《上方大洞真元阴阳陟降图书后解》

The Later Explanation of the Illustrated Text on the Ascent and Descent of Yin-Yang of the Great Cavern and True Origin of the Upper Realm is a subsequent commentary on a scripture (Jing) entitled the Illustrated Text on the Ascent and Descent of Yin-Yang of the Great Cavern and True Origin of the Upper Realm. In the title, “zhijiang” means ascent and descent, referring to the movements and transformations of Yin-Yang Qi (vital energy). “Dadong” (Great Cavern) and “zhenyuan” (True Origin) are Daoist technical terms, commonly used to indicate profound methods of the Dao (the Way) and primordial Qi.

The author of this explanation is unknown. Together with related sections it forms a single fascicle, included in the Lingtu (Numinous Charts) category of the Dongxuan division of the Zhengtong Daozang. The materials now available consist only of the scripture title and bibliographic notes, without the main text, so its specific doctrines cannot be interpreted further.

Heaven and Earth are vast. Qian and Kun—Heaven and Earth—preside over the turning of the four seasons, while fuzhen, the joining of Yin and Yang and the gestation of new life, is like the lesser parents of the myriad things. The vital stirring of the Qian hexagram begins at the hour of zi and ends at the hour of yin; the vital stirring of the Kun hexagram begins at the hour of wu and is completed at the hour of shen. This is how the times of Heaven are matched. Broadly speaking, from the hour of zi to the hour of si, Yang Qi (vital energy) gradually grows firm and comes into play; from the hour of wu to the hour of hai, Yin Qi gradually spreads and takes the lead. From this it can be seen that nothing under Heaven lacks both a Yin and a Yang side. That Yin-Yang answer one another is the pattern of nature.

The branches zi, yin, chen, wu, shen, and xu belong to the Yang of Qian; wei, si, chou, hai, and you belong to the Yin of Kun. Yang Qi presses outward and brings the Five Blessings: long life, abundance, health, peace, and fine De (Virtue/Power) together with a good end. Yang therefore symbolizes good fortune and tends toward the Five Blessings. Yin Qi lies hidden and sinks down, bringing six forms of hardship: danger, a shortened life, premature death, illness, sorrow, and poverty. Yin therefore symbolizes calamity and tends toward the Six Extremes.

Yin and Yang are always seeking one another and fitting together. A place of honor belongs to Yang, a place of lowliness to Yin; the noble person belongs to Yang, the petty person to Yin. The bearing of the petty person is sometimes assertive and sometimes withdrawn, sometimes weeping and sometimes laughing, shifting without constancy. In a time when the low and foolish have gained power and even do harm to the noble, if the noble person insists on contending with them, one will often fall into a difficulty from which it is hard to escape. From ancient times, many noble persons have been unwilling to tolerate the petty, and have in the end brought disaster on themselves for that reason. When it is clear that the time has not yet come and that one has no power to change the situation, the noble person should endure temporary disgrace and low standing—yielding with humility, drawing in one’s traces, and accomplishing something without struggle. Only thus can one at last be spared harm from the petty.

The Xunzi says that to follow the constant order of things is called blessing, and to go against that order is called misfortune. The Guanyinzi says: do not make light of the petty person. The petty person can endanger the state, and only one who can deal with the petty person properly may be said truly to understand how to accord with the great person. The great person is one whose De matches Heaven and Earth.

A person’s inner nature and life are endowed from within, and both contain the Qi of Yin and Yang. Taking the image of the turtle drawing itself in, the cultivator gathers body and mind, and within the inner sea—the inward world of body and mind—holds fast to Baiyuan, the indwelling spirit or primordial Qi of which Daoism speaks, so that mind and Shen (spirit) grow settled. One lets the Qi of Water descend and the Qi of Fire rise, and after nine years of cultivation the great completion is reached. To cultivate by modeling the changes of sun and moon, the key lies in the use of Kan and Li, the hexagrams of the Changes that symbolize water and fire. A human life may be like Jiji, “After Completion,” the image of water and fire meeting and the work brought to success, and it may also turn toward Weiji, “Before Completion,” the image of what is not yet finished and of achievement not yet won.

The meaning conveyed by the characters the ancients fashioned is that the feminine, unitary Qi of Yin at Qujiang can enable a person to live long; yet one must still draw on the fire of the solar palace and the water of the lunar mansion, joining them with the masculine, unitary Jing (essence) of Yang at Qujiang. Thereupon the One gives rise to the Two, and going further the Three Origins take form: the Origin of Qian, the Origin of Kun, and the Origin of the Human. Only by modeling the Two Modes of Heaven and Earth can a person come into accord with the Dao (the Way).

In a song of Gao Xiangxian it is said: “Have you not seen Shutong the attendant laughing in company with Wei Boyang as they entered the Realm of Nothing Whatever? Modeling the Lianshan, they composed the Cantong qi, and left a classic among the elixir scriptures of all ages.” The Lianshan is one of the ancient names of the Changes. The song says further: “The sun is Li and the moon is Kan; the course of sun and moon is the Changes, each succeeding the other. When the Golden Crow, symbol of the sun, fades away, the Jade Rabbit, symbol of the moon, rises, and the myriad things are born through the mutual response of Heaven and Earth.” This is just what the Changes mean by “the Qi of Heaven and Earth blend together, and the myriad things are thereby transformed and generated,” and what the Record of Rites means by “only after Heaven and Earth have joined do the myriad things flourish.” Ancient books also say that Yin alone or Yang alone cannot give birth to the myriad things; only when Heaven and Earth, together with the Qi of Yin and Yang, unite can life arise.

The scriptures say that one who cultivates the Dao should model the pattern by which the Qi of the Dao descends from outside. The guiding aim of the Perfect Scripture of the Great Cavern of Highest Clarity is to open upward the gate of the immortal realm, to stop up downward the pass of death, and to ask the spirits of the White Emperor and of Western Florescence to generate divine Qi on one’s behalf. Meng the Banished Immortal sets forth the principle of “embracing the One”—holding to the original root so that body and mind return to unity. First, one is to sense Yin and Yang amid what is vague and hard to distinguish, and to observe movement and stillness in what is dark and minute. Second, one is to lodge Shen in the Heavenly Valley, the place within the body where spirit and Qi reside, and to gather Qi in the Cinnabar Origin, the center indicated in the practice of Neidan (internal alchemy). Third, one is to rouse the Qi of Fire so as to burn away the impurities within the body, and to set the Qi of Water flowing so that it courses through and relieves every pass and orifice of the whole body.

Some speak of matters beyond the alternation and transformation of Yin and Yang. They may be held by some fear, yet they do not know that the myriad things carry Yin Qi on their backs and clasp Yang Qi in their arms, and that when the Qi of Yin and Yang surge together and are harmonized, the myriad things come to accord. If one keeps advancing in cultivation, one can lengthen one’s life; if one walks in accordance with the Dao, one can receive auspicious blessing. For this reason Jizi placed longevity first among the Five Blessings, and the years of the turtle are likewise counted among the three joys of human life. What in the world could be more precious than this? The cultivator fears only failing to honor one’s own Qi, to treasure the body, to preserve nature and life, and to cherish the spirit. If one simply lets oneself go on toward ruin, the end is to bring destruction upon oneself.

Heaven and Earth are vast and never issue commands, yet spring, summer, autumn, and winter proceed in their regular course, and the myriad things grow because of this. Do all things sprout in spring, grow in summer, ripen in autumn, and withdraw into storage in winter?

The Yijing (Classic of Changes) says, “The myriad things come forth from the Zhen trigram.” Zhen represents the east and also spring. At the Xun trigram the myriad things stand orderly and luxuriant; Xun represents the southeast. “Orderly” means that all things have already grown even and well aligned. The Li trigram represents brightness, and at this time all things become visible; Li is the trigram of the south. The Kun trigram represents the earth. All things receive nourishment from the earth, and so it is said that at the Kun trigram each fully carries out the work of generating and nurturing life. The Dui trigram represents mid-autumn, the season when the myriad things rejoice in their ripening, and so it is said that the Qi (vital energy) of joy appears in the Dui trigram. The Qian trigram represents the northwest, where the Qi of Yin-Yang contends. The Kan trigram represents water. It is the trigram of due north, and also a trigram that sets the myriad things to labor and to return into storage; thus it is said that at the Kan trigram the myriad things rest from their labor and are stored away. The Gen trigram represents the northeast. Here the myriad things complete one cycle and from here begin a new cycle, and so it is said that the accomplishment of the myriad things appears in the Gen trigram.

Therefore the sages of antiquity accorded with what the myriad things required. Like rich moisture nourishing all under Heaven, they saw to it that the people lacked nothing they needed, and they brought the affairs of government into accord with the order of the four seasons.

The east belongs to spring. “Spring” carries the sense of stirring into life, and the sage, like spring, brings the myriad things to sprout. The south belongs to summer. “Summer” means nurturing and growing large, and the sage nurtures the myriad things with benevolent De (Virtue/Power). The west belongs to autumn. “Autumn” is linked with the sense of anxious scrutiny; the sage examines and watches over the myriad things according to the season, and this embodies righteousness. The north belongs to winter. “Winter” means coming to an end and returning to the center, and “center” also means storing away.

The Liji (Record of Rites) says that the Dao (the Way) of governance takes the four seasons as its guiding thread, and that the affairs of government can therefore be encouraged on this basis. The Yueji (Record of Music) says that spring causes the myriad things to sprout and summer makes them grow, which embodies benevolence, while autumn draws them in and winter stores them away, which embodies righteousness. Those who can practice benevolence, righteousness, Dao, and De according to the sequence of the seasons are probably only the perfected persons (zhenren)—people who have succeeded in cultivation and who accord with the Great Dao.

Thereupon the perfected person, hands clasped behind the back, sang, “How vast is the movement of the four seasons; how boundless is the circulation of the one Qi; how luminous is the Dao of the sage.”

Jizi said that Heaven bestowed upon Yu the Great the nine categories of great methods for governing the state set forth in the Hongfan, of which the first category is the Five Phases (Wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water). The saying “Heaven’s one generates Water, Earth’s two generates Fire, Heaven’s three generates Wood, Earth’s four generates Metal, and Heaven’s five generates Earth” refers to the generating numbers of the Five Phases; Water as six, Fire as seven, Wood as eight, Metal as nine, and Earth as ten are their completion numbers.

As for the seasons in which the Five Phases hold command: after the Beginning of Spring, Wood flourishes; after the Beginning of Summer, Fire flourishes; after the Beginning of Autumn, Metal flourishes; and after the Beginning of Winter, Water flourishes, each for seventy-two days. From the last month of each season, eighteen days are taken, during which Earth holds command. These speak of the flourishing and the xiang of the Five Phases (xiang referring to their condition within the sequence of time).

Among the Five Phases there are also relations of mutual generation: Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, and Metal generates Water. There are likewise relations of mutual conquest: Water conquers Fire, Fire conquers Metal, Metal conquers Wood, Wood conquers Earth, and Earth conquers Water. This is what is called the mutual generation and mutual conquest of the Five Phases.

Heaven brought forth the four seasons and the Five Phases, and the sages gave them names. The myriad things between Heaven and Earth are numerous, and among them the most important category is the Five Phases. Human life cannot do without these five elements; to lack any one of them will not do. The Rites says: “Take the Five Phases as the foundation, and affairs can continue.” One who possesses the Dao (the Way) inquires into the source of primordial Qi (Yuanqi, the fundamental vital energy from which the myriad things are generated) and masters the methods by which the Five Phases transform and circulate. If inwardly one loses the balance of the Three Primordials (Sanyuan, the three fundamental primordial Qi, or foundations of life, spoken of in Daoism), and outwardly one lets the Qi of the nine orifices (the nine apertures of the human body) scatter and run unchecked, then death will plainly draw near. These words are indeed well founded.

The song sings: “How vast is the working of the Five Phases! It bears upon human life. Understand the principle of putting it to use, and life will flourish; fail to understand its Way, and one falls into danger.”

The meaning of this passage is rooted in the teaching of the Perfected Zhengyang (one of the immortal perfected beings venerated in Daoism). The song says: “The Great Dao moves everywhere between Heaven and Earth, drawing along the three carts and sixteen oxen; it causes the Four Images and the Five Phases to gather in one place, and can further draw forth and exchange the sinews and bones, shedding the embryo and transforming the frame.”

Diagram of the Six Transformations of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams)

The hexagram images of the Yijing (Classic of Changes) are used to mirror the workings of heaven and earth. When the Qian hexagram is above, it signifies heaven; corresponding to the human body, it symbolizes the head; when below, it symbolizes earth. The Kun hexagram, when above, may also signify heaven; on the human body it symbolizes the abdomen, and in the position of the hexagram it represents earth. Qian and Kun are the foundation of heaven and earth, and they are also the parents of Yin-Yang and of the myriad things.

The Kan hexagram corresponds in heaven to the moon, in the human body to the ears, and on earth to water; the Li hexagram corresponds in heaven to the sun, in the human body to the eyes, and on earth to fire. Therefore, immortals who have succeeded in cultivation compare Qian and Kun to the cauldron for refining the elixir, and Kan and Li to the medicines, so that the Qi (vital energy) of the Yin and Yang of heaven and earth may meet and harmonize, and the myriad things are thereby generated and flow freely.

“Tai” means passage without obstruction. When heaven and earth join and sweet dew descends, this is called “Jiji” (After Completion). Fire by nature rises and water by nature descends; placing water above fire allows water and fire each to keep its own nature and to harmonize with the other. When both affairs and principle are given their due, the myriad things are all preserved, and the affairs of the world may be counted complete. Yet when a person is in the state of Jiji, of harmony and completion, one should still remain reverent and cautious. When heaven and earth embrace and interact and thus communicate in Tai, the four seasons each come to hold their own numinous Qi; when Kan and Li unite and reach Jiji, the myriad things can be preserved and take on stable forms.

Qingxiazi admonished those who cultivate the Dao (the Way), saying: Have you not seen the spoiled tiles at the mouth of the kiln? A soaking of rain shatters them, only because they have not yet undergone the tempering of water and fire. If water and fire are used to fire them into vessels, they can remain in the human world for thousands upon thousands of years. This means that vessels of clay, originally without knowledge or feeling, can still be firm and indestructible once harmonized by water and fire; how much more, then, can those who cultivate the True seek long life?

Further, the Zhen hexagram symbolizes the feet, the Xun hexagram symbolizes the thighs, and the Gen hexagram symbolizes the mountain and also the hands; Gen further symbolizes the nose. The nose is the “mountain” of the face, and the nostrils let Qi pass as a mouth does; therefore it is said that “mountain and marsh communicate their Qi.” The Dui hexagram symbolizes the marsh, and also the mouth.

Tradition tells that the Yellow Emperor received an oral formula from the Tianzhen Huangren (Sovereign of Heavenly Perfection) and cast a cauldron on Mount Jing. The cauldron has three legs, symbolizing Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen (spirit); by means of these, the cultivator is able to rise into the clouds. The scriptures say that if one can cause the myriad things to blend and transform into a single Qi, then through refining and nurturing one may transform and become an immortal. The secret of the Dao of flight and ascension is hidden in the Guicang (Return to the Storehouse).

What is called the “six changes” means that the Qian hexagram changes step by step from the initial nine to the top nine, and the Kun hexagram changes step by step from the initial six to the top six; sometimes the middle lines of a hexagram also change, and sometimes they do not. The timing of change is bound up with the seasons of heaven and with the pattern by which Yang Qi moves; when the other hexagram images are examined, they are much the same.

Tradition tells that a dragon appeared from the Yellow River, and the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) thereby made their images plain; a qilin was wounded beside a marsh, and the Ten Wings of the Yizhuan (Commentary on the Changes) thereby displayed their function. Confucius once sighed: “In the flourishing age of Tang and Yu, qilin and phoenix roamed at ease; now is no longer that age—why should they still come? O qilin, qilin, my heart is grieved.” When the junzi (exemplary person) meets the right moment, he takes office and acts; when the moment does not suit, he is like tumbleweed drifting and turning with the wind, moving along with the situation.

The fisherman sang: “When the waters of the Canglang are clear, they may wash my hatband; when the waters of the Canglang are turbid, they may wash my feet.” From this one may know that those who understand advance and retreat, survival and perishing, without losing the correct Dao are probably the sages alone. The sage follows the changes of gain and loss, fullness and depletion, in the human world, and moves together with the circumstances of the time. The Fayan (Model Sayings) says that the sage is intelligent and profound, receives the intent of Heaven and infers principles wondrous and spiritual, stands foremost among people, and is able to bring all norms and institutions under a single order.

The worthies of earlier times once spoke in praise, saying: “The River Chart was conferred upon Fuxi, and the Luo Writing was bestowed upon Yu the Great.” Legend has it that Fuxi was the first to draw the River Chart borne by the dragon-horse, and used it to set forth the Bagua (Eight Trigrams); when Yu the Great received the Luo Writing brought from the Luo River by the dark tortoise, he deduced from it the Nine Categories of the Hongfan, giving a detailed account of the numbers belonging to the nine classes of principles.

The positions and numbers of the Nine Palaces are as follows: the sixth palace belongs to Qian, the first to Kan, the eighth to Gen, the third to Zhen, the fourth to Xun, the ninth to Li, the second to Kun, and the seventh to Dui, while the central fifth palace belongs to the Middle Palace. Each of these numbers also has a directional color. The scripture specially notes that black must not be offended; blue-green corresponds to sores and ulcers, and red-yellow is linked with worry, distress, and illness. According to the Dao (the Way) of Taisu—the plain and original principle of which Daoism speaks—only white is the favorable direction. Each year and each month is reckoned by a fixed pattern; the relevant methods are recorded in the notes to the calendrical books, and are used to shift and arrange the flying numbers of the Nine Palaces.

What are called the Upper Yuan, the Middle Yuan, and the Lower Yuan serve to explain the changes of “white” in the year, the month, and the day, and the patterns by which the three yang and the three yin move. The scripture further explains the numerical principle of the “Three Yuan”: the numbers of Heaven come to twenty-five, namely one, three, five, seven, and nine; the numbers of Earth come to thirty, namely two, four, six, eight, and ten; together they total fifty-five. When ten, the final number of Earth, is subtracted, forty-five remain, corresponding respectively to the Celestial Yuan, the Human Yuan, and the Terrestrial Yuan. Set out vertically and horizontally, the Nine Palaces give fifteen as the sum of every row and every column; the subtle principle in this can hardly be exhausted.

Heaven and Earth bring forth and nourish the myriad things. Among them, human beings stand between the Celestial Yuan and the Terrestrial Yuan, and the Human Yuan is matched to the guiding order of the Nine Palaces. A human life is hard to obtain; if one does not take this chance to cultivate and advance one’s own Dao, is that not far too slow and hesitant?

When the recluse Xiyi spoke of the method of refining mercury and subduing cinnabar—a technical term of Daoist alchemy—he said that the key lies in the arrangement of the numbers of the Nine Palaces: three on the left and seven on the right; two and four are like the two shoulders; six and eight are like the two feet and the two knees; nine is at the crown of the head and one is under the feet; five is at the center of the abdomen. Once the center and the four directions are disposed in this way, the Nine Palaces are complete; their working reaches all eight directions, and the wondrous application of the Three Yuan can then be accomplished.

The River Chart and the Luo Writing are the foundation on which the sages modeled themselves. The sages practiced the great Dao and perfected their De (Virtue/Power). In its ancient written form, the character “Dao” is composed of “yuan” and “shou,” signifying the root of all methods and what is foremost among the host of sages; the character “De” is composed of “zhi” and “xin,” signifying a heart-mind that is upright, empty and still, and free of delusion. What can guide living beings and bring them to a thorough grasp of the great Dao is the Dao transmitted by the teachers of old; what is obtained through inner cultivation as the Reverted Elixir—the condensed state of Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit) achieved in Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy)—and what, once the work is accomplished, is not lost, is the De of the superior adept.

Used to govern the state, this principle can bring peace and stability; used to cultivate one’s own person, it can tend toward lasting existence. To reach this state may be called completeness in the highest degree. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang grouped the Tongxuan Daode Zhenjing, the Zhouyi, and the Nanhua Zhenjing together as the “Learning of the Three Mysteries,” and in this he was indeed justified.

How strange! Human life between heaven and earth, even if one truly lives to a hundred years, is like a fine horse flashing past a crack in the door—gone in an instant. If one cannot nurture and preserve life, it is truly lamentable. Zhenren (True Persons) are different: they regularly perform Zhaijiao (purification rituals of fasting and sacrificial offering), and they widely practice charity and come to the aid of many. In this way they cultivate the Dao (the Way) and instruct others, serving their teachers and elders with a clear and sincere heart. A Zhenren possesses De (Virtue/Power) and can commune with Shen (spirit); a superior adept (Shangshi—an advanced practitioner who has succeeded in cultivation) comprehends the wondrous Dao and thereby ascends to heaven. If one does not study immortality and refine the bodily form, how could one achieve these things?

All who sit in stillness and cultivate the Way of the Great Cavern (Dadong) resonate with the single living Qi (vital energy) of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) belonging to heaven and earth, the eight directions, and the sun, moon, and stars, drawing it downward so that it flows into every part of the body, and they also sense the breaths of the four seasons—spring warmth, summer heat, autumn coolness, and winter cold. Even without speaking, one can correspond with it; even without summoning it, it comes of itself. The practitioner then uses the Qi of heaven to regulate the bodily form of earth, so that auspicious clouds open at the Gate of Life (the portal of vital generation) and propitious Qi fills the Portal of Death (the gate of decline). Thereupon the Crystal of Flying Mystery (the subtle, wondrous Jing [essence] and Qi spoken of in cultivation) descends to secure the Niwan, the Neidan (internal alchemy) site in the head, and the Crimson Palace (Jianggong), the Neidan site in the region of the heart. It regulates the five Qi, merges the hundred spirits, and circulates numinous Qi again and again, so that every kind of breath returns to the Dao of the immortals.

The Dao of the immortals treasures life and widely delivers all beings. To receive deliverance within one’s lifetime is truly fortunate; only one who can endure forever and partake of the wondrous Dao deserves to be called a Zhiren (Ultimate Person). The Zhiren who realizes the Great Dao influences the world by a lofty example, and there is nothing among the myriad things that such a person does not know; the person’s numinous workings have no fixed boundary. The noble person should be the same. The way of the noble person lies in reverence, humane kindness, what is fitting, and uprightness. It also values keeping to softness, gladly dwelling in a lowly place, and being able to bear insult and contain what is foul. This is the model of the highest wisdom, yet people of the world often turn away from it.

Therefore, one whose De is complete discerns the moment and acts at once, without delay: stopping when one ought to stop, and acting when one ought to act. Advancing and retreating, emerging and withdrawing, always accord with the times. When advancing, one benefits all under heaven; when retiring, one cultivates oneself. Accomplished persons of antiquity often conducted themselves in this way, and Zhuangzi was among them. When the king of Chu summoned him from afar, Zhuangzi refused office, preferring to live freely like a tortoise dragging its tail in the mud. When Hui Shi, chancellor of Liang, grew suspicious, Zhuangzi compared high rank to a “rotten rat,” mocking him for prizing lofty position too greatly.

Yan Hui was worthy and virtuous: living in a humble alley and eating plain fare, he still rejoiced in the Dao amid poverty. Confucius was sagely and enlightened: even resting his head upon his arm and drinking clear water, he could be content in himself. Xu You gladly kept to the Dao on the north bank of the Ying River, and Bing Bo fulfilled the aims of his heart at Gongshou. All of them were people who transcended the dusty world and honored the mysterious Dao.

Thus the superior adept accords with the Great Dao, as if of one heart with heaven and earth, and receives the aid of heaven and earth. The Great Dao is level and broad, and not far from human beings; when it is cultivated in one’s own person, De becomes genuine and pure. Jade that is not carved cannot become a vessel, and people who do not study do not understand the Great Dao. The Book of Rites says, “The Great Dao is not a vessel,” meaning that the Great Dao cannot be confined to any single implement or form.

Here the Nine Palaces are discussed: Li is the ninth palace, Kun the second palace, Dui the seventh palace, and the central palace is five. It goes on to say that each of the Nine Palaces has a corresponding color. Black must not be offended; blue-green corresponds to the affliction of sores and ulcers, while red-yellow brings sorrow and illness. In observing the Way of Taisu (Great Simplicity—the principles of the origin and operation of heaven and earth), only white is regarded as favorable. Each year and each month has its corresponding rule; the details are recorded in the notes to the calendar and are applied as time advances. The so-called Upper Prime, Middle Prime, and Lower Prime (Shangyuan, Zhongyuan, and Xiayuan) serve to explain how the year, the month, and the day each encounter white, together with the pattern of three Yang and three Yin (Yin-Yang).

Further, as to the Three Primes: the numbers of heaven are twenty-five, namely one, three, five, seven, and nine; the numbers of earth are thirty, namely two, four, six, eight, and ten. Together they make fifty-five. Subtract ten, the final number of earth, and forty-five remain; these are the Heavenly Prime, the Human Prime, and the Earthly Prime. Woven lengthwise and crosswise, they form the number fifteen, subtle without end. Heaven and earth generate and nourish the myriad things, while the human being stands between the Heavenly Prime and the Earthly Prime and matches the Human Prime to the guiding order of the Nine Palaces. Since a human life is hard to obtain, how can one fail to sit at peace and cultivate the Dao?

The recluse Xiyi said that the way of controlling mercury and subduing cinnabar (an alchemical method symbolized by mercury and cinnabar) turns on three at the left and seven at the right; two and four are the shoulders, and six and eight the feet and knees; nine rests on the crown, one is tread beneath the feet, and the fifth palace is settled in the abdomen. The fifth palace occupies the center, and every direction is complete; its efficacy extends through the eight quarters, and the wondrous working of the Three Primes is thereby fulfilled.

The River Chart and the Luo Writing (Hetu and Luoshu—ancient diagrams symbolizing the numerical order of heaven and earth) are what the sages take as their model. The sages practice the Great Dao and establish De. In its ancient written form, the character “Dao” is composed of “yuan” (origin) and “shou” (head), symbolizing that it is the root of the myriad teachings and the head of all the sages; the character “De” is composed of “zhi” (straight) and “xin” (heart), indicating an upright heart-mind and inward contemplation in emptiness and stillness. Whoever can guide all beings and penetrate the Great Dao possesses the Dao of the former teachers; whoever cultivates inwardly, obtains the Reverted Elixir (Huandan), and after the work is complete does not lose the Dao possesses the De of the superior adept.

Applied to governing the state, these principles can bring about generous harmony and peace; applied to cultivating the self, they can tend toward long life. When such cultivation reaches its utmost, is it not worthy of praise? It was also fitting that Emperor Minghuang of the Tang ranked the Tongxuan Daode Zhenjing, the Zhouyi (Classic of Changes), and the Nanhua Zhenjing (True Scripture of the Southern Florescence) as the “Learning of the Three Mysteries.”

How marvelous that human beings live between Heaven and Earth! Even if one truly lives to a hundred years, life is as brief as a fine steed galloping past a crack in the door. If one cannot nourish and preserve life, it is truly cause for lament. The Zhenren (True Person) is different: they regularly observe fasting and abstinence, perform Zhaijiao (purification rituals) with prayers for blessing and protection, and often practice almsgiving and the relief of many. Thus they cultivate the methods of the Dao (the Way) and teach others, serving their teachers with a clear, pure, and sincere heart. The Zhenren possesses De (Virtue/Power) and can set their Shen (spirit) at ease. The Shangshi (a cultivator of lofty character and profound insight) comprehends the wondrous Dao and is thereby able to ascend to Heaven. If one does not study the Way of the immortals and cultivate the bodily form, how could one achieve these things?

All who cultivate the Way of the Dadong (Great Cavern) come into resonance with the Qi (vital energy) of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) generated by Heaven and Earth, the eight directions, the sun, moon, and stars, drawing it down so that it flows into the bodily palaces (the places within the body where spirit is lodged and Qi is circulated). The breaths of the four seasons—spring warmth, summer heat, autumn cool, and winter cold—respond in accord as well: they are sensed without a word being spoken and arrive without being summoned. One therefore makes use of the Qi of Heaven above to regulate the form of Earth, so that auspicious clouds (clouds of good omen) appear at the Gate of Life and propitious mist fills the Door of Death. Thereupon the crystal of soaring mystery (the subtle, wondrous essential Qi spoken of in Daoist cultivation) descends to guard the Niwan (the upper Dantian [energy center] in the head) and the Crimson Palace (the palace of the heart), regulating the five Qi, harmonizing the hundred spirits, and turning the numinous Qi again and again, so that the myriad Qi return to the Way of the immortals.

The Way of the immortals treasures life and, by measureless methods, delivers and transforms all living beings. To be born and receive deliverance is good fortune; only one who endures forever and comes to partake of the wondrous Dao may be called a Zhiren (Ultimate Person). The Zhiren who realizes the Great Dao influences the world by a noble bearing, whose understanding reaches all things and whose marvelous working has no fixed bounds; the person of noble character ought to be the same. The way of such a person lies in reverence, kindly love, and accordance with what is right. Still more, one must keep to softness, be content to dwell in a low place, endure disgrace, and contain what is foul. This is the model of lofty wisdom, yet the people of the world often turn away from it.

Therefore, one whose De is complete can discern the moment and act in good time, without delay: stopping when one ought to stop, and moving when one ought to move. Advance and retreat, taking and letting go, always follow the circumstances of the time, and both engagement in affairs and withdrawal into seclusion can adapt to change. When stepping forward, one benefits all under Heaven; when retiring, one cultivates oneself. The perceptive scholars of antiquity often conducted themselves in this way. Zhuangzi, for example, refused office when the king of Chu summoned him, preferring to live like a sacred tortoise dragging its tail in the mud. When Hui Shi, prime minister of Liang, grew angry with him, he likened the matter to a “rotten rat,” mocking Hui Shi for prizing rank and power too highly. Yan Hui was worthy and wise; he lived in a humble place and remained content even with a single basket of food. Confucius once bent his arm for a pillow and passed his days drinking water. Xu You joyfully sought the Dao on the northern bank of the Ying River, and Bingbo attained what he wished at Gongshou. All these were persons who transcended the dust of the world and esteemed the mysterious Dao.

Thus the Shangshi accords with the Great Dao, as though aided by the timeliness of Heaven. The Great Dao is level and broad, and not far from human beings; when a person cultivates the Great Dao within themselves, De becomes genuine and pure. Jade that is not carved and polished cannot become a vessel, and a person who does not study cannot understand the Great Dao. The Liji (Record of Rites) says, “The Great Dao is not a vessel”—that is, the Great Dao is not confined to any single vessel or form, and may be realized everywhere. The scriptures of the Dao, handed down in golden script, teach this: if a person cherishes the bodily form, preserves the Shen, treasures the original Qi, and firmly guards the root, the body can be spared death and decay, and one may at last await ascent in flight. Can such a person not be called an immortal?

The Diagram of a Minister Paying Court at the Golden Portal (the scene of a subject paying homage at the Golden Portal)

The Dao (the Way) of Heaven is bright and manifest, covering the people of the world like a net. How can those whose sins are deep and heavy easily escape? Those whose sins are few and light may yet change their destiny and await ascension. Can such people not be called immortals?

The aid of Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth) depends on a person’s De (Virtue/Power) and meritorious achievements. The eminent worthies of antiquity who understood the Dao all first accumulated the practice of purity, stillness, and an emptied mind, cultivating true nature, and then accumulated good deeds in assisting the state and saving the people. As for those who devote themselves to nourishing Qi (vital energy) and follow the natural course of things, if they cultivate further into the realm of the superior immortals, they will surely have penetrated principle and possess a lofty, wondrous attainment unlike that of ordinary people. Therefore they are able to render both bodily form and Shen (spirit) marvelous, and to take part in paying reverence to Zhenyuan (the True Origin, the source of the Dao).

I have heard that there was no return from Mount Wei: Zijin (a legendary immortal), playing the sheng, ascended and entered the Milky Way. Master Ding, once he had gone to the Liao River, transformed into an immortal crane and soared into the heights. Later he left a song, saying: “Ding Lingwei became an immortal crane and returned after a thousand years; the city walls remain as of old, yet the people are no longer those of former days. Why not learn the way of the immortals? Graves lie heaped upon graves, and the sight moves one to sigh.”

Later, even the cypress trees of Zhaozhou all became Buddhas, and when Perfected Lord Xu (an immortal revered in Daoism) attained immortality, even the chickens and dogs of his household ascended to Heaven with him. In the lyric of Scholar Wu it is written: behold the one whose face remains youthful and unaged and whose hair is still jet-black; as he ascends, his figure rides the void, receiving the mandate of Jingyang (the tradition that Perfected Lord Xu received his commission). A recluse offered praise: “How great is Retired Scholar Pang of the emptied mind; how profound is Perfected Lord Xu, who awakened to the Dao of nature and life; the whole family ascended together into the blue clouds.”

An inscribed poem depicts the scene: mountain winds rustle through the forest, and the stream flows cool and clear; amid plum and bamboo, a phoenix cries beyond the blue sky; the pines stand dense and upright, and the barking of dogs seems to carry among the white clouds. Thereupon, riding the belled carriage and feathered equipage (the vehicle of the immortals), one passes in and out between being and non-being, goes to pay court at the imperial capital, and awaits the commands of the Jade Portal (the palace of the immortals). All of this is the result of reverently practicing the Dao of the Dadong Zhenyuan.

The scripture further says: “Bright Heaven looks down upon the human world.” If a person’s merit and virtue are complete, one may leave the dusty world, ride upon auspicious clouds and Qi, and go to pay court at the gate of Taiqing (a Daoist realm of immortals).