《大丹问答》

During the Jin dynasty the Daoist Zheng Siyuan transmitted this discourse to his inner-chamber disciple Ge Hong. Ge Hong, courtesy name Zhichuan and style name Baopuzi, bowed to his teacher and said: “I privately hold that the root of the human being lies in yin Jing (essence) and yang Jing. Yang Jing condenses to form the hun soul and yin Jing condenses to form the po soul; the interaction of these two Jing of Yin-Yang gives rise to a person’s Shenming. Shen (spirit) functions by relying upon the bodily form, and the bodily form is in turn sustained by Shen. Once Shen departs, the bodily form perishes along with it. I venture to ask my teacher whether a person’s Shenming can be preserved and whether the bodily form can have its lifespan prolonged.”

The teacher replied: “Shenming is preserved by means of the Dao (the Way); the bodily form has its lifespan prolonged by means of nurturing care.”

Ge Hong asked further: “What are the essential points of the Dao and of nurturing care?” The teacher said: “The Dao is hidden, obscure and nameless, while nurturing care is manifest and possesses concrete methods. Because there are concrete methods, nurturing care can be put into practice; although the Dao is nameless, it can nevertheless be cultivated to completion. Once the Dao has been cultivated to completion, Shenming is naturally preserved.”

Ge Hong said: “The Dao is hidden, obscure and nameless, originally existing beyond form and image; the methods of nurturing care are clear and concrete, yet their root is concealed in the vital points. I earnestly beg the teacher to offer a brief elucidation.” The teacher said: “The methods of nurturing the body comprise daoyin exercises of looking up and down, bending and stretching; taixi (embryonic breathing, in which the breath is regulated to be as fine and slow as that of a fetus); yanjin (swallowing the saliva in the mouth); restraining sexual activity in the arts of the bedchamber so as to return the Jing-Qi (essence and vital energy); and ingesting zhuer (a term in Daoist alchemy whose precise referent varies according to the text) in order to nourish the body. I have not heard of anything beyond these.”

Ge Hong said: “As for the method of returning the Jing-Qi, I have already heard the teacher speak of it in the past; I request a further brief elucidation.” The teacher still replied: “The methods of nurturing the body include looking up and down, bending and stretching, embryonic breathing and swallowing saliva, returning Jing through intercourse with women, and ingesting zhuer to nourish the body. I have not heard of anything beyond these.”

Hong said, “The method of refining and returning Jing (essence) I have already heard you explain. As for the method of nourishing the body, I hope you can once more show me the way through my confusion.”

The Master said, “Take the essence of gold and combine it with the essential liquid of stone, causing them to form a pair like husband and wife; then liken them respectively to Hun and Po. The two merge into one, remaining in a state of chaotic undifferentiation, responding to and blending with each other. Then use the River Chariot (a metaphor in Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) for circulating Jing and Qi (vital energy)) to carry and convey them, and master the changes of fire timing in the ding-furnace.

The fire in the furnace is vigorous and the flames fierce. The smoke has not yet become black, nor have the flames shown cyan. It is as if gathering the force of a soaring whirlwind, and as if hiding the power of thunder and lightning. At this time the Yin ‘Laonü’ Qi wanes, and the Yang ‘Ying’er’ ceases to make any sound. The transformations of the medicine penetrate the two polarities of heaven and earth, its radiance shining upon the four walls of the ding-furnace. After a while, as if a horse had galloped the distance of one staging post, the medicine seems as though it has died; then it transforms spontaneously, discarding its evil nature and moving toward a good nature, with the feelings reversing and the inborn character changing.

Purple appears within the medicine and red shows without, bright as a flame just beginning, moist as if drops of blood were falling. This state is called ‘Zhonghuan’ and can enable a person to transcend great calamities. Afterwards the medicine is stored in a concealed place; when taking it there is no need for additional instruction. The power of the medicine disperses into the five viscera and flows through the meridians of the whole body; the bones become as firm as metal and stone, the countenance as moist and lustrous as jade. Yang De (Virtue/Power) is thereby exercised, and Yin merits accumulate accordingly. The Southern Palace registers the name, the Northern Emperor erases the name from the register—this means obtaining transcendence and being spared from the detention and recording of the underworld. This method is the root of cultivating the Dao (the Way) and the primary path to becoming an immortal; do not pass it on to unsuitable people, lest it bring down punishment.”

The Master said further, “Heaven and earth are extremely vast; compared with heaven and earth the human body is very small. To refine the most refined medicine, how could people of shallow insight understand the mystery in it? Why worry about having deficiencies? When Qi is paired the body is harmonious; when the form is solitary the body is weak. Harmony can lengthen life, weakness approaches death. Once life is cut off it is difficult to reconnect. Nevertheless the principles can be realized in the mind, and the key ideas can be understood from words. Now I shall try to explain it to you.

One Yin and one Yang is called the Dao; gold and stone combining is called the Dan (elixir). Stone belongs to Yang and, driven by Yang Qi, it becomes hot; metal belongs to Yin and, affected by Yin Qi, it becomes cold. Taking the refined Dan is to use its strong Yang side to subdue the Yin. The verifications that appear in cultivation make the Hun strong and the Po peaceful. Just as water always flows to wet places and fire always tends to dry places, this tendency is necessarily so, and the principle can also be seen.”

Hong said, “I earnestly request that the Master permit me to continue my inquiries.”

The Master said: “The subtle principles in what you just said are worth adopting. Within Yang Qi lurks Yin Qi. Its signs are that it makes the hun (a person’s spiritual activity) strong and the po (the spirit associated with the physical form) gentle. Just as water flows toward moist places and fire tends toward dry ground, this is a natural tendency, and the principle can also be seen. I earnestly request that the Master allow me to inquire further.”

The Master said: “The subtle principles in what you just said are worth adopting. When Yang Qi reaches its limit, that is when Yin Qi attains its utmost flourishing. The seasonal time corresponding to Hai (one of the twelve earthly branches) is divided into four periods that circulate and operate without pause; Heaven and Earth respond to each other, the sun and moon meet in conjunction—how could these transformations be lacking? Here I merely outline the main points. Moreover, the stone liquid (an alchemical term referring to liquid extracted or refined from mineral medicines) conceals the marvel of ghosts and spirits lurking within, while the metal essence (an alchemical term referring to the essence of metals) resides in the mountains. If one allows Yin Qi to transform in isolation by itself, I fear it can only wait to sink into the Nine Netherworlds (the deepest Yin underworld). It is better for the gentleman to skillfully seek a matching counterpart and obtain a fine pairing like that of a virtuous maiden; in this way Yin-Yang can be harmonized, and hun and po can be settled without external disturbance. Alas, a person’s life in this world is as brief as a flash of lightning, and in the blink of an eye mulberry fields may also turn into oceans. These words precisely accord with the secret tenets of the immortals, and thus my method of the Dao (the Way) can be transmitted to the True Sovereign (the deity who governs Heaven and Earth).”

Hong said: “The words I spoke based on my own thoughts coincidentally accorded with the true principle. If one wishes to refine the stone liquid according to this and nourish one’s own body, what should one do?”

The Master said: “If things have form, they can be enlarged and preserved for a long time. One must harvest them in the proper manner before they are eaten by silkworms, and transmit this to the True Sovereign.”

Hong said: “The words I spoke according to my own understanding happened by chance to coincide with the true principle. If one uses stone liquid (the mineral medicinal liquid employed in elixir refinement) to refine and nourish oneself, how should one proceed?”

The Master said: “Whatever among the ten thousand things possesses physical form can grow large and last long. It must be gathered before being eaten by silkworms and used after being refined by fire. When the decoction is completed, the liquid of itself ceases and showers downward; split open the cauldron, empty its contents, and one can see what has been received. Cause the sun and moon to circulate and wait in sequence according to the five wheels; rapidly strike the drum and urge the lock and key, so that the golden liquid is not lost. Pour water upon it and it passes from having form into formlessness; warm it with fire and it returns from formlessness to having form. Apply white powder and the numinous nature is made to sink and subside; briefly revive it, turn it yellow, and cause it to congeal into form once more. Continuously transform and refine it, swift as a spirit, sudden as a ghost. Raise and gather the intent and Qi (vital energy), causing that which is aged and decaying to transform again and again. Is it gold or is it stone? It can share the same longevity as Heaven and Earth. The principle is written in the texts, while the secret formula is transmitted orally.”

The Song of the Perfected of Supreme Clarity (Taiqing Zhenren Ge, a Daoist scripture) says: “Radiance and brightness appear, illuminating several li; these are all immortal officials of the upper realms. They descend to gather, and it is not merely those encountered by people of the world. They are all born in the south, facing the sun and close to the sun, receiving the Qi of Heaven and Earth, accumulating over many years before being conceived and formed. After four thousand three hundred and twenty years the natural returned elixir (the naturally formed elixir) is generated; this was known to the immortals of high antiquity. Nowadays elixir refinement employs a three-year fire phasing, modeling itself upon natural Qi. The secret method now transmitted by the immortals is to let the fire phasing follow the seasonal nodes, so that the quantities of the medicinal substances and the amounts of charcoal correspond to the hexagram lines (the yin-yang lines of the trigrams) and to carry out the operation according to the principles of Qian and Kun (the Heaven and Earth hexagrams of the Book of Changes); arranging the fire phasing sequentially each day, one can correspond with the transformations of nature.”

One hexagram line corresponds to two and a half days, two lines to five days. The seasonal nodes, the quantities of medicinal substances, and the amounts of charcoal fire must all correspond with the hexagram lines and the principles of Qian and Kun; operating and circulating in this way, arranging the fire phasing each day so that they naturally coincide.

One yao (a single yin or yang line in a hexagram) generates two and a half days, and two yao generate five days, equaling sixty double-hours. A month contains three hundred and sixty double-hours, and a year of twelve months totals four thousand three hundred and twenty double-hours. Each double-hour symbolizes one year, so four thousand three hundred and twenty double-hours symbolize four thousand three hundred and twenty years. This analogizes the circulation of natural Qi (vital energy): from the Yellow Sprout (a Neidan (internal alchemy) term for the subtle nascent Qi that first arises in the alchemical process), after one cycle of operation it is extracted and condensed, transforming into Dragon and Tiger (Neidan images representing the two forces of Yin-Yang). Dragon and Tiger follow one another; within one year the form becomes like charcoal, and after another year the Returned Elixir (the completed inner elixir) is brilliantly refined.

This entire process consists in the mutual interaction of Yin-Yang and the circulating transformations that display numinous wonders, which cannot be fully fathomed by human effort and are therefore called marvelous. Circulating the fire for one day and night symbolizes one complete circuit of the heavens. The four seasons each generate in their proper turn, Yin-Yang pairing fittingly, thereby embodying the natural Dao (the Way). Extraction and replenishment, attunement and pairing, must all accord with the fire timing (mastery of fire intensity and opportune moments in alchemy). If one receives transmission from an original master (a teacher who imparts the elixir method) and cultivates according to the written instructions, one can ultimately realize its principle; indeed one must not proceed rashly. If one concentrates on cultivation without slackening, one will certainly encounter a teacher who transmits the secret formulas. This passage comes from the Ancient Text of the Stone Wall.