The best Way of Internal Cultivation

I want to quote osho to give context to what I’m gonna say.

“He [Lao Zi] was going into absolute aloneness in the Himalayas, but he was caught on the border. And the man who caught him on the border is Master Kuan Yiu-hsi. He was a gaurd at the last post of the Chinese border. Lao Zi had to pass that post; there was no other way to get out of the country. And Kuan Yiu-hsi pursuaded him ‘you are going to die, you are leaving the country for ever and soon you will be leaving the body. Please write just a few words. And I won’t allow you to get out of the land if you don’t write them. This is the price you have to pay.’
And Lao Zi sat in Kuan Yiu-hsi’ hut for three days, and there he wrote the Tao Te Ching.” “……..his whole life he had declined”

If the above account is accurate, it appears that (at least to some degree) Lao Zi may have been coerced into writing the Tao Te Ching. That perhaps being the case, maybe he was exercising caution by not divulging any alchemical formulae lest they be misunderstood/abused etc

This is just speculation on my part. In any case, the work itself (Tao Te Ching) is no less a most beautiful/sacred text.

mat

>”It (inner alchemy practice) is most likely evolved from the Tang >Dynasty thru the Song.”

This is an interesting question. Given the chinese tradition of passing down meditation formulas from sage to student in strict secrecy, and not divulging these methods to the “common people” (term used by modern religious Daoists to describe non-monks/nuns), do you think Lao Zi would have included the secrets of inner alchemy meditation formulas in his book?

It appears that the concepts of yin and yang, and the five elements were present at the dawn of chinese civilization, passed down from the Wu, and the male shamans as well. These archetypal concepts are at the root of all chinese medicine, astronomy, astrology, divination, feng shui etc. The Shang Ch’ing Daoists were ingesting the essence of the sun and moon in their recorded texts written from 300-600 AD. I would say that there is a high likelihood that formulas of inner alchemy existed long before into vast antiquity.

Also don’t forget that that Qin Shi Huang Di burned thousands of texts during his reign, the Dao De Jing survived because it was thought to be a political manual of rulership

What do you think of sub-ocean sites like yonaguni, or the osireon at abydos? I do not mean to imply that these have anything to do with alchemical practice, but they do suggest highly sophisicated civilizations that existed many thousands of years before what is presently accepted as modern history. It makes me think that when people say “lets look at the facts” as recorded by what we have been able to find, there might be much more lurking beneath the surface, as well as all the stuff that has been found but conveniently ignored.

Greetings,

Thank you for your reply. I respect the fact that you have a lot of knowledge in the chinese medical and divinational traditions, but I think you glossed over a number of points I made, or maybe I did not present them clearly. I think it is generalizing to say that all the verses of the Dao De Jing say the same thing, as they all have different contexts and present different ideas, of course all leading to the same goal. I use intellect to combine all facets back into the source.

I respect that you feel you have not achieved much success through Chia’s methods, and appreciate your honesty. I am not familiar with them, but have found MWinn’s teachings of One Clouds methods mixed with Atlantean alchemy to be very effective for me. When you ask where are the immortals, do you mean spiritual or physical? The highest achievement is both, but how can you measure a spiritual immortal?

My feeling is that the Dao De Jing was written by Lao Zi from the perspective of someone who has already achieved the wu wei state (immortality), as a meditation manual with clear allusions to methods of inner alchemical cultivation (repost):

Lao Zi (Guodian Version, 300 BC):

“Heaven and earth come together and send forth sweet dew.
No one causes this to be so; of itself it falls equally on them”
(A:10, Chapter 32)

“The space between heaven and earth-
Is it not like a bellows?
Though it is empty it does not collapse;
When put into motion it sends forth all the more.”
(A:12, Chapter 5)

Note: these first two quotes bear great resemblance to Kan and Li practice! 🙂

“There is a form that developed from primordial chaos
that was born before heaven and earth
Silent and still, it stands on its own and does not change.

It can be regarded as the mother of all under heaven.
Not yet knowing its name,
we refer to it as the Dao.
Were I forced to give it a name, I’d call it the great.

The great means overflowing
Overflowing means going far
Going far means to return…

Humanity takes as its model the earth;
The earth takes as its model heaven
heaven takes as its model the way;
And the way takes as its model that which is so on its own.”
(A:11, Chapter 25)

Note: This last verse reflects the microcosmic to macrocosmic approach of Daoist alchemy)

“One who embraces the fullness of virtue
May be compared to a newborn babe…
He can scream all day without getting hoarse;
This is because his inner harmony is at its height.

That inner harmony we call the constant.
To know that harmny we call being wise.
Trying to increase your life is known as bad fortune.
And when the mind controls the qi- this we call using force…”
(A:17, Chapter 53)

Note: Inner harmony and fusion of microcosmic to macrocosmic pure virtue qualities is another key aspect of Daoist alchemy.

“What is firmly implanted cannot be pulled out,
What is firmly embraced cannot be lost.
As a result, the sacrifices of your descendants will never end.

If you cultivate it in your self, your virtue will be pure;
If you cultivate it in your family, your virtue will be overflowing;
If you cultivate it in your village, your virtue will be longlasting;
If you cultivate it in your state, your virtue will be rich and full;
If you cultivate it throughout the world, your virtue will be widespread.

Look at the family from the point of view of the family
Look at the village from the point of view of the village
Look at the state from the point of view of the state
Look at the world from the point of view of the world

How do I know the condition of the whole world?
By this.”
(B:8, Chapter 54)

From a later translation by John Wu:

“The tao is like an empty bowl, which in being used can never be filled up.
Fathomless, it seems to be the origin of all things.
it blunts all edges,
It unties all tangles,
it harmonizes all lights,
it unites the world into one whole…”
(verse 4)

(note: what is meant by “harmonizing all lights”?)

It is interesting that you said much of chinese metaphysics evolved during the Tang to Song dynasties, when later you say that the early shamanistic cultures were all about cosmology; how do you define cosmology?

About ancient cultures: how is it that highly developed civilizations appeared with no apparent precursor (such as the pyramids at giza, and the megalithic structures built below ground level next to them such as the osireon?)? Likewise, how did the Shang Ch’ing Daoists suddenly have these elaborate meditations ingesting deities, sun and moon energies, or for that matter where are the precursors to the symbolism in the Can Tong Qi whether it was written by Wei Po Yang or a number of people under that name?

My feeling is that alchemy is very old, but since written records disappear at a certain point, does that change my view? Many of the worlds cultures have an oral tradition, and never wrote their knowledge down. For us to judge or sum up a culture by their written records would be a mistake: the great pyramid and the older structures in Egypt have NO writing on them anywhere (to give an example). It is also possible that alchemy is a new evolution, or a resurfacing practice that was submerged for thousands of years. The possibilities are endless.

The bottom line is that I feel deep inner transformation, and my inner experience has become a permanent state (always in the process of change). That is what matters to me.

Hi Daoyuan:

I enjoy the communication, I ask one thing, if you are going to quote me or sum up my statements, please be accurate or just ask me is this what I meant.

I did not say “I did not achieve much with Chia’s Method”, pleae listen carefully, I said I have not met one person that has obtained the acheived of the last two formulas, OK… And I have asked a teacher of this method to give me one example of a living person who did, they could not. And I do think one is to be viewed by their daily life, not by nice writings.

I appreciate your thoughts on the matter of lao zi.

There is an old saying “to a pickpocket, the world are a pair of pockets”. To alchemists, all the teachings are alchemy (there style, a way to support thier view.

I beleive Lao Zi lays out what living in a natural state is and then presents many ways one is drawn out of it and then how to get back to it. He is mostly talking about the dualistic mind and how it works in its many variations. If you have not read it from that view, maybe check it out and see if you agree.

regards,

bagua

Greetings,

Thank you for your reply. I respect the fact that you have a lot of knowledge in the chinese medical and divinational traditions, but I think you glossed over a number of points I made, or maybe I did not present them clearly. I think it is generalizing to say that all the verses of the Dao De Jing say the same thing, as they all have different contexts and present different ideas, of course all leading to the same goal. I use intellect to combine all facets back into the source.

I respect that you feel you have not achieved much success through Chia’s methods, and appreciate your honesty. I am not familiar with them, but have found MWinn’s teachings of One Clouds methods mixed with Atlantean alchemy to be very effective for me. When you ask where are the immortals, do you mean spiritual or physical? The highest achievement is both, but how can you measure a spiritual immortal?

My feeling is that the Dao De Jing was written by Lao Zi from the perspective of someone who has already achieved the wu wei state (immortality), as a meditation manual with clear allusions to methods of inner alchemical cultivation (repost):

Lao Zi (Guodian Version, 300 BC):

Greetings,

A few further clarifications:

***

>”Do you realize M. Winn’s formulas are M. Chia’s methods, modified some, but essentially the same?”

Winn’s formulas appear to be different to me in the first level of purification in that there is more focus on the pure virtue qualities and less clenching and squeezing of muscles, producing a more flowing effect. MW’s Fusion focuses on simplicity of organ qualities rather than bringing in planets and stars into head. In the Kan and Li formulas Lesser is basically the same, with the rest differing drastically in focus on the neutral force rather than going out into space to collect energies through the pearl. I do not know Chia’s formulas in detail but do not think they go in depth into the idea of three daoist heavens, gradually returning to wuji through inner space. I think there is an article somewhere on this website that goes into this.

***

>”Why would one measure an immortal? I want to see one living example of a spiritual/human immortal that attained the achievement thru these alchemical methods. I am not denying they could lead to that acheivement, I would like to know of one example in the usa.”

My question was what is your criteria for measuring or recognizing an immortal? How would you know one if you met one? How do you know if it would be what your preconcieved ideas are for being spiritually achieved?

***

>”Lao Zi…wrote one of the most significant texts in chinese history.”

I agree! His ascension site at Louguantai resonates with a very deep spiritual vibration.