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exorcist_1699

Differences between TCM and Daoist Alchemy

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There are many differences between Daoist alchemy and TCM / Acupuncture , people who come from the Acupuncture or TCM background  may already have sensed them , and be perplexed by them , so  some explication seems to be necessary  :

 

1) TCM is for healing diseases or delaying aging , Daoist alchemy is for getting rid of aging and for immortality , both physical and spiritual as they are inseparable ( the socalled Xing and Meng dual cultivation);

 

2) While mastering TCM  requires you to know well the 14 channels and  those acupuncture points on them , Daoist alchemy ,as a concentrated , simplified version of TCM , focuses only on the DU and Ren channels ; and , what  you need to know are those few  acupuncture points on the DU channels that will potentially make you stuck when doing the Micro-Cosmic Circulation . ( Notice that the Macro-Cosmic Circulation is not  classified  as your qi spreading from the DU and the Ren channels to other channels, but as your internal  qi spreading outside of your body , linking it to the external energy )


3)Different from acupuncturists who pay attention to channels and acupuncture points , the three Dantians ( low, middle and upper) , areas where qi  likely arises , are what the Daoist alchemy practitioners interested in. Dantian is  always  first  a Daoist alchemist term , then a term adopted by  TCM's  medical qigong .


4)  To master the basics of TCM , you need to know well what the Six stages ( Tai Yang, Yang Ming, Shao Yang, Tai Yin..etc)  are and the  5-element model , however,  in Daoist alchemy hardly does it pay any attention to the Six stages ; what you  need to know is something  about the 5-element model , yet not to that extent of their intricate relations for healing , say ,  in order to make the son (kidney) strong, you tonify the grandfather  (spleen) beforehand  ;  anyway, the 5-element model  is under the Qi  framework . Do not mix up the Chinese 5-element model with other cultures' , and claim  that Wood or Metal is one of the basic elements that forms the world .  No,  the Chinese culture is always a  qi dominated culture that most other things originate from it and be manipulated by it . 

 

5) Formula : In order to heal  ,if you are a TCM doctor, you need to write a formula that targets at those symptoms , and the formula is always composed of  parts of plants , insects or  minerals; if you are a acupuncturist , your formula is a group of acupuncture points that can deal with certain  symptoms . However,  in Daoist alchemy , your formula is the looks seemingly  simple formula : Jing + Qi =  Shen  or  Jing=> Q=> Shen . What you make use of is  just your mind,  breathing or body movements , or their combinations.

 

6) Qi's meaning in different contexts :  In TCM ,  Qi , no matter it is the Zong Qi (" 宗氣") inside of our chest or the Wei Qi ("衛 氣" ) , qi guarded just outside of  our skin surface , all  is  classified as yang ,  and  our blood/ essence ( and other forms of liquid: sweat, phlegm,  tears.. )  classified as yin . However, in Daoist alchemy , all qi, including those we initialize from our dantians , is classified as  yin Qi because what Daoist alchemy targets at  is the pre-heavenly yang Qi , and  from that higher level , all the postnatal/ material things below ,  even in an invisible form like qi , is  yin .  It is that hidden pre-heavenly Qi , which has both yang and yin aspects , as a Taiji  ,  be the source of life .  So here we get two levels of things , the pre-heavenly ( not necessarily equals to prenatal ) and the post-heavenly( not necessarily equals to postnatal ) , and they both can further be divided into yin and yang , which is  therefore called " 二重天地, 四個陰陽"  ( " Two levels of Heaven and Earth , and four  yin and yang") . Of course , it is an important concept in Daoist alchemy for it tells us the boundaries : what we can achieve within what arena ; however, hardly  does TCM require it  because what TCM works with are just the post-heavenly qi  and blood/ essence in channels , vessels, organs and skin surface .  Maybe the only term of  TCM that related to the pre-heavenly level is the "Mengmen"  ( literally means " Gate of Life") . Liu-I Ming's writings do talk about the Two-level concept, but not in its relation with TCM.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by exorcist_1699
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內經有提到心藏神,肝藏魂,肺藏魄,脾藏意,腎藏志

 

特別是心藏神,這一點很多人都誤解了,以為神應該在大腦,其實心藏神講的是識神隱元神顯的元神,這個步驟,是在開心竅的過程中產生的,但是很少人能練到這裡,因為開心竅的過程中,有太多幻境了,幻境之前是光,很多人根本練不到這裡,基本上能練到氣感小周天就已經是少數人了,更別說光感,還有光感之後的幻境,還有幻境之後的識神隱元神顯。

 

而肝藏魂的魂,指的是日魂,烏肝,這一點知道的人也很少,因為能練到這裡的人很少,看得懂經文的人更少。

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It is mentioned that the heart stores the spirit, the liver stores the soul, the lung stores the soul, the spleen stores the meaning, and the kidney stores the will

Especially the hidden spirit in the heart, many people have misunderstood this point, thinking that the spirit should be in the brain. In fact, the hidden spirit in the heart is talking about the primordial spirit who knows the spirit and hides the primordial spirit. This step is produced in the process of becoming happy, but Few people can practice here, because there are too many illusions in the process of happiness , not to mention the sense of light, as well as the illusion after the sense of light, and the manifestation of the consciousness and the hidden essence after the illusion. And the soul of the liver hides the soul, which refers to the sun soul and the black liver. Very few people know this, because very few people can practice it here, and even fewer people can understand the scriptures.

(If one bothers to use google translate...)

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開心竅的意思,不是『開心』happy竅,而是『開啟』open『心竅』

我也不知道英文的『心竅』專有名詞怎麼翻譯,太多專有名詞了,自己的英文程度太差,只好寫中文,不好意思啊

 

 

 

 

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因為這個主題講的是中醫和道家修煉的關係,在『心藏神,肝藏魂,肺藏魄,脾藏意,腎藏志』的背後,還包含有情緒,喜傷心,怒傷肝,憂傷肺,思傷脾,恐傷腎,這些情緒在五臟當中會堆積起來,傷害五藏的陽氣,而在道家修煉的過程中,這些被壓抑的情緒,都會化為幻境或者情緒,重新蒸發出來。

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I think Awaken and  Cleansox  are talking about  things similar ,  so   I  would like to add  :

 

7) TCM  not only manipulates   qi of organs ,say via herbs , but also   manipulates emotions or characters of  these organs so  as to cure mental diseases;  for example , disease arises from our anger (liver's emotion) with someone and our attachment to such anger can be counteract or dissolved by  provoking  our  fear ( kidney's ) of losing something  due to such an anger .

On the other hand , Daoist alchemist solution to all emotional issues is simpler and  straight forward for it  just initializes  that taiji (composed of  invisible ying and yang) hidden in a place called Mengmen inbetween our kidneys , and nourishes from it an emptied Mind , then all emotional troubles is said to be solvable . It stresses that  the way of  our dealing with troubles and adversities  in  life , hardly should it  be  anything of an analytic mind  , nor  ego dignity , let alone emotions , but our Xing ( some kind of spiritual ,consolidated Oneness ) . The saying I always like to quote is :

 

"To those who succumb to life scenarios with emotions or mental tactics , you are called the ordinary ;  to those who eliminate   life scenarios with your Xing ,  you are called the Immortals"  (" 境殺心即凡, 心殺境即仙" )

 

It is to say that , not only qi of our body organs  , but also their emotions ( maybe viewed them as split ,biased shen)  ,  can be  used as ' fuel'  to cultivate our  Xing .

 

Edited by exorcist_1699
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3 hours ago, exorcist_1699 said:

 

"To those who succumb to life scenarios with emotions or mental tactics , you are called the ordinary ;  to those who eliminate  those life scenarios with your Xing ,  you will be called the Immortal"  (" 境殺心即凡, 心殺境即仙" )

 

 

Truth is the reverse.

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11 hours ago, exorcist_1699 said:

"To those who succumb to life scenarios with emotions or mental tactics , you are called the ordinary ;  to those who eliminate  those life scenarios with your Xing ,  you will be called the Immortal"  (" 境殺心即凡, 心殺境即仙" )

 

It is to say that , not only qi of our body organs  , but also their emotions  ,  can be  used as ' fuel'  to cultivate our  Xing .

 

 

I like that. I’ll take this opportunity to express my appreciation for providing information on this topic and in other posts of yours that is strongly grounded in the mainstream Chinese Daoist tradition. If you care to provide it, I’m interested to learn some more about your practice background.

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On 2022-01-21 at 10:56 AM, exorcist_1699 said:

I think Awaken and  Cleansox  are talking about  things similar 

Technically, I just used Google translate on Awaken's post. 

On 2022-01-21 at 10:56 AM, exorcist_1699 said:

 

It is to say that , not only qi of our body organs  , but also their emotions  ,  can be  used as ' fuel'  to cultivate our  Xing .

In a stage where ones emotions no longer are the fuel that drives the aquired mind, but reflects a deeper connection to ones core. 

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On 1/22/2022 at 5:56 AM, Yueya said:

 

I like that. I’ll take this opportunity to express my appreciation for providing information on this topic and in other posts of yours that is strongly grounded in the mainstream Chinese Daoist tradition. If you care to provide it, I’m interested to learn some more about your practice background.

 

Thanks a lot. Nothing special about my practice. In fact, I am just a guy who can read Chinese classical texts of TCM and alchemy and translate them into English. Of course ,I test all those means ,except piercing a needle,  related to qi on my own body and mind .

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On 2022/1/26 at 2:12 PM, exorcist_1699 said:

 

Thanks a lot. Nothing special about my practice. In fact, I am just a guy who can read Chinese classical texts of TCM and alchemy and translate them into English. Of course ,I test all those means ,except piercing a needle,  related to qi on my own body and mind .

 

 

那你試過傷寒論的方劑嗎?

 

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On 1/30/2022 at 6:51 PM, awaken said:

 

 

那你試過傷寒論的方劑嗎?

 

 

Of course I do. In fact, some of Shang Han Lun's formulae are composed of only two or three different herbs that their meanings not so difficult to grasp. 

Edited by exorcist_1699
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3 hours ago, exorcist_1699 said:

 

Of course I do. In fact, some of Shang Han Lun's formulae are composed of only two or three different herbs that their meanings not so difficult to grasp. 

 

那你會把傷寒論當成你的主要治療方法嗎?還是你只是試試看,平常你還是使用西藥?

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On 1/31/2022 at 10:16 PM, awaken said:

 

那你會把傷寒論當成你的主要治療方法嗎?還是你只是試試看,平常你還是使用西藥?

 

Qi, whatever media (needle, herbs, mind..) we use, is always the  way to heal.

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3 hours ago, exorcist_1699 said:

 

Qi, whatever media (needle, herbs, mind..) we use, is always the  way to heal.

 

所以你有用過傷寒論裡面的方?你最常用的是哪個方呢?

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