Page 604 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

luster of the sword, can drive out demons and heal the illnesses that they bring
down on him. To protect a house from demons and evil emanations, a magic
mirror was hung on the door, a bucket of cold water was placed below the
mirror, and a sword was laid on the bucket with its tip facing outward (Laojun
mingzhao fa .1{; ;ft RJl ~H iL, YJQQ 48).
Finally, deities could also be made visible by "mirror meditations" as de-
scribed in Baopu zi I5. Shangqing adepts could also produce spiritual mirrors in
their own eyes though visualization techniques. By looking inward one could
see the gods of one's own body in the light of this mirror. Visualizations of
this kind kept demons away, prolonged life, and ultimately led to immortality
(relevant methods are collected in YJQQ 48; trans. Kaltenmark I974, I54-66).

Ute ENGELHARDT
W Cahill and Murray I987; Campany 2002, 70-72; Oemieville I948; Engel-
hardt I987, 44-46 and 69-76; Fukunaga Mitsuji I987, I-69; Kaltenmark I974;
Little 2000b, I40-4I, 214-I7, and 354; Loewe I979, 60-85; Needham I962, 87-94;
Schafer 1978-79; Seidel I982, 87-99

~ faqi; MAGIC; MEDITATION AND VISUALIZATION

jing, qi, shen

essence, pneuma (breath, energy, vital force), spirit

Jing, qi, and shen are three of the main notions shared by Taoism and Chinese
culture alike. They are often referred to as the Three Treasures (sanbao -:::
W), an expression that immediately reveals their importance and the close
connection among them. The ideas and practices associated with each term,
and with the three terms as a whole, are complex and vary considerably in
different contexts and historical periods. This entry is mainly concerned with
their understanding in inner alchemy (*neidan).
Meaning of the terms. The common translations of jing as "essence," qi as
'breath," "pneuma," or "energy," and shen as "spirit" capture some of their
respective features but are not entirely satisfYing. In its broadest meaning,
jing (a word that originally refers to bleached rice) is said to represent the life
germ contained in the Oao, as stated for instance in Daode jing 21 (,Vague
and indistinct! But in it there is an essence"). In the human being, it is a form
of energy that mainly derives from food and nourishes the body, especially
the five viscera (*wuzang). This is the most usual sense of the term in the