Mantak Chia - Basic practices of the universal healing Tao: An illustrated guide to levels 1 through 6

Acknowledgments

The Universal Tao Publications staff involved in the preparation and production of The Basic Practices of the Universal Healing Tao extend our gratitude to the many generations of Taoist Masters who have passed on their special lineage, in the form of an unbroken oral trans-mission, over thousands of years. We thank Taoist Master I Yun (Yi Eng) for his openness in transmitting the formulas of Taoist Inner Alchemy.

We offer our eternal gratitude and love to our parents and teachers for their many gifts to us. Remembering them brings joy and satisfaction to our continued efforts in presenting the Universal Healing Tao system. As always, their contribution has been crucial in presenting the concepts and techniques of the Universal Healing Tao.

We wish to thank the thousands of unknown men and women of the Chinese healing arts who developed many of the methods and ideas presented in this book.

We thank the many contributors essential to this books final form: the editorial and production staff at Inner Traditions/Destiny Books for their efforts to clarify the text and produce a handsome new edition of the book and Gail Rex for her line edit of the new edition.

We wish to thank the following people for their assistance in producing the earlier editions of this book: Bob Zuraw for sharing his kind-ness, healing techniques, and Taoist understandings; Matthew Koren for his editorial work and writing contributions, as well as his ideas for the cover; Otto Thamboon for his artisic contributions to the revised edition of this book; our senior instructors, Wilbert Wils and Saumya Wils, for their insightful contributions to the revised edition; and special thanks to Charles Morris, without whom the book would not have come to be, for inspiring and reorganizing the book.

A special thanks goes to our Thai production team: Hirunyathorn Punsan, Saysunee Yongyod, Udon Jandee, and Saniem Chaisam.

Preface

Many years ago, I discovered the Universal Healing Tao books and a whole new way of approaching life. The books led me to Universal Healing Tao workshops, where I eventually met Master Mantak Chia and began my internal practice in the Universal Healing Tao system.

Over time, I learned that the Universal Healing Tao system consists of many formulas, which have been handed down through the centuries in an instructor-student relationship. As students master these formulas, they gain the opportunity to experience their own self-realization/enlightenment. Like my fellow students, I stumbled for years with trying to follow these formulas from the Universal Healing Tao books. Over time, I worked with Master Chia to develop condensed formulas to assist me in my practice. Instead of fumbling through the many pages of the many books, the condensed formulas allowed me to proceed in my practice much more smoothly.

Those condensed formulas have now been reproduced in this book for the ease of Universal Healing Tao students around the world. The condensed formulas found here were originally the size of playing cards, so they could be easily carried anywhere. Now all six sets of cards have been combined into one book, allowing you to access all of the Universal Healing Taos basic practices at any time. In book form, the condensed formulas are easier to read and follow. If you find that you need a fuller explanation of any given practice, we have provided page numbers at the beginning of each summarized practice referencing the Universal Healing Tao book where the practice is described in more detail.

These condensed formulas provide a unique and practical way of approaching and working with your practice, not only for beginners, but also as a teaching aid for certified instructors and practitioners. The chi formulas presented here will simplify your understanding and practice of the many Universal Healing Tao formulas.

YOUR FRIEND IN THE TAO,
W. U. WEI (WEI TZU)
THE PROFESSOR
MASTER OF NOTHINGNESS
THE MYTH THAT TAKES THE MYSTERY OUT OF MYSTICISM

Putting the First Six Levels of the Universal Healing Tao System into Practice

The practices described in this book have been used successfully for thou-sands of years by Taoists trained by personal instruction. Readers should not undertake the practice without receiving personal transmission and training from a certified instructor of the Universal Healing Tao, since certain of these practices, if done improperly, may cause injury or result in health problems. This book is intended to supplement individual training by the Universal Healing Tao and to serve as a reference guide for these practices. Anyone who undertakes these practices on the basis of this book alone does so entirely at his or her own risk.

The meditations, practices, and techniques described herein are not intended to be used as an alternative or substitute for professional medical treatment and care. If any readers are suffering from illnesses based on mental or emotional disorders, an appropriate professional health care practitioner or therapist should be consulted. Such problems should be corrected before you start training.

Neither the Universal Healing Tao nor its staff and instructors can be responsible for the consequences of any practice or misuse of the information contained in this book. If the reader undertakes any exercise without strictly following the instructions, notes, and warnings, the responsibility must lie solely with the reader.

This book does not attempt to give any medical diagnosis, treatment, prescription, or remedial recommendation in relation to any human disease, ailment, suffering, or physical condition whatsoever.

Introduction

We are dynamically connected to the infinite. As above, so below is an echo of wisdom heard from sages and mystics throughout the ages. When we can connect to and absorb the energy that surrounds us, we are able to tap into the many splendors of the universe.

The two main forces that are around and within us are electricity and magnetism, which the Tao refers to collectively as chi. (The closest Western term for this life-force energy is bioelectromagnetism.) For the past five thousand years, Taoists have utilized this bioelectromagnetic energy to enhance their way of life and establish a relationship with the universe. Bio signifies life, electro refers to the universal (yang) energies of the stars and planets, and the magnetic force refers to the earth (yin) forcegravitypresent on all planets and stars. As we align ourselves with these forces, we become a conduit for absorbing and digesting these energies through the body, mind, and spirit, thereby establishing a direct connection with the universe.

Humans normally access bioelectromagnetic energy through food and air. Plants absorb the universal energies of the sun and the magnetic energies of the earth; they digest and transform them, thereby making these energies available to all living beings. Rather than waiting until the energy in the universe has been processed through plants, the Taoist goes directly to the source of this primordial energy. Through the Chinese methods of cultivating energy known as Chi Kung and meditation, the Taoists directly tap into the source of energy all around us and focus it precisely.

Through these internal quests, the ancient Taoists discovered a door-way to the universe: the more we open our internal energy, the more we are capable of connecting to the forces of energy around us. These practices are known as Inner Alchemy, because they offer us a way to positively influence the changes that naturally happen within us and around us every day.