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Hi guys, I was hoping the folks who had studied or practiced the initial stage of Nei Dan could help me understand it better For those with theoretical knowledge of the process - what are the necessary preconditions for Jing to convert to Qi? For those who've completed this stage - I assume that if your vitality hasn't decreased substantially from this process that it can't be said to be a 'conversion' of Jing to Qi, or else you'd be radically shortening your lifespan by converting Jing at such a rapid rate. What do you think 'Jing to Qi' means then? For those who either trained with a group or had friends go through the process - what are some of the errors you saw people make when practicing the stage of Jing to Qi? And for the scholars - where did you find the best textual references for this stage? Are there any classics where you saw it elucidated particularly well? Thanks in advance. I know it's a lot of questions 😬

I started reading taoist yoga and i must say all the nei dan information dont look like instructions to me. They look like biographical information of the alchemical changes of the energy body as one cultivates towards samadhi. There are too much steps and processes to be aware of that I believe alchemy infromation was more like sign posts that your on the right track rather than steps to actually follow. I mean there are easier ways like anapanasati and skeleton visualization from the buddha or samatha(concentration) practices in general. Instead of the risky practice that is alchemy. And yes you can not achieve samadhi without alchemical changes happening inside you. Else it would be false samadhi. Nan Hua Chin said that samadhi without change in your body is a false teaching that has infected buddhism especially zen. He encourages people to learn about alchemy only to use it as a referral that they are on the right track rather than an instruction manual. His book Tao & Longevity: Mind-Body Transformation shows how alchemical changes happen in the body using practices like anapanasati from the buddha. He says its based on the rule of the dao that extreme yin gives birth to yang. So the stillness from anapanasati where at some point you slow down to the point of having your breath, pulse and thoughts stop(hsi), gives birth to the yang chi being born. No need for all the alchemical jargon just slow down and become still and the internal alchemy will take place. its like our bodies mimicking creation. Where from wuji came taiji and from taiji came yang chi of heaven. The secret of immortality. It has also been said in yoga that physical immortals are in samadhi 24/7 hence they are constantly in touch with the yang qi of heaven. So if alchemy is just another way to samadhi or wuji why do Daoist treat it like its some super secret when there are even safer and less cumbersome ways of getting to samadhi. After all the emptiness is called nirvikalpa samadhi in other traditions.

I have almost finished "A record of the assembled immortals and gathered perfected of the Western hills", translated by Richard Bertschinger. I have read other books on daoist cultivation. The Eva Wong collection (gave it away, years ago), the Cleary collection (gathers dust on the shelf), Pregradio translations, and so on(You get the picture). I even printed out a copy of Voids favourite. At the time I read them, most (with the exception of Wang Mu Foundations of internal alchemy) were totally in comprehensive. This book is different. It actually explains stuff instead of piling codewords higher and deeper. And, perhaps because my practice has evolved considerably the last few years, I also have an idea of what the core ideas is about. I cannot say that my idea is what the authors tradition had in mind, so I will not state that I am having a dawning understanding of Nei Dan. But there is a considerable amount of the content in this book that fits very well with my practice. I would recommend beginners to buy this one, and Wang Mu's book, before trying to dive in the more known classics. I will read it again.

Hi, I am Ben. I'm in my early 30s and I have been practicing various spiritual paths (mostly kundalini yoga and vipassana) for more than a decade and I would like to switch to Taoism from now on. I really like to learn and practice Nei dan or inner alchemy. I know it is not an easy path and I need a solid base for start. So how should I start? consider me a slow learner with a very basic knowledge of Taoism. What is the easiest and shortest path to internal alchemy? I mean I just want to learn and practice things which are absolutely necessary, because too much information confuse and dishearten me. So do I need to learn tai chi/chi kong? Which Masters or books do you recommend.. Mantak chia, Master Yang, Master wu dang chen,...? Thanks for your help and I hope I learn a lot from you guys. Kind Regards

I just tried this today and was finally able to duplicate results I'd had in the past naturally. I had to go against some useful meditation suggestions I'd been given, which I suppose is why some say this shouldn't be introduced to people as meditation or they will get the wrong idea. Anyway, I just want to check with my favorite community to make sure I'm on the right track, as I have no teacher, and the problem with looking something up online, especially something as esoteric and hidden as Taoism still manages to be is that you get a lot of different sources from a lot of different perspectives, difficult to discern. So I fall back on you guys. All I did differently from regular meditation was clear my breath out of my lungs first, and start stoking my belly like a bellows, first shallow and fast, but then longer and still fast, focusing on pushing out and letting it draw in naturally. Then after I felt some heat there, I settled into stillness and observed for a moment. Once I was able to focus on the LDT and let the thoughts drift away, I began to observe how the breath in expanded the perineum and the breath out let it contract. Building from this, I started to squeeze it in with the exhale and let it expand with the inhale. This was extremely clumsy at first, but I have practiced squeezing the perineum quite a bit in my life for sexual reasons, so it came quite easily to me I think. Anyway, basically this: fire, pull water in, steam fills the body,keep pumping, more heat, more steam, fire grows. When it got to the heart I panicked and stopped, but continued back on for a bit before sitting back and just observing how I felt, which was warm, pain free without medication (a miracle) happy and...whole I guess, like I was my whole body and not my thoughts, and at moments the sound of falling rain became indestinguishable from the "sound" of my own body buzzing, both in distance and as an object apart from my self. TL;DR- pumped my LDT and squeezed my perineum, felt with everywhere. Just looking for guidance and thoughts, or encouragement if it's due. Practical advice basically.

Hey everyone, I'm curious for those who have personal experience or knowledge about the neidan firing process - focusing on the lower dantian while contracting the lower abdominal muscles and the perineum during inhale to build chi in this dantian, etc. I'm not sure if it has an actual name or not. I can find very little on this practice on the internet. Specifically, I'm curious what the benefits and purpose are both to this practice, and the effects in general in daily life, and whether the practice is really necessary for the rest of the neidan process. Any idea? My current twice daily practice is Mantak Chia's version of the microcosmic orbit (focusing on the accupuncture points along the ren and do, one by one). That's usually it, because the couple of times I've added Zuowang at the end of it, I've had very intense experiences, so I'm somewhat loath to include it as a regular feature. (The first time, I saw what appeared to be a white moon without craters in the darkness, except that it was as bright as the sun. And the second time, I felt as if my whole body was rising, and then I had very strong experiences of spacial/bodily distortion, and then it felt as if my whole body was sinking.) Any information on this would be cool. I learned about the technique from Damo Mitchell's latest neidan book.

here you can find a partial translation of a previously untranslated text called da cheng jie yao (essentials of the shortcut to the great achievement), the ite features more information about wudang and daoism, as well as offering a schoalrship for people who are less well-off. http://fiveimmortals.com/the-essentials-of-the-shortcut-to-the-great-achievement/

Dear All, I am pleased to let you know that Singing Dragon is going to publish Serge Augier's first book in English! Shen Gong and Nei Dan in Da Xuan A Manual for Working with Mind, Emotion, and Internal Energy Serge Augier. With translations by Isis Augier. Weaving a masterful presentation of both astonishing depth and refreshing simplicity, Serge Augier covers the Daoist practices for developing mind, emotions and internal energy and provides specific exercises for cultivating and transforming the Jing (body energy), Qi (life force) and Shen (mind or spirit) on the path to enlightenment. He explains theory and practice in clear, easy-to-understand terms and explores the deeper reaches of Daoist internal alchemy in a way that gives access to practitioners of all levels to the necessary knowledge. You can have a look at the table of content and pre-order the book here: http://www.singingdragon.com/catalogue/9781848192607 As one of Serge's student I strongly recommend this book. Serge's teachings are very clear and offers a lot. It is by far the most precise information you can find in the West on Shen Gong and Nei Dan!

Hello Taobums, I feel honoured to have joined such an interesting community of likeminded individuals. I''ve been reading different topics for some time now and I thought it was about time I joined and shared in the discussions with some of my Taoist experiences...