The Teaching

The school

WuLiuPai (伍柳派) takes its name from Wu Chongxu and Liu Huayang. The school brings together Daoist alchemical practice with teachings associated with Buddhism and Confucianism. Its written works and oral instruction form the basis of the method taught here.

DaoDeUS teaches the school’s broad Northern method under an instructor trained and approved to teach by Master Aleksey Khokhlov of the Daoist Center Dao De.

Read about the founders and their writings.

The shape of the path

Neidan (內丹), or internal alchemy, concerns the cultivation of xing (性, original nature) and ming (命, life or vital endowment). The school treats these as connected aspects of one path.

The traditional account describes laying a foundation, refining essence into energy, energy into spirit, spirit into emptiness, and uniting emptiness with the Dao. These terms describe the school’s alchemical understanding of practice. They need explanation in the context of the method.

Explore xing and ming.

Where every student begins

Every student here begins with the broad Northern method. Foundational instructions come first; later work depends on that foundation. The instructor explains each practice and assesses progress according to the school’s criteria.

For a beginner, the immediate task is to understand the instructions, establish regular practice and bring questions back to class. You are guided through the work in sequence.

What a new student can expect.

How the teaching happens

Classes are live, online and taught in a small group. Personal practice between classes gives you something specific to discuss at the next meeting: an instruction you want clarified, a difficulty, or a question about how you are proceeding.

Written explanations introduce the subject. The practice itself is taught directly, with questions and guidance throughout. Read about the role of personal instruction.

The lineage

The school presents its lineage as a chain of transmission through generations of teachers. The abbreviated outline below shows selected names in that traditional account and the connection through which DaoDeUS receives its teaching.

The dots indicate omitted names or generations, rather than direct teacher-to-student links. You can read about the instructor’s authorization on The Instructor page.