Cultivating Stillness: A Taoist Manual for Transforming Body and Mind

Front Cover
Shambhala Publications, Nov 24, 1992 - Philosophy - 184 pages
A principal part of the Taoist canon for many centuries, this Lao-Tzu classic is an essential overview of the Taoist practice of internal alchemy, or qigong

Equanimity, good health, peace of mind, and long life are the goals of the ancient Taoist tradition known as “internal alchemy,” of which Cultivating Stillness is a key text. Written between the second and fifth centuries, the book is attributed to T’ai Shang Lao-chun—the legendary figure more widely known as Lao-Tzu, author of the Tao-te Ching. The accompanying commentary, written in the nineteenth century by Shui-ch’ing Tzu, explains the alchemical symbolism of the text and the methods for cultivating internal stillness of body and mind.

A key text in the Taoist canon, Cultivating Stillness is still the first book studied by Taoist initiates today.
 

Contents

Translators Introduction Cultivating Stillness
WUCHI
WANGCHI 3 TAICHI
THE THREE REALMS OF EXISTENCE
THE MIND HEART OF
THE HUMAN MIND HEART
THE SIX THIEVES
THE THREE OBSTRUCTIONS
STILLNESS AND ORIGINAL NATURE
THE TRUE
THE MYSTERIOUS ACHIEVEMENT
THE SACRED PATH
WAXING AND WANING
VIRTUES
FORGETTING THE MIND
THE SPIRIT

THE NATURE OF EMOTION
NOTHINGNESS
EMPTINESS
THE MYRIAD WORLD OF TEN THOUSAND THINGS
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (1992)

Eva Wong is an independent scholar and practitioner of the Taoist arts of the Pre-Celestial Way and Complete Reality lineages. She has written and translated many books on Taoism and related topics, including Taoism: An Essential Guide, Cultivating Stillness, A Master Course in Feng-shui. Nourishing the Essence of Life, and Seven Taoist Masters.

Not much is known about the legendary Lao Tzu, to whom authorship of the Tao Te Ching is popularly attributed. Some scholars believe the author was an elder contemporary of Confucius.

Bibliographic information