Taoist Longevity Principles
These following principles are quoted and translated from Chinese ancient texts which shed the light of understanding about human life and how it is operated. These understanding is not something we can learn or be known from modern sciences.
1. Regarding to food and diets
“食肉者勇敢而悍，食谷者智慧而巧，食气者神明而寿，不食者不死而神。” 《大戴禮記 . 易本命》
“Those who eat meats are brave and physically strong,
those who eat grains are wise and skillful,
those who eat Qi are with clear spirit and can live longer,
those who do not eat are immortal and God-like beings.”
Dr. Joy’s explanation: from eating meat these high calorie’s food to eat plant based low calorie’s food, from eating Qi (energy) to not eating anything, it depicts the stages of transformation from physical from to spiritual form. Also, it indicates the process from Jing (physical form) to Qi (energetic form) and then to Shen (spiritual form) following the principle of the like nourishes the like. Spiritual practices are the processes from sallow layers to move on all levels and depth.
2. Regarding to Meditation Methods
“慾得長生，先須久視。久視于上丹田，則神長生；久視于中丹田，則氣長生，久視與下丹田，則形長生。” 《仙諺曰：長生久視》
“Desire to obtain longevity, one must learn how to do long-gaze internally (internal observation). When performing the long-gazing to the Upper-Dan-Tian, it gives Shen (spiritual form) a long life. When performing the long-gazing to the Middle-Dan-Tian, it gives Qi (energetic form) a long life. When performing the long-gazing to the Lower-Dan-Tian, it gives physical form a long-life.”
Dr. Joy’s comment: This instruction is the technique of how to cultivate and strengthen Jing, Qi and Shen these three essence. The technique is very simple, but if one cannot sit quietly one will not be able to cultivate. Please contact Dr. Joy for classes or instruction.
3. Regarding to Regulate Yin Yang
人法陰陽生。陽者常正，陰者常邪。陽者常在，陰者常無；陽者常息，陰者常殺。人日三變，像三氣，其政殊異，相與紛爭乖錯，不相從也。而習使其常，守人形容者，吉。《太平經 . 是神去留效道法》
Human who follows the Yin Yang principle, grows. Yang’s nature is upright, Yin’s nature is deviated; Yang’s nature is existence, Yin’s nature is disappearance; Yang’s nature is self-cultivation, Yin’s nature is killing others. Human’s energy changes three times a day following these three cosmic Qis’ (the Greater Yang, the Greater Yin, and the Zhong-He Qi*). Each energy has its own principles to follow, often these three energies compete, battle and tangle together, and can’t agree with each other. Thus, one must learn the natures of these energy and keep things normalized, and maintains the good human’s form and appearance. That is called in a good state.
4. Regarding to life-spans
神氣周流，疾於雷電，急還神明，以自照内，故病自愈而人自治。故人生百二十上壽，八十中壽，六十下壽，過此皆夭折。此蓋神游于外，疾攻其内也。 《太平經 . 盛身祛災法》
Shen Qi (Spirit energy) circulates the body, when injured by internal lightening, it quickly returns to the spirit palace and shines to itself internally, illnesses can be resolve on its own. Therefore, a human life has the ability for self-regulation and self-healing.
Human who is able to live up to 120 years, is with a supreme life-span; who lives up to eighty is with a medium life-span; who lives up to sixty has a lower life-span.Those who dies at any ages of below sixty, have a broken life-span. It is all due to their spirits floating outside of body, and leads the diseases attacking inside of bodies.
Dr. Joy’s comments: This depicts the spirit of human can come in and out of the human body freely. It can heal itself, and it also dissociated with human body and results of a shorter life-span. Thus, in traditional medicine, there are four catagories of human’s life spans. <Tai Ping Jing.ShengShenQueZaiFa>