Reddit mentions of The Magus of Java: Teachings of an Authentic Taoist Immortal

The Magus of Java by Kosta Danaos

Its a book about very esoteric Taoist energy manipulation disguised as a memoir. It is a gateway.

If you want to learn more about his practice, I suggest you read a few books written about him by his students.

The Magus of Java

http://www.amazon.com/Magus-Java-Teachings-Authentic-Immortal/dp/0892818131/

Nei Kung


http://www.amazon.com/Nei-Kung-Secret-Teachings-Warrior/dp/0892819073/

There are more video's of Chang on youtube and his top western student Jim McMillan

Video of Jim passing his level 3 test.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKuXuDCPfds

This is an interview with his top western student Jim.

http://www.martialdevelopment.com/blog/five-questions-with-mo-pai-nei-kung-expert/

Where would internal alchemy and meditation practice fall into this categorization? I will assume it as part of daojiao.

>engaging with Daojiao does require faith in unseen and scientifically unverifiable things like deities and transcendents. (Which does not make Daojiao incorrect, only faith-based.)

Admittedly, starting internal alchemy is somewhat faith based. It took some suspension of disbelief (and youthful optimism) to consider the John Chang videos (Neikung Power and John Chang - Using Chi to set things on fire). As well, to consider the anecdotes throughout many mystic traditions and come to some consensus about their reality. For example, things from Autobiography of a Yogi, or Kosta Danos's books, Magus of Java: Teachings of an Authentic Taoist Immortal and Nei Kung: The Secret Teachings of the Warrior Sages, or in Opening the Dragon Gate: Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard.

Rather than looking at it as scientific evidence I consider it in the same way a historian would. We have a few first hand accounts of amazing phenomena. A ton of anecdote which convinced me to try things out. So, in a sense, this is faith. However, as you practice and experience things it is less based on faith and more based on experience. I am not claiming to have some ability that takes the Randi prize, but you have enough small experiences that you then believe there is something more and something worth training for.

My goal in training is to entirely take away the faith based aspect of internal alchemy. If at the end of my life I've achieved nothing reproducible, I'll come out and say that. If I have though, I would love to demonstrate it, and study it to an extent, so that others may practice without having to believe in what science doesn't support. I am actually amazed how militant some people can be about science based evidence when there are so many major blindspots in science. There is a lot we don't know and it is worth investigating what is possible. How amazing would it be to have a religion based on verifiable results? Spiritual development that develops an actual spirit? This is my dream, it would put so many of the current institutions in the dust.

> I've never even heard of Mopai. What is it, what do people claim about it,etc.

Check out this book.

Then go to youtube and search for "John Chang".

So supposedly mopai is the name of a Daoist lineage from China, although John Chang himself doesn't live in China according to the stories. If this is even a real lineage, it's got to be very obscure, because I've never heard of it before the whole John Chang hoopla.

Look at the traditional list of the Daoist sects:

http://www.shangrala.org/father/RELIGIONS/8Taoism/Sects.html

Here's another article:

http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/04/content_24899.htm

Mopai isn't mentioned. That doesn't mean mopai is certainly not real, btw. China is famous for its secretive clans who may hold secret lineages that are unknown outside the family. But... there is plenty of room to doubt that mopai is even real because it doesn't appear to be a well-known Daoist sect, if it is anything.

The reason everyone went crazy for John Chang and mopai is because of how seemingly real his super-powers are. Lots of people believe that the video footage is 100% genuine and they believe that all the things you see in the video are real.

Of course there are other amazing videos, like the guy who presses a rotating drill to his head on Stan Lee's superhumans (or say Vim Hof's videos), but for whatever reason I think people really took to John Chang's videos because they are the most flashy videos in terms of supernormal powers.

So ever since the book came out and the videos, some people just can't remain calm anymore. They're so excited about it that they've gone berserk.

links for the lazy... The Magus of Java. It's an entertaining and convincing read for sure. Also this youtube video is of the fellow described in the book. He lights paper on fire with his bare hands at around 2 and a half minutes in.

He's stimulating nerve fibers is all.

Everything else. Alternately, this

The footage in this video was stitched together from a travel documentary made over 7 years.

The man has taught and practiced healing for decades, with multiple westerners finding him, training under him, and writing about their time.

https://www.amazon.com/Magus-Java-Teachings-Authentic-Immortal/dp/0892818131

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14409262-seeking-the-master-of-mo-pai

All you're doing is pointing to something that isn't in the video and saying "look that makes this fake" without even attempting to explain how he does all this fakery with two documentarians and 3 scientists (two and a medic) trying to find a fraud.

Feel free to look up the scientists, very real and highly unlikely to have been "in on it".