Mind, Spiritual Nature and Bodily Life

Inner Alchemy

Terms of Inner Alchemy

Mind , Spiritual Nature and Bodily Life Essential Matter , Vital Breath and Spirit Great Reversion Elixir Small Reversion Elixir Integrated Cultivation of Spiritual Nature and Bodily Life Three Flowers Condensing onto the Head Transporting through the Three Vehicles Meeting of the Three Parts Refining the Mind through the Nine Cauldrons Intercourse of Dragon and Tiger Refinement of Essential Matter into Vital Breath Refinement of Vital Breath into Spirit Refinement of Spirit Back to Emptiness Refinement of Emptiness into Dao Reversing Kan with Li Centering Merits When Yin And Yang Join The Five Vital Breaths Oriented to the Origin Rebirth from the Original Fetus and Bones Basic Cultivation Self-Refinement Harmonizing the Breath Obtaining the Elixir Drug Collecting Elixir Drugs Fire Phases To Increase Fire To Reduce Fire To Nourish in Warmth Bathing Unfixed Zi Phase River Chariot Mysterious Pearls Passages and Cavities Cosmic Orbit Feminine Alchemy Cutting the Red Dragon Refining the Form through the Supreme Yin Body of Original Chastity

Among the three terms usually found in books on Inner Alchemy, Mind was regarded as substance, Spiritual Nature as the soul, namely the governing power, of the mind, and last but not least, Bodily Life as the Vital Breath. According to the Book of the Supreme Venerable Sovereign's Teachings on Cultivating Mind ( 《太上老君說了心經》Taishang Laojun Shuo Liaoxin Jing ), "Mind governs Spirit, whether in motion or at rest". The author argues that Mind controls the movements and functions of Spirit. In this sense, Mind is equal to substance, and Spiritual Nature equal to its function.

By comparison, Daoism attaches an importance to the inseparable link between Mind and Spiritual Nature. In the refinement of Inner Alchemy, the Enlightenment of Mind ( 明心 Mingxin ) and the Realization of Spiritual Nature ( 見性 Jianxing ) are equally emphasized. Among the two elements, the Enlightenment of Mind, or the Purifying of Mind, in another term, represents a process of cleaning the human Mind. Even in the years before the First Emperor of the Qin dynasty, "purifying human minds by [[[the Book of Changes]]" ( 《易》Yi ) had been popularly mentioned. In the later periods, Daoism borrowed concepts from the book in expounding Purifying Mind and other ideas about Inner Alchemy.

In Chinese, the character “purifying” consists of two parts, namely, “the sun” and “the moon”, which stands for Yang and Yin separately. It suggests that in order to purify human minds, Yang and Yin should be inseparably linked. When the two fundamental elements become one, Original Chaos ( 混沌 Huntun ) will return. Accordingly, the goal of Purifying Mind can only be achieved by ridding human beings of wisdom or desire, and returning to original simplicity, a state in which a complete circulation between Spirit and Vital Breath is attained. In another word, Substance and its Function are completely united.