Expert: Joe McSorley - 8/22/2006

Question
Hello,
According to your expertise information, you are not only a buddhist, but also an expert on taoist philosophy.

What is your opinion about the taoist practise and philosophy system created by Mantak Chia and Michael Winn?

This seems to be largest branche of taoism in the west.  

Answer
Dear Daniel,
In the early 1980’s, about 10 years into my kung fu practice, I learned about Mantak Chia who was teaching qigong in NYC Chinatown.  At this point there were no Chinese sifus (teachers) who would teach these techniques to occidentals.  I spent close to two years driving up there to learn the different techniques from Sifu Chia and since then he has branched out to teaching all over the world.  I commend him for his openness and willingness to teach all people at a time when no other Asians were doing so.  I have not seen him since the mid 80’’s and I do not know Michael Winn.  The only other real source available to us at the time was Lu Kuan Yu’s book “Taoist Yoga, Alchemy and Immortality”, which was first given to me by a Chinese professor of philosophy teaching Taoism. It was this professor who introduced me to kung fu in the early 1970’s. Kuan Yu was considered to be a true awakened master in the Zen understanding of satori.
 My exposure to Taoism has been twofold; one being the philosophical aspects as contained in the Tao Te Ching and the Inner Chapters and the other as what is commonly practiced in China at the temples and by the common folk.  These are two very divergent systems though not necessarily at conflict.  The sifus and masters I’ve been around in the Chinese community see Taoism as alchemy and magic in an attempt to harmonize with the Tao.  This takes every extreme from sublime meditation to calling on spirits and alchemy.  Most religions have these extremes and there is not an underlying unifier in Taoism that pulls it all together.  Taoism is what Lao Tzu and Chuang tzu taught and it is also the meditation and alchemy of qigong because this is the most common practice of the philosophy.  Sifu Chia as attempted to take many of the superstitions out of qigong training and make it more systematic and approachable.  There is a lot of mythology in the qigong teaching that I have seen Sifu Chia try to remove.
  I don’t know if I would call Sifu Chia’s Taoism a branch of Taoism but it is a system that he has promoted very well.  There is a strange conflict in Taoism about developing qigong and the diamond body and it’s this: if you become one with the Tao then you’ve overcome life and death so why do you need to develop the diamond body?
Though I practice kung fu and qigong I find the essence of Taoism in the original books to be the heart of Taoism. With or without qigong practice it is the realization of the interpenetration of all things that matters. If the qigong helps one to realize this then it is a good expression of the Tao.
           Take care,
            Joe