论精气神三宝意义/ Taoist Three Treasures.

论精气神三宝意义
天有三宝：日、月、星；地有三宝：水、火、风；人有三宝：精、气、神。
自太上辟道以来，历代仙家真人都很重视人体精气神的修炼。并把三宝看作是人体最宝贵的东西，视为人体生命活动中十分重要的物质。
1． 精，是指人体内部各种物质汇聚而自然形成的最精华、最细微的物质，是人体生命的根本。人始生成，先有精气，精成而脑髓生，骨为干，脉为营，肉为墙，皮肤坚而毛发长。根据精的来源出处，可分为先天之精和后天之精。先天之精乃禀承于父母，即是父母的生殖之精。这就是说胎儿孕育在母体阶段最先禀承的是父母之元精，然后在这个基础上再受母体的气血供养而再生脑髓、骨骼、筋脉、皮肉、毛发等逐渐生长齐全，这就是禀承先天之精的过程。后天之精则来自于后天水谷饮食的精微养份，它是通过水谷人胃、空气人肺后，经过人体的气化作用而生成的。先天之精与后天之精互为表里，相辅相成；共同构成了人体一身的精气。成为人体生命活动的非常重要的物质基础。
2． 气，是构成宇宙间最精微之物质，也是构成人体维持生命活动不可缺少的精微物质。宇宙间万象万物，均禀气而生，禀气而长。人三五天不吃饭可以有生命的存在，若三五分钟不呼吸就没有生命的可能。人之生，气之聚，有气则活，无气则死，这说明气在人体中的特殊作用。精生气，气化精，则说明气赖精以产生，精靠气来转化，相互促进，相互转化，相互激发。气字可以分为广义之气和狭义之气。狭义之气是指呼吸宇宙间的混合之气。广义的气是指人体的真气。修道之士对此两者都非常的重视。真气是由先天之气和后天之气相互凝合而成的，它是人体生命活动的原动力。先天之气是肾的元阴与元阳的聚合之气，也就是所谓之元气。后天之气是由胃所吸纳水谷转化，肺所呼吸之气。气在人体生命活动中的功能不但非常重要而且也是多方面的，但最重要的一点就是气在人体生命中的动力作用。人体中各个器官和组织之所以能够发挥自己的作用，主要的是靠气的动力作用来实现的。所以历代道家修真之士均把气的锻炼，作为练功的一种重要的突破手段，以达到忘却后天，唤回先天，似有似无，绵绵不断而返胎息和无息之境界。　　
3． 神，是指人的精神之活动，这是指大脑的功能是人体生命活动的最高表现，并且是对精神意识、思维活动以及脏腑、经络、精、气、血、津、筋骨、皮毛等活动的内在变化和外在表现的高度概括。因此神也有广义和狭义之区分，狭义的神是指心所主的神态，即人的思维意识活动。广义的神是指整个人体生命活动中的内在变化和外在表现的结合。神是由精与气产生出来的，是有物质基础的。它原寓于父母之精血之中，阴阳结合交媾怀胎后则存于胎中，随着胎儿的出生及婴儿的成长，神亦随着生命而逐渐壮大；但这只是产生神的一个方面。从另一个方面，神还得靠后天的营养才能得到生发，以此说明它是由精气合生而成的。狭义之神为后天之神，亦称为“识神”。识神是人在出生后与外界事物接触和学习、工作的过程中逐渐认识而建立的。广义之神谓之先天之神，是从先天所带来的，故称谓元神。元神与识神相偎相依，相辅相成以共同完成所赋功能。神也是维持人体生命活动的一个重要组成部分，若没有神就没有精神、思维活动。若是一个人没有神的支配，就会失去人所具有的双向调节、控制约束之功能，人就无法维持正常的生命活动。神在整个人体生命活动中具有控制生死存亡的决定性作用。为此古今众多前辈真人所流传的道书中，多主张在练功修养之时，要严格注意调理好守神的诀窍。这也是整个修养过程中最为重要的部分和环节。
4． 精，气，神三者虽然各有其特性和作用，但是彼此之间的关联却是非常的密切，它们互相作用，互相转化，互相联系。其中精是基础，气是动力，神则是其主宰。这三者关系相互为治，但是又不是相互平列的。气即产生于精，精的化生又赖于气，而精与气则是神的活动在人体内的物质基础和能量的源泉，因此若精气旺盛的人其神也会旺盛。若精气不足的人其精神就不会充沛。若过度的消耗了精，就必定会使气亏损。若过度耗散了气，也会损耗精。而精与气的过度消耗，都会呈现出神的不足。反过来若神的过度损耗，也会使精与气受到伤害。由此可见，精不能离开气而独活，气又离不开神而独息，神亦离不开气而独存。精满而气则旺，气旺则神足，神足则精力充沛，身体壮实。前人修炼之士，在修道的过程中亦非常注重凝神炼气，炼气生精，炼精化津，炼津生精，炼精化气，炼气化神，炼神而返虚这样可循环的修真养命之过程.
Taoists say: "Sex is the reason we are born and it is the reason we die." What they mean by this is that it was sexual energy that gave us life and it is the misuse of sexual energy that causes premature aging, illness, and eventually death.
To understand how to achieve immortality we must look closely at three energies that the Taoist call the Three Treasures. The Three Treasures are our essential life energies that create everything physical, mental, and spiritual.
The first treasure is "Ching" or "Jing". Ching is our sexual and physical energy and is related to Poor Earth Spirit energy. It's physical manifestation is the sperm, the egg, as well as the whole body. Ching's primordial energy is to motivate us to procreate and be sexual. It is expressed in the blood and sexual fluids of both sexes. The emotional expression for Ching is sensuality and giving.
The second treasure is "Qi" or "Chi". This is our breath and vital energy. We could not live even a moment without Qi. Qi animates the physical body and activates the mental function. It also animates and attracts us to be sexual. The physical expression of Qi is through the orifices of the mouth and penis for men, and mouth and nipples for women. The emotional expression of Qi is passion and kindness.
The third treasure is "Shen", the mind and spirit energy. Shen relates to the Heavenly Spirit or Hun. It has to do with our spiritual existence and creates the consciousness of sexuality. Shen is expressed through the eyes, and this is where the saying "the eyes are the windows of the soul" comes from. Both compassion and wisdom are the emotional expressions of Shen.
A Taoist could not achieve immortality without fortifying these three treasures. Each treasure builds upon the next. Ching is needed to create Qi. Qi is needed to build Shen. In that order. But there is a limit to the amount of Qi (life energy) we have. We are born with a certain amount and when that Qi is used up the body can no longer exist and we die.
Fortunately, Ching (sexual energy) can be cultivated and made stronger. The Taoists found if they could increase their Ching they could restore and revitalize their Qi. When a person=s Qi was strong enough it activated Shen (spirit) and illumination of the mind/spirit was attained. For this reason, the conserving and gathering of Ching was of utmost importance to a Taoist seeking longevity and spiritual enlightenment.
So how does a person increase their Ching?
Before we can begin to look at ways to increase sexual energy, we must first look at the ways we loose sexual energy. A woman loses Ching every time she has her period. A man loses his Ching every time he ejaculates. To conserve Ching, a man must decrease (not eliminate) the amount of times he ejaculates and a woman=s needs to decrease (not eliminate) her menstrual flow. Some texts on Taoist sexology state that a woman needs to limit her orgasms to conserve her Ching. This perspective comes from a male centered philosophy that has mistakenly treated a woman’s restoration the same way as a man's. Nothing could be further from the truth. Females Taoists know that orgasms do not deplete a woman's Ching. Rather, by using certain techniques, she can make full use of it's energy to benefit her health and well-being.
Conservation of sexual energy is only one part of the equation. For full physical restoration and revitalization a person needs to do more than just conserve his/her Ching. One must also practice methods to build and cultivate it. The techniques for doing are different for men and women.
Sexually speaking, Taoist view men and women as equal partners. To restore youthfulness and vitality, each must capture in the other what is lacking in themselves. Men tend to be more yang in nature; their sexual energy tends to be more active and external. A woman is more yin in her nature and therefore her sexual energy leans towards receptivity and internal experience. One need only glance at male and female genitalia to find legitimacy in this theory. To restore his sexual vitality a man must seek out yin experiences. For a woman to restore her youthfulness and vitality she must seek out yang energy. It is by looking beyond our inherent natures we find methods and techniques that bring greater longevity and health.