《云笈七签》Vol. 19

When writing scriptures, one should first cultivate the “Way of Constant Abiding.” This is a method transmitted by the True Sovereign, a revered Daoist deity, through a spell that all the gods respectfully hear. The Zhengao also says: “If you wish to write at night, you should first cultivate the Way of Constant Abiding.”

To cultivate the method of “Heavenly Truth,” swallow saliva twenty-seven times each morning and evening. As you swallow, press the points called “Heavenly Truth” (on the inner ends of the eyebrows), “Mountain Source” (at the philtrum), and “Flowery Court” (the hollows beneath the eyebrows), pressing each point twenty-seven times. You may press them in sequence or all at once. While pressing, recite the spell:

“Open the Heavenly Court and grant me long life; let my vision reach ten thousand miles, and restore my soul to an infant’s purity. Destroy ghosts and demons, drive away obstructions, and summon many numinous spirits. Ascend to the realm of the Most High and unite with the sun; take my place among the Perfected and enter my name in the wondrous register of immortals.”

The scripture says this method enables a person to attain spiritual powers and far-reaching vision, and to ward off all manner of evil influences.

When Daoist priests face trials from heavenly demons, they recite the “Spell for Expelling Demons,” which comes from the Jing for Destroying Demons. First, visualize a round halo like the sun above your head, a Vermilion Phoenix on the left and a Black Tortoise on the right, and a jeweled canopy of purple clouds overhead. Your whole body shines with light, while immortal youths and jade maidens attend you, holding five-colored tally staffs. The gods who come from the Three Realms stand before you. Nine phoenixes cry out ahead, and eight luan birds sing behind. The White Emperor leads the way, and the spirit of the Supreme Ultimate joins the procession.

Then click your left teeth thirty-six times and your right teeth twenty-four times. Next, tap the “Heavenly Drum” (gently tapping both sides of the head with your hands) twelve times, then recite the spell in a low voice:

The celestial net is laid out with venomous beasts guarding the great gates in the four directions. They devour malign Qi and tear out the gallbladders of demons. Mountain spirits and grotesque monsters gather in hordes, their mouths wide open as if to swallow the sky, while mighty guards shout their commands. Venomous dragons raise their sharp claws; golden-headed beasts devour whatever lies in their path. Tens of thousands of majestic celestial soldiers arrive bearing talismans, moving mountains and suppressing evil. The spirits of the Six Heavens are fearless; they gather together to protect the Jade Mandate.

Demons and monsters wreak havoc everywhere, and foul vapors spread. Evil spirits sing their wicked songs in the void, bow to the Emperor, and obscure the light of Heaven. Water ghosts change their forms, waiting for a chance to enter the life gate—the place through which life enters and departs. The command passed down by the Spirit King can be heard no matter how deep or hidden its source: above, it governs the Six Qi; below, it surveys the river sources, inspects the Five Sacred Peaks and Four Great Rivers, and swiftly distinguishes good from evil. Countless evil spirits come before me to face judgment. The Five Emperors examine the records, and those who have merit are pardoned.

The Emperor must bind the forms of all the fierce demons. Whoever dares disobey the command shall be executed without pardon: disemboweled and dismembered, beheaded and utterly destroyed, cast into a boiling cauldron in the north, or burned in fierce flames at the Southern Mound. The Golden Perfected record the malign Qi; the flowing bell captures souls. No demon or evil spirit escapes, until its form and root are utterly destroyed. Wearing the Heavenly Scriptures, proclaim the Orthodox Way and cleanse the Nine Qi—the Qi of Heaven and Earth—so that the Three Origins, Heaven, Earth, and humanity, are clear and pure. Ascend to the celestial realm, unite with the Heavenly Perfected, and return to the natural state. No evil being may intrude. Should any disturbance arise, report it to the celestial court. Draw in Qi and swallow twelve times; then the rite is complete.

The Jade Emperor’s Method for Guarding Spirits and Repelling Ghosts (a method for protecting spirits and driving away ghosts, from the Scripture of Dispelling Demons)

The incantation recited by the Jade Emperor:

Heaven’s mandate is upheld in the Nine Heavens. Report it to the Upper Clarity, summon the assembled Perfected Ones, and gather them all at the Emperor’s Court. The Great One descends to inspect; the Two Sovereigns guard the body, watch over every evil presence, regulate the breath, and nurture life. If an inauspicious being offends the spirits and obstructs the pure and upright Daoist rites, marshal and deploy the divine troops: the Seven Spirits wield great axes; the Heavenly Blade advances on the right, swords sweep the way clear, and fire bells are hurled. Orders are sent to the armored cavalry, the armed warriors, and the celestial soldiers. Wind and fire rise together to punish treacherous demons and spirits. Above, they awe the Six Heavens; below, they seize the demonic spirits. Once the evil forces have been awed and subdued, every kind of wicked being will be destroyed. Divine halberds sweep through like lightning, leaving no treacherous demon alive. The Immortal Emperor takes up the tally and issues the command; none dares obstruct it. Whoever violates the tally and refuses to obey shall have their form destroyed. May all the gods remain alert and vigilant, together guarding the peace of the celestial court. The Nine Heavens issue the command; the myriad gods must respectfully obey. Hasten, hasten, in accordance with the statutes and ordinances.

At night, when you feel afraid and dream that demons come to test and tempt people, or to invade their lives, the Immortal Emperor holds the tally of authority (a token symbolizing celestial power). The command has already been given here—who dares to linger? If you reject the tally and defy the command, your body will be destroyed. Each of you, be fearful and vigilant, and together protect the peace of the celestial realm. The Nine Heavens have issued their command; all the gods must respectfully obey. Act with all haste, in accordance with the statutes!

At night, when you feel afraid and dream that demons test people and attack their true Qi (vital energy), causing illness, quickly recite this incantation.

Visualize the Supreme Dao (the highest Dao) in your heart and pray to the Heavenly Emperor. Then face north, click your teeth thirty-six times, hold your breath, and silently recite the incantation above. When you have finished, click your teeth another thirty-six times and swallow the saliva in your mouth ten times. In this way, every kind of evil demon and haunting spirit will be subdued and destroyed; the Seven Spirits (deities who protect the human body) will be settled and joined in harmony; the Great One (Taiyi), the supreme deity revered in Daoism, will watch over and protect you; and the myriad spirits will guard the perfected person. You may also recite this every day, silently repeating it when you go to sleep to ward off all kinds of evil spirits.

Method for Treating Sudden Illness

Anyone who receives and practices the Three-Five method, a Daoist ritual lineage, should keep in mind the true names of the Three Heavens and the true names of the Three Masters. When faced with sudden danger, hardship, or illness, call aloud the true names of the Three Heavens and silently call the true names of the Three Masters; calamities and illnesses will then disperse.

The true name of the Upper Shangqing Subtle Heaven is “Fangzhong”;

the true name of the Middle Yuyao Heaven is “Yuan”;

the true name of the Lower Great Crimson Heaven is “Deqiu.”

These are the true names of the Three Heavens.

The true name of the Unexcelled One on the left is “Zhen”;

the true name of the Mysterious Elder on the right is “Zhong”;

the name of the Most High in the center is “Yin.”

These are the names of the Three Masters.

Method of Drawing Back the Tongue and Sealing the Throat

For those who practice Guarding the One, a method of cultivation in which one concentrates on the spirits and preserves the true Qi within the body, the spirits within the body are usually at peace. If you feel unwell, draw your tongue back to press against your throat and rinse your mouth with its sweet saliva. When your mouth is full, swallow. Then continue swallowing the saliva as before, until you feel settled. If you still have not recovered, repeat the process. In a short while, the symptoms of discomfort will gradually fade, and you will naturally recover.

This method was said to be effective at the time. Practitioners would feel their bodies becoming relaxed and gentle within. Once body and mind were settled, they could return to a state of free and easy ease. Taiji Zhongzhen, Taixu Zhenren, Nanyue Chijun, Miaoxing Zhenren, and others all practiced this method and thereby became sages and perfected beings.

◎ The Inner Method of the Golden Immortal

The Inner Method of the Golden Immortal is a cultivation practice for summoning divine spirits to descend. At midnight on the fifth day of each month, the practitioner visualizes the solar bird within the sun—the Golden Crow, a mythical bird said to dwell in the sun—entering through their mouth and resting in their heart, where its light illuminates the inner mind. The heart seems as bright as the sun and joins with its radiance, shining with intense brilliance. At this point, one should feel warmth in the heart, as if bathed in rosy clouds: gentle, moist, and bright. Continue for a time, until a response appears.

Then silently recite the invocation: “Great Brightness nourishes Jing and Qi; within, I refine the Cinnabar Heart. Our radiances shine upon one another, and the divine perfected beings come to meet.” After reciting it, swallow saliva nine times and click the teeth nine times; then the practice may end.

On the fifteenth, twenty-fifth, and twenty-ninth days, practice again according to the method above, for a total of four times each month. The scripture says that this practice can make the mind clear and the hearing and sight keen, open the body’s apertures, and make the various divine spirits clearly manifest. The face will take on a jade-like luster, and the body will show a golden sheen. After fifteen years of practice, Taiyi, a revered Daoist deity, will send a jeweled carriage to welcome the practitioner, carrying them up to the Highest Empyrean to feast and roam in the Purple Pole—the heavenly realm. One should practice as diligently as possible; these four days need not be fixed each month.

Volume 48: Secret Essentials and Methods, Part Four

◎ Account of Lord Lao’s Method of Illumination (with the Vow Method)

Lord Lao said: “The Inner Landscape of Metal and Water is a method of inner visualization that uses images such as metal and water. It uses Yin Qi to set Yang Qi in motion. Those able to practice this method can divide themselves and transform, dispersing their forms and making them appear: from one they become ten thousand, which instantly array themselves as six armies. Even when a thousand billion li away, they can travel back and forth in the time it takes to breathe. They can ride clouds and walk on water, entering and leaving without obstruction. They can see the heavenly spirits and earthly deities, the evil ghosts known as laobai in the source text, and all manner of hidden beings. If they concentrate their thoughts with single-minded focus, they can foresee what is about to happen. If you can uphold this method, you can become an Immortal King.”

Lord Lao said: “If you wish to practice the Method of the Bright Mirror, an inner visualization practice for attaining clear perception, do not enter the home of someone holding a funeral or a place where a birth is taking place. Keep the mind and spirit pure and cast out distracting thoughts. Bathe using five kinds of incense, and drink an aromatic liquid made from orchid and cassia. Then you will be able to see all manner of things. If you concentrate your thoughts with single-minded focus, you can foresee what is about to happen. If you can uphold this method, you can become an Immortal King.”

Laojun said: When practicing the “Bright Mirror” art, do not enter a house in mourning or a place where a woman has recently given birth. Keep your thoughts calm and clear. When bathing, use five kinds of incense, and drink an aromatic infusion made with orchid and cassia blossoms. Do not eat meat, fish, or pungent foods; avoid foul odors, and do not approach women. Practice in a secluded, quiet place, in a deep and private room. No sound of carts or horses, drums or gongs should be audible nearby, nor should there be the clamor of birds or beasts. Only when these conditions are met may the art be performed.

This practice is especially vulnerable to fright. Once disturbed, it is difficult to resume; if it fails, it is hard to succeed afterward. While practicing, let no stray thought remain in your mind, and pay no attention to other sounds. Gather your spirit, steady your gaze, and hold your attention as though contemplating something. Success may come only through sustained, undistracted focus.

Laojun said: You should prepare a Bright Mirror measuring nine inches across. Its surface must have no chips, stains, or flaws. Ideally, it should be clear and lustrous, regular in shape, and able to reflect a person’s features.

Laojun also said: In the past, my own teacher used a mirror one foot and two inches across, placing one in each of the four directions—front, back, left, and right—and called them the “Four Regulators.” This method is difficult to master quickly and can easily fail if the practitioner is startled. Such a disturbance may bring great calamity, so few people have been able to master it. Rong Cheng once used a mirror one foot across, placed upright before him, to behold spirits, yet he still could not live forever. Shangzi said that using two nine-inch mirrors, one on either side of the body, called the “Sun and Moon,” could also prolong life.

If you wish to multiply yourself and transform, vanish while seated, ascend into the “Yellow Court” (a Daoist term for the spirits within the body or a realm of cultivation), live forever, command the hundred numina (various spirits), pass in and out of water and fire, metal and stone, plants and trees, and earth, and fly wherever you wish, then you should use the “Four Regulators” method I have described. If you only wish to know in advance what is auspicious or inauspicious and how the sun and moon will change, the method described earlier is sufficient.

The Lord Lao said: To set up the “markers” used to visualize directions during cultivation, place them one chi and five cun from yourself, at the height of your eyebrows. Hang purple and blue-green cords from each one, and place the “Flowery Water” beneath them, making sure everything is level. During cultivation, keep your eyes open day and night until something appears; only then has the practice taken effect. Your eyes must not be closed, for a spirit might suddenly appear while they are shut. If you do not see it at once, it may lose its spirit and depart, or you may suddenly open your eyes and be frightened by seeing it without a gradual transition, causing the practice to fail.

The Lord Lao said: Those who practice the “Way of the Four Markers”—setting markers in the four directions and visualizing the honored deities—will certainly see them. Do not transmit this method to anyone who is not an accomplished adept who has realized the Way. The Daoist methods I transmit are extremely secret; it is rare to find someone in the world fit to receive them. Better not to reveal them lightly, even to those within the Daoist tradition.

The Lord Lao said: Anyone wishing to practice the Four Markers must set them one chi and five cun away, at a height of three chi.

The Lord Lao said: At the eastern marker, you should see two immortals. They wear caps decorated with red ribbons, have long, narrow faces and high-set ears, and black hair on their heads and bodies. Do not be alarmed when you see them.

The Lord Lao said: At the western marker, you should see the Queen Mother of the West, with Jade Maidens attending her.

The Lord Lao said: At the southern marker, you should see the Primordial Lady of Central Harmony and Limitlessness, a Daoist deity with eleven heads, wearing a crown of spontaneity and red robes.

The Lord Lao said: At the northern marker, you should see the Lord of the Celestial Emperor, with thirteen heads. The colors of his clothes and cap change with the seasons.

The Lord Lao said: At times, you may see a figure wearing yellow clothes and a yellow cap. If white-haired, this is the Lord of Prolonged Life, the deity who governs longevity. If young, this is the Lord Who Receives the Mandate, a deity associated with receiving one’s allotted lifespan.

The Lord Lao said: At times, you may see a figure wearing red robes and a red headcloth. If young, this is the Lord Who Receives the Mandate, who governs the reception of one’s allotted lifespan. If old, this is the Lord of Fate, who governs human lifespans and registers of destiny.

The Lord Lao said: At times, you may see two figures wearing yellow feather robes and black caps. They are the Lords Who Inspect Conduct, deities who oversee people’s actions.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees three people dressed in red feather robes and wearing blue-green caps. They are the Lords Who Hear Sounds, deities who oversee listening to sounds.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees a person wearing a tall crown and vermilion robes, holding a brush and documents. He is the Lord Who Records Transgressions, a deity who keeps a record of faults.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees a person dressed in yellow and wearing a yellow cap, shielding his face with his sleeve. He is the Lord Who Adds Years, a deity who oversees the granting of additional years of life.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees two people wearing red lower garments. They are the Lords Who Inspect the Body, deities who keep watch over the physical form.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees a Jade Maiden dressed in blue-green, named the Jade Maiden Huijing.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees a Jade Maiden dressed in black, named the Jade Maiden Taixuan.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees a Jade Maiden dressed in red, named the Jade Maiden Chigui.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees a Jade Maiden dressed in yellow, named the Jade Maiden Changyang.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees three youths dressed in blue-green robes and purple lower garments.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees a Jade Maiden dressed in yellow, named the Jade Maiden Changyang.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees three youths dressed in blue-green robes and purple lower garments, arriving together. They are named Changzai, Juedong, and Wude.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees nine Jade Maidens, each dressed in a different color, arriving together. They are named Shang, Hu, Fu, Lingque, Konglin, Ping, Zhu, Duo, and Yuan.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees a person with a three-inch mark beneath the eyes, dressed in yellow with blue-green lower garments. He is the Lord Tongmu.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees a baby two or three feet tall, smiling toward the viewer. He is the Youth of the Nine Capitals.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees a youth five or six feet tall, standing and smiling, with a naturally formed canopy—an extraordinary, umbrella-shaped radiance—above the left side of the head. He is the Youth in the Sun. If the canopy is above the right side, he is the Youth in the Moon.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees a deity with a human head and a bird’s body, its five colors chiefly black and yellow. He is the Supreme Supreme Lord Taiyi, the Dao’s Father.

Laojun said: Sometimes one sees nine people, all dressed in blue-green and with white hair. They are the Lords of Limitless, Great Origin, revered deities associated with the Limitless and the Great Origin.

The Lord Lao said: Sometimes one may see a figure clad in a dark yellow robe of five colors. He is the Supreme Supreme Lord Taiyi, Father of the Dao.

Sometimes one may see nine people, all dressed in blue with white hair. They are the Lord Taiyuan of the Boundless.

Sometimes one may see a figure six chi and five cun tall, wearing a horned cap and white robes with a red collar, sometimes patterned with tigers and phoenixes. His surname is Li, his given name Er, and his courtesy name Boyang. He usually appears at dawn, just as the sky begins to brighten.

Sometimes one may see a figure six chi and seven cun tall, wearing a Chonghua crown and white robes with blue trim. His name is Li Tan and his courtesy name is Boyang. He usually appears at sunrise.

Sometimes one may see a figure six chi and nine cun tall, wearing a Chonghua crown and robes of five colors. His name is Li [name illegible] and his courtesy name is Boguang. He usually appears at breakfast time.

Sometimes one may see a figure seven chi and two cun tall, wearing a Bixie crown and a gauze robe. His appearance resembles a dragon or snake. His name is Li Shi and his courtesy name is Menggong. He usually appears in the midmorning, between nine and eleven.

Sometimes one may see a figure seven chi and three cun tall, wearing a Flying Dragon crown and red robes. His name is Li Zhongquan and his courtesy name is Ziwen. He usually appears at noon.

Sometimes one may see a figure seven chi and five cun tall, wearing a Sanjie crown and robes of vermilion jade. His name is Li Ding and his courtesy name is Yuanyang. He usually appears in the afternoon, after noon when the sun has begun to move westward.

Sometimes one may see a figure seven chi and five cun tall, wearing a Sanjie crown and robes of vermilion jade. His name is Li Ding and his courtesy name is Yuanyang. He usually appears in the afternoon, after noon when the sun has begun to move westward.

Sometimes one may see a figure eight chi tall, wearing a fur cap and black robes. His name is Li Yuan and his courtesy name is Boshi. He usually appears in the late afternoon, between three and five.

Sometimes one may see a figure one chi and five cun tall, wearing a Ziran crown and robes patterned with dragons and snakes. His name is Li Yuan and his courtesy name is Yuansheng. He usually appears at sunset.

Sometimes one may see a figure nine chi and five cun tall, wearing a Ziran crown and robes of blue and purple. His name is Li De and his courtesy name is Bowen. He usually appears at dusk.

The Lord Lao says: In cultivating the “Way of the Bright Mirror”—a method of seeing one’s form and spirit with the aid of a mirror and a measuring frame—those of superior aptitude can master it in seven days, those of middling aptitude in ten days, and those of lesser aptitude in one month.

The Lord Lao says: The mirror’s inner layer should be purple-blue, and the frame should measure nine inches when assembled.

The Lord Lao says: In cultivating the “Way of the Bright Mirror,” those of superior aptitude can master it in seven days, those of middling aptitude in ten days, and those of lesser aptitude in one month.

The Lord Lao says: The mirror’s inner layer should be purple-blue. Made to fit a nine-inch frame, the mirror should be one foot and two inches long.

The Lord Lao says: After cultivating, those of superior aptitude can first see their own form, then the spirits and demons in their dwelling, and after that the heavenly deities.

The Lord Lao says: When seeing spirits, one may sometimes see only a single figure. Even when there is more than one, there are usually no more than six or seven. Keep your attention fixed on the scene within the frame and become familiar with what appears; then you will be able to see the spirits. At that moment, do not speak or bow in worship. Quickly steady yourself, and do not panic or feel afraid.

The Lord Lao says: Those who cultivate this method should not cut down trees in spring, use water to put out fires in summer, handle earth during the months when Earth is in its seasonal peak, smelt metal in autumn, or block waterways or draw wells dry in winter. These prohibitions follow the correspondences between Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water and the four seasons.

The Lord Lao says: Those who cultivate this method should not eat liver in spring, heart in summer, spleen during the months when Earth is in its seasonal peak, lungs in autumn, or kidneys in winter. According to the correspondences among the Five Viscera, the Five Phases, and the five seasons, each organ belongs to its corresponding season. If the spirits of the Five Viscera are angered, they can cloud a person’s mind and shorten their life.

The Lord Lao says: Those who cultivate this method should persevere over a long period and not grow lax.

The Lord Lao says: Those who cultivate this method should not eat liver in spring, heart in summer, spleen during the months when Earth is in its seasonal peak, lungs in autumn, or kidneys in winter. If the spirits of the Five Viscera are angered, they can cloud a person’s mind and shorten their life.

The Lord Lao says: Those who cultivate this method should persevere over a long period. Those who see results after seven days of practice should practice again every seventy days; they will surely see the spirits just as they did when they first mastered the method.

The Lord Lao says: This method can restore youth and delay aging.

The Lord Lao says: After seeing the spirits, continue cultivating and you may ask them for the essentials of long life. They will explain those essentials in full.

The Lord Lao says: Once the Way of cultivating with the four frames is complete, you may continue practicing with just one frame; there is no need to use all four.

Laojun said, “The two youths within the secluded palace both wear green headscarves. They ascend to the North Pole and descend into the mysterious palace, using mirrors to inspect what lies there.”

Laojun said, “In practicing this Dao, you must always place the Vermilion Bird above, three feet tall; the Black Tortoise below, five feet tall; the Azure Dragon on the left, nine feet tall; and the White Tiger on the right, seven feet tall. You must also tread upon the sun and moon.”

Laojun said, “That is not all. The Vermilion Bird must hold a nine-inch-long mirror in its beak, the Black Tortoise must carry a round mirror one foot and two inches in diameter on its back, the Azure Dragon must hold the sun in its mouth, and the White Tiger must hold the moon. If you can manifest the forms of dragons and serpents, transform by making multiple bodies of yourself, and see beyond the Four Seas while seated, then the true divine beings have arrived.”

Laojun said, “At night, light a lamp to illuminate the space. Sesame oil makes the best lamp fuel.”

Laojun said, “If you wish to treat the sick, or enter the deep mountains and fear that mountain spirits and the hundred ghosts may test you, place a round mirror on the door and a vessel beneath it filled with flower-infused water. Then lay a sword horizontally across the water, its blade facing outward. The hundred ghosts will not dare approach. Even a being called Lao Xiao, if it charges straight through the door, cannot cross the water and will die, leaving its blood in the water. Keep this method secret; do not show it to ordinary people.”

Laojun said, “To ward off weapons and every kind of harmful spirit, carry a three-inch round mirror with a circular talisman symbolizing Heaven cast onto its back, and keep it concealed on your person. Wear it on the right on Yin days and on the left on Yang days. Carrying it into a crowd will let you prevail over everyone and inspire their awe. This is a secret method of my Dao.”

Oath-Binding Method

A Daoist priest named So-and-so from a certain prefecture, county, township, neighborhood, and temple, following The Essential Instructions on the Four Rules of Lord Lao, transmits the method’s instructions to a certain person from a certain prefecture, county, township, and neighborhood. The recipient offers forty feet of white silk, one peck of rice, a bundle of firewood, and five sheng of salt as tokens of the oath. The transmitter swears never to reveal the instructions. If the recipient fails to follow the requirements for practice, they will be as if they had fallen into the Yellow Springs after death. The two swear according to the precepts of their former master, practice diligently and with single-minded focus, hold to one resolve, and draw a symbol together as a token of trust. The method may be transmitted only after three years of practice have shown results, and must not be passed on to an unsuitable person. To violate the oath is to incur guilt before the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water; the violator will never become an immortal and must never speak words that betray the foundations of the master’s lineage.

The Method of Bright Illumination

To gaze into a mirror and see one’s own appearance, slightly open the door and keep the room dim. The method may be transmitted only after three years of practice have shown results, and must not be passed on to an unsuitable person. Anyone who breaks the oath will incur guilt before the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water, will never become an immortal, and must never speak words that betray the foundations of the master’s lineage.

The method for seeing one’s reflection is as follows: Open the window slightly, stay in a dark place facing a bright one, close your eyes for a while, and picture your own face. At first, you may see nothing. After a night, however, the image will gradually become clear, as though you can plainly see your face and headcloth, and your mind feels lucid and clear. Dawn and sunset are the best times to practice. If the daylight is strong, open the window slightly and try to see your reflection in a bright place; you will instead see nothing. If you use firelight, keep the fire at a distance and do not go near it.

To open your eyes and see your body in a mirror, you should be in a bright place. To close your eyes and visualize your face, you should be in darkness, facing a bright place; this makes the image easier to appear. The essentials of mirror practice are to lie still and visualize with focused sincerity. Before lying down, stretch out and relax your body. After a while, it is said, reddish-yellow light will issue from your forehead and illuminate the entire room. Your awareness then becomes hazy, as if both awake and asleep, and you will see your own face, as though meeting your gaze in the light. A moment later, the scene will disappear. After waking, look in the mirror again. If you visualize in this way before sleep, it is said that you can see the image every night. You may also see two faces facing one another while you are between waking and sleeping, or two images of yourself sitting side by side, or a handsome spirit in a dream. After waking, look in the mirror again. At times, you may see a divine youth or jade maiden, fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in finery and appearing face-on; then you should bow twice. At times, you may hear a voice beside your ear that foretells good and ill fortune and various events in the world; at times, you may see through the eastern wall to the western wall; at times, you may look in a mirror in a dream at night; and at times, you may turn the light back upon yourself and look inward at the Five Viscera. Begin the practice during the Shen hour, between three and five in the afternoon.

The officials and attendants of Lord Bright Mirror number one hundred and twenty. They reside in Kaiyang Palace and govern the pupils of the human eyes. The vital essence and radiance within the pupils reflect one another, allowing practitioners to see visions and discern good and ill fortune. Lord Bright Mirror is attended by three boys and nine maidens. The three boys are six feet tall, and the nine maidens are five feet tall.

The Three Boys

The Nine Maidens

Qingyao, Dangwen, Neizi, Sunü, Huangnü, Zhangshang, Daonü, Nüying, and Cengnü wear garments of blue, purple, blue, white, yellow, light yellow, yellow, red, and deep red, respectively.

The Method of the Precious Mirror’s Radiance

After completing the visualization of the spirits at midnight, rise and sit upright, facing the king’s direction. Sit with your legs folded, clasp your hands firmly with your thumbs pressed into your palms, and gently close your eyes. Do nothing else. Visualize a ball of white Qi, about the size of an egg, appearing in each eye and suspended before you.

After a while, the white Qi transforms into two bright mirrors, each nine inches in diameter. Use them to illuminate your entire body from front and back, revealing all twenty-four of the body’s spirits clearly. Once the mirrors have formed, visualize the mirror on the left shining from the front, so that you see the spirits’ faces; the mirror on the right shines from behind, revealing their backs. Let each of the twenty-four spirits remain in its own place. You need not call them by name; simply visualize their forms, colors, and heights, until they appear clearly reflected in the mirrors.

Then silently recite this invocation in your heart:

“Bright and precious mirrors, divide forms and scatter transformations; illuminate the original spirits, subdue and command the myriad demons. Fly through the Highest Clarity, clad in cloud scarves and gauzy robes; command a thousand spirits, seal the mountains, and summon the rivers.”

After reciting, visualize the mirrors’ radiance gradually shrinking and returning into your brows and eyes. Then let it disappear and lie down to rest. The scripture says that by practicing this method regularly, one can avoid calamity and ultimately ascend to immortality.

The Method of Rubbing and Illuminating

Long ago, there was a Daoist who made the rubbing of mirrors his Way. He traveled among the people, earning a living by polishing mirrors for them.

Long ago, there was a Daoist who knew how to polish mirrors. He often traveled among the people, earning his living by polishing their mirrors. Large or small, he charged only six or seven coins each time. He used nothing else to polish them: he spread a medicinal paste over the surface and rubbed it clean, giving the mirrors an unusually bright gleam.

Yuan Zhongyang, a man devoted to the Dao, knew that the Daoist possessed occult arts. He invited him to stay and treated him with respect. When Yuan paid his respects, he asked how the technique worked. The Daoist told him, “The art of the bright mirror can multiply forms and transform the myriad things, turning one into thousands upon thousands. It can also make people wise, let them know what is to come, and allow them to see the perfected beings in Heaven—immortals who have attained the Dao. If one cultivates in accordance with its Dao and its arts, the celestial immortals will all descend. A Daoist can even see his own original self with his own eyes, thereby living forever and eventually returning to youth.

“When Daoists enter the mountains, mountain spirits and ancient demons often come to test them, sometimes taking human form. So when a Daoist lives in a stone chamber, he should keep a mirror nine inches across hanging behind him to ward off every kind of evil spirit. Even if the hundred ghosts and ancient beings that have acquired spiritual power can change their appearance, they cannot alter the image in the mirror. When they see their own forms reflected in it, they vanish and flee, afraid to cause harm.”

Daoists therefore had a formula for the medicine used to polish mirrors, said to come from the Pazi Formula. Take four ounces of tin and heat a pot intensely until it glows red, the same color as the fire. Then add the tin filings. Take three ounces of lead white and add that to the pot as well. Carve a human figure from fresh white poplar wood, one foot long, two inches wide, and one inch thick; make the handle on its back whatever length you prefer. Stir with it, keeping your hand in constant motion…

This figure is seven inches tall. Add four liang of inner cinnabar and one liang of lead powder, and stir them together, leaving two inches empty. Then add four liang of polished tin and mix until the ingredients blend. To use it, grind off a small amount into a powder about the size of a broad bean, and mix it with saliva; adding lard makes it more effective. Take a tiny amount, about the size of a grain of rice, place it on the front teeth, and breathe onto it. Then spread it with saliva and wipe it over yourself. Your vision will become bright as the sun and moon.

Before preparing this medicine, observe a seven-day purification fast. Make it in a quiet, secluded room, where no one can see you, and keep the fire blazing. Keep this method secret; do not pass it casually to someone unsuitable.

The Method of Brushing the Child-Spirits

“Brushing the child-spirits” means using a specific method to see the spirits within the body. This method is said to make the twenty-four body spirits clearly visible. It is usually performed at noon on a gengwu day in the jiazi cycle. Take one sheng of clear water, preferably water from a stream flowing east, though water from an old well may also be used. Put one zhu of true cinnabar—a very finely refined elixir—into the water and stir. As you stir, turn to the left three times seven, or twenty-one times. Set the direction according to the position of the month’s ruling branch, counting one full turn to the left as one rotation.

Recite the incantation softly:

“Dark Origin, water essence, bring forth the light of the eight luminaries. The many spirits of the body, arrayed in ranks, all come forth and show their forms. Let sight penetrate ten thousand miles and reach the nine numinous powers within.”

When you have finished, face east and use your left hand to sprinkle the water on your eyes fourteen times. While reciting the incantation, face the direction set by the month’s ruling branch; when sprinkling your eyes, always face east. Keep the remaining water for sprinkling on your eyes; there is no need to recite the incantation again.

The Spirit-Pillow Method (with notes)

The account says that long ago, at the foot of Mount Tai, there lived an old man whose name is unknown. When Emperor Wu of Han traveled east, he saw the old man hoeing by the roadside, with white light rising several feet above his back. Curious, the emperor asked whether he knew the arts of the Dao.

The old man replied, “When I was eighty-five, I had grown so frail that I was close to death. My hair had turned white, and all my teeth had fallen out. A Daoist taught me to eat dates, drink water, and avoid the grains. He also taught me how to make a divine pillow. The pillow contained thirty-two kinds of things: twenty-four mild in nature, corresponding to the twenty-four solar terms, and eight poisonous, corresponding to the eight winds. After I followed his instructions, my aging gradually eased. My white hair turned black, my lost teeth grew back, and I could walk three hundred li a day.

“I am now one hundred and eighty. Because I could not bear to leave the world and go into the mountains, and because I worried about my grandchildren, I began eating the grains again. I have done so for more than twenty years, yet the divine pillow still benefits me, and I have not grown old again.” Judging by the old man’s appearance, Emperor Wu thought he looked about fifty. He checked with the man’s neighbors, and they all confirmed that this was true. The emperor then learned the method from him and made a pillow in the same way, but he was unable to give up the grains and live on water alone as the old man had.

To make the pillow, on the fifth day of the fifth month or the seventh day of the seventh month, take a piece of cypress from the forested mountains. The pillow should be one chi and two cun long and four cun high, hollowed out in the middle to hold one dou and two sheng. Make the lid from the reddish heartwood of the cypress, two fen thick. The lid must fit tightly, while still being able to open and close. Then drill three rows of holes in the lid, forty to each row, for a total of one hundred and twenty. Each hole should be large enough to hold a grain of millet. As for the medicines to use:

Use 24 ingredients to correspond to the 24 solar terms: Sichuan lovage rhizome, Chinese angelica root, Dahurian angelica root, magnolia flower, Asarum forbesii, largehead atractylodes rhizome, Ligusticum sinense, magnolia bark, Sichuan pepper, cinnamon, dried ginger, fangfeng root, ginseng, platycodon root, white-veined swallowwort root, Vitex fruit (also written as “strong Vitex fruit”), cistanche, cirsium, arborvitae seed, coix seed, coltsfoot flower, white fragrant grass, Qin pepper, and Ligusticum wallichii. Add eight poisonous medicinal ingredients to correspond to the eight winds—the winds coming from the eight directions: aconite, prepared aconite, false hellebore, Chinese honeylocust, wang grass, arsenolite, pinellia, and asarum.

Take one liang of each of these 32 ingredients, chop them finely, and place them inside a pillow. Put the poisonous ingredients in the upper layer, fill the pillow, and wrap it in a cloth bag. Sleep with it as a pillow for 100 days, and, it is said, the complexion will become smooth and lustrous. After a year of using it, all kinds of illnesses and wind-related disorders in the body will be cured; once the illness is gone, the body will also give off a fragrance. After four years, white hair will turn black, lost teeth will grow back, and hearing and eyesight will become keen. This prescription is said to be efficacious and secretly transmitted, and is not to be passed on to unsuitable people.

Ligusticum sinense is the parent plant of old Sichuan lovage. Emperor Wu of Han once asked Dongfang Shuo where this prescription came from. Dongfang Shuo replied: “Long ago, Nü Lian passed it to Yuqing, who passed it to Guangchengzi, who in turn passed it to the Yellow Emperor.” In recent times, Chunyu Gong, a Daoist from Gucheng, often used this medicinal pillow and lived to be over a hundred, with his hair still not turned white.

The scripture also says that the onset of illness always begins in the Yang pulses; sleeping with the medicinal pillow prevents pathogenic wind from entering the body. Even after wrapping the pillow in a cloth bag, it should be wrapped in several layers of a curtain bag as well. When using it as a pillow for sleep, unwrap the outer covering.

The emperor issued an edict awarding silk to the elderly man, but he refused it, saying: “A subject serves his ruler as a son serves his father. When a son has learned the Way and offers it to his father, it would be wrong by our sense of duty to accept a reward. I am not trading in the arts of the Dao, either. I offered this prescription only because Your Majesty delights in the good Dao.” The emperor then let the matter drop and instead bestowed on him various medicinal ingredients.

◎ The Method of the Spirit Staff

The spirit staff is made from a nine-jointed bamboo that grows toward the sun, and the bamboo must be selected according to a particular method. Before each use, one must fast, bathe, burn incense, bow twice, and then click the teeth together thirty-six times. Next, visualize the Five Emperors (the Celestial Emperors of the Five Directions) and one Officer of the Direct Talisman (a divine officer charged with carrying out talismanic commands). They wear robes in the colors corresponding to their directions, and five-colored radiance shines from their bodies onto the spirit staff. Then visualize one of the Five Emperors and one Jade Maiden (a female immortal who serves the celestial gods) on each side of the staff, guarding it together.

Then silently recite the invocation:

Immortal of the Most High, primordial essence of the Origin Beginning,

you opened Heaven and spread out Earth; sacred bamboo communicates with the spirits.

The Officer of the Direct Talisman and the guardian clerks command the divine troops.

Five-colored radiance shines; dressed in vermilion, holding a golden bell,

they assist the Highest Perfected (those who have attained the Dao)

as they enter and leave the hidden realms.

Summon the celestial realm, and the heavenly gods show reverence;

summon the terrestrial realm, and the earth gods come to receive you.

Point the staff at ghosts, and the ghosts are destroyed;

point it at demons and spirits, and they are bound.

The spirit talisman and divine staff exert their power to subdue the four quarters.

May they perish with me and endure with me;

after ten thousand kalpas, may they take the place of my body.

Jing releases me from hardship, so that my spirit may ascend to Shangqing

(the Daoist celestial realm above).

The talisman is presented and the command conveyed; all obey with reverence.

When the invocation is complete, draw in the Qi of the Five Directions and swallow it twenty times, then stop. Point the staff at the sky, and the heavenly gods bow; point it at the ground, and the earth deities come to receive you; point it to the northeast, and the myriad ghosts are bound.

The Supreme Lord’s Highest Method for Seeking Immortality Through Inner Contemplation by Lamplight

The Lord of the Primordial Origin of the Southern Pole transmitted this method to the Lord Emperor. The Lord Emperor dwelt in the Palace of Bright Mystery, where the halls were golden and the gates purple. He lit a mysterious lamp—a flame used in cultivation—to illuminate himself, and let the rosy radiance reach the windows. Within the Five Viscera, he visualized the Great Perfected, then presented three vows to the Imperial Chamber. Above the spirit realm, a purple canopy was bestowed upon him, and the Primordial Sovereign gave him a golden boy attendant. The Lord Emperor naturally received the corresponding honorific title and governed the Palace of Mystery.

The Supreme Grade came into being at the beginning of all things, and its subtle principles are concealed in the tiniest details. Now I reveal them to you: you must diligently put them into practice.

The Lord of the Primordial Origin of the Southern Pole said to the Lord Emperor: “You cultivate the Way of the Divine Perfected and dwell above the spirit palace, in the halls of the Jade Mystery Palace, yet you do not know to use a bright lamp to illuminate yourself, nor to let mysterious radiance reach the Five Viscera. As a result, there can be no clarity within the Five Viscera, and the spirits within your body cannot gather. If you can light a lamp at night at the position of your birth destiny, light one at dawn at the position of your annual cycle, and regularly light one at the position of the Grand Year Star, then make vows and visualize in accordance with these three places, your body will become clear and pure, your Qi will return to its true state, light will shine from within, and the various spirits will become radiant.

“If the Primordial Lord receives and practices this method for three years, he will summon twenty-four Nightlight Boy Attendants. Mysterious radiance will appear of itself, and light will reach everywhere without the need to light a lamp. This, however, is a wondrous method of the True Immortals, not transmitted to ordinary people of later generations. If someone whose name is listed in the golden register and jade records, and who possesses the Mysterious Destiny, obtains this method and cultivates it for nine years, their body will shine. They will see clearly for ten thousand miles and perceive the workings of nature.

“The Nightlight Boy Attendants will descend into your chamber and transmit the True Book to you, enabling you to ascend to heaven and become an immortal in broad daylight.”

The instructions say: In the quiet room where you live, keep a bright lamp lit at the position of your birth destiny. At night, enter the room, face the lamplight, kneel upright, and click your teeth twelve times. Then pray, saying:

Mysterious light illuminates the Great Yin (the moon and places of darkness), and its brightness reaches in all eight directions. Sit quietly in the winding chamber (an indoor space for quiet cultivation), look upward toward the highest reaches of Shangqing (the upper celestial realm in Daoism), and let the five radiances shine upon the brilliant terraces. Jade fungus (a numinous fungus associated with immortals) will then arise of its own accord. Its light shines through all things and reaches the Great Truth (a Daoist revered deity or the realm of ultimate truth); the myriad spirits keep watch over my body. May the dark and inauspicious Qi of the Nine Yins be dispelled, and my name entered in the registers of Donghua (the immortal realm in the east). Protect me from endless calamities and let my body endure as long as the sun and moon. Deliver the Seven Generations of my ancestors, that they may ascend to a higher state. May bright light open the gates of the Jade Emperor (the supreme deity of the Daoist heavens), so that I may receive the Scripture of Inner Observation (a Daoist text on inner cultivation). A flying celestial carriage descends from heaven. I ride its blue carriage through the air, visit the Hall of the Great Sovereign, and enter the Jade Emperor’s court to pay homage. When the rite is complete, bow twice more, face the position corresponding to your birth year, lift your head, swallow your saliva seven times, and finish.

You should also regularly light a lamp at the position corresponding to your current age in the sexagenary cycle. Face the lamp, click your teeth twelve times, and recite the spell:

The bright lamp illuminates the year of my life, its radiance spreading in all eight directions. My infant form is pure and clear; in inner observation, I am open and luminous, with all things laid bare. I open the bright lapels of my spirit’s robe, joining myself to the Jade Perfected (an immortal). I yearn for the exalted ancestral masters and the Supreme Dao, distant and boundless, leaving no trace. I hope for the dark clouds to descend; I set the reins in order and drive the flying dragon. May the allotted span of a hundred years recede, and my infant appearance return. Grant me the open clarity of inner observation; open the bright lapels of my spirit’s robe, and join me to the Jade Perfected. I yearn for the exalted ancestral masters and the Supreme Dao, distant and boundless, leaving no trace. I hope for the dark clouds to descend; I set the reins in order and drive the flying dragon. May the allotted span of a hundred years recede, and my infant appearance return. Grant me the Maiden of Western Radiance (a serving immortal of the Golden Gate), and the Golden Dawn Youth (a celestial boy), to tend the incense and protect my life span. I bow before the Jade Emperor’s palace. May my spirit be at peace and my practice of the Dao proceed freely; may I be joyful and at ease amid the curling incense smoke. Gather the mind and focus on the Great Mystery, attuning through sincerity to the void. May my dwelling summon the Divine Empyrean; with eyes closed, may I behold the Immortal Lord, deliver my seven generations of ancestors from calamity, and enable body and spirit to cross over and return to the Southern Palace (a celestial palace in Daoism). When the rite is complete, bow twice more, face the lamp, swallow your breath fourteen times, and finish.

Regularly light a lamp in the direction occupied by the Grand Duke (the spirit governing the year), to communicate with the spirits and seek the true Dao through worship and prayer. Continue for three full years, and mysterious light will appear from within; perfected spirits will descend and impart the methods of long life and immortality. A response will naturally follow. Burn incense every morning and evening, click your teeth twelve times, face the lamp, and pray aloud:

The lamp flame illuminates the Supreme Truth—the realm of ultimate truth and purity—and bright radiance pierces the deep, empty void, revealing the supreme Great Dao. Focus the mind and spirit on the Jade Emperor’s abode and enter the profound, hollow realm; the spirits can then appear, and the body will unfold in response. With long and sincere devotion, one can summon the spirits to descend. When the heart is at peace, the Dao quietly reveals itself. In the morning, pay homage in the hall of the Great Emperor; in the evening, recite the scriptures of the Golden Perfected. Roam freely through the Mysterious Capital, the Daoist immortal realm, and at last return to the pure simplicity of an infant.

Heavenly talismans transform into rosy clouds of the Purple Empyrean, and the Heavenly Emperor bestows a carriage of dark jade. The practitioner floats above the peaks of the Five Sacred Mountains, at ease and following the heart’s wishes. The seven generations of ancestors are freed from the Three Paths of suffering—hell, hungry ghosts, and animals—and blessings endure through the generations. When the ritual is complete, bow twice, swallow the saliva fourteen times, then stop.

If you regularly practice this method at the three locations and keep the lamp burning without interruption, your seven generations of ancestors and nine generations of forebears will be freed from the ten kinds of suffering and ascend to the realm of the Southern Immortals. Your own spirit and Qi will become clear and upright; your gaze will reach far, your hearing will grow keen, and your mind will foresee events before they occur. Immortals, too, will descend. The Luminous Youth will teach you the way to seek immortality. After practicing in this way for nine years, numinous radiance will become visible outwardly, and the inner realm will be fully connected.

Instructions for the Celestial Court Method

The Celestial Court is the area between the eyebrows, near their inner ends, in the hollows of the bones. The Mountain Source refers to the indented places on either side of the base of the philtrum, just beneath the nose.

Instructions for the Celestial Court Method

The Celestial Court is the hollow in the bone below and between the eyebrows. The Mountain Source refers to the indented places on either side of the base of the philtrum, in the hollow beneath the nose; that is, the hollows along the inner edges of the nasal septum. The Flowery Court is the hollow in the bone below the eyebrows.

In the morning, at midday, and in the evening, sit upright facing the corresponding direction. Half close your eyes and swallow saliva twenty-seven times, then press these locations twenty-seven times with your hands. Press firmly on the corresponding points with the middle fingers of both hands. Here, “firmly” means pressing with enough force to cause slight pain; it does not mean that the movements should be quick. As you press, pray:

An earlier formula says that this method can open the Celestial Court—the place within the human body where the deities reside—and grant longevity. It enables one to see ten thousand li into the distance and restore the hun and po souls to an infant’s purity; destroy ghosts and drive away demons; summon many deities; and ascend to the realm of the Highest One, the supreme heaven of Daoism. There, one shines alongside the sun and moon, takes one’s place among the Perfected, and is entered into the register of mysterious immortals. This is a method by which ordinary people can bring about spiritual efficacy, gain insight, and ward off evil influences.

The Method of Absorbing Mist

Each morning, sit or lie down in a quiet bedroom. First close your eyes and turn your gaze inward, as though seeing your five internal organs. Keeping your eyes closed, open your mouth and exhale twenty-four times. Next, visualize five-colored Qi—the colored breaths that symbolize the Five Phases and the five organs—appearing before you, swirling and gathering around your face. Then inhale this five-colored Qi through your mouth fifty times. When finished, swallow your saliva sixty times, then recite this prayer softly:

“Great rosy clouds send forth their radiance; numinous clouds flow in every direction. Breaths coil and circle back, their five colors illuminating the heavens. Mysterious smoke mingles and opens; metal and stone reveal their beautiful true forms. Purple clouds grow dense and full, refining and preserving the body. Manifesting brightness, withdrawing into the hidden depths, the five numinous powers divide and transform, joining their radiance and stirring the void. I ride the six kinds of clouds, harmonize and gather myself, and ascend to the nine heavens.”

After the prayer, click your teeth together seven times—a common Daoist practice for cultivating and preserving body and mind—then swallow saliva seven times and open your eyes. The ritual is now complete. The scripture calls this method wondrous and says that many people at the Divine Continent’s Mysterious Capital, a legendary Daoist paradise, mastered it and ascended to the nine heavens. It urges practitioners to persist over time, so that they may continually ride the clouds and mists in their travels.

Guarding the One (the One resides in the heart and steadies three places)

“Guarding the One” means focusing on and preserving the “One” within the body, understood as its numinous Qi or source. Here, it is said to reside in the heart and to steady three parts of the body.

The Scripture of Great Clarity that Dispels Demons (Taishang Zhihui Xiaomo Zhenjing) says: “‘One’ has no fixed form and is not ruled by desire; it is still and inactive. Finding it is not easy, but keeping hold of it is easy to lose. The reason it is lost is that awareness grows dim and cannot turn toward clarity. Greed obstructs the mind and spirit, bringing on decline and old age. Rejoicing when it is gained and becoming angry when it is lost bring on illness. If one remains obsessed and attached without changing, one will ultimately face death.

“Decline and illness afflict the ‘Three Ones’—the principles of cultivation corresponding to ‘One’ in the body’s three regions. If you wish to restore and preserve yourself, you must first keep hold of One. Without One, there is no way to heal or to complete your cultivation. In keeping hold of One, remain quiet and detached, so that the mind is calm and still. Lessen desire and dispel anger; turn from delusion and error back to the right path. Let the mind be open and free of action, and unite with One. This is the state of the highest practitioners, whose virtues have been accumulated in past lives.

“Those of intermediate or higher capacity can also make gradual progress, even if their foundations in past good deeds are insufficient, or their accumulated merit is not yet deep enough. They should visualize the ‘Three Origins’—the original Qi or spirits corresponding to the body’s upper, middle, and lower regions—and carefully observe the state of spirit and Qi, and their movements between the visible and invisible. They should then settle them securely in the Three Palaces, the body’s three places of cultivation. In this way, the ‘Three Corpses’ within the body—the three Daoist parasites or defiling forces said to cause illness and deplete life—will surely fall away. Once their toxins are removed, one can pass from darkness to clarity, gain wisdom and spiritual powers, live forever, and become a true sage and immortal. Each person receives the corresponding results according to their own conditions and affinities.

“The Scripture of Great Peace (Taiping Jing) says: ‘How should one begin the practice of keeping hold of One? One is the beginning of number, the source from which the Dao arises, the beginning of original Qi, and the guiding principle that sustains the order of Heaven.’

“The Scripture of the Five Talismans (Wufu Jing) also says: ‘One who understands One can know everything; one who does not understand One cannot truly know anything. One is the most honored and unique title.’”

The Jing of the Listed Chronicles of the Three Lords of the Three Heavens of Highest Clarity says: “Bai Chengxu was born suddenly and asked Yunfang—the method of visualizing the spirits within the body—about its practice and the secrets of the Three Real Ones. The Two Jade Emperors replied: ‘The Three Real Ones are the sovereign lords within your body and the source of the hundred spirits. If you enable the assisting spirits to fulfill their duties, each in its proper place and without deviation, the Three Emperors will dwell securely within your body, Taiyi will guard the womb-origin, and the Five Elders will support your Jing and Qi.

“One dwells in the Dantian, the inner cultivation region of the abdomen, governing life and protecting vitality; one dwells in the Crimson Palace, the chamber corresponding to the heart, nourishing the body with purple Qi; one dwells in the Grotto Chamber, the spirit chamber in the head, bringing the Three Qi—the body’s three primordial energies—together so that they shine forth. The Three Real Ones thus transform, gather, and disperse, becoming one with the true Dao and reaching numinous clarity.

“The Cloud Palace of the Hall of Light, the Purple Gate and Jade Door, the Yellow Watchtower and Golden Chamber, the Vermilion City and Red Windows: all are abodes within the body of the One Emperor, and treasure chambers of the Three Real Ones. In the Cloud Chamber a radiant scene appears, where the divine beings blend completely with one another: above, it reaches Kunlun; below, it overlooks the Clear Abyss. Cloud canopies rise high, and bamboo groves are emerald green. The seven numinous spirits circle about, and the five colors intertwine. Tier upon tier of towers stretch beyond counting; the Three Qi transform into clouds and mist. The Jade Watchtower is tranquil, the seven gates deep and secluded, and five talismanic registers are stored in golden doors and jade cabinets.

“The Young Lord lies concealed within, while Baiyuan, the spirit within the body, draws and gathers from without; the two merge completely and take form. Call forth Yang and summon Yin, and the Supreme Emperor and the Director of Fate, the deity who governs life, each protect the life entrusted to them. This Dao is subtle and wondrous, and cannot easily be put into words. It is not lightly taught to anyone who is not an immortal.’

The Secret of the Three Ones

The Jing of Ascending to the Mystery says: “The immortal Dou Ziming asked: ‘I have heard before that the ritual master asked about the True One and Taiyi, but I did not hear the secret of the Three Ones. What does this mean? It is said to be One, yet also Three: are there Three within the One, or One within the Three? Although I have practiced this method in the past, I have not yet grasped the secret of the Three Ones.’”

In the Shengxuan Jing, the immortal Dou Ziming asked a Daoist master: “I have heard you speak before of True One and Great One, but I have not heard the formula for the Three Ones. How should I understand it? If it is called One, why are there said to be three? Is there three within the One, or one within the three? Though I have followed your teachings, I still do not understand. I hope you will explain it fully, so that those who study this later may also grasp its essential meaning.”

The master replied: “What is called the Three Ones is originally One. It is taught and named from three different aspects, which is why it is called the Three Ones. The One is called the Three Ones because what is spoken of as One here is divided into three elsewhere. Though divided into three, it remains One throughout. The Three Ones are an initial gateway to cultivating the Dao; they have not yet entered the true realm. One can see only a part of it and has not yet been able to relinquish the three and return to complete unity. This shows that one has not left the three, though one has begun to glimpse the One; hence the name Three Ones. It is divided into three, yet has never departed from the One, and so it is called the Three Ones.”

Dou Ziming asked: “What exactly is this ‘One’?”

The master answered: “It takes nothing as something, yet it also manifests as something.”

Dou Ziming asked again: “If it takes nothing as something, why call it something?”

The master replied: “It takes nonbeing as being.”

He asked: “How can nonbeing become being?”

The master answered: “To realize nonbeing is being.”

He asked: “What does it mean to realize nonbeing and still call it nonbeing?”

The master replied: “Forms and sounds are all illusory and unreal.”

He asked: “What does ‘illusory and unreal’ mean?”

The master answered: “They cannot remain for long.”

He asked: “Why can they not remain?”

The master replied: “Because they change very quickly.”

Dou Ziming asked again: “Though they change quickly, it is not as if nothing exists at all. If you say things change, there must be something that changes. How can you call them nonexistent?”

The master answered: “When I spoke earlier of change, I did not mean that all things are nonexistent, like empty space. I meant that everything has an illusory aspect and is not truly unchanging. What is born must die; what exists will eventually vanish; what takes form will eventually be destroyed; what flourishes will eventually decline; the young will eventually grow old. What existed before may have disappeared by now, and cold and heat continually alternate. Everything is fleeting and impermanent.”

The “Three Ones” refers to Jing (essence), Shen (spirit), and Qi (vital energy) being joined as one. Their wondrous functions are boundless and difficult to fathom. In a state of indistinctness, forms appear, like golden features and jade-like substance; within the depths lie subtle realities, expressing the meaning of the three converging as one. Taking this as a state of contemplation opens the gates to many mysteries. When its function is put into practice, it brings Virtue to fruition and ultimately reaches the realm of profound mystery upon profound mystery—a Dao of mystery that deepens layer by layer. The Dao Jing says, “The three cannot be investigated, so they blend together and become one.” The Dongshen Jing’s Three Rings Formula says that these three are Jing, Shen, and Qi.

The Shiming explains: “The Three Ones” are Jing, Shen, and Qi, joined as one. Jing is the subtle, empty capacity to illuminate all things; Shen is the capacity to be everywhere and free from entanglement; Qi is the foundation that gives rise to directions and forms. They are also called Yi, Xi, and Wei: Yi means level and even, Xi means sparse, and Wei means subtle. Yi corresponds to Jing, Xi to Shen, and Wei to Qi.

Jing is called “Yi” because, in illuminating all things, it gathers every realm into a single, impartial vision. Shen is called “Xi” because its wondrous function is everywhere yet difficult to grasp, seeming remote and expansive. Qi is called “Wei” because it arises from a subtle source and is not something coarse or outwardly manifest. Jing corresponds to the eyes, which can see light; Shen corresponds to the ears, whose empty apertures can hear sounds amid silence; and Qi corresponds to the nose, which senses breath and responds in harmony with it.

Master Meng said, “When speaking of the Three or the One, one must not cling solely to the four or the two.” For as soon as one speaks of “one,” three things are already involved: the speaker, the “one” being spoken of, and the words used to express it. The point here is that teachings should be explained according to the circumstances at hand; there is no fixed standard for how many aspects they must have. Consider the six supernatural powers or the ability to reach in all four directions: why should these be limited to “three”? So long as this way of speaking does not conflict with the teaching’s central purpose, it may be understood in this way.

Although the meanings of the “Three” differ, they cannot be divided into fixed parts. Although the substance of the “One” is the same, it cannot be rigidly collapsed into a single thing. Even when brought together, its aspects remain distinct; therefore, in principle, it is divided into three. Even when spoken of separately, its aspects remain unified; therefore, in substance, it is joined as one. When the Three are brought together as One, the Three are no longer fixed as three. When the One is divided into three, the One is no longer fixed as one. Thus, though the Three are not fixed as three, they may still be called the Three; though the One is not fixed as one, it may still be called the One. This Three is the Three that is “not three”; this One is the One that is “not one.” The “Three that is not three” is neither simply three nor absolutely not three. The “One that is not one” is neither simply one nor absolutely not one. This is the purport of Chongxuan, the “Mysterious Within the Mysterious”—a doctrine that repeatedly transcends oppositions and attachments.

There are, broadly speaking, four interpretations of “substance,” the fundamental basis or underlying reality of things.

First, the elder Master Meng held that the teaching of the Three and the One takes “wondrous being” as its substance. It is “being that has not yet taken form”: although it exists, it has not yet appeared in a definite shape, and so it is called “wondrous”; it stirs within principle, and so it is called “one.” He cites the scripture: “The Dao gives birth to One.” He also says that spreading the primordial Qi to bring forth and nourish the myriad things, and shaping and completing the various things, all take “wondrous being” as their substance. It exists but has not yet appeared in form, and so is called “wondrous”; it stirs within principle, and so is called “one.” The spreading of primordial Qi, the nurturing of the myriad things, and the shaping of the various uncarved things are the functions of the Three, while the One is their root.

The interpretation offered here differs: once karmic retribution has manifested, it is no longer “wondrous being” that has yet to take form. And if the scripture says “gives birth,” how can what is born be treated as an eternal, unchanging root?

Second, Master Song held that the Three and the One have a general and a particular aspect. In general, the Three and the One are Jing, Shen, and Qi. Taken separately, Jing has three kinds of wisdom: Dao, reality, and expediency; Shen has three palaces, upper, middle, and lower; and Qi has three forms: Xuan, Yuan, and Shi. This account explains the distinction between the Three and the One, but it does not establish what their substance ultimately is.

Third, Master Xu Su held that the Three and the One are the ultimate subtle principle and the source of great wisdom. Their perfect integration and spiritual wonder are beyond measure. They spread primordial Qi, generate the myriad things, and shape and complete the various things; they encompass the meaning of the Three while taking the One as their substance. This distinction, too, does not establish what the substance of the Three and the One ultimately is.

In the third interpretation, Master Xu Su says: “‘Wondrous Oneness’ is the most subtle principle and the source of great wisdom. It is complete and mysterious, beyond measure. It can disperse primordial Qi, enabling the myriad things to grow, and can also shape and bring them to completion. Since it embodies three meanings, it is called ‘Three’; since it returns to a single root, it is called ‘One.’” This interpretation is comparatively good, but it remains vague and does not clearly identify what the underlying reality is. For example, “the ultimate principle” and “great wisdom” refer to realm and wisdom, while “the source of wisdom” and “shaping and completing the myriad things” refer to root and manifestation. This interpretation therefore cannot yet be considered conclusive.

In the fourth interpretation, Master Xu Jing says: “The root of Wondrous Oneness lies beyond words and forms. It is neither material nor nothingness; it can both manifest function and return to stillness.” According to this interpretation, perfect wisdom is the underlying reality. It belongs neither to root nor to manifestation (root means the foundation; manifestation means the function that appears), yet it can become root and become manifestation. It is neither material nor nothingness, yet it can appear as material or as nothingness.

Developing this interpretation further: Wondrous Oneness is neither root nor manifestation, neither One nor Three, yet it is both One and Three, transcending the ordinary meaning of “One.” Since Three and One are mutually integrated, there is no such thing as a “root of the root” or a “manifestation of the manifestation.” The integration of manifestation means that manifestation is inseparable from root: though it appears as manifestation, it remains root. Root is inseparable from manifestation: though it is root, it also appears as manifestation. Since root and manifestation are mutually integrated, they cannot be sharply divided into root and manifestation. Root and manifestation are therefore both complete, sharing “Three-One” as their underlying reality.

The integration of Three and One encompasses not only Jing, but also Shen and Qi. For when Jing is freed from every encumbrance, it is Shen; the subtle essence of Jing is Qi. The wisdom of Shen is Jing, and the wisdom of Qi is also Jing. When Qi is freed from every encumbrance, it is Shen. From this perspective, substance and function are integrated as one, while in meaning they are also jointly integrated as three. “Three” does not conflict with “One,” and “One” does not depart from “Three.” Thus, though it is One, it is also Three; though it is Three, it remains One. Three and One are integrated, so it cannot be described as only One or only Three. Since Three-One is integrated, Jing and wisdom together form its underlying reality. All three meanings are complete, but Jing is chosen as its name in particular because it is more excellent.

Here, it says that the “principles” of cultivating the Dao comprise nine aspects, while its “functions” appear in five forms. The nine principles are formed by dividing Jing, Shen, and Qi into three aspects each.

Jing has three forms: the upright, the substantial, and the expedient; “expedient” means adapting to circumstances. Shen has three forms: emptiness, penetration, and absence. “Absence” describes being suddenly free of obstruction; “penetration” means reaching through and integrating; “emptiness” means being still and open to receive. Qi has three forms: beginning, origin, and mystery.

The Zhengyi Jing (Scripture of Orthodox Unity) says that changes arise within the Great Nonbeing, from which three Qis appear: yellow Qi is called Mystery, white Qi is called Origin, and blue-green Qi is called Beginning. The text then goes on to discuss how the three Qis generate one another.

Within the unchanging state, three primordial energies appear: yellow Qi represents the Mysterious, white Qi the Origin, and blue-green Qi the Beginning. In terms of the order in which they give rise to one another, Correct Wisdom produces Real Wisdom, and Real Wisdom produces Expedient Wisdom. Nonbeing gives rise to the Cavern; the Cavern gives rise to Emptiness; Emptiness gives rise to the Beginning; the Beginning gives rise to the Origin; and the Origin, in turn, gives rise to the Mysterious.

The One divides into three, and from the three one can proceed to nine, bringing forth countless responses and transformations. Yet in the end, they all return to the fundamental One. They are without distinction, yet distinctions appear; though distinctions arise, ultimately there is no distinction.

On the use of the “Five Traces”—five forms of manifestation—the Dongshen Jing says: “The Great Dao has no bounds, and its ultimate reaches to the natural. Its transformations, too, have no bounds. The key to its profound mysteries lies in three, five, eight, and nine.” The “three” refers to Jing, Shen, and Qi. The “five” means that Jing, Shen, and Qi combine to form five Divine Lords. Jing has two presiding lords, one associated with Jing and one with Qi; Shen likewise has two, one associated with Shen and one with Qi. Of the two Divine Lords associated with Jing, red Qi is called the Great Yang; it transforms into Yuanyangzi Dan, and then further into the Dao Lord. Of the two associated with Shen, red Qi turns into yellow Qi, called Central Harmony; it transforms into Laozi, also known as the Yellow Spirit. The one Divine Lord associated with Qi is formed when yellow Qi turns into white Qi; this is called the Great Yang and transforms into Great Harmony.

When the five are used as a principle for understanding, the truth embodied by these five Divine Lords is not divided. Two combine into three and then transform, revealing the five Divine Lords. Three plus five makes eight; within the three there is also a One, and together they make nine. This is simply one way the Dao operates, displaying five forms. The Dao has many other ways of manifesting, as numerous as grains of sand and impossible to count.

Master Meng said that in practice, it can be divided into three, though in its essence it has always been one. We will now explain the underlying meaning. In terms of essence and manifestation, there is a relation of “one essence with three divisions.” This can also be summarized in four cases, from which nine formulations arise.

The four cases are: first, the essence is one and manifests as three; second, the essence is three and manifests as one; third, both essence and manifestation are three; fourth, both essence and manifestation are one. “The essence is one and manifests as three” means that the wondrous root is perfectly integrated as one, yet unfolds into three manifestations. “The essence is three and manifests as one” means that the manifested Qi returns to unity, while essence and form each have three divisions. The third and fourth cases further examine the first two and recognize that essence and manifestation are not distinct; thus they say that both essence and manifestation are three, or both are one. Their meanings have already been made clear above.

The nine transformations are the Jing, Shen, and Qi that appear through the transformation of the three into one. Jing, Shen, and Qi also generate one another, and the three continue in successive layers, thereby forming nine transformations. Thus, one can transform into nine, and the nine can return to one.

The Book of the True Writings of the Upper Origin says that the nine “Ones,” in order, are: Origin One, Primordial One, Great One, Mysterious One, True One, Female One, Male One, Three Ones, and Orthodox One. Origin One is the source of the Ultimate Dao and the root of all wonders. Primordial One is the foremost of all goodness and the forerunner of the myriad teachings. In Great One, “great” means utmost vastness; its virtue lies in embracing all things. Mysterious One acts without constraint and is wondrous and far-reaching. True One removes falsehood and dispels confusion, recognizing that all phenomena are empty. Female One is still and gentle, contemplating emptiness and discerning reality. Male One is vigorous and able to transform, skilled in applying expedient methods. Three Ones refers to Jing, Shen, and Qi. Orthodox One can correct deviance and delusion, dispel evil thoughts, and lead from darkness into light.

This explains that when the Ultimate Dao manifests in the world, it has these nine names, yet they ultimately converge and return to the root, remaining one. Thus, the Correct Teachings of the Three Heavens says, “Only by returning from nine to one can one enter the true realm of the Dao.” The Debate on Teachings says: “First, arising from the multitude…”

The various scriptures offer differing accounts.

Master Meng said: In studying the Daoist teachings, one should take the “Three Ones” as the foundation. Accordingly, the seven groups of scriptures and nine methods each have their own diagrams and practices. They are listed below in turn:

First, the Three Ones of the Cavern of Perfection (Dongzhen): The Upper Origin is in the Mudball Palace, whose ruling deities are the Celestial Emperor and the Imperial Minister; the Middle Origin is in the Crimson Palace, whose ruling deities are the Sovereign of the Cinnabar and the Assistant Imperial Minister; the Lower Origin is in the Dantian Palace, whose ruling deities are the Primordial King of the Yellow Court and the Minister who Protects and Stabilizes. The Mudball Palace, Crimson Palace, and Dantian Palace are the upper, middle, and lower bodily palaces described in Daoist inner cultivation. This teaching appears in the Scripture of the Three Origins and the One.

Second, the Three Ones of the Cavern of Mystery (Dongxuan): Practitioners cultivate and visualize Yuanshan, Zidan, and Yuanyangzi in the upper, middle, and lower Dantian. This teaching appears in the Scripture of the Supreme One and the True One.

Third, the Three Ones of the Cavern of the Spirits (Dongshen): The Elder of the South Pole dwells in the south, the Daoist Origin of the Central Pole in the center, and the Mysterious Wonder of the North Pole in the north. This teaching appears in the Scripture of the Supreme One and the Three Ones of the Cavern of the Spirits.

Fourth, the Three Ones of the Sovereign: Beginning Azure, Primordial White, and Mysterious Yellow. This teaching appears in the Secret Instructions of the Sovereign.

Fifth, the Three Ones of the Great Clarity (Taiqing): The Red Child, the Perfected Person, and the Infant. This teaching appears in the upper volume of the Upper and Middle Scripture of Great Clarity.

Sixth, the Three Ones of Great Peace: the Spirit of Intention, the Spirit of Resolve, and the Spirit of Thought. This teaching appears in “The Method of Assessing One’s Own Flourishing and Decline” in the first volume of the Scripture of Great Peace—a method for observing one’s own flourishing and decline.

Seventh, the Three Ones of Great Mystery (Taixuan): Yi, Xi, and Wei. This teaching appears in the Diagram of Great Preservation and the Classic of the Dao and Its Virtue.

Eighth, the Three Ones of Orthodox Unity (Zhengyi): Shun,, and Fen—that is, governing the Three Origins.

Ninth, the Three Ones of Nature: Empty Red Light, Primordial Yellow Light, and Empty White Light.

Taken together, nine scriptures expound the “Three Ones” and discuss the governance of the Three Palaces—the three important parts of the body. Those scriptures give detailed instructions for maintaining and cultivating body and mind.

The transformations of the “Three Ones” described in the Dongshen Jing also include Jing (essence), Shen (spirit), Qi (vital energy), emptiness, nothingness, and space; these are discussed in detail in the scripture’s thirteenth volume. Here, the “Three Ones” refer to Shen, Qi, and Jing; the subtle, the infinitesimal, and the obscure; and emptiness, nothingness, and space. They are called the “Three Ones” because the principles they express are complete and profound. The earlier teachings about Orthodox Unity and the Three Ones express comparatively simple principles and belong to a more superficial level of explanation.

In the Shengxuan Jing, the Most High said to Daoling: “What you practiced in the past was called the True One Way. It speaks of the wondrous Dao of Yin-Yang transformation and the highest method for nourishing and directing the Qi of body and mind. But it is not the True One I speak of; it is merely a teaching handed down in earlier times.”

The text says: “You are capable of receiving the essential teaching of utmost truth and equality that I transmit, the unsurpassed wondrous scripture, up to the fourth teaching, which distinguishes ‘the One that is not one.’ The ‘Three Ones’ discussed in the other six scriptures do not explicitly explain the principle of emptiness. They present it only as a state of visualizing Qi, and so may be classed among teachings of the past. Thus Juanzi practiced the Shangqing methods but ultimately attained only the status of an earthly immortal. As for the Three Qi and Three Colors, these all concern matters beyond the realms. The ‘Three Ones’ in the Three Caverns are, in essence, meant to lead people into emptiness; this places them among teachings of the present.

Those who truly understand the sacred teachings know that teachings do not fall within either existence or nonexistence. How, then, could there be any distinction between past and present? The content discussed in the nine scriptures falls neither within existence nor nonexistence, and is divided into neither past nor present. It is only because beings cling to things and cannot grasp the teachings that they rigidly regard them as belonging to the past. If they can understand the teachings, they can make them present. The distinction between past and present can also be made in two ways: according to Mahayana and Hinayana, or according to the principles of cause and effect.

The distinction according to Mahayana and Hinayana has three explanations. First, it can be made according to the realm each recognizes. The Hinayana of the past regarded the ‘Three Ones’ as a fixed realm, with its doctrine confined to existence. The Mahayana of the present regards the ‘Three Ones’ as wisdom, with its doctrine centered on emptiness. Why is this so? When entering meditation, the Hinayana of the past had to relinquish existence; upon entering the realm of emptiness, the ‘Three Ones’ therefore ceased to be. The Mahayana of the present contemplates all things as empty, so even while abiding in emptiness, it does not lose the ‘Three Ones.’ The Dongshen Jing explains the practice of guarding the ‘Three Ones’: those who know how to guard the realm of void and emptiness follow the Mahayana; those who guard the spirit and refine the body follow the middle vehicle; those who guard Qi and contain harmony follow the Hinayana.

Second, the distinction can be made according to one-sided attachment and inclusive understanding. The Hinayana of the past practiced in a one-sided way, while the Mahayana of the present can encompass both sides. The Hinayana relinquishes forms and enters the realm of emptiness, and so cannot encompass both form and emptiness.”

Mahayana Buddhism uses “form” to clarify “emptiness.” It holds that although all things have appearances, their essential nature is empty; therefore, form and emptiness can be discussed together.

The phrase “the three dependencies are cut off” means that in the past, practitioners entered “nonbeing” through the contemplative method of the “Three-One.” Upon reaching “nonbeing,” they called it the “True One.” Yet this “One of nonbeing” is still a nonbeing defined in relation to being. It therefore still depends on the two extremes of being and nonbeing, and remains subject to something. The “Three-One” spoken of now has an underlying nature that is neither being nor nonbeing. Since it depends on neither extreme, it is subject to nothing, and is therefore called “cut off.”

Viewed in terms of cause and effect, past and present teachings differ in three respects: nearness and remoteness, expedient means and final truth, and impermanence and permanence.

First, nearness and remoteness. In the past, the “Three” was understood as Qi, and contemplation of the fruits attained through cultivation went no further than the Three Realms of Existence—the Desire Realm, Form Realm, and Formless Realm. The state reached was therefore relatively near. Now the “One” is understood as Shen, and contemplation of the fruit takes the Dao altar as its furthest limit. When the ultimate fruit is attained, perfect wisdom is thereby fulfilled. The meaning of “Three-One” here is as explained above.

Second, expedient means and final truth. What was taught in the past was an expedient method, whose fruit stopped at the Three Realms. What is taught now is the final truth, whose fruit reaches the Permanently One. The Shengxuan Jing says, “This is the final truth.” Final truth means that one’s work is complete and one’s offenses have ceased; from then on, one abides permanently in the state of the “One.”

Third, impermanence and permanence. In the past, the fruit attained within the Three Realms was vulnerable to calamities and upheavals, and was therefore impermanent. The fruit of the Permanently One, as taught now, is steadfast and unmoving, and is therefore permanent.

Oral Instructions on the Scripture of the True One of the Five Dippers and Three Origins by the Lord of the Golden Gate

This practice was transmitted by Juanzi from the Azure Youth Lord of the Eastern Sea. At midnight on the day of the spring equinox, rise and sit upright facing east. Close your eyes and visualize the three palaces, the Three Ones, and the three ministers within your body, together with yourself, making seven figures in all. You are seated at the center. Together, ride purple Qi (vital energy) up to the Bright Yang Star among the seven stars of the Northern Dipper. The Bright Yang Star is the star deity to the east of the Dipper. Then visualize entering the star and sitting beside its deity, swallowing purple Qi thirty times. After long practice, you will be able to see the Eastern Primordial Supreme Palace on the Bright Yang Star. A young Azure Mystic Child in the palace will teach you the True Light—the true Qi or spiritual radiance spoken of in cultivation. [During the practice, first visualize the stars of the Northern Dipper, then purple Qi falling straight down from above like a string until it is before you, and only then visualize the Three Ones.]

The oral instructions transmitted by Lord Zhou say: visualize the seven Perfected Ones joining with the seven stars of the Northern Dipper. Together, they form a formation like geese in flight as they ascend to the Bright Yang Star, with you at the center. “Crowning yourself with the seven stars” means placing the Dipper’s bowl over your head, with its handle pointing forward. Visualize yourself swallowing purple Qi thirty times, then swallow the Qi itself. Also visualize the Three Ones and the three ministers swallowing together with you. When you have finished, visualize the seven Perfected Ones descending one after another through the air on purple Qi and returning to the three palaces within your body. After a short while, silently recite:

Three Venerable Highest Perfected Ones, great gods of the Mysterious Origin. Bright Yang governs spring, and the myriad youths open the gates; Cinnabar Origin governs summer, with vermilion and purple mist curling around it; Yin Essence governs autumn, arraying six ranks of guards in Heaven’s majesty; the North Pole governs winter, sealing away the myriad evils and treacheries. The Five Earths take their turn to reign; Wu and Ji stand guard as the gates of Heaven. Wherever they point, evil spirits are destroyed; wherever they turn, none may intrude. Refine my seven Po souls, harmonize my three Hun souls, and nourish my five organs, so that I may attain the Dao and become perfected, ascend to the highest pure realm, ride the radiant landscape and roam among the Seven Origins, endure in long life, and sing with a thousand spirits.

This invocation means: Three Venerable Highest Perfected Ones and great gods of the Mysterious Origin, grant me your divine power. Bright Yang governs spring, and the many youths open the palace gates; Cinnabar Origin governs summer, with vermilion and purple Qi swirling around it; Yin Essence governs autumn, arranging guards under Heaven’s authority; the North Pole governs winter, blocking evil and treachery. The Qi of the Five Earths is in its season, while Wu and Ji guard like gates of Heaven. Evil spirits are destroyed wherever they point, and no one can violate the places toward which they turn. Refine my seven Po souls, harmonize my three Hun souls, and nourish my five organs. Let me attain the Dao and become perfected, ascend to the immortal realm of Highest Clarity, ride the radiance and travel among the Seven Origins, live long without decline, and sing with the spirits.

After reciting the invocation, you may also continue the visualization while asleep. The same invocation is used for all four seasons.

At midnight on the day of the summer solstice, rise and sit upright facing south. Close your eyes and continue visualizing the Seven Origins and the other figures. The text then repeats the end of the earlier invocation: “endure in long life, and sing with a thousand spirits. When finished, you may also continue the visualization while asleep; this same invocation is used for all four seasons.”

At midnight on the day of the summer solstice, rise and sit upright facing south. Close your eyes and visualize the Three Palaces, the Three Ones, and the Three Ministers within your body joining with you to form seven people, with you seated at the center. Together, the seven ride purple clouds and ascend to the Danyuan Star of the Northern Dipper. The Danyuan Star is where the spirit of the Dipper’s southern quarter resides. Visualize entering the star and sitting together inside it, then swallow purple Qi thirty times. After practicing for a long time, you will be able to see the Supreme Palace at the southern pole of the Danyuan Star. In the palace lives the Vermilion-Yang Spirit Consort, who will bestow on you a crimson book (a red book of the immortals) and a treasure robe.

At midnight on the day of the autumn equinox, rise and sit upright facing west. Close your eyes and visualize the Three Palaces, the Three Ones, and the Three Ministers within your body joining with you to form seven people, with you seated at the center. Together, the seven ride purple clouds and ascend to the Yin Jing Star of the Northern Dipper. The Yin Jing Star is where the spirit of the Dipper’s western quarter resides. Visualize entering the star and sitting together inside it, then swallow purple Qi thirty times. After practicing for a long time, you will be able to see the Supreme Palace at the western origin of the Yin Jing Star. In the palace lives a maiden in white, who will bestow on you a jade seal (a seal made of jade) and a tiger book (a Daoist text associated with the form or markings of a tiger).

At midnight on the day of the winter solstice, rise and sit upright facing north. Close your eyes and visualize the Three Palaces, the Three Ones, and the Three Ministers within your body joining with you to form seven people, with you seated at the center. Together, the seven ride purple clouds and ascend to the North Pole Star of the Northern Dipper. The North Pole Star is where the spirit of the Dipper’s northern quarter resides. Visualize entering the star and sitting together inside it, then swallow purple Qi thirty times. After practicing for a long time, you will be able to see the Supreme Palace at the northern origin of the North Pole Star. In the palace lives the Perfected One of Mysterious Essence, who will bestow on you secret words in a golden book, as well as the method of “the Five and Three proceeding in order.”

When practicing on the first or fifteenth day of the sixth lunar month, avoid the two days of the Autumn Equinox and Summer Solstice. Sit down at midnight, face southwest, and close your eyes. Visualize the three palaces, the Three Ones, and the three ministers within your body, together with yourself: seven people in all, with you in the center. The seven of you ride together on a cloud formed from crimson, purple, blue, and yellow Qi, ascending to the Celestial Pass Star of the Northern Dipper. The Celestial Pass Star is one of the stars at the center of the Northern Dipper.

Next, visualize entering the star and sitting down together. Then open your eyes slightly and, in turn, swallow in the Qi of the four colors, ten times for each color. Begin with the crimson Qi, then proceed in order. It is said that after long and dedicated practice, you will be able to see the Primordial Supreme Palace within the Celestial Pass Star. In the palace dwells the Supreme Majesty of Awe and Truth, who will bestow on the practitioner talismans for destroying demons, a chisel-axe for cutting down evil spirits, and registers of the Yellow Robe (Daoist registers and ordination documents).

On each of the eight seasonal nodes, observe the practice for eight days, beginning at midnight on the day of the node. Visualize the Primordial Supreme Palace within the Celestial Pass Star and the Supreme Majesty of Awe and Truth within the palace. At other times, simply visualize the three palaces within your body and sit quietly at ease. Focus your visualization until the scene seems almost to appear before you.

Instructions for Maintaining the True Ones of the Five Dippers

A Daoist who has resolved to cultivate the Dao should withdraw to a quiet place in the mountains and remain secluded for a long time. The more devotedly one practices in this way, the sooner the spirits will respond. Yet some people do not know how to calculate the seasonal nodes and dates, or how to lay out a calendar. Without knowledge of the calendar, they cannot know the dates of the twenty-four seasonal nodes and the eight seasonal nodes. Nor can they go in and out of the world year after year to ask about and copy down the dates. This, too, is a difficulty for those who cultivate the Dao.

Now, following what is said in the Scripture of the Northern Emperor’s Spontaneity: the third day of the first lunar month corresponds to the Beginning of Spring; the fifteenth day of the second lunar month corresponds to the Spring Equinox; the first day of the fourth lunar month corresponds to the Beginning of Summer; the sixteenth day of the fifth lunar month corresponds to the Summer Solstice; the seventh day of the seventh lunar month corresponds to the Beginning of Autumn; and the twenty-second day of the eighth lunar month…

The autumn equinox falls on the fifth day of the second month of autumn, the Beginning of Winter on the fifth day of the tenth month, and the Winter Solstice festival on the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Daoists living in the mountains and forests should follow this method. If they know the dates of the eight seasonal nodes recorded in the almanac, they may use the almanac to determine them. The Eight Nodes correspond to the precise degrees of the celestial bodies’ movements. They are days when the myriad perfected beings, numinous immortals, and spirits gather in audience and feast. They are also the middle days on which the Northern Emperor, the god who rules the north, naturally proclaims the month counts, and days when the Qi of the sun and moon’s two luminaries accompany one another. They are therefore highly auspicious times, suitable for cultivating the Dao and for visualizing and concentrating on deities or the perfected spirits within the body. These accounts may be consulted together; I follow this interpretation.

In foreign lands, the first day of each month is called the “Establishment Day,” the second the “Removal Day,” and the dates are calculated in sequence. People now deep in the mountains, with no almanac to consult, may use this method.

In the Xiongnu kingdom, the first day of the first month is taken as a Jia-yin day. When the sixty-day cycle formed by the combinations of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches is complete, the count begins again. The months alternate in length as follows: the first month is short, the second long, the third short, the fourth long, the fifth short, the sixth long, the seventh short, the eighth long, the ninth short, the tenth long, the eleventh short, and the twelfth long. Those living in remote mountain forests, cut off from contact with the outside world, may also calculate the dates by this method.

On each Establishment Day, or at dawn on the first day of each month, practitioners visualize the “Three Ones,” the three unified perfected spirits within the body, emerging from its three palaces, the places where these perfected spirits reside, and sitting before them. They then rise inwardly and bow twice, as if seeing the Three Ones with their own eyes, faintly appearing before them. Next, they silently recite the incantation in their minds:

Heavenly Worthies and the Three Emperors, the revered deities, please protect my Gate of Life, the root of my life. May they travel forth through the void and bring the Six Qi—the natural energies of Yin and Yang, wind and rain, darkness and brightness—into harmony. May they nourish my Five Spirits, which reside in the five organs, set my Three Hun souls in order, and cause each of the five organs to flourish, helping me attain long life and become an immortal who flies through the heavens. When the ritual is complete, visualize them returning from the void to the Three Palaces in your body: the upper, middle, and lower Dantian energy centers. Wait quietly for a moment, then swallow your saliva thirty times; ten times is also acceptable. At night, you should see the Three Ones, the deities dwelling in three places within the body, and the Three Ministers, who assist them. In this way, you can attain long life and become an immortal who flies through the heavens.

When the ritual is complete, visualize them returning from the void to the Three Palaces. Wait quietly for a moment, then swallow your saliva thirty times; ten times is also acceptable. At night, you should see the Three Ones and the Three Ministers. Sometimes you may dream of white birds, white swans, white tigers, or objects such as gold and jade. These are visions produced by the transformations of the Three Ones, appearing as signs. Continue this visualization without slackening, and visions of meeting the deities will gradually arise, until at last it is as if you are meeting them face to face.

At midnight on each Chu day, a day marked by the earthly branch “Chu” in the sexagenary cycle, rise quietly and face north. Look up and contemplate the inner image of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper. Visualize the Three Ones descending from the Assistant Stars and entering the Three Palaces in your body. When you have finished, return to bed and focus your mind on the visualization. If you seem to see them indistinctly, recite this incantation softly:

“Supreme Celestial Assistant, this is where the Three Emperors go forth on their travels. The Three Ministers aid them, so that I may join the perfected ones and travel with them. Please descend into my body and sit in stillness. Exhale essence and Qi to infuse my form; harmonize and moisten my souls, so that I may become an immortal who flies through the heavens and drift freely in a cloud chariot.” After reciting the incantation, swallow your saliva twenty-seven times. Perform this practice only once each month, on a Chu day.

At midnight on each Kai day, a day marked by the earthly branch “Kai” in the sexagenary cycle, rise and sit facing east. You may remove your head covering and let your hair hang loose, then comb and tie it up to allow your breath to flow freely. Wait quietly for a moment, then recite this incantation:

“Three Perfected Ones of the Upper Origin, you are children among the divine perfected ones. Please loosen your hair and part the clouds and mists; reach upward to the Celestial Terrace, so that the Niwan Palace, the upper Dantian in the head, may become firm and settled, enduring with Heaven. Let me become an immortal who flies through the heavens and consorts among the towers and pavilions of the grotto heavens.” After reciting the incantation, swallow your saliva nineteen times, then put on your head covering and go to sleep.

Next, focus your mind on the visualization and recite the incantation:

“Three Perfected Ones of the Upper Origin, you are children among the divine perfected ones. Please loosen your hair and part the clouds and mists; reach upward to the Celestial Terrace, so that the Niwan Palace may become firm and settled, enduring with Heaven. Let me become an immortal who flies through the heavens and consorts among the towers and pavilions of the grotto heavens.” After reciting the incantation, swallow your saliva nineteen times, then put on your head covering.

After retiring for the night, focus your thoughts on the Three Ones and the Three Lords, each settled in its corresponding palace, with the Emperor and the Three Lords seated facing one another. When contemplating the Three Ones, exhale toward the palace thirty times. When contemplating your own inner self, exhale outward thirty times as well. Here, “exhale” means to open the mouth and breathe out. At this time, you should also feel warmth throughout your body; this is a sign that your spirit has been harmonized and your souls gathered together. Whenever you contemplate the Three Ones, direct your attention to the space between your eyes and look inward toward the Palace of the Spirits.

The method for cultivating the One is to make the Three Pure Qi of the Most High appear within the three palaces. The Three Pure Qi are three layered hues of energy—purple, blue-green, and deep red—with purple at the top. While keeping the Three Ones in mind, imagine them within the purple Qi. Then, with your inner gaze, envision the Purple Chamber of the North Pole and the Jade Palace, where the Emperor resides. Picture the celestial officials lined up in order, and imagine that you are about to sit facing the Emperor. Present your prayers in your heart as though bowing before him. The Most High is the Heavenly Emperor of Shangqing and holds the highest rank; the Purple Chamber of the North Pole is the Emperor’s palace. You may also imagine your own Three Ones speaking with the Emperor. This is the Way of Flying to the True and Attaining Long Life.

Whenever you face an abundant meal, steady your thoughts, contemplate the One, and imagine the One partaking first; only then should you eat. If you do this regularly, pernicious Qi will recede and true Qi will come near.

After eating, silently recite this blessing in your heart:

“May the hundred grains enter my stomach and unite with the spirit Qi, replenish my blood, and cause corpse demons to perish and fall away. May I live as long as Heaven and Earth, ascend by flight to the Golden Gate, command the Six Ding, and be served and protected by spirit youths.”

The practice of guarding the One (focusing the mind on maintaining the primordial spirit within the body) is carried out at midnight on a Jiawu, Jiachen, or Jiayin day. Clean and quiet the courtyard of the sleeping quarters, mark out an area one zhang across, lay down a mat, and burn incense. Face north and bow twice, or simply make the obeisance inwardly. Then gaze up at the Northern Dipper and visualize purple Qi rising from it and entering the three palaces within your body (the three divine abodes within the body). Still facing north, rest your hands one over the other on your knees. Inwardly visualize the Three Ones and the Three Ministers (the spirits within the body) ascending with you on the purple Qi to the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). Here, Taiji means the North Star. Visualize yourself forgetting your body, as though ascending to Heaven. Practicing in this way brings one close to the immortal Way; immortals call this state “Great Stillness.”

On rainy days, you may practice on your bed. Alternatively, prepare an altar in advance in a spacious place, mark out an area one zhang across, and enclose it on all four sides with a fence several chi high. From the chosen day onward, practice regularly. This is the Way of Great Stillness.

The practice of guarding the One also calls for facing the Moon as it first rises and bowing twice, then silently reciting:

“Lady of the Moon, wondrous essence of the Great Yin, as the first light of the Moon shines down, illuminate my three palaces and enable me to ascend as an immortal and travel freely through the eight directions. Wherever I go and whatever I seek, may I encounter good fortune.”

When practicing the guarding of the One, frequently visualize the Northern Dipper covering the crown of your head, its handle pointing forward. This prevents all manner of evil spirits from disturbing you and dispels baleful influences. This is the essential secret of the practice.

Those who practice guarding the One should avoid the five pungent foods (strongly scented spices), pork, and dog meat. They should not visit the homes of women who have recently given birth, and should avoid Jiazi days. When visualizing and preserving the spirits within, they should also avoid heavy intoxication and all kinds of filth and foul odors, taking care to keep clear of them without harboring doubts. They should not hold infants, nor share clothes, footwear, bedding, or mats with others. Visualizing the true spirits, calming the mind, and invoking spirits by reciting the Dao should all be done in solitude; these are only some of the occasions when one should be alone.

The Lord Emperor of the Golden Gate, the Later Sage (a revered Daoist deity), once received the transmission of the Scripture of the True One of the Three Origins. Practicing the guarding of the One, visualizing the true spirits, calming the mind, and invoking spirits by reciting the Dao should all be done in a place of solitude.

The Lord Emperor of the Golden Gate, the Sage of Later Ages, once received four secret teachings: the Scripture of the Three Origins and True Unity, the True Talisman of the Emperor Lord of Taiji, the Scripture of the Five Dippers and True Unity, and the Treasure Chapters of the Emperor Lord Taiyi. He passed them on to the immortal Juanzi. One day, while fishing by the river, Juanzi caught a carp. He cut open the fish and found a green jade case inside. When he opened it, he obtained two talismans and two ritual texts. This is the account of that event. These are secret methods of inner cultivation transmitted by the Most High, the Daoist honorific for the highest divinity, and they are the superior Way practiced by those who have attained the truth. Once perfected, one may also pay court and feast in Shangqing, the Daoist realm of immortals, roam Taiji, fly through Kongtong, and dwell in Kunlun.

Volume Fifty: Secret Essentials and Methods, Section Six

The Method of the Three Ones in the Nine Palaces

The “Three Ones” are the foundation of the numinous spirits within the human body and the source on which all the deities depend for their existence. They govern the production of bodily fluids and are the jade chambers where the Hun-soul and Jing are stored. Thus, the stomach is like a square, regular pool that holds food, while the brain is like a rounded, hollow palace, suited to the dwelling of the true spirits. The body’s hair stands erect, and its pores seem to breathe out smoke. Its De accords with Heaven and Earth and merges with the Great Mystery, the profound and subtle realm of the Dao; hence it is called the “Muddy Pellet.” The Muddy Pellet lies in the head, where the spirits dwell.

Cultivators know to swallow Qi, swallow bodily fluids, and tap their teeth to fill the mouth with saliva, but they do not know the principles behind these practices. These are merely later offshoots of the Muddy Pellet methods, touching only on secondary branches of brain cultivation. I will now transmit to you the key to the Three Ones, a wondrous method practiced by the perfected beings who have attained the Dao. In practicing it, keep your mouth guarded and be careful; do not pass it on casually. If you break your oath, you will fall into the palace of ghosts after death, and your ancestors for seven generations will also suffer punishment, cut off for a long time from the Source of the River, a symbol of the immortal realm and the realm of the Dao.

Measure one inch inward from the point between the eyebrows: this is the Palace of Brightness. Two inches inward is the Cavern Chamber, and three inches inward is the Dantian. Above the Dantian is another area, one inch square, called the “Mysterious Elixir, Brain Essence, Muddy Pellet, and Soul Palace.”

Within the Mingtang Palace, the inner chamber associated with the heart and spirit, the Perfected Lord Bright Child stands on the left, the Perfected Lady Bright stands on the right, and the Divine Lord Bright Mirror stands in the center. The Perfected Lord Bright Child is named Xuanyang, with the courtesy name Shaoqing; the Perfected Lady Bright is named Weiyin, with the courtesy name Shaoyuan; and the Divine Lord Bright Mirror is named Zhaojing, with the courtesy name Siming. These three spirits jointly govern the Mingtang Palace. They wear green brocade robes and brocade skirts, and each bears four jade bells. They hold jade mirrors in their mouths; the mirrors and bells are the color of red jade. Their heads and features resemble those of infants. Sometimes they sit facing one another; at other times they all face outward together. This is the method for cultivating the Mingtang.

If a Daoist feels afraid, they may visualize the three spirits shaking their jade bells, whose sound reaches the Taiji, the highest heaven in Daoism. They may then visualize the spirits breathing jade mirrors from their mouths, sending out a vast radiance of red light. After completing this visualization, they should call the three spirits by name three times and click their teeth nine times. This will calm a thousand demons and dispel ten thousand ghosts.

If a Daoist feels hungry or thirsty, they may also visualize the three spirits breathing red Qi from their mouths into their own mouth, then draw it in and swallow it.

At a thought, one can feel full. When Daoist adepts travel at night and cannot see the road, they can visualize the Three Lords (three deities present in inner visualization) sending flames from their mouths to light the way ahead. In an instant, the road becomes bright. If they come to a dangerous place, or find themselves amid disaster or warfare, they should focus on visualizing the Three Lords shaking jade bells. It is said that this makes their enemies afraid and keeps them from wanting to cause harm.

If Daoist adepts wish to extend their lives, or seek help when gravely ill, they should steady their thoughts and lie down in repose. They should visualize the Three Lords in the Hall of Brightness, kneel facing outward, and exhale red Qi, imagining its light passing through the whole body and circling around the mouth. They should then swallow the red Qi several times. While swallowing, they should close their eyes and do so gently. After a short while, they should imagine the red Qi circling the body and turning into flames. The flames burn the body until the self and the fire become one, luminous within and without. They should continue for a time, then stop. This method of inner visualization is called “Refining the Form with the Sun and Moon”: through refining the form, one dies and is reborn. Practicing this every night before sleep is said to bring eternal life. Regularly visualizing and swallowing the red Qi can also restore a youthful appearance, like that of a young girl. This is the key to the Hall of Brightness, a site within the body associated with inner observation and cultivation.

Each morning after rising, one should swallow saliva thirty times, rub the face, and massage the eyes as a daily practice, while visualizing the saliva as red fluid.

In the Grotto Chamber, a site within the body associated with inner observation and cultivation, dwell three Perfected Ones: to the left is Lord Young Hero, to the right Lady White Origin, and in the middle Lord Yellow Elder. Together, the three govern the Grotto Chamber. This is the “Flying Perfected” method of cultivation. It has its own dedicated scripture; related material appears in the Scripture of Golden Radiance.

Within the Dantian Palace reside the Perfected One and True Emperor of the Upper Origin, the true deity who governs the Upper Origin, and his two attendants. The three govern the Dantian Palace together and guard the Way of the Three Origins’ True One. This is an essential path in cultivation, leading to the realm of truth, and a method for riding the dragon chariot. Heaven has many offices for its true deities, while the Perfected Ones on earth would rather be Earthly Perfected Ones—immortals who dwell in the human world and cultivate in seclusion. They live apart from official duties and need not trouble themselves with court banquets, so they can remain at ease and travel whenever they wish, riding in the Seven Palanquins, seven sacred carriages, and passing through the primordial Qi of the four directions or four seasons. As for the Celestial Perfected Ones, their ranks may differ slightly, but they all belong to the same Truth. The Earthly Perfected Ones, too, are content in their own places and have no wish to serve as officials among the clouds.

The Palace of Flowing Pearls houses the Perfected One of Great Unity of the Muddy Pellet, the true deity who governs the Muddy Pellet and the Palace of Flowing Pearls. This palace lies one inch behind the Dantian. Its deity has a scripture and method transmitted exclusively to him, a Way practiced by the Director of Life, the divine office responsible for human life and lifespan. This Way is subtle and vast. To receive its transmission, one must swear an oath and seal the covenant with pearls, jade, and silk documents. The scripture is transmitted once every three hundred years; after it has been passed on to five people, transmission ceases and it is no longer shared. This is the Way of the Director of Life, a high court official of the Supreme Ultimate.

The Palace of Mysterious Elixir lies above the Dantian and measures one inch across. Within it are purple chambers and green inner rooms, filled with vermilion mist. The Perfected Lord of Great Unity of the Muddy Pellet resides there and governs the palace. He looks like a newborn infant and sits on a golden couch beneath a jade canopy. He wears purple brocade robes and a bell of flowing fire at his waist. The bell of flowing fire has no physical form; it appears as a red radiance. When shaken, its sound carries a hundred thousand li. It is a treasure of the Perfected One of Great Unity of the Upper Clarity, the higher celestial realm in Daoism. In his left hand he holds the handle of the Northern Dipper’s seven stars, and in his right the cord of the Northern Celestial Pole. The Northern Celestial Pole likewise has no physical form; it appears as a red radiance. When shaken, its sound carries a hundred thousand li. It, too, is a treasure of the Perfected One of Great Unity of the Upper Clarity.

The left hand grasps the handle of the Northern Dipper, and the right hand holds the guiding cord of the Northern Pole. The Northern Pole is the unmoving star at the center of the north, hence it is called the “Cord of the Celestial Pivot.” Sit upright in the Palace of Mysterious Elixir, facing outward, with no attendants at your side; for this reason, it is called the Perfect Lord of Great Oneness. After morning and evening practice, and after visualizing the Three Ones within the body, attend to this place alone as the final step. “Visualizing it last” means first visualizing what is lighter and more superficial, then proceeding to what is deeper and more substantial.

The human head has nine palaces; these will be described first. Above the point between the eyebrows are the dwelling places of spirits such as the Yellow Gate, the Purple Door, the Crimson Terrace, and the Azure Chamber. Together, they guard the inch-pulse point. Each ear also has its own guardian of the inch-pulse. The left side of the face has the Crimson Terrace, and the right side has the Yellow Gate. The Perfected Ones of the Nine Palaces pass through the passage between the Yellow Gate and the Crimson Terrace whenever they come and go. The terraces and gates are therefore placed on either side of this passage to observe abnormal Qi and welcome the Perfected Ones as they travel back and forth.

The great spirit of the Purple Door is named Tranquility, with the courtesy name Dharma King; the great spirit of the Azure Chamber is named Upright Heart, with the courtesy name First Direction. Both spirits look like infants and wear clothing appropriate to the direction where they dwell. The spirits of the chamber and door hold flowing-gold fire bells. To “guard the inch” means to withdraw to a point three fen inward; hence the term “guarding the inch.”

Before going to bed at night and during morning visualization—the mental contemplation of spirits or of the inner landscape of the body—first visualize these two great spirits. See them faintly and call them by name. When you have finished, softly recite the incantation:

Within the purple gate and the azure inner chamber, two great deities dwell in each. They hold flowing bells, and wind and clouds arise from their bodies. They guard the true Dao practices, preventing anything from outside from entering. They enable my thoughts to communicate with the spirits, open the numinous gateway, and pass in and out without hindrance. Once I ascend through the ninefold gates of Heaven, I can behold the Nine Perfected (the nine true deities) and the Supreme Venerable Tai Shang. After completing the prayer, one may practice visualization of the Three Ones in the Grotto Chamber (cultivating by contemplating the deities within the body). This is an important method among the essential paths of the Nine Perfected.

These two great deities guard the vital places within the body and obey only the orders of the true officials of the Nine Palaces (divine officials who dwell in the Nine Palaces and govern the inner deities). Those who enter and leave the Nine Palaces are limited to commands sent by the Supreme Emperor, Jade Youths and numinous Perfected Ones, and spirits who travel among the halls of the various emperors. The two deities admit them only after receiving orders; no others who are not true spirits may enter. Such is the law of the Central Yellow Supreme One.

Thus the Red Child Emperor (a deity within the body) commands the spirit of the two ears, Jiaonu, and the messenger Yunyi to lead visitors inside. For this reason, when a person hears ringing in the ears, it means an outside messenger has entered. Yunyi strikes the chime to notify the Nine Palaces, so that their inhabitants know an outsider has arrived and can take precautions. The chime spoken of here is the ringing heard in the ears today.

Anyone who hears ringing in the ears should cross their hands over their ears and pray: “The Red Child dwells in the palace, the Nine Perfected in the chamber. Hear and obey the divine command, and forever discern what is inauspicious. Supreme One, shake the flowing bell and dispel every calamity.” After the prayer, strike the gates of the ears with the hands fourteen times. If the face then feels warm, it is a good sign.

If the head, nape, or neck feels cold in waves, this means that baleful Qi has entered the body. One should lie down at once, close the eyes slightly, and visualize the Supreme One True Lord in the Palace of Mysterious Cinnabar (a divine palace within the body), holding a bell of flowing fire and hurling it forth in a blaze of light. If warmth is felt, it is a good sign: the baleful Qi will be expelled from the body, followed by the fiery light, which shines brightly throughout the whole body. After a while, the body will return to calm.

The scriptures and methods of the four palaces—Bright Hall, Grotto Chamber, Cinnabar Field, and Flowing Pearl—were transmitted by the immortals to the world as practices that guide people toward becoming Perfected Ones. Their mysteries…

The Danjing (Classic of the Elixir Palace) is an important teaching on cultivating the Elixir Palace and an outline that governs the methods of cultivation in the four palaces. It may be taught only with the permission of the Taiji Emperor, and it is revealed only when the time is right.

Those who cultivate the Way of the Five Palaces and travel through the world may encounter this teaching and receive instruction if their names appear in the registers of the true immortals. Those whose destiny and innate constitution are not exceptional will not hear these words.

There are also four other palaces: the Jade Emperor Palace, home to the Queen Mother Wangqing; the Heavenly Court Palace, home to the Perfect Maiden of Shangqing; the Ultimate Perfection Palace, home to the Taiji Imperial Consort; and the Great Sovereign Palace, home to the Empress of the Most High Lord. The divine perfected beings in these four palaces all belong to the “Feminine True One,” whose attainment surpasses that of the “Masculine True One.” Each possesses a precious scripture, transmitted only to those who have already become perfected beings. Those who have not yet attained perfection cannot hear it or receive instruction in the essentials of cultivating the “Feminine True One.”

The reason the Most High can enter and leave the Eight Ultimate Realms of Radiance and ride the Jade Carriage, attended by three thousand jade maidens who serve the perfected being and support the carriage pole, by numinous officials who accompany him in song, and by divine consorts who hold a towel for him, is that he truly cultivated and upheld the Way of the “Feminine One.” Through this, he was able to hold a grand assembly in the Mysterious Dawn, the celestial realm of morning. This is the foundation of the Most High’s cultivation of the Dao and the method passed down by the Empty Emperor.

These four palaces are originally present in everyone; without cultivating this method, they remain empty. The Nine Palaces are the same: without comprehensive cultivation, they contain nothing. This is not true only of the palaces where the Feminine True One resides. As for the Dantian Palace, an Emperor is always stationed there, and a great deity is always present within each inch. There is no need to ask further: only through cultivation can one see them in one’s own palace. Those who cultivate can become gods and immortals; those who do not will eventually reach the end of their lives and die.

The Way of the “Feminine and Masculine One Spirit” can be cultivated by men and women together, and it is present everywhere. Only those who resolve to cultivate with utmost diligence can gain its benefits.

Each evening, lie down quietly to rest and clear away distracting thoughts. You may practice lying down or sitting. First, visualize purple Qi from the Northern Dipper’s Pole Star entering your body’s Palace of Mysterious Elixir, the place within the body where spirits are housed and Qi is circulated. After a while, the purple Qi fills the palace, then overflows from beside your ears and circles your whole body, making you transparent within and without until you become one with the purple Qi.

Next, visualize the sun entering the Palace of Mysterious Elixir. It fills the palace and rests at the center of the purple Qi, appearing like a fiery pearl reflected in darkness. Then visualize the Perfected Lord Taiyi of Central Yellow in the Upper Clarity (a Daoist high deity) descending from the purple Qi of the Northern Pole and settling inside the sun in the palace. The Lord’s personal name is Guiying, and his courtesy name is Huaxuan; his clothing and appearance are as described earlier. Then visualize yourself suddenly rising into the sun in the Palace of Mysterious Elixir and sitting before the Lord Taiyi. Your clothing may be any color. In your mind, bow and pay homage to the Lord, kneel before his knees, and ask about the methods of cultivating the Dao, becoming an immortal, and attaining longevity. You may ask whatever you wish.

Afterward, visualize yourself absorbing the purple Qi thirty times, then swallowing saliva (the fluid produced in the mouth during cultivation) thirty times. When you have finished, visualize a red Qi, as thick as a bowstring, emerging among the Seven Stars of the Northern Dipper and descending straight into the Palace of Mysterious Elixir. The Lord Taiyi and you ride the sun together, ascending along the path of red Qi into the Dipper’s Head of the Northern Dipper (formed by its four leading stars). Rest there for a long while, then go to sleep as usual. Practicing in this way will also bring corresponding responses.

After fourteen years of sustained practice, you will be able to travel with the Lord Taiyi and reach the Seven-Origin Guideline, a place among Daoist stars and celestial realms. After eighteen years, you will be able to reach the Upper Clarity Palace, receive scriptures and Fulu (talismans and registers), and command eighteen Jade Youths and eighteen Jade Maidens. Visualize every night and practice the prescribed number of repetitions without interruption. You may also practice this method on its own; you need not simultaneously cultivate the method of guarding the Three Ones.

Command eighteen Jade Boys and Jade Maidens, child attendants who serve the gods in the immortal realms. Each night, visualize them once. Simply count them silently, and do not miss a single night. You may also practice this method on its own; you need not combine it with guarding and visualizing the Three Ones, the three unified gods within the body. Practicing the methods together helps increase Jing and Qi and brings a response more quickly.

At midnight on the first, third, seventh, eleventh, and fifteenth days of each month, visualize the True Lord Taiyi seated facing outward in the Palace of the Mysterious Elixir, the residence of the spirits within the body. He exhales green Qi, which enters your mouth; swallow it fifty times. Then swallow the saliva in your mouth fifty times. When you have finished, offer this prayer softly:

“Supreme True Emperor Taiyi, Purple Lord of the Central Emperor, your name is Guiying and your courtesy name is Huaxuan. You sit upon a golden couch and dwell within a jade tent, wearing an embroidered shawl and brocade skirt, with fire bells at your waist. You can cut down evil and destroy treachery. You hold the essence of the stars in your hands, and a sunlike radiance shines from the crown of your head. You sit upright and exhale, letting me swallow your breath; you speak with me and feast with me in the Palace of the Mysterious Elixir. Please refine and nourish my Seven Po, the seven human souls, and harmonize and gently nurture my Three Hun, the three human souls. May the spirits protect me and enable me to ascend and become an immortal. May my five organs grow of themselves, restore my youthful face, and grant me the scriptures of Shangqing, the realm of immortals revered in Daoism, so that I may become the Imperial Lord of Destiny. May all that I seek and desire bring me fresh blessings.”

Next, visualize yourself ascending into the palace under the protection of the numinous spirits, and receiving the same blessings: becoming a flying immortal, having your five organs grow of themselves, regaining your youthful face, and receiving the scriptures of Shangqing. Then visualize yourself resting before Taiyi, and fall asleep in this way. You should also receive wondrous responses in your dreams. Practice this every day; as your Jing and Qi gradually grow abundant, this marks the beginning of your step-by-step encounter with the spirits.

Jade Instructions on the Names of the Inner Goddess of the Fourth Palace

Anyone who practices the Way of the Highest Perfected Ones but does not know the name of the inner goddess Zhenyi will find it difficult to become an immortal. Students should first receive the oral instructions from their teacher, then follow them in practice. On the first day of the year, on the first day of each month, and on the day when the year’s Tai Sui reaches the branch corresponding to one’s birth year, enter a quiet room and visualize while facing east:

The Divine Mother of Jade Clarity, whose surname is Lian, personal name Xian, and courtesy name Huangyan. She is nine cun and nine fen tall. She wears a sash of dark and yellow plain silk, her hair arranged in seven tiers of pearl and jade ornaments, and a cap of the Ultimate Limit for the Worthy. She dwells above the Highest, in the Pearl Palace of Taiji, the Seven Treasures Office, the Five Spirits Township, and the Mysterious Origin Village. In the lower realm, she governs the Palace of the Jade Emperor within your body.

The Shangqing Perfect Maiden wears a coiffure adorned with seven measures of pearls and jade, and a Limitless Courtier’s Cap, a mark of noble rank. She resides high above in the Pearl Palace of Taiji, the Seven Treasures Abode, the Village of the Five Spirits, and the Mysterious Origin Ward. Within the human body, she governs the Palace of the Jade Emperor.

The Shangqing Perfect Maiden’s surname is Jue, her given name is Jiong, and her courtesy name is Zhoulei. She is six cun and six fen tall. She wears a nine-colored sash woven from brocade embroidered with blue jeweled radiance, and wears a coiffure of jade and precious stones shaped like flying clouds, along with a Mysterious-Yellow Courtier’s Cap. She resides high above in the Central Palace of Great Seclusion on Kunlun, the Hall of Brightness Abode, the Village of Nine Lights, and the Great Transformation Ward. Within the human body, she governs the Palace of the Celestial Court.

The Imperial Consort of Taiji’s surname is Xuan, her given name is Xusheng, and her courtesy name is Bowu. She is seven cun and seven fen tall. She wears a five-colored sash with phoenix patterns, flowing like light and resembling a dark gauze robe. She wears a coiffure of seven treasures shaped like mysterious clouds, along with a Limitless Courtier’s Cap. She resides above the Origin Radiance in the Palace of Supreme Clarity and Ultimate Mystery, the Jade Chamber Abode, the Village of the Three Cinnabars, and the Cinnabar Origin Ward. Within the human body, she governs the Palace of Ultimate Perfection.

The Empress of the Most High Lord’s surname is Qian, her given name is Hanhai, and her courtesy name is Heyansheng. She is three cun and three fen tall. She wears a Limitless Courtier’s Cap adorned with seven treasures and flying essences, and resides above the Origin Radiance in the Palace of Supreme Clarity and Ultimate Mystery, the Jade Chamber Abode, the Village of the Three Cinnabars, and the Cinnabar Origin Ward. Within the human body, she governs the Palace of Ultimate Perfection.

The Empress of the Most High Lord’s surname is Qian, her given name is Hanhai, and her courtesy name is Heyansheng. She is three cun and three fen tall. She wears a nine-colored sash woven from cloud brocade with seven treasures, flying essences, and mysterious radiance. She wears a coiffure of ninefold-mysterious jade essence shaped like drooping clouds, along with a Mysterious-Yellow Limitless Three-Treasure jade crown. She resides in the Cavern of Supreme Clarity and Ninefold Mystery, the True Palace of Limitlessness, the Cinnabar Essence Abode, the Village of Cloud Radiance, and the Mysterious-Mystery Ward. Within the human body, she governs the Palace of the Great Sovereign.

Here, “governing within the body” means that these divine Perfected Beings were believed to dwell not only in celestial palaces, but also to preside over the divine energies in corresponding palaces and abodes within the practitioner’s body.

Those who cultivate the Way of the Mysterious Elixir and uphold the “Three Ones” formula should regularly visualize the Female True One deity within the Four Palaces. During visualization, they should remember her clothing, appearance, title, and dwelling. The Precious Scripture of the Upper Section records precisely these matters and transmits them to those who have attained the state of perfected beings. Beginners must not ask about its essential methods, for this is a teaching kept in the secret treasury of the Su Ling and not circulated in the world.

Anyone who receives the methods of the Highest True Ones may read the Three Treasuries of Divine Scriptures from beginning to end, comprehend their numinous subtleties, and probe their hidden mysteries; yet without understanding the method of the Female True One, they will ultimately find it difficult to succeed. For this reason, the Most High imposed strict prohibitions to prevent careless disclosure, and the relevant teachings were not written on paper. Those who obtain this method should first examine themselves carefully and confirm the sincerity of their hearts before receiving the transmission.

On the first day of the first month, the first day of each month, and the day of one’s birth sign under the Grand Duke of Jupiter, one should bathe, quiet the heart, observe the purification fast, and burn incense. Enter a room, face east, and visualize the Female True One deity of the Four Palaces. Following the method described earlier, contemplate her dwelling, name, garments, and stature. When finished, click the teeth sixteen times and pray:

“True Deity of Great Yin, named the Numinous Lady, you contain the deep, hidden light of the Nine Heavens and ride the True Qi into the unseen. Today is auspicious; the sky is clear and the air pure. I report my observance of the purification fast to Shangqing (the Daoist celestial realm). My thoughts and gaze are focused; the divine beings behold my body and spirit. May you return to your palace dwelling, filling it with the fragrance of jade blossoms; reveal transformations in five colors, flowing with yellow, purple, and blue light; and carry me upward on flying rosy clouds, straight to the court of the Heavenly Emperor.”

After the prayer, swallow the Qi thirty-six times, then stop. If one practices this method for nine years, the face will shine with the radiance of jade blossoms, illuminated by golden True Light. The divine spirit will appear before one’s body and speak with one. After seeing the spirit, keep the knowledge to oneself and be sure not to transmit it carelessly.

The Female True One deity of the Four Palaces is a feminine divine official who came into being at the primordial beginning of Heaven and Earth and was invested as an imperial consort. The final sentence in the original repeats the earlier statement that the divine spirit will appear and speak with the practitioner, and that the teaching must not be transmitted recklessly.

The four palaces are inhabited by female spirits of the True One. They were divine officials who governed Yin Qi when Heaven and Earth first came into being, and their honorific title is the Imperial Consort. Before the primal Qi of Heaven and Earth had formed, before the Five Offices—the five functions that govern all things in Heaven and Earth—had begun, and before scenes of brightness had appeared, the breath was utterly empty and still, with no distinction between above and below, inside and outside, left and right, or front and back. The primal essence of the Great High One, the wondrous truth of the Mysterious Beginning, gathered into Qi before emptiness reached its utmost point, transforming and blending the myriad things. Heaven and Earth are able to exist because of these four true spirits. If one holds them in mind with utmost sincerity, one may remain free from age and decline for a thousand years and share the longevity of the myriad spirits among the Nine Heavens.

The Instructions of the Scripture of the True Ones of the Three Origins of the Imperial Lord of the Golden Gate

Juanzi received this method from the Azure Lad of the Eastern Sea. The Great High One said: “Perfected beings prize the One and regard it as true because there is only one root. The realm with which the One accords can respond to and bring forth transformation in the Great Nonbeing; the One’s transformations and movements secretly accord with Heaven and Earth. Thus the One of the Upper Origin is the Celestial Emperor within the body; the One of the Middle Origin is the Cinnabar Sovereign in the Crimson Palace, the palace where the heart resides; and the One of the Lower Origin is the Primordial King in the Yellow Court, the palace where spirits are kept within the body. Together they govern the body’s twenty-four Qi, the twenty-four kinds of primordial energy that constitute the human body and correspond to Heaven and Earth. Through Qi, people receive life, and life takes shape. The body’s true Qi corresponds above to the twenty-four true spirits who dwell in Taiwei, the heavenly abode of the divine beings. True Qi circulates and harmonizes, giving rise to all kinds of life; the mysterious spirit energy divides and spreads, while the Purple Chamber, the dwelling place of the spirits within the body, remains deep and unfathomable.”

What is called “Qi (vital energy)” is formed when the Qi of the void gathers and becomes divine beings. What is called “spirit” arises by relying on the “Three Ones” within the body—the three unified deities described in Daoism. The Three Ones bring about the transformations of all things. The power to transform comes from the spirits’ freedom to conceal themselves and appear, and from the interplay of blending and differentiation, which reaches the utmost subtlety. Thus each of the Three One Primordial Lords possesses its own true Qi. When true Qi condenses, it becomes a thousand chariots and ten thousand steeds, cloud chariots and feathered canopies. It often enters the Purple Palace, ascends to Jade Purity, and is inscribed in the registers of Primordial Beginning. It can also generate embryos, protect and nurture the unborn, and nourish the body through the Three Ones, enabling the practitioner to become a perfected person, fly through the nine heavens, and receive an office among the exalted deities.

Thus, what the Three Ones accomplish is the generation of Heaven and Earth, not merely minor transformations such as flying or crawling. If you can keep the Three Ones firmly in mind over a long time, your Jing and Qi will respond and flow freely. When Jing and Qi flow freely, you can see the Three Origins—the three fundamental kinds of Qi or deities described in Daoism. Once you see the Three Origins, white Qi will gather and transform. After the white Qi transforms, primordial chaos will naturally differentiate and give rise to new forms. Once primordial chaos has differentiated, a thousand chariots and ten thousand steeds will suddenly appear. Then you can command the feathered canopies and ride the cloud chariots, ascend to Heaven in broad daylight, and travel to Taiwei, the celestial palaces. This is the wondrous efficacy of the Three Ones, and the result of Jing and Qi responding and converging.

Within Taiwei are twenty-four kinds of Qi, mingled together in a yellowish mass. They condense into Qi and undergo transformation, sometimes suddenly separating and appearing in the blink of an eye. Among the Qi that takes form are twenty-four perfected persons. They arise by gathering the void and do not pass through an embryo. They are all the divine Qi of the Three One Imperial Sovereigns, and can therefore differentiate and transform, taking visible form through the wondrous Dao.

If practitioners can keep the Three Ones within their bodies, the Three One Imperial Sovereign True Lords in Taiwei above will descend and appear, speaking with them face to face. Within the body are also another twenty-four perfected persons, formed through the differentiation of the practitioner’s own Jing and luminous divine Qi. They can transform without limit, as if riding cloud chariots to come and welcome the practitioner. The practitioner joins with the vital energies of dawn and ascends to Taiwei. The twenty-four perfected persons and the body’s deities feast together amid the yellowish mass and appear together in the Purple Chamber, the dwelling place of the deities within the body. Relying on Qi in its many forms, they transform in countless ways, turn the aging body back, and restore it to the state of an infant. They can also alter the register of the dead in Beifeng, the northern underworld described in Daoism, so that life endures in the Imperial Land and one may enter and leave Jade Purity...

Stop cultivating Taiwei (one of the methods of Daoist practice). You may also cultivate the related methods of Di Yi, Tai Yi, the Five Spirits, and the Three, Five, Seven, and Nine. Practicing these methods alongside one another makes it easier to communicate with the spirits. The practice of the Purple Chamber (the place within the body where spirits are visualized) must be rooted in guarding the One (concentrating the mind and spirit on a single focus). In turn, guarding the One must take the Purple Chamber as its canopy, the place that shelters the spirits. Thus the Three Ones (the three spirits within the body) and the Three Su (three related essences or spirits) work together, while the Purple Chamber and the Six Directions (the spaces within and around the body that correspond to one another) depend on each other. Though they occupy different places, all can help the practitioner achieve the effects of guarding the One. Think carefully about these things and visualize them; then the practice of the Three Ones will be complete.

If you receive and practice only one of these methods, the Three Origins (the upper, middle, and lower levels or their three spirits) will not be complete. Yet by guarding the One with undivided attention, you can still prolong your life, attain immortality, and enter the Great Clarity (a high celestial realm in Daoism). You will simply be unable to roam and feast in the Supreme Ultimate (a higher celestial realm), or ascend northward to the palace of the Highest Clarity, an even higher immortal realm.

The One of the Upper Origin is the supreme True Emperor; the One of the Middle Origin is the ultimate True Sovereign; the One of the Lower Origin is the mysterious True King. The Celestial Emperor attained the utmost Dao and thus ascended to become the Sovereign Pole. The Earthly Emperor attained the utmost principle and thus ascended to become the Orthodox One. The Human Emperor attained the mysterious Dao and thus became the lord of all wonders. The Three Emperors realized the true Dao and guarded the One, so the One no longer concealed its form. Immortals seek the true Dao in order to attain the One; thus the Ones of the upper, middle, and lower levels all become clearly manifest. When the One no longer conceals its form, the Dao has reached its utmost. When the Three Ones are all manifest, this is attaining the One and making it clear; when the Dao reaches its utmost and the Three Ones are all manifest, this is attaining the One and coming to life.

Those who truly guard the One should quiet their minds, steady their spirits, and concentrate on seeking a response. Then distracting thoughts will not pursue them, and their vital energy and intentions will not scatter. By turning inward and observing the body for three consecutive months, while focusing the mind on a single spirit, numinous radiance will arise and flow without interruption through the Five Viscera. If you remain focused without letting your thoughts scatter, and guide your Qi with concentration until it is balanced, you can approach a return to simplicity and authenticity, and attain the One more quickly.

When thoughts of vanity and falsity arise, or a competitive spirit unsettles the heart, you cannot quickly perceive the One, and the spirits will not respond at once. Even when its manifestation or response is not long delayed, this is often because the practitioner is not focused or has not reflected deeply enough. For this reason, years of practice may bring no evident progress. If you can make your mind and spirit open and receptive, and your communion far-reaching, then even without deliberately exhausting yourself, you should devote three months to careful reflection before you can unite with the One.

The Most High says: The Three Primordials are the Jade Perfected Ones of the Nine Heavens. They are also the Orthodox Way of the Most High, the root from which the embryo’s origin arises, and the foundation that abides at the center of the four quarters of Heaven and Earth. Through them, the Great Way of Orthodox Unity reveals the True Emperor, and the profound truth of the Orthodox Way gives rise to the Great Spirit. The Five Phases transform, separating and joining with one another; myriad changes come into being in an instant. The Three Primordials divide and transform, all arising from the One.

Thus, as Qi transforms, gathers, and flows through all things, divine beings manifest. The many True Spirits return to unity, and their wondrous work is accomplished. This is the ancestor of the Orthodox Way and the source of primordial Qi. Dispersed into emptiness, it joins in the distance with the boundless white Qi; nurtured within the body, it can endure forever.

The method of the Three Ones is to contemplate the Three Primordials in order to perceive the Dao. Its principles are wondrous, encompassing numinous scriptures. The gods of Heaven, human beings, immortals, and emperors all treasure and uphold these divine scriptures. The first method is the Thirty-Nine Chapters of the Great Cavern True Scripture, which teaches long life and enduring existence. The second is the Wondrous Scripture of the Female One’s Union and Transformation, Great Abundance. The third is the Profound Scripture of the Cavern of Truth. Three, five, seven, and nine together are called the “Plain Numinous [Scripture] of the Most High.”

Therefore, the Lord of the One of the Upper Primordial treasures the Cavern of Truth Scripture; the Cinnabar Emperor of the Middle Primordial treasures the Wondrous Scripture of the Female One’s Great Abundance; and the King of the One of the Lower Primordial treasures the Profound Cavern Scripture of the Most High’s Plain Numinous Great Abundance. These three scriptures are the True…

When the Dao reaches its most subtle state, it is embodied in the jade chapter of the “One Spirit.” These are secret formulas of the Heavenly Realms, transmitted from Heaven, and hidden writings of the highest realm. If you hold fast to the Three Ones—the practice of joining Jing, Qi, and Shen within the body—and obtain the three scriptures I transmit, you can ride the clouds up to the Great Clarity, the pure and empty heaven of Daoist teaching, and look into boundless realms, roaming at ease in the Purple Court, the realm of immortals. This teaching is subtle and profound, beyond the reach of words. Only by guarding the One can the effects of practice arise and the Three Ones become manifest. Once you can see the Three Ones, you may seek this scripture. When you obtain it, you will surely be taught how to guard the Three Ones. This is the opening chapter of the true book of the August Heaven and Highest Clarity, the Imperial Lord of the Golden Tower, and the wondrous formula transmitted by all the perfected ones.

Guard the One, and the One will also guard you. See the One, and the One will also reveal itself to you. The One depends on the body to become manifest, and the body depends on the One to stay alive. In all the comings and goings, actions, and countless affairs of daily life, you should constantly remember to guard the One: remember it while eating and drinking, in joy and pleasure, in sorrow, when ill, when in danger, when crossing water or passing through fire, when riding in a carriage or on horseback, and when urgent matters arise. There are also many moments to remember the One when dealing with others, moving about, or raising your eyes to look. Your attention must be focused; if your mind is not single-minded, there is no hope.

Those who cultivate the Dao often struggle to remain steadfast in their resolve. Even when they are firm for a time, they find it hard to persevere. They know the name of the One but cannot guard it; when they do guard it, their resolve is weak and they lack diligence. With scattered thoughts and a troubled heart, they cannot guard the One without wavering. Then the Three Ones depart, and the vital Qi disperses. Once the vital Qi is lost, malign influences can enter through the opening, and death draws near. People in the world who study the Dao often chase after outward show and fail to believe in the value of the True One. Though they may begin with resolve, they often change course and fail. This happens because their minds are not focused, allowing malign influences to enter through the opening.

The precepts for guarding the One require that you keep your thoughts from scattering. Even when focused, you must persevere. After persevering, you must advance in your practice; after advancing, you must make it firm, remaining consistent throughout. If you cannot persevere, the Three Ones will depart, and the body will become like an empty house. With no master in an empty house, how can the body endure for long?

The Most High says: When Qi gathers, it becomes Jing; when Jing responds, it becomes Shen; when Shen transforms further, it becomes an infant. The infant then becomes a perfected person—a true immortal who has completed cultivation—and the perfected person rises into the newborn, a symbol of returning to one’s pure original nature. This is the essence of “the One True.”

Heaven has three mysteries: the sun, moon, and stars. Also called the “Three Essences,” they are the foundation of Heaven’s enduring cycles and ceaseless generation. Human beings have three treasures: the upper, middle, and lower Dantian, the places within the body where Shen is preserved and Qi refined. Also called the “Three Trues,” they are the foundation of human longevity. The Lingbao Jing says, “Heaven’s essence and Earth’s truth: the six treasures endure forever.” This is what it means.

One inch inward from the space between the eyebrows is the “Bright Hall”; two inches farther in is the “Cavern.” These, too, are inner locations referred to in cultivation for preserving Shen and visualization.