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Temp, I understand your frustrations, believe me. I've often heard of the saying "when the student is ready the teacher will come." I guess that means two seperate things (at least to me it does). First one should seriously wonder if one is ready to fully embark on the Way. And second, usually the teacher and student find one another by 'chance.' Unfortunately those 'chances' decrease dramatically in the west since Taoism is a purely Chinese way of thought. And you're right, there is no way to go anywhere without the guidance of a Taoist master because Taoism is almost entirely an oral tradition (we can change the word master with the word teacher if it makes some us here more comfortable). Some Masters/Teachers undoubtebly live here in the States, but they aren't going to go out and promote themselves, much less place advertisement ads on the yellow pages.

But have no fear! There is always a way to find the Way through a great deal of perseverance. If I were in your shoes (which I am) this is what I would do. I'd start out with martial arts. Most sects of Taoism start out with martial arts anyway. So try to find a martial arts teacher in your area that teaches Taoist base forms (Tai chi, Ba kua, Hsing I, liuhebafa are among a few). If you're really lucky, the teacher will also be a Taoist adept. Or you can ask her/him who taught these forms or if she's aware of any Taoist in the area. Another source is the Taoist Restoration Society. That's an online project that's fundraising money to restore the destroyed Taoist temples of China. They have a directory which lists places to go in all 50 states and some part of Europe and elsewhere. I hope this helps. Good luck on your quest.

My best reply to that comment is definitely "huh??"


taoboy, you've left me a little confused. Temp asked a simple question on how to follow the path of Taoist self cultivation and I answered that as best as I could. I don't see how that has any relevance to general open mindedness.