New to Taoism...looking for information

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Recently I've been thinking about following taoism. The idea of complete balance goes back to biological homeostasis really and is true to any science. I have also noticed taoism is completely peaceful as well with tai chi for self defence.

What I want to know is the different sects and their different beliefs, how the monstaeries are run, and other basic philosophies.

Tai chi seems like it'd be a sweet form of meditation hehe.

Tao te ching. Get a copy you feel is well translated, light some incense, and sit on a yoga mat and read, maybe sip some wheatgrass smoothie if you get thirsty. Smoking optional.

action through inaction? yes please!

Learning Tai Chi when I was 18/19 years old was one of the best things I ever did for myself. It helped to balance my mind and body (yes, it will improve your physical balance). It is free from emotion and judgement. It embraces nature and the cycle of all things. It helps free the mind and body of stress.

I wish I could still remember all of the motions now. It's now a sorely missing component of my being.

The first style I learned was a Yang form based on this style:
http://williamccchen.com/

The second style (a Chen short form), I learned from a different school, and it was much more difficult (with obvious fah jing motions), but I liked it better. I didn't study it very long, and my brain doesn't want to help me remember it.


The key is not as much the style as it is finding a good teacher. A really good teacher can make even the simplest short form of Tai Chi totally exuberant and exhausting.

*exhausting - but it will give you energy too!


Edit to add:
For anyone concerned about learning all of the movements of Tai Chi (if your physical coordination is severely lacking), then perhaps chi kung (qigong) breathing meditation might suit you better. (But I can't state how much better I prefer Tai Chi if I only had the choice to do one or the other - many schools teach both).

For self-defense, I would recommend learning Chin Na (joint locking) along with Tai Chi. You can learn to use Tai Chi as a self defense art, but I think it takes a long time. Most training of Tai Chi starts with learning the movements/sequence and not much defense application, while Chin Na will immediately teach even the smallest, lightweight person how to make a large, heavy person submit.

PS - Sorry if I killed your thread.

You will like Tao Te Ching but also the HU Hua Jing is exceptional.
They will blow your mind with every line.

http://www.edepot.com/taosplitv.html choose S. Mitchell as translator