Biography
Mantak Chia was born to a Chinese family in Thailand in 1944. He began studying Buddhist method of "still the mind" at the age of six, and later he studied Muay Thai boxing, T'ai chi ch'uan, Kung Fu and Taoist and Buddhist practices, including Zen, from several masters. Of all his masters, the most influential one was Yi Eng (White Cloud), an eremitic member of the Dragon's Gate sect of the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school of Taoism (Chinese: 道家全真龙门派), who taught Mantak Chia a complete Taoist training system and authorized him to teach and heal.
Later, he studied Western anatomy and medical science for two years to better understand the physiological mechanisms behind healing energy.
He established his first Universal Healing Tao school in Thailand in 1974, after systematizing his knowledge of Taoism. He founded the Universal Healing Tao Center (originally named the Taoist Esoteric Yoga Center) in New York in 1979. The center attracted a broad variety of European and American students, and some of them greatly helped him in teaching Taoist practices to western students. He returned to Thailand in 1994 and began to build the Universal Tao Training Center—Tao Garden—in Chiang Mai. His primary teaching programs are held in the Tao Garden, but he tours to Europe and North America annually to teach and promote the Healing Tao practices.
He has closely worked with his students with background in Western esoteric studies, such as Michael Winn, Eric Yudelove and Dennis Lewis, to successfully convey the Taoist theories and practices to Western audiences. His ex-wife Maneewan Chia has also co-authored some teaching books.
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