Qi-Cultivation and Internal Realization

The ultimate goal of internal cultivation is to complete the mission of one’s spirit successfully in accordance with the Dao (the Way), so that one’s spirit may live with greater health, joy and peace. One may ask: "how can I know the mission of my spirit?" For understanding of one’s mission, it is important to achieve internal realization or self-awakening. This step is called "Lianxu Liaoxing" in the traditional literature on energetic cultivation, and it means establishing and stabilizing the peaceful state of mind to understand our intrinsic nature and the reality of heaven and earth. (We have mentioned this step in Qi Dao, in our article The Middle Path of Qi Cultivation: Balancing Wu Wei and You Wei. January/February 2010.)

Internal realization allows internal cultivators to synchronize with the Dao for their self-development and spiritual refinement. In other words, internal realization helps internal cultivators to gain experiential understanding of what kind of actions will most nourish their spirit, and also what kinds of behavior and actions may harm or damage their spirit.

In the view of internal cultivation, a human being is a unity of Jing, Qi, and Shen (the body, Qi and spirit). Here, the Spirit refers to the prenatal intelligence and wisdom as the original light of consciousness; the Qi refers to the vital energy for life or the life force; and the Jing refers to the body, the temple and the vehicle of the spirit. The prenatal spirit (灵) enters into the heart of the human body and forms two aspects of the original light of consciousness: 1) the Hun (魂)-soul, the Yin aspect of the spirit, which is associated with the functions of the liver; and 2) the Xin (心)-mind, the Yang aspect of the spirit, which is associated with the functions of the brain. The mind is the postnatal manifestation of the Yang spirit.

In the postnatal state, there are two aspects of the mind: the intuitive mind (阴神-Yin Shen) and the intellectual mind (阳神-Yang Shen). The intuitive mind is associated with the functions of the parietal lobe of the brain, which corresponds to intuition and self-awareness, including the consciousness of the body and the previous memories of the internal organs such as emotions, personality, character, and so forth. The intellectual mind is associated with the function of the frontal lobe of the brain, which manifests itself as thought, ego, logic, reasoning, mental and cognitive abilities, and so on.

The soul also has two aspects: 1) the Po (魄)-conscience, the Yin aspect of the soul, which is associated with the functions of the lungs; and 2) the Yi (意)-intent, the Yang aspect of the soul, which is associated with the functions of the pancreas. And then the intent further forms two aspects: 1) the Zhi (志)-will, the Yang aspect of the intent, which is associated with the functions of the kidneys; and 2) the Yu (欲)-desire, the Yin aspect of the intent, which is associated with the functions of the reproductive organs.

In the view of internal cultivation, desire, will, intent, conscience, intellectual mind, intuitive mind, and soul all are different expressions of the spirit. Thus, spiritual development is not only associated with training of the intellectual mind, but also associated with management of desire, with willingness, with refinement of one’s intent, with empowerment of conscience, development of the intuitive mind, and nourishment of the soul. Once internal cultivators have realized the functions of the internal organs at the energetic level, she or he could work on her/his spiritual development through internal Qi cultivation on the functions of internal organs. All of this is tangible, accessible, practical, and doable.