《元始天尊说得道了身经》

At that time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (a venerated deity of Daoism), in the Palace of the Heaven of Pure Subtlety within the Sacred Realm of Jade Clarity, situated within the Terrace of Yuluo Xiao and above the pure depths of the myriad array, manifested the true and holy appearance of emptiness and spontaneous naturalness, and yet of purposeful activity. He promulgated the primordial and boundless Dao (the Way), setting forth the wondrous principles of the Prior Heaven before Heaven and Earth had differentiated, as well as the complete Great Dao of purity, stillness, and Wuwei (non-action) that preserves innate heavenly nature, and he expounded to the immortal hosts of the various heavens this scripture, the Scripture of Being Born in Heaven, Attaining the Dao, Quanzhen (Complete Perfection), and Perfecting the Body.

Those who cultivate body and mind and seek liberation should moderate their eating, sit alone with the mouth closed, the lips lightly together and the teeth touching. They should not look upon deviant or strange sights, nor listen to licentious sounds. Wash the mind of its thoughts and clear away stray concerns; face the outer world without being moved by it. Let the various thoughts gradually subside, so that outside ideas cannot enter and inner ideas do not go outward. Give rise to not a single thought, and forget all affairs.

Gather in the hearing, so that the ears do not chase after sounds. Store away the gaze, so that the eyes turn inward. Seal the mouth and tongue, so that the breath does not leak out. Even out the breathing through the nose. Concentrate the Shen (spirit) and settle the intention, keeping the mind wholly within the body. Let the breath be long and fine, so soft that it can hardly be noticed, seeming to exist and yet not to exist, and never let it break. As the mind and spirit settle with the breath, the nature settles, and the Qi (vital energy) of life becomes steady. When both nature and life are preserved, body and spirit alike reach subtlety and unite with the Dao (the Way).

The state of mind becomes clear and tranquil, and awareness sinks into profound stillness. The spirit is unified and whole, merged like something not yet differentiated. The spirit, the hun-soul, the po-soul, the intention, and the other inner elements of body and mind fuse into one. The Three Origins (the primal energies of the upper, middle, and lower regions in Daoist thought) gather; the Four Images (four forces symbolizing the transformations of Yin-Yang) are harmonized; the Five Qi return to the Origin (three or five inner energies gathering at their source); the Three Flowers gather at the crown (Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen condensed above). One returns to the root and the origin, restores one's destiny and goes back to the source, and the myriad spirits revert to unity. In this way one can embrace everything, and there is nothing that cannot be contained.

After this, the heart-fire descends of its own accord and the kidney-water rises of its own accord, and saliva forms in the mouth naturally. After long refinement the saliva is not easily lost. The blood vessels in the body seem to move like wind, and in the abdomen there seems to be the rumbling of thunder. A tune without strings seems to sound without being played, and to ring without being struck. A harmonious and pure Qi flows through the whole body, like ghee (refined, essential cream) poured over the crown of the head, or sweet dew sprinkled over the heart. After long cultivation, when the work is complete, the Yin Qi is exhausted and the Yang Qi is pure and whole. The Sacred Embryo (the inner root symbolizing spiritual attainment in cultivation) forms, as though there were another body within the body, and the spirit is perfected as a true sage.

The true sage unites with the Great Void, the Great Void unites with True Emptiness, and True Emptiness in turn unites with Emptiness and Naturalness. Emptiness and Naturalness is the Primordial True Unity, and the Primordial True Unity is my true body. It was born before heaven and earth, born without form; it grew before heaven and earth, grew without substance. Though without form or substance, the great Dao endures always, and through endless kalpas it does not decay. One can dwell alongside the many sages, gaze upon the inner realms, behold scenes within the void, and the divine intelligence seems able to speak. One's lifespan equals that of heaven and earth, the sun and the moon. Freed from birth and death, one has then attained the full fruit of the true Dao.

When heaven, spirits, malign forces, and human beings each obtain the "True Unity," they manifest different results. When heaven obtains True Unity, its divine light is clear and bright; when earth obtains it, the myriad things arise; when malign forces obtain it, they naturally return to rectitude; when spirits obtain it, they become the many numinous spirits and true sages; when human beings obtain it, they form the true embryo of an immortal. The Dao is originally empty and void, and within the Three Powers of heaven, earth, and humanity, and the six directions, there is nowhere it is not numinous and nowhere it is not sacred. The Dao is the ancestor of the myriad sages and the root of the myriad things. The practitioner should concentrate the Shen and refine the Qi, constantly preserving clarity and stillness through day and night. When the Numinous Terrace (the seat of the heart-spirit) has no stray thoughts, this is called "clarity"; when not a single thought arises, this is called "stillness." When the intention is settled and the spirit complete, the source of the waters is clear; when the intention moves wildly and the spirit runs after it, the source of the waters is turbid.

If one eats too much, the breath is hard to settle. If the gaze cannot be gathered in, the divine light is not bright. If the ears keep chasing sounds, the spirit cannot abide. If sounds and sights never cease, Jing and Qi are hard to preserve. If stray thoughts are endlessly tangled, the heart and spirit find no peace. When the heart and spirit are not at peace, the numinous nature is not manifest; when the numinous nature is not clear, the Sacred Embryo cannot form; and when the Sacred Embryo does not form, one falls among the shades and ghosts of the Yin realm. The body is the dwelling of Qi, and the heart is the dwelling of Shen. When the intention stirs, there is action; when action does not stop, the Shen moves along with it, and the Qi is scattered. True Wuwei (non-action) means that although there is activity, the heart and spirit do not move wildly, and stillness is within it.

The breath settles along with the Shen, the spirit is whole and merged, the Shen condenses and the Qi gathers. When one reaches complete perfection and Wuwei, with the myriad spirits returned to unity, then Shen and Qi coalesce. When Shen and Qi unite, the true Qi of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) is formed into the "Daogui" (a term from internal alchemy for the elixir or essence-Qi that has been refined and condensed). Shen, Qi, and saliva are regarded as true water and true fire. Swallowing the saliva and taking in the true Qi is called "drinking the Daogui," and is also called "ghee poured over the crown," "sweet dew sprinkled on the heart," or "washing the heart and cleansing the thoughts." When the heart and spirit do not move, this is true bathing. Within true clarity and stillness, there is also transformation at work.

If practitioners do not understand the crux of movement and stillness and their changes, do not grasp the inner refinement symbolized by swallowing saliva and taking in Qi, and are not versed in the principles of constant truth and complete truth, how can they attain the Dao and become true? When the breath is not disturbed and the intention is settled, this is called "withdrawing." When the intention does not move and the Shen condenses and the Qi gathers, this is called "adding." When the Shen is condensed yet the intention stirs, this is called "martial refining"; when the breath is settled and Shen and Qi gather, this is called "civil simmering." When outer thoughts do not enter and inner thoughts do not go out, this is called "sealing." When the two Qi of Yin and Yang unite, each taking one part, this is called "the two Qi joined, one catty each." Take Emptiness and Naturalness as the method of operation, and the return of the myriad spirits to unity as the way of preserving what is achieved. When the nature is settled and the Qi of life is steady, this is called "nourishing the fire"; when Qi is refined into Shen, this is called "true gold." The descent of heart-fire is called "restoring one's destiny," and the rise of kidney-water is called "returning to the root." When heart-fire meets true water, this is called "golden liquid"; when true water meets true fire, this is called "returning elixir." When the Five Phases coalesce, this is called the "Nine Returns"; when the Yin Qi is exhausted and the Yang Qi is pure and whole, this is called the "Seven Reversions." Subduing the inner demonic obstacles is called "field battle"; when the spirit is complete and lacks nothing, this is called "complete perfection."

Jing, blood, Qi, and Shen are all true seeds; when Shen condenses and Qi coalesces, one unites with True Emptiness. The intention that dwells in the central palace and presides over gestation is called the "Yellow Dame." When the feelings of Metal are paired with the nature of Wood, they are called husband and wife. The true mercury of the heart-spirit is called the Maiden, and the true lead of the essence-Qi is called the Infant. When Jing condenses and the body is firm, this is called the Black Tortoise; when the Shen is refined and congealed, this is called the Red Serpent; when the breath is trained, this is called Dragon and Tiger. When Dragon, Tiger, Tortoise, and Serpent merge into one, this is called "harmonizing the Four Images." When a single nature governs the emotions and thoughts, this is called "Metal and Wood joined"; when Yin and Yang return and unite, this is called "Water and Fire intermingled."

Fire and Wood share a common source: the Two of the south and the Three of the east combine to make Five. The Two of the south refers to the heart-spirit, which belongs to Fire; the Three of the east refers to liver-Wood, which belongs to Wood; this means that Fire is born from Wood. Water and Metal share a common source: the One of the north and the Four of the west combine to make Five. The One of the north refers to the kidney-Jing, which belongs to Water; the Four of the west refers to lung-Metal, which belongs to Metal; this means that Water is born from Metal. The Five of the center belongs to Earth, and Earth represents the intention.

When one exhales, the tiger roars and wind arises; the tiger's roar symbolizes mercury being cast into lead. Mercury represents nature, that is, the mercury in cinnabar and the Yin Qi within the Li trigram, referring to the spirit-Qi in the human heart. When breath and intention are settled, the spirit-Qi is whole; when the spirit-Qi is whole, one can awaken to one's original nature. When one inhales, the dragon intones and clouds rise; the dragon's intoning symbolizes lead being cast into mercury. Lead represents life, that is, the metal within water, referring to refining Jing into Qi. When Jing and Qi gather, the body is firm; when the body is solid, Jing and Qi are whole; and one can then awaken to the root of life.

When nature and life are both complete, Jing, Qi, and blood are abundant, Shen is condensed and Qi coalesced, the work is fulfilled, and pure Yang is attained, this is called "enriching the realm and bringing peace to the people." Jing is refined into the essence of the sun, blood into the radiance of the moon, Qi into yellow gold, the marrow of the bones into white jade, the brain into cinnabar, the kidneys into tridacna, and the heart into coral. These are called the "Seven Treasures," meaning that the essence of body and mind gained through cultivation is condensed within oneself and does not disperse. When the work is complete, one may ride the phoenix and the luan bird, ascend to the Golden Gate, have an audience with the Jade Emperor, and remain a true immortal forever.