Taoist Meditation: Methods for Cultivating a Healthy Mind and Body

TheancientmeditationtechniquesofTaoismencompassawiderangeofpractices—withanaimtowardcultivatingahealthybodyaswellasanenlightenedmind.TheseselectionsfromclassictextsofTaoistmeditationrepresenttheentirerangeoftechniques—fromsittingmeditationpracticestointernalalchemy.MostofthetextsappearhereinEnglishforthefirsttime.Selectionsaretakenfromthefollowingclassics:?????AnthologyonCultivationofRealization:Adocumentfrom1739(MingDynasty)thatemphasizesdevelopmentofthenatural,social,andspiritualelementsinhumanlife.?????TreatiseonSittingForgetting:ATangDynastytextthatsetsmeditationpracticeintermsfamiliartoConfuciansandBuddhists.?????SayingsofTaoistMasterDanyang:WisdomoftheTaoistwizardandrepresentativeoftheCompleteRealitySchool.?????SecretWritingsontheMechanismofNature:Ananthologytakenfromonehundredsixty-threeTaoistsources,includingancientclassicsandworksonmeditationandspiritualalchemy,alongwithadmonitionsandteachingsofthegreatTaoistluminaries.?????ZhangSanfeng'sTaijiAlchemySecrets:AtreatiseontheinnermediationpracticesthataretheproperfoundationofthemartialartTaiji.?????SecretRecordsofUnderstandingtheWay:ArareandremarkablecollectionoftalksbyananonymousTaoistmasterofthelaterQingdynasty(1644–1911).Traditionalteachingswithasometimesstrikinglymodernbent.