Chapter 45 An Analysis of Meditation and "Refining Qi"

In order to truly understand the true meaning of "refinement and transformation of qi", we must first pay attention to the interlocking relationship of terms such as "spirit", "essence", "energy", "qi force" and "mind force".Originally, in traditional Chinese cultural thought, the two terms Jing and Shen are the same as the two terms "Jing" and "Qi"; they are completely independent and separate.Later, although the word "spirit" was combined to form a proper noun, it is difficult to draw a definite conclusion on the connotation and meaning of the word "spirit".

In the hands of Taoists after the Han and Wei dynasties, the three nouns "Jing", "Qi" and "Shen" were specially proposed as the main centers for cultivating the medicine of immortality; came. The so-called "Huang Ting Jing": "The three grades of medicine, the spirit and the essence of qi", opened the forerunner of later generations of alchemists who pay more attention to "essence", "qi" and "spirit".People often come to ask what are the clear definitions of the three terms "Jing", "Qi" and "Shen"?It's really hard to explain.But for easier understanding, I will use the "light", "heat" and "force" of cosmic physics as examples. "Essence" is the "heat" of life, "Qi" is "force", and "shen" is "light".If the life of human beings loses the functions of "light", "heat" and "force", it is a symbol of death.

The functions of "essence", "qi" and "shen" in human life are indeed like the phenomena of cosmic physics, they are separated step by step and mixed with each other. The main function of "Shen" is in the brain; the main part of "Qi" is in the chest cavity and stomach; the main function of "Jing" is in the lower abdomen of the kidneys and the testicles and genitals. Among them, the role of "Jing" is , is closely related to the whole system of endocrine (Endocrine) in modern medicine. However, it is unreasonable to think that "Qi" must be born from "Jing" and "Shen" must come from "Qi". According to the principles of "light", "heat" and "force", both "heat" and "force" are produced by the function of "light". By analogy, "jing" and "qi" are indeed produced by "shen". And yes. If a person is insane, his "jing" and "qi" will naturally tend to become weak.

Secondly, it is necessary to understand the joyful feeling of human life -- "pleasure" comes from "essence"; It comes from the stillness of "God".Buddhism attaches great importance to "cultivating the mind and nourishing the nature", changing the mind from the way of thinking, as the foundation of practice, its efficacy and results are indeed biased towards "spirit" and "qi", just like the top-grade elixir of Taoism.But naturally, it also incorporates the cultivation of "essence" and is included in it.After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Taoism paid attention to the methods and procedures of "refining the gods to transform the qi" and "refining the gods to return the emptiness", which is also equivalent to the three principles of Buddhism "observing precepts, cultivating concentration, and generating wisdom".If you understand its content, there is really no difference.

It can be seen from this that the "sperm" and "egg" that specialize in the internal gonad endocrine of the human body are the basis of meditation and meditation, which is worthy of careful study.However, this kind of concept and method is another matter for people who are physically weak or have passed middle age or are approaching the end of life.In short, Taoism and meditation are a kind of wisdom, which can be carried through without relying on blind belief and stubborn prejudice. In summary, human life is nothing more than a combination of "body" and "mind".However, the main functions of the physiological "body", summed up, are nothing more than the two functions of "essence" and "qi", which belong to the scope of "feeling". The main functions of the "heart", in a word, all belong to the scope of "perception".It is the function of "God".what was said in the past.They all follow the general line of "meditation" and "cultivation of the Tao". All the physiological reactions in "meditation" - that is, the moving phase of the Qi pulse are also part of the "feeling". "Feeling" is acquired, and it is also changing.The result of cultivating the Tao is to start with "feeling" and return to "feeling" and "perception", and enter the realm of oneness.But without "feeling", it is impossible to practice Taoism.

Therefore, it is necessary to understand the two meridians of "Ren" and "Du" through Qitong, and even open up the "Eight Meridians of Extraordinary Meridians", which is only the effect of "feeling".Moreover, in the process of "practicing refinement and transformation of qi", there is a response of unobstructed qi channels, which varies with the progress of kung fu.In the process of "refining qi to transform gods", there is another reaction of unobstructed qi veins, which naturally cooperates with the work of "refining qi to transform gods", and each has a different state.The magic of "returning alchemy after nine turns" mentioned in the ancient "Dan Jing", some people in later generations forced it to be far-fetched, and combined it with the relationship between the upper Qi channel, how to turn through the two channels of "Ren" and "Du" several times. It can be regarded as the number of ninety-nine.Although it is a bit far-fetched, but it is not unreasonable to use it to illustrate the trilogy of exercising "essence", "qi" and "shen". Each layer naturally has its own connotation changes.

I mentioned it above.When we want to understand the work of "refining and transforming qi", we first need to understand what is "true essence". Don't completely deny the role of acquired "spirit" or mistakenly believe that acquired "sperm" and "egg" are "sperm" The absolute representative of "fine".In fact, the acquired "energy" is also a change of true essence.In other words, the source of new life is absolutely related to the gonads, thyroid gland, and pituitary gland.When the gonads are fully active, and there is no cooperating with the lust in consciousness, this is indeed a state close to the "true essence".Therefore, it remains unchanged, and due to the abundant vitality of the gonads, over time, a force will naturally be generated, moving towards the tail root of the spinal nerve, and gradually moving upward; gradually from top to bottom, it stimulates the new activity of the pituitary gland.The salivary glands stimulated at this time also promote the activity of the thyroid gland. In terms of feeling, the heart is happy and cheerful, which is indescribable.But this preliminary phenomenon should only be said to be a condition of the "du channel" in the process of "refinement and transformation of qi", not the result of Taoism, and nothing more.For a person who works hard, all the cells in his body will change, becoming delicate and translucent, that is not a problem.Especially the muscles and cells of the face are more prominent. If you look carefully, they will be vaguely visible, and they will naturally show ample brilliance.But if the face is full of red light, but the muscle cells have not undergone significant changes, it is a wrong way, and be careful that the "blood pressure" may be too high.This is due to the excessive attachment of the mind, or the parade of "phase fire", which is suspected of lust.

After this, what follows is the "Ren" channel - including the opening up of the autonomic nervous system.Especially the filling of stomach qi in the "Zhonggong" gradually feels like sinking.At this point, if you can empty your mind and wait for the natural contraction of the testicles and "perineum" (also known as the seabed), (women will have uterine contraction and breast reaction.) If there is a ray of strength, from the previous Marrying upwards from the pubic bone to the "lower dantian" part of the lower abdomen, connecting with the descending qi of the "Zhongguan", which suddenly revitalizes the youth glands (abdomen) and produces unparalleled pleasure, even for men and women The pleasure of sexual behavior between the sexes is also difficult to compare.At the same time, this kind of pleasure penetrates through the inner thighs of the legs to the center of the feet and the toes.At that time, it was enjoyable and peaceful, like drinking alcohol and making it peaceful and comfortable. This can be regarded as the initial achievement of the real "refinement and transformation of qi".

As for this process, because of various relationships such as men, women, old and young, physical strength, similarities and differences in talents, etc.Although each person's changes and uncomfortable stimuli in the process vary from person to person, they are also inevitable phenomena that cannot be described for a while.Moreover, when the time of "meditation" reaches this point, there is still the possibility of regressing due to incidents at any time. If you are not careful, and lack the development and protection of wisdom, it is just a game. "Refining and transforming qi" is just a step in opening the knot of youth glands, and you must not be satisfied with less and be complacent about it.Moreover, all these situations belong to the state of "feeling", which can only be said to be the credit investigation of "additional practice" (processing) of Taoism, which is still far away from the realization of Taoism.If such a state can really be achieved, then "rejuvenating youth" and "reversing illness and prolonging life" will not be a problem.