The Way Is Virtue

Here is my view. Taoism contains some concepts that are not really meant to be taken completely literally. Think more in terms of rich images. This doesn't mean the concepts have to be complicated however. Wu wei in essence is what we have when we have truly dissolved the false heart and we allow our true heart to shine through. Wu wei does not literally mean non-doing. When we operate from our true heart our actions are a natural unfolding of our true nature. The process of dissolving the false heart and cultivating the true heart (true nature) relates to low virtue and high virtue. IMO, where people sometimes misunderstand is that they think that since high virtue 'is where it's at' then there is little value in low virtue, but in practice we have to start with where we are and work from there. A passage in the book 'Awakening to Reality' says the following: "It begins with doing, and hardly can one see a thing, when it comes to non-doing, all begin to understand But if you only see non-doing as the essential marvel, how can you know that doing is the foundation?"

Hi deci. Thanks for the comments. Those were not my words. I was quoting a passage from the book "Foundations of Internal Alchemy". I'm not sure what was meant by the statement in regards to the 'Golden Elixir'. Best wishes to you...

Here's another excerpt from the book, "Foundations of Internal Alchemy", in regards to the concept of 'the Medicine': "The Medicine (yao) What the alchemical texts call the Medicine is made of the Essence, the Breath, and the Spirit that have been replenished at the stage of laying the foundations. As we have seen, the three ingredients are also called the three wholes (sanquan). An alchemical text refers to them when it says: In order for the Great Elixir not to vanish, you need the three wholes. If it requires arduous practice and is hard to achieve, you should blame the evil causes. According to the different stages of the alchemical practice, the Medicine is divided into three types: the External Medicine (waiyao), the Internal Medicine (neiyao), and the Great Medicine (dayao). This distinction is based on the process of coagulating Essence, Breath, and Spirit with one another. The cyclical refining at the stage of refining Essence to transmute it into Breath leads to the formation of the External Medicine. The cyclical refining that follows the completion of the first stage of the practice results in the formation of the Internal Medicine. After the External and the Internal Medicines coagulate with one another, one enters the stage of refining Breath to transmute it into Spirit, which is called the Great Medicine. After the Great Medicine goes through the barrier of entering the enclosure (ruhuan, also known as the barrier of sitting, zuoguan), it is called the Embryo of the Dao (daotai), or the Infant (yinger). The arts of the Way" and the arts of Immortality differ according to whether, during the circulation along the Celestial Circuit of the Function and Control vessels, the Medicine has not yet been formed or has already been formed. Laying the foundations is the stage in which there is no Medicine, and it only consists in refining Breath. Refining Essence to transmute it into Breath, instead, is the state in which the formation of the Medicine occurs. " On another note, the book "Foundations of Internal Alchemy" also makes a number of references to the ancient alchemy book the "Can Tong Qi", which is an important work on internal and external alchemy attributed to Wei Boyang (魏伯陽) in the 2nd Century AD. Fabrizio Pregadio has some info on this text here: Zhouyi cantong qi There is an English translation of the Can Tong Qi available by Richard Bertschinger: The Secret of Everlasting Life: The First Translation of the Ancient Chinese Text of Immortality

I have been reading further in the book "Foundations of Internal Alchemy", translated by Fabrizio Pregadio - Wang Mu's commentaries on the Wuzhen Pian and internal alchemy. Lot's of good information in there, but I will likely have to read this book several times to really start absorbing more of what is covered in there. Exorcist commented in a previous post in regards to the 'Huangting Jing' about returning the four spirits to 'Earth' by turning the attention of the senses inward. Here is some of Wang Mu's comments on this concept from the book, based on what is written in the Wuzhen Pian (Awakening To Reality): "'Awakening To Reality' attributes a great importance to the Intention-Soil [yitu], [Pregadio used 'Soil' here for 'Earth'] considering that the True Intention operates throughout the entire alchemical process: Metal, Wood, Water, and Fire achieve completion by means of the True Intention (zhenyi). One of its poems says: "The four images and the five agents all avail themselves of Soil". Liu Yiming explains that the "four images" are the Breaths of Metal, Wood, Water, and Fire; with Soil, these are the five agents (wuxing). Soil [Earth] which stands for the intention (yi), harmonizes the four Breaths; it forms one "family" by itself, and is the Golden Elixir. According to the principles of alchemy, Fire in the first place is a code name of the Spirit; since Wood generates Fire, Wood stands for the Original Spirit, and fire stands for the postcelestial Spirit. Analogously, Water is a code name of the Essence; since Metal generates Water, Metal stands for the original Essence, and Water stands for the postcelestial Essence. Metal and Water form one family; Wood and Fire form one family; and Soil on its own forms one family. Awakening To Reality [Wuzhen Pian] says: Three, Five, One all is in these words; but truly rare are those who understand them in past and present times. East is 3, South is 2, together they make 5; North is 1, West is 4, they are the same. Wu and Ji dwell on their own, their birth number is 5; when the three families see one another, the infant coalesces. The infant is the One holding True Breath; in ten months the embryo is complete - this is the foundation for entering sainthood. " Lots of helpful commentaries in this book. Imagine trying to make sense out of the above passage from 'Awakening To Reality' without the help of Wang Mu's commentary or some other commentary (or the help of a teacher) which explains the context and hidden meanings. Anyway, enjoying reading the book "Foundations of Internal Alchemy". BTW, the three families are further described as True Yin, True Yang, and Intention. Each has a numeric value of 5. "Three, Five, One" in the passage above means the three 'Fives' return to one. This is all part of the first stage of 'laying the foundation'.

Much obliged sir! BTW, my opinion on the significance of taoist virtue is expressed in my posting name and in my tag line.

Hi Stigweard. Thanks. I meant which specific reference are you using that breaks the characters into their root characters and describes the pictograph meaning?

Hi Exorcist. Thanks for the clarification. It is interesting though that Zhang Boduan also seems to have been influenced or at least knowledgeable in Chan Buddhism as well. Interesting about the difference between the Northern and Southern schools. I was aware that Zhao Bi Chen's book probably doesn't cover all steps and also seems to scramble things in certain ways as well. At any rate, I think it is pretty much a given that one really requires a teacher to learn internal alchemy as there is no doubt so much more to it than what can be explained or understood from words alone. Books can help people to get some idea of what is involved in the practices, but except for perhaps a very rare individual I can't really see anyone cultivating to a high level in internal alchemy training without at least some guidance and assistance from an accomplished teacher. Do you have any info on the West school of internal alchemy in regards to how it started and any notable differences in this tradition? I have started reading the English translation of Wang Mu's commentary on the Wuzhen pian and internal alchemy. It apparently was originally written as a two part article for a Chinese publication and later was also published as an included commentary on a book publication of the Wuzhen pian as well. It appears to be a kind of an overview of internal alchemy, but it seems to be written in a way that still would require some level of prior knowlwedge of internal alchemy and intenal alchemy concepts. I am only about one third of the way into the book, but so far I would say that it seems that this book probably doesn't go into enough background detail for an absolute beginner to internal alchemy concepts to really follow everything that is being discussed. For example various taoist writings are frequently referenced in the text but no explanation is given on what exactly is being referenced, although the translator has added some notes to help clarify the source of many of these references. At any rate, much of the concepts in internal alchemy are apparently not easily explainable or relatable in words anyway so this may be part of the reason that concepts in such writings are often conveyed using much symbolism and pictures and poetic analogy. If one tries to understand the concepts literally or linearly they aren't likely going to get very far it would seem. It seems that one has to really engage and use their intuitive mind when reading these sorts of writings to have much hope of delving into the deeper meanings.

Good one. Q: What do taoists drink when they go to the bar? A: A jing tonic.

Right, hence my comment about the importance of finding a good teacher.

Right. Exorcist did mention that the work by Zhao Bi Chen (趙避塵) helps clarify a lot as well, (this is the book that Charles Luk (Lu Kuan YU) translated as 'Taoist Yoga'). There are several works translated by Thomas Cleary as well that include translations of Liu Yiming's commentaries in regards to internal alchemy pratice. These are very helpful as well. Some of the quanzhen writings by people such as Zhang Boduan 張伯端 can be pretty much undecipherable otherwise. I would still suggest that a serious student should try to find a good teacher though, if possible, as otherwise one could run into problems that they can't solve on their own, or get off on a side track and not realize it, etc.

Hi exorcist, thanks for the comments...

This is hard to answer because, for one thing, not everyone is speaking about the same thing when they use the term 'internal alchemy'. There are different practices from different traditions that may all use this term but from what I have gathered the actual practices and approaches and even goals and such can be quite different. In general though, I wouldn't doubt that many people can at least make some degree of real progress towards health improvement and longevity with one or two hours of meditation a day, depending on the exact practices, but in some internal alchemy traditions at least there will be stages where a person will be meditating for extended periods of time. I have read about one practitioner for example from a quanzhen tradition that would meditate all night long every night even though he was already quite old (his meditation took the place of his sleep). Also, just because someone has attained a high level of mastery over qi or attained some 'neigong' skill, it doesn't mean necessarily that they are practicing 'internal alchemy'. There are different levels of attainment as well, and practice patterns may change according to the level attained, so there are lots of variables.

Have you read the book "Wuzhen pian danfa yaozhi" 「悟真篇」丹法要旨 by Wang Mu, or do you know anything much about Wang Mu? Fabrizio Pregadio has just released an English translation of this book. ( http://www.goldenelixir.com/press/tao_01_foundations.html ) The concepts of 'superior virtue' and 'inferior virtue' in relation to different practice requirements and approaches is very interesting. It would seem to support the idea that what is expressed in texts like the Dao De Jing do indeed have different meanings encoded into them, depending on the perspective and understanding. The writings by Liu Yiming (1734-1821) have also helped to clarify a lot of concepts as well, I believe. I think another thing to consider in regards to internal alchemy is that it requires a real commitment to practrice it. I'm not so sure that if someone is only practicing meditation for an hour or two a day if they would really have much chance of getting very far in this sort of practice. I believe there are periods where one has to meditate full time for extended periods of time as well. I guess a person can at least work on laying the foundaton as best as they can by practicing yangsheng practices along with meditation practice, and then start practicing more in depth once they have retired. Do you know much about the differences in approach or practices between the West school of internal alchemy and other scools/sects?

It looks like the lady who is trying to organize this is a teacher of Chia's stuff: http://www.healing-tao.com.br/en/elybritto/index.htm The power point says there are no requirements on lifestyle, practices, or beliefs however...

Ok, my point was just that it is generally best to diagnose first then look at any possible treatment options and approaches. Once things like standard blood tests and x-rays and such are out of the way and there is still nothing showing up, then a TCM doc would be a good next step for diagnosis. Anyway it sounds like you have already done the Western medicine thing. If you can't afford to see a TCM doc right now then at least you should have access to some in May at the TCM school, so that is a bonus. BTW, not sure how much TCM docs charge for a diagnosis in your area but some Chinese TCM docs I have gone to in the past only charged 15 or 20 dollars for a diagnosis. I find standing qigong in the wuji stance with arms hanging down to the sides to be the best general purpose qigong for working on imbalances of any kind, but if you do have something like CFS it could take a fair length of time (many months or even much longer) to really start seeing tangible results. It may be that the stuff you are doing with focusing on chakras and such may not be helping with any imbalances and could even possibly be contributing to them. In such a case limiting yourself to a good general purpose balancing and qi building qigong like the wuji stance might not be a bad idea for now... Best wishes to you... BTW, in a lot of cases, what is referred to as nei gung is really not different than qigong unless we are really talking specifics. As an example, some teachers use the term 'tai chi qigong' and others use 'tai chi nei gung' for essentaily the same set of exercises which are both derived from tai chi. In the case of either tai chi or tai chi qigong, I think the term nei gung is just as apt since at higher levels one focuses more and more on building internal energy and on opening the extra channels as well. Nei gung is sometimes still used as a term for special or higher level internal energy cultivation practices but the term is still often used interchangeably with qigong as well.

Hi dmattwads. Maybe you have mentioned it elsewhere, but have you gone for a full check up with a doctor of Western medicine? If not, it might be a good idea to start there. For example, something like mononucleosis can cause a lot of fatigue and should be picked up pretty quick with the right tests (not saying that you have this, but just pointing out that a series of tests could rule stuff like that out for you first ). If all the standard tests come out ok and nothing obvious shows up, then you could try a TCM doctor (if you have any experienced TCM docs in your area) to see if they can find any imbalances from the perspective of TCM. If a TCM doc finds some imbalances then you will at least have a clearer idea where you stand and whether you want to deal with it completely on your own or not. Have you already tried this route?

Hello Septimus. Meditation for the sake of meditation may lose its appeal after some time, but if our intent is to meditate so we can improve ourself so that we can improve our ability to help others, then we can find more meaning. If you do not find meaning for yourself, try focusing on various ways that you may be able to help others and try to do this where you can. I have little doubt that focusing more on helping others can and likely will bring more meaning to your practice and to your life, and can bring many other benefits. Best to you...

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Hi al. Thanks for the info. Much appreciated.

Thanks for the input snowmonki. There are references to this concept or at least somewhat similar concepts or views in the I Ching from what I can see, and the I Ching was thought to have roots that go back to almost three thousand BCE, I believe. It doesn't really matter to me so much whether the I Ching is considered to be taoist in origin or not but there is no doubt that some taoists at least have made use of this work and seem to have considered it important. Personally I haven't studied the I Ching much previously but am interested in studying further now as it is no doubt an important work in various Chinese traditions and seems to have had a fairly significant impact on at least some of these traditions. Thanks again for the comments...

Thanks. I purchased Alfred Huang's "The Complete I Ching" a while ago but haven't had a chance to read it yet. I doesn't contain translations of all the 10 wings, but apparently contains translations of the most commonly included wings. Alfred Huang studied the I Ching under a teacher of the I Ching many years ago and Alfred Huang says he tried to make his translation as close to the Chinese meaning as he could manage, so I thought it would be a good translation to start with. I will keep Wilhelm's translation in mind as well. Alfred Huang said of all the English translations he has looked at that Wilhelm's and Legge's translations are the best, but Huang said that he still didn't think these translations were completely true to the original Chinese in his opinion. At any rate I will keep the Wilhelm version on my list for further reading since it contains translations of all ten wings. Cleary's "The Taoist I Ching" looks interesting as well as it contains a translation of a commentary by the Taoist Liu I-Ming. Here is a website that gives some reviews of various English translations of the I Ching: I CHing Translations I also came across this book which is a translation of a somewhat different version of the I Ching found in Mawangdui, China, in 1973, and is thought to have originated in the 2nd century BCE. It includes 4 lost commentaries as well. I think this book may be out of print now though so it may only be available as a used book at the current time, but I am not sure. I Ching - The Classic of Changes - Amazon - Edward L. Shaughnessy Another description of this book on Google

Interesting info. Thanks Stig.

From: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/page/98 "Why is 'w' pronounced 'double u' rather than 'double v'? English uses the Latin alphabet of the Romans. However, this had no letter suitable for representing the speech sound /w/ which was used in Old English, though phonetically the sound represented by /v/ was quite close. In the 7th century scribes wrote uu for /w/; later they used the runic symbol known as wynn. European scribes had continued to write uu, and this usage returned to England with the Norman Conquest in 1066. Early printers sometimes used vv for lack of a w in their type. The name double-u recalls the former identity of u and v, which you can also see in a number of words with a related origin, for example flour/flower, guard/ward, or suede/Swede."

I think pretty well everyone feels somewhat that way about the particular music they grew up with. It seems that when we are younger music may have a stronger impact and influence on us than when we grow older. That impact can stay with us througout our life...