《太上灵宝净明道元正印经》

The Dao (the Way) has no definite form to begin with; it only gathers within emptiness and stillness. Within and without, all is open and luminously clear, drawn along by nothing outside itself.

The countless affairs before one’s eyes are tangled and restless, yet the supreme Dao is deep, still, and clear. Bright and vast, it manifests on its own, waxing and waning together with the myriad things.

The myriad things flourish and decline, come and go, as free as fish in a deep abyss. A fish lives in the water yet does not know the water is there; the Dao is perhaps much the same.

In one who understands the Dao, Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) never run dry. The blood flows freely like a river, and Qi—the primordial life-energy of which Daoism speaks—circulates without cease like a round pearl. The body seems as quiet as withered wood, while the mind is bright and lively. One does not know where one will stop or where one will dwell, but only follows what is natural.

Temperament and the inner heart are calm and at peace. One knows what should be done and what should not; one does not cling to so-called “knowing,” and yet one is not ignorant. One acts without deliberate effort. The mind is plain and detached, as if one dwelt in the Qingdu, the pure and tranquil immortal realm imagined in Daoism. In the palace of the Qingdu the spirit is set free, the mind is no longer constrained, the emotions settle, and Jing and Qi become single and concentrated.

This “singleness” is the Dao, yet one must not cling to the One. There is neither clinging nor partiality, neither sticking fast nor pressing in haste. Only by being easy and unhurried can one reach this state, so that the mind grows calm, empty, and still. This is the root of the Dao, and the ground on which visualization stands upright and accords with principle. What is called “thinking without thinking” means that although there is visualization, one does not cling to it; when one does not deliberately think, the mind is instead clear; and when visualization is present, form and Shen (spirit) can also come to rest.

“Long life and lasting vision” is one name for the Dao. What is long life, and what is decline? The root of the Dao abides constantly. When the mind is lucid, a person’s innate nature becomes clear as well. Once one has truly understood, even what is called “understanding” may be set aside; once one has truly seen, one need not cling to what is called “seeing.” To set aside “understanding” is true understanding; to pass beyond “seeing” is true seeing. At once clear and fully awake, one can recognize one’s own original form and Shen.

Within the bodily form there is Shen, and Shen has scope to unfold. When Shen can extend and is not pressed down, one can transcend, move freely, and ascend. What is the wind-horse, and what is the cloud-carriage? These wondrous vehicles of ascent to heaven do not lie outside body and mind; their true place is within oneself. What is called the real is, from the beginning, profound and hard to fathom, beyond deluded thoughts…

Delusive thoughts are not reality. By true nature one dissolves delusive thoughts, so that the true and the false return together to stillness. One neither grasps nor clings; one neither contends with external things nor merges them into a single whole. One contemplates that which has no form and listens to the realm that has no sound. What, then, counts as Fulu (talismans and registers—the talismanic script used in Daoist rituals of prayer, the averting of misfortune, and the summoning of spirits)? What counts as a true Jing (scripture)? When mind and spirit are settled and wisdom shines forth, this is Jingming (a pure and luminous state of mind).

Jingming pervades the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm, as spoken of in Daoism), and beyond them lies the Jade Capital, Yujing (the celestial capital of Daoist legend). The Jade Capital is where divine beings dwell together; there one may roam and feast in the company of the Three Pure Ones, Sanqing (the three realms of Jade Clarity, Upper Clarity, and Great Clarity venerated in Daoism). This is called the “Orthodox Seal of the Source of the Dao.”