Chinese alchemy has always been closely related to the teachings that find their main expression in the early doctrinal texts of Taoism. Abandoning oneself is a concept which refers to harmonizing one’s physical body within the natural surroundings, as to create the support to transcend one’s nature. Inner Alchemy is the process of transforming oneself, of reaching the primordial state of “chaotic order”, and being completed through involution or return and ultimately regeneration.

The alchemical doctrine as revealed by the Taoist texts reveals a superior knowledge of mastering the elements of the inner landscape according to the dynamics of the outer cosmic energies. The way of “Keeping the One” is the sublimation of the unrefined nature until attaining immortality and transcending one’s limitations, through the practice of awareness and the alchemy of the elements as the master Chuang Tzu – viewed in the Taoist tradition as incarnation of Lao Tzu – spoke to the mythical ruler, the Yellow Emperor:

“I tell you the supreme Tao. This is the essence of the supreme Tao: Confused! Obscured! This is the principle of the supreme Tao: Chaotic! Silent! No sight, no hearing; in silence embrace your spirits and your body will become spontaneously sound. Be calm, be pure, do not overburden your body […] and you will enjoy Long Life!… I Keep the One so as to remain in harmony!”¹⁸

References:

1. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Body” Ch.9 The Immortals, Alchemy, p.175,University of California Press, London, England, 1993
2. Fabrizio Pregadio, A Short Introduction to Chinese Alchemy, Stanford University, Department of Religious Studies, Adapted from the unedited ms. of an entry in Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine in Non-Western Countries, ed. Helaine Selin (Dordrecht, 1996), http://www.stanford.edu/~pregadio/jindan/jindan_intro.html
3. Fabrizio Pregadio, A Short Introduction to Chinese Alchemy, Stanford University, Department of Religious Studies, Adapted from the unedited ms. of an entry in Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology and Medicine in Non-Western Countries, ed. Helaine Selin (Dordrecht, 1996), http://www.stanford.edu/~pregadio/jindan/jindan_intro.html
4. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Body” Ch.9 The Immortals, p.177,University of California Press, London, England
5. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Body” Ch.9 The Immortals, Alchemy, p.179,University of California Press, London, England
6. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Body” Ch.9 Keeping the One, The Preliminary Stage: The Work of the Ch’i (Ch’i-kung), p.133, University of California Press, London, England
7. Stephen Eskildsen, Asceticism in Early Taoist Religion, p.91, State University of New York Press, 1998
8. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Body” Ch.9 The Immortals, The Abstinence from Grains, p.167,University of California Press, London, England
9. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Body” Ch.9 Keeping the One, p.135,University of California Press, London, England
10. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Body” Ch.9 The Immortals, p.174,University of California Press, London, England
11. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Body” Ch.9 The Immortals, p.174,University of California Press, London, England
12. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Body” Ch.9 The Immortals, p.174,University of California Press, London, England
13. Stephen Eskildsen, Asceticism in Early Taoist Religion, p.91, State University of New York Press, 1998
14. Daoist Identity, History, Lineage and Ritual, Fang Yankou and Pudu, p.228 Edited by Livia Kohn and Harold D. Roth, University of Hawai’i Press, Honolulu, 2002
15. Stephen Eskildsen, Asceticism in Early Taoist Religion, p.76, State University of New York Press, 1998
16. Stephen Eskildsen, Asceticism in Early Taoist Religion, p.79, State University of New York Press, 1998
17. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Body” Ch.8, Keeping the One, p.159, University of California Press, London, England
18. Kristofer Schipper, “Taoist Body”, Ch. 8, Keeping the One, p.149, University of California Press, London, England

Recent post