Xing and Ming Dual Cultivation

Pictured: Entering the Medicine Mirror by Cui Xifan is the first major Internal Alchemy Poem and has some very interesting passages such as the one above. Can you think of why he might have said that the practice is ultimately about Nature and Life and not Spirit and Qi? I have my own ideas, but one of the great practices of Daoism is to think about difficult passes deeply to try to understand their meaning, so I’ll leave it to you. Do feel free to tell me what you come up with in the comments :)

Xing and Ming Dual Cultivation:

Over the last couple weeks we discussed the early Neidan practices of First Cultivate Xing and First Cultivate Ming, one meditation method influenced by Chan Buddhism and one with a more original Daoist feeling.

Now we will look at Xing and Ming Dual Cultivation, the current most popular standard of Neidan practice and arguably the most effective practice.

Xing and Ming Dual Cultivation is predicated on the idea that it is possible to simultaneously train the energy and spirit of the body, but this concept and how it is applied can vary considerably between schools.

To put it simply, human beings have multiple layers of Qi and Consciousness which can be approached from different directions.

To simplify this idea, it is possible to practice Xing and Ming as one continuous practice or as different practices which follow one another.

Let's talk about the single practice first since it is the most direct way to study:

1: Li Daochun's approach:

The Middle School founder Li Daochun practiced a relatively simple version of Neidan which was based on the Single Opening of the Mystery Gate.

To put it briefly, this is the practice in which the mind is directed toward a state of pure Yin stillness in the lower abdomen “Cavity of Qi” also known as the “Water Palace.”

When the practitioner has been still for a long time their sense of self completely disappears and they enter into the 混沌 Hun Dun/Primordial Chaos state, a time in meditation believed to mimic the moment just before the Dao created the universe.

After this state percolates for long enough it generates Pre Heaven Yang energy which breaks out into the Post Heaven and generates a brief flash of 元神 Yuan Shen/Original Spirit which is quickly dominated by 识神 Shi Shen/Perceptual Spirit. This sudden movement brings with it 元气 Yuan Qi/Original Qi which is quickly dominated by 气感 Qi Gan/The Post Heaven Feeling of Qi in the body.

In this way what is meant by Xing and Ming Dual Cultivation is that during the Hun Dun state the Dao generates Pre Heaven Shen and Qi which then quickly flashes as the practitioner returns to regular awareness and then subsides, leaving behind a sense of energy circulation in the body and 真意 Zhen Yi/True Mind which is the state of mind in which the Post Heaven becomes subservient and mental awareness is simply natural and tranquil without any thoughts or distractions (sometimes this is called the Pre Heaven Mind).

Since the Mind becomes dominated by Spiritual Awareness and since the body obtains powerful movement of Qi it is considered that the Spirit and Qi are mutually held together (神气合一 Shen Qi He Yi) so it is possible to then focus on the Dantian and return to the Hun Dun State again to repeat the Mystery Gate process.

In this regard Xing and Ming Dual Cultivation is a single activity and this is the most pure form of Neidan.

2: Changing Points of concentration:

Another way to practice is by first establishing one point of concentration and then moving it to generate a different effect.

I will only generally talk about this since it is a big subject and really deserves its own article.

There are two ways to do this:

1: First focus on a point in the body until the mind is stable then move the attention to another point:

An example of this would be first placing the attention on the tip of the nose and then making the mind stable and directing the attention to the Lower Dantian Qi Xue Cavity.

This method of practice starts from making the mind stable, a practice related to Xing, then it focuses on the Lower Dantian in order to build Qi, a practice related to Ming.

Many schools use this method, but in all honesty it is still a kind of First Cultivate Ming approach since it only cultivates making the mind stable but is mainly based on activating the Du Meridian at first. The intentional use of the nose tip is actually a way to begin opening the Ren orbit as well as make it easier to place the attention in the Dantian.

2: Spend much time on one location then spontaneously change to another:

There are multiple versions of this approach, but one of the most popular is to place the attention on the space between the eyes and meditate until achieving deep tranquility. When this state is maintained for long enough it will lead to the Pre Heaven state and an appearance of a bright white light called 白雪 Bai Xu/White Snow.

After this appears there will be considerable saliva generated in the mouth and practitioners swallow this carrying it to the Lower Dantian and maintaining their focus there in order to make the Qi stable by practicing 胎息 Tai Xi/Embryonic Breathing in order to open the Mystery Gate.

This practice is a kind of Dual Cultivation since it uses the principles of Xing and Ming together, even though it initially treats Xing as being based in the space between the eyes and Ming as being in the Lower Dantian.

This method is highly effective but also more dangerous than any of the other methods since it is possible to become injured by focusing on the space between the eyes, and I have been previously warned by more than one Daoist to be careful of this point and that it is preferable to begin from the Lower Dantian.

Once one is experienced in meditation this can be an excellent practice, but it does have its risks.

For what its worth, my personal preference is Huang Yuanji's method which is based on closing the eyes and noting the light on the eyelids, then placing the attention and the breath together in the Lower Dantian Qi Xue Cavity, thus reversing the illumination and returning the light so to speak.

This method mainly works with the Single Opening of the Mystery Gate just like Li Daochun's approach, but is a little more sophisticated and more clearly explained in Huang's work.

I have been using this technique for years and so far found it to provide a good enough foundation to be able to practice the Small Orbit, Large Orbit, and the rudiments of refining nature...

But wait! Rob, didn't you say that in the Northern School Refining Nature is right at the start of study? Why did you just mention it after all that other stuff? Aren't you just refining Ming and then refining Xing and not truly practicing Xing Ming Dual Cultivation?

This is where these terms are misleading since truly refining Xing on the level at which the Pre Heaven Original Spirit becomes tangible in the Post Heaven can not be realized until many years of practice.

What we call Refining Xing before that is actually refining the Mind to make it still and clear, but in Neidan it is not possible to truly realize what nature is until much much later and as far as I can tell it happens in multiple stages over many years.

I guess we can say that Neidan has small levels of Xing and Ming cultivation and big levels of Xing and Ming cultivation and then I don't know, maybe very big levels of Xing and Ming cultivation at some point. Maybe you can let us know what its like when you get there someday :)