289. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (12): 德 Inner Power and ‘Street Cultivation’

The Way through Baguazhang - 八卦掌道

After cultivating 基 Ji, 精 Jing, 氣 Qi, 神 Shen and the 心 Xin (heart-mind) the next cultivation stage is 德 Te (inner power). With the Tao Te Ching 道德經 it is usually referred to as virtue but this a Confucian ideal. And when read as such, it leaves a lot of people confused 😕 ! Te 德 or inner power, as it is more commonly referred to in Taoist language, is a kind of spiritual investment or savings which a person accumulates over time. And the way you grow it is very similar to taking care of your investment portfolio i.e. wealth creation. Anyway, to get a stronger sense of what I’m on about, I strongly recommend the trilogy “Street Cultivation” by fantasy author Sarah Lin. If there was ever a person who instinctually understood it in a modern way, it would be her 😉! It is a very modern take on the wuxia/xianxia genre.