French, German, and Japanese scholars explore historical and technical as well as religious aspects of Taoism, ranging from pre-Han practice to the contemporary revival

Containing sixty translations from a large variety of texts, this is an accessible yet thorough introduction to the major concepts, doctrines, and practices of Taoism. It presents the philosophy, rituals, and health techniques of the ancients as well as the practices and ideas of Taoists today. Divided into four sections, it follows the Taoist Path: The Tao, Long Life, Eternal Vision, and Immortality. It shows how the world of the Tao is perceived from within the tradition, what fervent Taoists did, and how practitioners saw their path and goals. The Taoist Experience is unique in that it presents the whole of Taoist tradition in the very words of its active practitioners. It conveys not only a sense of the depth of the Taoist religious experience but also of the underlying unity of the various schools and strands.

A discussion of Taoist theories, symbols, methods and the results of meditation from a psychologicalphysiological point of view. Includes the use of meditation to promote a long and healthy life, and outlines the effects of opening up ch'i energy.

Discusses the philosophy of Tao and offers information on diet and nutrition, fasting, breathing exercises, physical exercises, acupuncture, massage, birth control, sex therapy, and meditation

Isabelle Robinet's Taoist Meditation is the first and only scholarly study to discuss the ancient Mao-shan Taoist tradition of visionary meditation while, at the same time, helping to clarify the little understood relationship among the early Taoist classics, the Buddhist tradition, and the later Taoist religion. Most importantly, Taoist Meditation is a pioneering study that fully and accurately describes the unique visionary cosmology, bodily symbolism, astral journeys, internal alchemy, meditational techniques, and ritual practices of the Mao-shan or Shang-chi'ing (Great Purity) movement--one of the most important foundational traditions making up the overall Taoist religion. This English version of Robinet's work is more than a simple translation.Taoist Meditation presents a significantly expanded edition of the original French text which includes up-to-date bibliographies of Robinet's work and other Western scholarship on Taoism, additional illustrations, and a newly compiled list of textual citations.

What is known from the Tao Te Ching, I Ching, and other Taoist texts is almost entirely literary. When Bruce Frantzis studied these texts with his main teacher, Grandmaster Liu Hung Chieh, he was taught their practical application: "This is what they say; this is what they mean; this is how to do them." In the TAO of Letting Go, Frantzis offers a bridge to this pragmatic approach for living a spiritual life. Spirituality is not just an aspiration for which people strive, he says, but a genuine, accomplishable reality. Frantzis shows how to expend maximum effort and yet not use force--the gentle way of the Water method--to enrich personal health and energy systems. The Water tradition continues the work of releasing inner conflicts, a process that begins with the Dissolving Method, passed down by Lao Tse in the Tao Te Ching over 2,500 years ago. The author shows how to completely let go of the blockages that bind and prevent the seeker from reaching full spiritual potential. Short, direct chapters and exercises cover such topics as breathing and awareness; Taoist meditation; fog and depression; modern anxiety; love and compassion; and more.