ChiDragon

The hell with wu wei! I do what I want.

Yes, that is exactly how I felt ever since I'd translated the Tao Te Ching. I had learned and discovered what "wu wei" was all about. I don't take adversity as serious as before. I am more calm in handling the most difficult situations. Over all, I felt that I am a better person!

The reason for that is to have a healthier life for longevity and become an immortal. Welcome, Mehmet! The idealism in Taoism is to cope with nature in a natural way. It is to blend in and integrated oneself with nature as a whole. It is to generate all the positive aspects of nature and degenerate the negatives. Qigong and meditation are a good combination in Taoism practice. Hope to hear more from you!

Yes, Neidan is an internal practice. It is only a ancient Taoist concept. The ancient Taoists practiced by performing zazen or nowadays people called meditation. Meditation was not just sitting in a lotus position and do nothing. They were sitting and performing slow and deep breathing. The assumption was, while doing the deep breathing, there were three imaginary elements inside the LDT(abdomen) are interacting with each other to keep the body function. They assumed the three elements were 精氣神(jin chi shen). These three elements interacted with each other and the cycle repeats itself. By performing deep breathing, it was assumed that the breath was to provide the fuel to heat these three elements in the LDT. The idea of alchemy was originated from baking an external elixor in a cauldron. It was known as external elixor or waidan(外丹). The direct translation for 外丹 is external pill. The external alchemy was used some poisonous elements such as mercury, lead, cinnabar and etc. After the pill was made, the Taoist practitioners took it and died from poisoning. Hence, they decided to go to the internal method instead. The idea of the internal method was to bake an imaginary pill inside the body. Assuming that the three elements mentioned above are inside the body already. It was assumed that the LDT(abdomen) is the cauldron. To provide the fuel for heating the three elements was by performing deep breathing. By performing deep breathing, they had discovered that the energy level was increased tremendously. Therefor, it was assumed that the internal alchemy method works and passed on down from generation to generation. I was curious about the internal neidan method for sometime. I had been investigating how is related to modern science. I have discovered that the modern science do support the internal alchemy by the cell respiration theory. It gives me a more precise explanation about how the energy level was increased in the body. The final question was how the pill was produced? The pill was an imagery pill. It was only in the mind of the ancient Taoists by performing the above method to make the body healthier for longevity. BTW The internal alchemy method only help a person live longer instead of becoming an immortal. This is my two cents worth of contribution to the thread! Peace!

Neidan is an internal method, I believe it works if practiced properly. It is only a ancient Taoist concept. If one understand the concept and practiced, one will be benefited. Otherwise, one may know the concept but do not understand it will not be benefited.

Haha, are you asking me to look for a needle in a haystack.

I have never said that who is right or wrong. I'd only said they are opinionated in their own view. Please don't forget martial artists are teachers too. They teach what they are good at in the own experience, that is why there are so many family styles of martial arts.

Would you please refresh my memory on the one that I was stuck with?

FYI The Chinese native qigong and neigong teachers are all opinionated in their own view. Their concepts are not consolidated. Perhaps you might assumed that I am doing the same. However, if you ask one question, then, one will say something different from another. I have not heard of that there was any neidan teachers out there yet. To me, this neidan concept almost has been forgotten in China already.

No. Why? Why not? The reason you say no. Perhaps you do not have the right concept about the lower dantian. Do you know why it was called the LOWER dantian. Well it is because it located in the lower part of the torso. The head is the upper dantian, the chest the middle dantian, and the abdomen is the lower dantian. You wouldn't call the head as the LDT, would you? Peace!

No If one can breathe down to the abdomen, LDT, one should feel the body is full of energy. As opposed to those only who can breathe down to the chest, one will know the difference in the amount of energy that can be felt by the body. This can, only if, one has sunken chi into the abdomen. All the Chinese native martial artists knew this concept with the phase known as "氣沉丹田(sink chi into dantian)".

It is not a fallacy, the question is illogical! There are many documents to support that the lower abdomen is the LDT.

If you can feel your breath is deep down to the abdomen, not in the chest, then that is your sensation of chi in the LDT. ONE must stick with the definition that the abdomen is the LDT.

FYI Please pay close attention to "breath is slow, deep and even, using the lower abdomen. " Otherwise, even all the postures are correct, it would have no effect in you practice! Just don't ignore the breathing part. It is the most important part of qigong. BTW To be effective in martial arts, it is very important to practice the ultimate method of breathing (UMB). Just to refresh your memory of UMB.

If one have not practiced any qigong method, how can anyone get the qi sensation to begin with?

In regard to qigong and neigong, there were no external means was used in the training. It is because these methods are internal development. In addition, there was no energy lost during training, hence nothing needs to be recovered. The energy was built up by the diligent practice. The more practice the more energy will be acquired from the practice. If the practice was discontinued, then the built energy will be lost. However, the loss of energy will be recovered again, after the continuous practice was resumed.

The kitchen is ready for Halloween!

Black means death in the west. That is why people wear black clothes in funerals. As opposed to the Chinese tradition, the Chinese treated the color white as death.

FYI Dantian is just a location labeled to distinguish different parts of the body. For example, the upper dantian is the head, the middle dantian is the chest and the lower dantian is the abdomen. It is illogical to say that one needs to build a dantian since they are already existed by definition. Nowadays, when people speaking about the dantian it was referred to as the lower dantian(the abdomen). The most common phrase was used, by martial artists, like 氣沉丹田"sink chi into dantian" It simply means take a slow long breath and sink it deep into the abdomen. Some of the people have lots of misconceptions in using the term "dantian" is very misleading. In the native language, 丹田 is a single term formed by compound character. The two characters should not be translated separately. The two characters should be treated as a term for the different parts of the body as described above! Therefor, it would be a big fallacy if the dantian has to be built for it to be existed.

FYI The pre-heaven(prenatal) jing requires to interact with the post heaven(postnatal) jings in order to produce neidan. Assuming that the embryo was considered as neidan as described here. By the TCM definition, the preheaven material came from the parents, such as embryo. The development stages of the embryo requires the post heaven materials, such as food and oxygen, for nourishment. The parents eat the food and breathe the air to feed the embryo/fetus through the umbilical cord. Note: In alchemy, actually neidan was meant something else.

Welcome! The basic concept of Taoism is Wuwei(無為). Wuwei is take no action against nature, but let nature take its course.

No, sorry, no such medicine pills have invented yet. It is not that I am aware of. Anyway!

Gives everyone more time to practice.

One will never have a correct posture with a non-metal replica weapon. The feeling of the weights of the weapons is never the same. The lightness of the non-metallic weapon does not give one the true feeling of the original weapon. To me, it just doesn't feel right anyway.

The original phrase is like this: 色即是空 空即是色 Translation: Materialistic is emptiness Emptiness is materialistic. Interpretation: If you own everything, then, you have nothing to look forward to. If you feel so empty, that means you own everything already. What else is there? Therefore, it's better not to look for anything or own everything to have a peace of mind. You rather have emptiness with nothing other than have everything.