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Hello everyone. In this thread I'd like to continue discussion about "if it is possible/impossible to get everything from Books" which has started here ( http://www.thedaobums.com/topic/43462-correct-words-of-patriarchs/) Back in time A.A. Khokhlov provided quotes from multiple Treatises where explicitly written that it's impossible to attain the Dao without the True Teacher (http://www.thedaobums.com/topic/42854-about-necessity-of-having-a-true-teacher/). This shows us that it's not a position of a single writer, but position of entire Traditional Daoism. I would say that if such great Patriarchs as Zhang Boduan, Liu Huayang and others were writing that one can't get full knowledge from books even if he/she is smartest and talented person, than its most likely they had reasons to write it. This is the position of the Tradition (and also my point) Thank you --- Regards, Arkady

I have created the thread about a month ago containing correct translations, but for some reason this thread disappeared and even mod team doesn't know where did it go... I had consulted with the administration and was advised to simply restore the thread by creating new one. Thank you. --- Arkady

Back in the times of the Song dynasty, there was an elderly military official named Zhang Bo-duan, a remarkable man, whose magnum opus, Awakening To The Real, gave rise to the venerated Southern Lineage of the Taoist alchemy. Being around 80 years old, and meeting his teacher in Chengdu, province of Sichuan, Zhang spent less than a year with his teacher, till teacher’s passing. In order to fulfill his teacher’s wish to disseminate the teaching freely and fully, Zhang first preached unsuccessfully, then wrote the Awakening, then recruited students, (which ended in a spectacular failure), so much so that Zhang swore never to teach in person again. Instead, he transmitted the Awakening, a book on the Buddhist-Taoist alchemy, which ends with a poignant Afterword promising a full transmission to anyone who studies it closely. The Afterword is a deeply moving passage, a magic window into the real Daoism of a thousand years ago. This Christmas, let us rejoice in celebrating the old man Zhang and a brilliant scholar, Paul B.M. Crowe, who gifted this gem to the public domain in the now oh-so-distant 1997.

Gui Zhen Society in Staten Island NY. Hi Every One! I'm Lin, been on the Dao Bums for ages now, and recently moved back to the U.S. from China. I re-established my cultivation school in Staten Island and am offering a number of cultivation methods I have been putting together over the last several years. One of them is called White Canopy Meditation, a.k.a. Jiu Wu Tan Gong (Nine Five Platform Cultivation). Its quite a lengthy description, so I wil leave a short one here and link you to my personal practice page for the full idea: White Canopy Description Also new to the martial arts world, as well as to the Qigong, meditation, etc world, my own expression of both spiritual cultivaton and martial art , Origin and Illusion (Zong Huan). Origin and Illusion: Zong Huan Peace and Blessings, Lin Ai Wei Gui Zhen Society, Pure Mind Center Pure Mind Center Blog

Hi, I have been interested in the metaphysical aspects of life for a little over a year now and thought this would be a great place to further my knowledge and practice. Does anyone know why I can't view the persson practice discussion? Btw my goals are to be able to do what this guy is doing if anyone can give some advice

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Hello Everyone, I thought I would throw out an opportunity for those interested in potentially having professional english translations of eastern alchemical texts. This is the original post from another forum: Translation Suggestions I am very interested in having more English translation of Eastern alchemical texts available to the public, however, my knowledge of these alchemical texts extends only to the ones already available in English. So, to the point: if there are any texts out there that you know of which would be a wonderful contribution to the Western understanding of Eastern Alchemical practices (internal and/or external; theoretical and/or practical), that you would like to see professionally translated into English, it would be my pleasure to add them to the pool of texts to be considered on the other forum (alchemyforums.com). Either that, or you can join the other forum and become involved first hand with the submissions

Hi everyone, I'm new here, as you can probably tell. My significant other has been a member for quite some time, and is quite active here, so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm quite interested in Alchemy, and I'm working on a few things at the moment. It'll be a few weeks before they're ready. Maybe, if all goes well, I could start some discussions about my projects. Heh, maybe if it doesn't, I could still talk about it and see if anyone has advice or something. I've read quite a few books on the subject, but I'm finally starting to actually walk the path. I'm one of those people who likes to know as much about something as they can before they actually approach it (I think it's my Rat nature, my Chinese Zodiac sign, lol). It's an odd topic, so I doubt here's the place to really go in depth on it. I'm also interested in Yoga. Mostly the philosophical, devotional, and mystic side of it. Not so much into Hatha yoga, seeing as how I don't have money for classes and I've seen people injure themselves doing it on their own. I perform Bhakti yoga, being devoted to lord Shiva. Y'know, puja, mudra, mantra, japa, etc. I feel as though the Shiva Sutras have made a pretty big impact on my life. I also decided to practice brahmacharya, so I've deleted all my porn, stopped going to dating/sex sites, and am trying to be more conservative about the type of media I take in. Heh, I probably sound like a prudish weirdo now, but I've got to admit, this is a huge change for me. I've also practiced witchcraft since I was about 13 or so. I was heavily into Wicca back then, but after many years I realized that it just didn't click with me. I didn't feel satisfied, fulfilled, or like I was making any personal/spiritual/psychological/whatever progress. Sure, I could cast some spells and get results, but it wasn't really making me "evolve", if you know what I'm getting at. I want to be a better person, bring good things to myself and those around me, and impact the world in a profoundly positive way. I feel like Wicca is a good way to feel good about yourself, and maybe get in tune with the natural cycles of the Earth, but I couldn't really find a way to get much deeper than that. Maybe it's just me, and if it is, that's totally fine. If the system works for you, I'm very happy for you! I'm not trying to negate anyone else's beliefs or systems, I'm just stating my own personal experience, that's all. I hope no one takes what I'm saying as an attack. All that said, I have found that some of the practices are pretty much the same regardless of what path you're on, and are quite effective for obtaining specific goals. So yeah, still in "witchcraft". Aside from that, I also make herbal medicine. Really into tinctures, salves, teas, etc. I've been told that some of my medicines are pretty effective. It makes me really happy to be able to help people. If I had some way to make that my life's work, I'd do it. Sadly, I don't see it ever being more than just a simple hobby. Anyway, I'm mostly here to see if I can get more insight into Alchemy and Yoga. Thank you.

"A person by the moniker of Insider claimed he was from a ruling bloodline and gave the people a chance to ask everything they wanted and Insider would answer. At first it looks like another internet hoax, some lightweight questions were followed by lightweight answers, but then things started changing drastically..." Read it here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/403303/The-Revelations-of-an-Elite-Family-Insider-2005 IMO this is a great text that does hold some value for the modern times. You can read it multiple times and pick up new things as you do each time, this shows it does contain truths. To me it sounds like this guy comes from a Western / European Alchemical Order, and does perhaps have a method of Alchemy.

Prof. Jerry Alan Johnson - 2014 Seminars During the beginning of March 2014, Professor Jerry Alan Johnson will come out of retirement and teach two exciting 3-Day Seminars in Monterey California. “In recent times, the original energetic techniques that were traditionally passed down from master to disciple in the clinic, are not being preserved or incorporated into modern acupuncture colleges. This is because many of these esoteric energetic techniques were considered to be “superstitious” by the Communist Party, and were rejected because of their spiritual connotations. It is sad to witness, that instead of creating intuitive energetic healers, most modern acupuncture colleges tend to generate sterile/mechanical “point by numbers” technicians. When I began my formal clinical training back in 1978, my acupuncture teacher shared several special techniques and energetic applications used for clinical application, that were passed down to him from his master. To date, I have not witnessed any of these clinical applications being taught to modern acupuncture students. These clinical techniques included special Talismans, Incantations, and Chants used while performing Acupuncture, Moxa, Cupping, Qigong Exercises, and when constructing Herbal Prescriptions.” – Prof. Jerry Alan Johnson. Medical Qigong Therapy Seminar 2014 (March 9th-11th) Clinical Talismans Used To Enhance A Patient’s Healing Day #1: Introduction To Clinical Protection1. Sleeping Dragon, One Through Ten Meditation & 3 Invocations • Upper Palate Seal and Tongue Positions • Hand Seals used to induce greater Energetic States • Important Images and Visualizations • Secret Incantations used to protect the student from absorbing clinical pathogens 2. Safe Clinical Purification Techniques • Important Preparations and Precautions Against Absorbing Toxic Qi from the Clinic • Sacred Sound Purification Incantations and Healing Talismans 3. The Art of Creating and Activating Healing Talismans • Important Preparations for Generating Healing Power • Secret Energetic Activation Patterns and their Clinical Applications Day #2: Introduction To Healing Talismans1. Special Needle and Hand Seal Applications used with ancient Healing Talismans • Activating and Imprinting Acupuncture Needles and Acupuncture Points • Activating and Imprinting Moxa Sticks and Moxa Cones • Activating and Imprinting Cups and creating Sacred Cupping Patterns • Wild-Crafting, Activating, and Imprinting Herbs and Herbal Formulae Day #3: Using Healing Talismans On Shen (Mind/Heart) Disturbed Patients1. When To Apply an Emergency Healing Talisman Onto A Shen Disturbed Patient’s Body • Preparations and Precautions • Sealing the Yellow Court and Removing Energetic “Hitch-hikers” Daoist Nei-Gong Training Seminar 2014 (March 13th-15th) Introduction to Esoteric Daoist Alchemy Day #1: Introduction To Daoist Alchemy – Understanding The Metaphysical RealmsThe Secret Teachings of the Three Bodies & Three Worlds • The Heavenly Treasures of the Sun, Moon, and Five Planets • The Earthly Treasures of the Mineral, Plant, Animal, and Human Realms • The Human Treasures of the Essence, Energy, and Spirit • The Creative Powers of the Body, Energy, and Mind (*Meditation Practice) 2. Daoist Magic and Immortality • The Energetic Formation Of the Universe • The Original Essence, Original Energy, Original Spirit • Returning To Your Original Nature (*Meditation Practice) 3. The Five Pure Lights • The Prenatal (Congenital) Virtues and the Channels of Light • The Postnatal (Acquired) Emotions and the Shadow Channels • Purging the Shadow Channels (*Meditation Practice) Day #2: External Solar, Lunar, and Planetary Elixir Cultivation Used to Enhance the Body’s QiCreating Celestial Elixirs Using Special Minerals and secret Daoist Talismans Gathering The Sun’s Essence (Used to Increase the Body’s Original Yang Qi) Gathering The Moon’s Essence (Used to Increase the Body’s Original Yin Qi) Gathering The Essence Of The 5 Planets (Used to Regulate the Body’s Original Jing, Qi and Shen) Day #3: Internal Elixir Cultivation Used To Balance The Body’s Yin and Yang Energies1. Special Meditations, Hand Seals, and secret internal applications used for cultivating the Stellar Essence of the Sun, Moon, and Five Planets for Cultivating the Sun Essence For more information or to sign up go to : http://goo.gl/xE0HIy

Here is a great tool to help any being affected by the typhoon. http://goo.gl/97CR2R In light, Dr. D

This was going to be a personal message to Drew, but I figured I'd get more feedback like this! Have you had any experience with internal cultivation methods that are classified as Yang to Yin rather than the conventional Yin to Yang process of transmutation? The standard nowadays seems to be a process of transformation beginning with the JING then transmuting to QI and then to SHEN, but what about methods that first start work with SHEN then build QI and then JING? The method we are most familiar with follows this pathway: JING to QI to SHEN, then you leap over TAIJI into WUJI. In this method we use the body to cultivate the energy (thrust) needed to propel the conscious SHEN out of the body and into the WUJI. However, long ago it seems there was a separation in the schools. One division came about the spiritual skills derived from meditation, well, through meditation, and when they reached the ultimate goal, they wrote down instruction manuals or transmitted their accumulated knowledge by word. But, there is another division, where Instead of passing on the information in word or written format, so that new disciples would have to start from JING to QI to SHEN on their own, the teachers rather used their established connection to the WUJI to directly connect their disciples' SHEN to the Wuji energy. In this second method, the disciples Bai Hui is opened immediately during the magical initiation carried out by the master and the energy begins to flow into the disciple from the WUJI, starting a SHEN > QI > JING process of transmutation, an inverse process to what we are normally used to! Disciples of such schools can directly connect to spirits and immortals existing in the WUJI for guidance and for energy. Further more. And this is quite interesting! It seems that practitioners of these schools, do not need to stop having sex. They can continue their sexual lives far into the practice of the school and manifestation of all manner of spiritual skill. The only other one I know that claims to do this is Mo Pai. When having a conversation with one practitioner of the system, a practitioner of over 20 years, he explained to me that JING is not semen. Ok, so I could agree with him on that, but it still didn't explain why us "normal" alchemy dudes had to meditate so much to cook the JING. And then it hit me! JING > QI > SHEN > QI > JING it is a closed loop system that works bidirectionally. All three of the treasures are actually the same one primordial energy but vibrating at different levels. So we make JING vibrate faster so that it begins to climb up the electromagnetic spectrum and produce QI, and then we vibrate QI higher up the EM spectrum to produce SHEN. (I know some people will say that's not possible! That you need to develop the ability of the body to process and digest and use energies of higher vibrations or you can cook your innards! But why? We have sunlight that we can't touch but can see and it interact with our body every day. We have radio waves of all sorts of frequencies travelling through our bodies from every which direction. Sure we haven't developed enough to seem them, but can you say they are not influencing our body's energetic function?) So you can manually increase the vibration of WOOD (JING) by rubbing two sticks together to create FIRE (QI) which emits heat and light (SHEN). There it is, JING QI SHEN. Conversely, you can use concentrated light to create fire to burn wood. SHEN, QI, JING! You can literally start the alchemical process from any of the treasures. You can start from JING or from QI or from SHEN. One will feed the other and they will nourish each other in the loop system. Which one we start to ACCUMULATE depends on whether we can find a resource for the respective energy. And what's the most common resource for us? - Of course JING! - So that's what we do, we accumulate that first, but with the reverse method, they get an infusion of SHEN by letting the master connect them directly to the WUJI through the Bai Hui so they can suck SHEN in. The process is completely reversed! Because of that, these guys don't have to stop having sex and rely on the JING to build the system but the SHEN instead, because that is where you start from! I suspect that this is how the Xiao Yao Pai system works, and once practitioners are initiated by the master, they immediately open their Bai Hui and connect to the Wuji to communicate with spirits and interact with SHEN level energetics. As you may know there will be an initiation event in London for Xiao Yao Pai next month. There will also be one in Virginia in the USA, you might be interested in checking it out if you live in the USA. I've heard some remarkable things from a number of different members practising the system. If you can make it to London by next month, check out the event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/345257788909902/ Please share your thoughts.

Hey dudes, I've read enough frustrating threads where there are big misunderstandings because people use old cryptic terms like "jing", "shen", "yin", "yang", "yuan chi", "immortality" and so on. In different schools and lineagues there are different understandings of these terms which eventually lead to strong misunderstandings and this prevents a mutual understanding and a fruitful discussion that could further a deeper understanding of the truth that lies behind the goals and methods of those old traditions which are occupied with achieving "immortality". Some guys even just want to mesmerise other people by indulging in cryptic terms and statements, which only prevents any progress at all. Therefore I want to "cut the crap" in this thread and want to try to analyse with you guys/gals the goals of and the methods that lead to immortality of the different traditions from a modern pov, in modern terms and with logical understanding to carve out the similaries of these different traditions to be able to conclude a synthesis which explains logical in modern terms what immortality is and how it can be achieved. ("Cryptic" terms can be used in this discussion, but please make sure to explain them appropriately, so everyone can understand what you mean! This thread is thought to lead to further and deepen understanding, not to spread mysticism!) Let me try first: 1) What does the traditions mean with "immortality"? Immortality means the survival of the conscious functioning personality forever and beyond bodily death. So this seems not to be a given in the theories of these traditions compared to the theories in the abrahamic religions for example! This goal means either that the personality survives in some sort of stable personal energy field that will "hold it together" or that the person's body doesn't die or that the person even transform its body into energy and includes this energy to create "a stable energy field". Other traditions claim that the conscious personality could "endure" when it fuses with a greater energy energy field that permeates the universe ("tao"). 3) What happens to people who don't achieve that goal? Their conscious personalities cease to exist, one way or another. This is the end result of a life-long leaking out or wearing down of the person's energy and usually happens at the point of bodily death. Some traditions claim that the conscious personality simply goes out like a flame (which could be compared to the dominating opinion of modern science) or that their energy scatters completely and therefore their structure get's destroyed, others claim that they get born again as other persons or animals with a wiped out memory. Other traditions claim that only a "downgraded" version of the personality survives death as a "ghost" who is very limited in its cognitive functions. 2) Why and how do the traditional methods actually work or are supposed to work? The "energy" of a person is thought to be limited and to leak out via sexual activities, mind activities and simply all activities in life. Therefore the traditions have developed their theories of how to stop the leaking out (via methods of "consolitation" of energy) and of how to refill or restore the stock of energy a person has to the level of a newborn or even beyond. "Consolitation" of energy would mean for example to store energy in a closed room (like "tantien") or to fuse different volatile energies which tend to "evaporize" or "leak out" to a more stable energy ("the fusion of shen and jing", "kan & li") or to a primal precurser source energy of these energies. "Refilling" or "restoring" energy can include "reversing" the energy flow from out to in to bring in outside energies into the personal energy field or by the transfering of matter into energy and infusing it into the personal energy field or stock. Please share your own insights and opinions! The more these are thought through and explained in modern terms, the more helpful and understandable these will be for the other participants of the thread!

A question for Taomeow and other taoist alchemists: Taomeow: I've read in several places your take on taoist alchemy--that it is a process of turning shen to chi, and chi to jing and not the other way around. That makes sense to me so my natural next question is how. What schools follow this progression and how can a person tell if a given practice is going in this direction? I've mostly followed two different paths, healing tao (a la Michael Winn) and Kunlun/Yi gong, and while I feel great benefit in both approaches I'm not sure whether or not either of them does what you are talking about. The healing tao approach is explicitly alchemical, there are different levels of kan and li etc. Thing is I suspect they are going from jing to shen rather than the other way around. As one progresses from one level of kan and li to the next the process takes place at progressively higher levels within the body. So you start in the lower dan tien, move to the solar plexus, heart, upper dan tien etc. Also, is it your view that kunlun ignites an alchemical process that goes from shen to jing? It seems profoundly opening and centering to me but I'm not sure if it's meant to be alchemical. Thanks in advance for anybody whose practiced these or similar methods and wants to shine light on these issues!

Unity, openness The heart's desire Silent island In a sea of jewels. Unity, Openness, the Heart's Desire; Silent Island, Sea of Jewels Unity, openness is "everything, empty". The heart's desire is "nothing isolated". The shining mind is the "silent island". The flowing wheel is the"sea of jewels". Not craving admits no separation, so selfless impersonal awareness can swallow potential completely whole within oneself. This is called taking over creative evolution and is the meaning of "reversal", whereby the world is used to refine, not gratify, the self. As the dissolution function is the substance of the flowing wheel, you are able to contain this killing energy in silent stillness because stillness isn't really still when it is used to take over potential in order to reverse the light to shine it back on its source. The secret of "everything, empty" is in "before". Afterwards, nothing is isolated so you keep potential sealed by not following habitual mental and emotional patterns. "Everything, empty" involves "effort" which is contained in the meaning of the third hexagram, Difficulty. The secret of "nothing isolated" is "after". Where before there was effort, afterwards there is innocence. Darkness, the fourth hexagram, shows how raw potential is refined through stopping in danger. Effort coming first, detachment following later, is fortunate. Mixing up the order is the ordinary flow of delusional conditioning. This is disaster, the aftermath of folly, arrogance and greed. Doing "before", and only then allowing "after", is the effective method for reversing the light of created energy cycles. When the evolutionary process is applied correctly, it becomes the basis for refinement of the true self, outside the matrix of time. It is a natural process. Oblivion is ignorant darkness, whereas awareness of hidden potential is true darkness. This must be kept tightly sealed, not letting in any light (thoughts). Inside Darkness, there is truly nothing we can know. It is like climbing into an unknowable realm where everything is empty. Actually, what is "done" is non-doing, because the self being refined is a mystery. Any willful, arbitrary actions at this time destroy all that has gone before, so this phase relies on unceasing correctness. This is expressed by the sixth line of the forty-sixth hexagram, Rising: "If you can be correct, rising up into empty darkness is possible." This refers to completing one cycle of energy (consciousness) refinement. Silent still darkness is just the light itself, shining back on the source of awareness. Innocence is the silent stillness of nondiscursive observation~is this not hidden light? When "nothing isolated" has no attachment to "nothing isolated" it becomes "everything empty". This "everything empty", "nothing isolated", "before" and "after" all arrive at the result beyond time because sameness is like having no beginning. Where there is no beginning there is no such mind. Isn't this the same as Bankei's "Unborn Mind"? Not one, other, neither, nor both, this realm is none other than the impersonal living awareness inherent in the shining mind, manifesting by virtue of reversing the light in one's own body in every-day ordinary situations. How is it possible for one to turn the flow of killing dissolution into a sea of jewels without first refining the self in order to meet the energy of created situations by your own skillful means within selfless potential? One simply refines the self of habitual patterns of thought and complacency, gets rid of selfish motives and ideas of one's own abilities and wears down the psychological momentum of the personality until it completely ceases. One uses one's ordinary existence to accomplish this. ed note: didn't like the "alchemy" tag; unsuccessful in getting rid of it…