The Secret of the Golden Flower (PDF)

太乙金華宗旨 1. The Heavenly Heart 1. Master Lu (Dongbin) said, the state of the Self is called Tao. The Tao has no name or form; it is just the essence, just the original spirit. Essence and life cannot be seen. They are contained in the light of heaven. The light of heaven cannot be seen. It i...

太乙金華宗旨 1. The Heavenly Heart 1. Master Lu (Dongbin) said, the state of the Self is called Tao. The Tao has no name or form; it is just the essence, just the original spirit. Essence and life cannot be seen. They are contained in the light of heaven. The light of heaven cannot be seen. It is contained in the two eyes. 2. Since ancient times, those who realized spiritual immortality have passed on the Tao by word of mouth, from one to another. 3. Since Lao Tzu became immortal, master Donghua passed on the teaching to me. Then the southern and northern schools of Complete Reality followed, after which the Complete Reality School fully flourished. 4. The movement flourished in the sense that there were many students; at the same time it declined in the sense that the inner teaching deteriorated. This has continued up to the present day, so that now it is extremely superficial and diluted. 5. The degeneration of the teaching has reached an extreme. Extremes give rise to reversions. Therefore master Xu bestowed his kindness to liberate people, especially setting up the teaching of a special transmission outside of doctrine, for those who had the highest capability to understand. For everybody who heard, it was a rare opportunity. Those who accepted it formed a religious association in their time. Everyone should respect and understand the effort of master Xu and firmly hold on to the teaching when dealing with people in one‟s daily activities within society. Only then can one cultivate reality and realize one‟s essence. 6. Now I am bestowed with the honor to be your guide and will first reveal to you the secret of the Taiyi Golden Flower, and then, I will explain the rest in detail. 7. The Taiyi is the term given to that which has nothing above it. The secret of the elixir of life consists in using action in order to attain non-action. One must not wish to leap over everything and penetrate directly. The doctrine I transmit directly brings up working with essence and does not fall into a secondary method. That„s why it‟s wonderful. 8. The Golden Flower is light. What is light? It is symbolized by a golden flower, which hides the word light in it. It is the true energy of the prenatal Taiyi. This is what is meant by the saying, the lead in the homeland of water has only one taste. 9. The work of turning the light around depends entirely on the method of reversal, to concentrate one‟s thoughts on the heavenly heart. The heavenly heart lies between the sun and the moon (the two eyes). The Book of the Yellow Court says: In the square inch field of the square foot house, life can be regulated. The square foot house is the face. As for the square inch field on the face, what can it be other than the heavenly heart? In the middle of the square inch dwells the splendour. In the purple hall of the city of jade dwells the God of Utmost Emptiness and Life. The Confucians call it the empty dwelling in the middle; The Buddhists call it the terrace of the spirit; The Taoists call it the ancestral land, the yellow court, the mysterious pass or the prenatal opening. 10. The heavenly heart is like a house, the light is the master of the house. Therefore once you turn the light around, the energies of the whole body appear at the court, as when a sage king has established the capital and found his throne, the ten thousand states will approach with tribute. Or as when the master is astute, men-servants and maids obey his orders of their own accord and each does his work. Therefore you have only to turn the light around; that is the deepest and most wonderful secret. 11. The light is easy to move, but difficult to fix. If it is made to circulate long enough, then it crystallizes; that is the Dharma body of the state of Self. This crystallized spirit is formed beyond the nine skies. This is what the Scriptures of the Mind Seal called: Then you may silently contemplate the Supreme Ruler and in twelve years‟time may wing your flight above. In carrying out this principle there is no other method that brings more progress, one must only concentrate one‟s thoughts on it. The Surangama Sutra says: By purifying thought one can fly and will be born in heaven. Heaven is not the wide blue sky but a heavenly palace born of the body. If one keeps this up for a long time there develops quite naturally, in addition to the body, yet another spirit-body. 12. The Golden Flower is the Golden Pill (Elixir of Life). All changes of spiritual consciousness depend upon the heart. This wonderful charm, although it works very accurately, is yet so fluid that it needs wisdom and alertness, and the most complete absorption and tranquility. People without this highest wisdom and alertness won‟t find the way to apply the charm; people without this utmost capacity for absorption and tranquility cannot hold on to it. 天心第一 呂祖曰。自然曰道。道無名相。一性而已。一元神而已。性命不可見。寄之天光。天光不可見。寄之兩 目。古來仙真皆口口相傳。傳一得一。自太上化現東華。遞傳巖以及南北兩宗。全真可為極盛。盛者盛 其徒眾。衰者衰於心傳。以至今日。氾濫極矣。凌替極矣。極則返。故昔日有許祖垂慈普渡。特立教外 別傳之旨。聞者千劫難逢。受者一時法會。皆當仰體許祖心。先於人倫日用間立定腳跟。方可修真悟性 。我奉勅為度師。今以太乙金華宗旨發明。然後細為開說。太乙者。無上之謂。丹訣甚多。總假有為而 臻無為。非一超直入之旨。我傳宗旨。直提性功。不落第二法門。所以為妙。金華即光也。光是何色。 取象於金華。亦秘一光字。在內是天仙太乙之真炁。水鄉鉛只一味者。此也。回光之功。全用逆法。方 寸中具有鬱羅蕭台之勝。玉京丹闕之奇。乃至虛至靈之神所注。儒曰虛中。釋曰靈台。道曰祖土。曰黃 庭。曰玄關。曰先天竅。蓋天心猶宅舍一般。光乃主人翁也。故一回光。則周身之氣皆上朝。諸子只去 回光。便是無上妙諦。光易動而難定。回之既久。此光凝結。即是自然法身。而凝神於九霄之上矣。心 印經所謂默朝飛昇者。此也。 金華即金丹。神明變化。各師於心。 2. The Original Spirit and the Discriminating Spirit 1. Master Lu (Dongbin) said, "From the point of view of the universe, man is like a mayfly. But from the point of view of the great Way, the universe too, is like a bubble and a shadow. Only the original spirit or true essence is beyond time.” 2. Vitality and energy degenerate along with the universe, but the original spirit always exists; this is the infinite. The creation of the universe is derived from this. When students understand how to guard and protect the original spirit, they reincarnate outside of yin and yang and they are beyond the three worlds. This is possible only by seeing essence. This is what is called the original face. 3. When a human being reincarnates and takes shelter in an embryo, the original spirit dwells in the square inch (between the eyes), but the discriminating spirit dwells in the lower heart. The lower heart of blood and flesh has the shape of a large peach: it is covered by the wings of the lungs, supported by the liver, and held up by the bowels. If one does not eat for one day, the heart will feel very uncomfortable. If it hears something terrifying, it throbs; if it hears something enraging, it stops; if it is faced with death, it becomes sad; if it sees beauty, it is dazzled. But the heavenly heart in the head, does it ever move, even slightly? You ask, can't the heavenly heart move? I answer: How can the true intent in the square inch move! If it really moves, that is not good, for when ordinary men die, then it moves. But it is good when the light has crystallized in a Dharma body, gradually becoming consciously effective, and about to move. But that is a secret, which has not been revealed through the ages. 4 The discriminating lower heart is like a strong vassal or fierce general who bullies the feeble emperor and takes the law in his own hands from a faraway position. As time passes, the affairs of state are upside down. 5. Now fix and keep attention on the original palace, like a brilliant emperor sitting high on the throne. The eyes start circulating the light like two ministers at the right and left wholeheartedly supporting. With the internal government strictly in order, then naturally all rebels will present themselves with lances reversed ready to take orders. 6. The highest secrets of the Tao of the Elixir of Life are three; vitality-water, spirit-fire, and intent-earth. What is vitality-water? It is the true, one prenatal energy. Spirit fire is the light; intent-earth is the heavenly heart of the middle palace. The fire of spirit is the function, intent-earth is the substance, and vitality-water is the foundation. 7. Ordinary people get the sense of their bodies through the impulse of their heart. The body is not only the seven foot-tall physical body. There is a lower self (癿 earthly Po-soul) in the body. The lower self-functions in association with discriminating awareness. The existence of discriminating awareness depends on the lower self. The lower self is yin and is the substance of discriminating awareness. If discriminating awareness is not interrupted, transformation and transmutation of the lower selfgo on endlessly from generation to generation. Then there is the higher self (魂 celestial Hun-soul), where the spirit is concealed. The higher self resides in the eyes during the day and lodges in the liver at night. When it resides in the eyes, it sees; when it lodges in the liver, it dreams. 8. Dreams are the wanderings of the spirit. It traverses the nine heavens and nine earths in an instant. If you are dull and withdrawn on awakening, that is a sign of being detained by the body, which means being chained by the lower self. Refining the higher self is brought about by turning around the light, which is a means of preserving the spirit, a means of controlling the lower self, and a means of interrupting discriminating awareness. 9. The method used by the ancients for escaping from the world consisted in refining away the dregs of yin in order to return to the pure Qian (Heaven ☰). It is just a matter of dissolving the lower self and completing the higher self. Turning the light around is the method of dissolving yin and controlling the lower self. Except for the secret of turning the light around, there is no other exercise to return to Qian (Heaven ☰). The light itself is Qian; to turn it around is to return to it. Just persist in this method, and naturally vitality-water will be sufficient, spirit-fire will ignite, intent-earth will stabilize and thus the holy embryo gestates. 10. A dung beetle rolls a pill of dung, from which life emerges, by the pure effort of concentration of spirit. If now an embryo can grow in a dung ball, and shed its shell, why then should not the dwelling place of our heavenly heart also be able to create a body if we concentrate the spirit upon it? 11. Once the spirit of true essence has descended into the palace of Qian ☰, it divides into the higher and lower self. The higher self (魂celestial hun-soul) resides in the heavenly heart. It is yang and has a light and clear energy. It is that which we have received from the great emptiness, that which is identical in form with the primordial beginning. The lower self (癿 earthly po-soul) is yin and has a heavy and dense energy. It is bound to the heart of flesh. 12. The Higher Self loves life. The lower self looks toward death. All sensuous desires and impulses of anger are the doing of the lower self, which is also called the conscious spirit. After death, it enjoys feeding on blood. When alive, it suffers. Yin returns to yin, through the principle of like attracts like. If the learner refines the yin lower self completely, then he will become pure yang. 元神識神第二 呂祖曰。天地視人如蜉蝣。大道視天地亦泡影。惟元神真性則超元會而上之。其精氣則隨天地而敗壞矣 。然有元神在。即無極也。生天生地皆由此矣。學人但能護元神。則超生在陰陽外。不在三界中。此見 性方可。所謂本來面目是也。最妙者。光已凝結為法身。漸漸靈通欲動矣。此千古不傳之秘也。 識心。如強藩悍將。遙執紀綱。久之太阿倒置矣。今凝守元宮。回光返照。如英主在上。大臣輔弼。內 政既肅。自然強悍慴伏矣。 丹道。以精水神火意土三者。為無上之訣。精水云何。乃先天真一之炁。神火即光也。意土即中宮天心 也。以神火為用。意土為體。精水為基。凡人以意生身。身不止七尺者為身也。蓋身中有癿焉。癿附識 而用。識依癿而生。癿陰也。識之體也。識不斷。則生生世世。癿之變形易質無已也。惟有魂。神之所 藏也。魂晝寓于目。夜舍于肝。寓目而視。舍肝而夢。夢者神遊也。九天九地。剎那歷遍。覺則冥冥焉 。淵淵焉。拘于形也。即拘於癿也。故回光所以煉魂。即所以保神。即所以制癿。即所以斷識。古人出 世法。煉盡陰滓。以返純乾。不過消癿全魂耳。回光者。消陰制癿之訣也。無返乾之功，止有回光之訣 。光即乾也。回之即返之也。只守此法。自然精水充足。神火發生。意土凝定。而聖胎可結矣。蜣螂轉 丸。而丸中生白。神注之純功也。糞丸中尚可生胎離殼。而吾天心休息處。注神於此。安得不生身乎。 一靈真性。既落乾宮。便分魂癿。魂在天心。陽也。輕清之氣也。此自太虛得來。與元始同形。癿陰也 。沉濁之炁也。附於有形之凡心。魂好生。癿望死。一切好色動氣皆癿之所為。即識也。死後享血食。 活則大苦。陰返陰也。以類聚也。學人鍊盡陰癿。即為純陽。 3. Turning Around the Light and Keeping to the Center 1. Master Lu (Dongbin) said, what is the origin of the term turning the light around? It began with the adept Wenshi. When the light is turned around, the energies of heaven and earth, yin and yang, all congeal. This is what is called refined thought, pure energy or pure thought. 2.When one begins to apply this charm, it is as if in the middle of existence there is nothingness. When in the course of time the work is completed and beyond the body there is a body, it is as if in the middle of nothingness there is existence. 3. Only after concentrated work of a hundred days will the light be genuine, only then will it become spirit-fire. After a hundred days, from a point of real yang in the light, suddenly a millet pearl is born by itself, just as an embryo forms from the intercourse of a man and a woman. Then you should attend it calmly and quietly. The turning around of the light is the firing process. 4. In the original creation there is yang light, which is the determining factor. In the material world it is the sun; in a human being it is the eyes. Spiritual and consciousness energy runs away or leaks mechanically through the eyes. Therefore, the Way of the Golden Flower depends wholly on the method of reversal. 5. Turning the light around is not just turning around the essence of one body, but turning around the very energy of creation. It is not stopping wandering thoughts only temporarily, but directly emptying samsara of a thousand kalpas. 6. Therefore the duration of a breath means a year according to human reckoning and a hundred years measured by the long night of the ninefold underworld. 7. After a baby gives the first cry (ho) at birth, he grows up according to the circumstances, and until his old age he will never look backward. When his yang energy fades and disappears, he enters the ninefold underworld. The Surangama Sutra says: "Through pure thoughts one can fly; through emotions one falls.” When students take little care of their thoughts and give too much way to their emotions, they fall into the lower ways. Only through observing clearly and making ones breathing quite, can one reach perfect enlightenment. This is application of the method of reversal. 8. In the Yin Convergence Classic it is said: "The eyes are the key.” In Suwen from The Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor it is said: "The essence of the human body flows upward and fills the empty apertures.” If one understands this, one has the key to attaining immortality and transcending the world. This is a practice that pervades the three religions of Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism.. 9. The light is not in the body alone, nor is it only outside the body. Mountains, rivers, sun, moon, and the whole earth are all this light, so it is not only in the self. All the operations of intelligence, knowledge, and wisdom are also this light, so it is not only outside the self. The light of heaven and earth fills the universe; the light of one individual also naturally extends through the heavens and covers the earth. Therefore, once you turn the light around, heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, are all turned around. 10. The essence of man fills upwards to the eyes, that is the great key of the functioning of the human body. You should think about this. If you do not practice meditation every day, this light flows out, who knows when it will stop? If you only sit quietly for a quarter of an hour, you get rid of ten thousand kalpas and a thousand lives. Inconceivably, the ten thousand dharmas all revert to stillness with this wonderful truth. 11. When the practice is started, one proceeds from the shallow to the deep, from the coarse to the fine. It‟s always better if there is no interruption. The effort is the same from beginning to end, but its experience during the process is personal and only known to oneself. Only when you return to the state of the unbounded ocean and the empty sky, and one accepts ten thousand dharmas just as they are, then you have got it. 12.What the sages have passed on has not departed from inner illumination. Confucius called it: ultimate knowledge, Buddha called it: the observing mind, Lao-tse called it: inner observation, it is all the same. 13. Anyone can talk about inner illumination, but one cannot master it if one does not know what these words mean. It means returning from the lower heart to the origin of form and spirit. Within our six-foot body we must strive for the body, which existed before the laying down of heaven and earth. Nowadays people sit and meditate one or two hours, still immersed in their lower self, and call this inner illumination. How can anything come of it? 14. The two founders of Buddhism and Taoism have taught that one should look at the tip of one's nose. But they did not mean that one should concentrate on the tip of the nose. Neither did they mean that while one‟s eyes are looking at the tip of the nose, one‟s thoughts should be concentrated on the middle yellow court. Wherever the eyes look, one‟s attention follows. How can one direct one‟s attention at two places at the same time. This is just like taking the finger pointing at the moon for the moon itself. 15. What then is really meant by this? The idea of focusing on the tip of the nose is very clever. The nose must serve the eyes as a guideline, but the nose itself is not the issue. If one‟s eyes are wide open, one looks into the distance, so the nose is not seen. If the eyelids shut too much, so that the eyes close, then again the nose is not seen. When the eyes are open too wide, one‟s attention is easily scattered outward. When they are closed too much, one easily gets lost in dreamlike states. Only when the eyelids are lowered properly halfway, is the tip of the nose seen in just the right way and therefore it is taken as a guideline. 16. The main thing is to lower the eyelids in the right way, and then to allow the light to come in naturally; you don‟t need to make any special effort. Looking at the tip of the nose serves only as the beginning of the inner concentration, so that the eyes are brought into the right direction for looking, and then are held to the guideline: after that, one can let it be. That is the way a mason hangs up a plumb-line. As soon as he has hung it up, he guides his work by it without continually bothering himself to look at the plumb-line. 17. Stopping and observing (止觀) is a Buddhist method that originally was not secret. One looks attentively with both eyes at the tip of the nose, sits upright in a comfortable position, and focuses the heart around the center, which is also called the Yellow Middle in Taoism. It not necessarily means the center of the head. It is only a matter of fixing one's attention on the point which lies between the two eyes. Light is something extremely volatile. When one fixes the attention on the mid-point between the two eyes, the light naturally enters. One doesn‟t need to direct the attention to the middle castle. These few words include all essential points. As for the rest, matters of entering and exiting stillness, the prelude and the aftermath, one can check the book Small Stopping and Observing for a reference. 18. Focusing around the center is a very subtle expression. The center is omnipresent; the whole universe is contained in it. This indicates the crucial point of Creation, and through this one enters the gate. One takes focusing as a hint, so that one doesn‟t become rigidly fixed. This expression is alive and subtle. 19. Stopping and observing are inseparable; they mean concentration and insight. When thoughts arise, you don't need to sit still as before, but you should investigate this thought: where is it? Where does it come from? Where does it go? Repeat this inquiry until you realize it cannot be grasped, then you will see where thoughts arise. After that you don‟t need to seek out the point of arising any more. Having looked for my mind, I realize it cannot be grasped; I have pacified your mind for you. 20. This is right observation. What opposes this is incorrect. Once one realizes it cannot be grasped, one keeps practicing stopping followed by observing and keeps practicing observing followed by stopping. This is the double cultivation of stopping and observing. This is turning the light around. The turning around is stopping, the light is observing. Stopping without observing is called turning around without light; observing without stopping is called having the light without turning it around. Remember this. 回光守中第三 呂祖曰。回光之名。何昉乎。昉之自文始真人也。光回則天地陰陽之氣無不凝。所云精思者此也。純氣 者此也。純想者此也。初行此訣。是有中似無。久之功成。身外有身。乃無中似有。百日專功。光纏真 。方為神火。百日後光自然。一點真陽忽生沉珠。如夫婦交合。有胎便當靜以待之。光之回即火候也。 夫元化之中。有陽光為主宰。有形者為日。在人為目。走漏神識莫此甚順也。故金華之道全用逆法。回 光者。非回一身之精華。直回造化之真氣。非止一時之妄想。真空千劫之輪迴。故一息當一年人間時刻 也。一息當百年九途長夜也。凡人自臥地一聲之後。逐境順生。至老未嘗逆視。陽氣衰滅便是九幽之界 。故楞嚴經云。純想即飛。純情即墮。學人想少情多。沉淪下道。惟諦觀息靜。便成正覺。用逆法也。 陰符經云。機在目。黃帝素問云。人身精華皆上注於空竅是也。得此一節。長生者在茲。超生者亦在茲 矣。此貫徹三教工夫也。 光不在身中亦不在身外。山河日月大地無非此光。故不獨在身中。聰明智慧一切運轉。亦無非此光。所 以亦不在身外。天地之光華布滿大千。一身之光華亦自漫天蓋地。所以一回光。大地山河一切皆回矣。 人之精華上注於目。此人身之大關鍵也。子輩思之。一日不靜坐。此光流轉何所底止。若一刻能靜坐。 萬劫千生從此了徹。萬法歸於靜。真不可思議。此妙諦也。然工夫下手。由淺入深。由粗入細。總以不 間斷為妙。工夫始終則一。但其間冷暖自知。要歸於天空地闊。萬法如如。方為得手。聖聖相傳不離反 照。孔云致知。釋號觀心。老云內觀。皆已括盡要旨。其餘入靜出靜。前後以小止觀書印證可也。 緣中二字妙極。中無不在。遍大千皆在裏許。聊指造化之機緣。此入門耳。緣者緣此為端倪。非有定者 也。此一字之義。活甚。妙甚。 止觀二字。原離不得。即定慧也。以後凡念起時。不要仍舊兀坐。當究此念在何處。從何起。從何滅。 反覆推窮。了不可得。即見此念起處也。不要又討過起處。覓心了不可得。吾與汝安心竟。此是正觀。 反此者名為邪觀。如是不可得己。即仍舊綿綿去。止而繼之以觀。觀而繼之以止。是定慧雙修。此為回 光。回者止也。光者觀也。止而不觀。名為有回無光。觀而不止。名為有光無回。誌之。 4. Turning Around the Light and Tuning the Breathing 1.Master Lu (Dongbin) said, the doctrine just requires that one practices with a pure mind. One does not seek verification; that will come by itself. 2. Generally, beginners suffer from two problems: oblivion and distraction. There is a solution to get rid of them, which is simply to connect the mind to the breath. 3. The character for self (自) and the character for mind (心) make up the character for breath (息). When the mind is stirred, there is movement of energy. Energy is basically transformed activity of the mind. Our thoughts are very fast. When a wandering thought takes place in a moment, inhalation and exhalation respond to it. Therefore inner and outer breathing follow each other like sound and echo. Daily we draw ten thousands of breaths and have an equal number of wandering thoughts. As the clarity of the spirit leaks away, one becomes like a withered tree or dead ashes. 4. So should one have no thoughts? To be without thoughts is impossible. Should one not breathe? It is impossible not to breathe. The best way is to find medicine for this illness, which means to have mind and breath rest on each other. 5. Therefore, turning the light around is connected with tuning the breath. This method only uses the brightness of the ear. There is light of the eye, which is the united light of the external sun and moon. There is also light (brightness) of the ear, which is the united essence of the internal sun and moon. Essence is where the light congeals and settles. Essence and light have the same origin but have a different name. So clarity (of hearing and seeing) is just the result of spiritual light. 6. When you sit down, lower your eyelids, establish your intention and then let go. However, if after you let go, you are not able to achieve your intention, then be attentive to the sound of your breathing. 7. One should not be able to hear one‟s breathing; just listen to its silence. Once it‟s audible, the breathing is coarse and superficial. Then be patient and breath lightly; the more you let go, the subtler it becomes. The subtler it is, the quieter it becomes. 8. After a long time, all of a sudden this subtle breath will be interrupted; true breathing will manifest and the mind-body can be discerned. If the mind is light, the breathing is subtle. Once the mind is unified, it moves (controls) breath-energy. If breathing is subtle, the mind is light. Once breath-energy (氣) is unified, it moves (controls) the mind. Stabilization of the mind must be preceded by cultivating breath-energy, because it is difficult to control the mind. Therefore breath-energy is used as a handle, and this is what is called maintaining pure breath-energy. 9. My fellow students, you may not understand the nature of movement. Movement here refers to making something move by pulling its strings, and is only another name for control. If one can make the mind move merely by pulling, should one not also be able to bring it to rest by pure tranquility? 10. The sages who observed how the mind and breath-energy are connected, set up this method in order to benefit later generations. In the Book of the Elixir it is said: "The hen can hatch her eggs because her heart is always listening.” This is an important magic spell. The way a hen gives life to an egg is through giving it warm energy; warm energy can only warm the shell, but cannot penetrate the inside. Therefore she conducts this energy inward with her heart. This is the act of listening with single-minded attention. When attention penetrates, the energy enters, and the warm energy brings life to the egg. 11. Even when a hen at times leaves her eggs, her head is always inclined to listen and the attention of her spirit is never interrupted. With the attention of her spirit never ceasing, the warm energy is uninterrupted day and night, so that the spirit comes alive. The awakening of the spirit is accomplished because the mind has first died. When a man can let his mind die, then the original spirit awakens to life. To kill the mind does not mean to let it dry and wither away, but it means that it has become undivided and gathered into one. The Buddha said: "When you fix your mind on one point, then nothing is impossible for you.” The mind easily runs away, so it is necessary to purify it by means of breath-energy. Breath-energy easily becomes rough, therefore it has to be refined by the mind. If you do this, how can the mind fail to stabilize? 12. Generally speaking, the two afflictions of oblivion and distraction just require uninterrupted daily quiet practice until (the mind) spontaneously comes to complete rest. If one is not seated in meditation, one will often be distracted without noticing it. When you become aware of it, it is the time to get rid of distraction. Oblivion of which you are aware and oblivion of which you are unaware, are a thousand miles apart. Oblivion of which you are unaware is real oblivion; oblivion that you notice is not complete oblivion, because there is still clarity in it. Distraction comes from letting the mind wander about; oblivion comes from a mind that lacks clarity. Distraction is easy to cure but oblivion is hard to cure. Using the metaphor of illness, one that involves pain or itch can be treated with medicine, but oblivion is a symptom of paralysis, where there is no feeling. Distraction can be counteracted, confusion can be straightened out, but oblivion is a state of darkness and stupidity. Distraction and confusion at least have some direction, but oblivion means that the lower self is in complete control. 13. In distraction there is still some presence left of the higher self, but oblivion is ruled by pure darkness (yin). If you become sleepy when you practice quiet sitting, this is oblivion. Repelling oblivion is simply a matter of tuning the breath. The breath in this case is respiration, not the true breathing. Nevertheless true breathing can also depend on it. Whenever you sit, you should quiet your mind and purify your energy. How can the mind be made quiet? It is done by using the breath. Let only your mind know the inhalation and exhalation, not your ears. If it is not heard, then the breathing is light; then the mind is clear. If it can be heard, then the breath-energy is rough, which means the mind is cloudy. Cloudiness means oblivion, and one becomes sleepy. This is the way nature works. 14. (This is the way nature works.) Even so, it is important to understand how to focus the mind on breathing. It is focusing without focus. One should maintain a subtle looking and listening. This sentence has a profound meaning. What is "looking"? It is using the light of the eyes to illuminate the Self; the eyes are only looking inward and not outward. Not looking outward yet being alert is inward looking; it is not that there really is such a thing as looking inward. What is "listening"? It is using the brightness of the ears to listen to the Self; the ears are only listening inward and not outward. Not listening outward yet being alert is inward listening; it is not that there really is such a thing as listening inward. 15. This kind of listening means listening to the sound of silence. This kind of looking means looking at the invisible. When the eyes do not look outside and the ears do not listen outside, they are closed off and have a tendency to race around inside. However, only by inward looking and listening can you prevent being distracted by the outside world and prevent inner racing through which one enters oblivion. This is the united essence and united light of the internal sun and moon. 16. When you sink into oblivion and become sleepy, you should stand up and walk around. When the spirit has become clear one should sit down again. It is best to sit in the early morning when you have free time, for as long as it takes to burn an incense stick. After noontime when there are many things to do, it's easy to fall into oblivion. Also, there's no need to fix the length of time of meditation; it is only essential to set aside all entanglements and sit quietly for a while. In the course of time you will attain absorption and not become oblivious or sleepy. 回光調息第四 呂祖曰。宗旨只要純心行去。不求驗而驗自至。大約初機病痛。昏沈散亂。二種盡之。卻此有機竅。無 過寄心於息。息者自心也。自心為息心。一動而即有氣。氣本心之化也。吾人念至。速霎頃。一妄念即 一呼吸應之。故內呼吸與外呼吸如聲響之相隨。一日有幾萬息。即有幾萬妄念。神明漏盡。如木槁灰死 矣。然則欲無念乎。不能無念也。欲無息乎。不能無息也。莫若即其病而為藥。則心息相依是已。故回 光必兼之調息。此法全用耳光。一是目光。一是耳光。目光者。外日月交光也。耳光者。內日月交精也 。然精即光之凝定處。同出而異名也。故聰明總一靈光而已。坐時用目垂簾後。定個準則便放下。然竟 放又恐不能。即存於心聽息。息之出入不可使耳聞聽。惟聽其無聲。一有聲即粗浮而不入細。即耐心輕 輕微微些。愈放愈微。愈微愈靜。久之忽然微者遽斷。此則真息現前而心體可識矣。蓋心細則息細。心 一則動炁也。息細則心細。氣一則動心也。定心必先之養氣者。亦以心無處入手。故緣氣為之端倪。所 謂純氣之守也。 子輩不明動字。動者以線索牽動言。即制字之別名也。既可以奔趨使之動。獨不可以純靜使之寧乎。此 大聖人視心氣之交。而善立方便以惠後人也。丹書云。雞能抱卵心常聽。此要妙訣也。蓋雞之所以能生 卵者。以暖氣也。暖氣止能溫其殼。不能入其中。則以心引氣入。其聽也。一心注焉。心入則氣入。得 暖氣而生矣。故母雞雖有時出外。而常作側耳勢。其神之所注未嘗少間也。神之所注未嘗少間。即暖氣 亦晝夜無間。而神活矣。神活者。由其心之先死也。人能死心。元神即活。死心非枯槁之謂。乃專一不 分之謂也。佛云。置心一處。無事不辦。心易走。即以氣純之。氣易粗。即以心細之。如此而心焉有不 定者乎。 大約昏沉散亂二病。只要靜功日日無間。自有大休息處。若不靜坐時。雖有散亂亦不自知。既知散亂即 是散亂之機也。昏沉而不知。與昏沉而知。相去奚啻千里。不知之昏沈真昏沈也。知之昏沈非全昏沈也 。清明在是矣。 散亂者神馳也。昏沉者神未清也。散亂易治。昏沈難醫。譬之病焉。有痛有癢者藥之可也。昏沈則麻木 不仁之症也。散者可以收之。亂者可以整之。若昏沈則蠢蠢焉。冥冥焉。散亂尚有方所。至昏沉全是癿 用事也。散亂尚有癿在。至昏沉則純陰為主矣。靜坐時欲睡去。便是昏沉。卻昏沉只在調息。息即口鼻 出入之息。雖非真息而真息之出入亦於此寄焉。凡坐須要靜心純氣。心何以靜。用在息上。息之出入惟 心自知。不可使耳聞。不聞即細。細則清。聞則氣粗。粗則濁。濁則昏沉而欲睡。自然之理也。雖然心 用在息上。又要善會用。亦是不用之用。只要微微照聽可耳。何謂照。即眼光自照。目惟內視而不外視 。不外視而惺然者即內視也。非實有內視。何謂聽。即耳光自聽。耳惟內聽而不外聽。不外聽而惺然者 。即內聽也。非實有內聽。聽者聽其無聲。視者視其無形。目不外視。耳不外聽。則閉而欲內馳。惟內 視內聽則又不內馳。而中不昏沉矣。此即日月交精交光也。 昏沉欲睡。即起散步。神清再坐。清晨有暇坐一柱香為妙。過午人事多擾易落昏沉。然亦不必限定一柱 香。只要諸緣放下。靜坐片時。久久便有入頭。不落昏睡矣。 5. Errors in Turning Around the Light 1. Master Lu (Dongbin) said, even though your practice gradually matures, as there are many pitfalls in front of the cliff of withered trees, so there are many pitfalls in your practice. These pitfalls are recognized only when they are personally experienced. Now is the time to speak about them. 2. My school differs from the Zen school in that it has confirmatory signs for each step of the way. First I would like to speak of the differences and then of the signs of verification. When you are going to practice this doctrine, first see to it somehow that you don't have much on your mind, so that your mind can be alert and free. Make your energy harmonious and your mind comfortable, then enter into quietude. 3. In this quiet state it is essential to get to know the mechanism and the aperture. Don't sit inside nothingness or indifference (also called Emptiness of Indifference). As you let go of the tenthousand entanglements you become alert and self-possessed. One should not be too concerned about attaining a result. Those who take it too seriously tend to have this problem. This does not mean that one should not be conscientious, but signs of verification will appear between existence and non- existence. One can attain it through focusing without focus. 4. Now awakened, let go and be yourself. Make sure you don‟t fall victim to the ensnaring world. The ensnaring world is where the five kinds of yin demons operate. For example, when one meditates and one's state is closer to dry wood and dead ashes, rather than the bright (yang) spring of the great earth. In this way one sinks into the world of yin. The energy is cold there, breathing is rough, and many images of coldness and decay present themselves. If one tarries there long one enters the world of plants and stones. 5. Nor must a man be led astray by the ten thousand ensnarements. This happens if, after the quiet state has begun, a train of thoughts suddenly appears. You find you cannot get rid of them even if you want to, and you even feel comfortable going along with them. This means the master is enslaved by the servant. If this continues for a long time, you enter the world of form or the world of desire. 6. At best one reincarnates as a human, at worst one reincarnates into the animal realm. For instance, a fox may be able to roam in the mountains enjoying the wind and the moon, the flowers and fruits, and taking his pleasure in coral trees and jeweled grass. But after three to five hundred years, or at most a couple of thousand years, his reward is over and he is born again into the world of the six states of existence. All of these are wrong paths. When a man knows the wrong paths, he can then look for signs of verification. 迴光差謬第五 呂祖曰‧諸子工夫漸漸純熟‧然枯木岩前錯落多‧正要細細開示此中消息‧身到方知‧吾今則可言矣‧吾宗與 禪學不同‧有一步一步徵驗‧請先言其差別處‧然後再言徵驗‧宗旨將行之際‧預作方便勿多用心‧放教活潑 潑地令氣和心適‧然後入靜‧靜時正要得機得竅‧不可坐在無事甲裏‧萬緣放下之中‧惺惺自若也‧又不可意 興承當‧惺惺不昧之中‧放下自若也‧又不可墮于蘊界‧所謂蘊界者‧乃五陰魔用事‧如一般入定‧而槁木死 灰之意多‧大地陽春之意少‧此則落陰界‧其氣冷‧其息沉‧且有許多寒衰景象‧久之便墮木石‧又不可隨于 萬緣‧如一入靜而無端眾緒忽至‧欲卻之不能。隨之反覺順適‧此名主為奴役‧久之落于色欲界‧差路既知‧ 然後可求證驗‧ 6. Signs of Verification of Turning Around the Light 1. Master Lu (Dongbin) said, there are many signs of verification. These signs cannot appear if one only works for oneself; one must have a desire to help other people to reach the other shore. One cannot receive these signs if one doesn‟t have a high valuation, relinquish arrogance and practice the teaching. 2. When there is uninterrupted continuity in quietude, a sense of joy appears as if one is intoxicated or freshly bathed. This is a sign that yang energy is harmonious in the whole body; then the Golden Flower begins to bud. Once the ten-thousand flutes are all silent, and the bright moon is in mid sky, one has the feeling that this great earth is a world of light and brightness. This is a sign that the heart is open and the Golden Flower is blooming. 3. Furthermore, the whole body feels strong and firm so that it fears neither storm nor frost. Situations that for other people are just commonplace moments, make my vital spirit shine even brighter, when I meet them. This is like a house built of yellow gold with a terrace of white jade. Mortal things in this world become alive again with my one breath of true energy. Red blood becomes milk. The seven- foot-tall physical body is like a pure golden treasure. That is a sign that the Golden Flower is crystallized. 4. The first stage of verification corresponds to the signs mentioned in the Amitayurdhyana Sutra (The Contemplation sutra), which include the setting sun, the great body of water, and the trees in rows. The setting of the sun means that in chaos (non-polarized condition - 「无极」) the foundation is set up. Highest good is like water, pure and spotless. It is the ruler of the great polarity (太极）, the emperor emerging from the East (the direction of the trigram Zhen). Zhen is also symbolized by wood, so the sutra represents it with the image of a row of trees. A sevenfold row of trees represents the light of the seven apertures. 5. The second stage means setting up the foundation on this. The whole earth becomes a jewel ground of ice crystals; the light gradually solidifies. Therefore a great terrace arises and then the Buddha appears upon it. When the golden essence appears who is it but the Buddha? For the Buddha is the golden immortal of great awakening. This is a verification of the second stage. 6. Now there are three signs of verification that can be tested. The first is that, when one has entered the state of meditation, it is like one‟s spirit is in a valley. When one hears someone else talking, it is as if one hears it from about half a kilometer away, yet clearly. It sounds like an echo in a valley. One definitely hears it and yet it is not oneself that hears it. This is the state of the spirit in the valley. One can verify this at any time. 7. At times the following can be experienced: in the state of quietness, one‟s vision becomes hazy, because of too much brightness. It‟s like opening one‟s eyes while being in a cloud and one doesn‟t see one‟s body any more. This is called: the empty chamber produces white (light). Inside and outside are permeated with light. This is a very favorable sign. 8. The third experience is when in the state of quietness, the energy of the physical body becomes soft and pure like silk or jade. It feels as though one is floating upward and cannot stay sitting. This is the spirit returning to heaven above. Eventually, after a long time, one is able to ascend there. 9. Although these three experiences can be verified now, it is not possible to explain them completely. Each person has his own particular verifications according to his faculties and capacities. This is what the Buddhist text Stopping and Observing calls the emerging manifestations of good roots. Verifying these things is like when drinking water, only oneself knows whether the water is warm or cold. In the same way one can only rely on oneself to see the truth of these experiences. 10. If you have verified the prenatal energy from your own experience, you gain this energy, and then the elixir, which is also called the real millet pearl, immediately crystallizes. One pill returns, and then another pill, going from vagueness to clarity. There is prenatal energy in every moment, which is called a pill, and there is also the general prenatal energy, which extends from one pill to infinity. One pill has its own power. Above all, it relies on a strong will. 回光證驗第六 呂祖曰‧證驗亦多。不可以小根小器承當‧必思度盡眾生。不可以輕心慢心承當‧必須請事斯語‧靜中綿綿 無間‧神情悅豫。如醉如浴‧此為遍體陽和金華乍吐也‧既而萬籟俱寂‧皓月中天。覺大地俱是光明境界‧ 此為心體開明。金華正放也‧既而遍體充實。不畏風霜‧人當之興味索然者‧我遇之精神更旺‧黃金起屋。 白玉為臺‧世間腐朽之物‧我以真氣呵之‧立生紅血為乳。七尺肉團無非金寶。此則金華大凝也。第一段 是應觀經。日落大水行樹法象。日落者從混沌立基。無極也。上善若水。清而無瑕。此即太極主宰。出 震之帝也。震為木故，以行樹象焉。七重行樹七竅光明也。第二段即肇基。于此大地為冰琉璃寶地。光 明漸漸凝矣。所以有蓬臺而繼之。佛也。金性。既現非佛而何。佛者大覺金仙也。此大段證驗耳。 現在可考證驗有三。一則坐去。神入谷中。聞人說話如隔里許。一一明了。而聲入皆如谷中答響。未嘗 不聞。我未嘗一聞。此為神在谷中。隨時可以自驗。一則靜中目光騰騰。滿前皆白。如在雲中。開眼覓 身無從覓視。此為虛室生白。內外通明。吉祥止止也。一則靜中肉身絪縕。如綿如玉。坐中若留不住而 騰騰上浮。此為神歸頂天。久之上昇可以久待。此三者皆現在可驗者也。然亦是說不盡的。隨人根器各 現殊勝。如止觀中所云。善根發相是也。此事如人飲水。冷暖自知。須自己信得過方真。先天一炁。即 在現前證驗中自討。一炁若得。丹亦立成。此一粒真黍也。一粒復一粒。從微而至著。有時時之先天一 粒是也。有統體之先天一粒。乃至無量也。一粒有一粒力量。此要自家膽大為第一義。 7. The Living Method of Turning Around the Light 1. Master Lu (Dongbin) said, when you follow the teaching of turning around the light, a man doesn‟t need to give up his ordinary occupation in doing it. The ancients said, Deal with things that come up; see through things that arise. If one is mindful when handling one‟s affairs, the light is not scattered by things, but turns around naturally. This is a formless way of turning around the light, which works. Moreover, there is also the true method of turning around the light. 2. When dealing with things, if one can turn one‟s own light inward upon one‟s Self, from moment to moment without any attachment to oneself or other people, this is turning the light around wherever you are. This is the best use. 3. In the early morning, it is best if one can rid oneself of all attachments and sit quietly for a few hours. If one uses the method of turning one‟s own light inward upon one‟s Self during one's daily activities, and this can be continued without any interruption, then after two or three months, the immortals in Heaven will surely come to attest to your experience. 回光活法第七 呂祖曰。回光循循然行去。不要廢棄正業。古人云。事來要應過。物來要識過。子以正念治事。即光不 為物轉即回。此時時無相之回光也可。 日用間能刻刻隨事返照。不著一毫人我相。便是隨地回光。此第一妙用。清晨能遣盡諸緣。靜坐一二時 最妙。凡應事接物。只用返身法。便無一刻間斷。如此行之三月兩月。天上諸真必來印證矣。 8. A Secret Spell for Freedom 1. Master Lu (Dongbin) said: Taoist immortals have left behind a secret spell for freedom. Through four (Chinese) characters the spirit crystallizes in the original cavity. In the sixth month white snow is suddenly seen to fly. At the third watch the sun‟s disk is radiant. In water blows the wind of Xun (Wind) ☴. Traveling in Heaven, one returns to Earth and absorbs the virtue of Kun (Earth) ☷. And the still deeper secret of the secret: The land that is nowhere, that is the true home. 2. The poem above expresses all the mysteries. The essence of the Great Way is expressed in the four (Chinese) characters action through non-action. Only non-action prevents a man from becoming entangled in forms and images. Only action through non-action prevents a man from sinking into indifferent emptiness and dead nothingness. The work of action through non-action is just focusing around the center; the essential mechanism of action through non-action is in the two eyes. The two eyes are like the handle of the big dipper, which manages creation and operates yin and yang. 3. From beginning to end, the great medicine depends on one thing: the metal in the midst of the water, that is, the lead in the water-region. Before, we spoke of turning the light around, indicating thereby the initial mechanism to control the inside from outside. This is to aid one in obtaining the Master. It is for pupils in the beginning stages. They go through the two lower transitions in order to gain the upper one. Now as things gradually become clear and one becomes familiar with the mechanism, Heaven no longer withholds the Way, but reveals the ultimate truth. Disciples, cherish it, cherish it. More effort, more effort! 4. Turning the light around is a general term. The further the work advances, the more the Golden Flower blooms, and the subtler the method of turning around the light becomes. Previously one controlled the inside from the outside; now one abides in the center and controls the outside. Before, the assistant administered for the master; now its service is under command of the master. The situation is now reversed. 5. Before you enter quietude, first tune and concentrate body and mind, so that you are quite free and at peace, letting go of the ten thousand entanglements, so that nothing whatsoever hangs on your mind, and the heavenly heart takes its rightful place in this center. Then lower the lids of the two eyes as if you received a holy edict, like a minister summoned to appear before the emperor. Who would dare disobey? 6. Then with both eyes one illumines the Palace of Kan (Water) ☵. Wherever the Golden Flower goes, true Yang comes forth in response. The trigram Li (Fire) ☲ is yang outside and yin inside; its origin is Qian (Heaven). Yin enters Qian ☰ and becomes master. The result is that the mind is aroused by things, is directed outward, and is tossed about on the stream. 7. When one turns around the light inward upon one‟s Self, the mind is not aroused by things, yin energy is arrested and the Golden Flower radiates, which is pure yang energy. Things of a kind attract each other. Thus the yang energy of the trigram Kan (Water) ☵ leaps upward. Then it is no longer the yang energy of Kan ☵ but the yang energy of the trigram Qian (Heaven) ☰, responding to the yang energy of Qian. As soon as these two substances meet each other, they unite inseparably; they intermingle and move quickly, to and fro, up and down. In one‟s inner temple there is an immeasurable emptiness. The whole body feels wondrously light and buoyant. This is the state, which is called “Clouds fill the thousand mountains.” 8. Then the movement becomes traceless; rising and falling become imperceptible. The channels are stilled; energy stops: this is true intercourse. This is the state which is called “The Moon pervades the Ten Thousand Waters.” When the heavenly heart suddenly begins to move in the midst of the darkness, this is the return of yang energy. This is Living Midnight. However, this must be explained in detail. 9. When a person looks at or listens to something, their eyes and ears pursue things and get stirred up, only to stop when things are gone. This activity and rest are all subjects, but the heavenly ruler becomes their slave. This is living with demons. [being made a puppet by demons] But now if you make yourself live with a human being in all activity and rest, this human being is the heavenly ruler, who is a real human being. If when he moves, one moves with him, then the movement is the Heavenly Root. When he rests, one rests with him; this rest is the Moon Cavern. Even when he alternates movement and rest for no clear reason, he just goes along with him. When he rises and falls, he rises and falls with him. That is what is called “leisurely going to and fro between the Root of Heaven and the Moon Cavern.” 10. When one moves before the right time, while the heavenly heart remains still, one moves prematurely. When one moves after the heavenly heart has moved, one moves too late. Once the heavenly heart is stirring, one must immediately raise the true intent to the Palace of Qian (Heaven) ☰. Thus the light of the spirit sees the summit. This is acting in accordance with time. The heavenly heart rises to the summit of the Creative, it floats upward of its own accord. Then suddenly it becomes silent, and one should quickly use the true intent to guide the heavenly heart into the yellow court, as the eyes behold the central yellow dwelling place of the spirit. 11. When the heavenly heart is silent, not a single thought arises; when looking inward, one suddenly forgets that one is looking. At that time body and mind are in a state of great freedom. All the ten thousand entanglements have vanished without trace. Then one no longer knows where the furnace and cauldron in the dwelling place of the spirit are. One can't even find one‟s own body. This is the time when "heaven enters earth" and all wonders return to the root. This is the crystallized spirit going into the original cavity. 12. At the beginning stage of turning around the light, the scattered mind becomes collected; the six senses are not active. This is called nurturing the root source, adding fuel to continue life. When it is collected, one feels light and free and without any support of effort. This is called the spirit sitting quietly in the ancestral aperture, taking possession of the primordial. Then all shadows and sounds disappear and one is firmly established in great quietude. This is taking refuge within the original cavity, where all that is miraculous returns to its roots. There are three stages in all, which can also be seen as nine stages; this is a later development. For now I will speak of three stages in one. During the nurturing and initial quieting, collecting is also nurturing, and taking refuge is also nurturing. At the end, nurturing is also taking refuge. The stage in between can be figured out by analogy. Don‟t distinguish different points of the body; they will distinguish themselves. This is the formless aperture where a thousand and ten thousand places are one place. Don‟t distinguish time (past or future); time will manifest itself. This is being out of time when all units of time become like one moment. 13. As long as the mind has not attained absolute tranquility, it cannot move itself. If it moves anyway, it is false movement, which is not movement by itself. Therefore, it is said: If, when stimulated by external things, one moves, it is human desire. If, when not stimulated by external things, one moves, it is the true movement of Heaven. Do not mistake the false movement of Heaven for Heaven itself. Because it still comes from desire. 14. Desires are based upon external things, which are thoughts that are out of place and these thoughts move from one to the other. When not a single thought arises, then true awareness is born. This is true intent. When in great quietness the celestial mechanism suddenly moves, is that not movement without thought? This is what is meant by action through non-action. 15. The first two lines of the poem at the beginning of this chapter, refer entirely to the activity of the Golden Flower. The next two lines refer to the interchange of sun and moon. The sixth month stands for the trigram Li (Fire) ☲. The white snow flying, is the true yin within Li ☲ about to return to Kun (Earth) ☷. The third watch is water in Kan (Water) ☵. The sun is the single yang in the center of Kan ☵, about to shine and return to Qian (Heaven) ☰. Herein lies [the operation of spiritual alchemy known as] taking from Kan (Water) to fill in Li (Fire). The next two lines explain the function of the dipper handle, the whole mechanism of rising and descending. Does not „in the water‟ refer to Kan (Water) ☵ ? The eyes, as the breeze of Xun (Wind) ☴, shine into the chamber of Kan ☵ and beckon the vitality of dominant yang. That is what these lines mean. „In Heaven‟ means the house of Qian (the Creative) ☰. Traveling and returning, one absorbs the virtue of Kun (Earth) ☷. This shows how the spirit penetrates the energy, how Heaven penetrates the Earth. This is nurturing the fire. 16. Finally, the two last lines point to the deepest secret, which cannot be dispensed with from the beginning to the end. This is the washing of the mind and the purification of the thoughts; this is bathing. The learning of sages begins with knowing where to rest and ends with resting at the highest excellence. It begins in the infinite and returns to the infinite. In Buddhism, not attaching one‟s identity to anything is considered the essential teaching; the whole work of completing life and essence in Taoism lies in the expression „to bring about emptiness.‟ In short, the three teachings are not beyond one saying, which is that a spiritual pill enables one to pass from death to life. What is the spiritual pill? It just means to be not attached to one‟s mind [heart] in all situations. The deepest secret in Taoism is bathing. Thus the whole practice described in this book does not go beyond the words „making the mind empty‟, that‟s all. This single statement can save decades of seeking. 17. If you do not understand how the three stages are included in one, I will use the Buddhist teaching of contemplating emptiness, illusion, and the center as a metaphor. Emptiness is the first of the three contemplations. All things are looked upon as empty. Next is illusion. Though you know that things are empty, the ten thousand things are not destroyed, but one attends to one‟s affairs in the midst of the emptiness. But though one does not destroy the ten thousand things, neither does one cling to them; this is contemplation of the center. While practicing contemplation of the empty, one also knows that one cannot destroy the ten thousand things, and still one does not notice them; this includes all three contemplations. Since the skill resides in the realization of emptiness, when one cultivates it, one knows that emptiness is empty, illusion is also empty, and the center is empty too. In practicing contemplation of illusion, the skill is attained in action; so while illusion is of course illusion, emptiness is also illusion and the center is illusion too. One stage of practicing contemplation of the center is contemplating emptiness; instead of calling it emptiness, you call it center. When practicing contemplation of illusion, instead of calling it illusion, you call it center. When practicing contemplation of the center, you also call it center. 18. I sometimes speak only of Li (Fire) ☲, other times in addition to Li (Fire) I also speak of Kan (Water) ☵. Although I use different words, the meaning is still the same. In the beginning (section 2) I mentioned that the essential mechanism is all in the two eyes. The essential point of the mechanism is using it; you use it to manage Creation. This does not mean that only the two eyes are used for Creation; all the six senses and seven orifices are storage for light, so how could we use only the two eyes and leave out the rest? 19. To use the yang of Kan (Water ☵), you use the light of Li (Fire ☲) to illumine and absorb yang, then it becomes clear. Sun and moon are originally one thing. The darkness in the sun is the vitality of the true moon; the moon cavern is not on the moon but on the sun. That is why it is called the moon cavern; for otherwise it would be enough just to say the moon. The white of the moon is the light of the true sun. The sunlight being on the moon is what is called the root of heaven. Otherwise it would be enough just to say heaven. When the sun and moon are separated, they are but half; only when they come together do they form a whole. This is like a single man or a single woman, who cannot form a family if they live separate; only when they are husband and wife, we can speak of a family. 20. But it is hard to symbolize the Way using things of the world. If a man and a woman are separated, they are still individuals, but if the sun and moon are separated, they do not form a complete whole. What I am saying just brings out the point of communion, so I do not see duality; you just cling to the separation, so you see only one point of view instead of the whole. 逍遙訣第八 呂祖曰。玉清留下逍遙訣。四字凝神入氣穴。六月俄看白雪飛。三更又見日輪赫。水中吹起藉巽風。天 上遊歸食坤德。更有一句玄中玄。無何有鄉是真宅。律詩一首玄奧已盡。大道之要不外無為而為四字。 惟無為故。不滯方所形象。惟無為而為故。不墮頑空死虛。作用不外一中。而樞機全在二目。二目者。 斗柄也。斡旋造化轉運陰陽。其大藥則始終一水中金而已。前言回光乃指點初機。從外以制內。即輔以 得主。此為中下之士修下二關。以透上一關者也。今頭路漸明。機括漸熟。天不愛道。直泄無上宗旨。 諸子秘之秘之。勉之勉之。夫回光其總名耳。工夫進一層。則光華盛一番。回法更妙一番。前者由外制 內。今則居中御外。前者即輔相主。今則奉主宣猷。面目一大顛倒矣。法子欲入靜。先調攝身心。自在 安和。放下萬緣。一絲不掛。天心正位乎中。然後兩目垂簾。內照坎宮。光華所到。真陽即出以應之。 離外陽而內陰。乾體也。一陰入內而為主。隨物生心。順出流轉。今回光內照。不隨物生。陰氣即住。 而光華注照。則純陽也。同類必親。故坎陽上騰非坎陽也。仍是乾陽應乾陽耳。二物一遇便紐結不散。 絪縕活動。倏來倏往。倏浮倏沈。自己元宮中。恍如太虛無量。徧身輕妙欲騰。所謂雲滿千山也。次則 來往無蹤。浮沈無辨。脈住氣停。此則真交媾矣。所謂月涵萬水也。俟其杳冥中。忽然天心一動。此則 一陽來復。活子時也。然而此中消息要細說。凡人一視耳目。逐物而動。物去則已。此之動靜全是民庶 。而天君反隨之役。是常與鬼居矣。今則一動一靜皆與人居。天君乃真人也。彼動即與之俱動。動則天 根。靜即與之俱靜。靜則月窟。動靜無端。亦與之為動靜無端。休息上下。亦與之為休息上下。所謂天 根月窟閒來往也。天心鎮靜。動違其時。則失之嫩。天心已動。而後動以應之。則失之老。天心一動。 即以真意上升乾宮。而神光視頂為導引焉。此動而應時者也。天心既升乾頂。游揚自得。忽而欲寂。急 以真意引入黃庭。而目光視中黃神室焉。既而欲寂者。一念不生矣。視內者忽忘其視矣。爾時身心便當 一場大放。萬緣泯跡。即我之神室爐鼎。亦不知在何所。欲覓己身了不可得。此為天入地中。眾妙歸根 之時也。即此便是凝神入氣穴。夫一回光也。始而散者欲斂。六用不行。此為涵養本源添油接命也。既 而歛者自然優遊。不費纖毫之力。此為安神祖竅翕聚先天也。既而影響俱滅。寂然大定。此為蟄藏氣穴 眾妙歸根也。一節中具有三節。一節中且有九節。且俟後日發揮。今以一節中具三節言之。當其涵養而 初靜也。翕聚亦為涵養。蟄藏亦為涵養。至後而涵養皆蟄藏矣。中一層可類推。不易處而處分焉。此為 無形之竅。千處萬處一處也。不易時而時分焉。此為無候之時。元會運世一刻也。 凡心非靜極。則不能動。動動妄動。非本體之動也。故曰感於物而動。性之欲也。若不感於物而動。即 天之動也。不以天之動對天之性。句落下說箇欲字。欲在有物也。此為出位之思。動而有動矣。一念不 起。則正念乃生。此為真意。寂然大定中。而天機忽動。非無意之意乎。無為而為即此意。詩首二句全 括金華作用。次二句是日月互體意。六月即離火也。白雪飛即離中真陰將返乎坤也。三更即坎水也。日 輪即坎中一陽將赫然而返乎乾也。取坎填離即在此中。次二句說斗柄作用。升降全機。水中非坎乎。目 為巽風。目光照入坎宮。攝召太陽之精是也。天上即乾宮。遊歸食坤德。即神入炁中。天入地中。養火 也。末二句是指出訣中之訣。訣中之訣始終離不得所謂洗心滌慮。為沐浴也。聖學以知止始。以止至善 終。始乎無極。歸乎無極。佛以無住而生心。為一大藏教旨。吾道以致虛二字。完性命全功。總之三教 不過一句。為出死護生之神丹。神丹維何。曰一切處無心而已。吾道最秘者。沐浴。如此一部全功。不 過心空二字足以了之。今一言指破。省卻數十年參訪矣。 子輩不明一節中具三節。我以佛家空假中三觀為喻。三觀先空。看一切物皆空。次假。雖知其空。然不 毀萬物。仍於空中建立一切事。既不毀萬物。而又不著萬物。此為中觀。當其修空觀時。亦知萬物不可 毀而又不著。此兼三觀也。然畢竟以看得空為得力。故修空觀。則空固空。假亦空。中亦空。修假觀是 用上得力居多。則假故假。空亦假。中亦假。中道時亦作空想。然不名為空。而名為中矣。亦作假觀。 然不名為假。而名為中矣。至於中。則不必言矣。 吾雖有時單說離。有時兼說坎。究竟不曾移動一句。開口提云。樞機全在二目-。所謂樞機者。用也。 用此斡旋造化。非言造化只此也。六根七竅悉是光明藏。豈取二目。而他檕不問乎。用坎陽。仍用離光 照攝。即此便明日月原是一物。其日中之暗處。是真月之精。月窟不在月而在日。所謂月之窟也。不然 只言月足矣。月中之白處。是真日之光。日光反在月中。所謂天之根也。不然只言天足矣。一日一月分 開止是半箇。合來方成一箇全體。如一夫一婦獨居不成家室。有夫有婦方算得一家完全。然而物難喻道 。夫婦分開不失為兩人。日月分開不成全體矣。吾言只透露其相通處。所以不見有兩。子輩專執其隔處 。所以隨處換卻眼睛。 9. Setting Up the Foundation in a Hundred Days 1. The Scripture of the Mind Seal says, restore the (ancient) habits, and chaos will be brought into harmony; a hundred days and the work will be achieved. In general, setting up the foundation requires a hundred days before you have real light. You students are still working with the light of the eyes, not the fire of spirit, not the fire of essence or the torch of wisdom. When you have turned the light around for a hundred days, vital energy will naturally be sufficient for true yang to rise spontaneously, so true fire naturally exists in water. If you carry on the practice this way, you will naturally achieve intercourse and formation of the embryo. You are then in the heaven of unknowing, and the child thus develops. If you entertain any conceptual view at all, you will immediately enter a misleading path. 2. A hundred days of setting up the foundation does not literally mean a hundred days; one day of setting up the foundation does not mean one day. One breath of setting up the foundation does not refer to respiration. The Chinese character for true breath (息) is made up of the characters for Self (自) and mind (心). The Self (自) and the mind (心) sustaining it, is the true breath (息), which also refers to the original spirit, original energy, and original vitality. Rising and descending, parting and joining, all arise from the mind; being and non-being, emptiness and fullness, are all related to thoughts. The one true breath requires a lifetime to maintain, not only a hundred days; so a hundred days is also one true breath. 3. A hundred days is just a way to show how important the engagement of the true breath is. Engaging the true breath during the daytime, you benefit from it at night. Engaging the true breath at night, you benefit from it during the day. A hundred days of setting up the foundation is a teaching from the Gods. The sayings of the immortals all correspond to the human body and the sayings of real teachers correspond to students. This is the mystery of mysteries, which is inexplicable; you will know it when you see your essence. Therefore, students must seek the teaching of a true teacher. Everything that emerges naturally from the teacher‟s essence proves effective. 百日立基地九 呂祖曰。心印經云。回風混合。百日功靈。總之立基百日。方有真光如。子輩尚是目光。非神火也。非 性光也。非慧智炬燭也。回之百日。則精氣自足。真陽自生。水中自有真火。以此持行。自然交媾。自 然結胎。吾方在不識不知之天。而嬰兒以成矣。若略作意見。便是外道。 百日立基非百日也。一日立基非一日也。一息立基非呼吸之謂也。息者自心也。自心為息。元神也。元 氣也。元精也。升降離合悉從心起。有無虛實。咸在念中。一息一生持。何止百日。然百日亦一息也。 百日只在得力。晝中得力。夜中受用。夜中得力。晝中受用。百日立基。玉旨耳。上真言語。無不與人 身應。真師言語。無不與學人應。此是玄中之玄。不可解者也。見性乃知。所以學人必求真師授記。任 性發出。一一皆驗。 10.The Light of Essence and the Light of Discriminating Awareness 1. If you are able to perform the correct technique, the method of turning around the light works whether you are walking, standing, sitting, or reclining. Previously I quoted the saying, the empty chamber produces white. Isn‟t light white? There is an explanation of this; for one who hasn‟t seen the light, this saying serves as a guidepost. If one has seen the light and later searches for white light with intent, then one falls into discriminating awareness, which is not the light of essence. 2. The Chinese character for thought (念) is made up of the characters for now (今) and mind (心). So a thought is what is present in one‟s awareness (mind). This awareness (mind) is light and can also be medicine. Whenever people look at things and perceive them without discriminating, this is the light of essence. It is like a mirror reflecting without intending to do so. A moment later, it becomes the light of discriminating awareness. A mirror is not a mirror if it still contains the previous image. If there is discriminating awareness in light, then what kind of light is that? 3. My fellow students, originally you have the light of essence. When this turns into thought, then it becomes discriminating awareness. Then the light is obscured and cannot be found. It is not that there is no light, but that the light has become discriminating awareness. This is what is meant by the saying of the Yellow Emperor, “When sound moves, it does not produce sound, it produces echoes.” 4. The introduction of a manual on how to understand the Surangama sutra says, neither in objects (dust) nor in discriminating awareness, only pay attention to the senses. What does this mean? Objects (dust) are external things, or the so-called material world. This has no actual connection with us. If you pursue objects, you are mistaking things for yourself. Things must have an attribution. Transmission of light is attributable to doors and windows; light (明) is attributable to the sun (日) and moon (月). If one takes them for oneself, in the end you‟ll find out it‟s not you. As for that which cannot be attributed to anything, what else is it but yourself? 5. Light (明) is attributable to the sun (日) and moon (月). However, the awareness of the light of the sun and moon cannot be attributed to anything. Sometimes there is no sun or moon in the sky, but there is never an absence of the awareness that sees the sun and moon. If the awareness was absent, then how could that which discriminates the sun and moon be considered one's own? When both light and darkness are forgotten, I do not know where the discrimination is, that discriminates light and darkness. Therefore there is still attribution; this is internal dust. Only the real awareness of seeing cannot be attributed to anything. But when one sees with discriminating awareness, this is not the right awareness; then this seeing also has an attribution, which refers back to the discriminating awareness of the wandering consciousness, alluded to in the Surangama scripture where it says, Ananda, what makes your consciousness wander are your mind and eyes. 6. When one first begins to study the awareness of seeing through "the eight attributions", one understands that the first seven can be attributed to something. Not being able to understand the awareness of seeing yet, the practitioner uses it as a crutch. But ultimately as long as the awareness of seeing still carries the eight consciousnesses with it, it can still be attributed. Only when this last point is broken through does one reach real awareness of seeing, which cannot be attributed anymore. 7. When turning the light around, it is the primary unattributable light that needs to be turned around, so that not a single discriminating thought is applied. What causes you to flow and wander is just the six roots (sense organs); but what enables you to attain enlightenment is also just the six roots (sense organs). But the fact that dust (internal and external stimuli) and discriminating awareness are not used at all, means that rather than using the roots (sense organs), one uses the awareness of seeing in the roots (sense organs). 8. Now if you turn the light around without falling into discriminating awareness, you are using the original essence in the roots (sense organs). Herein lies the hair‟s-breadth's distinction: using one‟s mind is the light of discriminating awareness; let go, and it is then the light of essence. A hair‟s- breadth's difference in the beginning leads to a thousand miles‟ difference later, so discernment is necessary. If discriminating awareness is not interrupted, the spirit does not come alive; if the mind is not emptied, the elixir does not crystallize. When the mind is clean, that is the elixir; when the mind is empty, that is the medicine. When the mind doesn't stick to anything at all, it is said that the mind is clean; when it doesn't keep anything in it, it is said that the mind is empty. If emptiness is seen as empty, emptiness is still not empty. When one is empty and one pays no attention to emptiness, this is called true emptiness. 性光識光第十 呂祖曰。回光法。原通行住坐臥。只要自得機竅。吾前開示云。虛室生白光非白耶。但有一說。初未見 光時。此為效驗。若見為光而有意著之。即落意識。非性光也。子不管他有光無光。只要無念生念。何 謂無念。千休千處得。何謂生念。一念一生。持此念乃正念。與平日念不同。今心為念。念者現在心也 。此心即光即藥。凡人視物。任眼一照去。不及分別。此為性光。如鏡之無心而照也。如水之無心而鑑 也。少頃即為識光。以其分別也。鏡有影已無鏡矣。水有象已非水矣。光有識尚何光哉。 子輩初則性光。轉念則識。識起而光杳不可覓。非無光也。光已為識矣。黃帝曰。聲動不生聲而生響。 即此義也。楞巖推勘入門曰。不在塵。不在識。惟選根。此則何意。塵是外務。所謂器界也。與吾了不 相涉。逐之則認物為己。物必有還。通還戶牖。明還日月。借他為自。終非吾有。至於不汝還者。非汝 而誰。明還日月。見日月之明無還也。天有無日月之時。人無有無見日月之性。若然則分別日月者。還 可與為吾有耶。不知因明暗而分別者。當明暗兩忘之時。分別何在。故亦有還。此為內塵也。惟見性無 還。見見之時。見非是見。則見性亦還矣。還者還其識。流轉之見性。即阿難使汝流轉。心目為咎也。 初八還辨見時。上七者。皆明其一一有還。姑留見性。以為阿難柱杖。究竟見性即帶八識。非真不還也 。最後并此一破。則方為真見性。真不還矣。子輩回光。正回其最初不還之光。故一毫識念用不著。使 汝流轉者。惟此六根。使汝成菩提者。亦惟此六根。而塵與識皆不用。非用根也。用其根中之性耳。今 不墮識回光。則用根中之元性。落識而回光。則用根中之識性。毫釐之辨在此也。 用心即為識光。放下乃為性光。毫釐千里。不可不辨。識不斷。則神不生。心不空。則丹不結。心淨則 丹。心空即藥。不著一物。是名心淨。不留一物。是名心空。空見為空。空猶未空。空忘其空。斯名真 空。 11.The Intercourse of Kan (Water) ☵ and Li (Fire) ☲ 1. Whenever the energy of the vital spirit leaks out, or the vital spirit moves and mixes with things, that is all Li (Fire) ☲. Whenever you gather back the spirit's consciousness, quiet it down and hold it in the center, that is all Kan (Water) ☵. When the seven apertures (eyes, ears, nostrils and mouth) run outward, that is Li (Fire) ☲; when the seven apertures turn around inward, that is Kan (Water) ☵. 2. The yin （inside the Fire trigram ☲）follows the stimulation of the senses, while the yang (inside the water trigram ☵) reverses this and withdraws from the senses themselves. 3. Water and Fire are yin and yang, yin and yang are essence and life, essence and life are body and mind, body and mind are spirit and energy. Once you withdraw to rest your vital spirit and are not affected by internal and external stimuli, then this is true intercourse, as when you sit in profound silence. 坎離交媾第十一 呂祖曰。凡泄漏精神。動而交物者。皆離也。凡收轉神識。靜而中涵者。皆坎也。七竅之外走者為離。 七竅之內返者為坎。一陰主於逐色隨聲。一陽主於返聞收見。坎離即陰陽。陰陽即性命。性命即身心。 身心即神炁。一自斂息精神。不為境緣流轉。即是真交。而沈默趺坐時又無論矣。 12. The Heavenly Cycle 1. In relation to the Heavenly Cycle, energy is not the main thing; the secret is in the mind. All popular methods of practicing the Heavenly Cycle are like trying to help the shoots grow by pulling them upward. The Heavenly Cycle is maintained without minding, carried out without deliberate intention. Look up at the sky; it is always changing through the 365 days, yet the polar star never moves. Our mind is also like this; mind is the pole, energy is the myriad stars revolving around it. The energy in our limbs and throughout our whole body is basically a network, so do not exert your strength to the full on it. Refine the conscious spirit, remove arbitrary views, and then after that medicine will develop. 2. This medicine is not material; it is the light of essence, which is none other than the primordial true energy. It always appears after great concentration. There is no method of gathering the primordial true energy; those who speak of gathering are quite mistaken. When you have experienced this primordial energy for a long time, eventually one‟s mind is filled with light. When the mind is empty, and all indulgence is ended, you are liberated from the ocean of dust. Talking about dragon and tiger today or water and fire tomorrow, are all illusions in the end. The spells I learned from my teacher Huolong are as I explained; I don‟t know about the teachings of other Taoist sutras. 3. There is a cycle in each day, there is a cycle in each hour; where Kan (Water ☵ ) and Li (Fire ☲) interact there is a cycle. This interaction is like the revolving of Heaven. As long as you are unable to stop the operation of the mind in the moment, as a consequence there are times of interaction and times of non-interaction. Yet the revolving of Heaven never stops for a moment. If you are actually able to unite yin and yang in tranquility, the whole earth is yang (positive) and harmonious; when your central chamber is in the right place, all things simultaneously expand to fulfillment. This is the method of bathing spoken of in alchemical classics. What is it if not the great cycle? 4. The firing process of the cycles differs in scale, but ultimately there is no way to distinguish great and small firing. When you reach the point where practice is fluent, you do not know what Kan (Water ☵ ) and Li (Fire ☲) are, what Heaven and Earth are, what is interaction, what is one cycle or two cycles, or where to find any distinction between great and small. It is all the operation of one body; though it appears to be most great, it is also small. Each time it takes a turn, the universe and the ten thousand things take a turn with it. It is in the square inch but it is also most great. 5. The firing process of the gold elixir should ultimately become natural. If it is not natural, then Heaven and Earth will revert on their own to Heaven and Earth; the ten thousand things will go back to the ten thousand things: no matter how hard you try to unite them, you cannot. Then it is like a season of drought, when yin and yang are not in harmony. Even though Qian (Heaven) ☰ and Kun (Earth) ☷ go through their cycles every day, in the end you will see a lot that is artificial. If you can operate yin and yang, turning them into similar things, then naturally all at once clouds will form and rain will fall, the plants and trees are refreshed and the mountain rivers flow freely. Even if there is something offensive, you can drop it all at once. This is the Great Heavenly Cycle. 6. Students ask about living midnight. This is very subtle. If you insist on defining it as true midnight, that would seem to be sticking to forms; but if you do not focus on forms and do not point out true midnight, by what means can the living midnight be known? Once you know living midnight, there is definitely also true midnight. Are they one or two, not true or not alive? It all requires you to see the real. Once you see the real, everything is true, everything is alive. If your seeing is not real, what is living, what is true? As for living midnight, when you see it at all times, finally you reach true midnight; your mood is clear and light, and living midnight gradually blooms into ever-greater awareness. At present, people do not yet clearly know the living; just test it out when you head for the true, and the true will appear, while the living will be sublime. 周天第十二 呂祖曰。周天非以氣作主。以心到為妙訣。若畢竟如何周天。是助長也。無心而守。無意而行。仰觀乎 天。三百六十五度。刻刻變遷。而斗柄終古不動。吾心亦猶是也。心即璇璣。氣即群星。吾身之氣。四 肢百骸。原是貫通。不要十分著力。於此鍛鍊識神。斷除妄見。然後藥生。藥非有形之物。此性光也。 而即先天之真炁。然必於大定後方見。並無採法。言採者大謬矣。見之既久。心地光明。自然心空漏盡 。解脫塵海。若今日龍虎。明日水火。終成妄想去。吾昔受火龍真人口訣如是。不知丹書所說更何如也 。 一日有一周天。一刻有一周天。坎離交處便是一周。我之交。即天之迴旋也。未能當下休歇。所以有交 之時。即有不交之時。然天之迴旋未嘗少息。果能陰陽交泰。大地陽和。我之中宮正位。萬物一時暢遂 。即丹經沐浴法也。非大周天而何。此中火候。實實有大小不同。究竟無大小可別。到得功夫自然。不 知坎離為何物。天地為何等。孰為交。孰為一周兩周。何處覓大小之分別耶。總之一身旋運。雖見得極 大亦小。若一迴旋。天地萬物。悉與之迴旋。即在方寸處。亦為極大。金丹火候。要歸自然。不自然。 天地自還天地。萬物各歸萬物。欲強之使合。終不能合。即如天時亢旱。陰陽不合。乾坤未嘗一日不周 。然終見得有多少不自然處。我能轉運陰陽。調適自然。一時雲蒸雨降。草木酣適。山河流暢。縱有乖 戾。亦覺頓釋。此極大周天也。 子等問活子時。甚妙。然必認定正子時似著相。不著相不指明正子時。何從而識活子時。既識得活子時 。確然又有正子時。是一是二。非正非活。總要人看得真。一真則無不正。無不活矣。見得不真。何者 為活。何者為正耶。即如活子時。是時時見得的。畢竟到正子時。志氣清明。活子時愈覺發現。人未識 得活的明了。只向正的時候驗取。則正者現前。活者無不神妙矣。 13. A Song to Inspire the World 1. Because of the eagerness of my heart to liberate the world, I sincerely spoke a lot. Buddha also pointed directly to life and death to show what is most valuable. Lao-tzu also suggested that all trouble comes from the lower self, and transmitted the teaching of the valley spirit, but people could not recognize it. 2. Now I will give a general explanation of the road of finding the truth: The pervasive principle of the Yellow Middle conveys the great changes of yin and yang. When one establishes the right state, that is the mysterious pass. You stabilize your breathing at midnight, noon, and in between. The light returns to the primal opening, ten thousand spirits become calm. The medicine produced from the river source is the one breath emerging. It passes through a screen and transforms into golden light; The single disk of the red sun incessantly shines with brilliance. Common people mistake the vitalities Kan (Water ☵) and Li (Fire ☲); Conveying them between the heart and the kidneys, producing separation. How can the human way meet the Heavenly Heart? If in accord with the celestial, the way is naturally met. Let go of the ten thousand attachments, so nothing comes to mind; this is the true infinity of the primordial. The great void is silent, signs are gone; At the pass of essence and life, you forget discriminating consciousness. After discriminating consciousness is forgotten, you see basic reality. The water-clarifying pearl appears, mysterious and unfathomable: Endless afflictions disappear all at once. The jade capital sends down a nine-dragon decree; Walking in the sky, you arrive at the gateway of Heaven: Controlling wind and lightning, you make the thunder rumble. Focusing the spirit and steadying breath are for beginners; retreating to hide in secrecy is eternal calm. 3. Two poems, which I used when I initiated Zhang Zhennu long ago, both contain the Great Way. After midnight and before noon doesn‟t refer to the time, but to Kan (Water ☵) and Li (Fire ☲). Settling the breath means returning to the root and the Yellow Middle with each breath. Sitting means that the mind is unmoved. The mid-spine where the ribs join does not refer to vertebrae; it is the great road directly through to the jade capital. As for the double pass; this is difficult to put into words. Thunder in the earth rumbles, setting in motion rain on the mountain means the arising of true energy. The yellow sprouts emerging from the ground refer to the growth of the true medicine. These two little verses express everything you need to practice the Great Way. If you understand this, you will not be confused by others. 4 In old times Confucius and his student Yanhui climbed Tai mountain and looked out over the Wu area (Jiangsu province). Yanhui was fascinated by the view of a white horse running in the far away distance. Confucius suddenly put his hand in front of Yanhui‟s eyes to block his view, so that spiritual energy would not leak out of Yanhui‟s eyes. How could one not turn around the light? 5. Turning the light around is a matter of single-minded practice: just use the true breath to stabilize awareness in the central chamber. After a long time working with this you will naturally commune with the spirit and attain transmutation. Quieting the mind and stabilizing energy is the basis. When the mind is forgotten and the energy congeals, this is a sign of effectiveness. The emptiness of the mind and quietness of breath is the formation of the elixir. The unification of mind and energy is incubation. Clarifying the mind and seeing its essence is understanding the Way. You should each practice diligently; what a pity if you waste your time. If you do not practice for a day, then you are a ghost for a day; if you do practice for a single breath, then you are a realized immortal for a breath. More effort ! More effort ! 勸世歌第十三 呂祖曰。吾因度世丹衷熱。不惜婆心并饒舌。世尊亦為大因緣。直指生死真可惜。老君也患有吾身。傳 示谷神人不識。吾今略說尋真路。黃中通理載大易。正位居體是玄關。子午中間堪定息。回光祖竅萬神 安。藥產川原一炁出。透幙變化有金光。一輪紅日常赫赫。世人錯認坎離精。搬運心腎成間隔。如何人 道合天心。天若符兮道自合。放下萬緣毫不起。此是先天真無極。太虛穆穆朕兆捐。性命關頭忘意識。 意識忘後見本真。水清珠現玄難測。無始煩障一旦空。玉京降下九龍冊。步霄漢兮登天關。掌風霆兮驅 霹靂。凝神定息是初機。退藏密地為常寂。 吾昔度張珍奴二詞皆有大道。子後午前非時也。坎離耳。定息者。息息歸根。中黃也。坐者。心不動也 。夾脊者。非背上輪子。乃直透玉京大路也。雙關者。此處有難言者。地雷震動山頭者。真氣生也。黃 芽出土者，藥生也。小小二段。已盡修行大路。明此可不惑人言。 回光在純心行去。只將真息凝照于中宮。久之自然通靈達變也。總是心靜氣定為基。心忘氣凝為效。氣 息心空為丹成。心氣渾一為溫養。明心見性為了道。子輩各宜勉力行去。錯過光陰可惜也。一日不行。 一日即鬼也。一息行此。一息真仙也。勉之。 謹按 此經乃性命兼修。天仙之的傳也。道旨真宗得茲明曉。更藉問答切實指點。誠覺世微妙心燈。夫大千世 界徧地金華。宗旨能明。盡人得證。今幸我孚佑帝師。大佈慈悲。普施法力。將天仙妙道。於此處拈出 。從茲日麗中天。垂之萬古矣。所期月臨大地。印乎千潭耳。宗正本係仍屠子之舊。今就宗正本詳為釐 定。歸入集中以質後之天仙嗣派者。 Summary of The Secret of the Golden Flower The Secret of the Golden Flower is a Taoist text, that uses alchemical symbols to describe a method to control or dissolve the yin energy of the lower self (earthly po-soul) and bring about the pure yang energy of the Higher Self or Original Spirit (Celestial hun-soul). Because of the use of alchemical symbols the text is intimately connected to other Taoist (and also Buddhist) texts and often quotes from these texts. Many of these symbols are also used by other esoteric traditions since the inner meaning of all esoteric tradition is the same. Would you think it odd if Hafiz said, " I am in love with every church and mosque and temple and any kind of shrine because I know it is there that people say the different names of the One God."-- Hafiz Consequently, the Secret of the Golden Flower must be seen from larger perspective. The method used in the text is called turning around the light. Turning the light around is the secret of dissolving yin and controlling the lower self. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 2 The method used by the ancients for escaping from the world consisted in refining away the dregs of yin in order to return to the pure qian ☰. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 2 If the learner refines the yin lower self completely, then he will become pure yang. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 2 The method of inner development which produces a divine Immortal uses man's ability to 'reflect back his brightness to light up within. -- Yuyan, Commentary on the Cantong Qi — Triplex unity, 2nd c. Taoist text Light is another word for awareness. When one is aware of something one sheds light on it. When one is not aware of something, it stays in the dark. Turning around the light means turning one‟s awareness, which is normally focused on the externals, inward, and shedding light on one‟s inner world. One of the many symbols for pure light or awareness is Jindan (金丹), which translates as the Golden Pill or Elixir of life. Ancient immortals used the term Golden Pill as a metaphor of the essence of true consciousness. -- Liu Yiming (18th c. Taoist master) The Golden Flower is the Golden Pill. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 1 Both the Golden Flower and the Golden pill (elixir) are simply symbols for true consciousness, which refers to the awareness of the Higher Self or Original Spirit. This consciousness is veiled by the discriminating or illusionary consciousness of the lower self. Making the lower self passive is done through internal action. The secret of the elixir of life consists in using action in order to attain non-action. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 1 Action refers to turning around the light. This effort will be constantly interrupted by the yin energy of the lower self, the ten thousand thoughts and emotions. The alchemical symbol of lead refers to the firmness of the internal attitude to not allow any interruptions. This is also symbolized by the yang energy of the mind of Tao, the yang line in between two yin lines in the Kan (Water) trigram ☵ (not to be confused with the pure yang energy — the trigram Qian (Heaven) ☰ — of the Higher Self). Not allowing any thoughts to interrupt the effort of turning around the light is called bathing. The deepest secret, which cannot be dispensed with from the beginning to the end. This is the washing of the heart and the purification of the thoughts, which is bathing. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 8 From the beginning to the end refers to the beginning and end of the method of turning around the light. Washing the heart refers to getting rid of all the interests of the heart, so that only the interest to experience the presence of the Original Spirit is left. This means the heart has "died.” When a man can let his heart die, then the original spirit awakens to life. To kill the mind does not mean to let it dry and wither away, but it means that it has become undivided and gathered into one. The Buddha said: "When you fix your heart on one point, then nothing is impossible for you.” -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 8 At the end, the method of turning around the light is abandoned. Why is it necessary to use a method of deliberate action? The reason it is indeed necessary to use the method is to get rid of degeneracy. When all degenerations are effectively done away with, then the method is not needed, just as a raft needed to cross a river is to be left behind once the river is crossed and a net needed to catch fish is to be put away once the fish has been caught. -- Liu Yiming, Awakening the Tao When one has been successful in not allowing the effort to be interrupted, the Original Spirit is unveiled. Inevitably, the yin energy of the lower self will return because one can only be without thoughts — the lower self can only die — for a short while. However, now one can attend to one‟s affairs with the presence of the Original Spirit. One attends to one‟s affairs in the midst of the emptiness.....While practicing contemplation of the empty, one also knows that one cannot destroy the ten thousand things, and still one does not notice them. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 8 Freedom of thought means having no thought in the midst of thought. -- Huineng, The Platform sutra Sooner or later, depending on one‟s firmness of the moment, the lower self will reaffirm itself and the Higher Self will become veiled again. Through practice, the Original Spirit can be present longer and longer. Turning around the light is also referred to as the firing process and is one of the many symbols for the method of turning around the light. The turning around of the light is the firing process. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 3 The firing process is the central idea in Taoist Alchemy. The firing process spoken of in the alchemical classics and writings of the masters is a metaphor for the order of practical spiritual work. -- Liu Yiming, The Inner teachings of Taoism The inner development of the elixir and the timing of its firing are no different at all from the ebbing and the flowing of the phases of the moon. -- Yu Yan, Commentary on the Cantong Qi — Triplex unity, 2nd c. Taoist text The firing process is not openly described in the Secret of the Golden Flower, because according to Liu Yiming, one needs to be guided by an enlightened teacher. The moon waxing to fullness is a secret passed on by word of mouth. The medicinal substances a