《存神炼气铭》

The body is the dwelling of Shen (spirit, including mental and vital activities) and Qi (vital energy). When Shen and Qi are preserved, the body stays healthy and strong; when they scatter, the body dies. To keep the body intact, first settle Shen and Qi: Qi is the mother of Shen, and Shen is the child of Qi. When both remain present, one can live long without dying.

To settle Shen, cultivate primordial Qi. Qi resides inside the body, while Shen abides in the Qi Sea (the inner repository of Qi according to Daoist teaching). When the Qi Sea is full, the heart grows peaceful and Shen becomes stable. With mind and Shen settled and unscattered, body and mind condense into quietude. Stillness and concentration together allow the body to endure and life to lengthen. Constantly dwelling in the origin of the Dao (the Way), one naturally becomes a sage. When Qi reaches the realm of Shen, Shen can access the wisdom of life. With life settled and the body preserved, one unites with original nature. Lifespan matches the sun and moon, and cultivation of the Dao reaches completion.

Following this inscription for refining Qi, those who wish to learn the method must first practice grain avoidance (the cultivation of ceasing to eat grains). Settle the mind in the Qi Sea, let Shen reside in the Dantian (energy center, regarded as the body’s Qi repository), gather wandering thoughts, and still the mind. Once the Qi Sea is full, a natural feeling of satiety arises. Dedicated practice leads at last to attaining the Dao.

Those who practice with single-minded focus may reach minor accomplishment in one hundred days and major accomplishment in three years. They first pass through five stages and then penetrate seven realms, so that the spirit can transform and come and go at will. Even across a thousand miles or amid sheer cliffs, movement remains unobstructed. When Qi does not scatter, the Qi Sea fills; when Shen quietly abides in the Dantian, body and mind remain lastingly stable. One then naturally restores youthful appearance, preserves vigor, transforms the form to become an immortal, appears and vanishes at will, and penetrates the numinous with endless changes. This is called transcending the world and being known as a Zhenren (True Person). Lifespan equals heaven and earth and lasts as long as sun and moon.

The method relies neither on ingesting Qi nor on swallowing saliva and involves no hardship. Eat when inclined, stop when appropriate, free and unhindered. The five periods and seven signs mark successive stages of entering embryonic breathing and settled visualization (cultivation through seated meditation, breath regulation, calming the spirit, and contemplative visualization).

Those who cultivate the Dao enter through five stages. In the first period mental activity is frequent and stillness rare. Thoughts entangle every kind of state, acceptance and rejection lack any fixed standard, worry and rumination never cease, restless as a wild horse. This is the ordinary person’s state of mind. In the second period.

In the first stage, the mind is filled with many distracting thoughts, and moments of stillness are few. Thoughts remain entangled with all manner of circumstances; one cannot decide what to accept or reject, and constantly calculates and suspects, like a wild horse that is hard to restrain. This is the ordinary mental condition of common people.

In the second stage, moments of stillness gradually become more frequent, yet the mind still often grows restless. One begins to gather scattered thoughts into calm, but the mind still easily drifts and is difficult to control. One must diligently collect and restrain it, constantly reminding oneself; this is the beginning of cultivating the Dao (the Way).

In the third stage, restlessness of thought and stillness each occupy half. The mind seems already capable of being gathered, yet it is still at times still and at times scattered. Continuous mental discipline is required to restrain it; only gradually does one become practiced and adept at regulating it.

In the fourth stage, moments of stillness are many and restlessness is little. The gathering and restraint of the mind has gradually become skilled: as soon as a stray thought arises, one can promptly withdraw it and concentrate on a single state. Even if focus is occasionally lost, it can be quickly recovered.

In the fifth stage, the mind remains constantly pure and still. Whether occupied or unoccupied, even when stirred it does not waver. The practice of gathering the mind has become proficient; the mind is firm and no longer scattered. From this point on, the “seven signs” (qihou)—the verifications that gradually appear in the course of cultivation, as described below—will naturally manifest. Everything can be obtained by following what is natural; one no longer depends on deliberate effort.

The first sign: long-standing illnesses gradually vanish, the body becomes clear and refreshed, and the mind feels at ease. One gathers the mind and settles it within; the Shen (spirit) is tranquil and the Qi (vital energy) is even. All parts of the body are harmonious and comfortable; the senses and emotions likewise grow still. The mind abides in its object of focus, maintaining single-pointedness and holding to centered uprightness. Joy increases day by day; this is called “attaining the Dao.”

The second sign: one surpasses the ordinary human lifespan, and the complexion returns to a childlike countenance. The physical form is comfortable, mind and spirit are settled, and one can communicate with the numinous and see with clarity. One relocates to another place, choosing a suitable dwelling in which to settle; one allows the neighbors to become acquainted, yet does not let former acquaintances know.

The third sign: lifespan is extended to a thousand years, and one is called an immortal. One can wander among the famous mountains and fly freely; azure lads attend, jade maidens sing, one soars through clouds and rosy mists, with green clouds supporting both feet.

The fourth sign: one refines the form and transforms it into Qi, which encircles the body and emits radiance; one is called a True Person (zhenren). Life and death, departure and remaining, can all be decided autonomously. Light shines of itself, day and night without cease; one wanders the various grotto-heavens and palaces, with the assembled immortals standing in attendance.

The fifth sign: one refines Qi into Shen and is called a Spirit Person (shenren). Transformations are penetrating and unimpeded, and the powers one exercises are inexhaustible; one’s strength can shake heaven and earth, move mountains and overturn seas.

Note: In the original text provided, “the third sign” appears twice, and the list only goes as far as “the fifth sign”; the above is therefore translated in the order of the original, without supplying any missing signs.

In the sixth stage, one must refine and nourish the Shen (spirit), so that the Shen unites with the Qi (vital energy) and complexion of the physical form; this is called the Perfected Person. At this time, the Shen has already attained thorough penetration of the numinous and wondrous, and the outer appearance is no longer fixed. One is able to carry out transformations according to different circumstances, manifesting the corresponding form as required by things.

In the seventh stage, the body transcends the dusty world, far exceeding the sphere of ordinary people, and dwells together with the Jade Emperor of the Great Dao—the supreme deity venerated in Daoism—in the realm of the numinous and wondrous. Sages and worthies gather there, extensively expounding the Dao of Ultimate Truth. The workings of creation also become numinous and thoroughly penetrating, so that there is nothing among the myriad things that is not interconnected. Only when cultivation reaches this point can it be considered to have arrived at the origin of the Dao (the Way). All the various meritorious accomplishments of practice are then completed, and this is called the Ultimate.

People of today have studied the Dao for only a short time and have not even attained a single stage, so how could they possibly attain thorough penetration of the numinous and wondrous? They cling to ignorant ideas and merely seek to preserve their turbid physical forms. The four seasons continuously cycle and transform; the human body is illusory and impermanent, and the countenance will also age. When the body perishes and returns to emptiness, they call this attaining the Dao—this is mistaken.

Embryonic breathing and stabilizing contemplation are methods for retaining the Shen and stabilizing the physical form. The essential secrets of their cultivation lie in oral transmission and are not written in the Jing (scriptures). Only practitioners who possess De (Virtue/Power) have the opportunity to encounter this method. By carefully contemplating it and practicing with sincere application of mind, one will certainly obtain results. If a worthy and accomplished person is able to encounter this method, it means they have the affinity to meet with the sagely Dao.