What are "The six yangs" mentioned in, "The Secret of the Golden Flower"?

[AugustGreig]

I keep reading about the importance of the six yangs, or six dragons, as represented by the hexagrams. What does this mean? It is mentioned in many of the texts I am cross referencing as I study "The Secret of the Golden Flower." At the very least, what is the beginning? My understanding is that it means practicing spiritual principles in all of my affairs.

[dosa]

The six yang organs are made up of the gall bladder, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, bladder and triple burner.

It is more important to feel body temperature(yang 陽) than Golden Flower.

[Lataif]

On 9/16/2018 at 10:10 AM, AugustGreig said:

 I study "The Secret of the Golden Flower." 

 

I posted before about this book.  It's the best "direct method" text I've seen from the Daoist tradition . . .

Edited September 21, 2018 by Lataif

[Walker]

On 9/18/2018 at 9:17 AM, dosa said:

The six yang organs are made up of the gall bladder, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, bladder and triple burner.

It is more important to feel body temperature(yang 陽) than Golden Flower.

 

It's true that it is generally accepted in Chinese medicine for the last many centuries that there are six yang organs, called the 府/腑/fu in Chinese.

 

However, Daoist alchemy texts like Secret of the Golden Flower rarely place heavy importance on discussions of the fu organs, and I don't remember there being any in there at all (though it's been a few years since I read it).

 

Although I haven't seen the lines from the book that s/he is talking about, the OP gave us an important clue by mentioning that this was discussed alongside the hexagrams (卦). 

 

When Yijing hexagrams are being discussed in the context of Daoist internal alchemy, what is being mentioned is the way in which a person who is past his or her youthful prime in terms of primordial qi (元氣/yuanqi; this prime age for qi is placed sometime during the teenage years, different for males and females), there is a gradual diminishing of primordial qi that occurs while the person ages. Full depletion of this vital energy is usually said to have occurred sometime in middle age--again, different for men and women. The depletion of this qi means the depletion of one's ming (命). However, the teaching does not seem to be that you die directly as a result of this process--obviously people live past middle age. Rather, you continue to live, but sapped of the vitality that lends itself to excellent physical and mental health and which is also recognized by Daoists as being requisite for serious spiritual practice.

 

The presence of yuanqi in the body can be represented by unbroken yang lines (陽爻) in a hexagram. After they are "full" (the character for this is six yang lines, called 乾/Qian/Heaven), yin lines (陰爻) are depicted replacing yang lines, growing up from the bottom of the hexagram, one by one. When all of the yuan qi is gone, then you have a hexagram comprising six broken lines--it is 坤/Kun/Earth. 

 

Restoring all of the lines in the hexagram that represents you relative level of primordial qi happens in Daoist alchemy through the practice of ming gong (命功), those practices which don't simply promote "good health," but which actually allow you to "return to spring" in terms of your qi. To have accomplished this in ming gong can be represented by an all-yang "Heaven" hexagram. 

[AugustGreig]

7 hours ago, Walker said:

 

It's true that it is generally accepted in Chinese medicine for the last many centuries that there are six yang organs, called the 府/腑/fu in Chinese.

 

However, Daoist alchemy texts like Secret of the Golden Flower rarely place heavy importance on discussions of the fu organs, and I don't remember there being any in there at all (though it's been a few years since I read it).

 

Although I haven't seen the lines from the book that s/he is talking about, the OP gave us an important clue by mentioning that this was discussed alongside the hexagrams (卦). 

 

When Yijing hexagrams are being discussed in the context of Daoist internal alchemy, what is being mentioned is the way in which a person who is past his or her youthful prime in terms of primordial qi (元氣/yuanqi; this prime age for qi is placed sometime during the teenage years, different for males and females), there is a gradual diminishing of primordial qi that occurs while the person ages. Full depletion of this vital energy is usually said to have occurred sometime in middle age--again, different for men and women. The depletion of this qi means the depletion of one's ming (命). However, the teaching does not seem to be that you die directly as a result of this process--obviously people live past middle age. Rather, you continue to live, but sapped of the vitality that lends itself to excellent physical and mental health and which is also recognized by Daoists as being requisite for serious spiritual practice.

 

The presence of yuanqi in the body can be represented by unbroken yang lines (陽爻) in a hexagram. After they are "full" (the character for this is six yang lines, called 乾/Qian/Heaven), yin lines (陰爻) are depicted replacing yang lines, growing up from the bottom of the hexagram, one by one. When all of the yuan qi is gone, then you have a hexagram comprising six broken lines--it is 坤/Kun/Earth. 

 

Restoring all of the lines in the hexagram that represents you relative level of primordial qi happens in Daoist alchemy through the practice of ming gong (命功), those practices which don't simply promote "good health," but which actually allow you to "return to spring" in terms of your qi. To have accomplished this in ming gong can be represented by an all-yang "Heaven" hexagram. 

This is correct. I don't know what Ming gong was. Thank you. That little book is taking me forever with all of the other research I have to do. Plus, I'm going through it slowly because I get the idea it isn't for the novice to understand.