The devine embryo and the cultivation of immortality??

July 11, 2007

Hi all,

One of my patient has been reading the book " Physiological Alchemy " from Joseph

Needham

where the notion of the ¨devine embryo¨ is discussed, which as I seem to

remember is part

of the Taoist ¨cultivation of immortality¨.

I really don't know much about it so I thought I would ask the groupe about what

this all is

and where could I get more information so I know a bit more next time I see my

patient.

(Is it linked up with Qi Gong? or what is it in relation to ?)

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

May

July 11, 2007

Hi May,

There is a common theme in Western and Asian alchemical traditions of generating

a perfected body within the body or sometimes externally. External generation

was done using a lot of big piles of manure as incubators, and some would say,

as the theoretical basis for the practice. The internal spiritual fetus is

germinated in the abdominal region and used as a vessel for the consciousness on

death, when it shoots out of bai hui like a spiritual escape pod. The spirit

fetus is an expression of refined jing, and would be associated with the hun and

shen as well, maintaining perception and personality, while eliminating the po

and the earthly desires associated with it.

This could be thought of as related to the practice of " lightening " the body was

talked about in the shen nong ben cao, as it constitutes a refinement of the

essence and shifts the balance of the body towards the shen/yang and away from

the po/yin. I assume that there are traditions of herbal support for these

practices, though I don't know any off hand.

It is not related to much in TCM as it is practiced today, but it shares a

parallel outlook on the physiology of the body and the constitution of the

various parts of the spirit.

There are a wide variety of qi gong practices that are used to nourish the

fetus, some of them quite interesting involving abdominal exercises that produce

a disconcerting squooshy noise that is called " respiration " . I was never able to

do it very well, but I had some friends who sounded like they had a bear cub

chewing its way through their abdominal wall. In a broader way of looking at it,

most of the dan-tian collecting activities focus the body in a similar way, and

from a health maintenance point of view, barring immortality via flying spirit

baby, are probably as effective.

Accessible literature: Check out Livia Kohn's books, there are a number that

deal with this sort of cultivation from an academic standpoint, and Jerry Alan

Johnson has a huge 4-5 volume book on qi gong theory from a practical

perspective, though he doesn't always provide much source material for his

assertions they are in line with pretty much everything else I have seen on the

topic.

Par Scott