On the Taoism of Xuanmen Qizong
The qi of the Xuanmen Qi Sect’s Taoist cultivators has the qi in the human body. Through perspective, it can be seen that its basic color is milky white and appears in a liquid state (when it is released to the outside, it is external qi, which appears as a gas or field state). It can be considered that this is a human being. Fluid system in the body. Qi is a specific part of the liquid system. This liquid is located in different parts and performs different functions, so it has different names. For example, it is Yuan Qi that exists in the Dantian Mingmen, Zong Qi in the lungs, Ying Qi in the pulses, Wei Qi in the tissues of the body, and brain marrow in the brain... In the Qigong world, it is collectively called "Zhen Qi". Now we will focus on the two qi of Ying and Wei, which are commonly known as qi or qi.
Ying Qi is blood plasma. "Lingshu Ying Health Conference" says: "Ying is the essence of water and grain." It is mainly transformed from the essence of water and grain in the spleen and stomach, and is the most important part of the Qi of water and grain. Rich in nutrients. "Su Wen Bi Lun" says: "The Ying element harmonizes the five internal organs and spreads over the six fu organs. It can enter the meridians, so it follows the meridians up and down, penetrates the five internal organs, and connects the six fu organs." From this point of view, Ying Qi It is located in the "mai", that is, in the blood vessels. It becomes a component of blood and operates the whole body. It metabolizes blood and promotes blood circulation, so it is also called nourishing blood. As the old saying goes, "Ying is in the blood" and "Ying is in the meridians".
If you don’t regard the ancient discussions as mysterious, it is not difficult to see from the above conclusion that the main body of Ying Qi is plasma.
Physiology divides blood into blood cells (such as red blood cells, etc.) and plasma. Blood cells are tangible entities, which are called "blood" in traditional Chinese medicine, and "blood belongs to yin". Plasma liquid has no physical substance, so it is called "ying qi", and "qi belongs to yang", which is very consistent with the classification standards of the yin and yang theory of traditional Chinese medicine. From the source, the nutrients in plasma come from the digestion and absorption of the digestive system, which is the "water and grain essence" metabolized by the spleen and stomach. Plasma carries blood cells, just like blood carries a boat, which is in line with the classic statement that "Qi is the leader of blood, and when Qi moves, blood moves." Plasma provides a liquid environment for the survival of cells in the body and at the same time transports nutrients to harmonize the whole body. It is precisely the "harmonizing of the five internal organs and spreading to the six internal organs" of nourishing qi. Plasma and blood cells, as components of blood, become an indivisible whole, running endlessly in the blood. "Nei Jing" and other classics have summarized it many times as "Ying and blood go together", "Ying is in the pulse" and "Ying combines with blood". The most convincing thing is the internal observation. From the perspective of people with this function and physiological knowledge, Ying Qi is blood plasma, which is accurate without doubt.
The sage looked inside and realized that the liquid called plasma today had no name at that time. He saw that it "operates the whole body" and "creates the body", so it was named "ying". "Lingshu Xieke Pian" says: "Those who nourish Qi secrete their body fluids, inject them into the pulse, and turn them into blood." There are countless examples like this.
Wei Qi is a specific part of tissue fluid. Let’s talk about tissue fluid first. When the plasma flows through the capillaries, the nutrients in the plasma leak out of the blood vessels through osmosis and become interstitial fluid in the spaces between tissue cells, and then reach each cell from the interstitial fluid. In the same way, metabolic waste produced by cells must also pass through tissue fluid before being discharged to the outside world. It can be said that only through tissue fluid can the human body exchange matter, energy, and information with the outside world.
Because humans walk upright, tissue fluid cannot be completely liquid and exists as colloid. This prevents stagnation toward the feet due to gravity and the "separation of yin and yang." However, colloid has considerable limitations and cannot better communicate with the outside world. Therefore, in addition to the jelly state, there is also a fluid part. When viewed from the inside, it is not as liquid as water. , to be precise, it should belong to the liquid crystal state. (When it is released to the outside, it becomes a field state or a gaseous state, just like water becomes a gaseous state when heated) This is a dynamic in the static, just like a stream on the vast ice sheet. This "stream" is the meridians, and the "water" is Wei Qi. Through this "stream", nutrients are continuously delivered to every cell and gap. Therefore, "Lingshu Benzang Chapter" says: "Wei Qi is the one who warms and separates meat, fills the skin, fattens and regulates the intercourse, and is responsible for opening and closing."
When the fetus is in the mother's womb, it should not eat Not drinking or breathing, he relies on his mother's body for everything. Physiology has discovered that after maternal blood reaches the placenta, nutrients and oxygen leak out into the interstitial space to become interstitial fluid, which then penetrates into the fetal capillaries and collects in the umbilical cord to flow into the fetus. In other words, what flows from the mother's body to the fetus is not red blood or slightly yellowish tissue fluid, but what people with supernormal abilities perceive as being injected into the fetus from the umbilical cord is maternal health qi. The milky white and slightly yellow Wei Qi flows gurglingly into the young life and becomes the "innate vitality" of the fetus. This unifies Wei Qi and tissue fluid.
The specific observation of the generation of Wei Qi is as follows: inhaling, blood cells are "squeezed" into the capillaries, arranged individually, and the blood vessels are slightly closed. It may be due to the effect of this crowding that the components in the blood are permeable. It passes through the capillaries and becomes Wei Qi - this is exactly the generation of tissue fluid, which has been discussed before and will not be repeated here. Exhale, the blood vessels open slightly, and blood cells burst out of the capillaries and enter the veins. The ancients observed the above process and made many discussions, such as "Inhalation makes Qi flow, exhalation makes blood flow", "Qi is the commander of blood, and blood is the mother of Qi", "Blood flows inside the meridians, and Qi flows outside the meridians", "Lungs It governs Qi. When inhaling, all the meridians are closed, and when exhaling, all the meridians are opened." Internal observation bridges the gap between understanding ancient and modern times and physiology.
The internal observation not only verified that the generation of Wei Qi and tissue fluid are the same, but also consistent with the microcirculation theory. When blood flows through capillaries, it does not travel smoothly and evenly, but displays a wave-like autonomous movement of capillaries and a sea-wave-like perfusion of blood, showing a turbulent state. Not only did I observe this phenomenon, but I also learned that the driving force behind this phenomenon is not the beating of the heart, but the rhythm of breathing, so it is said that "the lungs govern qi."
In Feng Shui, "Qi" is a stream of consciousness and a state of "field". Although "Qi" is often written as "Qi" in Chinese medicine and Feng Shui works, it should actually be the concept of "Qi". In terms of health preservation, "Qi" is a kind of energy, which is the energy needed by the human spirit body. There is an endless flow of energy that exists among all things in the universe. In Qigong, breathing, Daoyin, and meditation, the Qi and energy flow that is emphasized is the flow of energy from the interaction of movements and consciousness to heal the human body and improve health. The essence of "Qi" is the four-dimensional information that combines universal gravitation with space energy spirit particles, the five-dimensional high-energy field that combines four-dimensional spherical compression evolution, the six-dimensional information that combines four or five dimensions with electromagnetism, and the seven-dimensional information that combines five dimensions with thermal gluons. Dimension and other high-dimensional information light matter.
Qi refers to the formless object on the water. In the blood vessels, it travels through the meridians, and in conjunction with the earth vessels, it generates the five elements. It was probably first seen on the ancient jade "Xingqi Jade Pillar Sutra" collected in the Tianjin History Museum. The rubbings on this object are now collectively referred to as "Jade Pendant Inscription for the Movement of Qi".
The ancients said: The cultivation of immortality pays the most attention to the refining of Qi, and advocates "refining Qi as the foundation". The Qi of a person's body is divided into five types: Yuan Qi, Zong Qi, Ying Qi, Wei Qi and Fu Qi. Among them, only Yuan Qi is the innate Qi, and the other four are all acquired Qi. Yuan Qi descends and transforms, and the gods arise on their own. Refining the spirit and combining the Tao is cultivation. The rest of the names are too numerous to be accurate. The original text of "Zhuangzi" says: "If you have a will, you don't have ears to listen to it, but you listen to it with your heart; you don't have to listen to it with your heart, but you listen to it with illumination. Listening stops at the ears, and the heart stops at the talisman. Qi means empty and Those who treat things are the only way to gather emptiness, and emptiness means that the heart is fast." 炁, qì, is the same as "qi", which refers to the most basic energy and physiological functions that constitute the human body and maintain life activities. During the Pre-Qin and Western Han Dynasties, there were many works discussing Qi, such as Laozi, Liezi, Zhuangzi, Guanzi, He Guanzi, Xunzi, Huainanzi, Huangdi Neijing, etc. Most of them are Taoist works or works related to Taoism.
"Xiantian Qi" has many titles in the cultivation classics of various schools. Commonly used terms are listed as follows:
Confucian title
Heart, Li Qi, Wuji, Tianliang, Liangzhi , Liang Neng, Xing, Ming De, Huang Zhong, Ren, Hard Qi, Haoran Zhengqi.
Buddhist titles
Heart, Buddha nature, truth, root of wisdom, wisdom body, indestructible body, wonderful awareness, wonderful mind, relics, wonderful purple golden light, Vajra Dharma Eye Hidden Bodhisattva, Tathagata, the Cause of Buddhahood, Mani Orb.
Taoist titles
Heart, Xiantian Qi, True Yang Qi, True Source, Purple Qi, Yuan Shen, Gu Shen, Zhen Chang, Xing Ming, Huang Ting, Jin Dan, San Cunqi, Tianyi Zhenshui, Millet Xuanzhu, the great divine nature in the sky.
Physician’s title
Spirit, Qi.
Modern appellation
Life, mind, root, soul, feeling, thinking energy, life energy, etc. Due to different historical periods, the names of each school are also different, but they all talk about the fundamentals of human life.
When the universe was created, a qi was produced first, which Taoists call the Yuanshi Xiantian qi, the true ancestral qi, and Taiyi containing the true qi. This innate Qi is the initial information before the Big Bang, the rhythm of the origin of the universe, and the vibrant Dao Qi.