《大丹直指》

In cultivation there are the “Three Treasures” and the “Three Essentials.”

The “Three Treasures” are Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit). Jing is the one point of primordial yang received as one’s innate endowment; Qi is the original vital energy that a person possesses before birth; and Shen is human nature, bestowed by Heaven. Jing, Qi, and Shen are regarded as three superior medicinal substances. Refining Jing so that it is transformed into Qi, refining Qi so that it is transformed into Shen, and then refining Shen so that it is transformed into the Dao (the Way)—this is the essential point of the “Three Treasures.”

The “Three Essentials” are the cauldron and furnace, the medicinal substances, and the firing times. The cauldron and furnace go by many different names, but what they actually refer to is the Mysterious Pass, the single aperture (the crucial aperture spoken of in cultivation). The medicinal substances also have many names, but what they actually refer to is the One Prenatal Qi (the original vital energy from before birth). The firing times are called by many names, but what they actually refer to is the wondrous functioning of the original spirit, that is, the regulation of spirit and of the movement of Qi during cultivation.

The Weilü, Jiaji, and Yuzhen at the back are called the “Three Passes.” They belong to the Du meridian (the channel along the back of the body) and are yang. The upper Dantian (energy center), the middle Dantian, and the lower Dantian at the front are called the “Three Fields.” They belong to the Ren meridian (the channel along the front of the body) and are yin. These sites form the path of the ascent and descent of Yin-Yang: Qi moving upward along the Du meridian at the back is called “zi,” while Qi moving downward along the Ren meridian at the front is called “wu.” The regulated ascent and descent between zi and wu is called the “firing times of the celestial circuit,” that is, the way Neidan (internal alchemy) speaks of the circulation of Qi and the handling of firing times.

The Weilü Pass lies at the back, below the Jiaji, at the lower end of the spine. The text says that it communicates with the aperture of the inner kidneys. Going upward along the back to the place opposite the inner kidneys, one comes to what is called the double pass of the Jiaji; going farther upward to the back of the head, one comes to the Yuzhen Pass. The Three Passes run through as a single marrow path, called the “Caoxi” and also the “Yellow River,” which is the channel by which yang Qi ascends.

To return to the three Dantian (energy centers): the Niwan, or upper Dantian, lies three cun inward from the midpoint between the eyebrows, with an extent of about one cun and two fen. There is an empty cavity there, and it is the place where Shen (spirit) is stored.

Three cun and six fen below the heart is called the Tufu, also known as the Huangting Palace; this is the middle Dantian, likewise about one cun and two fen in extent. There too is an empty cavity, the place where Qi (vital energy) is stored, and also the cauldron and furnace used in refining the elixir. Further down, the position opposite the navel is about three cun and six fen, and so it is called “thirty-six in heaven above, thirty-six on earth below.” From heaven to earth is eighty-four thousand li; from the heart to the kidneys is eight cun and four fen: the heart stands three cun and six fen from what lies above, the kidneys stand three cun and six fen from what lies below, and between them is the one cun and two fen of the middle Dantian—together exactly eight cun and four fen.

The place behind the navel and in front of the kidneys is called the Yanyue Furnace, also known as the Sea of Qi. One cun and three fen further down is called the Huachi, also known as the lower Dantian, with an extent of about one cun and two fen. This too is an empty cavity, the place where Jing (essence) is stored and where the medicine is gathered. There are two apertures here: the one opening upward leads to the inner kidneys, and the one opening downward leads to the Weilu (the region at the base of the spine). The aperture in the middle, through which being is born from non-being, is only provisionally called the Xuanguan (the pivotal aperture where Jing, Qi, and Shen meet in cultivation). When the One Qi arises, the Xuanguan opens of itself.

III. On the Eight Extraordinary Meridians

The eight extraordinary meridians are as follows: the Chong meridian lies below the Fengfu point; the Du meridian lies behind the navel; the Ren meridian lies in front of the navel; the Dai meridian lies at the waist; the Yinqiao meridian lies in front of the Weilu and below the scrotum; the Yangqiao meridian lies at the second joint behind the Weilu; the Yinwei meridian lies one cun and three fen in front of the crown of the head; and the Yangwei meridian lies one cun and three fen behind the crown of the head.

Everyone possesses these eight meridians, yet they all belong to yin Shen and are ordinarily blocked and closed. Only the immortals force them open with yang Qi, and thus are able to attain the Dao (the Way). The eight meridians are the root of the innate Great Dao, and also the source of the One Qi.

In the gathering and refining of cultivation, one must begin with the Yinqiao vessel (Yin Heel Vessel). As soon as this vessel stirs, the other vessels gradually open and flow freely. The Dumai (Governing Vessel), the Renmai (Conception Vessel), and the Chongmai (Penetrating Vessel) are the principal sources of the circulation and transformation of the channels. The Yinqiao vessel communicates upward with the Niwan (the cultivation site within the crown of the head) and downward with Yongquan (the acupoint on the sole of the foot). If one knows how to take the Yinqiao vessel as the pivotal aperture where Qi (vital energy) gathers and disperses, the Heavenly Gate (the channel of Qi in the head) can be kept constantly open and the Earthly Door (the place of sealing and consolidation below) constantly closed, so that the breath circulates through the whole body and connects above and below. Balanced Qi then rises of itself; Yang Qi gradually increases and Yin Qi gradually diminishes. This is precisely the state spoken of in the lines, “At leisure one comes and goes between the root of Heaven and the cavern of the moon; all thirty-six palaces are spring.” Those who have gained something in cultivation find the body light and vigorous, and an aged appearance turns robust; the spirit grows elusive and tranquil, as if drunk or entranced. These are regarded as signs that the practice is taking effect.

4. On Kan and Li, Water and Fire

Before a person is born, when life has only just coalesced, nature and life (xing and ming) are an undifferentiated whole. After three months of gestation, the Xuanpin (the fundamental aperture related to breathing and the generation of life) takes form. The umbilical cord is like the stem of a melon, and the fetus in the mother’s womb breathes together with the mother. After birth the cord is cut, the condition of life changes accordingly, and a single point of true Yang condenses in the navel. According to the images and numbers of the Classic of Changes (Yijing), Qian changes into Li and Kun changes into Kan; Shen (spirit) and Qi therefore issue outward and no longer remain in the breathing state of the fetus.

Once fetal breathing (taixi) is no longer maintained, the fire of the heart reverts to Li and, like mercury, readily floats upward; when restless and tangled thoughts are added to this, it becomes still harder to join with the water of the kidneys. The water of the kidneys reverts to Kan and, like lead, readily sinks downward; when passion and desire are aroused, and Jing (essence) and Qi cannot be held firm, it likewise becomes still harder to join with the fire of the heart. Thus the heart returns to the heart and the kidneys return to the kidneys; water and fire separate from each other. Left to rise and fall on their own, Kan and Li cannot meet and invert. In this way one not only fails to refine the Neidan (internal alchemy), but readily falls ill, and life itself is hard to preserve.

It further speaks of Taixi (embryonic breathing)—the state, in cultivation, in which the breath gradually returns inward, approximating the breathing of a fetus in the mother’s womb. If, on exhalation, the mind-spirit does not preside, that breath is incomplete; if, on inhalation, the mind-spirit does not preside, it is likewise incomplete. Let every breath return to the root, so as to draw in the innate primordial Qi (vital energy). The mind-spirit enters into the Qi, and the Qi enwraps the mind-spirit from without, just as a fetus breathes in the mother’s womb: this is called Taixi.

Breathing belongs to Qi, and Shen (spirit) refers to the mind-spirit. By means of the mind-spirit one governs the breath, so that the breath remains and nourishes the bodily form. Cultivating the Dao (the Way) by having the mind-spirit govern the breath is like refining medicine with fire until, in the end, the elixir is formed.

Section Five: On Breathing

A mnemonic says: “Qi is the medicine that adds to one’s lifespan; the heart is the Shen that commands the breath. One who can understand the source of Shen and Qi is an immortal who has attained the Dao.”

In its fundamentals, exhalation is linked to the primordial Qi bestowed by one’s parents, and inhalation is linked to the Zhengqi (proper Qi) of Heaven and Earth. When Qi is united with the bodily form and the mind-spirit is united with Qi, life can be held in one’s own hands.

Ordinary people do not know where the breath ought to be gathered and stored. They merely force the breath to be shut in, which is no different from dead stillness; or they let the breath come and go as it will, so that primordial Qi disperses with the exhalation and is instead seized by Heaven and Earth.

Hence in cultivation there is the saying of Choutian (extracting and replenishing), which means causing the breath gradually to reach the place of the root. Inhalation moves from outside inward, and exhalation likewise returns into the body: the inhaled breath arrives at the Zigong Yudong (Jade Cavern of the Womb, a name for a site in the internal bodily landscape of Daoist Neidan, internal alchemy), while the exhaled breath rises straight to the Kunlun Dianding (summit of Kunlun, the name in the internal landscape for the crown of the head). As the breath thus goes and returns, it gradually unites into a single Qi and becomes Taixi.

How, though, can breathing reach this state? After long practice, one simply feels the inhaled breath penetrating deep into the body; with the passage of time one no longer feels the breath to be hurried, like a fetus in the mother’s womb. This is Taixi. Ordinary people know only that inhalation lies within the body, but do not know that exhalation too can return into the body. Only when one understands this can one be said to gather the proper Qi of Heaven and Earth, and only then does it deserve the name “medicine that adds years.”

Section Six: On the Xuanqiao (Mysterious Aperture)

It further says: “If you wish to cultivate internal breathing, you should grasp that one root; once you have grasped it, the myriad affairs have a place to settle.” This root is proper Qi. Only when one has mastered proper Qi does it deserve the name “medicine that adds years.”

It also says: if you wish to cultivate internal breathing, you should find “the One” (that crucial aperture); once you find it, many things can be accomplished. This “One” seems to consist of two apertures, but in fact the two apertures return to a single aperture. This aperture has no division of inside and outside, nor any boundary. Within it are contained the principles of Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth); it can regulate the Five Qi (vital energy) and gather the hundred spirits. It is where the foundation lies, and also where embryonic breathing is formed. A person’s nature and life begin here, and Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen (spirit) all arise from it as well.

When a person first receives the Qi of life—that is, at the moment when the essence and Qi of the parents unite—the current of Qi travels along a passage as fine as a thread, within which there seems to be a tube running through. This passage is therefore called the “holeless flute”: a flute without holes, yet as if someone were blowing it. The passage exists first, and only afterward come the kidneys and the various viscera; the channels and vessels of the whole body also arise from it. It is also called the Gate of Total Holding, or the Essential Road of the Three Passes. While a person is in the mother’s womb, inhalation passes through this aperture, symbolizing the descent of Heaven, and exhalation likewise passes through this aperture, symbolizing the ascent of Earth. It is further called the Turtle’s Nose. Only this aperture is the foundation of internal breathing. The primordial Qi of Prior Heaven circulates here, and the upright Qi of Heaven and Earth also enters through it.

Some people take the Gate of Life as the Mysterious and the Kidney Hall as the Female, and make that place the foundation of cultivation; this misses the mark by a thousand miles. The Mysterious Female—what Daoism calls the source wherein Yin-Yang unite and the myriad things are generated—is the root of Heaven and Earth. It lies in the Kun earth of the southwest, that is, behind the navel and in front of the kidneys; yet it is neither the spot one cun and three fen below the navel, nor the empty aperture between the two kidneys. Only what is spoken of here is the true aperture, and only by comprehending it can one recognize it. Above, it connects with the Mud Pill (the cultivation site within the crown of the head); below, it reaches the Bubbling Spring (the point on the sole of the foot); and in the middle it links the heart and the kidneys. Within, it is empty and yet continuous throughout. It cannot be sought by means of the physical body, nor seized by force of intention. The true seed of Prior Heaven is stored here. It can run through Heaven and Earth, and it can also reach the divine; obtain it and one lives, lose it and one dies. The True Person’s “breathing from the heels” (breathing as if it reached all the way to the heels) refers precisely to this. This is the point of entry for the cultivation of celestial immortals. If one abandons this place and seeks downward, one will fall into Fengdu and the Nine Darknesses (the dark underworld of Daoist legend).

7. On Sealing the Openings and Lowering the Curtain (the cultivation method of closing the gateways of the senses and lowering the eyelids)

“Sealing the opening” (Saidui) means closing the mouth, for once the mouth opens, Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy) easily scatter and are lost, so the mouth must be kept shut. “Lowering the curtain” (Chuilian) means that the eyes should not be fully opened: opened too wide, Shen and Qi readily leak outward; fully closed, one readily grows dull and drowsy. The eyes are therefore allowed to open only slightly.

Between the two eyes lies the “Heavenly Root” (Tiangen), also called the “Pass of Nature and Life” (Xingming Guan). According to Daoist teaching, the Heavenly Root arises from the eyes; the eyes correspond to the heart, and the heart can generate and transform the myriad things. This is a profound and subtle principle, and so the immortals call it the “Gate of the Mysterious Female” (Xuanpin zhi Men), the pivot through which Yin-Yang generates and transforms. Within the heart and the kidneys, sun and moon join inwardly; between the two eyes, sun and moon join outwardly. When Water and Fire—terms Daoists use for Yin-Yang and for the Qi of the heart and the kidneys—are gathered together and do not disperse, the breath naturally comes into harmony.

8. On Returning the Light and Regulating the Breath

To understand “returning the light and regulating the breath” (Huiguang Tiaoxi)—gathering in mind and spirit and evening out the breathing—one must first grasp the wondrous working of “Guanyin Chang.” What is the “Hall of Guanyin” (Guanyin Tang)? “Guan” refers to the eyes and “yin” to the ears; the eyes correspond to the heart and the ears to the kidneys. The place where heart and kidneys meet is the Hall of Guanyin, which presides over the Shen and Qi of the whole body—spirit and breath.

First gather the attention between the two eyes and draw back the mind-spirit, Shen (spirit), scattered throughout the body, as though collecting all of heaven and earth into this one place. Once the mind-spirit has settled, let the eyes look slightly downward at the tip of the nose, then continue the inward gaze down along the body to the area below the navel. Let the gaze rest there without wavering, and let the breathing follow its natural course—long, gentle, and faint, as if present and yet not present. Do not apply deliberate force, and the true breath (the inner, natural respiration) will regulate itself. When thought comes to rest within the body, this is precisely the state being described.

An old saying has it: “The toad-light shines all day upon the western river.” This points exactly to the source of the medicine (the Jing, essence, and Qi, vital energy, spoken of in Neidan, internal alchemy). Toad-light means the light of the eyes; the western river means the land of Kun below the navel (the region of the lower abdomen). Drawing the gaze back below the navel in this way, so as to regulate the true breath, is what is called “Shen entering the Qi cavity” (the mind-spirit returning to the place within the body where breath gathers). If one turns the light back and guards it over a long time, the single point of true Yang in the kidneys (the innate Yang Qi) rises and unites with the mind-spirit, and mind and breath come to rely upon each other. The “breath” meant here is the inner breath. When mind-spirit and breath depend on one another, this is called water and fire already in communion (the harmony of Yin-Yang).

The practice of turning the light back and regulating the breath may be done whenever one meets with quiet; one need not be bound to the zi hour or the wu hour, for it can be practiced through all twelve double-hours of the day. If during practice the mind wanders off, draw it back. The saying “whether let go or gathered in, it is always this” means that whether thought scatters outward or is called back, what one is to watch over is always thought itself.

After many days of practice, understanding will arise of itself in the heart, and the five thieves will also first come to rest. The five thieves are the eyes, the ears, the nose, the mouth, and intention (yi): when the eyes do not look outward but turn to inner illumination, the hun rests securely in the liver and does not leak out through the eyes; when the ears do not chase sounds of the outer world but turn the hearing inward and keep watch within, Jing rests securely in the kidneys and does not leak out through the ears; when the nose does not pursue scents but attends wholly to regulating the breath, the po rests securely in the lungs and does not leak out through the nostrils; when the mouth does not speak at random but holds speech in check, thought rests securely in the spleen and does not leak out through the mouth; when intention does not indulge in idle fancy but silently keeps its watch, Shen rests securely in the heart and is not lost with wandering thoughts. In this way Jing, Shen, hun, po, and yi gather in the position of Kun (the region below the navel), and the practitioner thereby attains the state of cultivating alone without leakage (body and mind collected, not scattering outward).

What is the medicine? It is the primordial Qi (vital energy) within the human body—the innate, fundamental Qi. Primordial Qi moves between Qi and blood, enabling a person to hear, see, take hold of things, and walk. Human life is generated by primordial Qi, and so primordial Qi is called “life”; when spiritual illumination dwells in the heart, this is called “nature.” When Shen (spirit) and Qi interact, and nature and life come together, this is called the dual cultivation of nature and life. The key to cultivation lies in this word “union.”

If the fire of the heart flares upward and the water of the kidneys drains downward, nature and life cannot unite. Cultivation must therefore cultivate both nature and life. So-called dual cultivation holds no other secret: it is simply to take the Qi within the kidneys and unite it with the Shen within the heart.

The method of gathering Qi (vital energy) is as follows. The spine has twenty-one vertebrae in all. Counting upward from the bottom, the kidneys lie on either side of the seventh vertebra. Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) borrows the saying “Heaven One generates Water,” holding that after the zi hour of the night (roughly from eleven o’clock at night until one o’clock in the morning), Yang Qi begins to arise. The primordial Qi within the body then moves upward from the Weilü point (an acupuncture point near the lower end of the spine) and reaches the region of the kidneys. Between the two kidneys there is an aperture directly opposite the seventh vertebra of the spine. Primordial Qi issues from this place and stirs the Yang Pass (the site associated with reproductive function). Thus, after a person has slept past the midnight zi hour, the outer kidney (the male external genitalia) becomes erect. According to the text, this is not the outer kidney becoming erect of itself, but is caused when the Qi between the two kidneys is stirred into motion.

When the Yang Qi between the two kidneys is about to travel toward the outer kidney, one may put on a robe and sit up, slightly lower the eyes, close the mouth, and breathe in a fine, slow, and prolonged manner, while concentrating in visualization as if Qi were issuing from between the two kidneys. The text calls this Qi “lead,” saying that it is “Metal within Water,” and also calls it the “White Tiger.” All of these are metaphors used in Neidan to designate the Jing (essence) and Qi within the body. One should practice in this way night after night, sitting for more than one double-hour each evening before returning to sleep.

The text further says that the meridians of the kidneys are connected with the heart, so that when the kidney region stirs, there is a response in the heart. After about a month of practice, one may feel Qi stirring between the two kidneys and surging outward. At this time one must, in quiet concentration, gather in the mind and Shen (spirit), and not allow desire to seize the chance to draw this Qi away. Otherwise it will be unable to descend along its original direction and will instead turn and move upward. Neidan holds that the key to cultivation lies in “reversal”: following the ordinary course of human reproduction, Jing and Qi congeal into an embryo; reversing this process and receiving the “Spirit Mother” (the Neidan name for the source upon which the refining of the elixir depends), one can form the elixir. If the outer kidney does not become erect, this is taken as a sign that Yang Qi has not moved. What is called “gathering without gathering” means not forcibly gathering and seizing by means of desire, but gathering Jing and Qi in accordance with what arises naturally. This is “refining Jing and transforming it into Qi.”

When a person eats the five grains and foods of every flavor, the turbid portion is transformed into waste, while the clear portion is transformed into fluids; the fluids are in turn transformed into Yin Jing. If Yin Jing is not refined and transformed, it gives rise to distracting thoughts and sexual desire. One need only use the breath that circulates naturally in the Dantian (energy center)—the site referred to in abdominal Neidan practice—to stir the true fire within it. The text describes the relations inside the body as “fire below and water above”: when water is steamed by fire, it naturally transforms into Qi and rises, steaming through the passes and apertures of the whole body. This is called refining and transforming Yin Jing so that it becomes true Qi.

10. On Coupling

After one feels the Water of the kidneys rising, one lets the Qi (vital energy) of the heart descend. The Qi of the heart is called “mercury.” Because Wood can generate Fire, and the Qi of the heart is further steamed and refined by the Qi of Fire, it naturally changes into Qi, rises upward, and steams through the passes and orifices of the whole body. This is the refining of yin Jing (essence) so that it is transformed into true Qi.

10. On Conjunction

After one feels the Water of the kidneys rising, one lets the Qi of the heart descend. The Qi of the heart is called “mercury”; because Wood can generate Fire, it is also called the Azure Dragon (Qinglong). When the Qi of the heart descends, Water and Fire meet and accord with one another, and the two currents of Qi of the heart and the kidneys naturally unite. This is like husband and wife within the body. Taking intention as the intermediary, one uses intention to guide them into union. Intention belongs to the Earth of the center and is also called Wu-Ji Earth.

What is called “conjunction” is the circulation of these two currents of Qi between the region below the heart and the region above the kidneys. The Mysterious Gate (Xuanmen) calls this place the bridal chamber (dongfang). After they have circulated a hundred times and the union is full, the two currents of Qi naturally settle and meet in the Yellow Court (Huangting; the lower Dantian, energy center). Conjunction night after night means that Qi gathers back into the Yellow Court night after night, and primordial Qi likewise condenses night after night. Ordinary people rely on this to prolong their years; those of the Mysterious Gate rely on it for cultivation. Both take this Qi as the initial foundation for refining the elixir.

11. On the River Chariot

Once primordial Qi has accumulated in the Dantian, if there is no passage by which it can travel upward, it can only pass downward through the Weilu (tail gate), and then from the Weilu proceed by way of the Jiaji (spinal pass) and the Yuzhen (Jade Pillow) to reach the Niwan (Muddy Pellet, the head). In this way the Qi pathway of the back is opened. Guiding the Qi that descends in front can draw along the Qi that rises behind. After Qi rises it descends again, and after it descends it rises again. The Mysterious Gate calls this movement the turning of the River Chariot (Heche); it is also described as Qi traveling along the Jiaji, passing through two barrier-orifices, and going straight through to the crown of the head. On the path of cultivation, this method is regarded as an important route.

In general, what is discussed here is the connection of the Ren meridian (Conception Vessel) and the Du meridian (Governing Vessel). The Ren meridian begins below Zhongji and runs upward to the throat; it is the sea of the yin meridians. The Du meridian begins below the lower abdomen and runs upward to the upper Magpie Bridge (Shangqueqiao); it is the sea of the yang meridians. When these two meridians are unobstructed, the other meridians can all become unobstructed as well. It is further said that the cultivator must circulate the Heavenly Meridians (Tianjing) within the heart-mind. The Heavenly Meridians are precisely the Ren and Du meridians. If one visualizes and circulates them day and night, one may attain long life.

After Qi (vital energy) has circulated through one full round, it returns again to the Yellow Court (Huangting, the central region of the abdomen in Neidan, or internal alchemy). The practitioner feels that there is Qi within the Yellow Court and so continuously contemplates and guards it with the mind and Shen (spirit). This is what is called “the mutual dependence of mind and breath,” also known as “concentrating Shen and entering the aperture of Qi.”

Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, one continues to guard it and does not let the mind and Shen depart. In this way Shen and Qi naturally coalesce. Once Qi has returned to the center of the body, the breath in the nostrils also gradually grows faint. This is what is called “to regulate the breath, one must regulate the true breath.”

12. On Gathering the Qi of True Yang

In cultivating the way of the elixir, one should, while the Jing (essence) and Qi of the night have not yet dissipated, settle the mind and Shen, gather the Qi, and sit upright for a while. After some time, Shen and Qi return to the root, and Qi naturally arises out of emptiness and stillness, gradually condensing into a single mass of Yang Qi. The methods of regulating the breath and nourishing one’s nature transmitted by the adepts of old come, in the end, to letting Jing and Qi course through the whole body and refining away the Yin Qi within the body.

If, amid stillness and the absence of movement, signs of arousal appear once more, one gathers and refines according to the method. At this time one must contemplate with still greater concentration and settle the mind and Shen, so as to assist the cultivation. The so-called “three months” does not necessarily mean that one must wait until three full months have passed: sometimes, while sitting quietly, or upon waking, one feels a gentle Qi rise in the abdomen, stirring and unsettled. This is the arousal of what is called the “Qi of true Yang.” At that moment one guides this Qi with a subtle intention along the proper path up to the crown of the head. This is what is called “reversing the course and going against the ordinary flow,” meaning that it is able to ascend to the crown. One then draws it from the crown back into the abdomen, and from the abdomen leads it into the Weilü pass (the pass located at the lower end of the spine in Daoist Neidan). Going back and forth in this way several times, in only a short while one can set the Qi circulating for a long time; thereafter the Qi will of itself flow on in an endless circuit.

13. On Uniting with the True Qi of the Sun and Moon

It is further said: one who can take in the true Qi between Heaven and Earth may attain long life. The concrete method is, in the early morning, to go to a high place, sit quietly facing the sun, and visualize in contemplation the Great……

It is further said that one who can draw in the true Qi (vital energy) of Heaven and Earth may extend one’s years and live long. The method is this: in the early morning, sit quietly on high ground facing the sun, and visualize the sun surrounding one’s body until the whole body seems to have turned into the sun. At that moment one neither thinks nor seeks, abiding in a state of undifferentiated stillness, and the Qi of Heaven and Earth gradually gathers into oneself.

One may also face the sun throughout the twelve double-hours of a day and night: when the sun is in the east, the gaze turns toward the east; when the sun is in the west, the gaze turns toward the west. In short, one must visualize oneself and the sun embracing each other and moving without cease; only then can the Qi of the sun be obtained.

Drawing in the Qi of the moon follows the same method.

14. On Receiving the Qi of Heaven and Earth

Once Shen (spirit) has been concentrated in single focus and held so that it does not scatter, the breath must still be made to circulate in an unending cycle. Through the breath of the nose one receives the Qi of Heaven and Earth, so that this Qi enters by the nose and then joins and unites with the ancestral Qi in the kidneys—the fundamental Qi with which the human body is innately endowed—and the two circulate together. In this way a person’s Qi gradually comes into accord with the Qi of Heaven and Earth. This lays a foundation for the later practice of “refining Qi into Shen” (transforming Qi into spirit), and it can also replenish the true Qi lost through depletion. It is like a length of bamboo that has split, mended with another section of bamboo.

By this same method one then melts ordinary Jing (essence), so that it transforms and gives rise to true Qi. Once true Qi is abundant, it naturally turns into Shen and fills the body within and without.

15. On Obtaining the Elixir

To obtain the elixir, one must set aside the miscellaneous thoughts of the dusty world and bring the mind to a state of great stillness: lesser stillness for three days, middling stillness for five days, and great stillness for seven days. When stillness reaches a certain point, the inner vitality stirs of itself; this is what is called “the dead coming to life of themselves.” At this time one depends entirely on companions in the Dao (the Way) to watch over and support one from the side.

The practitioner enters a state in which primordial chaos has not yet divided, and Yin and Yang depend upon each other. What is called “Hongmeng” refers to the time when the single Qi has not yet differentiated; “mutual accord” means that Yin and Yang are mingled within it and do not separate from one another. In the state before Yin and Yang have parted, Shen condenses and Qi gathers, fusing into one. Inwardly one no longer feels one’s own body; outwardly one no longer senses the cosmos. It is as if one had become one with the Dao. All deliberation disperses, and one enters a realm that is deep, dim, and beyond words. It is only provisionally called “Taiyi Containing True Qi,” and it is also called “the Primordial Unitary Qi.” It is the root from which the Golden Elixir is generated.

People today do not understand the root of the great Dao (the Way). Some take “True Lead” (Zhenqian, a symbolic term in Neidan, or internal alchemy) to be the Prior Heaven (Xiantian); some take “Heaven One Generates Water” (the generative number of Water in the ancient numerological arts) to be the Prior Heaven; and some call the true Qi (vital energy) contained between the two kidneys the “One Qi of Prior Heaven,” regarding it as the root from which the Golden Elixir (Jindan) is refined.

People today do not understand the root of the great Dao. Some call True Lead, Heaven One Generates Water, or the seat of spiritual luminosity between the two kidneys the Prior Heaven; none of these is the Prior Heaven of which the great Dao speaks.

There are also those who say that one must gather the “Qi of Primordial Chaos” (Hongmeng) from before Heaven and Earth had yet divided, seize the Jing (essence) and Qi of the first conjunction of Yin and Yang, seal and store it in the “Yellow Chamber” (Huangfang, the bodily site of inner cultivation in Neidan), and refine it into the supreme treasure. When one reaches the state of profound stillness without movement, the mind can communicate with Heaven and thereby grasp the workings of creation. Others say that in cultivation one should not seek creative transformation in the kidneys, but should apply one’s effort in the heart-mind.

If one can cultivate with diligence, one may advance side by side with Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin (Zhong-Lü, two immortal perfected beings revered in the Neidan tradition since the Tang and Song).