Microcosmic circulation

In Taoist meditation, the way to retain energy and vitality is through directing the energy from the dantian through the tip of the spinal cord up to the inner-most part of the brain and down the front back to the dantian. The text Hui Ming Jing called the microcosmic circulation as "Turning the wheel of the Dharma" (remember fifth Patriarch's secret Dharma? No wonder Zen master Yin Guang 印光法師 was so angry).

The back part of the orbit is called Du channel (督脈), whereas the front part of the orbit is called Ren channel (任脈). No need to mystify these two concepts, suffice to say the clearing of the orbit can promote general health by helping the body to clear other chi-channels too. Hence these are the two most important chi-channels to clear (with the result that chi can flow smoothly through them). In Richard Wilhelm's book there is a such a diagram translated into English. The above diagrams are from Hui Ming Jing.

The drawings also clearly indicated that the point of internal gazing is the dantian (as an aperture 竅) itself being created by subtle energy forces. These forces are the muscles of the breathing mechanism, and have to be "listened" to through a calm and focused mind, with subtle co-ordination with breathing so that chi can be generated. By now, we can see that how the secret of the golden flower is related to Hui Ming Jing.

The next question is: How to generate and circulate the chi (produced by meditative gazing with both the third eye and the dantian energized by subtle energy of defined parts/organs of the body)? Let's see how the text told us first....