Customer Reviews

Tao & Longevity: Mind-Body Transformation

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Many people who are seeking information about Chinese spiritual practices and meditation in general, find it easy to go astray. Tao and longevity is a definitive reference for anyone interested in acquiring the basic theory behind meditation practice.

The book discusses the motives for meditation as well as the physiological and psychological effects on the body. Theoretical principles of jing,chi and shen are also discussed.

For a serious beginner I cannot recommend this book enough. In conjunction with this book you will also want to check out Nan's other books (some of the material is quite challenging), author Charles Luk (Lu'kuan Yu?) and Bill Bodri and Lee Shu Mei who wrote 25 doors to meditation.

I hope this is helpful.

I have practiced meditation for more than 10 years and during that time period, I have read more than 60 books on meditation from different traditions: Yoga, Indian Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Zen Buddhism and Taoism. This book is the only book that not only teaches you how to meditate but also tells you every physical and mental reaction in your body as it is transformed through meditation precisely. The author is a real master who had been there and done that.

Beginners in meditation often surprised when they experience something phenomenon inside their body, or the see some light...and thought that they have made some accomplishment and thought that they have attained "Tao" or the Truth and unknowingly stop themselves on their spiritual path. Without proper guidance, one could be scared and falsely believe in their own illusions.

This book will help you go all the way to Enlighment.

Master Huai-Chin Nan states, with clarity, what meditation is, and how it affects us. He makes the case for the mind-body connection most clearly, and explains how enlightenment is attained by those who can persist in their efforts. There is no new age talk here, only facts as seen from the perspective of a spiritual discipline with threads running back to human origins of spiritual yearning. After having studied martial arts and chi-gung for decades, and read hundreds of books on spirituality, this one elucidates questions I always wanted answered. A truly great book written by a man I wish I could meet.

This book was originally published in 1972 (in Chinese). For a book of that time, it had a lot of information. It has photographs that show you the correct lotus position, half lotus, and kneeling position (in Japanese this position is called `seiza'). Today, this kind of information is everywhere.

It has rather cryptic information on meditation techniques:

"Concentration of Ch'iao does not always produce ill effects, however, and meditation of the Tan Tein should not be entirely discarded. Although some people may have apprehensions about practicing this technique, Tan Tien does have its special function and it sometimes desirable for one to concentrate on it."

This is an example of one of the most specific and concrete discussions of technique in the book.

Pg 127 "Samadhi sila forbids the revelation of the exact nature of this state, but it is also very difficult to describe. One has to know how to deal with the various changes that occur in mind and body in order to guarantee success. Sila, or discipline, forbids further discussion"

These quotes may seem like they are taken out of context, but unfortunately they are not. This is what reading this book is like.

The bulk of the book is a huge amount of very detailed information on the side effects of Taoist practices. It talks about different transformations that can occur. Presumably these side effects come about from practicing the techniques which are mentioned to be sometimes desirable in certain circumstance. It is very hard to tell. The book says over and over again that the only way to learn is from a good teacher, not a book.

There is a two page discussion of breathing techniques to cultivate qi, which concludes with as "some pseudo-Taoist sutras purported to be sutras of the Wei and Chin dynasties, occasionally mention these theories. These sutras, however, are deceptive and should not be trusted." (pg 36). There are no specific sutra names, no additional information of any sort, and of course, no specific breathing techniques are given.

I've been practicing qigong and esoteric Taoism since 1988 and I haven't encountered the phenomena the authors describe.

This is very much like reading Lu K'uan Yu [Charles Luk's books] "Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality". Unless you already know how to do the higher alchemical practices (such as "kan & li"), you won't understand the book. However, if you understand the book you probably won't need it.

Unlike "Avid Reader" I would not recommend this book to anyone other than an expert - someone with personal experience of the higher levels of inner alchemy. I think it has no value to a beginner. Zero. Zip. None. For beginners, there are far more concrete step by step books that have been published in the 35 years since this book was published.

I really liked this book. It gives an excellent overview of different taoist breathing techniques and specifically potential health issues and symptoms that occur if you're doing the work wrong. I've experienced a few of these symptoms in the past so I was really pleased to find out about these symptoms.

I also like this book because it presents a fairly comprehensive amount of info about Taoism in general and some of the different arguments and debates that occur in Taoism. It's a fairly good read.

One problem I did have is that because this book was translated into English there is a fair amount of ambiguity and lack of definition of terms. The author assumes you know what those words mean and usually this would be the case, if in fact you were from his native region. It doesn't the overall reading of the book too much, but it's something to bear in mind.

Overall this book was interesting. I do agree, however, with the poster who stated that this was not for beginners. It was translated and the writing is a bit awkward at times. There is a lot of cryptic information that, unless you have a previous knowledge, can be sort of difficult to digest. There are interesting illustrations regarding different meditation positions and also energy paths.

If you think that this book will show you techniques of Taoist meditation, you will be disappointed. Author Huai-Chin Nan is a famous Taiwanese scholar of classical Chinese language and culture, and is on spirituality being Confucianism and C'han (Zen) Buddhism in orientation. People tend to consult him on Chinese meditative practice principally because he has a good understanding of classical Chinese!

His meditation practice can be summarized as "natural" (or "do-nothing-consciously") way of folded leg meditation, with good posture, chi will eventually rise up from hui-yin, through the back, to the top of the head and down the front again (similar to the route of microcosmic circulation, but not as finely defined). It would be interesting to know that Charles Luk (translator of Taoist Yoga and a C'han master) revealed in his book on Chinese meditation that he also used some form of "natural" method of meditation, for the purpose of benefiting his chronic illness. And he talked about practicing some three plus hours per day for over a year to get noticeable chi rising up to his head. Charles Luk probably improved his skills after reading "Taoist yoga" and liked the book so much that he translated it into English (with encouragement from Carl Jung).

The other part of Nan's book is a critique of Taoist meditative practice (essentially criticism the book Taoist Yoga). His criticism, unfortunately, was mostly directed towards the metaphysical aspects of Taoist practice, making his criticism totally irrelevant (I mean, he spoke as-if Buddhism has nothing to do with metaphysics). His criticism of Taoist yoga and meditative practice does show some similarity to those views of "official" scholars in mainland China. No wonder he books have been distributed freely (I don't mean free-of-charge of course) and widely in the mainland.

On concrete matters, Nan was at issue with Taoist practice of conscious usage of sexual energy (sublimation or otherwise). Nan on the other hand advocated unconscious usage of sexual energy sublimation - meaning "do-nothing". On this issue, Nan also advised people to "eat less" (referencing Buddhist monks eat one meal a day), as a measure to avoid erection during meditation for some meditators.

This book has been very valuable to me personally as a meditator. It was the first book i could find which explained some of the phenomenon which have manifested while i was practicing meditation. Yes, these chi phenomenon are real! if you dont feel them, then practice harder and practice the right way. While you can find this information in older Taoist texts, this one has a modern voice to it which is helpful for those who dont understand ancient thought so readily.

I strongly disagree with the negative and mixed reviews which state the the book is cryptic or that Master Nan is more of a scholar than a Zen master. Nan's books reek of wisdom and high attainment. He spent years in deep meditation retreats in China and Tibet and is a recognized master in several traditions. His style is clear and simple, and the meanings deepen each time you read it. But perhaps if one is not used to reading foreign meditation material then i suppose it could be a tough study for some. If you dont get it, read it again. And Master Nan's other works as well. And Meditate!

I do agree that this book is not full of secret Taoist meditation techniques. One is often better left without secret techniques however, Taoist or otherwise. Certainly learning them from books is usually not a good idea. The Taoist stillness meditation is accessible to anybody and much easier to practice. What this book is more about is explaining the theory behind meditation, how it works, what happens to your body when you start to make progress, etc. For that it is one of the best things out there. if you want to know why your legs are shaking and your back hurts, where all that weird energy is coming from, and all kinds of much more confusing stuff, I think one cannot go wrong here.

This book has a lot of generalized information about meditation. Listed within is every basic path to enlightenment. I believe it is for more advanced readers because the focus seems to be commentary regarding common misconceptions about meditation and enlightenment, and because without a strong foundation much of the classical axioms won't make practical sense.

Informative, Supplementary, More of a warning manual than instructional, Underplays the importance of sexual qi-gong, Heavy Buddhist influence arguably at times with undertones of rejection of Taoist concepts, Claims DanTien meditation causes disease of the Lower Body.

So many different views are being propagated today about Daoism, Qigong, and meditation. For someone who is genuinely interested in seeking out the truth, sorting everything out is a daunting task. I say this as someone who has studied Neidan (Inner Elixir) methods of Daoism for many years. The number of publications which are actually able to point readers toward the true methods are very few and far between. Of the truly useful books, this one is the most important, because it is aimed at correcting common mistaken views that have historically plagued Daoist meditators of the past and present. The most important thing is that it is authored by Nan Huaijin, a meditation master who speaks authoritatively out of his own vast knowledge and experience.

For example, everyone in Daoism talks about xiaozhoutian, or Microcosmic Orbit. Does this open naturally, and does one vessel open first? Why is it important, and what is the point of the circulation? Is circulating qi really cultivating the Dao? What is the relationship between the mind and qi? What are jing, qi, and shen really? Is it actually possible to store qi indefinitely in the lower dantian? And if so, could this actually be cultivating the Dao? And how could true cultivation really be an additive process? Isn't there a more natural or simpler way? What is the esoteric structure of the body actually like? Nan Huaijin delves into all these matters that others just brush away or avoid, and does so with the deportment of a true man of the Dao. I've read dozens of books on Daoism, and I've gone over the Daoist classics, but in the end I would pick this book over any of them. Even the appendix, which covers methods and theory of meditative concentration and the refinement of qi, is worth the price of the book many times over.

For those who are interested in the other serious books on Daoism, there is another that is quite good, and that is "Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality" by Charles Luk. This is a translation of a book written by a Daoist in the 19th century, and it is also a treasury of information. However, this book is still a better investment.

As for books to avoid, anything about "Qigong" or "Taijiquan" posing as Daoism, because these reflect more modern views, which are not those of the ancient sages who actually cultivated the Dao. There are also some books by authors such as Yang Jwing-ming, who are full of speculation and theory, but are confused modern interpretations of the classics, and also do not represent the truth of cultivating the Dao. Truth be told, most books on Daoism are fictitious nonsense, obfuscation, and delusion written by people who have never endeavored in meditation. When a serious book such as this is available, it's really worth its weight in gold.