《养生辨疑诀》

Qi (vital energy) exists as one unified substance without fixed form, waxing and waning according to the seasons. The birth and death of all things likewise change with the flourishing and decline of qi. Human beings dwell in the midst of nature yet often fail to understand why this is so. People receive qi between heaven and earth and thereby grow. All things that possess form should first recognize their own root; once the root is understood, one can thoroughly grasp the various principles. Cultivating the Dao (the Way) should likewise begin by setting the source aright. When the source is correct, subsequent transformations will naturally correspond. If one discards the root and seeks outwardly, turning away from the true source and entering a deviant path, even searching through the doctrines of the hundred schools and reading all the works of the various thinkers merely expands empty discourse in vain. Those who understand the way of nourishing life, upon seeing this, will know that it is truly self-deception.

Nowadays those in the world who love the arts of the Dao are too numerous to count. Although they know they should guard themselves with tranquility and simplicity (quietude with few desires and a settled mind), they have no understanding at all that within this tranquility and simplicity there is itself a subtle and marvelous function. Although they know that emptiness and non-being constitute the fundamental principle, they do not understand that within emptiness and non-being there is nothing that cannot be accomplished. If one does not comprehend the marvelous function of emptiness, non-being, and tranquility, but merely places the mind’s resolve in silent Wuwei (non-action) or acts arbitrarily, thereby departing from the harmony of physical form and Shen (spirit), this practice brings no benefit and is not the correct path for nurturing life and gradually cultivating the Dao.

The Shen (spirit) relies on the physical form to dwell in peace, and the physical form is likewise sustained by the Shen. Once the Shen departs from the body, the form can no longer be preserved. Some people ingest medicines made from plants, herbs, metals, and minerals, hoping thereby to nourish the body, yet they neither understand the nature of these medicines nor examine whether the methods of taking them accord with the climatic changes of the four seasons. Taken over a long period, such medicines instead damage the harmonious Qi (vital energy) of the body; often before middle age, illnesses appear one after another. Superficial people then claim that cultivating the Dao (the Way) is like chasing the wind or grasping at shadows, utterly impossible to achieve. They regard those who study the Dao as incompetent and dismiss the true path of hidden cultivation as heretical and deviant. Is this not deeply regrettable?

Someone once ridiculed me on this account, saying: “I have heard that studying the Dao can lead to longevity. From childhood to old age, I have seen thousands upon thousands of people studying the Dao: those who ingest Qi and abstain from grains (using breath regulation in place of food and cutting off the five cereals), Daoists who command ghosts and spirits and summon the deities (invoking spirits in Daoist Zhaijiao purification rituals), those who live in quietude free of desire, and those who cultivate immortality and refine their conduct. Of all such people, I have never heard of one who did not die. After death they are buried in the earth, yet they merely boast under the name of ‘corpse liberation’ (the legend that cultivators abandon the physical body to ascend as immortals). From this it appears that even if they achieve something, they leave behind only miraculous remains, which cannot be obtained through study.”

Upon hearing these words, I could not help but feel pity, and my expression grew dazed. After pondering for a moment, I sighed and replied: “The words you have just spoken are extremely shallow and gravely mistaken. In all worldly affairs there is still a distinction between success and failure; how much more so with the Great Dao, which is subtle, profound, mysterious, and difficult to fathom—how could it be attained in haste? The Great Dao shows no favoritism; it responds wherever there is resonance. To claim that the fruits of cultivating the Dao are merely miraculous remains is far too superficial.

“Ingesting Qi and abstaining from grains is a method of cultivation esteemed by Daoists. If someone truly accomplishes it, there may be the effect of not taking food or drink and of a light, vigorous body. Yet they then claim that their intestines and stomach are free of filth, that they will soon fly up into the clouds, their bodies growing light, sitting and waiting for phoenixes and cranes to come welcome them. Those who gather herbs and take elixirs cite Mao Nü (the legendary immortal who attained longevity by ingesting medicines) as proof; those who practice exhaling and inhaling cite the numinous tortoise as evidence. They fail to understand that true Qi may be depleted without their noticing, and embryonic Jing (essence) may wither from within. Clinging to surface principles is like merely holding to the image of pine and bamboo; being bound by the letter of books is truly lamentable. Is this not strange?

“As for commanding ghosts and spirits and summoning deities, these are indeed ritual practices within Daoism. If one can study them carefully and probe deeply into the relevant scriptures, one may perhaps develop some expertise, but to treat them as empty fame outside oneself and to apply them recklessly is utterly absurd. Having no evidence of extending one’s own years or nourishing life, they nevertheless claim to others that they can avert disasters and dispel misfortunes; they fabricate auspicious omens and speak emptily of fortune and calamity. None of these are methods for preserving life.

“There are also those who take quietude and Wuwei (non-action) to mean dwelling in seclusion, cutting off worldly affairs, making the body like withered wood and the mind like dead ashes. They do not understand the vital movement of Heaven and Earth, nor observe the laws of Yin-Yang circulation. Thus even when they speak of boundless, indistinct realms, it is mere empty talk; even when they claim to accord with the deep and mysterious Dao, they still cannot fathom its true meaning. In the end they are at a loss beyond the realm of Xi Yi (the soundless and formless state of the Dao), and lose the mysterious pass (the crucial gateway of cultivation) within Xu Bai (the clear and luminous state of mind).

“When speaking of these matters, a certain High Perfected One (a realized immortal) sighed and said: ‘Guarding the One may not truly be guarding the One; practicing the true Dao may not be genuine cultivation. Such methods of practice are at most the steps for entering the gate; one has not yet glimpsed the wondrous functioning within the chamber of the Dao.’

“In sum, to nourish the breath and settle the original Shen cannot rely solely on constant stillness, nor on vacant holding. The Shen has no fixed location, yet the breath always circulates; though the body is still, its functioning is inexhaustible. Therefore the key to nourishing the breath lies in circulation, and the secret of settling the original Shen lies in its application. I once heard my teacher say: ‘When body and mind are made empty and still, Qi can circulate throughout; when the form is quiet, Shen can gather.’ This is the mysterious key that transcends the mundane, and also the vast functioning of the nameless Great Dao.”

The collation notes at the end of the Yangsheng Bianyi Jue are as follows. With regard to the character 先, the Yunji Qiqian has an additional 须 here. The character 求 is written as 未 in the Yunji Qiqian. The sentence 徒广虚论功条，其摄养之效 appears in the Yunji Qiqian as 徒广虚论之功，终无摄养之效. The character 误 is given as 悟, and 惑 as 或. Following 愍, the Yunji Qiqian adds a 然, and following 恍 it adds a 惚. 人问 is rendered 凡问 in that text.

The sentence 皆有不食之功，身轻之效 is written 皆有不食轻举之效 in the Yunji Qiqian, meaning that all possess the efficacy of abstaining from food together with lightness of body and the ability to rise up. The character 减 remains 减. The original text has 所, which has been corrected to 不 on the authority of the Yunji Qiqian. Starting from the phrase 妄作人问之孟浪, the subsequent material is not included in the Yunji Qiqian; that work instead contains a variant passage amounting to four hundred eighty-seven characters. The character 元 is suspected to be an erroneous form of 兀.