《道樞》Vol. 18

The Pivot of the Dao, Scroll Eighteen: “In Accord with the True” (excerpt), in Plain Language

Master Hanguang (Fan De, courtesy name Zhao) said: The most precious things in the human body are Shen and Qi. If Shen and Qi separate from each other, how can one’s nature and life remain intact? A fingernail grows upon the flesh; if the nail breaks, the flesh is injured too. If Shen and Qi cannot circulate throughout the body, how can the physical form avoid decline and decay?

Master Hanguang also said: Many people study the Dao, but few grasp its essentials. I once made distinctions among them, and broadly speaking, they fall into six categories. The first is called breath regulation. Most people think breath regulation is the most wondrous practice and that breathing is the most important thing. They do not realize that the throat already has the natural movement of breath in and out, so why rely on deliberate breath regulation? If breath regulation is simply the same as ordinary breathing in and out, that makes sense; if it is something different, then it becomes an added technique. Zhuangzi said: Ordinary people’s breath stops at the throat, while the breath of sages reaches deep down to the heels. Master Qizhen said: Shen need not exert itself for Qi to move of its own accord; the body is naturally still, yet its functions are without limit. Laozi said: “The gate of the mysterious female is called the root of Heaven and Earth. It seems to exist continuously, and its use is never forced.” Master Yanluo said: Simply follow the natural breath without obstructing it; let it continue gently without forcing it. If you swallow the breath or hold it in, the method will go awry. The Cantong qi says: Taking in breath can make the intestines and stomach swell; breathing in and out can instead draw in harmful Qi. The Yuandao jing says: Inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth cannot expel all the stagnant primordial Qi; it can only dispel superficial cold and externally contracted heat. Swallowing the breath can briefly relieve weakness from hunger, while directing Qi can open the skin and flesh. Li Qichan said: Taking in the essence of the Seven Luminaries and Two Radiances and swallowing the breath are akin to embryonic breathing, but they are not the wondrous formulas of perfected beings. When I read what the ancient sages wrote about the Great Dao, I understood that to esteem breath regulation above all else is to follow a partial path. Some people become light in body because they can go without food, and then suppose that their intestines contain no residue and that they can rise into the clouds. This is an even greater delusion. The Dengzhen yinjue says: Long life does not necessarily require abstaining from grain, and abstaining from grain does not necessarily bring long life. Perfected Master Ge (Ge Hong) said: Those who understand the Dao can eat nine times in a day without distress, or go without food all year without harm to the body. Can abstaining from food really be the highest attainment of the Dao? The Xuangang says: Breath regulation is used to refine the body.

The Pivot of the Dao: A Plain-Language Interpretation

1. Daoyin and breathing practices

Keep Daoyin—using bodily movements to guide Qi and blood—as part of daily cultivation, to bring the body into harmony. The breathing practices taught by the sages, which regulate the breath, follow much the same approach.

2. What is meant by “mastering women”

The second topic concerns “mastering women.” Legend says that the Yellow Emperor once traveled around the Red River. Later, people who studied the Dao heard of this and began to promote methods such as “mastering women” and “Golden Flower.” Those with little insight who were eager for empty fame readily believed them. As a result, they practiced until body and spirit were withered and their Jing and Qi exhausted, yet gained nothing and still failed to see their mistake.

These claims actually have another origin. Long ago, there was a man named Pei Jun, known for his generous and forthright nature. Zhi Ziyuan wanted to guide him toward the way of longevity, so he used expedient and unconventional explanations. After Pei Jun attained the Dao, he said, “I used to be troubled by this, but fortunately I changed course early.” These ideas then spread ever more widely among the people, along with talk of “five characters and three peaks” and formulas such as “yellow writings and red boundaries.” They were used to mislead the perfected beings of earlier times—a truly alarming prospect.

Perfected Tao—whether Tao Yuanming or a figure in the tradition of Tao Hongjing—said: seeking immortality by “gathering from women,” and seeking to become an immortal by “gathering herbs,” are more dangerous than water and fire, and bring ruin faster than an axe. The Zhengao also says: “I have seen those who study gathering and mastering die; I have never seen anyone who studied it truly attain longevity.” Even if Jing and Qi are not discharged for a time, that is not enough to become a perfected being. Once they are damaged, the “Tail Gate”—the lower end of the Governing Vessel, associated with the leakage of Jing and Qi—becomes a concern.

In truth, the human body contains its own “Maiden,” a metaphor in internal cultivation for Yin essence and original Yin, not a woman sought outside oneself. Those who are drawn to worldly glamour always seek women beyond themselves, unaware that they should seek within their own bodies. A scripture says: “The delicate maiden, graceful and lovely, veils the radiance of the skies; the many-tiered hall shines brightly, illuminating the Eight Powers.” The Hermit of Mount Tai says: “There are a hundred or more methods concerning the Maiden. Gathering the medicine and returning it to its source does not involve an ordinary woman.” From this we can see that the “Kidneys” are the “women in rows” within the body, an image of its inner Yin. Gathering their Qi first fills the five organs, moving from the waist and navel; it then connects upward to the head and spine, where it makes a sound. One travels twelve hundred breaths a day—the “twelve hundred” said to be involved in mastering women refers to this Qi. How could anyone truly “master” women to such an extent?

Perfected Yang also said: many Daoist books in the world mislead people, and reading them from the first page only further unsettles the mind and spirit. Guangchengzi put it best: do not exhaust your body; do not unsettle your Jing and Qi. Think little and desire little, and you can nourish life. This is the essential teaching for studying the Dao.

3. Miscellaneous methods and side paths

The third topic concerns miscellaneous methods and side paths. The minor arts of the Southern Palace, said to number in the tens of thousands, are not the Great Dao. Some involve visualizing the “spiritual sprouts” of Qi in the five organs, with red, white, green, and yellow associated with the organs. Others involve envisioning the forms and luminous essence of the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise, as well as the Seven Po and Three Hun. Still others involve stepping the Dipper and treading the stars, following the positions of the constellations in ritual steps. All these are branches, not the root.

The text as a whole affirms Daoyin and breathing practices, rejects seeking “mastery of women” and gathering Yin essence from women, and criticizes various visualization practices and side paths. It emphasizes seeking within, preserving Jing, and limiting desire, in keeping with Guangchengzi’s teaching to “embrace the One and guard the spirit.” In the text, “Maiden,” “women in rows,” and “mastering women twelve hundred times” are often Neidan metaphors. Later readers have commonly mistaken them for sexual techniques, and this book is specifically criticizing that misreading.

A Plain-Language Interpretation of Dao Shu

Some people practice techniques for “ascending to heaven,” or take medicines and talismans according to the Six Jia and Six Chen cycles. Some practice the “Nine-One” methods of the bedchamber, or perform daoyin exercises, massage, bending and stretching, and lying on their backs. They wear out their bodies day and night, making Qi and blood surge chaotically up and down and boil over, thereby harming themselves.

Some visualize inwardly, quiet their minds and banish thoughts, or restrain the Po soul and contemplate the Shen spirit, not realizing that each thought brings forth a spirit and that this drains them day after day. Some establish altars and perform Jiao rites to pray for blessings; others burn and compound medicines, using mulberry salt as a drug and cinnabar and mercury as elixirs. They indiscriminately combine golden cauldrons and porcelain furnaces, black lead and white tin, herbs, minerals, and filth, pursuing emptiness.

Some use breathing techniques to draw in external, harmful Qi, causing intestinal rumbling and abdominal swelling and damaging their healthy Qi. Turtles live long by nature; they do not do so by learning “Qi” techniques. Some envy the Hairy Maiden and take substances, yet though pines and cypresses are found throughout the world, no one has ever heard of a northern woman’s descendants flying through the air. Some take metals, minerals, and plants to strengthen the body, without investigating their natures or what accords with the seasons.

Some pursue stillness and freedom from desire, cultivate the Way and refine their practice, endure isolation, hardship, and emptiness, and abstain from food. They sit rigid and serene, their bodies like withered trees and their minds like dead ashes, without realizing that Heaven and Earth are still in motion. None of this is the Dao I speak of. Such people have only the reputation of being eager to learn, but do not truly study how to become immortals. They seek long life yet take the road to death. How pitiful.

A scripture says, “False Dao nourishes the body; true Dao nourishes the spirit.” What follows will speak of the “true.”

The fourth teaching is The Function of Shen and Qi—this is guarding the Three and returning to the One. If you know only to preserve yourself in calm detachment, who understands that “nature” exists within calm detachment? If you know only to take emptiness as the principle, who understands that within emptiness, nothing is left undone? Merely consigning your aspirations to silence and stillness is of no benefit. In practicing the Dao, one diminishes day by day, diminishing again and again until reaching Wuwei (non-action). Wuwei does not mean doing nothing; it means that nothing is left undone. To diminish is to reduce worldly toil and cast off worldly concerns. Wuwei is not standing by with folded arms; it means establishing the way of non-action and bringing its function to light. Reflecting on this, one should understand the wondrous function of Shen and Qi.

Qizhenzi said: “Qi lies in its circulation; Shen lies in its function. Return Shen and gather Qi; when you are at ease and unmoving, that is called ‘stillness.’ This is the same as entering samadhi.”

The scripture also says…

The Pivot of the Dao: A Plain-Language Interpretation

Qi, Shen, and Life and Death

When Qi enters the body, a person lives; when Shen leaves the body, a person dies. So the perfected person lets Shen rest at the “heel.” Some editions write the character for “heel” in a way associated with “head.” Luo Zhenren held that ordinary people find it difficult to enter the upper realm through the “Heavenly Gate.” The perfected person, however, can release the numinous Shen without relying on ordinary breathing.

“Origin” is the body formed when the Qi of the Kun Palace rises and condenses. “Numinous” is the spiritual body formed when the Shen of the Qian Heaven descends and converges. From this we can understand that humans, like Heaven and Earth, receive Qi from the Vacuous Sovereign, and should therefore be able to live as long as Heaven and Earth. The perfected person thus abides together with Heaven and Earth. Shen condenses through Qi, while Qi is sustained through Shen. When Shen and Qi unite, the acquired body does not grow old.

Yanluozi says: within the body is the “White Primordial Lord,” whose skin and flesh are like frozen white snow. The “White Primordial Lord” is the manifestation of numinous Shen. A person who studies the Dao and can recognize it has already gone halfway toward attaining the Dao. How does one recognize it? Through visualization: white Qi rises from below the navel to the waist, travels up along the spine, and reaches the Mudball Palace (the upper Dantian inside the crown of the head). This is the image of truly forming the Elixir, the work of the True Origin.

Clearing the Mudball Palace and “Three Do Not Emerge, Six Do Not Enter”

Then one clears and purifies the Mudball Palace and settles the Elixir’s numinous presence. The “three” means not allowing anything to emerge recklessly; the “six” means not allowing anything to enter recklessly.

What are the “three”? Internal Qi must not leak out, and external Qi must not intrude—but this does not mean holding one’s breath.

What are the “six”? The eyes do not gaze recklessly; the ears do not listen recklessly; the mouth does not speak recklessly or taste recklessly; the body does not touch or receive recklessly; the nose does not smell fragrances or foul odors recklessly; and the mind does not indulge in idle thoughts or anxious deliberation. In this way, external affairs do not enter, and internal Qi is not stolen away.

The “Eight Harmful Influences” are hunger, fullness, exertion, idleness, wind, cold, heat, and dampness. When they injure the True Qi, illness arises.

The Fifth: Refining the Substance through True Unity, and Dividing the Form through Water

The fifth stage is called “refining the substance through True Unity and dividing the form through water.” The perfected people of antiquity had a method for dividing their form and dispersing their image. How was this done? It is “dividing the form through Metal and Water.” Can one produce a duplicate self in the sun, in water, and in a mirror? The origin of form division is the Original Shen and the Six Jia, which emerge in a single day. When that time comes, do not be afraid. Recognize the Mysterious Pearl, and you will know the method. If, at the winter solstice, you hear thunder and refine the Elixir according to the method, then, once the work is complete and the practice fulfilled, you can reach the Upper Clarity.

The Sixth: Refining Shen through Mysterious Unity and Forming the Embryo

The sixth stage is called “refining Shen through Mysterious Unity and forming the embryo.” Liu Gen says: “Concentrate Shen and enter it into the Dantian; it matures like a child and emerges”—this is forming the embryo. Jing has its governor, and Qi has its source. When breathing continues gently and without interruption, in harmony with nature, the embryo forms and Shen is brought to completion.

Note: Editions and scholars differ in their textual emendations of the original phrase “the heel is the head (not the navel/lower area).” Some read it together with “breathing from the Shen-heel”; others connect it with cultivation of the upper Dantian, such as the Mudball Palace and the Heavenly Gate. Here the wording and its context are both presented, without forcing an emendation.

Only what is true—the perfection of realizing the Dao—can be called complete. Clams and oysters absorb the moon’s radiance and can form a bright pearl within themselves; how much more so when refining and cultivating the spirit?

Thus, refining Qi into form is called becoming an Immortal; refining the Immortal into form is called becoming a True Person; refining the true into form is called becoming a Perfected Person; refining the sage into form is called becoming a Spirit Person. The scripture says: “Vast and obscure, let the mysterious flow run its course; naturally, I refine my spirit.”

Zhao Daxin said: “The radiance of the hidden dragon returns to the pure chamber”—this is the foundation of the wondrous Way of preserving and nurturing. Refining Qi into form belongs to the practices of daoyin and health cultivation: the most accomplished may live a thousand years, while even the least may reach a hundred. Yet they have only retained their old bodies and, in the end, cannot attain the Dao. Thus the Celestial Master Wu said: “A lifespan like that of the tortoise or crane does not make one an Immortal.” Long ago, Master Qingjing lived for three thousand years. When Cai Nü asked Peng Zu whether he counted as an Immortal, Peng Zu replied: “He was merely a practitioner of nourishing and guiding the body.”

Dragons can form an inner pearl; once the pearl emerges, the body sheds its former self. This is called a Heavenly Dragon. The cultivation of the high Perfected Ones follows a similar pattern. A Heavenly Perfected One refines the body, spirit, and Qi. Though their transformations are beyond measure, they remain constrained by Qi and form. Mount Wangwu has a cave where bones are shed: all who attain the Dao and ascend leave behind their mortal bodies—for a body with form cannot ascend to Heaven. How much less can a refined body, still bound by Qi and form, endure? How could the body inherited from one’s parents remain forever? Though long-lived, one has not yet left the realm of Yin and Yang.

When the Dao is first attained, one advances to the “First Heaven” and lives nine million years. Advancing to each successive Heaven doubles one’s lifespan. Once it has increased twentyfold, cultivation reaches its limit. One then ascends into the Formless Realm. Even in the realms of the Heavenly Dragon, the Imperial Dragon, and the Vast Heaven of Luo Jue, where the lifespan is said to be about 12,079,775,520,000 years, one remains subject to the transformations of Yin and Yang and has not yet entered the formless.

An Qisheng rode a fine qilin to meet the Divine Matriarch of the Three Sovereigns and asked about the calamities of Yang Nine and Hundred Six. The Divine Matriarch said: “When the cycles of Yin and Yang are exhausted, water and fire will flood and consume all. The three realms of Heaven and Earth will change and vanish. Only the Golden Palace of Qian-Yang and the Bright Hall of the Kun Palace will remain.” Thus, the Ten Perfected Ones and those beyond them return to the Golden Palace, while the Mighty Divine Kings return to the Bright Hall: pure Yang cannot be destroyed, and pure Yin cannot be dispersed. How, then, can one refine oneself? (The original text breaks off here; the discussion of the method of refinement presumably continues below.)

As for what lies beyond the “Ten Perfected Ones,” how should it be described? One refines the form without being bound by Qi, and refines Qi without being bound by form. The Qi may become visible, but the form cannot be seen directly. One emerges without departing from Qi and enters without being confined to breath. Entering the formless, one does not allow oneself to be changed by it; thus neither Qi nor appearance can constrain one. This is perhaps the same state as the Vacuous Emperor and the Supreme Perfected Ones.

Part Two: Cultivating Perfection (Opening the Valley and Sea; Regulating the Abode of Shen / Focusing the Mind and Following One’s True Nature; Observing Transformation in Stillness)

Ziyouzi said: A person’s head has nine apertures, corresponding above to the Nine Heavens and below to the Nine Earths. The body has nine apertures, as well as five citadels and twelve towers, with halls of gold and palaces of jade—the places guarded by the spirits. What are the Nine Palaces and the Great One? Focus the mind and follow your true nature, keeping it in a single palace, and it will suddenly become clear. Then all evil influences will disappear of their own accord, and blessings will gather. This is the way to achieve it.

I have a method for the Six Qi and principles for cultivating the body: the sound “si” governs the lungs, “he” the heart, “xu” the liver, “hu” the spleen, “chui” the kidneys, and “xi” the Triple Burner. The Triple Burner follows the pattern of the thirty-six Qi, circulating through the five viscera and six bowels, opening the sea of food and grain, and regulating the abode of body and spirit.

To nourish Shen, one must first nourish Qi; to nourish Qi, one must first nourish the brain; to nourish the brain, one must first nourish Jing; to nourish Jing, one must first nourish the blood; to nourish the blood, one must first nourish saliva; to nourish saliva, one must first nourish water. Only then can the work be accomplished.

What do the “Nine Returns and Seven Reversals” mean? On a larger scale, they refer to a year; on a smaller scale, to a single day. Day and night complete one cycle as Heaven and Earth rise and descend. From Yin to Shen is the Seven Reversals, and from there to Kun is the Nine Returns.

The greatest essential of the immortals is preserving and visualizing: “preserving” means preserving the spirit within oneself; “visualizing” means closing the eyes and seeing its form, gathering the mind and seeing its eyes. The eyes do not leave the body, and the body does not leave the spirit—this is the gradual practice of preserving and visualizing. Next, one should cultivate one’s nature: seek to exert oneself sparingly, without going to extremes, and do not force what one cannot endure. Eat and drink little at a time rather than in a single large amount, and remain as though hungry even when moderately full.

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

Health and Daily Routine

Those skilled in preserving life eat when they are about to become hungry and drink when they are about to become thirsty, avoiding both overeating and going hungry. After a meal, they should get up, walk around, and massage the abdomen with their hands several hundred times. At night, close the doors and windows before going to bed; otherwise, true Qi (vital energy) may leak out and pernicious influences may enter from outside. It is best to sleep on one’s side with the knees bent, resting the head on the right arm. This posture is called the “Auspicious Lying Posture.”

In spring and summer, rise early; in autumn and winter, it is fine to rise somewhat later. Do not rise before the cock crows, or sleep later than sunrise. At cockcrow, regularly visualize a person within the body, three inches tall, dressed in black and standing upright. It is said that sustaining this visualization for a long time enables one to see a great distance, even ten thousand li.

Everyday Taboos

There are taboos concerning all activities and conduct: do not sing on the last day of the lunar month, or laugh on its first day; do not look directly while urinating or defecating, before or after; do not gaze directly at the sun, moon, or stars, or stare for long toward the northwest; do not run after carriages or galloping horses; do not step over wells or across cooking stoves; do not use a pillow that is too high, or spit too far; do not sleep too long; do not lift up a sleeping mat; and do not sit or lie where you are exposed to wind and frost. These are only minor details of preserving life, still far from expressing the highest attainment of cultivating the Dao.

Neidan and the Reverted Elixir (drawing on the ideas of the Supreme One and the Wuzhen Pian)

I have heard the Supreme One say: Qi accords with Heaven and Earth, and its transformations are unfathomable. The Yang Dragon and Yin Tiger, the Wood liquid and Metal essence, rise into the Muddy Pellet and descend into the Dantian (energy center); the five minerals are gathered to nourish the hundred spirits. When Neidan (internal alchemy) is complete, Waidan (external alchemy) responds. But if Waidan has responded while Neidan remains insufficient, one must not lightly speak of ascending. At times one may hear the sound of metal and jade ringing together; this is a sign that the Dao is nearing completion.

Zhang Pingshu (Zhang Boduan, from Tiantai) writes in the Wuzhen Pian about “traveling along the Yellow Path, where Yin is stripped away and Yang made pure,” and “the Mysterious Pearl taking form, the Great One returning to the Real.” He says there are two kinds of Dao. One involves refining the Qi of the Five Sprouts and absorbing the light of the Seven Luminaries; focusing the mind and massaging the body; taking in the clear and expelling the turbid; reciting scriptures and holding incantations; drinking water and swallowing talismans; knocking the teeth together to gather the spirits; abstaining from meat and grain; visualizing the spirits and holding the breath; replenishing the brain and restoring the essence; and consuming plants and trees or smelting metals and stones. All these are contrived transformations, described as “easy to encounter but hard to complete.” Practices such as holding the breath to enter meditative absorption or projecting the spirit belong, in principle, to pure Yin. Their dwelling is difficult to secure, and they inevitably depend on methods of relocation. Since they have not attained the natural state of freedom from leakage, how could they restore Yang, exchange their bones, and ascend to Heaven?

The Way of the Ninefold-Turn Golden Liquid Reverted Elixir that I transmit lies in investigating Yin-Yang and understanding creation and transformation, pursuing the two Qi along the Yellow Path and bringing the Three Natures together at the Mysterious Pass. This is another path.

Note: The latter part of the original text connects with Zhang Boduan’s discussion in the Wuzhen Pian of “contrived action” and the “Golden Liquid Reverted Elixir.” Specialized terms such as Muddy Pellet, Dantian, Yellow Path, and Ninefold-Turn Golden Liquid Reverted Elixir are translated according to their common meanings in Daoist Neidan, without altering the text’s doctrinal position.

Within the Primordial Palace (Yuangong)—the place where Jing and Qi are refined and nourished and the inner Yin-Yang is harmonized—cause the Five Phases to gather and harmonize, and cause the Four Images (Sixiang; here meaning the mutually coordinating Yin-Yang forces within the body) to intermingle in resonance, feeling one another like the dragon’s roar and the tiger’s howl, with Yang singing and Yin responding. The medicinal liquid in the Jade Tripod (Yuding) gradually warms; the firing time in the Golden Furnace (Jinlu) rises; only then does the Mysterious Pearl (Xuanzhu; in Neidan cultivation, the elixir body symbolizing the coagulation of Jing and Qi) manifest its form, and Taiyi (the Great One; referring to original Qi or primordial true Qi) returns to the True One (Zhenyi).

The work required for cultivation is actually only a matter of moments. As for guarding against danger and being concerned about deviations, the key lies in carefully grasping the forward and reverse movement of Yin-Yang and in the adding and subtracting, increasing and decreasing of the firing time; as for nourishing upright Qi and keeping it full, the key lies in guarding the female and embracing the One (shouci baoyi)—that is, maintaining softness and stillness, and concentrated non-dispersal. In this way Yang Qi revives and Yin Qi subsides; when the seasonal cycle of cultivation is complete, one can shed the mortal embryo and undergo spiritual transformation.

Yet some cultivators speak of lead and mercury as two kinds of Qi, the five viscera as the Five Phases, the heart and kidneys as Kan and Li, the liver and lungs as Dragon and Tiger, Shen and Qi as mother and child, and body fluids and Jing-Qi as lead and mercury. They do not understand the principles of floating and sinking, host and guest—how is this different from mistaking others for one’s relatives? This is probably because they do not understand the subtle points where Metal and Wood overcome each other, nor the crucial wondrous principle of Yin-Yang’s mutual application. As a result, sun and moon lose their constant way, lead and mercury are placed in different furnaces—is it not very difficult to refine the Returned Elixir (Huandan)?

Surveying the various alchemical books, they all speak of the sun soul and moon spirit, the Geng Tiger and Jia Dragon, quicksilver and cinnabar, white gold and black lead, the Kan boy and Li girl, ultimately congealing into Golden Liquid (Jinye), yet they do not clearly explain what true lead and true mercury actually are. Now I excerpt five related poems.

The first says: Refine and subdue the Three Yellows and Four Spirits; if one seeks medicine among grasses and trees, it is not the true medicine of cultivation. Only when Yin and Yang each attain their place can they mutually interact; when the two-eight combine, they naturally respond intimately. The red sun rises from the bottom of the pool, and Yin evil Qi disperses; the bright moon on the mountain peak is pure, and the medicinal sprout glows with new life. People of the world do not recognize true lead and mercury; they are not ordinary mineral sand and quicksilver.

The second says: Everyone originally possesses the medicine of long life; only because of ignorance and delusion do they vainly throw it away. When sweet dew descends, Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, unite; where the Yellow Sprout (Huangya) grows, the two Qi of Kan and Li intermingle. The frog at the bottom of the well thinks there is no dragon palace; how would the little sparrow among the hedges know there is a phoenix’s nest? When the elixir is completed, naturally gold fills the house—why go looking for grasses and trees and learn from others to burn thatch?

The third says: If one does not understand the principle of Yin-Yang reversal within the mysterious and wondrous, how can one know that lotus can be planted in fire? Draw the White Tiger (Baihu) home to nourish and refine it, and one can produce a bright pearl, round as the full moon. Do not merely keep watch over the medicine furnace and observe the firing time; if only one cultivates so that Shen and thought are settled, the elixir medicine will naturally be stable. When all Yin has completely receded, the elixir is refined, and it is not difficult to leap out of the cage of the ordinary.

The fourth says: If you want to know where the source of the medicine arises, it is in the southwest—that is its native land. Lead appears at the Gui hour, and one must promptly strive to gather and refine it; when Metal meets the full-moon day and departs, it is then unsuitable to gather and taste again. It should be sent back into the Earth Cauldron (Tufu; symbolizing the spleen-earth or the central palace, the place of cultivation and nourishment).

He translated the entire shrubbery, heard a shout from above, and then a B object fell from the sky and struck him on the head.

Let’s call Grimm the B object. Which description fits better? The fragments aren’t the B object at all; Winnie doesn’t care; Winnie is the point—but what is it, exactly?

Could it be the cat? Short stories can be strange, but I need an explanation that both moves the plot forward and fits what came before.

A pet falls from the sky. Emotionally… it’s a mess, and a little funny? Like everyday life suddenly getting hit by something falling from above.

Keep translating.

The Twelfth

One must use the “gate of death” as the “gate of life,” and not mistake the “gate of life” for the gate of death. If you grasp the workings of killing and the principle of reversal, you will understand how harm can give rise to kindness.

The Thirteenth

When the moon has just reached the horizon and only half its bright disk remains, the sounds of a dragon’s roar and a tiger’s growl may be heard. At this time, focus on cultivating “two and eight”—the timing and balance of the Yin and Yang energies—and the Elixir can be brought to completion within a single double-hour.

The Fourteenth

In the crescent-shaped furnace, jade-like buds arise; in the cinnabar-colored cauldron, mercury settles. Only after the ingredients have been harmonized in the fire can the “yellow sprout”—the nascent shoot of refined Qi and essence in internal cultivation—be planted and gradually grow.

The Fifteenth

After the banquet at the Pool of Radiance, the moon gathers its glow. Riding a golden dragon, I visit the Purple Tenuity Palace. There, in the Ninth Heaven, I clearly receive the Treatise on Pointing to the Mystery. Its teaching is simple and has no hidden meanings: it merely instructs one to refine mercury and lead, metaphors for Yin and Yang and, in internal cultivation, for the refinement of essence and Qi.

The Sixteenth

When the banquet at the Pool of Radiance is over, the moon’s light gathers and shines. Riding a golden dragon, I visit the Purple Tenuity Palace, the Celestial Emperor’s abode. After meeting the assembled immortals, I let the tides rise and fall and the seas become hills and valleys—changes that stand for the vicissitudes of the world. The cultivator has already transcended them.

The Seventeenth

The radiant Golden Elixir can be completed in a single day; the verses of the ancient immortals are well worth heeding. Those who speak of “nine years” or “three years” offer nothing but baseless timetables; one should not be bound by fixed spans of years.

The Eighteenth

The Great One said: “The woman wears green robes, and the young man is clad in white silk. When you see them, do not use them; when you use them, they cannot be seen. If husband and wife meet, their affection lingers. The flame in the furnace glows red, and the True Person appears.”

(The Great One is a revered Daoist deity. Here, the husband and wife, in green and white, symbolize the union of Yin and Yang, while the furnace fire symbolizes refinement. The True Person refers to the true Yang or the perfected spirit revealed through internal cultivation.)