Video about 玄關/Hsuan Kuan/Mysterious Gate

[鞏三孝]

On 6/15/2022 at 8:08 AM, Daeluin said:

This is incredibly resonant with the experience I had.
 

。。。。。。

At the time I recall feeling like I wasn't really there, but I was there. I was fully present, but it was more like my consciousness was resting so contentedly that I was almost not there. This is my description of the idea of practicing with intention but without intention. I had awareness, but more in the observational sense as I experienced living change.

As this feeling grew, the Xuan Guan opened. For me it was in my upper dan tien, in my head, more near the back. It felt like a field expanded within me, roughly the size of a softball, that was both a part of the energy I had been cultivating within myself all this time and a gateway or portal opening into something more mysterious and intangible.

By the way, they say the big bang can be seen everywhere and nowhere all at once. It was like I was tapping into whatever dimension that was from to connect with the energy there.

As I was experiencing this, our meditation came to a close and we transitioned right into the chen style tai ji quan form, slowly. As we moved through the form, I experienced the sensation of this mysterious energy moving through this gateway into my form as I shaped my movements and changes. It did this throughout the form, and gradually as I moved and became more conscious and in control, the gate dissapated...

 

Your experience is very interesting, thank you for sharing.

 

I'm not qualified to judge, but it does sound like hsuan kuan was active and your body has a series of reactions as a result.

 

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As my daily practice eventually waned, and my thinking mind regained control and the emptiness within my connective tissues became clogged with mundane thoughts, these rivers of mysterious energy began to dry up until it was gone, though it took a month or so. Again at the time I was not aware of how the principle worked, what it was called, or how I needed to work with it. At one point after this I heard in class Sifu mention something about people losing their way, and that he had seen it happen before. I knew he was speaking of me and yet I knew he did not answer questions readily, and I didn't really understand.

 

 

The effect of your practice that day is not unimportant, but the most important thing is to return to the simplest practice.

 

It turned out that it was an extremely simple method that caused that reaction. Not only that, but you didn't know it could have such a wonderful effect at that time. You were completely "beginner's mind" back then.

 

Now, you have tried that taste. Therefore, you might expect that effect and even desire to experience it again. The next time you practice, don't expect any miraculous results like the last time. Don't crave it either.

 

The last time you achieved that effect was not because of what you did or thought. Instead, it's because you did almost nothing and thought nothing of it.

 

Maybe you can use an analogy like this: when you practiced that day, it was a bit like you casually got on the elevator, pressed any button, and then experienced the process of taking the elevator, that's all. Unexpectedly, when you got off the elevator, you reached such a magical floor!

 

It is normal to want to reach that wonderful floor again. But that desire and that memory will delay you from doing the simplest and most crucial thing: just take the elevator. (Meaning: just following your teacher's simple instructions, nothing more and nothing less)

 

Your heart may want to use your memory to rebuild that magical floor. But this mental activity will prevent you actually getting a ride on the elevator. Because if all the electricity is busy powering mental activity, the elevator cannot move.

 

You may also want to rely on your memory to find the last floor button you pressed. But the elevator actually has only one button, called "now". Simply press it and it will run naturally. If you're looking for that button called "last time", you'll never find it. If you look for buttons called "like so-and-so's experience" or "effects from so-and-so book", you'll never find them. Just push the "now" button...and enjoy the ride, and see where it goes.

 

Furthermore, you may not really believe all the way to your bones such a simple practice was sufficient to elicit such a wonderful response as you had. So it will be hard to get back to your most "beginner's mind" state. The state when you knew nothing, and therefore could "Just Do It."

 

The thing to remember is this: You didn't create that wonderful response, and you didn't discover it after a search. It is only because you dropped everything that day and didn't expect anything at all, so it had the opportunity to come to you on its own.

 

The hard part is, you already have that wonderful response. So it leaves a memory. Next time you use the simple method your teacher gave you, can you let go of that memory first? Can you let go of all expectations and curiosity? Can you just casually get on the elevator and push the button and do nothing else?

 

Actually this can be very hard. Which is why we have to remember to forget 

 

(Oh yes, also, next time if you can actually get on the elevator, you will probably get off the elevator on a completely different floor. In this lifetime, you may not reach the magical floor you went to last time again. Maybe you just don't need to go a second time. Also, in the future, most of the floors you go to in the future will be pretty boring. That's normal! But sooner or later you'll get to where you're supposed to be. So, don't worry!)

 

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It can be seen that the principle in the video related to the emptiness required to open the Xuan Guan are the same as the principle followed here related to reclaiming the True Yang that has been lost to heaven and may be found within the emptiness of earth, Kun ☷.

 

Yes, the hsuan kuan is the necessary pivot that makes it a possibility for this to occur. 

Edited June 17, 2022 by 鞏三孝

[Cobie]

On 06/06/2022 at 2:22 PM, 鞏三孝 said:

… 玄關/hsuan kuan/mysterious gate/mysterious pass/etc. …

 

To me 玄關 is reminiscent of the distinction between ‘ousia’ and ‘energeia’ in Palamite theology.

 

Kroll 玄 xuan2 :

1. the quality of permitting the passage of light but without making visible what is on the other side …

https://www.thedaobums.com/topic/53742-interesting-characters/?do=findComment&comment=985218   
 

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by Cobie

[鞏三孝]

On 6/14/2022 at 4:42 PM, Master Logray said:

If it is outside the body, visualization is very important. 

 

I know two schools of hsuan kuan practice outside the body. Neither has any visualization at all. Unfortunately, I cannot go into more detail, because of precepts.

 

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My thinking is around a Tetrahedron https://www.pinterest.com/pin/148618856442387854/.  The so called Merkaba diagram is interesting in depicting some elements of a Mystic Gate. 

- It has definite reference to locations in the body.

- It is not entirely in but has an out of body element.

- It is probably affected by cosmic or astrological influences (it is why Neidan stresses on the months or hours or direction to meditate) or linkage to Feng Shui (on the body)

- It can appear in different tips (i.e. mobile)

- It is not available under normal circumstances but need something to access.

 

 

This has nothing in common with what I have learned, but the teachings of other schools may have something to do with it.

Edited June 17, 2022 by 鞏三孝

[Daeluin]

20 hours ago, 鞏三孝 said:

I'm not qualified to judge, but it does sound like hsuan kuan was active and your body has a series of reactions as a result.

 

Neither am I, but I am inclined to agree. The video was helpful in confirming this. For when it mentioned that the energy refines itself, that was precisely my experience. Whether or not I did anything specific, I could simply tune in and be aware of this mysterious energy moving through my meridians. It never stopped, all those months. And it didn't just shut off one day, but gradually it waned as I ceased to have room for its flow.

Sometimes people will admonish with - this energy cannot be felt. I don't know if I am qualified to speak to that. However, what it felt like was as though I was able to sense something moving through me, up and down just like meridians, but it could not be located or felt or pinned down in any way. And if I were to attempt to name the trajectories through which it flowed, I would be unable to do so. It was nothing like the sensation of houtian qi in the meridians. And yet, it was unmistakably present. And its presence held me connected to the mystery in some way.

I did reach out to my Sifu this week and told him I had finally digested my experience in class opening the mysterious gate, and had come to understand the principles behind my house and the other house, thanked him for his patience with all of us, and asked if I could take privates with his assistant to work toward returning to class. It took me 10 years to come to this point since that experience. He usually does not respond with anything but two emojis, but this time he thanked me and confirmed I could reach out for lessons. And I now have some lined up. I am not intending to go back because I feel I need the school to experience this again. But because I realized that he had hinted that he had more to teach those who could get to that point and make use of the mysterious gate.

 

Thank you for your cautions about having desire, or attempting to recreate the practice. I think these are so important to be emphasized for others to understand.

I am under no illusions however, and I have found great clarity on how this works. This is why I shared:

 

On 6/14/2022 at 8:08 PM, Daeluin said:

I can well comprehend now how the Xuan Guan might open in different ways in different locations, nurtured by different practices and techniques, for it is simply a matter of where the energy is able to come together and reach through to the xiantian realm when the conditions are ripe.

 

As it says in the first chapter of the daodejing, if we hold to desire, we cannot enter the mystery.

This is also why I shared in detail about how important the emptiness I cultivated for 2 solid weeks before having this experience was. For me this emptiness came not from meditation, but from finding a way to barely use my mind in in that time, such that the qi was able to develop from my patient training without 'me' getting in the way.

Undoubtedly it will take longer than some weeks or months, for me to accomplish this again. I have not even been cultivating. And even when I had this experience, I had been training for some time. Perhaps a way of describing it was that I had surrendered to the path, enough that I was able to merge with the universe when the timing was right, after consistent practice. I recall that during work I would often take breaks to go do taijiquan in my front yard for 10 minutes. So I was constantly de-conditioning my mind and re-aligning my qi. But even then, I sense that at some level the class setting amplified things, standing in a room surrounded by others doing the same work, in the presence of a master, no matter how hands off.

I also well understand that the timings of the celestial mechanism are ever changing, and such things may not ever be forced. And I am a different person now. I would not do to expect it to open in the same place in the same way, during the same practices. It will open when and where it is ready to open.

And yet, I do feel that this experience I had will allow it to be much easier this time. There is no desire that would help this, but there is benefit of understanding how the conditions formed, and those conditions may be recreated. Pure innocence is a key ingredient - I suppose that is part of the beginner's mind, and yet it is also a joy to cultivate innocence for its own sake. And as Liu Yiming said, at its heart it simply simply comes down to Yin and Yang. The yin part of this is clear, and the yang comes from the other house. Having experienced this, and recognizing the principle, it all becomes simple. I suppose that is ever the way with these things. The words are puzzles until we cross the threshold, and then they simply speak clearly.

It feels good to be walking a cultivation path again.

 

And in an odd turn of events I was told I needed to find a new home, and that there was one opening in a nice home in the mountains, shared with a vedic cultivator. It isn't confirmed yet but is dripping with signs. So perhaps in lieu of class I can benefit from the mountain qi for this next stage - one of returning to innocence.

But of course, only time will tell.

One last thing I would like to add here. I cannot overstate the importance of ming work.

I do not feel I am deserving of opening the mysterious gate again simply for selfish reasons, or for any reasons - but if there is a potential there perhaps it relates to having finally found my path of destiny on the earth, and working hard to follow where it leads. I am not seeking transcension or ascension, and I highly doubt I will be interested in shedding my shell if I accomplish something. To me the work is one of anchoring the higher realms to this realm, and that to me is the answer to this realm's increasing corruption. That is the answer to the expanding of the universe. For such a path, perhaps the mysterious gate could do good work.

This relates to the chapter of the daodejing I quoted.

Thank you for your gift, and I am glad I found it when I did.

Edited June 18, 2022 by Daeluin
A good bit of careful clarifying after a hasty post!

[Daeluin]

I stumbled onto this thread, and then found this:

 

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6. If enough yuan-chi is cultivated so that it can ascend to the head, it can (when enough have accumulated) lead to the emergence of the mysterious gate. It is also known as the White Moon on the Mountain Peak. If you practice diligently, you will eventually get to that point. When that happens, you will “hold the center to realize the oneness of heaven and earth”. The oneness of heaven and earth is achieved by the turning of the gaze inwards (similarly as when fixing spirit in its original cavity) so that you can see the light of the mysterious gate (but it should appear in front of you and not just inside your head). This generally happens after you have passed through all of the aforementioned phases in a meditation session. When this happens, you will eventually get the light to appear in front of you. It will need to move away from you once before you can gather it (otherwise it will cause pain in your head) but, when you draw it into your head, you will strengthen the energy of the positive spirit. It will then be dropped to the solar plexus. You could read chapter 7 of Taoist Yoga for more information.

 

This sounds like what I did - cultivation of enough yuan qi so that it could ascend to the head.

I suppose this is what I am trying to explain, by my 'two weeks'. For much more than two weeks I had been doing regular practice, but it was the innocence of these two weeks that allowed the fullness of the yuan qi to develop without being conditioned, that allowed my experience.

It seems I am back to the books, as I have ALSO had the experience of seeing the light in front of my third eye, quite potent, without really knowing what to do about that.

I know my Sifu studied from Taoist Yoga. Maybe I will find some more clarity there.

 

[鞏三孝]

On 6/18/2022 at 1:56 AM, Daeluin said:

It feels good to be walking a cultivation path again.

 

Wonderful 

 

On 6/18/2022 at 11:40 AM, Daeluin said:

I know my Sifu studied from Taoist Yoga. Maybe I will find some more clarity there.

 

I have skimmed through both the original text and the English translation of that book. The level of Lu K'uan Yu's translation is very high. However, the original content of the book was quite complicated, with many youwei elements. Taoist Yoga only represents one thread of teaching of inner alchemy. Other schools do not necessarily teach such practices. There are some schools where the approach is comparatively much more simple and natural. There are also even more complex schools. So, if there is no fate with that book, there are still other other roads that can be traveled.

Edited June 20, 2022 by 鞏三孝

[Daeluin]

On 6/19/2022 at 11:06 PM, 鞏三孝 said:

So, if there is no fate with that book, there are still other other roads that can be traveled.

 

I suppose that has been a question that has come up for me before. I resonate with my teacher's work, and Wang Liping's work, and they both, along with Taoist Yoga, seem to follow more of the Secret of the Golden FLower path.

 

But even though I had previously seen the ball of light in front of my eyes, my ren mai was still blocked and I still had trouble with that method I think. So what opened for me was more in relation to a water path than a fire path.

And that's what allowed me to connect with this video so well, for it described what I experienced exactly, and was much different from this idea of using the 3rd eye and the ball of light, which was not mentioned.

So I think I might be following a path that could possibly come to understand both, and others too, but I will need to tread carefully.

[鞏三孝]

1 hour ago, Daeluin said:

 

I suppose that has been a question that has come up for me before. I resonate with my teacher's work, and Wang Liping's work, and they both, along with Taoist Yoga, seem to follow more of the Secret of the Golden FLower path.

 

But even though I had previously seen the ball of light in front of my eyes, my ren mai was still blocked and I still had trouble with that method I think. So what opened for me was more in relation to a water path than a fire path.

And that's what allowed me to connect with this video so well, for it described what I experienced exactly, and was much different from this idea of using the 3rd eye and the ball of light, which was not mentioned.

So I think I might be following a path that could possibly come to understand both, and others too, but I will need to tread carefully.

 

I did read it but I don't have the tutelage of Secret of the Golden Flower. None of my teachers use this book. Furthermore, every time I see some light or Qi because of my cultivation, the teacher will advise me to ignore it. According to them, those phenomena are not the point. They will say: If you run after them or cling to them or pay too much attention to them or try to intensify them, the practice will soon go astray. The crux of the matter is the emptiness that has no form, no face, and no phenomenon. Yet this nothingness also accompanies and permeates all phenomena that have substance and aspect. The location of Hsuan kuan lies in between these two. Once the hsuan kuan is activated, the two can interact with each other. It can be said that at this time, the two are not two, nor one.

 

The door of all wonders 眾妙之門

 

All wonders can arise, including lights. Or not. Who plans this? Humans love to theorize and plan and map out and define and master. Only..... all of the actual doing just comes from nature 謀事在人，成事在天

 

Who can get out of the way? Then the way can be the Way 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2022 by 鞏三孝

[Daeluin]

12 hours ago, 鞏三孝 said:

None of my teachers use this book. Furthermore, every time I see some light or Qi because of my cultivation, the teacher will advise me to ignore it. According to them, those phenomena are not the point.

 

Excellent, this all clears up that bit of curiosity. Thank you.

I don't recall in great detail, but Wang Liping's instruction manual uses a certain technique to essentially look to the horizon and draw it back, send it out, via the third eye. Ling Bao Tong Zhi Neng Nei Gong Shu has this practice, I'm not sure if Internal Daoist Mastery has it - if it does, I would use that one, as its material is presented in a very clear way.

 

The other intention behind it was to filter the events of one's day by using shen and the third eye, processing out the mundane and refining and cleansing the activities of the thinking mind to reconnect with the original spirit.

 

So from that perspective it might simply be that this light / original spirit is unable to return, but it wants to, even though it is not safe (not compatible). So that is why it must first be sent away, or ignored, and then there are other techniques and ways that the original spirit can find its way within again. Simply turning the attention of the mind inward and using the third eye is the main part of the Secret of the Golden Flower practice. In class we bring the focus from there down toward the lower dan tien throughout all the work. Though I was able to have these experiences without fully being able to develop my lower dan tien, or my ren mai or my du mai.

 

My own practice was simply Chen Style Silk Reeling Qi gong, with some standing and brief sitting. All of the movement keeps the meridians open and the qi refined (if one is rooted to heaven and earth), and zhan zhuang is very powerful for emptiness and building yuan qi. Sitting with hands together in a prayer posture, palms flat, is very good for stilling the energy that has developed, much like hexagram 26. However few students in my school were willing to let their minds be empty.

Edited June 24, 2022 by Daeluin

[forestofemptiness]

Interesting video. What he says makes sense to me, but I am no expert on Daoist meditation (although it is congruent with some Daoist methods I have been exposed to). There are some interesting parallels with some of the Buddhist expressions I have learned.

 

On 6/23/2022 at 9:00 PM, 鞏三孝 said:

Furthermore, every time I see some light or Qi because of my cultivation, the teacher will advise me to ignore it. According to them, those phenomena are not the point. They will say: If you run after them or cling to them or pay too much attention to them or try to intensify them, the practice will soon go astray. The crux of the matter is the emptiness that has no form, no face, and no phenomenon.

 

I've been told the same thing, but in a Buddhist context. In addition, expressing these signs too openly allows the mind to gin up experiences to cling onto.

[silent thunder]

On 6/23/2022 at 8:00 PM, 鞏三孝 said:

all of the actual doing just comes from nature 謀事在人，成事在天

 

Who can get out of the way? Then the way can be the Way 

Well said.  Thanks for sharing.