thumb|Three-Five-One (三五一) is a core concept in Taoist [[neidan|internal alchemy, fundamentally revealing the cultivation principles of jing, qi, and shen through the fusion of Five Phases' mutual generation/restraint and the numerology of the Hetu]]

thumb|Illustrated commentary based on the diagram of Three-Five-One, authored by [[Ming dynasty Confucian scholar Cheng Yiming]]

The Three Treasures or Three Jewels () are theoretical cornerstones in traditional Chinese medicine and Taoist cultivation practices such as , and . They are jing ("essence"), qi ("breath," "vital force") and shen ("spirit").

The French sinologist 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), which 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 yin in nature, lower abdominal cavity"
  • () "vital energy, life force; breath, air, vapor; vitality, vigor; attitude, abdominal cavity"
  • () "spirit; soul, mind; god, deity; supernatural being and yang in action, upper thoracic cavity"

This ordering is more commonly used than the variants and .

Neidan

thumb|Woodcut illustration of the 'Great and Small Cauldron and Furnace' from Pointers on Spiritual Nature and Bodily Life [[Xingming guizhi, a Daoist text on internal alchemy published 1615. In the figurative language of , the 'cauldron' () refers to the head and the 'furnace' () to the abdomen; the 'great cauldron' is the place of the refinement of and ]]

thumb|Woodcut illustration of the practice known as 'Refining form in the True Void' () from 1615 [[Xingming guizhi]]

thumb|The Three Vitalities Meeting 三家相見圖, 1615 [[Xingming guizhi]]

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 1884 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:

  1. ()
  2. : "laying the foundations"
  3. ()
  4. : "refining essence into breath"
  5. ()
  6. : "refining breath into spirit"
  7. ()
  8. : "refining spirit and reverting to emptiness"

Sanyuan

Both , Neo-Confucianism and Traditional Chinese Medicine distinguish the between "pre heaven" ( ), referring to what is innate or natural, and "post heaven" ( ), referring to what is acquired in the course of life.

The former are the "three origins" ( ):

  1. "Original essence" ( )
  2. "Original breath" ( )
  3. "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 Daoist patriarch instructs Sun Wukong ("Monkey") with a poem that begins:

References

Bibliography

  • .
  • Three Treasures of Taoism: Jing, Qi and Shen in Qigong, Aknanda Qigong Academy
  • THE 3 TREASURES OF LIFE: Jing/Qi/Shen, Frances Gander