《长生指要篇》

In my youth I encountered hardships, set aside brush and ink, and my heart gradually grew indifferent to the flavors of the world. Later I happened to read the Qingjing Jing and was moved by it, so I resolved to leave home and cultivate the Dao (the Way). With hair unbound and walking barefoot I traveled far and wide in search of teachers, covering nearly half of All-under-Heaven.

At that time I tried methods such as visualizing the kidneys, contemplating the spirit of the heart, swallowing saliva, and regulating the breath. Yet what I constantly kept in mind was the cultivation of the Golden Elixir, though I never succeeded in clarifying its foundation.

Later the opportunity arrived. At the Yanxia Abbey in Changting of western Shu I met Perfected Lu. He gladly transmitted to me the medicines, the fire timing, and the methods of applying extraction and addition, explaining them with perfect clarity as if pointing them out on the palm of his hand. I have firmly remembered my master’s teachings for many years now.

Seeing how people of the world chase after heterodox side-paths and grow ever farther from the true Dao, I could not bear to keep all I know hidden. I have therefore used plain language to set forth the principles, composing seven chapters titled Changsheng Zhiyao (Essential Pointers to Longevity). I hope those with a mind to cultivate the Dao may thereby grasp the entrance. Written on the Mid-Autumn Festival of the Gengxu year of Chunyou (1250) by Lin Ziran, Huiyangzi of Sanshan.

First

I have heard that the primordial Great Dao (the fundamental principle existing before Heaven and Earth took form) resides in chaos; it cannot be known through consciousness nor understood by ordinary knowledge.

According to tradition, the primordial Dao (the Way) exists in the chaotic state before Heaven and Earth were divided, and it cannot be grasped through ordinary cognition or knowledge. When one listens with the ear, it is as if the eye were listening; when one looks with the eye, it is as if the ear were seeing. It is vague and profound, seeming like some thing yet not a concrete thing, seeming like some form yet without a fixed form; therefore it is only provisionally called “Dao.”

The marvels of the Dao cannot be measured, so people can only come to understand them by observing Heaven and Earth and examining the myriad things. When the human body is compared with Heaven and Earth, their correspondence also becomes apparent. The author says that he has already grasped the mystery within mystery and is unwilling to keep all that he knows completely hidden, so he attempts to reveal the root of the Dao from between being and non-being.

“Pin” (here referring to the dark, gestating state of undivided chaos) is like the stem of a gourd, containing within it the true Jing (essence). Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy) interpenetrate and mingle in the work of creation; this is the marvel of Taiyi containing the True (the Supreme One embracing the true Qi). After the two modes of Yin-Yang separate, the four images arise; once the four images are complete, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) are also fully present, and then the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) take form. Among them the Central Palace is the root of the Bagua, and the Central Palace belongs to Earth. Water stops when it meets Earth, Fire is extinguished when it meets Earth, Metal is born from Earth, and Wood flourishes because of Earth.

This is like the fetus in the mother’s womb, which day after day receives the harmonious Qi of Heaven and Earth and breathes together with the mother within the Central Palace. After the child is born and the umbilical cord is cut, it still receives the nourishing influence of the correct Qi of Heaven and Earth and communicates with the Shen-Qi of the Void Sovereign (Xuhuang, the supreme deity honored in Daoism). Thus human beings were originally able to last as long as Heaven and Earth and to become one with the Void Sovereign.

Yet when the passions are stirred by things within and without, likes and desires arise one after another, the true Qi becomes cut off from the person, and the original Shen follows external things and turns with them. Although the person still connects with the Qi of Heaven and Earth, the transformation of Shen loses its foundation and is instead worn down by the waxing and waning of Heaven and Earth, until finally the form declines, the Qi is scattered, and death cannot be avoided. The “Qi” spoken of in the scripture is the primordial ancestral Qi of the Original Beginning through vast kalpas (the source Qi from the beginning of the cosmos that remains undestroyed through successive ages); it is also the root of the nature and life of immortals. Obtaining it, one lives; losing it, one dies. If practitioners can obtain this Qi, they can grasp the creative transformation of Heaven and Earth; if they cannot obtain it, they will be worn down by the changes of Heaven and Earth. What is worn down is precisely that single point of original-yang true Qi (the primordial yang energy of life).

Practitioners of cultivation should return to the root and practice according to the proper times in order to complete the Great Elixir. The method of refinement, in the end, is simply to follow the breathing of the “Mother”: when the Mother exhales, one exhales; when the Mother inhales, one inhales. With one exhalation, the Qi of Heaven descends; with one inhalation, the Qi of Earth rises. Breathing must accord with the proper moment; one cannot cultivate blindly. When one Shen is moved, the many Shen are drawn along; when one aperture is opened, the nine apertures are set in motion. Those who study the Dao should seek the source, embracing the Origin and guarding the One (holding to the original root and remaining concentrated without scattering) as they did when they were in the mother’s womb. When Taiyi contains and stores the true Qi, Heaven and Earth can nourish the Yellow Sprout (a term in Neidan, or internal alchemy, that symbolizes the original vitality). The growth of the Yellow Sprout is the root of lead. Those who cannot practice die when their Qi is exhausted precisely because they cannot reverse the light and turn the illumination inward (gathering the mind-spirit and contemplating within); they only observe external things and do not examine themselves.

Huiyangzi says: The essence of Heaven and Earth gathers in the sun and moon; the essence of the human body gathers in the eyes. At the beginning of human formation, the two kidneys appear first, corresponding inwardly to the Jing-wheel (the region that corresponds to the vital Jing-Qi of life); afterward the two eyes are generated, like water bubbles. This is the same as the process by which Heaven and Earth come into being. Before Heaven and Earth were divided and the sun and moon had not yet shone, all was chaotic darkness; after Yin and Yang first separated and the sun and moon became bright, Water and Fire appeared, the myriad things were generated from this, and the marvelous functioning of transformation unfolded. Therefore, if a person wishes to cultivate, one should gather and refine the primordial Qi from below the horizontal eyes (the contemplative region related to the eyes), seek out what Heaven and Earth have stored, and put it to use. If one can apply this marvelous method, it is called “soaring high to the sun and moon, thoroughly illuminating Kunlun” (describing the Shen-Qi rising and illuminating the entire body). The methods of cultivation transmitted by earlier generations mostly do no more than point out this principle of practice.

The Yellow Court (the region in the body where, in Daoist cultivation, the furnace and tripod are set up and Shen-Qi is regulated) is the place where the furnace is established and the tripod is set. Holy achievement arises from here, and spiritual illumination also appears from here. Clear Qi rises and turbid Qi descends, circulating along the eight vessels of the body: upward to the Mud Pill (the upper Dantian, or energy center, in the head), in the middle regulating the five Qi and gathering the hundred Shen, then downward to the Bubbling Spring (the acupoint on the sole of the foot), cycling thus again and again without pause day or night. The correct Qi of Heaven and Earth, Shen, and Jing—these three—can conjoin and coagulate here.

When the work is complete, as after ten months of gestation, one can reach the state of “the embryo being complete and emerging into the world.” On a lesser scale this means extending the years, benefiting longevity, and enjoying peace of body and mind; on a greater scale it means transcending the ordinary and entering sagehood, able to roam and transform, wandering at ease between Heaven and Earth. After merit and practice are complete and De (Virtue/Power) and accomplishment are achieved, one returns to the Jade Void (the clear and empty immortal realm spoken of in Daoism). This transformation is both mysterious and profound; how can those who cultivate Neidan not set their hearts upon the Dao?

Until one transcends the ordinary and enters the sacred realm, able to roam freely between heaven and earth and transform without obstruction; after meritorious practice is fulfilled and De (Virtue/Power) accomplished, one returns above to the Jade Void (the clear and empty immortal realm of which Daoism speaks). Such transformations are profound and marvelous; how could those who cultivate Neidan (internal alchemy) fail to devote themselves single-mindedly to the Dao (the Way)?

Second

Huiyangzi said: The Dao and human nature are originally one interconnected principle. Heaven, endowed with the Dao, accumulates primordial Qi (vital energy) and covers the earth from above; earth, endowed with the Dao, condenses into form and substance and bears heaven from below. Heaven and earth are separated by some eighty-four thousand li; Qi and form-substance originally cannot meet directly. Heaven, taking Qian (the Yang of the Bagua/Eight Trigrams) to seek union with Kun (Yin), causes Yang Qi to return into the earth, carrying Yin Qi as it rises; earth, taking Kun to seek union with Qian, causes Yin Qi to enter heaven, embracing Yang Qi as it descends. Yin-Yang rise and fall in succession, circulating endlessly, never departing from the Great Dao; thus heaven and earth endure. Is there any other principle here?

The nature of heaven and earth is also manifested in the human being. The heart corresponds to heaven and is called the Vermilion Bird (symbolizing the south and fire), corresponding with the eyes, its pulse color appearing red; the kidneys correspond to earth and are called the Dark Warrior (symbolizing the north and water), and what interacts with the eyes is Jing (essence) Qi. The liver occupies the Yang position and is likened to the Azure Dragon, Jing appearing in the eyes as cyan; the lungs occupy the Yin position and are likened to the White Tiger, Jing appearing in the eyes as white. The creative transformations of heaven and earth all gather in the eyes. If a person can integrate these changes into luminous awareness, investigate the root of creation, and grasp the signs of Kan and Li (representing water and fire, Yin-Yang) together with the timing of the union of movement and stillness, then, concentrating Shen (spirit) day and night, forgetting stray thoughts, preserving inner brightness and nurturing a clear nature, how could one fail to accord with the De of heaven and earth?

From the moment a person leaves the parents and forms an independent body, one is stained by the Six Dusts (form, sound, smell, taste, touch, and dharmas—external phenomena). The innate pure and harmonious Qi gradually dissipates; the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue are disturbed by sounds, colors, and other externals; the mind oversteps its proper bounds. When the senses chase outward, the inner heart grows dark; the Central Yellow position (referring to the center of the body, the center spoken of in Neidan cultivation) becomes blocked, and the body loses its integrity. Thus people are pulled by partial desires, abandoning the root to pursue the branches, not knowing to return to the foundation; the Dao-mind is obscured and hidden, no longer evident—how then could one still accord with the De of heaven and earth?

Not only this: people also transform according to external things. Primordial Yang is damaged and true Qi scattered, all because externals obscure the eyes, the mind-spirit floats outward, and in daily life one employs the light of Jing-Shen to illuminate what is outside. Alas, why do those who study the Dao not explore the deep meaning of the Yi and turn back to examine themselves?

When the correct position of Kun enters the correct position of Qian and two lines are added in the middle, the Kan trigram is formed. Kan symbolizes water and is internally clear; thus, by inwardly observing the nature of water one becomes transparent and unobstructed, whereas chasing the nature of fire outwardly one is easily obscured and darkened. When both above and below are Yang lines, the appearance is red; only when the middle Yellow position enters Qian’s correct position, constituting the Kan trigram, is there central brightness. The Li trigram symbolizes fire, red at both beginning and end; when red reaches its extreme it turns black. In the human body, how can the brightness displayed outwardly be taken as a reliable support?

What is called “returning its outer brightness” refers to the principle of the toad’s light illuminating the western river (a Neidan term meaning gathering the outwardly roaming brightness so that it returns within); failing to draw the brightness back corresponds to Metal and Wood being separated (meaning the inner Yin-Yang Qi cannot unite). The insightful person, even while pursuing external circumstances, can, upon noticing, return to the original mind, gather in the brightness, restore original nature, and thereby preserve Kun De (the yielding, supporting virtue represented by Kun).

When one’s own De is complete, nature and temperament will not be disordered; when nature and temperament are not disordered, Shen will not scatter or shift; when Shen does not scatter, Jing will not be depleted; when Jing is not depleted, Qi can condense. After Qi gathers, Jing follows fire, and then the ten thousand spirits pay court to the Origin and the Three Flowers gather at the crown (in Neidan cultivation, describing the state in which Jing, Qi, and Shen condense in the upper region), preserving the harmonious balance of the whole body and mind. Thus one can manifest the effect of transcendence, achieve the nine-cauldron elixir light (the image of elixir completion in Neidan), enter directly the empty realm, transform together with Yuqing (Jade Clarity, a Daoist deity and the immortal realm it inhabits), and finally dwell prior to the Primordial Chaos of the Great Beginning (the original state when heaven and earth were undivided and the ten thousand things unborn). If one cannot accomplish this, already between the eyebrows and eyelashes self and other, this and that, have been distinguished.

Huiyangzi said: The movements of heaven and earth follow their own patterns. The elixir light of the twelve hours (an image in Neidan cultivation referring to inner energy or brightness) circulates to completion, rushing directly into the empty realm (the realm of emptiness, stillness, and clarity), sharing creation with Yuqing (one of the Three Pure Ones [Sanqing] of Daoism), and thereafter dwelling prior to the primordial chaos of Taichu (before heaven and earth divided, the initial undifferentiated state). If it were not so, in an instant distinctions of this and that would arise!

Huiyangzi further said: Heaven and earth complete a cycle of twelve hours in one day and night, totaling ninety-six ke. Heaven and earth are vast without bound, yet in the minute they can penetrate to the autumn hair. Ordinary people fail to grasp this, mistakenly adding four ke to the four hours of zi, wu, mao, and you, which is incorrect. The creations of heaven and earth can neither be increased nor decreased; to increase is to lengthen, to decrease is to shorten. Heaven possesses the ten stems, the ten heavenly stems, which belong to yang and constitute the root; earth possesses the twelve branches, the twelve earthly branches, which belong to yin and constitute the tip. Ordinary people act according to the earthly branches, while sages follow the heavenly stems, the remaining ke being included therein.

Laozi said: “Descending from the root, it flows and ramifies to the extremities, and thus all things come into being.” The root is like seeking out the tree’s roots and securing the base; the extremities are like flowers blooming and seeds forming. When the melon ripens the stem drops, naturally releasing fragrance; only those who split the melon know its flavor. If those who study the Dao have Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy) full and complete, they need not be bound by year, month, day, or hour. The so-called “form and spirit both marvelous, united in truth with the Dao” still requires further deepening at the root of nature and life, attaining a higher realm, so that nature and life merge as one, coming and going without hindrance.

One must first attain the true state of stillness, only then can a point of numinous light penetrate the Jade Pool (a Neidan term for an upper pass-orifice in the body), which is the so-called xuanpin (the profound portal of creation of all things in Daoism). Before heaven and earth divided it was like an egg: Wuji encompasses Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), chaos yet undivided; after the initial division, the precelestial is the substance, the postcelestial the function, the light and clear becoming heaven, the heavy and turbid earth, with the human body in between, together called the Three Powers, from which all things arise. The inner xuanpin is the root of heaven and earth, the outer xuanpin the gate of ingress and egress. Opening the orifice of chaos and penetrating the crown pass, countless immortals emerge therefrom and take their places in the immortal ranks. Thanks to the master indicating the fundamental origin, one can leap free of the cycle of birth and death; whether residing in the mountains or in the marketplace, one may be free and untrammeled, appearing and disappearing, coming and going without obstruction.

Huiyangzi said: Being generates non-being, non-being generates being; one enters being from non-being and returns from being to non-being. The Xiaozai Jing states: “Clinging to being and non-being, one remains forever in darkness, unable to illuminate oneself.” Those who illuminate the mind and see the nature are no longer veiled by notions of being and non-being, and circumstances differ. Therefore Zhenren Ziyang said one must stabilize floating and sinking and distinguish guest from host: originally nature should be the host, first establishing the foundation with life. The verse says: “Let him be host, I the guest.” This refers precisely to the floating and sinking relation between nature and life.

It is like the sun rising from the eastern sea, auspicious clouds filling the heavens and rosy radiance brilliant; after rising more than a zhang above the sea, the light gradually fades. When the sun is about to set behind the western mountains, the light is gradually gathered back, returning to root and origin—the same principle. Those who study the Dao should grasp this: spirit-light dispersing outward and pursuing things is the ordinary person’s constant state; the sage, upon the slightest awareness, immediately gathers and returns, as the sun returns to its source. This is the principle spoken of in the Cui Gong Ru Yao Jing. The creations of heaven and earth all concentrate in sun and moon; the creations of the human body all concentrate in the original source. With transformations thus inexhaustible, how could one not endure as long as heaven and earth?

Huiyangzi said: The sacred fetus (the cultivation fruit in Neidan analogized as a fetus) gestates for ten months and the infant appears. Those who study the Dao are like constructing a house: the foundation must first be firmly laid before it can bear the weight above. When the first yang is born between heaven and earth, one sequentially takes the month from the year, the day from the month, the hour from the day, the ke from the hour. After ten months the fetus is complete, the work is fulfilled and De (Virtue/Power) accomplished. It is like an ordinary child after a thousand days leaving the wet-nurse and attaining freedom.

The yin-yang union of father and mother gives birth to me; my body likewise is formed from the yin-yang union of father and mother, with no need to seek outside. Coming, clouds fill a thousand mountains; departing, the moon reflects in ten thousand waters. Those who study the Dao originally possess within themselves the sacred father and sacred mother, that is, the parents of their own body. In practice, self-realization seven parts and the master’s pointing three, or self three and master seven, together make ten. One must awaken oneself in order truly to enter the Dao. One should, according to one’s capacity, conveniently guide others and accomplish wholesome results; the growth of trees ultimately cannot do without the nurturing of the soil.

I see worldly people turning over in confusion, not understanding the sages’ scriptures; once the human body is lost, even after ten thousand kalpas it is hard to obtain again—how can this not cause one to grieve? The sea of bitterness has no shore; turning the head is the road back to the mountain. I thus earnestly exhort, fearing only that you miss the time; one ought immediately to take up the task of cultivating the Dao, suddenly awaken, and transcend the ordinary into sagehood.

Zhenren Ziyang said: “When the country is rich and the people at peace, one should seek a single battle; after the battle one can see great peace.” Here “rich country and peaceful people” analogizes the human body: original Shen, original Qi, original Jing (essence) each return to their places—Shen to the spirit chamber, Jing to the essence mansion, Qi to the original source; when the three all return to the root, it is like the people at peace and the country rich. If one further thoroughly comprehends this marvelous principle, it is the principle of “the three families meeting and forming the infant.”

When two things meet, emotion and nature unite; where tiger and dragon coil, they join at the central earth. Wu is yang earth, which can generate all things; ji is yin earth, which can nourish all things. All things grow, and humans likewise. Sages long ingest the daogui (a Neidan term for the subtle elixir obtained through cultivation), like winter snow gradually condensing—this is precisely the principle. The infant and the cha-nü (Neidan terms respectively symbolizing the yin-yang qi within the body or related cultivation factors) laugh together; the yellow granny (a Neidan term symbolizing the mediator that harmonizes yin and yang) advises and leads Ding Gong (here a symbolic figure in the verse), guiding him through Cao Xi and conveying him to the summit of Kunlun. Waves surge and descend to the Yellow Court (a Neidan term for an important site within the human body), where water and fire greet one another.

Huiyangzi said: Human life in this world, spirit is limited; so long as the body remains, there is still room for cultivation. Wealth, honor, and glory are like empty flowers flashing before the eyes—why expend mind and effort upon them? I urge those who cultivate the Dao to awaken early; from ancient times immortals have all entered the Dao by this path. The poem says: “Green leaves and red flowers spreading over ten thousand branches, once in the seasonal changes one saw the root-sprouts. Do not say the fruit is hard to ripen; one need only irrigate with a ladle of water from the numinous source.” And there is another poem that says: …

Having searched the ends of the earth, where after all is the Huangmu (an alchemical term referring to the key medicinal substance or the original Shen)? In a sudden flash of insight the master points out the essential principle, and the practitioner can then ascend to the immortal realm.

Fourth

Huiyangzi said: Heaven has four seasons, and a day consists of twelve double-hours, each of which contains a subtle and marvelous function. Those who cultivate must understand the hiding and driving of Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy), and must also master the changes of past and future, before they can gather and refine.

The marvel of it lies in arranging one year within one month, one month within one day, then one day within one double-hour and one double-hour within one quarter-hour; one fears even the slightest error. The methods of cultivation do not stop here: looking upward one must refer to the degrees of the stars’ movements, looking downward one must correspond to the rise and fall of ocean tides, gathering and refining the primordial Qi from before Heaven and Earth were divided, and seizing the essence of the conjunction of sun and moon. Therefore the sage said: “At the time when Heaven and Earth conjoin, the interior of the human body must also conjoin; one need only knock from within the Jia-Yi gate.” (The Jia-Yi gate is a term in Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation, referring to the pass where the Qi mechanisms within the body meet and conjoin.)

Because with the work of one quarter-hour one can grasp the climatic changes of a day; with the work of one day one can grasp the climatic changes of a year. If one can master the work of one year, one can seize the thirty-six thousand years of lifespan belonging to Heaven and Earth. How can people of shallow insight measure the marvels within, like looking at Heaven through a bamboo tube or measuring the sea with a clam-shell? Therefore the poem says:

When the first line of the Fu hexagram (one of the sixty-four hexagrams, symbolizing the beginning of Yang Qi’s return to life) is activated, the Heavenly Heart (the fundamental root of the movement of the Dao of Heaven) does not change. By comprehending the essential principle within this, one can take it as the foundation for forming the Elixir.

Fifth

Huiyangzi said: The sages of high antiquity transmitted the great medicine of the Golden Elixir, placing special emphasis on the time when the first line of the fire timing is activated…

Huiyangzi (回阳子) said: When the sages of high antiquity transmitted the methods for refining the great medicine of the Golden Elixir, they alone withheld the matter of fire timing (huohou), because they would not divulge the secrets of Heaven. Now I will reveal a little of its hidden meaning, to serve as evidence for verifying this scripture.

The effect of fire timing (huohou, the mastery of heat, timing, and advance and retreat in alchemical refining) is nothing more than this: when dispersed, it becomes Qi; when gathered, it becomes fire; when transformed, it becomes water; when changed, it becomes metal. Condense this one Qi (in Daoist teaching, the primordial and subtle breath) so that the True Origin does not scatter, and fire timing is already contained within it. Hence it is said that although fire timing has its rules, one need not cling to specific hours; the subtle key must be understood by oneself. When the True Qi has only just turned back, it coincides with the new moon (shuo, the first day of the lunar month), and drawing out, adding, advancing, and retreating must not be delayed. This is what is meant.

Someone asked: "How is the medicine gathered? How is the fire timing applied?" The answer: "The medicine is born from the mysterious aperture (xuanqiao, the profound opening spoken of in cultivation), and the fire timing is set in motion within the Yang furnace (a symbol of the cultivation vessel). Drawing out, adding, advancing, and retreating are all in my own hands. When the True Qi has just turned back, that is the pivot on which the work of creation turns."

Section Six

Huiyangzi said: Divine Furnace, Cinnabar Cavity, Divine Chamber, Jade Furnace, and Golden Chamber are all different names for the elixir cauldron (dingding, the vessel in which the elixir is refined). Yellow Court, Yellow Path, Yellow Chamber, Yellow Dame, and the Hall of Wu and Ji are all different names for the Central Palace (the central cultivation site in the body). True Yang (pure Yang qi) is the single Qi that has only just turned back and opens the workings of creation.

Section Six

Huiyangzi said: The Divine Furnace, the Elixir Cave, the Spirit Chamber, the Jade Furnace, and the Golden Chamber are all different names for the elixir cauldron. The Yellow Court, the Yellow Path, the Yellow Chamber, the Yellow Dame, and the Hall of Wu and Ji are all different names for the Central Palace. True Yang belongs to Qian, symbolizing Heaven, Father, and Husband; the Yang hun is also called the Green Dragon, the Young Lord, Wood Mercury, Yin within Yang, mercury within cinnabar, the paternal essence of cinnabar, and wood fluid—these are all different names for the “Infant Brother.” True Yin belongs to Kun, symbolizing Earth, Mother, and Wife; the Yin po is also called the White Tiger, the Maiden, Gold Lead, Yang within Yin, silver within lead, the maternal blood of mercury, and golden essence—these are all different names for the “Charming Girl.” Although the names are numerous, the underlying principle is the same.

The so-called “lead” cannot be obtained from afar and cannot be abandoned when near. One must obtain Yang mercury to harmonize it, and only when it further meets True Earth can it be refined to completion; this is the Great Medicine of the Golden Elixir (Jindan). Perfected Ziyang said: “First take Qian and Kun as the tripod-vessel, then gather the medicines of Crow and Rabbit to cook and refine; once these two medicines are driven to return into the Yellow Path, how could one fail to refine the numinous elixir?” This is also one way of speaking about cultivating the Dao (the Way).

Ordinary people cannot harmonize the myriad things, and thus from the One they disperse into the myriad. Only the sage can gather the myriad things and return them to the One, so it is said: “My Dao unifies all affairs through the One.” When the Dao is collected and returns to the One, the One then produces Water, and this is the Northern Dipper within my own body. The Northern Dipper is born from the “One”; the “One” is the root of life and also the source from which I receive my Heaven-bestowed life—this is the meaning of “original destiny one-three.” The most refined thing under Heaven can produce marvelous effects; when the marvelous reaches its extreme, its De (Virtue/Power) never departs from the “One.” The Zhuangzi says: “Not departing from Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) is called a spirit-person.”

The “One” is the root of Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things. Only with a root can there be growth, and only with growth can there be flourishing. If one does not cause the root to be planted deep and the branches and pedicels to be firm, how can one achieve “embracing the One”? When I rise I contemplate the “One,” when I lie down and sleep I contemplate the “One,” when I eat and drink I also contemplate the “One,” never for an instant failing to hold it in mind, not allowing the thought to be interrupted. Because the “One” of Great Mystery is the root of the North: only with a root can there be growth, only with growth can there be flourishing. The “One” of Great Mystery is the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) Qi of the Northern Mysterious Heaven and the Kan Palace, and it is also the origin of the Great Dao.

This “One” is also called Primordial One, Great One, Mysterious One, and Foundational One. This one Qi unifies and governs the primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth, occupies the foremost place among Yin-Yang, is the root of the two luminaries of sun and moon, and is the ancestor of the myriad things. The Jing and Qi of Yin and Yang accumulate in chaos, turning from the Kan Palace to the Dui direction, and are called “Yang within Yin.” If Water has no Yang Qi, how can it support the myriad things? If practitioners of the Dao know how to begin their cultivation from this one Qi of Mysterious Heaven, they can before long realize the true and accomplish the Dao.

Now we shall explain by means of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper. The stars are born from the Jing and Qi of the sun; the Northern Dipper is born from the Kan Palace and receives the Jing and Qi of the Great Yang. The Jing and Qi of the Great Yang are also born from the “One.” The Kan trigram conceals the functions of sun and moon. Although it is said that Li is the sun and Kan is the moon, this is a distinction according to the hexagram images; the Li trigram contains “five” and the Kan trigram also contains “five,” which together make “ten.” Heavenly One and Earthly Six both correspond to Kan, therefore Kan possesses the functions of both sun and moon. People say the Northern Dipper is so named because it is located in the North, but this is not accurate: it is called “Northern Dipper” because it is born from Kan, and because it revolves in the center it is also called “Central Dipper.” A verse says: “The Nine Primordials dwell in the central pole of the Kan Palace, the host of stars encircle and guard it, governing transformation and generation; the Perfected One freely returns to the Dipper’s bowl, and the Dipper’s handle follows the monthly establishment in its course.”

Kan is the root of life, Li is the root of nature and spirit. Just as the Scripture of the Northern and Southern Dippers of the Most High first discusses the Northern Dipper and then the Southern Dipper: North belongs to Heavenly One, South to Earthly Two; Kan belongs to the mysterious color, Li to the vermilion color. Vermilion belongs to Fire, mysterious color to Water; Fire is born within Water, Qi is born within Jing. One cannot speak of the North without the South; when North and South meet and Kan and Li interpenetrate, one can nourish Jing and Qi and enter the realm of spiritual brightness—this is precisely the marvelous point of their mutual application.

If there were no Jing and Shen, where would original destiny come from? The fundamental life within original destiny already exists before father and mother have conceived the fetus. The origin of life lies in the Mysterious Primordial, and the Mysterious Primordial is the one Qi of the Dao. Within mystery there is still mystery, constituting my life; within life there is still life, constituting my physical form. When Jing, Qi, and Shen (spirit) are complete, the body will not age; form and life can endure long, in accord with nature, lasting as long as Heaven and Earth.

A person lives with life as the foundation. If life has not received the mandate of Heaven, the Dao cannot bring a person into being. A person’s birth appears to happen of itself, yet in reality it is like Heaven conferring the mandate and the lower realm receiving it. Only when the Qi of the Nine Heavens descends can the fetus take form; if the spirits who govern the Nine Heavens do not issue their command, a person cannot be born. In receiving the physical form and preserving the spirit, what is precious is to nourish original Qi and consolidate the root, so that the body can be deathless and unperishing and further become immortal. A scripture says: “I neither look nor listen, I do not let Shen gallop outward, nor do I dissipate Jing and Shen, and thus I can last as long as the Dao.” Only upon reaching this stage can one say “My destiny is determined by me,” no longer bound by the transformations of nature.

The Scripture of the Seven Primordials records that the Great Emperor told the Seven Perfected: People of the lower world are generated from the dense True-One Qi and original Jing, receiving these so that the physical form is complete; the Three Primordials nourish them and the Nine Qi protect them. Therefore every person possesses the Seven Primordials of the Northern Dipper. Initial Nine corresponds to the hidden dragon and also to the position of Establishing Zi, where the Primordial Lord of the Northern Dipper resides. If one understands this original Shen and circulates, cultivates, and nourishes it, causing form and spirit to become one, the true numen will appear and the mysterious efficacy will naturally be accomplished. A verse says: “All the stars without exception face the palace of the Northern Heaven, yet the true mysterious mechanism is hidden in a place of profound obscurity.”

The Polar Star is the heart of Heaven, dwelling in the center of Heaven, directly opposite the summit of Kunlun, located at the Northern Pole of the Purple Palace in Kongtong. It is in the center of Heaven, within the Four Assistants, beneath the Floral Canopy—the very center of Heaven; it remains still and unmoving, governing original Qi, symbolizing the pivotal axis of the operations of Heaven and Earth. A verse says: “The True Yang Qi comes and goes within the palace, rising and descending among the three palaces; life and death no longer involve the affairs of the dusty world, as one accompanies the Five Elders in ascending the Golden Terrace.” The Five Elders are the spirits of the five viscera, which everyone originally possesses.

The human body has twelve sections and thirty-six small bones, with orifices facing one another, meridians communicating, and joints connected. When cultivation succeeds, the sinews and bones become like gold and jade, and every part of the body is firm and unperishing. Clear Qi rises to become Heaven, growing ever more pure, marvelous, and brightly Yang. A person is born by receiving the one Qi of Heaven’s Primordial; the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) respectively distribute three kinds of Qi among the Three Primordials: the upper Dantian (energy center), the Mud-Pill Palace, corresponds to the green Qi of Jade Purity; the middle Dantian, the Crimson Palace, corresponds to the white Qi of Upper Purity; the lower Dantian, the Meeting Palace, corresponds to the yellow Qi of Grand Purity. This is what was previously meant by “preserving Jing in order to enter Shen.”

The True Earth of Grand Purity is not heavy, turbid soil, but the Qi of the Heavenly Dao that generates the myriad things. It unifies and governs the three palaces and returns them to the One, enduring through ten thousand generations without decline. The Qi of the three palaces rises and descends, coming and going without exhaustion—this is speaking of that very principle. One should know that the Three Pure Ones already exist within one’s own body, so why gaze upward toward the outside? The Old Lord already exists within one’s own body, so why seek him outwardly?

The Most High said: “Jing is my Shen, Qi is my Dao; conceal and nourish Jing and Qi, and firmly hold to the correct Dao. When Yin and Yang intermingle, establishing the true form, one can generate the Child.” In cultivation one must carefully observe the nasal breath, making respiration so slight that the ears cannot hear it; when speaking, one should also be light and slow so as not to vibrate the lung Qi. In this way the elixir meridians naturally take form. Qi transforms into Jing, Jing into Shen, and Shen transforms to become the Child within the heart. In my body there are thirty-six thousand spirit-lords constantly attending at left and right. If one cultivates in this manner for a long time, the Three Pure Ones and the Old Lord within one’s own body will appear.

The marvelous functions of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper are truly vast. The true forms and titles of the seven stars are the seven kinds of Qi of the Primordial Seven Perfected, and they are also the true Qi within the seven orifices of the human body. The Dipper stars circulate over the twelve earthly branches; within the four palaces of Zi, Wu, Mao, and You is contained the way of cultivation that transcends the ordinary and enters sagehood. The fourth star, Wenqu, is the gate of Yin-Yang intermingling, especially connected with the meeting of Mao and You. At the place where Mao and You meet there is Yang within Yin and Yin within Yang, therefore it is called the “Gate of Two and Eight.” Elixir scriptures say: “The dragon swims in the gate of sixteen, the tiger hides in the door of nine-three.” This principle lies within the Heavenly Pass and is profound in the extreme. If a person can understand the mutual application of Yin and Yang and the intermingling of Crow and Rabbit, they can cause Dao-Qi to increase and finally refine the divine elixir.

The Yellow Court Scripture says: “Within the three passes there are Jing, Qi, and Shen; within the nine subtleties it is deep and yet again deep.” The mouth is the Heavenly Pass, the pivot of Jing and Shen; the hands are the Human Pass, governing flourishing and decline; the feet are the Earthly Pass, the portal of life. Within the Northern Dipper there are also three passes: the Heavenly Pass at the Wu position, the Human Pass at the Mao and You positions, the Earthly Pass at the Zi and Wu positions. Mao and You are the places of Yin-Yang demarcation and also the portals through which sun and moon enter and exit.

Mystery is the ancestor of the myriad things, and the principles of the myriad things are all contained within it. The hidden mysteries of worldly things are not as deep as the hidden mysteries within the human body; the mystery of the human body is the Heavenly Mechanism and also the mysterious work of cultivation. The Yin Convergence Scripture says: “Sage efficacy is produced from this, spiritual illumination appears from this.” From this we know that Mystery is the origin of Qi, the true essence of the Dao, the form and color of Heaven, the marvelous function of the Law, the profundity of Principle, and the root of Water. To thoroughly understand the principle within, one must enter the mysterious and marvelous realm, fully exert one’s original nature, and thereby recognize life. Consider: when chaos has not yet differentiated, where then are the years, months, days, and hours?

Shen is nature, Qi is life; if Shen does not gallop and scatter outward, Qi naturally becomes settled. When cultivation reaches this point, the essential task is already complete.

Huiyangzi (回阳子) said: The Golden Elixir (金丹), the great medicine that Neidan (内丹, internal alchemy) cultivation seeks to attain, depends on transmission from a master, and it also depends on the protection of Heaven.

The Patriarch Laozi, the Supreme Venerable Lord, says in the Daodejing (《道德经》): "The Way of Heaven has no favorites; it constantly stands with the good." This means that the Way of Heaven shows partiality to no one, yet it regularly protects those who do good. The Patriarch Wei Boyang says in the Cantongqi (《参同契》): "The Way of Heaven has no preference or aversion; it transmits only to the worthy." This means that Heaven leans toward no one and rejects no one, and simply passes on the Dao (道, the Way) to people of virtue. The Patriarch Chunyang Zhenren (Lü Dongbin) says in his lyric "Qinyuanchun" (《沁园春》): "On the road to Penglai, once three thousand deeds are fulfilled, you walk alone, returning on the clouds." This means that once cultivation and the accumulation of virtue are complete, one can set out on the road to the immortal realm of Penglai and return alone, riding the clouds. The poem of the Patriarch Zhang Zhenren says: "In cultivating the great medicine there is ease and difficulty; one knows it depends on oneself, and also on Heaven. Without accumulating good deeds and bestowing hidden merit, demons will arise at every move to create obstacles." This means that cultivating the great medicine may be easy or hard, depending both on oneself and on the will of Heaven; if one does not accumulate good deeds and bestow hidden merit widely, one will readily meet obstacles of every kind.

The "Xijiangyue" (《西江月》) also says: "Once virtuous conduct passes eight hundred and hidden merit fills three thousand, treat others and self, kin and enemy alike, and only then do you accord with the original vow of the immortals." This means that virtue and hidden merit must both be accumulated continually, without favoring oneself, and without favoring either those who are close or those who bear grudges; only then does one accord with the fundamental aspiration of becoming an immortal and cultivating the Dao.

The completion of the Golden Elixir is, at root, Heaven's reward to those of great goodness. If a person is unwilling to cultivate hidden merit and only wishes to steal the great Dao, Heaven will not protect them. Even if they begin to practice, they will surely meet demonic obstacles. Sometimes they labor for many years without result, and then they complain about the Dao and blame their master, which finally leads to the failure of their cultivation.

If those who love the Dao constantly hold a heart of compassion, help others, relieve the poor, support those in distress, and cherish life, and also urge others toward loyalty and filial piety, benevolence and righteousness, the doing of many good deeds, and the accumulation of hidden merit, for example by rescuing and releasing living creatures and refraining from killing as far as possible, then the immortals and perfected ones will recommend them, and Heaven will bestow blessings. When they seek a master, they will meet an enlightened one; when they receive transmission, they will learn the correct method. Once they begin to practice, their progress will be rather swift. With the protection of Heaven and the support of the many spirits, their cultivation will be free of demonic interference, and their daily conduct will accord with the essentials of the Dao.

Cultivating in this way, one can hope to succeed within the expected time, and then to live long in the world, transcend the mundane, and ascend to the immortal realm, reaching a state in which body and spirit are both subtle, perfected, and free and unfettered. Blessings will also extend to one's descendants, who will long receive the shelter of the Dao's teachings. Although this is the kindness of the master, in essence it is also a gift from Heaven.

For more than twenty years I searched everywhere for the methods of the Dao (the Way), traveling through many rivers and mountains, yet I never met an enlightened teacher. How could I find peace of mind? I cannot say how many times I could only take up a stick of incense and pray with devout sincerity. Fortunately I encountered an accomplished adept who had attained the Dao. He pointed out the subtle wonder within: in emptiness itself there is wondrous function, circulating again and again in endless return. The crucial point of cultivation lies only in a single instant; when the work is ripe, the whole body shines as if illuminated by Shen (spirit) light.

The above is a lyric to the tune of “Xijiang Yue.”

I once hovered at the edge of death and then came back to life. Only after I returned did I recognize my own “master of the house” (the true self spoken of in cultivation). This time, as I sail, I hold the tiller firmly. Let the Eight Winds (all kinds of external influence and disturbance) blow as they may—they cannot shake me.

In the deep of night there is a round bright moon; in the Central Palace (the central region of the body, or the center spoken of in Neidan (internal alchemy) practice) the diagram of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) appears. The ten-thousand-li sky is clear and luminous; the green mountains look as if they were nothing but a bank of floating cloud.

This is truly unfettered ease, yet ordinary people say that cultivating the Dao is difficult. When people of the world ask me what I am doing, I remain silent and do not answer. This wordless silence is itself the “Great Return” (a term of Neidan, referring to the stage of practice in which one returns to the origin and recovers one’s true nature).

Chart of the Golden Elixir (Jindan) Matching the Tide Times

When primordial chaos was opened, one beheld the tide of the Qiantang River. The river’s surface is broad and empty, the water like silver, the waves like jade disks. Lyric poets of every age have described this scene, yet who can trace its true source?

Year upon year, among the days there are geng days and among the months there are jia days (the days are marked by the heavenly stems, linked to the sequential changes of traditional numerological arts). Why are the tides always so exact, never erring in the least? I now set forth the principle within, so that people may understand the root of the movements of Heaven and Earth.

After the Dao differentiated, there is a name we provisionally use to call it. The movements of the Five Phases (Wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) transform into one another and are arrayed in crisscross order between Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth). Kan Water (the water symbolized by the Kan trigram) reverses its course and turns toward the Bing position (a direction in the traditional system of stems, branches, and orientations). It waxes and wanes with the fullness and waning of the moon. When Qi (vital energy) circulates to mid-autumn, Metal generates Water, the force of the water doubles, and a thousand layers of white waves surge up. The wondrous methods employed by the immortals are no different from the rising and falling of the tides.

I composed this lyric to the tune of “Lei Jiang Yue,” secretly matching the numerical principles of the Zhoutian (celestial circuit). Therefore I have recorded the times of the tides upon it, for companions of like aspiration to see.

Tide-Time Chart

On the first and sixteenth days, the great tide rises at the end of the Wu hour, and at night the great tide rises at the exact midpoint of the Zi hour. On the second and seventeenth days, the great tide rises at the beginning of the Wei hour, and at night the great tide rises at the end of the Zi hour. On the third and eighteenth days, the great tide rises at the midpoint of the Wei hour, and at night the great tide rises at the beginning of the Chou hour. On the fourth and nineteenth days, the great tide rises at the end of the Wei hour, and at night the great tide rises at the end of the Chou hour. On the fifth and twentieth days, the original text continues with the words “shown to those of like mind”; the times that follow are not recorded.

The expressions “end of Wu, beginning of Wei, midpoint of Wei, end of Wei, exact Zi, end of Zi, beginning of Chou, and end of Chou” are traditional subdivisions of the double-hours. This tide-time table correlates dates of the lunar calendar with the hours of the tides. Later in the original text a portion of the tide-time table is repeated, stopping at the third and eighteenth days.

On the fourth and nineteenth days, the tide rises late in the Wei hour and recedes late in the Chou hour at night. On the fifth and twentieth days, the receding tide reaches the shore precisely at the Shen hour, while the tide rises early in the Yin hour at night. On the sixth and twenty-first days, late in the Yin hour the tidal waters begin gradually to diminish, receding late in the Shen hour in the evening. On the seventh and twenty-second days, early in the Mao hour the tidal waters gradually diminish, receding early in the You hour in the evening. On the eighth and twenty-third days, late in the Mao hour the tidal waters are relatively small, receding precisely at the You hour in the evening. On the ninth and twenty-fourth days, early in the Chen hour the tidal waters are relatively small, receding late in the You hour in the evening. On the tenth and twenty-fifth days, late in the Chen hour the tidal waters meet the marshes, with the tide rising precisely at the Xu hour at night. On the eleventh and twenty-sixth days, the tide begins to rise early in the Si hour and rises again late in the Xu hour at night. On the twelfth and twenty-seventh days, precisely at the Si hour the tidal waters gradually increase, with the tide rising early in the Hai hour at night. On the thirteenth and twenty-eighth days, late in the Si hour the tidal waters gradually increase, rising precisely at the Hai hour at night. On the fourteenth and twenty-ninth days, early in the Wu hour the tidal waters gradually increase, rising late in the Hai hour at night. On the fifteenth and thirtieth days, precisely at the Wu hour the tidal waters reach their maximum, with the tide rising early in the Zi hour at night.