The ancient wisdom of Wen-Tzu starts off the week. In the meantime, enjoy your practice, folks. What is the meaning of “Inverting the course?” Find out tomorrow. What is the meaning of “following the course” ( shun )? “The One generates the Two, the Two generate the Three, the Three generate the ten thousand things.” Therefore Emptiness transmutes itself into Spirit, Spirit transmutes itself into Breath, Breath transmutes itself into Essence, Essence transmutes itself into form, and form becomes the human being.” – Wang Mu, Foundations of Internal Alchemy, translation by Thomas Cleary When they follow the course, they form the human being when they invert the course, they generate the Elixir. “Essence, Breath, and Spirit affect one another. Today we have a quote from the “Foundations of Internal Alchemy” by Wang Mu. Nevertheless, keep practicing, folks, and you will get there some day. Then the Golden Elixir is achieved.” – Wang Mu, Foundations of Internal Alchemy, translation by Thomas ClearyĮasy enough to understand “inverting the course,” but rather difficult to do. They nourish the corporeal form to refine the Essence, accumulate the Essence to transmute it into Breath, refine the Breath to merge it with Spirit, and refine the Spirit to revert to Emptiness.

Those who know this Way look after their Spirit and guard their corporeal form. “What is the meaning of “inverting the course?” The ten thousand things hold the Three, the Three return to the Two, the Two return to the One. Yesterday Wang Mu gave us the meaning of “following the course” as it relates to Laozi’s quote from Chapter 42 of the Tao Te Ching: “The One generates the Two, the Two generate the Three, the Three generate the ten thousand things.” Today we learn the meaning of “inverting the course” as it applies to the Laozi quote Kind of hard to put into practice? Keep trying and enjoy your work nevertheless.

– Liu I-Ming, Awakening to the Tao, translation by Thomas Cleary Without being constrained by yin and yang.” One can thereby be in the midst of Creation withoutīeing influenced by Creation, be in the midst of yin and yang Have no discrimination and no knowledge, andīe empty and open, this is like dead wood not flaming whenīurnt, like cold ashes yielding no warmth “‘hen sti rred.

Having no such body, view one’s mind as having no such mind, Not discriminate between self and others, view one’s own body as Taciturn na ture, concentrate the energy and make it flexible,Įmpty the mind and nurture the spirit, be selfless and impersonal, Resentment, and annoyance, get rid of all contentiousness ,Ĭhange the aggress ive and violent nature back into a gentle

“If one can master oneself and exercise restraint, turn backįrom inflex ibility and become yielding, sweep away all anger, Today’s words of wisdom are from Liu I-Ming discussing when one is like dead wood and cold ashes.

Persimmon by Doc Pruyne