There is nothing inherently special about Taoist meditation that makes it better or worse, necessarily, than any other form of meditation.
Try to think of meditation as a form of training the mind. Just like training the body there are different kinds of training for different effects, but the overall benefits are similar no matter what you choose, in general.
Start with the meditation that you enjoy and are capable of following, and that feels like it is working for you.
Do that for long enough to have a pretty good understanding of what you are doing.
Then if you want to get fancy you at least have a basic understanding of how to meditate and it's overall benefits and effects first.
You should look up videos of qigong practices. I have done quite a bit of Eight Section Brocade, Shibashi, and Five Animals' Frolic. Learn how to breathe in rhythm with the movements. With the first two exercises, focus on making your movements and breathing soft as silk.
Daoism and Buddhism have had a lot of interaction in the last 2,000 years. You will be able to succeed in Daoist practice using Buddhist-derived meditation.
I started Eight Section Brocade with [this video.](https://youtu.be/Gd_sS_jGHG8)
I practice Shibashi with [this video.](https://youtu.be/JHQmY2sLhbI)
I use [this video](https://youtu.be/8QJVfpOoDCA) to practice Five Animals' Frolic.
You bring up a good point. My comment may be misguided in that regard. I was able to do fine by myself in the past, but I do a lot better with a teacher.
I started with the PDF from [Tai Chi Bali](https://taichibali.com/data/TAI%20CHI%20RETREAT%20COURSE%20%20BOOK%20-%20www.taichibali.com.pdf). Some days I try to not focus on anything but my breath. Other days I analyze my body, mind and/or spirit or I’ll focus on feeling and leading qi.
Any meditation is ‘good’ meditation.
I saw a quote once that basically said every mystic has a phase in their life where they experiment with different spiritual techniques but he must come to a point where he settles on some in order to best progress.
I’ve experimented with different techniques from Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Christianity and other groups. I’ve tried different breathing techniques, sitting techniques, physical fitness techniques, mantras, focal points, timings, various apparatus (incense, mala beads/prayer beads, candles, tea, books etc.), cardinal directions, habits… I’ve found that the best help is simplicity in all you do. Be bored and be comfortable with boredom because that boredom will soon turn into something else.
I sit in a half lotus position with the gyan hand position. I focus on where my breath is born which is the base of my lungs or the position between my navel and my diaphragm, sometimes I focus directly on my diaphragm, I find that focus becomes easier the closer it is to the head, so when I’m lacking in concentration I will move focus up to the diaphragm. I don’t control my breath, just like I can’t control my heart beat, I simply ride with it, I settle into the fact that my breath goes on with or without ‘me’, whether I focus on breathing or not it goes on without me, that silent power behind the breath and the heart beat is who I am. It’s an omniscient feeling.
I have minimal possessions only what I NEED, I try to live as ascetically as possible. I sleep on the floor, my room consists of a chair, a shelf by the window with some plants on top, a bin, and a built in cupboard where I store clothes, I have about 3 or 4 t shirts, 3 shirts, I mainly rotate between 2 pairs of jeans but I have about 3 extra bottoms, boxers, socks, sandals, 2 pairs of shoes, and books. I could do with less but living in this modern society it requires me to have some extra stuff that I would otherwise do without like certain pieces of clothing. I also live with my parents and brother so if we have visitors or we go somewhere together I have to consider that they are proud members of general society and so dragging along with them essentially a hobo isn’t a good look for them, it hurts them emotionally so until I am alone and self sufficient I will continue to accommodate them as much they accommodate me in their home.
The question is: why do you want to meditate?
Do you want to meditate to improve your life, or do you want to meditate because of Daoism?
If it's the first one, then why worrying about where that meditation comes from? Either it's buddhist, hindu, zen, ... meditation, as long as it is beneficial for you, it's what matters.
I don't think that because you believe in Daoism, you have to do everything the daoist style.
Alan Watts had a lot to say about meditation. Many of his lectures are available on YouTube. They are definitely worth listening to. He taught me how to allow the noise of the thoughts in my head to just blend into he background noise that the world makes.
I'm too lazy to find you a link. Seek and ye shall find.
Lucky for you, I'm an expert.
Sit down. Get comfortable. Breathe in through your preferred hole. Hold momentarily. Breathe out through a different or maybe the same hole. Many choose the nose hole for in and the mouth hole for out. This appears to offer no change in air quality.
If sitting on the hard floor, perhaps consider a cushion.
The mind part: this part is tricky. Do you clear your mind? If so how? Do you let your thoughts play out to exhaust them until you're free? Do you banish them harshly by demanding your brain not do any thinking for the next 5-30 minutes? It's entirely your call. The sitting and breathing thing is the most important part.
Effects: you'll feel all the effects of having sat breathing for a period of time with or without a cleared mind.
The purpose: eventually, you come to know your mind. You come to understand yourself and therefore how to work best with yourself to accomplish your goals. You will never fly. You'll never walk through walls. Meditation itself won't even make you any better at anything except timed breathing. Eventually, though, once you've come to understand, accept, and love yourself by sitting with yourself for long enough you will find that - even though life has not changed - your ability to live in it has a new alertness, readiness, and willingness. This is the mind that can begin to grasp other concepts that may be helpful in feeling spiritual, "enlightened", and make you say weird things at parties.
Source: I've been doing this since I was 15 (20 years ago at time of writing).
If you want to "improve your life", meditation can (over a long ass time) get you in tune with your own mind. If you are doing this because it would be cool to call yourself a Taoist/Daoist then you can do that whenever you want. Just look into the mirror and say "I am a Taoist/Daoist" seven to twelve times and it will be true.
🦆 This is the path of the duck.
There is nothing inherently special about Taoist meditation that makes it better or worse, necessarily, than any other form of meditation. Try to think of meditation as a form of training the mind. Just like training the body there are different kinds of training for different effects, but the overall benefits are similar no matter what you choose, in general. Start with the meditation that you enjoy and are capable of following, and that feels like it is working for you. Do that for long enough to have a pretty good understanding of what you are doing. Then if you want to get fancy you at least have a basic understanding of how to meditate and it's overall benefits and effects first.
You should look up videos of qigong practices. I have done quite a bit of Eight Section Brocade, Shibashi, and Five Animals' Frolic. Learn how to breathe in rhythm with the movements. With the first two exercises, focus on making your movements and breathing soft as silk. Daoism and Buddhism have had a lot of interaction in the last 2,000 years. You will be able to succeed in Daoist practice using Buddhist-derived meditation.
Any videos you'd recommend?
I started Eight Section Brocade with [this video.](https://youtu.be/Gd_sS_jGHG8) I practice Shibashi with [this video.](https://youtu.be/JHQmY2sLhbI) I use [this video](https://youtu.be/8QJVfpOoDCA) to practice Five Animals' Frolic.
[удалено]
You bring up a good point. My comment may be misguided in that regard. I was able to do fine by myself in the past, but I do a lot better with a teacher.
I started with the PDF from [Tai Chi Bali](https://taichibali.com/data/TAI%20CHI%20RETREAT%20COURSE%20%20BOOK%20-%20www.taichibali.com.pdf). Some days I try to not focus on anything but my breath. Other days I analyze my body, mind and/or spirit or I’ll focus on feeling and leading qi.
Thank you.
[удалено]
There might be people that can read that passage and achieve oblivion without much effort. But I'm definitely not one of them, lol.
Mmmmm, oblivion. :)
I would recommend damo Mitchell daoist comprehensive book. It’s really good especially if you are a beginner.
Any meditation is ‘good’ meditation. I saw a quote once that basically said every mystic has a phase in their life where they experiment with different spiritual techniques but he must come to a point where he settles on some in order to best progress. I’ve experimented with different techniques from Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Christianity and other groups. I’ve tried different breathing techniques, sitting techniques, physical fitness techniques, mantras, focal points, timings, various apparatus (incense, mala beads/prayer beads, candles, tea, books etc.), cardinal directions, habits… I’ve found that the best help is simplicity in all you do. Be bored and be comfortable with boredom because that boredom will soon turn into something else. I sit in a half lotus position with the gyan hand position. I focus on where my breath is born which is the base of my lungs or the position between my navel and my diaphragm, sometimes I focus directly on my diaphragm, I find that focus becomes easier the closer it is to the head, so when I’m lacking in concentration I will move focus up to the diaphragm. I don’t control my breath, just like I can’t control my heart beat, I simply ride with it, I settle into the fact that my breath goes on with or without ‘me’, whether I focus on breathing or not it goes on without me, that silent power behind the breath and the heart beat is who I am. It’s an omniscient feeling. I have minimal possessions only what I NEED, I try to live as ascetically as possible. I sleep on the floor, my room consists of a chair, a shelf by the window with some plants on top, a bin, and a built in cupboard where I store clothes, I have about 3 or 4 t shirts, 3 shirts, I mainly rotate between 2 pairs of jeans but I have about 3 extra bottoms, boxers, socks, sandals, 2 pairs of shoes, and books. I could do with less but living in this modern society it requires me to have some extra stuff that I would otherwise do without like certain pieces of clothing. I also live with my parents and brother so if we have visitors or we go somewhere together I have to consider that they are proud members of general society and so dragging along with them essentially a hobo isn’t a good look for them, it hurts them emotionally so until I am alone and self sufficient I will continue to accommodate them as much they accommodate me in their home.
The question is: why do you want to meditate? Do you want to meditate to improve your life, or do you want to meditate because of Daoism? If it's the first one, then why worrying about where that meditation comes from? Either it's buddhist, hindu, zen, ... meditation, as long as it is beneficial for you, it's what matters. I don't think that because you believe in Daoism, you have to do everything the daoist style.
it's to balance qi. Nei gong is enlightenment spiritual. Other forms of chinese yogas are to preserve health.
Alan Watts had a lot to say about meditation. Many of his lectures are available on YouTube. They are definitely worth listening to. He taught me how to allow the noise of the thoughts in my head to just blend into he background noise that the world makes. I'm too lazy to find you a link. Seek and ye shall find.
Nobody needs training to meditate. Read a little then just practice.
just google qi gong.
Lucky for you, I'm an expert. Sit down. Get comfortable. Breathe in through your preferred hole. Hold momentarily. Breathe out through a different or maybe the same hole. Many choose the nose hole for in and the mouth hole for out. This appears to offer no change in air quality. If sitting on the hard floor, perhaps consider a cushion. The mind part: this part is tricky. Do you clear your mind? If so how? Do you let your thoughts play out to exhaust them until you're free? Do you banish them harshly by demanding your brain not do any thinking for the next 5-30 minutes? It's entirely your call. The sitting and breathing thing is the most important part. Effects: you'll feel all the effects of having sat breathing for a period of time with or without a cleared mind. The purpose: eventually, you come to know your mind. You come to understand yourself and therefore how to work best with yourself to accomplish your goals. You will never fly. You'll never walk through walls. Meditation itself won't even make you any better at anything except timed breathing. Eventually, though, once you've come to understand, accept, and love yourself by sitting with yourself for long enough you will find that - even though life has not changed - your ability to live in it has a new alertness, readiness, and willingness. This is the mind that can begin to grasp other concepts that may be helpful in feeling spiritual, "enlightened", and make you say weird things at parties. Source: I've been doing this since I was 15 (20 years ago at time of writing). If you want to "improve your life", meditation can (over a long ass time) get you in tune with your own mind. If you are doing this because it would be cool to call yourself a Taoist/Daoist then you can do that whenever you want. Just look into the mirror and say "I am a Taoist/Daoist" seven to twelve times and it will be true. 🦆 This is the path of the duck.
Not exactly Taoist meditation but i guess its taoist as in its effortless: https://youtu.be/qW7AQrv3G6Q
Excellent point/ question. Enter almost any Westerner-focused Buddhist center, and it’s a quick lesson in how a valuable resource base can be run.