《金丹四百字》

The Four Hundred Characters on the Golden Elixir (Jindan Sibai Zi), with Preface

Composed by the Perfected Zhang Pingshu (Ziyang) of Tiantai; annotated by Huang Ziru, the Recluse Yunkong of Yujiang.

What is called the "Great Elixir of Liquid Gold, seven times returned and nine times restored" means this: seven belongs to the number of Fire, and nine belongs to the number of Metal. Fire is used to refine Metal and make it return to its root and origin. This is called the Golden Elixir (Jindan).

In practice, one divides the body and the mind into an upper and a lower part. Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy) correspond to the winter and summer solstices, while form and Shen correspond to the trigrams Kan and Li (in the Book of Changes, these trigrams are commonly used in Neidan, or internal alchemy, as images of Yin-Yang). The ethereal soul (hun) of the east is matched with Wood, the corporeal soul (po) of the west with Metal, the Shen of the south with Fire, the Jing (essence) of the north with Water, and the intent (yi) of the center with Earth. This is called the "gathering of the Five Phases," in which the Five Phases converge and unite. Gathering in the gaze, settling the hearing, evening the breath of the nose, and holding in the breath of the tongue is called the "harmonizing of the Four Images."

When the eyes do not look outward, the hun rests securely in the liver. When the ears do not listen outward, Jing rests securely in the kidneys. When the tongue makes no sound, Shen rests securely in the heart. When the nose does not smell fragrances, the po rests securely in the lungs. When the four limbs do not move, the intent rests securely in the spleen. This is called the "Five Qi Paying Court to the Origin." Jing transforms into Qi, Qi transforms into Shen, and Shen in turn transforms into emptiness (xu). This is called the "Three Flowers Gathered at the Crown." Here "Jing, Qi, and Shen" are technical terms of Neidan. They refer to the innate essence of life, the primordial Qi, and the primordial Shen, and not to the reproductive fluid, the breath of respiration, or the everyday thinking spirit of ordinary speech.

When the hun does not leak out through the eyes, the po through the nose, Shen through the mouth, or Jing through the ears, and when the intent is not dissipated through the openings of the limbs, this is called "without leakage." Jing, Shen, hun, po, and intent fuse with one another and become a single Qi. It can neither be seen nor heard and has no definite shape, so it is called "emptiness and nothingness."

In refining Jing, what is refined is the primordial Jing, not the Jing produced by lust. In refining Qi, what is refined is the primordial Qi, not the breath of the mouth and nose. In refining Shen, what is refined is the primordial Shen, not the thoughts that rise and fall in the mind. Jing, Qi, and Shen share one root with Heaven and Earth and one body with the myriad things. With them, life endures; without them, life perishes. Refine them with the yang fire and they become yang Qi; nourish them with the yin tally and they become yin Jing. Hence the saying: "When you see it, do not take it as something to be used; when you use it, do not cling to seeing it."

The body is the dwelling of the mind, and the mind is the master of the body. The mind rages like a dragon, and the body is fierce as a tiger. Within the body is a point of true yang Qi, and within the mind is a point of true yin Jing. These two are called the "Two Things." The mind belongs to Qian and the body to Kun, so the body is called the "cauldron of Qian and Kun." Yang Qi belongs to Li and yin Jing to Kan, so they are called the "Crow and Hare" and the "medicinal ingredients." "Crow and Hare" stand for the sun and moon, and often also serve as names for Yin-Yang.

Holding fast to the original One and settling in the center, refining and nourishing the primordial Qi and one's true nature, is called gathering and drawing in the primordial, undifferentiated Qi of the prenatal state. Circulating it at the proper times, morning and evening, and regulating the practice according to day and night and the double-hours of zi and wu, is called circulating the fire phases of the celestial cycle. The "fire phases of the celestial cycle" is a Neidan expression that borrows the four seasons of the year and the double-hours of the day as images for the rhythm of practice. The wood fluid flourishes at the hour of mao, and the metal essence flourishes at the hour of you, so one must "bathe" at the proper times. The yang of the Zhen trigram meets the yin of the Dui trigram, the Xun wind stirs, and Kun's earth stores away. These expressions illustrate how yin and yang wax and wane in the practice and how it is increased and reduced, so one must understand "drawing out and adding in."

When one first gathers the medicine, one stirs body and mind as if working the bellows of Heaven and Earth, and takes up the essentials of Kan and Li. At first, the inner scene seems like clouds and mist filling the mountains. Afterward, it seems like a bright moon reflected in ten thousand waters. Yin and Yang unite of themselves, like the tortoise and snake mating, or the horse and ox following one another. Yet the practitioner must also grasp this: the dragon and tiger contend to unite hun and po, and the crow and hare join Jing and Shen. In the midst of trance and indistinctness the true lead appears, and in the depths of dark stillness the true mercury is held.

Next, the "Yellow Dame" (in Neidan, the symbol of the one who harmonizes and matches Yin and Yang) stays in the center to blend and guard them. Lead will fly off at the touch of fire, and mercury will run away from it. So they are blended with the "oil of Wuwei (non-action)" and calmed with the "uncarved block of the nameless." Lead is returned to the position of Kun and mercury to the position of Qian, and the two are mixed with true earth, nourished quietly while holding back their radiance. If the fire is too strong, things become dry; if there is too much water, they overflow. They must therefore be balanced evenly, keeping to the measure of every ounce and pound.

When practice reaches this point, the following inner scenes arise. The Niwan Palace (the region of the head in Neidan) seems to stir with wind, and the Crimson Palace (the region of the heart) seems lit by the moon. The Dantian (energy center; the region of the lower abdomen in Neidan) blazes like fire, and the Valley Sea (another name for the Sea of Qi) lies calm and clear. The spine seems to turn like a wheel, and the four limbs rest as heavy and steady as mountain rock. The pores feel as if one had just stepped out of a bath, and the bones and vessels are as peaceful as in deep sleep. Shen is like a husband and wife in joyful union, and the hun and po are like mother and child reluctant to part. These are real experiences of the practice, not metaphors.

Practice according to the measure, and the medicine gathers and does not scatter. Practice according to the proportion, and the elixir solidifies and grows firmer. The hun is stored in peace, the po dissolves, Jing condenses, Shen settles, and heart and intent are at ease. The skin feels fresh and clear. As time passes, the inner elixir gradually coalesces, and from the formless there arises substance, forming the "Sacred Embryo" (the Neidan name for the fruit of the practice).

A year has twelve months, a month is about thirty days, and a day is divided into one hundred ke. By this reckoning, one month has three thousand ke, and ten months have thirty thousand ke. In walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, one cultivates without interruption, as though it were there and not there. Once the embryonic Qi has settled, the infant appears, the mysterious pearl takes shape, and the Great Unity (Taiyi) holds the truth within. Therefore, within these twenty thousand ke of practice, one can surpass thirty thousand years of Heaven's time. Why? Because within the work of a single ke lies the seasonal change of an entire year, so twenty thousand ke can exceed the count of thirty thousand years. A year of twelve months totals thirty-six thousand ke.

Even foolish and ordinary people who practice can quickly reach the sacred state. It is only that ordinary people use their own Jing, Qi, and Shen every day without knowing how to cherish them, so that the primordial Jing is spent, the primordial Qi runs dry, and the primordial Shen scatters. For this reason every one of the thirty thousand ke must be kept in harmony. If even one ke goes wrong, the medicine is wasted and the fire phases fall short. Hence the saying: "Off by a hair's breadth, and the Golden Elixir cannot be completed." The practitioner should work at every moment, but without forcing or exhausting oneself. Only then will true Qi gather and the primordial Shen become full and expansive.

Viewed from within, one completes an elixir of thirty thousand ke in a year. Viewed from without, one surpasses a lifespan of thirty thousand years with a single body. On the larger scale, in one day one can condense the embryonic Qi of thirteen thousand five hundred breaths. On the smaller scale, within the twelve double-hours the Qi travels eighty-four thousand li. It is therefore said that one should seize a single point of yang Qi from Heaven and Earth and gather the Qi that the sun and moon set in motion. Let true water circulate in the lead furnace, and let true fire circulate in the mercury cauldron. When lead and mercury meet, this is called the "Flower Pond"; when mercury enters the lead, this is called the "Divine Water."

The practice must not cling to Wuwei, nor fall into contrivance. It must not be lost in visualization, nor rigidly hold on to one point. One must not sit in withered stillness until the mind is dead ashes, still less practice blindly. The key lies in clarifying where the medicine comes from and in understanding the measure of the fire phases.

One must also know that within the body there is an aperture called the "Mysterious Female" (xuanpin; in Neidan, the source of life and the place where Yin and Yang unite). This aperture is not the heart or the kidneys, nor the mouth or nose, the spleen or stomach, the anal passage, the bladder, the Dantian, or the Niwan. Once one knows where this aperture lies, the winter solstice, the medicine, the fire phases, the bathing, and the forming of the embryo can all be found there. Only the shedding of the embryo and departure from the body do not take place here. This aperture has no boundary and no fixed position inside or outside. It is the root of Shen and Qi, a realm of emptiness, stillness, and formlessness. It should be sought within oneself and never outside.

This aperture cannot be found by anxious effort. It must be transmitted from heart to heart and by mouth from teacher to disciple. Anyone who guesses at it without having received the transmission easily falls into error. The Four Hundred Characters on the Golden Elixir is now written to embrace the foundations of creation and to penetrate the essentials of Yin-Yang. Those who cultivate the Golden Elixir can then follow the thread to find the source, abandon what is false and return to what is true, and not pursue the branches while abandoning the root.

The Golden Elixir is born from nothing, nurturing an infant, so one must not cling to outward forms and words and fall onto a narrow and crooked path. Yet the "nothing" of the Golden Elixir is not a stubborn void either. One should understand that this emptiness is true emptiness, and that "within nothingness there is not utter nothingness" is true void. Now, borrowing Ma Ziran to speak these words, I hope you will ponder them carefully.

True Earth (zhen tu, the earthen nature within the body, referring to its harmonizing and supporting function) is able to gather in True Lead (zhen qian, the water nature within the body), and True Lead in turn restrains True Mercury (zhen gong, the fire nature within the body). Once lead and mercury have both returned to True Earth, body and mind become still and settled, and no longer stir without reason.

The "lead" and "mercury" spoken of here are metaphors for the water and fire within the body. Earth can restrain water, so True Earth can gather in True Lead; water can restrain fire, so True Lead can restrain True Mercury. Water and fire are ultimately both governed by True Earth because, once body and mind are united and quiet and unmoving, earth, water, and wood can merge into one. This means that the "medicinal substances" required for cultivation are drawn into the "furnace and cauldron" (a term in Neidan (internal alchemy) used as a metaphor for the body and the process of refining and nurturing).

From the void, white snow descends; from stillness, the yellow sprout emerges. The fire in the jade furnace burns gently, and purple clouds of dawn rise above the cauldron.

The "white snow" must arise in emptiness, symbolizing the emergence of something from nothing. The "yellow sprout," by contrast, grows only after being warmed and nourished by fire, because fire gives rise to earth. It is like the month of Zi in the heavens and earth (the eleventh lunar month): the yang qi (Qi, vital energy) has not yet begun to stir, and all things seem to return to nothingness, so white snow falls from the sky. By the months of Yin and Mao (the first and second lunar months), yang qi grows stronger, movement begins within stillness, and the yellow sprout emerges from the earth. Once the white snow and the yellow sprout have appeared, one need only keep the fire in the jade furnace gentle, and purple clouds will naturally rise above the cauldron; if the fire is too fierce, it will scatter them.

In the Flowery Pool the lotus blooms, and the golden ripples on the Divine Water are calm and clear. Deep in the night the moon shines brightly, and heaven and earth are like a round mirror.

The "hua" in "Flowery Pool" (Huachi) means flower, and it also symbolizes fire; the "shen" in "Divine Water" (Shenshui) means the heart-mind, and the heart-mind belongs to fire. The key to cultivating the Golden Elixir lies in the harmony of water and fire symbolized by the Divine Water and the Flowery Pool, which is the principle of "water and fire completing one another" (shuihuo jiji, water and fire mutually balancing each other). Although the surface of the water stirs, it remains clear and pure; once water and fire are in harmony, it is as though lotus flowers bloom within the fire. At midnight, the hour of Zi (11 p.m. to 1 a.m.), the first yang is born and the moon shines brightly, and golden light seems to pass through the whole body, illuminating heaven and earth like a bright mirror.

Cinnabar refines and nourishes the Yang Qi (qi) within the body, while mercury cooks and tempers the Golden Jing (jing). If the Golden Jing and the Yang Qi can be kept pure and still, then, enveloped by the proper phases of the fire, a lotus will arise and bloom of its own accord. At midnight, the hour of Zi, just when the first stirring of Yang Qi begins, if the moonlight is bright, a golden radiance will shine out through the body and illuminate everything between heaven and earth, like a bright round mirror.

Cinnabar symbolizes the refining of Yang Qi, and mercury symbolizes the cooking of the Golden Jing. The Golden Jing and the Yang Qi are thus likened, respectively, to cinnabar and mercury.

Commentary: Yang Qi is the one point of true Yang Qi within the body; the Golden Jing is the one point of true Yin essence within the heart. To refine and nourish it with Yang fire is like cinnabar; to tend and regulate it with the Yin talisman is like mercury. Cinnabar and mercury are, in origin, external substances. The ancients, having no alternative, borrowed them as metaphors for the elixir within the body.

The sun-soul is like the fat of the Jade Rabbit, and the moon-soul is like the marrow of the Golden Crow. Gather them into the cauldron, and they transform into a pool of clear water.

Commentary: The hun (ethereal soul) belongs to Wood, and Wood generates Fire, so the Shen (spirit) is stored and nourished by the hun. The po (corporeal soul) belongs to Metal, and Metal generates Water, so the Jing is stored and nourished by the po. If one can draw in the wind-breath to nourish the Shen, and draw in the breath-energy to nourish the Jing, so that Jing and Shen blend and harmonize within the cauldron, they will congeal into a pool of clear water.

The medicinal substances arise from the mysterious aperture, and the fire phases are set in motion in the Yang furnace. When Dragon and Tiger meet, the precious cauldron produces the Mysterious Pearl.

Commentary: The medicinal substances refer to Neidan (internal alchemy) terms such as the Black Liver, the Rabbit Marrow, Red Mercury, and Black Lead. All of these arise from the mysterious aperture. If one can set the Yang furnace in motion with the fire of samadhi (the focused, single-pointed fire of inner refining), bring Dragon and Tiger together, and refine and transmute Metal and Wood, the Yellow Sprout will emerge, and afterward a single Mysterious Pearl will be produced.

This aperture is no ordinary thing. It is formed jointly by Qian and Kun, by Yin-Yang, and is called the Shen-Qi Aperture. Within it are stored the essences of Kan and Li, that is, the essences of Water and Fire, of Yin and Yang.

The Mysterious Female's aperture (Xuanpin zhi qiao), the fundamental cavity in Daoist teaching from which life is generated and through which the methods of the elixir operate, is no ordinary thing. It existed before the human body took form. It is not above, not below, and not in the middle of the body, and this is what is called the "single aperture of the Prior Heaven" (xiantian yiqiao). Life arises from it: the Jing (essence) of the Heavenly father, Qian, joins with the blood of the Earthly mother, Kun, and together they form the body. It is also the point where Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy) gather, and it holds the essence of water and fire.

The single red point of Wood-mercury, and the three heavy pounds of Metal-lead, black in color. Lead and mercury congeal into cinnabar, shining with the luster of purple gold.

Red refers to the color of mercury, which is called "a single point"; black refers to lead, and because it is black it is said to be "three pounds heavy." When the lead within Metal and the mercury within Wood congeal, they form the head of the elixir. After it passes through the nine turns of the fire phases (the process in alchemy of gradually regulating the heat and timing), the elixir's color becomes like purple gold.

The scenery of the home garden is lovely, just as spring winds and rains arrive. Plowing and hoeing the earth is not feared for its toil, for the whole land becomes yellow gold.

Here the "home garden" refers to the true earth within the body, and the "scenery" refers to the medicinal substances within the body. After the return of the first Yang (the first stirring and revival of Yang qi), wind is used to blow upon it and rain to moisten it. When the time of the three Yang's mutual accord arrives (Yang qi growing strong and Yin and Yang blending), although one must still labor in cultivation as one labors in plowing, the Yellow Sprout (an Neidan term for the medicine that arises during cultivation) will surge up from the "soil" within the body. It is said to be like gold because it describes the color of the Yellow Sprout as golden.

True lead is born in the Kan palace (the position symbolizing water), yet its function lies in the Li palace (the position symbolizing fire). The black true lead turns red, and the cloud-vapor within the cauldron gradually thickens. True mercury is produced in the Li palace, yet its function lies in the Kan palace. The Maiden (Chanü, an Neidan term for true mercury) passes through the southern garden, holding a jade olive in her hand.

True Lead (zhen qian) is the essence-qi (Jing and Qi) of the north, belonging to Water, and it rises to the Li Palace (the position of the heart-fire, the south). True Mercury (zhen gong) is the spirit-qi (Shen and Qi) of the south, belonging to Fire, and it descends to the Kan Gate (the position of the kidney-water, the north). When lead and mercury are joined, they appear red and black when seen up close, and from a distance look like an olive carved of jade. The Maiden (Chanü, symbolizing True Mercury) passes through the southern garden, riding a dragon; the Infant (symbolizing True Lead) journeys to the northern land, riding a tiger. The dragon coils within the golden cauldron (a symbol of the alchemical work), and the tiger crouches in the Dantian (the region of the body where internal cultivation takes place). Clouds rise with the dragon and wind arises with the tiger, so that within the cauldron vapors seem to billow like clouds.

Zhen, Dui, Kan, and Li are not the ordinary east, west, north, and south. As the handle of the Dipper travels around the celestial circuit, the practitioner must know how to gather the qi of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) into one.

Commentary: What Zhen, Dui, Kan, and Li refer to are not the east, west, south, and north of the human world, but the trigram-qi of the transformations of heaven and earth. Just as the handle of the Dipper turns with the monthly establishment (the directional position of each month, marked by the twelve earthly branches) and completes one circuit of the heavens each day, so too, when fire is kindled for cultivation within the body, it completes a celestial circuit in a mere moment. If the qi of the Five Phases cannot be gathered into one, how could it possibly correspond to the turning of the Dipper's handle?

The application of the fire phases is not bound to fixed hours, so the winter solstice does not necessarily fall in the Zi hour. As for "bathing" (the stage of regulating the breath and resting during cultivation), the Mao and You hours are merely borrowed as metaphors.

Commentary: What is generally called the fire phases is not fixed so that the Zi hour corresponds to the winter solstice and the Wu hour to the summer solstice. Bathing likewise does not correspond fixedly to the spring equinox in the Mao hour or the autumn equinox in the You hour. Once fire is kindled in the body and circulates through the celestial circuit, there will naturally be adding and subtracting (the adjustment of increase and decrease in the course of cultivation) and bathing, without any need to cling to the seasons of the year.

The Crow's Liver and the Rabbit's Marrow refer to the sun-soul and the moon-soul (the Yin-Yang essence-qi symbolized by the sun and moon respectively). Gather them into one place and refine them with fire; each day one grain forms, the size of a millet seed, accumulating gradually from the tiny until it takes shape. Accumulating zhu to make liang: thirty days yields thirty-eight zhu and four su, three hundred days yields three hundred eighty-four zhu, and in the end it reaches one cun square and one jin in weight.

Chaos (Hundun) contains the void, and the void encompasses the Three Realms (the realms of heaven, earth, and humanity). Trace it to its source, and in the end it is only something the size of a single grain of millet.

Hundun (Chaos, the undifferentiated state in which Yin-Yang are fused) refers to the union of Yin-Yang. It gathers the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) together and brings the four images (the four forms associated with the transformations of Yin-Yang) into harmony. One then becomes as vast as empty space, even able to contain empty space itself. The Shen (spirit) roams the three realms (Heaven, Earth, and the human world), and the three realms seem to be contained within it. Tracing its origin, it arises from the gate of the Mysterious Female (the fundamental doorway in cultivation where Yin and Yang are generated and meet). At its greatest it can be as vast as empty space, and at its finest it is as small as a grain of millet.

Heaven and Earth blend their true fluids; the sun and moon unite their true essence. Grasp the foundation of the union of Kan and Li (symbols of water and fire, Yin and Yang), and the three realms return to a single body.

When the fluids of the heart descend and the fluids of the kidneys rise, this is "Heaven and Earth blending their true fluids." The hun (ethereal soul) is likened to the essence of the crow, and the po (corporeal soul) to the essence of the jade rabbit; this is "the sun and moon holding true essence." If one understands the foundation of the union of Kan and Li, the gate of Heaven opens and the door of Earth closes. The sun shines upon Kunlun (the head or upper region of the body), and the moon rises over the Vast Sea (the lower region of the body, or the Dantian (energy center)), and the three realms seem to gather within oneself.

The dragon comes from the Eastern Sea, and the tiger rises from the Western Mountains. The two beasts fight a single battle and transform into the essence of Heaven and Earth.

Zhen (one of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), symbolizing the east and thunder) is the Azure Dragon, coming from the Eastern Sea; Dui (one of the Bagua, symbolizing the west and marshes) is the White Tiger, rising from the Western Mountains. When the dragon chants and clouds of vapor rise, and the tiger roars and the wind stirs, the two meet and clash before the Yellow Chamber (the central region within the body). Wind and clouds converge, and naturally condense into a single mass of essence.

The golden flower puts forth leaves of mercury, and the jade stem grows branches of lead. Kan and Li have never ceased their union, and Qian and Kun (symbols of Heaven and Earth, Yin-Yang) have undergone countless transformations.

"Golden Flower" refers to golden essence (jing, 精). When the golden flower appears above, the mercury leaves can unfurl. "Jade Calyx" refers to jade fluid. When a jade calyx is present below, the lead branches can grow. If the practitioner can use the qi (气) of Kan and Li (symbolizing Yin-Yang, water and fire) without letting it scatter, then a single moment of effort can equal a full year of the heavens and earth in motion. How long must such effort be sustained?

During bathing, guard against danger; during extraction and addition, hold firm with care. Over a total of thirty thousand quarter-hours, the slightest error may open a gap of a hair's breadth.

"Bathing" is the method of transcendence and ascent. It is like climbing a seven-story pagoda or entering a three-tiered red tower: one must go from the bottom upward, guarding against danger at every step. "Extraction and addition" is the method of returning to the origin (chaoyuan, 朝元, bringing essence and qi back to their source). Yang qi begins to rise at the first hour of Zi, and Yin qi gradually emerges after midday. Without careful control, error is unavoidable in the end.

A day has one hundred quarter-hours, and a month has three thousand. If one applies effort in every quarter-hour without growing weary, then ten months amount to thirty thousand quarter-hours, which can match the cosmic cycles of thirty thousand years. If there is even the slightest error, the Golden Elixir (Jindan) cannot be completed.

When husband and wife unite, clouds and rain meet in the bridal chamber. In one year a child is conceived, and every child can ride a crane.

Here the "infant of the Kan palace" refers to the infant of the Kan palace (symbolizing water and Yin), and the "maiden of the Li palace" refers to the young girl of the Li palace (symbolizing fire and Yang). If the Yellow Dame (an intermediary who harmonizes Yin and Yang) brings the two together as husband and wife, they unite in the bridal chamber. The clouds and rain disperse, Yin and Yang merge, and the "sacred embryo" takes form. After a year, when the child is born, the child can mount a crane and ascend, emerging from the Niwan Palace (the upper Dantian in the head). The "year" here means ten months of gestation plus two months of bathing, twelve months in all.