Replenishing Yuanqi

[Sudhamma]

As I understand that 'yuanqi' is the energy for want of an English term that is passed from mother to foetus. And that this energy (primordial?) is stored in the kidneys. As the child grows, this yuanqi diminished unitl it expired and death occurs. In Chinese culture, one of the ways to prolong life is to enhance this yuanqi. At this point, I was given to understand that this yuanqi cannot be enhanced nor replenished and so, systems of qigong are invented and institutionalised to nurture the alternative system of neigong (which later was renamed as qigong).with the sole purpose of improving health and hence, longivity. What prompted this post is the readings I had in this TDB about replenishing yuanqi, about nei and wei dan systems which I find fascinating. I'm still learning guys, so be kind.

[LaoZiDao]

As I understand that 'yuanqi' is the energy for want of an English term that is passed from mother to foetus. And that this energy (primordial?) is stored in the kidneys. As the child grows, this yuanqi diminished unitl it expired and death occurs. In Chinese culture, one of the ways to prolong life is to enhance this yuanqi. At this point, I was given to understand that this yuanqi cannot be enhanced nor replenished and so, systems of qigong are invented and institutionalised to nurture the alternative system of neigong (which later was renamed as qigong).with the sole purpose of improving health and hence, longivity. What prompted this post is the readings I had in this TDB about replenishing yuanqi, about nei and wei dan systems which I find fascinating. I'm still learning guys, so be kind.

If you have not read these, I recommend to:

 

http://all-dao.com/essence-taoist-alchemy.html

 

http://all-dao.com/difference-qigong-alchemy.html

[YiYinYiYang]

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Edited August 13, 2017 by YiYinYiYang

[Sudhamma]

@LaoZiDao, Thank you. I had visited the links you proposed. I had a good read from the perspective of a traditional Daoist viewpoint on Life, Death and 'reincarnation' (as opposed to rebirth, in a Buddhist sense), thank you. Generally, its comment on qigong is correct about the small heavenly cycle, mco within the scope of comments I read in TDB, because daoist qigong do include macro-cosmic orbit, the large heavenly cycle so to speak but is seldom mentioned in TDB. The emphasis in Daoist Qigong is not the tranmission of Dao and so devoid of Daoist terminology, like yao,oven, and fire, but the absence will not degrade Qigong into a inferior practice. Quieting and calming the Mind does not mean the meditator has attained enlightenment, far from it, from the Buddhist angle, and I'm sure that members of the Ch'an sect of Buddhism will agree with me on this. Though the school, Wu-Liu P'ai considers its teaching to be a mix of both Daoist and Buddhist teachings, after reading the two main pages of the links, my humble opinion is that there are the above contradictions which need some careful after-thought. 

[LaoZiDao]

You can get further clarification here about Qigong vs Alchemy: http://all-dao.com/heavenly-circle.html

[LaoZiDao]

In addition to LaoZiDao's recomendation, here's an interesting documentary looking at it from TCM point of view:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaflvJngxBM&t=38s

Nice video about houtian energies. Thanks.

[YiYinYiYang]

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Edited August 13, 2017 by YiYinYiYang

[damdao]

Let's not belittle Chinese Medicine.

We have Ma Dayang's Twelve Points!

Edited January 19, 2017 by damdao

[Wells]

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Edited March 2, 2017 by Wells

[YiYinYiYang]

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Edited August 13, 2017 by YiYinYiYang

[Sudhamma]

@YiYinYang, thank you for recommending the link...but couldn't finish till the end. Will watch it when I have more time...it is interesting to know how the dual energies interact and its causal effects.

 

@Wells, you have indeed made a valid point about the finite (and measureable?) amount of yuanqi a person has,if indeed it is finite. Perhaps the link that YiYinYang provided may hold the answer. Or members in TDB may be able to provide more insights into this yuanqi. Thank you, Wells.

 

Leading questions:

1. Is yuanqi finite?

2. And especially in mothers when this energy is passed to the foetus, will the mother suffers a loss of her yuanqi?

3. From the perspective of TCM, is yuanqi irreplaceable and therefore unlikely to be replenished? There are qi-tonic herbal formulations specifically for mothers after child-birth and what qi is being tonified if it is not yuanqi? However, if it is yuanqi that is tonified and strengthened, then it can also be replenished.

 

If you are answering by only posting a link, you will be helpful to include a summary or synopsis of the video/article.

Thank you all.

[LaoZiDao]

Leading questions:

My opinions:

 

 

 

1. Is yuanqi finite?

 

Yes

 

 

2. And especially in mothers when this energy is passed to the foetus, will the mother suffers a loss of her yuanqi?

 

Yes, nothing is free (everything costs Yuanqi, as in every human activity). The bigger the task, the more Yuanqi is spent.. so to speak.

 

 

 

3. From the perspective of TCM, is yuanqi irreplaceable and therefore unlikely to be replenished? There are qi-tonic herbal formulations specifically for mothers after child-birth and what qi is being tonified if it is not yuanqi? However, if it is yuanqi that is tonified and strengthened, then it can also be replenished.

As I understand, TCM can replenish and/or tonify houtian (post-heaven) Qi only.

 

Yuanqi cannot be replenished by TCM / Qigong or any other post-heaven methods. Though, Qigong and TCM (good health) can reduce the spending of Yuanqi (sick body spends more Yuanqi).

 

What is being tonified by such tonics would be houtian Yangqi, not Yuanqi.

 

Yuanqi can be replenished, but it cannot be understood by ordinary man, it's why classics stress the need for a True Teacher to guide student through the process, stage by stage.

 

 

 

[[email protected]]

[Sudhamma]

Coming back to the question to the finity of yuanqi, the TCM link posted by YiYinYiYang has this postulation from the first section of the video:

1. Yuanqi will wane with age, and the person will physically grow old as the yuanqi depletes.

2. If a woman in her prime when her yuanqi is still strong will still look good (I suppose, young as well) even though (she) has given birth. her child will be strong (and will live longer) as well. However, if child-birth has taken place while her yuanqi is weak (when she is matured woman, 40-45 years old), her child will be weak (and perhaps has a short life-span) and herself, age faster (biologically). In Singapore, there is a common observation that the older generation of Chinese people were stronger and abled physically even at ripe old age of 80 when compared to (local born) 3rd-4th generation of Chinese Singaporeans. The major difference is that those from China were born to parents who married at age 18-20 years old (a norm, during the early 20th centruy).

 

From this understanding, a person and his/her yuanqi is like that of the 4 seasons, Spring; young, full of vitality, and comes to Autumn, matured, aged, and weak. In this sense, yuanqi is finite, but the energy can be compromised with varying degrees from extreme physical conditions like child-birth. There are other destructive ways in which yuanqi can be harmed, insomnia, alcoholism and drug addiction are some ways that the energy can be harmed and caused it to be depleted.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Sudhamma

[Sudhamma]

@LaoZiDao, thank you for the second posting of another Wu-Liu P'ai's link. This time is about the 'Heavenly Cycle' practised by Qigong practitioners. It mentioned 'sweet dew' and 'true seed'. As I understand Qigong, there are 4 major types and not all instruct the students to use 'heavenly cycle', aka mco, as the standard breathing methodology. A typical Daoist Qigong will be in-line with such an assertion and various systems within this category are (far) removed from 'daoist religious ovetones' unless the qigong teachers are immersed in daoist religious thoughts. Having said that, within the ambit of Daoist Qigong, the sweet dew is understood as salvia that fills the mouth during qigong practise, and true seed, the qi in the dan-tien. I know that such understanding may be corruptions of the original explanations, but Daoist Qigong is not Daoism.

[Orion]

There are no immortal humans walking around, aside from some tales that they exist. So we can safely conclude that it's not possible to replenish yuanqi in a meaningful way.

 

Life extension/maximization is possible but that's it. There are no secret techniques. Anyone who claims there are is lying.

 

IMO people should use all the esoteric methods they can to prepare themselves for what comes after death, kind of like soul planning. I wouldn't bother focusing all my efforts on preserving this specific body.

[Wells]

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Edited March 2, 2017 by Wells

[LaoZiDao]

There are no immortal humans walking around, aside from some tales that they exist. So we can safely conclude that it's not possible to replenish yuanqi in a meaningful way.

 

Life extension/maximization is possible but that's it. There are no secret techniques. Anyone who claims there are is lying.

 

IMO people should use all the esoteric methods they can to prepare themselves for what comes after death, kind of like soul planning. I wouldn't bother focusing all my efforts on preserving this specific body.

There are more than tales that exist, reserved for people within Daoists circles. Obviously you're not in such circles and so you have narrow point of view because of your lack of opportunities, lack of De, dirt in heart, blocks, and so on. Just because you didn't have such a chance, does not mean that you can claim someone is lying.

 

But you're right, Xians are generally not walking around amongst society, they cultivated years to be able to finally leave it and have no reliance on it.

 

Last thing, goal is not about preserving body, it's _a stage_ in the process of transformation from human to Xian. Later, even for immortals..the body is transformed or "discarded" in final stages.

[LaoZiDao]

It is not logical at all, you are trying to save a theory with an incomplete understanding by making up empty claims, but not by giving logical explanations and arguments.

Where is the yuanqi coming from that the person allegedly receives continuously after birth until he is 13-17 years old and how exactly does this prolonged receiving of yuanqi take place?

You can check Huangdi Neijing, and Yijing to under how does this work.

 

It's you who is demonstrating lack of understanding..

 

Firstly you can look at how does the human grow from child to teenager, what changes in physiology happen, why they happen, at which point is the height of Yang reached, and when does this Yang start to decline, and why.

Edited January 21, 2017 by LaoZiDao

[Wells]

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Edited March 2, 2017 by Wells

[Wells]

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Edited March 2, 2017 by Wells

[LaoZiDao]

So, in your opinion the fact that he doesn't believe in human immortals proves that he is a bad person?

Who said anything about a bad person?

 

Your misinterpretation of what does De mean.. I guess.

 

We all have things to work through, develop, improve and so on, some more than others, it's nothing about good or bad.

[Wells]

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Edited March 2, 2017 by Wells

[LaoZiDao]

It's not my duty to prove your claims,

it's yours.

And so far, no proof or evidence was given that people after birth receive yuanqi through some obscure continuous transmission from som obscure source until they are 17 years old! I call BS!

It's your fate not mine. I'm not here to prove you anything. If you want to study Daoism you will check such sources and gain something useful, grow your knowledge and so on. If not, then it seems you're just interested in useless arguments and internet trolling.. You obviously don't want to learn anything by your tone.

 

Obscure source, right... lol.

[Wells]

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Edited March 2, 2017 by Wells