CompleteMartialArts.com - The Magus of Java: Teachings of an Authentic Taoist Immortal
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List Price: $14.95
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Manufacturer: Inner Traditions
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 299.514092
EAN: 9780892818136
ISBN: 0892818131
Label: Inner Traditions
Manufacturer: Inner Traditions
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 224
Publication Date: 2000-06-01
Publisher: Inner Traditions
Release Date: 2000-06-01
Studio: Inner Traditions
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Editorial Reviews:
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The story of John Chang, the first man to be documented performing pyrokinesis, telekinesis, levitation, telepathy, and other paranormal abilities.
• The author, a mechanical engineer, provides scientific explanations of how these powers work.
• For the first time, the discipline of Mo-Pai is introduced to the West.
In 1988 the documentary Ring of Fire was released to great acclaim. The most startling sequence in the film is that of a Chinese-Javanese acupuncturist who demonstrates his full mastery of the phenomenon of chi, or bio-energy, by generating an electrical current within his body, which he uses first to heal the filmmaker of an eye infection and then to set a newspaper on fire with his hand. Ring of Fire caused thousands to seek out this individual, John Chang, in pursuit of instruction. Of the many Westerners who have approached him, John Chang has accepted five as apprentices. Kosta Danaos is the second of those five.
In his years of study with John Chang, Danaos has witnessed and experienced pyrokinesis, telekinesis, levitation, telepathy, and much more exotic phenomena. He has spoken with spirits and learned the secrets of reincarnation. Most important, he has learned John Chang's story. John Chang is the direct heir to the lineage of the sixth-century b.c. sage Mo-Tzu, who was Confucius's greatest rival. His discipline, called the Mo-Pai, is little-known in the West and has never before been the subject of a book. Now, John Chang has decided to bridge the gap between East and West by allowing a book to be published revealing the story of his life, his teachings, and his powers. It will surely expedite what may well become the greatest revolution of the twenty-first century--the verification and study of bio-energy.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Final Piece Of The Puzzle
Comment: Ladies & Gents,
If you're interested in eastern stuff like you ought to be if you are reading this review, let me from my point of view (of a stranger) introduce you to the situation...
Whether this book is going to represent "the final piece of the puzzle" like it did for me, depends on which kind of the two persons you are at the end of the day. So if it won't represent the same thing to you as it did & still does to me, it's because you belong to the other group which I don't belong to.
There's the believer in the obvious, (when you're lucky enough to come across it) and then there's the interested but not quite swayed (which you never will be in this life if this book doesn't do it for you) due to the fact that your kinds' faith can only be heightened by actual physical in your face proof which no book will ever be able to give you.
I'm the believer and after a dozen years of getting bits and pieces of insight into meditation and internal martial arts (and eventually getting a bit fed up with still not quite getting the big picture), I was blown to pieces after finally realising what it's all about after having read this book which gave me the big picture. Now that this book has allowed me to see the big picture I'm once again interested in the details, but only because I now have a full understanding of where it all leads to.
Should a complete novice start off with this book it might not necessarily be such a good thing coz you'd be trying your intellects' patience in the direction of flying before it can walk. I might not have welcomed the enlightening effect this book had on me had I not gone through all the other pieces of the puzzle to the point where this was the last and most important one left to discover in order to get the picture. Imagine that to start off with, I would have gotten the most important piece of the puzzle (which in my believer's opinion is this book) but no other pieces, I would have still been just as confused as having all the pieces but not this one.
Neither way is good or bad, but to get to the point: according to a believer such as myself this guy John Chang is for real and more to the point he isn't the most amazing one still alive either (if you've done your research) apart from in comparison to us normal/average westerners.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Interesting Yet Surreal Read
Comment: I first read this book a little over three years ago after reading Nei Kung: The Secret Teachings of the Warrior Sages, and it was rather a surreal read. I kept flipping back to the copyright page to see if it's a work of fiction, but it was not so. This book is a story of an incredible journey of the author, Kosta Danaos, who begun his quest to find and met with an internal arts master by the name of John Chang and his experiences and lessons with him. From reading this book, I thought it was too unreal to be a fact considering that Chang was able to break the laws of the physical reality. But again, it was not so because I have later seen the videos of Chang's psi abilities in action (e.g., pyrokinesis, telekinesis, and levitation), including the video of Lorne and Lawrence Blair's documentary series "Ring of Fire."
The one thing that I have found quite interesting from this book is the moral discussion of karma as relating to becoming like Chang. Obtaining the powers, higher than normal, requires a great responsibility. I do agree with Chang that he does not want to create "monsters" as to why he was strict on the student selections. That made sense since nowadays a thirst for psychic powers is, in an essence, an ego boost or superiority. Also, discussions of Yang and Yin and Mo-Pai tradition are informative read.
Thinking back on it now, the stories surrounds Chang reminds me a lot like Castaneda's Don Juan in The Teachings of Don Juan: a Yaqui Way of Knowledge.
Considering the fact that English was not Danaos' first language, this book is really well written and well organized. With little over 200 pages, I could not put this book down as it had enthralled my thoughts and emotions. Whether or not if it is a real story, this book is an intriguing and fascinating read, especially the stories about the "Immortals" of the ancient past, but that's just me.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Well written, fun, and informative
Comment: This book was a good, fun read. However I picked it up to be a intsructional book, or rather, something I can learn from. Any man that is on his journey, understandes that learning comes from experience, and this book is the anti-thesis of experience. While the writters experience was great, and so is his ability to share it with his readers, do not pick up this book if you think it will make you anything other than what you are already.
A non believer will continue to be a skeptic, and consider the book a work of fiction. A believer will become a bit more fanatical as they will gain more proof in their reality from the books words. The real problem with this book, and many others of the same nature, is that their is no practical way of finding a master to help you learn through direct experience what is in the book.
Westerners, as a whole, truly don't deserve the ultimate knowledge that can be gained from taoist thought and practices. This book reinforces that truth by introducing the fact that their is so much to life, but we know so little, and have no simple way to learn more.
(So should I buy this book?) Please do, the author needs more money to keep along his path, and the information the book does present to you is worth well over $20. Just don't expect to be anythiny else from reading it, as it's a book of theory, not of practice.
Customer Rating:
Summary: A classic work, must read!
Comment: I read this book in a little over 2 days of casual reading, the words flew off the page to me...
Excellently communicated especially considering Kosta's first language is not English...
Completely fascinating story...I can not wait to get the second book. For a qigong practitioner, this will open your eyes to the great power within...
It will also open up many questions about the true nature of the universe, and existence...
Kosta, if you're reading this, thank you! (keep the books comin'...haha)
Customer Rating:
Summary: Mindblowing
Comment: This book blew me away. It's the incredible tale of John Chang, a internal arts master, as told by one his students. As the author is a former scientist, everything is presented in an objective, responsible, almost skeptical manner. Too often we forget what we're capable of and what the universe can offer us, with the right intent and commitment. This book is a great reminder.
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