[WAG] Guidelines For Practice & Practice Theory

Wed Jan 23 00:22:18 PST 2008

The Hundred Character Tablet by Ancestor Lu says,

Nurturing Energy, forget words and guard it.
Conquer the mind, do nondoing.
In activity and quietude, know the source progenitor.
There is no thing; whom else do you seek?
Real constancy should respond to people;
in responding to people, it is essential not to get confused.
When you don't get confused, your nature is naturally stable;
when your nature is stable, energy naturally returns.
When energy returns, elixir spontaneously crystallizes,
in the pot pairing water and fire.
Yin and Yang arise, alternating over and over again,
everywhere producing the sound of thunder.
White clouds assemble on the summit,
sweet dew bathes the polar mountain.
Having drunk the wine of longevity,
you wander free; who can know you?
You sit and listen to the stringless tune,
you clearly understand the mechanism of creation.
The whole of these twenty verses
is a ladder straight to heaven.

The Secret Discourse on the Mysterious Pass by the Master of the White Jade Moon says, "Have no mind on things and no things in mind."

Calling the Way, a collection by the Master of Eternal Spring, says, "When not a single thought leaves the heart, this is true emptiness."

The Master of the Cloudy Portal said, "At the first stage of meditation, thought becomes still.  At the second stage of meditation, breath becomes still.  At the third stage of meditation, the energy channels become still.  At the forth stage of meditation, there is a total extinction and entry into great concentration."

Wang ChongYang's Collection on Complete Reality says, "There is a way to conquer the mind.  If the mind is always calm and still, dark and silent, not seeing anything, neither inside nor outside, free of all thoughts and mental images, this is the settled mind, which is not to be conquered.  If the mind gets excited at objects, falling all over itself looking for beginnings and ends, this is the confused mind, which ruins the virtues of the Way and undermines essence and life - it should not be indulged.  Whatever you are doing, always strive to conquer perception, feeling, and cognition, realizing these are afflictions.  Putting your nature in order is like tuning a stringed instrument.  If the strings are too tight they will snap, while if they are too loose they will not be responsive.  When taughtness and relaxation are balanced, then the instrument is ready.  It is also like making a sword; too much iron and it will snap, too much tin and it will bend.  When iron and tin are balanced, then the sword is useful.  Tuning and refining your true nature is a matter of embodying these two principles."

The Treatise on Cultivating Life by Liu Hua Yang says, "The subtleties of the Tao lie in original nature and life, and to cultivate original nature and life is to return to the One.  The ancient sages  used symbols when they spoke of returning original nature and life to the One because they did not want to present the teachings in a straightforward way.  Consequently, nowadays it is difficult to find someone who truly understands the meaning of cultivating mind and body."

Zhang Sanfeng's Alchemy Secrets says, "The actual practice of the work cannot follow anything created as a rule, because everything created is temporal.  At first the work is a matter of extinguishing emotionalism and sweeping away miscellaneous thoughts.  This is the first step, building the foundation and refining the self.  Once the human mentality is set aside, the celestial mind comes back.  Once human desires are purified, then the celestial design is always present."

The Secret of the Golden Flower by Ancestor Lu says, "Naturalness is called the Way.  The Way has no name or form; it is just the essence, just the primal spirit."

In the art of practice to follow the Way, when we diverge from the Way, affliction, aberration and calamity can arise.

Generally it is the grasping mind, thoughts, desires, obsession and emotions that cause such disturbance.

Let us call these five the Five Bringers of Calamity.

What is this thing we call 'Calamity'.

It can show signs such as, dizziness, headache, pain behind the eyes, sharp needle like pain in the abdomen, nausea, vomiting, heavy head and disoriented confusion.

We can term these the Eight Calamities.

Generally if we practice in a natural and gentle way, there is no problem and no calamity shall arise.

Calamity can arise when we force things, try and gain progress, practice with strong emotional desire such as anger, force and passion, forcefully use the mind will in an intense manner, over concentrate the mind will, think and mentally analize the practice seeking signs and results, and also practice for an excessive long period of time in a forceful manner.

This is a subtle area, and it is very easy for the false mind to tell you that you are making great progress - while all the time you are in reality using force and aggressive mind will - creating nothing but disaster; and diverging from the Great Way.

Be careful, watchful, and diligent.

To practice properly, we must go slowly, in a very gentle and balanced manner.

Sometimes we move forward, sometimes we stop and rest, sometimes we take a step back.

All the while being natural, not thinking to gain anything; letting the pure heart embody the practice.

Keep in mind the basic teaching of Resting in Purity and Stillness.

This one phrase embodies the whole course - 'Rest in Purity and Stillness.'

Let us not forget the phrase, 'The Great Way of Dao Follows the Way of Nature.'

Be natural. 

Be Pure.

Be Still.

To follow the Dao, we must follow Nature.

During the practice, there are many signs that arise.

Sometimes we feel light, sometimes heavy.

Sometimes there is pain and stiffness.

Sometimes there is nothing at all that arises, and it seems quite ordinary.

Sometimes there is energetic vibration, and internal movement of all sorts.

Sometimes there is great golden and white light that appear, from where we do not know.

Sometimes there is strong thunder and wind like sound, arising from where we do not know.

Sometimes we float away in a golden cloud, loosing all sense of our selves, where we came from, and where we are going, floating up and away.

Sometimes a great pleasure arises, like a wave of golden light, covering us and washing away all things in this world of red dust.

Sometimes we fall down into the pool that has no name, no color, a place of utter emptiness, utter nothingness, for how long we do not know.

Sometimes we find ourselves in a place of purple clouds, not knowing where we are, or how we arrived there; a golden moon presents itself, and baths us in its divine mystic light.

Many things happen if  we can follow practice in a proper manner.

Do not think too much about it all.

Just continue with the practice.

Gain the Pure Heart State.

Rest in Tranquility and Stillness.

Gain Stability; remain in the unchanging state.

Return to the place before your birth and death; viewing your true original face.

Follow the way of nature, and let nature do its own work................

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