Destiny Books One Park Street Rochester, Vermont 05767 www. DestinyBooks.com Destiny Books is a division of Inner Traditions International Copyright © 2008, 2009 by North Star Trust Originally published in T hailand in 2008 by Universal Healing Tao Publications under the title Living in the Tao: Guide to Self Discovery All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, record­ ing, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chia, Mantak, 1944- Living in the Tao: the effortless path of self-discovery / Mantak Chia and William U.Wei. p.cm. Includes index. Originally published: T hailand : Universal Healing Tao Publications, 2008. ISBN 978-1-59477-294-8 (pbk.) 1. Taoism. I.Wei, William U. II. Title. BL1920.C465 2009 299.5 '14---dc22 2009030079 Printed and bound in the United States by Lake Book Manufacturing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Text design and layout by Priscilla Baker This book was typeset in Janson, with Futura, Present, and Sho used as display typefaces CoV\teV\ts Putting Living in the Tao into Practice IV Acknowledgments V Preface VlI 1 • Vision from WIthin 1 2 • Journey into Nothingness 45 3 • The Rock and the Drop of Water 82 4 • What Not to Do 115 5 • Medicine Meals-Foods That Heal 154 6 • Cosmic Purification 1 95 7 • Mountain and Ocean 234 8 • The Money Machine 2 8 1 9 • Beyond Death and Taxes 323 10 • Beyond Infinity 358 About the Authors 394 The Universal Healing Tao System and Training Center 396 Index 398 P�tti�9 Livi �9 i � the Tao i �to P�actice The practices described in this book have been used successfully for thousands of years by Taoists trained by personal instruction. Readers should not undertake the practice without receiving personal transmission and training from a certified instructor of the Universal Tao, because certain of these practices, if done improperly, may cause injury or result in health problems. This book is intended to supplement individual training by the Universal Healing Tao and to serve as a reference guide for these practices. Anyone who undertakes these practices on the basis of this book alone does so entirely at his or her own risk. The meditations, practices, and techniques described herein are not intended to be used as an alternative or substitute for professional medical treatment and care. If any readers are suffering from illnesses based on mental or emotional disorders, an appropriate professional health care practitioner or therapist should be consulted. Such problems should be corrected before you start training. Neither the Universal Healing Tao nor its instructors can be responsible for the consequences of any practice or misuse of the information contained in this book. If the reader undertakes any exercise without strictly following the instructions, notes, and warnings, the responsibility must lie solely with the reader. This book does not attempt to give any medical diagnosis, treatment, prescription, or remedial recommendation in relation to any disease, ailment, suffering, or physical condition whatsoever. AckV\owledgmeV\ts The Universal Tao Publications staff involved in the preparation and production of Living in the Tao: The Effortless Path of Self-Discovery extend our gratitude to the many generations of Taoist Masters who have passed on their special lineage, in the form of an unbroken oral transmission, over thousands of years. We 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. As always, their contribution has been crucial in presenting the concepts and techniques of the Universal Tao. We wish to thank the thousands of unknown men and women of the Chinese healing arts who developed many of the methods and ideas presented in this book. We offer our gratitude to Bob Zuraw for sharing his kindness, healing techniques, and Taoist understandings. We thank the many contributors essential to this book's final form: Juan Li for the use of his beautiful and visionary drawings, illustrating Taoist esoteric practices, 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, and Susannah Noel for her line edit of the new edition. We wish to thank the following people for their assistance in producing the original and revised editions of this book: Lee Holden for his editorial work and writing contributions, as well as his ideas for the cover; Otto Thamboon for his artisic contributions to the revised "i, .l\ckvwwled g W\eV\ts edition of this book; our senior instructors, Wilbert Wils and Saumya Wils, for their insightful contributions to the revised edition; and especially Charles Morris for inspiring and reorganizing the book. Without him the book would not have come to be. A special thanks goes to our Thai production team: Raruen Keawapadung, computer graphics; Saysunee Yongyod, photographer; Udon Jandee, illustrator; and Saniem Chaisarn, production designer. Preface Through the ages, we have been influenced by mythical schools, religions, governments, and now corporations. They have convinced us to give them our time and energy (essence)-for the good of others, but mostly for themselves. They promised they would take care of us or save us. When we gave everything, we had no time or energy left for ourselves, and in the end we had nothing except their promises. Other systems have taught us how to cultivate and grow our energy like a seed into a tree-but after a while, they told us they needed our energy for the good of others, and they convinced us to give them our tree for their own use. Other systems went even further, showing us how to grow flowers from our tree; and after the flowers blossomed, they had us pick them only for their beauty and sell them to others. But the Tao teaches us not only how to plant (root) and grow our seed (energy or essence) into a tree, but also how to sexually cultivate and flower the seed to bear fruit, without losing our essence (original seed). Our tree (cultivated energy) will bear fruit by the hundreds, so we have an abundance to share with others who are sincere and deserving. Now think: in each piece of fruit that we bear, how many seeds are in it to share? So, if we cultivate our original seed in the Tao, instead of giving it away as other systems advise, we can share thousands of seeds for the good of others, and never lose our original seed (essence). In this book you will discover the way of the Tao and how to implement it in your life as you put up your feet and enjoy the ride. Remember there are no original thoughts in the universe-they are either used or misused-and whatever you are seeking in life, it is seeking you. So sit still, and when it comes, join and flow with it. YOUR FRIEND IN THE TAO, WILLIAM U. WEI, WEI Tzu-THE PROFESSOR-MASTER OF NOTHINGNESS, THE MYTH THAT TAKES THE MYSTERY OUT OF MYSTICISM VisioJt1 f�oVV\ WithiJt1 FEEL WITH THE MIND When you look within, you begin to see what really is; and this is the beginning of your understanding of the Tao. That is the key factor and it takes the mystery out of mysticism. We typically do not see what really is when we look at the world, because our entire thinking process is reversed from thinking in the Tao. In the West, we learn to think with our minds and feel with our hearts. In the Tao, we learn to think with our hearts and feel with our minds. Fig 1 . 1 . Th ink w ith you r h eart and feel with your m ind. 1