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 ones daily activities within society. Only then can one
cultivate reality and realize ones 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. Thats why its 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
ones 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 yearstime may wing your flight above. In carrying out this principle there
is no other method that brings more progress, one must only concentrate ones 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 wont find the way to apply the charm; people without this utmost capacity for
absorption and tranquility cannot hold on to it.


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 ( 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 ( 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 (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 ( 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.

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. Its 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 ones eyes are looking at the tip of the nose, ones thoughts should be concentrated
on the middle yellow court. Wherever the eyes look, ones attention follows. How can one direct ones
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 ones 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, ones 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 dont 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 () 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 doesnt 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 doesnt 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 dont 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.

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 () and the character for mind () make up the character for breath ().
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 ones breathing; just listen to its silence. Once its 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
() 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.


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 dont 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.

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 doesnt 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 - ) the foundation is set
up. Highest good is like water, pure and spotless. It is the ruler of the great polarity (, 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 ones 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, ones vision becomes hazy,
because of too much brightness. Its like opening ones eyes while being in a cloud and one doesnt
see ones 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.

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 doesnt
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 ones 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 ones own light inward upon ones 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 ones own light inward upon ones 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.

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 suns 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 ones 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 ones 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 ones 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. Dont
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. Dont 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 ones 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 ones 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, thats 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 ones 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.


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 () is made up of the characters for Self ()
and mind (). The Self () and the mind () sustaining it, is the true breath (), 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 teachers essence proves effective.

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. Isnt light white? There is an explanation of this; for one who hasnt 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 () is made up of the characters for now () and mind (). So a
thought is what is present in ones 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 () is attributable to the sun () and moon (). If
one takes them for oneself, in the end youll find out its not you. As for that which cannot be
attributed to anything, what else is it but yourself?

5. Light () is attributable to the sun () and moon (). 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 hairs-breadth's distinction: using ones
mind is the light of discriminating awareness; let go, and it is then the light of essence. A hairs-
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.

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.

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 ones 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 dont 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.


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 doesnt 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 Yanhuis eyes to block his view, so that spiritual
energy would not leak out of Yanhuis 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 !


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 ones
awareness, which is normally focused on the externals, inward, and shedding light on ones inner
world. One of the many symbols for pure light or awareness is Jindan (), 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 ones
affairs with the presence of the Original Spirit.

One attends to ones 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 ones 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 are
hard to know, and the firing process is not easy to understand. Students should hasten to find a
genuine teacher. -- Liu Yiming, Commentary on Understanding Reality

The 2nd century text Cantong Qi connects the waxing and waning of the moon to the eight trigrams
and also hexagrams of The I Ching. The inner meaning of the I Ching is the firing process. Each
hexagram (and also the trigrams making up each hexagram) describes the firing process.

The firing process is the sixty-four hexagrams. The alchemical classics and writings of the adepts,
amounting to thousands of volumes, do not go beyond the principles of the I Ching. -- Liu Yiming,
The Taoist I Ching, Mixed Hexagrams #43 Parting and #44 Meeting

The process of refining the yin lower self completely, and becoming pure yang is described in terms of
the I Ching hexagrams.

Except for the secret of turning the light around, there is no other exercise to return to qian. The light
itself is qian; to turn it around is to return to it. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 2

Qian refers to the trigram and hexagram of pure yang called Heaven.

Growing from one yang to gradually reach the pure wholeness of six yangs, going from vague to clear,
the Gold Elixir develops naturally.

-- Liu Yiming, The Inner Teachings of Taoism

This is the wonderful charm that is spoken of.

All changes of spiritual consciousness depend upon the heart. This wonderful charm, although it
works very accurately, is yet so fluid that it needs extreme wisdom and alertness, and the most
complete absorption and tranquility. People without this highest degree of wisdom and alertness do
not find the way to apply the charm; people without this utmost capacity for absorption and
tranquility cannot keep fast hold of it. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 1

Through this process (also shown in the first six oxherding pictures on the right) the Golden Flower
gradually opens and comes in full bloom.

The further the work advances, the more the Golden Flower blooms, and the subtler the method of
turning around the light becomes.

-- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 8

Now that the Golden Flower is in bloom, the mystical pearl can stabilize.

The Cantong Qi says, "The unstable Pearl of the sun always wants to leave people; finally finding the
Golden Flower, they change and stay by each other." The Golden Flower is the mind of Tao . The use
of the mind of Tao is to govern the human mind. After the human mind is quiet, and discriminatory
awareness is extinguished, the mind of Tao has no function.

-- Liu Yiming, Commentary on Understanding Reality

The practice of turning around the light needs to occur in any circumstance.

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. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 10

When you follow the teaching of turning around the light, a man doesnt need to give up his ordinary
occupation in doing it. -- The Secret of the Golden Flower, Chapter 7

Turning around the light is active meditation. One can practice it sitting in a quiet room, as
preparation for practicing it in ones daily circumstances.

An ancient said, "When people are in the midst of the disturbance, this is a good time to apply effort
to keep independent." Stay comprehensively alert in the immediate present, and suddenly an
awakening will open up an experience in the midst of it all that is millions of times better than that of
quiet sitting. -- Huang Yuan-Ch'i, Annals of the Hall of Blissful Development
People meditating on the fundamental, carry out their ordinary tasks and activities in the midst of
meditation, and carry out meditation in the midst of ordinary tasks and activities. There is no disparity
between meditation and activity. It is for those as yet incapable of this, those weak in focusing their
intent on the Way, that special meditation periods were set up. -- Muso Soseki, 14th c. Japanese poet
and garden designer

Lao Tzu, Christ and Bodhisattva Manjusri seated on their animals represents the Mind of Tao
controlling the lower self, while the lower self is in the midst of ordinary tasks and activities.

I Ching, Hexagram #11, Peace/Tranquility: When the spirit of heaven rules in man, his animal nature
takes its appropriate place.

Sufi tradition -- Al-Jilani (12th c. Sufi): When the believer has mastered his lower self, so that it serves
as a riding mount beneath him, the deeds of his heart will shine forth upon his face.