《張三丰先生全集》Vol. 7

Treatise on the Great Dao, Part One — A Vernacular Interpretation

Dao (the Way) is the overarching name that encompasses Heaven, Earth, human beings, and the myriad things. It contains within itself the mechanism of Yin-Yang movement and stillness, and possesses the subtle, mysterious principle of creation and transformation.

Wuji (the Limitless) gives rise to Taiji (Supreme Ultimate): Wuji is the nameless; the nameless is the beginning of Heaven and Earth. Taiji is the named; the named is the root of the myriad things. From the nameless arises the named, and Heaven, Earth, human beings, and the myriad things then arise in sequence. Here we speak specifically in terms of human life:

Before one is born of one's parents, there is a vast emptiness, reposing in silent stillness—this is the time of Wuji. Wuji belongs to Yin and to stillness; when Yin is still, Yang also follows and becomes still. At the very beginning of conception through the union of father and mother, a wisp of numinous Qi (vital energy) is cast into the womb—this is the time of Taiji. Taiji belongs to Yang and to movement; when Yang moves, Yin also follows and moves. From this point on, Yin-Yang push and shift, the hard and soft grind against each other, and the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) arouse one another; the Qian Dao completes the male, and the Kun Dao completes the female. At the first union of man and woman, the male Jing (essence) and female blood mingle into a single entity; this is the foundation of the human body. Thereafter, the father's Jing is stored in the kidneys and the mother's blood in the heart; the heart and kidney channels are connected. Following the mother's breathing for ten months, the form becomes complete and one leaves the mother's womb. At this time, nature is undifferentiated in a state of no-knowing, and Wuji again conceals its Shen (spirit); life-destiny draws sustenance from being alive, and Taiji again nurtures its Qi. When the Qi channels are still and the original Shen is stored within, this is called true nature (zhenxing); when Shen-thought is still and original Qi grows within, this is called true life-destiny (zhenming). Undifferentiated and whole, this is precisely the body of a child—what is called heavenly nature and heavenly destiny. If a person can follow this heavenly nature in order to restore their heavenly destiny, this may be called the Dao; why then worry that cultivating the Dao will not succeed!

Yet as numinous awareness becomes daily more manifest and perception daily deeper, and as blood and Qi nourish the growing infant, the seven emotions and six desires, with countless threads and entanglements, give no rest day or night. When the heart moves for long, Shen gradually grows weary; when Jing is much depleted, Qi becomes increasingly exhausted. Birth and aging draw near, and the affliction of sickness and death is soon formed. Moreover, with nothing to nourish and replenish it, consumptive illnesses frequently arise—and yet one wishes to possess one's body for long...

People in this world often take life and death as ordinary matters, which is truly regrettable. Only when illness strikes do they seek medical treatment, hoping to cure serious diseases and prolong life. But what use is it to think of preserving life only at such a time?

I have observed that people fear death, hence they constantly search for wondrous methods to attain immortality. After years of arduous cultivation, I finally heard the true principles of the immortal path (Xiandao). The so-called immortal path is the path of longevity. Yet ordinary people often regard it as heretical teachings. In truth, the Daoist methods transmitted by the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) and Laozi align with the Confucian principles of rectifying the mind, cultivating the self, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world—how can they be called heresy?

If one can correct both body and mind, they will gather true essence (Jing) and true spirit (Shen), nurturing great talent and profound virtue (De). The Great Learning states, "Only after achieving stability can one contemplate deeply"—how profound these words are! Consider Zhang Liang (Zifang), who secluded himself in Xiapi while planning the restoration of Han; Zhuge Liang (Kongming), who prepared in Nanyang to assist Shu-Han; or Li Bi (Lord Bing), who cultivated in Mount Heng before emerging to help quell the Tang rebellion. There are also Ge Hong (Zhichuan), who governed Goulou County; Zhao Qingyuan, who administered Jiazhou; and Xu Xun (Zhenjun), who ruled Jingyang—all exemplars of accomplished Daoists who emerged to serve the people. In their hearts, they upheld loyalty to rulers, love for the people, and benevolence as their foundation.

Confucius criticized the eccentric behavior of recluses, while Mencius rejected the doctrines of Yang Zhu and Mozi. The so-called "reclusion" refers to those who deceive others with prophecies and imperial rituals; the so-called "eccentricity" refers to the affected purity of figures like Weisheng Gao and Chen Zhongzi. But true immortals are not like this—when Qiu Chuji (Changchun Zhenren) met the emperor, he spoke only of benevolence and compassion for all beings; when Chen Tuan (Xiyi Xiansheng) withdrew from the world, he maintained an upright and noble character. Where was there any eccentricity?

Yang Zhu advocated "egoism," and Mozi promoted "simple funerals," but immortals do neither. Cultivating the Dao requires accumulating three thousand merits, prioritizing benefiting the world and aiding others. Among the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars, Wu Meng and Ding Lan were both practitioners of immortality. The "mercury and lead" (Neidan terms referring to Yin and Yang Qi) spoken of by immortals are in fact the seeds of benevolence and righteousness. Metal begets wood; water and fire harmonize—thus, Daoist practitioners must first seclude themselves to refine the mind and set lofty aspirations before they can forge the inner elixir (Neidan). This "aspiration" contains the essence of both benevolence and the alchemical mercury-lead union.

Using the Four Images—metal, wood, water, and fire—to exhaustively investigate the Great Dao, one must go a step further: taking sincere intention as the Earth of intentional thought, so that Earth joins with the Four Images and the Five Phases become complete. Only then is the matter of the Great Dao fully equipped.

Thus Confucius and Mencius in their day mainly refuted the recondite, eccentric, and grotesque, and refuted the likes of Yang [Zhu] and Mo[zi]; one does not hear that they launched any great attack on Buddhism and Daoism.

Only in the Tang and Song did the two worthies Han Yu and Zhu Xi vigorously refute the “two schools,” with the great Confucians echoing them and the petty Confucians picking up their leftover spittle and trying to attach themselves to their tails. But what did they actually refute in the end? Instead they made the World-Honored One smile and Taishang (the Supreme Lord) sigh. The petty Confucians merely joined in an empty chorus; they surely did not truly possess the insight of Han and Zhu.

How can this be said? When Han and Zhu refuted the two schools, they refuted the sort that was neither Buddhist nor Daoist, not people who genuinely studied Buddhism or Daoism. Otherwise, Han Yu’s (Changli’s) poetry collection contains many exchanges and gift poems with people of the two schools: there are poems sent to Daoist Zhang, poems sent to Dadian, and poems sent to Masters Hui and Ling. Some think he used other people’s mouths to voice his arguments; hence to Master Hui he says, “I hate the vagabonds; I pity you for being foolish yet honest,” and to Master Ling he also says, “I was about to restrain him with the Way, and even wished to put a cap on his head”—which seems to mock them.

Yet why is there no word of censure at all for Daoist Zhang, and no sarcasm at all for Master Dadian? The reason is that these two masters were followers of true immortals and true Buddhas: Immortal Zhang, because he was not employed as Minister, returned to the Real; Dadian Buddha, through his intelligence and prajna, penetrated Chan—even Changli could not lay a hand on them to reject them or open his mouth to slander them. Moreover, his own household produced the immortal elder Han Xiang; “snow blocked at Blue Pass,” he presumably already knew that the one coming from afar was no ordinary man.

Master Zhu in his youth also dabbled in the two schools. It was because he could not enter through their gate and was misled by the riffraff of the two schools that he suspected them of being empty, absurd, nihilistic, and vaguely void, and turned back to oppose them. By his later years, with broad learning, he came to love reading the Cantong qi (The Seal of the Unity of the Three), and said: The Cantong qi was originally not written to elucidate the Yijing (Book of Changes); rather, it uses it to lodge the timings of advancing and retreating, practicing and maintaining. In a letter to someone he further said: Recently, while on the road, I did not carry other books, and only then was able to thoroughly savor the Cantong; this shows him all the more relishfully finding flavor in the immortal Dao.

Thus the two worthies Han and Zhu only refuted the stream that was neither Buddhist nor Daoist; they did not refute those who genuinely studied Buddhism or Daoism. Otherwise, the same person before and after would contradict himself, and the two worthies would be laughable.

Ha! I have no great abilities. I have merely ranged widely through the doctrines of the various schools and looked at the Three Teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism as interconnected, knowing deeply that in the end they are the same single Dao. It is only that the Daoists especially claim the Dao as their own and take practicing the Dao as their duty, so they speak of the Dao more than others—what is there to argue about?

To speak fairly: Confucianism practices the Dao to aid the world; Buddhism awakens to the Dao to enlighten the world; the immortal tradition conceals the Dao to save people. Each expounds its own subtle excellence, and taken together each has its benefits—why must tongues contend over who is right and who is wrong? What is called the Dao is nothing more than thoroughly investigating things and principles, fully developing one’s nature, and pushing all the way to the ultimate of “nature” and “life.” Confucius was largely reticent about this and seldom spoke of it directly; the immortal tradition, by contrast, speaks freely and without taboo, only its names and phrases are many and its meaning appears profound and subtle, so ordinary people find it hard to grasp.

Humans are generated and nurtured by Heaven and Earth, and are also born through parents. Follow this path and use it, and ancestors and descendants continue from generation to generation; reverse this path and use it, and true immortals and supreme sages appear in succession—the principle is the same. The Wuzhen Pian says: the work of cultivating the body does not distinguish between men and women; if even an ignorant rustic obtains this great medicine of the Golden Elixir, he can immediately ascend to the rank of immortals. Nor does it discriminate between noble and base, worthy and foolish, old and robust, young and frail. One need only accumulate hidden virtue, harbor a benevolent heart, give rise to compassion, maintain loyalty and filial piety, and keep faith and sincerity; when the human Dao is complete, the immortal Dao is naturally not far. One must also understand Yin-Yang, deeply investigate creation and transformation, distinguish the true from the false, obtain the upright Qi of Yin-Yang, and seek the true source of lead and mercury; only then can one exchange bones and attain long life, dwell in the heaven without night, enjoy the scenes of eternal spring, endure as long as Heaven and Earth, and shine as brightly as the sun and moon—this is what lies within the proper duty of a great person.

As for side doors and crooked paths: using women to gather yin, taking and refining the Three Yellows, burning and ingesting the Eight Minerals, and the like—all are side doors and cannot accomplish the true work. There are also those who take massage, daoyin, exhaling and inhaling, breathing out with he and xu, and eating medicinal herbs as methods of nourishing life; though they may temporarily dispel illness, in the end they cannot escape aging and the end of life, and instead are laughed at by those who understand. Master Boduan (Zhang Boduan) said: as for the single method of breath retention, if one can forget cunning and cut off thoughts, one may also enter concentration and project the spirit; but Jing, Qi, and Shen are in the yin dwelling of the body and are hard to stabilize, so one cannot avoid the suffering of shifting and dispersal. There are further so-called techniques of taking in Qi and supplementing blood, called drawing and adding to continue life; they too can avoid illness, prolong life, and preserve the body in health. But if one wishes to take the great medicine and fly up to become an immortal, one still requires the great Dao of the Golden Elixir.

If one follows only the side gates, one cannot cultivate an immortal embryo; those side gates and deviant bypaths are heterodoxies outside the true Dao (the Way) and are not worth mentioning.

Some say that life and death are fixed, and how can one defy heaven’s number and escape death? But they do not consider that blessings are sought by oneself and destiny is made by oneself; accumulating hidden merit can prolong life, and those who study longevity need only take hidden merit as substance and the Golden Elixir as function, and even heaven’s number can be escaped.

I respectfully submit that our Supreme Daoist Ancestor, the assembled sages and high Perfected, bestow their mind that loves life and their vow to save all people, greatly open the mysterious teaching, and secretly transmit the immortal method, named The Golden Elixir: Tracing the Origin and Seeking the End. Thus it fully exposes the heavenly mechanism and greatly reveals the primordial mysteries; within it, the wondrous practice and function, the three periods and three passes, the nine zithers and nine swords, the medicinal ingredients and ritual implements, the fire phases and talismanic chapters, have all been elaborated completely. Each should carefully investigate the various Jing (scriptures/classics) so as to restore the root of nature and life. My discourse, though plain, has the most beautiful meaning and principle; it is what is called true and not false. If those who obtain it harbor no doubts, they may thereby practice and begin; though they may not meet an enlightened teacher or good friend, if they obtain this book, it will be as if teacher and friend are before them, and they can naturally awaken suddenly to the supreme. Compared with the alchemical scriptures circulating in the world, it accords with a single principle throughout and is thoroughly penetrating; it is truly a compassionate ferry in the sea of suffering and a lamp of wisdom pointing out the deluded. Though it is said that practice is difficult, do not fear difficulty and settle for ease.

There is a further admonition: after embracing the Golden Elixir in one’s body, one should hide high in grotto-heavens and conceal oneself deeply in blessed lands; do not use yellow-and-white alchemy to show off at court or become a leader of fangshi; whether hidden or manifest, save the world and await the heavenly tally; ascend in broad daylight without revealing one’s sharp edges—this is the supreme highest-grade Zhenren (Perfected), one who endures ten thousand kalpas without decay. Let later fellow aspirants ponder and reflect on this.

A Grand Panorama

It first investigates the source of the Great Dao, then discusses the principle of human birth and the causes of aging and illness in human life, leading people to turn back toward the Dao, cultivate themselves, rectify their minds, govern, and bring peace, like the heroes and immortals of antiquity who established both person and name and were complete in loyalty and filial piety—not like the reclusive eccentricity of Yang Zhu and Mozi—so that people know this Dao is also the Confucian Dao. Nourishing mercury and cultivating lead is no different from dwelling in benevolence and following righteousness; Han Yu and Zhu Xi criticized Buddhism and Daoism, but only criticized the false adherents of the two schools. Going further, it offers a general discussion that externally sweeps away side gates and deviant bypaths and returns everything to the Dao of exhausting principle, fully developing nature, and thereby reaching destiny—a great sound to awaken the deaf and rouse the benighted.

Note

In the text, “immortal embryo” refers to the achievement of Neidan (internal alchemy), the immortal embryo formed like a fetus; “hidden merit” and “hidden virtue” refer to good deeds not made public; “Golden Elixir” is the general name for the internal refinement of nature and life; “three periods and three passes” and “nine zithers and nine swords” are stages and metaphors of alchemical method; “yellow and white” refers to the arts of refining gold and transmuting silver, by which Daoists who make a living easily fall into vulgarity; “Han and Zhu” refers to Han Yu and Zhu Xi; Confucians criticized Buddhism and Daoism, and here it says that what they criticized were merely adherents who falsely attached themselves to them.

The Resonant Scripture: The Great Text That Weaves Heaven and Earth

Middle Chapter

Between heaven and earth, the most numinous and precious is the human being; the busiest and most urgent is time; what can be great and enduring, what can uphold life, is the Golden Elixir (the foundation of long life formed through internal cultivation, not a pill to be ingested). Unfortunately, most people drown in fame, position, wealth, and honor, are trapped in desire, love, and gratitude, and crave without cease, like moths flying into fire. When the final limit arrives, regret comes too late; they can only resign themselves to fate and wait for death. Who knows that there is a method for long life and no death? Who has awakened to the wonder of the Golden Elixir, the numinous medicine? Truly a pity.

This Golden Elixir, this numinous medicine, is not absolutely absent from the world, nor is it something that cannot be sought from heaven—it is sought only within things of the same kind (the human body shares the same structure as heaven and earth; the medicine lies within oneself). It is something we are born with: simple and easy, near and not far. I once composed “Rhapsody on the Golden Elixir,” whose wording is quite clear; here I recall one passage:

To make the Golden Elixir, first borrow Qian and Kun as the Xuanpin (heaven and earth as the vessel of male-female union, a metaphor for drawing the primordial Qi); learn creation from Yin-Yang; recognize that two-and-eight (the two halves of Yin and Yang) are equal; know that Kan and Li (water and fire, metaphors for the kidneys and heart) hide within each other; wait until the metal Qi is full and listen to the vast tide of water. Then watch the lead flower after gui, and contemplate the moon at evening in the geng direction; in an instant prepare the daogui (a tiny measure of elixir medicine), and end the battlefield of dragon and tiger; call the Metal Lord home to his dwelling, and pair the Jade Maiden to enter the chamber. If one can truly do this, though foolish one will surely become bright, though weak one will surely become strong.

Earlier Confucians said: The sage did not expound the Changes lest it confuse people, nor did he speak of it as difficult lest it obstruct people from advancing. If one seeks with focused intention and cultivates diligently, one can naturally enter sagehood and transcend the ordinary, long ascend to the realm of longevity, and forever enjoy inexhaustible joy—how could this be a minor supplement?

In pursuing fame, position, wealth, and honor, some people endure extreme poverty and hardship before succeeding; if one turns the mind of toil and hardship into the mind of cultivation, one will see the ninefold return (the completion of elixir practice) attained and the spirit preserved through ten thousand kalpas—compared with fame, position, wealth, and honor, which is shorter and which is longer?

Zhongni (Confucius) said: “Wealth and honor obtained through unrighteousness are to me like floating clouds.” He also said: “When one practices benevolence, one does not allow the unbenevolent to affect oneself.” There is no greater lack of benevolence and righteousness than arrogance, recklessness, greed, and delusion.

Master Hu said: When the will is set on the Dao, external things are insufficient to burden one’s person.

Wuzhen (Awakening to Reality; in the context of the Neidan classic Wuzhen pian and related texts) says: If one understands the killing mechanism and clearly sees reversal, then one first knows that grace is born within harm.

Note: This chapter belongs to discussions of Neidan cultivation. Kan and Li, lead and mercury, dragon and tiger, daogui, ninefold return, and the like are all fire-timing metaphors and should not be translated literally in chemical terms or as superstitious elixir pills; this vernacular explanation takes “cultivating within one’s own body and borrowing the creative transformations of Yin-Yang” as its axis and has not altered the original intent.

Plain-Language Interpretation

To seek the Returning Elixir (Huandan), one must first cut off sexual desire. Those who diligently apply the “killing mechanism” (shaji) always hold a spiritual sword in their hands. When external desire suddenly mounts, one must immediately rouse the killing mechanism and must not indulge it. After long practice it becomes pure and familiar; when one faces circumstances with no mind, one may practice the way of returning to the root and origin.

The Wings of the Yi says: “All day long he is vigilant and vigorous; repeated return is the Dao.” The Dao of repeated return is the proof of the fruit of long life. Why do people not exert themselves and practice it? The myriad things, such as the class of grasses and trees, can still return to the root and origin and pass through the four seasons. Humans are the most spiritual of the myriad things, yet their movements lead to the place of death; are they not then inferior to grasses and trees? Should they not feel ashamed?

This way of returning to the root and origin is not a heterodox path or side gate. People of the world take virtue and conduct as first, hidden merit as the foundation, examine the mechanism of Yin-Yang transformation, seek the wonder of the Mysterious Female and Qian-Kun, distinguish the substances of the two-eight and Kan-Li, set the time of the golden flower and water-moon, apply the power of subduing the dragon and tiger, and clarify the place where life is established and the body is born. Within this, attaining emptiness and guarding stillness, with the other as host and the self as guest, sun and moon exchanging radiance, and Wuji and Jiyi as the operative agents, the elixir is formed as easily as turning the palm.

The Yi says: “When male and female unite their essences, the myriad things are transformed and born.” Humans possess this body because of father and mother; if there were no father and mother, how could the body exist? Therefore the way of the Golden Elixir is the same as the matter of generating the body, except that in the forward direction one becomes human, while in reverse one becomes an immortal. Between forward and reverse lies a gulf as wide as heaven and earth. One need only reverse the use of Yin-Yang, and accomplishment comes naturally. It is not a heterodox path or side gate.

What I discuss here greatly discloses the true mechanism; all of it is the oral transmission and mind-seal instruction of the successive sages. If people can take it up and practice accordingly, they will naturally seize the marvelous power of heaven and earth and plumb the unfathomable depths of ghosts and spirits. Truly this is the oral formula of the Golden Elixir. Beyond this, there is no other transmission. The former worthies said: “Before the sages were born, the Dao was in heaven and earth; after the sages had passed, the Dao was manifest in the Six Classics.” Although my final discussion dares not compare with the sacred classics, it can still serve as the proper road for those who ask about the Dao, like parting the clouds and mist to see the blue sky, or cutting away thorns to find the great road: broad and unobstructed, suddenly opening a gate. If students concentrate and investigate it, they will naturally accord in silence with immortal affinity. Do not regard it lightly. It is hard to exchange even for ten thousand pieces of gold and hard to obtain among a hundred treasures. Do not show it to unsuitable people; value it highly.

The Wuzhen Pian says: “To learn immortality, one must learn to be a heavenly immortal; only the Golden Elixir is the most exact.” This piece is devoted to discussing the Golden Elixir.

Vernacular Explanation:

Beyond Waidan (external alchemy), the Golden Liquid Neidan (internal alchemy) is also contained therein. Again and again, it always urges people to awaken in time, cultivate themselves, and seek the true lead. The compassionate heart that saves the world is transmitted on the divine slips. In the old rhapsody passage, every line is a mnemonic formula; if the aspiring person further seeks the formula within the formula, then restoring the elixir will not be difficult.

Part Two

One Yin and one Yang is called the Dao; what the cultivator cultivates is precisely this Dao of Yin-Yang. One Yin and one Yang are simply one nature and one life. The Zhongyong says, “Cultivating the Dao is called teaching”; the sages of the Three Teachings all established their teachings on this Dao. This Dao originates in nature and is rooted in life. Life (ming) is like a command: Heaven, through life, bestows a command on people; nature (xing) is principle: people, through nature, follow the principle of Heaven.

If one wishes to follow this principle, then outwardly fulfilling human relations and moral norms is this principle, and inwardly fulfilling cautious solitude is this principle. Loyalty, filial piety, friendliness, and respect are rooted within, yet their radiant brilliance appears outwardly; joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure appear outwardly, yet guarding them before they are aroused is inward. Bright and clear as Heaven, lively and vibrant—when one fully realizes one’s nature, Neidan is accomplished.

If one wishes to complete this command, then diligently attending to it is this command, and using it according to method is this command. Preserving the heart and nurturing nature is the diligent care of life; gathering righteousness to generate Qi is the method of employing the command. Refining Qi to transform into Shen, refining Shen to return to Heaven, restoring one’s nature and also restoring one’s life—then Waidan is accomplished.

I wish those who come after to cultivate this right Dao, and so I speak plainly: in cultivating the Dao, cultivating the self is paramount. Yet to cultivate the self one must first rectify the heart and make the intention sincere; when the intention is sincere and the heart rectified, material desires are all eliminated. Only then can one discuss the foundation of establishing the base—Qi as the envoy, Shen as the master.

At the outset, when the student begins, one must know the sign of the first Yang beginning to stir and the time when true lead first arises. This Qi is swift as lightning and cannot remain long in the Pre-Heaven; in an instant it gives rise to Gui water, in a moment it changes into the menstrual flow; by the time it produces form and transforms into substance, it already belongs to the Post-Heaven and is unusable. Above Kunlun there is the Mysterious Gate; its aperture is extremely small. When Yin and Yang meet, one must not move or waver; wait until their feeling and nature mutually resonate, and naturally the other and the self communicate. Whatever has form and substance cannot rise into the aperture; only the bellows of true Qi can enter the aperture.

Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Mr. Zhang Sanfeng

The sage points directly to the prenatal one Qi and says that this aperture must be burst open. He also says that the path of cultivation can continue life and prolong years; by cultivating the true and attaining Complete Perfection (Quanzhen), one is without coming or going, unborn and undying.

Nowadays foolish people, as soon as they hear of a “way of generating yang,” practice cunning and deceptive arts such as the sexual conquest of women. This is like wearing hemp to fight a fire or a moth darting into a lamp: they cling to beauty and indulge recklessly. By day they overexert their strength; by night they give free rein to passion and desire, so that Shen (spirit) becomes muddled and Qi decays, marrow is exhausted and Jing (essence) dries up. Yet they still do not awaken and willingly await death.

The worthy people of old were not like this. They fulfilled both loyalty and filial piety and broadly practiced benevolence and righteousness; they did good in secret and silently accumulated hidden merit. They kept life and death in mind and were not moved by fame or profit. By day they had few thoughts and little worry; by night they cleared the heart and reduced desire. Thus Shen was whole and Qi robust, marrow full and Jing abundant.

They often lamented that the mortal body is like fire within stone or foam upon water. Those who have not heard the Dao urgently seek a teacher; those who have heard it urgently seek medicine. They were also able to investigate widely and gather broadly, faithfully receive and practice, seek the great prenatal medicine, and look for world-transcending elixir formulas. They quickly set to work and cultivated swiftly, fearing only that time would not wait for them.

How could the Dao be a minor side-door technique? It is the wondrous way of the Golden Liquid Returned Elixir, transmitted orally and received in the heart by perfected persons. It is not the method of the two vehicles of breath retention but the way of the supreme vehicle: it uses Youwei (action) to enter Wuwei (non-action), external medicine to cultivate internal medicine, the self to seek the other, Yin to pair with Yang, lead to cast into mercury, and Qi to unite with Shen.

Wuwei is not merely guarding against danger, defending the city, warming and nourishing, and bathing; it is the work of freeing the embryo and transforming into spirit after obtaining the elixir. Youwei is not the practices of plucking, battling, lifting, and absorbing, or the nine-one stirrings and the like; it is resting in quiet emptiness, keeping to the feminine and not the masculine, being still and unmoving yet responsive and penetrating—this is refining the self and building the foundation before obtaining the elixir.

Youwei and Wuwei—substance and function, beginning and end—are already seen here. The sources of internal and external medicine are further detailed there: external medicine is born in the cavern of creation and transformation; internal medicine is produced within one’s own body. Internal medicine is Jing; external medicine is Qi. Internal medicine nourishes nature; external medicine establishes life. Only through the dual cultivation of nature and life does one accord with the way of the immortals.

When a great cultivator wishes to seek the prenatal external medicine... (The following text continues with the original passage “their mutual relations are further detailed there,” etc.; this means that the method of pairing internal and external medicine is explained in detail in another chapter.)

This passage comes from a discussion of Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation; it concerns the entire practice of “refining the self,” gathering the medicine, forming the elixir, and issuing the spirit.

For the medicine, one must first refine the self and wait for the birth of yang. Using Shen (spirit) and Qi (vital energy), one forges the “sword of wisdom”—a metaphor for using clear, bright wisdom to cut off distracting thoughts—and then gathers metal-water and evenly matches hardness and softness.

The ancients relied entirely on this in gathering the medicine and advancing the fire. It removes the affliction of the seven emotions and the harm of the five thieves—the thieves of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind that pull at the will. If one does not first refine the self to remove these harms, one cannot always respond yet always remain still. How then could the hun and po souls be controlled? How could desires fail to interfere?

If one truly enters the chamber to apply effort and approaches the furnace to begin the work, outer fire may move while the inner tally does not respond, simply because hardness and softness are not properly matched. Thus the sword of wisdom has no edge; when the host of demons creates disturbance, mind and Shen are unsettled and desires arise in confusion. One then drifts along with circumstances, causing mercury-fire to fly upward, and the sacred embryo does not form.

If, however, refining the self is brought to proficiency, the mind is free of distracting thoughts, the body is like the great void, not stained by a single speck of dust, and all worries are empty. When the mind dies, Shen lives; when the body is empty, Qi circulates. Only then may one seek the way of one yang and the work of the second stage. Returning the elixir is easy; refining the self is the hardest.

Rely on the sword of wisdom to split open Hongmeng, the primordial vastness; stretch out the craftsman’s hand to chisel open Hundun, the primordial chaos. Then use the method of reversing Yin-Yang and the way of water-fire mutual completion: enact the image of Earth-Heaven Tai, causing yang to dwell below so that fire illuminates upward, and letting yin be above so that water can moisten downward.

One need only practice austerely and endure humiliation, with body and mind unmoved. If one’s own nature is collected, the other’s Qi returns of itself. If a person can do this, one attains the effect of keeping to the female and not the male, being utterly still and unmoving, yet responsive and penetrating.

At the interval when Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) is about to divide, stillness is at its utmost but has not yet become movement; yang has just returned but has not yet left yin. Wait for this true prenatal Qi to descend from heaven; pursue and gather it by method and send it into the Huangting (Yellow Court). Daily circulate one’s mercury, wrapping and securing it tightly. As mercury Qi gradually increases and lead Qi gradually disperses, combine the elixir in the cauldron.

One must also regulate the true breath so that it circulates through the six voids, until sound is still and intention unites; then Qi becomes even and the pulse stops, and only then does the elixir begin to congeal.

Simply wait until the sacred embryo’s Qi is full and the ten months’ work is complete; then the embryo emerges, Shen transforms, and the infant is born. Train it to proficiency so that it goes out and in freely, moves vertically and horizontally, comes and goes without obstruction, and is not enticed by the host of demons.

Wait until the nine revolutions’ work is accomplished and the time of wall-gazing: refining Jing (essence) transforms it into Qi; refining Shen transforms it into emptiness. Form and Shen are both wondrous, united in truth with the Dao (the Way). This is the time when the great man’s work is completed and his name fulfilled.

The ancients did not transmit this Dao (the Way) to the world, mainly because foolish people do not believe it firmly or practice it diligently, and moreover…

(The original text may have further discussion below; the scripture passage ends here.)

It instead provokes slander; therefore it has been kept secret and not transmitted. Ever since I met a True Person (zhenren), I have expounded this secret essential of self-cultivation in order to awaken those who later study the Dao, so that each may exert themselves and together ascend the immortal path.

This text exhaustively investigates the truth of nature and life (xingming), and expounds the principles of sages and worthies, immortals and Buddhas, tracing every root and source, like a subcommentary and annotation. The sequence of Youwei (intentional action) and Wuwei (non-action), the distinction between inner medicine and outer medicine, and the wonders of nourishing the embryo and releasing the embryo are all fully set down in these pages. Reading to this point, one finds that nothing further can be added.

Xuanji Zhijiang: Direct Lectures on the Profound Mechanism

(This is the patriarch’s revision of an earlier work, shown to people, and therefore appended to the complete collection.)

A Discourse on the Fire Phases of Elixir Refinement (Two Essays)

In beginning the work, one must not cling to Youwei (intentional action)—all Youwei belongs to the Post-Heaven (houtian). Daoist circles today mostly fall into this defect, and so truly Complete Perfection (Quanzhen) adepts are rare in the world. Nor should one cling to Wuwei (non-action)—Wuwei then falls into obstinate emptiness. Buddhist circles today mostly suffer from this defect, and so true sons of the Buddha are few in the world. The reason this Dao does not prevail is that the Dao is not clearly understood.

The initial work lies in stilling and extinguishing emotional entanglements and sweeping away miscellaneous thoughts. Removing miscellaneous thoughts is the first step; it is the work of building the foundation and refining the self (zhuji lianji). Once the human mind is eliminated, the Heavenly Mind returns; once human desires are purified, the Heavenly Principle constantly remains.

Each day, first sit quietly for a period. Wait until body and mind are both settled and the breath is peaceful and harmonious. Then slightly close both eyes and lower the eyelids like a curtain, and observe the space one cun and three fen below the heart and above the kidneys: neither attaching nor withdrawing, neither forgetting nor assisting. When all myriad thoughts are extinguished and one numinous awareness alone remains, this is called right mindfulness.

At this time, within this thought be lively and vibrant; within that Qi (vital energy) be leisurely and expansive. Exhaling to the upper limit, the upper does not clash with the heart; inhaling to the lower limit, the lower does not clash with the kidneys. One closing and one opening, one coming and one going—practice this for seven times seven and two times seven [cycles]. Naturally, gradually, fire steams in both kidneys, the Qi in the Dantian (energy center) warms, the breath need not be regulated and yet regulates itself, and the Qi need not be refined and yet refines itself.

Once the breath is harmonious, naturally in the upper, middle, and lower [regions] there is no going out and no entering, no coming and no going. This is embryonic breathing; this is spiritual breathing; this is the true bellows, the true cauldron and furnace; this is returning to the root and restoring destiny; this is the gate of the mysterious female and the root of heaven and earth.

When the Qi arrives at this point, it is like a flower just forming its bud, like an embryo just forming its sac. Naturally the true Qi steams and permeates the nutritive and defensive Qi (yingwei). From the Weilü (tailbone) it pierces through Jiaji (the spinal column), rises to Niwan (the crown), descends the Queqiao (Magpie Bridge), passes the Chonglou (the throat), reaches the Jianggong (Crimson Palace), and...

Vernacular Interpretation

If Qi falls only to the middle Dantian (energy center; the area above the navel and below the heart, called the Middle Palace, Zhonggong, in Daoism), it can only be considered the first stirring of the Heche (River Cart; true Qi ascending along the Du vessel, Dumai). But if only the Qi has arrived and Shen (spirit) has not yet caught up, this is not a true activation, and at this point there is no need to deliberately attend to it. I simply lightly concentrate Shen and observe, keeping to the Middle Palace, and naturally vitality flows without cease—this is precisely what is meant by “nourishing Yin’e” (Yin and E metaphorically refer to the kidney and the Dantian area, that is, fostering the root of Jing [essence] and Qi).

After practicing like this for one or two months, Shen becomes increasingly still; when stillness lasts long, Qi naturally becomes fuller. This is the practice of Shen generating Qi and Qi generating Shen, each nourishing the other. After perhaps a hundred days, or a little more than a hundred days, the spirit gradually grows and true Qi gradually fills; warm and gentle, as if the fire timing (huohou) has arrived. When the “blood-water” (xueshui; Jing-blood and true Qi) is in surplus, Kan and Li will naturally copulate and Qian and Kun unite (kidney water and heart fire intersect, and Yin-Yang harmonize), so that Shen merges and Qi flows smoothly. In an instant true Qi blends together, and a gust of returning wind rushes upward through the hundred vessels; only this is the true movement of the Heche. If during this a point of numinous light is sensed in the Dantian, it is the “mysterious pearl at the bottom of the water” and the “yellow sprout within the earth” (the signs of Neidan [internal alchemy] first sprouting). At that time, the return of the One Yang is like a red sun newly rising and illuminating the vast sea, with mist and smoke faintly visible; this is the scene of lead-fire (qianhuo) arising.

Before Qian and Kun, Kan and Li have yet intersected, there is emptiness and stillness; Shen is concentrated within, practice is uninterrupted, and it forms one continuous whole. This is called the coordination of the Five Phases. When water and fire intersect—at the second phase (erhou) of gathering the medicine, when the Heche reverses, and at the fourth phase (sihou) of obtaining the medicine—Shen is guarded within and the elixir light does not depart. This is called the Greater Heavenly Circuit (Da Zhoutian), also called practicing the Nine Turns of the Great Return (Jiuzhuan Dahuan). At this time a point of the utmost Yang Jing congeals within and is stored when thoughts are pure and desires are faint. Though one still has a family and still has form, when one reaches this stage, the breath abides in the womb and is warmed and nourished inside and out; not a single moment can be off. It is also called the ten-month practice.

In quiet practice (jinggong), from one thought to the next, the same process includes refining Jing into Qi, refining Qi into Shen, and refining Shen to return to Emptiness (Xu); it is not only in the stage of the “ten months.” In an hour, a day, a month, or a year, the principle is the same. Sitting down, closing the eyes, and preserving Shen, with the heart calm and the breath regulated—this is refining Jing into Qi. Returning the light and reflecting inward, concentrating Shen at the elixir cavity (Dantian), and allowing the true breath to come and go within, so that stillness reaches its extreme and then moves, and movement reaches its extreme and then becomes still, with the heavenly mechanism inexhaustible—this is refining Qi into Shen. In this way true Qi returns to the Origin (chaoyuan), and Yin-Yang repeatedly unite; naturally the wind becomes calm and the waves still. At this time, settling right mindfulness at the Dantian is sealing and securing the fire timing. As months, years, days, and hours accumulate, the practice naturally deepens.

Vernacular Interpretation

Long practice of these three stages of work is not limited to the single set of “entering the enclosure and keeping watch for ten months.” Therefore it is said: circulate for one quarter-hour, and there is the celestial circuit of one quarter-hour; circulate for one double-hour, one day, one month, or one year, and there is the celestial circuit of one double-hour, one day, one month, or one year.

Within one quarter-hour, the first half is somewhat warm and belongs to advancing the fire, comparable to the full-moon day, the first-quarter moon, morning, and the Zhun Hexagram—the Qi of spring and summer. The second half is somewhat cool and belongs to withdrawing the tally, comparable to the new-moon day, the last-quarter moon, evening, and the Meng Hexagram—the Qi of autumn and winter. Within one double-hour there is thus the division into the upper four quarters and the lower four quarters, and the same principle applies to a day, a month, and a year. This is called gathering and compressing Yin-Yang and the Five Phases, using the work of one quarter-hour to condense the seasonal changes of an entire year. Only upon reaching this stage is there true emptiness and stillness. Whether for one or two years, or even ten or a hundred years, breaking through the void and becoming one body with the Great Void—this is the practice of refining Shen and returning to Emptiness.

After the earlier “ten months” have been fulfilled, one must constantly watch over the “infant”: at ten paces, a hundred paces, a thousand li, ten thousand li, gradually the Shen emerges. If one indulges it without gathering it back, it will inevitably become lost and not return. The immortal scriptures say: “When Shen enters Qi, the embryo is formed; when Qi returns to Shen, the elixir coagulates.” This is precisely what is meant by “a single point falling into the Yellow Court.” Those with few distracting thoughts attain the elixir early; those with many distracting thoughts attain it late. This method is simple and easy; it is only that people are unwilling to persevere with vigor and constancy. If one can practice it for a long time, then metal will surely pierce stone, one will enter water and tread fire, and penetrate heaven and reach earth. Then, by accumulating merit and practicing conduct, and by taking and refining the divine elixir and great medicine, both form and Shen will become wondrous; one will ascend to heaven in broad daylight, and one’s entire household and dwelling will be lifted up—all depending on how deep one’s merit and virtue are. If one does not take the divine elixir and only attends to the upward surge of the Yang Shen, then looking back at the old body, it is like a heap of dust; one may also become a feathered immortal in broad daylight, endure for ten thousand kalpas, and share the springtime of the universe.

Treatise on the Signs and Verifications of Return and Reversion

In the method of seven returns and nine reversions, when beginning the work, first take the true Yin within the Yang of the upper orifice and enter it into the inner Golden Cauldron (the Qi Sea), where it joins with the true Yang of the lower orifice. The true Yin within Yang is one’s own Yuan Shen (belonging to the three hun souls); the true Yang of the lower orifice is the Yuan Qi within the body (belonging to the seven po souls). Once the two Qi, prior-heaven and posterior-heaven, unite, Kan and Li naturally unite, the hun and po souls blend, Shen and Qi coagulate, embryonic breathing becomes naturally settled, and every day is as harmonious and beautiful as the union of husband and wife. One must absolutely not advance rashly or act recklessly.

When the water and fire within the body naturally reach Jiji (After Completion, the state of Yin-Yang harmony and water-fire balance), they will activate the four limbs, giving the sensation that fire outside the body is burning and flames are emerging—but the key is that water and fire must be balanced. This is the fire timing of the Small Heavenly Circuit (Xiao Zhoutian): harmonizing and steaming, the breath returns from the throat to the Yuanhai (Dantian, the energy center where Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) gather); outer Yang naturally enters within, true fire naturally surges upward, and the whole body becomes soft, relaxed, comfortable, and indescribably wonderful. In the abdomen it is like a living dragon moving, turning, rising, and descending, with dozens of transformations in a single day; the Infant and Maiden (Ying'er and Channü—images symbolizing Yin and Yang in Neidan (internal alchemy) cultivation) naturally unite.

This is one stage of the work of gathering Yin to supplement Yang and cultivating the Jade Liquid Returning Elixir (Yuye Huandan); that is, the phase of building the foundation and refining the self (zhuji lianji) and accumulating inner Dharma-wealth. To be carefree all day and constantly bright day and night is the first rung of the ladder to long life and enduring vision (changsheng jiushi).

People in the world often rely on the Five Grains to nourish life; after several days without food they become Qi-deficient and die of hunger. If a person in old age suffers depletion of the lower origin (xiayuan—the region of the Dantian and essence chamber), and the bone marrow is all empty, then they cannot withstand the Qi of the Five Grains—the Five Grains can nourish people, and they can also kill people. If one can make inner and outer connect, with water and fire in Jiji, and Qi and blood flow in reverse, the Qi of the Five Viscera harmonizes, the spleen and stomach are unobstructed, then food entering the abdomen can also transform into Qi, generate Jing, and nourish the Shen (spirit). If a person can truly awaken to the heavenly mechanism of starting practice, and wait until the bone marrow is full and the area around the navel is like that of a pregnant woman—though there is no actual fetal form, only Qi fullness, Jing abundance, and Shen completeness—if these three completions are present, then it is the time when true fire tempers and refines, when one tunes the Shen and refines the void, and when the great man’s work is accomplished and name established.

I earnestly advise students to visit and consult masters and patriarchs, seek a perfected person to break open the heavenly mechanism within and outside the body, clearly understand the starting point, quickly cultivate and refine the self, and await the proper time. At the arrival of One Yang (Yiyang zhi—the winter solstice or the moment when Yang Qi first arises in cultivation), choose a place and enter the chamber to refine this Great Elixir of Dragon and Tiger (Longhu Dadan—the great medicine of Neidan). It must be in a secluded place where chickens and dogs are not heard; outside there should also be a Daoist companion who truly understands, and not a single idle or miscellaneous person should be allowed to visit, lest they startle and scatter the primordial spirit (yuanshen). Earlier it spoke of “harmonizing light and merging with dust” (heguang tongchen), and now it speaks of a secluded place—what is the reason? Refine the self amid the dusty world and nourish Qi in the mountains and forests—this is precisely the season for entering the chamber, initiating the work, and beginning practice. To transcend the ordinary and enter sagehood—how could this be a small matter? One must be untouched by a single mote of dust, forget all myriad concerns, hang not by a single thread, cut cleanly in two, forever become a guest in a foreign land, and to the end have no thought of retreat or regret; hold emptiness to refine the Shen, guard the void to refine nature, until the whole body—the Five Viscera, sinews and bones, Qi and blood—all transform into clear Qi, and with single-minded concentration, develop the Shen until it is pure, mature, and takes form.

According to the internal alchemy (Neidan) teachings in the text, when the practitioner receives the mandate to act, the motion of the stars of the Northern Dipper (Beidou) seems to follow the heart’s wish; as long as one keeps nourishing upright qi until the skin of the whole body is as smooth as the fine lines on a spider’s body, the sign appears of the upper seven orifices emitting light, bright day and night. When the body feels empty and luminous like primordial void (Taixu)—boundless empty space—the time is ripe to seek the path of immortality.

At that point qi is full and spirit (Shen) complete, and the needed conditions of method and resources are in place; only then can one refine the great elixir (the goal of condensing essence (Jing), qi, and spirit into an inner pill). Such a practitioner may be called a “guest of the elixir” (Danke). Awaiting the ripe moment—seven orifices bright, the three yang open in auspicious flow (sanyang kaitai, a favorable sign of yang qi moving freely)—and the divine sword taking form, one must seize the momentum to circulate the inner fire (huohou), like a boat going with the current or sails catching the wind, swiftly activating the inner firing; this is to seize the “outer heavenly mechanism”—in the text, the knack of timely gathering and refining the true lead outside the body.

Next, “the dragon marries the tiger” and “drive the tiger to the dragon,” borrowing dragon–tiger pairing to harmonize yin and yang. If one knows how to gather the medicinals and grasp the firing, one can clearly take the gold from the bottom of the sea, raise it along the jiaji (mid-spine passage) to the niwan (mud-ball palace in the head), then let it fall into the Crystal Palace (a name in elixir texts for an inner locus), to match with wood-mercury. In less than half a quarter-hour, gathering of the medicinals is complete. True fire rushes into the four limbs; flesh and bone feel as if burned by fire and cut by knives, unbearably painful—even a very tough person may be at a loss at this stage. One must then carefully guard against danger, and use “bathing” (muyu) to nurture body and mind so that water and fire mutually assist (shuihuo jiji, yin and yang in balance).

In a moment the whole body may crack and pop like frying beans; blood and qi seem to gather and take form together. Movement and stillness seem to collect within the body, and two points appear under the root of the tongue: the left called the elixir well, the right called the stone spring—the text says these are where the Lianquan acupoint lies. As the bone channels open together, kidney water wells upward like a spring, as if one could never finish swallowing; the taste is very strange, unlike any honey or syrup.

More wondrous still: just as one first approaches the furnace and begins, the earth seems about to produce golden lotuses, and from heaven falls precious dew. Suddenly a bit of true mercury descends, penetrating the heart, cool as ice; then one raises a spark of divine fire to gather in the palace of mutual intersection (where yin and yang essences meet). Body and mind are utterly clear and still, yet one seems to hear a thousand armies’ war drums and ten thousand rolls of thunder. These are all what the scripture calls changes in one’s own channels and blood and qi—do not be frightened by them; only tread the gang and pace the Dipper (taogang budou, symbolically stepping star positions), and hold sword and seals.

This is precisely the dangerous place: three reversals and nine circulations, and “descending marshals, summoning generals” (borrowed from Daoist ritual for calling protective deities) to guard body and mind. The practitioner may in empty space see dragon and tiger unite, heaven and earth in great peace (tiandi jiaotai), sun and moon conjoin—or see hosts of immortals and buddhas. Even if these visions appear, do not take them as real, and do not cling to them, lest the spirit be swayed by outer influences.

Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng

When the original spirit (yuanshen) unites with mercury and lead, it takes roughly three days before the "Great Medicine" (da yao) is generated. These three days are the hardest to endure: before one's eyes the whole world seems filled with malevolent conditions; ghosts weep and spirits wail on every side, while murderous Qi and the smoke of war rise from the eight directions. This is precisely the juncture called the "Great Opening of the Pass" (da kaiguan). When one reaches this stage, nine out of ten people are frightened into stopping. One must absolutely not be afraid in one's heart: although some signs of transforming into spirit have already appeared, it is still the yin spirit (yinshen). The yin spirit is the most numinous; it can undergo a thousand transformations and ten thousand changes, and it comes in every kind of state to make trouble for you. It will not submit to you easily. The ancients put it well: only when you possess the supernatural powers of the "six penetrations" (liutong) can you escape birth and death; if you do not possess the six penetrations, do not expect to accomplish the Dao.

The image of chaos arrives again at the "thirty shichen" (about two and a half days): Qi communicates with Qi; when Qi is full to the utmost, suddenly, lively and vibrant, it flows out in reverse, like the sun's flowing pearl slipping from its shell and entering the mouth, and a million dragon spirits are all startled—this is the true elixir of original yang (yuanyang zhen dan). Only when the medicine enters the mouth does one first know that "my fate is not determined by Heaven." The immortals say, "This time, after the great death, now one lives"; and again, "One battle and the world is pacified"—these words describe precisely this state. Only now is there the peaceful union of Heaven and Earth, the exchange of palaces between sun and moon, and the medicine of true yang arriving at the mouth. In an instant the fire of the celestial circuit (zhoutian) erupts; the bone-fetus turns into a heap of fleshy mud; the yang spirit leaves the body and one lets go without obstruction. One must be single-minded and concentrated: use emptiness to nourish the spirit, use vacuity to nourish the heart, and let the spirit transform according to the mind. All things are born and brought forth by Heaven and Earth; my myriad spirits pay homage and submit. Weary of dwelling in the dusty world, one roams freely on Penglai Island; naturally three thousand jade maidens attend one, and all day long at the Peach Banquest one drinks immortal wine and wears immortal flowers. The four great elements are mellow with intoxication; the whole body is thoroughly translucent; at the bottom of the sea the turtle and snake appear; the myriad spirits receive commands—this is the inversion of true lead and true mercury, with purple mist over the whole body and a thousand rays of luminous and auspicious Qi. This is the method of the "Great Hibernation of the Five Dragons" (wu long da zhe).

Refine it for a hundred days, and the mysterious pass (xuanguan) opens of itself; the infant (ying'er) reveals its form; the turtle and snake appear and naturally coil around. When the student reaches this point, only then does the external mercury in the mouth dry up. Refine for six months, and the body is like silver paste; blood transforms into white pulp; the whole body's fragrance assails people; the breath issuing from the mouth becomes clouds—this is the spiritual elixir ripened, a single lump of dry mercury. If people take it, they never die, and it can also make the dead return to life. Refine for ten months, and the yang spirit leaves the body; one body can transform into thousands and tens of thousands of bodies; one need only wait until twelve months to seize all of Heaven and Earth. The entire text concludes here.

Once the Yangshen (yang spirit) is fully cultivated, its exits and entries throughout the whole body are but fourteen thousand (for the Yangshen can come and go freely). The Yangshen walks between the sun and moon without casting a shadow, passes through metal and stone without obstruction, enters water without drowning, enters fire without burning, cannot be harmed by blades or weapons, cannot be fathomed by ghosts and spirits, and undergoes endless transformations—at this point one has already become a Zhenren (Perfected). Every qi mechanism in the whole body is nothing but true medicine; the principle that “when a chicken eats it, it becomes a phoenix; when a dog eats it, it becomes a dragon” is hard even for ghosts and spirits to understand. One who has never seen such words will surely not believe in the great medicine and the Golden Elixir. The work of creation requires three returns and nine turns, seven reversions and eight restorations, with subtle fire timing; the oral formula for gathering and clustering is only a matter of three to five days, turning heaven and earth upside down, yet all of it is natural. The creation of the human body and Yin-Yang is also natural, but one must realize the creation of heaven and earth before one can succeed. Matters must be done and seen, moving from trial and verification to the point of naturalness; although the work requires one year, the subtle fire timing lies within a hundred days, and the dangerous alternations of movement and stillness occur only within a few days or a single instant. When inner and outer gathering is achieved, in an instant all becomes serene and clear; the sacred embryo is accomplished, producing the millet-grain pearl, which is swallowed into the belly. When the fire of the heavenly circuit is sufficient, one sheds the mortal embryo and changes the bones—one need only hold to emptiness and nurture the void; all the rest is natural. If people today receive guidance from an enlightened teacher, they first refine the self amid the dust and ordinary world and accumulate lead in the marketplace, gathering years and clustering months, gathering days and clustering hours; within great stillness it is only a single instant, within an hour, that heaven and earth are turned upside down, operating the fire for ten months’ work and embodying the natural method of heaven and earth. If one cannot seek life within death, how can one escape the three disasters and eight difficulties?

On Taking the Great Elixir

The stipends of the Three Pure Ones and the provisions of the Jade Emperor—how could any but former sages and wise ones receive them? Those such as Ge Xianweng of Jingyang, Yin Zhenjun, and more than eight hundred others all refined and took elixirs only after attaining the Dao, in order to ferry the deluded multitudes across. The immortals say: “When Neidan is complete, Waidan is accomplished.” This means that when a person receives the orthodox transmission, first accumulating Jing and gathering Qi, collecting and amassing inner and outer Dharma wealth, and nourishing himself until Qi is full and Shen is complete, golden light appears, and day and night are constantly bright—then the Neidan in my body is complete, and the Waidan outside my body also manifests its signs. In reading books, one must not search for a steed by a picture; when the student reaches the time of constant brightness day and night, when the medicine sprout has already arisen, only then may one gather the medicine outside my body and pair it with the male and female within my body, so that the Golden Elixir enters the belly.

The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng: A Plain-Language Interpretation

The stages of firing in the microcosmic orbit are transmitted orally and suddenly discovered. In an instant, clarity and understanding become serene; once you let go, nothing obstructs you. Only then have you shed your shell like a golden cicada and silently paid homage to the Lord on High.

The stages of firing in the microcosmic orbit—the prescribed circulation of true Qi within the body—must be suddenly understood in a single moment. In an instant, the mind becomes clear and luminous. When you put down every attachment and obstruction, you have transcended like a golden cicada shedding its shell, silently paying homage to the Lord of Heaven.

Along the way, you encounter an immortal who raises you up. You receive Heaven’s blessings and rank, and the myriad spirits pay homage. You can bend Heaven and mend Earth, pluck the stars and grasp the moon, summon thunder and turn the Dipper, call the wind and bring the rain. With a single thought, you command the myriad spirits; Heaven and Earth look to you like the palm of your hand.

In blessings and De, you surpass three generations of emperors; in wisdom, seven generations of top scholars. Only when you reach such a state may you refine and consume the Golden Elixir.

This elixir is as small as a grain of millet. When it falls to the ground, its golden light shines up to Heaven; only then may it be called a divine elixir. If you have not attained communion with the spirits yet claim to consume an elixir made through external alchemy, you speak falsely. Its principles are subtle, and Heaven’s secrets lie deep.

Gold begets gold, and silver begets silver; outside, there is no other numinous spirit. This art of yellow and white—refining gold and silver—is not a matter of using ordinary gold and silver as the “mother” to restrain Qi. With the true transmission, one can refine the great medicine of the precelestial state and recognize the yellow sprout and white snow. This is the yellow and white: only then may they serve as the mother that restrains Qi, for refining the divine elixir.

But gold, silver, and liquid medicines all belong to the postcelestial realm. Those who also fail to understand true Yin and true Yang, and their matching kinds, will never succeed.

Alas, students of the Way in this age cannot distinguish truth from falsehood. Without meeting a true and upright teacher, they are all practicing blindly and refining blindly.

Those who truly cultivate nature and life should devote themselves to reading if they have not yet met a true teacher. The elixir books of the ancient sages contain no empty words or reckless statements, not even a single character. Later readers simply cannot tell the crooked from the upright, and do not know that the sages’ books are full of concealed language and metaphor.

If you encounter a mediocre teacher who takes poisonous, heterodox methods to heart and cannot adapt, who clings to what is only seemingly true, grows self-important and self-righteous, and keeps others at a distance through manner and speech, then accomplished people will turn away and leave. How much more so the immortals and sages?

Before meeting a true and upright person, students of the Way should be cautious and humble, accumulate merit and good deeds, never retreat when confronted by demons, never grow angry when slandered, and value the Way above wealth.

Once you meet such a person, seek earnestly and wholeheartedly. Quickly break through the two true messages within and without your own body. When you suddenly awaken, the books can no longer mislead you.

If you are truly resolved and sincere in cultivating life, sweep away heterodox paths, bring the mind-monkey back to the right course, strengthen your resolve, and remain humble. Pass through trials and hardships, seek a clear-sighted teacher with all your effort, and investigate to the utmost the first breath received when you came into being. That is the primordial ancestral Qi.

This Qi contains a trace of true Yang and true Yin. True Yang and true Yin came into being before Heaven and Earth.

Note: “Firing in the microcosmic orbit,” “yellow sprout and white snow,” “the mother that restrains Qi,” and “the golden cicada shedding its shell” are all terms from internal alchemy. Here, “yellow and white” refers both to the art of refining gold and to a metaphor for medicines in internal alchemy. The translation follows the wording and common interpretations in alchemical practice, without adding personal speculation.

Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng

At the very beginning of primordial chaos, there was a luminous treasure pearl like a grain of millet, suspended in the void, clear and distinctly present. Yet for one who has not had a clear master point it out, it is as if one were still in a drunken dream; whatever departs from this single point belongs to the side doors.

This luminous treasure pearl in the void encompasses all phenomena and conceals all that exists; the arising and growth of the myriad things all come forth from this one grain of millet.

Within the Daoist tradition, this thing is likened to true lead and true mercury (the root of Yin-Yang in internal refinement). Once one attains the true and obtains the true, one must not cling to external appearances such as Qian and Kun, sun and moon, male and female. Only when, within and around one’s own body, one sets up the furnace and establishes the cauldron, refines the self and maintains the mind, and clarifies principle and sees one’s nature, does one gather the ingredients and kindle the fire. In less than half a moment, the mysterious pearl of millet appears above the Crooked River (the Dantian, the energy center, or a specific inner-vision locus); the daogui (blade-spatula elixir measure) enters the mouth (a sign of the completion of the inner medicine). In an instant, one aperture opens and a hundred vessels all open; the bones and sinews, the five viscera, flesh, and blood of the whole body all transform into Qi (vital energy), similar to external mercury. At this stage, one still needs a hundred days of fire cultivation before there is wondrous efficacy. Once attained, it is attained forever, with no falling back; one dwells in the world and preserves the form, refines Shen (spirit) and returns to emptiness, and becomes one with the Dao.

Within the Buddhist tradition, it is called true emptiness and the true wondrous nature of enlightenment. The actual starting point is to refine away demons and see one’s nature; in a moment’s effort one kindles the true fire of samadhi, returns to the origin and restores the source, and contemplates all as one body. The great earth becomes treasure, with myriad rays of rosy light; the five eyes and six penetrating powers are attained; one refines an indestructible vajra body and realizes a wonder that even gods and ghosts cannot fathom.

Within the Confucian tradition, it is called Wuji (Non-Ultimate) and then Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). Speaking in terms of the outer cosmos, Wuji is the state surrounding heaven and earth, before the sun and moon were separated, when the four directions and above and below were a chaotic blur, like dark mist and watery vapor. Only when the time arrives and Qi becomes full and mutually excites does it become Taiji. Then, once the sun and moon are born, the clear and turbid separate of themselves: the clear rises to form heaven above, and the turbid settles to form earth below. The clear Qi of heaven is pure Yang; the turbid Qi of earth is pure Yin. Rain and dew descend from heaven—this is Yang’s ability to generate Yin. The myriad things grow from the earth—this is Yin’s ability to generate Yang. Heaven and earth are a void, containing the infinite and extending without boundary. The stars and deities in the heavens, in their movement and stillness, turn on their wheels, each having its position; the myriad things below heaven arise naturally according to the four seasons and eight solar nodes. In sum, it is all just emptiness. The sun and moon are the essence of heaven and earth, shining above upon the three realms. (The text uses the context of “three”; following common usage, this may be understood as illumining heaven, earth, and the myriad things.)

Vernacular Explanation

(Passage Above)

Under heaven, light shines upon the nine extremities; the myriad springs turn; east and west come and go; above and below rise and fall; cold and heat alternate. The sun is a body of pure yang, yet within it contains a trace of true yin Jing (essence). It belongs to the Azure Dragon, Channü (the Maiden), Jia Wood, Mercury, and the Golden Crow; the three hun (souls) are the moon outside. The moon is a body of pure yin, yet within it contains a trace of true yang Qi (vital energy). It belongs to the White Tiger, Ying’er (the Infant), Geng Metal, Cinnabar, and the Jade Rabbit; the seven po (bodily souls) are the body within.

Human transformation is the same as heaven and earth, so the human body also contains a true sun and moon. The Dao (the Way) is close at hand; why should people seek it far away? The three hun belong to nature (xing); nature is at the edge of heaven. The seven po belong to life (ming); life is at the bottom of the sea. When inner and outer are threaded together, these are the two words nature and life; the ten thousand volumes of alchemical books can all be concluded here.

Nature belongs to Shen (spirit) and is yin; life belongs to Qi and is yang. Therefore it is said, “One yin and one yang—this is called the Dao.” A thousand scriptures and ten thousand volumes are only different names, but true nature and life, together with the transformations of illusory forms, cannot be known without true transmission. The immortals say, “The four elements and the whole body all belong to yin,” yet they do not know what thing is yang essence. They also say that the seven spiritual substances—tears, saliva, Jing, fluids, Qi, blood, and liquid—all belong to yin. That is the turbid yin of post-heaven (houtian) dregs, not true yin. True yin and true yang stand in contrast to each other. If true yin is already unknown, how can one know true yang? Students today not only do not know true yang, they also do not know true yin. If they knew true yin, they would surely also know true yang. Without meeting a clear teacher, how can they conjecture?

Students should exhaustively investigate the wonder of the three powers (sancai)—heaven, earth, and human—within the body; investigate the origins of the true furnace and cauldron within and outside the body; and the true signs of yin-yang within and outside the body. If one does not obtain the essential meaning, then as soon as one sees the different names in various books, the mind has no settled view, one clings to side doors, and there is no way to discriminate. Since one does not know how to investigate principle, the mind is not clear. If the mind is not clear, one cannot see nature. If one does not see nature, how can one reach life? The ancients said: “Only because the Golden Elixir has no oral formula, where can I tell you to form the spirit embryo?”

A Treatise on Ascending to Heaven and Pointing Out the Way (Opening Section)

The Dao gives birth to heaven and earth and nurtures the myriad things. Expanded, it encompasses the void; contracted, it withdraws and hides in secrecy. The two modes (liangyi), the sun and moon, and the Five Phases are all transformations within the Dao. Each and every thing possesses a Taiji (Supreme Ultimate); this is the Dao. In the human mind there is the pre-heaven (xiantian), which is also the Dao.

When the Five Phases move in the forward sequence, they generate humans and things; when the Five Phases move in reverse, they bring about immortals and sages. (If there are further paragraphs later, you may continue to send them and I will translate them together.)

A Vernacular Reading of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng

Buddhists often say: when the Five Phases proceed in the forward sequence, the Dharma realm is like a pit of fire; when the Five Phases proceed in reverse, the great earth becomes seven treasures. The essence of the Five Phases is hidden in the secret place “neither inside nor outside” of the mountain of form made of the four great elements. Ordinary people use it every day but do not know it. They may be allowed to use it along the forward course, but they must not be told the principle of reversing it.

It is like fish in water not knowing that it is water, or people living in Qi (vital energy) not knowing that it is Qi. This metaphor should be deeply investigated: turning the light inward and reflecting back, illuminating the mind and seeing one’s nature—what difficulty would there be in realizing immortality or Buddhahood?

People today who study the Dao all rely on their own cleverness, boast of their intelligence, and call themselves adepts, yet in the end they have not penetrated awakening. There is also a class of people of lesser capacity who, seeing the former sages speak of external Yin-Yang, external furnace and cauldron, and external medicine, become obsessed with taking men and women as cauldron vessels—this is truly pitiable. I have seen those who are passionately fond of furnace fire and attached to cauldrons and vessels: not one in a hundred succeeds. Some again cite Xuanyuan’s casting of the nine cauldrons to achieve the Dao and conclude that cauldrons and vessels must be used; how extreme is this erroneous transmission of nine men! I have seen people refine as many as five or seven cauldrons and still have no success. Moreover, when a person’s thought stirs, the prenatal simplicity scatters; once the prenatal is lost, even if the postnatal remains, what benefit is it to body and mind? It merely barely preserves the four elements. How could such foolish people know the wonder that Heaven does not speak yet the four seasons proceed and the hundred things are born?

The transformations of the human body are the same as those of Heaven and Earth, yet people do not know how Heaven obtained the One and became clear, how Earth obtained the One and became tranquil, nor who governs creation. If one can take purity and stillness as substance, stability as foundation, the Heavenly Mind as master, and the primordial Shen (spirit) as function, skillfully employ the mechanism of stealing, return to original purity, return to the root and restore destiny, why worry that one will not reach the holy station of Heaven and Earth? As for the notion of “using a female cauldron,” there is absolutely no such principle.

If a person of affinity meets a true master, first practicing the Jade Liquid Returning Elixir, refining the self and knowing the light, maintaining and nurturing it, turning the light inward and reflecting back—this is the matter of seeing one’s nature and illuminating the mind. Having seen one’s nature, one seeks further upward: this is the Golden Liquid Returning Elixir, in which feeling returns to nature, until one reaches the stage of true emptiness and great function manifests before one, like the Dragon Girl offering a precious pearl and golden light appearing. Only at this point is it “once attained, forever attained.” At the juncture of the Hai and Zi hours, in the interval between the Bo and Fu hexagrams, when the sun first stirs and one begins the work, the hand probes the moon cave and the foot treads the sun’s path—this is the correct path.

The root of Heaven (the primordial, precelestial Qi) turns back on the wind and blends; only then does the wondrous efficacy of a hundred days of practice begin. This Golden Elixir (formed by returning the essence of the Golden Liquor to the Dantian, thereby accomplishing Neidan) is the great Dao of Yin-Yang and the Five Phases. Apart from this way of cultivating both Jade Liquor and Golden Liquor (two refined substances in internal cultivation), practicing the dual cultivation of nature and life, and following clarity, stillness, and spontaneity, all other methods are minor teachings of side paths.

Within and beyond my own body, I had mastered the subtle details of setting up the furnace and establishing the crucible (setting up a furnace and crucible within the body for refinement), the instructions for gathering and clustering (concentrating Qi and uniting Shen), the medicinal substances, and the timing of the firing process. I had grasped the laws of the Void (the rules for refinement within the Void), and so entered the chamber to undertake the great work of bringing the external medicine into the abdomen. As I kindled the fire and practiced the work to its secret depths, the myriad spirits of the Void paid homage, and celestial music played above my crown—an event beyond the understanding of spirits and gods. Yet I had not succeeded in refining myself (first refining the mind and nature, and subduing restless impulses), nor had I stored lead (accumulated true Yang essence amid worldly life). My Qi channels had not yet reached profound stillness, and my foundation (the basis of practice) had not attained wholeness in all three (the completeness of Original Jing, Original Qi, and Original Shen). Though I understood the principles as a whole, my nature had not yet become manifest. Thus, when dangers arose before me, my mind and spirit grew disoriented and could not take command.

Moreover, outside the chamber there was no knowing companion in the Dao to protect and watch over me. The sights and sounds I encountered startled my Original Shen and scattered it, upsetting the crucible and overturning the furnace (throwing the refinement within the crucible into disorder). My mind-monkey broke loose, my intention-horse ran off; Shen no longer stayed in its abode, and Qi did not return to its source. I was beset by Yin demons. What are Yin demons? I will not explain them in detail; later students do not know. They arise when true Yang disperses and Yin Qi takes control, so that spirits and ghosts within the body cause harm day and night. Whether my eyes were open or closed, I saw ghosts and spirits coming and going; I could even hear them clamoring in my ears. By day, when I was awake and at leisure, I could still bear it, but nightfall was almost unbearable, and I dared not settle into stillness even for a moment. The Wu Earth of Dui Metal, the master of life, surged back from the sea floor of my body—(the true essence in the kidneys and the Qi of Spleen Earth)—and the Qi and blood of the five organs rose with it. My body became impossible to control. It was killing me and taking my life away: truly, the work of the house of ghosts.

For a time, I abandoned my earlier progress and followed my master’s instructions. I went into hiding amid the dust of the great marketplace and stored lead (secretly accumulated true Yang amid worldly life). Amid the dust of the world, I gathered emotion and returned it to nature (restrained desire and returned to one’s original nature), repeatedly stilling the impulse to act (putting an end to restless impulses). From childhood to old age, Heaven, Earth, people, and things had stolen away my Heavenly True Nature (my innate true nature). Now, within the Void and amid the sights and colors of the world, I had to reclaim what had been stolen and return it to my own nature. Only then could I attain completeness in Original Jing, Original Qi, and Original Shen. At that point, the mind would be clear and the principles understood; understanding the principles would reveal one’s nature; body and mind would settle into profound stillness; and the Qi of the Five Phases would gather together (the Qi of the five organs would converge). Only then could one undertake the highest work and complete the great Dao. Many worthy sages of earlier times, I reflect, abandoned their practice midway because they had not first refined themselves and guarded their minds, allowing the Metal to return to nature; consequently, they did not reach the second phase and obtain the medicine, nor the fourth phase and advance the fire. (The original passage ends here, implying that the firing process remained incomplete and self-refinement insufficient, so practice was abandoned halfway.)

Note: In the original, the final phrase, “obtaining the medicine in the second phase and advancing the fire in the fourth,” is linked to “abandoned their practice midway.” A common reading is that the sages gave up halfway because they had not yet reached the second phase of obtaining the medicine and the fourth phase of advancing the fire, having first neglected self-refinement and guarding the mind. Another reading is that they came close to the second and fourth phases but still gave up because their self-refinement was insufficient. The interpretation above follows the first reading: “they had not refined themselves … and consequently had not reached the second phase of obtaining the medicine and the fourth phase of advancing the fire,” in keeping with “abandoned their practice midway.”

If cultivators do not understand the laws and measures within the “Void,” and are careless and negligent, then Bai Yuchan would utter the sigh, “cutting the autumn bamboo joints again.” One must know that the signs and workings within the Void are extremely subtle, and also extremely dangerous and extremely perilous; if one cannot capture and guard them, they will certainly not spare the person.

If students can see clearly, without any obstruction, the two routes of “true signs” within the body and outside the body, and only then take up cultivation and nurturing, exhausting selfish desires and restoring the heavenly principle, then the work of the huandan (returning elixir) becomes exceedingly simple and easy: all day gathering the “Huangya (yellow sprout)” outside the body—the image of the sprout first transformed from the initial budding of Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) in internal refinement—in order to await the precelestial “Qiongjiang (jade nectar),” the numinous liquid transformed from precelestial true Jing. This is precisely what is meant by drinking wine and wearing flowers while awakening to the wonder of long life. As for the matter of Hunyuan (primordial unity), it requires no intention, no compulsion, no fixation, and no self; let life be life and death be death, forget others and forget objects, like an idler who does not attend to livelihood, all day passing through streets and alleys, enjoying scenery and delighting the mood, entering brothels and wine shops, sitting upright and forgetting words—would this not astonish and make the world suspicious? Again, gathering conditions and accumulating lead, employing both method and wealth—would this not invite the mockery and slander of vulgar people? Therefore one often must rely on powerful households in great cities as outer protectors; seeing directly, the Dao is present, while hiding one’s light and concealing one’s traces. The immortals say: If you would covet the heavenly treasure, you must use worldly wealth. This “heavenly treasure” does not mean something above the blue sky; it is the treasure in the Nine Yang Cauldron within the body, the cauldron where the body’s yang Jing gathers. Thus it is said that Xuanyuan cast nine cauldrons and ascended. When deluded followers in the world hear the three words “heavenly treasure,” they immediately take the sun and moon in the sky as water and fire: when the moon rises in the Geng direction, they use both eyes to trace the measured course and gather it as true water and true lead; at sunrise, the Mao hour, they likewise move both eyes to gather it as true fire and true mercury. In fact, heaven and earth, above and below, Qian and Kun, Kan and Li, male and female, inner and outer cauldrons are all metaphors for the Yin-Yang within one body and outside it; there is no real form of male or female. The immortals say: Whatever has marks is illusory; the returning elixir is fundamentally without substance. This statement goes to the very end.

Those in the world who succeed in learning the Dao (the Way) certainly do not do things that harm others and benefit themselves. That by which men and women in the universe live and do not die is only this single point of yang Jing. How could anyone who studies immortality gather a woman’s Jing to benefit himself? How is that different from murder in the world? Moreover, what the former sages called the men and women of the other household, the two families and two countries, and the inner and outer cauldrons—if people do not understand this, they easily go astray onto evil paths. All of the above must be understood in terms of the Yin-Yang of the single body, and not by seeking men and women outside.

General Discourse on Daoqing (Pointing the Way to Ascending to Heaven)

Those who receive the true transmission and yet do not mistake the path are truly very few. I once met an enlightened teacher who, face to face, broke open the void for me. The two true messages, inner and outer, I dared not keep only in my own heart; risking the prohibition, I transmit them. The transformations of Heaven, Earth, and humanity within one body; the scriptures of the Three Teachings; the medicine, the fire times, the conjunction of sun and moon, and the measures of fullness—all are pointed out. I do not establish written words but speak only true words, so that learners do not misidentify or practice wrongly. This book is protected everywhere by divine beings; if one has no affinity, lowly people who see it will merely take it for the words of a blind man’s song.

This is the great Dao of the Golden Elixir, difficult to encounter even in ten thousand kalpas. It is exactly as said: “Wearing out straw sandals in search, nowhere to find it; when obtained, it takes no effort at all.” If learners can, amid haste, adversity, and displacement, still nurture and preserve this square inch without losing it, that is the restoration of Heavenly Principle. Once Heavenly Principle is restored, they should seek to go higher: the outer medicine enters the belly, and in an instant there is clarity; they shed the mortal fetus and change their bones, wholly transforming into a ray of golden light. The great earth becomes treasure; a body is born outside the body; the Yang spirit leaves the body and holds emptiness while nurturing the void. This is the “Great Hibernation Method of the Five Dragons,” by which one receives all freedom and transcends the three calamities of wind, fire, and water, no longer within the suffering of birth, aging, illness, and death.

Nowadays people are unwilling to cultivate, yet greedily pursue furnace-fire Waidan (external alchemy) and the ingestion of elixir medicines. This is delusion within delusion.

Note: This piece is the lower chapter of the Xuanyao, “General Discourse on Daoqing,” also called “Pointing the Way to Ascending to Heaven”; it is the general title for Daoqing lyrics and songs. At the end it says, “Lowly people see it as no more than a blind man’s singing of words”; from this one knows that it is a general discourse on Daoqing.

Commentary on the “Dragon and Tiger, Lead and Mercury Discourse” in the Nine Sovereigns’ Elixir Scripture

Daojun (the Lord of the Dao) discusses the essential method of withdrawing and adding in the dragon-tiger and lead-mercury practice; people of later generations who have roots and affinity should begin from here. Although it is said that “immortals are still made by immortals,” I insist on saying that ordinary people can also become immortals. The only fear is that they do not understand the principle of the Golden Elixir and so enter hell to become beasts and livestock.

This dragon belongs to Yang; once Yang is lost, it is instead a Yin. This tiger belongs to Yin; from Yin there is treasure, and yet it is a Yang. The dragon is precisely my mysterious pass; the tiger is precisely the other’s mysterious female. The dragon is fond of lust, but I do not discharge; adding a bit of earth to water, one deliberately forms the character yao, becoming the supreme treasure of Jade Liquid. The tiger is fond of eating, but I do not discharge; true fire plus the character jian deliberately forms the character lian, gathered as Golden Liquid.

Note (to aid reading the original): Terms such as “yao” and “lian” in the text are, in the Neidan context, hidden metaphors using character forms and radicals for the intercourse of water and fire and the gathering and refining of Jade Liquid and Golden Liquid; they are esoteric language and should not be understood literally as alchemical recipes.

A Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng

(Previous passage: the mating of dragon and tiger and the metaphor of lead and mercury cultivation)

O supreme treasure, O tiger, tiger! Even if you open your mouth and bare your teeth, terrifying souls out of their wits, I still have the skill to tame the tiger, to tease you out of “form is emptiness, emptiness is form”; then, with a bit of play with the dragon, I turn you into a meeting of dragon and tiger, wind and clouds. If you do not submit, never mind—I will enter your tiger den, seize the tiger cub, and bring it into my three Dantians (upper, middle, and lower energy centers).

O dragon, dragon! Even if you are originally transformed from lust and are endlessly changeable, I still have a way to subdue the dragon: I will use Nezha’s vajra ring to bind you tight, pull out your sinews, and make them into a golden belt that nourishes nature and sustains life. I will tie it on my body at all times, and you will have no choice but to go before the True Man of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) and beg for a little of the true, non-dual Dharma gate of True Unity, then unite with me to form the great elixir of blended union.

The lead here is the lead of the two strings; mercury is the mercury within this body and within this heaven and earth. Only with the brightness of sun and moon do heaven and earth form the hexagram Tai with Earth over Heaven, rather than the hexagram Pi with Heaven over Earth. From birth through father and mother, human beings inherently possess the principle of one mercury and one lead, of male and female union. Hence it is said that Qian is the father and Kun is the mother; when male and female unite their essences, the ten thousand things are transformed and ripened—this is the prenatal Taiji. People of the world do not understand this principle. They only cast mercury into lead to beget boys and girls; they do not cast lead into mercury to become Buddhas and immortals. If one can break open this iron bun, what difficulty is there in becoming a Sanfeng among Sanfengs?

Commentary on Patriarch Lü’s Hundred-Character Stele

Nourishing Qi: Forgetting Words and Guarding the One

In all cultivation, one must first nourish Qi (vital energy). The method of nourishing Qi lies in forgetting words and guarding the One—when words are forgotten, Qi does not scatter; when the One is guarded, Shen (spirit) does not leak out. The oral instruction says: Seal the tongue, quietly embrace; the spirit becomes settled.

Subduing the Mind by Doing Without Doing

The ordinary person’s mind moves without ceasing. For cultivators who wish to enter stillness, the essential point is to subdue the two eyes—the eyes are the gateways of the mind. One should lower the blinds and block the openings (close the eyes and guard within). In all matters, use the mind as a sword: reflect that worldly affairs bring no benefit to oneself; the fierce fire is at once removed; do not become greedily attached. The instruction says: With the eyes look at the nose, with the nose look at the navel; above and below look after each other; mind and breath depend on each other. Place intention on the mysterious pass (Xuanguan), and you can subdue discursive thought.

In Movement and Stillness, Know the Ancestral Source

Movement and stillness are one Yin and one Yang; the ancestral source is the place where this body is born (the root). Cultivators should know that “root” that pertains to them before their father and mother gave them birth.

Note: The preceding passage uses common Neidan (internal alchemy) metaphors such as dragon and tiger, lead and mercury, and the three Dantians to discuss the difference between “casting lead into mercury” to become an immortal and “casting mercury into lead” to generate human life. The following section is a line-by-line explanation of the first three lines of Lü Dongbin’s Hundred-Character Stele, with emphasis on regulating the breath, subduing the mind, and knowing movement and stillness and the ancestral source.

Vernacular Explanation

First Passage (Xuanpin, Taiji, and Breath Regulation)

Before a person is born, that is “Xuanpin” (Mysterious Female)—what the Daoists call the source of the transformation and generation of all things. The whole body, above and below, is like Qian and Kun, Bagua (Eight Trigrams), the Five Phases, and the Four Images (Sixiang) all gathered in one place. It is formed from a single point of spiritual light before heaven and earth divided, and it is precisely Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). In the place below the heart and above the kidneys, where it seems to exist and yet not exist, the point where the first stirring arises before thoughts have ceased—this is what the patriarchs call the place to be harmonized: harmonize true Qi between movement and stillness, and settle the true primal (zhenyuan).

It is said that exhaling connects with the “Root of Heaven,” inhaling with the “Root of Earth.” Exhaling is “closing the door,” corresponding in hexagram imagery to Kun; inhaling is “opening the door,” corresponding to Qian. With each exhalation and inhalation, it is like a tiger roaring and wind rising, like a dragon chanting and clouds gathering; with each closing and opening, each movement and stillness, the most important thing is that the mind does not move, allowing the true breath to come and go, continuous and as if existing. Regulate the breath to the point where it seems to be there and yet not, almost imperceptible; body and mind become one piece, and only then can Shen gather and the elixir be accomplished.

With Nothing to Do, Whom Else Would One Seek?

If one can nourish Qi, guard the thoughts, and not talk much, subdue body and mind, let Shen return to the Qi cavity and the intention focus on “Guizhong” (the “within the compass,” the area of the Dantian), blending into one Qi, as single-minded as a hen brooding on eggs or a dragon nurturing a pearl, not separated for a moment. When days are long and the practice deep, naturally there will appear a pearl-light the size of a millet grain, shining like the sun, silently transforming into the primordial spirit (Yuanshen), spiritually luminous and unfathomable—this is what is meant.

The True Constant Must Respond to Things; in Responding, One Must Not Be Deluded

This Dao is the Dao of the True Constant; as soon as one deals with worldly affairs, one easily becomes muddled in dusty entanglements. Therefore when contacting things one must not lose oneself in mundane matters. If one completely does not respond, one will fall into empty stillness and nihilistic void. One should: when things come, respond; when things pass, do not hang them on the mind; be bright and upright—this is not deluding the true nature. Only in purity and stillness can the primordial spirit condense. The oral instruction says: if you fix intention everywhere, you err everywhere; if you simply cling to Wuwei (non-action), you will again fall into emptiness.

If Not Deluded, Nature Abides of Itself; If Nature Abides, Qi Returns of Itself

Ordinary people’s temperament is impetuous like fire; joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, love and hate, desires increase and decrease without constancy; with the slightest touch, delusive thoughts arise, and the mind-nature is hard to quiet. There must be real practice: if one can restrain anger, fire descends; if one can reduce desires, water rises. When the body does not move, this is called refining Jing; refining Jing, then the tiger roars (meaning Jing and Qi are gathered inward), and the primordial spirit congeals. When the mind does not move, this is called refining Qi; refining Qi, then the dragon chants (meaning original Qi is full), and original Qi is preserved. When intention does not move, this is called refining Shen; refining Shen, then the two Qi of Yin-Yang intersect, Jing, Qi, and Shen—the “Three Primes” (Sanyuan)—merge into one, and original Qi naturally returns. The Three Primes are Jing, Qi, and Shen; the two Qi are Yin-Yang. Practitioners respond to things without being deluded; the primordial spirit will naturally return to its place, and the original nature can naturally abide. Once nature abides, the prenatal Qi within the body naturally turns back.

What difficulty is there in returning to destiny and returning to the root? The oral formula says: Turn the light around and shine it inward, with one mind inside—inner thoughts do not run outward, external conditions do not enter the mind. When Qi returns once, the elixir naturally forms; in the vessel (the Dantian), Kan and Li pair with each other.

For the cultivator, if the nature is not deluded by worldly affairs, Qi will naturally return. One will see the two Qis ascending and descending in the central palace, Yin and Yang harmonizing in the elixir cauldron. Suddenly one feels a wisp of hot Qi in the kidneys rushing upward to the heart, as emotion returns to nature, like a husband and wife coupling, like being intoxicated; the two Qis blend and coalesce, forming the substance of the elixir. In the Qi cavity, water and fire interact and circulate without cease; then Shen (spirit) drives Qi, and Qi retains the form. No need for miscellaneous studies or side techniques—long life will come naturally.

The oral formula also says: Ear, eye, and mouth—the three treasures are closed off; do not let them communicate falsely. The true person hides in the deep abyss, floating and wandering while keeping to the rule within, until the Qi in the Dantian is full and forms the Daogui (elixir pill).

Yin and Yang arise, repeatedly, universally transforming with a single thunderclap.

When the practice reaches this point, Shen does not race outward, Qi does not leak out; Shen returns to the Qi cavity, and Kan and Li have already coupled. One becomes even more intense and diligent, reaching the utmost of emptiness and firmly guarding stillness: the body is still within the obscure and dark, the mind is clear in the land of “nothing whatsoever.” Then true breathing naturally settles, the hundred meridians naturally stop; the sun and moon halt their movement, the celestial sphere ceases to turn. The Taiji is still and then moves, Yang arises in the southwest Kun—Kun is the abdomen, also called the Qujiang (Crooked River). Suddenly a point of spiritual light, as large as a millet grain, appears—this is the “sign of the medicine being born”; brilliantly, light penetrates the two kidneys, as if boiling, the bladder as if scorched by fire, within the abdomen like a fierce wind howling, like crashing thunder—this is the Fu hexagram (Return) where the heavenly root appears. When the heavenly root appears, one solidifies the king of the mind and assists it with Shen; that Qi, like fire forcing metal to move upward, passes through the Weilü (tailbone), gently transporting and silently lifting; a mass of harmonious Qi rises like thunder to the Niwan (Mud Pill), and the whole body surges—this is the heavenly wind Gou hexagram (Coming to Meet). From the moon cave to the Yintang (Hall of Impression), original light leaks out from between the eyebrows—this is the Taiji moving and producing Yin, transforming into divine water and sweet dew. Within it, the millet-grain pearl falls into the Huangting (Yellow Court), activating the spiritual mercury within my Li, forming the body of a sage. Practicing the fire times of the microcosmic orbit, with one round of cooking and refining, the elixir naturally forms.

White clouds ascend to the crown, sweet dew sprinkles over Mount Sumeru.

Reaching this point, the medicine is obtained; the two Qis form the Daogui, the gateways and apertures open, fire descends and water ascends. One Qi… (the text continues with “One Qi” and other lines; the original scripture divides here.)

In practice: once the two Qis have formed, the mysterious gate gradually opens; once water and fire have coupled, one should simply guard the One Qi circulating, and not seek external methods further.

Vernacular Explanation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng

I. The Heavenly Circuit and Sweet Dew

The Heavenly Circuit (Zhou Tian) is activated from within Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate). Qi arises from Taiji—the undifferentiated primal Qi before Heaven and Earth divided—passes through the Heaven Root and the Mysterious Valley Pass, ascends along the spine through the twenty-four vertebrae, and reaches the Heaven Valley Pass and the Moon Cave (the corresponding regions at the crown of the head and within the brain).

Yin gives birth to Sweet Dew (Ganlu): here Yin essence transforms and is generated, and a sweet, fragrant flavor descends from above, passing through the Chonglou (throat) in an unbroken stream; this is called Sweet Dew.

The secret formula says: When Sweet Dew fills the mouth, send it with the eyes, receive it with the intention, and send it down into the Elixir Cauldron (Dantian), where it congeals original Qi and nourishes it.

II. The Wine of Long Life

Drinking the wine of long life oneself, who can know such freedom?

When the nourishing of Qi reaches this point, the joints have opened, and Shen water (the saliva and essence-qi in the mouth) does not stop; it circulates above and below, coming and going without cease. Swallowing it from time to time is called the wine of long life.

The formula says: The flowing pearls irrigate and nourish the root of spiritual nature; do cultivators know it or not?

III. The Stringless Song and the Six Penetrations

Sitting and listening to the stringless song, one clearly penetrates the mechanism of creation.

When practice reaches this point, the ears seem to hear celestial music, bells, and drums; the Five Qi return to the Origin, and the Three Flowers gather at the Crown, like evening crows returning to their nest. The field of the heart opens and becomes clear, and wisdom arises of itself. One can penetrate the scriptures of the Three Teachings, silently awaken to the roots of former lives, and foreknow future good and ill fortune. The great earth and its rivers seem to lie in one’s palm; the eyes see ten thousand li, and one has attained the wonders of the Six Penetrations (divine eye, divine ear, and so on)—this is real, not empty talk. If I had reached this state and spoke falsely to mislead later learners, Heaven would surely punish me; if one encounters this and does not practice it, one will be guilty and receive heavenly punishment. Without meeting a teacher, this matter is difficult to know.

IV. The Twenty Lines and the Heavenly Ladder

Altogether twenty lines are truly a ladder to Heaven.

From “nourish Qi and forget words” to these twenty lines, all are the genuine oral instructions of Ancestor Lü (Lü Dongbin); there is not the slightest falsity in the practice. They are the ladder by which cultivators ascend to Heaven. Those who attain understanding of this fórmula and its commentary should practice it urgently. Do not recklessly leak it; do not show it to unworthy people, lest you incur heavenly punishment. Treasure and carry it out, and you may ascend to the heavenly gate.

Ancestor Lü, holding a great vow to deliver people, transmitted this Hundred-Character Stele; Ancestor Zhang, holding a great vow to deliver people, annotated this Hundred-Character Stele. Ancestor Zhang’s mind is Ancestor Lü’s mind. Therefore it is said that Chunyang and Sanfeng are the eyes and ears among the immortals. (Postscript by Xiyue)

V. A Plain and Accessible Discussion of the Dao

As for the Dao, in its stages one must know the three stages and the three passes; broadly speaking, it is no more than these four phrases: after Wuwei comes Youwei (purposeful action), and after Youwei one returns to Wuwei.

Neidan practice also has a lesser three stages: accumulating Jing and gathering Qi is the initial stage; opening the passes and expanding the apertures is the middle stage; building the foundation and refining the self is the later stage (in the original, the character for “build” may be a variant used in “building the foundation”).

Plain-language explanation:

The first step in alchemical practice is inner cultivation of the heart-mind. Put simply, clear the mind and reduce desires. First close off the outer Three Treasures—the ears, eyes, and mouth—and nurture the inner Three Treasures of Jing, Qi, and Shen.

The Appended Statements of the Book of Changes says, “Investigate principle, fully realize one’s nature, and thereby arrive at one’s destiny.” This describes the stages of Daoist cultivation: work that advances one step at a time.

Investigating principle: Read the true scriptures, seek out authentic instructions, observe the transformations of nature, and study the diagrams of the Yellow River and Luo River. Use quiet moments to preserve Qi and keep Shen clear and alert, laying the foundation. Investigate principle while fully realizing one’s nature; only then can one attain an indestructible body and seek the wondrous elixir of immortality.

Nature within, life without: Connect the inner with the outer and unite them as one; then the Great Dao will come to fulfillment of itself. The three characters in Instructions for Cultivating the Heart and Refining Nature make this plain: establish life through nature, and return from the acquired state to the primordial one. The oral instructions are all contained within the text; only a sincere person can seek deeper instructions within those instructions.

Concentrating Shen and regulating the breath: These are the fundamental practices of cultivation. The eight characters are to be carried out in one continuous process, progressing through successive stages.

Concentrating Shen: Draw the heart-mind back within the body. When the mind is not yet clear, do not close the eyes. First counsel yourself; only when you have brought yourself back to coolness, calm, and serenity can you gather Shen into the Qi cavity. This is what concentrating Shen means. Once Shen is concentrated, the heart-mind becomes clear, like sitting atop a high mountain and looking down on the mountains and waters below, or like a heavenly lamp illuminating the deepest darkness. This is “concentrating Shen in emptiness.”

Regulating the breath: Intentionally regulate each inhalation and exhalation, guiding the breath into the empty cavity below the navel and between the two kidneys. In this cavity, the Essence Tiger is on the left and the Po-soul Wind on the right. Establish the true masculine principle in which “Shen and Qi are made to unite,” and arrange the Dantian. This is true breath regulation.

Shen and breath relying on each other: When the heart-mind rests below the navel, Shen is concentrated; when Qi returns below the navel, the breath is regulated. Let Shen and breath rely on each other, preserving their clear and natural state. Neither forget nor force the practice; proceed silently and gently. When the breath is lively and the heart-mind at ease, use the formula of “drilling”: take emptiness as the place where the heart-mind is stored, and stillness and silence as the home of Shen. Clarify and purify again and again. Suddenly Shen and breath forget one another, Shen and Qi merge, and one feels, in a daze like drunkenness, Yang arise. This is the true sign—the moment when the Mysterious Pass, or Mysterious Cavity, appears.

Primordial, true, and original: Whenever alchemical instructions use terms such as “primordial,” “true,” or “original,” they all refer to the breath of the Yin Qiao and the primordial Qi.

Acquired breathing: When one relies entirely on acquired breathing, the breath is often forced into a regular pattern of eight breaths. Thoughts surge and churn, and everything disperses. This happens because acquired breathing never stops.

Primordial breathing: With primordial breathing, as soon as a thought arises, one can use the practice of completing a cycle in nine breaths to release it. Primordial breathing therefore uses the mind alone, without exertion.

Raising the Yin pathway: Raising the Yin pathway means guiding it upward until it reaches the special cavity of the Mysterious Pass.

The single cavity of the Mysterious Pass: Primordial Qi is vast and indistinct; how, then, can one know the single cavity of the Mysterious Pass? Practitioners of the highest attainment do not speak of the Mysterious Pass; they speak only of Shen and breath. Practitioners of the middle and lower attainments distinguish various Mysterious Passes, or regard the Mysterious Pass as a cavity of primordial emptiness and mystery. I seek it neither with the eyes nor with the ears. I would rather fall into what cannot be seen and take that as knowing, or fall into what cannot be heard and take that as true Wuwei. One must come to empty oneself completely in what has no location; only then is it the true Mysterious Pass.

The practice of breathing: Work diligently with the breath to form the embryo of an immortal. One must practice breathing, drawing the Qi into the lower abdomen and preventing it from dispersing. The mother’s womb lies behind the navel, stirring faintly; one can neither gauge nor determine its movements. This is the practice of breathing, and the settling of Jing.

The firing process and extraction and replenishment: I use an image to describe the firing process of the microcosmic orbit: “At the Zi hour, at the Qiao, the intestines unfold; the method turns and steers through the hidden depths, enriching the pancreas and spleen.” Here there is only the infant’s trembling. The inner adjustments cannot be spoken of; these adjustments are the firing process’s ceaseless self-strengthening and the hidden mechanism of extraction and replenishment. It is precisely when one is unaware of it.

What is generated within the Yang Ding (Yang Cauldron) arises only after the obscure, dark, dim, and silent; the manner of its production is like the first opening of chaos. The sages and perfected ones likewise generally read alchemical scriptures “from back to front”; this can be inferred by analogy.

Learning the Dao is very difficult, and transmitting the Dao is not easy either. If the one transmitting the Dao is diligent, can the one learning the Dao be lazy? If the one transmitting the Dao can endure annoyance, can the one learning the Dao be unable to endure impatience? If one’s learning is not refined, one’s practice not diligent, one’s mind not clear, and one’s spirit not true, then entering the Dao in this way will never succeed in ten thousand attempts. Confucius said, “To know the incipient—how divine!” He did not say “its thoughts” or “its intentions,” but “its spirit”; thus the breath of subtle movement cannot be known except by spirit. Now to distinguish: subtle movement is “incipience”; a great movement verges on direct desire (loss of control). To know incipience, if one uses the mind, uses intention, or uses thought, one will in the end never see it. O spirit, O spirit!

Spirit must be true spirit to count. The prenatal true spirit: true thought is it, true mind is it, true intention is it. How can one distinguish the true? The formula says: when the Mysterious Pass (Xuanguan) fires and, within the obscure and dark, a single numinous awareness is awakened alone—this is it. Alchemists say: when one thought arises from within the compass, that is true spirit, that is true thought. They also say: when mind-light appears in the subtle and indistinct, that is true spirit, that is true mind. They also say: when wisdom arises in stillness and a single intention mediates, that is true spirit, that is true intention. The true spirit is refined out from the non-spirit; students should know this.

Those who study the Dao originally have conventional patterns; they should break them before they can lead the mind into principle. When the hot mind departs, the cool mind comes; when the human mind is extinguished, the Dao-mind appears—this is why I cast aside fame, power, and profit, and abandon children, family, and home. To study the Dao in earnest, one must regard the Dao as a rare commodity worth holding; only then will there be efficacy.

The Great Dao takes cultivating the mind and refining nature as foremost. Nature is within the mind, while the mind encloses nature on the outside; nature is the master of fixed principle, and the human mind is the lodging where nature dwells. Cultivating the mind means preserving the mind; refining nature means nurturing nature. Preserving the mind means fortifying the city walls so that the house does not collapse—this is foundation building (Zhuji). Nurturing nature means watering and cultivating the Yin'e (the enclosing precinct), striving to bring the inner medicine to completion—this is refining the self (Lianji). When the mind is bright and clear and nature is peaceful and stable, when desires do not interfere and there is no thought or worry, when mind and nature are inwardly and outwardly at ease and free from irritation and distress—this is the effect of cultivating the mind and refining nature, which is Neidan (internal alchemy).

There are people in the world who study the Dao for several months and see not an inch of progress; this is because they lack a true mind directed toward the Dao. If a person has the mind…

Vernacular Interpretation

Nourishing the Heart with the Dao (the Way), Nourishing Jing (essence) with Stillness

When one truly values the Great Dao in one’s heart, one naturally will not be pulled too tightly by worldly affairs; the more the heart draws near the Dao, the more indifferent one becomes to fame, profit, gain, and loss. Guard the original nature, without disorder or scattering; preserve the Shen (spirit) and its clarity, without dullness or sinking—how then could one be so disturbed by drowsiness and stray thoughts that one cannot sit still?

To speak plainly: when principle can press down desire, a person can stand firm; when desire presses down principle, the person scatters. Sink the heart deep within (as if sunk in an abyss), and do not let the Shen and intention run wildly outward. Once the heart is dragged away by external matters, it is as if fire arises within; when fire moves, Jing is easily shaken and scattered. When the heart becomes still, the breath naturally evens out; when stillness lasts, the heart naturally settles. Use a “dead heart” (a heart unmoved by stray thoughts) to nourish Qi (vital energy), and use the rhythm of the breath to clarify the mind.

Jing, Qi, and Shen are the three treasures within the body; the eyes, ears, and mouth are the three treasures outside the body. Let the inner three treasures not chase after external things, and let the outer three treasures not intrude and disturb the true center. The breath should be fine, long, and continuous, sent all the way down to the Dantian (energy center; about three inches below the navel, what Daoists call the sea of Qi). One may compare breath to husband and wife, and Shen and Qi to children: the whole family gathers together and does not separate. In this way the heart does not race outward, intention does not wander, Shen does not roam outward, and Jing does not move randomly; Jing and Qi constantly steam to the four limbs like warm vapor—this is the proper path of the Great Dao of the Golden Elixir.

The Word “Center” (Zhong): Two Levels of Practice

The Great Dao often enters through the word “zhong” (center). “Center” has two meanings: one within the body, and one not within the body. The practice must also be done on two levels.

The first level is to find the “center” within the body. Zhu Xi spoke of “guarding the center and regulating the outside”—to guard the center, one must turn the light back to illuminate within, keeping intention at about one inch and three fen below the navel (the Dantian region), neither attaching nor detaching. This is finding the center within the body.

The second level is to seek the “center” that is not within the body. The Zhongyong (Doctrine of the Mean) speaks of “before joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure have arisen”—when emotions have not yet arisen and one has not yet been stirred by external things, not hearing and not seeing, vigilant and cautious in solitude, the original nature naturally settles, Shen naturally becomes clear, and Qi naturally develops its own clarity and wisdom. Only at this stage does one see one’s original face. This is seeking the center that is not within the body.

First use the center within the body, then seek the center not within the body; only then are human desires easily purified and heavenly principle easily made clear. The sages and worthies, immortals and Buddhas of a thousand ages mostly began from this first step.

Sitting Meditation: Gathering Shen and Regulating the Breath

The most important thing in sitting meditation is to gather the Shen and regulate the breath: be relaxed and upright, neither helping nor forgetting (do not force or hold back, and do not let it go), so that the practice grows day by day.

In gathering the Shen and regulating the breath, the key is a calm heart and harmonious Qi. When the heart is calm, Shen can gather; when Qi is harmonious, the breath can flow smoothly. The word “ping” (evenness/calm) is most wonderful: when the heart does not stir up waves, this is called ping; when the heart holds fast to the upright center, this is also called ping—this “ping” is precisely within “center.” When the heart is ping, Shen gathers.

No waves arise within this; this very place is precisely what the alchemical scriptures call the “one opening of the Mysterious Pass” (Xuan Guan Yi Qiao)—the crucial gateway where Shen and Qi meet and unite during internal cultivation.

If cultivators do not know the Mysterious Pass, then no matter how good other things may be, they are like someone groping in a dark room, not knowing where to begin. The Mysterious Pass is the Qi cavity (Qi Xue), the place where Shen and Qi gather inwardly; in the Qi cavity, Shen enters into Qi, as if one were within a deep cavern. Only when Shen and Qi cling to and depend on each other can the essential body of the Mysterious Pass be established.

The ancient immortals said: regulating the breath should be regulated to the point of “true breath” (zhenxi), and refining Shen should be refined to the point of “non-Shen” (bushen). The breath of true breath is breath resting upon breath; the Shen of non-Shen is Shen resting upon Shen. In short, one must put down the worldly mind, guard the mind of the Dao, and gather this Dao-mind back into emptiness, dim and silent, abiding in the “within the compass” (Gui Zhong; the place in the Dantian where intention is held); only then can one nurture the breath of true breath and attain the Shen of non-Shen.

Beginners must start from “inner breathing” (nei huxi). This breathing is the place where, after leaving one’s parents, one establishes the embryo anew; if a person can apply effort here, it is like being an infant: when the mother exhales, one exhales too; when the mother inhales, one inhales too, as though gaining new life.

In general, when sitting in meditation, one should hold Shen steadily and let intention follow Qi and be tied to it; let the breath turn gently and lingeringly in the Dantian, gathered and not scattered. Then the Qi stored within and the Qi coming from outside knot together in the Dantian, gradually becoming full, reaching the four limbs and flowing through the hundred vessels, breaking open the Jiaji double pass and ascending into Niwan (the crown of the head), then revolving back down into Jianggong (the heart center) and descending to the lower Dantian. When Shen and Qi guard each other and breath after breath relies on breath, the path of the “River Chariot” (Heche; the route by which true Qi rises and falls along the Governing Vessel) becomes open. When the work reaches this point, half the effect of building the foundation (Zhuji; laying the foundation for alchemical cultivation) has been obtained; in all cases one must diligently cultivate emptiness and stillness.

Regulating the breath requires using postnatal breathing to find where the true person’s breathing is. The ancients said: postnatal breathing stirs a faint breeze, and only then does it draw forth the work of the true person’s breathing. But regulating postnatal breathing must be left to nature; only then can it bring up prenatal breathing. We have only to attain emptiness and guard stillness. Once true breath moves, the Mysterious Pass is not far away. Working in this way, building the foundation can be awaited within days; one need not be bound to a hundred days.

The two lines from the Daodejing, “attain the utmost emptiness; guard stillness steadfastly,” can be explained as a whole or broken apart: as a whole, they teach the work of entering concentration; broken apart, xu is emptiness, ji is the central ultimate, jing is quietude, and du is solid, genuine, and single-minded.

A Vernacular Interpretation of The Complete Works of Master Zhang Sanfeng

“Zhuan Du” (single-minded earnestness) means placing spirit and mind within emptiness and aligning with the central, unbiased position therein; keeping Shen (spirit) guarded within quietness, one must be truly single-minded and earnest.

The human mind has two sides: one true, one deluded. What is called finding the true mind is simply not giving rise to deluded thoughts—that is the true mind. The nature of the true mind is the broadest and most luminous; where the true mind dwells is the most peaceful and free. When one handles affairs with the true mind, a thousand threads and ten thousand ends return to a single consistency; when one seeks the Dao (the Way) with the true mind, ten thousand differences return to one root. If people wish to use it to respond to affairs, they must nurture it until it is strong and great, must guard it in ease and leisure; only then can they toil without toiling, be still yet able to respond.

The elixir formula says: when the mind runs away, gather it back; having gathered it back, release it again; after it has been used, seek peace; seeking peace gives rise to awakening. Who says one cannot obtain stillness amid noise?

Wandering from place to place and sitting withered in meditation are certainly not the Dao. But if one does not roam through cities and cloud-covered mountains, one should let Qi (vital energy) circulate through all the joints and apertures of the body—then it is acceptable; if one does not sit in meditation in withered-wood cold halls, one must let Shen sit in meditation within the wondrous apertures of this body—then it is acceptable.

Learning the Dao takes the elixir foundation as its root. Once the elixir foundation has congealed, one may return home to plow and support one’s parents, be a lofty recluse and pure Confucian for several years, and then enter the mountains to seek a teacher and complete the Great Dao. Those who abandon the family, cut off wife, recite scriptures, and burn incense are merely muddling through their days; they are not worth discussing.

Preserving the body takes calming the mind and nourishing the kidneys as primary. If the mind can be calm, Li Fire does not flicker outward; if the kidneys can be nourished, Kan Water does not leak outward. If fire does not flicker outward, there is no illness of Shen being disturbed, and the mind becomes ever calmer; if water does not leak outward, there is no condition of Jing (essence) drying up, and the kidneys become ever clearer. When the kidneys are clear, the life-fire does not surge upward; when the mind is calm, Shen-fire can illuminate downward. Shen and Jing intermingle and congeal; only then can one ward off illness, and only then can one speak of cultivation.

Whenever people nourish Shen and nourish Qi, Shen is the master that gathers Qi. Gather one part of Qi and obtain one part of treasure; gather ten parts of Qi and obtain ten parts of treasure. Qi is so precious that even a hundred taels of ordinary gold or jade in the world would not exchange for one part of it. Why should a Daoist contend with the world over profit? Much profit gives rise to anger and resentment; anger and resentment belong to fire, and Qi is also a fire seed. Once anger and resentment arise, Qi follows them away; one wishes to retain it but cannot. In more serious cases, even the mother (the root) is injured.

Note: This piece is from The Complete Works of Zhang Sanfeng. It discusses guarding Shen with single-minded earnestness, the true mind and the deluded mind, Qi roaming through the passages and Shen sitting in meditation in the wondrous apertures, the sequence of elixir foundation → returning home → entering the mountains, and the essential points of self-cultivation such as calming the mind and nourishing the kidneys, gathering Qi as treasure, and refraining from anger and resentment. Proper terms have been briefly glossed in parentheses according to the sense of the text, without altering the original intent.

Vernacular Interpretation

Nourishing Qi and Guarding Against Anger

“The belt and straps all fly apart”—this speaks to how, in nourishing Qi (vital energy), guarding against anger and resentment (guarding against anger) is most important; but to guard against anger and resentment, one must still take nourishing the mind and nourishing Shen (spirit) as essential.

Fame and Sitting Meditation

Fame and official rank mostly come by accident; one must not harbor a mind that seeks official salary (single-mindedly seeking rank and emolument). Confucius said, “When one studies, salary is therein.” Cultivating the Dao (the Way) is likewise: one must not greedily seek results in advance. Whenever sitting in meditation, one must make the mind calm and Shen concentrated, not stirring even a hair of calculating and hoping (scheming and expectation); one simply holds to internal breathing and works.

Refining the Mind: From the Small to the Great

The method of refining the mind proceeds from the small to the great. For example, in the intense heat of the dog days, one bowl of rice is enough; to seek to be full again is not. A bit of coolness is enough; to seek greater coolness is not. A few mosquitoes are not worth fearing; to insist on having no mosquitoes is impossible. From the subtle to the great, the immediate present is precisely the realm for refining the mind—seeking sweetness within bitterness, seeking life within death; this is the standard maxim of cultivating the Dao.

The Golden Elixir: Knowledge as the Ground for Practice

As for the way of the Golden Elixir, although it is said to be easy to know and hard to practice, one still must seek to know it as the ground for practice. If knowledge is not correct, where will practice go? If knowledge is not refined, where can practice enter? If knowledge is not yet mature, how can one speak of oral formulas?

Clearing the Mind and Intent, and the Four Don’ts

Students of the Dao must clear the mind and clarify the intent; only then can they obtain the medicine of true clarity. Do not give free rein to the temperamental nature; do not employ the Shen of thought and deliberation; do not use the Qi of breathing; do not use the Jing (essence) of sexual union. Yet when does true Jing move, where is true Shen born, in what direction does true Qi move, and where is true nature nourished? This one cannot but clearly distinguish and explain in detail through the finer points.

Advancing Qi and Sincerity-Unity

When Qi is bright and intelligent, Shen is naturally clear—Qi is the vital timing of the human body and the outward expression of Shen; what is there hard to know? The only trouble is that the mind is not quiet and settled. Advancing Qi is the first crucial task in cultivating the Dao; if one does not quiet the mind and investigate carefully, one cannot know the end or the beginning. How, then, can one begin? If one begins muddleheadedly, knowing this but not that, the mind becomes busier and busier; thus at every moment there is a fragmented mind that does not gather together. Hence the original one mind is divided into several minds—how can one do the work with a single mind? In all study of the Dao, sincerity and unity are essential—one spear thrust unhorses the foe, sparing the need for another battle.

Beginning Sitting Meditation

Whenever beginning sitting meditation, one must have both mind and Shen quiet, empty and utterly still, so that ghosts and spirits cannot know one’s work.

This passage primarily discusses the essential techniques of breath regulation and the Mysterious Pass (Xuanguan) in Daoist cultivation.

First, it emphasizes the importance of genuine sincerity in spiritual practice—without self-deception. When the heart is truly sincere, it naturally manifests outwardly. Thus, even in solitude, a noble person (junzi) must remain vigilant. Master Zhang Sanfeng mentions that the Hollow Azure Grotto-Heaven (Kongqing Dongtian) is often visited by immortals who leave behind secret cultivation methods, all intended to guide and liberate humanity. In truth, one need not seek the Dao far away—these secrets are like life-saving talismans (fulu) and elixirs for longevity.

Regarding breath regulation, the Perfected Bai Yuchan (Zi Qing) points out three key aspects: method (fadu), tools (qiyong), and timing (huohou), all of which must be harmonized. Specifically, there are several types of breath regulation:

• The breath of absorption requires an empty and humble mind so that essence (jing) and qi can return to the dantian.
• The breath of gathering demands a stable and unmoving spirit (shen) so that the medicinal substances (yaowu) can settle in place.
• The breath of union requires the purification of the six senses, free from distracting thoughts.
• The breath of advancing the fire relies on the movement of intention (yi).
• The breath of retreating the tally involves the gathering of spirit and will.
• The breath of bathing in Mao-You (morning and evening periods) emphasizes gentleness.

The key to breath regulation lies in proper coordination.

Concerning the Mysterious Pass (Xuanguan), it is the pivotal mechanism in seeking the Dao, possessing both substance (ti) and function (yong). Its substance is the state of serene stillness, while its function is the responsive and penetrating capacity. In practice, one progresses through several stages:

• The initial merging of spirit (shen) and qi, a state of chaotic obscurity, marks one pass.
• The deeper union of shen and qi, a state of profound silence, marks another pass.
• When stillness reaches its peak and generates movement, and true qi rises from the dantian, yet another pass is attained.
• The moment a thought first arises, bringing sudden awakening and spiritual insight, is yet another crucial pass.

These states all transcend the Five Phases (wuxing), being formless and profoundly mysterious.

Vernacular Interpretation

Shenzhi (spirit-knowing) is like this: at this point numinous awareness is what is applied, like pulling the strings that move a puppet; when the trigger mechanism moves, qi slightly presses through the Weilu (tailbone gate)—this is another pass. The saying “turning the Kui-gang and rotating the Dipper’s handle” refers precisely to this juncture. “Bathing at the Maomen (Mao gate)” is another pass; qi flying up to Niwan is another pass; “returning to the root and restoring destiny, bathing at the Youhu (You gate)” is another pass; the great rest, the great purity, empty and utterly forgotten, returning to supreme stillness, is another pass. The essence and function of Xuanguan (mysterious pass) are roughly like this. The core of a thousand scriptures and ten thousand treatises lies here.

Elder Ziqing’s “Formula of the Furnace and Cauldron” says: “The four hundred characters should be carefully savored.” This opening is no ordinary opening—a single poem fully expresses the marvel of the cauldron-vessel. The word “opening” must be viewed in two layers, inner and outer: “no ordinary” is a term of praise. Qian and Kun joining forms the outer opening; spirit and qi hidden within it form the inner opening; when spirit and qi intersect, Kan and Li arise; when Kan and Li intersect, primordial jing is produced. This jing is not ordinary jing; it is the supreme treasure, the White Tiger’s first menstruum, and one who obtains it may ascend to the immortal realms—this is said with regard to the returned elixir. As for what is used in the lesser elixir, let me explain it to people: “This opening is no ordinary opening; yin and yang together compose it; it is named the cavity of the two qi; within, true yang is born”—then it becomes clear.

The immortals’ tradition has three secrets: fire timing, medicinal substances, and furnace and cauldron; this poem has fully expressed the marvel of the furnace and cauldron.

Elder Ziqing’s “On the Incipient Movement” says: Confucius said, “The incipient is the subtle beginning of movement”; and also, “As for Qian, its movement is straight.” Mencius nourished it with straightness; thus by nourishing the straightness of subtle movement, one reaches greatness and fills the space between heaven and earth. Straightness is none other than firm qi, which is one of the Qian lines, namely the first nine, namely the “one” of Yanzi’s “obtaining the One.” Straightness and oneness are originally one matter. Movement occurs within people’s openings; it is present at all twelve double-hours, but one must always preserve it in stillness before one can observe it in movement. Seeking flavor within the flavorless, seeking non-affair within non-affair—the key lies exactly here.

Lu Qianxu was guided by Huiweng during the Jiajing era of the Ming. Discussing the method of regulating breath, he said: What is “not forgetting”? It is called guarding naturalness. What is “not helping”? It is called following naturalness. How does one guard? By relying on the breath. How does one follow? By calming the breath. Relying on the breath, the breath can penetrate breath; calming the breath, the breath can even out breath. Question: Are guarding and following two matters? They are one.

Brief Explanation of Terms (terms already parenthesized in the text are omitted): Weilu: a crucial point at the lower end of the Governing Vessel (Du mai); Neidan often speaks of qi passing through here. Niwan: the upper Dantian, within the brain, where spirit and qi gather. Maomen and Youhu: inner-alchemical passes corresponding to Zi-Wu and Mao-You, often paired with “bathing” as a metaphor for warming and nourishing. Xuanguan: the key pass through which spirit and qi exit and enter and where Kan and Li copulate. Furnace and cauldron, Kan and Li, and returned elixir: metaphors in Neidan for the bodily-mental apparatus, the refining of water and fire, and the achievement of the Golden Elixir. “Neither forgetting nor helping”: Mencius’s teaching on nourishing qi, borrowed by the immortals’ tradition to mean regulating breath without attachment or forcing.

One (the principle of keeping to the One and becoming one) means this: understand why one must “keep to” it, and you will understand how to “follow” it; understand how to “follow” it, and you will understand how to “keep to” it. Keeping and following are really one and the same.

The One itself is without error. The key to returning from breadth to simplicity lies only in gathering the spirit (quieting and steadying the mind and spirit). Never impose deliberate intention. Once you do, it is no longer true intention (a thought arising naturally from stillness, free of distraction). True intention arises from stillness. Only when the mind is unstained, like the primordial undifferentiated state (the chaos before things were divided) at the beginning of Heaven and Earth, can it be put to use. One must first undergo a kind of “dying back to life” (letting go of attachment to self and old habits) before speaking of knowing life. But cling to “knowing life,” and you will not know life; cling to knowing death, and you will not know death. The mysteries of life and death are concealed within movement and stillness.

The Recluse of Latent Emptiness (Qianxu Weng) also discussed the method of regulating the breath (adjusting the breath so Qi returns to its root): Whenever breath is regulated by “guiding the breath,” simply gather the spirit and enter the Qi Cavity (a place where Qi gathers, such as the Dantian). Within the Qi Cavity, the spirit silently observes the Yin Qiao (the area around the perineum, often described in alchemical texts as the place where Qi returns to its root). Without joining, it joins of itself; without touching, it makes contact of itself. This is what is called “spiritual union across the body,” a principle explained in detail by the ancient immortals and grounded in truth. “Joining Qi while apart from the body” is another matter, transmitted orally. The sayings “the man does not loosen his clothes, the woman does not undo her sash; they revere each other as divine beings and love each other as parents” also refer simply to gathering the spirit and accumulating Qi. Thus the Dao returns to what is natural. The Cantong qi says, “What is done by nature is not a crooked or false Dao”—this is what it means.

In his third discussion of regulating the breath, the Recluse of Latent Emptiness says: Water joins with water, fire with fire, wind with wind, and clouds with clouds—this is the natural order. Regulating the breath means joining Qi with Qi; why force it? Simply gather the spirit and enter the Qi Cavity, letting the light of the spirit shine down upon the Yin Qiao channel. The meeting comes without being sought: one Qi responds and connects, naturally and of itself. The Zhun hexagram says that when the noble lower themselves before the lowly, they win the people’s hearts; the Xian hexagram says that stillness gives rise to joy, and that the man lowering himself before the woman brings success. The Book of Changes has already made the way of union clear. Yet regulating the breath has its methods, its practice, and its instruments; the Way of the Elixir (the Way of refining the Golden Elixir within) depends on it from beginning to end.

The Master (Zhang Sanfeng) said: I discussed with Hanxu Zi the Way of the Seven Returns and Seven Reversions and the Great Elixir of Golden Liquids. Hanxu said, “According to what you have said, all of it is the subtle working of the knife and cup (a metaphor for a point of true efficacy and the wondrous operation of timing).” Later, I saw that Hanxu’s “Treatise on the Two Earths, Wu and Ji” closely matched the original intent, so I copied it out and passed it on to students. If one wishes to attain long life, there is no way to reach spiritual realization without this.

Hanxu says: The Wuzhen pian states, “If Wu and Ji are absent when Li and Kan unite, the Four Images may be present, but no Elixir can form. Because each holds within it true earth, the Golden Elixir is able to return.” These four lines fully explain the mystery of bringing the Elixir’s ingredients into harmony: Wood is born within Fire, and mercury (the original spirit) is joined with lead (essence and Qi). Everything depends on the two earths, Wu and Ji (the spleen’s intention and true intention, which alchemical texts describe as the center that harmonizes Water and Fire).

This passage explains the relationship between "true intention" (zhenyi) and the Five Phases in Daoist Neidan (internal alchemy) practice. Within Water (Kan trigram) lies concealed Metal (represented by lead), while the four manifestations of Wood, Fire, Metal, and Water are all contained between the Kan (Water) and Li (Fire) trigrams, representing Yin and Yang. At this stage, the Li trigram contains Ji Earth, while the Kan trigram contains Wu Earth—these two forms of Earth serve as mediators that enable the harmonious interaction of the four manifestations.

Someone might ask: Since true intention belongs to Earth, and Earth divides into Wu and Ji, does this mean there are two true intentions? The answer is: While it may appear so, this isn't actually the case. When referred to as "intention," it remains unified; only when called "Earth" does it divide into two. The unified intention separates into dynamic and quiescent states, thus creating the distinction between internal and external. Wu Earth represents external medicine (Waidan, external alchemy)—the true Yang within Yin—primarily active, and therefore should be gathered when the Kan trigram becomes active. Ji Earth represents internal medicine (Neidan, internal alchemy)—the true Yin within Yang—primarily quiescent, and should be nurtured when the Li trigram is calm.

These two states can also merge into one: Ji Earth (Neidan) can transform into Wu Earth, much like moonlight reflecting sunlight; Wu Earth (Waidan) can likewise transform into Ji Earth, akin to Kan's Yang supplementing Li's Yin. At advanced stages of cultivation, activity and quiescence unite, and the distinction between internal and external disappears altogether.

The scripture further elucidates the principle of the Golden Elixir's (Jindan) cyclical refinement: When Fire concealed within Wood enters Water, the activation of Fire causes Mercury (representing consciousness) to ascend; when Metal generated within Water is refined by Fire, the boiling of Water allows Lead (representing vital essence) to rise with Wood. This mutually generative cycle of Metal and Fire constitutes the "seven returns and nine restorations" (qifan jiuhuan) method of cultivating the Great Golden Elixir. As Master Zhang Ziyang described: "The crimson dragon (Li Fire) and black tiger (Kan Water) move east and west"—precisely depicting this harmonious interaction of Yin and Yang. Throughout the entire Golden Elixir cultivation process, the harmonizing function of "true intention" remains indispensable.

Tao Xian says: “The dragon emerges from fire”—the Azure Dragon becomes the Crimson Dragon; “the tiger is born in water”—the White Tiger is renamed the Black Tiger. These four terms alone, “dragon and tiger” and “crimson and black,” already express the meaning of the Four Images (Sixiang) intermingling and gathering together in one place.

The author notes: If the alchemist is to gather the Four Images into one, he must make the Five Phases roll and merge together. What is called the centrality of Wu and Ji is not the center of the Li trigram or the center of the Kan trigram, but the central palace, the very center.

East and West are separated; through the daogui they are joined into one, and the two substances transform into the Four Images. The Four Images gather as though into a single village; when that one village is assembled and the Five Phases converge, the elixir can then congeal. Hence the following text says: “Once Fu and Gou can be applied from this point, who can say the Golden Elixir will not be achieved?” The application of Fu and Gou is precisely the ten-month fire tally (huofu): advancing the fire at the Fu hexagram and withdrawing the tally at the Gou hexagram. When drawing out and adding are applied in this way, they naturally accord with measure, and only then can the Golden Elixir be accomplished.

Alchemists take Wu and Ji as the knife and the two Earths as the gui—their written forms themselves indicate the idea of “joining together.” But while “two Earths make gui” is commonly known, “Wu and Ji make the knife” is understood by few. Qianxu says: Someone grasped the idea and explained the character ji by “pinching” and the character wu by “slanting”; it seems he arrived at this without any prior authority. Hanxu says: It is not without authority. In qin tablature, several numerals are gathered into a single character; from that one character a single stroke is taken, and left and right are combined to determine the fingering—the whole method is present within the single character. Here he takes qin tablature as his authority. “Pinching” is the top of ji, and “slanting” is the side of wu; the two Earths Wu and Ji, joined through the two characters dao and gui, are precisely teaching one to unite the ji Earth within Li and the wu Earth within Kan in one place. The hidden language of the immortals is often like this.