Some thoughts on the integration of different approaches to medicine and internal cultivation and their overlaps with special attention to the Central Channel, its value for us as modern day practitioners, either in the medical or inner cultivation fields, or both….
The central channel in relation to internal cultivation and medicine has fascinated me over much of my lifetime. Having been exposed to Vajrayana and Neidan from early age onwards, I have practiced and researched on this topic quite a lot.
In Vajrayana (Buddhist tantric tradition) as well as in Hindu Tantra , the Central channel plays a vital role. In Neidan the function of the Middle Channel is more obscured by the emphasis during the initial practices on the Du and Ren Mai. Although some Neidan masters mention it, it’s often not that clearly explained.
For me the importance of the Central Channel in relation to Neidan and East Asian medicine became more apparent when I studied with Chip ( Charles ) Chace who did also quite some research on the importance of the central Channel in Neidan as well as the overlap it has in a medical context with the osteopathic notion of the Midline /Midspace. Being encouraged by Chip to dive deeper in the Chinese notions of the Middle Channel, I became growingly aware of its importance in more advanced stages of Neidan practice, a part which is not much discussed out in the open.
Though especially the Middle School of Neidan puts emphasis on the importance of the central channel in the intermediate stages of practice. While middle school texts like the Xing Ming Gui Zhi and the works of Li Daochun and Huang Yuanji refer to the middle channel in a more opaque way, the Longmen master Min Yide (1758-1836) however, was quite explicit about it. There remains still discussion amongst scholars and practitioners whether some of the ideas of Min Yide might have been influenced by Tantric ideas from neighboring Tibet (see the work of Esposito) .
Modern early 20th century Neidan masters like Chen Yingning were also explicit about the importance of the Middle Channel, there is an extensive discussion in the Shanghai journals of his time in which he corresponded on this topic with his students. Whether the Central Channel, dubbed the Huang Dao by Min Yide, conflates the Chong Mai is another point of dispute. To my opinion and experience the Central Channel definitely intersects and overlaps the Chong Mai , but might be ultimately even more central, though it also might overlap, not only the Chong but also the Du and Ren. From some perspective they can be seen all as part of the same highway which transmits Yuan Qi.
Another discussion in the field is of course how real these subtle bodies are and in how far the different systems conflate or overlap. Of course there has been a lot of imagination in visualizing the body, from the Daoist or Vajrayana internal landscapes of the body. The body could be perceived as being heavily inhabited by dieties, often some notions like hun and po remember us of an older body widlly populated by spirits and gods (see Huang Ting Jing for example), or Buddhas (In Tibetan Buddhism that’s still resounding). At the same time the realization of channels and energy centers, whether chakra’s or elixer fields (Dan Tian) in the different subtle bodies are derived from thousands of years of observations of meditators or physicians.
Whether we talk about the primary or extraordinary vessels first discussed in the Huang Di Neijing and Nan Jing and later medical works and inner cultivation material, Or the Nadis and Chakras in the Indian/Tibetan systems, either for medical or meditation purposes, they turn out to be real networks.
(even if there discrepancies between medical and cultivation perspectives, see for example Janet Gyatso, still we should not dismiss the fact that both can exist next to each other, Li Shizhen encouraged to study the differences between neidan and medicine and try to bridge them , so did some of his Tibetan colleagues like Gaylwa Yangönpa as well in their field). Yes there are folks who think Qi and channels are not real, but many of us as practitioners know, they are all too real. Even if we can’t phantom their real nature, even if our understanding is limited, they turn out to be real pathways of energy, or better said Qi , Blood and Fluids, or the nadi’s maybe phrased as passages for Prana (rlung) and the other humors.
My growing understanding and observation of medicine and internal cultivation in Asia is that all these approaches share many commonalities. We can’t equalize the Indian nadi system and the chakra’s with the Chinese Jing, Luo, Mai and Dan Tian’s, but there is certainly an overlap.
Also it’s interesting how medical systems have borrowed from each other as well.
One example is the way the Luo vessels became to be understood by physicians like Yu Chang and later Ye Tianshi. Yu Chang might developed his ideas about a much more sophisticated understanding of the luo, from Tibet, he might have even seen the images of the Blue Berryl paintings depicted below. (Or was maybe even also inspired by Jesuit medical knowledge from the West. ) Volker Scheid thinks at least that there are clear pointers to that way how the perception of the luo has changed. The Tibetan luo system next to some of its anatomy was definitely way more developed and has most probably influenced innovation in medical thinking in East Asia.
One other example is the concept of fire, though always important n China its function and understanding changed around the Song and clearly Indian and Buddhist thinking along with Neo Confucianism (often in response to Buddhism) and also traditions as Neidan in response, changed the concept of fire in China significantly.
Fascinating detail is that in all systems there is the notion that the body is oriented around this Central Channel, a notion we can also find back in all physiological structures in the body orienting to the Midline/Midspace, the vital axis of life.
Being inspired by Volker Scheid’s view of Meta Practice and the use of different bodies and Dan Bensky’s and Chip Chace’s view on using differnt maps of the body, from Modern Anatomy, to the different maps of East Asian Medicine and even integrating other Asian medical maps and maps of Internal Cultivation it helped me to integrate those and use them to better utility. It’s all the same body, but has different perspectives and a flexible use of these perspectives can help oneself in medical practice as in one’s own internal cultivation.
I have been always interested in the intersection of Medicine and Internal cultivation. And I have only become more aware that both traditions can benefit from each other. In the recent years I have ellaborated on the importance of the concept of the Central Channel/Midpsace in the medical context.
Next to the medical notions of the central channel, it would be interesting to see how important the central channel is in internal cultivation. Min Yide states that for the superior practitioner, the middle channel is the direct way to transcend duality . In Tibetan Buddhist practices there is a little bit similar notion, that by entering the subtle airs into the central channel one transcends dualistic perception.
In the last year I have been reading with friends the Fang Dao Yu Lu, a kind of collection of experiences of practitioners in 20th century Taiwan. Many students in this text have taken inspiration from Chen Yingning’s attempt to modernize and secularize Neidan. The attempt was also to have an open discussion, sharing experiences of practitioners and addressing problems students came across. Question and answer sessions with a lot of practical instructions. Even though some of the “oral instructions “ were not leaked out, it gives modern practitioners clear indications. Such texts can be highly useful for sincere students.
It would be interesting to collect data from modern practitioners of Neidan in this time. One of the reasons is that nowadays, people might have been exposed to other forms of internal cultivation and it would be interesting to see in how far these experiences might have benefited them or created obstacles. Many people who study Neidan nowadays, have had previous experiences in other forms of internal cultivation, be it Vajrayana, other forms of esoteric Buddhism, or even Hindu Tantra or Sufism, all systems that use to a certain degree the subtle body as a vessel for alchemical transformation.
My own experience with practicing Tibetan Buddhism, Chan (Zen) , Neidan (and till a certain degree Sufi forms of meditation), have enriched my own experience. I think it’s worthwhile to make a notice of caution, since in the New Age days, people tend to mix stuff up and only get a very superficial understanding of either tradition. So I won’t recommend everyone to study too much diverse stuff and mixing it all up. At the same time we are products of our time and living in the 21 st century, being exposed to different systems of cultivation is often not completely unavoidable.
We also should not forget that even “traditional “ Neidan or whatever cultivation system has always been influenced by other streams. Neidan has definitely received influences from many directions and is even hardly a pure Daoist practice. There are clear influences from different forms of Buddhism and of course Confucianism. Tibetan Vajrayana is most probably influenced by some Daoist and native Tibetan Bön religion influences in the past. Chan could be seen as highly influenced by Daoism, especially the Zhuangzi. Even Sufi meditation shows clear Buddhist influences, I know some Sufi meditation practices which are almost one on one Buddhist meditation practices (not so strange since many Sufis came from Central Asia).
So it would be interesting to see how modern practitioners might have benefited from borrowing from other traditions. My own experience has been that some experiences of activity along the central channel in my intermediate stage of Neidan practice has benefited from my previous practices around the central channel in my Vajrayana practices.
To have an open discussion between serious practitioners, without being esoteric could be very helpful to genuine practitioners. At the same I realize that the reasons for secrecy in the past in these traditions had also some legitimate reasons (though often abused for holding power and extracting money or whatever from students) . For sure the more advanced practices have some inherent dangers if not practiced correctly without proper guidance.
At the same time , in a world where everything is online available, and many people like New Age “Guru’s” take advantage of these so called esoteric systems, a more open discussion could benefit, if it’s done with the proper safeguards.