Daniel Reid - The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity: A Modern Practical Guide to the Ancient Way

Daniel Reid was born and educated in America and since 1973 has lived in Taiwan, where he has studied under numerous Tao masters and researched the original Chinese sources. He has travelled extensively throughout Asia and written a number of travel guides to China and Taiwan. He is also the author of Chinese Herbal Medicine (Shambala) which was hailed by the New York Times as highly readable a marvellous introduction to the field of Chinese medicine.

This book is dedicated to
all spiritual descendants
of the Plain Girl,
East and West,
and to
Taoists everywhere,
past and present.

Illustrated by Wendy Frost, Russel McClay, Chou Yun-y

Authors and publishers note: This book is not intended to replace the advice of a trained health professional. If you know, or suspect, that you have a health problem, you should consult a health professional.

Fireside

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New York, New York 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com

Copyright 1989 by Daniel Reid

All rights reserved
including the right of reproduction
in whole or in part in any form.

Originally published in Great Britain by Simon & Schuster Ltd

FIRESIDE and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster Inc.

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication data

ISBN 0-671-64811-X
ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-4807-5
eISBN-13: 978-1-4391-4807-5

INTRODUCTION
The Tao

PART 1
The Tao of Health

PART II
The Tao of Sex

PART III
The Tao of Longevity

Tao is the primal power that forges all phenonoma in the universe, from the infinite to the infinitesimal. Invisible yet ever-present, Tao permeates the world with the very breath of life, and those who learn how to harmonize themselves with Tao may harness that power to enhance and prolong their own lives.

Though the principles of Tao were first formulated in words and symbols by the sages of ancient China about 5,000 years ago, Tao predates human civilization and transcends all boundries of space and time, race and culture, for Tao is the universal and enduring Way of Nature. But thanks to the wisdom and insight of the ancient sages who gave birth to the worlds oldest ongoing civilization, traditional Chinese culture evolved entirely around the fundamental framework of Tao, and today its principles still lie at the heart of all the classical Chinese arts, from philosophy to poetry, calligraphy to cooking, medicine to meditation.

Tao is more than just a philosophy of life. Its a whole way of life, and the only way to realize practical benefits from Tao is to cultivate and practice it. This was the goal of the ancient Chinese sages, and fortunately they left us abundant records charting their progress along the Way. Today, the most enlightened practitioners of modern Western science are also approaching the Tao, but from the opposite direction, and they are arriving at precisely the same conclusions. This is most apparent in the fields of physics and medicine, where the mutable relationship between matter and energy, body and mind, is beginning to emerge. Still, while the conclusions are essentially identical, the poetic imagery and earthy allusions with which the Chinese sages elucidated the Tao and its power are far easier for the average man and woman to grasp than the complex technical jargon favored by modern Western scientists, and therefore its simpler to view the Tao through Chinese eyes.

This book focuses on three practical aspects of Tao which have always been of vital concern to men and women everywhere: health, sex and longevity. All three are intimately related, and together they form the foundation of human happiness in this world. The purpose of this book is to provide the reader with a lucid introduction to the basic principles of Tao, and to offer a practical program by which men and women everywhere may apply those principles and tap the power of Tao to enhance and prolong their lives.

Research for this book was done primarily from original Chinese sources, although certain English translations of various Chinese texts were also consulted. Except where otherwise indicated, translations from the Chinese are based upon my own interpretations of the materials. My rendering of passages from the TAO TEH CHING, however, closely follows the interpretation of the great English sinologist Arthur Waley, as recorded in his most excellent translation THE WAY AND ITS POWER. In addition, I wish to acknowledge the deep inspirations provided by the prolific writings of the late sinologist John Blofeld, as well as the pioneering work of R.H. van Gulik.

Supporting evidence from Western science was culled from various reference books, medical journals, health studies, magazines, and recent newspaper reports, most of which are cited in the text or listed among the Additional Recommended Reading provided in the Appendix. However, lest readers mistake this book for a mere recapitulation of existing materials East and West, I wish to attest that I have been practicing all the regimens introduced herein for many years and that this book is based as much on personal practical experience as scholarly research.

May this book provide all readers with abundant food for thought and sufficient fuel for practice on the Way to a long and healthy life!

DANIEL P. REID

Phoenix Mountain

Peitou, Taiwan

October, 1988

There was something formless yet complete

That existed before heaven and earth;

Without sound, without substance,

Dependent on nothing, unchanging,

All pervading, unfailing.

One may think of it as the mother

Of all things under heaven.

Its true name I do not know;

Tao is the nickname I give it.

These mysterious words come from the beguiling, 5,000-word poem on Tao called Tao Teh Ching, written almost 2,500 years ago and traditionally attributed to Lao Tze, the Old Sage. The incisive insights contained in the terse verse of this enchanting book form a living fountain of wisdom that has brought comfort, advice and enlightenment to millions of people throughout the world. No other book on earth has been translated as widely and as frequently as Lao Tzes Tao Teh Ching, and no book except the Bible has been translated as often into English. As of 1955, there were 100 different translations in print throughout the world, 90 in Western languages, 36 in English alone.