《海琼传道集》

Guan Yinzi said, “What can be taught can only be called a matter; it cannot be called the Dao.” The Old Master said, “I do not know its name, so I reluctantly call it the Dao.” The contents of this collection differ greatly from the 3,600 methods of cultivation and the dozens of schools of health cultivation. I hope those who share my aspirations will study the Analects with care.

Some say that ordinary people rarely hear Confucius speak about “human nature and the Way of Heaven.” Alas, later generations did not understand what Confucius meant and therefore assumed these principles were profound and difficult to practice. How could they know that, among Confucius’s disciples, only Yan Yuan was especially esteemed? Yan Yuan understood his teachings and could remain true to benevolence for a long time, yet all day long he seemed inarticulate, dull, and slow. He lived in a humble alley and found joy in a basket of food and a gourd of water, so he died at the age of thirty-two. If people can grasp the essential meaning of Yan Yuan’s “fasting of the mind”—a practice of cultivating inner stillness and single-mindedness—they can understand the idea of the “spirit chamber.” Once they understand the spirit chamber, they can also understand “spirit water.” Mencius said, “Human nature is like water.” Perhaps this is what he meant.

The Awakening to Reality says, “The key to cultivating life lies in the Golden Elixir; the key to the Golden Elixir lies in spirit water and the Flower Pool.” This principle is exceedingly simple and easy. Even people of dull aptitude and limited understanding can, by practicing accordingly, quickly attain the realm of the sages. The Dao De Jing says, “My Dao is easy to understand and easy to practice.”

In the past, Zhongli Yunfang (Zhongli Quan) passed this method of cultivation to Lü Dongbin, who passed it to Liu Haichan; Liu Haichan passed it to Zhang Pingshu (Zhang Boduan), who passed it to Shi Tai; Shi Tai passed it to the monk Daoguang, who passed it to Chen Niluan (Chen Nan); Chen Niluan then passed it to Bai Yuchan. Bai Yuchan was my teacher. I met him in the Wuyi Mountains in the autumn of the yiyihai year, and met him again on Mount Lu in the spring of the wuyin year.

When passing the Taiping Xingguo Palace, there was a Daoist named Hong Zhichang, whose courtesy name was Mingdao and whose self-chosen name was Kanlizi. He studied Neidan (internal alchemy) and Waidan (external alchemy) for many years. He also traveled widely to visit teachers and fellow practitioners, investigated methods of cultivation, and read many scriptures and treatises, yet never found the essential point. Later, when circumstances came together, he suddenly understood from a single remark by his teacher. It was as though a golden probe had scraped away a film over his eyes, and he saw the principle clearly at once. In an instant, the Mysterious Pearl—a symbol of Neidan—took shape before him.

Master Hong intended to withdraw from the world, shut his door to visitors, and sit in stillness to cultivate the firing times: the skill of gauging timing and effort in alchemical practice. In this way he hoped to nurture the sacred embryo, the spiritual crystallization described in Neidan cultivation. Fearing that this Daoist teaching might be lost, he arranged to publish and circulate what he had received from his teacher: one essay, “The Shortcut to the Golden Elixir”; one scroll, “The Linked Rings of the Hook and Lock Scripture”; and one song, “The Song of Joy at Mount Lu.” Together they were called the Collected Teachings, with the hope that people throughout the world would study them together. Written with a respectful bow by Zhi Zi Chen Shoumo Zizhi and Zhan Jirui.

Diagram of Immortal Transformation: This diagram discusses the substances used in alchemy. (Laozi says: “Put yourself last, and you will come to the fore; forget yourself, and you will preserve yourself.”)

Diagram: The Golden Elixir’s First Turning

This is called the “First Return,” also called the “First Reversion.” It is like a worm found in dung, called a dung beetle. Whether or not lead is used in alchemy, one must understand how to begin with lead.

Diagram: The Golden Elixir’s Second Turning

This is called the “Second Return,” also called the “Second Reversion.” It is like a dung beetle that has just rolled dung into a ball: the Mysterious Pearl takes shape, and the Great One—the highest, original Qi—returns to the true realm.

Diagram: The Golden Elixir’s Third Turning

This is called the “Third Return,” also called the “Third Reversion.” It is like two dung beetles, one female and one male, meeting as a pair, their affections bound together.

Diagram: The Golden Elixir’s Fourth Turning

This is called the “Fourth Return,” also called the “Fourth Reversion.” It is like two dung beetles pushing a dung ball forward together across the ground. The firing times of the circuit of Heaven—the arrangement of Qi’s circulation and the firing times in Neidan practice—turn naturally, and the River Chariot, a metaphor in Daoist internal alchemy for transporting Jing and Qi through the body, moves along with them.

Diagram: The Golden Elixir’s Fifth Turning

The original text first says that this is called the “Fifth Return,” also called the “Fifth Reversion,” then repeats the statements about the “Fourth Return” and “Fourth Reversion,” the dung beetles rolling the dung ball, and the movement of the firing times of the circuit of Heaven and the River Chariot.

The fifth return is also called the fifth turning. It is like two dung beetles—beetles that feed on dung—clinging to a ball of dung. As they guard it, they focus their thoughts, nourish upright Qi, keep it full, preserve the Yin and yielding, and hold fast to the primal One.

Diagram of the Sixth Turning of the Golden Elixir

This is called the sixth return, also called the sixth turning. It is like white worms appearing inside the ball of dung. Jing, Qi, and Shen gather together and form the “sacred embryo,” the foundation gradually coalesced through Neidan cultivation.

Diagram of the Seventh Turning of the Golden Elixir

This is called the seventh return, also called the seventh turning. It is like the worms inside the ball of dung having grown into the shape of cicadas.

Within it is a subtle life, deep and mysterious, difficult to discern; within it is a real presence, yet one that remains indistinct and elusive.

Diagram of the Eighth Turning of the Golden Elixir

This is called the eighth return. It is like the cicada shedding the outer shell of the dung ball. The sequence of cultivation has run its course, and so the embryo sheds its form and takes on a new one; Shen and Qi undergo transformation.

Diagram of the Ninth Turning of the Golden Elixir

This is called the ninth return. It is like the dung beetle dying, the dung ball splitting open, and the cicada flying out. Both form and spirit reach a state of refinement.

Diagram of the Celestial Mechanism: On the Timing of the Fire (Laojun said, “Continuous and subtle, as if it were there; use it without strain.” This means that the breath should be long and fine, seeming to be present without being conspicuous; when applying it, do not force or hurry.)

In the eleventh month, the timing of the fire for the first turning is like a peach pit buried in the earth.

Take the solid point of Yang at the center of the Kan position and break through the Yin Qi in the belly of the Li palace.

In the twelfth month, the timing of the fire for the second turning is like a peach pit sprouting.

Form arises from the formless: this is the Returning Elixir. Who could believe that a baby might be conceived from nothingness?

In the first month, the timing of the fire for the third turning is like a peach pit putting forth branches.

White Snow and Yellow Sprout have just been refined in a fierce furnace fire, and at once they turn into a red peach.

The second month belongs to Mao Wood, and Wood Qi is vigorous during the Mao month. At this time, guard against danger and remain alert; “bathe” the Elixir’s source, regulating the breath and nurturing it so that the fire remains balanced.

In the third month, the timing of the fire for the fourth turning is like a peach branch blossoming.

In an instant, flames surge upward, and the True Person naturally appears.

In the fourth month, the timing of the fire for the fifth turning is like a peach branch growing leaves.

Guide the White Tiger—an image in Neidan that symbolizes Yin Qi or a certain kind of internally cultivated energy—back to be nourished, giving rise to a bright pearl, full and round like the moon.

In the fifth month, the timing of the fire for the sixth turning is like the peach tree blossoming.

At this stage, the cinnabar used in alchemical practice must still undergo adjustments to the firing process, such as “bathing” and “adding and withdrawing.” These must be applied with particular care to prevent danger.

The sixth month marks the seventh turn of the firing process, like peach blossoms that have withered. The flower base and calyx remain. At this point, take a small amount of the elixir—the term “knife-point measure” means an extremely small dose—and take cinnabar as well.

The seventh month marks the eighth turn, like the calyx of a peach blossom. The elixir is as though a seed has formed inside an egg, while the inside of the Yellow Dragon Pearl appears white.

The eighth month belongs to the You month. The flowers have fallen, but their bases and calyxes remain. At this point, take a small amount of the elixir and cinnabar. This month belongs to You Metal, and Metal Qi is strong during the You month. One should only continue gently warming and nourishing the furnace fire; do not let it run unchecked, and do not casually make adjustments to the firing process, such as “bathing.”

The ninth month marks the ninth turn of the firing process, like a peach that has ripened and turned a rich red.

By the tenth month, the elixir is not considered complete until the Frost Descent solar term. At this point, the embryonic substance is whole, symbolizing transcendence of the ordinary and entry into the sacred realm. In the tenth month, shed the old embryo and swallow the elixir. Only then does one understand that one’s nature and life are not governed by Heaven’s decree.

Laojun said: “The Dao does not deliberately pursue emptiness; emptiness returns of its own accord. When a person makes the mind empty and still, the Dao naturally returns.”

“The Diagram of Heaven and Earth Interacting in Qian” and “The Diagram of Sun and Moon Joined in Radiance” are the names of two diagrams.

Instructions on the Firing Process of the Golden Elixir

The ancients said: “The sages transmit the ingredients, but not the firing process.” This refers to the shortcut in Golden Elixir cultivation. It has already revealed the subtle essentials of the alchemical method, yet in the end it still dares not explain the firing process fully. The firing process means taking the Qi of Heaven and Earth and drawing upon the essence of the sun and moon, so it is not something to pass on lightly to the world. If a person has a destined affinity with the immortals, they will naturally come to understand it.

Diagram of Creation

Bai Yuchan said: “Emptiness is natural and spontaneous; from nonbeing, it can give rise to being. All things are one in essence, and what matters is holding fast to this. The movement of Qi turns and blends, making one feel as though one has been intoxicated all day. When the great dream ends, it is like thunder and lightning; when the clouds disperse and the rain stops, lasting stability can be attained.”

Diagram of Creation

Bai Yuchan said: “Emptiness is natural and spontaneous; from nonbeing, it can give rise to being. All things are one in essence, and what matters is holding fast to this. The movement of Qi turns and blends, making one feel as though one has been intoxicated all day. When the great dream ends, it is like thunder and lightning; when the clouds disperse and the rain stops, lasting stability can be attained.”

“Immortal lineage” means a line of transmission within the Dao of the immortals.

The Primordial Lord Taiyi said: The Golden Elixir is mercury; mercury is lead; lead is silver. Silver is sand; sand is gold; gold is tin; tin is quicksilver; quicksilver is blue gold. Blue gold is white gold; white gold is black gold; black gold is yellow gold; yellow gold is purple gold. Purple gold is the River Chariot, the symbol in Daoist internal alchemy for circulating essence and Qi. The River Chariot is yellow tin; yellow tin is quicksilver again; and quicksilver is blue gold again.

Blue gold is white gold; white gold is black gold; black gold is yellow gold; yellow gold is purple gold. Purple gold is the River Chariot; the River Chariot is the Yellow Sprout, the nascent essence and Qi in internal alchemy. The Yellow Sprout is White Snow; White Snow is the Jade Talisman; the Jade Talisman is Spirit Water; Spirit Water is the Flower Pool, a place or state symbolizing bodily fluids in cultivation.

The Flower Pool is the Azure Dragon; the Azure Dragon is the White Tiger; the White Tiger is the Vermilion Bird; the Vermilion Bird is the Black Tortoise; the Black Tortoise is Gouchen. Gouchen is the Yellow Chamber; the Yellow Chamber is True Earth; True Earth is Wu and Ji, the heavenly stems representing central Earth. Wu and Ji are Metal and Wood; Metal and Wood are Water and Fire; Water and Fire are Mao and You, the times and positions symbolizing the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang. Mao and You are the Hare and the Rooster; the Hare and the Rooster are the Crow and the Hare; the Crow and the Hare are the Tortoise and Snake; the Tortoise and Snake are the Horse and Ox; the Horse and Ox are Qian and Kun; Qian and Kun are Kan and Li, the Water and Fire trigrams of the Eight Trigrams.

Kan and Li are female and male; female and male are husband and wife; husband and wife are children and descendants. Children and descendants are the Fang and Bi lunar mansions; the Fang and Bi lunar mansions are the sun and moon; the sun and moon are heaven and earth; heaven and earth are humanity. Humanity is the Yellow Matron, a symbol in Golden Elixir practice for harmonizing Yin and Yang. The Yellow Matron is the Metal Lord; the Metal Lord is the Maiden, a symbol of Yin essence. The Maiden is the Infant; the Infant is Lord Ding; Lord Ding is the Crimson Child; the Crimson Child is the Sacred Embryo, formed through internal alchemy practice.

The Sacred Embryo is the Three Passes, the three apertures described in cultivation; the Three Passes are Golden Fluid; Golden Fluid is Jade Fluid. Jade Fluid is the Yellow Matron; the Yellow Matron is the Metal Lord; the Metal Lord is the Maiden; the Maiden is the Infant; the Infant is Lord Ding; Lord Ding is the Crimson Child; the Crimson Child is the Sacred Embryo. The Sacred Embryo is the Three Passes; the Three Passes are Golden Fluid; Golden Fluid is Jade Fluid.

Jade Fluid is the Knife and Spoon, a vessel or method symbolizing the blending and ingestion of elixirs. The Knife and Spoon are the Dantian (energy center); the Dantian is the Crimson Palace, the internal alchemy term for the heart region. The Crimson Palace is the Muddy Pellet, the internal alchemy term for the head. The Muddy Pellet is the Qi Sea, where Qi gathers; the Qi Sea is the kidneys; the kidneys are the heart; the heart is the Dao.

Method is method, and method is technique. Technique is emptiness, and emptiness is nature. To apply a practice is to put it into operation. Operation is Fire; Fire is the medicine; the medicine is Qi (vital energy); Qi is Shen (spirit). Shen is the Elixir’s seed, the foundation of alchemical cultivation. The seed is the Great Return, the stage in Neidan (internal alchemy) when Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen return to wholeness. The Great Return is the Seven Reversions and Nine Returns, the cycles of reversal and refinement in Neidan. The Nine Returns are the Golden and Fire phases, the Yin-Yang timing of the alchemical fire. These are also called Purple Mushroom, Water Source, Earthen Crucible, Golden Cauldron, Jade Furnace, Spirit Chamber, Primordial Altar, and Yellow Court—metaphors in Neidan for the ingredients, furnaces and cauldrons, and places of cultivation within the body.

The Yellow Court is the eyes, nose, and ears; it is also called Pine, Dung Beetle, Peach, and Vermilion Orange, metaphorical names in the original text. The Vermilion Orange is the Six Thieves, a term in Buddhist and Daoist texts for the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind that disturb a person’s body and spirit. The Six Thieves are the Three Corpses, spirits said in Daoism to dwell in the human body, prompt wrongdoing, and drain life. The Three Corpses are the Three Hun souls; the Three Hun souls are the Seven Po souls; the Seven Po souls are the Five Spirits; the Five Spirits are the myriad spirits. The myriad spirits return to a single spirit, which in turn encompasses the myriad treasures. The myriad treasures are the Bathing phase, when breath is regulated and cultivation is nurtured to soften the alchemical fire. Bathing is the drawing out and adding that adjusts the fire and increases or decreases the medicine’s power. Drawing out and adding are advance and retreat; advance and retreat are the gentle and forceful phases, the varying pace and intensity of the fire. The gentle and forceful phases are the weights and measures used to gauge the fire and the quantities of the ingredients.

Weights and measures bear on fortune and misfortune. Fortune and misfortune are punishment and virtue: injury and nurture, correction and favor. Punishment and virtue are preservation and extinction; preservation and extinction are black and white; black and white are being and nonbeing; being and nonbeing are beginning and end; beginning and end are movement and stillness; movement and stillness are cold and heat; cold and heat are Yin-Yang. Yin-Yang finds expression in the winter and summer solstices, and also in the full moon, new moon, waxing and waning quarters, and the dark of the month’s end, as well as in the tides, the moon’s course, and the sun’s radiance. The sun’s radiance is Taiyi, the primordial supreme presence in Daoism. Taiyi is the Mysterious Pearl, an image of the Dao or the Neidan elixir. The Mysterious Pearl is the Four Images, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water), the Eight Trigrams, the Three Powers, the Three Lights, and the Two Modes; ultimately, all return to Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate).

Taiji is the Most High, the supreme Dao; the Most High is Hundun, the undivided state of primordial Qi before Heaven and Earth separated. Hundun has neither beginning nor end and returns to Yuanshi, the Primordial Beginning, the source of all things. Yuanshi is the One Qi. The One Qi is empty space; empty space is emptiness; emptiness is chaos; and chaos is the Golden Elixir, the state attained through Neidan in which Jing, Qi, and Shen are gathered together.

Laozi said, “Obtain the One, and all things are complete. Bring all things back to the One, and each task is accomplished.”

Zhang Ziyang said, “The Dao moves in interlocking, unbroken cycles, with neither beginning nor end, changing and revolving without limit. Among all things, human beings are the most perceptive and can understand the Great Dao through the mind. The Dao is present between Heaven and Earth, yet Heaven and Earth do not know it; the Dao is present within all things, yet all things do not know it either. Therefore, one who has attained the Dao is Heaven and Earth, and Heaven and Earth are oneself; Heaven and Earth are joined with the Dao. Heaven and Earth are oneself; oneself is the mind; the mind is Shen (spirit).”

Chen Ninian said, “The immortals and sages of antiquity relied on oral transmission from mouth to ear and did not establish teachings in writing. I have now written these things down for people to come. Those of the highest caliber, once they understand, have a state of mind like the Great Void, boundless emptiness. Those of middling caliber, once they understand, become as still as withered wood in body and mind. Those of lesser caliber remain entangled in the turmoil of body and mind.”

Guan Yin zi said, “The worthy cling to what is within, ordinary people cling to what is outside, and sages regard both as illusory.”

Bai Yuchan said, “Only those who truly understand can be taught the Way of the sages. Without understanding, there is nothing to attain; those who understand will naturally come to experience it. The Way of the sages, once understood, is neither ancient nor modern: its departure is not the past, and its arrival is not the future. What can be taught can only be called a particular thing; it cannot be called the Dao. The Dao cannot be taught. It has no sound or color, no form, and no past or present, no coming or going.”

Bai Yuchan also said, “Only those who truly understand can be taught the Way of the sages. Without understanding, there is nothing to attain; those who understand will naturally come to experience it. The Way of the sages, once understood, is neither ancient nor modern: its departure is not the past, and its arrival is not the future. What can be taught can only be called a particular thing; it cannot be called the Dao. The Dao cannot be taught. It has no sound or color, no form, and no past or present, no coming or going.”

The Buddhist monk Daoguang said, “After one year of cultivation, the sacred embryo takes shape; after two years, the infant gains spiritual awareness; after three years, the body beyond the body is refined—the body said in cultivation to leave the fleshly body; after four years, ‘sons beget grandsons,’ meaning the fruits of cultivation multiply layer upon layer; after nine years, one can ascend to Heaven. If one’s cultivation is not yet complete, its results may sometimes gather and sometimes disperse: when gathered, they take form; when dispersed, they are like the wind. A moment’s vision of the Mysterious Pearl, an image in internal alchemy symbolizing the gathering of Jing and Qi, reveals it as the Primordial Essence of Hun yuan, the original vital essence from before Heaven and Earth were divided. Refine and nourish it day by day, and warm and sustain it at the proper times, so that you may endure forever and remain together with Heaven and Earth.”

Liu Haichan said, “If you cultivate diligently but do not meet a clear-sighted master, you will eventually meet a sage master. If you meet a clear-sighted master but do not cultivate diligently, you will ultimately become a lowly ghost.”

Immortal Lü said, “Recklessly revealing the secrets of cultivation invites calamity, which may even befall nine generations of one’s ancestors. If you can cultivate and maintain your practice, you may ascend bodily to Taiwei, a high rank in the celestial realm.”

Zhongli Yunfang said, “Gently draw it in, silently gather it; in bathing and nourishing, keep the mind at ease, and let the Qi circulate without pause throughout the body.”

The Dao De Jing says, “Continuous and unbroken, it seems to exist and yet not to exist.” Concentrate the spirit and soften the breath, and you can become like an infant. When constant De (Virtue/Power) does not depart, you return to the state of an infant.

Only true joy is genuine joy; in an instant, I let go of every care. I loosen my grip, sing aloud, and come and go as I please. Ginger and pepper really are hot.

Now I am especially joyful, sometimes deliberately acting mad and mischievous. It is as though a husband and wife live within my own body and mind. Tell this to the world, and they will laugh without end.

The joy I knew before was only a shallow joy. Now even the rootless tree has been pulled up. Those who truly understand cultivation can “conceive” within themselves, so that mother and child take the same form and life stirs with vitality. Here, “conceiving” is a term from Neidan (internal alchemy): it means refining true Qi (vital energy) within the body and forming the inner Elixir, not bearing a child in the ordinary sense.

Only true joy is genuine joy; even emptiness has been shattered, and every attachment, down to the tip of a fine autumn hair, has vanished without a trace. After thousands of lifetimes of birth and death, this time I have undergone a complete “great death” and truly come back to life. “Great death” means letting go of old fixations and ingrained habits of body and mind, thereby gaining new life.

The habits and old ways of making a living have now all been cleared away and released. In the end, Father is simply Father, while I have remained muddled all along, tangled up in every sort of worldly connection.

Lately, I seem gradually to have found my bearings, though “seven times seven” still comes to forty-eight. Like a dragon guarding its pearl, I keep my mind steadily on it; like a hen brooding over an egg, I keep my breath continuous.

I am like a winter cicada drawing in the morning breeze, or an old oyster holding the autumn moon. A carefree person stands alone between Heaven and Earth, laughing aloud, and feels only how vast the world is.

I own just one patched monastic robe to wear in every season, and rely on a single bowl of food given by a thousand households. I play about freely in a hamlet of three families and seem half-mad on a street of ten households. “Acting daft” describes behavior that is muddled and heedless of others, as if simply fooling around.

One husband and one wife, with six children, may walk or sit, yet always remain peacefully still. I gather and release at will, moving freely in every direction. Even when I seem mad in village lanes and on city streets, I am none other than the Buddhas of the ten directions and three times—all Buddhas throughout the worlds of the ten directions and the past, present, and future.

If there is wine, I drink cup after cup; if there is a song, I sing one tune after another. By day I am clear and awake, eating three meals on schedule; after a meal, I sleep soundly.

Only by letting go of every worldly concern and breaking free of all bonds can one be joyful and at ease. Having exhausted all cleverness and cunning, I have instead learned to be like a fool. Now I have mastered the “Secret of Transforming into Light and Ascending at Dawn,” the Daoist cultivation method for transforming the body into light and ascending to Heaven.

People at the time did not understand its subtle workings. It was like eating salt when hungry: the more they ate, the thirstier they became. By chance, I wandered to Mount Lu, among white water peppers and red smartweed.

From the Pavilion of Heavenly Sounds, I looked out into the distance. The yellow crane had not yet returned, and the spring rain brought waves of chill. I thought of how many people in the world were moved by this, yet did not cultivate the Golden Liquid Great Return Elixir, a term in Daoist Neidan for refining and nurturing Jing, Qi, and Shen in pursuit of the Returning Elixir.

To forget the body and nurture the breath is Golden Liquid; to face the sights before you without letting the heart be stirred is Great Return. Forget the body and transform it into Qi, then transform Qi into Shen: this is the Great Dao passing through the Three Passes, the key points through which Jing and Qi move during Neidan cultivation.

In the Crimson Palace, where the heart and spirit reside, the fire in the Crescent Moon Furnace, a vessel symbolizing refinement and cultivation in Neidan, burns fiercely. The Numinous Terrace, the seat of the heart and spirit, is still, like the Great Dark Altar. Cinnabar is likened to the blood of a red phoenix, and mercury to the liver of a black tortoise.

Once gathered, golden lead is stored in the earthen cauldron, a vessel symbolizing alchemical work. Wood mercury flies and dwells in the Muddy Pellet, a Neidan term for the head. The Flower Pond, symbolizing the gathering place of bodily fluids, lies within the Sea of Qi; the Spirit Chamber, where the original spirit is nurtured, lies between the Yellow Court.

When Qi and Shen disperse, the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue each grow active. When Qi and Shen gather, the channels, along with nutritive Qi and defensive Qi, settle into calm. Each of the five organs and six bowels has its own spirit; all the spirits turn toward their source and return to a single numinous spirit.

This single numinous spirit is primordial essence, the original vital energy from before Heaven and Earth were divided. It encompasses both pre-Heaven and post-Heaven Qi, and possesses the virtue of Qian’s primordial flourishing. The sages take it as the substance for cultivation: gathered, it condenses; dispersed, it vanishes.

Day and night, the River Chariot, a metaphor in Neidan for the circulation of Jing and Qi, runs without pause, secretly following the cycles of Heaven and Earth’s transformation. Everyone originally possesses a drop of golden essence; golden essence and wood fluid each make up half.

The twenty-eight lunar mansions return to a single furnace, where Water and Fire must be balanced evenly. One phase is firm and one yielding; one line uses martial fire and one uses civil fire, referring to the faster and slower degrees of heat in cultivation.

The seasons within the heart determine cold and heat; the directions in the field of nature divide into Chu and Qin. In a single day, it travels eighty-four thousand li, while the Dipper’s handle naturally turns along the circuit of Heaven.

When a person is about to cast off the body and transcend the arising and passing of Yin and Yang, they must all the more refine mercury. Once the Yellow Woman, a Neidan metaphor for harmonizing and joining Yin and Yang, arrives at the Purple Court, symbolizing the meeting place of spirit and Qi, the Golden Old Man and the Maiden, representing the two Yin-Yang currents of cultivation, can be joined in marriage.

The Azure Dragon, symbolizing Wood Qi or the Qi of the East, and the White Tiger, symbolizing Metal Qi or the Qi of the West, encircle the Golden Tripod, a symbol of alchemical practice. The Yellow Sprout, symbolizing the perfected elixir or the stirrings of life, emerges at midnight, like new shoots rising in spring. Snow flies up at the headwaters of the Nine-Bend River, and purple clouds rise above the summit of Mount Kunlun: these are symbolic scenes of Yin-Yang transformation and the ascent and descent of Jing and Qi during alchemical practice.

Ding Gong, the alchemist of the allusion, quietly tends the jade furnace, bringing Yin and Yang into union and nurturing them without cease until the embryo infant—a metaphor in Neidan cultivation for the state in which the elixir is formed—gradually develops. Divine water extinguishes the fire of the Three Corpses, the Daoist term for malign, impure forces that harm body and mind. The wisdom sword sweeps away the troops of the Six Thieves, the six sensory desires that disturb the spirit.

From nothing, something comes into being, gathering into a tiny speck of elixir, like a dung pellet that conceals the form of a scarab beetle. If cultivation brings genuine insight, it can be sustained for a long time; in a brief moment, too, the foundation of the elixir—the first seed of Neidan—may form.

Suddenly, the Four Great Elements that make up the human body—earth, water, fire, and wind—become a realm of empty, still clarity. Without even realizing it, one’s spark of spirit rises into Great Clarity, the Daoist realm of serene, lofty emptiness. Even if signs appear that mercury and lead have joined in union during cultivation, the effort will still be futile without understanding the firing times: the method of regulating the pace and intensity of practice.

In general, cultivation must follow the firing of the celestial cycle, regulating the fire according to the patterns of its circulation. Only after ten months is the sacred embryo, a symbol of the elixir’s ripened maturity, complete. Even once the first seed of the elixir has formed, it may dissipate; only by mastering the firing times can the elixir condense and grow firm.

The activity and stillness, preservation and dissolution of cultivation must all be regulated like bathing. As for good fortune and misfortune, advance and retreat, what matters is understanding the adding and withdrawing—the adjustments in Yin-Yang and the increase or decrease of the firing. The fire must continue without interruption; after nine revolutions, the substances may form the immortal embryo, a symbol of mature cultivation.

The eight quarters of an hour within a double-hour symbolize one celestial cycle; the twelve double-hours correspond to a year. After each union of the first arising Yang, cultivation continues until all six lines are Yang and the image becomes pure Qian.

In the movement of spirit, one must understand when the Qi mechanism swells and ebbs like the tide. The waxing and waning of Qi and blood resemble the moon’s fullness and decline. A wheel hub has thirty spokes; its subtlety lies in how the spokes’ leading and trailing arcs work together. Here, the wheel illustrates that the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang require precise timing.

Focusing the original Qi until it becomes gentle is the highest form of benevolence. When propriety, righteousness, wisdom, and trust are fully integrated, they too return to benevolence. When True Earth, a Neidan term for the balanced Qi that harmonizes and governs the other Qi, returns to its proper place, one reaches the utmost reality; water, fire, Metal, and Wood are thereby also blended into wholeness.

Through the refinement of essence-water, spirit-fire, and intention-earth—symbols, respectively, of the roles of Jing, Shen, and intention in cultivation—the hun and po souls return to their root. The primordial One Qi, the original Qi that existed before Heaven and Earth were divided, is always present. It is dispersed throughout all things and also exists within the human body and mind.

Flowers open naturally in the spring breeze, and birds sing of their own accord, unaware that the Creator has endowed them with the spirit of spring. People use the primordial Qi in their daily lives without realizing it; when breath enters the limbs, life’s processes begin.

Through the refinement of essence-water, spirit-fire, and intention-earth, the hun and po souls return to their root. The primordial One Qi is always present, dispersed throughout all things and also within the human body and mind.

When the spring breeze blows, flowers open of their own accord, and birds sing in keeping with the season. People often do not know that all this vitality is bestowed by the creative power of Heaven and Earth. Every day, ordinary people make use of the Qi of life without understanding its principles. If they allow their breath and energy to dissipate, their bodies will gradually decline.

Pine trees and bamboo receive Qi with open, receptive hearts. Their energy is therefore abundant, allowing them to withstand frost and snow and remain green year after year. How much more so is it with the human original spirit—the fundamental spirit of life—which is immortal by nature. The “Qi” spoken of here is called “Yellow Sprout” and “Lead” in the language of alchemy: it refers to the essence and Qi used in Neidan cultivation.

The old can regain their youth, and the sick and frail can become strong. Scattered Qi can gather again, and a short lifespan can be prolonged. Let the mind and spirit enter a state of emptiness, stillness, and Wuwei (non-action), and nurture them in keeping with the firing times—the cultivation practitioner’s grasp of timing and process. Then one can experience inner scenes within body and mind, as though a world of its own existed inside a pot.

Know that Penglai, the legendary island of immortals, can exist within a mote of dust; and that within a single leaf there can be a Xu Quan, a legendary immortal. Shen (spirit) is fire, Qi is the medicine, the heart is the furnace, and the body is the field. The furnace, fire, medicine, and field of alchemy serve here as metaphors for cultivating Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen through the heart and body.

One cultivates the land oneself and refines the elixir oneself, making one pill each day, each as small as a millet grain. When the lingzhi mushroom grows, sweet dew descends. The tortoise and snake have been entwined since ancient times, symbolizing the union of Yin and Yang energies. Then, suddenly, one day, thunder and lightning shake the mountains and rivers. If the force is gathered into a single place, it shines like the sun at its brightest; if it is allowed to scatter without restraint, it turns to smoke and vanishes.

Within the sun dwells the Golden Crow, the three-legged bird of legend. At the midnight hour, it enters the Guanghan Palace, the legendary moon palace. Descendants may continue for countless generations, while the furnace and cauldron, chickens and dogs, all ascend to Heaven together. These images draw on immortal lore to depict the achievements of cultivation.

The transmission of the Great Dao passed through thirty-two generations before reaching Zhang Wuzhen of Tiantai. After four more generations, it reached Bai Yuchan. Bai Yuchan felt that his vision encompassed the four seas, yet lamented that true companions were hard to find in the world. Later, by chance, he came to Taiping Xingguo Palace and met a white-haired Daoist surnamed Chen.

For half his life, Daoist Chen had devoted himself to studying the art of Lead and Mercury, a method of Neidan cultivation in which lead and mercury serve as symbols. He had traveled across countless mountains and rivers, seeking the Dao through hardship but finding no reward. One day, beneath Mount Lu, he happened upon Bai Yuchan. Bai Yuchan waved his hand and smiled, as if freeing him from worldly troubles. In the Emerald Pavilion, on a stormy night, the two sat facing each other on the same bed. Bai Yuchan passed on the elixir method, enabling him to return to his origin and restore his primordial state.

Life is like a cup of wine, and like a lamp. Where, in truth, are Penglai and Fangzhang, the legendary mountains of immortals? The white crane is about to return through the azure clouds. How carefree, how joyful—joy beyond measure! Now I will reveal the final secret to you.

These final few sentences are the master’s own instructions: they teach all those in the world who seek immortality and study the Dao (the Way), clearly pointing out the road to the Penglai realm of the immortals.