Category: Neigong

  • Caterpillars and Polliwogs

    Caterpillars weave cocoons, polliwogs form from cells; eventually the cocoons break open to produce moths, the cells develop to produce frogs.

    What I realize as I observe this is the Tao of liberative transformation of the spiritual embryo.

    Those who cultivate reality assemble the five forces, join the hundred spirits, merge with the ultimate; one energy coalesces, whole and pure, not consciously cognized. Now the spiritual embryo has form, like when the caterpillar weaves its cocoon or the polliwog forms its cell.

    Store the spirit and energy away in mystical darkness, and the bit of spiritual root will grow from faintness to clarity,
    from softness to strength. When the process is complete, suddenly you will break through space to reveal the pure spiritual body, leaping beyond the worlds. This is like when the caterpillar, having transformed into a moth. Breaks out of its cocoon and flies away, or like when the polliwog becomes a frog and leaps. There is a body beyond the body, another world.

    Therefore the aftermath of accomplishment of the Way is sometimes referred to as developing the power of flight, and sometimes called shedding the shell and becoming real. These expressions mean that you reproduce a real body inside your physical body. This real body is inherent in everyone, but people are fooled by the objects of their senses, deluded by illusory appearances, so they do not recognize the real body, even though it is right there.

    Anyone who can recognize the real body and earnestly cultivate it can produce substance where there was none, produce form where there was none, undergo liberative transformation and become an immortal with an indestructible body.

    Awakening to the Tao Liu I-Ming translated by Thomas Cleary p. 76-77

  • Realising our full potential

    Realising our full pontential

    Realising our full potential – Saturday 18th May – Day Course Retreat

    To achieve true happiness, we must understand what is holding us back and learn to develop the mind to achieve its full potential. In this day course retreat we will look into our life purpose and learn practical methods to overcome obstacles and to achieve our deepest wishes. Kelsang Tubchen will teach and Kelsang Lobon will guide the meditations.

    Please book in advance – Thank you!

    The Clear Light Kadampa Buddhist Centre
    St. Kongensgade 40H, st. tv.
    København K
    Denmark

    Details, price and booking:
    Realising our full potential meditateincopenhagen.org

    NB! Guest teacher Kelsang Tubchen who is the principal teacher in Oslo will also be in Copenhagen on the 17th. of May for the evening event “Food for Thought” which includes a meditation and meal in a peaceful and open environment!

  • One heart

    Can you polish your mysterious mirror
    And leave no blemish?
    Lao Tzu

    There is never been a single thing
    Then where is dust to cling?
    Huang Po

    Joining hands
    One heart.
    You and Me

  • Qiangzhuang Gong

    Health Promotion Exercise

    Functions
    Reinforces intrinsic Qi and promotes good health and the ability to prevent and cure disease.

    Methods
    Natural respiration or reverse breathing techniques can be used in the practice of this exercise.

    1. Natural Respiration. Sit cross-legged or take a standing posture. Gradually regulate your breath so that it is quiet, even, fine, and slow. Concentrate the mind on the Dantian.

    2. Reverse Breathing. Sit cross-legged or stand using reverse breathing while concentrating the mind on the Dantian. Pull in the abdomen and contract the anus during inspiration to pull Qi into the Dantian. Expand the abdomen during expiration to allow Qi to move throughout the entire body.

    Application
    Health Promotion Exercise improves health and treats hypertension, neurosis, coronary heart disease, and arthritis.

    Points for Attention
    This exercise can be practiced 1–4 times a day, 10–60 minutes each time. Fine, even, deep, and long respiration can only be achieved through long-term practice and should not be pursued forcefully or by suppressing breath. Stop exercising before you get tired.

    Reference: Qigong for Treating Common Ailments: The Essential Guide to Self Healing by Xu Xiangcai

     

  • Water drizzling down a mountain side

    Water drizzling down the mountain wall

    glittering in the sun
    mist rising to the top

    birds and green
    everywhere life is seen

    drifting in the clouds
    standing like a giant

    reaching to center of the earth
    stretching up towards the heavens

    unmoved yet alive
    standing here

    how am I different?
    .

  • A journey towards liberation

    Vipassana Documentary from India

    Personally I took a 10 day intensive Vipassana meditation course in Nepeal just after New Year 2012. 10-11 hours of meditation every day, keeping the buddhist precepts of a strictly vegetarian diet, refraining from sexual activity and keeping to silence and non communication. As many of the prisoners in the movie “Doing Time, Doing Vipassana” I had no real prior experience with meditation.

    The first 2-3 days was a refined form of physical and mental torture as my body and mind constantly rebelled against the rigorous training. After the first day and second day I felt like screaming and running away. Actually it was only by the kind and loving intervention of one the foreign volunteers at Dharmashringa that I managed to overcome my desperation. I remember thinking I would have preferred going to a Nepalese jail instead.

    As the days went on my struggling body and mind started to settle by themselves. I began a profound journey towards my self – a journey that trancends language! First everyday problems and worries started to wane, then old stuff started to emerge and go from the depths of my mind together with injuries and bad habits of my body. Then something happened. I adjusted to the situation.

    Not all was perfect or even good – but somehow even the most troublesome moments was okay! An immense presence slowly manifested it self.

    For me it was a life altering experience. To this day I am not sure that I would do it again. But I will recommend this journey towards liberation to all!

    I am still struggling in this very moment: Innica Innica – maintaining equanimity!

    Links:
    Vipassanā wikipedia.org
    Nepal Vipassana Center Dharmashringa www.np.dhamma.org
    Vipassana i Norden Dhamma Sobhana
    www.pariyatti.org Vipassana Shop

    The Vipasana Meditation Technique neigong.net

    Videos:
    Doing Time, Doing Vipassana 1/4
    Doing Time, Doing Vipassana 2/4
    Doing Time, Doing Vipassana 3/4
    Doing Time, Doing Vipassana 4/4

    Books:
    The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation as Taught by S.N. Goenka
    Discourse Summaries: Talks from a Ten-day Course in Vipassana Meditation

  • Smiling keeps me always young

    Tranquillity of mind makes me live long,
    Smiling keeps me always young.
    I am air,
    I am light,
    And I am water,
    With the breeze I dirft,
    Far and Wide.

    Reference:
    Prenatal Energy Mobilizing Qigong: China Taoist Ancient Qigong
    by Cheng Yan Feng
    ISBN 9787535907561

  • The Intercourse of Water and Fire

    Whenever you leak vital spirit, being stirred and interacting with beings, that is all fire. Whenever you gather back spirits consciousness and quiet it down to steep in the center, that is all water. When the senses run outward, that is fire; when the senses turn around  inward, that is water.

    The one yin [ inside the fire trigram ] concentrates on pursuing sense experience, while the one yang [ inside the water trigram ] concentrates on reversing and withdrawing the senses themselves.

    Water and fire are yin and yang, yin and yang are body and mind, body and mind are spirit and energy. Once you withdraw to rest your vital spirit and are not influenced by objects, then this is true intercourse, as of course when you sit in profound silence.

    Reference:The Secret of the Golden Flower: The Classic Chinese Book of Life new translation by Thomas Cleary XI p. 55

  • Zhuang Zi’s eight kinds of methods for health cultivation

    Zhuang Zi is one of the prominent philosophers in the era of the Warring States. He has done much study about man’s spirit, integrity, nature-cultivation, heart-cultivation and advocated the nature-cultivation of unselfishness, few desires, quietness and transcendence.

    Unselfishness. In the opinion of Zhuang Zi, selfishness is the origin of all evils and diseases. One is certain to worry about the gain and loss for everything and be in a state of restlessness if he is often self-centered and calculative and then overstrains of his body and exhaustion of his essence will ensue in a long run. In order to live for a long life one should be broad-minded, high-spirited, optimistic, free from fame and gain and unselfish.

    Few desires. Neither abstinence from desires nor self-indulgence is helpful to nature-cultivation. Self-indulgence is certain to make one get into trouble or catch a disease. One won’t cheat or humiliate the other sex with little sexual passion. One won’t murder for money with little desire for substance. One won’t feign compliance, cut corners, play down the others and boost oneself with little desire for power. One who know his honour and disgrace and his place can be called the man with the nature of justice, honest and unselfishness who can be healthy and live at rest. In the present time, there is too much temptation all over the world. Most people are hunting for the happiness of substance and impatient, and someone is addicted in the desire for power, profit, sex, greed and hobbies. One will lose his temper and take it out on others when he is dissatisfied with what he had. Thereafter, those bad emotions such as worry, anxiety, depression, mourn, regret and anger will ensue and hurt his body.

    Quietness. One can’t be affected by disaster nor attacked by exogenous pathogen with mental stability as well as indifference to fame or gain in the daily life and social intercourse. Quietness can restrain anger, rid of worry, settle down the mind and cultivate the health. Rather than thinking of nothing, quietness is one kind of mind state that should make one be far from the music and sex pleasure, out of win or loss, gain or loss, honour or disgrace, neither worry nor overstrain should exist. There is too much spirit-dispersing temptation including money, rank, fame and gain, beauty etc in the world. In this confused world, one should keep calm and out of power, fame and gain, money and scene of debauchery. Such mind state will make those bad emotions like nervousness, worry, anger, jealousy and hatred far from you and keep your mind calm. Quietness can make your mind at rest, Qi and blood circulation normal and then the modulation of your body will be normal and you will be healthy and live a long life.

    Transcendence. There is a vivid metaphor in the book of Zhuang Zi, which the pheasant in waters can survive because of their optimism. They enjoy their lives, peck and drink something from time to time. It is not the same for the caged birds. It is certain that one will worry if he is imprisoned in the spirit shackles. That will be harmful to his health. Therefore, he advocates that one should be optimistic and open-minded, not be moved by grief and joy and enjoy his life. Zhuang Zi looks upon the life in an unprejudiced manner and let the nature take its course. He lives a hard life and from hand to mouth sometimes. He doesn’t care about all of that. His wife was dead and Hui Zi went to mourn for her. He started to sing instead of weeping. Hui Zi criticized him for his singing. He said calmly: at first, I am very sad about her death, and then I thought about carefully how man comes and goes in this world. I have the idea that man changes from the non-biotic substance. Figure takes shape and man has a life when Qi gathers. Man is dead when Qi scatters. Now my wife’s body is dead and will change into non-biotic substance. So I celebrate and say a farewell to my wife for her regression to the nature in the way of singing with beating the tub. What he said is not certain to be reasonable, but his transcendent and open-minded manner treating his life is worth advocating.

    Reference: Zhuang Zi’s eight kinds of methods for health cultivation jsqg.sport.org.cn

  • The Tao is near and yet people seek it far away

    Those whose vital spirit is scattered outwardly and whose intellectual ruminations ramble inwardly cannot govern their bodies. When what the spirit employs is distant, then what it loses is nearby.

    So know the world without going out the door, know the weather without looking out the window; the further out it goes, the less knowledge is. This means that when pure sincerity emerges from within, spiritual energy moves in heaven.

    Reference: Title quote from Mencius, Lyrics Wen-Tzu: Understanding the Mysteries 20 p. 26 translated by Thomas Cleary

  • Substantiality and Insubstantiality

    How can substantiality and insubstantiality be distinguished between left and right or between top and bottom parts of the body?

    The muscles, the skeleton and the nerves are parts of the body system. When practicing the movements, the use of consciousness to sink and relax the body is most important. The centre of gravity is moved while preserving the uprightness of the central axis of the body. It is important to focus on steadiness, tranquillity, relaxation and rootedness. The movements propel the external movements in a continuous or uninterrupted fashion. Internal force is generated with turning movements. After a long time, the whole body is in balance. When left and right is distinguished, one is substantial and the other insubstantial along the pattern of “cross alignment”. For instance, together with the distinction between top and bottom parts of the body, when the left upper part of the body is substantial, the left lower part is insubstantial and similarly when the right upper part of the body is substantial, the right lower part is insubstantial. This pattern of cross alignment is used in shifts of the centre of gravity from one leg to the other. This is similar to the “cross-roads” of the nervous system. When moving Qi, therefore, one must separate substantial from insubstantial, move the step without moving the body or moving the body and not the hand. If in moving a step, the body also moves, then it is not separating substantial from insubstantial. If in moving the body, the hand also moves, then the shoulder and the hands are not relaxed. It is important to follow the principles of using consciousness to propel movement. The top and bottom, left and right portions of the body must be coordinated. A rounded grinding stone may move but the centre is not moving. All parts of the body become one system characterized by lightness and agility, roundness and smoothness, even respiration, alternate opening and closing like that of the sea where with movement from one part of the sea, all parts are also moved. The movements are guided by consciousness and are properly regulated like the regular movements of the waves in the sea.

    Reference: Interview with Master Huang www.paulrenalltaiji.info

    Links: Yin Yang

  • Yi Jin Jing

    易筋經; Wade-Giles: I Chin Ching; literally “Muscle Tendon Change Classic”

    Litterature:
    Yi Jin Jing: Tendon – Muscle Strengthening Qigong Exercises (Chinese Health Qigong Associat)
    Foreign Language Press
    ISBN 9787119047782

    Qigong, the Secret of Youth: Da Mo’s Muscle/tendon and Marrow/brain Washing Classics
    by Yang Jwing-Ming and Jwing-Ming Yang
    ISBN 1886969841

    14-series Sinew-Transforming Exercises by Weizhen Chang
    ISBN 7119006363

    Links:
    Yijin Jing wikipedia.org
    Yi Jin Jing Qigong egreenway.com by Michael P. Garofalo

  • What meditation really is

    Sogyal Rinpoche

    The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying
    Chapter V “Bringing the Mind Home”

    p. 57 ff.

  • Tao Yoga

    Tao Yoga Kamakura – http://www.taoyoga.jp

    Tao Yoga or DaoYin exercises were an ancient precursor of Qigong, specifically the variety sometimes known as neigong, and were practised in Chinese Taoist monasteries for health and spiritual cultivation in ancient times. 

    In modern times DaoYin has often been refered to as — Taoist Yoga. DaoYin can be translated as “Guiding or leading the flow of Blood and Qi in the Body” and we find references to this ancient exercises from as far back as 500 BC. 

    Ancient DaoYin is also said to be a primary formative ingredient in the well-known soft style Chinese martial art T’ai Chi Ch’uan. There are many various sets of DaoYin: Five Animals Play, Heavenly Gate, Su Dongpo’s Massage, Seven Star Standing Exercises, Chen Huashan’s 12 Forms, Wang Ziqiao’s 34 Forms, and many others.

    Here we present a set of 12 Tao Yoga or DaoYin movements for interested students. This second video lists exercises 9 – 12. We use this set of 12 exercises as a foundation training set.

    It works to lengthen the tendons, open the joints, develop flexibility, stamina, massage the internal organs, regulate the breath, open the channels, circulate qi naturally, and begin to awaken the Dan Tian.

    A very basic set, but it can give you a lot if you really practice it. It is a kind of basic skill developing exercise. 

    In these films, we only performed a few movements of each exercise due to time limitations. Each exercise should be done 9 / 18 / or 36 times each.

    On Breathing. 

    Do not hold the breath when doing these exercises. 

    Breath deeply and full and draw the inhalation and exhalation from the Dan Tian or lower abdomen. 

    Generally you can inhale as you rise up, and exahale as you bend down – generally. 

    When you practice, please feel a connection from the feet to the earth, as if rooted. 

    Feel a connection to the sky with the crown of the head, as if a string is connected to above. 

    Let the tongue touch the hard pallet of the mouth, and the teeth are lightly closed. 

    Breath in and out gently through the nose.

    Please have a slight focus to the Lower Dantian when you close the hands at the end of each exercise. 

    Allow a feeling of all things settling in to the Lower Dan Tian and feel very grounded and centered.

    The Lower Dantian (Tan Tien) is located in the empty space below the navel in the middle place between the kidney and navel — a sphere of around 3.8 cm. 

    Let the internal vision gaze upon that place when you settle. 

    Let golden virtue begin to grow within, releasing all negative qualities and deeply relaxing the body. 

    Let all things return to and settle there in between each movement.

    As you practice more, forget about breathing, and let the movement and yourself become one with the surrounding nature. 

    Let virtue fill your heart, and gain union with all of heaven and earth as you practice.

    For more information, please visit:
    http://www.taoyoga.jp