《吕祖全书》

The Complete Works of Patriarch Lü (Lüzu Quanshu) gathers biographies and scriptures attributed to Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin). Its contents include: Biography of Patriarch Lü (juan 1); Former Eight-Rank Immortal Scripture (juans 9–10); Latter Eight-Rank Immortal Scripture (juan 11); Five-Rank Immortal Scripture (juan 12); Three-Rank Immortal Scripture (juans 13–15); Cantong Jing (juans 16–18); Hansan Yulu (juan 28); Treatise on Cultivating the Dao and Transmitting the Teaching (juans 29–30); annotated Qiao Yao Ge and Qin Yuan Chun (juan 31); Lingbao Bifa (juan 33). The Nine-Rank Immortal Scripture is also listed (juan 9).

The brief preface to Biography of Patriarch Lü states that Patriarch Lü once vowed to Patriarch Zhongli (Zhongli Quan, his master), the Right Yang Emperor Lord, that he would not ascend until all beings had been saved. After his ascension he still descended to the human realm to teach and save people; hence from the Tang dynasty to the present he has appeared sometimes hidden, sometimes visible, in ever-changing forms. People call him Immortal Lü; he styled himself the Returning Daoist and Lord of the Supreme Palace, and the fruition he realized was that of Supreme Holy Master. Miraculous deeds are far too numerous to record in full.

This biography follows only the order of the earlier biographical accounts; occasional supplements have been added, with sectional notes for reference. As for differing hearsay: some say he was originally of Tang imperial clan and surnamed Li; some say his given name was a certain character, some say Qiong, and that husband and wife entered the mountains together for dual cultivation and later changed their surname to Lü; some say he passed the jinshi examination and served as county magistrate, some say he failed the exams; some say at sixty-four he traveled to Chang’an and met the Zhenyang Emperor (Zhongli Quan); some say at sixty-four he ascended to court with Yuanshi (Yuanshi Tianzun) and the Jade Emperor; some say he was born on the fourteenth day of the fourth month, some on the fourth day of the eighth month; as for the year of birth, some say Zhenguan, some Tianbao, some Zhenyuan—all Tang reign titles—so the accounts do not agree. Lü Patriarch once said: “Call me an ox and I answer as an ox; call me a horse and I answer as a horse. The world’s mistaken transmissions are both true and false. Before the Tang, when had I ever existed?” That remark is truly penetrating.

When the Supreme One (Taishang Laojun) descended to be born, he took the surname Li; when the Buddha first appeared on the snow mountain, he emerged from his side; there were also two dragons encircling the chamber and five stars above the courtyard—marvelous signs all clearly attested and without error. The births of immortals, buddhas, sages, and worthies have never been ordinary. As for Lü Patriarch, how could I fathom him?

Compiled by Liu Tishu, Wuzi of Yiling. His son Liu Yincheng (Qinghui) and nephew Liu Yuncheng (Qingxu) jointly collated. Huang Chengshu, Yixingzi of Shaxian, participated in revision.

Eulogy: The greatest spiritual power lies entirely in loyalty and filial piety; benefiting oneself while benefiting others is the great Dao unchanged through the ages. From ancient times to now, this karmic tie is no small matter. Written offhand, it is a portrait before one’s eyes.

Again: One sword lies across the autumn sky; both sleeves hold only clear wind. The great Dao embraces the three powers (Heaven, Earth, and humanity) as one; the internal elixir (Neidan) is refined through nine transformations. His traces reached Cangwu and the northern sea; his person dwells in the clouded realm of the imperial abode (immortal paradise). Like a single drop from the Gan River—its source is deep and its flow long enduring.

Lü Dongbin’s Standard Biography (This biography collates accounts from Daoshu Quanji, Xianfo Qizong, Shenxian Tongjian, Quan Tang Shi, and related works. Where records disagree, notes are given below the main text for reference.)

His given name was Yan and his style name Dongbin. His family came from Yongle County in Hezhong Prefecture for generations. His great-grandfather Lü Yanzhí served under the Tang dynasty and eventually became military governor of Hedong; his grandfather Lü Wei rose to Vice Minister of Rites; his father Lü Rang was prefect of Hai Prefecture. He was born on the fourteenth day of the fourth month in the fourteenth year of the Zhenyuan reign, at the si hour (9–11 a.m.). When his mother went into labor, exotic fragrance filled the room, celestial music drifted in the air, and a white crane flew down from heaven and vanished straight into the birth canopy. In form he had a metal body and wood bones, a crane’s crown and tortoise’s back, a tiger’s torso and dragon’s cheeks, jade brows and phoenix eyes, a long neck with prominent cheekbones, a broad forehead and round body, a high straight nose bridge, and a yellow-white complexion. A black mole marked the left corner of his brow and another beneath the left eye; his head was large, and faint tortoise-like patterns showed on the soles of both feet. As a boy he was quick-witted, memorizing ten thousand characters in a day and composing fluent prose as soon as he spoke. When fully grown he stood five feet two inches, liked to wear the Huayang cap (the headcloth worn by Daoist priests), a white-and-yellow lanshan robe, and a black sash; in appearance he resembled Zhang Ziliang (Zhang Liang). He had not yet taken a wife by age twenty.

While still in swaddling clothes, Ma Zu saw him and said: “This child’s bone structure is extraordinary; he is meant for realms beyond the dusty world. Later, when you encounter ‘Lu,’ stay there; when you see ‘Zhong,’ go and knock to inquire—be sure to remember this.” Events afterward matched his words exactly.

Later he traveled to Mount Lu, met the Fire Dragon Immortal (Huolong Zhenren), and received transmission of the Heavenly Escape Sword Method (a Daoist sword art). From then on he moved among ordinary society, selling ink for a living, and styled himself Chunyangzi (Pure Yang Master). In the Xiantong era he passed the jinshi examination; by then he was sixty-four.

Later, while visiting a wine shop in Chang’an, he saw a yushi (Daoist adept) in a blue headcloth and white robe, with a long beard and fine eyes.

Later, when Lü Dongbin was traveling, he came to an inn in Chang'an and met a Daoist priest: a green kerchief on his head, a white robe on his body, a long beard and refined features, a purple bamboo staff in his hand, and a large gourd hung at his waist. On the wall he had inscribed three quatrains. Their gist was: day and night he always carried a flask of wine; he did not care to let his eyes take in the capital; the world was vast yet he left no name—only a idle man among mortals. An immortal who has attained the Dao is hard to meet by chance; he did not know when he could return or whether he wished to follow at his side; he said his dwelling lay where the sea stretched on—there, unlike the dusty world, was the foremost peak of Penglai.

Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) was struck by his strange, archaic appearance and his lofty, unfettered verses, and bowed to ask his name. The man said, “My surname is Zhong, my given name Quan, my style Yunfang.” Lü bowed again and asked him to sit. Zhongli said, “Recite a quatrain for me—I wish to see your talent.” Lü presented one; in essence: born into the Confucian tradition in an age of peace; the tassels of an official cap felt heavy, while plain cloth felt light; who would still scramble for fame and gain in the world? He would rather serve the Jade Emperor and return to the realm of Shangqing (the upper clarity, a Daoist paradise).

When Zhongli read the poem, he was secretly pleased. They rested together at the inn, and Zhongli himself got up to kindle the fire and cook. Lü suddenly felt drowsy; he leaned on the table and dozed, and dreamed that as a examination candidate he went to the capital and passed the jinshi degree: he began as a county official, rose to a post in the Secretariat, then served in turn as censor, remonstrating official, recipient of edicts, and Grand Secretariat drafter, and held every prestigious post in the Hanlin Academy and the Imperial Library—nothing was left out. Promoted, then demoted; demoted, then promoted again. In succession he had two wives, both from wealthy families; his children’s marriages were long settled; descendants and nephews-in-law flourished, and the whole household was filled with officials. Thus for nearly forty years; then alone he served as chief minister for ten years, his power overwhelming the court. Suddenly he incurred a grave crime: his property was confiscated, wife and children torn apart; he was exiled to Lingnan, alone, poor, haggard, stopping his horse in wind and snow, about to sigh deeply.

Lü Dongbin suddenly woke from his dream. Zhongli Quan (Lü Dongbin’s master, known in the Daoist tradition as Patriarch Zhong) was right beside him; the millet had not yet finished cooking. Zhongli Quan smiled and said, “The yellow millet isn’t done yet, and you’ve already dreamed your way to Huaxu, the legendary realm of dreams.”

Lü Dongbin asked in astonishment, “Sir, do you know what I dreamed?”

Zhongli Quan said, “In the dream you just had, rise and fall changed without end, glory and decline reversed in countless ways. Fifty years were but a moment. What you gain is not worth rejoicing over; what you lose is not worth grieving. Only with great awakening do you finally know that this human world is one vast dream.”

Moved in his heart, Lü Dongbin realized that an official career was not worth clinging to. He bowed again and said, “Sir, you are no ordinary person. I wish to learn the methods of transcendence—ways to leave the mundane world and attain immortality through cultivation.”

Zhongli Quan deliberately declined, saying, “Your root and bone have not yet fully formed; your aspirations and conduct are not yet settled. If you wish to transcend the world, you must pass through several more lifetimes first.” With that he departed lightly, as if floating away.

Dispirited and feeling as if something were lost, Lü Dongbin gave up his official post and withdrew to practice cultivation in seclusion. From then on Zhongli Quan tested Lü Dongbin ten times, to see whether he could remain unmoved in the face of sudden change.

The first: one day he returned from outside and saw that all his family had died of illness. He felt no grief; he only prepared coffins with proper solemnity. Before long, those who had died all rose again.

The second: he happened to be selling goods at the market. The price had already been agreed, but the buyer suddenly changed his mind and would pay only half. Lü did not argue; he would not even take half the money, but left the goods and walked away.

The third: on the first day of the New Year a beggar leaned against his door asking for alms. He gave money and goods. The beggar kept demanding more and even scolded him. Lü bowed and thanked him again and again before the beggar finally left with a laugh.

The fourth: while herding sheep in the mountains he met a tiger chasing the flock. The sheep were pushed down a steep slope; he alone stepped forward to block the tiger, which then let go and left.

5. He lived alone in a grass hut in the mountains, reading books. Suddenly a girl of about seventeen or eighteen appeared, radiant in face and richly adorned. She said she was returning to her parents’ home (guining) and, having grown tired from walking late in the day, wished to rest somewhere. She then tried every way to seduce him; at night she pressed him to share her bed, but he never wavered.

6. One day he went to the outskirts; when he returned, bandits had looted his household goods and he could barely get by. He was not angry and supported himself by farming. While hoeing he suddenly saw dozens of gold ingots; he covered them at once and took not a single one.

7. Once he bought several bronze vessels at the market; at home he found they had all turned to gold. He immediately found the seller and returned them.

8. A Daoist priest who acted and spoke like a madman sold medicine in the streets, saying, “Eat this and you will die at once; only in a future life can you attain the Dao (xiu cheng xian dao).” He sold for ten days without a buyer. He bought some, took it, and was unharmed.

9. In spring the floods spread; he rowed a small boat to the middle of the river. Waves surged and churned, yet he sat upright without moving, and in the end came to no harm.

10. One day he sat alone in his room and suddenly saw countless demons in strange shapes: some came to beat him, some to kill him, and he was not afraid. Then dozens of yaksha (fierce ghost soldiers) escorted a prisoner, bloody and mangled, who wailed, “You killed me in a past life—quickly pay with your life!” He replied, “A life for a life—what is there to refuse?” He at once looked for a knife and rope to kill himself. Suddenly a shout came from the air and all the ghosts and spirits vanished. A man came down clapping his hands—it was Patriarch Zhong (Zhongli Quan, Lü Dongbin’s master).

Patriarch Zhong said, “The heart of the ordinary world is hard to extinguish entirely, and the capacity to become an immortal is rarely met.”

Zhongli Quan said: “The heart tied to the mundane world is hard to extinguish completely, and people with the makings of an immortal are rarely met. I have sought those who can be saved more eagerly than people come seeking me. I tested you ten times and you did not waver—you are sure to attain the Dao. Only your merit in action is not yet complete. First I will transmit to you the yellow-and-white secret art (the method of transmuting base matter into gold and silver) so you may relieve people in the world and benefit the myriad things. When you have accumulated three thousand deeds of merit and fulfilled eight hundred lines of virtue, I will come again to save you.”

Lu Dongbin asked: “Will the refined geng and xin (gold and silver) change again afterward?”

He answered: “After three thousand years they will revert to what they were originally.”

Lu Dongbin looked troubled and said softly: “Then that would mislead people three thousand years from now—I am unwilling to do it.”

Zhongli Quan smiled: “Your heart can extend concern even to that—your three thousand deeds and eight hundred lines of virtue are all complete in this single thought!” That one test alone was enough.

So he told Lu Dongbin the course of his own leaving the world and attaining the Dao, and said: “I once received a recorded saying from Ku Zhu Zhenjun (a perfected immortal): ‘When you go to wander in the human realm, whoever has two mouths is your disciple.’ I traveled mountains and seas everywhere and never saw anyone with two mouths. Now looking closely at your surname, it fits Ku Zhu Zhenjun’s prophecy exactly—the character for Lu is precisely two ‘mouth’ components. I dwell at Heling (Crane Ridge) on Zhongnan Mountain. Will you go with me to cultivate and wander there?”

Lü Dongbin followed him. Stars and moon shone together; all around was silence and open space. Zhongli Quan took his hand and they walked side by side; after only a few steps it felt as though they were riding a fast horse, crossing mountains and rivers, and in an instant they reached the south side of the grotto dwelling—yet the gate was locked. Zhongli Quan struck Lü’s sash with a piece of jade, and the two of them slipped in through a crack in the door; inside, everything at once grew bright and vast. They climbed a high peak and came to the east of the great grotto gate, where two tigers crouched on guard. Zhongli Quan shouted once; the tigers lay flat and did not stir, and only then did he lead him inside. Within were golden towers and jade terraces, rare birds and miraculous trees shining together, the air as mild as spring. They sat together on a broad, flat rock and drank three cups of yuanhe wine—the immortal wine said in Daoism to harmonize primordial qi.

Before long a servant in blue appeared, twin topknots hung with golden bells, dressed in cinnabar robes and emerald sleeves, feet in cloud-walking shoes, jade at the waist, a strange fragrance in the air. He held a gold document bearing a seal and said: “The immortals have already gathered at the upper palace on Penglai and invite the master to the Heavenly Pool assembly to discuss the Record of the Spiritual Travels of the Five Yuan True Lords.”

Zhongli Quan was about to leave. Lü Dongbin, afraid he would not return, composed a poem to send him off: *Your virtue is lofty—hard to meet you face to face; I hear you go east, about to ascend the immortal altar. Spring clings to your staff; a flask of wine hangs there; cloud vapor gathers above your head into a five-colored crown. The spirit turtle that can drink the sea—ordinary folk cannot know it; the mountain-burning fulu—even ghosts dare not look upon it. When you are gone, this body of mine must grow old; I beg you grant this poor scholar one grain of bone-transformation elixir—the legendary pill that strips away mortal bone and completes the immortal body.

Zhongli Quan said: “Stay here. I will not be long.” Then he departed toward the southeast riding purple clouds. Lü Dongbin opened the plain-silk book left behind and read it again and again. After ten days Zhongli Quan returned and asked: “It must be lonely here—surely you are not thinking of going home?” Lü Dongbin said: “Since I have set my heart on the Way, how could I still long for my native place?”

Zhongli Quan said: Good! You do not understand the subtlety of Yin-Yang separating and joining: if you hold only to Yin, you have merely Po (the yin aspect of the form-spirit); if you preserve only Yang, you have merely Hun (the yang aspect of the spirit). If you can gather Hun and unite it with Po, let Yin and Yang combine, and have Hun and Po together return to the true, this is called the “Zhenren” (True Person)—one who has united Yin and Yang and attained the Way.

Lü Dongbin said: Hun and Po are hidden and hard to fathom; the principle is extremely deep. How can one fully accomplish it?

The reply: Wisdom emerges from the depths; when the heart is utterly still, Shen (spirit) becomes clear and bright. Once Shen has blended into one, does it not then accord with the true? A body like gold and a nature like jade come originally from pure sincerity and unity. When the Great Medicine (the inner elixir) is complete, the body becomes light enough to soar.

They then asked about “Heaven and Earth.”

The reply: Qian (Heaven), through three unions, meets Earth and begets the three Yang; Kun (Earth), through three unions, meets Heaven and begets the three Yin. Yang harbors Yin within—this is called “true Yin.” True Yin rises to Heaven by virtue of Yang’s begetting; Yin harbors Yang within—this is called “true Yang.” True Yang descends to Earth by virtue of Yin’s activating. When Yin and Yang unite and obtain the Way, one naturally can endure long.

They asked again about “Sun and Moon.”

The reply: The moon receives the Hun of the sun and, through Yang, transforms Yin; when Yin reaches its extreme it turns into pure Yang, and moonlight becomes clear and bright. Cultivated to this stage, Qi is accumulated and transformed into Shen.

They asked again about “the four seasons and the Five Phases.”

The reply: Within a single mind there are inherently the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water); within a single day there are inherently the four seasons— broadly nothing more than Yin and Yang shifting in turn. Yang without Yin cannot be accomplished; in the end, without Yin there is no death; Yin without Yang cannot generate; in the end, when Yin is exhausted all becomes Yang. The meaning of the scriptures of the eight grades before and after, in the main, all rests on this principle.

They asked again about “Water, Fire, Dragon, and Tiger” (in inner alchemy, images for the two Qi of Yin and Yang and their refining union).

The body has three kinds of fire: sovereign fire, minister fire, and common fire. Sovereign fire is the fire governed by the heart; minister fire is the fire in the kidneys; common fire is the fire used for circulation and transformation throughout the body.

True fire arises from within water—dim and indistinct, as if something were there yet neither seen nor grasped. True water arises from within fire—deep and obscure, with essence within; when you glimpse it you cannot hold it, and when you wish to hold it you cannot keep it.

The kidneys belong to water; within water is qi, called true fire. The heart belongs to fire; from fire arises fluid, called true water. This is the meaning of “the dragon emerges from fire, the tiger is born beside water.” Dragon and tiger are metaphors in internal alchemy: the true dragon refers to true water hidden within yang; the true tiger refers to true qi hidden within yin.

Water generates wood: when kidney qi is full, liver qi arises and thus exhausts excess yin in the kidneys. When qi passes through the liver it becomes pure yang, concealing the water of true unity—true unity is the single point of primordial true origin—in that dim state it is called the true dragon. Fire overcomes metal: when heart fluid is abundant, lung fluid arises and thus exhausts excess yang in the heart. When fluid reaches the lungs it becomes pure yin, concealing true yang qi; in that deep obscurity it is called the true tiger.

Taking water from qi and qi from water is called obtaining the millet grain—the cinnabar sprout as fine as a single grain of millet—and gathering it into the Yellow Court (the middle dantian within the body) is the great elixir.

Lead’s nature is heavy and tends to sink, like kidney water moistening downward, easily filling up; cinnabar’s nature is light and tends to rise, like heart fire blazing upward, easily dispersing. Using lead to restrain cinnabar—using heaviness to anchor lightness—the internal elixir coalesces.

“Drawing and adding” is adjustment in the firing process; drawing means drawing off what is in excess. After the winter solstice, yang qi rises from within the earth, and the earth draws off its yin.

When Taiyin (Greater Yin) is drawn away and reduced, it becomes Jueyin (Lesser Yin); when Shaoyang (Lesser Yang) is added and increased, it becomes Yangming (Yang Brightness). Jueyin is drawn away and reduced again and becomes Shaoyin (Lesser Yin); Yangming is added and increased again and becomes Taiyang (Greater Yang). After the summer solstice, yin qi descends from heaven; heaven draws yang out of itself: Taiyang is drawn away and reduced and becomes Yangming, Shaoyin is added and increased and becomes Jueyin; Yangming is drawn away and reduced and becomes Shaoyang, Jueyin is added and increased and becomes Taiyin.

Take sun and moon as a further analogy: the moon receives the sun’s hun (yang essence); the sun receives the moon’s po (yin essence). In the first fifteen days, the moon draws away its own po and the sun adds its own hun; essence and brilliance fill up, and light shines downward. Otherwise it would not go from new moon to first quarter, then from first quarter to full moon (yue wang). After that the moon returns yin po and the sun withdraws yang jing. In the last fifteen days, the sun draws away its own hun and the moon adds its own po; light fades and yin po settles. Otherwise it would not go from full moon to last quarter, then from last quarter to dark of the moon and new moon (huishuo). Sun and moon cycle like this, changing between nine and six (nine as lao yang, six as lao yin)—this is the image of choutian (drawing and adding).

Asked again what heche (River Cart—the image of true qi circulating in neidan) is. Answer: last quarter turning into dark of the moon and new moon. Sun and moon cycling and turning into nine and six—this is the image of choutian.

Asked again about heche. Answer: In the human body yang is little and yin is much; there is nowhere that is not water, so the image is taken from heche. Heche arises from water in the due north position; it is not like heterodox methods that rely on force to move and carry things.

Asked about the subtlety of neiguan (inner observation) and zuowang (sitting in forgetfulness). Answer: dragon and tiger unite, yin and yang pair. The Nine Sovereign True Lords lead a red-robed boy descending; the Nine Sovereign True Mother leads a black-robed woman ascending. The two meet before the Yellow Chamber; a yellow-robed old woman comes out to receive them, like husband and wife joining; when delight is exhausted the woman descends again and the man ascends again, like husband and wife parting. When the affair is finished, one thing is produced, as large as a pellet, colored like a red tangerine; it is cast into the Yellow Chamber and kept in a golden vessel.

Someone asked: "Will there be obstacles and difficulties in this practice?" The answer: "Do you know the Ten Demons and Nine Trials? When forced by clothing and food, people depart. After this is completed, something will be produced, the size of a pellet, the color like a vermilion orange, thrown into the Central Huangting (Dantian), and kept in a golden vessel."

Another asked: "Will there be obstacles in this practice?" The answer: "Do you know the Ten Demons and Nine Trials? The first trial is being forced by clothing and food; the second is entangled by affection; the third is bound by fame and profit; the fourth is suffering from disasters; the fifth is constrained by a blind or ignorant teacher (not understanding the proper way); the sixth is differences in opinions; the seventh is laxity of will; the eighth is the passage of years; the ninth is chaos and turmoil of the times. The ten demons are: first, the six thieves (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, consciousness); second, the demon of wealth and honor; third, the six emotions (joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, love, hatred); fourth, the demon of affection; fifth, the demon of hardship; sixth, the demon of gods and Buddhas causing harm, which is the demon of sages and worthies; seventh, the demon of weapons and soldiers; eighth, the demon of music and dance; ninth, the demon of female beauty; tenth, the demon of profit and wealth."

Another asked: "What are the signs of progress (evidence of effective cultivation)?" The answer: "Initially, all evil is cut off, and external conduct is also cultivated. When gathering the medicine (taking the essential Qi used in internal alchemy), the golden essence is full, and the yin soul is melted. Then the heart meridian overflows, and sweet saliva is produced in the mouth; then Yin and Yang interact, and thunder resounds in the abdomen; then the soul and spirit are still unsettled, and dreams are frightening; sometimes a minor illness occurs, which heals itself without treatment; then the Dantian is warm at night, and the complexion is clear during the day; in a dark room, divine light appears on its own; it is like holding an infant (the inner elixir is used to metaphorize the formed sacred fetus) upward, the golden yang interacts, and thunder resounds in the abdomen. After this, the soul and spirit are still unsettled, dreams are frightening, or minor illnesses occur and heal without treatment, the Dantian is warm at night, and the spirit is clear during the day, divine light appears in a dark room, like holding an infant ascending the Golden Gate (symbolizing rising to a high position). Then a thunderclap sounds, the joints are connected, and sweat flows profusely; then the jade liquid is refined into a cream, like snow melting and scattering."

Blood may transform into a milk-like essence, and one gradually grows averse to the fishy stench of meat. Or the ordinary bones are about to grow light, gradually becoming like gold or jade. Then one walks as swiftly as a galloping horse, and the mind does not stir at sights and sounds. Further, exhaling breath can heal illness, and inward contemplation reveals a clear brightness. The eyes become black and bright as lacquer; deep blue-black hair grows anew. True Qi is full, and one often feels naturally sated; one eats little yet drinks without limit. The spirit body is lustrous and the essence refined; strange flavors arise in the mouth and strange fragrances in the nose. Vision reaches ten thousand li; scars vanish. Tears, mucus, saliva, and sweat all cease; the three corpses and nine worms are entirely removed. The will is lofty and merges with the great void (Tai Xu); worldly desires stop, and heart and outer world are both empty. Hun and po no longer wander outward; dreams of sleep end by themselves; spirit is sharp and clear, without distinction of day and night. Yang essence condenses into form; the spirit dwelling (ling fu) is firm—cold and heat cannot invade, life and death cannot touch. With sighing, exhaling, and other breathing methods, external mercury (wai gong) not yet fully refined can be dried and transformed; divine light is ever present, whether sitting or lying. In stillness one sometimes hears celestial music—metal, stone, silk, and bamboo, clear and piercing—not what the world usually hears; in inner vision one sometimes roams in Huaxu (the legendary realm of blissful dreams), with towers and halls magnificent, not what the world commonly sees. Then the mundane world seems foul and impure; one sees the spirits within the body appear, and outer spirits come to pay homage. When merit and practice are complete, one receives registers and charts from heaven (ying lu shou tu); purple clouds fill the eyes, golden light enshrouds the body. Or one sees fire dragons flying, or mysterious cranes (xuan he) dancing; auspicious clouds coil, blessed vapors scatter, heavenly flowers fall in profusion, divine maidens descend. One leaves the vulgar and enters the sacred realm, wandering freely in nature. This is the day when the great man achieves full merit and fame.

Zhongli Quan transmitted to him in full the secret formulas passed down by the supreme true immortals; Lü Dongbin understood each one. After a little while he heard a knock at the door. He rose to look and saw the two perfected ones Zheng Siyuan of Qingxi and Shi Hufu of Taihua, arriving from the southeast. They walked slowly through the air; their forms were golden and jade-green, serene and still. After exchanging bows they sat down together.

They said, “We have just gone to congratulate Yin Siyi on his successful elixir-making and have come to this immortal’s dwelling.”

Shi Hufu asked, “Who is this attendant?”

Zhongli Quan said, “He is the son of Lü Rang of Haizhou in our dynasty. In youth he studied Confucian and Mohist learning; finding no success in the capital, he met me in a wine shop in Chang’an and has followed me in the Way ever since. He already understands the transformations of yin and yang, refines body and spirit together, and has entered the subtle and wondrous realm.”

Zhongli Quan then had him pay respects to the two immortals.

Zheng Siyuan and Shi Hufu said, “Your form is clear and bright, your spirit and breath are still present, your eyes are fine and luminous, and your refined essence is stored within. If you wish to leave the dusty net of the world, can you compose a poem?” They gave him a golden brush tube, cloud-colored paper, spirit glue, and a rhinoceros-horn inkstone for him to inscribe it.

Lü Dongbin at once offered this poem:

“Through myriad kalpas and thousand lives I have reached this one life; only in this life do I feel this body is not slight. I cast off family and state and go far beyond clouded mountains; I nourish soul and spirit, draw in the essence of sun and moon. Lately I have heard the perfected speak of the nine tripods; I would exhaust the great medicine and seek the Three Pure Ones. Now face to face I meet true immortals; my name is already recorded at the immortal gate of the Purple Chamber.”

The two immortals praised his refined thought and graceful lines and each gave him what they had kept secret, then took their leave.

At that time spring birds were calling. Patriarch Zhongli inscribed at the cave mouth:

“Spring qi fills the sky; dew drops from the flowers. The morning sun shines on the sea; cloud breath returns from the peaks.”

He also said to Lü Dongbin, “My day to ascend and pay homage to the Origin is already set. Transcendents of the Ten Isles will go to the Jade Capital to report this merit and practice, so that I may rise in the immortal ranks. I fear you cannot stay long in this cave; in ten years we shall meet at Dongting.”

He took a brush and wrote in cursive on the stone wall of the cave:

“By day the sunlight is bright and high; by night the moon’s color is full and clear. Yin and yang unite with soul and spirit; after blending they rise upward.”

Zhongli Quan tossed down his brush and said to Lu Dongbin, “As you travel through the world, you should perform deeds that benefit people and relieve suffering. When your virtue is complete and your merit fulfilled, we shall meet again.”

With that, he transmitted the Lingbao Bifa (Complete Methods of the Numinous Treasure) to him and said, “Long ago, among the stone cliffs of Mount Zhongnan, I obtained three sections of the Numinous Treasure scriptures: the upper section called Yuanshi Jingao, the middle Yuanhuang Yulu, and the lower Taishang Zhenyuan Yi—altogether thousands of scrolls. I extracted their essentials and compiled this Bifa, divided into sixteen categories, plus the three vehicles and six meanings.

What they explain is this: within Yin there is Yang, and within Yang there is Yin. The principle of ascent and descent in Heaven and Earth is that from Qi water arises, and from water Qi arises again. The key to the mutual joining of heart and kidney is to turn the cycle through the twelve double-hours paired with the Bagua (Eight Trigrams); the crucial point lies in the Gen trigram (among the eight, it stands for stillness and stopping). Then let the upper, middle, and lower Dantian (energy centers) circulate back and forth; the crucial point lies in the Niwan (the upper Dantian at the crown). As for the initial entry practice, it is only provisionally illustrated by swallowing the breath and churning the saliva. The true formulas for Qi (vital energy) depend entirely on oral transmission face to face; they are not in the written word.”

He then produced several spirit elixir pills and said, “These are not refined from the metals and stones of the five phases and eight minerals used in Waidan (external alchemy). They are compounded from rare treasures of this world. Though they have substance, they have no fixed form—like cloud, like fire, like light, like shadow: you can see them but cannot grasp them. Once taken, they merge with one’s hun, po, and spirit-consciousness, light and subtle, unlike ordinary material pills.”

He also presented a poem, meaning: knowing that you were fortunately born with extraordinary spiritual roots, I therefore teach you to sink the mind-spirit into the state of vagueness and trance (a unified, undifferentiated nearness to the Dao). The crystal palace above in the Hanyuan Hall already clearly points to where the immortals dwell. When a true man meets the genuine method, he must hold his will firm and fierce. When the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) cooperate, the knife-spoon elixir of inner refinement forms of itself; then hold fast to the formula of reversing and exchanging turtle and snake.

The Three Corpses (Sanshi)—the three corpse-spirits within the body that report one’s faults upward and block attainment of immortality—must be utterly eliminated. Whether advancing or retreating, one must align with the secrets of Heaven (tianji) and practice according to the Six Jia method (liujia fa), the Daoist discipline of fixing times through the six Jia days and Jia spirits. Once these three essentials are understood, the myriad spirits will naturally gather to you; you can then command the fire spirit and pass beyond the nine gates. When the work of the “double nine” (jiujiu) reaches the day of true realization, it becomes the festival at which the Three Realms (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity) and the Four Prefectures (the offices that govern the four directions) pay homage to the Origin (chaoyuan). The heart must be fierce and resolute. When the Five Phases (wuxing) arrange themselves on their own, the elixir coalesces in the measure of a “knife-spoon” (daogui)—originally a tiny spoon for dosing medicine, but in Neidan (internal alchemy) a figure for the perfected inner medicine. One must also hold fast to the oral formula of “turtle and snake reversed” (guishe diandao): turtle and snake stand for water and fire, yin and yang; “reversal” means turning their usual positions upside down to refine the elixir.

Qi can soar; spirit light shines bright and commanding; Penglai—the immortal isle at sea—is your own home. Immortals gather for feasts; celestial music fills the air; two spirit boys lead the guest who ascends into the profound realm. Because your commitment to the Dao never wavers, the teaching is entrusted to you: face to face you swear an oath and seal it with your own blood. Do not speak of this casually to outsiders; even among fellow practitioners, do not lightly give away the oral formula. Do not resent these repeated admonitions: if you treat them with neglect, the yin offices—the courts of the underworld—will surely punish you. As we take leave hand in hand, what is the final import? Today this song is offered once more. The myriad subtle principles have already been fully spoken; the only fear is that your heart may not truly believe. I tell you plainly now: cherish these words, and you may ascend to Daluo (Daluo Heaven), the highest heaven in Daoist cosmology.

When Lü Dongbin (Lü Dongbin) had heard this, the turbid qi of the mundane world instantly cleared away. He asked further about the “Three Originals, Three Pure Ones, Three Treasures, and Three Realms.”

Zhong Liquan said: The first is the Primordial Chaos of Great Non-Being (Hundong Taiwuyuan); from it arises the Lord of Heavenly Treasure (Tianbao Jun), who governs the Jade Clarity realm (Yuqing Jing) and the Palace of Subtle Purity (Qingwei Tiangong); its qi is called Shiqing (Initial Azure). The second is the Red Chaos of Great Non-Being (Chihun Taiwuyuan); from it arises the Lord of Spiritual Treasure (Lingbao Jun), who governs the Upper Clarity realm (Shangqing Jing) and the Palace of Yu’s Remainder (Yuyu Tiangong); its qi is Xuanhuang (Mysterious Yellow). The third is the Dark Silence and Mysterious Penetration Original (Mingji Xuantongyuan); from it arises the Lord of Divine Treasure (Shenbao Jun), who governs the Great Clarity realm (Taiqing Jing) and the Palace of Great Crimson (Dachi Tiangong); its qi is Xuanbai (Mysterious White). These three Originals are the Three Originals (Sanyuan); the three Treasure Lords they produce are the Three Treasures (Sanbao); and the Jade Clarity, Upper Clarity, and Great Clarity they administer are the Three Realms—the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing). Thus arise the spirit and qi born of the Nine Heavens. The scripture says: “Though the three names differ, in origin they are one body.”

The three immortal lords each became patriarchs of their own line, that is, the revered teachers of the Three Caverns (the three major divisions of Daoist scripture and teaching).

As the transmission was nearing its end, two immortals suddenly arrived, clad in thin gauze robes and wrapped in rainbow-like radiance, bearing golden slips and precious talismans. They proclaimed: “The Supreme Emperor has decreed that Zhongli Quan shall serve as Celestial Envoy for Selecting Immortals at the Golden Gate of the Nine Heavens (the envoy charged at the Golden Gate of the Nine Heavens with choosing those who attain immortality).”

After Zhongli Quan received the appointment and bowed in acceptance, he said to Lü Yan (Lü Dongbin’s given name): “I am about to ascend to heaven. Remain in the human realm for now; cultivate merit and establish virtue diligently, and in time you will follow in my path.” Lü Yan bowed again and said: “My aspiration differs from yours, Master—I must deliver all sentient beings before I will ascend.” What immense vow-power that was—truly a heart of great compassion.

At that moment phoenixes and cranes soared, golden banners and jade regalia were arrayed, and immortal music rang out clearly. Patriarch Zhongli and the two immortals bearing the decree departed slowly upon the clouds.

The Ancestral Master Lü had received the Daoist methods from Zhongli and also the Heaven-Revealing Sword art from the Real Person Huolong (Fire Dragon). That sword art was used to cut through three things: first, afflictions; second, sensual desire; third, greed and anger. He once composed a poem: In years past I met the Fire Dragon Lord; one sword was transmitted, companion to this body; heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers from then on were like bubbles; stars, sun, and moon could be stilled at will; know that true nature through many kalpas remains unbroken—why vainly pass ten thousand years among humans; last night Zhongli passed down a single phrase—the palaces of the Six Heavens (the six layers of heaven formed from stagnant qi in Daoist cosmology) will turn to dust. This poem was composed later when he moved among common folk, recalling past events.

At first he traveled through the Jianghuai region, testing his spirit sword and removing the scourge of a great flood dragon. Reaching Dongting Lake, he climbed Yueyang Tower and drank alone. Patriarch Zhongli suddenly descended and said: “I come to fulfill our former pact. The Supreme Emperor has commanded that your dependents shall dwell in the grotto-realm on Jing Mountain; your name is already entered in the immortal register of Yujing (the highest realm among the Three Pure Ones).”

On the eighteenth day of the third month, Lü Dongbin was led to pay respects to the Real Person Kuzhu, who transmitted the method of merging sun and moon (in internal alchemy, the practice of joining sun and moon, yin and yang qi). At fifty-three he returned to Mount Lu to cultivate at Guizong; at sixty-four he went to court for audience.

Yuan Shi and the Jade Emperor (Yuanshi Tianzun and the Jade Emperor) do not manifest in one fixed form. Because their vows are vast, in a turbid age they may rise or sink, wandering to teach and deliver people; even ordinary men and women, upon hearing their names, cannot help but feel reverence.

Patriarch Lü once said: People all long to see me, yet refuse to act on my words; even if they stayed with me day and night, what good would it do? If one is loyal to the state, filial to parents and fraternal at home, keeps faith with friends, treats subordinates with kindness, does not slight his own heart, and in solitude does no wrong, uses practical means to aid sentient beings, and moves Heaven through hidden merit (yin zhi), people will love him and spirits will honor him. With this single thought of goodness, he is already the same as me; though he has not seen me, it is as if he had.

When the heart-mind turns toward good, it belongs to yang brightness; nature tends toward the light and refined—this is the path to heaven. When it turns toward evil, it belongs to yin turbidity and falls into what is coarse and heavy—this is the step down into hell. Heaven and hell are not really ruled by anyone there; they are nothing but what the human heart-mind transforms into.

In the early years of the Jianlong reign, Patriarch Lü appeared in the rear garden of the imperial palace and told Emperor Song Taizu (Zhao Kuangyin) face to face that the Zhuling Emperor—the Daoist supreme deity associated with fire—would govern the realm through the virtue of Fire. They spoke at length; attendants on either side could hear nothing, and what was said was never recorded. The emperor removed his crimson robe and jade belt and bestowed them on him; in an instant the figure vanished. The emperor ordered his likeness painted in the Taiqing Tower within the palace, and Daolu (director of Daoist affairs) Chen Jingyuan circulated that portrait in the world.

During the Zhenghe period, ghosts troubled the palace: they showed themselves by day, stole gold and silver, and carried off consorts, while only the emperor’s own quarters were left untouched. Shichen (palace Daoist specialists) such as Lin Lingsu and Wang Wenqing tried to suppress them; the hauntings would quiet and then return. The emperor kept strict fasts, prayed with devotion, and submitted six formal memorials to the celestial court according to Daoist rite.

One day, dozing in broad daylight, the emperor saw outside the East Gate a Daoist wearing a jade lotus crown and a purple crane cloak (a robe embroidered with cranes), holding a crystal ruyi scepter. The man stepped forward, bowed, and said: “Your subject has received Heaven’s command to put this ghostly disturbance in order.” Presently the Daoist summoned a warrior in golden armor, seized the specter, split it open, and devoured it.

The emperor asked: “Who is this great warrior?” The Daoist said: “This is Guan Yu, True Lord of Chongning, whom Your Majesty enfeoffed.” The emperor thanked him repeatedly and asked again: “Where is Zhang Fei?” Guan Yu said: “Zhang Fei is a brother of mine through many lifetimes; he has now been born into the Yue family of Xiangzhou on Your Majesty’s behalf. In time he will aid the court in restoring the dynasty and win great merit.” The emperor asked the Daoist’s name; he said: “Your subject’s surname is Yang; I was born on the fourteenth day of the fourth month.”

When the emperor awoke, he summoned the Shichen to relate the dream. They said: “This was Immortal Lü.” (Lü Dongbin’s Daoist style was Chunyang, and the fourteenth day of the fourth lunar month is observed as his birthday.) From then on the palace was at peace. The emperor decreed that wherever Lü the Immortal was worshipped, the title Perfect Man of Wondrous Communication (Miaotong Zhenren) should be officially fixed, and an imperial edict was promulgated.

The edict stated that the emperor wished to honor the Great Dao together with the people, and that all reclusive immortals were to be entered in the official records. How much more so for Perfected Lü, who could secretly respond to prayers—he deserved an even clearer show of imperial favor. He had hidden his form and covered his tracks, wandering far and wide. When Jingfu Palace was being built, a lodging where he had once stayed happened still to be there; the emperor marveled at this coincidence and bestowed a title. With the spirits in solemn presence, may you show clear discernment: he may be enfeoffed as Perfected Miaotong— a perfected one whose spirit-powers are subtle and who moves through all things without obstruction.

An image was therefore placed in Jingling Palace (the Song imperial temple where sacred worthies were venerated), with sacrifices offered at the proper seasons. The miraculous powers and subtle uses attributed to him cannot fully be told in biographical accounts. Kublai Khan of the Yuan enfeoffed him as Chunyang Zhenjun of Expounding the Correct, Alerting and Transforming; the Yuan Wuzong added the title Chunyang Zhenjun of Expounding the Correct, Alerting and Transforming, Assisting and Protecting. Chunyang is Lü Dongbin’s Daoist name; “expounding the correct,” “alerting and transforming,” and “assisting and protecting” mean spreading the true Way, awakening and transforming people, and guarding them with faithful blessing.

His poetry was circulated as the Huncheng Collection. Later, through planchette spirit-writing (fuji, by which immortals descended to produce text), Wuling produced the Former Eight Grades and Latter Eight Grades; Qizhen at Ezhou produced the Five Grades; Hansan produced the Three Grades and scriptures such as the Cantong; the Hunan thatched hall produced scriptures including the Shengde. Already in circulation were the Zhixuan Pian (the scripture reads “Zhixuan Pian”), the Zhongxiao Gao, the Xiuzhen Chuandao Ji, and the Yushu Jing Zan. These have now been gathered into one complete book. From Kublai Khan onward, this section was not in the original biography and has been added now.

Wuwuzi respectfully composed this praise:

In Daoism there is Fuyou Dijun (the Patron of Blessings and Protection)—Lü Dongbin, later honored as a sovereign who shields and blesses living beings—just as in Buddhism there is Guanyin Dashi (the Great Bodhisattva Guanyin, the Bodhisattva Who Perceives the Sounds of the World). Shijia (Shakyamuni, the World-Honored One) himself embodied wuwei (non-action), yet the Buddhadharma flourished through the Great Bodhisattva; Taishang (the Supreme Venerable, Taishang Laojun) himself embodied wuwei, yet the Dao flourished through the Dijun. Though the Dijun had already attested to fruition in heaven, he still moved among human beings and delivered and transformed countless people. This is much like the sages’ wish that the myriad things each find their proper place—so for thousands of years, all who hear of him are stirred to rise up; his vow-power is vast and far-reaching. Long ago, at the assembly of the Shurangama Sutra, the World-Honored One chose the Great Bodhisattva as foremost among the buddhas in yuantong (perfect, all-penetrating understanding). Can Lü Zu not also be yuantong foremost?

The Former Eight-Grade Immortal Jing (scripture)—volumes nine and ten—was preceded by a preface. The jing’s title is Taishang Lü Zu Kai Tian Huang Ji Zheng Zhen He Bi Dong Miao Xian Jing (The Supreme Venerable Lü Zu’s Immortal Scripture of Opening Heaven, the Supreme Ultimate, Verifying Truth, Penetrating Opening and Closing, and Subtle Mystery)—in essence, an immortal jing revealed and verified by Taishang and Lü Zu on the true path and on the subtlety of penetrating yin-yang opening and closing. The upper scroll contains: Grade One, Taiji Transformation and Nourishment; Grade Two, the Five Phases and the Rectification of Filial Piety; Grade Three, Guidance through Sincerity and Fraternal Deference; Grade Four, Teaching Shown through Upright Loyalty. The lower scroll contains: Grade Five, Reaching the Dao through Trustworthiness and Reality; Grade Six, Preserving Jing (essence) and Stabilizing Life; Grade Seven, Qi (vital energy) Uniting with the Profound Origin. There is also a small preface to the Former Eight-Grade Jing.

The small preface says: When the blue ox went west, xuan learning stood out clearly (Laozi left the pass and Daoist teaching rose); when the white horse arrived, Buddhism arose (Buddhist scriptures came east)—so beyond Confucian books there were also Buddhist sutras and alchemical jing (scriptures), all merely to lead the world to guard the mind of the Dao carefully and to wash the human heart clean. Yet Buddhist and immortal books also each set up their own gates and became separate schools; measured against the way of the Two Emperors and Three Kings (Yao, Shun, and the sage kings of Xia, Shang, and Zhou), they had long since split into thousands of branches and myriad streams. Who else could trace them to the root and gather them toward one foundation? Only…

Lu Patriarch (Lü Dongbin) integrated the aims of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism and expounded them in a number of scriptures. The Eight Grades (Ba Pin Xian Jing, Eight-Grade Immortal Scripture) was the first he took in hand—like a new blade just taken to the whetstone.

The first and second grades were composed at Guangling (the Yangzhou region in Jiangsu); the third and fourth at Jinling (Nanjing); the fifth at Piling (Changzhou, Jiangsu); the sixth and seventh at Xinzhou (the Shangrao region in Jiangxi); and the eighth at Linjiang (Linjiang in Jiangxi). The place changed five times and several years passed—one can see how hard-won this scripture was. Only because his heart was compassionate, his vow vast, and his resolve firm did he finally bring it to completion.

The tone of this scripture is mostly sober and strict; it does not read as fluently as the scriptures he produced later, yet it already holds within it the seeds of those later works—it is the embryo of all the grades. Like a spring just issuing from the mountain, about to rush to the sea; like bamboo shedding its sheath, its vitality already shooting toward the sky.

The Way is one thread; the aim is one return. The three teachings need not take separate roads—how then could the various scriptures differ in intent? Those biased, shallow side paths that each raise their own banner and mock one another ought to stop and turn back.

Original Preface to the Reprint of the Ba Pin Xian Jing

By nature I am quiet and spare, with a mind set on cultivation. I devoutly venerated Lu Patriarch (Lü Dongbin); in whatever I undertook I always reported to him. The Patriarch saw my sincerity and often descended through the planchette (fuji) to admonish me and to bestow songs and poems. His words at first seemed cryptic; when the matter arrived, nothing failed to clarify and match.

When I served in Yunnan and devoted myself to the Way, I likewise venerated Lu Patriarch daily and informed him of my affairs. The Patriarch, discerning my sincerity, often descended through the planchette to instruct me and to give songs and poems. At first his words sounded obscure; when events unfolded, nothing failed to prove clear and accord with them.

After Luo Hongxian was transferred to serve as a frontier official in Yunnan, one day during a planchette session (fuji, spirit-writing) a spirit descended and instructed him: “The immortal scripture I wrote in the past consists of eight sections in all; it has already been printed in Guangling (present-day Yangzhou), but circulation is still limited. You now govern Yunnan. Yunnan is the land of the ancient Six Zhao; Yi and Han live mixed together, and the people’s nature is fierce and stubborn—they do not understand ritual propriety or royal transformation. Day after day they take up arms, destroy life, and pile up bones and rotting flesh until the air reeks of blood and corruption, so that Heaven is provoked and the Celestial Emperor’s punishment falls. If you write a preface for this scripture and spread it widely, the benefit will be very great.” I respectfully agreed at the time.

The Dao is fully present in the Yijing (Book of Changes), and its principles are exhausted in Yin-Yang. Later, when the Yellow Emperor fought Chiyou at Zhuolu, the Mysterious Woman of the Nine Heavens (Jiutian Xuannü, a Daoist immortal) transmitted to him the Yinfu Jing (Classic of the Hidden Talisman), composed by the Supreme Lord of the Dao (Taishang Daojun). When Master “Like a Dragon” (Laozi) passed through Hangu Pass, at the earnest request of the gatekeeper Yin Xi he wrote the Daode Jing (Classic of the Way and Its Power). These two classics seem rugged in literary form yet their direction is utterly even and correct; their words seem one-sided yet what they contain is complete. Afterward came the Cantong Qi (Unity of the Three), which, relying on the Changes, unfolded the intent of these two sages to a depth without limit. Still later came the Wuzhen Pian (Awakening to Reality), which again and again speaks of lead and mercury, dragon and tiger, the “infant” and the “maiden” (names in internal alchemy for aspects of the body’s yin-yang vital essence). Those who awaken know this refers to Kan and Li (Water and Fire) within the person; those who are deluded turn it into the “gold-and-silver” art of smelting precious metals. Branches without root, exaggeration without truth—is the Dao really like that?

This work, the Bapin (Eight Grades), takes Daoism as its main frame and draws on Confucian and Buddhist teachings as support. Its substance and application align closely with the Doctrine of the Mean (a Confucian classic), and its aim does not differ from that of the Surangama Sutra and the Complete Enlightenment Sutra. The book moves from the simple to the profound, from outer to inner, from the plain to the subtle: it extends from the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) to the myriad things, and from everyday ethics to body, mind, nature, and life—nothing is left out, nothing left unclear. It is lofty beyond measure and deep beyond tracing to its source; once unfolded, it makes the three luminaries (sun, moon, and stars) shine clear; once spread open, it fills the six directions (above, below, and the four quarters). Follow it and you see no end; meet it head-on and you see no beginning—it is truly vast. It is elusive and hard to grasp: one cannot exhaust its forms and the ten thousand things, nor fully penetrate its hidden depths. Setting aside the Awakening to Reality (Wuzhen pian), it already keeps pace with the trail of the Token for Joining the Book of Changes (Zhouyi cantong qi) and stands comparison with that classic.

Those who live in the world, if they study and savor it and gain something, will be loyal to their ruler, filial to their parents, observe ritual, put away violence, earnestly cultivate themselves, and thereby nourish their reputation.

Those who withdraw beyond the world, if they study and savor it and gain something, will still the mind, cut off desire, refine Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy), diligently practice breathing and regulation (tuning the breath through inhaling and exhaling), concentrate on inner guarding, and thereby nourish their Shen (spirit).

This is called not wasting this life; this is called longevity; this is called birthlessness (the ultimate transcendence of birth and death).

Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism are united as one body, and no principle falls short. The Dao does not choose a place, and no place chooses the person. Teaching is carried out among people and does not go beyond two kinds: those who wear proper dress and understand ritual, music, and civilization, and those on the margins who speak differently and wear “wild” garb. Donghua Dijun and Fuyou Dijun (the title of Lü Dongbin) seem to descend in cloud-chariots to instruct them, so that the xuanfeng—the subtle, mysterious current of Daoist teaching—flows freely and coarse customs are thoroughly washed away. Is that merely a small benefit?

Yet one must first grasp the root and then put the branches in order; first trace the origin and then embrace the end. Therefore this printing and circulation pays special attention to people within the world (fangnei), for life within the world is the foundation of life beyond it (fangwai). Baopuzi (Ge Hong of the Eastern Jin) said: “To seek immortality one must take loyalty, filial piety, harmony, obedience, benevolence, and trustworthiness as the root. If virtue is not cultivated and one only purslessly pursues various techniques (fangshu), one can never attain long life.” A guest beside me smiled and said: “Sir, you argue well—are you perhaps invoking shendao shejiao (teaching the people through the way of the spirits)?” I demurred and did not dare to claim it.

In the winter of the jiayin year of the Wanli reign (1614), Huanyang Daoren Zhao Xingcui wrote this at Chenghuai Studio in central Yunnan (Dianzhong).

Original Preface to the Eight Grades Immortal Scripture (written when the eight grades were first collected in one edition and the titles of each grade had not yet been fixed separately)

The Eight Grades Immortal Scripture was composed by Chunyang Lü Zushi (Patriarch Lü Dongbin) through fuji (spirit writing). The first and second grades were transmitted at Guangling (the Yangzhou region); the third and fourth at Jinling (Nanjing); the fifth at Píling (Changzhou); the sixth and seventh at Xinzhou (Shangrao in Jiangxi); the eighth at Linjiang (Jiangxi). The patriarch instructed the faithful who received the text to keep it safely until it should be taken up. At that time he ordered Tong Qixuanzi of Guangling to gather the copies broadly, cut blocks, and circulate them, and asked Master Li to write a preface. When the scripture arrived, Qixuanzi collected and registered it; he also prayed that He Xiangu Zu and Ziyang Zhang Zu (Zhang Boduan) would revise it through fuji, had it printed at the immortal pavilion in Wandian, and corrected it anew. I kowtowed and wrote this preface.

How great is this scripture! It gathers together the classics of the elixir path (Dan Dao), dissects profound meaning, and clarifies the essentials of imperial governance—like a ferry prepared to deliver the world, threading root and branch from beginning to end and connecting Heaven and humanity, leaving nothing incomplete. It is truly the authentic credential for saving sentient beings and the urgent path of cultivating immortality. In broad outline: through it one can verify the wonder of establishing the teaching, glimpse the flourishing of governance in support of rule, see the magnitude of merit and virtue, perceive where the Three Teachings converge, test the distinction between orthodox and heterodox, and confirm the secrets of cultivation. Why is this so?

The numinous cannot be measured by direction or place; therefore the more urgent the resonance, the more striking the response. Sincerity is not blocked by distance; therefore the wider faith spreads, the brighter the teaching shines. Thus when the Patriarch (Lü Dongbin) descended to bestow this scripture, he did not grant it to one person or one place alone, but to many scholars throughout the land—precisely to manifest the sign that the Great Dao (Dao) is for all, and to entrust the occasion of awakening faith through inner sincerity. Hence “one can verify the wonder of establishing the teaching.”

In antiquity Fuxi, the Yellow Emperor, Yao, and Shun settled the people through numinous transformation; they ruled the realm while robes hung loose and hands were folded. Therefore the opening of the Xuanyuan Taiji Wuxing Pin (treatise on the Mysterious Origin, Supreme Ultimate, and Five Phases) first reverently records the sacred edict of the founding High Emperor, together with proclaiming the wonderful intent of the Jade Emperor Celestial Lord (Yudi Tianzun) in expounding the teaching—so that people understand: reforming faults and turning toward good can dispel calamity, accumulating virtue can draw down blessing, and cultivating the heart-mind can accord with the true Dao, thereby assisting the state and protecting the people, silently aiding the teaching of governance through non-action (wuwei). Nothing is more flourishing than this. Hence “one can glimpse the flourishing of governance in support of rule.”

In the past the Mysterious Sage (Laozi) transformed his form to expound the classics, and the Great Being (bodhisattva, often Guanyin) divided bodies in every place to preach the Dharma. Therefore the Patriarch cared deeply for those dull and unenlightened and gently drew them in: sometimes instructing through dreams, sometimes appearing to instruct, sometimes expounding through planchette spirit writing—what written records can scarcely exhaust. With this scripture, the merit compares with the Daoist Yunji collections and the Buddhist “Universal Gate,” and is especially without end. Hence “one can see the magnitude of merit and virtue.”

The Dao was originally one; at first there was no division into the three teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism). I have also compared it with the beauty and goodness found in the Yunji (Collected Daoist Scriptures) and the Pumen (the universal gate of salvation in Buddhism)—its merit is especially boundless; hence it is said that it “can attest to the greatness of merit.”

The Dao was originally one, with no split among the three teachings at first. In antiquity Laozi was called “like a dragon” (after meeting him, Confucius said he was as unfathomable as a dragon), and the Sage of Ritual (Confucius) had privately likened himself to ancient worthies; at that time the elephant teaching (Buddhism) had not yet spread eastward, yet Liezi had already recorded anticipations of it. Disciples of the three teachings, however, each guarded their own school and would not yield to one another—that was mistaken. This scripture therefore widely draws on the subtle points of Confucianism and Buddhism and unfolds the mystery at the source of the Dao, so that the principle of “paths differ, the destination is the same” stands out all the more; hence it is said that it “can unite the three teachings in one return.”

The Dao has an orthodox lineage; the orthodox lineage has arcane secrets (deeply hidden essentials); arcane secrets have true exegesis (exact interpretation). Since heterodox schools (non-orthodox methods) arose, false doctrines have confused the right path and the specious has disturbed the real. This scripture therefore clarifies the real and dispels the false, upholds the orthodox and removes false teaching—clear and strict, detailed and sure. Students who investigate according to the text, follow the commentary into the arcane, grasp the arcane and return to the orthodox—how can side paths mislead them? Hence it is said that it “can verify the distinction between heterodox and orthodox.”

The Great Dao is not easily explained in plain words; a perfected person (one of supreme cultivation) is also hard to meet and truly know—how much more so the danqian xuanji (the hidden logic of internal alchemy, where lead, mercury, and the like stand for body-and-mind refinement), with its many metaphors and even more names: formulas and hidden speech are hard to grasp by guesswork alone. Therefore, by reciting and taking this scripture as one’s model, one will naturally understand in the heart and extend the analogy by kind—suddenly, as if turning a key in a lock, one goes straight to the inner hall (the depths of the meaning). Hence it is said that it “can verify the secrets of cultivation.”

What bears the Dao is the jing (scripture); what expounds the Dao is the person. The patriarch (Lü Dongbin) composed this scripture to instruct the world—if people cannot seek immortality in accord with the scripture, would that not fail his grace of universal salvation? If everyone receives it in faith, not only reciting it but practicing according to its teaching, all can leave the bitter sea (the sea of birth-and-death and affliction), ascend the Dao shore (the farther shore of attainment), and rise to the realm of immortals—then the patriarch’s earnest care and high hope would be comforted.

How excellent is this young attendant! His merit in upholding the Dharma of the Dao is as vast and profound as this scripture itself; longevity, blessings, and the flourishing of his descendants will extend in the same way. Sun Defu, who served and preserved the dharma gate during planchette spirit writing, and Zhu Ni, who revered the Daoist teaching and received this scripture, each share in that merit, and so both are recorded here. The other faithful who received this scripture are all listed in this section and need not be named again.

In the third month of the jichou year of the Wanli reign (1589), the disciple Li Yingyang—Daoist names Qizhen and Bowei—of Guangling (the Yangzhou region) respectfully composed this.

Self-Preface to the Eight Ranks Immortal Scripture (written during later repeated revisions, it narrates the course of collating the scripture; it is not a preface devoted to explaining the text of the scripture itself.)

The immortal scripture was composed at Wuling, and a long time has passed since. Its main purport runs through Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism: it gathers diverse teachings and converges upon the myriad principles; it teaches loyalty and filial piety and encourages the accumulation of virtue and meritorious deeds—nothing in it fails to assist the ruler’s civilizing work or to align with Heaven’s nurturing of the myriad things. It moves from rectifying the person to ordering the household, and from the household to the state. Extended in this way, it goes from the broad toward the concise, from the manifest into the subtle; applied in this way, even when one reaches the utmost of wondrous transformation, in the end it still takes investigation of things, extension of knowledge, sincerity of purpose, and rectification of mind as its resting place. Such is the meaning of the scripture’s composition at Wuling.

The Great Dao is clear and open; it runs level and straight. It was never a book of obscurity and strangeness, nor does it belong among liturgies for seeking blessings and averting disaster. Those who can grasp its subtlety may exhaust the subtle, penetrate transformation, and ascend to the Heavenly Capital; for governing the state, one may rule with robes draped and hands folded, sit quietly at ease, with punishments set aside and govern through Wuwei (non-action); for hidden cultivation, one refines the self in quiet meditation, gathers in the mind, and nourishes oneself in peace. How could “belief” mean only burning incense, reciting scriptures, bowing to the classics, and leaving ordinary men and women to blind superstition? Thus the upper type of person uses it to apprehend subtle wonder; the middle type uses it to cultivate and enter the Dao; the lower type uses it to extend life and increase years. Its principles are vast without bound; Qi (vital energy) and Shen (spirit) are ocean-wide and broad—how could it not endure long between Heaven and Earth?

After the scriptures were handed down, the processes of woodblock carving and handwritten copying inevitably introduced errors among characters that look alike—for example writing “bird” (niao) for “crow” (wu), or “fox” (hu) for “solitary” (gu). In earlier times the two perfected ones (zhenren) He and Zhang had already labored to emend the text; their collation was painstaking and solid, and now it has been revised again on a larger scale. Explanations in Wuling and other regions differ from one another, and those versions still amount to draft copies. Where fascicle order was confused, it has now been arranged in sequence; where categories lacked graded ranks, they have now been assigned. Even so, we still worry that, as time passes, errors copied from errors will once more muddle our printed edition—as in cases where “sovereign and prince” (junwang) was miswritten as “sovereign and kin” (junqin), “spirit defeated” (shen bai) as “spirit fertile” (shen wo), “Great King” (Tai Wang) as “King Wen” (Wen Wang), “Martial Township” (Wu xiang) as “Martial Minister” (Wu qing), “the mind cannot settle the matter” (ren xin bu liao) as “in the heart one cannot settle” (zai xin bu liao), and “how could one fail to cultivate and uphold [practice]” (he fei xiuchi) as “why bother to cultivate and uphold” (he bi xiuchi).

Mistakes of this kind are not merely ten or a hundred times as many; they are errors made again after He and Zhang had already corrected them. What is more troubling is that practitioners of miscellaneous learning and side paths imitate this scripture with cluttered language, while persons of sharp talent and clear spirit mix false accounts into the authentic canon. The red wheel (the sun) moves across the sky and shines on all the people.

Heaven and earth are vast beyond measure; they embrace the myriad things and from the outset do not contend with anyone—how could human beings fail to hold them in awe?

What is called the pattern (wen) of Heaven comprises the sun, moon, and stars, dew, thunder, wind, and rain, clouds, mist, rainbows, and lightning. What is called the pattern of Earth comprises mountains, seas, and rivers, birds, beasts, aquatic creatures, and plants, as well as dwellings and remote borderlands. What is called the pattern of Human beings comprises benevolence, righteousness, ritual propriety, and wisdom, loyalty, filial piety, trustworthiness, and sincerity, together with clothing and food.

The reason the Three Talents (Tian, Di, Ren—Heaven, Earth, and Humanity) can endure without end lies in constancy (heng—the unchanging).

Beyond the ultimate principle, there is no other principle. When words reach their end, why add more? After Confucius and Mencius, there would be no books like theirs; after Laozi and Zhuangzi had passed, one would not hear discourse like theirs again. I wrote a scripture on immortality and made a major revision—must I still fill page after page and repeat myself to the world again and again? Just after matters concerning He and Zhang had been set straight, someone suddenly said that one must wait until the year, month, day, and hour all marked by the earthly branch you before one may rushi—enter the quiet chamber and begin formal practice. I therefore smiled and said:

How many people live to a hundred? Look back—years are rushing past before our eyes. The bitterness of the river of desire and the sea of craving has no bound; how can one bear to idle away time waiting for that you year?

This is truly the side paths and strange byways running after fads, rashly trespassing on the celestial ramparts, letting the spirit drift homeless, indulging spirit-writing and wagging tongues, and disturbing my rites and norms. Such people deserve the punishment of betraying the Way and abandoning the teaching; even if they escape visible punishment in this world, they can hardly avoid retribution in the hidden realm.

It happened that Fuchengzi came to visit. In his youth he had cut flesh from his own thigh to prepare medicine for his mother—a practice of filial devotion in antiquity—and thereby saved her life. Later, when his father met with disaster, his grief was so extreme that he wept himself blind. Moved by this, I descended to him, restored his sight, and on the spot granted him a collection of recorded sayings, one scroll of the Xueguo Xiuzhen Xianchan, and one bundle of the Douguang Du’e Huming Dashen Zhou. This immortal scripture was thereby formally finalized. Once the transmission was complete, I did not appear again.

The order of the fascicles has been fixed, clear as sun, moon, and stars; the grades and ranks have been distinguished, firm as Mount Heng and Mount Tai. If anyone alters my words, destroys the canon, or extinguishes the teaching, the scripture says: “Those who destroy the canon and extinguish the teaching will be investigated and reported by the City God and the village earth spirits; the Departments of Thunder and Fire will immediately mete out retribution.” How could there be any error in this?

You should believe, receive, and practice it, holding it without loss; read it according to ritual and grasp its meaning, cultivating without slackness; spread the teaching widely and greatly revive the subtle wind of the Way (xuan—the refined current of Daoist transformation). Then people’s resolve to enter the Way will not be confused, and the power with which I guard this Way will not stand alone. These words should circulate together with the Eight Grades, to warn those who compile the canon in later ages.

On the fifteenth day of the first month of the first year of the Tianqi reign, the Dingwei year (1626), the Lord of Fuyou (an honorific title of Lü Dongbin) composed this preface in his own hand.

Illustrations for the Eight Grades (the sixth and seventh grades have no illustrations).

Opening verse of the former Eight-Grade Immortal Scripture—Upper Section. (Every scripture and method of the Way has verse to disclose the main purport of the whole work, as words for taking refuge, believing, and following.)

With bowed head I take refuge in the lord of the Three Teachings—Heaven’s Thunder Upper Minister, religious name Chunyang (Lü Dongbin); merit and practice complete, pervading the three realms; vows vast and deep, covering the ten directions. The sword’s awesome light exterminates demons and anomalies; the Golden Elixir (Neidan—the supreme path of internal alchemy) makes ghosts and spirits submit. This is the true canon of one who ascended as a sage; the wondrous raft that universally saves the deluded. If you seek to dispel disaster, resolve misfortune, and cross through calamity, with utmost sincerity take refuge and recite this profound chapter.

Supreme Lord Lü Patriarch’s Scripture of Opening Heaven’s Pole, Verifying Truth, Penetrating the Cosmos, and the Wondrous Immortal Way—Upper Fascicle (the immortal scripture by which Patriarch Lü opened and verified the true Way, penetrating the opening and closing transformations of heaven and earth).

Grade One: The Great Ultimate’s Transforming Nourishment (each grade title was revised and fixed by Patriarch Lü).

At that time has two layers of meaning: one is recounting the circumstances under which one received the command to expound this scripture, equivalent to saying “at that time”; the other refers directly to the moment of preaching, as in the later usage “At that time the Perfected One said.”

At that time, the Jade Emperor, the Supreme Sovereign, was in the Palace of the Dipper and the Vault of Heaven at the Palace of the Dipper Rate, expounding the Scripture of the Universal Salvation of the Wondrous Dharma of the Opening of Heaven and the Royal Ultimate together with the Queen Mother of the West. The Five Old Lords led the perfected immortals of the Ten Isles, the Three Isles, the Five Sacred Mountains, the Four Great Rivers, and the Three Realms, all gathered to the left and right to hear this wondrous dharma. The Ten Isles and Three Isles are the sea-bound immortal realms where immortals dwell; the Five Sacred Mountains are five famous mountains; the Four Great Rivers are four great rivers; and the Three Realms refer to the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.

At this point, the Eastern Peak Emperor (the god of Mount Tai, who in popular belief governs human life, death, fortune, and misfortune) stepped out of the ranks and memorialized: In former times the celestial talisman descended because living beings defied their rulers, mistreated their parents, clung to worldly desires, grasped after fame and profit, committed fraud, theft, and sexual misconduct, and brought filth and disorder, each stubbornly holding to distinctions so that even close kin turned on one another in anger. Therefore retribution was specially sent down: offspring were cut off, and disasters were sent to various places. In obedience to the decree, records were examined throughout the regions of the human world: untimely deaths followed one after another; smallpox and measles spread, numbering in the hundreds of thousands of millions; drought and flood ruined the crops, with seven or eight tenths of the harvest lost. Those whose guilt was heavy were cut off from posterity; those whose guilt was lighter contracted plague. The shades in the underworld offices piled up with no way to rescue them; famine spread everywhere and the people could hardly get through the days. Even after suffering such retribution, living beings still did not reflect and cultivate themselves, and karmic offenses continued to bind together. We earnestly beg the compassionate honored deities to pity ignorant living beings, deliver them from deep suffering, issue gracious commands, turn misfortune into blessing, so that they may take refuge in the correct path, leave behind every kind of obstacle, that people may not die untimely or in youth, that the state may be secure and the years abundant. Then lingering souls may rely on this to ascend, epidemics may accordingly be stilled, and Heaven may be clear, Earth tranquil, goods plentiful, and all under Heaven at peace.

When the Jade Emperor heard this, he exclaimed again and again, “Excellent! Excellent! The mortal realm is turbid, and sin fills heaven and earth. As heaven and earth turn in their cycles, retribution falls upon accumulated karmic obstructions. People commit wrongs because they have lost the correct path. I now command Lü Zhenren (Immortal Lü Dongbin), who has already attained the Dao among the immortal ranks, to descend to the human world, vigorously expound the subtle and hidden meaning, guide those who are like the blind and deaf and do not understand the Great Dao, proclaim the vast Way, sweep away worldly vulgarity, and bring everyone to turn from wrongdoing toward what is right.”

“I carry the wondrous decree of the supreme, Wuwei (non-action) sovereign—the utterly exalted deity who is pure, still, and without forced action—to come and save sentient beings. Among mortals, those who read and recite this text can dissolve grievances and karmic burdens in the dark realms, resolve faults in this life, and bring rulers upright and ministers straight, fathers kind and sons filial, brothers harmonious, the six close kin (parents, siblings, spouses, and the like) mutually cherishing, ritual and righteousness unbroken, and the household quiet and at peace. All of you, with reverent sincerity, listen carefully to my teaching:

Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) is without form and exists before heaven and earth. Qi (vital energy) and Shen (spirit) unite and merge into one, resting in primordial chaos. Once this single Qi is stirred into motion, motion treads upon Yang, and the corresponding hexagram is Qian; when motion reaches its limit it returns to stillness, stillness gives birth to Yin, and the corresponding hexagram is Kun. The light and clear Qi rises upward—Qian’s way is called heaven; the heavy and turbid Qi settles below—Kun’s way is called earth. Heaven moves without ceasing, its Qi circling like a ring; earth is stable in stillness, borne by fierce winds. Heaven and earth depend on each other, and root and function are then complete: heaven relies on earth, and earth relies on heaven. The sun is where Yang Qi gathers and essential brilliance shines outward; the moon is where Yin Qi gathers and the Yin soul holds light within. The principles of Yin-Yang are entirely contained in the Yijing (Book of Changes); the key of the celestial pivot (xuánjī)—the warp and woof of the cosmos—is all within it. This is the transformation of heaven-and-earth creation. The images of the hexagrams stand inverted and upright, descending and ascending: ascent aligns with Yang, descent responds to Yin.”

Those who cultivate Neidan (internal alchemy) use the hexagrams Tun and Meng for their reckoning (Tun is pronounced like “zhun”). Tun signifies yang qi rising; Meng pairs with yin. Fire has upper and lower aspects—both the direct and the reverse must be distinguished clearly. The subtlety of yin and yang lies in the boundary between the dark of the month and the new moon; the moment when the Hai hour meets the beginning of the Zi hour is the opportune juncture for the inner elixir to coalesce. The Ren and Du meridians are the essence of yin and yang; they connect the hundred vessels and circulate through the whole body entirely by nature—not something that can be achieved by forcing or straining.

The water and fire orifices belong respectively to upper and lower. Yongquan (Bubbling Spring) at the sole of the foot is the root of these two qi. Qi ascends to Weilu (at the lower end of the spine) and joins the two lords of water and fire: one water, one fire—on the right is ming (life), on the left is jing (essence). It rises further past Jiaji, the double pass opens through, reaches Niwan (Mud Pill), then returns to Mingtang, quietly irrigating the five palaces. Then it descends through Chonglou, enters Jiangting straightway, flows back to the danfu (elixir field), and never stops day or night—hard to block or halt. True fire has no fixed “fire timing”; the great elixir cannot be measured in pounds and ounces. When spirit governs qi, the supreme Way can be accomplished.

Humans receive the three talents of heaven, earth, and humanity; the body fully embodies Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). Mind precedes heaven and earth—vast, clear, round, and penetrating. Original nature is empty, still, and luminous; in application it stays harmoniously balanced. Spirit transforms by nature, continuously and unceasingly, leaving behind emotional burdens. This is what is meant by “observe the Way of Heaven and hold fast to Heaven’s conduct”: jing becomes qi, qi becomes shen (spirit), refining shen to return to emptiness—this is called attaining longevity.

Living beings fail to awaken and are confused by the seven emotions; joy, anger, sorrow, and delight cause shen to be lost within the physical form. They violate the proper order and turn against human relations. Qi becomes shen, refining shen to return to emptiness—this is called longevity.

When living beings cannot awaken, they are confused by the seven emotions (joy, anger, sorrow, delight, and the rest); as soon as these stir, their spirit is lost within the physical form. They violate the fundamental relations (between ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, and the like) and break the moral order people ought to uphold. Sinking into desire, they commit countless unkind acts: sons are unfilial to fathers, subjects disloyal to rulers, elder brothers unloving to younger brothers, younger brothers disrespectful to elder brothers, wives unsubmissive to husbands, friends untrustworthy to friends. Benevolence and righteousness are twisted; body and spirit find no peace. People grow hollow and deceitful, drift toward cruelty yet boast of themselves, arrogant and self-important, protecting themselves while harming others.

Therefore the Heavenly Sovereign (God of Heaven) is enraged, and punishment and disaster arrive together: crops fail to ripen, flesh-and-blood kin scatter and part, some die violently, some die young, and they further suffer fire, flood, plague, and legal penalties. People still do not reflect; instead they blame the divine, stubborn and ignorant, their offenses growing heavier.

I (Patriarch Lu, Lu Dongbin) have descended to the human realm to clarify teaching and establish its aim, expounding the Dharma to deliver living beings. Each person should cultivate the self and examine the heart, making intention sincere and single-minded, practicing loyalty, filial piety, righteousness, and compassion, accumulating virtue and meritorious conduct, bitterly repenting former faults and beginning anew. Realize the Dao in stillness; nourish the spirit in silence.

I transmit the root principle and broadly reveal it to Heaven and the human world. Those who can investigate and awaken may at once transcend the wheel of suffering (the pain of birth-and-death and cyclic rebirth). I pity living beings sunk in delusion; many times I have changed form and traveled through the cosmos to save all universally.

This scripture’s first chapter only briefly explains the causes of practice; the following seven chapters are the great bridge and ford (helping others cross to deliverance). Those who can believe in and take refuge in this teaching have their names recorded in the heavenly court. Those who awaken gain clear spirit; those who slander are struck by thunder. Those who realize the Dao are confirmed in the register of immortals (the roster of transcendent beings); those who transmit this scripture benefit the three lifetimes (past, present, and future). The Supreme Sacred Way (Huangji shengdao) must not be slighted. Those who support this Way gain blessing and extended life; those who destroy it fall forever into the dark underworld. Celestial deities are all watching; retribution is clear. If one keeps purification and recites with reverence (fasting, holding precepts, bowing and chanting scripture), the myriad spirits all honor you; the City God (guardian of the city) and village earth gods (local tutelary deities) also follow the teaching in practice.

The assembly at the altar (before the ritual platform) rejoiced, believed, and withdrew with bows.

At that time, Pure Yang Lü the Perfected One (Lü Dongbin) said: “In former days I gave my heart entirely to the Dao. I entrusted myself to the body’s form as it underwent transformation, never losing the root or chasing after emotions and dispositions, and so I did not lose the original source. The highest oral formulas are hard to meet. I drifted in the human world, receiving teaching again and again and cultivating again and again, accumulating merit and virtue, and vowing to practice filial piety, brotherly affection, loyalty, righteousness, benevolence, and compassion. Later I encountered Donghua Dijun (the Donghua Sovereign) and only then heard the Great Dao, ascended to the golden palace of the celestial court (Jinque), and verified sageliness and realized truth. I pity the distress of sentient beings, wander through the three realms (desire, form, and formless), and broadly deliver and save them.

Recently there has been a celestial decree to deliver and liberate those who are blind, deaf, and dulled in the sea of karma. Yet those who greedily chase fame and profit are many, while those who verify sageliness and cultivate truth are few. They despise others and only want to surpass everyone; their nature is fierce as wolves and tigers, and their poison cuts deeper. Heart and mouth go different ways, with schemes in thousands upon myriad forms. Those stained by desire number in the trillions—yet how many truly cherish life (xingming)?

I heard the Supreme Lord (Taishang Laojun) say: ‘I have three treasures that I hold and do not let go: the first is compassion (ci), the second is frugality (jian), and the third is not daring to be ahead of all under heaven.’ Thus compassion can give rise to courage, frugality can extend to breadth, and not daring to be first under heaven is what completes one’s own measure and capacity. What is called ‘authenticity’ (zhen) is a heart empty and free of stray thoughts, conserving primordial Qi (yuanqi) and storing essence (jing); one meets the outer world yet does not cling to things, nourishing emptiness and stillness until one merges with the void. Intent and feeling are clear and bright; what is cultivated is the primal authenticity of the origin. Strictly guard the six passes (the gates of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind); let each breath remain unbroken, so that Qi and Shen (spirit) do not fail, and Shen and Qi intermingle and unite. Hide Qi below the navel and keep Shen guarded within the body. When Shen and Qi accord with each other, the pivot-hinge (guanlie) of inner circulation is opened.”

You speak of the Dao with your lips, yet ask where one should dwell? If the Dao is never forgotten in the heart, the Dao is already attained. To embody the sages’ intent and carry out the sages’ conduct—that is the Dao. I have received a mandate to guide sentient beings toward awakening and use wisdom to illuminate you; yet you still do not trust and accept it. Instead you rely on clever schemes, indulge deceit and obstinacy, and cloak falsehood so that it mingles with the true Way—making insight exceedingly difficult. Thus one sees that in the fleeting span of life, benevolence and virtue are often lacking.

I take the heart of Heaven and Earth as my own heart and wish that all who wander in confusion would widely practice kindness, quiet the mind and concentrate the spirit (ning shen), unite spirit with qi (shen), and carefully guard primordial qi so as not to lose the three treasures—jing (essence), qi (vital energy), and shen (spirit). For the sake of sentient beings I now expound the principles of the Yi (Change), using the teachings of former sages to clarify what is subtle and profound. Thus one may see that the Yi is contained within the Dao, and the Dao is contained within the Yi. Choose what is essential and put it into practice; cultivate deeply in stillness, guard it silently, and refine and nourish it diligently—then spirit may ascend to the Purple Palace (the immortals’ abode) and take a place among the ranks of immortals.

Heaven and earth were originally blended into one undifferentiated whole, and the hexagrams (gua) portray exactly that state. Once that single mass of primordial Qi (yuanqi) was split open, it became the source of the two modes of Yin and Yang. To plumb the subtle and know transformation, this Qi circulates everywhere without break; it is at once hidden and manifest, so that hiding and showing cannot be clearly distinguished—it flows on continuously, its radiance modeled on the Grand Mystery (Tai Xuan), the deepest and most wondrous root.

Self-praise cannot last; only what can bend can be preserved. Holding to the Dao means guarding your words; if you let Dui—the hexagram of the mouth, standing for speech—run loose, fault is sure to follow. To hit the unbiased middle and embrace pure oneness, act with balance and humility; through lowliness one gathers, through softness one becomes firm.

When the heart stirs, it becomes intention; when intention turns, desire pulls it along; clinging to desire breeds delusion, and delusion leads to many errors. Human desire, at the sight of things outside, is like a tiger chasing prey; human intention, at the sight of things outside, is like a dragon coiling and not letting go. If the restless heart is not stilled, the heart that can truly reflect will find it hard to become clear and round. Life (ming) is entrusted to the kidneys; nature (xing) belongs to Qian (Heaven). When thought settles, that is spirit (shen); when spirit grows quiet, that is nature (xing). To exhaust principle and fulfill one’s own nature is to enter a boundless, trackless realm. Spirit returns to Wuwei (non-action); the Three Treasures—Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen—are refined. See without fixing on outward sight, hear without clamor, let speech have no noise, and release every thought.

The logic of the Five Phases (Wuxing) shows itself in the changes of water and fire. Water and fire merge and also contain each other: within fire there is earth; within water there is flame. After fire generates earth, the “three houses”—water, fire, and earth in the center—are complete. Use earth to restrain water; if water overflows, turn it back; guide water to aid fire so water and fire can unite. Metal and wood combine; Qi and Shen link. Metal stands for emotion (qing), wood for nature (xing); drive and refine the two until they stick together like glue. In the long watches of midnight, light passes through layered curtains; nourish gently so that “mercury” rises and “lead” descends. Metal floats up, wood sinks down, and the red sun stands at noon. Fire needs water to balance it; water relies on fire to warm it—use softness to check hardness, so firm and soft succeed one another. Refined until they form one block, neither mercury nor lead, able both to ascend and descend—this is called the fetal immortal (taixian), the sacred embryo formed within inner cultivation.

“Firing the furnace and refining the medicine” means spirit and Qi entwining each other. Fire stands for Shen; the inner-alchemy “medicine” stands for Qi (xiantian qi, pre-heaven breath). Spirit joins Qi; when Qi is full, Shen is complete. Move the celestial circuit by the rule of the River Cart (heche)—Qi cycling along the governing and conception vessels; heart and breath rely on each other, intent guards the belly, and the eyes no longer race outward. Wutu (yang earth) advances with Kan (the water trigram)—this is advancing the yang fire; Jitu (yin earth) retreats with Li (the fire trigram)—this is retreating the yin tally (the yin phase of the firing schedule). Whether advancing, retreating, or joining, all is finally surrendered into the Grand Mystery. From the aperture of the Yuan Sea (yuanhai, the qi sea of the lower Dantian), the circulation runs upward to the Mud Pill (niwan, the upper Dantian at the crown). The five Qi blend into one; the myriad forms all turn toward Heaven.

People do not grasp the true meaning and only repeat confused tales. If the human way—the duties of human relations, with filial piety foremost—is not fulfilled, the immortal way can hardly reach completion. To cultivate the true Way, one must unite the human way with the immortal way; those who can investigate and put it into practice may stand beside immortals and sages.

The human body is received from one’s parents; the body is bound to emotional ties. When parents conceive, spirit shifts and qi is released, responding to the wax and wane of the new moon and the last day of the month; the two qi (yin and yang) assist each other like turtle and snake coiled together, mixing and condensing until the embryo is whole. Nurtured warm for ten months, the form matches the innate (yuan before birth); chaos is split open and signs shine forth. The mother carries, gives birth, and nurses; her body grows thin in hardship; the child gradually grows until body is firm and spirit complete. The grace of this transformation from qi is as vast as the boundless sky. What is called transformation is profound and subtle in principle. Here the forming of a person in the womb is used to show that this body wholly comes from one’s parents.

The way of the fetal origin accords with Kun and Qian (Earth and Heaven): yang bestows and yin receives; emotion and nature interlink with each other.

People lost on the path today scatter inward and drown outward, dragged by the seven emotions (joy, anger, worry, thought, grief, fear, and shock) into mere cherishing and clinging; the six faculties (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) are instantly ruined, the root is lost and the true forgotten, with no heed to warning—then fire dries and water collapses, qi departs and spirit fails. They care only for children and spouse, treating sons and daughters like pearls in the palm, while the great debt to parents becomes dust in the eye. Unfilial and rebellious conduct brings vast guilt.

If you cherish your children, you should cherish your parents equally. If you are filial to your parents, your children will be filial to you; if you do not respect your parents, your children will defy you too. Parents’ aging faces are as brief as lightning or dew on grass. Having felt qi and received form to live, you ought to remember the grace of nursing and rearing.

I now transmit this scripture and put filial piety first: it is the forerunner of the five phases and the path of the hundred conduct. Align with your parents’ wishes and expressions, and the celestial gods will protect you; if you do not honor your living ancestors (parents still alive), the years pass in emptiness. The unfilial are struck by the Thunder Department (the divine office that governs thunder and punishes wrongdoing); retribution is clear—wake up at once. In a dark room you may deceive your own heart, but before the spirits it is hard to hide. If you wish to learn the immortal way and seek long life, you must first make cultivating the human way your task.

The Book of Changes says: “When the mind wavers and drifts without settling, companions follow wherever your thoughts lead.” When qi is harmonized, that is the path along which spirit moves freely; transforming essence and qi is the essential work of “refining the medicine” (in internal alchemy, the “medicine” is one’s own essence and qi). When essence is returned upward to nourish the brain, the inner scene is dim like mist—being arises from non-being—and few in the world truly cultivate this.

Why can heaven’s form endure so long? Why do door pivots not rot with worms? Look inward: the treasury of wisdom shines like radiant light—that is the chamber where the luminous pearl dwells. Living beings cannot fully awaken because feeling clings to outer things and the mind is lost in desire. If one can become soft, easeful, and at rest, turn the body back and look within, the Dao is right here. Master Guangcheng (an ancient immortal who instructed the Yellow Emperor) said: “Do not look outward, do not listen outward; embrace spirit and keep still.” The Book of Poetry says: “Heaven’s way has neither sound nor smell.” Western learning (here, Buddhism) says: “No wisdom and nothing to attain—for there was never anything to grasp in the first place.” The Most High (Laozi) said: “Returning is the movement of the Dao; yielding is the way the Dao works.” He also said: “The greatest sound is barely heard; the greatest form has no shape.” “The vulgar all shine bright; I alone seem dim.” “Heaven and earth endure because they do not live for themselves.” How grand are the words of sages! The Analects says: “Do not insist on one fixed way; do not be rigid and unyielding.” Mencius said: “Do not forget [your practice], yet do not force it to grow.” These are all steps for nourishing spirit and steering qi—only people today do not recognize them for what they are.

The method of nourishing qi hinges on continuity without break: like water winding yet flowing freely, like clouds drifting in the sky, like a round pearl rolling on a tray—all as free of self-clinging as an infant. The Doctrine of the Mean says: “Though seemingly faint, it becomes clearer day by day.” The wall classics (here, texts such as the Book of Documents) say: “His mind was calm and at ease.” Are these mistaken words?

Sages ancient and modern have walked the same path, like carriages on a single track. Worldly people do not grasp this: they wrongly split Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism apart, failing to understand that “a thousand lamps in one room share one light; myriad methods all follow one supreme principle and thus return together to sagehood.” They do not probe the subtle depth of that principle, yet cling to distinctions of right and wrong, self and other, picking at branches and leaves—moving lips and showing off, stretching arms to display skill while growing only more confused, practicing blindly. Later generations of learners are stirred and led astray by such talk and cannot wake up. May all beings advance on the path, set sincere intent firmly in the heart, neither clinging to outer forms nor stuck on words alone; honor teachers, stay close to fellow cultivators, keep humility and respect, and enter through stillness—then they may ascend to the realm of long life.

Then the incantation: The primordial unity of the northern quarter, the refined qi of heaven and earth, universally nurturing the myriad beings; heaven and earth turn on their pivot, dragon and tiger conceal the true mechanism; the six demons are thereby swept away and extinguished, the vision of the Three Origins (heaven, earth, water) shines bright; the sun’s crow and the moon’s hare meet in the central valley, turtle and serpent coil in the inner courtyard; in roaming one may transcend the cosmos, in the palm one may turn death and life; driving lightning’s flash, ghosts and spirits all hide their forms. Whoever dares to oppose is shattered body and all like fine dust; where wisdom-light shines, calamity turns wholly to peace. Receive and recite this spell with reverence, and your name is reported to the celestial palace. Dragon and tiger, crow and hare, turtle and serpent in the spell are all images of yin-yang union in inner cultivation; reciting the spell is to invite the gods to witness with reverence and faith.

When the Perfected One finished the scripture, fragrant auspicious clouds gathered and blessed qi circled; immortal cranes bore the carriage through the azure sky. After the master’s return, all bowed their heads to the ground, received the teaching in faith, and withdrew.

The above second rank was written at Guangling (the Yangzhou region in Jiangsu today).

Sincerity, Fraternal Respect, and Guiding Qi—Rank Three: This section highlights sincerity (inner truthfulness), fraternal respect (deferring to elders and harmonizing with fellow practitioners), and guiding qi (cultivation that harmonizes body and mind through directing breath and leading the body).

At that time, the Pure Yang Immortal Master (Lü Dongbin) addressed the people of Jinling (present-day Nanjing): “The Xu family of Hecheng has long lived in the empty gate (monastic life), with a sincere heart devoted to giving, so much so that they themselves endured hardship and wandering; past seventy years of age, their commitment to the Way never wavered. Though not recommended for honor, they had already accumulated deep merit. I received the jade decree (heaven’s command) and was charged to deliver beings, shining the light of wisdom through heaven and earth. Because of their sincere hearts I descended there and had already expounded the teachings of the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji) of the First and Second Ranks on nurturing and transforming. Yet the people there were proud and arrogant, and still harbored jealousy, greed, and anger. I often guided them with the good Way, but they remained stubborn and unawakened. Even the two or three who expounded the teaching did not grasp my intent to benefit all beings universally; each kept private interests in the way, vying to show off their abilities. Good instruction was not used to persuade others; instead they used empty words from outside the teaching to praise themselves. Before they had reached the immortal realm, they rashly rejected others’ words—lamentable indeed!

Those who practice my Way should accumulate merit and cultivate virtue, encourage good and turn from evil, uphold loyalty and filial piety, and strengthen trustworthiness; through qi, attain softness (gather the heart’s qi and return to gentleness), and with ease align with the middle Way. Then in the open no one will blame you, in secret no ghost or spirit will reproach you; you will harmonize with others’ natures and understand the people according to reason. With the Way and righteousness, practice benevolence, benefit things and aid life, pity the poor and relieve suffering, keep a heart of compassion and sympathy, extend kindness even to insects, and do not harm grass or trees. Pity those in disaster, relieve those in hardship, release life and abstain from killing. To awaken great compassion and a mind of skillful means to help others surpasses merely keeping fasts and precepts. Whoever can embody the virtue of heaven and earth—what is that if not cultivation?”

Those who cultivate this Dao of mine, when they meet people who are not good, should transform them through De and through reasoned teaching; if such persons refuse to follow the good way and hold stubbornly to their old ways, one must still meet them with harmonious bearing and a kindly face. Xuan Sheng—the honorific title for Confucius—guided others in just this patient, step-by-step manner; Lou Shide, the Tang minister famed for forbearance, spoke of letting spittle on one’s face dry by itself without wiping it away, so as not to show anger (here “gan” means dry, not “to rage”)—when did he ever flare up in anger? Restraining oneself, remaining calm and unarrogant, the other person will surely turn from evil toward good; that is the fruit of teaching and transformation. To send people into battle without first instructing them is to abandon them—how could that be without guilt?

When one meets those who revere the Dao, one should draw near to them with kindness and good conduct; if they stray on the path or cling one-sidedly to a single extreme, one should still lead them with citations and explanations from the classics until they awaken. Thus the noble person makes those nearby glad and draws those far away to come home. King Tai of Zhou, the Zhou ancestor known as the Old Duke Tanfu, had followers as thick as a market crowd—all because of the power of De and gracious kindness. Being oneself harmonious without wrongly going along with evil, the other will surely turn toward the correct path and feel reverence; that is the humanity of transformative teaching. To see someone fall and not lend a hand—how could the heart endure it? Would that not be fault?

All people under heaven can be taught; there is no sorting them by kind. Whether as teacher or as guiding master, one should be loyal and forbearing, reverent and grave, with harmonious mien and a pleasant countenance, taking righteousness as root, carrying it out through Li (propriety), receiving others with humility, and completing the work through trustworthiness. It is like crossing water: where it is deep, one wades through with clothes on (li); if one is too strict, others can hardly follow. Where it is shallow, one holds up the hem and walks (jie); if one is too lax, disorder easily arises. Speech without weight has no dignity. The state of shou yi—keeping the mind single-pointedly fixed on the Dao—is truly exalted: when the heart is level, Qi is harmonious; when Qi is harmonious, Shen flows freely; when Shen flows freely, the body is at ease; one expands with heaven and earth in great openness, and in looking up or bowing down feels no shame. Nature is gathered into unity (xi, “to converge,” as in drawing breath inward), never severing root from function; guarding this one sincere heart, one ascends into the way of true oneness.

I have heard the Supreme Old Lord (Taishang Laojun) say: Before form existed in the pre-heaven state, it was already born—yet born without image. After form existed in the post-heaven state, it still remains—yet remaining without bodily shape. Stillness is nature (Xing); the heart is contained within it. Movement is heart; nature is also contained within it. When a thought arises, nature hides; when thought ceases, nature appears. It is like empty space—without form, yet clear and bright, always full. The Great Dao has no image, yet is stored within what has form. True nature has no outward show, nor does it give rise to thoughts. Dwelling in realms yet forgetting realms, one exists in a way that has no image. Guard this root that has no bodily form; consolidate the origin and deepen the foundation; nurture heaven-given authenticity (Tianzhen); seeming to forget yet seeming to preserve. Jing (essence) joins with Qi (vital energy); Qi joins with Shen (spirit). The Supreme Old Lord also said: Shen lives by the bodily form; Jing is filled by Qi. Know your own Shen and Qi, and you may attain long life. Jing, Qi, and Shen are what Daoist cultivation calls the three treasures.

Citing the words of ancient sages to connect the three teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism) is not reckless embellishment to mislead living beings. If one can awaken in a flash, one may preserve the true form. Because I transmitted this scripture, people in Weiyang (Yangzhou) were deceitful and arrogant, so I changed to teaching in Jinling (Nanjing), using the “Loyalty and Faith” chapter to teach all beings universally. I do not ask you to keep dietary fasts (zhai)—only that you have faith. What fasting means is fasting your own heart; if the heart is not cultivated, what use are fast rules? Knowing only to restrain the mouth and not the heart— the heart is the Dao; you should hold fast to it and not treat it lightly.

Each of you who serve at the altar (waiting for the spirits to descend) has karmic roots from past lives, and so can hear this Dao, using it to quiet the heart amid worldly dust. When worldly desires are fully cut off, the Great Dao naturally shines forth. Still take the Piling (Changzhou) Five Categories mysterious text (xuanwen), match and spread it by chapter, rotate the chapter transmitted, and reverently uphold it. I will descend in spirit—do not treat this lightly.

Those of you who serve before the altar each have karmic ties from past lives that enable you to hear this teaching. Use it to quiet the heart amid worldly dust; when worldly desire is thoroughly overcome, the Great Dao will naturally become clear. You should still take the Wupin (Five Grades) esoteric text transmitted from Piling (the Changzhou region today), propagate it according to grade, exchange and uphold the scripture matching your grade, and cultivate it with reverence.

I (Lü Zu) will descend with numinous response and admonish the people of Weiyang (Yangzhou): each of you must reform the heart of anger and resentment and not repeat your former faults, lest the causes of your cultivation be wasted. If seeds of evil karma still hide in the heart, punishment will be increased; if you receive the teaching with sincere faith and reverence, you will surely attain transcendence. The Great Dao does not distinguish rich from poor; in exhorting others to transformation, do not pick and choose your audience. To say “I have it” is not necessarily to have it; to claim you have already seen the true is often not yet to have seen the true.

One who cultivates the Dao has not a speck of worldly dust in the heart; one who has attained the Dao often hides in poverty and plain living. The Dao is not transmitted for wealth—it is transmitted only to those who have faith. If you seek me for profit, how can I assent? Empty yourself and forget the self in seeking the Dao, and the sage will surely show numinous response. Do not set yourself up as a master and look down on others; to block others from joining in cultivation brings retribution of calamity unto the extinction of the household. Good words should be used to instruct; do not spread slanderous or reckless talk. To wear coarse clothes yet carry fine jade within (outwardly plain, inwardly holding the Great Dao)—how could you lose reverence and measure others by that?

Therefore the Supreme Venerable (Taishang Laojun) said: “To see what is subtle is called clarity; to hold to softness and yielding is called strength. To use this strength and yet return to this clarity is not to leave disaster for oneself.” Precisely because of wuwei (non-action), there is no failure; precisely because of non-attachment, there is no loss. Gao Yao (minister of Shun) praised Shun for governing the multitude with generous forbearance; Zhong Hui (minister of Tang) praised Tang for being both broad and humane. If you are dignified and reverent without being harsh, in harmony with the many without forming factions or partiality, strict with yourself and lenient with others, you are close to the Great Dao. Therefore the sage uses the Dao to cultivate the person, uses benevolence to cultivate the Dao, commends the good and pities those who cannot yet be good, and thus the utmost Dao gathers; treats distant people with gentleness, so that the world turns toward benevolence and thereby assists the transforming and nourishing work of Heaven and Earth and takes part in the Three Powers (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity).

Those who study the profound Dao today, in external alchemy (Waidan), know only how to handle the four yellow minerals; in internal alchemy (Neidan), they stop at seated meditation and physical discipline. They never ask themselves: the five metals are not the source of the eight mineral substances, and the illusory body—the acquired physical form—is not the path of the innate. A swallow cannot hatch a phoenix; a fox cannot nurse a foal. To nourish practice with the illusory body, or to cultivate with arsenic and saltpeter and the like, is to mistake false parents for true ones. If qi cannot join and spirit cannot merge, how can one refine the external elixir while nurturing the internal elixir?

Only when the six demons are completely extinguished can the six supernormal powers (liutong) endure. Only when the Three Corpses (sanshi)—the three agents of desire and decay within the body—are cut off do the three luminaries (sanguang)—sun, moon, and stars—appear. This neither abandons the body nor clings to it. Those who fancy themselves enlightened today imagine that sitting in meditation is enough. Sitting at night and lying by day—by what means can the form be refined? One should practice at every moment through the twelve double-hours and never let the work slip away: govern qi with spirit (shen), and circulate jing (essence) with qi.

Jing is not commanded by the physical form and is not produced from desire and emotion. When thoughts and feelings do not stir or shift, jing does not sink, collapse, or leak. Jing does not arise on its own; it comes into being through emotional arousal. Unite jing with qi and harmoniously gather the innate truth (tianzhen). When heavenly qi circulates jing, jing is still not enslaved by form and is not born from emotion. When emotion does not move or change, jing does not drown or collapse. Jing was never self-generated; it arises only because of emotion. Again unite jing with qi and harmoniously gather the innate truth. That innate truth is not the ultimate truth—“truth” is only a provisional name. As long as the mind still holds the distinction between self and others, how can it be called the mind of the Dao?

Those who cultivate the Way must enter into the fundamental intent of Heaven and Earth. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism alike never depart from this one mind: Confucianism uses humility and harmony; Buddhism uses forbearance; the Daoist tradition (Xuanmen) uses attainment through yielding softness. Without softness, Jing, Qi, and Shen—the three treasures of life in Daoism—cannot be obtained; without forbearance, the three trainings of precepts, concentration, and wisdom cannot be upheld; without harmony, benevolence, righteousness, and virtue cannot be nourished. When softness, forbearance, and harmony reach the mean and correctness, accomplishment is achieved. This “center” is nature (xing); nature is originally good.

When advancing the fire, one applies yang fire to subdue nature with emotion; when withdrawing the tally, one applies yin tally so nature returns to emotion. (Yang fire and yin tally are expressions in neidan for the advance and retreat of firing times.) What is called nature is likened to wood, mercury, shen, fire, dragon, and serpent; what is called emotion is likened to metal, lead, essence, water, tiger, and tortoise. All of these are only metaphors.

Shen transforms and operates upon essence, and essence then becomes qi; metal must cut wood before wood can become useful timber. Drive the dragon close to the tiger so dragon and tiger unite; subdue the body with the mind, and body and mind become harmonious and at peace. Turn emotion back toward nature so emotion and nature blend; turn lead back toward mercury so mercury and lead cling like glue and lacquer; link the tortoise to the serpent so tortoise and serpent coil in mutual dependence. Unless these principles are passed mouth-to-ear from master to disciple, they remain mere forced guesswork.

What Confucianism chiefly values is practice; what Buddhism chiefly values is stillness; what Daoism chiefly values is preservation. Stillness means facing birth, aging, sickness, suffering, and death with settled quiet—it refers to seeing through illusory appearances; practice means carrying out benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness—it refers to spreading teaching; preservation means nurturing metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—what is preserved is shen. Use stillness toward birth, aging, sickness, suffering, and death; use practice to fulfill benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness; use preservation to hold fast to metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The ten thousand things are born from earth and perish within earth; humans are born from qi and perish within qi. One who can purify this earth and nourish qi can then penetrate the mysterious Way.

Thus he spoke in verse: How great is the mysterious True Dao (Xuanzhen)! Water and fire must be blended evenly—in Neidan (internal alchemy), this means heart-fire and kidney-water balanced with each other. Turn desire back toward original nature; what must be cast off is greed and anger. The wondrous Dao of emptiness must accord with the Heart of Heaven (Tianxin); here the Heart of Heaven is not the flesh-and-blood heart, but the single point of true mind before birth. Only in singleness can truth be preserved; when the mind splits in two, it topples. Enter through sincerity and reverence; accomplish in still silence. Efficacy lies not in outward signs, but in sincere intent within the square inch of the heart. I respond because of sincere heart, not because of offerings of wealth. All you who guard the Dao, first cultivate your own hearts: do not indulge arrogance, and do not cling to obstinate emptiness (treating everything as void and denying even the karma of good and evil). Restrain violent anger and accumulate virtuous benevolence. Urge people to honor parents, be loyal to rulers, keep faith with friends, live in harmony with neighbors, cherish all things, and pity the poor. Do not boast that you surpass others, and do not suppress other people. Wealth and rank have no fixed root—why pride yourself? Poverty will not last forever—why resent it? In poverty, do not fawn or beg; in wealth, do not be proud or self-satisfied. Love goodness and hate evil, and retribution is clear. Cultivate goodness and descendants flourish; do evil and later generations wither. Pity orphans, respect and support the aged, keep the precept against killing and release life—day by day, month by month, you will surely gain merit in cultivating the Dao. The Three Yuan (Sanguan: the Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water) will jointly recommend you; the myriad sages will assist your completion. When merit and practice are full, you may ascend with your entire household, the whole family rising together.

When the immortal master had finished the verse, the twenty people in the assembly praised it in one voice, kowtowed before the altar, thanked the Celestial Truth (Tianzhen), fully accepted in faith, vowed to act according to the immortal master’s precious scripture, swore to practice equality, remove the three poisons (greed, anger, and delusion), keep far from the six defilements (form, sound, scent, taste, touch, and mental objects), so that the mind is pure and original nature bright—and before the master they made a great vow. At that time auspicious clouds hung mild, immortal music filled the sky, white cranes flew, and cinnabar clouds shone upon the hall. The assembly bowed and withdrew with reverence.

Chapter Four: Teaching by Uprightness and Loyalty (the fourth section on instructing through integrity and loyalty).

Then Patriarch Lü again told the multitude: People sunk in illusion are like a band of blind men; they cannot awaken to “non-being” and in the end perish utterly within “being.” At that time auspicious clouds hung mild, immortal music spread through the void, white cranes flew, and cinnabar clouds shone upon the hall. The assembly bowed and withdrew in solemn order.

Chapter Four: Teaching by Uprightness and Loyalty.

At that time, Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) again addressed sentient beings: the world is illusory, and people are like the blind—they cannot awaken to “non-being,” yet they exhaust themselves entirely within “being.” When they seek the Way, they often cling to what is false, lose their true nature, do not know where they themselves come from, and do not understand that the true Way is not obtained by “moving qi” through the physical body alone.

The Avatamsaka Sutra says: the mind is like a skilled painter; purity likewise arises in dependence on conditions. The Surangama Sutra says: when the restless mind ceases, the place of that cessation is Bodhi (enlightenment); when hearing returns to its source, the obstruction that covers the root of mind is removed, defilements are exhausted, and awakened nature is complete and pure.

The Nirvana Sutra says: from love comes worry, from worry comes fear. All your fear arises from love; only when you leave this sea of love is it called true awakening. The Diamond Sutra says: all conditioned dharmas are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows, like dew and like lightning—one should contemplate them thus.

For long you have mistakenly taken rigid emptiness (treating void as dead nothingness) for the real, clinging too much to marks and forms, and so your delusion is great. Can such principle be awakened to? Can you practice in accord with it? The Buddhanamakara Sutra says: where there is love there is birth; when love is exhausted there is cessation. Only one who can recognize this birth and cessation is fit to discuss the Way together with others.

I am not broadly citing many sages by way of analogy. It is only because Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism have been wrongly split apart by people who compare them at the level of branches and leaves, so that they seem as far apart as heaven and earth; yet if you trace them back to the root and investigate deeply, they in fact converge on one principle. When the mind cuts off the toil and turmoil of the world, that is xujing—a vacant, still quietness. People take Buddhism to be a teaching of quiescent extinction, but they do not truly understand it. The Surangama Sutra says: what is called quiescence is named “one mind”; it is not that stopping movement is called extinction, nor that one extinguishes what has already arisen—only when you recognize where it arises from do you know where extinction lies. The Complete Enlightenment Sutra speaks of “the discerning eye made clear”—clarifying the inner realm. When the inner realm no longer stirs, true nature settles; when nature is settled, the emotions grow still, and then one understands the pre-heaven.

Pre-heaven is called Shen (spirit); when Shen is gathered in Kun (in internal alchemy, often the lower dantian), spiritual medicine is produced. Post-heaven is called Qi (vital energy); when Qi is circulated into Qian (often the upper elixir field or crown), the work of returning the elixir is accomplished. True nature is quiescent and unmoving, yet once there is a stirring it can penetrate everywhere. Refine the medicine with Shen, guide Qi to nourish Shen, and Qi infuses Shen. This is not clinging to the outward shapes of the hexagram lines, but keeping the fire-seed continuously linked and the elixir furnace (dantian) always warm and nurtured. Thus from heaven and earth’s unceasing cycling one awakens perfect still awareness; holding that mind of still awareness, one does not chase phantoms or various “pure” appearances, and understands that body and mind are all obstructions—yet the luminosity of awakened nature does not depend on those obstructions. The “Western teaching” (Buddhism) takes leaving illusory delusion as the path, and so, like heaven and earth, completes itself without words.

Pre-heaven true nature comes from emptiness and non-being; post-heaven true settling is revealed through renru—patient forbearance under insult without the mind being moved. Sit upright in silence and silently guard; concentrate Jing (essence) to transform Shen. If one is obscured by outer things and loses resolve, Qi scatters and spirit and divinity part. Not being dragged by externals, one uses Shen to hold Jing fast; Jing transforms in dependence on Shen, nature grows still and Shen merges. The Supreme Lord (Laozi) said: “Constantly from non-desire, observe its mystery; constantly from desire, observe its openings.” Take the opening seen through desire and use it to accord with the subtle mystery. Hence the World-Honored Buddha said: “By the power of quiescence, give rise to supreme stillness, and abide in purity and quiet.”

I, Ancestor Lü, expound the teaching today. Celestial deities crowd around me; Thunder Department divine generals (Leihuo) watch over the ritual altar. Golden lads burn incense; jade maidens scatter jade blossoms. Myriad sages gather as one, cleansing the vulgar qi of the mundane world. If you do not believe and accept, officer-generals will bind your soul—this is to warn all living beings. You should be sincere and reverent; the divine cannot be deceived. Do not lose yourself in the causes that create karma. The way of loyalty and steadfast integrity is revered by gods and ghosts alike. To serve your ruler in accord with the Dao, you must be careful and diligent: do not indulge arrogance or slackness, and do not be stained by greed or anger. Without cultivating merit and virtue, you can hardly hear the teaching of the realm of emptiness, stillness, and luminous clarity (xuzhan). While worldly attachments remain unresolved, you cannot ascend to the immortal realm.

The plantain tree offering auspicious signs is my manifestation of spiritual response in the capital region, shown to you as praise for meritorious subjects. Those who were loyal to their ruler, kept their integrity unto death, and dared remonstrate face to face include Bi Gan of the Shang, Qu Yuan of the Chu, Boyi and Shuqi of the Zhou, and Guan Longfeng of the Xia. Those who remonstrated against the throne and spoke bluntly include Ji An and Zhu Yun of the Han, and Lu Zhi and Wei Zheng of the Tang. Worthies who withdrew from the world include Zhang Liang, who repaid Han with loyal service, and Fan Li, who left Yue to preserve his life. Those who held their integrity until death include the Martial Marquis of Hanzhong (Zhuge Liang), the Marquis of Hanshou Village (Guan Yu), Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan, as well as Yan Zhenqing and Yan Gaoqing. Loyal martyrs of old are enshrined in the annals; their glory vies with sun and moon, and they take their place in the courts of heaven. This account already lays the groundwork for the later performance of the Admonition on Loyalty and Filial Piety (Zhongxiao Gao).

Flattery and sycophantic speech, serving a ruler only by pandering to their wishes; being greedy and cruel oneself, squeezing the fat and marrow from the people; seeking wealth and honor through base means — such people will be despised for ten thousand generations. When one sees those who assist the state and forget their own person, how can one not feel ashamed, break into a sweat, and be filled with inner remorse!

I now exhort the people of the world: as a minister, one must be loyal; serving the ruler with loyalty ensures that one's descendants (yunsheng, distant progeny) may flourish and endure. Loyalty means fulfilling one's own duty, not slandering others. Heaven has no partiality; it only draws near to the virtuous. The people will not follow anyone forever; they only give their hearts to the benevolent. The grace of ruler and father is the source from which all things are generated. One should lead worthy people to encourage one another, using this as a warning against disloyalty.

Those who participate in cultivation must first possess filial piety and loyalty, as well as trustworthiness, benevolence, humility, brotherly love, and respectfulness. When the heart is upright, the spirit and consciousness are clear and bright; when the heart is upright, one's innate wisdom and spiritual clarity are revealed. In this way, one will naturally have an immortal master (a teacher who has attained the Dao) to guide and assist one in achieving success. Even if one understands the principles of the elixir (the path to cultivation and immortality), if one does not accumulate merit and virtue but instead harms others to benefit oneself, demonic obstacles will come to block the way, and one's spiritual clarity will gradually diminish. All who study Daoist cultivation must refine the heart, broadly practice universal salvation, take benevolence as the foundation, and frequently act for the convenience and benefit of others — rescuing those drowning or caught in fire, helping the endangered and resolving difficulties, delighting in the Dao and steadfastly maintaining faith. When one has cultivated merit and virtue to this degree, one's name will be reported to the Jade Court (the heavenly court). The Void Emperor (Xu Huang, the supreme deity in Daoism) has established precepts, and the Mysterious Emperor (Xuandi) has left written decrees; the golden rules and jade laws show no mercy whatsoever.

To relieve the people's illness and share their hunger and poverty: in former times Celestial Master Zhang of Han stored grain; when grain was scarce or prices rose, he sold it to the people at the original price or at a reduced price, never adding a single cash of markup, so the people were saved and could eat their fill. Huang Gong of Chengdu for this reason had his name entered in the Purple Bureau—the roster of the immortal realm. In former times Perfect Lord Xu compounded medicines and treated the sick, relieving every kind of suffering and establishing immense merit. In former times Immortal Lord Ge performed sacrificial refinement rites to deliver souls in the underworld, so that all sentient beings might ascend. Today the rich and noble think only of fine horses and light furs for their own pleasure, while the common people show the greenish hue of hunger on their faces. Who is willing to give up wealth and broadly aid the poor? Masters and perfected ones of every age cultivated the Great Dao in their hearts; the Three Officers (Heaven, Earth, and Water) examine merit and fault, and the tally is clear: those with merit are recommended for immortality, those with fault are bound by karmic debt and fall into ghostly realms. Those who can ascend do not do so through merit of a single lifetime alone, but through cultivation across many kalpas, until their innate nature becomes clear. Those I select to stand in attendance at the altar all carry blessed fortune from past lives; they must not be slighted but should be honored and cherished.

I proclaim my teaching method to more than one person alone. All who come to the ritual altar and hear the Great Dao already possess the root capacity for cultivation. Nowadays some foolish people talk nonsense as if possessed by demons: they do no virtuous practice at all, yet expect to step straight into Daluo (the highest heaven realm in Daoism); they boast like immortals while their desires remain wide and many, grasping after what is foul and impure—how can they escape the sea of desire (the entanglement of passion)?

Those who cultivate this Dao of mine are not divided by noble or base rank. Keep benevolence in the heart and restrain the temperament with goodness; do not be stained by greed or anger, nor seek convenience for yourself alone. Better to yield to others and cultivate in secret—the celestial spirits will watch over you; refine in this way, and the Imperial Lord (a supreme deity of the heavens) will summon you to audience.

I now clarify the essentials of the teaching: why cling to abstruse names and forms? Simply cut off the worldly mind, and the mind of Dao will naturally be at ease. Do good widely and in hidden ways—this is hidden virtue (yinde)—and turn back to awaken fully to the Three Origins (Heaven, Earth, and Humanity as cosmic principles, also the root sources of Jing, Qi, and Shen in the body). Do not listen to muddled teachers who randomly engage in empty, unreal cultivation; once true qi is exhausted, how can you merge with the path to immortality? If you do not cultivate this body now, which year will you wait for? Without leaving this road, hun and po wander without support; without finding where to begin, you can only rush blindly through the wheel of rebirth. I often weep in secret over your lostness, while you let your thoughts run wild and cannot awaken.

The principle of the Great Elixir (Dadan) cannot be fully told in words. Nourish qi and harmonize the original spirit—simply settle spirit together with breath, and that is “fetal return” (returning to the innate authenticity, natural as in the womb). The so-called True Person (Zhenren) hides in abyss-like stillness; when emotion and nature unite as one, subtle principle appears of itself. Do not heed vague, groundless talk—you should believe with sincerity; believe and then put it into practice, and you can stand beside immortals and sages.

When the assembly at the altar had heard these words from the master, Daoist layman Daoyi bowed at the seat and composed a eulogy, saying: The most sacred mysterious chapter, teaching descends upon the ritual altar; parables unite the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism), gathering the words of all sages; through Confucian and Buddhist paths the mysterious purport of our Dao is clarified, and with loyalty and filial piety the deluded multitude is guided.

The Zhishèng Xuān Piān (Essential Chapter of the Utmost Sage) was revealed at the ritual altar with this teaching: it uses analogies to connect the Three Teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, gathering the words of the sages; it employs Confucian and Buddhist language to clarify the profound meaning of our Way, and uses loyalty and filial piety to awaken those who are dull and stubborn. Great virtue aligns with Heaven; benevolence is proclaimed everywhere, rescuing people from calamity and granting the true teaching to the multitude. With great holiness, great compassion, great mercy, and great vow, it universally saves sentient beings—such is the karmic origin of this scripture. The patriarch descended upon our Jinling (present-day Nanjing); his numinous light shone brilliantly. Illness was healed at once, disasters were dispelled immediately; his grace surpassed that of parents, and his magnificent responsive efficacy was like that of Mulian (the Buddhist figure renowned for saving his mother through filial devotion). We, through affinities from past lives, heard the supreme mystery (Tai Xuan); we were granted instruction in dreams and also received revelations at the judgment altar (where spirit-writing verdicts were given). The subtle essentials within are wondrous beyond words; those who believe gain something, those who awaken may become immortals. I humbly compose these simple verses in praise before the master; when merit and practice are complete in the future, I wish to serve before his compassionate countenance.

At this time, Daoist layman Daoyi and the assembly of practitioners bowed together before the altar seat, praising without end and giving thanks for vast compassion; they burned incense and paid homage together. Auspicious clouds like carriage canopies descended before the altar; extraordinary fragrance filled the sky and spread over the earth. Lü Zu had already returned from the planchette session (the spirit-writing descent had ended). The people of the whole village and every household paid homage; each person turned the heart toward goodness, each one entered cultivation and practice. Where the strange fragrance reached, no illness arose; every home received good fortune, every door showed auspicious signs. The sage’s power was manifest; joy was boundless. All believed and accepted, performed obeisance, and withdrew.

The two sections above were composed at Jinling. Later, Tong Qixuan of Guangling (present-day Yangzhou) obtained them and combined them for publication, so they circulated in the world; therefore the transmitted editions today have eight sections, divided into upper and lower volumes.

The Taishang Lüzu Kai Tian Huangji Zhenzhen Hebi Dongmiao Xianjing (Immortal Scripture of the Most High Lü Patriarch on Opening Heaven, the Supreme Ultimate, Verifying Truth, and the Wondrous Closure and Opening of Yin and Yang)—the lower volume—is the immortal scripture descended from the Most High Lü Patriarch, expounding opening heaven, the supreme ultimate, verifying truth, and the penetrating mysteries of yin-yang closure and opening (hebi). The fifth section, “Believing Sincerely and Attaining the Dao,” is the fifth rank, teaching how sincere faith reaches the Great Dao.

At that time, the immortal master instructed the people of Piling (Changzhou’s ancient name): I have revealed my traces at Wuling and Longsha—places where, in Daoist prophecy, earthly immortals are destined to appear—so that those who have accumulated merit through many lifetimes may come and respond. Though you are still turning in the wheel of ascent and descent and have not yet reached fulfillment, the subtle Way of the immortals ought nevertheless to be expounded together with this. Thus the female immortal of Tanyang in Taicang of Nan Commandery is traditionally said to have been an incarnation of Tanluan (a Northern Dynasties monk later linked in legend with the immortal path); after attaining the Way, she verified her place in the immortal realm. Shanlian, a woman of Xiangshan County, likewise realized Buddhahood through the karmic conditions of cultivation. These are what those who hold right faith obtain, and what those free of selfish intent realize.

I descend into the human world bearing the command of the Supreme Lord, solely to deliver sentient beings. Yet beings turn against heavenly principle and violate Dao and De (the Way and Virtue); they harden their hearts to cruelty, invert right and wrong, and pass off cunning for benevolence. Above, they rebel against ruler and parents; below, they look down on neighbors in the countryside. They chase reputation and praise and set snares that harm living beings. Therefore the sage ruler sends down calamities—flood, fire, plague, and punishment follow one upon another—yet they still do not repent, and karmic obstruction passes from generation to generation.

I have preached the scriptures at Weiyang (Yangzhou) and Jinling (Nanjing). Among those at the altar who gathered to hear the teaching, barely one in a hundred believed, while slander was endless. They could not settle the spirit and establish their lives; instead they grew clever and forgot their true nature. Deceit and flattery filled heaven and earth; they boasted of their own abilities, deceived the patriarchs, and blasphemed the spirits. They refused quiet inward cultivation and indulged the body of karma instead, unable to restrain themselves or yield to others. They rashly painted pictures of “true emptiness” (the utterly empty, still body of the Dao)—like a mantis brandishing its arms or a frog croaking in pride—blocking themselves from the supreme Way. It is not that they never heard the teaching; they still drift in the dark sea of suffering and fail the grace of the Supreme Lord. The people of Weiyang are frivolous and arrogant; those of Jinling lack full simplicity and depth. Compared with them, you of Piling should all the more redouble reverence and sincere devotion.

Once you enter this teaching, you should spread virtue widely and practice humaneness, uphold filial piety, sibling respect, loyalty, and trustworthiness (honoring parents, respecting elders, being loyal, keeping your word), and would rather suffer loss yourself than leave others unsettled. Every living being, however dull or clumsy, still holds spiritual nature within; you should cherish its life and not harm it, extending compassion and pity toward all that heaven has given birth to.

Human nature is originally clear and pure; it grows dim only because outer things cover and obscure it. When spirit is applied in the dusty world, it dims because of that world. The Way of Heaven extends in order without partiality, transforming and nurturing the myriad forms and gathering them to nourish and hold them. The celestial body is round, with both latitude and longitude. By day it turns from left to right; by night from right to left. It follows the four seasons yet knows neither cold nor heat; it brings forth and extinguishes the myriad things yet knows neither birth nor death. Precisely because it has no knowing, it can endure long; precisely because it has no birth, it can stay clear and bright. If a person can embody this Way, they can attain long life. The Way of long life has its subtle working in the person.

Heaven rests upon earth and moves in the Great Void (Tai Xu—the vast empty expanse) without obstruction; earth rests upon heaven and quietly clings to qi so it neither falls nor tilts. Humans have jing (essence) as heaven has earth; jing arises in the Kan palace (the kidney position associated with Water in neidan) and lodges within the one qi. As earth follows heaven’s rotation, the myriad things come to be; as jing follows qi’s transformation, the whole body follows. If jing does not follow qi’s change, once touched by desire it collapses; if earth did not follow rotation, when yin reaches its extreme it would surely crumble.

Advancing fire and withdrawing fu (in neidan, applying yang fire at the right phase and withdrawing yin symbols) is like heaven’s turning left and right. Yin and yang hold each other, as the moon moves into the sun. Cultivate inwardly, be careful outwardly, let qi continue the work of spirit, reach harmony in emptiness—the key lies entirely in sincerity.

The heart (xin) is not the fleshy organ in the chest; it means shen (the spirit-mind). Qi is not the breath through mouth and nose, but xuling zhi qi—ethereal, pre-heaven qi that has no fixed form and is subtly numinous. In guarding it, one is as if in Penglai (the immortal isles at sea, a image of empty, stable stillness); the body is like a hen’s egg (round and unified); intention flows link upon link—such a state cannot be put into words. The Supreme One (Taishang, Laozi) said: “Much talk shuo qiong; better shou zhong (hold the center).” Here shuo (written with another character, read as shuo) means “again and again”: when speech is both abundant and frequent, one reaches exhaustion—better to hold the quiet center. Therefore one should often observe inward: neither scattered nor rigidly frozen. Practiced thus, the “medicine” (the cultivated effect of spirit and qi) spreads through the whole body, gently nurturing the initial elixir pearl (zi zhu), all the meridians open, primordial essence (yuan jing) is kept, and the original form (yuan xing) is refined. Where essence is insufficient, supplement with the flavors of food; where form is insufficient, supplement with qi. “Southwest obtains companions” (a phrase from the Yijing, meaning gaining kindred qi) is the method of supplementing qi: calling the child with the mother (yi mu zhao zi)—like attracts like and follows together. Do not raise stray thoughts; once they arise, the fire turns dry and hot. Do not let the mind scatter; once it scatters, the fire turns cold.

Stories such as “standing in snow at Cheng’s gate” (Cheng Yi’s disciple waiting in snow for the master) come after Lü Dongbin (Lü the Patriarch) had already attested to immortality—yet perfected ones (shang zhen) can illumine the past and discern the future, so one cannot bind them to the order of historical generations. The scriptures’ citations of Purple Yang’s (Zhang Boduan’s) Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality) and similar works are all from later times.

The Ruyao jing (Mirror for Entering the Medicine, also titled Ruyao jing—inner-alchemy verses) says: water fears drying, fire fears cold; miss by a hair’s breadth and the affair is utterly different. Perfected ones can reveal the past and inspect the future; one cannot confine them to dynastic sequence; the Wuzhen and other books quoted in the canon all appeared afterward.

The Ruyao Jing (Medicine Mirror for Entering the Elixir) says: water above all dreads drying up, and fire above all dreads cold that snuffs it out—fall short by the width of a hair, and the elixir cannot be refined. It also says: water can flow and fire can blaze fiercely; this principle can be tested in your own body. Set aside cleverness and artifice, seal off sight and hearing, turn inward to contemplate the primordial spirit and true nature, and outwardly forget the uses of things; at the same time cultivate trust (xin) and sincerity (cheng), and wisdom and steadfast concentration will arise on their own. To establish the root of trust, without sincerity one cannot enter. Take as your model Zhang Liang fetching the shoes at Yi Bridge in reverence for his teacher, and take as your teaching Yang Shi and others standing in the snow at Cheng Yi’s gate in respect for their master. Fan Shi and Zhang Shao kept their appointment over chicken and millet and did not forget when the day came; Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya’s friendship did not haggle over gain and loss; Ji Zha hung his sword on Lord Xu’s tomb and treated the dead as if they were alive; Guo Jin returned exactly on the day he promised, and children lined the road on bamboo hobby-horses to welcome him. Serve the ruler with trust and you will be loyal; serve parents with trust and you will be filial; befriend others with trust and friendship will last; live in the world with trust and relations will be harmonious; cultivate the Dao with trust and the path will flourish; worship the spirits with trust and worship will prove efficacious.

Cultivation takes trust as its root. If the heart harbors suspicion, you will inevitably be restless, violent, and ruin the work; if you break faith with others, the celestial gods will surely punish you. With trust in serving the ruler comes loyalty; in serving parents, filial piety; in friendship, endurance; in worldly conduct, harmony; in cultivating the Dao, prosperity; in sacrificing to the spirits, spiritual response.

Cultivation takes sincerity and trustworthiness as its foundation. If the mind clings stubbornly to doubt, calamity is sure to follow; if one further breaks faith with others, the celestial gods will surely impose karmic retribution in accord with cause and effect. How could August Heaven treat the myriad things unfairly? The Great Dao can be attained only through genuine sincerity. Where there is virtue, there will be words worthy of that virtue; one may speak eloquently of principle yet not truly possess virtue. Those who have attained the Dao often appear dull and foolish—how could one diminish one’s own merit with deceitful speech? Do not covet wealth when it appears; do not crave beauty when it tempts. The work of transcending the spirit and leaving the bodily shell lies in investigating things to extend genuine knowledge.

Zhongni (Confucius) once inquired about ritual and about government; even the Sage of Propagation felt his own inadequacy. What you truly know, you may treat as known; what you do not know, do not claim to have grasped. One who can endure humiliation can become a perfected person; one who empties the self naturally receives benefit—the way of the Yi (Book of Changes) likewise brings benefit. The Yizhuan says: “Those who know danger can secure their position; those who think of perishing can preserve what they have.” (Knowing danger enables one to hold one’s place; considering extinction enables one to survive.) This truly captures the essential point of praising the Yi. Therefore Kun (Earth) accomplishes its work through simplicity, and Qian (Heaven) can be known through plainness. What is plain is easy to understand; what is simple is easy to follow. The principle of all under heaven values holding the center. Yin yielding and compliant, yang firm and vigorous—both arise from simplicity. Thus the way of the Yi pairs with inner alchemy (neidan); understanding the changes of the Yi, one may set out on the path to transcendence.

What, then, is the so-called “Golden Elixir”? Metal belongs to Kan water (the Kan trigram, symbolizing water); cinnabar belongs to Li fire (the Li trigram, symbolizing fire). The heart paired with Li fire is not the fleshy heart of blood and flesh, but the yuan shen (primordial spirit); the essence paired with Kan water is not the seminal essence stirred by sexual union.