Yellow Court Classic for Internal Alchemy 8 week intensive

What: an eight week intensive look at the Internal Alchemy interpretation of the Yellow Court Classic,

When: 8 – 9 AM Sunday mornings in December and January starting Dec 8,

Where: ZOOM meetings with recording available after classes,

How much: $300 USD,

I was first exposed to the Yellow Court Classic when I met a Daoist lay practitioner in Taizhong named Wu Guobao, he gave me the text and told me to recite it every day and the meaning would spontaneously become clear.

Although my relationship did not go past one meeting with Mr.Wu, I always wondered about the meaning of this strange document which was a mix of Daoist energetic practice, body deities, saliva swallowing and symbolism.

The Yellow Court Classic is commonly attributed to Wei Huacun, the founder of the Shang Qing sect of Daoism, but it is rarely passed down in its original form today.

The major import of the text is that it was the first to clearly establish rules for the Qi physiology of Daoist practice, thus it is viewed as important in many schools of Daoism, including Internal Alchemy.

In this eight week intensive program we will read two Neidan focused annotations of the Yellow Court Classic, one by modern Daoist Sage Chen Yingning and one by 19th century Western Neidan school founder Li Hanxu.

Although the document is traditionally dedicated to visualization and can be used for Yang Sheng and deity invocation, there is an equally compelling Neidan interpretation which helps to profoundly explain the nature of energetic physiology, how Qi is created, the use of the spirit, mind and essence, and most importantly how to properly understand and cultivate the Dantian system of the body.

The Yellow Court Classic is an essential Daoist book, but it is often overlooked by Neidan practitioners who do not know about the annotated versions, so the purpose of this course is to introduce the meaning of the text according to our tradition of meditation so you can better understand the roots of Daoist energetic practice and how to apply these valuable ideas.

In this course you will learn:

• the original nature of the Yellow Court before it was incorporated into Neidan studies and how modernists like Chen Yingning sought to incorporate its ancient meaning in the cultivation of the lower and middle Dantians,
• How the heavenly fetus came about in Daoist practice and how it developed in Neidan (this will help you understand how and when to cultivate the fetus as well as what happens when it becomes mature in practice),
• a meticulous explanation of the nature of the Hun spirit according to Neidan's greatest modern scholar Chen Yingning,
• the nature of Yuan Qi in the three Dantian, sun moon breathing, and irrigating the numinous stem,
• the Yang Gate and its significance,
• the role of the mouth in Neidan practice,
• the role of lightening and thunder sound in Neidan,
• the piped bellows, numinous platform,
• the significance of purple and yellow in Neidan,
• The central lake/Tan Zhong,
• the nose and eyes in practice,
• how the mud ball controls all spirits, how this idea was not emphasized in most Neidan schools and how it came back into popularity in later generations of the Southern school, Chen Yingning's writings, and other areas (ancient Daoist Qigong knowledge),
• The spirits of the five organs, their names and natures according to Neidan thought,
• how all of these things are applied in Internal Alchemy practice and so much more!!

This is an extremely rare opportunity to study a currently relevant interpretation of a largely out of commission text. Even though it would be very difficult to truly study Shang Qing Daoism today, Neidan is a living and popular school that also uses the Yellow Court Classic, but due to its obscurity it must be interpreted by a knowledgeable teacher or through annotation.

We are lucky to be able to read two of the most popular and valuable annotations of the text and I'm really looking forward to this one.

Neidan texts tend to focus on process rather than things like anatomy or explaining the nature of the wills, or when they do it tends to be in an unclear way intentionally designed to be passed down from teacher to disciple, but as a result of our access to the excellent writings of Chen Yingning and Li Hanxu we can use the Yellow Court classic to understand subtle and difficult ideas that go back to the very beginning of Daoist practice.

We will also be looking at Daoist Qigong interpretations of the text in order to have a better understanding of its background and ways it can be practiced.

Are you interested in studying the Yellow Court Classic this December and January?

Click “I want this” and sign up today!