Daoist Studies 道教研究

Come to a spectacular mountain in New Mexico and explore how living a Daoist life can make a difference in the world today, how Daoism can provide a more appropriate worldview, conceptual structures, and behavioral guidelines that allow us to treat self, society, nature, and the cosmos as one interconnected webwork and thereby bring healing to the people and harmony to the world.

To immerse ourselves in Dao, our day begins with qigong stretches. After breakfast we explore six areas of progressive unfolding: cosmic thinking, mental ease, energetic potency, body awareness, social connection, and being in nature. In each case, we use original sources from key religious scriptures. Lunch follows, and a break period for resting, hiking, or more active practice.

In the afternoon, we experiment with a form of Daoist cultivation: sitting in oblivion, visualization, dietetics, daoyin exercises (breathing, qi-guiding), interpersonal connection, and Feng Shui. Preparing a healthy, whole-foods dinner while applying positive internal energy, we continue our discussion of Daoist worldview and lifestyle choices and as well as of issues of social transformation and global vision, ever more ready to live a Daoist life full of harmony and integration.

Dates: Sept. 11-18, 2010

Location: Bear Mountain Range, Cibola National Forest, south of Albuquerque

Price: $ 850.00 (room, board, tuition, and 2 textbooks)

NOTE: Deposit of $ 300 payable at the time of registration; 100% refundable until July 1, 50% until Aug. 1. Full payment due August 1. Participants limited to 10.

Your Teacher:
Livia Kohn is professor emerita of Religion and East Asian Studies at Boston University. A graduate of Bonn University, Germany, she has spent many years pursuing research on medieval Daoism and Chinese long life practices. She has written and edited 25 books on different aspects of Daoism and has taught it for over 20 years.
She is also a practitioner and teacher of taiji quan, qigong, yoga, hypnosis, and meditation. She has lived in Japan for a total of ten years and traveled widely in Asia, especially China, Korea, and Thailand. Aside from her native German, she is also fluent in Chinese and Japanese.

DAILY SCHEDULE

Time Place Activity
AM
7:00 Yurt Qigong stretches
7:45 House Breakfast
9:00 Yurt Session 1: World as Dao
12:00 House Lunch
PM
3:00 Yurt Session 2: Transforming Self
6:00 House Spirit in the Kitchen
7:00 House Dinner, Discussion, & Dancing

INCLUDED TEXTBOOKS:

Livia Kohn, Daoist Dietetics
Livia Kohn, Sitting in Oblivion
PDF file of texts to be read

RECOMMENDED READINGS:

Wayne Dyer, Change Your Thoughts—Change Your Life
Livia Kohn, ed., Daoist Body Cultivation
Livia Kohn, Chinese Healing Exercises
Buton Watson, Chuang Tzu: Inner Chapters
Sarah Rossbach, Feng Shui: The Chinese Art of Placement

NOTE

Participants are invited to share their practice as fits the theme and schedule: meditation, taiji quan, qigong, or any other favorite cultivation activity.
SYLLABUS

Day Session Topic

0 PM Arrival, Dinner, Welcome

1 AM The World According to Dao
Text: Daoti lun, Qingjing jing
PM Meditation: Concentration, Insight, Oblivion
Quiet Sitting/Oblivion

2 AM The (Un)Making of Identity
Text: Dingguan jing, Neiguan jing, Daoyin jing (1)
PM Sensory Control: Chanting, Visualization, Guiding Qi
Inner Smile/Six Healing Sounds

3 AM Ways of Energetic Transformation
Text: Sheyang lun, Tiaoqi jing
PM Dietetics: Rules, Rites, Recipes
Eating Habits/Menus

4 AM Body Cultivation
Text: Baosheng jing, Daoyin jing (2)
PM Body Cultivation: Daoyin, Breathing, Qigong
Master Redpine/Women’s Practice

5 AM Self and Society, Cosmos and Morality
Text: Chisongzi zhongjie jing, Riyong miaojing
PM Social Interaction: Sex, Community, Business
Happiness Questionnaire

6 AM Environment: Feng Shui and Proper Placement
PM Concluding Discussion: How to live a Daoist Life?
Qi Dancing

7 AM Breakfast, Departure, Return Home