Daoist Internal Mastery

Book excerpt: This book translates Master Wang's original practice instructions and discourses given during training seminars. His system of internal alchemy goes back to two ancient Daoist texts: the 13th-century Lingbao bifa, linked to the immortals Zhongli Quan and L Dongbin; and the 17th-century Taiyi jinhua zongzhi (Secret of the Golden Flower), also connected to L . Together they are known as the Lingbao tong zhineng neigong shu (Arts of Internal Mastery, Wisdom, and Potential, Based on Numinous Treasure). The texts outline the concoction of a golden elixir through the dual cultivation of inner nature and life-destiny. This book follows the classics and presents all different kinds of techniques--including walking, pacing, sleeping, circulating the five phases, absorbing tree energy, and capturing planetary essences--in a systematic format and with a great amount of instructional detail. It contains a wealth of information invaluable to anyone interested in genuine Daoist cultivation and elucidates numerous rather obscure concepts to contextualize each practice.