This book is more or less the sequel to the Magus of Java, titled Nei Kung by Kosta Danaos. After reading the Magus of Java, I had to read more. And when I found out Kosta had written another book on the subject, I had to get it to see if there would be more information on the subject. Any and all information at that point was a must. I was effectively hooked on exploring more into this world and it's wonders. So what exactly does Nei Kung have to offer?
The first thing to point out in this book is it doesn't feature John Chang a whole lot. The book focuses on Kosta and his journey and experiences on his own for the most part. But a large portion of it was about piecing together many different cultures around the world and from different ages that elude to these hidden powers within, chi, meditation and the mythos that became of these things.
I have to give him credit here. There are a number of chapters in the book that touch on, in different ways, tying many ancient beliefs, stories and legends, back to Taoism and energy. It does well to illustrate that it may be possible that many other cultures around the world could have been coming close to discovering and harnessing these same forces themselves, if this flow towards these discoveries wasn't interrupted like it was.
Some other things he covers is elemental spirits, the nature of the universe, the nature of the soul, reincarnation, evolution and creation, and a few other philosophies. Although, he is merely expressing his take on these things, they definitely felt tailored to current and popular Western philosophies, unwilling to break any molds.
On the other hand, he does go into a few things I liked. Like Kundalini and it's many references in different ways from culture to culture, throughout history. It's actually kind of cool, as he provides pictures for comparisons, as he goes through different cultures so you can see how they relate. Then again, a lot of the pictures are sketches. He also goes into stigmata, and how it could be again tied to internal energy. The subject is only briefly touched on, but he provide actual pictures of his own stigmata-like burns, from his practice with internal energy.
He also tries to take the opportunity to elaborate more on the definition of chi, using different metaphors and comparisons, as well drawing from current thinking to illustrate his thesis. The book can really be summed up as a follow-up to the Magus of Java. Elaborating on subjects he may not have gotten a chance to in the first one. Going into detail on how chi is universal. And he peppers in some personal stories along the way that help support his claims, or if he feels they're worth sharing.
There are a few things that annoyed me about the book. Probably one of the biggest annoyances I had was for almost the entire book, it felt like he was leading the reader on a journey of his own exaltation. I honestly believed the book was going to end with him effectively declaring himself some chosen one. Thankfully this wasn't really the case. It just had a subtle feel that that's where the book was heading, based a bit on how the book begins and trails off from there into his journey, the stories and the flow.
Some of the stories in the book felt a bit cartoonish, too. Unlike the Magus of Java, I felt that overall the tone of this book was a bit less then the first one that I've come to love. It felt sort of off track, and a bit watered down, and perhaps scattered at times.
I can't remember off hand a good example, but I did get the feeling that it, at least in some cases, departs from the original material, and the author begins to interject his own theories and opinions, that feel slightly tainted or biased. I definitely wouldn't rate it on par with the Magus of Java, but it is a better book then some I will review.
When I bought this book, I bought it for one reason, pretty much. I tossed and turned on whether or not it would be worth it, mostly because I, at first, was only going to buy it for one chapter. I knew it wouldn't live up to the Magus of Java, and was worried that both the one chapter I was after, as well as the rest of the book, would be a let down.
I did decide to buy it in the end. And I do have to admit, that I mostly enjoyed it and I could probably say it was worth the read. The chapter that I was after, was the chapter where he elaborates on the meditation method, with pictures and a step-by-step process. Ultimately though, most of it is covered in the Magus of Java. You do get a little bit more straightforwardness and information on it from the chapter though, so I guess that was nice. But I pretty much guessed it.
7/10
Anyways, hope you enjoyed!
