《吕祖全书》Vol. 8

Heaven is the dark color and earth is yellow—each holds its place (xuanhuang, “dark heaven and yellow earth”). Heaven and earth are shaped like an egg. The six directions (above, below, and the four quarters) are contained within it; as a whole it is round like a ball. The sun and moon rise and set, moving above heaven and below earth; up and down, east and west, turn round and round like a wheel. When the sun has risen in the east but not yet set in the west, it is day; when it has set in the west but not yet risen in the east, it is night. Day and night are marked by the sun’s appearing and disappearing.

The moon’s appearing and disappearing differ from the sun’s. The po (the moon’s dark portion) is carried in the west, then receives again in the east; its light shines at night, while the hun (the bright portion) is hidden by day. As days accumulate, the moon now appears, now vanishes, running from west toward east.

At first, hun arises within po, shaped like a bent bow; at night its light shines in the west. Next, hun within po fills half—right at the first quarter (around the seventh or eighth day of the lunar month)—and at night its light shines in the south. Then hun within po is full, opposite the sun, and at night its light shines in the east. After that, po arises within hun, shaped like a broken mirror; at the start of day hun hides in the west. Next, po within hun fills half—right at the last quarter (around the twenty-second or twenty-third day)—and at the start of day po hides in the south. Finally, po within hun is full, back to back with the sun, and at the start of day po hides in the east. This is how the moon, by its appearing and disappearing, corresponds to day and night.

Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) asked: What is the principle of traveling between south and north to fix cold and heat?

Zhongli (Zhongli Quan) said: After the winter solstice, the sun rises at the beginning of the chen period plus fifty minutes (the early part of chen, relatively late in the morning) and sets at the end of the shen period plus fifty minutes (the late part of shen, relatively early in the evening). From then until the summer solstice, the points where the sun rises and sets shift from south toward north. After the summer solstice, the sun rises at the end of the yin period plus fifty minutes (the late part of yin, relatively early in the morning) and sets at the beginning of the xu period plus fifty minutes (the early part of xu, relatively late at nightfall). From then until the winter solstice, those points shift from north toward south. Moving from south to north—from winter solstice to summer solstice—cold turns into heat; moving from north to south—from summer solstice to winter solstice—heat turns into cold. The daylight of summer corresponds to the night of winter; the daylight of winter corresponds to the night of summer. After the winter solstice, the moon’s rising and setting shift from north toward south, comparable to summer daylight; after the summer solstice, they shift from south toward north, comparable to winter daylight. The sun and moon cycle in this way to mark out cold and heat.

Lü (Lü Dongbin) said: The principles of heaven and earth and the ascent and descent of Yin-Yang are the same as the path of one’s daily cultivation (xingchi)—there is no second doctrine. Can the sun and moon’s rising and setting, their mutual encounter and conjunction, and their degrees of motion (chandu) also be compared to the human person?

Patriarch Zhong (Zhongli Quan, master of Lü Dongbin) said: The pivot of heaven and earth’s movement lies in the rising and falling of yin and yang. With each rise and fall, Taiji (the undifferentiated origin from which yin and yang arise and the myriad things are generated) engenders and completes one another in an unceasing cycle that never strays from the Dao—hence their lasting endurance. Practitioners who take heaven and earth as their model may likewise attain longevity without death. Consider too the measured cycles of the sun and moon: their mutual interchange is simply the moon receiving the sun’s yang soul, using yang to transform yin. When yin is exhausted and yang is pure, the moon’s light becomes clear and bright, the hidden shade (the dark yin within the moon) is dispelled, like sunlight flooding the earth. At that stage it mirrors human cultivation: refining qi into shen, shedding the bodily form to ascend as immortal and complete the pure yang body.

Lü Dongbin asked: For those who cultivate truth and follow the Dao, when they begin work on the principle of heaven and earth’s yin-yang rise and fall and on the measure of the sun and moon’s refined interchange—which should they take up first?

Zhongli Quan said: At first one should emulate heaven’s hidden mechanism and apply the principle of yin-yang rise and fall, so that true water and true fire (in neidan, the two kinds of true qi associated with the kidneys and the heart) merge into one, are refined into the great elixir, and permanently abide in the dantian; through endless kalpas one does not perish, and one’s lifespan equals heaven and earth. If one has already wearied of the world of dust and presses on in practice, one should then follow the sun and moon’s conjunction—using yang to refine yin until yin no longer arises; using qi to nourish shen until shen does not scatter. When the five qi return to the origin (the qi of the five viscera revert to the primordial unity), the three flowers gather at the crown (jing, qi, and shen converge at the head), one leaves the secular world behind and returns to the Three Isles (Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou, the legendary dwelling places of immortals).

Lü Dongbin said: Such efficacy in practice—if one can deeply grasp its meaning, the only concern is failing to meet the right seasonal timing.

Zhong Liquan (Patriarch Zhong, master of Lü Dongbin) said: The ascent and descent of heaven-and-earth yin and yang meet once a year; the exchange of sun and moon essences meets once a month; the body’s qi and “fluid” (the two yin-yang substances within the body in neidan discourse) meet once in a day and night.

Chapter Five: On the Four Seasons

Lü Dongbin (Patriarch Lü) asked: When heaven-and-earth and sun-and-moon join, how does that appear when traced through year, month, day, and hour? Can you explain it to me?

Zhong said: The four seasons each have their rank. If human lifespan is reckoned at one hundred years: from one to thirty is youthful strength; thirty to sixty is full maturity; sixty to ninety is old age; ninety to one hundred, or up to one hundred twenty, is decline. This is the first rank—the times within the body.

If one day is twelve double-hours, five days one “hou,” three hou one “qi,” three qi one seasonal node, and two nodes joined make one seasonal period—then spring, summer, autumn, and winter arise. In spring, yin holds half yang within it, and the climate turns from cold toward warmth. In summer, yang holds yang within yang, and the climate turns from warmth toward heat. In autumn, yang holds half yin within it, and the climate turns from heat toward coolness. In winter, yin holds yin within yin, and the climate turns from coolness toward cold. This is the second rank—the times within the year.

If we follow the mutual arising of the twelve pitch-pipes (lülü)—in antiquity the twelve lü were paired with months, yang pipes and yin bells rising in turn—one month has thirty days, altogether three hundred sixty double-hours, three thousand ke, and one hundred eighty thousand fine divisions. From the first of the month to first quarter moon is half yang within yin; from first quarter to full moon is yang within yang; from full moon to last quarter is half yin within yang; from last quarter to dark moon and new moon is yin within yin. This is the third rank—the times within sun and moon.

If sixty fine divisions make one ke, eight ke and twenty divisions make one double-hour, one and a half double-hours make one hexagram (gua), hexagrams mark the eight directions, and by their upright positions they are split into four segments: from the zi double-hour to the mao double-hour is half yang within yin—in Greater Yin, Lesser Yang begins to arise; from mao to wu is yang holding yang within it, as pure Lesser Yang further gives rise to Greater Yang.

From the wu double-hour (noon) to the you double-hour (early evening), half yin is already blended into yang qi: the shift from Taiyang (the phase of greatest yang) to Shaoyin (yin just beginning to rise). From you to zi (midnight), within yin there is yin again: pure Shaoyin in turn gives rise to Taiyin (yin at its fullest). This is the fourfold division of the double-hours within a single day.

What is hard to obtain yet easy to lose is the time within the body—when the body’s essence and qi are still strong and fit for practice. What departs quickly and arrives late is the months of the year. What is swifter than a flash of lightning and as brief as a spark from striking stone is the double-hours of a day.

Days pile into months, months into years; years slip by empty, and the light of the year races away. Greedy for fame and profit, the restless heart is not cleared; doting on children and grandchildren, affection rises again. Even if one turns the heart toward the Dao, there is no escaping old age and failing breath—like spring snow or autumn flowers, only a moment’s scene; like the setting sun or dawn moon, no lasting radiance. For those who embrace the Dao, what is hardest to secure is the time within the body.

Bright sun, gorgeous colors, flowers in full fragrance; waterside pavilions and tall towers, cool breezes and easy delight; idle talk on moonlit nights, drinking together in snowy weather—indulgence that seems endless joy, yet it wears away finite feeling and intent. Even if one turns the heart toward the Dao, it is often only when illness already binds the body. Like a broken boat not yet across—who lacks the will to cry for rescue? Like a leaking roof just patched—who can bear to cut off the thought of repairing again? For those who embrace the Dao, what is most often wasted is the time within a year.

The morning cock has not yet crowed, yet going out already feels too late; the street drums have sounded throughout, yet returning home still feels too early. Clinging and foolish longing—how willing to pause even briefly; tangled vain thoughts—only fearing they are not enough. Halls full of gold and jade—when illness comes, what can ward it off? Sons and grandsons before one’s eyes—when breath breaks, who can take one’s place? Day and night, rushing without rest, yet people in the world do not awaken. For those who embrace the Dao, what is most regrettable is the time within a single day.

Master Lü (Lü Dongbin) asked: The moments within the body, within the year, within the month, and within the day are all windows for cultivation. Why does the master single out the moment within the body as hard to obtain, and also say the moment within the day is a pity to waste?

Master Zhong (Zhongli Quan) said: Those who devote themselves to the Way rarely catch their youth. In youth the root foundation (innate endowment from before birth) is still intact; practice takes effect easily, and full accomplishment can be reached in a thousand days. Middle age is also hard to come by: in middle age one must first make up what has been depleted, then apply oneself in earnest—at first one can return from old age to youth, and afterward one can transcend the ordinary and enter sagehood. If in youth one does not awaken, and in middle age one does not reflect, or one only turns toward purity because of disaster, or only longs for xiyi (the silent, formless realm of stillness) because of illness, and only begins to cultivate in old age, then one must first rescue the body, then speak of supplementation and tonification, and only then advance from small accomplishment through accumulated work to middle accomplishment; from middle accomplishment, further accumulated work still stops at returning from old age to youth and refining the form to remain in the world (lianxing zhushi). Yet the five qi cannot “return to the origin” (wuqi chaoyuan—the vital energies of the five viscera cannot gather back to the primordial source), the three yang are hard to gather at the crown (sanyang ju ding), and shedding the coarse body to ascend as an immortal has no path to success. That is why what is hard to obtain is the moment within the body.

Master Lü said: As for the moment within the body, I already know that it is hard to complete the method and accumulate merit; one can only stop at returning from old age to youth and refining the form to remain in the world; the five qi cannot return to the origin, the three yang are hard to gather at the crown, and shedding the coarse body to ascend as an immortal cannot be achieved. This is the hard-to-obtain moment within the body.

Master Lü added: The moment within the body is indeed hard to obtain—I understand that. Why is the moment within the day a pity to waste?

Patriarch Zhongli said: A human day is like a month for the sun and moon, and like a year for heaven and earth. The Great Dao generates heaven and earth; heaven and earth each occupy their place, separated by eighty-four thousand li above and below. After the winter solstice, yang qi rises from within the earth; each fifteen-day solar term advances seven thousand li upward. Over one hundred eighty days in total, yang qi reaches heaven, and Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate, the undifferentiated origin of yin and yang) gives birth to yin. After the summer solstice, yin qi descends from within heaven; each fifteen-day solar term advances seven thousand li downward. Over one hundred eighty days in total, yin qi reaches the earth, and Taiji again gives birth to yang. Thus it cycles without cease, never straying from the Great Dao, and so can long sustain the sun and moon in their course.

Once the sun and moon take form, each has a circumference of eight hundred forty li. After the first day of the month, nine arises from six (yang born within yin): in one day’s twelve double-hours, the hun (yang essence of the soul) advances seventy li within the po (yin essence of the soul); over fifteen days totaling one hundred eighty double-hours, the hun advances eight hundred forty li within the po. After the full moon, six arises from nine (yin born within yang): in one day’s twelve double-hours, the po advances seventy li within the hun; over fifteen days totaling one hundred eighty double-hours, the po advances eight hundred forty li within the hun. Thus the cycle never stops, never leaving the Great Dao, so the Great Dao remains firm and the myriad things are nourished and sustained.

Among the myriad things, the most spiritual and precious is the human being. The human heart and kidneys are separated by eight cun and four fen above and below; the rise and fall of yin and yang within the body is no different from heaven and earth. Qi generates fluid, fluid generates qi; qi and fluid mutually transform, following the same path as the sun and moon. Heaven and earth interact through Qian (Heaven) and Kun (Earth); yin and yang rise and fall, joining once per year without leaving the Great Dao, and so one year follows another. The sun and moon interact through hun and po; their essences circulate, joining once per month without leaving the Great Dao, and so one month follows another. Human yin-yang union occurs within a single day and night, yet one does not know the timing of union, nor has methods for timely gathering (harvesting inner essence at the right moment); when depleted one does not know how to replenish, when increased one does not know how to store; at yin union one does not know how to nourish yang, at yang union one does not know how to refine yin. Within a month one does not understand gain and loss; within a day there is no sustained cultivation practice. Thus one year lessens by a year, one day lessens by a day. People still sleep facing the wind in damp places, endure heat and cold, refuse to cultivate, willingly fall ill, waste their time, and wait for death.

Lü Zu (Lü Dongbin) said: Those who devote themselves to the Dao are not unaware that years slip away in vain and time is wasted, that illness afflicts the body and the hour of death draws near. It is only because they do not know the methods of cultivation, cannot grasp the right moments in practice (applying the method according to the proper hours and seasons), err in the union of yin and yang, or are inaccurate in aligning their work with months and hours—so they can only sit and wait for death.

Zhong Zu (Zhongli Quan, Lü Zu’s master) said: The operations within the body take the year as their measure; from the year one takes the month, from the month the day, from the day the hour. The qi of the five viscera waxes and wanes by month, advances and retreats by day, and combines by hour; qi moves through five degrees and passes through six seasonal nodes. Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth stay in order; generation in east, west, south, north, and center each has its fixed number. Refining Jing (essence) can give rise to true Qi (vital energy); refining Qi can unite with Yang Shen (pure yang spirit); refining Shen can unite with the great Dao.

On the Five Phases, Section Six

Lü Zu said: What is called “the qi of the five viscera” is metal, wood, water, fire, and earth; what is called “the positions of the Five Phases” is east, west, south, north, and center. How can they be made to generate and complete one another, so that union has fixed hours and “gathering” (collecting and refining yin-yang qi within the body) also has fixed hours? I wish to hear this principle.

Patriarch Zhong (Zhongli Quan, master of Lü Dongbin) said: Once the Great Dao was first divided and distinguished, heaven and earth came into being. After heaven and earth were separated, the Five Emperors were established—sovereigns who preside over the five directions and the four seasons. In the east is the Green Emperor (Qingdi), who carries out the ordinances of spring: within Yin he gives rise to Yang, so that the myriad things sprout. In the south is the Red Emperor (Chidi), who carries out the ordinances of summer: within Yang he lifts and spreads Yang, so that the myriad things grow. In the west is the White Emperor (Baidi), who carries out the ordinances of autumn: within Yang he gives rise to Yin, so that the myriad things ripen. In the north is the Black Emperor (Heidi), who carries out the ordinances of winter: within Yin he advances Yin, so that the myriad things wither and fall away. Each of the four seasons lasts ninety days; the final eighteen days of every season are overseen by the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi). In spring the Yellow Emperor assists the Green Emperor and brings about the arising of the myriad things; in summer he follows the Red Emperor’s season and nurtures their growth; in autumn he assists the White Emperor and brings them to fruit and form; in winter he restrains the Black Emperor and makes the winter ordinances appear in full severity. The Five Emperors govern in turn, each holding sway for seventy-two days; together they total three hundred sixty days, which make one year, assisting heaven and earth in carrying forward the Great Dao.

The Green Emperor gives rise to jia and yi; jia and yi are the wood of the east. The Red Emperor gives rise to bing and ding; bing and ding are the fire of the south. The Yellow Emperor gives rise to wu and ji; wu and ji are the earth of the center. The White Emperor gives rise to geng and xin; geng and xin are the metal of the west. The Black Emperor gives rise to ren and gui; ren and gui are the water of the north. Jia through gui are called the ten heavenly stems. The images they show in the seasons are: wood as the Green Dragon (east), fire as the Vermillion Bird (south), earth as Gouchen (center), metal as the White Tiger (west), and water as the Black Tortoise (north). The kinds of things they generate in the seasons are: yi combining with geng—in spring there is the elm, green yet tinged with white, never departing from the colors of metal and wood; xin combining with bing—in autumn there is the jujube, white yet tinged with red, never departing from the colors of metal and fire; ji combining with jia—at the turn from late summer to early autumn there is the melon, green yet tinged with yellow, never departing from the colors of earth and wood; ding combining with ren—in summer there is the mulberry fruit, red yet tinged with black, never departing from the colors of water and fire; gui combining with wu—in winter there is the tangerine, black yet tinged with yellow, never departing from the colors of water and earth. By the same pattern, the Five Emperors intermingle with one another and appear in the seasons; the things they give rise to are beyond numbering.

Patriarch Lü asked: The Five Phases behave this way in the seasons—how do they apply in the human body?

Patriarch Zhong replied: Only in human beings is the head round and the feet square, matching the image of heaven round and earth square; yin qi descends and yang qi rises, matching the pivot of heaven and earth in motion. The five viscera match the Five Phases: the kidneys are Water, the heart Fire, the liver Wood, the lungs Metal, and the spleen Earth. In terms of mutual generation, Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, and Metal generates Water; what generates is “mother,” what is generated is “child.” In terms mutual overcoming, Water overcomes Fire, Fire overcomes Metal, Metal overcomes Wood, Wood overcomes Earth, and Earth overcomes Water; what overcomes is “husband,” what is overcome is “wife.” Speaking of visceral qi through the mother–child relation: kidney qi generates liver qi, liver qi generates heart qi, heart qi generates spleen qi, spleen qi generates lung qi, and lung qi generates kidney qi. Speaking through the husband–wife relation: kidney qi overcomes heart qi, heart qi overcomes lung qi, lung qi overcomes liver qi, liver qi overcomes spleen qi, and spleen qi overcomes kidney qi.

Here the generation and overcoming of the Five Phases are mapped onto the five viscera: generation is like a mother bearing a child, overcoming like a husband restraining a wife—used to explain how visceral qi both nourishes and checks one another.

The five zang organs of the human body follow the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) in their cycles of generation and overcoming, which gives rise to husband–wife and mother–child pairings. The kidney is husband to the heart, mother to the liver, wife to the spleen, and child to the lungs; the liver is husband to the spleen, mother to the heart, wife to the lungs, and child to the kidneys; the heart is husband to the lungs, mother to the spleen, wife to the kidneys, and child to the liver; the lungs are husband to the liver, mother to the kidneys, wife to the heart, and child to the spleen; the spleen is husband to the kidneys, mother to the lungs, wife to the liver, and child to the heart. The husband is the side that overcomes the other; the wife is the side that is overcome. The mother is what gives birth to oneself; the child is what one gives birth to. The kidney belongs to Water, the liver to Wood, the heart to Fire, the spleen to Earth, and the lungs to Metal.

Internally the heart manifests in the vessels; externally in the complexion; the tongue is its portal. The heart is overcome by the kidneys and in turn drives the lungs—this is the logic of husband and wife. When it receives support from the liver it flourishes; when it meets the spleen it wanes—this is the logic of mother and child. The kidneys manifest internally in the bones and externally in the hair; the ears are their portal. They are overcome by the spleen and in turn drive the heart; when they receive support from the lungs they flourish; when they meet the liver they wane. The liver manifests internally in the sinews and externally in the nails; the eyes are its portal. It is overcome by the lungs and in turn drives the spleen; when it meets the kidneys it flourishes; when it meets the heart it wane. The lungs manifest internally in the skin and externally in the body hair; the nose is their portal. They are overcome by the heart and in turn drive the liver; when they receive support from the spleen they flourish; when they meet the kidneys they wane. The spleen manifests internally in the viscera and evenly nourishes the heart, spleen, liver, and lungs; externally in the flesh; the lips and mouth are its portal, and breathing governs the coming and going of Qi. It is overcome by the liver and in turn drives the kidneys; when it receives support from the heart it flourishes; when it meets the lungs it wanes.

This is the Five Phases within the human body: because they generate and overcome one another, there are husband–wife and mother–child roles, and the transmission, flourishing, and decline of Qi all show themselves here.

Lü asked: The heart belongs to fire—how can fire be made to descend? The kidneys belong to water—how can water be made to rise? The spleen belongs to earth, and earth sits in the center; once it receives fire it flourishes—would it not then restrain water from below? The lungs belong to metal, and metal sits above; once it meets fire it is harmed—how can it still give birth to water? Among the Five Phases, those that mutually generate stand apart from one another, while those that mutually overcome sit close together and are hard to shift. When the Five Phases thus wear each other down through mutual overcoming, what is to be done?

Zhong answered: To return the Five Phases to their root, one relies on a single qi to connect and lead them. When primordial yang (yuan yang, innate yang) rises, true water is produced; true water, further transformed, produces true qi; true qi, further transformed, gives birth to yang spirit (the pure yang spirit perfected in cultivation). At first the Five Phases each take their place, and so there is a pair that mates like husband and wife. The kidneys belong to water, and within water gold is concealed; gold by nature can generate water—in taking up practice one must first recognize this “gold within water” (the primordial essence hidden in kidney water). Water by nature loathes earth, yet after gathering the medicine (timely gathering of inner essence), earth must be made to return into water. The dragon is the emblem of the liver; the tiger is the subtle power of the lung; the yang dragon issues from the Ligon palace (the heart, seat of fire); the yin tiger is born at the Kan position (the kidneys, seat of water). When the Five Phases run in their usual order, qi passes between mutually generating mother and child—from zi (north, the water position) to wu (south, the fire position) is called “yang begetting yang within yang”; when the Five Phases run in reversed order, the fluid couples like husband and wife—from wu to zi is called “refining yang within yin.” Yang without yin cannot be fulfilled, yet in the end, without yin qi to drag one down, one does not die; yin without yang cannot be brought forth, yet in the end, when yin qi is exhausted, life can be long.

Zhongli Quan (Patriarch Zhong, master of Lu Dongbin) said: What is called “the one qi” refers to the moment when one’s parents united in the past: from jing and blood the human form was fashioned. The kidneys generate the spleen, the spleen the liver, the liver the lungs, the lungs the heart, the heart the small intestine, the small intestine the large intestine, the large intestine the gallbladder, the gallbladder the stomach, and the stomach the bladder. This is the yin side, the physical body completed through jing and blood; yang exists only at the place where life first begins to stir—that bit of yuan yang (the innate yang that is present from the beginning) lies within the two kidneys. The kidneys belong to water; within water there is fire, and when it rises it becomes qi. Because qi rises, it turns toward the heart. The heart belongs to yang; yang meeting yang, the Taiji (the root of yin-yang transformation) gives birth to yin—that is, qi gathering and becoming fluid. The fluid descends from the heart and returns to the kidneys. The liver is the mother of the heart and child of the kidneys, transmitting kidney qi to the heart; the lungs are the spouse of the heart and mother of the kidneys, transmitting heart fluid to the kidneys. Qi and fluid rise and fall in turn, like the yin and yang of heaven and earth; liver and lungs transmit back and forth, like the sun and moon in their cycles. Each of the Five Phases has its fixed number. Speaking of their union and generation, all take this single qi of yuan yang as the root: from qi comes fluid, and from fluid comes qi again. The kidneys are the root of qi; the heart is the source of fluid. When the linggen (the root of life and cultivation) is firm, in that dim, indistinct state true water arises on its own within qi; when the heart’s source is pure, in that deep, silent state true fire is present on its own within fluid. One must discern the true dragon in the fire and recognize the true tiger in the water (in neidan, dragon and tiger stand for the true qi within fire and water). When dragon and tiger meet, they become huangya (Yellow Sprout); when huangya joins and congeals, it becomes the great medicine—this is what is called the Golden Elixir. When the Golden Elixir is complete, one is called an immortal.

Lu Dongbin (Patriarch Lu) said: When the Golden Elixir is finished, one sheds the ordinary body, ascends as an immortal, and returns to the Ten Isles (legendary abodes of immortals)—that principle can certainly be understood. But what is meant by “huangya”?

Zhongli Quan said: It is precisely that true dragon and true tiger.

Lu Zu (Lü Dongbin) asked: What do “dragon” and “tiger” refer to?

Zhong Zu (Zhongli Quan) answered: The dragon is not the liver; it is the yang dragon, which arises from the true water within the Palace of Li (Ligong). Li is one of the eight trigrams and corresponds to the heart—outwardly yang yet holding yin within—hence true water resides there. The tiger is not the lungs; it is the yin tiger, which arises from the true fire in the position of Kan (Kanwei). Kan is likewise one of the eight trigrams and corresponds to the kidneys—outwardly yin yet holding yang within—hence true fire resides there.

On Water and Fire, Section Seven

Lu Zu said: People can attain long life because they refine the Golden Elixir—the essence, qi, and spirit cultivated within. To refine the Golden Elixir, one must first gather the Yellow Sprout (Huangya), the first stirrings of life in alchemical practice; to obtain the Yellow Sprout, one must have dragon and tiger. The true dragon emerges from the Palace of Li, and the true tiger is born in the position of Kan; within Li and Kan lie water and fire. What are this water and fire?

Zhong Zu said: Whatever in the body is called “water” includes the Four Seas, Five Lakes, Nine Rivers, Three Isles, Hua Pool, Jade Pool, Phoenix Pool, Heavenly Pool, Jade Spring Pool, Kun Pool, Primordial Deep, Lang Garden, divine water, golden waves, jade fluid, jade spring, yang cream, white snow, and countless other names—all ways of speaking of the various yin fluids within the body. Whatever is called “fire” amounts to only three kinds: sovereign fire (junhuo), minister fire (chenhuo), and common fire (minhuo). The three fires take primordial yang (yuanyang)—that speck of prenatal yang—as their root, and from it true qi (zhenqi) is generated. When true qi gathers, one is well; when true qi is weak, one falls ill. If one dissipates true qi and loses primordial yang, and primordial yang is exhausted so that only pure yin remains, the primordial spirit (yuan shen) leaves the body—and that is called death.

Lu Zu said: The human body relies on this single point of primordial yang to rouse the three fires, yet the three fires in turn arise amid the multitude of waters and yin substances, where they are easily drained and hard to strengthen. Thus yang grows weak, yin flourishes, fire is scant and water abundant, and a person declines swiftly and cannot attain long life. What is to be done?

Patriarch Zhongli said: The heart is the Sea of Blood, the kidneys are the Sea of Qi, the brain is the Sea of Marrow, and the spleen and stomach are the Sea of Grain and Water—this is what is meant by the “Four Seas.” Each of the five viscera has its own fluid and corresponds to the five directions of east, west, south, north, and center—this is what is meant by the “Five Lakes.” The small intestine is said to be twenty-four feet long with nine bends from top to bottom, hence the name “Nine Rivers”; below the small intestine lies what is called the “Primordial Deep Pool.”

The crown of the head is the “Upper Isle,” the heart the “Middle Isle,” and the kidneys the “Lower Isle”—within these three isles lies what is called “Lang Garden,” the paradise-like realm within the body. “Splendid Pool” lies below the Yellow Court (the middle Dantian and the region of spleen-earth); “Jade Pool” emerges before the Cinnabar Gate; “Kun Pool” connects upward to “Jade Capital” at the crown (Mud Palace); “Heaven Pool” faces the inner courtyard; “Phoenix Pool” lies between heart and lungs; and “Jade Pool” is within the lips and teeth. Spirit-water arises from Qi; golden waves descend from above. Where the Red Dragon (often symbolized by the tongue) dwells, “Jade Dew” and “Jade Spring” appear of themselves. Only after the ordinary body has been replaced does one see “White Snow” and “Yang Cream.” Nourishment must match the right moment, to moisten excessive inner heat: first “Jade Liquid,” then “Golden Liquid”—both can be used to restore the elixir. Adding and withdrawing must follow measure, in coordination with “bathing”: first the middle field, then the lower field—both can be used to refine the form.

Jade stamens and golden flowers transform into yellow-white substance; clarified butter and sweet dew are refined into wondrous fragrance—all these are effects of “water.” As for the ordinary fire (post-heaven mundane fire) rising, it can help the kidneys produce true water; when kidney fire rises and meets heart fluid, true Qi is produced. In small measure it subdues the mind-demons and removes illness; in great measure it refines the constitution and smelts the Golden Elixir. When one circulates the celestial circuit, fire rises and burns through the whole body; when one holds back at Yang Pass, one can return to the original source and refine the medicine. Discerning the lay of the nine provinces nourishes the Yang spirit; burning away the entanglements of the Three Corpses removes yin ghosts. Moving upward, one breaks through the three passes in a single surge; moving downward, one wears down the seven po. Refining form into Qi enables the body to become light and ascend; refining Qi into Shen enables one to shed the husk like a cicada—these are effects of “fire.”

Lü Dongbin said: When I first heard your instruction, I worried that fire was too little and water too much, so decline would come easily; after hearing your deeper teaching, I understood that fire and water can work in just this way. How, in practice, does creation and transformation proceed so that the lesser overcomes the greater and the weak becomes strong?

Zhongli Quan said: When yin at “two-eight” is spent and yang at “nine-three” increases—in internal alchemy, yin is gradually reduced to its full measure while yang gradually grows—the brilliant red Golden Elixir will soon be formed; after further cycles of “seven return and nine restore” (bringing essence, qi, and spirit back to their source through the firing phases), the Embryo Immortal (the sacred embryo produced by inner refinement) arises of itself. True qi abides in the heart, and the heart is the source of the fluid; primordial yang abides in the kidney, and the kidney is the sea of qi. The bladder is the “subject fire” (the fire of the lower burner, as opposed to the “sovereign fire” in the heart); unless the subject fire is held in check it cannot do its work, and the bladder is also where the fluid is stored. Without penetrating the workings of Heaven and fathoming the subtle principle, those who devote themselves to the Way can hardly complete creation and transformation, and will not escape illness and death.

Lü Dongbin said: You speak of creation and transformation—yang growing and yin diminishing, the Golden Elixir refined to completion, the Embryo Immortal arising of itself—what does this actually mean?

Patriarch Zhongli Quan said: The human heart and kidneys are separated by eight cun and four fen—as heaven and earth each hold their place. Qi and fluid transform into one another according to the principle of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), like Yin and Yang joining in union. The twelve double-hours of a day correspond to the twelve months of a year.

The fluid in the heart is not produced by the heart alone. Lung fluid descends and sets heart fluid in motion. Fluid moves like husband and wife following each other, flowing from above down to the lower field—the lower Dantian (energy center). This is called “the wife returning to the husband’s palace.” The Qi in the kidneys is not produced by the kidneys alone either. Bladder Qi rises and carries kidney Qi upward. Qi moves like mother and child passing the breath to one another, rising from below toward the middle origin—the middle Dantian. This is called “the husband returning to the wife’s chamber.”

Liver Qi guides kidney Qi upward until it reaches the heart. The heart belongs to Fire. When kidney Qi meets heart fire, they steam and fuse in the lungs, and lung fluid descends—fluid that comes from the heart. Though this fluid arises in the heart, it is not dissipated; therefore it is called “true water.” Lung fluid sends heart fluid from above down to the kidneys. The kidneys belong to Water. When the two waters meet, they soak the bladder, and bladder Qi rises accordingly—Qi that springs from the kidneys. Though this Qi arises in the kidneys, it is not worn away; therefore it is called “true fire.”

True fire is born from within water—dim and indistinct, as if something were there, yet you cannot see it when you look, nor grasp it when you reach. True water is born from within fire—deep and silent, holding essence within, yet when you see it you cannot keep it, and if you keep it it cannot long remain.

The Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) said: The kidney belongs to Water; the qi that arises within water is called true fire. What is the thing within fire? The heart belongs to Fire; the liquid that arises within fire is called true water. What, then, is the essence within water? The thing in fire and the essence in water have no form that can be grasped—even if you seek them they are hard to obtain, and even if you somehow grasp them, of what use would they be?

Zhongli Quan (Patriarch Zhong) said: When the sages of antiquity attained the Dao, none departed from the union of these two substances, which produce huangya (the yellow sprout—the first tender “herb” of the inner elixir); when the allotted time is full and the embryonic form complete, it is refined into the great medicine (the inner elixir). This is the true dragon and the true tiger.

Discourse on the Dragon and Tiger, Eight

Lü said: The dragon is originally the image of the liver, and the tiger is the spirit of the lungs. Yet liquid is born from heart-fire, and that liquid is true water; within the water, dark and hidden, lies the true dragon. The dragon is not in the liver, yet it comes from the Ligong (Heart Palace—the heart as the Li trigram). Why is this? Qi is born from kidney-water, and that qi is true fire; within the fire, vague and indistinct, lies the true tiger. The tiger is not in the lungs, yet it arises at the Kan position (the kidney as the Kan trigram). Why is this?

Zhongli said: The dragon is a yang entity; it soars in heaven, and when it cries long its clouds rise; given moisture it can nourish the ten thousand things—hence it is imaged as the azure dragon (qinglong). Then what is the Kan position?

Zhong Zu (Zhongli Quan) said: The dragon is a yang entity. It soars in heaven; when it cries long it stirs up clouds and mist, and with rain and dew it nourishes the myriad things. In images it is the Azure Dragon; in direction it belongs to jia and yi (east); among things it is wood; in season it is spring; in virtue it is benevolence (ren); in the hexagrams it is Zhen; in the five viscera of the human body it corresponds to the liver.

The tiger is a yin entity. It runs on the earth; when it roars long it gives rise to wind, and relying on mountain terrain it can awe all kinds of insects and beasts. In images it is the White Tiger; in direction it belongs to geng and xin (west); among things it is metal; in season it is autumn; in virtue it is righteousness (yi); in the hexagrams it is Dui; in the five viscera it corresponds to the lungs.

The liver belongs to yang yet sits in a yin position, so kidney qi is transmitted as liver qi, following the mother-begets-child sequence from water generating wood. Only when kidney qi is full does liver qi arise; once liver qi has arisen, it clears the yin still lingering in the kidneys and lets pure yang qi ascend. The lungs belong to yin yet sit in a yang position, so heart fluid is transmitted as lung fluid, following the husband-wife pairing relation from fire overcoming metal. Only when heart fluid arrives does lung fluid arise; once lung fluid has arisen, it clears the yang still lingering in the heart and lets pure yin fluid descend.

Since the liver is yang and can fully remove the kidney’s remaining yin, when qi passes through the liver it becomes pure yang. Within this pure yang qi is hidden the true-one water (in inner alchemy, the true water said to be concealed within qi)—elusive and without form or trace—called the “Yang Dragon.” Since the lungs are yin and can fully remove the heart’s remaining yang, when fluid reaches the lungs it becomes pure yin. Within this pure yin fluid rides the upright yang qi—deep and unseen—called the “Yin Tiger.”

Qi ascends and fluid descends; by nature they cannot meet. Yet the true-one water within qi, once it sees fluid, joins with it; the upright yang qi within fluid, once it sees qi, gathers on its own. If, while qi and fluid are circulating, one uses method and measure to regulate them—so that kidney qi is not lost and true-one water is gathered from qi; so that heart fluid is not wasted and upright yang qi is taken from fluid—then water and wood, mother and child, meet and cling to each other. What is gained each day is only the size of a millet grain; if for a hundred days there is no error, the medicinal power is complete; in two hundred days the sacred womb (the membrane in which the sacred embryo forms) is firm; in three hundred days the embryonic immortal (the immortal embryo formed by inner elixir) is complete. Its shape is like a pellet, its color like a red tangerine; it is called the “elixir pill.” It forever guards the lower field (the lower dantian), enabling one to preserve the body, remain in the world, and endure through great kalpas with long life. This is the terrestrial immortal.

Lü Dongbin said: Kidney water can give rise to qi, and within that qi is contained the water of the True One (Zhenyi)—this is called the Yin Tiger (the true water within kidney qi). When the tiger meets the fluid, they unite. Heart fire can give rise to fluid, and within that fluid is contained the qi of True Yang (Zhenyang)—this is called the Yang Dragon (the true yang within heart fluid). When the dragon meets qi, they unite. Like gathers with like and unlike separates—such is the inherent principle. When qi arises, fluid also descends; the true-one water within qi all follows the fluid down into the five viscera. When fluid arises, qi also ascends; the true-yang qi within fluid all rises with the qi up through the Chonglou (the airway at the throat). True water follows the fluid downward, so the tiger cannot unite with the dragon; true yang follows qi upward, so the dragon cannot unite with the tiger. If dragon and tiger do not unite, whence comes the Yellow Sprout (the medicinal sprout formed at their first union)? Without the Yellow Sprout, whence comes the Great Medicine (the inner elixir drug refined further)?

Zhongli Quan said: Once kidney qi arises, it is like the sun rising from the sea—mist and dew cannot block its light. Fluid flowing downward is only like a thin curtain—how can it resist this qi? When qi is strong, the true-one water naturally flourishes. Once heart fluid arises, it is like severe cold that kills all things—the warm breath from the mouth cannot match that chill. Qi rising upward is only like a green canopy—how can it resist this fluid? Though the fluid may be abundant, the true yang within it may be strong or weak, and that cannot be fixed with certainty.

Lü Dongbin said: The arising of qi and fluid each has its proper time. When the time of qi arises, qi is strong and the true-one water is naturally strong; when the time of fluid arises, fluid is strong and the true yang qi is strong. Yet increase and decrease still cannot be assured—why is that?

Zhongli Quan said: Kidney qi is easily depleted; what is hard to retain is the true Tiger (the true yang within the kidneys). Heart fluid is hard to accumulate; what is easily lost is the true Dragon (the true yin within the heart). Among the myriad volumes of elixir scriptures, discussion never goes beyond Yin-Yang; in the two matters of yin and yang, the essence is nothing other than the Dragon and Tiger. Among those who follow the Way, perhaps only one or two in ten thousand truly grasp this. Some have wide learning and know the principle of Dragon and Tiger, yet do not recognize the moment of their union, nor know the method of gathering and refining. That is why accomplished seekers through the ages have cultivated until their hair turned white and achieved only minor attainment; generation after generation they have sought longevity but one hears nothing of transcendence—because they could not make Dragon and Tiger unite within the body and gather the Yellow Sprout (the primordial qi from the first union of yin and yang) to form elixir medicine.

Chapter Nine: On Elixir Medicine

Lü Dongbin said: Now that the principle of Dragon and Tiger is clear, can you tell me about the so-called Golden Elixir great medicine (the supreme elixir refined within)?

Patriarch Zhongli said: What is meant by “medicine” is that which can be used to treat illness. Illness falls broadly into three grades.

The first grade is called seasonal illness (shibing). When one sleeps facing the wind, lies in damp places, suffers summer heat or winter cold, lets work and rest go unchecked, eats without regular hunger and fullness, and keeps irregular hours so the body feels unwell, this is called “affliction” (huan)—a passing, timely sickness.

The second grade is called age-related illness (nianbing). When one refuses to cultivate, indulges lust and wandering thoughts, loses Yuanyang (the body’s root Yang), and drains Zhenqi (pre-heaven true vital energy), until one is advanced in years and haggard in appearance, this is called “old age” (lao)—sickness that comes with the years.

The third grade is called bodily illness in the sense of death (shenbing as mortality). When Qi is exhausted and the body is empty, hun and po disperse and spirit scatters, one sighs deeply, and the Four Elements (earth, water, fire, and wind—the constituents of the body) no longer hold sway; the corpse lies in the wild—this is called “death” (si), death as the ultimate sickness laid upon the body.

Seasonal illness shifts with spring, summer, autumn, and winter through cold, heat, warmth, and coolness. Where Yang is excessive and Yin insufficient, cooling methods apply; where Yin is excessive and Yang insufficient, warming methods apply. The aged tend toward cold; the young tend toward heat. The stout often have much phlegm; the thin often have much stagnation. Men’s illnesses often arise from Qi; women’s illnesses often root in blood. In treatment one supplements what is lacking and drains what is excess, protects the weak and reduces what overflows. Mild cases may use acupuncture; severe cases need medicinals. Though there is discomfort from irregular living, as long as it is seasonal illness, a clear-sighted skilled physician who matches the disease and gives the right medicine can cure it.

But how does one treat age-related illness, and how treat the sickness of death? Intestinal washing and flesh-replenishing were counted among the feats of ancient master physicians—yet no one has made a wrinkled face and white hair return to a child’s countenance. Head replacement and limb restoration were likewise regarded as ancient master physicians’ arts—yet no one has kept the bodily form and remained in the world to attain longevity.

Patriarch Lü said: Irregular living and illness born of the seasons—skilled doctors and famous medicines can indeed treat those. But when Qi and blood are wasted in the debility of old age, and in the agony of exhausted Qi and ended life—how are those to be treated? Is there medicine for them as well?

Patriarch Zhongli Quan said: Illness falls broadly into three grades. Acute seasonal ailments are treated with plant-and-mineral medicines and heal on their own. As for bodily illness and the ailments that come with age, there are two kinds of remedy: first, Neidan (internal alchemy)—cultivating Jing, Qi, and Shen within the body until an elixir forms; second, Waidan (external alchemy)—an elixir refined from minerals and metals in imitation of inner cultivation.

Patriarch Lü asked: What is Waidan?

Zhongli Quan said: In antiquity the Supreme Lord Yuanjun (the high immortal who, in tradition, brought the Way of the elixir to the human realm) taught in the world, explaining how Heaven and Earth rise and fall and how the sun and moon move in their seasons. From then on, elixir scriptures spread everywhere, and people could hear the Great Dao. Guangchengzi (the ancient immortal said to dwell on Mount Kongtong) passed this method to the Yellow Emperor. In his spare time from governing, the Yellow Emperor practiced accordingly, yet for a long time saw no result. Guangchengzi then pointed out: Between heart and kidney there is true Qi and true water; between that Qi and water there are again true Yin and true Yang. When these are matched as the great medicine, it is like a supreme treasure hidden within stone and metal. So on Mount Kongtong he took the principles of inner cultivation as the rule and refined the great elixir. Among the eight stones he used only cinnabar, drawing mercury from the cinnabar; among the five metals he used only black lead, drawing silver from the lead. Mercury stands for the Yang dragon, silver for the Yin tiger; heart-fire is red as cinnabar, kidney-water black as lead. A year’s fire phases follow the seasons, never straying from the tally of Qian and Kun (the numbers of Heaven and Earth from the Yijing, used to schedule the firing); a month’s firing has withdrawal and addition, naturally dividing gentle fire and vigorous fire. A three-tier furnace was built, each tier nine inches high, square outside and round inside, to take in the Qi of the eight directions and match the nodes of the four seasons. The golden cauldron held lead and mercury, just as lung fluid is stored within; sulfur as medicine, blended with ling sha (cinnabar prepared from sulfur and mercury), was like Huang Po (the harmonizing go-between of Yin and Yang in Neidan, often identified with intent or “earth”). After three years, small accomplishment: taking it wards off myriad diseases. After six years, middle accomplishment: taking it prolongs life. After nine years, great accomplishment: taking it one can rise and travel at will, extending an arm a thousand or ten thousand li. Though one might not yet return to Penglai (the legendary isle of immortals), one could pass through world catastrophes in the human realm and not die.

Patriarch Lü said: From antiquity to the present, many people have engaged in elixir refinement, yet very few have seen genuine results. Why is that?

Patriarch Zhong replied: Failure in elixir refinement falls into three kinds. First, one cannot tell true ingredients from false ones and does not grasp how to advance and withdraw the firing (huohou)—the increase, decrease, and timing of heat—so the most precious substances are wasted at once in smoke, burned to ash; time passes in vain and nothing is achieved in the end. Second, the ingredients may be good but one does not understand firing, or one understands firing but lacks the ingredients; when the two cannot work together, refinement still cannot succeed. Third, the ingredients are excellent and the firing is right, with years, months, and days aligned without slip, fixed measures for adding and subtracting and fixed times for advancing and withdrawing, until the medicinal qi is full and the elixir is complete—yet outward cultivation and the preparations for taking it are not yet finished. Then the elixir turns into a dark crane (xuanhe—the elixir taking form and flying away) and rises into the sky, and the person has no karmic tie to ingest it; success is lost all the same.

Moreover, ingredients are solid things formed from the refined qi (xiuqi) of heaven and earth, while firing is the method by which immortals cultivate and realize the Dao. In the age of the Three Sovereigns, the Yellow Emperor refined the elixir and succeeded only after nine transformations; after the Five Emperors, Hunyuan refined the elixir and needed three years to finish. By the Warring States period, killing qi filled the heavens and corpses covered the land; creatures could no longer receive heaven and earth’s refined qi, and ingredients grew scarce in the world. Those who had gained the true method often died old in mountain valleys while fleeing turmoil. Elixir formulas and immortal techniques were sometimes recorded on bamboo and silk, but they rotted away with time and were no longer kept among human beings. If the mundane world truly held ingredients, the First Emperor of Qin would not have had to seek elixirs on distant isles; if it truly held formulas, Wei Boyang would not have had to weave the Zhouyi into his exposition of the elixir path. Some people, broad in what they have seen and strong in memory, have all the more misled later generations, so that countless households ruined their fortunes yet not one succeeded in refinement. To seek only on the outside is mistaken in the same way.

Lü Zu said: The principles of external alchemy (waidan) trace back to Guangchengzi and were modeled on internal cultivation. Even when successful, they require nine years to complete. Moreover, medicinal ingredients are hard to find and formulas hard to obtain; in the end one can only lighten the body and ascend—one cannot transcend the mundane, become a sage, or return to the Ten Isles (the legendary immortal realms). May I hear the teaching on internal medicine (neidan)?

Zhong Zu said: External medicine is not unusable. When someone awakens to the Way only in old age, the foundation is no longer firm. The kidneys are the root of qi (vital energy); if the root is not deep, the branches and leaves cannot flourish. The heart is the source of the fluids; if the source is not clear, the flow cannot run far. At such a time one must rely on the “five metals and eight stones” (the metals and ores used in external alchemy), accumulating day by day, refining them into three grades with three sub-grades each—the so-called “Nine-Rank Dragon-Tiger Great Elixir”—to supplement and sustain true qi and nurture the physical form, so one may long remain in the world and rise lightly like flight. If one cultivates the inner work, recognizes the moment of union, and understands the method of gathering, then once the embryonic immortal (the sacred embryo of inner refinement) is achieved, liberation is close at hand. Some fail to grasp this and cling only to external elixir, constantly adding fire and extending the days; after taking it they expect to ascend to heaven—a thing truly laughable. They do not investigate the origin of external medicine at all. I will now explain the principles of internal alchemy (neidan) in detail.

The ingredients of internal elixir come from the heart and kidneys; everyone has them. They are originally within heaven and earth, and can be seen in the heaven and earth of the present moment. The timing of the fire phases follows the cycling measure of the sun and moon; the coordination of practice emulates the proper season of conjugal union. When the sacred embryo is complete, true qi arises; within qi there is further qi, like a dragon nurturing a pearl. When the great medicine is complete, the Yang spirit (shen cultivated in practice) appears; outside the body there is yet another body, like a cicada shedding its old shell. This internal medicine begins with the dragon and tiger interacting to produce the yellow sprout (the first formation of the inner elixir); when the yellow sprout is formed, lead and mercury are then differentiated.

This section is titled “On Lead and Mercury, Chapter Ten”—the tenth chapter devoted specifically to lead and mercury.

Lu Chunyang said: Inner medicine is nothing other than the dragon and the tiger. The tiger born in the Kan palace (Kan is water; in inner alchemy this usually means the kidneys) is the water within qi; the dragon that emerges from the Li palace (Li is fire; in inner alchemy this usually means the heart) is the qi within water. External medicine takes mercury from cinnabar, likened to the yang dragon, and uses silver from lead, likened to the yin tiger. Yet lead and mercury belong to external medicine—why is it that when dragon and tiger unite they become yellow sprout (the elixir first formed when the two join), and once yellow sprout appears, lead and mercury are distinguished again? In inner medicine, what do lead and mercury actually refer to?

Zhongli Quan said: What holds the quality of Tianyi (heavenly water) and stands first among the five metals is black lead. Lead can generate silver; lead is the mother of silver. As for what receives the qi of the sun and stands first among the myriad stones—what are lead and mercury in that case?

Zhongli Quan said: That which carries the nature of Tianyi (Heaven-One, water of heaven) and stands first among the five metals is black lead. Lead can produce silver; lead is the mother of silver. That which receives the yang of the sun and stands first among all minerals is cinnabar. Cinnabar can produce mercury; mercury is the son of cinnabar. What is hard to obtain is the silver within lead; what is easily lost is the mercury within cinnabar. When silver and mercury can unite and are calcined and refined, they naturally become a supreme treasure. Such is how the lead–mercury principle appears in outer substances.

Turning to the inner body, explanations have differed through the ages. Here the profound meaning is taken as follows. Life begins when the parents unite: essence and blood join, enfolding true qi; the body lodges in the womb—that purely yin palace—while spirit is hidden in the moment before yin and yang have separated. In three hundred days the fetus is complete; in five thousand days the qi mechanism is full.

In the Five Phases, the person is originally formed from essence and blood; what comes first is Water. In the five viscera, essence and blood shape the body; what is generated first is the kidney. Within kidney water, from the first moment of conception, the parents’ true qi lies hidden; this true qi is concealed in the inner kidney—this is what is meant by “lead.” The kidney governs qi; within qi is the water of the True One, called the true tiger—this is what is meant by “silver within lead.” Kidney qi passes to liver qi, and liver qi passes to heart qi. When heart qi reaches its peak it produces fluid, and within that fluid is upright yang qi. What is called “cinnabar” is heart fluid; what is called “mercury” is the upright yang qi in heart fluid. Qi and fluid gather to form an embryonic sac and are conveyed to the Huangting (the mid-body locus where the inner elixir forms its embryo). If firing (warming and nurturing according to the proper alchemical timing) is applied without mistake, the embryonic immortal will naturally take shape—just as silver within lead and mercury unite and, through calcination and refining, become a treasure.

The Lü Patriarch asked: In external alchemy, among the five metals (metal-based medicinals), one extracts silver from lead; among the eight minerals (stone-based medicinals), one refines mercury from cinnabar. These are placed in the crucible (the vessel for refining elixir), combined with other ingredients, and mercury naturally forms cinnabar while silver becomes the treasure. So within the human body, how does one “take silver from lead”? How does one “take mercury from cinnabar”? And how does mercury again become cinnabar, and silver again become the treasure?

The Zhong Patriarch answered: Lead is originally the true Qi bestowed by one’s parents, fused into one whole—pure and undivided. After the body is formed, it is stored in the kidneys. The two kidneys face each other; together they ascend as Qi, called the primordial Yang Qi. Within the Qi there is water, called the water of the True One. The water rises with the Qi: when Qi stops, water stops; when Qi disperses, water disperses—water and Qi are like mother and child and cannot be separated. Even for one skilled at observing, one only sees Qi, not water. When this water of the True One is united with the upright Yang Qi in the heart, it is called the dragon-tiger union (kidney water meeting heart fire); from this arises the yellow sprout (the first budding of the elixir), and the yellow sprout is further refined into the great medicine. The great medicine takes the water of the True One as its embryo, wrapping within it the upright Yang Qi—just as at first the parents’ true Qi formed the embryo in essence and blood; through three hundred days of transformation the fetal form was complete and Qi full, form present and spirit arrived, and only then did it separate from the mother’s body. Once form and spirit are united, from this form another form can be generated.

The person who cultivates the Dao makes kidney Qi and heart Qi intersect. Within the Qi is hidden the water of the True One, which also carries the upright Yang Qi; taking the union of Qi and true water as the embryo, its shape is like a grain of millet—it must be continuously warmed and nourished and must not be deficient. At first one borrows Yin to retain Yang; next one uses Yang to refine Yin. Thus Qi becomes essence, essence becomes mercury, mercury becomes cinnabar, and cinnabar becomes the Golden Elixir (the medicine perfected in inner cultivation). When the Golden Elixir is complete, true Qi arises naturally; refining Qi further into spirit, one can transcend—transforming into a fire dragon that flies out of the dark path, riding a dark crane to enter the immortal isles (Peng island and the like).

Lü Dongbin said: When physical forms unite, two forms joining produce form; when qi meets qi, two qis joining produce qi. This takes no more than three hundred days. Once the bodily form is fixed, men and women look different—so what color is one’s own dan elixir (the refined essence within, in neidan terms)?

Zhong Liquan said: When the parents’ forms unite, if the father’s essence arrives first and the mother’s blood comes later, blood wraps around essence and a female is formed. A woman is yang within and yin without, modeled on the mother, because blood is on the outside. If the mother’s blood arrives first and the father’s essence comes later, essence wraps around blood and a male is formed. A man is yin within and yang without, modeled on the father, because essence is on the outside. So-called blood arises from the heart and lacks true yang qi; so-called essence arises from the kidneys and carries true yang qi—it is the root of mercury, that is, the water of True One. After they unite and enter the Huangting (the central gathering place of refined essence in the body), lead broth is used to simmer and mercury water to decoct. Without mercury, lead cannot draw forth the water of True One; without lead, mercury cannot transform into pure yang qi. Lead and mercury are neidan (internal alchemy) terms for two kinds of refined essence in the body that complete each other—they do not mean literally putting substances in a pot to boil.

Lu Zu said: Lead resides in the kidneys and can give rise to primordial Yang Qi; within this Qi is contained the water of True Unity (Zhenyi zhi shui), which the eye cannot see. When lead obtains mercury, mercury inherently carries orthodox Yang Qi; using that orthodox Yang Qi to refine lead, the Qi produced by lead grows vigorous, thereby activating the water of True Unity so that it can ascend. Here, lead and mercury are metaphorical names in Neidan (internal alchemy), referring respectively to the yin foundation in the kidneys and to Yang Qi—they are not actual metals. Yet mercury is originally orthodox Yang Qi; it already takes the water of True Unity as its womb and is conveyed to the Huangting (the Dantian within the body). That is already the union of Dragon and Tiger and a balance of Yin-Yang. If one then “boils” it again with a lead decoction, would that not mean yin is excessive, so that true Yang is instead scattered and depleted? How then could one refine the great medicine or achieve generating Qi within Qi? Since this Qi already has the water of True Unity as its womb and has been brought to the Huangting, Dragon and Tiger have already met and Yin and Yang are already level, to keep boiling with a lead decoction can only make yin too strong and dissipate true Yang—again, how could one obtain the great medicine or bring forth Qi from within Qi?

Patriarch Zhongli Quan said: Send kidney qi into heart qi; when qi reaches its utmost limit it transforms into fluid. Within that fluid is upright yang qi, which pairs with the water of the True One—this is called “dragon-tiger copulation” (the joining of heart and kidney qi). What one gains each day is no larger than a grain of millet; it is named the “great medicine of the Golden Elixir.” It must be delivered safely into the Huangting (Yellow Court). The Huangting lies below the spleen and stomach and above the bladder—north of the heart and south of the kidneys, west of the liver and east of the lungs. Above is clear, below is turbid; outwardly it corresponds to the four directions in color. Its capacity is about two sheng; its passages connect with the fluids of the eight directions, and the medicine obtained dwells there day and night. If you only gather medicine and do not apply fire, the medicine will dissipate and cannot be retained. If you only apply fire and do not gather medicine, the yang within yin also cannot be kept—you merely stir kidney qi and warm the lower foundation. Gathering medicine has its fixed times; applying fire has its measured degrees. One must first borrow qi from within lead to apply fire, so the great medicine becomes firm and long guards the lower field (the lower dantian)—this is called the “method of gathering and supplementing.” Then refine mercury to supplement the dantian, and one may extend life and become an earthly immortal. When gathering medicine, if one uses primordial lead to draw and lift, and also performs “flying golden essence behind the elbow” (making true yang rise along the spine behind), once lead has been withdrawn, mercury must be added. Without adding mercury, it is only returning essence to nourish the brain; true qi cannot be generated and the yang spirit cannot be achieved. If mercury is to be added, lead must be withdrawn. Without withdrawing lead, it is only refining mercury to supplement the dantian—the material cannot become sand; without sand transforming, the Golden Elixir cannot be achieved.

On Withdrawing and Replenishing, Section Eleven

Patriarch Lü Dongbin said: Gathering medicine must rely on the water within qi; applying fire must borrow the qi within lead. In the end one withdraws lead to form the great medicine and adds mercury to supplement the dantian. What, then, is the principle of “withdrawing and replenishing”?

Patriarch Zhongli said: In ancient times, the supreme sages brought the Dao down into the human world. People of those remote ages were simple and honest in character, yet dull and unaware; they could not grasp the Great Dao directly. So the sages pointed to the law by which heaven and earth rise and fall: the qi of warmth, coolness, cold, and heat alternate in turn; each solar term has its fixed season; the year’s divisions are set and cycle round and round without straying from the Dao—therefore heaven and earth endure.

They also used the coming and going of the sun and moon’s essential brilliance as a likeness: the sun and moon advance and retreat at fixed hours—dawn, full moon, first and last quarter, and new moon (wang is the full moon, xian the quarters, shuo the first day of the month)—their appearing and vanishing never miss their mark. When a month’s count is complete, they move on without ceasing, never straying from the Dao—therefore sun and moon endure.

Alas, when cold departs and heat returns, and heat departs and cold returns, people still do not understand the principle of heaven and earth’s ascent and descent; when the moon waxes full then wanes, and wanes then waxes again, they still do not understand the principle of the sun and moon’s comings and goings. They indulge desires without end and wear away their limited span of light. Wealth and splendor, when reckoned up, are only adornments of a floating life—one long dream; love and care, worry and vexation, in the end become debts carried into the next life. While song has not yet ended, distress has already arrived; when fame and gain are at their height, the bloom of youth is already gone. Greedy for goods and riches, they think they can endure for ten thousand kalpas; doting on children and grandchildren, they hope to meet again in a future birth. Greed and delusion never stop; they fantasize about long life even as they scatter their primordial Yang (the root of innate yang qi in the person) and lose their true Qi. Only when grave illness binds the body is the day the heart finally rests; only when the great limit (the end of one’s allotted lifespan) arrives is the affair truly settled.

True immortals and supreme sages pity mortals revolving thus in the wheel of rebirth, sinking together in decline. They deeply wish that people would understand the Great Dao and endure like heaven and earth and like sun and moon. At first they explained in detail the principle of yin and yang rising and falling in heaven and earth; then they used the comings and goings of the sun and moon’s essential brilliance to instruct. Yet those people still could not penetrate the celestial secret or fathom the mystery within. So they compared internal medicine to external medicine (in internal alchemy, external medicine often means the “medicine” and firing times gathered according to heaven-and-earth seasons but not yet merged into the body; internal medicine means the elixir refined within), and spoke of the Great Dao through things free of lust and desire.

The scripture uses internal medicine to illustrate external medicine, employing insentient substances to explain sentient ones. Insentient refers to metals and minerals—the external medicine; sentient refers to qi and fluid (the body's qi and jingye)—the internal medicine. On the grand scale they are Heaven and Earth; made manifest they are the Sun and Moon; externally they are metals and minerals, internally they are qi and fluid. Once gathered, they must be added to; once added, they must be reduced. The principle of reduction and addition is precisely the root of creation and transformation (the generation and change of all things).

After the winter solstice, yang qi rises from beneath the earth, and the earth reduces its own yin: Greater Yin (Taiyin) is reduced and becomes Lesser Yin (Jueyin), Lesser Yang (Shaoyang) is increased and becomes Yang Brightness (Yangming), Jueyin is further reduced and becomes Lesser Yin (Shaoyin), and Yangming is further increased and becomes Greater Yang (Taiyang)—these are all designations marking the relative amounts of yin and yang. Without this process, there would be no transition from cold to warmth, nor from warmth to heat. After the summer solstice, yin qi descends from above, and Heaven reduces its own yang: Taiyang is reduced and becomes Yangming, Shaoyin is increased and becomes Jueyin, Yangming is further reduced and becomes Shaoyang, and Jueyin is further increased and becomes Taiyin. Without this process, there would be no transition from heat to coolness, nor from coolness to cold. Thus the ascent and descent of yin and yang in Heaven and Earth give rise to the six qi (the various climatic conditions formed by the interplay of yin and yang)—this is the efficacy of reduction and addition.

Consider also how the moon receives the sun's hun (the sun's yang essence), and the sun influences the moon's po (the moon's yin substance). In the first fifteen days, the moon reduces its own po, and the sun adds its hun; when the yin substance is fully reduced, light shines upon the earth. Without this, there would be no progression from the new crescent to first quarter, and from first quarter to full moon (yuewang). Thereafter the moon withdraws its yin po, and the sun withdraws its yang jing; in the latter fifteen days, the sun reduces its hun, and the moon completes its po; light fades, and the yin po becomes full. Without this, there would be no progression from full moon to last quarter, and from last quarter to darkness (hui, the moonless end of the month). Thus the essences of sun and moon cycle back and forth, transforming according to the numbers nine and six (nine being yang, six being yin)—this too is the efficacy of reduction and addition.

Since ancient times, true immortals and supreme sages have understood that what the human heart desires is freedom from illness and long life—therefore they refined the Golden Elixir (jindan) from metals and minerals; what people covet is gold and silver—therefore they refined supreme treasure from lead and mercury. The original intent was to enable people to grasp this principle: even insentient metals and minerals, provided the firing process (huohou—the intensity and timing of alchemical firing) is without error and reduction and addition follow fixed degrees, can still extend life and enhance longevity.

If one can work with this sentient body of one’s own, applying upright Yang Qi and the water of True One (what internal alchemy calls pre-heaven true fluid), knowing the moment when Yin and Yang unite, and understanding the method of gathering and refining—day after day accumulating until qi gives rise to qi again, and qi is further refined into Shen, and thereby attaining transcendence—how could that be counted among the rare achievements of past and present?

Once talk of external medicine (relative to inner cultivation, the drugs of external alchemy) arose, sages of past and present sometimes expounded the teaching so the world might hear it, yet people still failed to understand. They deceived themselves and misled others: extracting mercury from cinnabar, using mercury to “fix” lead, thinking lead could control mercury, then using mercury to transmute copper—heedless of their own lives, vainly grasping after wealth. They praised one another; in name they loved the Dao, in fact they loved profit; their minds were wholly set on huangbai (gold and silver), unaware that talk of lead and mercury was always a metaphor for what happens inside the body.

On the River Chariot, Section Twelve

Patriarch Lü said: What, after all, is the so-called River Chariot (in internal alchemy, a metaphor for essence and qi turning like a wheel within the body)?

Patriarch Zhongli Quan said: In former times there was a man of aspiration and wisdom who, seeing clouds veil the sun, thought one might borrow shadow to make a canopy; seeing fallen leaves float on water, thought one might load them to make a boat; seeing tumbleweed turn and spin with the wind, went home and modeled a cart on it. Again, as a vessel the cart’s canopy and crossbeams beneath the body symbolize Heaven and Earth; wheel and hub resemble sun and moon. Accomplished cultivators use the cart as a metaphor. The cart originally turns on land, yet it is now called the “River Chariot” (He Che)—in internal alchemy, the image for moving essence and qi—which is apt.

In the human body yang is little and yin is much; places that may be called “water” are many. “Cart” takes the sense of carrying and moving; “river” takes the image of yin abundant as water. Hence this River Chariot does not travel on land but runs in water. From top to bottom it may be behind the body or before it—often mapped to the Governing and Conception vessels—loaded within the Eight Jades (bagging the body’s precious fluids and essences), racing through the Four Seas (the body’s fluids and qi in motion). Ascending it enters Kunlun (the crown and upper Dantian region); when water and fire are joined and the cycle complete it descends toward the Phoenix Gate (a bodily pass). It carries innate yang (yuanyang) straight into the Palace of Li (the heart, belonging to fire); it bears true qi by winding paths back to the Longevity Storehouse (where life is nourished, often the lower Dantian). It passes through the Nine Regions (the whole body) without pause; it patrols the Three Fields (upper, middle, and lower Dantian) without rest.

Once dragon and tiger (the paired vital breaths, often paired with mercury and lead) unite, the Yellow Old Woman (Huangpo—the spleen-earth and focused intent that harmonizes) drives the cart into the Yellow Court (Huangting, the body’s center). As soon as lead and mercury (pre-heaven yang essence and yin essence) are distinguished, the Golden Youth (a messenger of the yang side) is entrusted to carry them into the Golden Gate (upper Dantian). Though the Jade Spring (body fluids) has a thousand branches, moving them takes barely half a day’s work; one pot of Golden Liquid (refined essence)—once moved, its effect shows in an instant. Without this cart the Five Phases (Wuxing) could hardly be generated; without this cart how could the One Qi meet and merge? Following the season in practice, one must rely on this cart to carry and move—only then does effort show; nurturing yang and refining yin to complete cultivation also requires this cart—otherwise one errs. Before Heaven and Earth are purified, yin and yang can still interchange—that is this cart’s merit; before blood and qi circulate fully, they can still connect—also this cart’s merit. From outside to inside it carries the pure qi of Heaven and Earth to draw in one’s own innate yang; from ordinary to sage it carries the true qi of yin and yang to replenish and refine the original spirit (yuanshen). Its functions cannot be written out to the end.

Lü the Ancestor asked: The River Chariot (He Che) has such wondrous uses—what is its principle? In the human body, what exactly counts as the River Chariot? Once one has obtained it, how is it applied?

Zhong the Ancestor said: The River Chariot arises from the true Water in the north. The genuine Qi stored in the kidneys, together with the upright Qi produced from that genuine Qi, is what is called the River Chariot. Its function has been little understood in past and present; it is what true immortals keep secret and do not lightly reveal.

For example, when Qian seeks again from Kun and Kan is born: Kan is originally water, and water is the essence of Yin. When Yang seeks from Yin, it carries Yin back to its proper place, passing through Gen, Zhen, and Xun. Using Yang to take Yin, borrowing Yin to take Yin, one transports it into Li, where it receives Yang Qi and comes alive. This is the River Chariot moving Yin into the Yang palace.

When Kun seeks again from Qian and Li is born: Li is originally fire, and fire is the essence of Yang. When Yin seeks from Yang, it instead embraces Yang and returns to its proper place, passing through Kun, Dui, and Qian. Using Yin to take Yang, borrowing Yang to take Yang, one transports it into Kan, where it receives Yin Qi and comes alive. This is the River Chariot moving Yang into the Yin palace.

Further, one gathers the medicine above the Nine Palaces; once obtained, one sends it down into the Huangting (Yellow Court). Below, at the Qujiang, one draws out lead; after transport, it rises to the inner courtyard. Jade Fluid and Golden Fluid are originally Huandan (returning elixir); once transported, they can refine the form, making water ascend. Sovereign Fire and Common Fire are originally for refining the form; once transported, they can fire the elixir, making fire descend. The five Qi pay homage at the Origin—each has its season for transport; the three flowers gather at the crown—each has its day for transport. When thoughts converge and demonic disturbances increase, one transports true fire to burn the body, and the Three Corpses (San Shi) have nowhere to hide. When the medicine is complete and the Yin sea is exhausted, one moves rosy nectar for bathing, and one can enter water without ripples. This is the role of the River Chariot.

Lu Dongbin (Patriarch Lü) said: The River Chariot is originally the upright qi of the north. In neidan (internal alchemy), the ceaseless circulation of true qi within the body along the meridians is likened to the River Chariot; the upright qi of the north refers to the primordial qi of the kidney-water phase. Its turning never ends; it carries yin and yang, each with its own accomplishment, and the methods used are not the same. I ask my venerable teacher to explain in detail.

Zhong Liquan (Patriarch Zhong) said: The Five Phases cycle, ending and beginning again, secretly matching the method of inverting yin and yang; dragon and tiger meet and form the yellow sprout (the first sprout of the elixir), and this is called the “Lesser River Chariot.” When golden essence rises from behind the elbows and returns to the Mud Ball (the upper dantian within the head), and one withdraws lead and adds mercury to refine the great medicine, this is called the “Greater River Chariot.” Dragon and tiger meeting becomes the yellow sprout; lead and mercury meeting refines the great medicine. Once true qi arises, the five qi turn toward the central dantian; when the yang spirit is refined, the three spirits ascend into the inner court. When the purple-gold elixir is complete, it is like paired mystic cranes in flight; when white jade mercury is achieved, it steadies like a fire dragon leaping up. Myriad golden rays envelop the ordinary body and make it shine; a single jade tree bursts into brilliant bloom. One may go out or in, coming and going at will; one may leave or return without obstruction. Bringing the spirit back into the body, one may for a time mix with the world; transforming into a sage body and leaving the vulgar, one becomes a feathered guest (immortal). This is called the “Purple River Chariot.”

These three River Chariots are divided into lower, middle, and upper tiers. The three tiers refer to layers of practice and effect—they are not an analogy to Buddhism’s three vehicles: goat cart, deer cart, and great ox cart.

In terms of the Way, after the River Chariot there are three further chariots: whenever one gathers fire and, driven by intention, applies it to treat illness, that is called the “Messenger Chariot”; whenever, after the water and fire have properly joined, one moves from above downward with yin and yang in right union and water and fire together, and in stillness hears the sound of thunder, that is called the “Thunder Chariot”; if the heart is enslaved by outer conditions and nature is pulled by desire, touching external things and dissipating true yang qi from within outward without knowing rest, until over time qi weakens and the body fails and one ages—or when the eight evils and five plagues invade in turn and true qi cannot hold, primordial yang cannot resist, and one grows old and sick and dies—that is called the “Broken Chariot.”

Master Lü said: Once the order of the Five Phases is reversed, dragon and tiger intercourse (dragon and tiger stand for yin and yang qi within the body), and the small water wheel (initial circulation of qi) is already in motion. The three fields turn back and forth; again gold essence rises behind the elbows, and the large water wheel is about to run. On what day will the purple water wheel run?

Master Zhong said: One who cultivates truth, having heard the great Dao and met a clear teacher, understands the principle of heaven and earth’s ascent and descent and the measure of sun and moon’s coming and going—first harmonizing yin and yang, then gathering and dispersing fire and water, then gathering the medicine and tending the fire, refining mercury and drawing lead (mercury and lead here mean inner refined essence and qi, not drugs taken from outside)—then the small water wheel should run. When the gold essence behind the elbows enters the crown, the great medicine in the Yellow Court is gradually refined; one breath bursts through the three passes (three barriers on the Governing Vessel), straight through into the inner court, rising from the back and settling in front, nourishing above and refining below—then the large water wheel should run. As for golden fluid and jade fluid, one must first return the elixir, then refine the form; after refining the form, refine qi; after qi, refine spirit; after spirit, merge with the Dao—only then is the Dao accomplished. From there one leaves the mundane and enters immortality—that is what is called the purple water wheel.

On Returning the Elixir, Thirteen

Master Lü said: Refining form into qi, qi into spirit, spirit merging with the Dao—all begin with returning the elixir. What is meant by “returning the elixir”?

Master Zhong said: The elixir is not a color—it cannot be obtained by red and yellow; nor is it a flavor—it cannot be compounded by sweet and bland blending. Elixir is the dantian (energy center). There are three dantians: the upper field is where spirit dwells; the middle field is the storehouse of qi; the lower field is the region of essence. From essence arises qi—qi is in the middle elixir; from qi arises spirit—spirit is in the upper elixir; true water and true qi unite to form essence—essence is in the lower elixir. All who hold the Dao have these three elixirs. Yet if qi only presides in the kidneys and has not yet ascended to pay court at the middle origin (middle dantian), and if spirit only hides in the heart and has not yet transcended into the upper court (upper dantian), refined essence cannot return and unite. Then even with three elixirs, in the end they are useless.

Lüzu said: Within mystery there is yet deeper mystery. Everyone is endowed with life. If there is no Jing in one's fate, then the Qi is not one's own but the primordial yang (yuan yang) passed from one's parents; without Jing there is no Qi, and then the Shen is not one's own but one's parents' primordial spirit (yuan shen). What we call Jing, Qi, and Shen are treasures in the three fields (the three Dantian where Jing, Qi, and Shen are stored in Neidan). How can one obtain them? They are originally present in the upper, middle, and lower palaces.

Zhongzu said: From the kidneys arises Qi, and within Qi is the water of the True One (zhenyi zhi shui)—pure primordial true water. When this water is returned to the lower Dantian, Jing nourishes the spirit root, and Qi arises naturally. From the heart arises fluid, and within fluid is the qi of true yang. When this qi is returned to the middle Dantian, Qi nourishes the spirit source, and Shen arises naturally. When spirit accumulates and becomes Shen, and Shen is united with the Dao, then it returns to the upper Dantian—only then can one transcend.

Lüzu said: The Dantian are divided into upper, middle, and lower. “Return” (huan) means what has gone away yet still has a place to come back to. The principle of returning the elixir (huandan) is profound and subtle; please explain it in detail.

Zhongzu said: There are the lesser returning elixir, the greater returning elixir, the sevenfold returning elixir, the nine-times-transmuted returning elixir, the golden-fluid returning elixir, and the jade-fluid returning elixir; there are also returning the lower elixir to the upper, the upper to the middle, the middle to the lower, the yang-returning-yin elixir, and the yin-returning-yang elixir. These differ not only in name; the timing also differs, and the methods of taking them up are not the same.

Lüzu said: What is meant by the lesser returning elixir?

Zhongli Quan (Patriarch Zhong) said: The Small Return Elixir (xiaohuan dan)—one full cycle of Qi and fluid within a day and night, returning again to the lower Dantian—originally arises from the lower origin (xiayuan). The lower origin is the master of the five viscera and the root of the three fields (Three Dantian: upper, middle, and lower). Water generates wood, wood generates fire, fire generates earth, earth generates metal, and metal again generates water. When the Five Phases (Wuxing) generate one another in this way, the hours must not be wrong: when the time to generate has come, one guides what has not yet sprouted, as when mother and child are close. Fire overcomes metal, metal overcomes wood, wood overcomes earth, earth overcomes water, and water again overcomes fire. When the Five Phases overcome one another in this way, the measure must not be lost: when the time to overcome has come, one nourishes what has not yet been overcome, as when husband and wife unite. Qi and fluid turn in this way, round after round. From the zi hour (midnight) to the wu hour (noon), Yin and Yang should rise and grow; from the mao hour (early morning) to the you hour (evening), Yin and Yang should rest and hold still. Within one day and one night, returning once more to the lower Dantian for a full circuit is called the Small Return Elixir. Those who follow the Way gather the medicine and advance the fire (caoyao jinhuo: gathering the medicinals and tending them according to the firing process) within this; that the lower elixir is refined comes precisely from this.

Lü Dongbin (Patriarch Lü) said: The Small Return Elixir is clear to me—what then is the Great Return Elixir (dahuan dan)?

Zhongli Quan said: When Dragon and Tiger (longhu: the two opposing streams of true Qi) meet and intertwine, the Yellow Sprout (huangya: the first sprout of the medicine) appears; lead and mercury (qian and gong) are drawn off, reduced, and replenished until the great medicine is formed. In the Dark Warrior Palace (xuanwu gong: the palace of the lower origin), the golden crystal (jijing: the crystalline brilliance of condensed essence and Qi) has just risen; below Jade Capital Mountain (yujing shan: the crown of the head), the true Qi has only begun to ascend. Send the River Chariot (heche: the pathway that carries Qi and fluid through the body) over the ridge, and pour jade fluid (yuye) into the central thoroughfare (zhongqu: the middle path within the body). From the lower field enter the upper field, then from the upper field return to the lower field. What rises from behind and what arrives from in front (along the back ascending, along the front descending)—when the circuit is complete, this is called the Great Return Elixir. Those who follow the Way stir Dragon and Tiger and fly the golden crystal within this; they nourish the embryonic immortal (taixian: the immortal embryo formed at elixir completion) and give birth to true Qi—the middle elixir is refined precisely from this.

Lü Dongbin said: The Great Return Elixir is clear to me—what are the sevenfold return elixir and the ninefold transmutation return elixir (jiuzhuan huandan)?

Zhongli Quan said: The numbers produced by the Five Phases total fifty-five—that is, heaven one earth two, heaven three earth four, heaven five earth six, heaven seven earth eight, heaven nine earth ten. One, three, five, seven, and nine are Yang numbers, totaling twenty-five; two—what then?

Patriarch Zhongli Quan said: The reckoning of the Five Phases from generation through completion totals fifty-five. Arranged in pairs, they read: Heaven one and Earth two, Heaven three and Earth four, Heaven five and Earth six, Heaven seven and Earth eight, Heaven nine and Earth ten. One, three, five, seven, and nine belong to yang, summing to twenty-five; two, four, six, eight, and ten belong to yin, summing to thirty.

Counting from the kidneys: Water one, Fire two, Wood three, Metal four, Earth five—these are the generation numbers of the Five Phases, of which three are yang and two are yin. Again counting from the kidneys: Water six, Fire seven, Wood eight, Metal nine, Earth ten—these are the completion numbers of the Five Phases, of which three are yin and two are yang.

The human body follows this same logic of Five-Phase generation: Water corresponds to the kidneys, which receive one and six; Fire to the heart, which receives two and seven; Wood to the liver, which receives three and eight; Metal to the lungs, which receives four and nine; Earth to the spleen, which receives five and ten.

Each viscus partakes of both yin and yang. When yin reaches eight it arrives at its extreme; when two is in full ascendancy, when qi moves to the liver the residual yin in the kidneys is cut off. When qi moves on to the heart, yin is generated from Taiji (the pivot where yin and yang transform), because two resides in the heart and eight in the liver. When yang reaches nine it is exhausted; when one is in full ascendancy, when the fluid moves to the lungs the residual yang in the heart is cut off. When the fluid moves on to the kidneys, yang is generated from Taiji, because one resides in the kidneys and nine in the lungs.

The person who cultivates the Way, at the outset first brings dragon and tiger into union (the meeting of true yin and true yang in Neidan [internal alchemy]) and gathers the upright yang qi of the heart. This upright yang qi is what the heart governs as “seven.” Seven returns to the middle field (the region of the middle Dantian [energy center]), then enters the lower field (the lower Dantian), nourishes the elixir embryo (the inner elixir formed in cultivation) to completion, and then returns again to the heart—this is called “sevenfold return to form the elixir.”

After the yin represented by two and eight has faded: true qi arises and yin no longer remains in the heart, because “two” has been severed; the great elixir is achieved and yin no longer remains in the liver, because “eight” has been severed. Once the yin of two and eight is gone, the yang of three and nine can grow. The liver supplements the heart with the yang it has severed, and the liver-qi that the liver governs as “three” flourishes. When seven has returned to the heart, lung fluid is cut off accordingly; what the lungs govern as “nine” turns to supplement the heart, and thus the yang of three and nine increases—this is “ninefold turning to restore the elixir.”

Lü Dongbin (Lü the Patriarch) said: “Seven returns” means drawing the yang qi within the heart back into the heart and settling it in the middle Dantian (the energy center at the chest). “Nine revolutions” means that the yang qi in the lungs, which originally arises from the heart, after cycling and turning still returns to the heart and is likewise settled in the middle Dantian. Once seven returns and nine revolutions are understood, what then is meant by the Golden Fluid and Jade Fluid—the two refined essences produced in internal alchemy—when the upper, middle, and lower regions interconnect and yin and yang move back and forth repeatedly to form the Reverted Elixir (huandan)?

Patriarch Zhong (Zhongli Quan) said: Sages and worthies of former ages often guided lung fluid into the lower Dantian (energy center in the lower abdomen), calling it Golden Fluid Returning Elixir (Jinye Huandan); they guided heart fluid into the lower Dantian, calling it Jade Fluid Returning Elixir (Yuyu Huandan). That teaching is not without subtlety, yet it does not fully disclose the inner mechanism. The lung generates the kidney—metal begets water in the Five Phases (Wuxing); when metal enters water, how can that be called “returning the elixir”? The kidney restrains the heart—water overcomes fire; when water enters fire, how again can that be called “returning the elixir”?

Golden Fluid is lung fluid. Lung fluid is like the fetal envelope: within it lie Dragon and Tiger (the Yin-Yang pair in Neidan), guarded and sent into Huangting (the Central Yellow Court around the middle Dantian). When the great medicine is nearly complete, it is drawn from behind the elbow so that lung fluid rises, enters the upper palace (upper Dantian), then descends again to the middle elixir field, and from there returns to the lower field—hence the name “Golden Fluid Returning Elixir.”

Jade Fluid is kidney fluid. Kidney fluid rises with primordial Qi (yuanqi), turns toward the heart, gathers and forms “golden water,” ascends and fills the Jade Pool (yuchi—the pooling of saliva in the mouth), spreads as Jade Flower (qionghua), and when refined becomes White Snow (baixue). If it is taken from the middle field into the lower field, after the medicine is complete one may bathe and warm-nourish the immortal fetus (the formed “embryo” of Neidan); if it rises from the middle field into the four limbs to refine the body, the mortal frame can be transformed. It neither rises exclusively nor is stored exclusively; cycling thus again and again, it is called “Jade Fluid Returning Elixir.”

When Yin reaches its extreme, Yang is born; within Yang is the water of the True One (zhenyi zhi shui), and as this water rises with Yang, it is the elixir of Yin returning to Yang. When Yang reaches its extreme, Yin is born; within Yin is the breath of true Yang (zhenyang zhi qi), and as this qi descends with Yin, it is the elixir of Yang returning to Yin. Supplementing the brain and refining the crown is return from below to above; Ji (Water over Fire) irrigation after union is return from above to the middle; firing the elixir and advancing the flame is return from the middle to below; refining substance and burning the body is return from below to the middle.

The positions of the Five Phases are inverted; the three fields (upper, middle, and lower Dantian) shuttle back and forth, exchanging roles, until one refines form into Qi and Qi into Shen (spirit): from the lower field one moves to the middle, from the middle to the upper, then from the upper out through the Heavenly Gate (tiānmén at the crown), leaving the mortal body and entering the ranks of sages and immortals. Only then is the work of the three relocations (san qian) complete; having already ascended and exited from below upward, there is no further sense of “return.”

On Refining the Form, Chapter Fourteen

The Patriarch Lü asked: The principle of returning the elixir is already clear—what is meant by “refining the form”? Could you explain it?

The Patriarch Zhong said: While a person lives, the body and Shen (spirit) are inner and outer to each other. Shen is the master of the body; the body is Shen’s dwelling. Within the body, Jing (essence) gives rise to Qi (vital energy), and Qi in turn gives rise to Shen; within the fluids, Qi arises, and within Qi fluids arise again—this is the body’s relationship of mother and child begetting one another. Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, Fire generates Earth, Earth generates Metal, and Metal generates Water again. Qi moves along this chain of mutual generation; fluids circulate as Yin and Yang partners, like husband and wife—this is Yin-Yang within the body. Water becomes fluid, fluid becomes blood, blood becomes moisture (jin)—Yin receiving Yang so it can live. When Yin and Yang are out of balance, nasal discharge, tears, saliva, and sweat flow unchecked, and Yin loses its vitality. Qi becomes Jing, Jing becomes “pearl,” pearl becomes “mercury,” mercury becomes “cinnabar”—phrases from inner refinement (Neidan) for how essence and Qi are gradually condensed and refined—Yang receiving Yin so it can be completed. When Yin and Yang are out of balance, illness, aging, death, and suffering follow in turn, and Yang cannot be formed. Without Yang, Yin cannot live; without Yin, Yang cannot be fulfilled.

Those who cultivate the Dao, if they only cultivate Yang and not Yin, only refine themselves and not the body, should know this: when a person first receives Qi, it is half each of the parents’ true Qi joining, essence and blood forming the embryo, lodged in the mother’s purely Yin womb. Within Yin, Yin begets Yin again; from form already present, form is made anew. When the fetus is complete and Qi is full, this whole six-foot frame is entirely Yin; what remains is only a bit of primordial Yang (innate Yang Qi). To seek long life without death, one must refine the form so the body stays in the world and endures through long ages. To seek to leave the ordinary and become a sage, one must refine the form and transform it into Qi, achieving the body outside the body.

Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) said: The physical form is the image of Yin; where Yin is present, there is a concrete body. To turn the formed into the formless and transform the body into Qi is to rise above the ordinary frame and enter the rank of the sage—this is the superior method of refining the form (cultivating the body until it becomes Qi). To hold Qi by means of the form, and then nourish the form with Qi: if the effect is modest, one enjoys peace and extended years; if the effect is great, one retains the form and abides in the world. Those already aged may return to youth; those not yet aged may keep a steady countenance and long life without decline. Three hundred and sixty years count as one year; thirty-six thousand years as one kalpa; thirty-six thousand kalpas as one great kalpa. Within such vast kalpas, time is beyond reckoning, yet a person may endure as long as Heaven and Earth—this is the verification of refining the form. Since the principle of refining the form and the hidden workings of creation can have such effects, may we hear more?

Patriarch Zhongli Quan said: The human body takes three hundred days in the womb to fully form. After birth, another five thousand days pass before the breath is fully sufficient. The body takes five feet five inches as its standard measure, corresponding to the number generated by the Five Phases. For bodies of different size, inches are used to convert to feet so that proportions remain correct.

Above the heart is called the Nine Heavens; below the kidneys is called the Nine Earths. From kidney to heart is eight inches and four tenths; from heart to the first tier of the Chonglou (the throat and windpipe, likened in Daoism to a tiered tower) is eight inches and four tenths; from the first tier of the Chonglou to the crown is again eight inches and four tenths. From kidney to crown totals two feet five inches and two tenths. In one day and night, primordial qi circulates and fills completely for three hundred twenty degrees; each degree is two feet five inches and two tenths, totaling eighty-one zhang of primordial qi, matching the pure yang number of nine times nine, eighty-one. The distance between heart and kidney fits the scale of heaven and earth suspended above and below; from kidney to crown at two feet five inches also matches the pure yang number fifty-five within the Five Phases.

Thus primordial qi goes outward with exhalation; once it goes out, nutritive qi and defensive qi both run through. The upright qi of heaven and earth follows the seasons, now joining, now parting, with length and shortness without end; it also enters with inhalation; once it enters, the meridians all open. One exhalation and one inhalation send the true qi of the three powers—heaven, earth, and humanity—through the twelve tiers of the Chonglou in one round trip; this round trip is called “one breath.” In one day and night, a person has thirteen thousand five hundred breaths in all. Broken down: the thirteen thousand five hundred exhalations are one’s own primordial qi leaving the body; the thirteen thousand five hundred inhalations are the upright qi of heaven and earth entering from outside.

If the root of life is firm and primordial qi is not wasted, one can take in the upright qi of heaven and earth between breaths, refining qi with qi until it fills the four great elements (earth, water, fire, and wind that compose the body). What is clear becomes nutritive qi; what is turbid becomes defensive qi; all circulate freely. What runs vertically are the channels; what runs horizontally are the collaterals; all are unobstructed. Cold and heat cannot harm; toil and worry need not burden. The body feels light, bones strong, breath clear, spirit bright; one can long preserve endless life and remain a person who does not age.

If the root is not firm, essence exhausted and qi weak, primordial qi above has already leaked and the fundamental palace below (the kidney as the root seat) has nothing to replenish it, then inhaled qi from heaven and earth pours out and is lost. Eighty-one zhang of primordial qi is depleted one by one according to the number nine times nine and cannot be kept for oneself; instead heaven and earth reclaim it—how then can one absorb the upright qi of heaven and earth? Over time, yin flourishes and yang declines, qi weakens and illness arises, qi ends and death comes, falling into the wheel of birth and death.

Lü asked: How can a person’s primordial Qi (the innate foundational qi received at birth) be kept from leaking away? Can one, by refining the physical form (cultivating the flesh body), seize the upright qi of Heaven and Earth and thereby last through cosmic calamities (vast world-ending cycles) and endure for a long time?

Zhong said: To win a battle, one depends on strong forces; to secure the people’s peace, if yin flourishes while yang wanes instead, qi weakens and illness follows; when qi is exhausted, one dies and falls into samsara (endless turning through birth and death).

Lü asked again: How can primordial qi be kept from being lost? Can refining the physical form seize the upright qi of Heaven and Earth so that one may long endure through great kalpas?

Zhong said: Victory lies in a strong army; the people’s peace lies in a rich state. Here “army” is primordial Qi. Used within the body, it dissolves yin substance in the corporeal form; used toward the outer world, it takes the qi of Heaven and Earth. Here “state” is one’s own body. The visible, tangible part of the body should be full and always in surplus; the invisible, intangible part should be firm and never deficient. It is like ten thousand gates always open, yet one need not fear that anything will slip away at a single point—but if one horse takes the wrong road, one must worry over every kind of error. Qi may move forward or back to refine the form and burn away yin substance; it may rise or descend to nourish yang and dispel yin. Firing heaven and earth has its fixed hours; refining qi and fluid cannot be without matching days and firing times. Refining the form with jade fluid (essence produced in inner practice, used to moisten the body) relies on the ascending of the “jia dragon” (the yang dragon that carries qi upward), and then white snow (the refined white essence) spreads over ordinary flesh; refining the form with golden fluid (the further-refined yang essence) follows the descent of the thunder chariot (the chariot of thunder that carries qi downward), and golden light fills the inner chamber.

Lü said: I have a general grasp of refining the form. What are golden fluid and jade fluid?

Zhong said: When the form is refined with golden fluid, the bones turn golden, the body emits golden light, and golden flowers appear on their own in the air. This is precisely the moment when the five qi return to the origin (wuxiang chaoyuan—the qi of the five viscera converge upon the original unity), the three yang gather at the crown (sanyang juzding—three yang lines mass at the top of the head), and one is about to transcend the ordinary body; the principle of the golden elixir (the great medicine formed within) is then broadly clear. What, then, are golden fluid and jade fluid?

Patriarch Zhongli said: Golden Elixir refinement of form is when the bones show a golden hue and the whole body radiates golden light, with flakes of golden flowers appearing spontaneously in the air. This is the vision of the five qi returning to the origin (wuzhi chaoyuan—the vital breath of the five viscera gathering back to the primordial source) and the three yang converging at the crown (sanyang juzding—the three yang forces gathering at the top of the head)—precisely the moment when one is about to transcend the mortal body and the golden elixir reaches completion. In Jade Liquid refinement of form, the skin takes on a warm, yang-infused softness, the body is like a jade tree bearing coral flowers and jade buds; the ordinary frame is transformed, radiant enough to ride the wind and soar at will—this is the stage when form is about to turn into qi. Those who follow the Way may know the method of returning the elixir, yet the work of refining form is no small matter.

When practicing Jade Liquid return of the elixir, one must cause the embryonic immortal (taixian—the innate true qi produced by inner cultivation) to rise upward, then use the river chariot (heche—the microcosmic circulation that carries refined qi) to convey it through the four great regions of the body. It enters the liver first; when the liver receives the qi, light fills the eyes until they are clear as lacquer. Next it enters the heart; a living spiritual fluid arises within the heart, white as snow. Next it enters the spleen; the skin becomes fine as congealed fat and scars vanish. Next it enters the lungs; the nose perceives heavenly fragrance and the face regains the look of youth. Next it enters the kidneys; the qi returns to its root palace and one constantly hears the sound of strings and pipes in the ears, with hair and temples never turning gray. This is Jade Liquid refinement of form.

Golden Elixir refinement of form works as follows: when the returned elixir has first formed but is not yet fully returned, it meets the sovereign fire (junhuo—heart fire) and this is called jiji (fire and water mutually completed—Yin and Yang in harmony). When the elixir has fully returned and rises again, it is tempered by true yin and this is called refining the substance. Earth by nature overcomes water; when golden elixir is within earth, it makes the Yellow Emperor (central spleen earth) turn its light back and unite with great yin. Fire by nature overcomes metal; when golden elixir is within fire, it makes the red child (innate true yang) refine together in the furnace, and purple qi arises naturally. Fire is kindled within water; yin is dissolved within yang, so the golden elixir transforms within the Yellow Court (huangting—the central dantian) and the yang spirit is refined amid the five qi: entering the liver, green qi surges upward; entering the lungs, white qi appears; entering the heart, red light shines forth; entering the kidneys, black qi rises; entering the spleen, yellow qi gathers. The five qi turn toward the central origin and, following the sovereign fire, ascend beyond the inner court. The lower origin is yang within yin; its yang no longer mingles with yin and rises to gather at the spirit palace. The middle origin is yang within yang; its yang knows neither birth nor death and likewise rises to gather at the spirit palace. When the great medicine of the Yellow Court has exhausted yin and become pure yang, it too rises to gather at the spirit palace. Then the five fluids descend toward the lower origin, the five qi turn toward the middle origin, and the three yang ascend toward the upper origin. When the return to origin is complete, the three thousand achievements are fulfilled—one may see a crane dancing above the crown or a dragon flying within the body, hear only clear immortal music, and see immortal flowers falling in profusion; the purple court seems to linger, and true fragrance grows thick. After merit is full, one is no longer a person of the dusty world; in the time it takes a stick of incense to burn, one has become a guest of Peng and Ying (Penglai and Yingzhou—the immortal isles)—this is transcending the mundane, shedding the mortal frame, and ascending as an immortal.

Lü Dongbin said: The principle of refining the form has already been made clear. What is meant by "chaoyuan" is becoming a guest of Penglai and Yingzhou—the legendary isles of immortals—transcending the mundane to enter the sage realm, shedding the physical body and ascending as an immortal.

Lü Dongbin asked: I already understand the principle of refining the form. Could you explain what is meant by "chaoyuan"?

Zhongli Quan said: When the great medicine is nearing completion, one performs the jade fluid huandan (returning elixir), bathes the fetal immortal (the immortal embryo formed through inner cultivation), and once true qi has been generated, causes the jade fluid to rise and transforms the bones of ordinary existence—this is called refining the form with jade fluid. When the golden crystal flies up from behind the elbows and the River Chariot (the image of true qi ascending along the posterior meridian) enters the inner courtyard, moving from above to the center and from the center downward, one again performs golden fluid huandan to refine golden sand. Then the five qi pay homage to the Origin (wuxi chaoyuan) and the three yang gather at the crown (sanyang juzding)—only then is one refining qi to become spirit, not merely refining form to linger long in the world. As for chaoyuan, few in ancient or modern times have truly known it; even those who know it, sages and worthies do not lightly reveal it. For this is the method of full accomplishment as a true immortal, silently concealing mechanisms beyond heaven and earth's measure. It is truly a secret matter of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing: Jade Pure, Upper Pure, Supreme Pure)—an esoteric teaching that forgets words and images, a subtle principle that asks nothing and answers nothing. I only fear that your resolve is not firm, your study not single-minded, your mind not settled, your questioning not earnest. If I speak lightly, I would only add to the fault of leaking sacred secrets, to the harm of us both.

Lü Dongbin said: At first I awakened to the true immortal and recognized the Great Dao; then I came to know the firing times and penetrate heaven's mechanism; I distinguished the true root of water and fire and knew that dragon and tiger are not born in liver and lungs; I saw clearly the great principle of withdrawal and addition and separated lead and mercury from kan and li. The art of inverting the five phases—I have already received instruction on; the mechanism of the three fields' return cycle—you have again explained in detail. I am already familiar with the principles of huandan and refining form, and know deeply the arts of long life without death. Yet the root of transcending the mundane to enter sagehood, the path of shedding substance to ascend as immortal, lies fundamentally in refining qi and chaoyuan. Regarding chaoyuan, please briefly indicate the essential secret.

Zhongli Quan said: The Dao originally had no form. At the source it appeared as undifferentiated primordial simplicity; clear qi rose above and turbid qi sank below, and the two merged into one. Once primordial simplicity divided and primordial chaos was first split open, heaven and earth came to be. Within heaven and earth, east, west, south, north, and center were arranged as the five directions; each direction had one emperor, and each emperor had two children, one yang and one yin. Yin and yang qi mutually generated and mutually completed each other, giving rise to the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water); the Five Phases in turn generated and completed one another, fixing the six qi, and thus there were three yin and three yang.

By the same principle, look at human conception: at first essence and qi united as one. After essence and qi separated, the two kidneys formed first. The left kidney is xuan (mysterious yang); it sends qi upward to the liver. The right kidney is pin (the receptive yin); it sends fluid downward to the bladder. Xuan and pin originally came from “nothing”; from nothing something was transformed—the true qi of the parents entered the place of pure yin. Hence it is said, “The valley spirit does not die; this is called the mysterious female (xuanpin).” That the valley spirit does not perish refers precisely to xuanpin; the gate of xuanpin can be likened to the root of heaven and earth. Xuanpin is these two kidneys. From the kidneys’ transformation, the five viscera and six bowels were fully formed. Their correspondences are: the liver belongs to Wood, heavenly stems Jia and Yi, comparable to the Green Emperor of the east; the heart belongs to Fire, Bing and Ding, comparable to the Red Emperor of the south; the lungs belong to Metal, Geng and Xin, comparable to the White Emperor of the west; the spleen belongs to Earth, Wu and Ji, comparable to the Yellow Emperor at the center; the kidneys belong to Water, Ren and Gui, comparable to the Black Emperor of the north. At the beginning of human formation there was originally no image—only one yin and one yang; only when the fetal body was complete and the stomach and intestines had formed did the six qi divide, which is nothing other than three males and three females (three yang and three yin).

When a single current of Qi circulates through the Five Phases—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—the Five Phases in turn drive the Six Qi, the six kinds of vital breath that Yin and Yang differentiate into. First you need to grasp Yin and Yang: Yang holds yang-within-yin, and Yin holds yin-within-yang. Next you need to grasp the Five Phases, where fire hides in water, water in fire, metal in water, wood in metal, fire in wood, and earth in fire. These five interweave, so the paired breaths of Yin and Yang split into the Six Qi, and the Great Dao spreads out and becomes the Five Phases.

After the winter solstice, a single yang stirs in the earth of the five directions, and yang rises everywhere. One of the Celestial Emperors of the five directions takes the seasonal “command”; the other four support him. When spring’s command is already in force, if the Black Emperor of the north—who governs cold—does not withdraw his command, cold cannot turn into warmth; if the Red Emperor of the south—who governs heat—does not ready his command, warmth cannot turn into heat. After the summer solstice, a single yin stirs in the heaven of the five directions, and yin sinks everywhere. Again one emperor holds the command and four assist. When autumn’s command is in force, if the Red Emperor does not withdraw his command, heat cannot turn into coolness; if the Black Emperor does not ready his command, coolness cannot turn into cold.

At the winter solstice yang is born from earth and breath is directed upward toward heaven; at the summer solstice yin is born from heaven and breath is directed downward toward earth. Those who follow the Dao should probe this pattern deeply. In the cycle of sun and moon, when a single yang first arises, the qi of the five viscera turns toward the middle origin, the middle dantian; when a single yin first arises, the fluids of the five viscera turn toward the lower origin, the lower dantian. Yang-within-yin, yang-within-yang, and the yang at the heart of Yin and Yang—these three yangs ascend, pay court to the heart-mind spirit (Shen) in the inner court where spirit dwells, and then return to the heavenly palace, the upper root palace. All of this is “returning to the origin” (chaoyuan): qi and essence turning back toward the primal source.

Lüzu said: When yang qi arises and grows, the five qi (the vital energies of the five viscera) gather toward the middle dantian (zhongyuan). When yin qi arises and grows, the five fluids (the essences transformed from the five viscera) gather toward the lower dantian (xiayuan). One must cause the yang within yang, the yang within yin, and the yang at the heart of yin and yang—all to turn upward toward the upper dantian (shangyuan). Practicing in this way, some people do understand it: for example, when yin arises, the five fluids flow down to the lower dantian, and then one further directs these yang aspects upward to the upper dantian. Yet even if someone grasps how to cultivate in this manner, how can they truly transcend and leave the dust of the mundane world behind?

Zhong the Patriarch said: A person’s primordial Yang qi, when the single Yang begins to arise, turns upward toward the middle dantian (Zhongyuan); everyone is like this. If one only accumulates qi to transform it into fluid, when the single Yin begins to arise it turns downward toward the lower dantian (Xiayuan)—again, everyone is like this. Merely practicing in this way, few can transcend the ordinary. If one wishes to surpass the mundane, enter the sacred, leave the common body behind, and become an immortal, one must first have Dragon and Tiger unite in copulation (Dragon and Tiger symbolize the meeting of Yin and Yang qi within the body) and form the Great Medicine (the substance of the internal elixir). When the Great Medicine is complete, true qi is produced. After true qi arises, it must be applied month by month through the year, judging waxing and waning from the month; day by day through the month, calculating which organ is presiding (zhishi, “on duty”) from the day; and hour by hour through the day, fixing the number of breaths from the time. Nourish Yang with Yang—within Yang no Yin must remain; refine Yin with Yang—within Yin Yang must not be lost.

As for the four seasons: in spring the liver is strong and the spleen weak; in summer the heart is strong and the lungs weak; in autumn the lungs are strong and the liver weak; in winter the kidneys are strong and the heart weak. For humans the kidneys are the root. In each season there are also times when the spleen is strong and the kidneys weak; the kidneys alone are depleted in all four seasons—much human illness stems from this.

By the heavenly stems: on jia and yi days the liver presides—guard against the spleen qi failing to circulate; on bing and ding days the heart presides—guard against the lung qi failing to circulate; on wu and ji days the spleen presides—guard against the kidney qi failing to circulate; on geng and xin days the lungs preside—guard against the liver qi failing to circulate; on ren and gui days the kidneys preside—guard against the heart qi failing to circulate. When one qi flourishes another is weak, when one organ is strong another declines—much human illness follows for the same reason.

Consider also the birth and flourishing of organ qi: heart qi sprouts in hai, arises in yin, flourishes in si, and wanes in shen; liver qi sprouts in shen, arises in hai, flourishes in yin, and wanes in si; lung qi sprouts in yin, arises in si, flourishes in shen, and wanes in hai.

Kidney Qi sprouts in the si hour (9–11 a.m.), rises in the shen hour (3–5 p.m.), flourishes in the hai hour (9–11 p.m.), and weakens in the yin hour (3–5 a.m.). Spleen Qi follows the liver in spring, the heart in summer, the lungs in autumn, and the kidneys in winter. People who do not know how to apply these principles in daily life, or when each kind of Qi arises, peaks, and declines, fall ill again and again.

When day, month, and hour are all Yang and the three Yang converge, one should cultivate and nurture Yang Qi and not let Yin Qi arise. When day, month, and hour are all Yin and the three Yin converge, one should conserve Yang Qi and not let it dissipate. Once true Qi has been generated, use pure Yang Qi to refine the Qi of the five organs so that it flows without ceasing; as soon as its native movement stirs, it reaches straight to the Tianchi (the Heavenly Pool in the head where essence is stored). First keep Yin Qi out of the kidneys so the Jiujiang (the inner waterways where body fluids circulate) do not churn; then keep Yin Qi out of the liver so the Baguan (the body’s vital passageways) stay long closed; then keep Yin Qi out of the lungs so Metal and Fire share one furnace; then keep Yin Qi out of the spleen so the Yuhu (the Jade Gate through which essence passes) does not open. Then true Qi ascends and the four Qi merge into one.

Even if golden elixir fluid descends, it is no more than a cup of water—it cannot overcome a heap of firewood set ablaze. Water and Fire embrace each other, fuse into one, and enter the Shen Palace (the abode of spirit and mind). At this point one steadies the breath, looks inward, and keeps the mind single and undivided until spirit and consciousness enter a subtle realm. In stillness one often hears music like a dream yet not a dream, as if one were in a realm of emptiness. Scenery there differs from the mundane world; splendor surpasses the human realm— towers, palaces, green tiles veiled in mist, pearls and brocades arrayed, fragrance drifting in waves.

Then one passes beyond the inner courtyard; only then can the Yang spirit gather, return to the upper elixir field, refine spirit to attain immortality, and unite with the Great Dao. One thrust opens the Heavenly Gate (the crown pass); in a mantle of golden light the Dharma body appears. Amid deep blossoms the ordinary body sits at ease, rising into the air as if walking on level ground; ten thousand li seem only an stretch of the arm.

When the conscious spirit returns and re-enters the original body, spirit and form unite, and one’s lifespan can match that of heaven and earth. If one grows weary of dwelling in the human world, leaves the mortal shell behind, and returns to the Ten Isles, one goes to the Purple Palace of the Taishi Zhenjun (True Lord of the Grand Abyss) to have one’s origin and lineage checked and one’s name verified, and one’s merit and practice weighed—then one may dwell on the Three Isles and roam freely, forever beyond the dust of the world. This is what is called transcending the mundane and leaving the common world behind.

Lü Zu (Lü Dongbin) said: Refining only the form can at best prolong life in the world; refining Qi (vital energy) is what enables one to ascend as an immortal. People do not understand the hidden mechanism. Before they have any “medicine” as a foundation, they already practice fetal breathing (taixi)—breathing as subtly as a fetus in the womb—and forcibly hold Qi in the abdomen. That either accumulates into cold Qi and brings illness, or leaks out as empty Yang and becomes disease. Cultivation is undertaken to seek long life; clinging to such methods cannot even avoid sickness. They do not know that when the fetal immortal body (taishen—the body formed by inner refinement) is accomplished, true Qi is born; only when true Qi exists does fetal breathing arise naturally. With fetal breathing one refines Qi; only by refining Qi can one refine Shen (spirit). To refine Qi, one must determine which month of the year, which day of the month, and which hour of the day. Sit upright in a quiet room, set aside cleverness and cut off wandering thought. At that point, every trace of the dusty world not yet cleared from the mind must be removed. If delusive thoughts do not stop and the mind still leaks, though one aims at immortality the spirit cannot settle—what then is to be done?

Zhong Zu (Zhong Liquan) said: Union has its proper timing; practice has its proper methods. Follow the hours and apply the methods; seek the Dao by the methods, and success can be expected soon, as easy as turning the hand. Sages of past and present who close the eyes, quiet the heart, and enter the realm of xiyi (a stillness where hearing and seeing fall away) do so precisely because, by turning contemplation inward, the conscious spirit naturally comes to rest.

Chapter Sixteen: On Inner Contemplation (Neiguan)

Lü Zu said: May I hear the principle of what is called “inner contemplation”?

The Patriarch Zhongli said: Methods such as neiguan (inward contemplation), zuowang (sitting in forgetfulness), and cunxiang (visualizing an image in the mind)—sages before and saints after have both used them and declined to use them. People fear that the heart is like a monkey and the will like a galloping horse, with nowhere to settle, and fear being pulled off course by outer things, unable to fix a single image in emptiness and stillness. So they rely on visualizing things to practice neiguan and zuowang—and then such methods cannot be omitted.

Unfortunately, those whose learning is shallow and who do not know the path neither grasp the moment when yin and yang unite nor understand the actual methods of cultivation. They only hope to succeed through cunxiang alone: forming the elixir in thought, “gathering the medicine” in imagination, then inhaling through the nose and swallowing through the mouth, expecting the visible sun and moon and the wuwei (non-action) heaven and earth to all remain in the belly and mouth. That is mere child’s play.

Therefore accomplished adepts sometimes flatly reject zuowang and cunxiang, saying: “Wealth gained in a dream—how can you spend it? A cake drawn on the ground—how can it fill hunger?” Seeking emptiness within emptiness again is like flowers in a mirror or the moon in water; in the end it is hard to make anything real.

Yet there is still something worth taking from these methods. Because the heart stirs easily and the will is hard to subdue; when a favorable day and hour arrive, there are things one can adopt. Though one knows one should guard a place of qingjing (purity and stillness), the heart is driven by affairs and the aspiration shifts with desire. Miss by a hair’s breadth and it is as if heaven and earth were pulled apart; years pass without effect—the fault lies in a chaotic heart and a wild will.

One who looks well fixes the mind entirely on the beauty of a picture and then does not see Mount Tai or Mount Hua; one who listens well fixes the mind entirely on silk and bamboo and then does not hear thunder. The functions of ear and eye are already so small, and it is still thus—how much more so this single heart, ranging up, down, and through the four directions, holding nothing in or out. When the moment comes to apply the method, how can one do without cunxiang and neiguan to draw what should be obtained toward oneself?

Lü asked: What is meant by “stored contemplation and internal observation” (cunxiang neiguan)—what is it roughly about?

Zhong said: When yang qi rises, one mostly visualizes images such as a man, a dragon, fire, heaven, clouds, cranes, the sun, a horse, mist, rosy clouds, chariots and riders, flowers, and qi—all of this is internal observation through stored imagery, used to match the rising yang. When yin qi descends, one mostly visualizes a woman, a tiger, water, earth, rain, a turtle, the moon, an ox, springs, mud, lead, leaves, and the like, used to match the descending yin. The Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise (the emblems of the four directions) have names, so there should be corresponding images. The Five Sacred Peaks, the Nine Regions, the Four Seas, the Three Isles, the Golden Boy and Jade Girl (yin–yang images in inner cultivation), the River Cart (neiqi circulation), the Multi-storied Tower (the throat), and so on—following the names to draw analogies, it is hard to list every single one. All of it is establishing images in the formless, to settle the spirit-mind. Before the fish is caught, the fishing trap must not be discarded; before the rabbit is caught, the rabbit snare must not be abandoned. When the cart behind moves, it must follow the track of the cart ahead; once the great vessel is complete, it becomes the model for vessels made afterward. Therefore the method of internal observation cannot be omitted in cultivation: one must not cling to it for long, yet one cannot abandon it even for a moment. If one can cut off wandering thoughts and not raise delusive imaginings, that is the true thought; true thought is true emptiness. Entering the realm of true emptiness is turning toward transformation along the true Dao, leaving the dark wrong path—this is the ladder of gradual transcendence. When laying the foundation and hoping for daily progress in practice, stored contemplation may be used; when one advances by “for the Dao, daily decrease” into the realm of Xi-yi (what is subtle and hard to see or hear), the methods naturally grow fewer, and everything rests in internal observation.

Patriarch Lü asked: When one performs the union of the dragon and the tiger and matches yin and yang, how should one visualize?

Patriarch Zhong said: At first, through union to harmonize yin and yang and settle Kan and Li, the visualization is as follows. The Nine Sovereign True Man leads a small child in red ascending, while the Nine Sovereign True Mother leads a small girl in black descending. The two meet before a yellow chamber, and a old woman in yellow receives them, as when a human couple exchange courtesies and rejoice together fully. Then the girl descends and the boy ascends, again like a human parting. When this is complete, the old woman in yellow holds something shaped like a red tangerine, casts it into the yellow chamber, and leaves it contained in a golden vessel. This small boy is what Qian has sought from Kun; yang qi returns to its proper place, with yang bearing yin back to its native realm. This small girl is what Kun has sought from Qian; yin qi returns to its proper place, with yin embracing yang back to its native realm. This is the meeting of Kan and Li and the pairing of yin and yang.

Another vision: amid blazing fire a black tiger rises; amid great waves a red dragon descends. The two beasts meet before a pavilion and do battle; the vermilion gate opens wide, and in the surging turmoil each returns to its native realm. This too is the meeting of Kan and Li and the matching of yin and yang.

The account continues from the same vision: in the fire the black tiger rises, in the waves the red dragon descends; the two beasts clash before the pavilion and the vermilion gate opens wide. Amid the surging, a sovereign faces the heaven-rending blaze, pointing and looking about; above, ten-thousand-foot billows, fire rising and then falling, filling heaven and earth. After dragon and tiger coil together awhile, they enter a golden vessel and sink downward once more.