Holding Yin, Embracing Yang: Three Taoist Classics on Meditation, Breath Regulation, Sexual Yoga, and the Circulation of Internal Energy

by Eva Wong

In Holding Yin, Embracing Yang, Eva Wong presents translations of three key texts containing the highest teachings of the Eastern and Western schools of Taoist internal alchemy—the discipline of cultivating health, longevity, and immortality by transforming the energetic structures of body and mind. The texts are primarily concerned with meditation, breathing practices, and sexual yoga with a partner—all as means for developing within ourselves the same life-giving energy that sustains and nourishes the universe.

The texts in this collection offer a clear view of the physical, mental, and spiritual methods of Taoist practice, showing why they are important and how these methods all can work together in the cultivation of mental peace, radiant health, and longevity. This collection will provide inspiration and the essential foundation necessary to begin Taoist practice under the guidance of a teacher.

The three classics translated here are: Treatise on the Mysterious Orifice by Xuanweilun (sixteenth century), Discussion on the Cavity of the Tao by Daojiaotan (nineteenth century), and Secret Teachings on the Three Wheels by Sanjubizhi (nineteenth century). Included is an introduction in which Wong discusses the various schools of internal alchemy, as well as their main practices.

Genres: Taoism, Alchemy, Spirituality

191 pages, Paperback

First published June 14, 2005

About the author

Eva Wong is an independent scholar and a practitioner of the Taoist arts of the Pre-Celestial Way and Complete Reality lineages. She has written and translated many books on Taoism and related topics.

Reviews

[DW]

I took several months with this book. The first few months made me certain that I would put it down repeatedly and simply work my way through sentence by sentence until I reached the end resulting in zero comprehension.

The most amazing thing! The last third of the book exhilarated me because the terms and mystic concepts accrued enough meaning through repetition and subtly different contexts that it all started clicking. I know that I still missed a lot in this book, but it was way better than zero comprehension.

Eva Wong's translation is incredibly well done. Let me be clear that she went to great lengths to make the language itself be accessible to a modern audience.

These texts were meant to pass on secrets of meditation (and spiritual immortality). The original writers emphasized that 'you really ought to be taught by a teacher over the course of years to learn this but we will try to share something in writing'. It was a fascinating journey and it helped clarify some concepts that I only vaguely understood from other texts. Internal alchemy is pretty out there and I must admit much of it only had a metaphorical significance to me personally. Certain tricky concepts in Taoism (pre/post celestialism in particular) crystallized in this book and I might try and find a copy to purchase. My heartfelt thanks to Ms. Wong.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Glad I read some of the others first. Not sure how I would have coped if this had been the first, but it is very interesting stuff, and I will certainly re-read it. It's an excellent addition to the literature, Eva Wong does great work for us all!

[Will Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice read. I love Eva's translations. They ring true and seem to come from the heart.