What is JING? | The Essence of Life in Chinese Philosophy

When you have your Jing (精, jīng) and Shen (神, shén), disease has nowhere to come. You won't get sick. Jing (精, jīng) means essence or vitality, which can be translated as energy. It is the most essential substance, the structure and energy of the human body and of each part of the body. It manifests differently in muscle, in skin, and in organs like the liver, like the spleen, like the lung, like the heart, like the kidney—all different organs. Their structure, substances, and energy forms are different, but they are the most essential, the most fundamental material level, including the energy level. That is the basic meaning of Jing. But the original meaning of this character— if you want to understand Chinese culture, from the point of view of characters— Chinese characters—that's easier. That's the easiest way, and one of the most fundamental ways to learn and understand Chinese culture and the way of thinking. The character means: on the left side is rice (米, mǐ), on the right side is producing—生 (shēng). on the lower part is 丹 (dān), which represents energy mass. When Daoists cultivate energy mass, they do it in the lower middle abdomen, or other parts of the body, but the main Dan is the lower middle abdomen. 生 (shēng) means grow, produce, cultivate. So the original meaning of this character, together, Jing (精) — the first layer is the best quality of rice. Everybody knows rice— what you eat every day. Maybe you eat bread, which is wheat— basically the same. Because rice or wheat— they are seeds. A seed carries with it the potential, the mechanism, and the energy to grow. If you bury it underground, at the proper time, with proper fertilizing and proper watering, it will grow. It is alive, as you can see. In this world, in this dimension, with the naked eye. You plant it in the earth, and it will grow. Alright. On the right side, there is 生丹 (shēng dān), Dan (丹, dān) is the energy mass. No matter Daoist cultivation or many forms of meditation in China, in India, or in other parts of the world, people use specific methods to cultivate. Then they can develop energy mass in their body, which can improve health, and even help develop some supernormal capabilities. That is not superstition— that's a fact, whether you know it or not. But it's there—the energy mass is very strong. That's 精 (jīng). So it's energy, it's material, and it can change, especially in the human body. For example, when you eat rice, that's the essence, the vitality of the food. When you digest it, you break it into small pieces by enzymes— first by your teeth, then by enzymes. That’s called 消（xiāo）— to make it smaller and smaller. Then it transforms— this is Hua (化, huà)— transforming into what your body needs, it becomes part of your body. It is still essence, still material, still energy. This whole process— digestion and transformation in the human body— that’s the mechanism. It's part of the function and structure of 精（jīng）. So 精（jīng） is more generalized, but we use this character to initiate understanding, you can grow, expand, and extend, right? That is the way to learn Chinese characters, and to understand Chinese culture— the traditional way of understanding the world the human body, and human spirituality. emotion, and spirituality. That is Jing (精).