《道法心传》

From childhood I was especially fond of cultivating the methods of the Dao (the Way). I spared no hardship in seeking teachers and receiving instruction, and I myself can no longer remember how many masters I studied under. People often ask where the essential meaning of the “one aperture of the mysterious pass” (in cultivation, the crucial locus of the Qi (vital energy) of body and mind) and of the “mysterious female” (the term Daoists use for the hidden, subtle root that gives rise to the myriad things) lies. Some take the place between the two kidneys, three inches below the navel, to be the mysterious pass, and take the Bright Hall, the Six Unions, the Dantian (energy center), and the mouth and nose to be the mysterious female. People also ask about the principle of the mutual generation and overcoming of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), and about the marvel of the surging transformations of water and fire. Some then say that writing Metal, Wood, Earth, Water, and Fire in the squares of a “well” grid and arranging them in an interlocking pattern is the mutual generation and overcoming of the Five Phases, and that throwing fired bricks and tiles together with a talisman into water and listening to the sound they make is the clashing and stripping of water and fire.

I turned these explanations over again and again and felt that they had probably not yet touched what is mysterious and subtle. I therefore inquired with a concentrated mind for more than thirty years, observing the gathering and dispersal of wind and cloud and the changes of the climate, and silently savoring the principle within them, until my heart suddenly opened in understanding and my joy could hardly be contained. It must have been a blessing stored up from a former life that I then met a person accomplished in the Dao; he spoke only a single sentence, and I was convinced beyond doubt.

The movement and stillness of heaven and earth, the courses of the sun and moon, the succession of the four seasons, and the growth of the myriad things all arise from the wondrous principle by which Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) flows and transforms. This principle is something even the sages find hard to describe in words; they can only, for lack of a better name, call it “Shen” (spirit). The Shen spoken of here is not the colors green, white, red, and black, nor is it fire or water, square or round. From antiquity to the present it has dwelt in the human heart. When the heart is clear and still, it appears; when the heart is stained and turbid, it withdraws. Thus, when Jing (essence) is settled, Qi is settled; when Qi is settled, Shen is settled. When Jing, Qi, and Shen are all three settled, the methods of the Dao are complete. Dispersed, it is like wind and cloud; gathered, it is like thunder. Manifested outwardly, it can become generals and clerks (the spirit-generals and attendant soldiers commanded in the methods of the Dao); drawn back within, it can form the Golden Elixir (the condensed state of Jing, Qi, and Shen attained through Neidan (internal alchemy)).

It is a pity that among later practitioners, some have strayed onto deviant paths, sunk into desire, and damaged their original truth, yet treat the words on paper as a secret treasure. This is like abandoning the real to pursue the false, or riding on an ox while searching everywhere for the ox. The Perfected Sa said: “A single point of numinous light is the talisman; people of the world mistakenly take ink and cinnabar to be the talisman. When spirit and essence do not scatter, primordial Yang is settled, and every kind of demon and anomaly is swept away of itself.” Celestial Master Xujing (Tianshi) said: “If Shen races outward, draw it back; when Shen returns into the body, Qi naturally returns as well. Continue in this way from morning to night, day after day, and of itself a true embryo like that of a newborn child will form.” What is more, every person has the root endowment for cultivating the Dao and is capable of it. How can one abandon oneself and willingly go down beneath the Nine Springs? It is truly cause for sighing.

I have therefore written this Transmission of the Heart, to clarify the principle and pass it on to later students. Should discerning elders read it, they will surely understand it in their hearts.

Composed on the Upper Prime Festival of the jiawu year of the Zhiyuan era by Wang Weiyi of Jingyang, a later student of Songjiang and an unattached clerk of the Thunder Ministry.

Primordial Ancestral Qi (Xiantian Zuqi)

When a person’s ears, eyes, mouth, nose, and body, together with activities of body and mind such as the spirit (Shen), the hun soul, the po soul, and intention, gather within the body at the Central Palace (the center of the body, the central position spoken of in cultivation), they transform into Primordial Qi (the source Qi [vital energy] that precedes acquired consciousness and the activities of physical form).

One’s Own Primordial Spirit (Yuanshen)

Before heaven and earth had taken form, the true self already existed. It has no form and no image, nor any name; it can pass through metal and stone without the least obstruction, like a point of numinous light that brightens wherever it reaches.

Spiritual Powers

Within the body and mind of every person there is a heaven and earth complete in itself, and in it a supreme sovereign. It commands the myriad spirits and brings the Three Realms into submission. If one does not recognize it, one merely toys in vain with one’s own essence (Jing), Qi, Shen, and souls.

Before heaven and earth had taken form, the true self already existed. It has no form and no image, nor any name; it can pass through metal and stone without the least obstruction, like a point of numinous light that brightens wherever it reaches.

Within the body and mind of every person there is a heaven and earth complete in itself, and in it a supreme sovereign. It commands the myriad spirits and brings the Three Realms into submission. If one does not recognize it, one merely manipulates in vain Jing, Qi, and the hun and po souls.

Wondrous Function

Ascending to heaven and entering the earth take only a moment; fire cannot burn it, and water cannot wet it. It fills the boundless void and embraces the myriad things; one looks for it but does not see it, and listens for it but does not hear it.

The Mysterious Female (Xuanpin)

There is an empty aperture, the root of heaven, earth, and the myriad things. It stretches on, dim and subtle, sealed so tightly that not even the wind seems able to pass through. It dwells in the hazy and the profound, yet holds every kind of image within it; the True Person (one who has attained the Dao [the Way]) appears inside the precious pearl.

True Earth

Between separation and union, True Earth (a term of Neidan [internal alchemy], the key that harmonizes Yin-Yang and allows cultivation to come together) is like the Yellow Dame (the symbol that mediates Yin and Yang). Even heaven and earth cannot alter it. One accompanies it all day long, yet does not know that one is being tempered by it.

The True Seed

Within the primordial there is a source substance called True Lead. It is generated in the Kun position (the position symbolizing Yin and earth) and planted in the Qian position (the position symbolizing Yang and heaven). After three years of gentle nurturing, once it matures, one may roam Penglai (the legendary mountain of the immortals) and become an immortal.

The True Furnace and Cauldron

Elixir refining has its own true furnace and cauldron; why insist on seeking them outside? When the mind grows quiet, the body naturally settles; when body and mind are both settled, one can see the Elixir Head (the sign in Neidan cultivation that the elixir is beginning to form).

The True Medicines

The three grades of superior medicine are no ordinary things; they arise when heaven and earth have not yet been distinguished. Only when the firing times (the grasp, in cultivation, of breath regulation, the degree of effort, and timing) are sufficient does the elixir mature; a snake swallows a single grain and turns into a dragon.

Dragon and Tiger as Borrowed Names

If the thoughts of the mind cannot be made single, it is hard to subdue powers like the dragon and the tiger, and the situation will be hard to control. If one understands the state of no-thought and no-mind, one should constantly guard the Primordial Spirit in the Inner Chamber (a Neidan term for the inner palace guarded in cultivation within the body).

What Are Lead and Mercury?

These two things, essence and spirit, are what are called lead and mercury (Neidan terms often used to indicate different elements of body and mind in cultivation). When one employs them, yet one does not see…

When thoughts are not held to a single focus, they are hard to subdue, like a dragon and a tiger locked in struggle, difficult to control.

If one understands the realm of no-thought and no-mind, one should constantly guard the primordial spirit, the innate source of Shen (spirit), and let it dwell peacefully in the bridal chamber—the place within the body that, in Neidan (internal alchemy), symbolizes the coalescence of spirit and Qi (vital energy).

Jing (essence) and Shen, these two, are called “lead” and “mercury,” metaphors in the art of Neidan. When one puts them to use, if one has not truly grasped them, their working cannot be seen; if one treats them as useless things, their subtle wonder is even harder to discover.

Transfer the substance within the Kan trigram of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), which symbolizes water and Yin, to replenish the emptiness of the Li trigram, which symbolizes fire and Yang, in the interplay of Yin-Yang. Shen and Qi circulate within, joined without the slightest gap.

The work with which cultivation begins lies in the single Yang, the sign that Yang Qi is just coming to birth. The moment this single Yang stirs, it unites with Xuanhuang, the state in which the Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth conjoin.

From this one obtains the single Qi of Prior Heaven, the source Qi born before physical form. Refine it into the Golden Elixir, and it becomes the most precious medicine.

The great Dao (the Way) is not distant; it lies within the human heart. One need not cross mountains and rivers to seek it far away.

To attain the Dao, one must first set the inner heart upright and reach the realm of pure Yang, undisturbed by the least admixture of Yin.

Only when Yin and Yang conjoin does the embryo begin to form; for ten months the Qi of Xuanhuang is sealed within and does not scatter outward.

Alas, the foolish forget the root and do not consider how they first came into the world.

The Qi of Prior Heaven gave me birth and nourishment; the Qi of Posterior Heaven sustains my life. The six thieves—the name, in Buddhist and Daoist usage, for the six sensory desires that disturb mind and spirit—assail one by turns day and night, leaving one dull and benighted.

If one recognizes that these two were never different to begin with, one can nurture and contain them, and at last mount a crane and ascend the Gate of Heaven, the symbol of attaining the Dao and rising as an immortal.

Within the body lies a priceless treasure: Jing, Qi, and the primordial spirit.

Care for them well, and remain lucid and aware at every moment. When Jing and Qi do not leak outward and mind and Shen do not scatter, one can become a True Person, one who has attained the Dao.

When nature—a person’s innate nature and heart-spirit—returns to life, the source of life itself, one can cultivate immortality. Nurturing body and mind, one at last mounts a crane and ascends the Gate of Heaven.

Within the body lies a priceless treasure: Jing, Qi, and the primordial spirit.

Care for them well, and remain lucid and aware at every moment. When Jing and Qi do not leak outward and mind and Shen do not scatter, one can become a True Person.

When nature returns to life, one can cultivate immortality; if Shen leaves the body, the person dies, and this is truly lamentable.

If one wishes this body to endure and not die, one must quiet the mind and abide before undivided chaos—the state in which Heaven and Earth have not yet differentiated and the myriad things have not yet taken form.

Life is nature, and nature is life; nature and life cannot be separated for even a moment.

Before joy, anger, sorrow, and delight have appeared, the heart rests in a state of centered, upright, and peaceful balance. When cultivation reaches this central harmony, Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things each settle in their proper place.

Before a thought has arisen, there is the true mind; once deliberation stirs, it becomes the deluded mind, the mind disturbed by stray thoughts.

Only when deluded thoughts are brought to rest can one understand how spirit-consciousness recovers its numinous liveliness. Abiding thus, transcendent beyond the ordinary myriad things, even ghosts and spirits will revere and submit.

Though the myriad things all return to empty stillness, innate nature is not mere nothingness. Thoughts sink away into the Great Void, that vast and boundless realm of purity, stillness, and formlessness.

Neither coming nor going, and bound by nothing at all: let the golden crow (the sun) fly and the jade rabbit (the moon) rise, and all moves with perfect ease.

Hai Wood as the Kernel

When the wood of Xun (one of the Bagua, or Eight Trigrams, symbolizing wind and wood) is planted in autumn in the Palace of Hai (a symbol of cultivation that takes Hai as a direction or an hour), the vitality within it transforms and gives rise without end. One should understand that the place where Bo (the decline of the myriad things) and Fu (the return of Yang Qi, vital energy) go back to the root lies in the chaotic state before Heaven and Earth have yet been distinguished.

Zi and Hai Form the Child

Li (Fire) and Kan (Water) join and form the sacred embryo (the elixir embryo spoken of in the cultivation of Neidan, or internal alchemy). Only when the Qi of the hour of Zi arrives at the position of Hai does the embryo begin to take form. This “child” is then entrusted to the Yellow Dame (a Neidan term for the power that harmonizes Yin-Yang and brings about the union of water and fire) to be nurtured, until at last Shen (spirit) and Qi reach fullness and ascend to the Nine Bounds (the most remote heavenly realms).

People Misapply Their Effort

Rotting grass can turn into fireflies; fish can turn into dragons; and the cicada and the grub (the larva of the cicada) can likewise transform and drink the clear wind. Powers so vast belong to human beings alone—yet those who are lost apply their practice in the wrong place.

Forgetting the Root and Chasing the Branches

Only when Zi and Hai meet does the embryo begin to form. The child is then entrusted to the Yellow Dame to be nurtured, until at last Shen and Qi reach fullness and ascend to the Nine Bounds.

People Misapply Their Effort

Rotting grass can turn into fireflies; fish can turn into dragons; and the cicada and the grub can likewise transform and drink the clear wind. Powers so vast belong to human beings alone—yet those who are lost apply their practice in the wrong place.

Forgetting the Root and Chasing the Branches

Only when the Jing (essence) and blood of father and mother unite does the human body come into being; yet people do not draw near their own original face (their innate nature). Coveting fame and chasing profit, they exhaust an entire life, and after death they must still be willing to endure suffering.

Entangled by Love and Desire

Everyone has the possibility of becoming an immortal, yet, entangled by love and desire, they cannot advance in cultivation. When the great limit arrives, you must in the end depart; all of it is like a dream, and at last one returns to the Yellow Springs.

Kindness and Affection Intertwined

From kindly affection harm is born, and harm in turn is bound up with kindly affection; kindness and harm interweave and form the gate of life and death. Only when matters reach their extreme does one begin to repent and awaken—better to return to one’s innate nature and go back to the source.

Afflictions and Delusive Thoughts

Afflictions and delusive thoughts arise from craving and ignorance. Once a thought arises, if one is slow to become aware of it, one is easily drawn along by it. Accord with change and do not cling in stubborn resistance; the mind is then naturally pure, and deviant thoughts dare not follow.

Body and Mind in Bonds

Hauling firewood and carrying water, the days pass one after another, while body and mind remain bound and cannot be free. Only those of penetrating understanding grasp the principle in this, and can tuck a flower in the hair and drink wine, living with easy, unrestrained grace.

Form Is Emptiness

People do not understand the principle that “form is emptiness” (that whatever has form ends in emptiness and illusion); they think only of adorning, in every possible way, this painted skeleton.

Always keep the eye of the Dao (the Way) open—the wisdom-eye that discerns the Great Dao—and look upon the myriad things of the world as empty and void. Do not take teachings precious as bright pearls and casually cast them before those who do not know how to cherish them.

Vexation Harms Shen (spirit)

I urge you to hold joy in the heart and not be forever vexed. Know that vexation wears away the mind and spirit. Even while dwelling in the dusty world, rest content with whatever comes and draw in your sharp edge; live in accord with your own circumstances, and keep the heart ever as easeful as spring in all four seasons.

The Affairs of the World Are Always Empty Splendor

The affairs of the world are tangled and confused, like a mass of hemp. Consider them carefully, and in the end they are all hollow and impermanent. Better to withdraw early, and recognize that Penglai (the immortal mountain of Daoist legend) is one’s true home.

Finding Joy in Oneself

Often play the holeless flute (in Daoist verse, an instrument symbolizing a music beyond ordinary pitch and measure), and draw the azure luan and the white crane to sport along with you. Drink a few cups of mellow wine with full enjoyment, then take your leave and return, and within the grotto-abode seek out Xiyi (the state, in Daoist teaching, that is hard to perceive and cannot be named).

The Cycle of Birth and Death

The river of passion is boundless in breadth, and the sea of desire is bottomless in depth. How many people of the world drown in them, turning back and forth without cease through birth and death—when will it ever stop?

Awaken and Cultivate Early

Hauling the rope and drawing the plow, it is a good ox, able to bear the toil of tilling; driven and whipped by others, it feels no shame. Then one day it is suddenly sent to the slaughter, and only then does it regret that it did not cultivate earlier.

The Body Is a Great Affliction

I come and go in the cycle of birth and death only because a deluded stirring gave rise to this body. Every kind of great affliction arises from this, and every kind of suffering follows; only by returning to the root and reverting to the origin can one transcend the dusty world.

The Six Thieves Vex and Harm

The six thieves (in Buddhist and Daoist tradition, the eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, so named because they lead one to chase after objects and create karma) lodge in the body and constantly disturb the human heart. Do not let thoughts of good and evil pull you along. When all melts away and leaves no trace, what appears is the true golden light of one’s original nature.

To Be a Person Is Not Easy

Quiet your mind and consider: to live as a human being in the world is truly not easy, for the feelings and affairs one passes through take a thousand forms and ten thousand kinds. Only when one reaches the place where the waters end and the mountain path ends as well does one begin to find peace of body and mind.

When the Ore Is Exhausted, Gold Appears

The human heart should always accord with the heart of Heaven. Grinding an iron pestle into a needle calls for long and deep effort. Only when the refining fire is done, the smoke has cleared, and the impurities are all removed does true gold show itself.

When a Thought Goes Astray, Conduct Goes Astray

The mind-monkey and the will-horse (a metaphor for thoughts that are disordered and hard to control) tug at one another. Through all twelve double-hours, do not act from deluded impulse.

The moment a single thought begins to stray, one must at once become alert and correct it. Even the slightest deviation may leave a person dazed and confused. To accord with the heart of Heaven requires profound and persistent effort, like grinding an iron pestle into a needle.

Only when the furnace fire has burned out and every impurity has been refined away does what remains prove to be true gold.

When a thought goes astray, correct it at once

The mind is like an ape, and thought like a galloping horse; the two race on without rest. Throughout the twelve double-hours of the day, one must not act recklessly.

The moment a single thought begins to stray, one must at once become alert and correct it. Even the slightest deviation may leave a person dazed and confused.

Do not grow suspicious of spirits in every matter

Zhang Hu saw a pig caked in mud, and the cart seemed loaded with ghosts and strange beings. He grew alarmed and uneasy, and everything before his eyes turned chaotic and frightening.

The world is not, of itself, so full of troubles. Why deliberately give rise to suspicion in oneself?

The body cannot last

The human body is only a temporary gathering of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—and does not truly belong to oneself. One’s sojourn in the dusty world is not long either.

Whether in joy and delight or in sorrow and anxiety, one must know how to steady oneself in good time, and not wait until events are at hand before panicking and making a disgrace of oneself.

Knowing how to settle the body

One must master the skill as in turning somersaults or climbing a high pole. Digging down into the earth and seeking the sky follow the same principle.

Only when the myriad things return to stillness does a true realm, unlike the ordinary, reveal itself. Once one arrives there, the human world’s turmoil over life and death no longer concerns one.

The clay god seizes the dragon

A deity molded of clay enters the water, gathers in the light, seizes the fierce dragon, and bears it up to Yujing (the celestial capital of Daoist legend).

One must master the skill as in turning somersaults or climbing a high pole. Digging down into the earth and seeking the sky follow the same principle. Only when the myriad things return to stillness does the true realm reveal itself; once one arrives there, the human world’s turmoil over life and death no longer concerns one.

The clay god seizes the dragon

A deity molded of clay enters the water, gathers in the light, seizes the fierce dragon, and bears it up to Yujing.

There is no need to strike with the fist; it can still be shattered to pieces. When the moon’s reflection rises in the sea, the tide lies calm and still.

The iron ox plants lotuses

The iron ox plows the field and plants golden lotuses, without exertion and without spending money.

The waters of the Heavenly River irrigate them of themselves. When the flowers bloom, their fragrance spreads as though it filled heaven and earth.

Playing with string-pulled puppets

Human life is like a puppet drawn by silken threads, rushing about in busy confusion, not master of itself, and not daring to step aside.

One day the threads suddenly break, and the person can never rise again. Children and grandchildren fill one’s sight—what help can they be then?

People driven by wealth

All their lives people bustle about, driven by money and goods: vexed when they lose them, delighted when they gain them.

A person has many faces, shifting like ghost masks. Look closely, and they are all in fact yourself.

In seeking learning, earlier and later do not decide

One may conceal one’s tracks and apply oneself in silence. Others may not notice, yet one must not on that account deceive oneself. Study may begin sooner or later, but learning itself differs in depth and quality.

Before having inquired deeply or pursued the subtle principles, one casually passes judgment before others.

People differ as the wise and the foolish

In pursuit of learning I set down these words of heart-to-heart transmission and, heedless of disclosing the secrets of Heaven, speak them outright. A kind and sincere person who reads this far will grasp it in silence; when mind seals mind, the worthy and the foolish can be distinguished.

When there is nowhere to seek instruction, one travels about visiting renowned teachers, bows before a hundred masters, inquires into profound principles, and then freely passes judgment before others. People differ, each being worthy or foolish.

In pursuit of learning I set down these words of heart-to-heart transmission and, heedless of disclosing the secrets of Heaven, speak them outright. A kind and sincere person who reads this far will grasp it in silence; when mind seals mind, the worthy and the foolish can be distinguished.

When there is nowhere to seek instruction, one has bowed before a hundred masters, some of whom can only talk in grand, empty phrases. Ask about the east and they answer about the west; words and intentions fail entirely to meet.

One must oneself resolve upon hard effort. I was especially fond of cultivating the Thunder Rites (the Daoist arts of summoning thunder gods into service and performing thunder magic), yet I was distressed that, among the rivers and lakes, there was nowhere to seek instruction. Only after thirty years of diligent practice did worry and fear finally leave my heart.

How is one to practice and uphold the methods? First, keeping the precepts must be the foundation; next, one must observe the statutes of Heaven and must not act recklessly. To bring the thunder gods to respectful submission, one must undergo a trial like the striking of thunder, laying the inner heart bare and submitting it to examination.

The cultivation of merit and virtue should be placed first. In practicing the methods and seeking to become an immortal, one must first accumulate meritorious conduct; by relieving the people and rescuing them from suffering, one may ascend to Heaven even in broad daylight.

What is said must be done—why urge it again and again? If in this life one misses the chance to cultivate, one will forever fall into delusion.

The Dao (the Way) is the substance of the methods, and the methods are the functioning of the Dao. When substance and function are both carried into practice, the Three Realms can be brought into unity.

The ancestral master (the honorific in Daoism for the founder of one’s own lineage, or for the patriarch who transmits the methods) establishes the methods in the heart; once the method of the heart is penetrated, all the various methods are penetrated as well. Subdue malign spirits by the orthodox Dao, and they submit of themselves. Only then does one understand that even flowers and the moon would stand in awe of Lord Liang.

Why are the ritual arts efficacious? And on what grounds are the generals and commanders efficacious? The key lies in one’s own Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit)—the vital essence of life, the breath, and the spirit of which Daoism speaks. When Jing and Qi gather and coalesce, Shen rests secure; in this way a thousand demons and ten thousand monsters turn to dust.

Only by exhaustively investigating the principles of things and fully unfolding one’s innate nature can one understand the Mandate of Heaven. Not understanding these principles is the greatest affliction of all.

The kite soaring on high, the fish diving to the depths, and the immortal crane calling in the shade—these are all scenes of the natural working of heaven and earth. Grasp the principle within them, and one can pass beyond the ordinary and enter the realm of the sage.

The Meeting and Union of Yin-Yang

Observe the Way of Heaven and move in accordance with it. Only when Yin-Yang meet and unite can things begin to grow.

Today I have explained all these words to you plainly. You must on no account take them for ordinary talk.

Humans Fall Short of Other Creatures

Human beings are called the most spiritual of the myriad things, yet at times they prove inferior to other living creatures. Consider the snake: it holds a stone in its mouth, lies hidden, and does not emerge until spring.

Concealment in Accord with Thunder

If one would cultivate thunder methods, one should accord with the season of thunder, remaining concealed and cultivating in seclusion. Only when practice reaches the point of accomplishing the creative transformations of heaven and earth may one put thunder methods into effect.

Seals, Mudras, and Implements

Talismanic diagrams, seals, and mudras are all implements for the performance of ritual. If, while using them, one deliberately visualizes and repeatedly stirs up thoughts, one only adds a clutter of concerns. Only when the mind within is silent and unmoving can one discern the heart of Heaven; when a response comes, one naturally penetrates the matter and grasps the subtlety within it.

Sacrificing to Generals Summons Evil

Taking life in order to sacrifice to the thunder generals will instead call evil spirits to appear in visible form. Those who are upright and keep to the Dao (the Way) do not act in this way. Conducting oneself with utmost sincerity, the response can ascend to Heaven, and one grasps the subtlety within.

Sacrificing to Generals Summons Evil

Taking life in order to sacrifice to the thunder generals will instead call evil spirits to appear in visible form. Those who are upright and keep to the Dao do not act in this way; through utmost sincerity one can reach up to Heaven.

Talisman-Water Is Efficacious of Itself

The cinnabar and ink on the Fulu (talismans and registers) cannot of themselves make talisman-water efficacious. What makes it efficacious is primordial Qi (vital energy)—the fundamental original Qi. Only one who knows how to let the methods change with circumstances and apply them flexibly has truly understood their principles. Treating illness by means of the niwan—a term of Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) for the upper Dantian (energy center) in the head—can also bring a person to peace.

Raise the Mind, and It Is So

When Shen (spirit) and Qi have been cultivated to fullness, the divine generals one commands are naturally efficacious. What need is there, then, to close the eyes and concentrate the spirit? At the moment a thought arises, spiritual intent can reach through the vast expanse; that single point of numinous light never departs from one’s own person.

The Waning and Waxing of Yin-Yang

If one constantly observes the turning of the handle of the Northern Dipper across the vault of heaven, one can see Yin Qi receding and Yang Qi increasing, the two moving in alternation. The transformations of Yin-Yang form the four seasons and the eight nodes—the eight seasonal divisions by which the ancients marked the times of the year—and they also bring forth the medicines used in cultivation. The mystery within is hard to put into words.

Bo and Fu, Above and Below

The creative transformations of heaven and earth lie stored within the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). From the cyclical changes of the hexagrams Bo and Fu spoken of in the Yijing, the Classic of Changes, creation thereby puts forth its wondrous working. When the count of the six Yang reaches fullness, they return to the position of Kun; thunder is stirred, and the dragon within Kan rises with it.

Thunder Then Gives Voice

The Qi of heaven turns from yin to brightness; the wind of Xun brings warmth, and the moist Qi of the north rises with it. When the Qi of the single Yang reaches the position of Zhen, divine thunder issues forth. Thunder Qi lies stored within Kun, and thus the sound of thunder is heard.

When Fire Flourishes, Thunder Moves

Only when the Qi of Wood meets flourishing Fire Qi does heat arise. The south wind, pent up and surging, stirs the Qi of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).

After the transformations of thunder and lightning have been set in motion, cold Yin Qi (vital energy) arises at once, and the causes of these changes are often not easy to discern.

What Is Leiting

Yang Qi is thunder, and Yin Qi is the lightning-peal. The two breaths of Yin and Yang (Yin-Yang) wax and wane. When the Yang Qi within Yin Qi accumulates to its extreme, it must be released; stirred into turmoil, it then gives forth a sound that shakes heaven and earth.

The Key to Recognizing Thunder and Lightning

The changes of wind, cloud, thunder, and rain are often not easy to see clearly.

What Is Leiting

Yang Qi is thunder, and Yin Qi is the lightning-peal. The two breaths of Yin-Yang wax and wane. When the Yang Qi within Yin Qi accumulates to its extreme, it must be released; stirred into turmoil, it then gives forth a sound that shakes heaven and earth.

The Key to Recognizing Thunder and Lightning

Wind, cloud, thunder, and rain all lie hidden within a single crux, yet most people do not understand the secret of this crux. The Qi of Yin and Yang clash and strip one another and spread across the sky, like a formation of dragons churning, with baleful Qi and wind and rain arriving together, until a thunderbolt crashes forth.

What Is Wind

The movement of the heavenly bodies and the circulation of breath transform into wind. Wind has different directions: south, north, west, and east. Wind can bring vitality, and it can also cause breakage and ruin; it can turn the weather clear, and it can also bring rain. If one understands the proper moment for prayer, the rite takes effect swiftly.

What Is Cloud

After earthly Qi rises, it undergoes different changes: when it disperses it becomes Qi, and when it gathers it forms cloud. After the rain stops and the sky clears, cloud-Qi still rises from among the mountains and rivers. To observe the changes of cloud, one must note the hour at which it appears and know the pattern within it.

What Is Thunder

Ripe fruit falls and the myriad things arise, each in its own season, and the principle in this must be carefully examined. The ground, pent up, sends forth steam and produces damp Qi; when the Qi of Yin and Yang surge against each other, thunder is aroused.

What Is Rain

In dryness, wind readily forms; in moisture, rain readily forms. These changes cannot be separated from earthly Qi. One may observe how vapor rises when rice is steamed: once the heat reaches the proper degree, the transformation occurs of itself.

What Is Lightning

Yin Qi rises and Yang Qi descends, and the two cannot get through to each other. Water and fire steam and sear one another, and lightning then flashes swiftly past. A gleam of golden light reveals a marvelous transformation; only afterward does the sound of thunder arise, and the breath is at last released.

Heming Qihou

To pray for clear skies or for rain, one must understand Heming Qihou (the method of observing changes in the weather and discerning the timing of heaven). When the Qi of the five directions overcome one another, wind and cloud conjoin. By shouting and issuing commands, the practitioner drives the thunder gods to act according to those orders.

Understanding Wind and Cloud

The wind among the mountains communicates with the breath and can raise cloud and rain. Once the Heavenly Pass (Tianguan; here the pivotal aperture where the Qi-mechanisms of heaven and earth meet) is set in motion, wind is born. If one understands the crux of these changes, thunder and rain will of themselves spread across the sky.

Predominance of a Single Qi (vital energy)

A single current of primordial Qi—the fundamental Qi by which all things are generated and set in motion—moves back and forth, and it then becomes clear which side of Yin-Yang has gained the upper hand. Where one side predominates, it should be turned back and restored to balance; yet to whom can this principle be explained in full?

Unevenness of the Clear and the Turbid

A single Qi circulates again and again, and within it there is clear Qi as well as turbid Qi. Clear Qi rises and turbid Qi sinks, and both must be kept in balance. When Yin Qi is excessive and Yang Qi is deficient, continuous overcast rain results; when Yang Qi is overabundant and Yin Qi is weak, the weather stays clear for a long time.

Generation and Restraint among the Five Phases

One, two, three, four, five: among the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), Earth occupies the center and plays the leading role. One who understands the mechanism by which the Five Phases generate and restrain one another—each fostering and checking the others—can, as if issuing a command, call forth thunder and rain.

Brightness and Dimness Opposed

Brightness gives rise to dimness, and dimness in turn becomes brightness. When the changes of light and dark are clear and distinct, they are borne out in rain or fair weather. Yin-Yang originally emerge from Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), the origin in which Yin and Yang are not yet divided. By carefully examining how near or far apart they stand, and which transformations come first and which follow, one can discern the pattern within.

Water and Fire Must Be Balanced

Fire Qi gathers as the sun moves to mid-heaven, while Water Qi is generated within the moon. The Qi of water and fire must be kept in equilibrium; as soon as one side gains the upper hand, the harmony of Yin-Yang is disrupted.

The Waxing and Waning of Yin-Yang

Primordial Qi circulates between Heaven and Earth, and it too has its phases of waxing and waning. The Yellow Bell (Huangzhong, the first of the ancient twelve pitch-pipes) marks the seasons and solar terms by ash blown from the pitch-pipe. The regular movement of Yin-Yang must not be thrown into disorder, or anomalous celestial phenomena will appear, such as frost flying in the sixth month and thunder in the tenth month.

The Moon Gives Rise to Fair Weather and Rain

When the moon appears in the geng position—a position in the ancient system that correlates the Heavenly Stems with directions, the counting of days, and the like—the face of the moon takes a sideways, flattened form: before the first-quarter moon, rain tends to fall; after the first-quarter moon, the weather tends to clear. If one can further discern the subtle, hidden transformations of the creative process, then even on hearing a magpie’s call or a crow’s cry one may judge in advance that the weather will turn fair.

Daylight Turns to Cold Qi

Broad daylight turns to blazing heat, and blazing heat in turn turns to cold; a south wind may also shift into a north wind. Yin-Yang change back and forth—who can fully comprehend them? One who truly understands the patterns of Yin-Yang transformation will not be obscured by them.

The Five Peaks Communicate with Heaven

In Heaven, celestial phenomena appear; on Earth, landforms take shape; and primordial Qi circulates without cease. The Five Sacred Mountains—the Eastern Peak, Mount Tai; the Western Peak, Mount Hua; the Southern Peak, Mount Heng; the Northern Peak, Mount Heng; and the Central Peak, Mount Song—harbor the Qi of divine spirits and can commune with the creative process. When jia and geng meet, primordial Qi can call forth thunder.

The Four Seas Correspond to the Apertures

Each of the Four Seas has its apertures, opening directly to Heaven; in Heaven they correspond to the stars, and on Earth they correspond to the tides. Between one exhalation and one inhalation, there can form…

The Five Peaks Communicate with Heaven

In Heaven, celestial phenomena appear; on Earth, landforms take shape; and primordial Qi circulates without cease. The Five Sacred Mountains harbor the Qi of divine spirits and can commune with the creative process. When jia and geng meet, primordial Qi can call forth thunder.

Four Seas Corresponding to Their Openings

Each of the seas of the four directions has an aperture that opens straight onto the high, distant sky. The stars in heaven and the tides on earth respond to one another.

Within a single breath out and a single breath in lies a subtle principle. Taken together, the two hexagrams Zhun and Meng, images in the Yijing (Classic of Changes), symbolize the alternation of dawn and dusk and the cycle of day and night.

Observing the Heavens Above

Looking up at the patterns of heaven, one finds that Heaven does not speak a word, yet the four seasons proceed as usual. The host of stars turns day and night without rest.

Once the celestial signs display omens of good or ill fortune, why do people not examine them carefully and seek to understand?

Examining the Earth Below

The number of Heaven is one, and by it things are born; the number of Earth is two, and by it things are brought to completion. Even wild flowers and wild grasses correspond to the stars above.

A store of numinous, refined Qi (vital energy) lies within the mountains, rivers, seas, and great peaks. Amid flourishing Qi, the power by which nature operates, all things display their own forms.

The Circulation of Creative Transformation

Five days make one hou, a period for observing changes in the climate; two hou make one qi; three qi make one solar term. All these divisions have their reason.

The transformations of Yin-Yang extend throughout the circuit of the whole heaven. If one savors the principle within carefully, its meaning proves deep and lasting.

A Subtle Principle Hard to Put into Words

The sun travels to the station of Qian, the northwest among the directions of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), corresponding to the interval between the wei and shen hours. At night it turns from the station of Kan, in the north, toward the yin station in the northeast.

Fire is used to steam water, and water to restrain fire; the working and the changes of water and fire all follow a pattern. The dragon rises with Shen (spirit) and Qi, and a marvelous function is thereby revealed. The original phrase “水凶火” appears corrupt or incomplete, and can here be understood only according to the general sense of the context.

The Movement and Stillness of Heaven and Earth

When movement reaches its extreme, it turns to stillness; when stillness reaches its extreme, it turns again to movement. In the alternation of movement and stillness, a subtle function arises.

The weather of heaven brings clear skies and rain, and also the changes of wind and cloud. The course of the Dipper’s handle and of the Heart of Heaven presides over all these changes.

Before and After Clear Skies and Rain

Yang Qi stirs into motion and Yin Qi comes into being, each at its proper time. Though Yin and Yang are opposed, they depend upon each other throughout.

If one knows the causes and consequences of the shifts between clear weather and rain, then in prayer one can reach the spirits and respond in accord with the moment.

Yin and Yang in Clash and Wearing Away

Wind, cloud, thunder, and rain all arise from the changes of Yin and Yang. The force with which Yin and Yang agitate and wear each other away is truly not to be taken lightly.

Do not apply your effort only on paper. Only by examining the seasons of heaven in depth can you grasp the principle within.

Regulating Drought and Seepage

If the climate accords with the order of the seasons, there will be no imbalance of drought and flood. With even a slight deviation, the climate may be inverted and thrown into disorder.

To turn the Dipper’s handle and rotate the Celestial Pass, the pivot symbolizing the motion of the heavenly bodies, harmonizing Yin and Yang so that heaven and earth move smoothly, is to practice the great Dao (the Way).

Thunder Issuing from within the Earth

Thunder issues forth from within the earth.

Between Heaven and Earth the sun is paramount, while thunder originally arises from the Qi (vital energy) of the earth.

When earthly Qi grows pent up and steams upward, it surges outward, billows aloft, and turns into wind, cloud, and rain.

The Dragon Hidden in Pool and Cavern

The dragon lies concealed in deep pools and caverns. When earthly Qi becomes congested and steams upward, the dragon leaps forth.

When the dragon transforms into the sun, who would dare to make out the changes within so lightly?

Mist Turning into Cloud

When mist rises in the early morning yet out of season, prolonged overcast rain is very likely to follow.

Sometimes boundless watery vapor and cloud Qi rise. Though one may say the rainy season is at hand, the exact day still cannot be discerned.

Fiery Clouds Foretelling Clear Skies

After the wind rises, the sky is high and vast, and the Qi of the four seasons is clear and bright. Where fiery red clouds appear, fair weather is foretold.

When the sun travels to a place of vigorous strength, its light suffers no loss. Even if it turns gloomy for a time, rain may not actually fall.

Observing Changes in the Wind

In watching changes in the wind there are many different cases: rain may turn fair, and heat may turn cold.

Yin and Yang (Yin-Yang) decline and grow by turns, forming the order of the four seasons. The pivot of the Dao (the Way) of Heaven—the key to the movements and transformations of Heaven and Earth—is not to be pried into at will.

The Subsiding of Thunder

The Northern Dipper courses through the full circuit of heaven, and the handle of the Dipper points west. Metal Qi arises and Water Qi gradually waxes, corresponding to the daogui, a term in Daoist cultivation used figuratively for measure and proportion.

Yang Qi withdraws and Yin Qi increases, and the season is about to enter the phase of decline symbolized by the hexagram Bo (Peeling). The subsiding of thunder likewise accords with this change of season.

Praying for Snow with a Clay Ox

If one wishes to seek auspicious snow, one may mold an ox of clay and offer prayer. First observe the wind, then observe the rain, and from these judge the causes of the changes.

One should know that when thunder is stirred into motion, it often means that transformation is underway. The falling of six-petaled snowflakes is an auspicious omen, and it also accords with a definite pattern of the heavenly seasons.

Foreknowledge from the Gathering of Clouds

At night one observes cloud Qi like a dragon sporting with a pearl; by day one watches whether the cloud Qi gathers.

If prayer corresponds to the season, it will prove efficacious, and the subtle workings of Heaven and Earth’s movements will thereby be revealed.

A Respectful Inquiry into the Mysterious Pass, the One Aperture

The myriad methods return to a single aperture—in cultivation, the crucial pass—yet people of the world do not know it.

I had meant to speak it outright, yet I fear that once you hear it, doubt will arise in your heart.

A Respectful Inquiry into the One Qi of Prior Heaven

If one asks about matters of Prior Heaven (Xiantian), there is originally nowhere to begin; only upon entering the cultivation of Later Heaven (Houtian) is there work to be done.

With sincere reverence in the heart, clearing the mind and sitting in stillness at midnight, one may then come to experience the one Qi of Prior Heaven—the primordial original Qi of which Daoism speaks—manifesting from the Great Void (Taixu).

When Yin Qi is weak and Yang Qi abundant, drought results; when Yin and Yang are in harmony, the crops yield a rich harvest.

When Yang Qi is weak and Yin Qi abundant, it turns to flood; when Yin and Yang fall into disorder, eclipses of the sun and moon appear.

The Five Thunders arise originally from the two Qi (vital energy) of Yin-Yang and take form according to the pattern of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). The Qi of Yin and Yang rise and fall with the seasons, answering the turning of the handle of the Northern Dipper, while the myriad things pass through sprouting, flourishing, gathering in, and lying hidden.

From the winter solstice, the Fu hexagram brings forth one yang, the Lin hexagram two yang, the Tai hexagram three yang, and the Dazhuang hexagram four yang. At the spring equinox the seasonal node turns: the Xun wind, the southeast wind, is stirred up, and the Qi of earth grows moist and steams. Once the first-quarter moon has passed, thunder begins to sound. Then the Guai hexagram brings forth five yang, and the Qian hexagram completes the six yang. When the Qi of Yin and Yang join, they must await a stirring before the command is issued; without the clash of water and fire and the contention of Yin and Yang, thunder and lightning cannot occur. Thus, when yang Qi reaches its extreme, yin Qi begins to grow.

From the summer solstice, the Gou hexagram brings forth one yin, the Dun hexagram two yin, the Pi hexagram three yin, and the Guan hexagram four yin. At the autumn equinox the metal wind is harsh and killing, and grasses and trees wither. Before the last-quarter moon has passed, thunder gradually falls silent. Then the Bo hexagram brings forth five yin, and the Kun hexagram completes the six yin. The myriad things return to the root and restore their mandate, preserving primordial Qi and nourishing vital spirit. When yin Qi reaches its extreme, yang Qi begins once more to grow. Thus the cycle turns without cease, and generation and transformation never end.

One who practices the Thunder Rites must understand Yin-Yang and know deeply the workings of creation; must grasp the pivot on which the movement and stillness of Heaven and Earth turn; and must understand the shifts of wind, thunder, and climate. One must also discern what wind, thunder, and rain are, why they arise, how they rise, from which direction they come, and in which month, on which day, and at which hour they respond. Only then can one know when to set in motion which division of the Thunder Rites, so as to call forth the awesome force of violent wind, sudden rain, and roaring thunder. Yet things rise and also lie hidden, lie hidden and also rise. By what power, after all, is this rising and subsiding driven?

I recall that Master Yichuan asked Shao Yaofu, “From where do this year’s thunder and wind arise?” That single sentence gathers up the subtlety of creation and deserves careful reflection. If one can penetrate this pivot, the other principles open from it; when one spirit is set in motion, the myriad spirits move in response.

The Xun quarter of the southeast is not the root from which thunder is summoned. To work the rite by direction alone is only to spend one’s spirit in vain. This pivot has neither form nor image. It has no before or after, no long or short; it cannot be measured as broad or narrow, nor divided into east, west, south, and north. It lies where Heaven and Earth meet and Yin and Yang mingle—the very root of creation’s working, which even ghosts and spirits can scarcely glimpse.

It is a pity that later students miss this level of the teaching and instead fix their attention on the fleshy apertures of the body. They cling to the Dantian (energy center; the place where intention is focused in internal refinement), the two kidneys, and the region below the navel, or stare at the Mud Pill (the site in the head indicated in internal refinement), and amid idle fancy suppose they have understood. This is far from the pivot of which I speak. Hence the saying: “Wind, clouds, thunder, and rain are stored in a single aperture.” Many do not recognize this aperture and simply work the rites without restraint, bringing on thunder and rain out of control, fierce baleful winds, and crashing thunderbolts.

If one observes the Dao (the Way) of Heaven and accords with Heaven’s seasons, the principle becomes clear of itself. When Yin and Yang fall out of harmony and the seasonal nodes go awry, yang Qi in excess and yin Qi insufficient produce drought, while yin Qi in excess and yang Qi insufficient become flood. The essence of the Thunder Rites lies in harmonizing Yin and Yang, freeing the mechanisms of Qi, and setting creation in motion: one shifts the Dipper’s handle and summons thunder and rain to relieve drought and revive the withered; one turns the Heavenly Pass so that wind and thunder arise and the yin gloom is scattered.

Today many study the methods, yet they often have no enlightened teacher and learn techniques in private from hearsay alone. They do not seek the true root within, but only chase the mysterious wording of books. They talk of abstruse principles, boast of themselves, belittle others, fail to match word with deed, and disregard the statutes of Heaven. The Three Officials—the deities of Heaven, Earth, and Water—therefore record their faults, and the Five Emperors, the Celestial Emperors of the five directions, set out their crimes. After death their souls fall into Fengdu, the underworld of Daoist lore, and undergo every kind of bitter retribution. Alas, cultivation and the practice of the rites are so difficult; how can one fail to stand in awe? Let those who study afterward be cautious and exert themselves.

Set forth on the day of the Upper Prime in the jiawu year of the Zhiyuan era by Wang Weiyi, styled Jingyang, a later student of Songjiang and a scattered clerk of the Thunderclap.

Although dull in natural endowment, I have been fortunate to enter the methods of the Dao (the Way). I once met a person who had attained the Dao and received his instruction, and so I know a little of these methods. I often reflect on the words of the ancestral masters: in carrying out ritual techniques, one must employ the Primordial Unitary Qi (xiantian yi qi, the original vital energy before Heaven and Earth were formed) and take one’s own primordial spirit (yuanshen, the authentic Shen, or spirit, of the person) as what is put to use. These words point directly to a profound truth and can enlighten those who study afterward. It is a pity that some scholars are shallow in insight and have not awakened to this on their own; instead they fix their minds on visualization, supposing that to be where the mystery lies. They do not realize that this is to abandon the root and chase the branches, to forsake the real and pursue the false.

At first I too did not understand this principle, and I sought everywhere the written formulas handed down by famous teachers. Some taught the practitioner to swallow the character ti (啼) into the Dantian (energy center) and then expel it with the character chao (嘲); some taught one to visualize golden light and thereby circulate the Primordial Unitary Qi. Others taught one to hold in mind the fire of the heart and the water of the kidneys meeting in the Primordial Sea, congealing into an infant, and to take that infant as one’s own primordial spirit. None of these methods, as I see them, laid hold of the root.

Later I applied myself with arduous effort and was fortunate to meet a true teacher, who transmitted the “Single Aperture of Thunder” (leiting yiqiao, the crucial inner aperture in cultivating the Thunder Rites, or leifa) and explained its principle. I felt as though I had just awakened from drunkenness, and only then knew that most of what I had learned before was empty and vain. Afterward I also received a method from an emissary of Master Mo Yueding, and heard him set forth in detail the marvel of the Primordial. He said: “Is not what the Dao describes—the space between Heaven and Earth—like a bellows? Hollow within, it is never exhausted; the more it is worked, the more breath pours forth.” This speaks precisely of the pivot on which the workings of creation turn.

The tuo of the bellows may be compared to the human abdomen, and the yue to the mouth and nose. What is called “empty, yet never exhausted” refers to the Primordial Undifferentiated Ancestral Qi within the Zhonghuang (the inner region of cultivation in the middle of the body). Buddhists call it “the Mani Pearl of the Precious Lamp of the Sun of Wisdom”; Confucians call it “the flood-like Qi”; the Chan school calls it “the place where one settles oneself and establishes one’s destiny”; and those who cultivate perfection call it the Golden Elixir (jindan). The names differ, but what they indicate is in fact the same. It is also called the Spirit Chamber, the Elixir Valley, the Root of Heaven and Earth, the Ancestor of the Myriad Qi, and the Belt of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). It is vast and profound, dim and hard to discern; it has no division of inside and outside, depends on nothing, and has no fixed boundary. What is called “in motion, yet never exhausted” is like a bellows: once it is pumped, the wind-vent of itself gives forth the sound of breath.

Earlier I was honored to receive an oral formula from my ordination master, Master Tiebi, the gentleman Zou: “Block the Heavenly River, overturn the handle of the Dipper, draw water from the Cang Sea, and shake the Nine Provinces; use Qian (the Creative) to supplement Kun (the Receptive), and use Li (Fire) to fill Kan (Water). Gazing upward with eyes open is called Pi (Obstruction); looking downward with eyes closed is called Tai (Peace).” These sayings are often taken as shortcuts by those who do not understand the path; in fact they are all hidden pivots transmitted by the sages of old. If one forces an interpretation of them as heterodox, would that not be a mistake?

All my life I have studied the Thunder Rites, and I have never heard a principle explained more clearly than by Master Mo Yueding; I therefore often think longingly of his learning. Alas, I can never see the master again, and can only feel melancholy. While he lived, many sought to study with him, yet few received his true transmission—probably because they did not truly understand the Dao. I am now old and wish to leave the secret teaching in the world, yet I have no kindred spirit with whom I can speak freely; so I have drawn several diagrams, named them The Subtle Essentials of Daoist Methods (Daofa jingwei), and leave them for later generations. Should they meet a person of true discernment, that person will understand their essential purport of himself.

Diagram of Practicing and Upholding the Precepts (an illustrated explanation of cultivating the methods of the Dao and observing the precepts)

To cultivate the methods of the Dao (the Way), one must first keep the precepts and hold to them consistently from beginning to end. Persevering in this way, one may hope to become an immortal.

In cultivating the methods of the Dao, one should first receive and uphold the Ten Precepts, observing them in all everyday affairs without any lapse or offense. One should also relieve those sunk in greed and hardship and rescue those who suffer, accumulating merit and good deeds. In this way one can naturally move Heaven and Earth, so that spirits hold one in respect and ghosts and demons submit in awe—even to the point of commanding thunder and lightning and summoning wind and rain.

Nowadays some later students neither keep the precepts nor distinguish the orthodox from the deviant. They cling only to words and outward appearances and let their thoughts run wild. When by chance a little efficacy appears, they grow self-satisfied and inquire no further into where that efficacy truly comes from. In the end they attract baleful influences with deviant arts, and summon ghosts and demons by means of ghosts and demons.

Therefore the Perfected Sa (Sa Zhenren, a revered deity of Daoism) said: “The cultivation of the methods of the Dao must not be treated lightly. Reflect carefully on the weight of precepts and conduct, and it is enough to fill the heart with awe. For an iron tree to blossom after a thousand years is still easy; once one has entered Dengdu (the legendary citadel of the underworld), it is hard to return again to the human world.” He also said: “If one’s words are pure and upright but one’s conduct is foul, one should not speak of the Dao; to disregard the statutes of Heaven is to practice the methods rashly.”

The Perfected Baoyi (Baoyi Zhenren, a Daoist practitioner) said: “Someone asked, What is the method for subduing evil influences? The answer: Rectify yourself. Have you not heard? Even the sprites of flowers and moonlight dare not go to see Lord Liang (a man renowned for his integrity). If an upright gentleman already makes ghosts and spirits afraid, how much more so one who practices the methods of the Dao?” In the Xinzhuan lu (Record of Mind-to-Mind Transmission) I said: “First take the keeping of precepts and conduct as the foundation; next, abide by the statutes of Heaven and do not act recklessly. If you wish the Thunder Gods to respect and submit, you must strictly observe the precepts; when thunder and lightning crash, it is as though they too lay open and examine the human heart.”

Diagram of the Myriad Methods Returning to the Heart (an illustrated explanation of how the myriad methods are connected with the thoughts of the mind)

The myriad methods arise from the heart and are also extinguished by the heart. Only when one understands the source of their arising and their ceasing is the matter of life and death truly resolved.

The heart is the master of the whole person. Keeping the precepts and one’s conduct is the foundation; one must then abide by the statutes of Heaven and not act recklessly. Only in this way can one bring the Thunder Gods to respect and submit, just as, when thunder and lightning crash, they seem also to see into the human heart.

The heart is the master of the whole person and the root of every method of practice. Vast without limit, it can embrace heaven and earth, and it can also be so subtle as to hide in the smallest place. Cultivate the nature of the heart, and one may become a Buddha or an immortal; indulge the thoughts of the heart, and one may fall among creatures covered in fur and bearing horns. What is stored in the heart is nature; what is expressed outwardly is emotion. The thoughts of the heart change in countless ways and are never fixed.

Thus, when the sages teach people to cultivate the heart, they are teaching them to cultivate the Dao (the Way); and when they teach people to cultivate the Dao, they are teaching them to cultivate the heart. Mencius said that the best way to nourish the heart is to reduce desire. Shao Yong said that heaven and earth bring forth the transformations of creation within the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), while human beings arrange the affairs of the world by means of a single heart.

Celestial Master Xujing (Tianshi) said that when a single thought sprouts in the heart, it sets the six consciousnesses—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—into activity outside. If a thought does not tend toward the good, it tends toward evil, and so there are heaven and hell, together with karmic retribution. The Song of the Great Dao says not to let anything linger in the heart: if the heart clings to something, Shen (spirit) can hardly be clear and bright, Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) are depleted, and the sinews and bones are injured. The True Lords of the Three Maos said that the heart should be as clear as a vessel of ice, with only the primordial Shen dwelling within it; if stray thoughts remain in the heart, purity and stillness cannot be maintained.

The Perfected Baoyi said that arts handed down within the same lineage may share the same Fulu (talismans and registers) and the same oral formulas, yet when applied they sometimes prove ineffective, because the intention of the heart is not sincere enough. When sincerity is lacking, one has no confidence in oneself, and doubt then arises and resolve is lost. If there is no master within, how can one enter into resonant response with what is sought? Hence it is said that all such arts are, at root, methods of the heart: when the thought of the heart gets through, the art gets through as well.

In Mingdao I said: all the affairs of the world arise from the heart, yet the heart has no form—where, then, is it to be sought? Only when one can realize the state before a single thought has arisen has one truly seen one’s own heart.

Diagram of the Primordial Jing of the Former Heaven

Within the deep and dim obscurity lies hidden the true seed of the Former Heaven. When it is used, it cannot be seen; when it is perceived, it cannot be heard.

Jing is the primordial essence of the Former Heaven—the vital essence innately endowed—and the root from which the myriad things are generated. Obtain it, and life continues; lose it, and life declines and perishes. Therefore, when Jing is settled, Qi—the energy by which life operates—is settled; when Qi is settled, Shen—spirit together with the activities of life—is settled.

Jing (essence) is the primordial essence (yuanjing), the very source of life, that a person receives as an innate endowment, and it is regarded as the root of all things. Obtain it, and life can be sustained; lose it, and life perishes. Thus, when Jing is settled, Qi (vital energy) is settled as well; when Qi is settled, Shen (spirit) is settled as well. When Jing, Qi, and Shen are all settled, a person can take command of his or her own life and is no longer at the mercy of Heaven’s mandate.

The Jade Emperor’s Mind-Seal Scripture (Yuhuang Xinyin Jing) says: “Everyone possesses Jing, and Jing can unite with Shen.” The Perfected Dongbin says: “Use Jing to nurture the spiritual root, and use Qi to nourish the vital spirit; as for the true principle, apart from this there is no other true Dao (the Way).” The Perfected Ziyang says: “When bamboo is broken, it must be mended with bamboo; if an egg is to hatch a chick, one must use an egg.” Every other method is nothing but wasted effort. How, then, can one obtain True Lead (zhenqian, an important term in the practice of Neidan, internal alchemy), the very key to forming the elixir in true accord?

Those who carry out the Thunder Rites (leifa) should cut off sexual desire, preserve the primordial Shen (yuanshen), and refine the Golden Elixir (jindan). Only then can they command thunder, pray for rain or for clear skies, heal illness, and expel evil—and there is nothing they cannot put into effect. As for those who know only how to cultivate while clinging to external objects such as charcoal, how are they fit to speak of these principles? The Perfected Sa says: “A single point of numinous light is itself the talisman (fu); people of the world mistakenly take ink and cinnabar for the talisman. When primordial Jing does not scatter and primordial Yang (yuanyang, the innate Yang Qi within the body) is secure, every kind of demon and monster can be swept clean away.”

The Perfected Baoyi says: “The talisman is the warrant by which Yin-Yang is brought into union, and only the most sincere person in the world can employ it. If sincere intent is not sufficient, it will naturally fail to be efficacious.” Therefore it is said that one must join one’s own Jing with the Jing of Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things, and join one’s own Shen with the Shen of Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things. Jing answers to Jing, and Shen depends upon Shen. It is precisely for this reason that one makes use of a small paper talisman to summon ghosts and spirits; the one who performs the rite must hold the utmost sincerity in the heart.

In the Record of Heart Transmission (Xinchuan Lu), I say: “However efficacious a method may be, the one who applies it must possess a corresponding numinous capacity; this cannot be separated from one’s own Jing, Qi, and Shen. When Jing and Qi gather together, Shen is naturally present with them; when Jing, Qi, and Shen are abundant, a thousand demons and ten thousand aberrations all turn to dust.”

Diagram of the Primordial Black of the Prior Heaven (Xiantian Yuanhei Tu)

The talisman has no fixed form; it is the numinously dynamic manifestation of Qi. Applied through the Niwan Palace (niwan gong, the seat of spiritual intent within the head), it can also bring a person peace. In the space of a breath, wind and clouds may arise; the instant a command is carried out, ghosts and spirits are struck with awe.

What is called Qi (vital energy; 炁 in Daoist usage)—the source-breath of life and of the workings of Heaven and Earth—is pre-natal Qi, the root of all things. It seems empty and void, yet it is never exhausted; once set in motion, it instead keeps welling forth. The Xici commentary to the Zhouyi says: “The Qi of Heaven and Earth intermingles, and from this the myriad things are transformed into being and grow full and rich.” A person’s original Qi communicates with the Qi of Heaven and Earth: on inhalation, Heaven’s Qi descends; on exhalation, Earth’s Qi rises. Between one breath out and one breath in, Jing (essence) and Qi are transformed into the “Golden Liquid,” which is used to refine and nourish the body. When both body and Shen (spirit) reach subtle perfection, one can unite with the Dao (the Way) and merge with the True.

The Yuhuang Xinyin Jing says: “Everyone has Qi; only when Qi joins with the body is there genuine life. If one cannot hold to this reality, the so-called ‘Qi’ is merely a name forced upon it.” The Zhuangzi says that the breathing of ordinary people stays in the throat, while the breathing of the True Person—one who embodies the Dao and attains the True—is deep, as if it reached the heels. The Suwen says that when the mind is clear and still, empty and luminous, calm and free of desire, True Qi comes of itself.

If a person can understand and preserve this inner clarity, regulate the breath of Qi, moderate food and drink, and be careful in speech, and if one continually stirs the Xun wind—the movement of breath symbolized by wind—within the “Yuanhai,” Daoism’s name for the place in the body where the breath of Qi gathers, one can receive its inexhaustible wondrous efficacy. Mencius rose before dawn and applied himself diligently to the good, and in this way nourished his vast, flood-like Qi. The True Person Baoyi said that what links Heaven, Earth, and human beings is a single Qi: Heaven moves by means of Qi, and Earth brings forth life by means of Qi; the transformations of Yin-Yang and the arising of wind and thunder are likewise all accomplished through Qi.

Qi is governed by the human heart-mind. In cultivation, external distractions should not be allowed to enter, nor inner delusions to rush outward, so that the mind remains peaceful and one returns to the root and restores life. Whether walking, standing, or sitting in stillness, one should maintain this state in a continuous, unbroken flow, in order to nourish the vast Qi. Applied to ritual arts, this means joining one’s own True Qi with the creative transformations of Heaven and Earth: breath sent forth can become clouds, and a sound uttered can summon thunder. When the arts are performed, the original Shen is naturally luminous and clear; used to subdue malign influences, ghosts and demons submit. In this way one can reach through to Heaven and Earth and transform without limit—how, then, could external evils intrude?

In my Xinchuan lu (Record of Heart-to-Heart Transmission) I said: “The single pre-natal Qi is the foundation of cultivation and of forming the elixir. When the mind is silent and still in Wuwei (non-action), understanding arises of itself; with the door closed and the curtain lowered, ever preserving stillness, one sometimes plays that flute without holes.” The “flute without holes” here is a metaphor of Daoist inner cultivation, pointing to an inner breath and an experience of practice that do not depend on any external implement.

Walking or sitting in company, it is right before you; never leave this, and be sure not to let it slip past.

When you walk or sit with others, it is right before your eyes and has never left; do not, on that account, miss it.

What is called “Shen” (spirit) is the innate primordial spirit (the original spiritual nature with which a person is born), the source of Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate). It is empty and spontaneous, embracing the myriad phenomena; it cannot be seen or heard, its transformations are endless, and it comes and goes freely. When mind and spirit are clear and still, it appears; when mind and spirit are turbid and restless, it withdraws. The Yuhuang Xinyin Jing (Jade Emperor Heart-Seal Scripture) says: “Shen can enter stone; Shen can make the form take flight.” The Most High says that the great Dao (the Way) transforms without fixed pattern and comes and goes without obstruction; when mind and spirit are clear and still, the great Dao is present, and when they are turbid and restless, the great Dao is hidden. The great Dao cannot be transmitted by words alone. To obtain it, one should empty the mind and quiet the spirit; once mind and spirit settle, the Dao appears of itself. Foolish people do not understand this. Instead they weary the body, painfully drain their mental strength, force their intention, and disturb the spirit, and so grow ever farther from the Dao.

The Daode Jing (Classic of the Way and Virtue) says: “The valley spirit does not die; this is called the mysterious female. The gate of the mysterious female is called the root of Heaven and Earth.” This means that the marvelous function of empty stillness, which ceaselessly gives rise to life, is called the “mysterious female” (the profound and subtle source of generation and transformation); its gate is the root of all things in Heaven and Earth. Celestial Master Xujing (Tianshi) says that as soon as Shen races outward, one should draw it back; when Shen returns into the body, Qi (vital energy) naturally returns as well. Do this day after day, and over time a true embryo will naturally be conceived, in the manner of an infant. Here the “true embryo” is a metaphor, within the practice of Neidan (internal alchemy), for an inner attainment.

Perfected Baoyi says that some people in the world close their eyes and preserve Shen, visualizing a certain spirit-general coming from a certain direction; others press the brush and contract the body, circulating the Qi within so that it joins the Qi outside. Alas, all of this is deluded imagination. Once Shen is truly obtained, numinous efficacy appears of itself. In ordinary leisure, nurture mind and spirit. When the mind grows still, Shen is naturally luminous; when the breath is harmonized, Qi is naturally pure and genuine. When ritual arts are practiced in this state, Shen naturally accords. After Shen and Qi have joined, the moment a single thought stirs, spirit-generals, officers, and soldiers gather in abundance all around, as if right beside you.

In my Xinchuan Lu (Record of Mind-to-Mind Transmission) I say: “Only when the Numinous Terrace (the place where mind and spirit dwell) is clear and still can one see it; if there is even the slightest disturbance of stray thoughts and worldly dust, one cannot see it. Thereby one leaves birth and death behind and long preserves true Qi. Alas that ordinary people do not recognize its true face.”

Diagram of the Mysterious Pass, the One Aperture (a diagram explaining the aperture of the mysterious pass in cultivation).

This aperture communicates with the celestial aperture and is the true subtlety within the methods of the Dao (the Way). If one is fortunate enough to meet an enlightened master who transmits it, companions on the Way should rejoice.

What is called the “Mysterious Pass, the One Aperture” contains within it heaven and earth and Yin-Yang, the sun, moon, and constellations, the Three Origins and the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), the Four Images and the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), the twenty-four Qi (vital energy), the seventy-two seasonal pentads, and the myriad phenomena of wind, cloud, thunder, lightning, and rain. The Perfected Bao Yi said, “If, in drawing a talisman, one does not understand the principle of the aperture, one will only provoke the laughter of ghosts and spirits.” Practitioners of Daoist methods today, if they do not understand the root of these methods and yet casually perform the rite upon paper, taking the talismanic aperture on the paper for the true aperture, are mistaken. One must know that this aperture is not an ordinary orifice. It is formed by the union of the Yin and Yang of heaven and earth, and is called the “cavity of Shen (spirit) and Qi” (the place where spirit and vital energy meet). Within it is contained the Jing (essence) of Kan and Li (the subtle Qi born of the union of Yin and Yang). One should seek it within oneself and not seek it outside.

The Perfected Yuchan said, “This aperture indeed resides at the center, and within that center there is yet another center. The myriad spirits issue forth from here and ascend directly to communicate with Heaven.” The Perfected Ziyang said, “This aperture in the body is called the Mysterious Female (the wondrous portal that gestates the myriad things). It is neither the heart nor the kidneys, neither the mouth nor the nose; neither the spleen nor the stomach, neither the anus nor the bladder; neither the Dantian (energy center) nor the Niwan (the cultivation site within the crown of the head). Once one understands this aperture, the timing of the winter solstice, the medicine, the firing process, the bathing, and the forming of the embryo all lie within it.” In the Record of Mind-to-Mind Transmission I said, “This aperture is empty, void, and profoundly hidden; it is the root of heaven and earth. The breath continues, fine and dense, as if sealed so that no air can pass. Between the indistinct and the obscure it embraces the myriad phenomena, and the Perfected One manifests within the precious pearl.”

Diagram of the Method in Practice: the Primordial Unitary Qi

When the moon rises to the heart of heaven and a light breeze passes over the surface of the water, one must grasp the true intent within: the handle of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper points toward the lodges Xu and Wei.

What is called the Primordial Unitary Qi (the original Qi from before heaven and earth had differentiated) exists at the time when the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) has not yet manifested the myriad phenomena, and the Perfected One manifests within the precious pearl.

Diagram of the Method in Practice: the Primordial Unitary Qi

When the moon rises to the heart of heaven and a light breeze passes over the surface of the water, one must grasp the true intent within: the handle of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper points toward the lodges Xu and Wei.

The so-called “one Qi (vital energy) of Prior Heaven” (Xiantian Yiqi) is the source that exists when Taiji (Supreme Ultimate)—the original condition before heaven, earth, and the myriad things have differentiated—has not yet divided, and the myriad things have not yet come into being. It is vast and profound, empty and still, and without form; it has no image, and there is nowhere it can be grasped. Resting motionless, it fills the whole of empty space. It cannot be reached by intellectual inquiry, nor can it be transmitted in words.

Huang Leiyuan said: “The myriad things are blended together as one, and their root lies in Prior Heaven. The highest Dao (the Way) is empty and spontaneous. If one can see it before the myriad things are born, who would not be a Daluo immortal—a high-ranking immortal-perfected, as spoken of in Daoism?”

Master Wang says in the Xingdang Xiong Poems: “In learning the Dao and cultivating the true, one must first recognize the genuine Dao. The one Qi of Prior Heaven is endowed within one’s own person. To guard it is to have the Dao; to use it is the method. The method answers to emptiness, and the root lies only in one’s own Shen (spirit).”

The Perfected Baoyi said: “Someone asked what Prior Heaven and Later Heaven (Houtian) mean. The master replied: If you ask about Prior Heaven, it is simply the ‘One’; to call it the ‘Dao’ is only a forced name. What are incantations? The moment a thought or a sound is set in motion, it already belongs to Later Heaven. Talisman diagrams and seal-formulas are nothing more than secondary details.” In the Xinchuan Lu (Record of Mind-to-Mind Transmission) I said: “The Dao of Prior Heaven is originally without words; the moment one opens one’s mouth and speaks it, it belongs to Later Heaven. Students of the Dao come crowding in to seek an audience—who, in the end, can awaken to the state before the myriad things were born?”

“The Diagram of Being about to Employ One’s Own Original Spirit” means a diagram of putting into use one’s own original spirit (yuanshen—a person’s spiritual nature). The closing verse says: “Is the Dao you, or is it I? There is no need to divine, nor to cling to so much as a thread or a hair; it is simply oneself. Transformations of every kind have kept people in the dark; only after thirty years have I finally seen through them.”

A person’s original spirit, the Yuanshen—the spiritual sovereign innate from the beginning—is itself the substance of the Primordial One Qi (vital energy). The Primordial One Qi, in turn, is the root through which the Yuanshen carries out its work. Thus Shen (spirit) and Qi never part from each other: Shen is born of Qi, and Qi is what Shen depends upon, like a magnet drawing iron, impossible to separate even for a moment. To gather Shen and Qi and hold them within is called the Golden Elixir (Jindan); to set them working outwardly is to command the generals and clerks—the divine generals and divine functionaries who act under orders in Daoist ritual arts.

Perfected Zhong said, “With a thousand words and ten thousand phrases I urge those who come after: do not vainly seek the true Dao (the Way) outside the body. Even if you bore through heaven and enter the earth, on whose power could you rely? Marvelous efficacy and spiritual powers must be sought from the Shen within yourself.” Perfected Piyun said, “The moment my body stirs, the pivot of the immortals appears with it; there is no need to weary the mind with calculation.”

Wang the Court Attendant said, “Spending the whole day depleting one’s spirit in talk of empty principles is not as good as gathering mind and breath and settling them in embryonic breathing—a breath as subtle and unbroken as that of a fetus. When the breathing continues without cease, the Dao opens of itself; this is the practice embodied by the Three Primes and the Five Elders, the system of divine perfected beings spoken of in Daoism. My true nature leans neither to the west nor to the east; one should constantly let a breath like a gentle breeze arise within the body. People of the world see the One, yet do not recognize the One; the more they turn it over in repeated visualization, the more easily they come up empty.”

Perfected Yuchan said, “The instant a thought moves, a person’s body and mind change with it in a flash—why labor at visualization? Understand the principle by which the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) generate and overcome one another, and one can set thunder in motion and spread rain as if in the palm of the hand, in accord with the way of the Golden Elixir.”

Perfected Liu said, “This principle is neither dharma, nor emptiness, nor form; it is without shape, without appearance, and without feeling. The Dao is originally only one clear and bright thing—why attach to it so many jumbled names? When it stirs into action, even ghosts and spirits lie hidden; when it settles into stillness, heaven and earth seem to meet and interpenetrate. Look for it, and it is not seen; listen for it, and it is not heard; yet when one employs it in silence, one must still respond in accord with it.”

In my Record of Mind-to-Mind Transmission I said, “Each person has within the body a Qian and Kun—a heaven and earth, a whole cosmos—and within it a lofty sovereign of supreme honor who commands the myriad spirits and brings the Three Realms into submission. If one does not understand this, one merely wastes mind and Shen in vain.”

The Diagram of Drilling and Clustering the Five Phases says: Jing (essence), Shen, the hun soul, the po soul, and intention gather and return to the position of Kun, the quarter symbolizing yin stillness and receptive bearing; without the slightest deliberate movement, an efficacy like thunder and rain naturally appears.

One, two, three, and four are Heaven’s generative numbers of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water); six, seven, eight, nine, and ten are Earth’s completing numbers of the Five Phases. Human beings are formed by receiving the numerical principles through which Heaven and Earth generate and complete the Five Phases. Thus there are five planets in Heaven, five sacred peaks on Earth, and five viscera within the human body. Within the five viscera are contained Jing (essence), Shen (spirit), the hun-soul, the po-soul, and intent, which gather together to form the Five Thunders. Among the Five Thunders, Earth is the most honored, because Earth obtains the central yellow Prior-Heaven ancestral Qi (vital energy) of undifferentiated primordial unity—the primordial source-Qi of Prior Heaven.

The Perfected Baoyi said: “The subtlety of ritual methods lies in accord with Yin-Yang; square and circle, movement and stillness, are all pervaded by the Dao (the Way). Heaven, Earth, and humanity, together with the myriad things, constitute the Three Powers; Water, Fire, Wood, Metal, and Earth correspond to the Five Phases; east, west, south, north, and the center correspond to the five directions; Heaven, Earth, Water, Fire, Thunder, Wind, Mountain, and Marsh correspond to the Bagua (Eight Trigrams).”

Those who cling to the deductions of numerical arts will say: “When I draw a talisman I match it to a certain matter, and you employ a certain aperture; in this way one connects with the workings of creation and infers generation and conquest. Begin the brushstroke this way and discharge it that way, and thus I have grasped the secret of how ghosts and spirits operate.” Yet they do not realize that, before Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) had differentiated, where were Yin-Yang, the Three Powers, the Five Phases, and the Bagua? Therefore, one who truly possesses the Dao can set aside every attachment and directly practice the talismanic script—the Fulu (talismans and registers) that are written and applied in Daoism.

My Record of Heart-to-Heart Transmission says: “One, two, three, four, and five—among them Earth, dwelling at the center, presides. Grasp the pivot of flourishing life and of austere destruction, and in a commanding shout one can raise thunder and rain.”

Diagram of Returning to the Root and Restoring the Mandate

When the host of yin has wholly dissolved, one returns to the root; a single line brings the first arising of yang Qi, revealing the heart of Heaven and Earth.

The Heart of Heaven and Earth

Comprehend the true principle of creative transformation within it, and one can command thunder and lightning, so that ghosts and spirits submit in reverence.

The number three of the East belongs to Wood, and Wood can generate the Fire of the number two of the South. The number four of the West belongs to Metal, and Metal can generate the Water of the number one of the North. The Center belongs to Earth, and the two heavenly stems Wu and Ji embody Earth’s work of creative transformation. If Metal did not overcome Wood, and if Water and Fire did not stir and strip one another, wind, clouds, thunder, lightning, and rain could not arise. Thus the Perfected Baoyi said: “Zhuangzi said that one may be still as a corpse, and yet the image of the dragon appears; one may be silent and say nothing, and yet it is as if thunder sounds.” Only those who understand this principle can speak of the crux between movement and stillness. Shao Yong said: “Between one movement and one stillness lies precisely the most subtle place of Heaven, Earth, and humanity.” At the moment when movement and stillness give way to one another, one must bring this into effect when Yin-Yang has reached its extreme. The Yijing (Classic of Changes) says: “When the extreme is reached, there is change; after change, there is free passage.” If one is not a person who studies in earnest, who can understand these principles? In the Xinchuan lu (Record of Mind-to-Mind Transmission) I said: “The one Qi (vital energy)—the primordial breath by which the cosmos moves—comes and goes in ceaseless circulation. One must see clearly which side of Yin-Yang has gained the upper hand, and then restore it to harmony. With whom, indeed, can a principle such as this be discussed?”

Diagram of Thunder Attaining the Center

The creative transformation of thunder is obtained from the Qi of the center of Heaven and Earth. Heaven, Earth, and humanity—the Three Powers (sancai), the three basic planes that constitute the world—are originally in communication with one another. If one who studies the Dao (the Way) can grasp the principle in this, then prayers for clear skies and petitions for rain can reach up to the vault of heaven.

The Bagua (Eight Trigrams), symbols of the transformations of Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things, embrace all that lies between Heaven and Earth. After one side of Yin-Yang has taken the upper hand, one must still bring it back to harmony. With whom, indeed, can a principle such as this be discussed?

The numbers reckoned vertically and horizontally always come to fifteen, and they never depart from the “five” at the center. Thunder is therefore said to be obtained from the Qi of the center of Heaven and Earth, and for this reason it is called the “Five Thunders.” For one who practices the thunder rites, the essential point is to make the mind empty and still and the abdomen full, to concentrate and settle the Shen (spirit) and hold to the position of central harmony, and thereby to set creative transformation in motion and command the thunder, sending sweet rain far and wide to relieve the people. When this merit reaches up to Heaven, how could it be only a small benefit? In the Xinchuan lu I said: “Creative transformation is entirely contained within the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). Beginning from the hexagrams Bo and Fu, its marvelous function unfolds from there. When yang Qi has circulated until the six yang are complete, it returns to the position of Kun. Yin-Yang stirs and contends, and the dragon within Kan then gives rise to the thunder.”

Diagram of Water and Fire Stirring and Stripping

When Water and Fire stir and strip one another, the crucial subtlety does not lie in writing Fulu (talismans and registers) or in reciting secret names. If one who studies the Dao understands this mechanism, then when thunder and rain are summoned, they arrive at once.

The sun and the moon revert to the two trigrams Kan and Li (symbolizing water and fire respectively); Kan and Li in turn revert to water and fire, and water and fire ultimately both issue from the One Qi (vital energy), the fundamental qi from which the myriad things are generated. The One Qi also constitutes the myriad things. In the south it is called fire; in the north it is called water. When fire-qi is excessive, drought follows; when water-qi is overly abundant, rain continues without cease. When water comes to overcome fire, clear weather turns to rain; when fire comes to assist water, rainy weather turns clear again. When water and fire clash, thunder and lightning arise; when water and fire are at peace, the sky is clear and the atmosphere bright and pure.

Yet the flourishing of fire and the abundance of water are hard to tune to a precise balance. Thus I say in the Xinchuan lu (Record of Mind-to-Mind Transmission): “Fire reaches the palace of Li and flourishes; water arises in the quarter of Kan. Water and fire must seek an even balance; once either side gains the upper hand, harmony is lost.”

Diagram of Yin-Yang Transformations

Movement and stillness change without cease, and in the end return to Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate), the origin in which Yin-Yang have not yet divided. Without putting effort into cultivation and practice, how can one understand the principle within this?

As the One Qi circulates, there is pure qi and there is turbid qi. Pure qi rises and becomes yang; turbid qi descends and becomes yin. The principles of Yin-Yang transformation are not of only one kind: the rising and falling of yin and yang form rain; their mutual agitation forms thunder; their condensation and flow form lightning; their unfolding and harmonizing form snow. Weak yin and abundant yang form wind; abundant yin and weak yang form clouds. When yin-qi is at peace and yang-qi disperses, dew forms; when yin-qi is blocked and yang-qi condenses, frost forms. When yin and yang do not circulate freely, hail forms; when their rising and falling are obstructed, fog forms. If the qi of stern desolation cannot move, epidemics result; if perverse qi invades upright qi, sha-qi (baleful qi) is formed. Excessive transformation of water-qi produces rainbows; excessive transformation of fire-qi produces anomalous apparitions such as the chimei.

Those who practice thunder rites cannot fail to understand these principles. Thus I say in the Xinchuan lu: “The One Qi cycles, turbid and pure alike; the pure ascends and the turbid descends, and even balance is what is prized. Much yin and little yang bring continuous overcast rain; flourishing yang and declining yin preside over prolonged clear weather.”

Wang Zhen, “Man ting fang” (Courtyard Full of Fragrance)

With firm resolve one cultivates true nature and diligently cultivates the Dao (the Way), and thus comes to see that all things in the world are empty. Within the Great Void (the vast, formless emptiness), in a state of cultivation like a cauldron and furnace, one nurtures a “jade lotus” (a metaphor for the pure spiritual nature attained through cultivation). It transforms into a spirit pearl, brilliant in its radiance, illuminating the clustered peaks. Amid the scenery of everlasting spring, the vermilion oranges on the Terrace of Five Clouds redden the sky. To understand these wondrous principles requires a destined affinity, as if even those a thousand li apart may meet. When the heart is untainted by the slightest dusty thought, true attainment appears within purity. If, whenever thoughts arise in daily life, the mind and Shen (spirit) are not clouded, one can transcend the changes of birth and death and remain unbound by the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm). If one can do this, one may wander free and at ease, and every place will be like an immortal palace.

A single point of Yang Jing (essence)—in internal cultivation, the subtle Qi (vital energy) that symbolizes Yang energy—rests in the Yin position, and the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and the Four Images (a symbolic system in Daoist internal cultivation used to explain changes in the movement of Qi) are all complete. It suddenly manifests a form, flashing with light that illuminates the boundless. With Spirit Water (in internal cultivation, a term for saliva or essential Qi) one irrigates it without cease, and within the Three Fields (the upper, middle, and lower Dantian (energy centers)) one refines it with a gentle firing. One should understand that the cultivation one enters upon has both a foundation and an application: the mind and Shen are quiet, and the breath is long, continuous, and subtle. Within there is also the “golden snake and jade seal-script” (describing the lively configurations of Qi, or the talismanic patterns, that appear in internal cultivation), which can set thunder and rain in motion, issuing from the field of the heart. Do you know? The cultivation of immortality has its own standard: when practice and merit accumulate to a full three thousand, merit and virtue are brought to completion.

The root of the method lies in the mystery of Prior Heaven, which words cannot exhaust; it consists only in holding to the center and to what is upright. The mansion of the mind (the Spirit Terrace) is clear and transparent, still and free of reckless movement; when a response is encountered, communion occurs. By the power of firm vigor one sets wind and thunder in motion, prays for rain and snow, commands ghosts and spirits, and drives out demons and evil—this is the root of the ritual arts, and it does not rely on incantations, Fulu (talismans and registers), or ritual formulas such as pacing the Mainstay and treading the Dipper. The Shen of Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate) dwells in the Primordial Valley, and the Qi of Prior Heaven (the original vital energy from before Heaven and Earth were formed) is stored in the cavity of the Mysterious Pass (an important aperture in internal cultivation). If one carefully preserves and nourishes the original Shen within emptiness and stillness, then, once the work is accomplished, one will of oneself be ranked among the immortals. At that time one may behold the Great Void, ride auspicious clouds in safety, and attend court at the Golden Portal (the dwelling of the Celestial Emperor).