Asher Topaz

Been trying to find a a qigong technique or meditation technique for boosting brain performance but cant find anything. 

So I have been studying and reading about yoga and all practices involved in yoga. From my understanding its really a complicated science. I recently read about siddhis and how one can use samayama(dharana, dhyana, samadhi) to achieve siddhis based on the object they use for meditation. I was wondering how one can achieve the siddhis of supermemory and intelligence. My research led me to mantra from sarswati as one method that is used by yogis. I was wondering if there is an object one can use to perform samayama to achieve this siddhis like how we have samayama on the strength of an elephant to achieve supernormal strength. Or if yoga and pranayama practices can also give the siddhis of supermemory and intelligence. Thanks.

 I have been studying about human intelligence for a while and ironically its what led me to spirituality. I realized at some point it wasnt just about the brain. After studying buddhist and yogi techniques I came across certain methods. In shigon buddhism there is a mantra that Jkukai used to get supernormal memory and learning. In hinduism they use the mantra of saraswati to increase intelligence and memory. In patanjalis yoga they say samayama(dharana,dhyana,samadhi) on any object can grant u siddhis based on the object. However I dont know what object they use for supernormal memory and learning. Now I was wondering what will be the daoist method. Reason why I am curious about the daoist method is because Daoists are very logical and hyper efficient in creating their techniques that their methods are one of if not the fastest amongst all cultivation cultures. The reason why I want the siddhi of supernormal memory and learning is that I noticed that in the past this particular ability was very important to cultivators and their students. It seemed to help them see through the veil of what they were being taught and obey the instructions given correctly. Today most of us are of average intelligence which makes it tough for us to understand the instructions. Also imagine if u could learn languages like pali,sanskrit and mandarin quickly so u could read classics and original documents. 

I have been studying about human intelligence for a while and ironically its what led me to spirituality. I realized at some point it wasnt just about the brain. After studying buddhist and yogi techniques I came across certain methods. In shigon buddhism there is a mantra that Jkukai used to get supernormal memory and learning. In hinduism they use the mantra of saraswati to increase intelligence and memory. In patanjalis yoga they say samayama(dharana,dhyana,samadhi) on any object can grant u siddhis based on the object. However I dont know what object they use for supernormal memory and learning. Now I was wondering what will be the daoist method. Reason why I am curious about the daoist method is because Daoists are very logical and hyper efficient in creating their techniques that their methods are one of if not the fastest amongst all cultivation cultures. The reason why I want the siddhi of supernormal memory and learning is that I noticed that in the past this particular ability was very important to cultivators and their students. It seemed to help them see through the veil of what they were being taught and obey the instructions given correctly. Today most of us are of average intelligence which makes it tough for us to understand the instructions. Also imagine if u could learn languages like pali,sanskrit and mandarin quickly so u could read classics and original documents. 

Just now, Eduardo said:

 

To begin, know the basic form. I leave you a video where the initial form appears with the voice of the Master who created the Pang Ming system:

 

 

Thank You. 

49 minutes ago, Eduardo said:

 

You are possibly referring to the Zhineng Qigong system, which means Qigong of Wisdom or Intelligence.

Where can I learn more about it

2 hours ago, awaken said:

回答你這個疑問的最好的辦法，就是你自己練到那個程度。

但是只要你的思維停留在{氣功}的層次，那就很難找到答案了。

 

The best way to answer your question is to get to that level on your own.

But as long as your thinking stays at the level of {qigong}, it will be difficult to find the answer.

Thanks

1 hour ago, anshino23 said:

We discussed this here: 

 

I read it but there were no techniques listed. More like speculation. 

I heard there is qigong for improving brain function and intelligence called wisdom/scholarly qigong. However I have not been able to find much information on it. The only book I have seen on it is Mantak Chia's Wisdom Chi Kung. Also in Damo Mitchells book "The comprehensice Guide to Daoist Neigong" he describes that jing can enter the brain and improve brain function through the microcosmic orbit when it first opens. The brain functions on marrow and the more marrow it has the smarter it is. And jing is the building block of marrow. Also Yang qi at higher stages can pass through the zhong mai/ thrusting channel and enter the center of the brain and improve brain fucntions I think that's a samadhi experience. 

Lastly I came across Wang Liping's lineage. And started to read books like Opening the dragon gate and Ling bao tong zhi neng gong shu and they describe a technique for increasing intelligence called zhi neng gong. It is started after one has successfully practiced yi xian fa. They basically learn to develop inner seeing and awareness in an empty mind and use that inner seeing and awareness to solve problems. 

Are there any other techniques with more details describing scholarly/wisdom qigong.

54 minutes ago, freeform said:

 

 

Alchemy in essence makes the cultivation process possible for a larger number of people.

 

We have two ingredients - Qi and Concentration….

 

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes at some point in my studying of jhanas I realised that there was a difference between enetering those states and attaining them. There is physical and energetic change when you attain them which requires being in those states uninterrupted for a long period of time. Almost like ur waiting for the body to catch up.

I would like to know which book do u think has the best alchemy instructions. The best I have read is Damo Mitchell. He explains it well from direct experience. Unfortunately I can't get a teacher at the moment.

On 2/22/2022 at 1:02 PM, freeform said:

 

Usually entering and attaining Jhanna is only ever achieved at a lengthy retreat… sometimes the transformation period after attainment means that the person is not functional for a few months to several years. 
 

For instance at the juncture between attaining the 4th and entering the 5th there’s usually a long retreat where the meditator is sat in a kind of suspended animation for weeks, months even years. (No food, no sleep, no obvious body processes like breathing or heart beating apparently)
 

They have specific huts for this. Usually that master’s disciples need to watch over the master’s body during that period.

 

After attaining the 3rd Jhanna usually the meditator is also asked to take a retreat because they begin to affect people around them profoundly (resulting in mental breakdowns for most people). They also produce various light based phenomena around them which can get them in trouble.

 

So it can certainly be troublesome to be in society at this stage of one’s practice.

Generally it’s only ever the Daoists at this level that return to society - people from most other traditions tend to go into isolation or monastic life. From what I understand - there are not many Daoists at this level though.

So basically, jhana is the Buddhist version of alchemy. But its the opposite where it starts with a yin shen from quieting the mind which fills the dan tian with yin chi  to the explosion of yang chi that opens the extraordinary meridians in the body. Nan Huai chin and William Bodri talked about this. But every time I ask Daoist they say it cant be true. That their energy manipulation methods are the correct way and the Jhana method only leads to yin spirit  or dullness.

I started as a Buddhist practicioner cause I read on a reddit forum how Jhanas could increase human intelligence. For some reason as young as I could remember I always felt humans could be better and we were not using our full mental power. At some point I came across Daoism. I found their extremely datailed and logical approach quite fascinating. And in studying daoism I came across Bill Bodri who seemed to equate the 2 different traditions.

It almost seems like they are doing the same thing through different approaches. Someone said the buddhism achieves freedom from karma or enlightenment by making ones consciousness egoless while daoism seems to make ones consciousness so powerful that its karma cant pull it back to earth what they would call the yang shen.

Furthermore the jhanas and the transformation of the three treasures were seen as the same thing were first jhana body is full of jing hence the pleasure or what they call piti and sukkha. In second Jhana the jing transforms into chi. Hence the feeling of joy and loss of body awareness, By third jhana the chi turns to shen. Hence the contentment. By fourth jhana you reach emptiness. Hence the equanmity. Then the immaterial jhanas where one breaks the emptiness. And finally enlightenment where one unites with the Dao. What do you giys think?

So I came across qing gong from read martial arts mangas and manhwas. Amongst all the martial arts I saw in fiction I always found qinggong to be somewhat realistic even on a scientific level. With more research I came across shaolin qinggong training in the book "72 arts of shaolin". But most of the training was waigong. It seems the neigong aspect which uses internal qi is nowhere to be found and has been kept secret. However based on the descriptions I have seen I have guessed what it might be.

So qinggong is the art of light body gong fu. Basically u make ur body light in weight making it easier for u to jump high horizontally or move faster vertically. Now the training most people who know qing gong are exposed to are things like walking round a basket with stones inside and as training progress the stones are removed making it more difficult. An another one being jumping out of ditch and running accross a plank and making it more horizontal as you improve. But all are external methods. I believe that by looking at the external methods one can intuit what the internal method would be trying to achieve. 

So basically how I came to my conclusion was I imagined myself using qinggong to stand on water. I imagined myself weightless like a feather floating on water. I imagined this picture of myself for a long time. I thought it would be possible to reverse engineer how the skill works by imagining myself doing it. And weirdly I felt qi go to my feet. But at the same time I also felt the qi at my feet trying to generate some upward force that equals or negates my weight and I instinctively understood how it worked. It seems the first step is getting a large amount of qi to ur feet particularly your ankles and ur toes cuz thats where the qi really concentrated. The next part is the hard part. That qi u gather at ur feet is then used to generate upward thrust from ur ankles upward. That upward thrust is then used to counter ur weight or negate it. The more qi u have the more lighter u can become. So u use qi like a thruster on a rocket. The upward force generated counters ur weight making ur body feel lighter almost hovering a millimeter above ground. This technique is an internal technique that requires all eight extraordinary meridians to be opened.

Even in mangas and manhwas students are required to open all eight extraordinary meridians before u can begin learning martial art skills. In fact in mangas they are so strict about this stuff that they consider it a basic requirement. In real life the microcosmic orbit is already a miracle for most of us.

5 minutes ago, dwai said:

It is also a path one could follow to transform the mind. In fact, I’d say that tantra primarily works on transforming the mind (make it transparent). Body work is merely a stepping stone towards the mind/consciousness work.

But doesnt meditation that leads to dhyana absorptions transform the body gradually. Like shamatha-vipassana approach. Where shamatha is like the ming of buddhism and vipassana is the xing of buddhism. Shamatha transforms the energy body due to purification of mind. In the surangama sutra buddha talks of samadhi deviations that lead to immortality to his disciple Ananda under the topic "The destinies of Immortals". 

"“Furthermore, Ananda, there are people who do not rely on proper enlightenment to cultivate samadhi, but cultivate in some special way that is based on their false thinking. Holding to the idea of perpetuating their physical bodies, they roam in the mountains and forests in places people do not go and become ten kinds of immortals'"

"Ananda, some living beings with unflagging resolution make themselves strong with doses of medicine. When they have perfected this method of ingestion, they are known as earth-traveling immortals.
"Some of these beings with unflagging resolution make themselves strong through the use of grasses and herbs. When they have perfected this method of taking herbs, they are known as flying immortals.
"Some of these beings with unflagging resolution make themselves strong through the use of metal and stone. When they have perfected this method of transformation, they are known as roaming immortals.
"Some of these beings with unflagging resolution make themselves strong through movement cessation. When they have perfected their breath and essence, they are known as space-traveling immortals.
"Some beings with unflagging resolution make themselves strong by using the flow of saliva. When they have perfected the virtues of this moisture, they are known as heaven-traveling immortals.
"Some beings with unflagging resolution make themselves strong with the essence of sun and moon when they have perfected the inhalation of this purity, they are known as immortals of penetrating conduct.
"Some beings with unflagging resolution make themselves strong through mantras and prohibitions. When they have perfected these spells and Dharmas, they are known as immortals with way-conduct.
"Some beings with unflagging resolution make themselves strong through the use of thought-processes. When they have perfected thought and memory, they are known as immortal with illumining conduct.
"Some beings with unflagging resolution make themselves strong through intercourse. When they have perfected to response, they are known as immortals with essential conduct.
"Some beings with unflagging resolution make themselves strong through transformations and changes. When they have perfected their awakening, they are known as immortals of absolute conduct.
"Ananda, these are all people who smelt their minds but do not cultivate proper enlightenment. They obtain some special principle of life and can live for thousands or tens of thousands of years. They retire deep into the mountains or onto islands in the sea and cut themselves off from the human realm. However, they are still part of the turning wheel, because they flow and turn according to their false thinking and do not cultivate Samadhi. When their reward is finished, they must still return and enter the various destinies.

6 minutes ago, Vinh Ott said:

i tend to to say that  abosption unto something can be done with any object and the effect of the object through which dhyana is achieved differ by a wide margin it seems that a more intense object gets me more closer to the pure principle so when doing the light jhanas as an example a brigter object to stare at during the initial sign aquisition gives well a more clearer sign due to that principle being very dominant in a sense it simply blends out other objects, another example for the effect of diffrent objects to be absorbed into is the things it seems to grant as an example when using a the classical fire kasina even in the lower jhanas one is able to manipulate heat to some extend this may manifest as increased body temperature with the higher jhanas allowing also for circumvention of restrictions i find the 6th jhana expecial powerful for this if one keeps a sort of duality between form and formless dont get me wrong that jhanas full extend is indeed formless. it is also possible for a combination of objects to get absorbed into like deity visualisation tends to do or allot of tantric approaches afterall nothing in nature is ever just one object daoist approaches seem to focus on health related objects or objects that when used can lead to good health.as an example the light of the fourth jhana can be used to purify the darkness of the body doing so according to sutras grant the body flexbility and things like sitting in full lotus without sleep drink food for many days straight.there is also a whole lot to mastering a jhana ike length ascending and descending order skipping over jhanas.

Yeah your referring to the visuddhimagga approach to jhana. I find it quite interesting.

In the shurangama sutra he was referring to physical immortality. He considered it a deviation from the path. As such individuals ignored cultivation of nature and focused on life. Here is an excerpt from the sutra

The Ten Categories in the Realm of Seers (Rishis)

Ananda, there are men who, instead of cultivating the Samadhi of right Bodhi, practice (immortality) wrongly according to their false thoughts, thus preserving their thinking and bodies; they are fond of living in mountains, groves and uninhabitable places.

There are ten classes of them.

        Ananda, those men who diet (specially) to preserve their bodies and thereby live long through dieting, are called earthbound seers.
        Those who take herbs and fruits to preserve their bodies and thereby live long through taking medicine, are called flying seers.
        Those who take mineral products to preserve their bodies and thereby live long by means of alchemy, are called unhindered roaming seers.
        Those who regulate their (organic) functions to preserve their bodies and thereby live long by means of proper breathing, are called immaterial seers.
        Those who make good use of controlling their saliva to preserve their bodies and thereby live long by means of their glowing spirituality, are called heavenly seers.
        Those who feed on the vital principle of nature to preserve the essence of form, and thereby live long by absorbing natural purity, are called all-entering seers.
        Those who use incantations to preserve their bodies and thereby live long by means of occultism, are called seers of the (lesser) Tao.
        Those who concentrate on their thoughts to preserve their bodies and thereby live long by means of mental concentration are called illuminating seers.
        Those who practice the integration of (the positive and negative) principles to preserve their bodies and thereby live long by means of the spiritual harnessing power (of yoga) are called spiritual seers.
        Those who practice sublimation of their bodies and thereby live long by means of spiritual awareness are seers of the highest order.

Ananda, these men regulate their minds but do not practice the right Bodhi, and live for perhaps a thousand and ten thousand years; they live on high mountains or (desert) islands and cut off all worldly connections.

Also xing and ming lead to samadhi. However Bodri and master Nan have said you can go far in samadhi attainments faster than your body can trasnform.
 

6 minutes ago, johndoe2012 said:

 

I'm no expert but googling found this from dharmawheel

 

 

So realizing emptiness and dependent origination should result in the same transformation. I guess the focus on emptiness transforms the body in one way, the focus on dependent origination is different and results in a different transformation.

 

Depending on lineage it might involve different techniques (sutra / tantra / dzogchen).

Yeah thats exactly what I m saying. Emptiness is at the center of all spiritual cultivation including nei dan.And the path to emptiness leads to immortality.  And there are many traditions from buddhist to hindus to taoists. And each have thousands of lineages. I didnt even know buddhism had immortals unitl I read William Bodris and Nan huai Chin book "The World’s Best and Worst Spiritual Paths and Practice". He referred to the shurangama sutra and talked about immortals that used samadhi to ahive immortality. Then it clicked for me. That if nei dan leads to immortality and clinging unto samadhi states leads to immortality then they are probably similar in energy transformation.

12 minutes ago, johndoe2012 said:

Maybe you should read 'Internal Alchemy' by Livia Kohn.

 

There is a chapter on history and early lineages by Guangbao Zhang.

I m not against alchemy. In fact I find it fascinating that taoists shamans, sages and saints were able to discover, understand and share a logical framework for how the body can be transformed. I m saying that there are other ways to achieve immortality. Samadhi being one of them. Because in samadhi you let go of conceptions and thoughts and since you let go of all that clinging your mind body and energy are free to return to their pre heavenly state. The pre natal realm. Because the pre natal is free from all the clinging, thoughts and conceptualization of the post natal. Which is y in buddhism it is known that there are those who have held on to the samadhi state to achieve immortality because samadhi is a pre heavenly state.

2 minutes ago, anshino23 said:

Asher since you refer to Master Nan Huai Chin, maybe read his own words on the topic from his famous book The Diamond Sutra Explained... 

 

 

So how does one get the reward body(rupakaya) in buddhism. What cultivation techniques is he refering to. Cause master nan haui chin is not a fan of the taoist approach of nei dan. He always emphasis emptiness meditation and says zen cultivators are more on track than taoist cultivators.

2 minutes ago, johndoe2012 said:

All paths are not the same.

 

Anapanasati does not lead to creation of the golden elixir which Nei dan does.

 

It might lead to embryonic breathing but I find flying phoenix qigong leads to that on its own without focusing on the breath.

 

It is true that Anapanasati transforms the body due to the qi changes but I don't think the changes are identical to Nei dan.

 

Anapanasati and zuowang are more similar.

Its not the anapanasati itself its the dhyana absorptions. You can not achieve and stabilize them without alchemical transformations. thats y even buddha talked about people following a wrong path of using samadhi to achieve immortality in the surangama sutra.

16 hours ago, MIchael80 said:

Because ancient approach to neidan is not about samadhi. 

It is not about realizing the dao but about repairing the dao within a person by creating the pre-heaven elixir (re-unification of xing and ming) and only that leads to the neidan effects....

....People who achieve samadhi are not living hundreds of years nor are they healthy so not much transformation of the body has taken place.

 

There is no book that talks about the ancient approach of neidan. 

 

Freeform has also pointed out that in his neidan lineage samadhi is used to further the whole process by using "substances" that can only be accessed in samadhi...but samadhi is not an end goal nor does everything happen on its  own. 

Wrong. In the shurangama sutra buddha talks about people who achieve immortality using mental concentration(samadhi).Other methods are listed like wai dan in the form of drugs, diet and minerals. Also alchemey and qigong was listed. Including mantras, spells swallowing saliva or absorbing energy from stars. All lead to immortality.

2 hours ago, MIchael80 said:

No and no.

 

All these terms are very well defined within true neidan lineages. 

Xing is yuan shen 

Ming is yuan jing/chi

 

In neidan you only work with pre-heaven substances....if you work with jing and chi and shen you are still in the preparation phase and actual alchemy has not started yet.

 

Earl grey is spot on here. 😊

Yeah thanks for the correction. I made a mistake. Yes alchemy deals with pre natal only while qi gong and nei gong deal with post natal. However whats your opinion of samadhi/dhyana and alchemy. I believe they achieve the same thing. In the shurangama sutra where buddha communicates with students he lists ways in which people achieve immortality and samadhi was one of them. People who have achieved samadhi and are able to hold on to it which transforms their chi channels. Also alchemy was among. They called it movement and cessation. Qigong and stillness cultivation. There were also other methods like swallowing saliva, herbs, medicines and minerals. Although buddha considered it a wrong path since they did not cultivate their true nature (xing).

1 hour ago, dmattwads said:

 

Can you tell me more about "xing" and "ming" and how these are accomplished?

Xing has to do with consciousness. Realizing the emptiness is xing.Dhayana absorptions is xing. Taoist believe most meditation are about consciousness. They also believe you cant achieve or stabilise xing without ming. Ming has to do with the alchemical transformation of jing to chi to shen. However I believe that dhyana/jhana is not possible without ming happening. As you meditate on your breath I believe over time alchemical changes happen inside you to let you achieve those absorptions. Thats y u feel physical bliss in jhana.Thats jing turning to chi. By second dhayna chi turns to shen. By third dhyana shen turns to emptiness. Fourth dhyana is beginning of the formless realms of emptiness. But taoist believe ming can only be accomplished through actively manipulating the alchemical process. That it doesnt happen on its own. 

3 hours ago, dmattwads said:

What exactly is the Taoist niedan process? I hear it spoken about a lot without hearing what it is.

Its very hard to explain as there are lots of things about it. But the most common premise is the goal of achieving immortality through the refinement of jing to chi to and shen to emptiness. Going from a post heavenly state to a pre heavenly state.