The Taoist Spiritual Path of the Immortal: Insights from Master Steve Gray’s Teachings
Master Steve Gray had a profound understanding of Taoism, particularly in its spiritual aspects. And he often spoke about the Taoist path toward immortality. His insights blended ancient wisdom with practical advice for modern spiritual seekers. According to Master Gray, the journey toward immortality in Taoism is one of deep integration of stillness, movement, and ethics, or Te.
The Three Levels of Stillness and Movement
At the heart of Taoist spiritual practice, Master Gray taught, is the interplay between stillness and movement. Taoism views stillness as representing essence and movement as representing life. However, these concepts are not rigid; they interweave and complement each other at different levels of being.
- With the body, Master Gray explained, we experience stillness within movement and movement in stillness, during practices like Tien Shan Chi Kung and Zhan Zhuang meditation. Where physical movement is carried out in a meditative state and vice versa. We achieve movement within stillness when we feel energy flow through our bodies during seated meditation. This awareness of energy, or qi, is a key aspect of Taoist cultivation.
- In the mind, stillness is represented by pure awareness, while movement is thought. Master Gray believed that one must still the mind in the early stages of meditation. And he will gradually reach a state of non-thinking. Over time, this mental stillness deepens and begins to permeate everyday activities. He taught that once this stillness of thought is established in daily life, thought itself can return to stillness. At this point, thought no longer distracts or pulls the mind into un-stillness. This clarity of mind—what he referred to as “stillness in movement”—marks a higher level of mental mastery.
- With ethics, Master Gray highlighted that stillness in movement reaches its highest expression in Te or virtue. This is the ultimate test on the Taoist path, where inner stillness informs one’s ethical actions. He referred to this as the lifelong vocation of living in alignment with Tao. Where all actions are rooted in stillness and wisdom.
Tai Chi and Stillness in Movement
Master Gray often spoke about tai chi as a perfect example of stillness in movement within the body. When practiced correctly, tai chi is not just physical exercise but a meditative experience where the practitioner maintains awareness and calm even while moving.
However, he emphasized that while physical stillness in movement is relatively attainable through practices like tai chi, achieving stillness in the movement of the mind is much more challenging. The mind, constantly active with thoughts, requires long-term discipline and meditation to quiet. He encouraged his students to patiently cultivate mental stillness, reassuring them that the rewards would be great once achieved.
Mental Clarity: The Gateway to Wisdom
Achieving mental clarity, or stillness in the movement of the mind, is a significant milestone on the Taoist path, according to Master Gray. Once this clarity is established, thoughts no longer pull the mind away from stillness. But instead contribute to deeper insight and understanding.
Master Gray believed that once this level of clarity is achieved, the real work begins. “The hardest part of the Way,” he would say, “is stillness in movement in ethics, which is Te.” This is where spiritual growth translates into everyday life. Inner stillness allows a person to navigate complex situations with wisdom and virtue. He called this stage the “accumulation of wisdom,” where one’s inner stillness informs every decision, action, and interaction.
Ethics and Immortality: The Fusion of Forces
For Master Gray, the concept of immortality in Taoism was not about physical immortality but about spiritual transformation. Immortality, in his teachings, is achieved when a person’s vital and motivational energies are perfectly aligned with their conscience. “All your forces,” he explained, “become fused with the ethical in such a way that the motivation to do the right thing is stronger than any other impulse, even stronger than sexual arousal.” This deep alignment with ethical virtue is the hallmark of the Immortal.
Importantly, Master Gray emphasized that this ethical perfection cannot be achieved in isolation. “Conscience is not cultivated by sitting alone on a mountaintop,” he would often say. Instead, wisdom and ethical sensitivity must be developed through interactions with others. He referred to this as “Returning to the market,” a Taoist metaphor for engaging with the world after attaining spiritual insight. It is through these interactions that one hones their ethical competence and aligns more fully with the Tao.
Mutual Identity with the Tao
Master Gray described the final stage of the Taoist spiritual path as a complete fusion of essence and life with the Tao. At this stage, essence becomes a mutual identity with the Tao, and life becomes about preserving and teaching the Way to others. He explained that stillness represents this identity with the Tao, while life is the expression of this stillness through ethical perfection.
At this point, the person becomes one with the Tao, lacking any internal contradictions or forces contrary to the Way. Because of this complete alignment, they possess the power of the Way itself. This state of being, where every action is rooted in deep ethical understanding and inner stillness, is the essence of what it means to be an Immortal in Taoist tradition.
Conclusion
Master Steve Gray’s teachings on the Taoist path to immortality reflected a deep understanding of the interplay between stillness, movement, and ethics. For him, the journey toward spiritual immortality was about achieving stillness not just in meditation but in the way one lived and interacted with the world. Through practices like tien shan chi kung, mental discipline, and ethical development, he believed that one could align oneself fully with the Tao, achieving both wisdom and immortality.
His insights continue to inspire those on a spiritual path, reminding them that true immortality is not about escaping the world, but about fully embracing it with clarity, virtue, and deep inner stillness.