Foreword

During the last twenty-five years the United States and Western

Europe has witnessed an amazing growth of popular interest in a

multitude of personal growth and wholistically based health disciplines.

The West once again has become a “melting pot” but this

time the cauldron contains a mixture of the sacred traditions of the

East as well as some of the emerging internal technologies of the

body, mind and spirit. This movement, known generally as the

“New Age”, is characterized by popular magazines and a sizable

growing literature, a large number of spiritually oriented groups and

a rapidly growing consumer market for wholistically based medicine

and other “appropriate technologies”. We are clearly seeing a

major shift in attitudes and values in our relationships to our inner

lives and our responsibilities for the future of the planet Earth.

Parallel with these developments we can also see emerging a

scientific picture of the universe that resembles the classic world

view of the major oriental religions. The scientific picture that is

developing at the end of the 20th century is less linear, less deterministic

and less reductionistic in the frontier sciences of physics

and biology. This picture becomes increasingly similar to the intuitive,

phenomenological and process/interactive model of man-in

the-universe that has characterized Chinese philosophy and science

for thousands of years.

These two trends, the growth of “New Age” consciousness and

the shift in our scientific paradigms are beginning to converge in

some practical ways in the field of holistically inspired medicine.

Perhaps the best example of this is the therapeutic modality of

Acupuncture, one of the most powerful techniques in the classical

Chinese medical system. A little known fact about Acupuncture

and Chinese medicine is the enormous debt these systems owe

to Taoist Esoteric Yoga. In fact, Taoist Esoteric Yoga is the mother

of Chinese medicine as well as many other systems of healing

and self-development.

For many Westerners Taoism has seemed an elusive and inscrutable

path, best exemplified by the oracular mysteries of the IForeword

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Ching and the wisdom of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tsu, the nature

philosophers of “The Way”. For those interested in the Oriental

healing or martial arts there are disciplines as Macrobiotics or Tai

Chi Chuan, but the nature of this relationship is far from clear. To

suggest a connection between these and other practices and an

esoteric core of Taoism is to confuse matters even further. In fact,

the concept of an esoteric or inner core of Taoism is itself a new

idea for New Age audiences. What sense are we to make of an

esoteric foundation for a tradition that already seems so difficult to

comprehend, especially in its practical ramifications?

By contrast, we are reasonably comfortable with the major concepts

and methods of the various Indian meditation and yoga systems

which began to find a place in our society in the 1920’s. We

have also come to appreciate the powerful systems of Buddhist

thought and practice, especially Zen and Tibetan Buddhism which

began to emerge into popular consciousness in the 1960’s. But

what about Taoism? What do we really know about this tradition

other than a few fragments of the wisdom of the I-Ching, the Tao

Teh Ching and a few other pieces of disconnected fragments of

practical knowledge contained in the systems of Chinese medicine

and martial arts? How can we begin to understand the contemporary

practical applications of this ancient system of healing

and spiritual development? What form must this knowledge take in

order to enter the mainstream of our technological society at this

time in our evolutionary transition?

The book by Master Mantak Chia addresses these questions

and represents, to the best of my knowledge, the first opportunity

for a Western audience to really grasp and digest the essential

and practical aspects of Taoist Esoteric Yoga. Master Chia has

performed an invaluable service through his efforts to present these

ancient psychophysical methods in a form and sequence that corresponds

to our contemporary scientific and technological world

view. The information in the book, the first in a forthcoming series

on Taoist Esoteric Yoga principles and methods, clearly describes

the theory and practice of the Microcosmic Orbit, the foundation

teaching of the entire Taoist system. Through their meditation experience

and accumulated wisdom the ancient Taoist masters

learned the importance of the free circulation of Chi energy in the

body, both as a therapeutic technique for self-healing as well as a safety valve for preventing the side effects that often accompany

the powerful experiences of Kundalini energy release.

Master Chia, a true heir to the ancient Taoist system, has taken

this information and broken it down into a systematic form of instruction

that anyone can easily grasp and apply.

I believe that this book is an historically important contribution to

the introduction of practical Taoism to the West. “Awaken Healing

Energy Through The Tao” will help to evolve our under standing of

the mind/body relationship in our healing practices as well as our

scientific models of the energy structure of the human body.