《吕祖师三尼医世说述》

Writing serves to carry the Dao (the Way). I had long heard of the book San Ni Yi Shi Shuo Shu (Discourse and Exposition on the Three Sages Healing the World).

I still remember that, around the age of twenty, I attended Master Dongli on Mount Tongbai. The master was an adept from the land of Qin; he was already more than one hundred and ten years old, and his surname was Gao. His Excellency Gao, Governor-General of Zhejiang and Fujian, belonged to the same clan as the master. Once, while inspecting the frontier, he passed Mount Tongbai and spoke with the master about the San Ni Yi Shi Shuo (Discourse on the Three Sages Healing the World).

The master said, “I once saw the inner chapters of this book in the collection of Master Wang Yangming; they had been block-printed and put into circulation by his disciple Wang Longxi. The book sets forth the great Dao by which Fuxi and the Yellow Emperor governed the world through the cultivation and ordering of their own persons. I had also heard the world-dwelling immortal Li Niwan speak of this book. My disciple Shen Yibing met Li Niwan three times, and on one occasion asked him the meaning of the two characters san ni. Li Niwan said, ‘This principle was transmitted from Fuxi and the Yellow Emperor, and was elucidated and established as teachings by the three great sages Zhongni (Confucius), Mouni (Shakyamuni), and Qingni. Practitioners of the three traditions each recorded the paths of entry, and these were gathered into a single book. Some call it Shuo Shu (Discourse and Exposition); others call it Xin Chuan (Heart-to-Heart Transmission), Gong Jue (Formula of Practice), or Gong Yong (Application of Practice). These books have now been scattered and lost.’” What I formerly heard from Master Gao was precisely this.

On the twenty-sixth day of the tenth month of the bingwu year of the Qianlong reign, my teacher, the Venerable Taixu, passed away. Just two days before his death he placed a volume in my hands and charged me to store it carefully and not to let it be divulged. At the time I did not keep it properly. A friend carried the book to Jinning, borrowed it, and for a long while did not return it. That book was Patriarch Lü’s San Ni Yi Shi Gong Jue (Formula of Practice for the Three Sages Healing the World).

In the jiyou year, when Mr. Zhu Shijun, Educational Commissioner of Zhejiang, was inspecting Huzhou, I went to the Youwen Academy to pay him a visit. Only then did I learn that he treasured this book and would not readily show it to others, and so I rather suspected that it contained missing pages or omissions. Hearing that the copy preserved at Mount Jingai was relatively complete, and regarding me as honest and trustworthy, he entrusted me with going to request it; I was unable to borrow it and had no choice but to return. He then brought out the copy from his own collection and showed it to me. The book was handwritten by someone of the Ming dynasty and bore a colophon by the Earl of Sincerity (Liu Ji). I intended to transcribe it, but just then he was packing his luggage in preparation for inspecting other prefectures. Matters were hurried, and in the end I never managed to complete the copy.

Four years later, while traveling in the course of an official posting away from home, I passed by Jizu Mountain and went to the Longshu Hermitage to visit the immortal Jizu Daoist who lived there in seclusion. The immortal’s surname was Huang and his given name Shouzhong. He was a Yuezhi from the Western Regions. He came to China during the Yuan dynasty and afterward lived for a long time on Jizu Mountain, and so came to be known as the “Jizu Daoist.”

In the sixteenth year of the Shunzhi reign, he went to the capital to request and receive from Precept Master Wang of Kunyang the Three Great Precepts of the Most High (an important set of precepts in Daoism). At first he had no Chinese name and called himself “Yedapo,” which in Chinese means “a seeker of the Dao (the Way).” Seeing that he had lived in China for many years, Precept Master Wang gave him the Chinese name “Huang Shouzhong.” To this day the people of Yunnan call him Perfected Huang, that is, the “seeker of the Dao.” At that time he was already more than five hundred years old, yet his appearance was like that of a man of about sixty. His eyes were bright, and his voice rang out like a bell.

There were not many books on his desk. Apart from the Dhāraṇī Scripture Spoken by the Buddha for Upholding the World, there was only the Explication of the Three Ni’s Healing of the World. After comparing it, I recognized that this was the very book Dongli had once seen and that Taixu had further expounded. I asked him to lend me the book. He smiled and said, “That will not do. Go back and look for the two men named Cheng and Fang. Once you have found them, they will naturally compile it into a book for you. The time has not yet come; wait a while.”

I then asked, “I once obtained Patriarch Lü’s Practical Formula for the Three Ni’s Healing of the World, transmitted to me by my teacher, the venerable Taixu. Before I had time to read it carefully, a friend took it away. What does this book discuss?” He said, “I too once had this book. It is a fine work; in time you will surely obtain it again.”

I asked further, “Have you, sir, ever put this teaching into practice?” He said, “It depends on the right moment.”

I went on to ask, “Why did a great sage such as Confucius not use this method to heal the ways of the world?” He said, “The sage establishes the norms that people ought to follow, so that this principle may be handed down for ten thousand generations. The Dao of Confucius is vast; it does not exert its effect only in a single age. Moreover, when the Zhou dynasty fixed its capital at Jiaru, divination was performed concerning the destiny of the state, and it was held that the dynastic fortune might last seven hundred years. By the end of the Spring and Autumn period, the allotted span of the Zhou was already exhausted. Who can be sure that Confucius did not, by a subtle and marvelous power, assist the Dao of Heaven, sustain a declining dynastic fortune, and thereby allow the Mandate of Heaven of the Zhou to continue?”

I said, “If Confucius had used this principle to aid the world, the realm ought at that time to have been brought to great order.” He said, “In the Spring and Autumn period, evils were deep and grave, and the Qi (vital energy) of killing and warfare was about to arise. Heaven had never intended to let the world be pacified. The Qi of cruelty and waste produces depletion; licentious Qi brings floods; the Qi of grievance and repression brings drought; rebellious Qi gives rise to war. When perverse Qi spreads for a long time and cannot disperse, it blocks the primordial Qi of Heaven and Earth so that it cannot circulate freely. A sage without political authority can nurture the goodness originally present in people’s hearts, but cannot eradicate the evils that have already accumulated and gathered force in the world. When the way of the teacher is established and good people grow more numerous, the ways of the age can be sustained. As for those who themselves create disorder, Heaven will gather them and destroy them. This is not something that ordinary scholars can govern.”

I asked, “Then are there also times when this principle cannot be carried through?” He said, “When a skilled physician treats illness, the affliction must first be removed before primordial Qi can circulate freely. Have you not heard what Laozi said? The Dao is great, Earth is great, and the king is also great. What is meant by ‘the king is also great’ is that the myriad living beings within and beyond the realm all come under the king’s governance, and the king has the power to turn Heaven and Earth. When the Dao is joined with authority, one can set in order warfare, punishments, rites, and music, change old customs, and establish new ways. Only with sufficient authority can abuses be removed and the world made secure. With the Dao alone and without authority, how can one pacify those who are vicious and corrupt?

“The illnesses of the world are of two kinds: one caused by human action, and one brought by the course of Heaven. Calamities caused by human beings arise from the gathering of perverse Qi. As the saying goes, ‘A calamity of one’s own making cannot be survived.’ Only those who hold authority can heal them. Calamities brought by the course of Heaven can be turned back by harmonious Qi. As the saying goes, ‘A calamity sent by Heaven may still be averted.’ Only those who possess the Dao can heal them. Yet the course of Heaven also changes with human conduct. If perverse Qi can be dissolved before it has begun to sprout, the course of Heaven will change accordingly. When the course of Heaven circulates freely, primordial Qi circulates freely; when primordial Qi circulates freely, the operations by which Heaven and Earth transform and nurture the myriad things also circulate freely. This Dao is the great Dao, vast and inexhaustible.

“If those in high position can follow and extend this Dao, Heaven and Earth will each find their proper place, and nothing among the myriad things will be left out. If those in lower position can take this Dao as their model, they can establish themselves and help others to fulfillment, and they can also aid the myriad things widely. To heal the ways of the world by means of the Dao is not to abandon the great Dao merely because the customs of the age have decayed.

“Moreover, in an age when the world is at peace and the four seas are settled, when above a great sage presides over affairs of state and the Dao is joined with authority, and within the borders there are no obstinate commoners or corrupt officials brewing calamity and blocking the mechanisms of Qi, then this principle can be carried out. Even an ordinary scholar can take part in the transformations of Heaven and Earth and the nurturing of the myriad things, silently assisting Heaven and Earth where nothing is seen or heard. In the growth and transformation of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and the myriad things, deviations and minor calamities and minor kalpas occasionally occur. If one applies this Dao to remedy them, conforming above to the mind of a benevolent ruler and relieving below the hardships of the people, how could the response fail to be swift?”

These were the teachings I heard from Perfected Huang.

In the year Guichou I traveled to the eastern hills of Dongting Lake and rested at the home of the Zhu family. Mr. Zhu was the grandson of Elder Jiuhuan, a senior of my mountain community, and he delighted in xuanxue (the study of the mysterious). He brought out two volumes from his collection for me to see. One was a manuscript treasured by Grand Secretary Wenzheng, with no colophons by notable persons. The other had been copied by hand by Precept Master Shi Yan of my mountain at the Longqiao Mountain Studio. It was titled Yinzhen Huangzu (Hidden Truth of the Yellow Ancestor); its wording was clearer and its meaning plainer, and it was in all likelihood the detailed and superior edition of which the Perfected One (zhenren) of Jizu had spoken. I therefore asked to take the books home.

At that time I still did not understand the subtle principles they contained, and I vainly imagined that I would practice according to them only after I had succeeded in cultivating the Dao (the Way). It was not until the fifth year of Daoguang that I was favored by Elder Taixu, who once again transmitted the yishi (healing the world) practice instructions he had formerly taught me, and further favored by the descent of Patriarch Lü through fuji (spirit-writing), in which he discoursed freely for ten thousand words. Only then did I understand the profound principles within. At this I regretted that the practice instructions my teacher had transmitted to me had been carried by a friend to Jinning and had still not been returned. Fortunately, the Perfected One of Jizu had said that these instructions would in the end be obtained by me myself. I therefore made careful excerpts of what Patriarch Lü had revealed in his spirit-writing descent, gathered related things I had seen and heard, compiled them, and wrote a commentary. For the teachings of the Confucians and the Buddhists, I cited in each case the principles of the classics to supplement the explanation.

Because I had never read the Chishi Jing (Scripture/Classic for Upholding the World), I further appended seven shallow views of my own and copied and arranged them as one volume. I have narrated in detail the origins of this book in order to dispel the doubts that arise where there is no evidence to rely on, and to make it known to those who share the same aspiration.

When the manuscript was finished, someone read it and asked me, “Can this method of the Dao be cultivated only by one whose whole heart is set on aiding the world? If one harbors a selfish mind, can one still cultivate it?” On hearing this I rose in alarm and said, “What kind of talk is this? To harbor selfishness is to go against the Dao; it can on no account be cultivated. Patriarch Lü once descended to the altar and solemnly warned: ‘In the use of the two Qi (vital energy) of Yin-Yang, Yang Qi governs De (Virtue/Power) and Yin Qi governs punishment. If the stirring of the mind and the arising of thought come from selfish desire, they fall under Yin Qi. Impartiality, uprightness, and kindness are De; deviance, perversity, and violence are punishment. If one does not act from a heart that benefits beings and saves people, yet wishes to use the workings of one’s own Qi to stir the workings of the Qi of Heaven and Earth, one will draw down the Qi of punishment. In the turn of an eye, heavenly demons will come in answer to the summons, and the gods of Heaven will also put one to death; disaster arrives with extreme speed. To do this is to bring destruction upon oneself. Even through the course of kalpas one cannot be pardoned, and regret will come too late.’ The Patriarch’s admonition is stated as clearly as this.”

Therefore, one who cultivates the Dao must first set one’s own thoughts aright. Once this is understood, it may serve to warn those who slight or profane this book.

On the full-moon day of early summer in the wuzi year of Daoguang, Min Yide, eleventh-generation transmitter of the orthodox Longmen lineage, respectfully composes this preface.

In the Great Beginning, the Dao (the Way) stood upon the "One," the root of all things in the universe. It is real and cannot be shaken, yet it relies on nothing; it is firm and cannot be broken, yet it has no fixed place. It has no divisions, no gaps, and no distinction between inside and outside. It is still without being inert, and it moves without moving recklessly. Hardness and softness, strength and receptivity have not yet appeared as separate things, yet all of them arise from it. It is the root from which the myriad things emerge and the source of the great Dao. This is called the "True One."

The True One is the prenatal essence and qi (vital energy), full of living vitality, and once it issues forth it cannot be held back. When it issues forth and flows freely, it becomes Yang; when it turns back and gathers inward, it becomes Yin. The movement of Yang qi and Yin qi is the beginning of qi taking form. Yang qi is clear and rises, Yin qi is turbid and sinks, and this separation of clear from turbid is the beginning of physical form. The True One is therefore the starting point from which heaven and earth are produced. It constitutes the myriad things and yet transcends every form. This is Wuji (the Limitless).

Precisely because the True One has no form and is not a thing, it meets no obstruction and is numinous and luminous. Precisely because it has no form and is not a thing, nothing binds or hinders it, and it can bend, stretch, and transform. Humans and all things receive from the True One the principle of numinous clarity, which becomes "Nature" (xing), and the qi capable of bending, stretching, and transforming, which becomes "Life" (ming). All things exist within Nature and Life, and Nature and Life exist within the True One. The Dao is not outside Nature and Life, and neither is teaching, which is why the Three Teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism all emerge from the True One.

Confucianism establishes one's allotted Life by fully realizing Nature. Buddhism delivers life from suffering by recognizing Nature. Daoism returns to one's original Life by perfecting true Nature. Confucianism penetrates the "One," Buddhism returns to the "One," and Daoism attains the "One." When the transforming power of the Three Teachings reaches its utmost, each spreads far and wide without boundary.

The Confucian Way reaches the state in which heaven and earth each settle in their proper place and the myriad things are nurtured. Wherever it passes, things are transformed, and wherever it dwells, a wondrous spirit appears. According to Master Xie's interpretation, wherever the prenatal One Qi travels, the things there change and dissolve, and where it lies hidden and does not manifest its use, spiritual awareness arises. In truth there is no fixed "somewhere." The True One is the prenatal One Qi, so the saying "where it passes, things are transformed; where it dwells, there is spirit" sums up the entire function of Golden Elixir (Jindan) cultivation.

The Buddhist Way reaches the state of giving without clinging to the appearance of giving; the merit and virtue gained thereby are like space filling all directions, above and below, beyond measure. The Daoist Way reaches the state in which the myriad things grow and are not refused, are given life and are not possessed, are acted upon and are not claimed, and when the work is done, no credit is taken. The aim of all Three Teachings is to aid the world through Wuwei (non-action), not to abandon oneself or to throw oneself blindly into worldly affairs.

Since life began, all people have shared one Nature, one Life, and one Dao. Although bodies are separated from one another, qi is shared; because qi is shared, Nature and Life are shared as well. Extending outward, everything that heaven covers and earth bears is connected by one and the same breath. When the Dao is in me, I can take charge. At first it possesses no single thing, and in the end it leaves out no single thing; it lets each thing attain its own wonder while still possessing nothing. What Dao is this? It is the Dao of the True One. Perfecting oneself and perfecting all things are both matters the Dao encompasses. Only when the myriad things have each set their Nature and Life right is the great function of the Dao complete. To stand apart from the world and cut oneself off from it cannot be called the Dao. This is the origin of the teaching of "healing the world."

The foundational scripture of the "healing the world" teaching was originally kept complete in golden slips and jade cases, secretly stored in the celestial treasuries and rarely seen by people of the world. The original text also included the Confucian and Buddhist teachings along with the teaching of healing the world. The Grand Jurist and Kunyang Wangzu once heard from an extraordinary person: "The Confucian writings were destroyed in the Qin dynasty and the Buddhist writings in the Jin dynasty, and people today can hardly see their contents." What circulates now is only the introductory outline of the Daoist teaching of healing the world.

When Patriarch Lü was living in the world, he heard this teaching, clarified the meaning of the original scripture, and transmitted it to the disciples who inherited his Dao. This book is a commentary on the original scripture, not the scripture itself, so its language is plain and easy to understand, and it does not discuss the scripture's profound practices and stages of cultivation. It speaks only of the steps for beginning to heal the world from within the Daoist gate. Although its main ideas differ from the Confucian and Buddhist accounts, they ultimately converge in One, and so the title refers to the "Three Ni." It is said that after Patriarch Lü attained the status of Golden Immortal, he personally confirmed this teaching with the Three Ni. The spirits of the Three Ni in heaven proclaimed the great Dao of taking part in the work of heaven and earth and assisting their transforming nurture, so that those who aspire to the Dao may hear it, transmit it, and practice it, and generation after generation may enter a realm of benevolent virtue and long life. Those who read this book should be careful and reverent, and must not treat it lightly.

This book once had a copy kept in the world, but it was later carried off by someone unknown. When Patriarch Lü descended to the altar and spoke, he explained the teaching in still greater detail, so the compiler respectfully recorded it and added a brief note at the head of the volume. Written on the first day of the year Jiachen in the Kangxi reign by Tao Taiding, ninth-generation successor of the Longmen orthodox lineage, respectfully, at the Longqiao Mountain Retreat on Jingai Mountain.

Among the twelve hexagrams, when Yang Qi (vital energy) increases, Yin Qi gradually recedes; when Yin Qi arrives, Yang Qi moves toward completion. The twelve hexagrams are arranged in a cycle according to the twelve earthly branches, each corresponding to a different seasonal Qi, and are used to express the pattern by which Yin-Yang waxes and wanes, advances and retreats.

As Heaven and Earth move and change, the positions of the hexagram lines also shift in relation to one another, and from this the sixty-four hexagrams are formed. The upper and lower images have no fixed, unchanging order, and firm lines and yielding lines likewise turn into one another. All the transformations of the sixty-four hexagrams can be deduced from these twelve hexagrams; by observing change in light of the form of each hexagram, one can come to understand the principles of the world. The diagram is as follows:

Diagram of the Three Powers as One Qi

An Exposition of Healing the World

Xie’s note: The practitioner must attain the true state of embryonic breathing, and the cultivation of nature and life must be deep and pure, before this method of aiding the world may be practiced; otherwise it is likely to bring harm. In practice one must above all rid oneself of selfish motives, or one may stray onto a deviant path. This method is regarded as the supreme Great Dao (the Way) of the Golden Elixir, that is, the mind-transmitted practice of the celestial immortal spoken of in this book, and it should be read together with the Mind-Transmission of the Celestial Immortal.

Patriarch Lü was a later heir of the orthodox transmission of Guan Yinzi in the school of the Most High. It is said that he was originally of the Tang imperial clan, surnamed Li, with the given name Qiong and the courtesy name Boyu. To escape the calamity of Empress Wu, he and his wife of the Jin family withdrew to a deep valley of Mount Song, changing his surname to Lü, his given name to Yan, and his courtesy name to Dongbin. After his wife died, he took the style name Chunyang and became a disciple of Patriarch Zhongli. Emperor Shizong of the Yuan decreed his enfeoffment as “Imperial Lord of Admonitory Transformation and Faithful Protection.”

“The Three Ni” refer to Confucius, the Tathagata (the Buddha), and Laozi. The Heart-Seal Collected Scripture (Xinyin Jijing) says: “Qingni attains centered correctness; Zhongni attains the mean of what is timely and fitting; Mouni attains the mean of emptiness and stillness. The Three Ni take one another as teachers, while Wenni assists in presiding over teaching and transformation. The Three Ni are able to transmit the great Dao (the Way); Wenni supports them from the side, so that teaching and transformation are widely carried out and the root by which the myriad things are generated and transformed is aided.” These are the words with which Yuanshi Tianzun, the Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning, admonished Wenni.

This scripture further says: “The Perfected Chunyang (Lü Dongbin) took the transformed name Wenni and assumed charge of teaching and transformation. He was therefore commanded to proclaim the Dao of the Three Ni, to spread it widely in the world, and in secret to protect the people.” Patriarch Lü united the Three Teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism in proclaiming this teaching. He acted in obedience to the mandate of Heaven, and so the baogao (texts in praise of the deities) also call him “Teacher of the Three Teachings.”

The Discourse on Healing the World (Yishi Shuo) gathers the essentials of the three sages. It speaks of the great Dao of nurturing the myriad things and of supreme union with Heaven. Since heaven and earth were opened, no principle under heaven has been more important than this. Patriarch Lü expounded this Dao in order to open a far-reaching and inexhaustible teaching, so that people might receive protection, peace, and good health.

The methods of entry described in the book, although they belong to cultivation in the Daoist tradition, never depart in their root from “settled stillness” (dingjing)—that is, settling the mind and Shen (spirit) and maintaining purity and stillness. Settled stillness is the shared method of entry of the three schools of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Because Daoist methods of cultivation are comparatively concise and easy to understand, they are especially set forth here to guide people. As for giving full play to a person’s innate nature, recognizing the life-destiny with which one is endowed, and extending the efficacy of cultivation throughout heaven and earth, the great Dao in which the Three Ni interpenetrate is likewise wholly contained in this.

Patriarch Lü wrote these teachings into a book and transmitted them to his disciples. The ancestral masters of successive generations treasured and preserved them, storing them in the Longqiao mountain studio on Meidao. That place was the separate residence (a dwelling elsewhere) of Precept Master Huang Yinzhen. The old site still remains, about two li from Yunchao, on the eastern slope of Mount Jin’gai.

This preface explains that Lüzu Sanni Yishi Shuoshu was prefaced by Tao Lüshi Shi’an, a Daoist master who had received the registers, while the title is said to have come from Yinzhen Lüshi. The title means that the book also contains the original scriptures of three sages, which Patriarch Lü (Lüzu) expounds according to their intent in order to instruct the world.

The Teaching of the First Step: Dazhuang

Here the Dazhuang hexagram of the Zhouyi is used to explain the method of cultivation; the discussion does not follow hexagram Qi (vital energy) and the seasonal order in a strict sense. The commentator notes that the so-called “first step” is only a convenience for beginning the explanation here. Cultivation itself has neither beginning nor end, but cycles without cease.

In the phrase “Dazhuang li zhen,” the word “great” is explained as “upright.” In the Dazhuang hexagram the inner trigram is Qian and the outer trigram is Zhen: Qian symbolizes Heaven and also the head, while Zhen carries the sense of setting in motion. The work of cultivation is therefore initiated from here. The scripture says, “The Sovereign emerges from Zhen.” “Sovereign” refers to Taiyi, that is, the ruling lord of the True One. The transformations of the trigrams Zhen and Xun are explained as “much white of the eye”: when the gaze is directed upward toward the brain, more of the white of the eye appears. This means that one should gaze upon the Qian palace. The Qian palace is a term in Neidan (internal alchemy) for the region associated with the head.

Zhen symbolizes the stirring of yang Qi. The “intention” here is the function sent forth by the mind’s thought, and yang Qi is stirred along with it. The commentator adds that Qian is the fundamental substance and Zhen is its function; through the function the substance can be made manifest. It is like heavenly thunder shaking, with force moving from below upward, so that the xuanguan—the crucial aperture spoken of in Neidan cultivation—is opened.

The concrete practice is first to close the eyes, gather in the gaze and the mind, and concentrate attention toward the brain. The commentator further explains this as gazing for a long time upon the upper Dantian (energy center), the region of Neidan cultivation in the head, so that Shen (spirit) and Qi become one and one enters a state of cultivation in which distinctions are forgotten and one rests in calm, settled concentration.

Continue its movement within the brain, then guide it toward the crown of the head. What is spoken of here is the guidance of intention in the practice of Neidan (internal alchemy): taking the Niwan Palace—the site within the brain referred to in Daoist internal alchemy—as the root, and the crown of the head as the point of connection, so that the five sense organs are brought into unity and body and mind merge in inner contemplation. One then goes further to experience the realm of emptiness beyond the body, allowing the One Qi (vital energy)—the primordial energy of which Daoism speaks—to circulate and transform of itself, as if emerging from the void.

“The writing in the basket is the same.” The Tao edition writes “middle” as “border,” the following sentence also adds the two characters “above the gate,” and “infuse it” is written as “one infusion.”

Patriarch Lü says: “The brain is the Jade Clarity Palace (Yuqing Gong) within the human body—the pure and sacred place of which Daoism speaks—and the Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) dwells within it. The crown of the head is called the fontanel, and the acupoint is named Baihui. It is the place where the Three Primordials (Sanyuan—the three kinds of primordial Qi [vital energy] of Heaven, Earth, and the human being) gather, and it communicates upward with the True One of the Three Heavens (Santian Zhenyi—the original true Qi of which Daoism speaks). Direct the intention toward the crown, and the True One will respond and connect, while the true primordial gathers; if one sees red and yellow star-points falling like rain, that is the confirming sign.” Xie’s note holds that this is what the Heart Transmission of the Celestial Immortals (Tianxian Xinchuan) calls “drawing the Tiangang down by affinity.”

The True One has no form; what can manifest is the “true primordial.” The true primordial is the Qi engendered by the True One.

(Yide’s commentary says:) The Book of Rites states that the myriad things originate in Taiyi—the primordial source of the cosmos and the Dao (the Way) of supreme unity. From this they differentiate into Heaven and Earth, move so as to form Yin-Yang, transform so as to become the four seasons, and are further arrayed as ghosts and spirits. When it descends upon the human person, it is the Mandate of Heaven, while sovereignty rests with Heaven. Taiyi is the True One, the ruler of Heaven. The head is the part of the body that corresponds to Heaven; therefore, welcoming Qian—Heaven, and the firm yang Qi (vital energy)—must begin from the head.

The Book of Changes calls it “Qianyuan,” and also says that it “emerges at the head of the multitude of things.” Qian represents Heaven, and it also represents the head. The Yushi Yiyi says that “Qian is nature,” meaning the innate nature bestowed on human beings by Heaven. To concentrate the mind-spirit and the gaze upon the head is just as the Book of Documents says, “attend to and uphold Heaven’s bright mandate”; Zhu Xi explains this as “constantly keeping one’s attention upon it.” The Buddhist scripture The Great Buddha-Crown Dhāraṇī (a dhāraṇī classic concerned with the crown of the Buddha’s head) says that the light of wisdom appears like the sun at the Buddha’s crown. It also calls this the Tathāgata’s mark of the unseen crown and the mind-Buddha of Wuwei (non-action), and says, “Touch the crown so as to bring awakening”—that is, to awaken a person by touching the crown of the head. All these statements refer to the light of human nature at the top of the head.

The methods of cultivation used in Confucianism and Buddhism for the benefit of the world, read in light of these classical principles, accord with the aim of this book. Xie’s commentary points out that the purpose of this step is to make body and mind pure and clear, attaining the state of “yuanqing” (perfect clarity)—that is, what Min means by “when one would clarify affairs, one must welcome Qian.”

This is the first step in beginning the practice.

(“Kuizhong shu tong” means that the wording is the same as in the Kuizhong Shu. In the Tao edition, the two characters gongfa, “method of practice,” are added after every step.) Patriarch Lü said: fa means “principle,” and gong means “function.” The saying “the method begins with closing the eyes” is used because the eyes are the messengers through which the mind’s spirit and the movement of Qi (vital energy) travel. The Falu says: “The eye spirits in heaven are the two commanders Gou and Bi.” In the human body, when one walks, the Qi drawn along by the gaze pours into the Yongquan points on the soles of both feet; when one sits in stillness, it pours into the region between the kidneys at either side of the waist. “Closing” means concentrating and settling. “Wei yi” means “as if present, as if absent.” Intention is the command issued by the mind’s spirit; once the command goes forth, the spirit moves in response, just as a sovereign promulgates an edict. “Pouring upward” means that intention travels up through the crown of the head to meet the “Primordial Origin of True Unity” (the innate, original Qi) and thereby protect and sustain oneself.

Step Two: Guai

In the Guai hexagram (Dui above, Qian below), Qian stands for Shen (spirit) and Dui for passage or communication; together they signify that spirit and Qi communicate with each other. The figure is also taken to mean that the yang Qi of Qian penetrates downward. Guai means decisive resolution: firm yang cuts away yielding yin, the Dao (the Way) of the noble person advances, and the way of the petty person recedes. Here the “petty person” refers to yin Qi. The Que gate opens downward into the abdomen, and the abdomen belongs to yin; one must therefore guide the yang Qi of Qian to pour downward and thereby cut away the yin Qi.

Xie’s commentary says that, from the standpoint of elixir cultivation, this is the preliminary practice of “gathering Shen into the Qi cavity” (collecting the mind’s spirit so that it returns to the Qi point in the region of the lower Dantian [energy center]).

One then lets intention travel downward from the Baihui point (the point at the center of the crown), passing through the Quepen (the hollow above the collarbone). Xie’s commentary says that the Primordial One Qi (the innate, original Qi) comes forth from emptiness: in stillness it does not move, but when stirred by a response it opens into free passage; once that passage is opened, one guides it onward by following its momentum.

(“Kuizhong shu tong” means that the wording is the same as in the Kuizhong Shu. The Tao edition preserves another reading in the related passage, which originally says: “Continuing from the preliminary practice of spirit entering the Qi cavity.”)

When one travels to Quepen (an acupoint of the chest), body and mind enter a state of ease and freedom. Commentators explain that at this point one returns into the spirit chamber, the place where Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy) are preserved and nourished, washes the heart and bathes, and unites the upper and middle Dantians (energy centers)—the sites in Daoist internal cultivation where Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen are preserved and nourished—as one. The heart and the breath come into harmonious accord, and the mysterious aperture, the key cavity spoken of in internal cultivation, opens all at once. One then rests in stillness and stability, clear and serene; though one does not deliberately contemplate, awareness is present of itself. Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate) first appears, wholly pure and untouched by dust.

The first prohibition is against impatience and rashness; the second is against dullness and confusion; the third is against recklessness and indulgence. One should grasp the principle they contain: a person’s original mind is originally empty and still, with nothing in it. There is no fixed “person” or “self,” nor any distinction between inner and outer. The state of mind is bright and open, as though it ran through heaven and earth. Once the incipient stirrings of change in all things are set in motion, every kind of thought and image appears. These appearances, however, are not the original substance of the mind. When they arise, do not examine them deliberately; when they fade, do not pursue them. Like floating clouds passing across the sky, once they have gone, they are gone.

What should be welcomed and nurtured is a clear, lucid state of mind, meeting every change with a peaceful heart. This is the second step in taking up the work of cultivation: in the scripture (Jing) it is called the “superior Virtue/Power (De)” spoken of in the Cantong qi (The Seal of the Unity of the Three). De here means a state of pure emptiness, quiet simplicity, and freedom from even a speck of defilement. Only when one neither clings to nor lingers over gain and loss, or over being and non-being, can one be said to have mastered the method.

The “center” spoken of in the text refers, in the narrow sense, to the inner Mysterious Female (xuanpin)—a term of Daoist internal alchemy (Neidan) for the fundamental place where living potential is conceived—also called the Central Yellow Spirit Chamber (Zhonghuang Shenshi). In the broad sense, it refers to the heart of heaven and earth, the Mysterious Female of the creative process. Its essential point is “non-abiding and non-attachment”: the mind does not remain fixed on any thought or scene, nor does it cling to them. The phrase “what appears is not the substance of mind” means that the thoughts and images arising in cultivation are not the original substance of the mind and should not be taken for the original mind.

Patriarch Lü said: “At this step, a jumble of mixed visions is sure to appear. 〈Xie’s note: Elixir texts call this moment the ‘living noon hour’ (huo wushi).〉 If there is the slightest stagnation or disturbance, the mind will go awry; not only will there be no benefit, but the harm will be considerable, and there will be no way to begin the next step. How can one fail to be cautious!” (Yide) I privately hold that if one merely enters into the sense of the two words “roaming” (you) and “leisure” (xian), one will naturally apprehend their inner purport, and one’s practice will accord with the patriarch’s teaching. 〈Xie’s note: Although one has received the descent and regulation of the Qi (vital energy) of Primal Qian, this remains a realm within the human mind. The myriad things are profuse and the human mind is complex, and so mixed visions arise; the practitioner easily chases after illusions. If at this moment even a thread of selfish intent is mixed in, one fears that defects will arise. One should therefore keep the mind free of any stray thought.〉

The explanation of the third step

The Gou hexagram (one of the sixty-four hexagrams of the Zhouyi, or Book of Changes, symbolizing the first arising of yielding Yin and its meeting with firm Yang). 〈Xie’s note: The circulation returns to the position of noon. Passing from the Guai hexagram through the Qian hexagram and back to the Gou hexagram, one can see, in the cultivation of the Dao (the Way) of the elixir, the efficacy of returning to the root and restoring the origin. The secret lies only in “no thought within thought.”〉

The Gou hexagram has Xun below and Qian above. The hexagram statement says: “Gou means meeting; it is the meeting of yielding, compliant Yin with firm, vigorous Yang.” Yin belongs to the yielding. “The firm meets what is central and correct, and greatly prevails throughout the world” means using firm vigor to restrain yielding weakness. The nine in the fifth place occupies the center and attains correctness, and so it is said that “the firm meets what is central and correct.” Yin Qi begins to sprout, and therefore one should promptly observe it and draw it in. The Gou hexagram and the Fu hexagram communicate with each other: at the time of Fu, dragons and snakes all lie dormant; when Gou is reached, the myriad things begin to grow and unfold. This speaks of the pattern of Yin-Yang in latency and in waning and waxing. The image of the hexagram says: “Heaven and Earth meet, and the myriad things all become manifest.” Therefore paths of every kind open at once. The Commentary on the Images says “there is wind under heaven,” meaning that no path is blocked.

When the circulation reaches the position of noon, the secret lies only in diligent contemplation. 〈Xie’s note: When cultivation reaches this stage, one easily falls into distraction or torpor, and so one must contemplate diligently.〉

When practice reaches the noon stage, the only instruction is to observe diligently and maintain awareness. At this point in cultivation one easily becomes scattered or drowsy, so one must concentrate the Shen (spirit) and contemplate with focused attention, keeping this awareness continuous and unbroken. This is what is called “no-thought within thought.”

At this time the original spirit (Yuanshen, the inner spiritual source) is greatly awakened. Body and mind seem to merge with the external world, and heaven, earth, the myriad things, and all people appear within the aperture of the heart-mind. This is precisely when the primordial fortune is flourishing, abundant and complete, yet one must also guard against decline after the peak: once the sun reaches noon it begins to slant westward, and after the moon is full it wanes. One must therefore continue to gather in the mind and spirit and maintain contemplation.

“Noon,” in the course of worldly fortune, refers to the Middle Prime; in the human body it corresponds to the heart; and in the firing times of cultivation it is the living hour of wu, precisely the moment when the first yin is born. One should therefore gather in the mind and spirit in good time and concentrate on contemplation.

The Dun hexagram (one of the sixty-four hexagrams of the Yijing, the Classic of Changes, with Gen above and Qian below, symbolizing withdrawal). Its Image says: “Under heaven there is a mountain: Dun. The superior person keeps petty people at a distance, not with hatred but with severity.” This means the superior person should stay far from petty people, without needing to hate them, yet remaining strict and upright. Qian symbolizes the superior person and also carries the sense of distance and strict uprightness. Wei (one of the earthly branches), though it occupies the foremost position, already shows the image of withdrawal; to be distant and yet strict and upright is precisely the method of setting the root right and clarifying the source and the stream.

When one reaches the proper position of the wei hour, one must set the root right and clarify the source and the stream. What is presented from the Gou hexagram to the Bo hexagram is a process that leads step by step from the present toward the Dao (the Way). Firm yang occupies its proper position, while yin Qi (vital energy) gradually increases, and so signs of deviation appear.

When the fortunes of the age have already developed to the time of “Wei Zheng,” one must rectify the root and clarify the source. [Xie’s note holds that what appears from the Gou hexagram through the Bo hexagram is the prospect of the fortunes of the age from the present into the future. The spans of time and the ranges that people of differing cultivation can sense within the Mysterious Aperture (Xuanqiao)—the crucial aperture, in internal cultivation, through which one contemplates changes in body and mind—are not the same. For those of shallow attainment, there may appear the fortunes of the age over one year to several years, within the bounds of a township or a county; for those of deep attainment, there may appear, in a single moment, the fortunes of the age over ten years, a hundred years, or even a thousand years, reaching as far as a province, a nation, or even all under Heaven. When the Kun hexagram is reached, the myriad things return in their multitudes to stillness. The essential point of this oral formula is to hold fast the original spirit (Yuan Shen, a person’s fundamental spirit), to gather body and mind together with the myriad phenomena of the world into the Central Yellow Ancestral Aperture (Zhonghuang Zuqiao, the core aperture of the middle region spoken of in internal cultivation), and to return them to vacant nothingness and undifferentiated chaos. Healing the way of the world begins here: with upright intention one maintains balance, and does not allow the signs of cold and decline to develop to excess.]

Another collated edition records roughly the same. The Tao edition reads “already” as “if,” and writes the following clause as “then there is partiality,” saying that this is brought about by the common people forgetting goodness: when the way of the world has been peaceful and secure for too long, the people crave only comfortable ease; grown used to ease, they forget good conduct, and once goodness is forgotten, evil thoughts already lie latent. This is a tendency that forms of itself. Only by entering into the meaning of the phrase “rectify the root and clarify the source” can one find where to begin. According to Xie’s understanding, the oral formula transforms the fortunes of the age by “welcoming the One”; it does not merely accord with Kun Yuan, the yielding and receptive Qi (vital energy) represented by the Kun hexagram.

The Pi Hexagram

In the Pi hexagram, Kun is within and Qian is without. The hexagram statement says: “Heaven and Earth do not interact, and the myriad things do not communicate. The petty person is within, and the noble person is without.” Thus the surface appears strong and flourishing, while the inside is empty. “The great departs and the small comes,” and therefore one ought to cultivate the root. This is the time when Heaven and Earth are blocked and the myriad things do not communicate.

When the time of “Shen Zheng” arrives, one must set about cultivating the root.

At the hour of Youzheng, the trend of fortune stands at the beginning of the Lower Epoch. People of that time were accustomed to ease, knew nothing of rousing themselves to effort, and lacked concern for the long term. Social custom was ostentatious, and conduct valued form while lacking substance, and so it is called “outwardly strong.” On the other hand, the foundations of the people’s livelihood had gradually weakened, primordial Qi (vital energy) was dispersing, and all things were steadily being exhausted, and so it is called “dried up within.” Only when calamity descends do people hastily venture a response, which instead hastens ruin—truly lamentable. Those who aspire to cultivate the Dao (the Way) should take the nurturing of the root as essential, reflecting on misfortune in advance and preventing disaster before it arises.

The Guan hexagram (Xun above as Wind, Kun below as Earth) symbolizes observation and moral instruction. The Image Commentary says: “Wind moves over the earth; this is the Guan hexagram. The former kings therefore toured the regions, observed the conditions of the people, and carried out instruction.” The Guan hexagram lays weight on instructing the people, and so the prevailing custom ought to be made entirely new. The position of the fifth line does not change and is called “Great Observation above”; lying close to the Qian hexagram, it is spoken of as “welcoming Qian.” The Tao edition writes “completing the worthy kalpa,” indicating that the hexagram image of the You hour also contains the Jian hexagram and the Mingyi hexagram, symbols of a difficult turn in the times.

If one is precisely at Youzheng, the key to cultivation lies in “bringing renewal,” that is, in making the mind and Shen (spirit) clear and renewed. Xie’s annotation explains that in cultivation one removes only the mind of deluded consciousness and does not extinguish the mind of luminous awareness: the light of the Qian-yuan at the crown gate is joined with the light of Shen in the mind’s eye and then shone downward. This is a formula of preparatory practice, and the concrete method appears under “the first step.” The general essential is “central harmony”: if one is already in a state of central harmony, there is no need to add any further practice.

The same account is given in the Kuizhong shu. After “youzheng,” the Tao edition reads, “The formula is simply to welcome Qian, so as to bring about a worthy kalpa,” a wording that answers to the sense here. “Youzheng” refers to the middle cycle of the lower epoch. The old and turbid customs should be met with the Qi (vital energy) of Qian and thereby washed clean, so that the people may renew themselves. The stubborn and the wicked still wish to stand alongside the upright; yet if the people can be brought to renew themselves, a great calamitous cycle may be reduced to a lesser one. This is what is called a “worthy kalpa.” Set beside the unbroken succession of warfare, the two are far apart. Patriarch Lü’s meaning here runs deep. The so-called “worthy kalpa” refers to such disasters as famine, pestilence, and flood.

The Bo Hexagram

In this hexagram the inner trigram is Kun and the outer trigram is Gen. It is the hexagram of the xu month. The Qian Zao Du says: “Yin Qi takes injury as its function. The season is the ninth month, when Yang Qi declines and disperses, yet in the end Yin Qi cannot wholly destroy Yang Qi.” Xie’s note points out that the crux lies in the words “cannot exhaust Yang”: after the movement of Qi, one can therefore pass through the Kun hexagram and return to the zi month represented by the Fu hexagram, the moment when Yang Qi is first born. The Neidan (internal alchemy) practice of returning to the root and restoring the origin is thereby made plain.

Petty people cannot completely overpower the superior person, and so the hexagram is called “Bo,” meaning that the situation is still unsettled. The Commentary on the Judgment says: “It is not favorable to set out, because the power of petty people is on the rise.”

Kun

All six lines are yin lines, and this is the Hai hexagram. The hexagram’s De (Virtue/Power) is yielding compliance and holding to what is correct, while its hexagram Qi (vital energy) withdraws and lies hidden at the Gui position, symbolizing extreme darkness in which yang Qi is wholly exhausted. The divinatory statement therefore includes the words “Treading on frost, solid ice arrives,” meaning that when thin frost has only just appeared underfoot, one should already anticipate that bitter cold and the freezing of ice are about to come. Xu and Hai correspond to the Bo hexagram and the Kun hexagram, which is why the text says “employ the methods of Zhun and Meng, and await the coming of the Fu hexagram”: one should not cling rigidly to the hexagram then in force, but follow the trend of the time and adopt a fitting course. At this moment one ought to rest in stillness and nourish oneself. Xu and Hai correspond to the lower parts and extremities of the body, and also symbolize the fortune of the age standing in the lower epoch and the lower cycle; whether in cultivating the self or in assessing the world, one should rest in stillness and nourish oneself.

Xie adds that the oral formula here is to let Shen (spirit) abide with the breath and bring Shen and Qi into unity, so that Shen returns to the Kun abdomen—the yin and still place symbolizing the belly—and rests fully. This is not dull torpor, nor is it yang Qi sinking into or being buried by yin Qi; rather, one enters the undivided state of chaos. In the terms of Neidan (internal alchemy) practice, one must at this time take special care to avoid dull torpor.

When fortune reaches the time of Xu and Hai, one should employ the methods of Zhun and Meng and quietly await the renewed arising of the yang Qi symbolized by the Fu hexagram.

In the Kuizhongshu the wording is the same here; the Tao edition gives the next line as “only Tun and Meng,” and the meaning agrees with the present book. “Tun” and “Meng” symbolize the myriad things lying in darkness, not yet clear; one need only nurture them and wait for them to revive.

The hexagram Tun has Zhen below and Kan above. It symbolizes meeting danger and obstruction in the course of action, when the fortunes of the kalpa are full of hardship. Hence it is said, “In Tun it is advantageous to abide in correctness,” meaning that in difficult times one should hold securely to the correct Dao (the Way). The hexagram Meng has Kan below and Gen above: Kan symbolizes wisdom, and Gen symbolizes coming to rest. Spiritual nature is blocked, and the subtle apertures have not yet opened. Hence it is said, “Meng serves to nurture correctness,” meaning that one should nurture the correct Dao amid obscurity.

When the great yuan-cycle (the larger cycle of fortune-reckoning) reaches the time of Xu and Hai, the myriad things all return to rest; when the small yuan-cycle (the smaller cycle of fortune-reckoning) reaches the time of Xu and Hai, one should likewise set store by rest and recuperation and preserve primordial Qi (vital energy). Patriarch Lü says, “If one inquires into why matters have come to this point, it is always because one has failed in watchful discernment and failed in nurturing.” This means that decline within the small yuan-cycle can still be reversed beforehand. (Yide)

A commentarial note says: The Yijing (Jing, scripture/classic) teaches that “every beneficial principle is to be carried forward in keeping with the times”; the Shangshu teaches that “the Dao has its rise and decline, and the affairs of government are renewed as customs change.” This shows that Confucianism governs the age according to whether the momentum of fortune is favorable or adverse. The Huayan Jing says that, with pure and radiant light, one illuminates the whole world and, bearing vows free of obstruction, abides through every kalpa, ever striving to benefit all beings; the Lengyan Jing says that, through kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, one delivers the world and brings beings to peace. This shows that Buddhism, across immeasurable kalpas, continually works to remedy the age.

This is the third step in taking up the practice.

In the box is the editor’s note. The seventeen characters mentioned inside it—“Patriarch Lü (Lüzu) said: If one inquires into the reason things have come to this, it is altogether because illumination has been lost and nurturing has been lost”—are not matched by any expression such as “Patriarch Lü said” anywhere before or after in the original book. They may be a record made when people of a later time took this book to consult Patriarch Lü, which a copyist mistakenly wrote into the main text. The editor therefore placed the passage in the annotation that precedes it.

The editor further says that the content of the first two steps in the book, from the crown of the head to the chest, concerns cultivation of the body and does not discuss worldly affairs. The third step divides function into six periods of time. When the wu hour is reached, the correspondence is with the heart; the heart is the master of the body and also symbolizes the master of an age. From the wei hour onward, the correspondence is with the abdomen, which also symbolizes Jambudvīpa (a Buddhist term for the human world). Worldly affairs differ from one another, and the methods of remedy differ as well, so the book analyzes them period by period, explaining how to accord with the movement of the times and bring this function into play.

The workings of these six periods all belong to the realm of learning. The meaning is that, before they are put into practice, the methods of the Dao (the Way) must be made full. At each of the hours wu, wei, shen, you, xu, and hai, one must receive the infusion of the Qi (vital energy) of Qian; Qian here symbolizes the sovereign. That is to say, only when one first has the learning by which to meet change as the moment requires and to order the way of the world can one bear the heavy responsibilities of the world; only when one can harmonize the primordial Qi of heaven and earth and assist the transformative nurturing of the myriad things can one reach and move the heart of the sovereign. One who wishes to bestow grace upon the people must first take assisting the sovereign as the essential task. Xie’s note particularly points out that this speaks of the importance of xinggong (the work of cultivating mind and nature).

The teaching of the fourth step

Fu (the name of a hexagram in the Yijing, or Classic of Changes, symbolizing the return of yang Qi)

The inner trigram is Zhen and the outer trigram is Kun. Zhen symbolizes cultivating oneself and examining oneself, so as to draw blessings near; Kun symbolizes a De (Virtue/Power) vast and great, in accord with heaven and earth. The Commentary on the Judgment says: “The hexagram Fu is smoothly penetrating; firm yang returns and advances by following the momentum, and it is favorable to go forward. This is because the Qi of firm yang is growing.” Yang Qi returns to the initial line and moves in accord with the Dao of Heaven; yin Qi complies and responds. This symbolizes a worthy and enlightened minister meeting and joining with the sovereign.

When the flower opens and the Buddha is seen, an auspicious celebratory assembly is thereby brought about, to endure for ten thousand years. This is the fourth step in beginning to set one’s hand to cultivation.

Thereupon the “flower” within the heart (xinhua, symbolizing inner light) opens, and the Buddha-nature can be seen; of itself a grand assembly forms in which all under heaven rejoice together, enduring for ten thousand years. This is the fourth step of cultivation. 〈Xie’s commentary: When the Qi (vital energy) of true Yang first arises, Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth) and Yin-Yang enter into wondrous union; the three fields—the upper, middle, and lower Dantian (energy centers)—merge into one; the single Qi, the primordial qi, is born out of emptiness, and the complete form of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) then appears.〉

〈Editor’s supplementary note: Some versions write “thereupon” as “and thereafter,” and add after it the two clauses “there is yet another wondrous function, which does not go beyond loyalty and steadfastness”; beneath “of itself bringing about the celebratory assembly” they also have the two words “and thereby attain.” “Flower” refers to the Heart-Flower Buddha, used as a figure for the sovereign. “Opening” means laying open the heart and meeting others with sincerity: harboring no subjective bias, guiding in accord with the moment, correcting faults and calling forth goodwill, with a power that takes effect as swiftly as snow falling into a red-hot furnace. “Not going beyond loyalty and steadfastness” means that when ruler and ministers are loyal and hold to what is right, they can be of one heart and one mind, with mutual trust between those above and those below, without relying on spoken or written words; hence it is called “brought about of itself,” that is, sincere intention naturally gets through. Loyalty is being the same within and without; steadfastness is never slackening day or night. Thus an atmosphere of solemn harmony can fill both above and below. Ruler and ministers all stand within one and the same movement of Qi: the sovereign is above and takes De (Virtue/Power) as the root; the people of the realm are below, and they too are within this movement of Qi. People in distant places receive its blessing unseen, yet do not necessarily know it. Patriarch Lü said, “Only one who understands how to receive the ‘One’ and the ‘Primordial’ can accomplish this.” 〈Yide〉 The commentary further cites the Book of Documents, “harmonizing Yin and Yang, and reverently and carefully assisting Heaven and Earth,” the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, “with regard to unsurpassed bodhi, being well able to penetrate it, awakening to and penetrating the Tathāgata and exhausting the Buddha’s realm,” and the Dhāraṇī Sūtra for Upholding the World, “benefiting and bringing peace and joy to all sentient beings,” to show that the functions described in these scriptures are the same.〉

Exposition of the Fifth Step

The inner trigram is Dui and the outer trigram is Kun. Dui represents joy and Kun represents yielding compliance, so there is no barrier between them. The Commentary on the Judgment says: “Joyful and yielding, the firm and vigorous one dwells in the center and meets with response.” Joy together with yielding compliance is the root that blends the myriad things into one; the firm and vigorous dwelling in the center and responding in turn embodies the De (Virtue/Power) of subtle coalescence—that is, great and far-reaching prevalence while holding to the correct Dao (the Way).

At this stage, the work of cultivation has reached a realm without the slightest obstruction. In every gesture, the raising of a hand or the placing of a foot, there is no need for deliberate planning; action accords of itself. This is because the two currents of Qi (vital energy) have already fused into one, and the heart’s resolve and the intent of Shen (spirit) are no longer scattered. It is the manifestation of the wondrous efficacy of subtle coalescence. This is the fifth step in taking up cultivation.

Xie’s note: Floating freely within the compass, one nourishes true Qi by embryonic breathing, so that cultivation reaches a realm without the slightest obstruction, in which Qian and Kun blend into one.

The Kuizhong shu and the Tao edition have the same wording; the Wenzheng collected edition differs slightly. Patriarch Lü says: “When cultivation has reached this point, one must go further and forget the distinction between self and others, letting the upright Qi of Heaven and Earth billow and circulate until it fills all between Heaven and Earth. Only then can the efficacy described above appear. If a contrary and discordant stirring of Qi should occasionally show itself, one ought to clear it by means of the Human Yuan, and then redouble the welcoming of the Qian Yuan so as to renew it, and welcome the Kun Yuan so as to harmonize it; with the still and silent original substance one nourishes the True One, bringing all back to unity. In this way there will naturally arise a state in which the ruler is sagely enlightened, the ministers worthy and capable, and those above and below of one heart, and the practice of cultivation will not grow slack. A realm of peace, harmony, and flourishing may be expected before long.” (Yide)

Comment: The Book of Documents says, “All possess one De,” and the Diamond Sutra says, “Because merit and virtue are without existence, the Tathagata therefore says that merit and virtue are abundant.” Both are speaking of the Dao.

Xie’s note: In terms of cultivation in the human body, “Human Yuan” refers to the true Yang of embryonic breathing born of the harmonious union of the two Qi of the heart and the kidneys; “Qian Yuan” refers to the Shen-fire of the Baihui point; “Kun Yuan” refers to the original Qi of the Yongquan point and the ocean floor, together with Kun-fire. The three fuse into one and return to primordial chaos, and one nourishes this in stillness and silence. Only then does the “True” that can preside over these three become manifest, and so it is called the “True One.”

The Sixth Step: Expounding the Teaching

Tai.

The inner trigram is Qian and the outer trigram is Kun. The hexagram statement says: “The Qi (vital energy) of heaven and earth intermingles, and so the myriad things flow freely; above and below interact, and their intentions communicate with each other.” The Image says: “The ruler should bring to completion the patterns by which heaven and earth operate, and assist what is fitting in heaven and earth, so as to govern the people.” This is the image of yielding Yin assisting firm Yang, and of Kun compliantly receiving the commands of Qian: all affairs flourish, and the four seas are at peace.

When cultivation reaches this stage, it is like a court peaceful, harmonious, and flourishing, with the hundred officials each fulfilling their duties, and the people’s hardships all known to the ruler. One then receives the “True One” (the state in which body and mind are united with primordial Qi), causing it to shine downward and preside over every part of the body. One next receives the Kun yuan (the primordial Qi of Kun, the earth) to nourish it, and nurtures the true Qi by fetal breathing (breathing as subtle and prolonged as that of a fetus); then, by means of the Qian yuan (the primordial Qi of Qian, heaven), one returns it to unity and seals it firmly with Shen-fire (spirit-fire—the firing process moved by intention in internal cultivation). Earthly Qi rises and heavenly Qi descends, joining at the Central Yellow in the center of the body (a term of internal cultivation referring to the crucial place in the middle of the body).

In this way, it is as if the myriad things flourish and the people are sincere, generous, and compliant. The above is the sixth step in setting one’s hand to cultivation. In terms of the cultivator’s body and mind, this is the unity of heaven and humanity: the True One of the Limitless appears, and Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) naturally arises and transforms; one’s own fetal breathing merges and blends with the two Qi of heaven and earth, and the breath circulates through the channels, vessels, and apertures of the whole body. This is the meaning of “The Dao (the Way) gives birth to the One; the One gives birth to the Two; the Two give birth to the Three; the Three give birth to the myriad things.” In terms of the way of the world, it is peace throughout the realm, pure and upright popular customs, abundant produce, free communication between above and below, and the mutual response of kindred Qi.

The wording of the Kuizhong shu is the same as in the Tao edition; the corresponding sentence in the Wenzhengzang edition is rather elaborate, and so it has not been copied in full. Yide comments: The Book of Rites says, “De (Virtue/Power) is the root of innate nature. It reaches upward to Heaven and extends downward throughout the Earth, moves between Yin and Yang, and can also communicate with ghosts and spirits.” When the working of De attains this state, Heaven and Earth proceed smoothly, the four seasons each keep their proper order, the virtue symbolized by the Gen hexagram flourishes, and the five grains yield abundant harvests. The Book of Songs says, “The gentleman is sincere and excellent, and truly accomplishes a great undertaking.” This speaks of the principle by which inner cultivation and outer practice accord with one another. The Diamond Sutra says, “What the Buddha speaks of is not a body in the ordinary sense, and is therefore called the great body; it can contain the vast world within a single grain of millet.” The Amitabha Sutra says, “In the land of Amitabha Buddha, beings have no sufferings of any kind and enjoy only every kind of happiness, and it is therefore called Ultimate Bliss.” All these statements show that the Dao (the Way) is embodied in a single person, while its efficacy extends to all living beings—a principle of broadly bestowing blessings without end. The Confucian and Buddhist teachings of aiding the world and relieving suffering are likewise all contained in this book.

Ancestor Lü said: “This is the highest meritorious work of pacifying the age and saving the world. It is something a sage is able to do, yet one need not depend on external conditions. Heaven and earth, the four quarters, the nine provinces and the myriad kingdoms—none of them depart from the belly of Kun (Kun symbolizes the earth; here it indicates, by analogy, the root that bears the myriad things). Within the space of a single breath one can communicate with it. Everyone can learn it. The essential point is that the will must be firm. One must strictly avoid acting by one’s own petty cleverness.”

He also said: “Heaven and earth are originally without a selfish mind; they only lodge their mind in human beings. Therefore human beings are able to act, and where there is action there are sure to be results.”

“One should know that the rise and decline of the age has three stages—the upper, the middle, and the lower—just as a person has youth, the prime of life, and old age. Everyone hopes to remain young and robust for a long time. Would Heaven and earth not hope to remain for a long time in a season of flourishing? Thus one must grasp the transformations of Heaven and earth through the course of a human life. That is why Heaven and earth have left these words, waiting for people of resolve to put them into practice.

“Within them lies an extremely profound principle that, from ancient times onward, has never been fully spoken out. When I heard this teaching in my early years, I always held an expectation in my heart. Only after my cultivation of the Dao (the Way) had succeeded and my merits and practices were complete did I understand that I had never truly practiced it in the past. Now I can only transmit these principles, leaving them for those who come later to take up and carry out. For the moment you need not press all the way to the bottom. I will first explain in detail the root on which the accomplishment of this Dao depends.

“The Cantong qi (The Seal of the Unity of the Three) and the Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality) are sufficient to bring the cultivation of life (ming) to completion; the Changdao zhenyan (True Words on Expounding the Dao) is sufficient to bring the cultivation of nature (xing) to completion; the Dadong yujing (Jade Scripture of the Great Cavern) is sufficient to transform ordinary temperament; and the Sanni yishi (The Three Nís Heal the World) is sufficient for realizing the fruit of the Dao. Yet the Cantong qi and the Wuzhen pian contain many obscure passages, and it is easy to be led astray. The meaning of the Dadong yujing is concise yet complete. It can transform and nurture temperament, and its efficacy is exceedingly subtle. One then uses the Changdao zhenyan to refine the mind, so that the Three Treasures—Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit), the three fundamentals of which Daoist internal cultivation speaks—become rich, substantial, and pure. After that one consults the Cantong qi and the Wuzhen pian in order to complete the cultivation of life, and follows the Dao of healing the world in order to realize the fruit.

“Realizing the fruit must be confirmed by actual practice. What undertaking could be more momentous than the Sanni yishi shuo (Discourse of the Three Nís on Healing the World)? Alas—even a single woman nursing an unrighted grievance can bring about an anomaly such as three years without rain. If baleful matters have such power, auspicious matters have power equally. I once sought confirmation from the Three Nís (Sanni) in person, and they all said that it is indeed so. The Three Nís also said: ‘If the cultivation of nature is not complete, the response will not be pure; if the cultivation of life is not complete, the attainment will not be secure; if temperament has not reached the realm of sages and worthies, the working will not be numinous. After the Three Treasures are all complete and one has returned to the Prior Heaven (xiantian), one must rely on the multitude to carry it out.’ This is that extremely profound principle. I had not heard it in the past; now you may comprehend it.

“Otherwise, if the Two Great Ones (Heaven and earth) each made plans on their own, would that not be far too negligent? If the myriad sages held office all together, would that not be far too remiss? Is this not one great question that living beings have had since ancient times? From now on, while this body is still with you, you must strive at every moment to practice and must not grow slack. To realize the fruit of the Dao within this single lifetime—is that not entirely fitting?

“To treat illness one must know the root of the disease. If one does not know the root, how is one to set to work? Heaven and earth are originally without mind and without desire, yet they cherish life. When the generating and nourishing of the myriad things goes too far, depletion follows. In healing there are the methods of ‘when the child is ill, tonify the mother’ and ‘when the mother is ill, tonify the child.’ Preserving the root and renewing the people is one method; cherishing the people and warding off calamity is also a method. Only this Dao of healing the world, like a tonic that turns in continuous circulation, can be applied without cease. It costs no wealth and demands no toil. One need only practice quiet sitting to accomplish the meritorious work, bring it to completion, and ascend. Rather than pursuing three thousand merits and eight hundred practices, depending on others at every turn, it is better to carry it out by a single thought, applying it freely—and the oral instructions are not elaborate. To let the time pass idly in vain instead—would that not be muddled? The moment has come; the moment has come. On no account wait any longer.”

The above was revealed in the third year of the Daoguang reign (1823).

It further says: “Once the two fundamental forms of primordial Qi (vital energy), Qian Yuan and Kun Yuan, have been restored, the myriad things will flourish and people will become sincere and good. When people are sincere and good, the myriad things thrive; when the myriad things thrive, people become all the more sincere and good. When both people and the myriad things prosper in goodness, is this not peace and order in the world? Does this not precisely mean that they regulate and restore one another? What more is there to wait and see?

In former times the divine person of Mount Guye, Xu Jing, whose courtesy name was Ziyou, inaugurated in the age of Yao and Shun the Dao (the Way) of harmonizing Qian Yuan and Kun Yuan. The floodwaters were brought under control and the Miao people submitted—is this not clear proof? The matter is also recorded in the Questions and Answers of Ge and Lu. A still clearer example is the Buddhist Jing (scripture/classic), the Chishi Tuoluoni Jing: the Buddha personally transmitted the scriptural method to Elder Miaoyue of the kingdom of Jiaomi, and to this day the Western Regions still enjoy its grace. All of this is found in the Buddhist scriptures. How could merits and virtuous conduct of this kind ever be measured?

Within our Daoist tradition, the only ones who have attained the fruit of immortality by means of this Dao are the Seven Masters of the Northern School (the seven patriarchs of the Northern Lineage of Quanzhen [Complete Perfection]); yet everyone may learn it. In the past the gracious command (a sacred decree) of the Divine Mother of Yuqing (Jade Clarity) had not been received, so this method of the Dao was kept secret and not made known, and none dared to disclose it. Now, having received the gracious command, an edict has been sent down through the Three Heavens and proclaimed throughout the Three Realms, permitting the method to be transmitted and practiced without distinction of male and female. The Three Heavens and the Three Realms patrol and protect it day and night. Faithful devotees who receive and uphold this method will obtain a response whenever they seek one, and demonic evils will be unable to encroach upon them. This is truly an opportunity unprecedented since heaven and earth were opened—a blessing for the creative transformations of Heaven and Earth, and a blessing for countless generations.

What is precious, however, is that someone set an example through personal cultivation. The remaining oral instructions all take accord with Zhenyi (the state of original authenticity and unity) as their foundation, while the actual work of practice begins with the section on taixi (a method of cultivation through deep, slow regulation of the breath, as if breathing like a fetus). I knew that this method of the Dao would not remain hidden forever; therefore the discourses previously sent down in revelation have been preserved in the Longqiao Mountain Studio of this mountain. Now what has never before been disclosed is made fully public. You should together revere it and carefully observe it, and you must on no account harbor thoughts of seeking proof or seeking success. Now, even without deliberately seeking verification, verification will come of itself: the principle is inherently so, and the Dao is inherently so.”

Such are the admonitions of Patriarch Lü. Those who aspire to cultivate this Dao (the Way), upon reading this book, will surely be able to bring out principles that earlier writers had not yet made clear, and will practice them in person and strive to carry them through. The Three Nīs—the three sages of Buddhism—will also watch and discern in silence, unseen.

I, Yide, have collected the teachings Patriarch Lü left behind and have elucidated the original sense of this book. Most of what remains is taken from the Inner Collection of Patriarch Lü’s Tianxian Zhengzong, compiled and printed by Vice Minister Jiang Yuanting. In his postscript the Vice Minister says: “I have heard that Mount Wuhua in Yunnan holds The Patriarch’s Scripture Discoursing on Healing the World, a Jing (scripture/classic) that seems to contain the profound principles set forth in the Inner Collection. I searched widely and never found it; had I obtained it, I meant to place it before the Inner Collection. This scripture, I should think, must preserve matters of real importance and subtlety. That the Daozang does not include it is truly a regrettable gap.”

I, Yide, privately hold that the book the Vice Minister heard of may be the version from Mount Jizu, and that what he says of this scripture rests only on report. Judged by the original preface of Vinaya Master Tao, these practical formulas are not scripture, so to call the work Lü Zu’s Healing of the World is likewise inexact. I note this here, to await later investigation. Respectfully recorded by Yide.

Practical Formulas of Patriarch Lü for the Three Nīs’ Healing of the World

Postscript

The printed edition of the book kept in the chest originally had no diagrams of the hexagrams. The Zhu-family manuscript I obtained, however, places a hexagram image before each section. Some suspect that these hexagrams were added later. The matter is left for later verification.

Practical Formulas of Patriarch Lü for the Three Nīs’ Healing of the World

Postscript

The edition preserved in the woodblock-printed collection originally had no hexagram images, yet in the Zhu-family manuscript I obtained, a hexagram image is drawn at the head of every section. Some suspect that these images were added later by people studying the Dao (the Way). I hold that the manuscript has circulated for a long time and should not be cut, and so I have elucidated the meanings of the hexagram images and retained them.

Someone else asked: “The calamities and maladies of the world are of many kinds, and the methods for ordering the age are likewise many. Praying to avert drought and flood, dispelling disasters and portents, quieting war and disorder, curing illness, rescuing those caught in fire or drowning, and withstanding great catastrophes all depend on great spiritual powers and great ritual efficacy—on deploying talismans and reciting incantations—if every situation is to be met. This book now uses only a single method and yet would treat every kind of ill. Is that not too simple? Or did the work originally contain every sort of magical art, which you have simply never seen?”

I replied: “What you speak of is technique; what this book sets forth is the Dao. I know that this book certainly does not treat of technique. One who understands the profound learning will not stoop to displaying illusions such as striking stones or contending at chess, and one who has grasped the wondrous workings will not stoop to skills such as raising a wind with a feather fan or summoning rain by lifting a cup. How could the great Dao of the sages be mixed with such arts? That I have not seen the book in full is indeed true; that I have failed to see magical arts within the complete book, I do not believe. Of this book, the editions one meets give differing accounts, and the reports one hears likewise disagree. Who knows whether some curious person copied sayings about talismans and incantations from other books and forced them onto this one? Later readers, seeing them, mistook them for the original text, and error was passed on as error, so that the contents drifted into the occult arts; it is also possible that someone forged material to deceive others. Do not be misled or made a fool of by such claims; they may as well be burned.”

The other asked again: “If that is so, with disasters and ills so many, can a single teaching really resolve them? Or can one only stand by with folded hands and let them come to pass?”

I replied: “You do not yet understand the Dao, and yet you delight in talking of technique. The scope of technique is small and the scope of the Dao is great; this is not something you can grasp. Every ill in the world arises because the Qi (vital energy) of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) has grown one-sidedly excessive. Each of us bears in the body the upright Qi of the Five Phases, corresponding also to the territorial Qi and fortunes of the five directions. Once the root of the malady is found and regulation is applied to it, the Qi-dynamic of the world can be taken into oneself and contemplated: inwardly one does not cling to ‘self,’ and outwardly one does not cling to ‘other.’ What is excessive is diminished, what is deficient is supplemented, what is congested is dispersed, what is obstinate is dissolved, and what runs contrary and disordered is brought into harmony. The ills of the world are beyond counting, and the ways of treating them cannot be told in full; one should look to the waxing and waning, fullness and emptiness of the Qi-dynamic, observe the concrete case, and then apply regulation.

When an individual is ill, the condition may be treated through the movement and transformation of one’s own Yin-Yang; when the way of the world is ill, it too may be regulated and nurtured through one’s own Yin-Yang. There is no need to rush into action, and yet affairs respond swiftly—truly marvelous! But this is not something human effort can accomplish. It depends on the Primordial of Qian, the Primordial of Kun, and the True One (the source-Qi of the Dao). When this fundamental Qi is welcomed and nourished, the response is as swift as an echo. Still more, when the great Dao is carried into practice, why wait until after misfortune has arisen before correcting deviations and remedying abuses? Once this principle is understood, one will not be confused by talismans, incantations, and the arts of number.”

In the first month of summer of the wuzi year of the Daoguang reign (1828), Min Yide of Mount Jingai in Huzhou, Zhejiang, eleventh generation of the orthodox Longmen lineage, carefully wrote this colophon at Ganlu Garden in Jinling.

Transmitted by Grand Master Taixu, Shen Yibing, and rearranged and annotated by his disciple Min Yide.

“Sanni” (the Three Nis) refers to Zhongni (Confucius), Muni (Śākyamuni), and Qingni. “Shi” means the world. Here “shi” also refers to the human body, so “yishi” (healing the world) means beginning with cultivation of oneself and thereby healing the world.

Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) once had a printed edition of the Sanni Yishi Shuoshu (An Account of the Three Nis Healing the World). I obtained it and wrote an explanatory commentary on it, but the cultivation formulas in it were still incomplete. Later I received a booklet of formulas from Elder Taixu. Elder Taixu said that the method of cultivation requires only that Shen (spirit) and intention hold the Jade Scripture (Daoist classics, or the scriptural texts used in cultivation), while the formulas begin with recitation of the “Xuanyun Zhou” (Mystery-Containing Incantation).

This booklet of formulas was once taken away by a friend, and only after more than forty years was I able to recover it. I then rearranged the whole book and annotated it with my own hand, and later added invocations to explain how the method is put into practice. Only then were the formulas and the method complete. Unwilling to keep this material as my private possession, I carefully make it public for fellow practitioners.

The Mystery-Containing Incantation

Yunzhuan, the cloud-seal script (the cloud-like talismanic characters spoken of in Daoism), fills the Taixu (the vast, boundless void). This is the scene at the beginning of the vast kalpa (a long and immense cosmic cycle): it draws now near and now far, at times sinking and at times floating, wandering among the five directions (east, south, west, north, and center), its extent about one zhang.

I respectfully explain in accordance with the oral formulas of cultivation: my master instructed me to begin the compilation with Xuanyun Kaizhang (The Opening of the Mysterious Repository), hoping that learners would set mind and spirit back into the state before the myriad things came into being. Before a person is entrusted with a bodily form and born, one is originally of one body with the Great Void (Taixu, the vast, formless substance of the cosmos). Like cloud seal-script (yunzhuan, the celestial writing spoken of in Daoism) appearing at the first opening of Heaven and Earth, floating and sinking near and far among the five directions (east, south, west, north, and center), none of this has ever left the square zhang of the Heart of Heaven.

Once there is a bodily form and one becomes one among the myriad things, at first the original Qi (yuanqi) of innate truth has not yet been lost. Later, external things crowd in and clamor; the cognitive spirit (shishen, Shen—the mind-spirit swayed by seeing, hearing, and deliberation, which governs ordinary consciousness) begins to act, and one no longer knows how to return to innate truth. Over time, ingrained habits and the dust of worldly toil accumulate into illness. There is not even time to seek a physician, still less to practice this set of oral formulas.

Therefore I hope that those who aspire to this will first investigate things so as to extend knowledge, and make the intentions of the heart upright. Only after the heart’s intentions are sincere may one learn this set of oral formulas. Before each recitation of scripture (Jing), first realize inwardly and recite this incantation, so that the state of mind grows clear and returns to the primordial beginning. In this way the cognitive spirit has nowhere to remain; the original spirit of one’s natal destiny (benming yuanshen, the Shen joined to the source of a person’s life) grows settled, and the heart too can become calm. Once mind and spirit are settled, the true primordial endowment is restored; only then can the cloud seal-script fill the Great Void. This is clear proof of movement arising from ultimate stillness.

Yet this arising does not come from deliberate control. It floats and sinks between near and far, coming and going without a fixed course. As a manifestation it is at once supremely empty and numinous, and now hidden, now apparent. No sooner have the five directions shown the first traces of their outlines than cloud seal-script is already present in the Great Void, and it may naturally evolve further into images and take form as writing. Although the overall content therein waxes and wanes, it never departs from the square zhang of the Heart of Heaven. This is the principle of movement that does not leave ultimate stillness. It is like saying that the human heart does not leave the square inch: the square inch refers to the human heart, while the Heart of Heaven is called the square zhang.

The Heavenly Perfected August Person

According to Daoist canonical texts, in Heaven this is called the “Heavenly Perfected August Person” (Tianzhen Huangren); in the human being it is called the “original spirit of one’s natal destiny.”

Taking up the brush, one then writes, so as to unfold the Cavern Chapters

The “Cavern Chapters” (dongzhang) are the Jade Scripture, writing that records the coming-into-being of Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things. The Heavenly Perfected August Person is the perfection of Prior Heaven, and therefore can discern this and evolve it into scriptural text. In the human being, this refers to the numinous clarity of prior awakening: before the signs of a matter have appeared, numinous clarity has already perceived them. This is precisely the essential purport of the Jade Scripture; those who study it must not go against it.

One then proceeds to write the numinous talisman.

This is a passage from the Dongzhang (Cavern Chapters), set down after it was expounded by the Huangren—the sacred being who, according to legend, inscribed the true writs of the celestial realm—as a numinous text by which people may awaken in advance. Before the signs of events have yet appeared, spiritual perception has already discerned them. This alone is the orthodox purport of the Yujing (Jade Scripture); those who study it must not go against it.

Next, the numinous talisman is written.

This is a passage from the Dongzhang, set down after it was expounded by the Huangren, in which every character becomes a Fu (talisman).

Yuanshi descends, and the true writs spread far and wide.

What is meant here by “Yuanshi” is the celestial spirituality of the Yuanshi Fawang, the Dharma King of the Primordial Beginning—that is, the pure and genuine primordial Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) among the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity. “Zhenwen,” the true writs, are the sacred instructions of the sages brought forth through the transformation of these Three Powers and transmitted in response to the times; they also include the classics of the Three Teachings.

When they manifest, they are perfectly clear; when they withdraw, they are dim and hard to discern.

All of these are generated and transformed by Zhenyi (True Unity), the common origin of the myriad things. They express the principle that wondrous being and wondrous non-being appear only faintly, seeming opposed yet in fact forming one whole. For this reason the word “qi” (“their”) is used to gather them together.

The maladies of the world can heal of themselves, and the toil and entanglement of the dusty world can likewise receive support.

Maladies in the world arise half from human affairs and half from the perversity of the times and of fortune, and so they cannot be cured by medicine alone. The toils of the dusty world come half from acquired conditioning and half from inborn endowment, and so they cannot be restrained by authority or by favor alone. Only by according with and guiding people in the Dao (the Way) of Zhenyi, so that deviation is dissolved and habits are transformed, is there hope that maladies will heal of themselves and that those sunk in worldly toil will be supported. Those who aspire to renew themselves and improve the customs of the people should strive, with sincerity, to realize and practice this principle.

Both darkness and light can thereby find something to rely on, and through this a person ascends into the Qingdu.

“You,” the obscure, refers to the Dao of Earth, that is, the dark aspect; “ming,” the luminous, refers to the De (Virtue/Power) of Heaven, that is, the bright aspect. A person’s body and mind partake of both. Only by discerning the light while also holding to the dark, and by understanding firmness while also preserving softness, does one avoid one-sided attachment, so that both the dark and the bright aspects are benefited. The Qingdu (Pure Capital) is the celestial capital where the sages of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) dwell. “Sheng,” to ascend, here means to become level and upright, to arrive. If a person knows how to follow the One and guard the One, dissolving deviation and bringing about transformation, that person can reach the realm of the Qingdu. This passage explains the wondrous functioning of Zhenyi; it connects with the word “shi” (“this”) in the text that follows.

This is the Yuanming Bao (the Qi (vital energy) of True Unity received from Heaven, the root that sustains life); through countless kalpas it does not disappear. If a person can regularly hold and recite it, they can ascend into the corresponding realm and attain peace and harmony. One who knows how to follow the proper method and guide the process step by step, and by this means smelt and transform, can through their own cultivation realize the Qingdu (the immortal realm spoken of in Daoism). What is set forth here is the wondrous function of the Qi of True Unity; reading on to the word “this” in the text below, one can see that it takes up the “this” of the present passage.

This is the Yuanming Bao; through countless kalpas it does not disappear. If a person can often hold and recite it, they can come into accord with the world and with the Dao (the Way) of Heaven.

Here the word “world” refers specifically to the human body. The Yuanming Bao is that single line within Kan (the yang line of the Kan trigram, symbolizing yang Qi): it rises from the sea floor, passes through the Weilu (the pass at the lower end of the spine), ascends along the spine to the brain, and is transformed into Wang Ni (here referring to the numinous image crystallized in the cultivation of Neidan (internal alchemy)), suspended above the crown of the head; it then moves on to the Middle Palace (the Dantian (energy center) region at the center of the body), unites with Qi, and forms a vision like the full moon. At this time a red-and-yellow elixir inscription appears in the heart, bearing the words “Tiangang” (the firm and vigorous Qi among the stars of the Northern Dipper). In the end, this is formed by the condensation of the generative Qi of the center. In Heaven it is called Zhenxing, that is, Saturn; hanging high above the sun and moon, it is the celestial phenomenon formed by the ascent of the Earth’s essential florescence.

This Qi is supremely centered and upright, and also supremely firm and supremely humane. The Daoist canons say: “Wherever the Qi pours, it can transform and nurture; wherever it stands guard, things return to uprightness.” Its light travels with the Northern Dipper, while the center does not shift. What is meant is that the heart is settled within, like the axle of a millstone. Therefore the Middle Palace can constantly remain secure, peaceful, and still.

Those of us whose aim is to heal the ways of the world need only keep mind and intention upright and settled, and the Gang Qi will descend in response. In cultivation, therefore, one should hold the body upright, as if standing on a mountaintop, open on all sides. Zhenxing is like the sun, suspended high in the heavens; without relying on human effort to sustain it, its light naturally shines throughout the whole body. The practitioner need only let body and mind be empty, still, and vacant, while keeping the body upright and the countenance composed, and the light will illuminate within and without.

Cultivated in this way, the body comes to seem as light and thin as gauze and crepe, transparent inside and out; if the Middle Palace has not reached the deepest emptiness and stillness, this realm will not appear. It is especially important not to cling to the sensation of clarity and brightness, while also attending to the state of the faint and the silently still. When the body enters the realm of clarity and harmony, even if it looks as though things had always been so, the heart within does not waver in the least: this is the body entering clarity and harmony without adhering to outer forms. Going further still, one forgets even the thought of “forgetting,” and can enter the realm of complete realization.

If, however, one discards even this expedient method, one falls into the heterodox path of “naturalness”: either scattered and unrestrained, or sunken and confused. This is why the cultivators of antiquity had to rely upon the Yuanming Bao. The Yuanming Bao is the Qi of True Unity proper to oneself; when heart and Shen (spirit) are settled by this Qi of True Unity, the heart can be peaceful, secure, and calm.

I now regulate heart and spirit according to Patriarch Lü’s Jade Scripture (the scriptural method transmitted by Patriarch Lü); its meaning is still more profound, and its working still more subtle. The master uses it to assist the Yuanming Bao, causing the Qi to rise in welcome and to pour downward, so that the whole body becomes empty, luminous, and spiritually open—the effect is especially marked. The Jade Scripture is the Jing (essence) of the True Unity of the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and humanity—while the Yuanming Bao is the True Unity bestowed by Heaven; leading the one by means of the one, so that being and non-being interpenetrate and mutually transform and nurture, how could the world fail to be regulated and healed? Yet only those of utmost sincerity, never ceasing, can accomplish this. Hence it is said: “If a person can often hold and recite it, they can come into accord with the world and with the Dao of Heaven.” The worthies of old admonished later students with these words: although the Jade Scripture is numinous and wondrous, what matters still more is to hold and recite it without cease, never allowing an interruption.

In the Jade Scripture, a succession of syllables and images describes the movement and generative transformation between Heaven and Earth: a vast numinous realm unfolds from this, and in places remote and profound the myriad things are conceived; Heaven and Earth first open, and life begins to sprout. Heaven and Earth, like a courtyard, enclose the mysterious Dao (the Way); blessings and light meet, and the myriad things arise in harmonious union. The worthy dwell in ease, manifold powers are stirred to vigor, the land forms level bounds, all things gather, and from this life continues.

The text further describes lands stretching far and grasses and trees in full flourish, with dragons rising among them and the xie, a legendary divine beast, keeping faith and answering in accord. It then prays that the Sovereign Lord descend, turn toward the precious orthodox teaching, and travel along a deep and far-reaching ford-bridge. The sun, moon, and stars illuminate Heaven and Earth, and also harmonize and nourish the Qi (vital energy) of life—the primordial energy that constitutes and sustains living beings. May the De (Virtue/Power) of the Primordial Beginning protect the hills, make lifespan firm and spiritual nature settled, and share the refined essence together with Heaven and Earth.

I take care to state clearly that the original text of the Yujing (Jade Scripture) ends at the phrase yao xi ming qi (耀息命炁, “radiant breath of the Qi [vital energy] of life”). What follows, concerning the common source of the three great religions of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism, and the titles of later lineage masters, is not part of the original Yujing.

It is said that the Yujing emerged at the dawn of a remote kalpa, before Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things had yet taken form. At that time it appeared like clouds and rosy mists, spread throughout the void. Writing of this kind is called xuan zhuan (“mysterious seal-script,” a mysterious script manifested in the Prior Heaven). The August Person of the Prior Heaven (Xiantian Huangren) discerned and recorded it, copying it according to its shapes and gathering it into a text; yet originally there were no pause-marks by which sentences could be distinguished.

This scripture later circulated in the world. In middle antiquity, heavenly deities helped to put it in order, writing it out in yun zhuan (“cloud seal-script”) and kedou wen (“tadpole script”)—two ancient styles of writing—and then arranging it into chapters. Still later, Chenmu, a female immortal of the Daoist tradition, descended and transmitted it orally to Ancestral Master Xu of Jingyang (Xu Xun). Ancestral Master Xu not only grasped the forms of the characters more accurately, but also clarified their pronunciation. He wished to rewrite the scripture in the regular script then in common use, yet he feared that people’s understanding was limited and that errors would be hard to avoid in copying. He therefore set it into four-character lines according to the principles of Dandao (the Way of Neidan [internal alchemy]), so as to prevent textual corruption. This was only an arrangement for ease of recitation and memory; it does not mean that the scripture of the Prior Heaven was originally written in this form.

Thus this four-character Yujing is like the Qianziwen (Thousand Character Classic) compiled by Zhou Xingsi, or like the Lanting Qitie later assembled from collected characters: the emphasis lies on the forms of the characters and on their sounds and rhymes.

I once lamented that grasping the meaning of the Jing (scripture/classic) is no easy matter, and so I wrote a commentary on it, only to fall inevitably into explanation in words. Fortunately, most of the pronunciation notes did not depart from the original readings. Only the two characters “南无” did I read differently, as “曩谟” (nangmo); and the character “垢” in “百奋天垢” I likewise took in another pronunciation and sense. These readings and understandings did not accord with what this formula states.

Now that I have read the Yishi Gongjue (Practical Formula for Healing the World), I find that it contains no commentary and records only the pronunciations; the scriptural text further cautions one not to write a commentary, but only to recite it faithfully over a long time, so that understanding will arise of itself. The subtle teachings that have been handed down are, it turns out, exceedingly profound in principle: they can only be realized in the mind and are difficult to set forth in language.

Within the tradition of the Dao (the Way) there is a saying: recite with a sincere heart for one year, and one may become a human immortal; for two years, an earthly immortal; for three years, a celestial immortal. At the very least, one must also persevere every day without interruption; in this way one may still, through the method of shijie (a manner, as spoken of in Daoism, of release from the bodily form and ascent into the immortal path), enter the higher Dao. Could this be deceiving me? My only fear is that those who recite may break off midway. The efficacy of the Jade Scripture (Yujing) is truly beyond imagining!

I now set down the methods my teacher transmitted, already proven effective, and make them known to the world. My only hope is that students will take the nurturing of mind and spirit (Shen), and entry into emptiness and stillness, as their introductory practice. Regulate the chest until it is clear and still, and all under Heaven will be settled; regulate the abdomen until it is open and unobstructed, and the people will prosper; regulate the four limbs until they are at ease, and the borders on every side will be at peace. In this way, when the body is harmonized, one’s own person is secure; when one’s own person is secure, the world is at peace. The effect comes swiftly, as if answering the moment a sound is made. If one can penetrate the principle within this, one can assist the sacred Dao (the Way) in its work of transforming and nurturing the myriad things.

This is not empty talk of the mysterious and wondrous, but solid, down-to-earth learning of the Dao. That a human being can stand together with Heaven and Earth as one of the Three is the highest principle. What, then, do we have to doubt or fear, that we should willingly abandon ourselves?

I worry that students may still not have grasped this, so I will also set the practice formulas that have already proven effective in the past into an invocation, for everyone to recite and uphold, so that all may obtain real results together. Yet digging out a spring does not mean that a great flow of water will at once surge forth; study, too, must proceed step by step with sustained effort. If one is diligent and unremitting—applying a hundredfold effort where others apply one part, and a thousandfold where others apply ten—then even the dull-witted will in the end come to understand.

What follows is an invocation, not a scripture (Jing). The practice formula, however, lies in the text below. One should ponder it carefully and put it earnestly into practice, and not merely recite it with the mouth.

Invocation and Incantation Appended

I now recite and uphold…

Continuing directly from the preceding passage, the careful choice to refer to oneself as wu or wo, rather than as chen, is by no means arbitrary. A survey of the Daoist scriptures shows that the human body is a lesser Heaven and Earth: Heaven and Earth have their Shen (spirit), and the human body likewise has its Shen; when the Shen of the body are numinously perceptive and open to communication, the Shen of Heaven and Earth respond. The two characters wu and wo are specialized terms in the ritual arts, used for binding the Dipper’s secret names—that is, for practicing the method according to the positions of the Dipper’s stars or according to talismanic secret graphs—and they are not ordinary forms of address.

According to this subtle rule, on a Yang day one recites the character wo while at the same time forming the nine-star mudra of the Tanlang Dipper (Tanlang, the Greedy Wolf, among the seven stars of the Northern Dipper); on a Yin day one recites the character wu while at the same time forming the nine-star mudra of the Kui Dipper. In performance, each stroke corresponds to one star. Once the meaning is understood, one may hold to the method and carry it out: recite wo on Yang days and wu on Yin days, and it is said that a response will arise in this way as well. The human heart has seven apertures; adding the waist and the kidneys makes nine apertures in all, and this is used to explain the correspondence between the heart and the Northern Dipper. What matters is to refrain from self-deception, and at all times to keep in mind and clearly discern the nature and the mission bestowed by Heaven. The essential point of the ritual formula lies only in the mind being neither false nor deceitful.

Practice in accordance with the teaching.

It can thus be seen that what follows all comes from actual cultivation and verification, and that practical efficacy arises from this. Learners should take it to heart with sincerity and practice accordingly, and not merely recite it aloud. This is a special admonition.

“Guarding the Three Powers as an egg” means taking Heaven and Earth as a single egg, with the human world situated in the yolk and guarded by me. The state of mind at this time is still one in which joy, anger, sorrow, and delight have not yet become manifest.

In “the world transformed into a court of blessing,” “world” refers both to oneself and to the world one inhabits. “Court” refers to the “court” of the phrase ting pan bao yi spoken of in the Jade Scripture. The efficacy of cultivating egg-guarding is the concrete result whereby all the myriad things of Heaven and Earth are gathered within it.

The two lines “the Hao star retreats and scatters; luminaries of blessing shine and draw near” are close in meaning to what the Great Learning says: good fortune can moisten and enrich the house, and De (Virtue/Power) can moisten and enrich one’s own person; when the mind is broad, the body too is eased and comfortable. The noble person must therefore make his intentions sincere.

The luminous Shen of the various heavens extend their protection, and wealth, emolument, and station likewise draw near and proceed smoothly.

These two sentences mean that a person’s De (Virtue/Power) accords with that of heaven and earth, that brightness accords with the sun and moon, that action accords with the rhythms of the four seasons, and that one can also conform to the good and ill fortune shown by ghosts and spirits. This is the principle of being able to act ahead of Heaven’s seasons without going against the Dao (the Way) of Heaven. The term caiwei comes from the Buddhist scriptures and refers to wealth, rank, and blessings. Only by practicing sincerity and good faith can one establish oneself; when one treats others with warmth and closeness, one’s bearing becomes humble and modest. One both makes life abundant and sets one’s own moral character right.

Observing Heaven and Holding to Heaven; Renewing Oneself and Renewing the People

“Observing Heaven” means discerning the ceaseless working of the utmost sincerity of heaven and earth; “holding to Heaven” means grasping the impartial, unbiased principle by which heaven and earth transform and nurture the myriad things. “Renewing oneself and renewing the people” means first renewing oneself, and then, through concrete results, leading the common people to renew themselves as well.

Neither being nor non-being is set up; both person and dharma are forgotten; perfect emptiness and perfect stillness; perfect rectitude and perfect firmness; perfect harmony and perfect peace; perfect awakening and perfect clarity

These six phrases speak of governing through Wuwei (non-action). Within them lies a true realm that genuinely exists in oneself, just as the classics say that their principles must be realized in oneself and in the world. Only those who constantly contemplate and hold fast to the inner mind can rest in the place of central rectitude and experience this perfectly integrated state. Beginners, however, should first start from the states of “perfect stillness, perfect rectitude, perfect firmness, perfect harmony, perfect peace, perfect awakening, and perfect clarity”: letting the mind settle into stillness, conducting affairs with uprightness and vigorous firmness, treating others with gentle accord and peaceful ease, and awakening to what is bright, clear, and pure.

These six sentences speak of governing through Wuwei (non-action). They contain truths that a person can genuinely experience within the self, just as the principles of the classics manifest from human life and from the world. Only when the mind constantly turns inward in contemplation and abides in the center can one perceive this perfectly integrated principle. If beginners first use discriminating consciousness to distinguish and identify, they fall into delusive thoughts, and this oral formula becomes difficult to cultivate to completion.

Even so, one must still know to hold to these contents. Only with the power of concentration can one’s practice become sufficient, and only then will the results that follow be realized. Some disciples, fearing that students would mistake the formula for discriminating consciousness, once asked that these six sentences be deleted, but this was not granted. May we all together understand the principle they contain.

What is more, the first sentence is the essential formula for entering the cultivation of xingtian (a person’s original nature, the nature endowed by Heaven); the second sentence is an important understanding for further advancing the work of cultivating nature; and the four sentences below are profound instructions warning practitioners not to cling to any particular place or any particular thing. The principle pervades the six directions (above and below and the four quarters, referring broadly to Heaven and Earth) and extends throughout the Dharma realm (in Buddhist and Daoist contexts, the scope of all existence). Only when there is neither bias nor omission can one be said to have attained the method. It is like all that Heaven covers, Earth bears, the sun and moon illuminate, and frost and dew moisten: whether sentient or insentient, all receive the nourishment of numinous light and of the wondrous Qi (vital energy) of the Dao (the Way). Only by applying effort in this way can one avoid obstruction and omission. These are all complete and important formulas of cultivation—how could they be deleted? Students should comprehend them fully and practice accordingly, neither treating them lightly nor leaving anything out.

Joining together to support the religion, and not failing the Four Kindnesses

All that has been spoken of above is already fully present within the endowment of our own nature. Heaven and Earth enable me to exist; my parents give me birth and raise me; rulers and teachers instruct me; the sun and moon shine upon me. That is to say, I inherently possess the conditions needed to accomplish these things—enough to bring myself to completion, and with strength to spare. Therefore I dare not fail these kindnesses. I have written and annotated the cultivation formulas and offer them forth, hoping that everyone will support the religion together and strive to repay the Four Kindnesses.

Accomplishing an age of great awakening: Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen (origination, penetration, benefit, and perseverance)

Here, “age” is meant with reference to a single person. The meaning is that to bring all things to completion, one must first complete oneself; and the key to the achievement of completing oneself lies in awakening.

Accomplishing an age of great awakening: Yuan, Heng, Li, Zhen (origination, penetration, benefit, and perseverance)

The "world" (shi) spoken of here refers to one's own person. The meaning is that to bring all things to completion, one must first perfect oneself, and the key to accomplishing one's own work lies in the single word "awakening." The undertaking to be accomplished comes down to the four words Yuan, Li, Heng, and Zhen (from the Yijing, often used to describe the states of growth, smooth progress, free flow, and steadfast rectitude in all things). What follows is a commentary on the mantra and the precepts, which I dare not interpret rashly.

Om, Caolong (two syllables combined), Svaha.

This mantra is said to be the "Single-Syllable Wheel-Turning King mantra" spoken by the Buddha's Crown (a mantra associated with the veneration of the Buddha's Crown). The practitioner recites it three times and prostrates three times; one who performs the practice need only recite it on their own.

In my view, the secret of cultivation throughout this text begins with not allowing stray thoughts to arise. When one's practice reaches a state in which the heart is clear, the Qi (vital energy) is harmonious, and the breath flows smoothly through the whole body, both oneself and the world benefit, and the key is perseverance. Even if the heart and Qi are clear and harmonious for only a single moment, that moment is genuine virtue; and even if no result can be seen at present, results will arise of their own accord.

The practitioner must guard against rushing toward success, lest they fall into mere mental activity. The human mind is the most sensitive of faculties and also the easiest source of delusion. Once one is caught in it, what one sees and hears becomes endlessly confused and is hard to cut off, so one cannot but be careful. Practice need only begin with quieting the thoughts and settling the breath, and the "True Unity Primordial Qi" (Zhenyi Yuanqi, a term of cultivation referring to the original Qi) will arise naturally. This primordial Qi is produced after the breath has become calm and harmonious; until the breath is still, it will not arise.

There is no other secret here. So long as no stray thoughts arise, the heart will naturally reach the utmost stillness, and the breath will naturally become even and unobstructed. If one mistakes "holding the breath" for the method, one will go in the wrong direction and only make the breath hurried, so great care is needed. What is called "not a single thought arising" does not mean having no thoughts at all, but rather not mixing in other thoughts. What this really describes is the path of practice that is utterly sincere and continues without interruption.