《丹陽真人語錄》

"Recorded Sayings of Master Danyang" in Modern Interpretation:

This text contains the teachings of Master Danyang (Ma Yu, one of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen) as recorded by his disciple Wang Yizhong (styled Lingyinzi).

The second section recounts: In the third month of 1163 (Dading reign period, Guimao year), Wang Yizhong paid homage to the master south of Fan Mingshu's hermitage in Mouping. When Master Danyang asked his origin, Wang replied he came from Dongwu (present-day Zhucheng, Shandong), drawn by the master's exemplary Daoist practice of non-attachment to wealth and serene contentment. Pleased, the master remarked: "A young man with sincere devotion to the Dao is rare." He then imparted this teaching: "Eat when hungry, sleep when full."

On another occasion when Wang stood formally with folded hands, the master immediately admonished: "A Dao cultivator should embody natural ease, not worldly formalities. This thatched hut isn't a government office, nor are you an official. The ancients said 'With Dao companions among the Three Mountains, human sentiments grow light; Without worldly attachments across the Four Seas, Daoist righteousness runs deep' - these words contain profound truth."

Master Danyang often instructed disciples: "The essence of learning the Dao lies in self-realization. Failure to awaken stems from clouded innate nature. To dispel this obscurity, first purify the heart-mind, maintaining clarity and stillness. When practice matures, realization comes naturally - constant inquiry isn't necessary. Your progress is ultimately known to yourself alone."

While traveling in Dongmou (present-day Mouping), the master would invariably bow first to any Buddhist or Daoist practitioners encountered, whether acquainted or not. When followers questioned why he saluted strangers, he explained: "The Dao is cultivated through gentleness and humble yielding. The Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism) share the same root though their gates differ. Didn't Confucius say he'd willingly hold the whip (perform menial service)? One never errs through courtesy."

Speaking of his own master Wang Chongyang (the Patriarch), Danyang recounted: Wang originally excelled in literature, and after attaining the Dao, his literary talent became even more remarkable. He could effortlessly compose "hidden-head" poems, character puzzles, and chain-verse. Once when all composed poems using "joint" (jie) as rhyme, Wang concluded with the superb line "Three hundred sixty golden bone-joints," drawing universal praise as "transcendent language." Danyang noted only Panxi Gong (likely referring to Qiu Chuji) could now match such literary brilliance.

Another record describes Wang Chongyang arriving in Dengzhou (present-day Penglai) wearing a bamboo hat and tattered clothes, leaning on a bamboo staff while carrying an iron pot - his extraordinary appearance drew stares as he begged in the marketplace unrecognized. Returning at night, he inscribed a quatrain on the wall: "Parting forever from Zhongnan's bamboo-stream village, Home without..." (the remainder is lost).

He had no children and no grandchildren. He traveled thousands of miles to seek a kindred Daoist friend; he was led into the gate of long life and immortality; the next morning he brushed his robes and set off far to the east. After some days, the commandery governor Heshilie Miao (“Heshilie” was the surname and “Miao” the given name) came to the Daoist temple, saw the poem he had written, and praised it without end. He then composed a matching poem using the original rhymes: “Looking back, it has been three years since I left my old village; I have forgotten even the growth of the courtyard bamboo and the maturing of my sons and grandsons. In days to come I will brush my sleeves and go seek you; you should allow me to come at leisure and knock once at your door.”

The Master said: Plain and mild food and drink are for nourishing Qi; removing anger is for nourishing one’s nature; dwelling calmly in disgrace and lowliness is for nourishing De (Virtue/Power); guarding the One (single-minded adherence to the Dao), purity, quietude, and tranquility are for nourishing the Dao. When one’s name is not recorded in registers and one’s mind is not tied to power and profit—this is shedding the human shell and becoming a companion of Heaven.

The Master said: Wine is a liquid that disturbs the mind-nature; meat is a thing that cuts off life—best simply not to consume them. Transgressions in wine and meat can still be forgiven; but if one transgresses in lust, the crime is great and the evil extreme, and even execution is not enough to atone. Why? Because lust is fiercer than wolves and tigers: it corrupts people’s virtue, damages their good deeds, consumes and destroys Jing and Qi, obliterates Shen, and even causes loss of life. Therefore it is a great sin for those who cultivate the Dao.

The Master said: In a peaceful age, no one is happier than a carefree Daoist. When staying in a hut feels a little tiresome, invite one or two companions, sling a bag under the arm, drag a walking staff, and sing as you wander. When you encounter fine mountains and waters, linger for a while; do not greedily rush the journey.

The Master said to his servant: One who studies the Dao must have a beginning and an end; he must not stop halfway and become a laughingstock for others. Moreover, as a scholar, do you not know that anyone establishing himself in life must accomplish some undertaking? Moreover, cultivating the Dao is precisely the great matter of a man’s establishing himself.

The Master often wrote a large-character couplet for Daoist friends: “Hurry and knock down the mountain of self and other (the attachment to distinctions between self and other is like a mountain); quickly burst open the Dragon-Tiger cave (a Neidan/internal alchemy term: dragon and tiger symbolize Yin-Yang, Jing and Qi; ‘cave’ refers to the passes and portals).” The servant then asked, “I now know the mountain of self and other, but may I ask the method for the Dragon-Tiger cave?” The Master laughed and said, “I dare not lightly divulge heavenly secrets; watch closely whether you awaken or not.”

One day the Master called the servant, and only after a long while did the servant arrive. The Master asked, “Where did you go?” The servant replied, “I slept my fill beneath the noon window, and my spirit was clear and bright; there was a volume of Zhuangzi at the head of the bed, so I picked it up and read, and that is why I was not here.”

The Master said: The Dao must be met through the mind; if one is again bound by words and texts, what day will there ever be for completion? Therefore it is said: To awaken thoroughly to Nanhua (Nanhua Zhenjing, that is, Zhuangzi)—if one clings to words, one becomes even more deluded.

Zhenren Danyang (Perfected Person Danyang) said at Huating: What is the Dao? The prenatal ancestral Qi (xiantian zuqi, the prenatal original vital energy) is the root; do you not know that it is just the breath going in and out of the nose? Have you not heard Guangchengzi say: the elixir stove and the River Chariot (heche, i.e., elixir refining and circulating Qi through the heavenly circuit) need not be labored at without cease; like the crane’s embryo and the turtle’s breathing (taixi, embryonic breathing), it is naturally continuous. The Master said to the assembly: If one studies the Dao with single-minded devotion, anyone can become an immortal, unlike worldly striving, where there is elimination and failure; Confucianism is broad but lacks essentials, whereas the Dao is simple and easy to practice; one need only be pure and quiet and practice Wuwei (non-action); this is the supreme method.

The Master lived in a small hut enclosed by four walls, furnished only with a table, a couch, brush and inkstone, and a sheepskin; it was empty and had nothing else. In the morning, one bowl of gruel; at noon, one bowl of noodles; after that time, no other food passed his lips. One day he summoned a servant in and let him sit for a long while. The servant asked: Does the Master’s Dao involve purposeful action? The Master said: No; although songs and verses often sing of the dragon and tiger, the infant and the maiden (Neidan terms, metaphors for Yin-Yang, Shen (spirit) and Qi, and so on), they are all merely figurative expressions. Thus the key to the Dao is nothing more than nourishing Qi; people sink into fame and profit and often dissipate their Qi; for those who study the Dao there is nothing else—only nourishing Qi. When the heart-fluid descends and the kidney-Qi rises, and in the spleen region the primal Qi becomes a dense mist and does not disperse, the elixir gathers and forms; the liver and lungs are the pathways along which Qi comes and goes; after practicing stillness for a long time, one naturally knows this. If one does not nourish Qi, even if one could tuck Mount Tai under one’s arm and leap over the North Sea—an extreme expression of great spiritual powers—it would still not be the Dao. This was said ten days before the Master’s feathered transformation (yuhua).

The servant and two or three companions such as Cao and Liu were standing outside the hut when the Master suddenly came out and said: The Dao is simply purity and quietude, Wuwei (non-action), free and at ease, unstained and unattached. If you can penetrate these twelve characters, you will become a thoroughgoing Daoist; you need only believe this old man’s words; putting them into practice will naturally be beneficial and will certainly not mislead you young people.

In Ma Congren’s hermitage in the western suburbs of Huang County, the Master sang: Even if one spent ten thousand taels of gold every day, coarse clothes and plain food would still be just right. The Master said that last year, when passing through Waiguan, he heard someone recite these words, liked their principle, and so recorded them, not knowing who had written them. Ma Yuanzhi said: These are words from Elder Shun’s Weijiang Collection. The Master said: These words are truly wondrous.

The Master said: Who is the ancestor of the ancestral tradition of the Daoist gate? Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin personally transmitted it. A eulogy says: A single point of spiritual radiance shines in the great void; even a master painter cannot depict it. Do not idly take the bright moon as a likeness or a companion.

Recently there have been some deficient karmic conditions—how could they compare with me? These words already reveal a trace of sharpness.

The Perfected One (Zhenren) said: Qi (vital energy)—the prenatal original Qi spoken of in Neidan (internal alchemy)—is difficult to master; it is as fast as a galloping horse, and only the still person can easily control it. One must rid oneself of outward envy and pursuit. Even when seeing the splendor before one’s eyes, one should feel as if in deep mountains and remote valleys—this is the state of mind of a cultivator of the Dao. If one cannot reach the state of no-mind (wuxin; non-attachment, without miscellaneous thoughts), one cannot control it. Therefore those who understand the Dao value no-mind.

The Perfected One also said: When the mind is settled, it becomes clear. Forget the body and become empty and still, and Qi will circulate. When the deluded mind stops, the original Shen (spirit) comes alive. When Yang Qi flourishes, Yin Qi wanes. This is the natural principle. Those who do not understand do not know it. They only plan for their descendants, and instead think that learning the Dao has no benefit. Why not reflect on it seriously?

The Perfected One said: I was over forty when I met my master and entered the Dao. By then my temple hair was already gray. In my abdomen there was another tuft of black hair with a reddish sheen (an unusual sign produced by inner cultivation)—how did it come about? It was simply the result of more than ten years in Guanzhong nourishing Shen (spirit) and Qi in the past. It is like someone shouting in an empty valley: the echo responds to the call. How could it be something else? It is simply because the valley is empty and contains nothing. If my friends do not believe it, let them truly cultivate in a quiet place, and they will know for themselves.

The Perfected One said: Lord Haichan (Liu Haichan, a Five Dynasties Daoist) was originally chancellor of Yan. Once he awakened to the Dao, he cut off family entanglements. His poem contains the lines: “I cast off three thousand mouths in the burning house (a metaphor for the household of affliction), and rejected the gate-soldiers of a million households.” Afterward he supported himself only by begging. He responded to circumstances as conditions arose, like an actor joining a play when the occasion came. He even carried wine and wine vessels for brothels without feeling shame. Later, a certain type of Dao learner says, “I come from wealth and honor.” You are far inferior to Lord Haichan.

The Perfected One said: In the Dao of purity and stillness, if people can clearly discern it, that is perfection. Therefore the Jing (scripture) says: “If a person can constantly be pure and still, Heaven and Earth all return to them.” The Heaven and Earth spoken of here are not the external Heaven and Earth of heaven covering and earth bearing; they refer to the Heaven and Earth within the body. Above the diaphragm in a person is Heaven; below it is Earth. If the Qi of Heaven descends and the earth channels are unobstructed, with above and below blending harmoniously, then Jing (essence) and Qi naturally become stable. This is what Immortal Ren the Younger (Xiao Renxian, an immortal surnamed Ren) said.

The Perfected One said: The subtlety of guarding Qi lies in preserving Jing (essence), especially in guarding against its dissipation during sleep. When about to sleep, let right mindfulness appear before you and let all myriad cares vanish. Draw the body in and lie on your side, breathing continuously, finely, and long. The hun-soul is not disordered within, and the Shen (spirit) does not race outward. Thus Qi and Jing naturally settle.

The Perfected One said: The Confucians speak of “repaying De (Virtue/Power) with De, and repaying resentment with uprightness.” A Perfected One once said this in the past.

To make friends with sincerity and trust and to repay enmity with kindness and virtue—this may be called doing it to the utmost.

When the Master was in Laizhou, a man named Jiang Xi brought him the Biography of Lord Lü. When the Master read the passage “People single-mindedly pursue fame and profit, not knowing that Shen (spirit) is within their own bodies. They chase external things without turning back and lose all their natural innocence—whose fault is that?,” he closed the scroll and said to Jiang Xi: “These words truly hit the mark, but since there are none in the world who understand, why is the Great Dao (the Way) so difficult to practice?”

There was a Han Tao, courtesy name Qingfu, who admired the conduct of Tao Yuanming and Shao Yaofu (Shao Yong) and styled himself the Lord of the Garden of Peace and Joy. When the Master returned from Guanyou to Dongmou and passed through Jinan, Han Tao invited him into his garden and offered him a simple vegetarian meal. After the meal, Han Tao bowed his head to the Master and said: “I have admired the Great Dao since youth, and now my hair is white and I am nearing old age. Fortunately I have met my teacher; I beg you to grant me a single phrase to illumine my ignorance.”

The Master replied: “Dao takes wuxin (no-mind, non-attachment to discrimination) as its substance and wangyan (forgetting words, non-attachment to language) as its function; it takes softness and weakness as its root and purity and stillness as its foundation. If one applies it to human affairs, one must moderate food and drink and cut off thoughts and deliberations. Sit quietly to regulate the breath; sleep peacefully to nourish Qi (vital energy). When the mind does not race, the nature is settled; when the body is not wearied, Jing (essence) is complete; when Shen (spirit) is not disturbed, the elixir congeals. Then, within emptiness, extinguish emotions; at the utmost point, calm the spirit. This may be called obtaining the wondrous Dao without leaving one’s room.”

Han Tao thanked him, saying: “The Great Dao is hongmeng (vast and undifferentiated); there was no way to question and investigate it. Now that I have heard your wondrous discourse, I have found a gate through which to enter.”

The two gentlemen Cao and Lai were originally Confucian scholars; later they abandoned Confucianism to cultivate the Dao for many years and were kindred spirits. They often calmly asked: “How did the Master practice the Dao when he was in Guanyou?” Cao and Lai replied: “In winter and summer the Master wore only a single cloth garment. He did not bother to be particular about food and clothing; coarse and sufficient was enough. In deep winter, with snow and cold, there was no fire in the hut, and he still often used cold water, yet his Shen and Qi were harmonious and flowing, without the slightest chill. Thus for ten years—had there not been Dao-Qi in his belly, he could not have sustained and resisted it.”

The Master said: “In all matters one must make preparations beforehand if there is to be no trouble. Therefore those who cultivate the Dao should guard against passions and desires while young and strong, making preparation early; then the immortals and transcendents may be hoped for. If one begins to learn the Dao only when white hair hangs to the collar and aspiration and vitality have declined, it is like looking for a fur coat after the great cold has already come—is it not too late?”

The Master said: “The thirty-six daoyin (guiding-and-stretching) practices and the twenty-four huandan (returning elixir) methods are gradual gateways for entering the Dao; they cannot be taken directly as the Great Dao. If one exhaustively pursues matters of the furnace and stove (alchemical fire) and takes images from the turtle (turtle-breathing and the like), then it cannot be considered the Great Dao.”

This passage from The Recorded Sayings of Dan Yang Zhenren expounds the core principle of Daoist cultivation—tranquility and non-action (Wuwei). Here's a modern interpretation:

The "snake" (symbolizing delusional thoughts) refers to needlessly stirring up trouble within one's inherent nature—these are serious misdirections. Thus, though Daoism has left behind countless alchemical scriptures, they can all be summarized in a single phrase: tranquility.

Tranquility consists of two aspects: clarity (Qing) means purifying the source of the mind (the inner origin), while purity (Jing) means purifying the sea of Qi (the Dantian energy center). When the mind is clear and pure, external things cannot disturb it; with emotional stability, wisdom naturally arises. When the Dantian is purified, harmful desires cannot enter; with abundant Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy), the body naturally grows strong. It is like refining the mind until it is as clear as still water and nurturing Qi as if raising an infant. When Qi is pure, the spirit (Shen) becomes luminous; when the spirit is luminous, Qi transforms—all these are the effects of tranquility.

If one deliberately pursues active techniques, they remain limited methods. Only by following the natural way of non-action (Wuwei) can one reach the boundless realm of serene emptiness.

Non-action means abstaining from scheming and overthinking. Though one may live in the mundane world, dealing with love, hatred, gains, and losses, the inner mind must always remain in a state of non-action. How much more so when one devotes themselves to purifying the heart, refining intention, nourishing Qi, and perfecting the spirit—roaming freely in the "land of nothingness" (the void).

Liu Gaoshang (an accomplished master) lived in a humble hut for forty years, doing nothing else but maintaining "an empty mind and a full belly" (humility and inner fulfillment), discarding vanity, forgetting fame and profit, clarifying the spirit, and preserving primordial Qi. The Golden Elixir (Jindan) formed naturally, and immortality was achieved spontaneously. This exemplifies what the Daode Jing calls "blocking the openings, closing the doors" (shutting out sensory desires).

"Mindlessness" does not mean being dull like a cat or dog but keeping the mind in a state of purity, free from harmful thoughts. Ordinary people lack a tranquil heart, while cultivators have no dust-covered mind—this does not mean being as insensate as wood or stone.

When cultivation reaches the state of neither birth nor cessation, one beholds the Tathāgata (enlightenment). After awakening, there is no more rebirth. Qiu Chuji said this is the emergence of the Yin spirit (lower spiritual form). But when the "twin blossoms" (a sign of progress) suddenly appear in the celestial court (higher realm), that marks the beginning of the Yang spirit (higher spiritual form).

The Great Dao (Da Dao) transcends worldly sentiments—non-action is the mysterious root. When nothing in the world stirs greed or attachment, afflictions naturally do not follow.

If a cultivator lacks sufficient merit and practice when their appointed time (death) arrives, even sages cannot save them. But if they do not cultivate at all, when the time comes, there is no escape.

In the recorded sayings of Master Danyang (Ma Yu, patriarch of the Quanzhen school of Daoism), we find these profound teachings:

Regarding spiritual attainment, the master said: "Even a single lingering deluded thought renders this lifetime's cultivation futile." When disciple Gong Daosheng asked, "What is the state when the mind achieves perfect stillness?" the master replied: "One shouldn't even cling to the concept of 'stillness' itself."

Disciple Yu Qingfeng inquired: "Why does one's wisdom remain unawakened and spiritual nature dull despite years of practice?" The master pointed directly to the essence: "There's no other reason—your cultivation simply lacks sufficient diligence."

On the root of samsara, the master revealed: "Since beginningless time, all sentient beings have revolved in the cycle of rebirth due to various forms of attachment and desire. Whether born from womb, egg, moisture, or transformation—all life forms arise from craving. Our nature (xing) emerges through affection, our vitality (ming) exists because of desire. All afflictions stem from the fluctuations of attachment. Only when mental activity becomes utterly pure does samsara naturally cease."

The master's daily practice exemplified utmost simplicity: each noon he consumed just one bowl of congee, then immediately engaged in discussing the Dao, tirelessly instructing disciples. While in Laiyang, he wrote the verse: "After one meal of simple gruel, tenfold effort must follow"—reminding practitioners that spiritual work shouldn't be neglected for physical comfort.

Regarding cultivation methods, the master emphasized:

1. Extensive book study isn't necessary. While occasionally consulting core commentaries like Heshang Gong's notes on the Daode Jing or Jinlingzi's annotations on the Yin Fu Jing may be acceptable, nothing compares to dedicated Qi cultivation (the foundational practice of Neidan internal alchemy).

2. Maintain constant mindfulness of the Dao in all activities: when walking, feel each step connect with earth; standing, let the spirit wander the primordial void (cosmic origin); sitting, regulate breathing; sleeping, focus intention on the Dantian (the lower energy center below the navel). Practice until reaching the state of "appearing foolish all day" (great wisdom resembling simplicity)—this constitutes genuine attainment.

3. Beginners must relinquish all worldly attachments, neither dwelling on the past nor anticipating the future. True freedom comes from abiding in the present moment.

Finally, the master illuminated the essence of cultivation: "Practitioners don't consider poverty or low status as suffering—indeed, simplicity forms the foundation for nurturing life. Drink congee when hungry, sleep on straw when tired. This plain living embodies the true way of Daoist cultivation."

The recorded sayings of Master Ma Danyang contain these essential instructions for Daoist cultivation:

The practice of purity and stillness may seem simple, yet wealthy and privileged individuals often find it most difficult to achieve. Once when our master passed through Qingzhou, he was invited to a purification feast where several Buddhist monks engaged in boastful discourse. One particularly erudite monk kept posing challenging questions, to which our master calmly replied: "Beyond my own cultivation practice, I know nothing of other matters." The monk was immediately silenced with shame.

The master taught: Those who cultivate the Dao must possess unwavering determination, free from hesitation. One must concentrate on refining xingming (referring to the cultivation of Jing, Qi, and Shen), persisting without regression, to achieve genuine attainment. Those who remain entangled in worldly affections and lack transcendent aspiration cannot be considered true cultivators.

Regarding essential cultivation methods: The primordial Qi within the body must not dissipate, and the Shen (spirit) must not become clouded. When disciples asked how to preserve Qi, the master answered: Maintain physical stillness and wuwei (non-action). When asked about preserving Shen, he replied: Keep the mind free of distracting thoughts. Asked whether this qualified one for reclusive practice, he said: Those who can achieve this may cultivate in peace.

The master emphasized: Dao practitioners must distance themselves from worldly trivialities. Leaning on a beggar's staff while chanting verses to harmonize with wind and moon is permissible, but enduring the daily trials of alms-seeking - including cold stares at doorways - constitutes essential training.

He cautioned disciples: "When I first entered the path, I received each begged meal with gratitude. Now you, whose virtue and practice remain insufficient, have begun discriminating about lodgings and food. This makes attainment impossible and will require karmic repayment."

Sharing personal experience, the master recounted: "During my early days in Guanzhong, drunkards in wine shops would insult and strike me. I teach you to endure such ordeals." When disciples claimed never to have faced such trials, he replied: "Excellent. But if encountered, never argue."

Finally, quoting ancestral teachings: "Wear no fine robes, eat no delicacies - musical entertainments matter little if the mind remains unattached." He confessed: "Though I once drank wine and ate meat, I've abstained for over a decade. While immortality can be achieved despite such indulgences, they delay progress. Those without the Dao in their hearts who crave sensual pleasures will ultimately face retribution as lower ghosts."

The Realized Person Danyang (Danyang Zhenren) said: The Patriarch led the four men Qiu, Liu, Tan, and Ma—namely Qiu Chuji, Liu Chuxuan, Tan Chuduan, and Ma Yu—to go see Ren Fengzi at Haode (the appellation recorded in the original). The Patriarch said: “If one only hears about it, one’s ears would be stuffed to bursting; when one sees it with one’s own eyes, it is still like holding a treasure and not daring to let go.” Senior Uncle Liu (Liu Chuxuan) also once said this.

The Master said: I was once in the walled seclusion hut, casually chatting and mentioning new melons. The Daoist community heard about it. The next day they made melon buns and sent them into the enclosure; I ate three. As a result, I was punished with three days without food.

The Master said: The Patriarch once sent me, his disciple, to Ninghai to solicit a little money and rice, saying, “I want to use it.” I said, “Can another senior or junior brother be sent instead?” I had made a vow not to return to my hometown. The Patriarch grew angry and beat me until dawn before stopping. The number of blows could not be counted. I gave rise to a mind of retreat. Thanks to Senior Brother Qiu (Qiu Chuji), who persuaded me to stay, I have not dared forget it to this day.

The Master said: When I was in my hometown, the Patriarch ordered me to go into Laizhou to beg for alms. When I arrived, for several days my heart still hesitated. At night I dreamed of the Master saying: “Tomorrow stretch out your hand at length, be a good fellow, go out on the street, and stretch out your hand (to beg for alms).” This was because the obstruction of my former deluded mind had receded, so the Master said these words.

The Master said: When I returned to the countryside and first went out on the street, the Patriarch gathered my hair into a small horn-like topknot and smeared my face with rouge and powder. I secretly thought: I am not afraid of running into acquaintances of my children’s generation, only of running into my child’s in-laws. I often thought of going to Fan Mingshu’s house to rest a little, and saw that Taiqin (the appellation in the original) was already in the house; I said to myself, “Aren’t you ashamed this time?”

A disciple asked: The Biography of the Ascension of Xu Zhenjun (Xu Xun) says that within the twelve hundred and forty years to come there should be eight hundred people who ascend to immortality. How is this to be explained? The Master said: The Patriarch once said that he wanted to teach and transform ten thousand people (“li” is a particle), and Wang Zixian also said this.

The Master said: Zhang Yanzi had one very good saying: whenever words go back and forth, just take care to nourish the precious treasure of the body (which may refer to conserving Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit)). The Master himself laughed and said: He speaks as if opening up a shop, yet he is exhorting others.

The Master said: The Song of a Hundred Nos and the Ten Exhortations were not thought up by me alone; they too were words the Patriarch once spoke, and so I wrote them down.

The Master said: Generally people love to boast and all think they can outdo others; often they are unwilling to be respectful and compliant toward others.

The Master said: On the road I picked up a donkey contract, and the Patriarch beat me until dawn; the punches I received on my face—how could they be counted?

The Master said: People are still unwilling to believe; if it were in Qingfeng (a state like that), there would be even less to say.

Someone said, “He is a person of faith.” The Master smiled faintly.

Qi Dacheng, a disciple, said, “With conduct like the Master’s, can there still be people who believe?”

Qingfeng, a disciple, said, “A person of faith has a share of immortal affinity; this is not something one can disbelieve.”

The Master said, “Deeply storing white snow—a Neidan (internal alchemy) term for original Shen and true mercury—is not for the sake of rigidly guarding it; broadly accumulating yellow sprout—a Neidan term for original Qi and the sprout of the elixir—is not a matter of greedy seeking.”

Having said this, the Master smiled and said, “Would this be good?” He also said, “In a dream, forge the shadowless sword—a metaphor for formless wisdom; within the Daoist method, remove the clinging mind that attaches to sentient beings.” He also said, “Before the halls of Yaochi, the Jade Pool of the immortals, azure luan birds dance; in the palaces of Langyuan, the immortal garden, white cranes fly.”

When the Master returned to the coastal region, the Shandong coast, people all strictly observed fasts and precepts and joined the Five Assemblies—the five teaching communities originally established by the Patriarch Wang Chongyang. The Five Assemblies had in fact been founded by the Patriarch.

Shitong, the person named in the record, heard that when Master Ma, Ma Yu, was in Dengjun, Dengzhou, more than a hundred assembly members reported to Master Ma, saying, “We disciples have each bathed, dwelled in quiet seclusion, and abstained from meat and wine for seven days already. We wish to join the Qinghui, the Pure Assembly, to pray for blessings and eliminate future karmic obstacles.”

The Master said, “Good. You have been pure for seven days and already call it a blessing; those under Ma Feng’s gate—Ma Feng being another name for Ma Yu—are each pure for their whole lives, cut off cravings, and abstain from meat and wine; their blessed reward is even greater.”

The assembly members all bowed in reverence and praised him, saying, “The teaching of purity is truly inconceivable.”

From then on, households in the three prefectures received the teaching one after another, and it gradually spread to the ten directions. People heard of it and faithfully followed and turned toward it. The great teaching flourished anew, beginning with the Master.

The Master asked his disciples, “How many double-hours are there in the daytime?”

The disciples replied, “There are six double-hours in the daytime.”

The Master said, “How many double-hours are there in a day and night together?”

The disciples said, “There are twelve double-hours in a day and night together.”

The Master said, “In the twelve double-hours of day and night, when the Way of Heaven moves and turns the creative transformations, does it ever pause even for a moment?”

The disciples replied, “It does not pause.”

The Master said, “All who study the Dao must model themselves on the Way of Heaven and turn the creative transformations within their own bodies. Through the twelve double-hours, remaining constantly clear and pure, not giving rise to the slightest dust-like thought—this is cultivation. Accumulating day by day and month by month without interruption, one will surely succeed in cultivating immortality. But if one diminishes one’s effort and loses one’s practice, how can one attain clear understanding and penetration? I observe that among you, throughout the twelve double-hours, there is not one double-hour in which you focus wholeheartedly on the Dao. Having received offerings from donors of the ten directions, how is it that when the day comes for you to close your eyes in death and fall again into the cycle of rebirth, when will there ever be a time of escape? Today I earnestly instruct you: simply clarify your own mind, dispel desires, avoid being defiled by the myriad conditions, and harmonize Shen and Qi—spirit and prenatal vital energy. This is the Dao. Practice accordingly and do not deviate.”

If you have gone astray, and if you are lazy and negligent, and your practice is inadequate, that is not my fault. Do you not think of your seven generations of ancestors who, during their lives, committed various evil deeds and now suffer various torments in the underworld, hoping that their descendants will achieve the Dao (the Way) to save them and be reborn in heaven? Each of you should keep this matter in mind, develop a firm resolve, and die embracing the Dao—this is exactly what I wish. When the disciples heard this compassionate voice, they were all joyful and encouraged one another.

Danyang Zhenren said to the assembly: The Dao has no form or name, yet it is the source of Shen and Qi (spirit and vital energy). Primordial Qi (prenatal vital energy) descends and transforms, and Shen is naturally produced; refining Shen to unite with the Dao is true cultivation. Other names and concepts are numerous and cannot serve as reliable standards. I will now outline the main points for you. The essential teaching of cultivation does not depart from Shen and Qi. Shen and Qi are nature and life; nature and life are dragon and tiger (in internal alchemy, symbols of yin-yang); dragon and tiger are lead and mercury (symbols of medicine and water-fire); lead and mercury are water and fire (symbols of the rise and fall of yin-yang); water and fire are infant and maiden (the infant and the maiden, symbols of true yin and true yang); infant and maiden are true yin and true yang; true yin and true yang are just Shen and Qi. All these names should not be clung to; it is just the two words Shen and Qi. If you wish to nourish Qi and complete Shen, you must cut off all entanglements, be pure inside and out, practice diligently for a long time, and then Shen will coagulate and Qi will surge. Three years without leakage, the lower elixir forms; six years without leakage, the middle elixir forms; nine years without leakage, the upper elixir forms. This is called the completion of the three elixirs (of the lower, middle, and upper dantians) and the success of the nine cycles of transformation. The bone marrow coagulates and transforms, blood vessels become true, inner completion overflows outwardly, light and shadow become perfectly clear, one remains still and unmoving yet responds infinitely, with thousands of transformations, and can transcend in sitting or standing. The thirty-six thousand spirits (gods within the body) leap with joy, travel throughout the world, are welcomed by the officials of the three realms (desire, form, and formless realms), and amid the eight difficulties (eight kinds of obstacles), a thousand evils and ten thousand poisons cannot destroy them. Even when great kalpas change and catastrophic floods surge from all sides, if Shen fills the great void, there is no obstruction. Therefore, heaven may collapse, earth may sink, mountains may crumble, seas may dry up; whatever has form will ultimately perish. Only those who study the Dao, when they reach the point where Shen unites with the Dao, will be indestructible for all kalpas, and their merit will extend to nine generations of ancestors, ascending to Shangqing (a Daoist paradise). This is the chapter title of the Recorded Sayings of Danyang Zhenren.