The Nei-yeh

[Xue Sheng]

The Nei-yeh (Inner Cultivation or Inward Training)
Anonymous - Mid 4th Century BCE
Translated by Harold Roth

Book

The Nei-yeh (Nei ye)

http://www.stillness.com/tao/neiyeh.txt
The Nei-yeh (mid 4th century BCE)
A brief, anonymous text, long-overlooked in Asia and the West alike. The Nei yeh ("Inner Cultivation"; preserved in the Kuan-tzu) teaches how to internalize spiritual forces — ch'i ("life-energy"), ching ("vital essence"), and shen ("spiritual consciousness") — through meditative quiescence and purification. To balance and quiet his/her hsin ("heart/mind"), the practitioner builds up his/her te ("proficiency at obtaining" such energies) by practicing daily self-control over thought, emotion, and action. By doing so, one can become a "Sage" (shengjen). Such practices deeply influenced the thought and practice of some forms of "Later Taoism," especially forms of "New Taoism" like Ch'üan-chen. Also, the Nei yeh's teachings about ch'i, ching, and shen became basic to traditional Chinese medicine.