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Below is the first verse from “Jin Dan Su Pai Tzu Chieh”; comes from Chang Po Tuan who wrote it in the 11th Century, Translated by Thomas Cleary, & Chan Hui Feng wrote a version. Below is verse one from the section called The “24 inner guidelines/Secrets of Alchemy. I took a workshop from Eva Wong and she stated that her Sifu and herself believes these are important works to help in personal development in practice and if possible to share in an English audience would be beneficial for a Westerner to develop in our own practicality.
I will post a new one every sunday, like to get an open discussion on thoughts on the verses to create a open and hopefully a non-attacking discussion on practices. If no one is interested I will stop posting..peace Snowlion
I
*Repair the Alchemical Laboratory, Workshop.
*Nourish the Temporal;strengthen the physical body.
*To Nourish the Temporal is the point of departure.
*When vitality,energy & spirit are vigorous, you can bear hunger & cold.Having cultivated the physical body until it is firm & strong, giving shelter from the rain & wind, it is good for refining the elixir.
A. The question is how do you describe these to yourself in your personal practice?
B. How does a Westerner understand this to be useful in a modern society?
That’s pretty much all I’m doing now with my practice right now: setting up the laboratory.
Meaning that I’m working on opening the 8 extraordinary vessells with chi kung and meditation (microcosmic and macrocosmic orbits), and getting some kind of rudimentary communication going between the 5 shen also with chi kung and fusion meditation.
Just cleaning my energy body to make space for alchemy.
As for why I would think this practice is usefull ( for me as a contemporary westerner) is because having clean chi is highly pleasurable.
My interpretation is as follows:
“*Repair the Alchemical Laboratory, Workshop.”
Set up the foundation by opening the eight extra channels and nourishing the pure virtue qualities of the five shen.
“*Nourish the Temporal;strengthen the physical body.”
Maintain a discipline that tones and strengthens the physical body without tension.
“*To Nourish the Temporal is the point of departure.”
The physical body and the generative essence of the jing is the foundation and the key to a solid cultivation practice.
“*When vitality,energy & spirit are vigorous, you can bear hunger & cold.”
One can endure long when they have cultivated a powerful foundation of jing qi and shen.
“Having cultivated the physical body until it is firm & strong, giving shelter from the rain & wind, it is good for refining the elixir.”
By creating a strong and healthy foundation, one can begin the process of cultivating yuan qi.
Westerners are presently bombarded by external stimuli and pressures, and would benefit from a body-centered discipline that brings them back into the intelligence of their vital organ shen.
*Repair the Alchemical Laboratory, Workshop.
*Nourish the Temporal;strengthen the physical body.
*To Nourish the Temporal is the point of departure.
*When vitality,energy & spirit are vigorous, you can bear hunger & cold.This sentence:
“Having cultivated the physical body until it is firm & strong, giving shelter from the rain & wind, it is good for refining the elixir.”
encapsulates the four previous lines and says WHY we ought to care for ourselves.
“A. The question is how do you describe these to yourself in your personal practice?”
I see the four points as a single thing directing us to support, build and protect the physical body through lifeforce practice and otherwise because it is the alchemical laboratory. When one has manifested a good vehicle “in time” (temporal) one has a starting point, an actual vessel, in which to create one’s immortal child. It reminds me of the idea the ancient Egyptians had: The human being is the uterus of heaven and earth.
I also like SO’s interpretation of the word “temporal” as meaning a regular practice.
“B. How does a Westerner understand this to be useful in a modern society?”
One would have to reverse one’s learned thinking, which would be a good thing. We are taught to abuse our bodies and to force them rather than to nurture the natural energy and to cultivate conscious selfhood. Once we do, health, fulfillment and growth can take place. The balanced, aligned energy of the practitioner can actually affect the field we live in and change it. It’s use in modern society would be to help it become healthy and to create a new dimension of living on earth.
Good work, Snowlion.
Blessings, Alexander
Hi everyone,
Verse I: Repair the Alchemical Laboratory:
I view laboratory, as setting up a vehicle for transformation, so that great change can take place: 3 energy centers, MCO Orbit, 5 Shen, Pakua’s,etc utilizing a typical fusion model for reference. Which is interesting last year I learned a alchemy practice similar to Fusion, from a Buddhist(oh god here we go with the Buddhist stuff, esoteric buddhist though!) which utilized three different Pearl color transformations such as golden light, 5 color pearl, violet light pearl, pakua’s or vortex, 5 shen, Soul dialoging to all major systems.
The esoteric buddhist practice was in the same spirit as most Dao alchemy practices, they call it Xiou Lien, meaning spiritual purification. I utilize these practices as processes each day is unique and take for instance tonight I practiced deep smiling awareness for 1:30 and went very deeply with that process.
I see reparing as restoration of the Jing Qi Shen, from modern lifestyle point of view such as maybe stress, senses etc. Sometimes we need to repair by just being present to create the space also. What I find great about these alchemical practices no matter what version you do is that it gives you flexibility to restore your sacred space, creating a unique for you. More tomorrow or next day.
I am glad their is interest & we all can communicate on this subject and have a constructive conversation; it’s a breath of fresh air (Qi). Thanks to everyone so far for participating looking forward to sharing ideas, thoughts. It has been a deep passion inside that we could utilize this great space in cyber heaven to help each other understand, ponder & utilize in this form of consciousness & discuss alchemy thoughts. Be back tomorrow thnx.. SnowLion
SnowLion: “What I find great about these alchemical practices no matter what version you do is that it gives you flexibility to restore your sacred space, creating a unique for you.”
This is a very important point. Any practices which work for me have always taken on their own form apart from the way I have been taught them. They MUST! because you have to make it your own! I remember hearing Michael say that the tones he uses for the Kan & Li process to call in the directions and their energies don’t have to be the “right” ones. You have to use a system that works for you, one that’s organic to both you and the lifeforce and then the lifeforce will learn how to communicate with you through it. This explains why so many different means can bring about good results. And also, why one should trust one’s instincts.
Ohmmmm: “Our soul can only grow when in physical form.”
Another important reminder. Too often in our “new age” body denial in favor of “the light” is practiced. There is still such a negation of the body going on, a lack of the understanding of the fact that the body is the vehicle to get home with. We created ourselves to BE as humans so we would have a vessel to hold the light.
-Blessings, Alexander
Very busy week sorry for delay!
*Nourish the Temporal;strengthen the physical body.
*To Nourish the Temporal is the point of departure.
*When vitality,energy & spirit are vigorous, you can bear hunger & cold.Having cultivated the physical body until it is firm & strong, giving shelter from the rain & wind, it is good for refining the elixir.
The last few passages bring this to mind for me:
*Conversion of Jing, Qi, Shen: Via through meditation and alchemical formulas, which will nourish strengthen our physical health & eventually nourish the brain and boost the spirit;the three treasures Jing, Qi, Shen will have then harmonized together. We also need physical health through Daoyin movement, Li Gong( Muscle tendon Skills) Training to Support a balance of inner/outer health.
When jing, Qi, Shen are raised to a high level our Wei Qi manifests out like a protection bubble from external forces such as wind & rain. When we refine the body it will naturally radiate out, in all directions.
Daoist Canon states in one Alchemy text:
Lian Jun Hua Qi: Cultivate the Jing and transform into Qi=
Bai Ri hu Ji: 100 Days of training to Cultivate our Foundation energySnowlion
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