 With its self-manifestation, the Dao gives birth to the three main components of the cosmos. Collectively called the “three treasures” (sanbao), these components are jing, or Essence, qi, or Breath, and shen, or Spirit.[1] Each of them has two aspects, related to their unmanifested or “precelestial” natures and to their “postcelestial” forms in the manifested world. The same three components are also seen as the primary components of the human being.