《太上修真玄章》

Chapter One: One Qi Transforms into Generation

“Shen” (spirit) refers to a person’s original nature, which includes both the nature of heaven and earth and the nature of qi-constitution. Before the parents have given birth to the child, what is spoken of is the nature of heaven and earth; after birth, it is the nature of qi-constitution.

“Qi” (vital energy) includes the qi of the earth, that is, “True Qi” (the primordial qi spoken of in Daoism), as well as the qi of the parents, which is the qi of ordinary people. A person begins in the mother’s womb, receiving the father’s Jing (essence) and the mother’s blood, gradually forming the signs of life. The text states that the qi of ordinary people combines with the Nine Qi of the Hollow True Emperor to form a complete physical form; the True Qi referred to here is this fundamental qi that constitutes the human body.

The first Qi forms the embryonic sac, the second Qi forms the fetus, and the third Qi causes the spiritual nature to grow. The Qi of the Bright Immortal produces the hun soul, and the person’s original nature thereby begins to enter the fetus. At this stage, however, the physical form is not yet fully developed, so the spiritual nature cannot yet be manifested.

With the fourth Qi the po soul is produced; with the fifth Qi the five viscera take shape. The sixth Qi is the “Qi of High Heaven True Harmonious Fusion,” which produces the spiritual nature. Only then is the physical form initially complete and capable of movement; once movement occurs, Shen (spirit) arises, and after Shen arises the original nature manifests its spiritual nature. By the ninth month the fetal qi is abundant; in the tenth month the fetus is fully matured and then born.

Chapter Two: The Root of Nature and Life

The immortals say: When a person is in the mother's womb, the umbilical cord is connected with the mother's, so that when the mother exhales the fetus also exhales, and when the mother inhales the fetus also inhales. After birth the umbilical cord is cut, and mother and child each breathe independently. The bit of prenatal Qi (vital energy) that the fetus receives from the parents—the life energy bestowed by the parents—remains stored in the child's lower Dantian (energy center), the gathering place of breath in the lower abdomen, and relies upon the kidneys.

The Dantian is located at a position corresponding to the navel in front and the kidneys in back, lying between navel and kidneys, its form joined like a ring and measuring one cun two fen in width. Here there are two orifices (passages for the circulation of Qi), corresponding to Qian and Kun, which communicate upward with the Niwan (a Daoist term for a location in the head) and downward through the Yongquan (the acupoints on the soles of the feet). Beside them are six further orifices, corresponding to Kan, Li, Zhen, Xun, Gen, and Dui, which lead to the six fu viscera. All the Qi of the entire body gathers here, like streams of water flowing together or like the spokes of a wheel converging on the hub. Therefore this orifice is the foundation of life.

A person's nature (original nature and spiritual nature) resides in the Dantian and the Niwan, relying upon the heart. The Niwan is located between the Mingtang of the head, inside the crown—that is, at the vertex. People of the world therefore call the fontanel on an infant's head the “Gate of Nature.” When the Gate of Nature has not yet closed, a person still remembers the karmic affinities of previous lives and similar matters; after it closes, these are forgotten. Therefore it is said that the Niwan is the root of nature. Only those who understand the root of nature and the foundation of life may speak of cultivation.

Chapter Three: The Prenatal and the Postnatal

There are two kinds of Qi (vital energy) of Heaven and Earth. That which a person is endowed with before conception is called “pre-Heaven” (xiantian), also known as “Mother Qi.” This Qi is vast and vigorous, filling the space between Heaven and Earth, circulating above and below and in all four directions without cease, day and night. Once a person is conceived, they receive this Qi, which is then called “post-Heaven” (houtian), also known as “Child Qi.”

Some say that the Qi by which the sun and moon generate the myriad things is the “Nine Qi of the Mixed Void Imperial True” mentioned earlier; yet in the end it remains a single Qi. This Qi likewise fills the human body. Every day at the “zi hour,” when the handle of the Dipper draws near the ground, the pre-Heaven Qi arises from the utmost depths following the Dipper handle, circulating between Heaven and Earth and generating the myriad things. The zi hour spoken of here is not the zi hour of ordinary human timekeeping. In the course of the twelve double-hours of a day, if one constantly gathers in seeing and hearing, looking inward and listening inward, and suddenly feels a warm Qi surging within the body, that is the moment when the Qi is stirring. The Elixir Scripture says: “When the time for the generation of jing (essence) and qi arrives, one will naturally know it oneself; throughout the day one must strictly avoid sinking into confusion and disorder.” After the Qi of Heaven and Earth arises, the corresponding Child Qi within the human body also becomes active, rising to the Dantian (energy center)—regarded in Neidan (internal alchemy) as the site for gathering and refining jing and qi—thereby transmuting the ordinary Qi within the body and bringing about internal transformation.

Chapter Four: The Mysterious Function of Form and Spirit

The physical form is the dwelling of Shen (spirit) and Qi; Shen is the master of the physical form and Qi. If there is only form and Qi without Shen, it is merely insentient matter; if Shen departs from form and Qi, it too will wander bewildered with nowhere to return.

Alas! Shen is nature, Qi is life; neither can be neglected. If one cultivates only nature and not life, Ziyang (the Daoist Neidan master Zhang Boduan) said: the spirit belongs to yin, its dwelling is hard to stabilize, and it cannot avoid continual migration. If one cultivates only life and not nature, Buddhism says: even if the Qi is refined to purity so that lifespan may be extremely long, unless one comprehends the samadhi of right awakening (the right concentration and enlightenment spoken of in Buddhism), after the allotted years are exhausted one will still re-enter the cycle of rebirth. Therefore Confucianism says: “To speak only of nature and not of Qi, the discussion is incomplete; to speak only of Qi and not of nature, understanding is not clear.” It should be known that nature is primary, and Qi is secondary to nature.

Chapter Five: The Practice of the Golden Elixir

Those who refine the Golden Elixir (jindan) analogize the human body to the dingqi (cauldron-vessel), Qi (vital energy) to the medicinal substance, and Shen (spirit) to the fire timing (huohou). Here the “dingqi” is the body undergoing cultivation, the “medicine” refers to the Qi that is gathered and nourished, and the “fire timing” refers to the regulation of mind-spirit and breath. In practice one must forget all artifice and calculating thoughts, withdraw the gaze and gather in the hearing, so that Jing (essence), Shen (spirit), hun (ethereal soul), po (corporeal soul), and yi (intention)—these five—do not dissipate outward; only then is the dingqi considered settled and stable. By day one abides in a yielding and still condition; by night one enters a realm of deep mystery and quietude. Gathering the mind into a single place and remaining silently tranquil throughout the day as though foolish and unknowing—this is gathering the medicine. The mind-spirit must remain awake, lucid, and undulled; thoughts must be clear and constantly occupy their proper station without racing outward, whereupon the breath becomes naturally even and peaceful. This is regulating the fire timing.

Therefore the sage forgets the physical form in order to nourish Qi, forgets Qi in order to nourish Shen, and forgets Shen in order to nourish the void of non-being, bringing both form and spirit to a state of subtle perfection so that they unite with the Dao (the Way) and become authentic. The “forgetting” spoken of here is not the lifeless inertia of withered wood or dead ashes, nor is it sitting in dull stupor facing a wall, muddled and unaware. The mind ought to be as vast as the Great Void (Taixu), clear, bright, and pure both within and without; it should turn nimbly and roundly, like a pearl rolling about a platter, yet remain limpid and still, like the moon’s image reflected in a deep pool. In activity it is still not stirred by external things; in quietude it is not frozen into immobility.

One must apply continuous effort yet without previously demanding a result; the mind neither forgets the work of cultivation nor deliberately forces it to increase. One loosens the mind’s thoughts so they do not scatter and flee outward, and one restrains them so they are not confined within. The chest remains always spacious, empty, and luminous—this alone is genuine “forgetting.” If one instead transforms the void into Shen, Shen into Qi, and Qi again into form, one heads toward death and is indistinguishable from ordinary people.

Chapter Six: Generation and Transformation of the Void and Non-Being

Beyond Heaven and Earth is called “Taixu Taiwu,” that is, “void” or “emptiness.” Only by harboring no selfish thoughts can one achieve empty stillness and Wuwei (non-action); empty stillness can encompass all things, and Wuwei allows all things to transform of themselves. Thus all things return each to its proper place: things return to things, affairs return to affairs, forms return to forms, Qi (vital energy) returns to Qi, until all finally return to their own roots. Heaven and Earth naturally support all things, the sun and moon naturally follow their courses, Yin-Yang naturally rise and fall, cold and heat naturally alternate, the four seasons naturally succeed one another, the five Qi (the five kinds of vital energy that constitute Heaven, Earth, and all things) naturally circulate, and creatures that fly or lurk each move or rest as they please. All things manifest their own forms and colors; why then should Heaven and Earth expend effort to intervene? It is precisely for this reason that Heaven and Earth can endure so long.

Humans cannot endure as long as Heaven and Earth because the mind clings to attachments and cannot achieve empty stillness and Wuwei. If one can attain the realm of void, Shen (spirit) and Qi will naturally return to their proper positions; Shen returns to Shen and Qi returns to Qi. Only by beginning with a return to the origin and reversion to the root can one speak of cultivation.

The methods of cultivation should begin with caution in speech, then moderation of diet, and next the reduction of sleep. These three matters are crucial essentials for cultivating immortality and for Buddhist practice. Why is this so?

Laojun (Laozi) said: “The gate of the mysterious feminine is the root of Heaven and Earth; it continues without interruption, seeming to exist, yet one need not apply deliberate effort.” Here the “mysterious feminine” refers to Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy), the primordial life energy spoken of in Daoism, while the mouth and nose are the portals through which Shen and Qi enter and exit. Exhalation and inhalation should be long and gentle, allowing the breath to continue in a fine, unbroken stream. Only thus can one return to the root, preserve life, and thereby nourish the primordial Qi.

Therefore cultivation must first involve caution in speech. Ziyang (a Daoist figure, commonly referring to Zhang Boduan) said: “From emptiness and nonbeing a single Qi is born, and this single Qi then transforms and generates Yin-Yang.” The Qi that arises in a person’s ordinary activities is born in dependence upon emptiness and stillness. As soon as hunger is felt, the desire to eat and drink appears; eating and drinking to excess will block the mechanism of Qi. Once that mechanism is obstructed and cannot return to its original source, the Qi dissipates along with sounds, forms and colors, odors and flavors, and the emotions of joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure. Hence the next requirement is to moderate the diet.

Those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) should be like a hen incubating her eggs, keeping the warming and nourishing breath continuously present; should it be interrupted, nature and life may be harmed. If a person is overly fond of sleep, Shen will leave the Qi; the Qi, losing its governing master, will scatter and flee in disorder, and desires will then congeal. How then can one achieve the aim of concentrating Shen and nourishing Qi? Therefore sleep must also be reduced.

Chapter Eight: The Intercourse of Shen and Qi (the chapter on the union of Shen and Qi)

Only after one has achieved caution in speech, moderation in diet, and reduction of sleep can one proceed to the methods of gathering the medicine in Neidan (internal alchemy) and the methods of cultivation through seated meditation, advancing gradually in proper sequence.

The prenatal mother Qi (vital energy) descends while the postnatal child Qi ascends; the two converge at the Dantian (energy center), the gathering place of the Qi mechanism in internal alchemy. Silently and without a sound they transform the ordinary Qi endowed by one’s parents. Accumulating day after day and month after month, the ordinary Qi is gradually refined away, and the true Qi becomes abundant, arising of itself in a manner that cannot be obstructed. The true Qi then rises from the Dual Passes (Shuangguan) to the Niwan (the cultivation site in the head) and unites with Shen (spirit). This is what is called “chasing the two Qis along the Yellow Path (Huangdao) and gathering the three natures in the Primordial Palace (Yuangong),” after which it transforms into sweet dew. The sweet dew subsequently descends from the Xuanyong (the Qi pathway mentioned in the scripture) and returns to the Dantian. In this one ascent and one descent the transformations of internal alchemy take shape.

The essential point is to keep the mind empty and still, generating no thoughts, so that the Qi mechanism can respond naturally. Otherwise the medicinal ingredients dissipate, the firing process is mistimed, and elixir refinement cannot succeed. All these transformations arise from nature; one must not deliberately visualize or drive Shen and Qi, for that would be like pulling up seedlings to help them grow.

Chapter Nine: Movement, Stillness, Ascent and Descent

When movement reaches its extreme it causes depletion; if the firing process is mistimed, elixir refinement cannot succeed. These transformations all arise from nature; one cannot deliberately visualize or compel Shen and Qi, otherwise it is like pulling up seedlings to help them grow.

Note: The original phrasing “与枢苗助长之说同日语矣” is suspected to contain a clerical error and should read “与揠苗助长之说同日语矣,” meaning it is the same as the principle of pulling up seedlings to help them grow.

When movement reaches its extreme, it turns to stillness; when stillness reaches its extreme, it turns again to movement. The mutual alternation of movement and stillness is simply the manner in which the Dao (the Way) exerts its function. Heaven and earth in their operations likewise undergo such changes: in movement they expand, in stillness they contract. Without expansion there can be no contraction, and without contraction there can be no expansion. Expansion and contraction cycle endlessly, and the myriad things are thereby continually generated.

If the cultivation of stillness and concentration attains an extremely profound level, the primordial yang Qi (vital energy)—the innate yang energy—arises of itself. When the Qi is generated, the practitioner feels as though the body is shaken, trembling like mountains; or as if a dragon and an elephant were galloping, wind and fire colliding. The Qi gathers at the crown, as if pouring down from above, its light illuminating the curtains. Thereafter the Qi flows gently like spring rain, or like the meltwater of ice and snow, traveling from the head down to the feet and then rising once more. It circulates between the three palaces of the body (the three regions of the Qi mechanism as described in cultivation), rising and descending of its own accord without a moment’s pause. One complete cycle of ascent and descent is called a Zhou Tian.

The rising of the Qi corresponds to the zi hour of the winter solstice: at this moment a single yang is first born amid the yin Qi, corresponding in hexagram to the Fu (Return) hexagram. As the Qi mechanism advances and recedes it proceeds to the Kun hexagram; after the six yins have reached their extreme it turns and rises again. The practitioner gathers the two solstices and two equinoxes (winter solstice, summer solstice, spring equinox and autumn equinox), the lunar phases of dark moon, new moon, quarters and full moon, together with the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), the Four Images, the eighteen lunar lodges and the three hundred and sixty-five degrees—the rhythms of heaven and earth—and unifies them all within a single ke. In this way one ke contains the Qi phenomena of an entire year. A year comprises approximately thirty-two thousand six hundred ke, and in every ke the Qi mechanism must be harmonized. Apart from the mao and you hours, the transformations of the Four Images, the eighteen lunar lodges and the three hundred sixty-five degrees can all be concentrated in a single ke; on this basis it is said that one can transcend the Qi numerology of thirty thousand years in heaven.

These methods of cultivation secretly correspond to the creative transformations of heaven and earth; they do not consist in clinging to written words or to superficial images and numbers.

Chapter Ten of “On Refining Qi into Shen”

At this time, the Qi (vital energy) mechanisms and meridians within the human body become harmonious and unobstructed, the spirit feels clear, refreshed, and at ease, in a state resembling rising after a bath or just awakening from a dream. Shen (spirit) and Qi mutually depend on each other: Shen embraces and holds Qi, while Qi also surrounds Shen. Through accumulation over days and months, the two continually intermingle and finally unite as one. As the yin impurities gradually vanish completely and the yang Qi tends toward purity and harmony, the practitioner becomes a Zhenren (the realized person of Daoist cultivation who has attained the Dao).

When the practitioner reaches the realm of “shedding the embryo and spiritual transformation,” they can have a body outside the body (a Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) term referring to the spirit-consciousness departing from the physical body and manifesting in another form). This form can gather and become visible or disperse and become formless; it comes and goes without obstruction, with numinous and marvelous transformations at will. The creative transformations of heaven and earth cannot bind him, the forces of Yin-Yang cannot constrain him, ghosts and spirits cannot fathom him, and cold and heat cannot harm him. He dwells leisurely and freely in the “village of nothingness” (a realm that transcends worldly distinctions and constraints), merging into one with emptiness.