《还源篇》

Preface to Returning to the Source

The preface to Returning to the Source says that Tai Jia admired the true Daoist methods. He visited famous mountains and sacred sites in search of the correct teachings, resolved to make the saving of the world his own responsibility, and devoted himself to cultivating the "Three" (the essential principle of practice in Neidan (internal alchemy)), with particular emphasis on nourishing life. He held that learning to become an immortal is in fact easy, and what is hard is keeping the human mind unified. Detaching from worldly dust is not difficult, but people so often fail to do it that it is truly regrettable. The ancients said: "Floating clouds block the moon of wisdom; the wind of karma stirs the sea of meditative absorption." Formerly, at a post station, Tai Jia met his late teacher Zizhang Zhenren (Zhang Boduan, the Neidan master), who gave him only a few brief pointers in plain language. He soon had verification and knew that the immortal Dao could be learned and cultivated, and so his heart rejoiced. Later, after passing through the joining of the Golden Liquid (Jinye) and the completion of the Holy Embryo (the Neidan process of refining the elixir and bringing the internal alchemical fruit to maturity), he wrote Returning to the Source in eighty-one chapters, each a five-character quatrain, and passed it on to later students in the hope that they would soon awaken to the true path of cultivation. He urged readers not to wait until old age and frailty, when essence and qi are depleted, before awakening. They should promptly seek a teacher, inquire after the Dao, and cultivate the Golden Elixir, so that together they may attain the ranks of the immortals and transform and ascend. This is his wish. Preface by Shi Tai of Xinglin.

Chapter One

Lead and mercury are refined into a true body, and the union of Yin and Yang forms the Supreme Primordial. Only by practicing in accordance with the rule of "two and eight" can one refine the Golden Elixir.

Chapter Two

Mercury is the essence of the Azure Dragon, and lead is the fat and marrow of the White Tiger. Gather them into the cauldron, and in gathering them, the most important thing is to grasp the right moment.

Chapter Three

The Maiden Cha (an image in Neidan representing the Yin essence) rides the lead tiger, and the Golden Old Man (an image representing the Yang essence) straddles the mercury dragon. Following the principles signified by the Jia and Geng signs (symbols in Neidan that mark the seasons, directions, or the timing of the fire), a single furnace of elixir is refined.

Chapter Four

Subdue the dragon's marrow with the soul of the serpent, and bind the tiger's essence with the spirit of the turtle. Within the divine water of the Huachi (in Neidan, the place in the mouth or body where saliva gathers), a jade-like essence is born.

Chapter Five

White snow falls on the jade garden, and yellow sprouts grow in the jade grove. Once one reaches the state resembling a crescent moon, one can refine the Red Lead.

Chapter Six

The medicinal materials emerge from chaos, and the fire regulates the refining of primordial vastness. After ten months of nourishing and refining, the Embryonic Immortal (a Neidan image for the mature internal elixir) is formed, and only then does one understand the work of the Nine Revolutions (the method of repeatedly refining the elixir through successive turns).

Chapter Seven

The Huanyuan Pian (Returning to the Source) describes the moment when the dragon guards the pearl and the hen broods her egg. At that point, when lead and mercury unite, one may take a small dose of the elixir.

Chapter Eight

When bathing, one relies on the water of the Kun position, and when blowing the bellows, one relies on the wind of the Xun position. The infant-like primordial spirit (yuanshen) does nothing and dwells alone in the Taiwei Palace (a symbol of the pure and quiet dwelling within the body).

Chapter Nine

Seek the Li woman within the Purple Mansion (Zifu, the celestial palace of the Daoist immortals) and pair her with the Kan man in the Vermilion Hill (Zhuling). The Yellow Matron (Huangpo, a symbol of the force that harmonizes lead and mercury and matches yin with yang) brings them together, and the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji) naturally embraces all three.

Chapter Ten

The Qian horse drives through the golden gate, and the Kun ox enters the wooden office. Who gave the young mercury maiden (chanü, an alchemical image for mercury) in marriage to the golden old man (an image for lead)?

Chapter Eleven

The maiden is at the number sixteen, and the golden sinew is at the number nine-three. A auspicious vapor arises in the bridal chamber, yin and yang unite in joy, and the first infant is born, signifying that the work of the elixir has first taken shape.

Chapter Twelve

Last night, on the western bank of the river, the moonlight lit up the blue sea. The essence gathered there was carried back to the jade chamber, where it was naturally refined in the cauldron.

Chapter Thirteen

The union of Li and Kan is not a sexual union between man and woman, and Qian and Kun give birth to all things naturally. If a person can understand this principle, a single spark of numinous awareness will settle into the Yellow Court (huangting, the central palace within the body).

Chapter Fourteen

Divine water is produced in the Valley of the Elixir, and within the Yellow Court lies the Great Granary (taicang, a symbol of the place where essential qi is stored). From then on there is no more hunger or thirst, and the way leads straight to the immortal homeland.

Chapter Fifteen

The restless horse returns to the spirit chamber, and the mind-monkey keeps to the bridal chamber. Spirit, soul, corporeal soul, and intention gather and transform, and they become the purple-gold frost of the elixir.

Chapter Sixteen

There is one aperture, and it connects three passes; the three passes are the essential routes of qi's circulation. When it suddenly turns with a light motion, the divine water flows of its own accord throughout the body.

Chapter Seventeen

Subduing the corporeal soul (po) does not mean forcing it down by willful intention, and restraining the ethereal soul (hun) does not mean controlling it by deliberate thought. As long as spirit and qi are preserved, within a moment the mysterious pearl (a symbol of the condensation of the inner elixir) will form.

Chapter Eighteen

The oral formulas are not numerous, and cultivating the inner elixir may be accomplished in a single moment. Nurture it continually with gentle fire, and after ten months an infant will be born, signifying that the embryo of the elixir has matured.

Chapter Nineteen

After yin and yang first unite in joy, the affection between them deepens with the passing days. In the bridal chamber, auspicious vapors arise without end, as if every day were spent in the spring breeze.

Chapter Twenty

In a sudden rain, paper butterflies appear; in the golden furnace, jade peonies bloom. At the third watch of the night the red sun shines high, and in the sixth month white frost forms. These strange scenes draw on the interlacing of cold and heat and of light and dark to depict the changes of yin and yang during the work of refinement.

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

"Sea Bottom" (Haidi) gives rise to a rising fire of pure yang, and at "Mountain Brow" (Shan'e) spring water from within the earth surges. In a moment, the union of water and fire is complete, and at the center the dan ding (the symbolic alchemical cauldron) sends up a clear smoke.

Chapter Twenty-One

Chiseling open the Xuanyuan Orifice (the aperture leading to the mysterious origin) and breaking through the Gate of Chaos, one need only understand how to harmonize water and fire, and then the Dragon and Tiger (representing the two breaths of yin and yang) may be left to coil and circulate within.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chiseling open the Xuanyuan Orifice and breaking through the Gate of Chaos, one need only understand how to harmonize water and fire, and then the Dragon and Tiger may be left to coil and circulate within.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Water in the Suojie sea holds fire, and Mount Kunlun has waves. Who understands how to use them? The key lies in the Yellow Matron (Huangpo), the intermediary who harmonizes yin and yang and connects water with fire.

Chapter Twenty-Four

The medicinal substances must be gathered from the Prior Heaven qi, and the fire-timing sought in the Taiyi essence (the refined and pure timing of the fire). One who understands how to gather the medicine and apply the fire will see the elixir complete while in quiescent stillness.

Chapter Twenty-Five

How should the primordial qi be refined? The true essence need not be transferred. The true essence and the primordial qi are precisely the foundation for forging the Great Elixir.

Chapter Twenty-Six

The Confucians clarify the principles of nature, and the Buddhists cultivate emptiness and stillness. Without understanding the arts of the immortals, one does not know that the Golden Elixir (Jindan) can be completed in an instant.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The mercury within the Yanyue furnace (the "Crescent Moon" furnace), the lead within the cinnabar cauldron, and the True Unity qi (Zhenyi qi) produced by the union of Tortoise and Serpent all originate in Prior Heaven.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

On the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month, observe the changes of the crescent and the dark moon, and adjust the increase and decrease according to the waxing and waning of the moon. Without understanding the true principle of transformation, how could one recognize what is genuine lead?

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Qi is the root that sustains life within the body, and the heart is the spirit-illumination of one's nature. One who understands the gateway where spirit and qi meet is a person who has attained the Dao.

Chapter Thirty

Using marrow of wood to cook the substances in the golden cauldron, one lets spring water flow into the jade furnace. Who can patiently sustain this practice for three hundred days?

Chapter Thirty-One

Cook the lead liquid in the jade cauldron and nourish the mercury essence in the golden furnace. After nine reversions and nine transformations, nourish it again according to the rhythm of the cosmic circuit (zhoutian).

Chapter Thirty-Two

[The source text for this chapter is empty.]

Jade fluid (yuye, the inner saliva produced by internal alchemy that nourishes Jing and Shen) nourishes the spirit chamber (shishi, the inner place where the primal Shen is settled in Golden Elixir practice), and the golden embryo (jintai, the embryonic body condensed by Neidan) takes form at the pivot of Qi's movement. Seek the medicinal substances within yourself alone; there is no need to leaf through the alchemical manuals.

Chapter Thirty-Three

The fire jujube (huozao, a symbol of the essence obtained through internal practice) already contains the primordial kernel of the Yuanshi (Primordial Beginning), and the crystal pear (jiaoli, likewise a symbol of the essence obtained through internal practice) has no dregs to speak of. Work the practice all day according to the fire timing (huohou, the regulation of Qi's circulation in internal alchemy), and then irrigate the golden flower (jinhua, the essence manifesting from the inner elixir) with divine water (shenshui, the saliva produced by internal alchemy).

Chapter Thirty-Four

If you only exert force in refining Qi, then concentrating the Shen may also be wasted effort. Those who do not know the secret of the elixir formulas understand that it lies in dwelling in the true emptiness (zhenkong, the inner state of purity and non-action) all day long.

Chapter Thirty-Five

If you wish to refine the prior-heaven Qi (xiantian qi, the original primal Qi), you must first refine the living mercury (huo shuiyin, an inner alchemical term for the essential Qi that must be refined). Once the sacred embryo (shengtai, the embryo condensed in Golden Elixir practice) has formed, the sign of "thunder rumbling through the crown" will appear.

Chapter Thirty-Six

The production of Qi does not concern the kidneys alone, and the dwelling of Shen is not confined to the heart. Qi and Shen are both elusive, and in the end they transform into a single Golden Elixir.

Chapter Thirty-Seven

There is a cavity called the Mysterious Female Gate (xuanpin, the profound portal described in Daoist teaching as giving birth to all things and connecting Yin and Yang), within which Qi and Shen are contained. Who knows this cavity? Do not go outside the body again to seek the true Dao.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

The spleen and stomach are not the spirit chamber, and the bladder is merely an appendage of the kidneys. I urge you not to cling to the notion of bodily organs, for none of them is a ladder to the Golden Elixir Dao.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Of inner-landscape poems (neijing, the imagery of inner cultivation) there are a thousand, and of Zhonghuang wine (zhonghuang jiu, referring to the central region of the body or related states in Neidan practice) there is one flask. Roaming freely, untroubled by external things: within the body and mind of a person lies a vast world of its own.

Chapter Forty

The Crow and the Hare (wutu, symbols of the sun and moon, often also of Yin and Yang) refine each other, and the Turtle and Serpent (guishe, sacred creatures symbolizing the union of Yin and Yang) coil about of their own accord. In the end they become a single pill, which is then nourished until it becomes the immortal embryo (taixian, the immortal embryo formed through Neidan cultivation).

Chapter Forty-One

All things are born and in the end must die, while the primal Shen (yuanshen, the fundamental spirit of a person) passes through death and is reborn. Gather the Shen back into the qi cavity (qixue, the place where Qi and Shen are concentrated in internal alchemy), and the Dao of the elixir will naturally be accomplished.

Chapter Forty-Two

When Shen and Qi return to their root, body and mind revert to their original life-destiny (benming). Such true cavities are, I suppose, known to very few.

The body holds the "Mysterious Female" (Xuanpin), a symbol of the source that gives birth to life and transforms all things, and the heart is free of defilement and distracting thoughts. No one knows who can truly recognize it. Within that small orifice lies the real Dao (the Way).

Chapter 44

Li and Kan (fire and water in the Bagua, or Eight Trigrams) are the true Dragon and Tiger, and Qian and Kun (heaven and earth in the Bagua) are the proper Horse and Ox. These fundamental conditions are possessed by everyone. Only because people do not know how to cultivate them can they not bring them into function.

Chapter 45

The hun and po souls govern the mind-spirit, and the Shen (spirit) is unified by intention. In practice one should accord with what is natural, applying the fire-timing (huohou) in sequence and quietly advancing the chu yao, the initial line of a hexagram, which here stands for the starting stage of the process.

Chapter 46

The crucial point lies below the heart and above the kidneys, and it is compared to the positions of the liver, lungs, and other organs. It does not refer to the concrete intestines, stomach, or lungs, but says that a current of primordial qi (yuanqi) circulates through the body on its own.

Chapter 47

This marvelous function does not depend on deliberate intention, and the true essential mechanism cannot be grasped merely by operating it constantly. Who can recognize this gateway? Yet one must not misread wuwei (non-action) as doing nothing and letting everything simply take its course.

Chapter 48

It has a real foundation and is not empty. Cultivation must both accord with wuwei and involve purposeful action. Grasping the authority over transformation is like holding it in one's own hands, and then the Crow and the Hare (symbols of the sun and moon) can condense the "golden fat" (jinzhi), the essence of Neidan (internal alchemy).

Chapter 49

The tiger roars atop the four mountains, and the dragon sings north of the Eastern Sea. To gather the dragon and tiger, one must go through a process of union and refinement, and then place them in the Gen and Kun palaces, trigram positions that also symbolize positions within the practice.

Chapter 50

Fu and Gou symbolize the waxing and waning of Yin-Yang and the alternation of darkness and light. Tun and Meng symbolize the progress of practice from obscurity to clarity. As the white snow in the cauldron gradually gathers, one no longer searches everywhere for the restless "monkey mind" (yuanxin), a metaphor for unruly thoughts that are hard to control.

Chapter 51

Black mercury, ox-bezoar leaf, red lead, and purple flower are all terms used in Neidan to symbolize medicinal substances and the changes of Yin-Yang. One must still regulate them according to the fire-timing, so that cinnabar (danshā), a symbol of the inner elixir, can form in the cauldron.

Chapter 52

When working with wood-liquid (muye), one must guard against the Rabbit, and when working with metal-essence (jinjing), one must avoid the Rooster even more. These expressions borrow the zodiac animals to mark the right moments for practice. During drawing and adding (choutian), which adjusts Yin-Yang and advances or retreats the fire-timing, one should bathe, that is, let the fire briefly rest and harmonize. This is precisely the time of the full moon.

Chapter 53

The sounds of myriad things are like a breeze just beginning to rise, and the moonlight over a thousand mountains is full and round. At this moment one must promptly apply the correct method, and then one can run the zhoutian (cosmic circulation), the practice of moving inner qi through the whole body.

Chapter 54

Medicinal materials come in old and young grades, and one must understand how to advance and retreat the fire-timing. Once the light of the elixir (danguang) rises, it is like the cold moon shining on jade eaves.

Chapter 55

Pearls have been cut from the mussel's shell, and eggs are easily found in a hen's nest. Yet what cultivation produces comes forth from non-being. The tangible result therefore appears, and Shen and Qi (vital energy) also blend together.

Chapter 56

Chapter 56

In inner alchemy (neidan), Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy) are not in a mother-and-child relationship, and body and mind are not in a husband-and-wife relationship. The key lies in accordance with the regular operation of the Dao of Heaven. As for where the inner elixir forms and how it works, how many people truly understand?

Chapter 57

The elixir seed is as easy to find as an egg in a hen's nest. It arises from within emptiness, formed by the mutual fusion of Shen and Qi.

Chapter 56 (repeated heading in the source)

In inner alchemy, Shen and Qi are not in a mother-and-child relationship, and body and mind are not in a husband-and-wife relationship. The key lies in accordance with the regular operation of the Dao of Heaven. As for where the inner elixir forms and how it works, how many people truly understand?

Chapter 57 (repeated heading in the source)

Where the inner elixir first begins to congeal is precisely where the medicinals gather. The Dragon and the Tiger (inner alchemy terms, often used as metaphors for the two opposing forces of Yin and Yang) wage war against each other, while the Eastern Lord (a term for the sun, here referring to yang qi or yang spirit) remains entirely unaware.

Chapter 58

Minor side-door methods, strange techniques, and irrelevant discourses are none of them the proper Way. The essentials of the Golden Liquid and Returning Elixir (jinye huandan, the inner alchemy term for refining and condensing jing and qi into the elixir) ultimately rest on a single correct method.

Chapter 59

Whether one is noble or humble, high or low, husband and wife or brothers, the path of cultivating immortality makes no distinction on account of such identities. So long as one has the heart to cultivate, anyone may study the alchemical scriptures.

Chapter 60

When the body is depleted, it is not difficult to restore it; when Jing (essence) and Qi are exhausted, it is not difficult to regenerate them. So long as one understands the method of returning to the root and restoring one's destiny (guigen fuming), the inner treasures will steadily accumulate.

Chapter 61

The Hun and Po (the ethereal and corporeal souls) form three kinds of disposition, and Shen meets the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). Within this, the Four Images (sixiang, the four states produced by the transformations of Yin and Yang) further divide. Gathering them together, one can condense the embryonic essence.

Chapter 62

Concentrate the mind and seek lead and mercury (inner alchemy terms often used as metaphors for the Yin and Yang essences in cultivation). Let go of distracting thoughts and seek earth and metal (inner alchemy terms that also refer to key medicinals or forces in cultivation). Only then will one grasp the true secret, but who can recognize its deep and subtle depths?

Chapter 63

Creation seems to have no root, yet Yin and Yang have their origin. These truly subtle principles are not passed down even between father and son.

Chapter 64

Keep the mercury in the golden cauldron (the vessel used in alchemy, here the cauldron of inner cultivation) and send the lead into the jade pool (a bodily site or cultivation locus in inner alchemy). Host and guest have no fixed left or right; what matters is recognizing the infant (an inner alchemy term for the essence condensed through cultivation).

Chapter 65

The Yellow Matron (an inner alchemy term, often denoting the force that harmonizes Yin and Yang) has full, abundant breasts, and Old Ding (a personified title in inner alchemy) has a gentle and kindly heart. In nourishing the inner elixir there is no other secret; it must be cultivated within emptiness.

Chapter 66

The Crimson Gate (jiangque, a cultivation site in the body) has blue phoenixes soaring within it, and the Dantian (the region of the lower abdomen where inner alchemy is practiced) nurtures the Jade Toad (an inner alchemy term often symbolizing Yin essence). Within the vessel, there seems to be a world that never falls into night, and snow-white essence drifts softly down.

Chapter 67

[The source text for Chapter 67 is empty, so there is nothing to translate.]

The harmony of the zither and the se having been achieved, the jiqiu (a metaphor for carrying on the work of one's predecessors) is also complete. At this point there is no need to apply huohou (the regulation of fire strength and timing in the alchemical process), for doing so may harm the Infant (yinger), the inner alchemy term for the newly formed elixir intention.

Sixth Eight Chapter

The eldest son has just entered the Dui position (the Dui trigram's place in the Bagua), while the youngest daughter has returned to the Qian position (the Qian trigram's place in the Bagua). The Xun palace (the Xun trigram's place in the Bagua) unites with the Earth position, and the body's passages close of their own accord, as in the natural circulation of the Dao.

Chapter Sixty-Nine

During the waxing and waning of the moon, in the period before and after the half moon, the drawing off or adding of ingredients (an alchemical term for adjusting yin and yang and the fire timing in cultivation) must follow xingde (the principle of the waxing and waning of yin and yang). Muyu (an inner alchemy term for suspending or slowing the fire) is to be grasped according to the cycle of fullness and emptiness.

Chapter Seventy

Old Mercury (laogong, an inner alchemy term symbolizing the yin side) has three catties of whiteness, and True Lead (zhenqian, an inner alchemy term symbolizing the yang side) has a single spot of red. The practitioner seizes the essence of heaven and earth from these and, in a moment, joins the two.

Chapter Seventy-One

The most profound and mysterious point in the fire timing: who, from antiquity to the present, has been willing to transmit it? If one has not yet understood how to gather the medicinals (the refining of medicinal substances or vital breath), do not first ask about the zhoutian (the process of one full circulation of qi during cultivation).

Chapter Seventy-Two [sic]

Clouds have dispersed, and the crabapple blossoms gleam in the moonlight. Spring is at its height, and a gentle breeze stirs among the willows. Who can understand the meaning within this? Lift your head and ask the empty sky.

Chapter Seventy-Three

Worldly affairs can no longer entangle you, and in heaven a stairway to the immortal realm has appeared. Having understood how to ride the clouds away, white cranes will come to accompany you.

Chapter Seventy-Four

The heart's field holds no weeds or filth, and the xingdi (the place where one's original nature resides) no longer gathers dust. In the deep quiet of night, when the moon is bright, a single spring birdsong suddenly rings out.

Chapter Seventy-Five

Cook the six trigrams in White Gold (a symbolic expression from alchemy), and let Black Tin pass through the Three Passes (the gateways through which qi moves during cultivation). At midnight, the Golden Crow (symbolizing the sun or the yang principle) enters Guanghan (symbolizing the moon palace or the yin principle), signifying the union of yin and yang.

Chapter Seventy-Six

Once the Golden Elixir (jin dan) has matured, the Dragon and Tiger (inner alchemy symbols for the forces of yin and yang) are no longer needed, and when the fire timing ends, Mercury and Lead are no longer used. After the casting off of the old form, one has already become transformed into spirit, and further becomes an immortal of Yuqing (a immortal dwelling in the Yuqing realm, as described in Daoism).

Chapter Seventy-Seven

Block the road to Huangquan (a symbol of death) and force open the passage on the eastern side of Zifu (in Daoist inner alchemy, usually the head or upper Dantian). How did Haichanzi (the Daoist figure Liu Haichan) transform into a white crane and fly out from Niwan (in Daoist inner alchemy, usually the upper Dantian in the head)?

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Where do the rivers and seas ultimately return? To whom do the mountain crags belong? Only after the Golden Elixir has matured does one understand that it has always been a treasure within one's own house.

Chapter Seventy-Nine

Lü Zu (Lü Dongbin) passed the oral formula to Zhongli Quan, and Immortal Ge (Ge Hong) transmitted the method of opening the passes. Force open the passage on the eastern side of Zifu: how did Haichanzi transform into a white crane and fly out from Niwan?

Chapter Seventy-Eight

Where do the rivers, lakes, and seas ultimately flow? And to whom do the mountain crags belong? Only after the Golden Elixir (jīndān) cultivation has matured does one understand that it has always been a treasure within oneself.

Chapter 79

Lü Dongbin passed down the oral formulas, and Ge Xianweng transmitted them with devotion. Speak and speak again, and there are no superfluous words. In the end, everything comes down to mercury and lead, the essential medicinals of alchemy and the union of yin and yang.

Chapter 80

Mercury and lead are brought into the same alchemical cauldron, so that the sun and the moon unite within a single furnace. When applying fire in the refining of the elixir, one must proceed with care and avoid its taboos, so that the elixir can be refined to the smooth consistency of jade paste.

Chapter 81

Through the stages of gathering medicinals, conjunction and congealing, applying fire in refinement, and bathing and nourishing, one reaches the point of "shedding the womb" (tuōtāi), and only then is the Nine-Nine yang number complete. Here, "shedding the womb" refers to the stage of transformation attained in cultivation, and "Nine-Nine" symbolizes the perfection of yang energy through practice.

Postscript to the Huanyuan Pian (Returning to the Source)

Those who cultivate the Golden Elixir (Jindan) must understand that the "winter solstice" of practice does not fall at the Hour of Rat (zishi), and that "bathing" (muyu) does not refer to washing at the hours of Mao or You. The two substances, mercury and lead, are not nasal mucus, saliva, semen, bodily fluids, qi, blood, or any other secretion of the body.

"Seven returns" means returning to the root, and "nine reversions" means returning to the source. When metal essence (jinjing) and wood fluid (muye) meet earth, they can unite. The so-called dragon and tiger, horse and ox, are only symbols and have no fixed form. The former master's Wuzhen Pian (Awakening to Reality) states that "the key to the Golden Elixir lies in the Divine Water and Flowery Pool" (shenshui huachi), referring to lead and mercury. One who knows where lead comes from will also know where mercury arises, and one who recognizes lead and mercury will understand the Divine Water and Flowery Pool. Only with this understanding may one refine the Golden Elixir.

The work of refining the elixir can be completed in a very short time. One need not cling to fixed periods of nine years or three years, nor be bound to arranging its application by the year, month, day, and hour. Zhongli (Zhongli Quan) said, "The four great elements of the body are all yin." Therefore, one should not search only in various parts of the body, but must seek the single point of yang essence (yangjing) within it. This point of yang essence, however, is hidden in one orifice, which ordinary people cannot detect. This orifice is the "Gate of the Mysterious Female" (xuanpin zhi men), the gate of generation in Daoist terms, which is what is called the Divine Water and Flowery Pool.

Once this is understood, one can gather the medicinal substances, then cause them to unite, and proceed to refine them. Afterward one must pass through bathing, separation of the embryo, and continued nourishing until the elixir is complete. Should one not, then, distinguish the source of the substances, master their proportions, and recognize the right timing?

Since I, Shi Tai (styled Xinglin), received the transmission from my teacher, I have known that the human body contains the principle of non-death and that the Golden Elixir can certainly be completed. Now that I have begun cultivating this great matter, I have recorded these words to leave for those who seek immortality and study the Way in later generations. Shi Tai of Xinglin also wrote this preface.