Taoist Alchemy

By Lu K'uan Yu (Charles Luk)

The Elixir of Life can be sublimated In the human body by the Taoist method of self-purification. In my book The Secrets of Chinese Meditation,¹ I devoted a whole chapter to Taoist meditation for beginners without mentioning the method of preparing the Elixir of Life in order to avoid unnecessary controversy, for my aim was to present the Buddha-Dharma for students in the West.

Taoist meditation as described in my book is good for those who wish to get rid of ailments or to enjoy good health in their old age, and. for those who want to prolong the span of life so that they have sufficient time to practise the Dharma which was well-nigh impossible when they were young and married with children to look after. For married and family men can devote all their time to practising the Supreme Vehicle only after their children have grown up and become independent. For instance, upasaka Pang Yun, who was a family man, only realized Bodhi when he was old and after he had forsaken worldly attachments by dumping all his gold and silver into the Hsiang river.²

The practice of Taoism is also not easy for it has its rules of morality and discipline, and all Taoists abstain from meat, sexual intercourse, killing, stealing and lying, if by Taoists one understands serious practisers of the doctrine of the Tao, and not worldly men who call themselves Taoists but do not keep its rules.

Their method of meditation consists in sitting cross-legged to regulate the body and concentrating their minds on the spot in the lower abdomen called Lower Tan Then or 'Field of Elixir' which is about one and a half inches below the navel, and is regarded as the centre of gravity in the body. There are three places in the body called Tan Then: the Upper Tan Then between the eyebrows; the Middle Tan Then between the pit of the stomach and the navel; and the Lower Tan Then in the lower abdomen. All three play important roles in self-purification: the lower to energise the inner heat; the middle to set in motion the process of sublimating this heat; and the upper to transmute it into Divinity. Constant mental concentration on the Lower Tan Then will, in time, enable the breath to reach the lower abdomen and to energise the inner heat like blowing a fire with a pair of bellows. When the inner heat becomes intense and enough has accumulated in the centre of gravity, it vibrates and seeks an outlet. At this moment pulmonary breathing ceases and is replaced by abdominal breathing which restores the foetal breath as described by Yin Shih Tsu in my book The Secrets of Chinese Meditation, p. 167.
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1 - The Secrets of Chinese Meditation. Rider & Co., London, 1964.
2 - Cf. Ch'an and Zen Teaching, first series, pp. 74-78. Rider & Co., London.

The human body is a microcosm which should integrate into the macrocosm for the realization of Tao. In lay language, the Tao is only attained when body and mind merge with and integrate into the universe. To achieve. this it is important to sublimate both body and mind for the purpose of obtaining the Elixir of Life which alone can transform mortals into immortals and so ensure this integration.

In my book on Chinese meditation, I have mentioned the Microcosmic Orbit technique used by the ancients in China, which consists in circulating the inner heat which has been energised, through the main orbit which begins at the Lower Field of Elixir below the navel, descends to the base of the spine, then rises along the spine to the top of the head, and thence descends along the face, throat, chest and pit of the stomach to end up where it started, thus completing a full orbit.

In practice, when the energised heat which has accumulated in the lower abdomen seeks an outlet, the practiser should direct it gently down to the base of the spine to pierce the coccyx which is the first of the three gates of the main channel, the second between the kidneys and the third in the occiput. The feeling of intense heat in the coccyx shows that the latter is being pierced. However, if the heat remains there without going up the spine, this shows that the first gate is still obstructed. The practiser should rub with his hands the kidneys and spine down to its base to warm the spine above the coccyx in order to draw the heat up. Rubbing should always be downward, but never upward; this is the most important point which beginners should keep constantly in mind. After the inner heat has passed through the first gate, it will easily rise through the second to reach the occiput, which is very difficult to pierce. The practiser should persevere and will in time be able to circulate the inner heat through the last gate to complete a full orbit.

During each meditation the practiser will be able to circulate the inner heat in the main channel as many times as he likes. After the main channel has been cleared of all obstructions, the inner heat will enter other psychic channels and centres, to sweep away all impurities therein in order to reach and purify all parts of the body including the marrow, bones, flesh, skin, nails and hair. This is purification of the body by means of the prenatal foetal breath which is pure and cleanses all impurities created by the postnatal breath.

We present below a translation of extracts from Taoist texts so that readers have an idea of how the Elixir of Life is prepared.

"The generative fluid is produced by the digestion of food; if it is not purified it will remain in the body and arouse sexual desire which will disturb the mind. Concentration of mind is necessary to regulate the breath for the purpose of energising the inner fire which will sublimate the generative fluid and transform it into pure breath for the preparation of the Elixir of Life and attainment of Immortality."

"When the microcosmic orbiting succeeds, it will after a hundred days of continuous practice, stop involuntary emission when the generative fluid is about to be transmuted into pure breath. At the same time the inner fire should be extinguished. In the course of this transmutation, a flash of positive (yang) light will suddenly appear between the eyebrows to illumine the mind. However, the genital organ can still be aroused by sex appeal. After this manifestation of the positive principle, the microcosmic orbiting should be continued for three hundred orbits, after which the practiser should maintain the state of mental stillness in order to preserve the positive principle so far achieved until another flash of light appears.

"In this state of mental stillness, a second flash of positive light will suddenly appear between the eyebrows, illuminating the mind again. This shows that the inner fire is completely extinguished, coinciding with the end of three hundred orbitings. After this the genital organ cannot be aroused again.

"In this state of mental stillness, the body will no longer vibrate or move as the inner fire has been extinguished. The practiser should maintain this stillness to preserve the positive principle until a third flash of positive light appears between the eyebrows, which shows that the breath is wholly positive and is being accumulated in the three Tan Thens.

"Now is the time to prepare the Elixir of Life which can be obtained in about a week. The method consists in turning back the organ of seeing to look into the Middle Tan Then in order to dwell in this stillness by day and night without interruption until the sovereign remedy is made.

"When the Elixir of Life is made, all sense organs vibrate; the positive heat in the Lower Tan Then is intense; the kidneys are hot; the eyes emit a golden light; the ears (seem to be) fanned from behind; the back of the head rattles; and the body (seems to) rise with spasms in the nose. These six signs show that the Elixir of Life has been successfully prepared.

"Now the practiser should close his anus by sitting on a round piece of wood of the size and shape of a man t'ou³ and covered with cotton and his nostrils with a pair of small wooden pincers (used by laundry men) in anticipation of the rise of a fiery pearl to the heart which (however) does not hold it. To find an outlet, this fiery pearl will descend to the genital organ which has already shrunk and so is blocked; then to the coccyx which is not open; and then to the anus which is not only shut by the piece of wood but should also be contracted to bar its passage. Since the fiery pearl is now stationary at the base of the spine, the practiser should make a pointed concentration to move it and thrust it through the first gate so that it will rise along the spine through the second gate (between the kidneys) and the third gate (in the occiput) before ascending to the top of the head and thence descending to the forehead where it stops in the Upper Tan Then, the abode of the Spirit. When the latter illuminates the Middle and Lower Tan Thens, all the three Fields of Elixir will mingle to expand and become a great emptiness.

"This is the moment when the mind enters the great emptiness wherein the positive fire ceases to work and is no more perceptible. Three months later, only feeble vibrations are still felt below the navel. In the fourth and fifth months, all breathing and the desire to eat cease completely, leaving behind only the still and radiant Spirit. In the sixth and seventh months, there is no desire to sleep. In the eighth and ninth months, all pulses in the body cease to beat. In the tenth month, there remains only the positive principle while the Spirit returns to its state of utter stillness which causes wisdom to manifest.

"The time is now ripe to draw the Spirit out of the body; first return it to the body as soon as it is out of it, and then send it further and further away until it can reach distant places returning to its body without hindrance. Three years later, the Spirit which is still and shining will be no more Spirit when it sinks into the state of Wu Chi or Eternity."

This article is written at the request of Mr. Arthur Osborne, the editor of The Mountain Path. As a Buddhist, I would advise readers to adjust the Taoist method of self-purification with the Buddha's Teaching in the Surangama Sutra⁴ and other sutras in order not to stray from the Buddha-nature which is inherent in each of us. For Taoist Yoga only enables us to return to the all-embracing state of Alaya which still pertains to Samsara. However, experienced Taoists have no difficulty in practising the Buddha-Dharma and in China many enlightened Buddhist masters practised Taoism before joining the Sangha.

There is a non-Taoist method which consists in drawing up semen to the solar plexus to sublimate it and transform it into the divine. I have tried it and found it very harmful for it contributes to the arousal of sexual desire which beginners are unable to overcome. We should always remember that the rules of morality and discipline should be strictly observed in the practice of meditation, and that in the quest of Truth, we should on no account allow the monkey-mind to jump about aimlessly and so destroy all our efforts to get out of Samsara. We should never forget this sentence in the Diamond Sutra: "Subhuti, you should develop a mind that does not abide anywhere."
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3 - A round steamed dumpling of the size of the palm of the hand.
4 - The Surangama Sutra, Rider & Co., London, 1965.