fatherjhon

I know that each trigram has an associated direction, time, color, and among other things, Mantra. These mantras are used to gather their trigrams' energy. I first came across this practice with J.A. Johnson's Taoist hand seal book, some years ago but the preliminary work took a while without a teacher and I put it aside. Now that I am ready to start it seems Johnson did not include the mantras. From what I have come across the mantras are standardized just like the colors and directions, so I am hoping someone here has run across them or knows of a place to look. Failing that, I am mostly sure that I could reconstruct a workable mantra. In theory at least, the mantra involves profound insight in verbal form, the utterance of which engages the mind, as the hand seal does the body, and the visualization does the spirit.

Perhaps some more context will help. My question arises from a line in the T s'an-t'ung-ch'i (Triplex Unity for may sanity) and the various commentaries there on. A line in the Triplex Unity states that "at each computation of Heaven and Earth draw to yourself the secret sources of yin and yang." The commentary on this point reveals that "each time you and your partner come together, combine the two vital fluids and draw them into yourself." However, it is also a first principle of Taoist alchemy, and stated in many commentaries on this text and elsewhere, that "sexual fluids must on no account be expended" - at least for the male. This, I would think, makes combining the two vital fluids difficult. I do not see how expending vital fluid helps in any way. For example, in Alchemy and Immortality by Lu K'uan Yu, it is explained that "vitality increases by weight by 64 chu every thirty-two months... [until age sixteen when by] gambling way his (essential)nature by wine and sex he allows his generative and vital forces to drain away. [Allowing] his positive (yang) vitality to decrees and its negative (yin) counter to grows in proportion ... causing his hair and beard to turn white." Sexual alchemy is according to Blofeld is a practice which leads to the immortal fetus so long as the student starts around his 16th birthday. Given the imbalance that expending vial force creates I do not see how mixing might happen. I am interested in the particulars of how the mixing is done. Mundane concerns (does the student ejaculate and or avoid contraceptives) and the metaphysical ones (how is the mix drawn back up and does the process require more then just combining them two in the crucible such as application shen.)

I have run into another enigmatic Taoist contradiction. Perhaps someone could help me out. There is a detailed if somewhat confusing description of dual cultivation in "The secret and sublime" by Blofeld, which quotes extensively from a text called T s'an-t'ung-ch'i, makes much ado about the proper way of combining the the male and female essences. I was under the impression that because men where not allowed to expend their essence, the combining was energetic rather than physical. However, in several passages Blofeld specifically indicates that it is the physical fluids that are important - "yin fluid must contact assertive yang". He also lists other types of dual cultivation where "the man does not loosen his sash" and states that each method is unique and one should not combined their methods, even though several ways of cultivation may be practiced by the same person. Is there is some positive value to otherwise fortunate emission of male essence or is he merely saying in polite terms that you need to have sex with the penis emerged in the woman's secretions. I am not sure how to reconcile this statement other wise. I do not think Blofeld has gotten something wrong as the rest of the book fits nicely with what I have learned form others, but I might well be the case.

Eva Wong wrote something on this in Holding Yin, Embracing Yang but it is a direct translation without much commentary to explain what all the pretty metaphors are about. I first came across "spiritual embryo" in a book on Da Mo's Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Classics by Yang Jwing-Ming, but it was explained that the advanced practice is for enlightenment and gave no details but a lot of instructions. It was more of a manual. That book dealt with external training and came out of the Buddhist tradition, so "spiritual embryo" might be an early Buddhist practice Taoism pick up and worked into its chigong. Someone that has worked with Buddhist style chigong might know something.

Right this is interesting. Is this the same as the po and hun souls that are (I think) subunits of Shen? I seem to recall that the po is yin and associated with running worldly functions of the mind an body while the hun is yang dealt with the energy and karmic bodies. I am not up on my Taoist cosmology like I should be either, where/what are the yin/yang spiritual realms? I appreciate the help.

I have run across this a number of times in some books. I know it is an advanced stage of niegong, I know it is the goal of many Taosist practices, and I think it is related to living enlightenment on a level that the Buddhists say is only possible for Buddhas at death. But that does not tell me what it is. So if you'll humor the vague question, what is a spiritual embryo, what does it do, and how does it function?

Yes, I have generally yin chi to start with so every bump and scratch all ready threatens to turn to a chronic six month ordeal. I find I can compensate somewhat for it by using Buddhist hard body chigong - the effects only last for a while but it helps. I don't know, having red that book it seems like he glosses over too much of the nuance that allows for finer work. I have always viewed Bardon's ideas as the metaphysical equivalent of finger painting. But then I got nothing from his book so I'm more than a tad bias.

I am starting to see that. Frantzis spends a LOT of time in this book separating the two traditions, that was confusing. Its not so much I am looking for info on moving energy as I am trying to find something that does not sound like some new-age yuppy explaining flower power. Someone mentioned Mantak Chia, he is the sort of person I have trouble learning from. He may well know what he is saying but, his "Taoist Studies" series for example, lacks the depth that rings credible for me. Its one thing to say, "go sit under a tree" or "convert jing to shen" but if they don't cover why, how, the reasoning behind it, and why this way over another, then I have trouble taking their word for it. But who knows until recently I was a philosophical Taoist then found a book on The Mao-Shan Tradition, so I might be off. I come from another side of energy work that has a... very narrow use for it. I am hoping to find something to expand my repertoire so to speak. Opening the Energy Gates of the Body was a useful book for its detail on dissolving points. I will have to look into Yang Jwing-Ming's books. Thank you. True, true, yet I seem to have gone from one to another without grounding. Oh well, I'm working on it.

I have the feeling I just stepped off the shore thinking to wet my ankles and find myself in water too deep to stand. I missed most of that and need to look some of it up. They only thing I recognize was Initiation Into Hermetics by Franz Bardon. Read that book some time ago but never thought it had anything to do with chi gong. Thank you, and I will come back with questions after I can make some scene of this.

I'm rather new to Taoism so I expect to ask a lot of questions that have already been answered- sorry about that. I came here because my practice uses a lot of Taoist elements so I thought learning more about it was called for, but most books on the topic are shallow and less than useful. I hope discussions here will prove enlightening.