3
Concentrating the Vital Spirit
According to Master Wang Liping, the entire course of his training could be divided into nine stages. At this point in the story, he was going into the second stage, which involves collecting the mind and developing essential nature. This work is still concerned with the refinement of the inner essence of mind, but it is at a higher and more difficult level than repentance; its requirements are stricter, and the external conditions of practice are yet more severe. The aim is to get the practitioner to concentrate the vital spirit, using unified concentration of the whole spirit to examine minute changes within the body, producing extraordinary capacities within the ordinary.
For this exercise his mentors moved Wang Liping to a pit in the earth. The pit was narrow, dark, and dank, without good air circulation. Ordinarily one would not think it a suitable place for doing exercises, but the three wizards had a deep reason for finding this spot for their apprentice to sit and do his inner work. It was not just a matter of using a negative environment to develop extraordinary character, as one would usually imagine; the principle of contrary use of the surroundings has a more positive rationale.
The pit, going deep underground, was dark and wet. Could the principle be herein? Earth and depth both correspond to the earth element in the five elements, so the energy of earth is doubled. Shade and darkness are the extreme of yin; and when yin reaches its extreme, yang arises. Moisture corresponds to the water element in the five elements, and it is the source of life. In both the primal and temporal ordering of the eight trigrams of the I Ching, or Book of Changes, earth and water are both below. The Traditions on the Changes says, “Consummate is the creative basis of earth; all beings live on its Concentrating the Vital Spirit sustenance, as it goes along in accord with what it receives from heaven. Earth is thick and supports beings; its virtues are boundless, its embrace is far-reaching, and its glory is great, so all things flourish.”
The Tao Te Ching says, “The Way obeys Nature,” and it recommends quiet emptiness and keeping centered, which are both virtues associated with earth. In the I Ching trigram symbol for water, yin surrounds outside, and yang is in the center, representing “yang submerged in yin, outwardly empty while inwardly fulfilled.” The Traditions on the Changes says, “Going through dangerous straits without losing faith, that mind gets through successfully, by means of firmness and balance.” This seems to be the rationale for the three wizards using a pit in the earth to train Wang Liping. The young apprentice himself, of course, had no idea of his teachers’ purpose in putting him there.
Jumping down into the pit, Liping lit sticks of incense at each of the four corners, according to instructions. The little cavern quickly filled with smoke, and the youth sat down and began to practice his inner exercise.
At first Liping was able to sit calmly and quietly, but before long the smoke got so dense, combined with the wet and cold vapors hanging heavy in the air, that breathing became difficult. Finally his primitive nature lost its patience again, and he shouted, “It’s suffocating me!” He was hoping the teachers would let him out of the pit, but Wang Jiaoming had already told him to follow instructions strictly, without any fuss. At this point he knew that if he didn’t obey, he’d be severely punished. All he could do was follow the course prescribed by his mentor.
Confined in the dark, dank pit, and suffocating, it was hard to sit cross-legged. Figuring that his mentor had already locked up and wouldn’t come back, Liping decided to change positions and relax his body a little. So he leaned against the side of the pit and stretched out his arms and legs.
Just as he was getting comfortable, in a flash an incomprehensible change took place in the appearance of the pit, right before Liping’s eyes. Suddenly it seemed to be as big as a banquet hall, and full of light. The grand master and the two mentors were sitting before him, with the air and appearance of people from the immortal realms. The old master’s face was red. Speaking solemnly, he said, “What nerve! A mediocre little boy like you dares to fool around in front of the likes of us? How can you go on hoodwinking us? Once you have become a disciple, your commitment stands before you. Whether or not a teacher is present, you should take it to heart. The methods of attaining the Way are transmitted verbally by teachers, but you are required to cultivate them seriously in your own body. The way you are now, unless you eliminate the poisons and delinquent tendencies in your heart as soon as possible, collect your spirit and develop your nature, how can you attain the Way?”
Having finished his speech, the old master closed his eyes. One of the mentors raised a disciplinary ruler, but didn’t bring it down. The other mentor pulled out a rope, but stopped there. Wang Liping hurriedly knelt down and cried out an apology and a promise not to be so presumptuous again.
Now when he raised his head again, Liping saw nothing but the interior of the pit, cramped, dark, dank, and suffocating as before. But he felt a pain in the palms of his hands, and he saw that his legs had been bound up tightly. Then he realized that the old master and the two mentors had already administered punishment in some way.
Mortified with shame, Liping now understood how highly developed the accomplishments of the master and the mentors were; he also realized that his mind had not been thoroughly cleaned, and that he was very far from the Way. No longer would he have any illusions and boast of trivial intelligence. He would turn wholeheartedly to the Way, and first he would work on this practice of “collecting the mind and developing the nature,” “keeping to the center, silent and empty.”
When Wang Liping had learned to sit cross-legged for four hours in the pit filled with incense smoke, the old master and the mentors finally began to transmit to him the teaching of the Dragon Gate sect of Complete Reality Taoism known as “The Art of Inner Exercise of Mental Capacities Attained Through the Classical Spiritual Jewels.” As he learned from his teachers, Liping worked on applying the new skills in practice, so his efforts gradually led him into the True Way.
This art of inner exercise of mental capacities according to the classical Spiritual Jewels is one of the ancient Taoist methods of internal work. Its doctrine is “saving one from birth and death is first, comfort and long life come afterward.” Its special features are inclusion of both movement and stillness, and cultivation of both essential nature and life energy. The art has many techniques, which are simple and easy to practice, naturally forming a detailed and comprehensive system for training the capacities of the whole human being.
This teaching has been treasured by specialists in method for a long time and has been passed on only by word of mouth and kept only in memory, transmitted individually from teacher to disciple, kept secret and not publicly divulged.
The Art of Inner Exercise of Mental Capacities Attained Through the Classical Spiritual Jewels is divided into “three exercises” and “nine methods.” The “three exercises” are the “Three Immortalist Exercises,” or quiet sitting exercises, exercises involving external movements known as equilibrium exercises, and sleeping exercises practiced at leisure. The “nine methods” deal with developing mental capacities, stopping illness, curing illness, transmitting awareness, stabilizing mind, settling your birth and death, cutting off the earthly soul, and receiving images.
Among these nine methods, the first four are methods of helping people create happiness; the latter five are methods of overcoming people and methods of controlling people. The fourth method, “transmitting awareness,” also includes methods of overcoming people.
One day the old master and the two mentors called Wang Liping to them and started explaining the first method of the Spiritual Jewel attainments, developing mental capacities. Zhang Hodao, Wayfarer of the Infinite, said, “This method of developing mental capacity is a method of exercise in stillness, mainly cultivated while sitting cross-legged. Now that you have learned the basic essentials of sitting cross-legged, you can practice this method.
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