《道樞》Vol. 31

A plain-language interpretation

The Perfected of Mount Heng, Chen Shaowei, says: When Metal is transformed by Fire, it is called “cinnabar”; when Fire leaves the substance of Metal, it is called “mercury.” Thus cinnabar is formed from the most refined Qi of the sun, the truest substance of Metal and Fire: cinnabar and the essence of Fire mingle until the firing reaches completion, while mercury, though mixed into the substance, can still be preserved. What condenses from this is the mysterious, primordial, upright, and true Qi.

“Seven Reversions” and “Nine Returns” have different names but the same principle. Reversion means refining cinnabar into Metal; return means allowing cinnabar to return once more to the Elixir. Another explanation says that the Seven Reversions refer to cinnabar, which belongs to Fire, changing into Metal. Seven is the completed number of Fire, and seven transformations correspond to the utmost limit of the Yang origin. Cinnabar is processed, then calcined after subduing the Fire, to produce silver: this is the First Reversion. Take one liang, and myriad illnesses can be dispelled. Silver is transformed into cinnabar, then calcined after subduing the Fire to produce yellow flower silver: this is the Second Reversion. Take one liang, and the body will be at ease, the spirit clear, and youth restored. Yellow flower silver is transformed into cinnabar, then calcined after subduing the Fire to produce blue gold: this is the Third Reversion. Take one liang, and you will be empty and still, with few desires, and your heart will unite with the utmost essence. Blue gold is transformed into cinnabar, then calcined after subduing the Fire to produce gold: this is the Fourth Reversion. Take one liang, and light will shine through the body, within and without, clear and radiant. Gold is transformed into cinnabar, then calcined after subduing the Fire to produce red gold: this is the Fifth Reversion. Take one liang, and the workings of creation and transformation will be unable to alter you, while ghosts and spirits will be unable to perceive you. Red gold is transformed into cinnabar, then calcined after subduing the Fire to produce crimson gold: this is the Sixth Reversion. Take one liang, and water will not drown you, nor will fire scorch you. Crimson gold is transformed into cinnabar, then calcined after subduing the Fire to produce purple gold. Once the true Yang essence and primordial Qi are complete, purple gold is transformed into cinnabar again and fired once more. It then becomes utterly clear and luminous, forming the Returning Elixir: this is the Seventh Reversion. Take one liang, and body and spirit will unite; you will rise above the nine heavens. Take the Nine Elixirs again, and you will attain the rank of a Perfected One.

The method is as follows: five days make one period, and three periods make one Qi. Together, the eight seasonal divisions and twenty-four Qi amount to 120 days. This is the firing cycle of volatilizing and subduing. In each period, volatilize and subdue once.

A Plain-Language Interpretation

Within one day, use Kan for four periods and Li for one.

Using Kan means boiling with water; using Li means using charcoal. The charcoal is usually measured at seven liang and kept beneath the cauldron—seven liang of prepared charcoal should always be on hand, neither more nor less. This is a method in which Yang fire rises and Qi flies upward, so one cycle takes about five days.

The Eight Jades Chapter

(The Cauldron of Radiant Light, from a method associated with “Nine Turns of Flying Essence” and the Bagua)

The Perfected One of Taiji once said: “The Most High left behind the method of Nine Turns of Flying Essence and the Eight Jades.” In ancient times, Ge Xianweng, Li Baibai, Pang, and others practiced it. Later, Youxian said that someone received the transmission near Yuju in Chengdu. The method is roughly as follows:

Make two cauldrons—pot-shaped vessels—each with a capacity of one dou and seven and a half sheng, made from clay. Once formed, coat the outside of each cauldron layer by layer with Six-in-One Mud, then let it dry in the shade for ten days. Apply another coat, repeating this process five to seven times.

(Six-in-One Mud recipe: Grind two jin each of oyster shell, white stone fat, mica powder, magnetite, red stone fat, and red ash into powder, then mix with bitter wine to make mud. Add two and a half jin of paper and pound it into the mud until evenly blended. Apply an initial coat one or two fen thick to the outside of each cauldron. After five to seven coats, the total thickness should be about one cun and three fen.)

Fit the two cauldrons together, leaving about three fen of space inside. After they have dried in the shade, seal them thickly with Six-in-One Mud. This makes the Central Palace of Taiyi, the Cauldron of Radiant Light.

(There is another recipe for Six-in-One Mud: grind two and a half jin each of lead oxide powder, processed by levigation, and tianjiangzi into powder. Soak one and a half jin of paper in water, then mix it with bitter wine to make mud.)

Choosing a site and building the furnace: In a remote part of a famous mountain, find a place with water flowing eastward. Build a cinnabar furnace there, with water running around it.

The alchemical chamber: It should be four zhang long and three zhang wide. Dig four chi into the ground and make three entrances, facing east, south, and west. The furnace opening should face outward, and its rim should curve into an arch. The furnace should be nine cun high, and construction must begin on a jiazi day. Build it from bricks and fine earth, with no cracks, and make its top level. When the clay has dried, place the spirit cauldron inside the furnace: fit the two cauldrons together, one upside down over the other, leaving nine cun on each of the four sides, to symbolize Heaven and Earth. This also corresponds to the twelve double-hours: four and six correspond to Xu, three and seven to Hai, and two and eight to Zi. (Here, numbers are matched with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches as rules for choosing the time to build the furnace and set the cauldron.)

Brief notes on terms

• Kan and Li: In the Bagua, Kan corresponds to water and Li to fire; here they refer to boiling with water and heating with charcoal.
• Cauldron and pot: Vessels used in alchemy, often metaphors for transformation within the cauldron.
• Six-in-One Mud: A sealing mud made from various minerals, paper ash, and other materials, used to protect the vessel from moisture and fire.
• Nine Turns of Flying Essence and the Eight Jades: Names commonly found in Daoist Waidan writings, referring to a nine-turn alchemical process and a formula known as the Eight Jades.
• Ge Xianweng: Ge Hong. Li Baibai and Pang: Figures said in legend to have received alchemical methods.

In this excerpt from The Pivot of the Dao, “the ninth, twelfth, and eleventh” correspond respectively to the Earthly Branches Chou, Yin, and Mao. They use the cyclical signs to indicate the order or quantities of ingredients, rather than naming the substances directly.

What do the various “medicines” refer to? Mercury, three jin, is called “Flowing Pearl of the Sun” and symbolizes the water essence of the Black Tortoise in the north and the Kan trigram. Realgar, two jin, is called “Powder of Gouchen” and symbolizes the essence of the Xun palace. Cinnabar, five jin, is called “Numinous Light of the Great Yin” and symbolizes the marrow of the Vermilion Bird and the essence of the Li trigram. Sulfur, six liang, is called “Soaring Serpent of the Central Palace” and symbolizes the essence of the Kun trigram. Beiting, eight liang—a hidden name commonly used in alchemical writings, perhaps referring to a mineral—is called “Powder of the White Tiger’s Suolin” and symbolizes the essence of the Qian trigram. Orpiment, eight liang, is called “Powder of Geng and Xin” and symbolizes the essence of the Dui trigram. Salitre, or saltpeter, one jin and eight liang, is called “Jia and Yi of the Azure Dragon” and symbolizes the essence of the Zhen trigram. Wood lü, eight liang, is called “Powder of the Great White” and symbolizes the essence of the Gen trigram.

Once all the ingredients have been assembled, pound them and grind them finely. First spread “Great White” across the bottom of the cauldron, then layer the Azure Dragon, Geng and Xin, White Tiger, Yanglübi (the Soaring Serpent), Vermilion Bird, and Gouchen on top, in that order. Level and press the layers firmly. Pour mercury through the mouth of the divine cauldron, seal the rim with lead-cinnabar clay, and put on the lid. Then apply a further outer seal of “Six-and-One clay,” about one inch and three tenths thick, and let it dry in the shade.

Choose a Xu day to move the divine cauldron onto the stove. On the Chongyang day, kindle the fire during the You hour, at dusk. Chop the charcoal into pieces about the size of a fist and burn it beneath the cauldron, roughly six inches below its base. The firing proceeds in a cycle of “nine fu”—nine stages of reducing or tending the fire. Add charcoal until it reaches the height of the cauldron’s belly, then perform another nine fu; add more until it reaches the top, then perform another nine fu. Next increase the fire until it reaches the seam at the cauldron’s mouth, adding fuel once every ten days. Continue for thirty-six ten-day periods, a total of ninety days and nights.

After the fire has gone out, open the furnace at the Mao hour on the seventh day. Once the contents have cooled, “crystals flying in nine colors” will be visible. Use a rooster’s feather to sweep the inside of the cauldron clean, remove the product, and grind it to a fine powder. Each dose is one liang. Put it in a gold bottle and immerse it in a cold spring for twenty-one days to remove the toxic fire qi. Then take it out, wrap it in leather, place it in a silver case, and wrap the case in leather as well. Put it in a steamer and steam it for the time it takes to cook about five dou of rice. After more than ten days of steaming, the process is complete.

Note: This passage comes from a Daoist Waidan (external alchemy) text. It uses the Eight Trigrams, the Four Emblems, and the cyclical signs to encode ingredients and firing procedures; it should not be taken literally as a recipe for everyday medicine.

The Pivot of the Dao: A Plain-Language Reading

(The Taiyi Eight Jades and the Method of Ingestion)

Later, use the method of pairing Yin with Qian to remove the water’s toxicity from the substance that has been separated out. Grind it finely, and repeat the process for two or three days. This produces the Taiyi Eight Jades.

To ingest it, bathe on a day of the Upper Origin. Wash with Five-Spice Decoction, water boiled with various aromatic spices, and put on clean clothes. Face east, click your teeth together nine times, kneel, and recite the incantation:

“Restore my constant state; return my spirit to me. For all my life, whether sitting, standing, or dying, I shall ride the white clouds and roam the eight extremities. To the west I ascend to the Golden Tower; to the east I rise to Fusang. The essence of the sun and moon—I shall taste it.” (Conclude the incantation with words such as “Swiftly, swiftly, in accordance with the statutes and commands.”)

Then take one zhu, mixed with wine. Well water drawn at dawn may also be used. After taking three doses, an elderly person may regain an infant’s complexion; the six organs will become clear and pure, and the three fields—the upper, middle, and lower Dantian (energy centers)—will remain as clear as water. Water will not drown you, fire will not burn you, and you will be able to rise into the air and fly.

The Nine Immortals Chapter (The Sovereign Man analyzes the subtle; the Three Worthies nourish their hidden nature. The charioteer finds the hub; the furrier straightens the collar—metaphors for those who attain the Dao each finding their proper use.)

Celestial Master Guangbian (Ye Fashan) said: “Those who cultivate longevity must not be scattered or given to anger. They must not live without restraint or indulge in fanciful thoughts; they must not be greedy, engage in illicit sex, or give themselves over to excess. Only then can they succeed.”

Perfected Person Yongyuan (Luo Gongyuan) said: “Those who study the Dao should first click their teeth together to gather the spirit, then visualize the Three Hun Souls taking the form of true immortals. These are the auspicious spirits within the body. When the spirit is unsettled, illness arises; when the spirit disperses, death follows.”

Celestial Master Guangbian said: “Water and fire are the great medicines of the ancient sages. They are not outside the body, but within it. Heart fire corresponds to the Li trigram; Kidney water corresponds to the Kan trigram. Thus, to make the Golden Elixir, one must rely on the Dragon and Tiger, and on water and fire. First purify the Kan gate as if with water, then bring in the Dragon and Tiger. Their union must be measured, and their operation governed by prescribed counts. Lower the heart fire to burn beneath, and it can treat many illnesses and restore what is depleted. For mild illness, ‘wash’ from the crown to the heels with Kidney water; for serious illness, ‘burn’ from the feet upward with heart fire.”

National Master Liutong (Yixing) said: “For minor illness, use the water method to avoid disturbing the kidneys. Maintain unity and proceed carefully; in seven days, all illnesses can be eliminated. For serious illness, use the fire method. The fire begins in the heart, descends to the left and right feet, then rises to the crown. Follow this method.”

Note: Terms such as “Taiyi Eight Jades,” “day of the Upper Origin,” “Three Hun Souls,” “Kan and Li water and fire,” and “Dragon and Tiger of the Golden Elixir” belong to Daoist Neidan and ingestion practices. Ye Fashan, Luo Gongyuan, and Yixing are renowned monks and Daoist figures frequently cited in Daoist history from the Tang dynasty onward; here, their words are presented in the style of teachings from masters.

《Dao Shu》: A Plain-Language Interpretation

At the two arms, and at various places on the head and eyes, imagine “nine times nine”—eighty-one points of light or flame. In a single breath, let this Qi or imagined fire travel once around the whole body. This is what is called the “fire of the circuit of heaven.”

In cultivation, fire is divided into four kinds:

1. Body-Burning Fire

Begin the intention below the heart. Let the fire rise to the “Pass” (usually a passage at the back of the neck, along the Governing Vessel). Let its light and flame fill the number “nine times nine”—eighty-one. It is said to be able to drive out the “three worms” within the body, which Daoists believe dwell there and stir up desire and aging.

2. Yin-Subduing Fire

Begin the intention below the genital area. Let the fire burn upward through the whole body, filling the number “three times three”—nine times or nine circuits.

3. Numinal Tortoise Fire

Three streams of fire branch from the lower abdomen’s “Kan Gate” (around the Dantian and lower aperture), splitting into left and right paths. They then pass along the inner sides of both legs to the toes, making five routes in all. Let the fire emerge from the tips of the five toes and join together. Then turn it left three times, gradually enlarging it until it reaches the area below the waist.

Next, bring in the Yin-Subduing Fire and unite it with the Numinal Tortoise Fire. Turn them right three times, gradually enlarging them until they reach the crown of the head. At the head, pass over the crown for “nine incense sticks”—nine places or nine circuits. Following the method described above, do this nine times in all.

4. Demon-Subduing Fire

When a grave illness is near death, sit quietly and steady the breath. Use fire by turning it left as with the Numinal Tortoise Fire, burning away all demons—obstacles, deluded thoughts, or calamities.

The Perfected One of Yongyuan said: What is called using fire is using the fire of the heart. From below, it passes to both feet, then rises to the hands and the crown of the head. In a single breath, it must make nine circuits.

What is called using water: Imagine the black Qi at the two kidneys rising straight up like smoke to the crown gate, the center of the head. Let it fill the Mud Pill (the Dantian within the brain), transform into water, and wash downward to the kidneys, entering the five viscera and continuing all the way to the feet. When this is complete, use the intention to draw the Qi and water back into the kidneys. In the case of an abscess, first imagine the Qi entering the large intestine; the Qi will naturally circulate and dissolve it.

The Celestial Master Guangbian said: With “darkly abiding at the root”—silently keeping the mind at its source—place the attention one inch above the nose, with not a single stray thought in the mind. At the “Gate of the Mysterious Female,” the subtle place where breath enters and leaves through the nose, set aside all external affairs, let go of distracting thoughts, and steady the breath until it neither goes out nor comes in.

The Perfected One of Yongyuan also said: The Gate of the Mysterious Female is where the nose and lungs work together and the breath enters and leaves. One should hold firmly to this place and settle the breath. The route is from the nose to the eyebrows, and from the eyebrows to the crown; then from the crown back to the eyebrows, and from the eyebrows to the nose; then from the nose to the eyebrows, and from the eyebrows to the crown. Traverse each segment three times. Do this nine times in all each day, completing the number eighty-one.

What does “refining seven until seven” mean? After forty-nine days, one must first enter meditative absorption on one’s own. (For one period of rest, the breath neither goes out nor comes in.)

The National Preceptor of Liutong said: Once a method for settling the mind has been established, practice visualization. The original spirit abides silently within the “Golden Hall and Jade Towers”—palatial chambers associated with the upper Dantian and Yellow Court, such as those in the brain and chest—and takes a form like one’s own body.

Notes for reading the original

• Circuit of heaven: Qi circulating around the whole body, often practiced in coordination with the “fire phases.”
• Pass, Kan Gate, Mud Pill, and crown gate: Names for passages in the Neidan system of the Governing and Conception Vessels or the Dantian framework.
• Turning left and turning right: Directions in which imagined fire or Qi rotates within the body. Methods vary among lineages; here, left and right turns are paired with the Yin-Subduing and Numinal Tortoise Fires.
• “Nine times nine,” “three times three,” and “eighty-one” often refer to the number of repetitions or points in mnemonic formulas. They need not correspond directly to modern anatomy.

The Pivot of the Dao — A Plain-Language Interpretation

Main Ideas of the Scripture

Once the all-encompassing visualization is complete, imagine opening the crown gate. A yellow cloud rises from above the spleen and rushes toward the crown gate, breaking open the forehead. Perform this seven times in a single breath, for three rounds. Open upward on the left and downward on the right. Thus it is said, “Yellow clouds fill heaven and earth.”

After completing the all-encompassing visualization, imagine opening the crown gate, in the area around the Baihui point at the top of the head. Picture a yellow cloud rising from above the spleen and rushing toward the crown gate, breaking open the forehead. In a single breath, do this seven times, for three rounds. Open upward on the left and downward on the right. This is why it says, “Yellow clouds fill heaven and earth.”

The Perfected One Yongyuan said: When the yellow cloud rises and strikes, men should strike on the left and cover the right; women should strike on the right and cover the left. When you visualize the sacred body emerging high above, press down on the right with your hand; women should press down on the left.

The Perfected One Yongyuan said: As the yellow cloud rises and strikes, men should strike on the left and cover the right, while women should strike on the right and cover the left. As you visualize the sacred body, or primordial spirit, emerging high above, press down on the right with your hand to make it descend. Women should press down on the left.

The Celestial Master Guangbian said: Perform three rounds of seven strikes in one breath. Do this twenty-one times a day. After twenty days, you will be able to bring forth the yellow cloud.

The Celestial Master Guangbian said: In one breath, perform three rounds of seven strikes. Do this twenty-one times each day; after twenty days of practice, you will be able to bring forth the yellow cloud.

The National Preceptor Sitong said: I visualize the numinous spirit rising upon the yellow cloud, opening the crown gate and sitting within the cloud. With all my strength, I draw it back into the crown gate and close it from within. Then it re-enters the Golden Hall and Jade Tower. I visualize it going out and coming back this way several times. Only then does it leave the body, leaving the yellow cloud covering the crown gate. Riding on the cloud, it emerges and looks down upon the body. Practice without faltering. By the forty-ninth day, a form should appear, faintly visible like an ink painting. By the one hundred and eightieth day, you will naturally be able to come and go freely.

The National Preceptor Sitong said: I visualize the numinous spirit rising on the yellow cloud, opening the crown gate and sitting inside the cloud. With all my strength, I draw it back into the crown gate and close the gate from within. Then it re-enters the Golden Hall and Jade Tower, the imagined sacred places within the body, including the upper Dantian. I visualize it going out and coming back in this way several times. Only then does it leave the body, leaving the yellow cloud over the crown gate. It rides out on the cloud and looks down at the body. Keep practicing without faltering. By the forty-ninth day, a form should appear, faintly visible like an ink painting. By the one hundred and eightieth day, you will naturally be able to come and go freely.

Once it has opened, open the crown gate and enter the body; then the whole body, from top to bottom, will grow warm.

Once the crown gate has opened, open it again and enter the body. The whole body, from top to bottom, will grow warm.

The Celestial Master Guangbian said: You may also do this lying down. This is called the Sleep Method: going out is like falling asleep, and returning is like waking.

The Celestial Master Guangbian said: You may also practice while lying down. This is called the Sleep Method: the departure is like falling asleep, and the return is like waking.

In cultivating the Dao, one must wait for Yang to rise and refrain from emission, allowing Yang Qi to do its work. Therefore, when the first Yang is born, practice in a quiet room. Set aside all distracting concerns and hold in mind the spirits of the five viscera: the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. This is the state called “indistinct and obscure.”

In cultivating the Dao, wait for Yang to arise and do not emit Jing, so that Yang Qi can do its work. When the first Yang is born, practice in a quiet room. Set aside all distractions and hold in mind the spirits of the five viscera: the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise. This is what is meant by being in an indistinct, obscure state.

The Celestial Immortal Sovereign said: What does it mean to store the sun above the head and complete forty-five counts? Is this the method of swallowing the essences of the sun and moon?

The Celestial Immortal Sovereign said: What does it mean to store the sun above the head and complete forty-five counts? Is this the method of swallowing the essences of the sun and moon?

At dawn, just as the sun rises, face east and sit. Imagine the sun as a chariot wheel gradually approaching your mouth. Then swallow it, making seventy-two swallows in all, and send it below the navel. Use the River Chariot to turn it and draw it upward into the crown gate. After practicing this for seventy-two days, you may gather the essence of the moon.

At dawn, when the sun has just risen, sit facing east. Imagine the sun as a chariot wheel slowly approaching your mouth, then swallow it. Make seventy-two swallows in all, sending it below the navel. Use the River Chariot—the circulation of inner Qi—to turn it and draw it upward into the crown gate. After practicing this for seventy-two days, you may gather the essence of the moon.

After the first quarter moon on the eighth day of each month, sit facing the moon with your eyes closed and imagine the moon…

After the first quarter moon on the eighth day of each month, sit facing the moon with your eyes closed and imagine the moon… (The passage continues no further.)

Brief Explanation

This passage describes Neidan (internal alchemy) and visualization practices:

The passage cites the Perfected One Yongyuan, the Celestial Master Guangbian, the National Preceptor Sitong, and the Celestial Immortal Sovereign. They describe the steps and formulas for making the yellow cloud strike the crown, bringing forth a visible spirit form, practicing the Sleep Method, cultivating the first Yang, and swallowing the essences of the sun and moon.

“Swallowing the Moon’s Radiance” Method

Take the Moon’s radiance into the mouth and swallow it, eighty-one times in all, doing this for twenty-three consecutive days. Stop after the last quarter of the Moon. The following month, repeat the practice once during the first quarter and once during the last quarter. Each round lasts eighty days plus one day—that is, eighty-nine days—then stop. This complete practice is called “Carrying the Sun and Embracing the Moon.”

“Receiving the Sun” Method

There is another method. At the hour of the Rabbit, face east and visualize the Sun as a bright mirror gradually moving closer. Receive it through the nose: the breath enters from the Mysterious Female (the area behind the navel, around the Dantian), passes into the abdomen, and is then lifted with the River Cart (visualizing Qi being drawn upward along the Governing Vessel).

At midday, face west and visualize the Sun as a suspended mirror. Tilt your head back and receive it through the nose at the Mysterious Female, then lift it with the River Cart.

At sunset, still facing west, visualize the Sun approaching. Receive it through the nose and guide it into the Sea of Essence (the lower Dantian), then lift it with the River Cart to the crown of the head.

At night, visualize the Moon as a mirror and draw it down through the nose into the Sea of Essence. Alternatively, at sunrise, face east, visualize the Sun, and receive it through the nose—but only receive it; do not inhale it (to prevent cold Qi from entering the body).

Practice this forty-nine times each month, the number of “nine and five.” Use the River Cart to lift it and make it a pillow. Use the Sun alone and not the Moon because Yin is not used.

Perfected One Yongyuan said: The Sun is the soul and belongs to Yang. A true immortal casts no shadow; it is pure Yang. The subtlety lies in receiving it through the nose without inhaling.

The River Cart may also be omitted, allowing Qi to flow from the Mysterious Female straight to the crown. For three days, tilt the head back toward the Sun and practice forty-five times. From the winter solstice, when Yang is first born, until the beginning of spring, use the Yang number.

Celestial Master Guangbian said: The Sun is Yang, yet this method takes the Yin number eight times nine, or seventy-two. The Moon is Yin, yet it takes the Yang number nine times nine, or eighty-one. This method favors pure Yang, so it uses forty-five days. The River Cart is not used; instead, follow the natural course of Heaven’s leftward rotation, from the Mysterious Female directly to the back of the crown.

National Master Liutong said: The “Five Wheels” beneath the eyebrows refer to the eyes, distinguished as the Blood Wheel, Qi Wheel, Water Wheel, Metal Wheel, and Pupil Wheel. “Rising while still in meditative absorption” means engaging activity from within the state of absorption.

Perfected One Yongyuan said: In meditative absorption, circulate Water and Fire through the eyes.

National Master Liutong said: There are three great elixirs of the Dragon and Tiger. One of them is formed by swallowing saliva once, thereby making it the Tiger.

《The Pivot of the Dao: A Plain-Language Interpretation》

First section: The first swallowed breath (Four Spirits Elixir / Minor Return Elixir)

Swallow the first breath and visualize it transforming into dragon Qi, entering the Sea of Jing (the area around the Dantian below the navel, where Jing and Qi gather), then rising to the Niwan (near the Baihui point at the crown of the head, the Upper Dantian). Use the fire of the lower heart (the warming Qi below the navel) to “burn” it, then draw the image of Spleen Earth (the Spleen in the middle burner) over it as a cover. The elixir refined in this way is called the Four Spirits Elixir (also known as the Two Qi, Dragon-and-Tiger Elixir, the Minor Return Elixir, or the White Metal Elixir). It can replenish the lower foundation and strengthen the Sea of Qi (the sea of true Qi below the navel).

Second section: The second swallowed breath (the count of 180)

Send the second swallowed breath to just above the “surface of the water” in the Sea of Jing below the navel. Visualize it as a pellet-sized pill and pass it through three cycles; then burn it with heart-fire and cover it with Spleen Earth. Each pill must be matched with “three dragons, three tigers, three fires, and three earths,” for twelve cycles in all, corresponding to the twelve double-hours. The nine pills correspond to the Nine Provinces; together they make the count of 180, a cyclical measure commonly used in internal cultivation.

Third method: A flash of the eyes generates saliva; Dragon and Tiger, water and fire

The third method is performed as before: first regulate and settle the breath. A flash within the eyes naturally generates saliva in the mouth, cool as snowmelt. As it first trickles from the corners of the mouth, visualize it as a tiger. While settled in meditation, flash the eyes again; sparks of fire scatter downward, and you visualize them as a dragon. This gives rise to the image that “the dragon emerges from fire, and the tiger is born from water.”

The exchange of the Five Zang (the Dragon-and-Tiger circulation)

The so-called exchange of Qi among the Five Zang begins by placing the tiger in the mouth, then summoning the “fire dragon.”

• Fire descending: Swallow it from the left and send it down to the Spleen, where it transforms into a dragon. It emerges on the right through the Liver, enters again on the left, and descends to the Spleen. Circling to the right three times is called plowing the Spleen.
• Water descending: Swallow it from the right and send it down to the Lung, where it transforms into a tiger. It emerges on the left through the Spleen, enters again on the right, and circles once to the right around the Spleen, where it is “planted” in Spleen Earth. This symbolizes water and fire moving back and forth while remaining within the central Earth.

The Perfected Yongyuan on the eyes and the Dragon and Tiger

The Perfected Yongyuan says: The eyes have five wheels, within which are sovereign fire and sovereign water. Water is difficult to manifest, so first flash the eyes to bring forth water, and saliva enters the mouth; then flash the eyes again, and fire enters the Liver. The Liver corresponds to Wood and the color green, so it is the Green Dragon. Water enters the Lung, which corresponds to Metal and the color white, so it is the White Tiger. The dragon descends on the left to the Liver, passes through it and emerges on the right, then enters again from the left. The tiger descends on the right to the Lung, passes through it and emerges on the left, then enters again from the right. This is the route of the exchange of Qi among the Five Zang.

Celestial Master Guangbian: the measures of day and night

Celestial Master Guangbian says: The Green Dragon belongs to Yang and descends first during the day; the White Tiger belongs to Yin and moves afterward at night. It travels forty-six measures by day and thirty-six by night, in keeping with the traditional account of Yin-Yang movements within the body. These belong to the same system of timing and refinement as the Dragon and Tiger, water and fire, the twelve double-hours, and the count of 180.

Note: This text is a set of instructions for Neidan and visualization. The dragon, tiger, fire, earth, Sea of Jing, and Niwan are mostly images of things within the body, not a Waidan prescription. If practicing according to the book, do so under the guidance of a teacher within an established lineage; do not forcefully practice breath-holding or retention on your own.

Plain-Language Interpretation of “The Pivot of the Dao,” Section Nineteen

Yellow Sprouts and the Sacred Embryo

“Cultivating” the spleen produces Yellow Sprouts; Yellow Sprouts are the root of life.

Perfected Being Yongyuan says: Imagine your body as a cauldron. Place the left foot over the right, and press both hands against the body; make the body hollow inside, like a three-legged cauldron. Gather and still the blood of the heart as though it were a lid covering the cauldron. Through this visualization, a baby resembling yourself takes shape. At first it is like a sparrow’s egg, complete with head, eyes, hands, and feet. Gradually it grows larger and sits kneeling in the Sea of Jing.

Cross both hands behind the back, lean the shoulders and back backward, and tilt the face up with the mouth wide open. At the hours of Mao and You, take the Yellow Sprouts produced in the spleen as food for the Sacred Embryo.

Celestial Master Guangbian says: The Sacred Embryo need not be sought outside yourself. Visualize Jing and Qi emerging from the kidneys, entering the Sea of Blood, and condensing there.

National Master Liutong says: There is a method for refining the Sacred Embryo. Imagine the left kidney as the sun, emitting white Qi, and the right kidney as the moon, emitting red Qi. White Qi enters the Sea of Jing and changes into the image of red fire; red Qi enters the Sea of Jing and changes into the image of white water. The Qi of the sun and moon brings the sacred body to completion.

Once in the Sea of Jing, the sun’s red Qi rises like fire to the spleen, illuminating the whole body. Then turn over and sit in the Sea of Jing. Next, visualize rising from the moon as before. Then mount the sacred body and rise, radiating light that illuminates the body, before turning over again and entering the Sea of Jing. Continue this from the hour of Mao until the hour of Wu, stepping on the sun’s shadow one hundred times. Do it once with each breath; this is the Qi of Embryonic Breathing.

Perfected Being Yongyuan says: The Qi of the sun and moon on the left and right is gradually drawn upward until it reaches the Golden Hall and Jade Gate (the vital point at the crown of the head), where it covers the crown. The Great Yin (lunar Qi) gathered during the preceding forty-five days is used to illuminate the Sacred Embryo. After the Sacred Embryo has been illuminated by the sun, it should be immersed in water, and its light should enter the five viscera; all of this is completed within a single breath. Perform this thirty-six times in each two-hour period.

National Master Liutong says: Refine Shen during the day; at night, let the sacred body emerge from its pass.

Perfected Being Yongyuan says: Once the sacred body has formed, at night it rises from the Sea of Jing on a purple cloud and reaches the Golden Hall and Jade Gate. Repeatedly survey the whole body from head to heel. Then visualize it emerging through the crown, riding a purple cloud. Still the breath and let it reach its utmost limit… (The original text continues below.)

Note: This text describes Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) practice. The spleen, kidneys, Sea of Jing, Sea of Blood, Yellow Sprouts, Sacred Embryo, Qi of the sun and moon, Embryonic Breathing, and Golden Hall and Jade Gate are all terms for inner imagery. Perfected Being Yongyuan, Celestial Master Guangbian, and National Master Liutong are names cited in alchemical scriptures. This translation aims to stay close to the wording; the specific methods should be understood in the context of the complete text and oral instruction, and should not be practiced independently.

This passage comes from a Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) text. It describes a method practiced after “regulating the breath and entering stillness”: refining Qi into form, then refining the Qi of the Five Viscera until it rises. It also cites the teachings of Celestial Master Guangbian, State Preceptor Liutong, and Perfected One Yongyuan.

The Golden Hall, the Jade Gate, and the Body Beyond the Body

When Qi sinks into what is called the “Golden Hall and Jade Gate” within the body—the Dantian and the key points along the Ren and Du channels—begin breath retention and regulation there. Then hold the breath as described in the preceding method. Repeat this breathing cycle forty-nine times. After ten full months, you should be able to form a “second body,” identical in appearance to your own, which can leave the body and travel. Wherever the mind goes, the body can go.

Celestial Master Guangbian says: When this body first emerges, it can travel one step, then ten, gradually reaching twenty and forty steps. After one hundred days, it can travel ten thousand li. This attainment is called an Earth Immortal.

State Preceptor Liutong says: Refine the Qi in the kidneys by holding the breath, practicing for one hundred days. After the hour of the Rabbit and before the hour of the Horse, perform the method described above one hundred times. At night, visualize two streams of black Qi on either side of the kidneys flowing into the Sea of Essence, the place where the kidneys store Jing and Qi. They transform into a black cloud, on which an infant rides upward to the left ear and then emerges from the right ear. With each breath, it enters once and emerges once. Repeat this thirty-six times each night. After one hundred days, the practice can produce a Water Immortal.

The Sword of the Immortals: An Image for Internal Refinement

Celestial Master Guangbian asks: What is meant by the “Sword of the Immortals”? First gather the essences of the sun and moon, then temper them with the fire of the heart. Here, “sun and moon” are metaphors for the Jing and Qi in the kidneys; the lungs are the bellows, the liver is the furnace fuel, the spleen is the mold of earth, and the gallbladder is the whetstone. Practice according to the method, breath by breath, and the intent of the sword will take shape on its own.

State Preceptor Liutong says: To refine the Jing and Qi of the Five Viscera, begin with the kidney palace. Visualize a dense black Qi rising from the kidneys and emerging through the ears, spreading as wide as a canopy. When the breath ends, it returns to the kidney palace. Perform this eleven times in all, day and night, for eighty-one days.

Next refine the liver. Visualize the liver’s green Qi emerging from the crown of the head, around the Baihui point, and spreading like a canopy, its color emerald. When the breath ends, it returns to the liver. Repeat this eighty-one times, and continue for another eighty-one days. Then refine the heart and its red Qi, using the same number of repetitions. Do the same for the spleen and its yellow Qi, then the lungs and their white Qi. When all five viscera are complete, the five Qi will rise together and emerge from the crown of the head. They will shine in five colors, illuminating the entire room; then you will be able to rise into the heavens.

Perfected One Yongyuan: The Four Seasons and the Five Viscera

Perfected One Yongyuan says: Qi must be refined in accordance with the seasons. In the seventh month, when Water is flourishing, the kidneys may be refined. In the tenth month, when Wood is flourishing, refine the liver. In the first month, when Fire is flourishing, refine the heart. In the fourth month, when Metal is flourishing, refine the lungs. Earth flourishes in the final month of each season; the spleen may therefore be refined in the last month of each of the four seasons. Each organ’s Qi must be refined for a period of “eighty-one days,” or about eighty days.

Reading Note

Earth Immortal and Water Immortal refer, in the context of Daoist Neidan, to different levels of attainment, often associated with the ability to leave the body in spirit and travel. They do not refer to immortals associated with the earthly landscape or bodies of water in the ordinary sense.

Celestial Master Guangbian, State Preceptor Liutong, and Perfected One Yongyuan are names attached to teachings cited in the text. The identities of the people behind these names require further research based on the complete Dao Shu and different editions of the Daoist Canon.

The passage focuses on visualizing the five colored Qi of the Five Viscera and practicing according to the hours and seasonal divisions. Its style is characteristic of Neidan texts from the Song and Ming periods onward. The instructions should be understood within a lineage and with proper guidance; they are not suitable for unassisted practice.

Tianma Jisheng studied the Dao under Chou Ji Ding, mastering the mysteries of the Great One (Taiyi), one of Daoism’s names for the source of the cosmos and one of its highest divine powers, as well as the method of transforming through the void: bringing change forth from emptiness and uniting with the Dao.

The Great Yu sought instruction from Ziyi, who explained how the cosmos came into being: form emerges from the void; form then divides into Yang and Yin; and Yin-Yang rise in turn to become the Heaven of the Great One. These are three levels of heaven. During the Song dynasty, the immortal Ge Xuan left a related account in the Special Truth Pavilion, a palace sanctuary devoted to the Dao.

The Scripture of the Six Auspicious Signs and Tremors (also known as a scripture of the “Original Void” tradition) says that when sword practice accords with the void, response comes freely. Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, one can enter the state of True Unity: unwavering focus and union with the Dao. The phrase “sound arises from a gap” is explained by Zheng Xuan as meaning that sound needs space in order to travel. When a person unites with the Dao, it is like sound entering an open space, meeting no hindrance or obstruction.

Cultivating Yang means attuning oneself to Heaven and Earth; cultivating the void means attuning oneself to the mind and spirit. The Great One retains a state of Chaos, its original, undivided condition, so that people may find within it the pivot: the crucial turning point and place of connection with the Dao.

The perfected Zhang Zhen taught that the Way of the Great One must be cultivated to completion; only then has one truly mastered it.