《紫阳真人悟真篇注疏》Vol. 4

This is not meant to rashly accuse others of being wrong, but to use the opportunity to explain the principle.

The Song of Stone Bridge

My family once lived north of Stone Bridge, surrounded by layers of mountain ridges and dense old trees. The stream beneath the bridge was clear, as if it flowed straight to Kunlun; the spring below the mountain tasted sweet and gave off a fresh fragrance.

I lived in the mountains, where the scenery was truly worth praising: even the smallest patches were filled with flowers, blooming without end. In a cave on the northern slope lurked a fierce tiger; when it emerged, its roar shook the heavens, as if stirring up wind and clouds. In a pool on the southern slope, a horned dragon lay hidden at the bottom; rising on clouds and bringing rain, it filled the mountains with mist.

The tiger and dragon both lay concealed, as if contending with one another. Hidden among them was the Mysterious Pearl, a sign of the Neidan (internal alchemy) or the true essence gained through cultivation; this was the true auspicious omen. The scenery filled me with admiration, and I rejoiced inwardly. Alone, I poured myself wine and drank, gradually growing drunk.

In my drunkenness, I played the zither without strings, a symbol of a state in which one relies on neither an external instrument nor its sound, but comprehends through mind and spirit. Every phrase of its music urged the listener to attend closely and understand. Yet no one knew what I meant once I was drunk. I sank into a drowsy silence, like a fool.

Looking up at the transformations of Heaven and Earth, I came to understand their wondrous workings: the sun seemed to rise in the west, and the moon appeared to return to the east. Heaven was Earth, and Earth was Heaven; Yin-Yang moved through cycles of change and naturally came into accord. If one could grasp the key to reversing the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), rosy clouds would soon rise, and one would enter the grotto-heaven, the celestial realm where immortals dwell.

A golden house and a white jade bed; jade maidens and golden youths attending day after day. The Southern Dipper and Northern Dipper stood in clear array, while the boundless forms of the cosmos appeared in solemn splendor. There was no division between day and night, and the work continued without pause. Every phase of the process—including gathering and dispersing, drawing in and adding—had to be properly mastered.

If one asks for the precise signs and location of the Golden Elixir, one must seek out a teacher to reveal the secret of “lead in the water.” “Wood generates Fire; Metal generates Water”: the sequence for using Water and Fire must be clearly understood. One must also distinguish floating from sinking and identify host and guest, so that lead, silver, cinnabar, and mercury—the symbolic terms used in Neidan—may meet and unite.

Cultivation requires balancing firmness and flexibility; one must not act recklessly. Only by knowing contentment and keeping to one’s proper place can one return to the root. When the myriad spirits come into harmony, there is a state of peace. To understand the secret of “lead in the water,” one must still seek a teacher’s guidance. The order of Wood and Fire, Metal and Water, along with the distinctions between floating and sinking, host and guest, and the union of lead, silver, cinnabar, and mercury, must all be discerned. Firmness and flexibility must work together; one must not let intention run unchecked. Be content and keep to one’s proper place, and one can return to the root.

When the myriad spirits are in harmony and all under Heaven is at peace, the nation is prosperous and the people rejoice.

This is easy to understand: those who truly accord with the Dao understand its principle.

Later practitioners speak only of nurturing the mind and body and preserving their original Qi, yet they do not know the true path of cultivation.

The principle is right before our eyes and seems simple; yet for those who truly attain it, its wonders are beyond compare.

First, it dispels illness and prolongs life. Then, through the refinement of the fire phases, the body is transformed into a pure Yang body. Here, “fire” refers to the timing and regulation of fire in Neidan (internal alchemy), not an ordinary flame.

Those who cultivate the Dao should reflect on themselves and stop asking about the minor techniques of side paths. Those who know only how to use immediate methods to frighten others fail to notice that they themselves are quietly wasting away.

I urge later generations who cultivate the Dao to be resolute and steadfast. Do not abandon your home and travel elsewhere to practice. The mysterious Dao does not leave your own person; why journey over a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers to seek it?

Do not delay or covet small gains. Seek a clear-sighted master at once and ask for profound guidance. If you do not learn to cultivate while alive, in your next life you may not know what kind of womb you will be born from.

Once you have set your heart on cultivating the Dao, see it through to the end. In the final reckoning, life’s great matters come down to birth and death. If Heaven should fail those who have set their hearts on the Dao, then let me fall into the Three Paths and become the lowest kind of ghost.

Xuankongzi says: This song praises the wonders of Golden Elixir cultivation as a whole and dispels the errors of side paths. The dragons and tigers, lead and silver, cinnabar and mercury, floating and sinking, host and guest mentioned in the poem refer to the true natures of the two things endowed by Yin and Yang. “The sun west, the moon east” and “Heaven is Earth, Earth is Heaven” are images for the union of Yin and Yang and the reversal of the Five Phases. Lead within water, fire arising from wood, and water arising from metal are images for the transformations produced by Yin and Yang. The “Mysterious Pearl” refers to the Golden Elixir condensing into form. Drawing out and adding to it day and night means adjusting the fire phases of cultivation according to a ten-month cycle. The references to nurturing and preserving Qi criticize the minor techniques of side paths. The poem praises the effects of the Golden Elixir and urges people to cultivate the Dao. Its language is plain and its meaning easy to understand, so there is no need for further elaborate explanation.

Do not use cunning and deception as though they were methods of cultivation; recognize the formula for immortality that comes from “another’s household.”

In the pot, wine that preserves life is continually added; in the cauldron, a brew that brings one back to life is gathered.

Most practitioners of self-cultivation cling to methods that are unrelated, contrived, and illusory. They focus only on exerting themselves, refusing to ask whether external things contain a kindred method of attaining long life: one that draws from the cauldron a Yang Elixir capable of bringing a person back to life, then adds Mercury Fire within the abdomen to extend life. Both are precious treasures for cultivating the body. The Cantong qi (Token for Joining the Three, a Daoist alchemical classic) says, “It is easy to work with what is of the same kind; with what is unlike, it is difficult to find a shortcut.” This bears out the point. “The other household” refers to the bowstring Qi contained in the White Tiger, which symbolizes true Yang Qi from outside oneself. Later students often take their own Jing and Qi to be true lead. If that were really so, why would the Immortal Master speak of “the other household”? Would he use those words to deceive people?

The previous poem says, “Turn toward your own garden to sow and plant.” The Nameless Master explains that this means refusing to seek guidance outside oneself, though in fact there is another kindred method of attaining long life. The previous poem speaks to oneself, so it says “turn toward your own”; here the teaching is directed to others, so it says “the other household.” But the “same kind” in both passages is the same. It does not mean that one person is like another; it means that primordial Qi—the original Qi from before birth—joins with primordial Qi. Using primordial Qi to replenish primordial Qi is like using inexhaustible Qi to replenish what is limited, and so makes becoming an immortal easier. The Cantong qi says, “Primordial Jing flows forth, and through Qi rests upon the beginning.” This refers to the joining of things of the same kind.

If one uses the human body to replenish the human body, both bodies belong to Yin. Replenishing Yin with Yin is like a hen hatching her own eggs: the form remains incomplete. How, then, could this bring about the wondrous principle of Yin-Yang union? How could it make precelestial Qi condense into an Elixir, transform the body into a purely Yang form, and make one a pure Yang immortal?

Strike the bamboo to summon the numinous tortoise to swallow the jade fungus; play the zither to draw the phoenix near to drink the ladleful of Elixir.

In recent cultivation, the practitioner’s whole body radiates a golden light. This level of skill and attainment is not something to discuss casually with ordinary people.

The commentary explains the method of controlling the fire using alchemical terms. “Tortoise” refers to lead, and “phoenix” to mercury. The tortoise and phoenix also symbolize the northern Black Tortoise and southern Vermilion Bird, as well as the Kan and Li trigrams. When the Dragon and Tiger unite, like husband and wife coming together or musical tones harmonizing, they symbolize the refinement of Yin and Yang. The commentary also says that “knife and measure” refers to the implement used with the Yin Talisman, while “jade fungus” refers to the energy of the Yang Fire. The Dragon’s string energy is called jade fungus, and the Tiger’s string energy is called knife and measure. Once the interplay of Yin and Yang produces the Golden Elixir, it must be gathered promptly and sent into the Dantian, the “earthen cauldron” used as a metaphor for internal cultivation, to subdue the practitioner’s own Yin mercury.

The practitioner must then harmonize Yin and Yang with an open and receptive mind, joining them as husband and wife do, and guide the talismanic fire according to the movement of the hexagram lines. The talismanic fire works together with the breath: Shen and Qi direct Water and Fire, which are then used to refine and nourish embryonic breathing, the subtle breath described in internal cultivation. As embryonic breathing circulates within the body, the energies of Kan and Li interact in the central palace, the earthen cauldron, nourishing lead and mercury. Day and night, lead and mercury are refined and nourished by the energy of the talismanic fire, gradually forming the substance of liquid gold. This is called “returning the Golden Elixir through liquid gold.”

According to the Yizhen Lun, when one circulates the “fire timing” (the process of regulating breath, intention, and the movement of Qi during internal alchemy), one may sometimes feel something between the tailbone and the lower spine. It seems to surge straight toward the two gateways at the spine between the shoulder blades. Along the way, one may hear a clear sound. It then rises in reverse to the Mud Pill (the brain region inside the crown of the head). From there, it touches the area above, then descends into the mouth, bead by bead. Each bead is shaped like a sparrow’s egg and tastes like icy, flaky pastry, sweet and fragrant beyond compare. When this sensation occurs, it is called the “Golden Liquid Returning to the Elixir,” a vision in internal alchemy in which essence and Qi are refined and gathered back within. It should be swallowed slowly and guided back to the Dantian, the abdominal center used in internal alchemy. If this happens often, the five organs become clear and still. With the eyes closed and attention turned inward, one seems to see the organs distinctly, as though illuminated by candlelight. Gradually, ten thousand rays of golden light appear, shining brilliantly through the body, while wheels of fire and clouds seem to circle around it. Various miraculous signs arise one after another, demonstrating that the practitioner has passed beyond the ordinary and entered the realm of the sages. These are not metaphors but actual inner visions. The Immortal Elder silently endured this extraordinary experience and dared not tell anyone, for it was beyond what ordinary people in the world could see or hear. The passage above discusses the two kinds of medicine, inner and outer.

Chen Shangyangzi said: “‘Bamboo’ is hollow within and straight on the outside. If it is not straight, strike it so that it can respond to things beyond itself. ‘Qin’ expresses the harmony of string tones. If the tones are discordant, adjust the strings so that the instrument can accomplish what is intended. ‘Jade Fungus’ refers to the dragon’s inner and outer medicines.”

Master Chen Shangyangzi said: Bamboo is hollow within and straight in form. If it is not straight enough, it must be struck so that it can respond to things outside itself. A qin makes sound through the harmony of its fine strings. If the sound is out of tune, the strings must be adjusted so that it can serve the music being played. “Jade Zhi” is Dragon Qian; “Knife Measure” is a Kun substance. Calling the Tortoise is within my power, while summoning the Phoenix depends on the other party. Without the Qi of Great Harmony, how could the other party summon my Phoenix?

If practitioners miss the moment when the Qi of the hexagrams is in motion, the bamboo cannot respond to things. Should it not then be struck? “Striking” means beating it. If the qin is out of tune, should it not be adjusted? “Adjusting” means playing it into harmony. Thus, even at seventy or eighty, or as late as one hundred and twenty, one can still cultivate the Return Elixir—the Elixir formed through Neidan practice. This is precisely the Way. How could ordinary people and commonplace practitioners understand such things? If they have taken the wrong teacher, how could they possibly grasp them? Unless one is a true immortal sage-teacher who, under oath before Heaven, teaches them directly, who could know these mysteries?

Long ago, my teacher, Lord Ziqiong, passed these teachings on to the Perfected One Taixuan. Once, a skilled debater came to pay him a visit and asked, “Striking bamboo summons lightning; swallowing Jade Zhi. May I ask my teacher: what does ‘blowing the Tortoise’ mean?” Taixu replied, “I can tell you the principle of calling the Tortoise. First, tell me what you think ‘striking bamboo’ means.” The man said, “It is the highest and most profound key.” Taixu said, “I am not asking about the highest and most profound key. I am asking what you mean by striking bamboo.” The man replied, “It is a secret and mysterious essential.” Taixu said, “You learned those words on the long connected couch. Take them out and debate the world with them; this is no place of mine for discussing ‘blowing the Tortoise.’” The man still did not understand.

Later, Ziqiong clarified the matter. The man asked him again, “Do you know striking bamboo?” Ziqiong replied, “When the mind is still and unmoving, a response brings natural understanding.” The man then asked, “Do you know blowing the Tortoise?” Ziqiong replied, “Treating others with courtesy and lowering oneself is a way of seeking something.” Ziqiong then asked, “Why did that skilled debater fail to understand just now?” Taixu replied, “He has not truly taken refuge. Even if he guesses, he cannot understand.” Taixu also warned, “Understanding the principle is not difficult; putting it into practice is difficult.”

Even when one has fully awakened to the true suchness (zhenru), the true and unchanging nature, one may still be reborn into a new bodily form after this life ends.

If one can further cultivate the great medicine (da yao), the core substance of Golden Elixir (jindan) practice, one can at once transcend the state of defilement (youlou) bound by birth and death and become a Perfected Person (zhenren).

The commentary explains that even if a person suddenly awakens to the true mind, and goes directly beyond the sea of nature of true emptiness and pure stillness realized by the Tathagata (Rulai), one still experiences a distinction between this life and the next and must leave this body and enter another form. If one also cultivates the Golden Elixir and refines the body so that it returns to formlessness and transforms without limit, one attains a power of response and transformation as vast as a thousand hands and a thousand eyes. Therefore, once the Way of form and spirit, life and nature (xing shen xing ming zhi dao) is accomplished, one can transcend the defiled body, possess a compassionate appearance like true gold, dignified and majestic, become a teacher of gods and humans, and attain the state of supreme true perfection (wushang zhizhen). If the wondrous functions of spiritual power have not yet manifested, and the great method is not yet fully understood, and even a trace of omission remains, then one will abandon this body and enter another form again.

If one awakens to the Dao perfectly and clearly and refines the Golden Elixir, one's cultivation reaches the utmost limits of the ten directions (shifang), and one is called a Perfected Person. Later, deluded people mistake minor side methods (pangmen), such as massage, rubbing, and breath regulation (tuna), for the Golden Elixir that brings the self into accord with the Dao. The Golden Elixir arises from nature, while the side methods arise from forced human effort. The Golden Elixir takes the moon as its root, begins in the direction of Gengjin (the metal phase of the west), and converges at the origin of Kan Water (the source associated with water and kidney qi). When metal and water unite, transformation (zaohua) occurs, and so it is called the Golden Elixir. The above describes the Way of nature and life. The cultivation of nature and life together (xing ming shuang xiu) is a practice that balances Yin and Yang. If one comprehends the principles of nature (xingli) but does not understand nature and life together, one will lean toward Yin or Yang, producing imbalance and harm, and will still face the danger of abandoning this body and entering another.

Misfortune and fortune have always depended on and transformed into one another, following each other inseparably like shadow and echo.

If one can grasp and transform the pivot (shuji) of life and death, calamity can turn into blessing in the space of a moment.

Yang qi (yángqì) governs nurturing and growth and brings good fortune, while yin qi (yīnqì) governs severity and destruction and brings calamity. As yin recedes, yang grows, and when yang reaches its peak, yin begins to stir again. Yin-Yang (yīnyáng) depend on and transform into one another, just as shadow and echo always follow form and sound. This is the constant principle of nature's movement and change.

If one reverses this timing of killing and nurturing and applies it in cultivation, one can turn calamity into blessing as easily as turning over a palm, transform harm into grace, and even enable men and women to conceive and bear children, bringing about what could not otherwise be achieved. The passage above cites the Yinfu Jing (Scripture of Hidden Accord), a Daoist classic, to illustrate the Dao (the Way).

When the monkey-mind (xīnyuán, a metaphor for restless, wandering thoughts) has become clear, one can grasp the essential key within the inch-square heart (referring to the inner mind). Having accumulated three thousand units of merit through practice (the good deeds and virtue that Daoism speaks of), one can then unite with the Heavenly Dao.

Naturally, there would be a cauldron furnace (a symbol of alchemical refining) in which to cook the Dragon and Tiger (terms of Neidan (inner alchemy) referring to the Yin and Yang qi within the body). Yet one remains attached to family property, children, and wife, and so finds it difficult to devote oneself wholeheartedly to cultivation.

The commentary says this poem warns those who do not know how to turn back and correct themselves. "The mechanism of the square inch" refers to the mind-heart of the practitioner. Before refining the returning elixir (huandan), the internal alchemy process of Neidan, a cultivator must first make the mind clear and settled, so that it is no longer governed by scattered thoughts. An old song says: "Human life is originally like a monkey, and all afflictions arise from the mind racing outward. If one can gather and subdue the mind, the disturbances stirred by the six senses will condense into stillness and form an essence-qi as luminous as a night-shining pearl." Master Lü said: "Before refining the returning elixir, one must first refine the mind."

The Xishan Ji (Record of the Western Mountain) says: "The highest immortals and sages teach people to cultivate the Dao, and this is teaching them to cultivate the mind; to teach people to cultivate the mind is also to teach them to cultivate the Dao." It also says: "When the thoughts are restrained, one is upright; when they are indulged and left unchecked, one becomes wild. When the mind is clear and calm, the Dao-heart arises; when the spirit is dim and muddy, the essential spirit is lost." This is the essential point.

The "practice" mentioned here refers to the interplay and circulation of Yin and Yang. The Immortal Elder said: "The cultivation of the great medicine (dayao) is sometimes easy and sometimes difficult. One must understand that it depends both on oneself and on heaven's timing. If one does not accumulate good deeds and widely bestow merit, even a slight misstep may bring on demonic obstacles." Zhongli Gong said: "Having merit without practice is like having feet without eyes; having practice without merit is like having eyes that cannot walk. When merit and practice are both complete, one is like a person with both feet and eyes. Who says one can become an immortal without merit and practice?" Master Lü said: "The road to Penglai must be traveled through three thousand merits, and only then can one move freely and return to the immortal realm. Accumulate good deeds in secret, and you will have the chance to meet a perfected person (zhiren), an adept of the Dao." Therefore, cultivation is like refining the dragon and tiger qi in the cauldron, and in the end one may hope to attain immortality.

"Clinging to children and loving one's wife" is a warning the Immortal Elder gave to the world, and a concern that those who study the Dao may lose the right path and enter crooked ways. If one clings single-mindedly to wife and children, one will sink for a long time in the sea of suffering. Those who study the Dao should hold the aspiration to free themselves from worldly entanglements. All of the above are words meant to awaken the world.

Xi Jiang Yue (Moon over the Western River)

The elixir (dan, i.e., Neidan) is the most precious treasure within the physical body. Once it is refined, it can give rise to endless transformations. Moreover, one must investigate the true principle from the root of one's nature, and thoroughly awaken to the marvelous function of life and death.

There is no need to wait until after this body dies, in some future life, to seek proof of the Dao; in the present moment one can attain spiritual powers like those of the Buddha. Ever since the Dragon Girl perfected this method, who after her could continue her accomplishment?

Note: The user's request is a translation task, and the system prompt's translator instructions apply. The text is an interpretive commentary on a Daoist text that discusses Buddhist concepts, so I've kept the glossary terms where they apply and rendered the Buddhist terms in their conventional English forms.

The commentary observes that the Golden Elixir (jindan) can transform the visible into the invisible, so its changes are boundless and its presence hard to fathom. If one can also recognize the original mind and clearly see one's nature, dispel illusory delusions, and expand one's supernatural powers, then cultivating nature (xing) and life (ming) together will reach completion. Body and spirit will both attain a subtle refinement, and the path of cultivation becomes all the broader. To transcend every affliction and bond and to achieve a Vajra-indestructible body is the supreme Great Dao. Therefore the Immortal Elder says: if one uses a body as subtle and fine as true gold to attain a Dharma-form as compassionate as true gold, solemn and majestic, becoming a teacher to heavenly beings and to the world, manifesting spiritual powers that pervade the entire Dharma realm, and adorning the Buddha-land with great compassion free of attachment and with equal wisdom, widely proclaiming the wondrous Dharma and liberating all beings, then one must still cultivate the recognition of the original mind and the clear seeing of one's nature in order to propagate this Great Dao. This is why the Dragon Girl, upon suddenly awakening to the jewel of the mind, immediately entered the realm of Buddha-nature. This is the principle being described.

If a practitioner rejects these visible manifestations, does not cultivate the Golden Elixir, and instead seeks to leap directly beyond the state of the Tathagata, reaching a condition of pure emptiness, clarity, and constant stillness, regarding this as the ultimate samadhi of nirvana, then the words and bodily forms spoken of in the scriptures will no longer be what such a person seeks. The above discusses the Way of nature and life.

Zi Ye said: "The elixir is the most precious treasure of the physical body." With this single sentence the essential principle of the Great Elixir is fully exhausted; why say anything more?

Dao Guang said: This Way is precisely the intent behind Bodhidharma (the First Patriarch of Chan) transmitting the Dharma from the West, and it is the Way that the patriarchs of successive generations have handed down. Therefore, the Caoxi lineage spoken of by the Sixth Patriarch, and the "water of the Western River" indicated by Mazu, both point to nothing other than this meaning.

Daoguang says: This path of cultivation is precisely the intent that Bodhidharma, the First Patriarch of the Chan school, transmitted when he came from the West to China, and the patriarchs of every generation have handed down this same principle. Thus when the Sixth Patriarch spoke of the Dharma transmitted in the Caoxi lineage, and when Mazu likened it to the "water of the West River," both were pointing to this same meaning.

Later people, however, did not keep their minds on the Way. They merely talked of the Buddha with their mouths, and this was truly hopeless. The patriarchs therefore guided them with staffs, shouts, and all kinds of analogies: those of superior capacity were to practice accordingly, those of middling capacity were to awaken to their original nature, and those of lesser capacity were to remember the words spoken, each receiving instruction in the manner suited to them. The purpose was that people first nourish their original nature (xing) and then cultivate their life (ming). Nourishing the original nature is what is called "refining the self with the jade liquid" (yuye lianji, cultivating and nurturing the mind through practice). Cultivating life is "returning the elixir with the golden liquid" (jinye huandan, the Daoist practice of internal alchemy (neidan) in which essence is transformed into qi and the elixir is condensed).

Some, on the strength of this, have concluded that in the Chan school one need only hear a single sentence to attain sudden awakening and become a Buddha. This deceives and bewilders ignorant people, and there is no such principle. One should understand that the Golden Elixir (jindan) is precisely the supreme and most marvelous Dharma gate.

Commentary on the Wuzhen Pian by Perfected Ziyang, Volume Eight

Postscript to the Wuzhen Pian

I hold that people come into the world because of deluded emotions (wangqing), and so they acquire this body. Once there is a body, all kinds of worries and suffering follow; without a body, where would such worries arise? To be free of worry, the best course is to realize the ultimate Dao (the Way), the supreme principle; and to realize the Dao, the essential thing is to understand the original mind (benxin). Therefore the mind is the substance of the Dao, and the Dao is the function of the mind. If a person can look into the mind and examine the original nature, the perfect and luminous substance will naturally manifest, and the state of Wuwei (non-action) will naturally take shape. No forced effort is needed; one can at once transcend the sea of birth and death.

If the mind were not clear like a bright mirror and transparent like a spirit pearl, how could it illuminate that Dao which is formless, without fixed shape, and truly suchlike (ru ru)? Then all forms would instantly be left behind, not even the finest dust would cling, and the wellspring of the mind would be at ease, stilled and without birth. One who has clarified the mind and realized the Dao does not let the body confine the nature, nor let external circumstances disturb the true nature. Weapons cannot harm him, tigers and rhinoceroses cannot hurt him, and fire and flood are nothing to fear. The mind of such a person is like a mirror: it reflects all things without lingering, responds to affairs as they come, and is gentle without forcing its views on others. Therefore he can meet external things without being injured. This is the supreme truth and the wondrous awakening of the Dao.

The Dao originally has no name, and the sage forces a name upon it. The Dao originally cannot be spoken, and the sage borrows words to explain it. If names and words fell silent, ordinary people could not recognize the substance of the Dao or return to reality. Therefore sages establish teachings and leave discourses to make the Dao manifest. People come to know the Dao through words, and in the end they should, by means of the Dao, forget the words.

Yet the principle is exceedingly subtle and profound, while worldly people are dull and benighted in capacity, cling to the body, dread death, and crave life, so it is hard for them to comprehend it fully. The Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) and Laozi, pitying people's craving for life, followed this wish and gradually guided them with methods of cultivating life. The essentials of cultivating life lie in the Golden Elixir (jindan), and the essentials of the Golden Elixir lie in the "divine water" and the "flowery pool," alchemical terms. The teachings of the Daodejing and the Yinfujing circulate widely in the world, presumably because people all love life. But these scriptures are terse in language and deep in meaning, and even learners who read the texts thoroughly may not grasp their intent. Without oral instructions from one who has attained the Dao, even if they repeatedly speculate and ponder many methods, they will in the end see little result and accomplish little practice. Students are as numerous as the hairs of an ox, but those who truly penetrate are as rare as the qilin.

In the year jiyou, I met my teacher in Chengdu and received the elixir method. That same year my lord passed away. Afterward I thrice transmitted the method to unsuitable people, and three times disaster befell me, each time within twenty days. Recently, reflecting on this, I recalled my teacher's admonition: "If in the future someone can untie your bonds and free you from distress, transmit to him directly; to all others, never transmit." Later I wished to have my name removed from the registers, but I feared the Daoists would not believe me, so I wrote this Awakening to Reality (Wuzhen Pian) to set forth the fundamental principles of the elixir. After it was written, seekers came in numbers. Seeing their earnest desire to learn, I could not bear to disappoint them, so I explained the method and transmitted it to them. Yet among those I have taught, there has been no one with the power to rescue others from peril, nor one of generous, broad-minded, benevolent, and reasonable character.

At first, when the first two calamities came, I had not yet awakened; only at the third did I reflect on my earlier faults. Only then did I know that the Great Elixir method is most simple and easy, and that even an ordinary, dull person who obtains and practices it can at once transcend the mundane and enter sagehood. This method is treasured and hidden by Heaven and must not be lightly passed to unsuitable persons. I violated my teacher's instruction and repeatedly divulged heavenly secrets, and so, having this body, I have been punished again and again. Heaven's warnings have been so swift and efficacious that how could I not feel fear and blame myself? From now on I will keep silent. Even if a cauldron stood before me or a blade rested on my neck, I would not dare speak of the elixir method again.

The subtle essentials of the Great Elixir, the medicinals, and the fire-timing sung of in the Awakening to Reality have all been fully set forth. Those with a sincere wish for the Dao and an existing immortal affinity, upon reading these pages, will understand their principle on their own and grasp the meaning from the text. They need not have me spend further effort instructing them. If this understanding is bestowed on them by Heaven, then it is not my presumptuous divulging. The verses at the end of the work speak of the method of seeing one's nature, which is the wondrous awakening of the Dao mentioned earlier.

The Way of non-action takes the salvation of all things as its fundamental intent, so even when secret essentials are openly discussed, there is ultimately no fault. It is only that ordinary people's karmic conditions are deep or shallow and their capacities keen or dull, so that even when they hear the same teaching, they form diverse and differing views. The Buddhist teachings expounded by Shakyamuni and Manjushri were originally the One Vehicle (the ultimate teaching), yet the listeners, each according to their own understanding, naturally formed the distinctions of the Three Vehicles: the Shravaka, the Pratyekabuddha, and the Bodhisattva. Hereafter, if someone of vigorous and sharp capacity reads this essay, he will know that I have grasped the subtle meaning of the supreme One Vehicle transmitted by Bodhidharma and the Sixth Patriarch (Huineng), and can awaken to the myriad dharmas through a single phrase. If someone is burdened by habitual tendencies and dull in understanding, still dwelling in the views of the Middle or Lesser Vehicle, that too is not my fault.

This preface was written by Zhang Yongcheng, courtesy name Pingshu, on the wuyin day of the wuwu year, the first year of the Yuanfeng reign (1078).