Mantak Chia
| Mantak Chia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
April 24, 1944 Bangkok, Thailand |
| Residence | Chiangmai, Thailand |
| Occupation | Author, teacher, and healer |
| Known for | Taoism and Qi Gong |
| Children | Max Chia |
| Website | MantakChia.com |
Mantak Chia (Chinese: 謝明德, Pinyin: Xiè Míngdé, born April 24, 1944 in Bangkok, Thailand) is a Taoist Master. He is best known for his teaching Taoist practices under the names of Healing Tao, Tao Yoga, Universal Healing Tao System and Qi Gong. He has run numerous workshops, written a series of books, and published a number of training videos. He views himself primarily as a teacher.[1]
Biography
Mantak Chia was born to a Chinese family in Thailand in 1944. He was raised in a Christian family. His father was a Baptist minister. He began studying the Buddhist method of "still the mind" at the age of six, and later he studied Muay Thai boxing, T'ai chi ch'uan, Kung Fu and Taoist and Buddhist meditation practices from several masters. Of all his masters, the most influential one was Yi Eng (White Cloud), an eremitic member of the Dragon's Gate sect of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school of Taoism[2][3] (Chinese: 道家全真龙门派), who taught Mantak Chia a complete Taoist training system and authorized him to teach and heal.
Later, he studied Western anatomy and medical science for two years to better understand the physiological mechanisms behind healing energy.
He established his first Universal Healing Tao school in Thailand in 1974 after systematizing his knowledge of Taoism. He founded the Universal Healing Tao Center (originally named the Taoist Esoteric Yoga Center) in New York in 1979. The center attracted a broad variety of European and American students, and some of them greatly helped him in teaching Taoist practices to western students. He returned to Thailand in 1994 and created the Universal Tao Training Center—Tao Garden—in Chiang Mai. He not only teaches at Tao Garden but also tours to other countries of the world to teach and promote the Healing Tao practices every year.
Spiritual Core
Rooted in traditional Taoist practices, Chia's teaching system develops integrated physical, mental and spiritual (energy) bodies internal to human beings. The focus is on developing human life energy — Qi — for self-healing and life transformation.
Lineage
Chia's lineage is the Dragon's Gate sect of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school of Taoism (Chinese: 道家全真龙门派). This sect takes the practical approach in studying Taoist Inner Alchemy (Chinese: 内丹实修派). It emphasizes knowledge and method that are effective to develop the states of inner experience and consciousness that are the birthright of all humans and accessible by all, without unnecessary rituals. After having inherited the complete Taoist internal spiritual cultivation system from his master, Yi Eng, Chia followed the master's instruction to teach it to others.
Nine Step-by-step Formulas
Formula 1: Primordial Force Activation
This formula has a variety of practices. There are three major categories:
- Basic Practices I.
| Name | Book | Video | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inner Smile | Cosmic Inner Smile | Yes | |
| Six Healing Sounds | Cosmic Healing Sounds | Yes | |
| Microcosmic Orbit | Yes | Circulate chi in the governor and functional channels. Fundamental to more advanced practices. | |
| Chi Self-Massage | Chi Self-Massage: The Taoist Way of Rejuvenation | Yes |
- Basic Practices II. This set is also called "Qi Gong for Healing" for their strong qi development and healing effects.
| Name | Book | Video | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deep Abdominal Breathing | Deep Abdominal Breathing, Energizer and Empty Force Breath. | ||
| Laughing Chi Kung | |||
| Activating the Stem Cells | Yes | ||
| Elixir Chi Kung | Yes | ||
| Tan Tien Chi Kung | |||
| Iron Shirt Chi Kung I, II, and III | Iron Shirt Chi Kung, Bone Marrow Nei Kung | Yes | Develop chi, align body structure, strengthen tendon and bone, and rejuvenate bone marrow. |
| Tai Chi Chi Kung I and II | Yes | ||
| Tao Yin | Yes |
- Medical Chi Kung. This set has its values in certain treatments.
| Name | Book | Video | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chi Nei Tsang I and II | Yes | ||
| Cosmic Healing Chi Kung I and II | Yes | ||
| Karsai Nei Tsang | Yes |
Formula 2: Basic Sexual Alchemy Practices
Taoists believe that sexual organs and kidneys store Jing (Chinese: 精), and Jing can be transformed into Chi and Shen (Chinese: 神) by taoist sexual practices.
| Name | Book | Video | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Male Sexual Alchemy | Taoist Secrets of Love: Cultivating Male Sexual Energy, The Multi-orgasmic Man | Yes | Control ejaculation (avoid semen loss) and transform the sexual energy up into chi and spiritual forces. |
| Female Sexual Alchemy | Healing Love through the Tao: Cultivating Female Sexual Energy, The Multi-orgasmic Woman | Yes | Control menstruation (avoid blood loss) and transform the sexual energy up into chi and spiritual forces. |
| Dual-Cultivation | The Multi-orgasmic Couple | Yes | Exchange Yin and Yang in whole-body orgasms or valley orgasms. |
Formula 3: Fusion of Five Elements and Eight Pakua (Chinese: 八卦) Forces
| Name | Book | Video | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fusion I, II and III | Fusion of the Five Elements, Cosmic Fusion, Fusion of Eight Psychic Channels | Yes | Refine organs' energy and open more chi channels. |
Formula 4: Lesser Enlightenment of Kan and Li
| Name | Book | Video | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inner Sexual Alchemy | Lesser Kan and Li | Fuse chi from the heart with sexual energy. |
Formula 5: Greater Enlightenment of Kan and Li
| Name | Book | Video | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun, Moon and Planets Alchemy | Greater Kan and Li |
Formula 6: Greatest Enlightenment of Kan and Li
| Name | Book | Video | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Planets, Star, and Soul Alchemy | Greatest Kan and Li |
Formula 7: Sealing Five Senses
| Name | Book | Video | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Star and Galaxy Alchemy | Sealing of the Five Senses |
Formula 8: Congress of Heaven and Earth
| Name | Book | Video | Short Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heaven and Earth Alchemy |
Brief Explanation of the Nine Formulas
The first two formulas are probably the most famous parts of Mantak Chia's teaching. However, they are not the core of the system. The purpose of the two formulas is to invoke one's awareness of qi, to strengthen it, and to open important qi channels in one's body, such as the governor and functional channels. These practices build a solid foundation for later formulas.
Sexual energy plays very important roles in qi cultivation. Taoist practitioners believe that the sexual energy accounts for a large part of the energy that a human body generates, and a person cannot achieve spiritual fulfillment without conserving and leveraging the power of the sexual energy. The first step of traditional inner alchemy (Chinese: 内丹) is transforming the material carrier of sexual energy (Jing) into Qi. The second formula lays a solid foundation for this purpose. However, because sex is a "hot" topic in a society, teaching sexual practices might be controversial.
The third formula, Fusion, really starts inner alchemy practices. Inner alchemy traditionally has three stages: transforming jing to qi, transforming qi to shen, returning shen to void. Qi and shen are inner life energies with shen being a more refined level, and both originate from the same original universe force. In Kan Li practices, one should have developed strong qi of all kinds so that intercourses of different qi take place resulting in a qi entity, call qi pearl (Chinese: 内丹), inside one's own body. This process is often described by the analogy of intercourses of a female and a male which leads to a fertilized egg. The intensive qi activities create an internal energy body which becomes the center of further practices, and eventually, the internal body leads to Tao, reaching immortality. Cultivating the internal body and merging into Tao are the central practices of Taoist inner alchemy, which require great dedication and determination.
Different views
James Miller thinks that Mantak Chia's teachings of qi and cosmology is similar to the Taoist instructor Hua-ching Ni, but Chia's books lack discussion of philosophy, ethics or everyday practical advice. The system Chia presents is a narrowly focused system of Qi Gong rooted firmly in neidan.[2]
Machacek and Wilcox think that Chia's study of Taoist sexuality has the trend in Taoist writings intended for a Western audience, a combination of theoretical knowledge and personal experience, which leads to a proliferation of subjective and modern "love manuals" and expositions on the Taoist way of love.[4]
King's College scholar Peter B. Clarke thinks that Chia's Healing Tao is one of the few Thai new religious movements to have achieved an international following.[5]
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
- Clarke, John James. The Tao of the West: Western Transformations of Taoist Thought. Routledge, 2000. ISBN 0-415-20619-7.
- Clarke, Peter Bernard. New religions in global perspective: a study of religious change in the modern world. Routledge, 2006. ISBN 0-415-25748-4.
- Kohn, Livia. Chinese Healing Exercises: The Tradition of Daoyin. University of Hawaii Press, 2008. ISBN 0-8248-3269-8.
- Larthe, Christopher. "Mantak Chia – A Modern Taoist Master". Positive Health, July 1999 (Issue 42).
- Machacek, David W. & Wilcox, Melissa M. Sexuality and the world's religions. ABC-CLIO, 2003. ISBN 1-57607-359-9.
- Chia, Mantak and Winn, Michael. "Taoist Secrets of Love – Cultivating Male Sexual Energy". Aurora Press, 1984. ISBN 0-943358-19-1.
- Miller, James. Chinese religions in contemporary society. ABC-CLIO, 2006. ISBN 1-85109-626-4.
- Chia, Mantak and Stone, Sarina. "Smiling Anatomy for Children, Level 1". Empowerment Through Knowledge, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9826384-0-8.
- Chia, Mantak and Stone, Sarina. "Smiling Anatomy for Children, Level 2". Empowerment Through Knowledge, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9826384-1-5.
- Chia, Mantak and Stone, Sarina. "Smiling Anatomy for Children, Level 3". Empowerment Through Knowledge, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9826384-3-9.
Further reading
- Chia, Mantak & Maneewan. Fusion of the Five Elements I: Basic and Advanced Meditations for Transforming Negative Emotions (Taoist Inner Alchemy Series). Healing Tao Books, 1991 (Reissue edition). ISBN 0-935621-18-0
- Chia, Mantak. Cosmic Healing I: Cosmic Chi Kung. Universal Tao Publications, 2001. ISBN 974-87672-5-6.
