Three Treasures (traditional Chinese medicine)

The Three Treasures or Three Jewels () are theoretical cornerstones in traditional Chinese medicine and practices such as , , and . They are also known as and (; "essence, breath, and spirit").

Despeux summarizes:

Etymology and meaning

This Chinese name originally referred to the Daoist " Three Treasures" from the ''Daodejing'', chapter 67: "pity", "frugality", and "refusal to be 'foremost of all things under heaven'". It has subsequently also been used to refer to the and and to the Buddhist Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha). This latter use is misleading, however, as the Three Jewels in Buddhism is a completely different philosophy. The Buddha is the teacher, the Dharma is the teaching, and the Sangha is the community. The Three Jewels of Buddhism are the external supports for achieving realization, while the Three Treasures of Daoism are interior qualities or attitudes to be cultivated.

In long-established Chinese traditions, the "Three Treasures" are the essential energies sustaining human life:
* "nutritive essence, essence; spirit, sperm, seed; extract; refined, perfected"
* "breath, spirit; air, vapor; vitality, energy, force; vigor; attitude"
* "spirit; soul, mind; god, deity; supernatural being"
This ordering is more commonly used than the variants and .

''Neidan''

The Daoist "Mind-Seal Scripture of the Exalted Jade Sovereign" ( (), or the "Imprint of the Heart" (), is a valuable early source about the Three Treasures.

Frederic H. Balfour's brief essay about the "Imprint of the Heart" () contains the earliest known Western reference to the Three Treasures:

Four stages

In ("internal alchemy") practice, transmuting the Three Treasures is expressed through the sequence:
# ()
#: "laying the foundations"
# ()
#: "refining essence into breath"
# ()
#: "refining breath into spirit"
# ()
#: "refining spirit and reverting to emptiness"

''Sanyuan''

Both and Neo-Confucianism distinguish the between "prior to heaven" ( ), referring to what is innate or natural, and "posterior to heaven" ( ), referring to what is acquired in the course of life.

The former are the "three origins" ( ):
# "Original essence" ( )
# "Original breath" ( )
# "Original spirit" ( )

''Xing''

The ''Huainanzi'' () relates and to ("form; shape; body"):

Chinese culture

The ''Journey to the West'' (late 16th century CE) novel refers to the Three Treasures when an enlightened Taoist patriarch instructs Sun Wukong ("Monkey God") with a poem that begins:

References

Bibliography

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External links

Essential Matter, Vital Breath, and Spirit
Taoist Culture & Information Centre

Frances Gander

{{Qigong

Chinese words and phrases
3 Three Treasures (Traditional Chinese Medicine)
Traditional Chinese medicine
Taoist philosophy