Equanimity, good health, peace of mind, and long life are the goals of the ancient Taoist tradition known as internal alchemy, of which Cultivating Stillness is a key text.
Written between the second and fifth centuries, the book is attributed to Tai Shang Lao-chun--the legendary figure more widely known as Lao-Tzu, author of the Tao-te Ching .
The accompanying commentary, written in the nineteenth century by Shui-ching Tzu, explains the alchemical symbolism of the text and the methods for cultivating internal stillness of body and mind.
A principal part of the Taoist canon for many centuries, Cultivating Stillness is still the first book studied by Taoist initiates today.
