Send us a Text Message. This is one of the "lost chapters" intended to appear earlier in the series but was skipped over. Xiaoyao loses his way at evening in the deep mountains, but a chance meeting saves him from a freezing overnight sojourn. The hermit takes the opportunity to try and teach Xiaoyao the arcane secrets of the River Diagram--the 河圖-…

Send us a Text Message. This poem from 張伯端 Zhang Bo-Duan (author of the 悟真篇 Wu Zhen Pian: Understanding Reality, one of the most famous classics of Daoist alchemy) was explained by Master Nan during a seven day Zen retreat held in China. 心内观心觅本心 xīn neì guān xīn mì běn xīn 心心俱绝见真心 xīn xīn jù jué jiàn zhēn xīn 真心明徹通三界 Zhēn xīn míng chè tōng sān jiè …

Send us a Text Message. Li Dao-Chun (李道純) was a 13th century Daoist Master in the line of the famous 4th generation Master of the southern Nei Dan lineage, Bai Yuchan. Li is author of the Zhōng Hé Jí (中和集) translated as The Book of Balance and Harmony by Thomas Cleary. This selection, which to my knowledge has not been previously translated, is the…

Send us a Text Message. Bai Yu-Chan (1194-1229?) was a key figure in Southern Song dynasty Daoism and internal alchemy. The following is written as a discussion with his teacher Chen Nan (d. 1213), the fourth patriarch of the Nanzong lineage. Resolving Confusions in Cultivating Transcendence (Xiū Xiān Biàn Huò Lùn)《修仙辨惑論》 This excerpt is from secti…

Send us a Text Message. Xiaoyao meets his old friend Ante Babic, who reveals his discovery of a secret system of life training that the Chinese have instituted without anyone taking notice: the institution of Yum Cha (or "Dim Sum"). SHOW NOTES: Xiaoyao Xingzhe, the self-styled carefree pilgrim, has lived and worked all over the world, having crosse…

Send us a Text Message. Liu Yiming was one of the greatest Daoists of the eighteenth century, with numerous writings on all the Daoist classics. He corresponded with numerous disciples and other devout lay people throughout the country, describing in many cases his owns travails on the Path and the various teachers he learned with. He may then prov…

Send us a Text Message. Xiaoyao ventures into the Mundus Imaginalis, and finds strangeness, unexpected encounters and … welcome. “Joyful the moment when we sat in the bower, Thou and I; In two forms and two faces—with one soul, Thou and I. The colour of the garden and the song of the birds give the elixir of immortality The instant we come into the…

Send us a Text Message. Xiaoyao enters a hidden chamber and witnesses a strange dance, before learning more about "medicine," the gathering of scattered medicine and use of it, and its exoteric and esoteric processes. The "Earth of Attention" (意土 yì tǔ) centering the ascending elements of hún (魂) and shén (神) against the descending elements of pò (…

Send us a Text Message. Zhuangzi tells the story of Tian Gen who meets the Man without a Name, one who wanders amongst and between the worlds, in a subtle realm with no borders. But how do we know when we have slipped into a subtle realm? There are a few indications: TIME feels different, flexible and shifting; PLACE is no longer so fixed and deter…

Send us a Text Message. "Ru zi, ke jiao ye!" The Hermit tests Xiaoyao, who thinks that the Hermit will teach him about locating herbs in the mountains. The Reality, however .... SHOW NOTES: Xiaoyao Xingzhe, the self-styled carefree pilgrim, has lived and worked all over the world, having crossed the Gobi in a decrepit jeep, lived with a solitary mo…

Send us a Text Message. What ARE the "Perilous Realms," the "Unseen Lands' that Tolkien, Goethe, Coleridge, Wordsworth, C.S. Lewis and Henri Corbin have introduced to Western civilisation over the last century? What is the difference between wooly-headed daydreaming and actively employed imagination? And why do scientists and authors such as Iain M…

Send us a Text Message. The Fat Monk and Xiaoyao visit the Hermit for a quiet talk, but find the Boatman and his friend--who Xiaoyao has never met--already there. Tea is the main topic of the day, but in the course of the discussion, the Fat Monk's peculiar aversion to Zhuangzi is exposed. It turns out the Boatman's friend is well-versed in all thi…

Send us a Text Message. "Music, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting" are the four arts whcih every refined person should become accomplished in. But "Chess" does not mean Western chess, rather it is the sophisticated--but extremely simple--game of surrounding, known as 圍棋. "Simple" because all you do is place a piece on any of 361 intersections on the boa…

Send us a Text Message. Xiaoyao discovers a recently established study group now being conduceted by none other than Xiao Jing, assisted by Ling Ling and other past students from Shi Jie's restaurant. Xiaoyao becomes obsessed with discovering the identity of the mysterious "Opener" for the group, and Ling Ling shows him her new "Wu Wei" tattoo. SHO…

Send us a Text Message. While setting up a Calligraphy and Arts exhibition at the Monastery, the Fat Monk and friends discuss the amazing Fu Qingzhu, heroic anti-Manchu rebel, iconoclastic calligrapher who single-handedly transformed the art of writing as an art form, and Chinese doctor famous for his work on Chinese herbal gynaecology. The Abbot s…

Send us a Text Message. If there is one name every single Chinese person knows, it is Zhuge Liang. Famous for his military strategies employed during the Warring States period, his exploits were immortalised in the Ming dynasty novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三國演義 Sān Guó Yǎn Yì), describing his almost prescient ability to anticipate the enemy…

Send us a Text Message. This is a true story. Not "based on a true story." Even the names have not been changed to protect the innocent. Everything happened exactly as described.* * Well, except maybe the tall farmer. SHOW NOTES: Xiaoyao Xingzhe, the self-styled carefree pilgrim, has lived and worked all over the world, having crossed the Gobi in a…

Send us a Text Message. A meeting with a stranger in a Hong Kong pub sets Xiaoyao on a path that will involve him in unexplainable occurences. Cook demonstrates the stalk method of divination in using the Yi Jing, and the answer to Xiaoyao's question; an answer which he finds deeply disturbing. Professor Ma explains the difference between "natural"…

Send us a Text Message. Trigrams Mountain to Marsh finishes the discussion on Kǎn (Abyss) and Lí (Brightness), and then goes on to investigate the last four trigrams Mountain: Gèn (☶), Thunder: Zhèn (☳); Wind: Xùn (☴) and Marsh: Duì (☱). Little does he know that this simple conversation will cast him on a journey toward the green and pacific island…

Send us a Text Message. Xiaoyao returns to the monastery, only to come face-to-face with the new abbot, an imposing figure feared by not-a-few of the monks. Later, he is able to clear up many misconceptions regarding the trigrams Qián (Heaven), Kūn (Earth), Kǎn (Abyss) and Lí (Brightness) Little does he know that this simple conversation will cast …

Send us a Text Message. How I came to change my mind regarding Thomas Cleary. SHOW NOTES: Xiaoyao Xingzhe, the self-styled carefree pilgrim, has lived and worked all over the world, having crossed the Gobi in a decrepit jeep, lived with a solitary monk in the mountains of Korea, dined with the family of the last emperor of China, and helped police …

Send us a Text Message. Xiaoyao confronts a crucial episode of blanked out memory, in which Shijie provides a detailed examination of chapter two of the Dao De Jing, and Xiaoyao meets the mysterious Master Gu Yan. Cook explains what he meant by "meat buns for the mind," and the fat monk uses sweet black sesame soup to restore Xiaoyao's experience. …

Send us a Text Message. Liu Yiming was one of the greatest Daoists of the eighteenth century, with numerous writings on all the Daoist classics. He was afraid however that the world would ignore what he saw as a crucial text for human development, simply because it did not conform to what people might expect such a text to look like* and therefore …

Send us a Text Message. Xiaoyao uncovers a Tang dynasty poem from Ancestor Lǚ, Lǚ Dōng-Bīn. Cook and the fat monk lay bear the Daoist meanings of an episode in the Journey to the West, in which the daughter of the headman of Gao Lao Zhuang has been imprisoned by the promiscuous Pig. To save her, Monkey takes on her form and makes Pig's life a livin…

Send us a Text Message. Xiaoyao visits Shijie's husband, Dr. Jiang, at the famous old Chinese medicine pharmacy across the road from Shijie's restaurant, and asks him an awkward question. Shijie inducts three new members into her Daoist group, and gives them specific instructions on how to make the best use of their novitiate. The fat monk describe…

Send us a Text Message. Xiaoyao discovers an ancient and enigmatic inscription in a hidden alcove of the monastery, and learns the difficult technique of stone rubbing. The fat monk and the boatman instruct him in the art of duàn jù: "breaking the sentences" for pieces of writing that have no punctuation and look utterly incomprehensible. (See the …

Send us a Text Message. The contemporary master Nan Huaijin (Nan Huai-Chin), during one of his lectures, brought up this old story about the very early Zen master Yaoshan Weiyan (藥山惟儼) who died in the ninth century. Yaoshan left an extensive record of "sayings" which have been used throughout the centuries as sparks for enlightenment. Here is one: …

Send us a Text Message. Cook walks in, choppers held high, and advances on the fat monk. Xiaoyao is ordered to do manual labour by the Abbot, but is sneered at by Xiao Jing. The Abbot and Shijie instruct the two young students in the fine points of the Classic for Contemplating the Marvellous (Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Guanmiao Jing, 太上洞玄靈寶觀妙經), a …

Send us a Text Message. After practicing the Three Powers Sword form, they rest and the fat monk describes how gongfu practice should change with the seasons as the tissues of the body shift and alter at the different times of the year. Back at the library following the ruckus at the kitchen, they discuss the importance of the difference between th…

Send us a Text Message. Xiaoyao sits in on a session of Shijie's Daoist circle, where she guides them through the ancient Bǎi Gǔ Guān--the White Bone Contemplation, a meditation routine designed to settle random thoughts and, when taken to its final conclusion, to "study death." Then Xiaoayao, Xiaojing and Ling Ling describe their own investigation…

Send us a Text Message. Xiaoyao learns the Daoist mudra "Son and Mother" but learns that "gathering qi" is not always easy. Cook goes on the warpath. Xiaoyao asks about the difference between "aligning with the Dao" and Chinese internal alchemy, the surprising reality of "demons" and how to combat them. But then he is called to meet the Abbot. Char…

Send us a Text Message. The inner alchemical method of Dragon and Tiger as described in the seminal conversation between the Patriarchs Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin and explained by the fat monk in a remote cave looking out over a vast forest of pine. Xiaoyao enters a space deep within and discovers a vast world that explodes with lig SHOW NOTES: Xi…

Send us a Text Message. Guided by the ancient mysterious precepts of the Master of Demon Valley, Shijie and her Daoist students merge with the community to eliminate a malicious and powerful official. At the same time, they design a delicate strategy to save Shijie’s husband from harm by this tyrant, a strategy that hinges on Xiaoyao keeping his mo…

Send us a Text Message. The fat monk is on punishment detail, by order of the Abbot, working in the local market. He takes Xiaoyao to meet another student of his own teacher. She runs a vegetarian restaurant which operates as both a focus of her own development and as a hub for local Daoist teaching. Shijie, the Older Sister in the Dao, relates a t…

Send us a Text Message. As the fat Daoist brings Xiaoyao across the river one evening, the boatman warns Xiaoyao that the fat monk may not be all he seems on the surface arousing Xiaoyao's suspicions. Nonetheless, Xiaoyao and the monk discuss the use of certain stories as repositories of wisdom, immune from inquisitions and heretic hunters, but ref…

Send us a Text Message. While sparring with Xiaoyao, the Daoist demonstrates the real application of the fabled “paralysis points” used in martial arts. As Xiaoyao recovers, the fat monk teaches him a Qi Gong practice from Chen village used to drum up the qi before a session of Taichi practice. Later they discuss savouring the Dao De Jing character…

Send us a Text Message. Xiao Yao climbs to an ancient monastery in the mountains of China where he meets the fat monk for the first time and learns some interesting new angles on Daoism -- from the fat monk's point of view. Especially about pitfalls of the Path. SHOW NOTES: Xiaoyao Xingzhe, the self-styled carefree pilgrim, has lived and worked all…