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Below are some excerpts of practice journals from two of the participants in the 2008 seminar.
Student 1:
From Day 1 of the seminar
I've tried to come here with as little prior expectation as possible, because I don't want to impose my own ideas on to the teaching. I feel this is the best was to recieve the most benefit, simply remaining receptive. After the first day of lectures and a small amount of practice I am even more excited to learn this system than I was before I came. After just sitting through the first days lectures the information that we've recieved could replace any number of books by authors and scholars in the west and penetrates much more deeply. We've been shown that the organization and the systematic nature of this practice are really on par with modern science, but the profundity of the results of success in this science are much more profound. If Shen Laoshi ever translated his books into english there would be absolutely nothing to compare, all of the "Qigong experts" would be forced into early retirement.
As for the beginning section of the meditation we practiced today, it went ok and I didn't experience anything out of the ordinary. My posture was off, so Shen Laoshi had to correct the alignment of my spine. My legs were a bit painful which is normal but it was bearable and I didn't have to move them. My biggest problem was trying to regulate my breath. Everytime I tried to do so conciously after a short time the opposite happens and I become short of breath and then have to take one very deep breath to make up for it. I don't think this is a special problem, just needs more time and practice (gongfu :) and for me not to force it.
(I think this problem was mostly from nervous energy-from finally meeting Shen Laoshi and wanting to do good with the practice, not mess up on his instructions, etc. After the first day I didn't have much trouble with my breathing, as long as I stayed focused it became relatively easy to regulate it.)
From Day 3 of the seminar
In today's first sitting session within five minutes my legs were already in pain especially my knees. The pain was pretty steady all the way through and it didn' really let up at any point, as it did last night. It progressed to the point that I became distracted from following certain parts of the daoyin and had to keep bringing my attention back. I was on the verge of putting my legs down on a few occasions, but the only thing that stopped was the fact that once I began moving them they would only get worse and the qi wouldn't have a chance to penetrate through.
I chose this entry in order to contrast with my experience practicing since if been home, and so illustrate the very tangible difference between practicing on ones own and practicing under the guidance of an accomplished teacher. Since I've been home I'm able to sit pretty easily for an hour without much pain and what pain there is, is easily ignored. When I practiced with Shen Laoshi in Guangzhou, often times I felt the difference made by the effect of his qi field immediately which manifested mostly as pressure and pain (in the legs). Now of course the pain in and of itself is not what makes the experience a valuable one it's what's happening inside one's body which in turn causes the pain. As qi begins to accumulate and flow through the body it will run into "trouble spots" where one may have blockages, and through continued practice one can eventually work through them. One of the benefits of sitting with Shen Laoshi is that this process of opening up was given a great boost and I'm sure it has helped me with some obstacles that would've proven much more difficult and time consuming to deal with on my own.
From Day 5
In our morning sitting practice we used a new technique within Yin Xian Fa. This technique allowed us to become more focused faster and made the meditation more effective. I noticed that the pain in my legs started quicker and was a little more intense than before. As a beginner I take it that this is a good thing. Towards the beginning of the session my lower back area became quite hot and this lasted for maybe about 10 minutes. Also during several stages of the practice there was a clear feeling of heat and the movement of the qi wherever our attention was focused.
From Day 7, Sleeping practice
Tonight we worked with the stomach. Nothing out of the ordinary during the practice. I was very tire but fortunately I was able to complete the entire exercise before I allowed myself to fall asleep. Though nothing happened during the exercise, something very strange did happen later right before I went to sleep. At first my entire body started tingling slightly and it became very difficult for me to move my body at all except for my fingers and toes, which I kept doing trying to counteract what felt like "sleep paralysis". After some effort I was able to turn on my side and it was at this point that I lost the ability to move whatsoever. Next I got a strong vibration that started from about my middle to lower back. I started to get slightly alarmed at this point so I made more attempts to get up or move around and at this point a high pitched sort of humming sound began. The more I tried to move the more loud and intense the sound became until it caused considerable physical discomfort to my ears and teeth (like a very strong resonance vibrating between my teeth and ears). At this point I stopped struggling so as not to make it worse and just relaxed and after several seconds I was able to move again. I shifted positions and fell asleep shortly after. The whole experience lasted about 2-3 minutes.
Student 2:
12/20/08
Morning Sitting Practice:
Saw more colors blobs that were happening sometimes the last few days. The colors are green/blue and sometimes a reddish color. Lower field felt slighty warm. In the upper corners of eyes I saw fluttering like lights, not bright but like a vibration of white circle like things.
2/21/08
Night Movement Practice:
I practiced yin yang palm up by the temple. The air had a different quality almost smooth like silk. My palms became pretty hot and later the back of hands felt cold. After finishing I took a look at my hands I saw a vapor coming off them I think it was from the heat? Very strange, I have seen this vapor before a couple times when I use to sit in my apartment during the summer. I think my brain is really messing with me.
Sleeping Practice:
Body felt like it was pressing into bed, I heard a faint ringing noise in left ear. 3rd eye opening felt like it was vibrating a little. Head later started feeling like it was caving in or something. Body also then started to feel very light almost floating.
12/22/08
Morning Sitting Practice:
Felt like something was on my spine during line pulling. Hands wanted to lift off knees and air felt thick again. During moving 5 elements could feel pressure and some tingling on organs. Could hear faint beating sound in left ear. My heart was beating hard though and it seemed as if either stomach or somewhere in lower abdomen was beating as well. When woman in front of me begain to cry I could feel my heart vibrate a little and I started to cry a little. Near end of practice body was rocking back and forth and my stomach felt like to was going up and down.
Night Sitting Practice:
Room felt heavy and during 1st cycle of moving 5 elements my legs hurt a lot already. I think Shen laoshi turned up the heat. Body shook on kidney + bladder I think. Arms started flinching and moving randomly.
12/23/08
While pulling the central channel and when we were focusing on bai wei I felt a pressure in that area. On the second time I felt a rush of energy in upper body and a fluttering light appeared in the center of my view.
During moving 5 elements my heart and stomach area felt like it was beating hard. On the 2nd cycle my body shook a little on heart and stomach and then actually shook on lungs. After moving 5 elements my body started moving in small circles and my arms were flinching around. Didn't feel anything during reverse breathing except hot. During the last part of the practice when we were doing universe breathing my body shook again. Oh my god that session hurt.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
2009 Dec. Seminar with Shen Laoshi
There will be a seminar with Shen Laoshi in Dec. 2009. The details are as follow.
Date: Dec. 14th - 23rd (please arrive on the 12th or 13th)
Location: Southern China
Content:
Core practice:
(1) The 12 methods from Yin Xian Fa.
(2) Beginning stages of the practice from The Secret of the Golden Flower.
(2) Ping Peng Gong (practice with trees) and Zhang Zhuang.
Supplementary exercises:
(1) Selected forms of Sleeping Practice.
(2) Heavenly Seven Stars Steps.
(3) Xiantian Bagua Steps.
(4) Bagua Yi Sphere.
From past experience, 10 days is more than enough to cover the content above, more practice maybe introduced depending on the overall progress of the students.
Please email me if you are interested, email longmenpai -at- gmail dot com.
Date: Dec. 14th - 23rd (please arrive on the 12th or 13th)
Location: Southern China
Content:
Core practice:
(1) The 12 methods from Yin Xian Fa.
(2) Beginning stages of the practice from The Secret of the Golden Flower.
(2) Ping Peng Gong (practice with trees) and Zhang Zhuang.
Supplementary exercises:
(1) Selected forms of Sleeping Practice.
(2) Heavenly Seven Stars Steps.
(3) Xiantian Bagua Steps.
(4) Bagua Yi Sphere.
From past experience, 10 days is more than enough to cover the content above, more practice maybe introduced depending on the overall progress of the students.
Please email me if you are interested, email longmenpai -at- gmail dot com.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Teaching Experience (2) - Principle of Daoist Breathing
In "Ling Bao Bi Fa" cultivation practice, one needs to know its various breathing methods. There is an underlying principle of how to breath during the practice. I believe that by practicing the breathing methods involved separately will be beneficial to the overall practice and hence I suggested this to Master Wang. He said, "That's fine, just do what you think will work." So during the seminar, I used my own version of daoyin to guide the participants to practice breathing. In the beginning, some old students who notice that my daoyin words were different from Master Wang's and so they objected. Master Wang explained to them, "Xiao Shen has his own ideas on the practice, try follow along and maybe you can understand it eventually." And no objected anymore. Practicing breathing methods separately can help the participants to improve quickly and getting a higher quality practice session. Breathing is the foundation of foundation. The ancient says that, "Teach the methods but not the Fire." The fire here means the combinations of intention and breathings.
Later on, I assembled all the breathing methods that Master Wang has taught and wrote an article entitled, "Breathing methods During Meditation" and published it on a magazine. In 2001, I refined the instructions on the breathing methods again to help other to understand and do it better. In 2005, I merged all the breathing methods together and wrote another article called "Systematic Method of Breathing" and presented it in an international conference. The presentation was received very well. In 2007, being influenced by my new understanding of "Ling Bao Bi Fa" and Master Wang's instructions, I re-edited "Systematic Method of Breathing" and renamed it "Opening and Closing, Rising and Falling---Principle of breathing." I converted this into slides in help me present it to a wider audience.
In general, beginners usually neglect the importance of breathing, they thought it's very easy and so don't usually take it seriously. This can has adverse effects on their practice since beginning dandao utilize "youwei" methods and breathing is the most important aspect of it. Without a good foundation in breathing, it's hard to get to advanced level.
One needs to understand the different aspects of breathing practice, one should know and be able to follow the method correctly and understand the reasons and effect of each method. Without a teacher to explain and daoyin, it's really difficult to master the methods. In summary, breathing is an important topic in dandao that needs to be carefully addressed by every serious practitioner.
Later on, I assembled all the breathing methods that Master Wang has taught and wrote an article entitled, "Breathing methods During Meditation" and published it on a magazine. In 2001, I refined the instructions on the breathing methods again to help other to understand and do it better. In 2005, I merged all the breathing methods together and wrote another article called "Systematic Method of Breathing" and presented it in an international conference. The presentation was received very well. In 2007, being influenced by my new understanding of "Ling Bao Bi Fa" and Master Wang's instructions, I re-edited "Systematic Method of Breathing" and renamed it "Opening and Closing, Rising and Falling---Principle of breathing." I converted this into slides in help me present it to a wider audience.
In general, beginners usually neglect the importance of breathing, they thought it's very easy and so don't usually take it seriously. This can has adverse effects on their practice since beginning dandao utilize "youwei" methods and breathing is the most important aspect of it. Without a good foundation in breathing, it's hard to get to advanced level.
One needs to understand the different aspects of breathing practice, one should know and be able to follow the method correctly and understand the reasons and effect of each method. Without a teacher to explain and daoyin, it's really difficult to master the methods. In summary, breathing is an important topic in dandao that needs to be carefully addressed by every serious practitioner.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Teaching Experience (1) - Being the teaching assistant for the first time.
It was by chance that I began cultivation, it was by chance that I met Master Wang and it was by chance that I became his assistant...
In 1991, I participated Master Wang's seminar as his teaching assistant for the first time, my main responsibilities were daoyin, daigong and answering students' queries.
Daoyin refers to the verbal instruction given by the teacher, the students follows the daoyin to do their practice. The one who gives daoyin is equivalent to a commander, his thought and ability directly influence the quality and levels of the practice.
Daigong means that the teacher use his own energy (qi) to calibrate and control the entire classroom, the teacher's gongfu and technique can directly affect the result of the practice.
Around that time, I had already followed Master Wang for 3 or 4 years, I had received the Master's daoyin and daigong multiple times, Therefore i just imitated Master Wang's way of daoyin and daigong. On the surface, this didn't appear to be that difficult but in reality to achieve a high quality of daoyin and daigong is extremely difficult.
During that first time, I was just imitating Master Wang's style in order to gain experience. My main problem though was my personalities : I was a rather modest and shy at that time, I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of suddenly became the instructor of several hundreds people. To be honest, my confident was a bit lacking at that time. Fortunately Master Wang was always encouraging, he said, "When you daoyin, you are the leader, we will listen to whatever you say." It was difficult at first but eventually I became more accustomed to the role.
The seminar in 1991 was divided into 2 sessions, 10 days each for a total of 20 days. There were 1000 participants in total. I was the only official teaching assistant. There were 2 daoyin per day, each lasted for about 90 minutes and sometimes it could go on for 120 minutes. My main feeling was tired, extremely tired. I was so tired once that I was still napping after the afternoon class began, the students had to wake me up by throwing small stones onto my body through the windows.
Why was I so tired? This is the difference between practice and teaching. To put it simply, practice is the mean to accumulate internal strength and qi, the teacher who daigong helps you to accumulate the qi, the process is very slow. Teaching and daigong on the other hand is to release the internal strength and qi to help others, especially in a large class, in order to really calibrate the entire qi field, the consumption of the internal strength is enormous. As an analogy, it is like you spent more than everything you have saved in your bank account over the years, not only did you lose everything, you also over-drafted. Another reason is that in a large class, when you are standing between several hundreds students, everyone of them was thinking about you and they all want your help and hence they are all draining on your strength, it's not possible to not give up some qi. The way daigong drains on the body cannot be recouped by simply eating some nice food, it needs sleep and it needs more practice. It's hard to accumulate some internal strength, not to say to recoup the loss. No one can really comprehend this type of experience unless they actually try to teach and diagong.
Before I became the teaching assistant, I could feel that I had some internal strength. Once, I was able to break up another person's kidney stones from 1 meter away using my neigong. In 1990, I was able to get into full lotus without hands (my internal qi was full and my joints were flexible). When I got back home after the 1991 seminar, I couldn't feel any qi at all in my body, it felt like my body was a hollow shell. All i wanted to do was sleep. I was like that for almost a year. After I recovered, I felt that my internal strength was much stronger than before, I believe this was because of the huge out flux and influx of qi associated with teaching neigong.
In 1991, I participated Master Wang's seminar as his teaching assistant for the first time, my main responsibilities were daoyin, daigong and answering students' queries.
Daoyin refers to the verbal instruction given by the teacher, the students follows the daoyin to do their practice. The one who gives daoyin is equivalent to a commander, his thought and ability directly influence the quality and levels of the practice.
Daigong means that the teacher use his own energy (qi) to calibrate and control the entire classroom, the teacher's gongfu and technique can directly affect the result of the practice.
Around that time, I had already followed Master Wang for 3 or 4 years, I had received the Master's daoyin and daigong multiple times, Therefore i just imitated Master Wang's way of daoyin and daigong. On the surface, this didn't appear to be that difficult but in reality to achieve a high quality of daoyin and daigong is extremely difficult.
During that first time, I was just imitating Master Wang's style in order to gain experience. My main problem though was my personalities : I was a rather modest and shy at that time, I was a bit intimidated by the prospect of suddenly became the instructor of several hundreds people. To be honest, my confident was a bit lacking at that time. Fortunately Master Wang was always encouraging, he said, "When you daoyin, you are the leader, we will listen to whatever you say." It was difficult at first but eventually I became more accustomed to the role.
The seminar in 1991 was divided into 2 sessions, 10 days each for a total of 20 days. There were 1000 participants in total. I was the only official teaching assistant. There were 2 daoyin per day, each lasted for about 90 minutes and sometimes it could go on for 120 minutes. My main feeling was tired, extremely tired. I was so tired once that I was still napping after the afternoon class began, the students had to wake me up by throwing small stones onto my body through the windows.
Why was I so tired? This is the difference between practice and teaching. To put it simply, practice is the mean to accumulate internal strength and qi, the teacher who daigong helps you to accumulate the qi, the process is very slow. Teaching and daigong on the other hand is to release the internal strength and qi to help others, especially in a large class, in order to really calibrate the entire qi field, the consumption of the internal strength is enormous. As an analogy, it is like you spent more than everything you have saved in your bank account over the years, not only did you lose everything, you also over-drafted. Another reason is that in a large class, when you are standing between several hundreds students, everyone of them was thinking about you and they all want your help and hence they are all draining on your strength, it's not possible to not give up some qi. The way daigong drains on the body cannot be recouped by simply eating some nice food, it needs sleep and it needs more practice. It's hard to accumulate some internal strength, not to say to recoup the loss. No one can really comprehend this type of experience unless they actually try to teach and diagong.
Before I became the teaching assistant, I could feel that I had some internal strength. Once, I was able to break up another person's kidney stones from 1 meter away using my neigong. In 1990, I was able to get into full lotus without hands (my internal qi was full and my joints were flexible). When I got back home after the 1991 seminar, I couldn't feel any qi at all in my body, it felt like my body was a hollow shell. All i wanted to do was sleep. I was like that for almost a year. After I recovered, I felt that my internal strength was much stronger than before, I believe this was because of the huge out flux and influx of qi associated with teaching neigong.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Brief introduction to Ling Bao Tong Zhineng Neigong Shu
There are many different branches of Daoist neigong systems, the one being transmitted by Master Wang Liping of the Quanzhen Longmen Pai was one of the main branch passed down from the Five Northern Patriarchs which specializes in "Ling Bao Bi Fa", the Complete Method of the Spiritual Jewels. The full name of the system is known as "Ling Bao Tong Zhineng Neigong Shu", the meaning of the terms are:
"Ling Bao Tong", it means the system is based on the theory of Ling Bao Bi Fa.
"Zhineng", it refers to the Zhineng Fa, one of the nine daoist magic techniques within Longmen pai.
"Neigong", it means the internal cultivation process which begins from the whole body to several surfaces, then from several surfaces to several lines and finally from a line to a point; then beginning from a point to a line, to surfaces and to the whole body again. Utilizing internal qi to carve out corresponding channels between the human body and the universe. When neigong get to higher levels, it becomes "Shu", technique. (i.e. applications of qi)
"Shu", it means the arts and techniques that are based on the principles of Yijing. There are five main Daoist Arts: Ming Shu (the art of life), Bu Shu (the art of divination), Xiang Shu (the art of fortune telling), Yi Shu (the art of healing) and Shan Shu (the art of the mountain). Ling Bao Tong Zhineng Neigong Shu can be divided into Three practices and nine methods.
Three practices: Moving Practice, Sitting Practice and Supplementary Practice.
Moving Practice: The main moving practice is "Ping Heng Gong" which includes practices between human and trees, human and humans, humans and the universe. And practices for opening the meridians and vessels. Using different moving practices and zhan zhuang to refine the connections between human and the universe, these are methods to cultivate the abilities to take in external qi for internal use, and internal qi for external use such as healing.
Sitting practice: The main sitting practice are Yin Xian Fa (Methods to Elicit Immortal), The Three Immortals Method and Nu Dan Gong (Female Practice) for women.
Yin Xian Fa: the methods to repair leakage, build the foundation and return to the source. The prerequisite for the Three Immortal Methods and Female Practice.
Three Immortal Methods: the actual cultivation methods in Ling Bao Bi Fa, also known as the Grand Method of Golden Elixir, this the true method to cultivate the Dao.
Female Practice: this is the female version of the Ling Bao Bi Fa.
Supplementary Methods: this include Sleeping Practice, the method to exchange qi naturally, the method of stealing essence from the Sun and Moon etc.
Sleeping practice: practices that one can do while sleeping, which include healing methods, practice to control dreams and transmitting and spiritual signals.
Method to exchange qi naturally: walking practice for healing, transmitting qi etc.
Method of stealing essence from the Sun and Moon: the method to connect to the human body to the universe, through the principle of the Heaven and man become one i to recharge the yuan qi lost from the body, to cultivate the Sun and Moon of our own body.
Nine Methods: the nine Daoist magic techniques. These are the applications of the internal cultivation, also known as supernatural abilities.
Ling Bao Tong Zhineng Neigong Shu is based on the interactions and fusions between neigong, daoist arts and Yijing. It needs nine years facing the wall, ten years to complete and two years for bath to cultivate Ling Bao Bi Fa .... this is the ultimate method of the Daoist Golden Elixir. From a macroscopic point of view, it is a complete system that include the best elements from Daoism; from a microscopic point of view, the methods combine movement and stillness, xing and ming cultivations and the heaven and man become one; from the point of view of the practice itself, it involves the refinement of different levels of qi, moving spirits, converting essence and harmonizing the Hun and Po, it reveal the multi-facet and multi-level nature of life itself and it is the ultimate way to explore the mysteries of the human body and the universe.
In conclusion, Ling Bao Tong Zhineng Neigong Shu is a high quality heritage of the Chinese civilization. It can push the boundary of our knowledge of the world and it provide the possibilities for us to unlock the mystery of life itself.
Ling Bao Tong Zhineng Neigong Shu can be divided into 5 different stages:
Refine the body to accumulate qi (entering the door), conversion of essence to qi (foundation), conversion of qi to shen (condensation of the cinnabar (dan)), refinement of shen to void (completion of cinnabar) and refinement of void to Dao (application of the cinnabar).
"Ling Bao Tong", it means the system is based on the theory of Ling Bao Bi Fa.
"Zhineng", it refers to the Zhineng Fa, one of the nine daoist magic techniques within Longmen pai.
"Neigong", it means the internal cultivation process which begins from the whole body to several surfaces, then from several surfaces to several lines and finally from a line to a point; then beginning from a point to a line, to surfaces and to the whole body again. Utilizing internal qi to carve out corresponding channels between the human body and the universe. When neigong get to higher levels, it becomes "Shu", technique. (i.e. applications of qi)
"Shu", it means the arts and techniques that are based on the principles of Yijing. There are five main Daoist Arts: Ming Shu (the art of life), Bu Shu (the art of divination), Xiang Shu (the art of fortune telling), Yi Shu (the art of healing) and Shan Shu (the art of the mountain). Ling Bao Tong Zhineng Neigong Shu can be divided into Three practices and nine methods.
Three practices: Moving Practice, Sitting Practice and Supplementary Practice.
Moving Practice: The main moving practice is "Ping Heng Gong" which includes practices between human and trees, human and humans, humans and the universe. And practices for opening the meridians and vessels. Using different moving practices and zhan zhuang to refine the connections between human and the universe, these are methods to cultivate the abilities to take in external qi for internal use, and internal qi for external use such as healing.
Sitting practice: The main sitting practice are Yin Xian Fa (Methods to Elicit Immortal), The Three Immortals Method and Nu Dan Gong (Female Practice) for women.
Yin Xian Fa: the methods to repair leakage, build the foundation and return to the source. The prerequisite for the Three Immortal Methods and Female Practice.
Three Immortal Methods: the actual cultivation methods in Ling Bao Bi Fa, also known as the Grand Method of Golden Elixir, this the true method to cultivate the Dao.
Female Practice: this is the female version of the Ling Bao Bi Fa.
Supplementary Methods: this include Sleeping Practice, the method to exchange qi naturally, the method of stealing essence from the Sun and Moon etc.
Sleeping practice: practices that one can do while sleeping, which include healing methods, practice to control dreams and transmitting and spiritual signals.
Method to exchange qi naturally: walking practice for healing, transmitting qi etc.
Method of stealing essence from the Sun and Moon: the method to connect to the human body to the universe, through the principle of the Heaven and man become one i to recharge the yuan qi lost from the body, to cultivate the Sun and Moon of our own body.
Nine Methods: the nine Daoist magic techniques. These are the applications of the internal cultivation, also known as supernatural abilities.
Ling Bao Tong Zhineng Neigong Shu is based on the interactions and fusions between neigong, daoist arts and Yijing. It needs nine years facing the wall, ten years to complete and two years for bath to cultivate Ling Bao Bi Fa .... this is the ultimate method of the Daoist Golden Elixir. From a macroscopic point of view, it is a complete system that include the best elements from Daoism; from a microscopic point of view, the methods combine movement and stillness, xing and ming cultivations and the heaven and man become one; from the point of view of the practice itself, it involves the refinement of different levels of qi, moving spirits, converting essence and harmonizing the Hun and Po, it reveal the multi-facet and multi-level nature of life itself and it is the ultimate way to explore the mysteries of the human body and the universe.
In conclusion, Ling Bao Tong Zhineng Neigong Shu is a high quality heritage of the Chinese civilization. It can push the boundary of our knowledge of the world and it provide the possibilities for us to unlock the mystery of life itself.
Ling Bao Tong Zhineng Neigong Shu can be divided into 5 different stages:
Refine the body to accumulate qi (entering the door), conversion of essence to qi (foundation), conversion of qi to shen (condensation of the cinnabar (dan)), refinement of shen to void (completion of cinnabar) and refinement of void to Dao (application of the cinnabar).
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Brief Introduction to the Secret of the Golden Flower
The Daoist classic Tai Yi Jin Hua Zong Zhi (known as the "Secret of the Golden Flower" (SOGF) in the west) was initially based on the lyrics of "Xiao Yao Jue" (Ode to True Freedom) and "Quan Shi Ge" (Song of Persuasion) by Lu Dongbin, it began to be circulated in the late Song Dynasty. Later disciples who obtained the manuscript had edited the content over time and it was being transmitted in hand-copied manuscript format. During the Kang Xi period of the Qing Dynasty, it was disclosed and published for the first time by Jingming Pai and Longmen Pai separately. While it was passed down from generation to generation, new contents were added, these contents include fantastical materials obtained from divination and references from Confucius and Buddhist ideas to reflect the influences of these sects in the Chinese society. All these materials had no doubt put the SOGF under a veil of heavy mysticism.
The spiritual world of human being can be divided into three levels: Shi Shen (Conscious Spirit), Yuan Shen (Original Spirit) and Ling Xing (Soul Spirit). Ling Xing came from the Heaven and Earth, Yuan Shen came from your parent, Shi Shen came from the post-heaven world. The relationship between these three levels of spirits is that: Ling Xing is surrounded by Yuan Shen which in turn is surrounded by Shi Shen. Under normal circumstances, when one is awake, Shi Shen is active and Yuan Shen is dormant. When one is asleep, Shi Shen is dormant and Yuan Shen is active. Shi Shen and Yuan Shen does not communicate with each other directly. Ling Xing is the root of life, it's only active at the moment the human life is created or at the moment when the life is ended.
After Lu Dongbin had completed the cultivation as outlined in Ling Bao Bi Fa, he had understood the nature of Shi Shen, Yuan Shen and Ling Xing. Looking from such a high level plane of existence, Ancestor Lu described several specialized topics dealing with Ling Xing and its usages in Ling Bao Bi Fa, the result was SOGF. That is why SOGF is a part of Ling Bao Bi Fa, it described the portions of Ling Bao Bi Fa that dealt with "Tai Yi" (Ultimate Unity). So what is ultimate unity? What can it do? What can it accomplished?
What is "Ultimate Unity" ? Ultimate Unity is also known as the "Ultimate One", i.e. the "one" as in "Dao gave birth to one" in Daodejing. Before there was human being, there was the "one", after human being has disappeared, the "one" will still be aound. To human being, "one" is absolute, eternal and immutable. When a human life is created, "one" enters the body, it's called Ling Xing. Ordinary people do not know about it, whereas the immortal uses it, it's also called the Wondrous Gate, the Ancestral Chamber and the Heaven Heart, it has many names but they are actually all "one". When a human dies, "one" will leave the body.
What can "Ultimate unity" do? "Dao gave birth to one, one gave birth to two, two gave birth three and three gave birth to the ten thousand things". Human being is part of the ten thousand things, if human can understand "one", then "two", "three" and "ten thousand things" can all be easily understood. In Ling Bao Bi Fa, "Ultimate Unity" first appeared in the first segment "Tai Yi Han Zhen Qi" (The ultimate one containing the true qi) of the second method "Collection and Dispersion of Water and Fire". "Jin Hua" (Golden Flower) means the golden cinnabar, i.e. the third segment "The Golden Purple Cinnabar" in the eight method "Return to the Origin to Refine Qi". Therefore SOGF is the principles behind the methods from "Tai Yi Han Zhen Qi" to "The Golden Purple Cinnabar", the ultimate unity can also be added to the various methods between these two levels. In other words, one must at least attain the "Ultimate Unity" in the second method "Dispersion and Collection of Water and Fire", and then utilize it to connect the various levels and segments in Ling Bao Bi Fa in order to finally attain the Golden Cinnabar.
One can imagine that qi is energy, it can't be seen not touched. By using the conscious mind, how much can one condense the qi? "Tai Yi Han Zhen Qi" means that using the "Ultimate Unity" to condense qi, only by this method can one continuously condense qi to higher and higher level of density, from "gaseous" state to "liquid" state and finally to "solid" state of the cinnabar. These states correspond to the levels "Human Immortal Method", "Terrestrial Immortal Method" and "Celestial Immortal Method" in Ling Bao Bi Fa.
What can "ultimate unity" accomplish? To put it simply, the verifications in DanDao are all "seen" using the ultimate unity. Looking it from another way, the ancient Chinese Civilization is based on the objective reality from what is "seen" using the ultimate unity: for examples, the "Yellow Emperor Classic" is the classifications based on what has been "seen", the "Zhou Yi" (I Ching version in Zhou dynasty) is the generalization of what has been "seen". Daodejing is the refinement of the conclusion from what has been "seen". SOGF is the method to practice how to be able to "see".
SOGF originated from Ling Bao Bi Fa, the two classics complements each other and fuse into one, using first level of qi to utilize the Shi Shen, the second level of qi to utilize the Yuan Shen and the third level of qi to utilize the Ling Xing. Through cultivation of Shi Shen one can then stimulate and control Yuan Shen and Ling Xing, which can then leads to the complete understanding of the spiritual world. Obviously, SOGF cannot reveal everything about the "Tai Yi", but if one can understand a little piece of it, one should know to be satisfied.
The spiritual world of human being can be divided into three levels: Shi Shen (Conscious Spirit), Yuan Shen (Original Spirit) and Ling Xing (Soul Spirit). Ling Xing came from the Heaven and Earth, Yuan Shen came from your parent, Shi Shen came from the post-heaven world. The relationship between these three levels of spirits is that: Ling Xing is surrounded by Yuan Shen which in turn is surrounded by Shi Shen. Under normal circumstances, when one is awake, Shi Shen is active and Yuan Shen is dormant. When one is asleep, Shi Shen is dormant and Yuan Shen is active. Shi Shen and Yuan Shen does not communicate with each other directly. Ling Xing is the root of life, it's only active at the moment the human life is created or at the moment when the life is ended.
After Lu Dongbin had completed the cultivation as outlined in Ling Bao Bi Fa, he had understood the nature of Shi Shen, Yuan Shen and Ling Xing. Looking from such a high level plane of existence, Ancestor Lu described several specialized topics dealing with Ling Xing and its usages in Ling Bao Bi Fa, the result was SOGF. That is why SOGF is a part of Ling Bao Bi Fa, it described the portions of Ling Bao Bi Fa that dealt with "Tai Yi" (Ultimate Unity). So what is ultimate unity? What can it do? What can it accomplished?
What is "Ultimate Unity" ? Ultimate Unity is also known as the "Ultimate One", i.e. the "one" as in "Dao gave birth to one" in Daodejing. Before there was human being, there was the "one", after human being has disappeared, the "one" will still be aound. To human being, "one" is absolute, eternal and immutable. When a human life is created, "one" enters the body, it's called Ling Xing. Ordinary people do not know about it, whereas the immortal uses it, it's also called the Wondrous Gate, the Ancestral Chamber and the Heaven Heart, it has many names but they are actually all "one". When a human dies, "one" will leave the body.
What can "Ultimate unity" do? "Dao gave birth to one, one gave birth to two, two gave birth three and three gave birth to the ten thousand things". Human being is part of the ten thousand things, if human can understand "one", then "two", "three" and "ten thousand things" can all be easily understood. In Ling Bao Bi Fa, "Ultimate Unity" first appeared in the first segment "Tai Yi Han Zhen Qi" (The ultimate one containing the true qi) of the second method "Collection and Dispersion of Water and Fire". "Jin Hua" (Golden Flower) means the golden cinnabar, i.e. the third segment "The Golden Purple Cinnabar" in the eight method "Return to the Origin to Refine Qi". Therefore SOGF is the principles behind the methods from "Tai Yi Han Zhen Qi" to "The Golden Purple Cinnabar", the ultimate unity can also be added to the various methods between these two levels. In other words, one must at least attain the "Ultimate Unity" in the second method "Dispersion and Collection of Water and Fire", and then utilize it to connect the various levels and segments in Ling Bao Bi Fa in order to finally attain the Golden Cinnabar.
One can imagine that qi is energy, it can't be seen not touched. By using the conscious mind, how much can one condense the qi? "Tai Yi Han Zhen Qi" means that using the "Ultimate Unity" to condense qi, only by this method can one continuously condense qi to higher and higher level of density, from "gaseous" state to "liquid" state and finally to "solid" state of the cinnabar. These states correspond to the levels "Human Immortal Method", "Terrestrial Immortal Method" and "Celestial Immortal Method" in Ling Bao Bi Fa.
What can "ultimate unity" accomplish? To put it simply, the verifications in DanDao are all "seen" using the ultimate unity. Looking it from another way, the ancient Chinese Civilization is based on the objective reality from what is "seen" using the ultimate unity: for examples, the "Yellow Emperor Classic" is the classifications based on what has been "seen", the "Zhou Yi" (I Ching version in Zhou dynasty) is the generalization of what has been "seen". Daodejing is the refinement of the conclusion from what has been "seen". SOGF is the method to practice how to be able to "see".
SOGF originated from Ling Bao Bi Fa, the two classics complements each other and fuse into one, using first level of qi to utilize the Shi Shen, the second level of qi to utilize the Yuan Shen and the third level of qi to utilize the Ling Xing. Through cultivation of Shi Shen one can then stimulate and control Yuan Shen and Ling Xing, which can then leads to the complete understanding of the spiritual world. Obviously, SOGF cannot reveal everything about the "Tai Yi", but if one can understand a little piece of it, one should know to be satisfied.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
2006 - Cross the ocean to see my teacher.
I went to Beijing in July. A friend said, "Let's go to see Master Wang." A great idea, I had already planned to see Master Wang on this trip. The last time I saw him was in September 1998, it had been 8 years since I last saw him in person. Even though we talked on the phone regularly, that can't be compared to seeing him in person.
My friend suggested that we take the water route to get there so that we can enjoy the scenery along the way. We got on the boat at the nearby port to our destination. Master Wang was as compassionate and caring as before. In the following three days, I had many complex emotions since it had been 8 years since I last saw him in person. During that period of time, I have tried many things according to my own ideas. Some of those I did well and Master Wang was very supportive; some of those perhaps should have been done in a different way but Master Wang didn't explicitly mention it ; some people had slandered and caused great troubles to me and Master Wang and which he had dealt with for me. I sincerely apologized for the troubles I caused him and he was happy to accept it. He was also supportive of my idea of a Health and Wellness Center.
My friend suggested that we take the water route to get there so that we can enjoy the scenery along the way. We got on the boat at the nearby port to our destination. Master Wang was as compassionate and caring as before. In the following three days, I had many complex emotions since it had been 8 years since I last saw him in person. During that period of time, I have tried many things according to my own ideas. Some of those I did well and Master Wang was very supportive; some of those perhaps should have been done in a different way but Master Wang didn't explicitly mention it ; some people had slandered and caused great troubles to me and Master Wang and which he had dealt with for me. I sincerely apologized for the troubles I caused him and he was happy to accept it. He was also supportive of my idea of a Health and Wellness Center.
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