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Scripture of Inner Observation (Neiguan jing; see Kohn 1989), practitioners are guided to turn their perception inside
and realize the realities of body energies and consciousness movements within. Soon they begin to understand how they
function and react both physically and psychologically. With prolonged practice, they become aware of the subtler
energies of life and see themselves increasingly in terms of Qi-patterns than ego-centered actions. As the Scripture of
Inner Observation says, adepts come to see the body as part of Heaven and Earth, raised through yang and nourished by
yin, helped and guarded by the spirit and material souls, organized in accordance with the five phases and the six musical
tones, radiating with the power of the seven stars and the eight luminaries.
They learn that beyond their tangible Qi, they consist to a large extend of spirit (shen), the primordial, formless, and
ever-changing force, which in connection with the physical body causes human beings to be alive. Manifested in the
human mind, where it is often distorted to serve egoistic and one-sided needs, spirit is brought back to a state of rest as
the mind is concentrated and relaxed. Adepts come to see that just as the Dao pervades the universe in utmost perfection,
so spirit working through their mind can govern their life perfectly—that is, as long as it is observed and cultivated and
not wasted on sensual amusements and the exertions of the senses. From confusion and defilement, adepts recover the
primordial state.
Doing so, they come to realize the impermanent nature of the ego-based vision of self and body and replace this
identity with one that consists of an assemblance of energy, essence, and spirit. They realize in their own lives the
dictum of Zhuangzi that “human life is a coming-together of Qi. If it comes together there is life. If it scatters there is
death” (Watson 1968, 235). Human life is only one part of the continuous natural transformations of Qi; it is merely
borrowed from heaven and earth but since it resembles them closely in its structuring and undergoes the same
transformations as all creation, it can be made just as perfect, just as flowing, just as eternal. Realizing this inherent
nature of life and themselves, adepts see that there is no true master of body and mind and acknowledge how little
conscious control they have over life’s transformations. Increasingly able to let life and the body go on changing as they
please, they can forget themselves and dissolve into the higher patterns of the Dao.
This Dao, in the Daoist context, however, is not just a flow of energies, but populated by gods, spirits, and other
supernatural entities. As the practitioner becomes more attuned to his life and body as the universe, he or she also comes
to actively perceive the gods and spirits as inhabitants of the human body. The body and thus the self becomes
increasingly a microcosmic replica of the starry heavens above, full of palaces and chambers, towers and terraces, gods
and immortals. The deities who reside in the paradises of the otherworld are as much at home in the adept’s body, and
again—as through the ingestion of the five sprouts—the adept comes to cosmicize his or her self, expanding identity into
a larger sphere.
Along the same lines, the Daoist transformation of the self in the process of inner alchemy, reaching from essence
through energy to spirit and the emptiness of the Dao, has become part of modern Qigong discourse and many
techniques of inner alchemy are actively applied in practice. Not only perceiving of the body as an entity of Qi-flow and
a replica of the universe, adepts of inner alchemy take active control of the energies and, through the systematic
circulation and collection of Qi, transmutate the body into a cauldron for the growth of an inner elixir. Starting from a
tiny seed, it blossoms forth and gives rise to the immortal embryo, which then, over ten months of intense meditation,
grows to completion. A primordial light begins to shine through the entire body, and adepts enter a state of deep
absorption, allowing the tenuously growing spirit embryo to grow to fullness and take on a life of its own—moving
about the heavenly realms in a new variation of the ecstatic soul journeys of Daoists of old.
Conclusion
To conclude, Qigong as practiced today has a long and varied history in Chinese culture. Strongly rooted in the
medical tradition, it has continuously over the past two millennia been used for healing, curing, and health enhancement.
By extension, it has helped people extend their lives and improve their capacity for enjoyment and vivacity. Beyond its
clearly visible medical roots, however, Qigong has also been linked in various ways with the Daoist tradition—notably
through the Qi-controlling practices of the ancient immortals and a number of exercises adopted into the modern
repertoire from religious Daoist cultivation and ritual.
The main distinction between health and longevity on the one hand, and advanced spiritual or immortality practice,
on the other, within the overall system of Qigong is the degree to which the body is aligned with the flow of yin and
yang or the Dao on the periphery versus being transformed, transfigured, and energetically reorganized to a higher
20 Yang-Sheng (Nurturing Life) Volume 2, Issue No. 1