In the literary palace of many myths and stories, we can always catch a glimpse of some gods and goddesses performing breathtaking "out-of-body" techniques. For example, in "Journey to the West", Sun Wukong, an unruly stone monkey, has used this spell many times, which is amazing. I remember that in the contest between Che Chiguo and the three great immortals, when the second senior brother caught a glimpse of Brother Monkey standing still like a sculpture, he knew that Brother Monkey's primordial spirit had already drifted away and traveled in all directions.
Similarly, on the battlefield of "Romance of the Gods", when Yuan Hong and Yang Jian were fighting inextricably, Yuan Hong suddenly cast an out-of-body spell. I saw a smart little monkey flying out of his mud pill palace, and it brandished a huge mallet and smashed it towards Yang Jian. This scene not only shows the magic of the spell, but also highlights Yuan Hong's wisdom and bravery.
So, where did this "out-of-body" spell come from, and why did it have such extraordinary power?
Before we dive into the problem, let's take a look at the concept of "Genshin". In the Taoist Neidan cultivation system, "essence, qi and spirit" are known as the three core elements, among which "god" is the master of human activities, and its rise and fall are directly related to the survival of life. It is worth mentioning that Taoism subdivides "gods" into innate gods and acquired gods.
"Qinghua Secret Text" once recorded: "There are two kinds of gods, one is the primordial god, and the other is the desire god." The primordial god is a little spiritual light born from the congenital, and the desire god is the temperament influenced by the acquired environment. The primordial spirit, as an innate nature, coexists with the nature of temperament after the birth of the body. If we can return to its essence, then the nature of heaven and earth will be revealed. It can be seen that the primordial god is an innate god, born from the innate essence, which is the foundation of life and governs the life activities of the human body.
The dialogue between the Yellow Emperor and Qi Bo in "Lingshu" also reveals the mystery of the Yuan Shen for us: "The Yellow Emperor asked: What is a god? Qi Bo replied: When the blood and qi are harmonious, the camp and health are smooth, the five organs are sound, the spirit and energy are in peace in the heart, and the soul is complete, people can be formed. This tells us that when blood and qi are blended and the five internal organs gradually mature, the primordial spirit will settle in the heart and form a complete individual together with the soul. Taoism believes that everyone has a primordial spirit in their body, but it needs to be "awakened" through the practice of Neidan, the so-called "refining of the gods".
It is mentioned in the "Decree of Life": "Refining the gods, that is, refining the Yuan God, so that the Kanli is blended and returned to the Ganyuan." When the primordial spirit is condensed, the god of thought is naturally stable, and the internal and external cultivation can achieve the immortal path. This means that after the three stages of "refining and refining qi, refining qi and transforming gods, and refining gods and transforming voids", the essence and spirit of the human body can be sublimated, the divinity can be revealed, and the goal of enlightenment can finally be realized.
The concept of "out-of-body" is a temporary departure from the body, which is a state in the process of cultivation.
Tie Guan Li, one of the Eight Immortals, whose real name is Li Xuan, was once a young man in his prime. However, he felt the heat and coldness of the world, so he decided to stay away from the world and go to the depths of Huashan to find inner peace and true meaning. By chance, he met the Taishang Laojun who descended into the mortal world. Lao Jun was attracted by his profound wisdom and pure conduct, and decided to take him as an apprentice.
Under the careful guidance of Taishang Laojun, Li Xuan's cultivation progressed by leaps and bounds, and finally reached the magical realm of "Yuan Shen Out of the Body". One day, he was in retreat in a cave in Dangshan Mountain, and said to the scholar beside him, "I want to follow Master Taishang Laojun on a spiritual tour of Huashan, and if my wandering soul does not return within seven days, you will incinerate my body." With that, he used the technique of the original spirit out of body and floated away.
However, before the seven-day contract expired, the scholar accidentally burned Li Xuan's body due to negligence. Li Xuan's primordial spirit had nowhere to go, and seeing that it was about to dissipate, he had to possess the corpse of a lame beggar by the river. When he woke up, he found that he had become a cripple, and his heart was full of mixed feelings.
Just as he was about to use the out-of-body technique to find a new body again, Taishang Laojun appeared and lit up: "Cultivating the Tao and cultivating the mind, not cultivating the appearance." As long as the merit is complete, it is a true immortal. Li Xuan had no choice but to accept this reality.
In Taoist practice, "out of the body" and "out of the body" are often mentioned. The former refers to the yang god out of the body, and the latter is the yin god out of the body. "Haiqiong Bai Zhenren Quotations" has a cloud: "Reborn, there is a body outside the body, gathering is formed, and scattering is qi, this is the yang god." A clear mind, the soul is not dispersed, like a dream like a shadow, it is similar to a ghost, this yin god also. This kind of out-of-body yin is also a unique way of Taoist practice.
Zhuang Zhou once dreamed that he had become a butterfly, fluttering between heaven and earth, feeling relaxed and comfortable. In that dream, he completely forgot who he was. When he wakes up, he is amazed and confused about who he really is. He pondered, did Zhuang Zhou become a butterfly in a dream, or did a butterfly become Zhuang Zhou in a dream? This raises a question: Is Zhuang Zhou's out-of-body dream a Yuan Shen or a Yin God?