freeform

Good question. Sung is of primary importance in all of Daoist internal training. The key is to first understand sung... it's releasing, but not a floppy sort of release... It's an 'active' release... it has an alive, springy feel to it - not soft and floppy. Think of a flower bud tightly compacted... as it releases, it actually opens up and expands outward - the petals are sung - they're not contracted, they're relaxed, springy, alive and they're not floppy like when they wilt. The next thing to understand is that there is always more sung available... You release, sink and as that opens your body a little, another layer of sung makes itself available. It never stops. Standing is a good way to train sung, but there's definitely a glass ceiling to it. as Miffy says, you need to move too. In fact, in the beginning, you should move more than stand. As Ride says, you need to release into the correct structure. If you just sung, without having the correct structure, you'll just relax into your habitual posture. You probably know this already. But it's important to always remind yourself of the correct posture. When standing, Ting and Sung work together. Ting is the 'scanning' you're talking about... but this also needs to be studied... Ting means listen... which is a passive sense - scanning suggests 'looking for' which is active... Ting, once it's developed in quality will have an intensity 'dial' to it... When you ting through a correct structure, it will systematically engage the 'soft tissues' (not muscles)... this will connect your body together. Then you sung into that connection... the expansion as a result of sung will slightly loosen your connection, so your ting must go deeper, re-establish the connection - then you sung that... then you ting that in turn... and so on The intensity of ting is important to get right - too intense and you'll cause too much 'activation' - too gentle and you'll not cause enough activation... So as you can see it's a very in-depth study. To build skill in Sung with movement, you can learn a lot from this video... there is unfathomable depth to it if you're obsessive enough to pursue it.

That's a very common, and particularly damaging misunderstanding... It's like calling the yolk of an egg 'feather essence'... You (or the translator) have misunderstood the classics - or their context.

Completely agree. Every person carries defilements within them. There are no fully virtuous people - and no completely non-virtuous people. That’s not the case in my experience. I’ve seen people with great skill, but low virtue. Though I agree that in a traditional lineage these characteristics should and usually are weeded out. Negative characteristics are present in all of us, and cultivation can either increase them, or transform them into virtue.

And avoid the xie qi (pathogenic Qi) that always gets transmitted between reiki healers and their clients (in both directions).

I like what you have said. But I think it's important to point out that the bit in bold is not necessarily so. In fact, it rarely is. Developing virtue is a practice in its own right - and it doesn't automatically come with spiritual cultivation. In fact, at certain stages in the process, the exact opposite can and does manifest... That's why there are so many creepy, gregarious and non-virtuous Daoist practitioners with skill out there. (And just as many - if not more, from other traditions - so it's certainly not exclusively Daoist!)

Little kids have always pretended to kill each other.

There are many layers. Some Wuxing forms focus on the denser more physical tissues (the lines of fascial tissue that form the meridian network - the jing jin lines). Some aim to build/connect these. Some aim to purge these. Some aim to move qi through these. Some aim to 'thicken' the qi through these. Some aim to strengthen these. Some aim to get your mind into these. That's just on the level of the more physical... Some forms focus more on the Qi level... Some forms focus more on the organs than the lines. Some even focus on the '5 lights' - that manifest these systems in the first place... So the simple answer is that 'it's complicated' If you have a genuine teacher that is taking you through a specific process, then s/he will use these things as tools to affect specific changes that are necessary at specific points in your process. Some teachers are happy to explain. Some rather not. Some just don't know why they're doing what they're doing. So it's tricky. I always prefer the ones that clearly explain what's happening - but that's just me. If you have a teacher that rather not talk about these things, just look at their level of accomplishment... and their level of virtue and skill... then look at the senior students... If skill, virtue and accomplishment is high in both students and teacher, then just shut up and do If not - just find another teacher

I’m actually talking about breathing practice - not meditation. For the teachers who taught me this ‘classical’ method of breathing, ‘Meditation Practice’ only starts at samadhi - everything before that is not meditation, but sitting practice. They’re very strict 🙄 The Daoist approach seems on the surface to be similar to anapanasati - but it’s not. When you properly absorb into the breathing process (not just the air moving in and out!) - your breathing changes by itself (over time). There are 5 classical qualities that develop (different schools have different numbers, but generally they fall into 5 categories). Once these 5 qualities are present, the other breathing ‘methods’ will arise spontaneously. Such as reverse breathing, Dantien breathing, breath cessation etc. Now there are indeed auxiliary practices designed to increase lung capacity, free up the diaphragm, increase the space and flexibility in your ribs etc. These are manual and very physical exercises - not proper breathing practice - once these exercises are done, one returns to absorption into breath. Saying all this, I’ve certainly done contrived breathing practice with different teachers. But the one method that made the biggest impact on my breathing and my ability to get into meditation has been the one where you leave your breathing alone - just absorb your awareness into it in a very particular way.

i respectfully disagree but me being just myself what do i know) You practice Taiji from what I remember - are you one who believes that Taiji is some ancient art? It's not. It's (relatively) modern - yet its depth as a martial art is unparalleled - and it's certainly not 'fake'. It does follow principles that are ancient though. i respectfully disagree but studying those for just 20 years what do i know) You're right - you have way more experience in studying the classics than me - I'm under no illusion about that. But respectfully, I trust the opinion of a violinist who can play the violin a hundredfold more than one with 20 years experience of reading sheet music. Our difference in opinion stems from: I think that having a skilled teacher is paramount. You seem to think that there is no such thing as a skilled teacher. Maybe you did manage to learn how to 'play the violin' by reading sheet music - you've shown no evidence of that though... And even if you can - how do you know that what you're playing is 'music' and not just noise - having never heard a live violinist play? http://www.scholarsage.com/tag/ping-heng-gong/ Looks like it's taken from the subjective experiences of a student - with all the perceptual errors inherent in that... yet still, it doesn't talk about absorbing or ingesting qi from a tree. I agree) care to dispel it? Sure - but I'd have to show you - in front of a nice pine tree preferably Let's just say that Ping Heng Gong works on the principle of 'Qi as information' rather than 'Qi as substance'.

Great - thanks for that. 1. Ping Heng Gong has nothing to do with ingesting external Qi. This shows a major misunderstanding. 2. Classical texts generally don’t describe practices - they describe required qualities, signs of attainment and errors. The practices to build the qualities, attain the signs and avoid the errors should be taught by teachers. 3. This. I think here’s the crux of your disagreement. You have a strong preference that colours your understanding. All living teachers are modern. Modern does not = fake. You practice a rather modern art yourself. The teachers I’ve learned Ping Heng Gong from are not famous and they certainly wish to remain that way. I’ve learned this practice (or other very similar ones) from two different lines... and nothing to do with WLP 4. Your personal experience is still very much a mystery PS. Nice comics PPS. The trouble with ‘British Humor’ is that it’s missing a ‘u’ Otherwise it’s great.

Ok... I think I might have ascribed more of a sense of humour to you. But I guess it just shows how little we really know random people on the Internet How do you know?

I thought it was pretty clear - ‘weird shit’ It depends very much on how active your Dantien is and how open your channels. For some people no weird shit, for others very weird shit. Just give it a try and see I guess

And the middle field in alchemical training (or in congenital forms of Neigong) generally isn’t located at the heart region - just to complicate matters The answer to the OP is - no - work on the lower Dantien first (as in for the first decade of daily, disciplined training)... You’ll know when to move along.

Working with trees is a big part of the Longmen tradition as well as other northern Daoist sects. Trees are considered yin in nature. So when you feel yang stimulated, it is your own yang Qi, not the tree’s. Don't practice (or get into a Qigong state) with bare feet on the ground (unless it’s for a very particular reason). This basically drains your yang Qi into the ground. It might feel nice and relaxing - but that’s because you’re being drained. Always practice either with shoes or a mat between you and the ground. Yin Qi passes through these insulators with no problem, but it keeps your yang Qi in - which is what you need for your cultivation. Generally trees either help to purge pathogens from your body (xie Qi) or they help to nourish you. Generally during the day time the trees will purge you and when the sun is down they will nourish you. There are various correlations of what trees work on what parts of your energy system - but in reality, I personally never found this to be the case. It seems a lot less ordered like that... individual trees of the same species will work with you very differently for example. When picking a tree, size and impressiveness is not particularly important. You want the tree bigger than you. You want the trunk to be straight... I find pine trees particularly good in general... if you know how to find ‘dragon lines’, pick trees on a dragon line or even where two dragon lines cross. You’ll notice a substantial difference There are various postures used to connect to the tree. If you have an active energy system it doesn’t matter too much how you connect though. Ideally stand 3 feet from the trunk, sink into your school’s wuji pose and get into the ‘Qigong state’... then extend and your fingers out and towards the centre of the trunk... stretch inside and ‘touch’ the Qi of the tree. Once you’re connected just let the tree lead. Some trees will pull you in, some will push you away. If you get pushed away, take the hint and find another tree If you get pulled in, just relax, let go and let the tree do it’s thing... don’t be surprised if weird shit happens. Stay in a secluded, private spot for this reason 😬 enjoy!

We keep circling this issue... and the issue as I see it is the idea of ‘free will’. According to most traditions there is no such thing. People generally run on autopilot. There are many variables that account for the direction of the autopilot. Some of these major variables are so ‘big’, so influential, span such great lengths of time, that it’s completely invisible to us - like water is invisible to fish. One idea, is that of the Yugas - the spans of time that affect the direction of the autopilot for the majority of people... We are currently in the midst of the Kali Yuga - the age of ‘endarkenment’... which is not as bad as it sounds I, personally think... it’s basically a movement away from spirituality. A movement in exactly the opposite direction to spirituality. A movement towards materiality. A movement towards our base desires - sex, power, survival. Which actually has created a lot of material prosperity... given more people power... and added a bit of sexiness into the mix From the spiritual perspective though, now is the dark age - it can’t get worse than this. There was a ‘golden age’ - where enlightenment was possible by simply gaining insight... people lived with great vitality and health... our bodies and intellect were sharp, clear and vibrant because we were supported energetically... Virtue was the norm - not the rare diamond it is now... apparently, even our life spans were measured in the hundreds of years - not in decades (whether literally or not, I’m not sure). For me, the interesting part of all this is that some of the spiritual systems that we have access to nowadays are said to have been specifically designed by the great sages of the past to actually counteract this dark age... these are the systems that are seemingly far ‘slower’. They are the systems that take the slow, complicated path, rebuilding the body, transforming the energetic functioning, training the mind and creating deep reservoirs of energy and vitality to actually fuel our spiritual pursuits. None of this is actually ‘spiritual’ in itself - it’s all just preparation - all just to get us to a state where we’re strong and capable enough to even begin true spiritual cultivation... For me personally, this is the biggest takeaway from the Yuga teachings. Am I going to change society by complaining how mindless and desire led everyone is? Is being judgemental really the solution? Or am I going to change things by falling into nihilism? Well maybe? I don’t know. But I think a better idea for me, is to change my own nature. To follow the example given by the old sages and transform myself out of this darkness, and then, maybe, I’ll have some way to actually help rather than simply react...

A little too vague to comment on I'm afraid...

Has anyone mentioned Kali Yuga?

In case you’re planning on doing any YJJ based art - heavy weight work will stop any progress on developing the ‘internals’... I had to stop all weighted (and even some of the more extreme bodyweight) exercises to carry on with my teacher

Contrary to popular belief, the ‘real stuff’ is rarely relaxing And often becomes less relaxing as you progress... eg. I have to sit on a doubled up bath mat, incase the martial fire breathing starts - to soak up all the sweat. That and I have to be careful around the cats - they are not fans of yang Qi!

Just to interject with the Daoist approach to breathing... Most authentic systems will strongly emphasise not to make any contrived changes to your ‘natural breathing’. Actually the changes come about from ‘Ting’ - absorptive awareness of the breathing process. If you practice it, you’ll notice that all the breathing ‘methods’ spontaneously appear at certain stages by themselves - this even includes reverse breathing, martial fire breathing, embryonic breathing and breath cessation. Any contrivance will create a split in your ‘breath’ and ‘mind’ and the proper conditions and qualities will not be produced - but just imitated.

These things can be quite mechanistic in some ways. For example the Japanese Samurai’s ritual suicide - seppuku - was designed to free one from the possibility of a bad rebirth or existence in a hell realm... The one committing seppuku would cut open their Dantien (as is their duty) and enter a well practiced meditative state (Jhanna) while a friend would stand over them and watch for the signs of Jhanna arising and would cut off their head at that precise moment - so that they die in the Jhanna state - guaranteeing a fortunate rebirth. Much of the spiritual work is preparation for death...

Oh it gets worse... Even when one is murdered - by strangulation or by hanging, it is considered that the Po soul cannot escape with the last breath and so drags the Hun (the ‘human’ element of your spirit) down to the hell realms too.

Not sure myself - just relating the perspectives of these traditions... Although it’s worth pointing out that the concepts of Ming and Karma are a lot more sophisticated than the Christianised notion of judgement from some external source.

I think you’re referring to Jiang Feng. He did have a high level of skill through YJJ training... He was the adopted son of Xuan Kong who was very highly achieved. Jiang’s focus was on healing and not on spiritual development and from some of what I’ve heard - although he was an excellent healer, he also had questionable ethics. As far as I know he died during a healing treatment. Mistakes at this high level are often fatal...

If you do want to experiment with living again, one of the best things you can do is volunteer to help others. Whether it’s volunteering at a shelter, a needle exchange or a soup kitchen - it doesn’t matter. Its pointless to explain why this has an almost immediate effect in bringing vibrancy back to life. You just have to try. Find the closest volunteering opportunity near you and give them a call.