What is the Human Wellness & Recuperation System?
What are the secrets of human life? What are its characteristics? How can we take charge of our life so that it always remains at its peak and functions in optimal conditions? What should we do in our daily life to nourish our health? Which are the most efficacious ways of preserving our health? What should one do to revitalize our declining health and regain our youthful energy? For the longest time, all of these questions have constantly occupied the human mind and, for generations, they have been the never-ending quest for the human race.
Human Wellness and Recuperation Methods – the processes and training by which we can become re-energized — are the legacy that our Chinese ancestors have given to us. In Chinese tradition, it is said that as long as there is still breath, life can be re-gained; that is, while there are still the signs of life and brain function has not been lost, there are ways and means by which life can be repaired. To put it simply, like a flickering flame that can be nursed back to a glowing fire, Human Wellness and Recuperation Methods are methods which can be used, when our bodies are in decline but before we have totally lost that spark of life, to help us recapture the fire of our youthful vitality and energy and keep it burning for decades more. These methods, traditionally called “the training of both the spirit and body (性命雙修), encompass the healing of the human mind, as well as the healing of the human physique.
Human Wellness and Recuperation Methods teach us what the ancient sages learned about the mysteries and characteristics of the ways in which our bodies and minds function, the means by which we can build up our vitality, and the theories of and practical applications for rejuvenation. Human Wellness and Recuperation Methods incorporate Daoist, Buddhist and Confucian teachings on the cultivation of vitality. Daoism calls its training method “Heaven, Earth, Yin, Yang and Nature Mutual Generation Technique (天地陰陽造化生生之術).” There are six steps; first, coupling of Yin and Yang; second, collection of fire and water; third, mutual growth of fire and water; fourth, nourishing the essence and qi; fifth, removal of excesses and replenishing inadequacies; sixth, collection of the vital fluids in the energy seed (丹). The Buddhist training method is called “Six Self-Cultivation Methods (六妙法門).” These are breathing, focus, clearing of the mind of distractions, introspection, expelling all desires from the mind and cleansing of the mind. Confucianism teaches the technique of “Turning Extreme Sorrows into Joy and Regaining the Original State of Goodness (否泰回歸),” by which one gradually learns to become imperturbable through six levels of knowing the limits, settling one’s mind, achieving tranquillity, attaining peace, being able to think deeply and finally reaching the state of knowing. Though the techniques are known by different names, all three schools of thought subscribe to a six-step process which leads to a common goal.
Over two thousand years ago, Chinese scholars were already doing systematic research and studying the science of human wellness and recuperation. This area of study is named “Jin Dan Da Dao (Way of the Golden Energy Seed)” (金丹大道). It is the “dao” in Daoism. The founder of Daoism, Laozi (老子), in his writings “Shouquan” (守權) “Daode” (道德), describes dao as supreme. There is nothing that can reach higher or delve deeper than dao. It encompasses all things in the sky and on earth; there is no distinction between inside and outside; it appears to be the void under thick mats, it neither obstructs nor is it obstructed. It is the only standard for all things; it is the measure for the horizontal, the vertical, the circular and the angular. Although it does not take on shape or form, or initiate action, it is the internal force that fosters self-restraint, the sense of morality, our mind and our spirit, and, in inter-personal relationships, the strength that enables us to influence others to do good and to make the world a better place. From what Laozi says about dao, it is easy to see that it is very similar to what modern man refers to as “natural laws.” Daoism has named the study “Jin Dan Da Dao (Way of the Golden Energy Seed)” (金丹大道) because it is able to withstand the test of time, just like gold which is tempered with fire but is not changed by fire; it is all-inclusive like the perfect, round energy seed, and it encompasses the transformations in all things. When we follow dao, our spiritual and mental functioning, as well as our physical functioning (what is known to the traditional Chinese as “mind” and “body”) will be like gold that never degenerates, and perfect like the round energy seed (energy, spirit and essence 精，氣，神), and we will remain energetic despite aging and achieve longevity. The Confucian scholars describe this branch of learning as “comprehending all truths.” They are all scholars who have grasped the natural laws that govern transformations in this world. Thus, in Jin Dan Da Dao (金丹大道) , through understanding the nature of all things, we enable our minds and bodies to reach the optimal conditions.
As for the process of learning and putting into practice, that is, the training, in Jin Dan Da Dao (金丹大道), the traditional approach is “following the steps within the procedure, practice the skills according to what is laid down in the procedure.” This branch of study is formally known as “Chinese Traditional Human Life Reparation and Recuperation Training,” or more simply, “Human Wellness and Recuperation Methods” to distinguish it from certain other studies in the attainment of health and longevity, including what is described by Daoists as “three thousand six hundred unorthodox methods and seventy-two crooked paths,” or what Buddhists term “the forty-eight thousand unsanctioned practices,” that is, those methods which may have some use but are not necessarily helpful to life and health, or, even worse, are harmful to health. The training procedure is from simple to complex, following nine phases, called “jiu xu(九序).”
The first phase of Human Wellness and Recuperation Methods corresponds to what is known to Daoists as coupling of yin and yang, to the Buddhists as Zen, and to the Confucians as knowing the limits. According to Daoist principles, this is done through “more breathing in the energy in nature, less breathing out one’s own source qi, or source energy (元氣), accumulating the energy to induce the production of the essential fluids, the abundance of essential fluids encourages the accumulation of energy, thus yin and yang are coupled, the essential fluids and source energy grow together.” This is the way by which we replenish our energy and raise our vitality. The Buddhists use Zen (as state in “Six Self-Cultivation Methods (六妙法門) work towards reducing one’s desires. The Confucians, through learning “to know the limits and so calming one’s mind,” teach restraining our desires as the way to train both the mind and the body.
The heart of the first phase is the reparation of qi, or energy. Its focus is on increasing human vitality which is supplemented, at the same time, by the use of qigong and massage treatment techniques. This enables the treatment and prevention of illness as a way of benefitting life and leading people onto the right path. To increase the efficacy of treatment, this phase also incorporates methods described in the traditional Chinese medical text “Huangdi Neijing (黃帝內經), “those who have flexible tendons and are calm in mind will benefit from the practice of qigong,” “where the muscles are weak and the organs are weakened by cold and heat, the best treatment method is qigong and massage,” and “use medication to supplement the effects of qigong.” In addition, there is also the use of the treatment method of tuina, which is traditionally used by the common people as a cure.
Based on the principles of the first phase of Human Wellness and Recuperation Methods of “be confident, persevere, attack illness at its source, control all desires and moods” and “do not allow desires to enter the body, breathe through the nose, listen using your ears, improve your breathing to repair the qi, be calm in mind and relaxed in body,” there is a three-step process that a student in training and follow:
Learning to stave off aging and illness, to stay healthy and strong through increasing one’s vitality. This is the basic training that all learners must undergo.
Learning to treat the more complex illnesses through improving the circulation of blood and energy in the body. This is training that a learner can choose to practice. Those whose serious illnesses have affected the organs and the circulation of qi must learn and practice this.
Learning to diagnose illnesses and use the appropriate treatment techniques as a way of dispelling the illness and its symptoms. Those patients, according to the nature of their illness, should practice this selectively and with restraint.
