Author: Chris Simpson

Why should this beautiful sequence of movements be known as the ‘Supreme Ultimate’ (Tàijí 太极)? Does it mean that we have to achieve absolute perfection in every movement that we execute, or does it mean that we are aiming for an ultimate goal in everything which is a true component of this wonderful art?
There are thousands of people in the West who have gained great benefit from the practise of Tai Chi Chuan, and there are many more who are seriously interested in learning. Unfortunately many of these people learn only the physical aspect of the form, and therefore gain very little from it. Many of them spend a great deal of time in practice, yet without discovering the full depth and potential of the art, all their work is doing no more than scratching the surface. Even their physical progress is limited, because the most important depths of their physical selves remain unused and undiscovered.

The majority of T’ai Chi schools teach only the physical side of the whole art. They sincerely believe that they are progressing by just learning the stances, but inwardly they are often doing more harm than good, because by remaining on a physical level they never express their complete selves, and in so doing retard their own progress in the wholeness of life.

This is a shame, for after setting themselves to learn the art over a long period of time, practising for many hours and showing great interest and dedication, their efforts have often been completely wasted. They have not progressed at all on the physical level, and have never learned the other dynamic aspects of this wonderful art.

The truth is that there are five complete sections in the complete training of Tai Chi Chuan, so every student should ensure that they train under the supervision of a fully qualified teacher who can not only teach these five sections but can also demonstrate them. Then and only then will the student gain maximum benefit from this art in every respect, have a complete understanding of its true depth, and develop an awareness which they had not previously known existed.
The Lee style is taught through the auspices of the Taoist Cultural Arts Association, who are ensuring that the Taoist Arts, which were maintained and developed by the Lee family, will always remain exactly as they wanted them to be. The Association also ensures that this great depth of knowledge will only be taught by teachers who have qualified, practised, and been taught within the Association.
Let us now look at the five sections of Tai Chi Chuan as taught by the Taoist Cultural Arts Association.

The Physical

The first step is to ensure that you are eating and drinking sensibly, and it is recommended that anyone who is seriously interested in permanent good health should try to adhere to the rules laid down by the early Taoists. These are called Chang Ming (The Taoist Health Therapy for a long Healthy Life).
The second step is to start to practise the various physical aspects of the sections of the ‘form’ by aiming towards perfection of the stances (legs), posture (body) and technique (hands and arms). Having learnt a few movements or sections, try to magnify your sensitivity by learning to feel the rhythm and flow within the technique of your hands and arms, and match and harmonize the rhythm and flow from one stance of your legs and feet to another. Be dedicated and practise a few movements daily, morning and evening, and you will eventually achieve these aims.
Remember, whilst you will be utilizing your body to evaluate the depths of your movements, you must never become solely physical, or try to use your strength, for by so doing you will restrict your own development.
Many T’ai Chi teachers will tell you that your movements will exercise the whole body. In fact the parts of the body are complementary — it is the top that exercises the bottom and the bottom the top. The right exercises the left and the left the right. In our arts we prove this to you in a multiplicity of ways, so you learn to appreciate and understand your own body even more. Total harmony and perfection of all the movements is essential to achieve the ultimate of your physical self.

The Mental

From the very beginning of your physical practise you will find that you become more mentally active, and a great deal of concentration is required to obtain the perfection you are aiming for and your teacher expects. You have to harmonize your stance on both left and right legs, attain the correct angle of your whole body, top and bottom and right and left. Then there are all the variations in your hands and arms, which can move in totally different directions, create their own characteristics, and move at varying speeds. All this is created by the mind, and must all be controlled from the mental source. A simple act of emptying the mind, as some try to do in meditation, actually fills it, so that it becomes more active than ever.
Dynamic mental control can create a tranquil mind without its being empty. It can utilize power without the use of strength, cause heaviness without weight, create length from shortness and speed from slowness.
All these aspects of mental control are practised continuously in all our Taoist arts classes. Perhaps one day you too will be able to execute every movement of T’ai Chi Ch’uan by remaining absolutely stationary and immobile. When you reach this very advanced stage, you can go one step further by practising the various aspects of the Taoist Wand (Taoist Mokun), which is the advanced control of energies by the mind.

Breathing

Most people breathe in and out every minute of every day and never give it a second thought, unless they have some sort of respiration problem. Yet the Taoists of ancient China created over fifty different specialized breathing exercises, all of which are incorporated into our arts in a special section called Hūxī yīzhì 呼吸医治 (Taoist Respiration Therapy). Amongst them are many special breathing techniques which also incorporate specific physical exercises, purposely designed to assist in the cure of many different illnesses connected to specific organs of the body.
In addition to these, there are other very special breathing exercises that help to activate or sedate the natural energy (Sheng Chi) of the body, and these exercises are an integral part of our training.
It is important for a beginner to take things easy at the beginning of their training. Very few people have learnt to breathe fully, so their bodies are not used to dealing with a large amount of oxygen. Even fewer people have learned to breathe deeply in the lower abdomen (Tan Tien). Thus in the early stages of learning the form let your breathing be as natural as possible, then slowly your teacher will help you to co-ordinate your breathing with your movements and your mind.
If your breathing remains natural, then slowly through your training you will be able to let it sink lower and lower until it eventually reaches the lower abdomen. Your early training will also assist in this matter, because through correct stances with relaxed bodies and relaxed movements, breathing will naturally sink lower. Once breathing into the lower abdomen becomes natural and automatic, the energy of the body (Sheng Chi) will be enhanced.

Shēngqì 生气

The development of natural energy is dependent on eating and drinking the Chang Ming way, so that the tissues of the body become more supple and flexible, thereby helping the body to accept really deep breathing. Really deep breathing should take place in the lower abdomen, because this is where there are two energy centres, one of which is where the Qi develops and stores itself. As coal is the fuel of a fire, so breath is the fuel of the natural energy of the body. Respiration exercises are thus a natural part of Qi development. Shēngqì 生气 (Vitality Power) was also called ‘Internal Energy’ (Nèi bù qì 内埔气) or ‘Intrinsic Energy’ (Tiānrán nénglì 天然能力), and it is the energy that everyone who practises our Taoist arts strives to cultivate.

A strong Qi helps everyone to attain permanent good health. In our Taoist arts we learn to use it whilst practising our form of T’ai Chi Ch’uan, and learn also how we use it in every part of our lives, whether at work or at play.
Its force is colossal and far greater than brute strength can ever be, enabling anybody — man or woman — to have the power of five people. The amazing thing about it is that you were born with it, and you possess it all your lives. Its benefit to your health is beyond the understanding of the average person, but it helps to fight germs and bacteria within the human body, and a truly strong Chi will improve your health to such a degree that colds and influenza are never experienced.

The Qi is invisible, it has no aroma, and you cannot hear it, yet it is an integral part of your body and it influences your daily life. It is substantial and insubstantial; it is unyielding yet pliability itself; it is soft and gentle yet it can be as hard as steel; it is weightless yet it cannot be lifted. Our arts teach us to know what it is, and where it is stored and generated, and how we can cultivate, utilize and control it. When your health is really good and you have practised our arts for some time, then you will be able to feel the flow of your own Qi through your body.
Like mental energy, Shēngqì depends for its strength and regeneration on the personal good health of the person, constant deep breathing, and relaxation. That is why Tai Chi Ch’uan is good for the health in so many different ways. We must be able to store energy before we can use it, and we must learn to conserve our vitality before we can achieve good health.

Most people in the West, particularly those who live or work in cities, find it very difficult to relax, and require additional aids to help them to do so. The Taoist art of Tai Chi Chuan has the answer. Besides the specialized warming up exercises which all our classes commence with, there are also a number of simple breathing exercises that help to develop this vital energy.

Here is a simple breathing exercise that you might like to try. Begin by sitting on a chair or, preferably, cross-legged (your left leg outside your right) on the floor, freeing your body and mind from outside influences and internal tensions. Place your hands flat on your abdomen, and whilst keeping your body fairly upright without stiffness, allow your shoulders to drop as low as they will go. You may notice that your chest will depress slightly, but don’t worry about it, it is quite natural.

Now take a deep inward breath (Qì xī 气吸) through the nose, but instead of letting the air fill your lungs and chest, allow your breath to sink so that your abdomen swells outward. Then exhale (Hū qì 呼气) through the nose, but as you do so, press your hands firmly against the abdomen, so that you force the stale air out through your nostrils. Repeat this sequence six times daily. Whenever you feel tired and run down, use this breathing exercise. By repeating it regularly, your health will benefit and you will feel better within yourself.

It takes the average person in the West about six months to a year to begin to feel the vitality power within themselves. Once having learnt to feel this energy, the next step is to direct it from the lower abdomen to any other part of the body through mental control.

This is known as ‘propelled movement’ (Tuījìn Gǔdòng 推进鼓动), and it is only by obtaining mastery of it that a person can attain true mastery of their own energies.

Jīng shēng lì 精生力

This energy is known as ‘macro-cosmic’ or ‘external’ energy. It is the natural energy of the universe, for it comes down from the heavens, passes through everything on this earth, including our own bodies, enters the earth and, after gathering further vitality and power, returns upwards to return from whence it came. It is constantly present and passing through our human bodies, and it can be harnessed, stored, controlled and utilized by everyone, providing they have the mental training to do so.

By utilizing this dynamic energy, many ancient Chinese philosophers lived from 150 to 200 years of age, and even in this modern era it is possible to have, even at the age of sixty, the skin, body, mentality, energy and vitality of a twenty-year-old. It is not time or the number of years that matter, it is the true health of the individual that eventually shows through. The Taoist will tell you and show you the real truth: keeping fit does not necessarily make you truly healthy, but if you are truly healthy then you are automatically fit.
On its downward journey Jīng shēng lì passes through all men, down the spine and out through the lower abdomen. This circular action is centripetal in its flow, and this Li energy moves in this way through all Yang things. On its upward path, or return journey from the earth, it passes through everything that is Yin, in a centrifugal motion. In passing through all women it comes up from the ground, along the spine, and out through the head. These two directions are represented as follows:

When these two directions were placed together by the ancient Taoists, they represented the well-known Yin and Yang symbol:

Not only did this concept represent Yin and Yang, showing the two sides of everything, but it also expressed the idea that nothing had a beginning nor an end, everything is everlasting. Later, the ancient Taoists added a further permutation, as you will see in the next chapter, which demonstrated their closer appreciation of the work of the Tao.
A more complex symbolic expression of the workings of the universe is the Eight Trigrams (Bāguà 八卦) which are included in the Book of Changes (Yì jīng 易经), which is one of the most important books in the world, for thousands of years of wisdom and understanding have gone into it. Both Confucianism and Taoism have their roots here, so it is natural that the basic principles of T’ai Chi Ch’uan are derived from it.

No one can say exactly when the Chinese arts of self-defence first came into being, but the seeds go back to the very early days of the primitive period, when man first roamed the earth. Before he had even invented a weapon, man had to protect himself with his bare hands against the attacks of his fellow countrymen as well as the wild animals.
So this man and beast situation existed throughout the primitive world: sooner or later it had to come to be that one or the other species had to assert its overall mastery and supremacy, and it was then that the Chinese really excelled, and laid down the foundations for all humanity to follow. Once they had learnt to master themselves, and anything that threatened their existence, and learnt to organize their family groups, they went on to build the earliest civilizations in that period. The techniques and the knowledge that they used eventually spread way beyond their boundaries and shores, and helped many other people and races in far-off territories.
Not only did the Chinese excel in all aspects of silk weaving, gunpowder making, painting, building wells and irrigation systems, herbal therapy, and all the other dynamic health arts including Ch’ang Ming, through the great wisdom and knowledge brought to them by the ‘Sons of Reflected Light’, but they were the first nation to put martial arts on a scientific basis. This was because not only did they explore every avenue of physical dexterity and manipulation, but they also used the natural dynamic vitality power of the body (Sheng Ch’i) and the enormous macro-cosmic power of the universe (Ching Sheng Li), and these are still being used by the Chinese through the Taoist Arts, and in Feng Shou which is our particular style of kung fu.
Kung fu 功夫, means ‘working man’ or ‘man of the fist’ depending on the way it is written in Chinese, and we shall devote ourselves to this, and to the understanding of its origins.
We know that the fighting styles used by many Oriental countries, including the Japanese Karate and the Korean art of Tae Kwan Do, are adaptions and imitations of the basic forms of various styles of kung fu, taught to the local inhabitants by Chinese immigrants, and which were eventually adapted to suit the needs and attitudes of these lands.
Some of the various styles that have evolved have changed to such a degree that in many cases they no longer bear the slightest resemblance to the original foundation given by the Chinese, and so it is not surprising that many followers of these newer arts try to forget that they owe their skills to the early Chinese, and overlook the close links that these arts once had. Within China the original kung fu foundations were laid down in the primitive period, as we have already mentioned, but the actual records of the arts only go back some 5,000 years.
One of the main reasons why there is so little information available on the early days of the martial arts, is because none of the early masters or their pupils kept precise written records of their training programmes or the techniques that they practised. This was due, no doubt, to the fact that this information was not intended for the general public, but only for those pupils who proved themselves worthy of the techniques, skills and the tradition of that particular school or style. So, generally, these were closely-guarded secrets, and were handed down from father to son, master to pupil, and generation to generation.
When the student also became a master, in his own right, he too would only pass on his skills and knowledge to those he thought would not only be worthy of them, but who would also treasure them as he had done over many, many years. In fact, the knowledge of the art of ‘Feng Shou’ goes back at least 2,000 years, and has been handed down through the Lee family for all this time, and has been passed to us by our late master, Chan Kam Lee. Add the modesty and the humility that are impressed upon every Chinese child, and the philosophy that is inbred in his daily life, and you can perhaps understand why so few records were ever kept.
Yet despite this, we know that a brilliant doctor called Hua Tuo 華佗 formulated a series of movements coupled with special breathing exercises that were intended to limber up the body, ease the nerves, and generally reduce bodily tensions. We also know that the Taoists formulated many specialized stances and exercises together with many precise breathing formulas in K’ai Men (the Open Door) which is the Taoist Yoga, and in T’ai Chi Ch’uan (the Supreme Ultimate) in their long search for physical alchemy.
All these have been so successful that they are still in use today, although over the centuries certain modifications have quite naturally taken place. Many of the breathing exercises are practised in the Chinese Health Arts of Pa Chin Hsien (Eight Strands of the Brocade) where they help to effect many cures for a large variety of ailments and sickness. They are also the basic foundation for the development, cultivation, activation, of the Internal Energy (Sheng Ch’i) and the External Energy (Ching Sheng Li).
According to tradition, after the Taoists and Hua Tuo laid down the early foundations, there came a Buddhist monk called Bodhiharma, who, in 500 AD left his Brahman tribe in southern India and crossed the Himalayas into China. After a long, slow and laborious journey across extremely rugged terrain, he eventually arrived at Chien K’ang, which was then the capital of the Liang province.
It was well known that the Emperor Wu was a Buddhist with an enthusiastic interest in all Buddhist doctrines. On learning this, Bodhiharma immediately sought an audience with the Emperor, and as a result the monk was given permission to teach and preach in the province.
So Bodhiharma began spreading the word and the doctrine of Ch’an, which the Japanese later adapted and called Zen. However, at that time it was found that these teachings not only clashed with the beliefs and the philosophy of the Chinese, but they were also found to be so complex that everyone, including the Emperor, found it extremely difficult to grasp even the fundamentals. This therefore created a tremendous amount of friction, frustration, irritation, and eventually such bad feeling towards Bodhiharma that he was dismissed from the Emperor’s service.
It was then that he decided to travel northwards, although nobody knows why he decided to take that particularly difficult direction. The roads were extremely bad and in some cases almost non-existent, and he spoke very little Chinese so there was also a language problem, made worse by the fact that there would have been many different dialects spoken on this long journey. A greater hazard was the many roaming armed bands of thieves and robbers in the countryside along his chosen route. Small wonder then that it took him more than three years to cross the Yangtse River, and reach his intended destination of the Shaolin Temple at Sung Shan in Henan province.
He stayed at the Shaolin Temple for nearly ten years, teaching and meditating, and it was during the latter part of his stay that he realized that many of his pupils were not fit enough, either mentally or physically, to endure the physical austerity imposed by his teachings.
Ch’an Buddhism was based on very deep meditation with its aims being the unification of mind, body and spirit, and there­fore Bodhiharma felt that physical endurance would help to equip his pupils for this objective. He borrowed a number of the Taoist stances and exercises, and hardened them up to create within the practitioners a sense of internal strength, and a feeling of in­separability of mind and spirit within the body. Thus he en­couraged literally throwing yourself within yourself, becoming one single entity with all three parts becoming one, and so achieving constant harmony in the daily toil of life.
Many of these exercises would not be classed as entirely physical by today’s standards, especially as the feet made no movement at all; even so, they soon earned the Shaolin monks the reputation of being China’s toughest and the most formidable unarmed fighters.
Strangely enough, though, despite the monastery’s nationwide reputation, Bodhiharma’s pupils gradually dwindled away. This may have been due to the complexity and the severity of his teachings. However, part of his work and the foundation that he laid down still lived on, and to those basic exercises and movements, others were gradually added and further techniques evolved and so kung fu in its earliest form came into being.
It has been established that Bodhiharma did actually exist during this period, but how much he actually contributed to the art of kung fu, as we know it today, will always remain a controversial subject. But there is no doubt whatsoever, that he did lay the foundation on which are built many of the hard styles and solid defensive systems of the art of the Chinese boxing art of kung fu.
Another very significant period in the history of this art was the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) which brought about a radical change in Chinese thinking which gradually affected not only kung fu but all the arts. Until this time, the techniques were carried out from very stiff and static stances, in an endeavour to harden and toughen the body which in those days was considered essential to any martial art practitioner, together with synchronized movements and the use of sheer brute muscular strength. Indeed, many martial art schools still teach this style, and the Japanese Karate is based on these same principles.
But the really important change came about when stiffness was replaced by pliability, static techniques were overcome with speed and dexterity, and internal or intrinsic energy took the place of physical and muscular strength.
From this time onwards, the Chinese arts made fantastic progress, and the technical advancement was so progressive that even the old masters of the arts were amazed. Since those early days many famous Chinese have made their mark on the martial arts by adding techniques, new adaptations, new systems of exercising and training, new forms and sets of movements, and have, in some cases, made improvements on the old techniques.
By reducing the necessity of using muscular strength, the arts then became available even to the very young and the very old alike, and girls and women could now participate as well.
To this day there are many Chinese schools and hospitals who use the classic sets of movements (especially T’ai Chi Ch’uan), as a form of physical therapy. But it is not limited to this alone, for in modern China it is a common sight to see groups of people, men and women, getting together during the factory or office lunch break and performing some of these sets, simply to control the mind, to keep the body fit, and to attain internal peace and tranquillity.
China is a massive country and, like all countries, in the old days the communications were very poor, and just as dialects occurred in the national language, so did variations and differences appear in the styles of kung fu.
Furthermore, those Chinese who emigrated in the past to other countries took their own particular style of kung fu with them, and its evolution was largely independent of Chinese thought. So in places like Hong Kong, Malaya, Hawaii, California, and other areas where there are large gatherings of Chinese, there are a number of schools, each with its own methods and systems of training.
The main difference that stamps a particular style is the use of the hands and their adaptions and, to a lesser degree, the use of the feet — except in the very northern schools where the feet are used to a far greater extent.
The environment has played the most important part in the establishment of styles, and even to some extent the various techniques that were used. In the south where there were large open spaces of paddy fields, swamps and jungle bogs, and where large fishing fleets sailed around the coast, then hand techniques had to be used more because the legs were either soaked in mud and water up to the knees, or the feet were necessary to retain good balance whilst on board a boat rocking on the high seas. In the mountains of the north, the ground was hard, thus allowing greater flexibility in the use of the foot and leg techniques.
There are still many styles existing in the world today, and these are normally defined under certain categories, such as the ‘soft’ style (Juan Shou), ‘hard fist’ style (Ying Ch’uan), ‘short’ style (Tuan), ‘long’ style (Ch’ang), ‘hand art’ (Shou Shu) and the ‘foot art’ (Jiao Shu).
The Feng Shou (pronounced in Mandarin as Fung Show) style of kung fu that we practise in the International Wu Shu Association consists of a complete mixture of all the above categories, because the style emanated from Central China, and therefore had the advantage of using the best from both the southern and northern styles, so it has everything in it, together with its own unique dynamic style. It is basically a ‘soft’ style, which means that we use speed, skill, wonderful balance, and we build up our Inner Power to such an advanced degree that we have no need whatsoever to use our physical or muscular strength. We are the softest and fastest style in existence.
In the Chinese arts we will never say that one style is better than another because all Chinese admire one another and will do all they can to help and assist each other whenever required. However, it must be understood that if you rely on pure physical strength, then you can be defeated by a much stronger opponent, providing, of course, the standard of skill is equal. In the soft arts we do not use physical strength so we do not have to rely upon it, and therefore it is skill that counts, plus the use of internal power which has to be developed to such a degree that it will be far superior to any form of physical strength anyway.
Whilst many of the styles today emanated from the earliest teachings of Ch’an Buddhism at the Shaolin Temple, our particular style of Feng Shou goes back much earlier in time, in fact, to the very early formation of exercising by the Taoists, and our Taoism unites all of us in the International Wu Shu Association in our aims, ideals, and our physical path together with our spiritual growth.
We are one within the Taoists arts, and we are one with our Maker.

As the Five Elements are linked to the Yin and Yang, and these in turn are governed by the Tao, it is understandable that curing illness is also linked to the Five Elements. These cures are:

Fire	spiritual cure
Wood	Ch’ang Ming
Earth	herbal therapy
Metal	acupuncture
Water	thermogenesis

The Spiritual Cure

The spiritual cure comes about by altering your eating and drinking habits so that you become closer to nature, and thereby closer to your own Tao and the Supreme Spirit. In addition, it means becoming more understanding, more conscious, and more aware of the work of the Supreme Spirit that goes on around you, and learning to conform to the infinite laws that he has laid down. It means dedicating your life to helping others along the pathway of their lives, and in turn trying to make them understand as well. It also means that you should say your prayers in thanks for everything that is bestowed upon you, the food that you eat, the clothing that you wear, the car that you own, and every time you safely cross the road, or find a parking space. It is not luck that brings you home safely every evening, but the gift of the Supreme Spirit, so say ‘thank you’ a hundred times a day for all the gifts you receive.

Chang Ming

Chang Ming is the Taoists natural eating and drinking system, and it will cure the majority of illnesses. It means eating good wholesome and natural foods, so carefully balanced that sickness is eradicted and ill health becomes a thing of the past. Remember that one of the most simple of all indicators of general sickness is the common cold. If you catch a cold every year, then you are in real trouble, and you have no one to blame but yourself, for you have created the cause that has brought about the symptom.
The food that you eat and the fluid that you drink must be within the boundaries of the universal laws and the very fine balance of Yin and Yang.

Herbal Therapy

Herbal therapy has long been a part of Chinese medical history, as it has also been with every other country in the world. But the Chinese have far exceeded the efforts of other nations in this particular field. With over 30,000 herbs on record they have found the answer to every conceivable illness, and according to the traditional classification, they have also listed them in order of the Yin and Yang tendencies.
Modern traditional herbal therapeutics have further divided these two groups into a further three sections under each heading, and have recorded them as either vegetable, animal or mineral. Naturally the vegetable section is the largest of the three.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture has been practised in China for thousands of years and is the simple insertion of a needle at a specific point or points along an energy channel, or meridian, as it is more commonly known. This will either stimulate or sedate the energy force that flows along that particular channel, which in turn has its links with a specific organ. Over nine different needles used to be available, varying in length and thickness, although in the beginning stone needles were in common use, and it was much later that copper and iron needles were used.

Thermogenesis

Thermogenesis is another ancient art of China. It works by combating an inner Yin illness with an external Yang force — applied heat. This Yang heat has two main objectives, either to draw the Yin cause to the surface by attraction, or to penetrate into the body and overcome or destroy the Yin in its own centre. For the best results, the heat is generally applied to the acupuncture points, and in the old days the skin was actually burned and many of the older Chinese still bear scars reminding them of their earlier treatment. Today, however, the skin is only warmed through, and no burning is necessary. There are, however, certain points along the lines of a meridian where heat treatment is absolutely banned or strictly forbidden, although acupuncture may be used.

Diagnosis

Whilst it is important to know how to effect a cure, it is even more essential to understand the cause, and traditional Chinese doctors are elevated in this particular field, utilizing the ‘five methods of examination’ (Wu Chen Ch’a):

Using the mouth to ask questions.

Using the eyes to see the symptoms and the indication of the possible causes.
Using touch, to feel lumps and to induce muscular reaction by light pressure. In addition touch was used in the art of Pulse Study (Chen No).
Using the ears to hear the changes of tone in the voice, as well as the percussions of the lungs, or the rumblings and other sounds in the bowel systems of the body.
Using the nose to smell the odours emanating from the various regions of the body, such as the mouth, sexual organs, anus, under the armpits, etc

Asking Questions

Asking questions might seem quite an ordinary thing to do, but it is a very responsible job, and not always that easy to do with shy or reticent patients. However, it is necessary to fully understand the person’s complaint, its development, how long it has gone on for, the person’s eating and drinking habits, any accompanying aches or pains and how long they last, and whether it is painful at a specific time of the day. It is also sometimes useful to know the area of the world that they were born in, also the eating habits of the parents, and whether there are any hereditary tendencies in the family, and if so, how far back in time these inclinations seem to go.
It is also necessary to enquire about more personal things, such as the colour or smell of the urine, or the motions, regularity of periods and the types of pain that come with them, difficulties in intercourse, and any soreness in or around the other cavities of the body. A delicate approach is of course required for this questioning.
Naturally there are further difficulties when you have to interview young children, the mentally handicapped, or the deaf or the dumb. They will all have difficulty in explaining their particular illness, the type of pain, even how long they have had it, and as for remembering past symptoms this is almost an impossibility for those in the first two categories, so it will be necessary to obtain as much information as you can from their relatives or even close friends. When attempting to diagnose someone who is unconscious, you will of course have to rely entirely on background information from others.
All this information will give you the patient’s general medical history so far as it relates, to the complaint, as well as giving you an indication of the person’s eating and drinking habits, which can have a very great influence on health. As you will see, asking questions is a very important part of the process of diagnosis.

Using the Eyes

Visual observation diagnosis is very important too, for it can supply extremely useful data on the present health of the person, and likely problems that may crop up in the future. In many cases you can also see if the illness has gone on for a long time. In other instances, you may be able to see the start of an illness, or detect the actual sickness, even though the person concerned does not have any outward symptoms, such as pains, rashes, vomiting, or hot or cold spells. It is quite possible that even the patient himself does not know that he is ill, so you will be able to combat the possible cause of the sickness even before the onset of symptoms.
Visual diagnosis is more important than many Westerners realize, for it means that the traditional doctor can examine parts of his patient without that person being aware that they are being inspected, or that an assessment of symptoms and the cause of illness has been mentally recorded.
First of all, the colour and texture of the skin on the face and hands will be immediately visible, and there may be many colours that can be seen, such as red, brown, white, yellow, grey, purple, semi-transparent white, and even green, and all these colours will indicate the general health of the person, and also show the possible cause of it. For instance a yellow skin is an outward sign of jaundice, which in turn indicates that there are problems with the pancreas, and possibly the liver and gall bladder as well. Red shows that the heart is overworking; very dark brown or black is associated with the kidneys; grey shows that the liver is swollen so trouble can be expected; white is generally anaemia; transparency in the skin shows either skin complaints or tuberculosis; and green, which is getting more and more common in the Western world, is cancer.
The general texture of the skin may be dry, oily or wet, and there may be excessive growth of hair. Dry skin shows skin complaints; oily skin is caused by overeating; wet skin indicates that the person drinks too much fluid, which in turn can affect the kidneys and may have a detrimental effect on the heart; and excessive hair, especially over the organs of the body, will show that a particular organ is under stress and is overworking.
Look at the fingernails: if there are white spots or flashes then this is a sure sign of excess consumption of sugar, sweets or fruit. There should be no half moons at the at the base of the nail; if they are present they indicate toxins in the bloodstream, and the bigger the half moons, the greater the problem. Long, thin nails are Yin whilst a short, broad nail is Yang. The natural grain of the nail should run from top to bottom. If the grains is deeply rutted or runs deeply across the nail, then it could show that there are bacteria in the intestine, or worms, and that there is a very erratic pattern of eating.
Now let us have a look at the face, which can supply us with a wealth of information. Vertical lines between the eyebrows indicate a bad liver, which will make the patient temperamental — so watch out. Erratic lines running across the forehead show a split personality, but evenly spaced parallel lines are a sign of excessive fluid consumption, so there could be an effect on the kidneys.
If the eyebrows are long and thick, this shows vitality, long life and happiness; if they are very thin this show Yin weaknesses; and if there is no eyebrow at all, cancer is indicated. The eyebrow should follow the natural curvature of the eye if you are Yang, but if you are Yin and the eyebrows turn upwards at the ends towards the temples, then it is a positive sign of weaknesses in the system, lack of vital energy, and that you have been eating too much meat for a very long time.
The eyelashes should be strong and straight but if they curl upwards then the person is Yin and it is a sign of bad health caused through the consumption of too much meat and meat products, and in a woman it shows that her ovaries are deeply contracted, so if she ever has a baby then the child is going to be affected by the same influence.
The eyes themselves have their own story to tell. Long thin eyes with the iris centralized are a sign of good health. White large round eyes denote susceptibility to colds and flu, for the general health is weak and very delicate. If both eyes turn outwards towards the ears then there is far too much toxin in the body and if the energy of the body is depleted to lower levels in the future, there is always the possibility of cancer showing its effects. On the other hand crossed eyes is a sign of being too Yang and therefore there is a tendency towards high blood pressure. If the white of the eye can be seen not only on both sides of the iris but also above it as well then the person is very Yin. Such people are cruel, will argue on the slightest pretext, and will lose their temper for no apparent reason, therefore being completely unpredictable
If the white of the eye changes in colour, then this indicates a vanety of Yin illnesses. Yellow is linked with jaundice, and red shows a liver complaint. Grey or blue means that the eyesight is declining, and if the symptom is ignored then blindness will eventually result. Coloured spots on the white of the eye near the ins denote also that there are various body malfunctions, and unless dietary improvements are made soon then the patient can exoect serious internal trouble.
Bags under the eyes, if they are soft and spongy, signify that there is too much fluid in the body, in which case the kidneys will be overworking, but if the bags have a tendency to be firm or even hard then this is a sure sign of the formation of kidney stones. Always try to look at the edge of the bottom eyelid for this is one place that make-up cannot hide. If it is white then the person is anaemic, and if it is red then there is inflammation due to infection and it has come to the surface as an outward symptom of excessive consumption of meat, sugar and fruit
Discharge of fluid from the eye generally referred to as mucus, should be slight and transparent, but if it becomes a heavier emission and yellow in colour then this points to excessive intake of dairy products. If a woman has this discolouration and extra discharge in her eyes, then she must expect to have the same density of emission from her vagina.
Even the shape of the nose will give an indication of the Yin and Yang influences. A long thin nose with small nostrils is Yin and caused simply by too much Yin food such as ice cream imitation fruit drinks, and too many drugs and medicants A fat bulbous nose shows that the person has an enlarged heart and if it is also red in colour, then the blood capillaries are under pressure and this could lead to heart trouble or heart disease. A cleft or indentation in the middle of the nose denotes that the two chambers of the heart are not the same size or that they are not working in harmony with one another, and so there is irregular beating * which is generally called heart murmur.
What about the mouth? If it is large then this indicates that there is a degeneration in the digestive system and also in the sexual organs. Thin lips or lips of different thickness show that the person is Yin. If the bottom lip is bigger than the top lip then the intestines are in trouble — a very common problem in the West. But if the top lip is swollen then this shows that the stomach is weak. If cuts or cracks appear on the lips then don’t waste time — do something about it as soon as you can, or you are going to have bowel trouble. Also ensure that you change your diet if cysts appear on the lips for it can also indicate that you have a cyst, an ulcer or a tumour in the respective region of your organs, the stomach being represented by the top lip, and the large intestine by the bottom lip.
The teeth should all be straight, uniform in size and of a standard shape. If they slope inwards this is a sign of being too Yang; if they slope outwards and have gaps between them, this indicates someone who likes to be on the go and cannot be expected to stay at home for very long. Bad teeth, tooth decay, weak teeth or pointed teeth are all Yin complaints created by bad blood or bad saliva, and all are due to very bad eating and drinking habits.
These are but a few of the many signs of ill health that can be seen on the body, and all that is necessary for diagnosis is a trained eye to recognize the symptons and the ability to know which organ or part of the body is creating the cause. Then one must know how to eradicate the cause, in order to establish good health on a permanent basis.

Using Touch

Diagnosis by touch is the most important section of all, for feeling the Pulse’ (K’anmai) or (Ghenmai) is an art that every traditional Chinese doctor learns to do first, for it is only acquired by a very delicate and sensitive touch, and experience can only come over a very long period of time and constant practice. It is said that this art goes back to nearly 3000 BC, and it is just as important today as it ever was for it can indicate immediately any irregularities in the functioning of the twelve organs of the body.
Modern Western doctors lay the tip of one finger on the radial artery and count the rhythmic pulsation of the heartbeats. The Chinese doctor places three fingers on the radial artery and by a light pressure can understand the condition of three of the Yang organs, and by a deeper and firmer pressure can appreciate the health of three of the Yin organs. By feeling the pulses on the other wrist, in a similar way, he can obtain information on the differences affecting another six organs, which are as follows:

Left radial artery	Light pressure	Deep pressure
Index finger	Small Intestine	Heart
Middle finger	Gall Bladder	Liver
Third finger	Urinary Bladder	Kidneys
Right radial artery	Light pressure	Deep pressure
Index finger	Large Intestine	Lungs
Middle finger	Stomach	Spleen
Third finger	Triple Heater	Heart Controller

By feeling the pulses, it is possible to understand the levels of internal energy (Ch’i), and there is a vast range of different fluctuations that pass along the channels or meridians connected with the above-mentioned organs. The traditional doctor will then take the necessary steps to sedate or tonify the organs involved.
In addition to the twelve pulses mentioned, there are many other points on the body where the pulse can be taken, such as the arms, neck, head and legs, where the arteries rise fairly close to the surface of the skin.
Touch is also used to feel the strength or weakness, heat or coldness, tension or softness in various parts of the body, and to feel the extent of any lumps or bumps on the surface of the skin or internally, as well as gently feeling the severity of any fractures that have been incurred. So diagnosis through the medium of touch, which is a vast field, is extremely necessary for the full understanding of the human body. Thousands of years of practical experience within China have proved its worth over and over again, and its accuracy amazes Western practitioners.

Using the Ears

The next sense to be used in diagnosis is hearing, or the use of the ears, which can be used to detect alterations in the tones of the voice, the pitch of the voice and whether it is high or low, and whether the tone is smooth or rough. It can detect whether air is entering the lungs smoothly, or whether it has an uneven journey.
The ears can also listen to various internal activities of the body which may be in the form of creaks, clicks or rumblings in the bladder and bowel systems.

Using the Nose

Finally, the nose can be used to help or to confirm diagnosis, for the smell emanating from a person’s body through the mouth or armpits, or through the discharge of urine or motions, can indicate the part of the anatomy that is causing the trouble, and will help in the classification of the illness as well.

The ‘Eight Classifications’

In addition to these methods of examination, traditional doctors were taught, and are still trained in, the ‘Eight Classifications’ (Pan Fen Lei), which are also closely related to the Yin and Yang:

1. Yin	2. Yang
3. Internal	4. External
5. Cold	6. Hot
7. Excess	8. Deficient

By fully understanding the meaning and the depth of each, in conjunction with all the five methods of examination and diagnosis, Chinese traditional doctors were able to amalgamate them all into one definite conclusion. Then, and only then, was the appropriate treatment recommended.

Chapter 4

The Aims Towards Perfection

The author of this book has been practising T’ai Chi Ch’uan for sixty years, and knows deep down inside that even though others may think what you do is perfect, something you feel and appreciate can continue to be understood ever more deeply as time goes on. Yes, perfection is a word that has no boundaries, for only you can fix the limit of yourself. However, from my own personal experience and from the foundations created by my own master, let me pass on a few tips that will help you in your training and practise, because your teacher cannot watch or be near you all the time during your endless search to become better and better.

The Supreme Ultimate

For the truly dedicated person this is the ultimate goal pointed out to us by the Taoists of ancient China, and from my own personal experience I know it is true. In simple words, it means the complete understanding, harmony and conquering of our body, mind, spirit, our own Chi energy and universal Li energy.

The Body

You will learn in the Taoist Cultural Arts Association that every movement has a meaning, every meaning contains a depth, and each depth contains an essence, and through the full utilization of the essence, you will find out the true meaning of the expressions that our old masters told us. Thus you will prove to yourself that ‘the weakest is the strongest’, ‘the lightest is the heaviest’, and ‘the shortest is the longest’. You will recognize these truths over and over again, until you are fully aware of the essence they contain, and how they can be utilized not only in our arts, but in your everyday life.

The first golden rule is to let your body remain relaxed and natural at all times, without any tension whatsoever. But relaxation does not mean giving way completely and slumping as if you were a dead weight. It means being your natural self, without being artificial or going to the other extreme of trying to be too precise. T’ai Chi is therapeutic, for it gives very gentle exercise to all parts of the body. When you move the arms you exercise the legs, and when you activate the legs then you automatically exercise the upper parts of your body. So harmony within all movements is very important, and co-ordination between the upper limbs and lower extremities is an important aim towards perfection.

The Legs

The legs are used to support the weight of your body at all times, and even when you are lying down muscle changes take place through the legs as the body turns. The legs, therefore, play an important part in all movements of the torso, so never oppose these natural dynamics of your own body. Other styles of T’ai Chi have quite large stances, with their body weight supported between the two legs with both knees bent. This, you will be told, conforms to the laws of gravity.
In a physical and materialistic sense they are right. We, on the other hand, explore the true meaning of the ‘Supreme Ultimate’ by using the essences that our legs can give, so you will find if you train with us that our weight distribution is changed for each particular stance, for this is essential to bring out the true essence that it contains. For instance, it is a golden rule in our T’ai Chi that when the foot is moved, the heel is placed on the floor first, then the ball of the foot, and finally the toes, just as if you were walking naturally. This movement from heel to toe is performed no matter what the angle of the foot might be, whether you step forward, back, or sideways, and even when you walk the air. This is not easy at first, so constant practise is recommended in order to maintain your balance while keeping control of your leg movements, which you should practise very slowly and lightly.

Learn to move from one leg movement to another, and ensure that you check and correct them constantly. Using a full length mirror is an excellent way to correct yourself.

The Arms and Hands

Never fully straighten the arms, but always keep them slightly bent. Keep your elbows pointing down, except on the rare occasions when the arms are raised above head height. Ensure that your arms are completely relaxed, irrespective of how they are moved or held.

The hand movements not only have a meaning in their flow from one direction to another, but there is a far greater depth and meaning within the essence that they contain. Perfection in the execution of the movements of hands and arms is very important indeed. There is a wise saying within our Taoist arts: ‘the slowest is the fastest’. One illustration of this is a learner driver, who, once having mastered the techniques of driving very slowly, may well gain sufficient experience one day to become a champion racing driver. This applies to our arts as well. Don’t rush, give yourself time to perfect a movement, harmonize it with your posture, stance and breathing, and feel the essence that it contains. Then and only then will you have acquired the mental control to harmonize every aspect in one beautiful technique — at any speed you wish.

The hands are very important, but in our everyday life we are apt to take them for granted, and never really give them a second thought unless we injure them, in which case we feel very lost. They are also extremely important in T’ai Chi, because of the intricate movements and patterns they have to execute. Complete control over them is essential at all times, whether they are moving, stationary, open or closed into a fist. There are seven main types of hand formations.
The first is the Sun Palm (Jih Shouchang). The hand is pushed forward with the fingers completely relaxed, but pointing upwards. In this formation the vitality power flows from the lower abdomen (Tan Tien) up the spine, down the arm and into the palm. This movement of the hand and arm looks very soft and gentle, but the force pushed out of the Sun Palm, with mental control, is quite dynamic.
The second is the Cloudy Palm (Yun Shouchang). The back of the hand faces away from you and the palm is turned inward, fingers pointing upwards. The vitality power is recalled back to the lower abdomen, The hands and arms are completely relaxed and the shoulders are allowed to sink.

The third is the Crane’s Head Palm (Hao T’ou Shouchang). The fingers point downwards. The shoulders, arms and hands are now completely relaxed and loose, with the vitality power having been recalled back to the lower abdomen.
The fourth is the Lifting Palm (Chu Ch’i Shouchang). The back of the hand faces the floor and the palm faces upward. The vitality power may or may not be activated, whichever you decide.

The fifth is the Side Palm (Pien Shouchang). The tip of the thumb points upwards, and the edge of the little finger downwards. In this formation the vitality power will remain stationary unless you wish to activate it through your mental control.
The sixth is the Hammer Palm (Ch’ui Shouchang). The hand is firm, the palm faces downwards, and the little finger edge would, if required, become the striking edge. The vitality power flows very forcefully into the hand, especially to the little finger edge.

The seventh is the Closed Palm, or fist (Kuan Shouchang). The fingers are closed into the palm but should remain fairly loose. The vitality power in this formation is rather restricted.

The Head and Neck

Some say that you should imagine your head being suspended, but if you do then you become like a puppet, light headed and floating. So don’t let your head and neck be stiff, like that of a robot; just keep them both naturally upright, without any tension, and align them both with your spine. One day you will be amazed at the depth of essence they contain.

Breathing

Breath is life, as we all know, but correct breathing is even more important than that. Not only does it sustain life and purify the blood, but it is also the fuel for the vitality energy of the body, just as coal is fuel for a fire.

In your early days of training, however, we suggest that you shouldn’t worry too much about breathing. If you join one of our affiliated clubs or classes you will be taught many specialized breathing exercises, but for the beginner who practises at home without an instructor, we suggest that you first practise some of the sequences over and over again. This will enable you to attain the perfection of stances and postures and a continuous flow of movement, and during these early periods you should just breathe naturally through the nose as you practise.
As all movements of our T’ai Chi Ch’uan style are based on an in-and-out movement, breathing can easily be harmonized with them. On the odd numbers or inward movements you should breathe in, and on the even numbers or outward movements you should breathe out. Your health will feel the benefit, and you will gradually learn to take deeper and longer breaths as you learn to co-ordinate the length of your inhalations and exhalations with your movements.
Next, try and learn to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth when practising the movements, and time them to your breathing, rather than timing your breathing to your movements.

The next stage is to learn to breathe deeply into the area below your navel. Lower abdominal breathing (Tan Tien Ch’i Hsi) not only excites and activates the vitality power, but it also helps to give you an internal massage by the expansion and contraction of the muscles and the intestines. It helps to improve blood circulation and liver functions and generally aids the working of the body metabolism. At first you will have to concentrate the mind on the sinking of the breath down to the Tan Tien. In Taoist thought and Chinese alchemy, the lower abdomen is known as the ‘lower cauldron’, and it can only be reached and activated by deep diaphragmatic breathing (what the Taoists call Yang breathing).
The Tan Tien is also a psychic centre of primary importance, and the main centre for the storage and circulation of Chi and Li energies. The harmonious mixture of Chi and Li energies in the lower abdomen is known in Taoist thought as ‘the Inner Circle’, The same area also acts as the centre of the ‘Outer Circle’ of the body, which governs the spiritual and psychic channels of the mind and body, It must therefore be looked after, nurtured and protected, for it is of prime importance for the health of your body, mind and spirit, in both their internal and their external activities.

The Golden Principles (Chin Tao Li) of T’ai Chi Ch’uan

1. Keep your body erect without stiffness.
2. Everything about you should be completely relaxed, especially the mind.
3. Maintain the heel and toe principles for all foot movements.
4. Co-ordinate the movements of the upper and lower halves of the body.
5. Harmonize the internal and external physical aspects of the body.
6. Ensure that there is a continuity of movement at all times, and that all movements follow a curve or circular form. Movements are never straight lines in T’ai Chi.
7. Study the many Taoist breathing exercises.
8. Learn to breathe deeply through your lower abdomen, and keep your tongue against the roof of your mouth.
9. Extend and let your vitality power flow on all outward movements.
10. Recall and relax your vitality power on all inward movements.
11. Live the Ch’ang Ming way (Taoist macrobiotics).
12. Study the laws of life within the realms of the spiritual path (Tao).
13. Study the use and harmonization of the vitality power and macro-cosmic energy, which are the internal and external, physical and spiritual energies.

Although many people have gone to great lengths in an effort to learn how to meditate, and yet have been disappointed, meditation is easy provided that you go into it for the right reasons, and, with the help of a good master or teacher, look into it thoroughly, so that you learn the basics of what is involved, become clear about your own objectives, and then set out under guidance in an effort to achieve them. A good teacher will make sure that you take each step properly, at the right speed for you, and that you develop a proper understanding.

First of all, to get to the spirit you must go through the mind, and to get to the mind you must go along the channels of your earthly body. You must be prepared for a long journey of the spirit, and have ample supplies of the energies required — just as a car or an aeroplane needs fuel. Remember that in meditating you are going to use up an enormous amount of physical, mental and spiritual energy, even though your journey may last only a few minutes as measured by the hands of a clock. For this reason, one of your prime tasks is to build up your energies, helping along the process by eating the Chang Ming way so as to reduce the excess of Yin that other types of diet cause, and open up the internal channels of the body so that your internal energy can flow properly. K’ai Men and the various deep-breathing exercises (especially the Yang exercises) help to build up this energy in the Tan T’ien or lower abdomen. As you progress you will be able to utilize this energy and control it at various levels in your body, so developing heightened mental control as well. This leads on to spiritual growth.

After adopting a Chang Ming diet and learning how to cultivate your internal energy, the next step is to learn how to harness and control your macro-cosmic, or external, energy. When your internal and external energy can be harmonized at a point behind your eyes, then you will find consciousness an easy stepping-stone to awareness, and enlightenment will be just round the corner.

There are over twenty forms of Taoist meditation (Mó Xiǎng 魔想), but to practise them you must be able to direct and control your internal and external energies, which will give you the dynamic power that you need if you want to traverse the universe. This force also has enormous healing powers.

One of the easiest ways of starting to meditate is to sit quietly down — if possible, at the same time each day — in a room where you can expect no disturbance. Have a window slightly open so that fresh air can enter the room, but try to ensure that there are no draughts. You can sit on a chair or cross your legs on the floor, or you can sit in the lotus position, which is the ideal way to meditate as it ensures perfect balance. In what follows it is assumed that you decide to sit cross-legged on the floor.

Loosen your clothes, especially any belts, and then relax your whole body and mind. Sit with your left leg crossed outside, but close to, your right leg — signifying that the Yin is surrounding the Yang. Your left hand should be placed in the palm of your right hand, with the left thumb touching the middle finger of the left hand, and the right thumb laid flat in the centre of the left palm. The palms of both hands should face upward. This ensures that the Yang surrounds the Yin in the upper circle of the body. By sitting this way, you are embracing the eight psychic channels and centres of the body, four in the lower half and four in the upper half of your anatomy. These circles or circuits create a harmony, and a constant flow of energy within their own individual orbits.

Before commencing to meditate make absolutely certain that you have no emotional stress whatsoever, and that you feel completely calm and composed within yourself. Also be certain that you have no aches or pains, as these can upset your concentration. It is not a good thing to set a goal or target for yourself, as this encourages you to try too hard. Try not to be too specific in your reasons for meditating, since this tends to create emotion and upset the nervous system. Many people try to meditate to obtain peace and tranquillity, while others wish to meditate just to escape from this world and the realities of their own lives — forgetting, of course, that on awakening they will be back in the same situations as they had tried to forget or leave behind. Meditation should not be an excuse, but should be a serious endeavour to attain harmony with your own spirit and, through it, with the spiritual world that lies beyond.

There are many ways of meditating with the eyes closed, but you can also meditate with your eyes open. Further, you can meditate not only through the mind but also through the spirit. One form of meditation, visual transportation, enables people to meditate through their eyes, mind and spirit, while they go about their daily work.

A golden rule for beginners to remember is that one should not stare at objects for long periods (“meditation by focusing”). It is much better to concentrate the mind, with the eyes closed, than to stare at a lighted candle, because the latter can not only weaken the eyes and waste energy, which in the preparatory stages you should be trying to conserve, but also mislead the senses into a false sense of achievement.

To begin with, then, sit quietly in the cross-legged position described above, with your tongue against the roof of your mouth and your eyes fractionally open (sufficient to admit a thin film of light) and looking down the bridge of your nose. Next, concentrate your mind on whatever object you wish, and, when you have it in focus, keep it in your mind’s eye for as long as you can.

Let us suppose that you fix your mind on an old-fashioned sailing ship. Once you have formed the picture, begin examining it in detail. How many masts are there? Is there a figurehead at the prow, and, if so, what is its form? Where is the anchor? Are the hatches battened down?

While you are still at the elementary stage, never meditate for more than five minutes at a time. This is because deep con­centration uses up energy, and it is unwise to burn up a lot of “fuel” while you are still trying to activate and cultivate the energies within you. Once you have managed to focus your mind on one object for five minutes, the next step is to explore other forms of mind control and concentration.

Focusing on sound is difficult, but will give you a very strong mind control. If you are sitting quietly you will hear noises and sounds going on around you all the time, and if you concentrate enough you will be able to pick out one of those sounds (the most prominent, say) and hold it in your mind, making all other sounds disappear. Once you have learned to eradicate all other noises and hold just one in your mind constantly, you will know that your mind is becoming very strong indeed.

Another, and even more difficult, way to meditate is to focus on smell. Bring in a pot of flowers and place them directly in front of you, and then sit quietly in front of them, breathing deeply. Learn to focus on the smell of one particular type of flower, so that other perfumes and smells fade away before it. In this way, your concentration will gain enormous strength, and your mind will become extremely tenacious.

Remember that the journey for which you are preparing is a very long one, so it is essential that you prepare properly. Don’t forget that correct breathing is essential to your meditation, so learn to breathe through the lower abdomen. This will help you build up your energies and gain tranquillity.

Everything in nature consists of energy, which in turn creates various wavelengths and vibrations; so to lack energy is in the long run fatal. Lack of energy creates fatigue, which is the basis of all illnesses and sicknesses. Revitalize the organ or section of the body that is fatigued and you eradicate the symptom, allowing the body to cure itself. In meditation, then, you must have the whole body active and full of energy, and all the channels open, so that the energy flow is unrestricted. Then you can really start to meditate seriously, for then the energy power is there to help the mind take full control and prepare for take­off. So get your priorities right and you will find that meditation is within your grasp.

If you happen to be a nervous person or a persistent worrier, then to begin with you should not try to meditate at all. Instead, concentrate on building up your vitality by eating the Ch’ang Ming way and practising deep-breathing exercises, and sit quietly for a few minutes daily, thinking, with your eyes open, of some material object — a door handle, a vase, a chair, or whatever — imagining its shape and contours, its colour, and even how it is made. After only a few weeks you will find that you have made great progress and are ready to focus your mind as suggested earlier.

Everyone who practises properly, should, after a few months, be able to journey into the astral plane, but travelling to the celestial and spiritual levels takes rather longer. Even so, with a good teacher, patience and personal dedication this can be accomplished by all.

Finally, take no notice of people who brag about their own feats of meditation. There is no place in the spiritual world for egoists, and whatever they experienced is unlikely to have been of much consequence.

Good travelling, and perhaps we may meet along the way.

Breathing is accepted as the most natural thing in the world, but very few people really consider how important to the body correct breathing is. We can all go without food and water for many days, yet, if we stop breathing for even thirty seconds, we quickly realize that we cannot do without air for even a short while. Yes, we accept breathing without ever giving it a serious thought, unless we have the misfortune to suffer a complaint such as hay fever, asthma or emphysema when breathing becomes really difficult.

Through bad habits or ignorance, the majority of people breathe very shallowly, using only about one-third of their lung capacity on each breath intake. Owing to this, their health is likely to deteriorate — fatigue, sluggishness, tiredness, head­aches, bronchial complaints, wheeziness in the throat, and so on, becoming the order of each day for them. Lack of oxygen can throw an undue strain on the heart and create many circulation problems, which in turn will affect the tissues and bone structure, decrease sexuality, and affect the glands, the whole nervous system, and all internal organs.

Let us look at one or two of the complaints that people may suffer from mainly owing to poor or inadequate breathing.

Emphysema, a complaint that is now widespread, though virtually unknown before the turn of the century, has now increased, and every day sees an increase in the numbers that are suffering from this simple complaint. What happens is some of the tissues within the lungs dilate and become fused together, cutting down the surface area, and thereby causing the breathing to become more rapid. This throws an added burden on to the heart, which may fail if subjected to too great a strain.

Bronchitis, which is accompanied by a persistent bad cough, is generally the result of bad eating habits and too much fluid within the body. By correcting the diet and learning to breathe deeply and correctly, this simple Yin complaint can be eliminated.

Asthma can readily be recognized by the laboured breathing of the sufferer. It is caused by overworking of the kidneys and can be cured by breathing properly and limiting the fluid intake.

Many other illnesses too, including tuberculosis, pneumonia, hay fever, pleurisy and sinus trouble, are caused by bad eating habits and insufficient oxygen in the bloodstream. When our lives depend so much on correct breathing, it is clearly imperative that we should learn to breathe properly, so that we are constantly in good physical condition and therefore in good health.

It is very important, at all times, to have sufficient fresh air entering the lungs, so that the impure blood in the body can be cleansed and purified through the action of the oxygen coming into contact with the blood within the lungs. If this purification does not take place, then waste products re-enter the blood­stream and the blood deteriorates, causing a general weakening of the body. Energies become depleted, making the body less resistant to illness and disease, and causing fatigue, which is the commonest cause of ill health. Learn, therefore, to breathe deeply every minute of the day, and eat and drink the Ch’ang Ming way, as described in the previous chapter. Correct and controlled breathing helps to open the channels to the psychic centres, revitalize and re-energize the body, and so open the way to the mind and spiritual development.

In the Chinese art of K’ai Men there are twenty basic specialized breathing exercises: eight Yin, eight Yang, and four a mixture of the two. Each of these has a specific job to do — some of them acting as a sedative, some as a tonic, and some assisting with the harnessing, activation and cultivation of the internal and macro-cosmic energies, and opening up the functional and control channels that feed and activate the energy and psychic centres within the anatomy.

There are two main ways of breathing, and these are each divided into two halves, each of which has three centres. The two main ways are Yin and Yang, but these each contain something relating to the other, as will be outlined below.

Yin

Yin breathing is very shallow breathing indeed, and is the way that most people usually breathe. It is very unhealthy and is the cause of many chest, throat and head ailments. It raises the upper chest, shoulders and collarbone when an in-breath is taken, and is generally known as clavicular breathing. Because it causes pressure against the diaphragm, the lungs get very little air, and this means that the benefit to the blood and the body as a whole is very slight

One of the variants of Yin breathing involves inhaling strongly and for longer than you exhale for, but be careful if you attempt this: it causes a very light sensation within the upper chest and head, and may make you feel a little dizzy. This is because Yin breathing stimulates the mid-brain, and increases the amount of energy attracted from the earth.

The Yin Micro-cosmic Orbit, or Inner Ch’i Circling, is another of the specialized Taoist techniques. By breathing deeply through the lower abdomen (Tan T’ien — the Lower Cauldron or Stove) — and using special arm movements in co­operation with a partner, the student can learn how to lock his internal energy or vitality power into the five positions indicated on Diagram 1.

The Yang Macro-cosmic Circle, Yin section, or Outer Ch’i Circle, is a dynamic breathing exercise that requires many years of practice at K’ai Men before it can even be attempted. This is because it demands a very strong Ch’i action, a dynamic depth of concentration within oneself, and positive mind control. The basic principle of the technique (see Diagram 2) is to breathe without taking an in- or out-breath (as usually understood), and it is accomplished through the soles of the feet, the middle of the spine and the top of the head. The internal energy is circled through these points and also out to the finger-tips. Only students who have spent many years practising all aspects of K’ai Men will fully appreciate what this means and how it is accomplished.

Yang

Yang breathing is very deep breathing because it concentrates on the utilization of the diaphragm. In the West it is generally known as diaphragmatic breathing. This way of breathing gives greater freedom to the lungs and so their absorption becomes more, but, because of the downward pressure on the abdominal organs, which gives them an internal massage, the abdomen is pushed outward. All this is stimulating to the lower abdomen and increases the amount of energy attracted from heaven.
Another Yang way of breathing is to make your in-breath short and sharp, but exhale strongly and for as long as you can. This method of breathing is the best for your health, for it helps to generate enormous energy, gives the blood all the oxygen that it needs, purifies the blood by the absorption of waste matter, and helps to strengthen the nervous system and give health to the rest of the anatomy.

The Yin Micro-cosmic Orbit, Yang section, combines the vitality power, or internal energy, with macro-cosmic energy. Through specialized breathing techniques these energies are raised as shown in Diagram 3: from point A up the spine to point E, at the top of the head. Both energies can be locked into the positions marked B, C, D, and E on the diagram, and these are known as the channels of control, which not only give positive and dynamic energy to the body and mind, but also vibrate the psychic centres and open up and strengthen the channel to the spirit.

Diagram 3 Yang section: Yang Macro-cosmic circle and Yin Microcosmic Orbit

The Yang Macro-cosmic Circle in the Yang section is the completion of the entire circle, from point E back to point A, through F, G, and H, and after completion of the full circle the energies are controlled back to the lower abdomen or lower cauldron, where they are harnessed and revitalized. The openings from point E down the front of the body to point A are known as functional channels, and they are used to control the external use of the vitalities forces, for health and spiritual purposes. If you can get this far, then you are on your way to spiritual immortality through Taoist alchemy.

Yin/Yang

This is a series of breathing exercises whereby the in-breath is as strong and takes as long as the out-breath. This style of breathing attracts energy from both heaven and earth, in equal measure. (See Diagram 4.)

Diagram 4 Yin/Yang section: Yang Macro-cosmic Circle and Yin Micro-cosmic Orbit

The Yin Micro-cosmic Orbit, Yin/Yang section, consists of raising the breath and internal energy from the lower abdomen to the solar plexus and then driving it downward back to the abdomen. Placing one’s hands on those two spots aids the circling of the energy, and also helps to vibrate and pulsate the psychic centres that are there.

The Yang Macro-cosmic Circle, Yin/Yang section, consists of lifting the breath and the internal energy through three levels, from the lower stomach, into the solar plexus and then into the heart, and then gently lowering them back through the same centres until they rest again in their natural home, the lower abdomen.

In addition to the twenty basic breathing sequences in Taoism, there are many more, linked with physical movements and exercises. This makes the breathing and energy section of K’ai Men the most comprehensive and dynamic exploitation of the human body, the functions and vibrations of the psychic centres, the control channels to, from and within the mind, and the subconscious. The harmony of all opens the door to the spirit.

The importance of breathing is greatest at the beginning ana end of your earthly life. Did you know that the first thing a baby does at birth is exhale, and that the last thing a dying person does is inhale? In the latter case, the pressure that has been built up by inhalation acts on the weakness of the heart and brings death.

All deep breathing brings about a harmony of Yin and Yang vibrations and pulsations, so learn to breathe deeply all the time, day in and day out, and utilize your full lung capacity, so that the body can obtain the maximum benefits. The various forms of healing in K’ai Men — meridian healing, Ch’i healing, breath healing, sound healing, meditation healing, Chinese push and pull massage, spot pressing and so on — are all founded upon the effective use of vibrations and pulsations.

In K’ai Men, great emphasis is placed on correct and total breathing — irrespective of the type of breathing exercise being executed — and upon maintaining complete breath control at all times. All physical exercises in K’ai Men are split into two sections: the “sequence”, in which deep breathing is of particular importance; and the “extension”, in which full and constant mind and body control are the speciality.

Regulated breathing under strictly controlled conditions will enable you to learn how to drive your breath downwards to the lower abdomen, so arousing the Lower Cauldron or Inner Fire, as it is sometimes known, and activating and pressurising the internal energy held there. This in turn activates that energy so that it is forced up and rises as you inhale. When you exhale this relaxes the diaphragm, which takes the pressure off the lower abdomen, and the internal energy then sinks back to it, down the front of the body.
There follow three different breathing exercises, each of which will in its own way help you internally.

A Yang breath

Diagram 5 Taoist ‘Four-directional’ Yang breathing exercise.

Extracted from the Book of Supple Muscles (Ch’ing Period)

This will give you a great deal of energy and will warm up the whole body, so if you feel cold this is really excellent. It will also help to kill off the bacteria of the common cold and influenza, and will generally tone up the whole system.

1. Breathe in through the nose and raise the hands in front of the shoulders as you do so. Exhale slowly but very forcibly through the mouth, as you push slowly but strongly straight forward with the hands, extending the arms.
2. Breathe in through the nose and allow the hands to come back in front of the shoulders. Exhale slowly but very forcibly through the mouth, as you push slowly but strongly sideways with the hands, till the arms are fully extended.
3. Breathe in through the nose and allow the hands to come back in front of the shoulders. Exhale slowly but forcibly through the mouth, and as you do so push slowly but strongly directly upwards towards the ceiling.
4. Breathe in through the nose and allow the hands to come back in front of the shoulders. Exhale slowly but forcibly through the mouth and simultaneously push slowly but strongly downwards, till your arms are fully extended by your thighs.

Now repeat this sequence. You will really feel the benefits.

A Yin breath

This breathing exercise is excellent to do at any time of day, and will help clear the nasal passages and soothe the nerves, and enable the body and mind to relax completely. If you ever feel tense, or under strain, or think a headache is coming on, then try this exercise.
You can sit down to do this exercise. Rest your right elbow on a table, and place the index finger of your right hand on your forehead, between your eyebrows (if you are left-handed, substitute left for right throughout the exercise).

Now press your right thumb against your right nostril so as to close that nostril completely. Slowly inhale through your left nostril until you have filled your chest as much as you can, and then exhale just as slowly through the same nostril until all the air has gone.
Now free your right nostril and press the middle finger of your right hand against your left nostril, so as to close it. Slowly breathe in again, filling your lungs and chest, and then slowly and completely exhale.

These two movements comprise the full sequence, and if you repeat it five times you will find it very relaxing indeed; but ensure that the breathing is done continuously and that there is no time lag in changing from thumb and middle finger or vice versa.

A Yin/Yang breath

This exercise is excellent for the activation of energy and vibrates three psychic centres, which in turn revitalize the whole of the anatomy and mind.
Make yourself comfortable either by sitting in a chair or, better still, by sitting on the floor with your legs crossed. Keep the body upright, but do not hold it too stiffly. Place your right hand on your lower abdomen, and your left hand on the solar plexus — in both cases, directly on the skin.

1. Now breathe in through the nose, but breathe deeply, so that the downward pressure pushes your right hand out­ward. Then press with your right hand on your lower abdomen so that the air is forced upward into the area of the solar plexus.
2. Press with your left hand, so that the air is forced to rise up into the chest.
3. Slowly exhale through the nose, allowing the chest to collapse.
4. Press your left hand on the solar plexus so that all the air there is pushed out.
5. Press with your right hand, so that all the air remaining in the lower abdomen is expelled.

Don’t forget to breathe as deeply as you possibly can, and endeavour to do a minimum of six in- and out-breaths, following the above sequence.

• Learn to breathe — and you will live.
• Learn to breathe well — and you will retain good health.
• Learn to breathe deep — and you will attain longevity.
• Learn to breathe inwardly, without breathing —and you will gain spiritual immortality.
• Follow the Taoist advice, now and always.

An old Chinese proverb says that ‘The reflection on a pool of water never shows its depth’. In order to prove this, it is necessary for you to get into the water and swim down to the bottom of the pool, for you can never really know anything just by looking or watching. You must go in and see for yourself, or, in the modern idiom, you’ve got to have a go.

So it is with the Chinese martial arts. One punch might look like any other, but it is what is behind it that really counts. In our style of Feng Shou kung fu, the driving force and the hidden power is Qi (internal energy) and this is the most important aspect of our particular art. Its force is dynamic, its utilization fantastic, its benefit to the health of the individual is beyond normal comprehension, and it can be used to heal others.

However, if it is beyond normal comprehension, how do we go about explaining it? It is like trying to teach someone to ride a bicycle. You can tell them how to get on, how to steer, and show them where the brakes are and how to use them. But you cannot explain the very basic fundamental principle: how to maintain the balance so that they can stay on it. Neither can you explain the split-second reaction of when to apply the brakes to stop. Both things can only be learnt through experience, and experience can only come through getting on that bike and having a go.

Certainly, you will fall off a few times until you get the feel of control: you will squeeze the brake too hard and nearly disappear over the handlebars, or put on the brake a fraction of a second too late and hit something. But one thing is sure: you will learn through your own practical experience. Some will give up because they find it more difficult than they realized, others will stick at it until they have conquered the principles.

This also applies to the development of inner power. We can explain to you what it is — we know where it comes from, how to control it, how to cultivate it to make it stronger, we know what it can do, and we know how to use it. But to put it all down in simple terminology, in such a way that you fully grasp the depths of its true meaning, is no easy task.

However, we will do our best, although we can only convey to you the principles by which it works, and give you an impression of its dynamic power. If you wish to go into it more thoroughly, and to acquire the feel of it, and learn to control it, then you must join one of our clubs and practise. In other words, like the cyclist you have to get on the bike and ride it yourself, to get the full understanding and appreciation of its meaning.

Inner Power (Nèi zhōng qì 内中气) is also known technically as ‘intrinsic energy’ (Xiāntiān Néng lì 先天能力), although most people who practise our Taoist arts call it the qì (气). It is an intangible force that is invisible to the eye: it cannot be heard, it has no aroma, and it consists of an immaterial substance. It can be sensed, however, if your sensory perception is strong enough, or has been trained to receive it, which does take a little time.

It is akin to the ether that supports the planets of the universe; it is materialistic yet immaterial, it is substantial as well as being insubstantial. It is as old as the universe that we live in, yet it is as young as a newborn child.

It can be unresisting, yet, at the same time, pliability itself; it weighs nothing yet it cannot be lifted. It is as soft and gentle as a morning breeze, yet it is also a tornado. It is a dewdrop, yet it is a tidal wave.
It is life, and the centre of life, for all humanity was born around it. It came into being while you were still in your mother’s womb, and it will only leave you when you take in your last breath.

Have you ever had a small baby grip your finger? And did you ever wonder about how strong that hold felt to you? You may even have commented on it at the time, but did you ever consider it beyond that? A new-born baby has had no opportunity to build or develop its muscles, so that tight grip can not be attributed to physical strength. Then what explains this simple phenomenon? The answer is Inner Power.
Another example of this occurred not long ago when a woman started to reverse her car (a Mini) out of her garage. Suddenly she heard a frightful scream. She stopped, leapt out of the car, and almost at once, she saw with horror that her baby was trapped under the rear wheel of her car.

In that split second, probably due to shock, she did an unusual thing. Instead of getting back into the car and driving it forward, or even letting off the handbrake and pushing it forward, she just grabbed the rear bumper and in sheer desperation not only lifted the car off the baby, but also moved the vehicle some nine or ten inches (22 to 24cm) sideways.

She then gently lifted her child into the car and drove straight to the nearest hospital, where fortunately it was found that her little boy was not hurt, apart from a few lacerations and some bruising.
A few days later, after recovering from the shock, she tried to prove to her husband how she had performed that Herculean act — but she could hardly move the body of the car, let alone lift the wheels off the ground. She was a woman of ordinary strength, yet in a few seconds she had found fantastic and unbelievable muscular-force. Her natural Inner Power had come to her aid when she really needed it.
There are many more examples of this kind and perhaps in your own lifetime you may have seen or heard of feats being enacted, which, at the time, did not seem possible. Now you know such things are feasible. For instance, consider the enormous strength and energy displayed by someone out of control, such as a drunken man or a mentally ill person. Inner Power is developed within such a short space of time that even six men might find it difficult to hold somebody during one of these sessions.

Over the years, one wonderful experience has always stood out in my memory. It is a particular demonstration given some­times by my master, Chan Kam Lee. A lighted candle would be placed on a tall object — such as a table — and this would be positioned a few inches away from a brick wall. My master would then go to the other side of the wall, opposite the candle, and throw a punch at the wall, stopping his fist a short distance from the brickwork. The tremendous force of Inner Power that he generated flowed through his body and down his arm, came out from the front of his fist, penetrated through the wall, and snuffed out the flame of that candle.

You might think that perhaps a trick was involved, but I can personally guarantee that it was absolutely authentic: on a number of occasions I held that lighted candle in my hands myself when this demonstration was given.

What may amaze you, even more, is the fact that Inner Power is within you, even now as you read this. It is something that is very personal to everyone because it is an integral part of the body. You were born with it, and it will remain with you until you die. However, when you were about five or six years old, you started to use your physical strength (muscular force) more and more, and your Inner Power less and less, so eventually it became lazy from lack of use, and its potential slowly declined.

Because it has been inactive for so long, when you join any section of the Chinese arts within our Association, our first objective is to help you revive it. Initially there are a few obstacles that have to be overcome, and these are all within yourself, so only you can conquer them and open up the restrictions that have taken effect over the past years. Then, when your Inner Power starts to flow again, you can spend your time learning to cultivate it so that it becomes stronger and stronger as you progress.
In our Association we practise many of the Taoist martial and cultural arts, and we have the largest contingent of practitioners under controlled instruction outside of China.

It is amazing to see young women throwing four and six men simultaneously in the Breath Art (Qi Shu); small and weak people punching with the power of ten men in the boxing art (Feng Shou kung fu) within two years of training; and people who suffer from all sorts of ill health and sickness, from migraine to arthritis and cancer, becoming healthier and happier in the health arts (Chang Ming). All this and much more is possible through the activation and control of your own Inner Power.

No doubt you are still wondering how it works, and how you can activate it within yourself. The very first principle of gaining Inner Power is to relax (sung) in mind, body and in spirit. This does not mean that you should flop into the nearest armchair and sprawl all over the place, because that type of relaxing means that you are completely giving up all your energy, and in the Chinese arts we call this dying.

We use this period of relaxation to store up energy so that we have that power available whenever we need to use it. However, there are no specific periods when you should relax, for relaxation is something that is innermost within yourself. It is something that you will learn to do whether you are at work or at play, walking, running or sitting down.

Compare yourself to a storage heater: when it is working it is pumping heat into the room, but when it is not doing so — say, for instance, during an off-peak period — then it stores heat within itself to be used at a later time.

This is exactly the same principle by which Inner Power works. We give ourselves time to relax, and we use that period to conserve and store further energy, and as all energy is heat you will readily understand the relationship.

However, because relaxing is slow and arduous, especially in the fast-moving times of modern life, we need something to speed up the process of storing our energy and power, and we require an additional aid to build up the means of generating more heat for our own internal storage heater.

During the first stage in our Chinese arts, relaxation is the hardest objective for the beginner, but while you might feel during the first few months that you are making no progress whatsoever, you should persevere because it takes about nine to twelve months for the average Westerner to feel his Inner Power starting to flow.

Imagine a plastic water pipe. If you squeeze it with your hands or put a kink into it, you will either restrict the flow or stop the water altogether. This is what you do to your own body and mind when you apply stresses and strains upon them.

The first step, therefore, is to throw your whole physical and mental make-up wide open, so that there is not the slightest obstruction anywhere within your system. We know that this is easier said than done, for sometimes you either work too hard or too long, or enjoy the mundane pleasures of life, or you may go to the other extreme by fretting, worrying, or losing your temper. All these daily stresses and strains pound the structure of your physical and mental elements and cause restrictions and obstructions.
So, the first thing to do to help you relax is to collapse your chest and allow your breath (Qi) to sink into the abdomen (Dantian). If that sounds complicated then try it another way. Breathe out, and as you do so let your chest and shoulders depress slightly inward and downward as much as you can, but ensure that you keep your back upright.

As you do this you should feel a sensation of the internal weight of the body moving downward and at the same time, your abdomen will extend a little. It is best to do this when you are sitting down, either on the floor or on a chair, and then you can feel the sensation of your internal weight moving downward into the lower reaches of the pelvic bone.

Then, as you progress, you will be able to practise the same motions whether you are standing up or even when you are walking. An additional way of speeding up the process of relaxing during your working periods is to take a deep in-breath through the nose, and then breathe out through the mouth trying to emulate the above action, anytime during the course of the day. You will rapidly find a marked improvement within yourself, and your health will certainly benefit from it. Better still, make a point of going on to the Taoist Long Life health diet (Ch’ang Ming) and your speed of advancement will surprise you.

In all Association clubs that practise the art of Feng Shou many specialized breathing exercises are included in the training programme, generally at the beginning, middle and the end of the session, which helps every practitioner to get over the first stage.

The second stage along the pathway of developing your Inner Power is known as the propelled movement period when the trainee learns to direct and control his Inner Power from his lower abdomen to any part of his own body.

If you turn on a valve, you know that you can make the water flow along the pipe, without having to activate the pipe. You can switch on an electrical connection and know that the electricity will flow along the wires, without having to move the wires in the process. Now you can emulate the pipe and the electric wire, for your tissues can carry your inner power to any part of your body without any physical movement whatsoever. In other words, you do not need a single ounce of physical or muscular energy or strength to help the flow of your Inner Power. As a matter of fact, big or tense muscles generally have a tendency to restrict the flow rather than aid it.

We have ways of proving the flow and the degree of its power from any of our students. Proving tests are held at regular intervals so that we can estimate the rate of their progression. There can be no time limits for this stage as it is entirely up to each individual, but on a broad basis it could be anything from one to fifty years, and, in some cases, perhaps never.

One trainee who has been practising one of our Taoist arts for many years, yet has still not yet mastered the first stage because of his attitude, mental tension, and his constant use of physical strength. Unless he learns to conquer himself, starts to relax inwardly, and really makes a conscious effort, he will never accomplish the first stage of gaining mastery of his Inner Power and, most of all, he will never become a master of himself.

The third stage is the level of occlusion, which is the most advanced period of all, and is within reach of everyone provided you are willing to give yourself sufficient time. If you have the mental aptitude you could easily attain the beginnings of this stage within five to six years, but you must be patient and dedicated.

We have mentioned that Inner Power is a kind of heat, and that you can propel it to any part of the body at will. Your abdomen, like the storage heater, has only a limited space or capacity, and sooner or later it will overflow. Other specialized Taoist breathing exercises will help to speed up this overflowing action, and in doing so your abdomen creates more heat.

This overflow will initially fall into the lower extremities of the pelvic bone and the lowest part of the spinal vertebrae. Then, slowly, as the overflowing action continues, Inner Power will gradually seep, of its own accord, through the muscles, tendons and sinews of the body, giving them added strength and still more flexibility and pliability.

Since the bones of the body are sealed units, this makes pene­tration of Inner Power a little harder and slower, but it can and does penetrate to the innermost parts of the bones, and it does this by a process which is known as osmosis.

Without becoming too technical we will try to explain this to you. As the muscles, tendons and sinews become heated, that heat is passed on to the surface of the bone, and as these are all close to one another, that heat is eventually passed to the bone itself. Then the bone is slowly heated all the way through, and it, in turn, transmits the heat to the marrow which is on the inside of the bone, so that it becomes tempered in the process by a sweating action that takes place. This tempering will make the bone and the marrow as tough as steel, yet within themselves they are more supple than ever before.
Once this unification has taken place, you will have reached the ultimate level of mastery and control of your Inner Power, and thus you will have reached the stage of rejuvenation, when you are able to ward off disease and prolong your life.

To sum up, there is an old Chinese proverb which conveys everything in one simple sentence: ‘Old age is inevitable but there is no excuse for senility’. This applies to all of us, whether we be young or old, male or female. Many of the old sages of China proved that by eating and drinking sensibly the Ch’ang Ming way, and developing their Inner Power to a very high level, they were able to live from 150 to 200 years of age.
Now all this may sound fantastic, and you may find it difficult to believe. You may have trouble believing the feats performed by Feng Shou kung fu students and teachers. Anyone who doubts their credibility need only visit any one of the many clubs that are affiliated to our Association to see these feats being performed.

It is an old saying in China that “Old age is inevitable, but there is no excuse for senility”. As we have already seen, illness is absolutely unnecessary and is caused by bad eating and drinking habits. In China, where the normal diet is much healthier than in the West, many of the illnesses most prevalent in the West are scarcely known.

Chang Ming (Cháng mìng 长命), the Taoist Long Life therapy has played an important part in Chinese eating and drinking habits for thousands of years. Derived from the basic principles laid down by the “Sons of Reflected Light” (Fǎnguāngzǐ 反光子), which are incorporated in the foundations of the “Five Elements” (wǔxíng 五行)in reference to the Yin and Yang aspects affecting the human body, it has been handed down from family to family throughout the vast expanse of China, and has become a natural part of the average family way of living, so that it is now second nature to them.

Most people never think of their health while it remains reasonably sound, but they may be so abusing it in so many different ways that sooner or later the system is bound to break down and succumb to illness. The vitality of youth may conceal physical weaknesses, and if a child does complain continuously about various aches and pains and other upsets it is usually put down to “growing pains”. As age takes its normal course through life, then degeneration and the natural deterioration that goes with it starts to take place, and it is then that the real weaknesses within the framework of their physical structure starts to become more and more noticeable. The body, not having the necessary strength to fight back, will slowly wilt under the strain and become racked with illnesses. If you allow the foundations, the walls, and the roof of your house to deteriorate, then eventually it will collapse and you will have nothing left but a pile of useless rubble.

That is exactly what many people in the West do to their own bodies, and then they wonder what has gone wrong, and put the blame everywhere but on themselves, which is where it belongs. We will give you a good guideline to good health—if you catch one cold or lose your temper once in your lifetime, then you are sick, and you must do something about it AT ONCE.

There is no excuse for undermining the health of the human body, the most wondrous creation of the Supreme Spirit. Perfect in every detail, with working parts that replace themselves constantly, built-in thermostats to guard against the cold and changes in the atmosphere, an automatic cooling system that refreshes you in the extreme heat, and essential organs that work for twenty-four hours every day and never go on strike, unless you overload them, and they all do their own particular jobs to the very best of their ability without thanks or recompense.

No engineer could ever design a machine that could do the same job over and over again throughout such a long period of time, no heating expert has ever devised such a marvellous automatic system, and look at the wonderful way everything within this physical structure, called the human body, can not only look after itself, arrange its own maintenance, but also renew its own parts.

It has within itself a huge work-force, which it feeds, houses, and, if they die, replaces them at very short notice. It has the most efficient power and sewerage systems ever designed. This wonder of wonders, this miracle of miracles, this treasure beyond all treasures, and yet, many constantly abuse it every day. Sending the workers on strike, killing off the army of protectors, severely overloading the power and sewerage systems, and packing out the warehouses with useless rubbish, so that there is no space left for the essentials.

If you owned the greatest treasure in the world, what would you do? You would make sure that it was fully protected in every possible way, you would see that it was kept at the right temperature, regularly cleaned every day so that its beauty could be admired by everyone, and you would be proud to put it on show for the whole world to see.

Well, you do own the greatest treasure in the world; it was given to you by the will of the Tao, and you gained possession of it in your mother’s uterus, so why not be sensible and learn to guard and protect it properly every day of your life, wrap it up well in the cold and help to keep the warmth in, just as you lag your water tanks, and give it air when it’s hot, just as you open the windows of your home to let the air circulate. Then you will be able to tell the world what a wonderful treasure you own, and show it off with pride.

Chang Ming is based on very sound biological principles, proved and tested over 10,000 years of history. The early Taoists, recognising that “the proof of the pudding is in the eating”, used their own bodies to test it over many centuries, sometimes eating only brown rice, sometimes only meat, at other times only fruit, during other periods only seafood, and so on. No other art has been so thoroughly proved, and no medical organisation has practised their knowledge and skill over such a long period. So that today millions enjoy the benefits of Ch’ang Ming, which is based on just a few simple rules:

1. Eat only when hungry, and not just out of habit.
2. Eat only natural foods
3. Eat more grains and vegetables.
4. Chew all your food really well.
5. Don’t over-eat at any time.
6. Keep your liquid intake down to the barest minimum.
7. Take deep breaths whenever you get the opportunity.

Because Chang Ming was based on such simple rules it became necessary to know the fundamental biological foundations of all food that was grown, plant, flower, fruit, root, and all other living matter, and to understand what long term effect each one had upon the human body. So it came to be that after 10,000 years of study and practice, practitioners of this art in China had a very deep insight and understanding of the laws and principles of the universe, and they were all very competent dieticians and herbalists, based on the Taoist experimentations on themselves in their search for physical and spiritual alchemy.

Naturally, Chinese herbal therapy (Cǎoyào 草药) is an intimate companion of Chang Ming, and together they have led to some wonderful discoveries, not only in the field of plant life, but also in the area of minerals, ores and liquids. Did you know that the shell of the tortoise can be used to cure malaria and infantile convulsions, that your own hair, when carbonised, can stop a nosebleed, that the centipede is good against lockjaw and snake-bites, that the poison in potatoes can help cure arthritis, and that pepper, when used as a medicine, can cure dysentery and food-poisoning? Chinese herbal therapy details thousands of recipes for health, but they would not be needed if everyone learnt to eat and drink sensibly, and in accordance with the laws of nature.

Nearly ninety years ago, Chan Kam Lee, in all his illustrious wisdom, allied the Taoist rules and recommendations to foods and drinks normally consumed in the West, and, by balancing the Yin and Yang intake, came up with the following suggestions:

Chang Ming health diet

Foods that are NOT to be eaten

1. Refined and processed foods. If any colourings, preservatives, flavourings, or other chemicals are included, don’t touch it.
2. Any grain foods that have been processed, especially white bread and anything made from white flour.
3. All deep-fried foods.
4. Coffee, alcohol, tobacco, chocolate and other sweets.
5. Spices, rock salt, mustard, pepper, vinegar, pickles, curry.
6. Meat such as pork, beef, mutton and lamb.
7. Salmon, mackerel, shark, swordfish, tuna and whale.
8. Sugar.
9. Ice cream, artificial jellies, synthetic fruit juices.
10. Potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines, rhubarb, spinach.
11. Concentrated meat extracts, soups and gravies.
12. Milk, cheese, butter, dairy yoghurt, boiled or fried eggs.
13. Lard or dripping that comes from animal fats.
14. Any bird or fish that has a lot of fat tissue.

Foods that may be eaten.

1. Anything made from natural whole grain, that has not been refined, e.g. brown rice, buckwheat, wheat, barley, millet, rye, maize and includes bread, cakes, puddings, biscuits, breakfast foods etc.
2. All locally grown vegetables that are in season, especially root vegetables, excluding those items in the previous list, No. 10.
3. Soya-bean and mung-bean shoots.
4. Seaweed.
5. Locally grown fruit and berries (moderately).
6. Nuts, preferably roasted—but not salted.
7. Low-fat natural yoghurt.
8. Honey (sparingly).
9. Cottage cheese or vegetarian cheese.
10. Herb teas and China teas.
11. Vegetable margarine and oils (e.g. sesame, sunflower, safflower).
12. Eggs, but only scrambled or in omelettes—better still eat the yolks only.
13. Natural sea salt, sesame seed salt, soya sauce.
14. All dried fruits—cherries, raisins, currants etc.
15. All grain milks, rice milk and coconut milk.
16. Wild vegetables and herbs.
17. Fruit drinks made from locally grown fresh fruit—ideally, make your own.

Utilise the following, if necessary.

1. Non-fat fish excluding those in the previous list, No. 7.
2. Seafood—shrimps, prawns etc. But be wary of crab.
3. Wild birds—pheasant, pigeon etc.
4. Wild or free-range chicken, turkey etc.
5. Skimmed milk or powdered skimmed milk.

The average Chinese has only two meals a day, and over the entire history of China this has been found perfectly adequate. This enables the body to digest the food intake from one meal, to distribute it properly about the system, and then have sufficient time to rest until the next intake of food.

Now what are natural foods? Mention natural foods to the average person and they will immediately think that you are a quack or a faddist, but in so doing, they have overlooked the fact that natural food has been the lifeline of humanity for thousands of years, and it is only in the last few decades that chemicals have become more widely used in pesticides, fertilisers, bleaches, additives, colourings, preservatives, flavourings, and in most food, especially the highly refined and pre-packed foods. Even many imported fresh fruits are automatically sprayed with preservatives before shipment (to get rid of these, the fruit should be placed in hot water before it is eaten).

Most people do not realise or appreciate how detrimental this huge intake of chemicals is to their systems and to their own health. Only a few years ago, it was said that the American nation had turned into nutritional illiterates and that it was an irresponsible act that the development of fabricated foods contained nothing but calories. How true those words turned out to be, but no more, for there is now becoming a new outlook on nutrition as the millions of Chang Ming eaters testify, through their awareness of the Tao, their understanding of the fundamental laws of the universe, and through this consciousness, they now recognise that ill health is absolutely unnecessary, and it is the fault of the ignorant if they become sick, or have their children born mentally retarded, or have physical deformity as part of their heritage. In addition to this, there are now many more children being born underweight, because of the weight consciousness of the mother.

To be truly fit to eat, food should be organically grown, without the aid of pesticides or artificial fertilisers, and should be completely unprocessed, so that it retains its natural nutritional constituents. This is how food was in the time of your great-grandparents, and in their day there were fewer cases of serious disease, and cancer had not been heard about. So start eating natural wholesome foods, making your diet consist of whole-grain foods including brown rice, and vegetables preferably locally grown, and you will be amazed at the changes that come over you in so many different ways, and all to your personal benefit.

Get into the habit of chewing every mouthful of food at least fifty times, and more if you can. Let every mouthful turn into water before you swallow, and not only will you taste and appreciate the true flavour of the food that you are eating, but you will save your bowel systems a great deal of work. By so doing, you will get less acidity in the stomach, and your intestines will not need to take so long to do their work. If however, you gulp your food, then it will remain in the system for long periods whilst it digests and rots, and this rotting process creates a lot of harmful bacteria. If you have ever smelt a dung heap that has been standing for a long time, you will appreciate what your guts are like when the food has lain there a long time.

Never eat too much, and don’t let your eyes be bigger than your belly; for this is a sure way of upsetting your system by overloading it. If you eat moderately this will show through in personal forbearance and attitudes, and this change in disposition will lay the foundation for continual emotional equilibrium.
Reducing your liquid intake is also not an easy thing to do, because everything you eat contains fluid. Vegetables, for instance, are about 80 per cent water; rice is about 70 per cent water; and even toast has about 10 per cent moisture in it. When you consider that your body also consists of about 75 per cent fluid, it is obvious that a large intake of fluid is completely unnecessary.

Too much liquid will swell the tissues in the kidneys to such a degree that they will not be able to filter properly; this in turn will reduce or stop the amount of fluid that can pass through; and so the kidneys will become blocked. To help your kidneys, DRINK LESS of the obvious liquids such as teas, soups, fruit drinks etc., and your health will certainly benefit.

If at any time your mouth or the back of your throat feels dry, just adopt this Taoist habit, put the tongue against the roof of your mouth and in a few seconds you will find that your mouth fills up with saliva, which, when swallowed gently, will ease the dryness. If you get into this Taoist habit of keeping your tongue in this position, you will never feel dry and thirsty, and again, your health will receive the benefit.
The average person uses only two-thirds of his lung capacity each day, and by so doing, this helps to create the risk of lung troubles, headaches, worry, tension, insomnia, constipation and swelling around the stomach, and as oxygen is vital to the continual purification of the blood, you will appreciate the importance of correct breathing.

In the Taoist arts we have many specialised breathing exercises (basically, eight Yin breaths, eight Yang breaths, and four Yin-Yang); but there are also many more, some of which are used in healing, others to activate the Ch’i and others to promote good health. However, you do not have to be so particular, just get into the habit of breathing deeply through the nose at all times. This will relax the system, reduce tension, and encourage deep sleep.

A good barometer of health is how long you need to sleep. If you are truly healthy, four to six hours each night should be enough for you to have all the vitality you need; you should also be able to wake up at any pre-determined time that you want, without using an alarm clock; and you should be able to fall asleep within thirty seconds, at any time of the day or night, and in any position. If you dream, snore or talk in your sleep, then you are unhealthy.

Food is the natural life-line of the human body and by eating the correct foods, suitable to the environment that we live in, we can ensure that the health of our anatomy can remain constantly good, and that we can maintain the vitality and energy within it so that it will be strong enough to fight off all bacteria that might try and breakthrough its natural defence system.

Not only can Chang Ming help to keep everyone in good health all the time, but it will help the very thin person to put on weight, and the fat person to slim without the necessity of starving themselves or counting calories. It can combat disease and also heal the sick and suffering, by the simple process of making the body strong enough to cure itself. After all, the Supreme Spirit made the human body in such a way that it should be able to repair itself continuously, and Chang Ming is a way of making sure that the body does the job as efficiently as it was made to do, no matter whether the person is young or old.
Even the most serious complaints can be beaten and subdued, so that the person involved can be brought to a stage of permanent good health. Unfortunately, there is one proviso—the body must not have been allowed to depreciate or to have deteriorated to such a low degree that it can no longer be aided to fight back in the space of time available—but there is always hope. In other words, it is like the house that was left to rot, it has almost become a pile of useless rubble. Two of the worst means to attain a useless and worthless body is to take drugs and to have unnecessary operations, both of these are only used in China when all other methods have failed, or in the case of broken bones and fractures etc. The warning is plain, if you are ill, or suffering from any complaint whatsoever, change to a Chang Ming diet straight away.

In the first ten days after starting a Chang Ming health diet, you will begin to notice slight changes and certainly start to feel much better. However, between about ten days and a month of starting the diet, there may, in a few cases, be a few symptoms of change that may cause you to worry.

For instance, you may suffer diarrhoea or constipation. The diarrhoea signifies that the body is ridding itself of water, fat, carbohydrate, sugar and excess protein, and through this discharge, you will lose weight even though you are eating well. This is nothing to worry about, for the body is making a natural adjustment, and it will eventually settle down to its natural weight level for its size.

Constipation may occur where the former diet included a large amount of fluid, and the condition may persist for two or three weeks. What happens is that when there is a large intake of fluid the intestines become expanded and loose, and getting rid of the fluid causes the intestines to contract (rather like a balloon going down). As a result, peristalsis (the rippling effect of the muscular tissue of the intestines that passes the motion along to the anus) does not occur, and therefore constipation results. However, whereas constipation normally causes the mind to become a little slow and dull, it is not so in this case, and the mind becomes clear, and even sharp, because of the clearance of the waste and toxins.

If, during the first month of a Chang Ming diet, you feel some aches or pains, make a note of them, for these show the various weaknesses that were in your body but which were hidden from you by the toxins. Once these toxins are drawn away there are contractions of the tissues and this creates a little tension, but the tension soon disappears and the aches and pains go with it.

In rare cases, women may find that their menstruations seem to go haywire and even stop for some months. Again, however, it is a case of the body healing the weaknesses first, and this may take some time. Once the weaknesses in the organs have been repaired, those in the bowel systems will be tackled, then those in the tissues, and then the sexual organs. As this process, of healing all the way through, is a slow procedure, it may take time to cure and heal every part of the body, especially if there happen to be many weaknesses—but remember, all these signs are an indication to you that the body is doing its dynamic work of healing within itself.

Grains (Gǔwù 谷物)

Always eat natural, unrefined whole grains such as brown rice, barley, buckwheat, millet, oats, wheat, rye, maize, but you should always make sure that you chew all grain food really well, as it contains fibre, which takes a lot of digesting, and you should help it to pass through the system as easily as possible. It also contains a lot of nutrition, and that is why it is excellent for the body, and it can be eaten in a variety of different ways—raw, creamed, fried, boiled and even baked so that there can be variety at every meal.
Brown rice is excellent for the nervous system; barley has a high energy level and is good for people suffering from various allergies; buckwheat is rich in Vitamin E, which is excellent for strengthening the tissues of the body and is beneficial to the kidneys; maize is another energy cereal and it is excellent for the blood; millet, on the other hand, is very beneficial to the spleen and especially for those people who suffer from acidosis; oats also have a high energy level, and are very good for people who have thyroid-gland troubles; rye is good for the tissues and muscular systems, and aids the endurance of those who perform strenuous activities; and wheat has long been known as an excellent tonic for the brain, is high in protein and gluten and is beneficial to the liver. So eat grain as often as you can, for it will give you excellent nourishment and will provide you with more than a quarter of the energy and nutrients that your body requires.

Here are a few ideas on how to prepare grain foods for the table.

Rice milk (Mǐ nǎi 米奶).

All grains can be turned into milk, but rice milk is really excellent for babies, the old, those people who have weak constitutions, and those with intestinal troubles.

Cook one cup of brown rice with ten cups of water for at least two hours, ensuring that you stir it continuously. Then place in a cloth and squeeze out all the juice. Boil the rice water again for fifteen minutes or longer, if you wish. For babies and people who are very weak the rice milk can be diluted to a weaker consistency, but for healthy folk they can have it stronger, by using less water. The rice pulp can be used when making bread. The same procedure holds good for the preparation of other grain milks too.

Millet cream (Xiǎomǐ yóu 小米油)

Warm one teaspoon of corn oil (or sesame or sunflower oil); add one cup of millet flour and stir until the mixture is a light brown; then let it cool. Put it into a pan and add four cups of water; boil; then allow it to simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little soya sauce or sea salt to taste. Other grains may be used in place of millet.

Buckwheat herb (Qiáomài cǎoběn 荞麦草本)

Cook the buckwheat in water and make a sauce from two dessertspoonfuls of any grain flour; then add some herbs, which should be chopped finely. Add the buckwheat, some steamed or baked onions and add a little oil; then cook until the grains are soft. Serve. Other grains may be used in place of the buckwheat.

Saute buckwheat (Chǎo qiáomài 炒荞麦)

Follow the instructions as for the buckwheat herb, then add garlic and marjoram, cut into the shape required, and saute on both sides until they are a nice golden brown.

Vegetables (Cài 菜)

Vegetables, by which is meant not only the cultivated ones, but also wild ones such as dandelion, burdock and watercress, etc. which most people accept as herbs, are excellent for the bloodstream for they assist in the health of the red globules which carry the oxygen throughout the body. Vegetables can also supply appreciable quantities of various nutrients, including Vitamin C; but if the vegetables are allowed to wilt then there is considerable loss of this vitamin. So always ensure that you use fresh vegetables whenever you can, and, to obtain the maximum benefit from them, eat them raw or saute them as we do in China.

Soya beans (Dàdòu 大豆)

The most valuable of vegetables is the soya bean, for it is a source of dynamic goodness and excellent nutrition, and it is not for nothing that the Chinese have cultivated it for thousands of years. It is the only vegetable that contains complete nourishment and protein, such as Vitamins A, B, E, and plenty of Vitamin C, copper, iron, calcium, magnesium, nitrogen, zinc, phosphorous, potassium, sulphur and in addition to all these it is very rich in lecithin.

Lecithin is essential for tissues of the nervous system and the brain, as it aids the development of internal energy, and it is therefore important to help strengthen the nervous energy within the body. In addition to all this, it helps break up excess fat in the body, so it is an excellent food for all those people who are carrying too much weight.

At home you can easily grow soya beans in a bottle in a few days, and they can either be used as a cooked vegetable, or eaten raw as part of a salad.

Soya bean flour (Dàdòu fěn 大豆粉)

It might surprise you to know that you can get Soya bean flour, and it can be used in bread, cakes, and biscuits, and it makes them very tasty, and it can also be used to mix with other flours, where an added flavour is required. It can also be added to soups and gravies for the same reason.

In addition to the soya bean being used as a nutritional flour, here are a few more of its uses either as a good or as a drink.

Soya Sauce (Jiàngyóu 酱油)

This is a fermented preparation from soya beans, and has been in China for at least 4,000-5,000 years. It adds to the flavour of food if used in reasonable quantities, and whilst it is rich in vitamins and minerals it also contains about 18 per cent salt.

Soya bean sweet (Dàdòu táng 大豆糖)

Boil the soya beans in syrup, drain, and then serve as a sweet.

Roasted soya beans (Kǎo Dàdòu 烤大豆)

Soak the soya beans overnight, then roast them in a dry pan.

Roasted soya bean sweets (Kǎo dòu táng 烤豆糖)

Roast the beans, then boil them in syrup, drain and serve.

Soya sauce pickled vegetables (Jiàng Cài 酱菜)

Pickling vegetables in soya sauce not only gives them a wonderful flavour but gives them further nourishment.

Soya milk (Dòujiāng 豆浆)

This has been used in China for thousands of years, and would always be used in preference to cows’ milk, even to feed young babies. You can make it yourself, by the same method as grain milk, or you can buy it in powder form. It is cheaper than other milk, and your health shop may already stock it. Go and ask.

Soya bean curd (Dòufu 豆腐)

This is one of the very old traditional foods of China and is also rich in protein. It can be used raw or added to soups and gravies and other dishes. This is the way you can make it yourself.

You will need half to one pound of soya beans, a little milk, some yeast, and sea salt to taste. Cook the beans; then, when nearly done, drain off most of the water into a bottle and seal it so that it is air-tight. Continue cooking until beans are tender, then empty them into an earthenware dish and leave overnight. Reheat the next day and drain off the rest of the fluid. Add this to the liquid you had drained off the previous day. Pass the beans through a fine-mesh sieve; add the puree to the liquid; and add a little milk, and some of the yeast, to aid fermentation, and add a little salt to suit your own taste. Divide into the sizes that you prefer, and allow it to set.

Soya bean curd is also used as a compress to relieve aches and pains in areas of the body that are inflamed.

Seaweed (Hǎicǎo 海草)

Another excellent vegetable is edible seaweed, for not only does it contain many vitamins, but it is also the best source of iodine, which is essential to the health of the body, and should be a part of everyone’s diet as it is in China.

Poisonous vegetables

There are a number of vegetables that contain poison and so are best left alone. These are potatoes, tomatoes, aubergines (egg-plants), spinach and rhubarb which contain solanine or oxalic poison and these are harmful to the nervous system, create apathy, reduce the efficiency of the mind, and have other ill effects. In China herds of pigs were fed potatoes, and after a while they became upset and very aggressive, and finally many of them developed arthritis and gout, and many died. So all these are best left out of your diet, if you want to keep fit and healthy.

Meat (Ròu 肉)

The consumption of meat has more disadvantages than benefits. It can supply quick energy and a large amount of calories, but once it has been swallowed it starts to decompose through the action of bacteria (throw a piece of meat on the ground and watch what happens to it), and this in turn creates toxins in the system. If the body cannot eliminate these quickly enough, the toxins have to be stored within the body, and this can cause fevers and many illnesses of the organs and the blood including blood stagnation.
Taoists do not eat red flesh, the reason being that thousands of years ago they went through a period when they ate only meat, in their quest for physical alchemy. They learnt dearly then, and appreciated the devastating effect and cost was to human lives—namely themselves, and they will never put themselves in that situation ever again.

When man first roamed the earth he had no weapons, and he had to live quite naturally on grains, vegetables and fruit; and he was at peace with the rest of the animal kingdom. When he began killing for flesh to eat, and wearing skins, animals and birds instinctively began to shy away from him, for their instincts told them that man was no longer a friend of nature, for he had become a killer. Since then, time has proved how right the animal world was, for man not only kills for food, but kills for pleasure, kills other humans, and in some cases kills himself by committing suicide—all of which can be seen as a state of degeneration. The red flesh of man is exactly the same as the red flesh of animals, so man has turned into a cannibal by eating flesh, and whereas animals do not think and survival comes only through their inborn instincts, man does not have the same excuse, for he is slowly losing his capacity to think clearly and to use his judgement sensibly.

If he carries on at this rate of deterioration then he will eventually become lower than the animals he despises and hunts, then he will become the hunted and not the hunter. When will man understand that if you lower yourself down to the level of an animal then you will eventually become one yourself. Just look at local governments, for instance, every day they sit and make new laws, purposely to restrict and harness their fellow men. no animal does that, for it is an inborn instinct to seek continuous freedom, and not perpetual shackles.

Therefore if everyone raised their standard of eating and drinking according to the divine laws of the universe, then they will eventually raise themselves to the heights of the teachers, philosophers and sages, and become an example to ail their fellow men. Then will come peace, happiness and harmony amongst all humanity, and war, robbery, mugging, and rape will be things of the past.

Milk (Nǎi 奶)

We have already noticed the old Chinese saying, “If you want your child to grow up to look and act like an animal, then feed it on cows’ or goats’ milk from the day it is born”. For this reason, the Chinese generally do not feed animal milk to their babies, and it is not unknown for Chinese mothers to breast-feed their children for as much as three to five years. Children fed this way tend to have a more adaptable mind, more flexibility in the body and a calmer and stronger spirit.

It is simply not true that cows’ milk is the complete food for man, for it is deficient in iron and Vitamin C and D, and if bottled milk is left on the doorstep exposed to the sunlight for an hour or more, a substantial amount of its Vitamin C and riboflavin is destroyed. Cows’ milk also contains an appreciable quantity of carbohydrate, in the form of disaccharide lactose.

In Great Britain most milk is pasteurised and this treatment destroys about 10 per cent of thiamine and Vitamin B and about 25 per cent of Vitamin C. In sterilised and evaporated milk the losses are much higher amounting to 60 per cent of Vitamin C and 20 per cent of thiamine. In some countries they even add chemicals in the form of preservatives to milk, and these too destroy some of the vital nutrients.
So it is well worth remembering that: COWS’ MILK WAS MADE FOR CALVES, HUMAN MILK WAS MADE FOR HUMAN BABIES. You wouldn’t feed human milk to animals, so why feed animal milk to humans? Everything in nature has its rightful place, so let it stay that way, as the Supreme Spirit intended it to be.

Salt (Yán 盐)

Ordinary rock salt does more harm than good to the human body, for it causes the retention of too much fluid, which in turn can cause the body to put on surplus weight and it can lead to heart trouble, high blood pressure, ulcers, fatigue, insomnia as well as a violent and aggressive nature. It contains very little goodness, as most of that evaporated in the far distant past; so today its main constituent is sodium chloride.

Sea salt (Hǎiyán 海盐), which contains many minerals from the sea, is far more beneficial to the human body, but it should be used in moderation. However, in China we find it an even greater advantage to the natural good health of the body, to use salt in other forms, such as Soya sauce (Jiàngyóu 酱油) and Sesame seed salt (Zhīma yán 芝麻盐), and these help to make the food more tasty and supply sea salt in a way that it is more acceptable to the human body, but remember—moderation at all times.