Eight-Section Vajra Gong (Bā Bù Jīngāng Gōng) — Inner Teachings & Practice Guide

Core Principle (心法 / Xīnfǎ)

Guard the Spirit. Focus the Mind. Use Form to Command the Spirit.

Keep all five fingers together throughout the practice — this is essential. It means you are fully aware of what you are doing, aware of your body's condition, and directing your spirit with intention. If the spirit wanders, the fingers will naturally separate.

Section One: Pierce the Heavens with Both Hands to Benefit the Triple Burner

双手插顶利三焦

Key Points:

1. Relax the shoulders. Use force, but do not become stiff. The entire process should be natural — do not use excessive muscular force. The "hardness" (刚 / Gāng) referred to here is an inner strength, not the rigidity of muscles.
2. In the opening movement, lead upward with the elbows, not the shoulders. Pause for 1–2 seconds at each position.
3. Flip the palms upward swiftly.
4. The key is in the upward thrust — when both hands reach the top position, the backs of the hands must press firmly together.
5. After completing the Triple Burner movement, let the hands come down in a relaxed manner.

Section Two: Hands and Feet Reach Forward and Back to Strengthen the Kidneys and Waist

手足前后固肾腰

Key Points:

1. When thrusting the hands forward, keep them pressed together tightly.
2. When the hands are behind the back, pull them upward forcefully while keeping them pressed together. (This may feel somewhat challenging.)

Do not seek comfort. If it feels comfortable, it means the practice is not producing results.

Section Three: Regulate the Spleen and Skin by Raising One Arm

调理脾肤需单举

Key Points:

1. In the opening stance, draw the hand back as far as possible (to the left side of the chest, resembling the gesture of a "lucky cat" figurine).
2. Form a square fist (方拳): the thumb presses horizontally across the nail area of the four fingers.
3. Raise the arm upward as if lifting a thousand pounds; press downward as if subduing a wild beast.
4. The retraction requires equal force — pull the fist back and place it at the waist. (Normally, by this point you should already be sweating.)

Section Four: Left Liver, Right Lung — Drawing the Bow Like Shooting an Eagle

左肝右肺如射雕

Key Points:

1. When the hands draw circles, place your spirit (awareness) on the hands. The eyes do not need to follow the circular motion (otherwise you may get dizzy).
2. When drawing the bow, the palm should form a 45-degree angle. Use genuine, real force.
3. At full extension, pause for 1–2 seconds to maintain balance. Do not become stiff.

There is a secret key to this movement:
"Where the eyes go, the mind follows. Where the mind goes, the Qi follows. Where the Qi moves, the blood follows. Where the blood flows, the essence (Jīng) arrives."

Section Five: Turn the Head and Gaze at the Feet to Dispel Heart Ailments

回头望足去心疾

Key Points:

Teacher Yī Dāo uses an everyday scenario as a metaphor for this movement:

"Imagine you are ordering food: you look at the menu, the dish doesn't look appetizing, so you say — 'No, I don't want it…'"

(The motion mimics this natural gesture of looking down and turning away.)

Section Six: Gaze Behind to Heal the Five Taxations and Seven Injuries

五劳七伤向后瞧

Key Points:

1. Lower the eyelids slightly (垂帘). Calm and settle the mind and spirit. Focus only on yourself; do not be disturbed by the outside world.
2. First turn the head — turn it as far as it will go, pause briefly, then turn the body. Twist slowly, as if wringing a towel — it is a spiraling twist, not a folding or bending motion. Direct your gaze from the shoulder blade diagonally downward toward the opposite heel. (You should barely be able to see the heel. If you can see it easily, something is wrong.)
3. Every movement must be slow. Pause for 1–2 seconds at each position. Let the gaze turn inward — inner illumination (内照).

Note on the "Five Taxations and Seven Injuries" (五劳七伤):

The Five Taxations (五劳) refer to damage caused by prolonged activities:

• Prolonged walking injures the sinews (筋)
• Prolonged standing injures the bones (骨)
• Prolonged sitting injures the blood (血)
• Prolonged lying down injures the Qi (气)
• Prolonged overthinking injures the body (身)

As stated in the "Huangdi Neijing" (Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine):
"Prolonged gazing injures the blood; prolonged lying injures the Qi; prolonged sitting injures the flesh; prolonged standing injures the bones; prolonged walking injures the sinews."

Section Seven: The Phoenix Spreads Its Wings with Whole-Body Power

凤凰展翅周身力

Key Points:

1. When pressing downward, ensure your stance is correct. The feet should not be placed in a single straight line — stand at a width that feels stable and comfortable. Otherwise, you risk injury.
2. Progress from slow to fast. When moving slowly, draw large circles, fully extending and stretching the body, rotating with the motion.
3. As you speed up, the movements grow increasingly fierce and powerful — like a battle reaching its climax. Fling all the sick Qi out of the body.

Section Eight: Stomp Both Feet to Aid Digestion — Closing the Practice

两足顿顿饮食消，收功

Key Points:

1. When stomping, clench the teeth firmly to protect the internal organs.
2. When closing the practice, visualize the Qi flowing down along the Ren Mai (Conception Vessel): from the back of the head, to the front of the chest, along the ribs, down through both legs, and finally reaching the Yongquan point (Bubbling Spring) at the soles of the feet — penetrating straight down into the center of the earth. Send all the sick Qi downward and out.

Additional Guidance

For the Elderly

Elderly practitioners must move slowly. After completing each section, pause briefly and wait until the breathing has fully settled before proceeding to the next section.

Parting Words from the Hundred-Year-Old Daoist Master

The following passage was spoken by the centenarian Daoist elder when he transmitted this practice:

"Our physical body is passive; it is our spirit and mind that are active.

The spirit requires Qi. When the spirit moves, the Qi moves — this is certain. When the spirit is still, the Qi is still. The moment the spirit stirs, the Qi stirs with it — they are inseparable. When the Qi moves, the blood moves. When the blood moves, the sinews move. Everything moves together.

These movements may look simple, but when we practice Vajra Gong, we are driving out every illness from our body. Only then can we attain the Vajra Body — the indestructible body of diamond."