Livia Kohn

"Research it meditation tends to focus on the concrete healing effect of the practice, working either with a single from or using an indeterminate mixture of practices. So far studies work with minimal typologies often poorly defined and tend to neglect historical and cultural aspects." "Meditation Works remedies this shortcoming Based on extensive cultural studies and long years of practice, the author creates a new typology of medication based on six distinct ways of access to the subconscious. In a special chapter on each type, she then outlines the physiology, worldview, and traditional practice as well as its modern medical adaptations and organizational settings. In each case, she substantiates her presentation with examples from the Daoist, Buddhist, and Hindu traditions, Providing a thorough theoretical framework combined with a comprehensive, analytical overview, the book greatly advances our understanding of meditation."--Jacket.

This is an account of traditional Chinese medical exercises, called Daoyin, their origins in the Han dynasty, and continuing practice today in both China and the West. The use of the exercises, their application to specific organs and conditions, their chief practitioners, the historical texts recording the exercises, and the present-day equivalent practices are described.

"Health and long life: the Chinese way brings together the wide variety of Chinese medical and spiritual methods in one integrated volume. It provides not only basic description, but also discusses the relationship of Chinese healing to contemporary western science and religious Daoism. The book begins with a survey of the basic concepts of Chinese medicine, followed by a presentation of clinical and contemporary practices in various countries. A third part deals with ways of balancing qi, such as Fengshui, diets and sexual practices, while the last section presents a well-informed discussion of self-cultivation methods. Easy to read, with numerous charts and illustrations, and enriched by exercises that encourage readers to examine their own practices and attitudes, Health and Long Life is a great resource for anyone interested in Chinese healing." -- Publisher's description

"The Fengdao kejie or "Rules and Precepts for Worshiping the Dao" dates from the early seventh century and is a key text of medieval Daoist priesthood and monasticism, which was first formally organized in the sixth century. Compiled to serve the needs of both monastic practitioners and priests in training, it describes the fundamental rules, organizational principles, and concrete establishments of Daoist institutions. Speaking in their own voices and presenting the ideal Daoist life of their time, priests and recluses come to life in this ancient document."--BOOK JACKET.

Lord Lao, first known as the philosopher Laozi, the purported author of the "Daode jing," later became an immortal, a messiah, and high god of Daoism. Laozi, divinized during the Han dynasty and in early Daoist movements, reached his highest level of veneration under the Tang when the rulers honored him as a royal ancestor. In subsequent eras he remained prominent and is still a major deity in China today. Livia Kohn's two-part study first traces the historical development of Lord Lao and the roles he played at different times for different believers. Part Two is based on one of Lord Lao's major hagiographies, the twelfth-century "Youlong zhuan (Like Unto a Dragon)," and studies the complex myth surrounding him. Lord Lao appears in eight distinct mythical roles, each associated with a particular phase in his life: He is the creator of the universe, bringer of cosmic order, teacher of dynasties, and the divine made flesh on earth. He is also the converter of the barbarians, the source of major Daoist revelations, and the god of Great Peace and political harmony. Comparing his story with related Confucian, Buddhist, and Western mythic tropes, Kohn illuminates the dynamics of the Daoist tale and persuades us to appreciate Lord Lao as a key deity of traditional China. Includes illustrations and tables.

"Did Chinese mysticism vanish after its first appearance in ancient Taoist philosophy, to surface only after a thousand years had passed, when the Chinese had adapted Buddhism to their own culture? This first integrated survey of the mystical dimension of Taoism disputes the commonly accepted idea of such a hiatus. Covering the period from the Daode jing to the end of the Tang, Livia Kohn reveals an often misunderstood Chinese mystical tradition that continued through the ages. Influenced by but ultimately independent of Buddhism, it took forms more various than the quietistic withdrawal of Laozi or the sudden enlightenment of the Chan Buddhists." "On the basis of a new theoretical evaluation of mysticism, this study analyzes the relationship between philosophical and religious Taoism and between Buddhism and the native Chinese tradition. Kohn shows how the quietistic and socially oriented Daode jing was combined with the ecstatic and individualistic mysticism of the Zhuangzi, with immortality beliefs and practices, and with Buddhist insight meditation, mind analysis, and doctrines of karma and retribution. She goes on to demonstrate that Chinese mysticism, a complex synthesis by the late Six Dynasties, reached its zenith in the Tang, laying the foundations for later developments in the Song traditions of Inner Alchemy, Chan Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism. Book jacket."--Jacket.

"This book contains a translation and in-depth study of two major texts of internal alchemy, attributed to two well-known immortals, Zhongli Quan and Lu Dongbin, founders of the so-called Zhong Lu tradition, which presents the first major formal structuring of internal alchemy and goes back to the 12th century. The first text entitled "Transmission of the Dao from Zhongli to Lu ," provides keys to understanding energetic transmutation with particular steps and methods corresponding to the mechanism of the universe. It provides the basis of all of internal alchemy. The second text is the "Conclusive Methods of Numinous Treasure," written in a more symbolic language and focusing more on specific practices. In addition to the translations, the book describes with simple clarity the major conceptions of cosmology, transmutations systems and key practices. These practices are accessible to all and these two texts which specialists had nod previously paid attention enough, are likely to become essential writings for anyone interested in the history of internal alchemy and for any practitioner of Daoism"--