![\"Xing](\"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Xing-Qi-Jade-Inscription-e1561556434324.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
![\"Xing](\"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Xing-Qi-Jade-Inscription-flattened-300x136.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
\u884c\u6c23<\/p>\n
\u6df1\u5247\u84c4 \u84c4\u5247\u4f38 \u4f38\u5247\u4e0b \u4e0b\u5247\u5b9a \u5b9a\u5247\u56fa \u56fa\u5247\u840c \u840c\u5247\u9577 \u9577\u5247\u9000 \u5247\u5929<\/p>\n
\u5929\u6a5f\u8202\u5728\u4e0a \u5730\u6a5f\u8202\u5728\u4e0b \u9806\u5247\u751f \u9006\u5247\u6b7b<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Circulate qi<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Deepen then store<\/p>\n
Store then expand<\/p>\n
Expand then descend<\/p>\n
Descend then stabilize<\/p>\n
Stabilize then densify<\/p>\n
Densify then sprout<\/p>\n
Sprout then grow<\/p>\n
Grow then withdraw<\/p>\n
Then Heaven<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Heaven pivots up<\/p>\n
Earth pivots down<\/p>\n
Comply then live<\/p>\n
Oppose then die<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Commentary<\/u><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Check out this old piece of jade inscribed with a pithy guide to qi-cultivation from the Warring States period, around the time of Laozi.\u00a0 It seems to have been some kind of pendant or a knob on a staff.\u00a0 The inscription describes the process of internal qi-cultivation and warns of the peril of improper practice.\u00a0 Chances are this piece was transmitted along with detailed oral guidance.\u00a0 This inscription is considered one of the oldest artifacts evidencing qi-cultivation, and I would also say it pretty clearly addresses the process later known as Neidan (internal alchemy), as it succinctly describes the alchemical process.\u00a0 Many of the characters are also used by Laozi and later Neidan texts.\u00a0 While it could be that this guidance was written specific to a particular practitioner, it appears general enough to apply to all practitioners.<\/p>\n
As per traditional writing, the characters start at the upper right and go downward, the columns then proceeding to the left.\u00a0 The two short horizontal lines (meaning \u201ctwo\u201d) at the lower right of many of the characters are doubling marks, used in Zhou-era script to indicate repeating the character.\u00a0 The stone is cut into twelve sides, with three characters on each side \u2013 so there\u2019s a total of 36 written characters, however including repeated characters there are 44 (yikes! an inauspicious number, perhaps this is why doubling marks are used).\u00a0 I have rendered the characters horizontally from left to right, have inserted the repeated characters, have inserted spaces between phrases, and have broken it into three sections.\u00a0 Let\u2019s look at each phrase in detail as it relates to our practice of Zuowang & Neidan.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Circulate qi (<\/em>x\u00edng q\u00ec, <\/em>\u884c\u6c23)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This first phrase serves as both the title of the script and its first line.\u00a0 Xing (\u884c) means to move or circulate \u2013 this is the character used for the Five Elements or Phases.\u00a0 Qi (\u6c23) here may apply to moving or sitting practices alike.\u00a0 Whether moving or still, qi circulates.\u00a0 While we may interpret this and each subsequent phrase as instruction for what we \u201cought to do\u201d, in our tradition of wuweidao we view this inscription \u2013 as well as most Neidan instruction \u2013 as describing what happens effortlessly of itself when we just \u201csit & forget\u201d regularly over a period of time.\u00a0 Correct circulation of qi is the natural function of Dao, we don\u2019t need to make happen through effort or intention.\u00a0 Yet guidelines for correct circulation are invaluable, given human beings\u2019 tendency to mismanage our qi.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Deepen then store (<\/em>sh\u0113n z\u00e9 x\u00f9, <\/em>\u6df1\u5247\u84c4)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Regular qi-circulation deepens (\u6df1) the qi, just as water flowing in the same place over time cuts a channel in the earth.\u00a0 In both Zuowang & Neidan, the qi turns inward, going deep into the dantian.\u00a0 While this inward shift isn\u2019t about strenuous effort, we do need to give it the chance to happen \u2013 this is the whole purpose of formal practice.\u00a0 Otherwise the \u201cdeep channels\u201d manifest as karmic entanglements thieving away the qi.\u00a0 Such thieving and qi-mismanagement is addressed in important Daoist texts such as the Yinfu Jing & Qingjing Jing.<\/p>\n \u201cZe\u201d (\u5247) refers to sequencing \u2013 this, then that.\u00a0 While we could approach these sequences by deliberately shifting gears in practice, our tradition reads these transitions as natural progressions of a single practice, not instigated by intention.<\/p>\n So, just like water flowing into a pool, as we let the qi flow deep inside, we naturally store (\u84c4) it up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Store then expand (<\/em>x\u00f9 z\u00e9 <\/em>sh\u0113n, <\/em>\u84c4\u5247\u4f38)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we store up the qi, of itself it expands (\u4f38), just as water in a pool rises higher & higher.\u00a0 This expansion exerts a positive pressure in every direction.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Expand then descend (<\/em>sh\u0113n z\u00e9 <\/em>xi\u00e0, <\/em>\u4f38\u5247\u4e0b)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the qi expands, it naturally becomes both heavier & lighter at the same time, exerting more pressure downward (\u4e0b) at the base of the channel even while feeling freer to roam.\u00a0 One thing we want to watch for here is that the expanding qi doesn\u2019t just float away.\u00a0 Keep it down.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Descend then stabilize (<\/em>xi\u00e0 z\u00e9 <\/em>ding, <\/em>\u4e0b\u5247\u5b9a)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we let the qi sink \u2013 and let it keep sinking & keep sinking \u2013 it becomes stable (\u5b9a).\u00a0 Ding is the term used to translate the Buddhist word \u201cSamadhi\u201d.\u00a0 But for Daoists it\u2019s more about stabilizing qi rather than fixing the mind.\u00a0 The Tang Dynasty scriptures Dingguan Jing & Zuowang Lun go into more detail about the process of stabilization.\u00a0 Ding is also a homophone for cauldron, a Neidan reference to the lower dantian.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Stabilize then densify (<\/em>d\u00ecng z\u00e9 <\/em>g\u00f9, <\/em>\u5b9a\u5247\u56fa)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we continue to abide sunken and stable, the qi of itself becomes very, very dense (\u56fa).\u00a0 As though the entire universe is being compressed into a single point.\u00a0 But this is not about strenuous focus!\u00a0 The body remains limber and at ease, the mind remains calm and open.\u00a0 At this point not only do we feel the lower dantian densifying, we may also feel it in the bone marrow throughout the entire body.\u00a0 Deep, stable, dense.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Densify then sprout (<\/em>g\u00f9 z\u00e9 <\/em>m\u00e9ng, <\/em>\u56fa\u5247\u840c)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This densification causes a kind of grinding feeling that excites an internal movement like a pressure cooker \u2013 referred to here as sprouting (\u840c).\u00a0 Sprouting might manifest as subtle internal thunder or jerking spasms in the torso or limbs, as we are talking about a lot of power here.\u00a0 These spasms may have a blissful quality as this is an internal stirring of jing (embodiment-essence).\u00a0 This is where keeping our practice effortless and natural is really important.\u00a0 It\u2019s also important that we not actively try to sprout the qi \u2013 the emergence of young yang happens of its own, inevitably, if our densifying practice is correct.\u00a0 Zhang Boduan, in his seminal Song Dynasty Neidan work, Wuzhen Pian, referred to this stage as the emergence of the Mysterious Pearl.\u00a0 Precious.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sprout then grow (<\/em>m\u00e9ng z\u00e9 <\/em>zh<\/em>\u01ce<\/em>ng, <\/em>\u840c\u5247\u9577)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n If we stay with this cultivation as described above \u2013 and don\u2019t let the sprouted qi spill outward too much \u2013 the sprout grows & grows (\u9577).\u00a0 This character has a homograph that means constancy, but I think grow is meant here as it follows sprouting.\u00a0 But this is not an external expansion \u2013 it is growing in an internal direction.\u00a0 And rising upward from a stable base.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grow then withdraw (<\/em>zh<\/em>\u01ce<\/em>ng z\u00e9 <\/em>tu\u00ec, <\/em>\u9577\u5247\u9000)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As the sprout grows inward & upward, eventually it reaches the mountain peak.\u00a0 This means withdrawing (\u9000) from manifestation.\u00a0 This character includes the radical for movement (\u8fb6) as well as the 7th<\/sup> trigram (\u826e, \u2636) \u2013 so we can literally translate it as the qi \u201cgoes to the mountain\u201d.\u00a0 Mountain refers to the baiwei at the top of the head.\u00a0 The character for mountain shows an eye gazing inward \u2013 suggesting the practice of neiguan (inner observation).\u00a0 \u201cGoing to the mountain\u201d is also a term used for going on retreat or becoming a monk.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then Heaven (<\/em>z\u00e9 <\/em>ti\u0101n, <\/em>\u5247\u5929)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure why the character for withdraw isn\u2019t repeated here \u2013 it may be due to a rhyming pattern.\u00a0 Most translators add it in.\u00a0 As the qi withdraws to the mountain, it reaches the sky.\u00a0 Heaven (\u5929) doesn\u2019t really mean the manifest sky but rather the pure yang creative force referenced in the Yijing.\u00a0 This ascension is not like strenuously climbing a steep staircase \u2013 it is rather like rising mists that float effortlessly upward when conditions are correct.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Heaven pivots up (<\/em>ti\u0101n j\u012b <\/em>ch\u014dng z\u00e0i sh\u00e0ng, <\/em>\u5929\u6a5f\u8202\u5728\u4e0a)<\/em><\/p>\n Earth pivots down (<\/em>d\u00ec j\u012b <\/em>ch\u014dng z\u00e0i <\/em>xi\u00e0, <\/em>\u5730\u6a5f\u8202\u5728\u4e0b)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n These lines are tricky to translate.\u00a0 It\u2019s not just \u201cHeaven is above, Earth is below.\u201d\u00a0 \u6a5f is a mechanism or pivot (the character suggests a sharp wooden tool and is an important term in the Yinfu Jing); \u8202 means to grind in a mortar.\u00a0 So we can say Heaven processes things upward (\u4e0a), Earth processes things downward (\u4e0b).\u00a0 I think the meaning here is that returning to Heaven \u201chinges\u201d on the process outlined above.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Comply then live (<\/em>sh\u00f9n z\u00e9 <\/em>sheng, <\/em>\u9806\u5247\u751f)<\/em><\/p>\n Oppose then die (<\/em>n\u00ec z\u00e9 <\/em>s<\/em>\u01d0, <\/em>\u9006\u5247\u6b7b)<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following (\u9806) the process outlined above leads from Earth (pure yin) to Heaven (pure yang).\u00a0 Returning to Heaven means eternal life (\u9577\u751f) \u2013 but it\u2019s important to understand that we are not talking about enabling our emergent identity to last forever.\u00a0 As Liu Ming says: \u201can immortal self would be like eternal pollution.\u201d\u00a0 Immortality (\u4ed9) refers to a person who has withdrawn to the mountain \u2013 the character shows a person (\u4ebb) and a mountain (\u5c71).<\/p>\n Opposing (\u9006) this process leads to certain death (\u6b7b) \u2013 ever disconnected from Heaven.\u00a0 The Yinfu Jing & Qingjing Jing further address these perils.<\/p>\n These lines resonate with Laozi\u2019s saying \u201cthe sage leaves that and takes this\u201d from Dao De Jing Chapter 12.\u00a0 This is the basis of precepts in Daoism \u2013 parameters for correct practice and qi-management.\u00a0 By correct, we mean natural alignment with the Dao of Heaven.<\/p>\n This twelve-sided stone includes pithy, simple guidelines \u2013 yet quite a bit more complex than our instruction in Zuowang.\u00a0 We don\u2019t need to remember all this.\u00a0 But we do need to make sure our practice is correct.\u00a0 It\u2019s not really enough just to sit without some sense of what happens when the qi is cultivating properly.\u00a0 This is where some engagement in Neidan teaching & practice can be really helpful for Zuowang practitioners.\u00a0 It\u2019s also a good idea to engage in discussion with experienced practitioners about what is happening with our practice.\u00a0 I hope this work helps to illuminate what is happening with the qi in your practice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u884c\u6c23 \u6df1\u5247\u84c4 \u84c4\u5247\u4f38 \u4f38\u5247\u4e0b \u4e0b\u5247\u5b9a \u5b9a\u5247\u56fa \u56fa\u5247\u840c \u840c\u5247\u9577 \u9577\u5247\u9000 \u5247\u5929 \u5929\u6a5f\u8202\u5728\u4e0a \u5730\u6a5f\u8202\u5728\u4e0b \u9806\u5247\u751f \u9006\u5247\u6b7b Circulate qi Deepen then store Store then expand Expand then descend Descend then stabilize Stabilize then densify Densify then sprout Sprout then grow Grow then withdraw Then Heaven Heaven pivots up Earth pivots down Comply then live … Continue reading “Xing Qi (\u884c\u6c23) Jade Inscription”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[21,22],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437"}],"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=437"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1117,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/437\/revisions\/1117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=437"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldoakdao.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}