《丹阳真人直言》

At the Chongyang assembly on Mount Longmen, Perfected Man Danyang said to those gathered: In daily cultivation one must not deceive Heaven and Earth, and one should apply oneself with care at every moment. Time is precious; do not let it pass in vain, and often examine oneself.

Sleep is one of human desires, and one must also learn to regulate and restrain it; cultivation is not merely seated meditation. Whether walking, standing, sitting, or in the midst of daily life, one can cultivate the Dao (the Way). Do not rashly give rise to thoughts; one should promptly inquire into Xingming (nature and life—the collective term in Daoist cultivation for mind-nature and the source of life). So long as one clarifies the inner mind and casts out desire, one is advancing toward the way of the immortals.

Do not form other conjectures, and do not give rise to doubt; these are sincere and exact words. What matters is to maintain clarity and purity over a long time and to practice with effort. Even if one has many insights, one must repeatedly verify them with one’s own mind. Desire must dissolve of itself, mind-nature must settle, and the Qi (vital energy) of life must be made firm; only then can Neidan (internal alchemy)—the refinement and condensation, in Daoist inner cultivation, of body, mind, Jing (essence), and Qi—be formed. Becoming an immortal likewise depends on one’s own cultivation; no one else can accomplish it in one’s place.

Each must exert effort in cultivation, yet one should not press too hastily and ought always to remain at ease and unhurried. Had the disciples not heard the master explain it clearly, they could not originally have recognized this as the wondrous method; therefore one does not dare transmit it lightly to others. So long as you do not give rise to doubt, those without doubt are those who have attained the Dao. In ordinary times, abide in the principles of Wuwei (non-action), purity and stillness, and naturalness. If disturbing affairs still arise, one should see clearly how such actions relate to the principles of cultivation. To practice in this way is truly the way of the immortals.

The master said: Through the twelve double-hours of a day, Heaven and Earth turn without cease, driving the transformation of all things. Does this movement pause even for a moment? Those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) must take the Dao of Heaven as their model; not one of the twelve double-hours may be spent in slackness. Do Heaven and Earth, as they turn and drive change, rest even for an instant? Cultivators of the Dao ought to be the same: they should constantly preserve purity and stillness, and not give rise to the slightest worldly thought. Only this is true cultivation. Persist in this way, and becoming an immortal will soon be within reach.

If, among the twelve double-hours, not even one is given wholeheartedly to cultivating the Dao, how can one ever bring the practice to completion? Having received the offerings of donors from the ten directions (the faithful of every quarter), how is one to repay them? Once the eyes close in death, one will enter Fengdu (the netherworld), suffer for a long time, and never have a day of release.

I now solemnly admonish you, and tell you what the Dao is. Cultivate in this manner, and do not go astray. You yourselves cannot accomplish it, yet you say that those who preside over the teaching are in the wrong. Should you not consider that the seven ancestors (the seven generations of forebears in successive lineage) created boundless karmic offenses while alive and endure endless suffering, hoping that their descendants will realize the Great Dao, so that, through Heaven’s pardon and deliverance, they may be born into the heavenly realms?

The Master said to everyone: “Every day you must keep your daily cultivation firmly in mind. Daily cultivation is divided into two aspects: external everyday practice and internal everyday practice.

“External practice means strictly avoiding finding fault with others and boasting of your own virtue, suppressing the worthy and capable, and envying those who have ability. You must also not stir up the fire of ignorance—the anger that arises from delusion and affliction—nor give rise to worldly thoughts, nor produce a mind that considers itself superior to others, nor fall into disputes over right and wrong among people, nor indulge thoughts of winning verbal arguments or of showing partiality toward monks.

“Internal practice means not giving rise to a mind of doubt and suspicion, and not forgetting your inner cultivation. Whether you are wandering or dwelling, walking or sitting, you should clarify your thoughts and cast out desire, so that your mind is free of cares and without obstruction, untainted by external things and not clinging to them, remaining pure and at ease. Just as you think of eating all day long, you should keep the Dao (the Way) in mind at every moment; just as the hungry long for food and the thirsty long for drink, you should constantly yearn to cultivate the Dao. As soon as you notice even a slight deviation in yourself, you should correct it at once. If you cultivate in this way, you will in the end be able to become an immortal. You must not take the wrong path; if you do go astray, you may punish me by casting me forever into hell. You must observe this with care and strive to put it into practice.”

The Master said further: “You must persevere over the long term and always preserve your original intention. Do not retreat into slackness, and do not act recklessly. Accord with and abide by what is natural, and settle your own preferences.”

The Master said: You should long preserve your original mind and remain constant from beginning to end; do not draw back into indolence, nor act in a disordered way. Accord with what is natural, and still joy and anger. Outwardly, meet the things around you; inwardly, nourish body and mind and make the root firm. Forget clever calculation in the heart, and let thought not cling to external objects. No matter what you encounter, do not arouse emotions such as jealousy that disturb the two Qi (vital energy) of Yin-Yang. Always keep to clarity and stillness, so that the original Shen (spirit) dwells at rest; let water and fire mingle, and Kan and Li (the trigrams symbolizing water and fire) unite. Reach the condition of being without form and without sound, of having nowhere to go and nothing to enact: though there is activity, delusive thoughts do not arise. Hold to this state, and you will grasp what is wondrous in it. As for when one becomes an immortal, and when the sweet dew descends, this is to be personally experienced and realized for oneself in the course of cultivation.

The Great Dao (the Way) is without bodily form; it is the source of original Qi and the origin of Shen. Shen and Qi are nature and life; nature and life are also called the dragon and the tiger; the dragon and the tiger are also called lead and mercury; lead and mercury are also called water and fire; water and fire are also called the infant and the lovely maiden, terms in Neidan (internal alchemy) that symbolize Yin and Yang; the infant and the lovely maiden are Yin and Yang; and true Yin and Yang are nothing other than Shen and Qi. Although these names differ, one need not cling to them; it is enough to understand that all of them speak of Shen and Qi. To nourish original Qi and preserve original Shen, one must constantly clear away every kind of distracting thought and attachment, so that both within and without are pure and still, and one must go on guarding this with steady concentration, unmoved by external things.

If for three years one does not allow the lower Dantian (energy center)—the Neidan cultivation region in the lower abdomen—to be depleted or to leak, the lower elixir can be formed; if for six years one does not allow the middle Dantian (the region in the chest) to be depleted or to leak, the middle elixir can be formed; if for nine years one does not allow the upper Dantian (the region of the head) to be depleted or to leak, the great elixir can be formed. The completion of the three elixirs is the “great work of the nine reversals,” also called “the fulfillment of three thousand merits.” When the three Dantian have all been brought to completion in cultivation, this is called the Divine Elixir; the dharma-body can then rise, light and numinous, and one remains an immortal for long.

At that time, turning to look back, one sees that Heaven and Earth themselves cannot endure forever: Heaven will collapse, Earth will subside, mountains will crumble, and seas will dry up. Whatever possesses form will in the end be ruined; yet how could the cultivation of that root which is without form or image, and which precedes the myriad things, ever be ruined?

The Straight Words of Perfected Danyang ends here.

(Note: The two characters “three elixirs” were missing from the original text and have been restored from the Recorded Sayings of Perfected Danyang.)