EMPTY VESSEL: Journal of Taoist Philosophy and Practice SPRING 2020

Empty Vessel Spring 2020

$6.95 U.S. $7.95 Canada

Journal of Taoist Philosophy & Practice

The Lingering Garden, a renowned classical Chinese garden, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site at Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China

The Empty Vessel — Page 2

Publisher's corner Happy Spring!

F

irst of all, I hope you and your family remain safe and healthy during the next few months.

We are all getting an unprecedented opportunity to experience the life of a Taoist hermit, although we remain connected through the internet, snail mail and remote deliveries! Everywhere you turn, there is plenty of good and not-so-good advice about how to stay healthy and safe, so I won’t repeat it here.

Instead, here are my personal tips for incorporating Taoist coping mechanisms into your daily routine: 1) Tai Chi, Qi Gong and breathing exercises.

It doesn’t have to be complicated or intense; do 70 percent of what you think you can do and find videos and tutorials suitable for your fitness level.

Even one exercise a day can have a profound impact on your Qi. 2) Tea Ceremony. Ok, let’s face it, for many of us, this is also a coffee ceremony! But tea offers more shen settling benefits than coffee. Try setting a specific time of day for a cup of tea, and make it a minimum of a half hour of quiet time, alone or with your housemates.

3) Contemplative reading. It’s important to stay current on the news, but also to nourish the shen with your favorite Taoist books to help you keep the long view in sight.

4) Connect with nature. This is a wonderful opportunity for many of us who are usually stuck in an office all day to get outside. There is no substitute for sunshine, fresh air and forest bathing. Plus, middle to long-distance viewing gives our eyeballs a rest and helps soothe the liver, which is perfectly suited for spring.

5) Meditation. It only takes a few minutes a day to rewire your brain. I think art and music also count in this category. For some, it could be woodworking. As we all know, any activity can be turned into a meditation in the right frame of mind.

Now for a bit of housekeeping. It is likely that as you read this, we will have suspended single copy delivery to retail outlets until this current crisis is over. So please head over to our website, emptyvessel.net, should you need additional copies

Correction

In the Winter edition this painting was mis-attributed in the article Reflections on Emptiness and Form. The Central Channel was painted by Michael Robbins. of the Spring issue. We also have back issues going all the way back to 1993, the original edition!

To offset the loss in revenue from single copy sales, we’ve also set up a new online bookshop at https:// bookshop.org/shop/DaoDog. We’re busy curating a list of Taoist books that you can purchase straight from that website and help support us at the same time. Please check it out!

We now also have a dedicated phone line for the Empty Vessel: 941-380-3829. This should eliminate any confusion for readers who were calling my clinic with questions or address changes.

Chris, Heather and I look forward to another year of sharing and creating a community of Taoism with you.

Be well.

Nicole Noles Collins Spring 2020 — 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

The Empty Vessel — Page 4

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.

Contents Spring 2020 Volume 27 Number 1 Special Issue, the Dao of Health, Esoteric Practices of Qi Cultivation

Empty Vessel

Features

The Journal of Taoist Philosophy and Practice

Clear Marrow, page 8 Daoist Bigu and the Science of Fasting, page 22 The Eight Extraordinary Vessels, page 30 Taoism in the Seasons, page 11 Daoist Magical Healing Tradition, page 15

Departments Directory / Classifieds, pages 38-39 Poetry Corner, pages 12-13, 34 Book Reviews, pages 10, 14 Like us on Facebook @EmptyVesselMagazine and visit

www.EmptyVessel.net

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). ©2020 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 941-380-3829 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.

Spring 2020 — Page 5

The Empty Vessel — Page 6

Contributors

Subscribe to

Empty Vessel

Chris Collins has been studying Taoism and martial arts since his teen years. Today he co-owns Empty Vessel Magazine and Ananda Yoga in North Port, Fla., where he teaches yoga and qigong.

and receive four issues of • Insightful and stimulating interviews with contemporary Taoist masters and teachers

Shifu Michael Rinaldini (Lichangdao) is the director of the Qigong & Daoist Training Center in Sebastopol, California. He teaches Qigong, Circle Walking, Daoist meditation, and Chinese Food Therapy. He is the founder of the American Dragon Gate Lineage.

Dr. John Orsborn earned a Bachelor’s in Philosophy with an emphasis on Chinese Philosophy, a Bachelor’s in Professional Health Science and a Master’s in Oriental Medicine.. He has practiced Tai Chi and Qigong for over 30 years. Dr. John is a Nationally Board Certified Acupuncture Physician and Doctor of Oriental Medicine.

Jason Read has studied martial arts since age 15 in his home country of England. Jason worked in the military, martial arts training and studying Buddhism and Taoism. On discharge he traveled to Singapore, where he fell in love with the magical, or fangshi, tradition of cultivation. While studying martial arts and working in Shenzhen, China, he studied in the inner door of Maoshan Taoism.

We’re now on

https://bookshop.org/shop/DaoDog All your

favorite Taoist books

• Informative and inspirational articles on Taoist philosophy and practice.

• Reviews of the latest books & DVDs. Subscribe now for only $27 for one year; $50 for 2 years (8 issues); or $33 for international addresses for one year (4 issues).

U.S. funds please.

Begin my subscription with the next issue

Name Address City State

Zip

Empty Vessel 3440 Conway Blvd. Unit 1D Port Charlotte FL 33952

in one place!

Spring 2020 — Page 7

Clear Marrow:

A Safe and Effective Protocol for Health and Longevity

By Christopher Collins

I recently had the good fortune to learn marrow washing neigong from Sigung Richard Clear.

Marrow washing, sometimes called marrow/brain washing, is perhaps the pinnacle of both Taoist and Buddhist qigong practice. Marrow washing has a reputation for healing and rejuvenating the body more deeply than any other practice. It makes the bones stronger, denser, more pliable, and more flexible. From a Chinese Medicine perspective, it builds up a surplus of jing qi in the body and regrow the bone marrow. Marrow washing may positively effect brain health.

Healthy marrow is essential for immune health, blood and lymph cell production as well as stem cell production.

Not all marrow washing techniques are safe but, the technique Sigung Clear teaches is safe and relatively easy to learn. If practiced regularly, it may regenerate bone marrow in 3 to 6 months. It also has immediate health benefits such as boosting breathing capacity and removing toxins from the tissues.

My wife is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine. One of her patients who she does private qigong lessons and acupuncture for had been making slow but steady progress in strength, balance and lung capacity. Then he started taking a remedy on his own that was not indicated for his condition. The next week, he stumbled into the office with great difficulty, even with his cane, and shortness of breath. Instead of the normal assessments and exercises he did each week, she instructed him in The Empty Vessel — Page 8

More information For more information about Sigung Clear and training opportunities visit clearmartialarts.com.

Clear’s marrow washing technique and supervised his practice for a duration of 30 minutes. When he got off the treatment table, he could walk a straight line and maintain his balance with his cane, and his breathing was easier. He was instructed to practice the marrow washing for 10 minutes in the morning and before bed every day.

At the followup visit, he shared that he had difficulty remembering the internal visualizations and had only practiced for about three days.

Despite that, his lungs sounded clearer than they had in six months, and his gait and balance were back to where they normally were.

My personal experience with Clear’s marrow washing included pain relief. I had been experiencing leg pain on and off for months due to working long hours on hard floors. I had tried qigong, massage, herbs and even ibuprofen and nothing relieved my pain. After only one session of marrow washing, the pain was gone. Three people at the seminar, from age forty to sixty-something demonstrated that the bones in their forearms were pliable and flexible like children’s bones are.

I am looking forward to acquiring the youthful resilience that saw these practitioners displayed with continued practice.

New from Solala Towler Tea Mind

Tea Heart A Journey Through the Dao of Tea

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. Tea Mind is about living a life of “free and easy wandering.” It is engaging and savoring each moment in our lives. Tea Heart can be a pathway back

to Source, back to the beginningless beginning, what the ancients called Dao. 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.

by Solala Towler

$19.99 softcover book $9.99 pdf version

To order go to our site at https://abodetao.com/store/ or call us at 541.345.8854

Solala Towler’s previous collection of Taoist stories, Tales From

the Tao, has been published in six editions and three languages.

This new volume is a continuation of that successful book. Once again, Solala has taken two thousand year old stories from the

Taoist tradition and opened up their narratives and given them new life.

These ancient stories have much to teach us about living in the

world in a balanced and open-hearted fashion. Even though they

MORE TALES FROM THE TAO

by Solala Towler

(Author Of TALES FROM THE TAO)

are from an ancient time and another culture, they have so much

to offer us here in the West. That’s because they talk about universal truths in simple and easy to understand ways.

In these modern times of fragmentation and societal disorder the teachings in these stories can give us a deeper perspective on

the human journey. In its tales of cripples, magical birds, teach-

ing dreams, eccentric teachers, and master butchers we can find much wisdom and advice on how to live out own lives here in the 21st Century.

The Wisdom of the Ancient Taoist Masters

$16.95 softcover $9.99 pdf version

To order go to our site at https://abodetao.com/store/ or call us at 541.345.8854

Spring 2020 — Page 9

Book Review The Way of Heart and Beauty The Tao of Daily Life AUTHOR: Deng Ming-Dao The essential Taoist guide to living with simplicity, compassion, and integrity This is a book that draws on ancient Chinese wisdom to explore the critical life issues: What is our place in nature?

How do we make right decisions? How do we respect the earth? How are we to view life and death? What is the path we should live to truly achieve a good and meaningful life?

For Deng Ming-Dao, the two entry points for this exploration are two words: The first is the Chinese word for heart 迫 which means heart, mind, intention, center, core intelligence, and soul. And the second is the word beauty 謡 which connotes the pleasure we take in art, design, fashion, and music. Our hearts love beauty, and beauty opens our hearts.

In this profound collection of fresh and contemporary translations of ancient texts, Deng Ming-Dao gathers over 220 selections that deal with the essence of heart and beauty. Topics include: how to be great, how long it takes to follow your heart, how to bring order to the world, how to know everything, how to pacify the heart, and much more. Here are stories, fables, poems, and epigrams that delight, inspire, and inform.

The Way of Heart and Beauty The Tao of Daily Life • Author: Deng Ming-Dao ISBN: 9781571748393 • Book (Paperback) • Hampton Roads Publishing Company • $16.95 • 224 pages

The Empty Vessel is now accepting

poetry submissions!

Send entries to DaoDogPress@gmail.com We will notify by email if your poem is chosen.

The Empty Vessel — Page 10

Taoism in the Seasons Spring is Yang season,

a time to return to activity after the Yin winter of rest.

Spring is associated with the

Wood Element and the

To harmonize with the season,

cultivate your mind and body chi in preparation for the burst of energy in the spring.

gallbladder and liver.

One of the Six Healing Sounds

Eat seasonal green foods such as

spinach, broccoli and green beans.

Alternate with cooked foods until the season grows warmer for cold foods.

is the

Sound of the Liver

which transforms energy of the liver into kindness Position: Sit on the edge of your chair with feet shoulder length apart. Place hands palms-up on your thighs. Raise your hands palms-up over your head and interlock your fingers. Lean slightly to the left. Look up.

Liver sound: Place the tongue near the palate and, with a long,

slow exhalation produce the sound

“SHHHHHHHHHH.”

SOURCES: ENERGYARTS.COM • WIKIPEDIA.ORG • TRAVELCHINAGUIDE.COM • MANTAKCHIA.COM

Spring 2020 — 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.

The Way

By Brian Jay Yoder The way of life is constant.

An always that flows, undefined, Into and out of itself.

Faces no beginning, Following to no end; A bellows empty with Perpetual potential.

Completely hidden, yet Fully present.

There can be no telling; Impossible to name.

What it is moves, through all things; Above and below, Within as without.

The dark and the light, Into the vast void, returning To the deepness of being.

Is not, yet is; Forever still and travelling on To the origin of all.

Vital Signs

By Terre Ouwehand

whole novels lie underfoot, treatises, poems!

Earth talks to me: It throws down twigs in alphabet— arranges stones, leaves, seaweed in calligraphic intimations—

Wind instructs: Be quiet ... the air is full of dog-whistles— I must change my life.

The Empty Vessel — Page 12

Chuang-tse and me

By Jim Birt Once upon a time I was a caterpillar.

It wasn’t easy — many times my caterpillaring seemed “off.”

I watched other caterpillars, copied their moves and had my moments when

I was convinced I had a handle on the caterpillar way.

But it didn’t last.

Some inner metamorphosis kept tripping me up. So I stopped.

And waited, until a breeze tugged at wings I never knew I had.

Without End

By Larry Kelly I am the universe I have no end I burst into sunlight I have no edge I am all things I am the seven seas The planets

The suns I am the Buddha I am the Christ The Green Goddess The first born The last I am I was I will be.

Spring 2020 — Page 13

Book Review The Soul of Taiji Zhang Sanfeng-Wu Baolin Taijiquan AUTHOR: Dr. Baolin Wu and Michael McBride This tells the story of Master Wu Baolin and how he came to learn Daoist taijiquan from his teacher, Master Du Xinling, at the White Cloud Monastery in Beijing.

It introduces the original practice of taijiquan to the outside world, pristinely preserved. Zhang Sanfeng Taijiquan goes back seven generations, starting with Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of the Wudang Sect (a subsect of the Complete Reality School), and continuing through Zhang Daishan and other senior Daoist lineage holders.

Daoist taijiquan adheres to roundness, which symbolizes movement and exercise as well as the key to opening the mysterious life gate. It guides —and encourages us —to a better path, giving our days fulfillment and joy. Among the myriad forms of taijiquan, Zhang Sanfeng taijiquan is singular in that it is practiced in only one direction, following the rotation of the earth, the direction of the winds, the turning of the stars, and the shapes of the planets. The universe is vast and unknown, but according to Yijing, the classic divination text, the universe itself is round. By observing and practicing Daoist taijiquan, one’s self reflects and becomes integrated with the roundness of the universe.

In this rare unveiling, Master Wu, one of only five students to learn this set from Master Du, shares his insights and the secrets to enhancing one’s practice and self-cultivation. It’s an account that is hard-won by over sixty years of training experience. The potentiality of Daoist taijiquan is discussed in great detail, including its health benefits, effects on self-preservation, ability to extend longevity, as well as the path it offers to immortality. We are currently living in an age when the original meaning and intention of our history is at risk of disintegrating and disappearing. With new schools and even universities of taijiquan cropping up everywhere, dilution and misdirection are a growing The Empty Vessel — Page 14

concern. In order to counterbalance this trend, the original works of Zhang Sanfeng are set here today. May his teachings lead us back to Dao. The Soul of Taiji Zhang Sanfeng-Wu Baolin Taijiquan • Author: Dr. Baolin Wu and Michael McBride • ISBN: 9781-931483-43-8 • Book (Paperback) • Three Pines Press • $34.95 • 245 pages

Beyond TCM. The Daoist Magical Healing Tradition.

By Jason Read

In this article I plan to explore other avenues of healing in the wonderfully diverse world of Daoism.

The popular western approach to the Taoist healing arts has been quite limited until recently with improved access to traditional teachers and academics increasingly translating previously unknown texts.

If I mention the words “Chinese Healing” the usual image is one of acupuncture needles, massage (tui na), cupping therapy, herbal medicine and moxibustion. Of course these are all wonderful methods which are generally categorised as Traditional Chinese Medicine. These methods are indeed employed throughout the Far East, yet it is only a fraction of the picture. Why this is so is perhaps because they are the most acceptable to the occidental way of thinking. It is the easiest for the western mindset to grasp and graft on spurious and often ill fitting scientific theories as to why they work.

They are easily rationalised.

Despite these modern attempts to put TCM in the scientific model there is an esoteric foundation that represents the real basis of not only TCM but other arts of healing you may have only touched upon or simply never heard of.

I am not here to try and convince you that this world is real or relevant to your own work, only that it exists and that you at least temporarily, with an open mind, read this article. With that caveat out the way, let’s crack on.

To understand the roots of the Chinese healing arts we have to cast our minds back thousands of years, before there was Daoism. Let us go to one of the Southern Provinces, say, Sichuan. We see a shaman, a Wu yi, dressed in colourful robes billowing in the

ADOBE STOCK PHOTO

winds in an explosion of reds, blues and yellows. A steady bell rings in a hypnotic pulse as the shaman steps in the pattern of the Big Dipper, she is literally chanting love songs to attract the attention of the Lord. The Lord suddenly appears as in trance she is whisked to a world of incredible beauty, a world apparently in the stars, purple mists of numinous power swirl in veils. The Lord answers her questions about the illness infecting her village. …

It is from this shamanic scenario that Chinese healing is rooted. The above flight of fancy is not my imagination but is based on The Nine Songs of Qu Yuan.

From Shamanism emerged various ideas about the magical body. In dreams and trances the Wu Yi became aware of energy. All of nature was empowered by the great Cosmic Breath. … Qi, and Spring 2020 — Page 15

everything had a spirit body nourished by this cosmic pulse of Qi. Illness was the result of disharmony with the cosmic rhythm. Perhaps you offended the Gods, the spirits or the ancestors.

Illness is a spiritual condition.

Little has changed.

In many Chinese communities today, illness is still considered a spiritual condition. No, but wait, you say, we know about germs and viruses, we know all about psychiatric illness. True, but the magician would tell you that you are just looking at the effects which are the result of causes you are not aware of. That is not to say that antibiotics and the like are not necessary, but the root of the illness could be addressed with root methods such as spells and herbs. Treating the symptoms is really just trimming the branches so to speak.

Illness has a broader definition too. Not only is it obvious illnesses such as cancer, pneumonia or psychiatric conditions like depression but also spiritual ones that manifest as poverty and ill luck.

As well as the TCM practitioner, there are other healers in the Chinese community. One example is the Tang Ki. Tang Ki or Jitong which translates roughly as Child Medium. It is the return of the shaman. The Tong Ji is a vessel for a particular deity or God. The medium is described as a child in the sense he or she is an innocent and passive vessel through which the deities are born and express themselves through. You will often see Tang Ki exhibit childlike attributes such as drinking milk from a baby bottle and the like.

Tank Ki is not orthodox Taoism but The Empty Vessel — Page 16

IMAGE PROVIDED BY JASON READ

a folk mystery reacting to Temple authoritarianism.

magician, the Fang Shi or Master of the Method/Law.

Typically for example our fellow is down on his luck and sick to the bone. He goes to visit the local Tang Ki. The Tang Ki seethes into a trance and the deity offers a prescription, often herbal remedies accompanied by spiritual acts.

The Master is trained in herbalism and acupuncture but also possesses a skill set that goes far beyond the Tang Ki or conventional TCM doctor. He can call on the Gods, use his own powers developed through years of alchemical cultivation, travel to the spirit worlds, divine causes through face reading, palmistry

The other recourse is the Taoist

and astrology, write fu talismans, call spirits to aid his will and so on.

Often these wizards are trained in family lineages and are not attached to Temples. They are often in lineages such as Maoshan, Fengyan, Yinshan and Lushan.

The Maoshan here described is not the same as the Orthodox Maoshan Order also known as Shanqing.

For example in face reading, the Maoshan Master may notice you have an affliction that indicates some inherited negative karma or perhaps you have a poor link to your ancestors. Consequently you have reoccurring misfortune and a lack of ability to find wealth and joy in your life. You feel depressed and cannot “get it together.” The master will prescribe a talisman that you carry or even burn to ashes and drink. One example of diagnosis and the solution talisman is here shown.

Another common diagnosis is Soul Shock. This is one of the first methods learned by most Taoist magicians.

The theory is that trauma can dislodge parts of the soul leaving you somehow incomplete.

This can be due to serious trauma, sudden fright and even nightmares. At minimum there is confusion, depression and night terrors and at worst coma. The theory that certain kinds of Yin spirits delight in scaring people is that they can feed off that fear and soul energy discharge is true in this light.

The operation to deal with this is known as Fetching the Soul or Soul Retrieval. The process can be fairly intricate or fairly simple depending on the severity. If the person isn’t present at the right, a straw poppet is made to represent

the patient and clothed in cloth made from their clothes. Qi laden personal items of the patient such as nail clippings, hair and so on are also used. The doll is bound with thread hung with coins to represent the seven parts of soul and the three parts of spirit.

Invocations are made amongst clouds of sweet-smelling incense imploring the Gods to aid the soul to find its way back to the patient.

A talisman for this ritual is shown here.

For more conventional illnesses, the Chinese masters have a whole selection to choose from. But how are they made and used?

The talismans are a kind of written spell usually on yellow rice paper.

Their writing is not a simple matter and there are certain rules to be followed.

Timing is important. Certain days are forbidden, one of these being the 16th Day of the 5th Moon. This taboo time was related by the goddess Su Nu to the Jade Emperor as the time when Heaven and Earth conjunct their energies. There is a consequent lack of yang energy and so is the most unfortunate time for talisman making and other yangenergy depleting activities such as drinking alcohol or sex.

The favoured hour is between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., the Hour of the Rat. It is favourable to talisman making, meditation and neigong.

The magician will be equipped with an altar table with two red candles, incense and the Treasures of Writing. The Treasures of the Scholar are the block of ink, the brush, the grinding stone/inkwell and the paper itself.

After preliminary prayers and

neigong, the magician will consecrate each item in turn to empower the tools of his art.

One such invocation translates as: ‘O this is not ordinary water! This is the miraculous water blessed by the Jade Emperor. The waters of Heaven, the waters of the Thunder! Quickly by the Law (of Heaven)!

This process continues with the consecration of the pen (actually a Chinese calligraphic brush), the ink block, the actual process of grinding the ink against the ink stone and the paper itself.

The writing itself is highly ritualised involving a preliminary called “warming” the pen. which activates the pen with the Qi of Heaven before writing.

As to the talisman (fulu) itself there are many varieties, but here I want to discuss the structure of a typical Maoshan Pai (Mao Mountain School) talisman.

The Maoshan school, not to be confused with the Shanqing Orthodoxy which was also founded upon Maoshan, is perhaps the most famous of the fashi (Law Master of Magical Method) schools.

Looking at the diagram let’s discuss each section. Note, talismans are nearly always written from top to bottom and from left to right.

1. At the very top are three ’ticks’ or stars which represent The Three Pure Ones, the highest deities in Taoism.

2. The next section is usually the name of the deity called, and is thus called the Master or Head of the talisman.

3. This character is known as the Spring 2020 — Page 17

Fu Ling, Chi Lung or Le Ling. No one really knows its exact meaning but it means in the magical language of the Taoists, “command” or “give power to…”

Essentially it empowers the talisman with executive power.

4. Not all talismans have this part. This is called Binding the Fairy/Immortal Rope. Its curves represent the flow of gathering magical energy.

5. The Pillar of Heaven.

6. The Pillar of Earth.

7. Fire Wheel Stars protect and lend more power to the talisman.

8. Talisman body is the actual written spell or the command and intention (yi) of the magician.

9. The Gallbladder is a very important part of the talisman.

It not only gives life to the talisman as a whole but ‘seals’ the talisman. Without this ‘wizard’s lock’ the power empties out or undesired powers rush in. There are many varieties of gallbladder, the two most common are pictured. The former invokes the power of the Twelve Earthly Branches (i.e. Rat, Ox, Tiger etc.) and the latter most often invokes the Five Thunders (wu lei).

10. For extra power we often superimpose on the gallbladder several characters known as the Flower Word. For healing talismans this is usually the symbol of the Five Elements (waxing).

Each part of drawing this talisman will require specific invocations. Talisman drawing is not just simply sketching out some picture and filling in the blanks but a complex interplay of Man (as magician) and Heaven (spiritual powers, astrological influences, Qi) The Empty Vessel — Page 18

which is intermeshed into the very substance of the talisman itself. It requires great skill and a capacity to enter a certain state of consciousness. It involves magical invocations, and actions such as stepping patterns and mudras. The most often used being the familiar Immortal Sword Hand.

Once completed, the magician will usually make offerings to the Gods or spirits which were invoked.

Taoist magic consists of a reciprocal relationship with the spirit world. The magician allows the spirits to interact with the sphere of humanity and in return the magician offers them the essence of what they enjoy.

This is usually food, drinks and spirit money. The spirit money is burnt to thank and further empower the spirits at the end of the ceremony.

IMAGE PROVIDED BY JASON READ

Having completed the talisman the talisman is used in varying ways. It can be hung or pasted in the home or carried.

Most often for healing talismans, it is burnt to ash. This ash is then mixed with water and drunk by the patient.

One common talisman used is the talisman of the Snow Mountain Fairy/Immortal (page16). As its name implies it helps cure fever. This is shown in the figure. The idea of course is to invoke the cool qualities possessed by this snow and ice wielding immortal to temper the fever of the patient.

Jason has studied martial arts since age 15 in his home country of England. Jason worked in the military, martial arts training and studying Buddhism and Taoism. On discharge he traveled to Singapore, where he fell in love with the magical, or fangshi, tradition of cultivation. While studying martial arts and working in Shenzhen, China, he studied in the inner door of Maoshan Taoism.

“All things arise in unison.

Thereby we see their return.”

— Tao Te Ching Spring 2020 — Page 19

The Ten-Thousand Things 50 years of creativity from Jane English and Gia-fu Feng

Chuang Tsu - book Tao Calendar

Tao Te Ching - book

2014 edition

2011 edition

Yarrow Stalks

for use with I Ching oracle

A Rainbow of Tao - book

Stillpoint

Yin-Yang and the Ten-Thousand Things watercolor by Jane English 1988 art prints available

Fingers Pointing to the Moon - book

biography of Gia-fu Feng by Carol Wilson

details & order at

eheart.com Blog: eheart.com/blog Catalog: eheart.com/pdf/EHcatalog.pdf Facebook: facebook.com/janebenglish

Art Prints

images by Jane English The Empty Vessel — Page 20

The Ceremony Cards

an oracle - indigenous wisdom from Greenland

Restore

your vital energy with

HOLISTIC MEDICINE

START FEELING BETTER

TODAY!

SPECIALIZING IN CHRONIC PAIN

VITALICHI ACUPUNCTURE 3440 Conway Blvd. Unit 1D Port Charlotte, FL 33952

941-979-9793 Lic.# MM38411

Nicole Noles Collins, AP, LMT

Spring 2020 — Page 21

Daoist Bigu and the Science of Fasting

By Michael Rinaldini My next journal writing project is a consolidation of my first three books (A Daoist Practice Journal: Book 1: Come Laugh With Me; Book 2: Qigong, Circle Walking & Daoist Cultivation; Book 3: Qigong, Seasonal Food Cures & Daoist Cultivation), and a fourth book that focuses on the practice and science of Bigu Fasting. This new book will be titled: You Grow As A Daoist In The Heart, Journals Of A Modern-Day Western Daoist Priest. Below are selected entries (mainly on Bigu fasting) from Book 4 of my new volume on Daoist cultivation.

September 27, 2019 I just arrived at the Hackerman Patz House, outside of Baltimore, the residence where I will stay for a three-day Bigu Fasting training with Kevin Chen (Kevin Chen is a well-known teacher of qigong and bigu fasting. He offers bigu trainings throughout the year in the USA, and China). It was a tiring overnight flight via Salt Lake City and arriving at 5 a.m. The last 5-6 hours I spent sitting in various locations in the airport terminals. I feel the need for a couple of hours of sleep and then getting something to eat. It’s a funny thought, but I don’t want to start the fasting retreat hungry.

September 30, 2019 I am back at the Baltimore airport waiting for my return flight at 6:55 p.m. I am still fasting. I am on day 4. My last meal was the cobb salad I had last Friday afternoon, around 3:30 p.m. And the good news is that things are going really well for me.

These last few days, I have had an abundance of energy.

October 2, 2019 Today is day 5 of my fast, which started last Friday The Empty Vessel — Page 22

afternoon. I feel tired this morning and although I don’t feel hungry, I feel I am ready to end my fast. I just finished my recovery soup and am ready to eat it. Kevin Chen said you can eat some of this soup every 2-3 hours. Ok, here goes, I’m ready to eat.

2 p.m.

Still feeling tired after eating my soup, I ate a handful of nuts: cashew, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds.

October 3, 2019 I spent some time reviewing Bigu on the web, specifically looking for Daoist references to ancient practices of Bigu. And I found a lot. I also found some useful information from some Daoist books I have on my bookshelves. Plus, I haven’t gone back to all the material that Kevin Chen gave us during our training. So, I have ample study and writing material for my journal writings.

November 5, 2019 Okay, it is the first week at the start of a new month. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it yet, but my intentions are to do a 48-hour fast on a monthly basis. I did some preparations already like purchasing some napa cabbage for a pre- and postcleansing soup. I also weighed myself this morning.

Naked, I weighed 163.5 pounds. It’ll be interesting to see how much weight I lose on this 48-hour fast.

November 6, 2019 I am at the start of a monthly fast. Today is Wednesday and I am continuing to eat my preparation soups. I bought a few extra ingredients for it this morning. Here are the ingredients: Napa cabbage, kale, carrots, gogi berries, shitake mushrooms, and some left-over brown rice. I also added some olive oil and Spike seasoning. One of the key cooking directions is to cook the napa cabbage for no more than 3 minutes. This helps

IMAGE PROVIDED BY MICHAEL RINALDINI

Spring 2020 — Page 23

to maintain the long fibers in the napa cabbage.

I will probably have some more of it tonight, but with some chicken, and a side salad dish of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and avocado.

Fasting has a long tradition in Daoism. It doesn’t take much effort to find references to fasting (Bigu tradition) in my own personal book collection.

The first one I picked up was a book that Livia Kohn edited in the early 1990s. It is an anthology on various Daoist scriptures, it is “The Taoist Experience, An Anthology.”

In Livia Kohn’s discussion on the path to the Dao, she presents a few texts which explore the different levels of cultivation practices. One text, written during the mid-Tang period speaks about the value and purpose of fasting. The text is the Tianyinzi (The Master of Heavenly Seclusion) and its authorship is assigned to Sima Chengzhen, though this is not verifiable. Remember, Sima Chengzhen is also the author of the Zuowang Lun.

In the Tianyinzi, one of the sections states the different stages of study and cultivation. The practitioner of the Dao is supposed to practice and master each stage before they progress to the next stage. The first stage is “fasting and abstention” followed by other stages, like training in solitude, Qigong and Daoist visualization practices, and the meditation practice of sitting in forgetting or oblivion. (Kohn 1993, 82)

November 7, 2019 Okay, my fast began after dinner last night and continues into today, Thursday.

A few years ago when I was trying to find more information on current-day Bigu practices in China, I learned some interesting news. Apparently, there is a small group of Chinese Daoists who take Bigu very seriously. I don’t have any details but what I learned second-hand was that there are individual Chinese Daoists who spend half the year in their normal roles as Daoist priests or monks in various temples or monasteries. And then they spend the other half of the year in remote mountain hermitages in Bigu practice. How long they fast, I don’t know. I would only imagine that if they are practicing Bigu from anywhere from a few months to six months they must be pretty advanced. And this would include not only Bigu cultivation, but the other stages of practice like I mentioned in yesterday’s entry: Bigu, solitude, Qigong, meditation, and The Empty Vessel — Page 24

attainment of the Dao. Digging a little further into ancient Daoist practices of Bigu, we find extensive reasons for fasting.

Perhaps it’s only important or relevant to know that during the medieval period there were many beliefs about the body as harboring all kinds of evil entities like death-bringers, or harmful worms or parasites infesting the body. This is also the period when Bigu became known as the “abstention from grains” practice. This notion is widely discussed in Daoist scholarly research.

November 8, 2019 I am almost at the ending of my fast. Right now, at 2:15 p.m., it is 44 hours of fasting. I plan to make the traditional Napa cabbage soup at 3 p.m. and have a first light meal by 6 p.m. Also, I had a very peaceful meditation session, it was a very restful session. I clearly had a deep experience of stillness.

Prior to meditating, I recited from the Friday morning gongke service (Rites of the American Dragon Gate Lineage). One of the readings was from the Dingguan Jing (Zuowang Lun)

Each thought that emerges should be swiftly eliminated, and each thought that rises should be immediately controlled, ensuring that one becomes still.

(Rinaldini 2019, 28)

I found myself aware of subtle thoughts, and they were forgotten so easily. Eventually, there was just a quietness of the mind. In the past, I would have made a big deal about attaining such a quiet state of mind. But now, today, it just felt so natural, was it the result of the fasting or something else?

November 18, 2019 I’ve been eating more of my fasting recovery soup the last few days to help myself return to a normal bowel movement regime. This napa cabbage and a few additional ingredients like mushrooms, kale, and a root vegetable did the trick. I also decided that the next time I do a 2-day fast, I will start on a Tuesday evening and end the fast on Thursday late afternoon. The lesson that I am learning is not to be rigid about the details of the fast and to pay attention to what my body and mind are telling me.

December 1, 2019 Here are possible preparations for another fast.

If possible, have this special soup on Tuesday for lunch: organic napa cabbage, kale, tofu, winter

squash, mushrooms, regular or shitake, sesame seed oil or olive oil, etc. Note: No onions, carrots, scallions, garlic, leek, pepper, or miso.

Preparation: Add all food, except cabbage and kale to a pot of water and boil. After the other foods cook for a few minutes, add the cabbage and kale for only 3 minutes, then take off the heat. Add the oil at last minute of cooking. You can eat this soup again for dinner, even with a little skinless chicken/turkey.

Note: The amount of Napa cabbage you eat at one time should be a pretty sizable amount, both before and after the fast. One goal of fasting is a cleansing of the bowels in which the cabbage helps. Also, add more fresh cabbage to the soup whenever you reheat it.

Later on the 1st of December, 2019 I didn’t mention above that during your fast, you will practice Qigong regularly. You will focus on cleansing Qigong like the basic Taichi ruler with the healing sound for the Liver — shuu. Most of the Qigong will highlight the tonifying of the three Dantians, and because it is winter, you’ll practice Qigong to nourish the Kidney energy. Specifically,

your Qigong, like the Bear Frolic, will safeguard the small flame of the Yang deep in the Lower Dantian, Kidney organs/meridians. And you will strengthen your external Yin energy so as to create a powerful protective shield around your whole body, much like the bear’s thick fur coat protecting its inner warmth. You will nourish the Three Treasures (Jing, Qi, and Shen) with frequent periods of deep abdominal breathing and Zuowang sitting in oblivion.

January 7, 2020 Okay, let’s jump to modern times and see a very enlightening view on how fasting has a profound effect on the biology of human aging. The fasting retreat I did last year with Kevin Chen was an eyeopening experience for me. The following article was one of the things that Kevin shared with everyone. I’ll edit out parts of it since it is a long article:

The 2016 Nobel Prize for Medicine Supports Health Benefits of Fasting “The 2016 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Dr. Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan for his discoveries of mechanisms for autophagy.

Spring 2020 — Page 25

What Is Autophagy?

is, cellular rubbish, including pathogenic bacteria.

The Nobel Prize winner’s discovery indicates that abstaining from food and keeping fasts is wholesome — the body truly cleans itself during fasting.

The word autophagy originates from the Greek words auto-, meaning “self”, and phagein, meaning “to eat”. Thus, autophagy denotes “self-eating”.

This concept emerged during the 1960s, when Eat Less and Live Longer… researchers first observed that the cell could destroy its own contents by enclosing it in membranes, Scientists have shown a link between long-living forming sack-like vesicles that were transported to calorie-restricted mice and the types of microbes a recycling compartment, called the lysosome, for residing in the guts degradation. of those mice. The Difficulties in finding, published studying the in 2013 Nature phenomenon Communications, meant that little suggests a novel was known until, in mechanism of living a series of brilliant longer by establishing experiments in the the right kind of early 1990s, Yoshinori microbes in our gut Ohsumi used baker’s through a low-calorie yeast to identify diet. A very lowgenes essential for calorie diet could be autophagy. the key to a long and healthy life, according He then went to new research. on to elucidate Eating less can boost the underlying healthier aging by mechanisms for protecting the body’s autophagy in yeast cells from harmful and showed that deterioration and the similar sophisticated risk of cancer. machinery is used in our cells.

Evolutionary biologist Dr. Margo Autophagy is the Adler said that process of utilizing ADOBE PHOTO cutting back on food and recycling Mechanism of cellular authophagy, illustration for leads to increased unnecessary or Nobel Prize Award in Medicine 2016. 3D illustration showing fusion of lysosome with autophagosome conrates of “cellular dysfunctional cellular taining microbes and molecules recycling” and components — the repair mechanisms so-called cellular in the body. Dr Adler said: “This effect has been rubbish which accumulates in cells. Autophagy demonstrated in laboratories around the world, in is intrinsic to living organisms, including those of species ranging from yeast to flies to mice. There is human beings. also some evidence it occurs in primates.”

Thanks to autophagy cells get rid of excess parts,

while an organism gets rid of unnecessary cells.

I learned during the retreat that this process of

autophagy kicks into action after the person has fasted for 24 hours. This is the amount of time it Fasting Activates the Cell Autophagy takes for the body mechanisms to utilize all its stored supply of glucose. After this point, the fun Autophagy becomes especially intensive when begins and the rule of autophagy reigns supreme. an organism is under stress, for example, when This is also the reason that I have selected 48 hours a person goes through fasting. In this case, a cell to be the length of my monthly fasts. I figure that 24 produces energy using its internal resources, that The Empty Vessel — Page 26

hours into the autophagy realm on a monthly basis will have a lasting effect on my longevity.

January 15, 2020 This is a full day of water fasting today. I began yesterday at 5 p.m. after my pre-fasting soup of napa cabbage and other vegetables. There was a chunk of pork in it, leftover from the previous day. So, in 2 hours, I will be passing through the 24-hour mark, where the real action of fasting begins.

I will include some information below from articles on the benefits of fasting for general health and longevity, as well as for cancer prevention and treatment.

The following quotations are from a research article on fasting as a way to revitalize the immune system in conjunction with cancer treatment:

“Although fasting diets have been criticized by nutritionists for being unhealthy, new research suggests starving the body kick-starts stem cells into producing new white blood cells, which fight off infection. Scientists at the University of Southern California say the discovery could be particularly beneficial for people suffering from damaged immune systems, such as cancer patients on chemotherapy.

It could also help the elderly whose immune system becomes less effective as they age, making it harder for them to fight off even common diseases. The researchers say fasting “flips a regenerative switch” which prompts stem cells to create brand new white blood cells, essentially regenerating the entire immune system. “And the good news is that the body got rid of the parts of the system that might be damaged or old, the inefficient parts, during the fasting.

on the kinds of medical conditions that fasting could benefit: Weakens cancer, protects the brain, reduces the risk of heart diseases and diabetes, fights inflammation, delays aging and extends longevity, promotes autophagy, and lowers the risk of several chronic diseases.

But wait, I’m not done with my medical evidence on the benefits of fasting. Before I move on to another topic regarding fasting, I want to present some additional medical science evidence supporting fasting as powerful prevention and treatment of cancer. My information comes from a long article by a major medical center in San Francisco, the University of California San Francisco: Osher Center for Integrative Medicine (Osher.ucsf.edu). The title of the article is “Cancer and Fasting/Calorie Restriction.” The question raised in the article is “Can fasting or calorie restriction help my body fight cancer? Could it also help cancer treatment be more effective?”

The following is from the web page of https:// osher.ucsf.edu/patient-care/integrative-medicineresources/cancer-and-nutrition/faq/cancer-andfasting-calorie-restriction:

What is the Evidence?

There have been over 100 years of research looking at the role of calorie restriction in relation to the possibility of prolonging life. While most of this research has been on animals, a modest amount of information on humans has accumulated that indicate a protective effect against secondary aging.

Obviously, I am not going to include the bulk of this article. Instead, I will jump to the recommendations and summary of the researchers:

• For general cancer prevention, it may be beneficial to add intermittent or short-term fasts in ‘Now, if you start with a system heavily damaged by combination with a plant-based cancer prevention chemotherapy or aging, fasting cycles can generate, diet. Here are some take-home tips from our literally, a new immune system.’” literature review:

Sarah Knapton, The Telegraph. • In general, follow an anti-inflammatory diet with Telegraph.co.uk June 5, 2014 lots of colorful fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils,

herbs, and spices.

The above quotations are just one source of information that is easily discoverable by searching • Low to moderate carbohydrate intake with low the internet. If you do your own surfing the web, glycemic starches. you’ll find endless articles on how fasting is being proved beneficial by modern-day medical • Healthy fats at every meal, including good sources researchers. Here are some of my own findings of Omega-3s.

Spring 2020 — Page 27

• Moderate protein intake of 3-4 ounces per meal from a combination of animal and plant proteins.

• Lengthen the time between dinner and breakfast to allow for a longer overnight fast, with the goal of 13 or more hours, for example, dinner by 6 p.m. and breakfast after 7 a.m.

• Short-term water fasts of 1-3 days to possibly help re-generate the immune system and increase cellular protection against oxidative stress.

• If you are a cancer patient, water fasting 2-3 days prior to treatment and up to one day following treatment to optimize the efficacy of treatment and reduce treatment-related side effects may be considered, but only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner.

That is certainly powerful news to hear from a prominent medical institution. The value of fasting seems to have gained recognition as a highly worthwhile medical prevention and treatment modality. I would only add to this conclusion that fasting when combined with spiritual and health practices like Qigong and Daoist meditation, can only have miraculous results.

January 18, 2020 I found more information on fasting in one of my favorite books, Daoism, Meditation, and the Wonders of Serenity, by Stephen Eskildsen. My first investigation looks at a text, dated in the third century, it is called The Manifest Dao, Xiandao

Xin Dao Tea Tea from the heart...

High quality, reasonably priced teas from China To inquire about our teas please contact us at: solala@abodetao.com/541.345.8854 or go to www.abodetao.com (in store)

The Empty Vessel — Page 28

jing. It translates as The Scripture of the Manifest Dao. The text is broken down into three sections, but for the sake of brevity and clarity, I will make comments based on the text as a whole.

The purpose of the text is to support meditative practices and encourage the practitioner to seek inner states of calmness and serenity as the way to attain the Dao. However, in order to achieve these states of elevation, the adept is advised to limit both sexual activities and food intake. Following these practices, the adept gains the ability to live off of the “internal Qi” (Eskildsen 2015, 79).

The Manifest Dao goes into great detail about this practice including a description of an enclosure of solitude and supported by an attendant taking care of the adept’s needs (food, clothing, freedom from external distractions, etc). From what I read in Professor Eskildsen’s analyses of this text, it looks like there is, indeed, a great emphasis on avoiding grains in the fullest sense of no food. Thus a 100-day fasting regimen is proposed and The Manifest Dao describes the different phases the adept passes through.

In one part of this text, there is the literary style of question and answer, with Laozi portraying the master. Here are a few of these interactions recorded by Eskildsen: Someone asked, “In practicing the Way, if there is constant Dao-Qi, can you eliminate grains or not?”

Laozi said, “If you want to transcend the world and separate from the worldly, it is urgent that you should eliminate them. By means of your Qi and your breathing, after a long while, you do not hunger or thirst. This is the great essential of the Way.” (2015, 84)

It is assumed that at this level of cultivation, the adept is a master of working with the Qi and the breath through practices that are now called Qigong practices. Some practices of this description might include deep abdominal breathing, full whole body breathing, and the different methods of ways of swallowing the medicinal saliva often called “eating the Qi.” During my fasting retreat that I did last year with Kevin Chen, one method we were supposed to do was to swallow the saliva at the usual times of meals. Here’s another strong quote on the value of avoiding grains: “When you eat grain and fill the belly, the rotten filth

piles up as feces, and the gods will not dwell in your body. Just practice the Way endlessly, and after a long while, you will naturally not hunger.” (2015, 84)

In my own words, I would conclude that when the adept realizes the deep states of union with the Dao, and even before any final stages of perfection, the adept prepares for such depths of enlightenment by refraining from all food. And from our long discussions on Zuowang meditation and elevated states of “fixation,” I would say it will only be natural (Wuwei) to avoid grains completely.

January 26, 2020 I am thinking about all the things I’ve said so far about Bigu fasting. Have I missed anything? I also did a review of the study material that Kevin Chen gave us during his Bigu training, including the notes I took. Perhaps, a couple of things are worth mentioning now. First, is the emphasis on “Mindset.”

Kevin mentioned several times during his training the importance of keeping a positive mindset. Here are some brief notes he gave us. In one handout, it says, “Mindset: Bigu is not starvation, but a practice of getting energy and power from alternative sources, reboot your life system and experiencing life to its utmost form.” In another handout, there is this point, “The Mind technique of Bigu fasting (Mindset) is synchronized with the Immortals and Gods.”

Additionally, I have some notes that say that “mind” and “spiritual practice” should be integrated. My understanding of mindset is therefore that during our Bigu times of avoiding grains and foods, we should cultivate our higher purposes of living. We should refrain from eating in order to purify not only our bodies but our minds too for the purpose of attaining alignment with spiritual truths.

The other point that Kevin made was the practice of “gulping Qi.” He described the technique as stretching out the head and neck (forward) and opening the mouth as if you were swallowing water. You then physically swallow the air (the Universe Qi) you just grasped in the mouth. He suggested to briefly practice this method with some water in order to actually feel the sensations of swallowing inside your mouth and throat. He said to practice “gulping Qi” whenever you feel hungry. During Kevin’s retreat, I did practice this method. However, during the 2-day monthly fasts that I have done since then, I have relied more on my basic Qigong exercises to gather Qi. After all, it is not so much the technique of how you gather Qi, but it is the mindset of living off of Universal Qi, instead of the ordinary Qi from food. The

accompanying quiet and calm state of fasting goes hand-in-hand with the goals of Bigu fasting.

January 27, 2020 I’ve been meaning to write a brief entry on a memory that I have of a very short period of my life. I was probably around 17 or 18 years old and worked at a local amusement park. Actually, it was my first real job while I was in high school. In short, I don’t remember why, but I kept asking myself: What if everybody stopped eating? Would God let us all die? I had these thoughts in my head while I ran the different amusement rides. I don’t remember when or why I stopped asking these questions, but I did.

And now, I wonder if these ancient thoughts of mine were really my thoughts, or were they voices of my distant past, as in previous lifetimes, or maybe even voices from my “spirit guides” of another dimension? Who knows these things?

References

Eskildsen, Stephen. 2015. Daoism, Meditation, and the Wonders of Serenity: From the Latter Han Dynasty (25-220) to the Tang Dynasty (618-907). New York: State University of New York.

Kohn, Livia. 1993. The Taoist Experience: An Anthology.

New York: State University of New York.

Rinaldini, Michael. 2019. Rites of the American Dragon Gate Lineage). Unpublished text.

About Michael Rinaldini Shifu Michael Rinaldini (Lichangdao) is the director of the Qigong & Daoist Training Center in Sebastopol, CA. He teaches Qigong, Circle Walking, Daoist meditation, and Chinese Food Therapy. For advanced students, he offers a Qigong Certification program of 200 hours in Qigong and Daoist practices. His program is available locally, nationally and internationally. Shifu Michael is founder of the American Dragon Gate Lineage. His trainings are limited to serious students of the Dao who wish to become ordained Daoist priests of the Lineage (ADGL) after three years of practice and study. Students perform the studies at their own residences but attend annual retreats throughout the 3-year training phase.

For more information on Shifu Michael, please visit his website: www.qigongdragon.com Spring 2020 — Page 29

The Eight Extraordinary Vessels in Daoist Alchemy and Chinese Medicine

By John Orsborn, A.P., D.O.M.

In the introduction to the book “An Exposition on the Eight Extraordinary Vessels,” Li Shi-Zhen states, Discussions of the eight vessels scattered throughout the masses of [medical texts] are sketchy and incomplete.

If physicians are not aware [of such theories of the extraordinary channels], they will remain in the dark as to the cause of disease.

If [aspiring] transcendents are not aware [of the more comprehensive theories of the extraordinary channels], it will be difficult for them to tame the furnace and the cauldron. [Although, I,] Li Shi-Zhen, am not clever, I have carefully considered the statements of all [the various school] and compiled them below to allow both transcendents and physicians to trap and snare these useful words.

The Empty Vessel — Page 30

Few are those who understand both the Daoist and medical significance of the eight extraordinary vessels. Li believed that both physicians and adepts involved in internal cultivation must understand the teachings of one another to fully comprehend the importance of the extraordinary vessels. In the Daoist practice of nei gong, or inner work, it is important to be internally aware of and open these vital channels for the development and refinement of the “golden elixir” or “spiritual embryo.” For the physician, knowledge of these extra vessels is important in both diagnosis and treatment. Yet little emphasis is given to these important energetic pathways in most contemporary acupuncture schools.

The eight extraordinary vessels are mentioned, although somewhat sparingly, in the Huang Di Nei Jing or Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, the oldest extant Chinese medical text. While the origin of this text is considered be over 5,000 years old, the current version was compiled by Wang Bing and dates to 762 CE. These extra channels are not directly connected to the primary channels or collaterals (which make up the energetic “web” of the body used in most acupuncture treatments) and are viewed as overflow reservoirs for the qi and blood of the primary channels. Their importance, however, is much deeper than this. The Extraordinary Vessels are the Chong (Thoroughfare), Du (Governing), Ren (Conception), Dai (Girdling), Yin Qiao (Yin Motility), Yang Qiao (Yang Motility), Yin Wei (Yin Regulating), and Yang Wei (Yang Regulating).

Zhang Boduan, aka Zhang Ziyang, (ca. 983 - 1082), considered the founder of the Southern school of the Complete Reality (Quan Zhen) sect of Daoism, also was a physician of some note. Besides writing one of the seminal texts of the Daoist cannon (Wu Zhen Pian, “Understanding Reality”), he also wrote a treatise on medicine, “Eight Vessel Scripture.”

Unfortunately, this book has been lost. But in the chapter on the Yin Qiao in Li Shi-Zhen’s exposition, Li quotes verbatim from Zhang’s book elucidating Zhang’s understanding on the extraordinary vessels, which is quite different from the view expressed in the medical texts, and which Li considered significant enough to include in his exposition.

Not only does Zhang give different locales for the opening of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, he also states that it is essential, not only for the adept, but for the health of the individual, to “activate,” or open, the Chong, Du, and Ren. However, before one can open the Chong, Du, or Ren, according to Zhang, as stated by Li Shi-Zhen, one must first open the Yin

Qiao. The relevance of this will be discussed later.

It wasn’t until the later 13th century (Yuan Dynasty) that Dou Han Qing first stated, in his book Ziwu Liuzhu (The Midnight-Midday Circulating Flow), “the eight points where two or more channels intersect are the essentials of acupuncture.” These eight points are the Confluent points of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, the “eight points where the vital energy flows and pools.” Dou is credited with pairing the Confluent points of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels into the Master/Couple points we know today; the Dai Mai (GB 41) with Yang Wei Mai (SJ 5), Chong Mai (SP 4) with Yin Wei Mai (PC 6), Du Mai (SI 3) with Yang Qiao Mai (BL 62), and Ren Mai (LU 7) with Yin Qiao Mai (KD 6). He believed these eight points could treat 213 symptoms and diseases. Dou said that this knowledge came from a book given to him, and written by, the sage hermit Shao Shi. This book has since been lost.

During the Ming dynasty, the physician Li Yan referred to “the eight points which are the confluent locales of Extra Channels and Regular Channels” and that “366 points of the whole body are dominated by 66 points (Five Shu Points), 66 points are dominated by Eight Confluent Points.” This is an extremely significant statement — that the entire body can be influenced by only eight acupuncture points.

It was also during this period that Xu Feng, author of “Comprehensive Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion” (Zhen Jiu Da Quan) stated that he believed the eight confluent points could treat 243 symptoms and diseases. (Note: the “66 points” are comprised of the 5 Shu-Transport points of the 12 Primary channels [Jing-Well, Ying-Spring, ShuStream, Jing-River, He-Sea] plus the Yuan-Source points of the 6 yang channels. The Yuan-Source points of the yin channels are the same as the ShuStream point.)

Why then did the ancients, both Daoist and physicians, place such significance on the Eight Extraordinary Vessels? Why are they not considered as relevant today? The answer to this question lies in asking another, more important question, which is, of all the energetic channels in the body, what was the first to develop? The answer is the Chong.

The Chong or Thoroughfare vessels is the center core of the physical body. This can be equated to the primitive streak during gastrulation, as the mesoderm (Chong), ectoderm (Du), and endoderm (Ren) developed. These three became the center core of the energetic body. Binding these core lines Spring 2020 — Page 31

together is the Dai, the only horizontal channel in the body. These four establish the basis of the energetic structure of the body. Once this core structure develops, the yin and yang qi begin to move throughout the body, facilitated by the Qiao vessels.

Lastly, but just as important, are the Wei vessels, which regulate the flow of qi from internal to external, balancing yin and yang within the body.

One central concept in Daoist practice is the reversal of the energetic flow, from the “world of ten thousand things” back to the Wuji, the primordial. Hence the relevance of Zhang Boduan’s insistence that before one can open and activate the Du, Ren, and Chong, one must first open the Yin Qiao. The pathway of the Yin Qiao is closely linked to the pathway of the Kidney channel and is also very similar to a branch of the Chong, both of which flow along the medial leg to and from the foot to the torso. Ren 1, Hui Yin — the Meeting of Yin, located in the perineum, is where the three yin channels of the leg (KD, SP, LV) join. It is also known as Di Hu — Earth’s Door. This point makes the connection between KD 1, Yongquan — Gushing Spring on the soles of the feet and Du 20, Bai Hui — Hundred Meeting, also

known as Tian Men — Heaven’s Gate, on the top of the head. Joining earth — yin energy with heaven — yang energy via the human conduit is essential in the practice of neigong and longevity.

The central concept of acupuncture medicine is balance and harmony. Disease is understood as an imbalance between the energetic flow of the channels and organs. Understanding and treating via the eight points which activate and control the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, and hence, the entire body, is essential for an accurate understanding of this energetic flow. It is the origin, the primal energy, for life and well-being. The ability to influence the health of the individual simplistically, elegantly, using only a few points is the essence of acupuncture.

Combining an understanding of the alchemical practice of Daosim with the knowledge of acupuncture medicine via a more complete understanding of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels will enhance the practitioner’s healing ability as well as the adept’s spiritual progress. The process is more complex than elucidated here, but hopefully the reader has a greater understanding of the importance of each school of thought, knowing a little more about both and the significance of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels to each.

Bibliography Bertschinger, Richard, 2013, The Great Intent: Acupuncture Odes, Songs and Rhymes, Philadelphia: Singing Dragon • Chace, Charles and Miki Shima, 2010, An Exposition on the Eight Extraordinary Vessels: Acupuncture, Alchemy, & Herbal Medicine, Seattle: Eastland Press • Cleary, Thomas, 1987, Understanding Reaity: A Taoist Alchemical Classic

by Chang Po-tuan with a Concise Commentary by Liu I-ming, Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press • Cleary, Thomas, 1997, 5th Printing, The Book of Balance and Harmony, New York: North Point Press • Cleary, Thomas, 2009, Vitality, Energy, Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook, Boston: Shambala Publications • Liu, Bing Quan, 1988, Optimum Time for Acupuncture – A Collection of Traditional Chronotherapeutics, Shandong Science and Technology Press • Liu, Zheng-Cai, et el, 1999, A Study of Daoist Acupuncture, Boulder, CO: Blue Poppy Press • Stern, Albert W., 2018, The Extraordinary Vessels Handbook, tcmpicturebook.com • Yang, Jizhou, trans. by Lorraine Wilcox, 2010, The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhen Jiu Da Cheng Volume 5), Portland: The Chinese Medicine Database The Empty Vessel — Page 32

“Spring comes, and the grass grows by itself.”

— Lao Tzu

Spring 2020 — Page 33

Sage Across the River

By Valerie “Ariel” Van Haltern

In late afternoon, I reach the last rocks broken on the ridge Boulders with their formidable shadows behind me Nesting in fogs of an ancient world Regions bare-cold in the ice of the clouds Strung far from sun and horizon.

Lands of eternal silence lost to most...

Startled by the freedom opening before me The sudden expression of space and time The unfurling endless shows of earth In gradual slopes of terraced curves Ripe with mint and bamboo blossom I descend in the direction of the western-tinted sky.

On path of winding sand and slate Through waves of sun’s retreat Hues of late spring settle the lowlands In restful vapors of cinnabar light.

From high to low – pools of gravity Detain debris of thunder, and wind and rain How many sandstorms the weathered arcs have known How many footsteps the seasoned land.

In this intricate, invisible record Of eons come and gone I live a moment within the moving world…

Is this the elixir then, the qi of now?

Chemistries of atomic rain convening twilight Nameless things joining the veil pardoned of time...

I am certain the old sage must have come this way…

I am told he lives where the river runs…

End of day haze stalls over the land A cocoon loosens its silken thread in slow unwinding Over the sun’s departure the halo’s stilled fiber

The Empty Vessel — Page 34

Warm enough, strong enough to warm the sand golden Under a graying sky.

Delicate path surreal in its glow Touched by travelers then and now, in life or dream I follow track and glyph of wandering bird and human.

I watch. I wait.

Abandoned by light’s retreat, Stirred by the night carrying wind Only the deepest, strongest tracks remain To lift some record of day over the bridge into night.

Footprints in the sand – heir to change…

Who will know the direction the old sage travels?

Who will meet him on his wandering meditation – his “random walk?”

Who will sense his birth, his death, his place in the lapse between day and night?

I look for him. I listen.

The cry and call of winged ones overhead A ghostly flock flying with the clouds Shadows in search of night’s retreat A faint flutter of wings in the closing of the veilBy small light I follow surviving tracks I depart the path of wind’s resistance Lines of willow softening my way Feathered leaves sweeping hypnotic — Under a starry dome A winding river guides my way Sings its silvered song.

Parted by easy motions of weather Ghost trees in their leaning into dark Reveal rock face of cave, an opening Simple of dirt and broken twig Sanctuary of nature, Immortal’s place To comfort the heart awaiting dawn.

The wise sage must be here!

To advance or retreat?

I call “Wise one, have you come this way?

Invite me to your refuge out of the cold.

For months I have followed you.”

The waterway moves southward Then flows west and out of view I might have heard something crucial thenThe breeze over the speaking rocks Or his voice gone soft on the river.

“Listen! For ages I have hoped to find you….”

The rocks stir underwater A footstep crosses the line of shadow And like a rabbit leaves no trace.

“Wise one! I come with a true and open heart.”

“Then you have come the way of the clouds and have followed the wind of no fixed direction.”

“Ah, it must be you!

Ghost or dream…

But I know direction! I have traveled east to west.”

“Then you have flown the void Where the sky birds fly.”

“I have only gone as high as the hills behind me.”

“Then you have traveled the way of balance free of question for the hill knows the mountain and the mountain, balance.”

“But I do have questions.

Where are you? Teach me. Which way is the right way?”

“As the winged ones go – into nightfall.”

“That is no answer. Where are you going?

Teach me on the way.”

The breeze inhales the river’s surface Trembling ripples in shards of light Cosmic storm raining stars Caught by willows under heaven.

“Have you followed the way of the river, Taoist?

Wait for me or I will be lost.”

Knowing that I have failed to see him To find what lies beyond the turn I wonder if the course goes anywhere South or west or north-

ADOBE PHOTO

Yangtze River in China “Wise sage,” I call, “If you exist…

I will find the right direction I will follow your tracks by the river If the current continues calm.”

And then…

Someone walking in the shallows A voice as the breeze parts the willow.

“I will meet you…”

“Tell me sage, where?”

“At the top of the mountain.”

“Then name it.”

“It is nameless” “How will I find it?”

“It is the one you must climb.”

“How will I know it? Who will teach me?”

I turn to watch the river Somewhere there must be rapids For here the stars descend And navigate the river depths And dream of up and down.

I ponder the night and its

many options.

I know he walks somewhere near And maybe, after all, that is all that matters That I have some inkling of his presence Or non-presence.

Within the cave Or among the pebbles of the stream Or on the other side of the clouds We gaze down on the same water Atomic bodies bridging darknessMy print and, his ghost print My voice and, his ghost voice Contained in, not constrained by — Content in the qi of the moment.

The encounter of one’s own vast emptiness To stand at the edge before it arrives To be a wave in one’s own atomic nature

Here and not here There and not there — “What can you tell me now, wise one?

What is the right way?

Tell me for I am still in my body Tell me for the peaks are high And oceans far My shoes wear to nothing And I find no shoemaker here tonight No sleep, no pardon For time moves through the willow And is gone.

Closing my eyes I am touched by a breeze — It baffles my sense of direction.

I accept the motion Elusive air braving the night Untroubled — subtle call weighing every option….

“In every direction the hours flow wild with dawn.”

Spring 2020 — Page 35

Missing a past edition of your favorite Taoist magazine?

Winter 2020: Year of the Metal Ox, Commentary on Chapter 2 Dao De Ching, Cultivate Qi with Benebell Wen, Eating for Longevity, Uncarving the Block.

Fall 2020: Primordial Chaos Standing Meditation, On Waking Up, Training the Horse Mind, Commentary on Chapter One of the Do De Ching, Fend Shui to Reduce Anxiety Summer 2020: Feng Shui For Harmonious Living, The Tao of Music: Shakuhachi, The Eight Extraordinary Vessels Part 2, Past the Temple Walls Spring 2020 Special Issue: The Tao of Health: Clear Marrow, Daoist Bigu and the Science of Fasting, The Eight Extraordinary Vessels Part 1, Daoist Magical Healing Tradition Winter 2019: Chinese New Year of the Rat, Cha Dao: The Way of Tea, Grasping the Dao of Chinese Bodywork (Tuina), Reflections on Emptiness and Form

$5.95 each (unless noted) 4 issues for $22 For a complete list of back issues email

DaoDogPress@gmail.com.

Hua-Ching Ni; Internal Elixir Meditation: Basic Breathing Methods; Value of Worthlessness and The Wisdom of Foolishness Summer 2017: SOLD OUT!

Fall 2019: Manuals for Lively Inspiration, Qigong: A journey, What a Long Strange Trip It’s Been

Spring 2017: Immortal Sisters Conference, Healing Chronic Pain with Tai Chi, Attaining Spiritual Fortitude

Summer 2019: American Dragon Gate Lineage, The Qi of Paper and Ink, The Dao of Congee, Tao Of Walloo, Poetry Corner debut

Winter 2017: 2017 Fire Phoenix Year, Illness as a Form of Communication, Origin of Daoist Religion, The Heshang Gong Commentary on Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching, The Shaman and the Taoist

Winter 2018 / Spring 2019: I Ching and the 8 Immortals, A Curious Opportunity, An Introduction to NSEV lineage, Balance With a Brush, Chinese New Year of the Earth Pig, Microcosmic Core Circulation,Empty Vessel China Tour 2018 recap

Fall 2016: Supporting the Kidneys: Treasure House of Jing, Chi Nei Tsang: Cosmology and the Wheel of Life, Secrets of the Tao Te Ching, Reinventing the Wheel: A Top Down Perspective on the Five Elements

Fall 2018: History and Origins of American Dragon Gate Lineage, On the Shoulders of Giants, Harmony of Herbs: Bidens Alba, Working Consciously and Living Spiritually

Summer 2016: Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters The Way of Essential Virtue, Interview with Daoist Priest Wu Dang Chen, Dao Yin: The Mystery of Health

Summer 2018: Lessons of the Dao, The Spirit of Intention, Like Flower Unfolding

Spring 2016: SOLD OUT!

Spring 2018: Thoughts For Spring, Spiritual Individualism in China, Qigong Mysteries, The Tao of Now

Winter 2016: 2016 Fire Monkey Year, Shape Your Destiny, Interview with Lonny Jarrett, The Five Shen

Winter 2018: Winter Cultivation, Earth Dog Year, Jiaye the Taoist Caveman, Quantum Qi, A Journey to China and Tibet

Fall 2015: Internal Elixir Cultivation, The Watercourse Way, The Mind Inside Tai Chi, Rediscovering the Roots of Chinese Thought

Fall 2017: Entering the Tao: Some Important Benefits from Consistent Practice of T’ai-Chi Chuan, Qigong, & Meditation; Sharing Taiji Qigong with Recovering Addicts; A Teacher of Natural Spiritual Truth: Empty Vessel Interview with

Summer 2015: Five Fold Essence of Tea, The Story of the Tao Te Ching, Functions of Essence, Breath and Spirit, Interview with Master Yang Hai Spring 2015: Being Daoist, The Way of Wu Wei, Riding the Phoenix to Peng Lai, Dao-

The Empty Vessel — Page 36

ism in the West, A Conversation Between a Taoist and A Buddhist Winter 2015: SOLD OUT! Fall 2014: Broadening Our Views of Reality, Refining Breath to Transmute It Into Spirit, SPECIAL TEA ISSUE: Alchemy of Awareness in tea, The Last Cup: The Ten Lost Tea-Brewing Pictures, The Way of Tea. $8 Summer 2014: The Poetry of Passion, The Daoist Arts of Wudang Mountain, Zhuangzi’s Perfect Happiness in the Light of Contemporary Western Psychology Spring 2014: Ren Tian Zhi Dao: The Way of Man and Nature, Interview with Dr. Bernard Shannon, True Spiritual Help Winter 2014: Year of the Wood Horse, Nei Dan Sitting Meditation, Dance of the Five Moving Forces Fall 2013: The Watercourse Way, Tea Time With Old Po, Women’s Powers in Popular Daoism Summer 2013: SOLD OUT! Spring 2013: Food Cures and Diets, The Spiritual Warrior, Daoist Nature Meditation Winter 2013: Year of the Water Snake, Art and Practice of Tai Chi, Lao Zi – The Hidden Dragon, Taoist Sexual Meditation Fall 2012: Big Dipper Meditation, The Dragon Turtle, Eliminating Pitfalls in Qigong Practice, Feng Shui Guidelines to Energy Flow Analysis, Embracing the One: Daoist Meditation Summer 2012: The Three Treasures and the Golden Embryo; Shen, Hun and Po in

Chinese Medicine, Dimensional learning Perspective Spring 2012: Free and Easy Wandering: A Western Daoist Manifesto, The Tai Chi Sword and Spiritual Swordsmanship, Stress, Illness & the Daoist Antidote, Introduction To classical Feng Shui

Summer 2010: Bagua: Why Practice This Old and Obscure Art?, Mystical Wudang Mountains, Guidelines for Setting Up A Daoist Altar, A Taoist Master’s Search for His Chinese Ancestry Part 1 Spring 2010: SOLD OUT!

Winter 2012: Year of the Water Dragon, Immortality and the 14 words of Lao Zi, The Tao of Joy Every Day, The World of Chinese Medicine, Qi Medicine and the Purpose of Cultivation – an interview with Master Zhongxian Wu

Winter 2010: A Taoist Master’s Search For His Chinese Ancestry Part 2, Daosim in the Korean Mountains, The Daoist System of Laozi

Fall 2011: SOLD OUT!

Summer 2009: SOLD OUT!

Summer 2011: SOLD OUT!

Spring 2009: SOLD OUT!

Spring 2011: Daoism in America: A Conversation with Xuan Yun (Mysterious Cloud), Return to Stillness is the Motion of Tao, Put the Heart Back Into Love, SPECIAL SECTION: BiGu – Avoiding Food and Eating Qi, Lao Tzu’s Journey

Winter 2009: Dao at the Beach, Searching For Dao in Daily Life, Returning to the Essence through Shamanic Qi Gong and Sacred Sound Healing, The Spirit of Tea, Reclaiming Your Power Through New Beginnings

Winter 2011: Chinese Astrology and Inner Cultivation; Wu Wei: The Daoist Art of Happiness; Taoists, Doctors and Shamans – Part 2; Yi: Practice and Incubation of the Sage; A Taoist Master’s Search for His Chinese Ancestry – Part 4

Fall 2008: Return to Wu Yi Mountain with Chung Liang Ai Huang, the Chinese Way of the Sword, Experiential Primal Wilderness Daoism, Chicken Soup for Daoist Alchemy, Sexual Qigong

Fall 2010: Chuang Tzu: The Way of Nourishing Life; Nudan Practice and the Modern Woman; Taoists, Doctors and Shamans – Part 1; Nourishing Woman; A Taoist Master’s Search For His Chinese Ancestry Part 3

Fall 2009: SOLD OUT!

Summer 2008: Preparing for Summer, the Secret Training of Daoist Magical Incantations, the Spirit of Renewal Winter 2008: Year of the Rat, Qigong Fever — Body, Science and Utopia in China, The Natural State, Hunyang Qigong, The

Man Who Knew Too Much Summer 2007: Coming Home to the Self, Lu Yu Meets a True Tea Master, Discovering the I Ching, Shen, The Celestial Storehouse, The Spirit of YiJing Fall 1993 PREMIER ISSUE: Teacher of Natural Spiritual Truth: An Interview with Hua Ching-Ni, The New Global Direction, The Value of Worthlessness, The Essence of Qi-Gong: AN Interview with Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming, Soaring Cran Qi Gong, Drawing Power From Nature, Book Reviews. $18.88

Empty Vessel 3440 Conway Blvd., Unit 1D, Port Charlotte FL 33952

Request past issues at this address with the form provided and payment.

Edition:

Edition:

Cost:

Edition:

Edition:

Cost:

Edition:

Edition:

Cost:

Edition: Edition: Cost:

Name Shipping: $7.90 for 1-6 iss.

Address Shipping: $15.00 for 6-15 City Shipping: $20.00 for 15+ iss.

State Zip Phone: Total: Spring 2020 — Page 37

Directory & Classifieds Taoist Podcast: What’s This Tao All About?

A lighthearted look at Taoism & life covering Daoist topics, listener questions and the Tao Te Ching.

Guided meditations are available. With Dr. Carl Totton & journalist Tod Perry. Listen on iTunes or at www. whasthistao.com.

Taoist Institute offers classes in Qigong, Tai Chi

Chuan and Shaolin & Taoist kung fu. Servvicies offered in Healing with Qi, Reiki, couseling & psychotherapy.

Taoist ceremonies (weddings, funerals) are also available. Dr. Carl Totton, Director, 10630 Burbank Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91601. 818-760-4219, website: www.taoistinstitute.com, psychological services: www. drcarltotton.com.

Qigong & Daoist Training Center: American Dragon Gate Lineage. 200-Hour Qigong certification course for beginner to advanced. LocalDistance learning options. Daoist priest 3-year training and ordination for serious followers of the Dao. Annual Qigong and Daoist meditation retreats in northern California. Shifu Michael Rinaldini (Lichangdao), 22nd generation Longmen Priest. Qigongdragon.com

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,

sustainable 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.

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. 828-225-3993.

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 part-time 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. 505-670-3538. www.whitecloudinstitute.com.

Taoist Arts Center. Tai Chi, Chi Kung, Taoist Med-

itation. 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.

Directory listings: $25 for first 30 words, $1 per word thereafter, 15 word minimum.

The Empty Vessel — Page 38

Directory & Classifieds 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

(Sanskrit 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 Japan. Gold Coast Chicago location.

Vintage instruments available. Etsy.com shop: ZenShamanicArts. www.utaguchi.com.

Directory listings: $25 for first 30 words, $1 per word thereafter, 15 word minimum.

Spring 2020 — Page 39

Be the Medicine!

Nurturing Students to be Exceptional Practitioners of Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine Yo San University is a fully-accredited professional graduate school offering both Master’s & Doctoral Degree programs in Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine.

We place particular emphasis on our Taoist heritage and the added value brought to the medicine by the 38th generation legacy of our founders. The Taoist principles of harmony and balance are held to be the foundation of our physical, mental, emotional, and psychological well-being.

Our students do not just learn and practice the medicine. They are living examples of the medicine. They ‘Become the Medicine’.

For more information, contact us at: 310.577.3000 x124 or admissions@yosan.edu