Cultivating Stillness A Taoist Manual for Transforming Body and Mind

by WONG, EVA

• ISBN13: 9780877736875
• ISBN10: 0877736871
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-11-24
• Publisher: Shambhala

Summary

Equanimity, good health, peace of mind, and long life are the goals of the ancient Taoist tradition known as "internal alchemy," of whichCultivating Stillnessis a key text. Written between the second and fifth centuries, the book is attributed to T'ai Shang Lao-chun-the legendary figure more widely known as Lao-Tzu, author of theTao-te Ching. The accompanying commentary, written in the nineteenth century by Shui-ch'ing Tzu, explains the alchemical symbolism of the text and the methods for cultivating internal stillness of body and mind. A principal part of the Taoist canon for many centuries,Cultivating Stillnessis still the first book studied by Taoist initiates today.

Author Biography

Eva Wong is an independent scholar and a practitioner of the Taoist arts of the Pre-Celestial Way and Complete Reality lineages. She has written and translated many books on Taoism and related topics, including A Master Course in Feng-Shui; Tales of the Taoist Immortals; The Tao of Health, Longevity, and Immortality; and The Shambhala Guide to Taoism.

Table of Contents

Translator's Introduction
Cultivating Stillness
Wu-chi	p. 1
Wang-chi	p. 9
T'ai-chi	p. 15
The Three Realms of Existence	p. 21
The Mind (Heart) of Tao	p. 27
The Human Mind (Heart)	p. 33
The Six Thieves	p. 39
The Three Obstructions	p. 45
The Nature of Emotion	p. 53
Nothingness	p. 61
Emptiness	p. 67
Stillness and Original Nature	p. 73
The True Way	p. 81
The Mysterious Achievement	p. 87
The Sacred Path	p. 93
Waxing and Waning	p. 99
Virtues	p. 105
Forgetting the Mind	p. 111
The Spirit	p. 117
The Myriad World of Ten Thousand Things	p. 123
Craving and Desire	p. 129
Anxiety and Stress	p. 139
Life and Death	p. 145
Transcendence	p. 151
About the Translator and Fung Loy Kok Taoist Temple	p. 157
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