exorcist_1699

It is not the negative experiences of our life that makes our spirit yin , it is the degeneration/ embodiment of Tao in us , the separation of body and mind in our post-heavenly status , the alienation of them that makes our mind yin ; A yin- mind will inevitably make us lost in our sensations, in the turbulences of our environment , in dreaming, in noctural release of jing ...which further widen the gap between body and mind . And, no matter what status of our mind is in ,even though we are enjoying our life or doing some mathematical reasoning about the origin of the cosmos, the deterioration of our mind , its gradual detachment from our body , is unchanged . And, without the undertsanding of the delicate theory of qi, never can any person 's destiny( toward death) be reversed . One of the most important Taoist classics that talks about this issue is Huangdi Yin Fu Jin (" 黃帝陰符經"), which , unfortunately is nearly unknown to most Western readers. Anyway, you can still find some English translations of it by a google search , although mostly not so good...

I do feel we are gods trapped in humans' bodies.

Contrary to the warm , magnificent and agreeable feelings that yang-qi gives us , our daily-life spirit is classified by Taoism as yin because of its loss in sensations, its trivial and short-lived , full of ups and downs, despairs and regrets... Same as the jing-qi-shen framework ,the yin and yang theory in Taoism is crucial for understanding our practice . The theory also differentiates the Taoist practice from Buddhist ; as we know, in Buddhism, there is no yin and yang concepts . Understanding their differences is not for any sectarian evaluation , but for deeper understanding of what Taoist practice is . In fact, their differences are expressed by Taoist in-depth criticisms on some potential dangers in Buddhist practice, as follows : 1) Without recognizing jing( in this case , not the visible sperm ) and qi, without the help of yang , Buddhist meditation is likely to fall into some kind of pseudo-void in which unproductive , stagnant stillness and quietness are mistakenly viewed as some sort of achievement, which unfortunately are not. 2) Although without the help of jing and qi we still can enhance our spiritual power by focusing on something, or visualizing something , without the nourishment of qi , without really smashing the emptiness, even if we have got some supernatural power , even if with our 3rd eyes openned, what we get can't be everlasting , let alone immortality ; besides . likely at the same time it will bring up something evil for good and evils are two-edges of the spiritual sword... In fact , our spirit can be yin or yang. At post-heavenly level it is yin , at pre-heavenly level it is pure yang where jing, qi, shen are united , not separated .

If qi does exist , then sooner or later, at some place on this globe, some people, some ethnic will discover it . The problem is : after discovering qi, can they also then discover a complicate system compose of 20 meridian and hundreds of acupuncture points , and , able to lift it , abstract it to become a delicate Taoist system as we now see, that is the problem.

To Stigweard: Although some kind of lexicological analyze does help us understand some Chinese Taoist terms, I have to point out that , besides few words such as female("女") , male("男'), sun("日") , moon("月") ..which have definite yin or yang implication, most other words ' yin or yang character are not so absolute . We can't expect that the Chinese language is same as some Western language, for example, French, in which you have words clearly classified as masculine and feminine.. Whether a word or a thing is yin or yang is dependent on at which level it is used and what it is relative to . For example, our physical body, because of having some form and substance , is said to be yin , relative to the invisible , energetic yang-qi that motivate it . However, in TCM , the physical body can further be divided into yin and yang : while shoulder and back is classified as yang, the chest and abdomen is yin . Those meridians mainly passing our back and shoulder are called yang-meridians...Such a further classification is not something arbitrary, but having pathological consideration. Of course, we are unable to go into details here. So, our spirit , before having attained Shen or Enlightenment( a term borrowed from Buddhism) ,no matter what status it is in : consciousness, sub-consciousness, dreaming, intuition or mathematical reasoning...,as long as it is not nourished and united with high quality yang-qi, is classified as yin. To Hardyg : I think we can't get rid of evils through using evil ways; Evil can only be conquered by a virtuous way. The claim of killing innocent people in process of trying to do good things , the claim of fulfilling something moral at the expense of innocents are unjustified. However, here, my saying does have specific implication, i.e. in our cultivation, no matter how powerful our spiritual power becomes , as long as it is lack of the nourishment of yang-qi, such extreme yin-typed power will not make us live eternally , will not make us attain Shen (yang) . In Buddhist practice, they do have warnings against those people who have been possessed to giving forecasts to things happen in future , to those who have been addicted to writing thousands pieces of poems/essays per day, at certain stage of their practice. An achievement ? Yet they are called illness of Zen ("禪病") ,the worst of it can lead to mentally disorder...

Understanding the yang and yin theory is said to be critical for the success of our cultivation . In fact, it refers to whether we can grasp the delicate , dynamic relation between qi and spirit . Many people know the effect of spirit upon qi, yet how about qi 's reverse effect on spirit ? Qi 's embodiment in our body is complicated : We have " guarding qi"(衛氣") located outside our body , performing as an invisible shield against diseases, we also have qi in every of our organs acting as a motivating force ; we have light and clear qi ("清氣 ") always afloat at the top of our body and some other turbid qi (" 濁氣" ) always descended to the bottom of our body. So, qi exists in various layers and locations of our body ,and perform different functions. When we talk about qi 's effect on spirit, what kind of qi , from where it is raised , are issues we have to pay attention to .

The book by James MacRitchie is one of the wide-ranging evaluations of the potential impact of Qi theory on this world , which seldom can you find in other authors . As China is rising to become another superpower, its cultural impact on this world will totally be different from the precedent America's replacement of the UK's , the previously possible Japan's rise and the coming Indian one . American culture is the continuity of the European one on a new continent, her rise after the 2nd World War did not bring to the world anything totally new in cultural sense . The Marxist ( or more precisely Stalinist ) USSR was only another division of the Western culture . The possible rise of Japan by the end of 70's in the last century , if it did happen , if the GNP of the Japanese economy did overtake US's in the last century , still hardly would she bring to the world anything fundamental new in cultural aspects for starting from the Meiji Reforms, Japan had inclined to the Western culture and deliberately tried getting rid of Qi's place in her own medicine and her own culture , making the traditional Japanese medicine ( called Eastern Medicine, とうよういがく) degenerated into solely maintaining the doses of the Chinese medicine and acupuncture without soul, i.e. , some kind of medical mediums (herbals, needles..) working under no profound theoretical analyze of the human body and the world humans live in. In fact, I always wonder how the Japanese acupuncture doctors do their practice as the fundamental understanding of qi in their system is already undermined ; These people are just some kind of technicians / tactician of a half-dead expertise ,remains of the once great system , hardly can you find great master or strategist from them. Nor India's rise will give people of this world any fundamental cultural shock for although Indian Yoga does develop something similar to the Chinese, never can they build up a complete system of Qi ; concretely speaking , they do not develop a system so full and complicated as the 5-element theory does , which corresponds to all aspects of human existence ; nor do they discover hundreds of acupuncture points and 20 meridians that , based on them , you can make use of massage/ needles /herbs / plaster / cupping.... to cure thousands of diseases .

Every minute can be the time for meditation, anywhere can be the place for polishing qi ; the worst situation is conversely the best situation for training yourself just like marathon runners deliberately train themselves on high plateau lacks of oxygen.

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Of course they are related ; in fact , the hidden behind pre-heavenly qi is basis of the post-heavenly qi flowing in the meridians, which, enables the acupuncture doctors manipulate it to cure diseases. But in most cases, acupuncture doctors do not know pre-heavenly qi , some even do not practice qigong and experience post-heavenly qi themselves. The difference of qi on these two levels is so great, in most cases, the abyss between them is nearly impassable ; One of the reasons is that people do have recognition problem and mix them up . If they are so close and nearly the same , we can just rely on the acupuncture doctors to open all those critical gates in our body by using needles , why bother practicing qigong ourselves so laboriously? Here, sensitive readers already sense one critical factor is missing ,i.e., the mind factor in the whole process... In fact , there is no dantian without the intervention of our mind.

In Taoist practice , we seldom talk about specific acupuncture points; Dantian is never a specific point in our body. "Paying attention to 3 inch below navel" is definitely a wrong instruction that only enables people to initiate dull qi , the qi that can cure minor disease but far from attaining Tao. Yet Tao ( pre-heavenly qi ) does hide in our physical body , which I agree. Without the pseudo one , how can you attain the real one ? Without the post-heavenly one , how can you find the pre-heavenly one ?

In Taoist practice, even spiritual abilities are classified into yin and yang. And, unfortunately spiritual ability without having enlightened definitely is still in the arena of yin, which , is unlikely to be free of evils and mortality. The magnificent temperament of Enlightenment, nourished by yang qi, is unparallel and beyond the reach of other spiritual abilities . Yin-typed spiritual power, ie, non-Enlightened mind, no matter how strong it is , can never grant people immortality because it is a power not free from leaking (有漏智). ( leaking of jing, leaking through eyes, ears..etc)

People always mix up the acupuncture points in Acupuncture practice with those critical places/gates in Taoist practice, and think that they are the same , which , can be very misleading . The acupuncture points are always there; you can locate them , draw and pinpoint them on map/model .In fact, when you insert the needle precisely and skillfully into a point on human body , there is qi-feeling ,telling you undoubtedly the existence of qi . However, In Taoist practice , most crucial gates/places are not there , it is only after your practice having reached certain stage , they appear ; and, different levels will appear to you different things...

Five -element theory is not just used for TCM when healing patients , but can be applied to understanding the forces governing the changes of daily affairs and upheavals of times. One of the most important Taoist classics, HuangDi Yin Fu Jin (黃帝陰符經) , its importance just next to Laotze and Chuangtze , talks about the secret , i.e. the secret of those nourishing / annihilating forces working secretly underlying human activities . One crucial point it raises is that it is the Mind-who-does-not-mind (不神之神) that can lead us out of the existent dilemma.

Confucianism does develop into a school of qigong which emphasizes polishing qi ( in fact , concept of qi appears in Mentze's works )among people , not by escaping away from the crowd , paying attention to dantian and living on high mountains . As the Buddhist way , although never talking about dantian , can initiate qi ( whether Buddhists like the concept or not is another story ) from not attaching to anywhere and anything , the Confucian way teaches people to generate and polish qi in daily ethical behavior. It is after having experienced difficulties and sufferings in life and not succumbing to them , not changing our high morals that make our qi 's quality upgraded and expanded, not just paying attention to dantian ...In fact, people who think that dantian is the only place in which they can initiate and refine qi , such idea definitely is a superficial understanding of Tao. Just consider why saying Tao is everywhere...

Post-heaven qi originates from pre-heaven qi, which originated from emptiness .

Most English books talking about the basics of TCM tell you the 5-element theory. Taoism accepts most of the basic theory of the TCM for TCM originates from Taoism . The only difference is that TCM works at post- heavenly Qi level and emphasizes the medical healing aspects while Taoism emphasizes individual emancipation ( immortality is only its byproduct) of humans . The famous saying : " While Water has intercourse with Fire, never can you get old" (水火交, 永不老), of course, refers to Genuine Fire and Water, that is, things at pre-heavenly level.

Without water's nourishment , how can a trivial mind become a much bigger MIND? Without a great MIND's attention ( Genuine fire) , how can ordinary qi changed to pre-heaven qi ? Although at 5-element level, the nourishing (生) and vanquishing (殺)forces seem work in a balanced way , it is the vanquishing force that gains the upper hand in the end for death is the inevitable, final outcome of all living organism in this world except few humans who know how to turn the vanquishing into nourishing , reverse the post-heaven to pre-heaven , change death into living .

Kidney is said to the organ of water, in between them is a place called Ming-meng or dantian where Yang qi is hidden. Heart is said to be the organ of fire where our mind located and pre-heavenly jing is hidden.

Intention of course can be dropped. Without dropping the pseudo one, never can you attain the real one . The more thorough we drop the pseudo intention and the longer we persist, the easier the real one appears to us . The intervals , various status arisen during this process, are close to what Buddhists call samadhi in its different -depth forms . Talented guys can enter its very core straightly , skipping those layers and trivials , at one stroke . Those talented guys are what Taoism call the Super-Te (上德) ; Precisely speaking , they do not follow the jing-qi-shen framework step by step , but go straight to the shen stage, grasp it and then return to the jing and qi aspects... a little similar to Buddhist ways... Sadly , Taoists always understand the Buddhist ways yet most Buddhists , more precisely speaking , vulgar Buddhists , do not understand Taoism . Maybe this is another reason why Taoists are always so lonely ...

It seems that there are two types of intention , one is daily- life type : We have intention, then follows it a series of ideas . It is a pseudo mind's type of pursuing something. The essence of it is that no matter how hard we try in life , in th end, what we pursue is futile .There always are pains and regrets . This is also the reason why life always gives people a feeling of dreaming and illusion for death is definitely waiting for us at the end . Another one is the real MIND's , in which even though we have some intention , a series of consciousness does not arise , there is no upheavals at all . No pains and no regrets , but omnipotent understanding . You drop a rock into a crystal clear pool of water, yet no ripples arise . Of course, this Genuine Intention is one of the appearances of Shen .This is also the reason why Taoism claim accomplishment without doing anything . Genuine Intention is also called Genuine Earth . Don't forget that our mind is not only affected by breathing but the status of other organs in our body . Here, the importance of 5-element framework can be sensed .

In terms of Taoist practice, there are 2 crucial points we have to pay attention to : 1) The 5-element framework works at qi -level , not material/substance level; more precisely speaking, it works at the post-heavenly qi level . One of the two most important skills of TCM doctor is to manipulate these different kinds of qi of different organs , maintain the balance and positive/creative/nourishing relationships between them so as to cure diseases . Another important skills is to manipulate the ying ( essence/liquid/substance) and yang ( qi/function/ energy) of each organ so as to attain its own balance , curing illness generated by imbalance of them. Of course, these two aspects are related and interacted. 2) The water and fire elements are especially important for our cultivation because it is the yang that hides in water and ying that hides in fire , their intercourse provides the possibility and conditions for us to jump from the post-heavenly level to pre-heavenly level . Never , no matter how hard you try , can you attain immortality at the 5-element level .

It is strange to find that some people adopt a romantic description of Taoist and Buddhist ways of life similar to some sort of hippie or artists : free , loose and undisciplined ; which is totally misleading. In fact, both Taoism and Buddhism know that death is the basic element of our existence ; life and death are just two faces of the same coin . A very common saying is that there is no guarantee that after having exhaled, an inhale breathing will follow . Because of this ,both Taoist and Buddhist practice request us to struggle at every interval of our breathing or streaming consciousness ( in fact, they are related ); laziness or not forward-moving is never advocated .

I am more interested in the ways that make these figures become a saint /god/ immortal/God ...Some aspects seem deserve more of our attention : 1) Sex : Do people make use it as stepping stone in their cultivation? And , how to get rid of its negative aspect? Or, do they just view it as a moral issue, ignoring that behind the moral appearance , in fact, there is methodical / practical consideration? 2) Nothingness/ emptiness: How people treat it seems crucial . Is it treated as something ordinary , not worthy of paying attention to ? Or, like the Indians and Chinese , they make use of it as the starting point/ stepping stone? The fact that people seldom bow down to emptiness because it does not show any personal/human traits is reasonable but on the other hand stimulating and fascinating. 3) What is the role that praying ,calling the name of the gods or chanting the Sutra/ curse that plays in that system of thought /religion? People pray to God/ father/Sun..for help, yet seldom do they ask emptiness to help . However, stuffing our mind with something emotional definitely is the blockade preventing us from further climbing up....

Hardly can we attain immortality through Western science and technology , which always emphasizes the partial, micro solution of problems . Besides , although our body is composed of atoms and molecules, and we can always move our fingers at our will , never can our mind directly manipulate any molecule in our body . Incapable of manipulating the basic, individual blocks of our body and matching them with the whole picture , plus incapable of mixing the material side of our existence with its spiritual side , all make us entangled in the basic dilemma of life : On one hand, physically we are gradually aging and weakening ; on the other hand , our brain always has immense intelligence and our having accumulated huge amount of knowledge as years passed. Fortunately there is another system of thought which claims having grasped the basic block of human life from another dimension, i.e. qi, and its" refined " form : shen ( spirit ) , thus provides the way for real individual freedom .