《南统大君内丹九章经》

The scripture is titled Nantong Dajun Neidan Jiuzhang Jing (The Nine-Chapter Scripture on Internal Alchemy of the Great Lord of Southern Unity) and is included in the Zhonghua Daozang under the Taiqing Sheyang Jing.

Preface

During the Kaiyuan era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang I wrote the Xuangang Lun and the Yangxing Lun, both of which circulated in the world. The court appointed me Prefect of Jiangzhou, but I declined the office and did not accept it, withdrawing instead to Mount Li to cultivate fetal breathing (a method of nurturing body and mind through regulation of the breath).

In the Yuanhe era of Emperor Xianzong of Tang I traveled through Huaixi just as imperial troops were suppressing the rebel Wu Yuanji of Caizhou. To escape the chaos I fled eastward among the mountains, where I met Li Zhexian. He transmitted this teaching to me, saying: “This is the life-gate of the Great Lord of Southern Unity (the cultivation method that preserves life). Enter this gate and you yourself can take charge of your own nature and life.”

The nine chapters correspond to the number of the yang lines; the wording is brief and the content unadorned. Yet it is truly a stepwise ladder for those who study the Dao (the Way) and the proper path for seeking to preserve life. Li Zhexian added: “Neidan (internal alchemy) refers to this very method. I now transmit it to you; you must never pass it on to those without the proper spiritual capacity, who lack insight, or who cannot regulate Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy), lest disaster follow. The essential points of the nine chapters may be handed down to later generations, but they must not be given to people of average or inferior endowment.”

I have therefore recorded it and written this preface. Preface by Wu Yun in the Wuxu year of the Yuanhe era of the Tang.

Chapter One: Differing Realities of the Worthy and the Foolish

Those who can humble themselves to seek the Dao, whose aspirations soar high and who transcend the dusty world, possess superior capacity. Those who damage their allotted lifespan, harm their innate nature, and willingly proceed toward the gloomy underworld are the ignorant and benighted.

The Great Lord of Southern Unity said: Human beings, like Heaven and Earth, originally arise from emptiness and non-being. Why then can Heaven and Earth endure through long ages while human beings cannot preserve their bodily form? It is not that the Dao has failed humankind; rather, humankind has failed the Dao.

The worthy and the foolish differ in their inner substance; the clear and the turbid follow different paths. Therefore the Dao of which I speak is not the way of soaring into the heavens, but the cultivation method of concentrating Jing (essence) and Shen so that Shen and Qi gather together. When Shen and Qi coalesce, the Neidan can be refined to completion and the physical form can be preserved.

Chapter Two: Divine Light

Ordinary people likewise use the color of the divine light to divine auspiciousness or inauspiciousness: yellow signifies good fortune, white signifies danger; cyan indicates anxiety, black indicates death. Other omens are not disclosed to them.

Eliminate chaotic sounds, cut off lustful and wicked thoughts, and do not become heavily intoxicated. Wait until late at night when the surroundings are completely dark, then practice in sequence on the left and right sides. If one sees light flashing like lightning, with the orb of light complete and vast, this is a sign of longevity. After a long time, the round and bright light pervades the entire body, bursting forth like meteors emitting radiance, and the cultivation of the Dao will flourish.

The Great Lord said: First knock the Heavenly Drum (the cultivation method of lightly tapping the back of the head with the fingers), lean the body against the pillow to gather the light of the heart’s Shen (spirit), clarify the thoughts, close the eyes and sit quietly, keeping in mind not to become heavily intoxicated. Wait until late at night when the surroundings are completely dark, then practice in sequence on the left and right sides. If one sees light flashing like lightning, with the orb of light complete and vast, this is a sign of longevity. After a long time, the round and bright light pervades the entire body, bursting forth like meteors emitting radiance, and the cultivation of the Dao will flourish.

The Great Lord also said: First knock the Heavenly Drum, lean the body against the pillow and gather the light of the heart’s Shen, clarify the thoughts, close the eyes and sit quietly, imagining that one sees the sun. The sun is located above the Gate of the Palace (the palace gate), and the Great Yin (the moon) is located outside the Dantian (energy center). Sleeping peacefully with the Shen thoughts tranquil, the Shen and Qi (vital energy) will gather, and the breath will also return to correctness.

Chapter Three: Worshipping the Dipper

There are three Primordial Festivals in a year, and three first-seventh days in a month. Fast and purify the heart, sit upright and quietly, grasp firmly (clench both hands and gather the heart’s Shen), close the eyes and imagine arriving at the Golden Palace (the heavenly palace), as if seeing the countenance of the Heavenly Emperor. Then kowtow and prostrate in worship, with the rites like those of an audience with the Son of Heaven. After the ceremony, withdraw with folded hands in a heart of reverence, washing away chaotic thoughts. What is called fasting the heart is to still miscellaneous thoughts. In this way, worshipping the Primordial Heavenly Worthy has no fixed days; in the deep of night, practicing this method in a secret chamber facing the image of the Northern Chronogram (the North Star) makes it easier to achieve spiritual communion.

Chapter Four: Gengshen

Those who cultivate this method need not stay awake all night on Gengshen nights, as this is not a requirement of the method.

On Gengshen nights (nights of Gengshen days according to the heavenly stems and earthly branches calendar), one may prepare incense in a quiet chamber, sit upright and quietly, and grasp firmly. First knock the Heavenly Drum thirty-six times to gather and collect the Jing (essence) and Shen. Then imagine that the hundred spirits within the body all emerge, wearing caps and carrying swords, with majestic bearing, standing in attendance before, behind, and to the left and right of the body. Then guide oneself to worship the Supreme Lord of the Dao, with rites the same as those for worshipping the Dipper. Cultivating according to this method for three years, neither weapons nor fierce tigers can harm one, and the Three Corpses (the spirits that according to Daoism reside in the human body and wait for opportunities to report faults) dare not remain. Dreaming of a tall and handsome person presenting rare flowers and extraordinary fruits is a manifestation of response, an auspicious omen of extending life and increasing longevity.

Chapter Five: Cultivating Yang De (Virtue/Power)

Good deeds, whether great or small, all belong to Yang; evil deeds, whether great or small, all belong to Yin. The more good deeds are accumulated, the more abundant the Yang Qi (vital energy) becomes, and this in turn brings good fortune; the deeper the accumulation of evil deeds, the heavier the Yin Qi, and this in turn invites disaster. Therefore those who hope for longevity should first accumulate hidden De (Virtue/Power)—good deeds unknown to others and not performed for reputation—and then await the Yang recompense (the blessings that good deeds bring), and only in this way can they enjoy long life. The Great Lord said: “Such people can all be entered into the ranks of the immortals. By taking numinous herbs the countenance becomes robust and one does not easily age. Medicines are the foundation and cultivation methods are the external path; in this way it is easy to attract the hundred Shen (spirits) and long preserve the physical form.”

Chapter Six: Guiding the Primordial Yang

When the joints of the whole body are unblocked, the five viscera are harmonized; when the six bowels are massaged, pathogenic Qi cannot easily invade. Sounding the Heavenly Drum (a health-preserving method of covering the ears with the hands and tapping the back of the head with the fingers) can expel nightmares and filthy Qi; when the original Qi circulates and the fluids flow freely, wherever the Qi and fluids reach the bone marrow becomes as firm as gold and the spirit is at ease. After Daoyin (guiding and pulling) is finished, one should settle the breath, sound the Heavenly Drum and gather in the mind-spirit; then emit the six-character Qi sounds of xu, he, hu, xi, yan and chui, without letting others hear them. With long practice clear Qi accumulates within the body and turbid, filthy Qi gradually dissipates. The Great Lord said: “Even if the Neidan (internal alchemy) has not yet been refined, the spirit is already empty, still and luminously clear. When the Qi of primordial Yang is harmonious, a person can attain long life.”

Chapter Seven: Yin Taboos

When thunder and lightning clash, rain falls and great winds uproot trees, Heaven and Earth are manifesting their fierce wrath and ghosts and spirits also feel fear. Therefore one should stand with hands clasped and kowtow in reverence, holding awe in the heart; remain quietly in the forest, neither going out nor engaging in sexual intercourse. If this cannot be done, the ghosts and spirits will diminish a person’s lifespan, and illness will be difficult to cure. The Great Lord said: “When Heaven displays its wrath, the numinous beings of the netherworld all feel fear. If this is practiced for a long time, Yin evils withdraw, the name is removed from the register of the dead and the hundred Shen also give aid; this is called increasing blessings and eliminating misfortunes.”

Chapter Eight: Habitual Closeness Brings Life

A cold and indifferent appearance is the beginning of a short life.

A cold and unfeeling attitude is the beginning of damage to one’s lifespan; the sounds of unrestrained lust are a sharp axe that injures original nature; rare delicacies and fine wines are drugs that disorder the Shen (spirit); lofty carriages, crowns, and official robes are implements for decorating the exterior. No one is unaware of these four calamities, yet people still cannot bear to abandon them. Those who wish to give them up but cannot let go are like walking corpses left with only a physical shell and no vital energy.

The path of ascent into the heavenly realms is distant, while the path of preserving life lies close at hand; therefore it is better to begin with what can be practiced immediately. The Great Lord said: When the Shen (spirit) concentrates, it becomes numinously bright; when the Qi (vital energy) is clear and tranquil, the body becomes light and robust. Concentrating the Shen (spirit) and keeping the Qi (vital energy) clear and tranquil is called guarding the bodily form, which is precisely the preservation of life.

Chapter Nine: Resonance with the Seven Luminaries

In the mind one gazes upward at the radiance of the seven stars, while the feet tread the seven-star steps (a form of Daoist pacing the guideline and treading the Dipper). In walking one must not repeat any footfall, taking forty-nine steps in all; then one turns the head to look, holds both hands in the grasping-firm gesture (a visualization mudra of tightly clenching the fingers), knocks the Heavenly Drum (a daoyin method of lightly tapping the back of the head), closes the eyes, and visualizes the Azure Dragon on the left and the White Tiger on the right (protective divine beasts in Daoist visualization).

Thus it is said: “If I do not actively seek the true Dao (the Way), the true Dao will certainly come to follow me.” When the mind-spirit obtains true Qi (vital energy), a hundred numina will all confer protection. Transmission of true Qi requires encountering a person possessed of the Dao. Practitioners may at times journey in dreams among the immortal mountains of the sea, beholding dragon-beasts clad entirely in white, and also seeing the palaces and imperial parks inhabited by the Son of Heaven; this indicates that Shen (spirit) and bodily form have united, and the protective power of life has already taken form. Thereafter one reports to the Yuanshen (original spirit, the person’s primordial Shen), makes offerings to the Star of Longevity, and the barriers on the road to the heavenly realms become unobstructed.

The two eastern stars of Jiao and Kang stand foremost among all the stars and are therefore called the Longevity Star. Between them lies the Heavenly Gate, also known as the Heavenly Pass. All who have attained the Dao (the Way) and go to pay homage to the Primordial Heavenly Worthy must enter through this gate. Those who cultivate this path, by informing their original spirit, can thereby communicate with the Longevity Star; memorials to the Heavenly Gate and the registration of names in the celestial registers are likewise completed there. When merit and virtue are fulfilled and one ascends to heaven, one’s natal star (the star of original destiny) will receive and guide one through the Heavenly Gate, so that no obstacles arise along the way.

I passed the imperial examination only once, at the age of forty. Knowing that my allotted lifespan would not be long, I yearned to seek the true Dao, studied the immortal jing (scriptures), yet never found a method of longevity. Later I traveled south in search of the traces of Lord Mao’s cultivation of perfection, climbed to the summit of Mount Mao, entered a stone chamber, and first obtained the True Scripture of the Primordial Dao. This jing expounds the principle of the Supreme Lord of the Dao returning to the root and restoring the original, remaining undamaged. I followed its teachings and practiced for more than ten years, concentrating solely on embryonic breathing (a method of regulating the breath into stillness, as if a fetus breathing in the mother’s womb), yet even after prolonged effort I still felt exhausted. Alas, it seems this is not something easily obtained in the present.

Later I traveled once more and encountered an old man. He said: “Do you wish to study immortality? Studying immortality means entering the true realm from the dusty world, just as one smelts ore to extract gold. Why not first seek methods of prolonging life so that you may live longer, and afterward cultivate hidden virtue, gradually ascending the steps of cultivation?

“The so-called celestial immortals are those whose merit and virtue move Heaven, who receive celestial edicts and conferred immortal offices, and are thus raised up as immortals. Even after reaching the immortal realm they must still refine and nourish true Qi (vital energy), uniting Qi with Shen (spirit), and are therefore called spirit-immortals. The body of the spirit-immortal is empty and numinous, and thus they can ride luan-phoenixes and cranes, mounting cloud-qi to fly through the Great Void, their lifespan coextensive with heaven and earth.

“The True Scripture of the Primordial Dao that you obtained is merely the introductory path to seeking immortality. Its principles are vast and profound, like fish and rabbits that are hard to catch. In former times, when Lord Mao ascended, he left the Great Lord’s Mandate of Protection hidden in the stone chamber on the mountain peak and charged me to guard it, intending that it be transmitted to one of affinity. Your disposition is pure and solitary; you surely possess immortal bones.” He then took out this nine-chapter scripture and handed it to me, after which he departed, instructing: “This is precisely the ‘fish and rabbit’ you have been seeking. The Dao is not outside oneself; treasure it! Treasure it!”

I therefore recorded his words as a preface to commemorate this event, and titled the book Divine Formula of Neidan (internal alchemy).

Preface by Hao Yun.