PARTICIPANTS WILL RECIEVE:  

• Detailed instructions in Daoist Non-Conceptual Meditation
• Ongoing meditation refinement
• Pointing out instructions 
• Supplementary exercises to enhance the practice entry & result
• Spiritual hygiene instructions 
• In-depth question and answer sessions
• Recordings will be available for all classes if unable to attend live.

The upcoming 7-month online retreat in Daoist Non-Conceptual Meditation led by Dharma Bodhi focuses on the meditation technique called zuo wang and its instructions contained in the essential “inner chapters” of the Dao De Jing. The Dao De Jing is considered to be the seminal text of meditative and philosophical Daoism. Participants will use the Dao De Jing text translated by the Daoist Liu Ming. Liu Ming’s translation and commentary are by far the best available today, being the only translation and commentary written in English by a Daoist lineage holder-practitioner. It is especially useful for this retreat as its sole focus is on the specific chapters that give profound Daoist Meditation instructions from the Wuwei (non-conceptual effortless path of Daoism) Tradition of the Daoist Adept.

The emphasis in this online retreat is the progressive deepening of the practice of formless Non-Conceptual Meditation or zuo wang and its Fruit. Some Daoist “form-based” meditation exercises and daily hygiene practices may be given to supplement zuo wang meditation in order to harmonize the flow of the energy through your channels, thereby creating easier entry into the non-conceptual experience pointed to in the Dao De Jing.

Dharma Bodhi’s Connection to Daoism

Dharma Bodhi was trained in the practice of zuo wang (literally “sit-forget”) by his first martial art teacher in 1974, and made it a regular practice from 1980 onwards when he was introduced to the study of the Dao De Jing by his second martial arts master – William Chung, who practiced a blend of Daoism and Mahayana Buddhism. At that time there weren’t any translations of the DDJ text in English written by lineage-holder practitioners. In his early twenties Dharma Bodhi met and trained with various Daoists (especially T.K. Shih, B.P. Chan and Ken Cohen) living in, or near his home base in New York City, who helped him continue in Daoist meditation. This increased his understanding of the profound instructions encoded in the DDJ.

In the late 90’s Dharma would meet his final Daoist Teacher - Liu Ming. The two become good friends and co-taught a summer retreat at Pema Ösel Ling in the Santa Cruz mountains of California before Dharma eventually moved his school to Thailand in 2007. In 2002, Dharma moved into the loft next door to Ming in downtown Oakland, California in order to deepen their association and finalize his training in Daoism. Most students know of Dharma Bodhi as a teacher of Indian and Tibetan Dharmas, but he also credits his spiritual development in no small way to his practice of Daoism and his study with Liu Ming. Dharma considers the Liu Family Tradition of Daoism (a blend of the family’s original teaching with the Zhang and Tianshidao sects) to be an authentic Mahāsiddha Teaching/Path based on the Light Body fruition of its advanced practitioners and similarity of View. Liu Ming has reported that his own Daoist master left this world via transmogrification (the technical word for manifesting a Body of Light) in the mountains of Taiwan in the presence of himself and a handful of other close students. Dharma was fortunate to have received multiple alternative and valid translations of each chapter of the DDJ from Liu Ming over the years he studied with him. Some of these unpublished alternative renderings will be shared during the retreat.

Dhama Bodhi received these transmissions from Liu, Ming (1999 – 2007)

• Initiation into Liu family branch of the Zheng Yi Dao tradition, and the name Biān Yun (Cloud Weaver)  
• Instruction in Liu Family Alchemical Practice texts
• Instruction in the 8 Celestial Gates Meditation Retreat & associated Jin Dan
• Instruction in Zi Wei or Pole Star Daoist Astrology
• Transmission of the Zhou Yi for use as an oracle
• Transmission of Liu, Ming’s translation and commentary of the Dao De Jing as a profound manual of Daoist Non-Conceptual Meditation (zuo wang)

DATES

7 MONTH TRAINING: February to August, 2024

- 2 Sundays per month -

9AM - 12PM EST (Maine, USA time)

Dates:  (14 total classes)

• Feb 18
• March 3 & 17
• April 7, 14 & 28
• May 5 & 26
• June 9 & 23
• July 7 & 21
• August 4 & Saturday Aug 10

* Recordings will be available if you are unable to attend the live Zoom class.

BOOK MATERIALS

Students are suggested to purchase this text for class, if available:

• OBSERVING: Wu Wei :: The Heart of the Daodejing // Translation + Commentary by Liu Ming // Published by DA YUAN CIRCLE // Oakland, California

***Note (1/25/24): This book is currently SOLD OUT from the publisher. Dharma Bodhi will be reading each one of the chapters, which is no more than 4 sentences long. It can easily be transcribed for studying purposes, if you are unable to find a new or used copy.

If you are a student new to Daoism, it is recommended to read the following book:

• Yuan Dao by D.C. Lau and Roger T. Ames // Ballantine Books

For further supportive reading students may enjoy:

• Chuang Tzu: The Inner Chapters by David Hinton // On Counterpoint Books

CLASS FEE

$210