The Various Phenomena of fasting (Part Two

The method of Fahong Fasting: 1. Breathing fasting method: "Swallowing saliva and taking in qi is the way to go." Generally, fasting is based on this method, and the method of holding one's breath is the most important one. In the "Zaying" section of the "Inner Chapters" of the "Baopuzi", it is recorded: "There was a man named Feng Sheng, but he had been swallowing his breath alone for three years, cutting off the grain. Looking at his steep steps as he climbed the mountain, he carried a weight of about one hu, never tiring all day long." And from time to time, he would draw his bow but remain silent, and when he spoke, he would not speak loudly. When asked, it is said: "Cutting off grains leads to the depletion of essence and energy. This is the greatest taboo." Zhang Heng of the Eastern Han Dynasty refused to eat or breathe. For instance, Li Jiao, a disciple of Kou Qian of the Northern Wei Dynasty, remained in a state of senility for decades and still had a youthful appearance at the age of ninety. Wang Shi, the wife of Xie Liangbi, the secretary of the Tang Dynasty, studied under Wu Yun. She died of a single grain and passed away. Her spirit was calm and her body was light. From time to time, she would emit a strange fragrance and clouds. She lived in the residence of Lin Ying. Tang Libi had passed away completely. He was light and could draw his breath from a screen. A candle could be blown out. Guo Xiu has the "magic of luck". Chu Boyu "Refined his qi to look at the rosy clouds, accumulating years without a single grain." The Wang Ding of the Northern Song Dynasty could be used for fasting and drinking, and people did not see its food and drink. 2. The method of fasting with elixirs: One type of elixir is the common elixir, which can be prepared by anyone. One type is the Earth Essence Spirit Pill, which can only be refined by a true person. Obtaining just one pill, the larger one can immediately become a reality, transforming the physical body and having an inconceivable divine effect in vaporizing the physical body. Of course, external elixirs also have different levels. Some external elixirs, when taken, can only be used for fasting but cannot transform the physical body. According to the "Comprehensive Mirror of the True Immortals of All Ages", during the Jin Dynasty, Yin Qianzi lived in seclusion on Mount Hua. He was taught the art of steaming elixir and bait by immortals and took it to fast. As a result, his body was light and strong, and his complexion was like that of a child. Zhang Chonghua, a Taoist priest of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, took black sesame seed Xuan Dan and did not eat or drink for a long time. His body became light and strong, but he changed his old appearance. Jin Dai Ji Zhi Tong said, "I did not eat hot food, but took Polygonatum odoratum and Atractylodes. My spirit was clear and I walked as fast as flying." (General Annals of Shaanxi) 3. The Prayer and Fasting Method The prayer method is to make a wish, hoping that you will fast. It is merely about concentrating one's mind on the prayer, being sincere in one thought, and then one can have a sense of connection. Internally, one can sense one's own primordial spirit and naturally fast; externally, one can sense the enlightenment of a true immortal and receive blessings. In 1994, I wanted to go out to work and practice. To relieve my concerns about food, I first practiced fasting at home and prayed for the blessings of my teacher. Whether the teacher bestow blessings or not, and whether the signal is communicated or not, you must be honest and not have doubts. In this way, your own primordial spirit signal will be activated first. If doubts and beliefs are intertwined in the heart, the mind will be unstable, the qi will not gather, and it will be difficult to achieve the desired valley. Just like worshipping Buddha, when you worship Buddha with respect, you are also worshipping yourself - training your respectful and devout heart. It doesn't mean that the more you worship the Buddha, the more blessings you will receive; rather, it's about "worshipping your own Buddha nature". So, I immediately entered a state of fasting. For instance, when I was writing "The Treatise on the Way of Fasting", I made a wish that the entire book should be completed in a state of fasting, and naturally, I stopped eating. The power of aspiration is inseparable from the signals and functions of one's own spirit. Praying is also one of the methods of refining the spirit. Some cultivators always long to meet a true person, which is also a kind of prayer, and as a result, they meet one. 4. The method of fetal breathing and fasting can cultivate fetal breathing, making fasting a piece of cake. Ge Hong said, "Since your ancestor Ge Xuan has achieved fetal breathing, he can still meditate and practice underwater. What does fasting mean?" In the "Biography of Xu Mai" of the "Book of Jin", it is written that this master of the Lingbao School "often practiced the method of breathing in and out of breath, taking over a thousand breaths in one breath..." Thus, he was adept at fetal breathing. While others breathe a thousand times, he only breathes once, thus being able to fast and maintain a youthful appearance. It is equivalent to breathing only once an hour. If one can reach this state, the elixir path must be accomplished. Breathing in and out and swallowing saliva are the foundation of fetal breathing. Fetal breathing is the basis of internal alchemy. Both gathering herbs and seeing the entrance hall cannot do without the function of fetal breathing. True breath is an inner breathing that is deeper than fetal breath. During the Western Han Dynasty, Meng Jie achieved fetal breathing. With a jujube pit in his mouth, he did not go hungry for ten years. During the Tang Dynasty, the female immortal Jiao Lian and her students from Songshan Mountain lived in the Liu Jing period of the Southern Dynasties. By the Tang Dynasty, she was about fifty years old, her fetus had stopped breathing, and she walked as if she were flying. During the Tang Dynasty, Zhang Guozhen practiced fasting during pregnancy and only consumed fine wine and "Three Yellow Pills" (Astragalus membranaceus, Scutellaria baicalensis, and Polygonatum odoratum) for food. 5. The vegetarianism and fasting method: Zhang Qi, a modern person, has only eaten vegetables for sixteen years and does not consume grains, meat, or eggs. This is the vegetarianism and fasting method. Generally, it can be learned at the beginning of fasting or when one is just starting to learn fasting. Jujubes can also be eaten. For instance, in the Tang Dynasty, Yang Yin met an immortal and said, "Later, I no longer liked the smell of grains, but I drank three liters of water and ate a lily bulb every day." The body is light, and all the joints move, shaking vigorously like the sound of bamboo slats clapping on a board." It can be seen that his physical body has also transformed. Lily bulbs moisten the lungs, generate body fluids and boost qi, making them an excellent delicacy. Legend has it that during the time of the Yellow Emperor, the ancient immortal Chi Jiang Zi Yu "did not eat the five grains but devoured a hundred kinds of flowers and grasses..." "Being able to go up and down with the wind and rain", that is, to walk lightly against the wind, also falls under the category of vegetarianism and fasting. 6. One type of fasting method by reciting mantras is to directly fast by reciting a kind of "fasting mantra". This kind of "curse" is actually a kind of rhyming text for understanding the truth, refining the spirit and transmitting signals. The second one is "fasting with incantations". If you curse jujubes and then eat them, you can fast from food. Take the qi from the five prescriptions (visualize), then silently recite the Dharma words, blow the qi onto jujubes, and eat them. Usually, focus your mind on the dantian. When chanting the jujube, visualize the black energy from the north, the blue energy from the east, the red energy from the south, the yellow energy from the center, and the white energy from the west, all condensed within this jujube. As for mantras, once you have a sudden enlightenment and an inspiration, you will also create a "heart mantra" for yourself. As long as it can express your wishes and is easy to recite, that's fine. Of course, it should contain the profound principles of cultivation. 7. Visualization Fasting Method Visualization itself is a form of spiritual refinement. Just as the senior of Qinglong Mountain said, "Suppose you don't see the person, but true feelings will be revealed over time." False wishes turn into true wishes, and ordinary thoughts transform into true hearts. The transformation of the heart is Yang; what remains unchanged is Yin. Today's virtue is the guide to the medicine, while yesterday's virtue is the root. If one adheres to virtue for a long time, heaven and earth will set it. This key summarizes the profound principles of visualization in internal cultivation without reservation. The method of a true person is very simple. I hope readers will think twice before acting. After a long period of visualization, the essence, energy and spirit will be condensed, and wonderful effects will naturally arise. Virtue is that all the guiding principles lie in the true heart. Huang Jing, styled Boyan, was from Wuling during the Later Han Dynasty. He was well-versed in the classics and once held an official position. Later, he pursued Taoism. After secluded cultivation on Mount Huo for eighty years, he climbed Mount Zhongyue again. He held his breath and cut through the valley. Every day, he visualized the appearance of the Red star. Over time, his whole body felt as hot as fire. At the age of 200, he regained his youth and became an "Earth Immortal". He visualized that the heat all over his body was the effect of the inner elixir. After the great medicine was produced, his whole body was hot. For those who have developed the great medicine, it is natural for them to wear single clothes to get through the winter and refrain from eating food. There is another way of thinking that if one wants to swallow the yellow qi into the stomach, one can then refrain from eating. This is a commonly used method in Taoism. During the Han Dynasty, Zhi Ziyuan passed on this method to Pei Yuanren, the immortal of Qingling. 8. The guiding and fasting method mainly involves shaping the body. Most modern fasting methods involve breathing exercises, visualization and guiding. In the "Biographies of Immortals", it is recorded that Shen Jian, a native of Danyang during the Eastern Han Dynasty, was fond of Taoism and refused to take office. "He learned the art of guiding and taking food, as well as the methods of aging..." Therefore, Jian thus cut off the grain and did not eat, flying lightly, either going or returning. For three hundred years, he vanished without a trace, and no one knew where he had gone. During the Tang Dynasty, Qixia Zhenren of the Shang Dynasty lived on Baishi Mountain. He practiced guiding and guiding techniques in Pengzu Cave and developed the art of breathing exercises. He starved himself to eat grains for over 30 years. During the Yuan Dynasty, Qu Liuxin met an extraordinary person and learned the art of fasting and guiding the body, thus not eating or drinking. 9. Observe the first fasting Method. Observing the first is the foundation of practicing fasting. As long as you are determined to practice fasting and have a single-minded spirit, you can do it. The Taoist Scriptures say, "If you are hungry, keep your food." If thirsty, drink it with water. The character "one" is 形而上者, which can refer to god, qi, or dao. "Adhering to one" can also refer to concentrating on one method. If you focus on controlling your breath, you can practice fasting. The essence lies in taking bait and guiding exercises, both of which should be promoted through fasting. The key lies in whether you can achieve a state of concentration and subtle observation. By practicing fasting, one can achieve the path of alchemy. 10. In the spiritual cultivation method of fasting, the primordial spirit is autonomous, and fasting will naturally occur. Fasting is also a process in the spiritual cultivation elixir method. The senior of Qinglong Mountain said, "Even if it is a process, if there is a beginning, there should be an end. It starts without intention and ends without intention." There is a kind of person who is hungry but doesn't know what is lacking. This can be called the interruption of consciousness. The most primordial spirit is either sitting and passing away to "ascend to heaven" or dying of exhaustion, and they even call it "passing the test". Some people have managed to get through the "barrier", but the essence they have cultivated - the primordial spirit - will no longer be alive, let alone have any function. In fact, the meaning of spiritual cultivation has two aspects. One is that a true person (an enlightened one) helps you cultivate. For instance, Yuanzhao dreamed that a divine being told her, "Don't mind the grains and cereals; deliberately cultivate," and passed on the Great Cave Method and the Lingbao Sutra to her. This is what is called "divine instruction in dreams". This "god" is not the "deity" in religion, but a true person who achieved enlightenment in history. The second is your own cultivation of the primordial spirit. At night, Grand Commander Han Zizhan saw a green energy coming out of Yuan Zhao's nose, transforming into a baby about three inches in size, with a color like glass. This was the spiritual body she had cultivated. When it gathered, it took shape; when it dispersed, it turned into energy. 11. The senior of Qinglong Mountain once said, "Another kind of person fasts naturally. They are neither hungry nor hungry and still have energy. It is the help of heaven." However, there are also days involved in this. Heaven does not support the immoral, and virtue does not support those who are hard to understand. If there is a signal in a person's consciousness that requires a fixed number to stop fasting, holding onto the tangible numbers rather than the intangible ones, it indicates a state of abundant Yang and scarce Yin. The first sin is to forcibly seize the source of heaven, and the second sin is to disturb the guest (consciousness spirit) and seize the master (primordial spirit). There are three gods who sin against themselves." Of course, in the predestined situation, you are required to fast. However, if you are trapped by your acquired habits and thus unable to fast, you are also stealing the show, defaming your own spirit and belittling your own life. There are three sentences in natural fasting, and they can be applied to all kinds of fasting: no hunger, no desire to eat; The method is not to eat. The effect is becoming more and more energetic. 12. Information fasting: A real person can start fasting by adding a signal. If one is in a dream, or has a conversation with a real person, or receives something from a real person and thus fasts. For instance, in modern times, many people have been able to practice fasting after listening to the reports of the late Yan Xin, reading his books, and interacting with him. Of course, this also depends on fate. After Ding Jing from Beijing met Yan Xin, she practiced fasting. Later, her father became the chairman of Yan Xin's Qigong Association. Nowadays, the phenomenon of Yan Xin's Qigong fasting has drawn the attention of the foreign scientific community. During the Tang Dynasty, Daguanzi 李筌 met an old mother at the foot of the Li Mountain. She taught him the "Yin Fu Jing" and then gave 李筌 a meal of wheat rice. After 李筌 ate from his mother, he went on a hunger strike and began to practice Taoism by fasting. He also wrote books such as the "Taibai Yin Jing" and the "Zhongtai Zhi". During the Song Dynasty, Zhao Ziran, a true man, dreamed of a Taoist priest who claimed his surname was Yin. He was tall and strong, wearing a silk scarf and a white robe, with his hair turned gray. He led him to the mountains and said to him, "You have a Taoist qi. I'll teach you the method of fasting." Then he gave him a cypress leaf to chew. When Zhao Ziran woke up, he felt refreshed and immediately threw up upon smelling the smell of fire and food. So he began to fast and only ate some raw fruits and drank spring water. It is said that the person mentioned was the Immortal Yin Changsheng of the Han Dynasty. The transmission of signals is rather mysterious and hard to explain, which can easily lead to misunderstandings from others and be regarded as "pseudoscience". However, this is indeed an objective phenomenon and should be subject to rigorous scientific research. The above is a rough classification. Some contents are interwoven and cannot be completely separated. For instance, when a real person gives alms but practices fasting, there is information involved. Chanting mantras is related to both praying and visualization.