> He is a business man selling stuff to a gullible public. Because the nature of the stuff is so amorphous you can easily distort and invent it as needed.
That is true. And the "amorphous" comment holds for any teacher. Had you really investigated his stuff (which I get the feeling you haven't) you'd probably have gone further. Chia's books contain a lot of repetition and in aggregate are confusing to follow. Some even contain such gibberish as claiming that water has a "crystalline structure". In my experience it's difficult to find a competent teacher who actually understands (and can teach) the overall system. However, the Microcosmic and Macrocosmic Orbits are effective as can be discovered with a day or two's effort and are widely referenced in much older sources as the Lesser and Greater Water Wheels/Heavenly Cycles. So it'd be unwise to throw the baby out with the bath water on account of someone being a businessman. The Fusion practices are interesting and insightful if done correctly and the Kan & Li meditations also appears effective (but I'm still exploring them). The Kan & Li is the mainstay of internal alchemy and is widely discussed in a variety of far older texts [1], so I doubt he's made that one up either.
Michael Winn talks about how the Communist government gutted qi gong of its spiritual practices and that TCM is diluted as a result (one of your articles mentions a clampdown on it too). I believe Winn's been to China several times and has studied with a variety of teachers apart from Chia. His stuff stacks up so I'm inclined to believe him.
While it's fine to reference older texts though, no one has a monopoly on our nervous systems. For me, the only thing that matters is efficacy regardless of lineage/culture. I don't care for names, superstitions, mythologies or rituals - I only seek (and keep hold of) what works for me. We are incredibly fortunate to live at a time when formerly secret knowledge is widely available. I would encourage the astute student to also study cross-culturally in order to find the most effective, personally verifiable practices available given today's opportunities for research.
That is true. And the "amorphous" comment holds for any teacher. Had you really investigated his stuff (which I get the feeling you haven't) you'd probably have gone further. Chia's books contain a lot of repetition and in aggregate are confusing to follow. Some even contain such gibberish as claiming that water has a "crystalline structure". In my experience it's difficult to find a competent teacher who actually understands (and can teach) the overall system. However, the Microcosmic and Macrocosmic Orbits are effective as can be discovered with a day or two's effort and are widely referenced in much older sources as the Lesser and Greater Water Wheels/Heavenly Cycles. So it'd be unwise to throw the baby out with the bath water on account of someone being a businessman. The Fusion practices are interesting and insightful if done correctly and the Kan & Li meditations also appears effective (but I'm still exploring them). The Kan & Li is the mainstay of internal alchemy and is widely discussed in a variety of far older texts [1], so I doubt he's made that one up either.
Michael Winn talks about how the Communist government gutted qi gong of its spiritual practices and that TCM is diluted as a result (one of your articles mentions a clampdown on it too). I believe Winn's been to China several times and has studied with a variety of teachers apart from Chia. His stuff stacks up so I'm inclined to believe him.
While it's fine to reference older texts though, no one has a monopoly on our nervous systems. For me, the only thing that matters is efficacy regardless of lineage/culture. I don't care for names, superstitions, mythologies or rituals - I only seek (and keep hold of) what works for me. We are incredibly fortunate to live at a time when formerly secret knowledge is widely available. I would encourage the astute student to also study cross-culturally in order to find the most effective, personally verifiable practices available given today's opportunities for research.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Harmonizing-Yin-Yang-Dragon-Tiger-Cla...