Mantak Chia - Cosmic detox: a taoist approach to internal cleansing

Acknowledgments

We extend our gratitude to the many generations of Taoist Masters who have passed on their special lineage, in the form of an unbroken oral transmission, over thousands of years. We thank Taoist Master I Yun (Yi Eng) for his openness in transmitting the formulas of Taoist Inner Alchemy. We also 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 offer our eternal gratitude 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. For their gifts, we offer our eternal gratitude and love. As always, their contribution has been crucial in presenting the concepts and techniques of the Universal Healing Tao.

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 who contributed to the earlier editions of this book: Bob Zuraw for sharing his kindness, healing techniques, and Taoist understandings; Lee Holden for his editorial work and writing contributions; Colin Drown for his editorial work; Otto Thamboon for his artisic contributions; our Senior Instructors, Wilbert Wils and Saumya Wils, for their insight; and Matthew Koren, without whom the book would not have come to be; and special thanks to our Thai Production Team, Hirunyathorn Punsan, Saysunee Yongyod, Udon Jandee, and Saniem Chaisam.

Putting Cosmic Detox into Practice

The practices described in this book have been used successfully for thousands 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.

Preface

This book is about your power to heal yourself. More specifically, it addresses your bodys inherent ability to heal itself by regularly cleaning out the nine openings of the body on a cellular level. It is that simple; that is the Tao. Take a moment to think about it: How would you live your life differently knowing you had access to immense levels of health and energy? How much more would you be able to do with your life? How much less would you be able to do with your life?

Although we will ostensibly be talking about physical healing, remember that what heals the physical body also heals our emotional and spiritual selves. We are talking about a transformation of being, and indeed, you will need to slough off old patterns and past behaviors to really benefit from the accumulated knowledge in this book.

The body going through life is like a river winding through a forest. As the river flows through at varying speeds and currents, blockages can occur. Branches and trees sometimes fall in, mud builds up, and animals swim through leaving waste products behind. These can eventually turn the river into a swamp. The only way to get the water flowing freely again is to clear the branches and other debris out of the way.

The same thing happens with the human body. In fact, the body has many energy rivers; blockages are created in them when imbalanced blood and mucus begin to get stuck instead of flowing freely. These stagnancies then eat away at the body in a decay process called aging. Orifices are typically the first areas to become blocked. Energy is focused through them, so anything blocking them can disrupt the flow and create widespread havoc.

Why worry about blockages and sickness? Arent they a natural part of life? In our current culture, they are unfortunately a big part of life, though they dont need to be. Certainly your level of health is your choice, but it is important to realize that such blockages also prevent your spiritual evolution. Consciousness does not stay in a diseased body for long. It is impossible to practice meditation and movement in such a body, and you will never live long enough to evolve. Yet, it is through meditation practices that you have an opportunity to achieve longevity.

Taoists came up with the cleansing processes described in this book to keep the energy rivers free flowing; by regularly cleaning them out, we thereby clear the way for higher-level practices that encourage the body to replace old, unhealthy cells with new healthy ones.

The concept of this book is first to offer different strategies and techniques for opening up blockages within the body. Once the blockages have been removed, deeper-level cleansing and healing can take place. The material in this book is organized by the bodys nine openings: the colon, the urinary tract, two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, and the mouth. We will move through the body orifice by orifice, noting the function of each opening, its associated behaviors, emotions, and related organs according to Chinese medicine, as well as noting common blockages and how to cleanse them. By the end of your journey, you will have touched all the major openings that can contribute to blockages within your body. Then we will shift gears and learn about more general cellular cleansing systems and prevention strategies. The book will end with guidelines for a fourteen-day total-body cleanse that can be practiced every six months.

In talking about ourselves, we often assume a dichotomy between myself and my body. This is pure comedy. You are your body, and your body is you. If your body can heal itself, you can heal yourself. Get it? It is not that radical an idea, and you do not have to agree or disagree. There is merely what actually works and what does not work for the time and place in which you find yourself. Everyones body is as different as their experiences. Some of the cleansing methods in this book will work for you, and some will not be as effective, depending on your condition of health. I encourage you to experiment with yourself and with your friends. Try variations, discover new ways of being, but most of all, have fun and enjoy the ride on your lifes journey.

YOUR FRIEND IN THE TAO,
WILLIAM U. WEI
WEI TZUTHE PROFESSORMASTER OF NOTHINGNESS
THE MYTH THAT TAKES THE MYSTERY OUT OF MYSTICISM

Detoxification Theory and Concepts

Taoist sages in the mountains have refined their bodies and minds to a great degree. They can absorb dew from the air, and that becomes their nourishment; they become like trees. Their bodies can recirculate water at will, and can generate enough heat in any situation so that they do not need clothing. They do not become ill. The sages can do all this because they know how to maintain their bodies in accordance with natural laws (fig. 1.1).