Alchemy (Taoism)

The inner alchemy of Taoism uses the metaphor of [wai-tan]

or "outer cinnabar" which it superseded. Outer alchemy sought to achieve physical immortality through means of an elixir or pill produced by alchemical means - repeated reductions and recyclings to produce purified mercuric sulphide from the cinnabar ore. Nine-times purified cinnabar was then ingested. The combination of meditative breathing and sexual techniques of [nei-tan]

echo the reduction and recycling process through the process of circulation of essence through the body, strengthening and replenishing of [ch'i]

(vital energy) and resulting in the formation of the sacred and immortal embryo or soul.

Behind these processes is the belief that, under the normal conditions, natural processes result in a life cycle of seven states: (i) the generative state of the womb; (ii) the state of birth and infancy; (iii) the state of childhood; (iv) the recognition of dichotomies following the division of yin and yang; (v) the separation of the five elements, imbalancing one another and encrusting the senses; (vi) the predominance of acquired conditioning, governing emotions and desires; and finally, (vii) the complete domination of mundanity, with the extinction of positive energy, leading to death.

This natural cycle is reversed by the alchemical firing process in seven corresponding stages through which immortality is achieved. The stages are: (i) refining the self; (ii) recognition of the true mind; (iii) restoration of celestial awareness; (iv) assembling the five elements; (v) merging [yin]

and [yang]

- formation of the golden elixir; (vi) unification of energy - formation of the spiritual embryo; (vii) transcending the world - incubation of the spiritual embryo. Through this process reality is cultivated, restoring the self, which otherwise gradually dies through the natural process described above. Real celestial positivity returns in the midst of total mundanity.

Inner alchemy may thus be described in terms of processes whereby real knowledge (symbolized by water) is retrieved from the overlay of artificial conditioning. The real knowledge is then used to replace the mundanity infecting conscious knowledge (symbolized by fire), thereby restoring the basic completeness of the primordial celestial mind. Expressed differently, the challenge of human development is that consciousness is normally volatile, given to imagination and wandering thought. Real knowledge then tends to become submerged in the unconsciousness, sinking into oblivion. There is no appropriate integration of the two forms of knowledge which act separately from one another. Through the alchemical process, these two forms of knowledge are forced to interact. Real knowledge (water) stabilizes consciousness (fire) and removes its volatility, while consciousness brings real knowledge into action in life.

The task of alchemy is therefore twofold, to "empty the mind" and to "fill the belly". The first is that of cultivating essence - [ching]

- displacing the mundane preoccupations of the human mind. The second is that of cultivating life or vital energy - [ch'i]

. When the "belly is full", sane energy arises through accumulation of right action, and the energy of mundane conditioning dissolves of itself. An alternative representation of the task is that of discovering the flexibility within strength and the strength within flexibility. Another is that of seeking sense through essence and returning essence to sense, meaning that essence and sense unite.

The "firing process" is a metaphor employed in alchemical texts for the order of practical spiritual work, namely the order of application of effort in the cultivation of reality. The aim is to purify the vital energies, which are said to have their physical aspect within the body, so as to unite with the immaterial aspect active in the universe. Associated with this process is the notion of a "crucible" which is subjected to the firing and within which transmutation takes place, the human body in which [ching]

and [ch'i]

are melted together to form [shen-t'ai]

, a new being, the [sacred embryo]

or [soul]

. This is the famous [golden flower]

which opens when enlightenment is attained, the transmutation as when the soul leaves the dying body and ascends to immortality in heaven.

It is through the firing process that the encrustations of the faculties are burnt away to expose the awareness of the original spirit - [shen]

. This requires an appropriate combination over time of inward discipline, deflection of externals, application of effort, gentle nurturing, and use and withdrawal of energy. Originally the disciplines were mainly based on meditative techniques involving control of breath as a means of developing [shen-t'ai]

through purification of [ching]

to form [ch'i]

and then of [ch'i]

to form [shen]

. Finally the self is integrated with the universe as the mind is purified and returns to nothingness.

The philosophical approach - [tao-chia]

- thus described derives from a more religious approach - [tao-chiao]

. Through normal life the store of [ch'i]

is gradually exhausted. The aim of inner alchemy - [nei-tan]

- is to balance yin and yang so as to become one with the [Tao]

; and to conserve and strengthen the inner essence - [nei ch'i]

- through the inner alchemical firing process so as to restore the pure state of the essence as it was at the moment of birth when the primal energy from which the universe arose entered the body. It is this primordial [ch'i]

which forms the mind - [shen]

, the body itself forming saliva - [yu-chiang]

- and semen - [ching]

. Different meditative techniques have evolved with these ends in view, some clearly viewing the whole process as spiritual while others adopting more physical manifestations of the spiritual process to achieve the desired result, which may be reduced thereby to a desire for physical longevity:< (i) [Fang-chung shu]

, symbolic or actual sexual techniques aimed mainly at exchange of energy through intercourse with a person of the opposite sex. Attention is on experiencing [Tao]

through participation in the creative process reflecting the original creation of the universe. Or [ching]

may be preserved by suppressing ejaculation while bringing one's partner to climax. Attention is on accumulating energy at particular "centres" through circulation of the primordial essence within the body.

(ii) Meditative techniques concentrating on the inner breath - [ch'i]

- while taking in pure air and exhaling contaminated air without loss of [ch'i]

, which is first harmonized - [tiao ch'i]

. Other exercises may follow: [yen ch'i]

- when [ch'i]

together with [yu-chiang]

is swallowed while outer air is exhaled; [pi ch'i]

- retention of harmonized and swallowed breath so as to circulate it throughout the body; [hsing ch'i]

- slow circulation of the air through the body to create [shen t'ai]

, the embryonic body or immortal soul; [lien ch'i]

- "melting the breath" so it pervades the whole body and is not restricted to particular channels; [fu ch'i]

- using the breath to nourish the five internal organs from where it is directed to other parts of the body; [tai hsi]

- breathing like an embryo while still in the mother's body - this is to nourish the immortal embryo which will separate from the physical body on physical death.

Meditative practices are employed in the process of creating channels for the essence to circulate. There are two channels, first the [hsiaou-chou-t'ien]

(lesser celestial circulation, small round), descending from the heart through the lower abdomen to the kidneys; and then the greater celestial circulation (great round), involving the whole body and passing through a number of "centres" from the base of the spine upwards - [tu-mai]

(controlled path) - to the top of the head, then down - [jen-mai]

(involuntary path) - through the face, chest and surface of the abdomen back to the base of the spine. The highest centre on the upward path, where the spine meets the head, referred to as the upper cinnabar field, includes [ni-huan]

(nirvana). Centres on the downward path are: [ming-t'ang]

(hall of light), between the eyes; the middle cinnabar field, near the heart; the [huang-t'ing]

(yellow castle) at the centre of the abdomen; and the lower cinnabar field around the navel. It is around the latter that practices aimed at prolonging life are centred, [ch'i-hai]

, "ocean of breath". The three cinnabar fields - [tan-t'ien]

- are those regions through which [ch'i]

flows.

A detailed analysis of the lesser celestial circulation includes the five elements - [wu-hsing]

, the seasons of the year and the points of the compass. That of the greater circulation includes 12 sections related to the hexagrams of the I Ching, the months of the year and the hours of the day.