《道樞》Vol. 13

An Accessible Reading of Scroll Thirteen, “Pointing to the Mysterious,” from The Pivot of the Dao (excerpt)

Classic: The Pivot of the Dao

General meaning of the passage:

This scroll was compiled by Zeng Zao, known as Master Zhiyouzi. The chapter belongs to “Pointing to the Mysterious.” Its central idea is that the Dao is not found among things with form and color; its traces must be glimpsed in what is “neither thing nor color.” Cultivation must have a destination, with the Three Fields as the place where the Elixir returns.

Master Chunyang said: Once the source of the Dao unfolds, the myriad forms arise from it. Thus there is the sacred realm of Jade Clarity, where the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning resides; below it is the true realm of Highest Clarity, where the Primordial Sovereign resides; and below that is the immortal realm of Great Clarity, where the Grand Supreme Laozi resides. Beneath the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) are realms called Great Nonbeing, Great Emptiness, Great Void, and Great Form. Great Form is the chaotic beginning, before Heaven and Earth had separated. Its color is dark yellow, and it resembles an egg suspended in the Great Void. The Flying Immortal of the Southern Palace can travel 108,000 li in a day, yet after enduring eight hundred kalpas still cannot leave this realm. Only those who understand the meaning of the “Mysterious” can leap directly into the Three Pure Ones.

Chaos is like the beginning of a human being’s gestation. After about three hundred days, form and spirit are complete, and the person takes shape. In Neidan (internal alchemy), too, Qi (vital energy) arises and Shen (spirit) is formed over roughly three hundred days. Heaven is like an overturned basin, and Earth like a stone plate: Yang is born within Earth and secretly embraces Yin. If it cannot enter the realm of pure Yang, reaching Heaven is difficult. Yin is born within Heaven and secretly holds Yang. If it cannot pass beyond pure Yin, entering Earth is also difficult. At the winter solstice, Yang is born; after accumulating for eighteen periods of ten days, it reaches Heaven. At the summer solstice, Yin is born; after accumulating for eighteen such periods, it reaches Earth. One rises, the other descends, and the cycle begins again. Those who understand this principle can regard Heaven and Earth as their equals.

Heaven and Earth are about 84,000 li apart; the human heart and kidneys are about eight cun and four fen apart. The principles of transmission, ascent, and descent correspond to this. The Sun and Moon are each about 840 li across: the Sun travels through the Qian position, and the Moon through the Kun position. The Sun receives the Moon’s Po-soul and becomes clear; the Moon receives the Sun’s Hun-soul and becomes bright. Clarity and brightness are Qi; essence is substance; Yin and Yang are the Dao; the Crow and Hare are images; Mao and You are pathways; day and night are measures; and conjunction is their function. By following the Sun and Moon in cultivation, one can endure through vast kalpas. The three passes behind the elbows are like three islands beyond the sea: without leaving the three islands, one cannot become an immortal; without passing the three gates, one cannot attain the Dao. One must also guide the Golden Essence upward along the back and into the crown of the head. The practice does not stop at restoring youth; it also requires withdrawing the fire and extracting lead. As for the Grotto-Heavens…

(The source text ends here; the translation follows it.)

Note: The “Three Fields” are the upper, middle, and lower Dantian (energy centers), where Shen is stored and Qi refined. “The three passes behind the elbows,” “guiding the Golden Essence,” and “withdrawing the fire and extracting lead” are Neidan terms, referring respectively to the gates along the back, the ascent of essence and Qi, and the regulation of the firing process. Specialized names have been retained where possible, with brief explanations in the text to make the general meaning accessible to readers unfamiliar with classical Chinese.

The “upper” does not mean the sky above the head, and the “lower” does not mean the earth beneath the feet. The Dao is found instead in a realm that is empty, dim, and difficult to grasp.

In the Zhou dynasty, the famous mountains of the realm were divided into three grades—upper, middle, and lower—with twelve in each grade, thirty-six in all. The ancients often compared them to the body’s “spirit palaces,” or to the Upper Dantian and similar centers. Jing and Qi circulate between the Upper and Middle Dantian, giving the human body an inner realm like a “cave-heaven.” The Dao gives rise to Heaven and Earth, and human beings, too, are born from the Dao. Yet the seven emotions disturb the heart, while the six desires lure us from outside. Jing and Qi are continually depleted in the Upper Dantian and drained away in the Lower Dantian. This is what happens to a person’s Qi. It is said that the body’s channels of Qi extend for about eight hundred and ten zhang, and that they diminish according to the number nine repeated nine times. When Qi is disordered, illness follows; when it grows weak, a person ages; when it is exhausted, a person dies. It is truly lamentable that people fail to nourish it sufficiently in youth, gather it in their prime, reclaim it in decline, or replenish it when weak.

Cultivation texts often speak of a “Dragon” and a “Tiger,” but these are not the medical correspondences in which the liver is the Azure Dragon and the lungs the White Tiger. They refer instead to true Qi arising from “Water” and “Fire.” Chunyangzi said: “Only after receiving Cui Zi’s (Cui Xifan’s) guidance did I understand that the Dragon belongs to Yang and comes from the image of the Li trigram; the Tiger belongs to Yin and arises from the image of the Kan trigram. Their union is the foundation of the Dao.” Why is this so? In Neidan, the Five Phases do not move in their ordinary order. As the saying goes, “the Tiger is born within Water”; the Five Phases must be used in reverse. Hence the saying, “the Dragon emerges from Fire.” The Dragon here refers to the heart’s fluids and pure Yang Qi; the Tiger refers to the kidney’s true Water of the One. These are the essence of the mysterious beyond the mysterious, true Yin and true Yang. In the cosmos, they give rise to the myriad things; within the human body, they give rise to Shen. The heart-fluid Fire is neither imagined, insubstantial Qi nor something forcibly produced through improper breathing.

There are also said to be three kinds of “true Fire.” The heart is the sovereign Fire, called the Upper mei; the kidneys are the ministerial Fire, called the Middle mei; and the bladder is the people’s Fire, called the Lower mei. When the three Fires gather, they become Fire; when dispersed, they become Qi. Their circulation through ascent and descent follows the rule of the zhou tian cycle, whose measure is about two hundred and sixty, corresponding to the degrees of a complete celestial circuit. In the natural world, the Qi of Heaven and Earth shifts every five days, marking the rhythm of climatic change. In cultivation, the firing cycle advances and retreats every five breaths, marking the rhythm for guiding the Fire. Chunyangzi said: “Use Fire to warm and nourish the ‘Yellow Matron.’” The Yellow Matron refers to the Qi remaining in the spleen and stomach. Hanchanzi also said: “Do not let the spirit of Fire fly about unchecked.” Golden Essence is the finest Qi in the lungs. At first it is transmitted to the kidneys; once its transformation is complete, it is conveyed upward.

The Plain Language Interpretation of The Pivot of the Dao

The Mudball Palace (Niwan Gong), an important point at the center of the crown of the head that Daoists regard as the dwelling place of consciousness, is also called “the flying Golden Crystal behind the elbow.” The Return Elixir (Huandan) is neither an external substance nor a visible form; it is the “elixir” within the Three Fields (San Tian), the upper, middle, and lower Dantian (energy centers). “Return” means that the Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) once dispersed and lost are now gathered back and brought together in one place.

The Three Fields are where Qi arises. Qi is stored in the middle field, from which Shen (spirit) is generated; Shen is stored in the upper field. Once stored, it must not be allowed to disperse again. If one cultivates according to the proper stages of heating, without error or loss for about three hundred days, the Neidan (internal alchemy) is complete. Pure Yang Qi then arises and can be used to refine the five organs. When the five Qi are complete, Shen is perfected and one can ascend to immortality. Why, then, focus only on the Return Elixir when speaking of preserving the body? The Return Elixir does preserve the body, but preservation has its limits: wood can be burned into charcoal that lasts a hundred years, and earth fired into bricks that last a thousand. How, then, could a human being remain intact forever? Those who understand the way of true immortality apply themselves without pause, enter the Great Dao, refine Qi, and thereby become Shen.

To turn inward and kindle the fire in order to gather Shen, one must first have the elixir; without it, this is mere imagining. When Shen is refined and united with the Dao, and the Dao is realized, one sits in silence and meditates. The practice rises from the heart-mind; once the prescribed number of breaths is complete, one naturally leaves behind the mortal body and ascends. Fire is used to refine the elixir: when the fire reaches its proper stage, the elixir congeals. It is used to refine Qi: when the fire reaches its proper stage, Shen takes form. When the fire is sufficient and Shen is numinous, one naturally unites with the Dao and feels, in stillness, as though ascending. When Shen has united with the Dao and the work is complete, one suddenly transforms into a fire dragon and flies up to Heaven’s Gate: first a step or two, then three or five li. To “enter but not leave” is the wondrous perfection of both form and Shen; to “leave and not enter” is to cast off the material body and ascend to immortality.

If the practice of regulating Shen and sending it out of the body has already yielded results, one must not remain in the flesh for long. If Shen enters and leaves freely, traveling and transforming, transmitting the Dao and guiding others to deliverance, and one’s merits and practice are complete, one may enter a Grotto Heaven (Dongtian), the blessed abode of immortals as Daoists describe it.

Returning to the Root

(The Book of the Hidden Heaven is rooted in principle and nature / Safeguard the Dantian and thereby restore one’s life)

The Master of Orthodox Unity (Zhengyi) obtained the book of the Hidden Master of Heaven. After reading it for three years, he came to understand it; after another three years of cultivation, his body and mind gradually grew at ease. Three years later, the Hidden Master of Heaven revealed the essentials of visualization (Cunxiang), and only then did he understand the wonder of returning to the root: the Jing and Qi returning to their foundation in the Dantian. The Master of Orthodox Unity said, “A person’s root lies in the Dantian, from which life is born. To restore it and keep it intact is to restore one’s Mandate of Life (Fuming), returning to the life-giving vitality one originally possessed.”

This is how longevity may be attained; hence the phrase “return to the root and restore life.” Observe the numinous awareness: it originates in the rational principle. When one’s nature is fully realized, one can perceive the wonders of all things without end; hence the phrase “realize one’s nature and the myriad wonders.”

I know deeply that breathing depends on Qi to sustain life, so there are methods for exhaling and inhaling. Saliva is produced by the Water Storehouse (the kidneys), so there are methods for swallowing and rinsing. Thought arises from the mind’s awareness, so there are essentials for visualization.

As for the nutritive and defensive Qi, the blood, and the vessels: when awake, they circulate outward; when asleep, they circulate inward. Wakefulness and sleep, the inner and the outer, nourish one another, and only then can a state of balance be attained. From the Hour of the Rat until the Hour of the Horse, first lie flat and stretch out the limbs, then rise and perform Daoyin exercises to make the breath even and calm. Next, tap the small teeth so they sound lightly, then tap the large teeth so they sound more firmly. Rub the face with both hands until the ears and eyes feel warm and comfortable. Then sit upright with the legs crossed and move the tongue around the Flower Pool (the mouth). Once saliva forms, rinse the mouth and silently count to three hundred, then swallow once. With each swallow, exhale and settle the breath before swallowing; after swallowing, inhale. In this way, both the breath drawn in and the saliva swallowed will descend smoothly to the Dantian (lower abdomen).

From after the Hour of the Rat until before the Hour of the Horse, when food has been digested and the mind is clear, you may rinse and swallow without counting the number of times; stop when the intention is spent. Then, every five days, make one practice period: burn incense in a quiet room and visualize yourself from the crown of your head down to your feet, then from your feet up to the Dantian, and from there tracing the spine upward into the Muddy Pellet (the crown of the head). Visualize yellow Qi streaming like clouds and passing straight through the Muddy Pellet. When the visualization is complete, rinse and swallow again. Then cover the ears with both hands and lightly tap the back of the head with the fingers, like a drum, three times seven times (twenty-one times). Extend the left and right legs, sit upright, bow the head, and stretch the neck as far as possible. Clench both hands and cross them beneath the two ribs, beside the bones at the waist. Then raise the shoulders alternately, hold the breath briefly, and stop when the face feels full of Qi and turns red. After doing this seven times, Qi will rise along the spine and reach the Muddy Pellet. These are the main principles of cultivation.

There is also a subtle and wondrous point: I should accord with the true Qi of Heaven and Earth and move in harmony with it. If I can recognize when Qi arrives and discern where it goes, I can endure as long as Heaven and Earth. This practice begins at the Winter Solstice.

The Pivot of the Dao: A Plain-Language Interpretation

Gathering Qi at the Zi Hour

At the Zi hour (from eleven at night to one in the morning), Yang begins to stir, though it may do so earlier or later. Wait for this Qi to arrive, then set your own Qi in motion so that it moves together with the Qi of Heaven and Earth. The next day, wait for this Qi again and observe its waxing and waning. This is the most refined way of the immortals. Over the course of three hundred and sixty days, if the Qi you set in motion can accord with True Qi, and you persist in practicing this at least two or three times, your body will become increasingly clear and harmonious. With long practice, reaching the realm of the immortals will not be difficult.

The Hongmeng Chapter (The Utmost Spirit Has No Fixed Direction; the Utmost Dao Has No Form / Embrace Simplicity and Preserve Stillness; Truly Accord with Principle)

Master Hongmeng (Zhang Wumeng, courtesy name Lingyin, from Tiantai, who lived during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong) said: “A state is like the mind. When the mind practices Wuwei (non-action), Qi is harmonious; when Qi is harmonious, the myriad treasures coalesce. When the mind acts deliberately, Qi becomes disordered; when Qi is disordered, its finest essence is scattered and spent. To travel through the gate of the Mysterious Female and seek the pearl of the Red River (a reference to entering deeply into the mysterious gateway and seeking the root of the Great Dao), one must first open oneself to the bounds of Heaven, restrain a thousand evils, cut away ten thousand aberrations, and return to embracing simplicity and preserving stillness. Become still, and still again, until reaching the One. The One is the function of the Dao; the Dao is the substance of the One. The One and the Dao are, by their nature, spontaneous. Thus the utmost spirit has no fixed direction, the utmost Dao has no form, and Wuwei leaves nothing undone: this is to accord with principle. One who attains this Dao can perceive the workings of creation and the mysteries of spirits and gods, and can transform without limit: dung beetles become cicadas, decaying grass becomes fireflies, sparrows entering water become clams, pheasants entering water become sea dragons, field mice become quail, and fish become dragons. These are only minor transformations; the greatest is that a human being, too, can become an immortal. I have observed the transformations of Heaven and Earth, the spreading growth of plants, the gathering and dispersing of wind and clouds, the courses of the sun and moon, the clashing of water and fire, and the interaction of Yin and Yang. Looking up and observing, looking down and examining, I have taken examples from distant things and near at hand from my own body. I composed one hundred poems on Returning to the Origin, and selected twelve of their essential verses.”

First poem

At the first of the nine stages, the hidden dragon meets the birth of Yang;

its transformations are plain within the Central Yellow.

As soon as the Great Lü sounds, Heaven’s fire is blown;

dare you see the Rui Bin tread frost upon the earth?

If the Mother of Kun comes to restrain him,

how would the Son of Zhen dare to run wild?

The immortal master once left these secret words:

recognize the Golden Elixir hidden in water.

Second poem

Once I sought jade on Kunlun’s heights,

my feet stepping through the gateway of mystery, the door to myriad wonders.

The waters of a hundred valleys flow toward the sovereign sea;

the stars of the nine heavens gather around the exalted Purple Tenuity.

The cycle of return turns with the sun…

(The scripture breaks off here, at “The cycle of return turns with the sun.” The rest of the poem on Returning to the Origin must have followed in the original book, but only this fragment survives in the transmitted text.)

Brief explanations of terms for reading the passage:

• Birth of Yang, Central Yellow: The emergence of Yang and the changes in Qi at the Dantian (energy center), or central palace.
• Great Lü, Rui Bin: Names of pitches in the ancient pitch-pipe system. In the poem, they suggest musical tones and the stages of the fire cycle in cultivation.
• Mother of Kun, Son of Zhen: Images from the trigrams of the Yijing, used to describe the restraint and activation of Yin and Yang, water and fire, within the body.
• The Golden Elixir hidden in water: A central principle of Neidan (internal alchemy), often expressed as “drawing gold from water”; “water” and “gold” here are not meant in their ordinary senses.

The following is a modern vernacular interpretation of sections “Three” through “Nine” of The Pivot of the Dao.

Three

Yesterday, the “Maiden” in inner cultivation—the Yin essence, or the spirit of Yin—opened the gate of spiritual insight. Just as expected, she saw the assembled immortals gathered in the Purple Tenuity Enclosure, the celestial region where the imperial throne is located. Stars filled the hall and encircled the assembled ranks, while the sun and moon wheeled back and forth. Celestial drums thundered repeatedly in the sky, and brilliant golden flowers illuminated the earth. After the perfected beings of the Three Caverns had met, the Jade Emperor bestowed upon them all robes of six zhu, light and delicate garments of the immortals.

Four

Laozi clearly opened the “Gate of the Myriad Mysteries.” Its opening and closing correspond to the Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth. At the very heart of what has neither form nor appearance lies the foundation of long life and immortality. Cultivate diligently and in secret, with quiet joy in your heart; remain faintly present, and your life energy will be preserved for the long term. Gladly awaken to the realm of freedom, and your descendants too may enjoy good fortune.

Five

The Primordial Lady sits upright in the Mysterious Capital, the Daoist dwelling place of the Celestial Emperor, while three tiers of fetal immortals dance in the eight directions. The floor of the treasure hall is covered with green jade, and the curtains of the jeweled towers hang half drawn, like strings of pearls. Mountains and rivers remain still, concealing the Mysterious Cauldron; the sun and moon move onward and enter the Small Pot, an image of the Dantian or the inner landscape’s vessel. As Yang transforms, Heaven and Earth stir; through this wondrous work, peace under Heaven is achieved.

Six

Within a single luminous pearl, the world is vast. Your own numinous treasure is seen through your own awareness. In the depths of the dark and obscure, the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and humanity—come together; amid the indistinct and elusive, the myriad transformations rest in peace. The Yin ghost does not know: it is beneath the sea. Yang Qi, like a fire dragon, rises to Niwan, the crown of the head, a term in internal alchemy. Those who cultivate this mysterious work with benevolence are summoned by the High Lord and appointed to an office in the azure heavens.

Seven

Your own spirit and Qi, your own body—why ask others at every turn? This bodily form is but an illusion; only through cultivation can it become real. The years rush by, as swiftly as peaches ripening; calamities and transformations pass, and the sea becomes dust. Go seek the heavenly road to the Elixir Terrace. The only fear is that, white-haired, you will still be delaying and putting it off.

Eight

Sitting alone in an empty mountain, I find my own ease; having attained the Dao, I gladly return to stillness. The old man with yellow hair opens the Earthly Gate, while the woman in snow-white robes tends the Heavenly Pass—images of Yin and Yang, and of inner gates. I simmer the spirit-water in a three-tiered cauldron and play with the Mysterious Pearl in a winding stream. Do not ask what sustains my household: one taste of ambrosia is enough to restore my faded face.

Nine

West is Geng, east is Jia: the tiger and the dragon. These two have never been seen in their true form. Heaven and Earth take their places as husband and wife; firmness and yielding unite in the Kan and Li palaces—the Water and Fire trigrams of the Eight Trigrams, symbolizing the union of Yin and Yang and inner cultivation. Clouds and thunder work their transformations through three thousand cycles; Water and Fire surge upward through twelve layers. There is no need to ask much about this work of Wuwei (non-action): in the Jade Pool blooms a single white lotus, an image of an inner flower and the sign of accomplishment.

The tenth principle discusses the crucial timing for cultivation: Among the twelve two-hour periods of the day (ancient timekeeping divided the day into twelve watches), the Zi hour (11 PM to 1 AM) is most critical. During this time, practitioners must focus on cultivation, continuously circulating internal Qi (vital energy) like drawing silk threads or feeding a fire without interruption. This resembles the dharma wheel (symbolizing Qi circulation) turning from the southern to northern position, with "divine water" (refined bodily substances) continuously flowing northward. During practice, one should gather the "Charming Maiden" (symbolizing mental focus) like crows returning to their nest, while the "Infant" (symbolizing primordial Qi) drives essence upward to the "Jade Tower" (upper Dantian) as if herding rabbits. Simply concentrate on preserving internal Qi without concern for the passage of time.

The eleventh principle reveals the essence of Dantian cultivation: True practitioners of the Dao understand that the key lies in the Dantian (the lower abdominal energy center). With clear comprehension of this principle, all doubts vanish. The "Qian Male" (yang energy) should sink into the "Kan position" (kidney region) like a hidden dragon entering water, while the "Kun Female" (yin energy) follows the fierce tiger into the "Li position" (heart region). Maintaining inner purity and restraining desires naturally leads to the supreme state of serene emptiness. Every phrase in immortal scriptures carries profound meaning—consider the spiritual tortoise that can maintain embryonic breathing for millennia.

The twelfth principle depicts the cultivator's lifestyle: Leaving worldly affairs to dwell in sacred grotto-heavens, cultivating spiritual mushrooms amid five-colored auspicious clouds. The longevity-symbolizing divine tortoise drinks from the "Flower Pool" (saliva), while the mystery-symbolizing black leopard hides in emerald valleys veiled in mist. Moonlight and breeze require no monetary purchase; "jade needles and golden threads" (cultivation methods) are readily available. Constantly repair your "pouch" (the physical body), collecting and organizing various methods for returning to one's primordial origin.

Regarding breath cultivation: Master Zhiyou states that each day-night cycle contains 100 ke (ancient 14.4-minute units), with each ke comprising 135 breaths—totaling 13,500 breaths daily. When the sun rises in the east, the meridian cycle completes and restarts. Typically, four breaths constitute one "xi" (complete respiratory cycle). Practitioners believe breath governs Qi mechanism, and Qi mechanism determines life essence. Perfected beings (those who attained the Dao) breathe through their heels, as deeper breathing holds greater value. Bian Que observed: Exhalation involves heart-lung activity, inhalation engages liver-kidney function, with the spleen mediating—thus each breath encompasses the movement of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).

Fan Dajun's Yuandao Jing states: Restoring primordial Qi requires reducing respiratory frequency. When the mind becomes clear, breathing naturally slows—progressing from reduced breathing to breathlessness (extremely subtle respiration), then from breathlessness to stabilized breathing (complete stillness). This "stabilization" represents a natural state free from forced effort. Achieving this enables return to primordial origins and extended lifespan. Ordinary people consider breathing normal, while sages regard breathlessness as normal. Movement involves breathing; stillness transcends it—true mastery means freely controlling breath's flow. Obsession with breathing constitutes delusion; the key lies in understanding regulation and nourishment. Cultivation progresses through three stages, with the foundational "hundred-day base-building" phase requiring unwavering commitment regardless of circumstances.

As noted above, the various losses incurred in cultivation will lessen, and the Original Qi (the vital energy at the root of life) will gradually recover. Dusty thoughts will diminish day by day, while emptiness, stillness, calm, and simplicity increase. The second sign of attainment appears after about a hundred days: the hazy, indistinct feeling ceases of its own accord, showing that the Original Qi is about to settle. One no longer eats grains or craves the five flavors, and feels no intense hunger or thirst. The third sign appears after about three hundred days: one stands firmly on one’s own, a state called the Original Qi returning to its root. Hunger and thirst no longer arise, neither cold nor heat can intrude, and one’s lifespan can match that of Heaven and Earth. The standard for completing both breath reduction and breath retention is breathless settling of Qi (the breath becoming so fine and slow that it nearly stops, while Qi settles within). Practicing breath reduction alone brings slower results; practicing breath retention alone makes it difficult to reach a breathless state. If one can open and clear the hundred gates (the body’s passages and apertures) while also reducing the breath, the Original Qi will become abundant and the results may be doubled.

Someone asked: “Do precepts and prohibitions on practice also have a hierarchy?” The answer: “There are nineteen things to guard against. First, failing to reduce the breath (losing the work of twenty-five days, or the work of fifty small breaths of retention). Second, slight fatigue (losing thirty days, or fifteen great breaths). Third, severe fatigue (losing sixty days, or thirty great breaths). Fourth, slight drunkenness (losing ten days). Fifth, severe drunkenness (losing a hundred days; if accompanied by vomiting, losing a full week). Sixth, desire, and seventh, anger (each losing fifty days). Eighth, fright; ninth, resentment; tenth, delight; and eleventh, sorrow (each losing ten days). Twelfth, fear (losing seven days). Thirteenth, exertion; fourteenth, weariness; fifteenth, agitation; sixteenth, vexation; and seventeenth, hunger (each losing five days). Eighteenth, eating to excess (losing three days). In addition, improper eating and drinking, exposure to cold or heat, harm from wind or dampness, irregular daily habits, scattered speech, and excessive thought all diminish the Original Qi.”

Human beings receive the Qi of Heaven and Earth at birth, and the movement of breath in and out connects them with Heaven and Earth. Thus, unobstructed flow brings life, while blockage brings death. Exhalation is Qi going out: it carries the Qi of the five viscera and six bowels, and when exhaled, returns it to Heaven and Earth. With each exhalation, the pulse rises three inches; the old Qi is expelled through the mouth and new Qi received. Inhalation is Qi coming in: it gathers the Qi of Heaven and Earth and draws it into the viscera and bowels. With each inhalation, the pulse descends three inches, driving out stale Qi from within. When exhalation and inhalation are out of balance, the body loses harmony with Heaven and Earth’s regulating Qi, and illness arises. Is not Fan Dajun’s account of the breath profound and subtle?

The opening of the Zhenzhong pian says: “If the empty orifices are not guarded, pathogenic influences become disaster; if the spirit is kept within, whence could illness come?” This means that if the body’s orifices are not protected, pathogenic Qi will seize the opening and enter, bringing harm; if the spirit can remain settled within, where could disease arise from?

Sun Zhenren (Sun Simiao) said: The Great Dao has fullness and deficiency, and human affairs have decline and growth. Those who nurture life should know to take careful care of themselves and understand the methods of Daoyin (guided body exercises) and Xingqi (breath regulation). Many illnesses damage a person’s lifespan, and the cause often lies in eating and drinking without moderation and in failing to attend promptly to subtle changes.

After the summer solstice and as autumn approaches, do not eat rich, greasy foods, do not drink alcohol, and do not eat garlic, pork liver, dog meat, the five pungent vegetables, melons and fruits, or pears. Those who nurture life keep their thoughts and worries few; those who damage life let them multiply. The key to nurturing life lies in a calm mood and fewer worries, in moderating joy and anger and restless chasing after things, and also in carefully restraining the depletion of Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy). In autumn and winter, one should pay even more attention to firmly storing Jing and Qi.

If illness occurs, one may roll the tongue backward and press it against the throat, rinse the mouth, and swallow the saliva; then close the eyes and visualize inwardly, generating the image of fire in the heart, and then imagine the diseased place as the target of fire’s attack. This is used as a therapeutic method.

On days such as Jiazi, Jiayin, and Gengshen, as well as at the transitions of the four seasons and solar terms, at the end of the month, and on the first and fifteenth days, one should remain quiet and alone, withdraw the mind, concentrate the spirit, and remove desires. Every day during the Hai and Zi hours (roughly 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.), do not spit saliva, do not deplete Jing and Qi, and do not let the breath scatter. When entering the mountains, upon reaching a point a hundred paces from the mountain, first walk backward a hundred paces, and only then climb; it is said that this can make various pathogenic Qi subside and poisonous creatures hide.

Those who practice Daoyin should rub the “Chi zhai” (here referring to a location on the arm) with the left and right hands until it becomes very hot and the skin glossy. After five years of perseverance, the complexion will be like a child’s. After rising in the morning, first settle the breath and sit upright; cross the hands and press the back of the neck, look up at the sky, and let the neck and hands exert force against each other. This can harmonize Jing and Qi, free the blood vessels, and prevent wind pathogens from entering. Then flex and stretch the body, extend the four limbs backward, and shake all the joints so that the whole body becomes warm; it is said that this can permanently eliminate illness.

There are three ways to become an immortal: conserving Jing and Qi, circulating the breath, and ingesting medicinal substances. They proceed from the shallow to the deep, and the key in all of them is “Taixi” (embryonic breathing). Taixi means not using the mouth and nose for ordinary breathing. Those skilled in using the breath can, when exhaling, seemingly make water flow backward and fire go out, and can also cause birds and beasts of prey to hide and sores and swellings to disperse. If illness comes on suddenly, one may swallow saliva according to the “three-nine” count, and the illness is said to improve.

The method of Xingqi is: stay in a sealed room, close the eyes and hold the breath, place a goose feather over the mouth and nose, and focus intently on whether it moves with the breathing.

An Explanatory Reading of an Excerpt from The Pivot of the Dao

(Continued from above)

If the mind can remain unmoving, that is enough; all else is simply a gradual clearing away of stray thoughts. If the heart feels unsettled or palpitates at night, visualize the sun and moon entering the “Bright Hall” (a Daoist term for the luminous place between the eyebrows or within the chest). All disturbances from malign influences will then disperse on their own.

Inner Visualization (How Juanzi Attained the Dao and Passed It to Su Lin / Preserving the Three and Guarding the One, Attaining Fulfillment Within the Heart)

Juanzi said: To establish oneself in the world, one’s body is like a shackle, and one’s emotions like superfluous growths. Only by understanding this can one find the path of cultivation. Breathing exercises, swallowing and rinsing, massage, and gathering medicinal herbs are all minor methods. The perfected ones of antiquity could grow old and then become young again; the Great One (Taiyi) contains the True. Within it lies what is most essential. I once refined Shen and nurtured an embryo, using the method of inner visualization.

Sit quietly in a still room, until both mind and breath are utterly calm. Place the left thigh over the right, let both hands hang naturally, and empty the whole body, steady and open like a three legged cauldron. Then visualize: the left kidney as the sun, the right kidney as the moon. White Qi emerges from the sun and enters the Sea of Essence (a Daoist term for the place below the navel or around the Dantian where Jing and Qi gather), where it transforms into red. Red Qi emerges from the moon and enters the Sea of Essence, where it transforms into white. The two energies mingle and condense into true Qi, taking the form of an infant, pure and lustrous as jade.

Next, contemplate your own form: at first it is only like an egg, then the hundred bones and limbs gradually take shape as it slowly grows within the Sea of Essence. With the hands folded, it enters and exits through the crown of the head (the area around the crown’s Baihui point). Leaving the body, the spirit roams freely and can transcend the limits of heaven, earth, and lifespan.

Note: This text belongs to a tradition of Daoist Neidan and embryo nurturing through inner visualization. Its language is largely symbolic (the sun and moon, the Sea of Essence, the infant, and the crown of the head). It is best read as a metaphor for cultivation, rather than as a modern physiological account.