High Priest Lucius Oria
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The Doctrine of the Golden Elixir is the most significant system of primordial Taoism derived mostly from Lǚ Dòngbīn (one of the eight immortals). It is the fusion of a number of different teachings and traditions into one whole system to transform man from mortal to divine.
As mentioned before, the whole point of Taoist alchemy is to turn generative force (jing) into vitality (qi) and from there, turn it into shen (spirit) all the while circulating these energies within the soul, 'emptying' it. The empty soul is thus the perfected microcosm of the greater macrocosm which is Tao/Dharma. The dissolution of the gross elements back into the primordial source while you still retain an immortal body and consciousness at a godly level.
["The whole painting depicts a strange poetic landscape embracing Heaven and Earth and the murky waters of Hades - a landscape representing man in many aspects including the spiritual, psychic and animal. All representations of human beings in the picture - with the exception of Laot'se - are shown as children or young people to indicate that they express Eternal Youth. Laot'se as an old man refers to the Treasure of ancient Eternal Truth which was disclosed to him, the Perfect Man.
It is a symbolical representation of a lengthwise section of the (male) human head and torso, together with the spinal column. Nowhere is there any realistic anatomical portrayal, but various allegories are alluded to through symbols and human figures. The body section is surrounded by an almond-shaped aureole, whilst the head is circled by a halo and within this halo is a small circle." - R. B. Jefferson]
Laot'se is an incarnation of one of the gods the Taoist trinity which are identical in function to practically all the other trinities that were not corrupted by the enemy. They are known as the Three Pure Ones with Yuánshǐ Tiānzūn being the Taoist equivalent of Brahma and Vishnu being Lingbao Tianzun. The treasure of the eternal truth is the perfection that comes from the Tao. It is ancient as this universe which we as gentiles are entitled to provided we actually work towards it.
Taken from http://duversity.org/elixir/ with some of my own notes in bold
The picture contains;
- Allegories relating to transmutation
- The Circulation of the Light.
- The Growth of the New Immortal Man.
- Images which suggest or reflect the Perfect State.
A.) Rump Village
The First Gate, The Gate of Immortality (Wei Lu) the tailbone centre where the kundalini lies.
K'an, the House of Water, is in the lower abdomen. Vitality in k'an is Eternal Life. At this gate, the Channel of Function begins.
B.) The River of Heaven
The Milky Way, the Supreme Valley - the spinal substance.
This is the Channel of Control. The natural flow of energies carried by the spinal substance is downward from the brain. The reversal of the flow of the River of Heaven through the Channel of Control is the means by which the Generative force is sublimated.
C.) The Water Wheel Treaders
This is where the reversal of the Generative force begins and its sublimation is represented by the two children, a boy and a girl. The seminal glands, like the kidneys, are conceived of as male on one side and female on the other, embodying Yin and Yang, the negative and positive principles. The children stand on the mystery of Yin and Yang, the treadmill.
In the stone rubbing, the text given here for the sublimation is, "Repeating and continuing, circulating step by step, as the wheel turns, the water flows eastward. Even in the spring that is ten thousand fathoms deep, the bottom must become visible. This sweet stream flows upwards to the summit of the Southern Mountains {the top of the skull). “
D.) The Tripod of the Elixir
The pond where fire and water cross and turn to vapour - shui huo chi chi - water and fire in equilibrium.
When fire is immersed in water, it stops soaring up, thereby causing the heart to be empty (of passion); and when the water is scorched by fire, it becomes steam and stops flowing down. This water and fire in equilibrium will produce true Vitality. Immersion of fire in water is described as 'concentration on the Lower Tan t'ien'. In Taoist Yoga, eighteen different kinds of fire are differentiated:
4 kinds of fire which are kindled by breathing to transform the generative fluid into Generative force,
7 kinds of fire which are derived from Spirit to transform the Generative force into Vitality,
7 kinds of fire which are derived from prenatal vitality, to purify the breathing and contribute to the manifestation of the Original Spirit.
The Tripod symbolizes concentration on the Lower Tan t'ien to direct the element of fire in the heart to scorch the element of water in the lower abdomen, thus emptying the heart of passion and stopping water flowing downwards in order to achieve a stable equilibrium.
E.) The Supreme Ultimate
The Mysterious Gate, The Mysterious Cavity: it is a gate when it appears in front of the practiser and a cavity when it lies hidden in the body.
In front of the Cavity of Spirit (between and behind the eyes), true Vitality looks like a radiant circle which is called 'The Supreme
Ultimate’ (t'ai clii), "The Golden Elixir of Immortality1 (chin tan) and "The Original Awareness' (yuan chueh). Hence, the prenatal Heaven and Earth and the Lower Field of the Elixir (under the navel) are called 'the four Yin Yang' (szu ko yin yang).
Taoist scriptures say, "This cavity lies in the centre between heaven (the head) and earth (lower abdomen) in the human body."
"It is wrong to seek it in the body and equally wrong to seek it outside. For when it manifests it becomes a cavity and when it does not it is undiscoverable."
"The Mysterious Cavity is boundless; the awareness of it, free from all clinging, is real achievement. The Mysterious Gate manifests in the condition of utter stillness but, if a thought arises, it immediately slips into the postnatal realm and vanishes without trace. If it is further sought, it cannot be found because of clinging to form."
The Supreme Ultimate is also described as the circle of T'ai chi wherein the real positive Vitality and Essential Nature unite to emit the light of Vitality, which is the light of True Nature in the precious cauldron of the brain, and that of True Life in the lower abdomen. It stands above the Tripod of the Elixir where fire and water cross and turn to steam. In the painting, the steam is represented as finer energies radiating from the centre of the Supreme Ultimate in which is embodied the Four Yin Yang - the prenatal Heaven and Earth and the postnatal Heart and Abdomen, i.e. the four positive and negative principles.
"The Mysterious Gate has many names. In Confucianism, it is called the altar of wisdom. It embodies limitless compassion. It is a consciousness without thoughts and it reflects the way of heaven. It is intuitive knowledge and reflects the way of earth. In Buddhism, the Mysterious Gate is the spirit mountain, the empty consciousness of original mind, or nirvana, the realm of the Amitabha Buddha. In Taoism, it is the Golden Palace, the realm of t'ai-chi, the domain of the Three Pure Realms, the root of existence of all things. Although it is given different names by the three religions, it is nonetheless the same thing. In Confucianism, when this gate is opened, the sage emerges. In Buddhism, when this gate is opened, the Buddha emerges. In Taoism, when this gate is opened, the immortal emerges." - Eva Wong
F.) The Cowherd
The Iron Cow and the Ploughed Earth.
The cowherd is the representation of the metaphysical Divine Soul, the psychic consciousness, or the Diamond Body. In the picture, we find him diligently at work preparing the field - i.e. stimulating the Vital Centre and its energy. The cow is the animal correspondence to 'Earth'. "The Iron Cow ploughs the earth in order to grow gold coin."
Persistent work on this vital region is symbolized by the ploughing iron cow. The earth is prepared to receive the seed of higher life and yield the true blessing. Immersion of the thoughts and gaze in the Vital Centre is known as 'ploughing'.
"In my house I plow only my own field,
In it are spiritual shoots that can live ten thousand years,
The blossom is like yellow gold, and the colour changes,
The seed is like grains of jade and the fruit is all around.
The planting here is based solely on the earth of the middle castle,
And the watering depends solely on the source of the Supreme Valley."
The whole region from the navel down through the abdomen to the kidneys is known as the 'Elixir Field’. This is the Vital Centre, the field of Cinnabar, the Centre of Life where the source of the junction of the Three Main Pulses and twelve subsidary pulses are to be found (the ancient unbroken connection between the kidneys and the testicles?).
G.) The Cave of the Mystery of the Kidneys
The Second Gate - chai chi.
After the Elixir field has been powerfully plowed, its energy is conveyed to this region of the kidneys - also called 'the axle of the river’. From here, the Yang control pulse is directed up the River of Heaven through the Third and Fourth Gates.
"The godhead of the kidneys is mysterious and impenetrable; it can itself engender children." The inscription pertaining to this gate reads, "In this pan, mountain and water boil."
H.) The Weaving Maiden
The Maiden is a representative of the metaphysical animal soul and she is pictured set close to the kidney region. She is also representative of the negative force Yin, as is also the thread that she spins.
An allegorical story tells how the Heavenly Boy (the Boy Stone Cutter) in his Cowherd aspect, once upon a time stole her clothes as she was bathing. But, as the Supreme Lord has willed it, he may unite with her only once a year on the 7th day of the 7th month. On that day, she goes to him, crossing the River of Heaven by a bridge formed by magpies.
In the painting, the connection can be seen between the pulses from the heart, which pass up the Twelve-Storeyed Pagoda to the Heavenly Pool, and the thread of the Maiden, ending in the Celestial Jade City. Connecting these two pulses is the channel from the occiput (the Moon) through which the Golden nectar flows.
The animal soul controls the seed and the breath and strives to draw the conscious soul into its orbit as the Yin and the Yang; or, as in the star-myth, the Weaving Maiden draws the Cowherd. But, the two are one, though separated by the River of Heaven; so man should not be over-powered by the 'weaving maiden', the force of Yin, but use it as a means to rise to his higher soul. If the higher soul keeps itself free from Yin, it rises, in Spirit, to the Heavenly regions.
I.) The Divine Boy Stone Cutter
Also, the Northern Bushel - the Great Bear, the Big Dipper, or the Plough.
The Godhead of the Heart is the Divine Boy Stone Cutter, the true Alchemist, and it is he who preserves the true Spirit. In his divine play, he plucks gold pieces from the centre of the heart (which, in his Cowherd aspect he has grown in the Elixir field) and tosses them into the firmament. He arranges them on threads to form the Northern Bushel from whence the Supreme Cosmic Source emanates. The seven gold pieces are also a reference to the seven openings of the heart (reference should also be made to the seven kinds of fire derived from Spirit, as described in Charles Luk's Taoist Yoga).
The Godhead of the Heart is the seat of the conscious soul and the alleged producer of the red blood cinnabar. Near to the heart in the original painting is written, "Earth of Immobility" - which corresponds to 'Mountain Keeping Still’ in the Book of Changes - and, beside it, "The Godhead of the Heart is the Source of Cinnabar and itself preserves the Spirit". It is also the seat of Fire (passion) while the lower abdomen is the seat of Water (sexual pleasure). The Fire should be driven down into the water below, which will be scorched to become vapour, and then lifted to wipe out passion in order to achieve equilibrium and harmony.
"Fire kindled by breathing transforms the generative fluid derived from the digestion of food into Generative force. Fire derived from Spirit transforms the Generative force into Vitality. Fire derived from {prenatal} Vitality purifies the breathing and contributes to the manifestation of Spirit. Spiritual Fire sublimates Spirit which will return to the state of Nothingness. Thus, from start to finish, the successful practice of Immortality is by means of Fire." (Feng Huo Ching)
Before the umbilical cord is cut, the baby's essential nature (chen hsing) and eternal life are inseparable. This state is called prenatal. At birth, his body becomes mortal because the postnatal conditions of Nature and Life are no longer united but divided in two.
The heart and the lungs appear to be drawn as one organ, since blood is the carrier of air.
J.) The Twelve Storeyed Pagoda of the Throat
The throat here is symbolized as a channel, both for energised air from the heart (and lungs), and for the transfer of the ambrosian liquid (Golden Nectar) into the Channel of Function. At its base it is connected with the heart and lungs and at its apex with the mouth and tongue.
K.) The Bridge over the Heavenly Pool
In the painting, a spring which arises in the occiput (optical centre) pours into the "Pond where the Red Dragon wallows" - i.e. into the breath conceived of as condensed into spittle -and the pond is crossed by a drawbridge or 'Magpie Bridge’. There is a cavity in the palate through which vitality flows down to drain away, hence the tongue as a bridge is lifted to plug it. This makes a bridge for the Vitality, in the form of Golden Nectar, to flow from the cavity (hsuan ying - the mysterious Bridle) into the Channel of Function down to the Lower Tan t'ien centre.
Golden nectar is a liquid produced by the macrocosmic alchemical agent that has been successfully gathered by the practiser. When the mouth is full of this nectar, it is swallowed with a gulp to drive it into the Channel of Function to the lower Tan t'ien to seal Vitality there. The sublimation of the Generative force, Vitality and Spirit in the brain produces the ambrosia which, flowing into the mouth, becomes a liquid which, when swallowed, makes sounds in the lower abdomen. This ambrosia produces and nurtures the Immortal Seed in the Vital centre, whence it radiates, lighting up the heart to reveal the formation of the Immortal Sea.
It is useful to note that there are three different ‘bridges':
The Upper Magpie Bridge - the nasal duct
The Middle Magpie Bridge - the tongue
The Lower Magpie Bridge - the anus
L. The Celestial Jade City
The Third Gate - yu ch'en - or the Cave of the Spirit Field.
This is the gate where the thread of the Weaving Maiden ends. It is situated behind the occiput (optic centre) where the spine enters the skull. Leading from here is another negative Yin connection with the Moon, and yet another with the Heavenly Pool (also a negative Yin symbol). It is here, in the Jade City, during the 'Circulation of the Light', that the novitiate collects the currents ready for the next part of the process (see K. The Bridge over the Heavenly Pool).
M.) The Moon
The occiput or the optical centre.
This is the producer of the Golden Nectar. Near the Third Gate, there is a spring of ascending truth (dharma), or purity, which takes its ambrosian liquid from the Moon, which in its turn has drawn moisture from the depths.
N.) The Blue Eyed Barbarian Monk
Besides the Monk in the original painting a text reads, "The Blue Eyed {properly, 'jade eyed’} Barbarian Monk holds the heavens in his hands." He is depicted standing looking upwards, with both hands raised in an attitude of supplication, supporting everything that is above him. The shape formed by his arms is an allusion to the two zygomatic arches (cheek bones) which support the eyes.
The Blue Eyed Barbarian Monk is an old designation for the Buddhist patriarch Bodhidharma, founder of the meditation order which emigrated from India to China in 520. He had vainly stared at a rock wall for nine years before the 'Heavenly Eye’ opened within him, his persistence bringing success. The Monk (the Friend of Tao) is admonished to show similar endurance and direct his vision downwards to the centre of life and warmth (approximately at the height of the solar plexus and navel) where the source of the three main pulses and the twelve subsidiary pulses is to be found. This immersion of the gaze and thoughts in the Vital centre is known as ploughing. Hence, he takes on another aspect in the painting lower down, in the form of the Cowherd.
O.) The Red Sun
The Third Eye.
In the original painting, both the Red Sun and the Moon are represented as concealed organs; whereas certain eye exercises prescribed for the control of energies refer to the two eyes of ordinary sight as the Sun (left eye - positive Yang) and the Moon (right eye - negative Yin).
Once the vital force in the lower body (the Ocean of Breath) has been stimulated, it is reinforced by the Third, Celestial Eye - the radiance of our innate nature. The Eye must be aroused to produce the desired result; reinforced with the vital energy it begins to glow in meditation, growing slowly and sending forth its rays further and further. We see what we irradiate (we recognise only what is illumined by the light of consciousness).
"Between the eyes it darts forth and illumines the ten thousand worlds."
This is the 'Hall of Illumination’ in which the emperors of old net for illuminating discourse with great men.
The Circulation of the Light is the foundation for three higher stages of instruction. In the original painting, placed close by are the words, "Here is the origin of the best path to a good life". Also, part of another inscription reads, "Between the eyebrows gleams the radiant white fuzz - in all creatures it can destroy the misery of rebirth." Taoist teachings distinguish five kinds of ‘eye’:
The Heavenly Eye which sees all things in the 33 Heavens.
The Earthly Eye which sees the 18 Hells.
The Eye of Vitality which sees past and future events in the World.
The Human Eye which sees happenings before birth and after death.
The Ghostly Eye which sees through mountains, earth and metals.
P. Laot'se
One of the Three Pure Ones in the Beyond.
Born in 604 BC and named Li Erh or Li Po Yang, he was a native of a district in Ch'u state (now Hupeh province). For a long time, he was a censor under the Chou Dynasty but, seeing it beginning to decline, he left the country for an unknown destination. At the request of the official defending the pass at the frontier, he wrote the Tao Teh Ching.
According to the legend then current, he was already old at birth. Hence he was called Lao Tsu or 'Old Son’. Lao Tsu was determined to revive the ancient tradition which was prevalent at the time of the Emperor Huang Ti (2698 - 2597 BC). Since Huang Ti was the founder of the Taoism which Lao Tsu later revived, it is sometimes called 'the doctrine of Huang-Lao'.
In the picture, Laot'se symbolizes the Taoist path of Salvation. His figure lives in the soul of the Taoist as summation, archetype and prototype: the Taoist becomes Laot'se. This is not only the man who lived on earth, but also one of the figures in the Taoist Trinity of the 'Three Pure Ones’.
My note is that Laot'se (old master) represents Siva in this specific tradition as he is shown as symbolically living within the soul of the adept until the perfection working is completed whereby the individual 'becomes' Laot'se or the second Siva.
Q.) The Palace of the Mud Ball
Ni wan - The Fourth Gate.
This ironic title refers to the centre of the brain, frequently referred to as 'The Original Cavity of the Spirit'. The pineal gland
R. The Nine Peaks
The Eternal Southern Mountains of K'un lun.
These are a symbol of Eternity rising immaculately into the light. This is also the place where Fu xi and Nuwa married (symbolic of the union of male and female energies of the soul)
S.) Below the Peaks
Below, at the base of the peaks, an emanation represented by two red lines sweeps forward over the front of the face. This is the completion of the path of the Circulation of the Light. There is a break midway and the two red lines sweep down into the mouth and over the Bridge crossing the Heavenly Pond. This represents the beginning of the path of circulation.
T.) The Red Pearl
Resplendent, the Pearl rises, the 'desirable treasure’ - the sign of the Immortal over the head, which has become ' the House of the Rising Sun’ .
The Macrocosm has opened. After uniting in himself all depths and polarities, man has become the universe: "the whole world is contained in one grain" (literally, a grain of millet seed, here referred to as 'the Pearl’). According to the Taoist view, this stage can be realized only by a man of sixty.
In the middle of the Vital centre, the germ of the new immortal man gradually condenses until it is born, appearing over the crown of the head like the image of Buddha on the lotus blossom -the immortal genius hovering over its human counterpart. Crystallization has occurred in the Third Eye; in the midst of its light a new point of light has appeared and, suddenly, the seed pearl is present. The True Divine Primal Man (Humanus - the vehicle of divine essential nature) and Natural Man (Homo) have united their seed and all polarities have found their synthesis. The New Immortal Man has been conceived in the Vital centre.
There then follow two more stages:
The birth of the New Man. For ten lunar months the golden embryo is nurtured until the immortal essence rises up, bursts through the skull in the region of the third eye and, with a shout that is echoed by the heavens, is born. Up until now, he has still been living in his phenomenal or 'transformation body'. Here on Earth he still has his task to perform, which is to fulfill his phenomenality with profounder meaning. According to Indian tradition, phenomenality has five components: the body (rupa); feelings or sense perceptions (vedana); perception (samjna); potentialities (samskara) and consciousness (vijniana).
Until this moment, the new man - the 'diamond body’ has dwelt separated and above his whole being. He has been the Son of Buddha. Now each conception takes form according to the five components of being; but the diamond body possesses sacred emptiness and becomes increasingly empty.
Lastly, on the highest plane possible, the activity of the Blue Eyed Barbarian Monk resumes once more. In recognizing empty form he 'stares at the wall’ like Bodhidharma and he becomes the Unified Illumined Man, the one without the two. He preserves the Axis of the World and works here and now at the spot in the cosmos which has been assigned to him. He exerts influence without willed intent.
References
- http://duversity.org/elixir/
- Cultivating Stillness: A Taoist Manual for Transforming Body and Mind, p. 18, Translated by Eva Wong
- Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality, by Lu K'uan Yu
- Spiritual Guidance in Contemporary Taoism, by Irwin Rouselle
High Priest Lucius Oria
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/OrientalSatanicAlliance/info
Further Info from Centralforce666
B.) The River of Heaven
The Milky Way, the Supreme Valley - the spinal substance.
This is the Channel of Control. The natural flow of energies carried by the spinal substance is downward from the brain. The reversal of the flow of the River of Heaven through the Channel of Control is the means by which the Generative force is sublimated.
This is also the sushummna. Driving the energy up the spine as in orgasm without ejaculation is important for opening this, as is the cobra breath (which makes use of the First and Third "Magpie Bridges" - placing the tongue on the roof of the palate and pulling mulbhand.
C.) The Water Wheel Treaders
This is where the reversal of the Generative force begins and its sublimation is represented by the two children, a boy and a girl. The seminal glands, like the kidneys, are conceived of as male on one side and female on the other, embodying Yin and Yang, the negative and positive principles. The children stand on the mystery of Yin and Yang, the treadmill.
In the stone rubbing, the text given here for the sublimation is, "Repeating and continuing, circulating step by step, as the wheel turns, the water flows eastward. Even in the spring that is ten thousand fathoms deep, the bottom must become visible. This sweet stream flows upwards to the summit of the Southern Mountains {the top of the skull). "
The treadmill also indicates that sexual energy which comes from the kidneys drives the whole process, the whole circulation. It is the sole most important factor in completing the work and the reason why the enemy programs suppress and make sexuality unhealthy. Free flow and robustness in sexuality is important to the work and any stagnation or hang ups is like sticking a fork in the cogs of the treadmill or removing the boy and girl from it. "As the wheel turns" - This is the motivating driver of the flow of the circulation of the light.
D.) The Tripod of the Elixir
The pond where fire and water cross and turn to vapour - shui huo chi chi - water and fire in equilibrium.
When fire is immersed in water, it stops soaring up, thereby causing the heart to be empty (of passion); and when the water is scorched by fire, it becomes steam and stops flowing down. This water and fire in equilibrium will produce true Vitality. Immersion of fire in water is described as 'concentration on the Lower Tan t'ien'. In Taoist Yoga, eighteen different kinds of fire are differentiated:
4 kinds of fire which are kindled by breathing to transform the generative fluid into Generative force,
7 kinds of fire which are derived from Spirit to transform the Generative force into Vitality,
7 kinds of fire which are derived from prenatal vitality, to purify the breathing and contribute to the manifestation of the Original Spirit.
The Tripod symbolizes concentration on the Lower Tan t'ien to direct the element of fire in the heart to scorch the element of water in the lower abdomen, thus emptying the heart of passion and stopping water flowing downwards in order to achieve a stable equilibrium.
This is the cauldron of the kidneys - Kidney Yang contains the fire which warms the Jing (essence) as held in place by the Kidney Yin to the steam which drives every bodily process, life itself until death. This fire drives the beating of the heart and gives warmth to digestion. As Essence diminishes throughout our lifespan, so too the functions of our body decline - the Magnum Opus restores the Jing and purifies it to supply the body with endless immortality. Which brings us to the Ming Men, the fire of the gate of life:
E.) The Supreme Ultimate
The Mysterious Gate, The Mysterious Cavity: it is a gate when it appears in front of the practiser and a cavity when it lies hidden in the body.
In front of the Cavity of Spirit (between and behind the eyes), true Vitality looks like a radiant circle which is called 'The Supreme
Ultimate’ (t'ai clii), "The Golden Elixir of Immortality1 (chin tan) and "The Original Awareness' (yuan chueh). Hence, the prenatal Heaven and Earth and the Lower Field of the Elixir (under the navel) are called 'the four Yin Yang' (szu ko yin yang).
Taoist scriptures say, "This cavity lies in the centre between heaven (the head) and earth (lower abdomen) in the human body."
"It is wrong to seek it in the body and equally wrong to seek it outside. For when it manifests it becomes a cavity and when it does not it is undiscoverable."
"The Mysterious Cavity is boundless; the awareness of it, free from all clinging, is real achievement. The Mysterious Gate manifests in the condition of utter stillness but, if a thought arises, it immediately slips into the postnatal realm and vanishes without trace. If it is further sought, it cannot be found because of clinging to form."
The Supreme Ultimate is also described as the circle of T'ai chi wherein the real positive Vitality and Essential Nature unite to emit the light of Vitality, which is the light of True Nature in the precious cauldron of the brain, and that of True Life in the lower abdomen. It stands above the Tripod of the Elixir where fire and water cross and turn to steam. In the painting, the steam is represented as finer energies radiating from the centre of the Supreme Ultimate in which is embodied the Four Yin Yang - the prenatal Heaven and Earth and the postnatal Heart and Abdomen, i.e. the four positive and negative principles.
"The Mysterious Gate has many names. In Confucianism, it is called the altar of wisdom. It embodies limitless compassion. It is a consciousness without thoughts and it reflects the way of heaven. It is intuitive knowledge and reflects the way of earth. In Buddhism, the Mysterious Gate is the spirit mountain, the empty consciousness of original mind, or nirvana, the realm of the Amitabha Buddha. In Taoism, it is the Golden Palace, the realm of t'ai-chi, the domain of the Three Pure Realms, the root of existence of all things. Although it is given different names by the three religions, it is nonetheless the same thing. In Confucianism, when this gate is opened, the sage emerges. In Buddhism, when this gate is opened, the Buddha emerges. In Taoism, when this gate is opened, the immortal emerges." - Eva Wong
The reference to the mysterious cavity being undiscoverable and its place at the Ming Men in the picture does not coincide - The Secret of the Golden Flower similarly describes the light as the thing which exists outside the body as well as in it but stating it can be found in neither. It also states that the immortal seed does not lie outside the body. Either way I feel as though this is a translation error as the Ming Men simply put is the region of the Sacral chakra - between the front acupuncture points QiHai (Sea of Qi) and GuanYuan (Gate of origin). Between the lumbar vertebrae L2 and L3 lies Ming Men (Gate of Life). The four extensions of the Sacral Chakra (front and back , sides) represent the four Yin and Yang and together they make up the Lower Dan Tian. This is the place where the sexual energy rising up from the treadmill is to be stored to ignite the fire around the essence. This is akin to drawing up the sexual energy from the Base chakra into the Sacral to ignite and stoke the fire which produces the male elixir of life, and a necessary preliminary step to the Magnum Opus (as we already know). There is obviously corruption in either the translation of this text or some other point - limitless compassion is ridiculous since the lower Dan Tian is ruled by Mars (and Pluto??) with the former concerned with competition and struggle, the fight for life and sexuality and the latter concerned with deep power and control of the subconscious mind.
F.) The Cowherd
The Iron Cow and the Ploughed Earth.
The cowherd is the representation of the metaphysical Divine Soul, the psychic consciousness, or the Diamond Body. In the picture, we find him diligently at work preparing the field - i.e. stimulating the Vital Centre and its energy. The cow is the animal correspondence to 'Earth'. "The Iron Cow ploughs the earth in order to grow gold coin."
Persistent work on this vital region is symbolized by the ploughing iron cow. The earth is prepared to receive the seed of higher life and yield the true blessing. Immersion of the thoughts and gaze in the Vital Centre is known as 'ploughing'.
"In my house I plow only my own field,
In it are spiritual shoots that can live ten thousand years,
The blossom is like yellow gold, and the colour changes,
The seed is like grains of jade and the fruit is all around.
The planting here is based solely on the earth of the middle castle,
And the watering depends solely on the source of the Supreme Valley."
The whole region from the navel down through the abdomen to the kidneys is known as the 'Elixir Field’. This is the Vital Centre, the field of Cinnabar, the Centre of Life where the source of the junction of the Three Main Pulses and twelve subsidary pulses are to be found (the ancient unbroken connection between the kidneys and the testicles?).
The iron cow is reference to the "iron" energies of the Sacral chakra, the Ming Men powering digestion in the "Middle Castle" - The middle jiao, the Spleen and Stomach who are responsible for forming the Jing and nourishing the body through the Qi derived from food. There are two places in which the body can take in physical energies, the loftier and lighter Da Qi or air is taken into the lungs at the Metal element stage to generate the Water and the Earth stage turns the heavier food into body substances - too much will overact on the Water and crush the digestion by extinguishing the Fire and the Fire burns under the Earth to warm it - The perfect body likely needs only light meals taken more often based on this hypothesis. This is referring to the Wu Xing Generating and control cycle of the I-Ching. The gold of the soul comes as much from food as it does from air.
More to come....
