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I read this book as an outsider - someone curious about the Taoist alchemical tradition, the sexual yoga so deeply involved it, and its form in the current era. This collection of essays and translations is very helpful, and helpful in several ways. Hsi starts with and outline of the White Tigress, Jade Dragon beliefs and the program of study that is involved. Next, Hsi addresses the different kinds of male temperaments and organs, and offers a series of solo and couples' exercises for strengthening the penis and the sexual energy that guides it. Hsi notes that many readers will stop there, deriving physical and sexual benefit from the practices, but not spiritual. Next, Hsi offers a translation of the Plain Girl classic written 2000 years ago, conversations between a seeker and the immortal Plain Girl. A few more translations or guides follow, ending with an eighteenth century autobiography. It describes the induction of a young man into Taoism monasticism. His master felt that the student's physical weakness made him too fragile a vessel to hold enlightenment, and prescribed Jade Dragon practice to strengthen his body and mind. That student describes his own advance under Jade Dragon practice, and its benefit to his later life. I don't always know whether Hsi is writing in the first person, passing on the knowledge that he was given, or rendering a classic text into English. More clarity there would have helped. Even if it lacks in academic rigor, this book lacks nothing in its main purpose. It's a happy statement that carnal energy and personal enlightenment can and must work together.Read full review
The book details precise practice, development, attitudinal cultivation of the higher aspects of mental integration thru sexual practice.
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