Jing and the Golden Flower

[Ryan McCoole]

Hello all, I've been at the Bums for quite some time, great posts, but I just had to throw this one out there. Here's a quote from "The Secret of the Golden Flower" translated and explained by Richard Wilhelm, discussing 'the seed' or Jing:

 

"“ An ancient adept said: ‘Formerly, every school knew this jewel, only fools did not know it wholly.’ If we reflect on this we see that the ancients really attained long life by the help of the seed-energy present in their own bodies, and did not lengthen their years by swallowing this or that sort of elixir. But the worldly people lost the roots and clung to the treetops.”

 

So, what are some experiences you have with utilizing and conserving Jing? Do herbs and ‘elixirs’ help (physically as well as spiritually) with walking down your path, whatever that may be?

 

Just some musings…thanks.

 

-Ryan McCoole-

Tao learner.

Edited June 4, 2007 by Ryan McCoole

[Taomeow]

Those were the times when only poverty (alas, the standard condition of most people most of the time anywhere "civilized") could prevent one from getting stellar nutrition of the kind that isn't within our reach today. Even if we don't go as far as the times of the "ancients..." ...why even my own great-grandparents, in central Europe, ate, on a regular seasonal basis, some twelve varieties of wild forrest berries and about as many garden-cultivated ones, about twenty varieties of wild mushrooms, apples of fifteen different kinds, pears of a dozen different kinds, freshwater fish of two dozen kinds, not just poultry and game and domestic animals meat but their organ meats and marrow bones, bread from grains grown in mineral-rich soils without carcinogenic chemicals, fermented/pickled vegetables from wooden barrels with all their beneficial critters alive and well, and so on. I wish, after years of yoga and martial arts, that I could hold my spine as erect as my great-grandmother does in a picture taken circa the beginning of the 20th century where she's surrounded by her ten kids. This kind of posture comes from bioavailable calcium since birth -- e.g., real milk from real cows (neither exist anymore, at least for most people most of the time), homemade ice cream made with cream that is one hour old mixed with wild strawberries, and of course unpolluted atmosphere that allows enough sunlight year round for vitamin D to be made in the body and help deposit all that calcium in the bones rather than in the toilet... all these and more resulting in the regal posture of a woman who, after ten pregnancies and breastfeeding all her kids, not only didn't have any osteoporosis but in fact had nothing going on with her health that would prevent her from climbing trees at 87 (cherry-picking). That was then, this is now... Now we need all the help we can get from things we eat and drink. So I would encourage everyone, taoist or not, to get friendly with herbal potions. Don't know if it's going to conserve my jing, but modern degenerative diseases brought about by multiple nutritional deficiencies is something I can definitely do without.

Edited June 4, 2007 by Taomeow

[sean]

Those were the times when only poverty (alas, the standard condition of most people most of the time anywhere "civilized") could prevent one from getting stellar nutrition of the kind that isn't within our reach today. Even if we don't go as far as the times of the "ancients..." ...why even my own great-grandparents, in central Europe, ate, on a regular seasonal basis, some twelve varieties of wild forrest berries and about as many garden-cultivated ones, about twenty varieties of wild mushrooms, apples of fifteen different kinds, pears of a dozen different kinds, freshwater fish of two dozen kinds, not just poultry and game and domestic animals meat but their organ meats and marrow bones, bread from grains grown in mineral-rich soils without carcinogenic chemicals, fermented/pickled vegetables from wooden barrels with all their beneficial critters alive and well, and so on. I wish, after years of yoga and martial arts, that I could hold my spine as erect as my great-grandmother does in a picture taken circa the beginning of the 20th century where she's surrounded by her ten kids. This kind of posture comes from bioavailable calcium since birth -- e.g., real milk from real cows (neither exist anymore, at least for most people most of the time), homemade ice cream made with cream that is one hour old mixed with wild strawberries, and of course unpolluted atmosphere that allows enough sunlight year round for vitamin D to be made in the body and help deposit all that calcium in the bones rather than in the toilet... all these and more resulting in the regal posture of a woman who, after ten pregnancies and breastfeeding all her kids, not only didn't have any osteoporosis but in fact had nothing going on with her health that would prevent her from climbing trees at 87 (cherry-picking). That was then, this is now... Now we need all the help we can get from things we eat and drink. So I would encourage everyone, taoist or not, to get friendly with herbal potions. Don't know if it's going to conserve my jing, but modern degenerative diseases brought about by multiple nutritional deficiencies is something I can definitely do without.

Holy shit. What an awesome post.

[gendao]

From what I've been told, herbs can be effective IF they are picked at the right time and prepared properly. There is a whole art and science to it - not just swallowing them ground up into pills.

 

But, if you can draw that energy directly from the universe or wherever, that is of course a higher level of ability...and probably purer as it is more direct.

 

Either way, I still personally believe we should also watch what we ingest. We do live in a different world today with a lot more manmade toxins. And not just through food, but through dental fillings, food/drink containers, water in our showers, etc. I believe these environmental pollutants can still be damaging even if you do qigong - especially smoking.

Edited June 4, 2007 by vortex

[Spectrum]

"herbs can be effective IF they are picked at the right time and prepared properly."

 

Once you get good herbs take the right proportions at the right time of day.

 

Spectrum

Edited June 4, 2007 by Spectrum

[Taomeow]

Thanks, Sean, you're not too shabby yourself!

[Lozen]

[seadog]

Those were the times when only poverty (alas, the standard condition of most people most of the time anywhere "civilized") could prevent one from getting stellar nutrition of the kind that isn't within our reach today. Even if we don't go as far as the times of the "ancients..." ...why even my own great-grandparents, in central Europe, ate, on a regular seasonal basis, some twelve varieties of wild forrest berries and about as many garden-cultivated ones, about twenty varieties of wild mushrooms, apples of fifteen different kinds, pears of a dozen different kinds, freshwater fish of two dozen kinds, not just poultry and game and domestic animals meat but their organ meats and marrow bones, bread from grains grown in mineral-rich soils without carcinogenic chemicals, fermented/pickled vegetables from wooden barrels with all their beneficial critters alive and well, and so on. I wish, after years of yoga and martial arts, that I could hold my spine as erect as my great-grandmother does in a picture taken circa the beginning of the 20th century where she's surrounded by her ten kids. This kind of posture comes from bioavailable calcium since birth -- e.g., real milk from real cows (neither exist anymore, at least for most people most of the time), homemade ice cream made with cream that is one hour old mixed with wild strawberries, and of course unpolluted atmosphere that allows enough sunlight year round for vitamin D to be made in the body and help deposit all that calcium in the bones rather than in the toilet... all these and more resulting in the regal posture of a woman who, after ten pregnancies and breastfeeding all her kids, not only didn't have any osteoporosis but in fact had nothing going on with her health that would prevent her from climbing trees at 87 (cherry-picking). That was then, this is now... Now we need all the help we can get from things we eat and drink. So I would encourage everyone, taoist or not, to get friendly with herbal potions. Don't know if it's going to conserve my jing, but modern degenerative diseases brought about by multiple nutritional deficiencies is something I can definitely do without.

[seadog]

I have learned a great deal from my dog.Basically he's a meat lover first and foremost and why not he's a dog.

Every so often though he venture out into the vegie patch sniff around a bit and select a weed or a herb (whats the difference?)and casually chew away.In the thirteen years we've shared together he's never been sick.The following are attributes which I believe keep him in tip top shape.

He only eats when he's hungry.

He gets plenty of exercise

He has a lot of naps

He accepts things for what they are

He doesn't hold grudges

He is a good listener that includes to what his body requires.

He likes to sing

He enjoys lots of physical contact

He still has his balls which he licks frequently

And last but not least he truly loves evryone.

[agharta]

First off, I agree with TaoMeow's post. However, I'd like to add that I think certain sea foods are extremely helpful in this regard, as well as organ meats, particularly liver, from healthy animals. My method for determining the usefulness of a food is 5-fold.

 

1. Is it high in all kinds of minerals, fat-soluble vitamins, and water-soluble vitamins?

 

2. Have native groups touted it as a health tonic, and gone to great lengths to obtain it?

 

3. Can most people eat it without allergic reaction, and can they digest it?

 

4. can I myself eat it without allergic reaction, and can I digest it?

 

5. Unfortunately, right now we do have to pay a little attention to the purity of the source. Was the animal raised in a relatively healthy, unpolluted environment? This is particularly important if you're eating the organs.

 

 

Fish eggs fit the bill more than any other food I've seen. I do notice that they tend to help my health, including reducing tooth sensitivity, and keeping my mood even.

[Treena]

Fish eggs fit the bill more than any other food I've seen. I do notice that they tend to help my health, including reducing tooth sensitivity, and keeping my mood even.

 

Uh, yuck! I'd rather stick with the qigong exercises or the nettle infusion! Which reminds me, off to do my qigong.

[Taomeow]

Uh, yuck! I'd rather stick with the qigong exercises or the nettle infusion! Which reminds me, off to do my qigong.

What do you mean yuck? Caviar! Is yum!!

Nettle infusion is also good but the ancients never traveled thousands of miles to get it -- for caviar, they did.

[Spectrum]

We are very lucky today to be able to have so many ingredients at our fingertips. Fortune favors us NOW. This may not be so in the future, when enlightenment will have to be filed on your income tax, and herbs will go through the FDA or WHO knows what.

 

Always research fully and remember Less is More.

 

Spectrum

[Treena]

Hey, don't get me wrong TaoMeow, I love fish, and go out with a rod regularly. Just never found a good way to cook up fish eggs that was palatable, maybe I'd have to be starving first. So we give the eggs, skins, heads, and innards to the eagles instead.

 

There's also the problem of overconsumption of some 'super' foods. Human love of caviar has got a certain type of fish, sturgeon, listed as 'vulnerable' on the endangered species list.

 

Spectrum, you bring up something I've been worrying about. I come from a country that's increasing its regulations dramatically. So much so that I worry about being able to get my Chinese and regular herbs without first seeing some licensed professional who has to pay crazy amounts of money in association and insurance and license fees to be able to keep practicing.

[sedigheh zokaei]

i am interesting so much, about percept and touch the depth of that seed chi current, and i am looking for that sense it in myself.

 

infact , golden flower , is truth of our best exist current.

our body and our soul and mind have real roots in the nature. all of them have one language , we flow in "cosmic language" ... that is free from any dependence, and so there is i (ego) that is thrown away from , its origine ; that dont touch real of its pure sense in roots and no on the treetops.... but mould of nature is current in their own real current , and only human , is seperated from he s or she s truth place.

 

so, what motion and senses and touchin or relationship in the sheer nature current , is near by one s real existance and flourish the fresh and sheer sense of "golden flower" .

Edited August 15, 2007 by sedigheh zokaei

[witch]

Well of course I'm a big fan of fish oil, if you don't have access to fifteen different kinds of fish and fish eggs, particularly with mercury contamination so prevalent now.

 

And it will certainly put some zing in your jing!

[rain]

.................

Edited April 18, 2008 by rain

[xenolith]

[sedigheh zokaei]

witch,

 

what relationship is between your explanation by effect of sense of current nature on the seed jing?

you have enter from other channel!!!!!!!

[Yoda]

Great thread y'all!

 

Inspiring post from Taomeow... her family's experience seems to be different from what I can glean of the American pioneer experience where they didn't seem to be climbing trees at 87!

 

The American pioneers often didn't have access to the fish or the fruits or as many herbs or maybe all of the above. Although cod liver oil and oysters and fruit were prized, they didn't seem to be commonly eaten. It seems as though they had access to tea and/or coffee though and did get plenty of exercise and fresh air.

 

The early Americans on the coast presumably had access to fish, but I don't know what their longevity was.

 

I'm wondering if it's the fish, the fruit, or the herbs or some other lifestyle aspect which might be 'the' secret ingredient here.

 

The vikings ate lots of fish and had tons of zing in their jing (love that phrase!) but hardly any of them made it past 50.

 

My exposure to past cultures is very anecdotal, though.

 

Yoda