What is Jing?
Beginning Qigong.
Qigong project is about disseminating Qigong knowledge, so we have to start with the basics.
Today we are going to learn about Jing, the “essence,” of Chinese Medicine, Daoism and Qigong.
The word Jing 精 Jing is made up of Mi/Rice 米 and Qing/Green 青, it can mean something fine, to be meticulous, something of a high quality, the essence of something, or physical living essence of the body.
Jing has many meanings in Qigong and TCM, but primarily it describes the physical material the body is made of.
In Chinese Medicine Jing is a physical material which exists in the tissues of the body which include internal organs, skin, and even saliva. Jing is also considered to be convertible into blood.
Jing can also refer to the semen of a male mammal which merges with the Xue/blood of a female mammal when and produce a new life after successful copulation.
In CM and Daoism, the body is originally constructed of something called Yuan Jing, which is taken as the product of the male Jing essence being nurtured within the female blood.
In modern times Chinese Medicine has amended this principle to include a more accurate view of the process of sperm and ovum in the context of conception, but the basic idea is the body of the fetus is initially built of an original Jing essence derived from sexual fluid mixing.
Daoism views this Jing essence which originally constructs the body as the basis of its view of self cultivation and holds that every person has some of this essence left over in their bodies after they are born, as well as other forms of Jing essence such as saliva which are also used in meditation.
Qigong practice is a combination of ideas from Daoism, Chinese Medicine, modern science, Buddhism, Martial Arts and other fields, so the idea of Jing has been adapted to the requirements of Qigong in order to describe its function within the framework of healing and staying healthy by cultivating Qi.
Since Jing impacts the entire body and all its tissues, Qigong practitioners do not usually simplify it down to sexual material, although they do believe that a healthy sex drive is indicative of general physical health among adult individuals.
In Qigong we might work with Jing in various ways, but here are a few of the most common:
Stimulate, adjust and store Qi in the lower Dantian: the area between the umbilicus and genitals is considered to be the most important storage site of Jing in the body, so many Qigong practices seek to stimulate the area from the umbilicus to the Perineum through breath work, movement, intention and even visualization. Some of these practices are taken directly from Daoism and Buddhism, while some are unique to Qigong,
Absorb Qi into body tissues: this method can include absorbing Qi into the skin surface, organs, and even saliva. This approach treats tissues as being constructed of and storing Jing and as having the ability to transport Jing and Qi to a greater or lesser extent. If we understand all tissue as being nourished by blood and Qi as a medium which can relax tissues and improve circulation, we can understand that absorbing Qi into different parts of the body gives us a chance to improve circulation. In the situation of skin, the Jing present is not likely to be transported, but in terms of absorbing Qi into saliva, this is a key part of conducting the microcosmic orbit in which Jing and Qi are transported from the upper to lower Dantians.
Use Qi to adjust organ Jing: the Jing of individual organs can be strengthened through multiple Qigong practices.
Some styles also have methods to directly interact with jing essence as sexual fluid, but I won't mention those here as I disagree with this mode of practice.
Ultimately there is no Jing practice without the presence of Qi and Shen, so let's talk about those next :)
Behind the paywall today are three versions of the famous “Embryonic Breathing Classic,” a Tang Dynasty Daoist document which teaches the method of internal Dantian Breathing which can profoundly transform the Jing Essence of the body and even arrive at spiritual transformation if practiced sufficiently.
Many people are familiar with the Embryonic Breathing Classic, but they don't know there are a number of versions and commentaries. I have taken three that are included in the Internal Alchemy Book Xing Ming Gui Zhi, which I teach every year, but there are many more in that book and other texts. I hope you enjoy these interesting Daoist Qigong and Meditation methods :)