Here at the frontier, the leaves fall like rain. Although my neighbors are all barbarians, and you, you are a thousand miles away, there are still two cups at my table.


Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn, a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter. If your mind isn't clouded by unnecessary things, this is the best season of your life.

~ Wu-men ~


Saturday, September 26, 2015

Book Review: Internal Elixir Cultivation

The study of Daoism is a pretty broad subject. First there is the philosophical Daoism of Laozi and Zhuangzi, which is actually pretty simple and straight forward.

Daoist meditation is a bit more of a handful to grasp, but is the gateway to Daoist alchemy or internal cultivation, which in turn informs traditional Chinese medicine. Finally, there is Daoism as a religion which is a whole other kettle of fish.

In "Internal Elixir Cultivation," Robert James Coons provides in a clear and succinct way an overview of the philosophy basic meditation methods and the theory and practice of Daoist alchemy.

His writing style is very clear and the book is well organized.

As an introduction to these subjects, a handy overview and a guide towards looking for more detail I would certainly recommend this book.


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