Taosim AS2
Taosim AS2
Taosim AS2
Discuss the doctrines and practices of Internal Alchemy (neidan 內丹) and
their position in the greater Taoist tradition
Words: 2,110
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The basic notion of alchemy refers to the process in which an adept applies certain
techniques designed to transmute the nature of substances. The intended product may
generically be referred to as an elixir. Indeed, the dan 丹 of neidan may be translated as
elixir and with nei 内 meaning internal, neidan thus refers to the transmutation of an
internal elixir. The notion of alchemy in the western tradition is more commonly associated
with the transmutation of refined substances in the external, physical world and in China
neidan developed out of a discourse of external alchemy (waidan 外丹). Waidan aimed to
transmute physical elements into an elixir that would bring immortality to one who ingested
it (see Pregadio’s Great Clarity 2006 for detailed discussion on waidan). However, the elixirs
to be formed in neidan were not physical substances existing external to one’s body but
rather were refined through certain forms of meditative practice that focused on the
cultivation of energies internal to the body. Over millennia, these techniques of energy
cultivation developed into a highly sophisticated body of doctrines and practices informed
by predominantly classical Daoist, but also Buddhist and neo-confucian cosmological
epistemology. Some argue that neidan is to be “considered as the summit, in speculative
terms, of the literary heritage of Daoist mysticism” (Goosaert 2012, 137).
The earliest references to alchemical language regarding inner meditation date back to the
second Century CE in texts such as the Cantongqi 參同契 and the Laoziming 老子銘
(Inscription for Laozi) (Skar and Pregadio 2000, 465). Ge Hong’s Baopuzineipian 抱樸子内篇
(Inner chapter of the Master who embraces Spontaneous Nature) 317 CE mentions the three
elixir fields (dantian 丹田), which became critical to the later discourse. Robinet (1984)
argues that the by the fourth Century CE the Shangqing 上清 (Highest Clarity) lineage
deprioritised the waidan discourse predominantly developed by the earlier Taiqing 太清
(Great Clarity) movement and favoured techniques of internal visualisation of deities as
expressed in the Huangtingjing 黃庭經 (Scripture of the Yellow Court) of 364-370. In the
Tang period (618 – 907) apophatic meditation practices of zuowang 坐忘 (sitting in
forgetting) and neiguan 内觀 (inner contemplation) borrowed from Chan Buddhism started
to predominate over methods of visualisation of internal deities (Sakade 1988; Robinet
1997, 202-11; Skar and Pregadio 467/8). Nine texts with title zhenyuan 真元 "True Origin"
emerged from the early Song period and maintained reference to the imagery and
symbolism of Shangqing deity visualisation practices but also reference the "Daoist classical
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philosophy, neiguan contemplation and Buddhist metaphysics" (Skar and Pregadio 2000,
468) as well as elements of Confucian moral philosophy. Emerging from this medieval period
of syncretism across spiritual traditions, three distinct lineages formed and further codified
the doctrines and practices of formal neidan into a coherent doctrine.
The Zhonglu 種呂 tradition was founded and developed by Lu Dongbin and Zhongli Quan.
The Nanzong (Southern Lineage) started with Zhang Boduan’s seminal text the wuzhenpian
悟真篇 (Awakening to Reality) circ. 1075 and was carried forward by Bai Yuchan. The
Beizong (Northern Lineage) was represented by the Quanzhen 全真 (Complete Perfection)
Daoist lineage established by Wang Chongyang in the mid-12th Century. Various texts were
developed, compiled, and commentated on during this period from both within and outside
of these lineages and a significant textual corpus appeared that made neidan into a rich and
detailed discourse of doctrines interwoven with classical Daoist cosmology. However, neidan
practice was not exclusive to any one tradition and the pre-eminent neo-confucian ZhuXi’s
1197 commentary on the Catongqi includes detailed cosmological speculations and brought
neidan practices to the growing literati. Further syncretism occurred later, notably with Li
Daochun (late 13th Century) who revered both the Quanzhen and Nanzong lineages as well
as the Chan Buddhists and came to represent the zhongmai 中派 "The Central Branch.” He
ordered the essential doctrines into three main clusters: 1. The Nine Grades 九品 of
disciplinary practices; The gradual methods of psychological, physiological and spiritual
practices; and the Most High One of "spontaneous integration” (Skar and Pregadio 2000,
482) of xing 性 and ming 命. Xing is often rendered “innate nature,” whilst ming is “destiny,”
or more specifically the unique course of one’s life as pre-ordained by cosmic patterns. The
history of the neidan discourse is thus a bricolage of various groups and authors each with
different points of emphasis. Nevertheless, the Song-Yuan period saw neidan form into a
coherent corpus of doctrines and practices.
The differences between the lineages lay in the extent to which they gave relative
prioritisation to these two key notions of xing and ming 命. James Miller explains that in
practical terms ming refers to the “physiology of the body” whereas xing refers to one’s
“inner psychological constitution” (2003, 143). Indeed, Skar and Pregadio explain that xing is
often paired with qing 情 which refers to the emotional affectations that colour our
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experience of the world and thus obscure us from acknowledging our xing. Effective training
towards neidan thus requires the dedicated cultivation of these two aspects of oneself.
Therefore, physical practices derived from conventional forms of yangshengfa 養生法 such
as special breathing practices and stretching and conditioning of the body known as daoyin
導引 were used for cultivation of ming whilst apophatic inner meditative training such as
zuowang 坐忘 and neiguan 内觀 were employed for cultivating xing. The Southern lineage
is said to focus first on ming then on xing (xianxiuming houxiuxing 先修命後修性) and vice
versa with regards the Quanzhen Northern lineage. However, both saw the dual cultivation
of both (xingming shuangxiu 性命雙修) as essential to successful practice.
Before examining the practical methodology, we must first understand the epistemological
framework in which these practices are situated. Essentially, neidan functions according to
classical Daoist cosmogony, as first expressed in chapter 42 of the Daodejing 道德經, “The
Dao produced One; One produced two; Two produced Three; Three produced All things”
(trans. Legge 2010, Chapter 42). This explains that the universe unfolds as a process of
increasingly complex fragmentation of various elements into multiple components. The
ultimate task of the alchemist is to invert (ni 逆) this process of differentiation so as to return
(fan 反) to the primordial state of oneness and union with the Dao. The “Two” that is
produced from the “One” refers to the pre-heaven xiantian 先天 and post-heaven houtian
後天. The pre-post heaven dichotomy refers to the primordial state of existence before one’s
birth and the state of existence post-birth which is manifest as the immanent world of
subjective human perception. In the pre-heaven condition yin and yang exist in their pure
forms. In its natural state yang tends to rise whereas yin descends. However, in the post-
heaven realm, as the universe becomes increasingly complexified, yin and yang become
enmeshed with one another and their natural tendencies become inverted, as yin is
“dragged” upwards and yang “dragged” downwards. This is represented with yang
(unbroken line) becoming enmeshed with yin (broken line) in various combinations as
illustrated by the eight trigrams (bagua 八卦), each of which having symbolic
correspondence to elements of the natural world. See fig. 1
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Fig.1 taken from Mu 2011, page 127 (table 3 Eight Trigrams (Associations)
The alchemist must refine the substances of the universe so as to restore yin and yang to
their pure form. The three elementary substances through which the Dao is made
immanent, and that adept must work to refine, are known in Daoism as the sanbao 三寶
Three treasures. These are jing 精, qi 氣, and shen 神. In the Pre-heaven form jing is material
manifestation; qi is cosmic manifestation and shen refers to “subtle manifestations” such as
deities, spirits and the human mind more broadly. In the Post-heaven for they refer to semen
(often translated as “essence”), breath and spirit respectively (Skar and Pregadio 2000,
483/4). Neidan is an incremental process of refining and transmuting these substances
though progressive stages. To illustrate the stages of the practice we can look at the seminal
text of the Southern Lineage known as the wuzhenpian (Awakening to Reality). Fabrizio
Pregadio has translated Wang Mu’s comprehensive annotation and analysis of the text
which describes the stages of the practice in detail.
First is the preliminary stage of zhuji 築基 “Laying the Foundations” This involves focus on
xing and ming and is designed to replenish each of the sanbao within one’s body. This
includes generic “life nourishing methods” (yangshengfa) that resemble modern day qigong.
Opening the tissues of the body and apophatic meditation training are the foundation that
replenishes the stores of the sanbao to be used later in the refinement process. The next
stages involve the successive refinement (lian 煉) of one substance to transmute (hua 化) it
into another. First is refining essence jing 精 to transmute into breath qi 氣 (lianjing huaqi
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煉精化氣). This is done through a physical (ming) practice known as the micro-cosmic orbit
xiaozhoutian 小周天 in which essence is circulated through out the body by rising up what
is the called the “governing channel” dumai 督脈 on the back of the body and descending
down the “conception channel” renmai 任脈 on the front of the body. By cycling the
essence in this way, it passes through the three elixir fields dantian 丹田 and refines into
breath. The second stage refining breath into spirit shen 神 (lianqi huashen 練氣化神) is
achieved through the training of specific mental states (xing) in which the adept becomes
fixed (ding 定) in stillness (jing 靜) and clarity (qing 清). In doing so, the adept passes from
active doing (youwei 有為) to non-doing (wuwei 無爲), which the classic Daoist texts such as
the Zhuangzi argue to be the ideal state of being in the world (c.f. Shen 2009, 259/60). In this
process the spirit (shen) is refined into a rarified substance that eventually, in the third and
final stage, exits the body out of the upper dantian. The result is that the adept “returns to
the void” (fanxu 返虛) and union with the Dao.
Emptiness transmutes itself into Spirit, Spirit transmutes itself into Breath, Breath
transmutes itself into Essence, Essence transmutes itself into form, and form becomes the
human being. (Mu 2011, 15/16)
The adept is thus essentially inverting the process of the unfolding differentiation of the
universe by starting with the human form and returning to the primordial oneness with the
Dao. See Fig. 2
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Fig. 2 taken from Pregadio 2012, page 50
There is a certain paradox entailed within the neidan process in that the adept must actively
work (youwei 有爲) to “invert” the natural tendency of increasing complexification and
fragmentation in the post-heaven realm to restore the elements of the universe to their
“natural” (ziran 自然) state in the pre-heaven realm of non-action (wuwei 無爲). The highly
abstract and paradoxical nature of these doctrines mean that the classic texts are
interspersed with a wide array fantastical imagery and metaphorical terminology that aim to
inform the adept on how to ultimately reunite with the Dao. The practice of neidan is thus
practical vehicle through which Daoists can practice the Dao (xiudao 修道).
The importance of neidan within the wider Daoist tradition cannot be overstated. As
Goosaert claims, “Neidan, for which the Daoist Quanzhen 全真 order has since the Yuan
period been the main institutional vehicle, presented itself as the ultimate formulation of
Daoist spirituality.” (Goosaert 2012, 126). However, his study describes how a “self-
cultivation market” arose in the late-Qing to early Republican period in which various quasi-
religious groups led by masters from different backgrounds and with varying degrees of
relation to institutionalised Daoist groups competed to offer training programs in neidan.
The tradition is in fact still alive today and despite being severely rocked in the so-called
“Qigong Fever” movement (Palmer 2007) of the 1980/90’s in mainland China, neidan has
even found its way to the west with teachers offering courses with ambivalent positions
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regarding the Daoist epistemological view. The doctrines and practices of neidan are a
fascinating expression of how individuals and institutions have sought to attain
transcendent states, supported by a complex and rigorous epistemological framework with
its foundations going back as far as the 6th Century BC with Laozi and the daodejing.
Therefore, although neidan has never been a single unified doctrine and throughout history
has been adapted and amended by epistemologies outside of Daoism, it is nevertheless a
hugely important expression of the greater Daoist tradition.
Bibliography
Goosaert, Vincent (2012) Daoists in the Modern Chinese Self-Cultivation Market: The Case
of Beijing, 1850–1949, In Palmer, David and Xun Liu, (ed.) Daoism in the Twentieth Century:
Between Eternity and Modernity. pp. 123-154. Berkeley: University of California Press
Lao Tzu, (2010) Tao Te Ching (Translation), Translated by James Legge, Commodius Vicus
English Electronic Edition.
Mu, Wang (2011) Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The Taoist Practice of Neidan, Translated
by Fabrizio Pregadio. California: Golden Elixir Press.
Palmer, David. 2007. Qigong Fever. New York: Columbia University Press.
Pregadio, Fabrizio (2006) Great Clarity: Daoism and Alchemy in Early Medieval China.
Stanford: Stanford University Press,
Pregadio, Fabrizio (2012) The Way of the Golden Elixir: A Historical Overview of Taoist
Alchemy. California: Golden Elixir Press.
Robinet, Isabelle (1984) La révélation du Shangqing dans Vhistoire du taoïsme, 2 vols. Paris:
École française d'Extrême-Orient
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Robinet, Isabelle (1997). Taoism: Growth of a Religion. Translated by Phyllis Brooks. Stanford:
Stanford University Press.
Sakade Yoshinobu (1988) “Zui-To jidai ni okeru fukutan to naikan to naitan.” In Chugoku
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Shuppansha.
Shen, Vincent (2009) “Daoism (II): Zhuang Zi and the Zhuang-Zi.” In Bo Mou (ed.) History of
Chinese Philosophy. London: Routledge, pp.237-265.
Skar, Lowell and Fabrizio Pregadio (2000) Inner Alchemy, in Kohn, Livia (ed.) Daoism
Handbook. pp. 464-498. Boston: Brill.