What are the three components of the Hun,

and the seven components of the Po of the soul?

I Ching states: “I” is aligned to Heaven and Earth. Thus it

encompasses the Tao of Heaven and Earth. It explains not

only the observable world, but also the unobservable world

of spirits. It embraces the law of beginning, end, and regeneration

of all phenomena and matters. It knows that all matters are

formed by spirits and vitality, and the soul governs the changes

of the matters.

The generic term “soul” is actually a trichotomy of the soul,

Hun, and Po. The soul is the pivot of a man’s life or death.

When the human body grows, the soul disperses into the nerve

endings to form the Hun and the sensual organs to form the Po.

The Hun consists of three components: the first component is

the Sheng-hun (the Spirit of Growth), the second is the Jue-hun

(the Spirit of Awareness), and the third is the You-hun

(the Spirit of Thought and Inspiration). (You-hun is what most

people refer to when they speak of ‘soul’).

The Po in the sensual organs i.e; the eyes, ears, nose, tongue,

body, and mind, generates the six desires. The six sensual

organs then generate the seven emotions of happiness, rage,

sadness, joyousness, love, hatred, and lust. These are the seven

components of the Po. When one deals with other people and

attends to various daily chores, his Po generates desires and

emotions and is expended by converting into the physical

energy. That also depletes the souls to the extent that it cannot

be restored to its original True Self and cannot return to God’s kingdom.

While the True Self is the essence of the human life, the Hun and

the Po are the human life. That is why all Saints preached the

doctrine of practising both the True Self and the life. The Qi (spirit)of

Hun and Po is just like an invisible bond linking the soul and the

body. They function as a medium synchronizing the soul and the

body. The Qi of Hun and Po is called the “silver ribbon.” When the

True Self resides in the body, one is alive. When the True Self departs

from the body, one dies. When a person is alive, his Hun resides in

the liver and his Po resides in the lung. When the Hun and Po reside

in the body, one is alive. When the Hun and Po leave the body, one

dies. The You-hun is the seed for the cycle of birth and death, and

rebirth. When a person dies, his Sheng-hun stays at the funeral hall

while his Jue-hun stays at his grave. His You-hun reports to Hell

for judgement. It is the You-hun which becomes a human or ghost,

a Saint or a Sage, the good or the bad, or an animal. The True Self

is the first to enter the body before birth and the first to leave the body

upon death.

At the moment an infant gives his first cry, the Hun enters his body.

When the Hun enters the body, the True Self is connected with the

Qi of Hou-tien (oxygen); the Hun is now dependent on the body to

manifest itself. If the You-hun does not enter the body, even with the

True Self, the infant cannot live. That is why infants must cry at the

time of birth in order to live.

The Po depends on the coagulation of vitality and the Qi in Hou-tien

for existence. It takes forty-nine days after birth for the seven

components of the Po to become fully established. Similarly, the

seven components will not totally vanish until forty-nine days

after death.

The word “It” in the statement of the Heart Sutra “It cannot be

created or destroyed. It cannot be contaminated or purified. It

cannot be enhanced or degraded” refers to the True Self. The

True Self cannot be drown in water, nor burned in fire. The

True Self resides in a different body for every life, just like

one moves from a house to another; the True Self does not

change. The True Self always resides in the Right Portal. It

reigns the entire body without entering nor exiting. That is

why in order to practise Tao, one must first focus his effort

on the True Self.