《道樞》Vol. 14

Xu Hezi said: If lead, understood in Neidan as a foundation such as true Yang or original Jing, attains authenticity, the Elixir can be formed and a person can reach spiritual communion. Thus the perfected people of antiquity spoke only of lead and mercury. They never regarded the “four yellows and eight minerals”—mineral substances used in Waidan, such as realgar and orpiment—as genuine medicines.

Lead and mercury take form through the Five Phases and form the Elixir through the Four Symbols. This is the natural resonance of Yin-Yang primordial Qi, like the way a person receives red and white Qi to form an embryo: when Qi is abundant, the child is intelligent; when Qi is insufficient, the child is dull. This principle must be understood. Consider also the Dragon and Tiger: the Tiger is silver, contained within lead, and thus belongs to Water and Metal; the Dragon is mercury, the “Maiden” (Yin essence), and belongs to Wood and Fire. Metal comes from Water, Water generates Wood, Wood generates Fire, and Fire generates Earth: the Dao lies in this chain, each link leading to the next. Lead contains five colors, while mercury releases three blossoms. Joined as a pair, the two are called the “River Chariot,” the movement of Qi along the channels, circulating like a turning wheel. Wei Boyang (Wei Ao) and others wrote the Cantong qi, or Token for Joining the Three, using the Book of Changes to trace the Five Phases in sequence, reveal the workings of Heaven and Earth, and illuminate the Great Return. Its intent is obscure, and most students cannot investigate lead and mercury deeply. To know lead and mercury but not the firing times—the timing of warming and nourishing, stopping the fire, and adding or drawing away—or to know the firing times but not the furnace and vessel, which are the body and mind or the Dantian as the crucible, or to know the furnace and vessel but not the waxing and waning or the ascent and descent of the Qi mechanism: none of this is enough to speak of the Dao.

The heart-mind is the source of the Elixir. If the heart-mind is not united with the Dao, then even if one masters every mystery, I have never seen anyone succeed. The Cantong qi says, “Plant grain with millet; let a hen brood over eggs.” It means that what is not of the same kind is difficult to transform and bring forth life. Tao Hongjing, the Perfected Tao, said, “Cinnabar comes from mercury; gold is born from lead.” This makes clear that kinds must not be mixed indiscriminately. As the saying goes, “When mercury gives birth to water, silver dies; when lead is exhausted, the numinous sprout appears.” This formulation is exceptionally precise. What is the returned Elixir? It is the work of warming and nourishing without losing the original substance. The Nine Transformations are nine changes in the Qi within lead, not nine rounds of smelting in the Waidan sense. The supreme medicine forms when Yin and Yang transform into Qi; it is not concocted by subduing and combining substances such as alum, cinnabar, and sulfur. Mixing in substances of a different kind can produce toxins strong enough to harm the body. Fools use medicines to subdue mercury until it is subdued by fire and dies. This is a grave error. Hence the saying: “True lead does not change color.”

A Plain Language Interpretation of Passages Related to the Pivot of the Dao (Dao Shu)

True mercury has spiritual power of its own, but without the vital essence of true lead to assist it, how could it form the Elixir? Black lead turns to ash as soon as it enters the fire; there is no wondrous “returning Elixir” in that. The key lies in the “Three Ones”: the coordination of Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit)—or, in the language of alchemy, the unity of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, the Three Powers.

The unworked jade of the Dragon and Tiger, the finest essence of Heaven and Earth, does not depend on ordinary medicinal herbs. Instead, it draws on the generating and overcoming cycles of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). This is a principle often discussed by those who have attained the Dao (the Way).

Mercury: the essence of the sun and the vital force of the South. Its transformations are regulated through Yin-Yang and the interplay of Water and Fire. It stands at the head of the Azure Emperor (Wood), as the essence of Wood. Wood generates Fire, and Fire itself contains the most numinous medicine.

Lead: the essence of the northern black waters, which transforms into the Geng-Xin Metal of the West. Metal generates Water, and Water generates Wood. Only when these two substances are paired can the divine Elixir be formed.

In ancient times, Liu Xuanmu studied the Dao under Wei Boyang, but grew doubtful and regretful in his heart, and eventually died young. Xu Jingxiu practiced diligently without faltering, received the Golden Elixir from his master, and lived on Mount Taibai for more than a thousand years. The results of belief and disbelief were plain to see. In more recent times, Xie Chongxuan and Su Dan also took the Golden Elixir and became immortals, showing its efficacy.

Texts such as the Token for Joining the Three (Can Tong Qi) say: take cinnabar as the principal substance and bring it into harmony with mercury; transformation takes place through the “true”—that is, Qi—and beginning and end depend on one another. Use the Five Phases rather than ordinary medicines. The teeth born of Heaven, the naturally formed substance, white horse teeth, true cinnabar: the two divisions of Mao and You bring together the two families. Huainan refined autumn stone; the Yellow Emperor prized golden flowers and yellow sprouts. If the lead is not true lead, or the cinnabar has not been subdued by fire, the two will not form a single family.

The Classic of Circulating Fire says that the Nine Transformations come about naturally: the yellow sprout’s flower is white, the medicine is red, and numinous mercury and autumn stone are originally one and the same. Solitary Yin cannot transform by itself; lone Yang cannot bring things to completion. Their substance is originally pure and still, yet naturally possesses the numinous power to change and adapt. When Dragon and Tiger meet, white liquid swallows white liquid; each becomes husband and wife, transforming into the yellow sprout. In due season, it joins with the Earth. If one obtains the Purple River Cart, one naturally ascends to the edge of Heaven. Do not refine dried-up lead and mercury, throwing away your effort like dust upon the earth. Between Heaven and Earth, Sun and Moon, the numinous substance is called the Metal Duke. The Metal Duke is not lead; it must be concealed within lead. Fire in the furnace consumes the white liquid, and the yellow sprout gradually takes shape. Recall the day they first met: the form of mercury was hard to find. When Yang reaches its utmost, Yin Fire arises; when the Fire wanes, Yang Qi gathers. It transforms by itself into the Purple River Cart.

Taken together, these alchemical terms in the scripture—mercury and lead, the Five Phases, the yellow sprout, the Purple River Cart, Dragon and Tiger, Mao and You, and the Nine Transformations—express a single layered idea. On the surface, they describe compounding medicines through alchemical refining; in inner cultivation, they often refer to the union of Shen and Qi and to the stages of regulating the firing process. They should not be taken literally as instructions for smelting dead lead and inert mercury.

This passage describes how the “ten months of pregnancy” serves in Neidan (internal alchemy) as a metaphor for the stages in which Jing and Qi gradually gather and transform within the body. It also explains the method Xuanhezi describes for coordinating the “cauldron and furnace” with Yin-Yang and the Dragon and Tiger.

Nourishing oneself with food and Jing and Qi, in pursuit of the way to long life

Cultivation begins with regulation and nourishment. After about one month, a white fluid forms within, like snow. After two months, it congeals like butter. After three months, it is half formed, like a flower bud or a drooping bead. After four months, two kinds of vital energy embrace one another, like congealed blood. In the fifth month, the sensation of Qi rises and clings to its root, with a sound like a sob. In the sixth month, Qi moves to the Purple Palace, which in Neidan usually refers to the heart or the area of the upper Dantian; the breath seems almost to cease. In the seventh month, Yin Qi is received and Qi is taken in, bringing a tugging sensation in the hands and feet. In the eighth month, the signs of completion appear, and the organs seem to hold congealed blood within them. In the ninth month, the last red color fades, the skin changes, and hair gradually grows. In the tenth month, child and mother separate: the mother is exhausted, while the offspring remains whole. Its face turns the color of white snow, and it must still be warmed and nourished in the furnace. Thus, Yang is born in the Returning hexagram, and Yin in the Encountering hexagram. The furnace rests at the center, and Earth is associated with Wu, the Earthly Branch of the heavenly stems. The upper and lower parts of the cauldron come together; hold fast to what is within and do not let its movement and transformation escape. Observe the seasons to regulate the firing process, as Dragon and Tiger pursue one another. Yang reaches its extreme in Qian, and Yin in Kun. The Four Symbols should be distinguished, while the sixty-four hexagrams circulate through the central, honored position; Dragon and Tiger bite and swallow one another. The Five Phases each settle in their proper places, with Water and Fire as intermediaries. They refine my soul, while Yin and Yang bring forth my illumination. Day and night turn, the eight seasonal divisions shift, and cold and warmth alternate. Thus the root of the Yellow Sprout gradually takes shape. Sun and moon urge one another on; mindful of the mother’s kindness, the process bears fruit and establishes its gate. For thousands upon thousands of years, it gives birth to descendants. This is the exceedingly subtle meaning of the Cantong qi (Token for Joining the Three).

Xuanhezi says: I have a formula for the cauldron and furnace (lu, meaning “furnace”). The cauldron and furnace symbolize Heaven and Earth; their essence lies in “three and five” alone. The Vermilion Bird is below, the Black Tortoise above, with Heaven and Earth between them—this is the method of Yin-Yang coordination. Yang is born in the Returning hexagram and, through nine revolutions, reaches Qian; Yin emerges from the Encountering hexagram. Water flows downward; when Fire grows strong, it encroaches on Yin, and when Yang wanes, it returns to Earth. Without understanding this principle, how can one subdue Dragon and Tiger? The two energies refer to Zi and Wu; one is subdued by the other as it flies. Below is the Red Dragon (Wood and azure; the Three-Flower Maiden below is the Great Medicine); above is the Black Tortoise (the spirit talisman, the White Tiger’s Flower Pool, and the Yellow Heaven Mirror; the Metal Lord occupies the upper position over Water). The Red Dragon comes from lead, and the Black Tiger from mercury. Following the hexagrams, they unite according to Yin and Yang; after ten months, they emerge from the womb and the embryo is formed. Thus one must know that to transform something into Metal requires Metal, and to transform it into Earth requires Earth. This is where the Golden Elixir abides.

This passage comes from a mnemonic verse for Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy). It sets out the secrets of the “Great Elixir of Spirit-Water and the Flower Pool,” which follows throughout the ancient heart-transmission teachings of the Cantong qi (Token for the Agreement of the Three).

The song says: White Mercury can give birth to cinnabar, and black lead can give birth to yellow sprouts. The key lies in the transformations of “nine times nine”; when these transformations are complete, the “Three Flowers” appear. Once cultivation reaches the stage called the “Palace of Purple Yang,” even refining gold is nothing to boast about. Only when the Golden Duke and true Mercury unite can one cultivate liquid gold and purple numinous cinnabar.

Xuanhezi also says: When using lead, do not let it remain within the Mercury. Filter away all the dross before refining it. Lead is borrowed only temporarily as a medium for joining things together. The foundation of the Great Elixir therefore depends on true lead, true Mercury, and such things as divine talismans and white snow—all terms in internal alchemy that symbolically refer to essence, Qi, and the timing of the firing process. Anyone about to ingest the divine elixir should choose an auspicious “Jiazi” day among the “Eight Seasonal Nodes.” First, set aside the intention to act and cultivate the body through Wuwei (non-action). Only then, through fasting from grains, regulating the breath, turning the gaze inward, and listening within, might one have the possibility of becoming an immortal and ascending in feathered form.

The song continues: Lead is originally the Golden Duke; through lead, the Golden Duke comes forth. If students simply “release” the Golden Duke, he becomes inept instead. The Flowing Pearl is the Maiden; when she receives fire, she naturally flies. This is the Golden Duke arriving to control the pairing, joining her out of compassion so they may return together. They travel together and sit together, keeping both doors shut all day—the lead seals the mouth of the cauldron. Yet they are still transformed by Yin-Yang—the fires above and below—and change according to what supports them. The two natures both return to Earth; the Qi of the Three Flowers does not shift. When the work reaches the Palace of Purple Yang, they transform together into yellow blossoms. By the eighth month, the result should be easy to see; throughout the year, it shines with a purple radiance. This Mercury is called true Mercury; how could it fly away again? Nüwa refined the Qi of the Five Emperors—the essence of lead—and transformed it into essence to repair Heaven and Earth. The world should know the calculation of thirty-six, and the seventy-two measures are set in their places: seventy-two liang of lead paired with thirty-six liang. Heaven receives the One and is complete; Earth receives the One and takes shape. Wood becomes charcoal and is not discarded; the River Chariot then draws from within the lead, while the Maiden is sought within the Mercury. The Great Unity brings forth the medicine. Peng Zu once carefully sealed and refined it, making it firm and dense. One stroke of civil method and one of martial method leave many things undone. At the lower furnace, spread only sea salt; in the furnace, use little of the purple smoke of the Fusang sun. Its deep green vapor fills the air with fragrance; the scales of shrimp, clams, and fish catch the sunlight. To understand how Wei Boyang—the Eastern Han alchemist traditionally regarded as the author of the Cantong qi—rose into the clouds, do not imitate Chang’e, who hid herself in the Moon.

Xuanhezi says: All this is true, but one must also understand “the Qi of the hexagrams” and “the timing of the firing process.” The eleventh month corresponds to the “Returning” hexagram, whose first line is the rising of a single Yang, symbolizing the beginning of spring. When the calendrical marker is set in motion at the Zi hour, it accords with the seasonal Qi. This describes a system that aligns the stages of alchemical practice with the calendar, the hexagrams, and the hours of the day.

The Celestial Dipper governs the work of using fire. Cultivate your Golden Cauldron, and keep your heart clear and still through purification, as if standing before the spirits.

The Jade Emperor, White Tiger, and Azure Dragon are all within the cauldron. The White Tiger can restrain the Azure Dragon, whereupon the Azure Dragon begins to leap and surge.

The twelfth month corresponds to the Lin hexagram. Two Yang lines begin to emerge, and the fire gradually grows stronger, taking on the image of a Red Dragon. The Azure Dragon rises and falls, darting about like rain in flight.

The furnace is shaped like Penglai Island. This is when the time comes to withdraw water and advance fire. The furnace has a door and a shutter; close them quietly to keep out the wind. The key lies in understanding the cycles of darkness and new moon, and the numerical patterns of Heaven and Earth. Only when lead and mercury are properly matched can they enter the cauldron. Set the firing times correctly, and the work can succeed.

The first month corresponds to the Tai hexagram. The two Qi are now balanced. The Azure Dragon in the cauldron is gradually pressed by the three Yang lines, and leaps about with ever greater force. The Dragon and Tiger in the cauldron bite and devour one another. When you hear their howling and cries, like the sound of an infant, stop the surging fire.

When the fire grows strong, it produces thunderous and lightning-like tremors, and the process gradually enters the stage of martial fire. When the hexagram reaches Tai, spring has come to an end. Shut the cauldron’s northern door, and let the martial fire burn fiercely.

The second month corresponds to the Dazhuang hexagram. Its lines mark the beginning of summer. The fire gradually takes on the force of martial fire, while Yin and Yang Qi move in accordance with the seasonal markers. The cauldron now rumbles like wind and thunder, and lead and mercury surge within it.

When you hear the sound of water dripping and fire striking, the Azure Dragon is somewhat weakened, and the Elixir is somewhat formed.

The third month corresponds to the Guai hexagram. Before long it will change into pure Qian, and the fire will be worked with still greater force. At this point the Azure Dragon and White Tiger restrain and subdue one another of their own accord. Purple powder appears above the cauldron, and red lotus flowers appear all around it.

The fourth month corresponds to the Qian hexagram. All six positions are now Yang lines, forming the image of a great furnace blazing with light. The martial fire is especially fierce: this is the height of the “overreaching Dragon.” The White Tiger devours the Azure Dragon completely, then it too grows weak and lies subdued.

The thunder and lightning fall silent. The cauldron is empty and soundless; inner and outer forces are harmonized, and the sea water is entirely exhausted. Take special care to protect the work, for it is about to enter the Horse position: the southern Nine Palaces of Li.

The verse says:

“The sage seizes the secret of creation and sets the sun and moon within the furnace with his own hands. Gently turning and inverting the essences of Heaven and Earth, he gathers Yin and Yang and sets spirits and ghosts in motion. If you can recognize the sun’s hun and the moon’s po, then you are one who knows, a child of the immortals. Refine and consume it for a thousand days; with no Yin left in the body, how could you die?”

This is what the passage means. The fifth month corresponds to the Gou hexagram.

This passage maps the twelve monthly stages of cultivation onto the twelve changing hexagrams of the Zhouyi, including Lin, Tai, Dazhuang, Guai, Qian, and Gou. Through metaphors such as the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, lead and mercury, and the Golden Cauldron, it describes the full process of Yin and Yang joining and the advance and retreat of the firing times in Neidan practice. It is a central statement of the Daoist Neidan theory of the “firing times of the twelve months.”

A Plain-Language Interpretation of The Pivot of the Dao (Daoshu)

When the first Yin begins to arise, this is a sign of peace that the Elixir is nearing completion. The fire of the Li Palace (the heart) and the water of the Kan Palace (the kidneys) correspond across their respective realms and continue to circulate as before. The clouds and rain within the cauldron (the Dantian, or energy center) have ceased; within, there is a fragrant, vivid redness, like the gentle warmth of spring. From the return of Yang in the eleventh month to the return of Yin in the fifth month, this is the natural rhythm of the “Nine Returns and Seven Reversions.”

The sixth month corresponds to the Dun hexagram. Yin gradually grows and returns to the Kun position in the southwest; at this time, “lead is gathered,” corresponding to the season of autumn. Above the furnace is the “sea water” (the water of the kidneys): it increases as Yin enters and diminishes as Yang arrives. A water clock is placed in the room to measure the time, as the practitioner waits for the Elixir to reach this point. By then it has filled the cauldron, red as a rosy cloud.

Once the second Yin has arisen, there is no longer any need to worry that the Dragon and Tiger—the Yin-Yang vital energies—will be lost.

The seventh month corresponds to the Pi hexagram. The three Yang lines have withdrawn and returned to Yin; the Yellow Sprout then forms its flower, and the sea water (the water of the kidneys) increases by half. Within a single room, one sets Heaven and Earth in motion and takes charge of creation’s transformations. When the Elixir is complete, is it not like Heaven and Earth bringing forth and nurturing the myriad things?

The eighth month corresponds to the Guan hexagram. Mao and You mark the central divisions of Heaven and Earth; therefore, the time of You is crucial for “gathering the medicine.”

The ninth month corresponds to the Bo hexagram. Five Yin lines have returned, and Yin and Yang are nearing completion. The Yang fire gradually withdraws, while the upper water increases again. All becomes clear and still, without movement: this is the end of the year.

Who knows that the Great Returning Elixir moves what is present from within what is absent, takes the One as its foundation, and gathers the One within the One, coming to completion naturally?

The tenth month corresponds to the Kun hexagram. Its cycle has run its course and its fire has grown faint; this is the time when pure Yin bears fruit. Prayers are offered to the Primordial Dipper and invocations made to the Great Mound (the stars of Heaven and Earth) to protect the cauldron, for fear that malign Qi might intrude. One waits until the star-fire burns out by itself and the furnace and cauldron have both grown cold, then opens the cauldron. A luminous purple powder lies on top: this is called the Elixir of Purple Wandering.

What is the essential principle of the “Three, Five, and One”? The Kan Palace has a presiding figure called the Mysterious Mother, who holds the Azure Dragon within her. The envoy of the south can transform and adapt, partially diminishing the essence of Wood so that it returns to the Yellow Earth. At the time of primordial undifferentiation, it is joined as husband and wife. When Yin has been exhausted and transformed into pure Yang, its treasure rises aloft and can be gathered. There is a proper time for gathering and a proper day for taking it. Consume it for three years, and it will become firm and solid.

Note: This text uses the twelve months, the Eight Trigrams (including Dun, Pi, Guan, Bo, and Kun), the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang, the Nine Returns and Seven Reversions, and the timing of the furnace and fire in Neidan practice to describe the yearly rhythm of cultivation and the process of forming the Elixir. The Mysterious Mother, Azure Dragon, Three, Five, and One, and Elixir of Purple Wandering are specialized Neidan terms, retained here with brief explanations.

For the master of long life.

The Chapter on Embryonic Breathing

(“Continuous and seeming to exist, it circulates the original Qi”; “After nine years facing a wall, this matter became clear”)

In the kingdom of Shendu, there lived a perfected person named Baoguan, who was well versed in the method of embryonic breathing and whose body therefore never grew old. Hearing of him, Bodhidharma went to seek his instruction and said, “The people of the lands of Zhendan cannot endure cold and heat. They therefore deplete their true Qi and perish. I intend to travel east. I hope to learn the method of embryonic breathing so that I may help save them.” Baoguan sat calmly and said, “I will tell you: human life begins with embryonic breathing. Spirit-consciousness joins with essence and congeals; through the changes of days and months, the body takes shape. Once the body has formed, Shen (spirit) dwells within it. Thus Shen cannot dwell without form; form cannot change without Qi; and Qi cannot be established without form. We therefore know that Shen and form are the basis for receiving Qi, while Qi is the root that nourishes form. Only when these three are joined in harmony does a person emerge into the world.

“While still in the mother’s womb, the child lies below the navel. After three months in a formless, undifferentiated state, the mysterious female (the nose) is complete. Once it is formed, like the stem of a melon, the mother’s Qi flows into it unseen. When the mother exhales, the child exhales; when she inhales, the child inhales. This continues without interruption for ten months. When Qi is sufficient and the body firm, and Shen is complete and awareness fully formed, the child leaves the womb and is born. Ten days after birth, emotions begin to show outwardly; the infant becomes a child, expressing joy and anger through pointing and gazing. What was genuine comes first, then what is false, and the child has already lost the Dao. How much more so when the mind chases external things: the eyes are dazzled by the five colors, the ears indulge in the five sounds, the nose is captivated by countless fragrances, the tongue craves many flavors, the body delights in softness and warmth, and the mind fills with joy and anger. Shen is set in motion and the intellect put to work without a moment’s pause; day and night, the person races on without stopping. The original, unadorned nature is scattered and gone. The body then withers, the hair falls out, Qi is lost and Shen declines. Unable to withstand the mutual assaults of cold and heat, how could such a person live long?

“The sages understood that the refined Qi of the Five Phases forms the body, so they cultivated this refined Qi to replenish it, returning to the root and restoring the origin in order to grasp the key to embryonic breathing. When the heart-mind is still, Shen is at ease; when Shen is at ease, blessings arise. Why? Shen is the child of Qi, and Qi is the mother of Shen. When Shen is active, Qi nourishes it; when Qi is cut off, Shen perishes. The way to long life lies in joining Shen and Qi.”

Shendu is an ancient name for India; Zhendan is an ancient name for China; Bodhidharma is also known as Dharma. Embryonic breathing refers to a cultivation method in which the breath through the nose continues faintly, as if one were a child in the womb. The “mysterious female” refers to the nose, the passage through which Qi enters and leaves. “Nine years facing a wall” refers to the legend that Bodhidharma meditated facing a wall for nine years.

The mind remains still and inwardly centered, and the spirit is not driven by external things. With no coming or going, no exiting or entering, clarity is ever present. Thus the “Gate of the Mysterious Female”—the gate to the source of life in Daoist thought—is the gateway to longevity. Going further: do not think about external things, look at external sights, indulge in external desires, or crave external flavors. Turn your attention inward again and again, so the heart’s fire does not scatter and spirit and Qi unite, returning to the source of the five viscera and six bowels. Over time, spirit and Qi grow bright and illuminating, and the five viscera open through to the limbs.

Ordinary people breathe in the area of the throat. Sages keep their breath in the “Sea of Qi” (three inches below the navel, also called the “womb”: the root of primordial Qi, or the True One Qi). To keep it there, continuous and unbroken, is called returning to simplicity and restoring the origin. When Qi gathers and does not scatter, the five viscera remain firm and undamaged, the body is not easily ruined, and awareness is at peace. These are the essentials of longevity. The body is the dwelling place of Qi and the spirit’s master. If the master does not remain within but serves what is outside, the dwelling becomes empty and falls into ruin. How much more so if even a single breath does not remain in the Sea of Qi?

Sages take spirit and Qi as their governors. The breath descends to “Bubbling Spring” (the sole of the foot), while spirit and Qi gather and replenish the Sea of Qi. The breath rises to answer the Nine Heavens, while spirit and Qi gather and fill the “Mud Ball” (the upper Dantian, in the brain). Filling the Mud Ball above and replenishing the Dantian below, the two realms above and below connect, slowing the aging process. If, on exhaling, the spirit cannot govern, or, on inhaling, Qi cannot take charge, then a breath left incomplete harms fetal breathing. If spirit and Qi do not unite, they cannot gather in the womb. Only when the spirit can guide Qi and almost no breath passes through the nose is it true fetal breathing.

Ordinary people respond to objects through the senses and give rise to attachment, pursuing sexual desire and letting Jing and Qi drain downward until the body withers. Thus one gains not even a drop of benefit, yet is constantly losing Qi as if a dyke had burst, forfeiting the root of life. Only when spirit and Qi unite and mother and child remain together, dispersing and replenishing the Three Palaces with each breath as it moves up and down, do Jing and soul remain undispersed. Stillness is the root of undying life; the mind is the master of Qi, and Qi follows the mind. When the mind moves, Qi moves.

When things move, they move; when the world is in disorder, it is disordered; when things are at peace, they are settled. Sorrow harms the body, and distress brings decline. Therefore, the Sage does not deliberately pursue the body’s form, force the use of the mind, let external things control him, or cling to any one place. He does not deliberately seek stillness or deliberately avoid disorder. Instead, he follows nature and takes delight in himself, completely clearing away delusion from within. This is the foundation of long life.

Always keep in mind that the body inherited from one’s parents is called fetal breathing: the inner breath of a fetus, which neither inhales nor exhales in the womb. The six entrances—the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—then develop, as do the five organs and six viscera, the bones and flesh, and the sinews and vessels; all grow through fetal breathing.

The source of fetal breathing neither emerges nor disappears. It is shaped like an egg and colored like crystal, and arises through intent. When it moves and circulates, the inner Qi does not leave the body; the intent follows its movement, and it comes and goes. Draw in the mind and extend the neck like a crane: this is the outer form, called the crane form. Bend at the waist and fill the belly like a tortoise: this is the inner form, called the tortoise form.

Guide it with intent. Do not breathe in and out through the mouth and nose, and do not use the method of clenching the fists to secure essence. The Gate of the Mysterious Female, the Daoist term for the passage through which Qi enters and leaves, whether at the mouth and nose or the Dantian, should ordinarily remain closed, so that Qi circulates throughout the whole body.

First enter a quiet room and sit cross-legged as if entering meditation, keeping the body still. Imagine fetal breathing as clouds and mist, as smoke from a furnace, or as threads within a lotus stem. Guide it with intent so that it circulates through the four heavens—the whole body—and the channels of the breath flow freely. Next, guide Qi to fill the Muddy Pellet, the upper Dantian roughly behind the space between the eyebrows. Then guide Qi to gather on the tongue, work it together and refine it, imagining it as an egg swallowed into the belly. Take care not to let the practice go astray. Let the five organs and six viscera receive its nourishing fluids and Qi, becoming firm, while the body grows radiant and lustrous. In this way, fetal breathing roams within the body.

If you feel hunger or thirst, swallow the fluids from time to time, guiding them downward with intent, without counting how often. When full, rest. Direct your intent toward the place where you feel pain or illness; stop once it has healed. In all your movements, when standing or walking, sleeping or sitting, keep fetal breathing in mind. If it remains undispersed for three or five years, the practice will reach full accomplishment.

If Qi sinks downward, do not force it to stop; forcing it to stop will cause illness. Once the practice is accomplished, there is no need to be confined to a quiet room. Practice wherever you wish, always imagining the body as a ball used in cuju: when its inner Qi is full, the limbs become light and strong.

Then contemplate further: my body, my mind, and my fetal breathing gradually grow until they become one with the Great Void. At first, imagine my body as the moon: if I sit in a room, its light fills the room; if I dwell in a city, its light fills the city.

A Vernacular Interpretation of Daoshu

When one reaches this stage, radiance fills the whole city. If the spirit roams through a whole country, radiance fills that country. Extending further, one pervades the emptiness in all ten directions, yet no bodily form of one’s own can be seen. Mind and breath, together with fetal breathing, merge completely; the emptiness is free of thought and intention, clear and still in utter quiescence. After contemplating in this way, retrace the path and draw everything back: from country to city, from city to room, as the realm gradually contracts. With further refinement, to go to another place takes only a single thought; to conceal one’s traces, one need only form the intention and they vanish. One is free in life and death, and eating or abstaining from food presents no hindrance. This is the realization of the Dao.

Thus, one should regulate the spirit like an infant, resting peacefully in “suchness.” Through cold and heat, withering and flourishing, body and spirit can remain in harmony of their own accord. Breath and spirit unite like a golden image inside a crystal vessel: the golden image represents the Dharma body, and the crystal represents the physical form rooted in one’s nature. When the mirror is bright, the Dharma image appears of itself; when the water is clear, the reflection settles of itself.

Heavenly food nourishes the spirit; earthly food nourishes the body. When one embraces the numinous and holds to what is substantial, spirit and Qi become numinous of their own accord. The wondrous medicine of the snowy mountain is born from the crown of the head. When practice reaches emptiness and stillness, the body becomes light and the spirit serene; then blood is transformed into milk and bones into jade. Hence it is said: “The essence of the Way of Heaven is obscure and mysterious. The spirit does not see the spirit; the form does not see the form”—that is, mind without mind, form without form. If mind itself does not exist, how much less do things outside the body?