《上清胎精記解結行事訣》

The Shangqing Taijing Ji Jiejie Xingshi Jue scripture primarily explains how to dissolve four Qi (vital energy) knots in the upper body (head) through specific rituals. According to Daoist teachings, these knots are located at: 1) the Mudan Palace (near the Baihui point at the crown of the head, considered the upper Dantian in Daoism); 2) the mouth; 3) the cheeks; and 4) the eyes.

The dissolution method should be performed at dawn on one’s Benming Day (the celestial stem and earthly branch day corresponding to one’s birth):

1. Enter a quiet chamber, burn incense, and first kneel facing northwest, bowing nine times to pay homage to the Nine Heavens Yuanfu (a revered Daoist deity). Simultaneously, click the teeth nine times and invoke Yuanfu’s name three times.

2. Turn to the southeast, kneel, and bow three times, invoking the name of the Nine Heavens Xuanmu (the corresponding goddess) three times.

3. Return to one’s Benming direction, sit quietly, and visualize with closed eyes:

• The image of Yuanfu: nine inches and nine tenths in height, wearing dark-yellow immortal robes and a jeweled crown, residing in the jade palaces of the highest heavens, riding a green mist chariot, accompanied by twelve flying dragons and twenty-four immortals descending to enter the practitioner’s body and govern the Mudan Palace.
• The image of Xuanmu: six inches and six tenths in height, wearing nine-colored embroidered immortal robes and a purple jeweled crown, dwelling in the celestial realms of the Nine Heavens, riding a purple cloud canopy, accompanied by twelve phoenixes and thirty-six jade maidens descending to enter the practitioner’s facial "Cavern Chamber" (a key acupoint in the face).

Next, visualize the divine parents transforming into green and yellow Qi, swirling and merging over the head and face. Upon completion, click the teeth nine times, recite incantations to dissolve the Qi knots and purify the spiritual orifices, and conclude by swallowing Qi eighty-one times.

The latter section mentions visualizing Yudan Wuliang Tianwang (the ruling deity of the first of Daoism’s Thirty-Six Heavens), described as wearing seamless nine-colored celestial robes and a sun-wheel jeweled crown, governing the celestial Purple Mansion. This practice belongs to the Shangqing school’s cunsi (visualization) techniques, harmonizing internal Qi through the imagined descent of divine beings.

This scripture describes a visualization practice from the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) tradition, an important Daoist school, divided into three main sections:

The first section details the visualization of three celestial kings descending. The practitioner should visualize:

1. The Immeasurable Longevity Celestial King (symbolizing longevity), clad in a nine-colored cloud-patterned robe and wearing a Sunlight Jeweled Crown, residing in the Vermilion Grove's Seven-Treasure Jade Terrace, riding twelve black turtles with a blue-feathered canopy, accompanied by thirty-two jade attendant immortals.

2. The Protracted Life Celestial King (symbolizing life extension), wearing a three-colored cloud-patterned robe and a Heaven's Origin Jeweled Crown, dwelling in the Jade Capital's Cloud Metropolis Palace, mounted on a nine-colored flying swan with twenty-four white-robed jade maidens.

3. The Three Heavens True King (representing the Sanqing realms) transforming into azure, purple, and yellow cloud-qi that enters the practitioner's body through the seven orifices.

This is followed by reciting an invocation, essentially praying for these deities to help unblock the meridians in the head, allowing the primordial qi (the Three Truths' clouds) to circulate throughout the body, dispel stagnant energies, fortify spiritual nature, and ultimately achieve transcendence.

The second section involves the qi-swallowing technique, where one tilts the head back to swallow qi nine times.

The third section provides detailed visualizations of the eight body spirits residing in the head (Daoist belief holds that each body part has corresponding deities):

1. Brain Spirit "Awakened Emptiness" - white brocade robe with three-tiered crown

2. Hair Spirit "Mystic Father's Radiance" - black cloud garment with infinite crown

3. Skin Spirit "Universal Communicator" - yellow brocade skirt with triple qi crown

4. Eye Spirit "Numinous Observer" - five-colored robe with heaven-penetrating crown

5. Neck Marrow Spirit "Numinous Canopy" - white brocade skirt with three-tiered crown

(The original text would continue with three more body spirits)

During practice, one should close the eyes and vividly imagine these divine forms. This visualization method, characteristic of Shangqing's spirit preservation techniques, harmonizes the body's deities and unblocks meridians through concentrated mental imagery.

This scripture describes the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) Daoist practice of "untying knots" (removing energetic blockages) through ritual methods. The content is divided into three main sections:

The first section details the appearances and positions of eight deities residing in the head. For example:

• The back deity (Lü Shen) is named Yili Fu, styled Daozhu, appearing three and a half inches tall, wearing plain white robes with a Dark Origin jeweled crown.
• The nose deity (Bi Shen) is named Zhonglong Yu, styled Daowei, standing two and a half inches tall, dressed in blue-yellow brocade flying skirts and a Traveler's Crown.
• The tongue deity (She Shen) is named Shiliang Zhi, styled Daoqi, seven inches tall, clad in crimson brocade flying skirts and a Scholar's Cap.

Practitioners must visualize these eight deities seated like infants in their corresponding head locations with vivid clarity.

The second section contains cultivation mantras and incantations. The practitioner performs teeth-knocking while reciting:

• Invocations for the eight deities to purify the body
• Requests to dissolve cranial blockages and remove prenatal turbid Qi
• Petitions to open the Three Passes (key energetic gateways)
• Aspirations to attain an immortal body with radiant countenance

After chanting, one must swallow eight mouthfuls of Qi and ingest the "Golden Elixir Yang Spirit Talisman" (a vermilion-inscribed charm on blue paper).

The third section explains methods for resolving four central bodily blockages:

1. Knots in the five viscera

2. Blockages in the Tai Cang (stomach region)

3. Obstructions in the large intestine

4. Congestion in the small intestine

On one's birth-date at high noon, face northwest to perform nine prostrations while invoking the name of "Primordial Father" (original Yang Qi), then turn southeast for three prostrations calling upon "Mysterious Mother" (original Yin Qi). Sit in meditation with closed eyes, visualizing the Primordial Father: nine and nine-tenths inches tall, draped in dark-yellow ribbons, wearing a pearl-jade crown, dwelling in jade towers beyond the Nine Heavens.

These cultivation techniques integrate standard Daoist practices including deity visualization (Cunsi), talismanic charms (Fulu), teeth-knocking, and Qi-swallowing, aiming to purify body and mind through ritual for achieving divine communion and immortality.

This passage describes a Neidan (internal alchemy) visualization practice from the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) tradition of Daoism, which purifies body and mind through imagined divine embodiments. The practitioner visualizes in sequence:

First, envision twelve flying dragons and twenty-four immortals arriving from the northwest, transforming into emerald mists that enter the five viscera. Next, visualize the form of the "Mysterious Mother" (a female divinity): she stands six inches and six fen tall, wearing a blue robe embroidered with precious light, crowned with a purple-gold diadem of mysterious yellow, dwelling in the cinnabar chambers of the upper realm's jade groves. Riding a purple cloud canopy, she arrives from the southeast accompanied by twelve phoenixes and thirty-six jade maidens, transforming into azure and yellow Qi that enters the five viscera, illuminating the entire body like sunlight.

Then recite the incantation, which roughly means: "When the essential Qi (Jingqi) of father and mother unite, they form the purple-jade immortal embryo; the Great Micro Emperor (a Daoist deity) spreads transforming True Qi, purifying the five viscera and illuminating the nine orifices; casting off the old body to achieve a new form, ultimately ascending to the celestial court."

Subsequently, visualize three Heavenly Kings (Serene King, Joyful King, and Responsive Sound King) wearing respectively seven-colored dragon-patterned robes, nine-colored cloud-patterned garments, and flowing-light brocade, each crowned differently and leading twelve to thirty-six jade immortals. Finally, see these kings transform into red, white, and black clouds entering through the heart orifice to fill the five viscera.

The accompanying mantra states: "The ninefold-refined Golden Elixir coalesces spiritual nature; three Qi intertwine and spiral; mysterious True Qi fills the whole body, making inner and outer realms luminous and radiant."

This practice belongs to Daoist cunsi (visualization) techniques, cultivating Neidan through imagined deities and Qi circulation to purify body-mind and commune with the divine. The colors, numbers, and directions mentioned all correspond to specific alchemical principles—azure representing wood and the liver, yellow representing earth and the spleen, while the numerical sets (twelve, twenty-four, thirty-six) symbolize celestial cycles and organ-meridian systems. The northwest and southeast directions correlate with the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) and the flow of prenatal and postnatal Qi respectively. Such visualization sequences create an internal alchemical crucible where cosmic forces reshape the practitioner's subtle physiology.

This scripture describes the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) Daoist practice of "untying knots" (jie jie) - a method for resolving internal blockages. It consists of two main sections:

The first part explains the foundational principles:

When the body's Qi channels become unobstructed (the "great storehouse opens"), knots in the intestines and stomach can transform into immortality. Practitioners must sever the roots of negative habits (cutting off the "jointed stems") and dissolve karmic obstructions (scattering "lodged roots"). Through the fusion of the Three Treasures - Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit) - in harmonious union, after nine transformative stages the refined essence returns to its primordial state (the "jade womb"), thereby reforming the immortal body. Nine-colored primordial Qi (jiu se xuan huang) flows like irrigation, cleansing turbid energies accumulated within, making the interior spotlessly pure. Such cultivation causes spiritual roots to grow, with every pore becoming radiantly clear, until finally the bones transform into luminous Qi that ascends to the Ziwei Heavenly Realm.

The second part details the specific visualization method (cun si):

First swallow nine mouthfuls of primordial Qi, then close the eyes and visualize eight deities corresponding to major organs in the body's central region. Each deity has distinct imagery, attire, and titles:

1. Throat Deity: Bai Liu Fang, wearing nine-colored robes and purple crown

2. Lung Deity: Su Ling Sheng, white robes with jeweled crown

3. Heart Deity: Huan Chang Chang, red robes with jade crown

4. Liver Deity: Kai Jun Tong, blue-green robes with triple-beam crown

5. Gallbladder Deity: Long De Ju, tricolored skirt with boundless crown

6. Left Kidney Deity: Chun Yuan Zhi, five-colored skirt with wandering crown

7. Right Kidney Deity: Xiang Ta Yuan, white robes with radiant crown

8. Spleen Deity: Bao Yuan Quan, yellow skirt with purple crown

During visualization, practitioners must clearly see these eight deities seated like infants in their respective organ locations. Upon completion, click the teeth eight times while reciting incantations to request these deities' assistance in transforming essence-energy, fortifying the soul, opening all bodily passages, and filling the interior with radiance - ultimately enabling joint ascension with the eight deities. This symbolizes rebirth into original purity.

(Note: "Nine-colored primordial Qi" refers to pre-natal vital energy; "Ziwei" names a celestial realm; "visualization" [cun si] is a core Daoist cultivation method that mobilizes internal energy through deity imagery.)

The Shangqing Taijing Jiejie Xingshi Jue (Upper Clarity Embryonic Essence Method for Resolving Knots and Practicing the Way) describes a set of cultivation techniques focused on dissolving internal "knots" (energetic blockages) through talismanic ingestion and visualization (cunsi), ultimately aiming for celestial ascension.

The practice unfolds as follows:

First recite the incantation: "Transport me upward, unveil the spiritual gates," then swallow eight mouthfuls of genuine Qi, followed by ingesting the "Embryonic Essence Refining Spirit Talisman." This talisman should be inscribed with yellow pigment on white paper—three copies in total—while facing one's birth year orientation (xingnian direction), knocking the teeth nine times.

The accompanying mystic chant conveys:

Primordial Qi congeals into essence, as Yin and Yang transform in endless generation. Through nine transformations, one may ride the immortal chariot. As true Qi descends into the practitioner's body, it penetrates the authentic numina to guard the entire form. Releasing all bodily knots and bindings, the nine orifices become unobstructed, ten thousand spirits attain serenity, culminating in ascension to the supreme celestial realm of Taiqing.

Next comes the dissolution of four lower-body "knots" (energetic obstructions):

1. The bladder knot

2. The yin-region knot

3. The anal gate knot

4. The foot knots

The specific method involves facing northwest during the midnight watch (23:00-01:00) on one's birth date, offering incense with nine prostrations to venerate the Primordial Father and Mysterious Mother (Daoist deities). Then visualize these two deities transforming into azure and yellow Qi currents flowing from the bladder to the feet, illuminating the entire body.

The recited chant expresses:

Yin and Yang intertwine as dual Qi penetrates with clarity. Above they form mysterious cinnabar, below they transform into yellow essence. The body shifts like an unfixed embryo. Under the Sovereign Lord's gaze, nine orifices receive numina while twelve bodily knots dissolve. Eight Luminosities (internal spirit-deities) encircle as bones become purple jade. Three Hun and seven Po souls undergo refinement while myriad spirits guard inner and outer realms. All bodily deities coexist with me, assisting my ascent to the Jade Clarity Heaven.

Finally, visualize two Celestial Kings:

1. King Fanbao, named Jingwu Yunshuang, clad in nine-colored cloud robes, residing in the Southern Palace of Seven Radiances, riding a cinnabar-hued immortal chariot.

2. King Fankamoyi, named Xuanhong, robed in nine-colored phoenix garments, dwelling in the Mysterious Phoenix City of Nine Heavens, mounted on a white qilin-drawn chariot.

These methods synthesize diverse Daoist techniques—talismanic arts, visualization, teeth-knocking, and Qi-swallowing—to clear energetic blockages in the body's channels, ultimately achieving the Daoist ideal of immortal ascension.

This scripture describes the "Cunsi" (visualization of deities) practice from the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) Daoist tradition, focusing on how to regulate the body and purify Qi channels by visualizing internal deities.

First, visualize thirty-two immortal youths from Mount Taihua and the celestial king Sibolidashu (a high-ranking heavenly deity). This king bears the surname Wang, wears a seamless nine-colored dark cloud robe, and dons the Wuji Liuhuang crown. He resides in the winding nine-chambered hall of the Supreme Marvel Palace on the perilous Jade Capital Mountain. Riding five-colored auspicious clouds, he leads twelve Jade Youths of Supreme Mystery and descends with the Three Heavenly True Kings into the practitioner's body.

The specific method is: First visualize these deities entering through the crown of the head to govern the bladder region, then descending to the feet where they transform into purple, green, and blue Qi clusters. Like mist, they enter through the perineum and circulate between the bladder, anus, and legs. At this point, silently recite the incantation:

"Three Heavens nurture the fetal origin,

Nine Qi coalesce the spirit-soul.

Above transforms into Mystic Elixir,

Below flows through transformations.

Yin-Yang energies unite,

Perfecting my Dao-body.

Six viscera pure as jade,

Nine orifices gather true Qi.

Twelve Qi nodes throughout,

All impurities cleansed away.

Filthy vapors swept aside,

Five Directions' essence fills.

Mystic Elixir emits its essence,

Refined to luminous purity.

Golden Immortals guard the spirit,

Jade splendor crystallizes into texts.

Names recorded in Azure Palace,

Eternally preserving dawnlight of immortality."

After reciting, tilt the head back and swallow nine breaths. Then visualize eight deities in the lower body, maintaining their images with closed eyes:

1. Stomach Deity: Tong Laiyu, styled Dao Zhan (7 inches tall, wearing yellow brocade flying skirt and purple flat celestial crown)

2. Intestinal Deity: Zhao Tengkang, styled Dao Huan (2.4 inches tall, crimson robe and three-beam crown)

3. Small/Large Intestine Deity: Peng Songliu, styled Dao Chu (2 inches tall, yellow-crimson flying skirt and Five Dawns celestial crown)

4. Large Intestine Deity: Shou Houbo, styled Dao Xu (9.1 inches tall, nine-colored patterned robe and Flying Dawn jade crown)

5. Diaphragm Deity: Guang Ying, styled Dao Chong (5 inches tall, white brocade flying skirt and Wuji scholar's crown)

6. Flank Deities: Pi Jiama, styled Dao Cheng (4.1 inches tall, black-white skirt and Nine Mysteries jeweled crown)

7. Left Genital Deity: Fu Liuqi, styled Dao Gui (2.3 inches tall, blue-yellow-white skirt and Traveler's crown)

This practice involves visualizing deities presiding over each body part to unblock meridians and purify the physical form, representing a classic Daoist method of internal contemplation.

This passage describes the Shangqing (Highest Clarity) Daoist practice of "untying knots" (jie jie), a ritual technique for dissolving internal blockages in the body, primarily involving visualization of deities and incantation recitation.

The first section focuses on visualizing the yin deity "Bao Biao" in the lower Dantian (lower abdominal energy center). This deity stands approximately 5 cm tall, wearing a skirt of blue, yellow, and white colors, and adorned with a three-tiered crown. During practice, one must visualize the Eight Radiances (ba jing, representing eight vital bodily regions) settling into their proper positions like infants, with countless energy troops distributed between the bladder, posterior yin region, and both rib areas. After tapping the teeth eight times, the practitioner recites an incantation invoking the dispersal of the lower Eight Radiances' forms and transformation of their spirits. The chant requests primordial Qi to nourish and refine embryonic breathing, with the Great Primordial Father (yang spirit) and Mysterious Mother (yin spirit) harmonizing together. Their dual energies circulate to nurture the inner truth, dissolving bodily obstructions and opening the nine orifices.

The second visualization concerns the "Dao-Unity Inner Deity" Dun Wu Ma, standing about 4.8 cm tall in purple brocade skirt and Wuji scholar's crown, located beneath the ribs at the Dantian. This deity commands three divisions of twenty-four spirits. After visualization, the practitioner taps teeth thirty-two times while chanting to summon the Mysterious Supreme Deity to govern the entire body, pacify the "hidden valley" (Dantian), mobilize guardian spirits, and establish the Imperial Lord (heart-mind) in peaceful communion with the Mysterious Mother. The chant seeks harmony of the Nine Origins (qi of the nine orifices) for longevity.

The final section details the method for ingesting the "Three Passes Twelve Knots Embryonic Inner Talisman": write the incantation with cinnabar on three bamboo membranes, then consume them facing the Grand Duke Jupiter (Tai Sui) direction after visualization. The accompanying incantation petitions for release from upper, middle, and lower bodily knots: four upper knots obscuring mental clarity, four middle knots disturbing spleen/stomach and hun/po souls, and four lower knots obstructing elimination. Through the Imperial Lord's divine proclamation and the power of the Nine Heavens' jade script, all knot origins are eradicated. The Great Primordial Father and Mysterious Mother nourish the Three Passes (upper/middle/lower Dantian), the Eight Radiances stabilize, and true qi circulates freely.

Notes:

1. The "cun" measurement equals approximately 3 cm

2. "Teeth tapping" (kou chi) refers to the Daoist practice of lightly clicking teeth

3. "Swallowing fluids" (yan ye) indicates saliva ingestion; "swallowing qi" (yan qi) means breath absorption

4. "Grand Duke Jupiter" (Tai Sui) represents the annual ruling deity in Daoist cosmology

5. All deity names and incantation content remain in original form

This scripture records a Shangqing (Highest Clarity) Daoist cultivation ritual, detailing methods of mental visualization, Qi absorption, incantation recitation, and talisman ingestion for spiritual refinement. Here's an accessible interpretation:

Preparations are essential before practice: wear clean robes, select auspicious times (7th day at dawn, 17th at noon, 27th at midnight each month), bathe in scented water, and enter a quiet chamber to burn incense. First kneel facing northwest to bow nine times in veneration to the "Primordial Father" (a Daoist deity), then kneel facing southeast to bow three times to the "Mysterious Mother" (a Daoist goddess).

For cultivation, sit cross-legged facing the current month's auspicious direction. Knock teeth 36 times, close your eyes, and visualize the celestial king "Xuyan Tianwang": this deity bears the surname Zi and name Luo, wears nine-colored cloud-patterned ritual robes and a heavenly jeweled crown, residing in the Jade Capital's Divine Metropolis Palace. Imagine him descending with twenty-four jade maidens into your body's Yellow Court (the middle Dantian). Visualize golden clouds enveloping your entire form.

Next, inhale the cloud Qi nine times while silently reciting an incantation. The mantra's essence invokes stability for the three Hun and seven Po souls, cosmic correspondence between body and celestial constellations, divine protection from ten thousand spirits, and internal-external Qi saturation to rejuvenate the body—ultimately enabling lunar ascension.

The practice continues by ingesting blue talismans written on bamboo membrane, taken three times daily while facing one's birth-direction. Accompanied by specific talismanic chants, three years of consistent practice purportedly transforms flesh and bones into immortal substance. The incantation describes the harmonious blending of heaven-earth Qi, eight luminous body zones radiating numinous energy, and fortified internal organs—culminating in longevity.

The ritual concludes with nine Qi-swallowing motions. This integrated method combines spirit visualization, Qi absorption, mantra recitation, and talisman ingestion—a comprehensive internal-external cultivation system aimed at achieving celestial ascension.