《天仙心传》

The Heart Transmission of the Celestial Immortals (Tianxian Xinchuan)

Author’s Preface

The destined measures of Qi (vital energy) in the world shift without constancy. The way of the world has times when it runs open and free, and times when it is blocked; the methods of the Dao (the Way) have times when they are plain and manifest, and times when they are hidden and obscure. The hinge of these changes lies in human beings, and Heaven and Earth turn along with them. In high antiquity and middle antiquity, people were all able to keep their own Jing (essence) and Shen (spirit) intact, and so the fortune of the age was seldom in distress, nor did the methods of the Dao fall into obscurity.

Today the custom of the age prizes outward fame. Affairs of every kind multiply, and people do all they can to reject cultivation in emptiness, quietude, and silent repose. This disorder first arose among certain transmitters of the Dao: they misunderstood teachings that were subtle and veiled, forgot their pure and genuine nature, and so misled themselves and misled others. Later, some used words to seek private gain, echoed them, and drew the crowd after them, so that many who studied the Dao fell into their arts and never awoke, even at death. They had no grasp at all of the principle that “wondrous being” and “wondrous non-being” depend upon each other, and that true reality is not two. The sages used this to disclose the mystery within: although in function there is a distinction between the sentient and the insentient, the root is one whole, not two things.

Transmitters of the Dao in recent times have not seen through this, nor have students of the Dao understood it. They have copied one another until the habit became a fashion, and in the end the fortunes of Qi in the Lower Epoch (Xiayuan, a stage of the age as Daoism speaks of it) sank into decline. One’s own person, the way of the world, and the fortune of the Dao have nearly all come to a point where they can hardly be saved. The power of creative transformation is indeed hard to change, yet the human being is the most numinous of all that the creative power brings forth. If one wishes to turn the fortune of the times, one can only begin by taking the ancient sages as a model.

How, then, does one model oneself on the ancients? In our land there was Xihuang (Fuxi); in the Western Regions, Nengren (the Buddha); in the Eastern Land, Taiyi (a sacred title of honor in Daoism). They awakened those still in darkness, nurtured the correct Dao, turned human hearts toward goodness, and left subtle words to instruct later ages. The classics (jing, scripture) of the Three Teachings are all preserved to this day. If one reads them with one’s thoughts washed clean, one will understand of oneself that one’s own person and the world are not two separate things, and that inner nature and life (xing and ming) are one. From this one knows that what governs the world is the human being, and what governs the human being is Shen. Heaven, Earth, and humanity—the Three Powers—communicate with one another; the principle lies here.

Taiyi once said: the human body is the body of a single lifetime; the heart-mind is Heaven, the body is Earth, and thought is the human being. From making the intention sincere, rectifying the heart-mind, cultivating the person, and regulating the family, one goes on to ordering the state and bringing peace to the world. There is no need to labor at treating these principles as separate matters; the essential point is only to purify thought and bring the sincere heart back. The way the sages of high antiquity governed the world did not rely on institutional forms outside the body, nor on constraints outside of thought. It lay only in fulfilling one’s own part. If everyone takes fulfilling oneself as the way of cultivation and learning, it is at once simple and yet deep, fine, and complete, and one can be at ease and content in oneself.

If all are to cultivate and learn from their own persons, the key to what is learned lies in honoring emptiness, quietude, and silent repose, and in settling the mind and the will. This is like the principle that “the root of all under Heaven lies in the state, the root of the state lies in the family, and the root of the family lies in the person.” I would carry the explanation one step further: the root of the person lies in the heart-mind, and the root of the heart-mind lies in Shen. If Shen is not empty and quiet, it cannot be numinous and clear; if it is not silent and settled, it cannot be at peace. If Shen is neither numinous and clear nor at peace, how can it be pure and undivided? Thus what is prized in cultivation and learning is emptiness, quietude, and silent repose, and the root of the fortune of the Dao lies in Shen.

After the Three Dynasties, people vied with one another in the pursuit of deeds and achievements, supposing that only visible results were worth believing, and thereby opened a climate of clever contrivance and deceit. From then on the fortune of the Dao grew more obscure day by day, and the way of the world declined day after day. Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin), pitying the people of the world, founded a lineage whose aim was to heal the way of the world and the human heart. Our patriarch, Elder Li of Niwan (an honored predecessor, as Daoists respectfully title him), assisted in secret. Yet the customs of the age grew ever thinner. Everyone was touched by the turbid climate, and among hundreds of millions it was hard to find even one who understood this Dao.

My teacher, Elder Taixu, inherited this Dao and never let it break off. He was able to hold fast to emptiness, quietude, and silent repose, and his conduct accorded with the middle way and with constant principle. He did not prize rank, fame, or achievements, but followed his original heart in treating others with warmth and closeness. Only in the bingwu year of the Qianlong reign (1786), in the Dadi Cavern of the Xuangai Cavern-Heaven, did I hear this Dao from the divine man Qu Pengtou and, scarcely aware of it, receive its verification and transmission. These teachings I have long kept engraved in my heart.

I am ashamed that my learning falls short of my teacher’s, and that I cannot raise up and spread that wordless heart-method and pass it on to those who study the Dao. I have therefore compiled these three volumes of two kinds, together called The Heart Transmission of the Celestial Immortals. If later students can take up this Dao, fuse it into one, and reach divine and wondrous transformation, what they gain will quickly become plain. The guiding thread of the whole work is nothing beyond the four words “emptiness, quiescence, constancy, and sincerity.” In cultivating these four words, one must first bring Shen to completion; the final aim of cultivation and learning is likewise the completion of Shen. What is called “sincerity” is nothing more than letting Shen be the master that presides over oneself and the world.

On the first day of the last ten days of the New Year, in the jiawu year of the Daoguang reign (1834), Min Yide, the man of Mount Jin’gai, respectfully writes this preface.

My master transmitted the method of cultivating celestial immortality. In the bingwu year of the Qianlong reign (1786), I heard my master expound it in the Xuangai Cavern-Heaven and fixed this heart-method firmly in mind; forty-seven years have now passed. I have explained it to others many times, yet those who truly comprehend it have been very few. I have traveled to the ends of the earth, as if wearing through iron shoes; over many years I have only exhausted my strength in long seeking. Deeply fearing that the oral formulas transmitted by my master would be buried among the people, I venture to write these formulas down and pass them on to later generations.

Among beginners, some do not yet have a mind-nature pure enough, and the crucial apertures of cultivation have not yet opened; others have long been disturbed by desire and stray thoughts, so that the veils over the mind run very deep. In cultivation one should first cleanse body and mind, then concentrate on cunxiang (visualization within the mind; jingsi is focused contemplation). If cultivation is blocked midway, the surface appearance may be that the mechanism of acquired Qi (vital energy) has stagnated, yet the root cause is often the turmoil of stray thoughts, which causes true Qi (the innate vital energy of life) to lie hidden and the apertures to close.

Those of high endowment, meeting this situation, need not deliberately move and transport the breath. They need only emphasize stilling stray thoughts, gradually enter a natural state, and remain single-minded and unchanging throughout; then they can return to the innate, and the body will also become clear and pure. Therefore, if one wishes to return to the innate, the method lies in returning to emptiness and stillness: no further stray thoughts arise within one’s thoughts. In this way acquired Qi naturally subsides, innate Qi reappears and circulates, and the apertures of the body suddenly open. One only feels the five-colored divine light (the phenomena of spiritual radiance spoken of in cultivation) gathering together, in numbers beyond counting.

This is the actual sign of the gathering of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). The cultivator should neither be alarmed nor delighted, but only keep Zhenyi (the single-minded, purely true original mind) unchanged, and thus can enter a settled state of deep stillness and stability. After mind and Shen (spirit) have become pure, one still nourishes them with the mind of Zhenyi until practice and attainment are complete. At that time, Fanqi (the pure primordial Qi spoken of in Daoism) pervades heaven and earth, and the embryo of the Primordial Beginning becomes the model for the ten directions. This is called, at the moment of manifestation, making manifest the De (Virtue/Power) by which the myriad things are generated and transformed.

In truth, this realm runs through what lies above and below the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the highest celestial realm of Daoism, and returns again to the primordial emptiness of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). It both manifests the myriad things and implicitly contains the function of transforming and generating them. Riding the six Qi, it moves through boundless empty space, subject to no master. The cultivator abides in the true realm of Taixu (the Great Void) and for long becomes a golden immortal of Wuji (the Limitless). What is called “ascending to realization” does not mean that one must still ascend to some heavenly rank; at that time there is no longer any distinction between my becoming the Jade Clarity of the Great Beginning and the Jade Clarity of the Great Beginning becoming me.

Yet people of the world often chase external things. Even if they obtain this concise set of cultivation formulas, they commonly abandon them out of doubt. The problem is that they have not truly achieved “laying down the ten thousand conditions”—letting go of every kind of attachment. If one cannot do this throughout an entire life, one will never find the place of entry. Even if someone temporarily expels stray thoughts and then supposes that the mind is already silent, and, following the formula for receiving Gangqi, enters the Yellow Center (the region of cultivation within the body), that person nevertheless brings in together the ordinary spirit and Qi of the acquired state, blocking the mysterious aperture within the body. This is like carrying water and hauling mud to fill up the immortal realm of Kongtong.

Even if one later exerts every effort to clear them away, traces of mud and water will still remain, and ordinary spirit and ordinary Qi are hard to wash completely clean. Even when they have been cleaned away, time still flows on without pause. Those who in the end are able to guard the Dao (the Way) to the last may already be counted good seedlings of this tradition; if one gives up halfway, it is like refusing to eat for fear of choking—truly a pity.

Therefore I have recorded the heart-method transmitted by my former master and let it circulate in the world. Now, when the various copies are transcribed, I again use the phrase “lay down the ten thousand conditions” to remind students once more, like a bell struck at dawn to awaken everyone.

Recorded by Min Yide, the Man of Mount Jingai, on the intercalary Double Ninth day of the twelfth year of the Daoguang reign (1832).

Inner Chapters (Nine Chapters)

The Master said: “Taking hunhua—the harmonious transformation by which body and mind merge with and are changed by the Great Dao (the Way)—as the essential method: this is the practice for attaining celestial immortality. Let go of every care, and the body naturally enters a state of stillness and emptiness.

One then guides the mind and Shen (spirit) back to purity, quiet, and stability, receiving and continually maintaining an inner illuminating awareness; one settles right mindfulness at the center of body and mind, and must not slacken for a single moment.

When one reaches a perfect integration of empty stillness, silence, luminous clarity, and harmony, one no longer distinguishes what is inner from what is outer, nor clings to being or non-being.

The myriad things ceaselessly transform and change, returning to ruru, suchness—the original condition that does not waver with change. Returning once more into that subtle functioning, it is precisely thus.

The body within the body that one cultivates to completion is called the ‘True Self’—the genuine self, free of falsity. One honors it with the title ‘Ruler,’ and regards it as one would an infant.

One must warmly nurture and bathe it, as if feeding an infant with milk, so that it gradually grows. When the practice is fully ripe and one’s character refined to purity, one can return to the Great Beginning—the primordial state before Heaven and Earth were divided.

Tracing from the end back to the beginning, the words of warning are few: one need only cherish harmonious integration and serene composure, and must take care not to sink into vague muddle and chaos.

Wakeful, clear awareness and vague chaos look similar, yet in fact they differ greatly. If one maintains perfect awakening throughout, one will not fall into confusion.

Awakening makes a sage; dull obscurity makes a demon. These are the Master’s teachings. One must be cautious, and must not mix in error.”

Outer Chapters (Eight Chapters)

“When cultivating the mind-method of celestial immortality, one should visualize the body as crystalline and luminous, and by this means welcome and settle the mind and Shen, as if receiving the light of the sun shining upon one.

When one is settled and illuminating, life arises from this; when one concentrates and gathers, transformation occurs. The myriad things ceaselessly generate and transform, and the practice they rely upon is only one.

Heaven is born from the One, and Earth is completed by the One. If the body loses this root, how can the crystalline, luminous state take form? When one is settled and illuminating, life arises from this; when one concentrates and gathers, transformation occurs. The myriad things ceaselessly generate and transform, and the practice they rely upon is only one.

What is called the One is freedom from stray thoughts together with sincere earnestness; clinging neither to being nor to non-being, so that self and other, and all phenomenal characteristics, dissolve.

One employs the wondrous function originally possessed, so that the roots depend upon one another; one settles the body within the One, and also settles the One within the mind.

When it is vast, it pervades the celestial realms; when it is minute, it enters the finest mote of dust. Transcending form, appearance, and phenomenal marks, it melts the myriad existences and returns to perfect, complete reality.

This is the true self, also called the ‘body beyond the body’—another body attained in the course of cultivation. Look for it, and it cannot be seen; listen for it, and it cannot be heard.

Wondrous transformation can conceal or reveal itself according to the mind. When the practice is fulfilled and cultivation is complete, one may ascend with ease into Yuqing, Jade Clarity—one of the highest celestial realms spoken of in Daoism.”

The first two pieces are what I heard from my teacher and set down in notes. In the renchen year of the Daoguang reign, I copied them out and showed them to the students of Jingai. The oral formulas of both Neidan (internal alchemy) and Waidan (external alchemy) are already complete in them, and for that reason the work is called the Inner and Outer Chapters.

The Round Formula (Four Sections)

The upper aperture (the cavity at the crown of the head) opens through to the Nine Heavens, and the lower extremity (the farthest reach below) sinks deep into the Nine Abysses. The Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and Humanity—guard what lies within as an egg guards its yolk, and the “yellow” at the center is the Field of Blessing (the place where one cultivates body and mind and plants merit and virtue).

I settle at ease within it, so that Kun and Qian (Earth and Heaven, symbols of Yin-Yang) blend and transform. One who understands how to take this as a teacher knows how to return to the source; there is neither a later nor an earlier.

If one can be pure, and purer still, then there is no place that is not Earth, and no place that is not Heaven. The true and constant does not change; what is constant remains ever true—mysterious and far-reaching, too deep to fathom.

Unbroken and continuous, fine and without a gap, the Dao (the Way) is complete everywhere. When practice reaches its utmost, I come into communion with Buddhas and immortals.

The four sections above were written for my disciple Xue Yanggui. The mind-method of the celestial immortal is already fully present, and so they are called the Round Formula. Recorded by Xiaogen.

Continuation (Twelve Sections)

Alas—worthy people of real aspiration, once they set their resolve, will in the end succeed. The Three Ni (three figures whose aim was to teach and transform the world) once healed the age by means of right principle. Why should we not take up their work?

Cultivation, too, takes blending and transformation as its chief concern; there is no need to break it into scattered, disconnected pieces. One draws on emptiness and stillness to nourish oneself, and again draws on stillness and settled concentration to return to the void.

When emptiness reaches its extreme and stillness its depth, a foundation opens toward the ultimate Dao. After three years or five, body and mind, set against the ordinary world, gradually enter xiyi (a state subtle and hard to see, difficult to perceive).

Nourish and foster yourself along this path, and do not grow self-satisfied. Only so can one become lasting and vast—and how could the cultivation of spirit then be allowed to slacken?

Since the transforming influence of the De (Virtue/Power) of Bhagavat and the Wulusi monks (figures or titles cited in the text) has been handed down, fresh confirmations have kept appearing.

Through two thousand years, the disasters of war and epidemic have not intruded. Men esteem the centered and upright; women esteem youzhen (quietness that holds to what is right).

The Record of the Western Regions states that the Buddha was like an ordinary person. The scripture (jing) speaks of “upholding the world,” rendered in translation by Xuanzang.

The efficacy…

Through two thousand years, the disasters of war and epidemic have not intruded. Men esteem the centered and upright; women esteem quiet chastity.

The Record of the Western Regions states that the Buddha was like an ordinary person. The scripture speaks of “upholding the world,” rendered in translation by Xuanzang.

Practice neither increases nor diminishes; through blending and transformation one arrives at pure simplicity. When a matter is carried to its utmost, appearing and vanishing alike follow the heart.

This alone is the true ultimate Dao, the mind-method jointly handed down by the sages of every age. It lies scattered through the various scriptures, yet people of the world remain dull and slack, unwilling to study it in depth.

Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) gathered these teachings and transmitted them; after they had appeared, they vanished once more. Niwan (the region within the brain, as spoken of in Daoism) received what descended, and from within the Great Void they were proclaimed onward in continuation.

I, a student of a later generation, received them, yet I have not transmitted them further. The profound and solemn sounds within the cavern were clarified only through the inquiry known as Dadi (“Great Purification”).

I have therefore compiled and set them forth, wishing to share them with fellow followers of the Dao (the Way). The four words “emptiness, stillness, constancy, and sincerity” are what one ought truly to observe.

The chapters above form a continuation, twelve in all, written as a sequel to the Heart Transmission of the Celestial Immortals. The oral formulas of cultivation are concise and easy to practice, without tangled elaboration; followed in practice, they bring great freedom and ease. They do indeed complement the wordless true scripture (Jing) transmitted by the sages of the West.

According to the Records of the Western Regions, the kingdom of Wulusi stretches for tens of thousands of li. Its soil is fertile, and subordinate states lie under its authority; each year those states depend upon it for relief. Local customs are exceedingly simple and pure, flourishing even more than in the age of the Xi Sovereign (the legendary sage-king Fuxi of high antiquity).

Buddhist scriptures further record that, before Śākyamuni Buddha had arrived, the ways of Wulusi were extravagant and its people largely idle and given to wandering. The sea flooded time and again, yet the populace did not repair the dikes, and gradually the situation could no longer be sustained. At that time there was an elder named Miaoyue who reverently trusted the Buddha’s teaching. By sympathetic response he moved Bhagavat (an honorific for the Buddha, referring to Śākyamuni) to come from Central India at the head of two thousand five hundred disciples, traveling a great distance to that land to build ramparts and dikes. Miaoyue followed the Buddha and, supplying the funds himself, hired workers to labor along the walls. In time the people of the whole country were transformed; the ramparts were completed and the dikes were finished. Thereafter the sea no longer raised wind and waves, and Wulusi no longer suffered continuous torrential rain. Bhagavat then expounded and transmitted to Miaoyue the Dhāraṇī Scripture for Upholding the World, and afterward returned to Central India. The Bhagavat spoken of here is the Buddha Śākya. In the Zhenguan reign of the Tang, after Dharma Master Xuanzang returned from the Western Regions, he translated the Buddhist scriptures by imperial command; the preface to the scriptures, composed by the emperor himself, records these matters in detail. The foregoing was compiled by Min Yide.

Sounds of the Dadi Cavern (eleven sections)

Master Qu of the Disheveled Hair said: The teaching of the Dao leaves no visible trace and no sound that can be heard, yet it lets one feel harmony and peace; it displays neither form nor color, yet it manifests the myriad things; it is not empty nothingness, yet it presents emptiness and stillness.

Master Shen of the Great Void said: This is what is called the Dao.

Qu replied again, “Model yourself on the Dao (the Way) of Heaven and embrace Heaven and Earth; model yourself on the great Earth and cultivate your own person. When the heart-mind is perfectly sincere and never ceases from beginning to end, the Dao is in my heart.” Shen said, “Exactly so. This is what is called De (Virtue/Power).”

Qu replied again, “Only when things depend on one another can they bring one another to completion; only when the myriad things yield to one another is there any room to spare.” Taixu continued, “Gain and loss have never had a fixed measure. If one clings to calculating gain and loss, is that not a fault?”

Shen chanted, “Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form.” Qu replied again, “Only when things depend on one another can they bring one another to completion; only when the myriad things yield to one another is there any room to spare.” Taixu continued, “Gain and loss have never had a fixed measure. If one clings to calculating gain and loss, is that not a fault?”

Shen chanted, “Form is emptiness, and emptiness is form.” Qu answered, “Do not deliberately seek to know, and do not act without warrant; accord with the law of the Celestial Emperor.”

Shen answered, “Break through empty space, and nothing remains.” Qu said, “Just so. Turn about and forget the self, and the innate true nature can be seen. One must know that the so-called ‘I’ does not exist independently among all that is.” Shen continued, “This is the indestructible adamantine body.”

Shen chanted again, “The Great Dao is originally without a self. One contemplates emptiness, yet remains lodged in the realm of emptiness.” Qu then answered, “Cling neither to being nor to non-being; the real lies between being and non-being.”

Shen said, “Where nothing is gained, nothing is lost; one need only go forward in accord with the pattern of things in motion.” Qu answered, “This is the true message. How many are there who can understand it?”

Pengtou chanted, “The supreme Dao has nearly ceased to be transmitted, yet the sound of a clay jar is like thunder.” Taixu answered, “For now there are only expedient, provisional methods; both movement and stillness should accord with the mind of Heaven.”

Shen chanted again, “When the clouds part, the sun appears of itself; once the sun has appeared, the myriad things move with the prevailing course.” Qu answered, “This is the true message. How many are there who can understand it?”

Pengtou chanted, “The supreme Dao has nearly ceased to be transmitted, yet the sound of a clay jar is like thunder.” Taixu answered, “For now there are only expedient, provisional methods; both movement and stillness should accord with the mind of Heaven.”

Shen chanted again, “When the clouds part, the sun appears of itself; once the sun has appeared, the clouds disperse along with it.” Pengtou answered, “One must still examine this again and again within the heart, for the changes of things have never had any fixed constancy.”

Qu said further, “This is like restoring the fortunes of the age; even when the times are adverse, one must still rely on people to meet them.” Taixu answered, “Having grasped this essential purport, I will first settle the spirit.”

Pengtou continued, “Shen (spirit) is the master of body and mind, and body and mind are like Heaven and Earth.” Taixu, bringing the words to completion, said, “The creative transformation of the myriad things has no deliberate intention and no necessary demand, and so human beings bear the authority and responsibility of ordering the affairs of the world.”

Birds beat their wings and rise straight into the sky; fish leap in the deep water. Natural vitality and primordial Qi (vital energy)—the movement of qi inherent in life itself—stir from the Field of Blessings, the inner foundation in which one stores merit and virtue and nurtures mind and nature. There is no need to act by deliberately looking up or bowing down; everything follows its own natural course. When utmost sincerity continues without cease, the great Dao (the Way) gathers and condenses from this.

My body is the earth, and my mind is the sky. Thought links the myriad things with the self; human beings and the myriad things are originally in communion. Let thought blend and transform together with the myriad things, remaining fine-woven and unbroken, clear at every moment, and unentangled by external things.

How easy is it, after all, to cultivate to this point? One must bring thought to rest and make the spirit (Shen) clear and lucid. Yet how can thought be cut off by force? Do not chase it, and do not follow it. First draw on the practice of emptiness and stillness, and through effort gradually arrive at clarity; once clarity is reached, go further and forget human artifice. Only enduring sincerity makes this possible.

I can be negligent no longer. While the body is still here, it can bear the work of cultivation; once the body changes and life comes to an end, it will be hard to continue. I am already advanced in years, and my breath remains only as a single thread. While this one breath still lasts, I follow Heaven’s mandate and take the practice upon myself.

Few between heaven and earth share the same aspiration and the same path. I cannot wait in foolish attachment; once I have resolved upon it, I must act at once. I have not yet returned into the nurturing transformation of heaven and earth. The spirit is still being refined and still continues the work of creative transformation—how can I stand aside and wait? The urging of the Way and of right allows no mercy.

Elder Miaoyue was a Zheqie ordinary person; because he reverently believed in the Buddha’s teaching, he came into spiritual response with Shakyamuni Buddha.

The Neidian (Buddhist scriptures) already contain these records. How could the classics deceive me? Such records are evidence enough, and enough to inspire belief, so I too may practice accordingly.

Moreover, this supreme Dao (the Way) can be cultivated only by applying one’s own mind. One must be impartial and unbiased, upright and fitting, and also ordinary yet within due measure, harmonious and unobstructed. One should be as free as the mind directing the fingers, and as compliant as wood turning with the eddy. One ought to persist with care and not grow slack; even in solitude one must be cautious and self-restrained, giving rise to no stray thoughts.

How soundly I once slept, beginning to awaken only when compelled. Now that things have come this far, how many in the world can recognize the principle within? I know myself to be of little ability and seek instruction from you; if there is fault, how dare I shift the responsibility?

People of the world then say with a laugh, “Is this transmission truly reliable? If so many follow and learn it, why have you alone heard of it? Besides, the ways of the world have long been in hardship—why did you not receive the transmission sooner?”

I remained silent and could not answer. Shen (spirit) suddenly cried out, “Some principles can be spoken; some are hard to explain. You formerly waited for the work of the Dao to reach completion, yet you wrongly took calculation for attainment.”

Chunyang—the Perfected Chunyang, Lü Dongbin—is within the Niwan, the cultivation site at the center of the head, and the worthies of antiquity also kept watch there. Since cultivation has gone on for so long, why was the transmission not received sooner?

I remained silent and could not answer. Shen suddenly cried out, “Some principles can be spoken; some are hard to explain. You formerly waited for the work of the Dao to reach completion, yet you wrongly took calculation for attainment.”

The Perfected Chunyang dwells within the Niwan, and the worthies of antiquity also kept watch here. As for the year, month, and day of birth, these may be declared only after awakening to the Dao. This is a heavenly secret; how dare one disclose it all?

In the year Gengchen, the Divine Mother, the honored one among the spirits, issued a gracious decree, ordering that it be received and promulgated to the world. The punishment for leaking heavenly secrets was thereby remitted; only after Taixu, the vast and boundless cosmos, had given its assent did one dare make this decree known to the world.

What does this decree concern? Once the learning is accomplished, mind and nature must be pure and single-minded; within, there is neither obstinate striving nor any conclusion fixed in advance. One must also rely on others to point the way and give help, and practice according to principle. A person must pass through cultivation before becoming a true person.

Keep the heart centered, balanced, calm, and lucid, undisturbed by external things; guard and hold to this state of mind, and the individual is at peace, and the world too can be settled. If study and practice have not yet reached a profound level, they may instead disturb the mind and spirit.

I was slow to declare this out of caution, not because I slight the matter. Now I only exhort myself and dare not exhort others; let each person in the world examine themselves, and not allow their intentions to stray.

Those who share the same aspiration should grasp the principle within and each reflect upon it inwardly. Maintain a sincere heart of empty stillness, silence, and constancy; if dimness comes for a moment, awaken at once. In this way the ways of the world may also be set right, so that neither oneself nor the world is obstructed.

Men should esteem what is centered and upright; women should esteem what is secluded, quiet, and chastely correct. Nurturing body and mind in this way, one may throughout this life receive the Buddha’s response. As for “Zhejia,” nothing can be done.

One ought to persist in acting in this way, and one must also bear the consequences of what ought not to be done. Attend well to the duties that fall within one’s own station, and do not do what violates one’s proper role. May all who share my aspirations be able to conduct themselves in this calm manner.

All present answered with one voice: “Good.” You must continue to exert yourselves and persevere without ceasing. Each person’s endowment is deeper or shallower, and the verification each obtains likewise differs; whether one takes office or withdraws into retirement, whether one is illustrious or obscure, in every case one simply accords with what is natural.

The above is Chapter Nineteen, entitled Self-Admonition, intended to discipline the mind when one cultivates the entire content of the Heart Transmission. This piece was written on the fifteenth day of mid-spring in the Jiawu year of the Daoguang reign (1834), at Baoyuan Hall of Yao Altar and Zanhua Palace. The hall enshrines the Perfected Lü, Qiu, Bai, Huang, and Shen. This is a place for accumulating good deeds and accomplishing merit. Its founding was initiated by Ren’an, Chunfan, Lanpo, Jingxuan, Nanya, Xinxiang, and others, and brought to completion by Qingbo, Lanyun, Zhixiang, Jingtang, Jiatang, Buyu, Chunquan, Maotang, Xitang, Shixiang, Yunbo, and others. The fellow students established this place with the original intention of carefully inheriting the lineage of the ancestral altar of Mount Jingai (a sanctuary of Daoist transmission).

I hold that if cultivation relies only on outward action, then while the person is present the undertaking remains, and when the person is gone the undertaking perishes. I therefore set forth the world-saving merit of Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) and truly clarify the purport of this Heart Transmission, with the emphasis on guiding human hearts toward goodness. This is a method for saving the way of the age and the human heart at the root, and also a precious path for according with the times and cultivating one’s person and nature. The work as a whole is titled The Heart Transmission of the Celestial Immortals, divided into three volumes and two kinds, and aims to clarify the principle that personal cultivation and conduct in the world ought to be one and the same.

At that time the way of the age was adverse, yet Jingxuan, Maotang, and others were able to have this book printed. I thereupon compiled in continuation the nineteen chapters of Self-Admonition as the conclusion of the whole work—was this not a flourishing occasion that came precisely in its time? I write these few lines of postscript to record this gladness. Min Yide of the Dingfan clan, the Man of Mount Jingai, carefully compiled the text and composed this postscript.

The Heart Transmission of the Celestial Immortals

Transmitted by Master Taixu; compiled and set forth by the later student Min Yide (courtesy name Xiaogen).

Inner Chapters

The Master’s teaching: Hunhua (undifferentiated transformation).

My revered master is Patriarch Li Niwan. Careful examination shows that “Hunhua” (commingling and transformation) is the “Sanni” practice formula Patriarch Lü used to benefit the world. In cultivation, one must visualize the body as identical with emptiness, welcome the Qi (vital energy) of Tiangang as it descends and shines upon one, and concentrate on working “Sancai Luanshou” (guarding the egg of the Three Powers—regulating Heaven, Earth, and humanity by the method of inner guarding), without admitting any other thought into the mind.

Master Taixu said, “This is an elixir method of the supreme vehicle, and also a practice formula for benefiting the world. It may be grasped with the mind, yet it cannot be transmitted by words.” My revered master, Master Niwan, taught me this formula, saying, “This is truly a method transmitted from mind to mind by Taishang. When one begins to cultivate, one must first still all stray thoughts; sometimes one first visualizes and circulates, and only afterward sustains the visualization. Above all, one must understand the essential aim of cultivation.”

What is that essential aim? It is “knowing return and knowing reversion”: knowing how to restore the primordial origin and go back to the root. What is called “return” is restoring the primordial origin; what is called “reversion” is going back to the root. If one does not understand that the very substance of the Dao (the Way) is supremely empty, and that form is originally utter nothingness, then so-called restoration loses the meaning of “return,” and returning to the root likewise loses the meaning of “reversion.” To practice in this way—is it not like a carriage that means to travel south while its pole faces north?

Only after the essential aim is understood can one begin to apply the methods of cultivation that involve youwei (deliberate action) and Wuwei (non-action). When deliberate action and Wuwei are used fittingly, one accords with the Dao at every point. The secret lies in knowing how to use “provisional methods.” What are provisional methods? Some borrow empty forms in order to nourish substance; others borrow substantial forms in order to temper the realm of emptiness. Both are ways of using a provisional appearance to accomplish the real, and both are meant to lead the practitioner to the ultimate. If one clings to either method and will not let it go, the result is mere attachment; and one who is attached does not understand Dao and De (Virtue/Power).

The elixir texts of the world all take the learning of the Yellow Emperor and Laozi as their foundation, and all are precious rafts leading people toward the centered and upright Dao. Yet if each school merely guards its own tradition and does not know how to integrate the teachings and verify them against one another, it is instead easy to mislead people: the slightest divergence, and the error runs to a thousand miles.

The transmission of our lineage reaches back to the Qin and Han and was passed, one to one, through each generation. It began with Guan Yin; after Patriarch Lü inherited it, the essential aim was revived. The line later fell into obscurity for a time, and was then received by my revered master, Master Niwan. I, Bingde (a name within the Taixu lineage), was fortunate to receive this method in private. Conscious that my own virtue is shallow, I have only recorded it with care and passed it on. When students obtain it, I hope they will consult the Daoist scriptures and corroborate them with the Buddhist sutras; that they will cling neither to being nor to non-being, follow in all things the substance of the Dao, and at the same time attend to such practices as visualization and daoyin (guiding and drawing), and further reach the state of natural spontaneity. Only thus will they not fail the instruction of the revered master.

The cultivation of celestial immortals is divided into five levels, in this order: the celestial immortal (tianxian), the water immortal (shuixian), the earth immortal (dixian), the spirit immortal (shenxian), and the ghost immortal (guixian). Although they are ranked in five grades, those who succeed in cultivation are collectively called True Persons (zhenren), for only a True Person can truly accomplish the work of cultivation.

People differ in endowment and disposition, and methods of self-cultivation and practice can scarcely be made entirely the same; this is why the Way of immortality is divided into five grades. Earlier practitioners recorded their own experiences and methods, which have been handed down from generation to generation. Most of the elixir scriptures (Danjing) circulating in the world are of this kind. Without the mind-to-mind transmission between teacher and disciple, readers are often bewildered and do not know where to begin.

Out of concern for the difficulties faced by students, the venerable Bai Zuqiongguan wrote the Xiuxian Bianhuo Lun (Treatise on Dispelling Doubts in the Cultivation of Immortality) and transmitted it to the world. Sadly, people of the highest insight are rare, and many think too little of their own capacity, so they set the book aside and never examine it with care. My teacher, Master Niwan, grasped the principle within it and held that one may begin directly with the “Celestial Immortal’s Formula for Healing the World” (Tianxian yishi gongjue) handed down by Patriarch Lü (Lüzu). In this way one benefits oneself and also aids the world; without taking up any further methods, merit and practice may be brought to completion and gathered into a single tradition. Examined closely, the core of the method is nothing more than hunhua (blending and transformation—letting body and mind merge with the Dao (the Way) and be transformed). It is therefore designated “the practice of the celestial immortal,” meaning that it is not a method the levels of the water immortal, the earth immortal, and the rest are able to cultivate.

Let go of all attachments.

What is meant here by “conditions” is the dust of emotion and the roots of passion that arise when feelings and external things tug at the mind’s thoughts. They may come from what has accumulated within, or be stirred by things outside; in either case one must learn to let them go, and only then does the celestial mind—the mind clear and bright in its original nature—appear. This is the first step of cultivation, and both the cultivation of nature and the cultivation of life, the dual cultivation of nature and life (xingming shuangxiu), begin here. The subtlety of this is for the practitioner to realize personally; there is no need to explain it at length.

There are many ways to begin the work. What follows discusses only a few that are comparatively pure and less open to abuse. Master Niwan says: “To remove conditions the moment they arise is one method. When, after they have arisen, one feels mind and spirit (shen) knotted as if scorched by fire, and then gathers the thoughts and releases them again, that is one method. When conditions arise, simply to observe them in stillness and let thoughts come and go is one method.” Of the three, the last is the immortals’ method of cultivation. It is like cloud-shadows passing across empty space: the void itself remains unstained, and so there is neither loss nor gain. Later students who practice in this way need only watch, carefully and closely, for themselves.

Master Taixu says: “Just so. That is why the teacher does not speak of ‘sweeping away,’ but of ‘letting go.’ Conditioned thoughts are formed by intentional thoughts, and intentional thoughts arise from the mind. When the mind’s thoughts subside, intentional thoughts disperse of themselves, and conditioned thoughts naturally come free of their roots; there is no need to act deliberately. Students should take this to heart.”

Body and mind then naturally return to stillness, emptiness, and luminous clarity.

When body and mind return to their original natural state, a quiet breath is called ji (stillness), and the non-arising of thoughts is called xu (vacuity). When this is achieved, the body seems to merge with nothingness, and an inner light naturally appears.

This statement concerns the first step in entering hunhua (uniting body and mind with nothingness). The practice begins with cunsi (concentrated imagination and focused visualization): at first one draws on external scenes to perceive what is within; next one experiences the external from within; going further, inner and outer blend completely, and distinctions no longer remain. Master Niwan says that verification of this practice cannot rely on observation by the eyes alone; genuine realization must be gained from the heart-mind. Beginners, however, cannot yet do this, so one starts with “verifying the inner through the outer,” that is, letting what the eyes see give rise to inner realization; one then practices “verifying the outer through the inner,” experiencing the outer world from the mind; finally one reaches a complete merging of inner and outer, with neither distinction nor attachment to the mind or to what the eyes see.

Only when cultivation has reached this stage is one ready to welcome Tiangang (stellar deities among the stars of the Northern Dipper, and also important objects of Daoist cunsi and of the bugang ritual of pacing the Dipper) and to practice according to the proper method, so that cultivation does not become mere formality. Through persistent, uninterrupted practice, one can attain a state in which the true mind constantly abides yet is as if empty, and true Qi (vital energy) is abundant yet one is unaware of its presence. This mysterious condition is not deliberately maintained or sought through thought; it manifests of itself and is obtained of itself. It is not easy to bring the practice to this point; the essential instruction lies only in reaching no-thought within thought.

One then invokes Tiangang and long maintains its illumination.

This continues the effects described above. When it is further combined with the auxiliary method of “drawing in the Gang,” it brings about the mysterious realm of true emptiness and true non-being, and the sensation of light in cultivation naturally appears at a definite place. “Jin” takes its meaning from the Jin hexagram of the Zhouyi, carrying the sense of advancing and ascending. Master Niwan says: if cultivation has made progress yet there is no sensation of light, this shows that the effect still remains around the crown of the head.

More specifically, one first lets this sense of light move forward and downward from the crown to the point between the eyebrows, then shine from the brow center toward the mountain root (the area between the two eyes, at the upper end of the bridge of the nose). One must also first, with true intent (awareness that is concentrated yet not clinging), penetrate straight upward from the crown gate to meet the celestial Zhen star; only then can one draw in the Qi (vital energy) of the celestial Gang, unite it with the bodily Gang, gather and store it at the mountain root, and bring its illumination together at the quepen (the hollow above the collarbones). Continuing cultivation until one reaches deep stillness in emptiness and quiet, one can enter deeply into the mysterious aperture. Once one feels that one has already penetrated the mysterious aperture, one then cultivates by following the natural course of things and holds to the essential of no-thought; only then can one obtain the genuine experience of embryonic breathing (in Daoist cultivation, a state in which the breath is extremely subtle, as if a fetus were breathing in the mother’s womb). This, however, cannot be achieved in a short time and requires long perseverance. One should know that this method depends on continuous cultivation from beginning to end. Only when cultivation has reached the transformation of the ordinary into the sage, so that not even a thread of yet-untransformed ordinary condition remains, may one stop.

“From heaven to the abyss, without a moment’s interruption” means that from heaven to the abyss there is no break at any time. “Heaven” refers to the crown of the skull, and “abyss” to beneath the feet. Cultivation must run unbroken from the crown through to beneath the feet; only when one has reached the transformation of the ordinary into the sage, with nothing left untransformed, may one stop.

“Tian” refers to the fontanel bone at the crown of the head; “Yuan” refers to the Yongquan (Bubbling Spring) point on the sole of the foot. According to astronomy, the Zhenxing (Stabilizing Star) is Saturn. It stands at mid-heaven, above the sun, moon, and stars, and is regarded as the condensed ascent of the earth’s essence; it is also the principal star of the Tiangang at the mouth of the Dipper. Dwelling among the Five Stars, it illuminates the five directions and moves without disorder. Beneath the Zhenxing lies the Beichen, that is, the Tianshu (Celestial Pivot), which presides over all things; in the human body, this corresponds to the fontanel bone. The fontanel bone is formed by the condensation of the body’s generative Qi (vital energy); it takes shape after birth and communicates with the Zhenxing in the heavens. Thus, one who wishes to draw in the Qi of the Tiangang must first connect with the Zhenxing; once that connection is made, the Qi of the Tiangang pours in of itself.

From then on, an inner light gradually appears and remains day and night, like an open vessel turned upward to receive the sunlight—bright within and without, clear from top to bottom. When this stage is reached, acquired Qi is exhausted. This is precisely the key to returning to the origin. The oral formula is called “Guihuang” (Returning to the Yellow): the Qi of breathing comes to rest, and Qi issues forth from before the Lü, traveling along the central pathway of the body straight to the bone of the nape, with a sensation as though it neither rises nor descends. This is because innate Qi is clear, empty, and formless, and cannot be perceived as a solid thing.

Ancient practitioners followed this method, holding that only when the mind is single and free of stray thoughts do the rising and falling of Qi both belong to innate Qi; hence no deviation arises, and the efficacy of cultivation is most potent. If the mind is empty and still yet has not reached a state of natural spontaneity, the method is this: when Qi rises, let it rise; when Qi descends, do not forget the essential formula of “Zhuhai” (Pouring into the Sea)—that is, let the Qi return downward. What Taixu transmitted by word of mouth is precisely this. Beginners who rashly practice “Guihuang” easily go astray; “Zhuhai” is provided to meet the case of Qi rising at will. If even this is not understood, the consequences may be grave.

Yuan xu, yuan ji; yuan qing, yuan he (wholly empty, wholly still; wholly clear, wholly harmonious): what is prized in methods of cultivation is completeness and all-pervading fullness, with nothing lacking; one should reach a state of emptiness, stillness, clarity, and harmony.

A method of cultivation is valued for being universally inclusive and perfectly integrated; it must be complete and without omission. Only when not the slightest worldly thought is mixed into the practice can it be reckoned subtle and refined. Master Taixu said, “Emptiness and stillness are the root; clarity and harmony are the sign of efficacy.” When the work is applied in a perfectly integrated way, deviation naturally does not arise. This is entirely different from the beginner’s method of transporting the breath so as to free the movement of Qi (vital energy), and of using contemplative visualization (cunsi) so that awareness extends throughout the body. After the movement of Qi is already free and awareness has already pervaded the body, one must still maintain a pure practice, give rise to no delusive thoughts, and let everything return of its own accord to original reality. All such states are called hunhua, “blended transformation.” Therefore, in applying the method, one must take pure stillness and natural spontaneity as the standard; if one does not, deviations of the kind called naohuang and chuanghuang will appear.

Making no division between inner and outer, and clinging neither to being nor to non-being, the myriad things, in all their generation and transformation, return to the original condition of unmoving suchness (ruru).

The commentary says: “Ruru” means abiding in what is originally so; if one continues and cultivates more deeply, one will naturally reach a deeper realm. Master Taixu says that the so-called “inner” refers to the viscera and the like within the body, while the so-called “outer” is the body itself, including skin, flesh, sinews, and bones.

Making no division between inner and outer, and clinging neither to being nor to non-being, the myriad things, in all their generation and transformation, return to the original condition of unmoving suchness.

The commentary says: “Ruru” means abiding in what is originally so; if one continues and cultivates more deeply, one will naturally reach a deeper realm. Master Taixu says that the so-called “inner” refers to the viscera and the like within the body, while the so-called “outer” refers to the body itself, including skin, flesh, sinews, and bones. Master Niwan, however, holds that the body is the “inner,” and that the dharma-body (fashen)—the spiritual body accomplished through cultivation—is the “outer.” To cultivate according to this account is like using heaven and earth as the stove, using the yin’e (the related sites within the body) as the earthen jar, taking the form-body (seshen), insubstantial as a bubble or a shadow, as the meat, and then holding it all together with the power of meditative stability and with wisdom. This is Patriarch Lü’s (Lüzu) “Practice Formula of the Three Ni for Healing the World” (Sanni Yishi Gongjue). The method is extremely simple: one need only close the six gates (the portals through which the senses and the mind—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and thought—pass out and in) and not allow the breath to leak outward. This is embryonic breathing (taixi), the method of guarding the breath inwardly as a fetus does.

The method I now teach is given because the learner’s body and mind are not yet settled, and the passes and apertures are not yet open. One must therefore begin with the tangible body, apply transporting cultivation, and combine this with contemplative visualization. Only after the passes and apertures are fully open, and visualization is no longer wild and disordered, does one follow the profound method transmitted by the teacher, persisting in the practice at every moment; in this way the fault of self-deception will not arise. The student should grasp and follow this, and must on no account skip stages in cultivation.

The wondrous working of reversion (fanhuan) is precisely this.

“Returning” (huan) means going back to the primordial state; “reverting” (fan) means restoring oneself to the root. Master Taixu says: “One must understand that the root is originally utmost emptiness, and essential nature is originally utmost non-being. If practitioners do not grasp this principle, they often cultivate ‘returning’ in a one-sided way and practice ‘reverting’ incorrectly.” What is called wondrous function refers to the various applications that arise in cultivation: sometimes one uses emptiness to nourish the substantial, and sometimes one uses the substantial to temper emptiness. Later students should ponder this carefully and must not cling to either emptiness or substantiality. This is precisely what the scripture (Jing) means.

When the body within the body is brought to completion, it is called the True Self (zhenwu).

The “True Self” spoken of here is what the alchemical texts call the Perfected Person (zhenren). Compared with the methods of cultivation set forth in those texts, this practice is more concise and easier. One must never work at it by fits and starts, nor allow oneself to grow lax and drowsy. The method takes the Great Void (Taixu)—the vast, formless emptiness—as the furnace and cauldron, the physical body and the dharma body as the medicinal ingredients, concentration and wisdom as water and fire, and uninterrupted effort as the firing process. When the firing has been cultivated to sufficiency, the True Self appears. There is no need to break through the crown and ascend in flight; one can manifest or conceal oneself at will, unrestricted by direction or distance, and need only perceive the changes of movement and stillness.

The True Self is respectfully called the “Sovereign,” and intimately called the “child.”

The methods of cultivation described in the alchemical texts are all provisional expedients. If one does not understand the principle within them, the misleading effect can be very serious.

Warming and nurturing, bathing, and nursing are nothing more than methods of channeling and guiding.

Master Taixu says: “Although terms such as warming and nurturing, bathing, and nursing already have fixed formulations and are recorded in detail in the alchemical texts, actual cultivation still allows for flexible practice. It is like Yu the Great dredging the nine rivers: one must follow the lay of the land and guide the waters accordingly. In cultivation, one relies on the subtle conditions of one’s own person and regulates them with attentive care, so that things naturally accord with one’s intent without overstepping, and one attains centered rectitude and harmonious balance.”

When one’s practice is fully matured and one’s character pure and refined, one can return to the Great Beginning (Taichu)—the primordial state before Heaven and Earth had separated and before the myriad things had come into being.

Cultivation is to be refined within the inner heart, and De (Virtue/Power) must likewise be realized within the inner heart. What is called “returning the self” means restoring to oneself what originally belongs to oneself. The Taichu (Great Beginning) is the root of the pre-celestial origin and of Wuji (the Limitless); it is Zhenyi (True Unity).

Tracing back from the end to the beginning, the teacher’s instruction is not elaborate: the state of mind need only be limpid, still, and harmoniously fused, yet it must not be muddled and confused. Limpid stillness and harmonious fusion may seem close to muddle and confusion, but the results differ greatly. The former maintains complete awakening throughout, while the latter sinks into bewilderment. Awakening makes one a sage; benightedness makes one a demon. Such is the teacher’s instruction. One must be careful, and must not mix it with mistaken interpretation.

These twelve sentences are also the admonition of Taixu Weng (a title for the teacher in Daoist transmission).

Outer Chapters (Waipian)

Limpid stillness and harmonious fusion may seem close to muddle and confusion, but the results differ greatly. The former maintains complete awakening throughout, while the latter sinks into bewilderment. Awakening makes one a sage; benightedness makes one a demon. Such is the teacher’s instruction. One must be careful, and must not mix it with mistaken interpretation.

These twelve sentences are also the admonition of Taixu Weng.

Outer Chapters

In practicing the heart-transmission of the Tianxian (celestial immortal), one contemplates the body from within the heart, so that the body becomes transparent and bright like crystal. “Seeing” means inner vision, that is, contemplation with the heart-mind; “body” refers to the tangible fleshly body; “crystal” borrows crystal as an image of transparency and clarity. This work begins when one lays down every kind of attachment and distracting thought. The heart and Shen (spirit) must be as if present and yet absent, and must not be wholly sunken in dullness and lost, so that one is not led along by empty, delusive thoughts. It is therefore called “crystal-like,” with the aim of reaching the state of great awakening that rests unmoved.

By means of ritual methods one receives the Gangqi (the Qi [vital energy] of the Celestial Gang spoken of in Daoism), just as one raises a vessel to catch the sunlight shining down.

The concrete method appears in the Yishi Gongjue (Formula of the Work of Healing the World): it is like receiving sunlight in a crystal bottle. The light naturally pours into the bottle, so that inside and outside are both bright and transparent.

When Gangqi shines upon one, there is arising; when Gangqi pours in, there is transformation. Transformation and arising cycle without cease, and the fundamental principle of cultivation is only one.

“Shining” is universal illumination; “pouring” is concentrated infusion; “arising” is spontaneous generation; “transforming” is undergoing change. Although the practice appears in these different ways, all of them rely on Zhenyi (the source of heaven, earth, and the myriad things). Hence it is said that “the work is but one method.” “Method” is the principle, and “work” is its function. In applying this principle, the key lies in the inner true self.

Heaven is generated by means of the “One,” and earth is completed by means of the “One.”

The wondrous application of Tianxian cultivation is nothing other than arising and completion. The testimony of heaven and earth is likewise shown in arising and completion, and the mystery within them can be fulfilled only by relying on the “One.” If a person wishes to cultivate immortality, how could one abandon this “One”?

If the body loses its connection with that “One,” how can a person’s character attain pure oneness?

Human life originally issues from the “One.” Only when body and mind are clear, luminous, and pure can one return to pure oneness. How is the “One” made pure? The key lies in knowing how to return to the source, and in guarding it with a mind free of thought yet sincere. This is precisely the essential teaching orally transmitted by Taixu (here referring to the transmitter of the teaching, or the teacher).

The state of the “One” is to be free of thought and sincere, clinging neither to being nor to non-being, and clinging neither to human feelings nor to principles.

What is called “freedom from thought” means that, when a thought arises, the mind is still not drawn along by it. What is called “sincerity” is the sincerity of the saying “without sincerity there is nothing”—that is, utmost genuineness without falsity. This is the true One. “Being” means that there is something heard or seen; “non-being” means that there is no movement and no change. “Not establishing” means letting every kind of scene and image appear or withdraw of itself, without fixing upon it. “Human” means human feelings, and “principle” means norms and rules; “both extinguished” means that one no longer clings to discrimination or to seeking. Practiced in this way, thoughts of themselves grow still, and the mind settles once more. This is the essential point that should be guarded with a sincere mind from beginning to end.

Guarded with sincerity in this way, emptiness and stillness can reach their utmost, and quietude can become deep and firm. Embryonic breathing—in Daoist cultivation, the regulation of the breath so as to enter stillness, a state resembling the breathing of a fetus—can take form, and the Mysterious Pass—in Neidan (internal alchemy), the crucial aperture where the movements of body, mind, and Qi (vital energy) meet—can open. The breath of ordinary respiration ceases, and true Qi, the primordial vital energy of life spoken of in cultivation, circulates throughout, neither scattering nor becoming blocked. Only then may the scenes that appear and disappear all be genuine signs of verification. Even so, one must always take still contemplative awareness without clinging as the standard; only then will there be no deviation.

The Shen (spirit) and intent originally brought into play cause the root to interfuse and circulate reciprocally: the body is set within the “One,” and the “One” is set within the mind. Its working is vast, extending throughout heaven and earth, and yet it can also penetrate into a mote of dust. It is bound neither by form and appearance nor by principles, and in the end it blends and transforms, returning to perfect reality.

“Yuan” means tracing a thing from beginning to end; “hu” means mutual interfusion, that is, circulating back and forth; “gen” means the root from which everything comes forth. What is called “penetrating into a mote of dust, unbound by form and appearance or by principles, blending and returning to rounded truth” speaks precisely of this state of cultivation.

What is called “origin” (yuan) means tracing a thing to its beginning and its end; “mutual” (hu) means joining with one another, that is, cycling back and forth; “root” (gen) is the source from which things arise. “Qi” here refers to the True One (zhenyi), the authentic and unified foundation of which Daoism speaks. What is called “placing” (anzhi) means to set in position: “body” refers to the form-body (seshen), the tangible body of flesh; “one” refers to the True One; “mind” refers to the discriminating mind (shixin), the consciousness by which a person draws distinctions. “Heavenly realm” is borrowed to stand for the body, and “fine dust” for original nature; “form” refers to the form-body, and “dharma” to the Dharma-body (fashen), the body that transcends physical form and belongs to the spiritual dimension.

Speaking with care, the “mingling and transformation” (hunhua) discussed here means joining the form-body and the Dharma-body together and placing them in the Heavenly Heart (tianxin), the inner pivot spoken of in the cultivation of body and mind, so that they undergo tempering and change. Although the form-body is ordinary, turbid, and heavy, the True One abides within it; although the Dharma-body is clear, luminous, and numinously wondrous, ordinary Qi (vital energy) is also mixed within it. One must therefore temper, cleanse, and set it in order again and again before true nature appears and moves toward completeness.

The subtlety of the method of cultivation lies in the phrase “mutually rooting its root.” What follows, concerning the placing of the body and the placing of the True One, already embraces a work of cultivation both vast and all-pervading; it can also enter the fine and minute and bring a wondrous function into play. Such a wondrous state can be reached because one clings to no abode and lets the mind arise of itself. Hence it is said: “No form and no dharma; through mingling and transformation the true is made complete.” The subtlety in this can hardly be told in full by words.

This is the True Self (zhenwo), also called the “body outside the body” (shenwai shen), the body that appears by transcending the flesh. It cannot be seen and cannot be heard, yet it can transform by spiritual power, concealing and revealing itself as the mind wills. When the merit of cultivation is complete, one may ascend peacefully to Jade Clarity (Yuqing), the pure, subtle, and loftily wondrous realm of which Daoism speaks.

The “True Self” is the True Person (zhenren). It is called the “body outside the body” by comparison with the form-body: it can depart from the form-body; though the places from which they issue differ, they return to non-duality. The two lines that follow quote scripture in order to show that the True Self can master transformation and conceal or reveal itself at will; when the work and conduct of cultivation are complete, one may ascend peacefully to Jade Clarity.

The true self is the Perfected Person. The so-called “body outside the body” is named by comparison with the tangible fleshly body, for the true self can leave the fleshly body and come and go freely, unhindered. The next two lines cite scripture to show that the true self is the very substance of the Dao; they warn people of the world not to remain bound by older formulations, lest they sink into empty delusion and fail to awaken.

The final four lines explain that true “emptiness” is not the absence of everything, and true “non-being” is not total nonexistence. The foolish do not understand that the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and humanity—are originally a single whole. They merely envy the Utmost Person, one who has attained the Dao, for being able to withdraw from view or appear, yet they do not know that concealment and manifestation depend only on the one mind: when the mind would appear, it appears; when it would withdraw, it withdraws. The mind of the Utmost Person has already become one with Heaven and Earth and moves without cease, and so can conceal and manifest without end, its spiritual powers and transformations beyond all measure.

At the beginning of cultivation the fleshly body has not yet been refined into the pure method, so one must pass through a process of mixing and transformation. After the pure method has been attained, if one has not yet reached the realm of spontaneity, one still cannot ascend evenly into Yuqing, the supreme celestial realm spoken of in Daoism. One must therefore still pass through a stage in which being and non-being intermingle and mixing and transformation reach perfect fusion; the practitioner also remains embodied in the world to complete this process. Only when merit is complete does one ascend into Yuqing. “Level body” means that one no longer needs to strain to break through the crown and rise in flight. Because the Six Directions—Heaven, Earth, and the four quarters—and the Three Continents of legend all lie within the one mind, and there is no fixed place, how could there be high and low, far and near, requiring effort to go out and come in, to rise and descend?

All of this comes from the practice of returning mixing and transformation to unity. It extends throughout the vast and also enters the minute, enabling the practitioner to accord with the De (Virtue/Power) of Heaven and Earth. This differs from the various kinds of immortals—earth immortals, water immortals, spirit immortals, and ghost immortals. They are still far from the celestial realm and must continue to ascend before they can finally reach Yuqing. What is spoken of here, therefore, is the practice of the celestial immortal.

The Formula of Roundness

Above it reaches the Nine Heavens; below it reaches the Nine Abysses.

“Nine Heavens” refers roughly to the human head, that is, the Niwan, the cranial region spoken of in Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy); “Nine Abysses” refers roughly to the Yongquan point at the center of the sole of the foot. The ancients regarded the human body as a lesser cosmos, and so used the language of Heaven above and the depths below to describe it. “Exhausting” means reaching the very end, and “the utmost” means attaining the extreme limit. This also includes a method of cultivation that follows back and forth and joins above with below: one connects upward with Heaven and opens downward into the abyss, employing it at every moment.

The Three Powers are guarded as an egg is guarded; the yellow is the field of blessings.

“Guarding like an egg” means protecting and nurturing as one protects an egg; the Three Powers are Heaven, Earth, and humanity. “Yellow” refers to the yellow image in cultivation, and the “field of blessings” is the place where merit is accumulated and the foundation is cultivated.

The egg is originally a hen’s egg. “Yellow” refers to the yolk and is used as a metaphor for the human world. What is called “guarding” takes the Great Void (taixu, the vast emptiness) as the furnace and cauldron, and the Three Powers (sancai: Heaven, Earth, and humanity) as the medicinal ingredients; this is the master formula of undifferentiated transformation (hunhua).

I rest securely within it, taking the yolk as a metaphor for the human world. “Guarding” takes the Great Void as the furnace and cauldron and the Three Powers as the medicinal ingredients; this is the master formula of undifferentiated transformation.

“I dwell within it, blending Kun and Qian”: “I” means the true self; “dwell” means to rest securely and hold fast; “within” means the Yellow Center (huangzhong). It says “it” because this “center” is the place where the true self comes into being, and so “it” is used to name it. According to the method of cultivation, one gathers the body together with all things of the world into the Yellow Center and follows only the substance of the Dao (the Way): the mind is kept empty and still, and within stillness it returns again to emptiness; one clings to no fixed direction and admits no admixture of acquired knowledge. In this way Heaven’s Qi (vital energy), the primordial energy of Heaven, will of itself pour downward, while Qi is left free to rise, so that blockage turns to open ease. This is the first sign in which undifferentiated transformation appears, and so it is said, “blending Kun and Qian.”

“Knowing return and knowing reversion, there is nothing latter that is not former”: “return” means going back to the primordial beginning, and “reversion” means coming back to the root; “latter” refers to the acquired (houtian), and “former” to the innate (xiantian); “knowing” means awareness and understanding. Only with understanding can one be sincere, and with sincerity there is nothing that does not return and nothing that does not revert. After this return, the distinction between the acquired and the innate naturally disappears. This is a wondrous sign that appears of itself. What is discussed here chiefly concerns the cultivation of Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen (spirit), and it still belongs to the working of the inner section.

“Able to be pure, able to be pure; there is no earth that is not heaven”: “able” means to be capable. The first “pure” is read as sheng (绳) and means single-minded concentration, with the emphasis on the practice of cultivation; the second “pure” is read as zheng (整) and means whole and unmixed, with the emphasis on the signs of cultivation. Earth belongs to Yin and Heaven to Yang; the way of Earth is even, and the way of Heaven is odd. When undifferentiated transformation reaches this stage, one becomes pure Yang, with not a trace of Yin Qi remaining, and so it is said, “there is no earth that is not heaven.” This is the sign of creative transformation spoken of in the outer section, and it is not easily attained.

Constantly preserve the true, and the true itself becomes the constant; within the mysterious there is a mystery still more profound.

The meaning of this passage is as follows. What endures without change is called the “Constant,” and what is genuine and not empty is called the “True.” What one cultivates and what one practices must be both steadfastly sustained and solidly real; when the work is carried to its utmost, the efficacy of cultivation naturally appears, and one reaches a realm of genuine reality. This is the “Mysterious,” and it is not easily achieved.

“The Constant is the True, and the True is the Constant; mystery upon mystery” means that constancy and genuineness accord with one another, while cultivation deepens without cease until it reaches an extremely profound and subtle realm. What is called “mystery upon mystery” is to cultivate all the way to the limitless and yet return to the ultimate point. If one traces cultivation from beginning to end, the crux does not go beyond the two words “return and revert”: in the end one returns to the original substance of the Great Dao (the Way).

In “continuous and closely knit, no part of the Dao fails to be complete,” “continuous” refers to what is constant and genuine, and “closely knit” refers to what is genuine and constant. Unbroken continuity and closeness mean that cultivation reaches a state of utmost sincerity that never ceases; in this way, there is no point of the principle that cannot be brought to fulfillment. The teacher therefore declares: “No part of the Dao fails to be complete.”

In “when merit surpasses its utmost, I myself am Buddha and immortal,” “merit” refers to the merit of returning and reverting; “surpasses” means to transcend; and “its utmost” refers to the limitless realm of the Great Dao. “I” is the true self. The commentator holds that this is the “body outside the body” spoken of in the outer chapters—the true body that transcends the fleshly body—without form or substance and yet possessing a substance of its own. It resembles what Buddhism calls the “purple-gold body,” a majestic Buddha-body likened to purple gold, and it is also what the Mysterious Gate calls the “seed of the True and Constant,” the root by which the realm of the True and Constant is brought to realization. Hence it is said that the true self is Buddha and immortal.

In “riding abreast with Xihuang and standing shoulder to shoulder with Yuanshi,” “Xihuang” refers to the Celestial Sovereign Fuxi, and “riding abreast” means to advance side by side as equals; “Yuanshi” is the honorific title of the ancestor of all that is and all that is not, and “shoulder to shoulder” means to stand as peers. This continues the metaphor of the lines above, showing that the practitioner can reach a state of standing alongside the ancient sages and Yuanshi. The commentator reminds students not to cling to outward forms and appearances, and, with the words “What kind of person was Shun, and what kind of person am I?”, encourages people to believe that they too can bring their cultivation to completion.

The work is titled Tianxian Xinchuan (Heart-Transmission of the Celestial Immortal). The attribution states that it was conferred by Master Taixu upon the later student Min Yide (styled Xiaogen), who compiled and set it forth. There follows the heading “Ritual Rules of the Mysterious Liturgy for Healing the World”—ritual procedures for relieving the world by means of the Keyi (liturgy) of the Daoist Mysterious Gate—beneath which is listed “Setting Up the Altar” (establishing the ritual altar).

When setting up the altar, prepare a small room and place in it a clean high table and a low table: one before the divine image or sacred seat, and one on the eastern side of the room. The room need not be large, but it should be neat and bright. Close the doors and windows tightly to keep out the wind. Prepare two rush cushions, one before the sacred seat and one on the eastern side; also prepare a coir mat, a table skirt, a set of the “three things” (implements for offering), a plate of white rice, a cup of pure water, a bright lamp, a pair of offering candles, three sticks of fine incense, a clean garment, and a pair of clean shoes. Apart from these, set out nothing else.

When entering the altar, hold reverence in the heart and carry oneself with solemnity; do not presume upon oneself, and then enter the altar chamber. Once inside, keep the body upright and the mind empty and still, and attend single-mindedly to guarding the thought. Neither look nor listen. After gathering in mind and Shen (spirit), face upward and perform the court obeisance three times (the rite of bowing toward the divine seat). When the obeisance is finished, withdraw to one side and sit upright facing west. Before the seat place a low table, with the Xuanke (the Keyi [liturgy] documents used in Daoist ritual) upon it and a rush cushion beneath it.

The practitioner sits upright. When the breath has grown calm, open the liturgical text and silently recite the syllable “Om” (a syllable used in recitation to purify the mind) twice, or three, five, or seven times, so as to purify the body, the mind, and the intention. While reciting, let no stray thoughts remain in the mind. Visualize heaven and earth as emptied and clear, and the one Qi (vital energy) as pure and luminous, limpid as water and vast as the sky; only then utter the sound of “Om.” For this reason, Western ritual manuals place the character “yin” beneath “Om.” Taken in the sense of “yin,” one need only draw out the vowel of “Om.” If the practitioner can, according to the method, visualize, hold the thought, and recite with sincerity, three recitations are enough.

When the recitation is finished, proceed to the ritual invocation. The ritual notes do not set down the specific etiquette, because what is employed here is the Shen rite (performing the rite by the intention of Shen). If one is to withdraw, one must rise, go before the sacred seat, and bow with the same reverence as on entering the altar, and withdraw only after three bows. It is also said that, in performing the Shen rite, one should make obeisance by the intention of Shen toward the empty clarity, while the body remains quiet and unmoving.

The Ritual of Withdrawal

When one comes out of stillness, the body has already left the state of entered stillness, yet mind and spirit must still be gathered inward. Not speaking, not looking, and not listening is not merely a deliberate shutting off of the senses; one must also preserve within an inner condition of clarity, quiet, and peace. When something arises, respond to it properly, and the moment it is finished, set it down at once. Do not chase after emotions and thoughts, lest the clarity of the heart be lost. If that clarity slips away, gather mind and spirit immediately; once they are firmly settled, let go even of the thought of holding them in concentration. In this way Shen (spirit) is naturally ever clear, and Qi (vital energy) is naturally ever still. One then continues the cultivation, and the steps of the ritual are still carried out as they were at the beginning. When the practice is finished, withdraw and remain alone, always taking the cutting off of stray thoughts and the forgetting of emotion as essential. At first one persists by effort; in the end one reaches fluent spontaneity. Do not fear difficulty, and do not covet ease.

The Ritual of Declaring Completion

One must maintain an enduring and sincere intention, make a vast vow, and silently commit the verse to memory. Then bow forward and recite it in silence, so that mind and spirit return to the state of forgetting:

“I, so-and-so, have received transmission from my teacher: through emptiness I nurture clarity and stillness, and from clarity and stillness I return again to emptiness. When emptiness reaches its utmost and stillness is steadfast, the Three Origins—the primordial energies, or fundamental powers, of Heaven, Earth, and the human being, as spoken of in Daoism—accord with one another, harmonize together, and give rise to a new verification. At this very moment one must keep this inscribed in mind from instant to instant, regardless of how long or short the time, and pray with sincere and earnest heart, wishing to obtain the subtle mystery of creation and transformation and to unite with the Dao (the Way).”

When the recitation is finished, kowtow three times, rise, and go before the sacred image. Pay respects with the same reverence as at the beginning, then perform three salutations and withdraw.

The rituals above are four in all. They were handed down by the holy perfected of successive generations and are extremely simple. Because they belong to the rules for entering the practice, liturgical texts were provided for entering stillness and for withdrawing from stillness. Those who aspire to cultivation carry them out accordingly, and in every case the essential point lies in oneself. The Xiuxian Bianhuo says that one should take the body as the altar ground, the furnace and cauldron, and the stove implements, and take the heart as the spirit chamber, the place where spirit is lodged and mind and spirit are nourished. Here, by contrast, one takes the heart as Heaven, the body as Earth, and thought as the human, and thereby reaches emptiness and stillness, central harmony, fullness, and the utmost, so that body, mind, and the outer realm transform of themselves. When this time arrives, in facing the form-body and the dharma-body—the material body and the body of dharma-nature realized through cultivation—one need neither deliberately draw near nor deliberately reject them, and yet one does not on that account grow dull and obscured. This is what is called “mixing” and “transforming.” The Keyi (liturgy) and the method of mind opened by Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) are precisely of this kind. If one clings to the outward form of ritual or to external circumstances, one is far removed from the original intent of the ritual teaching.

The Authentic Text of the Mysterious Liturgy, with Commentary

Verse for Opening the Liturgy

This means letting emptiness embrace what is substantial, letting the substantial return to emptiness, and fusing emptiness and substance into one, so that both the body and the world in which one dwells may be regulated.

The specific methods of practice are given in what follows.

True Words of Rongyi (the oral formula for fusing emptiness and substance into one)

Om (pronounced “ōng,” with the sound drawn out).

The number of recitations is not fixed; it is used to bring about a state of pure and luminous emptiness.

Verse for Opening the Rite (the verse recited at the beginning of the ritual)

This means letting emptiness embrace what is substantial, letting the substantial return to emptiness, and fusing emptiness and substance into one, so that both the body and the world in which one dwells may be regulated.

The specific methods of practice are given in what follows.

True Words of Rongyi

Om (pronounced “ōng,” with the sound drawn out).

The number of recitations is not limited. By this means one reaches pure and luminous emptiness and returns to the One Qi (the primordial vital energy spoken of in Daoism). In this state the distinction between the world and the body disappears, and sensory impressions such as sound and scent are all extinguished. This is called “Rongyi.” To grasp its working, the key lies in the syllable “om,” so in recitation the sound must be prolonged; the essential meaning of the character kuo is also contained in the sound of “om.” According to the Buddhist scriptures, however, this state is called the “pure realm,” not “Rongyi.”

Sacred Proclamation (holy proclamation)

Heavenly Treasure, Numinous Treasure, and Spirit Treasure; Jade Clarity, Supreme Clarity, and Grand Clarity. The One Qi circulates and flows; the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) unfold in transformation. Holding light in silence, they move without speaking and spread transformation through the four seasons; of true countenance and utter emptiness, through Wuwei (non-action) they transform and bring forth the Three Realms. Above in the Daluo Heaven, within the Palace of the Golden Portal, empty and spontaneously natural—the Celestial Worthies of the Three Pure Ones, the Three Realms, and the Three Treasures.

This is the proclamation of the Divine Mother of Jade Clarity, issued by Taiyi and transmitted in the early Yuan. People commonly call it the “Comprehensive Proclamation of the Three Pure Ones,” and it has long been in circulation. Niwan said: “Those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) and study this proclamation should avoid mixing in personal views, and must always take as the foundation a boundless luminous emptiness in which sounds and scents are likewise extinguished.” Reflecting on the words of this proclamation, I find that it directly sets forth the substance of the Dao. Were it not the sagely Divine Mother, none would be equal to bearing this proclamation; were it not Taiyi who took up the brush, it could not have been written. Those who cultivate the supreme Dao should keep it in mind and recite it often. Although what people say of its origin is mistaken, it already contains the complete meaning of the Three Pure Ones, so to call it the “Comprehensive Proclamation” is not amiss.

Words of Entreaty (text of supplication)

Respectfully stated: the present turn of the age falls in the Lower Yuan (one of the Three Yuan spoken of in Daoism), and only the “One” can change the state of the times. I have received the profound and mysterious methods of the Dao, gathering the people of the world and turning their hearts to the Dao; I honor humaneness and accord with the Dao, so that the Qi of ordinary people is made wholly new. I respectfully entreat vast compassion to shine down universally in protection and care.

The Qi (vital energy) of Heaven, bestowed downward, is called “ren” (benevolence); the Qi of Earth, received upward, is called “shun” (accordance). Between one exhalation and one inhalation, these two functions circulate with each other. At the outset one must consciously preserve, nourish, and set them in motion; once the practice has fully matured, they are reached of themselves. Throughout, the mind must neither cling nor rest in any one place—only then is the subtlety attained.

True Words of Repentance and Release

On examining the Buddhist scriptures, this is the “Great Bright Mantra” among the true words, the heart-sound of the Bodhisattva of Sovereign Ease (Guanyin, Avalokitesvara). If a person recites it with a sincere mind, the world can be moved into sympathetic response and transformation; the body likewise follows this response and gives rise to unsurpassed bodhicitta (the mind that seeks awakening and benefits living beings), and karmic obstructions can thereby be dissolved. Yet, judged as a method of cultivation, this practice is exceedingly strict and profound. Master Niwan says that this is the method adopted by Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin). The calamities of the Lower Prime (the disasters of the world) are all produced by human beings, and the workings of creative transformation are affected by them; if karmic obstructions cannot be removed, the way of the world can hardly be opened and made to flow.

Om—yao ni bo na ming hong (“hong” is pronounced “hou”).

Cultivation must begin by turning contemplation back to emptiness and stillness: one visualizes the body and the mind’s thoughts gradually forgotten, until the worldly body returns to a single whole. In this way, one will see appear before the eyes an image like a grain of millet—yao ni bo na ming hong (“hong” is pronounced “hou”).

Cultivation must begin by turning contemplation back to emptiness and stillness: one visualizes the body and the mind’s thoughts gradually forgotten, until the worldly body returns to a single whole. Afterward one will see a fully formed image moving within it, its color black as lacquer. This is the embodied condition of the Lower Prime (the psycho-physical realm associated with the Lower Prime); the blackness is produced by postnatal habit and defilement. At this point one must hold the true words in the mind, practicing until it is as if one were reciting and yet as if one were not; only then arises the response in which sound enters the inner heart and Shen (spirit) communicates with it. One must on no account give rise to discriminating conjecture; only thus may one reach the soundless sound that resounds through the ten directions, while not knowing whence the sound comes.

Only when one has oneself studied and cultivated to utmost sincerity and full maturity can one obtain the effect within “reciting without reciting,” comparable to the confirmation of still reciting in the dreams of the soul. When cultivation reaches this stage, there arise the realms of worldly sympathetic response, the transformation of the myriad things, and the body’s answering, with Qi (the vital mechanism of life’s movement) gathering and condensing. This is the method of the sacred practice in Patriarch Lü’s medical art. How could such a realm be reached by recitation of throat and tongue alone? Yet the Dao (the Way) does not depart from the world; to cultivate so far as to enter sagehood, one still begins from recitation with throat and tongue. Those who study and practice cannot fail to understand this.

Cloud-seal script (the writing of Daoist Fulu [talismans and registers]).

This form of cloud-seal script—the cloud-vapor-shaped seal characters of Daoism—is named “Xuanyun.” It is said that Taiyi once called it by this name. It condenses the innate true Qi (Qi, vital energy), the original primordial breath from before heaven and earth came into being, and is the essence within the heart of the Divine Mother; every character of the seal script contains heaven and earth, mountains and rivers. Of the scriptural meanings of the Three Teachings, the fundamental principles can be investigated, yet their actual efficacy is inexhaustible.

At that time Guolao grasped the principle within it and therefore composed the True Words of Xuanyun to transmit to the world. People consequently took to calling it, loosely, a verse for opening the scriptures, not knowing that the passage speaks specifically of the cloud-seal script. That the root of the cloud-seal script can be investigated refers to yuanming, a person’s original life-breath, and so it may also be used to regulate the fortunes and momentum of the age. Those who recite and uphold the cloud-seal script and accord with the movement of the times can cultivate merit and disciplined practice together, so that both cultivation and everyday life receive benefit.

This seal script contains the fundamental substance of the great Dao (Dao, the Way). Since that substance is pure, genuine, and without falsity, its function is naturally numinous and marvelous; it simply cannot be measured by one’s own cleverness and intelligence. Hence its efficacy is said to be inexhaustible. What the Explanation of the Xuanyun Verse sets forth is no empty talk.

The eighty-four seal scripts (eighty-four kinds of seal-script characters) were disseminated by the Divine Mother, copied by Huangren, collated by Chenmu, compiled by Jingyang, expounded by Guolao, put into practice by Chunyang, inherited by Niwan, and transmitted onward by Yibing. My teacher, Master Niwan, said: “The cloud seal script of Taisu—the seal script of cloud-qi manifested by the Qi (vital energy) of the Primordial Beginning—is scattered throughout the Great Void. It belongs to the rare and auspicious conditions of a particular age. When Huangren, the Celestial Perfected, saw it, he copied it, stored it in the celestial treasury, and then transmitted it to the Perfected of the world.

“It is like a bushel of mani jewels scattered among humankind. At that time there was neither punctuation nor any pronunciation that could be consulted. When Jingyang gathered them, he sighed: these writings lie scattered everywhere; how long they will endure is not fixed, and it is hard to make them complete. Moreover, the seal forms are strange and hard to decipher, and accurate copying is not easy. Chenmu therefore descended in response to spiritual communion and transmitted the pronunciations and the rhymes, so that people could recite them. After Jingyang received them, he further transcribed the seal script into regular script and gradually compiled it into chapters; thus it came to bear the name Dadong Yujing (Great Cavern Jade Scripture).

“This scripture was not entered into the Daozang until the Liu-Song period: Lu Jingxiu of Wucheng, by imperial command, incorporated it. As I have examined the matter, the versions circulating in the world each have their own use. After the seal script is brought together and transcribed into regular script, then set out character by character and linked together, a profound meaning is preserved throughout. Patriarch Lü, within the medical teachings, singled out from among them only the ‘wanbao’; examining his account, one takes this to be the Jade Method of Yuanshi. Therefore, once the seal script had been compiled into scripture, there came to be such phrases and meanings as ‘Nanwu Juefa.’”

The master said further: “All things have their origin. The cloud seal script is born of the golden script, and the golden script was manifested through Wang Ni. What is Wang Ni? It is the primordial mandate. If, in study, one can pursue the matter along this line, one is seeking the source; once one understands and then applies it with care, the myriad transformations arise without cease, and one does not go against the substance of the Dao (the Way).

“One must know that the root of the Dao is the Great Void, and its substance is utmost nothingness. Understanding this, one knows that the two words ‘void’ and ‘nothingness’ also come from Wang Ni. Only this may be called thorough. Those who study the Dao should realize it with reverence and care, and must not neglect it.”

The twelve seal scripts that follow were compiled in continuation by Patriarch Lü; the profound meanings within them can be traced and gauged.

⑤ This refers to the methods of the Dao (the Way) transmitted through the Confucian tradition.

⑥ This refers to the methods of the Dao transmitted through the Daoist tradition (the Mysterious School, Xuanzong).

⑦ This refers to the methods of the Dao transmitted through the Buddhist tradition (the Śākya School, Shizong).

⑧ The twenty-four seal-script characters above were continued and written by Master Niwan; properly speaking, they are an invocation. Master Niwan admonished: “This essential aim is the supreme Dao. Cloud-seal script—Daoist talismanic writing formed in the imagery of cloud Qi (vital energy)—is true writing. Each seal character is circulated and held by mind and intent, and the spirits of the Three Powers, Heaven, Earth, and humanity, then look down and draw near. Whatever is sought receives a response, and if there is a wish, it is thereby fulfilled.” When one can circulate and hold the seal script in its entirety, the mind’s intent continually comes into operation and reveals the Heart of Heaven; without falling into the distinction between being and non-being, one obtains verification. Dipamkara of old also left a record: whether things appear or vanish, they all change in accordance with the mind’s intent.

Master Niwan further said that circulating and holding these seal characters follows a transmitted standard, and that without a destined affinity one can hardly even hear of it. What is this standard? The Dao Ancestor, Venerable Chunyang, said that those who learn to circulate and hold them need only set out the cloud-seal characters in sequence and visualize them in different parts of the body. They may be placed at the navel or in the brain, but there is an order of precedence. One should cultivate in sequence: first circulate Wang Ni, then circulate the golden script, and finally circulate the seal characters; the order must not be reversed. What is Wang Ni? It is ○. What is the golden script? It is ⑨.

Master Niwan further said that when Patriarch Lü circulated and held Wang Ni and the golden script, he used the Celestial Eye (the inner vision used for visualization in Daoist cultivation). In the mouth one relies only on the syllable “om” to send forth the practice. The method is like polishing a mirror: one holds fast with Shen (spirit) and intent in concentrated focus. When circulating and holding the seal script, one instead uses the Celestial Eye to visualize toward empty space. After the seal script has taken form, one gathers it and visualizes it at the navel or in the brain. Within this there are still subtle and mysterious principles.

Although circulation of the seal script begins from the golden script, Wang Ni is the root of the primordial Qi of life in the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and humanity, and also the source from which the myriad things are transformed and born. In the human body, before birth it originally resides in the brain; after birth it settles in the Sea of Qi (the Dantian [energy center] region below the navel). As for the golden script, it is the root of the primordial nature of the Three Powers, and the source upon which the manifestation of the myriad things depends. In the human body, before things have responded, it originally resides at the Li position (the position corresponding to the fire of the heart); once there is a response, it arrives at the Celestial Valley (the inner spirit-residence within the head). Therefore, when the seal script is circulated in reliance on the golden script, the seal characters should descend forward from the Celestial Valley, and excellence lies in the descent attaining clarity and brightness; when the seal script is circulated in reliance on Wang Ni, they should ascend backward from the Sea of Qi, and excellence lies in the ascent attaining balanced harmony. Cultivating according to this method, ⑩ is visualized in the brain and ⑾ is visualized at the navel. Each seal character must be silently held and recited, and the entire seal script must complete one full cycle, so as not to incline to one side.

Cultivated according to the method, ascent and descent come into balance, Yin-Yang is harmonized, and the breath becomes even and smooth. As the learner gradually reaches a natural state, the motive Qi of the Three Origins (the primordial Qi of the three aspects of Heaven, Earth, and humanity) returns to the pre-celestial, so that the root reverts to its original beginning. If one can continue this nourishing cultivation for three years or five, how could the way of the world fail to be transformed, and how could fortune fail to flourish? And how could Heaven and Earth lose their constant Dao?

It should be understood that calamities descend again and again entirely because human beings bring them about. Therefore immortals, Buddhas, and sages teach people to examine and cultivate body and mind and to return to the body of the Dao, so that the lifespan endowed by Heaven is not impaired or cut short. Patriarch Lü established, gathered, and transmitted this learning for saving the world, using cloud-seal script to advance cultivation and verify its efficacy. Its oral formula is simple and easy to practice; the key lies in holding fast to a single thought. Only when intention is sincere and the mind upright can one cultivate one’s own person; when one’s own person is cultivated, the household can be harmonious; when the household is harmonious, the state can be governed; when the state is well governed, all under Heaven can be at peace. Is this cultivation merely for one’s own benefit? As for the saying “The Dao does not lie outside my own body,” the principle within it is both profound and practical.

Taiyi said: “A person’s body is like a small Heaven and Earth. The heart is Heaven, the body is Earth, and thought is the human being. The human being stands between Heaven and Earth and, though as tiny as a grain of millet, Heaven embraces Earth, and Earth bears the myriad things while receiving them from Heaven. Heaven and Earth are shaped like an egg: Heaven is clear like the white, Earth is yellow like the yolk, and human beings and things all live between them. Only the human being can preside over Heaven and Earth and take their measure.” Heaven and Earth seem, conversely, to depend upon the human being, and the human being is precisely the Shen of Heaven and Earth. Therefore Shen is prized for emptiness and stillness. A verse says: “With one foot overturn the dusty world; forget emotion and cut off thought, and one sees the Heart of Heaven.” This is attaining emptiness and guarding stillness. Only by continuing to advance diligently can one enter deeply into the subtle and mysterious realm. Only upon reaching this realm and returning to the natural can one save the world, without being beguiled by worldly custom.

How could this be easy? Without a sincere heart one cannot advance diligently, and without persistence one cannot obtain verification. From this it can be seen that the essential formula of this cultivation lies in the four words “emptiness, stillness, constancy, and sincerity.”

When reciting “Om, Svaha,” the pronunciation follows a specific rhythm and method. “Om” is sounded between the throat and the nasal cavity, long, faint, and subtle. As the mouth opens, one begins to form the hand seal, coordinated with the fingers shaping the mudra. The next two syllables are first kept short and drawn inward, then released and voiced with fullness and resonance. Finally, “Sva” is to be recited rapidly, while “Ha” is recited in a broad, open manner. The scripture (Jing) holds that this mantra can subdue the various demons, and it is therefore called the “One-Syllable Ushnisha Chakravartin True Word,” the true word named for the Ushnisha Chakravartin. Tradition says that once the sound of the mantra is uttered, the weapons of the demonic hosts within forty li all shake and fall.

Here, “doufa” refers to the ritual arts transmitted within this lineage. Its mantra sounds are read in an overlapping, continuous manner, from one compounding and two compoundings all the way through eight and nine compoundings. Patriarch Lü (Lü Dongbin) adopted the reading used in doufa, and therefore called it the “Universally Responsive True Word,” meaning that it resonates everywhere and is answered everywhere.

Niwan—here either a Daoist technical term or the designation of a person—further says that, once the recitation of the mantra and the performance of the method are complete, one should bow and announce the matter to the deities, and then withdraw. In cultivation one need not covet a great number of repetitions; reciting eight seal-script texts in a single day is already not few. What matters is that the spirit remain ample and suffer no depletion. Whether the practice is effective depends on whether it can make the movement of Qi (vital energy) rise in surging harmony and descend in clarity.

Vow Verses of Dedication

In the Keyi (liturgy) texts of Buddhism and Daoism, as well as in scriptures and repentance texts, there is usually a passage of “dedication.” Dedication means gathering in and preserving the essential meaning obtained through recitation and the working of the method, so that the mind is held steady and does not scatter—that is, remaining concentrated on the present moment.

May I receive deep and intimate protection, gather in the myriad things of the world, and return them to the hidden and subtle realm; by means of emptiness nurture quiet concentration, and from quiet concentration return once more to emptiness. Reaching the state of utmost emptiness and profound stillness—emptiness carried to its extreme, stillness deep and substantial—let the “Three Nothings” join and give rise to transformation, harmonize with one another in their turning, and manifest novel signs of response. At this very time and moment, cultivate with wholehearted attention, without the slightest interruption; concentrate the mind and preserve the spirit, and may one penetrate Xiyi, the hidden subtlety of the Dao (the Way), the realm without form and without sound.

The vow text says: Through the great vow of saving the world, may body and mind return to emptiness and stillness. When emptiness and stillness reach their utmost, and one cultivates with concentrated, steadfast earnestness, the celestial yuan, the earthly yuan, and the human yuan—the primordial Qi (vital energy) of Heaven, Earth, and humanity—unite and are transformed into life, circulate in mutual interchange, and manifest novel yet definite signs of verification. One must cultivate in this way at every moment, without the slightest interruption; concentrate the mind and will, fully nourish the primordial Shen (spirit), and let the heart’s aspiration reach through to Xiyi (the realm of the substance of the Dao, formless and soundless, difficult to perceive).

“Yuan” (愿) means the vast vow-mind of benefiting the world; “cheng” (承) means to continue and put into practice the cultivation of those who came before. “You” (宥) has the sense of settling and bringing to rest; “mi” (密) means remaining unrevealed, neither heard nor seen, reaching a state that even ghosts and spirits can scarcely fathom. “Jia” (假) means using this method to clarify that principle—that is, employing the corresponding practice to regulate and heal. “She” (摄) means to gather inward; “shi” (世) refers both to the world and to oneself. “Zheng” (征) means signs or omens, and also refers to primordial nature and the source of nature.

“Xu” (虚) refers to the mind, and “jing” (静) to the body; “han” (涵) means to nurture and contain, “huan” (还) means to return to the original source, “ji” (极) means to reach the utmost, and “du” (笃) means to be earnestly diligent and never slack. The three yuan are the celestial yuan, the earthly yuan, and the human yuan; “ji” (机) is the true impulse, the stirring of the innate, true, unitary Qi. “Hu” (互) means mutual exchange, “zheng” (征) means credible attestation, and “yan” (验) means responsive verification. “Qi” (奇) is read as “ji,” with the sense of single-minded and undivided. “Ke” (刻) means an instant, “shi” (时) a span of time, and “jian” (间) an interruption.

What is looked at yet not seen is called “xi”; what is listened to yet not heard is called “yi.” When the recitation is finished, kowtow three times, rise, walk before the sacred image, respectfully perform three salutations, and then withdraw.

The ritual above is the standard text. What is recited consists of only eight lines and may be called exceedingly simple. If one cultivates according to it, the response comes swiftly, answering like an echo; this is because emptiness and stillness can be attained, and cultivation is carried on with sincere, undivided concentration. Few who study the practice succeed, the reason being that they cannot persevere. Learning and application must be joined, and realization and concrete practice must proceed together.

A dharma saying of the divine person Li Pengtou.

After hunhua (undifferentiated transformation), why must one go further and attain hunwang (forgetting the undifferentiated)? What is called hunhua is like setting a crystal-clear bottle in the sunlight to receive the light. The beginning of cultivation must start from a provisional assumption and with the aid of a method: one visualizes one’s own body and all things in the world as crystal-clear, transparent bottles. Practice this sincerely, but be sure not to rush in pursuit of results, nor to cling to what is seen or heard. Through such visualization, one brings oneself and all things of the world to merge into one within emptiness and stillness.

Before cultivation begins, the principle involved must first be clearly understood, so that one does not fall into hallucinations and delusive imaginings; one must not proceed rashly. Only after it has been clearly understood may one practice. The principle meant here is this: tangible things that have form and can be seen are not absolutely real, and the empty space that can be seen is not truly nothing. Ancient philosophers said that true emptiness is like gold and jade and is therefore firm, while true substance is like empty space and is therefore vast.

Take heaven and earth as a further example. The boundless sky is formed by the condensation of the Qi (vital energy) of the earth, yet it may still be called heaven; the solid earth is formed by receiving and condensing the Qi of heaven, yet it may still be called earth. When the practitioner, following this principle, carries out hunzhao—visualization by a mode of contemplation in which all is merged without distinction—thoughts will not cling to what has been gained, and the mind can settle into calm, one-pointed concentration.

Experienced and practiced in this way, emptiness and substance will at last merge naturally into one. When one’s practice reaches this fusion, one enters the realm of creative transformation; because there is no distinction within it, it is called hun (the undifferentiated). One must go further and attain hunwang: even the sustained contemplation of the state of hun and of its function must be let go as well, so that one may enter deeply into the realm of natural Wuwei (non-action). When cultivation reaches what is natural, deviations and defects can be avoided. This is just as the ancients said: having climbed to the top of a hundred-foot pole, one must still take one step farther.

The foregoing account states that this transmission came from Li Pengtou, a man able to send forth his spirit, and later passed to a certain Xu of Taizhou. Xu, whose sobriquet was Genyun, was not especially quick of mind, yet he was thoroughly sincere and trustworthy. After obtaining the book, he faced the scroll day and night, weeping and bowing, and his sincerity moved the divinities. The Perfected Li then came; having heard his account, he transmitted the great Dao (the Way) to him.

When someone questioned Xu in private, he said that what he had received was a single sheet of paper, and that the oral teaching was: “The Dao takes the stilling of thought as its warp, undifferentiated contemplation and undifferentiated transformation as its weft, and finally undifferentiated forgetting of the self as its realm.” After receiving the paper he could not read it, so he brought it out for others to see. When the characters were counted, there were more than two hundred and ninety. On examination, it proved to be precisely the learning cultivated by my teacher, Elder Taixu, and the color of the paper had already faded. It would seem that this writing did not appear for Xu alone, but was passed on through Xu’s hands to one with an affinity for it. I therefore read it carefully until it was familiar, compiled this mind-to-mind transmission, and wrote these words to record how I came to read it. Xiaogen carefully appends this colophon.

Taixu says: “The Three Powers (Heaven, Earth, and the human being) may be called one world, and my body may likewise be called one world. Thus the outer world and one’s own person may be viewed separately, and may also be viewed together.

“My teacher, Master Niwan, says: As for the method of cultivation, human beings model themselves on Earth, Earth models itself on Heaven, Heaven models itself on the Dao, and the Dao models itself on ziran (the self-so). As for the underlying principle, ziran is the fundamental substance, and the Dao is its function. The substance is originally utmost emptiness, and the Dao is originally formless and is wuwei (non-action). Acting in accordance with this principle, the rule of cultivation lies in emptiness and nothingness.

“To cling to purposeful action and deliberate contrivance is to go against ziran and depart from the fundamental substance. This is called a lesser way, and those who aspire to cultivate the Dao should not cling to it. The ancient worthies, however, also said: at the beginning of cultivation one must engage in purposeful action; if a person is not sincere, that person will in the end come to understand wuwei. What does this mean? What is called ‘method’ refers to a rule: while making use of something, one must not cling to that use, and one must carry out the practice within the practice of wuwei. The ancients therefore said: ‘One must act, yet not cling to acting; not clinging to acting, one nevertheless continues to act.’ Only thus does one accord with ziran and not turn away from it. Only those who are sincere and who persevere can enter the Dao and realize the Dao.”

Taixu (the vast, boundless void in Daoist thought) also said: The human body is a small heaven and earth. Between heaven and earth there are human beings, and human beings likewise dwell within heaven and earth. Did Taiyi (a revered deity of Daoism, or a name for the Dao) not say, “My mind is heaven, my body is earth, and my thoughts are the human being”? If one realizes it in this way, the Three Powers of heaven, earth, and humanity are all contained within one’s own person. How, then, can one still divide body from world? From this, one may verify and awaken to the great Dao (the Way).

Taixu also said: My ancestral teacher of the Dao, the Pure Yang Elder Lü (Lü Dongbin, an immortal revered in Daoism), inaugurated the sacred work whose root is healing the world and aiding humankind. Later students who inherit this path first cultivate and regulate themselves, and can thereby bring peace to the world, with results as swift as a shadow following the form or an echo answering the sound. The proof of this cultivation lies only within oneself; even the spirits of heaven and earth cannot fathom it. This is perhaps to have grasped the meaning of “daoyu” (appropriating the realm) in the Zhouyi (the Classic of Changes); its crux lies in the single expression “wanmi” (wholly sealed and intact). Traced to its method, it amounts to no more than the two words “stilling thought.” Did Patriarch Lü not say, “Those who cultivate the great Dao must first still their thoughts; if the thoughts cannot be stilled, cultivation is only effort in vain”? The great Dao spoken of here refers precisely to this method. If students practice accordingly, the three thousand merits and eight hundred virtuous deeds can all be brought to completion in a moment. The only concern is that people are unwilling to believe and do not understand; or that, even when they understand, they cannot persevere and are not sincere enough.

Taixu also said: If stilling thought cannot be achieved, cultivation is only effort in vain. The great Dao spoken of here refers precisely to this method. If students practice accordingly, the three thousand merits and eight hundred virtuous deeds can all be brought to completion in a moment. The only concern is that people are unwilling to believe and do not understand; or that, even when they understand, they cannot persevere and are not sincere enough.

Taixu also said: A human body is hard to obtain, and the great Dao is likewise hard to hear. My teacher, Master Niwan (an honorific or personal designation in the Daoist transmission), said: “Since you have already become a human being, you must first cultivate well the principles of being human. You should know that if you do not cultivate the human way, how can you accord with the great Dao?” The great Dao admits no distinction between self and other. Only when the mind harbors no thoughts of insisting how things must be, or of fixing what is inevitably so, can one constantly respond while the mind within remains constantly still, preserving clarity and calm stability. This is the mind that knows how to still thought. How, then, is thought to be stilled? The method is simply not to chase after thoughts and not to follow them. It is like covering the great void: if one merely lets it be, the void remains empty of itself, and thoughts cannot cause any harm. Did the ancient sages not say, “Do not fear that thoughts arise; fear only that awareness comes too late”?

Taixu said: “My master once said that people stand at different levels, and that the Dao (the Way) likewise has different levels. Today I am not afraid to reveal the principles involved, so I will explain them to you.

Those in the world who rush about in constant busyness, pass their days in mediocrity, and drift with the current are sentient beings. Those who know how to cultivate and understand self-examination are ordinary persons. Those who cultivate and scrutinize themselves, and who follow the Dao when they act in the world, are human beings. Those who cultivate in accordance with the Dao and thereby bring about a change in themselves are people of the Dao. Those who rely on their own attainment to heal the world are immortals. Those who enter into the world and teach and transform its people are true immortals. Those who unite themselves with the world, and who can accord with change and nurture the myriad things, are celestial immortals.”

What are spoken of here as “transformation of the self,” “healing the world,” and “transforming the world” refer respectively to the transformation of oneself after cultivation, the rescue of people in the world, and the teaching and transformation of people; “union and transformation” means uniting oneself with heaven, earth, and the world and according with change.

My master asked me, “What kind of person are you now willing to be?” I knelt and answered, “Although my aptitude is not keen, I am willing to learn the Dao (the Way) of the celestial immortals.” Only then did my master caution me: “A far-reaching aspiration is not a vain fancy. Those who have the capacity may follow this path, but they must thoroughly sweep away the impressions and fixed views of the past.”

What one has learned and heard before is, for the most part, fragmentary and scattered, and it belongs to the lesser ways. The methods are therefore often numerous, yet difficult to bring to completion. The mind-method of the celestial immortals does not discuss hexagrams and their lines, nor does it reckon by catties and ounces. It runs through from beginning to end, and the work is done solely upon the two words “no-thought” (wunian). Even when a thought arises, one lets it flow away of itself; when thought returns to single concentration, one gradually comes into accord with the Dao.

After hearing this, I bowed and asked, “Then is the Dao taught in the Cantong qi (The Seal of the Unity of the Three) and the Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality) also one of these fragmentary lesser ways?” My master said, “It is because you yourself have not grasped it that you cannot get through even when you practice accordingly. The worthies of old spoke of these principles for the sake of people who did not understand that their own persons communicate with Heaven and Earth. Now that you have seen this clearly, you should comprehend the essential intent and apply it in your own cultivation. How can you be like someone who nails a wooden stake fast in place, able only to cling to words and phrases and to press the same questions again and again? Did the ancients not say, ‘When you have obtained the key instruction, go back and the books will read well,’ and also, ‘When you have obtained the key instruction, go back and you may set the books aside’? Why should this make you doubt? It is only that you have not understood my words.

“These two books are like tools for catching fish. I have set forth for you the principles that were transmitted, and I have now turned your own body into a tool for catching fish as well. You have this doubt only because you do not practice directly with your own person. From this point on, simply let body and mind contemplate in undivided wholeness; then let body and mind melt together; and go further still, forgetting even that distinction. Only then can you reach the realm of spontaneity (ziran). At that time you will understand of yourself the transformations expressed by such hexagram images as ‘Zhun at dawn and Meng at dusk,’ and you will also stand in correspondence with the courses of the stars and the tides. If you still apply the diagrams in a rigid and mechanical way, how can the mind return to unity, and how can thought become pure?”

Niwan said, “There are not a few people of aspiration in the world, but most of them cling to small things and neglect the root. Bound by the limits of ordinary life, they cannot transcend them. The Dao I transmit takes transcendence as its root, and therefore it can melt the distinction between oneself and the world into one. This realm cannot be named with any accuracy; one can only call it, for lack of a better word, ‘undifferentiated fusion’ (hunhua).”

Taixu Shi said: Most of those in the world who aspire to cultivate the Dao (the Way) first cultivate themselves and adapt themselves to the world; once they reach a certain realm, they use this body to teach and transform the people of the world. Thereafter they cultivate no further, and so they have only the aspiration to transcend the mundane, but not the true achievement of transcendence. Carried to its end, this kind of practice can at best be called hunhua (merging with the world and changing along with it).

Taixu Shi said further: Most of those in the world who aspire to cultivate the Dao first cultivate themselves so as to adapt to the world, and then, having reached a certain realm, use this body to teach and transform the people of the world. Thereafter they cultivate no further, and so they have only the aspiration to transcend the mundane, but not the true achievement of transcendence. It is like a person who expends the strength of an entire lifetime and, in a single somersault, covers one hundred and eight thousand li, yet in the end still remains within the palm of the Tathagata (in Buddhism, a term for the Buddha). The way of our lineage is different: so long as a single breath remains, this aspiration must not slacken in the slightest. At the outset one likewise cultivates oneself and adapts to the world; next one teaches and transforms others by means of oneself; thereafter one aids the world by means of oneself, and even after the world has been taught and transformed one does not stop, but must fuse the world and oneself into one, and then move from stability toward transformation—only then is the cultivation complete. Only thus can one leap beyond Heaven and Earth and remain unbound by the Five Phases (Wuxing; the five basic elements that constitute all things). The method of cultivation established by our lineage is precisely this. As for whether it can be attained, there is no need to reckon it in advance. What is this vow? It is as the Buddhist scriptures say: “When this body of recompense is exhausted, together we ascend to the Land of Ultimate Bliss” (after the life of this present existence comes to an end, one is reborn together in the Land of Ultimate Bliss). Carefully recorded by Min Yide.

This lineage—the school as transmitted—follows, in its methods of cultivation taken as a whole, the Dao (the Way) of Tianyuan (the Heavenly Primordial). Some of what is taught also concerns concrete procedures of practice. Because learners commonly begin from the affairs of the world, they must rely on certain methods of deliberate action and only thus advance, step by step, to a state of centered rectitude and calm harmony.

If one no longer enters by way of worldly affairs, one may begin with the Biyuan tanjing (Altar Scripture of the Azure Garden), then follow Patriarch Bai’s commentary on the Daodejing (Classic of the Dao and of De, Virtue/Power), Patriarch Zhu of Yunmen’s commentaries on the Cantong qi (Seal of the Unity of the Three) and the Wuzhen pian (Awakening to Reality), and at last return to Patriarch Zhang’s Four Hundred Characters on the Golden Elixir (Jindan). In the course of study one should also examine the Sanni yishi (The Three Sages’ Healing of the World) and ultimately grasp the purport of the Tianxian xinchuan (Heart Transmission of the Celestial Immortals). Against the ills of the age, one may consult Wuyuanzi’s Former and Latter Debates with Corroborating Evidence and related books. The text further cites the Yinfu jing xuanjie zhengyi (Arcane Exegesis and Correct Meaning of the Scripture of the Hidden Talisman) and Master Niwan’s Precious Raft of Dual Cultivation as grounds for further confirmation and for returning to the ancestral teaching. What all of this expounds again and again is nothing other than the three words “attaining centered harmony.” The essential aim is to return to the root and restore the primordial—what is called “receiving in full and returning in full” (receiving complete the nature bestowed by Heaven, and bringing body and mind back to wholeness).

The books already cut and printed include the Altar Scripture of the Azure Garden; Patriarch Lü’s Exposition of the Three Sages’ Healing of the World; the Collected Arcane Discourses of the Perfected Zhang Sanfeng; Mr. Lu Yue’an’s Record of Seeking Correction; Patriarch Lü’s Practical Instructions for the Three Sages’ Healing of the World; Patriarch Lü’s Reaffirmation of the Queen Mother of the West’s Ten Guidelines on the Correct Path of Women’s Cultivation; Elder Li Niwan’s Ten Guidelines of the Precious Raft of Dual Cultivation for the Women’s Lineage; Patriarch Zhang’s Four Hundred Characters on the Golden Elixir; Master Taixu’s Heart Transmission of the Celestial Immortals; Master Taixu’s Arcane Keyi (liturgy) of Healing the World from the Heart Transmission of the Celestial Immortals; Wuyuanzi’s Former Debate with Corroborating Evidence; Wuyuanzi’s Latter Debate with Corroborating Evidence; Thirteen Guidelines on Nourishing Life by the Ancient Method; Admonitions and Taboos for the Path Ahead; Sequel to Minor Remarks; Thus Have I Heard; The Order of Stages in the Practice of the Supreme-Grade Elixir Method; Disclosing the Heavenly Secret; Patriarch Lü’s Secret of the Golden Flower; Yin Pengtou’s Immortal Scripture on Verifying the Dao through the Closing and Opening of the August Ultimate; together with the Arcane Exegesis and Correct Meaning of the Scripture of the Hidden Talisman and the Annotated Mantras of the Scripture of Rain-Fragrance Heaven. These twenty works are bound together as one set under the collective title Gushu yinlou cangshu (Collected Books of the Hidden Pavilion of Ancient Writings). There is also the Jingai xindeng (Heart-Lamp of the Golden Canopy) in eight juan, likewise bound as one set under the same title.

In addition there are six further works: a Song-dynasty commentary by a Mr. Li on the Yuanshi Tianzun’s Xiantian Daodejing (the Primordial Heavenly Worthy’s Scripture of the Prior-Heaven Dao and De); Patriarch Bai’s autograph commentary, also of the Song, on the Daodejing; Patriarch Zhu of Yunmen’s Elucidation of the Hidden Depths of the Cantong qi and Elucidation of the Hidden Depths of the Wuzhen pian; Wang Wuyi’s Illustrated Discourses on the Zhouyi (Book of Changes); and Elder Chen Ningzi of Yunyang’s Discourses on the Changes. Limited funds make it impossible for the present to have these books recut and reprinted; it is hoped that persons of means and aspiration will provide the resources to see the matter through.

Personally recorded by Dingfan in the Qinghe month (the fourth lunar month) of the Jiawu year of the Daoguang reign (1834).