MetaDao

Yes. Women actually have a unique energy system so there are women specific practices. Used to be women-specific lineages for Nu Dan(Female version of Neidan), however the writings for this are basically lost. Largely though, the practices remain the same as of now. Breathing is pretty constant. I recommend you read Damo’s books and join his academy to learn more. You shouldn’t really work on MCO without all the qualities that lead up to it. You need to establish the correct quality of breathing, which is the same for both men and women.

How is it not Yuan Qi? It is. That is a fact. Both those use energy. Your body must use energy to move, first of all. Even if it is a purely external martial art, it uses up energy that you replenish through food. Surviving throughout the day, you use up Yuan Qi. Bagua uses post-natal Qi. So, you are still using up the pre-heaven. Using post-heaven Qi depletes the pre-heaven. You actually use it up even faster through an art like Bagua. However, Bagua opens channels and makes you healthy through using it up , so that’s the trade-off. Your last statement is ironic, but I will leave it there. There are truths and falsehoods. It is up to you to decide, which is which. From my perspective, this is the truth. If you can explain to me how Yuan Qi is not used up during martial arts, I will evaluate that to see if it is true. It is always in a state of decrease after puberty unless you are actively replenishing it. Martial arts do not replenish Yuan Qi. They use it up. Not that much but a little. Not saying they don’t have uses. The topic was about martial arts in relation to longevity. Longevity is related to Yuan Qi. You want to slow the rate of Yuan Qi usage as much as possible. This is done through following TCM principles and making the body more efficient. In a way, martial arts like Bagua can slow the rate at which Yuan Qi used by increasing the body’s efficiency. It’s a double-edged sword though. You are still going to use more even if your body is more efficient through constant martial practice. If you stop martial arts, then sure, maybe you will have more longevity than a normal, untrained person because of the state of overall health. However, if you are constantly using up Qi for things like Jin, you will use it up faster. Even if your body is more efficient. Think of a bear in hibernation. Now, compare that bear to a martial artist. Which would you say uses up more Yuan Qi? To be a bear in hibernation is extremely difficult. To be an active bear in a constant state of replenishment. Some might say close to impossible. Martial artists are bears that never hibernate and are always hunting. If you are seeking longevity or spirituality, learn the martial arts. Then, only use them in a martial situation. A bear does not go around picking fights. They forage for food, then go into a state of hibernation to conserve energy. Be like a bear. Not like the modern martial artist.

TCM is the study of how to stay healthy as long as possible. Following these principles perfectly with martial arts can let you live a long life of about 100-110 years. Ultimately, martial arts use up Yuan Qi. When you run out, you die. Deep meditation can place your body into stasis, thus longevity passed the norm can be achieved. You would have to reach a legendary state of stasis though. If you’re not replenishing, you are dying. This is the life of a mortal, which martial artists certainly are. Alchemists are aiming for immortality

Marrow washing of brain can fuel intellect. Known as Shen Gong. Uses energy. Causes you to die faster. Some Daoist traditions are focuses on this and other things. Not the ones focused on spiritual growth. Intellect is not viewed highly in Daoism. The intellect should be used less not more. If you study under a Neidan master, practice does not require much intellect.

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In it’s simplest terms, Neidan is the pursuit of spiritual immortality through alchemy to spread Dao throughout the myriad universes for the good of all beings. It is the evolution of the soul and spirit in service of the Dao. To understand alchemy, you must understand divine law. The language of divine law is the YiJing. Alchemy and the YiJing go hand-in-hand. A teacher and lineage is required. Hard to find, however they exist. Those with the correct Ming will find them. Those with the willpower and nature necessary will go far along the path. Very few will reach the last stages. Neidan is the replenishment, refinement, and fusion of the pre-heaven substances in pursuit of the Golden Elixir that is nourished into the Golden Embryo. It works directly with the pre-heaven substances and channels. It is an energetic law that any direct work with the pre-heaven has a spillover affect onto the post-heaven. In other words, authentic Neidan includes the Neigong process. The process of internal change that opens channels and restructures the body according the principle that the physical follows the energetic. Qigong is purely post-heaven work. Some Neidan Lineages include QiGong as side methods for certain problems. A post-heaven method to nourish and clean the kidneys for example. This will help along Ming Gong. Some Neigong traditions(Damo Mitchell’s) generate more post-heaven Jing through marrow washing of the brain to rain down a substance known as Jade Fluid. This replenishes post-heaven Jing though and not pre-heaven. The rule is: Neidan is purely pre-heaven work. Anything that does not affect the pre-heaven systems is post-heaven work. Post-heaven work only affects post-heaven substances and channels. Pre-heaven kills two birds with one stone. More direct. It is also more dangerous. Requires a teacher that can see your energetic state and advise you on any changes to your practice. Hence, why the methods are never spoken of or recorded outside private circles. The methods are preserved by lineage holders at Earth Immortal level and beyond. Theory is all that can be shared publicly. The stages go like this in the lineage I study. Varies depending on lineage. Core principles remain the same. Replenish, refine, fuse. Form elixir. Nourish elixir. Elixir born. Embryos fuse together for ultimate light body. Replenish Yuan Jing completely. Yuan Jing is our Ming. (The pre-heaven energy of our fate given to us at birth) The replenishment method is known as Ming Gong. This stage opens pre-heaven channels and establishes pre-heaven circuits, taking our physical body to peak vitality in preparation for later stages. It is the foundation. Setting up the workshop/crucible/cauldron for the alchemical work. To succeed in this, a period of celibacy is required. This is because our bucket of Yuan Jing is constantly leaking. We must stop up the holes in our bucket in order for the bucket to fill back up. Otherwise, the ice will must melt and leak out the bottom. Our bucket will never fill. For men, the semen contains a Yang Spark necessary for life. Whenever this spark is lost through ejaculation, a substantial amount of Yuan Jing is used up. Mental desires also leak Yuan Jing constantly. Therefore, periods of celibacy must be maintained in order to transform our physiology. All desires are essentially ended. The process of replenishment and stilling of desires alchemically transforms our physiology. It fills up most the holes in our bucket, causing much less leakage. There are also methods for extracting and circulating the Yang spark so the Yin fluids can be shed. At the end of this stage, you are a human immortal. Peak vitality. Peak health. Practice must be sustained, or Yuan Jing will be lost and age will cause death. Then, comes lighting the cauldron. In this stage, you melt the Yuan Jing, refining it into Yuan Qi. Ice melts into water. This forms the unrealized Dan Tian. The ‘sea of Yuan Qi’ that overflows through all the channels. It is realized with formation of the elixir at a later stage to hold or contain the Dan. Refine the Yuan Qi into Yuan Shen. Converting water into an ethereal mist. Mist condenses into what some traditions call the ‘white moon on the mountain peak.’ Fuse the Yuan Shen(Xing) with the Yuan Qi(Ming) to form the elixir or alchemical pill. Refine the Yuan Shen into emptiness. Nourish the Elixir with emptiness to form and give birth to the Golden Embryo. ‘Raise the Golden Embryo.’ Neidan is the process of reverting the course and returning to unity. By understanding Divine law, we can understand the creation process through spiritual substances and reverse it. This is spiritual alchemy as I just described. The Xing must be perfected. Virtues expressed. The Ming replenished and refined. Only then can True Yang be extracted to fuse with the extracted True Yin. When the Yuan Qi(original breath, Ming )fuses with the refined Yuan Shen(original consciousness, perfected Xing), the elixir is formed(alchemical pill that represents the fusion of Xing and Ming). At this point the true Dantian is realized. Yin Shen transmutes into Yang Shen. At this stage, you are an Earth Immortal. Internal aging has ceased. All siddhis can be demonstrated. Death can still occur through accidents. Of course, these people will not look younger than they are. That would be obvious. They can control how their face and body ages to maintain a normal appearance. Appear weak and you will be strong. You will not be able to tell an Earth Immortal from a regular person on the street without opening subtle vision to perceive Shen. They look and sound like a normal person. Next Stage is to nourish the elixir into the Golden Embryo through a long process. The creation of the elixir is the conception of the baby. It must gestate through nourishment, be born out through the central channel, and grow over time. It is much like a child. This Golden Embryo is an indestructible energy body that requires no sustenance to survive. No longer human. Truly immortal and everlasting. It can replicate infinitely, which takes time. It can manifest as any form. It can segment a part of its being to be born as a human(incarnation) without losing its numerous forms. It can travel to all realms freely. This is where true and full comprehension of the Yi Jing occurs. A spiritual immortal understands the entire universe and the changes within it. Thus, they have a full comprehension of the language of divine law. They can make changes from this higher energetic state for the good of all. This entity exists in accordance with Dao. It’s purpose is to spread Dao throughout all realms for the good of all. Not just the Earthy realms. Ghost realm, Earthly Realm, and Heavenly Realms. Many consider the process to be done at this point. Forever separate from re-incarnation cycle. Note: incarnation still possible. Does not require death. Will appear as normal human: just with unique soul/fate. Guanyin (Cihang Zenren) is an example of a spiritual immortal that has vowed to never go beyond this point to become a heavenly immortal. Guanyin remains at the spiritual immortal level with part of its being spread across all realms to help all beings understand and attain The Great Dao. It has numerous golden embryo bodies in different realms with human incarnations as well(born with unique Ming). After this is the Heavenly Immortal Level. It is beyond all intellectual comprehension. No point in even discussing it past the fact that these beings govern their own universes with their complete understanding of Divine Law(Great Dao). All golden embryos that have replicated return to one form for 9 years facing the wall and actualization of light body that merges with the heavenly immortal realm. This is the Daoist path of Neidan. Some lineages have different stages, but the differences are minor. The refinement, replenishment, and fusion of the 3 pre-heaven treasures is constant. The methods for doing so can vary as well as the order. However, if any one stage is lacking, the path is incomplete. Say, for example, you lack replenishment. You refine and you attempt fusion. The fusion will never work. Unless, there is some work around that the lineages have figured out. There must be replenishment back to peak levels so that the correct proportions of Xing and Ming are there. This, to me, is what separates the true Neidan from the impure Neidan. Does the Neidan lineage include replenishment, refinement, and fusion? If it is missing any of these, it is incomplete. Most the methods may work, but if you are missing just one ingredient, the recipe fails. It is a path that requires no belief. Everything can be directly experienced and verified through practice. This is the only answer you will ever truly need to what Neidan is. The rest can be figured out through practice under a master. If you read this, know how to seek it out, have the Ming for it, and a good enough xing, you should encounter a lineage necessary to accomplish this path. You don’t require much more explanation than this. Everyone on this forum should seek the path as I described. With this explanation, you should be able to recognize it. Of course, there are other spiritual paths, each with slightly different end-goals. However, meditation and contemplation alone cannot transmute anyone’s spirit into the spirit of pure Yang. Meditation proper is all about entering the Jhana states. These deep meditative states build a substantial amount of Yin Shen (Inert Spirit) and use up Yuan Qi as fuel to sustain these states. Stillness of mind is valued as a way to preserve as much energy as possible, but if the energy is not replenished and transmuted, there is no possibility for Yang Shen to be actualized. All the awakening experiences required will happen along the path of working with pre-heaven substances. In fact, no seated practice is truly required for these states to occur. Think of it like taking a psychedelic(though actually pure and free of all illusions). The substance exists in your body and will cause an experience to occur that requires no ‘seated meditation’ as many believe. Alchemy is the cause for awakening experiences. Meditation proper are simply Yin Shen states. Upon death, a practitioner that has not transmuted Yin Shen into Yang Shen will either still be a part of the transmigration cycle or will be a ghost immortal. Some spiritual attainments merely result in a long separation from transmigration. I’d say the large majority of public traditions result in this. True spiritual immortality is always alchemical in nature. No matter what you call it, the prerequisite for Spiritual Immortality is Yang Shen. The route to it is alchemical. Yin must transmute to Yang. That is alchemy. There is no route to Yang Shen that is not alchemical in nature. All paths towards true Spiritual Immortality are alchemical if you understand alchemy on a deep enough level. Neidan is not the only alchemical tradition, but it is one that has survived the passage of times to be preserved within lineages with true masters. Hopefully that remains the case going on. Many blessings to all 🙏

Agreed. Though, as a former member of the academy, if your goal is to reach the highest stages of practice, find an in-person teacher. Damo has too many public students, and his lineage is seated Neidan, a bit different from the more direct Neidan lineages. Look for any teacher who knows the methods for Ming Gong. Replenishing the pre-heaven substances and laying foundations. These teachers will take you far. Damo is a good jumping off-point for anyone who has never felt Qi. There are many other teachers though if you are willing to travel and search

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Null. Post was dumb and understanding was bad back then.