Daoist Meditation: Guarding the One (SHOU YI)

by Michael Rinaldini
MultitudesofDragonsandTigersguardtheOne. TheOneiseternallysecure. Spontaneous,theOneneverceases. PreservetheOne,guardTruth AndyoucommunicatewiththewholeUniverse. TheOneisnothardtoknow, Thedifficultyispersistence. GuardtheOnewithnodistraction Andyouareeternallyvital. MasterGeHong,BookoftheMasterWhoEmbracesSimplicity,4thCE GuardingtheOne,orshouyiisageneraltermforDaoistmeditation.Thereare manyvarietiesofDaoistmeditationtechniquesaccordingtothedifferent schoolsofDaoism.ThepracticeconsistsofkeepingtheOne,holdingawareness, orholdingthemindundercontrol.Itisaformofconcentrationmeditation,as opposedtoinsightmeditation,whichhasnocentralpointoffocus. GuardingtheOneisoftenusedasafoundationpractice,whichlaterunfoldsto othertypesofmeditation.Mostcommonly,thispracticeofconcentrationis nevercompletelyleftbehind,itgraduallybecomesintegratedintomoreadvanced formsofmeditationrequiringhigherlevelsofconsciousness. ButbeforeIleavethisintroductiontoshouyi,Ishouldmakeitclearthat althoughthistechniquemaybeanintroductorypractice,itisbynomeansan inferiortechnique.TheancientDaoisttextsstateclearlythatthecontinued andintenseapplicationofthismethodwillinitselfbringthepractitionerto immortality. What is the meaning of the One? InDaoistphilosophyandinthephilosophicaltextscontainedintheDaoist Canon(ancientcollectionofbooksonDaoism),theOnemayrefertodifferent things.First,itisimportanttounderstandthattheOneistheprincipleof theDaowhichispresentwithinallpeopleandthings,andwhichcanberealized withinoneselfwithoutoutsideseeking.WhatthenistheOne? Primordial Oneness TheOnesignifiesthestateofnondifferentiationoftheuniverse,the primordialstateofgreatunity.ItisidentifiedwiththecosmicchaosHundun. TheOneisultimateprimordiality. The One as Principle TheOneisthehighestunity,theformlessomnipresentprimordialprincipleof thecosmos.ItisidenticaltoandyetsubtlydifferentfromtheDao. Daodejing says: TheDaoproducedtheOne, TheOneproducedthetwo,

Thetwoproducedthethree, Thethreeproducedthe10,000things.(42) The One as Vital Energy TheOneisthevitalenergyunderlyingall,andthemoreoneobtainstheOne, thegreateramountofvitalenergyonepossesses: TheYellowEmperorgotitandascendedtothecloudyheavens.(Zhuangzi) IholdontotheOne,abideinitsharmony,andthereforeIhavekeptmyself alivefor1200years. Andneverhasmybodysufferedanydecay.(Zhuangzi) All is One TheOneisthebasiccharacteristicoftheworld.Allbeingsareoneinthat theyallstemfromtheDao: Realizewhatmakesthemoneandtherebybeonewithall.(Zhuangzi) Thereisafundamentalidentityofallthatexists,andwhenoneknowstheOne, therewillbenothingthatremainsunknown. Three-in-One Asalreadystated,theOneproducedthetwoandthetwoproducedthethree. Thesearereferencestothetwoforcesofyinandyangandtotheirinteraction producingaharmonyathird. InDaoistphilosophy,thisconcepthasdifferentmeanings,buttheoneIfind mostrelevanttothediscussionofGuardingtheOneandqigongisthethree basicforceswithinhumanbeingsessence,energyandspirit. ThustheThreeTreasuresofinternalalchemybecomeidentifiedwithcosmicunity onthesamescaleasPrimordialOneness.Furthermore,andthisisperhapsthe mostsignificantpointforthoseseekingphysicalhealthasaprimaryhuman goal,isthatobtainingtheOne,guardingtheThreeTreasures,willbringabout onenesswiththePrimordial,thatistosay,withtheharmonyoftheuniverse. Clarifyingevenmore,itmeansthatasonerealizestheirunitywiththeOneor ThreeinOne,theyfulfilltheirproperdestinyinthecosmos.Thetruenature ofhumanbeingsistobehealthyandlonglivedandtoparticipatewillinglyin thechangesoftheworld. ThosewhopracticeGuardingtheOneshouldthereforebecomemoreabundantin primordialsplendorandharmony,thusincreasinghealthandlongevity.Andfor theluckyfew,GuardingtheOnewillleadtoimmortalityonenesswiththeenergy oftheuniverse. Recovery of the One Theancientsage,Laoziwroteabouttheneedtoguardtherootofhumanityand tostrengthenonesorigin.TherootwastheenergyoftheDao,andlife dependedononesrelationshipwiththeDao.Thus,whenhumanitylosescontact withtheDaodeathfollows.Toavoidthisoutcome,Laoziadvisedtorecoveror

regainwhatonehaslost oftheOne.Asthisrecoveryproceeds,thebodybecomeshealthyandstrongand onesspiritbeginstoradiate withenergyandjoy.Completehealthisreachedwhenoneisabletoguardthe Oneconsistentlyandwithoutinterruption. Realization as Oneness ThelastofthisdiscussionaboutthephilosophyoftheOnefocusesonthe relationshipbetweenpracticeandrealization.Althoughpracticeis necessarytocultivateandrecoverprimordialenergy,itisactually nonpractice,noncultivationarestinginastateofrealizationofOneness, whichistheessenceofGuardingtheOne. ApoemwrittenduringtheTangdynasty(817 CE),byJiaoShaoxuan,thewifeofLu Chui,helpstoexplaintherelationshipbetweenpracticeandrealization: AttainmentoftheprimordialpoweroftheOne IsnotagiftfromHeaven. RealizationofGreatNonbeing Isthestateofhighestimmortality. Lightrestrained,ahiddenbrilliance Thebodyonewithnature: Thereistruepeace,wonbutnotpursued. Spiritkeptforeveratrest. Onestandsforprimordialenergy,thecosmicchaosHundun.Becomingonewithit meanstoenterintotheformlessnessofuniversalcreation.Thisstateisnot naturallygiven.Ithastobeattained,butnotactively.Rather,onemustgo withinwithonesenergiesandnotwasteresourcesontheworldwithout.Peace ofmindwillcomeaboutnaturallywonbutnotpursued. ThatendsthediscussiononthemeaningoftheDaoistphilosophyoftheOne. How to practice Daoist Meditation Inthislastsection,IwilldiscussthehowtoaspectofGuardingtheOne meditation. Firstofall,thereistheunderlyingassumptionthatwearecultivatingthe ThreeTreasuresofjing,qiandshen.Somepeoplemistakenlybelievethatitis alinearprocessofprogressingfromjingtoqi,andthenqitoshen.In actuality,allthreetreasuresaresimultaneouslytransformingandrefining themselves. Further,thesethreetreasuresaresuchsubtleenergies.thatitisimpossible andimpracticaltothinkthatyoucandistinguishonetreasurefromanother.I believeitisbesttoviewthethreetreasuresasawholeandthatthepurpose ofmeditationistoguardtheiressenceandtofostertheircontinued progressiontounitywiththeDao. Next,comestheactualmethodofhowtodothis.Guidelinesforthismethodcan bedatedbacktooneoftheearliestDaoistclassicsoninnercultivation, calledNeijeorInwardTrainingoftheclassicalDaoismperiodaround500B.C.

In chapter 24 of Neiye it states: Expandyourheartmindandreleaseit.Relaxyourqiandallowittoextend. Whenyourbodyiscalmandunmoving,guardtheOneanddiscardmyriad disturbances. Themethodisthusoneofdecreasingdistractionsandoutwardlooking.Thefocus turnsinwardtowardscalmnessandstillness. Procedure for Quiet Sitting or Cultivating Clarity & Stillness. Sitcomfortably,eithercrossleggedonamatorbackstraightinachair. Handsinthemudrastylewe'llcallHuashanmudra. (Description:malelefthand,5fingertipstouching.Rightthumbthroughhole oflefthand,thumb touchingpalmsideofringfingerknuckle.Rightmiddlefinger touchestopofleft ringfingerknuckle. Femalesdotheoppositelefthandontopofrighthand.) Placehandsondantian. Tonguetouchesupperpalettebehindtheteeth. Eyesslightlyopenorclosed. Listen inward to the center of the head to seal the senses. Thebreathisfine,deep,long,rhythmic,throughthenose. Asthemindsettles,thefocusdropstotheLowerDantian. Keepyourmindsimpleandyourintentionconcentrated,remainindeepabsorption andbereceptivetothemysteriousnessandunnamabilityoftheOne. Donotbe discouragedbythehundredthoughts,justkeepreturningyourattention tothe stillnesswithin. Overtime,thedistractingthoughts,sensations,temporary discomforts,etc.will diminishandonewillreachastateofclarityandstillness. Eventually,withpersistence,andthatisthekeyword:persistence,youwillattain innerrealmsthatonlyexperiencewillfullyreveal. Withpractice,youeventuallycometotheexperienceofemptiness. Yourprevious methodofusingthebreathtoanchoryouintheLowerDantiannow yieldsfromaformorientedprocesstoaformlessorientedprocess.Youareguarding theOne withoutform,withoutconcepts,withoutdistinctionsofsubjectandobject. With stillmorepractice,eventuallyyouwillattainthestateofrealizingtheOne. YouhaveenteredtheundifferentiatedunityofPrimordialOrigins.DAO. AndthatisthepracticeofGuardingtheOne.

References: TheTaoistExperiencebyLiviaKohn TaoistMeditationandLongevityTechniquesbyLiviaKohn TheHealingPromiseofQibyRogerJahnke DragonsMouth,issuesSummer,2002;Summer,2001;Spring,2002 TheEmptyVessel,Fall,2002 InwardTraining,LouisKomjathy,2003 [MichaelRinaldini,QigongTeacherand22ndgenerationDaoistpriestofDragon GateLongmentradition(DaoLiChang).]