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66-562: Little is known about the life of Heshang Gong; however the impact of his writing is extensive in regards to the understanding and translation of the Dao De Jing, and is considered one of the earliest proponents of Taoist meditative practices which cultivate the “ three treasures ” of vitality , energy , and spirit , and the "dual cultivation" of spiritual nature ( Chinese : 性 ; pinyin : xìng ) and life-and-destiny ( Chinese : 命 ; pinyin : mìng ). Heshang Gong's name

132-533: A Warring States era jade artifact could be an earlier record of breath meditation than the Neiye , Tao Te Ching , or Zhuangzi . This rhymed inscription entitled xingqi 行氣 "circulating qi " was inscribed on a dodecagonal block of jade, tentatively identified as a pendant or a knob for a staff. While the dating is uncertain, estimates range from approximately 380 BCE ( Guo Moruo ) to earlier than 400 BCE ( Joseph Needham ). In any case, Roth says, "both agree that this

198-571: A healthy body and longevity , which are the main goals of internal alchemy (Ching 1996, 395). Jing "essence" referring to the primordial energies of the physical body. Based upon the idea that death and illness are caused by over straining and stressing of one's mind and body leads to the depletion of one's jing , Daoist internal alchemy claims that preserving jing allows one to have a long, healthy and happy life, known classically as longevity in Chinese thought, if not immortality . Qi or ch'i

264-453: A material or immaterial entity that represents the original state of being and the attainment of that state. The neidan tradition of internal alchemy is practiced by working with the energies that were already present in the human body as opposed to using natural substances, medicines or elixirs, from outside of the body. The Shangqing School of Taoism played an important role in the emergence of neidan alchemy, after using Waidan mainly as

330-553: A means for rulers to achieve effective government. Internal evidence reveals that the Huainanzi authors were familiar with the Guanzi methods of meditation. The text uses xinshu 心術 "mind techniques" both as a general term for "inner cultivation" meditation practices and as a specific name for the Guanzi chapters. The essentials of the world: do not lie in the Other but instead lie in

396-410: A meditative practice, and therefore turning it from an external to an internal art. Internal alchemy focuses upon transforming the bodily sanbao "three treasures", which are the essential energies sustaining human life: According to the 13th-century Book of Balance and Harmony : When the "three treasures" are internally maintained, along with a balance of yin and yang, it is possible to achieve

462-403: A peaceful dwelling in the depths of the mountains, with enough numinous elixirs and medicine to carry out my plans. Thus, by the aids of external elixirs [ waidan ] I shall be able to cultivate the elixir within [ neidan ]. Others believed that neidan first occurred in the biographies of Deng Yuzhi 鄧郁之 (fl. 483–493) and Su Yuanming 蘇元明 (fl. c.  600 ). However, the authenticity of

528-904: A post" techniques. The opposite direction of adoption has also taken place, when the martial art of Taijiquan , "great ultimate fist", became one of the practices of modern Daoist monks, while historically it was not among traditional techniques. The Chinese language has several keywords for Daoist meditation practices, some of which are difficult to translate accurately into English. Livia Kohn distinguishes three basic types of Daoist meditation: "concentrative", "insight", and "visualization". Ding 定 literally means "decide; settle; stabilize; definite; firm; solid" and early scholars such as Xuanzang used it to translate Sanskrit samadhi "deep meditative contemplation" in Chinese Buddhist texts . In this sense, Kohn renders ding as "intent contemplation" or "perfect absorption". The Zuowanglun has

594-555: A section called Taiding 泰定 "intense concentration" Guan 觀 basically means "look at (carefully); watch; observe; view; scrutinize" (and names the Yijing Hexagram 20 Guan "Viewing"). Guan became the Daoist technical term for "monastery; abbey", exemplified by Louguan 樓觀 "Tiered Abbey" temple, designating "Observation Tower", which was a major Daoist center from the 5th through 7th centuries (see Louguantai ). Kohn says

660-436: A specific technique, and by Song Emperor Zhenzong 's reign (997–1022), the term designates a group of techniques, expressed in specific alchemical language. It is sometimes transliterated using the older Wade–Giles system as Neitan in literature on western Alchemy. Neidan is part of the Chinese alchemical meditative tradition that is said to have been separated into internal and external ( Waidan ) at some point during

726-421: A stable mind at your core, With the eyes and ears acute and clear, And with the four limbs firm and fixed, You can thereby make a lodging place for the vital essence. The vital essence: it is the essence of the vital energy. When the vital energy is guided, it [the vital essence] is generated, But when it is generated, there is thought, When there is thought, there is knowledge, But when there

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792-633: Is an array of esoteric doctrines and physical, mental, and spiritual practices that Taoist initiates use to prolong life and create an immortal spiritual body that would survive after death. Also known as Jindan ( 金丹 "golden elixir"), inner alchemy combines theories derived from external alchemy ( waidan 外丹 ), correlative cosmology (including the Five Phases ), the emblems of the Yijing , and medical theory , with techniques of Taoist meditation , daoyin gymnastics, and sexual hygiene . In neidan ,

858-497: Is called “mysterious integrity.” Three of these Tao Te Ching phrases resonate with Neiye meditation vocabulary. Baoyi 抱 一"embrace unity" compares with shouyi 守一 "maintain the One" (24 above). Zhuanqi 專氣 "focus your vital breath" is zhuanqi 摶氣 "concentrating your vital breath" (19). Dichu xuanjian 滌除玄覽 "cleanse the mirror of mysteries" and jingchu qi she 敬除其舍 "diligently clean out its lodging place" (13) have

924-509: Is clear that one will not be able to mount the clouds and ascend on the vapors. The (c. 2nd century CE) Tao Te Ching commentary attributed to Heshang Gong 河上公 (lit. "Riverbank Elder") provides what Kohn calls the "first evidence for Daoist meditation" and "proposes a concentrative focus on the breath for harmonization with the Dao". Eduard Erkes says the purpose of the Heshang Gong commentary

990-471: Is defined as the "natural energy of the universe" and manifests in everyone and everything. By means of internal alchemy, Taoists strive to maintain a positive free flow of qi through the body in paths or meridians moving to each individual organ. as Stagnation of qi is a primary or root cause of many health conditions in traditional Chinese thinking. Healing practices such as acupuncture , Tui na , cupping and herbal medicines are believed to open up

1056-448: Is found in the Daozang ( Taoist Canon ), the largest collection of Taoist texts. Neidan shares a significant portion of its notions and methods with classical Chinese medicine, fangshi and with other bodies of practices, such as meditation and the methods for "nourishing life" ( yangsheng ). What distinguishes alchemy from these related traditions is its unique view of the elixir as

1122-643: Is knowledge, then you must stop. Whenever the forms of the mind have excessive knowledge, You lose your vitality. Neiye Verse 18 contains the earliest Chinese reference to practicing breath-control meditation. Breathing is said to "coil and uncoil" or "contract and expand"', "with coiling/contracting referring to exhalation and uncoiling/expanding to inhalation". For all [to practice] this Way: You must coil, you must contract, You must uncoil, you must expand, You must be firm, you must be regular [in this practice]. Hold fast to this excellent [practice]; do not let go of it. Chase away

1188-500: Is only known as the epithet Riverside Elder ( Chinese : 河上公 ; pinyin : héshàng gōng ), being an early form of anshang 岸上, meaning on the bank or shore. What we know of Heshang Gong comes from the preface written by Ge Xuan 葛玄, a Taoist of the third century AD. According to Ge Xuan, Emperor Wen of Han , a keen student of the Tao Te Ching , had heard that Heshang Gong was an expert on that text, and sent for him to come to

1254-561: Is revealed in the ascending; The dynamism of Earth is revealed in the descending. Follow this and you will live; oppose it and you will die. Practicing this series of exhalation and inhalation patterns, one becomes directly aware of the "dynamisms of Heaven and Earth" through ascending and descending breath. Tianji 天機 , translated "dynamism of Heaven", also occurs in the Zhuangzi (6), as "natural reserves" in "Those whose desires are deep-seated will have shallow natural reserves".Roth notes

1320-485: Is supremely soft, can you be like a baby? Cleanse the mirror of mysteries, can you make it free of blemish? Love the people and enliven the state, can you do so without cunning? Open and close the gate of heaven, can you play the part of the female? Reach out with clarity in all directions, can you refrain from action? It gives birth to them and nurtures them, It gives birth to them but does not possess them, It rears them but does not control them. This

1386-622: Is the earliest extant evidence for the practice of guided breathing in China". The inscription says: To circulate the Vital Breath: Breathe deeply, then it will collect. When it is collected, it will expand. When it expands, it will descend. When it descends, it will become stable. When it is stable, it will be regular. When it is regular, it will sprout. When it sprouts, it will grow. When it grows, it will recede. When it recedes, it will become heavenly. The dynamism of Heaven

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1452-601: The Jixia Academy in Qi composed the core Guanzi , Neiye meditation techniques are technically "Daoistic" rather than "Daoist". Neiye Verse 8 associates dingxin 定心 "stabilizing the mind" with acute hearing and clear vision, and generating jing 精 "vital essence". However, thought, says Roth, is considered "an impediment to attaining the well-ordered mind, particularly when it becomes excessive". If you can be aligned and be tranquil, Only then can you be stable. With

1518-661: The Tang dynasty . The Cantong qi ( The Kinship of the Three ) is the earliest known book on theoretical alchemy in China; it was written by the alchemist Wei Boyang in 142 AD. This text influenced the formation of n eidan , whose earliest existing texts date from the first half of the 8th century. The authors of several neidan articles refer to their teachings as the Way of the Golden Elixir ( jindan zhi dao ). The majority of Chinese alchemical sources

1584-503: The Warring States period (475–221 BCE), when the philosophical Hundred Schools of Thought flourished. Four chapters of the Guanzi have descriptions of meditation practices: Xinshu 心術 "Mind techniques" (chapters 36 and 37), Baixin 白心 "Purifying the mind" (38), and Neiye "Inward training" (49). Modern scholars believe the Neiye text was written in the 4th century BCE, and

1650-506: The jīndān dào 金丹道 or Way of the Golden Elixir. In Modern Standard Chinese usage, the term nèidān shù 內丹術 (with 術 "art; skill; technique; method") refers generally to internal alchemical practices for longevity by maintaining good health, and the prevention of pain and suffering. The date for the earliest use of the term neidan is uncertain. 內丹 or neidan had been mentioned in 灵剑子 by Xu Xun 许逊 in Jin dynasty (266–420) , but on

1716-467: The "emptying of all images (thoughts, feelings, and so on) rather than concentration on or filling the mind with images", comparable with Buddhist nirodha-samapatti "cessation of feelings and perceptions" meditation. Verse 10 gives what Roth calls "probably the most important evidence for breathing meditation" in the Tao Te Ching . While you Cultivate the soul and embrace unity, can you keep them from separating? Focus your vital breath until it

1782-477: The "first evidence for Taoist meditation" and "proposes a concentrative focus on the breath for harmonization with the Tao ." Eduard Erkes says the purpose of the Heshang Gong commentary was not only to explicate the Tao Te Ching , but chiefly to enable "the reader to make practical use of the book and in teaching him to use it as a guide to meditation and to a life becoming a Taoist skilled in meditative training." Most of

1848-674: The Cyclical Elixir ( huandan 還丹 ), the Golden Elixir ( jindan 金丹 ), the Great Elixir ( dadan 大丹 ), the Interior and Exterior Medicines ( nei/waiyao 内外藥 ), the Inner and Outer Counterparts ( nei/waixiang 内外象 ), and the Yin Elixir and Yang Elixir ( yindan 陰丹 and yangdan 陽丹 ). Based upon the textual evidence, Farzeen Baldrian-Hussein concludes that in early texts, neidan refers to

1914-556: The Dao. Cun 存 usually means "exist; be present; live; survive; remain", but has a sense of "to cause to exist; to make present" in the Daoist meditation technique, which both the Shangqing School and Lingbao Schools popularized. It thus means that the meditator, by an act of conscious concentration and focused intention, causes certain energies to be present in certain parts of the body or makes specific deities or scriptures appear before his or her mental eye. For this reason,

1980-521: The Faith, not in order to enjoy worldly happiness. I pray that all the saints and sages will come to my help, so that I may get some good magic mushrooms [ zhi 芝 ], and numinous elixirs [ shendan 神丹 ], enabling me to cure all illnesses and to stop both hunger and thirst. In this way I shall be able to practice continually the way of the Sutras and to engage in the several forms of meditations. I shall hope to find

2046-698: The One and discard the myriad disturbances. You will see profit and not be enticed by it, You will see harm and not be frightened by it. Relaxed and unwound, yet acutely sensitive, In solitude you delight in your own person. This is called "revolving the vital breath": Your thoughts and deeds seem heavenly. (24) Several passages in the classic Tao Te Ching are interpreted as referring to meditation. For instance, "Attain utmost emptiness, Maintain utter stillness" (16) emphasizes xu 虛 "empty; void" and jing 靜 "still; quiet", both of which are central meditative concepts. Randal P. Peerenboom describes Laozi's contemplative process as " apophatic meditation",

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2112-506: The Transformational Thoroughfare. This is what I mean by 'sit and forget'." "If you are identical," said Confucius, "then you have no preferences. If you are transformed, then you have no more constants. It's you who is really the worthy one! Please permit me to follow after you." (9) Roth interprets this "slough off my limbs and trunk" ( 墮肢體 ) phrase to mean, "lose visceral awareness of the emotions and desires, which for

2178-483: The Way that one can gather emptiness, and emptiness is the fasting of the mind." (4) In the second, Yan Hui explains zuowang meditation. Yen Hui saw Confucius again on another day and said, "I'm making progress." "What do you mean?" "I sit and forget." "What do you mean, 'sit and forget'?" Confucius asked with surprise. "I slough off my limbs and trunk," said Yen Hui, "dim my intelligence, depart from my form, leave knowledge behind, and become identical with

2244-414: The Way, or some representation of it. It is to be undertaken when you are sitting in a calm and unmoving position, and it enables you to set aside the disturbances of perceptions, thoughts, emotions, and desires that normally fill your conscious mind." When you enlarge your mind and let go of it, When you relax your vital breath and expand it, When your body is calm and unmoving: And you can maintain

2310-530: The apophatic meditative process, all distinctions and ways of distinguishing are "forgotten" in the sense of eliminated: they cease to exist. Another Zhuangzi chapter describes breathing meditation that results in a body "like withered wood" and a mind "like dead ashes". Sir Motley of Southurb sat leaning against his low table. He looked up to heaven and exhaled slowly. Disembodied, he seemed bereft of soul. Sir Wanderer of Countenance Complete, who stood in attendance before him, asked, "How can we explain this? Can

2376-409: The body really be made to become like withered wood? Can the mind really be made to become like dead ashes? The one who is leaning against the table now is not the one who was formerly leaning against the table." "Indeed," said Sir Motley, "your question is a good one, Yen. Just now, I lost myself. Can you understand this? You may have heard the pipes of man, but not the pipes of earth. You may have heard

2442-405: The common word nèi 內 meaning "inside; inner; internal" with dān 丹 "cinnabar; vermillion; elixir; alchemy". The antonym of nèi is wài 外 "outside; exterior; external", and nèidān "internal elixir / alchemy" was coined from the earlier complementary term wàidān 外丹 "external elixir / alchemy". Traditional Chinese medical alchemical texts and sources ordinarily call neidan

2508-431: The early Daoists, have 'physiological' bases in the various organs". Peerenboom further describes zuowang as "aphophatic or cessation meditation." One does away with sense perceptions, with all forms of cognition (thoughts, knowledge, conceptions, idea, images), with all valuations (preferences, norms, mores). Cognate to and a variant of wang ( 忘 —to forget) is wang ( 亡 —to destroy, perish, disappear, not exist). In

2574-483: The emperor to teach him. The hermit declined the invitation to teach the emperor, saying, "Tao is esteemed and Te honored, one cannot ask much about them." Annoyed, the emperor went to the hermit and sternly informed him that as he resided within the bounds of the Empire, and the emperor had the power to make him rich or poor. Heshang Gong immediately rose into the air and replied, "above: "Now above I have not reached heaven, in

2640-414: The excessive; abandon the trivial. And when you reach its ultimate limit You will return to the Way and its inner power. (18) Neiye Verse 24 summarizes "inner cultivation" meditation in terms of shouyi 守一 "maintaining the one" and yunqi 運氣 "revolving the qi ". Roth says this earliest extant shouyi reference "appears to be a meditative technique in which the adept concentrates on nothing but

2706-513: The final line's contrasting verbs, xun 訓 "follow; accord with" and ni 逆 "oppose; resist", were similarly used in the (168 BCE) Huangdi Sijing Yin-yang silk manuscripts. As Daoism was flourishing during the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), meditation practitioners continued early techniques and developed new ones. The (139 BCE) Huainanzi , which is an eclectic compilation attributed to Liu An , frequently describes meditation, especially as

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2772-408: The first dialogue, Confucius explains xinzhai . "I venture to ask what 'fasting of the mind' is," said Hui. "Maintaining the unity of your will," said Confucius, "listen not with your ears but with your mind. Listen not with your mind but with your primal breath. The ears are limited to listening, the mind is limited to tallying. The primal breath, however, awaits things emptily. It is only through

2838-410: The forehead". Xuanlan occurs in the line 滌除玄覽 that Mair renders "Cleanse the mirror of mysteries". Erkes translates "By purifying and cleansing one gets the dark look", because the commentary says, "One must purify one's mind and let it become clear. If the mind stays in dark places, the look knows all its doings. Therefore it is called the dark look." Erkes explains xuanlan as "the Daoist term for

2904-611: The human body becomes a cauldron (or "ding" ) in which the Three Treasures of Jing ("Essence"), Qi ("Breath") and Shen ("Spirit") are cultivated for the purpose of improving physical, emotional and mental health, and ultimately returning to the primordial unity of the Tao , i.e., attaining Taoist Immortality . It is believed the Xiuzhen Tu is such a cultivation map. In China, it is an important form of practice for most schools of Taoism . The Chinese compound nèidān combines

2970-474: The meaning, applicability, and cultural context of the Tao Te Ching throughout Chinese history. He was the first to explain, in written form, its many paradoxical idioms and place them in context of the time and culture in which they were written. Every subsequent commentary, re-editing, and translation of the Tao Te Ching has absorbed some degree of influence from his work." Heshang Gong provides what Kohn calls

3036-548: The middle I am not bound to men, below I am not staying on earth. How do I belong to the people? How could your Majesty want to make me rich and honored or poor and despised?" The emperor realized that he was speaking to a divine emissary, repented of his brusque manner, and begged of the hermit to be instructed in the work. Thereupon Heshang Gong presented his commentary to the emperor. Dan G. Reid says, "Heshang Gong’s insights into Taoist wisdom, history, cosmogony, and meditative practices, have been an essential aid to understanding

3102-468: The nostrils. To open means to breathe hard; to shut means to inhale and exhale." The (c. 1st century BCE to 2nd century CE) Taiping Jing "Scripture of Great Peace" emphasized shouyi "guarding the One" meditation, in which one visualizes different cosmic colors corresponding with different parts of one's body. Neidan Neidan , or internal alchemy ( traditional Chinese : 內丹術 ; simplified Chinese : 內丹术 ; pinyin : nèidān shù ),

3168-421: The old and internalizing the new. They cast off form and abandoned wisdom; they embraced simplicity and returned to genuineness; in roaming with the mysterious and subtle above, they penetrated to the clouds and Heaven. Now if one wants to study their Way and does not attain their nurturing of the qi and their lodging of the spirit but only imitates their every exhale and inhale, their contracting and expanding, it

3234-418: The other hand Arthur Waley proposed that it was first recorded in the 559 vow taken by Tiantai Buddhist patriarch Nanyue Huisi praying to successfully make an elixir that would keep him alive until the coming of Maitreya . Many scholars agreed, including Joseph Needham and Lu Gwei-djen who translated Huisi's vow to live as an ascetic in the mountains: I am seeking for the longevity in order to defend

3300-426: The others were derived from it. A. C. Graham regards the Neiye as "possibly the oldest 'mystical' text in China"; Harold Roth describes it as "a manual on the theory and practice of meditation that contains the earliest references to breath control and the earliest discussion of the physiological basis of self-cultivation in the Chinese tradition". Owing to the consensus that proto-Daoist Huang-Lao philosophers at

3366-486: The pipes of earth, but not the pipes of heaven." (2) Victor Mair presents Zhuangzi evidence for "close affinities between the Daoist sages and the ancient Indian holy men. Yogic breath control and asanas (postures) were common to both traditions." First, this reference to "breathing from the heels", which is a modern explanation of the sirsasana "supported headstand". The true man [i.e., zhenren ] of old did not dream when he slept and did not worry when he

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3432-408: The position of the eyes during meditation, when they are half-closed and fixed on the point of the nose." Tianmen occurs in the line 天門開闔 "Open and close the gate of heaven". The Heshang commentary says, "The gate of heaven is called the purple secret palace of the north-pole. To open and shut means to end and to begin with the five junctures. In the practice of asceticism, the gate of heaven means

3498-461: The relevant passages mentioned above is doubtful. The term neidan was seldom used throughout the late Tang dynasty (618–907) and Five dynasties (907–960) period, and only became widespread around the beginning of the Song dynasty (960–1279) period, when neidan evolved into a highly complex system in both its theoretical and practical aspects. Tang texts described internal alchemical practices with

3564-468: The same verb chu "eliminate; remove". The Taodejing exists in two received versions, named after the commentaries. The "Heshang Gong version" (see below) explains textual references to Daoist meditation, but the "Wang Bi version" explains them away. Wang Bi (226–249) was a scholar of Xuanxue "mysterious studies; neo-Daoism", which adapted Confucianism to explain Daoism, and his version eventually became

3630-714: The self; do not lie in other people but instead lie in your own person. When you fully realize it [the Way]; in your own person, then all the myriad things will be arrayed before you. When you thoroughly penetrate the teachings of the Techniques of the Mind, then you will be able to put lusts and desires, likes and dislikes, outside yourself. Several Huainanzi passages associate breath control meditation with longevity and immortality. For example, two famous xian "immortals": Now Wang Qiao and Chi Songzi exhaled and inhaled, spitting out

3696-518: The standard Tao Te Ching interpretation. Richard Wilhelm said Wang Bi's commentary changed the Tao Te Ching "from a compendiary of magical meditation to a collection of free philosophical aperçus ". The (c. 4th–3rd centuries BCE) Daoist Zhuangzi refers to meditation in more specific terms than the Tao Te Ching . Two well-known examples of mental disciplines are Confucius and his favorite disciple Yan Hui discussing xinzhai 心齋 "heart-mind fasting" and zuowang "sitting forgetting". In

3762-683: The subtitles of each chapter of Yang Jwing Ming's English translation of the Tao Te Ching were borrowed from Heshang Gong's commentary. He states that this "was the earliest, most widespread, and most influential book in Chinese scholar society..." Solala Towler's interpretation of the Tao Te Ching ("Practicing the Tao Te Ching: 81 Steps on the Way"), acknowledges a heavy dependence on Heshang Gong's commentary, and quotes from it frequently throughout. Taoist meditation Taoist meditation ( / ˈ d aʊ ɪ s t / , / ˈ t aʊ -/ ), also spelled Daoist ( / ˈ d aʊ -/ ), refers to

3828-587: The traditional meditative practices associated with the Chinese philosophy and religion of Taoism , including concentration, mindfulness, contemplation, and visualization. The earliest Chinese references to meditation date from the Warring States period (475–221 BCE). Traditional Chinese medicine and Chinese martial arts have adapted certain Daoist meditative techniques. Some examples are Daoyin "guide and pull" breathing exercises, Neidan "internal alchemy" techniques, Neigong "internal skill" practices, Qigong breathing exercises, Zhan zhuang "standing like

3894-412: The two basic forms of Buddhist meditation: zhi is a concentrative exercise that achieves one-pointedness of mind or "cessation" of all thoughts and mental activities, while guan is a practice of open acceptance of sensory data, interpreted according to Buddhist doctrine as a form of "insight" or "wisdom". Guan meditators would seek to merge individual consciousness into emptiness and attain unity with

3960-419: The vacant wilderness, fishing and living leisurely—all this is merely indicative of nonaction. But it is favored by the scholars of rivers and lakes, men who flee from the world and wish to be idle. Blowing and breathing, exhaling and inhaling, expelling the old and taking in the new, bear strides and bird stretches—all this is merely indicative of the desire for longevity. But it is favored by scholars who channel

4026-400: The vital breath and flex the muscles and joints, men who nourish the physical form so as to emulate the hoary age of Progenitor P'eng [i.e., Peng Zu ]. (15) Mair previously noted the (c. 168 BCE) Mawangdui Silk Texts , famous for two Tao Te Ching manuscripts, include a painted text that illustrates gymnastic exercises–including the "odd expression 'bear strides'". Some writing on

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4092-515: The word guan , "intimates the role of Daoist sacred sites as places of contact with celestial beings and observation of the stars". Tang dynasty (618–907) Daoist masters developed guan "observation" meditation from Tiantai Buddhist zhiguan 止觀 "cessation and insight" meditation, corresponding to śamatha-vipaśyanā – the two basic types of Buddhist meditation are samatha "calm abiding; stabilizing meditation" and vipassanā "clear observation; analysis". Kohn explains, "The two words indicate

4158-493: The word is most commonly rendered "to visualize" or, as a noun, "visualization." Since, however, the basic meaning of cun is not just to see or be aware of but to be actually present, the translation "to actualize" or" actualization" may at times be correct if somewhat alien to the Western reader. Within the above three types of Daoist meditation, some important practices are: The earliest Chinese references to meditation date from

4224-639: The words fúyào 服藥 "take drug/medicine" and chángshēng 長生 "long life, longevity; (Taoism) eternal life". Liu Xiyue's 劉希岳 988 Taixuan langranzi jindao shi 太玄朗然子進道詩 (Master Taixuan Langran's Poems on Advancing in the Tao) has the earliest datable mention of the terms neidan and waidan . The c.  1019 Yunji Qiqian Taoist anthology mentions the term neidan . Early texts that mention neidan define it as synonymous or similar with some qi circulation techniques: Cultivation and Transmutation ( xiulian 修煉 ), Embryonic Breathing ( taixi 胎息 ),

4290-496: Was awake. His food was not savory, his breathing was deep. The breathing of the true man is from his heels, the breathing of the common man is from his throat. The words of those who unwillingly yield catch in their throats as though they were retching. Those whose desires are deep-seated will have shallow natural reserves. (6) Second, this "bear strides and bird stretches" reference to xian practices of yogic postures and breath exercises. Retiring to bogs and marshes, dwelling in

4356-451: Was not only to explicate the Tao Te Ching , but chiefly to enable "the reader to make practical use of the book and in teaching him to use it as a guide to meditation and to a life becoming a Daoist skilled in meditative training". Two examples from Tao Te Ching 10 (see above) are the Daoist meditation terms xuanlan 玄覽 (lit. "dark/mysterious display") "observe with a tranquil mind" and tianmen 天門 (lit. "gate of heaven") "middle of

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