A Brief History of Taoism and Healing Arts By Stephen Pan, Ph.D.

For many centuries, meditation and special exercises forms have

been used by the Ancient Chinese, Hindus, Arabs, Jews and Christians

as a means of improving the human mind and body. In China,

the Taoists called it “Chi Kung,” or “Cultivation of Energies.” According

to Taoist classics, Tu Hse, who lived about 8,000 years

ago, was the successor to many great pre-historical sages. He

was the great Taoist sage who began the use of the eight kua of

the I Ching such as the great power of observation and the power

of simplifying obscure masses of material. This resulted in a most

perfect yogic and meditational form, which incorporated the insights

of Tao philosophy.

Perhaps it is more than a coincidence that the Indian practice

today of Kundalini Yoga is somewhat similar to the Taoist “Chi Kung.”

More than 2,000 years ago, the Indian Master Bodhidharma traveled

to China. There he meditated for nine years facing a wall at

Shao Lin Temple. He established a school, which incorporated the

Indian practice in a new manner. From the time of the founding of

this school, many Chinese men of great ability practiced meditation

as taught by this Indian Master and gradually applied to it the

perticular qualities of the Chinese culture.

These esoteric practices were an integral part of the development

of Chinese medicine, where acupuncture, herbology and other

aspects of what would now be called “holistic” medicine reached a

state of high refinement unsurpassed by any other early civilization.

But by the end of the fourteenth century in China, these arts

were in decline for various political reasons, causing many of the

teachers to be scattered from their schools and forced to go under

ground.

The various approaches have been compiled in a Chinese Taoist

encyclopedia that fills hundreds of volumes. The Taoist approaches

have been divided into more than ten branches of study,

some of which have very different methods of practice ranging

from breathing techniques to alchemical secrets.

Western medical researchers are just beginning to realize the

ancient masters understood profound aspects of the human mind

and body without the aid of sophisticated diagnostic machines.

The difficulty is in penetrating the veil of secrecy drawn across

these Chinese practices which prevents their open examination

by the modern medical community.

Mantak Chia is one of the first Chinese masters to arrive in the

west with a comprehensive mastery of both the traditional chinese

healing arts, diet, Five Elements nutrition, herbs, Tai Chi Chuan,

massage, moxibustion - as well as the esoteric arts of Chi Kung,

Healing palm, Five Finger Kung Fu, Seminal and Ovarian Kung-

Fu, and the meditative aspects of Taoist yoga.

Chia is heir to a secret method which has been passed down

by word of mouth only. Unlike his forebears, he feels that it is time

that what he has learned should be made public. In the book he

has attempted to simplify what he has learned by way of his own

experience and those of his students into a system in which traditional

and modern medicine are fully integrated.

The medical applications of the chinese esoteric system are

traditionally said to be extensive, and include remedies for a side

range of illnesses:

1. Asthma and Chronic Bronchitis

2. Rheumatism and Arthritis

3. Hypertension

4. Insomnia

5. Cirrhosis of the Liver

6. Pulmonary Tuberculosis

7. Recurrent Headaches

8. Frequency of the common cold and other Episodic

diseases

9.Tumors

Long-term diligent practice beyond two years and, most effectively,

if practiced life-long, reportedly could retard the various degenerative

changes associated with old age e.g. skin changes,

senility, slowed reaction time, impaired memory, ambulatory impairment

and the frequency of various diseases common at old

age.

A diligent practioner often lives to ninety years of age and remains

healthy and alert, is able to jog, run and climb mountains

with ease, and continues to enjoy life more fully than most people.

Many reportedly could forecast their own time of death and pass

on peacefully and gracefully in the posture of meditation.

However, it should be noted that in old China your doctor was

considered a failure if you became sick. The best doctors trained

their “patients” to prevent illness by maintaining a high level of health.

The promise of Esoteric Taoist Yoga is to reveal the methods bringing

your various bodily energy systems into harmony.