Xipai

The Kongde Neidan Western School was founded during the Jiaqing to Xianfeng periods of the Qing Dynasty, with Li Xiyue as its founder. Li Shi, whose courtesy name was Hanxu and pseudonym was Tuanyang. A native of Changyi Mountain, Leshan, Sichuan Province. When he was young, he studied at Li Jiaxiu Jiufeng Academy. When he grew up, he claimed to have met Zhang Sanfeng and received a secret elixir from him. Later, it was also known as meeting Lu Dongbin at Mount Emei and obtaining the true essence of the Golden Pill of Zhong Lu. After years of cultivation and attaining the fruit of elixir, he opposed the Eastern school in Jiangsu and Zhejiang and founded the Western School, establishing a nine-character genealogy: "The Western way is open, the great River east, the sea and the sky." He has authored numerous works, especially the recompilation and publication of the "Complete Works of Mr. Zhang Sanfeng", which has made significant contributions to history. The characteristics of the Western School of alchemy are the combination of tranquility and Yin and Yang. Not only is the theoretical exposition more detailed and accessible, but also the operational form is more integrated, which is conducive to promotion. Therefore, it had a significant influence in the field of internal alchemy during the Qing Dynasty. The author believes that whether Li Xiyue, the founder of the Western School, directly received instructions from Zhang Sanfeng or not is of no significance. However, it is beyond doubt that his elixir ideas and key points originated from Zhang Sanfeng's lineage. The only difference from the Sanfeng School is that Zhang Sanfeng was a master who comprehensively cultivated the three elements of heaven, earth and man's elixir, inheriting the essence of Chinese immortal studies in all aspects. In contrast, the Western School inherited the essence of the Human Essence (tranquility, Yin and Yang) elixir (or the superior Human essence Elixir). The Western school of tranquility and the combination of Yin and Yang are also targeted at middle-aged and elderly men and women with broken bodies. Because their original essence is deficient and they themselves cannot possess lead and mercury, they seek them. However, although the Yin-Yang Elixir method can "complete the elixir within an hour", which is extremely simple and fast, without the guarantee of self-cultivation skills, the dual cultivation of Yin and Yang is just empty talk. Therefore, Western martial arts are basically divided into two steps. The first step focuses on cultivating oneself in a quiet and natural way, and the second step emphasizes the mutual use of Yin and Yang. There are many levels of cultivation techniques. For instance, Foundation establishment can be divided into minor Foundation establishment and major Foundation establishment. Self-improvement can be divided into internal self-improvement and external self-improvement. The method of refining the mind is divided into nine layers, the medicine into three layers, and the practice into five stages, etc. The theory of tranquility of the Western school is similar to that of the Nihilism school, holding that "the mind is the master of the body and the spirit is the supreme of the three grades." Only the heart and God are one and two; they cannot be ignored. …… Therefore, often dispel one's desires and the heart will naturally be at peace; clear the heart and the spirit will naturally be clear... Those who start to learn the Tao must focus their minds and return to tranquility. Whether walking, standing, sitting or lying down, they should all be in their mouths. Only by maintaining tranquility can they be resolute. "Having thoughts is a deluded mind, while having no thoughts is a true mind. If a person can keep his thoughts in the ordinary days and return to where they have stopped, he can focus on the present and lay a solid foundation for entering the void." (Li Xiyue, "On the Dao's Orifices") Here, "Clear Mind and few desires" is consistent with the Void Elixir method, but there are specific operation methods. The way to enter a state of tranquility is to first eliminate the desire for a peaceful mind, for a peaceful mind leads to a clear spirit. There is also the saying that "walking, standing, sitting and lying down are all in the cavity." To enhance the regulation of the mind and the state of tranquility and its relationship with the body, Li Xiyue borrowed Lu Xixing's method of regulating the breath and said: "The method of regulating the breath begins with regulating the mind." The method of concentrating the mind begins with regulating the breath. This actually does not go beyond Zhang Sanfeng's core principles of "concentrating the mind and regulating the breath, regulating the breath and concentrating the mind, and concentrating the mind into the qi points". Li believes that if one can achieve true tranquility, water will naturally become clear, fire will naturally grow, the spirit will naturally communicate, the qi will naturally converge, the wind will naturally be upright, the vehicle will naturally move, the air will naturally draw, the air will naturally add, and the air will naturally retreat. This is the same as the pursuit of realm in the specific stage of the Void Pill Technique. However, the Western school, once it has achieved a state of tranquility and naturalness, demands that it practice the dual cultivation of Yin and Yang. As for the male and female sides, lead in women and mercury in men are called internal medicine in themselves and external medicine in others. Internal medicine seeks external medicine, and the combination of the inside and outside, through the chemical reactions of mutual generation and mutual restraint, can be cultivated and refined into a great pill. According to the author's inference, the earliest sources of immortal studies, the various types of elixirs, were all independently created and developed. But at least five thousand years ago, making full use of various elixirs and engaging in comprehensive cultivation was no longer a novelty for those immortal scholars who had the conditions and broad minds. Zhongli Quan, Lu Dongbin and Zhang Sanfeng were later masters of comprehensive cultivation. However, due to the fact that these masters teach according to the time, place and individual, some later generations cannot obtain the complete formula and method. Or one may obtain all the instructions and methods, but they vary depending on the time, place and person, and thus cannot be fully disclosed or implemented. The limitations of these reasons thus gave rise to the later characteristic phenomena of sects. For instance, the Southern School has passed down the two methods of purity and dual cultivation, but these two methods have been passed down and evolved separately in the process of transmission. The Rudong School strongly advocates Yin and Yang, and it is a dual cultivation lineage of the Real School and the Southern School. The method of the Western School, however, restores the situation of its early comprehensive cultivation from the perspective of the human essence method. It should be particularly pointed out here that some scholars believe that the emergence of Neidan studies occurred after the Han and Tang Dynasties. This is a complete layman's opinion. However, the term "Neidan" did indeed emerge after the Han and Tang Dynasties. The broad term for Neidan studies is Immortal Studies. When immortal studies evolved into the era of Neidan Studies, they actually gained some theoretical and methodological inspirations from the study of tonifying pills and refining. This enabled the essence of the cultivation of immortals, which was difficult to express in words, to be expounded and measured by a unified technical standard. This is truly a great contribution to the development history of immortal studies. Looking back at the history of Neidan studies, as time went on, the principles and methods became more scientific, systematic and enlightening. However, all of this can only be regarded as new contributions by later generations rather than the beginning. All rights reserved. Any infringement will be prosecuted. This article is exclusively authorized by Mr. Kong De to be published on this website.