Looking for taoist rituals to purify the body

[adamw]

 

Quote

...This process involves esoteric oral instructions..., ...rules of seclusion and purification for the alchemist to follow, and various practices including the performance of ceremonies to protect the self and the ritual area. Waidan can also include following a dietary regimen which prescribes or proscribes certain foods.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_alchemy

 

I'm interested in Neidan not Waidan, but i'm really interested about the above.

 

What are:

 

1. The rules of seclusion and purification

2. Ceromonies to protect the self and the ritual area

3. The dietary regimen, which prescribes or proscribes certain foods

 

I appreciate any help provided

[Mudfoot]

You will find that Jerry Alan Johnson's books are a great source of information.

 

If you're not on a tight budget. 

[C T]

Have you encountered any materials by Livia Kohn? I think the book 'The Taoist Experience' will provide some insights into the subjects that interest you. 

 

Another likely resource that you might find useful - 

https://books.google.ie/books?id=EXVk1tr6lEYC&pg=PA659&lpg=PA659&dq=handbook+of+taoist+rituals&source=bl&ots=iJwHxVipVf&sig=hChW2ZL1tKgsaHf5mXBZZlO3uL4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj8vrir0bTXAhVGXRoKHYcrBR4Q6AEIMzAB#v=onepage&q&f=false

Edited November 10, 2017 by C T

[thelerner]

These aren't specifically taoist rituals, but tend to be purifying.  (Teacher Ya Mu was into burning Cedarwood as I recall).  Ye olde taoist rituals were very shamanic.  There is much crossover. 

 

I seem to remember burning cedarwood (also sandalwood and sage) being purifying.  I prefer the sharp wakeful pungency of clove oil.   High quality incense tend to be purifying in some circles, as is bathing with salts.  As a twofer you can shower and use a salt scrub w/ oil on yourself. 

 

My veggie friend say-

Eat fruit for energy

Eat vegetables for strength.

I'd add:

Light foods lift you up- good to a point,

heavier and meatier foods bring you down- which can be centering. 

 

by my desk I have a small 10ml bottle of cedarwood oil for sniffing, it'll probably last forever, as well as clove oil and lemon eucalyptus. 
 

Edited November 10, 2017 by thelerner

[Gerard]

1. Baguaquan

2. Work with trees (Bagua and seated meditation)

3. Loving-kindness and forgiving thoughts  24/7

4. Away from any human/urban presence unless practicing with like-minded people

5. Diet following Chinese Medicine principles

6. Chinese tea (puerh, oolong and Yunnan white)

7. Clean air

8. Spring or filtered water

 

 

Good luck!

 

[joeblast]

the first rule is, stop poisoning yourself

 

better support that neidan with some waidan, the body doesnt like to just sit there.  exercise is very healthy.  SWEAT is very healthy.

 

that should be rule 1 and 2.

[Limahong]

On 11/11/2017 at 9:33 PM, joeblast said:

the first rule is, stop poisoning yourself

 

Hi joeblast,

 

A rule before the first rule - keep a healthy mind that is learningful?

 

- LimA

[dawei]

On 11/24/2017 at 5:39 PM, Limahong said:

 

Hi joeblast,

 

A rule before the first rule - keep a healthy mind that is learningful?

 

- LimA

 

Yet, Laozi seems to talk of an empty mind...   so what is a truly healthy mind?

 

His point was, Confucianism was thoughtful , but Daoism is instinctive...

[Limahong]

3 hours ago, dawei said:

Yet, Laozi seems to talk of an empty mind...   so what is a truly healthy mind?

 

Hi dawei,

 

A healthy mind is a mind that knows it is empty. Why? The more I know, the more I realize how little I know.

 

3 hours ago, dawei said:

His point was, Confucianism was thoughtful , but Daoism is instinctive...

 

Confucianism => Society, Daoism => Nature?

 

- LimA

[Limahong]

On 11/11/2017 at 5:32 AM, Gerard said:

Away from any human/urban presence unless practicing with like-minded people

 

Hi Gerard,

 

Move more away from society...?

 

- LimA

[Limahong]

On 11/11/2017 at 5:32 AM, Gerard said:

Away from any human/urban presence...

 

4 hours ago, dawei said:

Laozi seems to talk of an empty mind...

 

On 11/11/2017 at 2:24 AM, adamw said:

I'm interested in Neidan not Waidan...

 

On 11/11/2017 at 2:24 AM, adamw said:

The rules of seclusion and purification

 

Hi Gerard + dawei + adamw,

 

Less societal involvements + more emptying of the mind => some purification of the body?

 

- LimA

 

[dawei]

5 hours ago, Limahong said:

 

Hi dawei,

 

A healthy mind is a mind that knows it is empty. Why? The more I know, the more I realize how little I know.

 

 

Confucianism => Society, Daoism => Nature?

 

- LimA

 

I think Confucius would agree with your 'healthy mind' idea but Laozi might just smile without comment.

 

I've always like the phrase I once heard:  Chinese are Confucian by day and Daoist by night.

 

I agree with your equation and might then add:

The outer man = Confucian

The inner man = Laozi

[Limahong]

12 hours ago, dawei said:

The outer man = Confucian

The inner man = Laozi

 

Hi dawei,

 

But it is more important for me to search for myself as the 'inner man' - to know him, to understand him, to feel him...? However not with words? But wuwei-lessly in The Void?

 

- LimA

 

 

Edited December 2, 2017 by Limahong

[dawei]

15 hours ago, Limahong said:

 

Hi dawei,

 

But it is more important for me to search for myself as the 'inner man' - to know him, to understand him, to feel him...? However not with words? But wuwei-lessly in The Void?

 

- LimA

 

 

 

Outer = Inner

[dawei]

23 hours ago, Apeiron&Peiron said:

I found a syllogism! :

 

The outer man = Confucian

The inner man = Laozi

Outer = Inner

∴ Laozi = Confucian

 

Which leads to Daoism = Confucianism = Buddhism... and why 'the three vinegar tasters' 

 

http://www.edepot.com/taoism_3-vinegar-tasters.html

 

 

[Limahong]

7 hours ago, dawei said:

'the three vinegar tasters'

 

Hi dawei,

 

The following on the above tasters came from - http://www.edepot.com/taoism_3-vinegar-tasters.html:

 

 

"The Vinegar Tasters painting is the most popular painting related to taoism. It was made even more famous when the book "Tao of Pooh" mentioned this piece of art. 

The following is a summary of the passages from the book... 

Three men are standing around a vat of vinegar. Each one has dipped his finger into the vinegar and has tasted it. The expression on each man's face shows his individual reaction. Since the painting is allegorical, we are to understand that these are no ordinary vinegar tasters, but are instead representatives of the "Three Teachings" of China, and that the vinegar they are sampling represents the Essence of Life. The three masters are Confucius, Buddha, and Lao Zi, author of the oldest existing book of Taoism. The first has a sour look on his face, the second wears a bitter expression, but the third man is smiling. 

To Confucius, life seemed rather sour. He believed that the present was out step with the past, and that the government of man on earth was out of harmony with the Way of Heaven, the government of, the universe. Therefore, he emphasized reverence for the Ancestors, as well as for the ancient rituals and ceremonies in which the emperor, as the Son of Heaven, acted as intermediary between limitless heaven and limited earth. Under Confucianism, the use of precisely measured court music, prescribed steps, actions, and phrases all added up to an extremely complex system of rituals, each used for a particular purpose at a particular time. A saying was recorded about Confucius: "If the mat was not straight, the Master would not sit." This ought to give an indication of the extent to which things were carried out under Confucianism. 

To Buddha, the second figure in the painting, life on earth was bitter, filled with attachments and desires that led to suffering. The world was seen as a setter of traps, a generator of illusions, a revolving wheel of pain for all creatures. In order to find peace, the Buddhist considered it necessary to transcend "the world of dust" and reach Nirvana, literally a state of "no wind." Although the essentially optimistic attitude of the Chinese altered Buddhism considerably after it was brought in from its native India, the devout Buddhist often saw the way to Nirvana interrupted all the same by the bitter wind of everyday existence. 

To Lao Zi, the harmony that naturally existed between heaven and earth from the very beginning could be found by anyone at any time, but not by following the rules of the Confucianists. As he stated in his Tao Te Ching, the "Tao Virtue Book," earth was in essence a reflection of heaven, run by the same laws - not by the laws of men. These laws affected not only the spinning of distant planets, but the activities of the birds in the forest and the fish in the sea. According to Lao Zi, the more man interfered with the natural balance produced and governed by the universal laws, the further away the harmony retreated into the distance. The more forcing, the more trouble. Whether heavy or light, wet or dry, fast or slow, everything had its own nature already within it, which could not be violated without causing difficulties. When abstract and arbitrary rules were imposed from the outside, struggle was inevitable. Only then did life become sour. 

To Lao Zi, the world was not a setter of traps but a teacher of valuable lessons. Its lessons needed to be learned, just as its laws needed to be followed; then all would go well. Rather than turn away from "the world of dust," Lao Zi advised others to "join the dust of the world." What he saw operating behind everything in heaven and earth he called Tao (DAO), "the Way." 

A basic principle of Lao Zi's teaching was that this Way of the Universe could not be adequately described in words, and that it would be insulting both to its unlimited power and to the intelligent human mind to attempt to do so. Still, its nature could be understood, and those who cared the most about it, and the life from which it was inseparable, understood it best. 

Over the centuries Lao Zi's classic teachings were developed and divided into philosophical, monastic, and folk religious forms. All of these could be included under the general heading of Taoism. But the basic Taoism that we are concerned with here is simply a particular way of appreciating, learning from, and working with whatever happens in everyday life. From the Taoist point of view, the natural result of this harmonious way of living is happiness. You might say that happy serenity is the most noticeable characteristic of the Taoist personality, and a subtle sense of humor is apparent even in the most profound Taoist writings, such as the twenty-five-hundred-year-old Tao Te Ching. In the writings of Taoism's second major writer, Zhuang Zi, quiet laughter seems to bubble up like water from a fountain. 

In the painting, why is Lao Zi smiling? After all, that vinegar that represents life must certainly have an unpleasant taste, as the expressions on the faces of the other two men indicate. But, through working in harmony with life's circumstances, Taoist understanding changes what others may perceive as negative into something positive. From the Taoist point of view, sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message of The Vinegar Tasters".

 

- LimA

[dawei]

2 hours ago, Limahong said:

In the painting, why is Lao Zi smiling? After all, that vinegar that represents life must certainly have an unpleasant taste, as the expressions on the faces of the other two men indicate. But, through working in harmony with life's circumstances, Taoist understanding changes what others may perceive as negative into something positive. From the Taoist point of view, sourness and bitterness come from the interfering and unappreciative mind. Life itself, when understood and utilized for what it is, is sweet. That is the message of The Vinegar Tasters".

 

Thanks for that. I wasn't trying to post the links contents but maybe just as well.

 

One early refrain I would say to my chinese wife, before we married, to explain my basic philosophy of life was based on Laozi... I'd say:  How can you accept the sun but not rain or snow.   She deeply knows the chinese concept of chi ku, eat bitter.  So I think the passage is not really something I'd agree with.

 

From a Taoist point of view (maybe I should say Laoist and then have to give a nod to Rene for having made this kind of reference I've never forgotten), sourness and bitterness come from the natural understanding of the cycles of nature.  There is no interference nor unappreciative action with nature.  It is unforgiving but it is also not personal. The Taoist, hopefully, knows this and refrains from judging nature.  Life is not sweet... sounds too new age...  I'd likely say: Life is the five flavors.