Generally speaking, many people do not understand what Daoist self-cultivation is, and what is expected of the practitioner. For a woman, the breasts diminish and the menstrual cycle ceases completely. For a man, the penis retracts and all ejaculation ceases. If you are searching for Daoist longevity, and you are pursuing the Quanzhan path under an authentic teacher, then this is the situation where you will end-up. Of course, only if the practitioner follows all the rules correctly, and is devoted to the self-cultivation. This is how ancient Chinese medicine states that an individual body is prepared for an extended life-span. Before reaching this stage, however, there are many levels of attainment. This allows the Master to help people eradicate any and all illnesses out of their mind and body. The point of all this effort is to stay in the body for as long as possible (if appropriate), by altering the frequency of how each body-cell operates and the entire body functions. Regardless of how long an individual lives – all existence results in death and the Daoist practitioner must be able to transition to the next stage of existence with the minimum of fuss. Daoism, therefore, is a path of life-extension and life-transition (as there is no ‘real’ or ‘permanent’ concept termed ‘death’). Dying, as human culture terms it, is how the transition processes seems to those who have not yet died, and who remain on this level of existence watching others die. Death, by and large, is interpreted by those who have not experienced it (at least in a conscious manner). Leaving the body can happen whilst the practitioner still occupies it. This means there is a ‘coming’ and ‘going’ whereby a practitioner can leave the body whilst actively participating in the practice of seated meditation, and return back to the body at will. This changes when the life-span of the body comes to an end and ‘egress’ is achieved. This is the ability to consciously ‘leave’ the body on a permanent basis without any sense of regret or loss, etc. As the transition to the next stage of existence, there is a tremendous outpouring of light which is healing and full of love and compassion! This light exists for all-beings to benefit from. This is a direct result of returning to the ‘pre-natal’ breathing – or stage of realisation (recreating the ‘safe’ and ‘enclosed’ environment of the womb and the non-breathing nourishment received through the placenta of the mother). The ‘post-natal’ breathing that is common in life (I.e., the ‘ordinary breathing mechanism’) is transitioned back into rarefied states of mind and body existence so that the breathing mechanism is completely transformed. This journey begins and ends with the breath and the way in which the breathing mechanism is perceived and understood by the reflective-mind. The refined awareness penetrates through the breathing mechanism and directs the practitioner into a conscious expansion of the underlying fabric of reality and the direct perception of its empty reality. It is this dimension of emptiness that contains all things (in the past, present and future), which the practitioner can comprehend all at once, and travel to and from any one point of being at will.
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Translator’s Note: Prior to the 1911 Revolution – it was common in China for name-clans and large-temples – to exercise the legal right of trying, sentencing and carrying-out ‘death penalties.’ clan associations often controlled large geographical areas within which a particular surname was common or predominant. Large monastic communities also possessed this legal right – although in over 30-years of studying Chinese Buddhist texts – I have not come across anything worse than substantial beatings being ordered by the Head Monk – usually for breaking protocol, acts of open disrespect and ignoring instructions from superiors, etc. Even during the Republic Period (1912-1949) on occasion this procedure was enacted and carried-out. This was the case on the evening of November 12th, 1946, when the Head Monk (and his supporter) were sentenced to death. Within a Daoist Temple – the ‘death penalty’ was usually carried-out by the condemned sitting in quiet repose (in the seated meditation position) on top of a funeral pyre and ‘burning to death’ without movement or murmur. The manner in which an accused met their death could be used to wipe the karmic-slate ‘clean’ and rehabilitate their reputation. Of course, a spiritually ‘advanced’ being would be expected to demonstrate a certain ‘transcendence’ whilst undergoing this horrific and painful experience. Bear in mind that many elderly Daoists of considerable spiritual attainment prefer to end their lives (even today) whilst sat in the meditation position. The legal situation seems to be that the civil authorities should be involved (or at least ‘informed’) if this independent legal procedure is to be carried-out. In 1946 – those responsible from the White Cloud Temple – all received custodial sentences (of various lengths) for their parts in the executions – which seems to suggest the civil authorities were not happy with events. During imperial times, it seems that as long as local legal procedures mirrored those of the imperial court – the practice of independent jurisprudence appeared to go ’unpunished’. The civil authorities would only intervene in local affairs if it was felt that local people had overstepped the mark when it came to maintaining ‘justice’. In 1949, and the founding of ‘New China’ - the nationwide ‘rule of law’ was implemented which is controlled by the court system. This means that ‘judicial punishment’ today can only be decided by a formal court and a sworn-in jury. As a consequence, no one is allowed to take the law into their own hands as in the past. (15.4.2021) The Quanzhen (‘Complete Reality’) Sect is an important school of Chinese Daoism, and the incense has continued to be burned at its shrines for thousands of years. However, Daoist practice is not always a place far away from secular life. During the Republic of China (1911-1949), when the Quanzhen Sect branched out, a bloody incident occurred at the White Cloud (白云 - Bai Yun) Temple in Beijing – namely the burning of two old Daoist priests. The Daoist priests who were burned to death were the Head Monk of Baiyun Temple - An Shilin (安世霖) - and his supervisor - Bai Quanyi (白全一). They were sentenced to death by 36 of the other Daoist priests - who organised the burning. Why would members of the same Daoist School want to kill one another? Perhaps the sad chaos of the Republican Era of immense ‘disunity’ and ‘foreign intervention’ has something to do with it. 1) Lack of Awareness and Having No Leadership Skills – Flattery Does Not Honour the Lineage Ancestors! The Baiyun Temple (in Beijing) is considered a very holy place for the Daoist religion and one of the three main ancestral shrines linked to the Quanzhen Sect. In the 1930s, the current Head Monk of the Baiyun Temple was Chen Mingbin (陈明彬). As he was elderly, he decided to transmit this important position to ‘An Shilin’ (安世霖). However, there was a problem with this choice. Although An Shilin had been a Daoist priest since the age of 16-years-old – it was well-known that his knowledge of Daoist methodology was shallow, as he had spent most of his time flattering Chen Mingbin and gaining an unearned influence over the old master. Furthermore, An Shilin was unable (or unwilling) to keep the secular world at a suitable distance, and was known to get too involved in everyday affairs. As Chen Mingbin was becoming confused by An Shilin’s attention – he mistakenly rewarded this sophistry with temporal power in the temple hierarchy. Many of the other Daoist priest looked at this situation with alarm – as granting the wrong person such a powerful position could have disastrous consequences for the temple and the Quanzhen Sect! 2) The Quanzhen Sect Disagrees – the Government Has No Authority! A number of the Daoist priests complained about Shi Anlin’s appointment to Chen Mingbin – who did not listen. The Daoist priests then arranged a petition calling for the removal of An Shilin as the Head Monk and presented this petition to the local (Republican) authorities. However, the local authorities received a financial bribe from An Shilin – and the petition was ‘ignored’ without giving a reason. It was then discovered that the local authorities were demanding a ‘continuous’ and ‘regular’ payment from An Shilin (to prevent the petition being granted) and that An Shilin was ‘selling’ ancient treasures to the general public (usually held deep inside the temple) to make the payments! The Daoist priests continued to resist his presence for 16-years – but by 1943 An Shilin had joined forces with the corrupt Republican government and instead took every opportunity to punish and humiliate the Daoist priests of Baiyun Temple! An Shilin was now making so much money that he could bribe the local authorities and keep a large amount of money for himself! By 1945, the Japanese had been defeated – but the Republican government was reaching a new peak of oppressing the populace! The Daoist priest named ‘Li Zhihui’ (李至慧) - and other Daoist priests – reported the behaviour to the religious association of the Republican government – but the complaint arrived on the same day as An Shilin’s ‘payment’ buying his immunity! Another Daoist priest - ‘Xu Mingyi’ (许明义) - reported An Shilin to the Beijing government office – but yet again An Shilin purchased immunity through bribery! 3) When Building Toilets – There Are Still Rules to Follow... Having no real skill in Daoist methods or practice, the Baiyun Temple was starting to suffer from the bad leadership of An Shilin and his assistant – Bai Quanyi! Neither one of them understood the ancient art of geomancy (风水 - Feng Shui) and had to ‘invite’ a Master from another temple to come to the Baiyun Temple and help decide where a ‘new’ toilet should be built! As these men were supposed to be the inheritors and leaders of the Quanzhen tradition – it was a very shameful reality that neither could carry-out these ancient rituals for themselves! The toilet was to be built in the Southeast corner to absorb ‘bad luck’! Unfortunately, these two priests hired unqualified ruffians to do this job – and as a consequence, they dug holes all over the temple grounds – giving the impression that they were digging graves for An Shilin to bury all the Daoist priests who had opposed his appointment! 4) Fire Transforms the Body into Clouds of Smoke – Is the Old Way ‘Right’ or ‘Wrong’? Digging toilets or digging graves? Breaking-up the previously good energy-flow of the temple is not good the Daoist priests still living there – or the power of the ancestors! An Shilin and Bai Quanyi had held grudges for a very long time and perhaps they were preparing the ground for revenge! As An Shilin had been (illegally) selling the rescued animals looked after in the temple for ‘meat’ to the local people – and he was using this money to bribe officials. As this was the case, 36 Daoist priests – including Li Zhihui (李至慧) and Xu Mingyi (徐明义) - gathered together to decide what to do. It was collectively agreed that An Shilin and Bai Quanyi should be ‘sentenced to death’ in accordance with the old traditions of the Daoist temples. These 36 Daoist priests all signed the ‘death sentence’ document and waited for the evening (of November 12th) to arrive (the year was 1946). They then rushed into the bedrooms of both An Shilin and Bai Quanyi and tied their hands together and placed lime in their mouths. Led by a noose around the neck – both men were dragged to the tree situated behind the smaller ‘Qiu Zu’ (邱祖) Ancestral Shrine! Both men were in shock and tried to escape – but were beaten with sticks whilst being tied to the tree and doused in kerosene! The two bodies of the men were ‘lit’ - and the flames painfully spread – soon rendering the bodies of the two men lifeless! The next day, the 36 Daoist priests marched solemnly to the local police station and gave themselves up to the local police – explaining what they had done. However, under the Republican regime - bribery was all that mattered and as these Daoist priests were very poor – they could not afford to money needed to be released. Instead, all were arrested and tried in Court for ‘murder’. On December 14th (1946) the Court decided that 19 of the Daoist priests were sentenced to at least five-years in prison – whilst the others were allowed to return to the temple. Of the 19 Daoist priests who went to prison – as they could not afford the ‘bribe’ - the prison authorities committed many acts of terrible persecution and torture! So bad was this ongoing punishment that 8 of the Daoist priests eventually ‘died’ from their wounds. Later, after the founding of ‘New China’, the cases of the remaining 11 Daoist priests were re-examined and all were ‘pardoned’ and released. If the rules as laid-down by the law were followed properly during the Republican Era – then An Shilin and Bai Quanyi would have been suitably ‘punished’ and ‘removed’ from their post just to keep the peace when the initial complaints had been made. Although the Daoist priests should not have taken the law into their own hands – on the other hand – they were motivated by the need to ‘protect’ their spiritual lineage from worldly corruption. This is why corruption in the human character should be ‘uprooted’ from the mind and body so that it does not spread out into the environment and causes all kinds of trouble for other people. English Language Source:
Vincent Goossaert: The Taoists of Peking, 1800-1949 - a Social History of Urban Clerics, Harvard Asian Center, (2007), Pages 179-181 Vincent Goossaert present a certain 'view' of his interpretation of the events described in this article. Obviously, his version and the contemporary Chinese narrative do not always agree due to a natural difference of perspective. For interested Westerners, reading both versions will create a useful cross-reference of the details that unfolded in an entirely different culture. Goossaert, for reasons that he only knows, decides to 'leave out' certain details. He also makes an occasional 'incorrect' statement. For instance, he claims that after the Socialist Revolution of 1949, the 'new' Communist Authorities 'closed down' the 'Baiyun Temple'. This narrative fits nicely with the US Cold War ideology that Communist Bloc regimes are routinely 'oppressive' to religious practice. However, Chinese-language records clearly state that the temple was 'closed down' immediately after ALL the Daoist priests were arrested and imprisoned during mid-November, 1946. As there had been a 'killing' in the temple, and given that An Shilin had been slaughtering animals and selling meat in a temple whose spiritual discipline involved strict 'vegetarianism', the ethnic Chinese lay-community were no longer interested in donating money or visiting a place whose spiritual energy had been so thoroughly compromised! Therefore, it was the Republican Era local authorities which 'closed down' the Baiyun Temple during late 1946 - and not the 'Communist regime' as Goossaert suggests in or after 1949! Goossaert also states that the 36 Daoist priests 'signed' a document of 'death sentence' AFTER the two victims had been burned - when in fact Chinese-language texts clearly state that the 'death sentence' was 'signed' BEFORE the burning took-place - as the burning could not have taken place without such a document being already signed. Finally, Goossaert ignores the supposed 'digging of graves' which appears to have been the straw that broke the camel's back and initiated a cascade of fatal and deadly events! I prefer the written word over the spoken word if students are not present with me in the room. This is why I have not yet participated in any online teaching sessions. Some people benefit only from face-to-face encounters – whilst others can also benefit from the written word if we are apart. However, I feel that at the moment, video-calling lacks the ‘spiritual’ connection that I use with my students – where are inner beings integrate and mingle when we are together – or when I establish a similar ‘link’ through the written word. Without this ‘spiritual’ connectivity, I do not see any genuine interaction being present – and as I do not participate in the commercial system in operation throughout this culture – I have no reason to generate a poor replication of the personal experience just to make money. In this attitude I follow the instructions of Master Xu Yun (1840-1959) and Zhao Bichen (1860-1942) - both of whom forbade their respective lineages (inherited by myself) from ‘charging’ money for spiritual instruction! Of course, individuals can donate providing they have a respectful attitude – otherwise this money will be rejected as well, regardless of its amount.
The most important aspect regarding the Qianfeng School is the principle of breathing new-life into an ancient technique – whilst preserving its traditional aspects – and making its ancient ‘health’ wisdom applicable to the modern world and everyone living in it! My Great grandfather – Zhao Bichen (1860-1942) - constructed the Qianfeng School around the traditions of the Quanzhen, Longmen and Wu Liu lineages (all of which he inherited from Master Liao Kong). In-part, he used a number of Western scientific terms that defined that tradition’s understanding of anatomy and physiology (built upon the ancient Greek tradition of medical science). This was a very ‘modern’ idea that transformed how Chinese people viewed Western science – and assisted in the process of facilitating the understanding of Westerners with regards to the theory and practice of Chinese Daoism.
Modernisation should not be viewed as a problem toward ‘tradition’, providing its process is properly-handled with an onus upon preserving tradition and ‘bringing-out’ its inherent and deep meaning. In this way, the modernisation process allows for what was once ‘hidden’, ‘obscured’ from the masses and granted only to the ‘privileged’ few – to be available to ALL people providing they are willing to a) learn and b) respect tradition. Modernisation is NOT an excuse to do as one pleases, and neither should it act as a ‘permission’ to ‘discard’ or ‘eradicate’ the parts of the teaching that an individual finds difficult or does not yet understand. Ignorance of the training method should not be used as an excuse to ‘destroy’ that which is not yet comprehended due to a lack of experience, maturity or good instruction. In this sense, the modernisation as conveyed through the Qianfeng School, requires that a modern student is even more aware of the need to respect the teacher, respect the tradition and respect the school! There is never any valid excuse for disrespect, chaos and social disorder. Indeed, China is now a thriving and very modern country! As a consequence, many of the ordinary people of China find Daoist methodology difficult to understand. This situation is compounded by the problem of misrepresentation and general ignorance being used to define Daoism in some unscrupulous corners of China (and the world). Forgiveness, compassion and providing actual and reliable Daoist knowledge is the key to rectifying this situation. Although the cause can be clearly defined – this knowledge should not be used to exact any form of violent intent – be it psychological, emotional or physical! If people are misled, then gently lead them back onto the right path. If others teach falsehoods and peddle all kinds of lies and disinformation, be patient with them and await for their development to transform! Although such people should not be indulged or given any form of authority, it is better to react to their ‘ignorance’ with a sublime ‘silence’. Daoist self-cultivation requires that the mind (and body) is profoundly ‘stilled’. This is the only genuine entrance – or ‘gate’ - through which a Daoist practitioner enters the genuine method! The mind and body are systematically developed together so that a robust health is developed and longevity is assured! If the ‘essential nature’ (Jing) is circulated properly, then ‘vital force’ (Qi) is strengthened throughout the bones and organs of the body so that the conscious mind ‘expands’ and becomes ‘all-embracing' - enveloping the material universe which manifests within a sublime ‘emptiness’ (Shen)! This can only be achieved through seated meditation and developing the energy self-cultivation centres in the body (neidan). There is no other method for this process to be pursued and accomplished. By sitting within seated meditation, the body is transcended. Through the process of developing the consciousness so that it can achieve this expansion – every single particle of the body must be ‘free’ from the tyranny of poor health (yin) and transformed into a ‘new’ and vibrant frequency of light and positivity (yang)! Through the consciousness ‘becoming’ far-more than the physical-body – the physical-body becomes a purified and long-lived vehicle! Qianfeng Pre-Natal School Qianfeng Hermitage: Zhao Ming Wang ©opyright: Adrian Chan-Wyles (ShiDaDao) 2021. Original Chinese Language Source Article: http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_64e533c90102ymvm.html 当我们谈及道家传统功夫(性命双修)时有很多不了解的朋友认为是一种男女或者夫妻同修之法,也有的认为是一套道家修仙之法。 其实真正了解道家性命双修功夫的朋友如今实在不多了,大部分人认为是一种传说,一种神话和现代社会格格不入的糟粕思想。 中国道家文化经历数千年,在这漫长岁月中我们的先辈为了探索人体能长生不老研究探索很多方法,比如名扬四海的道家外丹术,在哪一时期风靡四海而经过时间的验证最终失败。 但是她也带来了不少其在研究中的附属产品,如中国四大发明中的火药,我们平常吃的豆腐等许多附属产品。 我们的先辈在不断的研究探索人体长生不老中不断失败不断探索,同样西方国家在哪个时期也在研究人体如何能长生课题,可以说如何能达到长生不老如今以是世界研究探索课题。 我们用科学思维了解人类,用超过光速度设想人体奥秘变化,而这项研究还是设想与探索中。 而我们中华道家文化中早已有了一种用自己身体的,精,炁,神增补方法来达到人体健康长寿目的,她就是道家性命双修功夫,道家术语统称内丹,虽然普通修者达不到长生不老效果,但是可以达到去除身体慢性疾病,以及强身健体有着明显效果,如今传播此法没有间断传承门派可属道家千峰先天派庙外一派,这派属真修实炼其大部分门内弟子来自世界各地,用他们的身体来验证道家内丹性命双修功夫。 道家性命双修养生功夫,可以说是中华道家文化在人类历史长河中的一部人体健康养生经典,同样也为世界养生爱好者提供了宝贵的历史研究资料。 千峰草堂 |
AuthorAdrian Chan-Wyles (內丹 - Shi Da Dao) - Qianfeng Lineage: Zhao Bichen (1860-1942), Charles Luk (1898-1978) and Richard Hunn (1949-2006). Acknowledges Master Zhao Ming Wang (赵明旺) of Beijing as the ONLY Lineage Head of the Zhao Family Lineage of Qianfeng Daoism in China and the world. Archives
February 2024
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