Grandmaster Waysun Liao
About Grandmaster Waysun Liao
Grandmaster Liao is one of the world’s authorities on traditional Tào wisdom. He is the author of some of the most sold Tàijí (Taichi) books in the world, founder of the Taichi Tao Center, one of the oldest Tàijí centers in North America.
Grandmaster Waysun Liao grew up in a beautiful farm town in central Taiwan, and started his training when he was still a child.
His master was a wandering Taoist from China, a monk from the old temple tradition.
“A Taoist monk, if you want to call him that,” said Master Liao,
“Sometimes they call themselves ‘mountain men,’ or ‘real men’.”
Shan Ren (山人) means “Mountain People.”
Zhen Ren (真人) means “Real People” (people concerned with what is real).
Xian Ren (仙人), means “Immortal Person.”
^ These three terms sound nearly the same, and are all synonyms pointing to the same thing:
“People who live in the mountains and practice understanding the Way by awakening to the true nature of Reality.”
As a child, Master Liao lived on a simple, old farm, in a simple, old village.
There weren’t even roads or electricity then. The young Waysun lived a natural lifestyle, attended a one-room school, and did his evening homework by oil-lantern.
He didn’t even own a pair of shoes until the age of fifteen. At the time Taiwan was indoctrinating it’s society to be “proper” members of modern society, and shoes were required for students to attend high school. Even then, as soon as Grand Master left the school gates, he would take off his shoes and tie them round his neck.
“Until it became the culture to conform to a certain way of dressing, there was no need for shoes,” Master Liao explains.
“Back then, there was no concrete, broken glass, or trash around to hurt your feet on,” he chuckles humbly in reflection.
“We just ran around in nature and washed our feet with water from the well when we got home. It was much simpler than today.”
“Back then, there was no need for electricity, either, for that matter,” adds the sage in a more serious tone.
“There were no computers or internet yet, no cell phones needing a charge; we did our cooking over a fire; oil-lanterns worked fine for light, and there were no electric companies to pay, and no wiring up the beautiful natural countryside, either.
These types of things just weren’t around when I was a kid,” he continues.
“But now they are; so indeed, we can use them in the right way; and we can share these old Teachings in a way we couldn’t before” he adds wisely.
“It’s a Law of Tao, you see, that if we use what we have in good ways, we can benefit ourselves and others greatly.
So why shouldn’t we use the internet and our mobile devices to connect to more people than ever before, to help touch more people with Tao wisdom than ever before?” asks Grandmaster Liao.
How Grandmaster Liao met his Teacher
As it happened, young Waysun’s natural, down-to-earth upbringing and lifestyle also allowed him to be a bit wild.
As Grandmasters’ parents believed discipline was a desirable quality for their child to cultivate, they naturally wished to involve their son in temple training.
Grandmaster Liao recounts his initiation into Taoist training, including Tàijí (太極, also spelled “Taichi”), Qìgōng (or Chì Gong, 氣功), Tàogōng (道功) and Nèidān (內丹, Internal Alchemy).
“I had the blessing of finding a true Master. He had been traveling around wandering from village to village doing charity work like acupuncture, herbal medicine, and healing – especially energy healing.
He’d also been looking to pass the traditional Tao Teachings to someone sincere enough to learn” .
How Grandmaster Liao met his Teacher
As it happened, young Waysun’s natural, down-to-earth upbringing and lifestyle also allowed him to be a bit wild.
As Grand Masters’ parents believed discipline was a desirable quality for their child to cultivate, they naturally wished to involve their son in temple training.
Grandmaster Liao recounts his initiation into Taoist training, including Tàijí (太極, also spelled “Taichi”), Qìgōng (or Chì Gong, 氣功), Tàogōng (道功) and Nèidān (內丹, Internal Alchemy).
“I had the blessing of finding a true Master. He had been traveling around wandering from village to village doing charity work like acupuncture, herbal medicine, and healing – especially energy healing.
He’d also been looking to pass the traditional Tao Teachings to someone sincere enough to learn” .
Master Waysun Liao with Master Cheng Man Ching (famous Taiji Master of the time)
“That old Tao Master had come from China and was now wandering Taiwan, looking for a place to live and help people. When my family and I met him, the old Master was taking refuge in a small temple in our village.
He was very wise and knew many things mysteriously.
My father wanted me to train with him, and also knew it would be wise to have this old Master around for the village people, so my father sponsored the Master to stay. That gave me the opportunity to train and learn with him.
That’s what really put my life on track and gave me my direction.”
Master Liao continues, “From the age of twelve, for about 9 years, I learned the ancient wisdom in the traditional way, directly from this old Taoist.
He passed down the Teachings in the traditional way, from mouth to ear, Teacher to disciple, but also by direct energy transmission.
This is how the true Teachings were passed down from generation to generation.”
“Unfortunately, that old Master didn’t accept many students, and only shared it with myself and 2 others, who didn’t teach and who’ve now passed away.
I was lucky enough to catch the tail-end of that tradition and receive this precious Teaching completely.
That’s why, for as long as I live, I really wish to preserve it and continue to pass it along to others.”
Grandmaster Liao teaches, “The reason it was passed down verbally was so the listener could receive the true spirit and the true meaning of the Teachings and energy, to answer the very important question:
What is the true Way?
“I compare this to the following: If I study how to swim from a book, but I never touch the water in a swimming pool for thirty years, how can I teach somebody to swim in the next generation?
So first-hand information allowing you to actually experience and feel the energy, and feel the right way to do it, is very essential,” explains Master Liao.
Grandmaster Liao was blessed with a one on one training with first-hand information for virtually all his middle school and college years.
As a teenager he was a very smart child and had many questions.
“Hands-on information and getting your questions answered are very important,” says Master Liao.
“It mattered a lot for me to find those answers, and I couldn’t have without the help of that old Tao Master.
It meant I could find the focus needed for my life’s path.
Because of my time with him, I was able to discover and realize things that people don’t often get to understand. I consider myself very blessed and lucky.”
Grandmaster Waysun Liao and Master Chang Jinyuan, San Fransisco, 2011
We too feel very blessed and lucky to have a way to access and share this ancient wisdom.
We’re endlessly blessed to have access to a real Taoist Grandmaster in our time.
But we’re also blessed to have this new electronic way of delivering this ancient Teaching, and to be capable of Asking a Tao Master our questions directly.
The internet now offers this new way to spread the Teachings to thousands of seekers world-wide!
This is something that was never possible before.
This is the reason Grandmaster Liao will start sharing more online, why he will answer our questions, and the reason why TaoStream was created.
Please subscribe and donate to help support this unique effort. 🙂
With Taiji moving meditation, we are trying to reprogram ourselves.
As we grow up, we pick up wrong programs about how to move, how to feel and who we are. Taiji restores the original program we were born with.
-Grandmaster Waysun Liao
Grandmaster Liao’s journey to the West
Grandmaster Liao always wished to share the wisdom with others.
Following his Teacher’s advice, he moved to the United States in 1970, and in 1971 started what is now the oldest Tàijí / Taichi center in North America, the Taichi Tao Center.
Grandmaster Liao and students in Taiwan
First published in 1977, he is also the author of some of the most sold and well-known Tàijí books in the world, and has become Teacher for many practitioners today in North America, Europe, India, and more.
Using technology to our benefit
“Instead of our lifestyle distorting and changing so that we are at the mercy of technology, we should turn around and use the technology to our benefit.”
“A long time ago, when you wanted to learn this kind of wisdom, the only thing you could do was try to be accepted by a temple, or be born in the royal family so you can afford education.”
“But now, today, global communication is easy. So anybody who wakes up and realizes, ‘I need to access this type of energy and Teaching, this type of knowledge,’ can always go through very common technology and communicate and get all this information.”
“So I’m going to share this more with more people by using a website, or using a DVD, anything we can.” Grandmaster Liao says.
“This is unprecedented!” He continues.
“In the old days you could never dream of how you were going to learn the true knowledge.
That’s what I’m going to do the rest of my life, is share more of this knowledge with more people.”
%
of the world today has internet access
Subscribe to TaoStream where Grandmaster Liao will continue to share these invaluable Teachings with the word, using the new technologies available, so to benefit more and more (and more) people!
OUR ARTICLES
Tao Teachings and ancient wisdom, explained.
More articles will be added on a regular basis, follow us to not miss any:
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… actually no, in this galaxy, and not quite that long ago.
Thousands of years ago on this same earth we live in now, an ingenious alchemical system was developed by people in Ancient China who wished to fulfil the ultimate potential of body, mind, and spirit…
Yes, also.
But Tàijí practice is sooo slow right? — There is no emphasis on physical strength. No hard kicking, punching, striking, building up muscles or toughening one’s knuckles involved…
– Grandmaster Waysun Liao
“One of the greatest mistakes you can make in the study of Tàijí is to graduate too early.
Never graduate!”
– Grandmaster Waysun Liao
To know others is wise;
but self-knowledge is enlightening.
– Tao Te Ching
Overcoming others is forceful;
Self overcoming is true strength.
– Tao Te Ching
In Tàijí, when you reach out,
grab the entire universe in your palm…
-Grandmaster Waysun Liao
with no one,
no one can compete with her.”
– Lao Tzu