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Dear Dao Bums, Intro: I was super stoked to discover this gem of a text today: 白羽黑翮靈飛玉符 - Báiyǔ hēi hé líng fēi yù fú - White Feather Black Wings Spirit Flying Jade Talisman In short, it supposedly originates in the Southern Period of the Eastern Jin dynasty (266–420). Contents: It presents a cosmological origin story of the text, supposedly also in secret language sharing its version of the secrets of alchemy (if one can decode it). Thereafter it's very short and to the point. It presents 5 talismans, one blue, one white, one red, one black and one yellow. For each talisman it shares the secrets of its cultivation: 1) name of the spirit cultivated, 2) years of practice required, 3) where in the "heavens" you can fly to upon completing its cultivation, 4) who the "recipient" of the talisman is, 5) where to put the talisman on your body to actually start your spirit flight, 6) color of silk to write it on, size specification for the silk, and where on your body to put it when cultivating, 7) direction of the 6 Jia and 6 Ding while cultivating. My interpretation: Based on my experience with internal alchemy as taught by Master Zhongxian Wu, nearly everything in the text is in code. Unfortunately I won't say I've reached a sufficient level to be able to interpret the text with full confidence, but I have some viewpoints I'd like to share. It would also be very interesting if any of you are Chinese speakers, to hear your understanding of the original, Chinese text. Many of the details given (years of practice required, where in the heavens you can fly to, recipient of the talisman, where to put it on your body, direction of the liu ding liu jia) are very simple to decode. It simply shows the element of each talisman. E.g. blue/green is Eastern qi, related to liver and gallbladder, your left side, and when it says you'll be adorned with a "blue/green" robe, it just means the color of the qi during your visualisation and the heavenly qi you'll ascend to/connect with. Number of years is related to numeroloy, and all the numbers give away the relationships with Trigrams, Hexagrams, Heavenly and Earthly Stems, Timing of the days, Seasons of the Year, Astrology, Meridians and Organs, in short the whole symphony of Chinese qi culture. What I personally loved about it is the simplicity. Just one mantra to be said before practice, then you do the visualisation for each talisman, and you're set. It will refine your body, organ, qi, jing, qi, shen, meridians, qi field, feng shui, everything all the way up to the immortal fetus leaving your physical body to take flight and explore the cosmic qi. One talisman for each element. Further, I'm super interested in astral travel, and this text alludes to it in great detail - feathers, wings, take flight. Of course it could be interpreted in many ways. The talismans are all called "xxx ling fei yu fu". Then replace the xxx with: Shang (blue), xia (white), zuo (red), you (black), tai (yellow). Ling I know also means "spirit" or soul, as far as I remember "ling qi" is the chinese term for the japanese Rei Ki, meaning universal qi. Ling also means soul - if a qigong master cannot make it rain (in the old days), it's said he hasn't got "ling" or soul. There's no soul behind his mantra, mudra, talisman and dance form, hence the Gods/Heaven/Cosmic Energy don't respond to his practice. Fei can also mean lung, relating to qi in general, breath, mist, vapor. The names also seem to allude to the 3 Hun Souls, shang, you & tai (tai guang, shuang ling, you jing) It makes sense that in out of body travel, it's the Hun that travels (as one Hun has our eternal soul which reincarnates, another Hun has the soul which remember all our past lives, and last Hun our intelligence). But I don't know what "xia" and "zuo" could be. Overall each name kind of "gives away" the true alchemical purpose (xxx ling fei yu fu), to refine each of our 5 elements to the highest degree, reshape our body in the shape of the universe (astronomical constellations), get our spirits back into our body (hun soul and organ spirits), using qi (the fei part) and cultivate ling or soul. Don't know if the "yu" could refer to the OG shaman king Yu who through stepping connected with the big dipper, the seven stars, yin/yang and the 5 elements, sun/moon and the 5 planets. Maybe it means that we will also fly in the cosmic qi like he did if we do this practice. Conclusion Any Chinese speakers who would like to give their understanding of the text? Any alchemy people out there, who could point to any living tradition using this text as their alchemy guide? Link: http://www.ctcwri.idv.tw/CTCW-CMTS/CMT01洞真部/CMT0102神符類/CMT0102ALL/CNDZ010205白羽黑翮靈飛玉符.htm

What is internal alchemy, anyway? Post your views/experience here. Here are some of my own thoughts on the matter: Internal alchemy practice is actually a specific type of 'system' with (at least fairly) specific goals, although those goals them self can appear rather vague such as 'immortality' and 'returning to dao', and different 'neidan' schools may define those goals somewhat differently. Although a neidan system may include some qigong and neigong practices and physical movement practices, etc., it will also typically include specific meditation practices with the specific purpose of achieving the goals of 'immortality' and 'returning to dao' and similar. Different qigong and neigong practices available out there are not necessarily at all (and usually aren't) 'internal alchemy'/ 'neidan' specific, although some such practices may have similarities or overlap to some neidan practices from some neidan schools. One problem is that throughout China's history, terms and concepts and practices from neidan systems have sometimes been borrowed and mixed in with other 'systems' which may have very different goals and views from neidan, so you can get martials arts or health/medical practices which may use some similar terms and concepts as used in neidan, but which may well be used somewhat differently. The point is, from what I have gathered, qigong practices and neigong practices which may have some similarities to some neidan practices, are not necessarily at all directly related to neidan, and they usually have quite a different focus. The whole thing becomes even more murky when you throw into the mix that there are different schools/sects which may include neidan or similar practices, but which may have quite different practices and views from other neidan systems. For example, some of those schools may have strong daoist religious aspects interwoven with their 'neidan' practices, and others may not. Therefore, there really is no clear cut right and wrong in all this, in my view. There is also the problem that during the Chinese cultural revolution, the Chinese people destroyed many Chinese temples and beat and killed many daoist and buddhists, and burned many books, etc, and forbade anyone from practicing such 'superstitious' practices. The end result was when the cultural revolution began to subside and the Chinese government began to allow daoists and buddhists and others to start these types of practices again under the close supervision and directon from the Chinese government , much had been lost, and people were left to try to piece together some of these systems and practices again. The takeaway from all the above is, from my perspective, anyway, there really is no clear cut way to say such and such a system is 'true and pure neidan'. This has helped open the door for various charlatans and self-deluded people to start offering and promoting various practices as being 'neidan'. Often such people will insist that what they promote is the only really 'authentic' practices, and they may spend a lot of time criticizing and putting down other systems and teachers to try to bolster up what they are offering. Some of these fakes and self-deluded people may only have read through some old daoist neidan texts and practiced some qigong practices and then declare them self to be an 'expert' on the topic, and start promoting them self and implying that they are some kind of very accomplished 'master'. Yes, in my view, it really is that much of a mess. So, what can an aspiring student do to potentially find a suitable teacher if they are interested in such things? In my view, you really can only use your best judgement and try to get to know the teacher for some time, if possible, and see if they seem to truly embody some of the principles and abilities they claim their system should bring. Can they answer questions in a clear and practical way, or do they just throw around more terms and concepts or become dismissive when asked questions, and seem unable to explain anything in a clear way? Can the teacher demonstrate in some clear and practical way that they have real accomplishments in what they are claiming to offer? Can this teacher provide clear details about their own teachers and lineage (there are self-proclaimed 'masters' out there who have made up their lineage and teachers). In the end, the aspiring student can only use their best judgement and try to find something which resonates with them personally. What some people may insist is a true 'accomplished master' may appear to be a complete fraud or self-deluded person to others, so in the end you will have to go with your own judgement. Keep in mind that traditional neidan practice would typically require several hours of practice a day as a minimum, and some (many?) neidan systems require celibacy, as well, so such practices are not really suitable for many people. What are your views/experience with neidan?

Hi all, I have been studying/practicing qigong/taiji/yoga for 20+ years, reading everything I can find. I also have professional training in TCM, with qigong/taiji training from multiple teachers, but I feel like it is time to take my practice to the next level. For now, I have only found Lotus Neigong and Ba Men Da Xuan online training systems. I know people say that this is something that we need a teacher for, but I don't live in an area where there are live teachers. For this reason, I am looking for a system that I can learn from books and videos. I would be able to travel from time to time, but really am looking for a complete system that I can learn mostly online. Is there anyone here that can vouch for either of the above systems or is there a better one that you could recommend? I am open to suggestions. TIA