Daoism Series I [part 1]
道教八根基
The Eight Foundations of Daoism
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The following appendix entry is a write-up from a collection of notes taken over several years at Five Immortals Temple [2] during lectures by the residing abbot Li Shifu. It is by no means comprehensive or all-encompassing, but more intended to provide an overview to deepen the reader’s understanding of the concept of Immortality from a Taoist perspective.
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只修性不修命此是修行第一病，
只修祖性不修丹，
万劫阴神难入圣
Cultivating only innate nature without cultivating life,
This is the first fault of refinement practice,
Cultivating only your ancestral nature without the cultivation of the elixir pill,
for generations the yin spirit will have difficulty to enter sagehood.
-兴德-
-Xing De-
The Eight Foundations of Daoism are also known by the name of the Eight Requirements or the Eight Prerequisites [ba yao qiu八要求] of Daoism:
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法财侣地德慧悟缘。
Methods, Wealth, Companionship, Grounds,
Virtue, Wisdom, Awakening & Destiny.
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The first four, Methods[fa法], Wealth [cai财], Companionship [lü侣] and Grounds [di地], they all have form [you xing有形], considered to be fixed methods, material assistance and human resource help. The latter four, Virtue [de德], Wisdom [hui慧], Awakening [wu悟] and Destiny [yuan缘] are the formless [wu xing无形]. Even lacking one of the Eight Foundations, is insufficient. They are established and erected in everyday life; twenty, thirty, fifty years as your foundation [zhu ji] for the higher purpose. To build a high rise, the deeper the foundation is, the higher the building will be. Without foundation it would be as if building on sand. One hundred days, even one hundred years would not be enough. It cannot be overstressed that this is achieved in everyday society life.
(一)法
(1) Methods
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Methods are numerous, such as breathing-control, standing meditation, guidance of Qi-flow et cetera. Where is your direction without methods? Where is your direction without theories? Only some forms of disabled people, perhaps with autism, and sick people, do not think about anything and reach a blank canvas. Those are truly without desires and without strivings. Yet, they eat when it is time to eat, sleep when told to sleep, but they lack methods or are unable to grasp certain methods. The method progresses from non-natural to natural, it is a process. At last it returns to naturalness once again. Once you have comprehended the methods to reach the summit of cultivation, you still need to fulfil the next prerequisite of the Eight Daoist Foundations.
(二)财
(2) Wealth
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Wealth [cai 财] has two levels to it. One is the form aspect [xing形], while the other is the formless [wu xing无形]- or material and immaterial. Adepts require inner and outer Wealth with adjustment of the Five Phases. Inner wealth is health. When one is free of illness, one possesses a healthy body, Outer Wealth on the other hand denotes having enough to live on. The latter is considered the form part, such as economy; Renminbi [RMB]. One might wonder why one would need money to refine the Elixir and cultivate the Dao. It is a process. Before having entered seclusion, the cultivator would be unable to afford food. If you were to plough the ground and beg around, it would influence the brain and disturbs your stillness. Later on there are other issues at hand. The wealth at this stage is to feed and house your companions and protectors as well.
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Post-Scriptum: This article will appear in the appendix of Purple Cloud Press’ forthcoming publication of 《The 49 Barriers of the Cultivation of the Dao》 by Xing De, a manual for refining Inner Nature based on Liu Yiming’s 50 Barriers
Post-Post-Scriptum: A brief summary can be viewed on the following link:
http://fiveimmortals.com/wudan…/taoist-scriptures/sage-hood/
