Page 594 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

JINDAN 553

appear in the cosmos, respectively, and in combining them to produce an elixir
that represents their unity.

The elixir in "inner alchemy." The doctrines expounded in the treatises on the
"inner elixir" essentially consist of a reformulation of those enunciated in the
early Taoist texts, integrated with language and images drawn from the system
of correlative cosmology according to the model provided by the Cantong qi.
The authors of doctrinal treatises point out that the alchemical teachings can
only be understood in the light of those of the Daode jing (a text they consider
to be "the origin of the Way of the Golden Elixir"), and that correlative cos-
mology provides "images" (*xiang) that serve, as stated by *Li Daochun (fl.
1288-92), "to give form to the Formless through words, and thus manifest the
authentic and absolute Dao" (*Zhonghe ji, 3.13a-b; see Robinet 1995a, 75-76).
The relation of doctrine to practice was an issue that needed clarification
among neidan adepts themselves, as shown by Chen Zhixu (I289-after 1335)
who forcefully rejects the understanding of alchemy as merely consisting
of techniques of self-cultivation, when he writes: "It has been said that the
way of cultivation and refinement consists of the techniques (shu #J) of the
Yellow Emperor (*Huangdi) and Laozi. No more of this nonsense! This is the
great Way of the Golden Elixir, and it cannot be called a technique" (*Jindan
dayao, 3Ab). Chen Zhixu and other authors emphasize that the inner elixir is
possessed by every human being, and is a representation of one's own innate
realized state. *Liu Yiming (1734- 1821) expresses this notion as follows:
Human beings receive this Golden Elixir from Heaven .. . . Golden Elixir is an-
other name for one's fundamental nature, formed out of primeval inchoateness
(huncheng 7~ JJX, a term derived from the Daode jing). There is no other Golden
Elixir outside one's fundamental nature. Every human being has this Golden
Elixir complete in himself: it is entirely realized in everybody. It is neither more
in a sage, nor less in an ordinary person. It is the seed of Immortals and Buddhas,
and the root of worthies and sages. (Wuzhen zhizhi ,t! n H m , chapter r)
In his explication of two terms that the Can tong qi borrows from the Daode
jing, Liu Yiming describes "superior virtue" (shangde ...t it) as the immediate
realization that the original "celestial reality" (tianzhen *~) within and out-
side of oneself is never affected by change and impermanence, and "inferior
virtue" (xiade T 1,'!ff;) as the performance of the alchemical practice in order to
"return to the Dao." He states, however, that the latter way, when it achieves
fruition, 'becomes a road leading to the same goal as superior virtue" (Cantong
zhizhi $- rm ]I tlit, "Jing ~~ ," chapter 2).
Although the neidan practices are codified in ways that differ, sometimes
noticeably, from each other, the notion of "inversion" (ni ~) is common to all
of them (Robinet 1995a, 131 - 45). In the most common codification, the practice
is framed as the reintegration of each of the primary components of existence