『Dongui Bogam-Internal Bodily Elements(동의보감-내경편』 Ⅰ. Body(신형 身形)
Written By Jun Heo(許浚, 1539~1615), Translated by Namil Kim, Wung Seok Cha et al., Published by Ministry of Health & Welfare (Korea)
① It is said in the Doctrine of the Returning Elixir (還丹論): “The heart is the function for the Tao. A person who is able to use the heart in good ways sees the heart with the Tao, so the heart is the Tao itself; the Tao is penetrated with the heart so the Tao is the heart itself. This heart is not a heart of a human, but the heart of the universe. It is this heart that is settled at the northern point of the sky and is the focal point of harmonization. Therefore, when the Big Dipper turns, seasons change, the five phases pass, heat and cold come and go, and yin-yang is settled.”
② It is said in ｢Songs of the Horn and Flute (槖籥歌)｣: “The sun in the sky rolls into the earth; the moon on the sea flies through the sky. Geon and the Gon trigram and the sun and moon are not moving by themselves; they seem to move because the Big Dipper is turning. The world changes when the heart of the human and the heart of the universe unite.”
③ It is said in the annotation of the Classic of the Immortals (仙經): “Seongi (璇璣, beautiful jade bead) is the Big Dipper. It is the center of the sky, and it’s the equivalent to the heart in a human. The action of the heart in a body is like the action of the Big Dipper in the sky.”
④ It is also said, “Heaven refers to the time when yang first moves at the time of Ja (11:00 pm ~ 1:00am) at night. When a person moves himself to correspond to the universe at the time when the qi of the universe moves, the universe and human unite; inside and outside interlock; and eventually, cinnabar forms.
⑤ Shang Yangzi said: “A human has the true and unchanging qi inside his body; first yang returns when this qi is brought down to the cinnabar field. Indication of the yang returning to the body is the warmth felt in the body.”
19. Movement and Diet 搬運服食 반운•복식
① It is said in the Book of Nurturing the Spirit (養性書): “There are specific ways in Tao of training and preserving one’s health. The point is not to harm the essence, qi, or the kidneys. Preserving the essence, qi, and kidneys are the three that Taoism emphasizes. Wake up with the first crow of the rooster, sit with the blanket wrapped around the body, control the breathing, click the teeth together, and eventually gather the spirit together. Do this for a while to stabilize the spirit qi; after this, practice a method of controlling Fire and movement for scores of times. Soon the body would feel clear and the blood vessels would be felt to flow smoothly. When the saliva fills the mouth and spirit qi is full, roll it in the mouth and swallow, and lead it down to the cinnabar field to tonify original yang. When the movement is over, drink the medicine for tonification, rub both hands to warm them, and do guiding-pulling exercises. After the guiding-pulling exercises, comb the hair, brush the teeth, wash the face, and burn incense. Silently recite a spell and stroll the garden for about 100 steps. When the sun has come up to about 3 to 5 gil, eat porridge, and then stroll the garden for about 200~300 steps while rubbing the abdomen. This is the summary of nurturing life, and it is most necessary to know this by heart.”
② The Fetus Breathing Doctrine (胎息論) said: “Diet must be done as the following. At Ja time (1:00am~3:00 am), close the eyes and sit up straight facing east; blow the old qi in the abdomen for 2 to 3 times, hold the breath shortly, and slightly breathe in the clear qi with the nose. There are two acupuncture points under the tongue, both connected to the kidneys. Stick the tongue to the palate and hold the breath for a short period of time, and fluid and humor will be excreted spontaneously. Fill the mouth with this, rinse, and swallow slowly; it will flow into the five viscera spontaneously. This is qi returning to the cinnabar field. It is best to do this during Ja time (1:00 am~3:00 am) and Chuk time (3:00 am~5:00 am). However, when circumstances do not support this, then it is okay to perform this before during in time (5:00 am ~ 7:00am). It can also be performed lying down.”
③ Also: “A person lives long and has a shiny face if one drinks Okcheon (玉泉). (Okcheon is the saliva inside the mouth). One must rinse the inside of the mouth and swallow 9 times a day: with the first crow of the rooster, early morning, sunrise, near midday, noon, afternoon, dawn, sunset, dusk, and midnight.
④ Quxian (臞仙) said: “Kuaijing during the Han dynasty had strong qi and energy even at the age of 120. He is said to swallow his saliva every morning. Click together the upper and lower teeth 14 times. This is what they called the training of vital essence (鍊精). Also, Du Jingsheng and Wang Zhenchang rinsed the insides of their mouths with saliva and swallowed; this is called internal breathing (胎息). (→ Continued in next issue)
