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Taoism or Daoism refers to either a school of philosophical thought or to a religion ; both share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the Tao. The Tao Te Ching, a book containing teachings attributed to Laozi (老子), together with the later writings of Zhuangzi, are both widely considered the keystone works of Taoism.
Dantian, dan t'ian, dan tien or tan t'ien is loosely translated as "elixir field", "sea of qi", or simply "energy center". Dantian are the "qi focus flow centers", important focal points for meditative and exercise techniques such as qigong, martial arts such as t'ai chi ch'uan, and in traditional Chinese medicine.
The Three Treasures or Three Jewels are theoretical cornerstones in traditional Chinese medicine and practices such as neidan, qigong, and tai chi. They are also known as jing, qi, and shen.
Chinese alchemy is an ancient Chinese scientific and technological approach to alchemy, a part of the larger tradition of Taoist / Daoist body-spirit cultivation developed from the traditional Chinese understanding of medicine and the body. According to original texts such as the Cantong qi, the body is understood as the focus of cosmological processes summarized in the five agents of change, or Wuxing, the observation and cultivation of which leads the practitioner into alignment and harmony with the Tao. Therefore, the traditional view in China is that alchemy focuses mainly on longevity and the purification of one's spirit, mind and body, providing, health, longevity and wisdom, through the practice of Qigong, wuxingheqidao. The consumption and use of various concoctions known as alchemical medicines or elixirs, each of which having different purposes but largely were concerned with immortality.
Neidan, or internal alchemy, is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. Also known as Jindan, inner alchemy combines theories derived from external alchemy, correlative cosmology, the emblems of the Yijing, and medical theory, with techniques of Taoist meditation, daoyin gymnastics, and sexual hygiene.
The Cantong qi is deemed to be the earliest book on alchemy in China. The title has been variously translated as Kinship of the Three, Akinness of the Three, Triplex Unity, The Seal of the Unity of the Three, and in several other ways. The full title of the text is Zhouyi cantong qi, which can be translated as, for example, The Kinship of the Three, in Accordance with the Book of Changes.
The Huangdi Yinfujing, or Yinfujing, is a circa 8th century CE Daoist scripture associated with Chinese astrology and Neidan-style Internal alchemy. In addition, Huangdi Yinfujing is also the name of a Chinese Fengshui text on military strategy.
The Wuzhen pian is a 1075 Taoist classic on Neidan-style internal alchemy. Its author Zhang Boduan was a Song dynasty scholar of the Three teachings.
The Neijing Tu is a Daoist "inner landscape" diagram of the human body illustrating Neidan "Internal alchemy", Wu Xing, Yin and Yang, and Chinese mythology.
The Qingjing Jing is an anonymous Tang Dynasty Taoist classic that combines philosophical themes from the Tao Te Ching with the logical presentation of Buddhist texts and a literary form reminiscent of the Heart Sutra. It instructs students of the Tao to practice the elimination of desire in order to cultivate spiritual purity and stillness.
The Baopuzi is a literary work written by Ge Hong (葛洪), 283–343, a scholar during the turbulent Jin dynasty. Baopuzi is divided into two main sections, the esoteric Neipian (內篇) "Inner Chapters" and equally exoteric Waipian (外篇) "Outer Chapters". The Taoist Inner Chapters discuss topics such as techniques to achieve "hsien" (仙) "immortality; transcendence", Chinese alchemy, elixirs, and demonology. The Confucian Outer Chapters discuss Chinese literature, Legalism, politics, and society.
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Waidan, translated as 'external alchemy' or 'external elixir', is the early branch of Chinese alchemy that focuses upon compounding elixirs of immortality by heating minerals, metals, and other natural substances in a luted crucible. The later branch of esoteric neidan 'inner alchemy', which borrowed doctrines and vocabulary from exoteric waidan, is based on allegorically producing elixirs within the practitioner's body, through Daoist meditation, diet, and physiological practices. The practice of waidan external alchemy originated in the early Han dynasty, grew in popularity until the Tang (618–907) when neidan began and several emperors died from alchemical elixir poisoning, and gradually declined until the Ming dynasty (1368–1644).
Taoist meditation, known in Chinese as "Xiu Dao", refers to the traditional meditative practices associated with the Chinese philosophy and religion of Taoism, including concentration, mindfulness, contemplation, and visualization. The earliest Chinese references to meditation date from the Warring States period.
Liu Yiming (1734–1821) was a Chinese ophthalmologist, philosopher, and writer. He was one of the main representatives of Taoist Internal Alchemy, or Neidan. He was an 11th-generation master of one of the northern branches of the Longmen 龍門 lineage, and the author of a large number of works that illustrate his views on both Taoism and Neidan.
Taoist philosophy also known as Taology refers to the various philosophical currents of Taoism, a tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Dào. The Dào is a mysterious and deep principle that is the source, pattern and substance of the entire universe.
Golden Elixir Press is an independent publisher of books and occasional papers on Taoism and Taoist Internal Alchemy (Neidan). The press was founded in 2009. As of March 2019, it had published about two dozen works, some of which are concerned with other traditions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sufism.
Yin Changsheng was a famous Daoist xian from Xinye who lived during the Eastern Han dynasty. After serving more than ten years as a disciple of the transcendent Maming Sheng he received the secret Taiqing scriptures on Waidan. Several extant texts are ascribed to Yin Changsheng, such as the Jinbi wu xianglei can tong qi.
References
- ↑ Fabrizio Pregadio (International Consortium for Research in the Humanities).
- ↑ "Human Nature and Destiny in the Thought of the Daoist Master Liu Yiming (1734-1821)" (German Research Foundation).
- ↑ Pregadio, Fabrizio. Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Early Medieval China . Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2006.
- ↑ Pregadio, Fabrizio, ed. The Encyclopedia of Taoism . London and New York: Routledge, 2008.
- ↑ Pregadio, Fabrizio. Awakening to Reality: The "Regulated Verses" of the Wuzhen pian, a Taoist Classic of Internal Alchemy . Mountain View: Golden Elixir Press, 2009.
- ↑ Pregadio, Fabrizio. The Seal of the Unity of the Three . Vol. 1: A Study and Translation of the Cantong qi, the Source of the Taoist Way of the Golden Elixir. Vol. 2: Bibliographic Studies on the Cantong qi: Commentaries, Essays, and Related Works. Mountain View: Golden Elixir Press, 2011, 2012.
- ↑ Wang Jie (?-1380). Commentary on the Mirror for Compounding the Medicine (Ruyao jing zhujie): A Fourteenth-Century Work on Taoist Internal Alchemy . Mountain View: Golden Elixir Press, 2013.
- ↑ Liu Yiming (1734-1821). Cultivating the Tao: Taoism and Internal Alchemy . Translated by Fabrizio Pregadio. Mountain View: Golden Elixir Press, 2013.
- ↑ Pregadio, Fabrizio. Taoist Internal Alchemy: An Anthology of Neidan Texts. Mountain View: Golden Elixir Press, 2019.
