Inner Alchemy
Tao gives birth to One,
One gives birth to Two,
The Two gives birth to Three,
The Three gives birth to all universal things.
All universal things shoulder the Yin and embrace the Yang.
The Yin and Yang mingle and mix with each other to beget the harmony.
verse 42 of the daodejing (http://taoism.about.com)
Inner Alchemy is about the reversal of the proces where Tao becomes the ordinary man. The ordinary man becomes Tao again. Lead transforms into gold.
The proces is described step by step. A summary of these steps is given below.
Their are two ways of learning these steps. The first one is to find a Neidan master and become his or her apprentice. The second way is to read al lot about taoist alchemy and hope your wiser selve and maybe some acid will guide you along the path.
Reading this website is probably not enough. I recommend you to read a lot. Read slowly, contemplate and meditate. Neidan literature is highly symbolic. Beware of explicit explanations or modern interpretations of alchemical symbols: the symbols might lose their power. Although thoroughly documented and orderly arranged, the Neidan proces is highly intuitive. It's more about feeling than about understanding. Trust what you become aware of in your inner world. If you realy pursue Neidan, your inner proces will follow the way (Tao).
Alchemy is based on Taoist cosmology:
According to the Daodejing, and quite similar to recent scientific insights, the universe started as One. And before that, their was nothing (Zero). But that Nothing already contained all possibilities, so that Nothing was also everything. Though it can not be given a name because we can not understand it, it is called the Tao. (verse 1 of the daodejing: The way that can be named is not the eternal way. Nameless, it begets heaven and earth).
From the Tao , the subtle principle, came forth the perfect unity that is called Tai Chi. Zero becomes One. This unity is called Tai Chi. (not to be confused with the movement meditation of Tai Chi Chuan).
Then this Oneness, divided into the opposites of Yin and Tang, of heaven and earth. With this division everything came to existence and the realm of 4 dimensional spacetime began. One became Two
Out of the constant interaction of yin and yang came forth the life force which is called Chi. Two became Three. Chi originates and grows form the balanced waxing and waning of yin and yang, and it fades out when the balance is lost.
The lifeforce manifest itself in myriads ways as alle the living being, which are symbolized by the number of 10000.
As mentioned above, the alchemical proces reverses the evolution. Its Re:evolution.
Traditionally this process of reversal is divided into three steps, which refer to, but not coincide with, the steps in cosmology mentioned above.
The idea is that we, as all living creatures (10000) consist of Jing (ching), Ji (Chi) and Shen
Jing (ching) is the essence of man. It is the biological energy that makes us function. Its similar to the Libido of CG Jung. It's the basic lifeforce as we see it function in man, animals and plants. Before you start Inner Alchemy, you make sure you've got plenty of it. You can raise the quality and quantity of Jing by living healthy, both psychically and psychologically. When you are not healthy, you probably have other things on your mind than Alchemy. A wise man once warned me of what he called the spiritual bypass: If you try to avoid your social or psychological problems by escaping along the spiritual path, the path will be full of dangers and will lead you back instead of forth.
Qi (chi) is translated as breath. Like breath it does not belong to your body, but cannot function without it. The flow of chi can be most easily directed across certain paths in your body, which are called meridians. Qi can also flow around you, i's not confined to the meridians or even the body. The more you cultivate your chi, the more energetic and healthy you will feel
Shen is the spiritual manifestation of Qi. It is not felt in te body. Though it's no longer a bodily experience, it still resides in our fourdimensional spacetime. Shen is the energy of your consciousness when freed of egostuff.
Shiu is what we call our energy or consciousness beyond fourdimensional spacetime. It has no more connection to your body , your mind and your self. It's boundless and apersonal. The immortal lives forever, but has cast off everything that bounded him or her to our world.
The prepatory work is concerned with getting yourself, both body and mind, in shape. So you'll have enough Jing to transform
Step 1 is about converting your Jing to Qi. You start to feel the energy Qi and learn how to guide it. Hsuan Kuan, the mysterious gate to the castle, the first glimpse of the fifth dimension, will appear.
Step2 is about converting this Qi to Shen. You have to find the pure Yin and the pure Yang and mix them to create the elixir.
Step 3 is about transforming the Shen into Shiu. Shiu is the void. At this stage you skip from doing your utmost best to doing nothing. Wu wei. You empty yourself so your Shen wil be filled with the Void.
Inner alchemy is the way of inferior virtue. This means that you're Te has already become messed up by the postcelestial world. It requiers hard work to purify it back to it's natural precelestial state. And hard work is considered a thing of lesser virtue by taoists.
One gives birth to Two,
The Two gives birth to Three,
The Three gives birth to all universal things.
All universal things shoulder the Yin and embrace the Yang.
The Yin and Yang mingle and mix with each other to beget the harmony.
verse 42 of the daodejing (http://taoism.about.com)
Inner Alchemy is about the reversal of the proces where Tao becomes the ordinary man. The ordinary man becomes Tao again. Lead transforms into gold.
The proces is described step by step. A summary of these steps is given below.
Their are two ways of learning these steps. The first one is to find a Neidan master and become his or her apprentice. The second way is to read al lot about taoist alchemy and hope your wiser selve and maybe some acid will guide you along the path.
Reading this website is probably not enough. I recommend you to read a lot. Read slowly, contemplate and meditate. Neidan literature is highly symbolic. Beware of explicit explanations or modern interpretations of alchemical symbols: the symbols might lose their power. Although thoroughly documented and orderly arranged, the Neidan proces is highly intuitive. It's more about feeling than about understanding. Trust what you become aware of in your inner world. If you realy pursue Neidan, your inner proces will follow the way (Tao).
Alchemy is based on Taoist cosmology:
According to the Daodejing, and quite similar to recent scientific insights, the universe started as One. And before that, their was nothing (Zero). But that Nothing already contained all possibilities, so that Nothing was also everything. Though it can not be given a name because we can not understand it, it is called the Tao. (verse 1 of the daodejing: The way that can be named is not the eternal way. Nameless, it begets heaven and earth).
From the Tao , the subtle principle, came forth the perfect unity that is called Tai Chi. Zero becomes One. This unity is called Tai Chi. (not to be confused with the movement meditation of Tai Chi Chuan).
Then this Oneness, divided into the opposites of Yin and Tang, of heaven and earth. With this division everything came to existence and the realm of 4 dimensional spacetime began. One became Two
Out of the constant interaction of yin and yang came forth the life force which is called Chi. Two became Three. Chi originates and grows form the balanced waxing and waning of yin and yang, and it fades out when the balance is lost.
The lifeforce manifest itself in myriads ways as alle the living being, which are symbolized by the number of 10000.
As mentioned above, the alchemical proces reverses the evolution. Its Re:evolution.
Traditionally this process of reversal is divided into three steps, which refer to, but not coincide with, the steps in cosmology mentioned above.
The idea is that we, as all living creatures (10000) consist of Jing (ching), Ji (Chi) and Shen
Jing (ching) is the essence of man. It is the biological energy that makes us function. Its similar to the Libido of CG Jung. It's the basic lifeforce as we see it function in man, animals and plants. Before you start Inner Alchemy, you make sure you've got plenty of it. You can raise the quality and quantity of Jing by living healthy, both psychically and psychologically. When you are not healthy, you probably have other things on your mind than Alchemy. A wise man once warned me of what he called the spiritual bypass: If you try to avoid your social or psychological problems by escaping along the spiritual path, the path will be full of dangers and will lead you back instead of forth.
Qi (chi) is translated as breath. Like breath it does not belong to your body, but cannot function without it. The flow of chi can be most easily directed across certain paths in your body, which are called meridians. Qi can also flow around you, i's not confined to the meridians or even the body. The more you cultivate your chi, the more energetic and healthy you will feel
Shen is the spiritual manifestation of Qi. It is not felt in te body. Though it's no longer a bodily experience, it still resides in our fourdimensional spacetime. Shen is the energy of your consciousness when freed of egostuff.
Shiu is what we call our energy or consciousness beyond fourdimensional spacetime. It has no more connection to your body , your mind and your self. It's boundless and apersonal. The immortal lives forever, but has cast off everything that bounded him or her to our world.
The prepatory work is concerned with getting yourself, both body and mind, in shape. So you'll have enough Jing to transform
Step 1 is about converting your Jing to Qi. You start to feel the energy Qi and learn how to guide it. Hsuan Kuan, the mysterious gate to the castle, the first glimpse of the fifth dimension, will appear.
Step2 is about converting this Qi to Shen. You have to find the pure Yin and the pure Yang and mix them to create the elixir.
Step 3 is about transforming the Shen into Shiu. Shiu is the void. At this stage you skip from doing your utmost best to doing nothing. Wu wei. You empty yourself so your Shen wil be filled with the Void.
Inner alchemy is the way of inferior virtue. This means that you're Te has already become messed up by the postcelestial world. It requiers hard work to purify it back to it's natural precelestial state. And hard work is considered a thing of lesser virtue by taoists.