Clarity & Tranquility: A Guide for Daoist Meditationis an in-depth work on the method of Tranquil Sitting, a crucial and important practice for all Daoist practitioners. Stuart Alve Olson's introduction provides a great deal of valuable advice, history, and purpose for Tranquil Sitting. The main body of the work is divided into three integral sections that provide a comprehensive overview for anyone seriously seeking to practice meditation, whether one is a beginner or a longtime practitioner. Each section is distinct, yet they all work together to ensure the meditation practitioner has not...

Refining the Elixir is one of the clearest and most in-depth analyses on Internal Alchemy (Neidan) in English. Aside from the excellent translation work, Stuart Alve Olson provides extensive introductory sections and commentaries on the texts-a wonderful guide for practicing and learning the meditation art and science of Internal Alchemy. Stuart Alve Olson addresses the mystical terminology of Internal Alchemy by explaining it in understandable, detailed, and practical terms. Anyone, no matter the tradition of meditation followed, will find this book inspiring and enlightening.
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This monk spade form is attributed to Lu Da (Martial Hero Lu or Eminent Lu), whose Buddhist name was Sagacious Lu. This brash, fearless, martial rogue monk was popularized in the Song dynasty Chinese novel "Outlaws of the Marsh" by Shi Nai'an. The form originates out of Shaolin Temple Kung Fu, as documented in the book "The Eighteen Weapon Types of Shaolin, " compiled by Wang Changqing.
The monk spade is one of the eighteen basic weapons a monk would learn. Traditionally, Taoist and Buddhist monks used it as both a weapon and implement during their pilgrimages and cloud wanderings. It was...