Practicing the Tao Te Ching (Live Class, Begins July 26)

The Tao Te Ching is often described as a mountain with no handholds: beautiful from a distance, difficult to climb. This spiritual workshop offers a different way in. Rather than treating the text as philosophy to be analyzed, Solala Towler presents it as Taoists have used it for thousands of years, as a manual for self-cultivation, a text full of practices that can be felt and lived.

Over six weeks, author and longtime Taoist practitioner Solala Towler guides a live class on Zoom, drawing on his book Practicing the Tao Te Ching: 81 Steps On the Way, published by Sounds True. He offers background on how the text came to be written, then moves into the practices woven through its verses, many of which the group does together in session. For anyone who has opened the Tao Te Ching and wondered how to engage with it, this is a patient, practical place to begin.

Because the class takes place online, you can join from wherever you are. It is open to seekers who want to go deeply into this ancient and important text, with the teacher's clear, gentle explanations as a guide.

What to Expect

Each weekly session combines teaching with practice. Solala gives historical and contextual background on the Tao Te Ching, then works with the verses as a practical resource for cultivation, including exercises you will do during the class. Time is left at the end of each session for questions.

- A six-week course held live on Zoom
- Sessions of one hour, from 5 to 6 pm Pacific Standard Time
- Many of the practices found within the text, done together in class
- Recordings of every session, available to everyone who signs up, so you can catch up on a missed class or revisit the teaching
- An ongoing course: the current session begins with chapter 35

Past participants describe the class as rich, with a sense of shared learning. One writes of being drawn to the "clear, gentle explanations and explorations" and of the exercises making the text "a really lovely process of discovery."

About Solala Towler

Solala Towler is a teacher and author of the Taoist (Daoist) arts who has practiced and taught Taoist meditation and qigong for more than 30 years. He teaches through Abode of the Eternal Tao in Eugene, Oregon. He has published 14 books in six languages, including Practicing the Tao Te Ching: 81 Steps On the Way, Tales From the Tao, The Tao of Intimacy and Ecstasy, and Cha Dao: The Way of Tea. For 25 years he was editor and publisher of The Empty Vessel: The Journal of Daoist Philosophy and Practice. He also leads tours to China to study qigong and Taoist meditation in the sacred mountains.

Venue & Logistics

This class is held online via Zoom, so no travel is needed. The course costs $65 for the six weeks, with sign-up and payment through PayPal via the Abode of the Eternal Tao online store. If you are new to Zoom and would like help setting it up, Solala offers to assist; you can reach him at solala@abodetao.com or 541.345.8854.