In our school, as is common in Daoist traditions, we take three distinct approaches to internal cultivation: neigong, neidan, & neiguan.\u00a0 The term for internal cultivation is neixiu (\u5167\u4fee) \u2013 nei (\u5167) means internal; xiu (\u4fee) means to study, repair, or cultivate.<\/p>\n
The notion of internal cultivation holds prominence in Chinese traditions, particularly Daoism.\u00a0 But exactly what \u201cinternal\u201d means isn’t always clear, and different traditions often define it differently.\u00a0 Distinguishing internal from external requires that we establish some threshold, some barrier between inside & outside.\u00a0 As far as I can tell, there is no absolute barrier; it just depends on where we define the threshold.\u00a0 I have heard people define internal to mean anything from arts that emerged within the borders of Han China, to esoteric traditions that maintain secret teachings reserved for insiders, to martial arts that cultivate the use of qi instead of li (brute strength).\u00a0 All of these have relevance within Daoism, but the one we’re most concerned with here is the cultivation of jing-qi-shen<\/a>.<\/p>\n Each approach to internal cultivation has its own distinct view, method, & fruition<\/a>.\u00a0 They don’t all necessarily lead to the same result.\u00a0 It’s a good idea to be clear about what our view is, and what approach we are taking in our various practices.<\/p>\n Neigong<\/u> (\u5167\u529f) means internal work, practice, or skill.\u00a0 It means to practice with an inward focus, with the intention to develop some improved state.\u00a0 Gongfu is a special skill developed by arduous practice.\u00a0 The purpose of neigong is to improve or maintain our internal condition \u2013 nourishing jing-qi-shen to support our health and vitality, and to promote longevity.\u00a0 It’s like the idea of yangsheng (\u990a\u751f) \u2013 nourishing life, which we often refer to as qi-hygiene.\u00a0 Qigong, Taijiquan, & Yoga are all forms of neigong, but we can also practice natural walking or any other moving or still activities as effective neigong once we are familiar with its principles.\u00a0 The best neigong is that which is appropriate for our condition right now, and this changes with time and is not the same for everyone.<\/p>\n Neidan<\/u> (\u5167\u4e39) means internal elixir or alchemy.\u00a0 Neidan is not only about improving our internal condition, and it’s not merely about well-being or longevity, but returning our experience to the state before birth.\u00a0 This transformation is similar to the idea of transforming delusion into enlightenment or sin into holiness.\u00a0 It is a gradual, progressive process with clear concepts and distinct stages, and a precious, exalted goal.<\/p>\n Neiguan<\/u> (\u5167\u89c0) means internal observation.\u00a0 To look inside.\u00a0 The character for guan shows a heron’s gaze, suggesting keen observation.\u00a0 Guan also means “view” and is the word used for Daoist temple.\u00a0 It is the word my teacher chose as the title for his Dao De Jing translation, as our tradition considers Laozi\u2019s text to be the central view-teaching manual for the practice of neiguan, which we refer to as Zuowang.\u00a0 Neiguan differs from the other two in that it isn’t fundamentally goal-oriented.\u00a0 It’s not about improvement or transformation.\u00a0 We can make it about these things, but that “making” is extra baggage from the perspective of our practice.<\/p>\n How do these approaches relate to each other?\u00a0 Generally, a beginner or someone recovering from illness or injury is well-advised to cultivate neigong to build up their internal health and vitality.\u00a0 When jing-qi-shen is smooth and abundant, then practicing neidan is possible.\u00a0 We are well-advised to continue practicing neigong as long as we have a body, as it provides a base for life and neidan.\u00a0 Neiguan is not part of this progressive spectrum.\u00a0 Neiguan is relevant for the beginner \u2013 it is probably a good idea to introduce neiguan from the very beginning, as it sets the stage for proper neigong.\u00a0 Neiguan also helps us to perceive our internal state to understand our needs.\u00a0 Then when we start working with neidan, neiguan is there as a neutral source of support and stabilization.\u00a0 As our practice of neidan comes to fruition, there we are in neiguan just as we were at the beginning.\u00a0 Our tradition says proper neiguan brings about neidan effortlessly, and neidan\u00a0simply culminates in an empowered state of neiguan.<\/p>\n I invite you to consider your practice methods and make sure you are clear about which of these you are practicing and why.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In our school, as is common in Daoist traditions, we take three distinct approaches to internal cultivation: neigong, neidan, & neiguan.\u00a0 The term for internal cultivation is neixiu (\u5167\u4fee) \u2013 nei (\u5167) means internal; xiu (\u4fee) means to study, repair, or cultivate. The notion of internal cultivation holds prominence in Chinese traditions, particularly Daoism.\u00a0 But … Continue reading “Three Kinds of Internal Cultivation”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17,8,18],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384"}],"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=384"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":390,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions\/390"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}