Q&A: The Role of Physical Cultivation, Energy Practices, and Bringing Luminosity to the Foreground

Question

A practitioner recently contacted me to ask about the role of physical cultivation and energy practices in spiritual practice. They mentioned that while concepts and mindsets are one type of obstacle, the body seems to be a more fundamental obstacle that affects the intensity of experience (such as the sense of luminosity). They wondered if, upon reaching a certain stage, the full opening of the chakras or the microcosmic/macrocosmic orbit is bound to happen. Noting that Daoism places great emphasis on physical cultivation, they asked what forms of physical cultivation exist in Buddhism.

Furthermore, they shared their current state of practice: on the one hand, they are experiencing luminosity as a background for longer and more natural periods, striving to integrate the presence of "I AM" into all aspects of life; on the other hand, while trying to strengthen their physical cultivation (such as abdominal breathing and Qigong), they feel a sense of "physical weakness" and a lack of motivation, believing this might be a major obstacle in their practice, and hoped to receive some guidance.

Response

Hi [Questioner],

Thank you for the email and for completing the proofreading.

Regarding your questions about physical cultivation and energy work, I honestly cannot guide you on energy practices. For that, you really need to find a qualified teacher. I know very little about Taoism and energy practices myself; John Tan is much more of an expert in this area.

Buddhism does have its own forms of energy practice. For example, there is Yantra Yoga in the Dzogchen tradition of Acarya Malcolm Smith and Chögyal Namkhai Norbu. I actually flew from Singapore to Queensland, Australia in 2024 to attend Acarya Malcolm Smith's Dzogchen teachings, and his sangha went through some Yantra Yoga exercises there. Just letting you know, they have a sangha with practitioners in various Australian cities—I think Melbourne too, but you should check.

Another example is in the Zen tradition. Teachers like Meido Moore (Rinzai Zen) teach energy practices. These are just a few examples; there are more out there. All of these can be very helpful, but you must find the appropriate teachers.

To give you some perspective, John Tan mentioned this back in 2016:

"Anatta is like opening the upper Dan Tien... Your lower and middle need practice. Some are able to resolve immediately after anatta insight into selfless non-action, but those are the cream of practitioners." - John Tan

I also recently shared this exchange with someone that might be relevant to your questions about paths and energy:

Questioner: Hey Soh, very quick question. Nafis told me that it would be very hard to become a Buddha in one lifetime with Zen alone, and you need Vajrayana practice for this, to work with energy and the channels and stuff. Is this a view you and John Tan share as well, or was that his personal view? Just asking out of curiosity.

Soh: That is the Vajrayana's view in general, not unique to Nafis. But this is the view of John Tan which he just shared recently:

30 AUGUST 2020

John Tan: Don't worry about all those, but sort out using your view of insight of anatta, dependent origination, and emptiness, freedom from extremes, and total exertion. That is enough. All paths and traditions, and even other religions, are to have direct experiential taste of our nature. Once you are clear and have direct experiential taste of empty clarity free from observer and observed, the rest is just how to integrate into the three states.

Whether you go by energy system, yoga, Vajrayana, Taoism, or Taoist alchemy... they have the same [Soh: goal?]. It is just how clear, how precise, and does the view conflict with the path and experience.

07 JANUARY 2022

John Tan: Even post-anatta you will be dealing more with presence and energy rather than concepts, especially when you deconstruct more and more.

Soh Wei Yu: I see.

John Tan: But you need not go through the Vajrayana path. Like Zen, Meido Moore Roshi is good.

(Note from Soh: Zen Master Meido Moore has his own teachings on energy practices and dealing with energy but it comes from the Rinzai Zen tradition. Zen also adopts some energy practices, although I'm not sure of its origins, it may have adapted some from Taoism possibly.)

21 JULY 2025

John Tan: Maybe you should explore Vajrayana guru yoga.

Soh Wei Yu: I see. Why?

John Tan: Seems to work better for you than analysis. Practice diligently for a while and see how it goes. It means, by the taste of anatta, see how guru yoga can bring you further.

Soh Wei Yu: I see.

John Tan: Most importantly, the mind-body dissolution must be so thorough and stable... see how guru yoga can open up your body and mind.

LAST YEAR

John Tan: I don't know about deity yoga. My path has been very simple and direct. By the way, I am getting a lot of benefits through deepening my views of dependent arising. There is no need to think more, in my opinion, but to bring what I know now deep into my cell level. Hopefully within this life...

I've just translated an article precisely about this practice of contemplating anatta and bringing luminosity to foreground, hope it helps:
🔗 When Sound Hears Itself: A Journey to Realizing Anatta

Best regards,
Wei Yu

P.S. On Somatic Practices and Energy

I just found an excerpt from John Tan who wrote to Nafis in 2024:

I would suggest that instead of interpreting experiences through the lens of space and time, we should consider them in terms of body and mind.

Although we recognize that appearances are a reflection of our own radiance, our understanding is still heavily biased towards the mental aspect.

As a result, the insight that 'body' is equally 'mind' and that 'freeing one's body is freeing one's mind' has not fully arisen. Consequently, we often overlook the importance of somatic practices in freeing the mind.

For several decades, I have been practicing Taoist macrocosmic and microcosmic orbit exercises, as well as yoga. I have noticed that many people, including myself, tend to focus excessively on the mental aspect due to habitual tendencies. This default mode of over-emphasizing the mental is not necessary. Instead, what is needed is not vivid and clear visualization of microcosmic energy points and channels, but rather a light and gentle attention on these points, aided by breathing and the sensations of placing the palms on them. By allowing physical sensations to naturally guide our awareness, we can gently focus on these points.

When I practice pranayama and yoga, I apply the same principle, which helps to open the body with minimal mental involvement. With this new understanding, our practice will gradually become more somatic, rather than overly reliant on the mental aspect.

Eventually, this gentle and light attention to somatic opening of our body will have a very tangible effect, facilitating a natural and spontaneous state of effortless opening when we further mature our exhaustion of mind's reifications and phenomena.

- John Tan

Also, the following conversation may be of interest:

08 JULY 2024

Soh Wei Yu: Malcolm calls schizophrenia a spirit-induced disorder.

John Tan: Yeah. Now you know why I never want to discuss energy practices.

Soh Wei Yu: I see. You think his is caused by that?

John Tan: You remember I told you about 10 years back, don't act smart and start talking about energy practices where you don't know, and it can cause issues that no doctors can solve. Not sure, but I think he may be engaged in some of these or whatever that alters the mind in a radical way.

Soh Wei Yu: I see. Yeah, nowadays I prefer the sort of calming and openness taught by Buddha even in Pali suttas. Not altering mind state. 🤣 Don't want to create trouble.

John Tan: You have created enough troubles and don't mislead people.

Soh Wei Yu: I don't talk about energy practices. But Nafis seems to be very much into it. I do chanting and Song of Vajra singing though sometimes, but it's not very intensive. Like maybe only ten minutes in the morning and evening. I don't consider it an energy-related practice. The only energy-related is I try to ground myself in somatic and dantien breathing like vase breathing.

John Tan: Ok. From an experience perspective, anatta and total exertion is already Tian Ren He Yi (天人合一) in Taoism also, no need to look elsewhere. No need to go for radical exhaustion of karma and obscurations. There are no shortcuts for it. Do balance regular exercises and observe diets in a holistic way to complement your radiance. The rest is just refinement of views. Benefits will be very tangible.

09 JUNE 2024

John Tan: The Taoist approach to understanding energy, or qi/prana, is deeply rooted in the concepts of yin and yang five elements (2Y5E). It's a comprehensive system that considers the interactions between human beings, the earth, and the heavens, all within the framework of time and space. This perspective is seen as a universal principle that applies to everything.

In Taoism, the dynamic exchanges between the yin and yang and the 5 elements (2Y5E) of an individual and the (2Y5E) of the environment and (2Y5E) of space and time, are believed to influence one's spirit, health, and astrological destiny. 2Y5E is the common denominator; therefore, a profound comprehension of the I Ching and the Yin Yang Five Elements (干支) is essential for those seeking to delve into Chinese practices such as alchemy and meditation.

In my opinion, the practice of Taoist alchemy is intricate, much more elaborate in terms of the energy system than the 5 elements of Tibetan, that is why I do not delve into Vajrayana Buddhism to understand energy aspects. However, the two systems of 5 elements do not tally, so there is no point trying to integrate them. I have wasted quite some time trying to do that.

That said, Taoism lacks a direct method for realizing one's radiance and the pointing of how the conventional obscures and confuses the mind. It wasn't until Buddhism was introduced to China that these concepts were somehow integrated. The Secret of the Golden Flower addresses a bit on the part on primordial consciousness, but it was a much later development in Taoist practice and was significantly influenced by Buddhist philosophy, particularly the concept of primordial consciousness.

Taoism philosophy does not contradict emptiness and dependent origination of Buddhism; in fact, it complements very well the teachings. However, from a liberation perspective, we do not need to delve too deeply into the energy system in my opinion. The deconstructive path itself is enough; more direct and to the point.

The way of the natural state in fact was addressed in Tao De Jing from the very beginning (even before Buddhism), but the part on mind's radiance and how de-construction of reified constructs led to realization that appearances are just one's radiance is a most important insight that can turn one's understanding and path upside down if we understand correctly, but was entirely missed out in Taoism. We won't be able to understand the natural state without this crucial insight (anatta). However, we do need some pointings in the right direction on the spontaneous and effortless path of our primordial nature—the natural state by some qualified masters. It is a path most misunderstood but most crucial for unreserved opening.

John Tan also wrote in 2024:

"I can only tell you Taoism lacks the clarity of view of anatta, dependent origination, and emptiness, and that is precisely what it lacks; otherwise, it would be quite perfect. In terms of energy practices, it is much more elaborate in my opinion, but that is just my opinion." - John Tan