Shinto/Shang
Fall - Fortnight 16 (Earth+Earth)

1st Fortnight of Winter: Physical Vitality (Stages 1–3, Days 1–15)
1. The Personal within the Universal:
At this level the Universal, ones Original Nature, dawns within the Personal. A new way of living in the world is unveiled, one grounded in experiential certainty, observation, and inquiry.

Introduction: The first cycle, spanning days 1–15, establishes a robust foundation, aligning with the Novice degree and the cave chambers of Purification, Endurance, and Illumination. Drawing from Po’s early stages (organ cleansing, dantian cultivation, inner heat), it integrates Shugendo’s cold purifications and mantra chants to awaken qi and build resilience.

Goal: Achieve physical vitality—a purified body, stable qi flow, and mental fortitude—preparing for deeper alchemical and ascetic work.

How It Is Achieved: Over 15 days, three stages (each five days) combine Po’s meditations with Shugendo exercises. Stage 1 (Days 1–5) cleanses organs, Stage 2 (Days 6–10) builds dantian energy and endurance, and Stage 3 (Days 11–15) ignites inner heat and spiritual insight, reflecting the cave’s journey from cleansing to awakening. Daily practice (e.g., Inner Smile, misogi) ensures gradual progress.

How It Is Measured: Progress is gauged by physical ease (e.g., comfort in cold zazen), energetic sensations (e.g., dantian warmth), and mental clarity. Journaling tracks reduced tension and emotional stability over each fiveday stage, with the milestone confirmed by vibrant health and focus after 15 days.

Major Feast (Day 1): Prepare and eat a Shojin Ryori meal, respecting each grain, as per Dogen’s Tenzo Kyokun: “Do not let a single grain fall to the ground.”

Festival/Nov 4:   Shamans of Shinto and Shang. Purity and power of nature, sensing the essence (Kami) in everything and everyone. The pre-buddhist pre-tao animistic traditions of northern China and Japan. Lao-Tzu.
 
 

5 day Neidan Meditation: Inner Smile Meditation - Sit comfortably, spine straight. Visualize a radiant smile in the heart, spreading to each organ (lungs: white, liver: green, heart: red, spleen: yellow, kidneys: blue). Inhale, filling each organ with light; exhale, releasing toxins. Practice for 15–20 minutes daily.
Purpose: Cleanses physical and emotional blockages, initiating vitality.
Connection to Po: Aligns with Po’s awakening of the primordial force by harmonizing organs.

2. Mindful Dishwashing
   Basis: Dogen’s Tenzo Kyokun on respecting utensils and food preparation.
   Exercise: Wash dishes by hand, feeling the water and soap, treating each plate as sacred. Contemplate Dogen’s words: “Handle even a single leaf of green as if it were the Buddha.”

3. Walking Meditation (Kinhin)
   Basis: Soto Zen’s walking meditation to cultivate mindfulness.
   Exercise: Walk slowly in a circle or straight path, synchronizing breath with steps (inhale two steps, exhale two steps). Focus on the earth beneath your feet.

4. Tending a Small Plant
   Basis: Chan/Zen farming as spiritual practice, reflecting Neidan’s nurturing of Jing.
   Exercise: Water and care for a potted plant, visualizing your essence being nourished as you nurture the plant’s roots.

5. Salt Purification Ritual
   Basis: Shinto’s salt ritual for cleansing impurities.
   Exercise: Sprinkle a pinch of salt around your space, then rub a small amount between your palms, visualizing negative energies dissolving into the earth.
 

7. Breathing the Cauldron
   Basis: Neidan’s lower Dantian breathing to gather Qi.
   Exercise: Sit cross-legged, hands on lower abdomen. Inhale deeply, visualizing golden light pooling in your Dantian (below navel). Exhale, releasing tension.

8. Koan: The Sound of One Hand
   Basis: Rinzai Zen’s famous koan to break dualistic thinking.
   Exercise: Sit in Zazen, asking: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Hold the question without seeking an answer.

9. Chanting “Mu”
   Basis: Rinzai Zen’s use of “Mu” (from Gateless Gate) to exhaust the mind.
   Exercise: Chant “Mu” softly with each exhale for 10 minutes, letting the sound resonate in your chest.

10. Contemplating the Diamond Mandala
    Basis: Shingon’s Diamond Mandala, symbolizing indestructible wisdom.
    Exercise: Visualize a radiant diamond at your heart, its facets reflecting all phenomena. Contemplate: “All is one, one is all.”
 

12. Wall-Gazing Meditation
    Basis: Bodhidharma’s nine-year wall-gazing (Soto Zen).
    Exercise: Sit facing a blank wall, letting thoughts dissolve. Visualize your mind as a still lake, reflecting the wall’s emptiness.

13. Visualizing the Golden Embryo
    Basis: Neidan’s early stage of forming the Immortal Embryo.
    Exercise: Sit in meditation, visualizing a golden seed in your Dantian, glowing with each breath, symbolizing your spiritual potential.

14. Contemplating a Rock Garden (Fast Day) Nika Danjiki* Fast
    Basis: Zen rock gardens as tools for contemplation; Neidan’s focus on stillness.
    Exercise: Sit before a small arrangement of stones (or visualize a rock garden). Contemplate their stillness as a reflection of your eternal nature, preparing for life after death.

15. Offering to Hungry Ghosts (Fast Day) Nika Danjiki* Fast
    Basis: Buddhist offerings to ease suffering of spirits.
    Exercise: Place a small bowl of rice on your altar, dedicating it to hungry ghosts. Meditate on compassion, visualizing their liberation as your own.
 

*Nika Danjiki (Two-Day Ascetic Fast): "Danjiki" (cutting food) is a Buddhist term for fasting, used in Shugendo’s ascetic practices like mountain pilgrimages or waterfall meditation (takigyo). "Nika" specifies the duration. This name reflects Shugendo’s blend of Buddhism, Shinto, and nature-based austerity.