Page 255 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

216 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

on the elixirs; the third, the texts dealing with the meditation practices of
Guarding the One (*shouyi). At the lower end of this spectrum of traditions,
Ge Hong places a broad group of practitioners whom he calls the" coarse and
rustic masters of methods" (zawei daoshi ff;IE 1~ m ~: ; Wang Ming 1985, 14.259).
They are associated with the "minor arts" (xiaoshu IJ\1fJ), which in Ge Hong's
view include healing methods, longevity techniques, divination, and magic.
Ge Hong deems these practices to be inadequate for avoiding harm caused by
demons and spirits. Herbal drugs, in particular, only confer long life; although
they help to heal "internal ailments" (neiji r*l 1*), they leave one subjected to
external evil influences, including those of demonic origin (13.243).
Nourishing Life. As described by Ge Hong, the practices of Nourishing Life
(*yangsheng) mainly consist in breathing, gymnastics (*daoyin), and sexual
techniques (*Jangzhong shu; 6.124). Ge Hong's view of these disciplines is con-
densed in a question: "Can the Dao really be nothing more than the pursuit of
nourishing life?" (18.327). Accordingly, he qualifies these techniques as inferior
or ancillary to alchemy, and as merely granting freedom from illness (15.271).
The object of his criticism is the belief that one can practice them as the sole
way to attain immortality. A clear example is his evaluation of the sexual
techniques, whose benefits do not exceed those of the "minor arts": ''Among
the arts of Yin and Yang (i.e., the sexual practices), the best ones can heal the
lesser illnesses, and the next ones help one avoid becoming depleted. Since
their principles have inherent limits (qi li zi you ji ~f' § {:f:jli!), how could
they confer divine immortality, prevent calamities, and bring about happi-
ness?" (6.129) Like the ingestion of herbal drugs, therefore, the techniques of
Nourishing Life afford benefits, but they are not the same as those that only
the higher practices can grant.
Alchemy and meditation. In Ge Hong's view, alchemy and meditation represent
the culmination of the search for transcendence. Ingesting elixirs enables an
adept to obtain immortality, communicate with the gods, and expel the nox-
ious spirits. As for meditation, Ge Hong distinguishes between two types of
meditation on the One, which he calls Guarding the Authentic One (shou zhenyi
~ J'i .. , or shouyi for short) and Guarding the Mysterious One (shou xuanyi 'f
1z: -), respectively 0. 18). Guarding the Authentic One consists in visualizing
the features that the One takes within the human being as an inner deity, while
Guarding the Mysterious One makes it possible to multiply one's shape into
"several dozen" or even "one thousand" replicas of oneself (ubiquity), or hide
it altogether (invisibility). Beyond their differences, however, the two methods
afford identical benefits, which are the same as those gained by ingesting the
elixirs. On the one hand, Guarding the Authentic One gives access to the
divine world: "If you guard the One and preserve the Authentic (cunzhen ff