Workbook 000 029

The Way To Eternity
Translated and Compiled by Hu Xuezhi
CONTENTS
PART 1 PART 2 PART 3 PART 4 PART 5 PART 6 PART 7 PART 8 PART 9 PART 10 PART 11 PART 12 PART 13 PART 14 PART 15 Prerequisite Knowledge on the Taoist Alchemy Practice...... 2 Five Element Theory and Heavenly Stems.7 To Understand A Myriad dharma for Transcending Ego....15 Earthly Branches.19 Some Procedural Details of Internal Alchemy Practice..24 Some Concepts of Alchemy Practice plus Seed Theory of Buddhism ...30 Ho Drawing.34 Luo Writing..37 Consciousness-only School Theory....41 The Alteration of Birth and Death..48 Eight Trigrams Arrangement..55 Commentary Upon Two Eight-Trigram Arrangements..51 Flying as A Bird en Route .....53 Deep Analysis Upon Some Terminology...72 Whole Procedure of Alchemy Practice,104
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Copyright 2006-2011 By http://www.damo-qigong.net / Author: Hu Xuezhi. All Right Reserved. No portion of this work may be copied, altered, changed, reproduced, distributed or published in any way without written permission from author. Page 1 of 150
PART 1
1-1. A. B. C. Food
Prerequisite Knowledge For the Taoist Alchemy Practice
Clothing Habitation
D. Daily activity E. Jing F. Chi (Qi) G. Shen H. How to secure Jing and the proper methods I. J. Five elements theory Yin-yang theory
K. Main acupoints throughout human body: upper Dantian, middle Dantian, lower Dantian, three passes in front, three passes in back, axial line, etc.
1-2. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 6: The Great Supreme ()
Tse-yu and Tse-sang were friends. Once when it had rained for ten days, Tse-yu said to himself, "Tse-sang is probably starved." So he packed up some food and went to feed him. Arriving at the door, he heard something between singing and weeping, accompanied with the sound of a stringed instrument, as follows: "O Father! O mother! Is this due to Heaven? Is this due to mankind?" It was as though the voice would not hold out and the words were rushing to get through. Whereupon Tse-yu went in and asked, "Why are you singing the words in such manner?" "I was pondering what it is that has brought me to this extremity," replied Tse-sang. "But I could not get the answer. Would in any way my father and my mother ever wish this poverty upon me? Heaven covers all without partiality; earth bears up all without partiality. Heaven and earth surely would not single me out to make me in particular so poor? I am trying in search of who is doing that, but I cannot get on it. Surely then I am brought to this extreme by nothing but Destiny!" 1-3. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 22: The Knowledges Excursion in the North () "Life is the appendix of death; death is the beginning of life. Who knows the ultimate of them all? Man's life is a coming-together of Chi. If it comes together, there is life; if it scatters, there is death. And if life and death are companions to each other, then what is there for us to worry about?
"Therefore tens of thousands things are really undifferentiated one. This is that to be accounted as beautiful because it is spirit-like and wonderful, and that to be accounted as ugly because of its foetor and putridity. But the foetor and putridity turn into the spirit-like and wonderful, and the spirit-like and wonderful turn into foetor and putridity. Hence it is said, That to thoroughfare across all that in the world is nothing but one wave of Chi. The sage, therefore, never ceases to treasure up oneness." 1-4. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 22: The Knowledges Excursion in the North Heaven and earth have their great glory but do not speak of it; the four seasons have their clear-marked regularity but do not discuss it; the tens of thousands of things have their principles of growth but do not expound them. The sage can take root in the glory of Heaven and earth and have run-through command of the principles of the tens of thousands of things. Thus it is that the Perfect Man does no causative action, the Great Sage originates nothing - they are just in concentration meditation for the observation upon the Heaven and earth, we may say. Those spiritual brightness and exquisite wonderfulness of Heaven and earth initiate the unlimited transformations. All myriads of things sometimes undergo life, sometimes death, sometimes of round and sometimes of square; no one can comprehend their very source. There they are, the tens of thousands of things changing in all their stir and bustle, just as they have been so since ancient times. Vast as is the Six Realms cannot but pass beyond its boundary; tiny as is an autumn hair is indebted to it for the completion of its bodily form. There is nothing in the world that does not arise and decline, to the end of its days lacking fixity. The Yin and Yang, and the four seasons revolve in succession, each in its proper order. Obscure and profound, the Tao seems not to exist and yet it is there; vigorously and unbounded, it possesses no form but it is spirit-like; the tens of thousands of things are shepherded by it, though they do not know it - this is what is called the very Source. This is what to be the concentration meditation in observation upon Heaven. Nieh Ch'ueh asked P'i-i about Tao. P'i-i said, "Position your body in correctitude, unify your vision, and the harmony of Heaven will come upon you. Call in your knowledge, unify your breathing, and the spirits will come to dwell with you. Te will glory in you, the Tao will be the dwelling-place for you to lodge into. Thus, looking unconsciously and ignorantly, you, as like a newborn calf, will not try to find out the elapsing oldness." P'i-i had not finished these words than Nieh Ch'ueh dozed off into a sound sleep. P'i-i, immensely pleased, left and walked away, singing this song: A withered corpse the body to be, Dead ashes the mind to be, Realness he make with the knowledge, Abstain from persisting in the elapsing oldness, Oh, dim dim, dark dark, mindless he is! Far beyond is he qualified to be consulted with, What sort of man is he! Shun asked Ch'eng, saying, "Is it possible to gain possession of the Tao? "You dont even have possession of your own body -- how could you possibly gain possession of the Tao!" "If I don't have possession of my own body, then who does?" said Shun.
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"It is a form in aggregation entrusted by Heaven and earth. Life is not yours to hold - -it is a harmony in aggregation entrusted by Heaven and earth. Your innate nature and appointed lot are not yours to hold -- they are accordance in aggregation entrusted by Heaven and earth. Your grandsons and sons are not yours to hold -- they are castoff skins in aggregation entrusted by Heaven and earth. Therefore to walk without knowing where to go, to position but without knowing what to position, to eat but without knowing what to taste. All is done by the prevailing and evolving Yang Chi of Heaven and earth. How then could it be possible to gain possession of it anyway?" 1-5. Tao Te Ching / Chapter 5 Heaven and earth do not act from any wish to be benevolent; they deal with all universal things as the straw dogs are dealt with. The sages do not act from any wish to be benevolent; they deal with the people as the straw dogs are dealt with. Doesnt it resemble a bellow for the space between Heaven and Earth? While vast and vacuous, it is inexhaustible, The more it is in motion, the more contents it gives arise to. Much knowledge cannot help to do without confusion and delusion. It is not better than presiding over what is located in center
1-6. Tao Te Ching / Chapter 2 When all under the Heaven knows the beautiful as beautiful, ugliness comes into being at the same time. When all knows the good, Then the not good comes to be concurrently. Therefore, there always exist in mutual interdependence the following: Being and nonbeing come into being, Difficult and easy form themselves, Long and short are distinct, High and low contrast, Voice and sound correspond, Front and back follow each other, And so on. Thus, the sage handles affairs in the way not conditioned, and practices teaching in the way free of any words. Thus the sage always acts, The tens of thousands things arise, but he does not ever begin them; They abide in their beings, but he does not ever keep the least differentiated, They go through their processes, but he does not ever dwell on the doing. It is only because he doesn't dwell on anything that they therefore cannot do without him!
Part 2
Five Elements Theory and Heavenly Stems
2-1. Five Elements

Wood Fire Earth Mental Water
2-2. Heavenly Stems

2-3Chuang Tzu / Chapter 1: A Happy Excursion Huei Tzu said to Chuang Tzu, "The King of Wei once gave me seed of a large-sized gourd. I planted it, and it bore a fruit that could hold five bushels. Now I filled this gourd with liquid, but its walls were not strong enough for even sustaining itself. I cut the gourd in half for ladles but they are so shallow and level that they would not hold anything. Certainly huge it was in terms of capacity, but for the sake I had no use for it I smashed it into pieces." Sir, said Chuang Tzu. "Truly the situation is that you were simply obtuse in utilizing what was large," replied Chuang Tzu. "There was a man of Sung who had a salve recipe for chapped hands and his family having been washing cotton wadding for generations. A stranger who had heard of it came and offered him a hundred pieces of gold for the formula. The man of Sung called together his clansmen and said to them, 'We have been washing cotton wadding for generations and had earned no more than several pieces of gold. Now that we can sell the recipe for a hundred pieces of gold in a single day, please let me give it to the stranger. "Upon obtaining the formula, the stranger went canvassing with the King of Wu, who was then engaged in hostilities with the state of Yueh. The King of Wu named the stranger as the commander of his fleet to fight a
naval battle with Yueh in the winter. The latter was totally defeated, and the stranger was rewarded with a piece of the land and a fief. The efficacy of the salve for chapped hands was same in both cases, but one secured a fief with it while the other could not free himself from washing cotton wadding. It is because the uses to which the salve was put were different. Now you, sir, have huge gourds of five bushels in capacity. As an example, why dont you simply make a large raft out of them to sail over rivers and lakes, instead of worrying about it being too shallow and level to hold anything! This demonstrates, sir, that your mind is still obstructed by brambles! 2-4Chuang Tzu / Chapter 1: A Happy Excursion Huei Tzu said to Chuang Tzu, "I have a large tree, which people call ailanthus. Its trunk is so irregular and knotty that a carpenter cannot apply his ruler upon it. Its branches are so twisted that neither a compass nor a set square can be used upon it. It stands by the roadside, but no carpenter will look at it. Now your words, sir, are like that tree: big and useless and certainly will be cast off by all in the world." Chuang Tzu said, "Have you never seen a wild cat or a weasel? Crouching down, it lies in wait for its prey to come along; east and west it springs about, avoiding neither high nor low, until it gets caught in a trap, or dies in a snare. Again, there is the yak, which is as large as clods across the sky. It is big indeed, but it cannot catch mice at all. Now you, sir, have a big tree and are at a loss in regard to its uselessness, why not plant it in the domain of non-where, in the great and barren wilds, where you might loiter idly with nothing being its side, and lie down in blissful repose therein, which is safe from the ax and all injury from anything else? There being no places for its use, how could there be any places where distress and trouble take abode?"
2-5Tao Te Ching / Chapter 1 Tao, that can be perceived as Tao, is not that Tao of eternity; The concepts, that can be perceived as concepts, is not that concepts of eternity. The non-being of any concepts serves as the origin of all universal things; The being of concepts the mother of all universal things. Therefore, to be non-being of any sentience constantly, for the aim of observation on the subtleties; To be being of sentience constantly, for the aim of observation on that all returns to. The two above-mentioned have the same source but are given different names. Both of them are called mysterious, The mysterious and the mysterious in alternation, makes up the door of all mysteries.
2-6A Short Story
In the desolate wild a traveler had been walking alone for a longtime. Suddenly, the roaring of a beast came into his ears and he beheld a fierce tiger. Frightened, he fled away without choosing the best path for escape. In his fleeing he happened to see a demolished well with a vine hanging down from the wells mouth. Indifferent to the outcome he may face he quickly crept down the well by holding the vine in hope to disappear from the sight of tiger. Yet, when looking up to watch the mouth of well he found there were two rats, one is white and one black, gnawing at the vine. My God, I am finished! he exclaimed. Searching around for any other help, he found four poisonous snakes were worming their bodies around the wall of the well. Looking downward, he found much worse: a huge poisonous dragon was opening its mouth waiting for its prey to falling down! In such a circumstance the traveler lost all his senses. All of sudden, he beheld five honeydews were growing down along the vine. So wonderful it is! exclaimed the traveler. Forgetting all about his circumstances, he licked five drops from the honeydews greedily. Unexpectedly, fierce bees in great quantities threw themselves on him in the company of a cyclone, and a wildfire that began to burn from the roots of the vine. 2-7. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 22: The Knowledges Excursion in the North "Man's life between Heaven and earth is like the passing of a white colt glimpsed through a crack in the wall-whoosh --- and in an instant coming to an end! Overflowing, starting forth, there is nothing that does not come out; gliding away, slipping into silence, there is nothing that does not go back in. By a transformation they live, and by another transformation they die. Living things grieve over it, mankind sheds tears for it. Unity the Heaven-lent bow-bag, and unload the Heaven--lent satchel! Amidst the diverse confusion and seeming mutation the unfettered ensues, to which the Hun and Poh are on their way hurrying, after which the corporeal body follows, on at last to the Great Return. "That the bodily frame came from incorporeity, and will return to the same, is what all men in common know, and it is not something for which those who are on their way to Tao need to strive. The common run of men all alike debate how to reach it. But those who have reached it do not debate, and those who debate have not reached it. Those who peer with bright eyes will never catch sight of it. Discourse upon it is not as good as keeping silent. The Tao cannot be heard with ears; to listen for it is not as good as plugging up the ears. This is called the Great Acquisition." 2-8 Understanding the Reality / Chapter 2
I ask you Sir, Even if you amass a mountain of gold can you buy off impermanence? Seeking no way to leave the path of delusion, Even talented and virtuous enough to have no match in the world, You are by no means a true man.
A hundred years is like a spark made by colliding stones, A lifetimes undertaking is like a wandering bubble, Craving for nothing but material gain and prominence,
Yet having no concern for the decrepitude which keep creeping on your body and countenance, I ask you Sir, Even if you amass a mountain of gold can you buy off impermanence? Though human life has a limit of a hundred years, The length of life, whether it be difficult or smooth, cannot be known beforehand. Yesterday riding a horse through the town, Today a sleeping corpse in a coffin: Family and wealth cast off, They are not your possession, With evil deeds coming on, You cannot fool yourself. Making no efforts to search for it, How could you possibly come upon the way of great enlightenment? Having come on it, yet making no effort in practice You are a fool in a word.
2-9. The Musician () Once a musician played in the presence of the king who had promised him a thousand coins. Later, he asked the king for the money. The king refused to give it to him and said, "The music you played doesn't make me merry for a long time. Therefore, the money that I intent to give you is also to please you just for a while." So is the wordy retribution. 2-10. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 2 ()
"How do I know that love of life is not a delusion after all? How do I know that he who dreads death is not like a child who, having left home in his youth, has forgotten to find his way back home? "The Lady Li Chi was the daughter of the border warden of Ai11. When the Duke of Chin first got her, she wept until the bosom of her dress was drenched with tears. But when she came to the royal residence, shared with the Duke his luxurious couch, and ate delicious meats of his table, she regretted that she had ever wept. How then do I know that the dead may not repent of their previous craving for life? "He who dreams of drinking wine at a cheerful banquet may wake up weeping when morning comes; he who dreams of weeping may go off in the morning to enjoy activities of hunt. While in the midst of a dream, we do not know it is a dream, and sometimes we may even try to interpret a dream. Only after we wake do we know it was a dream. And someday there will be a great awakening when we know that this is all a great dream. Yet the stupid thinks they are awake, busily and brightly in recognition of things, calling My excellent lord! Oh, you humble shepherd!---How stubborn and narrow-minded Confucius is! Both Confucius and you are both dreaming! And I who say you are dreaming -- I am but in a dream myself. Words like these will be labeled as fantastic and absurd arguments. Yet, after ten thousand generations, there may appear a great sage who will know how to explain it, and he will appear as though overnight.
2-11. Chapter 19 The Full Attainment of Life () He who has attained the reality of life does not labor over that which life does without the natural supply of its very source. He who has mastered the reality of appointed lot does not strive after that which knowledge does without its very origin. To nourish physical body sustainable materials must first of all turn to be ready. Nonetheless, there are still cases where there is a superabundance of such material supply, and yet the physical body still goes unnourished. To well preserve the life it must first of all make sure there is no departure of the physical body. Nonetheless, there are still cases where the physical body has not taken departure, and yet the life has perished. When life comes, it cannot be declined; when it goes, it cannot be detained. Alas! How pitiful the men of the world, who think that simply to nourish the body is sufficient to preserve life! But if nourishing the body is in the end not sufficient to preserve life, then why is what the world does worth doing? It may not be well worth doing, and yet it cannot be left undone - this is unavoidable. For those who want to abstain from laboring for physical body they had better abandon the affairs of the world. By abandoning the world, there should be free of its entanglements. By being without any entanglements, the rectitude can prevail with heart-mind and calmness with Chi. With rectitude and calmness prevailing, then together with corporeal body the life gains a gradual renewal. In securing a renewal of life, it is not far away from the True. But why is abandoning the affairs of the world worthwhile, and why is forgetting life worthwhile? If you abandon the affairs of the world, the physical body will be without toil. If you forget life, then vitality suffers no deficiency. With corporeal body in completion and vitality being restored sufficient, man becomes one with Heaven. Heaven and earth are the father and mother of the tens of thousands of things. It is by their union that the corporeality is formed; it is by their separation that the beginning is brought about. When the corporeal body and vitality suffer no deficiency, this is called being able to shift. Refining vitality (Jing) to perfection, people can turn around to pattern and become Heaven.
2-12Dream in Red Chamber/ Chapter 1 In the first chapter of book Dream in Red Chamber there carries a song titled Hao Liao (Excellent - Finality in Chinese) which was muttered by a limping Taoist priest. It took on the effect to waken up Zhen Shih-yin, a figure who experienced many ups and downs during his life tenure, to understand something about the meaning of the life existence. People may gain some understanding from reading the succeeding passage excerpted from Dream in Red Chamber. A book its author described as pages full of silly trash, a handful of tears, sour and bitter. What a fool the author is, but inside this book who can unfold its mysteries? Strange coincidence, as he, on this day, came leaning on his staff and with considerable strain. As far as the street for a little relaxation, he suddenly caught sight of an approaching figure. Approaching from the side a Taoist priest with a crippled foot; his maniac appearance so repulsive appeared. His shoes of straw, his garments all in tatters, muttering several sentiments of a contemptuous nature: All men know the immortal to be fine,
But fame to disregard them never succeeds! From old till now where are they: those valiant commanders and high ranking official? Waste lie their graves, a heap of grass, extinct. All men know the immortal to be fine, But to forget gold, silver, they never succeed! Throughout lifetime they grudge their hoardings to be scant, And when plenty has come, their eyelids close. All men hold the immortal to be fine, Yet to forget lovely wives, charming maids, they never succeed! Who speak of grateful love while lives their lord, And dead their lord, another they pursue. All men know the immortal to be fine, But sons and grandsons to forget never succeed! From old till now of parents soft-heart many, But filial sons and grandsons who have seen? Shih-yin on hearing these words hastily came up to the priest, "What were you so glibly holding forth?" he inquired. "All I could hear were a lot of hao liao (excellent, finality.") "You may well have heard the two words 'hao liao,'" answered the Taoist with a smile, "but can you be said to have fathomed their meaning? You should know that all things in this world are excellent. When they have attained finality, they are excellent.. But when they have not attained finality, they are not perfect. If they were to be excellent, they would attain finality. My song is called Excellent-finality (hao liao)." Shih-yin was gifted with a natural perspicacity that enabled him, as soon as he heard these remarks, to grasp their spirit. "Wait a while," he therefore said smilingly; "Let me unravel this excellent-finality song of yours; do you mind?" "Please by all means go on with the interpretation," urged the Taoist; after which Shih-yin continued in this strain: Sordid rooms and vacant courts, Replete in years gone by with beds where influence-abounding officials lay; Parched grass and withered banyan trees, Where once were halls for song and dance! Spiders' webs the carved pillars intertwine, The green gauze now is again pasted on the straw windows! What about the cosmetic fresh concocted or the powder just scented; Why has the hair too on each temple become white like hoarfrost!
Yesterday the tumulus of yellow earth buried the bleached bones, To-night under the red silk curtain reclines the newly-matching couple! Gold fills the coffers, silver fills the boxes, But in a twinkle, the beggars will all abuse you! While you deplore the life of others is not long, You forget that you yourself are coming alone to follow the suit! You educate your sons with all proprietary, But they may someday, 'tis hard to say, become thieves; Though you choose, persistently, for the prospective consort with fat meat and fine grain You may, who can say, fall into someplace of easy virtue! Through your dislike of the gauze hat as mean, You have come to be locked-in a cangue; Yesterday, poor partner, you felt cold in a tattered coat, To-day, you despise the purple embroidered dress as long! Confusion reigns far and wide! You have just sung your part, I come on the boards, Instead of yours, you regard another as your native land; What utter perversion! In one word, it comes to this we make wedding clothes for others! (We sow for others to reap.) The crazy limping Taoist clapped his hands. "Your interpretation is clear," he remarked with a hearty laugh, "your interpretation is clear!" Shih-yin promptly said nothing more than,--"Walk on;" And seizing the stole from the Taoist's shoulder, he flung it over his own. He did not, however, return home, but leisurely walked away, in company with the eccentric Taoist priest.
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PART 3
To Understand A Myriad dharma for Transcending Ego
3-1To understand the reality of the corporeal world --the composition of all myriad of things A. Things in relation to the nature
B. Things in relation to human body
C. Things artificial
D. Things obscure and invisible
3-2. Five ranks and one hundred elemental constructs A. Five ranks A-1. Forms
A-2. Mind
A-3. Elements possessed by the mind
A-4. Not concomitant with mind
A-5. Not conditioned
B. One hundred elemental constructs B-1. Eight Consciousness
B-2. Mental functions (51)
B-3. Objective elements (11)
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B-4. Elements not concomitant with mind (24)
B-5. Unconditioned elements (6)
3-3. Who is the creator? A. All transformations derive from nothing but consciousness
B. Nothing but consciousness is capable for enabling the transformations
c. A magic performance
3-4. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 5: Embodiment of Te Perfection () "Once I went on a mission to the Chu State," replied Confucius, "I saw some little pigs sucking at the body of their dead mother. After a while, they gave a start and all ran away to leave her. For their mother could no longer entertain her own self, nor did she seem to be as same as she had been before. Their mother that they loved was not the body, but that which made the body what it was. When a man is killed in battle, his coffin does not deserve any coffin ornamentals. A man whose foot has been cut off does not need to value the former shoes. For both cases, the very fundamental is gone. The selected concubines of the Son of Heaven7 do not cut their nails or pierce their ears8. Those bridegroom who are to be married have to stop living outside and cannot be employed again9. Such is the importance attached to preserving the body whole. How much more valued is one who has preserved his Te whole? Now Ugly Aitai-To has said nothing and is already trusted, accomplished nothing and is already sought after, and is offered the government of a country with the only fear that he might decline. Indeed he must be the one whose Heavenly nature is perfect and whose Te reaches the formless!"
3-5. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 6: The Great Supreme
Yen Huei spoke to Confucius, "I am getting on." "What do you mean by that?" asked Confucius. "I've forgotten benevolence and righteousness!"replied Yen Huei.
"Thats good," replied Confucius, "but not quite perfect." Another day, Yen Huei met Confucius and said, "I am getting on. "What do you mean by that?" asked Confucius. "I have forgotten proprieties and social code, and edifying music and amusement," answered Yen Huei. "Thats good," said Chungni, "but not quite perfect." Another day, Yen Huei again met Chungni and said, "I am getting on. "What do you mean by that?" asked Confucius. "I can sit forgetting myself," replied Yen Huei. "What do you mean by sitting down and forgetting everything. said Confucius, changing his countenance. "I let the body degenerate in constant motionlessness," answered Yen Huei, do without the intelligence and capability, be away from the body with mind, rid of the knowledge, thus making myself identical with the Great Thoroughfare. This is what I mean by forgetting myself while sitting." "If becoming identical with it," said Confucius, "there may come that nowhere the good settles down. If letting alone the transformations of it, there may come that nowhere something of special regularity arises. Really you are getting on with enlightenment? I would like to ask you to follow and trail behind.
3-6. The Slave Guards the Door Once there was a man who was about to take a long trip. He gave orders to his slave and said, "Keep a close watch over the door as well as the donkey and the rope". After his departure, the neighbor was playing music with drew attention of the slave. He put the rope and the door on the ass' back and went to the neighbor to listen to the music. The house was then ransacked by a thief after he had left it. On his return, the master asked the alive what had happened to his house. The slave replied, "You told me to take care of the door, the ass and the rope. I know nothing about the rest." Again the master said, "The whole idea of watching the door is for you to watch the house. Now that the house has been robbed, what's the use in having the door?" 3-7. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 17 Autumn Floods () Chuang Tzu was fishing in the P'u River, when the king of Ch'u sent two great officers to him, with the message as, "I would like to trouble you with the administration of my territories." Chuang Tzu kept on holding his fishing pole without turning his head, and said, "I have heard that there is a
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sacred tortoise in Ch'u that has been dead for three thousand years. The king keeps it wrapped in cloth and boxed, and stores it in the ancestral temple. Now would this tortoise rather be dead and have its bones left behind and honored? Or would it rather be alive and dragging its tail in the mud?" "It would have been better for it to live, and draw its tail after it over the mud," said the two officials. Chuang Tzu said, "Go your ways! I'll keep on drawing my tail in the mud!" Hui Tzu became prime minister of Liang State, Chuang Tzu went to visit him. Someone said to Hui Tzu, "Chuang Tzu is coming with a wish to replace you as prime minister! Upon which Hui Tzu was filled with alarm and searched all over the state for three days and three nights, trying to find Chuang Tzu. Chuang Tzu then came to see him, and said, "In the south there is a bird called the Yuanch'u - I wonder if you've ever heard of it? Rising up from the Southern Ocean Yuanch'u flies to the Northern Ocean, and it will rest on nothing but the Wut'ung tree, eat nothing but the fruit of the Lien, and drink only from springs of sweet water. An owl, who had gotten hold of a halfrotten rat, when the Yuanch'u passed by overhead, raised its head and looked up at the Yuanch'u, and said, Shoo!' Now that you have this Liang state of yours, are you trying to shoo me?" Chuang Tzu and Hui Tzu were strolling along the dam of the Hao River when Chuang Tzu said, "See how the minnows come out and dart around where they please! That is the enjoyment of fishes!" Hui Tzu said, "You're not a fish how do you know the enjoyment (happiness) of fishes?" Chuang Tzu said, "You're not I, so how do you know I don't know the enjoyment of fishes?" Hui Tzu said, "I'm not you, so I certainly don't know you fully. On the other hand, you're certainly not a fish, so that you don't know the enjoyment of fishes! The argument is perfect!" Chuang Tzu said, "Let's go back to your original question, please. You asked me how I know the enjoyment of fishes so you already knew I knew it when you asked the question. I know it (from our enjoying ourselves together) by strolling above the dam of the Hao River."
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PART 4 Earthly Branches

4-1. Earthly Branches
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4-2. Tao Te Ching / Chapter 65 The ancients who were good at cultivating Tao Did not illuminate the people, But rather kept them simple. People are difficult to rule When they have too much sentient knowing.
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Therefore: If using sentient knowing to rule the state, The state is full of robbers. If abstaining from using sentient knowing to rule the state, It is a blessing to the state. If understanding these two points, you know the proper norm for governing. That arising from knowing the proper norm is called Magical Te. How deep and far-reaching the Magical Te is progressing! It keeps going away opposite to things, Thus, arriving at the great harmonious accordance
4-3. Chuang Tzu / On Communing with and Accommodating All Things
The Wang said to the Ching12, "A little while ago you were walking and now you're standing still; a little while ago you were sitting and now you're standing up. Why this lack of independence?" Ching said, "Do I have to depend upon something else to be what I am like this? Does what I depend upon in turn have to depend upon something to be what it is like this? That I have to depend upon (physical body to walk and sit and stand) resemble that of snake depending upon its scale for creeping and a cicada depending upon its wings to fly? How do I know due to what reason I am what I am? How do I know due to what reason I am not what I am not?" Once upon a time, Chuang Chou, dreamt that he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering about happily enjoying himself. He did not know that he was Chuang Chou. Soon he awaked, and palpably was Chuang Chou again. He did not know whether he was Chuang Chou who had dreamed he was a butterfly, or whether it was a butterfly, dreaming that it was Chuang Chou. Between Chou and a butterfly there must be a distinction. This is called the transformation of things.
4-4. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 7 : Following Along to Become Emperors and Kings () The emperor of the South Sea was called Shu, the emperor of the North Sea was called Hu, and the emperor of the central territory was called Hun-tun (Chaos). Shu and Hu from time to time came together for a meeting in the territory of Hun-tun, and Hun-tun treated them very generously. Shu and Hu discussed how they could repay his kindness. "All men," they said, "have seven openings. So they can see, hear, eat, and breathe. But Hun-tun alone does not have any. Let us try to bore some holes into him!" Every day they bored a hole into Hun-tun, and on the seventh day Hun-tun died. 4-5. TaoTeChing/Chapter33 One who knows others can be called wise, One who knows oneself is called clear-sighted. One who conquers others can be called strong, One who conquers oneself is mighty. One who contents with one's lot is well supplied
One who persists has will, One who does not deviate from the place where he is established can last long One who dies but incurs no dying can be unperishing.
4-6. Dharma-talk-style poem There is a thought in being, there is the being of everything, There is no thought in being, there is the nonbeing of everything. Both being and nonbeing are contingent upon nothing but -one thought, Yet when there is none of any thought, there is none of both being and nonbeing. Catching sight of water space while incapable to sail across, because there is no raft. Catching sight of vacuous space yet incapable to tread upon, because there are no wings. Yet who could ever ponder over the fact that both raft and wings deriving from nothing but earth? Hence, it is earth in sight that could not be in use for sail across, for tread upon! The men in awareness of this fact, could sail across boundless ocean without raft, while fly across the infinite space without wings! The water in running stream, as well as wind whispering -through pine-trees, they are the tongue in narration! Eons ago chanting the words of Truth with no time resting. How far removed to get at the appreciation of it if by erecting up two ears! Perhaps nothing but the withered skeleton can tune in!
4-7. The Mind Sutra When the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara performed the deep practice in the Prajna Paramita, he perceived that all five aggregates are empty. Thus he overcame all ills and suffering. Oh, Sariputra, form does not differ from the void, and the void does not differ from form; form is void and void is form. The same is true for feelings,perceptions, volitions and consciousness. Sariputra, the characteristics of the voidness of all dharmas are non-arising, non-ceasing, non-defiled, non-pure, non-increasing, non-decreasing.
Therefore, in the void there are no forms, no feelings, perceptions, volitions or consciousness. No eye, ear, nose, tongue, body or mind; no form, sound, smell, taste, touch or mind object; no realm of the eye until we come to no realm of consciousness. No ignorance and also no ending of ignorance, until we come to no old age and death and no ending of old age and death. Also, There is no truth of suffering, of the cause of suffering, of the cessation of suffering, nor of the path leading to cessation of suffering. There is no wisdom, and there is no attainment whatsoever. Because there is nothing to be attained, the Bodhisattva relying on Prajna Paramita has no obstruction in his mind. Because there is no obstruction, he has no fear, and he passes far beyond confused imagination and reaches ultimate Nirvana. The Buddhas of the past, present and future by relying on Prajna Paramita have attained supreme enlightenment. Therefore, the Prajna Paramita is the great magic spell, the spell of illumination, the supreme spell which can truly protect one from all suffering without fail.
[] ,,,
4-8. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 26: Things Coming From Without () Hui Tzu said to Chuang Tzu, "Your words are useless!" Chuang Tzu said, "A man has to understand the useless before you can talk to him about the useful. The earth is certainly vast and broad, though a man uses no more of it than the area he puts his feet on. If, however, you were to dig away all the earth from around his feet until you reached the Yellow Springs, then would the man still be able to make use of it?"
22
"No, it would be useless," said Hui Tzu. "It is obvious, then," said Chuang Tzu, "that the useless has its use."
23
PART 5
5-1.
Some Procedural Details of Internal Alchemy Practice
Self discipline
5-2.
Laying foundation
5-3.
Mysterious pass
5-4.
To fill Li by draining Kan
5-5.
Caldron and furnace
5-6.
Cooking
5-7.
Yang advance and Yin withdrawal
5-8.
Medicinal substance preservation
5-9.
Small water-wheel
5-10.
Innate nature & life force
5-11.
Medicianl substance, firing process
5-12. Tao Te Ching / Chapter 80 Make the country small, make the people few. Though there are a variety of tools and instruments, leave them there uselessly. Make people take death seriously and do not travel far. Though there are boats and carriages, There is no place to ride in them. Though there are weapons and troops,
There is no place to deploy them. Let people return to the use of knotted cords in recording. Delight in their food, Satisfied with their clothes, Dwell in comfort in their homes, Enjoy their custom in their ways. Though neighboring states are within sight of each other, And their crowing cocks and barking dogs are heard, Yet people never exchange visits, even in the end of their days. 5-13. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 4: The Life of Human World ()
"Then," said Yen Huei, "I can go no further. I venture to ask for a method." Confucius said, "Keep fasting, and I shall tell you. With intention to do the fasting, do you think it is easy? He who takes it as an easy approach will meet no concordance all under the luminous heaven19." "My family is poor," replied Yen Huei, "and for many months we have tasted neither wine nor flesh. Is that not fasting?" "That is a fast according to the religious observances," answered Confucius, "but not the fasting of the mind." "And may I ask," said Yen Huei, "in what consists the fasting of the mind?" "Concentrate your mind-will. Hear not with your ears, but with your mind; not with your mind, but with your Chi. Let your hearing stop with the ears, and let your mind stop with natural concordance. Chi, however, is vacuous and empty, accommodating all. There is none but Tao who dwells in the empty vacuity20. And becoming empty and vacuous is the fasting of the mind." "Before putting into practice the fasting of mind, said Yen Huei, I truly have an identity. But after putting into practice, I no longer have an identity. Is this what you mean by the empty vacuity21?" "Exactly so!" replied the master. "Let me tell you. Enter and roam about this realm, but without any awareness of what the realm is. In the event of arrival in it sing in concert with it; in case of no arrival in it stop at the cessation. Let the door open and close, by its own course. House all as an undivided whole and lodge in that which takes the course all in its natural way. Then you are close to it. To leave no footprints is easy; to walk on no ground is difficult22. In case of being carried along by the sentient, it is easy to resort to artificial means; but in case of being carried along by heaven it becomes difficult to employ artificial means. You have heard of winged creatures flying. You have never heard of flying without wings. You have heard of men being wise with knowledge. You have never heard of men wise without knowledge. For those meditate in concentration but that to accommodate the meditation is void the empty space will have brightness arising for illumination. Auspiciousness rests in that which is at cessation. If there is no cessation to be at, this is called galloping about while sitting23. Do away with the function of ears and eyes which keeps to communicate with the mind inside and put an end to the knowing arising from the mind in contact with the outside, then even the ghosts and spirits will come to dwell therein, not to mention man24. This is the
transformation all universal things are subject to, and the hinge on which Yu and Shun acted, and the secret of the success Fu Hsi and Chi Chu10 practiced to the end. How much more should the common man with dissipated Te follow the same rule?" 5-14. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 22: The Knowledges Excursion in the North () Nieh Ch'ueh asked P'i-i about Tao. P'i-i said, "Position your body in correctitude, unify your vision, and the harmony of Heaven will come upon you. Call in your knowledge, unify your breathing, and the spirits will come to dwell with you. Te will glory in you, the Tao will be the dwelling-place for you to lodge into. Thus, looking unconsciously and ignorantly, you, as like a newborn calf, will not try to find out the elapsing oldness." P'i-i had not finished these words than Nieh Ch'ueh dozed off into a sound sleep. P'i-i, immensely pleased, left and walked away, singing this song: A withered corpse the body to be, Dead ashes the mind to be, Realness he make with the knowledge, Abstain from persisting in the elapsing oldness, Oh, dim dim, dark dark, mindless he is! Far beyond is he qualified to be consulted with, What sort of man is he!
5-15. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 11: On Tolerance () "Then what should I do?" said Cloud Chief. "Ah," said Great Nebulous, "you go too far being poisoned! Ethereally drifting off I should return!" Cloud Chief said, "Heavenly Master, it has been hard indeed for me to meet with you . I beg one word of instruction!" "Ah," said Great Nebulous, "nourish your heart-mind. Rest in non-causative action, and the world will be reformed of itself. Forget your body and spit forth intelligence, ignore all differences and become one with the Infinite. Undo the mind, slough off spirit, be blank and be devoid of soul, and the ten thousand things one by one will grow and prosper and return to the root return to the root and not know why. Returning to their root without knowing it. Dark and undifferentiated chaos to the end of life none will depart from it. But if you try to know it, you have already departed from it. Ask not about its name, inquire not into its nature, and all things will flourish of themselves." Cloud Chief said, "The Heavenly Master has favored me with this Te, instructed me in this Silence. All my life I have been looking for it, and now at last I have it!" He bowed his head twice, stood up, took his leave, and went away. 5-16. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 1: A Happy Excursion ()
There was Lieh Tse, who rode upon the wind and pursued his course! How ethereally and marvelously he
sailed! And going on for fifteen days before his return! In regard to the things that are supposed to contribute to happiness, Lieh Tse, however, could abstain from being embroiled in pursuit of them. Although Lieh Tse was able to dispense with walking, still there was something that he had to depend upon. As for those who could chariot upon the truth of Heaven and Earth, pilot freely the changes and transformations of the six vital breaths and thereby roam through in infinity, then, what would they have to rely upon? Thus it is said, "The perfect man has no self, the divine man takes no credit, the true sage does away with reputation. 5-17. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 19: The Run-Through Command of Life () When Confucius was on his way to Ch'u State, he passed through a forest where he saw a hunchback catching cicadas with a sticky pole as easily as though he were grabbing them with his hand. Confucius said, "What skill you have! Is there a special method to this?" "I have a way," said the hunchback. "For five or six months I practice balancing two balls on top of each other on the end of the pole and, if they do not fall off, I know I will lose very few cicadas. Then I balance three balls and, if they do not fall off, I know I'll lose only one cicada in ten. Then I balance five balls and, if they do not fall off, I know it will be as easy as grabbing them with my hand. I hold my body like a stiff tree trunk and pose my arm like the branch of the withered tree. Huge as heaven and earth are, and multitudinous as ten thousand things are, I'm aware of nothing but cicada wings. Neither turning nor inclining to one side, nor would I let any of ten thousand things take the place of my concentration upon the wings of cicadas; -how should I not succeed in taking them?' Confucius turned to his disciples and said, "He who keeps his will never diverted, can therefore concentrate his Shen; --- this might have been spoken of this hunchback gentleman, would it not Yen Yuan asked Confucius, saying, "Once I crossed the gulf of Khang-shan and the ferryman handled the boat in a so supernatural style. I asked him, Can a person learn how to handle a boat?' and he replied, Certainly. A good swimmer can in no time get the knack of it. And, if it is a man swimming under water, he may never have seen a boat before, but still he can know how to handle it at once!' I asked him what he meant by that, but he would not tell me. May I venture to ask you what he meant?" Confucius said, "A good swimmer can in no time get the knack of it - that means he has forgotten the water. If a man can swim under water, he may never have seen a boat before and still he can know how to handle it at once - that's because he looks on the watery gulf as if it were a hill-side and regards the capsizing of a boat as backing a cart. The ten thousand things may all be capsizing and backsliding at the same time right in front of him and it can't get at him and affect what is inside - so whatever could he not be able to do at great ease? "He who is betting for tiles in an archery contest, shoot with skill. He who is betting for fancy belt buckles, he shoots timorously. And he who is betting for real gold, shoots in a nervous muddle. The skill is the same in all three cases - but because one prize means more to the bettor than another, then he lets outside considerations weigh on his heart-mind. He who attaches importance to what is external gains (shows) stupidity on inside.'
4B
5-18. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 11: On Tolerance
The Yellow Emperor presided upon the throne for nineteen years, and his laws were put in force all over the empire, when he heard that Master Kuang Ch'eng was living on the Mountain of K'ung t'ung. He therefore went to visit him. "I have heard that you, Sir, have mastered the Perfect Tao. May I venture to ask about the essence of the Perfect Tao?" he said. "I would like to get hold of the essence of Heaven and Earth to secure good harvests and feed my people. I would also like to control the yin and yang principles to fulfill the life of all living things. How may this be done?" Master Kuang Ch'eng said, "What you want to learn about pertains to the true essence of things, but what you want to control pertains to the remnants of things. Ever since you began to govern the empire, rain falls before the cloud vapors have even gathered, the plants and trees shed their leaves before they have even turned yellow, and the light of the sun and moon grows more and more sickly. To be as shallow and narrow as with the mind of a flattering and glib talker, how could you be fit to talk about the Perfect Tao with!" The Yellow Emperor withdrew, gave up his empire, built himself a solitary hut, sat upon white straw. For three months he remained in retirement. Then he went once more to request an interview. Master Kuang Ch'eng was lying with his head towards the south. The Yellow Emperor approached from below to creep forward on his knees, bowed his head twice and said, "I have heard that you, Sir, have mastered the Perfect Tao. I venture to ask about the administration of the body. What should I do in order to live a long life?" Master Kuang Ch'eng sat up with a start. "Excellent, this question of yours! Come, I will tell you about the Perfect Tao. The essence of the Perfect Tao is profoundly obscure and vague; the subtlety of the Perfect Tao is profoundly elusive and stillness. See nothing, hear nothing, enfold Shen in quietude and the body will go right of its own accord. Be still, be pure, do not labor your body, do not churn up your Jing, and then you can live a long life. There is nothing to be beheld by eyes, nothing to be heard by ears, nothing to be known by heart, then your Shen shall stay in guard for the body, and the body will thereby enjoy long life. Cherish that which is within you, block off what is outside you, much knowledge will do harm. Then I will lead you up above the Great Brilliance, to the source of the Perfect Yang; I will guide you through the profound and elusive Gate, to the source of the Perfect Yin. Heaven and earth have their own dominator, the yin and yang their own storehouses. Guard carefully your body, and material things will prosper by themselves. As for myself, I guard the original One, and proceed to rest in harmony with all. Therefore I have been able to live for twelve hundred years and my body has not grown old and my body has never suffered any decay." The Yellow Emperor bowed twice and said, "Master Kuang Ch'eng is naturally to be called Heaven!" Master Kuang Ch'eng said, "Come, I will tell you. This Thing I have been talking about is inexhaustible, and yet men all suppose that it is mortal. This Thing I have been talking about is unfathomable, and yet men all suppose that it is limited. He who attains Tao that I talk about shall become almighty sovereign high up, and an universal king down below. But he who fails to attain Tao that I talk about shall behold the light at beginning and return to dust at last. Nowadays, all the things that flourish originate from dust and to the dust they return. So I will take leave of you, to enter the gate of the inexhaustible and wander in the land of infinity. My brilliance form a triad with the light of the sun and moon and my entity partakes in the constancy of Heaven and Earth. Who steps close to me I remain unconscious of its approach, who departs
from me I remain unconscious of its departure. All men have to die, I alone will endure forever!" 5-19. Yelling at water Once upon a time, there was a man who was tired and thirsty from traveling. He drank some fresh running water from the wooden bucket. After he had had enough, he raised his hands in front of the water and said, "I have had enough to drink. Stop flowing!" The water went on. Losing his temper, he yelled, "I told you to stop. Why don't you listen?" On seeing this, an onlooker said, "You are so ignorant. Why don't you just leave?" Thereupon, the onlooker drew him away. So are the people at large.
5-20. Chapter 6: The Great Supreme () Life and Death are a part of destiny. They remain constant as the succession of dark and dawn - the operation by Heaven. They are far beyond any interference of mankind because of the materialized sentience and sentiments. If men look upon Heaven as father and love his father with the body, then how much more should he do for that which is even greater then Heaven! If a man is willing to looks upon a ruler as superior to himself and to sacrifice for him, then how much more should he do so for the very true! When the fountain dries up and the fishes are left stranded upon the ground, they moisten each other with their damp and wet each other down with spittle but it would be far better if they could forget each other in their native rivers and lakes. Instead of praising Yao and condemning Chieh, it would be better to forget both of them and trace back along the Way which leads up to the transformation. The Earth burdens me with this form, labors me with life, eases me in old age, and rests me in death. And surely that which does the best to accomplish the being of my life should do the same to attain my death. Hide a boat in the ravine and the fishing net in the swamp, which is generally considered safe. But at midnight a strong man may come and carry it away on his back, and in sleep you do not know what happened. People may think they do right to hide little things in big ones, and yet there still exists the possibility of losing them. But if you entrust the whole universe to the whole universe, and therefrom there will be no escape. This makes for the almighty passions for the constancy of all things. If to have been cast in human form supplies a source of joy, then how much joy can be possibly calculated when in an effort to know that which is now the human form may undergo countless transitions from the time of no beginning to the time of the infinite? Therefore, the Sage wanders in the realm where all things can never be lost, to endure with all eternally. For if we still emulate those who do well graciously in getting along with the young and the old, with those who start well and ends well with all, how much more so that which the ten thousand things are tied to and upon which all changing phenomena depend?

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The Way To Eternity

Translated and Compiled by Hu Xuezhi

Prerequisite Knowledge For the Taoist Alchemy Practice

1-2. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 6: The Great Supreme ()

Five Elements Theory and Heavenly Stems

2-1. Five Elements

2-2. Heavenly Stems

2-6A Short Story

To Understand A Myriad dharma for Transcending Ego

B. Things in relation to human body

D. Things obscure and invisible

A-3. Elements possessed by the mind

A-4. Not concomitant with mind

A-5. Not conditioned

B. One hundred elemental constructs B-1. Eight Consciousness

B-2. Mental functions (51)

B-3. Objective elements (11)

B-4. Elements not concomitant with mind (24)

B-5. Unconditioned elements (6)

B. Nothing but consciousness is capable for enabling the transformations

3-5. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 6: The Great Supreme

PART 4 Earthly Branches

4-3. Chuang Tzu / On Communing with and Accommodating All Things

Some Procedural Details of Internal Alchemy Practice

To fill Li by draining Kan

Caldron and furnace

Yang advance and Yin withdrawal

Medicinal substance preservation

Innate nature & life force

Medicianl substance, firing process

5-18. Chuang Tzu / Chapter 11: On Tolerance

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