The Great Stillness: The Water Method of Taoist Meditation Series, Vol. 2 [Paperback]

Bruce Frantzis (Author)

Book Description

Series: Water Method of Taoist Meditation | Publication Date: August 13, 2001

This is the second volume of a two-book series that peels away the metaphors and explains the living traditions of Lao Tse's water method of Taoist meditation. The main focus of the book is to explain 'inner dissolving,' its major mediation technique that helps people overcome deeply bound negative emotions, deepen their spiritual and psychic development, and develop balance and compassion. The Great Stillness is one of the few books that discusses the Taoist traditions of sexual chi gung and meditation. It is the only book that includes detailed instructions and illustrations for the moving meditation practice called Circle Walking that was developed in Taoist monasteries over 4000 years ago. This volume advances the breathing lessons taught in volume one: Relaxing Into Your Being.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Bruce Frantzis’ insight into the heart of these ancient meditation techniques can make the understanding of these precious teachings easily accessible to the mind of the Western seeker.”
—Namkhai Norbu, Tibetan Dzogchen Master and retired professor, Oriental Institute of the University of Naples, Italy; author of The Crystal and The Way of Light

“Bruce Frantzis’ style of teaching demystifies ancient Chinese Taoist arts that have rarely, if ever, been taught in the West.”
—Elizabeth Whitney, Yoga Journal

“Frantzis has spent most of his life studying various martial arts, meditation, and traditional Eastern healing systems. His fluency in Chinese and Japanese has allowed him to pursue these arts to an unprecedented depth for a Westerner.”
—Clarence Lu, contributing writer, Inside Kung Fu

“The dissolving process described in this book gives practitioners an immediate tool for altering patterns of being that contribute to their suffering. That is the gift of the Water Method.”
—Michael J. Salveson, advanced instructor, past president, Rolf Institute

About the Author

Bruce Frantzis is a Lineage holder in Taoist energy arts and author of seven books including two books on TAO meditation. He studied healing, martial arts and meditation in China, Japan and India for 16 years with most renowned chi masters. Bruce has taught over 15,000 students, certified over 300 instructors worldwide and worked as a chi gung tui na doctor in Chinese clinics helping to heal over 10,000 patients. His company, Energy Arts, Inc., recently released his first complete meditation course, The TAO of Letting Go. Frantzis teaches chi gung, internal martial arts, TAO meditation and energetic-healing therapies in America and Europe. To learn more visit EnergyArts.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: North Atlantic Books (August 13, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556434081
• ISBN-13: 978-1556434082
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #392,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not as good as Vol. 1, September 16, 2003

By 

V. K. Lin (Eugene, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Great Stillness: The Water Method of Taoist Meditation Series, Vol. 2 (Paperback)

I really enjoyed his first volume of the Water Meditation Series, fiding it practical, well-written, and entertaining. So I looked forward to reading Vol. 2.

I was disappointed. Whereas Vol. 1 was focused essentially on breathing and mediation, and gave nice descriptions, as well as step-by-step exercises to better master and understand this form of meditation, Vol.2 was scattered. Frantzis, is an eloquent writer, so I was never bored or confused, and his stories/analogies are always amusing, albeit sometimes difficult to completely believe.

However his treatment of Ba Gua Circle Walking is far too basic. Follow these footsteps and breath like in Vol. 1 is essentially what it comes down to. At least Vol. 1 really got into what Frantzis viewed as appropriate steps in the Water Meditation process-- starting from the very basic, and getting to the somewhat advanced. In Vol.2, Frantzis covers a broad range of topics superficially.

I agree that including sexual techniques was a bit misplaced. Chia, at least, has the sense to write separate volumes when distinguishing between martial meditative and sexual qigong approaches. How to improve your sexual sensitivity by fingering tofu--? Come on, Kumar!

Vol.2 also began expounding somewhat on the esoteric, that is difficult to confirm. Reliable friends of mine have attended Kumar's seminars-- he basically asks how many attendees are qigong instructors, then trashes and humiliates them in front of everyone else. Not very classy. According to my friends, he never proves his own abilities, either, merely plays mindgames. My friends agree that Kumar has some skill and knowledge, but his arrogance shows up in his books, and this trait apparently manifests profoundly at least at the two seminars I've heard about.

This book is more in this vein. He claims a lot of things, and tells a lot of stories and makes a lot of anecdotes about wonderful spiritual achievements, but these things are so "advanced" that I cannot confirm them, and wonder if I ever will. I do think I've experienced some of the more esoteric things Frantzis talks about in Vol. 1, so you never know... This may be a book I re-read in a few years and see if I get anything more out of it.

36 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not his best., January 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Stillness: The Water Method of Taoist Meditation Series, Vol. 2 (Paperback)

It starts off where Vol 1 ends. So you should not get this book until you complete Vol 1, otherwise the book won't do you any good. That said, there are problems with this book, though he deals with moving qigong it is inadequately illustrated. His inner disolving process seems to be overly complex and seems to have roots in Chan Buddhism and guided imagery not Taoism, you can get the same results with loving kindness meditation as his Inner Disolving. In my mind this inclusion does not warrent the book. The book gives me the impression that Frantzis ran out material and had to toss in a lot of other stuff.

The real bugger is his inclusion of supposedly Taoist sex techniques. Now this is not part of Taoism and is condemned by Orthodox Taoists as it serves no purpose outside of increasing the practitioners ego, it's been refuted since 4th Century AD Taoists. Why is he included this non-sense is beyond me unless he is trying to attract the same audience that Mantak Chia and Yudelove have. No supposed Taoist would teach this garbage. Unless Frantzis was taught by Redhats and that would not be Liu Hung Chieh. It would be someone else.

Overall not bad, but Shinzen Young has covered the same material in his audio tapes. But if you have completed the first book you can skip it and move on to other works whether Tantric, Buddhist or something else.

25 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Real or Not!, July 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Great Stillness: The Water Method of Taoist Meditation Series, Vol. 2 (Paperback)

The origins of these practices are very difficult if not impossible to verify. BK Frantzis must know this, so he does not have the burden of having to prove the validity of his statements. He can make up outrageous stories and quotes and people often just believe him without any proof. There are just too many "from time immemorial" and "since the beginning of time" references, to take this person seriously at all.

Also, don't ask him why he is a lineage master; you'll get more hyperbole than a politician. The certificates that are in his books are acknowledgments from his teachers. There is nothing there that says he is a master of the material or that he is carrying on any tradition.

Each time you read about him he has supposedly spent more and more time in the Far East studying. If you add up all the years he supposedly has spent studying, his age is 102.

Most of the material that is presented in his two books is material that you can learn or extrapolate from any beginning meditation texts. There is also some confusion between his reference to Buddhist material and so-called Taoist material.

Ask a real Taoist priest about these topics if you are sincerely interested.

Some people are what they say, others are not!