Healing Light of the Tao: Foundational Practices to Awaken Chi Energy

492 Pages·2008·8.67 MB·English

by  Mantak Chia

Dedicated to Healers Everywhere
Acknowledgments

We extend our gratitude to the many generations of Taoist masters who have passed
on their special lineage as an unbroken oral transmission over thousands of years.
We particularly thank Taoist Master I Yun (Yi Eng) for his openness in transmitting the
formulas of Taoist Inner Alchemy.
We offer our eternal gratitude to our parents and teachers for their many gifts to
us. Remembering them brings joy and satisfaction to our continued efforts in
presenting the Universal Tao system.

We express our deep appreciation to Michael Winn for his overall help in
planning the structure of the book and his firm guidance and editorial comments
throughout the preparation of the first edition.

We thank the many contributors essential to this book’s final form: The editorial
and production staff at Inner Traditions/Destiny Books for their efforts to clarify the
text and produce a handsome new edition of the book, Victoria Sant’Ambrogio for
her line edit of the new edition, and the artist Juan Li, for his fine illustrations; as
always, he has played an integral role in presenting the Universal Tao concepts and
techniques. Thank you also to Don Wilson for his wonderful cartoons.

We wish to thank the following people who contributed to the earlier editions of
this book: Jampa Mackenzie Stewart, Judith Stein, Mark R. Lipsman, Kimberly Baldt,
Marcia Kerwit, Chuck Soupios, Linda Hof-fer, and Cecilia Caldas.

We offer special thanks to our son, Max, and thanks to Valerie Meszaros for
their design work on earlier editions.

We thank Kenneth S. Cohen, Stuart S. Mauro, O.M.D., and John P. Painter,
Ph.D., for their constructive comments on the Three Pure Ones and for sharing their
insights on various other areas of esoteric Taoist yoga; and Steven Post for his Feng
Shui insights.

Special thanks to Dr. Lawrence Young for clarifying the relationships between
anatomy and energetic pathways.

Thank you to Susan Aaron, Esq., and Gary Oshinsky, Esq., for their legal advice
and comments. Thanks to Carson Tsang and Jeeraporn Sae-Heng for scanning the
many illustrations into the book.

Finally, we wish to thank our certified instructors, students, and sponsors
throughout the world for their ongoing contributions to the system and for preserving
the vitality of the Universal Tao practices.
Contents

Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Foreword: Cultivating Inner Light by Michael Winn
Foreword: Chi and Medicine by Lawrence Young, M.D.
Putting the Healing Light of the Tao into Practice

Introduction: What Is the Tao?
GOALS OF THE UNIVERSAL TAO
THREE BODIES
Chapter 1 An Overview of Taoist Inner Alchemy
THE FOUNDATIONS FOR TRANSFORMATION: EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL ALCHEMY
WU CHI AND THE UNIVERSE: RELIGION AND SCIENCE
THE THREE FORCES: THE MAIN SOURCES OF EXTERNAL CHI
Chapter 2 Chi
WHAT IS CHI?
TWO TYPES OF INTERNAL CHI: HEREDITARY AND ACQUIRED
ORIGINAL CHI IN HUMANS
CHI AND SELF-HEALING
CHI AND MEDITATION
Chapter 3 Virtues
OPENING THE MIND AND THE HEART
VIRTUES: THE HEART OF THE UNIVERSAL TAO PRACTICES
UNDERSTANDING THE ENERGY OF LOVE
THE HIGHEST CHI KUNG PRACTICE IS BASED ON VIRTUES
TRANSFORMING NEGATIVE EMOTIONAL ENERGIES
TAOIST WAYS TO TRANSFORM STRESS INTO VITALITY
Chapter 4 Energetic Preparations for the Healing Light Meditations
CREATING BODILY AWARENESS
TECHNIQUES FOR ENHANCING THE SENSATION OF CHI IN MEDITATION
THE METHODS
PREPARING FOR THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT MEDITATION
ACTIVATING THE ORIGINAL FORCE: WARMING THE STOVE
DAILY PRACTICE OF CHI
IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER
Chapter 5 The Points of the Microcosmic Orbit
TWO MAJOR CHANNELS OF THE BODY
ENERGY CENTERS OF THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT
LEARNING THE POINTS
Chapter 6 Opening the Basic Microcosmic Orbit
MASTERING THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT
AN OVERVIEW OF THE BASIC MICROCOSMIC ORBIT MEDITATION
PRACTICE: OPENING THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT
ALTERNATIVE WAYS TO OPEN THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT
Chapter 7 Earth Energy and the Microcosmic Orbit
WORKING WITH EARTH ENERGY
PRACTICE: FEELING MOTHER EARTH’S ENERGY IN THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT
Chapter 8 Cosmic Force: Higher Self Energy and the Microcosmic Orbit
THE GRAND TRINITY: HEAVEN, EARTH, AND HUMANITY
PRACTICE: FEELING HIGHER SELF/COSMIC ENERGY IN THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT
Chapter 9 Opening Your Heart: Shen and the Microcosmic Orbit
THE ROLE OF EMOTIONS IN THE UNIVERSAL TAO SYSTEM
FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE
PRACTICE: USING THE HEART’S VIRTUES
CULTIVATING A LOVING STATE
Chapter 10 Sexual Energy and the Microcosmic Orbit
ABUNDANCE OF SEXUAL ENERGY
HEALING LOVE THROUGH THE TAO
DUAL CULTIVATION
PRACTICE: CONNECTING LOVE WITH DESIRE IN THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT
Chapter 11 Heavenly Chi and the Microcosmic Orbit
CONNECTING WITH THE UNIVERSAL FORCE
TRAVELING TO THE CELESTIAL REALMS
PRACTICE: OPENING THE GOVERNOR CHANNEL AND CONNECTING WITH THE HEAVENLY CHI
REGULARITY
Chapter 12 Summary of the Microcosmic Orbit Practice
GUIDELINES FOR PRACTICING THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT
PRACTICE OF THE BASIC MICROCOSMIC ORBIT: MIND/EYE ROTATING, TOUCHING, BREATH,
AND COLOR
Chapter 13 The Macrocosmic Orbit and the Five Pulses
THE FIVE PULSES PRACTICE
BLOCKING UNWANTED CHI
SENSING OTHER PEOPLE’S ENERGY
Chapter 14 Oneness with the Tao: A Daily Practice Guide
THE INNER SMILE
THE SIX HEALING SOUNDS
THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT MEDITATION
Chapter 15 Troubleshooting Guide: Helpful Hints and Home Remedies
COMMON QUESTIONS ON THE HEALING LIGHT MEDITATION
TURNING AWARENESS INWARD HIGHLIGHTS HEALTH PROBLEMS
CIRCULATION OF ENERGY PREVENTS BLOCKAGES AND MAINTAINS SAFETY
Chapter 16 The Tao of Healing and Health Maintenance
ONENESS WITH THE TAO
THE MICROCOSMIC ORBIT HELPS INTEGRATE THE WHOLE BODY
PREVENTION AND MAINTENANCE IS THE BEST WAY TO HEALTH
WORKING WITH COMMON PROBLEMS
Appendix: Spinal Cord Breathing
THE SPINAL CORD’S CONNECTION TO VITAL PARTS OF THE BODY

Bibliography
The Universal Tao System and Training Center
THE UNIVERSAL TAO SYSTEM
THE UNIVERSAL TAO TRAINING CENTER
RESOURCES
About the Author
About Inner Traditions • Bear & Company
Books of Related interest
Copyright & Permissions
Foreword

Cultivating Inner Light

MICHAEL WINN

Twenty-five years ago, I was among a handful of curious Westerners sitting in a tiny
office in New York’s Chinatown, listening to a boyish-looking thirty-eight-year-old
Chinese immigrant from Thailand named Mantak Chia. He was teaching us ancient
Taoist methods of self-transformation, which he had received by oral transmission.
His teacher, the hermit White Cloud, lived in the mountains of China and had attained
the rarefied state of “breatharian.” This meant he was living on subtle “airs” and no
solid food. White Cloud’s story might have ended there, as had the stories of similar
teachers for several millennia, were it not for the drive of this young Taoist master to
clarify for modern minds the Tao of regulating the human bioenergetics system.
I was eager for a spiritual path with practical application for all areas of life. At
the time, I was working as a war correspondent in Africa, and the Six Healing Sounds
were very effective in relieving high levels of stress. I found Taoist “energy medicine,”
closely allied with noninvasive medicine like acupuncture and herbs, to be an
extremely portable self-health system. Taoism had a fresh psychology that was spirit
based, yet was successful in helping me deal with chronic anger and other emotional
imbalances.

Most important, Taoism taught sexual vitality as an essential aspect of spiritual
development. I used the sexual practices to cure myself of chronic sexual frustration
and to “get clear” enough to attract a wonderful wife. On a deeper level, my soul was
seeking a mystical expression in which the uniqueness of my individuality was
recognized, and in which all the separate strains of my fragmented self were woven
together in a meditational process of spiritual tranquility. I wanted a silent inner path
that didn’t require joining a new religion or bowing at someone else’s feet—in short,
the Tao.

Inspired by how quick and effective the Taoist methods were, Master Chia’s
small group of students joined him in forming the Universal Tao Center. Over the next
decade, this organization succeeded in making many of the most arcane secrets of
Chinese internal alchemy accessible to Westerners. This is evidenced by a
worldwide network of two hundred instructors and tens of thousands of practitioners
from all walks of life and religions happily cultivating their chi, or life force.

The Microcosmic Orbit is the key to balancing energies in the body. The