《百字碑》

When cultivating Qi (vital energy), one should restrain speech and devote oneself to guarding the mind and Shen (spirit), stilling stray thoughts so that the inner mind no longer stirs in vain. Whether in movement or in stillness, one must understand the root upon which cultivation is based; since the mind is free of affairs, why go seeking in every direction?

In facing external things, one must still preserve the true constancy within; when responding to affairs, one must not lose one’s original nature. Once original nature settles, the breath naturally returns.

When the breath turns back, Neidan (internal alchemy) condenses; within body and mind the practitioner harmonizes Kan and Li (a Daoist term symbolizing Yin-Yang and water and fire). The Qi of Yin-Yang circulates back and forth, as if a peal of thunder sounds at the moment of universal generation and transformation.

White clouds rise to the crown of the head, and sweet dew sprinkles down upon Sumeru (a Buddhist term referring to Mount Sumeru; here borrowed to indicate a lofty realm). The practitioner drinks the wine of longevity and wanders free and at ease—who can know the realm within?

In quiet sitting one hears a melody without strings, and thereby comes to understand the mechanism by which the creative process operates. The whole piece amounts to twenty lines and is truly a ladder leading to the heavenly realm.