{"id":208,"date":"2018-09-23T08:47:24","date_gmt":"2018-09-23T16:47:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/?p=208"},"modified":"2018-12-04T02:54:46","modified_gmt":"2018-12-04T10:54:46","slug":"incoming-power-%e7%9b%8a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/2018\/09\/23\/incoming-power-%e7%9b%8a\/","title":{"rendered":"Incoming Power (\u76ca)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"YiThis image comes from the Zhou Yi Jing, Hexagram 42.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very old version* of the character \u201cyi\u201d (\u76ca), which translates as \u201cincrease\u201d, \u201cprofit\u201d, or “incoming power”.\u00a0 It reminds me of the Nei Ye (\u5167\u696d) \u2013 a chapter from the 4th<\/sup>-century BCE Guanzi treatise \u2013 which is considered the oldest writing explicitly about qi-cultivation practice.<\/p>\n

The Nei Yi is all about how to comport ourselves (ye) internally (nei) to be an \u201cabode for Dao\u201d.\u00a0 It discusses posture, movement, breathing, eating, and managing the emotions.\u00a0 This is a really important text for Daoist cultivation.\u00a0 I recommend Harold Roth\u2019s book \u201cOriginal Tao\u201d, which is about this text.<\/p>\n

The image of yi features a horizontal line below, representing a stable base.\u00a0 One of the most important elements of qi-cultivation is establishing stability down below.\u00a0 In sitting meditation, this means dropping the qi to the lower dantian.\u00a0 In Taijiquan, it means developing \u201croot\u201d.\u00a0 Fundamentally, it means establishing stability amidst the incessant fluctuations of our heart-mind.<\/p>\n

Two legs represent yin & yang.\u00a0 Stability doesn\u2019t mean no flow.\u00a0 There is a continuous give & take, expansion & contraction, as we breathe in & out, eat & shit, push & yield, and as the qi rises up & down our spine.\u00a0 These internal changes mimic the external changes of the days and seasons.<\/p>\n

The bowl shape represents the notion of vessel, which is the whole basis of the Nei Ye \u2013 how to be a vessel or abode for Dao.\u00a0 As the Nei Ye describes, this depends on staying calm and regulating our conduct so that our internal environment provides a space for Dao to enter and abide.<\/p>\n

The three dots above represent jing, qi, & shen \u2013 all the ingredients that infuse our body.\u00a0 On one hand this can represent post-celestial jing, qi, & shen (embodied essence, vital energy, and spirit) \u2013 all the internal stuff of our daily life.\u00a0 On the other hand this can represent the primordial trinity of pre-celestial jing, qi, & shen (represented in Daoist ritual as the Three Purities) entering our body from above.\u00a0 They collectively represent Dao (the Nei Ye interestingly uses all these terms interchangeably).<\/p>\n

The handles on the side represent the fact that this vessel is in our hands \u2013 it is our own conduct and practice that shapes our vessel and determines whether Dao can enter and abide.<\/p>\n

May this image help our practice.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*Thanks to LiSe Lotte Voute <\/a>for introducing me to this old character.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This image comes from the Zhou Yi Jing, Hexagram 42.\u00a0 It\u2019s a very old version* of the character \u201cyi\u201d (\u76ca), which translates as \u201cincrease\u201d, \u201cprofit\u201d, or “incoming power”.\u00a0 It reminds me of the Nei Ye (\u5167\u696d) \u2013 a chapter from the 4th-century BCE Guanzi treatise \u2013 which is considered the oldest writing explicitly about qi-cultivation … Continue reading “Incoming Power (\u76ca)”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=208"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":237,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/208\/revisions\/237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=208"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=208"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=208"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}