Hui Ming Jing (The Secret of the Golden Flower)

8/13/2019 Hui Ming Jing (The Secret of the Golden Flower)

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In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanceddegree at the University of British Columbia , I agree that the Library shall make itfreely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensivecopying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of mydepar tment or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying orpublication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my writtenpermission.

Department

The University of British Col umb iaVancouver, Canada

Date fyec %. 7X>00

DE-6 (2/88)


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AbstractThis thesis consistsprimarilyof a translation of the Huiming Jing H pp|M ,a text

writtenby L i u Huayang#|H|?]iin 1794that incorporates Taoist inner alchemical trainingwith Buddhist language and concepts. In addi tion to the translation, the thesis discussesL i u ' s claim thatin the text thathe reveals thesecrets thatal lowed the Buddhas andpatriarchs to achieve enlightenment. For him, to reveal thesecrets seems to meanprimarilyto explain Buddhi st and Taoist terminology and concepts in terms o f thecirculationand interaction of energies within the body. He also emphasizes thatthis worko f energies has clearstagesthatmust be followed in sequence. However,whileit ispossibleto discern broad stagesin the workthat L i udescribes, on close examination, theobscurity and contradictions in the language seriously hinderattemptsto decode, translateor render them f u l l y coherent orintelligible.In the end, it is an ever-shifting play betweenorder and disorderthatcharacterizes our text, and canitselfultimately be understood as atool intended to allowtheadeptto move beyond the world of wordsthatcan never fu l lyreflectreality into astateof enlightenment.


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Tableof ContentsAbstract iiTableof Contents i i iL i s t o fFigures vDedication viAcknowledgements viiChapter 1: Introduction 1

TheText.. 2L iu Huayang#P#i 4The Wu-LiuSchool(Wu-Liupai {Sf PM) 5Studyof the Huiming Jing 7

Chapter 2: A Translationo ftheHuiming Jing 12Preface 12Author'sIntroductionto the Huiming Jing 16

TheHuiming Jing of the Uppermost Singular Vehicle 20Chart of the End ofLeakage . 20Chart of the Six Phasesof the Dharma-Wheel 24Chart of the Two Meridians: ConceptionandGoverning 27Chart of the Embryo of the Tao 29Chart ofSendingForth the Embryo 31Chart of theTransformation Body 33Chart of Facing the Wall 34Chart ofDissolutionintoEmpty Void 35


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TheHuiming Jing 36Collected Explanations of theHuiming Jing 3610. Direct Discussion on Cultivating the Correct Tao 5111. Direct Discussion onWorkingin the Correct Tao 5412. Discussion of Meditation and the Inner Workings 5813. Explanations of Various Categories 6214. Resolving Doubts 65ZhangZiyang's Scripture of the Eight Meridians 76Nine Levels of Refining the Heart-and-Mind 80Perfected One L iHanxu's Sequential Account of the Latter Realm 89

Chapter3: A Discussion of theHuiming Jing 94Introduction: Revealing Secrets 94Revealing the Importance ofQiH, 97Revealing theStagesofWork 101Orderand Disorder 110Conclusion 121

Bibliography 123Appendix I: Tonal Analysis of Poetry 128


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Dedication

memoryofMaster MoyLin-shin, teacher of the Tao.


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AcknowledgementsIwould like to thank my wife, Masayo, as well as my parents, brother andsistersfor theirloveand support, without whichthisthesiswould not havebeenpossible. I wouldalsolike to thank my adviser,Dr.DanielOvermyer,whosepatience and guidancewerea greathelp to me through all the years ofmyprogram,and to whom I would like to wish a longandhappy retirement.Finally,I would like to acknowledge thekindencouragement Ireceived from my many friends in the TaoistTai ChiSociety.


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Chapter1: IntroductionTheHuiming Jing |np$fby L iuHuayang;|pg|S|(1736-?)is atextthatcan ultimatelybe considered part of the Taoist tradition of inner alchemy (neidan p^ff) thatoriginatedinthe Tang andbecamewidespread during the Songdynasties.Broadly speaking, inneralchemyrepresentsadevelopmentof earlier Taoistsystemsof training intended to helppractitioners return to astateof harmony with the Tao by gathering, purifying, storing,manipulating and transforming alchemical ingredients which are believed toexistnotoutsidethe practitioner, but instead inside his or her own body. Although the ideal ofharmony with the Tao hasoften beenunderstood as the attainment of physical immortality,particularly in earlier Taoism, in inner alchemy the final attainment of the practitioner isgenerally defined muchlessclearly. However, it normally includesnotionsof bothphysical health and inner clarity and wisdom. As it developed, thistradition incorporatedfeaturesfrom manystreamsofTaoism,including the philosophy of theDaodejing xtftH|1 and theZhuangzi #^p, physical practicesthat have been present sinceatleastthetimeofZhuangziincludinggymnasticsand breathingexercises,theecstaticvisionsof theShangqing Jtlraschool and the symbolism of theschoolsofYin-Yangand the FivePhases(wuxing S f j ) , in particularthatof the Yijing J g | l . It canalsointegrateboththoughtand practices from Buddhism,especiallyChanjpp Buddhism, as well as Neo-


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Confucianism.Finally,a noteworthy feature of inner alchemy that is certainly present intheHuiming Jing is its unique use of language and symbolism that isparticularlycomplex anddoesnot lend itselfto easyinterpretation or understanding.

Thislastcharacteristic makestextssuch as ours worthy of study.Althoughtheirpotentialseemsvirtually limitless, the study ofinneralchemy as a whole, whileimprovingvery quickly, is still in its infancy. In Western languages, only a small numberofthetextsof this tradition have been translated or examined closely, and most ofthosethat have date from its earlier periods. Consequently, there is a need for more translationanddiscussion ofinneralchemicaltextsin general,particularlythoseof theQing?jfdynasty and later. As atextthat was and is still relatively well-known, theHuiming Jingrepresents its era and is therefore a good candidate for translation and examination.

TheText

Thedate on the author's introduction to theHuiming Jing at the beginning of thetextstatesthat it was written down in the summer of 1794. Presumably, thetextitself wascompleted shortly before, as there is nothing tosuggestthat the author's introduction is alater addition. The edition from which this translation was made was originally producedat the Immortal Temple ofNourishingCloud(yangyun xian guan JtftflllffO in Sichuanandwas published in 1897, according to the colophon, by DengHuiji AccordingtoJudithBoltz,1it was this date when Deng first collected theHuiming Jing togetherwithanothertextbyL iuHuayangentitledTheDiscourse on the Testimony of the GoldenImmortals (Jinxian zheng lun^{(JjglEgffl), as well as theAuthentic Principles of the

1 Judith B o l t z ,A Survey ofTaoistLiterature: TenthtoSeventeenthCenturies,ChinaResearchMonograph32(Berkeley:University o fCalifornia Press, 1987),325.


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Heavenly Immortals (Tianxian zhengli5 f[I|IE3Da n d m e Compatible Heritages ofBuddhahood and[Taoist] Immortality (Xianfo hezong{[lif^n"T H),both byW u ShouyangfS^f (WuChongxufSfffim)- The title ofthe resulting collection isThe ImmortalHeritage ofWu and Liu(Wu-Liu xianzong fEIMlil^)-2Accordingto theDaojiao dacidian Mifcv'vlSJI-,3atleastone other edition of our text exists,from theHallofRealizing Goodness(Shan cheng tangII Din Beijing. Although I have been unableto locate such an edition, I haveseenone from the Temple of Heavenly Flowers(Tianhuaguan^a|f| |t)in Beijing, which contains no important differences from the Sichuanedition I have used here.

The textitself contains a number of differentsections.Itbeginswith aseriesof charts,accompanied bypoemsandsomediscussion, that broadly introduce the process ofcultivation forthosewho wish to learnLiu'steachings. The body of thetextthenelaborates on what the charts introduce. Significantly, the body is accompanied byextensivecommentary, which wasalsowritten byL i u .Finally,thetextfinishes with arecordof various questions thatstudentsput to L i u ,along with hisresponses.Although itseemspossible that thislastsection could have been recorded bystudentsrather thanbeing written byL i u , it should be noted that the preface written in 1794 by SunTingbiJEItdoesmention it as an integral parto fthe originaltext.Consequently, it is mostlikelythat L iuat had a direct hand in selecting what dialogue would be included in thisfinalsection, and that it was produced at thesametime as the rest of thetext.

Otheradditions, however, seemlikely to have been made at a later date, perhaps byDengHuiji.The first oftheseis atextentitled"ZhangZiyang's Scripture of the EightMeridians"(ZhangZiyang bamaijing W^ )\W.M), whichdoesnot appear in any of

2 Thesetexts cana llbefound inWu-Liuxianzong{EWIJJTK (Henan: Henan renminchuban she, 1987).M i n Zhiting and L iYangzheng$f | I E , eds.,Daojiao dacidian'MW JkW ^^ (Beijing: Huaxia

chubanshe, 1994),465.


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the standardcataloguesofTaoisttextsand is not among thetextsnormally attributed toZhang,a Song dynasty inner alchemical master. Nonetheless, thestyleof language isdifferent to that of the rest of thetext,anddoesin factseemolder. Two othertextswhicharealsoadded, entitled "Nine Levels ofRefiningtheHeart-and-Mind"(Jiuceng HanxinTXMWU) and "Perfected OneL iHanxu's Sequential Account of theLatter Realm"(LiHanxu zhenren houtian chuan shu^ f f i l m R A f ^ ^ ^S f t ) are both byL i Hanxu.Unfortunately,I have been unable tofindany reliable information on this personage,although its content andstyleofthetext suggestthat he lived later thanZhang.Nevertheless, thethemescontained in the addedtextsare quite compatible with theapproachtaken byL iuthroughout theHuiming Jing: a focus on theLatter Realm,asopposed to thePriorRealm(xiantian Jxffc),a focus onstagesof progress, and a focus ondetailed explanations in terms of the internalenergiesof the body orqi H , .

L i u H u a y an g f P^i

Theauthor and compiler ofourtext,aChan pp monk by the name ofL iuHuayang,wasbornabout 1736. Verylittle informationseemsto be available about him beyond whatappears in theHuiming Jing itself,including the date of his death.Accordingto thetext,L iuwas a villagerfrom Hongdu$1$, which is present-day Nanchang city j ^ f Hrfn inJiangxi.Although L iudescribes his experiences pursuing an interest inBuddhismas ayouth,hedoesnot give any indication of his age at the time he actually became a monk,orhow old he was when he finally claims to have met MasterWuChongxu (who was infactbornin 1552 and died in 1641) and TeacherHuyunfiff (whose datesare notknown), receiving the true transmissionfromthem.Later, L iucontinued his training witha few companions, and eventually compiled theHuiming Jing in order to maintain the


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teachings "forthosewho have the karmic affinity."4Accordingto the very briefdescription of his life in theZhonghua daojiao dacidian ^ ^ j l S ^ ^ f t ) L iuwasoriginallya successful, rankingConfucianscholar wholefthis position to studyBuddhism,eventually abandoningBuddhismto study theTao.5This,and the fact that histextwas published in 1794 when he would have been older than sixty,suggeststhat hemay have devoted himselftoBuddhist and Taoist cultivation later in his life. In anycase,bythat time he was clearly already a respected teacherwhoseadvice was sought by manypractitioners.

TheW u - L iuSchool(Wu-Liupai ffifPM)Aswe haveseen,L iuHuayangclaims to have metWuShouyang and received thetransmission of his teachings. Wuwas aMingdynasty holder of the eighth-generationtransmission of theLongmen fif"5branchofCompleteReality(Quanzhen^ jH) Taoism,which is traditionally thought to have been founded byQiuChujiIrPjUlfl duringthe ruleofthe Jiirchens and Mongols.Accordingtosome,Wu,likeL i u ,was aConfucianscholarwho came to the cultivation of the Tao as he grew older, although there are a number ofdifferent versions of the details of his past.6 Wuin factalsohad thesamehometown asL i u :modern-day Nanchang city inJiangxi.He wrote a number oftexts,many of which

4 Seepage 3bo fthe"Author'sIntroductionto theHuiming Jing."5 H uFuchen9 3^;, ed.,Zhonghuadaojiaodacidian ^ jMML^KM^ (Beijing:Zhongguo shehui

kexue chubanshe,1995),51.6 SeeRen J i y ufi|S# ed.,Zhongguodaojiaoshic ^ H j i l l ^ (Shanghai:Renminchubanshe,1990),

650,andBoltz, 199-200.


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still survive in theDaozangjiyao MlSt i f lc and theDaozangjinghua lu Mllfra^Piil-Broadlyspeaking, his workfocuseson the cultivationofshen jjjfandqi0,through inneralchemy (neidan j2}*),andalsoassociatesBuddhahood with Taoist notions ofimmortality(xianf|I|),which brings it verycloseto theideas expressedbyL iuin theHuiming Jing. Hismostwell-knowntextsarethosewe have mentioned appear inTheImmortal Heritage ofWu andLiu: The Authentic Principles of the Heavenly ImmortalsandTheCompatible Heritages ofBuddhahood and[Taoist] Immortality.

WuShouyangpassedhislegacyon to a number ofstudentsdirectly, including XieNingsuif^Ufpl,whose datesare unclear. AlthoughWuultimately becameparticularlyassociatedwithL iuHuayang,RenJiyuf i U l S lrevealsthat there was a claim that Xie hadoriginally written theHuiming Jing andDiscourse on the Testimony of the GoldenImmortals, and that L iuhad simply plagiarized them.7Whether or nottheseaccusationsweretrue,L iuended up with credit for thetextsand thereby becameclosely associatedwithWu.This transmissionwas,alsomaintained throughstudentsthat came after Liu.One particularlynotable claim oflineageis thatofZhaoBichenU l i l l l in his well-known early twentieth-century work entitledXianzong xingmingfa jue f|ij 14npS;i-8Zhaotraceshislineageto L iuandWuthroughLiaoran~TM,astudentofLiu'swho isone ofLiu'squestioners in thesectionentitled "Resolving Doubts"(Jueyi$ j | ) .9ThisconnectionbetweenWuandL iuwas solidified with the publication in 1897 of DengHuiji'scompilation,The Immortal Heritage ofWu and Liu.It is not clear whether theterm"Wu-Liuschool" arose as a result of the publication orexistedpriorto it. However,

7 Ren,655.8

ZhaoBichen Xianzong xingmingfa jue{^^f4np (Taipei: W o o l i n Publishing C o . , 1988).Foranexample, among manyothers, see pages76-77.9 Seepage 53ao fthesection entitled"ResolvingDoubts."


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ineithercase,by theturnof the twentieth century the two had become inextricably linkedto each other.

StudyoftheHuimingJing

Therehave been a fewattemptsmade at translating and examining theHuiming Jing overthe years. In general, this workseemsto be divided into two categories: work whichfocusesfully on thetextbut fails to live up to scholarly standards, and scholarly work thatis reasonably well done but very brief. Any discussion of thestudiesto date on theHuiming Jing should start with itspartialtranslation byRichardWilhelm,retranslatedinto English fromGermanbyCary F.Baynes.10Here,Wilhelmtranslates theverseandprose that accompanies the introductory charts at the beginning of thetext.Because hedoesnot include any of thetextafter the introductorysectionsandalsodoesnot displayallof the chartsthemselves,histextcan in no way be termed complete. Ofthe portions ofthetextthat are represented, the translation is smooth and readable (perhaps a tribute asmuch to Baynes as to Wilhelm), but unfortunatelydoesnot provide an accuraterepresentation of what is communicated in the original Chinese.Thisisprimarilydue tothe fact thatWilhelmpresentsthe teachings in a way that makes them appear to be a formofproto-Jungianpsychology, which ignores the basic conceptions found not only in inneralchemy, but in the Taoist and Chinese traditions in general regarding the make up ofhumanbeings. Such conceptions include a picture of the body that developed out ofanunderstanding that energy orqi underlies all phenomena, including the physical,

1 0 Richard W i l h el m ,trans.,"The H u i M i n g C h i n g , "TheSecret of theGolden Flower:AChineseBookofLife, 1931,translatedintoEnglishbyCary F.Barnes(Orlando,Florida:HarcourtBrace Jovanovich,1962)67-78.


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mental and spiritual. Because hedoesnot adequately considerthispicture,Wilhelmtendsto make translations that fit his own inclinations rather than the tradition he is dealingwith. For example,Wilhelmtranslates huiming Unpas"consciousnessand life, whichtendsto strip it entirely of thesensethat it should be understood as something not onlymental but physical, that has a realpresencein the body. Because Wilhelmtendstounderplay the tradition of which theHuiming Jing constitutesapart,his translation isultimatelymostuseful as an artifact from a previous age than as a work that can provideguidance in our attempt to understand inner alchemical training.

Themostcomplete attempt in English to deal with theHuiming Jing appears in atranslation by Eva Wong entitledCultivating the Energy ofLife.11 As is clear from thetitle, Wong'sfocusin translation islessscholarly accuracy, and more, as shesays,to "freethetextfrom its historical and philosophicalcontextand listen to it as if itwerea trustedteacher.... thetextcan take us beyond our personalexperiencesandbecomea guide tothe frontiers ofspiritualconsciousness."12Although very different from the aims ofscholarly enquiry,thisis certainly not an illegitimate goal. Wong'stextis readable andprovides a reasonable introduction to the world of inner alchemical training that is moreaccurate than that provided byWilhelm.However, herfocuson readability, at times,leadsher to takesomeliberties with the original wording. As well, although she commendablyhas chosen to translate the commentary, by placing it alltogetherat the end of eachchapter, shelosesthe connection of each comment to its original. Both ofthesedecisions,while academically questionable, are legitimate considering the aims ofhertranslation.However, other problemsalsoappear that cannot be justified in thesameway. While she

1claims that her translation is complete, it is in reality far from it. Sheleavesoutwhole1 1 E v aWong,trans.,Cultivating theEnergyofLife,byL i uHuayang(Boston:Shambhala, 1998).12

Wong,6-7.1 3 Wong,5.


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sectionsof thetext,including the largest one entitled "Collected Explanations of theHuiming Jing" (Jishuohuiming jing |jlil|np$I),which, while the most difficultpartofthetext,contains the most complete discussion of thetraining.Shealsostrangely omitsthe section entitled "Resolving Doubts"(Jueyi which contains dialoguebetweenL iuand hisstudentsand would likely be interesting for Wong's readers since it islesstechnical and more personal. In addition totheseomissions, she includes thetextentitled"Nine Levels ofRefiningtheHeart-and-Mind"(Jiuceng Hanxin fiM'JM'l/) and claimsthat it was written byL iuHuayang,when it was in fact written by L iHanxu.14As a resultofalltheseproblems, Wong's translation cannot be considered adequate treatment of theHuiming Jing, especially forthosewith an academic interest in precision.

Aside fromthesetwoattemptsbyWilhelmandWong,there is very littleelseon ourtextin any Western language. InScience andCivilisation inChina, Vol.5,Part J , 1 5Joseph Needhamdoesbriefly discuss theHuiming Jing. The main intent of his discussionis to provide an introduction tosomeof thecontentsof thetext,particularlyas they relateto his ownideasconcerning the physiological nature of inner alchemical training. As well,he aims to illustrate the problems with Wilhelm's approach, which, hebelieves, stemfromhis failure to recognize that inner alchemy is in fact "real and experimental proto-science."16However, thespaceof a fewpages doesallow him to provide much detail as itrelatesto any ofthesequestions. Needhamdoes citesa presentation byMiyukiMokusento the 1968 Bellagio conference on Taoiststudiesentitled "Taoist Zen Presented in theHui Ming Ching." Unfortunately,Miyuki'spaper was not included in any of the books or

Wong, 10. SeeDaojiao dacidian, 465,wherethe text isattributedto L i Hanxu.1 5 Joseph NeedhamandL uGwei-Djen,Science andCivilisation inChina, v o l .5, part 5(Cambridge:

CambridgeUniversityPress, 1983).1 6 Needham,257.


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journals that published papers submitted atthisconference, includingFacets of Taoism,Ddkyo no sogotekikenkyuifi|^tf)|&n^^^^E,18or the August 1969 editionof HistoryofReligions}9 although there is a brief description of the paper in Holmes Welch's reporton the conference. Accordingto Welch,Miyukifeltthat theHuiming Jing wasunderstandable in terms ofJungianpsychology, to which Joseph Needham, KristopherSchipperand others objected, presenting a more physiological alternative. However, thedescription of bothMiyuki'spresentation and the subsequent debateis not very detailed,so it is difficult to get a clearsenseof exactly how the presentation proceeded. Both hereandin Needham's book, while the discussion is interesting in general terms,spaceprevents much detail from being discussed, making itsusefulnesslimited forthosewhowish to explore theHuiming Jing in depth.

InChinese and Japanese, there isalsorelatively little discussion of theHuiming Jing,although I should admit that my enquiries inthesetwolanguages werelesscomplete thanthosein Western languages. Two encyclopedic dictionaries, theDaojiao dacidian and theZhonghua daojiao dacidian, contain articles onLiuHuayang,Wu Shouyang or theWu-LiuSchool.Forthemostpart,their discussions restrictthemselvesto brief introductionsofboth figures and theirlineages,and short descriptions of thecontentsof theirtexts.RenJiyualsobrieflydiscusseslineageand-textcontentsin his history ofTaoism,21butdoesnot have thespaceto provide much more detail than the dictionary entries.JudithBoltz

17Holmes W e l c hand A n n a Seidel ,eds.,FacetsofTaoism:EssaysinChineseReligion (Hew Haven:

YaleUniversityPress,1979).1 8 SakaiTadaorS ffi^c, ed.,DdkyonosogotekikenkyuMt feV^&WF (Tokyo, 1977).19 HistoryofReligions (Chicago),9.2-3 (1969/70): 107-279.20

Holmes W e l c h ,"The Bel lag ioConferenceonTaoistStudies,"HistoryofReligions (Chicago),9.2-3(1969/70): 107-137.

2 1 SeeRen650, 655, 662, 669-671.


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mentions a 1971 printing ofThe Immortal Heritage ofWuand Liu that contains a prefaceb y ChenZ h i b i n |?if|^j|. However,Iwas unfortunately not able to obtain a copy ofthatedition,so the extentof his discussion w i l l remain unclear to us.

In any case, the relativelylimited amount of useful scholarly attention thathas beendevoted to the Huiming Jing shows the need for more scholarly translation and discussiono f this important representative ofQingdynasty inner alchemy. I hope that the translationand discussionthat f o l l o w w i l lprovide a starting point for this work to occur.


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Chapter2:ATranslation o ftheHuiming Jing

PrefaceShould[the cultivation of] life be considered essential? Since ancient times there havebeen nosagesor worthies who have notdied.

Should [the cultivation of] life not be considered essential? How thendoesthe World-HonouredOne speak ofarhatswho are able to not die?

TheBook ofChanges says, "Heaven andEarthinteract and themyriadthings formandare pristine.Maleand female mingletheirjing fpfand themyriadbeings formandcome alive." It also says, "Afterthere is male and female, there is husband and wife.Afterthere is husband and wife, there is father and son,lordand subject, higher and lower.Then,propriety and righteousness have that which to manage."1 Therefore,the ancientsageswere at thejunctionof male and female.

1 HereIreadcuo ascuo .


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Husbands andwivesdiligentlyfocustheirattentionon it with tripleintensity: whatthey exaltis life. How much the more for theteachersof Buddhism Having made purityand compassion pre-eminent theyfurtherseekthe Tao of not dying, in the manner of thearhats.

Buthow couldthisTao be attainedwithoutinstruction? Up to now, from the monkHuayangtherehasbeenthe bookDiscourse on the Testimony of the Golden Immortals?LordWu of the Salt Monopoly Office,4having delighted in its words,wroteanintroduction for it. When I arrived in Wancheng5to pay myrespectsby affixing mysealto it, Ialsoasked to write a preface to theHuiming Jing.

In reviewing itstableofcontents,[you will seethat]from "TheChartof the End ofLeakage" to "Resolving Doubts,"thereare in all fourteen sections.Its words saythatifyou do not understandxing '[4 andming pp,thenthe Great Tao will not be achieved.Since theancientBuddhas and patriarchs,there havebeen nonewho did not arise fromthe cultivating and refining ofxing andming."Cultivating" is mending and makingwholewhatis broken. "Refining" is using fire to transform the Substance.6 Ifthereis fire but nowind, it will notburn.If theSubstancedoesnothavea place, itlosesits abode. Forthisreason,doesnot the Realized One participate in the Great Tao?Doeshe not cultivate xing

Thatis, in their desire to producechildrenthey exalt life.3

Thistext can be found inL i uHuayang $P|llr,Jinxianzhenglun^{[UlIElffl, Wu-LiuxianzongfEUIHtij(Henan:Henan renmin chuban she, 1987) 542-723.4

Wheneverpossible, translations ofofficial titles have been takenfromCharlesHucker,Dictionary ofOfficial Titles in ImperialChina (Stanford,California: StanfordUniversityPress, 1985).

KMI-Present-day Qianshan county iff|_L|f,|inAnqing city^cjf"itf, AnhuiSSrtlt6 Wu ty).Thisterm is ofcentralimportance to this text, referring to the object ofcultivation.It is

associatedwithhuimingUnp,mingnp,qi o fthePriorRealm(xiantian zhi qi7fc^c .5E)andPrimordialQi(yuanqi7t;56)throughout the text. In other inneralchemical(neidan l^fl-)texts, it may be referred to as theM edic in e(yaowuWffl})-


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andming?Windand fire are used together equally on the Substance.Whenthe heart7andkidneys unite, this is none otherthanxing andminguniting into one.Ming is rooted in thekidneys,and when the kidneys move there is water.Xing is rooted in the heart, and whenthe heart moves there is fire.Enteringfire into water,huiming lnpis then not

2a squandered outside. Blowing fire with wind changes it into theTrueSeed.8CultivatingtheTrueSeed, one then achievesSarira? Thisis the general meaning.

The realstagesofworkinclude the time ofstartingwork, the time oftransitionalwork,the time of completing work and the time of letting go ofwork.It adheres to theEndofLeakage10ofSurangama}x expressesthe mysterious intentofAvatamsaka,12 andunites the scattered words of the various sutras. Ifyouunderstandtheseheavenly InnerWorkings13ofdualcultivation,14do not indulge in deviant teachings, and with adedicated heart15fully abide in this book only,fromnow on youwillrealize the Tao andyourlongevitywillbe everlasting.

' Inthistext(andothers),translation of the wordxin I \J can be challenging, as the Chinesepresentsarange of meaningthatincludes both the English words "heart" and"mind."Toadequately reflectthephysicalcomponentof thesystemof training described inthistext,Ihave used"heart" or "heart-and-mind"rather than"mind"wherever possible.

8 Zhenzhong jUS-Q

Sheliw 'J-I" Buddhism,thisterm normally refers to relics of the Buddha, but inthistextand manyTaoistneidanl jfl-texts,it refers to an innersubstanceand level ofattainmentin the trainingprocess.

1 0 Loujin mill-1' Lengyan That is, theSurahgama-sutra.12

HuayanIpjgtThatis, theAvatamsaka-sutra.

1 4 ShuangxiuJH^. This is a common phrase which normally refers to the dual cultivationofxing f4andming p p .

1 5 Poxin HI'LV- This is aChanipfterm referring tomeasurelessdedication in teaching thedharma.


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How could one thinkthatHuayang is inferior to thediscipleof the Buddha,Kasyapa,16who lived in the worldsevenhundredyearsbeforehe met theWorld-Honoured One, or to the Monk Baozhang,17 who lived in the world onethousandsevenhundred andtwelveyearsbeforehe met Bodhidharma?SinceChan ftpMaster Jiwu18therehasbeenno one with the ability of Huayang to use simplicity to explain theutmostof the Tao and todiscloseitssecretprinciples,therebytransmitting the limitlesstolatergenerations.

Consequently, I was glad toreceiveandwriteaprefacefor[thistext],and moreoverdonateall its printing blocks.

Preface written the day ofgengshenin the beginning of winter in the yearjiayinof in the reign of the emperor Qianlong,19 by Sun Tingbi, PrincipalGraduate of theMetropolitan Examination granted by the Emperor title ofThird Graduate of thePalace Examination, consequently given the rank ofPalace Guardsman, bestowed with the title of Grand Master for ThoroughCounsel,formerly holding thepost ofRegional Commander of the

2 0

Garrison ofHuangyan in the province ofZhejiang, also bestowed withthe title ofGeneral ofMilitary Brilliance, and acting as Assistant ViceGeneral ofAnqing.21

1 6 Jiashe'MM-ThisseemstorefertoMahakasyapa,oneo ftheten greatdisciplesofSakyamuni.17

BaozhangHeshang8f|SfPlnJ. A n Indianmonksaidtoarrivein C h i n abetweentheW eig$t(220-265C E )andJi n| f(265^120 C E )dynasties,whoisthensaidtohavediedin 657 C E .

18 Ihave beenunabletolocateanyinformation concerningthisfigure beyondwhatappears inthetext.1 9 The18th o fNovember,1794.2 0 Present-dayHuangyancounty i f I l f l inTaizhouprefecture Jit[%M,ZhejiangWiL21 _Present-day A n q i n g ci ty^JSrfj, A n h u i 3cHi


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Author'sIntroductionto theHuiming J ingI,Huayang,was a villager fromHongdu.22As a youth I delighted inBuddhism,so Ientered a temple and had an awakening.Mythoughtswereconstantly beyond themundane world, and whenever I saw the monks I was happy.

Oneday, I heard the temple master say, "Before, at thethirdwatch, theFifthPatriarchused to privately teach the Tao to the SixthPatriarch,who would blissfullylisten with his ear cocked."24I awoke as iffroma dream, and only then did I realize thatthosewho cultivatethemselvesmust rely on a teacher. Consequently, I searched withoutstopping, myfeetleaving tracks throughoutChu,25but through that time I did notmeetanyone.AfterthatIjoined the Double Lotus Temple [on the River] Wanshui26where Ishaved my head [to become a monk]. There, I enquired further, and ofallthe teachersfromthe three religions therewerenone I did not investigate. In the end, however, none

understood the principles of huiming.Asa result I sighed to myself, "Humanform is difficult to obtain. Am I topassmy

life invain?"Abruptly,I took a vow to prostrate myself every evening at thedrumof the

Present-dayNanchangcityjU H rft, Jiangxi tCS-23 Midnight.24

Thisis a reference to the Fifth Patriarch,HongRen5/ , (601-674 C E ) ,secretly teachingtheSixthPatriarch, H u iNengHfg (638-713 C E ) .

25Present-dayHunan andHubei ^Hb-

26A tributary o ftheYangtzeRiver, in A n h u i 2r$j t Thiscouldreferto the name ofatown,however1

havelocatedno reference to theexistenceofatownbythisname.


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3b second watch, sweardevotion and kow-tow to heaven. I would then surely receive whatIsought.

Halfa year later, luckily I met MasterWuChongxu,28who transmitted thesecretmeaning to me.Witha shock, I completelyawokeand understood the Tao of huiming,andthat it is none other than my original numinous Substance. I continued on until IreachedKuanglu,29and then met TeacherHuyun.30I secretly listened to his introductorydiscourse, and knewthiswas an extraordinary man. Diligently and earnestly I listenedandlearned.

Because of my continual mournful pleading, the Teacher finally displayed his broadcompassion, and opened my understanding of the subtle and obscure and the mysteriouscentrestherein. There was nothing I did not penetrate completely. When I was on thepoint of leaving, my Teacher instructed me, "Buddhist dual cultivation now has alreadydisappeared.Youmust maintain its lifeline in order tosave thosewho have the karmicaffinity."

Isecretly journeyed to Jiangzuo.31Together with two or three Taoist companions weburnedincenseand cultivated ourselves, studying in detail, and as a result Bichan,Liaoran,Qiongyu and Zhenyuan attained SarTra.

2 7 i n10p.m.28

W uChongxu f E ^ I a l was bom in 1574 anddiedin1644,so it appears that L i u isclaimingto havemethimafter his death.

2 9Thisis an alternate name forMount L u JU ,which islocated inthenorth o fJiangxi flS, near its

borderwith A n h u i^Wl.-30 Ihave beenunabletolocateany otherinformationonthis person.31 MTheareacorrespondingroughlyto today'sJiangsu ylM.32 Liaoran, QiongyuandZhenyuanarereferredto asquestionersofL i u at the endo fthe text.


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Because I had a wordless understanding with my Teacher, I compiled this book,33

whosetitle is theHuiming Jing. The charts and illustrations establishsignsthat open upthesecretsof the ancient Buddhas, revealing thePrimordialInnerWorkings34of the

4a teacher-patriarchsthey are a raft that will truly guide later generations of students.Iobserve among theseekersof the Tao of the world there are the discourse-records of

many schools. Intheserecords there is truthful language and there is delusive language.Beginningstudentsdo not know the Tao ofhuiming of the Tathagata, so they mistakenlybecome ensnared inslogansand superficialoralChan, and end up asbasefools,repeatedly reapingharmfromtheserecords.

Ihave thoroughly examined the various scriptures, and verified this with my Teacher:there are theSurahgama-sutra, theAvatamsaka-sutra and thePlatform Sutra, which aretruthfullanguage. The discourses ofChan masters and of monks arefalselanguage. If theTaoof cultivation and practice is not in truthful language, it is not able to verify the realtruthand is not enough to getridof empty delusion. If empty delusion is victorious, thenevil hindrances arise.Evenif you have intelligence, there is nothing to follow or enterinto.

TheTao ofhuiming, whichcomesdown from onehundredthousand years,profoundlysecretand transmitted exclusively, is ultimately difficult to peer into andrealize. Now, by means of simple, straightforward language, I willpasson the Treasure oftheBuddha,35offering it as if on a tray to enable followers in the world [to practise its

4b teachings]. As you examine theHuiming Jing it is indeed thesameas ifIweretelling it toyou with my own mouth. It is only necessary to rouse your will and dedicate all your

33 HereIreadmingop asming3 4 Yuanji7CH.35

Fobaofi llf-This normallyrefers to oneo ftheThreeTreasures o fBuddhism,whichare theTreasures o ftheBuddha,Dharma(fabaotSf)andSangha(sengbaoftlS).


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energyyouneednot go tosomeothermountain toseekfurther helpand you will beabletoestablishandmanifestthe Buddha Fruit.36This was my original intentin toilingbitterly to find ateacherandawakento the Tao.

Introduction transmitted in thesummerof the year jiayinof in the reign ofthe emperor Qianlong,37 at Hukou,3S by Liu Huayang of Mount Lu,[written down] at the Temple ofDedication and Purity in Wancheng.

Foguofj fl.Thestateo fBuddhahood.1794.Adistrict inJiujiang cityAtLr f j , Jiangxi fL15.


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TheHuiming Jingof theUppermost Singular Vehicle

Chart of the End ofLeakage

Path of the End of Leakage


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7a If you wish to complete the diamond body of the End of Leakage,Diligently decoct the rootso/huiming.Insamadhi,39illuminate and never leave thejoyful terrain,And in time the perfect selfwill secretlyreside.*

7b Now, of thesubtletiesof theTao,none can compare toxingandming.Andin thecultivationofxing andming,nothing can compare to returning them to one. The ancientsagesand high worthies took the objectives ofreturningxingandmingto one andcleverly illustrated them using external phenomena, butwereunwillingexpressthemselvesclearly and speak directly. Because of this, there is no one in the world whopractises such dual cultivation.

Thecharts I have linked here are not reckless divulgence. They adhere to theEndofLeakage ofSurangama, expressthe mysterious intentofAvatamsaka, and unite thescattered words of the various sutras, thereby yielding an accurate illustration so that onemay then know thathuiming is nothing beyond the Opening.41In fact, I have set forth thischartbecauseI want fellow-practitioners to understandtheseheavenly InnerWorkingsofdualcultivation and not descend into deviant teachings. They will then know thatproceeding from this theTrueSeed is kept, that proceeding from this theEndof Leakageis realized, that proceeding from thisSarTrais cultivated, and that proceeding from thisthe Great Tao is attained.

Ding40

Thephysicalarrangement o fthepoetry intheoriginaltextmakesitdifficult toimmediately discernthecorrectorder o fthelines. Fortunately,itbecomesclear whenweexaminethetonalpatternso feachverse.Foramorethoroughexplanation,please seeAppendixA on page 9 4 .

Thecharts that appear here andbelowarecopiedfrom theoriginaltext,withmyowntranslations added.41 . ^Qiao


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Indeed,thisOpening is infactthe cavern ofemptinessand non-being. It has noshapeand noimage.When theqi5643 isexpressedthe Opening iscomplete.When its

8a InnerWorkingsrest,it is far and indistinct. It is infactthestorehouseofperfectionandthe altar of cultivating huiming. We call it the"Palaceof the Dragon-King at the Bottomof the Sea," the "Realm of the Himalayas," the "Western Lands," the "PrimordialPass,"the "Kingdom of Ultimate Bliss," and the "Village of the Limitless." Although itsnamesare many, it is nothing butthisvery Opening.44Ifthosewho practisedo not understandthisOpening, in onethousandlifetimesor tenthousandagestheywill not find huiming.

This Opening isgreatindeed Before afatherandmotherhaveyetgivenbirth to aperson, at thetimeofbecoming pregnant,theyfirstgivebirth tothisOpening, andxingandmingbecomereal andresidewithin it.Thesetwo thingsarefusedtogetherintoone.Bright and flourishing, theyare like a sparkinsideastove,amassof the HeavenlyPrinciple of Great Harmony4 5 Therefore we say the Prior Realm46haslimitlesscyclesofbreath. Therefore we saybefore fatherandmother haveyetgivenbirth, theqi56 is fulland the embryo iscomplete.When its bodymovesand thewombsplitsopen,it is like

4 3 Because this text uses both the charactersqiH, andqi56, in my translation I haveindicatedwhichofthe two characters is used in each instance. In general, when there is adistinction,qiH, refers to the LatterRealm{houtian form, whileqi56refers to thePriorRealm(xiantian form. However,thereader w i l lnotice that thedistinctionin this text is often not quite so clear.

44See note 91. Itwouldseem to indicate that a llthese terms refer to theCinnabar Field

{dantian rEH).4 5 Taihe tianli n?cffi. Thisis a standard termreferringto theqiH , o ftheunion o f Y i n and Yang .4 6 Xiantian jfe^. ThePriorRealmrefers to astateofprimordialperfection and harmony in the person

andin theuniverse.The LatterRealm{houtian refers to astateof decaythestateof the mundaneworldand the people in it. Inneralchemical(neidan p^j^) trainingis often described in terms ofcultivatingareturnfrom the LatterRealmto thePrior Realm.


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ChartoftheS ixPhases oftheDharma-WhQQl

Figure2:Chartofthe

Six PhasesoftheDharma-Wheel

6thMeasureSixth

2nd ^Measure3rd HMeasure ;|

4thFifth J*- RPhase

Phase

0 Fourth5th

Measure4th

- Thirdj^L Phase

Measure5thMeasure

Measure3rdIjJ,Measure

Closing tteJU2ndMiLMeasure

Phase

MeasurePhase

FirstPhase

Openup thesourcepath oftheBuddhas and patriarchs,Make appear theCityofUtmost Blissin theWestern Land.Whenthedharma-wheel turns toinhalation, you paycourt inheaven,Whenthebreathing comes toexhalation, you return back to earth.


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A segment of time becomes six phases,In oneperiod50 join thebeginning and the end.TheGreat Tao emerges from the centre.D o notseekthePrimordial Inner Workings outside.

10b Now, in the marvellous functioning of the Tao, nothing compares to the dharma-wheel. Rotating without forming a path, nothing compares to theRoadof the Tao. Notwaiting forsloworfast,nothing compares to the rules and regulations.Limitsandnumbers being withouterror,nothing compares to the method of thephases.

Thischart greatlysetsout the entirety of thedharma, and the true face51 thatcomesfromthe West. There is nothing that is not here.Furthermore,to hold and practise theprimordialmarvels within it, nothing is better than exhalation and inhalation. Forbreathingto go and come, nothing compares to closing and opening. To not be outside thepath of the Tao, nothing is better thanTrueIntention.52For [proper timing of] starting andstopping, nothing is better than demarcating the territory.

Givingup self to accord with others, I prepared and set forth this chart. It completelyreveals the Inner Workings of heaven. Ifordinarypeople receive it, surely there is nothingthey will not achieve.

L iu hou /vfl. Thisdescribessiximportant locations in theoperation of the firephases(houhouwhichdescribecycles of circulationandrefinement of Yin andY a n gqi0,. Generally,ininner

alchemy(neidan I^JT3]- )these six aredivided intothreepairs.Thefirstisgatheringthe outermedicine(caiwaiyao andgatheringtheinnermedicine(cai neiyao ThesecondisadvancingthefireofY a n g(jinyang huoWM'X)a n dwithdrawingthetalisman of Yin (tuiyinfu i l ^ ^ F ) . T he third issoakingatthemao position(maowei m uWiiiW) and bathingat the vow Mposition(youweiyu(MivS)-

5 0 OnekeMoftencorrespondstofifteenminutes, althoughininneralchemy(neidan j F)it cansimplymean "moment."In thepractice of thefirephases(houhouiKM),it issaidthat in thisspaceo f timethe InnerWorkings(/'/' Hi)completeonecycle.

5 1 AChan|f termfor theBuddha-naturewithin.5 2 Zhenyii f t g . See notes 168, 189 and 191.


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If you do not have virtuous power, evenifyo u encounter the Tao, heavenwillcertainlynot grant it to you.W hy is this?Virtuouspower and the Ta o are like abird'swings. If one is missing [the other is]useless. You must have dedication,filialpiety,humanityand rectitude,54and theFivePrecepts55must all be pristine.Onlythen do youhave something to hope for.

11a The pure and subtle marvels in all this are all to be found in theHuiming Jing. Thosewho can practise and observe both [virtuous power and the Tao] willwithout exceptionreachperfection.

D e l l .Zhongxiao renyi ^ J ^ iZ M k - TheseareConfucian virtues.WujieHjjSc Buddhistprecepts againstk i l l i n g ,stealing, adultery, ly ing an d intoxicating liquors.


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ChartoftheTwoMeridians:ConceptionandGoverning

Figure3:Chartof the

Two Meridians:Conceptionand Governing

12a Make thepath of the breathing of thePrimordial Pass appear,Do not forget thecirculation of the dharma-wheel along the hundred

meridians.Steadfastly direct the fire to nourish the Cavern ofLong LifeAnd inspect and set in order the Pass of Not Dying of thebrilliant pearl.

12b Nowthischart was initially thesameas the twopreviouscharts. Whydoesit reappear?BecauseI am afraidthatpeoplewho cultivatethe Tao do not understand thattheir own


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bodypossessesthe roadofthedharma-wheel.Accordingly, Ipreparedthis chart simplyinorder to enlighten fellow-practitioners.

Whena person can connectthesetwo meridians, the hundred meridians will allconnect. So, when the deersleeps,itsnoseentersits anus, connecting its governingmeridian.56The crane and the tortoise connect their conception meridians.57These threeanimals all live one thousand years. How much the more [should this be true of humans]Whyshouldthosewho cultivate theTao,having turned thedharma-wheeland thereby shuimingmoving, worry about not lengthening their life spans and attaining the Tao?

5 6 Dumai75 7 Renmai ffEDK


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ChartoftheEmbryooftheTao

Figure4:Chartof the

Embryoof heTao

13a With thedharmaand withouteffort,diligently illuminate and penetrate;Forgetting your body, gaze inward and assist the true numinous power.For ten months, theEmbryo of the Tao is in fireAfter one year it soaks and bathes in warmth.

13b Thischart[consistsof] the marvellous instructions originally contained in theSurahgama-sutra. Commonmonks do not know theEmbryoof theTao,so forthisreason,fromthe beginningtheyhave made theerrorof not continuing [toshow]the chart.Because Iam now expounding and holding it up,thosewho practise may now realize thatthe Tathagata has theEmbryoof the Tao and that its true workexists.


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Now, the embryo is not something withformor appearance, something that may becompleted by means of other objects. In reality, it is none other than our ownshenandqi56.First,take theshenand enter theqi56;after that, theqi56comesto envelop theshen.Theshenandqi56uniting and the intention58then calm and not moving are what iscalledthe embryo.Moreover,only after theqi56congeals59 doestheshenbecomenuminous.60Therefore, the sutra61says, "Personally uphold enlightened response." Thetwoqi 5 6 6 2 are nourished, so issays"Dailythey accumulate and grow."Whentheqi56issufficient and the embryo is complete, itexitsfromthe crown ofthe head.Thisis what iscalled,"Theformbeing complete, sending forth the embryo and personally becoming theBuddha-child."

58 V . = TL

Yi m.-Ningm.

60 , . a ,LingS .6 1 That is,the Surahgama-sutra.f\ )

Erqi ~ 5E .Thistermreferstoshenf$ andqi56,toY i nandYang,to thedragonand thetiger,to theYijingH I S trigramsofkani%and //$jiandmanyothercorrespondences.


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Chart of Sending Forth the Embryo

Figure5:Chart of

SendingForththe Embryo

14a Outside thebodythereis abodycalled the mark of Buddha;The numinous power of consciousness is non-consciousness; thisis infact

Bodhi. 64

Foxiang Sanskritlaksana. Normally,this refers tomarks andfeaturesontheBuddha's bodythatallow himto berecognized. The Buddha is often saidtohave thirty-two characteristic physiologicalmarks.

Puti ^ J j . That is, perfect wisdom.


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The lotus of onethousandpetals istransformed from qi 5 6 ,The dazzle of the hundred lights owesitself to of thecongealing ofshen.

14b TheSurahgama-mantra says:Atthat time, theWorld-HonouredOne emittedfromhiscurlof flesh onehundredbeams of precious light.Fromwithinthe light sprang out a precious lotus of one thousandpetals. The Tathagata ofTransformationswasseatedinsidethe precious flower.Fromthe crown of his head radiatedten beams of hundred-jewelled light which shoneeverywhere. The great crowd looked up at the light-emittingTathagata,who was pronouncing sacred mantras.

Thiswas in fact the appearance of theYangspirit,66and so it was named theBuddha-child.

Ifyoudo not obtain the Tao ofhuiming, instalesolitude and superficialoral Chan,howwillyou have[this]in your own body? How could you come to say that the Tao oftheWorld-honouredone is alesserway [Tao]?This,then, reveals thesecretsofSurahgama and explains them for later generations of followers. Those who attain thisTaowill immediatelypassinto the sacred realm andwillnot tumble into the dust of themundane.

Normally,this termrefersto theBuddha'sthrone.Yangshen&jji .


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Chartof the Transformation BodyFigure 6: Chart of theTransformationBody

marks;The shared numinous power manifests its signs and transforms into emptiness

and non-being.Departfrom being69 andenternon-being so to uphold the marvellous Tao.The separate forms, exposed,share in the True Source.

67' Nian-&.68

Sexiang normallyrefers to theformand marks manifested by theBuddha.6 9 v * rYou .


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ChartofFacingtheWall

Figure7:Chart of

Facing theWall

16b The fire ofshentransforms thebodyinto vacant form and marks;The light ofxing shines back inward, restoring primordial perfection.The mindseal11 hangs in the void and the image of the moon is clear;The raft reaches the [opposite] shore12 and the light of the sun is bright.

7 0 Mianbi p U M . Thismeanstosit in meditationwiththe facetothe w a l l ,asBodhidharma did for nineyears without utteringaword.These nine yearsarealso sometimes understoodasthe worko frevertingthealchemical e l ix i r(dan nine times.

7 1 Xinyin I\J~B\1. Wordless, enlightened understanding passed frommaster todisciple.7 2 Fazhou dao an Thisreferstoattaining enlightenment.


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ChartofDissolutionintoEmptyVoidFigure8:Chartof

Dissolutioninto Empty

Void

17a Not arising, not perishing,Withoutpast, without future;A single beam ofbrilliant lightpenetrates the dhaimn-realm,Forgetting both calm andclarity is themostnuminous emptiness.Theemptyvoid illuminates and penetrates, the heavenly heart gleams,The water of the sea is still and pure, in itsdepthsthe moon dissolves,The clouds disperse in the azure sky, the colour of the mountains is clear,Wisdom returns toChanand samadhi, the moon's disc is alone.


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TheHuiming Jing

CollectedExplanationsoftheHuiming J ingla Huayang said:

To attainBuddhahood andbecomea patriarch is your originalnature73andnuminouslight.[But] if you do notmanageto End the Leakage ofhuiming, you will notrealizethe

2a Tao and directlyenterthe Great Void of the Tathagata.74 And if you End the Leakage ofhuiming but do notreceivethemethodof refining withwind and fire, youcannot unite

andcongeal75andattainthe Great Tao. Accordingly, isthisnotevidenceof thetruetransmissionof the work instages76of

2b the Buddhistmethod? [Butsome]foolishlytakeasinglesayingor half asentenceto bethe Tao And fromeonsago until now,theyhaveallbeenthe blindleadingthe blind,

Benxing7 4

Ihave used the " " symbolto denote the locations of commentaries in theoriginaltext.7 5

Hehe ningjiftii MM-7 6 The commentary to this section describes thestageso ftrainingasfollows: " A tthe time ofbeginning

istheworkofunitingthe True Seed.A tthe timeo ftransitionis theworkofcultivatingSarTra.At the timeo fcompletionis theworkofwarmingandnourishingtheEmbryo o fthe Tao. At the time oflettinggo is theworkofreleasingthe embryo andfacingthe w a l l . "


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ensnaringimmeasurable numbers of believers deep into the Nine Springs ofHell,whereinthe end they cannot lift their heads to see theBuddha's radiance.

3b Now, the teachings of theGreatCanonwereoriginallycomplete and perfect. However,because there are novices with shallowness and depth, with [karmic] roots that are keenand dull,when you encounter them they are ofmixedcharacterfrombeginning to endand are certainly not willing to complete thesuccessivestages[of thework]. Also,allthe laterpatriarchswere unwilling tofullyreveal and discuss what they received and used

4a to achievesuccess. Some manifestedthemselvesin non-interference77and concealedthemselvesin activity.78 Some manifestedthemselvesin non-substance79and

5a concealedthemselvesin Substance.80 Some manifestedthemselvesin inactivity81and8 2

concealedthemselvesin activity. Some manifestedthemselvesin the Lesser Vehicle

WuweiMM-78

Youwei^M- Accordingto the commentary to this section, non-interference (wuweiMM)is part ofthe laterstagesoftrainingand involves nourishing the Embryoofthe Tao and facing the w a l l(see charts).A c t i v i s m(youwei^M) is part of the earlierstageso f training, involvesthe congealing and uniting ofhuiming,and is the "marvellous functioningo f the intention(yi M) andqi56 o fthePrior Realm." Althoughactivism is i l lus ory , if it is abandoned the student w i l lnot succeed, and although non-interference is real, i fitis hastened the fruits of sage-hood w i l lbe diff icult to produce. A c t i v i s mprepares the student to grasp theproduct of non-interference. As an example of the relationship between the two, heaven and earth are saidto be non-interference, whilethatbywhichheaven and earth produce the myriadthings is said to beactivism.

79 WuwuMM-8 0 t

Youwu T$sj. The commentaryhereassociates non-substance (wuwuM^d) withworko fxing in thelaterstages o f training,and substance (youwuW#J) withwork ofmingin the earlierstageso f training.TheSubstance(wu $J)is mentioned throughout the text and is describedhereas the "root ofthe Tao"(dao zhigenbenjH^tH^O, the "bridge o fthedharma" (fa zhijinliang i fc W ^ ) , the "pure Y a n gperfectly hardqi56 o fthePrior Realm"(xiantian chunyang zhigang zhi qi7 fe; ^ M I i l M [ flfe/6) and thebodhi-seed(putizhongzi HSIfit^p).

8 1 WushiMM-8 2 -r T

Youshi fllf. Accordingto the commentary here,inactivity(wushiMM-)is a method for subduing themultitudes and is the method o fthe LesserV ehic le(xiaosheng / J N K I , Sanskrithinayana). A c t i v i t y(youshi^M) isasecret, hidden teaching and is the method of the Greater V ehic le(dasheng JKM. , Sanskritmahdyana).Itis the activity o fthe InnerWorkingsand the production of substance.Itis in fact the


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5b andconcealedthemselvesin the GreaterVehicle. Some haveeaseofspeechandsimplicityofexplanation.Youshouldlearnwelleachsuccessive stagetheyshouldnotberegardedpresumptuously.Youshould enquire afterenlightenment without doubtsandrepeatedlyseekforevidence.As forthosewho compel theirfollowerstoholdskewedviews,who seekdoctrinefromthe mouthsoffools,how couldtheybecriticizedunjustly?

Ithereforesay, "Castoff theordinaryandleaveitsdust,andseeksurpassing6a knowledge."84 Cut off lust,awakento the Tao, andtreasure trueteachers. If we rely

onotherstopointout andexplaina myriad ofmethods,it isdifficulttopeerintoour ownbodiesandhearts-and-minds. Toreachoutsideand use high-soundingtalkis not to

6b attainthe Tao. Briefwordsandobscure instructionthisisgoodmedicine. Whenyoureceiveit,temporarilyexamineit, lookingat itfromitsbeginning.After onlyasmalleffort,you laughtoyourself.85

The famedHeartSutrasays,"The bodhisattvaGuanyin."86 The Maharatnakuta-7b siitrasays,"If you uniteand congeal,you willcertainlysucceed."87 ThePlatform Sutra

applicationof intention and breathing onhuiming Hop orPrimordialQi (yuanqi7C56)so when it arises itdoes not disperse.83

Inthe commentary here, as above, the Lesser V ehic leis associatedwithexpedient methods,whiletheGreater V ehic leis associatedwiththecultivationofhuiming Hop.

8 4Inthe commentary, "surpassingknowledge"(guozhi i # n ) describes those who have received secret

instruction.85

Accordingto the commentary, concentrating the heart-and-mind (xin/ [ and using the breath w i l lcutthe roots of excess. The practitioner smiles because the intention(yijj; ) andqi56 unite, the heart-and-mindstillsand the body freshens.

8 6 Accordingto the commentary, this sentence refers to thecultivationof the two Substances(er wuZLf J) into one Substance. "To observe"(guanH) is identifiedwithxing '[4 ororiginalnature(benxing '[4),and "the bodhisattva"(pusa I f$)isidentified withmingoporhuimingHop.The twobecome one through the process ofunitingand congealing(heheningji S J ^ l ^ ) . Afterthey fuse andflourish,thought(nian fa) or "intelligent nature" (shixingjH'1'4),whichiscalled"intelligent spirit"(shishen elsewhere in the text, dies. In its place, Buddha-nature{foxing{ '14),whichiscalledPrimordialShen(yuanshen7t;jji$)in therest o fthe text, arises.


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8b of the Sixth Patriarch says,"Theemotioncomesandplantstheseed. Aswell, the9b Mahaprajnaparamita-hridaya-sutra89 says,"Time."90 The World-Honoured One said,10a "Preach thedharma in thePalaceof the Dragon-King ofJietuoSIPS."91 The Chan10b Master Yuantong92 said, "Hide the body in the Northern Dipper."93 TheChan Master

Jiwu said, "If youcongealandgathertheshenintothe Opening, theqi 56 willfollowthe11a goingof theshenandspontaneouslyreturn tothisplace. 94 Healsosaid, "Do not

interrupt the work and leteachbreath returnthere.Inaboutone or twomonthsyou willlib thenbeabletofeelglowing,warmqi56 revolvinginsidethe Opening."95 The

Tathagata of Clear Light said, "Once the GoldenChildawakensandabandonsthe royalpalace,96 imperceptibly therhinocerosis in thedharma-sea. If youwantto find it, return it

Accordingto thecommentary, in"uniting"(hehe%Un ) , he%Qis whentheY i nqi 5 6 intheheartgoesand uniteswiththeYangqi5 6 inthekidneys, andhei=$is whentheYangqi 5 6 inthekidneys receivestheY i nqi 5 5 from theheart.In "congealing"(ningjiMM),ningM iscongealing thesheniningshenMW),andji Misassemblingming(JimingHipp).

88Accordingto thecommentary,theemotion{qingfjf)isthebeginning move o fthe Heavenly Inner

Workings(tianji^ | ) ofcultivatinghuimingHop .89 That is,theHeart Sutra.90

Accordingto thecommentary here, "time"(shi refersto thebeginning of movement in meditativestillness.It isin fact whenhuimingHop moves byitself inthebody.

91Thecommentary after this section saysthatthe Palace of the Dragon-King (longgongf | ^ ) is

Sanskritfor what the Chinesecal ltheCinnabarF i e l d(dantian f\W)-1 have been unabletodeterminethesignificance of the termJietuoSUP'S,althoughitappearsto be aSanskrit proper name.

92ChanMasterYuantong (YuantongChanshi H j l l fW)appearsto refer toYuantongMingguang

Chanshi^0HjSipP,aQingdynastyChanMaster figurefromHebeiMitwhose exactdatesareunknown.

93

Accordingto thecommentary here, the Northern Dipper(beidou t ) isthesameas thePalace oftheDragon-King(longgong H I E O , a r | d"hidingthe body"(cangshenWiM) isthesameas"congealing"(ningjiMM)-

94Accordingto thecommentary here,theOpening(qiao & ) isthesameas theCinnabarF i e l d (dantian

^EB), andisalsocalledtheFurnace(luj^). Italso explainsthatthis is whentheqi 5 6 beginstoexpressand move, andthatitcan become attached toexternal forms and leave. By gatheringtheshenft ntotheCinnabar F i e l d ,theqi 5 6 then follows itthere instead.


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12a to theancientvillage. At the bottom of thestupaat Spirit Vulture Peak you will begin tounderstand thetraces. 98 TheChan Master Yuantong said, "The multitude ofYin isfully strippedawayand OneYangreturns to life. If you wish to see theHeart-and-MindofHeaven andEarth,youmustknow the method of availing yourself ofYin."99

12b TheSurahgama-sutra says,"If you wish toestablisha ritual arena, first find theWhite Ox ofGreatStrength of the Himalayas. You cantakeits dung and spread it on the

13b earth."100 TheSurahgama-sutra also says,"Youmustcut off both inner springs oflustand thesensualheart-and-mind. Cut offsexuality101 and it will disappear. In Buddhist

14a bodhithiscan be hoped for." TheChan Master Jiwu said, "Once the Inner Workings

y J The commentaryheresaysthatthe breath is theqi JR,ofrespiration,and is what the Buddhaexplainedas" w i n d . "Itis alsocalledthe " p i l l a r "(zhu zhang TheqiH of respiration originates in theCinnabar F i e l d (dantian ;FrEH),but most people canonlymakeitleave, not make itenter.When you obtainthetruetransmission, thesheniffo fthe CinnabarF i e l dcan meet the breath. They mingle and thedharma-wheel(faluntilra) then turns. The number o fmonths required depends on whether you are young or old.

96Accordingtothe commentary, this isareference toPrince Sakyamuni leaving his palace, and isthe

beginningof thecultivationofhuimingHop.97

Accordingto the commentary here, the rhinocerosistheqi56, thedharma-sea (fahai;t.;M)is theCinnabar F i e l d(dantian j^rEH),and the ancientvillage(guliSftJi.) is the F i e l dof the Heart(xintian 'OEEQ,whichseemsto beanother name for the Central Palace(zhonggong ^j310 -Returning the rhinocerostotheancientvillageis the transformation ofintelligentnature(shixing U H into Buddhanature(foxingNormally, inBuddhismthe rhinoceros referstokhadga-visana,the rhinoceros-horn,whichsymbolizessingleawakening to sage-hood.

98Accordingtothe commentary,Lingshan I | | J L | is theheart,and the bottom o fthestupa(taxiaWY)is

the CinnabarF i e l d(dantianjtrES).To understand the traces is when, unexpectedly, in the midst ofnon-being(wufit),being(you^ ) is born.Normally, Spirit VulturePeak refers tothe mountain where Buddhaissaidtohave given theLotus Sutra.

99Accordingto the commentary, the multitude o f Y i n (qunyinifi|g) inthe body is the Northern Sea

(beihai 4t l)and inthe year is the eleventh month. OneY a n g(yiyang inthe body is the birth ofY a n gand in the year is winter. TheHeart-and-MindofHeaven(tianxin / j) is the place where Y a n gisborn.

1 0 0 Accordingto the commentary, spreading the dungo fthe White Oxo fGreatStrength o ftheHimalayas(xueshandali bainiu I l U j ^ ^ J E H ^ ) referstocultivatingthe roots ofhuimingHop.

1 0 1 Xing '[4.The meaningo fthis termhereis clearly different from therest o fthe text.


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14b have started, congeal theshenand enter it into theCinnabar Field.1 02 Youshould use the103

MartialFire to gather and subdue it, making itreturn.Fumigate and refine it.WhentheInnerWorkingshave not yet started, use theshento illuminate theCinnabar Field.Youshoulduse theCivilFire1 04to not departfromit but protect it. Use decoction andevaporation [on it].Onlywhen you awaken and enter like thiswillyou obtain the

15a emergence of theTrueSeed." TheWorld-HonouredOne of the Sakya House said,15b "Facingthe bright stars of theDipper,105awaken to theTao." TheChanMaster

Yuantongsaid,"Thoughthe hidden body in theNorthern Dippermay awaken, few peopleknow theformofbreathingtoleavethe dustyworld."106

Inthesefew [phrases]above, the marvellous teaching of theHuiming Jing and theheavenly InnerWorkingsofunitingtheTrueSeed are all present. The work ofwindandfireisalsonot outside this. I therefore say, "Once you start to congealshen,returntoilluminatethe Palace of theDragon-Kingand completelysettleyourselfinstillness. Use

16a dualforgetting107to wait for movement. Use intention andqi56 together. Useshen-firetotransform.Use the wind of the breath to blow. Use themartialto refine. Use theciviltoprotect.Fora long time, fumigate and evaporate. Ifforan instant intention andqi56 donot separatefromeach other, you have attained the method ofunitingand congealing.

Dantian ^ r t B - Thisreferstoanareaslightlybelowthenavel.1 0 3 WuhuoW^ik-1 0 4 Wenhuo ^ C i K1 0 5

A c c o r d i n gtothecommentaryhere,thebrightstarso ftheDipperarethebrightness o ftheqi56emitted intheCinnabar Field (dantian fl-ffl), thebrightness o ftheTrue Seed beingproduced.1 0 6 A c c o r d i n gtothecommentaryhere,thehiddenbody(cangshenW> k)awakeningisthehiddenshen

i|$startingtomove. Thebreathinghereisthebreathing o fturningthedharma-whee\,w h i c h isthemethodo funitingtheTrue Seed(hehe zhenzhong^Uii W)-

107 A c c o r d i n gtothecommentary, thisisforgettingform (xingJf and forgettingintention(yi ).


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16b Have you not heard the words of the ancient Confucian scholar108who obtained theTao?"UnconsciouslyYinandYangbegin to transform. In harmony heaven and earthbegin to revolve." ThePlatform SutraoftheSixthPatriarch says,"Onthe causal

17a ground,109thefruit11 0 again grows." The Tathagata of ImmeasurableLightsaid,"Clearlydistinguish movement andstillnessand respond to the formless.111 Imperceptibly,inthe Palace of theDragon-Kingis the sound ofahowl."11 2 The Tathagata ofPure

17b GoldenLight11 3 said,"At the sea-bottom theformof the mud-ox is half-exposed." The Chan Master Yuantong said, "If the plumblossomshave not yet bloomed, it is tooearlyfor it to arise. If the plumblossomshave already bloomed, it is toolatefor it to

arise."115 Healsosaid, "If it is like this, you endure all hardships. The universe is

A c c o r d i n gto the commentary, this refers to Shao KangjieS P f t f p . This is Shao Y o n g |3 (1011-1077 C E ) ,the neo-Confucian philosopher.

109 A c c o r d i n gto the commentary, the "ground" is also called the Pure L a n d(jingtu#dt), the Sea ofBitterness(kuhai andudana (youtuona fifPSfP), w h i c hmeans"navel"or"middle."The textelsewhere confirmsthatthe Pure L a n drefers to the CinnabarF i e l d(dantianj \S).

1 1 0 A c c o r d i n gto the commentary, the "fruit againgrowing"refers to thebodhi-seedor theSarira-seedbeingproduced based on the previous "Inner Workingsofthe emotion planting the seed and uniting"(youqing laixiazhong hehezhiji ^rffjf3f5TS^Pn".W0- m addition,yinguo H Hcommonly referstokarmiccause and effect.

1 1 1 A c c o r d i n gto the commentary,wuxiang iswujiMM ("the L i m i t l e s s " ) .The Substance (wu$J)is o r ig ina l lyformless and arises out ofstillnessandsamddhi.

112A c c o r d i n gto the commentary, the Palace o fthe DragonK i n g(longgong H H i ) is thesameas

"causal ground"(yindiHi above, and the h o w l(hou PJL)is thesameas the "fruit"(guoH)above.113

Zimojin IJ^^zisaBuddhist term referring to gold o fhighest purity.114

A c c o r d i n gto the commentary here, the sea-bottom (haidi$|jg) refers to the CinnabarField(dantian f J E H ) .The mud-ox(niniuM^) refers tohuimingHop, or theshenf$andqi56of the bodyunitedinto the True Seed(zhenzhong (Hit).Its form being half-exposed is when the True Seed is about tobe produced. The mud-ox entering the sea(niniu ru haitiS^AIS)is aChaniffterm referring to thedissolutionofdistinctions,the stopping of breath and the intention possessingasingle direction.

1 1 5 A c c o r d i n gto the commentary, the blooming o fthe plum blossoms refers to the movement ofY a n gqi56, w h i c h w i l lnot ascend if it is gathered too late or too early.


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18a entirely filled with spring."116 Healsosaid,"You certainlymustgrab it." TheChan117

18b Master Jiwu said,"Allin the Six Unities is like spring: each Substancefinds its

place." The Patriarch Bodhidharma said, "In thesecond phase collecttheMuni118jewel. Healsosaid, "In thesecond phase collecttheMunijewel.In the fourthphase

19a thereis marvellous functioning. In thesixthphasedo notexerttheshen. 119 The SixthPatriarchsaid, "Go north toreceiveandmeetdeliverance."

The Chan Master Jiwu said, "Gather andthereby riseanddescend.Follow thegoverning meridian toriseto theNiwan M A - 1 2 0Follow theconceptionmeridian todescendto the CinnabarField." TheBook ofChangessays,"Closing the door is calledkunitfi.Opening the door is calledqian To bothcloseandopenis called

20b transformation. Going and comingwithoutlimit is called connecting."121 Italso says,122

21a "Theqianlinesuse nine; thekunlinesuse six." TheAvatamsaka-sutra says,"Thevarious Buddhas, insamadhi,areabletorevolvethe marvellousdharma-wheel inccordingtothe commentary, this referstothe CinnabarF i e l d(dantianj^EH) being completelyf i l led with Y a n gqi56.Thisis when the True Seed(zhenzhong(Hfl ) is produced.

117Accordingto the commentary,theSix Unities(Liu he 7N n - ) referstothe entire body."Spring"refers

to the warm token(xinflf)f i l l ingthe whole body. Six Unitiesis astandard termwithanumber ofinterpretations, generally referring to unitieswithinthe person, or between the microcosmofthe person andthe macrocosmo fthe universe.

118Accordingto the commentary, this refers tothephaseofcollectingthe Substance(wuf J)and

returning it to the furnace (lu 'J@),whichisidentified elsewhereasthe CinnabarF i e l d(dantian fl-ffl). M u n i(Mount =-Jfc)normallyrefers to Sakyamuni.

119 See the Charto fthe Six Phases o ftheDharma-Wheelon page 24.120

TheNiwan ^ A > , also known as theNiwanPalace(niwangong A . H J)> is the sameasthe UpperCinnabar Field(shang dantianJi^EH) andislocated in the centre o fthe head.Itis the terminus of thegoverningmeridian(dumaiUrM)ar>d thestarting point of the conception meridian(renmai \iM).

121Accordingto the commentary, this referstothe respiration ofusingthe twoqi56toturn the

dharma-whee\ (falun tilra).Here,qianfis associatedwithexhaling(hu Hf) ,andkunJ$is associatedwith inhaling(xi

122Accordingto the commentaryhereand immediately preceding, this referstothe measures inthe

turning o fthe dharma-whee\ (falun


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21b responseto thetime."123 The World-Honoured One of the SakyaHousesaid, "Enter theponds124andsoakandbathe." TheAvatamsaka-sutra says,"In order to walk the Taothatthe Tathagatatravelleddo not belateor behasty, examinethe truth and walk inaccordwiththe constant." The Tathagata said, "Do not toil and do not be idle."

22a Dlparhkara Buddha said, "Constantly turn the dharma-wheel." The World-HonouredOne said, "Youshouldturn themarvellousdharma-wheel ofthusness." The SixthPatriarch said, "Ihaveone Substance.[It is a pillarthat]above reachesheavenandbelowreachesthe earth."125 [The World-Honoured One of] the SakyaHousesaid, "Seawater

1Oft22b bathesthe crown of thePrince's head." The World-Honoured One said, "After the127 Ftransformation by fire, gathertheSarira." TheAvatamsaka-sutra says,"Theforms

128of alltruemenattaintheretractablepenisof the Tathagata." The World-Honoured

23a One said, "Arhats who areableto notdie."129 Theabovealldescribesthe work ofturning of the dharma-wheel andachievingSarira; is not the Tao ofhuiming completelylocated there?"

I say, "Themethodsof work of the Tao ofachievingSarira are very many. They arecalledTrueShen,the TrueQi56, TrueIntention,respiration, ruling, revolving. They are

1 2 3 That is, in response to time and circumstances.124

Accordingto the commentary here, the two ponds(erchittfe are the Eastern and WesternLands.125

Accordingto the commentary here, this refers to reaching thecrownof the head(dingII) above andthe abdomenbelow.

126Accordingto the commentary here, the sea is theCinnabar F i e l d(dantian^JEH and water is the

PrimordialQi (yuanqi7t;5G),whichthen rises to thecrown o fthe head(ding127

Accordingto the commentary,firehere refers toshenf128 '

Accordingto the commentary, this means theSarira (shell J)is complete. The retractable penisisa characteristico ftheBuddha.

129Accordingto the commentary, when the external kidneys (that is, the testicles or ovaries) do not

move,Sarira (sheli"ir lj)is attained, and there is no death.


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difficult to remembercompletely.Whenever, according to circumstance, yourotatethedharma-wheel, one intentiongovernsthe two qi56.13 0The method of revolving is in theshenco-operating with theTrueQi56, sharing the path. You cannot start with any otherfocus.At thetwelvemeasures, youcompletelydepend upon the respiration tohastenthe revolving. Bymeansof theamountsof the breath youestablishits pattern. Yougatherit yourself in order to return to the root. Youmustnotleaveit for aninstant.If youleave,

23b it will end and not continue and you will notachieveSarira.'" Have you not heard of24a the words the World-Honoured One said to Kasyapa? He said, "The truedharma is stored

132 intheeyes." Healsosaid to Ananda, "If you do not knowwherethe eye of the heart-and-mind is located, you will not beabletosubdueworldly troubles." The Dharma-

13324b flower Sutra says,"I will nowhaveyou undertakethistask.In the end it is not in vain.

Withdiligenceand dedication you should practisethissamadhi134 andforsevendaysyourthoughtshould be onthistask." The World-Honoured One said, "The sixtypes135are shaking." Healsosaid, "Thecurlbetweentheeyebrowsthat constantlyemitsa

25a bright light." The World-Honoured One said, "The reedsproutspenetrate pasttheknees."136 The Patriarch Bodhidharma said, "Snap thereedsandcrossthe river."137

1 3 0 See note 62.131 The twelvemeasures appear on theChart o ftheSixPhaseso ftheD/zarwa-Wheelon page 24.132 Accordingto thecommentaryhere, the eyes are where theshen]0rests.133 Fahuajing S j i j l f e Thatis,theLotus Sutra.1 3 4 Here,the termsanweiH B is used forsamadhi,and notding as in the rest ofthe text.135 '

Accordingto thecommentary,this refers to theproductionofSarira (sheli (J). Thesixtypes(liuzhong TNS)refer to sixlocationswithinthebody:the eyes, ears, nose,brain,bodyandCinnabar Field(dantianfJES)-

136 'Accordingto thecommentaryhere, this refers to theSarira (shelii?f[])traversingthe Three Passes

(sanguanHBS) inthe back.137 Accordingto thecommentary,this also refers totraversingthe passes(guoguanjiUfl).


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25b TheWorld-HonouredOne said,"Asinglearrowpenetrates the nine-layerediron138 139

drum." He also said,"The delight ofChan is eating. He also said, Joy in the

dharma is replete. TheSutra ofthe DeedsoftheWorld-Honoured Onesays,"If you26a reach the southbankof theRiverGanges, youwillholdpeaceful and steady asMount

Sumeru."14 0 TheSurahgama-sutra says,"Gotogether with theBuddhaand receive ashare of theqi56 of theBuddha.If theYinbody at the centreseeksfor the father andmotheritself, theYintokendarklyinterpenetrates.Thereis then a person'sseedof theTathagata.Thisis calledproducingthe precious abode. 141

26b TheWorld-HonouredOne said, In between the two realms of the heavens of desireand of sensuality, it transforms into the place of the SevenTreasures.Ifinthe greatchiliocosmof threebillionworlds youpreachtheprofounddharma of theBuddha,youwillmake thedharma abide for a long time. 142 The Avatamsaka-sutra says, By

A c c o r d i n g to the commentary, the arrow is the TrueQi(zhenqii(56) penetrating the Three Passes(sanguan ELM)of the spine. The nine layers refer to thepassestogether w i t hthe openings to the right andleftof each one.

139A c c o r d i n g to the commentary, "eating" refers to the TrueQi(zhenqi(H56) entering the larynx(hou

Bf^)to ascend to the crowno fthe head(dingIff , and then returning to the Central Palace(zhonggong cp1Hi -1 4 0 Xumi MM- The commentary here explainsthatreaching the south bank of the R i v e rGanges refers

to the refinedSarira (shelli t^lj ) entering the Central Palace(zhonggong^ ). See also note 201 below.141

A c c o r d i n gto the commentary, this entirepassagerefers tocultivatingthe Embryoofthe Tao(daotaij l l f lp ) .Once theSarira (sheli*^ IJ) has returned to the Central Palace(zhonggong ^H D, theshen jjjfreceives theqi56 of the Buddha and unites w i t hit.Thisis "going together w i t hthe Buddha andreceivingashare ofhisqi56." In the f o l l o w i n g sentence, the Y i nbody isxing'[4,the father is theqi56 o fthe Buddha,and the mother is the breathing. These last two helping in the development of the embryo is "seeking for thefather and mother it self . When the Y i nqi0,changes into a body of pure Y a n gand pervades the entirebody,this is the " Y i n token(yinxin| ^{g) darkly interpenetrating." F inal ly ,the Embryoofthe Tao preservedasaHeavenly Perfect Buddha-body(tianzhenfoti ^ j j t ^ f i ) is the seed of Tathagata (rulaizhong \ M)-

1 4 2 A c c o r d i n gto the commentary, the heavens of desire and sensuality(yusetian^ t f e^) refer to thelowerandmiddleCinnabarFields(dantian f\\S). Thethreeb i l l i o nworlds refer to thethreeCinnabarF i e l d s :lower, middle and upper. A b i d i n galongtime refers to the work oflodgingthe Embryoofthe Tao(daotai JMHo)in the middle CinnabarFieldfor ten months.


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27a meansofsamadhi subduethe heart-and-mind. Ultimatelytherewill be noresidue." The World-Honoured One said, "Come according to principle; go according to

27b principle."143 The Tathagata said,"Nirvana with residue."144 The Brahmajala-sutrasays,"Theabsoluteisfundamentaltruth andmovesinbirthless145void. Al l the Buddhas,worthiesandsagesshareinbirthlessvoid."14 6 The World-Honoured Onesaidthis:"To

28a bevacantwhilenotvacantis the Tathagata-storehouse."147 DTparhkaraBuddha said,"Birthandextinctionareextinguished." TheDiamond Sutra says,"TheonlyresponsesofBodhisattvasare according towhatistaughtandlearned." The

28b Surahgama-sutra says,"When the Embryo of the Tao has roamed,personallyupholdawakeningandresponse." TheDiamond Sutra says,"As forBodhisattvasand thedharma, theyshouldhave nowhereto lodge,and act according to charity." TheAvatamsaka-sutra says,"Peacefully abidein calm andstillnessand theknowledgeof all

29a Chan andsamadhi. Enter thedeathlessTao." The World-Honoured One said, 'Nirvanawithoutresidue."149 The Avatamsaka-sutra says,"Constantly, with clear reflection,abidein thehighestawakening." DTparhkaraBuddha said, "Calm andextinctionisjoy."

143Accordingto the commentary, this refers tocultivatingtheEmbryo o fthe Tao(daotai jjl@n)with the

breathing.144

Accordingto the commentary, here the breath is present and mutuallyfollowsthe heart-and-mind(xin InBuddhism,"residue"normallyrefers to previously produced karmawhichhas not yetdisappeared.

145 That is, beyond birth and death, orsamsara.146

Accordingto the commentary, this refers to the uniting and movement o ftheqi o fthePrior Realm(xiantian zhi qi9C3 .KL%


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29b I therefore say, "[This is] the marvellous method ofSarira traversing thepasses.150Usestillnessto illuminate and usesoftnessto function. The path is dangerous, so guardagainst wandering above or below.Waitingto act, youpullit in. Gently protecting it, youmove. Using theCivilFire,fumigate it. Using the twoqi 5& ,1 5 1 nourish it. Using bothcalmand illumination, cultivate it. Using dual forgetting, establishstillness.Then,the

30a method of theEmbryoof the Tao is obtained." Have you not heard the words of the fiftieth scroll of the Avatamsaka-sutra'} "From

the whitecurlin the centre of his face, theWorld-HonouredOne emitted a great light.30b Thiswas called the emergence of the Tathagata."152 TheChan Master Jiwu said, "The

InnerWorkingsat the utmoststageof the embryo wheresnowand flowers fly and theconsciousness movesandfloatsup to the summit of the voiddo not call this theTathagata's way ofstalemeditation. Thedharma-body emergescalmly andtakes

31a refuge." TheSurahgama-sutra says,"The form being complete, send forth the embryoandpersonally become aBuddha-child."153 TheDharma-flower Sutrasays,"TheWorld-HonouredOne emitted a bright light from the whitecurlon his face, illuminatingtheeighteenthousand worlds of the East, with nothing not completely penetrated. Below,it reachedAvicihell. Above, it reachedAkanisthaheaven. The South, West and Northwereall illuminated and completely penetrated like this."

31b The Great Enlightened Golden Immortal Tathagata said, "[TheWorld-HonouredOne]emitted from hiscurlof flesh onehundredbeams of precious light.Fromwithin the lightsprangout a precious lotus of one thousand petals. The Tathagata ofTransformationswas

1 5 0Guan%%.1 5 1 See note 62.152

Accordingto thecommentary,the textfromthispointondiscussessendingforth theembryo,whereasup tothis pointitdiscussesnourishingtheembryo.

153 Thisphrasealso occursat the endo fthe"Chart o ftheEmbryo o ftheTao"on page 30.


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seatedinside the precious flower."154 TheWorld-HonouredOne said,"Whenyou firstattain correct awakening,155you then enter the Palace of theDragon-King.Entersamadhi

32a forsevendays and observe theKingof the Bodhisattva-tree.156Enteringsamadhiforsevendaysextendstotwice sevenand threetimesseven.In the Forest ofMilkenter

32b samadhi forseven timessevenforty-nine daysand do noteat."157 TheWorld-HonouredOne said, "The method ofguardingyour thoughtscausesyou to abide a long

158time." TheAvatamsaka-sutra says,"Thoughyou may demonstrate calm andextinction, practise diligently.Youwill be able topassbeyond the unmoving earth likethe sky.Buddhaexhorts, from calm and extinction on, the task ofbroadlycultivating alltypesof knowledge." TheAvatamsaka-sutra also says,"Constantly abide in

33a Nirvana, which is like emptyvoid." Italso says,"Ifyourheart-and-mind is always incorrect concentration159and you eliminate [intellectual] awareness, then with theawarenessfrom perfect knowledge you will from that time, imperturbable,160enterformless samadhi." TheSutra ofComplete Enlightenment says,"The complete

33b enlightenment of the Tathagata."161 TheAvatamsaka-sutra says,"[When] dharma-nature162is like the empty void, the various Buddhas abide at the centre."163

154Thisquotefrom theSurahgama-sutra alsoappears inthesection entitled"ChartofSendingForth

theEmbryo"on page 32.1 5 5 ZhengjueHEjIE.Sanskritsambodhi.1 5 6 Pusashu wang^ j^ ^ a t B E . I have beenunabletolocateanyexplanation o fthis term.Iexpectthat

pusashureferstoputi shu^ ^ ^ a torBodhi-tree.1 5 7 Accordingto thecommentary, this a llrefers to the careo fthech i ldthatresultedfrom thebirth o fthe

embryo.158

According.tothecommentary, thisrefers toreturningto theNiwanM%-159 Zhengding JEJE Sanskritsamyaksamadhi.1 6 0 Budong^f-W ],Sanskrit acala.1 6 1 Accordingto thecommentary, completeenlightenment(yuanjueHS ) iswhen TrueXing (zhenxing

tH'ft) returns toemptiness.


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Theabove alldiscussesthe marvellous method ofSarira traversing thepasses,nurturingtheexitof theEmbryooftheTao,and insamadhireturningto emptiness. The

34a Tao ofhuiming is all here. I do not darecallthis collection my own discussion of themarvellous Taothis all gathers the true transmission of previoussages.It is in fact[from]thosewho, with determination, overmyriadagespast awakened to the Tao of theBuddhaand cultivated the root ofhuiming. Theyallowedthosewho see it to awaken to itthemselves, accord with theTrueIntention oftheBuddhas andpatriarchs,and havingsucceeded, to complete theirhumanity.This,then, is the outcome of the Tao of theBuddha.

1 6 2 Faxing163

Accordingto thecommentary, thisis themarvellous method o frefiningemptinessand the secretinstruction o freturning TrueXing (zhenxing to theCentralPalace(zhonggong c p l i D


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1 0 .Direct Discussion onCultivatingtheCorrect Tao35a Huayang said:

"Cultivating"is mending and making whole what isbroken. "Refining" is usingfire to transform the Substance.164 If there is fire but no wind, it will notburn. If theSubstancedoesnot have a place, then itdoesnot have an abode.165 Forthis reason,doesnot the Realized One participate in the GreatTao?Does she not cultivatexingand

35b ming?Windand fire are what are usedtogetherequally166 on the Substance. Everywhere and forever, all who attain the Tao take this to becrucial. Why arethosewho know about this so rare andthosewho are ignorant of this so many?

Ifyou cling toxingbut lackmingand do not understand movement andstillness,youwillgenerally end upfeebleand old. Ming movesand is squandered outside. When it issquandered completely, you die. Where canxingreside then? How can the Tao be

36a preserved then? Forthis reason, the Realized One examines thecyclesof movementandstillnessandunitesand practises them both. Ming167 is rooted in the kidneys, andwhen the kidneys move there is water. Xingm is rooted in the heart, and when the heartmovesthere is fire. By putting fire into water, huiming is then not squanderedoutside. Blowing fire with windchangesit into theTrueSeed.

164 Accordingto thecommentaryhere, theSubstance(wu $})isPrimordialQi(yuanqi 7 C ^ ) .1 6 5 Accordingto thecommentaryhere, the abode is theCaveofQi(qixue from wherethe

Substance(wu $})originallycame outwhenitwasborn.1 6 6 Accordingto thecommentary, thisrefers totakingintention(yim. ) , enteringitintotheCaveofQi

(qixue andblowingbackon it byexhalingandinhaling.167

Accordingto thecommentaryhere,ming p p isPrimordialQi(yuanqiTC/G).168 Accordingto thecommentaryhere,xing ft isTrue Intention(zhenyi g ) .


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36b Themethodissimple. Thosewho areawareof itcultivatethe TrueSeedtorealizeSarira. When it is still,wait. When itmoves, takeit. Refinethemtogetherin the

37a furnace.169 Wethereforesay"transformationby fire." Goalongthe road of theBuddha.17 0 Takeshelterunderthetreeof the World-Honoured One.17 1 This iscalled"startingandstopping." Infact,the startingandstoppingof fire reallyfollows the

17^transformationof theSubstance. When the Yindemons appear,youmustrefinethemawaywiththe Martial Fire to avoidthemhasteningdangerofleakage.174 Inclearstillnessandgreat peace, constantly softeningyourself,be warmly nurturing andthereby

37b protectand hold the strengthof thepreciouspearl. And if you turn the dharma-wheel,use theCiviland Martialtogether.175Thesubtleandfinemarvelmoreover beinglocatedin theMaster'steachings,you ofyourselfwillawaken. WhenSarira iscomplete,stopthe Martial andencircle withthefumigatingandassemblingof the Civil. This iscalledwarmly nurturing. Inreality,it islikenedtoprotecting.

Accordingto the commentary here, t

Documents

Hui Ming Jing (The Secret of the Golden Flower)