Neidan

Neidan is a Daoist discipline of inner cultivation that uses alchemical symbolism to describe transforming the body, vital energies, and spirit toward spiritual realization.

Jing-Qi-Shen: A Daoist model of three vital constituents: essence, qi, and spirit. Neidan describes cultivation as refining these constituents in sequence.
Daoism: A Chinese religious and philosophical tradition centered on living in accord with the Dao. Neidan developed within Daoist thought and religious practice.
Ge Hong: A fourth-century Chinese scholar and Daoist author known for the work Baopuzi. His writings preserve influential early discussions of Daoist longevity and alchemical practice.
Waidan: External alchemy that seeks transformation through laboratory processes involving minerals and other substances. It is the outer alchemical counterpart to neidan's symbolic work within the practitioner.
Microcosmic orbit: A qigong practice that guides attention or qi along the Governing and Conception vessels. Some neidan methods use this circulation as a practical framework for directing inner transformation.
Qi: A concept in Chinese thought for the vital material force or energy that animates and transforms things. Neidan's account of inner change depends on cultivating qi.
Zhong-Lü tradition: A Daoist lineage of inner alchemy associated with Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin. Its texts helped establish neidan as a systematic discipline.
Chinese alchemy: A family of Chinese practices seeking transformation, longevity, or immortality through alchemical means. Neidan is the inner branch of this broader alchemical tradition.
Embryonic breathing: A meditative breathing method associated with quiet, subtle respiration and renewed vitality. Neidan texts use embryonic imagery for inwardly cultivated vitality and spiritual development.
Yin and yang: A model of complementary, interdependent forces whose interaction explains change in Chinese thought. Neidan interprets inner transformation through the balancing and reversal of yin and yang.

Linked from 2 pages