《無上祕要》Vol. 61

The Most Essential Secrets, Scroll 94: “Ascending to the Great Void” (a modern-language interpretation)

This passage describes cultivation methods involving the ingestion of the Sun’s Radiance and Flying Root. They are said to loosen the “knot of death,” stabilize the Muddy Pellet, nourish the hun and shen, and bring the Qi of the body into harmony with the Qi of the Jade Emperor, like the three lights of the Sun, Moon, and stars.

Source of the method

This method comes from a passage on gathering and ingesting the Sun’s Radiance and Flying Root in The Purple Writ of the Numinous Book of the Golden Portal of Highest Clarity. It is said to have been received long ago from the Celestial Lord of the Great Tenuity. The Celestial Lord was also known by names such as Red Elixir, Golden Essence, Stone Radiance, Water Mother, and Jade Womb. The teaching transmitted was the “Scripture of the Water Mother and Jade Womb.”

Essential practice (when the Sun is visible)

The practice is best done at sunrise, facing east toward the Sun:

1. Lightly tap the upper and lower teeth together nine times.

2. Silently recite the names of the Sun’s hun and the titles of the Five Emperors within the Sun. The specific sixteen-character formula appears in the scripture; its names include Sun Hun, Pearl Radiance, Shining Veil, Green Reflection, Returning Rosy Clouds, Red Child, Dark Flame, and Whirling Image.

3. Close the eyes and hold the fists firmly, directing the mind inward. Envision five-colored flowing clouds of rosy light rising from the Sun and joining the body, extending down to both feet. Then envision the Five Qi ascending to the crown of the head.

4. Envision sunlight, rosy light, and the five colors entering the mouth together. Also envision a purple Qi within the rosy clouds, as large as a pupil, layered upon itself and shining brightly among the five lights. This is called the Sun’s Radiance, Flying Root, Jade Womb, or Water Mother; it enters the mouth along with the Five Qi.

5. Facing the Sun, swallow the rosy clouds forty-five times, combining the act of swallowing with the corresponding visualization.

6. Then swallow saliva nine times.

7. Tap the teeth together nine times and softly recite a blessing. Its meaning is: “Red furnace, elixir Qi; the rounded Heaven nourishes essence; hardness and softness, water and fire; the Sun’s origin and the radiance of dawn; the Great Brightness of the Nine Yang; gather the hun and harmonize the po; the essence of the Five Qi; within, give birth to the Five Emperors; gather and fly into emptiness; pluck the root and attain fullness; Dragon Radiance as the foremost headband; vermilion sash and blue reins; dark rosy clouds shine upon Highest Clarity; bestow a jade slip bearing the written teaching; engrave the name in the Golden Pavilion; ingest the morning radiance; unite with the numinous and the perfected; become a flying immortal in Great Tenuity; ascend to the Purple Court.”

8. When the blessing is complete, bow twice toward the Sun.

The scripture says that among true immortals, even one in a million may rarely know the name of the Sun’s hun. This Way is mysterious and profound, and is not something people of the ordinary world, sunk in base concerns, are fit to hear.

Practice when the Sun is absent, or at an advanced level

• When the sky is overcast and the Sun cannot be seen: In a clean, secluded room or sleeping place, follow the instructions through visualization; there is no need to see sunlight directly.
• For Daoist practitioners who are accomplished in pure cultivation and have deep spiritual attunement: They may practice without seeing the sunrise.
• Those who abstain from grain and enter the mountains, observe long-term fasting on the Five Sacred Mountains, withdraw from worldly life, and devote themselves to quiet cultivation at a distance from the dust of the world may also practice this method.

Brief explanations of terms used in the passage

• Muddy Pellet: A Daoist image for the upper Dantian within the body, associated with the awareness and spirit; it is also called the “brain palace.”
• Knot of death: A metaphorical bond or obstruction associated with lifespan and impediments affecting the hun and po.
• Sun’s hun and the Five Emperors: Names and ranks of deities within the Sun, used in visualization and recitation.
• Sun’s Radiance, Flying Root, Jade Womb, and Water Mother: Different names for the purple Qi and essence within the Sun, gathered as Qi through the visualization of swallowing rosy clouds.
• Holding the fists firmly: A common posture in cultivation, in which the fists are clenched to help focus the mind.

Plain-language interpretation of a related passage from The Supreme Secret Essentials

〔Taking in the Sun’s Essence, Lunar Practice, and Inner Visualization of the Purple Script〕

If those who have attained the Dao take in the rosy light at the root of the sun each day and absorb the sun’s essence, their bodies will acquire a jade-like sheen, and light will play across their faces.

If they are still burdened by worldly and personal affairs and cannot yet attain stillness, with their bodies adrift on the roads of the world and their minds caught in tangled nets, they should practice the method described above on the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, thirteenth, fifteenth, seventeenth, nineteenth, and twenty-fifth days of the lunar month. This makes ten practice days in all. On these days, the Sun Soul descends to meet them, the flying root is full, and the Water Mother’s jade womb is ready. After practicing this method for eighteen years, the Three Primordial Lords of Great Simplicity in the Jade Clarity Heaven will refine them with golden reality and illumine them with jade light. They will attain the rank of Jade Emperor and fly through the vast heavens.

This passage comes from The Purple Writings of the Numinous Book of the Cavern of Truth.

The Purple Script Instructions: Those who cultivate the Way of the Highest Real Ones should practice the supreme method of inner visualization, in which the jade clouds of Shangqing shine with purple radiance. On the upper tenth-day period of the month of one’s birth, bathe, observe a pure fast, and prepare clean ritual robes. At dawn, enter a room and use inner visualization to open and illuminate the water of clear radiance from the Jade Talisman. Facing east, wash your eyes and rinse your mouth and bowels, so that inside and out you are clear and empty: no lingering taste in the mouth, no residual fumes in the belly, nothing more for the eyes to see, and no dust remaining on the body. Be calm, pure, still, and silent; let only the Dao be your body.

Then face south and sit upright. Close your eyes and visualize within: purple Qi emerging above the crown of your head, surging until it fills the sky. Its Qi pours into your body, shrouding the inside and outside in darkness. Draw in this purple Qi and swallow it upward thirty-nine times, letting the Qi descend with each swallow into your mouth and belly. When you have finished, open your eyes; everything will be bright and clear. Then tap your teeth three times and recite upward-facing the following spell:

(The spell’s general meaning: Rosy clouds flow from Shangqing; the true message dawns; purple clouds shine upon the numinous, spreading essence in a radiant exchange. They pour inward through the golden gates and jade doors, filling the precious spirit; the radiant forms and souls are stored, with none dispersed. The Bright August One, the Nine Real Ones, and the Eight Ways climb the clouds and summon the void; numinous beings descend from the River of Heaven, penetrating the hidden source. The Three Mornings feast together, soaring through the jade chamber to pay homage above in the imperial palace. When the spell is complete, swallow upward three times, then stop.)

Write the Jade Talisman for Opening and Illumining Inner Visualization in cinnabar on white paper, then place it in water. Facing east, tap your teeth three times and recite:

(The spell’s general meaning: The heavens are free of flying veils, and the earth of drifting dust. The Jade Talisman sweeps away defilement and washes away what is false. It opens and illuminates the mysterious void, summoning numinous immortals. When the spell is complete, wash your eyes with the water and rinse and cleanse away the remaining impurities inside and out.)

Note: Here, “your sign” often refers to the imagined “body-sign” or “crown-sign” at the top of the head or within the body. “Water Mother’s jade womb” and “flying root” are terms associated with internal cultivation and the correspondence of the Sun Soul and Moon Soul. “The upper tenth-day period of the month of one’s birth” means choosing a date from the ten-day period in the month in which one was born. The spells retain the original sentence structure; only their general meaning has been clarified. For a line-by-line comparison with the Daoist Canon text, consult the Zhengtong Daozang edition.

The following is a plain-language explanation of an excerpt from the Wushang Miyao, following the order of the original entries.

1. Letting talisman water flow east (from the Shangqing Neiguan Jing)

Pour away all the water in which the talismans have been soaked, letting it flow eastward. This instruction comes from the middle section of the Yuxia Ziying Neiguan Jing in the Shangqing tradition.

2. The results of eight years of cultivation (from the Dongzhen Qingyao Zishu Shang Jing)

Cultivate according to this method for eight full years, and purple clouds will envelop your dwelling. Your body and eyes will become clear and bright, enabling you to see through the Nine Heavens. A wondrous radiance will appear around you, and your spirit-image will transform in countless ways. Ultimately, you can ascend through the Great Void, the celestial realm of emptiness.

3. The qi of Fambao Heaven, bathing, and paying homage (from the Dongzhen Jiudan Shanghua Taijing Zhongji)

During the twelfth month, receive the qi of “Fambao Heaven.” On the third day of each month at dawn, the thirteenth at noon, and the twenty-third at midnight, bathe in fragrant water, burn incense, and enter a room. Face northwest and bow nine times to the “Primordial Father”; face southeast and bow three times to the “Mysterious Mother.” Then sit facing the celestial sign governing that month, click your teeth thirty-six times, close your eyes, visualize, and recite the name and secret taboo name of the King of Fambao Heaven.

After three years of this practice, your bones will become like jade and your spirit and qi will be abundant. You will be able to know the future in advance and perceive events before they occur. After nine full years, your body and spirit will be transformed, and you can fly through the Great Void.

4. The Jade Writ of the Eight Plain Essences and Flying Spirits (from the Dongzhen Baisu Zhen Jing)

The “Jade Writ of the Eight Plain Essences and Flying Spirits, the Two Radiances” arose within the Empty Grotto and was revealed atop Turtle Mountain, above the Mysterious Garden, and on the northern slope of the Jishi Mountains. It is a secret text to which the myriad qi return and which governs all the heavens. Hidden above the Nine Heavens, it is transmitted only once in countless kalpas.

Those who obtain this numinous text can shine with the light of the sun and moon. They can transform in countless ways and enter or leave existence and nonexistence at will. Purple radiance appears at the crown of the head, and a golden countenance shines on the face. The myriad spirits bow in homage, and the inhabitants of the Ten Heavens welcome them together. After nine years of cultivation, they can ascend through the Great Void.

5. The true talisman of Golden Essence and Stone Marrow (from the Dongzhen Siji Mingke)

To refine and dissolve the “Golden Essence and Stone Marrow” Nine Primordial True Talisman and escape the peril of the “Knife Mountain,” write it in white on blue paper on your birth destiny day—the day corresponding to your birth date—and swallow it. After three years, accumulated past offenses will be erased and the true spirit will descend. After nine years, you can ride a dragon through the void, fly through the Great Void, and ascend to a rank in the Purple Tenuity Palace.

6. Yellow Water and Lunar Radiance (from the Dongzhen Lingshu Ziwen Shang Jing)

Gather and consume the “Yellow Water and Lunar Radiance Elixir”: eat its essence and drink one sheng of Yellow Water. You will then be able to multiply your body into countless forms, turn the light of your eyes into the bright moon, drift through the Great Void, and fly to the Upper Palace of Purple Tenuity.

7. The two talismans of the Primordial Yin-Yang transformations at the center of first birth (from the same text)

The “Primordial Yin-Yang Transformations at the Center of First Birth” has two talismans: the upper one is written in vermilion, the lower one in black ink. At the start of summer, swallow the lower talisman first and then the upper one. At the winter solstice, reverse the order: swallow the upper one first, then the lower.

Brief explanations of terms for easier reading

“Shangqing” and “Dongzhen” refer to the Shangqing school of Daoism and the Dongzhen division of the Lingbao scriptural canon. “Primordial Father” and “Mysterious Mother” are names for primordial deities addressed in visualization rituals. “Clicking the teeth” and “visualizing” are cultivation steps involving tapping the teeth and mentally focusing on deities. A “birth destiny day” is a date corresponding to the earthly branch of one’s birth year, often used to select an auspicious day for ritual practice. “Purple Tenuity,” the “Nine Heavens,” and the “Great Void” commonly refer in the scriptures to celestial palaces and realms of ascent through the void; they are not terms from modern astronomy.

This explanation follows the sequence of the original text closely and adds no further interpretation.

A Plain-Language Interpretation of The Supreme Secret Essentials

Taking Talismans and Reciting a Silent Invocation

Take the upper talisman first, followed by the lower one. Just before taking each talisman, click the teeth three times and silently recite the invocation:

Yin and Yang transform in harmony; the two energies flow freely. The Primordial Father preserves what is true, and the Mysterious Mother guards the palace. The two spirits interact and transform; the Dao shines with abundant light. The Eight Primordials spread their mysterious radiance; my Dao opens and unfolds. The three divisions merge in splendor, and transformations know no limit. The numinous talisman arrests the passing years; jade energy restores youth. May my lifespan equal the ages of the kalpas, and endure as long as the boundless heavens.

When you have finished reciting, lie on your back and swallow the Eight Energies. Then stop.

After practicing this method for eight years, eight divine officials of the Eight Radiances will appear as your guiding retinue, escorting you as you ascend to the Palace of Purple Tenuity.

The Talisman of Transformation for the Yang Arising in Bingzi, Upper Primordial Era, of the Middle Perfected

This talisman is a jade script generated from the essence of the Yang Spirit of the Jade Gate in the Upper Primordial Era. It assists the Clear and Lofty Middle Perfected, transforms the energies of the eight directions, communicates with spirits and summons the Perfected, and preserves life for long-lasting existence.

After taking it for eight years, eight jade youths of the Upper Palace of Purple Tenuity will be assigned as your guiding retinue. They will connect you with the numinous and summon the cloud carriage of the Eight Radiances, receive you as you fly upward, and escort you to the Palace of Purple Tenuity.

(From The Scripture of Seventy-Four Directions of Numinous Transformation in the Cavern of Truth)

The True Talisman of the Numinous Capital of Purple Tenuity

The old text comes from the third chapter, “Jade Radiance,” of The Most High’s Transformations of the Empty Cavern. It is kept in the Palace of Purple Tenuity.

Those who practice the Dao and seek immortality, contemplate the spirits and preserve the True, repent of sins and resolve transgressions, and aspire to receive the original blessings of the Five Emperors and the assembled immortals should write the talisman in vermilion ink on the day of the Beginning of Summer. Facing south, they should take three copies. All sins will then be dispelled, the Five Emperors will recommend them, and their names will be entered in the Elixir Chamber.

If you practice this for three years, without missing a single observance, Purple Tenuity will assign you eight jade youths. Through contemplation and spiritual attunement, the Five Emperors will manifest in visible form, bringing the jade carriage of the Three Radiances. They will escort you as you fly and ascend to the Palace of Purple Tenuity.

(From The Hidden Talisman of the Jade Radiance of the Eight Ways of Numinous Truth in the Cavern of Truth)

Section on Ascending to the Purple Court

The High Sage, Lord Emperor, said: To have your name entered on Mount Western Tortoise and your form rise into the Chamber of Seven Reflections, you should bathe and observe ritual purity on the seventh day of the seventh month, at the time of Upper Harmony. At dusk, enter a room and burn incense. Facing north, bow nine times in audience before the Jade Emperor. When you are finished, face north and click your teeth twelve times. Visualize a cloud of white silk arising spontaneously within the purified room, billowing and filling the entire space. Imagine the Five Elders, immortal lords, within the white cloud, wearing fluttering azure cloaks, crowned with jade caps that reach to Heaven, and holding registers inscribed with azure script. Imagine receiving the immortal jade attendant, who wears a robe of cloud brocade, a crown of seven jewels, and holds a tablet of white silver.

Note: Terms in the text such as “clicking the teeth,” “Eight Radiances,” “Purple Tenuity,” “Five Emperors,” and “Three Radiances” belong to Daoist cultivation and celestial ranks. The prescribed periods for taking talismans—three or eight years—and the seasonal dates—the Beginning of Summer and the seventh day of the seventh month—must be strictly observed if one hopes to summon divine officials and ascend to Purple Tenuity.

Visualize the Two Perfected Ones—the true deities revered in Daoism—inscribing my name on a white tablet and entering it in a register written in green script. Let my tablet and register be delivered to the Supervising Perfected Messenger and the Left Immortal of the Fixed Register. They will submit a memorial to the Emperor of the Nine Heavens, approach the pivots of the Seven Sages, and inscribe my name in the lower register. The Immortal Lords of the Five Elders lead the jade attendants of the immortals as they transform and enter my body. In the Palace of Great Simplicity, recite this subtle incantation:

Heaven’s blessings descend everywhere, joining above with the myriad gods. The Great Void records my name; Donghua inscribes it in the register. My name is entered in a green register and inscribed on white silver. The four rhymes unite as one; their sounds blend and become perfection. The exalted sage imparts the mystery, granting me deliverance. The two Qi descend and fill me; the nine smokes of Heaven turn and transform into Immortal Lords, jade attendants, and Perfected Ones. The Eight Radiances carry me in their carriage as I ascend to the Emperor’s dawn court, pay homage to the exalted sage, and receive blessings and good fortune in ninefold abundance. May I preserve the Three Luminaries forever, coeval with Heaven and Earth. When the recitation is finished, bow seven times, pay homage to the Seven Sages, and swallow the seven Qi to conclude. If you practice this Way, the Mother of Tortoises will enter your name in the register, Donghua will record your name, and the Three Primordials will descend. You will ascend to the Purple Court.

(From the Jing of the Origin of the Seven Sages of the Cavern of Perfection.)

The Talisman of Cloud-Opening by the Jade Radiances of Yin and Yang: Write it in vermilion on blue paper and swallow it; write it in vermilion on blue silk and wear it. It contains the essences of the two radiances of the Sun and Moon. One who knows the essences of these two radiances can conceal their radiance and hide their form. Practice this for eighteen years, and you will ascend to the Purple Court.

(From the Jing of the Seven Turns and Seven Transformations of the Celestial Dance in the Divine Land of the Cavern of Perfection.)

Section on Ascending to the Purple Void

The Most High Perfected One summons the Five Luminaries into the Cavern Chamber. This is a secret Way of the Flying Immortals, transmitted by the Primal Lord of the Southern Pole. At midnight, in quietude, sit or lie as you wish. Settle your body and still your mind; relax your Qi and regulate your spirit. Half-close your eyes and turn your gaze inward.

First, visualize the Star of Great White in the west above your two eyes. It is called the Jade Pendants of the Purple Gate.

Next, visualize the Star of Water in the north, in the celestial center, the Imperial Township and the Mysterious Township, in the Mysterious Palace. It comes from above the nose to the hairline, five fen inward, then straight in one cun.

Next, visualize the Star of Wood in the east, at the Vermilion Terrace of the Cavern Pass, one cun behind the eyes and one cun inward.

Next, visualize the Star of Fire in the south, in the Flower Chamber of the Jade Gate, five fen from the inner corners of the eyes and five fen inward.

Next, visualize the Star of Earth at the center, in the Golden Coffer and Yellow Chamber, the Long Valley’s Golden Coffer and Yellow Chamber. It is at the center of the philtrum, two fen inward. The stars should appear suspended above you, as if strung together. When you have completed the visualization, imagine each star settling into its proper place. Then awaken the realization that the Five Stars are shining.

(Practice of this method can enable you to ascend to the Purple Court.)

Five-colored light gives off vapor and passes through my entire body, illuminating it within and without. Inside, it is as though star essence, bearing fragrance, enters my body. Then I click my teeth five times, swallow my saliva twenty-five times, and, having finished the visualization, chant the spell softly:

“Within the lofty violet palace dwell the Five Spirits. Their precious radiance spreads its brilliance; light streams forth and surges through the gate. Essence transforms, accumulates, and grows, changing into an old man: his head wrapped in a plain cloth, his face serene, a green cape over a crimson skirt; a flowing bell hangs at his right side, a tiger talisman at his left. He holds the Heavenly Dipper in his hand, scattering crimson lights among the stars. His feet tread upon the flowered canopy; he exhales rays of light to refine my body. May the Three Luminaries protect and preserve me, enabling me to attain the Real. May I nourish my po and govern my hun, ride the gale, and fly as an immortal.”

When the spell is finished, if one can practice this method regularly for fifteen full years, the Old Man of the Southern Pole, the Supreme Perfected One of the Cinnabar Mound, will arrive in a carriage of green clouds to welcome one; the Old Man of the Western Pole, Su Lingziqi, will arrive in a chariot drawn by yellow winds; the Old Man of the Northern Pole, the Dark Supreme Immortal Emperor, will arrive riding a dragon of dark light; the Old Man of the Eastern Pole, Fuyang Gongzi, will arrive in a carriage drawn by blue steeds; and the Old Man of the Central Origin, the Central Supreme Dark One, will arrive beneath a curved dawn canopy. The Five Old Ones will gather and ascend together to the Violet Empyrean.

(From the Dongzhen Golden Truth Jade Radiance Supreme Hidden Scripture)

This text describes a secret practice combining inner visualization, spell recitation, and contemplative imagery. It depicts five-colored vapor passing through the body and star essence entering it, accompanied by clicking the teeth, swallowing saliva, and visualizing the forms of the “Five Spirits” and “Five Old Ones.” After fifteen years of practice, five Old Ones—one for each of the four directions and one for the center—arrive in cloud-borne carriages and dragon chariots to welcome the practitioner and ascend together to the Violet Empyrean. “Three Luminaries” commonly refers to the sun, moon, and stars, or to essence, Qi, and spirit. “Violet palace” and “Violet Empyrean” refer to celestial palaces and the realm of immortals. The “Five Old Ones” are revered Daoist divine figures symbolizing the five directions or Five Phases. Technical names are retained in their conventional forms, and the structure of the scripture has been preserved.