Cultivating Stillness: A Taoist Manual for Transforming Body and Mind

by Lao Tzu

Equanimity, good health, peace of mind, and long life are the goals of the ancient Taoist tradition known as "internal alchemy," of which Cultivating Stillness is a key text. Written between the second and fifth centuries, the book is attributed to T'ai Shang Lao-chun—the legendary figure more widely known as Lao-Tzu, author of the Tao-te Ching . The accompanying commentary, written in the nineteenth century by Shui-ch'ing Tzu, explains the alchemical symbolism of the text and the methods for cultivating internal stillness of body and mind. A principal part of the Taoist canon for many centuries, Cultivating Stillness is still the first book studied by Taoist initiates today.

Genres: Taoism, Philosophy, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Religion, Meditation, Buddhism

184 pages, Paperback

First published November 24, 1992

About the author

Lao Tzu (Chinese: 老子; pinyin: Lǎozǐ; Wade-Giles: Laosi; also Laozi, Lao Tse, Lao Tu, Lao-Tsu, Laotze, Laosi, Lao Zi, Laocius, Lao Ce, and other variations) was a mystic philosopher of ancient China, best known as the author of the Tao Te Ching (often simply referred to as Laozi). His association with the Tao Te Ching has led him to be traditionally considered the founder of Taoism (pronounced as "Daoism"). He is also revered as a deity in most religious forms of the Taoist religion, which often refers to Laozi as Taishang Laojun, or "One of the Three Pure Ones". Laozi translated literally from Chinese means "old master" or "old one", and is generally considered honorific.

According to Chinese tradition, Laozi lived in the 6th century BCE. Historians variously contend that Laozi is a synthesis of multiple historical figures, that he is a mythical figure, or that he actually lived in the 5th-4th century BCE, concurrent with the Hundred Schools of Thought and Warring States Period. As a result of being a a central figure in Chinese culture, both nobility and common people claim Lao Tzu in their lineage.

Reviews

[George]

Could very well be my all time one favorite book.
One of the most real and authentic books on Taoism put into English language.
Seven Taoist Masters is the next best and far more entertaining and accessible.
I wished there were more that were comparable and authentic.

[Amber]

This is a difficult book to read. There are a lot of terms introduced and then used. The clarification of some of these terms is not always sufficient to understand what they mean. I enjoyed parts of it, but other parts were hard to understand. I'll likely return to it at another time, but I couldn't finish it at this point in time.

[Kaberoi Rua]

If you are interested with internal alchemy, health, longevity, taoisim, or on the path of spiritual enlightenment then I highly recommend this book. This is a book that can be read over and over again.

[Kathleen]

When you are hungry, zen monkeys will feed you peaches.

[Marcus]

The part of this book I found most interesting was the presentation of wuji, totally undifferentiated energy, bifurcating into wangji in which yin and yang are distinct and non-interpenetrating, swirling into taiji, in which yin and yang become mixed, producing the eight trigrams and sixty four hexagrams. I find this cosmogony really compelling, and my mind is drawn to severance, cutting, as one kabbalistic origin of evil. In this case, a good whole contains both good and evil, but rather than being cut apart with the detached pieces becoming evil, the calm surface of the ultimate ripples, creating good and evil as the result of motion. I think that this metaphor helped me realize the connection between a binary/dualistic universe and a wavelike universe. I also found the frequent reference to the sameness of Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism interesting, as well as the “fall” narrative regarding the transition from the Earlier Heaven to Later Heaven trigram schemas. Despite all this, I would say half or more of the book was hard for me to make heads or tails of. Yang is associated with virtue and purity, as well as with motion. Practitioners are instructed to cultivate yang and mitigate yin. Yin is associated with impurity, sin, and stillness. Despite these associations, the practitioner is supposed to cultivate yang by means of stillness. I suspect this is related to the fact of yin, while impure, necessarily needing to be mixed with yang to return later heaven to earlier heaven, but it isn’t laid out clearly in the book. There’s clearly foundations of Daoist thought that I’m missing and would probably make this text even more useful.

[Amy Mills]

So, the problem with a lot of Taoist classics is that they use flowery, symbolic language that is extremely abstruse. Without some sort of a guide, most of it is clear as mud. I've worked with someone who worked with a Taoist master, and that gave me enough for maybe 5-10% of this. I've had a few experiences in meditation that I could use to draw parallels to certain passages (say 1-2%), and the rest was very nearly gibberish, apart from the constant lifestyle/craving admonitions (which made me think of the taiji adage, 'Don't insist; don't resist'; they feel rather "insisting" imo).

I found the initial passages more helpful than the commentary, in most cases, as the commentary dives deep into the abstruse Taoist meditative symbolism, while the initial passages are in much plainer language. It's interesting that the end-states of the Chinese Big Three are conflated here (Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism). It makes me wonder if practitioners of the other Two would agree with that. Possibly, but in a differently flavored direction.

Anyway, if you don't have at least one of a Taoist teacher, manual of Taoist symbolic imagery, or a strong meditation practice, this will probably not be all that helpful. At least two of those three would be better.

[Darnell]

What would a star rating for a book like this actually mean? It's a religious or philosophical text, depending on how you slice it, and written for those already interested in practicing. I found the layers of original text and commentary interesting, but it's essentially layering abstractions on abstractions.

[Neil Crowle]

This book presents a basic Taoist text, studied by Taoist initiates after the Dao De Jing. It contains the text and an extensive commentary. It will not make a lot of sense to those who know nothing of the material it presents.

[Melody]

Poorly organized, poor transliterations, contradictions with the Daodejing not explained.

[Lisa]

I appreciated this translation. It answered questions I had been carrying.

[Barb]

Although I have had this book on my shelf for years, I continue to find a certain peace within the pages due Eva Wong's ability to capture the essence of Taoism for transformation. I have studied the I Ching off & on over the years, she brings a light that is refreshing and subtle to the movement and the alchemical symbolism of the text.

[Jessica]

Thought provoking, helpful - good to have this material available, Eva Wong does a great job

[Will Brown]

Excellent. Well worth the trouble to wade through.

[Lugdag Severino]

an essential book for understanding of Taoist spirituality

[David Parker]

Loving every minute of it.

[Padraic Cghln]

nahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh