《证道一贯真机易简录》Vol. 5

The two kinds of fire-timing (huohou) come together when intention arises. They fit as naturally as a seal matching its impression or the two halves of a contract aligning, and no deliberate agreement is needed. Motion within motion has its root in stillness, and purposeful cultivation also begins in Wuwei (non-action).

At this point the practitioner experiences the scenes the scripture describes, such as "white snow filling the sky and yellow sprouts covering the earth." "Dragon's chant and tiger's roar" and "husband singing and wife following" refer to the Yin and Yang forces responding to each other and moving in harmony. "Jade cauldron simmering, golden furnace blazing" uses the cauldron and the fire-timing as metaphors for the process of refining the elixir. "Thunder and lightning shaking heaven and earth" describes the intense sensation when the qi (vital energy) begins to move. The hundred vessels flow freely, and the three passes (sanguan, the bodily gates or passages in cultivation) are opened through. The mysterious pearl (xuanzhu, a symbolic spirit-object in inner alchemy) takes on a visible form, and Taiyi (a Daoist term for the Great One or primordial qi) holds the true nature. The Niwan Palace (the cultivation site at the head) seems to stir a breeze, and the Jianggong (the cultivation site at the heart) shines like a bright moon. The Dantian (energy center) grows warm like rising mist, and the Guhai (a cultivation term in the scripture) grows calm, its waves subsiding.

Once the Returning Elixir (huandan, the condensed essence, qi, and shen produced by inner alchemy) is refined, it comes as easily as turning over one's hand. From then on, one seems able to grasp the Heavenly Gate and govern the Earth's axis, to move the spirit banners by day and gather divine fungus by night, and to nourish the sacred embryo until it forms the Infant (chizi). These expressions describe the process in inner alchemy of continuing to nourish and condense the accumulated power.

Perfected Ziyang (Zǐyáng Zhēnrén) said: "All the work lies in a single moment, yet one can forever keep boundless peace and joy." The root of the Dao, the source of De (Virtue/Power), the foundation of the union of dragon and tiger, and the origin of the transformations of lead (qian) and mercury (gong), which are symbolic terms in inner alchemy, are all gathered by one fire and unified by eight waters. It is the gate through which the myriad spirits gather in audience, the source of the marvelous functioning of the Golden Elixir, and the key passage for returning to the root and restoring one's destiny.

Once this principle is understood, one need not deliberately dispel desires, for the mind becomes calm on its own. One need not forcibly clear the thoughts, for the shen (spirit) becomes clear on its own. When not a single thought arises, all illusory images subside, and the body seems to rise on the wind while the spirit roams through a vast, empty stillness. Only then does one understand that the clear breeze and bright moon also reveal the mechanism of the union of lead and mercury, and that the green waters and blue mountains everywhere display the purport of the union of dragon and tiger.

The Treatise of the Sea Traveler (Haike lun) says: "Quicksilver is the accumulated yin Qi (qi) and the Jing (jing) of dark water (xuanshui), the subtle watery vapor described in Daoist texts. Through many transformations it becomes the hun soul, and in interaction with the five metals it becomes the po soul. It is heavier than metal and so pure that no speck of dust can settle on it. It lies plainly before our eyes, so what is there that is hard to see?"

Zi Yang says: "Lead is like the outward appearance, and mercury is like its shadow. Mercury is the po-essence and refined essence that lead reveals. Each has its own form, and each contains the root of the other. The Five Phases (wuxing) give birth to one another, and metal and water generate each other. Only when they receive the movement of Qi and are transformed and elevated do they become the supreme medicine." He also says: "This single medicine, mercury, circulates and transforms, passing through every hour and every direction." And he says: "Mercury is a true medicine. It first forms flesh and later forms bone."

The completed medicine is mercury alone. Through the embryo formed from "divine water" (shenshui), it is made into a powder of purple-gold color. An ancient song goes:

"Mercury alone is the immortal medicine. It has been passed down since antiquity, yet it is very difficult to refine it so that it is no longer governed by the fire. When it meets the river chariot (hechē, a metaphor in Neidan for the circulation of vital essence), it condenses into purple powder, and the purple powder in an instant becomes the Golden Elixir (jindan). The proper method of the Golden Elixir has no fixed measure, and mercury alone contains its subtle principle. Use only a tiny amount to transform and test it. Take it, and you will not die; you will ascend on the boat of the immortals."

The song continues:

"Take out the refined mercury and let the returned elixir (huandan, a term for an elixir that has returned to its origin) transform again into sand. Within the embryo it passes through five colors, and when the fire is complete it becomes the yellow sprout (huangya, a term for the refined essence of a newly formed elixir). When one loses the way, even what is right before us seems far away. But when one reaches the state where the river chariot turns, there is the Way of the immortals."

The Guizhong Zhinan (Guide to the Central Pivot) says: Those who cultivate inner alchemy (neidan) and wish to return to their original nature and restore the primordial state must renew the five viscera and reshape the body, so that what is formless condenses into physical substance and forms the "sacred embryo" (shengtai), a state that symbolizes the gathering and formation of the yuanshen (original spirit) and life. The key method is to concentrate on guarding the qi (vital energy), softening body and mind until they resemble an infant. Clear away distracting thoughts, still the movement of the mind, quiet the shen (spirit), and hold fast to the One (yi), the concentrated, undispersed state of attention in Daoist inner practice. External thoughts do not enter, and inner thoughts do not arise; one remains all day in a state of undifferentiated wholeness, as if within the mother's womb.

Let the shen settle so that it meets the qi, and harmonize the qi so that it unites with the shen. The shen gathers by following the qi, and the qi abides by following the shen. In a place of stillness and rest, one becomes dazed, as if in a realm of emptiness. The heart of Heaven (tianxin, the clear and luminous heart of original nature) is deep and tranquil, and attention is fixed on a single aperture (yiqiao, the point in inner practice where spirit and intention are concentrated). Be at ease like a hen incubating eggs or a fish in water. Exhale and send the breath to the root, inhale and reach the stem, so that the breath continues unbroken, as if present yet barely there. Continue to guard this breath of the embryonic breathing (taixi, subtle and quiet respiration) until the shen abides within it. At this point one is still in the state of stillness and rest, dazed as if in an empty homeland, with the heart of Heaven deep, attention fixed on a single aperture, and the breath moving between root and stem, continuous and as if existing. Guard the embryonic breath again until one reaches the state of "guarding without anything to guard": the mind no longer deliberately holds onto anything, the true breath settles naturally, and body and mind seem to dissolve completely. Even so, the mind holds no thought and makes no deliberate focus. Within the deep and dazed state, one perceives only that within the Great Void (taixu, vast emptiness without bounds) there is a luminous nature that governs creation and transformation.

Lu Xixing says: Once the One is attained, chaos returns to a single Taiji (Supreme Ultimate, the undivided whole that contains the source of change before things differentiate), and one need not be bound by the boundaries of north, south, east, and west. One need only attend carefully and guard the critical gates. When a thought stirs even slightly, it must be treated with caution, lest the earlier effort be wasted. If enthusiasm flares for a moment and one forgets the toil of everyday practice, great matters will be delayed.

Shangyang Zi said: "A single pill (the essence condensed in internal alchemy, neidan) is hard to obtain and can be perfected only after a thousand hardships. Once it is obtained, one should rejoice in having preserved this treasure of life, and should dwell in a quiet, secluded place, nurturing and guarding it with care. If it is damaged, it is very difficult to recover, and it must again be remade through a thousand hardships.

"In nurturing it, desires should gradually fade while the resolve is kept high. Effort should be diligently advanced, while the mind forgets its external circumstances. Before the pill is formed, one should cultivate as a true immortal would. After it has been formed, one should hold the mind as if nothing had been gained. In this way, external things cannot disturb the heart, nor bring danger, until the work is complete and the fire (huohou, the timing of the alchemical fire) is sufficient, and one does not slacken."

Tao Su'si said: "Constantly nourish the true qi (zhenqi) of harmony and equilibrium (chonghe, correct and balanced), and cultivate the primordial spirit (yuanshen, the original spirit of a person) that is calm and undivided.

"For nurturing, nothing is more suitable than tranquility and detachment. Detachment means letting the mind and spirit become empty, still, and settled, so that thoughts are pure and unmixed, and guarding them in accordance with their natural course.

"When the Golden Liquor (jinye, the refined substance of internal alchemy) condenses, the channels throughout the body seem to return to their source, and the breath seems to stop. The solar soul and lunar soul (rihun yuepo, terms describing the yin-yang movement of body and mind) seem briefly to cease turning, and one feels as though about to expire. After passing through this stillness and then being reborn, one understands what the Old Man of Purple Clarity (Zi Qing Weng) said: 'Only after this great death does one truly come back to life.' When the nurturing is complete and the body has become pure Yang, the pill is then truly formed."

Bai Yuchan said: "If one can nurture the harmonious qi within stillness and guard the essence of True Oneness (zhenyi zhi jing, an essence pure and unmixed), this is what is called sealing the furnace and securing the crucible (fenglu gujì, sealing the furnace vessel and protecting the medicinal materials), and on this basis one practices the management of the fire. Spirit is the fire, qi is the medicine. To refine the medicine with fire and form the pill is to guide the qi with spirit and thereby attain the Dao."

The Xian Fo Hezong Lunyu (Analects on the Unity of Immortals and Buddhas) says: "The key to the ten months of practice is to persist diligently in one's efforts. At this stage it is easy to fall into drowsiness, and the mind-spirit tends to scatter outward, with many stray thoughts and little inner stability. Therefore one should use the method of 'refining qi to transform into spirit' (lianqi huashen) to nourish and replenish the spirit. When the spirit is full, one is not easily overcome by weariness; when the mind is settled, it does not easily scatter outward. Drowsiness and distraction will gradually diminish, the inner mind will progressively settle, and one will ultimately attain 'great stillness' (dading), a state of deep stabilization in cultivation. When the breath no longer moves in or out, this is called 'breath-cessation' (xizhu), in which the breath comes to rest from its ordinary movement of inhalation and exhalation."

The Xian Fo Hezong Lunyu further says: "During the ten months of practice, one must keep the spirit (shen), the breath (qi), and the essence-qi (jingqi) clear and replete, with resolute aspiration and vigorous resolve. Day and night one should diligently practice entering stillness (ruding), so that the state of stability continues without interruption and one never departs from the realm of stillness at any moment. In this way one will naturally attain the great stillness of breathlessness. On the day this great stillness is reached, the spirit embryo (shentai, the embryo formed in internal alchemy, or neidan) is complete. Once the spirit embryo has formed, it will ultimately manifest corresponding visions; this is a natural process that arises in cultivation."

Patriarch Chongyang said: "When the breath and the mind-spirit (shen) correspond to each other, the pulse grows quiet and the breath becomes smooth. Once there is stillness, one can produce a state of concentration (ding). Upon entering deep concentration, the Primordial Qi (xiantian yi qi, understood as the original vital energy from which life arises) naturally manifests out of emptiness." He also said: "Only when one perceives movement and stillness within concentration does one truly comprehend the transformations of creation (zaohua)."

Patriarch Qiu said: "If the breath has even the slightest unsteadiness, then nature and life (xingming) have not yet truly become settled." Xue Zixian said: "Within concentration, refine the true lead (zhenqian, an inner-alchemy term for the subtle qi refined in practice)." Xinglin said: "Within concentration, one can see the elixir completed." Danyang said: "When cultivation work continues without interruption over the years and the breath settles, this is called the spirit embryo (ling tai, an inner-alchemy term for the state that symbolizes the completion of the elixir)." The Supreme One said: "Turn the intention of the spirit into concentration, and one can attain the ultimate truth." The Heart Sutra of Doumu says: "Know how to guard your original true body, and advance diligently in cultivating great concentration (da ding, a deep meditative absorption), and you will reach a state in which form and spirit are both perfectly harmonized and refined." The Primordial Heavenly Venerable (Yuanshi Tianzun) said: "When the breath settles in accordance with the intention of the spirit, nature settles, and life settles with it." Zi Yang said: "Only by entering concentration can one refine the elixir; without entering concentration, yang energy will not arise. Once yang energy has arisen, if one cannot enter concentration, the elixir cannot congeal." The Zhonghe Ji says: "Nine years or three years, maintaining stillness throughout, and one will become an immortal."

The Xianfo Hezong Lunyu says: "When one can harmonize this true breath (zhenxi, subtle breath cultivated and regulated in practice), one can stabilize the true nature. When the breath is unsettled, the mind-nature is also unsettled. If a person can enter concentration by relying on the breath, and yet does not cling to the breath, he or she may enter the cessation concentration (miejin ding, a deep absorption in which thoughts and sensations come to rest)."

Master Tan's Huashu and the Fo Hezong Lunyu also say: "When one can harmonize this true breath, one can stabilize the true nature. When the breath is unsettled, the mind-nature is also unsettled. If a person can enter concentration by relying on the breath, and yet does not cling to the breath, he or she may enter the cessation concentration."

Master Tan's Huashu says: "When the mind-realm is serene and secluded, it no longer discriminates or knows anything; when the spirit is at ease, it has nowhere it needs to go; when the breath is calm and even, it does nothing deliberately."

The Zhonghe Ji says: "The elixir is formed through refining that is not deliberately forced, and the Dao manifests naturally within wuwei (non-action). Stop miscellaneous thoughts and cut off external entanglements, nourishing the Primordial Qi; forget what is heard and seen, and cultivate the qi of an infant's purity."

Work proceeds within stillness and settledness: the mind is calm and undisturbed by external things, yet it communicates naturally with responsiveness. Like the old oyster that gives birth to a pearl, or the mingliao insect that is raised by another, this real and mysterious mechanism cannot be fully exhausted. The key is to break through the doubts in the mind and suddenly awaken to zhenkong (true emptiness, the luminous state beyond attachment and discrimination).

Within "purposive action" (youwei), one must realize "non-action" (wuwei): one does not fall into the extremes of existence or non-existence, yet manifests a wondrous function. When reaching the critical point of huanghu (vague indistinctness) and deep stillness, deliberately holding on to it leads into deluded thoughts, while letting it go entirely strays from the proper Way. One neither grasps nor forgets, neither gathers in nor indulges. Observe who it is that is aware of this unbroken, lingering existence. If one persists in this way, then when the number of the Liuyang (Six Yang) is complete, one can embrace the "Little Toad" (a metaphor in neidan practice for the embryo of the inner elixir or the inner elixir itself).

The Maiwang (Gazing at the Pulse) says: once the inner elixir has been placed in the ding (cauldron, a symbolic site within the body where the elixir is refined), one must guard it from without with true fire. Always take non-thought as the constant state: when the mind is still, the qi becomes gentle; when the qi is gentle, the spirit becomes clear. When non-thought is sustained, the qi of taihe (Great Harmony) and the spirit fill the jintai shenshi (Golden Embryo spirit chamber, a symbolic palace in the body where the inner elixir is nurtured), so that the embryo embraces its mother. Without the spirit fire guarding it on every side, how could the embryo endure? Therefore it must never be left for a moment, and must be sustained day and night. Then the elixir matures naturally and finally emerges by casting off the womb.

Shangyangzi says: when essence and qi are insufficient, the huandan (returning elixir) cannot be refined. Serious practitioners should know that jigong (self-mercury, the medicinal substance or energy in inner alchemy representing the body-mind side) must be kept abundant, which is called "filling the belly." Once the self-mercury is abundant, it becomes easier to gather the qian (lead), the other substance or energy paired with self-mercury in inner alchemy. When gathering the medicine, one must also keep the six consciousnesses (the senses of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) from functioning, forgetting the six emotions (the various agitations arising from the senses and feelings). This is called "emptying the heart."

The Guide to the Central Position (Guizhong Zhinan) says: "When the mind is single-pointed, the spirit can gather. Clear the thoughts and cut off distracting worries, regulate the breath so that it is steady and even, and maintain alert awareness within stillness, without letting yourself grow drowsy or scattered. Once the qi is settled and harmonized, enter the state of concentration (ruding) of the True Person (zhenren), the ideal realm pursued by practitioners."

In this state of concentration, observe the scenes within the body. As soon as a thought arises, signs appear along with it. At this point one feels the breath rising from the Central Position (Guizhong, the cultivation locus that symbolizes the center of body and mind), continuous and unbroken, flowing as a single whole. Hold to it with sincerity and attend to it with the spirit, so that the six roots (eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) become settled and the embryonic breath (taixi, the internal breathing described in cultivation practice) becomes firm. Do not deliberately hold the breath, and do not breathe hurriedly; let it move naturally. When stillness reaches its extreme, exhale, like fish in a spring pond gently releasing breath; when activity reaches its extreme, inhale, like hibernating insects naturally taking in air. The breath billows and mingles, opening and closing in endless transformation, and its subtle wonders are inexhaustible.

After practicing in this way for a while, one must forget attachment to the breath, unite the spirit and qi, and return to a state of chaotic emptiness. Strive to guard stillness so that no thoughts arise in the mind, and nothing comes or goes; remain constantly in this clear and tranquil condition. This is called "the True Person's breath reaches the heels," meaning that the breathing becomes deep and subtle, as though entering and leaving from the heels. It is also a sign that spirit and qi have merged. Zishang Zhenren said: "Dim and profound: this is the sign of entering concentration." Danyang said: "When the spirit does not scatter outward, the essence and qi naturally settle." He also said: "When the mind is calm and distracting thoughts cease, clear yet unmoving, this is called the true mind." He further said: "The medicinals are gathered only in emptiness, and the Great Elixir is completed entirely through the state of concentration."

The elixir forms within, and the fire-timing (huofu, the method of regulating the fire in the alchemical process) wraps it from without. In the remaining time, gather the primordial spirit (yuanshen) and nourish it within; the mind naturally settles, distracting thoughts cease, and it remains clear and unmoving. This is called the true mind. If the practice of Dao cultivation continues, one may accomplish the sacred body; after ten months of gestation, the embryonic elixir matures, and one finally emerges from the womb, transforming the spirit into a realized being. This principle of the union of Yin and Yang is the root from which all things continually come into being and change; the growth of human beings and of all things depends upon it.

Xiao Zixu said: "The river cart (hechē, a metaphor for circulating essence and qi in internal alchemy) conveys the essence and qi up to Kunshan (a cultivation term for the upper region of the body), and it reaches Yuguan (a pass or gate within the body) without moving a hair's breadth along the way. The secret lies in keeping the Eight Gates firmly sealed (the sense-openings of body and mind that must be gathered in and closed), and then the Yin-Yang qi will circulate on its own."

The Tianxian Zhengli (Tianxian Zhengli, The True Principles of the Celestial Immortal) says: "From this stage onward, the timing of the fire is called the Greater Heavenly Cycle (da zhoutian), which differs from the Lesser Heavenly Cycle (xiao zhoutian) of the earlier hundred days of practice. Lü Zu (Lü Dongbin) said, 'From now on, I still play the flute without holes, and I pluck the lute without strings.' This uses the flute and the lute as a metaphor for the inner work that does not depend on any external sound."

The Tianxian Zhengli also says: "The Greater Heavenly Cycle is like the day truly moving through heaven and earth. One fu (a single cycle in the practice) is like this, and so are ten, a hundred, or millions of cycles. One double-hour is like this, and so are all 3,600 of them, so that the cycle completes the ten months of heavenly time. 'Gestation' refers to the stage of refining qi to transform into shen (lianqi huashen) and entering stillness (ruding). Some practitioners, after three months of steady concentration, can stop eating worldly food. Others need four or five months, or longer, to reach the same point. When the signs of abstaining from food appear quickly, entering and emerging from stillness also comes quickly. When abstaining comes late, entering and emerging come late as well. This is because, once one enters stillness, the Taihe primordial qi (a qi of harmony and fullness) fills the body, so one no longer feels hunger and has no need to eat. The scripture holds that food belongs to Yin, so for every portion of Yin remaining in the body, a portion of food is still needed. If the Yin qi is not entirely exhausted, one cannot become an immortal, and if eating has not been entirely abandoned, one cannot become an immortal either."

The Tianxian Zhengli (Principles of the Celestial Immortal) says that when the mind is steady and focused during practice, it is relatively easy to enter ruding (the state of stillness). Some people reach it within seven months, while others only manage it in the eighth, ninth, or tenth month. If the mind-spirit is scattered, entering stillness becomes harder, and some practitioners take more than ten months, or even many months, to succeed. This is what is called repeatedly stopping midway: the huohou (fire timing) of practice cools, and the efficacy of Neidan (internal alchemy) slows.

Taking ten months to reach dading (deep, settled stability) as the example, the shentai (spirit embryo, the term for the result of refining spirit in Neidan practice) is about to be completed during this period. Especially in the eighth, ninth, and tenth months, external phenomena can be abundant. One may see or hear strange things, encounter situations that bring joy or fear and make one believe them to be real, or give rise to delusions. Sometimes one feels that Shangdi (the Supreme Lord) or the gaozhen (exalted perfected, revered divine beings) have come to test one's cultivation, or feels that demons are coming to seize one's zhenqi (true qi, the original vital energy of life). When these occur, one should dispel them with an upright, focused intention, concentrating solely on lianqi huashen (refining qi to transform it into spirit). In this way, one will naturally reach the state where the breath stops and demonic visions no longer appear.

The scripture also says that when a false thought arises in the mind, one should immediately raise right thought, and the false thought will naturally vanish. If a demonic vision appears before the eyes, one should likewise immediately raise right thought, neither responding to it nor following it, and the demonic realm will naturally recede.

The Forty-Nine Chapter Scripture says: "Do not struggle with troubles, and those who come will naturally turn back." Ge Dingling Yang says that during seated practice, if one's skill is deep, one may at times see immortals, buddhas, ghosts, spirits, pavilions, radiant lights, and various other scenes appearing before the eyes, and one should not give rise to love or aversion toward them. Yu Yuwu says: "Let them change in a thousand ways; so long as the one mind does not move, all the various delusions will naturally disperse."

The Tianxian Zhengli (Principles of the Celestial Immortal) says that once practitioners reach the state where the breath has stopped and the inner Qi (qi) has returned to pure primordial Shen (shen), the ordinary notions of "Yuan Qi" and "Qi" no longer apply. If Qi still remains, the breath may seem to have stopped for a time, but this does not count as true cessation. The breath has only grown slightly settled without fully stopping, and the spirit is only somewhat calm, not yet in deep stillness. At this stage one should continue cultivating with fine and unbroken attention, so that body and mind enter Great Stillness (da ding) and return to pure Shen. If the breath still goes in and out, halting and resuming, it is like the elixir Qi scattering during alchemical work. Only when the breath is completely gone is the practice complete.

This is the principle of the second gate, Fanyi (returning to the One). It refers to the practitioner returning to the state of the parents' first union, when life enters the womb. A fetus takes ten months to develop its form before it is born. The "spirit embryo" (shen tai) formed by cultivation likewise takes ten months, and when its spirit and Qi are full it emerges from the womb. The principle and the process are the same. Patriarch Qiu (Qiu Zu) said: "If the breath is unsettled even slightly, then your nature and life are not yet truly in your own hands."

The Tianxian Zhengli also says that the fire timing (huohou) of the Great Cycle (da zhou tian) is not counted by hexagram lines (yaoxiang), so it is not deliberately forced. It is gentle, continuous, and unbroken, yet it is not a matter of doing nothing at all. At first it seems to fall neither within action (you wei) nor within non-action (wu wei), but in the end it fully returns to Great Stillness.

The Datong Jing (Classic of Great Penetration) says that because the Dao has no form, the heart is not bound by anything with form. Because true nature does not act, it does not lose its original heart when dealing with the outside world.

The Taishang Riyong Jing (Daily Practice Classic of the Most High) says that Shen is the child of Qi, and Qi is the mother of Shen. Just as a hen broods over her eggs, nurturing the spirit and cultivating the primordial Qi, can the two ever be separated? How truly mysterious!

The Longhu Jing (Classic of the Dragon and Tiger) says that the most subtle essential secret lies first in this: after cultivation, one is able to forget the method one has practiced.

The Xingming Guizhi (Essential Guide to Nature and Life) says that when embryonic breathing (taixi) gathers, the breath enters without accumulating and exits without dispersing. Body and mind seem empty of form, and one quietly enters the state of samadhi (ding jing).

"One thought that does not leave the heart-mind (fangcun, the heart region) is true emptiness (zhenkong), and this is the real fire (zhenhuo) for nurturing the embryo." Here, "nurturing the embryo" (yangtai) is a metaphor in Neidan (internal alchemy) for cultivating the inner elixir body.

Luo Hongxian said: "Breathing gradually grows deep and hard to detect as thoughts fall away. Between waking and sleeping, one faintly feels the self arising."

Zhang Suqiong said: "Only when form and spirit have merged into one does one understand that the visible appearances of form are, from the start, true emptiness."

The Hundred Verses (Baiju zhang) says: "There is real faith within this. When faith reaches a certain firmness, you will surely be astonished. Something like a vermilion tangerine (zhuju) appears, and mercury (shuiyin) must come to meet it. Without any instruments at all, one can turn heaven and earth around through the method of inverting yin and yang." Here "vermilion tangerine" and "mercury" are Neidan terms, referring to the medicinals (yao) of cultivation, not ordinary substances.

Lu Ziye said: "Once one obtains the One (yi), my life and nature are in my own hands. Beyond the body there can be yet another body, and one's lifespan can equal that of heaven."

Shangyang Zi said: "The golden elixir (jindan), the elixir body formed through internal alchemy, is the original vital energy (yuanqi) of yin and yang. It existed even before the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji) took shape, and it is the root of heaven and earth."

Zhang Ziyang said: "All of this requires only a moment's effort, and one may then possess endless joy forever."

Shangyang Zi said: "The golden elixir comes from outside and is swallowed into the belly."

"The returning elixir (huandan) requires only half an hour, yet it can seize the transforming powers of heaven and earth that govern all things, the transformation before the Supreme Ultimate had divided, the transformation of the union of Qian and Kun, the unpredictable transformations of yin and yang, the transformation of water and fire completing one another, the mutual generation and conquest of the Five Phases, and the transformation by which the myriad things come into being. These changes gather into being in a single moment. How could one not be cautious and watchful?"

Xue Zixian said: "The yang elixir (yangdan) comes from outside, in order to subdue one's own yin mercury." Here "yin mercury" (yingong) is a Neidan term referring to the yin medicinal that stands opposite the yang elixir.

Mei Zhixian said: "Qi rises from the Yin Heel vessel (yinqiao, a body region in cultivation terminology) to Mud Pellet (Niwan, the region at the crown of the head), and then circulates in a cycle: it descends through the Earth Gate (dihu, a lower aperture) and ascends to connect with the Heaven Pass (tianguan, an upper aperture)."

Chuandao Ji (Collection for Transmitting the Dao) says: "When essence and spirit gather, many demonic obstacles arise. Refining the body with true fire (zhenhuo) causes the Three Corpses (sanshi, three spirits said to dwell in the body and hinder cultivation) to vanish. Circulating the Rosy Elixir (xiajiang) to bathe the body enables one to enter water without raising a ripple. All of these are the work of the River Chariot (hecheng, a metaphor for circulating vital essence in inner alchemy)."

Chuandao Ji says: "When the Dragon and Tiger couple and refine the Yellow Sprout (huangya, the initial sign of inner elixir congealing), this is called the Lesser River Chariot. Then, when Golden Essence (jinjing) rises from behind the elbow and enters the Niwan Palace (niwan gong, the cultivation site in the head), lead is drawn out and mercury is supplemented, refining the Great Medicine (dayao). This is called the Greater River Chariot."

Chuandao Ji says: "Water and fire embrace one another and merge into a single body, then are sent into the Spirit Palace (shengong, the inner site where spirit is stored and qi refined). Hold back stray thoughts and quietly look inward, keeping the mind focused and undivided, so that spirit and consciousness both enter a profound state. While sitting still, one often hears music, as if in a dream yet not quite a dream, as though standing in emptiness. The scenery before the eyes differs from the mundane world, its splendor surpassing that of human realms. Towers and palace gates gleam with green-tiled brilliance; jade-like ornaments and fine garments weave together in dense layers, and fragrance drifts in waves. At this time, the Yang Spirit (yangshen, the pure-yang spiritual form produced in cultivation) enters the inner courtyard each day, gradually gathers, and then returns to the Upper Dantian (shang dantian, the upper energy center, usually the head region). It forms a divine immortal body and unites with the Great Dao. Pushing open the great gate, the Dharma-body (fashen) appears in golden light; amid blossoming flowers sits the mortal body; soaring aloft, ten thousand miles of level plain seem within reach of one's hand."

The Chuandao Ji says: At times one sees clouds and thunder descending from the heavens and smoke and fire rising upward. It is as if strange flowers fall from the sky, and auspicious winds and propitious vapors rise from palace courtyards. At other times, fairy maidens and jade damsels ride phoenixes and auspicious luan birds, descend from on high, and offer golden trays filled with jade dew and rosy elixir to the sovereign. These images symbolize the Golden Liquid Returning Elixir (Jinye Huandan), the stage of internal alchemy (Neidan) in which essence and qi are condensed and the elixir is formed, reaching a state of harmonized Yin-Yang and completed work.

Dragon and Tiger (Longhu, symbols in internal alchemy for the interaction of Yin and Yang, essence and qi, and related forces) pull a chariot forward through fire and surge upward through the Three Passes (Sanguan, three vital gateways of cultivation). Each pass is guarded by countless soldiers and officials, armed and clad in armor, awe-inspiring to behold. At first, the collision of Dragon and Tiger cannot open the gates; then, with a great fire refining them, the gates open. The chariot keeps advancing, passes Kunlun without stopping, and halts only at the Heavenly Pool (Tianchi). Sometimes the scene resembles three cranes soaring into the sky, or two butterflies entering the Three Palaces (three important regions within the body). At other times it resembles a red-clad child carried on five-colored auspicious clouds, passing beyond the gates. Still other times it is like a golden carriage and jade chariot bearing a sovereign beyond the Three Realms (the different levels of heaven and earth in Daoist cosmology). These images symbolize the flying of golden essence behind the elbow (Zhouhou Fei Jinjing) and the Great River Chariot (Dahe Che), the practice in internal alchemy of circulating qi and driving it upward.

Again, an official transmits a command, and the Nine Provinces (Jiuzhou) are thereby brought into connection and harmony, circulating endlessly without rest. Sometimes the scene resembles touring the Five Sacred Peaks (Wuyue) or sailing the Five Lakes. Sometimes it resembles a celestial decree passed to the Five Emperors, or a sovereign issuing an edict to the feudal lords. These images symbolize the Returning Elixir (Huandan), the process in internal alchemy cultivation in which qi condenses and circulates.

According to the Chuandao Ji (Collection for Transmitting the Dao), one who cultivates from below upward circulates the Purple River Carriage (ziheche), a term for the movement of essential qi within the body in internal alchemy (neidan), and conveys it into the Celestial Palace (tiangong), the inner chamber of the practitioner. The Celestial Palace is rich and splendid, and who would not envy it on seeing it? Within it, one moves back and forth through a flourishing and luxurious scene, with sights that ordinary people have never seen, all there in abundance.

Practitioners of the Dao keep quiet and guard themselves in their daily lives, and for a long time they have lived unfettered yet lonely existences. When their effort reaches fruition and the conditions for cultivation are complete, they experience boundless joy: jewels and jade ornaments gleam on the terraces, musicians play the sheng reed pipes, rare delicacies are laid out on the tables, strange flowers and herbs grow in the courtyard, and the scenery before the eyes is like a painting.

If the practitioner does not recognize what is happening, they will believe they have truly arrived at the Celestial Palace. In fact, it is only the scenery within their own body, yet it is mistaken for a real realm. If they stop and remain there because of this belief, they will be trapped in dim and confused paths, their physical bodies will remain in the world, and they will be unable to shed their forms and become immortals. Before one has truly reached the Celestial Palace, while still engaged in inner observation, yin ghosts and external demons may also appear as images that follow the mind, and be mistaken for demonic armies. If the mind and spirit (shen) become frenzied as a result and one enters heterodox paths, or turns to other teachings, one may fail to attain immortality. This is because the Three Corpses (sanshi) and Seven Po-souls (qipo), the spirits dwelling in the human body that obstruct cultivation, only hope that the person will die so that they themselves may enjoy happiness, while the Nine Worms and Six Thieves (jiuchong liuzei), the names Daoist texts give to the foul and disruptive things within the body that disturb body and mind, suffer when a person is peaceful and tranquil, because once a person is settled, they have nowhere to remain.

Zhu Yuyu says: At the moment the first stirring of yang arises (yi yang chu dong), one must quickly activate the fire timing (huohou) to respond to it. One must cook with fierce intensity and train with urgency, combining the methods of gathering described in the formulas "inhaling, licking, gathering, and closing" (xi, shi, cuo, bi), and force the Golden Liquor (jinye), the essential qi referred to in internal alchemy, out of the furnace. At this time, taking advantage of the fire's upward opening, one drives the River Carriage (hechē), a method of circulating essential qi, so that it flows upward from the Weilü (the point at the lower end of the spine) to Kunlun and the Tiangu points (locations in the head). The process is like dragons contending and tigers fighting, with waves surging as if shaking heaven and earth. After union (jiaogou), in which yin and yang qi mingle, a drop of refined essence falls into the center of the Yellow Court (huangting), the central locus of the body in internal alchemy. Afterward, one must apply the method of nurturing, like a dragon guarding a pearl or a hen brooding over her eggs, silently reflecting inward, neither forgetting nor forcing. When the Mysterious Pearl (xuanzhu), the achievement condensed in internal alchemy, takes on form, and Taiyi (referring to the single, pure qi or the Great Dao) holds the true nature within, one will transform naturally and transcend.

Zhu Yuyu says: After the Golden Elixir forms the embryo, the pulse stops and the breath ceases, and one returns to the state of primordial chaos. This is the time when my body and mind undergo a "great death." After a long time, as if awakening again after being cut off, one can personally realize one's original face.

Zhu Yuanyu said: "Once the Golden Elixir (jin dan) forms its embryonic body, the pulse stops and the breath ceases as well, and body and mind seem to return to the undivided chaos of the beginning. This is the stage where the body undergoes a change like complete death. After a long while, it is as if one wakes again after death and personally realizes one's original face. The nature of the mind becomes naturally pure and free of defilement, wisdom becomes complete and penetrating, and the earth and heavens before one's eyes seem to turn into palaces of crystal."

Zhu Yuanyu said: "When a divine elixir arrangement (the bodily and mental state or position for refining Neidan, or internal alchemy) is established, one must guard it with true intention (a focused and clear mind), watching over it closely and carefully, and never leave it even for a moment. If true intention departs from its original position, one fears that one will become dim and lost."

Zhu Yuanyu said: "The Ancestral Qi of Former Heaven (the primordial vital energy present from before birth) is the sovereign, and the Essence Qi of Latter Heaven is the minister. Once the cauldron (a metaphorical furnace for internal cultivation) has obtained the One Qi of Former Heaven, one must rely on the Qi of Latter Heaven to nourish and protect it."

Yuandu Zi said: "When the body and spirit do not rashly interfere, Jing (essence) and Qi will circulate on their own. This is like Heaven and Earth not acting rashly, while the myriad things still grow and transform naturally."

The Jinyu Jing (Classic of Gold and Jade) attributed to Lü Zu (Patriarch Lü) says: "When the black dragon (a legendary black dragon) embraces a single Qi, the golden pearl reveals its supreme radiance. When the white tiger contains the Three Treasures, the purple snow (a symbolic essence of internal alchemy) grows into miraculous sprouts and buds."

The Jinyu Jing says: "The nine-fold iron drum is impartial, and a single golden bell rises upward, piercing through to the Heavenly Hall and reaching directly to the Purple Mansion of Zengshan. It rises as high as Zhurong Peak, the shores of the Jade Pool, and Samadhi. One Qi pierces through the Yellow Center, and the lead pearl returns to its treasure store."

The Changdao Zhenyan (True Words for Chanting the Dao) says: "One should always keep the mind clear and luminous, letting thought remain vivid and never stagnant."

The Chang Dao Zhen Yan says: To form the Sacred Embryo (shengtai, the stage in cultivation that symbolizes the maturation of the inner elixir), one must first attain perfect awareness (yuanjue, a state of complete and clear enlightenment). This is the key. Harmonizing the inner work lies entirely in ascent and descent, and mastering the secret of ascent and descent lies entirely in quiet contemplation. Stillness is not mere silence. Activity persists within stillness, yet this activity is not ordinary motion but the transformative process of creation (zaohua) operating within the body. Contemplation should not cling to "observing." Awareness arises within observation, but it must not be grasped. The numinous light then appears amid the dim and the subtle.

At this point, the cauldron (ding) is empty yet the medicine is full, and the water is firm yet the fire is gentle. The cauldron, medicine, water, and fire are all symbols within internal alchemy (Neidan), used to describe the harmonization of body and mind with the inner essence (jing) and qi. Refining repeatedly, like breath coming and going, aligns the aim of cultivation with the mysterious transformations of heaven and earth, the movements of sun and moon, the alternation of yin and yang and of clear and turbid, and the succession of the four seasons.

The Chang Dao Zhen Yan says: Refining the elixir is like cooking rice. If the fire is too fierce, the rice scorches; if it is too slow, the rice turns to mush. Only when the heat is neither hasty nor sluggish does the rice keep its full flavor. In refining the elixir, if the fire is too fierce, the lead escapes and the mercury scatters, so it must be sustained without break, faint yet present. If the fire is too slow, the cauldron and furnace grow cold, so one must also remain alert and clear, never dim. When the heat is neither hasty nor slow, the firing is exactly right. Yin qi then recedes on its own, and the Yang Spirit (yangshen, the term for the spirit-state of pure yang in internal alchemy) naturally manifests.

The Chang Dao Zhen Yan says: With a broad and open heart, once cultivation reaches its subtle essence, one forgets the self and no longer clings to self and others, nor reckons with heaven and earth. One perceives the One Qi (yiqi) in the clear void, and within primordial chaos before division there is a point of true yang. It is both me and not me; it is both emptiness and more than emptiness. The cycle of creation turns, alternating and replacing one another, brightness and darkness succeeding, divided yet unable to be divided further, united yet unable to be united further. When the emptiness of the Yang Spirit meets the emptiness of the Great Void, the two interpenetrate without barrier. This is what is meant by body and spirit both reaching the wondrous, and by union with the Dao (yu Dao he zhen) to attain the True.

The Chang Dao Zhen Yan says: Unbroken, faint yet present, one must not force it in application. Keep clear awareness, and it will not be lost in holding.

The Changdao Zhenyan (True Words on Chanting the Dao) says: Cultivation begins with Wuwei (non-action) and ends with non-thought. In this way, Heaven stands clear and tranquil above, and Earth rests steady and secure below. Then yin and yang blend and coalesce into a pearl, gathered within a single dark and mysterious aperture. Turn it over and set it circulating, and the images grow hazy and hard to discern, like a furnace transforming all things and revealing countless wondrous lights.

The Changdao Zhenyan says: This inner elixir pearl (Neidan), the size of a millet grain, contains all things, and the qi of the four seasons circulates through it. The eight yang energies blend and condense into a pearl, gathered within the single dark and mysterious aperture. Turn it over and set it circulating, and the images grow hazy and hard to discern, like a furnace transforming all things and revealing countless wondrous lights.

The Changdao Zhenyan says: This millet-sized inner elixir pearl contains all things, and the qi of the four seasons all flow through it. The winds of the eight directions are harmonious, and the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are complete.

The Changdao Zhenyan says: Golden Essence (Jin Jing) and Wood Fluid (Mu Ye, the inner alchemical term for the yin-yang essential qi) clash and transform, as if striking the jiulang ao, a musical instrument of the immortal realms, and plucking the eight-wind se zither. The sun and moon seem to rise from beneath the navel, and wind and clouds seem to surge between the two armpits. The inner landscape is full, round, bright, and vivid, and in the end it is still a Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) formed from a single mass of primordial qi, clear, empty, dark, and mysterious, undivided chaos. Within it are heaven and earth, sun and moon, and the myriad creatures that fly, swim, move, and grow, as well as the kinds born from the womb, from eggs, from moisture, and by transformation. Nothing is lacking. When the spiritual qi mechanism stirs, ten thousand sounds seem to ring out at once. When the primordial qi takes on form, its subtle wonders cannot be fully spoken.

The Changdao Zhenyan says: The Dipper's Gang stars (the positions and movements of the Northern Dipper) turn from this point, and yin and yang are thereby reversed. Once merit is complete and the Dao-work accomplished, the intensely yang qi nourishes the skin and refines the sinews and bones. The cultivated body becomes warm and at ease, and the qi of all four seasons can be received within it. The sun seems to hang overhead, with daylight but no night. Creation seems to run within the body, with vitality but no withering.

The Changdao Zhenyan says: The qi of the whole body circulates upward and downward in accord with the Zhoutian (the cycle of celestial motion). It is like the tide on the fifteenth night of the lunar month, surging in and coursing through the body, bringing vitality without the chill of decline.

The Changdao Zhenyan says: The qi of the whole body circulates upward and downward in accord with the Zhoutian, like the tide on the fifteenth night of the lunar month. It surges in, moves through the vessels and sinews, and washes the marrow, until the joints seem about to shatter. The key lies in staying composed when events arise and remaining unflustered in any circumstance. Though the waves sweep across the river, one can still hold the course steady and let the boat follow the rudder.

Zhang Sanfeng, in the Jindan Jieyao (Essentials of the Golden Elixir), says: "The Three Flowers gather at the crown and the Five Qi face the Origin," meaning that essence (jing), qi, and spirit (shen) condense together, and the qi of the five viscera returns to its primordial source. What is described is the waning of Yin qi and the growth of Yang qi, like ore refined until its impurities are burned away and pure gold appears, so that the whole body reaches a state of pure Yang. The practitioner thereby undergoes a transformation, as though the five viscera were regenerated and the entire skeleton rebuilt. When the liver qi changes, the eyes are filled with golden light and the gaze becomes bright as a tiger's. When the heart qi changes, sweet saliva arises in the mouth, and the blood seems to turn white. When the spleen qi changes, the skin becomes like congealed fat and the complexion like powdered white. When the lung qi changes, a heavenly fragrance seems to fill the nose, and the face returns to childlike innocence. When the kidney qi changes, heavenly music is heard in the ears, the hair falls out, and the grey and white coloring disappears. Once these signs of cultivation have appeared, the practitioner can naturally bring forth the spirit (shen) to leave the body.

Zhang Sanfeng, in the Wugen Shu (The Rootless Tree), says: if the practitioner has skillful and steady control, they can firmly hold the direction and remain undisturbed while the qi within the body surges like waves in the deep sea. Once the Three Passes (sanguan) are crossed and the Mud Pellet (Niwan, the upper Dantian at the crown of the head) is penetrated, the nine orifices of the whole body are connected.

Master Cao Wenyi (Immortal Lady Cao) says: only when the Primordial Qi (yuanqi) circulates within the body can the true Dao be accomplished. If one pursues only external breathing techniques, one will never achieve liberation.

The Jindan Jieyao says: regulate the breath like the heel breath (zhong xi, the deep, long breathing of Daoist practice, as if entering and exiting from the heel), so that the breath flows continuously, with inhalation and exhalation in harmony. Keep the mind silent, the interior still and the external environment clear, so that the breath seems to be present and yet absent, until finally the qi and spirit condense.

Chen Xiyi says: suddenly, an inner fire like a fire-wheel refines the earth's veins; then the intention and spirit... rise up over the mountain peak. The original text has missing characters in the middle, so its meaning cannot be determined with certainty.

Qiu Changchun says: the Golden Elixir qi surges up to the crown of the head and circulates like the turning of the Heavenly Dipper (tiangang, the directions indicated by the handle of the Big Dipper). Why should one worry any longer about obstructions or barriers? When no thought arises, the spirit does not stir; when the Six Roots (the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) are settled and still, the qi circulates freely.

After the Xianfo Hezong Yulu (Recorded Sayings of the Unified Immortal and Buddha Lineage), no further quotations are recorded; instead, the verses of Qiu Changchun on the Golden Elixir qi rising to the crown and on the stillness of the Six Roots are quoted again.

The Record of the Unified Sources of Immortals and Buddhas (Xianfo Hezong Yulu) states: once the Golden Elixir Great Medicine (jindan dayao), the essence condensed through Neidan (Internal Alchemy) practice, has been gathered, one should use the reverse-flowing River Chariot (nìyùn hé chē), a method of guiding the vital energy along the channels in reverse, to convey it into the Spirit Chamber (shénshì), the inner place where the primal spirit (yuánshén) is nurtured. If the numinous light (shénguāng), the primal spirit's power of awareness, fails to attend, the Great Medicine loses its support and soon dissipates. For this reason, the primal spirit must be taken as the Great Medicine's ground of return, and the Great Medicine must in turn nourish and transform the primal spirit, so that the two depend on one another, remain aware in stillness, and never come apart.

The same text further states that after the Great Medicine has been ingested, the blockages in the Three Passes and Nine Orifices (sānguān jiǔqiào), the terms Internal Alchemy uses for the body's barriers and openings, have all been cleared. One must then also understand that the two Qi of Yin and Yang will continually arise and will naturally circulate along the paths that have now been opened.

The Xianfo Hezong Yulu (Recorded Sayings on the Unified Lineage of Immortals and Buddhas) records that someone asked about the changes in body and attainment during the "ten months in the pass" (shiyue guanzhong). Master Chongxu Zi (Chongxuzi) replied:

At the start of entering stillness (rudings), after holding the stillness for three months, the movements of the two kinds of Qi within the body are still faint, stirring only slightly in the empty, quiet place at the navel. By the fourth or fifth month, as the mind grows calm and one observes with clarity, the Qi-channels generated from digested food are gradually exhausted, and all the Qi in the body returns to stillness and tranquility. The yuanshen (the originally luminous spirit), nourished by the two kinds of Qi, gradually becomes bright and unobscured, and through this one enters zhenkong (true emptiness). With both kinds of Qi ceasing to circulate and the food-derived Qi-channels cut off, only the quiet, observing yuanshen remains, serving as the master of the taixian (the embryonic immortal, the immortal fetus formed through Neidan cultivation).

Continuing the practice into the sixth and seventh months, not only do thoughts stop arising and ceasing, but drowsiness and sleep disappear completely. By the eighth and ninth months, the quiet observation has been sustained for a long time, and all the channels of the body rest in stillness. At the tenth month, the fire timing (huohou) is sufficient, the yang Qi is pure and complete, and the yuanshen returns to great stillness. At this point, the settled stillness gives rise to wisdom, and the five penetrations naturally appear: the divine eye (tianyan tong), the divine ear (tianer tong), the penetration of past lives (suming tong), the penetration of others' minds (taxin tong), and the penetration of spirit-realm travel (shenjing tong). Earlier, when refining Jing, the penetration of the exhaustion of outflows (loujin tong) had already appeared, and only now do the signs of the remaining five penetrations emerge.

The divine eye sees affairs of the heavenly realms, the divine ear hears words spoken in the heavens, the penetration of past lives understands the karmic causes of former existences, and the penetration of others' minds knows future events. Only the penetration of spirit-realm travel is easily governed by the shishen (the conscious mind, the consciousness formed through acquired discrimination and deliberation). If one cannot support the xinjun (the lord of the heart-mind), one will be drawn along by the shishen and, instead, mistakenly believe that one has achieved cultivation. Then the demonic obstacles of joy and arrogance will slip in through the empty gap. For this reason, the practitioner will delight in speaking of human fortune and misfortune and of future changes, and calamity will soon arrive.

Only when wisdom arises without clinging to the use of these powers, transforming the shishen and perfecting true wisdom, can one attain the fruit of a complete embryo. An ancient saying goes: "Within thirty thousand ke without interruption, in walking and sitting, it grows ever clearer." This shows that the work of nurturing the embryo for ten months lies entirely in uninterrupted, fine, and quiet observation.

"Scripture of the Union of Immortals and Buddhas" says: "As long as there is the slightest torpor, the residual Yin qi in the body has not yet been fully expelled. As long as there is the slightest disorder of thought, the Yuanshen (primordial spirit) has not yet attained pure Yang. Only when cultivation has eliminated all torpor and all stray thoughts can the Taishen (fetal spirit, the Yuanshen as described in cultivation) be said to have reached complete pure Yang. The Qiaoyang Jing says: 'Nourish the embryo with firing timing (huohou) for three hundred days, and the embryo will form over ten months.' At this stage, inner clarity appears, and various illusions may arise that tempt the practitioner to turn toward other methods. For this reason, one must accumulate merit and perform good deeds in daily life so as to receive the protection of the heavenly deities. After the Jindan (Golden Elixir) is formed, many visions appear, all of them the old habits and stray thoughts accumulated in daily life, which now emerge all at once."

"The Lingbao Bifa says: 'What are called the hundred demons refer to the factors of body and mind within the person: the six sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind), the eight consciousnesses (bashi), the three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls (sanhun qipo), the three sections and eight luminaries (sanbu bajing), and the twenty-four spirits.'"

"The Dongxuan Zhen Jing says: 'The Heavenly Mechanism (tianji) suddenly manifests, and before the eyes it seems that the earth is covered with gold. The face of Qianyuan (the root of Heaven, the primordial qi) begins to shine with light.'"

"The Dongxuan Zhen Jing further says: 'When the ordinary person's fleshly eye opens like the wisdom eye, and the mundane mind becomes clear, it becomes the true mind. The ordinary nature is transformed into Buddha-nature, and discriminating consciousness is transformed into the Yuanshen.'"

Scroll Eight: Emerging from the Womb and Nursing (Tuotai Rubu)

The Ru Yao Jing says: "When the embryo first forms, one must observe the Benming (origin-life); when the embryo finally emerges, one must observe the Four Cardinal Positions (the correct directional points used in cultivation to determine orientation)." Perfected Ziyang says: "After the solar terms have completed one cycle, the embryo emerges from the womb and rises in spiritual transformation."

Shi Xianweng says: "When the elixir has matured, the Dragon and Tiger (symbols of the union of Yin and Yang) no longer circulate, the firing timing ceases, and mercury and lead (alchemical terms symbolizing Yin and Yang essences) are no longer used. After emerging from the womb, the consciousness has been transformed and becomes a Jade Clarity immortal."

Patriarch Zhengyang says: "The child is still young and has not yet grown up, and must rely on the mother's nurturing kindness." He also says: "When the elixir has matured, the Dragon and Tiger no longer circulate, the firing timing ceases, and mercury and lead are no longer used. After emerging from the womb, the consciousness has been transformed and becomes a Jade Clarity immortal."

Zhengyang Patriarch said: "The child is still young and has not yet grown to adulthood, so it must be nurtured by Kun Niang (the yin force that bears and nourishes)."

Chunyang Patriarch said: "After nine years of refining the fire timing (huohou), the Heavenly Gate (tianmen, the opening at the crown of the head) suddenly opened from within. When the True Person (zhenren, the true-nature spirit spoken of in cultivation) appeared, great spiritual powers arose. From then on, Celestial Immortals (tianxian) could also come to offer congratulations."

The Qiaoyang Jing says: "At this stage, guard it as you would an infant. First let it walk ten steps, then a hundred, and gradually a thousand or ten thousand li. If it is left unattended, it cannot withstand the trials of wind and snow. With long cultivation, until it grows strong, it can pierce through metal and stone, enter water and walk through fire, rise to the heavens above and reach the earth below, moving without obstruction and appearing or vanishing beyond measure. If it wishes to become one, it becomes one; if it wishes to become a hundred, it becomes a hundred, and it can even manifest thousands upon thousands of bodies."

The Huangting Jing says: "Gazing with concentrated spirit, one sees a youth sitting upright and motionless. Unable to restrain the question, one asks: whose child is this, and how has he come to be within my body?"

The Cantong Qi says: "Practice diligently, without rest day or night. After three years of fushi (ingesting and refining elixirs, nourishing body and mind), one can become light of body, ascend, and travel far. Passing through flames, one is not burned; entering water, one is not wet. One can appear and one can vanish, enjoying lasting happiness without sorrow."

The Tianxian Zhengli says: "Regulate the Primordial Spirit (yuanshen) so that it leaves the physical form and becomes a body outside the body. Let the intention issue from the Upper Field (shangtian, the dantian above the head) to the outside, then gather it back into the Upper Field. Through this cycle of going out and returning, one gradually gains the ability to come and go freely, and gradually grows full and strong. This is what is called 'three years of nursing': after long nurturing, the Primordial Spirit becomes complete and can transform in countless ways, rising to the heavens and descending to the earth, crossing seas and moving mountains, relieving floods and droughts, aiding the world and bringing peace to the people, and subduing evil and eliminating harm. Whatever it does, it is operated by the same Primordial Spirit. When the Primordial Spirit can transform and manifest, it is called a divine immortal (shenxian)."

The Tianxian Zhengli (Principles of the Heavenly Immortal) says: "When cultivation reaches the stage of spirit projection (the Yuanshen, or primordial spirit, leaving the physical body), one is forever free from the governance of the cycle of birth and death, and calamities and demonic obstacles can no longer disturb one. However, at the beginning of spirit projection, sometimes one can enter in a single step and sometimes it takes two. As for the so-called ten steps or hundred steps, one must be even more careful in attending to them. Once this is accomplished, one must still nurture the Yuanshen as one would nurture an infant, until it matures and becomes stable, which takes three years."

The Tianxian Zhengli further says: "Tiaoshen chuke (guiding the spirit out of the shell, that is, directing the Yuanshen to leave the body) is an extremely crucial step in cultivation and carries great danger. When first beginning to guide the spirit out, it must be recalled immediately once it leaves the body, and it must not be allowed to linger outside for long or to see and hear distant things. With prolonged practice, the time the Yuanshen spends outside may gradually be extended, and it may be allowed to see and hear more distant things before being recalled. This is done out of concern that the Yuanshen might suddenly rush outward and lose its original nature."

Zhang Sanfeng's Jindan Jieyao (Essentials of the Golden Elixir) says: "Once the infant (here referring to the Yuanshen formed through cultivation) has left the body, one must slowly nourish the Yuanshen and gradually practice leaving the shell. At first, it must return as soon as it leaves the body, and one must take care to watch over the lingzu (the spiritual vehicle, that is, the body that bears the Yuanshen). Begin with what is near and gradually extend to what is far, practicing the activity of the Yuanshen from shallow to deep. Within an instant, it can travel a thousand li. When this stage is reached, the Qi and implements of the alchemical chamber may all be set aside and left behind. Once the work has reached this point, what could still restrain it?"

The Chanting the Dao True Words says: before the yang spirit (yangshen, the pure-yang spirit body described in Daoist neidan, or internal alchemy, cultivation) leaves the physical body, light shines outward from the navel, and a fragrance rises between the nose and mouth. This is the sign that the spirit is about to be born from the body. After the birth, golden light radiates in all directions, and the pores of the whole body seem clear and luminous, like the sun just rising from the sea or a pearl just appearing from deep water, while fragrance fills the room. Then a thunderclap-like boom sounds, golden and fiery light flash in alternation, and the yang spirit rises to Niwan (the point at the center of the head, a term of internal alchemy).

What happens after the yang spirit leaves the body depends entirely on the practitioner's cultivation done in daily life. This is why I first speak of refining the mind. If one can keep the mind empty, still, and clear in ordinary times, the yang spirit will be formed from primordial numinous qi. It is originally free of thought and striving, is not stained by external circumstances, and is not moved by what it sees. Its gathering and releasing are under one's own control, and it comes and goes freely. Once the yang spirit enters Niwan, the body grows hot as if burning, golden light again shines from the pores, and the fragrance spreads once more. In a moment it returns to the Yellow Court (huangting, a site within the body where internal alchemy is practiced). It seems to exist and yet seems not to, and a person is entirely unaware of it. This is the true state.

The Chanting the Dao True Words says: after the yang spirit is born from the body, it returns to emptiness. Within purple qi and bright light, there seems to be something, yet it is not what is ordinarily called a thing. There seems to be a form, yet it is not an ordinary bodily form. Within what has no shape, images appear; within what has no sound or breath, there seems to be a voice.

The Chanting the Dao True Words says: once the true-nature yang spirit emerges from the crown of the head, it dwells at ease in the Great Void (taixu, the vast boundless emptiness). In a moment it can fly ten thousand li. It seems to exist and yet not exist, seems to have form and yet not form, and within what is formless it shows an image, and within silence it seems to have a sound.

The Chanting the Dao True Words says: once the true-nature yang spirit emerges from the crown of the head, it roams freely through the Great Void, and in a moment it can soar ten thousand li. Upward it can reach the sun and moon and tread on clouds and mist; downward it can wander among islands and view the mountains and rivers of every land. It can transform in countless ways, moving as the mind wills.

Xianfo Hezong Yulu (Recorded Sayings on the Union of Immortals and Buddhas) says: "Certain visions appear during spirit projection (chushen). When the practice of preservation and nourishment (cunyang) has become fully mature, one may sometimes see, while in meditative absorption (rudìng), something like six-pointed snowflakes drifting down through the air. This is the sign that spirit projection is about to occur. At this point, one should regulate and settle the mind-spirit so that it leaves the body through the Heavenly Gate (tianmen) at the crown of the head, and then recall it immediately. During projection, the Great Void (taixu), the vast and boundless emptiness, is the realm of transcendence. During recollection, the Upper Field (shangtian), the Upper Dantian in the head, is the place of preservation and nourishment. One should understand that the periods of projection and recollection should be brief, while the time spent in preservation and nourishment should be long. The spirit should not linger outside for long; it should be recalled as soon as it has taken a single step out. Later, one may return after going out a li, or after walking several more steps, and then gradually extend the distance to a hundred li and a thousand li. Each stage should follow in order, and no step should be skipped."

"The reason is that the practitioner's so-called 'infant' (ying'er), the nascent spiritual embryo, is still young. One worries that once the spirit-consciousness leaves the body, it may lose its way and be unable to return. One also fears encountering heavenly demons (tianmo), the external disturbing forces that appear in cultivation, which may test and disturb the mind-spirit. For these reasons, one must be cautious in both going out and coming back. Only in this way can the wholeness of the void be preserved as the spirit-consciousness moves, without losing the fundamental function of nursing and nourishment."

"If one is a seed of the immortals and Buddhas, and the initial practice of returning to emptiness (huanxu gongfu) has already been perfected, then the Spirit Terrace (linggtai), the inner heart or the place where the mind-spirit dwells, will be clear and still, untouched by a single speck of dust. Since it was originally empty of anything, where could dust come from? This is a state that surpasses ordinary practitioners. Therefore, the practitioner should make the initial practice of returning to emptiness the first priority."

Dongxuan Jing (Scripture of the Cavern of Mystery) says: "When going out, one roams the world; when returning, one dwells in Niwan (the region of the head where the Upper Dantian is located)."

Chapter Nine: Responding to the World and Establishing Merit

Patriarch Yunfang said: "Having merit (gong) without virtue (de) is like having feet but no eyes. Having virtue without merit is like having eyes but no feet. Only when both merit and virtue are complete are the feet and eyes both whole. Who says one can become an immortal without merit?"

Patriarch Lü said: "The road to Penglai, the legendary immortal realm, must be traveled by completing three thousand units of merit before one may ride the clouds home alone."

Shangyang Zi said: Once inner alchemy has been completed and embryonic breathing perfected, symbolizing the achievement of the infant, the practitioner who has become a Zhenren (True Person) should still establish themselves in the world, practice the Dao, and accumulate merit (gongde). Some remain among the people, engaging widely with the world and guiding and delivering others; Anqisheng and Lan Caihe are such examples. Others enter officialdom, assisting the government and handling affairs of state, as with Dongfang Shuo and Dou Lingjun. The Five Patriarchs and Seven Perfected received people with a compassionate heart; the Patriarchs Zhang, Ge, Xu, Fu, Qiu and others followed the currents of their age, rescued people from calamity, and awaited the imperial summons to ascend. If one still wishes to pursue a higher realm, transferring the embryo and exchanging the cauldron (a further transformation within Daoist inner alchemy) presents no particular difficulty.

Shangyang Zi also said: Once the cultivation of the Dao has succeeded, the vessels in the alchemical chamber may be discarded. If they are not relinquished, attachment to these objects remains in the mind and heart, and this may well bring danger and humiliation.

After Celestial Master (Tianshi) Zhang Daoling succeeded in refining the elixir, he said to his disciple Wang Chang: "Taking the immortal elixir would allow one to ascend to the heavens, but I have not yet accomplished great merit. How could I take it at once? I should first benefit the state and remove its harms, and only then take the elixir. In this way, even after ascending, I could serve the Three Realms (the realms of the heavenly deities and perfected immortals in Daoist cosmology) with a clear conscience."

The Venerable Master Sun (Sun Simiao) once asked the two elders of the Yi and Luo rivers: "I have cultivated my heart for fifty years, yet Heaven does not know of me. Why is this?" The two elders replied: "Without benefiting and relieving the myriad beings, how could one ascend to Heaven?" Sun Simiao then returned to Mount Qingcheng and compiled the thirty-volume Qianjin Fang (Thousand Gold Prescriptions), and afterward ascended in broad daylight.

The Xianchuan Shiyi says: "Though arts and methods may transform in myriad ways, appearing and disappearing at will, if one has not yet escaped the fated limit of death, one should abide in the profound realm and focus on refining the flowering of the elixir. Establish merit outwardly and nourish the hun and po inwardly. Only when outer and inner cultivation are unified and brought into accord can one join the Great Dao and endure long."

The Qiaoyang Jing says: "Accumulate conduct once more, until merit is complete, and then relieve the world and rescue those who are poor and suffering."

Volume Ten: Returning to the Ultimate Origin of Heaven's Source (Tianyuan Guiji)

Zhang Sanfeng's Essentials of the Golden Elixir (Jindan Jieyao) says: "When the work and conduct are complete and reach three thousand merits, the Yang Spirit (yangshen) can transform and become spiritually responsive. It can roam freely through the eight directions and the worlds without obstruction. One should still continue to accumulate virtue (De) and good deeds, awaiting the descent of the celestial decree. Then one can ascend in broad daylight and take a place among the highest rank of Celestial Immortals (tianxian), as vast as Heaven and Earth and as bright as the sun and moon."

The Awakening to Reality (Wu Zhen) says: "When one's Virtue is cultivated beyond eight hundred and one's hidden merit reaches three thousand, one can regard all things as equal to oneself and treat relatives and enemies alike. Only then does one fulfill the original intent of immortal cultivation."

The Song of Cinnabar Realization from the Stone Casket Record (Shihan Ji Dansha Zhengdao Ge) says: "Dwell in seclusion among people and quietly accumulate virtue and good deeds. If one's heart is fixed on worldly splendor, it will be difficult to gain an audience with Jade Clarity (Yuqing), the heavenly realm where the revered deities of Daoism dwell. Treat the sick, and give to the poor. Teach the Dan scriptures to those who study, and explain the essentials of practice for them. When merit is complete, the heavens will send down a decree summoning one to the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji), the place where the celestial deities of Daoist teaching reside."

The Perfect Scripture of the Cavern of Mystery (Dongxuan Zhenjing) says: "Gather in your radiance and conceal your traces, merging into the mundane world and living among the common people. Travel through the Three Realms (the heavens, the earth, and humanity, each a different level of the world), holding awakened awareness in your heart and enlightening others. Drive out evil, support the righteous Way, and manifest many expedient means to teach the ignorant. Offer medicine to heal suffering and scatter wealth to relieve the orphaned and impoverished. At times, redress wrongs on behalf of others; at other times, relieve their worries and resolve their disputes. Discipline those whose conduct is disloyal or unfilial, and persuade those who are unrighteous and unkind. Proclaim the Great Dao (Dadao) everywhere, teach according to each person's circumstances, and point out the way to those who have lost their direction. Broadly bestow the milk of the Dharma (a metaphor for nourishing the human heart and transmitting the Way), and guide those who come seeking the Dao, to repay the kindness of one's master and the nurturing of one's parents."

Volume Ten: Returning to the Ultimate Origin of Heaven's Source (Tianyuan Guiji)

Shangyangzi says: "Once the previous stage of practice is fully completed and one has become a Perfected (zhenren), one turns to practice at the Upper Dantian (Upper Dantian, the cultivation site in the head). Here one reorders body and mind, harmonizes Yin and Yang, and continues to generate and transform, so that life renews itself without end and change becomes boundless. 〈Four Hundred Words on the Golden Elixir…〉"

Master Shangyang said: "Once the earlier embryonic transformation (taihua) is complete and one has become a realized person (zhenren), one moves to the Upper Dantian (shangdantian), the energy center above the head. There one reorders body, mind, and the cosmos and generates yin and yang anew. The child gives birth to a grandchild, and the transformations multiply into thousands and myriads. The Four Hundred Characters on the Golden Elixir says: 'Each year one child is born, and every child rides a crane.' Patriarch Niwan said: 'Each year the embryo gives birth to a child, the child bears a grandchild, and the grandchildren branch out and multiply. Only then is one truly a great man.' Patriarch Danyang said: 'When the spirit fills the Great Void, nothing can obstruct it. Heaven sometimes collapses, the earth sometimes sinks, the mountains sometimes crumble, and the seas sometimes dry up. Whatever has form will eventually decay; only one who has attained the Dao endures through countless kalpas without perishing. The merit of cultivating the Dao also reaches the nine ancestors, so that they may together ascend in broad daylight to Shangqing (Highest Clarity), the pure immortal realm of Daoist belief.'"

The Chuiyang Jing says: "Cultivate again until your merit and practice are complete, and then you can aid the world and relieve its poverty. Refine and nourish the great divine elixir through the intention of the spirit, until body and spirit both reach a state of subtle, unobstructed perfection. Then you may ascend in broad daylight, lifting your whole household along with its dwelling into immortality, though the depth of this depends on the depth of one's merit. Without taking the divine elixir, one relying only on the rising of the yang spirit will, on looking back at the former physical body, find nothing more than a heap of dung and dirt. But if one can cultivate and consume the great elixir, a small portion placed on the tongue will cause feathers and wings to grow in broad daylight, and one will fly away, bringing peace to the entire cosmos."

Master Longmei said: "After nine years of facing the wall, the mind becomes clear and luminous, and the sea of awakening is full and radiant. Body and spirit reach a subtle perfection and merge with the Dao as one. At that point nature and life become one body and dwell together with the Great Void. The accumulated achievements also bring peace to all under heaven."

Master Longmei further said: "After nine years of facing the wall, the mind becomes clear and luminous, and the sea of awakening is full and radiant. Body and spirit reach a subtle perfection and merge with the Dao as one. At that point nature and life become one body and dwell together with the Great Void. After accumulating three thousand measures of merit and eight hundred acts of virtue, one walks freely among people, lives in hidden seclusion, and waits for the right moment. When the heavenly court issues a summons, one flies straight to the Golden Gate (the Heavenly Emperor's palace) and returns to the Celestial Homeland. How could worldly wealth and honor compare? This is the moment when a great man completes his achievement and fame."

The Cantong Qi (Kinship of the Three) says: "Once the Dao is attained and virtue (de) perfected, one withdraws for a time and waits for the right moment. Then Taiyi (a supreme Daoist deity) summons him, and he moves to Zhongzhou (the Central Continent). When the work is complete, he ascends to heaven and receives the talismans and registers (fulu) and the diagrams and books of the heavenly realm."

The Changdao Zhenyan (True Words on Chanting the Dao) says: One roams among famous mountains beyond the four quarters of heaven and earth, surveying scenery and atmospheric wonders that surpass the eight directions. One plays the qin in the Qilin Yaopu (jade forests and jeweled gardens of the immortals) and plants medicinal herbs in the Qiongguan Zhitian (the jade halls and lingzhi fields of the immortal realms). One shares in the governance of heaven and earth's transformations, assists the Heavenly Emperor within the Zhenkong Miaoyou (True Emptiness and Wondrous Existence, a realm that is both empty and tranquil yet contains marvelous function), and holds the pivot of affairs in the palace of Taiwu Taiji (the Daoist conception of the primordial origin and the realm of cosmic generation). Each attends to its duties without weariness, and each acts in its own sphere yet all remains orderly and undisturbed. Heaven and earth are vast, yet they seem to lie within one's palm, close before one's eyes. What could bring greater joy than this?

The Changdao Zhenyan says: The mystery of the Dao follows naturalness, and the realm of truth is free and unhindered, with no clinging or attachment at any time.

The Changdao Zhenyan says: When one refines a single primal spirit (yuanshen, the true spirit of a person), it shines like moonlight reflected on water. Heaven and earth are all contained within it and may be seen as a single mass of purple-golden radiance, rising above to reach the Sanqing (Three Pure Ones, the highest heavens revered in Daoism) and descending below to connect with the Liudao (Six Paths, the six destinies in which beings transmigrate). At this time one will see Yuanshi Tianzun (the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, a supreme deity of Daoism) and Pilu Zhena Gufo (Vairocana, the Dharmakaya Buddha of Buddhism), who come gladly to meet. One clasps their hands, recounts the friendship of long separation, and sighs that the meeting has come so late.

Zhang Sanfeng, in the Jindan Jieyao (Essentials of the Golden Elixir), says: "To attain the realm of the Heavenly Immortal (tianxian), one should cultivate by facing a wall (mianbi). One may choose famous mountains and blessed grottoes, or ancient sites and spirit altars, and find a place where streams wind around the peaks and where qi gathers and wind is held. There, build a quiet chamber near the clouds, with the house sheltered at the back and open to the sun. Behind it, the mountain should rise high like a precious mirror suspended in the air, and in front, the peaks should stand like divine blades thrust upright. If such a fine site exists, free of calamities such as mountain floods and collapses, one may construct a dwelling and an altar here and begin retreat cultivation."

At the start of facing-the-wall cultivation, one must sit upright and remain still, quiet the mind and nourish the spirit, and, following the essential instructions, humbly hold to the One (shouyi). It is like a dragon guarding the pearl beneath its jaw, or a bird guarding the egg in its nest. When form and spirit both reach a wondrous state and merge with the Great Dao (dadao), one does not sink in water or burn in fire, and when one walks, one's shadow seems to surpass the sun and moon, becoming formless and without shadow." Here, "facing the wall" (mianbi) and "holding to the One" (shouyi) refer to methods of seated cultivation that concentrate the mind and persistently maintain single-mindedness.

The Immortal Master Cao Wenyi says: "When nine years of cultivation are complete, the fire timing (huohou), meaning the grasp of the work's progress during practice, is sufficient. When one is confronted with external things and the mind is free of attachment, spiritual transformations come swiftly."

In his Poems of the Joyful Nest (Anle Wo Shi), Shao Yong says: "Only after reaping the fruits of that serene and secure state do I truly believe that there are also great men (dazhangfu) in the human world."

In the Preface to the Wuzhen Pian (Comprehending Reality), Zhang Ziyang says: "Once one reaches this step, one's name is entered in the registers of the immortals and one's title is called True Person (zhenren). This is the moment when the great man achieves success and fame."

The Record of Sayings from the Xian-Fo Heyi (Unity of Immortals and Buddhas) says: "When the spirit no longer clings to being a spirit, it returns to Wuji (the boundless, ineffable origin), realizes emptiness, and thereby simply preserves its nature. The mind dissolves along with it, and the methods are also forgotten. One reaches a state where there is nothing that can be called stillness and nothing that can be called observation. A Buddhist scripture says: 'To realize the substance of emptiness, one must manifest dharmas that correspond to emptiness. When one truly realizes emptiness, there is neither what is nor what is not.'"

The Changdao Zhenyan (True Words for Proclaiming the Way) says: "At this time, form and spirit both reach a wondrous state, and purple light and mysterious qi (the subtle primordial qi in Daoist usage) fill the body, yet there is no object for it to illuminate. A Buddhist scripture says: 'To realize the substance of emptiness, one must manifest dharmas that correspond to emptiness. When one truly realizes emptiness, there is neither what is nor what is not.'"

The Changdao Zhenyan (True Words on Chanting the Dao) says: At this stage, both body and spirit reach a state of profound mystery, and purple light and mysterious qi (vital energy) fill the space between heaven and earth. When it shines, it becomes the sun and moon; when it moves swiftly, it becomes thunder; when it stirs, it becomes wind; when it nourishes, it becomes rain. It hears cries for help and goes to their aid, and because all beings respond to it, there is nothing it cannot reach. It holds the pivot by which heaven and earth transform and give birth to the myriad things, and it becomes the parent of all living beings.

The Dongxuan Zhenjing (Perfected Scripture of the Dongxuan Cavern) says: When cultivation reaches this state, one passes through metal and stone without obstruction, and enters water or fire without being drowned or burned. When hidden, one walks past green mountains without form or shadow; when manifest, one fills the Dharma realm (the realm in which all things exist) and transforms into countless bodies. When dispersed, one becomes qi; when gathered, one takes on physical form. Body and spirit both attain mystery, and one becomes truly one with the Dao (the Way). Between heaven and earth, such a person is a perfected one.

Once merit is complete and cultivation finished, a jade edict (the decree of the Heavenly Sovereign) arrives to receive the practitioner. Riding a luan bird and mounting a crane, the cultivator travels to the heavenly court to pay homage. The nine mysterious ancestors and seven generations of forebears (a collective term for one's ancestors) are all thereby freed from birth and death. Only then is one truly called an immortal, and only then has great achievement been accomplished. Though kalpas may shift and change, I alone endure.

True light fills the Dharma realm, and one roams freely at will. It is vast yet able to give birth to all things, and its mystery cannot be fathomed. It manifests a great sacred form, emits boundless light, transforms into hundreds of thousands of millions of bodies, and fills the empty worlds of space.