Page 539 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

HUANDAN 499

Elixirs; CT 885, IQ.1b) compares this substance to the "essence" that is within
the Dao and is the seed of its generation of the world (Laozi 21).

Fabrizio PREGADIO
W Meng Naichang 1993a, 132-44

* waidan

2. Neidan
Depending on the emphasis of the particular schools, the term dan ft (elixir)
in *neidan has a more physical or spiritual connotation. Huan ii is used in inner
alchemy in the sense of "reverting" or "revolving," and is associated with a
circle or cycle that symbolizes completion and return (*fan) to the Dao. As a
compound term, huandan in neidan first denotes an elixir that is formed inwardly
by a process of cyclical transformation and enables the adept to return to the
Origin. Second, huandan means "returning to the Cinnabar Field (*dantian)"
and denotes a cyclical process of purification of the primary components of
the human being. The idea of return through a cyclical process is thus central
to both meanings of huandan.
The *Zhong-Lti school, especially in the *Zhong-Lii. chuandao ji (Anthology
of Zhongli Quan's Transmission of the Dao to Lti Dongbin), distinguishes
several kinds of "return to the Cinnabar Field." They are designated as Small
Return to the Cinnabar Field (xiao huandan IJ\iift), Great Return to the Cin-
nabar Field (da huandan *iift), Sevenfold Return to the Cinnabar Field (qifan
huandan -t:@ if! ft), Ninefold Return to the Cinnabar Field (jiuzhuan huandan
1L~iift), Return of the Jade Liquor to the Cinnabar Field (yuye huandan ~
~ ill ft), Return of the Golden Liquor to the Cinnabar Field (jinye huandan ~
y~jj:tft), and in other ways (according to the Zhong-Lti school, Jade Liquor
or yuye ~ ~ denotes the fluid of the kidneys, while Golden Liquor or *jinye
~~ refers to the fluid of the lungs; see Baldrian-Hussein 1984,139-42 and
151-58). In the context of this physiologically-oriented neidan tradition, the
Reverted Elixir is related to the rise and descent of the energies in the body
and their refinement through these cyclical movements. For instance, the
Small Return to the Cinnabar Field is based on purifying the pneuma (*qi) of
the five viscera (*wuzang) and on cyclically increasing and decreasing the Yin
and Yang qualities in the body. This process results in the collection of the
refined substances in the lower Cinnabar Field. With the Great Return to the
Cinnabar Field, an energetic exchange between the lower and upper Cinnabar
Fields occurs.
The *Wuzhen pian (Folios on Awakening to Perfection), the *Zhonghe ji
(Anthology of Central Harmony), and the *Xingmingguizhi (Principles of Bal-