Chapter Six. Advanced Training Regimens

Abstract

Self-purification, ethical rectification, seclusion, meditative enclosure, and ascetic commitments formed the foundation of early Quanzhen religious praxis. One method that the early Quanzhen adepts used to guard against nocturnal dissipation, through the appearance of yin-ghosts and the demons of sleep, was to practice during the time conventionally designated for sleeping. Meditation was one of the primary spiritual disciplines embraced and advocated by the early Quanzhen adepts. In terms of early Quanzhen, meditation is a larger category of religious praxis that most often involves referred to variously as seated meditation, quiet sitting, sitting cross-legged, or aligned sitting. Quanzhen transformative techniques expressed and actualized the aspects of the early Quanzhen worldview. In short, there is an interrelationship between views of self and religious praxis. The early Quanzhen adherents also practiced inner observation and internal alchemy. Internal alchemy relies upon viewing self as alchemical crucible.Keywords: Daoist training regimens; internal alchemy; meditation; Quanzhen religious praxis; wugeng training