Chatting about the Zhouyi Cantong Qi (13): Yin Spirit, Yang Spirit, Body Spirits, and Out-of-Body

The clear-eyed grasp its purport; broadly they know its source. Diligent in practice, morning and night without rest. Taking and consuming for three years, lightly rising to travel far. Crossing fire not scorched, entering water not wet; able to be and not be, lasting joy without care. Dao accomplished, virtue fulfilled, hidden awaiting the time. Taiyi then summons; remove to the central isle. Merit full, ascend; receive register and accept chart.

The clear-eyed grasp its purport; broadly they know its source. They naturally see clearly, understand the principles, and then cultivate diligently. "Taking and consuming for three years" — three in ancient times was an indefinite number meaning several years of cultivation. Here it means inner alchemy combined with taking external medicines produces the yang spirit; only then can one "lightly rise and travel far" — entering fire not scorched, entering water not wet. Able to be present and able to vanish, dwelling in free and easy ease. After Dao is accomplished and virtue fulfilled, continue awaiting the time; then one will be summoned by Taiyi, and remove to the central isle (an immortal island in the sea). When merit is full one can ascend, receiving Heaven-and-Earth's Dao register and entering the ranks of immortals. Daoism has a scripture called the Gaoshang Yuhuang Xinyin Miaojing, whose content is this: The superior medicine has three grades: spirit, qi, and essence. Trance-like, obscure and dark. Preserve the non, guard the being; in a moment complete. Return the wind, mix the hundred; a hundred days' work is numinous. Silently court the High Emperor; one cycle and ascend. The wise easily awaken; the dull hard to practice. Treading the celestial light, breath nurtures the clear. Exiting the mysterious, entering the female; as lost, as existing. Continuous without end, firming the base, deepening the root. Each person has essence; essence joins its spirit. Spirit joins its qi; qi joins the true. Without attaining the true, all are forced names. Spirit can enter stone; spirit can fly form. Entering water not drowning, entering fire not burning. Spirit depends on form for birth; essence depends on qi for fullness. Neither withering nor decaying, like pines and cypresses ever green. Three grades, one principle — the subtlety beyond hearing. Gathered, they exist; scattered, they scatter. Seven openings interpenetrate; every opening is light. Sacred sun, sacred moon, illuminate the golden court. Once obtained, forever obtained; naturally the body is light. Great harmony overflows; bones scatter cold jade. Attain the elixir and be numinous; not attaining it, collapse. The elixir is in the body — neither white nor blue. Recite and hold ten thousand times; the wondrous principle naturally becomes clear. This is a very lofty and classical scripture, probably very early in origin. Along with the Dongxuan Lingbao Jiutian Shenshangzhang Jing, the Taishang Laojun Shuo Chang Qingjing Miaojing, the Taishang Dongxuan Jiuku Bazui Miaojing, and the Taishang Shengtian Dedao Zhenjing, they are collectively called the Five Lingbao Scriptures. Having understood the earlier chapters' analysis, reading it is much easier to understand. The "essence" refers to "true essence"; "qi" to innate one qi; and "spirit" to the primal spirit. "Spirit joins its qi; qi joins the true. Without attaining the true, all are forced names. Spirit can enter stone; spirit can fly form. Entering water not drowning, entering fire not burning. Spirit depends on form for birth; essence depends on qi for fullness. Neither withering nor decaying, like pines and cypresses ever green." This is the primal spirit's ability. But later it emphasizes: "Attain the elixir and be numinous; not attaining it, collapse" — this is actually a critical position. The primal spirit has yin and yang distinctions. Not yet transformed by the golden elixir, the primal spirit's nature is not pure yang; yang qi gradually diminishes, eventually becoming the yin spirit. If transformed by the golden elixir, the primal spirit becomes pure yang and can be the yang spirit. Qing dynasty Perfected Liu Yiming in the Xiangyan Poyi gave a splendid description fitting ancient theory: "The spirit transformed by the golden elixir is the yang spirit; the spirit produced by all quiet practices is the yin spirit. The yang spirit endures for myriad ages, not born and not dying. The yin spirit, untempered by fire, throws off a body and enters another. Through a thousand gates and ten thousand doors, without the golden elixir's great Dao transforming it, though the yin spirit can freely enter and exit, knowing before and after, it cannot escape rebirth — hence the saying: though you enjoy millions of kalpas, in the end you fall into emptiness and death." In some texts, the primal spirit is the yang spirit and the consciousness-spirit the yin spirit, transformed from the seven po. The yin and yang spirits spoken of here differ from those of cultivating the dharma-body — do not confuse them. Moreover, in careful discussion, this view mostly comes from Ming-Qing and is actually erroneous: classifying the human body's yin and yang spirits is a division within Daoist secret spirit-preservation arts, not a distinction of achievements after successful cultivation. Spirit-preservation is another great way distinct from the golden elixir, secret-transmitted since antiquity; its key apertures are especially dense. All who cultivate Dao methods take it as the most secret core; because its effects are extremely obvious, the spirit-preservation art's masterpiece, the Huangting Jing, was once banned. First, the general concept of spirit-preservation arts: formally called Huangting inner refinement, its path does not primarily focus on forming the elixir. The elixir method actually simulates a process of the Dao becoming Heaven and Earth, then opening another Heaven and Earth within one's body; this Heaven and Earth again forms an infant; the infant grows into a true person — becoming the yang spirit. In the ancient method, after the yang spirit is greatly accomplished as a true person, there is still one more step. The mysterious pearl in the alchemical Dao essentially comes from the primordial one qi; this mysterious pearl is actually the image of Pangu (the Primordial Heavenly King) in the chaos. In some Daoist methods, one activates the true samadhi fire to wash and temper one's hun and po; when burned to the extreme and nothing remains, then the mysterious pearl is produced in the utmost emptiness; from the pearl an infant appears; the infant grows into a true person, becoming the main spirit that issues commands. Spirit-preservation similarly models Heaven and Earth: since qi exists everywhere in the body, and wherever qi exists spirit must exist, each part and aperture of the body is cultivated as an avatar of the body's main spirit, reaching the realm of numinous brightness. How this spirit comes — there are more inner secrets, belonging to cultivating the way of immortals. A person's body has eighteen thousand external spirits and eighteen thousand internal spirits, thirty-six thousand in all. In the Yunji Qiqian's "Sishen Jue" it is recorded: "The eighteen thousand spirits are called shadow-illumination spirits. Without yang, yin cannot complete; without yin, yang cannot be born. Thus yin is completed by yang, yang born by yin; also inner clarity from outer, outer clarity from inner — clear and bright mutually matching, then generation and birth. What is called numinous brightness is brightness from spirit." "All visualizations: the body as master. The body has three hun, seven po, three origins, five true, one spirit, a hundred spirits, thirty-six thousand spirits — all in the heart. Heart correct, then spirit correct; heart evil, then spirit evil. Evil and correct depend on awakening or not. Awakened, enter the correct; deluded, return to evil. The awakened obtain the gate; the deluded lose the way — then sinking in dark night, dwelling in utmost dark room. Students of the Dao should carefully investigate: beginning with counting breaths through the organs, ending in constant abiding in clear stillness — earnestly in your heart." And the Wusheng Miyao also points out: "What does not scatter: Heaven sends down eighteen thousand spirits to attach to the body, joining thirty-six thousand; all raise one body, ascending the three heavens — then become immortals of spirit, transforming without end. Humans model Earth; then Heaven's form appears; spirit abides, then form forms; spirit departs, then form decays." In general Daoist applications, the three primordial qi of xuan-yuan-shi are also transformed into thirty-six people standing left and right behind, paying court together — to show solemnity. This uses body spirits. Like the Shangqing Lingbao Dafa's Dongxuan standard incense-censing ritual: "The Supreme Three Heavens' Xuan-Yuan-Shi three qi Taishang Lao君 summons forth from ministers' bodies the three-five merit officers, left and right official envoys, left and right incense-holders, post-dragon riding clerks, incense-serving golden boys, word-passing flower-scattering jade maidens, five emperors' straight talismans, day-duty incense officials — thirty-six each, come forth. Those who come forth dress solemnly. Report and open this place's earth gods and local deities, true officials and correct spirits." The commentary says: "In the old standard, the thirty-six who come forth are all body spirits, all solemnly dressed, surrounding before and after, reporting to the earth gods, performing duty and transmitting sincerity" — this is the meaning. Some people without cultivation also have soul-out-of-body experiences. This out-of-body is neither yin nor yang spirit — only the seven po roaming outside, communicating with the exterior; not the yang and yin spirits in the cultivation sense. This must be strictly distinguished. Because in the alchemical Dao's definition, the true yang and yin spirits are both produced after cultivation. Having cultivated the yin spirit, one has already attained ghost-immortality — impossible without great merit and power. In the Yuanshi Tianzun Shuo Ganlu Shengtian Shen Zhou Miaojing it says clearly: "The ghost-immortals among ghosts: in the past among humans they practiced three thousand yin merits; dying through the Taiyin, they do not enter evil realms; transforming in function, equal to ghosts and spirits; when merit and power suffice, then become ghost-immortals." Indian religions' cultivation basically follows this path; Ming-Qing incomplete alchemy also mostly follows it. Of course there are obvious examples: in Indian esoteric arts, the northeast is where the supreme deity dwells; deity seats are all set in the northeast. And according to India's original-person feng shui, the northeast is auspicious. The northeast is the ghost gate direction. In Daoist methods this direction is not used for worship; in ritual it is used for commanding demons — for before the Heavenly Honored One taught the scriptures, the heavenly demon kings roamed the void, displaying power and releasing poison. After he taught, the demon kings submitted, so when the sages travel, they first command the demon kings as vanguard. Although theoretically anyone can cultivate the Great Dao and has the right, those cultivating ghost-immortality need not be mocked — everyone's aptitude and energy are limited. It is like whether Tsinghua, Peking, Harvard, or Yale — all are open to you; but whether you can get in is not that simple a question. But as modern people with open minds, we should understand: what suits you best is best for you; find your positioning well, and only then can you achieve results. Unable to give oneself good positioning, one ultimately accomplishes nothing. In the West there are also applied methods — like Monroe's out-of-body, astral projection, or the Golden Dawn's Body of Light — what they project is always the seven po; this is the seven-po-roaming phenomenon spoken of in earlier chapters. In the West out-of-body is called OBE, an abbreviation of Out-of-body experience; the out-of-body state is also called the lucid dream state. This experience is the same principle as the "观落阴" (yin-gazing) spoken of before. One technique for quickly guiding into lucid dream state is using drumming — shamans often use this to achieve this out-of-body state. Without a drum there are also useful techniques: clapping the hands on the ears, similarly simulating drum sounds; during sleep continuously clapping like a drum better guides into the out-of-body state. During out-of-body there is something like the "six roots' vibration" state: these sensations include descending, floating, consequences — e.g. muscle jerks (limbs twitching, jerking awake), sinking, feelings (numbness), intracranial sounds, tingling, clairvoyance, oscillation, and calm — similar to the "six roots' vibration" that appears in dharma absorption. But unlike general Eastern cultivation, in this situation the hun and po are actually unsettled; the West further stimulates this and guides oneself into this experience, considering it a mysterious and lofty experience. Though involving seven-po roaming is abnormal for ordinary people, after the seven po leave the body the person's protective ability drops; if external evils take the opportunity to enter, various symptoms described by modern medicine as psychiatric will appear. Of course one's resistance is not very low, so what more commonly appears is sleep paralysis — popularly called "ghost pressing the bed." It also easily induces "exploding head syndrome" — often experiencing a sensation of explosion when falling asleep or waking, suddenly hearing a loud noise in the head; some also experience fear, distress, confusion, muscle jerks, tachycardia, sweating, tinnitus, or seeing flashing lights. Occasionally this is no big problem, as injured hun and po will self-recover; but serious cases may have this seven or eight times a night — actual more serious damage to hun and po. Although out-of-body methods do not even count as yin-spirit cultivation methods and may have side effects — this does not mean the West lacks yin-spirit methods. As introduced earlier, Western thinking emphasizes spiritual exploration; similarly condensing nature-light, through exercise and meditation expanding yin-soul capacity, finally developing toward the numinous path — some methods are quite worth consulting. We will discuss them when opportunity arises. Something interesting: Britain launched a project called AWARE from 2008 to research near-death experiences, publishing a research report in 2015. The research aimed to study what near-death people actually saw. To achieve this they recruited many patients; from 2,060 cardiac arrests, 140 surviving patients were interviewed for the study. Detailed interviews with 101 patients identified 9 with near-death experiences. In the 9 cases, two had detailed recollections of awareness of the physical environment, one person's experience verified as accurate. Because after the heart stops, the brain ceases functioning after about 20 to 30 seconds, if a near-death subject can describe events occurring after this, the result is very thought-provoking. In the American TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., in one episode May has abnormal brain activity; later they use cardiac arrest to stop the brain, then electrically restart the heart to reset the brain. Coulson keeps asking what May saw, and claims that his own near-death was forgotten due to medication. These plot constructions are actually drawn from AWARE project conclusions — e.g. some near-death experiences are forgotten due to medication effects. Among the subjects' claims, two noteworthy cases: one patient saw himself slowly rise to the ceiling, then saw the doctors treating him, describing their clothes, and saying one was bald. Another case: a patient could describe what he heard after the brain stopped. These two cases of visualization and auditoryization are good evidence that out-of-body can experience the real world — but both occurred under non-rigorous conditions, so reliability could not be further confirmed, and attracted much controversy. Because the first phase's data and research were not ideal, a second phase was launched — AWARE II — planning to recruit 900–1500 patients with cardiac arrest, recording after they regained consciousness in treatment. This plan began recruiting on 1 August 2014, researching this year, planned to end 31 May 2017. Finally, a summary from the Southern Song Danjing Jilun's "Spirit Emergence" chapter: "Since antiquity immortals' spirit emerging has no other method: the spirit is the body's primal spirit. When qi is sufficient the spirit is numinous; numinous, it emerges of itself — not like visualization methods. The yang spirit's emergence ghosts and spirits cannot see or know. What ghosts and spirits can know and see is of the same kind as the yin spirit — not the yang spirit. Three years, a thousand days' work: when preservation is accomplished, qi sufficient and spirit whole, entering and leaving freely. The body outside the body is the dharma-body — gathered it forms form, scattered becomes qi; cannot be judged by form. The yin spirit is formless and cannot divide body into transformations; the yang spirit can make one body a hundred, ten bodies, each able to eat, drink, and respond; joined again it is one — what is called sacred and unknowable. The spirit's hiding and appearing is unfathomable, transformation without end; a thousand li, ten thousand li, arriving in an instant; past and future affairs, each known in advance — only then can it be called the yang spirit."