea is full of antioxidants, is detoxifying, helps with metabolism and the digestion, and stimulates clear thinking and mental alertness. Puerh tea especially is good for digestion. One friend of ours had to do a three-month session of antibiotics, which wrecked his digestion. After months of taking probiotics and eating a lot of yogurt, the situation did not change. Then he started drinking lots of puerh tea and his digestion cleared right up. This is because puerh tea is fermented. When I was first served pu’erh tea I did not really like it. I was used to much milder green teas like Dragon Well (still my favorite first tea of the day). The dark coffee-like color and the earthy taste made me feel like I was drinking a cup of mud. But after trying it a few more times I really developed at taste for it and now I drink it all the time and really appreciate its earthy flavor. Puerh is often pressed into round cakes, called bings, and will keep for many years. As a matter of fact, the older the puerh is the more expensive it is. Some rare and aged cakes can go for thousands of dollars! There are two basic types of puerh tea, called raw (sheng) and cooked (shou). In the olden days all puerh tea was processed and then stored for 20 years or more, during which time it took on many healing qualities. But today, even in China, no one wants to wait that long to drink the tea! So instead the raw tea is “composted” or forced into a more rapid fermentation. The tea, some of which grows on ancient tea trees (which is how tea was originally grown) is picked, dried then heated in a wok to remove the raw flavors of the tea, called sha ching or “kill green”. Then it is rolled or kneaded and dried. After this it is put into storage if it is to be allowed to fully ferment on its
own or else it is piled, wetted down and covered with thermal blankets to ferment more quickly. Sheng puerh can take up to 70 years to fully mature, which is why really old tea can command ridiculous prices. Shou puerh, on the other hand, is ready in one to two months. This kind of tea has many beneficial microbes, which is why it is so good for digestion. Some of these microbes grow naturally in the tea as it is piled and left to ferment. But sometimes the tea growers introduce microbes from an older batch of tea. Both kinds of tea are often steamed and then pressed in stone molds into various shapes. Most often the tea is pressed into round cakes, though there are other more fanciful shapes such as melon shapes, bricks or squares. Then the tea is dried and will keep well for many years if properly stored. I drink both sheng and shou puerh and they certainly each have their own flavors and qualities. The most important thing to remember in brewing sheng or raw puerh is to not over–steep, it as this can produce a tea that is very bitter. The trick is to steep it just 20-30 seconds tops. Some people feel there is more vitality in raw puerh but I enjoy both kinds. When doing a tea session or class I often serve both kinds as well as another kind of tea such as an oolong (one of my favorites is called Golden Horse Eyebrow), which allows the attendees to go on a bit of a tea journey. There is even a term called “tea drunk” when after drinking a lot of tea you get a little light headed and giddy, this is a very different feeling than a caffeine rush.
But brewing and drinking tea in a conscious way can have a great impact on your being. Brewing and drinking good quality tea is a whole cultivation practice in itself. This is not just about drinking tea. It’s also about something I call Tea Mind. This goes back to the slowing down practice. By going too fast we zip through life without ever coming upon the interesting detours that suddenly arise when we don’t have blinders on. The funny thing is that even though we call it the Way, there are actually many ways to and through that Way. When we brew and share tea in this way we allow each moment to deepen our experience of the tea and our company. Indeed, the Japanese have a term called ichigo ichie, meaning “one time, one meeting.” This moment that we share in exploring the deep realms of tea and spiritual bonding can only truly happen in this special way for one time. Each time we brew another pot of tea, share in a deep moment of friendship and lun dao, is unique unto itself. We each have our own unique and sacred path to follow. Comparing ourselves to others is a waste of time.
You can, of course serve gongfu tea with any type of tea – puerh, oolong, red, green etc. The most important aspect of the Daoist gongfu tea ceremony is the spirit and attention you bring to it. I have told my students that you could do this kind of ceremony with nothing but hot water if you bring the right focus and intent to it! There are many Chinese teas to choose from but I would strongly suggest that if you are interested in gongfu tea that you never use tea bags. They are usually filled with the dregs of the tea processing and very inferior tea. There are a number of good teashops in any big city or else you can find them online. Spend the money to get good quality as well. The qi of inferior tea will do you no good. See my tea business: Xin Dao (the Way of the Heart) tea. Of course you don’t have to do a whole gongfu tea ceremony every time you want to drink some tea. Winter 2019 — Page 17
In Daoist temples in China each member is free to pursue their own aspect of Daoist studies. Some study martial arts, some taiji and qigong, some calligraphy or religious texts, some pursue meditation or chanting, some do the bookkeeping or the cooking and cleaning. Most of their cultivation practices are done alone. Except for when there is a ceremony or it is a holiday everyone follows Dao in his or her own way. Likewise, each pot of tea is different, even pots of the same tea. Each steeping is different, each time you fill the pot is different, and the company you share the tea with even makes it different. If you approach your life like you are pouring a pot of delicious and rare tea and you are sharing that with others, your life will be full of sweetness and delight. Tea Mind is not rushing through each day as if it were a race and a losing one at that. Tea Mind is savoring each moment to the fullest of one’s capacity. Tea Mind is being open to change in each moment. Tea Mind is being awake to each step of the way, each revolution of the great wheel of life, each breath we take and each breath we give back out. Tea Mind is being thankful for each day, for all the blessings as well as the challenges. Tea Mind is not being attached to outcomes or goals but enjoying each part of the journey. This may be a cliché but when we are hiking up the many stone steps on our way to a temple in China we look around at the overhanging trees all around us or at the mountain peaks off in the distance, and are happy to be there, treading like pilgrims from ancient days. Tea Mind is not minding that sometimes life is difficult and hard and challenging and we don’t always live up to even our own expectations, never mind those of society at large. Tea Mind is enjoying the absurdities of life and being able especially to laugh at ourselves. Tea Mind is having an enjoyment of nature and natural forms. In Japan there is an aesthetic called wabi sabi, which is an appreciation for old and worn and imperfect things. Tea Mind contains wabi sabi The Empty Vessel — Page 18
and enjoys the simple unglazed tea utensils, made from the sturdy yixing clay. Aaron Fisher, in his fine book The Way of Tea describes wabi this way: “Wabi also was an attitude of unpretentiousness, simplicity, and direct communication of the heart. Through simplicity and emptiness, even tea can be transcendent and lead to enlightening insight.” Tea Mind is being open to making mistakes and not minding or at least not being torn up about them. Tea Mind is learning to have our emotions or energetic states in balance. Tea Mind is making the time to sit and enjoy a good cup of tea with our friends and loved ones and even just with ourselves. It is in savoring each mouthful that we give silent thanks for the opportunity to enjoy the tea, the moment, the company, the chance to connect with the plant world and all that is natural within us. When we live our life with Tea Mind we trust that we have all the time we need to accomplish any task, we can call upon assistance from the spirit realm, we can study the words of the ancient teachers, those men and women of Dao who have so much to offer to our modern, fragmented society. We can take their words and their teachings deep into our own heart/ minds and utilize them for our own cultivation, our own evolution, our own expression of Dao. To learn more about the history of tea in China and Japan as well as the healing aspects of tea please see my book Cha Dao: The Way of Tea, Tea As a Way of Life, published by Singing Dragon Press. If you are interested in acquiring some low-cost, high-quality tea please see our online store, Xin Dao Tea (tea from the heart) at https://abodetao.com/store/#!/ Xin-Dao-Tea-tea-from-the-heart/c/33090049/ offset=0&sort=normal.
“ New beginnings are often disguised as painful endings.” — Lao Tzu
Winter 2019 — Page 19
Temple of the Celestial Cloud Esoteric Daoist Mysticism
The following books have been written by Professor Jerry Alan Johnson and contain translated texts from ancient Zhen Yi Daoist Mystisicm and are introduced for the first time in English.
Daoist Exorcism. Contains the History of Exorcism, The Three Realms of Daoist Magic, Interac-
tions with the Spirit World, Schools of Daoist Sorcery, Understanding Psychic Influence, Principles of Psychic Interference, Psychic Attacks, Types of Psychic Attacks, Symptoms That Indicate a Psychic Attack, Defending Against Psychic Attacks, Encounters With Ghosts, Types of Hauntings, Communicating with Ghosts, Encounters With Spirits, Historic Classification of Spirits and Immortals, Seductive Spirits, Animal Spirits, Plant Spirits, Nature Spirits, Spirits of the Elemental Realms, Spirit Snakes and Spider Spirits, Sensations Attributed to the Presence of Spirit Entities, How and Why Negative Spirit Entities Attack, Self-Defense Against Spirit Entities, Protecting Children, Closing the Ghost Gate to Protect against Ghosts and Spirits, Encounters With Demonic and Evil Spirits, Demonology, Levels of Demonic Influence, Demonic Manifestation, Demonology According to Christian Mysticism, Historical Facts, Demonic Attacks, Encounters with Demon or Spirit Possessed Individuals, Demon or Spirit Oppression and more. $175
Daoist Alchemy: Nei Gong. Secret teachings of esoteric Daoist Alchemy written by a Senior
Daoist Abbot for his “Wen (Healer/Scholar) - Wu (Martial)” disciples. This historic instruction book includes an introduction to Ancient Chinese Alchemy, Spiritual Transformation, The Metaphysical Realm, Returning to the Original Nature, External Alchemy and Daoist Lower Magic, Internal Alchemy and Daoist Middle Magic, Esoteric Alchemy and Daoist High Magic, Magic and Immortality, The Natural Forces of the Three Powers, Nine Treasures and Daoist Alchemy, Understanding Energy (Qi), The Five Realms of Energy, Energetic Formation of the Universe, The Five Pure Lights, The Yellow River Chart (Hetu), The Luo River Graph, Three Martial, Medical, and Magical Schools of Daoist Neigong Training, and more. $200
Daoist Incantations. Imprinting with Incantations, Enchantment, Trance Induction, Daoist Magical Hand Seal Training, Types of Hand Seals, Specific Functions of the Hand Seals, Hand Seals Used For Worship, Summoning, Protection, Obstruction, Attacking, Binding, Imprisoning, and Sealing, Mao Shan Hand Seals Used for Healing or Protection, History of Daoist Star Stepping, Using Star Stepping with Hand Seals, Incantations and Magic Seals, Summoning the Spirits of the Dead, Summoning Celestial Immortals, and more. $85
Daoist Magic Tools. This particular training manual provides information originating from the
Taiqing (Great Clarity) Daoist tradition, and includes secret methods of writing magical talismans and speaking sacred Words of Power via Breath Incantations. This particular Taiqing Daoist Manual provides for four special categories of magical talismans, as well as their specific stroke orders, and their essential activation incantations. Included in this special training manual are: The special categories of magical talismans traditionally used for the “Suppression of Demon Spirits” and for “Blessing the Home;” which are to be posted up on the wall or main pillar of the house like a “Public Notice.” These special Taiqing Talismans must both be written with Black Pine Soot Ink and The Empty Vessel — Page 20
Cinnabar on Yellow Talisman Paper. The special categories of magical talismans traditionally used for “Summoning Spirits” and for “Treating Diseases.” These special Taiqing Talismans must be written with Red Cinnabar Ink on standard Yellow Talisman Paper. These four special categories of Taiqing Talismans are extremely important, and essential for all Daoist disciples to study; therefore this special instruction manual is presented here as an essential companion to the Daoist Magical Talismans textbook. $175
Daoist Transformation Magic. Transformation Skills of Daoist Sorcery, Two Types of Magical Transformation Skill, The Magical Transformation of Man, Observing the Present Meditation, Psychometry, Clairaudience, Transferring Thoughts, Clairvoyance, Perceiving a Person’s Destiny, Seeing Spirits and Having Visions, Dream Magic, Dream Magic Training, Herbs Used To Induce Lucid Dreaming, Mind Magic, Illusionary Magic, Invisibility, Three Types of Invisibility Skills, Suspended Animation, Walking Through Walls, Soul Travel, Teleportation, Bilocation, Shape-Shifting Magic, Methods of Shape-Shifting, The Magical Transformation of External Things, Defense Magic, Healing Magic, Sex Magic, Materialization, Weather Magic, Divination Magic, Corpse Magic, Transferring a Soul, Stealing the Soul of a Coma Victim, Rituals Used In Corpse Magic In Order to Obtain a Spirit Helper, Energy, Spirit, and Soul Projection, Qi and Thought Projection, Shadow Magic Training,Three Types of Soul Projection, Five Phases of Soul Travel, Soul Projection Training, Imagination Techniques, Respiration Techniques, Mantra Sound Techniques, Advanced Soul Projection and Shape-Shifting Techniques, Communicating in the Spirit World. $85
To order these books, send check along with $10 postage for each one to: DaoDog Press, 3440 Conway Blvd. Unit 1D, Port Charlotte, FL 33952 or via PayPal at daodogpress@gmail.com.
Book Title: Cost: Book Title: Cost: Book Title: Cost: Name Address City State Zip Winter 2019 — Page 21
Reflections on Emptiness and Form By Michael Robbins, M.A. L.M.H.C. The Tao is like an empty container: It can never be emptied and can never be filled. Infinitely deep, it is the source of all things. Tao Te Ching O Sariputra, Form does not differ from Emptiness And Emptiness does not differ from Form. Form is Emptiness and Emptiness is Form. The same is true for Feelings, Perceptions, Volitions and Consciousness. The Heart Sutra Taoist energy practices (Qi Gong, Nei Gong and Tai Chi) have been a fundamental part of my path for more than 40 years. As a practitioner of these arts I am struck that when we do our practices, we call them forms. We spend countless hours perfecting our forms. There are seemingly endless levels to this. As a form becomes more realized, we unwind our energetic fixations and misalignments and our capacity to carry chi or life force increases. The better we get at this, the more we express a sense of freedom, joy and beauty in our movement. A central ideal is that we learn to move dynamically while simultaneously maintaining inner stillness. In essence, every form is a bridge to the form-less. It is a link between a concrete The Empty Vessel — Page 22
PAINTING BY JAI KELLER
With Silence, It Opens
practical action and the essential energies of a unified field that is timeless, empty of manifestation and beyond duality. Physicists call this the quantum field (Dispenza, 2017). A central dilemma for spiritual seekers, and perhaps for all human beings, is learning how to live with one part of our awareness rested into
the profound stillness of the unconditioned mind, while simultaneously being fully engaged in the unique context of our lives. This is an art that requires years of practice. To accomplish this balance of stillness and movement we must be deeply rooted in the paradoxes of human existence. We must recognize ourselves as both form and formless, as a unique event
PAINTING BY JAI KELLER
Becoming Form
in time and space, and also a timeless essence that transcends physical, psychological and cultural conditions. We must understand ourselves as beings with biological, psychological and cultural conditioning, and also as timeless wells of emptiness from which creation has mysteriously sprung.
yin and yang, there is creative dynamism, manifestation, time, and the “full catastrophe” of life in the world. As soon as there is any duality, any point that exists, any manifestation at all, there is the beginning of the “twoness” that ultimately gives birth to (as the Tao Te Ching says) “the ten thousand things”.
The ‘chi’ that flows through our bodies and minds ultimately has its roots in emptiness, or that level of energy that precedes the duality of yin and yang, subject and object. In Taoism this is called the “Wu Chi”.
The capacity to hold both the fundamental emptiness of the Wu Chi and at the same moment practice the exacting disciplines of our forms is a metaphor for life. In a sense any form is symbolic of our identity in the world of time and space. Anything that we do with impeccability can be a vehicle to practice the paradoxical unity of emptiness and form.
The “Wu Chi” is the level of energy that exists prior to the birth of yin and yang, subject and object. As soon as there is
The moment of creation, when no “thing”, no “one”, and no “time”, emerges into “something” and “someone”, at a particular time, fascinates me. The capacity to truly dissolve into no “thing”, and no “one”, outside of “time”, and then emerge from the blackness of the Void as a unique being in a particular moment, is an extraordinary experience. It requires that we dis-identify from all of the structures of our lives and then breathe life back into these structures from a place of non-attachment and impeccable artistry. A deep attainment on the path is that we become relaxed and open enough for there to be a continuous flow from emptiness into form and form into emptiness. To come back to the centrality of paradox Winter 2019 — Page 23
again, it seems that it takes profound discipline and competence in the forms of our lives to be able to touch the formless. The practitioners whom I have known that have embodied this moment of creation when emptiness flows into form and form into emptiness have a particular kind of energy about them. They transmit a timeless presence and transcendent quality of Being while simultaneously being fully focused, clear and deeply available in every moment. They are luminous, flowing, relaxed, fully present in the complexity of every context, and see the world with an admirable sense of objectivity. They are not “stuck”. A friend of mine who is an advanced practitioner of meditation and Qi Gong recently reminded me that too much higher cortical activity, i.e. overthinking, blocks chi flow. (Ken Bichel, personal communication, 2019) Therefore, a first step on the path towards an unimpeded flow between emptiness and form is to develop our capacity to notice our identification with thoughts and develop a capacity to dissolve attachment to discursive thinking. Or, to paraphrase the words of A.H. Almaas, (Almaas, 2002, p. 393 -395) ‘true autonomy is autonomy from our own minds’. It may be important to clarify that we never lose the knowledge and information that is held in our discursive minds, it is simply that we learn how to reflect on this information with non-attachment, and objectivity. We do not confuse the information in our thinking with the fundamental, contentless, emptiness of Being. To dis-identify from the conditioning of our minds requires that we study the structure, the drives and motivations, the compulsions and traumas that keep our attention fixated inside a particular structure or point of view. When the Taoists and other mystics talk about the conditioned mind, they are also talking about the conditioned body and the neural pathways that have been etched into our nervous system by our physical, psychological and cultural experiences. Dissolving these fixations in our “mind/body”, in our energy, thought patterns, beliefs and behaviors is the first stage of spiritual practice in most of the spiritual disciplines that I have studied. From this perspective we could define this stage of practice as any form we use to illuminate and disidentify from our conditioning. Qi Gong, Yoga, Psychotherapy, Spiritual Inquiry are The Empty Vessel — Page 24
all examples of methods to address energetic and emotional fixations at different levels. Ultimately, the goal is to be able to live more consistently in a state of flow between emptiness and form, form and emptiness. As a psychotherapist, I remember what Freud said – we must make what is unconscious conscious. In spiritual practice, this means that we must make the unconscious patterns of energy flow, tension, fixated chi, etc. in the body/mind conscious. The work of dissolving these energetic blockages and fixations at every level is essential for a student to sustain an authentic experience of emptiness. There are some ways that spiritual teachings and teachers have thought about developing our capacity to hold both the timeless emptiness of the transcendent, and the engaged focus of attention in the immanent moment, that I think are very useful to anyone on a spiritual path. At least they have been for me. I offer three of them here in the hopes that they may also be useful to you. Some of these ideas have strong implications for the nitty gritty of spiritual practice that you may not have thought of before. Hopefully they can help you track the flow between emptiness and form in a way that helps you to integrate the paradox of human existence more fully. Fundamentally, I believe that the capacity to simultaneously hold both emptiness and form is a natural human potential that is available to all of us with guidance and practice. The three approaches that I would like to explore are 1) the perspective of Taoist Energy Practices, 2) Big Mind and Relative Mind, and 3) Non-Doing meditation.
Taoist Energy practice: Balancing the Vertical and the Horizontal – Strengthening the Belly Center and the Central Channel The Taoists were at once very practical and profoundly mystical in their approach to emptiness. From a Taoist perspective, before a student can even begin to approach a deep level of emptiness, she must do a tremendous amount of preliminary energetic work to create a balanced, coherent and stable flow of chi through the body/mind. Although there are many, perhaps even hundreds of practices in the Taoist Canon that can help a student to achieve this, I would like to focus on two
central dimensions that integrate the intentions and understandings of many of these methods. These dimensions are strengthening and balancing the Dan Tien of the belly center and opening the Central Channel or the vertical energy route that runs through the center of our bodies from the perineum to the crown of our heads. The Central Channel also continues into the spaces below and above our physical body. In the world view of Taoism, we are a continuously pulsing, vibrant field of energy embedded in ever increasingly complex and subtle fields which extend like a series of Russian nesting dolls from the smallest atoms of our bodies to the cosmos itself. In this hierarchy of energy fields, every part is interconnected, and affecting each other. The larger fields contain the smaller ones and have a relatively larger impact. Although there is a hierarchy of smaller and bigger fields of complexity, every Love For Emptiness level also mirrors every other level holographically. The microcosm reflects the macrocosm. So, in our mind/body we literally have access to all of the elements of the universe. Taoism encourages us to look at everything in life, the food we eat, our intimate relations, our culture, the weather, the seasons and even the movements of the planets and stars, in terms of creating a sense of harmony, order and coherence between all these fields of energy. All Taoist practices and philosophy (Acupuncture, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Feng Shui, the I Ching, Nei Gong, Five Element cooking, etc.) have the goal of creating a sense of harmony and balance between all levels of existence, from
the personal to the cosmic. Some practices focus on the details of life, like what we eat and the flow of energy through our living spaces, while others, such as Taoist Alchemy, focus on harmonizing our lives with more cosmic fields of energy. When we are living a life that is in balance, we have a sense of order and rightness. We are exactly where we are, at peace with ourselves, in harmony with the changing world. One could spend lifetimes studying all of the wisdom that is available in Taoism about these principles and the practices that flow from understanding them. But Taoism, like all authentic spiritual paths, goes further than this. It is also a methodology through which we can experience the empty, nondual state of the unified field, the Tao, directly, beyond the relative, conditioned world of manifestation. The Taoists are very practical about this. They noticed that approaching emptiness is not a benign activity. PAINTING BY JAI KELLER If a practitioner is not well prepared, it can have serious negative effects. It can fry a students’ nervous system, exacerbate energy imbalances in the mind/ body, create serious insomnia, and even drive someone to madness. Before any responsible teacher in the Taoist tradition is willing to teach a student practices that connect them to these higher fields of energy, they want to be sure that the students’ nervous system and mind is rock solid. A central understanding of Taoist practice is that this sense of balanced, mature, resilience is connected with developing the Dan Tien of the belly center and balancing the energies of the internal organs.* In Eastern cultures, even in popular culture, there is an emphasis on strengthening and protecting Winter 2019 — Page 25
one’s belly center. The Dan Tien (belly center), is the center that controls our physical vitality, health, emotional balance, and power in time and space. All accomplished internal martial artists have a very developed Dan Tien. When the belly center is open, we express a quality of profound presence. It is our center of gravity physically and also our center of gravity psychologically. In our belly center is seated our unique expression inside of the particular conditions of every moment. It is profoundly imminent. Internal martial arts, Qi Gong schools, and Yoga schools all pay deep attention to developing a strong, coherent belly center. An example of the reverence for a healthy belly center in eastern culture that I noticed when I was living in Japan is that even people with no conscious spiritual practice were concerned about keeping their bellies warm and healthy by wearing something called a “hara-maki”. One Taoist master I studied with compared the Dan Tien to the “command central” that helped navigate humankind’s first journey to the moon (Mantak Chia, class notes, 1990). Journeying into formless emptiness was considered like taking a rocket into space. Without a strong “command central” to guide you, a student could get lost, confused, ungrounded, or spaced out, or even go crazy. Energetically, all of these symptoms are manifestations of a loss of ones’ root in the earth and an imbalance in energies of the internal organs and the Dan Tien, i.e. the belly center. The consequences of opening up deep states of emptiness by doing extreme practices which catapult a students’ consciousness into emptiness without a strong, stable nervous system and psychological base can be profound. One example of this is a dear friend of mine who was doing some very deep practices involving strong changes in her diet and intensive Yoga and meditation in preparation for a retreat in India. At some point in this process, she stopped being able to sleep. As her insomnia worsened, she was plagued by anxiety and material from early childhood traumas persistently intruded on her consciousness. In short, she was totally dysregulated. Ultimately, she had to be hospitalized until she could regain her balance. From a Taoist perspective, one might say that she had prematurely opened her Central Channel
PAINTING BY MICHAEL ROBBINS
The Central Channel
and without a strong enough base to contain the energy. This has sometimes been called a “kundalini syndrome” (Chia, 1983). This brings us to a critical, pragmatic direction in practice. For the first many years of practice, it is recommended that a student focus on the downward flowing energy currents in the body. This is essential to calm the nervous system and get the noise and reactivity out of the mind/body. (Frantzis, 1998) A calm, relaxed mind, in Taoist practice, is equivalent to a calm, relaxed belly that is grounded through our legs into the earth. Without a balanced, strong belly center, it will be impossible for a student to achieve a healthy nervous system, which in
*There are actually three Dan Tiens that we develop in Qi Gong practice, the belly, the chest and the head. As we develop, we learn to connect and balance all three centers in the context of the energies of earth and heaven. However, the belly Dan Tien is almost always addressed first. Because balancing, relaxing, and strengthening the belly Dan Tien is so essential in my experience, in this article I am only going to focus on it.
The Empty Vessel — Page 26
the words of neurobiologist Dan Siegel is flexible, adaptive, coherent, energized and stable. (Siegel, 2012). Dissolving the patterns of dysregulation that we have accumulated due to the impressions of our environment is a big task that takes extraordinary perseverance, ruthless honesty with oneself, and deep courage. Facing one’s demons and their innumerable manifestations is not for the faint of heart! From both my own spiritual practice and from 35 years of practice as a psychotherapist I can personally attest to this! There are many practices that achieve a balanced and grounded Dan Tien. Because this is a complex process that involves physical, emotional and psychological work uniquely tailored to correct the particular imbalances that a student is struggling with, I recommend finding a competent teacher that has achieved some mastery in his or her particular discipline and staying with them for as long as it takes. Creating a balanced belly Dan Tien, in my experience, is a necessary and essential stage on the path to becoming an emotionally and energetically mature human. In Taoist teachings, the vertical energy current of the Central Channel is only approached after this preliminary work is done. This channel starts at the perineum and runs through the center of the body, a little forward of the spine up to the crown. It also extends past the body from the perineum deep into the earth, and upwards from the crown high into heaven. In the beginning when a student opens to emptiness, particularly if she is working with practices to open the Central Channel, she often will discover it in the space above her head. This is connected with opening the Ba Hui point at the top of the head and with activating the pineal gland. The first experience of this is a boundless sense of spaciousness and freedom. When Ba Hui opens, and the pineal gland is activated, a gateway in consciousness opens into boundless dimensions of space. This may deepen into the experience of emptiness. Over time a student may learn how to bring the sense of emptiness, (a relaxed, agendaless, contentless and neutral energy) through the entire Central Channel. When this happens, she might experience her energy body as a geometric form called a “Torus”, empty in the center with light and magnetism cascading in 360 degrees all around
her. This is like a very elongated, luminous donut. Alex Grey has some beautiful paintings of this energy form as it develops through different stages (Grey, 1990, “Psychic Energy System”, “Spiritual Energy System”, “Universal Mind Lattice”, “Void/ Clear Light”). There are many detailed and specific Taoist practices that are helpful for our energetic and psycho-physiological development. A master teacher can create a curriculum for each specific student to guide her unfoldment in a safe and orderly way. The essential point is that we must first be energetically grounded in a solid structure before we approach emptiness. This means developing energetic, neurobiological, and emotional maturity. From a Taoist perspective, an essential stage in this process is this developing a strong and balanced belly Dan Tien and a feeling of being grounded and connected to the magnetic field of the earth. It is only then that we can approach the energies of emptiness safely without creating energetic or psychological imbalance.
Big Mind and Relative Mind “Big Mind” refers to formless emptiness and “Relative Mind” to the conditioned mind of form. Big Mind is an idea that I was first introduced to by Zen master Genpo Merzel (Merzel, 2008). I have adapted his ideas for the purposes of this essay.
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Winter 2019 — Page 27
At the first, most accessible level of Big Mind, we are simply deeply relaxed and not fixated into any role, agenda, point of view, or position. We are present, available, with free attention, energy and clarity. There is a quality of spaciousness, like we are enjoying the best, most relaxing vacation of our lives. The energy in our bodies is flowing from above our head through our brain, chest, belly and legs, into the earth below our feet without fixation or impediment. We are open to whatever emerges in the moment and we greet it with a sense joyful alertness. All of this is effortless, we are not “trying” to attain this state, it just “Is”. We are “awake”, undistracted, quiet internally, and available for our life. As the experience of Big Mind deepens, we open to recognizing ourselves as a field of energy that is one with the unified or quantum field of energy that connects all things together. This is a deeper level of energy flow that we access when we have more completely dissolved our blockages. As this awareness of our unity with all things deepens, we start to open to experiences that are beyond Time and Space. At the deepest level we become this unified field of formless energy itself. We might even dissolve to such an extent that we experience a cessation of our identity. This is a difficult level to talk about because, when we touch this level, our personal identity ceases to exist. If we no longer exist – then who is left to report on experiences of this state? This is another one of those paradoxes. In my experience, I only “know” I have touched something close to this experience in a meditation because I emerge feeling totally refreshed, as if the windows of my perception have been washed clean and I can see the world with fresh eyes. This experience gifts me with a profound experience of what Suzuki Roshi calls “Beginners Mind” (Suzuki, 2011). As Big Mind becomes more integrated into our lives, we can begin to track the flow from the empty, timeless place of unconditioned unity, beyond the subject and object split, down through the conditioned layers of density and information into the particular circumstance that we are focusing on. Because we are starting from a very high level, close to the unified field of All That Is, the range of information that we can access is vast. For some people it appears that they have access to the collective wisdom and information of the ages. An example of this is the psychic Edgar Cayce (Sugrue, 1989). But this can take decades, or perhaps lifetimes, of sincere practice. We might also notice that emptiness is not “empty”. The Empty Vessel — Page 28
It is full of the primal potential of life before it has come into manifestation. It is an empty/fullness. “The Tao is like an empty container: It can never be emptied and can never be filled. Infinitely deep, it is the source of all things.” (Tao Te Ching) Emptiness has absolutely no judgements. It has no agenda, no position, no opinions at all. It simply Is. In fact, as best as I can tell, in its’ essence it has no relationship to the world of change and impermanence at all. It is like the empty page that holds the many stories of our lives. Can you imagine the empty page having an opinion about what is written on it? How absurd! The empty page is just empty space! Relative Mind on the other hand is the mind that emerges as a response to the world of subjects and objects. It is the mind that helps us to navigate the world of conditions. In it are all of the strategies, roles, opinions and positions that contain our very best wisdom to date as to how to navigate the world that we find ourselves in. The job of the relative mind is to develop a coherent narrative of our “self” and the world. When relative mind is healthy, it is flexible, adaptive, coherent, energized and stable (Siegel, 2012). When our minds have achieved this level of balance it is well prepared to begin to approach emptiness. Studying the world of the relative mind and understanding the fixations, fears, compulsions and traumas that are frozen inside the mind stream of the relative mind is the work of all healing methods. As mentioned before, from my perspective this is the first stage of all responsible spiritual practice. Every healing method and practice looks at this great project from the vantage point of its particular expertise. Every method (biological, psychological, social, economic, environmental) has value and a contribution to make to our development towards an unimpeded flow from emptiness to form to emptiness. Ultimately, this healing is not just for individuals, it is also for the collective traumas, suffering and energetic fixations, that are stuck in the body of humanity as a whole. When healing reaches the level of the collective, society as a whole takes steps towards living in a harmonious, balanced flow of energy between all human beings, and between human beings, the planet and the universe.
Non-Doing Meditation Non-Doing meditation is perhaps the ultimate emptiness practice. It is deceptively simple and
yet profound. One way to think about it is that non-doing meditation is a deep vacation from everything. Most importantly it is a break from ourselves! Buddhist meditation Master, Pema Chodron, notices that the mind is like a wheel that is continuously turning (Chodron, 2005). Like a potter’s wheel, it is continually being ‘kicked’ by the information and stress of our lives. Our minds are a continual inner dialogue of thoughts and emotions. The momentum of this wheel is complex! It began with the early impressions and pressures of the familial environment we were born into. It was further developed by our education and career choices. It is colored by the cultural and economic conditions of our lives. And by the language that we speak, in which are embedded certain assumptions about the nature of reality. Our biological constitution and innate talents also play a part. Stopping this wheel takes enormous discipline and self-examination. In non-doing meditation, we stop kicking the wheel and little by little the momentum of all these forces slow down until they finally stop. We become aware of awareness itself. We become the space rather than the information of our lives. We experience ourselves as the empty page rather than the narrative that is written on it. We become “nobody”. We dissolve the narrative of our lives into the eternal moment. We finally stop our inner dialogue and allow our being to dissolve back into space. Time stops. Non-doing is a profound state of acceptance and allowing. It is Emptiness practice par excellence. The deeper we go with it the more paradoxical we discover it is. For example, if we are really rested into non-doing, we allow the mind and the body to do
whatever they do without influencing them in any way. Not because we are “trying” not to influence them. It is more like we simply realize at the deepest level that we are “not that”. Any “trying” is a form of doing. Non-doing means simply Being Space, allowing whatever is to be, without any agenda or goal at all. As the wheel slows down more and more, we simply observe, without any interference, our personality and our conditioned mind and body. In the depth of non-doing, one releases any intention to dissolve the blockages and simply observes them from a place of non-judgemental openness and acceptance. Maintaining openness and non-judgemental equanimity also regarding our judgments is essential! More paradox! We accept our histories, our impulses, our faults and our strengths. We live in the paradoxical moment that we are all of these conflicting impulses and instincts and none of them. We allow for the radical totality of our experience. We are fully human, personal, conditioned, and unique, and also fully formless, empty, spacious, and agenda-less. We are outside of time and inside of time. We are something and nothing. We exist and we don’t exist. Language can only point to this state, it can never fully express it. Perhaps the best way to point towards the depth of non-doing meditation is poetry. While I was visiting Kyoto, Japan, I wrote the following poem. The atmosphere of Kyoto was drenched with the intentions of countless monks and Buddhist masters. I am sure that the context of this collective field was impacting my consciousness when I wrote this poem. I think that it speaks to some of the essential paradoxes of non-doing meditation. See if you can feel the quality of awareness behind the words.
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Zen Door Somewhere in every temple is a door that a master has cut with a subtle knife. If you stand very still it will appear. Think without thinking, and it will grow luminous. Walk without walking, and you will enter. Talk without talking, and it will reveal its secrets. Meditate without meditating, and that master will live again.
Some Concluding Thoughts and Questions Why is there anything at all? One of the biggest mysteries which mystics and philosophers have contemplated for ages is why there is anything at all. At some point, the unified field moved and there was creation. Out of emptiness emerged form. That is a fact. Understanding more than that seems hidden from us. Some traditions say that it was God’s longing for company. That is one hypothesis. There are others. To me it is an unanswerable enigma. I don’t think that we can really know for sure why the first movement, the big bang, the first creation of “Something”, occurred. What we can know is that at some point out of No-thing, there emerged Some-thing. This moment of mystery, in its most profound inexplicability, is not simply the subject of scientific inquiry, it is also a moment in consciousness that is the birthplace of innovation and creativity.
Attention and Intention There seems to be a great clue in the treasure hunt called life in understanding the phenomena of “attention” and “intention”. One way to look at identity is that is simply a “habit of attention”. From one perspective, who we are, is simply a collection of familiar ways of being and responding to our environment. From the moment of our birth our attention has been captured by the impressions of our environment and we have responded in ways that have been adaptive to the conditions we have been thrown into. These strategies of response are so deeply ingrained that The Empty Vessel — Page 30
they become the background noise through which we filter all of the information of our lives. It is as if a sled has been going down a certain path on a snowy hill so many times that it has dug a deep groove that it literally cannot escape. This is the way our identity has captured our attention. Intention, on the other hand, embodies our capacity to consciously focus our attention. It is through our intention that we can begin to consciously dissolve the energy fixations and patterns of attention that limit our freedom. As anyone who has engaged in any form of spiritual practice can tell you, it takes tremendous intention to hold your attention inside the particular practice that you have committed to doing. You can prove this to yourself by simply attempting to hold your attention in an unbroken stream on your breath for 10 minutes! All authentic spiritual practices are intentional forms that challenge our unconscious structures. Returning to paradox, it is through the intentional practice of the form of a spiritual discipline, that we cut a path to formless.
A question about identity Emptiness practice seems to suggest that our fundamental, unconditioned Being is without qualities, agendas, positions, or content. On the other hand, there does seem to be something essential in each human being that is separate and distinct from the constructed self. Something that cannot be explained by biological constitution or conditioning of any kind. Sometimes I have called this a person’s “energetic signature”. How do we understand the individual soul in the light of the teachings on emptiness? Many teachings talk about, and many people have experienced an individual soul that has an evolutionary path with unique challenges, karma, gifts and strengths. How do we hold the evolution of some sort of personal unique essence in the light of something as universal and impersonal as emptiness?
Impermanence: Every-thing changes, No-thing stays the same This year I have been learning the lessons of impermanence. Since January, both of my beloved parents were in the hospital with potentially lifethreatening health challenges for 6 weeks each. My Mom is 86 and my Dad is 90. Currently they are both medically stable and I am deeply grateful to still have them in my life. But I spent much of the Winter and Spring going back and forth between Boston
where I live and New York City to be by their side at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. Then two members of a spiritual group I am in died of cancer. Then my best friend’s sister died of cancer. And then my brother-in-law’s sister died from the complications of diabetes. It was as if the universe was really trying to drive home a point. Life is an impermanent state! Our bodies have an expiration date! Death is the big unknown. The ultimate release of our form. The ultimate dissolving of the threads that we have so carefully woven together into a life. Although the past 8 months have been very challenging, they were also deeply instructive. These experiences very directly challenged my attachments to the people that I love. They illuminated the incredible strength of the instinctual programs in my mind/body that cling to survival Form Emerging at all costs! I discovered just how much I love my life in form! And just how much I love other peoples’ forms as well! Meditating on death can be a very productive. It can be a doorway into emptiness in a way that few events are. Death is a threshold moment that paradoxically releases a lot of energy into the manifest world if we really pay attention to it. It can be experienced as an opening, a gateway into the No-thingness that borders our lives. Once we get past the grief, in the light of death, we can become clearer about what is truly important to us. I remember as a teenager, reading the books of Carlos Castaneda, (Castenada, 1972) and his teacher Don Juan’s admonishment to carry death on your left shoulder and consult with it regularly. When I can do this, it really cuts through the noise of my relative, conditioned mind! It stops the nonsense of my obsessive, worried thinking like nothing else. When I am stuck in an anxious loop, sometimes this is the only medicine that works!
Every-thing changes, No-thing stays the same. This is a great sword of discrimination that we can use in our practice of emptiness. All things, all states, all emotions, all thoughts, all peak experiences, all creative moments, all moments of despair, all anxieties, all love makings, all planets, all galaxies, in fact anything that we can think of, will eventually change and pass away. Every-thing is impermanent. “Trying” to hold onto any of these states is a kind of idolatry. It is a fool’s errand. But No-Thing, i.e. that layer of existence that is beyond subjects and objects, the unified field beyond Time and Space which has no content, the void, emptiness, formlessness, whatever we call it, stays the same. It was never born, so how can it die?
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For me, touching this state of NoThing, No-body, No-time and then, the creative moment when I become Some-Thing and Some-Body in Time is a moment that is shot full of creativity and the juicy essence of life. Meditating on the paradox of this moment, is a doorway into freedom and a liberated life.
Endnotes • Almass, A.H., (2002) Space Cruiser Inquiry, Shambala, Boston and London. • Bichel, Ken, (August, 2019), personal communication. • Castenada, Carlos, (1972), Journey to Ixtlan, Simon and Schuster, NYC. • Chia, Mantak, (1990, Summer Retreat) Class notes. • Chia, Mantak, (1983) Aurora Press, P.O. Box 573, Santa Fe, New Mexico. • Chodron, Pema (2005) Getting Unstuck, Audio CD, Sounds True, Boulder, Colorado. • Dispenza, Joseph, (2017) Becoming Supernatural, Hay House UK, Ltd., Carlsbad, Ca., NYC, London, Sydney, Johannesburg. • Frantzis, Bruce (1998), The Great Stillness, Tao Meditation, Vol. 2, North Atlantic Books, Berkley, California. • Grey, Alex (1990), Sacred Mirrors, The Visionary Art of Alex Grey, Inner Traditions International, Rochester, Vt. • Merzel, Genpo, (Winter, 2008), Introducing Big Mind, Tricycle Magazine, The Buddhist Review. • Siegel, Dan (2012), Pocket Guide to Interpersonal Neurobiology, W.W. Norton and Company, NY and London. • Suzuki, Shunryo (2011), Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, Shambala Publications, Boston, Mass.
Winter 2019 — Page 31
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Grasping the Dao of Chinese Bodywork (Tuina) By Dan Reid
Central to Daoism is the concept of transformation – spiritual transformation, bodily transformation, even political transformation – and learning new skills is indeed a practice of transformation. The Daoist love of learning is a natural extension of its affinity for transformation and is evidenced by the vast diversity of fields to which Daoist theory is applied, including medicine, martial arts, nutrition, ecology, interior and urban design, sociology, economics, agriculture, and various fields of psychology. It could be said that all disciplines are, in essence, studies of transformation, and to the Daoist, all transformations are shadows of Dao. The quintessential technique for the Daoist, however, is to discover reality by leaving things be and letting them return to “ziran” – to be “as they are” – and thus to find their intrinsic nature (xing). This intrinsic nature is the most permanent existence of a thing and so holds within it the greatest potency, and the greatest potential for longevity. Further, this nature lies within a balance of yang and yin – tension and relaxation, development and atrophy, movement and stillness. So, the Daoist study of transformation brings with it this understanding of balance. With any transformation is a bit of pain. The pain of leaving behind the old skin; the pain of twisting into the new form; the pain of breaking through a preliminary shell. Anyone who takes up the internal martial arts of Taiji, Xingyi, and Baguazhang will feel this odd discomfort of pushing up against our long developed limitations in the body. Standing and positioning oneself in the most effective alignment possible is at first the perhaps least natural feeling. But in time, the body adapts, and the hidden benefits of shifting the body to its primal form arrive, often unexpectedly and not according to any plan of one’s own. Such is also the case in life: as we try to correct our lives to align with what we know is our proper place in the world, unexpected “coincidences” will cross our paths like a branch from the heavens bending down to let us climb out of our situation just The Empty Vessel — Page 34
when it seems the path forward has come to an end. I’d like to tell you of my own journey along one of these branches, and how it continues to reveal to me the true-to-life applicability of ancient Daoist teachings. As a child of the ‘80s, a golden age of martial-arts movies and marketing, the Chinese Gongfu master has been imprinted on my subconscious as an indelible archetype unto itself, encompassing the warrior, the sage, the magician and the healer. Thus, that familiar moment in so many Gongfu movies, where a succession of finger jabs renders an opponent frozen until an equally skilled master comes along to undo the combination-lock, percolated in my imagination as I flipped through Tom Bisio’s handbook, A Tooth from the Tiger’s Mouth: How to Treat Your Injuries with Powerful Healing Secrets of the Great Chinese Warrior. With its Gongfu herbal formulas and therapeutic bodymanipulations, my desire to learn more must have sent out a strong frequency. The first response to this signal arrived as an all-butoffered scholarship to study TCM in China for five years. Though after intense consideration I decided not to pursue it, this opportunity proved to me how much I was willing to change in my life to pursue the path of Chinese medicine. Struggling through a French TCM school in Montreal where I live, however, didn’t seem like much of an option. So, what to do? After about a week of slowly accepting the need to look for more work as a cook, I was randomly introduced to a student of Baguazhang Gongfu… whose teacher also teaches Chinese sports medicine… in Montreal… and offers a full certification course in Tuina massage therapy and Chinese osteopathy. With a “clack, clack, clack!” everything suddenly set into place. Little did I know at that moment that the association I was about to join was in fact the very same through which Tom Bisio learned Chinese sports medicine and external herbalism, and that my soon to be Tuina teacher, Ethan Murchie, followed Tom Bisio as the sitting president of the North American Tang Shou Tao Association (NATSTA) – the association founded by Bisio’s and Murchie’s Gongfu and Tuina mentor, the legendary Vince Black. To briefly note the quality of
PHOTO BY MARTIN PAYETTE
Dan Reid using the Tuina rolling technique to clear the bladder channel at the Tang Shou Tao school in Montreal where he also studies Xingyi Quan and Baguazhang.
Gongfu instruction in this association, of the many highlights I’ve experienced with NATSTA, my recent introduction to Baguazhang duck-knives by none other than the Gao Style lineage holder, Liu Fengcai, and some of the finer points of Xingyi Quan by Hero Mountain Style lineage holder, Li Cang, are among the top.
Tuina’s fundamental techniques, such as rolling the back of the hand over muscles and energy channels, the postures and body connections learned through Xingyi Quan, Baguazhang and Taiji offer profound advantages. Neigong and Qigong training is, of course, also highly instructive for body work practitioners, and part of NATSTA’s curriculum.
Students training for NATSTA’s professional certification in Tuina massage therapy must simultaneously study internal martial arts (Xingyi Quan, Baguazhang, Taiji). The primary reason for this is that Chinese osteopathy requires disciplined strength and coordination, while skills like acupressure, joint manipulation, and the “pushing (tui) and grasping (na)” of Tuina demand a balance of strength and relaxation that is at the core of Internal Martial Arts. To correctly perform the subtleties of
As an independent scholar of Daoist Studies (or so people have started to call me after publishing 2 books in the field, both now in their second editions), Tuina has opened up another realm of practicality for the wisdom teachings found in early Daoist texts. No matter what profession someone is in – whether they’re a cook, mechanic, politician, customer service agent, artist, or school teacher – some guidance and wisdom can be found in Laozi’s teaching. The healing arts, however, have a special advantage in this regard, Winter 2019 — Page 35
especially those connected to Chinese Medicine which is the canopy of branches, twigs, and leaves that grew from the Daoist cultural seeds of cultivating longevity. To understand and follow Laozi’s wisdom of nurturing life, it certainly helps to work directly with the changes of the body. Finding tensions and the subsequent vitality that follows the release of those tensions, it is easy to see how the natural state of living things is indeed the state of relaxation, softness, and flexibility. Further, and as Ethan has to regularly remind me, the efficacy of a technique correlates largely to the practitioner’s ability to relax their hands and align their structure. Though the ego wants to bring transformation through domination and force, these techniques teach the efficacy of softness, illustrated repeatedly in Laozi’s Daodejing. Heshang Gong (c.200 AD) further emphasizes this point in his comment on Daodejing, chapter 70: LZ: My words are very easy to understand, very easy to follow Yet none in the world are able to understand them, none are able to put them into practice HSG: People hate the soft and pliant, but like the hard and tough. And as Laozi describes in Daodejing, chapter 76: When the tree is strong It encompasses both (rigidity and suppleness) The rigid and large reside at the bottom
The Empty Vessel — Page 36
While the soft and delicate reside at the top By training the lower body – from the abdomen to the pelvis, thighs, knees, and toes – to be rooted and connected, the upper body, including the fingers, hands, wrists, and shoulders, can be soft and thereby access greater sensitivity and connection to the many changes taking place beneath them. This combination of strong roots and supple branches also allows for a deeper more natural power to be expressed through the body. Laozi’s wisdom again helps to illustrate this in Daodejing chapter 77: In all under Heaven Nothing is softer or more adaptable than water Yet, for attacking that which is hard and strong Nothing is more capable of victory There is nothing which does so with such ease The direct bodily contact of any therapeutic bodywork requires that therapists ground themselves not only physically but spiritually as well. If a therapist’s energy is in chaos they will not be able to bring a patient’s qi back into a balanced alignment. Like the geometric patterns exhibited in water crystals that have been spoken to with contrasting positive and negative intentions, the subtle influence of one’s inner stability is unavoidable when handling any living being that is receptive to energetic influence. Consequently,
Zen Master Dogen’s Instructions for the Cook can be adapted beautifully to bodywork. Dogen’s guidance for complete attention to the present task, and his instructions on how the Zen cook should handle food has served for me as inspiration when handling the fragile parts of another person: “Handle even a single leaf of a green in such a way that it manifests the body of the Buddha. This in turn allows the Buddha to manifest through the leaf. This is a power which you cannot grasp with your rational mind. It operates freely, according to the situation, in a most natural way. At the same time, this power functions in our lives to clarify and settle activities and is beneficial to all living things.” While manifesting the body of the Buddha might be cognitively awkward for some Daoists, it may help to think, instead, of establishing the Virtue of Dao which brings all things into their natural wholeness – or “oneness.” As the anonymous commentary included as part of Guanzi’s Art of the Heart-Mind (Baixin, c. 350 BC) explains: Virtue is the abode of Dao. When things attain (Virtue), they live. Being alive, they can know the office of Dao’s essence. Thus, Virtue (De) also means “attainment (de).” As for this attainment, it is called “attaining the causality.” The effortlessness of this (causality) is called “Dao.” When abiding in things, we call it “Virtue.” If we are to understand Dao as the natural harmony and perfection that engenders an abundance of life and health, then Virtue (or De, as in Dao De Jing) is that which is attained through a perfection of balance and effortlessness. Subtly, quietly, mysteriously, almost imperceptibly, Virtue fashions and refines a vessel of life, bringing it towards a more perfect reflection of Dao. The role of the healer is, ultimately, to bring beings back to harmony and balance, wholeness, and their naturally connected oneness. As
Zhuangzi said, “The foot is forgotten when the shoe fits properly. The waist is forgotten when the belt fits properly.” In trying to help a person’s structure and alignment return to its original form, a Tuina practitioner must learn how to work with the efficacy and power of De and Dao, relaxing their hands and letting nature guide them through the tissues and joints so that they can see which way those structures want to naturally move. This skill confronts a practitioner with the need to balance intention with nondoing. Intention plus effort will quickly lead to excessive pressure and pain, while applying the skill of De and the efficacy of water, the practitioner can bring change in accordance with the body’s intrinsic nature. The practitioner is, thus, constantly confronted with the challenge to remove any errant willfulness so that they can perceive the underlying subtlety. Thus, always without desires Observing its inner subtlety Always with desires Observing its outer surface
– Daodejing, chapter one
Tuina, thus, becomes an arena for the application of “the art of the heart-mind” – a technique couched in the philosophical intersection of early Daoism and Chinese medicine, as detailed in my second book, The Thread of Dao: Unraveling Early Daoist Oral Traditions in Guanzi’s “Purifying the Heart-Mind” (Bai Xin), “Art of the Heart-Mind” (Xin Shu), and “Internal Cultivation” (Nei Ye). We can find in the Guanzi (c. 350 BC) the most forthright instructions of its era for cultivating the heart, mind, intention, and intelligence. The Daodejing, written more or less around the same time as the Guanzi, was also born of this fertile spiritual and intellectual culture evidenced further in the Zhuangzi and the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine. Guanzi’s Art of the HeartMind appears in two sections, the second of which contains the following guidance for cultivating the heart and mind: Winter 2019 — Page 37
是故曰, 無以物亂官 Therefore it is said: “When things do not confuse the senses, 毋以官亂心 And the senses do not confuse the heart-mind – 此之謂內德。 This is called ‘inner Virtue’.” 是故意氣定 Thereby, the energy of intention is settled; 然後反正。 Having (settled), it returns to alignment. 氣者, 身之充也。 Energy-breath then fills the body, 行者正之義也。 And one’s conduct is righteous and upright. 充不美, 則心不得。 If this fullness (of energy-breath) is not pleasant, the heartmind does not benefit. 行不正, 則民不服。 If one’s conduct is not upright, the people will not be provided for. 是故, 聖人若天然, 無私覆也; Therefore, sages resemble Heaven during such times: They are without thought of self when sitting above all. 若地然, 無私載也。 They resemble Earth during such times: They are without thought of self when supporting all. 私者, 亂天下者也。 As for thought of self, it puts the world in chaos. – Xinshu Xia, lines 9-20
How well does this passage describe the necessary internal cultivation of a bodywork practitioner!? 1) Keeping the mind clear, intention is stable and clear and qi is efficacious. 2) A practitioner must be righteous and upright. Permission to touch another person in such a way is an honour and a privilege that must never be violated with inappropriate intent. Further, keeping one’s own qi “righteous” and “aligned” will naturally influence that of the client. 3) Lastly, a practitioner must have total focus on the benefit of the client. They must not get frustrated or impatient, or feel like the client is somehow beneath
them or their service. There should be no thought of self, as, above all else, such thoughts are just a distraction from the subtleties of the body that that very self is trying to connect with. At the time of writing, I am still slowly working towards certification as a massage therapist, enjoying the scenic route you might say. Carry water, chop wood: practice Xingyi and Bagua, practice Tuina at the community clinic. If Gongfu can be defined as the art of determination, you might say that getting on a bus to class after a long day at work is, in and of itself, a Gongfu practice that can lead to great personal transformation and insight. Every practice and art seeks transformation, and transformation takes time, while time, in and of itself, can take effort. The search for transformation can be difficult, confusing, and discouraging, but as Laozi reminds us in Daodejing chapter 41, this confusion, difficulty, and discouragement may, in fact, be the path that leads to Dao: When the highest student hears the Way Diligently, he treads the path When the mediocre student hears the Way At first present, he falls back When the lowest student hears the Way He breaks into a great laugh If he did not laugh It wouldn’t be the path Thus, such sayings have been established: The illuminated path appears dark The path forward seems to go back The level path appears uneven The highest virtue, low as a valley Great purity appears disgraced Magnanimous virtue appears insufficient Deep Virtue appears easily detached True substance seems to change Great squares are without corners Great vessels develop slowly Great voices rarely speak Great images are without form The Way is hidden and without name
The Empty Vessel is now accepting
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Send entries to DaoDogPress@gmail.com We will notify by email if your poem is chosen. The Empty Vessel — Page 38
Directory & Classifieds Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. Three year
academic and clinical program. We offer classes in Oriental medicine, acupuncture, and Chinese herbology. Master’s degree is accredited. Financial aid and China internships are available. Preparatory to national certification and state licensing examinations. 503-253-3443 for information, literature.
Genesee Valley Daoist Hermitage. Qigong, sus-
tainable gardening, meditation for self cultivation. Chinese herbs, daoist healing to harmonize chronic disorders. PO Box 9224, Moscow, Idaho 83843-1724. 208-285-0123. Celebrating 23 years of service.
The Alaska College of Oriental Medicine, Acupuncture & Massage Therapy. 2636 Spenard
Rd., Anchorage, AK 99503. Offering course work in a full spectrum of Asian Studies including Taiji, Qigong, Meditation, Medical QiGong, Taoist Herbology, Massage Therapy, with advanced study in Thai Yoga Massage and Tui Na Acupressure Massage and a three year Masters program of study in Acupuncture. We offer year round full or parttime schedules of study. We feature biannual Spring and Fall Health and Wellness Festivals where participants can study cutting edge information with our expert staff and visiting masters from around the globe. Traveling to Alaska? Check out our website and make sure our classes and workshops are in your plans. www.touchoftao.com. 907-279-0135
White Cloud Institute. Classes open to everyone. Taoist Studies, Energy Medicine, Chi Nei Tsang, Pelvic Health. Qigong and Meditation. Retreats. NCBTMB approved. 505670-3538. www.whitecloudinstitute.com.
American Dragon Gate Lineage: Shifu Michael
Rinaldini offers 125, 300, 500 hour Qigong Certification. Trainings in Daoist practices. A 3-year training to become ordained Daoist priest of the Lineage. qigongdragon.com
Daoist Traditions College of Chinese Medical Arts in Asheville, North Carolina. Accredited Masters
program in Oriental medicine; steeped in the spirit of Daoism and teachings by Jeffrey Yuen, a world-renowned leader in Classical Chinese Medicine. Preparing students to enter the profession as skilled acupuncture clinicians. www. daoisttraditions.edu.admissions@daoisttraditions.edu. 828225-3993.
Qigong Meditations CD (with music). Three
guided meditations – Three Level Relaxation, Organ Balancing Meditation, Expansion Breathing Meditation – by Solala Towler. $10 plus $3 shipping. Abode of the Eternal Tao, 1991 Garfield St. Eugene, OR 97404. www.abodetao.com.
Kirtan Qigong CD. Three slow, relaxing bhajans (San-
skrit chanting) with Solala Towler and friends. Perfect for slow movement. $10 plus $3 shipping. Abode of the Eternal Tao, 1991 Garfield St. Eugene, OR 97404. www.abodetao.com.
Chi Wellness, The Center of Qigong. 3-year
Medical Qigong Practitioner and Qigong Instructor certification training curricula. Retreats and weekly transformational Qigong Lifestyle and Qigong Movement classes for all health objectives and self care. Medical qigong treatment, and Qigong Lifestyle and Chi Nutrition coaching appointments. Consulting and training for enhanced productivity and balance customized for organizations. Founder/Director: Debra Lin Allen. 4155 East Jewell Ave., Suite 105, Denver, CO 80222. 720-427-0406. DebraLin. ChiWellness@gmail.com / www.ChiWellness.net.
National Qigong Association. Since 1996, the NQA is the premier non-profit membership organization for all types of qigong schools and enthusiasts, and offers annual conferences and qigong certification. Website: http://www. nqa.org.
Learn to play Shakuhachi the Zen flute of Taoist Arts Center. Tai Chi, Chi Kung, Taoist Meditation. Japan. Gold Coast Chicago location. Vintage instruments Traditional Taoist arts offered in a friendly and cooperative environment. Classes, Workshops, Private Instruction. Director: Susan Rabinowitz, 342 East 9th Street, NYC 10003. 212-477-7055. www.taoist-arts.com.
available. Etsy.com shop: ZenShamanicArts. www.utaguchi. com.
Vitalichi Acupuncture. Nicole Noles Collins, AP.
Address: 3440 Conway Blvd. Unit 1D, Port Charlotte FL 33952. Acupuncture, homeopathy, Bach Flower. Email: vitalichi@yahoo.com. Website: vitalichiacupuncture.com.
Directory listings: $25 for first 30 words, $1 per word thereafter, 15 word minimum. Winter 2019 — Page 39
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