《还源篇阐微》Vol. 3

Yet within this gentle nourishment and meticulous rigor, one must also attend to the subtle wonders of fine, penetrating integration and harmonious blending. When the three key stages of refining the elixir are all nourished in this way, the work proceeds effortlessly and success comes swiftly.

Gathering the medicine (caiyao), joining and binding, advancing the fire (jinhuo), and bathing (muyu), continuing until the moment of shedding the embryo (tuotai), the nine-nine yang numbers (jiujiu yangshu) are already complete.

This chapter summarizes the whole text, pointing out that the practice of internal alchemy (neidan) follows definite steps that should be cultivated in sequence. Once the yang numbers are complete and the state of pure yang is reached, one naturally sheds the embryo, transforms into spirit, and ascends to become a Dao-realized immortal. Readers should not fail to honor the earnest intent of this chapter, which teaches a return to the origin and a return to the source.

This chapter clarifies the order of the essential methods of elixir refinement and, through this, summarizes the central purport of the entire eighty chapters.

The Huanyuan Pian Chanwei (Elucidation of Returning to the Source) holds that the entire method of cultivation begins with youwei (purposive action) and ends in wuwei (non-action). Youwei means rectifying the body, gathering the root of life, and nourishing the vast, flowing righteous Qi (haoran zhengqi). Wuwei means constant self-strengthening and nourishing the formless Qi.

My teacher once said: if a person can keep the body upright, the heart-mind empty and clear, and the thoughts single-pointed, then mastering the essentials of practice and refining the Neidan (Internal Alchemy) becomes easy. Even without dedicated practice, this helps reduce illness, prolong life, and keep a person vigorous in old age. This is the most fundamental essential for entering cultivation.

When the body is upright, one does not slump or lean, and the five sense organs, the limbs, and the whole skeleton remain orderly and steady, so one is less easily disturbed by external influences. When the heart-mind is empty and clear, the flow of Qi is unobstructed; the meridians and sinews throughout the body are free of blockage, and the Qi can return to stillness and emptiness. When the thoughts are single-pointed, one responds to events directly, without hesitation in the mind. The yin jing (an expression for inner refined Qi) also gathers at all times within the righteous Qi, condensing into Shen (Spirit) and restoring the spirit to a state of fullness and stability. In this way, body, heart-mind, and intention (yi) can often be united, and the Valley Spirit (gushen, the vital potency that Daoists describe as empty yet inexhaustible) is nourished without one noticing. The body then naturally becomes healthy and strong.

Therefore, in cultivating the "method of returning to the source," one must first hold fast to right mindfulness. When right mindfulness is sincere, the body naturally becomes upright and the heart-mind naturally empty. Once the heart-mind is empty, the medicine is produced and the fire-timing (huohou) is correctly regulated. Metal and Wood are not cut off from one another, and Water and Fire do not lose their harmony, so that only Shen and Qi come together and condense. Once this foundation is formed, one nourishes the formless Qi, gradually reaching a state without image or body, and thereby accomplishes the "Great Return of the Golden Fluid" (jinye dahuan).

In "Golden Fluid," "gold" refers to the gold produced by the Heavenly One (Tianyi), and "fluid" refers to the fluid present just as the Heavenly One is about to generate Water. "Great Return" means letting the refined essences of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases combine mysteriously and condense into the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), thereby returning to the primordial source that precedes Wuji (the Ultimateless). After the essences have condensed, one must still undergo the practices of bathing and nurturing (muyu wenyang). Over days and months, the work grows from the minute to the manifest, accomplishing a vast and enduring achievement of De (Virtue). Through such cultivation, the body may hope to attain the indestructible Dharma-body (fashen), a firm and unbreakable cultivated body. This is the fundamental principle of returning to the source. On reading this, one can also grasp the path of cultivation by which essence is condensed and transformed into Shen.

The method for placing the "furnace" (the site of inner practice, described as a metaphor drawn from the mouth and throat) is to model it on the slender crescent moon of the third and fourth days of the lunar month. Its open, restrained shape is the most suitable, and its subtle benefits are hard to put into words, which is why the saying "to refine the medicine, seek the crescent-moon furnace" exists.

The base of the furnace should be relaxed, pressing firmly against the lower jaw, with the center and surroundings lifted slightly upward. At the same time, it should rest lightly against Lianquan (an acupoint beneath the tongue, near the front of the throat). The sides of the furnace should gently approach the lower teeth and the epiglottis (near the opening of the throat), hanging downward and drawing close to the Adam's apple, like an infant nursing. In this way, the breath can easily flow downward.

If the base of the furnace is hollow, the qi that circulates endlessly through spring's growth, summer's flourishing, autumn's harvest, and winter's storage, as between heaven and earth, will enter through the "mysterious female" (here referring to the nostrils), pour into the Dantian, and move through the Governing Vessel (Du mai) and the Conception Vessel (Ren mai). Practitioners may take bodily sensations as signs of success: men may feel their testicles draw up, and women may feel their breasts contract. The scripture specifically warns that massaging the breasts to obtain this sign is a mistake. The qi will also move on its own down to the heels, and the practitioner may feel as if ants are crawling between the soles of the feet, at the Yongquan (Bubbling Spring) point. When these sensations appear, it is called the furnace having taken form and the elixir having ripened.

The body's birth from the mother's womb is followed by a gradual forgetting of life's original root. With each passing year the Du channel (dumai) and the Ren channel (renmai), two principal meridians of the human body, may become more obstructed than before. If external pathogens such as wind, cold, heat, and dampness then invade, the zang-fu organs grow increasingly stagnant, and death may follow. For this reason, the opening of the Suwen (Basic Questions), "Treatise on the True Heavenly Principle" (Tianzhen Lun), states that those who understand the way of nourishing life can usually keep their qi, blood, and channels unobstructed. Later passages speak of "the sage transmitting the heavenly qi to open up the spirit illumination" (shengren chuan tianqi yi tong shenming), but these remarks are brief and not explained in detail.

Among the methods of cultivating the Dao, the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) and Qibo, the legendary physicians of antiquity, placed great weight on keeping the channels clear. For people today, how easily could the Du and Ren channels be opened? One must sit cross-legged facing south at the Zi hour (zishi) or the Wu hour (wushi), hold the breath firmly, as if it had nearly ceased. Each time, one exerts full effort to press a breath downward and then holds it. Repeating this two or three times, and gradually increasing to ten, twenty, and then thirty repetitions, will eventually bring the channels through. This practice is best done in winter, when the weather stores yang energy, since a forceful method performed at that time allows the qi to be stored without harm. If one practices only calmly and slowly, it may take a full year before the channels open.

The Treatise on Returning to the Source (Huanyuan Pian)

Taisu admired the true Dao and traveled through the sacred realms, visiting and transmitting the correct methods, with a resolve to aid the world. He devoted himself wholeheartedly to the practice of cuncun (the "preservation of the three"), a discipline of visualization and the guarding and nourishing of body and mind, and he placed special emphasis on nourishing life. He held that learning to become an immortal is in itself not difficult, but people find it hard to accomplish; that leaving worldly affairs is not hard, but people often fail to do so. This is truly lamentable. The ancients said: "Mist conceals the moon of wisdom, and the winds of karma stir the sea of meditative stillness."

Long ago, at Zexiang, Taisu met his former teacher, the Perfected Zhang of Ziyang. Zhang explained the Yi (Book of Changes) in only half a sentence, and Taisu immediately verified it, its effect appearing at once. From this he knew that the way of the immortals could be learned, and he secretly rejoiced in his heart. Later, when the golden fluid (jinye) had joined and the sacred embryo (shengtai) had matured, a state in internal alchemy (neidan) in which essence and qi condense and the elixir embryo forms, Taisu wrote the Treatise on Returning to the Source in eighty-one chapters, corresponding to the yin number and the pure yang number. Each chapter is composed in four lines of five characters, and he transmitted it to later students. He hoped that those who came after would awaken early to the essentials of cultivating the true, and would not wait until old age to discover that their essence had waned and the conditions needed for practice were lacking. One should quickly awaken, seek out a good teacher, and pursue the methods of the Dao, taking up the "golden boat" that leads to the realm of the immortals, and together ascend the ranks of the perfected. Forming the golden elixir and ascending to immortality is what he hoped for.

Lead and mercury are refined into their true substance, and yin and yang unite and congeal into Taiyuan (the Great Origin). As long as one understands how to operate according to the principle of "two-eight," the Golden Elixir (jindan) can be refined.

Mercury is the marrow of the Azure Dragon (qinglong), and lead is the fat of the White Tiger (baihu). Once they are gathered and placed into the cauldron (dingding), one must also know the right moment to begin the refining.

The Maiden (zhanü, a symbol of the yin ingredient or mercury) rides the lead tiger (a metal-natured ingredient, or lead), while the Metal Lord (jin gong, a symbol of the yang ingredient or lead) straddles the mercury dragon. When Jia and Geng unite, and yin and yang are properly matched, a furnace of red elixir can be produced.

The essential soul of the snake draws out the dragon's marrow, and the spirit of the tortoise subdues the essence of the tiger. Within the Flowery Pool (huachi, the place in the body where cultivated fluids are held), two jade fungi (yuzhi, a symbol of the refined elixir) sprout from the divine water (shenshui).

White snow falls on the jade garden, and yellow shoots sprout in the jade orchard. These are all symbolic images in neidan (inner alchemy) practice. As long as one can recognize the "false moon," red lead (hongqian) may be cultivated anywhere.

Medicinal materials appear within primordial chaos, and the timing of the fire refines hongmeng (the undifferentiated original state). After ten months of nurturing, the embryonic immortal (taixian, a symbol of the maturation of the inner elixir) is formed, and only then is the efficacy of the nine turnings (jiuzhuan) understood.

Where the Dragon King hides his pearl is exactly the moment the hen broods over her egg. Whoever understands the principle of lead and mercury uniting may take a single dose of the elixir.

Bathing and nurturing depend on the Way of Earth (kundao, the yielding, quiet function of cultivation), while drumming and stirring depend on the Xun wind (a symbol of wind or stirring force). The infant neither speaks nor cries, dwelling alone in the Palace of Grand Subtlety (taiwei gong, the inner divine chamber of the body).

Seek the Li Maiden (a symbol of the yin line of the Li trigram) in the Purple Mansion (zifu, an immortal palace of Daoist lore), and join her with the Kan Man (a symbol of the yang line of the Kan trigram) in Vermilion Peak (zhuling, a celestial realm of Daoist tradition). With the Yellow Matron (huangpo, a central mediator who harmonizes the two) as go-between, the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) naturally contains all three.

The Qian horse gallops into the golden gate, and the Kun ox enters the wooden palace. Who can take the snake maiden (a symbol of the yin ingredient) and wed her to the Golden Old Man (a symbol of the yang ingredient)?

The Old Woman is in the prime of her sixteen years, and the Golden Old Man is in his third dragon stage. The two unite in the bridal chamber (dongfang), giving rise to auspicious qi and bringing forth the first infant (a symbol of the newborn inner elixir).

Last night on the shore of the Western Isle, the glow of the pond reflected the green waves. It moves back and forth, returns to the royal chamber (a symbol of the dantian or the honored place within the body), and simmers and refines naturally in the cauldron.

Li and Kan do not merely join with each other, and Qian and Kun transform themselves. Whoever understands this principle will find that a single spark of numinous light falls into the Yellow Court (huangting, an important site of cultivation within the body in inner alchemy terminology).

In the Cinnabar Valley (dangu) a divine tree grows, and within the Yellow Court lies the Great Granary (taicang, a symbol of the place in the body that stores essence and qi). From then on, there is no more thought of hunger or thirst, and one proceeds straight through to the land of immortals.

The mind-horse (yima, a symbol of scattered thoughts) returns to the divine chamber, and the mind-monkey (xinyuan, a symbol of the restless mind) keeps watch in the bridal chamber. Once jing (essence), shen (spirit), hun (ethereal soul), po (corporeal soul), and yi (intention) are refined, they ultimately transform into Purple Gold Frost (zijin shuang, a symbol of the essence produced when the inner elixir is complete).

A cavity contains three passes, and all three are critical barriers in cultivation. When the practitioner circulates the energy gently and suddenly, the divine water (shenshui) flows out naturally. Here "divine water" is an internal alchemy (Neidan) term, referring to the saliva or changes in essence and Qi that arise during practice.

Return the mind-horse to the spirit chamber, the inner place where Shen is stored and Qi is refined, and let the mind-monkey guard the inner chamber, a metaphor for a settled inner place of body and mind. When Jing, Shen, Hun, Po, and Yi gather together, they transform into the purple-gold elixir frost.

A cavity contains three passes, and all three are critical barriers in cultivation. When the practitioner circulates the energy suddenly and gently, the divine water flows out naturally.

Subduing the Po does not mean forcing it down with thought, and restraining the Po does not mean controlling it with mere intention. Retain Shen and Qi and let them coalesce, and within a moment they form the dark pearl, a symbolic elixir body in internal alchemy.

The formula has few words, yet the practice can produce results in a short time. Grasp the fire gently, and after ten months an infant will be produced. Here "infant" refers to the achievement of internal alchemy, not to a real infant.

When husband and wife first unite, there is joy, and as the days pass their affection grows deeper. Where the inner chambers meet, it seems as though a spring breeze blows every day. Here the union of husband and wife is a metaphor for the union of the Yin and Yang Qi.

The sudden rain resembles paper butterflies, and within the great furnace a jade boat seems to float. At midnight the red sun blazes, yet in the sixth month there is a chill like white frost. These images borrow from natural change to describe the bodily and mental experiences of internal alchemy and the alternation of Yin and Yang.

Gold and fire rise from the bottom of the sea, and the earthen spring circulates on Mount Kunlun. After Yin and Yang Qi unite for a moment, a blue vapor rises from the jade cauldron. "Bottom of the sea," "Kunlun," and "jade cauldron" are all internal alchemy terms, referring respectively to related parts of the body and places of refinement.

Pierce the aperture of the dark origin and break through the barrier of chaos. Once one understands how to cook water and fire, the dragon and tiger will naturally move in their cycle. Here "water and fire" and "dragon and tiger" refer to the Yin and Yang Qi that cooperate in practice.

The fire within the water seems to be exhausted, yet waves surge on Mount Kunlun. Who can understand how to apply this? The key lies in the "great intention" and the Yellow Matron. The Yellow Matron is an internal alchemy term, often used as a metaphor for the intermediary force that harmonizes Yin and Yang and brings about their union.

To gather the medicine, take the pre-heaven Qi, and to kindle the fire, seek the essence of Taiyi. If one understands how to gather the medicine and use the fire, the elixir will be seen to form in stillness.

How is the original Qi to be taken? The true Jing need not be moved. True Jing and original Qi are precisely the foundation of the Great Elixir.

Confucians expound the principles of nature, and Buddhists investigate emptiness and stillness. Yet if one does not understand the arts of immortal cultivation, one will not understand that the Golden Elixir can be completed in an instant.

In the furnace, the false moon transforms into mercury, and in the cauldron, cinnabar transforms into lead. The turtle and snake combine into the True Oneness Qi, and what is born from them comes from pre-heaven. Here mercury, lead, turtle, and snake are symbolic expressions within the internal alchemy tradition.

One must observe the phases of the moon at new moon, full moon, first quarter, last quarter, and the final day of the month, and use them to judge the timing of increase, supplementation, and retention. If one does not understand the true laws of creation, how can one know what the true lead is? "True lead" is an internal alchemy term, referring to the key essence gathered during practice.

Qi is the root of life within the body, and the power of mind is the spirit of the nature. If one knows the aperture where Shen and Qi unite, one may be called a person who has attained the Dao.

Before the golden cauldron has begun to cook, the spring water has already flowed into the jade furnace. And who can slowly complete the work of three hundred days? Here "golden cauldron" and "jade furnace" refer to the organs and locations of internal alchemy practice, and "three hundred days" symbolizes the length of time continuous cultivation requires.

Jade fluid (yuye, the saliva that nourishes body and spirit during cultivation) moistens the spirit chamber (shenshi, the inner place where the spirit is tended during practice), and the golden embryo (jintai, the embryo formed through inner alchemy) gathers at the pivot of qi's movement. One need only seek the medicinals within the body and has no need to leaf through alchemical books.

The jade tripod refines the lead fluid, and the golden furnace gently warms the mercury essence. The nine returns are the nine revolutions, and the rhythm of warming resembles the movement of the stars through the heavenly circuit.

The fire jujube never had a pit to begin with, so how could the jiao pear have a core? Without deliberately arranging the fire timing (huohou) all day, the numinous water (shenshui) irrigates the golden blossom (the essence that appears in inner alchemy).

To cultivate and nourish pre-heaven qi, one must first refine the living mercury (a symbol of the qi essence that must be harmonized and transformed within inner alchemy). Once the sacred embryo takes form and becomes visible, thunder seems to roar above the crown of the head.

Relying on forceful qi refinement alone is fruitless, and relying on storing the spirit (cunshen) yields little result. How could one know the mysteries of the alchemical formulas? Experience true emptiness (zhenkong, a state that does not cling to any form) all day long.

Qi does not arise from the kidneys, and spirit does not dwell in the heart. Qi and spirit are elusive, and in the end they condense into a single golden elixir (jindan).

There is one aperture called the mysterious female gate (xuanpin, the deep portal from which all things arise), and within it qi and spirit are stored. Who can recognize this aperture? Do not keep searching for the true Dao outside the body.

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 these views, for they are not the pivot of the alchemical method.

There are a thousand poems on the inner landscape (neijing), but only one cup of Yellow Center wine (zhonghuang, an image for harmonizing essence in inner alchemy). Carefree and at ease, unburdened by external things, a separate heaven and earth seems to lie beyond the body.

The bird and the hare (symbols of the sun and moon) refine each other, and the turtle and the snake (symbols of yin and yang) entwine of their own accord. They transform into a single golden elixir, which is then nourished into the immortal embryo (xiantai, the immortal embryo spoken of once inner alchemy is complete).

All things have birth and death, and the primal spirit (yuanshen, the spirit innately present from before heaven) dies and is reborn. When the spirit returns into qi, the Way of alchemy accomplishes itself naturally.

Where spirit and qi return to their root is precisely when body and mind revert to their original life-ground. Such a true aperture, it seems, is known to very few.

Within the body there is the mysterious male gate (xuanmu, the generative gate that corresponds to the mysterious female gate), and within the heart there is no dust or grime. Yet one does not know who can recognize it: this aperture contains the true Dao.

Li and Kan (the fire of Li and the water of Kan among the Eight Trigrams) are the true dragon and tiger, and Qian and Kun are the proper horse and ox. Everyone originally possesses these foundations, so why do they not know how to cultivate them?

The hun and po are the masters of the heart, and the spirit is governed by intention. Let the fire timing proceed naturally, quietly turning the initial gentle fire.

It lies at the center, below the heart and above the kidneys, west of the liver and left of the lungs. It does not belong to the intestines, the stomach, or any other viscera, yet a current of qi circulates there of its own accord.

Its wondrous function does not depend on deliberate intention, and its true mechanism is not forced into operation. Who can know this aperture? Yet one must not abandon everything and do nothing at all.

A kind of "thing" is not entirely without substance, and wuwei (non-action, following nature without forced striving) must be combined with youwei (purposeful practice). Once one grasps the authority over transformation and circulation, the essences of sun and moon can condense into jinye (golden liquor).

The tiger roars in the western mountains and the dragon chants in the northern sea, and cold vapor congeals. The key lies in grasping the crucial aperture. If the true essential mechanism does not reveal itself, who can know this secret? For the moment, do not simply let things rest in wuwei.

A kind of "thing" is not entirely without substance; wuwei must be combined with youwei. Once one grasps the authority over transformation and circulation, the essences of sun and moon can condense into jinye.

The tiger roars in the western mountains and the dragon chants in the northern sea, and cold vapor congeals. After gathering the qi of dragon and tiger, one must still bring them together and refine them within the body, and place them in the "kun palace" (kungong), a site symbolizing bearing and gestation.

Fu and Mei govern the alternation of light and darkness, while Tun and Meng correspond to the alternation of dusk and dawn. Taking the body as boat and furnace, one causes the essence, white as snow, to gather, and the "mind-monkey" (xinyuan, a metaphor for unruly, hard-to-control thoughts) then has nowhere to be found.

Black mercury gives birth to yellow leaves, and red lead blossoms into purple flowers. One must still refine them according to the huohou (fire-timing), and only then will cinnabar form in the cauldron.

When employing muye (wood-liquor, an internal-alchemy term for the qi of the Wood phase), one must guard against the "hare." When employing jinjing (metal essence, the essence of the Metal phase), one must avoid the "rooster" even more carefully. Chou-tian (drawing and adding, adjusting fire and medicinals) must also be coordinated with muyu (bathing, a pause in vigorous refining that lets the fire harmonize), and this is best done when the moon is full.

Amid the sounds of the myriad winds, the first breeze rises, and over the thousand mountains the moon is half-round. One should promptly act according to the correct method, and then one can circulate the zhoutian (causing the inner qi to move through the whole body).

Medicinal materials may be old or young, and one must understand the drawing and adding of the fire-timing. Once the light of the elixir rises, it is like a cold bee shooting toward the jade curtain.

The pearl was once seen when the mussel's belly was cut open, and eggs are easy to find in a chicken's nest. From nothingness, something is born, and spirit and qi then blend with each other.

Spirit and qi are not mother and child, and body and mind are not husband and wife. Only by properly accord with the heavenly mechanism, who could know the place where the elixir forms?

When the elixir head (dantou, the first sign of inner alchemy) has just congealed and the medicinals have gathered, the dragon and tiger qi do battle, while the Dongjun (a figure symbolizing the spring sun, or the lord of the generative qi) remains entirely unaware.

Side-door minor methods, divergent transmitted texts, and irrelevant claims need not be followed. The jinye huanzhou jue (the method of returning the golden liquor to the boat, whose aim is return to the body's interior) has no second path.

Regardless of rank, high or low, and regardless of spouse or sibling, anyone with the affinity for immortal cultivation may study the alchemical classics.

[Unclear fragment: wu bei]

Side-door minor methods, divergent transmitted texts, and irrelevant claims need not be followed. The jinye huanzhou jue has no second path.

Regardless of rank, high or low, and regardless of spouse or sibling, anyone with the affinity for immortal cultivation may study the alchemical classics.

Building a house is easy, and once the medicinals are exhausted, it is not hard to revive them. So long as one understands the method of returning and restoring, the precious treasure will accumulate like a mountain.

The hun and po (the ethereal and corporeal souls) together form the three natures, and jing and shen (essence and spirit) unite the Five Phases. Within these, the Four Images divide out, gather, and blend, and so form the embryonic essence.

Setting out to seek lead (qian) and mercury (gong) with a firm resolve, and seeking earth and metal with the mind emptied of thought, one then understands that the true key lies in a single knack. Who can see through its subtle profundity?

Creation has no fixed origin or boundary, and Yin-Yang has no root trunk to trace back to. These truly subtle matters cannot be transmitted, even from father to son.

Leave the mercury in the golden cauldron (jinding) and send the lead into the jade pool (yuchi). Host and guest have no left or right; the key lies only in recognizing the "infant" (ying'er), the elixir body that has just formed in Neidan (internal alchemy) and must be nourished.

Huangpo (the image of the go-between who harmonizes lead and mercury and connects Yin and Yang) has full, graceful breasts and a gentle, compassionate heart that can keep a person from aging. There is no other method for nourishing it; one need only raise the infant from non-being.

[The phrases "yi fa xiang qing feng" and "dantian yang yu ban" appear to contain errors, and their meaning is difficult to determine from the text as it stands.] Within the vessel (huzhong, the inner realm of the body described in Neidan), there is no night, and white snow falls softly and finely.

Once the qin and se are in harmony, the work is already accomplished, and one need not deliberately direct the fire timing (huohou). Yet one fears this would harm the infant.

The eldest son (zhen, the trigram Zhen) has just entered the Dui position, and the youngest daughter (dui, the trigram Dui) returns to the Qian position. Yigong (the Wing Palace) joins with the earth position, and the orifices naturally pervade the whole body.

In the season when the moon waxes and wanes, after the first quarter and before the first quarter, one should add and withdraw according to the proper times, following the changes of Yin-Yang and xingde (punishment and virtue), and bathe and nourish the elixir in accordance with the rhythm of waxing and waning. Yet one fears this would harm the infant.

The eldest son has just entered the Dui position, and the youngest daughter returns to the Qian position. Yigong joins with the earth position, and the orifices naturally pervade the whole body.

After the first quarter and before the first quarter, as well as at full moon and new moon, one should add and withdraw according to the changes of Yin-Yang and xingde, and bathe and nourish according to the rhythm of waxing and waning.

Old mercury has three catties of white; true lead has a single spot of red. In a moment, one seizes the essence of heaven and earth and mates with "gu," a term specific to this alchemical method whose meaning is hard to make out.

The subtleties of huohou (fire timing), the mastery of heat and moment, have from antiquity onward been rarely passed on lightly. If you do not yet know when to gather the medicinals, do not first inquire into the zhoutian (the cosmic circulation of the vital energy).

After the clouds disperse, moonlight shines upon the crabapple blossoms; spring is deep, and a light breeze stirs among the willows. Who can grasp the meaning here? Lift your head and ask the boundless void.

Free from the burdens of external things in the human world, the stairway to ascension already stands in heaven. Having learned to ride the clouds away, one returns with companions on white cranes.

The heart-field has no weeds or filth, and the xingdi (the realm of original nature) is untainted by dust. On a quiet night with the moon bright, a single spring bird's call suddenly rings out.

White metal, refined six times, and black tin, passed through three barriers. At midnight, the golden crow (the sun) enters Guanghan (the lunar palace).

The boat is refined and the dragon and tiger no longer meet; the fire timing is complete, and mercury and lead may also be set aside. After the embryo is cast off, the wondrous transformation is accomplished, and one advances to become a Yuqing immortal (an immortal dwelling in the Jade Clarity realm).

Block the road to the Yellow Springs and open the gate of the Zifu (the palace-mansion in the head, in Daoist lore). Why is it that someone like Haitangzi could transform into a crane and fly out from the Niwan (the cavity of the head, in Daoist inner cultivation)?

Where do the rivers and seas finally return, and to whom do the cliffs ultimately belong? When the golden elixir (jindan) is ripe, what is achieved is always the treasure within one's own house.

The oral formula passed down by Lü Dongbin (Lü Zu) to Zhongli Quan, and the method of the mind that Ge Xuan transmitted to Zheng Siyuan, likewise contain no superfluous words. Both speak entirely of the alchemical terms "mercury" and "lead." Here, mercury and lead generally symbolize the mutually complementary yin and yang jing (essence) and qi (vital energy) that interact in cultivation.

When mercury and lead are brought into the same alchemical cauldron (dan ding) and refined, they transform into a crane that flies out from the Niwan Palace (Niwan Gong, the Mud Pellet Palace), the site of internal alchemy in the head. Where the rivers and seas finally flow, and to whom the mountain crags belong, are questions with a plain answer: once the jindan (Golden Elixir) is perfected, the most precious treasure lies within oneself.

The formula Lü Dongbin passed to Zhongli Quan and the method of mind Ge Xuan passed to Zheng Siyuan also contain no idle words, and they still concern the cultivation of mercury and lead. Mercury and lead are placed together in one cauldron, and the sun and moon must likewise be joined in a single furnace. In applying the huohou (fire timing), one must be careful to avoid error, so that a jade-like essence can be refined.

After the medicinals are gathered, they are made to couple and congeal. Fire is then introduced, followed by muyu (bathing), which means regulating the breath and halting the fire to nourish the elixir qi. When the tuotai (the stage of internal alchemy in which the elixir is complete and the practitioner is transformed) arrives, the eighty-one yang numbers, the cycle of nine nines, are fulfilled.

Those who cultivate the Golden Elixir (jin dan) must understand that the Winter Solstice (dongzhi) does not fall at the hour of zi, and that "bathing" (muyu), the stage of regulating breath and nourishment in practice, does not refer specifically to the hours of mao and you. What are called lead and mercury (qian and gong) do not refer to bodily phenomena such as nasal mucus, saliva, bodily fluids, essence and qi (jing qi), or blood. "Seven Returns" means returning to the root, and "Nine Reversions" means returning to the origin. Metal Jing meets wood fluid and unites with the aid of earth. The notions of dragon and tiger, horse and ox are all symbols, not actual things.

The late master's Understanding Reality (Wuzhen Pian) states that the key to cultivating the Golden Elixir lies in the Divine Water (shen shui) and the Flowering Pool (hua chi), and that these two are lead and mercury. If one knows where lead comes from, one will also know where mercury arises. Understanding lead and mercury, one understands the Divine Water and Flowering Pool, and understanding these, one can refine the Golden Elixir. The efficacy of the Golden Elixir can be realized in an instant, so one should not be bound to fixed periods of nine years or three years, nor cling to fixed years, months, days, and hours in its application.

Zhongli (Zhongli Quan) said: "The human body is composed of the four great elements, all of which belong to yin." Therefore, one should not seek the Golden Elixir only within the body but should seek the single point of yang Jing within it. This yang Jing, however, is hidden in a single aperture (qiao), which ordinary people cannot discover by guesswork. This aperture is the "Gate of the Mysterious Female" (xuan pin zhi men), the mysterious orifice of Daoist teaching, and it is precisely what is called the Divine Water and Flowering Pool. Only with this understanding may one gather the medicinals (cai yao) and unite yin and yang. Then, through refining, bathing, the division of the embryo, and finally nourishing and warming, the elixir is brought to completion.

How could a cultivator fail to distinguish the source of the medicinals (chuan yuan), know their weights and measures (jin liang), and recognize the right timing? Since I, Shi Tai, obtained my teacher's secret instructions, I have known that this body need not march toward death and that the Golden Elixir can certainly be completed. Now that I have undertaken this great matter, I have written these words to leave for those who come later to seek the Way of immortality. Preface also by Shi Tai of Xinglin (Xinglin).