The Lingbao Tongzhineng Inner Skill Method (Lingbao Tongzhineng Neigong Shu) is a great method of the Golden Elixir for the Taoist dual cultivation of nature and life. Its part on cultivating one's nature includes, in its outward forms, spirit, soul, will, the numinous, stillness, and concentration; its very core is refining the spirit.
By refining the spirit, one can acquire many higher powers of thought beyond one's original range of ability, and so come to know different universes, and even to understand different levels of the universe.
The entry-level method for cultivating one's nature was created by Lü Dongbin: it is the practice of the inner-skill lines. According to records, Patriarch Lü once took on about three thousand disciples, and because some of them practiced inner skill in the wrong way, eight hundred died one after another; only with great difficulty did Patriarch Lü arrive at this final version of the method of practicing the inner-skill lines. Thereafter it was handed down in the mountain Taoist tradition from master to disciple, unheard of by the world at large.
Wang Chongyang, one of the Five Northern Patriarchs, founded the Quanzhen (Complete Perfection) school, whose inner-skill cultivation takes cultivating and opening one's nature as its main aim: first illuminate the mind and see one's nature, then refine essence, qi, and spirit in turn.
The entry-level practice for cultivating and opening one's nature is the inner-skill method of practicing the inner-skill lines that this article will describe in detail.
1. Names of the Key Sites in Practicing the Inner-Skill Lines
1. The Three Passes
At the back of the body there are the Three Passes: the Tailbone Pass (Weilü), the Spine Pass (Jiaji), and the Jade Pillow Pass (Yuzhen). The Tailbone Pass is at the end of the spine and includes seven bone segments and seven acupoints. The Spine Pass, also called the Double Pass or Middle Pass, has its point below the eleventh thoracic vertebra; it is a place where inner qi has difficulty passing. The Jade Pillow Pass, also called the Iron Wall, is at the back of the head.
The first stage of Taoist elixir refining is to open the Three Passes. Once they are open, yang qi rises through them to Niwan (the Muddy Pellet, crown center) and then descends again, transforming the jade-liquid returned elixir into the golden-liquid returned elixir.
2. The Three Fields
The human body has no fields to speak of by nature. A field arises when, in practicing the inner-skill lines, two lines cross like an ox ploughing the ground; plough long and without slackening, and a cross (the shape of the character for “ten”) naturally forms. Crosses vary in size, and only within a square inch can one speak of a field. In ancient times this process was called “the iron ox ploughing the field.” The crossing points of the severing line with the nature line, the strength line, and the life-cultivation line are respectively the upper field, the middle field, and the lower field.
The upper field is called the Niwan Palace; it has many other names and is where the primordial spirit is stored. The middle field is called the Earthen Cauldron or Yellow Court Palace: an empty cavity one cun two fen across, the place where qi is stored and the cauldron in which the elixir is refined. The lower field is called the Flowery Pool: also an empty cavity one cun two fen across, the place where essence is stored and the medicine gathered. One cun two fen slightly above the Flowery Pool—that is, behind the navel and in front of the kidneys—is a cavity in between called the Crescent Moon Furnace, also called the Sea of Qi (it is not the Qihai acupoint).
3. The Six Lines
(1) The nature line: The nature line is the line connecting the point between the eyebrows to the Jade Pillow; it is also called the Heavenly Eye point.
At birth there is a vertical seam at the front of the head, whose length varies from person to person. As a person grows older, this seam gradually grows together. But an opening remains between the eyebrows, which the ancients called the “cavity.” One cun in from this cavity is the Bright Hall Palace (Mingtang Gong); one cun further in is the Cavern Chamber; one cun further is the Niwan Palace; and three cun further is the Later-Heaven Mirror.
(2) The strength line: The strength line is the line connecting Danzhong to Jiaji. The strength line increases power and vigor and strengthens the sinews and body. Hard qigong and fist-and-foot combat mostly make use of it. When cultivating inner skill, do not use it at first; first cultivate the upper and lower strings. Men cannot guard the middle field and should not cultivate the strength line in the lower three realms. Women can guard the middle field.
(3) The life-preserving line: The life-preserving line is the line connecting the center of the navel to Mingmen. The center of the navel, Shenque, is the body's prior-heaven bright aperture and place of nourishment, and also the first pass in returning from later heaven to prior heaven.
(4) The life-cultivation line: The life-cultivation line is the line connecting Qihai to the Tailbone Pass. Qihai is where the primordial spirit of water and grain is transformed into the body's qi. Cultivating this place increases and raises the degree and quality of qi transformation in the body, giving one later-heaven qi that is abundant and pure.
(5) The reflection line: The reflection line is the line connecting Baihui to Huiyin (the perineum).
(6) The severing line: The severing line is the line connecting the Heavenly Gate to the front private parts. The Heavenly Gate, also called the crown of the skull, is three cun above the Niwan Palace; it is the gateway through which the prior-heaven primordial spirit communicates and exchanges information, and also where the yang spirit leaves the body.
4. The Four Planes
(1) The Heavenly Gate plane: Also called the nature plane or numinous plane, it forms while locating the upper dantian (elixir field); its upper opening is the Heavenly Gate, hence the name.
(2) The reflection plane: Also called the cerebellum plane, it lies at the Later-Heaven Mirror and is used to control the angle at which spirit light is emitted from or drawn back into the Heavenly Eye point, for seeing through things or for inner vision.
(3) The front-private-parts plane: Also called the essence-and-blood plane. Men use it to preserve essence, secure essence, and restore it, returning essence into the body to transform the Five Phases; women use it to lift the blood upward and circulate it.
(4) The rear-private-parts plane: Also called the life plane, it connects the sitting bones and Huiyin.
2. The Inner-Skill Method of the Inner-Skill Lines
The Three Passes, three fields, six lines, and four planes are all cultivated in a cross-legged seated position; there is no other way.
1. The Inner-Skill Method for the Nature Line:
Enter the practitioner's quiet room and sit facing the wall at arm's length from it (natural, single-lotus, or double-lotus posture are all acceptable). Seal the lower three yin openings tightly, place both hands on the knees, and gaze levelly into the distance for a moment. Gradually draw the spirit light from afar back to just before the eyes, close the eyes lightly, tap the teeth lightly, and press the tongue to the upper palate. Regulate body, breath, and mind, and gather the mind in seated meditation, relaxed and still.
When the mind is clear and deeply still, look straight ahead with both eyes, as far as possible, to the distant sky; what you cannot see you may imagine, and imagine it as far away as possible. Slowly draw the scenery you see (or conceive) back in, to the “cavity” of the Heavenly Eye point; draw it further in, to the “eye”; and further in, to “heaven.”
After a moment, swiftly send the spirit light out along the Heavenly Eye point, as far and as fast as possible, fast as lightning, to the edge of the sky, and carefully watch the changes in the distant scenery. After a moment, draw the spirit light back again to the “cavity,” the “eye,” and “heaven.” Repeat twice, and absolutely no more; finally draw it back to the Later-Heaven Mirror.
2. The Method of Cultivating the Reflection Line:
After drawing the nature line, send the spirit light at the Later-Heaven Mirror slowly down along the spine to the Huiyin point and observe inwardly the changes at Huiyin—called in ancient times “searching for treasure at the bottom of the sea.” Then send the spirit light up along the spine to the Baihui point and observe inwardly the changes at Baihui and around it. Then draw the spirit light at Baihui down into Huiyin. Repeat this twice, ending again at Huiyin. Then quickly raise the head and look forward, and at the same time send the spirit light at Huiyin and the spirit light at the Heavenly Eye point out ahead, so that the bright spot from Huiyin and the bright spot seen ahead through the Heavenly Eye meet along a straight tiangan (literally “heavenly stem”) line—called in ancient times “the union of Kan and Li.” Draw this bright spot back, send it out again, and finally draw it slowly back to the edge of your own universe.
3. The Method of Cultivating the Life-Cultivation Line:
The life-cultivation line and the strength line are cultivated by combining the “Zhineng method” with the “Method of Guiding the Immortals.” The specific method is: overlap both hands in front of the lower abdomen, palm against the back of the other hand—either hand may be inside or outside. Center the palm on a point 1.2 to 1.5 cun below the navel and draw it back and forth in parallel. Inhale when drawing forward, exhale when pressing back. The breath should be even, deep, fine, and long. Draw slowly, with the palm hollow rather than flat. Pay attention to the sensations in the abdomen and at the tailbone. Keep drawing as long as possible; decide the details for yourself. When finished, place both hands on the knees, raise the head, look forward, and settle the breath.
4. The Method of Cultivating the Strength Line:
After drawing the life-cultivation line, you may go straight on to draw the strength line. Raise both hands to the chest and press the palms fully together (fingertips, palm centers, and palm heels all pressed firmly). With the ten fingers pointing forward and the heels of the palms aligned between the breasts, slowly draw back and forth. Inhale when drawing forward, exhale when pressing back. The breath should be even, deep, fine, and long. While drawing, pay attention to the sensations in the chest and at Jiaji.
5. The Method of Cultivating the Severing Line
It is done in three stages:
Stage one: draw out the middle field and lower field, and connect them.
Stage two: connect the lower field and the Twelve-Storied Tower.
Stage three: set up the Magpie Bridge, and connect the lower field and the upper Magpie Bridge.
Here we present the first stage of the inner-skill method for the severing line. The specific method is: after settling your seated base, gather the inner qi with the mind and let it move up and down with the breath. On the inhale the qi passes below the navel and crosses the life-cultivation line, drawing out the lower field; on the exhale the qi moves upward and crosses the strength line, drawing out the middle field. That is, on the inhale the qi passes below the navel, and on the exhale the qi does not rise past the heart; every breath returns to the root.