The Huiming Jing: a Translation and Discussion
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THE HUIMING JING: A TRANSLATION AND DISCUSSION by JAMES MICHAEL NICHOLSON B.A., The University of Victoria, 1993 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of Asian Studies) We accept this thesis as conforming to the requ,ired standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISFkCOLUMBIA December 2000 © James Michael Nicholson 2000 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date fyec %. 7X>00 DE-6 (2/88) 11 Abstract This thesis consists primarily of a translation of the Huiming Jing H pp |M, a text written by Liu Huayang #|H|?]i§ in 1794 that incorporates Taoist inner alchemical training with Buddhist language and concepts. In addition to the translation, the thesis discusses Liu's claim that in the text that he reveals the secrets that allowed the Buddhas and patriarchs to achieve enlightenment. For him, to reveal the secrets seems to mean primarily to explain Buddhist and Taoist terminology and concepts in terms of the circulation and interaction of energies within the body. He also emphasizes that this work of energies has clear stages that must be followed in sequence. However, while it is possible to discern broad stages in the work that Liu describes, on close examination, the obscurity and contradictions in the language seriously hinder attempts to decode, translate or render them fully coherent or intelligible. In the end, it is an ever-shifting play between order and disorder that characterizes our text, and can itself ultimately be understood as a tool intended to allow the adept to move beyond the world of words that can never fully reflect reality into a state of enlightenment. Ill Table of Contents Abstract ii Table of Contents iii List of Figures v Dedication vi Acknowledgements vii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 The Text.. 2 Liu Huayang #P#i§ 4 The Wu-Liu School (Wu-Liupai {Sf PM) 5 Study of the Huiming Jing 7 Chapter 2: A Translation of the Huiming Jing 12 Preface 12 Author's Introduction to the Huiming Jing 16 The Huiming Jing of the Uppermost Singular Vehicle 20 Chart of the End of Leakage •. 20 Chart of the Six Phases of the Dharma-Wheel 24 Chart of the Two Meridians: Conception and Governing 27 Chart of the Embryo of the Tao 29 Chart of Sending Forth the Embryo 31 Chart of the Transformation Body 33 Chart of Facing the Wall 34 Chart of Dissolution into Empty Void 35 iv The Huiming Jing 36 Collected Explanations of the Huiming Jing 36 10. Direct Discussion on Cultivating the Correct Tao 51 11. Direct Discussion on Working in the Correct Tao 54 12. Discussion of Meditation and the Inner Workings 58 13. Explanations of Various Categories 62 14. Resolving Doubts 65 Zhang Ziyang's Scripture of the Eight Meridians 76 Nine Levels of Refining the Heart-and-Mind 80 Perfected One Li Hanxu's Sequential Account of the Latter Realm 89 Chapter 3: A Discussion of the Huiming Jing 94 Introduction: Revealing Secrets 94 Revealing the Importance of Qi H, 97 Revealing the Stages of Work 101 Order and Disorder 110 Conclusion 121 Bibliography 123 Appendix I: Tonal Analysis of Poetry 128 V List of Figures Figure 1: Chart of the End of Leakage 20 Figure 2: Chart of the Six Phases of the Dharma-Wheel 24 Figure 3: Chart of the Two Meridians: Conception and Governing 27 Figure 4: Chart of the Embryo of the Tao 29 Figure 5: Chart of Sending Forth the Embryo 31 Figure 6: Chart of the Transformation Body 33 Figure 7: Chart of Facing the Wall 34 Figure 8: Chart of Dissolution into Empty Void 35 vi Dedication memory of Master Moy Lin-shin, teacher of the Tao. Vll Acknowledgements I would like to thank my wife, Masayo, as well as my parents, brother and sisters for their love and support, without which this thesis would not have been possible. I would also like to thank my adviser, Dr. Daniel Overmyer, whose patience and guidance were a great help to me through all the years of my program, and to whom I would like to wish a long and happy retirement. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the kind encouragement I received from my many friends in the Taoist Tai Chi Society. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction The Huiming Jing |§np$f by Liu Huayang ;|p§g|S|§ (1736-?) is a text that can ultimately be considered part of the Taoist tradition of inner alchemy (neidan p^ff) that originated in the Tang and became widespread during the Song dynasties. Broadly speaking, inner alchemy represents a development of earlier Taoist systems of training intended to help practitioners return to a state of harmony with the Tao by gathering, purifying, storing, manipulating and transforming alchemical ingredients which are believed to exist not outside the practitioner, but instead inside his or her own body. Although the ideal of harmony with the Tao has often been understood as the attainment of physical immortality, particularly in earlier Taoism, in inner alchemy the final attainment of the practitioner is generally defined much less clearly. However, it normally includes notions of both physical health and inner clarity and wisdom. As it developed, this tradition incorporated features from many streams of Taoism, including the philosophy of the Daodejing xtftH |1 and the Zhuangzi #±^p, physical practices that have been present since at least the time of Zhuangzi including gymnastics and breathing exercises, the ecstatic visions of the Shangqing Jtlra school and the symbolism of the schools of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases (wuxing Sfj), in particular that of the Yijing Jg|l. It can also integrate both thought and practices from Buddhism, especially Chan jpp Buddhism, as well as Neo- 2 Confucianism. Finally, a noteworthy feature of inner alchemy that is certainly present in the Huiming Jing is its unique use of language and symbolism that is particularly complex and does not lend itself to easy interpretation or understanding. This last characteristic makes texts such as ours worthy of study. Although their potential seems virtually limitless, the study of inner alchemy as a whole, while improving very quickly, is still in its infancy. In Western languages, only a small number of the texts of this tradition have been translated or examined closely, and most of those that have date from its earlier periods. Consequently, there is a need for more translation and discussion of inner alchemical texts in general, particularly those of the Qing ?jf dynasty and later. As a text that was and is still relatively well-known, the Huiming Jing represents its era and is therefore a good candidate for translation and examination. The Text The date on the author's introduction to the Huiming Jing at the beginning of the text states that it was written down in the summer of 1794. Presumably, the text itself was completed shortly before, as there is nothing to suggest that the author's introduction is a later addition. The edition from which this translation was made was originally produced at the Immortal Temple of Nourishing Cloud (yangyun xian guan JtftflllffO in Sichuan and was published in 1897, according to the colophon, by Deng Huiji According to Judith Boltz,1 it was this date when Deng first collected the Huiming Jing together with another text by Liu Huayang entitled The Discourse on the Testimony of the Golden Immortals (Jinxian zheng lun ^{(JjglEgffl), as well as the Authentic Principles of the 1 Judith Boltz, A Survey of Taoist Literature: Tenth to Seventeenth Centuries, China Research Monograph 32 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987), 325. 3 Heavenly Immortals (Tianxian zhengli 5^f[I|IE3D and me Compatible Heritages of Buddhahood and [Taoist] Immortality (Xian fo hezong {[lif^n" TH), both by Wu Shouyang fS^f (Wu Chongxu fSfffim)- The title of the resulting collection is The Immortal Heritage ofWu and Liu (Wu-Liu xianzong fEIMlil^)-2 According to the Daojiao da cidian Mifcv'vlSJI-,3 at least one other edition of our text exists, from the Hall of Realizing Goodness (Shan cheng tang II^^ED in Beijing. Although I have been unable to locate such an edition, I have seen one from the Temple of Heavenly Flowers (Tian hua guan ^a|f|!|t) in Beijing, which contains no important differences from the Sichuan edition I have used here. The text itself contains a number of different sections. It begins with a series of charts, accompanied by poems and some discussion, that broadly introduce the process of cultivation for those who wish to learn Liu's teachings. The body of the text then elaborates on what the charts introduce. Significantly, the body is accompanied by extensive commentary, which was also written by Liu. Finally, the text finishes with a record of various questions that students put to Liu, along with his responses. Although it seems possible that this last section could have been recorded by students rather than being written by Liu, it should be noted that the preface written in 1794 by Sun Tingbi JEIt does mention it as an integral part of the original text.