The reason why a person who only has qi in his lower abdomen can't understand the Huang Tingjing

[awaken]

為什麼一個只有氣在下腹部的人無法讀懂黃庭經的理由

 

The reason why a person who only has qi in his lower abdomen can't understand the Huang Tingjing

 

因為黃庭經講的都是真人程度的內容

 

要練到真人，必須經過烏肝兔髓的陰陽反覆

產生二階段陽生

經歷多年演化

才能產生第三階段陽生

到了第三階段陽生的成熟階段

才能產生真人

 

要一個只有氣動階段的人去講真人階段的內容

就像是要一個只會加法的小孩子去講量子力學一樣荒謬可笑

 

Because what Huang Tingjing talks about is immortal content.

To make immortal, you must go through the yin and yang of black liver and rabbit marrow.

produce two-stage yangsheng

After years of evolution of two-stage yangsheng

to produce the third stage of yangsheng

At the third stage, the mature stage of Yang Sheng

to produce immortal

Ask a person who only has the qi stage to talk about the content of immortal

It's as absurd as asking a child who math level that can only do addition to talk about Quantum mechanics

Edited May 5, 2022 by awaken

[awaken]

丹道的經典當中有很多是程度不到的話怎麼看也看不懂的

黃庭經就是其中一本

 

想要看懂黃庭經沒問題

請把第三階段陽生練出來

不要連最基本的程度都沒有

就想要讀懂黃庭經

 

In Dan Dao's classics, there are a lot of them that are not to the level, and you can't understand them no matter how you try to read them.

Huang Tingjing is one of them

No problem if you want to understand Huang Tingjing

Please have the third stage of yangsheng

Don't even have the most basic level, just want to understand Huang Tingjing

[awaken]

陽{生}和陽{神}是不一樣的

雖然中文發音幾乎一模一樣

被google翻譯出來也一樣但是這是完全不同的

陽生是陰陽反覆之後的一陽生

第二個出現的陽

而陽神則是烏肝日魂

這是參同契裡面說的

 

Yang Sheng and Yang Shen are different

Although the Chinese pronunciation is almost identical

It's the same when translated by google but it's totally different

Yangsheng{陽生} is one yang generation after the repetition of yin and yang

One yang is the second yang

The Yangsheng{陽神} is the black liver sun soul

This is what it says in the Cantonqi

 

各位老朋友應該知道我在這個論壇前前後後也很多年了

我看了很多年

這裡根本沒人搞得清楚甚麼是陽生和陽神

大家都只知道追逐任督繞行氣感

連烏肝都不知道是甚麼

更別說陽生和陽神有甚麼不同了

Old friends should know that I have been in this forum for many years.

I watched for many years

No one here has any idea what Yang Sheng and Yang Shen are.

Everyone only knows the feeling of chasing Ren Du and detouring

Most don't even know what black liver is

Not to mention the difference between Yang Sheng{陽生} and Yang Shen{陽神}

 

[awaken]

為什麼氣會堆積在下腹部

一個主要的原因就是因為注意力的刻意固定

當一個人把注意力刻意固定在下腹部

久而久之

下腹部就會產生一股氣動

類似一個小心臟一樣的動

而這並不是丹

但是這些人卻被誤導成這是丹

所以這是很嚴重的問題

但是沒有人去戳破這個嚴重的問題

 

Why does  qi accumulate in the lower abdomen

One of the main reasons is because of the deliberate fixation of attention

When a person deliberately focuses on the lower abdomen

over time

Qi is made  in the lower abdomen

bumping like a small heart

 it's not Dan

But these people were misled into thinking it was Dan

So this is a serious problem

and no one has poked this serious problem

 

有些人不敢面對這個問題

面對自己練了一輩子的下腹部氣動是錯誤的練法

就來找我的麻煩

說我英語太差

我從來沒否認過我英語差

所以我列出原始中文

以供參考

如果google翻譯有問題

歡迎你帶著善意來問我

但是如果你帶著惡意來找我麻煩

那是你自己的損失

當你找我麻煩的時候

我從不認為我失去了甚麼

本來要戳破一個人的假面具

就是要付出一些代價的

如果我能負擔

我就忍受

當然我也希望我的忍受

能帶來一些希望

希望不要再有人被這些錯誤的練習法所誤導

Some people dare not face this problem

Facing the lower abdominal aerodynamics that they have practiced all  life is the wrong way to practice

they come to trouble me

say my english is too bad

I never denied my poor English

So I list the original Chinese

for reference

if there is a problem with google translate

You are welcome to ask me with kindness

But if you come to trouble me with malice

That's your own loss

when you trouble me

I never thought I lost anything

I was about to pierce a person's mask

Just pay some price

if i can afford it

i will endure

Of course I also hope that my endure

can bring some hope

Hope no one else is misled by these wrong practices

Edited May 5, 2022 by awaken

[awaken]

在另外一個主題提到的非二元對立在無為法的練習當中非常重要

非二元對立不是真理

而是一種方法

一種面對各種現象的方法

一種練功過程中該持有的態度

而不是使用在生活當中的哲學

 

採用非二元對立的性功

能夠將各種現象經由自然演化變成丹道的現象

這是非常大的奧秘

但是很遺憾的

在討論非二元對立的主題當中

我看不到任何一個人有這樣的見解

 

The non-dual oppositions mentioned in another topic are very important in the practice of wu-wei

non-dual oppositions is not truth

but a way

A way of dealing with all kinds of phenomenas in cultivating

An attitude to have in the process of cultivating

But not treat it as a philosophy in life

Sin goung which adopting non-binary 

would be able to transform various phenomena into Dan Dao phenomena through natural evolution

It's a very big mystery

But unfortunately

In discussing the subject of non-binary opposition

I don't see anyone with such an opinion

Edited May 5, 2022 by awaken

[awaken]

而一個將注意力鎖定在下腹部而產生氣動的人

是完全無法理解非二元對立的性功

因為他使用『意』的方式就不是非二元對立

因此這樣的練法無法產生演化

自然也不可能練到真人

 

And a person who focuses on the lower abdomen to generate aerodynamics

is completely unable to understand the non-binary opposition of sing goung

Because the way he uses "Yii" is not a non-dual opposition

Therefore, such cultivating cannot produce evolution

Naturally, it is impossible to reach the immortal state

[Iskote]

有人說過：

一個人的意識越高，他們感覺自己知道的就越少。
一個人的意識越低，他們就越堅持自己是對的。

 

It has been said: 

The higher a person's awareness, the less they feel they know. 
The lower a person's awareness, the more they insist they are right. 

 

 

 

[awaken]

15 hours ago, Iskote said:

有人說過：

一個人的意識越高，他們感覺自己知道的就越少。
一個人的意識越低，他們就越堅持自己是對的。

 

It has been said: 

The higher a person's awareness, the less they feel they know. 
The lower a person's awareness, the more they insist they are right. 

 

 

 

 

 

是的，我的意識很低

 

所以我不自作聰明，用後天意識妄想練出先天氣

 

我沒有那個本事用後天意識練出先天氣，我就乖乖地照著古人說的，用先天意識去練先天氣

 

因為我不覺得我比較厲害

 

yes, my consciousness is low

So I don't pretend to be smart, I use the acquired consciousness and delusions to practice the pre-heaven(先天) qi

I don't have the ability to use acquired consciousness to have the pre-heaven qi, so I obediently follow the ancients and use innate consciousness to practice pre-heaven qi

I don't think I am better then you

I think I am just honest to see all of these.

 

古之善為道者，非以明①民，將以愚之②。民之難治，以其智多③。故以智治國，國之賊④;不以智治國，國之福。知此兩者⑤，亦稽式⑥。常知稽式，是謂玄德。玄德深矣，遠矣，與物反矣⑦，然後乃至大順⑧。

 

古代善於為道的人，不是教導人民知曉智巧偽詐，而是教導人民淳厚朴實。人們之所以難於統治，乃是因為他們使用太多的智巧心機。所以用智巧心機治理國家，就必然會危害國家，不用智巧心機治理國家，才是國家的幸福。瞭解這兩種治國方式的差別，就是一個法則，經常瞭解這個法則，就叫做“玄德”。玄德又深又遠，和具體的事物復歸到真樸，然後才能極大地順乎於自然。

 

Those who were good at Taoism in ancient times did not teach the people to be clever and deceitful, but to teach the people to be honest and simple. People are difficult to rule because they use too much ingenuity. Therefore, to govern the country with ingenuity and ingenuity will inevitably endanger the country. Governing the country without ingenuity and ingenuity is the happiness of the country. Knowing the difference between these two ways of governing a country is a law, and knowing this law often is called "Xuande". Xuande is deep and far, and it returns to the simplicity of concrete things, and only then can it be greatly conformed to nature.

 

摘自道德經

from the Tao Te Ching

 

文言文的部分，我沒有能力翻譯，請中英文厲害的人來處理吧

I don't have the ability to translate the classical Chinese part, please ask someone who is good in Chinese and English to handle it

Edited May 10, 2022 by awaken

[awaken]

大知閒閒，小知間間；大言炎炎，小言詹詹。

 

才智超群的人廣博豁達，只有點小聰明的人則樂於細察、斤斤計較；合於大道的言論就像猛火烈焰一樣氣焰凌人，拘於智巧的言論則瑣細無方、沒完沒了。

原文網址：https://kknews.cc/n/6rkbopv.html

 

A person of extraordinary intellect is broad-minded and open-minded, while a person who is only a little smart is willing to scrutinize and care about everything; speeches that are in line with the great Dao are as arrogant as flames, and speeches that are restricted to ingenuity are trivial and endless.

 

文言文的部分，我沒有能力翻譯，請中英文厲害的人來處理吧

I don't have the ability to translate the classical Chinese part, please ask someone who is good in Chinese and English to handle it

Edited May 10, 2022 by awaken

[awaken]

這裡有很多練氣功的人自稱是道家修煉者

但是我必須要說清楚

氣功的價值觀和道家的價值觀完全不相同

請不要將兩者混為一談

 

There are many qigong practitioners here who claim to be Taoist practitioners

But I have to make it clear

The values of Qigong are completely different from those of Taoism

Please don't confuse the two

[awaken]

我每次在這邊留言

就會冒出一堆下腹部氣動的人鎖定我

這些氣透過網頁

連到我的身體

清清楚楚的

所以我很清楚這些人練的到底是什麼東西

我最近程度比較差，如果程度好一些，是可以感知到比氣動更精細的東西，例如情緒，或是一些帶有強烈情緒的思想

當然我在這邊留下這些文字，也不奢望所有的人能懂

就是奢望只要有一個能練到烏肝兔髓陰陽反覆的人，自然會知道我說的是什麼

 

 

 

 

 

[awaken]

這裡的人很喜歡講些思想上的東西

但是對於實修的東西，講來講去就只有呼吸，下腹部的氣動，和氣感繞行任督

除此之外，少得可憐

而丹道的核心『真常』『烏肝兔髓』『真意』卻毫無所知

 

People here like to talk about ideas

But for the things of practice, they can only talk about breathing, the Qi sense of the lower abdomen, and the qi around Rendu.

Apart from that, very little

However, the core of Dan Dao's "real truth", "black liver and rabbit marrow" and "true Yii" are unknown.

[Iskote]

I can't imagine any living person who 'only has qi in their lower abdomen'.  

 

'Lower abdomen' / 'lower dantian' and similar concepts means different things in different systems, and can be used in different ways in different systems. Therefore, IMO,  it is not advisable to generalize about such things. For example, in some martial arts the concept of lower dantian can be used a fair bit differently than in some self cultivation systems. Some martial arts may or may not use specific focuses and breathing practices to achieve a specific result. Any focuses and practices employed may change over time depending on one's achievement level and the specific aims at any point in the progression. Likewise, some self cultivation systems may or may not use specific focuses and breathing practices to achieve a specific result. Any focuses and practices employed may change over time depending on one's achievement level and the specific aims at any point in the progression. In some of the self cultivation systems I have personally encountered, 'lower dantian', 'middle dantian', 'upper dantian' are used as a stepping stone. Such tools may be used only temporarily at certain 'points' along the way. Those systems which emphasize naturalness, tend to be more suitable to me, personally, but others' mileage may vary. 

 

Dear Awaken, to say it a different way, and in my own personal opinion only, you would do better to focus on talking only about that which you have have personal experience of, rather than denigrating various other approaches which you seem to have a poor understanding of, in order to try to raise up your personal approach as being the 'best' or 'the only correct way'. If you want to single out a specific practice or system which you have direct personal experience, which you believe from your personal experience is harmful or a waste of time, feel free to speak your mind. I am not referring to that sort of thing. However, IMO, using broad generalizations to denigrate all other 'Daoist' cultivation approaches which differ from your preferred personal approach, is actually only working against you. All the best. 

 

 

Edited May 11, 2022 by Iskote

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

1 hour ago, Iskote said:

I can't imagine any living person who 'only has qi in their lower abdomen'.  

 

'Lower abdomen' / 'lower dantian' and similar concepts means different things in different systems, and can be used in different ways in different systems. Therefore, IMO,  it is not advisable to generalize about such things. For example, in some martial arts the concept of lower dantian can be used a fair bit differently than in some self cultivation systems. Some martial arts may or may not use specific focuses and breathing practices to achieve a specific result. Any focuses and practices employed may change over time depending on one's achievement level and the specific aims at any point in the progression. Likewise, some self cultivation systems may or may not use specific focuses and breathing practices to achieve a specific result. Any focuses and practices employed may change over time depending on one's achievement level and the specific aims at any point in the progression. In some of the self cultivation systems I have personally encountered, 'lower dantian', 'middle dantian', 'upper dantian' are used as a stepping stone. Such tools may be used only temporarily at certain 'points' along the way. Those systems which emphasize naturalness, tend to be more suitable to me, personally, but others' mileage may vary. 

 

Dear Awaken, to say it a different way, and in my own personal opinion only, you would do better to focus on talking only about that which you have have personal experience of, rather than denigrating various other approaches which you seem to have a poor understanding of, in order to try to raise up your personal approach as being the 'best' or 'the only correct way'. If you want to single out a specific practice or system which you have direct personal experience, which you believe from your personal experience is harmful or a waste of time, feel free to speak your mind. I am not referring to that sort of thing. However, IMO, using broad generalizations to denigrate all other 'Daoist' cultivation approaches which differ from your preferred personal approach, is actually only working against you. All the best. 

 

 

She’s criticising every other system different from her own, which is more like spontaneous qigong. Don’t bother trying to give her advice, she will call you a qigong broker and put you on her ignore list while still replying to all your comments.
 

 

[Cheshire Cat]

What is the yin and yang of black liver and rabbit marrow?

 

Which are the two-stage yangsheng?

 

What is the third stage of yangsheng?

 

Unless you explain what these code-names stand for, I can't understand the english Google translations better than the chinese.

 

 

[awaken]

這些問題在之前的主題都說過了

 

烏肝是類似北極光的光，會動的光

我在另外一個主題說過

兔髓是開心竅之後的光，不動的白光如圓形的月亮

 

Black liver is a light similar to the Northern Lights, moving light

I said it in another thread

Rabbit marrow is the light behind the happy orifice, and the white light that does not move is like a round moon

 

二階段陽生是在陽極生陰之後，陰極生陽，出現的內景，主要以幾何形狀為主

 

三階段陽生是二階段陽生的進化版，就是丹道的成熟階段內景，包含成熟的印，圓月，霜飛，金丹，真人

 

The second stage of yang generation is that after the anode generates yin and the cathode generates yang, the interior scene that appears is mainly geometrical shapes.

The third-stage yangsheng is the evolutionary version of the second-stage yangsheng, which is the interior scene of the mature stage of Dan Dao, including the mature seal, the full moon, the frost flying, the golden  dan , and the immortal, etc.

 

烏肝會出現在氣感之後，由氣感轉化成光感，重點是在意的清淨

 

Black liver will appear after the sense of qi, and the sense of qi will be transformed into a sense of light. The focus is on the cleanliness of Yii.

 

舉例來說，一直把注意力固定在下腹部的氣感，就會導致烏肝無法出現

For example, focusing on the qi sensation in the lower abdomen all the time will prevent black liver from appearing.

 

兔髓出現在鬆心之後，也就是所謂的非二元對立心靈方向，如果心靈方向做不到非二元對立，則心無法鬆開，兔髓無法出現

Rabbit marrow appears after loosening the heart, which is the so-called non-dual opposition spiritual direction. If the spiritual direction cannot achieve non-dual opposition, the heart cannot be loosened, and the rabbit marrow cannot appear.

 

二階段陽生出現在陰達到極限，也就是道家所謂的恍惚，也就是最後一念的放棄，如果堅持最後一念，則無法讓陰達到極限，自然也無法產生二階段陽生

 

The second stage of yang birth occurs when the yin reaches the limit, which is what Taoism calls trance, which is the giving up of the last mind. If you insist on the last mind, you cannot let the yin reach the limit, and naturally the second stage of yang birth cannot occur.

 

三階段陽生則是二階段的進化，必須經歷非常多的陰陽反覆，才能化解所有的陰，產生純陽狀態，三階段陽生則是誕生在純陽的狀態

The third stage of yang birth is the evolution of the second stage. It must go through a lot of yin and yang repetitions in order to dissolve all yin and produce a state of pure yang. The third stage of yang birth is born in a state of pure yang.

 

但是我看到這裡的修煉者，大多數人迷惑於氣功師的錯誤方向，把意固定在下腹部呼吸，引動氣感，這樣就造成意不清淨，後面的演化，也就完全無法產生，因此大多數的人聽不懂什麼是烏肝兔髓，除非自己在意的修煉上有所覺悟，沒有強力固定意念在下腹部的呼吸。

But I saw that most of the practitioners here are confused by the wrong direction of qigong masters. They fix their minds on the lower abdomen to breathe and arouse the sense of qi. This will cause the Yii to be unclean, and the subsequent evolution will not occur at all. Most people don't understand what black liver and rabbit marrow are, unless they are enlightened about Yii, and they don't have a strong fixation on the breath of the lower abdomen.

 

許多丹經都告訴我們，丹開始於烏肝，烏肝就是日魂，就是青龍，就是煉氣化神的開始，但是這裡的修煉者，完全不在乎這些，非常的遺憾。

 

Many elixir scriptures tell us that elixir begins with black liver, black liver is the soul of the sun, it is the green dragon, and it is the beginning of refining the spirit of Qi, but the practitioners here do not care about these at all, which is very regrettable.

 

有許多人不僅不在乎，甚至還產生強大的敵意，甚至開始封鎖我，對於這一點，真是非常的遺憾。

There are many people who not only don't care, but even have strong hostility and even start blocking me, which is very regrettable.

 

只要有人走上正道，我就可以功成身退，但是在這之前，除非負面的力量強到我無法負擔，只要我能夠忍受，我會盡量傳達正確的練法，也希望有志於丹道的人，把日記寫出來，這樣我才能幫你看有沒有練對。

As long as someone walks on the right path, I can retire, but before that, unless the negative force is too strong for me to bear, as long as I can bear it, I will try my best to convey the correct practice method, and I also hope that those who are interested in the alchemy path Man, write down your diary so that I can help you see if you have practiced correctly.

[awaken]

對我來說，丹道練習者如果不知道什麼是烏肝兔髓和陰陽反覆，是非常不應該的事情。

因為這是最基本的丹道知識

丹道練習者應該要閱讀丹經，知道是非，而不是受氣功師的迷惑，走向錯誤的方向

 

 

To me, it is very inappropriate for practitioners of Dan Dao to not know what is black liver and rabbit marrow and yin and yang.

Because this is the most basic alchemy knowledge

Alchemy practitioners should read the alchemy scriptures and know what is right and wrong, instead of being confused by qigong masters and going in the wrong direction

[awaken]

這邊的練習者喜歡一邊討論非二元對立，一邊把注意裡鎖死在下腹部，這真是相當矛盾的行為

 

這得多大的盲目，才能夠有這種矛盾分裂的行為出現

 

Practitioners here like to discuss non-dual opposites while focusing their attention on the lower abdomen, which is quite contradictory.

How much blindness can this kind of contradictory and splitting behavior appear?

 

難道這些人一直沒發現非二元對立是用在修煉當中的嗎？

 

難道這些人一直沒發現非二元對立是用在意的清淨上面嗎？

 

Haven't these people ever discovered that non-dual opposition is used in cultivation?

Haven't these people ever discovered that non-dual opposition is used for the purity of mind?

[鞏三孝]

On 5/11/2022 at 3:22 PM, Cheshire Cat said:

What is the yin and yang of black liver and rabbit marrow?

 

In fact, this matter is not so difficult to explain as some people say it is, and it is not so mysterious. It also does not mean the phenomenon of light spots that people see when they cultivate (Of course we have a friend who will disagree with me). However, it is a poetic riddle.

 

What Google translates as "black liver" should actually be "crow's liver" or "raven's liver". The reason Google mistranslated it is because the word 烏 has different meanings, one of which is black. 

 

Saying "crow" or "raven" has nothing to do with the animal itself. It is just a symbol that the ancients liked to use. According to ancient legends, there is a crow in the sun. From the point of view of the inner alchemy, we do not need to know at all why the ancients thought there was a crow in the sun. This is a folk tale that has been in existence since the Warring States Period, and can be seen in the Shanhaijing and the murals of the tombs of the Han Dynasty. By the time Neidan was invented, it was already a well-known and ingrained belief, a bit like ancient Westerners believed that the god of war (Ares) lived on Mars. Because of this, the writers of the Song dynasty inner alchemy poems and books can use the crow as a symbol that the ancient Chinese reader would easily understand.

 

In the inner alchemy, the crow itself has no meaning. The authors of books about inner alchemy just used the crow to insinuate the sun, and then used the sun to insinuate the trigram of Li ☲. 

 

For them, Li trigram represents the human mind. The two lines outside belong to Yang, so they are always moving, just like thoughts and emotions, which never stop. The one line inside of it belongs to Yin, so it is deeply tranquil. This Yin line is hidden inside, so it is difficult for ordinary ordinary people to discover it. But it is the innate, fundamental character of Li trigram, so it needs to be discovered. As a practitioner, we must discover this thing. It is the essence of the mind, which is basically Buddha-nature. 

 

So why is it called "liver"? The answer to this question may sound a bit complicated, but it is also inseparable from the traditional symbols of China. The ancients chose "liver" to represent the Yin line of the Li trigram ☲ for two reasons:

 

First, the liver is an internal organ, so it represents an "internal" (or "innate") thing. But it is seemingly an arbitrary choice. Why liver instead of lung, heart or kidney? This is because of the symbols of colors. 

 

Second, in ancient Chinese medicine, the liver is always associated with wood. In the Five Elements, the color of wood is green. Green was called 青 in ancient times. Well, the "green dragon" (青龍) was also another name for the Yin line in the middle of the Li trigram. Since in the five elements system, the green dragon and the liver are both considered to have the color 青, they both symbolize the same object in Neidan poems (that is, the Yin line inside of Li trigram, which represents our human mind).

 

You can see how the ancient writers used many symbols to say the same thing if read an essay from the Yuan dynasty in the Taoist Canon named 《紫陽真人悟真直指詳說三乘秘要》. It has many lists of these symbols, like a thesaurus or key to a cipher. You can find Raven Liver there if you search, it is called 烏肝.

Remember, the human mind is symbolized by the Li trigram. The Li trigram is symbolized by the sun. The sun is symbolized by the crow or raven. Layers upon layers of symbols, easy to get lost. As practitioners, we only need to discover the Yin line in the middle of the Li trigram. Doing this means discovering your own nature. It does not mean seeing some light spots when doing spontaneous Qigong.

 

"Rabbit marrow" is the Yang line in the Kan trigram ☵. It's a bit late now, too much to write. I don't know if anyone is interested, maybe I can explain it later. (Of course, we have to wait for our friend to say that I stink and there is too much Qi in my lower dantian (maybe if I have a fart there will be less Qi in the dantian, but this way I will stink even more, really don't know what to do )

Edited May 12, 2022 by 鞏三孝

[-ꦥꦏ꧀ ꦱꦠꦿꦶꦪꦺꦴ-]

47 minutes ago, 鞏三孝 said:

 

In fact, this matter is not so difficult to explain as some people say it is, and it is not so mysterious. It also does not mean the phenomenon of light spots that people see when they cultivate (Of course we have a friend who will disagree with me). However, it is a poetic riddle.

 

What Google translates as "black liver" should actually be "crow's liver" or "raven's liver". The reason Google mistranslated it is because the word 烏 has different meanings, one of which is black. 

 

Saying "crow" or "raven" has nothing to do with the animal itself. It is just a symbol that the ancients liked to use. According to ancient legends, there is a crow in the sun. From the point of view of the inner alchemy, we do not need to know at all why the ancients thought there was a crow in the sun. This is a folk tale that has been in existence since the Warring States Period, and can be seen in the Shanhaijing and the murals of the tombs of the Han Dynasty. By the time Neidan was invented, it was already a well-known and ingrained belief, a bit like ancient Westerners believed that the god of war (Ares) lived on Mars. Because of this, the writers of the Song dynasty inner alchemy poems and books can use the crow as a symbol that the ancient Chinese reader would easily understand.

 

In the inner alchemy, the crow itself has no meaning. The authors of books about inner alchemy just used the crow to insinuate the sun, and then used the sun to insinuate the trigram of Li ☲. 

 

For them, Li trigram represents the human mind. The two lines outside belong to Yang, so they are always moving, just like thoughts and emotions, which never stop. The one line inside of it belongs to Yin, so it is deeply tranquil. This Yin line is hidden inside, so it is difficult for ordinary ordinary people to discover it. But it is the innate, fundamental character of Li trigram, so it needs to be discovered. As a practitioner, we must discover this thing. It is the essence of the mind, which is basically Buddha-nature. 

 

So why is it called "liver"? The answer to this question may sound a bit complicated, but it is also inseparable from the traditional symbols of China. The ancients chose "liver" to represent the Yin line of the Li trigram ☲ for two reasons:

 

First, the liver is an internal organ, so it represents an "internal" (or "innate") thing.

 

Second, in ancient Chinese medicine, the liver is always associated with wood. In the Five Elements, the color of wood is green. Green was called 青 in ancient times. Well, the "green dragon" (青龍) was also another name for the Yin line in the middle of the Li trigram. Since in the five elements system, the green dragon and the liver are both considered to have the color 青, they both symbolize the same object in Neidan poems (that is, the Yin line inside of Li trigram, which represents our human mind).

 

You can see how the ancient writers used many symbols to say the same thing if read an essay from the Yuan dynasty in the Taoist Canon named 《紫陽真人悟真直指詳說三乘秘要》. It has many lists of these symbols, like a thesaurus or key to a cipher. You can find Raven Liver there if you search, it is called 烏肝.

Remember, the human mind is symbolized by the Li trigram. The Li trigram is symbolized by the sun. The sun is symbolized by the crow or raven. Layers upon layers of symbols, easy to get lost. As practitioners, we only need to discover the Yin line in the middle of the Li trigram. Doing this means discovering your own nature. It does not mean seeing some light spots when doing spontaneous Qigong.

 

"Rabbit marrow" is the Yang line in the Kan trigram ☵. It's a bit late now, too much to write. I don't know if anyone is interested, maybe I can explain it later. (Of course, we have to wait for our friend to say that I stink and there is too much Qi in my lower dantian (maybe if I have a fart there will be less Qi in the dantian, but this way I will stink even more, really don't know what to do )

Thank you for this explanation! Please explain more about rabbit marrow, I'm interested to hear!

[Iskote]

鞏三孝, good clear information about the concept of 'black liver'. 

As you mentioned, Daoist writings on neidan can contain layer upon layer of very confusing symbolism. 

The actual concepts behind the confusing symbolism, it seems, are usually (sometimes?) not so complicated to understand once it it explained in straightforward language. 

 

Dear Awaken, your comments are interesting as well, but I find it is harder to understand what you mean to say when too much symbolism is used. 

 

All the best

 

[Geof Nanto]

7 hours ago, Iskote said:

The actual concepts behind the confusing symbolism, it seems, are usually (sometimes?) not so complicated to understand once it it explained in straightforward language. 

 

 

Not so difficult to understand as concepts. Extremely difficult to attain as lived reality. 

 

“… those who study Taoism may be as numerous as hairs on a cow, but those who accomplish the Way are as rare as unicorn horns.”  ~ Liu Yiming

 

(Of course, the exception to this is the contemporary so-called ‘Non-dualist’ school where those who have found enlightenment are as numerous as hairs on a cow.) 
 

[Bindi]

15 minutes ago, Yueya said:

 

Not so difficult to understand as concepts. Extremely difficult to attain as lived reality. 

 

“… those who study Taoism may be as numerous as hairs on a cow, but those who accomplish the Way are as rare as unicorn horns.”  ~ Liu Yiming

 

(Of course, the exception to this is the contemporary so-called ‘Non-dualist’ school where those who have found enlightenment are as numerous as hairs on a cow.) 
 

How do I give you a laugh emoji and a cup and a heart all at the same time???

[Geof Nanto]

2 hours ago, Bindi said:

How do I give you a laugh emoji and a cup and a heart all at the same time???

 

I’ll stick with a laugh emoticon for that reply because it made me smile. But I’d add a ‘Thanks’ as well if I could.  And also the non-existent emoticon which says, ‘Yes, but there is another side to this’... 

 

I made that comment to make it clear that I have severe reservations about the contemporary nondual school as described by a couple of prominent nondualists on this forum (not Steve).  But, along with that, I’d also like to make clear that I have no doubts about the sincerity of these nondualists and their genuine commitment to a spiritual path.  I like them as people and value them as members of this forum. It’s just the path they espouse that I don’t like. To me it feels like spiritual opium; a seductive and addictive trap that ultimately prevents deeper realisation.  
 

[Cheshire Cat]

Regarding the Black Liver and the crow, it reminds me vaguely of the western alchemy terminology of "cutting the crow's head/raven's head".

 

About the problems with focusing Qi in the lower abdomen and running the MCO, I believe that to turn the mind inwardly to focus consistently on tactile sensations in specific areas of the body is an harmful meditative practice which causes subtle muscolar tensions and various imbalances. The effects are as dramatic as the concentration power of the practitioner's mind.