A brief introduction to what Daoist bigu is

Inedia means not eating whole grains. It is a systematic health care method for losing weight, detoxifying and maintaining health by absorbing the essence of nature. I believe many people don’t know much about Taoist inedia. The following is an introduction to Taoist fasting that I have compiled just for you.

A brief introduction to Taoist grain-proofing

The "Gu (b?) grain-proofing technique" originated in the pre-Qin Dynasty, about the same time as the "Qi movement technique". "The Book of Rites of Dadai? Yi Benming", a collection of etiquette treatises before the Qin and Han dynasties, says: "Those who eat meat are brave and strong, those who eat grain are wise and skillful

, those who eat breath live long and are gods, and those who do not eat live long. "God." is the earliest theoretical basis for Bigu. "Huainanzi Terrain" also has similar records. The "Human World" also contains examples, such as the description of Shan Bao, a man from Lu who lived in the mountains during the Spring and Autumn Period and drank from streams. "He did not wear silk or linen or eat grains. He was seventy years old and still had the color of a boy." This is recorded in historical records. The earliest practitioner of inedia. In 1973, a silk book unearthed from the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha included the "Qu (queuing) Grain and Food Qi Pian", which is the earliest extant pre-Han work on the art of eating grain and nourishing Qi. There is a saying: "Those who eat grains eat Shiwei. If the head is heavy, the feet are light, and the body is heavy, then the cooking (blowing) will be done, and the benefits will stop." This means that when you first start eating grains, you will often feel top-heavy and weak in the limbs. The phenomenon of hunger must be overcome by the "blowing 呴" breathing method. Bigu is linked with the movement of qi here, just like the link between movement of qi and guidance in "Zhuangzi·Deyi", which seems to indicate the initial state of existence of these three techniques in the pre-Qin period, which means that they appeared at roughly the same time. .

After the founding of Taoism, there is no shortage of people who have inherited this technique and practiced fasting. "The Biography of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty" records that Wang Zhen, an alchemist of the Eastern Han Dynasty, "has been in the valley for more than 200 years (it should be the mistake of "日" - the author's note). His flesh is bright and beautiful, he can move as slowly as a horse, and he has the strength to hold several people." "Book of the Later Han Dynasty? Biography of Fang Shu" records: "(Hao) Meng Jianeng contained jujube cores and did not eat them for five to ten years." Cao Zhi's "Bian Dao Lun" records that Xi Jian was good at preventing grains and said that he once "bowed to his sleeping place" To test it, "if you stay in the valley for a hundred days, you can walk and live freely." Among the group of alchemists recruited by Cao Cao, Gan Shi, Zuo Ci, Feng Junda, Lu Nvren, etc. all practiced the Bigu Technique. Ge Hong, a Taoist priest of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, opposed the view that practicing fasting alone can lead to immortality (advocating that those who are good at immortality should be selected and practice both, especially the golden elixir). He believed that performing fasting alone can lead to immortality, which is a "partial theory" of Qi practitioners, but it is not There is no doubt about the fitness and life-prolonging effect of Big Valley Technique. He said in "Baopuzi Neipian? Miscellaneous Yings": "The rest of the people who have seen Duangu are three years old and two years old, and they are all young and beautiful." He also cited specific examples to prove it: Shi Chun, a Taoist from Wu in the Three Kingdoms, in When treating people with qi, they would often go without food for a month or a hundred days. Emperor Wu Jing heard this and became suspicious, "so he summoned Jing Guan and ordered people to guard it. In spring, he only asked for three or two liters of water. If he did this for more than a year, the color of spring would be even better. "Xianyue, the strength is still the same." "There is also a man named Feng who has only swallowed his breath and has been out of the valley for three years. He walks up the mountain and carries a heavy load of dendrobium, and he is not tired all day long." "Wei Shu Shi Lao Zhi". According to legend, Kou Qianzhi, a Taoist priest in the Northern Wei Dynasty, asked Taishang Laojun to teach him the formula for guiding bigu, and more than ten of his disciples were able to master it. It is also said that Donglai Taoist Wang Daoyi lived in seclusion in Hanxin Mountain and cut off the valley for more than 40 years. In the fifth volume of "Yunji Qizhu", Sun Youyue "Ru Shu Shu Ke Li, taking Guxian Pills for sixty-seven years, his face is light and moist, fresh and clean." According to "The Biography of Nanyue Hermitage", Nanyue Taoist Deng Yu "For more than 30 years, I only drank mica flakes in the stream water and recited the Great Cave Sutra day and night." Tao Hongjing "is good at the method of opening up the valley and guiding it. He has been in seclusion for more than 40 years, and he has a strong appearance when he is over 80 years old." "Historical History of the North? Biography of Hermits" says that Taoist Chen Xu Ze "keeps his mind nourished by grains, and only has pine skills. Although it is cold in the middle of winter, he does not accept cotton wool." "Old Book of Tang? Biography of Hermitage" records that Tang Taoist Pan Shizheng lived in Songshan for more than 20 years, "just taking pine leaves and drinking water." His disciple Sima Chengzhen also taught him the technique of insulating grain, guiding and taking bait. "History of the Song Dynasty? Biography of Hermitage" records that in the early Song Dynasty, the Taoist priest Chen Tuan lived in Jiushiyan in Wudang Mountain. He had been practicing Qi and Bigu for more than 20 years, but he drank several glasses of wine a day. According to the "History of Song Dynasty? Fang Ji Zhuan", Zhao Ziziran "does not eat, and his spirit is refreshing. He vomits every time he smells fire food, and only produces fruits and clear springs." Chai Tongxuan was "more than a hundred years old, good at living without grains and shouting, and he only drank wine." There are countless records in historical books and Taoist books. It can be seen that from the Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, bigu technique has been very popular in Taoism. The development of Taoist inedia

Led by the Qingchengshan Taoist Health Training Institute, there are hundreds of inedia institutions across the country, but all the inedia practitioners across the country come from the Qingchengshan Taoist Health Training Institute.

Qingcheng Mountain is one of the birthplaces of Taoism in my country and is a famous Taoist mountain.

There are many small pavilions along the mountain road. The main scenic spots include Jianfu Palace, Natural Pictures, Tianshi Cave, Shangqing Palace, Yuanming Palace, etc. The Taoist Bigu Health Training Institute is located in the Taoist Temple of Yuanming Palace. People practice fasting and health care here all the year round, so Yuanming Palace is known as a holy place for health preservation. Historical records of Bigu

There are records about Bigu in the "Historical Records" written by Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty. "Historical Records: The Family of Liuhou" records that Zhang Liang, the Houhou of Liu, was suffering from many illnesses and used Daoyin, Bigu and other techniques to treat his illnesses and practiced the power of lightening his body. Since then, there has been no shortage of records in documents from past dynasties. "History of the Northern Song Dynasty? Biography of Li Xian" records: "(Li Xian) has been convinced of Qi for decades, and he is more than ninety years old, and his face is like a young boy." "History of Song Dynasty? Biography of Chen Tuan" records: "(Chen Tuan) was convinced of Qi and was able to go without grains. More than twenty years? Every time I slept, I couldn't afford it for more than a hundred days. "In 1973-1974, there was a silk book unearthed from the ancient tomb of Mawangdui in Changsha, Hunan, called "Que Gu Shi Qi", which discussed the use of Qigong to Que Gu. Theories and methods of health preservation (see Mawangdui Han Tomb Medical Books).

Bigu requires taking a small amount of crude drugs while restricting diet. "Book of Northern Qi" records a practitioner who lived in seclusion in Langya Mountain, practiced the art of bigu-proofing, and took pine nuts, atractylodes, poria and other herbal medicines in order to achieve immortality. "Old Book of Tang" records that a man named Wang Yuanzhi practiced the art of breathing, breathing, and guiding, and took Ganoderma lucidum and Atractylodes macrocephala, etc., and lived to be over a hundred years old, with black hair and light steps. There are many Chinese medicine prescriptions that are combined with the Bigu Technique in the prescription books of the past dynasties, such as the Shenxian Bigu Fang, Bigu Dengxian Fang, etc. The main medicines include Polygonatum odorifera, Polygonatum odoratum, sesame, Asparagus asparagus, jujube, black beans, Ganoderma lucidum, pine nuts, Atractylodes macrocephala, mulberry, walnut, honey, Ophiopogon japonicus, etc. Some prescriptions also contain mineral medicines such as cinnabar, realgar, mica or other medicines. Reproduced products, the above-mentioned drugs can be roughly divided into two categories. One category is rich in protein, sugar, and fat; the other category contains inorganic substances and even certain toxic substances, such as mercury in cinnabar and arsenic (arsenic) in realgar. . When practicing Big Grain Technique, it is advisable to take herbal medicines with high nutritional content, because these traditional Chinese medicines not only contain a certain amount of protein, sugar, fat and various trace elements necessary for the human body, but most of them have the functions of nourishing qi, nourishing blood, nourishing yin, etc. It has functions such as sperm production and is beneficial to health. Although the Big Gu technique is combined with certain Chinese medicines containing certain nutrients, it does not replace food with medicines. Because the dosage of the drug is very small, it cannot replace the caloric needs of daily food intake.

Through research on the culture of Bigu, the Bigu Health and Weight Loss Network believes that from the history of Bigu, there are two methods of Bigu, one is fasting with medicine; the other is fasting with Qi. Classification of Taoist Bigu

Convincing Qi Bigu

"Following Qi Bigu" refers to the combination of Convincing Qi and Bigu, and is based on Convincing Qi, and achieves the purpose of Bigu through Convincing Qi. There are different specific opinions. Some advocate that at the beginning of accepting Qi, you should do fasting, drink one or two cups of sesame soup or crispy soup, or one or two cups of wine when you are hungry, and drink only clear water when you are thirsty. Some people advocate gradually reducing food at the beginning of taking qi, reducing the amount of food to one bite a day, and then reducing it to ten days and then completely cutting off the food. Some people advocate not forcing the food to go away, but after taking qigong for a long time, the food will be cut off naturally after three years. Specific methods are mostly found in various Qi Dharma books. According to the "Baopu Zi Neipian Za Ying", there are the twelve o'clock Qi method, the Sui Xing Qi method, the Liuwu Jing Qi method, and the Si Shen Food method. Qi method etc.

"Beginning with medicine"

"Beginning with medicine" means taking medicine to replace grains. There are many prescriptions, including beans, dates, sesame (sesame), chestnut, crisp, Poria, Polygonatum, Tianmen Bigu

Bigu

Dong, Shu which are highly nutritious but slow to digest. Mix it with ginseng, honey, etc. to make a pill paste. Take one or two pills orally after cutting off grains to replace grains. There is a formula of highly nutritious and indigestible food, which will stop the grains after a full meal and can last for a long time. It is also said that if you eat a full meal of delicious food and then take medicine to nourish the food you eat, it can last for three years. There are also those who boil specific stones with herbs and medicines and use the stones as food. Specific prescriptions can be found in "Tai Qing Jing's Grain Cutting Method" and "Yunji Qizhuan Prescriptions and Medicines Department".

Abroad

Taoist Master Yun Longzi said, 'Bigu specifically refers to the Chinese Taoist method of health preservation and cultivation. It is an important part of Taoist cultivation and does not exist abroad.

Inedia is a word with a meaning similar to "inedia" in foreign languages, which means living without food. Inedia, strictly speaking, can only be called fasting and should not be translated as fasting.

The principle of Taoist fasting

First, through modern medical research, the main cause of human aging and disease is the accumulation and fermentation of feces in the large intestine, which produces harmful substances and chronically poisons the human body. Therefore, from the perspective of human health Generally speaking, the waste in the human body includes feces, urine, sweat, carbon dioxide, etc., and feces is the most harmful. The large intestine is specially designed to store feces. If it is not completely removed, it will produce a variety of toxins and become a processing plant for various chronic diseases and the source of all diseases. Therefore, if you want to cure diseases, you must first clean them

The intestines and stomach are used to keep the internal environment and internal space clean in the body, thereby promoting the functions of various organs and improving immunity. Such as heart disease, blood disease, fatty liver, hepatitis B, diabetes, gynecological diseases, rheumatic diseases, hypertension, obesity syndrome, gastrointestinal diseases, rhinitis, asthma, silicosis, general edema, bad breath, etc., which are called by the medical community Since cancer is not an incurable disease, unexpected results can be obtained through inedia.

With the increase of the inedia schedule, the number of white blood cells in the body exceeds one or several times the normal number to devour pathogenic bacteria and cure difficult and even terminal diseases. Inedia can systematically improve and regulate the digestive system.

The functions of the circulatory system, respiratory system, nervous system, reproductive system, and urinary system, and without any toxic or side effects-this is beyond the reach of any drug.

Secondly, bigu is also a good way to keep fit. It fundamentally solves the problem of energy absorption. It not only enables fat people to lose weight, but also makes thin people gain weight and make their skin shiny and moist. Plays a two-way adjustment role.

Thirdly, from the perspective of Qigong health preservation and cultivation, through regular and irregular inedia, the cells can be in a state of "lack of food and deprivation of Qi", so that the internal and external Qi of the human body can be connected, creating a harmony between nature and man. The first effect is to accelerate the exchange of matter and energy between cells and the outside world, capture the cosmic energy (spiritual energy) of nature, and at the same time make it easier for people to relax into tranquility, develop the potential of the brain, and enlighten wisdom. It is a shortcut to improve the level of cultivation. . At the same time, it can also lower body temperature, slow down the number of human pulse beats, delay aging, and maintain health and longevity. The effects of Taoist inedia

Inedia can strengthen the brain, improve intelligence, and develop human potential. As excess fat and toxins are removed from the body, the body is comprehensively cleansed, the intestines and stomach are regulated and recuperated, and the soul is clarified and sublimated. The temperament can be cultivated, the vision can be broadened, the life can be understood, and the truth can be clearly understood. It gives people a new outlook on life and the world, and a new understanding of the universe and nature.

From the perspective of modern medicine, the human liver is a biochemical factory, which is both a digestive organ and a detoxification organ. After a normal person eats, whether toxic or non-toxic adults, the liver must decompose or chemically process it before it can enter In human blood, due to eating very little, the burden on the liver is lightened, and the liver will go back to remove toxins in the blood, deeply reducing the toxins, and at the same time synthesizing active substances that are beneficial to the body's immunity. For example, after fasting, high-density lipoproteins in the blood will increase. High-density lipoproteins can reduce blood lipids, repair vascular sclerosis, and reverse coronary heart disease and hypertension.

Bigu also has a deeper meaning. It is not just starvation, but has special effects brought about by practicing Qigong. Chinese inedia theory believes that everyone's body has a masculine system and a feminine system. The positive system is what we use every day, such as the entire digestive system; and inedia uses a set of methods to close the positive system (and stop gastric acid secretion at the same time) and open the negative system. In this state, the brain is always in a new functional state, physical energy and potential are fully adjusted and exerted, the physical load is reduced, the soul is fully utilized and brought into play, and the functions of brain cells are fully utilized. Mobilization, therefore, the communication between man and the natural universe is active. Various information from the outside world is continuously input into the brain. This is the "unity of man and nature". Therefore, in this state, even if a person does not eat for several days, he will not feel hungry, but his physical strength and mental state will be strengthened. These are manifested in flexible limbs, clear eyes, clear mind, quick thinking, enhanced memory, enhanced understanding, willpower and endurance, which can easily inspire and induce various potentials of the human body. At the same time, it also generates thinking and understanding of the true meaning of the universe, which can lead to various special thinking and solve many problems and confusions that cannot be solved under normal conditions. This will eventually lead to a leap in spiritual power and wisdom, and inspiration will also arise.

However, there are many theories left over from ancient China, some of which are close to mystical theories. This Yin system has not been proven after all, and no one can survive without eating for a lifetime. Many asedists believe too much in this and forcefully do so. , leading to numerous examples of physical harm.

Modern biomedical research shows that controlling nutrient intake is one of the ways to delay cell aging. The principle may be that reducing insulin levels in the body relieves the inhibition of autophagy, which It is an important mechanism in cells to remove damaged proteins or aging organelles accumulated over time to maintain homeostasis.