The 3 Treasures Chi, Jing & Shen refer to specific aspects of internal training. I will introduce them here in this post.
Chi refers to the energy itself and is of course the first treasure of the body. The idea of chi being a treasure among internal arts teachers is that you want to build up a reservoir of chi and store it up like money in the bank so that you will have access to it on a rainy (sick) day and or when you get old.
Jing is the expression or manipulation of chi directed by the mind intent. The basic jing expression that is considered a treasure is both the sexual essence in the body which is the mind causing a creation of chemicals and electro-magnetic energy in the body and the idea that you want to build and store jing into your bones making the bones very strong and healthy and also building up such an amount that once again you have access to your treasure stored inside of your body for whenever you need it.
Last but not least is shen. Shen is the emotional mind and heart also referred to as spirit. A person who takes care of themselves physically and emotionally can retain a spirit of vitality up into very advanced years. As long as you keep this spirit you still have the ability to accumulate chi and to make jing. Hence the idea that shen is also a treasure of the body.
The 3 Treasures Chi, Jing & Shen are considered to be the essence of vitality and treasures to be cultivated and saved in the body for use in advanced years. I hope this post has helped to shed some light on this topic.
Blessings and treasure to you and yours.
Thank you. Your explanation on three treasures is the best one I have read so far. I am writing a book about longevity and the Taoist conception about human energies is very important for me. My standpoint about human body, mind and spirit might be interesting for you. If you like, we can exchange our ideas on relevant topics.
Sigung Clear is always happy to exchange ideas with like minded folks, but he is also an extremely busy individual! If you would like to talk with him in more depth on the subject, you should come to one of our Healing Workshops. There is plenty of time budgeted in for personal discussions on the role of Human Energy and the Mind in healing.
We usually have these twice a year in the Spring and Fall, and the next one for 2018 will be in November. Keep an eye on our Events page for the earliest chance to register.