Centre energetice subtile in diferite traditii spirituale de ... - Mirahorian

Indian spirituality is other-worldly, the goal being the attainment of a state of eternal
existence beyond the cosmos - nirvana or moksha (liberation). The Indian ideal is the
renunciate sage - the sadhu or sanyasin - who gives up the world for a life as a
homeless yogi and holy-man, dependent on the offerings of others for sustanance.
Hence Indian Tantra is orientated to attaining a transcendent state of Liberation.
Chinese culture and spirituality is generally this-worldly. The ideal sage is the
Confucian "gentleman" or "superior man", who knows the best way to respond to
family, social, or political situations. And although there is a quietist element to the
Chinese soul (just as there is an extrovertive one to the Indian) one finds that even
Chinese meditation is this-worldly: the cultivation of the vital-force for health and
longevity for example (Tai-Chi-Chuan), the search for alchemical immortality, or
attuning oneself to the currents or flow of the cosmos (which is the true purpose of the
martial arts).
Thus, whereas the Indian and Tibetan yogis cultivated the knowledge and
manipulation of the subtle body for the purpose of attaining a transcendent state of
liberation, the Chinese sages - the practioners of the Taoist "inner alchemy" - did so for
the purpose of rejuvenation and spiritual immortality. It may well be that "all roads
lead to Rome" in the end, but the do so from very different directions.
Thus in addition to this purely mystical, reclusive Taoism of the Tao-te-Ching the one
hand, and to village shamanism and magic on the other, there was a third
metaphysical, occult tradition in China that has also been given the term "Taoism".
This is a tradition of yogic transformation of the vital-force; the so-called "inner
alchemy", because it uses alchemical metaphors and purports to be a quest for
immortality. It is this esoteric Taoism which constitutes the native Chinese
counterpart to Indian and Tibetan Tantra.
The basic premise of these esotericist and occultist Taoists is that man has only a
limited store of vital-force (ch'i). This leaks away through day-to-day activities, and
when it's all gone, that's it, the person's dead. But it is possible to make the ch'i go
back inside, rather than outwards, and then up the spine to the crown. This obviously
is very like the Tantric Kundalini. In ascending, the ch'i progresses through various
stations, which are given exotic names like the Elixar-field, the Yellow Hall, the
Heaven. These are clearly similiar to the chakras. Now comes the difference with
Shakta-tantra. Reaching the top of the head, the ch'i then descends down the front of
the body, down to the navel, and then around again, forming a complete circuit. This
circuit is known as "The Circulation of the Light", or "The Microcosmic Orbit". Through
rhythmic breathing and visualisation, the Taoist yogi can circulate the ch'i, harmonise
the polarities of Yin and Yang, attain cosmic consciousness, become an immortal, and
return to the Tao
Although there is no actual one on one correspondence to the chakras of Tantra
(unless one consider the lower, middle, and higher tan tiens or alchemical cauldrens,
which one can equate approximately with the navel, the heart, and the brow chakras),
the path that the chi takes along the main acupunture meridians as directed during
the Microcosmic Orbit does correspond in part to the chakras of Theosophy and the
New Age movement and as described by Barbara Brennan - in other words the
"secondary" rather than the "primary" chakras. The following two diagrams from the
Ling-shu, an ancient Chinese medical text, describes the grand circulation or
microcosmic orbit.
The descending or involuntary circulation runs along the conception vessel meridian
from the lower lip, through the chest abdomen to the tip of the spine.
The rising or controlled circulation runs along the governor vessel from the tip of the
spine up the spine and over the top of the head to the upper lip.
Grafic from Lu K'uan Yü, Taoist Yoga - Alchemy and Immortality, Rider and Company,
London, 1970, p.13; Images from David V. Tansley, Subtle Body - Essence and
Shadow, (1977, Art and Imagination Series, Thames and Hudson, London)
This same technique has been taught in a very clear manner by Mantak Chia, who,
however, reduces the number of concentration points from those in the above diagram
to a number more equivalent with the conventional model of chakras.
[from: http://www.kheper.net/topics/chakras/chakras-Taoist.htm]
The Crystal Palace (Upper Tan Tien; Mud ball)