2/19/2017 LiuYimingWikipedia

LiuYiming
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

LiuYiming(17341821)wasoneofthemainrepresentativesof
TaoistInternalAlchemy,orNeidan.Hewasan11thgeneration LiuYiming
masterofoneofthenorthernbranchesoftheLongmen Portrait
(DragonGate)lineage,andtheauthorofalargenumberof by
worksthatillustratehisviewsonbothTaoismandNeidan. Qing
dynasty
painter
Contents Tang
Lian,
1 Life ca.
2 Works
2.1 MaincommentariestoNeidantexts
2.2 MainworksonNeidan
2.3 Otherworks
3 ViewsonTaoismandInternalAlchemy
3.1 "Precelestial"and"Postcelestial" 1800/1820
3.2 TheHumanBeing
3.3 Neidan(InternalAlchemy) Born 1734
4 Worksquoted Died 1821
5 Externallinks
Religion Taoism
Lineage Longmen

Life
LiuYiming
LiuYimingwasbornin1734inQuwo,Pingyang(in TraditionalChinese
presentdayLinfen,Shanxi).Beforehereachedtheageof20,he
wasseverelyillthreetimes(SunYongle2011:302).After SimplifiedChinese
recovery,hebegantotravel,andin1753or1754hemethisfirst Transcriptions
master,whomhecallstheKanguLaoren(OldManof
StandardMandarin
theKanguValley).In1757,hestayedinBeijing,wherehe
studiedophthalmologyfollowinghisfatherswish.Fiveyears HanyuPinyin LiYmng
later,hemovedtoHenan,whereheliveduntil1765workingas WadeGiles LiuIming
adoctor(SunYongle2011:302).

In1766heresumedtraveling,andaround1768hemettheXianliuzhangren(GreatManWhoRestsin
Immortality),whobecamehismainmaster.TheXianliuzhangren(himselfanearlierdiscipleoftheKangulaoren)
gaveLiuYimingteachingsonNeidan.AsLiuYimingreportsinoneofhisworks,itwasundertheXianliu
zhangrenthatheobtainedthefullawakening(LiuYiming2013:34BaldrianHussein2008:691).

Afterthedeathofhisfatherin1769,LiuYimingwhowastheninhismid30salternatedperiodsoftraveling
(inShaanxi,Gansu,Ningxia,andelsewhere)andofseclusionforadecade.In1779or1780,hevisitedtheQiyun
mountainsinJincheng(presentdayYuzhong,Gansu)andsettledtheretopracticeselfcultivation.From
thattime,thismountainbecamehisstableresidence,eventhoughheoccasionallytraveledelsewhere.Hisabode,
calledZizaiwo(NestofBeingbyOneself),isstillextantinthepresentday(SunYongle2011:304
BaldrianHussein2008:691).

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LiuYimingdevotedthesecondhalfofhislifetoteachingandwriting.Hisbiographiesalsoreportthatheusedhis
financialresourcestorestoretemples,shrines,andotherbuildingstobuyandleasefieldstopoorfarmersandto
provideburialgroundtothosewhocouldnotaffordit.In1816,heprognosticatedanauspiciousplaceforhistomb
ontopoftheQiyunmountains,andhistombcavewasbuiltthere.In1821,onthe6thdayofthe1stlunarmonth,
LiuYimingenteredthecave,pronouncedhisfinalwordstohisdisciples,anddied(SunYongle2011:8).

Works
ThemaincollectionofLiuYiming'sworksisentitledDaoshushi'erzhong(TwelveBooksonthe
DaoPregadio2008:33133).Hisbestknownworksallfoundinthiscollectionconsistofcommentariesto
NeidantextsandofindependentworksonNeidan,includingthefollowing:

MaincommentariestoNeidantexts

Cantongzhizhi(StraightforwardDirectionsontheUnityoftheThree),ontheZhouyicantongqi
(TheSealoftheUnityoftheThree)
Wuzhenzhizhi(StraightforwardDirectionsontheAwakeningtoReality),ontheWuzhenpian
(AwakeningtoReality)trans.Cleary1987
Yinfujingzhu(CommentarytotheScriptureoftheHiddenAgreement),ontheYinfujing
(ScriptureoftheHiddenAgreement)trans.Cleary1991:22038
Jindansibaizijie(ExplicationoftheFourHundredWordsontheGoldenElixir),onthe
Jindansibaizi(FourHundredWordsontheGoldenElixir),withadditionalpoemsbyLiuYimingtrans.
Cleary1986a:348

MainworksonNeidan

Xiangyanpoyi(RemovingDoubtsonSymbolicLanguage)trans.Cleary,1986a:51118
Xiuzhenbiannan(DiscriminationsonDifficultPointsinCultivatingReality)
Xiuzhenhoubian(FurtherDiscriminationsinCultivatingReality)trans.inLiuYiming2013
Wudaolu(AccountsofanAwakeningtotheDao)trans.Cleary1988
Xiyouyuanzhi(TheOriginalPurportoftheJourneytotheWest),containingaNeidan
interpretationoftheMingdynastynovelJourneytotheWest

Otherworks

Inaddition,LiuYimingwrote:

SeveralbooksontheYijing(BookofChanges)oneofthem,theZhouyichanzhen(Uncovering
theTrueintheBookofChanges),istranslatedinCleary1986b
LittleknowncommentariestotheDaodejingandtoBuddhisttexts
Worksonophthalmology,thesubjecthestudiedinhisyouth

ViewsonTaoismandInternalAlchemy
ThissummaryofLiuYiming'sviewsonTaoismandInternalAlchemyismainlybasedontheXiuzhenhoubian
(FurtherDiscriminationsinCultivatingRealityEnglishtrans.inLiuYiming2013).ThemainChineseworkson
LiuYimingareLiuNing2001LiuZhongyu2010andJiaLaisheng2011.

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Althoughthe"unityofthethreeteachings"(Taoism,Buddhism,Confucianism)isnotamajorthemeinhis
teachings,LiuYimingdoesuseBuddhistandNeoConfucianterminology,todifferentextentsaccordingtothe
individualtextshewrote(BaldrianHussein2008:691).ThisisamajoraspectofNeidan(InternalAlchemy)itself,
whosemastersfrequentlydrawconceptsandtermsfromdifferenttraditionsifthisservestoexpresstheirpoint.

"Precelestial"and"Postcelestial"

Thedistinctionbetweentheprecelestial(xiantian)andthepostcelestial(houtian)domains(before
andafterthegenerationofthecosmos,respectively)isessentialinLiuYimingsdiscourseonTaoismandInternal
Alchemy.TheprecelestialdomainharborsOriginalEssence(yuanjing),OriginalBreath(yuanqi),and
OriginalSpirit(yuanshen),whichareallformless.Theiroperationresultsinthegenerationofthe
postcelestialdomain(LiuYiming2013:2325).Inthehumanbeing,OriginalEssencemanifestsitselfmainlyas
semeninmalesandmenstrualbloodinfemalesOriginalBreathmanifestsitselfmainlyastheordinarybreathof
inspirationandexpirationandOriginalSpiritmanifestsitselfmainlyasthethinkingmind(LiuYiming2013:27
seeThreeTreasures).TheprecelestialstateisYang,andthepostcelestialstateisYin.Theshiftfromonetothe
otherstateisseenasinevitablehowever,theprecelestialstateisnoterased,butonlyconcealedwithinthe
postcelestial(LiuYiming2013:50,124,141).

Abovetheprecelestialandpostcelestialdomains,LiuYimingplacesthePrecelestialBreathofTrueUnity(xiantian
zhenyizhiqi).Thisstateisbeyonddefinitionordescription:Itcannotbecomparedtothe
postcelestialbreathofinspirationandexpiration,thethinkingspirit,andtheessenceoftheintercourseanditalso
cannotbeequatedtotheOriginalEssence,theOriginalBreath,andtheOriginalSpirit(LiuYiming2013:32).In
alchemicalterms,accordingtoLiuYiming,thePrecelestialBreathofTrueUnityistheGoldenElixir(id.).The
Elixir,therefore,consistsintheconjunctionoftheprecelestialandthepostcelestial,andgrantsaccesstothehigher
stateofnonduality,orTrueUnity.

TheHumanBeing

TheMysteriousBarrier.TheOneOpeningoftheMysteriousBarrier(xuanguanyiqiao)isthespaceless
centerofthehumanbeing.LiuYimingagreeswithearlierNeidanmastersinsayingthatthiscenterisneitherinthe
bodynorinthemind(LiuYiming2013:1012).TheOneOpeningharborsthePrecelestialBreathofTrueUnity.
Withtheshiftfromtheprecelestialtothepostcelestial,theprecelestialTrueYangbecomesconcealedwithinthe
postcelestialYin,andtherecognitionofthespacelesscenterislost.IntheimagesoftheYijing(BookofChanges),
TrueYangbecomesthesolidline()foundwithinKan,surroundedbytwobrokenYinlines.Thepurposeof
NeidanconsistsinrecoveringtheYangwithinKanandinusingittoreplacetheYinwithinLi.Thisallows
Qian(TrueYang)andKun(TrueYin)tobereconstitutedandthennewlyjoinedtooneanother.

NatureandExistence.Nature(xing)andExistence(ming)arethetwomainpolesofoneslife,andthecore
ofNeidan:TheWayoftheGoldenElixiristheWayofcultivatingNatureandExistence(Xiuzhenbiannan).
Naturereferstoonesauthentic,innerNature,whichisinnatelyperfected.Existencereferstooneslifeasan
individualbeing,includingonesfunctioninexistenceasawhole.AccordingtoLiuYiming,theshiftfromthe
precelestialtothepostcelestialinvolvesthatbothNatureandExistencetakeontwoaspects,whichhecallstrue
andfalse(LiuYiming2013:44).OnestrueNaturecanbehiddenbyonesfalsepersonalityandonestrue
Existence(ortruedestiny)canbeconcealedbyfollowingthecourse(shun)oflife.Thegradualprocessof
Neidanprovidesameansforinvertingthecourse(ni),makingitpossiblefirsttoreturntoonesdestiny,and
thentoseeonesNature.

BodyandMind.InLiuYimingsview,theordinarybodyandmindareillusory(huan).Theirauthentic
counterpartsarethedharmabody(fashen)andthecelestialmind(tianxin).Thecelestialmindis
utterlyemptyandutterlynuminous,silentandunmoving,andpervadesthroughoutbyrespondingtoimpulses
(LiuYiming2013:40).Thedharmabody(atermthatinBuddhismmeanstheawakenedbodyoftheBuddhasee

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Trikaya)hasnoheadandnotail,nofrontandnobackitstandsatthecenteranddoesnotslant(id.).Withthe
shifttothepostcelestialdomain,thedharmabodyisburiedandtheillusorybodytakescharge,thecelestialmind
retiresfromitspositionandthehumanmindtakespower(id.).Neidanmakesitpossibletoattaintheutmostof
quiescence,whichisapropertyofthecelestialmind.Moreover,thepracticeisconcludedwiththebirthofthe
EmbryoofSainthood(shengtai),whichinLiuYimingsviewisequivalenttoonesdharmabody,ortrue
body(LiuYiming2013:62).

Neidan(InternalAlchemy)

"SuperiorVirtue"and"InferiorVirtue".ConcerningNeidan,LiuYimingmakesafundamentaldistinction
betweentwowaysofselfcultivation,respectivelycalledsuperiorvirtue(shangde)andinferiorvirtue
(xiadeLiuYiming2013:11720).Superiorvirtueisthestateinwhichtheprecelestialhasnotbeendamaged
andtheoriginalstateofUnityisunspoiled.Thefewpersonswhohaveaninherentpotentialtopreservethisstate
onlyneedtoprotectitandguardit(LiuYiming2013:117).Thisrequiresreceivingtheinstructionsofamaster,
butthemethod(fa)ultimatelyconsistsinfollowingtheTaoitself:thereisnoneedtodoapractice,andone
operatesbynondoing(wuwei).Ifthisoriginalstateisnotpreserved,theprecelestialisdispersedandthe
postcelestialtakesover.Torecovertheprecelestialstate,onecannotanymoreoperatebynondoingandinstead
mustdo:oneneedsatechnique(shu)throughwhichonecanconjointheTrueYangandTrueYinnowfound
withinthepostcelestialYinandYang,respectively.ThisisthewayofInternalAlchemy,whichisthewayof
inferiorvirtue.However,LiuYimingpointsoutthatwhenthewayofinferiorvirtuehasbeenfulfilled,itleadsto
thesamedestinationassuperiorvirtue(LiuYiming2013:118).

DoingandNonDoing.Inparalleltothedistinctionbetweensuperiorandinferiorvirtue,LiuYimingalso
establishesakeydifferencebetweentwoaspects,orstages,oftheInternalElixir.Thesestagesfocusonthe
cultivationofNatureandExistence,andtheycorrespondtothewaysofsuperiorandinferiorvirtue,respectively.
Thosewhoareabletofollowthewayofsuperiorvirtueperformthetwostagessimultaneously:Insuperiorvirtue,
thereisnoneedtocultivateExistenceandonejustcultivatesNature:whenNatureisfulfilled,thenExistenceis
alsofulfilled(LiuYiming2013:119).Everyoneelseshouldperformthetwostagesinsequence,startingfromthe
loweroneandthenproceedingtothehigherone:Ininferiorvirtue,onemustfirstcultivateExistenceandthen
cultivateNatureafterExistenceisfulfilled,onemustalsofulfillNature(id.).Thewayofsuperiorvirtueattains
bothstagesinstantlybynondoing.Inferiorvirtue,instead,isthegradualway,anditspracticeisperformedfirst
bydoingandthenbynondoing.

TheTwoElixirs.ThestagesmentionedabovecorrespondtotwodifferentElixirs,whichLiuYimingcallsSmall
RevertedElixir(xiaohuandan)andGreatRevertedElixir(dahuandan).TheSmallReverted
Elixirconsistsinreturningfromthepostcelestialtotheprecelestial(LiuYiming2013:61).Thisisthemovement
ofascent,theinversionofthecourseperformedthroughInternalAlchemy.Thepractice,however,iscompleted
onlybycompoundingtheGreatRevertedElixir.Atthisstage,oneperformsthecomplementarymovementof
descent,returningfromNonBeingtoBeing,andfromthesubtletothemanifest(LiuYiming2013:62).Thus
InternalAlchemy,throughitsgradualprocess,enablesonetoascendtotheprecelestial,butitspracticeis
concludedwhenthedescenttothepostcelestialisalsoperformed.Thentheprecelestialandthepostcelestial
becomeone,andoneoperatesbytransforming(hua)thepostcelestialintotheprecelestial.

Worksquoted
BaldrianHussein,Farzeen.2008.LiuYiming.InFabrizioPregadio,ed.,TheEncyclopediaofTaoism,
pp.69091.London:Routledge.
Cleary,Thomas(trans.).1986a.TheInnerTeachingsofTaoism.BostonandLondon:Shambhala.
Cleary,Thomas(trans.).1986b.TheTaoistIChing.BostonandLondon:Shambhala.
Cleary,Thomas(trans.).1987.UnderstandingReality:ATaoistAlchemicalClassic.Honolulu:Universityof
HawaiiPress.
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Cleary,Thomas(trans.).1988.AwakeningtotheTao.BostonandShaftesbury:Shambhala.
Cleary,Thomas(trans.).1991.Vitality,Energy,Spirit:ATaoistSourcebook.BostonandLondon:Shambhala.
JiaLaisheng.2011.Tiejiandaoyi:LiuYimingdazhuan[Carryingthe
meaningoftheTaoononesironshoulders:AbiographyofLiuYiming].Beijing:Zongjiaowenhua
chubanshe.
LiuNing.2001.LiuYimingxiudaosixiangyanjiu[AstudyofLiuYimings
thoughtonCultivatingtheTao].Chengdu:BaShushushe.
LiuYiming().2013.CultivatingtheTao:TaoismandInternalAlchemy(http://www.goldenelixir.co
m/press/trl_04_liu_yiming.html).TheXiuzhenhoubian(ca.1798),translatedwithIntroductionandNotesby
FabrizioPregadio.MountainView,CA:GoldenElixirPress.ISBN9780985547516.
LiuZhongyu.2010.LiuYimingxuean[MaterialsforthestudyofLiuYiming].Jinan:
QiLushushe.
Pregadio,Fabrizio.2008.Daoshushierzhong(TwelveBooksontheDao).InFabrizioPregadio,ed.,The
EncyclopediaofTaoism,pp.33133.London:Routledge.
SunYongle(ed.).2011.LiuYiming:Qiyunbiji[LiuYiming:Miscellaneous
NotesfromMountQiyun].Beijing:Shehuikexuewenxianchubanshe.

Externallinks
LiuYiming(http://en.daoinfo.org/wiki/Liu_Yiming).FromtheFYSKDaoistCultureCentreDatabase.
Xiuzhenhoubian(FurtherDiscriminationsinCultivatingReality),Englishtranslationofchapter4(http://ww
w.goldenelixir.com/jindan/cultivating_the_tao_4.html),chapter6(http://www.goldenelixir.com/jindan/cultiv
ating_the_tao_6.html),chapter16(http://www.goldenelixir.com/jindan/cultivating_the_tao_16.html),and
chapter19(http://www.goldenelixir.com/jindan/cultivating_the_tao_19.html).FromtheGoldenElixir
website.

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