《重陽真人金關玉鎖訣》

“Three Instructions in One Scroll, Marked ‘Jiao Jiu’”: the three sets of instructions are in a single scroll and marked “Jiao Jiu.” The Golden Pass and Jade Lock Instructions of Perfected Master Chongyang. The Twenty-Four Instructions Bestowed by Perfected Master Chongyang on Danyang. Ma Ziran’s Golden Elixir (Jindan) Oral Instructions. Composed by Chongyangzi Wang Zhe of Zhongnan Mountain. The Golden Pass and Jade Lock Instructions of Perfected Master Chongyang.

Someone asked: What is the wondrous principle of cultivating truth (xiuzhen)? The answer: First, one must remove the nameless afflictions (that is, the afflictions of ignorance); second, one must not crave wine, lust, wealth, or anger. These are the methods of cultivation. The human body is fully endowed with the principles of Heaven and Earth; the reason Heaven and Earth contain and nurture the myriad things, and the reason the myriad things fill the space between Heaven and Earth, is that Heaven and Earth are lofty, bright, and vast, and have never been obscured by the myriad things. Those who cultivate should also discern and embody this principle when facing all affairs. Someone challenged this, saying: Heaven sometimes grows dark, Earth sometimes shakes, mountains collapse, seas dry up, the sun and moon wax and wane; moreover, humans have illness and impermanence—how can these be counteracted? The answer: To counteract them, one need only comprehend thoroughly the Supreme Lord’s (Taishang) method of refining the Five Phases (Wuxing; Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water). Question: What is the method of the Five Phases? The oral instructions say: First, one must observe the precepts, maintain purity and quietude, practice forbearance under insult, compassion, and earnest good deeds; cut off the ten evils; practice skillful means (using skillful methods to help others); save and deliver all sentient beings; be loyal to the ruler; and be filial and respectful to parents, teachers, and elders. These are the methods of cultivation. Then one practices true accomplishment (zhenggong). The oral instructions say: First, in the east and west within the body, one must recognize Geng, Jia, Mao, and You; second, in the south and north within the body, one must recognize Kan and Li, lead and mercury. The oral instructions say: Geng, Jia, Mao, and You refer to day and night. Jia and Mao are the Qi (vital energy) of the liver; among the eight seasonal nodes they correspond to the Beginning of Spring and the Spring Equinox; in the mouth they are jin (saliva). Geng and You are the Qi of the lungs; among the eight seasonal nodes they correspond to the Beginning of Autumn and the Autumn Equinox; in the mouth they are ye (fluid). Kan and Li refer to cold and heat. Li-lead is the heart Qi within the body; among the eight seasonal nodes it corresponds to the Beginning of Summer and the Summer Solstice; in the body it is blood. Kan-mercury is the Qi in the kidneys; among the eight seasonal nodes it corresponds to the Beginning of Winter and the Winter Solstice; in the body it is Jing (essence). Jing generates the po (corporeal soul), and blood generates the hun (ethereal soul); Jing is nature (xing), and blood is life (ming). If a person comprehends and penetrates nature and life, this is the true method of cultivation. The oral instructions say: Jing and blood are the root of the physical body; true Qi is the root of nature and life. Therefore it is said that those who have blood can generate true Qi; when true Qi is strong and substantial, one naturally enjoys longevity, and by gathering Jing and blood the form is completed.

Someone asked: Since we have become human, why are there earlier and later deaths?

Answer: Those who die first do so because their minds cling to desired pleasures and crave sensory realms. For this reason men damage their Jing and women damage their blood. By day they endlessly give rise to nameless afflictions; by night they cannot cut away the three corpse yin-demons (sanshi yingui—the three yin spirits that Daoism says dwell in the human body, record faults, and hasten death). Men and women have thus already fallen into impermanence (death).

Someone asked: What are those who do not die like?

Answer: Those who do not die are so because their bodies are pure and undefiled. Through true Qi (zhenqi, pre-heaven primordial Qi) stored in the Dantian (energy center; the place where Jing and Qi are stored), their Jing and blood do not decline. Such a person therefore does not die.

Someone countered: We often see people today who seek purity and stillness and abandon wife and children, yet they still cannot attain the Dao. Why?

Answer: Although such a person is pure and still, they do not penetrate the practice of true purity and stillness. Though their body is pure and still, they cannot stabilize and guard Jing and blood or nourish true Qi. This is a case of the body being pure but the mind impure, the body still but the intention not still. Have you not heard the Qingjing Jing (Scripture of Purity and Stillness) say that the Dao has purity and turbidity, movement and stillness? Purity is the source of turbidity; movement is the foundation of stillness. The scripture says, “Neither defiled nor pure.” If we speak of true purity and stillness, it means no tears in the eyes, no pus in the nose, no saliva in the mouth, and no refining of urine or feces. Men nourish Jing; women stabilize blood. When the ten thousand evils return to rectitude and the ten thousand illnesses do not arise, only then can this be called the purity and stillness of the Dantian. What people today call purity and stillness is all false naming. If cultivation corresponds within and without, then before speaking of the Greater Vehicle (Mahayana), one first discusses the Smaller Vehicle (Hinayana). The Xin Jing (Heart Scripture) says, “It can be small and can be great.” Before speaking of the past, one first speaks of the present. The past is the fruit; the present is the work. It also says, “When the work is complete, the fruit is full.” Before speaking of the real, what is spoken is still false. Only the one numinous spirit is real. The four great elements of the physical body (earth, water, fire, and wind) are false appearances. One borrows the false to refine it into the real. Stimulus and response harmonize and become one. The oral formula says: “A whole body at ease in the present is the Smaller Vehicle; all of this is the foundation of the Greater Vehicle. The Dharma-mind of the first ground (the initial aspiration on the first ground) is the Smaller Vehicle; the final result is the Greater Vehicle. The Smaller Vehicle is the root; the Greater Vehicle is the tip.” The oral formula says: “Tip and root rely on each other; the tip is born by borrowing from the root.” Cultivators today do not know from where the body is obtained or why nature and life are born. The oral formula says: “None of it is separate from what Yin-Yang generates. It necessarily relies on the father’s Jing and the mother’s blood. These two things are the root of the body.” Cultivators today do not cherish the father’s Jing and the mother’s blood. They dissipate true Qi and damage primordial Yang (yuanyang, the body’s fundamental yang Qi). Therefore there is aging, illness, and pain.

People ultimately die. Since impermanence exists, why not cultivate and remedy it?

The true Dao (the Way) is reality within emptiness and emptiness within reality. The Jing (scripture) says that the Great Dao has no form or image, yet it gives birth to heaven and earth. The Great Dao has no name, yet it nurtures the myriad things. People born from true nature are likewise.

In former times, Lord Lao cultivated the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and left behind wondrous teachings of the Three Vehicles (the upper, middle, and lower levels of cultivation). Each phase extinguished sin; each phrase caused people to attain long life. The first, the upper vehicle, is the immortal’s embracing of the One. The second, the middle vehicle, is enriching the state and pacifying the people. The third, the lower vehicle, is strengthening the army and winning victory.

Question: What is the immortal’s embracing of the One? Embracing the One is the root of the human body in the world. This “One” is the root of the myriad things. This “One” is the Dao, the beginning of antiquity. The “One” is true water. Within water, Qi (vital energy) is born. Within Qi, water is again born. The myriad things all arise from the “One.” The myriad things rely on it for nurture. One generates two. Two generates three. Three generates the myriad things. Within the three, one cultivates the merit of the Four Wisdoms (four kinds of wisdom). From this, the Five Eyes (five kinds of wisdom eye) are generated. One sweeps away the attachments of the Six Roots (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind). One activates and opens the Seven Po. One uses the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) to explain the true Dao of the Nine Contemplations (nine kinds of reflective realization). Relying on the fruit of no-outflows (in which afflictions no longer leak out), one attains perfect harmony. One visualizes one’s own Shen (spirit) as constantly residing in the Dantian (the energy center below the navel). One embraces and guards primordial Qi (innate original Qi), not letting it scatter or be lost. This is the method of embracing the One.

Question: What is enriching the state and pacifying the people? The secret says: In the bodies of men and women there are respectively the Nine Rivers and Four Seas (metaphors for the body’s fluids, Qi, and blood). In the treasuries of the dragon palace are seven treasures and eight jewels (metaphors for treasures in the body such as Jing (essence) and Qi). Do not let the Six Thieves (the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind clinging outward) steal them away. This is enriching the state and pacifying the people.

Question: What is strengthening the army and winning victory? The secret says: Few people in the world know the way of victory. Victory is a constant method. Someone asked: Since you speak of the method of purity and stillness, why do you also speak of the principle of victory? The reply is: People today do not comprehend the method of victory. How then can they treat illness and impermanence? In the method of victory, the first is to defeat nameless afflictions. The second is, within nighttime states, to defeat the three corpse yin ghosts (the Three Corpses spirits within the body). The third is to defeat the ten thousand dharmas. This is the method of victory.

If a person can understand the Three Vehicles, they can turn disasters and afflictions into blessings. The cultivator takes constant purity and stillness as the fundamental method of the Great Vehicle (the method cultivated by those of great capacity). Those who wish to cultivate the Great Vehicle must begin with the Small Vehicle (the preliminary cultivation method). Purity is not separate from turbidity. Movement is not separate from stillness. Within stillness, movement is then born. Within turbidity, purity is naturally present. When there are heaven and earth, sun and moon, water and fire, and Yin-Yang, this is called true.

The Daoist scriptures say: Pure Yang cannot generate; pure Yin cannot grow. Only when Yin-Yang harmonize can the ten thousand things be born. Yet those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) today do not cultivate the true Dao. The Dao is to penetrate and comprehend nature and life (xingming). What is called nature and life is Jing and blood. People suffer from various illnesses, and these illnesses all harm human life. In those who are ill, the causes are never in the five viscera themselves; all are damage to the three treasures of Jing, Qi, and blood. If one wishes for peace, happiness, and long life, one must maintain a pure and quiet mind-consciousness. Some laypeople who have not left the household cannot, in their youth, uphold the fruit of purity and quietude. In cultivation one advances from the Small Vehicle into the Middle Vehicle and the Supreme Vehicle: at the first ground, being able to reach the Dharma-mind is the Small Vehicle; awakening is the Middle Vehicle; complete and thorough penetration is the Supreme Vehicle. The first is the conjured city, the second the silver city, the third the golden city. This is like a great tree: first there is the root, and afterward the tips grow. Ordinarily one should only maintain purity and quietude; this is the correct path of the Great Dao.

Someone asks: If one’s whole body is pure and quiet, but heavenly demons (mara obstacles that interfere with cultivation) come to disturb one, how should one counteract them? He also asks: If one encounters the “Boxun” associated with outer-path practices (practices outside the right path), how should one counteract it? The answer: Boxun means a boundary; all kinds of states will appear. One need only understand advance and retreat; the key lies in distinguishing the clear from the turbid. If Yin-Yang are stirred against each other, use the method of adding fire into water, withdrawing turbid Qi, and keeping the two from tormenting each other. The oral instruction says: If the army of demons comes, you must quickly prepare and muster three thousand strong soldiers. The oral instruction says: In what is called “Sanqian Shu Zhen Gong,” the strong soldiers are Qi. Let it come but not go; count by a thousand breaths, and gather Qi in the Dantian (the energy center below the navel where Qi gathers) without dispersing it. Simply keep the Dantian warm and do not let it grow cold; naturally the embryonic immortal (the immortal embryo formed through Neidan, internal alchemy) will congeal—this is the wondrous method. If a person obtains this wondrous method, he will forever obtain the above true merit; when the merit is accomplished and the fruit fulfilled, he will forever attain peace, happiness, and long life. All who cultivate merit must carefully prepare themselves on the day calamity approaches.

Someone asks: How should one counteract it? The explanation: On the day a person faces calamity, he first sees the signs of death. What are the signs of death? The oral instruction says: The heavenly pillar shakes; trees fall and mountains crumble; the six spirits are all thrown into confusion; nature and life cannot be preserved; Jing and Shen are dim and unsettled; heaven and earth grow dark; the sun and moon lose their light—these are the first signs of impermanence. The body with outflows (with afflictions leaking out) is hell; the fruit without outflows is heaven. One who has a body with outflows must realize the fruit without outflows; all who are perfected together accomplish the fruit of the Dao.

Someone asks: If the "white ox" (symbolizing the body's true Qi) tries to escape, how should one capture it?

The method is this: When the white ox attempts to flee, immediately focus on the Mysterious Pass (Dantian), firmly seal the four gates of the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, and swiftly apply the "Immortal Fishing" technique. Additionally, use the "Three Isles Hand Seal" (a specific mudra) to guide the internal Qi in a reverse flow like the Yellow River running backward, closing the Golden Pass (upper Dantian) and locking the Jade Lock (lower Dantian). As quick as the blink of an eye, the white ox will naturally be unable to escape. This is one of the ten methods for stabilizing life and nature, known as "the moment of crossing the shore by riding the waves."

Specific methods for stabilizing life and nature include:

1. The Golden Pass and Jade Lock Stabilization

2. The Three Isles Revival and Death Exchange Stabilization

3. The Nine-Bend Yellow River Reverse Flow Stabilization

These are the shared methods used by cultivators who have attained the leakless state to achieve immortality. During practice, one must be careful not to stiffen the waist and legs or blur the vision—these are the essential keys to stabilizing the Three Treasures (Jing, Qi, and Shen).

Another question: Once the Three Treasures are stabilized, where should the true Qi be directed? First, apply the "Reed Sprout Piercing the Knee" technique, allowing the Qi to pass through the knees, impact the Dantian furnace, and circulate to the Yongquan (Bubbling Spring) points at the soles of the feet to nourish the legs. Then, use the "Seven-Return Elixir" method. If Qi stagnates in the waist or legs, practice the "Iron Cart and Black Ox" technique before opening the Slaughter Gate (a specific acupoint). If primordial Qi is abundant, one may first practice the "Elbow-Flying Golden Essence" method. Without practicing these techniques—without employing the knee-piercing method or the Seven-Return Elixir—and attempting to directly use the "Elbow-Moving Essence to Nourish the Brain" method in pursuit of immortality would be as unstable as a child building a pagoda without a proper foundation.

True cultivation requires a solid foundation. One may also employ the "Three Cart Transport" method (Sheep Cart, Deer Cart, and Great Ox Cart) in the Kan Palace (kidney region), following the principle of transporting treasures from Mount Jing. Legend tells of a man named Bian He from Mount Jing who, while gathering firewood, saw a phoenix land on a stone and knew it concealed precious jade. He presented it to the emperor but had his feet cut off as punishment. This allegory illustrates: Bian He represents human consciousness, the rough stone symbolizes the body, the phoenix represents true Qi, the jade is the essence of marrow, and the loss of his feet signifies neglecting the knee-piercing technique.

Only through truly pure cultivation can one achieve the treasure of the lower origin, shining as brightly as the sun and moon. The Three Cart Transport method must be used to carry the Qi to the summit of Kunlun (the crown of the head). Sadly, people today only speak of principles without practicing, only talk without acting, their minds and intentions never unified.

This scripture passage explains the "Three Carts Transporting Treasures" method in Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) practice. Here's a modern interpretation:

During cultivation, visualize three ox-drawn carts transporting the body's vital essences: the first is a deer cart pulled by a blue ox (symbolizing liver Qi), the second a sheep cart pulled by a white ox (representing lung Qi), and the third an ox cart pulled by a red ox (signifying heart fire). These three vehicles travel along the spine: starting from the coccyx (Weilü point at the spine's base), passing through the kidney points at the waist, ascending along the spine to the Jiaji point (a crucial back acupoint), and finally reaching the crown of the head.

The practice requires coordinating breath and saliva: sit in full lotus position (Jiafu zuo), rub hands to generate heat, and guide vital energy from the face to flow beside the teeth. The saliva produced in the mouth (called "mysterious pearl" or "sweet dew") should be stirred with the tongue (Chilong, "red dragon"). This saliva appears white and has a sweet taste.

The text mentions the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) corresponding to solar terms: Gen trigram for Beginning of Spring, Zhen for Spring Equinox, Xun for Beginning of Summer, Li for Summer Solstice, Kun for Beginning of Autumn, Dui for Autumn Equinox, Qian for Beginning of Winter, and Kan for Winter Solstice. Cultivation should align with seasonal changes, balancing Yin-Yang through swallowing saliva (Yin aspect) and circulating vital energy (Yang aspect).

Finally, it describes the "Seven Returns Technique": swallowing saliva to the chest area (Qisang) moistens lungs and relieves cough; directing it to the heart region nourishes the Shen (spirit). The scripture emphasizes treasuring bodily fluids like precious water sources that must never be depleted.

Note: This passage contains numerous Neidan terms:

1. Three Carts Transporting Treasures: metaphor for moving vital essences in internal alchemy

2. Chilong ("red dragon"): poetic name for the tongue

3. Mysterious pearl/sweet dew: precious saliva produced during cultivation

4. Jiafu zuo: cross-legged sitting posture common in Buddhist and Daoist practice

This verse can awaken understanding in the mind and is also a verse for washing the mind with the mind-washing divine water (in cultivation, a metaphor for fluids) and for seeing one’s nature. The verse says: seeing the flower open with five leaves, one ascends the immortal terrace step by step. Divine water transforms into blood; then swallow divine water and send it to the liver. The liver belongs to Wood and is provisionally named the Azure Dragon; when the Azure Dragon obtains water it is sure to flourish, and it is good at regulating and treating all eye diseases. Qi (vital energy) transforms into fluids; then swallow divine water and send it to the spleen. The spleen belongs to Earth; when Earth obtains water it can generate the Yellow Sprout (a Neidan [internal alchemy] term, a metaphor for the sprout of the medicine of vitality).

In the abdomen are the winding large and small intestines; at a point one cun and three fen from the center of the navel, in a square-inch area—left green, right white, front red, back black, and center yellow Wu and Ji (central Earth)—is what is called the Dantian (energy center, the core site of Neidan practice). Within the Dantian is a palace; the palace is called Huangting (Yellow Court, the chamber within the Dantian). Within the palace is a furnace called the elixir furnace. On the furnace sits a golden tripod; below, true fire is constantly fed; above, divine water is constantly added. Water and fire are Kan and Li (symbols of water and fire, Yin-Yang). The fire within water and fire is divided into lord fire, minister fire, and people fire (three levels of fire timing in Neidan); the three fires are the true flavors, namely mind/heart, nature, and intention.

People today cannot clearly understand and penetrate these three: the first flavor they do not understand, the second flavor they do not comprehend, and the third flavor’s wisdom is not perfected; therefore they cannot attain the Dao (the Way). If someone penetrates these three, they can attain the three insights and six powers (states of wisdom and spiritual penetration). When advancing fire, wash above with water and refine below with fire. The Jing (scripture) says: fire issues from the lower part of the body and water from the upper part; above they join and below they close; Qian and Kun (Heaven and Earth) unite. Cause the dragon to coil upon the golden tripod and the tiger to encircle the Dantian; this is the wondrous point, called the furnace daogui (daogui is a metaphor for the Neidan medicine). If someone practices this work, they can forever attain peace, happiness, and long life.

Question: Since it is daogui, what is meant by “a single grain of daogui”? What is meant by “drinking daogui oneself”? What is meant by “Tieli daogui”? The oral instructions say: the three kinds of daogui are all treasures: they are Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and blood. The oral instructions say: a single grain of daogui is fluids; drinking daogui oneself is swallowing saliva and taking Qi; Tieli daogui is true Qi (prenatal original Qi).

If one practices without backsliding, all kinds of evil Qi will return to rectitude. During practice, when hungry eat golden rice; when thirsty drink jade nectar; when cold advance fire; when hot advance water. Fire is true Yang; water is true Yin. This practice is the method of extracting and adding, increasing and decreasing. The oral instructions say: extracting means gathering true Qi from above; adding means advancing warm Qi from below into the Dantian. If a person’s kidney palace (where original Qi resides in the kidneys) is warm, all illnesses will be eliminated. Question: If a man or woman suddenly falls ill, with unpredictable changes, what should be done?

The answer says: Because all men and women cling in their minds to desire and pleasure and crave all kinds of realms and conditions, by day they continuously give rise to inexplicable afflictions, and by night in dreams they cannot cut them off. The Three Corpses (Sanshi) and Yin ghosts (Daoist teaching holds that within the human body there are three corpse deities, which lead people to do evil and deplete Jing and Qi) take the opportunity to cause trouble, causing men to deplete Jing and women to deplete blood-Qi; the Three Treasures (Sanbao: Jing, Qi, and Shen) leak away and are lost, and Yuanyang (primordial yang Qi) is dissipated. Therefore people have illness and impermanence and do not hear the words of the immortals. A person is like a dilapidated, leaking house: if the owner does not repair it, the palace will collapse and the beams and pillars will be damaged—this is how people become ill.

Someone raised an objection: Why is it that young children, being pure and quiet and not depleting the Three Treasures, still have illness and impermanence? The formula says: When a child is ill, it is because formerly, while in the mother’s womb, the mother’s blood and Qi were deficient and weak, and the child received insufficient fetal Qi from the mother over the ten months; or else the mother encountered the four pathogenic factors—wind, excess, summerheat, and dampness—gathering together and did not avoid them, and the child thus conceived has illness and impermanence.

Question: Why are some people ugly and some beautiful? What is the principle? The formula says: Those with proper appearance are those whose parents’ two Qi, on that day, resonated with the sun and moon and who were conceived before the Wu hour and after the Chou hour; they thereby obtain proper form, truth, long life, and clothing and sustenance. Proper appearance wins the joyful hearts of parents. Those conceived after the Wu hour and before the Chou hour may have improper appearance, or illness, deafness, or muteness; their temperaments are mostly poor and do not satisfy people’s wishes; their fate is destitute, with no clothing or sustenance, and their lifespan is not long. This is the root of creation and transformation.

Question: If one encounters karmic demons (creditors from former lives and demonic disturbance), how should one counteract them? The formula says: One should be pure and still, steal leisure amid busyness, and take stillness amid leisure. When a person is in difficulty, he must urgently turn away from the Xinwang (the ruler of the mind) and must use the method of guanxiang (pouring visualization): urgently drive the spirit-intent into the upper Niwan spirit palace (the brain at the top of the head) and sit upright. Visualize before your eyes immortal men and immortal women each playing immortal music; click the teeth to settle the intent, observe the scenery of Mount Kunlun, and see upon it cattle, sheep, deer, horses, and the jade rabbit; visualize reaching upward, seizing them, and binding them fast. During practice, suddenly visualize above a precious tree; on the tree are flowers, and the flowers open and set fruit; with intent pick it and swallow it. The person who eats this thing will forever attain peace, happiness, and long life. This is one sentence of the correct cultivation method, clear and plain. The formula “Great Prison Seals the Four Gates” says: When the Qi of Xuehai (Blood Sea) and Mingmen (Gate of Life; body locations) is settled, do not open and close the gates at will; when Jing is settled, do not think of external conditions; when Shen is settled. The depletion and scattering of Jing and blood concern life itself. Here the term “single intent” is singled out.

The teeth are the true “master.” The teeth are called the Xuanguan (Mysterious Pass); closing and guarding the Dantian is called the Lower Xuanguan; raising the golden Jing (essence) upward to the mysterious place is called the Golden Pass; tightly clicking the teeth is called the Jade Lock; the stillness of the six roots (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind) is called the Sixfold Passage, also called the Capital Pass; drawing Qi downward is called the Reining Yang Pass; the upper cheek is called the Top Yang Pass; the nose is called the Heavenly Gate; the Jiaji (spine) is called the Double Pass. When practicing the method, these locks all open together. When Shen does not stir recklessly, intention is not scattered; intention is hazy and unsettled. This is the method of purity and stillness. Throughout the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn, and winter, whenever a child’s urine is yellow, it means the Dantian is weak and debilitated and has lost the true Qi stored in the lower origin; one should urgently use the method of piercing the nine bends, also called the nine revolutions that pierce the small intestine nine times, so that true Qi enters the Kidney Hall; the urine will naturally turn bluish-white, and the whole body will attain peace and ease.

Question: What is the method of the Three Vehicles? The instructions say: the Lower Vehicle is like a newborn infant, the Middle Vehicle is like an infant sitting on the ground, and the Upper Vehicle is like an infant walking. If a person penetrates these Three Vehicles, he transcends the Three Realms—the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm. This is the manifestation of mind-nature and intention, endowed with the Three Bodies: the pure Dharma body, the perfect Reward body, and the Samadhi Transformation body; each of the three has a Shen that manifests traces. At the First Assembly, the Supreme Lord refined Jia-Yi Wood (Wood of the East); this is the Xutan Assembly (the name of the assembly). Lord Lao, wearing blue-green robes, converted three thousand blue-green-robed Daoists and recited the Blue Spirit Yellow Scroll, the thirty-six divisions of the precious Lingbao scriptures; he left behind the nine-revolution elixir and the Yellow Sprout piercing-the-knees method, and cut off the state. At the Second Assembly, Shakyamuni Buddha left behind the refinement of Southern Bing-Ding Fire; wearing a robe of fierce fire, three thousand red-child bhikshu monks left the twelve divisions of the Mahayana scriptures, the method of shooting through nine layers of iron drums, and the method of reed-sprout piercing the knees, the Longhua Three Assemblies. Confucius, in the study hall of the state of Lu, refined Western Geng-Xin Metal; three thousand white-robed lay devotees left the ten scrolls of the Analects, together with the method of piercing the nine-bended pearl and the reed-sprout piercing-the-knees method. The Three Teachings are like the three legs of a tripod; their bodies return together to the One, with no two and no three; none of the Three Teachings departs from the true Dao. To use a metaphor: it is like one tree producing three branches.

Question: Within the Great Dao, how many grades of immortals are there? Answer: I have heard that in the Chuandao Ji (Anthology on the Transmission of the Dao) there are five grades of immortals; the first grade is not observing precepts, not abstaining from wine and meat, and not killing.

Those who are born without thinking of goodness belong to the class of Ghost Immortals (Guixian, one of the immortal types); the second are Earth Immortals (Dixian, immortals who attain long life and dwell in the world), who nurture true Qi (zhenqi, vital energy) and live long; the third are Sword Immortals (Jianxian, a type of immortal fond of contention), who delight in fighting and war; the fourth are Spirit Immortals (Shenxian, immortals attained through seated meditation), who practice seated meditation; the fifth are called Heavenly Immortals (Tianxian, immortals in accord with the Heavenly Mind), who filially support teachers, elders, and parents, practice the Six Paramitas (liu du, six modes of cultivation) and the myriad practices, use expedient means to save all beings, cut off the Ten Evils (ten evil deeds), do not kill, do not drink wine or eat meat, do not commit sexual misconduct or theft, and set their intention in accord with the Heavenly Mind, upright and without selfish crookedness.

The very place where one first gives rise to a good intention on that day is an auspicious place and is the method of doing good. Great cultivators thereafter have texts on prohibitions. The instructions say: For men and women, the fifth and sixth months are suitable for purity and quiet; the eleventh and twelfth months are months of great taboo and should also be kept pure and quiet. Likewise, for men the fifth and sixth months are months of great killing; one should not approach women, or else it will cause the five strains and seven injuries (five kinds of exhaustion and seven kinds of damage). What damages the nature and life of men and women is Jing (essence), blood, and Qi. Damage makes people suffer left-sided or right-sided paralysis and red-and-white vaginal discharge. If the true Qi of the Five Phases (Wuxing: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) is damaged, this is “strain”; if the Seven Treasures (precious elements of the human body such as Jing, Qi, blood, and Shen) are damaged, this is “injury.” Each kind of illness has its own source.

Question: From where do illnesses arise? The instructions say: All illnesses arise from the unrighteous Qi of the eight seasonal nodes. Question: What are the eight evils? The instructions say: When Yin-Yang in the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) is not harmonious, this is the condition of the Qi within the eight nodes causing people to enter evil. Hunger and fullness, labor and servitude, wind, cold, heat, and dampness, pain caused by hunger, overfullness and extreme cold, worry, fatigue from long journeys, as well as bodily cold and heat and drunkenness—under these conditions one should also not perform the practice; otherwise it will turn into serious illness. One should perform the practice in purity and quiet. When performing the practice, gather the Jade Liquid Elixir (Yuye Dan, transformed from the saliva in the mouth) on the tongue, gather the Primordial Yang Elixir (Yuanyang Dan, the primordial Yang gathered from the nasal breath) in the nose, and gather the Golden Liquid Elixir (Jinye Dan, gathered in the kidney region) in the kidney hall. If Jing and marrow are full and the bones are solid, then after death, even a hundred years later, the sinews and bones will not disintegrate; this is called “Lianzi Huanzhen Gu” (a term for sinews and bones that do not decay). The instructions say: The twenty-four taboos of the Great Elixir (Neidan, internal alchemy cultivation) are the twenty-four Qi (twenty-four solar terms) of the year. To petition my teacher above and seek the wondrous instructions, one must allow the mind to naturally come to rest and be willing to give up substantial gold and pure wealth. First is giving the body in charity; second is offering flowers to the teacher; third is preparing meals as offerings. The explanation says: Giving the body in charity means that when one sees teachers, elders, or parents in danger, one gives up one’s life to save theirs. Offering flowers to the teacher means that if the teacher or elder wishes to strike or scold, one must receive it with a joyful smile and without anger on one’s face. Preparing meals as offerings means that when food has a good flavor, one first offers it to the master. “This name” is the designation that summarizes the three practices above.

The three kinds of giving refer to three types of almsgiving. The immortal says: firmness is the Dao (the Way), and joy is the condition. If one seeks a teacher without diligence and sincerity, how can one reach the Dao? Lü Weng (Lü Dongbin) says: without a teacher’s guidance, this matter is hard to know. He also says: those who learn yet do not understand are not as good as those who do not learn and awaken by themselves; to learn without following a teacher is called stealing learning. This is a thief within the teaching. If one conceals the ancestral teacher lineage and transmission, one will shorten one’s own lifespan and become no different from ordinary people; to make a display of what one has gained is to cut off cultivation and to be pretentious. Can such a person attain the Dao? Such people slight teachers and disrespect the teaching and are unworthy to be teachers. Before learning cultivation, to first relieve others is to save oneself, relying on merit and virtuous practice. People each recognize their ancestral lineage tablets (name plaques): Taishang as ancestor, Shakyamuni as lineage, and Confucius as the register tablet. Since the Three Teachings declined into silence, all men and women have been scorched in the river of love, drifted and sunk in the sea of suffering, afflicted by worries, and sunk in the six paths, neither born nor fallen. In going and staying (the flow of birth and death), the holy lords of the Three Teachings and the Holy Mothers of the Three Realms come to save their children; names and records appear clearly, and longevity seals and tokens serve as credentials for verification. The explanation says: when the whole body is complete, this is wholeness; receiving precepts is imprinting the mind; one who awakens and penetrates is like fire. The Suiqiu Jing says: the wish-fulfilling jewel seal manifests from the mind and is called a title. Having ten titles is the ten virtues; the ten titles are the able person: the first is Primordial Cultivation, the second is Turning Clearly, the third is Penetrating the Three Realms, the fourth is Long Life, the fifth is Manifest Light, the sixth is Mind Penetration, the seventh is Lord of the Whole Body, the eighth is Increase of Fortune and Emolument, the ninth is Heavenly Primordial Cultivation, and the tenth is called the Able Person. Then, adding original nature, the ten titles are without outflows (without affliction or leakage), and merit is naturally accomplished. The Three Teachings are transformative manifestations according to conditions; no sentient being departs from the Dao. The ancients said: in the world, the matters of nature and life are great, and cultivators must face the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death. People today each do not understand the true Dao and often cling to emptiness, falling entirely into emptiness; they cannot resolve even the present, let alone matters of the past. Again, one hears the Damo Jing say: the past is not something words can truly express, and the future is also not real. Taishang refines the nine-times cycled returned elixir (repeatedly refined return elixir), enabling people to remove illness and resolve birth and death; Confucius taught benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, fearing that people would attract karma upon themselves, and had them cultivate these, which can also cure illness. Question: How is illness to be treated? The secret formula answers: take “removing the eyes” as the great good medicine; “the explanation says” indicates that an explanation is given for this.

To maintain great joy for a long time is itself a good medicine. The instruction says: joy is the root of medicine; constantly harboring worry and affliction is the root of ten thousand illnesses. To be constantly clear and still is the sprout of the Great Dao. We see only that people today who cultivate practice—whether monks and Daoist priests, or men and women who uphold the five precepts—why do they nonetheless suffer from unpredictable illness? Perhaps men and women who have a husband but no wife (an incomplete spouse) lose the spiritual tortoise in the Dantian (true Yang in the kidneys), dissipate true Qi, and their lower origin (the lower Dantian and kidney Qi) becomes empty and cold, gradually giving rise to ten thousand illnesses. When a man is clear and still for sixty-four days, his Jing and Qi become full. When a woman is clear and still for forty-nine days, her blood and Qi become full. When things reach their extreme, they revert: clarity becomes turbidity, stillness returns to movement, and the mind instead scatters and is lost. The nine orifices (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and so on) leak away true Qi. Turbid Qi causes women to have heavy menstruation; men dream at night of yin realms, and the seven treasures and eight jewels (precious substances in the body such as Jing, Qi, and Shen) are stolen away. This is why people have illness.

Question: How are yin ghosts treated? Answer: Use the method of daogui (the Neidan metaphor of water and fire achieving mutual completion). Question: What is daogui? The instruction says: daogui is one. It has water and Qi and can generate the ten thousand things. Qi is the gui and the clouds; water is the rain. It is also said: outgoing Qi is the knife; incoming Qi is the gui. To practice and have all kinds of efficacious results—this is daogui. This is returning from old age to youth. The scripture says: Fire emerges below the body; water emerges above the body; water and fire are the medicine. The instruction says: Reed sprouts pierce the knees (the first arising of Yang Qi, like a reed sprout, penetrates the knees); the upper and lower river chariots (Jing and Qi circulating up and down along the Ren and Du vessels). Establishing the furnace and stove is the Purple River Chariot. It is the upper chariot that moves Jing to supplement the brain. When advancing fire, the water is warm; when advancing water, the fire is cool. Water and fire moving together—this is the gently warm lead cauldron (Dantian). When Qi enters the cauldron, it rises, rests, and mingles above; when fire is moved along with the chariot, it scatters into the hundred vessels. The skin is moistened; the body is lustrous. This is the method of cultivation.

An objection asks: Why do fat people decline first? The instruction says: Fat people cultivate the exterior but not the interior; there is no marrow in their bones; the Dantian loses true Qi; therefore they decline and become ill. Those who cultivate the inner Dao are sprouts of peace, happiness, and long life. The instruction says: Constantly make the dragon coil in the golden cauldron and the tiger encircle the Dantian (dragon and tiger are metaphors for water and fire, Jing and Qi). The Zhen trigram (thunder) arouses thunder; the Xun trigram (wind) arouses wind. During practice, rinse the saliva in one large mouthful, swallow it in three parts, and guide the Qi downward three times. Naturally there will be the sound of the dragon’s chant and the tiger’s roar. It can also eliminate ten thousand illnesses in the abdomen. The ears hear it like thunder striking a painted drum. Rising is ascent; descending is descent. The hymn says: The wondrous principle of true emptiness is known by no one. Sitting upright at Qujiang, watch the crow fly. The word Zhen initiates the image of thunder moving in the Zhen trigram.

A sound like thunder from the earth startles ghosts and spirits; this is precisely the moment of Yin-Yang creation and transformation, after the Zi hour and before the Wu hour.

Using the method of increase and decrease, refine with water and fire. Dragon and Tiger follow the Metal Lord—Shen (spirit)—as he carries wine; the Yellow Dame—Qi (vital energy)—is drunk.

Seize the lord and ask him who he is.

It is asked: The Metal Lord is Shen; the Yellow Dame is Qi; Yang Qi is the Infant; Yin Qi is the Maiden. The Azure Dragon is the Qi of the liver; the White Tiger is the Qi of the lungs; Kan and Li are Jing (essence) and blood.

The oral instructions say: When practicing, sit like Mount Tai and stand like a precious pagoda; firmly guard the four gates (the passes of the ears, eyes, mouth, nose, and so on), tightly tap at the Mysterious Gate (the cultivation pass); rinse a mouthful of saliva vigorously and swallow it in three parts; connect the Qi and pass it through the Li barrier (the heart region); operate it nimbly three times, and naturally the Qi of the Dragon and Tiger will be restored.

Whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, close the mouth and eyes; the ears do not listen to sounds, and the eyes look at inner scenes. All day long, simply observe the Dantian (energy center); imagine in the mind that as you exhale the Qi descends, and as you inhale the Qi rises, but it does not pass beyond the Li barrier, and do not let the Qi pour onto the face and eyes. The six Qi each arrive at the Central Origin (the middle Dantian) to meet; clear Qi moves to the right and turbid Qi to the left, each turning nine circles. The Qi cannot exit above or below; left and right form a furnace-stove. This is called Dragon coiling and Tiger encircling; the Qi naturally harmonizes and gathers.

There is also the method of the Infant and the Maiden becoming husband and wife: Qi gathers on the spleen and sets up the furnace. This is called the method of the Yellow Dame matching them; it is also called the method of Heaven and Earth communicating in Tai, and also the conjugation of Kan and Li. This is the method of bodily union without Shen union; when Shen does not unite, it is the method of purity and stillness, the method of not shaking or moving through a thousand repetitions.

People today mostly cultivate outer paths and do not cultivate the inner path; they look only at existing ways and past methods.

For cultivators, outside there is a great road, and within the teaching there is a correct path, but no one knows where it is.

The assembly walks forward three li and sees three great ravines, all bottomless—how can they cross?

The oral instructions say: The three great ravines refer to the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism), the Three Vehicles (three levels of cultivation and realization), rousing the Three Corpses (the three corpse spirits within the body), stabilizing the Three Treasures (Jing, Qi, and Shen), and transcending the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm).

Walk forward another three li and see six deep trenches; unable to advance, what gate is this?

The oral instructions say: They are the Six Perfections and myriad practices (six kinds of cultivation), purity of the six roots (purity of eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind), cutting down the six thieves (the harm of the six roots pursuing external objects), abstaining from the six desires, and setting up the six ladders.

Walk forward another three li and see the Sanchan Fang, that is, the Baojing Fang; at the Qilin Shiduo (Seven Forests and Many Corpses), one is then close to putting the work into practice.

After another three li, one sees another garden named Sheguo Garden; an old man guards the garden gate, and those with affinity can pass through empty-handed.

From the garden, walk forward another three li.

This scripture describes the inner visionary landscapes experienced by practitioners during cultivation, using symbolic geographical directions and architectural structures as metaphors for the key energy centers within the human body. Let me interpret it section by section:

One sees an ox tethered to a great tree, and by the riverbank stands a platform: the golden platform for men, the phoenix platform for women, the fishing platform for immortals, the thousand-flower platform for joyful states, and the homeland-gazing platform for impermanence. At the river crossing, three women wait at the ferry - all manifestations of demonic temptresses crowding the boat. After crossing this river and traveling three li, one encounters a great mountain called Mount Sumeru.

On its eastern slope grazes a blue sheep, representing the primordial Qi of Laozi (the founding sage of Daoism); on the western slope, a white sheep symbolizes Confucius' (the Confucian sage) vital energy; due south, a yellow sheep embodies the Buddha's (the Great Awakened Golden Immortal) essence. These three sheep guide practitioners into the mountain called "Three Yangs Gathering at the Cauldron."

Within the mountain stands a northern city with four gates: the Illumination Gate (east), Longevity Gate (west), Golden Light Gate (south), and Great Abyss Gate (north) - actually representing the human sensory organs of eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Passing through these gates reveals four grotto-heavens: Celestial Joy Grotto, White Cloud Grotto, Bamboo Kingdom Grotto, and Longevity Grotto, each corresponding to different cultivation states.

Further inward appear four temples: Non-Duality Temple, Mysterious Void Temple, and Bamboo Forest Temple, each associated with specific spiritual attainments (Meditating Arhat, Sakridagamin, Srotapanna, Anagamin, Arhat) representing four progressive stages of cultivation.

Advancing further, one encounters five observation points (Merit Observation, Medicine Observation, Peaceful Sun Observation, True Suchness Observation, and Tusita Observation), each containing corresponding palaces: Twin Maidens Palace (eyes), Great Dragon Palace (mouth), Upper White Palace (nose), Crystal Palace (ears), and Celestial Balance Palace (heart).

The city also contains twelve-tiered pavilions symbolizing the body's twelve meridians and twelve earthly branches. Nine additional pavilions (Central Palace, Moon Palace, etc.) correspond to the body's nine orifices (eyes, ears, nose, mouth, etc.). The nine palaces include: Wind-Thunder Palace and Twin Groves Palace (east); Purple Tenuity Palace and Munindra Palace (south); Holy Mother Palace and Benevolent Net Palace (west); Brahma Palace and Crystal Palace (north); with the central imperial palace.

This scripture employs rich symbolic language, mapping the body's meridians and energy centers onto architectural features like cities and pavilions, portraying the cultivation journey as pilgrimage through these structures. Each mentioned palace and pavilion corresponds to crucial physiological focal points in spiritual practice.

It is called Angong; this name is the Nine Palaces (Jiugong), like the Nine Provinces laid out on the great earth. There is also Weifu Yuan, making ten provinces in all. These are the ten countries: Jiaozu, Muni, Kaihua, Luyan, Jinse, Liuli, Shewei, Nanchan, Tianzhu, and Chongyang. These ten countries are the Ten Grounds (stages of inner cultivation); in each ground there is a Mount Tai.

What is the body? It is the place where all kinds of grave illness injure human life. On the body are the Four Great Seas: fluids are the Eastern Sea, blood the Southern Sea, marrow the Western Sea, and Qi the Northern Sea. There are also the Nine Continents, which are the small intestine; and the Five Lakes: the body is Dongting Lake, Jing is Jade Lake, sweet dew is amrita, the heart is Mysterious Lake, and the small intestine is Jiang Lake. The sun, moon, and stars have three wanes, and then blood, Qi, and Jing decline; the three wanes are mountain collapse, sea exhaustion, and earth splitting. If within the twelve double-hours of a day one can sit peacefully and not lose one’s true person, then merit is accomplished and the fruit fulfilled. Men refine their form to be like a boy; women refine their form to be like a girl. The scripture says that when form and spirit are both wondrous, one unites in truth with the Dao; this is the method of drawing out the embryo and exchanging the bones, the true formula of the Five Phases that reverses Yin-Yang.

The Five Phases comprise Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. In spring Wood thrives but the inner Wood does not, so people often suffer eye ailments; in summer Fire thrives but the inner Fire does not, so people often suffer diarrhea and dysentery; in autumn Metal thrives but the inner Metal does not, so people often cough; in winter Water thrives but the inner Water does not, so people often suffer hernia. The spleen belongs to Earth, and the four seasons each govern spleen Qi in turn; this is the reversal and return of Yin-Yang. Each of the Five Phases has its overcoming: Metal overcomes Wood, Wood overcomes Earth, Earth overcomes Water, Water overcomes Fire, and Fire overcomes Metal. Water and fire are Yin-Yang; one Yin and one Yang are the true Dao, and they are also Jing and blood. When people have myriad diseases, none are truly a matter of the five viscera; all come from damage to the Jing and blood received from one’s parents. When the Dantian is weak, illness arises. One should urgently gather the spirit and stabilize one’s nature.

The Scripture of the Nine Immortals says: The Dao is One; if a person attains its One, all things are certain to be accomplished. During practice, spirit and Qi turn into Qi, moving and circulating according to intention. Pushing forward and rushing ahead is Yin; on the left one employs the Yin spirit. The Six Jia (divine generals) drive it into circulation, and the six aspects and eight consciousnesses (designations of mental consciousness) support the one true spirit. Inwardly roam the Nine Palaces, contemplate the ten countries, and reach the Terrace of Long Life’s Descent. Cause the Infant and the Maiden (metaphors for Yin and Yang, water and fire) to set up the furnace and stove in the Dantian, add fire, and heat the medicine. In one’s intent, visualize the furnace glowing red and the stove hot; from this the formula of the elixir appears.

Concentrate the intention and visualize: the Azure Dragon on the left, the White Tiger on the right, the Vermilion Bird in front, and the Black Tortoise behind—the four directional guardian spirit beasts. The great deities presiding at the four positions each hold long spears and broad swords, guarding and stabilizing the medicine furnace. One takes the wondrous medicine oneself; if a person practices this exercise over the long term, they will attain eternal longevity, causing pathogenic Qi to disperse naturally and true Qi to arise naturally. In the mouth it is as if one has drunk the Jade Spring of Mount Jing (the spring from which the fine jade of Mount Jing comes, a metaphor for sweet saliva), and the mouth naturally becomes fragrant and sweet.

The two lower acupoints connect through to the kidney hall; with the exhalation, draw the precious Qi into the mouth. Rinse the mouth thirty-six times; it transforms into snowflakes, and when swallowed into the Dantian it is like snow. Then the upper joins and the lower closes; Qian and Kun (Yin-Yang) unite, and true Qi is fulfilled. The spleen Qi becomes warm, and all diseases are eliminated. It is like firing tiles in a stove: when the fire timing arrives, it naturally succeeds; like a hen incubating eggs or a woman carrying a fetus, one does not count the time. If one feels pain in the body, that is the sign of “the Iron Black Ox Pulling the Cart.” This is the True One Qi and the True One Nature; what is called “black” is the Qi that moves downward. The pain Qi is expelled through the stool, and the swelling Qi through the urine.

There is also the method of lowering the Heavenly Gate and Earthly Axis: with the intention, observe the Yangguan behind the nape and the Niwan Palace (a key cultivation point at the crown of the head); draw true Qi in through the nose into the mouth with a long inhalation, then with the mouth wide open exhale six times; the Heavenly Gate and Earthly Axis remain still as if dead. Those who daily practice xinggong (the exercise) constantly harmonize Yin-Yang: at the winter solstice one Yang is born; at the summer solstice one Yin is born. The winter solstice is after the zi hour, when one looks toward the eastern sunrise, and belongs to Yang; the summer solstice is after the wu hour, at sunset, and belongs to Yin; this is the principle of Yin-Yang’s coming and going. Earth Qi rises and heavenly rain descends; with one wind every three days and two rains every ten days, when wind and rain are timely, the people are happy, and oneself is also happy, free of illness, and long secure and healthy.

People have ten thousand diseases; each disease has its corresponding true practice for treatment, and the disease naturally responds with efficacy. The first is the Great Refining of the Nine-Turn Return Elixir; there are the method of the Yellow Sprout Piercing the Knee, the method of Shooting the Ninefold Iron Drum, and the method of the Crown Prince Touring the Four Gates. There are the method of the Golden Whip Pointing at the Wheel, the method of the Reed Sprout Piercing the Knee, the method of Xuanyuan Straddling Fire, and the method of the Jade Maiden Touching the Body. There are the method of Zhongli (Zhongli Quan) Carrying the Sword on His Back, the method of Lü Weng (Lü Dongbin) Fishing, and the method of Chen Xiyi (Chen Tuan) Great Sleep. The internal cultivation methods within the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism) can each treat disease. There are also those who can transcend life and death; by circulating this exercise according to the method, they cause the Dantian to warm-nourish and produce a true hot Qi.

This scripture discusses dream omens during Neidan (internal alchemy) practice and the precepts for transmitting the method.

Regarding dream omens:

• If one dreams at night of herding cattle (red or blue-green in color) on a mountain, or encounters immortal Daoist masters, temples and monasteries, grand houses and carriages, lush trees, as well as children or officials, these all indicate vigorous Qi activity in the Dantian (the body's energy center where essence and vital energy gather).
• Dreams of narrow paths, desolate thorns, being chased by evil people, dilapidated houses, collapsed pagodas or trees, or fear while crossing rivers signify weakened Dantian Qi, requiring timely replenishment.

On the precepts for transmitting the method:

1. Three types of people must not receive transmission:

• The unfilial
• The untrustworthy
• Those who disregard precepts

2. Beyond these exceptions, transmission may be given regardless of gender, monastic status, or official rank.

3. This practice is emphasized as supremely valuable (more precious than Mount Sumeru or gold). Though classified as a "lesser vehicle" method (foundational practice), it forms the root of the "greater vehicle" cultivation.

On cultivation merit:

• Saving a single life surpasses the merit of building a seven-tiered Buddhist pagoda, exceeding that of burning incense in southern temples or making offerings in northern halls.
• Healing the sick and relieving suffering are particularly highlighted as the highest form of merit.

A solemn warning concludes the text:

• This method must not be indiscriminately transmitted, lest celestial secrets be divulged, causing nine generations of ancestors to fall into Fengdu (the Daoist netherworld) with no hope of deliverance. It must be carefully upheld and faithfully practiced.

(Note: "Sumeru" refers to the Buddhist mythical Mount Sumeru, symbolizing the supreme; "Fengdu" is the Daoist underworld.)