《诸真论还丹诀》

The Room mansion (Fang, a Daoist alchemical term referring to the Room lunar mansion) belongs to the Azure Dragon, and the Orion mansion (Canshen) belongs to the White Tiger. The Sun symbolizes the Vermilion Bird, and the Moon symbolizes the Dark Warrior. To learn the key to refining the Great Medicine and laying its foundation, one must obtain the central Wu-Ji Earth (a Five Phases term for the Earth qi at the center).

The Azure Dragon originally comes from the dwelling of cinnabar, while the White Tiger originally belongs to the guest of black metal. The ancient immortals called it the "essence of the divine dragon," and Liu An, the Prince of Huainan, called it "autumn mineral."

The divine water has been called the spirit of mercury since antiquity. It comes from the eastern virtue of Wood, bringing the generative energy of spring. When it reaches the south, it becomes the ruler within Fire. Only when a cultivator finds it can they accord with its true meaning.

The Dragon and the Tiger meet in the womb of the Mother, and their two essences (Jing) and energies (Qi) unite like a hundred flowers opening at once. The practitioner devotes their mind to following the newly born yang qi, and only after the ninth transformation do they grasp the principle within.

When yang qi reaches its height, yin qi begins to sprout within the jiawu. The practitioner then casts aside the six hexagram lines and enters the palace of Qian (the Qian hexagram symbolizes the realm of pure yang). The subtle arts of the immortals are ancient, but people of this age have lost the way of cultivation.

Cinnabar is born from metal, and mercury lies hidden in lead. The immortals were unwilling to pass these teachings to ordinary people. It was not that they begrudged explaining the returned elixir (a term for refining the elixir and restoring the original source). They feared that revealing heaven's secrets would bring punishment from the celestial talismans and a reckoning for sins of past lives.

The two energies shift and transform without ceasing, and Yin and Yang (Yin-Yang) work upon each other as if aided by the spirits. This does not merely alter things and transform their ordinary substance. It can also dispel all manner of calamity and malign influence.

From ancient times to the present, the affairs of the world stir sorrow, and as time flows on, the years change. It is truly regrettable to lose the road and wander long without direction, and people do not know what to use to refine the Yellow Sprout (an alchemical term for the key substance at the first formation of the elixir).

In the tenth month, frost and snow fall thick and ever heavier. Within, the Yellow Sprout ripens, and its radiance shines forth. Once a cultivator of the Dao sees the Yellow Sprout mature, how can they fail to be wary of the Golden Tiger and the Dragon (alchemical terms symbolizing metal, mercury, and similar substances, and their transformations)?

Take an elixir the size of a grain of hemp seed, and it will gather the pure and true qi. Once the mind (Shen) is calm and undivided, one may use it as one wishes. It can not only transform one's physical form and aid the orphaned and the poor, but from then on one may live long, as if never to die.

A eulogy composed by Master Qingxia for the Jinbi Longhu Jing (Classic of the Dragon and Tiger of Gold and Jade).

Qingxia says in the chapter "Jinbi" that although the Dragon and the Tiger have names and images, they are ultimately hard to see. The Tiger lies hidden within the Dragon's palace, and when the Dragon moves, the Tiger embraces it and moves along with it. Ordinary people who search by ordinary methods can seldom tell them apart. But if one comprehends that they were originally one body, one will understand that their natures never depart from oneself.

The True Cauldron

In refining the elixir, one must first perfect the true cauldron (ding); only when the work is fully accomplished does its marvelous quality appear. Common things of the world cannot be compared with it, for none of them accords with the principle of Yin-Yang. When Yin and Yang blend in harmony, they appear as a single Qi. Yet the same principle sometimes bears the same name and sometimes differs, and north and south may cross one another. It seems obscure and hard to discern, but in truth it is all one family.

In Praise of Wei Boyang's Cantong qi

Wei Boyang's Cantong qi has three volumes, in which the true meaning of refining the elixir is explained point by point. Looked at closely, the principle of refining the Reverted Elixir is not difficult. What is the refining like? It is like the yolk and white of an egg joining together. Though it is a very small matter, it embodies the laws of Heaven and Earth, Qian and Kun.

Clarifying Water and Fire

Since ancient times, water and fire have been the key to refining the elixir. When one of Yin and Yang holds sway, the other often contends with it. True water and true Yang spring from the same source, and their root never changes. One must probe deeply into the subtle principle: what is called the "Yi" (Change) should be imaged as the sun and moon united. Sun and moon cannot be separated, and the trigrams Kan and Li, which symbolize water and fire, must likewise join together.

Clarifying the Fire Phases

Once the first Yang is born, it corresponds to spring and summer; once the first Yin has just arrived, it corresponds to autumn and winter. As Yang Qi rises, the clouds of Yin are secretly descending. In cultivation, one must concentrate on grasping the proper moments and not violate the constant measure. The authority over the transformations of Heaven and Earth seems to be held in one's hand, and the practitioner is like a guest within the gourd-world.

Clarifying the Supreme Medicine

Every household has the medicine of longevity, yet everyone is prone to err in taking it up. Its seasonal changes are like floating and sinking, so where, then, should one go to seek it? Even if one sees it with one's own eyes, one may not recognize it; even if someone passes it on with their own hands, it leaves no visible trace. The principle of the Great Dao need not be elaborated at length; the crux lies in the gate of the Azure Dragon and the White Tiger. These are terms used in Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) to symbolize the transformation and union of Yin-Yang.

Rongcheng Gong's Neidan Verses

Beneath the Qi of the first-born azure, there are the moon and the sun…

"Initial Azure" (Shiqing) refers to primordial Qi (元气, Yuanqi). The moon belongs to Yin and symbolizes the Lower Origin; the sun belongs to Yang and symbolizes the Middle Origin.

The Rongcheng Gong Neidan Gejue (Rongcheng Gong's Verses on Internal Alchemy, Neidan) says:

Beneath the Initial Azure, the moon and the sun meet;

When the two unite, they become one body.

The azure qi, the primordial Qi, and the bodily fluids merge into one and condense into a single pearl.

It emerges from the Jade Pool (the mouth) and enters the Golden Chamber (the lungs, which also symbolize the place of the embryo).

This pearl is formed in the Sea of Qi (the lower Dantian) from fluids and Qi condensed together. It is shaped like a tangerine and yellow in color.

It is as large as a pellet, and as yellow as a tangerine.

The embryo takes form through the gathering of Qi, and Qi in turn relies on the embryo to condense into the pearl.

Within the pearl is a wondrous flavor, sweet as honey. Once the embryonic Qi has condensed into this pearl, the practitioner circulates Qi within the Sea of Qi and visualizes the breath encircling and enveloping it. When the pearl is seen in visualization, the Flowery Pond (the mouth) naturally produces fluid as sweet as honey.

If you obtain it, guard it carefully and do not lose it. Once the embryo has formed the pearl, if you perceive it, you should keep it secret and not speak of it to those who do not cultivate the Dao. If you have sexual union with a woman, this Mysterious Pearl will be scattered and can never condense again.

If you can cultivate with single-minded focus, the immortal Dao can be accomplished.

When Jing (essence) and Qi condense, this is called the "Inner Returned Elixir" (Nei Huandan). The bodily fluids flow up and down, nourishing the Dantian (energy center). The head contains the Nine Palaces (body locations used in Daoist inner-cultivation visualization), and this is what is called the "Nine-Cycle Eight-Jade Elixir." After nine years of cultivating the breath, once the work is complete, one attains the great Dao and shares the lifespan of Heaven and Earth. Jing is like jade and Qi is like gold; primordial Qi belongs to the Mysterious Pearl. Wrap the Mysterious Pearl in white qi and bring it into the Golden Chamber. The Golden Chamber refers to the lungs, and also to the place of the embryo. These three are held in the Sea of Qi and correspond to the heart; their number is three.

Cao Shengtu, Qian-Hong Ge (Song of Lead and Mercury).

Metal has a single essential body, and its operation reaches through north and south. Those who truly understand it are few, yet all of them dwell in the region of Penglai. No one in the world can encounter it; and even if they did, they might not recognize it. The sun, the moon, and the five stars (the five planets known to the ancients: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth) all drift like guests wandering among the clouds.

If a person of modest attainment can continue the practice, they may repeatedly surpass the ordinary realm of Qi (vital energy). The aim is to carry on this one Qi and, through transformation, refine it into the Golden Liquid (a product of cultivation in Daoist Neidan, or internal alchemy). The Golden Liquid enables a person to reach the way of the immortals, and it must be sought within the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). The Five Phases are present everywhere; it is not that the immortals begrudge teaching them.

To recognize true lead and mercury (terms in Daoist alchemy, often used to denote the two forces of Yin-Yang), one must understand how one water and one stone are paired. Begin by taking the central palace (in Neidan, the central region of the body) as the foundation, and let water and fire coalesce into a substance. The two Qi of Yin and Yang are like husband and wife, mutually joined; after a hundred quarter-hours, they reach the Li palace (in Neidan, the position corresponding to fire), and cinnabar is born from this.

It is also like a pearl. Cinnabar is not originally red: meeting water, it returns to the nature of water; meeting fire, it transforms into Golden Liquid. The great sages each have their numinous medicines, and the perfected ones call it a treasure. When scholars of the world speak of this, they often assume that metals and minerals are meant; but metals and minerals are lifeless, inert things, so how could they be transformed into Golden Liquid?

Shed the embryonic dross and remove the dark halo; the dark halo is the lead substance. Replenish original Qi with original Qi; what need is there to rely on ordinary minerals? Realgar need not be bought at a high price, nor is cinnabar to be sought; quicksilver has only an empty name, and no one has been seen to attain the Dao (the Way) through it. When bamboo is split, mend it with bamboo; when wood is broken, join it with wood. What a person must nourish is Qi; apart from this, all other things are merely external guests.

If one can thoroughly grasp the principles of water and fire, one's name will surely be entered in the registers of the immortals. Lead and mercury have many names, but their root lies in the Five Phases. If one can practice the refining and take what has been refined, one may attain long life.