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Why do we need to focus the spirit after it has been nourished? It is because when we focus the spirit, that which is functionless is used to serve function. Thus, focusing the spirit is integral to the art of recovering life. When the Triplex Unity instructs us to “nurture the processes of opening and closing to realize the true body,” it is referring to cultivating stillness in the palace of li. The practice is similar to Chan sitting and is the foundation for attaining the mysterious subtleties in the house of water. Once the spirit is purified, you must focus it quickly. The author of the treatise Jade Emptiness (Zuixui) said, “When my teacher gave me the oral teachings, he told me that the key lies in focusing the spirit and drawing it into the cavity of the vapor.” The cavity of the vapor is where opening and closing occurs. This was explained in the chapter entitled “The Chamber of the Spirit.”
Many students know about purifying the spirit but don’t know where to direct the spirit so that it can be focused. If you don’t know where to lead the spirit, the spirit will wander aimlessly and never be able to return home. As a result, it cannot go back to the root to meet the source that renews life. If you don’t know where to focus the spirit, you will not be able to initiate the wondrous and subtle process of transformation. This is why I have decided to share what I have learned from my teachers, so that you can learn to focus the spirit and lead it to the mysterious subtleties.
The ancient sages have laid down the following principles on focusing the spirit. First, focusing the spirit does not simply mean keeping it still. Rather, it means directing the spirit into the cavity of the vapor, holding it there, and not letting spirit and vapor separate. Laozi said, “In nurturing the spirit and holding on to the One, can you prevent them from separating?” The cavity of the vapor is where we first receive the vapor of the Tao when we were conceived in our mother’s womb. It is where the generative energy of our father and the vapor of our mother merged. Thus, the taiji is embodied within all of us. The cavity of the vapor has many names. It has been called the Sea of Vapor (qihai), the Gate of the Origin (guanyuan), the Numinous Valley (ninggu), the Lower Elixir Field (xiatien), the Celestial Root (tiengun), the Stem of Life (mingdi), the Cavity of Returning to the Root (guigunjiao), and the Gate to Recovering Life (fomingguan). These names all refer to the location where the breath of the fetus is connected to the mother. When the infant leaves the womb and the umbilical cord is cut, the child will develop its furnace and cauldron and erect its own sky (qian) and earth (kun).
Second, focusing the spirit means anchoring the life energy by letting each inhalation and exhalation return to its origin. If the breath is not connected to its origin during inhalation and exhalation, the breath of life will be extinguished, and we will die. In exhalation, the breath needs to open to allow the essence of yang to circulate smoothly. In inhalation, the breath must close to conserve the essence of yin. One exhalation and one inhalation make up one cycle of breath. Even those in the healing professions know that regulation of breath is good for health. Zhuangzi said, “The common person breathes through the throat; thus, his breath is shallow. In contrast, the realized being does not breathe through the throat; thus, his breath is heavy.” By heavy, we mean that the breath sinks deep into the cavity of the vapor. The ordinary person’s breath is never heavy because the spirit is not present in the breath. As a result, when the breath enters and exits, it only reaches the throat. On the other hand, the breath of the realized being is merged with the spirit so that both breath and spirit can penetrate deep into the cavity of the vapor. When spirit resides in the vapor, the breath will never be broken. It is for this reason that the breath of the realized being is soft and secure; it is always embracing the One and never leaving it. When the spirit abides in absolute stillness, the spirit can see the path of the return.
Third, focusing the spirit means merging breath and spirit. This is not equivalent to using the spirit to chase or drive the movement of breath. The role of the spirit is to help the breath to move without forcing it to go one way or the other. When spirit is merged with breath, spirit will be focused. When spirit is focused, vapor will also be focused. When spirit is merged with breath, spirit will be harmonious. When spirit is harmonious, vapor will also be harmonious. This is the principle of the symbiotic relationship of spirit and breath.
Thus, focusing the spirit begins with regulating the breath, and regulating the breath means merging it with the spirit.