8/12/2019 Meditation at the Wudang

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Human beings follow the pattern of Earth; Earth follows the pattern of Heaven; Heaven is patterned by the Dao; Dao followsNature

Survival is the most primitive need of human beings. The question of how to improve quality of life, improve health and pro-longlife has been of central interest to us through-out time. Achieving good health has been a central part of the culture of Daoism.With its long history and development, the way for improving health has been developed and modified through the centur ies bythe ancestors. This is due to their continued research and practice, in particular, the training in inner alchemy and spiritualawareness. Such training includes stillness and movement. No matter whether it is in the active or the still (calm) mode, both are

of high value.

Dao gives rise to one; one generates two; two generates three; three generates everything, Everything is originated fromthree; three combining to two; two combining to one; one becomes nothing.

Doing it correctly would achieve good results; any deviation could result in disaster. Benefit can only be achieved throughpractice with proper guidance and understanding. Otherwise, not only no benefit would be gained, it might cause harm.

Below is a summar y of the introduction to training ininner alchemy(or Neidan).

Turn essence into Qi; Turn Qi into shen (spirit of vitality); Turn shen into emptiness; Turn emptiness into Daoism.Concentrate in the basic. Develop and improve the 3 vital elements of the body. This would in turn lead to good mentalconditions and wisdom. Those who reach such a stage would achieve abilities beyond the scope of others. In Daoism, trainingin inner alchemy is to manage the three natural vital elements: Jing, Qi and shen. Such training leads to good health andlong life. The training can be classified into four stages: (1) Fundamental (2) Turn jing into Qi(3) Turn Qi into shen (spirit ofvitality)(4) Turn shen into emptiness.

(1) Fundamentals

To start, choose a time and place that suit your daily life (it does not have to be an isolated place in a mountain). Adjust yoursitting posture, with eyes half closed sight horizontally, hold the hands to form Tai Ji, follow the breathing pattern and sink yourQi to lower Dan Tian. When you are in a relaxed state with sufficient Qi in Dan Tian , the routing part can begin.

To route Qi through the three points in the back of the body, Qi should start rising from the first point Hui Yin up the backand get to almost the level of the heart which is called Jia Ji . This part is relatively easy. When Qi rises through the back ofthe neck to the back of the head about the level of the mouth, the point called Yu Zhen , the passage becomes rather difficultto get through. One should take time to establish the route. If pressing too hard and too fast, Qi might pass into wrong route.The path from the Hui Yin to the Bai Hui is called Governing vessel meridian( Du Mai) . From Bai Hui down the front to Dan Tian is called Conception vessel meridian(Ren Mai) . A cycle is completed if these two meridians are connected. Ifessence is routed through this cycle, it is small heavenly cycle(Xiao Zhou Tian) . The completion of the cycle is entirelydependent upon the mind. Governing and conception vessel meridians are the two primary meridians and the most importantones amongst the eight meridians of the body. Routing through and connecting with the other six meridians would follow whenthese two are connected. When all eight meridians are connected with Qi flowing through, it is called large heavenly cycle(Dazhou Tian). There would not be any obstacle in the meridians. At the fundamental stage, the process should be done throughmind control. This training improves the blood circulation and breathing. It would also strengthen the body and aid in healing

minor ailments. The time period required to get through this stage varies amongst individuals.

(2) Turn essence into Qi

In training of internal power, this is the elementary stage. The routing is the same as that in the Fundamental stage. At thisstage, the emphasis is to build on the basis of the Fundamental stage and to improve the training in Jing, Qi and shen.

Combine Jing, Qi and shen to form the medicine. With the circulation of the medicine in the Governing and ConceptionVessel Meridians, the medicine is purified. The purpose of circulating in the Governing and Conception Vessel Meridians is torefine the medicine through the circulation. Practitioners believe that the kidneys are the root of life. The essence of thekidneys is of yin (negative) which has the tendency to sink. The heart is the home of the shen. It governs everything and lifeis dependent upon it. Shen is of yang (positive) and would naturally rise. Losing yin and yang shortens life. Therefore, inthe internal training, practitioners would try to raise essence and lower shen. When these two meet and combined, theyaccompany each other. Circulation of this pair would generate big medicine. This completes the training of three combining totwo. To achieve this stage requires patience and continual training with the correct technique. In the old days, the trainingmethod was not documented. Teaching has traditionally been through oral instruction. The key is finding a good mentor andfollows his instructions.

(3) Turn Qi into shen (spirit of vitality)

This stage is to further combine the big medicine with shen to form embryo

This is the two combining to one stage and is also called intermediate stage. Training in this stage , the emphasis is inbreathing naturally without mind control. One should concentrate and reach a calm and relaxed state. The mind is at the middleDan Tian. The circulation should be following the large heavenly cyc le i.e. connecting all 8 meridians. The student must master the technique for this stage before training for turning shen into emptiness. Inlarge heavenly cycle, the middle Dan Tian is the vessel and lower Dan Tian is the furnace. The circulating cycle is muchshorter than small heavenly cycle. The circulation is between the two Dan Tian. In the small heavenly cycle, the motion isbased upon internal breathing to achieve reverse flow. In large heavenly cycle, the natural ingredient of the medicinegenerates the motion. Continual training day after day would achieve result. One should see white light with a golden spotbetween the eyebrows. The light would gradually cover the whole body.

(4) Turn shen into emptiness

This is the ultimate stage of the internal training. It is also known as 9 years stage. In ancient Chinese, 9 is the highestpositive number. It implies it would take a long long time to achieve this stage of one becomes nothing. Becomes nothing is thesame as back to Daoism. To achieve this, one must relocate shen to upper Dan Tian. Upper Dan Tian is the home whereshen is to be trained. Middle Dan Tian and lower Dan Tian are the home for medicine and essence. Shifting shen toupper Dan Tian is to shift the embryo (resulting from the previous stage) to upper Dan Tian. The emphasis is on emptiness.Ones character is trained under this relaxed, peaceful and empty mind. The feeling is like the body has combined with Earth andHeaven, lasting forever. It is known as body and heaven combine into one. The final result is the body and shen form a pairwhich can greatly enhance our life.