dao

6 Taoist Secrets Of Love

One reason for this neglect is simply general ignorance of the ancient and highly secret methods used in the past. Taoist Masters gained knowledge of these methods through unknown millenia of relentless searching for the secret principles animating matter. These methods are the fruit of many generations of inspired meditation by sages coupled with my close observations on modern life. This book fashions into a unified whole my personal experience of the teachings.

The Taoist masters felt bound to reveal their potent secrets to only the most select disciples, those who had proven their devotion to the Master's ideals by years of arduous self-sacrifice and service. Why did the Masters feel so strongly compelled to hide their tremendous knowledge from the public?

The reason for this secrecy is not easily comprehended by the western public today. The mass media have fostered a state of mind in which anyone's life is everyone's business: the most intimate details of private sex life are the most greedily lapped up. Advertisers assure their clients today "Nothing sells unless it is sexy." This mentality has made sex, in America, into a disposable commodity, making it harder in our private lives to experience sex as an intimate pleasure that can be cultivated over time to ever deepening levels. Today sex is often consumed and thrown away as soon as the lover becomes old or an inconvenience. Even the women in the harem of Chinese Emperors and aristocrats fared better, being assured of material comfort for life in exchange for their sexual favors. The court society favored the position of men, but at least the female sexual energy was respected for its healing benefits and honored as being necessary for the spiritual development of the male.

A classic Taoist story tells of a woman who learned the process of sexual transformation and exchanged her yin energy with her lover's yang energy and thereby achieved Immortality. She thus became the guide to ancient emperors on the subject of love. There is a recorded historical instance of a palace maid in 690 A.D. becoming the Empress on the death of the Emperor. Empress Wu, respected for her mastery of the art of love, ruled wisely for several decades until her death.

The ancient Taoist masters were not superstitious. They were natural scientists who laid the foundation for amazing technological advances in medicine, chemistry, biology, navigation, and

many other fields that would not be discovered by western scientists until 2000 years later. Nor did they crave exclusive possession of their potent knowledge. They had their reasons for secrecy, and their reasons were well-founded at the time. They were custodians of the doctrine taught to them by their masters, and feared the misuse of the great force unlocked by the secret principles. Perhaps, they felt an obligation to protect the public from its tendency to distort the purest teaching to suit its own base instincts. In rural China, which was much less populous then, someone with such esoteric knowledge could easily become a chieftain or a king. A warrior could use his power to defeat his opponents.

The Taoist Masters thus thought it dangerous to spread their teachings too widely, and passed them on to only a few chosen disciples before departing their earthly life. To guarantee that the formulae not be used for selfish purposes, these Masters often transmitted to each disciple only a part of the doctrine. Thus, only if the disciples banded together and shared their learning could the supreme potencies be unleashed. If anyone selfishly withheld his learning, they would never receive the whole doctrine. In the course of many generations, fragments of the innermost secrets came to be regarded as the whole. My attempt is to reunite many disparate parts into an organic whole which I believe similar to the most ancient and complete teachings.

WHY REVEAL THE SECRET NOW?

Why violate the traditional Chinese teaching method and expose to the general public these powerful principles? The simple reason is that the historic moment is already late. The human condition is too desperate to deprive our species of a potentially great infusion of vital energy. If the human race is not quickly infused with a new life energy to render it more harmonious than it has been for most of the last 2,000 years, we are all, earthly Masters and mortals, threatened with an untenably harsh existence, if not extinction.

There are so many wizards of the computer, stock market, test tube, and spectator sport, but so few of the art of life. Our race spends its brief span fiddling with statistics, black boxes, noxious chemicals, and above all, with meaningless words. A majority of Americans daily pass more than six hours in a mesmerized trance induced by a colored shadow dancing in a box of glass. These

8 Taoist Secrets Of Love

machines have inadvertently become instruments of our own destruction; a tv programmed mind is not a free mind. Too few devote even one second to entering deeply the great current of life hidden within ourselves. Yet all the technological energy is eagerly sought is an apish imitation of the electrifying ecstasies found hidden within the body and mind.

There are positive signs; in Taoist thinking, any excess eventually leads to its opposite. Despite the current mediocrity of most popular culture, there are tremendous forces driving the race into expanded consciousness. It is clear that the reason for the chaotic state of planetary affairs is the revolutionary advance in human consciousness. In simplest terms, hydrogen bombs hover above us only because we are clever enough to conjure them up. Hatred contains the seeds of love. We have created a crisis in order to force a solution demanding that we restore our balance with one another and nature.

Among the most important implications of this soaring up of consciousness is that the ordinary man will be admitted to secrets of life and mind that were formerly reserved for the chosen few. The French scientist Schwaller de Lubicz elucidated this idea: "It is certain that such a revolution in thought . . . is not the result of whim. It is in fact a question of cosmic influence to which the earth, along with everything in it, is subjected. A phase in the gestation of the planetary particle of our solar system is completed

. . . A new period must begin, and this is heralded by seismic movement, climatic changes, and finally, above all, by the spirit that animates man." Not only do troubles press consciousness to evolve, but changing consciousness bursts the constraints of existing order.

I hope that the Taoist practices of cultivating male energy presented here will attain higher perfection when subject to the shock of opposing ideas, scientific study and personal experiment, and the whole race's inventive genius. Today in China, it is formally prohibited to keep secret beneficial practices: one must reveal all knowledge that may improve the general welfare. Henceforth, closely-guarded preparations of medicinal herbs, roots, mineral waters, barks, muds, flowers, gems, venoms, as well as yogic and meditation practices will reach perfection more quickly by serving all.

So the revelation of the Taoist secrets of sex is a contribution

to human culture that may take time to manifest its real influence. Where a few great minds once acted, the full race of human genius must now struggle to save our world from the dangers of its own excess.

CHAPTER 2

WHAT IS "CHI" ENERGY?

"Essence, chi, and spirit are the three jewels of life!'

—Book of Changes and The Unchanging Truth, Master Ni Hua Ching

Taoist cultivation of sexual energy cannot be understood until the Chinese concept of "chi" is clear. Chi, also known as prana, the warm current, Kundalini power, or the electro-magnetic life force, is very difficult to describe because this life energy is invisible and cannot be seen. However, we can feel it. "Chi" is simply the Chinese word for "breath." On the physical level it is the raw air we breathe in and out, revitalizing us and keeping us alive. Our life hangs by this thin thread of breath every second of our lives, and that thread is seemingly empty air.

We transform that raw air by mixing it with other nutrients and refining it into a different kind of energy, one that takes a solid form. It becomes our blood, flesh and bones, but never loses an inner rhythm of pulsation that flows through each cell. Our vital organs—heart, liver, kidney, and glands—in turn refine this energy and send chi power to the higher functions of our brain, thus creating our thoughts, dreams, and emotions. From this emerges the human will to live and die, the power to love and ponder this breathing planet suspended in the vacuum of space. As this "chi"

CHI: ELECTRICITY OF THE HUMAN BODY

Modern scientists are beginning to describe the world in much the same fashion that the ancient Taoists described it—as an interplay of positively (yang) and negatively (yin) charged "chi" energies. Here is a recent description of electricity in Time-Life's science magazine:

"Electricity is almost certainly the most elusive of everyday things: It lives in the walls of our houses, and regulates the lives of our cells. It bolts from the sky as lightning, and sparks from your finger if you touch a metal doorknob after shuffling across the rug. It shapes the structure of matter—making plastic pliable, oil slick, and glue sticky. It runs electric trains and human brains . . . Light is electromagnetic radiation—and that includes everything from visible light to x-rays, microwaves, and radio waves. The magnetism in iron magnets is caused by the spinning of countless electrons twirling in unison, just as the magnetic field of the earth is most probably created by the swirling of electric currents in its molten metal core.

"Your entire body is a giant electric machine: body chemistry (like all chemistry) is based on electrical bonds. It even runs on electricity. The energy you need to see these words comes from the egg you ate for breakfast; the egg got its energy from the corn consumed by the hen; the corn extracted that energy directly from the electromagnetic light of the sun through photosynthesis.

"When you think about it, the universe is positively (and negatively) electrifying. But because of the usually perfect balance between positive and negative forces, most of the electrical power around you is neutralized—and therefore unnervingly invisible, at least in the normal sense . . . Essentially, everything around us is electrically charged empty space."

K. C. COLE,

Discover Magazine, Feb. 1984

What is curious is that even in China today, ordinary people take for granted that the universe is made up of these charged energies. If asked, they would say a garlic has a very hot (chi) energy. It warms the body: therefore the essence of garlic "chi" is hot, or yang. In the early centuries of China, chi was expressed in written Chinese as a blank in the top portion of the Chinese pictogram and as fire in the lower part. This was done so that no "fire"—no single creative energy might be conceived of as defining chi.

Chi pre-existed before everything in the physical world as original chi, or pure energy. This neatly avoided disagreements about the metaphysical nature of original chi (eg. is God good or evil?) and focused attention on its functional manifestation in the ordinary world, as hot yang chi in fresh garlic or weak yin chi in a diseased liver. As a result, Taoist philosophy tends to be very pragmatic and grounded in observation of the natural organic world. Taoist cultivation of chi energy may extend into what may at first glance appear to be impossibly subtle spiritual realms, but it always begins with down-to-earth and in-the-body practices.

DIAGRAM 3

THE ANCIENT CHINESE CHARACTER FOR CHI ENERGY

derived from the root of fire above

and emptiness below to denote its original purity.

HOW DOES "CHING", OR

"SEXUAL ESSENCE" FUNCTION IN HUMANS?

For the Taoists, sexual energy is called "ching," or "essence." It can also be understood as a kind of "human electricity" because like "chi" it is an invisible energy that flows through the body. However in its raw physical form, it is stored in men in their sperm and women in their ovaries. Thus it is a kind of chi energy that has

been transformed by bodily process into a more potent form. It is raw matter distilled into a powerful essence that has the ability to recreate the entire human organism. For men, their sperm power is the essence of their "yang" or male energy.

When you feel sexually aroused, this is your "ching" essence expanding at a phenomenally powerful rate. Your whole being is suddenly charged with new energy, your body fired with passion and your heart transfixed with desire. It's like turning on the light switch. Your entire world of touch and feeling is dramatically changed from night to day within seconds. This happens in men when they feel attracted to a woman because their hundreds of millions of sperm cells begin vibrating and generating a larger field of sexual electro-magnetic energy. It also occurs spontaneously in the springtime. When trees are bursting with sap, man's ching is attuned to the cycles of nature and expands as well. What is the relationship of this sexual "ching" essence and the other types of chi energies that form your life force?

MAJOR PHASES OF CHI ENERGY

The following lists in simplified form some of the major phases of "chi" in humans and their relationship to "ching" essence as well as "shien," or spirit, the highest stage of refinement. These three: chi, ching and shien, are known as the "three treasures" because their proper cultivation leads one to enlightenment.

1.Prenatal Energy: Combines "chi" and "ching" inherited from mother and father, expressed in the gene code and visible as the innate vitality that people have.

2.Breath Energy: Body absorbs cosmic energy from the inhalation and exhalation of air. Those who breathe properly—relaxed, deep breaths to the abdomen—will receive more energy.

3.Food Energy: The purity of chi received from food will depend on quality of diet and ability of body to digest and assimilate nutrients.

4.Meridian Energy: Comes from different types of body cells that produce the energy. It courses through the acupuncture channels linking all the vital organs and glands.

5.Pulsation Energy: The deep rhythm of your body, felt especially in veins and arteries, also seen in biorhythm energy flue-