phosphenes and inner light experiences in medieval chinese psychophysical techniques - an...

Phosphenes and Inner Light Experiences in Medieval Chinese Psychophysical

Techniques: An Explorationby Rudolf Pfister

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Introduction

Technical texts, mainly medical and Daoist writings, form the veryfragmented material base for my project Psychophysical techniquesin ancient and medieval China. They discuss know-how and tech-niques meant to influence ones own mental states positively, to im-prove health and achieve longevity. In sexual body techniques, forexample, this is thought to be possible by the use of a partner andsexual stimulation (Pfister, forthcoming), but such ideas underlieeven more techniques like meditation and visualisation. This explo-ration uses the subject of phosphenes, the subjective inner light ap-pearances, as a means to interpret one aspect of such techniques onestep further.

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Why phosphenes?

Phosphenes were studied scientifically in Europe since the early th

century. The term was coined in by Henri-Auguste Serre (-) to mean light appearances (lapparition dune image lu-mineuse) . Earlier, in , Johannes Evangelista Purkyn (-)

. Serre (, p. ): Nous avons donn le nom de Phosphne (de fw, lumire,et de fainomai, paratre, apparatre) au phnomne de vision subjective qui se ma-nifeste par lapparition dune image lumineuse dans la rgion orbitaire de luil m-thodiquement comprim travers les paupires, et spcialement limage annulai-re qui apparat quand la compression seffectue laide de la pulpe du doigt.

studied what he named Druckfiguren (pressure figures): these arepressure phosphenes, which appear when you close the lids and ap-ply gentle pressure to the eyeballs . Several researchers expressedtheir fascination while doing this during their childhood. Purkynsays, the child follows the traces of the cheerful light, and is absorbedinto the charming presence of the colours . It seems worthwhile tokeep in mind that such a positive emotional response is felt towardsthe phenomenon by the grown-up scientist.

In older Arab and European theories of vision, phosphenesplayed an important role, as one believed that they proved, like thegleaming eyes of animals active during the night, that an internal lightis generated and emitted by the eye itself. This view was only givenup in the th and th centuries .

Subjective visual phenomena, both of endogenous and halluci-natory nature, were used for the interpretation of geometrical pat-terns and designs in prehistoric cave art, and brought into relationwith altered states of consciousness .

Phosphenes are subjective light appearances which can be seen,when the visual system is stimulated by non-usual ways. Besides thepressure phosphenes already mentioned, which are easy to elicit,phosphenes may appear together with certain kinds of headaches, asa result of anaesthesia, or as a side effect in clinical pharmacology

. Cf. Purkyn (), and below, FIG. .. Purkyn (, pp. -): Freudig schwelgt der muntere Sinn des Kindes in

der bunten Mannigfaltigkeit der einstrmenden Aussenwelt; allenthalben formet erdas Unbestimmte, weidet sich an der Wiederholung des Geformten; jeder Augen-blick zhlt einen neuen Fund, offenbart neue und reichere Welten von Erscheinun-gen. Vor Allem aber verfolgt es gerne die Spur des heiteren Lichtes und vertieft sichin der Farben reizende Gegenwart. Kampmeier (, p. ): If the writers ownexperience is any criterion, many persons in their youth discovered by chance thatslight pressure continued for a short time on the eyeballs would elicit luminous man-ifestations in the subjective optical foreground which resolved themselves into flick-ering or vibrating mosaic-like designs of great intricacy and beauty. Kaleidoscopic intheir variety, and in their symmetry, delicacy and intangibility more fascinating thansnow crystals, they have perhaps served many of us as a pastime.

. Cf. Grsser, Hagner (). See also Grsser et al. (, pp. -).. This work has provoked a controversy. Cf. Lewis-Williams (, a,

b); Lewis-Williams, Dowson (); Dronfield (); Hodgson (). Vehe-ment criticism in Helvenston, Bahn ().

PHOSPHENES AND INNER LIGHT EXPERIENCES

(Cervetto, Demontis, Gargini, ). Certain meditative states of re-laxation, and, most important to my present purposes, hypnagogic orhypnopompic states may induce them. Hypnagogic states are presleepor sleep onset phenomena, whereas hypnopompic states occur com-ing or leading out of sleep. In Italian both states could be calleddormiveglia, and some authors use the collective term hypnagogia.

Nowadays phosphenes can be generated by direct electrical stim-ulation of the optical nerve, on the surface or underneath the retina(Delbeke, Oozeer, Veraart, ), or by trans-cranial magnetic stim-ulation of the visual cortex (Ray et al., ; Fernndez et al., ).Because even blind people see phosphenes, some research teamshope to assemble such artificially generated visual perceptions to auseful percept, in order to construct a visual prosthesis for the blind .

The recent work of Philip Nicholson turned my attention to theproblematic of subjective light experiences. He stimulated the cur-rent research, as he uses phosphenes seen during meditation to ex-plain descriptions of light experiences in the Rig Veda and Daoisttexts . Under the proposition that in written sources specific lightphenomena are described consistently in regard to certain character-istics and processes, it seems possible to recover the belonging expe-

. Mavromatis (, pp. ff). The term hallucinations hypnagogiques was in-troduced by Maury (, p. ), to denote appearances which are leading to sleep.See Manford, Andermann () for a review of clinical and neurobiological insightson complex visual hallucinations.

. Fernndez et al. (). This research team describes a protocol using tran-scranial magnetic stimulation to systematically map the visual sensations induced byfocal and non-invasive stimulation of the human occipital cortex. From the abstract,p. : Our results show that TMS is able to elicit phosphenes in almost all sightedsubjects and in a proportion of blind subjects. Evoked phosphenes are topographi-cally organized. Despite minor inter-individual variations, the mapping results arereproducible and show good congruence among different subjects. This procedurehas potential to improve our understanding of physiologic organization and plasticchanges in the human visual system and to establish the degree of remaining func-tional visual cortex in blind subjects. Such a non-invasive method is critical for se-lection of suitable subjects for a cortical visual prosthesis.

. Cf. Nicholson (, a, b, , , ); Nicholson, Firnhaber(). See also the older overview on the world of inner light appearances, as in-duced by diverse means, and in different cultures, by Knoll (). On inner light ingeneral, see Eliade ().

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riential content and compare it to experiences in self-experimenta-tion (as it was done by Nicholson), or in current scientific research.

The remainder of this paper discusses findings in three me-dieval Daoist sources and contrasts them with modern ideas aboutphosphenes. This is done in a dialogic mode, which should shed lighton basic assumptions about vision, the nature of phosphenes, andother pertinent features.

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Text A: Commentary on the Inner Canon of the Yellow Court

The Commentary to the Jade Canon of the Inner Sceneries of the Yel-low Court (Huang Ting Nei Jing Yu Jing Zhu ) waswritten by Master Liang Qiu , that is Bo Lzhong (floruit -, Tang), in the early th century CE. The canon text,called Canon of the Yellow Court (Huang Ting Jing ), is by it-self an early meditation manual to be recited aloud. As it uses ex-tremely flowery language, it would remain highly obscure without thehelp of such a commentary .

FIG. shows the relevant passages , as they are found in the - edition of the Daoist Canon (Dao Zang ).

The double pages and contain thirteen seven character versesof the Canon of the Yellow Court, running from top to bottom .

. The French translation of Carr () does not contain Liang Qius com-mentary. On the meditative use of the manual, see Saso (). The existing com-mentaries, however, vary widely in their explanations of a given passage.

. Commentary to the Jade Canon of the Inner Sceneries of the Yellow Court, inXiu Zhen Shi Shu , pp. a-b.

. At the conference in Lecce I speculated, that the interspersed drawings mightbe illustrations to the text and even depict phosphenes. However, I later discoveredthat many texts in the Dao Zang contain similar drawings, making this speculationuntenable. Whereas the drawings remain unexplained, the interpretation of the pas-sage as a phosphene description still stands. The uneven, but wide distribution ofsuch drawings in the Dao Zang makes it unlikely that Needhams suggestion, madefor our text only, is valid. He thought, that these curious little signs, might be the[p]ossible beginnings of symbolic notation in physiological alchemy, but rightlyremarks: The text gives no clue to the meaning of the drawings (Needham, ,p. , see also pp. and -, where our FIG. is presented as FIG. ).

FIGURE

Xiu Zhen Shi Shu : a-b (above), a-b (below)

They are coming together with the Liang commentary, always to theirleft, and one character deeper in the line.

Verse : reads: The spirit canopies and the pupils produce vio-let [or, purple] mist. Master Liang Qius comment runs as follows:While one observes reflections, during the actualisation of thoughts[or, visualisation] false details are taken as fact. Below we read [in

RUDOLF PFISTER


verse :]: The eyebrows are named blossom canopies, they coverthe bright pearls. The spirit canopies are [the bows of] the eye-brows. The bright pearls are the pupils of the eye. The violet [orpurple] mist is a wondrous flow event of the essence .

The spirit canopies shn gi are identified by the com-mentary with the bows of the eyebrows, which would produce, to-gether with the pupils of the eye, such violet or purple mist. Thepercept is treated as a coloured mist . The text implies a subjectiveperspective, as it describes, and to some extent prescribes, what anadept eventually sees. The location where the experiencer sees thepercept is also given as the locus of its production.

Most notably, blossom canopies hua gi is also the nameof a star constellation (see FIG. ) . It consists of a long stalk, calledpole or cross-bar gang and is branching into five singularblossoms, thereby forming an umbel. Like the Latin umbrella the wordcanopy, umbrella gi is used to denote the clustering of a blos-som. The stars of the blossom form the constellation Cassiopeia.

Combining the pictorial evidence of the star map with our com-mentary, we can assume, that brilliant beams of light, radiating froma central point into different directions, were described as umbels. Byapplying the same name to the glittering stars, to the flamboyant blos-soms of flowers, and to the lights seen with the inner eye the textmost subtly alludes to and unites micro- and macrocosmic details.

During meditation it is standard to lower the eye [lids] ln m, that is, to keep the eyes half open and half closed (Wang Min-hong, ). As this implies a hypnagogic state, it is of technical im-portance that Liang wishes to separate the normal percepts from the

. Text in FIG. , p. b.-. All translations from the Chinese stem from the pre-sent author if not otherwise stated.

. The early Tang commentary of Master Wu Cheng says of the pur-ple mist only, that it is a radiating flow event of the eyes, or maybe this should betranslated as the flow event of the eye-radiance (?). This leaves us with an am-bivalent statement. The animation of the eyes is adduced to the pupils, literally calledthe youngsters, which are said to be the spirits of the eye.,,(Yun Ji Qi Qian , p. b.)

. See Dunhuang Star Map, Manuscript S. , British Library Or. , datedto the middle of the th century (Tang). This manuscript is discussed by Xia Nai(), and Bonnet-Bidaud, Praderie, Whitfield ().

FIGURE

Cutting of Dunhuang Star Map, S. . The horizontally lying heading says hua gi, blossom canopy. The three lower stars, appearing here as circles with greyfilling, were originally colored with red ink

false details jia m, which in such an altered state of con-sciousness are likely to be taken as fact.

The statement about the wondrous flow event of the essencereveals some awareness on the part of the commentator that thesefalse details or hallucinations are somehow productions of the eye.According to ancient Chinese physiological knowledge essence jng , a mucilaginous body sap, nourishes not only the whole body,but is also especially important for the eyes and the visual function(Pfister, forthcoming). Therefore, wondrous flow events orcoloured mists are likewise effects of this nourishing essence,flowing through the body. As such, they can be clearly and easily dis-tinguished from the usual percepts, as well as from yet other appear-

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. For the complicated textual history of the Tai Ping Jing, see Wang Ming (),the Appendix on the composition of the Tai Ping Jing together with the bibliographyin Hendrischke (), and the detailed study on the Secret Advice by Espesset ().

. Preference is given to this translation, introduced by Bokenkamp (, p. ),over guarding the one adopted by Livia Kohn () in her overview of concentra-tive meditation under this name in various sources. See also Robinet (b, pp. -), on garder le Un, and Espesset (, p. f) with prservation de lunit.

. , / ,/ ,,,,, / ,,(Secret Advice by

ances, like spiritual beings or jade maids seen or actively thought af-ter during specific visualisation exercises.

Please note, that the phenomenon is accompanied again by a cer-tain fascination, as the light appearances are called wondrous ormiraculous.

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Text B: Secret Advice by the Wise Lord of the Scripture on Great Peace

The Secret Advice by the Wise Lord of the Scripture on Great Peace (TaiPing Jing Sheng Jun Mi Zhi) is part of the later layersof the Scripture on Great Peace (Tai Ping Jing), and probablydates to the Tang dynasty . The Secret Advice discusses at some lengtha meditative practice, called maintaining unity shou y . Thisprocedure is full of promises for the adept, as the avoidance of wild an-imals, poisonous substances, harm and illness, substantial health dur-ing a long life span, and sorrowlessness combine with a penetratingmind that can travel afar, and discerns the inside of ones body:

If you desire to live long, you have to receive the flow events (q) and to jointhe spirits (shn) with the essence (jng), do no more let them leave your[bodily] form. Think of these three as joined and forming a unity. After along time, it [the unity] will be refined (bn-bn), and of itself appear (xin)within the rump; the [bodily] form becomes gradually lighter; the essenceis increasingly bright; the rays are increasingly fine; within the heart is greatcalm; delighted as if being joyous [euphoric] the flow events of the greatpeace respond. Refining your inside, returns an answer at the outside. In-wardly it brings forth longevity; outwardly it brings forth regulatedness. Itis wrong to use sinewy force, as of itself emerges great peace!

the Wise Lord of the Scripture on Great Peace (Tai Ping Jing Sheng Jun Mi Zhi , shortened below to MZ), pp. a.-b.; the slash / indicates the end of aline in the Dao Zang-edition.) The Secret Advice was translated partially by Kohn(, pp. -), covering only MZ a-b.), and fully by Espesset (, pp. -).However, all quoted passages were newly translated in this paper. Differences to ear-lier translation are not highlighted. Nicholson (, p. ) quotes Kohn (, pp.-), and points out this passage as describing an example of a light vision.

. ,,, / (MZ a.-; WangMing, , p. .) On quiet rooms jng sh and entering the room [formeditation] r sh, see Engelhardt (, pp. , , n. , n. , );see also the entry on jng sh in Pregadio (, pp. -). Text C below callsthe mediation chamber a calm room jng sh.

. ,,, / / ,, / ,,(MZ b.-;Wang Ming, , p. .)

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The text reveals only a few details of the desired setting, but the fol-lowing is said about a protected room for practice:

Procedure of maintaining unity: to begin the contemplation (s) stay in aprotected room; it is suitable to have double walls and thick masonry in or-der not to hear the sounds of noise and clamour (xuan hu) .

This is technically important, as it shows concern for the avoidance ofoutside disturbances. Not only sounds, but also sunlight might disturbthe experience. In this source there is no time of the day singled out forpractising, but see text C below, which advises nocturnal activity.

Procedure of enlightening by maintaining unity: While not yet being re-fined, close the eyes, dimly and darkly (mng-mng); within the eyes [then]there is no ray. Maintaining unity, repeatedly and for long, and the eye pro-duces rays and brightness. Distinctly (zhao-rn) one sees the four quarters[of space], and follows the brightness to travel far away. The rumps [inner]forms and [outer] appearances manifest themselves entirely and the flock ofthe spirits is ready to assemble [within you], therefore one is capable tochange the [bodily] form and become [a] spirit .

The adept sits in an unspecified posture, and closes the eyes to shut offretinal stimulation from daylight. Seeing brightness mng orrays guang of light is thought to be impossible at the beginningof the exercise. Apart from (a) this procedure of enlightening mng


. On bodily spirits, see Bumbacher ().. ,,,/ ,,

, / ,, / ,,(MZ b.-a.; Wang Ming, , p. with variants.)On du sh , see Bokenkamp (, p. ), who writes: To transcend onesgeneration means to live beyond ones allotted lifespan and implies that one will as-cend to heaven without having to pass through death.

fa, which most probably can be interpreted as phosphene experi-ence, one wants (b) to develop a kind of inward directed view, to (c) re-organise and influence the inner world of bodily spirits shn and finally (d) to leave behind the bodily form altogether.

These general aims are further accompanied by a statement onthe movement of the light:

Procedure of enlightening by maintaining unity: Being the root of a pro-longed life span, ten thousand spirits can be ridden [guided], and you stepout of the door of radiant brightness. On the occasion of viscid brightnessby maintaining unity, as if fire begins to quicken, timely and carefully keepto it, do not let it escape! Beginning red, for long it will be a pure white; forlong it will again be a bluegreen. A piercing brightness cuts into the distance,but it returns with regulated unity [maintained]. Inwardly nothing will notbe enlightened, and hundred ailments are eliminated. Maintain it, neverslacken, and you transcend your generation (du sh) in exceeding gallop(chao tng)!

Of course, the fast moving phosphenes are most likely to escape veryquickly. They pierce dng into the darkness of the closedeyes, into the remoteness of the experienced space. Continued prac-tice can bring them back. All this inner light is mapped onto and in-to ones own body, the indistinct darkness thereby given a form to fillwith light.

More specific forms of light experiences are described in a seriesof separate entries:

Procedure of enlightening by maintaining unity: It is like the sun comingout, and of the brightness of the bright midday.

Procedure of enlightening by maintaining unity: The brightness has apure bluegreen; if it is bluegreen and lucid [distinct], it is the brightness ofthe lesser yng.

. ,,/ ,,,// ,,,/ ,,, / / ,,/ ,,,/ ,, / ,/ (MZ a.-b.; Wang Ming, , pp. -.)

Category Colour Specifics Postulated effect

Lesser yng(east)

Pure bluegreen/blue Distinct

Median admixture(center)

Pure yellow & bluegreen/blue

Remedy of the do

Lesser yn(west)

Pure white Like clear water

Greater yn(north)

Pure black Like peeking into[dark] water

Greater admixture A shine/bright In midst of belly

(south) Pure red Rays of fire Transcend ones generation

Sunlight/bright Very bright

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Procedure of enlightening by maintaining unity: Is the brightness a purered, like the rays of fire, you transcend your generation.

Procedure of enlightening by maintaining unity: Is the brightness a pureyellow and bluegreen, these are the rays of median admixture, an excellentremedy of the do.

Procedure of enlightening by maintaining unity: If it is a pure white likeclear water, it is the brightness of the lesser yn.

Procedure of enlightening by maintaining unity: Does the brightnesspossess a pure black [or, very dark violet], clear like peeking (ku) into[dark] water, is the ray of greater yn.

Procedure of enlightening by maintaining unity: Are the four quartersall dark and in the midst of the belly penetrates a shine (zho), this is thebrightness of the greater admixture, the course of a great flowing with thecurrent [i.e. prosperity] .

Very bright white phosphenes, followed by blue, yellow and red onesmake up for the most part of elicited phosphenes. In a staccato style,characteristic for the text, these seven manifestations are brought in-to community-specific categories, as tabulated below:


. These inner light colour categories would align more or less with the traditionalcorrespondences for natural colours: Lesser yng (bluegreen, east), lesser yn (white,west), greater yn (black, north) follow the traditional pattern (compared after Pork-ert, , ). But median admixture (yellow, center) is here reserved to a phosphenecombination of yellow and bluegreen, rather than to yellow alone. Pure red wouldbe greater yng (red, south), but is not mentioned as such in our text. In addition, twodifferent bright lights are given, which apparently could not be accommodated to thetraditional correspondence scheme. Sunlight is sometimes described as yellow, sunbeams as yellow fluid. These several bright, gleaming, pale, sunny-colouredphosphenes may well form the main part of the meditative experience, and perhapstherefore were enumerated in more detail than the five pure colours (See also Es-pesset, , p. , n. -, whose emendation is rejected as hypercorrection;the contrast pure yellow and bluegreen provides the more difficult reading.) Ray etal. () induced the following colours with transcranial magnetic stimulation thatmay be quoted here for comparison: Eight of fourteen described the phosphenes asspots of light in shades of grey, white, or green that varied among the subjects in theirposition in the visual field. The ninth subject experienced a spot of light having a faintpurple center with a yellow halo. Bars of light in gray, white, or yellow were describedby subjects, and were oriented in different positions in the visual field of each sub-ject. A grey triangle was consistently reported by one subject. All subjects reported thatthe visual images tended to persist only for the duration of the stimulation.

. ,,, / ,(MZ a.-b.; Wang Ming, , p. .)

Unlike text C, as we will see below, our Secret Advice does not specifyany forms the inner light takes, it is satisfied to give colour names, andto speak about rays and shines. Five descriptions out of seven name purecolours; only one description lists a combination of contrast colours.

One gets the impression that this meditation induces merely are-olar or ray-like phosphenes, but no geometric form constants, whichassociate to figurative percepts and may lead to figural hallucinations.Even so we find this general statement about a possible training ef-fect during prolonged practice:

Procedure of maintaining unity: Doing it skillfully, the intended effect canbe observed. If you now daily practise skillfully, still and calmly, the spiritsenlighten gradually to a ray: in the beginning like a glow-worms light (ynghum), after a while similar to flashes of lightning (din guang) .

Obviously, the change from glow-worms light to lightning is one ofintensity and movement pattern. Such training extended over hun-dreds of days, whereby hundred, two hundred and three hundred

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. MZ b.-; Wang Ming (, p. ).. ,,, / ,

,(MZ b.-; Wang Ming, , p. .). MZ a.-; Wang Ming (, p. ). Quote: /,,

days counted as a small, middle or great calming jng re-spectively. This implies a relaxed, hypnagogic state. As a result, oneexpected to improve health, and the faculty to observe spirits .

Contrarily, to see nothing is considered a kind of disorder andneeds treatment:

Procedure of enlightening by maintaining unity: Is there an outwardly dark-ness and an inwardly darkness, where nothing can be classified and dis-cerned; this is human malady and muddle; quickly remedy it with recipesand cures. Lookout for the seven above-mentioned heads [of lights], and in-wardly seek them yourself .

To bring oneself into a hypnagogic state in order to experience a spe-cific colour or at least one of seven is maybe not overzealous. Butmaintaining unity means more: because of it, humans may live long,transcend their generation, reduce disaster, cure illnesses, etc. But ifthe sky would no more maintain unity, it would loose its clarity,earth would loose its serenity, the sun its brightness, the moon its(white) essence, the stars their movement, and so on. More impor-tantly, if spirits do not maintain unity, they no more live and devel-op, if humans do not maintain unity, they also do not subsist andprocreate: Unity forms the base, and ten thousand affairs are all inmovement; if you know unity, ten thousand affairs are completed! .

The meditative concentration is naturalised by such analogy withcontinuous entities, which are apparently treated as eternal units.Thus generalised, practice empowers one to control worldly and oth-erworldly affairs. Phosphenes signalise progressive stages on this way.

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Text C: Mister Chens Instructions on the Inner Cinnabar

Mister Chens Instructions on the Inner Cinnabar (or Elixir) (ChenXiansheng Nei Dan Jue ), probably written after ,


preserve an elaborated teaching on a meditative practice with ninestages of transformation . For reasons of shortness, this paper willonly discuss its first stage, which is, however, unusually rich in detailsand inner light experiences. The setting for the meditative undertak-ing is detailed in the Oral Instruction (kmu ju ) to the First Cy-cle: Lowering of the Cinnabar (y zhuqn xi dan), which istranslated here in full:

At the beginning of the undertaking and putting ones hand on, you mustfirst nourish and harmonise the five storehouses [viscera]; you cannot ne-glect hunger or over-eat. If the heart [cinnabar] field [in the breast region]is calm and quiet, without sorrow and grief, you can enter the do [begin themethod]. Usually, towards the end of the second night-watch or at the be-ginning of the third [i.e. towards midnight] , you must first clean yourselfand gargle; in the calm room light an incense plate (xiang pn) . Kneel andsquat; close the eyes; actualise the spirits (cn shn); delay breathing, let itsout and in be equal and adjusted. With the [tip of the] tongue rolled in stopup the pair of openings at the root of the tongue [i.e. the salivary glands].

. For a content summary and discussion of the text, as well as for details onits author, see Eskildsen ().

. The nine main sections of the text are divided into (a) two explications in dif-ferent verse form, each accompanied by commentary, and (b) into the Oral Instruc-tion (except for the ninth section). An alternative version of Mister Chens Instructionson the Inner Cinnabar (hereafter abbreviated as NDJ) is found under the title Secret In-structions on the Nine Cycles of the Metal [Phase] Cinnabar (Jiu Zhuan Jin Dan Mi Jue, shortened below to JZ). Again, the slash / indicates the end of a linein both Dao Zang-editions. The JZ-edition is only quoted in footnotes, when larger dif-ferences or additions have to be noted. The sign T stands for one or more additionalcharacters as compared to NDJ, for an omission. Superscript numbers indicate thenumber of additional or omitted characters as compared to NDJ.

. The night was divided into five night-watches gng therefore theindicated time would be before midnight. However, there is considerable difficul-ty in obtaining detailed definitions of these watches in the various schemes which ap-pear to have been current from time to time, as Needham, Wang Ling and de Sol-la Price (, p. ) say in the Appendix on Chinese Horary Systems.

. JZ a.: T,. Concentrate the spirit(s) and enter the room,light an incense plate. Various utensils for burning incense are described in Bedini(, ). Incense trays, plates, or spirals allow one to measure time, but unfortu-nately our text does not specify the time needed for the exercise. The partitioning ofthe method, however, indicates awareness of measured parts of time following eachother, and not an attitude to loose oneself in the experience.

Block up the breathing gradually to a halt, and you sense left and right thegreater yng channel, which has a double course. Flow events from the greatmolar are linked downwards with the greater yng, enter the vertex gate(dng mn), and arrive at the palace of the mud ball (n-wn gng). Thatmeans doing one sequel . Now open the eye for quite a long time. Close theeyes again and actualise the spirits. Roll in the tongue as before, wait till theflow events arrive at the palace of the mud ball, then stop. Practise everynight three times like this. Practise several nights, or a decade, or half amonth. Gradually you sense the flow events arrive at the palace of the mudball, afterwards flowing into the brain [marrow] (nao), descending to thetwelve rings of the multi-storied pagoda (chng lu), passing the clamp ofthe backbone (jia j), and run to the gate at the tailbone (wei l) . Above,it enters the heart and is linked to the gallbladder. You sense it lukewarm inthe midst of the breast, and subtly sense imagination and thought to beagreeable and mild. Thus is the lowering of the true flow events. If practis-ing like this for several nights, one afterwards feels the flow events gradual-ly moving towards the heart. Afterwards you subtly sense it lukewarm, orthe flow events of the hearts tip are subtly moved [aroused], but there is alukewarm flow event, which leaves the heart behind and ascends, passes themulti-storied pagoda, and enters below the tongue. Gradually you sensesome bitterness in the mouth. This is then the flow event of the central yel-

. JZ a.-: ,, / T, T/T,,(Block up the breath-ing, gradually you sense left and right the greater yng channel, which has a doublecourse. Flow events [from] the great molar are linked upwards with the two greateryng [courses], enter thereupon the vertex gate. If you sense the two flow events unit-ing, this means doing one sequel. Now close the eye for quite a long time, also closethe eyes). Italics added to highlight differences. Upwards is inserted at the placeof downwards in NDJ. The last sentence seems to be corrupt, with its repetition ofthe verb to close.

. These current medieval Chinese names for locations in the body (see De-speux, ) can be identified as follows: the vertex gate dng mn namesthe vertex point of the skull, considered to be a gate for flow events; the palace ofthe mud ball n-wn gng, i.e. the brain; n-wn , here literally ren-dered as mud ball, and possibly alluding to the brains consistence, means also nir-vana, extinction; the [twelve rings of the] multi-storied pagoda chng lushr hun stand for the trachea, which is formed by - cartilagi-nous rings (Cartilago cricoidea); clamp of the backbone jia j refers to theregion of the hips, below the kidneys, treated as a pass, forming a clamp on bothsides of the spine; the gate at the tailbone wei l is the coccyx, again con-sidered as a gate for flow events.

RUDOLF PFISTER


low. Going out from the gallbladder, yn and yng being greatly mixed, soonyou have the representation of the lowering of the cinnabar. After it was likethis, at the beginning of the nightly practice, have a person standing outsidethe gate [of the house], who keeps off entering persons, as well as cats, dogs,and the like. The reason is that one fears to startle each other all of a sud-den. If you come to practise every night three sequels, you need at times infront of your seat, placed crosswise, one [small] table, when you suddenly,during the moving of the flow events, feel that rump and limbs gradually en-large. The refined spirits (jng shn) gush up and sparkle (tng-tng), grad-ually you see living quarters (zh zhi) and walled cities (chng sh) . Skyand earth are within your body. On one body you sense ascending the fill-ing up of the sky, and descending the blocking up of the earth . If you knowno more the whereabouts of hands and feet, then quickly press the tablewith your hands. With closed eyes you merely sense at the hearts tip a lumpof radiant brightness, ball-shaped like the sun, which suddenly tumbles andfalls; this then is the lowering of the cinnabar. After the lowering of thecinnabar you cannot casually open the eyes. Little by little bring back the re-fined spirits. Return the four limbs, hands and feet. Then youre again theold; sometimes one senses in hands and feet some light tingling (m). Fixsome time on the sobering (dng xng), afterwards open your eyes. Eat someginseng soup. Then sleep until the coming of the day [morning]. Eat por-ridge meals. Relax for one or two days. This is the effect of the lowering ofthe cinnabar: after the lowering of the cinnabar the hundred ailments areabolished, and you remain without the bitterness of malady and adversity.

. JZ b.-a.: / T,, / , /TT (If you come to practiseevery night three double sequels, you [need] at times in front of your seat, placedcrosswise, one [small] table, when suddenly the flow events push you forward, youfeel that rump and limbs gradually enlarge. The refined spirits gush up and sparkle,gradually you see rooms and buildings, human beings, mountains and streams, whichreside all in ones own body). Italics added to highlight differences.

. JZ omits ten characters.. : / , / ,,

,/ ,, / ,,,, / ,, /,, / ,,, / ,,/ ,, / ,,, / , / , /,,, / ,,, / ,,/ ,,, / , / ,

TIME: Towards midnight.If someones usual sleep rhythm is to go to bed before midnight,

the late hour to begin the exercise might imply a hypnagogic state;the adept would probably be sleepy, or in a pre-sleep mood, andtherefore more susceptible to phosphene experiences, etc. And evenwithout closing the eyes outside light will be minimal.

LOCATION: A special chamber, secured by another person.The intention is to reduce as far as possible outside disturbances,

after some progress has been made. This is of technical importance,as it is well known that a person without or with reduced externalstimuli is likely to be easily scared, or at least more easily irritated byoutside happenings or intruders .

PRE-CONDITIONS: Normally filled belly; calm, unoccupied mind;body cleaning and gargling.

This helps to reduce potentially disturbing sensations arising fromwithin ones own body, like belly sounds, feeling of fullness, etc.Thought contents should be kept minimal, in order to concentrate.Preparatory gargling is necessary, because the anticipated taste changescan be discriminated better with a fresh feeling in the mouth. Bodyodour or food remains in the mouth might distract concentration .

, / , / , / , / , / ,, / , / ,/ , / ,(NDJ b.-b., see JZ a.-a.. See Eskildsen, ,pp. - for a paraphrasis.)

. See Knoll (, p. ); Eichmeier, Hfer (, p. ) say sensory depriva-tion can be accompanied with anxiousness, somatic afflictions, temporal or spatialdisorientation, and visual hallucinations. Mavromatis (, p. ) states: On thecognitive-affective level, hypnagogia is characterized by receptivity and susceptibil-ity to suggestions (paralleled on the physiological level by a sensitivity to external andinternal stimuli). Compare Eskildsen (, pp. -), for a Quanzhen text whichwarns from frightening experiences.

. Already Maury (, p. ) noted: Lattention ne devant tre provoque parrien, afin de ne point arrter la manifestation du phnomne, il est ncessaire quau-cun objet ne frappe les yeux, quaucun son trop bruyant ne tienne loreille occupe,quaucune odeur trop forte nagisse sur lodorat. De l, la ncessit absolue de loc-clusion des yeux pour que les hallucinations aient lieu. See above, text B for simi-lar precautions against disturbances.

RUDOLF PFISTER


POSITION: Kneeling; closed eyes. The eyes are kept closed in order to minimise stimulation of the

retina by light. The kneeling position prevents falling asleep duringthe exercise. Maintenance of the upright posture allows similar bloodflow as in a standing position, which in comparison to lying on theback might well influence the experience .

TONGUE POSITIONING: Tip of tongue rolled towards the sublingualfold (Plica sublingualis) in order to cover the ducts of the sublingual gland.

In the commentary to the third verse, on the red lotus leafs un-derside the cinnabar cavities are storing, we find a community-spe-cific theory on the link between inner flux and psychic events:

The left of the paired openings below the tongue connects to the heart, theright connects to the gallbladder. If true flow events (zhn q) flow and gush,spiritual brightness will permeate. If therefore the human body is agitated,the saps below the tongue dry up, and their true flow events are used up. Atthe beginning of the first cycle, the blocking of the paired openings with thetongue causes the true flow events not to leak to the outside, whereby thespiritual waters permeate .

By closing off the ducts of the sublingual gland one expects to induceinner flows, called true flow events zhn q, leading even-tually to spiritual brightness shn mng here probably astate of being flooded with inner light. As in many other psy-chophysical techniques, leakage is considered to be detrimental tolife-giving flows, and a dry mouth, the stopping of saliva productionis seen as a result of being not calm, or agitated b an .

. Nielsen () proposes an upright position, where the head is unsupportedto induce hypnagogic imagery.

. {} / ,, / , / ,, / ,(NDJ b.-; see JZ a.-). JZ a.- varies the commentary: , / ,T(From thepaired openings [below the red lotus, that is the tongue] there is a connection to theheart; the paired openings let the [body] saps permeate. If a person has an illness, thesalivary saps below the tongue dry up, and their true flow events are used up.)

. For a tentative interpretation of some implications of the term shn mng, see the short study Pfister (). Medieval knowledge on the salivary glands andconsiderations about leakage are discussed in Pfister (forthcoming).

FIGURE

The hand greater yng channel of the small intestine

Illustration taken from Classified Medical Classics: Illustrated Wing (Lei Jing Tu Yi , , p. )of by Zhang Jiebin (-).

BREATH REGULATION: Gradually blocking up respiration.Slowing down the expiration, sometimes accompanied by count-

ing heart beats and other counting measures for the period of breathretention, is a common Daoist method. It is used to concentrate on in-ner events, and therapeutically. In our text it is related to a sensationof the flows of the greater yng channel ti yng jng (seeFIG. ). The pressure change in the head, caused by the breath reten-tion, probably together with sensations felt at the tip of the tongue, isinterpreted as the pulsation coming from both sides of the mouth, fromthe direction of the molars, and furthermore reaching out to the crown

. See Needham (, pp. -) and Engelhardt (, p. ), on techniquesto block up the flow events [or flow of respiration] b q.

RUDOLF PFISTER


of the head and brain. As can be seen in FIG. , a downward linking (asit is mentioned in NDJ) would go from the cheek towards the back ofthe shoulder and run along the outer parts of the arm, whereas an up-ward linking (as proposed in JZ) connects the cheek with the ear.

POSTULATED EVENTS DURING HYPNAGOGIC STATE. (a) Sensations of flow events.

A detailed description of the inner circulation can probably also betaken as prescriptive: the adept is oriented at the outset on what kindof sensations to expect, and can visualise the inner streams according-ly. Flowing from the trachea downwards along the spine to the tail-bone, upwards into the brain marrow, and also connecting to the heartand gallbladder inner streaming makes itself felt during the exercise.

A lukewarm feeling in the breast region comes together with mildthought content. Such signs are taken as feedback, and help theadept through the continuing process. When the flow events arriveat certain locations, this is a clear indication that one has made someprogress in the process of lowering the cinnabar.

Bits of a very general topographic knowledge of certain bodily re-gions and postulated interrelationships between them display an in-tention of the text-producing collective to explain the experiencedphenomena in relation to human physiology. The commentary at-tempts to give a precise description of the circulating flux:

At the beginning of putting ones hand on, block the paired openings belowthe tongue; do not let the flow events leak to the outside. The flow events tothe left and right of the paired openings enter by itself and is moving upwards.At the left it is connected to the left greater yng [channel], and it enters intothe brain [marrow]. Left and right pass together the brain [marrow] and ar-rive at the centre of the vertex; at the place of the commissure of the palace ofthe mud ball [either the Pons and/or the Medulla oblongata] they descend tothe twelve rings of the multi-storied pagoda [trachea] and enter the heart;

. JZ b.- alters to: TT / , / , / (Theflow events to their left side are connected with the left greater yng [channel] and en-ter the brain [marrow]. The flow events to their right side are connected to the rightgreater yng and enter the brain [marrow]. Left and right pass together the brain [mar-row] and enter the vertex; at the place of the commissure of the palace of the mud ballthey descend to the twelve rings of the multi-storied pagoda and enter the heart.) Ap-

they are transmitted to the gallbladder and push open the galls openings(dan qio). This causes that the quickening flow events (shng q) from themidst of the gallbladder are moving upwards, following the hearts and gallsveins (mi), which are connected to the tongues openings. This causes thetongue to sense a bitter taste. As soon as the quickening flow events pourand gush, the lowering of the cinnabar takes place .

(b) Bitter taste in the mouth.As the flux of the quickening flow events shng q is

gushing upwards, a bitter taste is caused in the mouth; again the com-mentary elaborates the point:

The name of the quickening flow events of the heavenly unity is central yel-low. Its flow events are stored in the gallbladder, and are considered to beroot and origin of dispositions and life mandate. Its taste is bitter, as theroots and stalks of I dont know which flowers and trees are bitter as well .Recognize from that, the ten thousand beings without quickening flowevents are not capable to live. The remedy of the inner cinnabar: first of allblock the paired openings below the tongue, which are inwardly connectedwith the quickening flow events in the gallbladder. Coming between throatand tongue, they have a subtly bitter taste; these are quickening flow eventspassing freely. Afterwards beg the spirits to build the cinnabar .

parently JZ tries to correct the somehow garbled text of NDJ in these sentences. It seemshowever clear, that both texts wanted to neatly describe the symmetrical courses of thegreater yng channel on both sides of the head. If NDJ intended to make a point abouta different and specific left course (on the heart side), remains undecidable.

. ,,/ ,, / (*), / ,, / ,, / ,/(NDJ b.-a.; see JZ a.-b.; * emendation af-ter JZ.)

. JZ b.- augments: , T / (Its taste is bitter, because the flow events of the gallbladder of a person arealso bitter. Similar to the roots and flowers of herbs and trees, is its taste bitter, too.)

. , / , / , / ,,, / ,, / / (NDJ a.-; see JZ b.-a..) JZ a.- alters the final sentences: ,, / T(Coming between throat and tongue, you sub-tly sense the taste bitter; these are the cinnabars flow events passing freely. Afterwardsthe quicksilver fluid (hng shui) coagulates and builds the cinnabar (elixir).)

RUDOLF PFISTER


It is not clear to me what might cause this bitter taste, but it couldwell be an effect of the hypnagogic state. There are reports of olfac-tory and gustatory phenomena accompanying visual percepts duringsuch states . However that may be, our text gives much importanceto the bitter taste by interpreting it repeatedly as a crucial sign, whichmarks the achievement of a free-flowing life force in ones body .(c) Changed body image, enlarging limbs.

Changes of the body image are discussed in the comment to thesecond verse of the introductory poem: Mountains and Streams, Spaceand Time (yu zhu) Trickle through the Nifty Body Hull . It says:

During the lowering of the cinnabar, the spirit(s) (shn) wander(s) to theoutside of the [earthly] quadrants (fang wi). Are yn and yng greatlymixed, one forgets ones bodily form. Sky and earth, mountains and streams,the six conjunctions [space directions] (li h) and the ten thousand beingsare within my body. My body resides outside of sky and earth .

Add to this the remarks quoted above from the Oral Instruction, thatsky and earth are within your body. Such wanderings of the spir-it(s) are state typical outcomes of hypnagogic relaxation. AndreasMavromatis (, pp. , -) notes what fits well with the aboveindications of text C:

. Mavromatis (, p. ): Hypnagogic smells vary from a horrible stenchto the smell of a rose that smelt much nicer than ever a real rose could smell, andthey are often, but not always, accompanied by an appropriate visual image. Somehypnagogic smells are so realistic that, for instance, people may get out of bed tomake sure that they have not left the oven on [...]. Maury and Leaning also report-ed gustatory images. Klver (, p. ): As regards taste, it happens for examplethat all food taken during the mescal states tastes like water or that saliva has thetaste of good wine. But in general, changes in the olfactory and gustatory fields seemto be rather infrequent.

. Compare Eskildsen (, pp. -), on sights, sounds, tastes, and sensa-tions as signs of proof zhng yn in Quanzhen Daoism. As such theywhere often interpreted as resulting from the aid of kind immortals. Interesting-ly, only sweet and no bitter taste (of the saliva) is reported as confirming experiencein Eskildsens textual selection.

. {} (NDJ a.; see JZ a..). , / ,,(*) /

(NDJ a.-b.; see JZ a.-; * emendation after JZ a..)

In the light-to-middle hypnagogia, when physical relaxation is consider-able but mentally there is an awareness of external reality, body schema dis-tortions and floating or drifting are reported. And: [...] not infrequentlythe hypnagogist may lose his body schema altogether or that events outsidehimself are experienced as something happening to and around hisbody. [T]wo processes [are] characteristic of sleep onset: a disintegra-tion of the various parts and functions of the ego, and a diminution of theegos differentiation. [...], in the progression of hypnagogia the bound-aries of the body ego (body schematization and identification) begin tobe blurred and to become fused with the external world [...] perceptions arelocalized as sensations in a particular bodily region and at the same time asprocesses in the external world. [...].

(d) The small table used for reality checking when bodily outlines blur.Our text advises to put a small table j in front of ones

seating mat in order to reach out to it, when because of the raisingflow events one is pushed forward, or when one has the feeling ofgradual enlargement of rump and limbs . One should quickly pressthis table while loosing awareness of the whereabouts of hands andfeet in order to regain immediately a sense of distinct bodily outlines.

Alterations of bodily dimensions or disturbances of the body im-age likewise are frequently seen and characteristic features of hypna-gogic states .(e) Phosphene experiences, auto-symbolic phenomena.

The opening verse defines the effect of the lowering of thecinnabar [elixir], and is followed by a comment:

. Archeologically found Sui dynasty models of small tables, and especiallysmall tablelike furniture to lean on while sitting on a mat, are discussed in Yang Ail-ing (). Such a reclining device might well be intended in our text as well.

. Mavromatis () discusses body schema/image alterations and/or distur-bances on pp. , , -, , , . He notes on p. : Feelings of bodily dis-tortion or body image disturbances include the enlargement or shrinkage of partsof the body, the blurring of bodily outlines or parts of it, mouth distortions,weightlessness. Sartre notes that ones body is but vaguely felt, and even morevaguely, the contact with the bed sheets and mattress. The spatial position of thebody is but poorly localized. Orientation is confused. The perception of time is un-certain. Klver (, p. ) says of the mescaline experience, that limbs feel eitherabnormally heavy or light. A similar alteration of the body image is frequently men-tioned as qng shn, [sensation of a] light body, a lightened body in old andmedieval Chinese texts, see Pfister (forthcoming).

RUDOLF PFISTER


[Verse :] The first cycles effect resembles a precious pearl.[Comment:] The true waters of the heavenly unity are collecting in the

gallbladder. Yn and yng blend and unite, lower and build the cinnabar[elixir]. Its form is like the drop of a dew pearl .

In this physiological alchemy some special inner fluids are accompa-nied by flashes of light, which are here compared to dewdrops, anda bit further on to a radiant lightball: However, if you feel in themidst of this a dot of radiant brightness like the sun, it is the lower-ing of the cinnabar .

From the passage of Oral Instructions quoted above, we repeatthe sentence: With closed eyes you merely sense at the hearts tip alump of radiant brightness, ball-shaped like the sun, which sudden-ly tumbles and falls; this then is the lowering of the cinnabar.

In the inner observational space of the breast region phospheneflashes are apparently felt at the hearts tip xn tu whichis about pointing to the pit of the stomach . All four quotes takephosphenes as indicators of a successful first cycle . Moreover, thelight mental relaxation, which lets one see flashes of light andclouds of colours (found in texts A and B as well) is complement-ed now not only by drifting, swelling, floating (see the pointsa, c and d above), which indicate a middle stage of relaxation , but

. {}/ (NDJ a.-; see JZ a., b.-.) JZ b. slightly reformulates the last sentence:TT(Its form at the beginning of the lowering is like thebright pearl of a drop of dew.)

. ,(NDJ b.). JZ a.- writes instead: / T(However, if you feel in the midst of the hearta dot of radiant brightness, this then is the lowering of the cinnabar.) Let us notein passing, that Robinet (a, p. ) cites a text of Zhang Boduan, which similarlyphrases the light experience as une parcelle de lumire divine y dian lng guang, and where the circulation of the inner light is emphasized.

. Nielsen () proposes that attention should be directed to an observation-al space in the head or chest region.

. Eichmeier, Hfer (, pp. , ) report that such light patterns are takenby Asian insight schools as a sign for deep meditative states, or as guiding to a deep-ening of meditation.

. See the three-stage model of the hypnagogic syndrome, as presented inMavromatis (, p. ). He writes: Flashes of light and colour spots and cloudsseem to belong to the light stage and appear as the subject begins to relax and with-

also by hypnagogic hallucinations. The following specification re-peats once again the Oral Instructions: The refined spirits (jng shn)gush up and sparkle (tng-tng), gradually you see living quarters(zh zhi) and walled cities (chng sh).

Heinrich Klver stated in an article of that there exist fourdifferent form constants in mescaline or hypnagogic hallucina-tions, namely:(I) checkerboard, lattice, fretwork, honeycomb,(II) cobwebs,(III) tunnel, funnel, alley, cone, and(IV) spiral .

FIG. shows some of Purkynes illustrations of pressure phosphenes,and some of the form constants .

draw at sleep onset or as he [sic] begins to awake at the hypnopompic end. Vivid-ness, luminosity and intensity of colour are also dimensions that increase in accor-dance with the depth of the state. Manford and Andermann (, pp. -) fol-low up on the same line: The content of the hallucinations is dramatic; they are usu-ally in vivid colours and may evolve from simple spots of light through geometricpatterns to complex images, or they may be complex from the outset. Sufferers [sic]often see human figures or faces (sometimes torsos without heads or vice versa); an-imals (real or bizarre), sometimes in miniature (Lilliputian hallucinations) or sceneryof outstanding beauty. [...] The emotional reaction to the images may be neutral,pleasant fascination or extreme fear.

. Now in Klver (, pp. -). Checkerboard and lattice are also called tes-sellopsia to reflect the repeated geometry of the descriptions (from the Greek-de-rived Latin word tessera, a small tile used in mosaics), see ffytche, Howard (,pp. quote, - discussion of tessellopsia).

. For more drawings of electrically induced phosphenes, see Eichmeier, Hfer(). See also the frontispice with croquis of hypnagogic hallucinations by MarieJean Lon Le Coq DHervey de Saint-Denys (, p. ), to which he explains: Apeine certaines personnes ont-elles ferm les yeux pour sendormir, quelles aper-oivent comme un fourmillement dimages capricieuses qui sont lavant-garde desvisions mieux formes, et qui annoncent ainsi lapproche du sommeil. Tantt, ceshallucinations reprsentent des objets dtermins, quelque fantasques et dfigursquils puissent tre; tantt, ce ne sont que de petites roues lumineuses, de petits so-leils qui tournent rapidement sur eux-mmes, de petites bulles de couleurs variesqui montent et descendent, ou bien de lgers fils dor, dargent, de pourpre, de vert-meraude, qui semblent se croiser ou senrouler symtriquement de mille maniresavec un frmissement continuel, formant une infinit de petits cercles, de petits lo-sanges et dautres petites figures rgulires, assez semblables ces fines arabesquesqui ornent les fonds des tableaux byzantins.

RUDOLF PFISTER


. Knoll (, pp. -) speaks of the associative process of the visionary whichforms figurative visions out of geometrical light patterns. Eichmeier and Hfer (,p. ) state that houses, animals and people are typical features of the concrete thirdphase of the hypnagogic process, which are not seen in the preceding phases whichhave subspecific or geometric light patterns. They quote p. Swami Sivananda fromRishikesh with the words: You can see beautiful gardens, palatial buildings, rivers,mountains, golden temples, sceneries so lovely and picturesque as cannot be ade-quately described. Mavromatis (, p. ), says that visual phenomena like circles,diamonds, and other small regular shapes [are] often developing into complicatedstructures, faces, scenes or landscapes. He quotes experiences, where somebody seesthe brilliant sunlit street of some Eastern city (p. ), [s]trange and beautiful build-ings of coming ages (p. ), and comments: More urbane landscapes are also re-ported in the form of outstanding buildings of unusual construction as well as of com-mon streets and buildings (p. ). See also his FIGS. ., ., ., pp. -. The wallpaintings of the Lukhang in Lhasa, dating to the late th century, whose rooms wereused exclusively for rDzogs chen meditation by the respective Dalai Lama, show the

FIGURE

Purkyns pressure phosphenes, : FIGS. - (above), , a-b, (below)

Self-repeating form constants, or tessellopsia, like checkerboard andlattice can easily be visually re-interpreted as brickwork, and associ-ated with walls of houses, forming now all kinds of figurative hallu-cinations, natural scenes, faces and figures.

basic form constants lattice, spiral, and conic rainbow-coloured ray patterns. Cf.Baker (, pp. -, -, - with ills., and - text), who states p. : Thedisplay of Dharmata, the ultimate nature, appears as shapes of bright and brilliant,five-coloured horizontal and vertical streamers of light, in the forms of checkeredand crisscrossed designs, domes, stupas and thousand-petalled lotus flowers...wheels, vajras, jewels, and countless other shapes.

And this is precisely what happens in our text C, which speaks ofliving quarters and walled cities (NDJ), or rooms and buildings,human beings, mountains and streams (JZ), which would corre-spond to a even deeper mental relaxation than the radiant bright-ness, ball-shaped like the sun, which displays the typical quickmovement of phosphenes, as it suddenly tumbles and falls.

As this deeper stage of mental relaxation is considered the culmi-nation and achievement of the first cycle in Mister Chens Instructionson the Inner Cinnabar, we can now appreciate the care Chen Pu tookto guide his disciples through the meditative process systematically.He managed in the th century CE () to give many practical indicationson breathing, the posture, time and necessary furniture; () to sort outthe main features of the hypnagogic state, like the phosphenes, hypn-agogic hallucinations, the distortions of the body image; () to pointout valuable signs of success, like the bitter taste in the mouth, the lightflashes, the emerging figures and forms; and last but not least, () tomake an attempt at theoretical explanation of processes with themeans of psychophysiological knowledge of his time and place. Themain features of the hypnagogic state were considered to be only ofpreparatory character, and not taken as an end in itself.

&

Outlook

Consciousness studies focused in recent years more and more on theview from within, that is, on subjective states, first-person accounts, in-trospection, and the like (Varela, Shear, ). Thereby it is of consider-able interest to see how cognitive abilities may be constituted by pro-prioceptive sensibility, certain actions, and environmental manipulation.

Subjective light appearances, with their characteristic form con-stants, are probably generated by the primary visual cortex, and seem

RUDOLF PFISTER


to have universal character . Their descriptions can be assessed inwritten documents of many periods and peoples.

We have seen in medieval Chinese examples, that subjectivelight appearances were clearly differentiated from usual percepts,and even taken to be false details. According to ancient culture-specific physiological opinions, one assumed them to be produc-tions of a body sap, called essence. With elaborated theoreticalconsiderations one thought to explain processes of the body, to-gether with the emerging light patterns, mainly through the analysisof inner flux and streaming, which links up localities in the rump.Postulated events in the body seemed to have specific outcomes ifone followed such outlines of ones thought community, as seen inour textual examples. The inner light with its quickening force, anoverflowing lan vital, which at times leads to overwhelming expe-riences, running through the whole body, could not but give one theimpression to be invigorated. Life is a sparkling and gushing flowevent! The techniques require deliberate avoidance of outside dis-turbances and rigorous effort over extended periods of time. Thebeliefs were practically and individually oriented, and thought to betechniques of the self and its survival.

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RUDOLF PFISTER

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RUDOLF PFISTER


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Xiu Zhen Shi Shu, see: Commentary to the Jade Canon. (), Sui Zhang Sheng mu chutu de jiaju moxing (The Furniture Models Excavated in the Sui Dy-nasty Tomb of Zhang Sheng), in Wenwu tiandi , pp. -.

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RUDOLF PFISTER

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