Religious Qigong

[JadecloudAlchemist]

Alot of people get confused about the different Qigong types.

So I thought I would present this to help show the difference between what religious Qigong is. I am hoping this way it will clear up the super natural understanding of Qi and why I think, the supernatural theories and so should be placed in the religious Qigong catagory and not in TCM etc. I know that the focus on this is mainly Taoist but I wanted to try to find the stem of religious Qigong first use in China. It is not to say that Buddhism did not have any of this for I may write a blog on the history on how that merged with Taoism. All of this stuff is tedious and painstaking. Also I left out the more myth creations such as Bian Que. I left out Lao tzu only because I feel he was speaking more of trance states and analogies within the shaman aspect than the more relgious Qigong we find later. It is not to say that these trance and analogies did not come into play with religious Qigong because we do find alot of reference towards it be misunderstanding or whatever. Lastly this in no way is invoking any relgious feelings either way but to present another example of Qigong.

Religious Qigong part 1

There are many branches in Qigong. We have Martial,Medical,Scholarly,and Religious.
Most mix all the catagories when they think of Qi. In some cases on certain things such as theory they do overlap.
However the more supernatural aspect comes from the religious side which uses Qigong.
In the religious side two main schools exist: Taoist and Buddhist. Ideas from both schools have influenced each other thru out the ages. In my opinion because the Emperor's would favor one school over the other sometimes converting schools into another doctrine. Whatever the case may be we are provided with key elements that I think fit into religious Qigong. In my examples I put these into the classfication of religion because I feel they do not fit well into the other catagories. However there is an overlap and some that I put into religious Qigong thru out history have been used in the other catagories.
The first in the catagory is Taoist Alchemy. Taoist alchemy most likey evolved from earlier Dao yin exercises and Shamanism. The earliest example of Taoist alchemy is with Tsou Yen and his Five element theory in 325 B.C.
Second catagory is Talismans. Written Talisman usuage was in existence in the Han dynasty and was used by the Five Peck rice sect around 100 A.D.
Breath incarnations/Spells. Most likely orginated from the Shamans and used by the Fang shih.
Exorcism. Most likely began with the Shamans. The use of Talisman to banish demons was most likey used in the Han dynasty has it is a hallmark of the founder of the Five peck sect.
Immortality. One of the goals of Alchemy. The concept of physical immortality may have come from the misunderstanding of Chuang tzu and/or Tsou Yen. We do know that in the Qin dynasty that the Fang shih who misunderstood perhaps Tsou Yen were in the court for Qin Shi Huang Di. We do not find much about immortality before 325 B.C.
The practicer who is performing these acts would in most cases practice some form of cultivation since performing any of these rituals can be draining.
We do find mention in certain sects that practice of Qigong type cultivation was a prerequisite before engaging into the magic section. The Supreme oneness doctrine speaks about this. I will try to go into details a bit more on the realtion of each catagory in my next blog

 

[Xue Sheng]

Thanks

And from the case of Shi Huang Di we learn that drinking mercury will not give you immortality

I find it interesting in the Dragon tiger classic how it seems to go from or be reinterpreted (from possible misinterpretation or abysmal failure at elixirs) as talking about the development of Qi for immortality instead of how to make an immortality elixirs for consumption to gain immortality

But I too may be missing the mark on that one, it was a rather hard read for me and I really need to go through that one again

 

[JadecloudAlchemist]

And from the case of Shi Huang Di we learn that drinking mercury will not give you immortality

We find so many excuses on why it did not work!!

"The books I got the recipe was to cryptic."

"The mercury did not mix right."

"You did not do insert ritual that is why it failed."

You did not have enough virtue."

I can see why external methods declined and internal became more popular.

 

[Quotheraving]

Thanks

And from the case of Shi Huang Di we learn that drinking mercury will not give you immortality

I find it interesting in the Dragon tiger classic how it seems to go from or be reinterpreted (from possible misinterpretation or abysmal failure at elixirs) as talking about the development of Qi for immortality instead of how to make an immortality elixirs for consumption to gain immortality

But I too may be missing the mark on that one, it was a rather hard read for me and I really need to go through that one again

The thing is that since so many otherwise smart people mistake the metaphorical for the literal due to the way these abstract ideas are alluded to, the general trend with alchemy is from the allegorical to the delusion of actuality, seldom if ever vice-versa.

Both western and Eastern alchemy begin from the idea that human consciousness can develop from some 'thing' that is external and tied to the phenomenal world and follows the course of all phenomenon in that they end, towards a state that is beyond both life, death and all phenomena.
They represent this potential for willed self change in terms of other apparent transmutations such as we see in chemistry where substances appear from and disappear one into the other and change upon heating and it's from this that all the confusion flows.

 

[kaizasosei]

The human body rests on a foundation known as the tanden- like a three-legged podestal, there are three main energies known in certain qi gong teachings(see the three families become as one).
Because the human or animal body is connected by these 3 energies, everybody can only move and opperate mind and body by these powers.
Part of the nourishment the body needs is from outside, be it food or phychological nourishment in the form of society, family etc.
However, looking at the body from the inside, it is not completely unlike many machines. A machine needs to opperate efficiently. If there is wear and tear or too many forces that are not working in harmony, the machine will become worn down and may even malfunction.

So in the spirit of western alchemy, there is an explaination that the forces of soul, spirit and body are present in one body and joined to one another by that individual body, logically. However, the connection is a very weak one. The goal is to take the three principle energies of the body and take them apart and once apart put them back together to achieve the coagulation of spirit and body.

That is the secret of the tiger and the dragon, it is like the ida and pingala of yoga or the cultivation of the tanden through various arts.

No other forces, no spells or juju, not even rituals can compare to the power of the tanden that is the personal resevoir of energy as well as connection to the universal origin and collective conciousnesses. Not saying they are no good, but they are no good if you are not in good spirits and of sound health.

Similar to the thread on stamina and technique, the tanden is the stamina in the most extreme sense of the word.

When the body runs out of or has problems integrating the essence or energy, the body will become sick or die.

Now although i do believe that i have uncovered and made great use of such techniques, i consider myself on the way still having much work to do still. So although i have read about the great unification and its many supernatural qualities, i have not yet personally met any person that has achieved this goal. So i cannot account for or confirm many of the extreme cases of supernatural qualities, like walking on water or flying in the air etc....however, i have in my still incomplete yet advanced state experienced many other very curious phenomena that i can testify to as directly proportionate to the development of the tanden.

If i achieve the physical goals of mine, i believe i will be able to better display, explain/share with certainty of the results because i would never want to pass onto someone things that are of no use.

In my experience, it takes from 10 to 15 years to take it apart and i'm guessing about the same to put it back together(depending on how hard you go at it and what potency you aim for)-
still though i have offered great tips that i truly believe in, but i cannot expound further as to how to go about these goals because, it is impossible to explain it even if one tried-it is too complicated although i must say in essence it is so simple. There is no reason to explain because there is no real separation therefrom. The only way is to illuminate by teaching and guiding, or to share in good faith at own cost, responsibilty and risk.

This is a comparison i have thought up;
If you have ten people pulling a rope on one side and ten people on the other side, tug of war, if both sides are the same strength, nothing will happen-if they were to sustain the force equally and constantly, they would be pulling untill one side loses stregth and something further 'happens'.
If there were something to anchor with, for example a wall or chain behind each team, technically the last person or a few people on the end could latch onto the chain and achieve better stability- on the other hand depending on the goal at hand as the team(s) can also effect a change by simply letting go.

I have come across the japanese expression henshinjutsu(the art of changing the body)-on one side it is simple like disguise or hensojutsu, but on a deeper level, it implies the actual changes of (and within) the body.
taihenjutsu as well is formally known as rolling,acrobatics and several body skills, but even that has more to it than the external feats performed, there is flexibility strength stamina and personal creation involved. that is the creation of the tanden, the meditation on and creation of the self through the many arts and ways.


j