Page 688 - The Encyclopedia of Taoism v1_A-L

THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF TAOISM A-L

~ l:\-i 1-Z, rr (Secret Directions on the Three Chariots), the Jiuceng lianxin fa
nMli*JI.At (Methods for the Purification of the Mind in Nine Stages), the
Taishang shisan jing zhujie );: L t-:::: i.l~ ff fD¥ (Commentaries and Explications
to Thirteen Scriptures of the Most High), and the Haishan qiyu iN: JU 1.j ~
(Strange Encounter in a Retreat in Beihai; consisting of a chronology of Ui
Dongbin's life and miracles divulged to Lu Xixing by the immortal himself in
his retreat inJiangsu). These texts were published during Li's lifetime, except
for the Daoqiong tan and the Sanche bizhi which were first printed in I937 by
*Chen Yingning.
Li Xiyue's teachings are close to those of the Eastern Branch and the South-
ern Lineage (*Nanzong) of neidan. His system consists of two major stages.
The first focuses on cleansing the mind and purifYing the self through con-
centration (*ding) and individual practice (qingxiu if? {It or "pure cultivation").
Instructions on this stage are found in the Jiuceng lianxin fa. This is followed
by the stage of attaining the Dao through the union of Yin and Yang with the
help of a partner. The training, however, is further divided into several levels.
For example, the stage of "laying the foundations" (zhuji ~~) divides into
"laying the minor foundations" and "laying the greater foundations." like-
wise, "nourishing the self" (yangji 7t l2) includes "self-nourishment" (ziyang
§ fi) and "mutual nourishment" (xiangyang fll ft), and "purification of the
self" (lianji i* 12) includes an "inner purification" and an "outer purification."
Through these divisions and categories, the Western School offers one of the
most complex systems of neidan practice.

Farzeen BALDRIAN-HUSSEIN
all Qing Xitai I988-95, 4: 344--60; Qing Xitai I994, I: 401-2

* neidan

liandu

~~(or: ~~)

Salvation through Refinement

Liandu is a compound made of the words lian i*, here having the sense of
bringing rebirth to the "spiritual body" (hunshen ;l ~) of the deceased by
refining it with fire and water, and du 1ft, meaning to have the spirit cross
over from the underworld and ascend to the Heavenly Hall (tiantang k 'i~n.
While the rite called liandu became the final rite of the Yellow Register Re-
treat (*huanglu zhai) only during the Song period, several sources show that