Archive for March 2019
Purple Cloud Institute at the World Congress of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine
Daniel Spigelman will be representing the Purple Cloud Institute at the World Congress of Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine XXI 2019 in Portugal later this year with an in depth lecture and practical workshop on the historical significance of Dao Yin traditions in healing disease and promoting health in ancient China – stay tuned for…
Read MorePodcast Ep.12 – Dapeng Liu: How to Look at a Chinese Painting
China has a long tradition of painting which differs in many ways from traditions in the West, in particular uses of perspective and how painting was intended to be viewed. In this episode of the podcast we talk in depth with artist Dapeng Liu (www.dapengliu.com) about these differences, which can help provide us with a…
Read MoreWho Was Wang Feng Yi 王鳳儀?
Who Was Wang Feng Yi 王鳳儀? (The following is an extract from the Prologue of “Discourse On Transforming Inner Nature: Hua Xing Tan” by Wang Fengyi, Translated by Johan Hausen and Jonas Akers) “Wang Fengyi was born on November 1, 1864 in Wang Jia Yin Zi village, Chaoyang, Liaoning province, China…Due to poverty Wang Fengyi…
Read MorePodcast Ep.11 – Josh Paynter: Parting Clouds
Daoism and healing in China have a long, intertwined history. Beyond the more widely known Chinese therapeutic techniques such as acupuncture and herbal prescriptions, Daoists have incorporated other more esoteric modalities in the healing of illnesses such as incantation and talismans. In this episode, we talk in depth with Josh Paynter, co-founder of Parting Clouds…
Read MoreOn the Prohibition of Alcohol in Buddhism
This post provides the background story for the prohibition of alcohol in Buddhism. It was translated as part of extensive footnotes for the Commentary on the 33rd Barrier, the Barrier of Greeding for Alcohol [tan jiu guan贪酒关] by Xing De, abbot of Five Immortals Temple: This story of Buddha’s disciple is recounted in the《Mahāsāñghikavinaya》[mo he…
Read MoreJourney To The West (Excerpt) – All the Spirits Encounter Vicious Attacks
The following translation was catalyzed by an initial comparison of Wu Cheng-En’s [吴承恩] book the 《 Journey to the West》with the Chinese source text by Qiu Chu Ji [丘处机]. The author felt that some layers and nuances of meaning may have been lost in Wu Cheng-En’s interpretation and a new version would be warranted: 诸神遭毒手弥勒缚妖魔…
Read MoreHerbal Legends: He Shou Wu 何首烏 Pt.2
The emperor Hanwu was very ambitious to expand the Chinese Kingdom and to unify it. He employed martial as well as diplomatic strategies to achieve his goal. The present-day province of Sichuan did not yet belong to the empire, thus in order to win it over, he sent his officer Sima Xiangru as diplomat into…
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