On the Essential Differences between the Alchemy Circulation and the Qigong Circulation

Before the Tang Dynasty, there was no practice of examining the names of the major and minor celestial bodies. Neither Cui Gong's "Ru Yao Jing" nor Wei Boyang's "Shen Tong Qi" has this name. After the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, this term first appeared in books. Since its existence, various schools have taken the opportunity to elaborate on it. The minor cycle is the 炁 cycle, and the major cycle is the divine cycle. The human body is a small world, while the void outside the body is a vast world. The cultivator reaches a state of confusion and bewilderment, void and chaos. After a long period of stability, Yang energy rises, and the Yang energy breaks through all the meridians, flowing in harmony from the top to the heel, with a continuous flow of energy, like a death or a ring. This is how the human body is described as a small universe, thus it is called the "small universe". If one further cultivates, it becomes faint and mysterious, extremely void, the entire body becomes weak and soft, the 84,000 pores of the body open, and the innate dry Yang energy penetrates in. At this moment, the void is extremely still and profound, perfectly in harmony with the great void. The physical body has become a vacuum, and the innate energy in the void penetrates inside and out, completely penetrating and unobstructed. This is in line with the great universe of the Void, and thus it is called the Great Zhou Heaven. Nowadays, the various types of Qigong taught or created by those "masters" of Qigong both at home and abroad are mostly "peaceful and happy methods" for cultivating the essence, energy and spirit after birth. Even some Qigong that claim to have reached the "small circulation" or "great circulation" are only at the foundation stage of internal alchemy. As for those unconventional various cultivation methods, they all fall within the range of the ancient 3,600 schools. Therefore, there is an essential difference between the Inner Alchemy circulation and the Qigong circulation. The small circulation of the Dan Dao is the process where, after the 炁 foot of the dantian is nourished, the 炁 foot is activated. When there is no way out of the Yangguan Pass and no way up to the Xinfu, it naturally breaks through the tail end, passes through the jiaji ridge, directly penetrates the jade pillow and ascends to the mud pill, then rushes down from the front top, passing through the magpie Bridge, the twelve towers, and the Jianggong Palace before returning to the dantian to seal it. This is what is called the "small circulation" of ascending from the back and descending from the front. When the week opens, the air flow is thick and powerful, and it passes through the spinal cord. To reach such a level, one must have sufficient qi in the dantian. In a childlike body, the innate 炁 is relatively abundant, and it is easier to truly enter the room and make efforts. For middle-aged and elderly people, it is more difficult because making up for the losses requires a lot of effort. After the opening of the minor circulation, the Ren and Du meridians among the eight have been opened. Then, the Yang Wei, Yin Wei, Yang Qiao, Yin Qiao, Chong, Dai and other six meridians continue to open. These eight meridians remain closed and do not open. Only the immortals open them with Yang qi. After that, a deeper system, namely the "Zhonghuang" meridian, needs to be opened. At this point, the body has formed a dry image, purely in accordance with the innate constitution. Then, with my dry Yang, I sense the dry Yang in the void, the innate constitution within the body and the innate constitution outside the body They converge with each other, combining the inner and outer true Yang to form a great return, which is why it can be called the "Great Zhou Tian". Generally speaking, if you open a small weekly, you will be free from all kinds of diseases. When the Great Cycle of Heaven is opened, the unity of heaven and man is achieved. When the small cycle of heaven only rests but the meridians do not, the Great cycle of heaven rests and the meridians do. Moreover, after the Great Cycle of Heaven is opened, there are generally records in the Elixir scriptures about the "six unobstructed experiences" and the "ability of the mind to transform things". Therefore, there is a world of difference between the "Zhou Tian" discussed in alchemy and that in Qigong. In the alchemy of the universe, the most important aspect is the 炁 of the innate nature. The 炁 of the innate nature originates from the essence of the innate nature and is formed by the fire of the life gate. This process is carried out in one go. As the saying goes, the 炁 opens naturally when the Ren and du are full. This is purely the innate nature, without any preficiality, and it comes naturally and smoothly. Without any postnatal intention or guidance, it is completely 炁 and fully automatic, and success will come of its own accord. The Qigong that circulates in society all involves using the mind to strike the large and small circulations, or further promoting the qi of the meridians (i.e., the acquired qi) to the lower limbs, allowing the qi sensation to spread throughout the body. At that time, it is merely the acquired consciousness guiding the superficial qi under the skin, all of which belong to the acquired stage. Although it can have some effect, it still belongs to the acquired Qigong in the foundation establishment stage and has nothing to do with the levels of the large and small circulations as discussed in the alchemy way. Note: Kindly provided by Taoist Acupuncture and Moxibustion Health Preservation Network.