《太上老君内日用妙经》

What is called “daily practice” is the cultivation that must be persisted in every day: eat and drink with moderation, restrain speech, sit quietly alone, and do not allow miscellaneous thoughts to arise in the mind. Temporarily set all affairs aside, concentrate the Shen (spirit) and stabilize the intention; lips lightly closed, teeth meeting, the eyes not looking upon external things, the ears not listening to external sounds, the mind wholly directed inward in holding and guarding, the breath continuous and unbroken. The respiration is light, slow, and subtle, as if present and yet not present; do not allow it to be interrupted. In this way one will naturally feel the heart-fire descending and the kidney-water rising, and saliva will spontaneously well forth in the mouth. True Qi (vital energy) fills and nourishes body and mind, and the practitioner can thereby experience the path that leads to long life.

Every shichen (an ancient time unit, one shichen roughly equal to two hours today) one must maintain clarity and stillness. When the spirit platform (lingtai, referring to the inner mind) in the heart is free of miscellaneous objects, this is called “clarity”; when not a single thought arises, this is called “stillness.” The body is the dwelling of Qi, the heart the dwelling of Shen. When intention moves, Shen moves with it; when Shen moves, Qi disperses; when intention is settled, Shen is settled; when Shen is settled, Qi gathers.

The true Qi of the Five Phases (Wuxing) congeals into “daogui” (a Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) term referring to the refined subtle medicinal substance or elixir fluid). The practitioner will naturally perceive sounds within the body; whether walking or sitting in stillness, one often feels the body light and swift as the wind, rumbling in the abdomen like thunder, the breath penetrating the entire body in harmonious flow, as though elixir fluid were nourishing the crown of the head. This is personally experiencing the flavor of the elixir fluid. One may also hear immortal music resembling a stringless melody: sound arises without plucking, resonance occurs without striking. When Shen and Qi congeal it is like a man becoming pregnant; thereby one can contemplate the inner realm, and the spirit seems able to speak of itself.

This inner realm is like a dwelling of emptiness, as if a sage were residing within it. Through nine cycles of refinement and nourishment (the process of repeated transmutation in Neidan practice), the great elixir is formed, and Shen can freely enter and exit, sharing longevity with heaven and earth, shining together with the sun and moon, transcending the transformations of life and death.

Every day one must not allow Jing (essence) and Qi to suffer any depletion; throughout the twelve shichen one must maintain clarity and stillness. Qi is the mother of Shen, Shen the child of Qi; just as a parrot incubates its eggs, one must carefully preserve and nourish Shen and Qi so that they do not separate. How marvelous, how profoundly mysterious it is!

Within the human body there are seven treasures that can make oneself replete and stable. Jing is like mercury, blood like gold, Qi like fine jade, marrow like crystal, the brain like numinous cinnabar, the kidneys like pearls and jade, the heart like coral. These are what is meant by the “seven treasures.” Cause them to return to oneself without dispersing, refine them into the great medicine, and the myriad Shen within the body can all ascend as immortals.

The Taishang Laojun Nei Riyong Miao Jing (Wondrous Scripture of Internal Daily Practice of the Most High Lord Lao) says: A person’s kidneys are like precious gems, and the heart is like coral; these are the seven treasures within the body. If one lets them return to oneself and cohere without dispersing, one can refine the Great Medicine, enabling the myriad spirits within the body to all ascend to immortality.

This Jing (scripture) ends here.