Obesity treatment points. Seeds can be used for these purpose. The hypothalamus is around the nervous subcortex point of the Chinese auricular acupuncture. It is based on Nogier, the French method. Notice that the points deal with emotion disturbance which shows the process of reducing weight is a very stressful one. These points can used for quiting smoking too. chewwong
BEIJING — As China basks in its first Nobel Prize in science, few places seem as elated, or bewildered, by the honor as the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.
Located on a shady street in the Old City, the academy is spread over a city block and welcomes visitors with an incongruous juxtaposition: a six-foot high quotation from Chairman Mao facing bronze statues of gowned doctors from antiquity who devised esoteric theories to heal the human body.
These contrasts are part of a bigger, century-long debate in China that has been renewed by the award on Monday to one of the academy’s retired researchers, Tu Youyou, for extracting the malaria-fighting compound Artemisinin from the plant Artemisia annua. It was the first time China had won a Nobel Prize in a scientific discipline.
Traditionalists say the award, in the “physiology or medicine” category, shows the value of Chinese medicine, even if it is based on a very narrow part of this tradition.
“I feel happiness and sorrow,” said Liu Changhua, a professor of history at the academy. “I’m happy that the drug has saved lives, but if this is the path that Chinese medicine has to take in the future, I am sad.”
The reason, he said, is that Dr. Tu’s methods were little different from those used by Western drug companies that examine traditional pharmacopoeia around the world looking for new drugs.
In fact, in its award, the Nobel committee specifically said it was not honoring Chinese medicine, even though Artemisia has been in continuous use for centuries to fight malaria and other fevers, and even though Dr. Tu said she figured out the extraction techniques by reading classical works. Instead, it said it was rewarding Dr. Tu for the specific scientific procedures she used to extract the active ingredient and create a chemical drug.
But the most sophisticated part of Chinese medicine, Dr. Liu said, involves formulas of 10 to 20 herbs or minerals that a practitioner adjusts weekly after a consultation with a patient. And yet almost no research has been done on how these formulas actually interact with the body, he said. Instead, the government has poured money into finding another Artemisinin — with no luck.
“Are we truly respecting this cultural heritage?” Dr. Liu said. “When we think Chinese medicine needs to be modernized and the path it shall go down must be like Tu Youyou’s path, I think it is a disrespect.”
But many Chinese think it should not be respected at all. Scientists like He Zuoxiu, a member of the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences, say that the ancient pharmacopoeia should be mined, but the underlying theories that identified these herbs should have been discarded long ago.
“I think for the future development of Chinese medicine, people should abandon its medical theory and focus more on researching the value of herbs with a modern scientific approach,” Dr. He said in an interview.
These radically different views on Chinese medicine go back at least a century, and get to the heart of how modern China sees itself.
After a series of lost wars and national humiliations, Chinese reformers and revolutionaries began jettisoning almost everything from the country’s long past: its political and religious systems; its architecture and urban planning; its national dress and its lunar calendar.
Traditional medicine came in for especially harsh criticism. Some of the country’s most famous writers, like Lu Xun, Lao She, and Ba Jin, pilloried it as exemplifying everything wrong with the country. Its theories were obscure, its outcomes unproven, and most of all it was “unscientific” in a country that was beginning to worship science as the cure to all ills.
“Everyone at that time agreed that Chinese medicine had no future,” said Paul Unschuld, a historian of Chinese medicine at the Charité Hospital in Berlin. “Ideas like yin-yang, the Five Elements — all of that was considered backwards.”
When the Communists took over China in 1949, however, the country had few Western hospitals. A few years later, Mao Zedong declared that “Chinese medicine and pharmacology are a great treasure house.” The praise, though, came with a caveat: It must modernize. That meant setting up traditional Chinese hospitals, schools and research facilities like the academy in Beijing.
But money has flowed overwhelmingly toward Western medicine. In the Mao era, rural health care workers — “barefoot doctors” — were often traditional practitioners, which raised the profile of Chinese medicine. After Mao’s death and with growing prosperity, the government doubled down on Western medicine.
Today, China has 1.1 million certified doctors of Western medicine, versus 186,947 traditional practitioners. It has 23,095 hospitals, 2,889 of which specialize in Chinese medicine.
“It’s part of the nation, but the nation of China defines itself as a modern nation, which is tied very much to science,” said Volker Scheid, an anthropologist at the University of Westminster in London. “So this causes a conflict.”
The conundrum was on display Friday at a hastily called news conference hosted by the academy’s Institute of Chinese Materia Medica, where Dr. Tu worked. Chinese reporters had been badgering the institute for days for information on Dr. Tu. Finally, late Thursday night, officials announced the briefing.
For an hour, Chinese journalists asked two officials from the institute for any sort of information on Dr. Tu: what was she like (blunt and hard-working), how many were on her team (50), why was she asked to head the project (no one could say). Mostly, they asked what she had done in the 40 years since her discovery. After a bit of shuffling and grimacing, the answer: She had tried to find other herbs but had not succeeded.
In a nearby clinic attached to the academy, doctors say they know why. Chinese medicine almost never uses individual plants or minerals. Instead, it relies on diagnoses based solely on the doctor’s questions, observations and the skillful taking of the pulse.
One senior practitioner is Hu Xin, 61, who began learning herbal medicine 50 years ago from his father. He later went to university, earning advanced degrees, but said that any good herbalist has to study the classics, some of which date back 2,000 years. Sitting in his small consultation room at the end of a long morning, Dr. Hu had just treated 14 patients with serious ailments like intestinal inflammation, ovarian cysts, menstrual cramps and chronic bronchitis.
But despite the successes that he and his patients report, he worried about the attacks on Chinese medicine. Now, he said excitedly, the Nobel Prize would help keep critics at bay.
“In the future, how can people say that Chinese medicine isn’t scientific?” Dr. Hu said. “You can’t deny that it’s based on Chinese medical texts and clinical experience.”
In Traditional Chinese medicine, it is believed that the healing force of life flows within us, and we can manipulate it to treat certain problems, including sleep disorders. This ancient Chinese remedy uses certain points on the body to induce sleep. Those troubled by lack of sleep know that it can be a debilitating experience, affecting your memory and judgment. Seeking a cure in modern medicine is not always advisable as sleeping pills prescribed by doctors can lead to dependency, and in some cases, fatal addiction.
There are several natural cures that you could explore and one of the most effective options for them is the use of acupressure points. All you have to do is massage some points on the body for treating problems. There are certain hospitals in the United States which have introduced this alternative healing technique to support their treatment plan, and many people prefer this technique over modern medicine.
In acupressure, the unit of measurement to locate the points on the body is called cun. This technique is based on the understanding that each person has a different body shape and size, and one standard unit cannot locate the acupressure points in everyone. Therefore, each person uses his/her own body measurements to locate the exact point.
(a)
(b): When you bend your middle finger, the distance between the first and second crease at their widest point is also measured as 1 cun.
(c): The first two fingers -- index and middle finger -- account for 1.5 cun.
(d): The distance between the tip and the proximal interphalangeal joint of the index finger is equivalent to 2 cun.
(e): The width of all the four fingers of the hand joined together, accounts for 3 cun.
The technique is similar to acupuncture, but instead of using needles, you can apply pressure on the points with your fingers, hands, and elbows to alleviate your problems. Most of the points can be stimulated yourself, so you don't necessarily have to go to someone else for treatment. There are certain points that can be used to induce restful sleep by just massaging them for short period of time.
✦ Locate the point by measuring 2 cun below the wrist crease, in the middle of the arm.
✦ Place the thumb of your other hand on the point, and press it.
✦ Gently massage in slow rotatory movements.
✦ You may also press the point directly for a minute or two.
The Chinese name for this point is Shen Men. The English name for this point is Spirit Gate. This pressure point is located on the wrist crease in line with your little finger (as shown in the image below), and is known to calm the mind and heart, especially when surrounded by anxious thoughts.
✦ Locate the point by holding out your hand in front of you, with your palm facing the ceiling.
✦ Place the thumb of your other hand on the point, and press it.
✦ Gently massage in slow circular movements, while applying moderate pressure.
✦ You may also press the point directly, or continue to massage for 5 minutes.
The Chinese name for this point is Yongquan. The English name for this point is Gushing Spring. This pressure point is located on the sole of the foot in the depression under the ball of the foot between the second and the third metatarsal bone (as shown in the image below). This point is known to renew and vitalize the mind and body, thereby clearing the mind and draining all the exhausting energies from it.
✦ Sit on the edge of your bed by lift your left foot and rest it on the knee of the right leg. This position will help you see and locate the point easily.
✦ Do not bend over, keep your back as straight as possible. Place the thumb of your other hand on the point, and press the point to a degree where the pain is bearable.
✦ Gently massage in slow rotatory movements. You may also press the point directly for a minute or two.
✦ Repeat the aforementioned steps with the other foot.
The Chinese name for these two points are Zhaohai and Shen Mai, respectively. The English name for these points are Shining Sea and Extending Vessel. These pressure points are located the inner and outer sides of the legs, near the ankle area. The point Kidney 6 lies 1 cun below the medial malleolus (malleolus is the bony protrusion on either sides of the ankle), while UB 62 is located in the depression found below the external malleolus (as shown in the image below). Both these points are massaged together to calm the mind and create a sleep conducive mental state.
✦ Sit on the edge of your bed lift your right foot and rest it on the knee of the left foot. This position will help you see and locate these points easily.
✦ Do not bend over, keep your back as straight as possible. Place the thumb of your other hand on one point and the middle or index finger on the other point.
✦ Press the points to a degree where the pain is bearable. Gently massage these points for a minute or two and take long and slow deep breaths.
✦ Repeat these steps on the other foot.
✦ This point is located on depression found on both sides at the base of your skull. Place your thumbs on these depressions found on either side. Bending your head slightly forward, and then backwards again, would help you feel these depressions easily.
✦ Place your thumbs on the GB 20 points and press them firmly. Close your eyes while doing so.
✦ Gently massage in slow rotatory movements. You may also press the point directly for a minute or two.
✦ Take deep and slow breaths.
Gallbladder 20 (GB 20) is one of the points located in the gallbladder meridian of the body. It is called Wind Pool due to its location, the depressions that may be interpreted as the pools present in the body's landscape. This point clears the head by driving away the negative effects of the interior and exterior wind and brings about a balance and relaxation to the nervous system, thereby helping one have an undisturbed sleep.
✦ Place your thumbs on the points on both sides of the nape.
✦ Press them firmly applying pressure till the pain is easily bearable. Close your eyes while doing so.
✦ Gently massage in slow rotatory movements. You may also press the point directly for a minute or two.
✦ Take deep breaths. Inhale long breaths, build up for a few seconds, and release the breathe slowly.
✦ Place your thumb on this point while closing your eyes.
✦ Press the point firmly applying pressure till the pain is easily bearable.
✦ Gently massage in slow rotatory movements. You may also press the point directly for a minute or two.
✦ Take deep breaths during the process.
Governing Vessel 16 (GV 16) is one of the points located in the governing vessel (also known as 'Du Mai') meridian of the body. This point can also be abbreviated as Du 16. It is considered to be the main wind point, hence the English name, 'Wind Mansion'. GV 16 is also the point where the Governing Vessel, Yang Wei Vessel, and the Urinary Bladder Channel intersect together, making it one of the prominent points for treating various health issues, including insomnia.
✦ Place your thumb at the depression found between the first two metatarsal bones.
✦ Press and firmly apply pressure till the pain is easily bearable.
✦ Gently massage in slow rotatory movements. You may also press the point directly for a minute or two.
✦ Repeat the aforementioned steps with the other foot.
✦ Locate the point by measuring 3 cun above the tip of the inner ankle bone.
✦ Place your thumb at the point and press firmly. Apply pressure till the pain is easily bearable.
✦ Gently massage in slow rotatory movements.
✦ You may also press the point directly for a minute or two.
✦ Repeat the aforementioned steps with the other leg.
Spleen 6 (SP 6) is one of the points located in the spleen meridian of the body. It is one of the most important points in treating many disorders because it also happens to be the point of intersection of Spleen, Kidney, and Liver meridians. Stimulation of this point strengthens the kidney and spleen, as well as harmonizes the liver function, thereby eliminating the causes of insomnia.
The Chinese name for these two points are Dan Zhong and Yintang, respectively. The English name for these points are Sea of Tranquility and Hall of Impression, or the Third Eye. Conception Vessel 17 (CV 17) is located at the center of the chest, the middle point at the same level of the nipples. The governing vessel 24.5 (GV 24.5) is located in the middle of the two eyebrows (as shown in the image below). Both these points are massaged together to calm and quiet the mind and body.
✦ Sit comfortably in a quiet place. Use one hand to press GV 24.5, and the other to press CV 17. Place the tip of your index or middle finger on each point. You will observe a notch in the point GV 24.5.
✦ For GV 24.5, press the point firmly till you feel a gentle pulse. Do not press hard at any point.
✦ Try to focus your energy into these points, and feel the quietness and calmness within and around yourself.
✦ Take slow, but deep breaths, meditating on these points. Hold the points for 1-2 min.
Nine types of needles are described in Lingshu (Miraculous Pivot) , namely, filiform needle, shear needle,round-pointed needle, spoon needle, lance needle,round-sharp needle, stiletto needle, long needle and big needle.
Filiform Needle
A type of fine needle of varying length most commonly used in performing acupuncture at present
Shear Needle
A pricking instrument like an arrowhead with a sharp tip, the same as a chisel needle or sagital needle
Round-Pointed Needle
A cylindrical instrument with the shaft 1.6 cun long and an oval tip, used for massage on the body surface, the same as a rounded needle
Spoon Needle
An instrument with a thick shaft and a slightly sharp round tip used for pressing the meridians/channels
Lance Needle
Another name for three-edged needle, the same as a lancing needle
Round-Sharp Needle
A needle with thin shaft and a somewhat enlarged and sharp round tip, the same as a sharp round needle
Stiletto Needle
An instrument like a double-edged sword used for drainage of pus, the same as a sword needle
Long Needle
7 cun in length,used for deep puncture
Big Needle
A needle with a long and thick shaft and a somewhat round tip, the same as a large needle
New mum Claire Ashby beams with joy as she cradles the baby she thought she would never have.
And little Nancy looks like any normal happy and healthy baby.
But the difference between them and other mums and babies is, unusually, Claire says she has acupuncture to thank for conceiving her daughter.
For Claire and her partner Richard, of Leamington, were among the one in six couples in the UK with fertility problems – and had almost given up hope of having children after a two-year struggle getting pregnant.
Claire is convinced she would still be on costly fertility treatment now had she not gone under the needle in the ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture as the couple underwent IVF at Coventry’s University Hospital.
She says four-month-old Nancy is living proof of the amazing benefits when Western medicine is combined with traditional Eastern therapies.
Claire said: “We thought getting pregnant naturally would be quite easy, but after two years of trying we decided the time was right to try IVF.
“I’d just turned 40 so it had become more expensive for us.
“A friend had gone through IVF and got pregnant in her third round after acupuncture.
“We were also told at the hospital that acupuncture could help and there were posters on the walls.
“I just thought we might as well give it a go.”
Acupuncture is said to work by reducing stress levels and enhancing the blood supply to the woman’s uterus, improving the quality of eggs, and sperm when performed on men.
It operates on the principle that health is maintained by internal energy flow called Qi and that when the energy is interrupted it can cause an imbalance in the body’s function.
Now it is hoped countless other couples will also benefit as, in a major move for the University Hospital, its Centre for Reproductive Medicine, one of the UK’s leading infertility units, has established a link-up with a local acupuncturist – strongly recommending patients seek the alternative therapy alongside their conventional treatment.
A study published by the British Medical Journal found acupuncture alongside IVF can improve pregnancy and live births rates by as much as 65 per cent.
The official relationship between the hospital and accredited acupuncturist Jacqueline Hurst began in November.
Claire and Richard had attended appointments at Jacqueline’s fertility centre in Leamington, and were amazed when pregnancy tests came back positive after just one IVF cycle.
“We were so pleased because when you go through IVF you assume you can’t have children, but we had to stay positive,” added Claire.
“I’d never had acupuncture before and was a bit apprehensive at first but Jacqueline put me at ease.”
She continued with acupuncture throughout her pregnancy and Nancy was born at Coventry’s University Hospital on February 16, weighing a healthy 8lbs.
Jacqueline, an acupuncturist of 10 years, says she has helped more than 100 couples conceive over the years.
She endured her own fertility struggles before adopting a son, now aged 23.
She said: “It’s a two-way relationship between myself and the hospital, an example of conventional medicine and alternative therapies working hand-in-hand.
“The hospital sends people to me and I send people to them. It’s an honour, I’m proud to be part of it.”
UHCW fertility consultant Dr Rina Agrawal said: “I firmly believe in the vitality and importance of complementary care, which includes all of the services Jacqueline offers, supporting conception and assisted conception.
“Jacqueline’s counselling skills also benefit many of my patients, as she is a member of the British Infertility Counselling Association.”
For more information about acupuncture call Jacqueline Hurst on 01926 833019 or visit www.fertility-support.co.uk
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The traditional meditative practice consists of an array of terminology, breathing, concentration, and visualization techniques: xinzhai 心齋, or “fasting the heart,” zuowang 坐忘, or “sitting and forgetting,” cunsi 存思, or “focusing and observing,” shouyi 守一, or “concentrating on one,” xingqi 行氣, or “circulating qi,” fuqi 服氣, or “consuming qi,” taixi 胎息, or “fetus breathing,” tunai 吐納, or “expelling the old breath and drawing the new,” zhiguan 止觀, or “still at the active mind and reflecting,” zuochan 坐禪, or “sitting meditation,” neidan 內丹, or “the inner alchemy.” Among these most commonly appeared terms in the Classics of meditative practice, neidan is the representative practice. However, the term neidan should not be confused with the term neigong 內功, which is a rather vernacular term, for all “internally accumulated works,” especially referring to the practices of internal martial arts.
The Objective of Inner alchemy
In China as elsewhere, Alchemy is a doctrine aiming to endeavor an understanding of the principles underlying the formation and functioning of the cosmos. The Inner Alchemy, Isabelle Robinet remarks, “is a method of finding illumination by returning to the fundamental order of the cosmos.” (Robinet, 299) The term neidan, or “inner alchemy,” is used in contrast to the term waidan 外丹, or “outer alchemy.” In other words, neidan is the “human physiological alchemy” in contrast to waidan the “proto-chemical alchemy.”
While Alchemy creates the production of a specific substance of elixir through the chemical process in a laboratory setting, the Inner Alchemy pursues an inner elixir, or an internal “substance of qi” through controlling mind, breath, and body posture in the human body in order to prolong life, thus, man can transcend time and space. As Fabrizio Pregadio comments, the alchemist rises through the hierarchy of the constituents of being by accelerating the rhythms of Nature. Bringing time to its end, or tracing it back to its beginning, is equivalent. In either case time is transcended, and the alchemist gains access to timelessness, or “immortality.” (Pregadio, 2 Doctrines) One becomes what Zhuangzi calls a zhenren 真人 or True Man.
Most Taoist and Buddhist scholars argue that Inner Alchemy was thoroughly influenced by Buddhist thought, namely the Buddhist intellectual speculations, such as “being” and “non-being.” It is, in fact, completely Taoist reaction to Buddhism, while the nature of Buddhist awakening differs from that of the Taoist. The great Chinese Buddhist Adept Daoan 道安 (314-385) wrote: “The Buddhist teaching sees the emptiness of life, thus abandoning the body to liberate all sentient beings. The Taoist teaching sees the body as the ultimate, thus cultivating food and medicine for longevity.” (Daoan, T.52, 2103: 39a8.) Ultimately, Buddhism aims at absolute spiritual awakening, but Taoism pursues awakening through longevity.
Therefore, Inner Alchemy is a technique of enlightenment, not much a doctrine but a practice achieved by exercising the techniques of longevity. Taoist inner alchemists make it very clear that their ideas are different from the notions of Chan/Zen Buddhists. According to Taoist inner alchemists, Chan/Zen Buddhists only dwell on xing 性, or the original nature in its pristine purity, which they wish to attain in an intuitive and immediate vision. They neglect ming 命, or fate, life, which represent the resistance of corporality and gravity within human beings. Only when xing and ming are combined, they join in the “non-action which is the action.” According the Classics of Inner Alchemy, Robinet describes, without ming, xing will forever be stuck in inactive emptiness; without xing, ming will never attain perfect non-action. (Robinet, 323)
In addition to the philosophical synthesis of Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, Inner Alchemy primarily concerns the mind as much as the body. It adopts and integrates most importantly the heritage of: breathing and gymnastic practices transmitted beyond the times of Laozi and Zhuangzi, the visualization techniques of Taoist Shangqing school; the vocabulary of the Chinese proto-chemical efforts; the systematic cosmology and structural analogies provided by the School of Yin-yang and the Five Agents Theory; and I Ching and Chinese medicine. This integration is finally carried out by a spiritual-poetic tradition, which is what to be called the literati tradition.
The Symbolic Language of Inner Alchemy
Inner Alchemy uses two apparently contradictory systems in order to provide different and yet complimentary visions of the world by its symbolic language. On one hand is the binary system based on division—one—two—four—eight—all multiplicity of entire Being; on the other is the process of emanation and a dialectical pattern—one—two—three—all multiplicity of entire Being. Both the systems of intimate relations are superimposed by a principle fundamental to the scheme of the Five Agents.
The order of cosmos is represented by the union of two aspects of original Unity, Taiji 太極, or the Great Ultimate, which is the manifestation of Hundun 混沌, or the Original Chaos, or the Tao 道. Taiji corresponds to the two original principles of Yin and Yang in all multiplicity of entire Being. The binary system can be seen as the models of substance (ti 體), or noumenon (li 理), whereas the process of emanation can be seen as function (yong 用), or phenomenon (shi 事). The Yin and Yang division epitomizes Heaven and Earth, Dragon and Tiger, and Water and Fire, which are associated with the four primary trigrams of I Ching in the alchemical operation: qian 乾 ☰ pure Yang, kun 坤 ☷ pure Yin, li 離 ☲ Yang encompassing Yin; and kan 坎 ☵ Yin encompassing Yang. Qian and Kun, Li and Kan are, in cosmological terms, Heaven and Earth, above and below, the Sun and the moon, the left and the right; in alchemical terms, the Furnace and the Cauldron, Mercury and Lead and Dragon and Tiger as the basic ingredients; in human terms, body and spirit, heart and kidneys.
The process of emanation is based on Laozi’s cosmogony: “Tao gives birth to one. One gives birth to two. Two gives birth to three. Three gives birth to ten thousand things.” In alchemical terms, Tao is xu 虛, or the void, the void emanates shen 神, or spirit, the spirit emanates qi, the qi emanates jing 精, or essence, the essence emanates xing 形, or body, the body emanates ren 人, or human. In order to gain longevity, or to access to timelessness, inner alchemist has to rise through the hierarchy of the constituents of being by reversing the rhythms of Nature, tracking time to its beginning. Thus, alchemical process aims at bringing three to two, two to one, and one to void. When one returns to the void of Tao, the ultimate enlightenment is attained.
Three Structural Ideas of Inner Alchemical Practice
There are three essentially structural ideas borrowed from waidan 外丹, or “proto-chemical alchemy” operation to Inner Alchemical process: yaowu 藥物; or the medical ingredients, dinglu 鼎爐, or the furnace and the cauldron; huohou 火候, or the fire time.
Yaowu or the Medical Ingredients, three substances make the ingredients, jing 精, or essence, fluid, body; qi 氣, or breath, energy; shen 神, or spirit.
The first ingredient jing divides into two categories of the original and the derived: the original jing is given by one’s birth parents, and is stored in the viscera, whereas the derived jing is given by consuming nutrients from food. The original jing and the derived jing merged and understood by the practitioners as human body fluids, such as semen, egg, sexual fluids, saliva, other body secretions, hormones and glands, namely the subtle bodies of human body. Jing was given many symbolic or hidden names, among the most common ones: kan 坎, geng 庚, or the seventh of the heavenly stems, metal, si 四, jiu 九, or 4 and 9 represent the magnetic west, and the tiger, according to Hetu 河圖, or the River Chart, zhenqian 真鉛, or the true lead, baixue 白雪, or the white snow, jinye 金液, or the golden liquid, shuihu 水虎, or the water tiger, beifangheche 北方河車, or the northern river chariot, kanwuyuejing 坎戊月精, or the essence of moon at kan position (north) of Bagua, and wu, the fifth of the heavenly stems, earth.
The second ingredient qi also divides into two types; the original, and the derived: the original qi is called yuan qi 元氣, or primal qi existing since the beginning of the universe, while the derived qi is from the breathing, and the qi of water and food. When the original and the derived merge, zhenqi 真氣, or the true qi is formed. This qi ought to be understood as “configured qi,” and more subtle and essential for life than that of jing.
The third ingredient shen, or spirit is quite distant from its religious or philosophical definitions. It covers both of the activities of mind/consciousness and the functions of nerve system. The former is described as shishen 識神, or the spirit of knowing, the conscious activities and thinking process, developed in life and learning. The latter is called yuanshen 元神, or the original spirit, the unconscious functions of nerve system, the survival nature such as breath and heart beat. In the inner alchemical process, only the original spirit is considered as the ingredient. Again among countless given names, the following are commonly used: li 離, jia 甲, or the first of the heavenly stems, san 三, ba 八, or 3 and 8 represent the magnetic east, and the dragon, according to Hetu 河圖, or the River Chart, zhengong 真汞, or the true mercury, huangya 黃芽, or the yellow sprout, yuye 玉液, or the jade liquid, huolong 火龍, or the fire dragon, taiyangliuzhu 太陽流珠, or the flowing pearl from the sun, lijiriguang 離己日光, or the sunlight at li position (south) of Bagua and ji, the sixth of the heavenly stems, earth.
Dinglu, or the cauldron and the furnace, are the “range and vessel” in the inner alchemical process, which represent certain parts/locations in human body functioning as that in Alchemy. Most of the inner alchemical classics depict that the furnace and cauldron locate in the areas of dantian 丹田, or the cinnabar fields. The earliest cogent descriptions on the idea of dantian made by Ge Hong 葛洪 (283-363): “The Ultimate One (Tao) has names and demeanors. It is nine-tenths of an inch tall in man, and six-tenths of an inch in woman. It resides at two and four-tenths of inches below the navel in the lower dantian, or below the heart at jianggong 絳宮, and jinque 金闕, in the middle dantian, or between the eye brow in the depths (of the skull): the location of the first of the inch named mingtang 明堂; the location of the second of the inch named tongfang 洞房; and the location of the third of the inch named upper dantian. These names and locations are so crucial for Taoists, which only have been transmitted orally to those who have taken the “blood-oaths” generation after generation.” (Wang, 323)
Then again, very few texts articulate which, or where exactly the inner furnace and cauldron allocated among the three dantian, or cinnabar fields. In 1988, the Taoist scholar and inner alchemist Zhao Songfei 趙松飛 decoded and interpreted The Heart Transmission of Heavenly Immortal’s Gold Elixir for the first time, which is one of the few exposed and detailed Inner Alchemical manuals. According to Zhao’s studies, the position of the inner furnace and cauldron is located at shenque 神闕, inside of the body behind the navel area, which is near or above the lower cinnabar field. (Zhao, 242)
Huohou, or the fire time, is a technical term borrowed from waidan, which concerns regulating temperature and time of the furnace in Alchemical operation. Interacting of yin and yang, namely, interchanging the hexagrams of I Ching, represents this operation. Alchemical operation is also associated not only with the phases of the moon, but also with the cyclical signs of traditional Chinese time calculation—the heavenly stems and earthly branches signifying the hours, the days, and months—and with the rhythm of the seasons. These multi-correspondences are assigned with the Five Agents in their male and female aspects.
In the process of Inner alchemy, yi 意 and nian 念, or the intent and focus are the source of fire, breathing is the wind, or the source of oxygen. In other words, by means of intent and focus to regulate breathing patterns in order to manipulate, increase or decrease, time and level of functions of the subtle bodies (bodily fluids, hormones, and secretions of glands etc.) is the inner alchemical firing time.
There has been very little written on the technique of fire time. Even these received texts on the subject often are written in highly symbolic and hidden terms. For instance, Sanbai liushi zhoutian huohou 三百六十周天火候, or “the three hundred sixty orbit fire time,” Miaoyou zhoutian 卯酉周天, or “the mao you orbit,” mao is the fourth of the earthly branches, while you is the tenth. Because of the complexity and subtlety of the practice, the technique of fire time is transmitted to the student only orally under an adept/master’s careful supervision. As the Inner Alchemical classic Central Directions states: “Since the sage only transmits the ingredients not the fire, and there are very few who know the fire time.” (Fang, 717)
Four Stages of Inner Alchemical Practice
Theoretically, the inner alchemical process aims at tracing time to its beginning, and accessing to timelessness. In practice, the objective is to bring Three to Two, Two to One, and One to Void. In other words, utilizing jing (the essence of body), qi (breath), and shen (the spirit) as ingredients, the intent and focus as the fire, one circulates jing and qi through rendu 任督 channels and viscera repeatedly until the qi substance (elixir) is formed in the body (cinnabars), one then attains physical and mental health and spiritual harmony. There are four major stages leading the operation from grosser to subtler substances.
zhuji 築基, or construction of the foundations, is the stage described as selecting the ideal site to build the laboratory and furnace and caldron in Alchemy. It is a stage for inner alchemist to recognize the position of the inner alchemical furnace and caldron. Strengthening the body and mind (jing, qi and shen) is primary requisite. Practicing gymnastics (for instance, Eight Length of Brocade, Five Animal Play) and consuming herbal medicine often is the process of this stage. Curing then being free from physical conditions and illnesses, and harmonizing emotional and spiritual balance are essential. This stage is commonly characterized by the present-day popular Qi Gong practices. The preparation time of this stage, maybe months or years, depending on the individual’s health conditions. (Zhao, 235)
Lianjing huaqi 練精化氣, or refining jing to qi, is the stage to refine the ordinary body fluids or subtle body functions, for instance, semen, saliva, hormones and gland functions to something much more subtle and special, a much purer energy form. It is described in the inner alchemical terms as True Lead, Water Tiger, or the trigram Kan, which stands for water, or fluid. Jing is generally believed to reside in the lower part of the body, in the kidneys or lower cinnabar field. By practicing the specific given techniques on body posture, breathing pattern, and intent, jing is refined and transformed into the true Qi. The transformation takes place in the “furnace and cauldron,” which are formed by the specific techniques of visualization and breathing. As Robinet comments: “Inner Alchemy begins where the various exercises of the gross breath end.” (Robinet, 319)
In other words, the breathing techniques are specified. “To refine jing to qi, one must use the intent to guide the focused breathing, (or martial breathing, wuhuo 武火),” “the focused breathing is the breathing that one can be aware of.” (Zhao, 168) This stage marked by qukan tianli 取坎填離, or the inner lines switch of hexagram Li and Kan. According to the great Taoist Qiu Chuji (1148-1229), it is essential longhu jiaogou 龍虎交媾, to copulate the dragon with tiger, so the energies of heart and kidneys are fused, one sits straight with legs across, and breathes in and out with nose (along the “macro-orbit channels” xiaozhou tian 小周天). When one breathes in, the nature of the breathing is water. When one breathes out, it is fire. (Clear Directions on the Great Elixir, 695) Techniques such as Liuqi jue, 六氣訣, or “the oral transmission of the six type of (therapeutic) breaths,” visualizing the Five Beasts (cun wushou 存五獸) and traveling through the Viscera (lizang 歷臟) are often applied in the stage. However, in practice the six types of breaths, Kristofer Schipper, one of the top Western Taoist authorities urges: “The exact sounds of course impossible to reproduce in writing, they must be learned from a master.” (Schipper, 137)
Within about one hundred days, most of the Classics of Inner Alchemy state, one will be able to gather the true jing to the true qi, the pure energy form. In inner alchemical terms, jiedan 結丹, the elixir is formed. This phase completes Three to Two. The practitioner becomes wholly energetic and completely free from all physical conditions and illnesses. One thus becomes “Humanly Immortal.”
Lianqi huashen 練氣化神, or refining qi to shen, or yangshen 陽神 or the pure yang spirit, describes Robinet, is “the phase of yang-ization.” (Robinet, 319) It is the stage invigorating and elevating previously cultivated pure energy or the elixir from the lower dantian to middle dantian. The practitioner begins to activate the elixir by circulating the elixir downward along the ren channel, passing weilu 尾閭, then back up along the du channel, penetrating jiabei 夾背, yuzhen 玉枕, niwan 泥丸, going downward through queqiao 鵲橋, entering middle dantian or huangting 黃庭 to form the fetus, or jietai 結胎. This phase, completes Two to One, is also called the juncture of ten months.
Most practitioners apply the fetus breathing technique at this stage so that it dissolves the break of inhalation and exhalation. “When the elixir has fallen in the yellow court, I enter the great ecstasy 丹落黃庭 我入大定.” “To refine qi (the elixir) to shen, one should be oblivious of breathing, (or literary breathing, wenhuo 文火), such breathing is not in nor out, it is only born when I enter ecstasy.” (Zhao, 168) One enters a state of being so of oneself physiologically and alchemically, as the great Taoist Chen Chongsu 陳沖素 (ca. 13th century) advised: “at this stage, the (secret) oral transmission is: In concentrating one’s qi and bringing it to the utmost degree of pliancy, one can become an infant.” (Fang, 717) Once arrived at this stage, the Classics of Inner Alchemy describe, the practitioner will return/maintain one’s youth, attain full wisdom, and become an “Earthly Immortal.”
Lianshen huaxu 練神化虛, or refining shen to the void, is not frequently discussed in the Classics of Inner Alchemy, or in practice. It is the phase that completes One to Void. The practitioner reversed the rhythms of Nature, tracking time to its beginning, and returns to the emptiness, or the Tao. This final stage is called the juncture of nine years, the immobility that contains all action, and the non-action that follows from all the conscious practices undertaken earlier. It is a stage one dwells on xing 性, or the original nature in its pristine purity. Arriving at the stage is arriving at completely enlightenment, and becoming a “Heavenly Immortal.”
