The Jade Emperor's Mind Seal Classic: The Taoist Guide to Health, Longevity, and Immortality (Paperback)

~ Stuart Alve Olson (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Contains very good explanations of and information on Chinese Taoist concepts, principles, practices, and goals. It also provides useful tips for everyday health and pointers for accessing the mysteries of mysticism. Readers will be inspired to begin or renew their commitments for cultivating a fuller life.”
(Master Mantak Chia, author of Taoist Cosmic Healing )

". . . this is an excellent book, well conceived to introduce Americans and other Westerners to some of the most difficult and obscure aspects of the Taoist imagination and consciousness."
(Reg Little, New Dawn, Nov/Dec 2007

)

Product Description

The first English translation with commentary of three classic Taoist texts on immortality

• Translates The Jade Emperor's Mind Seal Classic, The Immortals, and The Three Treasures of Immortality • Defines the Taoist concept of immortality and examines the lives and practices of Taoists who achieved this state • Reveals the steps needed to achieve immortality in our modern society

Taoist mystics claim that it is possible to achieve immortality: "Within each of us dwells the medicine to cure the affliction of mortality." Now Western readers can access the wisdom of Taoist masters on the subject of immortality through the first English translations of three classic Taoist treatises: The Jade Emperor's Mind Seal Classic; The Immortals, from the Pao P'u Tzu by Ko Hung of the Sung Dynasty; and The Three Treasures of Immortality, from the Dragon Gate Sect.

The Jade Emperor's Mind Seal Classic teaches that one can attain immortality through the cultivation of the three treasures of Taoism: ching (sexual and physical energy), qi (breath and vital energy), and shen (spirit and mental energy). Chinese history is sprinkled with accounts of individuals who applied the lessons of the Jade Emperor and lived up to 200 years. Drawing on his extensive knowledge of Taoism, martial arts, and Chinese history and culture, Stuart Alve Olson accompanies his translations with informative commentary that explains the historical context of the texts as well as demonstrates the practical applications of their teachings in contemporary life.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Inner Traditions; Revised & enlarged edition (December 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0892811358
• ISBN-13: 978-0892811359
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #640,800 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Intro, July 23, 2005

By	Sun Heart (Oregon USA) - See all my reviews

A very handy little book covering the base concepts of taoist longevety. Not a total guide so much as an introduction to the various methods. Along with the translated classics the authors personal stories are fun and interesting. Some parts the authors background in Buhddism shows but its hardly intrusive.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars More commentary than classics, July 23, 2008

By	wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)

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Olson's book was not what I hoped - probably, it never meant to be. On the positive side, I found the modern translation of eastern classics that I was looking for. That includes many passages from Ko Hung, a Taoist writer of the fourth century CE, the brief list or alchemical directives from the Jade Emperor, and the "Three Treasures" by T'ien Hsin Chien. All three read smoothly in modern English, and I'm sure that Olson's scholarship and fluency add much that another translator might not have captured.

Olson adds explanatory notes of his own, as so many translators do. Those notes can be especially helpful with especially obscure and esoteric works like these. The original texts often intended to block their meaning from the non-initiate, so the modern, western reader will surely need help in approaching this material, and Olson provides that help.

My problem with this text is that Olson goes far beyond explanation and into side-trips that damage his credibility. At one point, for example, he asserts that "Normally water is just H-2-O, but it can range from H-1-O through H-18-O ...," somehow stabilized by "... a strong magnetic pull on certain portions of the earth ..." He seems to use the words magnetic and magic interchangeably, in this case, and somehow forgets to include references on the topic. Another passage describes a potion that lets fish swim happily in boiling oil. Metaphorical senses for these (and many other) statements elude me, and the literal senses of them simply undermine any good that the book might have offered.

Readers interested in the esoteric content might derive benefit from the book that I can't. I just came for the classics in translation, though. I wanted to enjoy these translations, but Olson's accretions made that impossible for me.

-- wiredweird

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Advice from a modern Taoist Sage, November 9, 2007

By	James G. Snyder "taiji dreamer" (Albuquerque, NM USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a wonderful book written by an author with both a scholar's understanding of the origins these Taoists classics and a practitioner's insight that these are living growing Taos (paths), not meant to be slavishly copied. I especially applaud his recognition that practicing Taoist techniques with a motivational mindset from Mahayana Buddhism called Bodhichitta, results in a "warmer" type of personal growth then traditional Taoism. Historically, the highest attainments of Taoism were expressed by wild, solitary Taoist hermits with little interest in teaching or passing on their knowledge. Their writings were often intentionally obscure with personal instruction clarifying them nearly unobtainable. Buddhist adepts on the other hand with their commitment to help all sentient beings concentrated on developing clear and obtainable sutra teachings.

Most of the presently available modern Taoists texts come from those sects that combined teachings and philosophies from China's three treasures, Taoism, Ch'an Buddhism and Confucianism, such as the Complete Reality School. I think that Stuart Olson can be seen to be a continuation of these principles; namely that times, places, and conditions change, Taoist practices and teachings do as well, or they are not true Taoism.

You will find in this text the root instructions to begin or deepen a Taoist practice. The criticism that this is not practice manual doesn't follow because there are no practice manuals for Taoism, and there couldn't be. In the many paths of Taoism the practices of ritual, poetry, herbology or martial arts are as important as philosophical study. A Taoist Sage/Adept many practice all of these or none of them... Enjoy this text as if it is advice from a Taoist friend.