|
"The Tenet of the Golden
Flower of Great Duality" (known to the West as "The
Secret of the Golden Flower") is one of the most
important Taoist classics on the theory of cultivating the
elixir. The author of this classic is attributed
to the famous Chinese immortal Lu Dongbin (798 A.D. - ?) who
is believed to have lived on earth for more than 800 years.
However, this classic was
not written by Lu Dongbin in person while he dwelled on earth,
but rather through spirit-writing to seven of his devotees in
1668 A.D. Perhaps because the pre-heavenly
approach described in this classic is quite different from the
post-heavenly approach prevailing at that time (and even
nowadays), the spirit-writing of this classic was neglected
until 24 years later (1692 A.D.) when the same classic was
revealed again during another spirit-writing seance, and the
devotees were blamed for not publishing it. Finally, it got
published in 1775 A.D.
Perhaps because of its
questionable and unusual origin, and the fact that Chinese
scholars found quite big difference between the elixir theory
mentioned in this classic and other works of Lu Dongbin, this
classic was neglected by most Chinese scholars and also by
many Taoists. But, ironically, this classic became
famous to the West through the German translation by Richard
Wilhelm, with the introduction and commentary written by the
famous Carl Jung, the founder of Analytical psychology,
published under the title "Das Geheimnis der Goldenen
Blüte: ein chinesisches Lebensbuch" in 1929
A.D. From the German translation, this classic was
translated into English in 1931 A.D. and became known as
"The Secret of the Golden Flower". Later, it was
translated to Japanese and also other languages and became
well known worldwide.
In fact, this classic stands
as one of the few Taoist classics that documents the Taoist
orthodox pre-heavenly approach to cultivating the golden
elixir - in the same lineage as the "Tao Teh
Ching", "Guan Yinzi" (or known as
"Wenshi Zhenjing") and the "Jade Emperor
Heart Seal Sutra" (Yuhuang Xinyin
Jing), and actually the most detailed one.
But despite of its
popularity, the original German translation by Richard Wilhelm
is not exact and far from complete, probably due to his lack
of knowledge on the theory and personal experience in the
practice of cultivating the golden
elixir. Now, working with this new
translation, I hope to shed some light on this concealed gem
for uplifting mankind to their true nature.
Akrishi
2005/10/28
|
