What It Means to Be a Cultivator: Cultivator Series (Part 1)

This begins a new series of reflections on what it means to be a cultivator, a sincere practitioner of Taoist and Buddhist philosophy, meditation, Taijiquan, and Qigong. Each article will explore the inner realities of practice, the living transmission of our lineage, and the art of integrating cultivation into everyday life.

What It Means to Be a Cultivator

In the wake of our teacher’s passing, many people have asked what becomes of the Sanctuary of Tao. There’s a quiet uncertainty that may be lingering, a mix of grief and the simple question: what now?

My answer is that we are in good hands, not because I claim to be Stuart or think of myself as a master, but because what Stuart gave us was self-sustaining. His teaching was never about following a person; it was about learning to cultivate. The Way doesn’t disappear with a teacher’s death. It lives on through those who continue the work.

I spent thirty-three years with Stuart, living with him, working side by side, helping him write, teach, and share what he learned from Master Liang and his teachers before him. I never thought of starting my own school or building something separate. I just wanted to learn from him, to absorb the way he saw and transmitted the Tao, and to help pass that along to others.

So when I teach now, I don’t feel that people are learning “from me.” They are still learning from Stuart, through the living thread that connects us. That has always been my role: I see myself as a bridge between his generation of teaching and whatever comes next.

I never sought leadership, but I understand that someone must guide what we offer—the courses, the content, the direction of the Sanctuary of Tao. That responsibility falls to me, not out of ambition, but necessity. Although I never imagined a time when I wouldn’t have my teacher with me, I understand why Stuart named me his “Da Shixiong” (senior student). He knew it was the way of things, that one day someone would have to carry on the work like he did for his teacher before him. I’m the one who can interpret Stuart’s teachings most accurately, because I’ve been doing exactly that all along, while he was alive, in every book, class, and conversation we shared. It’s natural for me to continue now, just as I always have, translating his wisdom into the next expression of this lineage. Stuart knew that; I see that now perhaps more clearly than I ever did when I simply imagined that I would always have my teacher with me.

Cultivation as the True Goal

What we want people to become, above all, are cultivators. Not disciples chasing rank or titles, but human beings who take these practices into their daily lives, who let them shape how they move, breathe, and view the world.

When you become a member of the Sanctuary of Tao or take up any of our programs, you’re not joining some hierarchical system. You’re simply saying: I am a cultivator. You begin where you are, with sincerity. There’s no badge or belt for progress. The moment you practice—sincerely, attentively—you’ve already succeeded.

Cultivation asks for sacrifice, yes, but not the harshness of discipline. Like Stuart, I prefer the idea of being resolute. Discipline can feel forced; being resolute is natural. It’s when you do something because you love it, because it nourishes you. The great secret is that cultivation isn’t sustained by tension and force, it’s sustained by an unwavering desire to simply and naturally cultivate so that it becomes as effortless as breathing.

Practice as Nourishment

We cultivate because it gives meaning to life. It strengthens the body, deepens the breath, and clarifies the mind. Whether you come to it for health, peace, or spiritual insight doesn’t matter. The point is that it works on you, it refines who and what you are from the inside out.

Laying the Foundation, working with the Three Treasures of Jing (body), Qi (breath), and Shen (mind/spirit), is enough. There’s no loftier goal than that. Every great achievement begins and ends with that simple work. Wisdom and benefits arise naturally from steady practice.

After decades of studying with Stuart, I realize that even when I can’t consciously recall everything I learned, it’s still there, embedded into how I teach, in how I think about the Tao. That’s the nature of true transmission. You embody it over time.

The Karma of Showing Up

Every student who finds this work does so for a reason. Some feel an immediate calling, as though they’ve been waiting their whole life for it. Others come and go, sampling only a little before drifting on. But even a brief encounter plants a seed that may sprout later.

You don’t have to know your reason. Just showing up, practicing, and letting yourself be changed by it is enough. Cultivation teaches you through doing.

The Joy of Practice

Stuart often reminded us of Master Liang’s words: “Small loss, small gain. Big loss, big gain.”

The “loss” is only the time and energy you give—and that’s never wasted. Every bit you offer the practice returns to you multiplied.

Master Liang also advised us to treat practice like a hobby.

If you treat it like an obligation (I have to practice today, I missed a day, I’m behind) it becomes a weight dragging you down. But a golfer never complains about going golfing. They look forward to it. That’s how cultivation should feel.

This isn’t a quick-fix art. It’s not “six-minute abs.” It’s a lifelong, even multi-lifetime, path. But once you begin, and you feel how it nourishes you, it stops feeling like something you “have” to do. You find yourself wanting to practice more, not less. 

As Master Liang told Stuart, “What do you have better to do?”

Continuing the Way

The best way I can honor my teacher, my best friend, is to keep the Sanctuary of Tao thriving. To help people join, learn, and discover what he gave to me: a living connection to the Tao.

When you cultivate, you are feeding your spirit. And when you feed your spirit, you are continuing the lineage. That’s how the Tao keeps moving through time, not through titles or institutions, but through sincere hearts that keep practicing.

I cultivate to be a “man of root,” like my teacher.

Closing thought:
Cultivation is not something we “learn from” the past. It’s how we carry the past forward: “sincerely, silently, and gently,” to quote the Jade Pivot Treasury Scripture. It happens every day that we step onto the mat, sit in stillness, or breathe the Tao into the marrow of our bones.

—Patrick

Patrick Gross is the senior student of the late Master Stuart Alve Olson. He co-founded the Sanctuary of Tao, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, with Stuart and Lily Shank and now serves on the Board of Directors. Having studied, lived, and worked alongside Stuart for over three decades, Patrick continues to transmit the teachings of Master Liang and Stuart through ongoing classes, writings, and programs dedicated to Taoist cultivation, Taijiquan, and the art of living the Way.