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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR
INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS
BY
STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
(The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga)
Introduction
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374 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
meditation from the Song period onward, typically entails the creation
(or more properly speaking, recovery) of an inner immortal Spirit'
that can travel at will outside the body before and after physical
death. This Spirit is referred to by various terms, such as "Golden
Elixir" (jindaniB), "Single Numinous Real Nature" (yilingzhenxing
or "Radiant Spirit" (yangshenWF$); the last of these terms
alludes to the notion that the Spirit, through the internal alchemical
process, has attained full maturity and power, and is pureyang in its
constitution.2
The internal alchemical process involves both body and mind.
Through a combination of prescribed postures and movements,
breathing methods, saliva-swallowing, mental concentration and
visualization, all of which is grounded on a lifestyle of purity and
self-discipline, the adept replenishes, circulates, combines and refines
his/her basic "ingredients" namely, essence (jing g), energy (qi i)
and spirit (shen14).At the rudimentary stages, where the procedures
tend to be more complicated, the adept aims to achieve perfect
health for the body, after which he/she will move on to advanced
procedures, typically less complicated but quite arduous, designed
to "conceive" the inner Spirit (or "baby") and bring it to maturity.
In the late stages the Spirit is transferred from the abdomen (the
"womb") into the head, and from this point the adept can begin
to send the Spirit out from the head on journeys outside the body.
Initially the Spirit can only travel a few "steps" out of the body,
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 375
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376 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
6 Beginning probably in
the 1oth or 11 th century there emerged a lore concerning
two immortals named Zhongli Quan i1M and Lu Yan go, along with a corpus of
neidanteachings purportedly taught and practiced by them. The history of the move-
ment that propagated this lore and teachings (e.g., when it originated and who partici-
pated in it) is still very murky. Three of the principal texts of this "Zhong-Lui neidan
tradition" are Zhong-Liichuandaoji f (In Xiuzhen shishu XA+
, [DZ263/
TT 122-13 1], juan 14-16), BichuanZhengyangzhenrenlingbaobzfa,and Xishan qunxianhui-
zhenji.
7 Lu Yan (sobriquet, Chunyang ,$t; style name, Dongbin iW-j)is probably the
most revered Taoist immortal from the Song period onward. While his historicity is
uncertain, hagiographical records indicate that he was born at the end of the eighth
century. Various internal alchemical writings are supposed to have come through his
hands, and hagiographies are full of his miraculous feats. He is also an important
deity among popular spirit-writing cults. The already-mentioned Chunyangdjun shen-
hua miaotongji(DZ305/TT159), an early 14th century text compiled by a Quanzhen
monk named Miao Shanshi Pq , records in detail his conversion and tutelage un-
der Zhongli Quan, and presents over a hundred stories of his subsequent miracles and
exploits. Accounts of his life are also given in Zhao Daoyi, Lishi zhenxiantidaotong/ian,
in the Jinlian zhengzongji MIF'd (DZ 173/TT75-76), and in the Jinlian zhengzong
xianyuanxiangzhuan IEv{[//fM (DZ 174/TT76). Also see Isabelle Ang, "Le culte
de Lu Dongbin sous les Song du sud", Journal Asiatique,no. 285.2 (1997), pp. 473-
507; Farzeen Baldrian-Hussein, "Lii Tung-pin in Northern Sung Literature", Cahiers
d'Extriime-Asie,no. 5 (1989/1990), pp. 133-169; and Paul Katz, Imagesof the Immortal:
The Cultof Lii Dongbinat thePalaceof Eternaljoy (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press,
1999), pp. 52-93.
8 Zhongli Quan (sobriquet, Zhengyang REX; style name, Yunfang is said to
g)
have been the teacher of Lu Yan. Although he almost certainly is a fictional character,
he is said to have been a government official and military general during the end of
the Han Dynasty and the beginning of the Western Jin Dynasty (i.e., third century
A.D.). Accounts of his life are found in the Lishi zhenxiantidaotong/ian,Jinlian zhengzong
ji- and Jfinlianzhengzongxianyuanxiangzhuan.
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 377
withered trees and their minds like dead ashes. Their spirit-consciousness
guards the inside, single-mindedly without scattering. While in their meditative
absorption they send out their yin Spirit. This is but a pure and numinous
ghost; it is not a pure yang immortal. Due to their single-mindedness the yin
Spirit does not scatter. This is why it is called a 'ghost immortal'. Even though
it is called an immortal, it is in fact a ghost. Buddhists of past and present
do their exercises and arrive at this result, and thereby say that they have
attained the Tao. This is truly laughable."9
From times of old until now few have practiced this method (the liberation
of the Spirit) and succeeded. This is because their merit is insufficient and yet,
desiring speed in their practice they immediately carry out this method. Or,
furthermore, without verifications of merit and efficacy (gongy~an) they assign
themselves solely to quiet sitting, desiring to seek transcendence and liberation.
Or, furthermore, without scattering theyin Spirit (yinling),they send it out and
become Ghost Immortals. People cannot see their form. They come and go
with no place to go home to in the end. They are merely able to enter into a
womb or take a dwelling, thus seizing the bodily shells of people and getting
to become Human Immortals (renxian).Or, inept and inexperienced at exiting
and entering [their bodies], they come and go without a [proper] method.
They leave and come, but have no way of re-entering their original body, and
the Spirit (shenhun)does not know where it is. This is the seated transformation
(zuohua)of Buddhists and the corpse liberation (sh4/ie)of Taoists. 10
We are thus told that there are unseasoned, impatient and mis-
guided practitioners (both Buddhist and Taoist) who attempt to
liberate the Spirit without having followed appropriate internal
alchemical procedures and without an adequate degree of prior
mystical experience. The Spirit that they send out is nothing better
than ayin Spirit (yinlingKA-,yinshen or Ghost Immortal, which
lacks many of the powers of the Radiant Spirit, such as the ability to
become visible and assume other corporeal properties. Although it is
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378 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
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380 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 381
This method is a lesser art. You can use it to benefit yourself so that you can
live for a long time amidst the world. At your own will you can constantly
emerge and disappear. One, you can enter a womb. Two, you can change
your dwelling. Three, you stay in the old [dwelling/body]. Four, you can seize
the rank [of another adept?].20
19 Zhenlonghujiuxianjing,
6a-b.
20 6b-7a.
Zhenlonghujiuxianjing,
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382 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
killer demons, or what results from it.) They are "lesser arts", perhaps
because they do not in themselves constitute the attainment of the
ultimate goal, which for this early internal alchemical text seems to
be heavenly ascension of both the Spirit and the transformed physical
body. However, as will be apparent later in our discussion, they can
be utilized in the lengthy process leading ultimately to the highest
goal. These psychic techniques can also be utilized for the benefit
of other people by performing helpful miracles of the sort extolled
in Taoist hagiography.
However, the text also notes that the psychic techniques can be
used in ways that are selfish to the point of being evil. What it seems
to suggest is that less scrupulous adepts will usurp the bodies of people
who are still living, thus displacing their spirit(s) from their rightful
"dwelling", and exploiting the resources of essence and energy that
the previous "inhabitant" perhaps an adept in his/her own right-
had been carefully replenishing and refining. (This may be what is
meant by "seize the rank"; i.e., usurping the place in the ranks of
the immortals that rightfully belongs to the other person.) The text
warns, albeit in vague terms, that such unscrupulous adepts will
suffer just and stern consequences (they will "fall"). One of the two
commentaries to the text the one ascribed to Luo Gongyuan2'
elaborates slightly as follows:
This is [what is known as] a Spirit Immortal (shenxian).
His/her body hides
amidst the mundane world, but his/her spirit and energy are both wondrous.
They exit and enter and are discernible and bright. This is called a Spirit
Immortal, and is also called an Energy Immortal (qixian).He/she can come
and go at will. However, if he/she violates the precepts of the immortals22
in going about the process, he/she will be punished.23
21 The other is ascribed to Ye Fashan. The two commentaries shall here on be re-
ferred to as the "Luo commentary" and "Ye commentary".
22 The best study to date on moral precepts in Taoist history is Livia Kohn, Cosmos
and Community:The Ethical Dimensionof Daoism (Cambridge, MA: Three Pines Press,
2004). Numerous sets of moral precepts were being transmitted, recited and put to
practice among Taoists during the period considered in the present case. The text
here is implying that the psychic powers of internal alchemists can be abused in ways
that violate the precepts, and seems to be specifically denouncing the act of "changing
the dwelling" to "seize the rank"-an act that violates precepts against stealing and
killing.
23 Zhenlonghujiuxianjing,6b.
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 383
Entering a Womb
One can speculate here that this passage is describing visions that
the adept is likely to encounter while in the process of dying and
becoming reborn: it is deemed crucial for the adept to know and
discern what the visions are or represent; his/her ability to do so
24 The zhang is a variety of deer that is small in stature, has no antlers, and has
small fangs.
25 Daoshu, 27/llb-12a.
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384 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
will somehow determine the species of living being that he/she will
be reborn as. Such speculation readily occurs to whoever has some
familiarity with Tantric Buddhist theories and practices concerning
the bardo-an intermediate state between death and reincarnation
that is filled with visions-as described in such texts as the Tibetan
Book of theDead, which has come to be so well-known to Europeans
and North Americans.26
Although the TibetanBookoftheDeaditself probably dates to no earlier
than the 14th century, some of the essential concepts underlying it are
already present in Indian Buddhist texts that had been translated into
Chinese by Tang times. Vasubhandu's Abhidharnakosa(4th c.)27 argues
for the existence of an intermediate state between death and rebirth
called the antardbhava,in which the deceased exists as a type of spirit
called a gandharvacomposed of subtle aspects of the five aggregates
(skandhas),whose organs are complete and who already bears the
form of the being that it is going to be incarnated as. The gandharva,
by virtue of its past actions, possesses a "divine eye" by which it sees
its future parents having sexual intercourse. If the gandharvais male it
will feel sexual desire for its future mother and will be born male
and vice versa if it is female.28 A similar exposition is found in an
even earlier text, the Mahavibhasa(2nd c.), which was first translated
into Chinese in 383.29 Substantial descriptions of the intermediate
state are also found in such sutras as the Garbdvakrdntinirdesa-siitra30
and the Saddharmasmrtyupastdna-si7tra31 (both texts were translated
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 385
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386 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
existence and the visions therein not to mention the very notions
of karma and samsara35 are clearly of Indo-Buddhist origin, the
psychic techniques for manipulating its outcome may have been
developed simultaneously within the Buddhist and Taoist camps,
which existed in ready proximity. If one is to speak of connections
rather than mere parallels, one should consider the possibility that
Taoism influenced Buddhism (by proposing tactics to manipulate
the outcome of the intermediate state) as well as vice versa. Also, a
certain degree of initiative and autonomy can be glimpsed on the
Taoist side in that the specific contents of the visions are different
from those in the Buddhist descriptions. Most notably, perhaps,
Wang Yuanzheng's description lacks the "Oedipal" vision at the
culmination of the intermediate state an essential component of
Buddhist expositions from Vasubhandu right down to the Tibetan
texts.
What the adept is to do once he/she has these visions and is
properly discerning them is not at all specified by Wang Yuanzheng.
If one were to further speculate, in part based on what we know about
the bardotheories, it was probably deemed important to avoid that
the dying adept become startled or agitated, or attracted or drawn
to the wrong type of vision. Perhaps the understanding was that the
adept will be reborn as a dragon if he/she gets drawn into a large
house or high building, or that he/she will be reborn as a camel or
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 387
mule if he/she is drawn into a thatched shack, and so on. Since the
adept will presumably want to be reborn as a human being, so that
he/she can resume the internal alchemical practice,36 one would
guess that he/she is somehow supposed to try mentally to go toward
"those falling into wells" and "those falling from mountains", or
perhaps envision him/herself falling off a mountain or into a well
(very peculiar though this might seem).
Fortunately, there exists in the Taoist Canon a text that gives a
fuller exposition on death visions and how to bring about a desirable
rebirth. This is the LingbaoguikongjueflR2=R, compiled by Zhao
Yizhen S (d. 1382).37 This text is of much later date than the
Taibai huandanpian or Zhenlonghujiuxian jing-interestingly, it dates
to roughly the same period when the TibetanBook of the Dead was
"rediscovered" or authored by the Ter-tonKar-ma Ling-pa.38 Zhao
Yizhen states in his postface that his work was in part based on
an older text which had been in circulation for some time and
was purported to be the work of the semi-legendary first Chan Pa-
triarch, Bodhidharma (fl. ca. 500). (Zhao Yizhen himself expresses
strong skepticism regarding Bodhidharma's putative authorship,
however.) Although in many ways the descriptions in the Lingbao
guikongjueare very different from those in the Taibai huandanpian
Buddhist terminology is much more abundant, and the details of
the visions do not match-they do say a little more about what the
adept actually does, and so may help us speculate as to what was
intended in the Taibai huandanpian. The Lingbaoguikongjuedescribes
the practice as follows:
Examine [yourself]while burning incense in the quiet of the night.
If there are two or three signs of returning to emptiness,
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388 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
39 Lingbaoguikongjue,3b.
40 Lingbaoguikongjue,4a.
41 Lingbaoguikongjue,5a.
42 Lingbaoguikongjue,5b.
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390 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 391
these are the wombs of devasand humans. If you encounter your father, mother
and other family members and relatives, these have issued from the heavens
of six desires, and will cause you to become a deity of the kind enshrined at
village temples. If you encounter instruction from a divine person in golden
armor, this is a meat-eating god of great blessings among humans and devas.
All such sights of deities and humans are external demons drawn to you by
your own spirit-consciousness. Thus these are not of the proper Way. Do not
carelessly dispose of them, but in coming and going do not fear or dislike, or
take, or cherish them. If you transgress in a single thought, you will thereby
fall into the womb of another.
At the moment the energy is cut ofT, you may feel the sensation of being
split apart with an ax; do not be scared. As it becomes dark do not flee or
hide; it is essential to hold firmly to the mind-seal without wavering. After a
while, you will become stable.47
aE2fAR
ai,#\WEkkiSE
emR4, SkR;-flJ PR MfiA @SA R 1~
M i mAASA 7'P
1), L9S
In its gist (though not in its specific details), the third paragraph
of the above passage is more or less the same as what is described
in Taibai huandanpian. However, in the paragraphs preceding and
following it we are told of how the various parts of one's own body
turn into demons and invite other demons from the outside to come
and entice the adept. Some of these external demons are so devious
as to assume the form of sacred, virtuous beings. The adept is again
told to remain calm and focus on the "mind-seal". He/she is also told
to maintain equanimity at the actual instant of death-the moment
the energy is cut off, in other words when the vital energy departs
the body for good-when he/she is likely to feel as though the head
is being split open with an ax.
The lingering question is whether or not, and to what degree, one
can rely on information in the Lingbao guikongjue to fill in the gaps in
the Taibai huandanpian. During the roughly six hundred years that
elapsed between the two texts there must have been a great deal of
47 Lingbaoguikongjue,4a-5a.
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392 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
48 Although there are several other possible ways to translate the termji td ("ten
days", "twelve days", "one period"), the context here would tend to suggest that "one
century" may be what is intended.
`
Zhen longhujiuxianjing,14a.
50 For example, the Luo commentary states as follows: "When the Holy Body is
completed, night after night from the Sea of Essence it mounts a purple cloud and
rises to the Golden Hall andJade Palace. After thoroughly observing and taking notice
of [the body] from head to foot, it thrusts through the gate of the head, riding on the
purple cloud. When your holding of breath comes to its limit, it descends back down
to the Golden Hall andJade Palace." (Zhenlonghujiuxianjing,1Ob.)
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 393
Thus, the adept sends the Spirit out through the head and back
forty-nine (seven times seven) times per night for ten months, until
the Spiritgrows to be the same size as the physical body. This in fact
has a great transformativeeffect on the physical body. Once every
nook of it is filled with a Holy Body that equals its size, the adept
becomes an "EarthlyImmortal";in other words, he/she has attained
physicalimmortality.Most interestingly,the Ye commentaryremarks
here, "the EarthlyImmortal(dixian)is superiorto the SpiritImmortal
(shenxian)".52 Thus, in the view of some-or most?-of the very
early internal alchemists, though commendable, immortalityof the
Spirit alone without the flesh is not the highest goal; it is preferable
to live eternally in the flesh on earth, and best of all to ascend fully
in body and spiritto the heavens. Such was perhaps also the attitude
of Wang Yuanzheng, the author of the Taibaihuandan pian,judging
from his exposition on "expellingthe killer demons" examined later
on in this essay.
What does it mean to say that "entering a womb" constitutes
"completion by accordance" (shuncheng) and is not a "recalcitrant
transformation"(nihua)?The two commentaries explain as follows:
"Not recalcitrant transformation"means that one does not burn the body
and does not subdue the Three Corpses and Nine Worms. There is another
l Ob.
51 Zhenlonghujiuxianjing,
52 1l a.
Zhenlonghujiuxianjing,
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394 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
method in which you refine the form by burning the body. The transforma-
tive fire [arises] from below and reaches the head. Visualize it as a red flame
that spreads throughout the entire body. Visualize the Three Corpses (sanshi),
Nine Worms (jiuchong) and Seven Po Souls all exiting the body. Thereby you
accomplish recalcitrant transformation. In the present method (of entering
a womb multiple, successive times) you attain the Tao together; the Three
Corpses, Nine Worms and Seven Po Souls all ascend to heaven together with
you. (Luo commentary)53
"Accordance"means that when the great limit arrives, you do not fight with
them. However, if you repel with transformativefire, or utilize the stabilization
of breath amidst samadhi,the demons and spirits will naturally be subdued.
Some use the Fire of Samadhi Concentration, which is called the Ground
of Flaming Wisdom. Some change the dwelling in order to avoid this (death
and the killer demons). Therefore this is called completion by accordance
and involves no recalcitranttransformationwhatsoever.All practitionersmust
earnestly keep their hearts firm. (Ye commentary)54
nW A ET-W$f kriE< eWQ A toffiS-W Rff
5Z4en longkujiuxianjing,14a-b.
54
Zhen longhujiuxianjing,14b.
5 The Three Corpses-also knownas the Three Worms-are evil spiritsthatwere
believed to dwell in the three elixir fields (dantian
fJSiE)located in the head, chest and
lower abdomen. A detailedstudyon the developmentof this concept can be found in
Kubo Noritada,Koshinshinkonokenkyiu (Tokyo:Nihon GakujutsuShinkokai,1961).
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 395
56 'Also, if you have the great affliction, which is that of non-permanence (death),
you can use the fire to repel the killer demons. The method is described in my com-
mentary later on below" (Zhenlonghujiuxianjing,3b).
57 Daoshu, 27/12a.
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396 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
because the adept can thus have greater knowledge of the life that
the deceased had lived, and thus also the consequent condition of
the new "dwelling".
The reason why the deceased should not have been "ill from wind
and coldness" during his/her life could be that it was thought that
pathological conditions might be lingering in the body after death,
and that the adept might "inherit" them when he/she enters it.
The deceased should also preferably be young and virginal. This is
because the "essence" becomes depleted with age and with sexual
activity. As for the recommendation that the deceased ought to be
a male child, the most likely explanation is that the author is male
and tends to make his statements with fellow male adepts in mind.
If he had had female adepts in mind, would he have said that they
should transfer into the body of a deceased young woman? This
is hard to say. As has been discussed by Catherine Despeux and
Livia Kohn, the female body was considered to be in some ways
disadvantageous, yet in other ways advantageous for the practice of
internal alchemy.58
Unfortunately, further discussions of "changing your dwelling"
have so far proven hard to come by in internal alchemical literature.
Again, as we have seen, the Zhen longhujiuxianjingwarns that adepts
who take over the bodies of living people will be punished. The
Taibai huandanpian seems to refuse to mention that such a practice
existed. However, I have found one Taoist text that speaks quite non-
judgmentally of what appears to be a somewhat similar phenomenon.
This text is a self-cultivation manual of uncertain date (possibly late
Tang or early Song) entitled Taixuanbaodian ZWit.59 It states
as follows:
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 397
When the refining of energy is complete, and the spirit is stable without
disorder, [adepts] can jump up through the Gate of Heaven and send out
the Spirit. Thus they can penetrate. Some take their lodging in icons. Some
lodge in the bodies of people. Human bodies that get lodged in are those of
people whose spirits are disorderly and whose energy is declining. If they meet
frequently [with such a Spirit?] they will fall down. Some [Spirits of adepts]
mingle and respond to people while they are drunk.60
60 Taixuanbaodian,2/9b- 1Oa.
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398 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
feet and the orifices of renand gui.61Make your teeth your city walls. With
your heart make fire, and with it burn your body. When you see the demons,
do not be scared. The heart is the emperor. Store the three in the nose. The
feet are the Three Tai [stars]. With it illuminate the ten thousand ministers.
The god(s) of the liver command(s) 36,000 deities of refined radiance, and
defend(s) the left side. The god(s) of the lungs command(s) 12,000 shadowy
deities and defend(s)the right side. The god(s) of the spleen command(s)the
84,000 deities of the hairs and pores and defend(s)the front side. The god(s)
of the kidneys command(s)the 50,000 refined efflorescentprimal energy dei-
ties and defend(s)the back. The god(s) of the head and the god(s) of the neck
command the deities of the hair and defend the upper palace. The god(s) of
the gall bladder defend(s) the lower section. The six bowels are the six ding.
When you engage the demons in battle, the demons will retreat. Three to
five days later they may come back again. Then you can abandon the city
and directly ascend to the Heavenly Officials [to join their ranks]. Or, you
can become a Heroic Immortal (liexian).Or, you can become an Earthly
Immortal (dixian).62
f4lX8E~~~6
tEXkAf~ L
1S P W; tP E MMXtoL' GiW
1p;FFin
61
"The orifices of renand gui" probably refers to the lower bodily orifices, particu-
larly the genitals. Ren and gui are the ninth and tenth "stems" in the traditional method
of denoting days and months by combinations of "stem" and "branch" symbols. In
traditional correlative cosmology, renand gui both correspond to the agent of water,
the direction of north. Within the human body, the kidneys and the lower end of the
abdomen were thought to correspond to this agent and direction. Also, the kidneys
were regarded largely as a sexual organ that manufactures semen. The testicles are
known as the "outer kidneys," as opposed to the "inner kidneys".
62 Daoshu, 27/12a-13a.
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 399
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400 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
tion of one's own qi. The Zhen longhujiuxianjing(Luo commentary) further provides a
ranked list of nine types of Immortal Knights who employ a flying sword with varying
degrees of power and skill. The most likely explanation is that this internally forged
flying sword was supposed to be wielded by the adept's Spirit, which could be sent
out of the body during trance to combat evil forces in remote locations. Essentially,
it seems to have been a technique of therapeutic magic by which some early internal
alchemists claimed to be able to slay the demons that caused disease. However, in
mainstream internal alchemical discourse the "sword" came to be reinterpreted as a
metaphor for the adept's inner wisdom and fortitude, capable of slaying and cutting
off ignorance and temptations. I have discussed this issue of the internal alchemist's
sword in more detail in a conference paper, "Do Immortals Kill? The Controversy
Surrounding Lu Dongbin", presented at the American Academy of Religion Annual
Meeting, Philadelphia, 2005 (currently under revision for future publication).
64 DZ1097/TT743. As the title is listed in Zheng Qiao's Tongzhi,it probably dates
to the Northern Song. See RenJiyu, Daozang tyao, p. 840.
65 Dongyuanzineidanjue,preface 3b.
66
Dongyuanzineidanjue,2/6a.
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 401
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402 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
Wandering spirits [will come] from 1000 li away, traversing mountain passes
[or Make your Spirit travel 1000 li, traversing mountain passes].
Wait for them to leave and [or: After those accompanying you have left,]
then come to see (?).
After the wandering spirits have left [or When you send your Spirit traveling],
there is a divine chant [for you to chant].
The chant is transmitted from an immortal master with a golden mouth (?).1
often denotes the color black, which corresponds to the kidneys. Besides, in two dif-
ferent places (1/6a, 1/9b) the Dongyuanzi neidanjue appears to use the term xuangong
t to denote the kidneys.
71 Dongyuanzineidanjue,2/6b.
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 403
Conclusion
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404 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 405
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406 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 407
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408 STEPHEN ESKILDSEN
and affirm the provisional benefits that could come from it. This
is Chen Zhixu P*RT (b. 1290),76 who says in his commentary to
the Wuzhenpian:
"Enteringa womb and seizing a dwelling" refers to a case such as when the
Fifth [Chan Buddhist] Patriarch [Hongren XL?] entered the womb of the
Zhou family. Thus he could hope to resume his cultivation in another life.
Because he had [the Fourth Chan BuddhistPatriarch]Daoxin [to guide him],
he was able not to get confused. Once one loses one's human body, one must
transmigrate for 10,000 kalpas.77
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EMERGENCY DEATH MEDITATIONS FOR INTERNAL ALCHEMISTS 409
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