In Which book does Wang Liping write about this memory exercise?

[markern]

I have read about a memory exercise supposedly described in one of Wang Lipings books where one tries to remember everything one did throughout the day from the moment one got out of bed. Can anyone tell me in which of his books he writes about this?

[damdao]

Daoist Internal Mastery, by Liping Wang (Author), Livia Kohn (Editor), Mark Bartosh (Translator)

Ling Bao Tong Zhi Neng Nei Gong Shu, by Wang li ping (Author), Richard Liao (Translator)

The practice is called Zhineng Gong or Attaining Wisdom and Potential, in Opening the Dragon Gate you have a description of that exercise too.

[Taomeow]

On 2/18/2025 at 1:48 AM, markern said:

I have read about a memory exercise supposedly described in one of Wang Lipings books where one tries to remember everything one did throughout the day from the moment one got out of bed. Can anyone tell me in which of his books he writes about this?

 

You go backward in your memory, from the last thing you did that day back to the previous one back to the previous one, reconnecting everything in reverse, then go to sleep.  Got it from a seminar.  Very simple -- yet helps one combat fragmentation and realize how much of the day they were aware and conscious, and which parts their body or their mind disconnected from and sleepwalked through.  Can be a fractal -- you can get a broad sketch of your day (I did this, and right before this, I did that, and that was preceded by such and such actions, etc.), or you can go into an infinite number of details.  Ee.g. instead of "got undressed before going to bed" you remember "took off the left sock before the right sock" (can you remember?) or instead of "made boiled eggs" -- "cracked the boiled eggs on the left side of the counter, boiled the eggs for 6 minutes, turned the burner down, put the pot on the burner and turned it up," whatever.   

[Neirong]

On 18.02.2025 at 12:48 PM, markern said:

where one tries to remember everything one did throughout the day from the moment one got out of bed

 

The exercise has nothing to do with Wang Liping. It is a Pythagorean practice, ancient and widespread, found in reputable online sources like wikiHow. Giving it a fancy Daoist name and claiming it as your own is misleading.
 

The exercise itself is not particularly valuable. It’s something ordinary people do without access to cultivation methods. The brain is a sophisticated organ that records everything from life, forgets selectively, and manages this database efficiently. Interfering with exercises like this one can impair cognitive function and slow processing.
 

To use a computer analogy, it’s like holding data in system memory indefinitely, overloading the processor and slowing the system.
 

In contrast, certain advanced practices can unlock true eidetic (photographic) memory. These allow you to access deeply buried memories, review them vividly, and experience them as an observer—like a multidimensional, full-color, full-sound video where you can move freely. Such practices require developing a mental body, honing meditation skills, and activating the upper chakras.

[damdao]

While it is true that the exercise appears in Pythagorean cultivation as described in the Golden Verses, the Longmen version represents a structured system. What was shared in the previous posts is the core, but it is important to note that there are additional steps involved.

Naturally, if you are intellectually honest (and I am not suggesting otherwise), you might wish to debate the origins of this exercise. However, it seems plausible that its source has been obscured by the mists of history.

 

p. 175, Daoist Internal Mastery, ThreePines Press

[Neirong]

4 hours ago, damdao said:

p. 175, Daoist Internal Mastery, ThreePines Press

 

This is a general pseudo-esoteric nonsense. I feel bad just reading this crap.

Telling you this as someone who can see spirits and energies, with opened third eye and had over thousands astral travel experiences.

[Antares]

4 hours ago, damdao said:

 

While it is true that the exercise appears in Pythagorean cultivation as described in the Golden Verses, the Longmen version represents a structured system. What was shared in the previous posts is the core, but it is important to note that there are additional steps involved.

Naturally, if you are intellectually honest (and I am not suggesting otherwise), you might wish to debate the origins of this exercise. However, it seems plausible that its source has been obscured by the mists of history.

 

 

p. 175, Daoist Internal Mastery, ThreePines Press

 

Looks crazy at least for me. And people pay big money for this BS. I am very sorry people buy into it

[Antares]

From Amazon review

Quote

Wang Liping (b. 1949) is the most prominent teacher of Daoist internal alchemy in China today

 

[Cobie]

 

5 hours ago, damdao said:

… p. 175, Daoist Internal Mastery, ThreePines Press …

 

“ceasing eating to pursue life” 

BS.  If you don’t eat, then you will die.  That’s all.

 

Edited April 15 by Cobie

[Antares]

10 minutes ago, Cobie said:

“ceasing eating to pursue life” 

BS.  You don’t eat, you will just die.  That’s all.

 

 

after 24 hours fasting Ming begins depleting, can be good if a person needs purification and other methods dont help (in some cases can be applicable), or if a person feels they are getting sick, it may be good to fast for 24 - 36 hours, but no more than that.

this phrase “ceasing eating to pursue life” sounds the same as " firing up house foundation to build it up"

[Neirong]

1 hour ago, Cobie said:

“ceasing eating to pursue life” 

BS.  If you don’t eat, then you will die.  That’s all.

 

This is common sense. What they’re selling in those books is an infobusiness scam.

I’ve already seen two groups of misguided Daoists in public: one advocating for the consumption of mercury pills (mercury is a deadly toxin to humans) and another promoting breatharianism (not eating).

Both of these delusions are lethal.
 

7 hours ago, damdao said:

exercise appears in Pythagorean cultivation as described in the Golden Verses, the Longmen version represents a structured system

You’ve clearly missed the most important part of the message: it’s not about who owns or authored the exercise, or even whether it’s good or not.

If you take a standard push-up, widely used, and rename it something like “Celestial Dragon Pushes Against the Gates of Dao,” claiming it develops ancestral strength and belongs to an ancient Daoist martial arts system called Monkey/Dragon/Turtle Kung-Fu, you’re not adding value or meaning to it.
People who do this are simply swindlers.

Edited April 15 by Neirong

[NeiChuan]

7 hours ago, damdao said:

 

While it is true that the exercise appears in Pythagorean cultivation as described in the Golden Verses, the Longmen version represents a structured system. What was shared in the previous posts is the core, but it is important to note that there are additional steps involved.

Naturally, if you are intellectually honest (and I am not suggesting otherwise), you might wish to debate the origins of this exercise. However, it seems plausible that its source has been obscured by the mists of history.

 

 

p. 175, Daoist Internal Mastery, ThreePines Press

 

 

I am seeing criticism but honestly this lines up with inner alchemy and life experience I've had at pivotal moments. It's like luck meets preparation in a way. Hopefully in those cycles you are aware enough, and can break them. Otherwise we repeat. I will also say this "memory exercise" would happen pretty spontaneously in meditation for me when I began, I'd do it for about 3 years till I became more focused on certain things.

[Antares]

32 minutes ago, Neirong said:

You’ve clearly missed the most important part of the message: it’s not about who owns or authored the exercise, or even whether it’s good or not.

The main issue here is that in authentic neidan post heaven shen is not used at all. I mean diff variations of breath control, visualizations, remembering or forgetting smth, fasting, sitting cross legged etc

 

 

[damdao]

Sorry to say this, folks, but 'not eating' is a practice present in all Daoist traditions.

This practice, known as Bigu, is performed at various levels and in different contexts, often accompanied by specific exercises that complement it.

So, if you're looking for someone or something to blame, you might want to direct your attention to the Daoist schools themselves.

[Antares]

13 minutes ago, damdao said:

but 'not eating' is a practice present in all Daoist traditions.

 

It was never meant to be "a vehicle" but a tool after one has already nourished life (Ming) so that they could get along without food.

Although it can be let say 3 days of fasting while taking specific medicine but was not meant to be main method (vehicle)

19 minutes ago, damdao said:

direct your attention to the Daoist schools themselves.

 

Which school you talk about? May be you can refer to any daoist text in this regard?

[Antares]

On 04.08.2014 at 1:09 PM, alchemist said:

Zhongli Quan answered: "Because false methods of minor schools are considered efficient and widely spread among the laity; they are passed from one to another and until death the true awareness does not come; they subsequently become customary and discredit the Great Dao.

 

These are such methods as:

1. Fasting.

2. Starvation.

3. Gathering of qi.

4. Saliva swallowing.

5. Sexual abstinence.

6. Forgoing tastes.

7. Chan meditation.

8. Silence.

9. Awareness.

10. The Art of the inner chambers.

11. Inhaling much, exhaling little.

12. Maintaining purity.

13. Quieting (thoughts stopping).

14. Avoiding fatigue.

15. Opening of the heads crown.

16. Puckering genitals into ones body.

17. Symptoms disappearance.

18. Canons reading and recitation.

19. Outer alchemy.

20. Breathe restraining.

21. Dao Yin practices.

22. Tu Na gymnastics.

23. Gathering and replenishing.

24. Charity and donations.

25. Sacrifices.

26. Giving help.

27. Retreating into mountains.

28. Innate wisdom (analytical mind).

29. Immobility.

30. Formal maintaining of the teaching lineage.

 

Its not possible to fully recite all the minor schools and inconsistent methods. To the extent that (they):

 

[damdao]

2 hours ago, Antares said:

 

It was never meant to be "a vehicle" but a tool after one has already nourished life (Ming) so that they could get along without food.

Although it can be let say 3 days of fasting while taking specific medicine but was not meant to be main method (vehicle)

 

Which school you talk about? May be you can refer to any daoist text in this regard?

 

I completely agree with you: it is not a primary method. In fact, in the copied text I provided, it is merely a step within a broader vehicle. One uses it after completing preparatory work in order to learn how to function without food.

 

Again, "not eating" is Bigu, and Bigu encompasses many levels. Only in the final steps do you literally stop eating; in the earlier stages, you may consume vegetables, fruits, almonds, and similar foods. In other words: it is a tool after one has already nourished life (Ming) so that they could get along without food.

 

Regarding texts... you are leveraging the textual evidence card. Well, you can research ancient texts as part of historical research, or ask Daoist practitioners, which would fall under anthropological research. I admit I was overly broad in my original statement. I said "all Daoist schools," so even if you find just one that does not follow fasting practices, you could invalidate my argument. Therefore, as a good Confucian scholar of old, I must reflect on my stance and amend my statement. Perhaps not "all schools," but "a looooooooot of Daoist schools."

 

You could start with Zhengyi for ritual purity. I have anthropological studies somewhere, even contemporary medical research, but I currently have little time.

For medical research in contemporary contexts, you can consult PubMed (e.g., https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8258074/).

Moreover, you can refer to Despeux's article, "Gymnastics, the Ancient Tradition," p. 225; specifically on fasting, see p. 247 (from Taoist Meditation and Longevity Techniques, Kohn and Sakade (eds.)), where she analyzes the fasting tradition since the Han Dynasty.

 

If you seek ancient texts, you could begin with Baopu Zi by Gehong. After denying fasting as a primary method (a point on which we agree), he states:

若欲服金丹大藥，先不食百許日為快。 ("If you want to ingest the great medicine of the golden elixir, stop eating for one hundred days to achieve better results.") Baopu Zi, Inner Chapters, Miscellanea

For further details, you can explore the Song Dynasty encyclopedia Yunji Qiqian, vol. 60 (and there are additional volumes, which I will investigate later). You can access it here: 《云笈七签》.

Volume 60 states something along these lines: In the Way of the Immortals, abstention from grains is an essential method. To achieve this, one must ingest qi. Ingesting qi first requires purity; then go to a pure chamber and calm your heart. The optimal period is 14 days.

夫求仙道絕粒為宗，絕粒之門，服氣為本，服炁之理，齋戒為先，當持齋戒，然揀好日，晏靜一室，安置床席其齋以心清意靜，無諸躁動，正可二七日。 (Yunji Qiqian, vol. 60, Various Families' Qi Techniques, sect. 5)
https://ctext.org/wiki.pl?if=en&chapter=2545425

 

[Cobie]

32 minutes ago, damdao said:

… not eating" is Bigu …

No it isn’t. 辟 穀 bi4 gu3 - Grain avoidance. It was about not eating grain.

[Antares]

27 minutes ago, damdao said:

"If you want to ingest the great medicine of the golden elixir, stop eating for one hundred days to achieve better results.") Baopu Zi, Inner Chapters, Miscellanea

It does not correlate with the original statement 'ceasing to eat to pursue life.' Additionally, one must provide further evidence to support the claims about other methods that Wang attributes to Lu Dongbin.

[Antares]

38 minutes ago, damdao said:

Baopu Zi, Inner Chapters, Miscellanea

Baopuzi (simplified Chinese: 抱朴子; traditional Chinese: 抱樸子) is a literary work written by Ge Hong (AD 283–343)

 

 Lu Dongbin was born in Jingzhao Prefecture (京兆府 Jīngzhào Fŭ) around 796 CE during the Tang dynasty.

 

Different periods. There could be different approaches which had been changing till 12th - 13th centuries.

Better to refer to the texts of schools that originate from LD. The excerpt I provided is related to the legacy of LD specifically. If this is an additional method, it should be named as such, but not as 'vehicle,' otherwise it creates confusion

[damdao]

49 minutes ago, Cobie said:

No it isn’t. 辟 穀 bi4 gu3 - Grain avoidance. It was about not eating grain.

 

This is the standard phrase for fasting in daoism, bigu, avoiding grains.

[damdao]

36 minutes ago, Antares said:

Baopuzi (simplified Chinese: 抱朴子; traditional Chinese: 抱樸子) is a literary work written by Ge Hong (AD 283–343)

 

 Lu Dongbin was born in Jingzhao Prefecture (京兆府 Jīngzhào Fŭ) around 796 CE during the Tang dynasty.

 

Different periods. There could be different approaches which had been changing till 12th - 13th centuries.

Better to refer to the texts of schools that originate from LD. The excerpt I provided is related to the legacy of LD specifically. If this is an additional method, it should be named as such, but not as 'vehicle,' otherwise it creates confusion

 

Of course, I will not play this game. Texts attributed to ancestor Lü are attributions. There are many of them not only the two foundational texts. 

Besides youasked me in the contexts of daoist schools not in the context of alchemy nor in the constext of Lü-Chuang tradition.

[Antares]

1 minute ago, damdao said:

Besides youasked me in the contexts of daoist schools not in the context of alchemy nor in the constext of Lü-Chuang

Almost all schools we know these days originate from LD, except Maoshan may be. Not wise to refer to Baopuzi, I dont think the alchemy of that epoch is applicable nowadays.

[Antares]

There was a lady who was a promoter of not eating and a seller of her books and seminars. She was placed under supervision to conduct an experiment, and after a few days, she asked for food. One should not believe everything that questionable authors, promoters, and sellers of $5,000 seminars write.

[Cobie]

2 hours ago, damdao said:

This is the standard phrase for fasting in daoism, bigu, avoiding grains.

Yes, there are a lot of idiots out there - clearly “avoiding grains”  is not the same as “fasting”. I prefer to stick to the meaning of the characters, “bigu fasting was the common medical cure for expelling the sanshi三尸 (Three Corpse), the malevolent, grain-eating spirits that live in the human body”

 

 

Edited April 16 by Cobie