A Graphic Summary of Neidan
[ Click to enlarge the picture ] In his Zhonghe ji (The Harmony of the Center: An Anthology), Li Daochun (late 13th century) makes an important distinction between two Elixirs, which correspond to different degrees of realization. The first Elixir is the Internal Medicine ( neiyao ), and the second one is the External Medicine ( waiyao ). Li Daochun says: The External Medicine allows you to cure illnesses, and to prolong life and have lasting presence. The Internal Medicine allows you to transcend the world, and to exit from Being and enter Non-Being. The chart reproduced above contains a graphic summary of the two Medicines. Reading from right to left, the first lines of the chart show the ingredients of the Internal Medicine : Precelestial Perfect Essence, Void Breath (Qi) of Empty Non-Being, and Indestructible Original Spirit. These are the precelestial Essence, Breath, and Spirit, which are already perfected of their own. The next lines show the ...