Do you know how to read the Anthology of Central Harmony?
a primer on the beginning of the text
Hi guys, recently it came to my attention that many people do not understand the meaning of some very important Neidan documents which have been widely circulated in the English speaking world, so I’ve decided to make a few primers from time to time, especially about Zhong He Ji by Li Daochun. This post is a formal Neidan interpretation of the text which includes both a general explanation of the theory of the section we are working with (free) and a meditation based explanation you can use to improve your practice (paid). Here is the text snippet for the day:
釋 曰 圓 覺 ﹐道曰金丹 ﹐儒曰太極 ﹐所謂無極而太極者 ﹐不可極而極之謂也。
Buddhism calls it perfect realization,
Daoism calls it the Golden Elixir,
Confucianism calls it Taiji,
that which is called Wuji and Taiji is that which cannot be made more extreme and that which is more extreme.
釋氏云 ﹕如如不動 ﹐了了常知。《易 ﹟繫》云 ﹕寂然不動 ﹐感而遂通。丹書云 ﹕身心不動 ﹐以後復有無極眞機 ﹐言太極之妙本也。
Buddhism says: unmoving in non duality, attaining constant knowing.
The Yijing Xi Ci said: silent and unmoving, sensing and following in connection.
The Elixir Books say: the body and heart do not move, then return to the true system of Wuji, this refers to to the miraculous root of Taiji.
Free explanation of the theory:
Behind the paywall is an explanation of the text according to the actual method of meditation espoused by the book. Li Daochun was the founder of the middle school and this text is a perfect example of an uncluttered and genuine middle school interpretation of internal alchemy, so I hope you enjoy the short video if you are already subscribed, and please consider subscribing if you aren’t. I usually post here two or three times a week with lots of really interesting Neidan content along with other things in the Daoist and internal practice world.