《雲笈七籤》Vol. 35

Miscellaneous Methods of Cultivation

On Nourishment

Whenever the body or Qi is obstructed, this is caused by deluded thought; such effects, too, are brought about by the mind. Once a thought takes shape, change has no fixed pattern. Let go of thought, and many things return to emptiness and stillness. During cultivation, the force of gathering and refining causes the pores to open and the breath to disperse, so one should replenish and nourish oneself immediately afterward.

The method of replenishment is as follows: stretch out your arms and legs and lie down to rest. Visualize a mass of su, a dairy fat, above your head. Imagine it melting and flowing into your body, spreading through all four limbs. Then visualize yourself lying in a pool of melted su and bathing in it. Practiced over time, this can give the skin a healthy glow. After gathering Qi, refining Qi, and replenishing yourself, when you are ready to get up and go outside, if you are sweating, first wipe yourself with a little rice flour so the sweat dissipates and the skin dries. Only then should you expose yourself to wind and sunlight; otherwise, you may harm your body.

The methods described in the preceding chapters are all practices to be performed during the same period. They have been set out in separate chapters and arranged in sequence because later readers might otherwise find them difficult to understand.

Prohibitions

Salt can strengthen Kidney Qi, but desire damages Lung Qi; therefore, one should abstain from salt. Chewing food and craving its flavors weaken a person, so these should be kept in check.

People are born through desire, and may also die through desire. This is like the blossoms along a path between peach and plum trees: purple at the base and red at the petals, they open in the wind and wither in the wind. One should regard the body as a state, Shen as its ruler, Jing as its ministers, and Qi as its people. Let the people support the ruler and the foundations remain firm; only then can the state be at peace. When ruler and ministers are strong and harmonious, governance can succeed.

Qi transforms into Jing, Jing transforms into Shen, and Shen transforms into an infant. Thus, only through the union of man and woman and the joining of their Jing and Qi can the human body come into being. If one can preserve and nourish Jing and Qi, one can nourish oneself from within. Jing is the source of the blood vessels and the finest substance of the bone marrow. When the Five Viscera are damaged, the sinews and bones wither and weaken, and the hun and po souls can no longer remain securely at rest; therefore, one must be especially cautious.

There is also concern that strong desire and entrenched habits may be difficult to overcome. Even when one manages to restrain oneself, intercourse may still occur in dreams. One should cultivate quiet contemplation to guard against and subdue desire; this is what is meant by the Way of longevity. Returning Jing and Qi to nourish the brain can prolong life and earn a place in the registers of the High Immortals. The Inner Tradition of the Queen Mother of the West says that if one can refrain at all times from spitting and shedding tears, one may also hold a date in the mouth, chew it, and swallow the saliva.

Expedient Methods

At times, a person’s mind is confused and cannot awaken, so expedient methods are needed to explain the principle. For example… [The original text ends here.]

After the lad obtained the wondrous art, he hurried out and met Master Bo. Master Bo asked him, “Can you escape the Eight Difficulties? On what grounds do you study the Dao?”

The lad asked, “What are the Eight Difficulties?”

Master Bo said, “Not giving up the resolve to seek the Dao is the first difficulty. Not visiting a wise teacher is the second. Not choosing a quiet place to live is the third. Not setting aside worldly affairs is the fourth. Not letting go of family ties and romantic attachments is the fifth. Not abandoning desires for fame and profit is the sixth. Not eliminating feelings of joy and anger is the seventh. Not cutting off sexual desire is the eighth.”

The lad said, “I am already free of all these entanglements.”

Master Bo said, “The ailments commonly seen in ordinary people mostly have Qi as their root. Back-Qi, foot-Qi, and zhu and pi disorders—accumulations caused by stagnant Qi—are all born from Qi. Now you swallow Qi into your belly. Surely that won’t make you ill?”

The lad said, “Your words are so shallow that they are truly pitiful. Qi arises from Taiji (the source from which all things in the universe have yet to differentiate) and extends beyond the myriad forms. It moves in and out with the clear and bright Qi, expanding and contracting according to wondrous transformations. It is like the pure blue of the high sky, like the faint red glow of the setting sun; neither clouds nor rain can stain it, nor can dust invade it. It sinks into the pure River of Heaven, leaving its waters clear, and passes the lofty crescent moon, bearing a mournful grace.

“Breathe through the Gate of the Mysterious Female (the fundamental gateway through which Heaven and Earth give life to all things); cleanse the heart in the realm of the Inaudible and the Invisible (the subtle, unseen, and unspeakable realm of the Dao); guard the body and soul; cultivate the Valley Spirit (the inner spirit that gives life without ceasing); drive out the Three Corpses (the three spirits said in Daoism to cause illness and hinder cultivation within the body); and dispel the hundred diseases. This is clear, cooling, harmonizing Qi aligned with the Dao, and so it can nourish life.

“As for the Qi that arises through openings and forms through dryness and dampness, it comes with food that is rank and impure, and stirs with the gasping breath of toil and travel. It waits for a person’s rest to become irregular or for medicines to be improperly prepared, then takes advantage of the opening. Turbid Qi gathers and does not disperse; stagnant Qi builds up and grows heavier. At times it lodges in the chest and diaphragm; at others, it causes distressing pain in the bones and marrow. If it cannot disperse for a long time, the illness becomes critical. This is turbid, stagnant death Qi.”

Master Bo said, “The human body is not a gourd. How can one go without eating? The body is liable to become ill, and illness may not be entirely eliminated. Food, then, is what sustains the body, while the body is where illness gathers. Now you refuse food to sustain yourself, yet keep your body in order to cure illness. Isn’t that foolish?”

The lad replied with a smile, “Well said. Those who hold this doubt often cling to it without end; those who do not hold it can come to an understanding through it. Heaven and Earth arise from the Dao; when Heaven and Earth perish, the Dao does not perish with them. Those who cling to doubt are merely confused and unable to awaken; they simply do not understand for themselves. Have you not heard? Craving rich, fatty delicacies is the root of greed, and precisely the source of illness.”

Regulating the breath, quieting the mind and spirit, and leaving behind worldly entanglements to enter the realm of the Dao are common practices among those who attain immortality. There is more than one genuine teaching. Only those of the highest benevolence can regard all things equally; once they understand the principles, they may even be willing to give up their own lives. This does not mean that worthy people and sages are all bound by “name” and “reality.” The principles discussed in the Hundred Chapters and the scriptures contained in the One Vehicle include some devoted to governing the state and others exploring the realm of emptiness and stillness. How could one turn back to seek the circumstances of first entering the Dao? How could one still have time to stroll by the Fen River? Trying to avoid getting mud on one’s shoes is like trying to avoid rain with an umbrella: neither can truly be done. What is so surprising about that?

After the young master heard these words, the boy drifted lightly away on the wind. No one knew where he went.

The Method of Transforming the Body and Sitting in Forgetfulness

Each night, after settling into stillness, lie on your back and close your eyes. Then calm your spirit and soul, forget distracting thoughts, slowly exhale two or three times, and turn your body from side to side. Next, rise and bend forward as described earlier. Gather your spirit and focus your attention below the navel. Visualize a small figure there, three or four inches tall, called the “shadow person.” Then let the shadow person divide into a hundred billion forms. With heads held high, they fly out, pass through the roof and the house, and rise until the sky fills the entire realm of the Dharma, with your body present everywhere. Visualize your heart growing bright, and you will naturally be able to see them. Once you have seen them, let the shadow persons return to the area below the navel.

When these transformed bodies return, your body will tremble and sway violently. This is broadly similar to the method of guiding and circulating the breath. During practice, you must still keep your thoughts upright and focused, and concentrate your spirit within yourself. If you keep your attention steady, your body will not move wildly. Thus the Old Lord said, “The Dao can be attained only through the heart-mind.”

The Method of Embryonic Breathing

The Old Lord said, “People do not die because of embryonic breathing.” Before midnight or noon, first stretch your arms and legs, move your feet, cough a few times, and then slowly exhale two or three times. Next, sit down, hold firm—the Daoist seated posture in which the fingers are clasped tightly—and gather your spirit below the navel. Visualize a shadow person two or three inches tall. Breathe deeply in through your nose and draw it into your mouth. Then hold your breath: do not swallow it, and do not let it leave through your mouth.

Next, gather the breath below the navel into tiny points and send them downward, each point the size of a grain of rice. After counting them as described earlier, inhale and draw them in again as before. At first, you may count thirty or twenty tiny points; then gradually increase the number to one hundred, two hundred, and finally five hundred. If you can count a thousand tiny points, this is a technique for prolonging life and restoring youth by means of “embryonic breathing.”

The Shadow Person

Visualize your transformed self as a shadow person three or four inches tall. Have it stand on your nose, then let it draw the primal, empty, harmonious Qi from the edge of the sky. This Qi, regarded as the original and harmonious energy between Heaven and Earth, descends from the sky, passes through the roof and your head, and flows directly into your limbs and the hundred channels, leaving no part unconnected. When the Qi arrives, you feel your body… [The original text ends here.]

Each time one performs a round of “Warrior Movement” practice, a moving exercise described in the scripture, it counts as one session. In a short while, one can do dozens of sessions, after which one will feel completely full. It is said that if someone with a serious illness practices for ten days, all kinds of illnesses can be cured.

When circulating Qi, one should visualize in this way: My body is originally empty, and my Shen (spirit and awareness) is inherently unobstructed. Since the mind has no hindrance, neither do the myriad things. How can this be so? Because one has attained spiritual powers. Before performing any such arts, one must first practice the method of exhaling. When exhaling, purse the lips as a snake flicks its tongue, without moving the upper jaw. When inhaling, gently tap the teeth together to warm the mouth.

The Method of Absorbing Purple Firmament Qi

Adopt “sitting in oblivion”—sitting quietly while forgetting external things and the body—and “grasping firmly,” a seated posture in which the fingers are tightly clasped. Focus the spirit and let the imagination range far away, as though rising from the crown of the head, passing through the roof, and ascending straight to the edge of the sky. Draw in the Purple Firmament, the purple clouds of Qi, and let it pass directly down through the roof and enter the body through the crown of the head. Hold the purple Qi within the abdomen, where it arrives along with one’s awareness.

At the same time, think: Before I awakened, I did not understand the substance of the Dao. Now that I have awakened, I know these methods were within me all along; I did not receive them from anyone else. I know that I can now act freely, and that there is no other method: I need only settle the mind. Once the mind is completely settled, I can use intention to see many currents of Qi gathering, dense as red clouds. I can also visualize my awareness ascending to heaven.

One may also imagine liberation in the mind and go directly to heaven with the mind and spirit to obtain purple Qi. In this way, all things below are empty, and the room is empty too; human nature is the same as the Dao. This is what the scripture calls “spiritual powers and long gazing”: awareness that reaches beyond and is cultivated over a long time.

The Comprehensive Treatise on the Supreme Words for Nurturing Life

The Scripture of Lord Lao’s Ascent to the West says: “The false way nourishes only the body; the true Dao protects the spirit. Those who understand this Dao can make their awareness disappear or appear; the spirit can soar, and the body can move mountains. Even if the body turns to dust, what would there be worth recognizing?”

The book also says: “When ordinary people grieve, they would do better to grieve for themselves than for others; better to cherish their own spirit than to grieve for themselves; better to nourish the spirit than merely to cherish it; and better to guard the self than merely to nourish the spirit. Guard the self, and one can endure and continue for a long time. The spirit is born from the body, and the body is formed by the spirit. Without the spirit, the body cannot grow by itself; without the body, the spirit cannot fulfill itself. Body and spirit unite, bringing one another forth and to completion. The spirit constantly cherishes people, but people do not cherish the spirit. Therefore, cast aside contrived wisdom and return to Wuwei (non-action).”

The Book of the Luo Writing: The Mandate of the Precious Jade says: “The methods by which the ancients treated illness used sweet spring water as a medium and nourished the body with Qi medicines. These medicines were neither pungent nor bitter, but sweet and full of varied flavors. Taken regularly, they spread the body’s fluids through the five organs and nourish the heart and lungs, so that one has no troubles throughout life.”

The Great Being Scripture says: “Someone asked in puzzlement: At the beginning, all things arose together from nothing; in the end, they are again subject to Qi…”

People take in the Qi of Yin and Yang and thereby form their bodies. They grow by relying on the conditions between Heaven and Earth, and sustain life through food and breathing. Are people’s dullness or intelligence, strength or frailty, and long or short lives determined at birth, or brought about later?

Some explain it this way: A person’s appearance and intelligence or dullness are innate; strength and lifespan, however, depend on how one lives. The way of Heaven unfolds naturally, while the human way begins with oneself. If a fetus has abundant original Qi, receives enough milk after birth, eats in moderation while growing, and restrains the desires of sight and sound in adulthood, that person will be strong and long-lived. If original Qi is depleted in the womb, milk is insufficient after birth, food is excessive while growing, and the desires of sight and sound are indulged in adulthood, that person will be frail and short-lived. By following the patterns of growth and applying suitable methods of care, one may extend one’s life.

Hu Zhao of Yingchuan, whose courtesy name was Kongming, said: “Ordinary people cannot be entirely without desires, nor can they refrain from doing everything. It is enough to harmonize the mind, gather in scattered thoughts, quiet the body and mind, and lessen the burdens imposed by external things. First remove whatever disturbs the spirit and harms one’s nature: this is one way to conserve and nourish the spirit.”

The Scripture of the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon says: People receive the Qi of the Five Constants—the five basic kinds of Qi that form all things—and differ in temperament: some are calm, others excitable; some are firm, others yielding. These inborn dispositions are not easily changed. A calm person cannot force themselves to become excitable, and an excitable person cannot compel themselves to be calm. Each has their own temperament. Going against one’s nature means losing one’s proper state, while indulging it harms life. Thus, the failing of calm people is that they become closed off and unresponsive; the failing of excitable people is that they lack carefulness. The way of nourishing life is to treat each temperament with care, restraining or guiding it according to the circumstances, and gradually adjusting what is increased or reduced until each person reaches a suitable state.

Calm people, however, generally live longer, while excitable people generally live shorter lives. Calm people who do not know how to care for themselves may still shorten their lives; excitable people who are skilled at self-care can also prolong theirs. Calm people are simply easier to regulate, while excitable people find it harder to maintain balance. If the methods of care are followed thoroughly, both calm and excitable people can nourish life.

People of high rank and power may suffer inward damage to their spirit even without being harmed by malign influences, and their bodies will eventually decline. This is not because calamity has come from outside; rather, things knot up inside them like water and fire struggling against one another, bringing the body to collapse and sometimes even causing them to vomit blood. Those who were once wealthy and later became poor may likewise, without being harmed by malign Qi, develop dry, withered skin, prominent sinews and veins, a debilitated body, and internal tightness and illness. Yet the harm caused by poverty and wealth is far lighter than that caused by power and authority, so illness usually shows itself only in the body.

To cultivate one’s nature is to make a good state habitual over time, until it becomes part of one’s nature; then one can act beneficially without deliberate effort. Once one’s nature has been properly cultivated, the many illnesses that come from outside are less likely to arise, and disturbances will not take hold. This is the fundamental principle of cultivating one’s nature. Those skilled in cultivating their nature take steps to prevent and treat illness before it appears. Thus, cultivating one’s nature is not simply a matter of taking medicine…

Cultivating life depends above all on having all Five Constant Virtues—benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness—and on bringing every virtue to completion. Even without taking medicine, one can live longer. If one’s virtue is lacking, taking jade wine or the Golden Elixir may still fail to prolong one’s life.

Thus the Old Lord said, “Walking on land without avoiding tigers or rhinoceroses is the result of protection by Dao and De.” Why rely on medicine to extend life? The sages prepared medicines to help those who lacked understanding. People who have not encountered the right path may suffer from illness year after year without cultivating any virtue. They remain afflicted until old age and death, never knowing to repent. There are reasons why Qibo, Qin He—physicians of antiquity—and Pengzu, the legendary long-lived figure, could travel freely for so long and enjoy such long lives.

Ji Kang said that there are five obstacles to nourishing life. The first is being unable to let go of fame and profit; the second, being unable to dispel joy and anger; the third, being unable to give up the pleasures of music and sensual beauty; the fourth, being unable to abstain from rich foods; and the fifth, being troubled in mind and depleted in spirit. If these five conditions cannot be cast aside, then even if one yearns wholeheartedly for long life, recites profound teachings, savors the vital essence, and breathes in sunlight, one’s conduct will not change, and an early death will remain difficult to avoid. If one can cast off these five burdens, one’s life will grow increasingly smooth and one’s virtue increasingly complete. Without letting joy disturb the spirit or deliberately seeking a long life, one’s lifespan will instead be extended. This, too, is an important principle for nourishing life. Yet if one can uphold benevolence and righteousness and avoid being burdened by excessive desires, one has already come close to this ideal.

Qibo said that by the age of forty, Yin Qi has already declined by more than half, and one’s daily activity begins to diminish. At fifty, the body feels heavy, and the eyes and ears are no longer keen. At sixty, Yin Qi is weak and the original Qi greatly depleted. The body’s channels no longer flow freely; the lower body becomes deficient while the upper body is replete, and tears and nasal discharge come easily. Thus, one who understands the way of nourishing life will be strong in body; one who does not understand it will grow old. He also said that the same thing can have different names: the wise see what they have in common, while the foolish see only their differences. What the foolish gain is insufficient, while what the wise gain is abundant. As a result, their eyes and ears remain keen, and their bodies light, strong, and vigorous. In old age they can regain their strength; in their prime they are even more balanced.

Therefore, the sage follows what is natural, refraining from reckless action and unnecessary activity. Content with quiet simplicity, the sage does not indulge desire or pursue pleasure single-mindedly, but maintains a mind of emptiness, stillness, and Wuwei (non-action). In this way, the sage lives without end and endures alongside Heaven and Earth. This is the sage’s method for nourishing body and mind.

A realized person said, “Even if one takes medicine, without understanding the methods of nourishing one’s nature, it is difficult to attain long life. In nourishing one’s nature, do not lie down immediately after eating, and do not sit for long periods throughout the day; both shorten life. One should do a little work, but not exhaust oneself, and should not force oneself to do what one cannot bear. After a meal, take a walk, moving slowly and engaging in moderate activity; this will make the body feel at ease. Thus, Qi and blood circulate…” (The original text ends here unfinished.)

Water does not become foul-smelling, and the hinges of a door are not eaten by insects, because they are in constant motion. People should not eat at night.

After a meal, one should take a walk, going back and forth for several li. Lying down immediately after eating one’s fill gives rise to a hundred illnesses.

Some people seek only momentary pleasure, doing whatever they please. They believe themselves worldly-wise and knowledgeable about fate, disregard ordinary principles and consequences, indulge their desires, squander their vital energy, and make no plans to preserve their health over the long term. When they hear these words, they pass over them like wind by the ear or lightning before the eyes, taking no notice at all. Thus they exhaust their bodies in the pursuit of pleasure and deplete their original Qi amid fine clothes and rich food, yet remain content to do so. How could anyone persuade them to preserve their lives? They not only refuse to accept this advice, but call it absurd and untrue. Hoping they will believe it is like handing a bright mirror to a blind person or playing string and wind music for someone who cannot hear.

The Baopuzi says: “The human body is like a state. The chest and abdomen are like its palaces; the limbs, like its outskirts and borders; and the joints and bones, like its officials. Shen (spirit) is like the ruler, blood like the ministers, and Qi like the people. Thus, one who can govern the people can also govern the state. When the people are cared for, the state can be at peace; when original Qi is cared for, the body can be preserved. If the people scatter, the state is destroyed; if original Qi is exhausted, the person dies. The dead cannot be brought back to life, and a destroyed state cannot be restored.

“Therefore, those who have attained the Dao (the Way) remove calamities before they arise and treat illness before it appears. They take precautions before events occur, rather than regretting them after they have passed. The people are hard to keep at peace, yet easily fall into danger; original Qi is hard to keep pure, yet easily becomes turbid. Thus, one must use authority and kindness with care to preserve the state, and restrain appetites and desires to strengthen the blood and Qi. In this way, True Unity—the Daoist term for the body and mind’s original Qi—can remain, and the Three Sevens—the principles for nourishing life and cultivation—can be maintained. A hundred harms will recede, and one’s lifespan can be extended.

“From the age of fifty until one hundred, one should never be without good medicine at hand, beneficial words on one’s lips, or a mind free of confused thoughts. One should always treat people and things with deep sincerity and respect, and never pretend to do good in order to please others.”

Prohibitions and Taboos

The Treatise on Nourishing Life by the Recluse of Yumin Mountain says: “Illness enters through the mouth. Restraining one’s diet and regulating daily routines are methods of nourishing life; reducing exertion and remaining calm are ways to nurture it. Sour and salty flavors should be eaten in due measure: this follows the proper rules for nourishing life. Whether to tonify or purge should depend on one’s constitution, as the Shennong Bencao Jing explains. Diet is used to regulate the constitution, and medicine to prolong life. The principles are plain to see.

“Melons and knotweed damage the sinews; garlic and chives damage the blood; raw meat and fish deplete Qi; and scallions, strong-smelling foods, and roasted foods disturb Shen (spirit). One should be especially cautious when eating these. White mugwort and the shoots of xia—that is, rehmannia…”

Seeds of greater burdock (burdock fruit), burdock, alfalfa, and similar foods are important for nourishing the body. In one’s conduct, one should know when to stop and worry less. Maintaining calm and well-being should be part of one’s daily outlook.

All kinds of spicy foods diminish the effects of medicine and disturb a person’s spirit and Qi. Peaches, plums, rapeseed, garlic, chives, and similar foods should not be eaten in large amounts. Both men and women should eat less of them and gradually give them up.

People under forty should not rely indiscriminately on tonic pills and powders. At that age, Yin Qi is not yet sufficient, while Yang Qi remains strong, so particular caution is needed. If supplementation is necessary, choose tonics with mild effects that harmonize and promote free flow.

Do not eat after the hour of the Rooster, approximately five to seven in the evening. In winter, when nights are long, or for those whose constitution tends toward heat, a small amount of warm, soft food may be eaten. Move around after meals to help digest the food; otherwise, beriberi may develop. In spring, do not put away your cotton-padded clothes too late, or you may catch cold and even develop cholera. Do not bathe or rinse your mouth before your food has been digested, lest the five viscera become dry and bodily fluids diminish. Do not sleep with a light burning, cover your face with a quilt, or sleep with your mouth open. In both winter and summer, do not rest your head on cold objects such as iron or stone, or your eyesight may grow dim.

Baopuzi says: Someone asked, “Does the so-called art of nourishing life refer only to sexual relations between men and women?” The answer was: “Of course not. Yet the secrets of longevity also include the arts of the bedchamber. Those of the highest kind know how to use them to prolong life and dispel illness; those of the next kind at least avoid harming themselves through them. When young and vigorous, if one knows the ‘Returning Yin Elixir’—a method of replenishing the brain and marrow through bedchamber cultivation—and can gather the ‘Seven Benefits’ in Changgu, a particular bodily part or region used in cultivation, one may live for a hundred or two hundred years without taking medicine, though one will not become an immortal. The ancients compared those who do not know these methods to ice that cannot withstand intense Yang, and to a fire kept in the Feathered Hall: both are in danger.”

Moreover, forcing oneself to think hard when one’s mental capacity is insufficient harms the body, as does straining to lift heavy objects when one lacks the strength. Deep worry, fierce anger, grief and exhaustion, excessive joy, urgent striving, anxious fear, prolonged talking and laughing, irregular routines, drawing a strong bow or crossbow, drunkenness followed by vomiting, sleeping immediately after eating one’s fill, running until out of breath, shouting with joy or weeping, and failure of Yin and Yang Qi to mingle—all damage the body. Such harm accumulates over time and eventually exhausts life; exhausting life is no way to nourish it.

Therefore, methods for cultivating one’s nature include: do not spit saliva far, and do not walk with hurried strides; do not let your ears hear too much, and do not let your eyes… (The original text ends here.)

Do not look at things for too long, sit until you are tired, or lie down excessively. Add clothing promptly when the weather turns cold, and remove it when the weather turns hot. Do not wait until you are famished to eat or parched to drink. Do not eat too much: overeating can lead to indigestion, while drinking too much can cause phlegm and fluid retention. Do not overwork or indulge in excessive idleness. Do not let yourself sweat profusely, and do not spit frequently. Do not ride in carriages or gallop on horseback, and do not gaze into the distance for too long. Eat less raw or cold food. Do not lie down in a draft after drinking, and do not bathe too often. Do not single-mindedly pursue grand ambitions or distant things, and do not deliberately devise ingenious, unusual objects. Do not overheat yourself in winter or seek excessive coolness in summer. Do not sleep outdoors beneath the stars, or lie with your shoulders exposed to the cold. Avoid direct exposure to severe cold, scorching heat, strong winds, and dew.

Do not overindulge in any of the Five Flavors—sour, bitter, pungent, salty, and sweet. Too much sourness harms the Spleen; too much bitterness harms the Lung; too much pungency harms the Liver; too much saltiness harms the Heart; and too much sweetness harms the Kidneys. This follows the natural principle of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) generating and overcoming one another. The harm may not be noticeable at once; it means that, over time, these excesses can shorten one’s life.

Those skilled in nourishing life adjust their daily routines to the changing rhythms of the seasons. They follow moderation in their everyday habits, know the right postures for stretching and nourishing their sinews and bones, and understand methods such as swallowing and breathing out to expel harmful influences. They also know how to regulate and replenish the nutritive and defensive Qi and blood that circulate within the body and nourish it. They balance work and rest, and know when to restrain themselves and when to let go. They curb anger to nourish Yin Qi and restrain excessive joy to nourish Yang Qi. Then they first use herbal medicines to make up for deficiencies in the body, and afterward take the Golden Elixir (jindan), a Daoist alchemical medicine, in the hope of sustaining vitality over time. In broad outline, this is the way to nourish one’s nature.

The Yellow Emperor said: Within a single day, do not eat until you are overly full at night. Within a single month, do not get thoroughly drunk at its end. Within a single year, do not travel far at year’s end. Throughout your life, remember this: do not sleep with a candle burning in your bedroom. During sexual relations, do not harbor resentment toward another person; instead, turn the resentment back upon yourself.

When eating hot food or drinking wine, if your vision becomes blurred, stop consuming them to avoid a sudden illness. If you have already eaten and feel bloated, quickly take medicine to purge the bowels. After eating very hot or salty food, do not immediately drink cold water or vinegar water, as this can make you lose your voice.

People should not sleep with their heads facing north. Do not leave a lamp burning while you sleep, as this will disturb the soul and the Six Spirits (the spiritual faculties and divine beings spoken of in Daoism). Avoid excessive worry and fear as well. Do not eat facing north, urinate facing north, or sit facing north for a long time while dwelling on ill omens. When rising, do not spit or curse while facing north, lest you offend the spirits of the Kui and Gang constellations, which are associated with the northern direction.

Do not adjust your hat or sash while facing north, and do not open your eyes wide to stare directly at the sun or moon, or your eyesight may be harmed.

When drenched in sweat, do not take off your clothes, lest you be exposed to a draft and suffer paralysis on one side of the body.

In winter, keep your feet warm and your head cool. In spring and autumn, let both your feet and head be moderately cool. These are the regular practices followed by the sages.

Do not become angry upon rising in the morning, or shout at someone or speak harshly as soon as you get out of bed. Do not point your feet toward the stove, or curse at the hearth, sigh, or cry out things like “What am I to do?” Such acts are said to invite misfortune and should be especially avoided. Do not sit with your knees bent and your arms crossed over them, or let your hair fall over your face; these are considered inauspicious.

Do good deeds in the morning. When you hear bad news, spit toward the direction it came from; this is said to bring good luck. If you have a nightmare, do not speak of it in the morning. Hold a mouthful of water, face east, and spray it out while reciting: “May the bad dream turn into plants and trees; may the good dream turn into precious jade.” In this way, you can avert misfortune.

When going to bed, take off your left shoe first. When setting out on a long journey by cart or on horseback, do not look back; it is said that looking back may cause your hun and po souls to leave your body.

Do not kill or harm flying insects and birds, or creatures that crawl on the ground, without reason. Turtles and snakes in particular are considered more spiritually potent than other animals. Harm to such spiritually potent beings may bring hidden retribution, so take special care. Do not travel far in dark, rainy weather.

Whether walking, coming and going, sitting, or lying down, often imagine the star Kui of the Northern Dipper (one of the constellations of the Big Dipper) above your head; this is said to bring good fortune in every direction. Do not eat the meat of animals that share your birth sign, or those associated with your parents or siblings. It is said that doing so will unsettle the hun and po souls and may cause descendants in the family to be unfilial toward their parents and unloving toward their siblings.

If you accidentally put on your clothes inside out when dressing in the morning, say “Good fortune,” then put them on properly as usual; there is no need to worry. If your clothes give off a gleam, shake them three times and recite, “Misfortune, depart; misfortune, depart,” to ward it off.

Do not block wells, ditches, or waterways; this is said to cause blindness. After noon, Yin energy gradually rises. Do not wash your hair at this time; it is said to weaken the heart’s Qi, make you prone to sweating and vivid dreams, and may also cause head-wind.