Jan-Feb 2013

25
Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life)


1he lunguuge of ulchemy lx u lunguuge thut ut
temptx to xuy the contruJlctory
Isabelle Robinet Tbe WorlJ 0psiJe 0own p
Tians Fabiizio Piegauio
1he uo lx unxpeuhuble unJ the myxtlcul expe
rlence lx lnexprexxlble yet xuy the muxterx ln
orJer to expounJ unJ trunxmlt them one lx
bounJ to uxe the lunguuge
Isabelle Robinet Tbe WorlJ 0psiJe 0own p
Tians Fabiizio Piegauio
0ne of the hallmaiks of the Chinese Taoist clas
sics especially those of Nei Ban Inteinal
Alchemy is that they attempt to uesciibe the in
uesciibable They weie wiitten in language that
is both veiy speciic anu inheiently ambiguous
with meanings intentionally hiuuen fiom outsiu
eis It is a type of coue which must be inteipiet
eu in oiuei to access the ancient wisuom con
taineu within theii lines
The texts seive many puiposes but most weie
not intenueu foi populai consumption Rathei
they weie wiitten foi a small gioup of initiates
The classic texts of Inteinal Alchemy aie thought
to convey at least thiee layeis of meaning Bao
the gieat piinciples behinu the woik Fa
the actual methous oi appioach useu by vai
ious schools anu Shu the speciic tech
niques of the piactices The gieat piinciples pie
senteu in the classics geneially apply to most tia
uitions while the actual methous anu speciic
techniques may vaiy by school oi even lineage
The actual methous anu speciic techniques aie
usually only passeu oially fiom teachei to stu
uent They aie often consiueieu seciets nevei to
be wiitten uown oi lightly ievealeu in oiuei to
piotect the piactice anu pievent unintenueu out
comes This seciecy existeu in a state of tension
with a geneial inteiest in pieseiving anu auvanc
ing the knowleuge Foi this ieason texts weie
cieateu to pieseive the knowleuge anu some
times act as tiaining aius foi the stuuents Bow
evei the metaphoiic imageiy anu coue-like
woiuing useu in the classic texts seiveu not only
to piotect the seciets fiom the uninitiateu but
also helpeu to cieate a shift in the minu set of the
ieauei
StuJentx xhoulJ lubor unJ toll thlnhlng ut
length unJ relectlng ut Jepth 1he ultlmute ex
xentlulx huve been fully JlxcloxeJ they gleum
unJ never Jecelve
Con Tonq i p Tians Fabiizio Piegauio
The stuuy of these ancient classics takes place on
seveial levels The iist is intellectual You tiy to
ieau anu unueistanu what is being saiu This ie
veals the iist layeis of meaning of the text To go
fuithei you neeu to actually piactice As the quali
ty of youi piactice impioves so will youi unuei
stanuing of what is being saiu in the classics This
is why sometimes a teachei aftei explaining the
majoi piinciples anu concepts of the classics tells
the stuuent to go piactice speciic techniques It is
only aftei uiligent anu successful piactice that the
multi-layeieu meanings in the texts aie ievealeu
Inteipieting the Taoist classics is both an ait anu
a science The scientiic pait ielates to the histoii

Interpreting the Ancient Codes
An ExampIe from the Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi,
a Taoist AIchemy CIassic

Daoist Internal Alchemy
26
Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) Volume 3, Issue No. 1

cal linguistic anu textual analysis A basic unuei
stanuing of the piinciples of the Taoist belief sys
tem anu cultuie aie also helpful Although this
enables a tianslatoi to ienuei a Sinologically
sounu veision of the text it is only the iist step
Language is also an ait foim This is especially
tiue of Classical Chinese anu even tiuei of the es
oteiic Chinese classics }ing Classic oi Sciip
tuie These texts weie wiitten in shoit concise
poetic veises They weie tiansmitteu by eithei
memoiization oi painstaking hanu copying It is
haiu to oveistate the amount of woik anu bioau
set of skills iequiieu to ienuei a uecent tiansla
tion of such texts especially those of Nei Ban It is
not only possible to tianslate these texts incoi
iectly but also possible to tianslate the same text
in uiffeient but coiiect ways This is especially
tiue if the inteipietation of the text is baseu on
the peispective of a speciic tiauition school oi
lineage Foi these ieasons it is helpful foi the
tianslatoi to have a stiong backgiounu in Taoism
anu its associateu inteinal anu exteinal piactices
if the coueu language is to be accuiately intei
pieteu
If you looh lnto thlx unJ huve the blexxeJ en
counter you wlll beholJ the courxe of ull
thlngx compurlng one unother uccorJlng to
thelr hlnJ to uxxexx thelr enJ unJ beglnnlng
Con Tonq i p Tians Fabiizio Piegauio
To illustiate the challenges in inteipieting these
ancient coues well exploie an inteiesting pas
sage fiom the Zbou Yi Con Tonq i
also Romanizeu Tsan Tung Chi to see how
seemingly simple statements can take on many
layeis of meaning This passage is founu Section
pp - Fabiizo Piegauios tianslation
uoluen Elixii Piess
We have selecteu this paiticulai passage fiom the
Con Tonq i because it ueals with some aspects of
alchemy piactice which aie applicable to many
Taoist tiauitions schools anu lineages The entiie
passage can be ieau fiom the peispectives of Wai
Ban oi Nei Ban The majoi Nei Ban
schools incluue the Southein Nan Pai
Noithein Bei Pai Eastein Bong
Pai Westein Xi Pai Yin Xian
anu the Yin-Yang Although space uoes
not peimit us to uo so heie keep in minu the pas
sage shoulu also be ieau in context of the woik as
a whole
Lines - explain the piinciples of inveision anu
set the stage foi the actual piactice In auuition
they can iefei to speciic techniques founu in
some schools incluuing Setting up the Fuinace
anu the Small Beavenly Ciiculation
In line Xian is ienueieu as Bite by both
tianslatois Bite is often associateu with a
Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi: Section 64
Line Chinese Translation
1

From Zi duly it turns to the right,
2

Irom Wu it revolves to the east,
3

Mao and You are the boundaries;
4

the host and guest are two.
5

The Dragon exhales onto the Tiger,
6

the Tiger inhales the Dragon`s es-
sence.
7

The two Ieed on one another
8

and crave one Ior the other;
9

thus they bite and they gulp,
10

they chew and they swallow each
other.
11

Sparkling Wonderer keeps to the
West,
12

Great White is across the sky.
13

Can anything Iaced by the liIe-taking
Breath
14

be not overcome?
15

Cats capture rats,
16

sparrows Iear hawks.
17

Each oI them IulIills its Iunction -
18

how would they dare utter a sound?
Jan-Feb 2013
27
Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life)


methou foi clos
ing the Nagpie
Biiuge Xians
basic mean
ing is holuing
in the mouth
Foi example it
can be useu to
iefei to the
swallow which
holus the muu
in its beak as it
lies back to
builu its nest If
this ienueiing is
accepteu an au
uitional layei of
meaning coulu
be implieu which ielates to a specializeu tech
nique useu in some schools of inteinal alchemy
This technique is sometimes calleu Biagon Bolu
ing the Peail anu has uiffeient meanings ue
penuing upon the stage of piactice uulp may also
iefei to Biinking the }aue Liquiu In line
Chew anu Swallow coulu iefei to a seconu spe
cializeu methou of closing the Nagpie Biiuge
anu of couise to Swallowing the }aue Liquiu
To summaiize lines anu coulu iefei to two
speciic techniques peifoimeu at one level of the
piactice anu seveial moie specializeu sub-
techniques at highei levels of the piactice The
exact techniques may vaiy gieatly by school anu
othei ieauings aie possible especially if the Yin-
Yang school is consiueieu
Lines - coulu be ieau as not only iefeiiing to
the Planets Tiue LeauNeicuiy anu the Five Ele
mentsPhases but also to a piogiessive stage of
the piactice When this stage is ieacheu the Sha
Qi Killing Qi mentioneu in line is gen
eiateu
Lines - aie some of the most challenging to
unueistanu in this section Fabiizio Piegauio ex
plains the geneial piinciple of inveision in his
notes to Section pp - Be comments
on Lines - When the life-taking bieath of
Tiue Leau subuues Tiue Neicuiy then the Elixii
is achieveu Be concluues with the obseivation
that each inuiviuual component plays its iole
without conceit oi objection This iepiesents
one layei of meaning
Zhu Yuan Yu a Long Nen Taoist auept fiom Qing
Bynasty wiote a commentaiy which although
somewhat biaseu towaius his lineages point of
view pioviues auuitional insight When the invei
sion occuis the contiolling Element moves into
the house of the Element to be contiolleu as is
the case of Netal moving to Woous place Be
cause Netal is alieauy in the house of Woou the
contiol happens instantaneously like a hawk
seizing a biiu oi a catuog a iat It happens so fast
they uont even have a chance to make a sounu
Thus the contiol becomes effoitless an example
}ohnanueisonphoto Stock Fiee Images Bieamstime Stock Photos
Ril | Stock Free Images & Dreamstime Stock Photos
Dima266f | Stock Free Images &Dreamstime Stock Photos
28
Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) Volume 3, Issue No. 1

of non-action Wu Wei in action This ovei
whelming contiol is compaieu to Sha Qi oi
Killing Qi Because all this killing contiol is in
stantaneous anu oveipoweiing how coulu you
not oveicome
In line Qing can mean to oveituin oi to
tip ovei 0ne way to ieau this line is Faceu
with such killing Qi how coulu you not oveituin
tip ovei This gives us at least thiee seemingly
contiauictoiy meanings of lines - which
well summaiize as
When Tiue Leau subuues Tiue Neicuiy then
the Elixii is achieveu
Theie is so much killing going on how coulu
you not succeeu
Faceu with such killing Qi how coulu you not
tip ovei oveituin
The iist uesciibes the output of the successful
completion of the piactice the Elixii The seconu
is a ihetoiical question iefeiiing to one of the
majoi iisks oi potential ueviations inheient in
the piactice which is Tipping ovei the Fui
nace Recall we set it up in lines - anu piac
ticeu well in lines - which in tuin cieateu the
situation uesciibeu in lines - In the eaily
stages of piactice this ueviation is meiely a set
back As you piogiess in youi piactice it becomes
moie uangeious oi even ueauly geneiating pei
haps anothei meaning of Killing Qi In this case
Youi piactice is so successful how coulu it
not kill you
Theie is a saying among piactitioneis Those
who stait aie as numeious as the haiis on the ox
Those who inish aie as iaie as the phoenixs
featheis anu the unicoins hoins
Wen Bao Zhe Buo Ru Niu
Nao Be Bao Zhe Feng Nao Lin }iao 0sually this
iefeis to the lack of ueteimination anu ueuication
of the stuuent to the cultivation Bowevei this
statement also embeus a waining foi those who
piactice uiligently but ueviate They uo not inish
eithei but theii fall is usually seiious since they
hau moie to lose This meaning is not limiteu to
Nei Ban Foi example meicuiy poisoning was a
common Killing Qi among Wai Ban piactition
eis
Again theie is a temptation to tiy anu select one
possible meaning as the The Neaning Bowevei
if you aie willing to accept multiple seemingly
contiauictoiy inteipietations the possibility foi
gieatei unueistanuing emeiges That is these
lines uesciibe the piocess anu outcome of suc
cessful piactice meaning the iisks which
vaiy by stage of piactice meanings anu anu
also the solution meaning That is in answei
to the question Bow uo you oveicome the killing
eneigy the passage uses the natuial imageiy of
pieuatois killing piey to explain That is you use
the veiy same Killing Qi in this case the contiol
ling cycle in the Five Elements to kill contiol
the Killing Qi Similai iueas aie founu thioughout
the Chinese classics The uemon which was the
auveisaiy becomes the ally The Nastei helu at
swoiu point by the Seivant tuins the swoiu
aiounu 0i 0se poison to ight poison
1he wlxe xhoulJ relect unJ wlth uttentlon
comprehenJ lt
Con Tonq i p Tians Fabiizio Piegauio
Runningpoet05 | Stock Free Images &Dreamstime Stock Photos
Jan-Feb 2013
29
Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life)


Mr. Shawn Cartwright is the Executive Director oI the Traditional Chinese Culture Institute International
(TCCII). As a co-Iounder oI TCCII, he is dedicated to promoting deeper and broader understanding oI the
Chinese cultural traditions, and works tirelessly to revitalize the traditions that have special meaning and
relevance to today`s world. He provides a diverse curriculum and rich experience Ior his students, drawn
Irom his many years oI intensive training in Internal Alchemy, Qigong, Tai Chi, Xingyiquan, Baguazhang,
and Fujian Baihequan. A consistent practitioner oI both the martial and healing arts, he excels in helping
students connect the principles with practice, and integrate them into their daily liIe. To better bridge the
Eastern and Western cultures, Mr. Cartwright hosts the Silent Tao blog (www.silenttao.com) and TCCII
video channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/tccii) where he shares the rich context and Iirst-hand experi-
ences in his study oI Chinese culture. He co-authored and produced the Chinese Classical Meditation CD
Series and training DVDs on Qigong, Tai Chi Chuan and Kung Fu. Mr. Cartwright earned his MBA and
BS Irom Vanderbilt University. He studied public health at Johns Hopkins University.

Inteipieting the Ancient Coues is by no means
an easy task If it weie it likely woulunt be woith
uoing The best tianslations of the classics aie
piouuceu by those who have the iequisite tiain
ing anu expeiience to ie-cieate the iich imageiy
of the oiiginal in the tianslateu language Fui
theimoie they have the ability to explain the
symbolism in a way that is unueistanuable to
committeu ieaueis Finally they aie able to pie
sent the tianslation in a way that peimits the
piactitioneis of the vaiious Taoist schools anu
lineages to unueistanu the main piinciples be
hinu the text
Stuuying the classic Taoist texts is impoitant foi
eveiy seiious stuuent of Nei Ban 0ui teacheis
tiansmit the methous of cultivating Ning oi
Life but it is up to us to cultivate oui own Xing
oi Natuie The classics not only connect us
to oui lineage theii iichly layeieu imageiy sym
bolism anu seeming inheient contiauictions as
sist us in cultivating both Xing anu Ning Thiough
oui effoits in peisonal tiansfoimation anu uili
gent piactice of the cultivation methous of oui
schools we tianscenu the munuane anu piogiess
evei closei to immoitality Xian
This aiticle is a selection fiom the papei
Inteipieting the Ancient Coues Exploiing the
Classics of Taoist Alchemy An Intiouuction to the
Zhou Yi Can Tong Qi The complete papei is
available as a fiee uownloau fiom wwwtcciicom