《紫团丹经》

The Perfected One of Zituan (Zituan Zhenren) said: The Way of the inner medicine (neiyao, the "medicinal substances" refined from one's own Jing, Qi, and Shen) lies in the place upon which one's own breathing rests. This is the root of Shen and Qi, the valley of emptiness, located below the heart and above the navel.

At the start of practice, one must stop licentious and stray thoughts and turn the gaze inward to the central palace (zhonggong, the cultivation site at the body's center, between the heart and the navel). Day and night one stays alert and focused, so that the original Yang does not leak outward. In this way the fire of the kidneys rises of its own accord and joins the true Yang of the heart in the central palace. This is called the "intercourse of heart and kidney." After a hundred days of practice, the elixir's beginning (dantou, the initial coalescence of the internal elixir) forms. Thereafter the three palaces (the upper, middle, and lower Dantian) rise and descend, and the river cart (hechē, the movement of Qi through the microcosmic orbit) begins to turn. The belly rumbles, a sensation of wind stirs in the Niwan (the cultivation site at the top of the head), the Dantian grows warm, and the Qi throughout the body flows in harmony.

If at times one cannot guard the mind, or sits not at all through the night, the "medicinal wealth" accumulated through practice is depleted, the fire phasing becomes insufficient, and the earlier work may be wasted. This Way is easy to encounter but hard to bring to completion. The Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Perfection) says: "To cultivate a single thing alone turns out to be in vain." Thus, among the many thousands who study, very few truly succeed. Many let the years pass emptily and, though old, remain bewildered and empty-handed, and then lament that cultivation is illusory. The fault lies not in cultivation itself, but in the fact that men are Yang outside and Yin within; their temperament easily scatters and is hard to restrain and nourish.

Wumingzi said: Jing, Qi, and Shen are the foundation of a person, yet they belong to the postnatal and are Yin in nature. Without the true, unified Yang elixir of the prenatal to transform one's own Yin mercury (yin gong, Yin-natured essence and Qi, likened to quicksilver), how could they coalesce and undergo transformation? This is called the Way that is "hard to encounter yet easy to accomplish." One takes body and mind as Kan and Li (the two trigram symbols of water and fire in the Yijing), and man and woman as dragon and tiger (a symbol of Yin-Yang union in Neidan). Once the true elixir enters the mouth, the Yin mercury is transformed, gathers without scattering, and grows firmer with each refining. Through the blending of wind and fire, within a hundred days one may attain spiritual penetration. Even a dull and ordinary person who practices in this way can quickly pass beyond the mundane and enter sagehood.

Ma Ziran said: "To say that cultivation begins at the zhong and chou positions makes people laugh until they cannot close their mouths. It turns out that this is precisely the returned elixir, yet people keep running about in every direction to seek it." The Supreme One (Taishang) said: "When people of inferior capacity hear of the Dao, they laugh loudly; if it were not laughed at, it would not be worthy of being called the Dao." The Wuzhen pian also says: "The work is not difficult, and the medicine is not distant; yet once the principle is spoken plainly, people only laugh." This refers to the subtle secret of the outer medicine (waiyao, the method of completing the practice through correspondence between inner and outer, aided by external conditions).

The Way of the inner medicine lies in not allowing a single thought to arise, guarding inwardly in stillness, constant from day to night. Those whose resolve is firm and who can persevere over a long time will in due course succeed, reaching the state in which the spirit leaves the body and comes and goes freely. This is called being an immortal. Though many practice today, still very few succeed, because this path is easy to encounter yet difficult to sustain to completion.

If one wishes to cultivate both inner and outer medicine, that is, the dual cultivation of nature and life, one must first enter a quiet chamber and sit in stillness, understanding that the central palace is the place where one settles the body and establishes one's destiny. Day and night, one guards inwardly with single-minded focus, bringing body, heart, and kidneys into mutual communion, so that the five Qi converge in the central palace. After a hundred days of pure unity, a chaotic elixir beginning forms, shaped like an egg, lively and animated, now gathering and now scattering, rising, descending, and coming and going. It is easily dissipated and hard to solidify. One then takes the single point of true, unified, pure Yang elixir from within Kan and uses it to transform the Yin mercury elixir beginning within one's own Li, making it a body of pure Qian. In this way, once the elixir is obtained it endures, gathering without scattering, and success comes swiftly, with body and spirit both attaining wondrous perfection. Without any need for the spirit to leave the body, one can pierce metal and penetrate stone and undergo a myriad transformations. After this, one sits in stillness for nine years, and the teaching of nature (xingzong, the study of realizing one's fundamental nature) opens into awakening of its own accord. This is the Way of the Celestial Immortal.

The Yijing (Jing, the Classic of Changes) says that the six double-hours from the Zi hour to the Si hour make up half of a celestial cycle. When Water and Fire are circulated by the subtle method, attention must also be given to "bathing" (muyu, the phase in the practice when the firing process is paused and the practitioner rests and regulates the breath). Reckoned in days, six days correspond to three months. In general, the Water method may also be run from the Wu hour to the Hai hour, likewise calculated over six double-hours. This is the rule governing the span between Zi and Si.

The six double-hours from Zi to Si must be worked according to the firing process (huohou), measured out by the jin, the liang, and the zhu; twenty-four zhu make one liang, and the so-called "one mouthful" is also this unit of measure. The "Water" spoken of here is Metal-Water, also called the "wine in the pot." When the Water is taken into the cauldron (ding, the vessel used in alchemical refining), it must follow the six-hour count of heavenly time. Only two of these hours are actually worked, and even so they must accord with heavenly time and must not go beyond the Zi hour. If the proper hour is missed, the medicines will have no efficacy. Circulating Water and Fire at the right times accords with the subtle principle of Heaven and Earth, and the movement of all things will not go astray. This firing process is a secret of the high immortals and must not be treated lightly; to pass it on to those who should not receive it is to invite Heaven's punishment.

Celestial Master Zhang (Zhang Zhenren) said: "Even when you meet a suitable person, you must not carelessly disclose the treasures of Heaven. To transmit them to one who should not receive them is to leak the Dao of Heaven. In transmitting, you must make certain it is done correctly; a reckless transmission will cause seven generations of your ancestors to be called to account in the underworld." Anyone lacking sincerity must not be given this Dao, even if their wealth is as great as heaps of gold and jade.

In practicing this Dao, one must also preserve Qi and Jing, do many good deeds, help others, honor one's parents, revere Heaven and Earth, and repay the kindness of the ruler and of the land where one lives. If one does these things, one may hope for early success and stand shoulder to shoulder with the sages of old. If one harbors a rash and reckless heart, worldly obstacles will likely arise and accomplishment will be difficult. Cultivating according to this wondrous Dao, ascending to the Golden Gate (Jinque, the palace of the immortal realm) is not difficult. Being myself within the Dao, I too must rescue my seven generations of ancestors and help them ascend. The Dao is originally formless and gives birth to Heaven and Earth; the Dao is originally nameless, and is only reluctantly called "Dao." Be reverent and keep it secret, and wherever you may be, divine dragons will naturally protect you.

Celestial Master Zhang also said: "To transmit the Dao to one who should not receive it three times is to meet with three great calamities; and if one discloses it lightly and with disrespect, one's own self will fall into Fengdu (Dengdu, the legendary underworld) and suffer there." In the future, if there are those of like mind who love the cultivation of the Dao, they should guide one another so that fewer people suffer untimely death. "My destiny is not decided by Heaven."

The secret method of cultivation of Yu Shouyi, the Master of Lu Hermitage in western Shu, is the fundamental method honored by the immortals of high antiquity. It should be received with reverence, treasured, and guarded, so that the Primordial Yang (yuanyang, the original innate Qi) is stored deep in the Purple Chamber (zifu, the Daoist term for the spirit-residence within the body), and the True Essence (zhenjing, the essence-Qi of the human body) rises to the Primordial Palace (yuangong, a cultivation site within the body). The key lies in judging each moment and deciding what to take and what to leave, while firmly closing the "seven doors" and guarding against the intrusion of the "eight evils" (both are cultivation terms, and their specific referents vary by lineage). This is truly a vital path of cultivation. If it is carelessly disclosed or treated with negligence, one will bring punishment in the underworld upon oneself. The Purple Mass Zhenren (Zituan Zhenren) lineage has been transmitted to the twenty-eighth generation.

A secret formula transmitted by the immortals of old:

Take the spine and brain of the "Black Dragon" (Wulong), twenty-four taels in all. Soak them in good rice vinegar, roast them over a fire until scorched red, and grind them into a fine powder.

Add half a tael of sal ammoniac; half a tael of star anise; half a tael of jujube seed, stir-fried and shelled; one tael of magnetite, heated red-hot and quenched in vinegar seven times; three stone swallows, prepared in the same way; two taels of pumice, also prepared in the same way; half a tael of walnut kernel, stir-fried; one tael of lotus seed; one tael of morinda root, stir-fried; one tael of euryale seed; one tael of polygala, with the woody core removed; one tael of cistanche, soaked in wine; and one tael of calamus.

Grind all of these ingredients into a fine powder. Take twenty-one yellow sparrows, remove their beaks, wing feathers, feet, and innards, and stew them in good wine until tender. Pick out the bones, mash the meat into a paste, and mix it with the powdered medicines. Form the mixture into pills the size of a parasol-tree seed. Take thirty pills at a time on an empty stomach, washed down with musk wine.

When sexual intercourse is near, if you feel a sensation like water being drawn up through a bamboo tube, or like insects crawling upward from below, and the body grows hot as fire, the medicine is considered to be taking effect. It should be taken for five to seven days, after which the response will come of its own accord. Shortly before intercourse, take ten more pills on an empty stomach, washed down with musk wine. The original text adds that the same sensations will appear at the time of intercourse, and that the effect will be felt after five to seven days of taking the medicine.

The original text states that this medicine causes the essence chamber (the place where Jing is stored) to contract and hold firm, and replenishes the primal yang (the fundamental yang energy of the body). If one can seal and store Jing and Qi, the true Jing will rise of its own accord to the Niwan (a term from Daoist Neidan, or internal alchemy, referring to the cultivation site in the upper part of the head), where it will condense into a treasure.

The method of cultivation cannot do without the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and the union of Yin-Yang. If Heaven and Earth did not meet, the myriad things could not grow; if the sun and moon did not meet, there would be no waxing and waning of the moon and no alternation of day and night; if husband and wife did not unite, they could not bear children. The key point here is this: to unite in accordance with the ordinary course is to remain a common person, while to understand how to reverse the ordinary course is to be able to become a sage.

Master Zhang said: "The maiden wears green, the young lord is draped in white silk. When you see it, you must not use it directly; when you use it, you must not let it show. If husband and wife can meet, their affection naturally draws them together; when the flame rises in the furnace, the True Person (Zhenren) will appear." Master Lü said: "Let the shen (spirit) unite, but not the bodies; let there be release within, but no leakage without." Master Gao said: "Union has its proper time, and gathering requires choosing the day; in refining and gathering one must be careful and secretive." Master Zhang also said: "I urge you to gather and refine according to the season."

When the Perfected Master Xihua spoke of the method of long life, he directly pointed out the true meaning of lead and mercury. He worried that people would mistake seminal fluid and bodily fluids for lead and mercury, and mistake the heart and kidneys for Kan and Li (the water and fire trigrams of the Bagua, or Eight Trigrams). So they divorced their wives, gave up eating, and retreated to the mountains, imitating the diet of pines and cypresses, reciting incantations over water to drink and chanting scriptures to swallow. All of these practices stray from the root of "True Unity." To try to refine the Returned Elixir in this way is like catching hares with a fishing net, climbing a tree to catch fish, or painting a cake to satisfy hunger: it is all in vain.

People do not know that the so-called "true dragon" refers to the sun, Heaven, mercury, and the Wood-soul (hun), and also symbolizes the man; the immortals secretly call it the "Green Dragon." The so-called "true tiger" refers to the moon, Earth, metal, lead, and the po soul, and also symbolizes the woman; the immortals secretly call it the "White Tiger." The so-called "true lead" is lead that has not yet been transformed by the Green Dragon. In refining, one mostly chooses the season within a Gui year when the flowering qi (Qi) is at its height, and one must gather with the "Green Dragon Sword" in order to be absolutely safe. The scripture (Jing) also says: "One flying spirit-sword, two horns of the Returned Elixir, falling only on the edge of the blade." If people do not meet an enlightened teacher to guide them, then even after many kalpas and thousands of attempts of cultivation, they may still take the wrong path.

Masters Zhang and Lü also said: "Gather the medicine from the heart of the flower, layer upon layer of radiant color; in spring, break off the flower together with its branch, and then drink the jade nectar and fine wine. When you reach this stage, the Dao (the Way) first begins to sprout." People do not understand the principle contained in the "flower"; if someone reveals the heavenly secret within it, its value is ten thousand in gold. Therefore, if a man's yin essence (jing) lacks true lead, it cannot coagulate into the elixir; one must rely on the union of lead and mercury to return it to the man's Original Palace (the inner root place spoken of by practitioners), where it condenses into a single round pearl. After ten months of nurturing, one can shed the womb and be transformed into spirit.

Master Ziyang said: "Only after the frost descends in the tenth month does the elixir ripen; at this point even spirits and ghosts are startled." The daogui (a tiny measure of elixir) is born within the body, as large as a pomegranate seed and with the color of bright amber. Only one grain of this elixir should be taken; when the elixir fire grows too strong, one should stop. Master Lü said: "A single grain of the daogui elixir is enough to secure long life; one must still refine Jia and Geng with true lead. The fire is taken from the marrow of the Red Phoenix of the south, and the water from the essence of the Black Tortoise of the north."

It is also said: "Once a single Golden Elixir is swallowed into the belly, one knows that one's fate is not decided by Heaven." After taking the elixir, everything depends on mastering the fire phases to nurture it and applying the methods of extracting and adding; all these stages of cultivation depend on the "Crescent Moon Furnace" (a metaphor in Neidan, or internal alchemy, for the body or the environment of cultivation). The scripture also says: "There is a natural true fire phase, needing neither firewood nor charcoal, nor any bellows to blow the flames." And it says: "In the Crescent Moon Furnace, jade medicine is born; in the cinnabar cauldron, the mercury gradually settles. Only when the fire is properly harmonized will the yellow sprout slowly grow."

All the verses above are called the secret formulas of the true immortals. The scripture says that one who cultivates accordingly can ascend to the rank of the immortals. Finally, it admonishes later followers who share the same love of the Dao to guard these teachings carefully, not to disclose them lightly, and to treat them with reverence and caution.

The Zituan Dan Jing (Purple Sphere Elixir Classic) is complete.

Note: The character "也" here should be a scribal error for "他."

Preface to the Chapter on the Crescent Moon and Mysterious Metal

Before the great Dao (the Way) had differentiated, it could be neither discerned nor seen. Looked at, it had no form; listened to, it had no sound. This profound and unfathomable state is called "Miaoming," the formless Dao.

After the Dao differentiated, the Great Beginning arose from it; the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) were separated, and the Two Modes (Yin-Yang) were established. The sun and moon, like the hun and po souls, move the Five Phases between Heaven and Earth, while Yin-Yang transforms into the seasonal climate, rising and descending within the cosmos. The Pestle and Mortar stars appear at the northern and southern sources, symbolizing the trigrams Qian and Kun, which meet between the Xu and Hai positions. The sun and moon move through the new moon and the full moon, and Yin and Yang join and harmonize, so that the myriad things come into being.

The myriad things receive the Qi (vital energy) of the Hai position, emerge out of "non-being and being," and begin to arise at the Ren-Zi hour. Humans, like all things, are born through the gateway of Heaven and Earth. Qian is the gate of Heaven, and Kun is the door of Earth. Boyang said, "Qian and Kun are the gateway of the Yi." At birth, the way of Qian brings about males and the way of Kun brings about females. When the feelings of man and woman unite and they exchange and receive Qi, life arises. Yang essence becomes the hun, and Yin essence becomes the po; when these two essences clash against each other, Shen (spirit) is thereby generated.

For this reason, the sages took up the pivot of the transformations of Qian and Kun, gathered the finest essence of male and female, Yin and Yang, brought together the hun and po, symbolized by the changes of sun and moon, and assembled the categories in which the Five Phases correspond to the Three Primes (the three primordial energies that constitute the transformations of Heaven and Earth). In this way they could blend the One Qi, unite the Two Modes of Yin and Yang, complete the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, and penetrate the Four Images. They placed this in the Spirit Chamber and the Earthen Cauldron to nurture and refine it, and once the Five Phases were complete, the elixir substance formed of itself. The sages of high antiquity and the immortals of recent ages all ascended to Heaven by refining their own Golden Elixir.

Chapter One: Refining and Nurturing the Golden Elixir in the Spirit Chamber

To refine the Golden Elixir, one must rely on the two Qi of Qian and Kun, letting them restrain one another in turn, harmonize, and congeal, until the Great Elixir is finally achieved. The true mercury of a man is by nature prone to drift toward lead; even if one forcibly holds it in place, it will fly away when it meets fire.

Refining the Golden Elixir (Jindan) requires relying on the Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth) Qi (vital energy), letting the two restrain and harmonize one another until they coalesce into the Great Elixir. The so-called "true mercury of man" is said to be inclined by nature toward lead; even if it is held in place for a time, it will scatter when it meets fire, and so it is hard to subdue. Only by obtaining red lead, and using it to transform its own nature, can this be mastered; and if there is still some leakage or dispersal, the already-condensed white silver is used to draw it back in, so that it congeals and does not scatter.

Next, it is refined in the Crescent-Moon Mysterious Gold Furnace (the furnace used in alchemical refining), and irrigated with the Red Snow Jade Paste (a medicinal substance used in alchemy), then bathed in Gold and Water. After ninety days, the Yang Elixir can be completed. The Perfected Bao said: "In the eighth month begin the refining of the head; in winter, the refining of the tail." Gao Xiangxian said: "The labor of ninety days is truly a great matter, enough to prove that the Way of the Elixir (Dandao) genuinely bears fruit!" When the elixir has been refined for ninety days, Qi gathers and returns, and in the end is wholly transformed into pure Yang. Zhang Langxian said: "The Golden Crow descends, the Jade Rabbit rises." Gao Xiangxian said: "All things are transformed and born from Heaven and Earth. Since the body of pure Yang has already been achieved, then, after its completion, select the substances capable of generating the Golden Elixir; take a single pill, and one will surely ascend to Heaven!"

If one obtains the sages' subtle and wondrous oral instructions, then the hundred-thousand-word elixir classics (Jing) can be understood at a glance. This is what is meant by "master one method, and all things are mastered." The Great Dao (the Way) is not far away!

Gathering the Red and Refining It into the Yang Elixir, Part Two

One need only gather the Red Snow and refine it into white silver; only then can the true Jing (essence) find its dwelling, and only then does the primal Yang begin to congeal. Once the Yang Elixir is completed, it can serve as the foundation of life; when it congeals into the Mysterious Pearl (a symbol of the elixir condensed into form), it becomes the root of long life. This concludes the second method of refining the Yang Elixir.

In the practice, one must first gather what is called "Red Snow" (hongxue) and then refine it into "White Silver" (baiyin); both are metaphorical names in Neidan (internal alchemy). Only then will the true Jing (essence) settle and the primal Yang begin to coalesce. When it is refined into the Yang elixir, it is regarded as the foundation of life; when it condenses into the Mysterious Pearl (a symbol of the inner elixir gathering into a pearl), it is regarded as the root of longevity. Thereafter, the essence and Qi (vital energy) in the Dantian (energy center) are abundant, and the original Qi within can circulate through the blood vessels.

Zhang Boduan said: "To make the mercury in the golden tripod congeal into a pearl, one must first place the silver in the water into the Jade Pool." The "Red Snow" here is produced from the "moon radiance" in the golden tripod. It is also called the "gold in the water" and is regarded as the supreme treasure. Liu Haichan said that when this treasure is refined, the Yang elixir will be full; Zhang Boduan said that everyone possesses this supreme treasure.

The text calls the place where the body's Qi and blood converge the "Green Tripod," also known as the "Convergence of the Four Seas" or the "Water Source." Its meridians move like the ebb and flow of the tides, so it is also called the "Reliable Water." Because the Reliable Water is reddish in color, it is also called the "Red Water." Since it is linked to the circulation of breath and the transformations of lead and mercury in Neidan discourse, it has further names, such as "Descending Qi," "Black Lead," and "Spirit Water." The original text holds that the Spirit Water can generate Shen (spirit) and bring about transformation, and that it corresponds to the Taiyin (the movement of the moon). A month has thirty days, cycling round and round. At the new moon, the full moon, and the first and last quarters, the gold in the water arises together with a woman's Reliable Water, coming about five times a month.

"Mercury in the water generates gold" means that a metal-like medicine is produced from the water. At first it sinks and is turbid; only after three days does it rise and become clear. The clear part is the medicine, and the turbid part is called "Black Lead." Lord Yin said, "The Black Lead has already met the gathered Red Lead." Lü Dongbin said that one must first distinguish whether the water source is clear or turbid in order to understand the transformations between Metal and Wood. Zhang Boduan likewise cautioned that without understanding floating and sinking, one cannot tell the principal medicine from the auxiliary.

Therefore, on the fourth and fifth days after the three days, one should collect the part that has risen and is clear. This is the "Red Lead," also called "Red Snow," "gold in the water," or "White Silver." The so-called White Silver is refined out of the Black Lead. The Cantong qi says: "Lead's nature floats; silver's nature sinks." The oral instructions add that at midnight, the Zi hour, rosy light appears on the surface of the tripod and illuminates the entire room; the lead contains the five colors, and its radiance shines outward. Liu Haichan said that as the cycle turns, rosy light fills the room; Lü Dongbin said that when the lead tripod is warm, its light passes through the curtains.

Zituan Zhenren said that when the light and Qi in the furnace gather in abundance and fill the space, it is the moment to begin collecting the medicine, and at that time one should seek out an enlightened teacher to correct and transmit the method. If one gathers and refines according to the days and methods given in the original text, the medicine can be completed.

Gathering the Authentic Yin-Yang Elixir describes the process of gathering and refining the two Qi of Yin-Yang (阴阳) and condensing them into the true elixir. The practitioner must turn the "Heavenly Pass" and the "Earthly Axis," so that the movements of Qi above and below are reversed. Guided by intent, the practitioner then gathers in the breath as in tortoise breathing, sends the gathered medicine into the Crimson Palace (the Qi chamber beneath the heart), and carries it up to the Niwan Palace (the site of inner cultivation in the head), where it finally transforms into the Mysterious Pearl (a symbol of the Neidan, 内丹, taking form).

The Yinfu Jing (Jing, 经) says: "When Heaven unleashes its killing impulse, dragons and snakes rise from the earth; when humans unleash their killing impulse, Heaven and Earth turn upside down." It borrows the image of violent shifts in the Yin-Yang Qi between Heaven and Earth to show that the Qi within the body also undergoes reversal and transformation during cultivation. Haichan said that the tripod holds Jia and Yi, while the furnace is arrayed with Geng and Xin. When the Heavenly Pass is turned, the Jade Beam seems to stop moving; when the Earthly Axis is rolled, the Yin and Yang lines change together. Rub and circulate the Niwan, and the Mysterious Pearl appears before the "Twin Groves." Bear it across the Heavenly Bridge (the passage linking the Qi of the head and the body), and the Gate of the Mysterious Female (the threshold where Yin and Yang meet in inner cultivation) opens, and the true dragon in the Flower Pond (the saliva in the mouth, or a nourishing place figuratively named in inner cultivation) comes forth to receive it.

Long ago the Yellow Emperor toured Chicheng and obtained the Mysterious Pearl; Li Ming went to look for it but could not find it. This means that this principle cannot be seen, nor sought through outward searching. Later the Yellow Emperor sent Wangxiang to look for it, and Wangxiang found it. This is because Wangxiang was bound by no self-interest and clung to nothing he saw, so the Mysterious Pearl was obtained in a state that was dim, deep, and difficult to put into words. Gao Xiangxian said: "The Mysterious Pearl has flown above Kunlun; if you wish to obtain it, you must seek Wangxiang." This means one must set down attachment before one can grasp what inner cultivation yields.

A man's true Jing (精) is called the "Flowing Pearl of Great Yang," and the Qi that descends in a woman is called the "Mysterious Pearl of Great Yin." If they flow on their own, they are hard to restrain, just as mercury turns to vapor and scatters when it meets fierce fire; only when it is held by silver does it stop and congeal, as mercury bonds with silver and forms cinnabar. Warmed and nourished with fire, it then gives rise to the Golden Flower. The Yin Zhenjun said, "The Golden Flower can generate the treasure of Heaven and Earth," and this is what he meant.

Gathering and refining the "red lead" medicine is called "transmitting the elixir," that is, the passing along of the "red snow." Red lead and red snow are both technical terms in Neidan. The medicinal Qi sometimes enters the Crimson Palace and sometimes passes through the Three Passes, finally reaching the Niwan directly. The immortals and sages of old all transmitted these methods by word of mouth and did not write them on paper.

The Instructions on Verifying the Returned Elixir describe the methods for verifying the returned elixir. When ordinary people study the Dao (道), they must first understand how the returned elixir is transmitted and circulated. The medicinal Qi sometimes enters the Crimson Palace and sometimes passes through the Three Passes, finally reaching the Niwan directly; from ancient times the immortals and sages have transmitted this only by word of mouth, leaving no written record.

Anyone who studies the Dao must first recognize the "Returned Elixir" (huandan), for only then can there be hope of becoming an immortal. The Aozhi Jing (Scripture of Profound Purport) says: "The only fear is that the lead is not pure and true; if the lead is true, the medicine will naturally be refined. The only fear is that the mercury is not upright; if the mercury is upright, the elixir will surely be wondrous and efficacious." The scripture adds: "There are set days for gathering the medicine and proper moments for taking it. Though people of the world use these methods, they do not understand the principles within them."

Zhang Pingshu said: "The fifteenth day of the eighth month, when people admire the moon, is precisely when the essence of metal is at its height. The essence of metal is the Golden Elixir; once you obtain the Golden Elixir, success can be reckoned in days." Before the Golden Elixir is fully refined, taking even a single pill can transform the Yin within the body, turning it at once into pure Yang and making one an immortal.

The scriptures use the Kan and Li trigrams of the Yijing (Book of Changes) to illustrate Yin-Yang. The Kan trigram contains a single Yang line and is called the "Kan man," like the hare in the moon; the Li trigram contains a single Yin line and is called the "Li woman," like the crow in the sun. Zhang Pingshu said: "Take the solid Yang qi at the center of the Kan position, and use it to transform the Yin qi in the belly of the Li palace. If you obtain the Golden Elixir, then after taking it you may enjoy a thousand years of life." He also said: "A single pill of elixir holds five-colored radiance, and the elixir that soars upward enters directly into the realm of the immortals."

Zhao Jiangzhen said: "Once the work of the seven returns and nine restorations is complete, one need only take a single pill to enter the immortal realm." Zhang Pingshu said: "When a single Golden Elixir is swallowed into the belly, one knows that one's own nature and life (xingming) are no longer governed by Heaven's decree." Haichan said: "A single Golden Elixir is the medicine of long life, and through it one can accomplish the Dao of returning to True Unity." The Hunyuan Jing (Scripture of Primordial Chaos) says: "When lead and mercury unite, there is hope of attaining the immortal Way; when mercury answers to lead, there is no art of the Dao that fails." Master Bao, for his part, said: "Cinnabar, refined nine times, slowly becomes silver; if the method of refining goes wrong, it has killed many people."

What is called the "Returned Elixir" is made by taking true dragon, true tiger, true lead, and true mercury, harmonizing and uniting them at the place where they interact, and then gathering, refining, and taking them on the proper days and times. This is what is called the Returned Elixir.

The human body is a form composed of the five skandhas (the five categories of factors that make up a person and their experience), a temporary combination of the four great elements: earth, water, fire, and wind. Qi is the root, Shen is the foundation, and Jing is the base. If one does not grasp the fundamental Dao and simply remains lost and sunken in confusion, one will deplete the primordial qi, damage the root, and scatter one's precious essence, and so be unable to attain the immortal Way. For this reason, the sages understood how to return to the source, discern the rising and falling of Yin-Yang, determine what is primary and what is secondary, distinguish lead from mercury, and master the timing of the fire; only then can cultivation succeed. "Returning" (huanfan) is the crucial process that runs through the Great Elixir's refinement, from beginning to completion.

"Huanfan" (還返), or "Return," means going back to the origin and returning to the root. To refine the Great Elixir, one must draw on the transformative power of Heaven and Earth and condense the essential Qi of water and fire, setting them in circulation back and forth until they gather into the "Great Medicine" (the term used in Neidan, or internal alchemy, for the Qi and Jing being refined). One then causes it to flow through the upper and lower body, until at last it forms the Golden Elixir.

Zhenyizi says: "Harmonize and steady true Yin, the Elixir, water, and fire, and continue to nourish and refine them for one hundred days." The Perfected Lord Yin says: "Taiyi is Yin Qi." The Perfected Bao says: "The Yellow Emperor once studied under Guangchengzi and received the Dao of the True One."

In refining the Golden Liquid Returned Elixir (a Golden Elixir produced through internal methods), one first takes the "unused cauldron" and uses the "red lead" within the body as the elixir's starting material. One then takes the "used cauldron" and causes the "white silver" within the body to congeal into the "Golden Flower," producing pure Yang Qi. This is then cast into the Jiaogan point (here referring to the place in the body where its energies meet and interact) and warmed and nourished within the Qian Palace (representing Yang Qi, the region corresponding to the Qian trigram). After ten months, once the breath of the embryo (taixi) is full, the practice is complete. The text states, "In all, it is completed after three cycles," meaning that the whole process ends after three cycles; however, the original does not explain further what the "three cycles" specifically refers to.

The Taishang yinyu (Supreme Hidden Sayings) says: "Beneath the Primal Azure lie the moon and the sun." Ordinary people find the two words "Primal Azure" hard to grasp. "Primal" refers to a woman's embryonic origin, and "Azure" refers to the principal medicine used in refining the elixir. The Returned Golden Elixir of Golden Liquid is also called "the Maiden's true lead," "fire lead," "nine-times-transformed cinnabar," "the Immortal in Vermilion Robes," "the Resplendent Golden Elixir," and "exchanged pear and fire jujube." Because it congeals into form in autumn, it is also called "Autumn Mineral."

The Hunyuan jing (Scripture of Primordial Chaos) says: "Red lead is the White Tiger, the first wondrous bliss a practitioner experiences." When a person takes it, the medicine's qi (vital energy) spreads through the skin and relaxes the limbs. After three months of practice, one can open to the spirit and go on to accomplish the Great Dao (the Way). When merit and practice reach three thousand, the lead congeals and the mercury coalesces, water is able to govern fire, and fire is able to lie hidden, and the supreme medicine is complete. Once the Returned Elixir is accomplished, even a person who has not yet become an immortal can live long without dying.

To refine this elixir, one must first prepare the cauldron vessel, and the dragon and tiger medicines must be complete and undamaged before work can begin. Most important of all, the woman must be under twenty-one years of age, her menses just ended, and her Mysterious Pass not yet closed. At midnight, the hour of Zi, one must find a way to bring her heart and spirit into a state of delight and her breath into harmony, and then let the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger unite. After a short while, the medicine is drawn out with the Seven-Star Sword and sent into the Original Palace, and the Returned Elixir can be refined very quickly.

What is called the "Mysterious Pearl and White Cream" means that primal qi is abundant, the sinews and bones are strong, and the body is no different from that of one's youth. Perfected Xu said: "No sooner has the White Tiger left the gate of the Jade Cave than the Red Dragon leaps from the Sea of True Pearls." It strengthens primal Yang, and taking it is like drinking fine jade nectar. The immortals of old called it "Heavenly Wine," and also "Crimson Wine," "Gold in the Water," and "Golden Efflorescence." Because this medicine can congeal into a pearl, it is a treasure of heaven and earth and is therefore called the "Mysterious Pearl." Taking it brings long life and a strong body, so it is also called the "Immortal Peach of the Queen Mother," the "Elixir of Vital Breath That Restores the Soul," and the "Purple Gold Elixir."

When the medicine's sprout obtains "True Earth," it grows, and this is called the "Yellow Sprout." The Yellow Sprout is the harmonious qi of heaven and earth, transformed through Taiyi (the Great Unity), joined with the qi of the Seven Luminaries and the Nine Palaces, and formed by gathering spirit and qi, and so it is called the root of Yin-Yang. Xiaoyaozi said: "Seize the golden essence, and you can establish the foundation of life." Master Lü said: "The one dao-gui I took myself back then" refers precisely to the method of gathering the elixir. Later immortals named it according to the occasion, which is why it is called the "dao-gui" (the knife-tip measure).

Perfected Chuan said: "A single grain of dao-gui elixir lies hidden beside the Lady of the Chamber; it is the size of a pomegranate seed, its color like bright amber. When gathering the medicine one must be pure, and on the day of gathering one's resolve must be firm. Swallow this medicine of extended years, and your name will be inscribed in the Heavenly Bureau. Once the elixir is obtained, it is finished in the blink of an eye." Xiaoyaozi said: "The resplendent Golden Elixir is refined in a single day." Pingshu said: "Within a single double-hour, the elixir is complete."

The location of the dao-gui is said to be outside the lower Dantian (energy center) and inside the Mysterious Gate, at a distance of one inch and three tenths. A red vein runs along the elixir, reaching upward to connect with the heart and downward to lie close against the small intestine. When taking the elixir, one must concentrate the mind and draw it forth with intention, then use an instrument to guide it out, reverse it, and fetch it, swallowing it at once as though one had caught it alive. Zhongli said: "Overturn the jade gourd, and golden agate bursts forth; catch it alive and swallow it, shell and all." He also said: "Seize the tortoise and the snake, and draw them in upside down." The Wushi ge (Song of Awakening to the World) says: "Drive it to become the Red Dragon's head, and suddenly draw in the black dragon's pearl."

The ancient sages said: "Before taking the Golden Elixir, it does no harm to take the Returned Elixir first." The Taishang jing (Supreme Scripture) says: "Red lead and black mercury are the root of the Great Elixir." Here "lead" means the Maiden's true lead, and "black lead" means a woman's true lead. Taking the Returned Elixir first and the Golden Elixir afterward is called "bringing the red into the black," which is why it is said to cause no hindrance. When the two medicines are combined, they become a profound and wondrous medicine, and after further transformation by the fire dragon, the practitioner can become an immortal.

The secret of refining the Returned Elixir lies in the "Seven-Star Sword Formula," and the specific methods of getting started must be transmitted by a master in person.

The methods for refining the Golden Elixir (金丹) and the Reverted Elixir all turn on the Hunyuan Jing (《混元经》), and they must also be supplemented by oral instructions from a true master. Without a genuine teacher's transmission, cultivation is unlikely to succeed. The Hunyuan Jing says: when Heaven and Earth were still in primordial chaos and had not yet separated, original Qi (气) had already begun to divide. One whole split into two forms, which are Yin-Yang (阴阳). Yang Qi rose to become Heaven, Yin Qi sank to become Earth, and between them human beings came into being. Only after humans appeared were they divided into male and female.

To refine the Golden Liquid Reverted Elixir, one must first take the "male mercury" and the "female lead," nourish and refine them into the elixir, and then reunite the two Qi of Yin and Yang into one body, as in the time before Heaven and Earth were divided. Blended with a small measure of "daogui" (刀圭, an ancient implement for measuring medicinal substances, also used for a small quantity of them), the Reverted Elixir can be completed. It is said that taking a single pill grants a lifespan equal to that of Heaven and Earth. The Zhuangzi says: "Bore through Hundun, split open Hongmeng." The ancient sages said that the method of making the elixir draws on the three numbers "two, eight, one": lead and mercury at eight liang each, together making one jin, which forms the symbol of the character for "elixir" (丹). Here "two-eight" stands for Yin and "one" stands for Yang. The numbers two and eight are combined, and the furnace and cauldron (the vessels of alchemy) and the fire phasing (火候, the timing and degree of control in the refining process) are arranged according to the corresponding numbers.

This method depends on timing. When the "trustworthy water" (信水) has just cleared and the Mysterious Pass (玄关) has not yet closed, the Azure Dragon unites with the White Tiger in the Spirit Chamber, and Yang essence enters the Dragon Palace, forming the elixir embryo. The Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Spirit Chamber, and Dragon Palace are all terms of Neidan (内丹, internal alchemy), referring to Yin and Yang within the body, to Jing (精) and Qi, and to the places where they move. The elixir embryo must be warmed and nourished for ten months, and the "Elixir Mother" must not be made to toil. So long as body and mind remain at ease, the elixir can be completed. When the ten months are fulfilled and the proper day arrives, the "Purple River Chariot" (紫河车) descends of its own accord. Seven days later, the elixir emerges from the left side of the upper palace and is then extracted according to the method of releasing the elixir.

When extracting the elixir, one bathes in fragrant water, ascends the altar, and offers thanks to the Three Pure Ones (三清, Sanqing), the Supreme Lords, the High Perfected of the Ten Extremes, and the Perfected Person of the Supreme Unity, and then takes the elixir. The rites are recorded in the lower scroll of the Hunyuan Jing, called the "Dragon and Tiger Chapter." Ordinary people do not understand this method. It is said that after taking the elixir, one sheds the mortal frame and changes form, so that Shen (神) and Qi become clear and bright, Jing is firmly guarded, Yin Qi is exhausted, and Yang Qi condenses into the true, thereby becoming an immortal of pure Yang. For this reason Master Lü is called the "Perfected of Pure Yang" (纯阳真人).

Perfected Zhao said, "They do not know the thing within Yang." This means that people do not understand the "One" hidden within Yin and Yang. The "two-eight" also borrows the image of the Way of the "True One" hidden within a woman's body, and this "One" lies within the Mysterious Pass. The scripture further uses a woman's menstrual cycle as a metaphor for the cycle of elixir refining: a woman corresponds to the Great Yin (the moon) and completes one revolution each month. Yanluozi said that on the third day of the month, the Geng Qi stirs and the gate closes, and metal is born from water. By the waxing half moon the moon grows bright, and on the fifteenth and sixteenth days the essence of metal is at its height and the hun and po souls are full. This borrows the image of a girl of fifteen or sixteen, when the Tiangui first arrives and her Yin essence is flourishing. People commonly say that the first quarter falls on the seventh or eighth day and the last quarter on the twenty-second or twenty-third; from the first quarter to the last, the numbers taken total sixteen.

Perfected Bao said, "The Two-Eight lady of the wall is gentler still." Pingshu (Zhang Boduan) said that when the moon has just risen at the horizon and shows a half-bright disc, the sound of the dragon's chanting and the tiger's roar has already appeared; at this moment one should devote oneself to refining the "two-eight," and it is said that the elixir can be completed within a single double-hour. He also said that after the first quarter and before the last, the nature of the medicine is mild and its aspect complete; one carries the medicine back to the furnace to be forged, then patiently warms and nourishes it until it ripens.

The day for extracting the elixir is chosen as the night of the fifteenth of the eighth month, when the wind is clear and the moon bright; this is regarded as the time when the essence of metal is most abundant. At midnight, the Zi hour, when Yang Qi first arises, is the moment to gather and refine. Gao Xiangxian said that gathering and refining have their proper times and must be carried out with care and secrecy, so as not to startle the Black Dragon; otherwise one may lose the heavenly truth and let the mysterious pearl slip away. The scripture uses this to stress that gathering and extracting each have their own timing, and that people often use these phrases without understanding their meaning.

The scripture says that since antiquity, immortals and enlightened men have all attained the Dao (道) by refining the Golden Liquid Reverted Elixir. Fearing to leak the secrets of Heaven, earlier masters transmitted the teaching under the name of "Waidan" (外丹, external alchemy). Later students, failing to grasp its meaning, simply burned and refined lead and mercury in search of immortality through external alchemy, and thus drifted far from the true method of cultivation. Gao Xiangxian said that because people do not understand the true Way of Yin and Yang, they search everywhere for the dragon and the tiger. Pingshu urged people not to cling to the elixir stove and waste their effort, saying that the medicine must be refined in the "Reclining Moon Furnace" (偃月炉). Here the Reclining Moon Furnace refers to the scope and conditions of Golden Elixir practice; later students mistook it for an actual piece of equipment, and, supposing that the medicine must be gathered at the moments of the moon's first and last quarters, fell into a serious misunderstanding. Gao Xiangxian said that if one could only find the Reclining Moon Furnace, he would be willing to bear Heaven's punishment in order to write down the essentials of elixir cultivation so that later students might understand.

The key to tending the elixir's fire phasing (huohou) is to set the furnace in the Palace of Interaction (Jiaogan Palace) within the body. The Hunyuan Jing (Scripture of Primordial Chaos) says this is the Primordial Palace of the White Tiger, the place where pure Yang Qi (vital energy) resides, and so it is called the "Palace of Qian." It enables Taiyi (the Supreme One, the original Qi) to hold true Qi within itself, and so it is also called the "Palace of Taiyi." "White silver" is born here, so it is called the "Mercury Pit"; golden blossoms are engendered within the Jade Cavern, so it is called the "Golden Chamber." The place where true earth dwells is called the "Earthen Cauldron" and also the "Gate of Wu and Ji." The Golden Elixir (Jindan) is formed here, and through gentle nurturing it undergoes transformation, so this place is also called the "Chamber of Spirit." Water arises in the pool, so it is called the "Flowery Pool" and the "Spirit Water," and also the "Gate of the Purple Palace."

Within the Gate of the Purple Palace stand three mountains. The mountain on the left is called Mount Jia, and the gate within it is called the Jia Gate. The mountain on the right is called Mount Ji, and the gate within it is called the Ji Gate. Between the two gates stands another mountain, called Purple Gold Mountain. The Purple Chariot (a metaphor in Daoist Neidan, or internal alchemy, for transporting essence and Qi) emerges from here, and this is also the source of water. The road that issues from the Jia Gate of Mount Jia is also called the Road of Xiyi, the Road of Three Blossoms, the White Snow Road, and the Road of the Flying Crow. The road that issues from the Ji Gate of Mount Ji is also called the Winding River Road, the Five-Colored Road, and the Yellow Sprout Road. Master Lü said, "Upon the Winding River I see the moon's radiance clear and bright, and within it the image of a crow in flight." This is what he was speaking of.

The earth of Jia and the earth of Ji is the true earth. Zhang Pingshu said that the Four Images meet within Wu and Ji; Gao Xiangxian said it is better first to knock open the Gate of Wu and Ji, for the Chamber of Spirit and the Earthen Cauldron are the true earth. When the true earth of Jia and Ji joins with the Chamber of Spirit and the Earthen Cauldron, it becomes the "dao gui" (the knife-edge measure, a symbol of the medicinal substance or dosage used in alchemy).

Ordinary people do not know that the Water Palace of a woman follows the same cycle as the Great Yin moon's radiance, and that its measure is likewise one phase for every five days. A month is divided into six phases, and three times in it Jia and Ji are encountered. On a Jia day the Jia Gate opens; on a Ji day the Ji Gate opens; and on the day when Jia and Ji unite, the Gate of the Purple Palace opens. This is the rule of the five-day phase. Gao Xiangxian exclaimed, "Wondrous! Thirty spokes share a single hub; this is the moment of creation and transformation of Qian and Kun, when Yin-Yang meet between five and six." Here "five" refers to the five-day phase, and "six" to the six phases of the month.

In cultivating the Golden Elixir, the fire phasing is the hardest thing to master. Zhang Pingshu said that the fire phasing cannot be set down in writing; Master Qingxia likewise said that the alchemical scriptures hold many mysteries, and how could one lightly divulge the secrets of Heaven? In general, the fire phasing lies within the six days of Jia and Ji, and it must be practiced at midnight, in the Zi hour. When a Jia day arrives, one tilts the posture of the furnace to the right and draws the Qi of the left gate; when a Ji day arrives, one tilts the posture of the furnace to the left and draws the Qi of the right gate. The immortals and perfected ones of old guarded this method closely and did not explain it openly, giving it only the name "Reclining Moon Furnace." Zhang Pingshu said, "Within the Reclining Moon Furnace, the jade bud is born." The crux of gentle nurturing lies in guarding against danger and proceeding with caution. Master Lü said that when advancing the fire one must heed the constellations of the Ox, the Dipper, and the Rooftop; Zhang Pingshu likewise said that in drawing out and adding, one must be especially watchful against danger. The Yinfu Jing (Scripture of the Hidden Talisman) says, "Fire is born of wood; when calamity breaks out, it inevitably overcomes it." One must therefore take this as a warning.

This passage of scripture uses the governing of a state and the waging of war as a metaphor for Neidan cultivation. A state has a ruler, with civil ministers on the left and military generals on the right; when a neighboring state invades, a general must be dispatched to lead the troops. A general can command troops only once he has received the seal of office, and soldiers can fight only once they have weapons; soldiers and seal are the lifeblood of an army. Only when the general commands the army and his orders carry through can victory be won. In battle, striking the drums and seizing the enemy's banner are the foremost merit; once victory is won and supplies are ample, the River Chariot (a metaphor for transporting essence and Qi) carries them straight up to the Niwan (the Mud Pellet, the alchemical site within the head).

Once the Jing and Qi enter the Niwan, one must achieve the "Three Closures": the upper gate guards the Shen, so that the spirit does not scatter outward; the middle gate guards the Qi, so that the Qi does not fall into disorder; the lower gate guards the Jing, so that the essence does not leak away. Only after these three places are guarded does one proceed with the transport, which is called "flying the golden essence behind the elbow" (a Neidan expression for conveying essence and Qi). The Perfected Xu said that when essence and Qi gather in the Flowery Pool, the complexion becomes like jade; when the golden essence flies past the Golden Pass, the face becomes like a lotus. When the golden essence passes through the Three Passes and enters the Primordial Palace, it meets the Golden Elixir and no longer escapes outward, but settles naturally into stillness.

The "seal" spoken of here is the fire phasing, and fire is the root of elixir refining. To refine the Golden Elixir one must master the fire phasing, just as a general holds the seal to command his troops so that the army does not fall into disorder. In applying the fire phasing, water and fire must not deviate in the slightest, or all effort will be lost at the final stroke. The so-called "Five Seals" refer to five key matters; when all of them are set right, the mind does not waver; when the mind does not waver, the substances of Jing and Qi do not escape outward, and the elixir can be completed.

This book does not discuss the Golden Elixir (Jindan) Great Way, the Daoist path of cultivation toward immortality. No one has ever heard of anyone attaining immortality through "mastery of women" (yunü), that is, cultivation through the arts of the bedchamber. This passage has been preserved only to warn people against being misled by such claims; it is by no means a practice that those who cultivate immortality should pursue.

Preface to the Yanyue xuanjin pian (Treatise on the Crescent Moon and Mysterious Gold)

In the original text, this section was combined with the Zituan danjing (Purple Sphere Scripture of the Elixir). Judging from the content of the main text, the two should be separated.