《上品丹法节次》

First, Refine the Self and Preserve Sincerity

I often see turmoil and distraction throughout the world of ordinary life. Most people are absorbed in profit and desire: some are trapped in the pursuit of fame and career, while others give themselves free rein and let their years pass in vain, unaware that they should return to their original nature. Now and then, someone is naturally perceptive and longs for the Great Dao, yet, through an unfortunate turn of fate, receives guidance from an ordinary person and strays down a narrow, misguided path, never awakening in a lifetime. This is why the Great Dao has so long remained beyond the understanding of the world.

Thanks to good affinities from a former life, I was fortunate to meet a true teacher and learn from the Stages and Practices of the Highest-Grade Elixir Method. My practice has now borne fruit. I dare not keep what I have gained to myself, so I wish to clear away the brambles for those who study the Dao, open the way before them, and point out a level road they can follow step by step. Those who love the Great Dao and are sincere in their resolve should reduce their cravings, speak less, think less, eat simply, take care to adapt to cold and heat, and balance exertion with rest. In this way, they can keep their minds clear and hope to attain the state of the immortals.

Cultivation must begin by nurturing sincerity and refining the self, clearing away habits acquired after birth so that the true nature present from the beginning can emerge. This is what Confucius meant by “overcoming the self and returning to ritual.” If Dao students can refine away their ordinary minds and retain only their true nature, then, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, and whether handling affairs, responding to external things, or conducting themselves in the world, they must continually sweep away the deluded thoughts stirred up by the Seven Emotions and six desires. Even when alone, unseen and unheard, they should silently examine and gather in their thoughts, guarding against them as they suddenly arise and pass away. Gradually, the mind will settle naturally, without conscious effort. When they then come to understand the meaning of this state, all manner of illusory fantasies will be unable to arise. This is the practice of “cautiousness in solitude” at the beginning of cultivation.

When worldly concerns have gradually subsided and the mind and spirit have grown clear, gather the body and mind, and keep the spirit within in a quiet place. This is to return to the “Central Palace, Ancestral Aperture”—the center of body and mind, and the place where the spirit is gathered, as described in Neidan practice. From then on, seek nothing outside. Focus only on gathering the spirit and stilling thought, nurturing the innate spark of awareness. Let the spirit respond to things while remaining always at peace, like the vast, empty expanse of the Great Void, which holds all things without obstruction. Only then can one enter deeply into the boundless realm of the sages.

This stage of practice may take one or two years, or perhaps three or four. The longer one practices, the deeper the accumulation. Only after undergoing this period of refinement can one enter the “enclosed retreat”—a place for quiet, secluded cultivation—and begin the next stage of practice.

Min Yanglin says, “What is called ‘refining the self and preserving sincerity’ is, in essence, a method for restraining selfish desires and restoring the heart to ritual propriety. The original text speaks vaguely and does not explain the specific method. It also says that this differs in meaning from Confucius’s ‘restrain the self and return to ritual propriety.’ This is clearly an error, so, in dutiful observance of my teacher’s instructions, I have revised the passage to make it more precise.

“The method in this section is intended specifically to nourish and open the Mysterious Aperture, the orifice discussed in Neidan cultivation. Practitioners differ in constitution and innate endowment, so a special warning is given: cultivate for one or two years, or three or four; the longer one perseveres, the better.

“The eleven sections that follow have all been revised in accordance with the text established by my late teacher. They contain no errors.”

Establishing the Foundation and Nourishing the Elixir Ingredients, Part Two

Only after practitioners have built a foundation through the preceding stages of cultivation may they choose a quiet place to establish a circular chamber for meditation, far from the clamor of the worldly realm. Inside, they should enshrine the images of the patriarchs Donghua, Zhengyang, Chunyang, Haichan, and Chongyang, along with the patriarchs Zhang of Ziyang, Shi of Xinglin, Xue of Daoguang, Chen of Niwan, and Bai of Yuchan, as well as the patriarchs of the Northern School. They should also enshrine the teachers of their own lineage who transmitted the scriptures and teachings and guided them toward liberation. Lamps and incense should be offered in their honor throughout the year.

Day after day, gather the body and mind, draw in and contain Shen and Qi—the subtle vital energy cultivated in Daoist Neidan—and let them return to the central palace, the ancestral aperture: the opening within the Dantian regarded as the root of cultivation. Hold fast to the method of embracing the origin and guarding the One, preserving the primal Qi and keeping the spirit focused.

Min Xiaogen says: I have carefully examined this matter. In the highest method of Elixir cultivation, one uses one’s own body as the ritual altar, furnace, and hearth. Today, when people are taught to enter stillness and cultivate, they are also told to make offerings to their ancestors and forebears. This is a method for those of middling capacity and for beginners: in stillness, they visualize their ancestors as if right before them—without form or voice, yet as if truly present—and gradually enter a state in which all thoughts are empty. The reason for this practice is to guard against their becoming lax partway through cultivation. The offerings before them serve as a reminder and keep the heart alert; they dare not remove the offerings, and maintain sincerity and reverence in every thought. As for those of the highest capacity, every action accords with the Dao of Heaven, and they strive without cease. Perhaps this is what is meant by, “The Lord is before you; how dare you let your heart be divided?”—Heaven is watching you; how could you allow your mind to waver?

A person’s original nature—the true nature one has from the beginning—is the Golden Elixir, the source spoken of in Neidan cultivation; it is the Great Dao, and it is also the “True Person without a position,” the genuine self unbound by external rank or status. People in the world do not understand what, in truth, is cultivated through the Golden Elixir, and so they are ultimately unlikely to succeed. It is a pity that many who aspire to cultivation are lost for want of someone to guide them. If they understand that the original spirit in the Elixir Dao is their own original nature, something everyone possesses from the beginning, and then use the innate One Qi within the body—the primordial energy present from birth—to awaken and refine it into a pure Yang body, how could their cultivation fail to bear fruit? Patriarch Wang said, “The original nature is called the Golden Elixir; the four provisional forms are the furnace in which it is refined into a whole.” This is what he meant.

The Central Palace’s Ancestral Aperture—the fundamental aperture in the body’s center spoken of in Neidan cultivation—is the “Gate of the Mysterious Female” described by the Supreme One, the wondrous portal from which the myriad things are born. The key to cultivating the Golden Elixir lies entirely in this aperture. The saying, “Guard the One, and all affairs are accomplished,” points to this as well.

Min Xiaogen says: “After careful examination, I conclude that the ancestral aperture of the central palace is indeed the Gate of the Mysterious Female. But we must understand precisely what is meant by ‘central’: it should not be taken as something tangible and located in a particular place. It refers to a balanced, upright state that is neither partial nor excessive, neither deficient nor overdone. It therefore has no fixed direction and is neither inside nor outside.

“‘Pearl’ and ‘millet grain,’ as well as ‘muni,’ ‘śarīra,’ ‘Golden Elixir,’ and ‘Taiji’ (Supreme Ultimate), are all different names for it. To understand what these names truly mean, we must not regard them as tangible things located in particular places. Practitioners must attain, nurture, refine, and bring to completion what is within this ‘central’ state, and thereby achieve liberation and transformation.

“The key to opening and entering the ancestral aperture of the central palace is to restrain selfish desires and bring one’s practice to such maturity that it becomes natural. Then, by further attaining a mind that is utterly empty and profoundly still, one enters the path of cultivation. Once emptiness and stillness are lost, one falls outside the ancestral aperture. Only by responding to the moment in movement and stillness, without mixing in personal delusions, can one accord with the Dao at every turn.

“Daoists call this aperture ‘establishing harmony.’ The crucial point within it is also the subtle boundary that Confucians describe as the distinction between humans and animals, and Buddhists as that between demons and Buddhas. Yet in the mysterious aperture, the left belongs to Yang and the right to Yin, which is why it is called the ‘Mysterious Female.’ How does this differ from the distinction between humans and animals, or between demons and Buddhas? The reason is that here Yang is true Yang and Yin is true Yin; both belong to precelestial Qi, and so together they may be called the ‘mysterious aperture.’

“Niwan says: ‘When the mechanism stirs, one enters the “Mysterious”; when the mechanism returns to stillness, one enters the “Female.”’ This is the ultimate principle of nature. Yet the Treatise on Dispelling Doubts about Cultivating Immortality says: ‘The place where a thought arises is the Mysterious Female.’ Why do these accounts differ? This statement considers the arising of thoughts from within stillness. From this perspective, it refers precisely to the distinction Confucians describe as that between humans and animals, and Buddhists as that between demons and Buddhas.

“As for the Preface to the Four Hundred Words on the Golden Elixir, it says: ‘It is within the human body; do not seek it elsewhere.’ The main text therefore also says: ‘This aperture is no ordinary aperture; it is formed jointly by Heaven and Earth, Qian and Kun.’”

The Venerable Master Niewan, an honorific figure in the Daoist alchemical tradition, also said: “This is a method that uses a metaphor. Yet without seeking entry here, it is impossible to begin the practice. Why? This aperture is vast, with nothing beyond it, and subtle, with nothing within it. Thus a single grain of millet can contain the great chiliocosm—the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.”

Each of these sayings has its own specific interpretation. The Perfected Ziyang, the Daoist Neidan master Zhang Boduan, pointed to a starting point that is both immediate and essential. My founding master, Niewan, compassionately passed down this method of metaphor; its meaning is truly profound! The Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are all within the Mysterious Aperture. How could my body and mind be outside it? Since I am within the aperture, could the ancestral aperture within my body somehow be outside the Mysterious Aperture? This is how I came to be certain: entering directly through the ancestral aperture, then quieting stray thoughts and forgetting emotional attachments in practice, truly brings ease and unhindered passage everywhere. I dare not keep this method to myself, so I have set it down for those who share this path, hoping only that everyone will quietly reflect on it.

Within the human body, about one inch and two fractions below the heart and above the kidneys, there is an aperture where the primordial ancestral Qi (the source energy present at the beginning of Heaven and Earth) resides. Practitioners must first recognize this entryway before they can advance in the Great Dao. They must also gather and draw inward, one by one, from every part of the body, so that the original spirit (the human spirit in its innate state) may settle in its proper place. The ancients said, “There is a precious pearl hidden within the mountain of bodily form.” This pearl is actually within the Six Roots (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind), and it radiates light at every moment. Many people do not understand this, and so they waste their lives and die in vain. I now point out this path of cultivation and make it clear and easy to understand.

Although the human body has Six Roots, the key to their functioning arises from a single root. The essentials of cultivation are to blend the Three Treasures (Jing, Qi, and Shen) into one, harmonize the Four Symbols (the paired forces such as Yin and Yang), and ultimately return to emptiness. Keep the body, thoughts, and consciousness from stirring falsely; gather in the acquired Shen (the spirit ordinarily stirred by external things) and return it to the Central Palace (the center within the body). Remain alert and inwardly observant at all times, keeping the mind and spirit aligned with the compass point (abiding at the inner center), and sustain the practice of embracing the Origin and guarding the One (holding to the source and remaining undivided).

With sustained practice, once this becomes fully accomplished, Jing, Qi, and Shen will be complete. The Mysterious Female (the inner foundation that gives rise to generation and transformation) will thereby be established, able to produce true Qi (pure source energy) and then transform it into true lead (a Neidan term for a key substance or energy formed through refinement). Continue studying the formulas discussed below, and cultivation will then bear fruit. This is the subtle key to the realization of a Celestial Immortal; attaining it opens the realm of sages and worthies. Without great wisdom, how could one grasp its mystery?

Min Xiaogen says: Although the methods discussed in this section belong to a practice that uses specific techniques as an entry point, without such techniques there would be no way to begin learning. The subtle and mysterious opening is difficult to activate; the way to open it lies not in deliberate action, but in the four words “emptiness and stillness.”

The “path” refers to a single thread; “action” refers to practices such as bringing the mind and spirit together as one, harmonizing them, and gathering them inward. When one returns to the Palace, one has entered the Mysterious Aperture. This is the first step in cultivating through methods. Remaining constantly aware is the key to the second step; consistently following the rules and not deviating from the prescribed methods is the practice of the third step.

Practitioners cultivate according to these methods, maintaining the Origin—holding fast to the primordial Qi—and guarding the One—preserving one’s original nature. What is the Origin? It is the primordial ancestral Qi, the original precelestial energy. What is the One? It is one’s original nature. As practice accumulates over time, it naturally grows more refined. Only once it has become refined are the Three Treasures complete.

The text does not say that the “foundation has been established,” because at this point only the initial basis of the Mysterious Female— the gate through which Yin-Yang intercourse and transformation take place in cultivation—has been formed. Qi has not yet transformed into primordial Qi, and the original life force has not yet returned to its source. Only when Qi returns and transforms into primordial Qi will True Lead arrive. When True Lead is about to arrive, one can begin applying the formula.

Practitioners must understand that at the very instant of the Living Zi hour, when Yang energy first stirs, True Lead arrives, Mercury responds, and they immediately congeal. All of this depends on having fully cultivated the self and built the foundation.

Master Taixu says, “When Yang energy arises, Yin energy responds. This follows naturally and need not be sought deliberately.” Master Nivan says, “Do not worry that True Yin may fail to respond; worry instead that the Yang energy first arising may not be true Yang.” Practitioners can understand the matter from this.

Once you have become skilled in the practice described earlier, turn to experiencing the practice of “gathering the spirit and settling it in the Qi cavity,” the place inside the abdomen where Qi is refined in internal alchemy. Draw the attention of the eyes, ears, and nose inward. Do not look, listen, or smell outward; let the original spirit, the ruling principle of a person’s mind and spirit, gather in the Qi cavity. In this way, the breath naturally becomes even, continuous and fine, almost imperceptible. This is the true key to cultivating the ingredients of internal alchemy.

Chen Xubai said: “Lower your eyelids, close off the senses, restrain desires, and regulate the breath. Forget the body and set thoughts aside, coming close to the state of sitting in oblivion. I urge you to remain silent and still throughout the day, like a dull-witted person, until you refine a wish-granting pearl that you can use as you will.” Bai Yuchan said: “I once received the true instructions from my master: simply gather the spirit and settle it in the Qi cavity.” These words all refer to the instructions for laying the foundation, the foundational stage of internal alchemy.

The Patriarch Liu of Ming’an once said: “When you first begin to lay the foundation for the Elixir, you must understand the shifting of zi and wu. The instant a stir of intention arises in stillness and quiescence is when Gui Water is first born.” These words were addressed to beginners who are starting to cultivate the foundation for the Elixir.

“Laying the foundation for the Elixir” here refers only to the stage of cultivating the medicinal substance. It does not mean that one has reached the point of gathering the Great Medicine. The phrase “do not use zi and wu to track its passage” is intended to prevent people from mistaking this for the zi-wu orbit of the circulation of Qi within the body, or from thinking that practice should begin only at the hours of zi or wu. The words “do not use” remind practitioners that this step has its own sequence of practice and should not be confused with other stages.

The “time” mentioned here is like the saying in The Mirror for Compounding the Medicine: “Whenever intention reaches one of the twelve double-hours, it may be done.” In other words, one need not be bound by the hours of zi and wu.

“The instant a stir arises in stillness” refers to Yin Qi reaching its extreme, as Yang Qi begins to emerge—that is, the moment of utmost emptiness and stillness. When this first stir appears, it is what is called “the time when Gui is born.” The Patriarch clarifies this crucial point: as soon as Yang Qi first emerges, it should be gathered promptly. Do not wait until Gui Qi is full and its impetus is nearly spent before taking action, or you will waste your mental and spiritual energy.

If you wait until Gui Qi is full before gathering it, what you gather is merely Yang Qi arising in accordance with the seasons, not the “Great Medicine.” Only what can be gathered as soon as movement first arises in stillness and quiescence is the primordial Yang that exists before the myriad things come into being. It is the wondrous source from which Heaven and Earth, the myriad things, and humankind arise: the “precelestial One Qi,” the source Qi that precedes the generation of Heaven and Earth and all things.

Min Xiaogen said: “I have carefully examined this matter and conclude that although the rising of Yang Qi at the beginning of cultivation may seem to happen naturally, it is still a phenomenon brought about through the use of a method. The Yang Qi one gathers is therefore only one’s own Yang Qi. Although it is called ‘pre-Heaven,’ it still belongs to the pre-Heaven Qi of the post-Heaven realm.

“For example, the rising of Yang Qi described in The Mirror for Compounding the Medicine may not be deliberately contrived, yet the text says ‘when the intention arrives,’ so it is still brought about by the mind’s intent. What responds to this and arises belongs to ‘pre-Heaven within post-Heaven’; hence the claim that it is ‘not the Great Medicine.’ This is a very subtle distinction.

“Niwán once said: ‘Within the twelve double-hours, the sudden stirring of an impulse is pre-Heaven Qi and must not be taken lightly. If a person can gather it in time, it is a supreme treasure. Among the ancients who attained the Dao, some used it to repair and complete the body before their physical form and spirit had fully developed; others used it to cultivate the Spirit Chamber, the Yellow Chamber, and the like.’

“My disciple Yang Lin has reported these words in detail many times. Fellow seekers may consult them. As for the true birth of Zi Yang, and whether one can obtain the Great Medicine, there is no single answer. Taixu said: ‘When Yin and Yang meet and respond to one another, if the body and mind are already utterly empty and still, and the moment coincides with deep tranquility and stability, what is obtained is boundless, and the transformations that arise are beyond measure. If one has not yet reached emptiness and stillness, or is empty but not still, then nothing can be obtained.’

“Therefore, whenever I explain the cultivation method called “Contemplating Return”—contemplating and returning to one’s root—I never depart from these two guiding instructions: ‘Attain the utmost emptiness; maintain profound stillness.’ How many people understand them? I am old. Once I have passed away, if these oral instructions are not transmitted, it will be like a lion without a mane: however loudly it roars, no sound will come forth. This is truly regrettable. So I have carefully clarified and revised the meaning of the word ‘timing’ in this section and added these notes here, hoping that readers will study them with care.”

The Dan Jing (Classic of the Elixir) says: “When Heaven obtains the One, it becomes clear and pure; when Earth obtains the One, it becomes peaceful; when human beings obtain the One, they can live long.” The so-called “Primordial Qi” comes from emptiness, yet it is not sheer nothingness. In cultivation, one must reach emptiness by maintaining stillness. When body and mind rest in a deep, indistinct state and enter profound, undivided stillness, the spirit naturally manifests, and a spark of spiritual clarity remains pure and clear. This is the true primordial state: it seems empty, yet it is not truly empty.

Min Xiaogen said: “Primordial” here does not refer merely to the state in which a person’s body and mind first sink into depth and profound, undivided stillness, allowing the spirit to manifest and spiritual clarity to endure. It points directly to the original Qi of Taiji, and not to the Qi of emptiness and substance that courses through the generation and transformation of all things in Heaven and Earth. That is why it can be “empty, yet not empty.”

In my view, “this primordial” refers to the Qi of Taiji, while “not the same as” refers to the Qi that circulates and flows through the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and humanity. The cultivation method discussed here is to quiet the mind and spirit and return to emptiness. Its meaning is profound: emptiness is the foundation, and maintaining stillness is the practice. Without maintaining stillness, one cannot attain it; and only by resting in stillness within emptiness is the practice complete. I worry that those who study the Dao may think this contradicts the cultivation method described earlier, so I have written this passage to clarify the matter.

The ancestral Qi (source energy) first produced by Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate, the primal state before Yin and Yang divide, from which all things arise) can serve as the foundation for forming the Elixir Embryo; for this reason, it is called the “mother.” The Qi produced as Taiji operates can nourish the Elixir Embryo, and so is called “nurturing.” Both belong to the “Great Medicine,” but their natures and functions differ.

Taiji is the source from which Heaven, Earth, and all things come into being, while ancestral Qi is the source of Taiji. By obtaining ancestral Qi, one can form the Elixir Embryo; hence it is called the mother. The Qi of Taiji’s operation is emitted by the Three Powers (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity) within Taiji. From the perspective of creation, it belongs to the precelestial; from the perspective of cultivation, it belongs to the postcelestial. Its clarity and turbidity vary, so it is suited only to nurturing the Elixir Embryo; hence it is called nurturing.

Those of middling or lower capacities may form an embryo with these kinds of Qi, but it will be only an illusory form, not a sacred infant. They must therefore also practice the methods discussed in the three chapters that follow, further discerning the principles involved and explaining how people of different capacities form different kinds of elixirs.

Ren is Yang Water, referring to the empty, subtle, and numinous Qi; Gui is Yin Water, referring to the material form that condenses once the medicine has matured. Elixir practitioners prize Yang and avoid Yin, and Gui Water is taboo in the alchemical method. Thus, when True Yang first arises, there is Qi alone, without material form: it is pure Yang Qi. A little later, material form begins to appear. Once form arises, it becomes Gui Water. How can something heavy and turbid rise against the current?

For this reason, the Patriarch Ziyang left this formula: “When Lead encounters the imminent birth of Gui, gather it at once; when Gold has passed the full moon, it is no longer fit to taste.” This means that when Lead Qi meets the impending formation of Gui Water, it must be gathered quickly; once Gold Qi has passed the full moon, it should no longer be gathered. The scripture’s mention of “Gui arising” warns practitioners to guard against its imminent formation; it does not praise that formation. Do not mistake the arising of Gui for the arising of Yang.

As soon as True Yang arises, it should be gathered by means of True Intent (focused, undispersed awareness in cultivation) and sent to the central palace (the central location within the body in inner alchemical practice), where it joins with the True Yin within Li (the trigram Li). This is the initial practice of the union of the Dragon and Tiger (the joining of Yin and Yang Qi).

Min Xiaogen said: In discussing the Dao of the Elixir (the practice of internal alchemy), the established rule—unchanged through the ages—is to welcome Yang and avoid clarity. If one is cultivating health alone, there is no need to abandon practice even after missing the right moment. There is, however, another method: once the breath cultivated in practice has passed through the crown of the head, let it spread naturally throughout the body, then forget the body and nourish the breath. When a cool, comfortable sensation arises in the heart, it transforms into true Yin. The breath then flows freely through the limbs and throughout the body’s channels, nourishing the sinews, bones, and joints. This, too, is a subtle method for replenishing and nourishing the body. But one must be sure to avoid practices such as letting the breath remain in a palace or turn into liquid. The Venerable Master Taixu once explained this teaching to elderly practitioners of the Dao. He considered it similar to the “method of returning” described by the Realized Person Shi Xinglin, in which the breath cultivated in practice is brought back to its original place. The young and vigorous must never use it.

The Elixir Classic says, “The dragon emerges from within fire,” meaning that the dragon is born in Li (the Li trigram of the Bagua, symbolizing fire). It also says, “The tiger is born in water,” meaning that the tiger is born in Kan (the Kan trigram of the Bagua, symbolizing water). In the method of refining the Elixir, one first uses the dragon to summon the tiger, then uses the tiger to answer the dragon.

When stillness and emptiness have reached their utmost, one need only sink the Original Spirit into the Qi cavity (the place in the Dantian where Qi gathers), letting the breath enter and leave naturally. Make no deliberate effort and harbor no thought of seeking results. Be sure to remain relaxed and at ease; do not cling to anything, or disharmony will arise. This is the proper way to work with spirit and Qi. With time, the breath will become full and even of its own accord, without deliberate regulation. Before rising to move about, one must first sit quietly with the eyes closed, letting the breath return naturally to its original place. Rise only after complete stillness has been restored. Keep this firmly in mind. If circumstances make it unavoidable to rise, the earlier practice can be resumed after the matter is attended to. This, too, is a way of turning back and restoring the state of cultivation.

Min Xiaogen carefully explained: “The beginning” referred to here is what the Four Hundred Characters on the Golden Elixir calls “using true earth to capture true lead.” “Then” refers to “true lead controlling true mercury.”

Min Xiaogen says: “I have examined the passage carefully. The phrases ‘at its beginning’ and the like refer to what The Four Hundred Characters on the Golden Elixir calls ‘using true Earth to capture true Lead.’ The phrases ‘then’ and the like refer to ‘true Lead controlling true Mercury’; ‘only then’ and the like refer to ‘Lead and Mercury returning to true Earth’; and ‘let it’ and the like refer to ‘body and mind still and unmoving.’ The most important principles of alchemical cultivation are all present here. If students still do not understand ‘Dragon and Tiger’—a term in Neidan that symbolizes relationships such as those between body and mind, and Yin and Yang—they must be instructed by a true master to understand that these expressions metaphorically describe the mind and body before they have been refined.

“The key to this passage’s oral instructions lies in the two words ‘listen’: one says ‘must not attach to it,’ the other, ‘breathe with intention.’ Their warnings are profound. The text says ‘be sure to,’ ‘must not,’ ‘otherwise it will give rise to,’ and ‘only then will it accord’: how earnest its instructions are! It also fears that practitioners may be eager for results, so it specifically adds phrases such as ‘after a long time.’ We who read these books seek to understand their meaning; how can we skim over them carelessly? Most people who study the Dao have this failing, so I will add a few words to urge my fellow practitioners with care: those who have this failing should correct it, and those who do not should continue to encourage themselves. The ancients said, ‘Reading requires an eye of one’s own; this simply means grasping the meaning of a book in fine detail.’

“Begin the work forty-nine days before the winter solstice. When ‘one Yang returns’—the saying that Yang begins to recover as Yin reaches its height—beneath the five Yin lines, use this precelestial Qi to transform postcelestial Shen into Yang Shen. This is a method rarely found in the world; how could its subtleties be easy to explain? Yet the work of nourishing the medicine during foundation laying differs from the work of gathering the great medicine. They must not be confused as a single course of cultivation. Only by clearly distinguishing them can one truly understand the essential teaching of our Dao.”

Min Xiaogen says: “In my view, the preliminary work mentioned here means the practice of self-restraint and the tempering of one’s nature.”

Min Xiaogen said: According to what is explained here, the preparatory work before formal cultivation is, in essence, restraining selfish desires and disciplining oneself. To cultivate the utmost Dao, one must first open the Mysterious Aperture—the key opening spoken of in internal cultivation. Without opening it, cultivation is difficult to deepen. Yet it cannot be opened by practicing techniques alone; one must also rely on self-restraint. When the mind is clear, distracting thoughts naturally diminish and the will becomes focused. Once the will and thoughts are focused, the Mysterious Aperture will naturally open.

My teacher, Taixu Weng, has already explained this in great detail. He mentioned forty-nine days only because he feared that some people would fixate on a predetermined result and deadline. Students should ask themselves: if the mind is not yet clear, why not begin cultivating at the summer solstice? Why not even begin before the winter solstice of the previous year? This is precisely what the first chapter means by “the longer one accumulates, the better”; it does not set a deadline by which cultivation must be completed.

The methods for cultivating the medicinal substances and gathering and refining the great medicine differ, as explained earlier, so I will not repeat them here. Yet there is a major question that Daoist alchemical books, both ancient and modern, rarely discuss, and that this book has not addressed either. Who knows how many aspiring practitioners have been held back by it? Now that I understand the issue, I must clarify it.

The Patriarch Bai Ziqing’s Treatise on Dispelling Doubts about Immortal Cultivation is a book that disciples of our tradition are meant to study closely. Many, however, have only skimmed it and never considered its meaning carefully. Where does the question lie? In the word “gather.” Someone who reads only superficially will not even find this word puzzling, let alone try to examine it. But someone who seeks direct experience may assume that cultivation must involve all kinds of deliberate actions, then blindly visit teachers and seek methods everywhere, leaving this treatise behind. That is truly regrettable.

The Treatise on Dispelling Doubts about Immortal Cultivation says: “Take the body as lead and the mind as mercury; take stillness as water and wisdom as fire.” It also says: “Take the spirit, hun, po, and intention as medicinal ingredients; take walking, standing, sitting, and lying down as the firing times; and take clarity, stillness, and naturalness as the way of applying them.” Here, “lead,” “mercury,” “water,” “fire,” “medicinal ingredients,” and “firing times” are all terms from Neidan (internal alchemy), used as metaphors for the body, mind, and process of cultivation.

On the methods of refinement, the text further says: “Take the body as the altar, furnace, cauldron, and stove, and the mind as the spirit chamber. Sitting upright and entering stillness is gathering; concentrating, maintaining awareness, and attending with care is tending the fire. Balancing stillness and movement is advancing and retreating. Preventing the practice from becoming intermittent and the mind from losing focus is building a dike. Applying the work is drawing off and replenishing. Fumigating with true Qi—the body’s original vital energy—is bathing. Stilling stray thoughts is nourishing the fire. Subduing the body and mind is waging battle in the wilderness. Gathering the spirit and true Qi is guarding the city. Forgetting contrivance and cutting off deliberation is life and death. The point where a thought arises is the Mysterious Female, a Neidan term for the crucial point where Yin-Yang generates and transforms. Uniting body and mind is joining and binding. Returning to the root and restoring life’s original source is the completion of the Elixir. Transferring the spirit is changing the cauldron. Having a body beyond the body is emerging from the womb. Returning to the beginning is the foundation of cultivation; breaking through emptiness is its completion.”

These words make the matter clear: gathering takes place while sitting upright and entering stillness. If this question remains unresolved, one may go astray, spend a lifetime cultivating without success, and finally blame one’s lack of fortune and give up. That would be truly regrettable. I therefore hope fellow practitioners will first grasp the meaning of the word “cultivate.” Though there are three levels of cultivation, the essential method of gathering is one and the same.

Once foundation building has begun to bear fruit, the practitioner must not slacken. Continue using the methods described earlier: regulate the breath through the nose, gather the Qi (vital energy) at the tip of the tongue, still the spirit and listen inwardly, and contract the Valley Gate (the anus). This brings the four symbols—the elements involved in cultivating body and mind—into harmony and returns them to emptiness, stillness, and Wuwei (non-action). Keep body and mind settled and motionless. Draw postnatal awareness back to the place where the True Person’s breathing occurs, and focus on guarding it without letting it disperse. In this way, one unites with Qi and naturally enters a state of profound emptiness, stillness, and deep calm.

Suddenly, one may feel a slight stirring deep in the lower abdomen, as though a light were shining through: like a crescent moon hanging in the southwest, or the new moon on the third day of the lunar month rising from the Geng direction. This is a sign that Metal Qi is first appearing. A trace of warmth rises from within Kan—the kidney-water, or Yang within Yin, symbolized by the Kan trigram—and surges toward the heart. At this point, use intention to guide it downward with its momentum. Let it travel along the Yellow Path, the channel through which Qi moves in internal alchemy, pass through the Tail Gate at the base of the spine, move through the spinal passage between the shoulder blades, pass through the Jade Pillow, and enter the Muddy Pellet, an aperture within the head. Let it circulate through the Nine Palaces, then flow downward from above. It feels warm, moist, and gentle, like drops of water; its fragrance is like fresh curds, and its taste like sweet dew. Direct the gaze into the realm of emptiness and stillness, and let intention turn toward Wuwei; it will then naturally return to the Dantian (energy center). This is the subtle secret of the union of Kan and Li.

Min Xiaogen said: “This is the ‘Method of Returning and Restoring,’ the introductory practice of fetal breathing. The scripture says that after one reaches utmost emptiness and stillness, a light shines through the curtain like a crescent moon. This is only a common description; the actual experience may not be the same for everyone. Some feel it as a grain of millet or a pearl, and it always appears in the abdomen. Terms such as ‘Kun position’ and ‘Geng direction’ simply describe the first appearance of Metal Qi. The ‘trace of warmth surging toward the heart’ is not a fixed experience either; one need only guide it with intention in keeping with its momentum. The original text reads, ‘travel along the Yellow Path, pass through the Tail Gate … and pass through the Jade Pillow,’ but the sequence is mistaken. It should read, ‘travel along the Yellow Path, pass through the Tail Gate,’ then move through the spinal passage, pass through the Jade Pillow, and enter the Muddy Pellet. Min Xiaogen amended the text accordingly.”

Within the human body, three pathways are said to circulate, called the Black Path, the Red Path, and the Yellow Path. The Yellow Path rises along the midline in front of the kidneys and behind the navel, then follows the midline in front of the spine and behind the heart, reaching all the way to the Mud Pellet (the upper Dantian in the head). The Red Path moves in reverse from the “Green” point. After joining the Black Path, it follows the Yellow Path upward to the Zhen position. It then joins the Black Path again, follows the Yellow Path, and finally returns to the Crimson Palace, the area in the heart where internal alchemy is practiced. The Black Path begins at the Sea (the lower Dantian). After joining the Red Path, it follows the Yellow Path in reverse, passes through the Lu (the coccyx, near the base of the spine), and reaches the back of the head. It then joins the Red Path again at the Zhen position, follows the Yellow Path across the forehead to the Pool (an area of cultivation in or above the mouth), then descends in the forward direction to the Crimson Palace, and finally returns to the Sea. These are the three routes in broad outline.

Few people know the origins of these names. In fact, the three paths correspond to the Three Treasures of body, heart, and intent. The heart belongs to Qian, whose proper position is Li and whose color is red, hence the name Red Path. It corresponds in the body to the Ren Mai. The Ren Mai naturally tends to move upward, so in cultivation it must be made to descend. The body belongs to Kun, whose proper position is Kan and whose color is black, hence the name Black Path. It corresponds in the body to the Du Mai. The Du Mai naturally tends to move downward, so in cultivation it must be made to rise. This is what is meant by “reversing Yin-Yang”: according to this account, the Du Mai belongs to Yang and the Ren Mai to Yin. The names “Du” and “Ren” take their meaning from Qian’s firmness and Kun’s yielding nature. Intent belongs to Earth and is yellow, hence the name Yellow Path.

The principles discussed above are generally as stated, though their profound meaning is still difficult to explain fully. For instance, the scriptures use red and black to represent the human path, and yellow to represent the immortal path. How could we fail to understand what this signifies?

Yang Lin, a disciple of our school, explained the Four Hundred Words on the Golden Elixir in great detail. He said: “Kan represents the body, Li represents the heart, and the foundation on which Kan and Li interact is intention. In the prenatal state, Kan lies in the west and represents the Po soul. In the postnatal state, it shifts to the north, where the Po has transformed into Jing. To unite the prenatal and postnatal states, and bring Jing and Po together as one, is what is meant by the body.

“In the prenatal state, Li lies in the east and represents the Hun soul. In the postnatal state, it shifts to the south, where the Hun has manifested as Shen. To unite the prenatal and postnatal states, and bring Shen and Hun together as one, is what is meant by the heart. Only Earth, situated at the center, can gather the Four Images and become the foundation of prenatal and postnatal Kan and Li. Its position does not change between the prenatal and postnatal states; what it represents is intention.

“Use central Earth to settle the body and gather the spirit of the heart, so that body, heart, and intention merge completely into one. Keep them focused and unwavering, sustained without interruption, and nurture them until they become true. In time, they will grow full and expansive, able to give rise to and transform all things. Is this not to say that all things are complete within me, and that the Three Realms are gathered in one body?”

Such was Yang Lin’s explanation. Through it, one can grasp the overall principles of the Three Paths as clearly as if seeing them with one’s own eyes and pointing them out with one’s own hand.

Lüzu (Lü Dongbin) said, “If you wish to cultivate the way of the immortals, first cultivate the way of being human. If you have not cultivated the human way, it will be difficult to attain the immortal way.” Mr. Niwan said, “The cultivation of both the immortal way and the human way depends entirely on oneself.” People misunderstand this and look for the Dao outside themselves, leaving them with no way to begin. The teaching that one becomes human from the red and black states, then returns from purity to white, means that one must first cultivate the human way before returning to yellow.

Mr. Taixu said, “The key to the practice of the Elixir Dao lies in returning to the source.” The human body embodies the Qi of red and black, whose source is Li and Kan—the Li and Kan trigrams of the Bagua (Eight Trigrams), often used to symbolize the heart and kidneys, and Yin-Yang. To learn the method of returning to the source, one must begin by refining Li and Kan, allowing the acquired nature to return to the primordial, so that an ordinary person may gradually become a sage. A common failing among practitioners is impatience: they often try to advance by skipping steps, and so are prone to the error known as “stirring up yellow, alarm, and doubt.” The author has explained this in detail in the commentary to The Heart Transmission of the Celestial Immortals. Fellow practitioners may consult it; these remarks are not some novel claim the author has made out of necessity.

This book contains much profound insight and is indeed a rare work for those who practice the Elixir Dao. Unfortunately, repeated copying has introduced errors, including mistaken characters and omitted passages.

This book has many subtle and profound features and is indeed a rare work for practitioners of the Elixir Way. Yet repeated copying has introduced errors, including miswritten characters and missing passages. If these are not corrected, they may lead to deviations such as “Yellow Disturbance,” with serious consequences. Although the text has now been revised, the essential meaning has not been explained in detail, so later students may still find it difficult to practice in accordance with the text. The possibility that this could hinder their cultivation must also be taken into account.

Here, the character “pass” in “pass through the Jade Pillow” has been changed to “penetrate.” The Jade Pillow Pass is a narrow, bony opening at the back of the head, also known as the “Iron Wall.” If a practitioner has not yet refined this pass, allowing the breath to pass over it and flow downward may cause the harmful condition known as “Yellow Disturbance.” In mild cases, it causes pressure and pain in the head; in severe cases, it can damage the brain. The consequences are serious, and this must be understood.

“Guide with the eyes and welcome with intention,” as described below, means gathering the mind and gaze and returning them together to emptiness. The “cauldron” in the next section refers to settling into the proper position and concentrating the root of life; one should not rashly mistake the head for the “Qian Cauldron.” This method of cultivation begins with fetal breathing, an internal practice based on deep, tranquil breathing, and should not be taken lightly. Without reaching the utmost emptiness and stillness, fetal breathing cannot be attained.

The Small Celestial Circuit described by Patriarch Qiu Changchun (Qiu Chuji) is precisely what is presented here. The key is constancy and the close interdependence of mind and breath: the mind and breathing follow one another.

Gathering the Medicine and Returning It to the Cauldron, Part Four

After Kan–Li copulation—using the Kan and Li trigrams as images for the union of Yin and Yang—the body and mind have merged, but have not yet reached a subtle, settled union. At this point, while turning the gaze inward and welcoming with intention, one must still take emptiness as the basis and stillness as the practice, without reckoning the time, until body and mind become utterly empty and still. Gradually, one then enters a deep, dim, murky state of chaos and quiet.

In this state, a sound like thunder suddenly rings out, as though silk were being torn. This is what is called “the movement of the celestial root.” The Dantian then feels warm, and the two kidneys feel as if they are being boiled in water. After this sign appears, the whole body seems to sink to the bottom of the sea. The gaze leads inward and intention welcomes upward; the Three Passes—the Tail Gate, Spinal Pass, Jade Pillow, and other apertures named in cultivation—thunderously shake, surging straight into the clouds like a dragon’s lightning bearing fire. Next, one feels Qi gathering at the Niliwan, the term in Neidan for a point above the head. This is what is called “wind arising in the moon grotto.”

Then one feels a round light welling up within the space between the eyebrows. Without deliberately attending to it, one finds that it passes downward through the Magpie Bridge, the channel said in cultivation to connect above and below, and through the Towering Staircase, or throat. One feels only a clear sweetness like borneol and a coolness like mint in the mouth, soaking into the heart and spleen. This is what is called “the moon shining in the Crimson Palace.” Next, one sends it back to the Earthen Crucible, a metaphor for the Dantian. This is called “gathering the medicine and returning it.”

“Ding” is the name of a hexagram in the Yijing. In earlier alchemical formulas, it also refers to “obtaining the medicine through two stages within a single double-hour.” One then continues to guide the Circulation of Heaven and its fire phases silently; this is called “sealing and consolidating through four stages.” What is obtained is called the “Jade-Liquid Reverted Elixir.” Although it has no fixed form, it can still be compared to things that have form. The Perfected Ziyang said, “Take the solid at the center of Kan to pierce the Yin in the belly of Li.” He also said, “Grain by grain, what is minute gradually becomes manifest.” These words describe the instructions for gathering the medicine and accumulating the ingredients.

Min Xiaogen said: This is the method for refining and obtaining the “Valley Spirit,” the Daoist Neidan term for the spirit that is lucid amid emptiness and stillness. It is also called “taking Kan to fill Li”: take postcelestial Kan to fill postcelestial Li, restoring the precelestial Qian and Kun to their original positions.

The Circulation of Heaven and Its Fire Phases, Chapter Five

Patriarch Xue said, “When the moon becomes full is transmitted in the oral instructions; the subtlety of timing lies in transmission from heart to heart.” He also said, “During the Circulation of Heaven, the breaths should be counted minutely…”

“When the moon reaches fullness must be grasped through oral formulas; the mystery of the Zi hour (midnight) lies in transmission from teacher to disciple, heart to heart.” It is also said: “The breaths required for the circulation of the celestial circuit must be counted with care; each drop from the jade clepsydra, an ancient timekeeping device, seems to signal the proper timing of the inner fire.”

These words describe the timing of the inner fire in the celestial circuit, transmitted orally and from heart to heart. In Neidan (internal alchemy), this means mastering the breath, timing, and rhythm of practice. Perfected Cui Xu said: “As the wind stirs among the first sounds of the world, the moon shines full above a thousand mountains; at this moment, hasten to carry out the proper command, and the celestial circuit will turn.” Here, the words of Patriarch Shi are cited to affirm the oral formula passed down by Patriarch Xue. They teach practitioners to seize the right moment for cultivation, bringing their practice into harmony with the changes of nature.

Hengyangzi holds that, when refining the elixir, one should kindle the fire as Yang Qi rises at the exact Zi hour—the precise point at midnight—because the fire is strongest then. At other hours, it is not the same. At the exact Zi hour at midnight, the sun is in the north. Within the body, Qi reaches the Tail Gate, a pass near the lower end of the spine. This is the moment when Yin Qi in the body reaches its extreme and Yang Qi begins to arise. As the exact Zi hour between Heaven and Earth and the living Zi hour within the body—the moment when Yang Qi stirs—begin together, the inner and outer realms converge. This is the wondrous moment when Heaven and humanity act in unison, allowing one to draw fully on the creative transformations of Heaven and Earth to refine the elixir.

His explanation is clear and quite precise. Those who have truly received the essential instructions may not all need to follow it rigidly, but his words can still illuminate the wondrous secret transmission of Patriarch Xue.

However, when discussing the number of breaths in the orbit of the celestial circuit, he says that from Zi to Si there are six Yang hours, calculated according to the Qian count as 216 counts. Subtract the 36 Yang counts for Mao, which is the time for bathing and stopping the fire, and which is not included in the actual practice: the number used in practice is 180. From Wu to Hai there are likewise six Yin hours, calculated according to the Kun count as 144 counts. Subtract the 24 Yin counts for You, the time for bathing and halting the tally, which is not included in the actual practice: the number used in practice is 120. Together, the two parts make 300 breaths. Including the counts for the bathing periods brings the total to 360 breaths. Add the 24 intercalary counts, and the total is 384 breaths.

This method of calculation offers a detailed and clear explanation of the phrase “the celestial circuit’s breath count is subtly measured.” But if practitioners focus on counting as they perform the work, advancing the fire may become too forceful and overly complicated; withdrawing the tally may also disrupt the rhythm and upset the balance. Wouldn’t this only make things more confusing the more one tries to explain them? How does this differ from the methods of advancing the fire, withdrawing the tally, drawing and adding, and bathing described by Bai Ziqing?

After Patriarch Xue said, “Count the breaths of the cyclical circuit ever so faintly,” he continued, “The jade clepsydra’s cold sound drips drop by drop.” His purpose was to remind students how to begin their practice. The original meaning was to observe the rhythm of the breath in daily life and follow the principle of the cyclical circuit, allowing the mind and intention to move naturally. This is precisely what Bai Ziqing meant by using clarity, stillness, and naturalness as the method. It is also the meaning of Zhang Ziyang’s words: “When the timing of the fire is not being applied, the winter solstice is not at the hour of Zi; when applying the bathing method, the hours of Mao and You are merely figurative.”

For this reason, the original diagrams and explanations, along with the cumbersome instructions about inhaling through the nose, swallowing, and pressing the wheel positions in the palms, should all be removed so that they do not obscure the student’s mind. At this stage of practice, one need only silently attend to and follow the sense of “ever so faintly” and “drop by drop.” This naturally keeps the intention from becoming scattered. One simply feels the mind and breath resting together: the breath is even and the heart-mind quiet. This is a sign that the return of the Jade Liquid to the Elixir is complete—the stage of Neidan practice based on calming the mind and regulating the breath.

Patriarch Xue also said, “The sage transmits the medicine, but not the fire; throughout the ages, few have understood the timing of the fire. Do not treat the timing of the fire as child’s play; examine it carefully together with the immortals.” This explains why the “fire” is not transmitted: students might practice by mechanically following the words and thereby hinder their understanding of the timing of the fire—the regulation of the body and mind and the progress of practice. Hence the warning not to treat it as child’s play, but to investigate it carefully.

Students should understand that the medicine is the fire, and the fire is also the medicine. When body and mind join and something is gathered, it is called “medicine.” Once body and mind have blended and settled, and one concentrates on guarding them so that they remain balanced and calm, this is called “fire.” How could inhaling so-called heavenly wind, swallowing so-called earthly fluid, pinching and pressing wheel positions in the palms, or proceeding in turn through the various palaces be considered the fire timing of the cyclical circuit? Such actions are little more than counting for its own sake and disturbing the true mind. They directly violate the warning against treating the fire as child’s play. Students of this tradition should discern the matter clearly.

Min Xiaogen says: By the Middle Antiquity, few people in the world could keep their innate, true Yang intact—that is, preserve their pure Yang Qi from depletion through acquired life. For this reason, three sections of instructions were established: “The Union of Kan and Li,” “Gathering the Medicine and Returning It to the Cauldron,” and “The Circumferential Course and the Timing of the Fire.” They describe the Returning Elixir of Jade Liquids, a method of cultivating and refining internal alchemy through essence and Qi. These instructions serve only to restore the Yang essence, Yang Qi, and Yang spirit depleted through acquired life, returning the practitioner to a state resembling that of an untouched child.

If someone hears of the Great Dao while still young and is willing to begin cultivation at once, they need only refine the self and establish the foundation—that is, cultivate body and mind and lay a firm groundwork—to proceed directly to the Union of Qian and Kun, a method of Yin-Yang union symbolized by Heaven and Earth. This is the highest vehicle, a direct method of alchemy among the highest-grade practices. But such people are rare in the world, so these three middle-grade instructions had to be added to the highest-grade alchemical method. They make up for acquired depletion and restore the practitioner to a state like that of a child whose original purity remains intact, after which they can continue with the Union of Qian and Kun described below.

The material found in the original book clearly belongs to a lower-grade alchemical method and certainly was not written by Hengyang himself. It is therefore omitted here.

The Union of Qian and Kun, Chapter Six

The cultivation methods described in the three passages above bring Kan and Li—symbols of Yin and Yang, Water and Fire—together to form the medicine. The medicine is then gathered and returned to the cauldron, where the fire is tended. When the circulation of the microcosmic orbit is complete, the positions of the precelestial Qian and Kun, symbols of Heaven and Earth and of Yin and Yang, are established. From then on, one must never again seek them through outward appearances. Instead, continue to empty and quiet the mind until it becomes utterly clear and open. Fill the abdomen with Qi and remain single-minded and still. With sincerity, turn inward and return to one’s source; one will then naturally enter a settled and tranquil state.

Once Jing and Qi are pure and unified, vital activity suddenly stirs. In an instant, one forgets the original forms of oneself and Heaven and Earth, sensing only a luminous clarity without limit. As soon as this state is perceived, gather the spirit at once, then enter deep stillness, as though breathing had ceased, and enter the aperture—the key point referred to in inner cultivation. At this time, all is muddled and undifferentiated, without awareness or sensation, sound or scent. This is what is called the great opening of the Mysterious Pass and entry deep into a single aperture. After a while, a spark of numinous vitality naturally settles into the Yellow Court, the inner landscape at the center of the body in Daoist inner cultivation. This is the return of precelestial breath, which then naturally circulates throughout the body, above and below, in all directions. Only then does one understand that the body itself is the altar, furnace, cauldron, and stove; the mind is the spirit chamber, where the intention is housed; and the self dwells within it, relying on nothing but true intent—a mind that is pure and single.

At this point, the breath feels fresh and clear, the spirit lucid, the body at ease, and the mind calm and open. Heaven and Earth, the sun and moon, seem soft as cotton. This is called “the Golden Elixir returning through liquid gold.” One senses only a rounded, radiant light, like a primordial pearl resting on a crystal plate, though in truth it has no fixed form. The “unveiling of the empty and numinous” spoken of by the sages, and the “merging of Qian and Kun, restoring my Taiji” spoken of by the former master, both refer to this state.

At this point, the cultivator should guard this subtle state with even greater care, using it to cleanse the mind and withdraw into hidden depths. Be without thought and without action, so that the mind naturally becomes empty and still without growing dull. This stage is called “nurturing the embryo for ten months.” Bai Ziqing said: “It congeals in a moment; after ten months, the embryo’s Qi is complete. There are no hexagram lines and no weights or measures.” This method is simple and suited only to those of superior capacity, which also makes it easier to succeed.

Nurturing the Embryo for Ten Months, Chapter Seven

The spiritual elixir described above has already returned to the spirit chamber, which the ancients also called the “elixir stove.” This method is simple and suited only to those of superior capacity, which also makes it easier to succeed.

Nurturing the Embryo for Ten Months, Chapter Seven

The Spiritual Elixir has now returned to the Spirit Chamber, the place where the Original Spirit is nurtured. This is precisely the stage the ancients described with the words, “Let the pill furnace and river cart rest from their labor; the crane embryo and tortoise breath will continue of themselves, unbroken.” Wang Chongyang said, “After the sacred embryo has congealed, nurture it gently with a mild fire, settle the mind and spirit, and regulate the breath until it is even. Let everything proceed naturally.” The Patriarch of Pure Yang said, “There is no need to deliberately manage the firing process; warmth will arise naturally in the furnace.” The Patriarch of Xinglin said, “Refining Qi is merely wasted effort, and there is no need to exert oneself deliberately in preserving the spirit. Who could know that the subtlety of the Elixir instructions lies in experiencing the True Void throughout the day?” These are all instructions for gently nurturing the sacred embryo.

Although the Great Medicine had been obtained earlier, and five-colored light had appeared within the body, people at the time assumed that the embryo had already formed. But it had not yet undergone transformation. Thus the Immortal Master said, “A treasure in the Dantian is not yet a true treasure. Only when the numinous embryo forms again is it the sacred embryo.”

After obtaining the Elixir, one begins the work of nurturing the embryo for ten months. From then on, attend to it constantly and keep watch over it without interruption, like a dragon guarding a pearl or a hen brooding over her eggs. Let the Qi of gentle nurture continue without a break, and the numinous embryo will gradually grow firm. Make peaceful, gentle nurturing your main approach: do not let thoughts arise, for when a thought moves, the fire will burn too fiercely; do not let the mind wander, for distraction will make the fire go cold. Simply avoid excess and deficiency, keeping the furnace gently warm. There is no other method. Deliberately trying to make something happen will bring danger at once, so take great care! The work of the ten months must continue from beginning to end as though it were a single day. Only by continually maintaining the balanced state before the seven emotions arise, and moment by moment safeguarding the untainted ground of the eight consciousnesses—a Buddhist concept explaining the activity of the mind—can one be said to have succeeded in cultivation, with spirit and Qi complete and the sacred embryo transformed.

If the Elixir fire becomes hot, visualize a black sphere about the size of a bowl between the eyebrows, then draw it into the Spirit Chamber. The heat will subside on its own. This is something one must know.

Transferring the Spirit and Changing the Cauldron, Chapter Eight

When the work of nurturing the embryo for ten months is complete, Qi is abundant and Shen is whole, and the infant appears. Once the infant emerges from the womb, the spirit can be shifted and the vessel changed. Patriarch Qiu of Changchun held that this means allowing the spirit to rise directly from the Central Palace to the Upper Yellow. The Upper Yellow is also called the Mudball and the Celestial Valley; it is the clearest and most lucid realm within the human body.

The “infant” mentioned here is formed from the gathering of primordial Qi; it is not ordinary Jing, Qi, and Shen. It can appear and disappear at will, and even pass through gold and iron without leaving a trace. “Embryo” or “infant” is only a borrowed way of describing its state, not a literal physical form.

Patriarch Xue said that the phrase “preserve it as an infant” in The Supreme One’s Heart Transmission means to nurture it carefully, as one would raise an infant. This concrete image is used to explain the intent of cultivation as it moves from the substantial toward the intangible. Perfected One Duanyang said, “The Dharma Body has already coalesced, but the spirit should still be settled.” Thus, cultivation speaks of shifting the spirit to dwell in the Celestial Valley. This is done not only to enter a clear and lucid realm, but also to accord with nature. Only after grasping the intent behind it can one understand the language of coming and going, appearing and disappearing. Practitioners should remain quiet and settled, keeping the mind and spirit at rest in their proper place, undisturbed by the turmoil of the hun and po souls, until clarity is achieved within and without.

Xiao Zixu said that shifting the spirit to the Celestial Valley is precisely for refining one’s nature. Even when the Three Florescences gather at the crown of the head and the Five Qi converge without obstruction, the mind may still be beset, for a time, by countless disturbances. If one can hold firmly to Wuwei (non-action) and settle the mind and spirit with wisdom, one can verify that, when the right conditions have ripened, stillness arises naturally. Yet practitioners often find it difficult to remain settled and are frequently unsettled by alchemical sayings such as “the Yang spirit taking visible form.”

Patriarch Xue also said, “The Great Dao has no form—how could it have any fixed appearance? The Great Dao has no name—how could there be any spirits or sages? The many names and lofty expressions merely use one thing to explain another, and use appearances to reveal the wondrous workings of reality.” The deepest work of cultivation lies entirely in nurturing the spirit when it is shifted to the Celestial Valley. This essential teaching was lost long ago. Later students who receive it should be cautious, and should not assume that the study of nature and life is merely theoretical and has nothing to do with cultivating life. The so-called “Purple-Ground Golden Body,” too, is formed and revealed through the coalescence of the void’s single Qi; it can therefore disappear when it must and appear when it must.

Patriarch Xue also said, “Its mystery can be understood only by those who can experience it amid great movement and great stillness. Do not mix in conjecture and debate; approach it with reverence and care.”

The Niwan (the brain region within the crown of the head, which Daoism calls the Upper Dantian) is the “Heavenly Valley” of the whole body. It is like the North Star at the center of the Big Dipper, the stabilizing star in the heavens, or the Jade Clarity Heaven in the celestial realm. Once cultivation reaches the stage where the spirit and intention return to the Heavenly Valley, there are no other special methods. To mix in other practices is to fall at once into delusion. The ancient sages made this point clear: cultivation consists only in gathering the mind and making it quiet and steady.

People still dwell in the world through their physical form; the true self has not yet been transformed, and the true spirit is not yet complete. They therefore cannot return to their own poles like the stars, become clear and unified like the three celestial realms, or unite with the stabilizing star. The stabilizing star has no “self,” but people still have a sense of self. The heavenly stabilizing star is condensed from a great mass of true gold. Though formed into a solid body, it is not confined by that body; thus it can accord with Heaven’s intention and follow the growth and transformation of all things. By contrast, cultivating the Golden Elixir depends entirely on the gathering of one’s own true self, Dharma body, and true spirit. Once the essence of Heaven and Earth’s creative transformation has awakened it and it ascends to dwell in the Heavenly Valley, one should emulate the stabilizing star and accord with the Dao of Heaven.

The stabilizing star can shine throughout Heaven, Earth, and humanity—the Three Powers. Cultivators, too, must illuminate the Three Powers, though at first they can see them only within themselves. If they cannot forget the distinction between inner and outer and reach a state of freedom without self, how can they move through the Three Realms, accord with the Dao of Heaven wherever they are, and make movement and stillness one, gathering and dispersal no different from each other? This is certainly beyond those who lack spiritual wisdom. Yet spiritual wisdom alone is by no means enough to sustain this state over time.

Patriarch Xue said, “The Perfected Pure Yang speaks of ‘taking Heaven as model and Earth as form.’ It is easy to say, but how difficult to achieve! Unless one reaches the utmost emptiness and deep stillness, living in the world while transcending it is hard to attain. Yet the key to this state lies in entering the world and accepting its trials. As the saying goes: in stillness, nurture wisdom; in action, temper wisdom.” Xinglin’s commentary explains, “The only concern is that people fail to see through things and let them go, so they must be put to the test.”

In my view, the method of tempering ultimately comes down to a single word: sincerity. Sincerity does not merely fulfill oneself; it also fulfills all things. Thus, when one sincerely nurtures oneself in stillness, the spirit naturally becomes clear and luminous; when one sincerely puts this into practice through action, one’s nature naturally becomes transparent. When one’s nature is transparent, the spirit naturally settles, and there are no worldly attachments one cannot let go of. When the spirit is clear and luminous, one’s nature naturally becomes whole and open, and there are no worldly principles one cannot see through. This is what the Great Learning means by “Only after things have been investigated does knowledge become complete; only after knowledge is complete does intention become sincere.” When the mind is set right and the person is cultivated, all follows naturally, like an echo answering a sound.

This is the true secret of nurturing and tempering wisdom. Cultivators cannot arrive at it through reasoning from knowledge, discern it through conscious thought, or cling to spiritual awareness in pursuit of the numinous. They need only abide in the original mind, which seems not to be spiritual yet gives rise to spirit. This is the nature of “becoming clear through sincerity.” People receive their allotment of destiny from Heaven; a noble person cannot cultivate nature while neglecting destiny. This is precisely the function of refining the spirit. The foundation for advancing further to the state of returning to emptiness lies here.

Refining Shen and returning to emptiness is the tenth stage of cultivation.

It was said earlier that stillness and settledness can give rise to wisdom: when stillness reaches its utmost, movement begins; emptiness does not run dry, and movement continually generates vitality. In this way, one can attain great wisdom and great spiritual powers. But if one only keeps moving and cannot return to stillness, how can wisdom be preserved, and how can the spirit avoid exhaustion? For this reason, the ancestral masters also transmitted the essential method of refining Shen and returning to emptiness.

The method is to remain in the state of quiet observation and inner ease even amid every kind of activity. One recognizes that this body and the boundless world are vast, that the movement of Qi—the generative energy circulating between Heaven and Earth—changes without end, and that all things are one with oneself. Ordinary people, dwelling between Heaven and Earth, are as small as a grain of rice and drift with the rise and fall of worldly affairs. I, by contrast, realize my independent and constant true nature, responding as things come without opposing or rejecting them.

The faint stirrings of ordinary people’s seven emotions and eight forms of consciousness—all manner of feeling and discriminating thought—arise within the pervasive flow of primordial Qi, as Daoism understands it. I alone nurture the vast, boundless primordial Jing, the innate vital essence, until it melts away, as though even emptiness were shattered with it. Then I realize that people and things are connected as one, all borne along by the Six Qi as they circulate. Ordinary people and sages alike dwell within Heaven and Earth, and distinctions between body and spirit fall away.

I entrust to the sovereign spirit who governs Heaven and Earth the celestial mandate that brings forth the land and sets Heaven and Earth in motion, yet I do not wield its authority. I let the responses arising from preserving Shen change with the movement of Qi, without anticipating their outcome. This is like the light of the sun and moon, which shines everywhere of its own accord and without intention; thus it remains bright from age to age and does not decline through countless kalpas.

This is what “refining” and “returning” mean. In the end, both words refer only to temporary methods of cultivation. One who is skilled at returning to emptiness is like someone who, having caught a fish, forgets the basket used to catch it: they no longer cling to the method itself.

The “return to emptiness” discussed earlier has reached a state in which self and things are no longer separated. Yet the mind still distinguishes between “self” and “external things.” As long as this distinction remains, self-mastery is not yet complete; one must press on and go further still. What the Patriarch calls “refining emptiness and joining with the Dao” is the final essential instruction. Only by reaching this stage can one become one with the Great Dao and return to what is real.

This world and this body are ultimately like illusions. Though we can see and hear them, they are not real or unchanging. If we cannot break our attachment to emptiness, and still regard one side as real and the other as empty—or, conversely, take this place to be empty and that place to be real—we remain trapped in a biased view. Unless we cast off this distinction, we will inevitably remain vulnerable to disturbance. When worldly affairs go against our wishes, we will once again be stirred by earthly troubles. “Restlessly coming and going, companions follow your thoughts”: this describes a mind in turmoil, its thoughts ceaselessly arising. How, then, can one put an end to scattered thoughts and forget emotional attachments? The only way is to let go of the distinction between the real and the illusory and follow things as they naturally unfold. Then one can accord with the Dao. In the end, “refining” comes down to one phrase: “break through emptiness.” Once this is accomplished, one can immediately accord with the natural Dao.

The Great Dao is like the public highway of Jambudvipa, the human world in ancient Buddhist usage; all things pass along it. As the poem says, “The great road is smooth as a whetstone and straight as an arrow.” The real obstacles are unclear vision, insufficient strength to carry on, and a wavering will. Once these are overcome, why worry that cultivation will fall short of its utmost goal?

Yet people in the world have lost the proper way. Lacking the discerning eye to distinguish right from wrong, they are also deceived by false teachers. These teachers carelessly point out paths of cultivation and hand out walking sticks at random, sometimes even leading people away from the Dao. The Most High, a reverential Daoist title for the founding ancestor, took pity on humanity and had Master Li of Hengyang restate the stages and methods of Golden Elixir cultivation. But others then stole Daoist teachings, mixing genuine methods with false ones to deceive people and pursue their own gain.

They do not understand that the Dao is in everyone’s heart, with no distinction among the three teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, and no regard for one’s religious lineage. Everyone possesses an innate moral awareness and capacity for action that cannot be extinguished; these directly carry on the Most High’s transmission of the heart.

The author says that he came from the Hengyang lineage and later had the good fortune to inherit the Northern School’s transmission. Both lineages belong to the same tradition under Patriarch Lü; their line of teaching has always been one, so their principles are naturally no different. When he came across this book, he found truth and falsehood mixed together, so he revised and supplemented it, then arranged it into a coherent work. This is like people sharing one room and answering one another: those with the same aims and interests naturally resonate with each other. He compiled this book to give to later students, in response to fellow practitioners’ wish to seek one another out and pass the teaching on.

He hopes that later students will receive the mind-to-mind transmission—the essential teaching understood and conveyed through the heart—and no longer wonder whether the text relies on false names and metaphors. Nor will they need to wear themselves out, body and mind, in cultivation. If they simply settle the mind in stillness and focus, they can see their original nature directly. When thoughts do not arise, the cycle of rebirth can cease; as deluded thoughts disappear, accumulated evil karma, as vast as dust and sand, will also be cleared away. They can then realize the fruit of purity together with all living beings. How direct and liberating this practice is! What could one hesitate over, or refuse to take up here and now?

When cultivation reaches its highest point, one can naturally receive the Dao in its entirety and return to it. The story of the Yellow Emperor losing and then recovering the pearl, and the account of Zengzi saying on his deathbed that he had preserved his body, both illustrate the state attained when “refining emptiness”—cultivating until one reaches stillness and emptiness and accords with the Dao—is brought to completion. Students of the Three Teachings—Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism—should all be able to understand this.

Chapter Twelve: Becoming One with the Dao and Realizing the True

Once cultivation has reached the stage of “refining emptiness and merging with the Dao,” no practice remains that must be deliberately performed. A cultivator’s attainment is measured only by whether they have reached the Sage’s state of knowing the Mandate of Heaven. They act with ease and spontaneity, in keeping with the Middle Way. In the eyes of the world, their words are like the line statements of the Changes, revealing the principles of things; even their silence conveys images and meanings. Their actions accord with the Way of Heaven, and in stillness they freely roam with it.

At this point, the eight hundred meritorious deeds are complete and the three thousand good acts fulfilled. Such a person is like Confucius, who “followed his heart’s desires”; like Yao and Shun, who governed the world in accord with heavenly principle; like the “People of Heaven” described by Mencius—those who act in accordance with the Way of Heaven; like the “Great Vehicle Golden Immortals” of Buddhism; and like the Daoist “Celestial Immortals of the Highest Grade.” When they enter public life to govern, they can bring stability to the state and peace to the world. Their actions become the standard for all under Heaven, their conduct the model for the people, and their words a guide for everyone. People look up to them from afar with admiration and, when close to them, never grow weary of their presence.

Their spiritual awareness merges with the Great Void, the boundless expanse of emptiness, able to bear and shelter all things. They grow alongside all things without harming them, and move throughout the Six Directions—above, below, and the four quarters—without ruling over them. Like Heaven and Earth, they undergo cycles of opening and closing, yet are not bound by Heaven and Earth’s changes between concealment and manifestation, or by their anxieties over flourishing and decline. When the master said, “Keeping pace with the Sovereign Fuxi, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Primordial Beginning,” he meant that this person has become wholly merged with Fuxi and the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning within the boundless Great Dao.

The original title of this section was “Awaiting an Imperial Summons to Ascend.” It claimed that, even after reaching this stage of cultivation, one must continue accumulating merit and wait for a heavenly edict to arrive and phoenixes and cranes to come as escorts before ascending to the immortal realm. Such a view is narrow and shallow, and reflects only the attainments of middle and lower grades of alchemy; it cannot demonstrate the state achieved through the highest grade. The title and the related claims have therefore both been revised here, so that students of the Way need not be troubled by them.