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alchemy dragons

Xuanchengzi asked: What should be chosen as conditions of the external environment for the practice of alchemy and perfecting Tao?

The Teacher of Single Yang said: We have already mentioned two ways of practice: "in the world" and "outside the world" ( i.e. in the society and outside the society).Usually, those, who practice in the society, do not need special conditions, the just need peace and   absence of strong obstacles and the irritants of the outside world, you can practice at your home. However, one should remember that during the practice one should avoid the wind.

When you will reach the high level, you will need practice in the mountains, where the places with strong Yang qi are found by the special methods. In Yin places alchemy can’t be practiced (especially it concerns the cemeteries and the interments). Since in alchemy the collection of external qi isn’t used, then you should not practice at the early stages in the open spaces. You should not do the sitting practice dazuo at the early stages, because this will harm the flow of qi and blood through the body. Sitting work is for the highest practices of alchemy.

At the highest stages of the practice of alchemy is also required a special room (a cave or a home) for practicing the steps of "feeding" and "facing the wall”, as well as specially-trained colleagues for "preserving and guarding the body ".

From the book of the Teacher of Single Yang
Translated and comments by Dmitry A. Artemyev

Comments:
- The open space means any open space, such as: parks, fields, forest, etc. , i.e. not a room and not a cave.
- The dazuo practice is helpful at the early stage in small amounts to calm the mind and to relax. A small amount means 15-20 minutes, maximum half an hour. It is better to perform it in the evening. But if we consider that usually time for practice is not enough and a matter of choice appears, as to which practice to do and which to reject due to time constraints, then the better choice is dynamic exercises (taiji, dynamic qigong) rather than practicing dazuo. If the practice of dazuo is being done for hours and even days and it plays the role of a basic method, it will lead to catastrophic damage of your health. JIUYANGSHENGONG can be practiced without preliminary preparation. But the additional training of dynamic exercises (qigong, taiji) significantly helps the practice.
- It is exactly JIUYANGSHENGONG that leads to the essential state of "relative emptiness" from which the further work begins. Therefore Dazuo is not needed as a main method, but can be used for rest and calm by the ordinary people (for those who practice the same JIUYASHG, VLG and basic exercises, Dazuo is not required absolutely).|