Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c12.s2.29

v2.c12.s2.29

During the period of Northern Song, Zhang Junfang (late 10th to mid-11th century CE) collected several pre-10ᵗʰ century Daoist Qigong works for his compilation entitled *Yun Ji Qiqian* (*The Seven Tablets in a Cloudy Satchel*), which included articles like *Damo dashi zhushi liu xing nei zhen miao yong jue* (The Great Dharma Master's Truly Excellent Useful Formula for Living) written under a pseudonym. It was not at all connected with Master Dharma. It had terms like Western Country, Sakyamuni, but its content was primarily concerned with the Daoist embryonic breathing method with emphasis on Daoist self-cultivation techniques based on energy, breathing, supernatural spirit, etc., for well being and achieving harmony. This evinces the union of Buddhist and Daoist methods long time back. In ‘*Yun Ji Qiqian*’, there is also a chapter entitled "Xuan Jian Daoyin fa (Profound Mirror for Breathing Guidance Method), which describes the 13 breathing guidance treatise, wherein the first and fifth ones twice refers to Padmāsana. Paryanka-nibaddha-niṣadya (also mentioned in Vajradharma-Lokeśvara (as «Mayuropari... nisannam... sattvaparyaṅkam àbhujya») that refers to a Buddhist meditational posture. Such examples demonstrate the absorption of Buddhist postures into Daoist meditation.