Shen
Glossary: shen 神, 'spirit' — the third of jing-qi-shen, the mind's luminous and animating aspect, and what concentration condenses.
Shen (神, shén) — “spirit,” the third term of the classical triad jing–qi–shen (essence–qi–spirit). In the meditative context it names the mind in its luminous, animating aspect: what condenses when attention becomes single (“intention undivided, spirit condenses” — 用志不分，乃凝于神, Zhuangzi ch. 19), and what is unsettled by contrivance (“when pure whiteness is not whole, the spirit grows unsettled; when the spirit grows unsettled, the Dao does not dwell there” — ch. 12). As the finest of the three treasures, shen is the summit of the alchemical path: refine essence to qi, qi to spirit, spirit to emptiness.
Usage note: shen overlaps with but is not identical to the modern “mind” (xin 心, entry) — the tradition distributes mental life across both terms, roughly as the vessel (xin) and its light (shen). Translators have used “spirit,” “numen,” “spirituality,” and “mind”; this site uses “spirit” with a gloss where the meditative sense matters.
The mind that aims is yi (intention); what condenses when the aiming steadies is shen.
Sources
- Zhuangzi ch. 19 (Dasheng): 'intention undivided, spirit condenses' (用志不分，乃凝于神)
- Zhuangzi ch. 12 (Tiandi): 'when the machine-mind is lodged in the breast, pure whiteness is not whole; when pure whiteness is not whole, the spirit (神) grows unsettled; when the spirit grows unsettled, the Dao does not dwell there' (纯白不备，则神生不定；神生不定者，道之所不载也)
- Huangting neijing jing and the jing-qi-shen triad