《紫阳真人悟真直指详说三乘秘要》

Detailed Exposition of Directing the Finger to the Truth was written by the unnamed elder Weng Baoguang of Xiangchuan.

The Essential Secrets of the Three Vehicles is a one-volume Daoist Neidan work attributed to Weng Baoguang. It originated in the Southern Song and was compiled during the Yuan dynasty. It is included in the Jade Instructions category of the Dongzhen section of the Zhengtong Daoist Canon. Another catalogue lists it in the Taiji Golden Elixir Scriptures section of the Chinese Daoist Canon.

Before chaos appeared, Heaven and Earth were empty and still. There was nothing that could be named or revered as the fundamental source, so it was only provisionally called the Dao (the Way). The Dao gave rise to a single Qi (vital energy). This Qi was neither moving nor still, neither turbid nor clear, and so profound that it was impossible to fathom. The sages provisionally called it “the true, primordial Qi of unity.” The single Qi divided and formed Yin-Yang. Yin-Yang took the form of Heaven and Earth, and also of men and women. Heaven and Earth joined, and all things were thereby brought forth and nurtured; men and women joined, and all things were thereby propagated. Thus, ever since Heaven and Earth took shape, nothing has come into being without the interaction of Yin and Yang.

If practitioners take substances such as metals, stones, plants, and trees, all manner of implements, or even the body’s Shen (spirit), Qi, blood, and bodily fluids as materials for refining the elixir, they are using only tangible substances that appeared after Heaven and Earth took shape. These things are visible and have physical form—how could they make the formed return to the formless? Everything that comes into being after Heaven and Earth take shape remains within their bounds. Whatever has form will eventually decay; how, then, could it transform beyond Heaven and Earth? As long as it retains a body and has not transcended Heaven and Earth, it remains subject to Yin-Yang transformation and the cycle of life and death.

Yang governs life, and Yin governs death. To die and be born, to depart and return: this is the natural order. Even if one cultivates and nourishes oneself correctly and medicines prove effective, one may live as long as a tortoise or crane, but when one’s allotted years are spent, death will come. This is like an arrow shot into the sky: when its force is exhausted, it falls. Nothing that has form can escape decay.

Therefore, the sages take the primordial Qi of the precelestial state as the material for the elixir. They refine the body so that it returns to a single Qi, then refine Qi until it returns to Shen, and refine Shen until it unites with the Dao, ultimately returning to a formless form. Only in this way can one transcend the bounds of Heaven and Earth.

Thus, the Sage takes the primordial Qi that precedes the formation of Heaven and Earth as the foundation of Neidan. He refines the body until it returns to this single Qi, then refines Qi until it returns to Shen, and refines Shen until it unites with the Dao. In the end, he reaches the state of having a form beyond form. In this way, he can transcend Heaven and Earth, stand above the workings of creation, and command Yin-Yang while encompassing Heaven and Earth. The changes of Yin-Yang and life and death are all brought about by the Qi of the Nine Heavens, the primordial energy of the cosmos. Once the Elixir is attained, its substance remains ever numinous and enduring, beyond birth and death.

This is like trying to move a porcelain vessel. If you are inside it, how can you move it? You must stand outside the vessel to move it. The Qi of True Oneness, the most fundamental primordial energy, arose before Heaven and Earth and is too profound to fathom. The Sage uses something of the same kind to guide it, causing it to congeal into an Elixir. This is like the fire within the sun: draw it out with a yangsui, an ancient fire-making mirror, and you can obtain fire. Or like the water within the moon: draw it out with a fangzhu, an ancient vessel for collecting dew, and you can obtain water.

Therefore, one must refine something of the same kind as the Qi of True Oneness, establishing it as the furnace and cauldron—the symbolic site of alchemical work—and calling it the True Dragon and True Tiger. A lyric by Master Lü says, “The natural furnace and cauldron, with the Tiger coiled around and the Dragon curled within.” This is what it means. “Of the same kind” refers to a state without the emotions of desire or the colors of form: an existence among all things that most fully embodies the true principle of nature and life, and is supremely numinous and precious.

For example, when the Qi of the first lunar quarter—the Qi corresponding to the Yin-Yang changes at that phase of the moon—is put to use, it is called True Lead and True Mercury. The Immortal Master says, “If people wish to know true Lead and Mercury, they are not ordinary cinnabar and mercury.” This refers to the true Lead Qi of the first lunar quarter. The first quarter is understood through the number sixteen, with each half of the waxing and waning phases taking “two eights.” The Dragon is called “eight liang” and the Tiger weighs “half a jin,” so together they are called “two eights.” At this point, the source of water is utterly clear: there is Qi, but no material form. By using this kind of Qi to guide it, the Qi of True Oneness descends and reveals its wondrous form. The Immortal Master says, “The medicine takes form only when it encounters Qi of the same kind; the Dao abides in emptiness and accords with nature.”

Before refining the Golden Elixir—the Qi and Jing obtained through Neidan cultivation—one must first visit famous mountains and blessed lands, then build several alchemy chambers and construct a three-tiered altar platform. Swords are placed on all four sides, and mirrors are hung up. Next, the Dragon and Tiger, symbols of the two Yin-Yang forces in Neidan practice, serve as the cauldron and furnace. A clepsydra, an ancient timekeeping device, provides the standard. The increases and reductions are adjusted according to the principles of water and fire, with assistants working alongside the practitioner. Such arrangements and procedures are difficult to describe in every detail, and they also require worldly resources to make all the preparations complete.

Thus, the Venerable Yin said: “Practicing this Way requires material support. Without resources, it is difficult to refine the Golden Elixir.” The practice also requires three people to conduct the work together. When they share one purpose, they become good companions whose aspirations are in harmony.

On the night of the fifteenth day of the eighth month, when the first Yang begins to stir, the presiding practitioner first climbs the altar by performing the Yu Steps, a footwork sequence used in Daoist ritual. Holding the Dragon in the left hand and the Tiger in the right, the practitioner carefully regulates the firing times, calculating according to the measures of the Zhou Tian, or cyclical circuit of Heaven, so that Yin and Yang correspond, the rhythm of breathing aligns with the clepsydra, and the processes are brought into harmony. In this way, Metal and Water unite, while the Dragon and Wood give birth to their essence.

Of the three people, one sits down to plan, overseeing both the civil and martial aspects of the work and arranging the successive stages in their proper order, so that no detail is overlooked. Thus Xianxi said: “The practice depends above all on steadfastness. Even the slightest deviation makes it impossible to form the Elixir.”

Another secretly watches the time on the clepsydra and carefully arranges the increases and reductions in the firing times, ensuring that the process is carried out without error. If one cannot grasp the hour corresponding to the Return hexagram, which symbolizes the revival of Yang energy, the Elixir is difficult to complete. Thus Chaoyuanzi said: “I urge you to calculate the hours of the Zhou Tian carefully. Do not miss the right moment and let the course of the Return hexagram pass you by.”

The three work together with one purpose, taking turns and responding to one another. In less than half an hour, they can bring the True One Qi, concentrated and unified vital essence, into the chamber of intercourse, where it condenses into a pearl the size of a grain of millet, called the Golden Elixir.

Now the Golden Elixir has appeared in the North Sea, its light shining through the curtain. At this point, one must secretly employ “Mona” (a cultivation technique mentioned in the original, referring to a method of guiding and pursuing Qi) to draw it in. As soon as the Golden Elixir enters the body, one immediately rises to the rank of a sage. The Immortal Elder said: “Swallow a grain of Golden Elixir into your belly, and only then will you know that your destiny is not controlled by Heaven.”

Once you have obtained this Golden Elixir, place it in the Dantian Qihai (the energy center in the abdomen where Qi gathers during internal cultivation). The body’s Jing and Qi will converge there, coalescing into cinnabar without dispersing. Then, through the refinement of the firing times, it is transformed into liquid gold, returning to the Elixir.

The “fire” spoken of here refers to the Qi of Yin-Yang. Yang is odd-numbered, and Yin is even-numbered. The six two-hour periods from Zi hour to Si hour belong to Yang and are called “Yang Fire”; the six from Wu hour to Hai hour belong to Yin and are called “Yin Talisman.” The Qian trigram has a tally of 216, and the Kun trigram a tally of 144. The scripture says to draw upon the proper Qi of 4,320 years from the transformations of Yin-Yang in Qian and Kun, gathering it in the Dantian to warm and nourish the “Child Pearl” (the Elixir pearl in internal alchemy), until it finally forms the sacred embryo.

The Old Lord said: “Yang Qi begins to arise at Zi hour, and Yin Qi begins to stir at Wu hour. Their beginning and end both lie within Qian and Kun, subtly corresponding to Kun’s tally of 144.” This describes how to regulate the firing times according to the sequence of Yin and Yang, warming and nourishing the Elixir pearl.

Once the external Jing and Qi have been obtained, the fires of Yin and Yang arise within the body and form liquid gold. This process requires no deliberate effort; it unfolds naturally. The liquid gold rises from the Tailgate (the opening at the base of the spine), passes through the gates along the back, where it seems one can hear sounds as it travels, and reaches the Mud Pill (the internal cultivation point in the head), before descending into the mouth. It is shaped like a sparrow’s egg, fragrant in smell and sweet in taste. This is liquid gold returning to the Elixir. Then swallow it slowly, letting it return to the Dantian, where it coalesces into a sacred embryo and nurtures an infant. The Immortal Elder said: “The infant is formed from a mass of true Qi. Once its ten months of gestation are complete, one enters the foundation of sagehood.” Just as an ordinary human child is born after ten months in the womb, the sacred embryo, too, must be nurtured for ten months.

After ten months of refining the fire (a metaphor in Neidan for the stages of cultivation), the work is complete. The cultivator sheds the ordinary body and transforms into a body of pure Yang. At this point, neither cold nor heat, hunger nor thirst can trouble him. Only then may he move to a remote mountain valley, or to a low-lying, filthy, secluded, and humble place, and cultivate facing a wall for nine years. In this way, his mind becomes clear and empty, reaching a state in which there is no other and no self, and inner mind and outer world are one. This is called “the immortal embracing the One” (holding fast to the Dao and keeping the spirit single-minded). Just as Buddhist monks gather their thoughts while tending oxen, cultivators of the Dao must do the same. Only those who know the mind and see their nature can hold fast to the Dao, allowing it to flourish.

When nine years of cultivation are complete, the nature of Wuwei (non-action) naturally reaches fullness, and wisdom arises with it. The body of pure Yang becomes wondrous of itself, and the spirit naturally grows numinous. Thus nature and life both unite with the Dao in truth, attaining the formless state. “Form within the formless” means being able to take on the appearance of whatever one encounters: with wind, appearing as wind; with rain, as rain; with water or fire, as water or fire. One may also transform unpredictably in the presence of birds and beasts, grasses and trees, appearing and vanishing in an instant, seeming to be before one’s eyes and then suddenly behind. In this way, one can manifest countless bodies and respond in different places. The mind is like a full moon reflected in all waters, reaching everywhere; thus it can respond to each circumstance, and its resonance can extend without limit.

At its root, the body of ultimate truth abides in perfect stillness and has never acted with intention. This is the union of spirit, form, nature, and life with the Dao in truth, returning at last to the source of ultimate stillness and luminous emptiness. The sages gave it, as best they could, the name “the Nine-Turn Golden Liquid Great Return Elixir” (a symbol of the completion of Neidan cultivation). It is also called the “indestructible vajra body”: the supreme, ultimate truth and wondrous Dao.

The Immortal Elder alone spread this Dao. With a body of true gold and wondrous radiance, he manifested a majestic form of compassion, appearing throughout the Dharma realm to save living beings. He showed the disciples of Liu Fengzhen that the Dao of nature is beyond birth and death, and demonstrated this by entering quiescence. Later, he manifested his true body on Mount Wangwu, showing that the Dao of nature and life does not perish, but is perfectly integrated and unobstructed.

Thus, on the fifth day of the third month in the fifth year of Yuanfeng (1082), when he underwent corpse liberation—the Daoist term for a practitioner leaving the physical body and becoming an immortal—he left this text behind. The wondrous workings of his numinous spirit had already become fully attuned to the Dharma realm. How could he have achieved this unless his cultivation of both nature and life was complete, and body and spirit had reached a subtle and wondrous state?

He lived to the age of ninety-six. In his daily teaching, he expounded profound principles widely and gave voice to his innermost feelings in writing of deep and elegant style, guiding later students. He titled the work Awakening to the Real. “The Real” refers to the truth of nature and life. He also feared that later students might understand how to cultivate life but fail to fulfill their nature, or know how to cultivate nature but fail to nurture life. So he wrote the poem “Awakening to Suchness” and the lyric “The Elixir Is the Wondrous Treasure of the Physical Body.” These works inspire those with insight and deep spiritual capacity, helping them understand the Way of nature and life and ultimately attain complete realization, far beyond the Three Realms.

Who could accomplish this without a mind free of possessiveness, with great compassion and equality, and with perfect wisdom? Though my understanding is shallow, I have grasped much of the immortal master’s hidden teaching. I have studied this work with care and believe I have understood eight or nine parts out of ten of its essential meaning. To investigate and consider the questions of those who share my aims, and to help them understand the origins and transmission of the Golden Elixir method, I have examined the text from beginning to end. Risking Heaven’s retribution, I point directly to the path that leads to Awakening to the Real.

Those with an affinity for immortality from past lives and the right inborn capacity may enter the gateway to Awakening to the Real directly, finding the Way of Wuwei (non-action) within a pearl the size of a grain of millet. Seek outside, and there is little hope of finding anything. Tradition says that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning once hung a precious pearl, no larger than a grain of millet, in the midst of the empty and mysterious. Countless assemblies of sages entered through its opening. This pearl is a single grain of the Golden Elixir. Though tiny as a grain of millet, it can contain the vastness of the universe.

Something as minute as a grain of millet contains the myriad things and encompasses the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. It is so vast that it has no bounds, yet so small that it has no interior. From antiquity to the present, countless eminent perfected beings and sages have realized this Dao. Who among them did not begin with this “grain of millet” and ultimately realize the supreme Great Dao?

This Dao may seem exceedingly simple, yet without guidance from a true teacher, it is difficult to understand its profound and firm foundation. Once the foundation is understood, without ample financial means it is still difficult to complete the cultivation and bring the work to fruition. And after making progress in cultivation, without awakening the mind and seeing one’s nature, it is difficult to reach the wondrous state called “embracing the One”—holding fast to the Great Dao and keeping the mind and spirit unified. When embracing the One reaches its subtle consummation, the path of cultivating nature and life is complete; there is no higher state. Thus, cultivation of nature and life usually begins with understanding through a teacher’s guidance, and proceeds through practice to accomplishment.

The Dao of nature, however, is different: it is not obtained from outside. Relying only on external learning and knowledge confines one to shallow rules and cannot bring one fully to clarity and insight. Only through awakening and understanding from within can one exhaust the Dao of nature and attain what is called the “supreme, foremost vehicle,” the highest level of practice.

Alas, within the Dao of nature there is no “awakening” or “clarity” to cling to. What is called awakening is awakening to nothing; what is called clarity is clarity about nothing. Nor is there any “exhaustion” or “attainment” to cling to. What is called exhaustion exhausts nothing; what is called attainment attains nothing. “Supreme and foremost” likewise means neither that there is anything higher nor that there is only one.

If those who study the Dao can grasp their teacher’s essential teaching, master the workings of Heaven, refine the divine elixir—a symbolic expression for Neidan (internal alchemy)—and undergo a transformation of body and bones, then awaken the mind, reach the root, and realize true emptiness, they will pass directly beyond the highest vehicle and enter the realm of Wuwei (non-action). They will bring body and spirit together into a wondrous state, with nature and life perfectly integrated and unhindered. At that point, riding cranes and phoenixes, mounting dragons, and roaming the immortal realm of Penglai will be inevitable.

“Defenses for strengthening the army and winning battles”—a title or phrase meaning “methods of defense for building up military strength and defeating the enemy.”

The “art of strengthening the troops and winning the battle” refers to the method of refining the Golden Elixir. The Elixir is often refined on the first night of the Mid-Autumn Festival, when Yang energy first stirs. One sits upright, guarding the direction of the Dipper Star, and ascends three steps upon the altar. With the left hand, one seizes the Dragon and carefully determines the string position of the cauldron vessel; with the right hand, one grasps the Tiger and finely adjusts the firing times. The civil and martial aspects join with one another, contending back and forth within the mysterious gate. They move to and fro, turning in alternation within the female aperture. The rhythm of the breath and the marks of the water clock must accord with the measures of the cyclical movement of Heaven, without the slightest error. That is why it is called the “art of strengthening the troops and winning the battle.”

Here, “troops” refers to the Dragon and Tiger, while “battle” refers to the union of Yin and Yang. If the process can be completed within a single double-hour, the Golden Elixir will be refined and ready to swallow. This is the art of victory. The Scripture of Western Florescence says, “Strengthening the troops and winning the battle lies in the work of nourishing the Mysterious Pearl.” Thus, the Immortal Elder begins by presenting sixteen poems to explain that the Dragon and Tiger each have their own numbers, which combine as one and eight. Each poem has four five-character lines, symbolizing the refinement of one Golden Elixir in a single double-hour. The author gathered these teachings into the upper volume and explained them, believing that this would clearly set out the method of gathering and refining the Golden Elixir.

The method of enriching the state and bringing peace to the people.

The method for making the state prosperous and the people secure is to apply the principles of Yin-Yang and the talismanic fire.

The Dao of the human body is invisible. In the beginning, it came into being from a single Qi, which existed in a state of undifferentiated chaos before dividing into Yin and Yang. Yang Qi is supremely pure, light, and clear; it rises and spreads above, and is called Heaven. Yin Qi is supremely pure, heavy, and turbid; it sinks and supports all things, and is called Earth. When pure Yang Qi gathers and rises to Heaven, it becomes an immortal; when pure Yin Qi gathers and sinks beneath the Earth, it becomes a ghost. Human beings possess both Yin and Yang Qi. They neither rise to Heaven nor sink into the Earth, but dwell between them. Thus, they may become immortals, yet may also become ghosts.

If people cultivate themselves and gradually strip away the Yin Qi within, transforming their bodies into pure Yang Qi, they can ascend to immortality. If they do not understand cultivation and gradually deplete the Six Yangs—a term symbolizing the Yang Qi within the body—their bodies will transform into pure Yin Qi, and they will become ghosts of the lower realm. The Book of Changes says, “What comes from Heaven draws near to what is above; what comes from Earth draws near to what is below.” All things gather with those of their own kind.

Therefore, the sages looked up to observe the signs of Heaven and looked down to examine the features of Earth. They understood that human beings receive the most refined and excellent Qi between Heaven and Earth, and are therefore intelligent and noble. They then made use of two things, true Yin and true Yang, to recover the primordial Qi that existed before Heaven and Earth, refining it into an Elixir. They swallowed the Elixir into the Dantian Qi Sea—the inner cultivation site below the navel—so that it could govern the Qi generated in the body after birth. In this way, the Qi throughout the body gathers and returns to a single place, like the states paying homage to their ruler and the stars surrounding the North Star.

The human body takes shape from the essence produced through the union of one’s parents. For this reason, Elixir cultivation also takes the pure Qi of Yin and Yang as the basis for transformation. This is called “Yin Talisman and Yang Fire.” Yin Talisman and Yang Fire circulate through the sixty hexagrams, which symbolize cycles of Yin-Yang transformation, turning endlessly.

Gather the year’s seventy-two pentads and twenty-four solar terms into a single day and night. In this way, obtain 4,360 portions of vital Qi and collect them in the Dantian Qi Sea—the place in the lower abdomen where breath gathers in Neidan practice—to nourish the Elixir Pearl with warmth. The Elixir rests in the central palace, the place at the body’s center described in Neidan practice. Rooted in original Qi, it responds and transforms in stillness. Thus it can join with the Yin Talisman and Yang Fire outside the body—terms that, in Neidan, symbolize the principles of Yin-Yang change and the application of the firing times—and give rise to the true, unified spirit body. After ten months, one can be reborn from the womb, and the physical form transforms into pure Yang, true and unified Qi. Hunger and thirst cannot disturb it, nor can cold and heat harm it. This is therefore called the method of “enriching the state and pacifying the people.”

Here, “state” refers to the human body, and “people” to Jing and Qi. Jing and Qi are the body’s foundation; when the foundation is firm, the body is at peace. Without a ruler, a state’s people have nowhere to turn; without ministers, a ruler cannot govern the state. Therefore, the sages make the Elixir the ruler and the Fire its minister. When Elixir and Fire work together and ruler and ministers meet, the body is regulated as though the realm were at peace, and Jing and Qi are made stable and calm. This is what it means for the state within the body to be prosperous. The Scripture of Western Florescence says, “When Jing is whole and Qi is full, one can enrich the state and pacify the people.” This is precisely the result of taking the Golden Elixir.

For this reason, the Immortal Elder added sixty-four quatrains, using the sixty-four hexagrams of the Zhouyi to explain the sequence for applying the Fire lines—the stages that symbolize changes in the firing times during Neidan practice. He also added twelve poems in the Xijiang Yue form, using the twelve months to symbolize the application of Fire and bathing, the processes of regulating breath and adjusting the firing times in Neidan practice. Together, these explain the work of the twelve months. This is why the author arranged these materials as the middle scroll: to clarify the method of applying Fire and the meaning of “enriching the state and pacifying the people.” Such, in broad outline, is the sequence for cultivating the Golden Elixir.

The Way of the Immortals’ Embrace of the One—the practice of holding fast to original Qi and bringing mind and spirit into union with the Dao (the Way).

The Daoist method of “Embracing the One” describes the state in which a sage’s practice of refinement and cultivation is complete and the timing of the inner fire is perfectly balanced. After the physical body has transformed into pure Yang Qi, the practitioner lives in a remote, humble place and faces a wall for nine years, holding fast to “the One”—a name for the Dao—until the mind becomes empty and still. The heart-mind settles, the spirit undergoes transformation, and at last the practitioner becomes one with the Dao.

The encomium says: The Dao is the root of nature and life; one’s nature is the source of the heart-mind. Heart-mind and nature are originally one, yet their transformations are inexhaustible. The myriad things of ordinary life, too, all follow their natural course. If one can understand this, one can forget outward appearances and avoid clinging to words. By emptying the heart-mind and nourishing the spirit, filling out body and mind, and holding fast to the Dao, one’s practice will continue to advance. After the work has passed through nine turns, one will at last attain immortality. This is the teaching’s central meaning.

“Nine turns” means nine years; nine is the highest number among the Yang numbers. “The One” is a makeshift name for the Dao. “Embracing the One” means holding fast to the “nothing” that cannot be grasped. At this stage of cultivation, the immortal forgets the body and casts aside worldly cleverness and distinctions. No longer attached to the difference between ordinary and sacred, or distinguishing the myriad things from the self, the immortal holds no fixed opinions, assumes no inevitable outcome in advance, and neither grasps nor rejects. The mind is like a clear mirror, pure and undivided, free and untroubled. Thus one reaches a state of calm and stillness, revealing the innate clarity of the spirit.

When the nine years of practice are complete, the nature of Wuwei (non-action) is naturally perfected, and the formless spirit transforms with wondrous subtlety. Through this transformation, it can change without limit and appear or vanish unpredictably. With nature perfected, wisdom shines in all directions, and spiritual subtlety flows freely without obstruction. The immortal can therefore divide into countless emanations and appear wherever circumstances call. Yet the ultimate, true essence remains in a state of utter stillness, at rest and unmoving, never acting by deliberate design. At this point, spirit, nature, form, and life have all joined with the Dao in its truth; hence the name “the Dao of Immortals Embracing the One.”

In the past, after attaining the Dao, the Immortal Master demonstrated the principle of non-birth to disciples such as Liu Fengzhen, then entered a state of stillness. After entering stillness, he appeared again in the mountains of Wangwu. This is precisely how the principle works. In the past, after the Tathagata entered nirvana, a golden coffin rose up from the air, and the true fire of samadhi emerged to cremate his body. Later, when his mother continued to weep inconsolably, he appeared in his true form in the air and spoke half a verse to her.

Some people died after their bodies were burned, yet their mothers continued to weep inconsolably. Then a golden body appeared in the sky and spoke half a verse to the mother—a short poem used in Buddhism to point out a principle. Such people, too, practiced this Way. In the past, Bodhidharma, revered as a patriarch of Chan Buddhism, faced a wall for nine years. After he entered nirvana, some said he went west carrying a single shoe; he was also said to have manifested within the blazing flames that consumed his body. Though his fleshly body had been burned away, bells still rang through the sky, shaking people to the heart. People like these are truly too many to list one by one. Who could bring both nature and life to completion, and raise both body and spirit to a wondrous state?

Thus, when Xianxi discusses Chan Buddhism’s Way of nature at the end of the book, he is in fact explaining the Immortals’ practice of embracing the One—holding fast to the fundamental body of the Dao and bringing body and mind into unity. For this reason, I have made this section the lower volume.

The Way of nature is originally empty and vast, still and profound, beyond the reach of words. Humans and nonhumans are equal, with no distinction of higher or lower. From time immemorial, everything—whether it has form and a name, or lacks form yet can still be named and described—is originally complete and whole. Its nature is clear and still, complete from the outset, and so cannot be captured in words.

Yet the Buddhist Tripitaka comprises 5,048 volumes. The sages resorted to speaking about the Great Dao only because they had no choice, hoping people might come to understand it. They hoped people would use words to understand the Dao; once the Dao is understood, words are no longer the Dao itself. The Diamond Sutra says, “Whatever teaching the Tathagata has spoken is slander of the Buddha.” Thus, as soon as one begins to speak, one may stray from the true Dao.

Now the Immortal Master sings of the Way of nature, too, only because he has no choice; the words already go beyond what is needed. So I will offer no further explanation, lest I spoil the point by adding what is superfluous.

I hope only that those with lofty aspirations and firm resolve will seek nothing outside themselves, but awaken directly and understand within their own hearts. Standing distinctly on their own, with their light shining forth, they will immediately take up this realization and put it into practice for themselves. Whether amid bustle or quiet, whether speaking or silent, even in worldly places such as taverns and pleasure streets, they can remain at ease and free. They are the same in idleness and diligence; whatever they encounter, there is no distinction, and they are in harmony everywhere. Even when facing the entire world in all ten directions, they possess insight and the ability to respond flexibly, using wondrous powers freely and moving through all things without obstruction, as though covering Heaven and Earth. Wherever they are and whatever they do, they can experience that the true Dao is never apart from them. From this, they know their own innate nature is complete from the beginning, lacking nothing and needing nothing added. All calculations and deliberations can be set aside, and the distinction between subject and object forgotten. There is nothing to ask or answer, no thought or worry. Even the word “nature” need not be clung to.

Secret Essentials in Verse for the Three Vehicles

The Golden Elixir Method

How wondrous! A Golden Elixir as small as a grain of millet reveals the sign of the great Dao of emptiness and nonbeing. The Dao appears at its source as the forms of the myriad things, then returns to the moment symbolized by the Returning hexagram in the Book of Changes, when Yang Qi first begins to arise.

The Qi of Heaven and Earth, in both Yin and Yang, together bring about the transformations of creation. The sun and moon move with the weight of one jin, setting in motion the pivot that turns Heaven and Earth.

Following the rhythms of the celestial cycle, count the breaths carefully; the work of advancing the fire must be precisely measured.

After half a day of refining with gentle and fierce fire, the Red Dragon seizes the Luminous Pearl. Here, “Red Dragon” and “Luminous Pearl” symbolize the turning of the fire and the formation of the elixir in Neidan practice.

The Method of Circulating the Fire

After swallowing one pearl of elixir, Earth Qi and Heaven Qi converge, and the fires in the two Mysterious Passes grow vigorous. Following the rhythms of the celestial cycle, count the breaths carefully; the work of advancing the fire must be precisely measured.

After half a day of refining with gentle and fierce fire, the Red Dragon seizes the Luminous Pearl.

The Method of Circulating the Fire

After swallowing one pearl of elixir, Earth Qi and Heaven Qi converge, and the fires in the two Mysterious Passes blaze fiercely.

The sixty hexagrams follow one another in a cycle, like the alternation of day and night. Within the body, like a palace with nine tiers, “mercury” is used to refine “lead.” This Neidan terminology borrows the language of metallic transformation to describe the refinement of Jing and Qi.

When applying the methods of withdrawing and adding, one must carefully guard against danger. During bathing, stop the fire so that it does not grow too strong. “Withdrawing and adding” and “bathing” are both terms in Neidan practice for regulating the fire.

Once the work is complete, the elixir embryo is nurtured for ten months and transforms into its perfected form. At last, the Great Luo Immortal is formed through cultivation within the Origin.

The Method of Embracing the One

The elixir is like a tool for reaching the Dao, and the Dao is like a fish. Forget the tool and obtain the Dao: then one can enter a realm of emptiness, stillness, clarity, and brightness.

Do not cling to the idea of “embracing the One” or “Wuwei.” Once emptiness has been broken through, even the “One” no longer exists.

Yet the numinous light of wondrous existence remains ever bright, able to contain the entire Dharma Realm and abide freely as ever.

By following circumstances and responding to what arises, while keeping the heart-mind pure and clear at all times, one can complete nine years of cultivation and attain an indestructible body like a vajra.

Accounts of ascending on rosy clouds and entering the Golden Palace in the heavens sound terse and remote; they also describe things beyond the ordinary experience of the world, so worldly people often find them hard to believe. I once read the preface to the Collected Accounts of the Immortals, which says that more than a hundred thousand people have ascended to immortality since ancient times, and that more than eight thousand households ascended together, house and all. Liu Xiang of the Han dynasty was a preeminent Confucian scholar of his time, yet he also wrote the Biographies of the Immortals for posterity. This shows that accounts of immortals are not mere falsehoods. The reason people do not believe is simply that the Way of Heaven is mysterious and profound, and the methods of the immortals and sages are kept secret; the age is shallow, and people’s minds are restless. They do not hear these teachings, so it is no wonder they disbelieve.

In ancient times, the Most High—a Daoist honorific for Laozi—expounded the Classic of Constant Clarity and Stillness. It opens: “The Great Dao is formless; it gives birth to and nurtures Heaven and Earth. The Great Dao is without emotion; it sets the sun and moon in motion.” It also says that the Great Dao nourishes the myriad things and transforms all beings, and that in the end all return to Hundun, the primordial state before Heaven and Earth were differentiated. The ancient sages set forth the fundamental principles of human life with great completeness. They then explained the principles of Heaven and Earth, male and female, clarity and turbidity, movement and stillness, and described in detail the wonders of a clear heart, few desires, and a mind that remains lucid and still. All this serves to reveal the secrets of Heaven and hint at the Dao’s profound meaning. The conclusion of the scripture sets out the ultimate principles of the sacred Dao that those who awaken to the Dao can pass on.

These teachings came from the instructions of the immortal Ge Gong and were transmitted orally, from mouth to ear, rather than put into writing. It is lamentable that once the simple customs of antiquity faded and worldly ways grew ever more shallow, the Immortal Way became cut off from the world, and no one remained to transmit its path. Although there are many different accounts, in the end they all lead into obscurity. For this reason, the method of taking lead—a key symbol in Daoist internal alchemy—was never written in books. The wonders of forming the embryo and nurturing the infant, a metaphor in internal alchemy for refining and cultivating the body and mind to bring forth the inner elixir, were likewise concealed in golden chests and jade caskets of precious texts. Those who sought immortality and studied the Dao could spend their entire lives at it, growing old and white-haired, without learning its essential methods.

After the Great Song dynasty arose, extraordinary figures began to appear one after another. The Perfected Man of Purple Mystery, Zhang Gong, traveled to study at the Biyong, the highest school of ancient times, in his youth. Endowed from birth with a remarkable nature, he was steadfast in his resolve and diligent in his cultivation; no hardship ever caused him to slacken.

When the Great Song was flourishing, extraordinary people appeared in the world from time to time. In his youth, the Perfected Man Zixuan, Master Zhang, studied at the Biyong, the ancient state academy. Gifted by nature with the capacity to cultivate the Dao, he resolved to practice diligently and persevered through hardship without slackening. He attained the Dao from the Elder of Mount Qingcheng and fully grasped the mysteries of Golden Elixir cultivation. He set down all he had learned in verse and titled the book Wuzhen Pian (Awakening to Reality).

I read this book as a child and pondered it deeply, consulting the interpretations of many schools, yet I never understood it. Some explained it as an alchemical technique; others mistakenly took it to be a method of sexual cultivation. For many years, I would sigh as I held the book. Later, by good fortune and Heaven’s favor, I met the Immortal Elder Ziyang, Master Chen, who personally transmitted the Wuzhen Pian to me. At the same time, the Perfected Man Sun Wuming personally taught me the Shiyi (Explanation). They secretly passed these teachings on to me. I burned incense, washed my hands, and read with reverence. At once, it seemed the clouds and mists had cleared and the sun and moon shone bright. Before I had even asked about the oral instructions and essentials of practice, I already understood the principles by which Heaven and Earth come into being and the laws governing the sun and moon’s movements.

The growth and nourishment of all things, and the transformation and formation of living beings, all depend on True Yin, True Yang, and the Qi of the upper and lower arcs. The book also sets out clearly how to apply the methods of drawing forth and replenishing, and how to guard carefully against danger. If one encounters a genuine transmission and receives this wondrous Daoist method, one can nurture the embryo spirit—the immortal body formed through cultivation—and transcend the ordinary to enter the sacred realm. Then this life will not have been lived in vain. I had just received the method for entering the path and was filled with joy. I respectfully took up my brush and wrote these words at the end of the scroll.

On the Mid-Autumn Festival of the Jiazi year of Jiatai, during the reign of the Sagely Song, Baijunzi Jinshu respectfully records this.

The Origins and History of the Wuzhen Pian

The Life and Deeds of Perfected Man Zhang

The Perfected Ziyang was from Yingluo Street in Tiantai County. His original name was Boduan, and his courtesy name was Pingshu; he later changed his name to Yongcheng. In his youth, he gained little renown and did not seek out a particular master for instruction. He often traveled through the lakes and rivers region. In old age, he felt that the Way of Primordial Unity he had studied and transmitted was still incomplete, so he diligently sought further knowledge, traveling far and wide.

During the Xining era, Lord Lu, a Longtu Academician, held office in Chengdu. Zhang Boduan traveled with him through Shu and served as an adviser in the Sichuan Pacification and Military Commission. In the year Jiyou, he met an extraordinary person and received the secret methods of timing and measure—the skill of judging when to advance and retreat in the practice of alchemy. Through this, his cultivation of the Dao was brought to completion. The extraordinary person cautioned him: “If, in the future, someone can undo your reins and chains, you should accept what he teaches you.”

Later, Zhang Boduan transmitted the Dao three times, and each time disaster followed. He blamed himself deeply, withdrew from the world, and stopped speaking at length. He wrote the eighty-one chapters of the Wuzhen pian, fully explaining the mysteries of both Neidan and Waidan methods. His chief aim was to oppose those who studied the Dao by clinging to separate lineages and setting up rival schools, as well as those who kept Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism apart. He held that the different traditions all arose from one source and should be brought together, while working to strengthen the true Way. His writings therefore came to be widely read and recited.

After Lord Lu died, people found thousands of relics in his remains—crystalline objects left after cremation. They resembled the fruit of the Euryale ferox plant and were blue-green in color.

It was later said that, during the Zhenghe era, Zhang Boduan visited Huang Mianzhong, a Minister serving in Yanping, under his true name. Lord Huang had long practiced the Way of Rongcheng, a method of health cultivation and alchemy said to have been transmitted by the ancient immortal Rongchengzi. He was also especially fond of furnace alchemy, and was already advanced in years. The two did not find common ground in their discussion, so Zhang Boduan left. Later, he sent Lord Huang a letter through an intermediary. Huang’s nephew, Shu, thought the matter very strange. Huang’s grandson, Quan, read the letter but kept its contents secret, telling the narrator only its general meaning.

Zhang Boduan said that he and Huang Mianzhong were both “Perfected Ones of the Nine Emperors” among the Celestial Officers of the Purple Tenuity. They had been banished to the human world for auditing the registers of cosmic calamities. At that time, only six stars in the celestial enclosure were visible; the light of the other three had faded. These three corresponded respectively to Zhang Boduan, Huang Mianzhong, and Mr. Yu of Yangzhou. Zhang Boduan was titled Perfected One of Purple Yang, Huang Mianzhong Perfected One of Purple Origin, and Mr. Yu Perfected One of Purple Radiance. The other officials banished with them had all returned to the Pure Capital, the celestial realm where the Emperor of Heaven resides.

Zhang Boduan has now ascended to the ranks of the immortals, while Huang Mianzhong remains sunk in the world of official service. He was meant to pass through ten lifetimes among humans and has now completed nine. If in his next life he remains confused and acts recklessly, sinking into worldly ways, he will fall into another realm and have no further chance to rise. Zhang Boduan clearly explained the arrangement made in the immortal realm and tried his utmost to help him escape his predicament. But Lord Huang never understood, and eventually died, calling himself only “Old Man Purple Origin.”

The “Nine Emperors” are not recorded among the Celestial Officers; perhaps they were merely minor stars. Such stars cannot be described by ordinary names and likely belong among the twelve thousand five hundred stars.

Xue Daoyuan, whose courtesy name was Shi, came from Jizu Mountain in Shan Prefecture. He once became a Buddhist monk and took the religious name Zixian. When he traveled to Chang’an, he stayed at Kaifu Monastery and visited the elder Xiuyan. Xiuyan discussed Chan teachings with him and asked, “The golden rooster has not yet crowed. How can its sound be heard?”

Later, he also visited the monk Ruhuan and asked, “What is the principle that goes beyond the Buddhas and patriarchs?” Ruhuan replied, “The flatbread is round.” At these words, Xue Daoyuan suddenly understood something and composed this verse, expressing his experience in practice:

“When the grinding wheels rumble and their sounds arise together,

I suddenly understand: it did not come from anyone else.

Jie Ning gave voice to the melody of non-arising;

The snake at the bottom of the well dances heavily, leaping in the Tuoji dance.”

Both elders acknowledged his insight. From then on, Xue Daoyuan awakened suddenly to the highest, most profound, perfect, luminous, and true essentials of the teaching. He was quick-witted and deeply versed in Chan doctrine and its exposition. At the same time, he devoted himself to the Way of the Golden Elixir and the arts of cultivation.

In the winter of the Bingxu year of the Chongning era, he was staying in Qingzhen, in that county, listening to a talk on Buddhist matters. By chance, he met Shi Tai, courtesy name Dezhi, from Xinglin Post Station in Fufeng County, Fengxiang Prefecture. Shi Tai was already eighty-five, yet his hair was black and his complexion ruddy. He carried himself with uncommon poise and still did needlework at night. Xue Daoyuan watched him discreetly and felt that he was no ordinary person.

Once, Xue Daoyuan happened to mention the poems, lyrics, and songs of Zhang Pingshu. Shi Tai was immediately moved and asked, “Do you know this man?” Xue Daoyuan replied, “He is my teacher.” Shi Tai then told him how he had met Zhang Pingshu.

Master Zhang Pingshu was originally named Bo Duan. He first lived at Tianhui Monastery in Chengdu. After meeting an extraordinary person, he changed his name to Yongcheng. Later, the prefect of Fengzhou grew angry over an incident, had him convicted, and sentenced him to tattooing and exile. As he passed through Hejing, heavy snow began to fall. The men escorting him went with him to a village inn to drink. I happened to be there, and after we exchanged greetings, we sat down. They invited me to join them. I smiled at the group and said, “This guest is beside himself with worry, while that guest has not had his fill of drink. Why don’t we all sit together?” So we gathered and drank. Once we had enjoyed the wine, I asked what had happened, and Zhang Pingshu told me as well.

I thought, “Prefect Deng is an old friend of mine. He is charitable and does not prize power. If I am willing to travel a hundred li to see him, perhaps I can help Zhang escape this exile.” Zhang Pingshu pleaded with the men escorting him, and they agreed. So he returned to Hejing. I went ahead to plead his case, and at our first meeting I secured his release. Zhang Pingshu was grateful and said, “If someone receives such kindness and does not repay it, how can he be called a human being?”

Ziping studied the Dao all his life, yet never heard of any method by which one could truly attain the Dao. Now I will pass the methods of alchemical cultivation on to you, to help you attain the Dao. Hearing this, Daoyuan bowed again in gratitude and respectfully accepted the charge.

After Daoyuan had heard Shi Tai finish speaking, he prostrated himself and asked to take refuge, become his disciple, and devote himself to learning the art of the Great Elixir. He also sought to receive the essential points of the oral instructions. Shi Tai warned him not to go to a crowded, prosperous city, but to follow people of virtue and ability. If he could do so, he could then begin his cultivation.

Daoyuan therefore went to the capital. He took off his Buddhist robes, put on a headscarf and the clothing of a Confucian scholar, kept a low profile, and mingled with ordinary people, hoping to get to the bottom of the matter. Those seeking the Way of the immortals, when they encountered Pingshu’s poems and formulaic verses, each understood them in their own way, and inevitably arrived at different interpretations. Troubled by questions, they could only speculate back and forth, giving rise to confusion and error; they could not grasp the hidden meaning. Who, then, could explain the Cantong qi (a Daoist classic on alchemical methods) to them? As a result, many dared not begin their cultivation.

Alas, could this really have been Master Pingshu’s intention? Moved by this, Daoyuan began annotating the poems and formulaic verses for these readers. He explained their aims point by point, explored their deep and subtle meaning, and offered guidance to dispel ignorance so that readers could understand. In this way, those who practiced would be less likely to take the wrong path and might hope to attain the realm of the highest perfected beings, putting what they had learned to use in the refinement of cinnabar.

At first, Master Pingshu had once vowed, after incurring punishment, never again to transmit the teachings to anyone. Later, he sighed, “This may benefit me, but it does not accord with the true intent of the Dao.” The Supreme One’s Regulations and Precepts, a text on Daoist rules and principles, says: “To meet someone fit to receive the teachings and yet withhold them is to fail the Way of Heaven; to transmit the Dao’s methods recklessly to someone unfit is to divulge Heaven’s treasure. Transmitting them to someone fit brings merit to oneself; transmitting them recklessly to someone unfit will bring punishment from the underworld upon seven generations of one’s ancestors.” If I stubbornly kept silent and transmitted nothing, I would be obstructing the Way of Heaven, and the resulting calamity might be great. With no other choice, he wrote poems and formulaic verses and circulated them among those in the world who were destined to encounter them, so that they might read and understand for themselves. Yet their meaning remained obscure and profound, difficult to grasp. Daoyuan therefore went further, expounding their principles and clarifying them in his annotations.

The essential meaning of the Wuzhen pian has been clarified, and its subtle, profound methods explained in detail. Its inner and outer aspects are made clear, with none of its hidden meanings left out. Those who read this text may study it carefully and resolve their doubts. They need not ask anyone else for guidance; they can understand it for themselves. This fulfills the wish of Master Pingshu, Zhang Boduan.

Since Daoyuan intends to use this book to pass the teachings on to later generations, he will henceforth remain silent and no longer reveal himself. Those who receive this text should guard it carefully and study it with care. The teachings cherished by Heaven are protected by spirits wherever they may be. The book may be passed only to someone who aspires to the Dao, believes in it and understands its principles, conducts himself without fault, and practices with genuine dedication. Even if one is surrounded by gold and jade, the book should not be handed over casually; even close relatives such as father and son should not receive it lightly. Carelessly disclosing it, or neglecting and losing it, will bring calamity upon oneself and disaster upon one’s household, leaving one’s descendants in unrest. The misfortune may even reach the nine generations of ancestors and seven generations of forebears, bringing punishment from the underworld. One may be forced to serve the ghost officials for a long time and never be reborn. Take constant care over this; do not neglect it.

The Old Gardener of Shangqiu—now known as Weng Yuanwang Zhenyi—has copied and annotated the poems of the Wuzhen pian, and has also compiled an account of how he received this book in years past, setting it down below. Though the writing is unadorned, it records events as they happened, in the hope of making the general course of the affair clear. Written on the Mid-Autumn Day of the Yiyou year of the Zhenghe era.

In the Dingmao year of the Teding era, I saw in Ruiyang the Wuzhen Pian with Xue Zixian’s commentary. After reading it, I was troubled by doubts and regretted that I had not seen the complete text. In the Guisi year of the Tianli era, I returned to Shenghuo and obtained the full text, which I read again and again. Only after several years did I gradually begin to discern its clues. Later, Daoist friends from afar sent me several versions to collate. Their commentaries were identical, but the text they criticized as a heterodox teaching was rendered in some versions as “perhaps” and in others as “Ye Wenshu.” This was one of my questions.

Recently published excerpts from various commentaries on the Wuzhen Pian quote notes by Xiangchuan Weng and Wumingzi. Compared with the Zixian commentary I had obtained, their contents were also identical. I therefore suspected that the commentaries were the same, but their authors might not have been. This was another question.

In the Renxu year of the Jiatai era of the Song dynasty, Yuan Gongfu denounced Ye Wenshu’s commentary, saying that it mixed together all sorts of doctrines and was difficult to examine. I selected its annotations for study and found that the Daoist method Yuan Gongfu had inherited amounted to cultivating just one thing in isolation. On what grounds, then, could he denounce others? If Ye Wenshu’s commentary was indeed correct, why did both Zixian and Yuan Gongfu criticize it? This was another question.

So I examined the chronology. Daoguang wrote the Fuming Pian, saying that in the Gengzi year of the Xuanhe era he followed Shuxuan to meet an immortal and received an oral instruction. Today, in Shangqiu, there is a man who calls himself Wanshi Weng Yuan Wang Zhenyi. In the Yiwei year of the Zhenghe era, he recorded the life of Xue Zixian. Ye Wenshu’s commentary, however, was written in the Xinsi year, the thirty-first year of the Shaoxing era, forty-seven years later. Ye Wenshu may not even have been born in the Yiwei year of the Zhenghe era, or may still have been a child. How could Zixian have named and criticized him forty-seven years in advance? Besides, the person being criticized was indeed the author of Ye Wenshu’s commentary, not someone else’s. This, too, was one of my questions.

Because of these doubts, I suspected that the commentary was not by Zixian, but I could never be completely certain. Its annotations differed from those of other commentators, yet in truth they had grasped the essential teaching of the immortal. On the third day of the fifth month in the Xinwei year of the Zhishun era, I was fortunate to receive direct oral instructions on the Golden Elixir, the medicines, and the firing times, bestowed upon me by Heaven. Even so, I continued to suspect that the commentary was not Zixian’s, and could not put the matter out of my mind. So I kept asking and investigating, and searched far and wide.

In the autumn of the Renshen year of the Zhishun era, an old friend from Wuling sent me Xiangchuan Weng Baoguang’s explanation, to my great delight. After reading it for several months, my earlier doubts suddenly fell away, and I became certain at last: the text circulating in the world as Zixian’s commentary was actually written by Wumingzi. People had mistakenly passed down “Baoguang” as “Daoguang.” This false attribution had persisted for so long, yet no one had corrected it.

Why do I say this? The immortal transmitted the Dao to Shi Xinglin, who then transmitted it to Zixian. This is the third generation of the lineage, known to everyone. The immortal also transmitted the Dao to Guangyizi, who then transmitted it to Wumingzi. This, too, is a third generation of the lineage, though few people in the world know of it.

Some people eager for fame wanted their own commentaries to be accepted in their time, so they abridged Anonymous Master’s commentary and circulated it. Those in the know understand that the account appended to Zixian (a Daoist figure) was included to make it seem credible. Yet the recorder calls him “Yuan Wang Zhenyi” and claims that the two men were actually one and the same. The Wuzhen Pian embodies vast benevolence and reveals all the secrets of Heaven. How could someone named “Yuan Wang” have existed? This is clearly an error in the record. Some have also muddled the recorder’s name to mislead the world.

Others say that Zixian was once a Buddhist monk named Daoguang, also called Baoguang. Because their names both contain the character “guang,” they have confused him with Ye Wenshu. According to Anonymous Master’s commentary, no one commented on the Wuzhen Pian before Ye Wenshu, and no one challenged Ye Wenshu’s views afterward. Fearing that later generations would misunderstand the true person’s original intent, Anonymous Master, in the guisi year of the Qiandao era (1173), risked incurring Heaven’s punishment and, in obedience to his master’s command, carefully annotated the meaning of the text. He examined it word by word and sentence by sentence, hoping to keep people from going astray.

People excerpt commentaries by various authors without ever having seen them in full. They also mistake “Weng” for a title of respect for an old man, and divide Xiangchuan Weng and Anonymous Master into two different people. More recently, they have wrongly claimed that Anonymous Master’s commentary was Zixian’s, compounding one error with another. They cannot even check the meaning of the text or its dates, so how could they be expected to understand the authentic transmission of the Way of the immortals?

The true transmission of the Great Way of the Golden Elixir—the Daoist path of Neidan cultivation—has a long history, yet now it seems to have been lost. Today, the four seas are united, and people eager to study the way of the immortals are rising up everywhere. But how few are actually able to hear of this Way—far too few indeed. Has Zixian’s commentary failed to reach later generations, or am I simply too poorly informed to have encountered it?

Now, Wumingzi’s commentary—the explanation of the scripture—is thorough and complete, with nothing omitted. The commentary attributed to Zixian that circulates in the world is broadly similar, but contains many gaps. If Zixian had indeed written a commentary, why would Wumingzi not cite it, but instead claim the entire original commentary as his own and circulate it under his own name? When explaining the meaning of “the full moon,” Wumingzi cites only two sentences from Zixian. This shows that Zixian did not have a complete commentary.

The commentary begins by discussing “deliberate action,” explaining it as awakening through affairs in the human world; it also quotes “Wushizi.” “Wushizi” must be a copying error for “Wumingzi,” which further shows that Zixian never wrote a commentary. Yet today the commentary is wrongly said to be Zixian’s work. Those who study the Way of the immortals today should not reverse the proper order of importance simply because Zixian is famous and Wumingzi is obscure. The two men’s lineages of transmission are authentic, and the orthodox tradition of the immortal Way they passed down is the same: both derive from Pingshu (Zhang Boduan, known as the Immortal Ziyang).

If a Perfected One’s writings are protected and guarded by spirits, they naturally deserve to be treasured and carefully preserved, and should be transmitted to suitable people. I have therefore appended accounts of the Perfected One’s life and of Zixian’s deeds to Wumingzi’s commentary, clarifying them together. This will make it easier for those who study this commentary to understand its principles and correct its errors. Once they know my words are not false, they will not dare to pass on the commentary incorrectly. And when they understand that the Great Dao is difficult to encounter and hear, they will not transmit it carelessly to unsuitable people.

Those with the destiny to study the Way of the immortals can understand the principles through the scripture and grasp its intent with the aid of the commentary. If they avoid straying into heterodox paths, they can reach the Great Dao directly. This is a gift from Heaven; in this way, the Great Way of the Golden Elixir will not lose its line of transmission.

Another version also circulates in the world. It begins with a short preface attributed to “Zixuzi, ninth month of the first year of Chunxi,” placed before Chen Ziyang’s preface. This version deletes the passage “I respectfully follow the secret teachings of the Immortal Elder” from Wumingzi’s preface, and moves the title of the following essay, “Treatise on the Secret Essentials of the Three Vehicles,” to the beginning of the volume. It also adds this sentence to the commentary: “The essential point of this teaching is to take young boys and girls as Yin-Yang and Dragon-Tiger, and the qi of men and women as precelestial and postcelestial.” “Young boys and girls,” “Yin-Yang,” “Dragon-Tiger,” “precelestial,” and “postcelestial” are all terms from Neidan, used to explain the relationship of Yin and Yang and the movement of Qi in cultivation.

Someone added the following in a commentary: “The point of this system is to compare virgin boys and girls to Yin-Yang and the Dragon and Tiger; to describe the energies of men and women as precelestial and postcelestial, lead and mercury, true Water and Fire, and the first crescent. It also says that the year a girl first menstruates is ‘Gui’s birth’; by the age of sixteen, the Three Yangs are complete, the moon’s light is full, and the Golden Cauldron is complete. Her body is said to be undamaged in every part, with both sides fully intact. These things are also called precelestial Qi and external medicine.” Such statements are plainly distortions and fabricated annotations belonging to a deviant doctrine.

These are the heretical claims of Zixuzi, who dared not reveal his name publicly. Instead, he borrowed dates from an earlier book and falsely attributed his own doctrine to the anonymous Master, in order to win the world’s trust. Some say that Zixuzi was simply another name for the anonymous Master. If that is indeed so, then the anonymous Master’s own statements contradict one another.

Moreover, the year after the Jiashen year of the Qian Dao era was Jiawu, when the era name changed to Chunxi. How could the teachings transmitted by the master have changed so suddenly in the space of a single year? In the Jiazi year of the Jiatai era, Baiyunzi wrote a preface affirming the authenticity of Chen Ziyang’s book. From the time Perfected Ziyang began transmitting this commentary, thirty-two years passed, yet the commentary remained consistently sound, and the secret teaching was clear and explicit, with not a single word tainted by heresy. Only a month separated the Gui year from the Jiawu year, yet the commentary contradicted what had been said before. The anonymous Master was still alive at the time. Had he heard of this, he would surely have recognized it as heresy and refuted it. How could he attack Ye Wenshu while defending Zixuzi?

Why did Zixuzi not seek verification from a person of the Dao, so that the truth or falsehood of what he transmitted could be established? If what the anonymous Master transmitted was indeed correct, why did Zixuzi alter and add to it on his own? How could he claim that his additions were a teaching the anonymous Master had never given? From this, we can see that these commentaries were indeed fabricated. Those who cultivate immortality and study the Dao who are fortunate enough to obtain an authentic copy of this commentary are asked to distinguish carefully between what is genuine and what is false, and to preserve it with care.

On the Zhongyuan day of the Bingzi year of the Zhiyuan era, Kongxuanzi Dai Qizong (Yizhong, Tongfu) carefully set down this clarification.

I have heard that in ancient times Perfected Zixian elucidated the subtle and difficult principles of the Great Dao and rescued those who had sunk into confusion and loss. After completing his work, he wrote the Wuzhen Pian and passed it on to the world. This book gathers the experience of his lifelong cultivation…

I have heard that, long ago, the Perfected One Zixian—a title of honor for a Daoist practitioner—explained the subtle and hidden principles of the Great Dao and rescued those who studied the Dao but had lost their way and fallen into ruin. After attaining the Dao, he wrote the Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality) and passed it down to the world, gathering in it the insights from his lifelong practice. For those who study the Dao, failing to follow what the Wuzhen pian teaches is like setting out for the rivers and seas after leaving one’s oars behind.

Sadly, as the years passed, the moral climate declined. Teachings of the orthodox path were suppressed, and their principles were gradually obscured. Some stubbornly clung to deviant paths and even denounced the way of the immortals; others were misled by appearances and denied the genuine teachings. They came to regard the way of the immortals as vague and unreal, and the alchemical texts as absurd. As a result, people never truly understood the intent of the Wuzhen pian or of the Perfected One Zixian.

Wumingzi, who inherited the orthodox transmission, saw that earlier commentaries had passed errors from one to another. He therefore wrote a new commentary on this book and published it. He explained it chapter by chapter and clarified it sentence by sentence, recording its essential teachings in detail. Read it again and again, and reflect on it with care, and its meaning will naturally become clear.

My great-granduncle had admired Daoist arts since childhood. After studying this book for many years, he eventually had an insight and was able to hear its mysterious and essential teachings. He wrote down the guidance he had heard over the years from his father and teachers, along with his own understanding, after Wumingzi’s commentary. He intended it as a guide for later students of the Dao, so that they would not fall into notions that were vague and unreal or absurd and unfounded.

His intention was truly generous. Perhaps I had a connection to this book in a former life, since I have been fortunate enough to read it. My hope is to befriend those who live beyond the world and cultivate the Dao, leave worldly concerns behind, and dwell in a realm of purity and truth, riding the immortal wind on a distant journey. I hope to set up the cauldron and furnace, symbolic vessels for refining the elixir; harmonize the dragons and tigers within the breath, terms in Neidan for the Yin and Yang energies; and invert the mercury and lead, terms in Neidan for the Yin and Yang essences refined in cultivation. At the proper time, I would gather and refine them, nurture them gently for ten months, then undergo nine years of empty stillness. In the end, I would ride lightly in a flying chariot, cross the Weak River and pass over the numinous turtle, follow the immortals and perfected beings, hear the subtle and profound Great Dao, and rescue those lost in ruin. This is the aspiration by which I hope to follow the example of the Perfected One Zixian.

On the Shangsi day of the year Dingchou in the Zhiyuan era, the later student Dai Shun, bowing in reverence, wrote this at Dasheng Grotto Heaven at Zhuhu.

The section “Images and Emblems of the Golden Elixir Method” explains that ancient alchemical scriptures often used the heavens and earth, the sun and moon, the trigrams of the Book of Changes, human affairs, and various implements as metaphors for the changes of Yin and Yang in Golden Elixir cultivation.

In his Commentary on the Awakening to Reality, Wumingzi gathered many names and metaphors for the images and emblems of the Golden Elixir method. Dai Qizong then assembled related expressions from the Token for Joining the Three According to the Book of Changes and from the writings and poems of various immortals. He arranged them into seven categories and appended them to the Commentary on the Awakening to Reality to help those studying the Way of the Immortals investigate their meaning. Some of these metaphors describe internal refinement; others use external objects to explain it. Though they may seem quite different, they can in fact be understood in relation to one another. The transformations of the Five Phases are intricate and cannot easily be summed up in a single name. If one understands the fundamental principle to which they all point, and distinguishes the purpose of each metaphor, one can grasp the teachings of the immortal masters as a whole. Once their true meaning is understood, there is no need to cling to the names and metaphors; one can follow their guidance in cultivating the Way of the Immortals.

The following are images and emblems of the Golden Elixir method in the “Yang” and “Yin” categories. The Yang category includes such names as Qian, Li, Fire, the sun, Shen, Hun, Jiawu, Bing, the heart, dragons and snakes, male and virile, and empty Qi. It also uses the heavens, the sun, the south, cinnabar, the Vermilion Bird, Cinnabar Yang, the Qian furnace, and the Jade Cauldron as metaphors. The Yin category includes such names as Earth, the moon, Kun, Kan, mother, woman, minister, guest, and emotion. These terms draw on images of the heavens and earth, directions, the Five Phases, animals, the human body, and alchemical implements to indicate the corresponding relationship between Yin and Yang.

The preface is dated the Shangyuan Festival in the Dingchou year of the Zhiyuan era and is attributed to Dai Qizong.

The wife and minister of Kan-Mother, the feminine source symbolized by the Kan trigram

The consort’s situation

The destiny’s dim soul

Water, north, Geng and Zi

Ren, one and six, the kidneys

Wine, metal, tiger, and tortoise

The female, the feminine, the substantial fluid

The lower pivot, the medicine cauldron

The compass, flowing lead, weight

Submerged light, sounding Si

Small stillness, enclosing the crow

Softness, blackness, drawing in what is

Paired forms, punishment, wisdom, anger

Punished woman, night, cold

Earth-soul, Kun image, moon-soul, Xu and Wei

The seventh day of the morning, the lower waxing moon, Kun, Ox, Kan, Tiger

Mount Hua, Qujiang, infant brother, young woman

Metal wife, Ji-Earth, one north, Heaven one

Black lead, mountain and marsh, White Tiger, Water Tiger

Mountain Tiger, Black Tortoise, Kun cauldron, metal furnace

The Superior Virtue of Western Sichuan, the obscure and dark true Mercury

Mysterious Warrior, true Yin, the crescent-moon furnace, born from Geng and Xin

Yin within Yang

Wife and minister of Zhen and Li

Guest, Mao, Jia, east

Feeling, benevolence, left, three

Eight, floating, Liver, Wood

Female thing, father, Sun, soul

Crow marrow, the Chaste Maiden—a feminine numinous substance in alchemical practice—the people, guest, furnace, born from Geng and Xin

Yin within Yang

Wife and minister of Zhen and Li

Guest, Mao, Jia, east

Feeling, benevolence, left, three

Eight, floating, Liver, Wood

Female thing, father, Sun, soul

Crow marrow, the Chaste Maiden, the people, guest

Blue Maiden, Li Maiden, true Mercury, Wood fluid

Fire Mercury, Yellow Sprout, jade fluid, spirit water

Fire Dragon, female Dragon, Golden Crow, true Dragon

True Yin, female mother, female Yin, Yin Fire

Yang Qi, flowing pearl, female blue, female Fire

Red lead, cinnabar, paired pears, east two

Jade fungus, foundation of the Elixir, true Fire, noon, north

Dragon west, quicksilver, Heaven’s Mysterious Maiden, crow in the Sun

Mother’s blood, Dragon’s string, Qi of the Dragon’s breath, Tiger Yin, white Fire

Water within Fire, red entering black, Red Phoenix marrow, flowing Mercury, father

Red lead, essence cinnabar, Mercury enclosed within; Li’s Ji, the middle daughter of Kun

One Yin within Li, moon atop the mountain, white Sun, flowing pearl, Li’s Ji, sunlight

Blue-clad woman, blue-eyed foreign boy, female mingled with male form, true Mercury in the sand

Taking water from within Qi, the male concealing the female within; eight taels of crow liver, Mercury born in the sand

Born from Bing and Ding; fluid arising within Qi; the twenty-eight-year-old Chaste Maiden, essence of the obscure and dark

A thing within the indistinct and elusive; water within the cinnabar cauldron, quicksilver; water of the lower waxing moon, half a catty

Mercury is water within the cinnabar

Yang within Yin

Husband and lord of Dui and Kan

Ruler, You, Geng, west

These terms rely heavily on symbolic language to describe the substances, the union of Yin and Yang, the Dantian, and the place where the Elixir forms in Neidan practice.

“Four right-hand items on the meaning of nature” is the title of this group. “Ninefold sinking, Lung Metal” refers to the Five Phases symbolism in which the lungs correspond to Metal. “The male medicine, the mother’s lunar soul” and “the Jade Rabbit’s fat, the Golden Elder, the parents and their master” use images of the lunar soul, the Jade Rabbit, the Golden Elder, and parents to refer to the Yin and Yang Qi needed for alchemical practice and to the relations that govern them. “The old gentleman, Kan’s male, true Lead, Metal essence” calls the Yang Qi within the Kan trigram, which symbolizes Water, true Lead and Metal essence. “Water Metal, white snow, Golden Liquid, Flower Pond” uses terms such as white snow, Golden Liquid, and Flower Pond to describe the refined essence and fluids produced through internal cultivation.

“Water Tiger, male Tiger, Jade Rabbit, true Tiger, Water within” and “Yang within Yin,” along with “the husband of Dui and Kan” and “ruling over You, Geng, and the West,” continue to explain the union of Yin and Yang through the images of the Water Tiger, Jade Rabbit, and the Dui and Kan trigrams. You, Geng, and the West all symbolize Metal through directions and seasonal correspondences.

“True Yang, male father, masculine Yang, Yang Water” and “Yin essence, Metal flower, male white, masculine Metal” use names such as masculine Yang, Yin essence, and Metal flower for the two kinds of Qi cultivated within. “Black Lead, Mercury, Fire Dates, the Western fourth” and “the Elixir Mother, true Water, the Water child, the South” treat Black Lead, Mercury, Fire Dates, and true Water as symbolic ingredients in alchemical methods, while the West and South indicate directions. “The Tiger in the East, Jade stamen, Earth Yellow, the male lunar Rabbit” and “the father’s essence, the Tiger’s bowstring Qi, the Tiger inhales, the Dragon’s Yellow Sprout, Lead” use images of the Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, and Yellow Sprout to describe the generation of ingredients and the meeting of Yin and Yang energies.

“Fire within Water, black entering red, the Black Tortoise’s essence, the Golden Mother” and “the marrow of Black Lead, silver within Water, Kan’s Wu, the middle male of Qian” describe seeking Yang essence within the Water image of Kan. “A single Yang within Kan, the red sun at the bottom of the pool, the Northern River Chariot, Kan’s Wu, the essence of the moon” uses images such as the red sun at the bottom of a pool and the River Chariot—the circulation of essence in internal cultivation—to depict Yang Qi stirring and moving within Kan Water. “The young lord in plain silk, the old man with white hair, male and female in one body, true Silver within Lead” uses the union of male and female, and the image of true Silver appearing within Black Lead, to explain how Yin and Yang complement one another and reveal true essence.

“Taking Qi from within Water, white within black, half a pound of Rabbit marrow, sand produced within Lead” and “born in the liquid of Ren and Gui, Qi arising within, the nine-third young lord, an elusive thing” continue to describe the process of seeking Yang within Yin Water and finding white within black. “Essence in the deep darkness, the Jade stamen in the crescent-moon furnace, half a pound of Metal at the waxing crescent” uses the deep darkness—a state hidden from view—the crescent-moon furnace, a symbol of internal cultivation, and the Metal Qi of the waxing crescent to portray the ingredients gathering in stillness. “Metal is sand within Water” means that the essence of Metal is hidden within the Water image.

“Central Palace” refers to the center of internal cultivation in the middle of the body. “Fifty in the midst of Earth” uses Earth among the Five Phases and the number fifty to symbolize the harmonizing center. “Trusting in the intention, the Spleen’s ancestor” points to the fundamental role of Spleen Earth in internal cultivation. “True Earth,” “Earth’s De,” “the Earth cauldron,” and “Primordial Spirit” are all symbolic names centered on the central Earth and the Primordial Spirit, a person’s fundamental spirit. “The Divine Treasure, the Mysterious Pass, the Mysterious Gate, the Jade stamen, the waxing-crescent Metal, half a pound” calls the Mysterious Pass—the aperture where essence, Qi, and Shen meet in internal cultivation—the Divine Treasure and the Mysterious Gate, and uses the Jade stamen and waxing-crescent Metal to describe the essence gathering there. Metal hidden in Water is called “sand within Water.”

“Golden Mother,” “Metal Consort,” “Metal Embryo,” and “Golden Cauldron,” along with “Lead Cauldron,” “Mercury Cauldron,” and “Kunlun’s great forge,” are all metaphors for alchemical ingredients, vessels, or processes of refinement. Names such as “Qian Palace,” “Kun position,” “Flower Pond,” “Divine Embryo,” “Spirit Chamber,” “Mother’s Abode,” “the numinous root of Wu and Ji,” “Sacred Embryo,” “numinous portal,” “Great Abyss,” “within the compass,” “Celestial Pole,” “Chaos,” “Elixir Chamber,” and “Qi Repository” refer to different bodily locations, apertures, and states in internal cultivation where the Elixir embryo is nurtured.

“Guanyuan,” “Dantian,” “Crimson Palace,” and “Yellow Court” are common names for sites of internal cultivation, referring respectively to the lower abdomen, the sea of Qi, and cultivation areas between the chest and abdomen. “Yellow Matron” symbolizes the medium that harmonizes Yin and Yang, while “Yellow Path” refers to the central path along which Qi moves. “Within the Primordial,” “Mysterious Aperture,” “Medicine Mother,” and “Elixir Foundation” refer to the abode of primordial Qi, a crucial aperture, and the foundation and beginning of alchemical practice. “The ice vessel contains the three” uses an ice vessel as a metaphor for a clear and still inner state; “contains the three” means that it holds three things within.

The Star Officer, Mother’s Womb, Northern Sea, and Empty Mystery are different names for the apertures or states used in the alchemical method. Returning to the Root in the Yellow Family, the Aperture of the Life Gate’s Return, the Crescent Moon Furnace, the Suspended Womb Cauldron, the Gate of the Mysterious Female, the Wu-Ji Gate, the Furnace of Creation and Transformation, the Mechanism of Creation and Transformation, the Conjoining Aperture, the Taiyi Furnace, the Aperture of Spirit and Qi, the Altar for Guarding the One, the Central Yellow Palace, the Office of the Cinnabar Origin, the Cinnabar Pivot, the Golden Mother, the Palace of the Rare and Subtle, the Gate of the Myriad Wonders, the Grand Tenuity Palace, the Gate of Chaos, the Abode of Life and Death, the Yellow Emperor’s Earth Virtue, the Yellow Center that Penetrates Principle, the Divine Cauldron of the Queen of Earth, Born Before Heaven and Earth, the Golden Cauldron of Chaos, Black and White in Accord, the Cauldron of Already-Crossed Waters, the Vessel that Models Heaven and Earth, the Sovereign’s Earth Virtue, and the Precelestial Golden Womb are all terms describing the alchemical furnace and cauldron, inner apertures, and the union of Yin and Yang.

Divine Water and the Flower Pool are shaped like an egg. They are the foundation of breathing, the Gate of the Mysterious Female—the gateway from which all things are born—as well as the root of Heaven and Earth and the place where essence and Qi congeal. Imperial Stone, Father and Mother, and the Complete Cavern of Creation and Transformation are also metaphors for the source of Yin and Yang and the place where the Elixir is nurtured.

External Medicine is a term used in the alchemical method. Yang Lord, Golden Mother, Tiger, Iron Master Lead, Intimate Lordly Virtue, Golden Crow, True Sovereign, High Earth Virtue, and Precelestial Golden Womb are all alternative names for External Medicine or alchemical ingredients.

Divine Water, Flower Pool, Root of Breathing, Gate of the Mysterious Female, Root of Heaven and Earth, Place of Congealing, Imperial Stone, Father and Mother, and Complete Cavern of Creation and Transformation have all been explained above.

Yin Fire, Golden Essence, Magu, Yang Elixir, True Earth, True One, True Water, Divine Water, Great Elixir, Great Medicine, Golden Elixir, Seven Returns, Nine Restorations, Autumn Stone, Golden Flower, Infant, True Person, Valley Spirit, Knife Measure, Great Stillness, Seed Pearl, Sweet Dew, Yellow Sprout, Mysterious Pearl, Dark Frost, Millet Pearl, Sacred Embryo, Jade Pistil, Golden Sand, Yellow Praise, Yellow Pool, External Elixir, Yang Essence, Water Tiger, Precelestial Qi, True Seed, True Mysterious Female, Three and Five, One Rub, Mud Pearl, Central Earth, True Father and Mother, True Yin and Yang, the Five Thieves of Heaven, Purple-Gold Frost, Jade-Pot Ice, Crimson-Snow Elixir, True-One Essence, First Cauldron, Imperial Cream, Medicine of Long Life, White Horse Teeth, Marrow of Heaven and Earth, Essence of Kan and Li, True-One Water, Gold in Water, Lead Wrapped in Water, True Master, Nine-Turn Elixir, Heaven-Born Sprout, Natural Form, Essence of Qian and Kun, Qi of Heaven and Earth, Yang Essence Within Yin, and Precelestial Essence are all different names for the Elixir, medicinal substances, essence and Qi, the furnace and cauldron, or states of cultivation. They point to the process of refining Neidan through the union of Yin and Yang and the Five Phases. Metaphors such as “Infant” and “Sacred Embryo” describe the Elixir congealing into form, while expressions such as “Seven Returns and Nine Restorations” and “Nine Turns” describe repeated transformation and refinement.

“Essence of Qian and Kun, Qi of Heaven and Earth, Yang Essence Within Yin, and Precelestial Essence” refer to the essence and Qi that existed before Heaven and Earth separated, and to the Yang essence contained within Yin.

Radiant with light, the Golden Essence is the numinous root between Heaven and Earth, the foundation on which Yin and Yang unite. Heaven and Earth, in turn, are like the vessel in which it is refined and nurtured.

Kan and Li, which represent Water and Fire and often stand for Yin and Yang, are the ingredients; divine talismans are the means for harmonizing them. The White Snow Vessel holds the sun and moon, while the Dragon Pool nurtures the Great Elixir, the essence formed through Neidan cultivation.

The Lord of Yuyin is the cream of the Snow Mountain, a metaphor for something as pure as butter made from snow-mountain milk. At the center of the Kan position lies substance. The breaths of the Sacred Father and Numinous Mother converge into the Yang of the true unity of primordial wholeness. The union of Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, produces the true essence of long life: the genuine root of Heaven and Earth’s primordial chaos.

The Great One, Taiji, contains the true Qi. It takes form in the Kun position; this is the inner medicine.

Yin Minister, Wood Child; Dragon Magnet, Guest Mercury; Family Minister Shu, Hare Child, True Mercury; Yang Fire, Wood Fluid, Zhang Qian, Yin Mercury; True Fire, Snow Embryo, Infant Brother, internal alchemy; Yin Elixir, Mysterious Pearl, Fire Dragon, postcelestial Qi; Fire of Yi Mercury, Qi of the Children of Heaven and Earth, Yang enclosing Yin Essence, Qi of primordial Yang; Golden Fluid Reverted Elixir, Yang Fire within Yin, the Great Return of Golden Fluid in the belly of the Li Palace, the Eastern Yang Forge of Creation, the spirit chamber within the Numinous Embryo, Lead and Mercury within the Numinous Embryo—these are all cryptic terms used in Neidan texts for the ingredients, the two Qi of Yin and Yang, the stages of firing, and the process of cultivation that brings the elixir to completion.