Writing, glossary
Jing, qi and shen精氣神
The three treasures internal alchemy works with.
Draft, under review by Nathan. The wording may change.
One of a few longer entries. The full glossary has the rest of the terms.
Internal alchemy works with three treasures (sanbao 三寶): jing, qi and shen. Most of the practice is a way of gathering one of them or turning one into the next. Learn what each points to rather than fixing on one English word.
Jing 精
The energy of our physical essence. The densest of the three, felt as a vibration or pulsing in the body. It is the raw ingredient for forming the elixir in the lower dantian.
Qi 氣
Energy, life force. In the practice we also meet 炁, precelestial original qi, the qi we refine in the body.
Shen 神
Spirit: the high-frequency energy of conscious awareness. If you cannot feel it, use awareness. We distinguish yuanshen 元神, original spirit, from shishen 識神, the everyday self born through the senses.
How they relate
The stages of the work follow them: refining jing into qi, qi into shen, shen into emptiness. See the glossary for the related terms.