《紫阳真人悟真篇三注》Vol. 2

Only someone whose resolve differs from that of ordinary people can stand out among them; such distinction must be grounded in the daily accumulation of good deeds. If one has only just begun to show promise, how could an extraordinary bearing naturally shine forth? Alas, some people are like wandering ghosts or walking corpses, traveling about to cultivate with nothing but a bottle and bowl. They hope to become immortals, yet immortality is not easily attained. Why not first look into your own heart and see whether it truly differs from the hearts of ordinary people?

My aspiration to pursue the Way of the Immortals has its limits: I must be broad-minded, know how to adapt, and take the Dao as my responsibility. Even if for a time I rise above others like a crane among chickens, and people mock me as eccentric, I must understand that I am no ordinary person. Red Pine, the legendary immortal, and yellow essence, a Daoist elixir herb, are my friends; Penglai and Fangzhang, legendary islands of immortals in the sea, are my home. In this way, I will naturally meet accomplished adepts who can transmit the supreme Dao, and find like-minded friends who will earnestly instruct me until the elixir is complete. The immortal elder wished to leave his secret teachings to the world, but lamented that he could not find anyone who understood him as Ziqi did. Where could he find someone like me?

Ziye says: Yellow sprout is the essence of lead; white snow is the refined Qi produced from mercury. To seek them, one must possess virtue. Earth refers to Wu and Ji; Ren refers to the true One Water. This water is the fundamental original Qi that gives life and nourishment to all things.

Shangyangzi says: Yellow sprout and white snow are both true One Qi, born from the primal, obscure mystery—the deep and remote state before Heaven and Earth were divided. Earlier, it was said that true lead must be sought with care; here, it is said that yellow sprout and white snow are not difficult to obtain. This is because…

Shangyangzi says:

“Yellow Sprout and White Snow both arise from the true One Qi within the primordial, obscure Mystery—the profound and wondrous state before the cosmos was divided. Earlier, it was said that true Lead must be sought with focused intention. Here, Yellow Sprout and White Snow are said to be not difficult to find. This is because the practitioner possesses virtue. Foolish students see an apparent contradiction between these two poems, but they do not understand that, in the end, those without virtue cannot refine the Elixir. As the saying goes, ‘If your words are lofty but your conduct is corrupt, do not speak of the Great Dao.’ To understand the Great Dao without cultivating virtue is like a fish without water or a lamp without oil. How could one refine the Returned Elixir?

The Four Symbols, Five Phases, Three Origins, and Eight Trigrams may go by many different names, but in the end they all depend on the true One’s Water of Ren (the water that represents the Qi of the true One). When I, Huang Fanggong, praised the immortal Pure Yang, I said: ‘In the cauldron, the Four Symbols and Five Phases unite; the ingredients follow the Three Origins and Eight Trigrams. The Red Phoenix exhales the essence of the South, while the Black Tortoise holds the vital essence of the Northern Sea.’ This is what those words mean. They all derive from a verse by Pure Yang: ‘The cauldron follows the four seasons and unites at the center; the ingredients move according to the Three Origins and Eight Trigrams.’ The meaning is the same.

True immortals and sage teachers compassionately guide practitioners, but whether they ultimately succeed depends on their own conduct. When this Elixir is completed, even the Jade Emperor will commend it, and all the myriad spirits between Heaven and Earth will revere it. Hence it is called the ‘Supreme, Utmost, True, Numinous Treasure: the Wondrous Ninefold-Return Great Elixir.’ Long ago, when the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning preached the scriptures to liberate people, his mystic seat floated in the air, with a precious pearl the size of a millet grain suspended before it. This is what the pearl refers to. It is also called the ‘Great Vehicle Prajñā Wondrous Ninefold-Return Great Elixir,’ and the ‘Nine-Tiered Lotus Platform, Treasury of Light, Great Wish-Fulfilling Wondrous Dharma, Numinous Mani Jewel.’ Tradition says that the pearl offered by the Dragon Girl at the assembly on Vulture Peak was this very jewel. Its preciousness defies description. How could ordinary people recognize it?

Once the Elixir is complete, the practitioner becomes a sage and the Yang Spirit—the pure Yang spiritual form spoken of in cultivation—manifests. Such a person is called a True Person. Yin demons and ghostly thieves transform into guardian spirits. The Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise within the body, along with the Three Hun and Seven Po souls, the Three Origins and Nine Palaces, the Three Sections and Eight Radiances, the Five Viscera, and the Eight Consciousnesses, all transform into spirits as well. The thirty-six thousand rays of essence-light become divine warriors.

In his day, the Immortal Elder wished to impart the secret personally, but in his whole life few people truly believed him and practiced accordingly. Alas! Those who sought a teacher while bound and in hardship later became disciples in the lineage of Xinglin.”

For plants to grow, Yin and Yang Qi must work together. Without either one, plants cannot flourish and bloom.

When a plant first emerges, it puts out green leaves: Yang Qi acts first. Then it blossoms with red flowers, as Yin Qi follows and works in concert.

The union of Yin and Yang and the growth of all things are natural patterns we see every day. Yet who truly understands the underlying principle by which Yin and Yang transform into one another and take turns in their operation?

I say to all who cultivate the Dao: if you do not understand the principle of Yin and Yang, do not mock it lightly.

Daoguang explains: Before plants begin to grow, they contain within them a simple, undivided vitality. When a seed splits and sprouts, it receives a single Qi and begins to grow. It first puts out one leaf, symbolizing “the One Qi”; next it divides into two leaves, symbolizing Yin and Yang; then another leaf emerges between them, symbolizing the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and humanity. After this, the plant gradually grows: in spring it puts out green leaves, and in summer it blooms with red flowers, propelled by Yang Qi. In autumn, its growth wanes and it bears fruit; in winter, it withers and returns to its root. These are the workings of Yin Qi. When Yin and Yang work together, all things continue to come into being; without either one, nothing can grow. Zhenyizi says, “Yin alone cannot bring forth life, and Yang in isolation cannot accomplish anything.” Thus, when Yin and Yang in Heaven and Earth interact, all things mature; when men and women unite, life continues. This law of Yin and Yang joining and giving rise to life without end is the natural Dao we see every day.

Yet people often overlook the underlying mystery of Yin and Yang taking turns in their operation. If those who cultivate the Dao do not understand this, how can they transcend life and death?

Ziye says: The principles of cultivating the Golden Elixir are also like the union of Yin and Yang in plants. As soon as a plant senses Yang Qi, it begins to sprout. Then its flowers open one after another; when they fade, fruit forms within them. When a person obtains this single breath of true Yang Qi, true Yin naturally joins with it and congeals into an embryo. Yin and Yang follow and complement one another; in broad outline, this is the principle. The union of Yin and Yang is a familiar part of daily life, but people often do not understand how they take turns in their underlying operation. This is what is meant by “ordinary people use it every day but do not know it.”

Shangyangzi, a commentator on Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy), says: All living things under Heaven fall into two kinds, called “moving and growing things.” Those that grow from roots are plants; those with feet that can move about are animals. Both are born by receiving the two Qi (vital energies) of Yin and Yang. Plants such as grasses and trees are living things without feelings or awareness, yet they too grow and bear fruit as Yang Qi flourishes in spring. Humans and animals are living forms capable of movement, endowed with feelings and awareness. Without the two Qi of Yin and Yang, how could they grow and reproduce?

Among all things, humans are the most spiritually endowed. Born by receiving the pure Qi of Heaven and Earth, they nevertheless fail to understand the principles of Yin and Yang’s waxing and waning, or the changes that follow and reverse their natural course. I will now explain the essentials in full: following Yin and Yang’s natural changes makes one an ordinary father or mother, giving birth to ordinary people; this is the ordinary way. Reversing Yin and Yang’s changes makes one a “numinous father and sage mother,” forming the internal alchemical elixir; this is the true source. The reversal means that the male becomes female and the female becomes male—a transformation of Yin-Yang qualities in Neidan practice. Without guidance from a true master, what use is it to hear these words?

If you do not understand the reversal and transformation hidden within the mystery,

how could you know that a lotus can be planted in fire?

Guide the White Tiger—an Neidan term for Yin energy or Jing (essence) within the body—home and nourish it there;

then a luminous pearl will form, round and full like the moon.

Do not merely tend the medicine furnace and watch the firing times;

simply settle the mind and breath, and let them follow their natural course.

When all Yin has been dispelled, the internal alchemical elixir is complete;

you transcend the mortal body and attain enduring life.

Dao Guang says: By ordinary human standards, men cannot become pregnant, and lotuses cannot be planted in fire. Yet the immortals, through their cultivation, know the wondrous methods of reversing Yin-Yang and transforming the processes of creation. They can make men pregnant and plant lotuses in fire. This is what is meant by “reversal.”

The sun belongs to the Li trigram and ordinarily symbolizes the male, yet it is treated as female; the moon belongs to the Kan trigram and ordinarily symbolizes the female, yet it is treated as male. This is the reversal of Yin-Yang. When these two forces are transformed in this way, they combine to form the Elixir. Then this Elixir is used to transform one’s own mercury—a Neidan term for the body’s Yin essence and Qi—and form the sacred embryo. This is like a man becoming pregnant. Is this not reversal upon reversal?

The Dragon and Tiger are transformations of the True One’s essence—the original, innate essence and Qi. They divide into two forms and dwell in the east and west, respectively. In truth, they come from the same place; they have different names only because they occupy different positions. The True One’s essence belongs to mercury, is called the Azure Dragon, and dwells in the east. The White Tiger, meanwhile, is born from the True One’s essence and resides in the west, though its ancestral home is in the east. The Immortal Master says: “The Metal Lord is originally the son of the eastern house; sent to the western neighbor, he lodges there to be born. Recognize him, call him back, and raise him at home; match him with the Maiden to make them kin.” This means drawing the White Tiger back to its ancestral home and joining it with the Azure Dragon as husband and wife, so that they produce the bright pearl.

“Full moon” refers to the outer medicine’s symbolic image in Golden Elixir cultivation. First, take the western half of the waxing moon to obtain eight ounces of Yang Metal; then take the eastern half of the waning moon to obtain half a catty of Yin Water. The essences of these two half-moons combine to form the Elixir, so the Golden Elixir takes the shape of the full moon.

After obtaining this Elixir, swallow it into the abdomen—that is, draw the White Tiger into the body—and combine it with one’s own mercury. Then, using the Yin Talisman and Yang Fire to refine it, make the Golden Liquid Returned Elixir. This is the symbolic image of the inner medicine; the single pill obtained here also represents a weight of one catty. “Full moon” also symbolizes the trigrams used in refining the fire: each hexagram has six lines, and the sixty-four hexagrams have 384 lines in all, representing one catty of 384 zhu.

The Cantong qi (Token for Joining the Three) also uses the phases of the moon to explain the symbolic image of the outer medicine: “The waxing half-moon corresponds to the Dui number eight; the waning half-moon, too, corresponds to eight in Gen. When the essences of the two halves unite, the forms of Heaven and Earth are complete. Two eights make one catty; the Way of Change remains upright and undistorted.” When the Immortal Master speaks of the full moon, he wants those who study the Dao to understand the principles of creation and transformation. The “two eights” refer to different numbers in the accounts of the inner and outer medicines, and must not be confused.

The “fire” spoken of here is not ordinary worldly fire, but the primordial Qi of the Origin—the innate, original Qi that is the root of all things. Nor is there any tangible furnace or cauldron to hold on to. Qingxia Zi says: “The cauldron is no metal cauldron; the furnace is no jade furnace. Fire issues from beneath Li; water accords with the center of Kan. Once the three surnames have joined, the two substances are naturally drawn together. Seal it firmly so the embryo does not leak; transformation takes place in an instant.” Gao Xiangxian also says: “Heaven and Earth mingle, male and female unite; the Four Symbols and Five Phases follow their measured course. Day and night, Tun and Meng, follow the natural pattern; why labor so intently over the fire’s timing?” Both passages speak of a furnace fire that arises naturally.

In cultivation, one need only settle the spirit and regulate the breath, applying the gentle fire according to its proper measure, without the slightest error. In less than half an hour, the Elixir will be refined. Afterward, one applies extraction and replenishment according to the advancing and retreating cycles of the Yin Talisman and Yang Fire, while guarding against danger. When ten months of cultivation are complete, Yin Qi is wholly eliminated and the body becomes pure Yang. One can then escape the bonds of mortal life and live for ten thousand years. This is what is called the Golden Liquid Returned Elixir. To reach a higher realm, one must continue cultivating for nine more years, until Qi returns to Shen; only then is it called the Nine-Turn Golden Liquid Great Returned Elixir.

Ziye said: “‘Yin and Yang in reversal’ means that Yang exists within Yin and Yin within Yang. It is like planting a lotus in fire: water is contained within fire, Yang is hidden within Yin, and even within destruction there is the seed of life. ‘White Tiger’ refers to the essence of Metal, the essence transformed from Metal Qi. ‘White’ describes its nature, while ‘tiger’ describes how difficult it is to tame. The essence of Metal originally belongs to us, but after birth it disperses outward. Now that we recognize it again, we must work to draw it back. It is like the moon and like a pearl, and symbolizes the medicine. Once the medicine has been obtained, the way to nurture it with warmth is to calm the mind and regulate the breath, letting things proceed naturally. Nurturing it does not mean stubbornly tending the furnace, adding eight liang in the morning and replacing half a jin in the evening.

Shangyangzi said: “Within Yin and Yang lies the turning point of reversal and transformation, and the Golden Elixir has a method of return. ‘Planting a lotus in fire’ means using Kan water to bring it back to Li fire. The White Tiger is something difficult to tame; it is the Qi contained within Taiyi, the primordial unity of Qi. Drawing it back into oneself means bringing this Qi under control. The bright pearl is the Golden Elixir. After obtaining the Golden Elixir, one circulates one’s own Mercury Qi—a cultivation term associated with the mind-spirit and Yang Qi—and harmonizes Shen and the breath to nurture it with warmth. The Zhuangzi says: ‘The breathing of the True Person is deep, as though it comes from the heels.’ Guang Chengzi said: ‘There is no need to labor over the turning of the elixir furnace and river chariot; the crane-embryo’s nurturing breath and the tortoise’s long, deep breathing continue of themselves, unbroken.’ This is what is meant by cultivating the mind-spirit and the breath. When Yin Qi has been exhausted and Yang Qi is pure and complete, one can become a True Person, transcend the ordinary, and enter the realm of the sage.

“Of all those who have truly understood the meaning of the words ‘Three, Five, One, All’ from ancient times to the present, very few indeed.

The East corresponds to three, and the South to two; together they make five. The North corresponds to one, and the West to four; together they also make five.

Wu and Ji occupy the center and represent the generative number five. When the three families meet, they form the infant.

The infant is a whole that contains true Qi. After ten months of gestation and nurturing, the fetal Qi becomes complete, forming the foundation for entering the realm of the sage.”

Dao Guang says: In the Five Phases, Wood has the number three and corresponds to the east; Fire has the number two and corresponds to the south. Wood can generate Fire, and the two belong to the same category, so two and three combine to make five. Metal has the number four and corresponds to the west; Water has the number one and corresponds to the north. Metal can generate Water, and the two likewise belong to the same category, so four and one combine to make five. Wu and Ji belong to Earth, whose own number is five. In this way, there are three groups of five. The three groups of five combine and return to one; this is why it is called “Three Fives Returning to One.” Since ancient times, very few people have been able to make the Three Fives return to one and form the Elixir.

The “one” spoken of here means the Elixir: the true Qi of unity that existed before Heaven and Earth, the mother of all things in the cosmos. The true Qi of unity within me is the child Qi born of Heaven and Earth. To bring the mother Qi under the sway of the child Qi is like catching a mouse and preventing it from escaping. The child and mother Qi cling to one another in the womb and form an infant. “The Great One contains the true Qi” means that the Great One holds the true Qi of unity within it. Cultivation is like pregnancy: after ten months, when the time is complete, the sacred embryo is naturally born. When one’s practice is complete, one naturally attains the sacred realm. Hence the saying: “When the embryo is complete after ten months, one enters the foundation of becoming a sage.”

Zi Ye says: “Three Fives Returning to One” refers to the numbers of the Five Phases—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. “One” is the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). Before the Five Phases combine, each displays its own distinct nature; once they combine, they return to a single Taiji. If a person can unite the Five Phases as one, they can return to the primordial state of chaos, and the infant will begin to appear. This is the meaning of “the three families meet”; its mystery lies precisely here. When the ten-month cycle has run its course and the time arrives, Qi naturally transforms and accords with the pivotal moment in cultivation described by the ancient sages.

Shangyangzi says: “Three is the number Heaven assigns to generate Wood, and two is the number Earth assigns to generate Fire. Fire’s number is two, and Wood’s is three. Both three and two belong to Yang, so together they make five. Wood corresponds to the east and takes the image of the Azure Dragon. The Dragon’s Qi is called Mercury Fire. It lies in the south and takes the image of the Vermilion Bird. Wood generates Fire, so Wood is the substance, while Fire is the Qi generated by Wood; Wood and Fire belong to the same family. Yet Wood and Fire each contain a solitary Yin within Yang, so they are also called ‘Darkness,’ ‘Nonbeing,’ and ‘Mystery.’ They have Wood and Fire, but lack Metal, Water, and Yang Earth.

“One is the number Heaven assigns to generate Water, and four is the number Earth assigns to generate Metal. Metal’s number is four, and Water’s is one. Both one and four belong to Yin, so together they also make five. Metal corresponds to the west and takes the image of the White Tiger. The Tiger’s Qi is called Lead Water. It lies in the north and takes the image of the Black Tortoise. Metal generates Water, so Metal is the substance, while Water is the Qi generated by Metal; Metal and Water belong to the same family. Yet Metal and Water each contain a trace of lesser Yang within Yin, so they are also called ‘Female,’ ‘Being,’ and ‘Boundary.’ They have Metal and Water, but lack Wood, Fire, and Yin Earth.

“Five is the number of Yin Earth, while ten is the number of Yang Earth. Yang Earth lies in the Kan position, the northern Water position; Yin Earth lies in the Li position, the southern Fire position. When Yang and Yin Earth are separate, their numbers add up to ten; when they come together, they resemble the form of a ceremonial jade tablet and their number is five. Earth occupies the center, so it is called ‘one-five.’ Taken together, these are the three fives: Wood in the Zhen position and Fire in the Li position belong to the same family; the Dragon is the gateway of the Zhen position, where Mercury is produced. Metal in the Dui position and Water in the Kan position belong to the same family; the Tiger is the gateway of the Dui position, where Lead is formed. Yin Earth in the Li position and Yang Earth in the Kan position share the same root; the Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise unite and bring forth things. This is called ‘the three families sharing one purpose,’ joining to become one family.

“The Dragon and Vermilion Bird represent generation and growth; the Tiger and Black Tortoise represent decline and destruction. This is the ordinary order of the world. To cultivate an elixir that transcends the world, one must reverse this ordinary order and transform it. The key lies in Yang and Yin Earth. Why? Metal is naturally drawn to Wood and has a benevolent disposition, yet inwardly tends to follow other things, so it cannot unite with Wood on its own. Wood, though it loves Metal and is willing to accord with what is right, has an inner nature of bending and unfolding, and likewise cannot unite with Metal on its own. Yang and Yin Earth must mediate between them to bring them together.

“Yang Earth can generate Metal, strengthening Metal’s Qi and thus bringing about their union. Yin Earth is overcome by Wood, so the cultivator must first refine the self and maintain careful discipline, thereby seeking the Elixir. ‘Refining the self’ is a practice in Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) that tempers the mind and nature and gathers in one’s thoughts. Without first refining the self and waiting for the right moment, one cannot respond to things at all times while keeping the mind still. Once the self has been thoroughly refined, one can then unite with Yang Earth. When Yang and Yin Earth unite, Metal and Wood meet. When Metal and Wood meet, Dragon and Tiger join. When Dragon and Tiger join, the three fives return to one. When the three fives return to one, the three families meet. When the three families meet, Lead and Mercury congeal. When Lead and Mercury congeal, the infant takes shape. In the end, the whole process is a transformation of this one Qi.

“The Buddha said: ‘Between Heaven and Earth there is a secret chamber, hidden within the human form.’ This refers to the mystery of the Great One, the ultimate and pure source, concealing the true Qi. Thus, when the Five Phases are separate, they are called by the different names of the true Dao; when the Five Phases unite, one Qi emerges. When the one Qi congeals, the infant takes shape; when the infant appears, one ultimately becomes a True Person.”

If you do not recognize the true “True Lead”—a Neidan term for the essential ingredient used in alchemy—you cannot grasp the foundation of cultivation. No matter how much effort you put into other practices, it will all be wasted.

Do not imagine that repudiating your wife can sever Yin and Yang, or that abstaining from food can empty the stomach and intestines. Plants and trees, gold and silver, are merely impurities with form; visions of clouds and rosy skies, the sun and moon, are also vague and unreal. Even when combined with breathing practices and visualization, these have nothing to do with cultivating the Golden Elixir.

Dao Guang said, “The key to True Lead rests on ‘two and eight’ as its foundation. Other methods are not the Great Dao; they only waste effort.” The Song on Breaking Delusion says, “Repudiating one’s wife is not the Dao; Yin and Yang then lose their rightful place. Fasting is not the Dao either; in the end, one will die like a hungry ghost.” Perfected Wang said, “If those who study the Dao forcibly take leave of their wives and concubines, yet fail to understand the principle of Wuwei, in which nothing is done yet nothing is left undone…” The Dao’s essence follows nature. How could deliberate, contrived actions be compared with cultivating the Golden Elixir?

Ziye says: What use is there in divorcing one’s wife and abstaining from food in order to cultivate? Plants, trees, gold, and silver are things with form and substance; clouds, rosy vapors, the sun, and the moon are external, deviant energies. Breath practices and visualizing the spirit also arise from delusion. None of this is what is meant by true lead subduing true mercury. It is still far from the Great Way of the Golden Elixir.

Shangyangzi says: True lead is the Qi born of the “numinous father and holy mother.” Without this Qi, what could one use to enter the chamber and practice the methods? People are born between Heaven and Earth, receiving the essence of an ordinary father and the blood of an ordinary mother, and so they acquire a body. The way of cultivating immortality and becoming a Buddha likewise cannot be separated from these; only when the parents involved are the numinous father and holy mother can it be called true lead.

What is “numinous”? To respond to things at any moment while remaining calm and clear is called numinous. Reversing the usual process of generation and transformation is also called numinous. What is “holy”? The initial division of Taiji (the primordial state before Heaven and Earth and the myriad things differentiated) is called holy; a tiger that does not harm people is also called holy. Only by possessing this numinous and holy quality can one understand the source of true lead.

The body’s supply of Jing and Qi is limited. If it is entirely depleted through leakage, how can the body endure? If one cherishes and preserves it, the body can grow strong and life can be prolonged. Then, by obtaining true lead and refining it, could one not become an immortal? If people in the world do not have an enlightened master explain what true lead really is, then even if they practice all 3,600 heterodox methods, they will only waste their strength. How could they hope to achieve anything?

The myriad volumes of immortal scriptures may seem to offer many teachings,

but in the end they all come down to the same thing.

The Great Way of the Golden Elixir has its root right here.

Following the foundation generated from the Kun position (which symbolizes Yin and the mother),

plant it in the Gengjiao Palace of the Qian house (an inner region where Yang Qi joins and responds).

Do not blame the immortals for revealing too much of Heaven’s secret;

it is the students themselves who are confused and do not understand.

If someone grasps the meaning of this poem,

they will at once understand the realm of the Three Pure Ones and the Most High.

Daoguang says: In the end, the myriad alchemical scriptures should all return to one fundamental principle: follow the principle by which the Kun Mother generates the myriad things, then cultivate in reverse, placing the seed in the Gengjiao Palace of the Qian house. The Immortal Master has disclosed Heaven’s secret in full here, yet students remain deeply confused and refuse to seek proof close at hand, within themselves. By doing so, they could understand the Great Way and refine a Golden Elixir as small as a grain of millet, causing it to rise and unite with Heaven.

Ziye said, “‘He’ refers to the Kun position, which symbolizes Yin; ‘I’ refers to the Qian household, which symbolizes Yang. This describes how Yin and Yang unite and bring things into being. To cultivate in reverse according to this principle, one must plant the foundation in the place where Yin and Yang interact within the Qian household. The Immortal Elder has already revealed the whole secret of Heaven here, yet students of the Dao often confuse themselves. They refuse to look close at their own bodies to understand the utmost Dao and refine an inner Golden Elixir (Neidan) as small as a millet grain, then raise it up to unite with Heaven.”

Ziye also said, “‘He’ is the Kun position, and ‘I’ is the Qian household. By drawing on the Qi that gives rise to all things within Kun and planting a spiritual root beneath one’s own inner realm, one can form a sacred embryo—the inner fetal breath or elixir embryo produced through cultivation.”

Shangyangzi said: The mystery of the Golden Elixir fundamentally depends on lead and mercury, its two essential materials. Because people in the world do not understand that the Golden Elixir has these foundations, they also fail to grasp the mysteries of Neidan and Waidan.

Setting up a furnace and establishing a vessel belong to the language of outer practice. Taking Qian as the dwelling and Kun as the position also belongs to the language of outer practice. Explaining things through Li, Ji, Kan, and Wu belongs to the same category. Metal essence and Wood fluid belong to the language of inner practice; red lead and black mercury do too. So does the primordial Qi of the precelestial state—the original Qi that existed before Heaven and Earth took form. Yet although this primordial Qi is called inner, it comes from outside. For this reason, the immortal masters left the secret formula “planting by means of the other.”

The Cantong qi says, “Cinnabar and Wood essence, when they obtain Metal, can unite.” It also says, “The solar flowing pearl always seeks to leave the person; in the end, it obtains the Golden Flower and turns to depend on it.” Both passages speak of the same substance: lead and Metal. They borrow the worldly principle of procreation between men and women, then reverse the process and sow it in the Qian Palace—the Neidan site where precelestial essence and Qi are refined. Thus Zhenyizi said, “Make man and woman anew, much like husband and wife.” This is what he meant.

True immortals and sage masters, moved by compassion, reveal and teach the way, guiding people to its entrance. Their intentions are exceedingly broad, yet they cannot help but let heavenly secrets slip. How can students of the Dao cling to shallow and foolish views, lose themselves in delusion, and repeatedly slander and disrupt the immortal scriptures? Know that once the human body is lost, even a thousand myriad kalpas cannot restore it. Therefore, reflect again and again, observe carefully, and receive these teachings with seriousness.

Alas, if people in the world were not deluded, everyone could accomplish this. I respectfully say that wherever this book may be, it is protected by a million divine troops. How could anyone treat it lightly? Companions who study the Way of the Immortals, if fate brings you together and you encounter this book, should honor it at all times, accept and practice its teachings faithfully, harbor no doubts, and cultivate diligently. Then you can soon ascend to the rank of Celestial Immortal.

End of Volume Two of Three Commentaries on the Awakening to Reality by Perfected Ziyang

Volume Three of Three Commentaries on the Awakening to Reality by Perfected Ziyang

The commentators are Zixian Xue Daoguang, Ziye Lu Shu, and Shangyangzi Chen Zhixu.

First establish Heaven and Earth (Qian and Kun) as the cauldron and furnace for refining the Elixir, then gather the sun and moon (the Crow and Rabbit, commonly used to symbolize Yin-Yang Qi) as ingredients for the refining process. Next, guide these two currents of Qi into the Yellow Path, the central route along which Yin and Yang meet and move. How could the Golden Elixir fail to form?

Daoguang says: In the scripture, the sun and moon originally symbolize the essence and Qi of Heaven and Earth. The sages use Qian and Kun to represent the cauldron and furnace, and the sun and moon to represent the ingredients. Qian and Kun are also the “True Dragon and True Tiger”; the sun and moon are the Qi produced when the Dragon and Tiger join. The sages use names and images to explain the principle. The subtle point lies in bringing the essence of the True One, the pure and unified essence, into the Yellow Path.

Ziye says: I am the Qian cauldron, and the other is the Kun vessel. When Qian and Kun unite, their two currents of Qi gather in the Central Palace, the center of inner cultivation. Advance the Fire and nourish the talisman in accordance with the prescribed method, without the slightest deviation. How could the Golden Elixir fail to form?

Shangyangzi says: What are the cauldron and vessel? They are the numinous father and sacred mother—that is, the Qian male and Kun female. What are the ingredients? They are the Qi of the numinous father and sacred mother, and the essence of the Qian male and Kun female. Refine the essence and Qi of these two families within the Spirit Chamber, the inner place of cultivation, and the numinous elixir can form. When Huangfang Gong says, “Hold Qian and Kun in your hands, swallow the sun and moon,” this is what he means.

Setting up the furnace and establishing the cauldron and vessel follow the principles of Qian and Kun; refining the essence is used to regulate the Po and Hun. Yin and Yang Qi gather and disperse, giving rise to all kinds of transformations. How could such a subtle principle be treated lightly?

Daoguang says: Yang Qi accumulates to form Heaven. Heaven is above and does not moisten what lies below; Yin Qi accumulates to form Earth. Earth is below and does not rise upward. Only when Yin and Yang Qi mingle do transformations arise. How could such a subtle principle be spoken of lightly?

Daoguang says: When the various Yang energies gather, they become Heaven. Heaven is above, yet cannot moisten what is below. When the various Yin energies gather, they become Earth. Earth is below, yet cannot warm what is above. This is why the Qi of Heaven and Earth do not meet. If they do not meet, how can change arise and the myriad things be nourished? Although Heaven is purely Yang, it contains a measure of Yin, which enables it to descend to Earth. Although Earth is purely Yin, it contains a measure of Yang, which enables it to rise to Heaven. When Yin and Yang Qi mingle, the myriad things are transformed into life. The method of refining the Golden Elixir is to set up the furnace and cauldron, refine the essence, and thereby regulate the hun and po souls. These practices all take Heaven and Earth as their model, using the union of Yin and Yang to bring about creation and transformation. Cultivation begins by generating being from nonbeing, then returns from being to nonbeing. When change can occur within the formless, this is called change without limit, and is also known as the celestial mechanism—the mystery of how Heaven and Earth operate and how alchemical practice unfolds.

Ziye says: Setting up the furnace and establishing the cauldron means modeling oneself on Heaven and Earth. Earth below and Heaven above symbolize the Tai hexagram, in which the Qi of Heaven and Earth meets; Heaven above and Earth below symbolize the Pi hexagram, in which their Qi does not meet. The subtlety of Yin and Yang Qi mingling and transforming is deeply mysterious in its meaning.

Shangyangzi says: The furnace and cauldron are metaphors for the practitioner and what is being refined. Qian and Kun—Heaven and Earth, also used to refer to Yin and Yang—are metaphors for man and woman. The Qi produced by the union of the numinous father and sacred mother is called essence, and is also called the divine water of the Flower Pool. Refining this into an elixir within the body born of ordinary parents is all an imitation of the creative transformation of Heaven and Earth.

Do not become attached to the elixir furnace and waste your efforts. To refine the medicine, you must find the Crescent Moon Furnace, shaped like an upward-facing crescent and symbolizing the place of inner cultivation.

The true timing and intensity of the fire arise naturally; no firewood or charcoal is needed, nor is fanning required to kindle the flame.

Daoguang says: The Crescent Moon Furnace opens upward like a crescent moon. This refers to the Yin Sea, a Daoist Neidan term for a place of cultivation within the body. The primordial ancestral Qi, the Qi at the source of all things, is present there. What need is there for firewood, charcoal, or fanning?

Ziye says: Ye Wenshu claimed that the two kidneys were the Crescent Moon Furnace. This mistaken gloss shows his ignorance and has seriously misled people.

Shangyangzi says: The Pure Yang Adept (Lü Dongbin) said, “On the River Bend, I saw the moonlight, clear, cool, and bright.” This refers to the Crescent Moon Furnace. The “Western River” spoken of by the Buddha likewise refers only to this aperture.

From the Crescent Moon Furnace grows the jade pistil; in the Cinnabar Cauldron, the mercury becomes calm.

When the firing process has been adjusted just right, one can plant the Yellow Sprout (the nascent elixir Qi in Neidan cultivation) and let it gradually grow to maturity.

Daoguang says: In the Crescent Furnace, which symbolizes Yin, there is Yang Qi like a jade pistil—the tiger’s first-string Qi. In the Cinnabar Cauldron, which symbolizes Yang, there is Yin Qi like mercury—the dragon’s first-string Qi. To refine the Golden Elixir, these two first-string Qi must be brought into harmony and joined together. This plants a single Yellow Sprout, which eventually forms an elixir pearl the size of a millet grain.

Shangyangzi says: The jade pistil in the Crescent Furnace is Yang contained within Yin, that is, what lies within the Kan trigram. The mercury in the Cinnabar Cauldron is Yin contained within Yang, that is, the fire within the Li trigram. When the two Qi of Yin and Yang interact, they produce the Yellow Sprout, and the elixir can then condense into form.

Swallowing saliva and taking in breath are things anyone can do. But the medicines—that is, the true Qi and medicines spoken of in Neidan cultivation—are needed to bring about transformation.

If the cauldron contains no true seed, it is like putting water and fire into an empty pot to boil.

Daoguang says: Many people in the world swallow saliva and take in breath, but they do not realize that these are formed after birth and are Yin substances, not primordial Qi. The primordial, true One Qi is hidden in a dim, obscure realm, vague and difficult to grasp, and hard to seek out or perceive. Only through the ancient sages’ use of the method of fire—the firing process and methods of refinement in Neidan cultivation—could it be transformed, refined, and condensed into an elixir. This Qi is called the “true seed.” The scripture says: “Subduing the breath is not simply taking in breath; before breath can be taken in, it must first be brought to rest. Taking in breath alone cannot bring long life; to attain long life, the breath must first be brought to rest.”

Ziye says: The true seed is true lead. The Cantong qi says: “To sow grain, use millet; to hatch a hen, use an egg.”

Shangyangzi says: If things lacked Yin and Yang, how could they grow and reproduce? If a person lacked a true seed, how could they conceive? Swallowing saliva and taking in breath are merely the body’s own postnatal Yin Qi. Isolated Yin cannot generate; solitary Yang cannot grow. Only when Yin and Yang are both real and join together can one obtain the true seed. Ah, what a wondrous mystery this is!

Only by harmonizing lead and mercury—terms in Neidan that respectively symbolize Yin and Yang substances and their Qi dynamics—can the elixir be refined. Whether large or small, neither may be diminished; both must be complete.

To harmonize lead and mercury, the key is to bring them into proper balance, so that neither Yin nor Yang is harmed when they are refined into an elixir. If you ask what true lead is, its moonlike radiance shines all day over the rivers and plains of the west.

Daoguang says: Set the Dragon in motion, and the fire of mercury will rise; harness the Tiger, and the radiance of lead will flash. The Qi of Yin and Yang mingle and transform, and a single point of primordial Qi, present from before birth, congeals into an elixir. The Dragon is large and the Tiger small: this reflects the principle that Yang is honored and Yin is subordinate, without either being harmed. “Toadlight” refers to the essence of Metal and Water. Ancient practitioners believed that on the night of the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the sage joined the Qi of Metal and Wood, forming the essence of the True One. Hence the saying that moonlight shines all day over the western riverlands.

Ziye says: The key to obtaining lead and subduing mercury is balance: neither too much nor too little. Too much may injure one side; too little may prevent the elixir from forming. “Large and small” refer to Yin and Yang. The Book of Changes says, “The great departs; the small arrives.” The toadlight shining over the western riverlands means that Water contains Metal.

Shangyangzi says: The eldest son of the Qian trigram is the Zhen trigram, called “large,” and it governs the production of mercury. The youngest daughter of the Kun trigram is the Dui trigram, called “small,” and it governs the production of lead. When Zhen and Dui are harmonized, neither harms the other. “Both realms remain whole” means that the other side suffers no loss, while my side also succeeds. True lead is born in the Dui trigram, whose direction is west.

Do not enter the mountains before you have refined the Returning Elixir; neither in the mountains nor beyond them is there any lead.

This treasure is found in every household, but foolish people cannot fully recognize it.

Daoguang says: The Dragon is not in the Eastern Sea, nor is the Tiger in the western riverlands. Everyone already has them at home. By cultivating according to the method of reversing the course, one may hope to refine the Returning Elixir.

Ziye says: To regain what was lost is called “returning”; to come back after departing is called “reverting.” The key to elixir refinement lies in lead. Everyone has this lead, but, alas, people do not recognize it.

Shangyangzi said: Whenever people see a place with strikingly beautiful mountains and waters, they all say it is suited to cultivation. Throughout the ages, countless people have gone astray because of this. How could they know that deep mountains and secluded valleys are merely places where trees, stones, and deer make their homes? None of these are the “same kind” needed to refine the Great Returning Elixir. To refine the Returning Elixir, one must seek the same kind. As for where it can be found, a cultivator can withdraw from the world and practice even while living amid the bustle of the marketplace. The immortal master’s earlier verse, “Why keep to solitude and stillness in deep mountains?” speaks precisely to this point. The title makes the same meaning clear and gets right to the heart of the matter. True Lead—an alchemical term for the essential substance, or true nature, required in Neidan cultivation—is originally present in everyone. Yet people gradually lose sight of it amid lives of dullness, intoxication, and confusion. Without meeting a true teacher, who could recognize it?

When a bamboo vessel breaks, it must be mended with bamboo. When a hen is to hatch chicks, it must sit on eggs.

Using things of an entirely different kind is a waste of effort. How could that bring True Lead into accord with the principles of the sacred Dao?

Daoguang said: If a bamboo vessel breaks, can it be mended with metal or wood? To restore the vessel, one must patch it with bamboo. When a hen is about to hatch eggs, can they be hatched with earth or water? To hatch chicks, one must use eggs. The Perfected Tao said: “A broken bamboo stalk must be joined with bamboo; broken wood must be mended with wood. A leaking roof is covered with tiles; when a person grows weak, they must be supported by something of the corresponding kind.” The same kind must also be sought in cultivating the way of the Celestial Immortals, so that one accords with the principles of the sacred Dao.

Ziye said: When the Perfected Ziyang speaks of this, he truly takes us step by step into its depths.

Shangyangzi said: Since ancient times, the immortals have not been willing to explain their secret arts plainly. Speak too plainly, and people will mock you. In the Jing Mirror for Compounding the Medicine, Cui Gong uses just three phrases to point out the principle:

“To use lead, one must not use ordinary lead;

Even if True Lead is obtained, it will be cast aside.”

These words mean that the lead used in refining the elixir cannot be ordinary lead. And even if one obtains True Lead, without understanding how to use it, one will simply cast it away.

This is the true secret of using “lead”; there is indeed good reason for speaking of lead in alchemical cultivation.

Daoguang says: What people commonly call “lead” is something formed after birth and mixed with impurities. “True lead” refers to the primordial Qi of the True One. A person’s Jing and Qi dissipate day by day, making it difficult for them to gather into the “Holy Fetus,” the state that symbolizes the completion of the Elixir in Neidan cultivation. The cultivator refines and obtains true lead, settles it, and condenses it into “cinnabar”—a symbol of the gathered inner Elixir—then regulates the firing process day by day, gradually adding “mercury,” the alchemical counterpart to lead and a symbol of another kind of Jing and Qi. As the mercury Qi gradually increases, the lead Qi gradually decreases; the subtlety lies in this process of increase and decrease. When the firing process is complete after ten months and the cycle of six hundred hexagrams has run its course, the lead Qi rises and disperses, leaving only “pure yang mercury.” When the lead is exhausted and the mercury is spent, it transforms into the “Great Elixir of Golden Liquids.” The body becomes pure Yang, enabling one to live as long as Heaven.

Having learned this, the cultivator should recognize that the master’s kindness can never be repaid. One must therefore vow, beneath Heaven, Earth, the Sun, and the Moon, to attain the Dao in return for the master’s kindness. To betray the master’s kindness would be like betraying Heaven, Earth, the Sun, and the Moon.

Ziye says: Using lead is like catching fish with a fish trap or rabbits with a snare. The fish and rabbits are caught with the help of tools; once they are caught, the tools are no longer useful. It is also like smelting silver in a pool of lead: once the silver has been extracted, the lead is no longer used. Only when you understand this principle do you understand how to use lead.

Shangyangzi says: The Laozi says, “Heaven and Earth have no achievements that accomplish everything; sages have no abilities that can do everything; the myriad things have no functions that are suited to everything.” Understand this deeply, and you will see that once true lead has been used, it should be let go.

The two ideas of “emptying the heart and filling the belly” are both profound. But when it comes to emptying the heart, the key lies in recognizing one’s own heart.

It is better first to refine lead and fill the belly, then to guard this abundance of gold and jade.

Daoguang says: Guard the Jing and Qi to fill the belly; when the belly is full, it is like a hall filled with gold and jade. Embrace and guard the “One”—a term in Daoist inner cultivation for single-mindedness and holding to the center—to make the heart empty and still. When the heart is empty, not a single distracting thought remains. When the heart is empty and still, use the refinement of lead to regulate and cultivate it; when the heart and spirit are full, embrace and guard the “One” to sustain them. In this way, both body and spirit attain a wondrous state and unite with the Dao. Those who cultivate the inner Elixir are like those who refine lead to obtain gold: they must not act rashly or dissipate their Jing and Qi. If Jing and Qi are insufficient, the inner Elixir will be difficult to complete.

Ziye said: When the mind is clear and open, distracting thoughts become quiet, and not a trace of worldly thought remains within it. When the Jing and Qi in the abdomen are full, the Neidan can be refined to completion. In practice, one must maintain the “Four Guardings,” the methods of holding and sustaining used in cultivation. When both body and spirit reach a subtle, integrated state, one can unite with the Dao and realize the truth. Those who cultivate Neidan are like those refining lead into gold: they must not deplete their own Jing and Qi. If Jing and Qi are insufficient, the Neidan cannot be completed.

Ziye said: When the mind is clear and open, distracting thoughts are quiet, and not a trace of worldly thought remains within it, the Jing and Qi in the abdomen become full and the Neidan can be refined to completion. The body’s “Four Great Elements”—earth, water, fire, and wind, the elements that make up the human body—will also grow strong. When distracting thoughts are quiet and the Neidan is complete, body and spirit alike reach a subtle, integrated state.

Shangyangzi said: Without diligent work in “refining the self”—cultivating one’s nature and restraining distracting thoughts—it is impossible to make the mind clear and open. If one cannot preserve Jing and Qi and curb desire, then however skilled one may be at refining lead, it will be difficult to fill the abdomen with Jing and Qi and bring the spirit to fullness. Let the mind be empty yet able to respond to circumstances; let the abdomen be full yet remain quiet. Able both to respond and to be quiet, one can abide continually in stillness and purity. Some people today exhaust their Jing and Qi, yet think that this is what it means to understand cultivation of the mind. The Immortal Elder taught people to guard and accumulate Jing and Qi: only when the home is filled with gold and jade can one return to the root and restore the origin.

In a dream, I paid homage to Xihua and ascended to the highest reaches of the Nine Heavens. A Perfected One transmitted to me the Finger-Pointing to the Mysterious.

The principles set forth in the text are plain and require few words: they teach only the refinement of Mercury and Lead.

Daoguang said: The Tathagata, the Buddhist honorific for a Buddha, once said, “Only this one thing is true.” The other two teachings are false. In the Dao of the Golden Elixir, there is no wondrous method beyond Mercury and Lead.

Ziye said: Gao Xiangxian yearned for the true Dao day and night. Before he knew it, his soul had journeyed to the Jade Capital, a celestial realm of immortals. The Supreme Emperor then ordered the Lady of Supreme Unity of Xihua to transmit to him the secret formulas of the Golden Elixir. The text says: “Heaven and Earth are the gateway through which Yin and Yang unite. Heaven is Yang, like a man; Earth is Yin, like a woman. People do not understand true Yin and Yang, and so they wander aimlessly through Heaven and Earth in search of the Dragon and Tiger, symbols of Yin and Yang in internal alchemy.” It also says: “Shutong and Wei Boyang traveled together, smiling as they entered the Land of Nothingness, a realm beyond the ordinary world.” The secret formulas of the Golden Elixir say that Lianshan, an ancient classic of the Changes, was developed into the Cantong qi, which has remained the foremost alchemical classic through the ages. The Perfected One spoke at length, but in the end it all comes down to refining Lead and preparing Mercury.

Shangyangzi said: Those who set their hearts on pursuing the Great Dao are already endowed with the qualities of an immortal and perfected person. Even between sleep and breath, they never forget the Great Dao for a moment. Thus, in their dreams they often associate with perfected immortals and supreme sages. Why is this so? Heaven has no favored intimates; it supports only those who possess virtue.

The Great Dao gives rise to a Qi from the midst of nonbeing, and this Qi then divides into Yin and Yang.

Yin and Yang join once more and produce three forms. These three continue to transform and generate, and all things flourish and thrive.

Daoguang said: The Great Dao is originally formless and void, yet it can appear as Qi with form. Qi is originally substantial, yet it is a formless form. When being and nonbeing interact, they produce “One.” “One” gives birth to “Two,” “Two” to “Three,” and “Three” to all things. All things turn their backs to Yin and face Yang, harmonizing the two through the Qi of balanced openness.

Before things take shape, the harmonizing Qi of Yin and Yang cannot be seen. When forms begin to appear in the void, clear and luminous Qi becomes Yang, while turbid Qi becomes Yin. The two Qi blend and join with one another, and Heaven, Earth, and humanity—the three—come into being. The Book of Changes says: “When the Qi of Heaven and Earth mingle, all things are thereby richly brought forth; when male and female unite, all things are thereby propagated.”

Thus, sages investigate the signs of these transformations and come to know the source of all things. By plumbing their subtle workings, they understand how all things come into being. They can therefore return to the root and source, readjust and fuse Yin and Yang, and reverse the process of natural creation. They take the mother Qi of Heaven and Earth and refine it into an elixir, using the essential Qi of Yin and Yang as the timing of the fire. They refine the body so that its form returns to a single Qi; they refine Qi so that it returns to the void. In this way, they bring themselves into accord with the Great Dao and reach a subtle, all-pervading state. Their transformations are boundless, and their appearance and disappearance impossible to fathom. Such a person is therefore called a “Realized Person.”

Ziye said: The text here repeats much of what came before and includes phrases such as “One gives birth to Two and the elixir.” Its meaning is still that the essential Qi of Yin and Yang is used as the timing of the fire; the body is refined so that its form returns to a single Qi, and Qi is then refined so that it returns to the void. In this way, the body and the Dao become one, subtle and all-pervading, with boundless transformations and an appearance and disappearance impossible to fathom. Such a person is called a Realized Person.

Ziye says, “One gives rise to two, two gives rise to three, and three then transforms and brings forth the myriad things.” This describes the formation of the true body within the sacred embryo. Though it can manifest in hundreds of millions of forms, its transformations are never exhausted. The Four Hundred Words on the Golden Elixir says, “After a year of pregnancy, a child is born; each child can ride a crane.” Old Man Nitan also says, “After a year of pregnancy, a child is born; the child has a grandchild, and the grandchild in turn has descendants.” These statements all explain the principle that “three gives rise to the myriad things.”

Shangyangzi says: Dao gives rise to one Qi; one Qi forms the body, and within the body is contained the original primordial Qi. This is the precelestial true One Qi. When precelestial Qi moves in the forward direction, it becomes a human being; when it moves in reverse, it becomes the Elixir. “Reverse” refers to a man forming an embryo; “forward” refers to a woman becoming pregnant. The further gestation spoken of here refers specifically to cultivation: once the Elixir has been refined, the Yang Spirit (the spiritual consciousness that appears upon the completion of cultivation) emerges from the womb and again brings Yin and Yang into creative transformation. This is the “renewed birth of the three bodies” mentioned earlier.

The lightning-like Qi dynamic within Kan erupts into motion, as Metal and Water refine one another in their corresponding positions. Fire rises from Kunlun (the area at the crown of the head), and Yin and Yang respond to one another.

When these two forces can be brought into harmony, the Elixir is naturally refined, and its fragrance spreads throughout the body.

Daoguang says: “Kan’s lightning” refers to the tiger’s bowstring Qi (a Neidan term for the Qi dynamic stirring within Yin). The tiger uses the fire within Yin to illuminate the Qian Dragon, which then sets the fire of Kunlun in motion in response. When the fires of these two forces unite, the true One essence naturally congeals. At this point, gathering and taking it harmonizes the whole body; the Elixir Qi is fragrant and pleasing, and the entire body feels at ease.

Ziye says: “Kan’s lightning” refers to Water and Fire. Metal and Water meet in the Kun position, where Water and Fire clash. Once the Elixir Qi has been gathered and brought into oneself, a stream of true One Qi naturally rises straight to the crown of the head and joins with the Yin Qi within the body; its fragrance then spreads throughout the body. The appearance of fragrance is a sign that the Elixir has been refined.

Shangyangzi says: “Kan’s lightning” refers to the moment when the lead Qi on the other side becomes vigorous and stirs into motion. I seize this opportunity and respond with the fire of Kunlun. The saying “one day in a month, and one hour in a day” refers to this moment. When the fragrance reaches the Dantian, the whole body becomes harmonious and at ease, the eyes grow clear, and the body grows strong. These are all signs that the Elixir has taken effect.

If Li and Kan lack the cooperation of Wu Earth and Ji Earth, then even though the Four Symbols are present, they cannot form the Golden Elixir. It is precisely because each contains True Earth that the Golden Elixir can circulate between them and return.

Daoguang says: “The Cantong qi records: ‘The Wu Earth within Kan is the essence of the moon; the Ji Earth within Li is the light of the sun.’ The Ji Earth within Li symbolizes the dragon’s bowstring Qi; the Wu Earth within Kan symbolizes the tiger’s bowstring Qi. True Wu and Ji Earth dwell respectively in Li and Kan. Without these two currents of Earth Qi, how could the dragon and tiger unite, bringing the Four Symbols together at the center to form the Golden Elixir?”

Ziye says: “Although the Four Symbols—Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li—are all present, without the cooperation of Wu and Ji, what is meant to return cannot return, and what is meant to be restored cannot be restored.”

Shangyangzi says: “The Four Symbols are Qian and Kun, and the sun and moon. Qian and Kun are the fundamental forms of Kan and Li; the sun and moon symbolize Kan and Li; and Wu and Ji are the gateways through which Kan and Li communicate. The mystery lies in each side containing True Earth; there is no need to force the union. If the two sides cannot unite through their own True Earth, how can a single Qi circulate between them, and how can the Golden Elixir return? The Laozi says, ‘The gate of the dark female is the root of Heaven and Earth.’ This refers to the two places of True Earth that communicate with one another. ‘The gate of the dark female’ is a Daoist term for the source of generation and transformation.”

The sun occupies the position of Li, yet is said to belong to Yin and be female; Kan is associated with the moon, yet is said to belong to Yang and be male. If you do not understand the meaning of this reversal of Yin and Yang, do not speak grandly from a narrow point of view.

Daoguang says: “The crow in the sun belongs to Yin, so Li is called female; the jade rabbit in the moon belongs to Yang, so Kan is called male. To discuss this principle without understanding this point is like looking at the sky through a bamboo tube.”

Ziye says: “The categories of Li and Kan are described in reverse. For details, see the ‘Notes on the Regulated Verse.’”

Shangyangzi says: The outer part of the Li trigram belongs to Yang, and its inner part to Yin, so it is as though it has outer Yang but no inner Yang. The outer part of the Kan trigram belongs to Yin, and its inner part to Yang, so it is as though it has inner Yang but no outer Yang. Neither trigram is pure Yang. Matching Kan with Li is called “reversal.”

Today, some people who study the Dao refuse to resolve to endure hardship, seek out a teacher, and ask for instruction. They remember only a few stories told by those who came before, then talk on and on among the crowd. Trusting in their quick wits and skill in debate, they show off an intelligence untested in actual practice. They have not considered what good it does to speak if they get things wrong. Even if they can talk without pause, their words may become an obstacle to cultivating the Dao. Their learning is shallow, too—how could they gain insight into the Great Dao, willingly accept a teacher’s discipline, and study as a disciple?

The Taishang says, “Those who truly know speak little; those who speak much may not truly know.” After attaining the Elixir, Perfected Li of the Great Void once mingled quietly with a crowd to listen to a temple sermon. When it was over, he sighed and said, “They speak correctly, but cannot put it into practice; we put it into practice, but cannot speak of it.” The Immortal Elder pitied those whose craving for words led them astray from cultivation, and so warned them: “Do not speak idly of the Great Dao from the narrow perspective of peering at a leopard through a tube.”

Take the solid Yang at the center of the Kan position and use it to transform the Yin substance within the belly of the Li palace.

In this way, one transforms into a pure Yang nature, firm and vigorous like the Qian trigram. Whether to lie hidden or appear, to soar or to remain concealed, is entirely within one’s own control.

Daoguang says: The Li trigram is Yang on the outside and Yin within; the Kan trigram is Yin on the outside and Yang within. Use the Yang at the center of Kan to transform the Yin at the center of Li, and it can become pure Yang. The Golden Elixir comes from outside: it is Qi of utmost Yang, and so is called “Elixir.” It forms in the Northern Sea. Through the methods of cultivation, one obtains it and transforms one’s own Yin mercury, turning it into pure Yang. From then on, the use of water and fire and the regulation of increase and decrease are all within one’s own control.

Ziye says: The Yang contained in the Kan trigram originally belonged to the Qian trigram. When Qian’s Yang was set in motion and fell into Kun’s Yin, the Kan trigram took shape; Qian’s Yang thereby became the Yin within the Li trigram. In cultivation, one should draw that single Yang from Kan and return it to the Li position, restoring Li to pure Yang. In this way, the work of cultivating the Golden Elixir is complete.

Shangyangzi quotes a parable from Zhuangzi’s “Responding to the Emperors”: Hun Dun wanted to repay the kindness of Hongmeng and Yunjiang, so each day they bored a hole in Hun Dun’s body. After seven days, Hun Dun died. People are born through a little of their parents’ true Yin and true Yang. Since they already have this body, they can complete their cultivation by using it to refine the Golden Elixir.

Shangyangzi further explains that people receive their bodies through their parents’ true Yin and true Yang. At first, they are whole and undiminished. Around the age of sixteen, the body matures into a state of pure Yang. After that, the forces symbolized by Hongmeng and Yunjiang—the outer senses and inner desires—gradually intrude. The Six Thieves, the six sensory desires that disturb the mind, invade from outside, while the Seven Emotions—joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, dislike, and desire—deplete it from within. People do not realize that when pure Yang mingles with Yin, it damages the whole body and forms the Li trigram, which represents Yang on the outside and Yin within. When pure Yin carries Yang on its back, it takes away a portion of Qi and forms the Kan trigram, which represents Yin on the outside and Yang within. Ordinary people are therefore gradually depleted. Those who have cultivated deeply use the Yang within Kan to restore the Yin within Li. This is the Way of the Golden Elixir.

The mercury of the Zhen dragon emerges from the land of Li; the lead of the Dui tiger is born in the region of Kan.

When these two substances combine, they bring about the transformations called “the child begets the mother” and “the elder brother begets the mother.” The Qi of all Five Phases must return to the center.

Daoguang explains: Mercury belongs to Zhen Wood. Wood generates Fire; Wood is Fire’s mother, and Fire is Wood’s child. The position of Fire is in the region of Kan. In the usual sequence of the Five Phases, cinnabar belongs to Fire and corresponds to the Li trigram. Mercury is produced from cinnabar, so Fire here generates Wood in reverse; this is why it is called “the child begets the mother.” Lead belongs to Dui Metal. Metal generates Water; Metal is Water’s mother, and Water is Metal’s child. Black lead ordinarily belongs to Water and corresponds to the Kan trigram. Lead is produced from lead, so Water here generates Metal in reverse; this is why it is called “the elder brother begets the mother.” The Perfected Tai Bai says, “In the art of reversing the Five Phases, the dragon emerges from Fire; the Five Phases need not follow their usual order, and the tiger is born in Water.” This describes mercury and lead generating one another to form the Four Images. They meet in the central palace, where they join with the Qi of the Five Phases and ultimately form the Golden Elixir.

Ziye says: This is, in broad terms, an explanation of the principle that “the child begets the mother.”

Shangyangzi says: The Zhen trigram represents the eldest son of the Qian trigram, who carries out his father’s will. The Dui trigram represents the youngest daughter of the Kun trigram, who acts in her mother’s place. When Zhen and Dui unite, they symbolize the subduing of the Dragon and Tiger. When Li and Kan join, they symbolize the generation of Lead and Mercury. Lead and Mercury congeal into an Elixir and return to the central spirit chamber, an alchemical term for the center within the body where the elixir is placed.

“The sky has just cleared, and half the moon has appeared; already, the Dragon’s roar and the Tiger’s howl can be heard.” This is the right moment to begin cultivating the “two eights,” a Neidan term for Yin and Yang forces each reaching their appropriate degree of refinement. It is said that, within a single shichen, one can master the timing of the alchemical firing process, subdue the Dragon and Tiger, unite Li and Kan, generate and congeal Lead and Mercury into an Elixir, and finally return it to the central spirit chamber. In this way, the Elixir is perfected.

The Dao Guang says: The “half a bright moon” mentioned by the Immortal Elder is simply a metaphor for the two halves of a circle, referring to the Dragon and Tiger—alchemy terms that often denote the two forces of Yin and Yang. The wondrous workings of this Way are in fact divided into six stages within a single shichen (two-hour period). Only two of those stages are needed to refine the Golden Elixir; the remaining four have other wondrous uses. These are all secrets of Heaven, difficult to set down on bamboo or silk. They must be transmitted orally and taught directly by a master. Fools who have never met a true teacher say that the medicine is refined in one shichen, but that the process does not take only one shichen. This shows they have not understood the meaning. Ordinary people, bewildered and ignorant of what is really involved, guess according to their own ideas and are gravely mistaken. If one says that refining the elixir takes more than one shichen, people will take this to mean that the process must be calculated by the days and hours. The wondrous simplicity and ease of this Way are beyond what worldly people can hear; only those with deep virtue and abundant good deeds are permitted to seek instruction.

I respectfully note that The Record of the Great Elixir’s Fire says: When the sages first begin refining the elixir and initially refine lead—a technical alchemical term for the beginning stage of making the elixir—they take the Qi of Primordial Unity, the vital energy from before Heaven and Earth were divided, and circulate it through one complete cycle. They also seize the exact number of thirty million seven hundred and thirty thousand years and gather it in the Cauldron of Heaven and Earth, an alchemical metaphor for taking Yin and Yang as furnace and cauldron, bringing them together where life and death unite. The numbers of Heaven and Earth, the sun and moon, the Dragon and Tiger, Yin-Yang and the Five Phases, and the generation of all things are all drawn in and concentrated within a single shichen, where they are refined into one sacred elixir. It is the size of a millet grain, yet weighs one catty. Numinous, wondrous, sacred, and supremely precious, it is the original essence of Heaven and Earth and the root that governs oneself. This may be called stealing from Heaven and seizing Yin-Yang: the cosmos is held in one’s hand, and the transformations of all things arise from within oneself. Through this practice, the cultivator becomes a perfected immortal and gains the privilege of attending the Supreme Emperor. The claim that the Golden Elixir is refined in one shichen is proof of precisely this achievement.

Ziye said: When the medicinal substance begins to stir, it is like the moon rising from the Geng position. When it reaches the Ding position, it is like the moon at first quarter; this is the phase of “half a jin of Metal.” Yin and Yang meet at this time and can readily unite. On the fifteenth day, the Qi of the Three Yang is complete. When the moon rises in the east at the Jia position, it is like a bright full moon ascending into the sky; this is the phase of “two-eight” Qian Metal. If practitioners understand these timings and work accordingly, they can refine the Golden Elixir during this period.

Shangyangzi said: When the moon has just appeared on the horizon and first receives the sun’s faint light, the “tiger roars,” and the Qi of Gui Water begins to arise. The tiger’s Qi grows strong: in other words, innate original Qi begins to stir. When the moment arrives, do not let it pass. Otherwise, what is being refined in the furnace will be damaged and difficult to restore. At this point, the old immortal Ziyang explains each step with great care, fearing that later generations might fail to attain the Dao and become immortals. Those with shallow understanding talk about the Dao all day, yet are like a blind person leading the blind. They do not know what “the dragon’s call and the tiger’s roar” means, or that the work must begin at a particular time. Completely ignorant, they instead accuse the old immortal of teaching the “Three Peaks” method of gathering and replenishing through sexual union. Pity them: this can only deepen their transgressions. So when, exactly, is this so-called “time”? Alas, do not search at the edge of the sky for the Zi and Wu hours; seek the positions of Kun, Shen, and the like within yourself.

On Mount Hua, the male tiger roars; beneath the Fusang Sea, the female dragon murmurs. The Yellow Matron—the intermediary Qi that symbolizes the harmonizing of Yin and Yang—naturally brings them together, so that they become husband and wife, united in heart and purpose.

Daoguang said: Mount Hua is where the moon rises in the western mountains, and it symbolizes the tiger. The male tiger refers to the Qi of the tiger at its first quarter: Yang within Yin, hence the name “male tiger.” Fusang is where the sun rises, and it symbolizes the dragon. The female dragon refers to the Qi of the dragon at its first quarter: Yin within Yang, hence the name “female dragon.” These two forces, dragon and tiger, occupy the eastern and western positions respectively. The Yellow Matron brings them together as husband and wife, thereby producing the Yellow Sprout, the nascent sacred medicine of internal alchemy.

Ziye said: Place Kan above, symbolizing water and Yang within Yin, and Li below, symbolizing fire and Yin within Yang. Then harmonize them through balance and impartiality, and the tiger and dragon will draw near to each other like husband and wife. The two forces dwell in the east and west; “Yellow Dame” must mediate between them, bringing them together as a couple, from which the Yellow Sprout emerges—the alchemical sign that the elixir is beginning to form.

Ziye also said: Yellow represents the central position; “dame” is a form of address for an older woman. Yellow Dame has no jealousy in her heart, so she can mediate and bring about the union. What “Yellow Dame” expresses is the principle of harmony and balance.

Shangyangzi said: The fierce male tiger on the mountain peak is dangerous and hard to subdue; the female dragon in the depths of the sea is perilous and hard to bring under control. How could anyone command them without great strength, courage, and resolve? The Golden Elixir is pure Yang Qi, hidden in a state of obscurity and uncertainty: it is difficult both to attain and to gather. How could anyone practice the work and obtain it without deep De and mastery of cultivation? So how can the two be brought together as one? A poem answers:

To seek the treasure of Heaven,

you must offer the riches of this world.

The White Tiger of the Western Mountains is wild and fierce;

none can withstand the Azure Dragon of the Eastern Sea.

Seize them with both hands and make them fight to the death;

in the end, they melt into a mass of Purple Gold Frost—the alchemical coagulate formed when the elixir is complete.

Daoguang said: Liu Haichan, an immortal of Daoist legend, once said, “Take the Azure Dragon by the head with your left hand, and the White Tiger by the tail with your right; bring them together at once and swallow them, pondering how sweet this thing is.” This describes the outward imagery. Fools who have never heard the Great Dao suppose that one must literally seize two beasts with both hands. That is a mistake.

Ziye said: The White Tiger of the Western Mountains is the metal essence within Kan; the Azure Dragon of the Eastern Sea is the wood nature within Li. Both are fierce and hard to tame, and not easily seized. If you regulate them according to the proper method, they will harmonize with each other and transform into the elixir. The word “death” here carries a deep meaning. As the saying goes, “If you seek wealth, honor, and long life, you must work as though your life depends on it.”

Shangyangzi says: A tiger poses the danger of harming people, so one must find a way to subdue it. A dragon may bolt and escape control, so one must find a way to tame it. How, then, does one subdue the dragon and tame the tiger, bringing them to struggle and unite? One must close off the three “treasures”—the ears, mouth, and eyes (the sensory openings associated in cultivation with the senses and with Jing, Qi, and Shen)—so that nothing leaks outward. The perfected person (one who has accomplished cultivation) sinks into the depths, yet moves freely back and forth while keeping to the central chamber (the central position in the body, or Dantian, in Neidan cultivation).

The Red Dragon and Black Tiger dwell in the western and eastern directions. The Four Images (symbols in cultivation associated with Yin-Yang and the Five Phases) converge in the center of Wu and Ji (which symbolize the center and also refer to Spleen Earth and the central chamber).

Once one begins working with the hexagrams Fu and Gou, who could still say that the Golden Elixir cannot be refined?

Daoguang says: The Red Dragon and Black Tiger unite in the center of Wu and Ji, forming a single pill that is stored in the central chamber. Following the Fu hexagram, one advances the Yang fire; at the Gou hexagram, one withdraws the Yin water. By means of extraction and replenishment (a Neidan method for regulating the firing process and adjusting Yin and Yang), the Golden Elixir is refined.

Ziye says: The Dragon is in the west and the Tiger in the east, separated from each other. To bring them together, one must rely on Wu and Ji. After they unite, they form a purple-gold Elixir, which is then nurtured and refined through the firing process represented by the Fu and Gou hexagrams.

Shangyangzi says: My teacher, Perfected Zhao, once met a man who talked about the Dao all day long and constantly claimed that he had received guidance from an adept. My teacher approached, bowed, and asked him, “I will set aside questions about the principles for now. I only want to ask what the Dragon and Tiger refer to.” The man replied, “The Dragon and Tiger are within you.” My teacher asked, “What do they look like?” The man answered, “The liver and lungs.” My teacher then said, “You deserve to be punished in the Hell of Tongue-Pulling, where those who speak falsely are condemned. From now on, stop misleading and deceiving people in this world.”

Now Perfected Ziyang explains these two things, the Dragon and Tiger, with great clarity: the thing on my side is the Dragon, and the thing on the other side is the Tiger. Since they are distinct, they are like two things situated in the east and west. The Dragon’s head belongs to “Ji,” and the Tiger’s portal belongs to “Wu.” When the Dragon and Tiger meet, the Fu and Gou hexagrams, which symbolize the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang, begin to turn. In the Golden Elixir, the thing on my side is the Dragon, and the thing on the other side is the Tiger. When the Dragon and Tiger meet, the Fu and Gou hexagrams are set in motion, and the Golden Elixir can then be refined. Alas, understanding the principle is not difficult; putting it into practice is truly difficult.

First, observe the Way of Heaven and understand the “Five Thieves”—the workings of the Five Phases through generation and control. Next, examine the Way of Earth and bring peace to the people.

Only after the people are at peace and the country is prosperous can one speak of going to war. Once the battle is over, one can see the sage.

Daoguang says: Heaven has the “Five Thieves,” and those who can discern them will flourish. If people can discern them and reverse their changes in cultivation, they can take hold of the transformations of the cosmos and bring the changes of the myriad things about within themselves. When examining the Way of Earth, the first task is to bring peace to the people, for the people are the foundation of the state. When the foundation is secure, the state can be at peace. The sage regards the body as a state, Jing as its people, fire as its ministers, and the Elixir as its ruler. We should use the heart to observe the Way of Heaven, gather in the Five Thieves, reverse the process through cultivation, and draw on Yin and Yang to set transformation in motion. In this way, we can seize the essence of the “True One,” pure and undivided vital energy, and make the Yin Mercury of Qian-Ji—an Neidan term for the Yin nature cultivated in the practice—firm in essence and complete in Qi. Then, whenever we seek battle, we can prevail and go on to see the sage.

Ziye says: “Heaven” here refers to the heart. The “Five Thieves” are the natures of the Five Phases present within the heart. Each of the Five Phases has its own nature, and they can control one another. The original text goes on to say that when primordial Qi is abundant and Jing and Qi are complete, one can prevail in battle and thereby see the sage.

Ziye says, “Heaven” refers to the human mind. The “Five Thieves” are the five inherent qualities of the Five Phases within the mind. When each Phase acts on its own, they restrain and deplete one another, harming the original Qi. The nature of Metal governs anger, Wood governs joy, Water governs coolness, Fire governs heat, and Earth governs stillness. These are the qualities of the Five Phases. When one can perceive and master these inner “thieves,” the mind is free of distracting thoughts, and body and mind become clear and empty, like the Great Void.

“Earth” refers to the human body. Jing, Qi, and Shen within the body are like the people of a state. Abundant Jing and Qi mean the people are at peace; healthy limbs and bones mean the state is prosperous. Only after the state prospers can it go to war and win. If deluded thoughts in the mind cannot be quieted and the body’s foundations are unstable, internal depletion will follow, causing Jing and Qi to dissipate. To “wage war” in this way can only injure oneself—how could one then encounter the sage? This chapter speaks of the work of cultivating the mind and refining oneself, and of laying a firm foundation for cultivation.

Ziyangzi said: In cultivating the Golden Elixir, one must first refine oneself—that is, cultivate one’s own nature of mind so that the spirit is complete and the Qi abundant, unmoved by the Seven Emotions and undisturbed by the Five Thieves. The Six Roots—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, meaning the faculties of perception and consciousness—should be clear and pure, so Jing and Qi are not easily shaken. This is called “thieves do not attack a poor household”: when one maintains inner reserves, disturbances from outside find it hard to do harm.

In the Way of the Elixir, the “Five Thieves” has three meanings. The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and mind are the “Five Thieves of Heaven”; sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and tactile sensations are the “Five Thieves” of the world; and love, desire, greed, anger, and delusion are the “Five Thieves” within the heart. If the senses are not carefully restrained, thoughts such as greed and desire arise in succession. If outside temptations are not dispelled, the senses are stimulated and lose their defenses.

Thus, seeing beauty can readily stir thoughts of love and deplete Jing and Qi; hearing pleasing sounds can stir desire and disturb Jing and Qi; smelling fragrance can stir greed and deplete Jing and Qi; tasting flavors can provoke anger and cause Jing and Qi to dissipate; and contact between the body or mind and external things can also give rise to delusion and damage Jing and Qi. These five conditions wear down the body day and night. How much Jing and Qi can be left? Once Jing and Qi are depleted, the spirit and vital energy also decline.

Practitioners should regard the body as a state and Jing and Qi as its people. When Jing and Qi are undisturbed, the people are at peace; when Shen and Qi are abundant, the state is prosperous. Seeking the Golden Elixir is likened to waging war, and the primordial unity of Qi—the original Qi formed before birth—is likened to a sage. Refining oneself means removing the harm caused by the Five Thieves: first protect Jing and Qi and nourish body and mind; only then can one overcome disturbances and attain the true primordial unity of Qi.

The immortal masters use warfare as a metaphor to make people vigilant and reflective. The foolish do not understand the importance of refining oneself and removing the thieves. Instead, they mistake phrases such as “seeking battle,” “appointing a general,” and “underestimating the enemy” for techniques of sexual cultivation and replenishment, and their explanations only make the matter harder to understand. Alas, the foolish remain foolish, and the worthy are worthy.

In deploying troops, one must distinguish the two sides. Even if the other party occupies the position of host, I should occupy the position of guest.

I urge you: do not underestimate the enemy when you enter battle, lest you lose your own priceless treasure.

Daoguang said: "Jiang" (the term for regulating the fire, huohou) refers to how the fire is applied. On the left is the gentle fire (wenhuo), mild and slow, and on the right is the martial fire (wuhuo), strong and rapid. Even when the other party occupies the host position (zhuwei), one should place oneself in the guest position (binwei). The host position symbolizes yang, assertiveness, and contention, while the guest position symbolizes yin, yielding, and stillness. To dwell in the guest position is to guard softness and not force one's strength, to hold to stillness and not fight, and to remain cautious against danger. This is what the military classics mean by "awaiting the weary at ease, and controlling movement through stillness."

The key to cultivation lies in the fire timing (huohou), and the proper use of that timing depends on the practitioner. One must first fix the moments, distinguishing the hour of zi and the hour of wu, and then bring yin and yang into contact as the basis for transformation. One mobilizes the yin tokens represented by the sixty-four hexagrams and stirs the yang fire corresponding to the twenty-four solar periods. It is as if the celestial gate were held in one's hand and the earthly axis turned by the mind's intention. One gathers the vital movements of the seventy-two pentads into the cauldron (ding), and then concentrates the true qi of the three hundred and sixty days of the year within the embryo (tai). The application of the fire must follow method, and its increase and decrease must follow order.

While operating, one must guard against danger and act with great care, allowing no slightest error. Only then can the outer conditions accord with the timing of yin and yang change, and the inner state form the substance of zhenyi (True Unity), the pure, undivided essence of vital energy in Daoist usage. If the mind is careless and the seasonal timing is off, the chanü (the Maiden, a term in internal alchemy for the yin essence) may be lost, the spirit embryo (lingtai) will fail to coalesce, and the priceless returning elixir (huandan) will ultimately be lost. This is like facing an enemy in battle without guarding softness and stillness, and underestimating the opponent.

Zi Ye said: The comparison to armies and generals is made because weapons are inherently dangerous, yet when skillfully used they can preserve one's life. If one launches war rashly and underestimates the opponent, defeat is certain. When gathering medicine (caiyao, the gathering and refining of essence in internal alchemy), one should divide oneself and the other party into left and right armies, with oneself as the left army and the other as the right. In every movement and interaction, one must be upright, cautious, reverent, and solemn, leaving not the slightest transgression against the strict precepts. Only in this way can one hope to preserve the fruits of cultivation and avoid losing them.

Shangyangzi said: "The left side is me, the right side is the other. Even if the other occupies the primary position and I am in the secondary position, that is, the other is above and I am below, the other wants to move and I want to remain still." The Immortal Master used the image of an army fighting an enemy to describe seeking the elixir, meaning that within an extremely short span of time, the slightest lapse leads to failure. How could one treat this lightly?

The Golden Elixir Nine Returns (the process in internal alchemy by which the elixir-qi returns and condenses nine times) is completed within no more than half an incense-hour. At that time, the transforming power of creation (zaohua, the force that generates and transforms all things) moves rapidly, and the Dragon and Tiger do battle (referring to the interaction of yin and yang, water and fire, within the body). In an instant, the cultivator must seize the transforming power by which heaven and earth turn, the Supreme Ultimate has not yet divided, Qian and Kun unite, yin and yang change, Water and Fire achieve their mutual completion, the Five Phases check one another, and the myriad things come into being, and so obtain a single point of Original Qi (xiantian zhenqi, the subtle, primal vital breath of life) and refine it into the Golden Elixir. How could one not be cautious and wary?

Therefore this chapter is devoted to using the external alchemy method (waidan faxiang, the images and procedures of external alchemy) as a metaphor for cultivation. If one obtains the external elixir, the skills needed for immortality are already complete. This passage warns practitioners not to underestimate the enemy when facing the decisive moment. Only a cultivator who can pass this threshold has accomplished something difficult. The Returning Elixir (huandan, the process of returning essence and qi to their origin and condensing them into an elixir) is indeed the most difficult, which is why the Tathāgata (an honorific title of the Buddha) said: "The World-Honored One speaks of this difficult matter, truly it is extremely difficult." If one is even slightly careless, and a single point of the Seven Emotions and Six Thieves (seven feelings and six desires that disturb the mind) is left unguarded, one's own most luminous and pure treasure will be lost. How could one be careless?

Fire is born from wood and originally conceals its sharpness; if one does not understand how to study it, one should not force the matter.

Calamity arises, often because the very act has harmed oneself; one must find a way to subdue it and seek the "Metal Lord" (an internal alchemy term, usually referring to the metallic nature or qi that can subdue the fire-timing).

Daoguang said: Fire born from wood, once calamity breaks out, will inevitably injure oneself. Essence and qi are born in the body, and if they move recklessly, they will dissipate. If one does not understand how to study, calamity will harm oneself through this. Master Lü said that to subdue the fire, one must seek the Metal Lord.

Daoguang further said: If fire breaks out at the "Seven Doors" (key passes or orifices in the body or in cultivation), it will break open firm barriers; do not let it burn the "River Chariot" (an internal alchemy term for the path along which essence and qi circulate). This speaks of subduing the fire-timing and seeking the Metal Lord.

Ziye says: Fire is already hidden within wood. That is to say, the human body inherently contains desires that harm the self. Once this fire flares up, it causes damage just as fire does to wood. The line between life and death is a very thin one. The common people do not understand this principle and often let themselves sink into indulgence and deviant excess. The sage, sensing that the fire is about to rise, uses water to restrain it so that it cannot bring calamity.

Shangyang Zi says: Wood is a metaphor for the body. The body grows day and night, and its Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) grow full along with it. When one reaches maturity, Jing and Qi are vigorous, and the calamities of desire appear, difficult to subdue. To subdue them, one must rely on the "xiantian zhen qian" (true lead of prior heaven, a neidan term referring to the innate essential qi or medicinal substance sought in cultivation). However, without a true teacher to explain the precise meaning of true lead and the proper sequence of practice, one should never force the practice.

Jin Gong (a term often used in neidan to denote metallic nature, or the true element within lead) was originally the child of the eastern household, yet he was sent to lodge in the western neighbor's house, where he was born into and lived by borrowing that body.

Recognize him, call him back, and nourish him at home. Then let him unite with Chanü (a neidan term often referring to mercury or a yin medicinal substance), and form an intimate bond.

Daoguang says: The various functions and symbols in the cultivation of the Golden Elixir (jin dan) include the transformation in which yang within yin turns back to yang and then again to yin, and the transformation in which yin within yang turns back to yin and then again to yang. There are also the yin and yang of the inner and outer medicines, the three natures within and the three without, the Five Phases and Four Images within and without, and the ways in which inner and outer yin and yang are applied in mutual coordination. These symbols change repeatedly and cannot be captured by any single fixed formulation. Since we have personally received the profound intent, we must not delay the timing of practice.

Ziye says: This chapter has the same meaning as the earlier statement "taking the center of the Kan position."

Shangyang Zi says: "Zhen" (the Arousing trigram) is the image of the East.

Ziye says: This chapter has the same meaning as the earlier statement "taking the center of the Kan position."

Shangyang Zi said: Zhen (one of the Eight Trigrams, symbolizing the East) is the eastern household, and Dui (one of the Eight Trigrams, symbolizing the West) is the western household. To find the location of Dui, one must not leave the Ren position (the direction corresponding to Water and the North). Only then has one truly identified the place of return, and one must not regard "summoning" as too easy. Even if one can summon it, the most crucial step is still to have it return to its dwelling. Alas, these matters are all extremely difficult. How dare one undertake them lightly, or speak of them lightly? In the world there are people who are like seeds of hell: as soon as they open their mouths they talk of Chan and the Dao, and until they die they never repent. How could they then understand the words of Chan Master Yuanwu?

Chan Master Yuanwu said: "If the heel is not firmly planted, this is Chan without Chan, and this is what is called true Chan, like a rabbit with child. Upon the crown of the head there are five kinds of radiance; this is the Dao without the Dao, and this is what is called true Dao, like a pearl bright within a clam." Is this not precisely speaking of the subtle secret of recognizing how to summon it, and then causing it to return to its dwelling?

The Maiden of Chā (a metaphor in Neidan for mercury) has a natural course of movement: the first stage of the process should be short, and the subsequent stage should be long. Once she has returned, she enters the dwelling of the Yellow Matron (a symbol in Neidan for mediation and receiving), and becomes the lasting companion of the Golden Old Man (Neidan terms symbolized by gold and lead).

Daoguang said: The Maiden of Chā is mercury. The phrase "moving about with method" refers to the function of the outer medicine (in Neidan, the substances and stages used in refining). At the beginning of the alchemical process, when the mercury fire is circulated for less than half a shichen, one obtains true essence and takes it; this is what is meant by "the first stage must be short." After ingesting the elixir, one circulates one's own mercury fire and must undergo ten months of work; this is what is meant by "the later stage must be long." The Yellow Matron is the inner symbol, that is, the earthen cauldron (a container symbolizing the furnace vessel in alchemy); the Golden Old Man is true lead, and the Old Gentleman is pure Yang.

Ziye said: The Maiden of Chā is one's own Yin mercury. First it proceeds outward, then it reverses and returns. On the outward course, it sinks into external things within a single moment; on the return, it moves from below upward, circulating throughout the body, descending into the Central Palace (the Neidan region at the center of the body), uniting with lead, and congealing into the Sacred Embryo (the embryo body symbolizing the completed elixir in internal alchemy cultivation).

Shangyang Zi said: "The Maiden (chanü, here referring to one's own essence, jing) travels along a fixed course. Essence and qi have the routes they habitually follow. Ordinary people often see their jing and qi depleted. Whenever there is sexual union between man and woman, the bones and muscles of the body are stirred, and the marrow is consumed in the movement. The moment desire arises, the mind-spirit (shen) is drawn away; the Three Corpses (sanshi, the spirits Daoism says dwell in the body and influence a person) stir above, and the Seven Po Souls (the seven kinds of hun and po that make up the body's mental activity) stir chaotically below. Thus jing and qi ascend along two channels, pass through the five viscera, and reach Niwan (the seat of the brain-spirit in the head). They then descend along the marrow and, through the paired gates of the spine on either side of the spinal column (jiaji shuangguan), travel to the external genitals, where they unite. This is the method of the Five Turbidities of the mundane world. It is called the essence and qi moving along their habitual course, the forward flow of the ordinary Constant Way.

Golden Elixir (jindan) cultivation is different: it reverses the ordinary sequence and works in the opposite direction. The practitioner of deep attainment refines the self (lianji) until it is pure and skillful. Body and mind are still, the hun and po are governed, desire cannot disturb, and jing and qi are full. It is like a household that suddenly grows rich, where gold and jade are everywhere. When the single yang first stirs (the yang qi newly arising, the true mechanism beginning to move), the innate True Lead (xiantian zhen qian, the essence and qi born with one's constitution) is about to arrive. The practitioner's own jing and qi still do not move rashly. One simply uses a little of the True Lead from just below the inner kidneys to meet it. This is called the "short forward stage" (qianxing duan).

Once the True Lead has crossed the Magpie Bridge (queqiao, the cultivation gate connecting the Ren and Du channels) and merged with it, it follows the Three Carriages of the Windlass (lulu sanche, the cultivation route that carries essence and qi up and down). It ascends through the paired gates of the spine to Niwan, traverses the Nine Palaces (jiugong, the nine palaces of the head), and pours into both eyes. It then descends from the Golden Bridge (jinqiao), passes the Chonglou (the throat), and enters the Crimson Palace (jianggong, the seat of the heart) to be refined. This route is called the "long latter stage" (houxu chang). Afterward, the essence and qi return to the Yellow Court Chamber (huangting shishi, the place in the body where spirit is stored and qi is refined), where they join and form the elixir. This is what is meant by "returning to enter the Yellow Matron's house, and to wed the Golden Old Man," using the Yellow Matron and the Golden Old Man as images for the harmonious union of yin and yang qi. This is the reversal of the Five Phases and the reverse cultivation.

After a further ten months of nourishing, one may become a Realized Person (zhenren), living as long as Heaven itself. This is called "Laolang" (the Old Gentleman). The Master has laid out the sequence of cultivation so clearly, yet most commentaries from other schools are brief, for they dare not divulge the contents. I hope that all under heaven, and the myriad people of later generations, may cultivate according to this and attain immortality or Buddhahood. Even if I thereby commit the fault of revealing Heaven's secrets, I am willing to bear it. May the True Immortal Sage Master above, and the spirits of Heaven and Earth, bear clear witness.

Even if one recognizes cinnabar and black lead (the medicinal substances that symbolize the alchemical materials), knowledge of them is wasted without an understanding of huohou (fire control), the management of heat and timing during the refining process.

Refining the elixir depends largely on the practitioner's cultivation skill, and even a slight error means the elixir cannot be completed.

Daoguang says: In the transformation of the Golden Elixir (jindan), even a difference of a hair's breadth leads to a vast divergence in the result. The ancient sages transmitted the ingredients but did not write out the fire timing, because few have ever truly understood huohou.

Ziye says: Even if one recognizes true lead and true mercury (the two complementary materials of neidan, or internal alchemy), without understanding huohou one cannot form the sacred embryo (shengtai, the embryo produced in internal cultivation). Why? Fire is warm and causes the true natures of the materials to blend and join. Without fire, lead remains lead and mercury remains mercury, and the two never fuse.

Shangyangzi says: The immortal master has already set out the cauldron-vessels (dingqi, the vessels and symbolic containers of refining) and the ingredients thoroughly in verse. Only huohou is left unwritten, because it must be passed down by a teacher. Without oral transmission from a master, even one who knows the ingredients cannot complete the elixir. The stages of huohou are sequential and divided into several parts, and an ordinary person cannot grasp them by guesswork.

The Qilun Danjing explains the essential principles of the elixir method but does not commit huohou to writing.

To understand the profound and far-reaching meaning of the oral formulas (koujue), one must consult the immortal master carefully.

Daoguang says: The Huoji (Records of Fire) contains six hundred chapters, all similar to one another, and they accord with the rhythms of the Dao of Heaven. The secrets hidden by Heaven's Dao are not lightly passed on even by sages. If one finds a true teacher, one should examine them with care.

Ziye says: Huohou is the key to refining the elixir. Do not guess at it carelessly without a lineage of transmission.

Shangyang Zi says that within the outer fire timing (waihuohou) there is also an inner fire timing (neihuohou). The Daoist alchemical classics left by immortals and sages of antiquity number over ten thousand scrolls, yet if the fire timing is not discussed, no one dares to reveal this heavenly secret lightly. Now that I have pointed out both the inner and outer fire timing, I hope that later students of the Dao will all succeed in becoming immortals.

Wei Boyang says, "The three-day moon emerges at Geng," which speaks of the outer fire timing. Cui Gong says, "Heaven responds with the stars, earth responds with the tides," which also speaks of the outer fire timing. Lü Chunyang says, "The single yang has first begun to stir; in the middle of the night the water clock runs long; the lead cauldron is gently warm, and light penetrates the curtain," which likewise speaks of the outer fire timing. Once these passages are explained in this way, the matter seems quite clear.

Guangchengzi says, "Do not labor in vain over the furnace and the river chariot (a term in Neidan (internal alchemy) for the circulation of breath). The crane embryo and tortoise breathing will naturally grow long and steady." This is the inner fire timing. A master's poem says, "Do not merely watch the medicine furnace to judge the fire timing. Only attend to shen (spirit) and breath, and let them follow their own course." This too is the inner fire timing. Before the elixir has been refined, the most difficult thing to grasp is the outer fire timing. It belongs to purposive action (youwei) and forms the foundation of cultivation. The inner fire timing, by contrast, comes after the elixir has been obtained. One lets innate nature move on its own, reaching the non-action (Wuwei) of great rest and great ease.

On the fifteenth night, when one gazes at the moonlight, is precisely when the golden essence (jinjing), the subtle qi that Neidan practice refines, is at its height.

Once yang qi has just begun to stir, one should advance the fire promptly and not delay.

Daoguang says, "The fifteenth of the eighth month" symbolizes the abundance of metal and water qi and the first birth of one yang. It is the Heavenly zi hour, a metaphor for the critical moment when yang begins to sprout. At this time, the work of both the inner and outer fire timing should be pressed forward without delay.

Zi Ye says that the golden essence at its height is like the moon on the fifteenth night of the eighth month, where the moon is a metaphor for metal. Metal is at its peak in the You (rooster) position, and the eighth month corresponds to You. Therefore the fifteenth of the eighth month is used to show that the fire should be advanced for refinement while the vigor is at its height, and not after that vigor has passed and begun to wane.

Shangyangzi says: When the water is clear, metal qi is strong, and the moon and stars above shine brightly. When lead (qian) meets guishui (gui water, a term linked to kidney water and yin qi), it stirs, and the medicinal substance within the body can then be refined. This is precisely the moment when the qi of the one yang (yi yang) has just begun to move, and one should work on it promptly without delay, lest the medicinal qi in the lead cauldron (qian ding) gradually wane and one's spirit be wasted in vain. What the immortal master's poem describes is also this kind of implicit fire timing (huohou), the skill of grasping the moment and the proper measure of effort in the refining process.

The qi of the one yang has just stirred, the time for refining the elixir has come; the warm light in the lead cauldron reflects upon the curtains.

Medicinal qi is easy to grasp when it first arises, but how it circulates afterward and how the fire timing is increased or decreased must be handled with caution, lest danger arise.

Daoguang says: At the Rat hour (zi shi), when the one yang first begins, refine the elixir in the cauldron. Once true lead (zhen qian, the key medicinal substance in internal alchemy) receives the fire, its light passes through the curtains. After the elixir has been nourished within the body for ten months, when applying the methods of drawing and adding (chou tian, adjusting the fire timing and increasing or reducing the effort of refining), one must especially guard against deviation.

Ziye says: Practitioners should refine the elixir when the one yang stirs. True lead enters the cauldron at the Rat hour, and once it receives fire its light passes through the curtains. When the elixir is nourished in the body for ten months and the methods of drawing and adding are applied, one must be cautious and guard against danger.

Ziye further says: When practitioners refine the elixir as the one yang stirs, light appears in the lead cauldron and true qi is easily obtained. Yet once the elixir retreats into a hidden place, one must be all the more careful in adjusting the fire timing.

Shangyangzi says: Cui Gong's Ru Yao Jing (Mirror of Entering the Medicine) states, "shou qi ji, fang cheng xiong" (receiving qi is auspicious; guard against becoming ominous), and its meaning is the same as this. When the medicinal qi first arises, the time is favorable, but during the refining process one must still guard against deviation.

When the mysterious pearl (xuan zhu, a symbol of the medicine taking solid form) appears, it grows along with the yang qi. When the yang qi reaches its peak, yin qi gradually arrives, and the form of the elixir changes accordingly.

After ten months, yin qi arrives gradually like the frost of the descent, and only then does the elixir begin to ripen. At this stage its efficacy is marked, and even gods and ghosts are astonished.

Daoguang says: What is meant by "having an image" is that at the winter solstice the yang qi gradually grows, and the practitioner advances the yang fire. By the summer solstice, the fire is turned back, and the yin tally (yin fu, a method of fire timing that works with the circulation of yin qi) is used. Passing through ten months in this way, cycle after cycle, the returning elixir (huan dan) begins to ripen.

Ziye says: The mysterious pearl is a symbol of the medicine taking form. Medicine does not arise on its own; it must respond to the yang qi in order to grow, gradually becoming distinct from something faint. After the yang qi reaches its peak, the yin qi gradually recedes, and after a ten-month cycle the great elixir (da dan) is completed.

Shangyangzi says: This discusses the images of internal alchemy practice and the work of drawing, adding, and nourishing. The Jindan Dayao (Essentials of the Golden Elixir) explains the methods of drawing, adding, and nourishing in considerable detail.

After the first quarter moon and before the last, the medicine is steady and the signs are complete.

Gather the medicine when the yin qi is receding; after a ten-month cycle, the great elixir is accomplished.

Shangyangzi says: This passage explains the images of internal alchemy (Neidan), which draw on natural phenomena to illustrate the process of cultivation, as well as the techniques of drawing and adding (choutian) and of warming and nourishing (wenyang). The essentials of Golden Elixir cultivation are already set out in detail in related texts on these practices.

The moon, between the first quarter and the last, is balanced in its medicinal state, and its overall appearance is complete.

Once the medicinals are gathered, they are placed in the furnace and forged (duanlian). When the forging is complete, the work continues through warming and nourishing, in a process of cooking (penglian).

Daoguang says: On the thirtieth day of the lunar month, the moon's yang soul, which has the nature of metal, is spent, and its yin soul, which has the nature of water, fills the lunar disc. It is therefore pure yin. Yin without light takes its image from the Kun hexagram, and so it is called "dark" (hui). On the dark day and the new moon day, sun and moon meet and rise and set together.

On the second day, the moon receives sunlight and begins to gestate. On the third day, one yang appears in the Geng direction of the Kun position, as though the moon's yang soul is born from its yin body. This takes its image from the Zhen hexagram. In the body's cultivation, this corresponds to the first arising of metal qi and the first sprouting of the medicinal shoot. On the eighth day, two yangs are produced, taking their image from the Dui hexagram. At this point the yang soul has reached half, and the moon is straight as a cord, so it is called the "upper quarter." Before the upper quarter, the moon is yang; after it, yin. Yin containing half yang symbolizes obtaining eight taels of metal from within water. Its nature is balanced, and its appearance is complete.

On the fifteenth day, three yangs are complete, taking their image from the Qian hexagram. At this point the water of the yin body is exhausted, and the metal of the yang soul fills the lunar disc. The moon is full and purely yang, without yin, so it is called "full" (wang). When yang reaches its peak, it gives rise to yin. On the sixteenth day, one yin appears in the lunar disc, as though the yin body is born from the yang soul. This takes its image from the Xun hexagram. On the twenty-third day, two yins are produced, taking their image from the Gen hexagram. At this point the yin body has reached half, and the moon is again straight as a cord, so it is called the "lower quarter." Before the lower quarter, the moon is yin; after it, yang. Yang containing half yin symbolizes obtaining half a catty of water from within metal. Its nature is balanced, and its appearance is complete.

The sage gathers these two images of the "two eights" and places them in the furnace of creation. Through cooking, forging, and warming and nourishing, he refines the Returning Elixir (huandan). The Immortal Elder repeats this instruction throughout the chapter, intending to bring the practitioner to single-minded focus. The word "cooking" (pengjian) does carry subtle meaning.

The Zhen trigram (Zhen gua) represents the eldest son, who is the Dragon, and the Dui trigram (Dui gua) represents the youngest daughter, who is the Tiger. "Western wine" (xifang jiu) refers to the medicine the Dragon drinks, and "northern-land flower" (beidi hua) refers to the yin qi that the Tiger opens. "Qing'e" is the Chanü, the "Lead Girl," which refers to the mercury fire (gonghuo) carried by the Dragon. Practitioners drive the Dragon toward the Tiger, and the Tiger opens its yin gate so that its yin qi joins with the Dragon. Once the two have united, they must be sealed immediately so that they converge in the "Yellow Household" (Huangjia), the central earth position. In this way the Golden Elixir (jin dan) is formed, and the practitioner becomes a Perfected Person (zhenren).

Ziye said: "Three days give birth to the lunar light" means that the Yang qi of the Zhen trigram arises within the Yin qi of the Kun trigram. "Gold and fire" originally refers to the Yin qi within Kun, and Zhen symbolizes the return of Yang. Once Yang stirs, it is like mercury fire meeting the White Tiger. When the moment of this meeting appears, one must immediately seal it and gather it in the Huang household (an alchemical term for the place where the elixir congeals). In this way the Golden Elixir (Jindan) is refined, and the practitioner becomes a Zhenren (True Person).

Ziye also said: "Three days give birth to the lunar light" means that the Yang qi of the Zhen trigram arises within Kun. "Gold and fire" originally refers to the Yin qi within Kun, and Zhen symbolizes the return of Yang. Yang enters the Yin of Kun, so the image of "the eldest son suddenly drinking the western wine" is used as a metaphor. The place where Zhen's Yang stirs is the position of the Dui trigram. Yang arises here and Yin recedes in turn, so the image of "the youngest daughter first opening the northern flower" is also used. "Opening" means sprouting, and "flower" refers to Yin qi, in agreement with the earlier statement that "the red flower appears first, and Yin qi follows after." "Green maiden" refers to wood mercury (an alchemical term for the mercury contained in wood). At this very moment, Kan and Li unite, the medicinal substance is gathered and returned to oneself, and it is then sealed in the central palace (the central region of the body where the elixir is refined).

Shangchangzi said: "Wine drunk in the west" uses the relation of man and woman to represent the eastern and western directions, while "flowers opening in the north" uses the human body to explain the southern and northern directions. Daoguang has already revealed the meaning of this in the earlier passage, and Lu Gong makes it explicit in the later one. Those who hear and receive these teachings must believe in them and handle them with care.

The "months of the Hare and the Rooster" refer to the months of Mao and You, that is, the seasons around the spring and autumn equinoxes. When the situation of Yin and Yang and the qi of De (Virtue) and Xing (Punishment) arrive at the door, the signs of the medicinal substance appear.

At this stage, the gold sand (the elixir produced by refining) should be bathed. If fire continues to be added, there is a danger of overturning the vessel.

Daoguang said: "Two" represents De, and "eight" represents Xing. When the months of Mao and You and their corresponding hours arrive, the situation of Yin and Yang and the qi of De and Xing appear as the signs of the medicinal substance.

At this stage, the gold sand should be bathed. If fire continues to be added, there is a danger of overturning.

Daoguang said: "Two" represents De, and "eight" represents Xing. At this point one should indeed bathe the elixir and not continue adding fire.

Ziye said: The method of refining the elixir is this: during the phase of Yang qi, one advances the Yang fire; during the phase of Yin qi, one nourishes the Yin talisman. The fire timing (huohou) and the talisman timing must change along with the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang, and this is a principle that cannot be altered at will. The months of Mao and You are the times of the spring and autumn equinoxes, when Yin contains Yang and Yang contains Yin. For this reason one does not dare to advance the fire at this time, and uses only the steaming of true qi to carry out "bathing" (an alchemical term meaning to pause the fire and gently warm the elixir), in order to preserve the elixir and avoid danger. The Cantong qi says, "In the eighth month wheat grows," indicating that within Yin there is a living qi; and "In the second month the elm dies," indicating that within Yang there is a killing qi.

Master Shangyang said: "Punishment" (xing) is killing and subjugation, while "virtue" (de) is accomplishment and efficacy. "Punishment" also implies danger, whereas "virtue" implies preservation and nurturing. Since the golden sand has already been placed in the cauldron, it must be nurtured gently so that it grows steadily and securely. The Perfected of Purple Clarity once sighed that when vapors fill the deep caverns, how could one not be cautious?

The sun and the moon (Taiyang and Taiyin) meet once every thirty days. In cultivation, one follows the rhythm of this season and reckons one day as one double-hour, so that the subtle techniques within it can be employed.

One must understand when to hold still like a garrison defending a city and when to act like an army fighting in the open field. Only then can one discern auspicious from inauspicious and allow the numinous sand to keep increasing, while a red light gradually appears in the cauldron.

Daoguang said: The sun and the moon require a month to be tended. The Perfected of Purple Clarity once sighed that when vapors fill the deep caverns, how could one not be cautious?

The sun and the moon unite once a month, and the sages follow this pattern by reckoning one day as one double-hour, using the month for the day and the day for the hour. "Guarding the city" refers to ceasing the practice after bathing (muyu) and quietly nourishing the inner process. "Fighting in the open field" refers to the joining of the Dragon and Tiger, that is, the stage of cultivation in which Yin and Yang interact and one adopts vigorous, advancing methods. "Divine work" (shengong) refers to the measured regulation of advancing the fire (jinhuo). If Yin and Yang fall out of balance and the timing goes awry, the inner signs will not respond even though the outer fire has been kindled. One who masters the essentials of advancing the fire and retreating the water (tuishui), discerns auspicious from inauspicious, and accords with the heavens by aligning with the movement of the stars will find that the numinous embryo naturally coalesces within, and the spirit cauldron grows ever more radiant.

Ziye said: The Great Yin and the Great Yang unite once a month. The method of cultivation is to substitute the double-hour for the number of days. When Kan and Li (Water and Fire) join, that is precisely the moment when the month ends and the next begins, when the medicinal substances sprout, and it is not an ordinary double-hour.

The Master Shangyang said: In a year there are twelve full moons, which clearly reveal the days when Yang qi stirs. A month of day and night contains three thousand ke (periods of time), and at each ke one must attend to the moment when the Water of the Renwei (gui) begins to arise. In the open-field phase one gathers the lead, and in the phase of guarding the city one need only nourish. One must discern auspicious from inauspicious in order to preserve the results of cultivation.

When the hexagrams Pi (Stagnation) and Tai (Peace) first interact, all things are abundantly filled and grow; when Zhun (Difficulty at the Beginning) and Meng (Youthful Folly) receive the qi of their hexagrams, they are brought into being.

It is enough to grasp the essential meaning and not cling to the hexagram images. To insist on probing each line only exhausts one's energy in vain.

The Winter Solstice and the Summer Solstice mark the critical points at which Yin Qi and Yang Qi begin to change, while the Zi hour and the Wu hour mark the starting points of the daily cycle. The sages used the changes of Yin and Yang to regulate the fuhuo (talisman fire, a metaphor in Neidan practice for the control of fire), so that it accorded with the rise and fall of the qi of heaven and earth and with the movements of the sun and moon. They gathered the changes of the four seasons, the eight nodes, the twenty-four solar terms, and the seventy-two pentads and placed them within the cauldron (ding, a symbol of internal alchemy), thereby generating the "Body of True Unity" (zhenyi zhi ti, the pure and unified inner elixir substance).

For this reason, the ancients borrowed hexagram images and arranged symbols across the three ten-day periods of each month to clarify profound principles and to explain the timing of the fire in practice. To apply the hexagrams and lines rigidly as mere forms is a mistake. Nevertheless, Tun (Difficulty at the Beginning) and Meng (Youthful Folly) head all the hexagrams. They symbolize the beginning of generation and transformation and the root from which creation draws its endowment. Therefore the morning is represented by the Tun hexagram, and the evening by the Meng hexagram.

Pi (Stagnation) and Tai (Peace) illustrate the application of the rising and falling of Yin and Yang. At the spring equinox, Yang ascends into the space between heaven and earth, and Yin and Yang are equal in measure. This corresponds to the Tai hexagram, and it also resembles the weather at the first quarter moon. At this time Yin and Yang join naturally, and no further fire is needed. This is called muyu (bathing), meaning that the fire is suspended and Yin and Yang are left to harmonize on their own. At the autumn equinox, Yin descends into the space between heaven and earth, and again Yin and Yang are equal in measure. This corresponds to the Pi hexagram, and it also resembles the weather at the last quarter moon. At this time Yin and Yang naturally conjoin, and again no fire is added, which is likewise called bathing. These are only hexagram images used to explain the regularities of practice, so why should one cling to the hexagrams and lines?

Zi Ye said: Once Yin and Yang have united, the myriad things grow, and their growth is unending. What brings about this union of Yin and Yang is the fire timing. Taking Tun in the morning and Meng in the evening is the guiding principle in applying the fire timing. If students understand this, they will naturally grasp the application of the remaining hexagram images.

Shangyang Zi said: When the qi of heaven and earth has not yet communicated, this is called Pi. When Yin and Yang have united, this is called Tai. Tun signifies the beginning of endowment and generation, and Meng signifies the work of receiving nourishment and cultivation. These passages speak of the Way of Neidan practice.

The symbols within the hexagram images were originally used only to present the forms of things. Once one grasps the symbol, one may set aside the words, and the meaning becomes clear of its own accord.

Some later Daoist practitioners, however, became lost in the details. They fixed their attention on the hexagrams, ran the hexagram qi in accordance with its cycle, and hoped that this would bring them to ascension.

Daoguang said: The hexagrams are merely tools for explaining the fire timing (huohou). The Cantong qi (Kinship of the Three) borrows the hexagrams of the Yijing (Book of Changes) to elucidate the Dan Dao (Way of the Elixir). It likens Qian and Kun to the cauldron and furnace, and Kan and Li to the medicinal materials. It also places the four hexagrams Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li at the central palace and does not count them among the hexagrams in circulation. The remaining sixty hexagrams are distributed across a single month to serve as an analogy for the operation of the fire-talisman (fuhuo): beginning with the hexagrams Tun and Meng and ending with Jiji and Weiji, they cycle endlessly, like the wheel of a cart turning without pause. Two hexagrams preside each day, so that thirty days together make up the sixty. Adding the four hexagrams Qian, Kun, Kan, and Li brings the total to sixty-four hexagrams and three hundred and eighty-four lines, which symbolize a year together with its intercalary month. The three hundred and eighty-four lines also symbolize the number "two eights, one jin" spoken of in the golden elixir teachings, where one jin is equivalent to three hundred and eighty-four zhu. All of this uses the hexagrams as metaphor. If one truly understands the fire timing, the hexagrams and lines are no longer necessary. Yet students of the Dao instead become fixated on the hexagrams, exhaust themselves following the hexagram qi, and hope in this way to ascend. How lamentable this is!

Zi Ye said: Our former master borrowed the yin and yang of the Yijing hexagrams as metaphors only to explain the operation of one's own cosmic transformation (zaohua). If one clings to the hexagrams and the written words, searching for truth by following the diagrams, one is very far from the Great Dao.

Shangyang Zi said: When the Dan Dao likens Qian and Kun to the cauldron vessel, it is meant to help people understand the principle of male and female, yin and yang. When it likens the Dragon and Tiger to Kan and Li as symbols of the medicinal materials, it is meant to show that lead and mercury are things born from the Dragon and Tiger. People of the world cling to the words of the Yijing yet do not understand the purpose of the hexagrams; and even those who understand the purpose of the hexagrams may not grasp the principles of the Yijing. To understand the principles of the Yijing, one must realize them within oneself, rather than rely on fixation on the hexagram qi.

The fullness and emptiness of Heaven and Earth each have their proper seasons; only by carefully observing their waxing and waning can one understand the timing within them.

Since antiquity, the stems and branches such as Geng, Jia, and Shen have been used to indicate decrees and regulations. If one can eliminate the Three Corpses (sanshi) within the body, the Three Corpses being the spirit-beings said in Daoism to dwell in the human body and obstruct cultivation, then attaining the Dao becomes a real possibility.

Daoist Light (Daoguang) says: Between heaven and earth lies a distance of eighty-four thousand li. Beginning at the winter solstice, yang qi rises from within the earth, ascending four hundred and sixty li and two hundred and forty paces each day. Five days make one hou (pentad), three hou make one qi (period), three qi make one jie (seasonal node), and three jie make one shi (season). Ninety days after the winter solstice comes the spring equinox. At this point yang qi has risen a total of forty-two thousand li, reaching exactly the midpoint between heaven and earth. Within yin, half of the yang qi is already present, corresponding to the hexagram Tai (Peace). Air temperature shifts from cold to warm, and the myriad things begin to grow.

From the spring equinox onward, yang qi continues to ascend into the position of yang, until the summer solstice. Including the days before, this totals one hundred and eighty-four days, by which time yang qi has reached the highest point of heaven, eighty-four thousand li in all. Yang qi now attains its fullest extent, corresponding to the hexagram Qian (Heaven) and called pure yang. Air temperature shifts from warm to hot, and the myriad things flourish abundantly, which is why this is called "fullness." Once yang reaches its extreme, yin qi begins to stir and emerge.

After the summer solstice, yin qi descends from heaven, dropping four hundred and sixty li and two hundred and forty paces each day. After ninety days, it reaches the autumn equinox. Yin qi has now descended a total of forty-two thousand li, again reaching the midpoint between heaven and earth. Within yang, half of the yin qi is now present, corresponding to the hexagram Pi (Standstill). Air temperature shifts from hot to cold, and the myriad things form their fruits.

Thereafter yin qi continues to descend into the position of yin, until the winter solstice. Including the days before, this totals one hundred and eighty days, by which time yin qi has reached the bottom of the earth, eighty-four thousand li in all. Yin qi now attains its fullest extent, corresponding to the hexagram Kun (Earth) and called pure yin. Air temperature shifts from cool to cold, and the myriad things contract and grow still, entering the season of storage and concealment. Hence it is said, "Heaven and earth wax and wane."

The waxing and waning of the moon can be used to observe the rise and fall of Yin-Yang. The moon is born from the sun. On the third day, the Zhen trigram corresponds to Geng, and the moon first appears. On the eighth day, the Dui trigram corresponds to Ding, and the moon takes the form of a half moon. On the fifteenth day, the Qian trigram corresponds to Jia, and the moon is full, which is why it is called "full" (ying). On the sixteenth day, the Xun trigram corresponds to Xin, and the moon begins to wane. On the twenty-third day, the Gen trigram corresponds to Bing, and the moon becomes the waning half moon. On the thirtieth day, the Kun trigram corresponds to Yi, and the moon disappears, which is why it is called "empty" (xu).

The sage observed the regularity of fullness and emptiness in heaven and earth, condensing the seasonal changes of the year into a single month, and used this to infer that within a single day, yang qi first stirs, like the winter solstice. Two and a half days correspond to the climatic changes of a month. When the moon reaches its first quarter, Yin already holds half of Yang, like the spring equinox. On the fifteenth day, which corresponds to the solar term of the fourth month, the moon is full and presents the image of pure Yang. Yang qi is abundant, which is why it is called "full." On the sixteenth day, Yin begins to grow, like the summer solstice. By the last quarter, Yang already holds half of Yin, like the autumn equinox. On the thirtieth day, which corresponds to the solar term of the tenth month, the moon is hidden and without light, presenting the image of pure Yin. Yin qi is exhausted, which is why it is called "empty." Thus it ends and begins again, cycling without cease.

The sage applied "Yin tallies" (yinfu) and "Yang fire" (yanghuo), principles of alchemy for regulating Yin-Yang and the fire timing (huohou), following entirely the regularity of heaven and earth's fullness and emptiness, rising and falling, going and returning. The sixty-four hexagrams also operate according to the principle of the moon's waxing and waning symbolized by Geng and Jia. This is like a ruler issuing and carrying out commands: once the Yin corpses are entirely eliminated, the attainment of the Dao is within reach.

Master Ziye says: Once practitioners understand the principle of heaven and earth's fullness and emptiness, waxing and waning, they should cultivate themselves accordingly. Grasping the moment of "Geng giving birth, Jia bringing fullness," which symbolizes generation and completion, after the new moon and before the full moon, they should take in the qi of heaven and earth at its most abundant and gather it back into the body. Refining and nourishing it until it coalesces into an elixir, how could the corpse-ghosts not be destroyed?

Master Shangyang said: When the tide rises, the heavens and earth take on a state of fullness; when the tide recedes, emptiness appears. This is the fullness and emptiness of Heaven and Earth. When the moon is full, it is full (ying); when it wanes, it is empty (xu). This is the fullness and emptiness of the sun and moon. In spring, all things sprout; in summer, they grow luxuriantly; in autumn, they gather inward; in winter, they become still. This is the fullness and emptiness of the four seasons. When the body's Qi (vital energy) is abundant, there is fullness; when it dissipates, there is emptiness. This is the fullness and emptiness of the human body. When Guishui (the "Water of Gui," a traditional term associated with the essence stored in the kidneys and the menstrual cycle) is stirred, there is fullness; when it moves away from its peak, there is emptiness. This is the fullness and emptiness within the cultivation of the Golden Elixir.

Master Changchun said: This is like inflating a ball with breath. When the air is sufficient, the ball is full and taut; when the air is insufficient, the ball goes slack and soft. The waxing and waning of Qi is the most crucial matter, and the practitioner must learn to observe it and regulate it. Those who are beginning their cultivation must first rid themselves of the Three Corpses (Sanshi), the inner defilements that the Daoist tradition holds to harm body and mind, and of the Six Thieves (Liuzei), a term in Buddhist and Daoist practice that usually refers to the six sensory desires that disturb the mind. They should refine the mind until it is as clear as the Great Void (taixu), a vast and tranquil emptiness, and keep the Six Roots (liugen), namely eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, pure. Only then may they enter a quiet chamber to cultivate the Great Elixir (dadan), the state pursued in Neidan (internal alchemy).

To keep the Valley Spirit (Gushen), the spirit that is empty and still yet luminously aware, enduring and undying, one must establish its foundation in the Mysterious Female (Xuanpin), the root from which the Dao generates and transforms all things, which in internal alchemy is also the basis of practice.

Once the True Essence (Zhenjing) returns to the Golden Chamber (Jinshi), an internal alchemical term for the place within the body where Jing and Qi are stored, a single point of numinous light can remain without ever departing.

Daoguang said: "The transformations of Yin and Yang are difficult to fathom; this is called Shen (spirit). When the mind-spirit responds to stimulation, it reaches and answers, like an echo in an empty valley, and so it is called the Valley Spirit. Shen stands upon Qi, and Qi is born from Jing. Jing can generate Qi, and Qi can generate Shen."

Once the True Essence returns to the Golden Chamber, a single point of numinous light can remain without ever departing.

Daoguang said: "The transformations of Yin-Yang are profound and unpredictable, and this is what is called shen (spirit). When it responds to stimulus and can communicate, it is like a valley echoing a sound, which is why it is called the 'Valley Spirit' (gushen). Shen is established by means of qi, and qi is produced from jing (essence). Jing can generate qi, and qi can generate shen. Therefore shen and qi are the masters of the body, and the body is the place where form and qi gather. If the form has no shen, it cannot endure; if qi is not generated, shen and qi have nothing to rely on. Each depends on the other, and only then can life take shape."

"To lay the foundation for cultivating longevity, one must rely entirely on the 'Mysterious Female' (xuanpin, referring to the root from which Yin-Yang unites and generation and transformation arise). Only once the Mysterious Female is established can longevity be spoken of. All things are born from it, and through these same two forces they die. It is truly the root of Heaven and Earth, the source of the Five Phases, the origin of Yin-Yang, and the foundation of the transformations of all things. The sage relies on it to refine the Waidan (external alchemy), and also relies on it to cultivate the inner elixir. Therefore, when true jing returns to the body's 'Golden Chamber' (the place within inner practice where the essence of qi is treasured), it condenses into a numinous light, then transforms form into qi and qi into shen, bringing both body and spirit to a refined state, uniting with the Dao and attaining the True, its changes hidden and manifest beyond measure."

Zi Ye said: "'Valley' carries the sense of nurturing, and 'Mysterious Female' refers to Yin-Yang. If a person wishes to nourish shen and attain longevity, Yin and Yang must unite and harmonize. Only then can qi become shen, and form and shen reach a refined state, uniting with the Dao and attaining the True, with their appearing and disappearing transformations beyond measure."

Zi Ye further said: "'Valley' carries the sense of nurturing, and 'Mysterious Female' refers to Yin-Yang. If a person wishes to nourish shen and attain longevity, Yin and Yang must unite and harmonize; only then will golden jing return to its own central palace (an inner-alchemy term referring to the center of the body, where jing is stored and nourished), where it remains lasting like a bright pearl."

Shangyang Zi said: "The Valley Spirit never dies; this is the Mysterious Female, and the gate of the Mysterious Female is the root of Heaven and Earth." These are the words of Laozi, which the immortal master further clarified for later generations. Cultivation must first establish a foundation, because the Mysterious Female is the gate through which the body's inner movements pass, and it is also where the Golden Elixir is condensed. Practitioners must first thoroughly understand the meaning of the Mysterious Female, namely the place where Yin and Yang unite and jing and qi gather, before they can obtain a numinous pearl.

Few in the world know the gate of the Mysterious Female,

and instead take the mouth and nose for it, practicing at random.

Even if one practices breath-regulation and guided exercises for a thousand years,

how could one refine the Golden Crow and the Jade Hare?

("Golden Crow" and "Jade Hare" are images frequently used in inner alchemy, symbolizing Yin-Yang or the essences of sun and moon respectively. The final two lines make the point that if one mistakes the Mysterious Female for the mouth and nose and practices only breathing techniques, one cannot forge the Golden Elixir even after a thousand years.)

Daoguang said: "The Mysterious Female Gate" (xuanpin zhi men) is the root from which all things in heaven and earth are born and transformed. Most practitioners of the Way (Dao) do not understand this principle. Without a true teacher to point the way, how could one comprehend it even after a thousand years?

Since heaven and earth were opened, the generation of all things has depended on two functions, the Mysterious (xuan) and the Female (pin). The practices of internal alchemy (neidan) and external alchemy (waidan) were established on this basis. The sages kept its secrets and named it the Riyan Yue Lu (Reclining-Sun, Moon-Bowl Furnace), the Xuantai Ding (Suspended Embryo Cauldron), and other names. The "golden crow" (jinwu) refers to the Golden Elixir (jindan). Practitioners use the Golden Elixir to subdue their own yin mercury (yin gong), just as one catches a mouse or a hawk seizes a hare. Some people take the space between the two kidneys, or the Single Cavity of Primordial Chaos (hunyuan yi xue), to be the Mysterious Female. This is mistaken. The Mysterious Female consists of two functions, and without them, how could the myriad things be produced? A single acupoint in the body cannot be made into a universal explanation. To identify the Mysterious Female with the mouth and nose is a greater error still.

Zi Ye said: The previous chapter mentioned only the two words "Mysterious Female," while this chapter goes further to explain the meaning of "gate" (men). A gate is the place through which things go out and come in, and it is also the place where yin and yang meet. Without a teacher who transmits the intent from mind to mind and passes on the key secrets orally, how could one possibly grasp this principle by guessing?

Shangyang Zi said: After Laozi named the four characters "the gate of the Mysterious Female," later true masters and immortal sages relied on them to find the point of entry for cultivating the Great Elixir (dadan). Fools take the mouth and nose to be the Mysterious Female, and they take breath exchange and breathing as the proper path of cultivation. To understand it this way is wrong, and how could it cause the "crow and hare" (wu tu) to unite? The "crow and hare" are figurative references to the function of yin and yang meeting.

Different names point to the same source, and few understand this. The two subtle functions, the Mysterious and the Female, are the key to cultivation. To preserve life and body, one must understand the principle of increase and decrease. The Purple Gold Elixir (zijin dan) is the most efficacious of all.

Daoguang said: The scripture says, "Non-being is the beginning of Heaven and Earth; being is the mother of the ten thousand things." It also says, "Being and non-being issue from the same source but bear different names." When it is in the state of non-being, the True One Qi (the primordial qi of the Daoist tradition) cannot be seen, and so it is called the beginning of Heaven and Earth. When it reaches the state of being, the True One Pearl appears within the deep and mysterious realm, and so it is called the root of the ten thousand things. Above, it is called Li and mercury; below, it is called Kan and lead. The two are originally one body, yet their functions differ. This is called "the Mysterious" (xuan), mysterious upon mysterious. Practitioners of superior capacity and the Realized Perfected, who grasp the subtle mechanism of being and non-being and understand when to diminish and when to augment, and who use this to regulate themselves, are able to preserve the form and protect life and nature. "Diminution" refers to the Five Phases moving in their ordinary course, so that life arises and perishes. "Augmentation" refers to the Five Phases reversing their movement, so that the inner elixir constantly preserves its numinous nature and endures without loss. Ah, the pure purple gold (a metaphor for the pure, refined inner elixir) stands at the beginning of Heaven and Earth and gives birth to the mother of the ten thousand things. Is this not the most spiritually efficacious Golden Elixir (jindan)?

Ziye said: Qi divides into Yin and Yang, and so they have different names; yet both arise from the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji), and so it is said that they issue from the same source. Yin and Yang are the pivot of cultivation: they are able to protect life and nature and preserve the form, so that external things suffer no loss while the self is augmented. Gold within water (a symbolic expression in inner alchemy) is truly wondrous!

Shangyang Zi said: They both arise from the Supreme Ultimate, and so it is said that they issue from the same source. Yin and Yang are the pivot of cultivation: they are able to protect life and nature and preserve the form, so that external things suffer no loss while the self is augmented. Gold within water is truly wondrous!

Shangyang Zi said: The "different names" refer to being and non-being, the boundless and the subtle, the beginning of Heaven and Earth and the mother of the ten thousand things, the Mysterious and the Female (the Mysterious Dao and the source of generation and transformation), and so on. These are all the places where Yin and Yang join, and also the ground where the Golden Elixir is formed. Those of superior capacity must first comprehend these two, being and non-being, before they can cultivate the purple gold elixir.

When one first employs the method of purposive cultivation (youwei), others cannot see it; only when one enters the state of non-action (wuwei) do the people come to know.

People see only that non-action is the essential subtlety of cultivation; how would they know that purposive action is its foundation?

Daoguang said: The fish basket and the fishing tools are still held in hand, yet one says that no one knows me. Having reached the far shore, one no longer needs the boat, yet the onlookers all stare wide-eyed. Ordinary people and sages mingle in the marketplace and the court, and fish and dragons travel together upon the Great Way. How lamentable that people of the world stand face to face yet do not recognize one another.

Ziye said: Is gathering medicine and regulating the fire timing (huohou) really wuwei (non-action)? If one knows only non-action and not purposeful cultivation, how can one form the Golden Elixir (jindan)?

Shangyangzi said: If one does nothing at all and simply grows old, how can one obtain the medicinal substances? Entering the chamber to gather the lead is purposeful effort. A cultivator may dwell among the markets and the court, so how could others perceive the work? Anyone who wishes to attain a great realm must first lay a foundation. When one obtains a pearl of medicine the size of a millet grain, one knows the cultivation is not astray. After nine years of sitting and forgetting (zuowang), the power of wuwei becomes deep, and when the work is complete, one may share its joy with others. If one speaks only of wuwei and does not first cultivate deliberately, this is the self-attachment of a fool. I offer these words earnestly to warn later scholars.

Black contains white: this is the root of the elixir. Male holds female within: this is the sacred embryo (shengtai), the inner elixir formed through cultivation.

Taiyi, the divine intention that governs inner work, dwells in the furnace and must be guarded with care. When treasures gather in the Upper, Middle, and Lower Dantian (the regions where jing, qi, and shen are refined within the body), they correspond to the Three Terrace stars.

Daoguang said: Obtaining silver from lead is the mother of the elixir, and refining mercury from cinnabar produces the sacred embryo. These two substances interact and transform, condensing in the furnace. One must discern the subtle fire timing and strictly keep the method without the slightest error. In this way the three natures of jing, qi, and shen converge, form the precious elixir, and correspond to the Three Terrace stars.

Ziye said: White within black is the gold within water, that is, the yang qi within the Kan trigram, which symbolizes water. If a person can gather this true yang and condense it into an embryo, this is what is called "male holds female within." When gathering medicine, one should keep Lord Taiyi in mind. If one cannot guard it carefully and private desires run wild, the treasure will be lost. As the master, should one not be wary of this?

Shangyangzi said: "Black contains white" means yin contains yang, symbolizing the external alchemy method (waidan). "Male holds female within" means yang obtains yin, symbolizing the internal alchemy method (neidan). Taiyi in the furnace must be guarded with even greater care so that the treasures of the three Dantian may gather.

Seek visible forms within vagueness and obscurity, and seek the true essence within the deep and silent stillness.

Wu and you have already begun to merge here, yet the transformations within them have not been seen. How could one imagine them out of thin air?

Daoguang says: Zhenyizi holds that "wu" refers to the Dragon and "you" to the Tiger. "Wu" is also Mercury, and "you" is also Lead. Because Wu is stirred by You, it takes on form, and because You responds to Wu, it gives rise to spirit. Thus one obtains an elixir body as small as a millet grain, empty and subtly mysterious, which emits a radiance as bright as the sun.

Ziye says: In cultivating the Golden Elixir (jindan), one must obtain the true essence (jing) and form within a realm that is deep, obscure, and hard to grasp, and only then is the work complete. If one has not received instruction from a teacher, one must not guess based only on one's own cleverness and knowledge.

Shangyangzi says: The scripture says that within the wondrous state of hazy obscurity, a light shines as bright as the sun.

Ziye says: In cultivating the Golden Elixir, one must obtain the true essence and form within a realm that is deep, obscure, and hard to grasp, and only then is the work complete. If one has not received instruction from a teacher, one must not guess based only on one's own cleverness and knowledge.

Shangyangzi says: The scripture says: "Within the hazy and indistinct, there is something; within the intermingled and obscure, there is an image; within the deep and dark, there is essence. This essence is real and not empty, and within it there is verification." The principles of the Golden Elixir Way are exhausted in these words. The master has once again made this meaning clear, and his sincerity and earnestness are plain to see. Without the true secrets transmitted through spoken instruction and the mind-to-mind transmission, how could one attain them through sitting in stillness and visualization alone?

When the Four Images (sixiang, four complementary symbolic forces in cultivation) converge, the mysterious elixir body takes shape; where the Five Phases (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water) are complete, a light like purple gold appears.

Shedding the mortal body, the Golden Elixir enters the mouth, and the whole body penetrates the sacred realm. Countless dragon spirits, upon seeing it, are all astonished.

Daoguang says: When the Four Images and Five Phases converge, the True One essence condenses into an elixir body as small as a millet grain, showing a purple radiance. This elixir circulates secretly within the body. In time it will emerge from the old form, and when swallowed, it will allow one to penetrate the divine and the heavens and earth, so that even the dragon spirits are amazed.

Ziye says: When the ten-month cycle is complete, the sacred embryo ripens, the whole body penetrates the sacred realm, and one communicates with the divine. How could this not astonish people?

Shangyangzi says: Once attained, it can be preserved over the long term, and the body naturally feels light and vigorous. At this point, when merit and practice are complete and the elixir spirit manifests, one may truly be called a great person (dazhangfu).

The feast in the Huachi (a term in Daoist internal alchemy referring to the place within the body where the cultivated saliva gathers) has ended, and the moon is clear and bright. Mounting the golden dragon, one sets off for Ziwei (a symbol of the dwelling of the Heavenly Emperor).

From this point on, the immortals gather and meet one another. It does not matter to them how the tides rise and fall, how mountains turn into deep valleys, or how the myriad things of the world change.

Daoguang (Dao Guang) says: After the banquet at Huachi (Flowery Pool, an alchemical term for the place where the medicine is produced), the elixir is completed and the work of cultivation is fulfilled. The practitioner sheds the mortal body, and body and spirit undergo spiritual transformation. The skin becomes as white and light as ice and snow, like Liezi, who rode the wind and drifted through the clouds, roaming the eight directions and viewing the great changes of the mortal world, where the blue sea turns into mulberry fields.

Ziye (Zi Ye) says: Huachi is the place where the medicine is produced. "Banquet concluded" means that the gathering of the medicine is finished and the shengtai (sacred embryo, the embryonic body formed by inner alchemy) is also perfected. The practitioner then reaches the state of "a body beyond the body" (shenwai you shen), and can pay court to the Yuanshi qi (primordial qi of origin) and visit the Heavenly Sovereign, going to Penglai and other isles of the immortals. There is no place they cannot reach.

Shangyangzi (Shangyang Zi) says: Huachi is Qujiang, which is also the gate of the Kangong (Kan Palace). The Golden Elixir (jindan) is formed here, and once the merit of cultivation is complete, one attains the rank of Tianxian (Celestial Immortal). This chapter is also Master Ziyang's own account of his cultivation attainments, offered as a warning to later generations. Master Ziyang was originally a star among the celestial officials of the Ziwei (Purple Tenuity) heavens.

To understand the method of the Jinye Huandan (Golden Liquor Returning Elixir), one must sow and cultivate in one's own garden.

Do not force the bellows or strain to push the fire. The fruit will ripen by itself, and the true embryo will also shed its shell and emerge.

Daoguang says: This principle is very close to us. The "garden" is originally within oneself, and one should apply effort at once. If one's work does not correspond to the Way of cultivation, the road only grows longer. If one can find medicinal substances of the same kind that correspond, why strain to force them?

Ziye says: The medicine gathered from "another's home" is brought back and cultivated in one's own garden until it ripens. The wonder of this natural generation cannot be brought about by human force.

Shangyangzi says: The root of the returning elixir method lies in one's own garden. The golden flower seed can be cultivated by itself. There is no need, as in Waidan (external alchemy), to tend a furnace and blow the fire. When the merit is complete and the fruit ripens, one can shed the mortal form. Daoist practitioners outside the world and tonsured monks should all know that the wonder of the garden lies within daily life, in the markets and the court. Vimalakirti, Fu Dashi, and others all once sowed and cultivated in this garden, which is why the Tathagata named it the Jigu Du Yuan (Garden of Anathapindika, or Jetavana).

Do not put on crafty deceit or false show to pass off as true work. Recognize the deathless formula that is kept in "another's home."

Continually add into the vessel the medicines that can preserve life...

Do not take crafty, deceptive, and ornamental methods as true cultivation work. Instead, recognize the undying medicinal substance contained within the "other family" (tajia). Keep adding the wine that preserves life into the gourd, and gather the elixir that calls the spirit back into the cauldron.

The commentator Daoguang explains that practitioners often cling to unorthodox and deceptive methods and apply their efforts to their own bodies, so how could they ever succeed? If one can grasp that the "other family" holds a medicine of immortality, and if this brings a returning fire of life into the belly, then this is the true treasure.

The commentator Ziye explains that the Dao discussed here is a matter of true yang (zhenyang) turning back to join with its counterpart, drawing out the vital qi (shengqi) hidden within the autumnal, killing force (susha). This is not the "Three Peaks Mating Practice" (sanfeng caizhan), which uses sexual union to gather and replenish, and the other clever and deceptive methods are likewise not the proper Way.