Taoism: The Road to Immortality

220 Pages·1979·31.13 MB·English

by  John Blofeld

fioisin
JOHN
BLOFELD
\
TAOISM: THE ROAD TO IMMORTALITY

Taoism
The Road to Immortality
JOHN BLOFELD
Shambhala
Boston 1985
SHAMBHALA PUBLICATIONS, INC.
Horticultural Hall
300 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
® 1978 by John Blofeld
12 11 1098 7
Published by arrangement with
GeorgeAllen & Unwin Ltd., London
ISBN 0-87773-116-0
LCC 77-90882
Distributed in the United States by Random House.
Printed in the United States ofAmerica.
The cover art is a detailfrom "The Transformation ofLao-chun," a
handscroll in ink and color on silkpainted in the 12th century by Wang
Li-yung.ThephotographisreproducedcourtesyoftheNelsonGallery-Atkins
Museum, Kansas City, Missouri (Nelson Fund).
:
Contents
Foreword page v
1 The Nameless: The Tao and its Activity i
2 Huang Lao, the Yellow and the Ancient
A Historical Survey 19
3 The Uncarved Block: The Lao-Chuang Influence 40
4 Poems ofStillness: Taoist Poetry 55
5 The Mysterious Portal: Legends ofImmortals 71
6 The Jade Emperor's Court Taoism as a Popular
:
Religion 90
7 Green Dragon White Tiger: Taoist Alchemy 113
8 The Yellow and the White: The Secret Yogic Alchemy 130
9 Return to the Source: The Ultimate Attainment 156
10 The Valley Spirit: Living Taoism 167
Appendix 189
List of Illustrations (facingorbetweenpages70-71)
1 Bronze statue ofLao-tzu with his special emblem, a fly-whisk
2 Representations in bone ofthe Eight Immortals
3 Li T'ai-po
4 Taoist magical diagrams
5 Wood-block print in whichthe man and womanrepresent Green
Dragon White Tiger
6 Taoist magician changing his staffinto a dragon
7 A Taoistically inspired painting tracing the course ofdragon
veins
8 Glimpse ofan immortal realm

^
To Huang Chung-Hang (Al Huang)
ofthe Living Tao Foundation
and to my daughter Hsueh-Ch^an (Susan)
also called Snow Beauty