松永道

Of course there is a reason. The reason is habituated, reactionary, crooked emotional thinking. To continue playing with the rebel metaphor, rebels rebel for mainly two reasons - unjust government or weak government. One yin, one yang. Unjust government, in the context of our emotions, could be anger, rumination, negative self esteem, addiction, or over indulgence. Weak government could be fear, grief, or depression. One causes stagnation and counter flow in the body mind, the other causes deficiency. "Correct thinking" is the goal but simply forcing it over your existing framework is basically fascism. It's just going to cause the rebels to go deeper underground. The road to peace doesn't lay with giving the rebels what they want but with understanding and fixing the causes for rebellion.

My impression is that Buddhism pretty blatantly points out the absurdity of these thoughts. As does Daoism. One could even make a case that the Bible says so too. According to Daoist theory you're tuning into the crooked Qi 邪气 of the Po mind 魄. Jung calls it the shadow. Tolle calls it the pain body. Popular culture calls it emotional baggage or just your shit. The objective of inner sight or Vippassana meditation is to encounter these thoughts with equanimity. They aren't you. Not the real you. They are junk clinging on to you. To mistake them for self is delusion. But they are in you. And that needs to be recognized before they can transform back into emptiness. These thoughts have tremendous power, take root in the physical body, and can be infectious, especially among close friends and down hereditary lines. Incidentally, the Chinese character for 邪气 xieqi, crooked Qi, originally meant a rebel capital within the kingdom. This is in contrast to 正气 zhengqi, upright Qi, which meant the rightful government mandate. You, the real you, are the rightful ruler of your kingdom, not the rebels. But the path to peace doesn't involve crushing one rebellion after another. Rather peace is won by finding out why the rebels are rebelling in the first place. They aren't demons. They are crying babies. Peace is in finding and filling your real needs. When you do the ancient maxim rings true, human beings are essentially good.

Perhaps we'll just have to disagree. The school I know thinks Taijiquan and some other Waigong methods are a great avenue into Neidan. A 途径 in their words. I've observed other schools also use Waigong methods. Sitting for long hours is hard if you don't have a strong back. And progress is much slower if your meridians aren't open, moving and full. Now, if you'll indulge an analogy, a few months ago I treated a kid for sinus congestion. When his sinuses cleared up his grades went up. Does that mean my treatment made him a better student? Yes and no. Sinus congestion made his mind foggy and distracted. My treatment resolved his obstacle. Nevertheless, my treatment has no inherent ability to improve a student's grades. What does that have to do with the Great Dao and minor methods? Minor methods solve mundane problems. Mundane problems can be major obstacles. What I'm saying is if you understand yourself and cultivation principles, "side doors" become just another aspect of Dao. Every Neidan school at some point adopted outside practices and worked them into a coherent system. As your Dao understanding grows, you can see other practices, understand their principles and assimilate them for your own progress. Neidan is based on Yijing theory. To get clannish or rigid in cultivation utterly misses the point. I'm fully aware that my reading of the original Chinese text is biased by my own education, values and experience. But I still think that Zhong Liquan is saying that the problem with these minor methods isn't that they lead away from the Dao but that people mistakenly believe that they can lead to the Great Dao all on their own. You say That's exactly my point. If you have that knowledge, know the mechanism, know yourself and know what you need, you can use minor methods to suit your purpose. They are minor precisely because they aren't systematized into a greater whole.

This is wandering off the topic but I think you're asking from a sincere place and deserve a sincere response. It basically comes down to personal integrity. The more you have, the more you'll see people for who they are. Everyone has flaws. No one has all the answers, not for themselves and especially not for you. Nevertheless, there are real cultivators out there. And spending time with them is valuable beyond words. My advice is to work with teachers you deeply respect and admire. Not for their words or abilities but for their character. Virtue isn't taught, it's transmitted over time together.

This is the line from the Zhouyi Cantong Qi: 上德无为，不以察求，下德为之，其用不休。 Upper Virtue [is] Wuwei (without action), [one] needs not look [or] seek, Lower Virtue acts, it [takes] effort without resting. Upper virtue is the way of spontaneous enlightenment. Lower virtue is the way of effort, 有为, the way of desire. But the goal of both is to return to emptiness 清静归虚 and achieve the Dao. That tangent aside, do you really think the methods found in Neidan schools are somehow magic and immune from misuse? Do you think Taijiquan, Yoga, Zen Meditation, pranayama, and other methods that cure disease, promote longevity and stillness of mind can only lead people away from the Great Dao because they aren't part of a special Neidan lineage? Were that true the Great Dao would be oh-so-very small. The fact is, methods are like medicines. Used right, they bring the body into better balance, used wrong they are poison. My medicine may be my brother's poison. And the same medicine that cured me last year may be my poison today. No medicine or practice is a panacea. Any school that wants you to think their way is the only way are either trying to fool you or they are fooling themselves.

The Zhouyi Cantong Qi, one of the earliest Neidan texts calls the lesser methods 下德, "lower virtue methods". Basically they are methods of 有欲, having desire as chapter 1 of the DDJ puts it. They have clear goals and results but do not lead to the great Dao. However, they can prepare a person to cultivate the great Dao. Buddhists practice concentration before they practice inner sight, Vippassana. Daoists cultivate health, energy, concentration, etc before cultivating immortality. Medicine is a minor method, physical strengthening is a minor method, anything you do to achieve a small result is a minor method. Dragon Gate Daoists these days who wish to cultivate Zhong Liquan's Lingbao Bifa first cultivate many minor methods. Together they are called 引仙法, attracting immortality methods. Minor methods move people away from the Dao only if people confuse them for the Great Dao. We agree, the ability to distinguish the Great Dao from the side doors is important. But If you have that ability, side doors pose no hazard. After all, the great Dao is 大而无外，小而无内 so great there is nothing beyond it, and so small that nothing separate exists within it. The side doors are also Dao.

Guys, I didn't read the whole thread, just the first page. But the tone of the translation is a bit off in my opinion. I don't think the Chinese "旁门小法" should be translated as "false methods of minor schools". Literally, the Chinese reads, "side doors [and] minor methods". Zhong Liquan goes on to say that these methods are effective at curing illness, nourishing life, quieting the mind and achieving other results. The problem, as Zhong Liquan puts it, is that over time people started mistakenly believing that these methods lead to achieving the great Dao. But they don't. In my opinion, and the opinion of other Daoist works, health, energy, clarity, and ability are prerequisite to higher cultivation. But cultivated to excess, even good things become detours. I think that's Zhong Liquan's point here. These minor methods get results. However, they don't lead to the great Dao and anyone who mistakenly believes they do will be lead astray. Basically, the great path has a lot of side roads. They can be useful, interesting, seductive, confusing, dangerous or a waste of time. They are the many Daoist arts. Depending on where you are, the side roads may lead to the great path or they may lead away.

Where?

It's an amazing resource. I use it a lot. Great for word searches.

Looks like you found the treatment. I've found some people who have so-called "kundalini rising" are actually exeriencing the symptoms of an illness Chinese medicine calls a Jueyin syndrome. Basically, yang get unhinged from its root in the lower dantian and surges upwards. One symptom of yang surging upwards is increased spiritual phenomenon. I was about to write spiritual delusion but yang surging doesn't only produce meaningless hallucinations. The nature of the spiritual experience can be quite meaningful. Nonetheless, it lacks firm grounding and the more it is indulged the less grounded things get. I say indulged because certain practices exacerbate the condition. Notably, focus on the third eye, psychedelics, fasting, and other purposeful attempts to induce spiritual revery. What re-anchors yang? Fat, red meat, dairy products, fermented foods, zhanzhuang, emptying the mind, and lower dantian focused practices. I actually speculate most people who experience 'kundalini' events are actually experiencing Jueyin syndrome. A lot of folks these days don't have a strong anchor to begin with, especially the types who are attracted to spiritual practices. Throw in drug use (including alcohol and pot) and/or excessive ejaculation and folks get unhinged even easier. Oh and I forgot to mention that when yang surges upwards, yin predominates below. Decreased libido and erectile dysfunction are symptoms.

I would love to see the results. I trust you'll forgive that I maintain skepticism towards your claims since, to me, you're just a random dude on the Internet. Delusion is real and common, especially in the wild and wooly world of contemporary cultivation. Nonetheless, I maintain a open mind. If you have proofs I'd love to hear them. Now I would like to re-emphasize my original point. I'm not reducing Qi to physical phenomenon. Though I believe it always has some measurable basis, however small, I don't presume that that's all it is. Similarly I don't think an emotion is just biochemistry. The whole takes on s life greater than it's components. I also don't presume we can measure every physical phenomenon out there. There's still a whole lot we don't know about how the body works without needing to bring mystical energy into the picture. To bring this topic back around to Chinese medicine, the notion of Qi as a mystical, unmeasurable energy is destructive to medical practice. The channels are physical things. But like Qi, that's not all they are. The Yellow Emperor's Internal Classic likens the channels to rivers and I think that's a great metaphor. Rivers are more than water in a river bed. They are functional environments. They ebb and flow with the seasons. They direct currents of wind, earth and water. They create habitats and are maintained by those habitats. Rivers are fantastically complex. Nevertheless they have a physical location and a plethora of measurable physical properties. And still they are more than the sum of their parts. You ask, "what's the productive nature of determining a limit?" Daodejing chapter one has your answer. Limits are also part of the Dao. 此两者同出而异名同谓之玄, "the two [boundaries and wonders] arise together but we give them different names, both are mysterious". I'll add that the character 玄 Xuan, translated here as mysterious, depicts a tiny thread or ray of light leading back to the reality above form (形而上). I love that character.

That's quite a claim. Also not difficult to verify scientifically. A fundamental practice in Daoist cultivation is 分真假, distinguishing real from illusion. Fortunately for you, living in the Bay Area means you're literally surrounded with geeks who have the equipment and would love to examine your experience. Have you done anything like this?

@Fu_doggy and Trunk, if you don't mind, would you please describe what issues it has helped you with to this point?

From what I gather, Chinese medicine would call this drug a blood mover and phlegm transformer. That means it's not suitable for people with spleen/pancrease deficiency (脾虚) or liver disharmonies (肝热或肝郁). Remember folks, there are no panaceas in this world. Medicine to one is poison to another. Anyone know what it comes from? Sounds similar to Gualou, Banxia, or maybe Changpu. Edit: looks like it is the enzyme silkworms use to dissolve their cocoons.

性命双修！Xing and Ming must be cultivated together. Which to do when depends on the person. @exorcist, I like the last analogy and have thought the same way. Added strength to a crooked heart is a recipe for disaster. As Confucius said, 欲修其身先正其心 "[if you] wish to cultivate the body first upright the heart".

Perhaps I didn't explain my point clearly enough. You think seeing and observing EM waves are the same? Seeing requires a visual system to receive EM waves and transform it into neural transmission and then a brain to receive and interpret said data. There is nothing inherently green about cross section of the EM spectrum we call green. Our brains make it green. But to the ancient Chinese the observer and the observed are one Qi. This is what the Chinese character 观 Guan means. Daoist temples are called 道观 Daoguan, Dao observatories. Not to watch the Dao like a video but to observe and become one with the Dao. Qi is a constellation. Constellations made of physical things, stars, but they are not physical things. Orion and the Big Dipper aren't real. The stars are real but the symbols are not. We made them. But the fact that constellations are not real makes them no less useful. Constellations are products of our amazing ability to recognize patterns, give them names, and apply them to our lives (in the case of actual constellations, we used them to track time and navigate). Qi is a constellation because it is also not real. It's made of real things but the symbols that we call hot Qi, cold Qi, blocked Qi, etc are not real. They are representations of a complex, dynamic group of physical phenomenon that our minds elegantly parse into one observation. The human body is fantastically complex. But pain, pleasure, hot, cold, color, sound, etc are simple. A Daoist saying comes to mind, 大道至简, the greatest Dao approaches simplicity. It seems counterintuitive to our modern cultural upbringing but the greatest doctors of Chinese medicine see illness more simply than their less capable peers. @Spotless, now if you mean to say that you can observe discrete EM waves without aid of your ocular organs or your brain then I think you're deluding yourself. Even in mystical revery every experience of the mind has some physical correlate in the body. To have some fun with Einstein's famous equation, energy is twice illuminated matter, E=MC^2. There is no energy without a physical counterpart and the light of conscious observation.

I agree with this, "Chinese medicine is not a metaphysical, energy medicine but instead a “flesh and bones” medicine concerned with the proper flow of oxygen and blood through the vascular system." But that's not the whole picture by far. Honestly, biomedicine's grasp of how the body functions is still too immature to explain the mechanisms of Chinese medicine. Is it because biological science haven't discovered Qi energy? No. Because Qi doesn't exist. I wrote an article on this a few years ago and summarized it here in an answer to a post a few months ago. I'll dig out some links if there is interest. But to even more briefly recap, Qi isn't a thing. It's an observation. Specifically, a human observation. We don't observe electromagnetic waves, we see colors. We don't measure vibration, we hear sounds. Etc. We observe and understand in wholes. I've previously said Qi is a constellation. I still think it's a good metaphor. It is a group of things arising and reacting together in a functional state. The parts are discrete physical things. But the whole is more than the sum of its parts. The power of Chinese medicine is thousands of years of observation. Clinical obsevation and personal observation. Qi is a qualitative unit of this observation. It is descriptive but imaginary. I also agree that meridian is a poor translation. However, the author states that meridian is a translation of 脉 Mai. That's so incorrect a first year TCM student should know better. 脉 means blood vessel (among other things). Meridian is a translation of 经 Jing. According to China's oldest existent dictionary, 经 Jing means a knit or weave. It's a fabric. The meridian translation comes from the modern Chinese word for longitudinal lines on a map which uses the same character. But that's not how it was used classically. Longitudinal meridians weren't even a concept back then. Jing 经 is a compound character from 丝 Si, silk, and 巠 Jing, an underground watercourse. Put together it specifically refers to the vertical threads of a textile. If you've ever seen how a loom is used, the vertical threads are set then the horizontal threads are weaved on. The process effectively submerges and obscures the vertical threads underneath the superficial horizontal weave. The horizontal threads are called 络 Luo. Together they are called 经络 Jingluo. In TCM terms Jing 经 points to deep structures. 经脉 Jingmai are arteries. 络脉 Luomai are superficial veins. 经筋 Jingjin are fascia-muscle-tendon chains. Ultimately there is no easy one-to-one translation for any TCM terms because there is no one-to-one translation for TCM concepts because they have been arrived at via different methods of observation. But try explaining that to a new patient in a minute. I don't tell my patients acupuncture restores energy flow or whatever. But I don't begrudge early Chinese doctors who barely spoke English from doing so. Nevertheless, the idea Qi = energy is outdated, inaccurate and ready for retirement. Overall, I'd say his work better than most I've read in English. Don't agree with everything but it's nonetheless a contribution to the field.

The best one can hope for from any CM school in the world today is a foundation. And even that takes a lot of hard work. @Yasjua, I'd like to add a little nuance to your summary above. First, I don't want to be indelicate, but Andrew is not endorsing Daoist Traditions, he is endorsing their director Cissy Majebe. This is an important distinction. Daoist traditions cirriculum is based on the teaching of Jeffery Yuen and should be considered his own unique flavor of Chinesse medicine. Andrew practices tangible medicine and treats common medical issues. As far as I can tell, Jeffery's medicine is more focused on emotion, possession, and spiritual issues. Without judgement, I prefer Andrew's style. Also, classically speaking, Chinese medicine also focused on common medical issues. Most of the esteemed doctors we study today were Confucian scholars, not shamans, monks, or priests. They recognized the unity of mind, body and spirit but nonetheless treated the kinds of illnesses that GPs, dermatologists, gynecologists, psychiatrists, etc treat today. In other words, none of them practiced in a way you describe as esoteric. But they are who we should be referring to with the term CCM. So, for the sake of clarity, we should draw a distinction between Daoist medicine and Classical Chinese medicine. Daoist Traditions teaches Jeffery Yuen's branch of Daoist medicine. Honestly, Walker is completely right. The most important thing you need to learn this medicine are some good doctors to spend time in clinic with. And, of course, personal cultivation. In this regard, learning Chinese is a huge boon but there are some good doctors in the states too (and plenty of bad doctors in China). Other than that, you need the school to get a license. It's not a bad idea to do that in the cheapest way possible and then arrange an internship/residency with a good doctor after you graduate. Edit: saw a typo.

The Dragon Gate Daoists practice with trees. To give a general outline on their theory: Pine trees resonate with the wood element Poplar trees with fire Willow trees with earth Paulownia trees with metal And Cypress trees with water Practice during the day is used to reduce excess. Night practice is used to mend deficiency. A general knowledge of five element theory in traditional Chinese medicine is helpful with diagnosing which practice suits you. Like blue eyed snake said above, it's important to pick a tree that resonates with you. My teacher told me a story about a monk who insisted on practicing with the oldest biggest tree on mount Huashan. They didn't 'fit' together, but he persisted. Apparently the monk then fell into such poor health he had to leave the mountain (at the time my Chinese wasn't good enough to pick up what exactly happened to him). So my teacher suggested finding a tree while practicing walking meditation. A compatible tree will attract you. It's not so different from finding friends or lovers. Connection is destiny. It can't be forced. Nevertheless, it's up to you to create a space of opportunity.

I practice Chinese medicine. It is a path of self cultivation. But so is just about any other job out there. In my humble opinion there are no things, activities or jobs that are inherently spiritual. Just people who are spirited. When you're spirited everything is spiritual. When you aren't, you won't find spirit anywhere. Speaking practically, I don't think it's wise to invest 60-100k into a TCM education unless you really love medicine. The aim of medicine isn't liberation. The aim of medicine is to restore and preserve health. That means you'll be treating stomach aches, vertigo, musculoskeletal issues and insomnia (to give some examples from what I did yesterday). I have yet to treat a patient for liberation. All the same, you could say I treat every patient for liberation. Disease breaks the body, muddles the mind, and saps the spirit. It is an obstacle to health and the pursuit of happiness - be that liberation or just enjoying life. But be absolutely clear, medicine is mundane. Unless you want to cultivate a spiritually needy, upperclass client base, as a physician your job is to treat tangible, immediate, mundane conditions. And if you want to specialize in charging $100-200 to treat existential malaise by playing Enya, popping in a dozen needles, and leaving your patient to nap for 20 minutes - please don't call it Chinese medicine. No moral judgement. It's just not traditional medicine.

High mountain oolongs are amazing. My favorite to drink in the summer along with spring harvested Tieguanyin.

Investigate the idea that every subconscious or semiconscious bodily reaction is an attempt to regain equilibrium. I have found great insight in looking at symptoms from this angle. This seems to be a case of primary spleen-liver disharmony, with secondary lung deficiency. There is a old saying in Chinese medicine, 多思则气结 "too much thinking causes qi binding." Primary manifestations of "Qi binding" are poor digestion, a tight diaphragm and low energy. In this case, the feeling of low energy isn't actually due to have too little energy but rather stuck energy not getting to where it's needed. LaoZiDao's recommendations look spot on. Gentle enough to be safe (that is, prescribe over the Internet) and specific enough to address the issue. Especially the chenpi tea. He basically wrote the food grade version of the formula a CM physician might use to treat you (四逆散/逍遥散/温胆汤等). @LaoZiDao, Thanks for sharing!

Flavor and nature is the way to deep herbal understanding. The Yellow Emperors classic says very little about specific herbs, formulas, and foods but a lot about how to use the flavor and nature of plants. It's my understanding that the Vedas of India spoke similarly. Their core theory discusses how to use flavor and nature. They say, regarding specific botanical identification, harvesting, preparation, etc to ask the locals. In other words, flavor and nature is a core theoretical basis to understand how to use herbs anywhere in the world. I definitely recommend JulieAnn's stuff to anyone who wants to get their herb studies off on the right foot. Everything is poison. Everything is medicine. It's all in the usage.

Depends what you are cultivating. If you're working on equanimity, the process of making peace with unpleasant sensations is the cultivation. Treating them won't speed up your progress, it will just make you more comfortable. Cultivation is solving the problems in front of you. If your garden has irrigation problems, that's what you need to deal with first, then you can think about how to grow great tomatoes. So the only thing I can reccomend for others is to find as many ways as possible to honestly diagnose the problems you face. And then start by addressing the most mundane, immediate problems and work from there. Almost always that's going to involve sorting out your diet, family life, work situation, and general fitness before moving on to higher level stuff like neigong and meditation. It's higher level because it's built on a solid foundation, not because it's better. Better is relative. That said, my cultivation now revolves around delivering better medical treatment. I generally like shaking, Taiji and strength training to get my body stronger, more energetic, relaxed and connected. Then I practice a Daoyin set to develop my ability to influence qi movement more strongly and specifically in myself and patients. Finally if I have time and will in the evening I'll do a vipassana sitting practice. Priority practices are done in the morning, evening is extra credit assuming study, work, and family obligations all get taken care of.