《太上九要心印妙经》

“Zhenyi” (True One) refers to the pure, unadulterated, and eternally unchanging foundation. The Most High said that when Heaven attains the One, the sun, moon, and stars can remain perpetually clear and bright; when Earth attains the One, pearls, jade, and treasures can remain perpetually stable; when humans attain the One, Shen (spirit), Qi (vital energy), and Jing (essence) can be preserved for a long time.

The “One” is the foundation, that is, the original substance of the Dao (the Way). The Dao originally has no fixed form; it is only provisionally called a “substance.” Any form that can be seen or touched is not the true body of the Dao; only the formless body is the true substance, which never diminishes in its everyday functioning. The so-called true substance is the “True One”: Shen is a person’s nature, and Qi is a person’s life. In cultivation, one must allow Shen and Qi to mutually embrace and depend upon each other, concentrating them in the Qihai (the site within the human body for refining and gathering Qi). In this way the foundation of life is made secure.

The text further uses the red snake of the south as a metaphor for a person’s nature and the black turtle of the north as a metaphor for a person’s life. When the turtle and snake intertwine and the two Qi merge, they connect as one Qi, causing it to circulate up and down and flow freely throughout the entire body. This is the cultivation path of “Baoyuan Shouyi” (embracing the origin and guarding the One), which means protecting the original root of life and causing the mind-spirit and original Qi to return to unity.

“Tuoyue” originally refers to a bellows. Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) literature often uses it as a metaphor for the stirring and circulation of Qi mechanisms within the body. Although the title of this section lists “Tuoyue Miyao” (the Secret Essentials of the Bellows), the given scripture has not yet begun to explain it.

The so-called “tuoyue” (an ancient bellows, by extension the mechanism of stirring and activating) refers to the heart and kidneys of the human body. The heart is the dwelling of Shen (spirit), while the kidneys are the root of Qi (vital energy), from which Qi circulates up and down without obstruction. This is precisely the cultivation of embracing the origin and guarding the One.

Secret Essentials of the Tuoyue

The heart is the dwelling of Shen, the kidneys the treasury of Qi. Since the heart is the dwelling and the kidneys the treasury, why invent further transformations? Nowadays some who study the Dao (the Way) deliberately use the mind to drive the breath, devising all manner of complicated methods, even bending the waist, twisting the body and exhausting themselves—this is not cultivation in accordance with nature.

The sages said: “Whatever has form and appearance is illusory; the appearance that manifests amid the formless is called the true appearance.” The true appearance referred to here is Shen and Qi. Shen is the ruler of the heart, Qi takes the kidneys as its root. Therefore the sages cultivate by returning to the origin and restoring the primordial. “Restoring the primordial” means nourishing Jing (essence) and marrow; those who grasp the key to replenishing the marrow and master the method of returning to the origin will succeed in the cultivation of life.

The method established by the sages uses Shen to harmonize Qi and Qi in turn to settle Shen. Once Shen and Qi are attuned and at rest, one can understand the principle of movement and stillness: movement belongs to Qi, and Qi concerns life; stillness belongs to nature, and nature is Shen. Shen does not leave Qi, nor Qi leave Shen; the two are interdependent. This is the foundation of the Dao following its natural course.

The Pivotal Essentials of the Three and Five

The term “Three-Five-One” refers to the three Yangs, the Five Phases, and the one Qi (vital energy). The “three Yangs” are three kinds of fire: Jing (essence) is the people’s fire, Qi is the minister’s fire, and the heart is the ruler’s fire. The ruler’s fire is also called “nature fire.” It cannot be arbitrarily ignited, nor can it be pressed into service. Once nature fire is set in motion, it is like wood bursting into flame, and calamity arises in consequence. Therefore, during cultivation one should not recklessly activate nature fire. When Shen (spirit) is settled, Qi can settle; when Qi is settled, Jing can settle.

After the three fires have been brought to rest, they gather together in the Dantian (energy center)—the site of Neidan (internal alchemy) practice in the lower abdomen—and collect within the Golden Cauldron (the name for the place of refinement in Neidan) to be gently warmed and smelted, causing the Five Phases to return to the one Qi. In this way they circulate unceasingly day and night: one day and night comprises 13,500 breaths, circulating according to the 384 lines of the celestial circuit; qi and blood travel 810 zhang, and the meridians complete fifty circuits. Only this circulation throughout the whole body can be called the “celestial circuit” (zhoutian), and only then can one be said to have mastered the fire timing (huohou), the precise control of rhythm and intensity in Neidan cultivation.

Fire is of two kinds, inner and outer. Outer fire has form and appearance; it can smelt metals and cook the five grains to nourish the human body, but it cannot be used to refine the elixir. The fire used for elixir refinement is inner fire. Inner fire has a name but no physical form; relying on the qi of the five grains, it generates true fire. Once true fire arises, it in turn refines and nourishes Jing, transforming Jing into Shen, and then further refines Shen so that it unites with the Dao (the Way). The Dao is originally natural and never departs from the one Qi; once the one Qi is harmonized, all things proceed smoothly.

The Essential Mechanism of the Three-One

The so-called “Three-One” means that three kinds of cultivation all return to one and the same primordial Qi (vital energy). The upper level concerns immortals embracing the One and refining Shen (spirit) to unite with the Dao (the Way); the middle level concerns enriching the state and bringing peace to the people, as well as nurturing primordial Qi; the lower level concerns strengthening the army and winning victory, as well as refining and nourishing Jing (essence) and Qi. Although the Dao is divided into three levels, its root never departs from the one Qi.

The “one Qi” is the clear, empty, and natural Qi of Heaven. Within Qi there is Shen; Shen depends on Qi, and Qi likewise depends on Shen. The practitioner brings Shen and Qi into union and then refines Shen to unite with the Dao. The root of the Dao lies in naturalness; this is the path of cultivation known as “immortals embracing the One and refining Shen to unite with the Dao.”

The middle level’s “enriching the state and bringing peace to the people” takes the human body as an analogy for the state: the body is the nation, Qi is the people, and the heart-mind is the sovereign. If the heart-mind remains settled like a rightful ruler and does not stir recklessly, Qi naturally comes into harmony. When Qi is harmonious, Shen is at peace; when Shen is at peace, Jing and Qi become abundant and joyful, and the body is at ease. This is the method of refining Qi by regulating the heart-mind.

What the lower level calls “strengthening the army and winning victory” is the art of refining Jing. The heavy and turbid parts of the body are like the earth, yet even within turbidity there is clarity. To dwell amid desires without being moved by them is called “strengthening the army.” When the heart-mind does not stir recklessly and Qi does not rashly circulate and intermingle, this is called “winning victory.”

Before a person is born, while still in a state of chaos, Shen and Qi have never been separated. Cultivation consists in causing Shen and Qi to guard one another: Jing disperses and transforms into Qi, Qi congeals and becomes Shen, and finally one refines Shen to unite with the Dao, following naturalness. From the Dao, methods are established; from the methods, the arts of cultivation become manifest. Spoken of separately they are three levels; in the end they unite as one.

The so-called “One” also refers to Jing. Jing is the root of primordial Qi and likewise the root of the human being: in the body it appears as Qi, in the bones as marrow, and in consciousness as Shen—all of these are transformations of Jing. All things receive the one Qi, and Qi generates the Five Phases (Wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). The text further uses “the five grains” to show that after the Qi of the Five Phases enters the viscera, Jing is stored in the Dantian (energy center). Jing is the root of the person; therefore the sage, in cultivation, returns to the root and restores the original source. This is the way of “returning to the root and restoring the origin.”

The hun of the sun and the po of the moon are the true essential secret.

The hun of the sun and the po of the moon refer to Yin-Yang (yinyang); Yin-Yang in turn is embodied as the sun and the moon. The sun belongs to Yang, yet the “hun” within the sun belongs to Yin, symbolizing the Metal of the West and the lungs. Thus it is said that the sun’s hun is stored within the moon’s po, and the moon’s po fills the sun’s hun, so that the sun is thereby clear and bright. The moon contains a rabbit, symbolizing the Wood of the East and the liver; the liver belongs to Yang and represents the hun. Therefore the moon’s po stores the sun’s hun, and the sun’s hun fills the moon’s po, so that the moon appears luminous.

Hun and po may also be compared to lead and mercury within the human body; these are terms used in Neidan (internal alchemy) to analogize the Yin-Yang transformations of body and mind. Lead and mercury each have a fixed quantity of eight liang, combining to one jin, that is, sixteen liang. Twenty-four zhu equal one liang. The scripture maps these numbers onto the three hundred eighty-four yao of the celestial circuit (the total number of lines in the sixty-four hexagrams of the Zhouyi), in order to illustrate the laws of the sun and moon’s movements and the creative transformations of Heaven and Earth. Practitioners conduct their work according to these numbers: the greater measure takes one year as its cycle, while the lesser measure is applied to a single double-hour; when a single double-hour is employed correctly, it can embody the creative pattern of an entire year.

The scripture speaks in veiled language: the first day of each month is the starting point. At the zi hour, corresponding to the Kan trigram, one liang of mercury is added; the Li trigram adds fifteen liang of lead. On the second day the Kan trigram adds two liang of mercury and the Li trigram fourteen liang of lead; proceeding in sequence, by the fifteenth day the quantities of extraction and replenishment reach completion. Thereafter the cycle repeats. The calculations for long and short months should be carefully distinguished.

Lead and mercury symbolize a person’s hun and po, which in turn are linked to the person’s Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy). Shen tends toward stillness, while Qi tends toward activity; the transformations of movement and stillness between the two commonly occur between Kan and Li (which respectively symbolize water, fire, and the transformations of Yin-Yang). The essential secret of cultivation is this: in the first half of the month the hun guards the po, and in the second half the po guards the hun. The scripture holds that if one can master this circulatory measure within a single double-hour, one can embody the transformations of a year’s creative processes.

The essential secret of applying the Five Phases (wuxing; Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) in daily practice.

Daily cultivation consists of having Shen (spirit; spiritual consciousness) guard Qi (vital energy) and having Qi guard Shen, so that Shen and Qi mutually depend on each other, cohere, and do not scatter. This is genuine daily cultivation. Shen is able to penetrate and respond; wherever the intention reaches, something is accomplished in the heart-mind. Once Shen is settled, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, whether by day or by night, one must constantly guard it. When Shen is gathered inward and Qi does not depart, Qi resides within Shen, Shen resides within the physical form, and Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen are all stably present, they ultimately return to the True One, and cultivation is complete.

The Five Phases (employed in Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) to illustrate the five corresponding relationships of bodily and mental functions) are: the heart governs Shen, the liver governs Hun (ethereal soul), the spleen governs Yi (intention), the kidneys govern Zhi (will), and the lungs govern Po (corporeal soul). When these five cohere, they can transform into the Elixir. The method of cohesion is to concentrate on Shen, unify the intention, guard Hun and Po, and gather them together in the Dantian (energy center; the abdominal site of Neidan cultivation).

Hun and Po constitute a person’s Shen-Qi: Qi is the root of life, while Shen is the manifestation of heavenly nature. Nature (Xing) and life (Ming) mutually reinforce and depend upon each other, jointly condensing into a single Qi. This Qi is fire; it has no visible form, yet when activated it appears as though a flame is present. This fire is used solely for refining the Elixir and must not be employed for any other purpose. If one can guard the true fire within the body so that it coheres and does not scatter, this is the genuine path of embracing the origin and guarding the One (Baoyuan Shouyi: protecting the root and remaining single-mindedly undivided).

“The Seven Returns to the Elixir” can be understood from the two perspectives of celestial phenomena and the human body. In the heavens the seven stars of the Northern Dipper cycle through the transformations of the four seasons; in the human being the seven orifices—the eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and the rest—are responsible for seeing, hearing, and sensing.

What is meant by “return” is that the eyes look upon external things yet are not pulled by them, the ears hear sounds yet are not agitated by them, the nose does not chase after fragrance, and the mouth tastes flavors without craving them. What is meant by “reversion” is concentrating the mind and gathering it back to a single point. What is meant by “elixir” is that the Qi (vital energy) of the five viscera does not scatter but instead coalesces.

The elixir is distinguished into Neidan (internal alchemy) and Waidan (external alchemy). Both serve to nourish the Shen (spirit) and to receive Qi: nourishing the Shen can be practiced while remaining in the world, whereas receiving Qi belongs to cultivation that leaves the world. The essential matter is to control the firing process without the slightest error. Neidan without Waidan is hard to complete; Waidan without Neidan has no governing principle. The Neidan spoken of here is the “True Unity Qi” (the original, pure primordial Qi of Daoist teaching); the Waidan is the Qi generated from the five grains. In practice one uses Qi to continue Qi and uses Jing (essence) and Qi to nourish the marrow; the work of replenishment and continuation cannot be separated from the two Qi of Yin-Yang.

The ascent of Yang Qi is called “return”; the descent of Qi is called “reversion.” Qi rises and falls, coming and going through day and night, until it finally gathers in the Dantian (energy center), the place in Daoist Neidan practice where Jing-Qi is collected and stored. Yang Qi can rise only when it is matched by Yin Qi; Yin Qi can descend only by following its proper pathways. To follow the rising and falling, the coming and going of Yin and Yang so that Qi gathers of itself—this is the essential secret of the natural reversion of the elixir, and the mystery lies here.

Essential Outline of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) Facing the Origin

The Bagua (Eight Trigrams), eight symbols used to illustrate the changes of Yin-Yang, correspond the heart and kidneys respectively to Kan and Li, which in turn symbolize Yin-Yang. Yang corresponds to the hun, Yin to the po. The hun corresponds to eastern Jia-Yi Wood and is called the Azure Dragon; the po corresponds to western Geng-Xin Metal and is called the White Tiger. Kan and Li give rise to the dragon and tiger, which then form the Four Images and further differentiate internally into the Bagua.

Each of the Bagua has correspondences with the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and the directions: Jia belongs to Wood and governs Qian; Yi belongs to Wood and governs Kun. Wood generates Fire, Bing governs Gen and Ding governs Dui; Gen and Dui combine as one. Bing and Ding belong to Fire, Fire generates Wu-Ji Earth. Wu-Ji Earth has no fixed direction and is distributed throughout the four seasons; Earth generates Geng-Xin Metal, Geng governs Zhen and Xin governs Xun, Zhen and Xun combining as one. Metal generates Ren-Gui Water, Ren governs Li and Gui governs Kan; Kan and Li symbolize Yin-Yang.

Yin-Yang can also be understood as inner and outer: inner Qi (vital energy) is Yang, outer Qi is Yin. The rising and falling, movement and stillness of Yin-Yang occur naturally of themselves, not manipulated by spirits, but through the action of the Chonghe Qi of Heaven and Earth (the harmonious blending Qi between heaven and earth). This Qi constantly circulates between Kan and Li, continuing day and night with unceasing breath. This is the principle of the Bagua returning to the original source and reverting to the root.

The Qi of Nine Returns is the overall essential in cultivation.

The so-called “nine” belongs to Yang; “return” means gathering together; “one” is Qi (vital energy). After the nine Yangs have gathered, a person’s nature and life mutually guard each other. In heaven there are the regularities of the sun and moon’s movement, on earth there is the earthly Qi that gives life to and nourishes all things, and within the human body there is likewise the principle of Yin-Yang transformation.

Heaven, earth, and humanity each have three aspects, and therefore this is called the “Way of the Three Harmonies,” which together constitute the “Nine Essentials.” Heaven’s three essentials are the sun, moon, and stars, corresponding respectively to a person’s eyes, ears, and nose; earth’s three essentials are high, low, and level, corresponding respectively to a person’s hun (ethereal soul), po (corporeal soul), and Jing (essence); in the cultivation of the human body, hun, po, and Jing in turn correspond with Jing, Qi, and Shen (spirit). This speaks of the correspondences between heaven-and-earth and the human body.

Shen is the master of Jing, and Jing is the root of Shen. Although the names are divided into three items, in reality they never leave the one Qi. The so-called “one Qi” is “embryonic breathing”: the embryo is the place where Shen is stored, and the breath is the manifestation of the embryo’s vital transformation. Original Qi is generated from the breath, and the breath takes Shen as its master. Without breath the embryo cannot take form; without Shen the breath loses its governing master. Breath is the root of the embryo, the embryo is the dwelling place of the breath, and Shen is the true lord within the embryo. The Qi stored and accumulated in the abdomen is called the “embryo,” and one exhalation and one inhalation is called “breath,” hence it is named embryonic breathing.

The embryo is the child of Qi within the bodily form, and the breath is the mother of Shen within the bodily form. Since there exists such a mother-and-child relationship within the bodily form, why not store it and guard it? So-called storing and guarding means to nourish and preserve the Shen and to guard and hold the Qi.

The scripture says that this Qi is situated between Kan and Li (Kan and Li being the names of trigrams that symbolize water and fire, Yin and Yang), its form round like a pestle and mortar, and also resembling a crouching turtle, therefore it is called the “Spirit Turtle.” The turtle holds black water in its mouth, and within the water there is Qi; this Qi is called spirit Qi, and is also known as the “blue-eyed barbarian monk.” The scripture regards it as the fundamental root of the True Person.

Within the twelve double-hours, the heavenly gate borrows Qi, the earthly pass is tightly closed, and the spirit chamber is guarded within, whereupon there will be breathing like that of the spirit turtle. It possesses a name yet has no fixed bodily form; it has movement and stillness yet is difficult to describe by any name. The cultivator need not deliberately cause it to ascend and descend. When the outer Qi naturally rises, it rises along with it, and the abdomen naturally swells; when the outer Qi rises, the inner Qi descends, and when the inner Qi descends, the abdomen naturally draws inward. The transformations of swelling and drawing inward constitute the pivot of the Qi mechanism of heaven and earth.

The scripture further says that what this pivot relies upon is the circulating Qi of heaven and earth, that is, true Yin and true Yang. Inner Qi belongs to Yang, outer Qi belongs to Yin; if the inner Qi does not leak outward and the outer Qi does not enter inward, then Shen and Qi can unite and become settled. When outer Qi unites with inner Qi, it becomes the supreme treasure; when the inner Qi unites, it accomplishes the Golden Elixir (jindan). The Golden Elixir is a substance of pure Yang, symbolizing abundant and genuine original Qi; thereby one can directly point to the heavenly mechanism and attain the Way of returning to the root.

If one meets a Perfected Person (a teacher who has achieved success in cultivating the Dao), one must swear an alliance with Heaven; first the looking-up formula is transmitted, then the mind-seal is transmitted. One must not lightly leak this Heaven-bestowed secret method. Be sure to be cautious!