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Originating sometime during the Tang dynasty in Shanxi province, this story is about an elderly man who sold herbal medicines in the marketplace of his village. Since no one in the village knew his name, they just called him the Old Herb Seller.
Wang Yu, a rich man in the village, was reserved, kin...
During my last talk in the membership, I spoke a little on Wei Wu Wei, the Taoist idea of āactive non-action,ā or possibly better said, āactive non-calculation.ā However one wishes to translate this term, the concept of ādoing nothingā always comes to mind, or as we might want to state it, āactively...
āHold on to being and keep to non-beingā is an important verse in the Tao De Jing. The meaning is quite complex and can apply to various situations. But to help illustrate one of the meanings I will tell you an old story about a monk and a female benefactor.
There was once an old woman who took car...
From April 2017 Newsletter
In this installment, the character of Peng (), normally translated as Ward-Off, will be examined. The original character for Ward-Off was ę½ (also pronounced Peng) and later re-composed as, a character that does not exist in the Chinese dictionaries because it was created ...
By Stuart Alve Olson
In Taoist Internal Alchemy texts, Xing (ę§) and Ming (å½) are very important concepts. These two terms have varying definitions within Taoist texts, causing some confusion for those studying Internal Alchemy. In the simplest definition,Ā XingĀ is a reference to our Nature, our mind...
Taoists believe that we suffer the effects of old age because we donāt incorporate the laws of nature. If we want to feel good, we need to nourish the nature within us.
When it comes to working with the body, Taoism is all about going backāre-storing, re-generating, re-vitalizing. Taoism teaches us...
March 22āApril 19th, 2023
By Suzanne Nosko
As this new moon on March 22nd will be an intercalary month (or moon), the Yin Water Rabbit influence will be with us longer. This happens approximately every three years and is done in order to keep up the lunar year with the solar year.
Since the solar...
Please see the Book of Sun and Moon by Stuart Alve Olson for more details of the advice and correlations given in this piece for the present month (moon).
Great Strength, #34, Da Zhuang
This hexagram holds influence over the period of the Yin Wood Rabbit Moon (including the intercalary moon period...
Ā ēØ č é„ŗ å ę ē
yĆ²ng rĆ²u jiĒo zi dĒ gĒu
The idiom is indicating things that can never be returned. No dog would ever return a piece of meat thrown to it.
Master Liang would usually blurt out this statement any time he heard talk of someone loaning or borrowing money, a book, sword, or music tape. Us...
By Stuart Alve Olson
In the Zhuang Zi, a parable tells about how after a visit to Tiaoling Park one day, Zhuang Zi felt as though he had lost himself completely. The events leading up to this started when he first encountered a very large bird, with a seven foot wingspan, and very large eyes.
The bi...
Copyright Ā© 2023 by Stuart Alve Olson
This ongoing seriesĀ presents the origin and more traditional meanings of Taijiquan posture names, movements, and applications. Each installmentĀ provides Master Xu Yushengās original text (1919), original photographs of Master Yang Chengfu, Master Chen Weiming (...
Translation Ā© 2023 by Stuart Alve Olson
These translations of the Scripture on Tao and Virtue by Lao Zi (é å¾· ē¶ č č å) include the rare commentary by Taoist Immortal Bai Yuchan (ē½ ē č¾, 1194ā1229 CE), more popularly called the Jade Toad Immortal. Bai Yuchan was the fifth patriarch of the Southern Sch...
