《洞玄灵宝道士明镜法》

The method of gazing into a mirror to observe one’s form is this: slightly close the doors and windows so that the room stays dim at the back while facing toward the light, then gently shut the eyes and concentrate on one’s own face. At first the view is a blur and nothing can be made out; after many days of practice the field of vision gradually clears, as if one sees one’s own countenance, and the mind too feels brighter. The best times are just after dawn and in the evening before sunset. At noon the light is too strong; even with the doors and windows slightly closed, one cannot see clearly when looking into a mirror in such glare. Do not gaze into a mirror directly beneath a flame; if fire is used for light, place it farther away and not too near. If one looks into the mirror with eyes open to observe one’s own body, this should be done in a bright place; if one closes the eyes and quietly visualizes one’s face, one should sit in a darker place, facing toward the light.

The essentials of gazing into a mirror to observe one’s form are to lie at ease on the bed, concentrate on visualization, and relax body and mind; sitting or lying down is equally acceptable. After a short while, it is said, a red-yellow light appears above the forehead and illuminates the whole room. Between waking and sleep, in a hazy, indistinct state, one seems to see one’s own face within the light, looking back at oneself; after a moment the vision fades. On waking, one looks into the mirror again and lies down to visualize as before; it is said that practicing every night allows one to see this vision.

Sometimes two faces are seen facing each other, or another person is seen sitting beside one’s own image; one may also see in sleep beautiful divine boys and jade maidens, about five or six years old, gorgeously dressed with upright brows, and on seeing them one should bow. Some hear a voice beside the ear and learn in advance of auspicious and inauspicious events in the world; or they seem able to see from one side of a wall through to the other, or gaze into a mirror in a dream, or draw the light back into the body and inwardly observe the five viscera (a method in Daoist cultivation of visualizing the organs within the body). Practice of mirror-gazing should begin at the hour of Shen (from three to five in the afternoon).

The Method of Standing Gaze (Lishi fa): Prepare a bright mirror nine cun in size, its surface free of any stain or flaw. Set the mirror upright so that it is clean and luminous, leaving one chi of space on the left and one chi on the right. The scripture (Jing) says that doing this can make a person’s lifespan as long as that of Heaven and Earth. First observe ritual fasting and abstinence, then bathe with care: fill a bathing basin with well water and place it beneath the body. When looking into the mirror at night, it is best to light a hemp-oil lamp, so that one can clearly see one’s own form and features.

Then bow twice toward the mirror and, kneeling upright, say: “You and I were originally one body; now our forms are separated. May you and I remain unchanged for ten thousand years, ever keeping company, so that the body does not decline and we accompany one another for ten thousand years.” Watching the images that appear in the mirror, one is said to be able to see all kinds of things and also to hear the sound of human speech.

When practicing the method of mirror-gazing, it is said that three lads and nine maidens attend. The three lads are six chi in height, and the nine maidens are five chi; they wear robes of such colors as blue-green, purple, white, crimson, and red, and one other person wears a pale-yellow robe. “Tong” is the unit of quantity used in the scripture.

The Lord of the Bright Mirror (Mingjing jun, the spirit within the mirror) commands one hundred and twenty subordinate officials, dwells in the Palace of Kaiyang, and has charge of a person’s two eyes. The scripture states that the Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) in the eyes and the images in the mirror reflect one another, and that good or ill fortune may be judged from the scenes that are seen.

There was once a Daoist priest who made his living by polishing mirrors for ordinary people, sometimes receiving six or seven mirrors in payment. He had no other method: he merely spread a medicinal substance over the face of the mirror and wiped it, and the mirror became bright.

Yuan Zhongyang once sought instruction from him. The Daoist said that the art of the bright mirror can enable a person to divide the body and transform, and can also make the mind lucid so that one foreknows things yet to come; it can further allow one to see the divine spirits between heaven and earth. If one cultivates according to the method and grasps its essentials, the various immortals will all come to meet. This Daoist had already attained the Dao (the Way).

When the Daoist transmitted the art of the bright mirror in a stone chamber, he said that one should regularly hang a bright mirror nine cun across behind the back, in order to drive off every kind of evil. Although the hundred ghosts and monsters that have grown old and become spirits can change their outward forms, they cannot alter the images they cast in the mirror; their forms dissolve within the mirror, and so they are unable to work harm. The formula for the medicine the Daoist used in polishing mirrors is recorded in the Baizigao Jing (scripture).

Later, someone inquired of a person who knew how to polish mirrors and obtained the following formula. The medicinal material used is “rust ingot” (xiuting)—iron bearing red rust, the better if the edges are red. When a blacksmith heats it and then hammers it, the rust falls away; the same material can also be obtained while forging iron. It is called “red residue” (chizha) and is taken from an iron mortar. Pound it thoroughly and pass it through a fine sieve. Take, in addition, shehuang (“snake yellow”), pound and sieve that as well, and blend the two materials with raw oil: this is the medicine used for polishing mirrors.