《灵宝净明黄素书释义秘诀》

Disciple Fang Wen respectfully prostrates himself before his true master and ventures to ask several questions concerning the Huangsu Shu, earnestly begging that, through your honored instruction, you indicate the root and explain it clearly for him.

The Huangsu Shu says: “The five Qi (vital energy) pay court to the Origin; the three yang gather at the crown.”

Fang Wen has respectfully read that the true immortals Zhongli and Lü, in the Chuandao Ji, when speaking of the refining of the great medicine, the Golden Elixir (Jindan), say: “The five Qi pay court to the Origin; the three flowers gather at the crown.” The five Qi correspond to the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), and some hold that they are the Qi of the five viscera. Here one speaks of “three yang,” and there of “three flowers”; yang, too, is Qi. Moreover, at a person’s birth the yang Qi of the body gathers in the head, and the Qi of the five viscera naturally rises to the Mud-pill Palace (Niwan Gong, the Neidan, or internal alchemy, site of cultivation at the center of the head), so that the eyes can see clearly, the ears can hear, the nose can smell, and the tongue can taste.

Thus the “five Qi pay court to the Origin, three flowers gather at the crown” spoken of in the refining of the Golden Elixir is probably a transformation of another order. I earnestly request that you point this out plainly.

What is called the “five Qi” is the Qi of the five viscera which, after converging, pays court toward the Palace of the Origin (here the lower origin, that is, the lower Dantian, or energy center). One first guards the lower origin and makes it firm, then opens a passage to the middle origin; once the middle origin has been opened, the Qi pays court to the upper origin. This is called the “three yang.” “Flower” is another name for the “three yang.”

This is the process by which the primal yang (the fundamental yang Qi within the body) circulates and transforms: when it condenses it divides into five, and when it is put to use it returns to three. By this time the Golden Elixir has already been completed. Auspicious clouds arise above the crown, and the Qi of the crown gate (the cultivation aperture at the top of the head) has likewise opened, bright as the sun and moon. That the ears can hear, the nose can smell, and the like are not the manifestations that appear when “five Qi pay court to the Origin and three yang gather at the crown” truly takes place.

The Huangsu Shu says: “One ought to reflect: from where does this body of one’s own come?”

Fang Wen holds that people of the present age do not understand why they themselves die. The human body comes from the one Qi (vital energy) of Heaven and Earth—the primordial Qi in its original unity. This Qi divides into two parts and then joins again to form the body; the Qi of the parents is the fundamental starting point from which life is generated and transformed. Knowing that life arises from this, one ought to cultivate from precisely here; only then has one traced the matter to the root of life and of creative transformation. If one cultivates only from the side of solitary Yin, this does not accord with the original aim of cultivation. He earnestly requests that you transmit the teaching in secret.

When a person is first born, the root lies in the “One.” The “One,” joined with “speech,” becomes the “Two,” and this is what is called “the One and the Two.” The One and the Two transform into each other, and thus true water and true fire arise—names, in Neidan (internal alchemy), for the two functions of Yin-Yang—and a person’s Jing (essence) and Shen (spirit) are thereby made complete. Only by recognizing true water and true fire can one understand where life comes from.

The book says: “If the courses of the sun and moon fall into disorder, the elixir cannot be refined.”

Fang Wen carefully studied the Elixir Scriptures (Danjing) and found that in all of them the image of the sun and moon in their courses is taken as the rule; this is precisely the true image to be taken as a model. One who can model practice on the sun and moon can grasp the laws of the Yin-Yang creative transformation of Heaven and Earth. As for why even a slight disorder in their movement makes success impossible, the Zhouyi Cantong Qi (a Daoist classic of Neidan) says: “The sun and moon conjoin with one another; Yang Qi holds fast to its masculine power; Yin Qi is put into effect, and the feminine within Yin turns yellow.” It also says: “If even a minute point fails to accord with the correct Dao (the Way), regret and distress become a harm.” The True Lord’s Elixir Scripture says: “Seeking and obtaining have their day; gathering and taking have their moment.” A poem by Zhang the Perfected likewise says: “If there is an error even as fine as a hair, the elixir cannot be achieved.” What, then, counts as error? By what method can disorder in the movement of Yin and Yang be avoided? This concerns the firing times (huohou)—the mastery, in refining the elixir, of timing and of the force of the fire—and he earnestly requests the oral formula.

The symbolism of the sun and moon is rooted in Jing and Shen; the arising of Jing and Shen depends on the One and the Two. The One and the Two are the correct measures that the firing times follow. Water and fire have the functions of drawing off and adding in; yet one must choose the proper month within the year, the proper day within the month, and the proper hour within the day, and only thus can error be avoided. These words are recorded in the books that discuss the firing times. The books say: “Distinguish water and fire, conjoin dragon and tiger (terms in Neidan symbolizing Yin and Yang), understand the elixir medicine, comprehend lead and mercury (Neidan terms often used to symbolize Yin and Yang and the medicinal substances), master drawing off and adding in, and turn the river chariot (a metaphor in Neidan cultivation for the circulation of the vital breath).”

Those who study the Dao (the Way) inquire deeply into the alchemical classics. Nothing discussed in these classics falls outside Yin-Yang; only the names differ. Several dozen are in common use, such as water and fire, dragon and tiger, lead and mercury, and the river chariot. These expressions in fact all refer to one and the same thing. If that is so, why do the texts speak separately of discerning water and fire, joining dragon and tiger, understanding the elixir medicine, comprehending lead and mercury, and turning the river chariot? Discern water and fire, and one can recognize dragon and tiger; recognize dragon and tiger, and one can understand lead and mercury. All of these are the medicinal materials used in refining the elixir. As for why the texts respectively say “discern,” “join,” “understand,” “comprehend,” and “turn”: the measure of extraction and augmentation belongs to the firing times. If one does not even recognize what the medicinal materials are, how can one master extraction and augmentation? It is hoped that someone will point out the essential point, so that these statements will not contradict one another and later students may understand them more easily.

Water and fire and dragon and tiger refer to the same thing. To speak of “water and fire” is to attend to inherent nature, and so one says “discern”; at this stage there is as yet no actual application. To speak of “dragon and tiger” is to attend to the stirring of feeling, and so one says “join”; at this stage application has already begun. To speak of “lead and mercury” is to attend to their forms; from this one knows that they are the materials for refining the elixir, and one may then understand further. Once one grasps the measure of extraction and augmentation, one can turn the river chariot.

The book says: “Use the hun (ethereal soul) to restrain the po (corporeal soul), and one can understand the rising and the setting of the sun and moon.”

The rising and setting of the sun and moon are the manifestation of the movement of the Way of Heaven and of Yin-Yang transformation at its extreme. Hun and po are a person’s spirit, and they too may be used to recognize this transformation. Why must one first use the hun to restrain the po before one can understand the rising and setting of the sun and moon?

What is spoken of here is a person’s two kidneys. The right kidney is the Gate of Life; it belongs to Yang and is paired with the hun. Yin lies on the right and Yang on the left, yet Yang is located in the right kidney, and so there is the sense of using Yang to restrain the Yin po. The Qi (vital energy) of the right kidney rises at midnight to the left eye, and the Qi of the left kidney issues at noon from the right eye. From this one can understand the rising and setting of the sun and moon. The zi hour and the wu hour are precisely when the Qi of the sun and moon reaches the extreme of its arising.

The book further says: “The two streams of Qi of the heart and the kidneys join with each other, and so they are called true water and true fire.”

The heart and the kidneys correspond respectively to Kan and Li, that is, to water and fire, and everyone possesses them. The alchemical scriptures, however, say that gathering has its appointed days and moments, and that one does not take them directly from the heart and the kidneys. Zhang Yifu’s alchemical scripture likewise says that it is wrong to identify the heart and the kidneys rashly as Kan and Li. What, then, are the “true water” and “true fire” spoken of here?

Only when the Qi (vital energy) of the heart and the Qi of the kidneys join with one another can one say that “true water” and “true fire” are present within them; if they do not join, they cannot be genuine. For only through their joining does the possibility of generation and transformation arise.

The scriptures say that the “dragon” refers to the heart and the “tiger” to the kidneys. Kidney Qi is easily depleted, while the fluid of the heart is hard to accumulate; the crux lies in mastering the moment when the two join. The method of gathering is to cause water to arise from within fire and fire to arise from within water, and in this the art of reversal is employed.

“Dragon and tiger” are also alternative names for water and fire. The scriptures further say that the “dragon” belongs to wood and the “tiger” to metal. If they belong respectively to metal and wood, why is the heart taken as the dragon and the kidneys as the tiger? Why is kidney Qi easily depleted, and why is the fluid of the heart hard to accumulate? The so-called “moment of joining” is the time for applying effort in cultivation; the joining of dragon and tiger is also the joining of the Qi of the sun and the moon. The Qi of the heart and of the kidneys naturally also has its moment of joining. As for what is called “probing and gathering,” what exactly is to be gathered, and from where is it gathered? Can what is gathered be seen, and can it be made clear by a name? That “water is born in fire and fire is born in water” is indeed the method of reversal, but how can this be accomplished within the human body? I hope each point will be explained in detail, one by one.

The meaning of this passage can corroborate what was said before. Fire is born from wood, and metal is born from water, just as a son succeeds his father and thereby obtains his true nature. Yet water and fire have not yet been harmonized; if they do not pass through the transformation of joining, the two cannot convert into one another and take effect. This is precisely the crucial wondrous method of “water born in fire and fire born in water.” By circulating and transforming through fire, one can bring water into being; this oral formula cannot be set down with brush and paper.

The book says that the medicinal ingredients required for Neidan (internal alchemy) come from the heart and the kidneys, and that everyone possesses them. The spiritual embryo (the inner embryonic origin formed through cultivation) is gestated within true Qi (vital energy, the source-breath of life), just as there is a pearl within the dragon and yellow within the ox. Neidan takes the yellow sprout as its foundation; once the yellow sprout emerges, the internal elixir can be refined to completion.

Fang Wen examined this claim on the basis of the Danjing (Elixir Scriptures) and consulted the writings of the exalted perfected (a Daoist honorific for those who have attained the Way) in the Guxiu lu (Records of Ancient Cultivation). He held that the so-called medicinal ingredients do not lie between the heart and the kidneys. If the ingredients were between the heart and the kidneys, then everyone would be able to form a spiritual embryo. Yet neither solitary Yin nor lone Yang can give rise to creative transformation: by what principle does the dragon produce its pearl? And through what cultivation does the ox come to possess its yellow? As for the yellow sprout, one does not know what it actually is, or whether it can be seen. Why is it called the “yellow sprout”? The yellow sprout is the initial foundation of the great elixir. After the yellow sprout has been obtained, one must continue cultivation in accordance with the firing schedule (the mastery of pace and timing in elixir refinement); only then can Neidan be completed. By what method, then, can the yellow sprout be made to emerge?

Since the medicinal ingredients are not within the heart and the kidneys, where should one seek them? The respective functions of the heart and the kidneys each have their own root. The dragon does not hear with its ears but hears with its mouth, and is also skilled at inward contemplation; the ox can stir its throat, but a human being cannot. Therefore, relying only on the medicinal ingredients within the heart and the kidneys, one cannot refine the true elixir.

The book further says: Bring the dragon and the tiger into conjunction, and discern the elixir medicine. There is mercury within cinnabar, and silver within lead. When lead and mercury unite and undergo refinement, the elixir is naturally brought to completion.

To bring the “dragon and tiger” into union, one must first discern clearly what the “elixir” is. If the elixir has not yet been identified, how can the dragon and tiger be made to conjoin? The dragon and tiger spoken of here are the elixir itself. Only after the elixir has been recognized can one speak of the union of dragon and tiger.

Cinnabar contains mercury, and lead contains silver: this is what is called the elixir. Yet the mercury here is not ordinary mercury. The scripture (jing) says, “Common mercury and common lead need not be painstakingly manipulated.” That is precisely the point. What is called gentle refining is the fire timing (huohou). How the fire timing is to be mastered is nowhere stated explicitly in the books; they mention only “tempering and refining.” When, then, should the fire be applied, and how should it be applied? Detailed guidance is hoped for.

The reply: What is discussed here is the fire timing, and it also involves the teaching of “using the hun to govern the po.” If one understands using the hun to govern the po, one can discern the essentials of the fire timing. In the application of fire timing, a single double-hour may be taken as one month, and a single quarter-hour as one day; it is not necessary to reckon by the long accumulation of years and days.

The book says, “The method of extracting and replenishing lead and mercury must rest on a thorough understanding of the workings by which Heaven and Earth operate.”

Generally speaking, to speak of extracting and replenishing indicates that the medicinal substances are already in the furnace. What is called extraction and replenishment refers to increase and decrease in the regulation of the fire timing. To understand the workings of Heaven and Earth is to accord with the regularities of the sun and moon in their movement, their advance and retreat, and their transformations.

The scripture says, “A thousand scriptures and ten thousand discourses all expound the principle of ultimate truth, yet they do not write the fire timing into the written word. To grasp the subtle oral instructions within, one must discuss them carefully with the immortals.” From ancient times, the fire timing has never been set down in writing. I earnestly ask that you transmit the oral instructions in a dream, or instruct me in person. Although the written text has already been understood, there is concern that the grasp of it is not accurate; when cultivation is truly undertaken, deviations may still arise. Today I am fortunate to encounter an immortal, and I sincerely seek instruction, wishing thereby to check and correct what I have learned. This is truly a great honor. I respectfully submit this writing and request your reply.

The fire timing within the “intercepting method” should likewise be explained through instruction given face to face.

Note: “Dragon and tiger,” “lead and mercury,” “elixir,” “furnace,” and the like are all technical terms in the art of Neidan (internal alchemy). They refer to body and mind, the medicinal substances, and the modes of refining and nourishing in the course of cultivation, and should not be understood simply as the actual smelting of minerals.

I respectfully pay homage to the True Master. In former days at Yuzhang, the True Master once exchanged verses with the assembled immortals: “The sharp tip of the blade divides into two horns, and the Golden Elixir (Jindan) that flies up then falls. One must still wait until mid-autumn in the eighth month; be sure to keep it firmly in mind, and do not forget.” The poem further says: “The sharp tip of the blade divides into two horns; the Golden Elixir is formed at the two horns and is brought to completion only upward.” All of these words concern the superior great elixir (the advanced elixir method referred to in Daoist Neidan [internal alchemy] cultivation). Although I already know these sayings, I am not clear whether I have understood them correctly. I earnestly beg the True Master to tell me of the circumstances of your former cultivation and to grant instruction.

I have respectfully observed the True Master performing the “Three-Five Flying Steps” (a ritual stepping method of the Daoist kind that paces the stars and treads the Dipper). Could this be precisely the method spoken of in the Hidden Writings (secretly transmitted Fulu [talismans and registers] or ritual formulas)? Is it related to such matters as “the Thearch Lord of Grand Tenuity garrisoning Tianying, guarding the appointed time of prolonged years, and visualizing the Prime Aide”? Having seen the True Master perform these ritual services, I earnestly request your instruction.

I have further respectfully observed that the True Master has obtained the “Divine Formula of Xiayi.” Could this be an essential formula personally transmitted by Lord Lao, or a method concerning the Six Ding Jade Maidens (goddesses in Daoism who attend the divine generals)? I earnestly request guidance. Fang Wen respectfully sets this forth and requests a reply.

This passage concerns the key oral formula for cultivating Neidan (internal alchemy). Later people often rely on their own cleverness, invent mistaken explanations, and mislead those who come after them in studying the Dao, so that in the end the practice cannot be completed.

“The edge of a single blade” means metal concealed within water; “two horns” means wood concealed within fire. Only by using wood (the image of the Xun trigram) to lead fire can water be brought to a boil. The phrase “mid-autumn of the eighth month” in the text borrows the images and numbers of the eighth month and the fifteenth to express the principles of elixir refinement; it does not refer only to the fifteenth day of the eighth month itself. “Fifteen” is a number in the Hetu (the ancient diagram used to symbolize the numerical order of heaven and earth); the “eighth month” belongs to metal.

What is called “leading the spleen” likewise does not refer directly to the fifteenth day of the eighth month. “The flying steps of three and five” deliberately speaks of three and five, rather than three and six or four and five, because it points to the “Star of the True Person.” The Star of the True Person is the third star. In cultivation one must empty the self, make oneself a “True Person” (one who has attained the Dao), and hold to the completed number represented by three times three. Only when one can preserve and nurture the True Person can one then speak of transformation.

These statements are not the content of ritual arts such as the “Essential Formula of the Golden Mouth” or the “Jade Maidens of the Six Ding.” “Dingyi” is a form of address that conceals the original name: Ding belongs to fire, and yi also belongs to fire, so together they mean “fire within fire.” What is described here is the method of the firing process in which true fire is matched with ordinary fire. The author says that this secret was not transmitted to others and must be indicated separately.

The later text mentions that Fang Wen paid respects to a true teacher and saw him establish the Lingbao Jingming teaching; the content of the wondrous Dao of Lingbao is related to the Scripture of Salvation (Duren Jing). The ending of the original text, however, is repetitive and incomplete, so the latter half of the sentence cannot be fully explained.

Fang Wen respectfully observes that the True Master has raised up the teachings of Lingbao Jingming (Numinous Treasure Pure Brightness). The wondrous Dao (the Way) of Lingbao contains many teachings within the Scripture of Salvation (Duren Jing). I once tried to explore one or two of them, and I respectfully request that the True Master fully expound the doctrines of the Scripture of Salvation, so that it may become the root of the various teachings. Moreover, the cultivation of talismanic methods also depends on the continual accumulation of good deeds and merit. I have seen that the Scripture of Returning the Corpse and Raising the Dead of the Imperial Lord of the Nine Elders originally derives from the True Scripture of Salvation and likewise belongs to the methods of Lingbao. I earnestly request that the True Master bestow the authentic text of this scripture and teach it to the practitioners in the altar. Fang Wen respectfully submits this reply.

The Scripture of Salvation was first conferred by the Most High (Taishang) upon the Lord of the Dao (Daojun), and the Lord of the Dao in turn transmitted it to me. I have not yet fully grasped its mysteries, and so the Lord of the Dao directly pointed out the Jingming teachings, making them the key to the cultivation of saving others. They are like the root that governs the guiding principles, and they also contain principles of the utmost subtlety and wonder; if one cultivates diligently, one need not read too much. As the saying has it, “Break open a single pass, and one proceeds straight onto the great thoroughfare of the nine avenues”—do you understand what this means?

The scripture also speaks of the “Nine Heavens,” the “Three Heavens,” and the “Three and Nine.” These are all important mysteries, which you presumably do not yet understand. What is called the “Three and Nine” refers to the number twelve. Discard the “three” and take the “nine,” and one has the Nine Cauldrons (Jiuding, symbolizing the important cauldrons in cultivation); hold to the “three” and put the “three” to use, and one has the Three Passes (Sanguan, the three barriers spoken of in cultivation). This is precisely the method of the Three Ones (Sanyi): one generates three, and two generates four—that is, the application of the two Qi (vital energy) of Metal and Wood.

In the past, the Scripture of Returning the Corpse and Raising the Dead was one method of cultivation within the teachings of the Scripture of Salvation; the authentic texts now in circulation have become disordered and are almost beyond recognition. Certain meddlesome persons have altered them on their own authority, and so the chapter “Mirror of Qi” (Qijing) contains much that can mislead people. I recently wrote Affairs Concerning the Elixir Well (Danjing Yuanshi), but the proper time had not yet been settled; this scripture will still require a few more days before it can be published, and at that time I will finally transmit it to you.

“The radiant crimson Golden Elixir (Jindan) is completed in a single day.” This saying of the ancient immortals is indeed worthy of belief. To speak of cultivating for nine years, or for three, is merely to draw the days out. There are also those who say that with only a moment’s effort one may forever enjoy inexhaustible ease and joy. It is not yet known how many days must pass before this scripture can be carved and printed; when the time comes, I shall transmit it to you.

Others say: “Cast mercury into lead, then cast lead into mercury, and the transformations of Yin-Yang are complete—and this too takes only a moment.” They also say: “True lead is the gold within mercury.” A poem of the ancient immortals says: “People of the world do not recognize the gold within water.” And again: “Those who recognize it are true immortals.” From this one can see that if one obtains but a little true gold, one can become an immortal. In a poem of Lü Dongbin it is also said: “Seize the golden Jing (essence), and take it as the foundation for the cultivation of nature and life.” And again: “One must obtain true lead before Jia and Geng can be refined; in taking fire, take the marrow of the crimson phoenix of the south; in seeking water, seek the Jing of the black tortoise of the northern sea.”

From this it can be seen that water and fire are originally water and fire, each in itself; the water and fire of which the scripture speaks refer to the heart and the kidneys. True lead has a referent of its own and is not the water and fire of the heart and the kidneys. Only the refining of this true lead is the Great Dao (the Way). I hope a true master will compassionately instruct me, conceal nothing, and secretly transmit to me the exact secret method. Fang Wen presents this letter and respectfully awaits a reply.

The terms “lead,” “mercury,” “marrow of the crimson phoenix,” “essence of the black tortoise,” and the like are technical terms used in Neidan (internal alchemy) to express the essentials of cultivation. The text also points out that the “water and fire” spoken of in cultivation may correspond to the heart and the kidneys, while “true lead” refers to something else.

In the course of a single day, one takes and swallows the Qi (vital energy) of the Yellow Essence—the subtle Qi spoken of in the Yellow Essence method—amounting in all to eighty-one wen. What does “eighty-one wen” mean? It is nine multiplied by nine, representing the totality of the Qi of the Yellow Essence. If one wishes to know how to draw on the clear and the turbid Qi, one must apply effort to retain the turbid Qi and remove the clear Qi, and then swallow it. This is the eighty-one wen, that is, the total Qi of the nine-times-nine Yellow Essence. There is no other secret to cultivating this; it can be completed even in a moment.

It is further said that casting mercury into lead, and then casting lead into mercury, is the method of harmonizing creation and transformation. The Qi of the heart joins with the Qi of the kidneys, and the Qi of the kidneys in turn joins with the Qi of the heart; the two kinds of Qi draw on each other and unite as one. This cannot be separated from the “one-two metal” (in the text, a reference to such emblems of cultivation as metal and lead): it is the “child” within the lead. Understand its “mother,” and one thereby recognizes its “child.” The Qi of the left kidney rises to the liver, then reaches the lungs, enters the crown of the head, and from the crown returns to the center. What is called “five divisions above and below” means that the Qi as a whole ascends and returns to the mysterious place. From this one can understand that the metal of true lead corresponds to the meaning of Jia and Geng.

Fang Wen once received the Divine Method of the Five Thunders of the Most High. It is said to have been transmitted by a true master after he met Perfected Lord Wang Ling’an of the Jade Cavern at Mount Hua. Today only the true writs of five seals remain; the rest, the divine methods of the four directions used in jiao sacrifice (Zhaijiao, the Daoist purification ritual of setting up an altar to pray for blessings and offer sacrifice to the gods), are incomplete. Together with talismanic writs such as the Red Goose, the corresponding secret instructions have not been seen either, and so it is feared that this may not be an authentic transmission. He earnestly requests that the true master specially bestow a complete transmission. Fang Wen submits this writing in reply.

In sum, these methods are in the end no match for the Five Thunder Method of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) current today, and merely waste one’s effort in vain. The Five Thunder Method transmitted some days ago by the true master who oversees ordination is the essential secret among them.

From the year Guiyou, when Fang Wen was only twenty, he met a Daoist adept named Li from Xichuan. Hearing him speak of mercury, he consulted him and sought the method of investigating mercury. In the year Gengzi he met a Daoist priest named Chen from the Eastern Capital, who transmitted to Fang Wen the passages in the elixir scripture (Danjing) concerning lead and mercury. In the year Guimao he met Master Wang from Heshuo, together with several Daoist priests of the capital. He called on his fellow townsman, Academician Wang, and inquired into the principles of lead and mercury in the elixir furnace and into fire timing (huohou).

Last year, while Fang Wen was serving in office at Chongren, he met an outstanding disciple of Master Wang of Jiangzhou, who transmitted to him in detail the method of the fiery elixir. Fang Wen has already submitted a memorial to inform the Most High (Taishang) and has formed a bond with this elixir companion; together they have carefully discussed fire timing. Because the method of fire timing is not set down in writing and is passed on only by oral formula, Fang Wen now reports to his true master and asks the master to distinguish what is right from what is wrong and to clarify the exact essentials, so that Fang Wen may no longer be in doubt.

Fang Wen wishes to choose the year Gengxu to begin cultivation, so as to refine and complete the Great Medicine, and he earnestly begs the true master for guidance and instruction. Fang Wen now quietly inquires about the matter of fire timing and earnestly requests that the master set it forth in full and give a response. Fang Wen respectfully submits this memorial in reply.

If one has not yet mastered the methods of entry, it is easy to stray down many side paths. These matters are not extraordinary; I simply do not yet wish to speak of them all. Take, for example, the method of “gathering” (caiqu). One must first ask what medicine is to be gathered. Can it be seen and heard, or can it neither be seen nor heard? It may be that sometimes it can be seen and heard, and sometimes not. The crucial points lie in only one or two places.

“Fire timing” (huohou) refers to the method, in cultivation, of employing fire and of grasping the moment and the proper measure. Among its forms is celestial-cycle fire timing, arranged according to the movement of the celestial cycle (zhoutian). The essential method for refining the form is still not sufficient to complete the Golden Elixir (Jindan). If the elixir is to be achieved, one must clearly distinguish the fire timing within it, and there is likewise a corresponding method for the moment one first sets to work.

To understand what concerns the heart, one must trace it out from within the kidneys. True fire resides in the kidneys, and the lead cauldron (qianding)—an alchemical term for the site in internal cultivation that holds the medicine and gives rise to transformation—can then produce the golden liquid (jinye), the name given in Neidan (internal alchemy) to the essential substance. What is meant by “the lead cauldron produces the golden liquid”? Wood generates fire, and this is metal’s timing; metal generates water. Water and fire are the working of husband and wife joined together; metal and wood are the working of father and son joined together. Only when there are father and son is there a household. What is called the “household” is the elixir within the spleen.

For husband and wife to unite, however, they must be able to overcome one another. If they cannot overcome one another, they cannot be regulated; if they cannot be regulated, they cannot generate one another. The way to know this method turns on only one or two points. What is said of “one” and “two” still calls for careful reflection. For the moment I speak only of this aspect; if anything remains unclear, it may be explained by analogy.

Fang Wen respectfully requested instruction on the following questions.

In the sword formula, from which day does the mutual overcoming of metal and wood begin? From then on, must one practice visualization (cunxiang)—concentrated contemplation within the mind—every day? At what double-hour (shichen) should it be done, or is there no fixed double-hour? Is visualization practiced only on days of metal and fire? And what should be done at night?

From which day does one begin the casting and refining by which metal and water generate one another? Must one cast and refine every day, and is there a fixed double-hour? What should be done at night? After the mutual overcoming of metal and wood has begun, must one visualize every day thereafter? At what double-hour should it be done, or is there no fixed double-hour? Is visualization practiced only on days of metal and fire? And what should be done at night?

From which day does one begin the casting and refining by which metal and water generate one another? Must one cast and refine every day, and is there a fixed double-hour? What should be done at night?

How does one regulate and nourish oneself over the course of a year?

How does one grind the sword?

The expression “jin-shui, shui xiangsheng ri” refers to those days of the heavenly stems and earthly branches that correspond to the relations of mutual generation and mutual overcoming among the Five Phases (Wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water). “Heart transmission” means the secret oral formulas passed from master to disciple, mind to mind. In actual practice one should follow the master’s guidance; this is an esoterically transmitted art.

Someone asked: when practicing the Eight Arts of the Hidden Earth of the Cinnabar-Radiance Dao-Essence, the formal taboo-name—that is, the official proper name—and the hidden name of the Jade Emperor Dao-Lord used in inner cultivation differ from one another, and one does not recognize the celestial seal script, the seal-style writing used in Daoism. How, then, should one inquire about and distinguish the proper taboo-names of the Jade Emperors of the Eight Palaces?

The designations of the Eight Palaces, corresponding to the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), are these: the Gen palace is called “Taiqi”; the Zhen palace is called “Youtiao,” though some versions write “Youliao”; the Xun palace is called “Wuying”; the Li palace is called “Boshi”; the Kun palace is called “Yunzhu”; the Dui palace is called “Eryi” (二仪), though some versions write “Eryi” (二义); the Qian palace is called “Yuanfu”; and the Kan palace is called “Yinjing” (Yin Essence, Jing).

The titles of the Emperor Lord of Purple Clarity are read, respectively, as “Ming,” “Ting,” and “Ling.”

Although these designations differ, the names of the Eight Palaces are all concealed taboo-names of the Jade Emperor Lord of the Northern Dipper, and each should be used according to the palace to which it belongs. Their relation is like that of gold: while it is still in the stone it is called ore, and only after it is placed in the furnace and smelted is it called the elixir (Dan).

Someone further asked whether there is a quick method for summoning the Jade Maidens. The names and talismanic characters of the Six Ding Jade Maidens likewise differ in many ways, and instruction was earnestly requested.

The methods of the Jade Maidens all come from one and the same transmission, and those whose minds are sincere more readily obtain a response. Among the methods that survive today, the most reliable and free of error is, first of all, the White Ape Scripture (Baiyuan Jing).

(The original is repetitive and defective at this point; the above has been arranged and interpreted according to where the meaning runs continuously.)