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A Book Review
Master Da Liu is a member of the earliest generation of teachers to come to U.S. He arrived in 1956. And while some may argue with his determined belief that “...spiritual and physical health should be the primary aim of T’ai Chi Ch’uan rather than self-defense”, one cannot deny that he has much to teach in these areas. I’d say he knows how to get the information he wants to share across to his readers too. In his introduction he briefly reviews the history of the Taoist meditation practices, tying them at their root to the famous Yellow Emporer, Huang Ti, from whom much of the knowledge and theories that underlie all of Traditional Chinese Medicine are said to come. Here also, Da Liu clearly lays out the basis for his own thinking on the connections between what I would call meditational exercise and spiritual and physical health. In discussing Tao Yin, a form of exercise reputedly practiced by the Yellow Emporer during the third millennium B.C., he says, “The word Tao means “guide,” and the word Yin means “leading.” ...the movements of the limbs guide the circulation of the blood so that the tissues ... can be repaired and cleansed more efficiently. The movements also lead the breath ... so that more oxygen can be inhaled to nourish and energize the body and the poisons can be exhaled more efficiently. Thus movement is the foundation of a discipline that guides and leads the automatic bodily processes so that they will function in a more beneficial way.” The book progresses in a reasoned and stepwise way to achieve what seem to me to be his goals. First, to bring to his readers a basic understanding of the history and working relationship between physical movement and the movement of energy in the body. Second, to give the reader some practical tools to use which will enable her/him to explore the experience of these connections personally. I won’t try to abridge the material in the book, but taking his chapter titles and a few selected sub-headings as examples will give you a clearpicture of both what he’s presenting and his organization and approach. The book begins with “The History of Meditation and Exercise in China”, (Chap. 1), and continues with “T’ai Chi T’u: Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate”, (Chap. 2). Here the author reviews the evolution of this famous diagram and explains how it relates to meditation as well as the symbolism it contains and how that connects to the more common t’ai chi, or yin/yang, “double fish” symbol. He also introduces the eight trigrams of the bagua in their “lesser heavenly” configuration. Chapter 3 is titled “Fundamentals of Chinese Physiology” and presents a succinct and understandable synopsis that focuses only on the elements necessary to the book’s specific subject matter, without additional, possibly confusing detail. Sub-heads like “The Eight Psychic Channels” and “The Twelve Meridians” are self-explanatory. He continues with chapters on “The Tao of Breathing (Ch’i)” and “The Waxing and Waning of Ch’ien and K’un”, a discussion of the natural rhythms of life and how this connects to the practice of meditation. Following these “background” chapters are several others that include both general discussion and some detailed instructions for a few specific meditation exercises as well as a method of using the t’ai chi set along with specific controlled breathing. “Standing Meditation” includes instructions for directing the breath through the Greater Heavenly Circulation. “Sitting Meditation” includes how to begin and where to go as your practice begins to progress along with some discussion of the notion of the purification of ch’i. “Five Concentration Points” includes a description of five points the author recommends, while acknowledging that “different masters [sometimes] have conflicting ideas”, and that “different schools of meditation emphasize different points.” The chapter on “T’ai Chi Ch’uan Movements For Meditation” comes next, with its discussion of the use of what are clearly recognizable as Yang Style forms in meditation mode. This is followed by “Daily Life: Sitting, Standing, Walking, Sleeping”, in which the subject is ways of continuing and bringing the elements of the meditation practice into everyday life. “Sexual Energy: Production, Retention, Transformation, and Circulation” follows and “Prevention and Cure of Sickness” is the last chapter to present new material and closes the loop as it were bringing the discussion back to beliefs and ideas raised at the very beginning, in his Introduction. The book concludes with a final chapter of “Questions and Answers” that does a good job of anticipating some common issues that the readers, particularly those new to meditation, may face. In a nutshell: A lot of material delivered clearly and in bite size morsels that are fairly easy to digest, even for the relative novice. A good solid manual that is also an enjoyable read. Definitely worth the price of admission! Rating: ***** (out of 5)
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