Stephen Eskildsen
Biographic Data
| ID | 582600 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Stephen Eskildsen |
| GIVEN NAMES | Stephen |
| FAMILY NAME | Eskildsen |
| SIGNATURE | ESKILDSEN S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Tennessee at Chattanooga |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 1 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 17 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2001 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2020 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
The Ancient Awl of 700 Years: Hibernation and Quanzhen Meditation
The famous Quanzhen master Qiu Chuji (1143-1227), according to the Zhenxian zhizhi yulu , once stated: "A person of old has said, 'First your thoughts stop. Second, your breathing stops. Third, your pulse stops. Fourth, there is complete cessation.' You enter into the great meditative trance and do not interact at all with things, [much like] the ancient awl of 700-years." This statement describes how mental activity, breathing, and pulse can be …
Some Wondrous Effects of Inner Calm, as Described and Explained in Yu Yan's Zhouyi cantong qi fahui
This essay examines what Yu Yan's Zhouyi cantong qi fahui says about the suspension of breathing and pulse, as well as the extraordinary inner sensations and visions that accompany it. Yu Yan maintains that these things come about by simply bringing body and mind to the depths of stillness; they are not instigated through deliberate procedures such as holding of breath, visualization, incantation, gulping air, swallowing saliva, etc. Through shee…
Bodhidharma Outside Chan Literature: Immortal, Inner Alchemist, and Emissary from the Eternal Realm
In Daozang texts, sectarian hagiographies, and late imperial inner alchemy (neidan 内丹) writings, the life and teachings of Bodhidharma were reconceived in interesting ways, often by drawing upon and magnifying the Chan 禪 Buddhist motifs. From Daozang texts it is apparent that certain parties regarded him as a master of the immortality technique of Embryonic Breathing, or as having transmitted teachings on how to anticipate death and safely naviga…
Debating what Lü Dongbin Practiced: Why did the Yuan Daoist Miao Shanshi Denounce the Zhong-Lü Texts
Miao Shanshi (fl. 1324), in his Chunyang dijun shenhua miaotong ji , a large collection of stories about the legendary immortal Lü Dongbin, denounces as spurious and fallacious the three so-called “Zhong-Lü texts” ( Zhong-Lü chuandao ji , Lingbao bifa, and Xishan qunxian huizhen ji ) that claim to convey the inner alchemical teachings learned and practiced by Lü Dongbin. So why did Miao Shanshi, who saw himself as a champion of Quanzhen Daoist or…
Daoism, Meditation, and the Wonders of Serenity: From the Latter Han Dynasty (25-220) to the Tang Dynasty (618-907)
Reiter, Florian C: Man, Nature and the Infinite: The Scope of Taoist Thunder Magic Rituals
The Teachings and Practices of the Early Quanzhen Taoist Masters
Do Immortals Kill: The Controversy Surrounding Lü Dongbin
This paper examines what Buddhist texts, vernacular novels and Daoist texts variously tell us about Lü Dongbin’s sword, and whether or not he ever used it to carry out or attempt murder. It then proceeds to examine—through Tang and Song Daoist sources—what sorts of actual Daoist practices and claims may have been instrumental in engendering such stories
Some Troubles and Perils of Taoist Meditation
Sometimes, Taoist meditation can entail certain troubles and perils. The troubles can be both mental and physical, and the perils can include neurosis, insanity, illness and even death. These problems, it would seem, are caused by the severity of the self-denial that practitioners are sometimes required or encouraged to undertake, as well as by the nature of the meditation technique and the consequent trance experience. This paper will examine ho…
Daoist Body Cultivation: Traditional Models and Contemporary Practices – Edited by Livia Kohn
Mystical Ascent and Out-of-Body Experience in Medieval Daoism
(2007). Mystical Ascent and Out-of-Body Experience in Medieval Daoism. Journal of Chinese Religions: Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 36-62
Emergency Death Meditations for Internal Alchemists
An "emergency death meditation" is a psychic technique performed by a religious adept who has yet to attain the desired level of perfection but faces imminent death. This essay examines a few Daoist examples of such techniques endorsed in late Tang or early Song internal alchemical texts, such as the Taibai huandan pian, Zhen longhu jiuxian jing, and Dongyuanzi neidan jue. These texts describe emergency death meditation methods whereby the practi…
Teachings and Practices of the Early Quanzhen Taoist Masters, The
B ook R eviews and N otes
Society and the Supernatural in Song China
Seeking Signs of Proof: Visions and Other Trance Phenomena in Early Quanzhen Taoism
(2001). Seeking Signs of Proof: Visions and Other Trance Phenomena in Early Quanzhen Taoism. Journal of Chinese Religions: Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 139-160
Neidan Master Chen Pu's Nine Stages of Transformation
「陳先生内丹訣」的成仙理論與功法這論文考論『陳先生内丹訣』的成仙理論與功法。『陳先生』名朴、字沖用。序文 説他是唐末五代初人。他在元豐戊戌年間(1076年)遊南部、傳授淮南野叟以内丹 訣。這個「野叟」想是『陳先生内丹訣』的编述者,該寄的成書想是1078年左右。 所以它能説是跟主要的鍾呂派内丹書(『鍾呂傳道集』、『霣賨畢法』、『西山群 仙會真記』等)同一時代的作品。『陳先生内丹訣』的序文也説陳朴「受道於鍾離 先生與呂洞賓同師也」。但看來『陳先生内丹訣』的成仙理論與功法是非常特異的 。其内容與鍾呂派的主流教説不同。「坤戶」,像女人一樣。以後他也在臍上生「地帶」,像胎兒或者新生兒。從「一轉」到「五轉」的過程中,修行者在肚子裏面先「懷 孕」,後慢慢地「育養」 一個「胎仙」。長大以後這個胎仙完備了面目、手足、五 嶽(五臓)與魂魄,還能自在地出入修行者的身體,遊行千里之外。這是永遠不死 的「出神之真身」。但是在這段階,修行者逸沒達到最妙的成果。内丹的主要學派(鍾呂派、北派全真教、内丹南宗等)一般地説…
Some Wondrous Effects of Inner Calm, as Described and Explained in Yu Yan's Zhouyi cantong qi fahui
This essay examines what Yu Yan's Zhouyi cantong qi fahui says about the suspension of breathing and pulse, as well as the extraordinary inner sensations and visions that accompany it. Yu Yan maintains that these things come about by simply bringing body and mind to the depths of stillness; they are not instigated through deliberate procedures such as holding of breath, visualization, incantation, gulping air, swallowing saliva, etc. Through shee…
Seeking Signs of Proof: Visions and Other Trance Phenomena in Early Quanzhen Taoism
(2001). Seeking Signs of Proof: Visions and Other Trance Phenomena in Early Quanzhen Taoism. Journal of Chinese Religions: Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 139-160
Neidan Master Chen Pu's Nine Stages of Transformation
「陳先生内丹訣」的成仙理論與功法這論文考論『陳先生内丹訣』的成仙理論與功法。『陳先生』名朴、字沖用。序文 説他是唐末五代初人。他在元豐戊戌年間(1076年)遊南部、傳授淮南野叟以内丹 訣。這個「野叟」想是『陳先生内丹訣』的编述者,該寄的成書想是1078年左右。 所以它能説是跟主要的鍾呂派内丹書(『鍾呂傳道集』、『霣賨畢法』、『西山群 仙會真記』等)同一時代的作品。『陳先生内丹訣』的序文也説陳朴「受道於鍾離 先生與呂洞賓同師也」。但看來『陳先生内丹訣』的成仙理論與功法是非常特異的 。其内容與鍾呂派的主流教説不同。「坤戶」,像女人一樣。以後他也在臍上生「地帶」,像胎兒或者新生兒。從「一轉」到「五轉」的過程中,修行者在肚子裏面先「懷 孕」,後慢慢地「育養」 一個「胎仙」。長大以後這個胎仙完備了面目、手足、五 嶽(五臓)與魂魄,還能自在地出入修行者的身體,遊行千里之外。這是永遠不死 的「出神之真身」。但是在這段階,修行者逸沒達到最妙的成果。内丹的主要學派(鍾呂派、北派全真教、内丹南宗等)一般地説…
B ook R eviews and N otes
Society and the Supernatural in Song China
Teachings and Practices of the Early Quanzhen Taoist Masters, The
Emergency Death Meditations for Internal Alchemists
An "emergency death meditation" is a psychic technique performed by a religious adept who has yet to attain the desired level of perfection but faces imminent death. This essay examines a few Daoist examples of such techniques endorsed in late Tang or early Song internal alchemical texts, such as the Taibai huandan pian, Zhen longhu jiuxian jing, and Dongyuanzi neidan jue. These texts describe emergency death meditation methods whereby the practi…
Mystical Ascent and Out-of-Body Experience in Medieval Daoism
(2007). Mystical Ascent and Out-of-Body Experience in Medieval Daoism. Journal of Chinese Religions: Vol. 35, No. 1, pp. 36-62
Do Immortals Kill: The Controversy Surrounding Lü Dongbin
This paper examines what Buddhist texts, vernacular novels and Daoist texts variously tell us about Lü Dongbin’s sword, and whether or not he ever used it to carry out or attempt murder. It then proceeds to examine—through Tang and Song Daoist sources—what sorts of actual Daoist practices and claims may have been instrumental in engendering such stories
Some Troubles and Perils of Taoist Meditation
Sometimes, Taoist meditation can entail certain troubles and perils. The troubles can be both mental and physical, and the perils can include neurosis, insanity, illness and even death. These problems, it would seem, are caused by the severity of the self-denial that practitioners are sometimes required or encouraged to undertake, as well as by the nature of the meditation technique and the consequent trance experience. This paper will examine ho…
Daoist Body Cultivation: Traditional Models and Contemporary Practices – Edited by Livia Kohn
The Teachings and Practices of the Early Quanzhen Taoist Masters
Daoism, Meditation, and the Wonders of Serenity: From the Latter Han Dynasty (25-220) to the Tang Dynasty (618-907)
Reiter, Florian C: Man, Nature and the Infinite: The Scope of Taoist Thunder Magic Rituals
Debating what Lü Dongbin Practiced: Why did the Yuan Daoist Miao Shanshi Denounce the Zhong-Lü Texts
Miao Shanshi (fl. 1324), in his Chunyang dijun shenhua miaotong ji , a large collection of stories about the legendary immortal Lü Dongbin, denounces as spurious and fallacious the three so-called “Zhong-Lü texts” ( Zhong-Lü chuandao ji , Lingbao bifa, and Xishan qunxian huizhen ji ) that claim to convey the inner alchemical teachings learned and practiced by Lü Dongbin. So why did Miao Shanshi, who saw himself as a champion of Quanzhen Daoist or…
Bodhidharma Outside Chan Literature: Immortal, Inner Alchemist, and Emissary from the Eternal Realm
In Daozang texts, sectarian hagiographies, and late imperial inner alchemy (neidan 内丹) writings, the life and teachings of Bodhidharma were reconceived in interesting ways, often by drawing upon and magnifying the Chan 禪 Buddhist motifs. From Daozang texts it is apparent that certain parties regarded him as a master of the immortality technique of Embryonic Breathing, or as having transmitted teachings on how to anticipate death and safely naviga…
Some Wondrous Effects of Inner Calm, as Described and Explained in Yu Yan's Zhouyi cantong qi fahui
This essay examines what Yu Yan's Zhouyi cantong qi fahui says about the suspension of breathing and pulse, as well as the extraordinary inner sensations and visions that accompany it. Yu Yan maintains that these things come about by simply bringing body and mind to the depths of stillness; they are not instigated through deliberate procedures such as holding of breath, visualization, incantation, gulping air, swallowing saliva, etc. Through shee…
The Ancient Awl of 700 Years: Hibernation and Quanzhen Meditation
The famous Quanzhen master Qiu Chuji (1143-1227), according to the Zhenxian zhizhi yulu , once stated: "A person of old has said, 'First your thoughts stop. Second, your breathing stops. Third, your pulse stops. Fourth, there is complete cessation.' You enter into the great meditative trance and do not interact at all with things, [much like] the ancient awl of 700-years." This statement describes how mental activity, breathing, and pulse can be …
Chinese history and philosophy (14 works) · Philosophy (10 works) · Art (8 works) · History (7 works) · Theology (7 works) · Psychology (6 works) · Literature (5 works) · Alchemy (4 works) · Japanese History and Culture (4 works) · Medicine (4 works)