Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!wuarchive!udel!princeton!phoenix!vaxa.isi.edu
From: mick@vaxa.isi.edu (Mick ODonnell)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.eastern
Subject: Re: Taoism and Tai Chi
Message-ID: <14555@phoenix.Princeton.EDU>
Date: 15 Mar 90 14:43:03 GMT
Sender: mukund@phoenix.Princeton.EDU
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Approved: mukund@phoenix.Princeton.EDU

In article <14523@phoenix.Princeton.EDU> temvax!stephen@bpa.bell-atl.com (Stephen C. Arnold) writes:
>There is a link between the practice of Tai Chi and Taoism.  I have been
>practicing Tai Chi for about 4 1/2 year now.  I am starting to find emotionals
>linked to movement (of my form in partical).
>
>Has anyone else experianced this connection and does it continue to change
>into a spiritual connention (as I expect)?  Is it general that Taoist practice
>sneaks up on you and the you realise you doing sometime? Or is this true of
>eastern religion in general.


   I don't have any quotes in evidence, but I have gathered that
historically Tai Chi and Taoism are strongly linked. Tai Chi has been
part of the Taoist practice for ages. One could say that tai chi is an
expression of the Tao in movement, containing the principles of
yin-yang, circularity, strength-in-weakness, holistic functionality
etc.

   The different approaches to Tai Chi also match different aspects of
Taoism. One approach to Tai Chi is more concerned with balance -
bringing the bodies energies into harmony, and the mind into
quietness. I feel this approach matches closely the Tao as expressed
by Lao Tsu in the Tao Te Ching. The other approach to Tai Chi concerns
itself with raising the bodies energies, with the use of power (for
whatever ends). This relates to the latter day Taoist writings where
taoist practice is, also, directed at increasing one's powers.
Certainly the writings on taoist sex suggest more competition between
the sexes for the sexual energy, rather than a sharing/grounding.

  All this is possibly wrong, due to the limitations of my knowledge,
and lack of reference materials at this moment. My interest has been
with practicing tai chi, not so much with following its history. 

Michael.