Shengtai

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Shengtai ( Chinese  聖 胎  /  圣 胎 , Pinyin shèngtāi ) literally means sacred embryo and in Chinese Daoism denotes the actual goal of inner alchemy ( Neidan ), the formation of a pure body within the physical body through continued meditation and sublimation techniques . The body of the adept is compared with the cauldron of the external alchemists ( Waidan ). In it the three world substances or life forces Jing ( 精 , jīng  - "essence, body"), Qi ( 氣  /  气 , jīng  - "life energy, soul") and Shen ( 神 , shén  - "spirit"), which are the chemical Substances of the Waidan correspond, continually produced, captured, circulated and returned until the spirit (Shen) has condensed into the sacred embryo . This embryo must then be constantly nourished and nurtured. Eventually it expands and forms a unit with the practitioner's body. The extensively described meditation exercises are in many ways similar to those of Indian alchemy.

The resulting new human or sacred embryo is also referred to by the Daoists as the “golden blossom”, as a grain of grain, as a pearl and finally as a pearl child. The sacred embryo is considered to be the "immortal soul" that survives the physical death of the adept and will leave the mortal shell as a pure body. The practitioner is then ready for Hsien ( 仙 , Xian , hsien ), has become the immortals.

The gold man (Chrysanthropus) of Zosimus of Alexandria and the other "little people" ( Homunculus ) in the retorts of the occidental alchemists represent a secondary correspondence . The appearance of the homunculus was often not understood as a goal, but only as a by-product (Parergon) of the laboratory work. Because those who were not looking for the "philosophical", but only the vulgar gold, like the Chinese followers of Waidan, were not primarily looking for enlightenment and spiritual-personal perfection, but for the production of a concrete medicine ( elixir ) that would provide profit and benefit. , Substance of change ( philosopher's stone ) or drug of immortality (Changsheng Busiyao, 長生 不死 藥  /  长生 不死 药 , chángshēng bùsǐyào  - "elixir of life").

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Fischer-Schreiber, Erhard u. a .: Lexicon of Eastern Wisdom , Barth Verlag, 1994.
  2. ↑ Rasayana, ("Way or Vehicle of Mercury") as an alchemical branch in Hatha Yoga and Tantrism . See: Mircea Eliade: Yoga. Immortality and Freedom , 1985, Suhrkamp. Same: Blacksmiths and Alchemists , 1992, Herder.
  3. ↑ Mokusen Miyuki: The experience of the golden blossom , Bern 1984
  4. ↑ CG Jung: Collected Works. Volume 13, 1978: Studies on Alchemical Concepts. In it: Commentary on The Secret of the Golden Blossom from 1929/1965.