《还丹秘诀养赤子神方》

From the Chunxi era onward, I left home to travel, visiting accomplished masters far and wide, wholeheartedly drawn to the Dao (道, the Way) of long life and lasting vision. By chance I passed through the Xiang and Ying region and came to Mount Tongbai in Suizhou, where I met a realized master (真人) named Peng Mengqu, courtesy name Boyu, a native of Yingzhou.

At the Huaidu Temple I burned incense and set up a furnace, then knelt in reverence to receive instruction in the Way of the Golden Liquid and Returned Elixir (金液还丹). Apart from diagrams, Master Peng transmitted his teachings entirely by word of mouth and by direct, intuitive understanding; he never committed them to bamboo or silk.

I had heard that in recent times students of the Dao have often been led astray by esoteric names and by heterodox, side-door methods, and that few have truly completed the Great Elixir (大丹). For this reason, though I may be open to criticism for it, I have set down the master's teachings item by item, to leave for later learners as a foundation for entering the path. By practicing accordingly, one may perhaps achieve results more swiftly.

Spirit Chamber (神室, Shenshi) (an alchemical term for the inner or outer "elixir chamber" used in refining the elixir; here it is the title of the section that follows).

The Spirit Chamber (Shenshi) is the place where the many spirits gather, and it is also the key to cultivating the Golden Elixir. A practitioner who does not understand the Spirit Chamber is like a person without a dwelling. If Shen (spirit) has no place to rest, Qi (vital energy) is hard to keep, and the Golden Elixir will likely never be completed. If one can quietly guard the Spirit Chamber, the numinous spirit will transform of its own accord.

Zhuangzi says: "When the mind is settled, the light of Heaven's endowment will appear." He also says: "In the empty, still chamber of the mind, clarity arises, and the spirit-light comes of itself." This is what the Zhongyong (Doctrine of the Mean) means by "illumination arising from sincerity." The Spirit Chamber seems to exist and yet not exist, and the method of guarding it must be handled with proper judgment, neglecting neither side.

If one simply forgets everything external and brings every concern to a halt, Shen falls into a state of yin stillness; this belongs to the category of Chan (Zen) meditation. If one concentrates so exclusively on holding a single point that one can no longer respond to outside things, one falls into the condition of the so-called "ten kinds of immortals." This is not advisable, for otherwise all the earlier effort of cultivation will be lost, and one will end up as nothing more than a practitioner of daoyin (guiding and stretching exercises).

If one understands the Spirit Chamber and can guard it in due measure, knowing when to hold to it and when to let it go, clinging neither to presence nor to absence but keeping both in view, one can return to the "Palace of Great Stability" (an exceedingly settled state).

As for the location of the Spirit Chamber: it lies north of the heart, south of the kidneys, to the right of the liver, to the left of the lungs, and beside the spleen. Above it is the "Crimson Palace" (Jianggong; a Neidan term for the region of the heart within the body), called the "Yin Cauldron." Below it is the "Yellow Court" (Huangting; a Neidan term for an important site of cultivation within the body), called the "Yang Furnace." Above and below, they are like the two parts of an alchemical furnace, with an empty space one inch across between them. This place, between the heart and the kidneys, is the Spirit Chamber, and it is also the "pivot of the Mysterious Gate" (Xuanguan; a key aperture in Neidan practice). How profound, how marvelous!

(The two characters "刻漏" appear to be a later section heading or a stray fragment of text.)

Clepsydra Marks (Kelou)

The clepsydra marks (kelou) are a very important principle in cultivation. Without understanding them, the hours are hard to calibrate. When that happens, the Shen Chamber (the inner state in which one gathers the spirit and circulates qi) may fall into disorder, with something like deep winter heat or midsummer frost. The four seasons then fail to move in harmony, the rhythms of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) fall into confusion with one another, the patterns of Heaven and Earth's creative transformation go awry, and the Elixir becomes difficult to complete.

The ancients divided one day into one hundred marks and then distributed them among the twelve double-hours, giving each double-hour eight marks, for a total of ninety-six across all twelve. The remaining four marks bear on the waxing and waning of Yin-Yang and on the turn from obstruction to flourishing, and they are a crucial juncture at which all things undergo change. Once one understands the clepsydra marks, one can verify them through the breath of the nose: Yang qi (vital energy) travels on the left side and Yin qi on the right, and Yin-Yang alternate with the twelve double-hours. Within the twelve double-hours, only ninety-six marks are counted, while the other four marks are the critical moments represented by Geng, Jia, Ren, and Bing.

The Sundial Hours (Shigui)

The sundial hours (shigui) are an essential principle of timing in cultivation. Without understanding them, it is difficult to grasp the patterns of Heaven and Earth's creative transformation, and difficult to refine the elixir. The six double-hours from Zi to Si are the time for advancing the Yang fire, and the six from Wu to Hai are the time for retreating the Yin talisman.

The three double-hours of Zi, Chou, and Yin correspond to spring; Mao, Chen, and Si to summer; Wu, Wei, and Shen to autumn; and You, Xu, and Hai to winter. Among these, Zi and Wu are the gateways of advancing fire and retreating the talisman, Mao and You are the gateways of exit and entry, and Yin and Shen reveal the signs of creative transformation and concealment. When the six double-hours fit together in this cycle, they correspond to the numbers of the fire phasing in the celestial circuit, a key juncture for the cultivator in mastering the fire phasing.

Pursuing the Two Qi

To pursue the "Two Qi" (the Yin and Yang qi) is to take the primordial qi from before Heaven and Earth were divided, and to gather the essence (Jing) of the first union of Dragon and Tiger, using them as the medicines of the Great Elixir. The cultivator relies on the moment when Heaven and Earth are in profound obscurity, hard to make out, to seize the critical opportunity of turning from obstruction to flourishing. When that time arrives, one can settle the spirit (Shen) and wait within the Shen Chamber. When the signs of Heaven and Earth arrive, the true spirit will be born and become the true seed. The subtlety within this is transmitted through oral instruction.

Meeting the Three Natures

The "three natures" (三性) are original Qi (yuan qi), original Jing (yuan jing), and original Shen (yuan shen). Earlier, these three were made to pass through the Mysterious Pass (xuanguan, the key aperture spoken of in internal cultivation), setting its mechanism in motion. At this stage, one may settle the Shen in stillness and keep watch within the chamber. When the signs that answer to the season arrive between heaven and earth, the true Shen is born and becomes the true seed. The crux of this lies in the oral instructions.

Uniting the Three Natures

The three natures are original Qi, original Jing, and original Shen. Once they have been made to pass through the Mysterious Pass, the True Person (the "true nature," or accomplishment, as spoken of in Neidan, internal alchemy) can be brought forth. The practitioner who guards this point is said to practice "guarding the One and preserving the Three." Guarding the One means that the medicines have been fully formed. It is said that this can restore vigor to the aged, turn old women into young girls, darken white hair, regrow fallen teeth, transform the body, and free one from the calamities of the world. This accomplishment is called the True Person.

Gathering the Five Phases

"Gathering the Five Phases" means that the five matters described earlier are all complete and have been brought together in the chamber, after which the fire is advanced and the water warmed. This is called gathering the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). The two kinds of Qi mentioned earlier are Metal and Wood; Metal and Wood are the mechanism by which Water and Fire transform. Water and Fire in turn depend on each other and bring each other to completion. The True Person belongs to true Earth. In this way the Five Phases are complete. The specific oral instructions appear below.

Advancing the Fire

"Advancing the Fire" refers to circulating the Yang fire. Around the winter solstice, the Qi of one Yang enters the chamber; over fifteen days one strengthens the spiritual root, so that the Shen is kept in the kidneys. As the Yang fire circulates, the Shen advances along with it. The root in the kidneys and the stem of the spirit chamber are joined to one another, and so the embryo of the inner elixir (Neidan) can form and ultimately be refined to fruition. When the breath is matched to the root and stem and moves according to the proper seasonal timing, the Great Elixir can be completed.

On the night of the winter solstice, the Yang fire is advanced by beginning at the Ren position at the end of the hai hour and the start of the zi hour (around eleven at night). In a single movement it runs through three double-hours, with the breath neither leaving nor entering. From the zi hour through the chou hour, up to the Jia position at the end of the yin hour, Metal and Fire press forward into the chamber, and the elixir gradually coalesces. At the mao hour the advancing of fire stops; this stretch is called the "limit of obscurity." At the chen hour the fire is advanced again, continuing according to the oral instructions until the end of the si hour, when Metal and Fire press up to the Sea of Marrow (an ancient medical and inner-cultivation term for where the brain marrow resides). When the Yang fire has reached its extreme, one turns and circulates the Yin tally.

Warming the Water

The original text lists only the heading "Warming the Water" and provides no content after it.

The so-called "warm water" (wenshui) refers to the application of the Yin Talisman (yinfu, the method of circulation in Neidan, or internal alchemy, that is paired with Yang Fire). The Yin Talisman rises from within the body and is circulated for three double-hours according to the oral formula, during which the breath neither enters nor leaves. From the Horse hour through the Goat hour, to the end of the Monkey hour, at the Geng position, the Metal-Water (a Neidan term for the essence and qi formed during cultivation) passes through the Double Passes and the Magpie Bridge (Neidan terms for the gateways through which qi travels in the body) into the elixir chamber, and the Mysterious Pearl (a Neidan term for the sign that the inner elixir is coalescing) gradually appears. At the Rooster hour, circulation of the talisman stops while one awaits the Golden Sand bath. At the Dog hour the talisman is circulated again, following the oral formula, and at the Pig hour it returns to its source. At this moment "one intestine is born anew," a return to the original state at the root, and Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen (spirit) are all transformed.

One pill, the size of a millet grain, is taken each day, and only after a year of work does the Returned Elixir begin to be completed. The year has 360 days, or 4,320 double-hours in total. The Mao and You hours are devoted to the Metal-Water bath: no Yang Fire is advanced, no Yin Talisman is circulated, and the breath goes in and out as usual. Deducting the sixty days that correspond to these two periods leaves three hundred days of actual refining by fire and talisman, through which the Golden Elixir is completed. This is like an ordinary person's ten months of pregnancy, after which the child is fully formed.

Throughout the cultivation, the fire phasing must be carefully regulated, and the method must be followed with wholehearted sincerity. If there is the slightest deviation, bringing obscurity and error, the elixir cannot form, the Red Dragon (a Neidan term for the body's yang qi) will scatter, and the Maiden (Chanü, a Neidan term for yin qi) will flee. To act rashly or carelessly is to fail to accord with the heavenly mechanism. The fault lies not in the oral formula for the fire phasing itself, but in the one who practices it. The scripture (Jing) says: "One who understands the Way of cultivation is called a sage." How could one not be cautious?

"Shedding the embryo" (tuotai) is the name of the stage in Neidan cultivation at which one sheds the ordinary body and transforms form and spirit.

"Tuotai" (脱胎, Shedding the Embryo) refers to the stage at which the Sacred Embryo (shengtai, the "infant" image that forms during cultivation and symbolizes the state of completed Neidan, or internal alchemy) has been perfected, yet the practitioner still cannot leave the meditation chamber. Within the chamber one must continue practicing the work of shedding the embryo, and carefully nourish the Sacred Embryo within the Sea of Marrow (suihai, a concept of the body in Neidan, referring to the inner space deep within the bone marrow). After two Lunar Jiazi cycles (a cultivation period reckoned by the moon's cycles), the Heavenly Gate (tianmen, the cultivation aperture at the crown of the head) suddenly opens with a sound like a thunderclap, and the Sacred Embryo emerges. The form that emerges is identical to the original body. Even then one must not leave the body at once; one must go on nourishing the embryo within the Sea of Marrow. After another two Lunar Jiazi cycles, the Heavenly Gate again opens suddenly with a thunderous crack, and only then does the Sacred Embryo truly emerge. Even after this, one still cannot depart immediately, for further methods of spirit-immortal transformation remain to be practiced.

Yunfang (here the name or title of the author of the quoted verse) says: "One thunderclap shakes Kunlun (here referring to the head or a cultivation aperture); countless spirits are startled in the dark. Two bodies, wholly alike: only then does one know the work is complete and the dust of the world left behind."

Shenhua (神化, Spirit Transformation)

"Shenhua" refers to the stage at which the Sacred Embryo has left the body but must not yet travel far, for fear of encountering "corpse obstruction" (shizhang, a hindrance that practitioners believe the body may cause). At first it departs only a single step, then ten steps, then a hundred li, a thousand li, and ten million li. Only then can it roam the Three Realms (different levels of heaven and earth in Daoist cosmology), passing through stone and piercing metal without any hindrance. Coming and going, advancing and withdrawing are all under one's own command, and one is no longer governed by Heaven.

Yunfang says: "A child is young and not yet grown, and must depend on its parents for nurture. After three years, then nine years of cultivation, once the work of the world is accomplished, one can roam freely throughout the realm and no longer depend on one's parents."

This is the secret of circulating and refining the Returned Elixir, and the method of nurturing the Infant Shen (the practice of caring for the Shen gained through cultivation as though it were an infant). It is the subtle Dao of Xi and Yi (xiyi, a profound and obscure realm of the Dao that can be neither heard nor seen), not a shallow technique of the side paths. Whoever obtains this text should treasure it and keep it secret. If one transmits it to an unsuitable person, one will surely incur Heaven's punishment; if one finds a suitable person and does not transmit it, one will likewise suffer calamity. The master's warning is most solemn; how could one not observe it with care!

Lineage of Cultivators of Truth

Zhang Tiangang, courtesy name Zizheng, a native of Shu.

Peng Menglian, courtesy name Boyu, a native of Shu.

Xiao Yingsou, courtesy name Runqing, a native of Sanshan.

Xu Ziwei, courtesy name Mingdao, a native of Shanxi.

Lin Yuanding, courtesy name Zhengfu, a native of Sanshan.