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Daoist Sleeping Meditation: Chen Tuan’s Sleeping Gong

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Disclaimer
The author and publisher of this book are not responsible in any manner for any injury or illness,
which may result from following the instructions or performing the exercises contained within the
book.
The activities described in this book, physical or otherwise, may be too strenuous or dangerous for a
given individual.
Before embarking on any of the physical activities described in this book, the reader should consult
his or her physician for advice regarding their individual suitability for performing such activity.
Any health benefits attributed to these movements and exercises, whether mentioned or inferred, are
not advocated or promised by the author or publisher. Any health benefits, whether mentioned or
inferred, are those typically attributed to these movements and exercises in traditional Chinese
culture. We neither endorse nor advocate these benefits and opinions, nor do we vouch for their
veracity. They are presented for educational purposes only.
 Acknowledgements
Endless thanks to my wife Valerie Ghent for being my partner in life, teaching and learning. She has
come with me on most of the many trips to China and her zest for life, charm and enthusiasm open
doors, and keep my spirit from faltering. Valerie’s ongoing collaboration with me on books, photos,
videos and articles about Ba Gua Zhang, Xing Yi Quan, Nei Gong and Daoist practices is invaluable.
Her proofreading skills are invaluable as she catches my many mistakes and my tendency to take the
reader’s understanding for granted. Valerie, thank you for your love and support.
To Huang Guo Qi, for being a wonderful friend and for translating and guiding me through so many
trips to China over the last 20 years. Huang’s translations of documents and his ability to research and
find the answers to arcane questions on Daoism, Nei Gong and the Nei Jia have helped make this
book, and many of my previous books, possible. Thank you Huang for always being there and for your
fearlessness and indefatigable spirit.
My thanks to Wes Tasker for his work in proofreading the drafts and correcting my mistakes in
relation to Buddhist concepts.
My thanks also to Mohammed Saïah for his help with building and managing the Internal Art
International (IAI) website, where some of these writings were first presented in an article format.
Ongoing management of a website is a difficult and often thankless job, but Mohammed has proved to
be a trustworthy, staunch and loyal friend in this and so many other ways.
 Contents
Introduction
Chen Tuan and Sleeping Meditation
Chen Tuan and the Tai Ji Diagram
Hun Dun and Wu Ji
Wu Ji Gives Birth to Tai Ji
Tai Ji Gives Birth to Yin & Yang
Liang Yi Generates Ba Gua and Wu Xing
Chen Tuan’s Diagram
Doorway of the Mysterious Female
Transmute Essence so that It Can Transform into Qi
The Five Forces Assembled at the Source
Taking From Kan-Water to Supplement Li-Fire
Transmute Spirit So that It Can Return to Emptiness
Sleeping Meditation and Wu Wei
Chen Tuan’s Instructions for Sleeping Meditation
Summary of Instructions for Sleeping Gong
Instructions from Twelve Sleeping Immortals
Introduction to Twelve Sleeping Immortals
1. Mao Xuan Han Subduing the Dragon and Tiger
2. Qu Shang Fu Refining the (Hun) and (Po)
3. Mai Yi Ren Zhen Harmonizes and Regulates the Zhen Qi
4. Hu Dong Lin Transports and Transforms Yin and Yang
5. Du Sheng Zhen and Yin Yang in the Fu & Gou Diagrams
6. Wang Long Tu Silently Cultivates the Fire Times
7. Kang Nan Yan Guards the Furnace and Tripod
8. Zhang Yi Tang Refining & Cultivating the Mysterious Treasure
9. Zhang Xuan Xuan Firmly Fastens the Monkey and Horse
10. Lazy Old Peng Gathers and Releases the Elixir Pivot
11. Tan Zi Ran Vast and Unfettered Penetrates the Mystery
12. Yu Yi Yang Transcends Life and Death
Summary of the Teachings of the Twelve Immortals
5 More Immortals: Sleeping Gong Medical Nei Gong
Daoist Medical Nei Gong
 Qi and Medical Nei Gong
Principles of Medical Sleeping Gong
Five Sleeping Immortals Medical Nei Gong
1. Qiong Shu Sleeps on Stone
2. Zhuang Zhou’s Butterfly Dream
3. Xiu Yang Lies on a Stone Couch
4. Song Xuan Bai Sleeps in the Snow
5. Chen Xi Yi (Chen Tuan) Sleeps Deeply on Mount Hua
Final Words on Sleeping Gong from Poet Lu You
Bibliography
 Introduction
I first became aware of the name Chen Tuan (Chen Xi Yi) over 20 years ago in relation to his
purported creation of the martial art Liu He Ba Fa (Six Harmonies & Eight Methods Boxing), also
known as “Water Boxing.” At that time I heard that Chen Tuan also practiced “Sleeping Meditation,”
and while I found this idea both amusing and intriguing, I did not pursue it further. Later I encountered
Chen Tuan again in relation to the 24 Solar Term Qi Gong, which I have now practiced for many
years. I only encountered texts on Chen Tuan’s sleeping meditation towards the very end of my
research for the book Decoding the Dao: Nine Lessons in Daoist Meditation (2013). At that point it
was to late to include Chen Tuan’s Sleeping Meditation or “Sleeping Gong” in the book, and truthfully
it really was beyond the scope of that book. Decoding the Dao provides a good introduction to
Daoist Meditation, while this book builds on that introduction.
Chen Tuan’s Sleeping Gong comes down to us largely through the Ming Dynasty text, Chi Feng Sui
(Marrow of the Red Phoenix), where it is described as the “Sleeping Gong from Mount Hua.” The
Marrow of the Red Phoenix (1578) is a compilation of a variety of texts on breathing techniques, Nei
Gong and inner alchemy. It comprises six texts, most of which are from the earlier Song and Yuan
dynasties.
The description of Sleeping Gong in the Marrow of the Red Phoenix, whether written by Chen
himself, or described by another author, provides a unique window into Daoist meditation. It consists
of a relatively brief description of the basic practice, followed by twelve pictures of Sleeping
Immortals, each of which is accompanied by a short poem. These poems not only provide further
instruction in Sleeping Meditation, they also incorporate the full panoply of Daoist imagery and
metaphor relating to Daoist practices of inner cultivation and meditation, including many direct and
oblique allusions to the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching) of Lao Zi.
These twelve poems are viewed by some as twelve steps or twelve stages of inner cultivation. It can
be helpful to view them this way as long as one realizes that these “twelve steps” are not necessarily
sequential and that, to some degree, they describe different aspects of the same practice. The twelve
poems can also be thought of as the same practice with different names, or even twelve ways of
describing the same thing. However one chooses to look at them, the twelve poems provide a
wonderful window into Daoist Nei Dan meditative practices, while at the same time offering
concentrated instruction in these practices.
In this translation and annotation, I have attempted to explain the concepts hinted at in Chen Tuan’s
instructions on Sleeping Meditation (Sleeping Gong) and the poems of the Twelve Sleeping
Immortals. I have also tried to elucidate the many references to the Dao De Jing and other Daoist
texts.
Scattered throughout the Chi Feng Sui are five other references to Sleeping Gong, which present
variations of this practice for the treatment of specific medical conditions involving loss of essence
and diseases caused by cold. I have included this “Medical Sleeping Gong” in order to give the
reader further insight into the practice of Sleeping Gong.
Meditation takes many forms. As human beings, we are often attracted to forms of meditation which
are complex, involve difficult postures or employ extensive mental imagery. Even in Daoism, which
counsels a return to simplicity, there are forms of meditation involving complex imagery and ritual.
Sleeping Meditation is deep and profound in its simplicity and direct approach to entering into
stillness in order to reconnect with the authentic self.
Sleeping Meditation embodies the Daoist ides of Wu Wei: non-action, non-interference and non-
intervention. This does not mean doing nothing at all, but rather not interfering with the patterns and
rhythms of nature, not imposing our own intentions on the organization of the world. Through letting
go of the natural tendency to overdo and to over-think, by doing less and acting less, one can connect
with the world in a different way. Acting less is not laziness. Acting less means to act without forcing
things, to act with an understanding of the natural rhythms and patterns that manifest in the world, and
to blend with those patterns, rather than fighting against them. It means living and acting without
artificiality or arbitrariness.
In the West, action and doing are often associated with accomplishment and success, however trying
too hard and forcing things to happen often has the opposite effect of creating tension in multiple
directions, thereby scattering one’s efforts. Superficial knowledge of many things, and activity for its
own sake, while impressive at a dinner party, often leads to disillusion and disappointment. Another
viewpoint is that higher achievement in one area is the same as higher achievement in other areas, and
that in understanding one thing deeply, it is possible to understand ten thousand things. Sleeping
Meditation, lying in stillness, seemingly asleep, seemingly “doing nothing”, can be thought of as a
kind of ultimate “doing,” one that connects us with our inner world, and by extension, the world
around us.
Meditation is a tool for changing our lives by changing our inner world; by doing so one has the
potential to transform our relationship to life and living. The Zhuang Zi (Chuang Tzu) eloquently
describes the “human condition”:
We give, we receive, we act, we construct: all day long we apply our minds to struggle against
one thing or another – struggles unadorned or struggles concealed, but in either case tightly
packed one after another without gap. The small fears leave us nervous and depleted; the
large fears leave us stunned and blank. Shooting forth like an arrow from a bowstring such is
our presumption when we arbitrate right and wrong. Worn away by autumn and winter: such
is our daily dwindling, drowning us in our own activities, unable to turn back.1
The text goes on to say that we spend out lives lacerating ourselves against everything around us like,
creating sorrow, stress, and bewilderment. In attempting to attain things, there is fear of not-attaining
and this creates sorrow and stress.2 The Zhuang Zi uses the Chinese ideogram You. You can be
interpreted to mean anxiety, sorrow, melancholy, grief and stress. It conveys the image of a person
with a distressed head and heart walking slowly.
(You) =; (Head) + (Heart) + (Walk Slowly)3
In the Zhuang Zi, our thoughts emotions and desires are compared to the holes and cavities in trees or
to pitch pipes. Bamboo pitch pipes make no sound because they are empty, whereas the hollows in
trees and rocks in mountain forests make whistling, wailing, hooting, hissing and sucking sounds.4
This wailing and whistling is similar to human beings who belabor themselves with their sense of
importance and concept of self. In his commentary on the Zhuang Zi, Guo Xiang says that it is the
hollows and bumps (attachments and desires) that create this piping, not the wind of Heaven which
passes through them. Some think the piping of Heaven forces creatures to follow and obey it. But
Heaven cannot even possess itself - how can it possess creatures?5 These “sounds” are self-
generated and can only be silenced by removing the “bumps and hollows.”
Another way to explain this idea is to liken man to a tree growing out of the earth and reaching up to
heaven. The trunk and branches of the tree have many little holes through which the wind blows,
creating resonances inside the tree. The wind makes the branches rub together and the leaves and
grasses rustle. But when the wind dies down the tree is silent again.
This is an important point because emotions are always reactions to the world outside by
one’s inner vitality. It is natural and normal that there are tempests and hurricanes and little
showers and great winds, and after that no wind at all, or just a very light rain. The only
thing for this tree is to be able to bend with the wind, to follow the violence of the wind in its
manifestations and after to come back to a calm, motionless state.6
It is normal for human beings to have emotions and feelings, but they should come and go in response
to the changes in the world around us and be appropriate to the moment (the strength and direction of
the wind). Once that moment passes, the emotion and sentiment passes with it. It is the holding on to
emotions, desires, fantasies, etc. that prevents us from responding appropriately. The goal is not to
become devoid of feelings or deny the human experience, but to avoid extremes and maintain balance.
As we simplify our lives and focus on what is most important to us, we become more content with
our existence and less affected by the acts and influences of others and our emotional swings
gradually subside from a gusty turbulence to the mild breeze of the wind in the trees.7
Zhuang Zi describes those who respond appropriately to changing circumstances as Genuine Human
Beings or Authentic Persons:
The Genuine Human Beings of Old did not revolt against their inadequacies, did not aspire to
completeness, did not plan their affairs in advance. In this way they could be right or wrong
without regret and without self-satisfaction.
The Genuine Human Beings of Old slept without dreaming and awoke without worries. Their
food was plain and their breathing was deep. The Genuine Human Beings breathed from their
heels, while the mass of men breathe from their throats. Submissive and defeated, they gulp
down their words and just as soon vomit them back up. Their preferences and desires run
deep, but the Heavenly Impulse is shallow in them.
[The Genuine Human Beings of Old], their minds were intent, their faces tranquil, their
foreheads broad and plain. They were cool like the autumn, warm like the spring, their joy
and anger intermingled with the four seasons. They found something fitting in their encounter
with each thing and none could tell exactly what their ultimate end might be.8
Most people are agitated, full of desires, worries, hopes, fears, expectations and fantasies. This state
is one of chronic stress. The Authentic Person, the Genuine Human Being does not dream because he
or she is not chronically stressed.9 This is indicated by the breathing of the Authentic Person, which is
deep and profound, and by his behavior, which is appropriate to the moment.
 The authentic person essentially accepts what life has to offer. He does not try to create an
artificial, absolute, dichotomous, value laden, egocentric edifice that hides the continually
changing process of existence. The individual who is free from chronic stress, therefore
accepts existence for what it is: a continual process of change.10
A meditation practice that is non-doing, non-coercive, goalless, and without artifice is one way of
engaging with one’s inner authenticity. Sleeping Meditation is a temporary disengagement from
society and the outside world. Through non-doing, stillness, and emptiness, the body and mind return
to a sense of unity and completion: The Way never acts; yet nothing is left undone.11

No worry in mind for one day,

Is like being an Immortal for one day.
-Li Qing Yun12

_________________
1 Zhuangzi: The Essential Writings with Selections from Traditional Commentaries, (chapter 2)
translated by Brook Ziporyn, p. 10.
2The Zhuangzi: A Holistic Approach to Healthcare and Well-being by Robert Santee in Living
Authentically: Daoist Contributions to Modern Psychology, edited by Livia Kohn, p. 45.
3 Wenlin Software for Learning Chinese, Wenlin Institute Inc, 1197-2007.
4 Chuang-Tzu: The Inner Chapters, by A.C. Graham, pp.48-49.
5 Zhuangzi: The Essential Writings with Selections from Traditional Commentaries, p.139.
6 The Seven Emotions: Psychology and Health in Ancient China, by Claude Larre and Elisabeth de
la Valle, pp. 4-5.
7 The Tao of Meditation: Way to Enlightenment, by Jou Tsung Hwa, p. 109.
8 Zhuangzi: The Essential Writings with Selections from Traditional Commentaries, (chapter 6)
translated by Brook Ziporyn. p. 40.
9The Zhuangzi: A Holistic Approach to Healthcare and Well-being by Robert Santee in Living
Authentically: Daoist Contributions to Modern Psychology, edited by Livia Kohn, p. 45.
10 Ibid, p. 45-6.
11 Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching (chapter 37), translated by D.C. Lau, p. 96
12The Immortal: True Accounts of the 250 Year-Old Man Li Qing Yun, by Yang Sen. Translated by
Stuart Alve Olson, p. 72.
Sleeping Meditation, or “Sleeping Gong” (Shui Gong), is a form of Daoist inner alchemy believed to
have been developed by the legendary Daoist sage Chen Tuan who was also known as Chen
Xi Yi or Master Xi Yi. Chen Tuan is considered to be the patriarch of the Earlier Heaven
Lesser Way School of Daoism. He is sometimes acknowledged as the “Father of Qi Gong,”13 and is
credited with developing “Sleeping Meditation” or “Sleeping Gong,” the Tai Ji Ruler exercises and
the 24 Solar Node Qi Gong. Some sources credit Chen Tuan with developing Liu He Ba Fa (Six
Harmonies & Eight Methods Boxing), an internal martial art system that is also known as “Water
Boxing” because of its supple and fluid movements.
Little is known about Chen Tuan’s life, including exactly when and where he was born. He was
probably born in the early half of the 10th Century towards the end of the Five Dynasties and Ten
Kingdoms Period. Some texts say that he was born in the late 9th century and lived to be 118 years
old.
One version of Chen Tuan’s story is that he desired to become a government official, but failed the
imperial examinations and became a hermit sage instead. He traveled to Daoist mountain sanctuaries,
including Wudang Mountain in Hunan, seeking instruction in Daoist nei gong methods and meditation.
He later settled in Mount Hua, found in the Qinling mountains of Shaanxi Province, where he restored
the Abbey of the Cloud Terrace (Yu Tai Guan) and the Cloister of the Jade Spring (Yu Quan Yuan).
They were his main residences until his death.14 Chen was allegedly taught by Lu Dong Bin (one of
the legendary Eight Daoist Immortals), and another illusive figure, the Hemp Clad Daoist.15
Chen visited the imperial court three times. During one of these visits he met with Song Tai Zong
(939–997), the 2nd Emperor of the Song Dynasty. At that time he was awarded the title, “Elder of the
White Clouds.”16
There are many legends about Chen Tuan. As Livia Kohn points out, Chen was born at a time when
the search for spiritual role models and patriarchs was just beginning, and he fulfills this role in many
stories from both the Confucian and Daoist traditions.17
Chen Tuan purportedly wrote, Mirror of Auras (Feng Chien 18, a book on physiognomy which
became a classic and this, combined with his powers of Qi and breath control, form the basis of many
legends about him.19 There are number of stories concerning Chen which recount how he skillfully
predicted a person’s fate by merely looking at the facial features.20
Chen Tuan is famous for predicting the future and reading auguries. Stories of these abilities have
been passed down to the present as folk tales. In one of these stories Chen Tuan is credited with
predicting the birth of the Yue Fei the famous Song Dynasty General. Upon seeing an omen that a
“True Lord” (Yue Fei) had been born, Chen Tuan disguised himself as a Daoist priest and went to
home of Yue Fei’s parents, where he asked to see the child. After deliberation with the father of Yue
Fei, Chen Tuan named the infant “Fei” (to fly), and gave him the courtesy name “Peng Ju” (soaring of
a great bird).21
Chen studied the Yi Jing (Book of Changes) and his writing on the subject interested subsequent
generations of Confucian and Daoist Yi Jing scholars. He is credited with creating the philosophy of
the Tai Ji and the creation of an early Tai Ji diagram that was the precursor to the famous Tai Ji
diagram of Zhou Dun Yi.22
Chen Tuan was called the “Sleeping Immortal” due to his mastery of a method of inner alchemy,
which is performed lying on one’s side. In this “Sleeping Gong” (Shui Gong the practitioner is
not truly asleep. He lies still, keeping the internal energies tightly locked, continuously circulating
inside his body, so that nothing escapes or is dispersed. 23 Separating himself from worldly desires
and passions the adept seeks transcendence through refinement and alchemical transformation of the
Three Treasures: Jing (Essence), Qi (Vital Force) and Shen (Spirit). Purportedly Chen would
“sleep” in this fashion for days or even months, his energies so dormant that he appeared dead. In an
oft-told tale, a woodcutter found Chen “sleeping” in the forest. Thinking he has stumbled upon a dead
man, the woodcutter took a closer look, whereupon Chen awoke and scolded him for disturbing his
restful sleep.
The creation of Sleeping Gong is often attributed to Chen Tuan, perhaps because he is the most
famous practitioner of this method of meditation, however, Sleeping Gong has also been mentioned
and practiced by other Daoist writers. The famous Daoist physician Sun Si Miao said that:
Regular practice of Qi should take place in a secret chamber. Close the doors and quietly lie
down on a bed with a pillow 2.5 cun in height under your head. Straighten the body, lie on
your back and close your eyes. Keep the Qi inside and breathe with your chest. A down
feather held before your nose should not move.24

Writings on Sleeping Gong attributed to Chen Tuan are found in the 16th century Ming dynasty text Chi
Feng Sui - The Marrow of the Red Phoenix. The Marrow of the Red Phoenix is a
compilation drawn from Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasty texts.25 Within The Marrow of the Red
Phoenix is a section describing the Twelve Sleeping Gong Instructions of Mount Hua Shan (Hua
Shan Shi Er Shui Gong Zong Jue The text starts with a set of general
instructions on the performance of Sleeping Gong and is followed by twelve illustrations of sleeping
immortals. Each illustration is accompanied by a short poem that elucidates some aspect of Sleeping
Gong and Daoist Inner Alchemy (Nei Dan).

Words on Sleeping Mediation Attributed to Chen Tuan:

An ordinary person eats to satiation and then takes plenty of rest. He or she is mainly worried that
the food should not be too rich, eating when he feels hungry or sleeping when he feels tired. His
snore is audible all over the place. Yet then, at night, when he should be sound asleep, he wakes up
unaccountably. This is because fame and gain, sounds and sights agitate his spirit and
consciousness, sweet wine and fired mutton muddle his mind and will. This is the sleep of ordinary
folk. I sleep the sleep of perfected use. I will summarize the gist of perfected sleep in a poem:

In Eternal Sleep,

The World is Breath.

The Soul is Gone,

No Movement in the Body.

Coming Back to Consciousness,

Where is there a Self?26

_________________
13 Tales of Taoist Immortals, by Eva Wong. Boston & London: Shambhala Publications, Inc. 2001, p.
41.
14 The Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism Volume I: A-L, by Fabrizio Pregadio, p.257.
15 Chen Tuan: Discussions and Translations, by Livia Kohn, p. 11.
16 The Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism Volume I: A-L, p. 258.
17 Chen Tuan: Discussions and Translations, by Livia Kohn, p. 7.
18 Feng Chien Mirror of Auras: Chen Tuan on Physiognomy, trans. by Livia Kohn.
19 The Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism Volume I: A-L, p. 258
20 Feng Chien Mirror of Auras: Chen Tuan on Physiognomy, p.221.
21 YueFei: A Novel by Qian Cai of the Qing Dynasty. T. L. Yang, trans. (Hong Kong: Joint Publishing
Co. LTD. 1995) p 5-10.
22 Chinese Healing Exercises: The Tradition of Daoyin, by Livia Kohn, p. 184.
23 Ibid, p. 185.
24The Revival of Qi: Qi Gong in Contemporary China, Chapter 11 by Kunio Miura in Taoist
Meditation and Longevity Techniques, edited by Livia Kohn, 346.
25 The Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism Volume I: A-L, by Fabrizio Pregadio, p. 268.
26 Chen Tuan: Discussions and Translations, by Livia Kohn, pp.80-81.
Chen Tuan is credited with creating several diagrams relating to the modern Tai Ji (Tai Chi) Diagram.
These diagrams relate to Chinese cosmogony and also to Daoist ideas about self-realization and
immortality. Many Daoist self-cultivation practices like Sleeping Meditation are methods of
“reversion”, in which one attempts to return to the original unity, which is endlessly self-generating
and therefore regenerative. This involves a return to an undifferentiated state of unity from which all
things originate. This undifferentiated unified state is sometimes referred to as Wu Ji

Hun Dun and Wu Ji

Wu Ji literally means “Without Polarity,” “Without Limit”, “Without Differentiation”, or
“Undifferentiated.” Wu Ji refers to the primordial state at the beginning of the creation of the universe,
in which there is only undifferentiated existence. In Chinese cosmogony, this state is called Hun Dun
, which literally means chaos, mess, turbid or muddled. Hun Dun refers to the undifferentiated
primordial state before its fundamental division of previously undifferentiated matter into Yin and
Yang. This undifferentiated state is like a luminous cloud with no fixed shape or boundaries; a state of
non-specific and undifferentiated potential. Wu Ji and Hun Dun are represented by the empty circle
below. This empty circle represents “The One,” the space we are trying to enter into during
meditation practices. In Daoist Nei Dan (inner alchemy) practices, this is the Pre-Heaven primordial
state, which one returns to in order to reshape one’s inner being and become a unified and complete
human being.

Wu Ji Gives Birth to Tai Ji

When movement occurs within the undifferentiated matter (Wu Ji), the body moves. This movement is
like a small breeze just beginning, like a breath, like an inhalation and exhalation. This breath is the
primordial Qi/Breath, the true Qi/Breath. With movement (Dong), there is also stillness (Jing). With
movement, things begin to divide and separate. The lighter transparent Qi rises and the heavier
opaque Qi sinks down. The polarity of Heaven and Earth is created. Heaven is Yang and Earth is Yin.
Qi that is influenced by Yang floats, rises and moves so it can be characterized as Yang Qi. Qi that
sinks, falls and is quiescent is influenced by Yin, and can be characterized as Yin Qi.

The polarity created by the cosmic Qi/Breath is called the Tai Ji, often translated as “Supreme
Ultimate.” However, Tai Ji is more properly understood as “Great Polarity,” “Great Differentiation,”
or “Complete Differentiation.” It can be represented as Heaven and Earth as diagramed above. The
Tai Ji represents the division of things into Yin Qi and Yang Qi, movement and stillness, up and down,
right and left, etc. This process of differentiation is illustrated in an early version of the Tai Ji
Diagram shown below:
The spiraling action of the breath that creates the separation of the Wu Ji into Yin and Yang and
Heaven and Earth can be likened to a centrifuge, which spins and separates lighter matter form
heavier matter. This is sometimes diagrammed in a variation of the Tai Ji symbol:

Tai Ji Gives Birth to Yin & Yang

The polarity represented by the Tai Ji is not fixed but relative. Something is only Yang relative to Yin.
That which is said to be “up” can only be up only in relation to that which is said to be “down.”
Additionally, yin contains yang and yang contains yin. This is represented by the white circle within
the “black fish” and the black circle within the “white fish” in the more familiar Tai Ji Diagram
below. Nothing can be completely Yin or Yang; Yang contains the seeds of Yin and Yin contains the
seeds of Yang. This means that Yin and Yang can transform into each other, creating an interplay of
stillness and movement; of light and dark; of the in-breath and the out-breath.
From this separation “The One” becomes “The Two,” two polarities, Yin and Yang. This Yin and
Yang duality is sometimes called Liang Yi (WI). Liang Yi literally means, “Paired
Appearances.” Yi can refer to the meaning, significance or “ism” of something. Yin is often
represented by a broken line and Yang by a solid line. Yin is related to Earth and Yang to Heaven.

Yin and Yang represent the fundamental differentiation of the natural world into paired,
interconnected, oppositional forces:

YIN YANG
 dark light
turbid clear
earth heaven
night day
moon sun
water fire
receptive active
stillness movement
feminine masculine
descending rising
contracting expanding
centripetal motion centrifugal motion

Chapter 42 of the Dao De Jing also references this division of one into two:
Dao generates one. One generates two. Two generates three. Three generates all things.
All things turn away from yin and embrace yang.

The empty breath effects the union.27

Dao generates one. One generates two (Yin and Yang). Two generates three: the Turbid-Yin, the
Clear-Yang and the harmonious. These three correlate with Earth, Heaven, and Human Beings
respectively.28 Earth, Heaven, and Human Beings are called the San Cai (Three Powers). These three
together generate everything. All things turn toward the sun, the source of life and are a mixture of Yin
and Yang, light and dark, fire and water. In all things there is the original breath (Yuan Qi) that
generated the Tai Ji. The ten thousand things reach their union (achieve harmony) through blending of
the breaths, which in turn relies on emptiness (Wu Ji).

Liang Yi Generates Ba Gua and Wu Xing

Yin and Yang generate the Three Powers (San Cai) and the Si Xiang. Si Xiang means “Four Shapes”
or “Four Appearances.” Si Xiang is a further expansion of Yin and Yang that leads to the formation of
the Ba Gua (Eight Trigrams). Yin and Yang represent opposite poles, but they are not static. Between
the two poles there is constant shift or oscillation, back and forth, creating endless alternations of
change. These patterns of change are a key focus in Chinese philosophy as exemplified in The Book
of Changes or Yi Jing. The Yi Jing employs eight archetypes, the Eight Diagrams or Eight Trigrams
(Ba Gua), as a way of understanding the manifold phenomena of existence and their inter-
transformation and interpenetration. The Eight Gua (diagrams) of the Ba Gua can be used to represent
many of the forces that are observable in the natural world and have wide application in Chinese
culture and thought.
Like the Liang Yi and Si Xiang, these diagrams are composed of broken (Yin) lines and solid (Yang)
lines. Each force or principle has a symbolic name and is associated with certain images, which have
numerous connotations. The Ba Gua are often diagrammed as four sets of polar opposites:
 Heaven (Qian) Earth (Kun)
Fire (Li) Water (Kan)
Wind (Xun) Lake (Dui)
Thunder (Zhen) Mountain (Gen)
The expansion and development from Wu Ji to Ba Gua is diagrammed below.

The Eight Trigrams can also manifest as the Wu Xing or Wu De - five dynamic interacting forces.
These five dynamic agents are sometimes referred to as the Five Powers, Five Agents or Five
Forces: Water, Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal. They are also known as the Five Elements or Five
Phases. Each of these forces both acts and is acted upon. The Eight Trigrams manifest within the Five
Forces as shown below.
Each force has it own intrinsic movements and properties; Earth lies at the center of their interaction
and movement.

Chen Tuan’s Diagram

Chen Tuan’s diagram illustrates how Wu Ji and Tai Ji are the foundation of forms (Wu Xing) and their
interaction. Reading downward, the diagram starts at the top with Wu Ji, which generates Tai Ji. The
movement (Dong) implicit within the Tai Ji, results in the Five Elements (Wu Xing).
Chen Tuan’s diagram can also read from bottom to top. Originally carved into the face of a cliff in the
Hua Shan Mountain, the diagram had explanatory labels carved next to each tier. These labels
(above) have been adapted from Da Liu’s book Tai Chi Ch’uan and Meditation.29 This “reverse”
method of looking at Chen Tuan’s diagram illustrates a reversion of the temporal sequence of
cosmogenic creation through an internal “alchemical” transformation involving the Three Treasures
(Jing, Qi and Shen), Through a process of reversal, there is a return to the unified, primordial Pre-
Heaven State; a return to the original “knowing” mind of the Dao.

Doorway of the Mysterious Female

“Doorway of the Mysterious Female”, the first label at the bottom of the diagram, is a reference to a
passage in the Dao De Jing:
The Valley Spirit never dies.
It is named the Mysterious Female.
And the doorway of the Mysterious Female
Is the base from which Heaven and Earth sprang.
It is there within us all the while;
 Draw upon it as you will, it never runs dry.30
The low ground represented by the “Valley Spirit”, or “Water Spirit”, as it is known in other texts, is
the place where water collects. Through absorbing the “water spirit,” plants, trees and other living
things flourish and grow. The low ground, the valley, is considered to be nearer to the Dao than the
hills; and in the whole of creation, it is the negative, passive, ”female” element alone that has
access to the Dao, which can be mirrored in a still pool.31
In He Shang Gong‘s commentary on this passage, he refers to the mysterious as the “dark” or the
“dark one”, sometimes differentiating it as Yang or Heaven associated, as opposed to Yin, associated
with Earth:
The valley is what nourishes. Those able to nourish the spirit do not die. ‘Spirit’ means the
spirits of the five organs. When these five are injured the five spirits leave. ‘Dark’ refers to
Heaven. In a person this means the nose, which links us with Heaven. The female refers to
‘Earth’. In a person, this means the mouth, which links us to Earth. The breath that passes
through our nose and mouth should be finer than gossamer silk and barely noticeable, as if it
weren’t actually present. It should be relaxed and never strained or exhausted.32
Breathing continuously, infinitesimally and smoothly is the door that connects us with the fundamental
essences of Heaven and Earth, which in turn harmonizes and nourishes the spirits. The breath is
described as being performed uninterruptedly and in a mysterious way, as if one could flee and
return, as if one did not exist.33
A key element in all methods of Daoist meditation is the cultivation of inner stillness, which creates
the proper internal environment for the transmutation of the essences of the body, so the heart and
spirit can return to emptiness. A “Valley” is the low ground where streams flow, and where water
collects without effort. This can be a metaphor for the Dao. It conjures up the image of a still pool, an
image often likened to the cultivation of stillness in meditation - when the outward senses are
withdrawn to look inward and the mind moves only within itself.34

Transmute Essence (Jing) so it can Transform into Qi

Jing is converted into Qi, which is itself associated with the breath, and in particular, the controlled
breathing practices associated with Daoist meditation. Through control of the breath, Qi is refined
and raised up to the brain. During this process Spirit (Shen) is nurtured. Shen manifests itself through
the intent. Intent in turn leads the Qi. Just as water can be transformed into steam, Shen and intention
can transform the Qi and the Jing. At conception, the meeting of the essences of the father and mother
produces the Shen, which enters into the fetus, giving rise to the Qi, which then in turn engenders
Jing. As one grows older, Daoist practices aim at reversing this order: refining Jing and transforming
it into Qi which then fills, animates and stimulates the body, becoming Shen. This process nourishes
life, revitalizing one’s consciousness and very existence.

The Five Forces Assembled at the Source

The Five Forces or Five Agents (Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth) are also called the Five
Elements (Wu Xing). The Five Forces have a connection to the forces that move through our existence
in the world (the internal organs, seasons, tastes, emotions, desires, etc.). This Post-Heaven (post-
birth) state encompasses the body-form (xing the body-self (shen the heart-mind
(xin and the spirit (shén Body-form is a replica of the universe, the material
appearance of things, their being as entities quite distinct from other objects yet wholly integrated
into the greater universe.35 Although the Five Forces are generally associated with Post-Heaven
existence, they simultaneously maintain a connection to our origin, the Pre-Heaven (pre-birth) state. In
the Pre-Heaven state the Five Forces are called the “Five Breaths” or “Five Origins”: Original
Nature, Original Emotions, Original Essence, Original Spirit and Original Breath.
When the Five Forces are gathered together, and become whole, it is called “Five Breaths assemble
at the source (origin).” “Assembling at the source” means that they return to the central position
(Earth-Soil) from which they originated. This is essentially the same as the conjoining of Yin and
Yang. Pre-Heaven and Post-Heaven come together and the Five Origins control the Five Things.36
There is a return to the original intrinsic energies that nourish and replenish the body and reconnect
the practitioner to the mind of the Dao, the deep innate wisdom that resides in every human being.
The Five Forces are often associated with the Four Emblematic Animals. The Green Dragon is
associated with Wood, the Scarlet Bird with Fire, the White Tiger with Metal, and the Black Snake-
Tortoise (also called the Dark Warrior of the North) with Water. Earth in the center is referred to as
the Yellow Dragon, the Tripod, or the Cauldron – the area where transformation and renewal take
place.
The diagram below is adapted from an illustration in the Xing Ming Gui Zhi, a Ming Dynasty text on
meditation and internal alchemy. The four animals representing water, wood, fire and metal are
depicted around an alchemical crucible or tripod (which represents the realized will-intention: Zhen
Yi). The tripod, the object of the gaze of the four emblematic animals, is placed in the area
corresponding to Earth, where the “alchemical reaction” - the interaction and ultimately reversal or
inversion of the Five Forces - takes place.

In the place where the Green Dragon descends,

the White Tiger Coils,

In the place where the Vermillion Bird alights,

the Dark Warrior stands.

The Four Heraldic Creatures harmoniously combine

and enter the Central Palace,

Where they transform into one spirit

that returns to the Purple Mansion.37

Taking From Kan-Water to Supplement Li-Fire

Movement produces Yang-Qi. Stillness produces Yin-Qi. The Yang breath descends from the heart or
the brain, and the Yin breath rises upwards from the kidneys. The heart is associated with Fire and is
represented by the trigram Li. The kidneys are associated with Water and are represented by the
trigram Kan.
The trigrams of the Yi Jing (I-Ching: Classic of Change or Book of Changes) are a way of
diagramming the flux of Heaven and Earth and Yin and Yang. The solid lines are Yang: active, full,
strong, initiating, creating. The broken lines are Yin: quiescent, empty, weak, receptive, completing.
In Daoist meditation the trigram Kan-Water represents the kidneys and Dantian. Kan-Water is full in
the middle (the trigram has a solid Yang line in the middle). The Yang line in the center indicates that
there is a Yang- Fire hidden within Yin-Water. It also means that the kidneys are replete, full and
abundant. This Fire within Yin-Water is also called the “moving Qi between the kidneys” or the
Mingmen (Life-Gate) fire.
Li-Fire represents the heart and chest. Li-Fire is empty in the middle (the trigram has a broken Yin
line in the middle). This symbolizes the hidden Yin-Water within Yang-Fire. Normally, Fire is light
and rises to the chest and Water is heavy and sinks to the Dantian. The broken line in the center of Li-
Fire represents a relative emptiness inside the heart. The heart is relatively empty, in comparison to
the lower abdomen where Kan- Water has a solid (full) line in the middle. This means there is space
inside the heart and that the spirit can reside comfortably inside the heart.

The spirit is said to be “housed” by the heart. The spirit can only be undisturbed, be clear in its
perception, by having space in the heart. This means the heart cannot be overflowing with emotions
and desires. When the heart is relatively empty, as illustrated by the empty Yin line in the center of the
Li trigram, then the blood and breath can move smoothly and without impediment through the heart
and chest. When the blood and breath move without impediment through this space, then intention and
perception are clear. The heart and intention can then reflect and exhibit wisdom (a “knowing how”).
Then it is possible to nourish life (Yang Sheng).38
The abdomen and the Dantian are relatively full in comparison to the heart and chest. The Qi and
Breath sink to Dantian so that the lower abdomen and the Mingmen are full. This consolidates and
replenishes the Jing, which in turn generates the Qi. If unimpeded, the Qi then nourishes the Shen.
This transformation of the body’s vital energies is sometimes referred to as “internal alchemy.” In
particular, this involves replenishing the Jing (Essence) and transforming Jing into Qi and Qi into
Shen (Spirit). This transformative process, symbolized by the trigrams Li-Fire and Kan-Water, is
achieved through quieting the mind and guiding the Qi with the breath and the intention.
Normally Fire is light and rises to the chest, and Water is heavy and sinks to Dantian. This is the
“post-heaven” or “after-birth” state whose trigram configuration moves temporally from birth to
death. This configuration is represented by Hexagram Sixty-Four: Wei Ji (“Not Yet Fulfilled”,
“Before Completion”, or “Incomplete”) containing Fire above and Water below. Because Water sinks
and Fire rises, the two trigrams move in opposite directions; they do not integrate and harmonize.

However, if Fire is beneath water, it creates steam and condensation, which is a rarefied energy. This
process can be likened to Water heated on a stove, creating a vapor, which rises upward only to
coalesce and descend again. The two elements must act in relation to each other and in balance with
one another. If the heat of Fire is too great, the Water will all evaporate. If the Water boils over, the
Fire will be extinguished. This state of balance is represented by Hexagram Sixty-Three: Ji Ji (“After
Completion” or Fulfillment), in which the trigram for Water is above and the trigram for Fire below.
Here, Water and Fire interact and intertransform.

By employing proper posture, breathing and stillness of the mind, the Dantian acts like a stove that
heats Water, so that Water transforms into a vapor that rises up to the chest and heart, where it
coalesces to become Water and then sinks back to the Dantian. In Daoist Meditation and Inner
Alchemy, the trigrams can be used to describe to describe this transformative process.
Daoist meditation acts as a kind of inner alchemy, plucking the Yang-solid line from the center of
Kan-Water to fill the Yin-broken line in the center of Li-Fire, thereby producing Qian-Heaven,
represented by three solid- Yang lines. The Yin-broken line in the center of Li-Fire then moves to the
center of Kan-Water, thereby producing Kun-Earth, represented by three broken-Yin lines. When the
middle lines of the trigrams switch places and form the Qian-Heaven and Kun-Earth trigrams, there is
a return to the original Pre-Heaven (before-birth) state, which in Daoist beliefs leads to stopping of
the temporal movement and therefore “immortality” (or more practically speaking: peace and
tranquility). This alchemical transformation is represented by Hexagram Eleven: Tai (Peace). In this
hexagram, Yin is ascendant, invoking prosperity, peace and upward progress, bearing even in its
character-structure evidence of the fertilizing living waters flowing down from the sacred
mountain Tai Shan.39

Transmute Sprit So It Can Return to Emptiness

This is the ideal state of achievement in Daoist alchemical doctrines. The mind and breath come
together so that spirit and Qi are merged. The spiritual consciousness returns to a state of “non-
being”; a return to the Dao, represented by the reappearance of the empty circle in Chen Tuan’s
diagram. This return to the Dao is built on the foundation of the meditative practice in which Essence
and Qi are refined and transmuted into Spirit.
The Dao’s extrinsic appearance is one of emptiness. From this emptiness Mind and Spirit are
generated. Spirit and Mind in turn generate Qi and Qi generates the Five Elements (Five Forces). The
Five Elements become the myriad things of the world around us, all of which have different shapes
and appearances. The intrinsic essence of the Dao is that the Five Elements generate Qi and Qi in turn
generates Mind and Spirit. Mind and Spirit turn back to emptiness.40 Spirit (Shen), is part of original
Dao. It is pure and potent, connected to cosmic flow, ultimately impersonal, and essentially
without end.41
 The achieved one has no dreams.
His dream is not a dream,
It is a voyage to the high spheres.
The achieved one and even the secondary achieved ones do not
sleep.
When he rests, he nurtures his inner energy,
So the fire in the stove never stops

The medicine keeps being refined.42

-Poem attributed to Chen Tuan
_________________
27Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes.
Switzerland: Press of Artibus Asiae Ascona. First published in Journal Artibus Saiae, 1950, p. 196.
28Two Visions of The Way: A Study of Wang Pi and the Ho-shang Kung Commentaries on the Lao
Tzu, by Alan K.L. Chan. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991. p. 126.
29 T’ai Chi Ch’uan & Meditation by Da Liu, pp.28-9.
30 The Way and Its Power, A Study of the Tao Te Ching and its Place in Chinese Thought, p. 149.
31 Ibid, 56-7.
32 Lao-tzu's Taoteching: with Selected Commentaries of the Past 2000 Years, translated by Red Pine
(Bill Porter), p. 13.
33 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, p. 25.
34 Ibid, p.26.
35Living Authentically: Daoist Contributions to Modern Psychology, edited by Livia Kohn, Three
Pines Press, 2011, p. 6.
36Awakening to Reality: The Regulated Verses of the Wu Zhen Pian: A Daoist Classic of Internal
Alchemy, translated and notes by Fabrizio Pregadio. Mountain View CA: Golden Elixir Press,
2009, p. 78.
37 IntegratingInner Alchemy into Late Ming Cultural History: A Contextualization and Annotated
Translation of Principles of the Innate Disposition and the Lifespan (Xingming guizhi
(1615) By Daniel Burton-Rose, p. 143.
38 Rooted in Spirit: The Heart of Chinese Medicine, translation and commentary by Claude Larre,
S.J & Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallée. Barrytown, NY: Station Hill Press Inc., 1995, pp. 66-67.
39Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology; Part 5,
Spagyrical Discovery and Invention: Physiological Alchemy, by Joseph Needham, p. 63.
40The Immortal: True Accounts of the 250 Year-Old Man, Li Qingyun, by Yang Sen. Translated by
Stuart Alve Olson, p.288.
41 Mental
Health in Daoism and Modern Science in Living Authentically: Daoist Contributions to
Modern Psychology, edited by Livia Kohn, p. 6.
42 Life and Teaching of Two Immortals Volume II: Chen Tuan, by Hua- Ching Ni, p. 25.
Chen Tuan’s Sleeping Gong embodies the Daoist idea of non-action, non-interference and non-
intervention (Wu Wei). This means not interfering with the patterns and rhythms of nature, not
imposing our own intentions on the organization of the world.
Nature and “civilization,” the universe and society, function best if they function like a
perpetual motion machine, a machine that follows its own course without the input of an
external energy or loss of energy due to internal friction. Any mechanism that is dependent on
an external source of energy, on a cosmic battery, so to speak, will expire along with its
battery. Only a self-sustained mechanism that is totally immanent can be absolutely free of
exhaustion. If the organism is totally closed and “self-so” it cannot “leak.” Its power or
efficacy is unobstructed.43
Wu Wei appears repeatedly as theme in the Dao De Jing, where it is coupled several times with the
phrase Wu Bu Wei - “but nothing is undone.”44
 The Way (Dao) does nothing, yet nothing is left undone.
Should barons and kings be able to preserve it,
The myriad creatures will transform themselves.
After they are transformed, should some still desire to act,
I shall press them down with the weight of nameless unhewn wood.
Nameless un-hewn wood is but freedom from desire.

Without desire and still, the world will settle itself.45

Dao De Jing - Chapter 37
In this context, Wu Wei does not actually mean doing nothing at all. It does not signify the complete
absence of activity, but rather not overdoing, doing less, and acting without artificiality or
arbitrariness.46 Wu Wei also implies the performance of actions, which are “non-coercive.” That is, it
is the absence of actions that interfere with one’s De (the power, potential or focus of things within
one’s sphere of influence). This implies a knowing that is without fixed rules or principles, and
desiring without seeking to possess or control.47
According to the theory of “having-no-activity, a man should restrict his activities to what is
necessary and what is natural. Necessary, means necessary to the achievement of a certain
purpose, and never overdoing. Natural means following one’s De with no arbitrary effort.
People have lost their original De because they have too many desires and too much
knowledge. In satisfying their desires, people are seeking for happiness. But when they try to
satisfy too many desires they obtain an opposite result.48
Our senses, desires and overdoing lead us astray. In trying to satisfy them we lose sight of the relative
importance of things and of our own inner nature and individual capacity.
The five colors make one’s eyes blind,
The five notes make one’s ears deaf.
The five flavors make one‘s mouth fail,
And sport hunting on horseback makes one’s heart-mind go crazy.
Goods hard to get cause one to travel the road to harm.
That is why the sage provides for the belly but not for the eye.

Thus he rejects the one and keeps the other.49

Dao De Jing - Chapter 12
Wang Bi’s commentary on this passage tells us that to provide for the belly is to use things to nourish
oneself, whereas providing for the eyes enslaves one.50 He Shang Gong notes that this means to
nourish the “Five Feelings” or “Five Sentiments”, do away with the “Six Affections”, moderate the
will and nourish the spirits. The Six Affections are joy, anger, sorrow, cheerfulness, love and hatred.
The Five Feelings are the feelings that are embodied in the five viscera.51 The five sentiments are:
Vigor: associated with the Liver
Ecstasy: associated with the Heart
Contemplation: associated with the Spleen
Nostalgia: associated with the Lung

Awe: associated with the Kidney52

These feelings and sentiments are part of what makes us human and able to recognize and celebrate
the numinous dimensions of our life on earth. They are in that sense, pure undifferentiated expressions
that arbitrarily judge and divide things into good and bad.
The Zhuangzi, describes this not-doing in terms of spontaneity (Zi Ran).53 Zi Ran is sometimes
translated as nature, natural or spontaneity. Zi Ran literally means “self-so” Through decreasing and
doing less, one returns to one’s inner nature, to being “so-as-oneself.”54
The Dao of Heaven “takes it easy,” as easy as it gets. It does not develop an urge to impose
oneself on anything - because it has no self. Neither does it compete or command. Since in
this case, every response to it is so completely unforced, it is a natural, “self-so” (Zi Ran)
resonance. Since nature does not call on anything or anybody, the things in nature follow
nature naturally. When night comes, the flowers close themselves “spontaneously” - the night
does not have to tell them to do so.55
In both Daoist and Confucian thought, water is often used as an example of the inherent power
contained in Wu Wei. Water does not take action but it moves powerfully and inexorably, flowing
downward, transforming itself from spring, to stream, to tributary, to river and to sea, carrying within
it an endless life giving force. Water fills in empty spaces, taking the shape of its container and
leaking into cracks and seams. It is soft, yet it can wear down rock and stone. Rather than contending,
water adapts to the terrain through which it moves.
The clarity of still water is often compared to meditation and self-realization. When water is still, it
reflects, acting as a mirror that can reflect both Heaven and Earth.56 Water becomes cloudy from dust
and dirt that fall into it, and from the earth that it flows through, but it can become clear again through
becoming still and letting dust and dirt settle. Still water clears itself and becomes level. The primary
image of the Heart-Mind in Chinese thought is that of a pool of water that is clear and reflective when
it is still. Emotions stir up the Heart-Mind so that it becomes cloudy, just as wind can blur the clear,
reflective surface of a pool of water. Such disturbances are often described in terms of Qi.57
Deliberate movement of the Heart-Mind is related to the Intention (Yi). This deliberate movement
allows it to be drawn in a certain direction, just as water also follows its natural course. This is the
movement of Qi in harmony with one’s nature and therefore in harmony with the Dao. As breathing is
linked to Qi, breathing naturally, deeply and completely links one to the origin, particularly as the
breath becomes refined and soft. This kind of breathing is like carefully wiping a dirty mirror to make
it perfectly reflective.58
The movement of Qi is often likened to the movement of water. Just as water evaporates, gathers in
the clouds and falls back to earth to accumulate in lakes and rivers, so too do Qi and breath rise and
fall in the body like a fine mist ceaselessly coalescing and dispersing. Both Water and the Heart-Mind
undergo a similar series of transformations, and both are clarified and replenished through these
ceaseless cyclical processes.
In Chen Tuan’s Sleeping Meditation (Sleeping Gong), the body lies quietly on its side. The Heart-
Mind is quiescent, still and silent. Lying still, breathing imperceptibly, one gathers Qi and
concentrates the Spirit. Gathering the Qi and concentrating the spirit cannot be forced. Rather one
observes and harmonizes with the natural rhythmic flow of the Qi and breath. When the heart-mind is
used to guide the vital energies [Qi], this is called “forcing things.”59
During Sleeping Meditation, breathing seems to disappear; desire and discursive thoughts gradually
disperse and vanish. The spirit consolidates and is at ease. Physically and spiritually, one returns to
an almost fetal state in which Qi and breath unfold in an unimpeded fashion. In this sense Sleeping
Gong is a practical embodiment of non-doing and non-striving.
_________________
43 The Philosophy of the Daodejing by Hans-Georg Moeller, p. 49.
44 The Philosophy of the Daodejing by Hans-Georg Moeller, p. 25.
45 The Daodejing of Laozi, translation and commentary by Philip J. Ivanhoe, p. 37
46A Short History of Chinese Philosophy: A Systematic Account of Chinese Thought from its
Origins to the Present Day, by Fung Yu-Lan, p. 100.
47Daodejing, “Making This Life Significant”: A Philosophical Translation, Roger T. Ames and
David L. Hall, pp. 36-39.
48 A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, p. 101.
49 The Classic of The Way and Virtue: A New Translation of the Tao-Te Ching of Laozi as
interpreted by Wang Bi. Trans. by Richard John Lynn. p. 70.
50 Ibid.

51 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, p.31.

52All Disease Comes From the Heart: The Pivotal Role of the Emotions in Classical Chinese
Medicine, by Heiner Fruehauf, p. 6.
53 Zi Ran. Zi: self; oneself and Ran: right; correct; so.
54 Book of Venerable Masters, translated by Louis Komjathy. p. 39
55 The Philosophy of the Daodejing by Hans-Georg Moeller, p. 46.
56 The Way of Water and Sprouts of Virtue, by Sarah Allan, pp. 80-83.
57 Ibid, p. 86.
58 Ibid, p. 90.
59 The Daodejing of Laozi, translation and commentary by Philip J. Ivanhoe, p.58.
General Instructions: Hua Shan Sleeping Gong
The text that follows is a direct translation of the “General Instructions on Hua Shan
Sleeping Gong” from the Chi Feng Sui (Marrow of the Red Phoenix). These instructions are
generally believed to have been written by Chen Tuan centuries earlier. Extensive annotation
has been added to aid understanding.
For those who cultivate the Elixir, and desire to cultivate Sleeping Gong (Shui Gong) one must apply
the instructions. Straighten the body and sit on the bed with the legs crossed, in a quiet moment of the
day, in the tranquility of night, or in the moment when one yang comes.60 Knock the teeth thirty-six
times and wake up and gather the various Shen in the body one by one.61 Then loosen the clothes and
belt. Lie on one side, close the mouth, half-close the eyes and touch the upper palate with Red Dragon
Head.62 Close the knees, fold one knee and hook the ten fingers63 so that yin and yang return to the
apertures 64 in order to promote the communication of the external Sun and Moon:65 Then, calculate
the formula by digging the finger of one hand66 to close the Life Gate67, and calculate the formula by
digging the finger68 in the other hand, to bend the elbow and lie on it (like a pillow). The eyes turn
toward the nose and the nose is directed toward the Life Gate. Clench (knock) the teeth, open the
Heavenly Gate69 and close the Earthly Door.70 Through the heart and eyes, internally visualize the
union of Kan-trigram and Li-trigram71 and union of the essence between the internal Sun and Moon72.
These Gong methods are similar to the Deer Circulating the Governing (Du) Vessel73, the Crane
Nourishing the Fetus74, and the Turtle Breathing. 75 There are 13,500 breaths in the day and night and
the Qi flows for 84000 Li (Chinese miles) resonating with the changes of Heaven and Earth and
relating to the Mysterious Pass76 and Skin Bellows77, so as to return the thinking Shen78 to the
primary Shen79 and Internal Drug80.
The interior corresponds to substance (body) and the exterior to application. The substance contains
Essence (Jing) in the interior and the application is to express the divine light towards the exterior.
To enter the Way it is necessary to unite the interior and exterior into one. At that moment, the Six
Thieves81 naturally disappear, the Five Elements are gathered naturally, and Fire82 naturally ascends
and descends to concoct the Real Fluid83 and irrigate and nourish the Spiritual Root84. Therefore, it is
said that a sip reaches the Mystic Female (Xuan Pin).85 In the sleeping position drink Spring Wine86
from dawn to dusk. Practice diligently and True Yang87 will never depart. After arising from Sleeping
Gong, wipe and rub the Heart Field88 and wipe the two eyes89, so as to be relaxed in the mind and
body.
Whether walking, sitting or lying, one must gather Qi and concentrate the Spirit. When the spirit is
consolidated, Qi will consolidate. When Qi consolidates, the Essence will consolidate. When the
Essence consolidates, the body will be stable. If the Spirit consolidates, there will be no discursive
thoughts. If Qi consolidates, breathing disappears. If the Essence consolidates, there will be no sexual
desire. Then, three Yuan- Origins return to One,90 the Eight Meridians go back to the source91 and
there is no leakage in Seven Jewels92 and blood is transformed into fat,93 so that longevity is realized.
In cultivating the True, when the innate nature is calm, the Spirit is at ease. When the Heart-Mind is
agitated, the Spirit becomes weary. If the Spirit leaves its residence,94 Qi will disperse. If Qi
disperses, Essence is consumed. If the Essence is consumed, the body will be withered. If the body
withers, death comes.
Therefore, for most people life and death are just an illusory dream. For the realized person this is
not so. The realized person is devoid of expectation. Without expectation, there is no dream. Even if
there is a dream, the True is obtained and it is not a dream of desires or passions. So, the Heart-Mind
is constantly empty and bright, and the spirit will be clear and pure, coming with nothing and going
with nothing, without birth and death. Is it not a reincarnation?
People in this world have unending expectations, passions and desires that blaze together. The heart
is contaminated by all these fates and their Spirit has not a moment of peace. Whether awake or
asleep, there are boundless dreams. When life reaches its end, still passion and desire are constantly
involved. So how is it possible to be reincarnated differently? If influenced by the Wheel of
Transmigration, their nature is the same. Since the beginning of time, their nature comes and goes this
way. Therefore, it is said in Buddhist Scriptures: when love is severed, life and death are also
severed. People take pleasure in love, desire, greed, anger and ignorance without realizing that this
joy is the source of suffering. Like moths attracted to light, and like flies greedy for soup, the moths
and flies destroy themselves. Man appropriates the ten thousand things and these same things
appropriate Man, all from the Heart-Intention.
Therefore, the heart is a house of the Spirit and the Spirit governs the heart. What do the spiritual
practitioners practice? None other than the Three Treasures95 The Spirit is the monarch, the Qi is the
minister and the Essence is the people. When the five thieves96 invade, Essence and Spirit will be
consumed and chaotic. When the five thieves are destroyed, the state will be prosperous and at peace.
When the people are at peace, there is no need to administer and they are governed without any
interference. First of all, it is necessary to subdue the external evil essences and soothe the True
Nature internally. Transform Essence into Qi, transform Qi into Spirit and transform Spirit into
emptiness. Three returns to two, two returns to one, and one returns to emptiness. This inversion is
the path to immortality. Constantly present, it deploys its power continuously. In the common world,
Spirit transforms into Qi, Qi transforms into Essence, Essence transforms into form and form
generates life. One gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to ten thousand
things. This is the forward motion of humanity, in which life leads to death, and in which life and
death are related to the passions of the Heart-Mind.97
For those who cultivate the Spirit, keep the heart-mind still, like a dragon hoarding pearls, a brooding
hen on her eggs, a dung beetle rolling his ball, an alligator holding its young in its mouth, an oyster
breeding bright pearls, a rabbit cherishing its fetus, a turtle projecting its shadow, 98 and a rhinoceros
gazing at stars. 99 Once Gong (the work or effort) is accomplished, like dew condensing on wheat,
like a ripe melon hanging from its stalk, the spirit circulates and revolves. The Spirit is the mother of
Qi and the Essence is the son of Qi. When Spirit and Qi embrace, the Essence naturally returns to the
origin and condenses without dispersing, forming a fetus conceived by parents.100 The marvelous
thing is that the Spirit is conserved inside. In this way two breaths (two Qi)101 unite in the Yellow
Court102, the Three Splendors103 mix in the Original Aperture,104 and the Divine Fetus105 formed, the
True Spirit is transformed, transcending life and death and fulfilling the Dao.
After one hundred day’s practice of turtle breathing the elixir is formed. After three hundred days, the
body becomes light and Qi is abundant.106 In two years, the Eight Gates107 open upward. After three
years, one takes flight and attains a silent and mysterious realm. 108 These marvelous experiences
unfold naturally if one has a firm resolution and practices diligently and persistently.
Therefore, it is said: Attainment can only be sensed through cultivation of Gong Fu (hard work). Even
if painstaking efforts are exerted, without true instruction, some practitioners forget the root and
search instead for the tip of the branch, by clinging to stubborn fantasies and illusions. This is like a
stupid cat watching an empty mouse hole.
These wondrous sleeping secrets, must be taught by a true master and must not be guessed at by
yourself. If you have the chance [to meet a true Master], practice diligently and do not teach these
secrets to those who are not worthy. Fear Heaven’s wrath. Be careful! Be careful!
Chen Tuan Sleeping109
On Chen Tuan’s torso there are five Ideograms:
1. In the center, Hu - the sound associated with the Spleen.
2. On the right ribs the ideogram for Liver.
3. On the left ribs the ideogram for Lung.
4. On the chest, the ideogram for Li-Fire.
5. On the lower abdomen the ideogram for Kan-Water

The drawing of Chen Tuan sleeping on the previous page is accompanied by a short poem.
The air of the lungs resides in the place of Kan,
The liver is directed toward the Li palace.
Revolve the vapor and call it to harmonize in the middle position,

Five breaths110 collect together as one and enter the Great Void.
 You want to know what is in sleep and dream?
It’s well the highest mystery among men!
Thus from great dreams you awaken great,
From small dreams arise small.
Sleep the sleep of all that is perfection,
Dream the dreams of wide eternity.

None are there at all that would be of this world!111

-Poem attributed to Chen Tuan
_________________
60 “One yang comes” refers to sudden erection of the penis, when sexual desire appears.
61 Gently knocking the teeth together “wakes up” and gathers the Shen of the five organs. This also
refers to being relaxed, tranquil and natural, while concentrating the mind to guide the Shen of the
liver, heart, lung, kidneys and gallbladder to their proper positions inside the body. To do this
requires the use of “internal visualization, internal listening, internal smelling, and internal thinking
and internal sensing.”
62 “Red Dragon Head” refers to the tongue tip.
63 “Ten fingers” in this context refer to the toes and fingers.
64 “Hooking” or curving the fingers and toes directs Qi back to the interior. Yin and Yang returning to
the apertures means the orifices to which the breaths of the body return. In this context it can also
refer to the place inside the body where fire and water, heart-spirit and kidney Qi co-mingle and
inter-transform.
65Communication of the external Sun and Moon: By half-closing the eyes a white light is released
under the eyelids, which is directed back into the brain and interior of the body. In this context, sun
and moon refer to the two eyes.
66“Calculate the formula by digging the finger” means straighten the index and middle finger, and then
bend the ring finger and small finger, and then bend the thumb to press (dig) the ring finger. This hand
position (mudra) is sometimes called the “hand-sword”.
67 “Life Gate” generally refers to Mingmen. In the instructions above, Life Gate Refers to the genitals.
This hand is placed just below the navel by the genitals.
68 See footnote #65 above.
69Open the Heavenly Gate: means breathe with the nose so Qi is able to gush to the Heavenly Gate.
The Heavenly Gate is between the two eyebrows.
70 Close the Earthly Door: refers to two places. The first refers to the mouth and the second refers to
the anus. The mouth is closed and the anus is gently gathered.
71Convergence of Kan-trigram and Li-trigram: This refers to the union of the Heart-Mind and Kidney
Qi. See discussion on pages 31-32.
72Union of the essence between the internal Sun and Moon: the union of the Heart-Mind and Kidney
Qi (Fire and Water).
73 The Deer Circulating the Governor Vessel: The deer is the animal of longevity related to Earth and
Du Mai (Governing Vessel). The movements of the deer’s tail stimulate circulation in Du Mai. It is
also thought that the deer sleeps with its nose under its tail to complete the circuit of the Du Channel.
Here the posture employed in Sleeping Gong imitates the curved posture of the deer’s spine during
sleep.
74The Crane Nourishing the Fetus: The crane is the Heavenly symbol of longevity, and is associated
with the breath and the Qi. The crane’s whole body, even it’s bones fill and expand with the breath.
The hollow cavities in the bones of birds contain extensions of the air sacs from the lungs. The “crane
nourishing” the fetus” also implies regulation of the mind, through regulation of the breath.
75 Turtle Breathing: The turtle or tortoise also symbolizes longevity and is associated with Water. Its
breathing is very long, fine and almost imperceptible. The turtle retains Qi by circulating the breath
internally - without loss of Yuan Qi. This breathing is almost as much through the skin as through the
nostrils. The reference here implies fine regulation of the breath. Sleeping Gong is sometimes called
Turtle Breathing, because the practitioner, like the turtle, remains almost dormant for long periods of
time.
76 Xuan Guan: The Mysterious Pass is the “door of life and death”, the place between being and non-
being. It is also a synonym for the Xuan Pin (Mysterious Female) and the Hun Dun. This is the place
where transcendence and unity can occur in Daoist practices.
77 Skin Bellows: a tube for blowing up fire in the ancient times. Here, it both refers to the “Moving Qi
between the Kidneys” (Mingmen) and to “whole body breathing” or “Fetal Breathing”, which is
essentially similar to the Tortoise Breathing mentioned earlier.
78 Thinking Shen: The normal ability of the mind to recognize all things in the world.
79 Primary Shen: The state prior to the initial appearance of the intention – the Original Spirit.
80Internal Drug: the foundation of the cultivation of internal elixir from Essence, Qi and Spirit (Jing,
Qi and Shen).
81Six Thieves or Six Greedy Thieves: In Buddhism these are the organs which perceive and process
sensation – eyes, ear, nose, mouth, body and mind touch & taste. These thieves stir up the emotions
and desires, draining Qi and Essence and disturbing the Spirit. When the Six Thieves are quiet, it is
possible connect with one’s True Nature.
82 “Fire”: refers to the True Fire (True or Pure Yang Qi), which transforms the fluids of the body.
83 “Real Fluid”: Body fluids fermented or brewed by action of pure Yang Qi in the cultivation of the
internal elixir.
84 Ling Gen (Spiritual Root): refers to the vital root of the human body. The heart is the root of Spirit
(Shen) and the kidneys are the root of Essence (Jing). When the root is consolidated and nourished
one is revitalized in body and spirit.
85 Xuan Pin (Mysterious Female): A term from chapter 6 in the Dao De Jing, referring to the root of
Heaven and Earth which gives birth to all things. It is the transcendental origin, which generates all
things without being generated and changes all things without being changed. It is also called the door
of life and death, where Yin and Yang communicate with each other. In Daoist Alchemy Xuan Pin is
the tripod, the furnace and Heaven (Qian) and Earth (Kun).
86“Spring Wine”: refers to manna-like body fluids, like the saliva, which replenish Essence and Qi,
and nourish Spirit.
87“True Yang”: The Yang hidden within Yin Water, which must be extracted in order to transform the
body internally and form the internal elixir.
88 “Rub the Heart Field”: means to rub and knead the chest and the lower Abdomen with the hands.
89“Wipe the Two Eyes”: Rub the two palms together until they are warm, and then lightly cover and
press the two eyes with the palms.
90Three Origins Return to One: Jing, Qi and Shen (Three Origins) intertransform and return to
emptiness (Dao).
91Eight Extraordinary Meridians (Qi Jing Ba Mai) concentrate in the central channel, which itself is
composed of three of the Extraordinary Meridians: the Ren, Du and Chong. These three are said to
have a single origin and therefore to really be one meridian or channel.
92“Seven Jewels” or “Seven Treasures”: The seven orifices of the upper part of body: two eyes, two
nostrils, two ears, and mouth.
93“Blood is transformed into fat”: returning to the primordial state. When the energies of the father
and mother unite and the fetus is formed Shen begins to transform into Qi and blood, which
consolidate and form a ball of “fat.” This represents the alchemical transformation that occurs in the
body as an internal elixir is formed by the inter-transformation of Qi, Jing and Shen.
94“Spirit leaves its residence”: If the Heart is quiet and empty (if the emotions are calm), then the
Spirit resides comfortably in the heart. If the emotions and mind are agitated, the Spirit is said to
leave its residence.
95 San Bao: Essence (Jing), Qi and Spirit (Shen).
96 Five thieves: This refers to the five major weaknesses of the human personality at variance with its
spiritual essence. The common evils far exceed five in number, but a group of five came to be
identified because of the obstruction they are believed to cause in man's pursuit of the moral and
spiritual path. The five evils are: 1. Lust and addiction; 2. Wrath, rage and anger; 3. Materialistic
greed; 4. Attachment and worldly infatuation; 5. Ego and pride. The five thieves are also described as
the eyes, ears, nose, tongue and body (the sense organs) that lead the mind to desire pleasure and
sensation (Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality, by Lu K’uan Yu (Charles Luk), p. 28).
97 This section references Chapter Forty-Two of the Dao De Jing: The Way (Dao) produces the One.
The One produces two, two produces three. Three produces the myriad creatures. (The Daodejing
of Laozi, translation and commentary by Philip J. Ivanhoe, p. 45). This process is the division of the
original unity into yin and yang and the ten thousand things – the artificial divisions that make up the
world. Oneness, twoness, threeness and the multiplicity co-exist and in fact are co-dependant.
98 This phrase refers to the fact that the turtle does not move much. The turtle usually stays in one
place, motionless, conserving its energy and slowing down its metabolism. Staying in one place, for
long periods of time it casts a “motionless shadow”.
99 This references the story of the rhinoceros mistranslating a message form the Jade Emperor of
Heaven. As a result the rhinoceros was banished to Earth and thereafter gazed up at the moon and
stars longingly for hours. It also refers to the idea in the Tang dynasty that the stars of the sky were
reflected in the veins on the rhinoceros’ horn. This gave impetus to an earlier idea that rhinoceros
horns can communicate with the sky. As a result, a legend grew up in China that said that the peculiar
designs within the rhino’s horn were formed when “the rhinoceros gazed at the moon.” (The Mythic
Chinese Unicorn by Jeannie Thomas Parker http://chinese-unicorn.com/ch26/).
100 This “fetus” is not a real fetus. This is a metaphor for the fusion of spirit and breath.
101 “Two Breaths (Two Qi)”: The Yin and Yang reproductive essences coming from the parents. In
this case it again refers to the fusion of spirit and breath coalescing into an inner pill or elixir that is
likened to a fetus. The infant still in the womb is a prominent metaphor for many Daoist practices.
The fetus or infant is a metaphor for returning to the One, to the Dao, because the infant has not yet
begun the depleting process of living in the adult world of desires and cares.
102 Huang Ting: The “Yellow Court” is associated with Earth (Soil) and therefore lies at the
center. In the body, this can be the center of the head (“Upper Yellow Palace”), the center of the
Dantian (“Lower Yellow Palace”) or in the Spleen. The Yellow Soil is the ground where the elixir
can be formed.
103 Three Splendors or Three Treasures (San Bao): Essence (Jing), Qi and Spirit (Shen)
104 The Original Aperture, or Ancestral Aperture, is the cavity of the Ancestral Breath and is located
either between the navel and the heart or in the Dantian. Some sources mention an upper and lower
Ancestral Aperture one in the chest, associated with the Heart, and one in the Dantian, associated
with the Kidneys. Some say it is between the eyes behind the Yintang acu-point.
105 Divine Fetus: Nickname for Golden Elixir. In Daoist Nei Dan practices. This is achieved by
training and condensing the essence, Qi and spirit
106 Qi has gathered sufficiently, so that it can produce the desired result.
107 Ba Men: Eight Gates probably references the eight trigrams and their relationship to the
celestial forces. The Eight Trigrams and Eight Gates can also refer to eight parts of the body or the
Eight Extra Meridians. There are various ideas about which eight parts the trigrams (gates) reference.
One idea is that “Eight Gates” refers to the seven sensory orifices (ears, nostrils, eyes, and mouth)
and the “third eye” - the space between the eyebrows.
108 The mysterious silent realm is a return to the Way (Dao).
109Drawing and accompanying text are From Beverages of the Chinese: Kung Fu or Taoist Medical
Gymnastics, by John Dudgeon (p. 175). Dudgeon was a Scottish Surgeon who lived in China in the
19th century. He researched and translated a book that is an acompilation of Daoist exercises and
meditation techniques from earlier manuals.
110 The Five Breaths (Five Qi ) of the five organs.
111 Chen Tuan: Discussions & Translations, by Livai Kohn, p. 82.
Sleeping Gong Instructions: Summary
The Sleeping Gong described by Chen Tuan in the preceding chapters is summarized below. The best
time to practice is during the hours of the “Living Breath,”112 the twelve hours between midnight and
midday, when the Yang Qi is ascendant.113
Before Starting: Loosen the clothes and belt.

1. Sit with the legs crossed and knock the teeth 36 times to wake up
and gather the Shen (Spirits) of the five organs. Swallow the saliva
in three equal portions.
Knocking the upper and lower teeth together acts as a “heavenly drum” that calls forth the divine
spirits of the body. This is usually performed before and after meditation. It also stimulates the flow
of saliva, which is swallowed and drawn down to the Dantian. Knocking the teeth should be
performed lightly and the vibration of each knock should finish or exhaust itself before the next is
made. This removes Fire from the heart and collects the Spirit, creating cohesion of body and
spirit.114
In swallowing the saliva, first gather it together by swishing it in your mouth as though rinsing the
mouth. Then swallow the saliva in three equal portions. In order for the saliva to descend to Dantian,
it is necessary to straighten and raise the neck as you swallow each portion.

2. Lay on the Side.

Generally it is recommended that one lay on the right side so that the heart is not compressed.

3. Arrange the knees so that they are bent with the knees touching.
The bottom (right) leg is bent and the top leg is somewhat straight, more than the right. Relax the toes,
so that they are curved. Relaxing the toes opens and activates the Yongquan acu-points on the soles of
the feet.

4. The eyes are half-closed and look inward toward the nose.
This inner gaze directs light inward to illuminate the spirit and the body’s inner landscape. External
Sun and Moon communicate means that light enters the half-closed eyes and goes into the body and
back into the brain.

5. Hold hands in the “Hand Sword” position. Place one hand at the
genitals and the other hand under the head as a pillow in order to
connect Heart-Mind and Kidney Qi.
The pinky and ring finger press gently into the palm and the thumb covers the ring finger, while the
middle and forefingers are extended. If laying on the right side, the left Sword Hand is placed at the
genitals or Dantian; the right Sword Hand lies under the head as a pillow. One can also place the
head and hand on a pillow in order to keep the neck relaxed and aligned. The placement of the hands
helps to connect the head and the genitals and promote circulation of the Micro-Cosmic Orbit.
Closing the hands presses the Laogong (P 8) and Shaofu (HT 8) acupoints. Pressure on these points
helps remove Fire from the heart and calms the Heart-Mind. The three fingers that curve and close
prevent Qi from escaping outward, redirecting it back into the body, while the two extended fingers
guide and direct the circulation of Qi.
See the picture on the following page.
In the drawing above, the hands are not in the “Hand Sword” configuration. The left arm is relaxed
and lies along the right thigh with the fingers slightly curved. Alternatively, one can use the Hand
Sword position by placing the left hand sword on (or directed toward) the genitals (or Dantian).
Using the Hand Sword in this manner more directly connects the kidneys (house of the Jing) with the
Heart-Mind and brain (house of the Shen).

7. Lightly clamp (close) the upper and lower teeth together and the
tip of the tongue touches the roof of the mouth.
These two actions open the Heavenly Door, the nose, and close the Earthly door - the mouth.

8. The spine is curved similar to the spine of a deer that is sleeping.

Curving the spine imitates the deer, who sleeps with a rounded back and its nose pressed against its
genitals. The tail (coccyx) is slightly tucked, which initiates the circulation of Jing Qi through the Du
Channel.

9. The anus gathers inward.

The curving of the spine and gentle tucking of the tail in the side-lying position facilitates and largely
creates this inward gathering. Gathering the anus is like closing a drawstring bag, there is no muscular
tension. It is One may also perceive this “gathering” as a faint feeling of upward suction that “lifts”
the perineum. Gathering the anus inward, in conjunction with tongue touching the upper palate, links
the Ren and Du Channels, and creates a closed circuit of circulation between the brain and the
genitals - the source of Jing.

10. Lie and breathe softly, slowly, quietly, evenly and deeply. Use
the image of a Crane and Turtle.
Regulate the breath like a crane’s body. The crane’s body slowly expands and contracts with the
breath. Even the bones of the crane’s body fill and empty with the breath. Feel the whole body
breathing.
The breath is long, fine and almost imperceptible, like the breathing of a tortoise or turtle. The
tortoise’s ability to stay immobile for long periods of time and to hibernate, and the turtle’s ability to
submerge itself for extended periods without taking a breath, are useful images.

11. Visualize Kan-Water and Li-Fire inter-transforming.

The inter-transformation of Kan and Li is aided by the placement of the Sword Hands - one hand
directed at the genitals and one hand under the head. The position of the two “Sword Hands,” allows
an exchange between the head and the sexual energies. This is sometimes called the union of Kan-
Water and Li-Fire. This means that the essences of the Internal Sun and Moon (Heart-Mind and
Kidney-Qi) unify and become one.

12. Let the Heart-Mind become still and silent.

Stilling the Heart-Mind means to reduce the constant arising of thoughts. Trying to abstain from
thoughts is also a thought. The easiest way to overcome this problem is one advocated by Daoist
master Yin Shi Zu. He calls this method “looking into the innermost.”
First we should be clear about the rise and fall of our thoughts. If a thought rises, it should
be looked into to prevent it from clinging to things; thus it will vanish. When a second thought
rises, it should also be looked into so that so that it cannot grasp anything; thus the second
one will vanish. When their source is properly cleansed, thoughts will gradually come to an
end. A beginner holds the wrong view that before his practice of meditation that his thoughts
were very few and that after it, they become numerous. This is a mistake, for those thoughts
always rise and fall in his mind; they were not noticed before, but are now perceptible during
meditation. Awareness of the existence of thoughts is the first step in self-awareness, and with
repeated exercise of this introverting method our thoughts will gradually decrease in number,
instead of increasing as we wrongly think.115

13. Internally, Jing (Essence) responds to the external body form

and its actions.
Stilling the body allows energy to circulate unceasingly, thereby uniting the interior and exterior. As
the Heart-Mind returns to the Original Spirit, emotions and desire (the Six Thieves) disappear. The
body fills with energy and the True Essence (Elixir) nourishes the root of the spirit. Then light
spreads into the exterior.

16. After Meditating:

Arise and rub and knead the chest with two hands. Rub the two palms together until they are warm,
and then lightly cover and press the two eyes with the palms. Knock the teeth 36 times and swallow
saliva again.

Sleeping Meditation is not Sleeping!

Sleeping Meditation allows us to reach a state similar to that of animals in hibernation. The body
seems to be asleep, but is internally aware. This state of “genuine sleep” produces “true rest”,
untroubled by dreams which reflect and engage our emotions and desires. “True Sleep” allows us to
observe our thoughts and emotions, resulting in increased clarity of mind. Zhuang Zi describes this as
“sleeping without dreaming and awaking without worries.” Because in this state the body and Heart-
Mind are able to truly rest, we feel an increase in energy even when our “normal sleep” is less. Some
practitioners experience less need for normal sleep.
If you fall asleep during Sleeping Meditation than you are tired and should sleep. Meditate when you
are less tired. Alternatively, take a nap and meditate upon awakening from the nap.
Sleeping Meditation - Key Points:
The key points in Sleeping Meditation are to align the body and regulate the breath. Take a minute or
more to make sure the body is in the correct position. Then pay attention to the breath. Let it come and
go by itself with minimal direction of the Intention. Let the mind become tranquil and the inner
transformation occurs spontaneously in its own time. When one encounters difficulties in practicing
Sleeping Meditation, it is helpful to remember the following passage from the Nei Yeh:
When your body is not aligned,
The inner power will not come.
When your mind is not tranquil within,
Your mind will not be well ordered.
Align your body, assist the inner power,
Then it will gradually come on its own.

-Nei Ye (Inward Training) verse XI116

_________________
112 Daoist Meditation: The Mao-Shan Tradition of Great Purity, by Isabelle Robinet, p.40.
113The text mentions the “moment when one yang comes.” According to the ancients the first half-
day is positive (yang) and the second half is negative (yin). The first half begins at the hour Tsu
(between 11pm and 1 am) when the penis stands of itself during sleep in spite of the absence of
thoughts or dreams. At the start of Dao practice, it is important to avail oneself of this moment
when the penis stands to gather the generative force for sublimation, for the gathering of it during
the negative (yin) half of the day is ineffective. (Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality by Lu Kuan
Yu, p. 11). Women’s yang energy is also activated at this time.
114 The Immortal: True Accounts of the 250 Year-Old Man by Yang Sen, Tran. By Stuart Alve Olson,
p. 213.
115 The Secrets of Chinese Meditation by Ku K’uan Yu p. 169-70.
116 Original Tao by Harold Roth, p. 66.
Introduction to the Twelve Sleeping Immortals
In the introduction I mentioned that the twelve poems of the Sleeping Immortals could be seen as
stages or steps of meditative practice. I also said that to some degree they describe the same ideas in
different ways. Although the poems of the Sleeping Immortals use many different metaphors to
reference overlapping concepts, the poems can also be understood as stages of development in Daoist
meditative practice using existing models from Nei Dan (inner alchemy). In his wonderful article,
Evidence for Stages of Meditation in Early Taoism, Daoist scholar Harold Roth delineates four
“stages” of meditative practice that are mentioned in early Daoist texts.117 A similar model is
employed in many of the Nei Dan texts that discuss Daoist Inner Alchemy and Meditation practices.

Step 1: Laying the Foundation

Preserving the state of Jing (Essence) and Qi, while simultaneously replenishing these vital
substances. When Jing is abundant and Qi is full, the Shen (Spirit) can flourish. Roth describes this
stage as Zhen (Straight, Upright, Correct, or Orthodox), the simultaneous alignment of the body and
breath (Qi) through the practice of correct posture and “naturally patterned breathing.” This refines
the vital breath and Qi transforming them into Jing. The poems of the first four immortals can be said
to describe this first step.
1. Mao Xuan Han Subduing the Dragon and Tiger
2. Qu Shan Fu Refining the Hun and Po
3. Mai Yi Ren Zhen Harmonizes and Regulates the Zhen Qi
4. Hu Dong Lin Transports and Transforms Yin and Yang

Step 2: Refining Jing (Essence) and transmuting it into Qi (Breath)

This stage aims at uniting Yuan Jing (Original Essence), Yuan Qi (Original Qi) and Yuan Shen
(Original Spirit) to form Jing. In her introduction to the Zhao Bi Chen’s treatise on Inner Alchemy
Catherine Despeux describes this stage as replenishing and refining Jing in order to “repair the
brain” and nourish the spirit. This involves establishing circulation of refined Jing Qi through the Du
and Ren (Governing and Conception) vessels – establishing the “Micro-Cosmic Orbit” or “Small
Heavenly Circulation.”118 Roth simply describes this step as Jing, the physical and psychological
substrate capable of producing mental concentration and tranquility. The poems of Immortals five, six
and seven can be said to describe this step, which is also called “Compounding the Great Medicine”
(Zuo Da Yao).119
5. Du Sheng Zhen and Yin & Yang in the Fu and Gou Diagrams
6. Wang Long Tu Silently Cultivates the Fire Times
7. Kang Nan Yan Guards the Furnace and Tripod

Step 3: Refining Qi (Breath) and Transmuting it into Shen (Spirit)

This stage is sometimes described as of the “formation of the Embryo of Immortality.” The
“”Immortal Embryo” develops as a result of the coupling of the Shen and the True Qi (True Breath),
whch that was completed in the previous step. The Immortal Embryo is said to form in the Middle
Dantian. Daoist texts say that: the embryo is nothing but Spirit and Breath (Qi). The Spirit enters
the Breath and the Breath is embraced by the Spirit.120 This stage of cultivation is also called
Compounding the Elixir (Zuo Dan). Roth describes this step as Qing Ming (Clear & Bright;
Lucid) - tranquility leading to clarity and luminosity (qualities associated with deep meditative
experience). This involves the refinement of the Shen leading to “a core level of consciousness that is
without will or desire, a source of unbiased thinking, and clear intuition.”121 The Shen returns to a
state of great stillness and stability (Da Ding). The poems of Immortals eight, nine and ten can be said
to describe this step.
8. Zhang Yi Tang Refining and Cultivating the Mysterious Treasure
9. Zhang Xuan Xuan Firmly Fastens the Monkey and Horse
10. Lazy Old Peng Gathers and Releases the Elixir Pivot
Step 4: Refining Shen (Spirit) and Returning it to Emptiness (Xu)
By refining Spirit one attains Emptiness and Non-Being (Xu Wu). Jing, Qi and Shen (the Three
Bodies) return to One – the Original Spirit. This stage of cultivation is often represented by the
symbol of an empty circle. At this stage, the practitioner may experience a sensation of bathing in a
gentle heat, which seems to melt into a halo of light, the feeling being most intense at the level of the
head; moreover, the universe seems to enter and be absorbed into the adept.122 Roth describes this as
Xu (Emptiness; Void), a direct apprehension of the “One” (the Dao); an experience of “Unitive
Consciousness.” 123 Various names are used to describe these experiences: “Three Flowers Unite in
the Brain”, the “Five Breaths Pay Homage to the Origin” and “Meditate for Nine Years Facing a
Wall.”124 The last alludes to Bodhidharma (Da Mo), who meditated facing a wall for nine years.” The
poems of Immortals eleven and twelve can be said to describe this step.
11. Tan Zi Ren Vast and Unfettered Penetrates the Mystery
12. Yu Yi Yang Transcends Life and Death
Note:
It is important to reiterate here that these divisions are to some degree artificial and are merely
attempts to delineate different aspects of a process that cannot really be described in words. Hence,
the extensive employment of metaphor, imagery and symbolism in the poems of the Twelve Sleeping
Immortals, which aim at bypassing the conscious, rational mind in order to access deeper levels of
consciousness and inner wisdom.
 1. Mao Xuan Han Subduing the Dragon and Tiger

Mao Xuan Han Subduing the Dragon and Tiger

In the Heart, Yuan Qi is called the Dragon,
In the Body, Yuan Jing is called the Tiger.
When Nature (Xing) is fixed, the Dragon returns to Water,
When Inclinations (Qing) are forgotten, the Tiger hides in the Mountains.
When the Two are united in Harmony,
Your Name will be on the List of the Immortals.

xīn zhōng yuán qì wèi zhī lóng,

shēn zhōng yuán jīng wèi zhī hǔ.
xìng dìng lóng guī shuǐ,
qíng jì hǔ yǐn shān.
èr jiā hé hé le,
 míng xìng liè xiān bān.

Mao Xuan Han

The name of this Immortal, Mao Xuan Han, literally means: “Han (person) with Dark Hair.” It may be
an unknown person’s name but Xuan here means dark, profound, mysterious. Xuan can also mean,
“hidden”, and Mao (hair) can mean “small” or “fine.” Dark references the Xuan Pin, the “Mysterious
Female.” Darkness and being hidden are traditionally female qualities that refer to the power to
generate. The point of generation is a turning point so fine that it cannot be seen. The dark and hidden
center of generation allows for things and beings to grow but it does not show itself in that which
grows.125

The Dragon and the Tiger

The Dragon is the True Yin within Yang, the hidden Yin (broken) line in the Li-Fire Trigram
associated with the heart, representing True Water within Fire the Original Qi (Yuan Qi). The Tiger is
the True Yang within Yin, the hidden Yang (solid) line in the Kan-Water Trigram associated with the
kidneys, representing the True Fire within Water, the Original Jing (Yuan Jing).
The Dragon is related to one’s True Nature
(Xing inner nature; character; disposition; property; quality)
The Tiger is related to one’s True Qualities
(Qing interests; passions; emotions; inclinations
When the Tiger (True Yang within Yin) is liberated from its temporary residence in Kan, it leaps.
When the Dragon (True Yin within Yang) is liberated from its temporary residence in Li, it soars.
Subduing the Dragon and Tiger means that, through cultivation, the Dragon submits and returns to
Water and the Tiger is subdued and lies down in his mountain cave (Fire). This is the Dragon and
Tiger copulating, or True Yin and True Yang intermingling and uniting. Teachers of old regarded
subduing the dragon as refining themselves; regarded taming the tiger as grasping the Heart-
Mind.126
The internal alchemical process revolves around this union of opposites and reverses the Earthly
cycle of generative forces, so that multiplicity returns to unity. In the normal Post-Heaven system of
correspondences, the Dragon resides in the East, and is related to the liver and Wood/Wind and the
Tiger resides in the West and is related to the lung and Metal. Here, Dragon (Wood) is found in Fire
of the heart; Tiger (Metal) is found in the Water of the kidneys. The Dragon emerges from Fire, and
the Tiger from Water. The generative cycle is thus reversed turning back toward the Pre-Heaven state.
In order to subdue the Dragon and Tiger, there must be inner clearness (tranquility) and stillness
(quiet).
Summary: Subduing the Dragon and the Tiger
The Original Qi (Yuan Qi) of the Heart-Mind is the Dragon. It is related to our inner nature and
disposition (Xing). The Original Essence (Yuan Jing) of the kidneys is the Tiger. It is related to our
impulses and judgments about what is so, or not so (Qing).127 When these impulses and judgments are
forgotten, the Tiger stays peacefully in the mountain – the head128 and heart. When the Shen and Qi are
calm, the Dragon returns to the watery depths (Dantian and Mingmen). This represents an
intermingling, an intertransformation, and ultimately a unification of the Yin and Yang energies, which
occurs through the tranquility and stillness of meditation.
The Classic on Inward Training (Nei Yeh) provides useful related advice:
By concentrating the vital breath as if numinous,
The myriad things will all be contained within you.
Can you concentrate? Can you unite with them?
Can you not resort to divining by tortoise or milfoil?
Yet know bad and good fortune?
Can you stop? Can you cease?
Can you not seek it in others,
Yet attain it in yourself?
You think about it and think about it
And think still further about it.
You think, yet still you cannot penetrate it.
While the ghostly and numinous will penetrate it,
It is not due to the power of the ghostly and numinous,

But to the utmost refinement of your essential vital breath.129

 2. Qu Shang Fu Cultivates the Hun and Po

Qu Shang Fu Refining the ( Hun) and ( Po)

The Mercury extracted from [Vermillion Sand} is the Po,
The Gold pulled out of Water is the Hun.
Heaven regards the Sun as the Hun,
The Earth takes the Moon as the Po.
The Sun seeks Rabbit Marrow,
The Moon extracts the Bird’s (Raven’s) Blood.

shā zhōng qǔ gǒng wéi zhī pò,

shǔi lǐ tāo jīn wéi zhī hún,
tiān yǐ rì wéi hún,
dì yǐ yuè wéi pò.
rì zhōng xún tù sǔi,
 yuè zhōng nèi qǔ niǎo xuè.

Hun and Po
One view of the Hun and Po is that they exist independently of the body and unite with it at birth.
They operate with the body’s organic functioning and then at death separate from it, the Po returning
to Earth with the bones, while the Hun returns to Heaven, merging with the cosmic yang energies.
This perspective views Hun, Po and Shen as a microcosmic expression of the Three Powers:
Heaven, Earth and Human Beings. Traditional Chinese medicine generally takes the view that the
Five Shen of the Zang organs represent various aspects of consciousness and psycho- emotional
activity that is a by-product of the physical activity of the internal organs and their organic and
functional interactions. The Hun and Po are often referred to as the etheric and corporeal “souls”
respectively. Although the term "souls" can be used to refer to the Hun and Po, they are better seen as
two types or two groups of vital force that are the source of life in every individual. They can be
referred to as singular or plural. Hun is/are yang, luminous, and volatile, while the Po is/are yin,
somber, and heavy.
Some sources say that the sensory perceptions of the eyes and ears comprise the Po. When these
become Qi it is called the Hun. Hun is said to have three “spirits” which are akin to the Three
Treasures, and the Po seven “souls” which are related to the emotions and senses.
Hun:
1. Qi
2. Shen
3. Jing

Po:
1. Joy
2. Anger
3. Pleasure
4. Sorrow
5. Like
6. Dislike
7. Desire

In Daoist meditation and internal alchemy it is believed that the passions of the Po usually dominate
the Hun, causing the life force to decay. By concentrating the vital forces within the body through
meditative practices, one attempts to reverse this dynamic - one’s emotions, passions and desires then
become ruled by the Hun. This is another aspect of the reversal of the Five Agents or Five Elements
(Wu Xing).
Another way to understand the Hun and Po is as follows: Gui (Ghost) and (Cloud) Yun make the
character Hun (“Cloud-Soul”). Gui (Ghost) and Bai (white) make the character Po
(“White-Soul”). Cloud is Wind and Wind is associated with Wood (liver) and Essence. White is Qi.
Qi is associated with Metal (lungs). Wind disperses and so is light and pure. Being light and pure, it
ascends. Metal is solid. Therefore it is turbid and heavy. Being heavy and turbid, it descends. Sages
use the Hun to move the Po. Ordinary people use the Po to clasp the Hun. During the day, Hun
resides in the eyes. In the night, the Hun is housed in the liver. When the Hun resides in the eyes one
can see; when it resides in the liver one can dream. In one who dreams too much, the Po controls the
Hun. In one who is “awake” (not ruled by dreams and desires), the Hun controls the Po.
Because of the Po there is Jing (Essence), and because there is Jing there is the Hun. Because of the
Hun there is Shen (Spirit), and because of Shen there is Yi (Intention). Because of the Yi there is the
Po. These five circulate unceasingly.130

Vermillion Sand, Lead and Gold

Vermillion Sand is cinnabar (mercury sulfide). It is red, which corresponds to Fire and the heart. It is
another name for the Yuan Qi (Original Breath; Original Qi). When “True Mercury” is extracted from
cinnabar, it called the Hun. This is a reversal of the cycle of generation of Five Agents, as Fire now
produces Wood associated with the Hun.131
Metal extracted from Water is lead. The “True Lead” extracted from the unprocessed lead ore (Black
Lead) is associated with Water, the kidneys. This is the gold132 pulled out of water. It is the Po. It is
the True Yuan Jing of the kidneys. It is also true, intuitive knowledge or wisdom. This is also a
reversal of the normal cycle of the Five Agents, as Water now produces Metal.133 Mercury and lead
coming together represent True Essence and True Qi uniting. This is the unification of the Original
Sprit and the Original Essence (the conscious mind and the intuitive wisdom), which is brought about
by the refining process of meditation. Upon returning to the Unity, the body is regenerated, the Three
Treasures unite and combine, and consciousness is unified.

The Raven and the Hare; The Moon and the Sun
The Hun corresponds to the East, the Yuan Qi and the Sun, all of which are Yang.
The Po corresponds to the West, the Yuan Jing and the Moon, all of which are Yin.
The Blood of the Bird (the Raven) is the vitality of the Sun, associated with Wood.
The Rabbit’s Marrow is the silvery light of the Moon associated with Metal.
The Sun is Yang. Yang contains Yin.
The Raven is in the Sun.
The Raven’s Blood is the hidden Yin within the Sun.
The Moon, which is Yin, seeks to connect with the Yin hidden within Yang: the Blood in the
heart of the Raven.
The Moon is Yin. Yin contains yang.
The Hare is in the Moon.
The Rabbit’s Marrow is the hidden Yang within the Moon.
 The Sun, which is Yang, seeks to connect with the Yang hidden within Yin: The Marrow in the
brain of the Hare.

The diagram above illustrates some of the concepts discussed previously. The diagram shows the
Five Agents reversing their normal movement to integrate and become unified as “One” by moving to
the central position associated with Earth (5). This unification is represented by the numbers
associated with each of the Five Agents. Water (1) and Metal (4) transform, combine and reverse,
making the number 5, thereby becoming Earth, the Yellow Dragon. Similarly, Wood (3) and Fire (2)
also become 5 (Earth).
Summary: Refining the Hun and Po
When the Hun and the Po, the Yin and Yang manifestations of the Shen are harmonized, one
reconnects to an inner unity, This unity is itself a manifestation of the balanced and harmonious
breaths of Heaven and Earth moving through the body. By refining and integrating the Hun and Po,
“True Qi” and “True Essence” unite, generating a kind of inner rebirth symbolized by the formation of
the “Inner Elixir.” Breathing continuously, infinitesimally and smoothly is the door through which the
spirits of the body are nourished and harmonized. The Hun and Po, two aspects of human existence,
are then integrated, as are the fundamental essences of Heaven and Earth, which reside within all
living beings.
Chapter 10 of the Dao De Jing talks specifically about these aspects of the Hun and Po in relation to
Daoist meditative practices:
If one sustains the spiritual and animal souls,
And embraces unity, one may be without separation.
If one concentrates the breath, if one produces tenderness,
One may resemble a little child.

By purifying and cleansing, one gets the dark look.134

In He Shang Gong’s commentary on the Dao De Jing, the “spiritual” and “animal” souls refer to the
Hun and Po respectively. For He Shang Gong, embracing unity, refers to methods of Daoist
meditation in which the practitioner seeks to still the mind so that thoughts, emotions and desires do
not arise. Both the body and mind are still, and the body is aligned. This gives one the potential to
connect to the primordial, undivided state that underlies consciousness. The breathing advocated in
Sleeping Meditation is like the contained, internally circulating breathing of the fetus. When the breath
and consciousness are not disturbed or confused, the body becomes pliable, supple and tender like an
infant, and one is untroubled by worrisome thoughts, plans and desires. The Heart-Mind then becomes
clear, tranquil, still and silent. The mind stays in the dark (mysterious; profound) places; the look
knows all its doings. Therefore it is called the dark look.135
 3. Mai Yi Zhen Ren Harmonizes and Regulates the Zhen Qi

Mai Yi Zhen Ren Harmonizes and Regulates the Zhen Qi

Regulate and Harmonize the Zhen Qi,
Five Breaths Go to the Origin.
Heart-Mind and Breath Rely One Upon the Other,
Undeflected by Thoughts and Concepts.
Two Things Reside in Wu and Ji,
Tiger and Dragon Intertwine to Attain the Great Elixir.

tiáo hé zhēn qì,

wǔ cháo yuán.
xīn xī xiāng yī,
niàn bù piān.
èr) wù cháng jū yú wù jǐ,
hǔ lóng pán jié dà dān yuán.
Mai Yi Zhen Ren
The name of this Immortal, Mai Yi Zhen Ren literally means “Hemp Garment Real Person,” or
“Immortal in Sack Cloth.” This may refer to the Hemp Clad Daoist, who was purportedly one of Chen
Tuan’s Daoist teachers. However, Chen Tuan himself is also sometimes referred to by this name.136

Zhen Qi
The Zhen Qi is the True Qi or Real Qi. It is the breath of Heaven, the cosmic breath which, upon
being drawn, regulated and harmonized, in turn activates the Original Breath or Original Qi (Yuan
Qi): the breath of the “One.” The Original Breath is synonymous with the breath of the infant - fetal
breathing. The infant is also synonymous with the Elixir and represents the timeless state in which Yin
and Yang are not separated from each other, before the division from the “One” into the many.137
Therefore the Original Qi and Original Breath also represent the state of existence before the
separation of Yin and Yang.
This respiration is that of the “True Man” (the sage). It emanates from the deepest reaches of his being
and extends to the extremities, to the very limits of the body and beyond. In Daoist meditation, our
respiration as an individual human being is an expression of the primordial “breaths” moving
between Heaven and Earth. Zhuang Zi tells us that this kind of respiration, the respiration of the ”True
Man” (the sage), is beyond deep:
The True Man of ancient times slept without dreaming and woke without care; he ate without
savoring and his breath came from deep inside. The True Man breathes with his heels; the
masses of men breathe with their throats. Crushed and bound down, they gasp out their words
as though they are retching. Deep in their passions and desires, they are shallow in the
workings of Heaven.138
Another description of the breath of the “True Man” is found in the Cantong Qi, a Daoist inner
alchemy text:
It will stream from the head to the toes;
On reaching the end, it will rise once again.
In its coming and its going, it will spread limitless,

Pervading throughout and extending all around139.

The Five Breaths

The Five Breaths are the movements of the Five Agents.140 The Five Agents or Five Processes may
have developed from an earlier concept known as the Five Materials (Wu Cai). These were the
“agricultural materials” considered to be necessary for human sustenance.
In assimilating the Five Processes to an agricultural style, Wood was considered to be the
archetype of plant matter at the beginning of its life. Fire was thought to represent the
flourishing and ripening of plants. Metal symbolized the scythe that harvested grain. Water
 represented the state of death and of stillness as well as the womb from which new plant life
was generated. In this scheme, the Earth [Soil] process was conceived of as being central to
the other four since it was the medium in which the entire agricultural process was made
manifest. This would suggest that the mutual production sequence of the Five Processes
developed out of the concept of the life cycle of cultivated grains.141
The “Five Breaths go to the origin,” means that they return to the central position (Earth-Soil) from
which they originated. When Passion (Po) and Nature (Hun) unite, this is the union of Metal (Tiger)
and Wood (Dragon). When Generative Force (Jing) and Shen (Spirit) unite, it is the union of Li-Fire
and Kan-Water. Stabilizing and clarifying thought and intention, the Five Agents can come together.
This is essentially the same as the conjoining of Yin and Yang.
The Generative Force changes into vitality when the body is motionless; vitality changes into
spirit when the heart is unstirred; and spirit returns to nothingness because of immutable
thought. If the heart does not move, three [vital] breaths of the east and two of the south unite
to form five total forms. If the body does not move, one vital breath of the north and four of
the west unite to total five [vital breaths]. When heart, body and thought are all motionless,
the three families meet [Qi, Jing and Shen] to begat the immortal fetus.142

The Two Things

The Two Things are True Yin and True Yang. When the two things come together, then one’s inner
nature (Xing) and emotions (Qing) can join together. This is the Hun and Po coming together. The
pure Xing, generally unaffected by outside events, can be disrupted by the impure Qing if the
emotions and desires become uncontrolled. This is the Po controlling the Hun. However, when
emotions and inner nature join one another, emotions turn into qualities – personality,
temperament, attitudes that allow a person to express his or her inner nature in life, according to
his or her individuality.143

Wu and Ji
True Yin and True Yang reside in Wu and Ji - the 5th and 6th Heavenly Stems. Wu and Ji are the
Heavenly Stems associated with the Central Agent, which is Earth (Soil). The Ten Heavenly Stems
correlate with the Yin and Yang aspects of each of the Five Agents. The stems in turn were correlated
with the lines of the Hexagrams and Eight Trigrams. In the diagram on the following page, six of the
Eight Trigrams are correlated with the phases of the moon. Kan-Water (Wu) and Li-Fire (Ji) acting as
the functional operations of Qian-Heaven and Kun-Earth are placed in the center, because they
represent the original body of the sun and moon.144
The great beginning of Heaven’s primordial arranging of patterns began in the division between Wu
and Ji.145 The Cantong Qi expresses this as follows:
Wu in Kan is the essence of the Moon,
Ji in Li is the radiance of the Sun.
Sun and Moon make change.
The firm and the yielding match each other.
Soil rules over the four seasons,
Entwining beginning and end:
Green, black, red, and white
Each dwells in one direction.
All are endowed by the Central Palace,

Through the efficacy of Wu and Ji.146

Wu and Ji can also serve as a metaphor for the “One” dividing into two, and two becoming three, and
three becoming the multiplicity or the “ten thousand things.” In Nei Dan texts, Wu and Ji are
considered to be the connection that allows the conjunction of Yin and Yang to take place.147 Chapter
42 of the Dao De Jing also references this:
Dao generates one. One generates two. Two generates three. Three generate all things.
All things turn away from yin and embrace yang.

The empty breath effects union.148

Dao generates one. One generates two (Yin and Yang). Two generates three. These three - Turbid-
Yin, Clear-Yang and the blending of Yin and Yang - correlate with Earth, Heaven, and Human Beings
respectively.149 Turbid-Yin settles to Earth, Clear-Yang rises up to Heaven, and the harmonious
blending of the two, which becomes Human Beings. In turn these three together generate everything.
All things turn toward the sun, the source of life and are a mixture of Yin and Yang, light and dark,
Fire and Water. In all things there is the Original Qi (Yuan Qi). The ten thousand things reach their
union (achieve harmony) through blending of the breaths, which in turn relies on emptiness. This
empty breath is the True Breath, the breath of the infant – “Fetal Breathing.”

The Heart-Mind and Breath

The Heart-Mind and Breath go hand-in-hand. By concentrating the mind on the breath when the two
become linked, the breath becomes long, thin and imperceptible, and concentration returns to the
center. The Nei Gong Zhen Chuan gives insight into this aspect of breathing:
 First Inhale Then Exhale, One In One Out.
First Raise Then Descend,
One Rising and One Hiding.
Within is the Dantian,
The Abode to Where the Qi Returns.
This clause refers to regulated and even respiration, the method of using Qi. Inhaling and exhaling
should be gentle and silent. This is called the “Qi Regulating Method.” The uplifted is raised and
gathered at the vertex, while the lowered is sunken to be hidden and stored deep in the interior. The
visualization is one in which the Zhen Qi which is falling and gradually lowering into the Dantian
becomes like a hidden dragon or a crouching tiger. It is latent, hidden and unmoving.150

The Dragon & Tiger

The Dragon represents the True Yin within Yang, the Hun, True Mercury extracted from cinnabar and
True Nature (Xing). The Tiger represents the True Yang within Yin, the Po, True Lead hidden within
black, unprocessed lead and the emotions, impulses and judgments (Qing). The Dragon and Tiger are
also the Heart–Mind and the Breaths (Qi). When they work together in harmony, they entwine and
generate the internal elixir. This elixir is produced when Qi and breath merge with the Spirit and
Spirit reverts to emptiness. This is the multiplicity returning to the “One.”

The picture on the following page is a rendering of a drawing from the Xing Ming Gui Zhi, an
alchemical text from the Ming Dynasty. It depicts the Tiger and Dragon pouring the Yin and Yang
energies (lead and mercury) into an alchemical vessel. The girl astride the Dragon represents True
Yin within Yang (True Mercury extracted from cinnabar). The boy mounted on the Tiger represents
True Yang within Yin (True Lead or “Gold” extracted from Dark Lead). The drawing is titled the
“Copulation of the Dragon and Tiger” or the “Marriage of the Dragon and Tiger.” The boy is also
called the Kan-Boy and the girl, the Li-Girl.
Summary: Regulating Zhen Qi
The Zhen Qi is refined through harmonizing and refining the breath. This in turn attunes the five
energies so that they return to the Origin – the Origin of one’s being. This is accomplished by uniting
Heart-Mind and breath, and avoiding scattered and discursive thoughts. This is best practiced
between the hours of Zi and Wu (midnight to midday).
When the Heart-Mind is quiet and calm and united with the breath, Yin and Yang can come together in
the center. The elixir, the essence of life, is produced through this union, which is also known as the
entwining, the marriage or the copulation of the Dragon and Tiger.
As regards the thirty-six breathings, for each of them the most important thing is that the
exhalation should be very slight, and inhalation should be very long drawn. Whether sitting
or lying, this rule should be observed; whether walking or lying, the breathing should be
smooth… This is metaphorically called “embryonic breathing”; in fact it is the Internal
Elixir. Not only will it cure diseases, it will also grant long life.151

4. Hu Dong Lin Transports and Transforms Yin and Yang

Hu Dong Lin Circulates and Transforms Yin & Yang
Heaven’s Model and Earth’s Form are the Substance,
Bearing Yin on the Back and Embracing Yang are the Application.
Heaven and Earth Establish the Foundation,
The Mechanism of Yin and Yang Circulation and Transformation.
This Constitutes the Pivot.
Few are Those Who Understand This!

fǎ tiān xiàng dì wèi zhī tǐ,

fù yīn bào yáng wèi zhī yòng.
tiān dì wéi lì jī,
yīn yáng yùn huà jī
zhè gè liè zǐ,
liào dé jǐ rén zhī!

Heaven and Earth: Model, Form and Substance

Heaven is the model and Earth is the form or image of that model. Heaven in Chinese cosmogony
represents a natural operating system, organic and all encompassing that both governs and abides in
all things. Heaven is the pattern inherent in the cosmos. In this sense it is related to the Dao (Way) and
is more a process than a thing.152 The Dao of Heaven contains both Heaven and Earth. The potential
that opens into life is rooted in Heaven, but the breath, the Qi, through which Heaven’s forms are
accomplished, is rooted in Earth. Earth in turn responds, actualizing Heaven’s potential into form and
sending the Qi and breath back upward.
Heaven abides so that we have virtue [De].
Earth abides so that we have Qi.

When virtue flows and Qi is blended, there is life.153

De (virtue) in this context is not related to morality but rather refers to an idea of efficacy, of latent
power and ability, an inherent potential or potency.
Everything we live with under Heaven is the outpouring of heavenly virtue; streaming down
upon us is the gift that never runs dry. Our heart beats in response to the life offered to it. We
call it virtue and attribute it definitely to Heaven. The existence of “I” is virtue expressed.
Normally virtue is placed in dependence on the heart within a Being. The heart shelters
Heaven. Illuminated by Heaven’s radiance, the heart is able to recognize the correctness and
authenticity of conduct. Why? Because the Heaven within us is our virtue [our De], just as
the Heaven outside of us is the virtue [De] of all virtue [De].154
Earth carries and receives Heaven’s virtue and embodies it in form. Heaven can only be spoken of as
a compliment to Earth, and only observed through its interpenetration with Earth’s Breaths (Qi) and
its ever-evolving forms. Through Earth’s Breaths, Heaven’s creative spark, its virtue, is observable.
Earth in me, is the presence of diversity, of varied and multiple aspects, under the authority
of the celestial unity that forges a being. It is also the ceaseless transformations. The breaths
extend everywhere; they occupy available space without encumbering it; they are light and
fluid, which permits their junction and co-penetrations and also their rising to meet Heaven.
The breaths of Earth are not imprisoned; all they ask is to intersect each other under the
impulse of Heaven. Thus all that is breaths in me is Earth, breaths projected toward the one
Heaven, for Heaven makes these breaths those of one particular being, with its own destiny
and nature.155
Human life is a manifestation of the all-encompassing respiration of Heaven and Earth, and the Yin
and Yang flux that flows between them. Therefore, life for human beings in the natural world is
expressed through movement and change. Qi and Breath, born of the interaction between Heaven and
Earth, flow and circulate everywhere. Qi and Breath flow through the body as it would through a
landscape or a painting.156 The body is a kind of living landscape in which the forces of Heaven and
Earth are always present, always operating.
The Yang diffuses and the Yin receives. The potential that opens into life is rooted in Heaven, but the
breath through which Heaven’s forms are accomplished is rooted in Earth. Using imagery derived
from the Yi Jing this can be expressed as follows: the strong unbroken lines of the Heaven Trigram
flow downward to be received by Earth-Kun’s softer receptive (broken) lines. Earth in turn responds,
actualizing Heaven’s potential into form, and sending the Qi-Breath back upward. Heaven is Qian,
the Creative. It represents the male principle: firmness, the movement of opening. Earth is Kun the
Receptive, representing the female principle: softness, the movement of closing.

Human beings are between Heaven and Earth. Yin and Yang interact and unite within us. The heavens
are like a dome above human beings, so the Chinese say that “Heaven is round.” The Earth has four
cardinal directions in relationship to the roundness of heaven. These directions are delineated by four
points – two where the celestial equator meets the elliptic, and two where the equator and the elliptic
are at the maximum distance from each other. These four points mark the spring and fall equinoxes
and the summer and winter solstices. Connecting these points forms a square, and that square is the
earth – an idealized earth, bounded by celestial time as defined by the four seasons157. Therefore,
“Earth is square.”
The breaths, the vibrations of Heaven (Yang) and Earth (Yin) move through the natural world and
through us. The breaths (the Qi) are the pivot between Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang. Human
beings are at the fulcrum of this pivot and act as a kind of vibrating dipole between Heaven and Earth.
The possessor of the Dao (the sage) vibrates in harmony with yin and yang and the breaths of Heaven
and Earth.158
Heaven and Earth operate seamlessly and automatically. They dynamically fluctuate and interchange
without friction and without apparent “action.” Chapter Seven in the Dao De Jing, tells us that it is
exactly this quality that makes Heaven and Earth enduring, continuous and infinite, like an endlessly
rotating mechanism.
Heaven is long lasting;
Earth endures.
Heaven is able to be long lasting,
And Earth endures,

Because they do not live for themselves.159

The phrase Fa Tian Xiang Di (Heaven’s Model and Earth’s Form) refers to this interaction of Heaven
and Earth, but Xiang can also be an image, symbol or picture. Images and symbols are
configurations that possess a cosmic and cosmogonic efficacy and truth, 160 which closely
approaches the original heavenly forms. The trigrams and hexagrams of the Yi Jing are Xiang -
images and metaphors that, unlike words, can bring us closer to the space between Heaven’s
principle and its material expression on Earth. These Xiang pertain to the celestial order, and are
formless in relation to the things of the earth. The language that relies on them partakes, therefore, on
an ordering activity that regulates itself on the activity of Heaven or of Nature.161

Bearing Yin on the Back and Embracing Yang

Bearing Yin on the Back and Embracing Yang is a direct reference to Chapter Forty-Two of the Dao
De Jing:
Dao generates one.
One generates two.
Two generate three.
Three generate all things

All things turn away from Yin162 and embrace Yang

The empty breath effects union.163

The Original Breath resides in all things. It is synonymous with the union of Yin and Yang in the
center of all things. The fifth line above refers to Yin supporting from below and from the back,
referencing Kidney-Water, the foundation of Yin in the body. Yin supports hidden and unseen, while in
front, the Heart-Fire embraces Yang and the radiance of light. This requires Yin and Yang to move
and mingle harmoniously.164

Heaven & Earth Establish the Foundation & the Circulation of

Yin and Yang Constitutes the Pivot
Heaven and Earth establish the foundation of the ceaseless circulation and inter-transformation of Yin
and Yang that takes place within human beings and the natural world surrounding them. This
mechanism of the interaction of Heaven and Earth – the breaths, the Qi - is the rotating axle, the pivot.
When the pivot turns freely, then the circulation of Qi and Breath moves without restriction, and there
is unity.
The above discussion also consciously references Chapter Twenty-Five of the Dao De Jing, which
says that:
Man should take Earth for his model.
Earth should take Heaven for its model
Heaven should take Dao for its model.

Dao takes itself for its model.165

In He Shang Gong’s commentary on this passage, he says that Earth is peaceful and harmonious,
working without hatred. Digging into the Earth, one can find water and the Earth can be cultivated to
produce nourishment. Heaven embodies stillness. It gives selflessly, without demanding anything in
return. Because it receives and takes nothing it can generate everything. He Shang Gong tells us that
the reason Heaven should take the Dao as its model is that the Dao is tranquil and quiescent and
does not talk. Yin and Yang let the atmosphere of the spirit circulate. All things are spontaneously
perfected.166
Summary: Transporting and Transforming Yin & Yang
The breaths of Heaven and Earth are the foundation of Yin and Yang. Nature itself is the intercourse
of Yin and Yang. Just as Yin and Yang circulate and entwine in the cosmos around us, so too they can
circulate and entwine within us, through the Qi and Breath, which are themselves the pivot between
Heaven and Earth and between Yin and Yang. If we take inner quiescence and stillness as a model,
Yin and Yang harmonize and become one. This is another way of imaging the merging of the True
Nature (Xing) and the emotions, impulses and judgments (Qing), or the Hun and Po. It is also another
way of discussing the unification of the Heart-Mind and the breath (Qi).
The sage traces back from the beauties of Heaven and Earth and thereby reaches through to
the sense made by each of the ten thousand things. Thus it is that “the Consummate Person
does nothing; the Great Sage initiates nothing.” That is to say, they merely cast their gaze
over Heaven and Earth. For the illumination of their spirits is refined to the utmost subtlety,
allowing them to transform along with other things every which way.167

5. Du Sheng Zhen and Yin and Yang in the Fu and Gou Diagrams

Du Sheng Zhen and Yin and Yang in the Fu and Gou Diagrams
Extreme Yin giving birth to Yang is Fu (Returning).
Yin Born at the Extremity of Yang is Gou (Encountering).
At the Extremity of Yin, Yang Comes Again.
At the End of Yang, Gou Approaches.
If the Adept Understands the Fire Times,
He can Reach Up and See the Heavenly Truth.168

yīn jí shēng yáng wéi zhī fù,

yáng jí yīn shēng wéi zhī gòu.
yīn jí yáng lái fù,
yáng zhōng gòu rén xué.
xué rén míng hǔo hòu,
juē dì jiàn(tiān zhēn.

Du Sheng Zhen
The name of this Immortal, Du Sheng Zhen, literally means “Surpassing Truth Du” or “Victorious
Truth Du.”

Fu Gua (Return)
Fu (Return) is Hexagram Twenty-Four in the Yi Jing. Fu embodies the essence of Dao. The movement
of the Dao is to return, and the ideogram diagrams this explicitly.169 It is derived from chi (footstep)
and fu (go back).

The Yi Jing judgment for Fu Gua contains the phrase: “Turn back, return to one’s Dao” (Fan Fu Qi
Dao This cross-references with Chapter Forty of the Dao De Jing:
Turning back is the Dao’s motion
Yielding is the Dao’s usage
Below Heaven
The ten thousand creatures are born of being.

Being is born from non-being.170

The Fu Hexagram is composed of Thunder below and Earth above. Thunder represents the eldest son
(Yang) and taking action and Earth represents the mother and responding. The Mother responds to the
son, aiding him in his forward and upward movement. This is represented by the bottom Yang line of
the hexagram, being able to move upward without obstruction.171
This hexagram follows Bo (Erosion; Falling Away). Things fall away and erode (Bo). Then there is a
return, a new beginning, movement that begins inside and a reemergence of light from within (Fu).
Bo is composed of Mountain over Earth. Yang ascends and Yin descends. The weight of the mountain
is without support. The base erodes and there is a separation or splitting apart.172 Bo is like the sunset
and Fu like the return of the sun with the sunrise. Fu also represents the renewal that occurs in spring.
The first clap of thunder signaling spring rains brings hibernating animals out of their winter sleep,173
and the “rebirth” of plants and other growing things.

In Wang Bi’s commentary on the Fu Hexagram he says that the meaning of Fu is a reversion to the
original substance.
For Heaven and Earth we regard the original substance to be the Heart-Mind. Whenever
activity ceases, tranquility results, but tranquility is not opposed to activity. Whenever speech
ceases, silence results, but silence is not opposed to speech. As this is so, then even though
Heaven and Earth are so vast that they possess the myriad things in great abundance, which
activated by thunder and moved by the winds, keep undergoing countless numbers of
transformations, yet the original substance of Heaven and Earth consists of perfectly
quiescent non-being. Thus it is only when earthly activity ceases that the Heart-Mind of
Heaven and Earth can be seen174.

Gou Gua (Encountering)

Gou (Encountering) is Hexagram Forty-Four in the Yi Jing. The ideogram is an ancient character that
combines the radicals nu (woman) and hou (behind). The image is one of a woman following a
man. They meet and come together. Originally it denoted a married couple. Gou means to pair, to
copulate, to meet and encounter. It can also mean good. Usually it denotes meeting of female and
male175 (Yin and Yang).

Gou Gua has a dual meaning. It can mean that a negative influence, represented by the bottom yin line,
is beginning to insert itself and make it presence known. In terms of self-cultivation this can refer to
temptation or bad habits that should be stopped, nipped in the bud, before they grow in strength.
However Gou also refers to the creative synthesis that can occur when opposites meet.176 Wang Bi
says that Gou is a meeting in which the supple (Yin) encounters the firm (Yang):
When Heaven and Earth encounter each other, things in all their different categories are
made manifest. [It is by this pairing that success is achieved.] When the hard and strong
meets the central and the correct, this worldwide process achieves cosmic effect. [The
transformative process achieves cosmic effect.] The concept underlying moments of Gou
[Encounter] is indeed great!177
Gou Gua is composed of Heaven over Wind. Wind blows everywhere under Heaven, seeping into
smallest cracks and spreading Heaven’s influence everywhere. In this sense, Wind encounters all
things. Gou comes after Kuai, Hexagram Forty-Three, which is composed of Lake over Heaven. Kuai
means: resolution; eliminating; to decide, to settle; to decide. This can depict a stream with an
opening made by the flow of its water.178 The strong yang lines are pushing out the single weak-yin
line. Lake over Heaven also implies that Yin-Water has risen too high – it is above Heaven. There is
conflict, but positive resolution will occur. Like a cloudburst bringing water to living things, Yin will
reemerge, starting a new cycle.

Shao Yong, an 11th century Daoist who studied the teachings of Chen Tuan, wrote the following poem,
connecting the Fu and Gou Hexagrams to Daoist spiritual cultivation:
When Qian (Heaven) meets Xun (Wind), contemplate the Moon’s Lair.
When the Earth (Kun) comes across Thunder (Zhen) observe Heaven’s Root.
Leisurely go back and forth between the Moon’s Lair and Heaven’s Root.

In all the thirty-six places, it is spring.179

The “meeting” of Heaven and Wind is Gou. Earth “coming across” Thunder is Fu. Heaven’s Root lies
in the sacrum (Wei Lu) and the Moon’s Lair is an opening in the center of the body where Heaven and
Earth, Yin and Yang, and sun and moon join together. This is where Spirit and Breath (Qi) come
together and couple. 180 Once these join, one observes the internal breath moving though the “Small
Heavenly Circulation” (Xiao Zhou Tian), also known as the “Micro-Cosmic Orbit.”

The Firing Times (Huo Hou)

The Small Heavenly Circulation is a process of both circulation and transformation of Yin and Yang,
and Qi, Spirit, and Essence. Qian- Heaven and Kun-Earth wax and wane just as day becomes night
and night becomes day, and just as the seasons change in endless cycles. The changes and
transformations, the opening and closing, are a product of Heaven and Earth’s breaths, which also
flow through us. The diagrams below use twelve hexagrams from the Yi Jing to show this dynamic
process. These twelve hexagrams are sometimes called: The Waxing and Waning Hexagrams, or the
Twelve Sovereign Hexagrams. They are also used to describe the transformations of Yin and Yang,
the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang over the course of a single day or during the 12 months of the
year.
During Small Heavenly Circulation or Micro-Cosmic Orbit Meditation, these same Yin-Yang
transformations occur inside us. As we inhale, Yang begins to grow, rising from the perineum and
sacrum, and moves up the Du vessel, passing through the Three Gates (San Guan) until Yang peaks
just before reaching the top of the head. Then Yin returns and begins to grow at Ni Wan (the brain).
Yin gradually gathers until all the lines return to Yin again at the perineum. Circulation of Yin and
Yang takes place in the Du and Ren meridians. These meridians are said to be two branches of the
same source, and indivisible unity. The circulation of Yin and Yang in the Ren Mai and Du Mai, as
illustrated below, relies on the application of an “inner sight.” In spiritual cultivation, the eyes are
directed inward so that they observe inwardly. This aids inward contemplation and quiescence
directs light inward so that there is an inner radiance. The eyes connect to the heart. So that when
heart and eyes join together and look inward, the spirit and breath become one.181
Many Daoist internal alchemical texts speak of “Firing Times” (Huo Hou).182 This is yet another
metaphor taken from external alchemy and metallurgy - adjusting the Fire or heat in order to properly
extract, refine and temper metal. These firing times were associated with the twelve sovereign
hexagrams mentioned above, as well as the phases of the moon, and the Twelve Earthly Stems
associated with two hour divisions of the day that delineate the waxing and waning of Yin and Yang
during the 24 hour daily cycle. In inner alchemical and meditation practices like Sleeping Gong,
“Fire” is taken to mean the “Original Spirit” and the application of the True Intention (Zhen Yi), which
must coalesce with the breath and the Essence.183 Although one is advised to practice Sleeping
Meditation between the Zi and Wu hours (the twelve hours between Midnight and Midday, when the
Yang qi is ascendant), for the most part the hexagrams and the firing times simply refer to the natural
cyclical transformation and coalescing of Yin and Yang as they circulate through the Ren and Du
channels, rather than specific practice times and arcane methods.
Summary: Yin and Yang in the Fu & Gou Diagrams
Through understanding the Fu and Gou diagrams and their symbolic relationship to the circulation of
breath through the Central Channel (the Ren and Du meridians), one can perceive the subtle changes
that occur within the coupling and inter-transformation and of Yin and Yang. Through meditation and
circulation of breath and Qi through the Ren and Du Channels (Small Heavenly Circulation), Jing
transforms to Qi and Qi to Shen, creating an ongoing revitalization of Yin and Yang. This in turn
restores the body and spirit to their original state, able to access the body’s ability to revitalize and
replenish, and able to access the Original Spirit and Innate Wisdom.
If one reaches the extreme of emptiness,
If he keeps quietness and firmness,
All things together rise,
We thereby see their return.
Now the full bloom of things,
Everything returns to its root.
To return to the root means to rest.
This is called a return to life
 To return to life is called lasting eternally.184
Dao De Jing - Chapter 16
In his commentary on this passage, which he titles “How to Return to the Root,” He Shang Gong tells
us that to drive out desires, through clarity, stillness, and quietness, is to reach the extreme of
emptiness. From this place all things are brought to life. “Everything blooms and then withers and
dies, meaning that everything returns to its root, its original state.” If one can return to the original
State (Dao), then returning to the root is not death but a return (Fu) to life. To return to the Dao is to
be illuminated.185 Another way to understand this passage elucidated by Philip Ivanhoe’s translation:
And returning to one’s root is called stillness.
This is known as returning to one’s destiny;
To return to one’s destiny is known as constancy.

To know constancy is called “enlightenment.”186

Wang Bi’s commentary on this chapter of the Dao De Jing, says:
When one returns to the root, he becomes quiet, which is why this state is called “quietude”
[Jing]. When one is quiet, he reverts to his destiny [Ming]. This is why this state is referred to
as “reversion to destiny.” When one reverts to his destiny, he fulfills the constant dimensions
of his nature [Xing] and destiny [Ming], which is why this state is called “constancy”
[Chang].187
In this commentary, Wang Bi discusses the inter-relationship of Xing one’s inner nature,
character, disposition, and Ming one’s vital force or life. Xing and Ming are respectively the Qi-
Breath and the Shen (spirit). Xing relates to Earth and Ming to Heaven. Xing and Ming must circulate
and unite to return to the root, the Dao.188
 6. Wang Long Tu Silently Cultivates the Fire Times

Wang Long Tu Silently Cultivates the Fire Times

Yang Motion in the Center of Tranquility is Fire (Huo).
Thunder under the Earth is the Moment (Hou)
Fire is Originally Born of Water,
The Moment is Yang Returning
Zhen-Thunder acts as Heaven’s Root
Xun-Wind Contemplates the Moon Cave.

jìng zhōng yáng dòng wéi zhī hǔo,

dì xià léi hōng wéi zhī hòu.
 hǔo běn shēng yú shǔi,
hòu nǎi yáng lái fù.
léi zhèn shè tiān gēn,
yì fēng guān yuè kū.

Wang Long Tu
The name of this Immortal, Wang Long Tu, literally means “Sovereign Dragon Chart.”

Fire is Originally Born of Water

Kun-Earth is the mother of Zhen-Thunder. Yang begins to stir in the lower body in the area of the
genitals. This is the hidden Fire within Water. The solid line inside the Kan-Water Trigram is the True
Fire in the center of Water. Kidney-Water gives birth to Qi. This Qi is True Fire (Zhen Huo). The
hidden Yang-Fire within Yin-Water is also the Mingmen. Mingmen is sometimes called Qing Long
(Green Dragon) or the Long Lei Zhi Huo (Dragon Thunder Fire).

Yang Motion in the Center of Tranquility is Fire

When one practices meditation for a long time and reaches a state of deep stillness and tranquility
warmth and spontaneous motion may arise in the lower abdomen. This is Yang motion returning,
which is characterized by Zhen-Thunder under Kun-Earth: Hexagram Twenty-Four: Fu - Return (For
a complete discussion of Fu see Immortal #5: Du Sheng Zhen and Yin Yang in the Fu and Gou
Diagrams).

Thunder Under the Earth is the Moment

When Thunder stirs under the Earth as in the Fu Hexagram, this is Yang returning to the kidneys,
Dantian and genitals, ready to begin its ascent upward. The unbroken line at the bottom of this
hexagram is unobstructed by the five Yin lines above, allowing it to easily ascend upward. Yuan Qi
(true Yang) assists Jing (Essence) in transforming so that Jing Qi moves upward against its normal
direction to nourish the brain. Thunder under Earth in the Fu Hexagram represents this initiatory
movement, which begins the process of reversal of the Five Agents and the return to the Pre-Heaven
State.
At conception, the meeting of the essences of the father and mother produces the Shen, which enters
into the fetus, giving rise to the Qi and Breath, which then in turn engenders Jing. This starts the
temporal movement of the Post-Heaven existence. Daoist practices aim at reversing this process by
refining Jing and transforming it back into Shen. This transmutation is accomplished through
cultivating Qi and breath in order to nourish life and revitalize consciousness, so that one can return
to a “Pre-Heaven” state of unity.

This all references the process of both circulation and transformation of Yin and Yang, and Qi, Spirit
and Essence (Small Heavenly Circulation), mentioned earlier in the discussion of immortal #5: Du
Sheng Zhen and Yin Yang in the Fu and Gou Diagrams.

The Movement & Moment are the Fire Times (Huo Hou)
Daoist internal alchemy is fundamentally concerned with reuniting opposing energies that have been
separated in order to create internal transformation. The opposites (Yin and Yang), and their
manifestations as the Five Agents, are brought together by the harmonizing influence central agent
(Earth/Soil), which resides at the center of the macrocosmic and microcosmic universe.189 True Earth
is not the earth we live on, but rather the True Intention (Zhen Yi), and by extension the application of
True Qi and True Breath to the internal alchemical process.
The Tiger, True Lead, the Hare in the Moon, and the Kan-Boy are all symbols for the True Essence,
and Ming (Life; Destiny). The Dragon, True Mercury, the Raven in the Sun, and the Li-Girl are all
symbols for the True Spirit, and Xing (True Nature)
Because Daoist texts use alchemical language to explain practices of internal spiritual transformation,
they employ a metaphors and imagery derived from the processing of minerals through the application
of heat and water to extract and combine elemental essences, producing an elixir – in this case, an
“Internal Elixir.” The texts therefore warn that the “firing times” or the “firing process” must be
transmitted by a sage and then only by oral instruction. The true meaning of the Fire Times is
deliberately obscured by appearing to link the fire times to the hourly, daily, and seasonal fluctuations
of Yin and Yang, symbolized by the Twelve Sovereign Hexagrams.
In Daoist alchemical charts and texts, the Twelve Sovereign Hexagrams are also associated with the
24 solar nodes (Jie Qi - nodal qi) – 24 roughly 15 day periods that reflect the solar (Yang) energy
from the sun and its changes as they manifest on earth during the course of the year. The 24 Solar
Nodes are also associated with the 24 spinal vertebrae, so the Twelve Sovereign Hexagrams can also
be used describe the movement and inter- transformation of Yin and Yang as the Qi moves upward
through the Du meridian and the spinal column during Daoist alchemical practices.
While seasonal change does have an effect on the Yin and Yang forces within the human body, the
concept of the Fire Times should be understood metaphorically, rather than literally. The advancing or
receding of Fire (Yang) and Water (Yin) in the human body does not occur in coordination with the
seasons or times of the day that are shown in the following diagram.

Zi and Wu in Relation to Fire Times and Sleeping Gong

As was mentioned earlier, “Fire” is taken to mean the “Original Spirit” and the application of the
True Intention (Zhen Yi), which must coalesce with the breath and the Essence.190 Therefore, the
hexagrams and the firing times simply refer to the natural cyclical transformation and coalescing of
Yin and Yang as they circulate through the Ren and Du channels. Intention and breath must be applied
delicately and deliberately in accordance with natural unfolding of the inner transformation, just as
the bellows that fans the fire in a forge must also be carefully applied in order to properly regulate the
heat.
Many Daoist sources indicate that the best time to engage in meditation practices like Sleeping
Meditation is during the hours between Midnight and Midday, when the Yang Qi is ascendant. These
are the hours between Zi and Wu. Zi is the two-hour period of the day from 11pm to 1 am. Wu is the
two-hour period of the day from 11am to 1 pm.
Yang Returning and the Moment and Movement
Yin and Yang arise in the body all the time. The Fu Hexagram (Thunder within Earth) refers to
sensation of warmth and/or a vibration appearing in the Dantian. That is the moment that one must
employ the breath and a state of serene emptiness to raise the fire upward. This is likened to a
bellows: air breathed into the Dantian pushes or lifts the pre-natal generative force (Jing) up the Du
Channel, uniting Ming (Life and Destiny) with Xing (Essential Nature). As one exhales, Qi returns to
its source in Dantian, the breath also moves into Dantian and Xing unites with Ming.191 This is the
“Moment and the Movement.”
Long practice of meditation can result in a vibration being felt in the lower abdomen below the navel.
There may also be an experience of heat:
The speed and length of this vibration differs for each individual; it just happens and should
neither be sought nor repressed. When this vibration is felt, the meditator should imagine (but
without exertion), that the hot force goes down and passes through the coccyx and then rises
up the spine until it reaches the top of the head, thence coming down through the face, the
chest and the pit of the stomach to return to the belly below the navel. This channel from the
coccyx to the pit of the stomach does not open all at once; it may take several months or even
a year after the first vibration. Readers should not be mistaken about this. As time passes,
this moving heat will go up and down of itself and can, by imagination, be spread to all parts
of the body even the nails and the ends of the hair, with the result that the whole body is warm
and unusually comfortable.192
A modern Medical Qi Gong Text describes this process as follows:
When Dantian becomes warm, the breath can be focused in the Dantian. Now you no longer
 need to send Qi downward when exhaling in order to avoid overheating and depleting Yin
fluids, or what traditional Chinese medicine calls “strengthening Fire can consume Qi.”
Breathe naturally, focus the mind in the Dantian, and use gentle fire to warm and nourish.
During this phase, there will be a definite feeling of Qi in the lower abdomen. A Qi mass will
develop and enlarge. When the lower abdomen becomes strong and has enough power, the Qi
mass moves downward, at times causing pain or itching in the pubic area. The four limbs and
waist may also become warm.
The Dantian becomes enriched and the genuine Qi passes through the Huiyin point at the
perineum upward along the Governor [Du] Vessel. The mind accompanies the Qi as it rises.
Do not allow your attentions to be scattered. If the Qi gets stuck at a certain point, do not
force it. The speed of circulation depends on the intensity of power accumulated in the
Dantian. If the real power is insufficient, and you are impatient to “open the gate’ by force
then you will be committing the error of “trying to encourage the sprouts by pulling
them”,193 instead of allowing the process to unfold naturally. If the path is blocked at the Yu
Zhen Gate,194 then focusing inwardly at the top of the head will clear the way.195

Zhen-Thunder acts as Heaven’s Root

This again references the Fu Hexagram, in which Zhen-Thunder is beneath Kun-Earth. When the
circulation of the internal breath reaches the perineum and coccyx, it is said to have reached
“Heaven’s Root.”

Xun-Wind Contemplates the Moon Cave

This is another reference to the Gou Hexagram, in which Xun-Wind is beneath Qian-Heaven. When
circulation of the internal breath reaches the top of the head it is said to have reached the “Moon
Cave. “Above one contemplates the Moon’s Lair, below one observes the Heaven’s Root: the
internal breath moves cyclically, passing through the Three Barriers and flowing through all three
Fields. All this happens by means of “Harmonizing the Spirit.”196
Summary: Silently Cultivating the Fire Times
In quiet stillness, movement is generated in the form of a vibration or heat. This vibration is Yang
returning. Yang returning is characterized as Fire. Fire is born of water so this is also Ming (life)
returning. The vibration indicates a stirring of the sexual energy contained in water, which in men may
be accompanied by an erection. The moment that Yang returns, concentration, stillness and
harmonization of the breath will move Jing (Essence), the generative life force, upward through the
Du Channel and down the Ren Channel so that Jing, Qi and Shen inter-transform and circulate freely
through the body.
“Silently Cultivating the Fire Times” refers to carefully observing and nourishing the movement of Qi
(Yang), without interference. Too much intention and concentrative force creates blockage, tension
and excess fire. Too little and the inner transformation does not occur. Therefore inner stillness with
the attitude of letting things unfold naturally - Wu Wei – is required.
Chapter 5 of the Dao De Jing stresses the importance of inner emptiness and stillness in order for the
True Breath to move and transform freely.
The space between Heaven and Earth, is it not like a bellows or a mouth organ!
Empty, it can never be used up.
Active, it produces all the more.
Many words lead to quick exhaustion;

Better to maintain emptiness within.197

-Dao De Jing - Chapter 5
Wang Bi comments on these verses as follows:
The interior of a bellows or mouth organ is completely empty and free of both innate
tendencies [Qing] and deliberate action [Wei]. Thus though empty, it can never be used up,
and, when it is in action, it is impossible to exhaust its strength. The more you apply
conscious effort to something, the more you will fail. As with the mouth organ, maintain
emptiness within, and exhaustion will never happen; take yourself out of it and leave things
to themselves, and nothing will ever lack order.198
 7. Kang Nan Yan Guards the Furnace and Tripod

Kang Nan Yan Guards the Furnace and Tripod

True Yang of the Qian Palace is Called the Tripod (Ding),
True Soil of the Kun Palace is Called the Furnace (Lu).
The Tripod is Cast in the Qian Palace,
The Furnace is Made of Kun-Soil.
Once Body and Mind are Level and Correct,
The Furnace and Tripod are Firm and Durable.

qián gōng zhēn yáng wèi zhī dǐng,

kūn gōng zhēn tǔ wèi zhī lú.
dǐng zài qián gōng zhù,
 lú yīn kūn tǔ bāo.
shēn xīn duān zhèng hòu,
lú dǐng zì jiān láo.

The Tripod and the Furnace

The Tripod (Ding) is also called the Reaction Chamber, the Cauldron or the Crucible. The Furnace is
also called the Stove. They are alchemical symbols that serve as alternative names for many of the
concepts already discussed. Together the Tripod and Furnace symbolize the center where the elixir is
formed, and therefore can also represent the “Original One” and the Opening of the Mysterious
Pass.199 Because of their interaction at the center, they are associated with the coupling of Yin and
Yang and can be associated with either Heaven or Earth.
Just as in the transmutation of metals through the application of heat, the “equipment” of internal
alchemy consists of the Furnace, and the Tripod (Cauldron). The Furnace is sometimes taken to be the
Dantian, where the breath acts like a bellows to stimulate and circulate the True Yang (Qi). In this
context, the Tripod is understood to be the place where the “Medicine” is gathered, transformed and
refined.200
First take Qian and Kan as the tripod and the stove,

Then catch the crow and the hare and boil the medicine.201

Once you have chased the two things and they have returned to the Yellow Path,202

How could the Golden Elixir not be born?203

In the passage above, the “Medicine” means the Pre-Heaven One Qi,204 which itself is the
coagulation, inter-penetration and inter-transformation of the Three Treasures.205
Although made of Kun-Soil, the Furnace is the True Yang hidden within Kan-Water, and also relates
to Qian-Heaven. The Tripod, although cast in Qian-Heaven, is the True Yin hidden in Li-Fire, and
also relates to Kun- Earth. The Tripod can be Qian and the Furnace Kun, or the Furnace can be the
body and the Tripod can stand for the Dao.206 One can refer to the Furnace in the Dantian as Ming
(Life; Destiny), and the Tripod in the heart and head as Xing (Inner Nature; Character).
Isabelle Robinet points out that the Tripod and Furnace can be named in different ways:
1. The Tripod of Qian and Kun: pure Yang and pure Yin.
2. Walls of Kan and Li: The ingredients the alchemist works with which are also the frame and
enclosure. Thus Qian and Kan, or the Furnace and the Tripod, are at the same time the limits
of the world, and what ensures its stability and security.
3. Yellow House: an enclosure where the refining and transformation take place.
4. Yang Furnace and Yin Tripod. Two complimentary appellations, sometimes opposed to one
another, but here taken as synonyms. They are at the same time one and two - the Yin Yang
couple – but, like that couple, are interchangeable with one another and refer to one
another.207
Ba Gua Practitioner and Daoist Sun Xi Kun describes the Golden Stove and the Jade Tripod as
follows:
In front of the two eyebrows and behind Feng Fu (acu-point DU 16), on the left and right, 0.3
cun above the tips of the two ears, in the center (with the hands crossed), there is a “Qi sack”
(Qi Bao) This is called Yu Ding (Jade Tripod). There is an acu-point 1.3 cun below and behind
the navel, in front of the kidneys (in front 70% and behind 30%) and above the two hips that
is suspended in the center. It is called Jin Lu (Golden Stove). 208
Various meanings of the Tripod and Stove are listed below:

Tripod Stove
Cauldron Furnace
Yang Yin
Head/Brain Lower Abdomen (Dantian)
Qi Jing
Qian-Heaven Kun-Earth
Li-Fire Kan-Water
Heart Kidneys
True Spirit (Shen) True Essence (Jing)
Yuan Qi (Original Qi) Yuan Jing (Original Essence)
True Nature (Xing) True Qualities (Qing)
Xing (Inner Nature) Ming (Life and Vitality)

The Furnace and the Tripod represent the process of refining, intermingling, transformation, and
ultimately the unification of these opposite elements.

The Ding and Lu Ideograms

The Ding (Tripod) and Lu (Furnace) ideograms can give further insight into their function as Daoist
symbols.

Yi Jing scholar Richard Wilhelm tells us that the ideogram also suggests the idea of nourishment - the
tripod held cooked meats which were then served to guests in bowls.209 In Chinese sacrificial rituals
ancestral spirits were consulted. The aroma of the food was believed to entice the spirits, so that they
would come and partake of the aromas, while the food itself was eaten by those making the offering.
Within the Tripod, food was transformed through cooking to nourish the physical body and symbolic
raw elements, essences and ideas were transformed to nourish the spirit.210
The Tripod is also the name of an Yi Jing hexagram, Hexagram Fifty, often referred to as the
“Cauldron” in English translations of the Yi Jing.
This hexagram is composed of the Li-Fire Trigram over the Xun-Wood Trigram. Xun can also be
Wind. This suggests a flame kindled by Wind and Wood, and image of cooking. The six lines of the
hexagram also make a picture of the Tripod. The yielding line on the bottom represents the legs. The
Three solid lines at the second, third, and fourth positions are the body. The fifth, a broken line,
represents the opening of the Ding. The solid line at the top serves as the cover, or carrying
handle.211
Here we see the transmutation and transformation of substances through the application of heat. This
is precisely the image of the furnace and tripod used in Daoist practices. In the Hexagram, Wood and
Wind (the breath) nourish the flame – the Shen (Spirit). The cauldron is something that takes up the
new and recognizes the potential for change.212 Wilhelm interprets this as indirect reference to
Daoist alchemy: if one can bring fate/destiny into alignment with his life and disposition, then he is
able to foster life.213
The Lu (Furnace/Stove) ideogram clearly shows the idea of cooking food or transmuting substances
to produce heat.

The Furnace is sometimes likened to Hexagram Sixty-Three: Ji Ji (Completion), in which Water and
Fire reverse their normal positions. Normally Fire resides in the chest and heart, and Water resides in
the Dantian and kidneys.

Fire tends to flare up and water to flow down. There is therefore a tendency toward separation and
non-interaction. However, if these two elements can be induced to act in relation to one another they
can inter- transform.

This interaction is often imaged as Li-Fire moving downward and Kan Water Moving upward so that
they interact. Fire is then said to be “beneath Kan-Water.” This process can be likened to water
heated on a stove, creating vapor, which rises upward only to coalesce and descend again. The two
elements must act in relation to each other and in balance with one another. If the heat is too great, the
water will all evaporate. If the water boils over, the fire will be extinguished. This state of balance is
represented by Hexagram Sixty Three: Ji Ji (Completion), in which the trigram for water is above
and the trigram for Fire below. Because Water flows downward and Fire flares upward, these to
elements interact and inter-transform, manifesting in the internal alchemical process.

Once Body and Mind are Level and Correct,214 the Furnace and
Tripod are Firm and Durable.
This statement refers to the formation of the medicine through internal stillness. Sun Xi Kun discusses
this directly and succinctly:
When does the medicine form? Through inner reflection, drooping the eyelids and clenching
the fists like a great mountain215 the heart is still like water. Internally observe the heart.
There is heart without heart.216 In the outside appearance and form, there is form without
form. In looking at things from afar, there is no thing within things (no objective within the
objective). If these three things are realized, only emptiness is seen; emptiness without
emptiness. Then the heart (Heart-Mind) is bright and clear, existing in the center of great
emptiness, dark and undifferentiated, like a baby inside its mother’s belly, not knowing, not
recognizing, without others and without self. The center of emptiness gives birth to
tranquility and to its polar opposite - movement. This [movement] is True Yang. The Zi time
period217 is the firing time (the critical moment). Collect the medicine immediately and be
sure not to let the intention wander.218
Summary: Guarding the Furnace and Tripod
The Furnace and Tripod can be viewed as the Dantian and the head, or the Dantian and the Chest-
Heart. Ming (Vital Force; Primordial Qi) resides in the Dantian. Xing (Inner Nature) or Xin Xing
(the Heart’s Nature) resides in the chest. Xing and Ming are the separated parts of the primordial
unity. Xing is the Yin aspect of that unity, and Ming is the Yang aspect. Correct regulation of the body
and the Heart-Mind, fuses and integrates the Primordial Qi and the Spirit; integrates Xing and Ming.
This is achieved through inner concentration and careful cultivation of the Original Qi and the Heart-
Mind. In Sleeping Meditation one connects the energies of reproduction stored in the kidneys,
Dantian and genitals with the energies of the head and Heart-Mind, through the alignment of the body,
suspending thought and cultivating inner stillness. This allows the internal transformation to take
place.
At the final stage of the alchemical process, the Furnace can represent non-action and non-
interference (Wu Wei) and the Tripod can represent emptiness (Xu).219

The Precious Cauldron (Yu Ding)220 is a cavity in the center of the brain (between and behind
the eyes) and is the seat of (essential) nature, that is the original cavity of spirit (Yuan Shen
Xu or the Ancestral Cavity Zhu Qiao221); its left and right sides are linked with the pupils of
the eyes by two (Psychic Channels222); and it is connected with the heart.223
It is also said that essential nature [Xing] is in the precious cauldron, which originally did
not exist. It is only when true vitality {Ming] develops and unites with essential nature to
become one whole that the latter is called the precious cauldron. It is also said that 1.3
inches under the navel is the cavity of real vitality (Zhen Qi Xue224 or Lower Dantian), which
is also called the Golden Stove (Jin Lu), the seat of eternal life. Hence it is said that life is the
generative force, which develops in the genital organs. The Golden Stove originally did not exist
but comes into being when the generative force develops and vitality manifests.225
 8. Zhang Yi Tang Refining & Cultivating the Mysterious Treasure

Zhang Yi Tang Refining & Cultivating the Mysterious Treasure

What Ten Thousand Spirits Cannot Disperse is called Mysterious (Ling),
Constantly Preserving the One is called the Treasure (Bao).
Once the Treasure is Preserved in the Body,
It’s Deployment Manifests Power.
When Sincerely Gathered and Accumulated,
It Emits Great Brightness and Clarity.

wàn shén bù sǎn wèi zhī líng,

yī niàn cháng cún wèi zhī bǎo.
zì cún shēn zhōng bǎo,
shī zhī biàn yǒu líng.
chéng néng hán xù dé,
fàng chū dà guāng míng.
Ling & Bao
Ling means Spirit and Bao a Treasure. Ling and Bao have many meanings in Daoism. The
term Lingbao was originally a person (a spirit medium) or a sacred object, a treasure (Bao) that
spirits (Ling) entered. Ling also refers to Daoist scriptures that are considered spiritual treasures.226
However Ling and Bao can also refer to Heaven and Earth respectively or to the Dao, circulating
within the body’s receptacles (the organs). 227 Lingbao can also be translated as “Mysterious
Treasure,” “Numinous Treasure,” or “Mysterious Jewel.”
Religious scholar Louis Komjathy describes the Ling ideogram as depicting Rain over three
mouths and a shaman The character Wu in turn depicts a man connecting to Heaven
and Earth. By extension, Ling involves the communal movements and voices of the shaman to
connect the heavens and the earth, to establish harmony and beneficial patterns of interaction.228
In the context of the poem above, Lingbao refers to the creation of a Treasure, the “Mysterious
Pearl,” inside the body, the embodiment of the energies of Heaven and Earth that is created through
the sublimation of the breath and the unification of breath and Spirit. This “Pearl” resides inside the
body where it radiates an inner light and clarity. 229 This “Treasure is essentially the luminous,
infinite potential energy of fully awakened awareness.230

Constantly Preserving the One

“Preserving the One” is often synonymous with attention and concentration. This is also called
“Embracing Unity” or “Holding Fast to the One.” It is a method or aspect of Daoist meditation in
which the practitioner seeks to still the mind so that no thoughts, emotions or desires arise. Both the
body and mind are still, with the body aligned and the spine straight. This gives one the potential to
connect to the primordial, undivided state underlying consciousness. This state of Unity is sometimes
called the “mind of the Dao.”231
What the Laozi calls the “One,” according to He Shang Gong, refers to the purest and most
potent form of Qi-energy that brings forth and continues to nourish all beings. This is the
meaning of de, the “virtue” or power with which the “ten thousand things” - i.e., all beings -
have been endowed and without which life would cease. The maintenance of “virtue,” which
the commentary also describes as “guarding the One,” is thus crucial to self-cultivation. A
careful diet, exercise, and some form of meditation are implied, but generally the commentary
focuses on the diminishing of selfish desires.232
In Chapter 10 of the Dao De Jing the text asks:
Can you keep the Po from straying?
Hold fast to the One and never let it go?
Can you, when concentrating your breath,
Make it soft like that of a little child?
 Can you polish your mysterious mirror and leave no blemish? 233
Edward Erkes’ translation of this passage is rendered as:
If one sustains the spiritual and animal souls,
And embraces unity, one may be without separation.
If one concentrates the breath, if one produces tenderness,
One may resemble a little child.

By purifying and cleansing one gets the dark look.234

He Shang Gong titles this chapter: “How to be Able to Act.” Through embracing the One, the
Spiritual Soul (Hun) is kept quiet and the Animal Soul (Po) is peaceful. By leaving the Po in peace,
one attains a long life and prolongs one’s years. By embracing the unity, so that it does not depart, one
attains Heaven’s clarity and Earth’s peacefulness. This is connected to concentrating on the breath, so
that one’s breathing becomes soft and pliant, like that of a child.235
In meditation, one concentrates on securing and concentrating the original breath, so that the breath
and consciousness are not confused or disturbed. Then the body becomes supple, tender and pliant
like an infant, without worrisome thoughts or politically motivated actions.236 If one is able to
resemble a little child, inwardly without fear and outwardly without action, then the spirits do not
flee.237 By thus purifying the mind and cleansing the heart, it becomes clear and tranquil, profound
and silent. Therefore Daoist texts advise embracing the One throughout life’s vicissitudes.
In all of your activities and in the thousand and one affairs and occupations, you must
constantly think of the One; whether eating or drinking, think of the One, when feeling joyful,
think of the One; when afflicted, think of the One; in sickness think of the One; in walking on
water or within fire, think of the One; in anxiety, think of the One.238

When it becomes clear, the mind stays in the dark (mysterious; profound) places;239 the look knows
all its doings. Therefore it is called the dark look.240 The “dark look” also refers to the inward
directed gaze associated with meditation. Often it is fixed inside the body below the navel or on the
tip of the nose. With the mind thus fixed, the breath will be saved and concentrated.
Summary: Refining & Cultivating the Mysterious Treasure
Through the practice of meditation, the subtle spirit of the Dao, the energy that exists before becoming
thoughts, is nurtured like a jewel inside the body. It is the beginning of awakening one’s true nature
and true mind - the mind within the mind - manifesting as Spirit. This is acomplished by constantly
preserving or holding fast to the One – focusing on Dantian and the Original Breath – in order to still
the mind so that no thoughts, emotions or desires arise.
If sincerely cultivated, nourished and accumulated, it is efficacious and powerful. This spiritual
energy reveals itself through an inner clarity and power.
Essence is quicksilver;
Blood is yellow gold;
Qi is beautiful jade;
Marrow is quartz;
The brain is numinous sand;
The kidneys are jade rings;
And the heart is a glittering gem.
These are the Seven Treasures -
Keep them firmly in your body, never letting them disperse,
Refine them into the great medicine of life.
Then with all the ten thousand spirits,

You will ascend to the immortal realms.241

 9. Zhang Xuan Xuan Firmly Fastens the Monkey and Horse

Zhang Xuan Xuan Firmly Fastens the Monkey and Horse

Wiping and Polishing the Heart-Earth means to Cleanse,
Washing Away the Dust and Dirt is to Bathe.
In Order to Subdue the Crazy Monkey,
One Must First Catch the Restless Horse.
When there is not a Speck of Dust,
Shen and Qi unite within the Heart.

kāi mó xīn dì wéi zhī mù,

xǐ dí chén gòu wéi zhī yù.
yào dé kuáng yuán fú,
xiān jiāng liè mǎ qín.
sī háo chén bù rǎn,
 shén qì hé hū xīn.

Zhang Xuan Xuan

The name of this Immortal, Zhang Xuan Xuan, seems like a play on words. Zhang means, “to open
up” or “spread out.” Xuan means “dark,” “black,” “mysterious,” “profound.” This term appears at the
end of the first chapter of the Dao De Jing: Below are three interesting
translations of this line:
1. The mystery upon mystery, and gateway of all subtleties.242
2. Darker even than darkness, gate of multiple subtleties.243
3. The obscurest of the obscure, they are the swinging gateway of the manifold mysteries.244

According to some scholars, the Chinese oracle bone character for Xuan depicts hands turning
something, creating a kind of whirl, which is deep and dark and is associated with the mysterious
downward spiraling of water. The whirl functions as a gate that lets things in and out like a cosmic
source through which everything passes.245
In this context, Xuan also refers to the “Mysterious Female” which has other names:
the “Mysterious Valley” and the “Mysterious Pass” The Mysterious
Female is the passage between life and death, between being and non-being, the place where Yin and
Yang communicate. In this sense, it is also the place where Fire and Water, Lead and Mercury, the
Tripod and Stove conjoin and operate. These concepts are illustrated in the representation of the
Xuan Pin depicted below:

Polish Heart-Earth & Wash Away Dirt and Dust

Xin Di - “Heart Earth” - can refer to one’s moral nature, or character. Polishing one’s
character and washing away dirt and dust references the mind, emotions and desires. In Daoist inner
alchemical practices, “bathing” refers to purifying the heart, by ridding oneself of stray thoughts.
Specifically it refers to avoiding restless thoughts while guiding the True Vital Breath (Zhen Qi)
through the Small Heavenly Circulation (Micro-Cosmic Orbit).
The Crazy Monkey & the Restless Horse
The Crazy Monkey and Restless Horse relate to the Chinese saying Xin Yuan Yi Ma
meaning “Heart Monkey, Mind-Intention Horse.” It refers to the heart jumping uncontrollably like a
monkey and the mind over-thinking and being mentally restless, like a restless horse. Xin Yuan
(“Mind Monkey” or “Monkey Mind) is also a Buddhist term meaning: “unsettled; restless;
capricious; whimsical; fanciful; inconstant; confused; indecisive; uncontrollable". In addition to
Buddhist writings, including Chan or Zen, Consciousness-only, Pure Land, and Shingon, this
"mind-monkey" psychological metaphor was adopted in Daoism.246
When meditating, practitioners are easily distracted by the body and mind. The body may ache and
complain, and it is difficult to sit or lie comfortably. The mind wanders and distracting thoughts arise.
One thought easily leads to another. These thoughts are tied to emotions and desires. The famous
Daoist Zhuang Zi advises us to let the mind “fast” in order to experience this calm emptiness. The
Dao gathers in emptiness alone. Emptiness is the fasting of the mind.247 Qi is empty, without
material form, so it gathers in emptiness and stillness. The generative force (Jing) transforms into Qi
when the body is motionless, and vitality changes into spirit when the heart is unstirred. In stillness
one can harmonize one’s Qi with the cosmic Qi (and Breath). “Fasting the mind” is a way to gather
the Qi as opposed to dissipating the Qi. Then the mind “dwells in stillness” rather than fixating on
things in the outside world.

The Heart-Mind (Xin)

In Chinese thought, the Heart-Mind is not a fixed thing but a system that forms a continuous
process of being or becoming, containing physiological, psychological, sociological,248 and spiritual
aspects, which are operating simultaneously. This concept of the Heart-Mind includes the concepts of
feeling and emotion The Ling Shu (Spiritual Pivot) says: the reason for the utility of
things depends exclusively on the heart.249 When the heart applies itself in this way it is called
Intention The Yi ideogram is composed of the heart radical and the character for sound:

Yin (Sound) + Xin (Heart) = Yi (Intention)

This sound is a musical note representing the vibration of heaven250 and the heart’s resonance with
that vibrational resonance. This resonance of the Heart-Mind with the world is an ongoing,
continuous process: a commitment to an unobstructed process of transformation in accordance with
a given social context and natural environment. In a deeply embodied way, Chinese live in “a
world of transforming effects.”251
According to D.C. Lau, the inseparability of feeling and thinking that characterizes Chinese thought
contains a further implication - it has an inherently practical orientation. The interpenetration of
idea, intention and affect expressed in the notion of Xin (Heart-Mind) entails the conclusion that
thinking is never a dispassionate speculative enterprise, but involves normative judgments which
assess the relative merit of the sensations, inclinations and appetites that constitute our
experience of the world and ourselves. Further, since appetites and ideas are always clothed in
some degree with activating “emotion,” they are to be understood, more often than not, as
dispositions to act.252
In Daoist meditation, “stillness” of the Heart-Mind is a state of dynamic equilibrium and
undifferentiated potential. In English, stillness and emptiness of the Heart-Mind are
confusing concepts, suggesting static, motionless or void states. In Daoist thought these terms refer to
an achieved balance, a productive harmony, a frictionless equilibrium, steadiness and stability.
For example, emptiness of the heart- and-mind is receptivity and tolerance. As room to
accommodate a boundless amount of experience, it is “emptiness-becoming-full”; as openness to
entertain each new experience on its own terms without prejudice, it is “fullness-becoming-
empty.”253 Stillness of the Heart-Mind allows us to accurately reflect and mirror the world and the
situations around us in clear and present way. Zhuangzi elaborates on this by discussing the stillness
of the sage:
When the sage is still, it is not because he says it is good to be still; he is still because none
among the myriad things is sufficient to disturb his heart. If water is still, its clarity lights up
the hairs of beard and eyebrows, its evenness is plumb with the carpenters level; the greatest
craftsman take their standard from it. If mere water clarifies when it is still, how much more
the stillness of the quintessential-and-daemonic, the heart of the sage! It is the reflector of
heaven and earth, the mirror of the myriad things.254

Subdue the Crazy Monkey; Catch the Restless Horse

Over the centuries various methods of subduing the monkey and catching the horse became part of
meditative practices.
When you breathe in and out, your concentration causes the generative force to rise and fall
(in the microcosmic orbit), thus slowly turning the Wheel of the Law. Count from one to ten
and then from ten to one hundred breaths with the heart (mind) following the counting to
prevent it from wandering outside. When the heart and the breathing are in unison this is
called “locking up the monkey heart and tying up the running horse of the intellect.”255
The essential nature of the heart manifests in the eyes. Focusing the eyes on the tip of the nose helps
guide the mind to a single pointed focus. As long as the eyes are trained on the tip of the nose, the
mind is stilled or at least single focused. The minute the mind moves, the eyes move. By bringing
the eyes back to the nose each time they stray, you are “Tying Up the Wide Horses.”256
Simultaneously holding the hand in the hand-sword position creates a “hand seal,” in which the pinky
and ring finger press on the acu-points Shao Fu (HT 8) “Lesser Mansion” and Laogong (P 6) “Palace
of Labor.” These two points calm and relax the heart and pericardium. This in turn helps to calm the
Monkey-Heart.
The Crazy Monkey Restless Horse is another way of referencing Subduing the Dragon and Tiger The
Dragon and Tiger represent our emotions, inclinations, disposition and character, which can cause Qi
to rise and Fire to flare up and agitate the Heart-Mind. Emotions like, wrath, hatred, resentment,
annoyance and vexation are known as Qi dispositions. Flaring up of Fire is the “Dragon Howling”
and giving rise to Qi is the “Tiger Roaring.” Wang Fang Yi eloquently addresses this in his treatise,
Discourse on Transforming Inner Nature.
 When people are able to subdue Qi and Fire, then they can achieve the Dao
If people provoke your counter-flow, do not give rise to Qi
If you give rise to Qi, it will descend and turn into coldness.
When a matter coerces you, do not get anxious.
If you get anxious, Fire will travel upward and turn into heat
People who cultivate are not joyous about encountering good events,
And not worried about encountering bad events.
Therefore Qi and Fire do not naturally come into existence.
This is meant by “Subduing the Dragon and Taming the Tiger.”
Being capable of “Subduing Taming” can be of use to me.
Once the human heart stirs, it give birth to Fire.
Once being anxious, Fire flares upwards.
Once thoughts are stirring, Fire is dispersed outwards.
If one is able to settle the Heart Fire naturally descend.
If one is able to let go of one’s heart, and does not replace it with any human anxieties.

Therefore not giving rise to Fire, one certainly will be completely unburdened!257
How does one prevent Qi from rising and Fire from flaring upward? The Ming Dynasty text, The
Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhen Jiu Da Cheng) discusses the role of
breath regulation in calming Heart Fire.
The Lung is the lid of the five organ networks. It produces the voice, and it provides proper
moisturization to the skin. As soon as there is either internal damage due to the seven harmful
emotions, or external injury due to the six climatic influences, the rhythmical process of
inhaling and exhaling and the general Qi flow between the body's inside and outside are
disturbed; the Lung Metal then loses its clear quality. If we want to restore purity in Metal,
we must first strive to regulate the breath. Once the breath is regulated, erratic movement will
not occur and the Heart Fire will calm down all by itself. The process is as follows: first, we
must concentrate on the Dantian, this will quiet the heart; then, we must relax and broaden
the center of our torso; and finally, we must visualize that the Qi comes and goes freely
through every single pore of our body. Soon, there will be no obstruction, and if we focus
diligently enough our actual breath will become very fine and subtle. This, then, can be called
the true breath [as achieved during meditation]. The breath, therefore, has its origin in the
heart. When the heart is at peace, the Qi is in a state of harmony and can return to its root in
the lower abdomen with every breath we take. In this fashion, the lung and its breath can
truly fulfill their assigned role as the mother of the [lower] Dantian.258
Summary: Firmly Fastening Monkey & Horse
Polishing character and essential nature through purifying one’s speech, controlling behavior and
desires and freeing the mind from disturbance and scattered thoughts allows one to subdue the Crazy
Monkey (unsettled heart) and Restless Horse (restless mind). When the mind is empty and clear, then
one is immediately aware of the slightest disturbance and its negative effect on one’s energy and
spirit. Achieving such awareness it is possible “Fasten the Monkey and Horse.”
Focusing the Heart-Mind on the breath through counting the breaths, and directing the gaze toward the
tip of the nose in order to cultivate an “inward gaze” are aids to fastening the Monkey and Horse.
The Song Dynasty text, Tai Shang Lao Jun Nei Ri Yong Miao Jing (Wondrous Scripture for Daily
Internal Practice of the Great High Lord Lao) gives the following advice:
Now as for your daily internal practice,
Keep your eating and drinking regulated;
Restrain your speaking and meditate alone.
Do not allow even a single thought to arise.
The ten thousand affairs are all forgotten.
Then preserve your spirit and stabilize your intent.
The mouth and lips are mutually locked up;
The teeth should be lightly touching.
Your eyes do not see a single thing;
Your ears do not hear a single sound.

Unified, the heart-mind is guarded within.259

 10. Lazy Old Peng Gathers & Releases the Elixir Pivot

Lazy Old Peng Gathers & Releases the Elixir Pivot

To Enter the Mysterious Gate is to Gather,
Leaving the Enchanted Territory is to Release.
From Time Immemorial the Immortal Child,
Manifests Unfathomable Achievement beyond Measure.
In Releasing it fills Absolute Reality,260
In Gathering, it is a Pearl or Grain of Millet.

rù xī yí mén wéi zhī shōu,

chū lí mí jìng wéi zhī fàng.
gèn gǔ líng tóng zǐ,
shén gōng miào mò liàng.
fàng zhī mí fǎ jiè
shōu zé tiǎn zhū cáng.
The Immortal Child, Pearl & Grain of Millet
Ling Tong the Immortal Child or Embryo, is essentially the Spirit and Breath. The Immortal
Child is another name for the Elixir. In forming the Elixir, Spirit first enters the Breath, and then
Breath is embraced by the Spirit. Like an embryo in its mother’s womb it does not breathe, but at the
same time cannot live without breathing.261 The embryo is formless and immaterial: The term
“embryo” merely describes true awareness gathering, becoming solidified so that it stabilizes and
does not scatter.262 The Dao De Jing compares one who possesses De (efficacy; power; virtue) to a
baby:
One who possesses virtue [De] in abundance is comparable to a newborn babe.
Poisonous insects will not sting it,
Ferocious animals will not pounce on it,
Predatory birds will not swoop down on it.
Its bones are weak and it sinews supple yet its hold is firm.
It does not know the union of male and female,
Yet its male member will stir.
This is because its virility is at its height.
It screams all day and does not become hoarse,

This is because its harmony it is at its height.263

This portrayal of the infant illustrates the union of Yin and Yang. The feminine traits of softness and
weakness combined with male potency. The erection without ejaculation is a metaphor for potency
and potential that does not diminish. The infant, like the Dao, maintains a maximum of Qi.264
The Pearl and Grain of Millet are images that used interchangeably to represent the refining of Jing
(Essence) and its transmutation into breath (Qi) – i.e.: the medicine refined into the elixir. Millet and
Pearl are essentially the same as the Ling Tong, the immortal child.

Elixir and Dantian

The Elixir (Dan) has been discussed previously in relation to the Immortal Child. In the context of
this poem, the concept of “Elixir” also has a larger connotation. Elixir is a metaphor for the
primordial true unity of the undifferentiated beginning, the coalescing of Yin and Yang. This envelops
space, and space envelops the world. In this sense, true unity cannot be measured. True unity is
limitless space, and at the same time, at its root, it is as small as pearl or a grain of millet,
imperceptible and ungraspable.265 In opening and unfolding it fills and illuminates the world; in
gathering it becomes as small as grain of millet.266
Dan literally means “cinnabar.” Therefore, Dantian is translated as either “Elixir Field” or
“Cinnabar Field.” It generally refers to the area below the navel between Mingmen and the
acupuncture point Qihai (Sea of Qi) – 1.5 body inches (cun) below the navel.
The Dantian is the fountainhead of the Jing (Essence), stored in the kidneys, that is related to the
reproductive generative energies in human beings. Therefore Dantian is sometimes referred to as
“the palace that keeps the Essence.” “Cinnabar Field” alludes to Chinese alchemical practices in
which metals and other substances were smelted and refined in order to transform them into gold, or
practices in which substances like Mercury and Cinnabar were transformed into an “elixir of
immortality.” In Daoist meditation, this is a metaphor for transforming the Qi Dynamic of the body
(through relaxation and focusing on the Qi and Breath), so that Jing, which resides in the lower
abdomen, is transformed.

The Elixir Pivot

The union of the Spirit and breath is the pivot that transmutes Jing (Essence) into Zhen Qi (True Qi),
and Zhen Qi into Spirit. In this sense, the “Elixir” is the pivot of the process of transformation that
connects one to the undifferentiated Original Spirit and Original Mind. Hence the name, Elixir Pivot
A modern textbook on Qi Gong and meditation discusses these concepts in practical
terms:
Breathing into the Dantian in a natural unforced manner is an essential component of this
transformation. Gradually as your breathing becomes deeper, longer, softer and thinner, a
relatively limited and definite “pivot” for breathing will form. This pivot is the central point
at which abdominal pressure gathers when it retracts. This point is called the Dantian or
“elixir field.” In a strict sense the formation of abdominal breathing and the definite
breathing pivot indicate the formation of elixir breathing. Elixir breathing is the beginning of
fetal breathing.267
Fetal Breathing is known as “whole body breathing” or “body hair breathing.” In Fetal
Breathing the mouth and nose are not perceived as the openings of respiration. Although Dantian still
acts as the respiratory pivot, but one has the perception that the Qi and breath leave this “Elixir-
Pivot” directly through the pores of the entire body, so respiration through the nose diminishes to a
minimum and becomes imperceptible.
The transition from navel or elixir breathing to body breathing must be conducted in an
orderly way. The key to this process is to strengthen the Qi sensations in the Dantian, which
will generate two results. The first is that, along with the enrichment of Qi sensation in the
elixir, internal Qi will spread all over the body and make the Qi sensation in the whole body
so strong that it will overflow out of the body and be unified with the Qi of the universe. On
the other hand, breathing through the mouth and nose gets weaker and weaker and gradually
seems to have stopped completely or barely exist. As breathing through the mouth and nose
decreases, breathing through the sweat pores increases. The exchanges of Qi with the
surrounding environment and universe through the pores of the entire body happen more and
more naturally.268
One difficulty that initially presents itself with this kind of breathing is the perception that the breath
completely stops, causing gasping, as one attempts to hold onto the physical sensation of breathing.
This breaks the meditative concentration. This passes as the mind lets go of “breathing”, and even
begins to forget that one is lying in meditation.
Summary: Gathering & Releasing the Elixir Pivot
Unification of the breath and Spirit through regulation of the breath is the pivot for the gathering and
storing of true awareness so that it becomes solid and stable and does not scatter. Breathing in
Dantian and Fetal Breathing initiate this internal transformation and unification.
As true inner awareness gathers and solidify, things that were previously imperceptible become
perceptible. This enhanced perception can expand to encompass the phenomenal world or contract to
the size of a grain of millet stored deep within the body. One is then able to see things as they
transform and manifest, the big within the small and the small within the big –microcosm and
macrocosm. This idea also conveys the boundless potency and potential of the embryo or newborn
infant.
For all [to practice] this Way:
You must coil, you must contract,
You must uncoil, you must expand.
You must be firm, you must be regular [in this practice].
Hold fast to this excellent [practice]; do not let go of it.
Chase away the excessive; abandon the trivial.
And when you reach its ultimate limit

You will return to the way and its inner power.269

 11. Tan Zi Ran Vast & Unfettered Penetrates the Mystery

Tan Zi Ran270 Vast and Unfettered Penetrates the Mystery

To Understand the Origin and Know the Source is Mysterious (Ling),
Vast and Unfettered without Obstacle is Penetration (Tong).
See Through to the Face of the Birth Mother,
All without Buddha or Immortals.
Vast and Unfettered the Origin is Unblocked,
Take the Sea to become the Field.

wù bĕn zhī yuán wéi zhī líng,

kùo rán chúi ài wéi zhī tōng.
shí pò niáng shēng miàn,
dōu wú fó yǔ xiān.
kùo rán yuán bù ài,
 rèn qǔ hǎi chéng tián.

Vast & Unfettered (Kuo Ran)271

Kuo Ran, translated as “vast and unfettered” above, contains the concept of "immensity." It also
contains the idea of suddenness and openness, and therefore can be used to convey the idea of a
person who suddenly emerges from a tunnel, to discover a sudden endless blue sky. Kuo Ran can also
mean that there are no barriers and no restrictions. No barriers and no restrictions, implies that one is
unbiased and free from preconception. This is consistent with the notion of emptiness.272

Tong
Tong generally connotes free and unobstructed movement, flowing without obstruction, or to “go
through” and “connect or “communicate.” In relationship to Daoist meditation, Harold Roth feels that
the Tong ideogram refers to there being no mental obstructions in one’s internal awareness, thereby
creating an awareness that is spontaneous and fully absorbed in what it is experiencing. This allows
one’s awareness to penetrate to the deepest levels of consciousness.273

The Face of the Birth Mother

Seeing through to The Face of the Birth Mother refers to recognizing one’s true nature, the face before
birth, a return to the Pre-Heaven State.

Take the Sea to Achieve the Field

The Phrase “Take the Sea to Achieve the Field” may reference a statement by Maid Ma (the Immortal
Ma Gu). In her meeting with Wang Fang Ping whom she had met some 500 years previously: Since I
entered your service, I have seen the Eastern Sea turn into Mulberry fields three times. As one
proceeded across to Penglai, the water came up only to one’s waist. I wonder whether it will turn
to dry land once again.274
The implication here is that Maid Ma has witnessed geologic change over vast eras during which the
sea has changed into land and back again. This story references the Daoist understanding of constant
change, and the difference in the concept of time between an “Immortal” and a normal human being.
Although the world appears to be fixed in its patterns and forms, from the perspective of an
“Immortal,” the human world is in a state of constant change. However, within the changing world
there is also the unchangeable - the origin. An immortal goes beyond all these changes. He or she
returns to the origin.275
Summary: Vast and Unfettered Penetrating the Mystery
Once there is expansion and clarity, thoughts and pre-conceptions fall away. Then there are no
barriers. One can see through to the origin and return to the root: the Original Mind and Original
Spirit. This return to the Pre-Heaven state is achieved by eliminating obstacles to one’s internal
awareness, through inner stillness and emptiness. In Chapter Twenty-Five of the Dao De Jing, the
Mystery is the Dao - that which preceded Heaven and Earth, that which stands alone and does not
change.276
To be still is to be without a sound. To be empty is to be hollow and formless. To be alone is to
be mated with nobody. To be unchanging is to keep eternal during the changes.277
What is distant is the inexhaustible within the inexhaustible. It disperses its atmosphere
through Heaven and Earth. There is nothing it does not penetrate. This means: being distant
it cannot be surpassed. It is cut off, and then it returns. It exists within the body of man.278

12. Yu Yi Yang Transcends Life and Death

Yu Yi Yang Transcends Life and Death
To Transcend Life and Death is the Fulfillment,

To practice the Way [Dao] is to Ascend.279

Break through the Misting Aperture,280
Known before the Emperor [of Heaven].
This is the appropriate end,
The Great Gathering of Immortality.

chū lí shēng sǐ wéi zhī le,

xíng dào fēi shēng wéi zhī dāng.
dǎ pò hóng mēng qiào,
fāng zhī xiàng dì xiān.
zhǐ sī wèi liǎo dāng,
rú shì dà lúo xiān.

Yu Yi Yang
The name of this immortal, Yu Yi Yang, seems to be a play-on-words. It literally means: “Metaphoric
One Yang.”

The Poem as a Whole

The entire poem references a return to the pre-Heaven state and therefore ascending to become an
Immortal (ie: to return to the Original Spirit and Original Mind). More than one commentator has
pointed out that this passage is directly referencing Chapter Four281 of the Dao De Jing:
The Way is like an empty vessel
That may yet be drawn from,
Without ever needing to be filled.
It is bottomless; the very progenitor of all things in the world.
In it all sharpness is blunted,
All tangles untied,
All glare tempered,
All dust smoothed.
It is like a deep pool that never dries.
 Was it too the child of something else? We cannot tell.

But as a substanceless image it existed before the Ancestor.282

Dao De Jing - Chapter 4283

The Misting Aperture (Hong Men Qiao)

Hong Meng compounds the character Hong "wild goose: “swan”; “vast” or “great" with the
character Meng "cover”; “ignorant”; “untutored”; “encounter” or “receive.” Meng is also
written as “mist” or “drizzling rain.”
Hong Meng (Hung Men) is a character in Chapter Eleven of the Zhuangzi, whose name is sometimes
translated as “Silly Goose.”284 Yun Kiang asks Hong Meng for advice. Hong Meng answers:
Ah! Your mind (needs to be) nourished. Do you only take the position of doing nothing, and
things will of themselves become transformed. Neglect your body; cast out from you your
power of hearing and sight; forget what you have in common with things; cultivate a grand
similarity with the chaos of the plastic ether; unloose your mind; set your spirit free; be still
as if you had no soul. Of all the multitude of things every one returns to its root. Every one
returns to its root, and does not know (that it is doing so). They all are as in the state of
chaos, and during all their existence they do not leave it. If they knew (that they were
returning to their root), they would be (consciously) leaving it. They do not ask its name; they
do not seek to spy out their nature; and thus it is that things come to life of themselves.285
Like many names in the Zhuangzi, Hong Meng is a play-on-words. Here, Hong Meng serves as a
metaphor for the Hun Tun, the undifferentiated potential state, the One, that existed before the
differentiation into Yin and Yang. In modern Chinese it can mean “primordial state,” but the term is
also translated variously as: "Mists-of-Chaos," "Vast Obscurity," "Big Concealment," and "Vital
Principle."286

Meng Gua
Meng also references Hexagram Four in the Yi Jing. Various Yi Jing scholars have translated Meng
as Immaturity, 287 Youthful Folly, 288 Childhood,289 Juvenile Ignorance,290 and Callow Youth.291 Meng
originally referred to dodder, a twining plant that grows like ivy, spreading and climbing everywhere.
The Meng ideograph shows this plant spreading so that it covers the roof of a house. Eventually it
also came to stand for children, who are like young shoots, and for the covering and concealment of
wisdom that is inherent in children.292
The Meng Hexagram consists of Water below and Mountain above. Water flowing outward from
under the mountain symbolizes the purity and artlessness of the child’s mind. It carries the dual
meaning of innate wisdom lying beneath the surface of inexperience. Training and education can bring
out this innate wisdom that already lies in the heart of a child.293
Meng signifies the power of a beginner’s innocence. In China the infant is seen as closest to
the Dao, because its intrinsic nature is still uncontaminated by the dust of the world. The very
language of China embodies the notion that spiritual development is a process of unlearning,
a return to the spontaneity and artlessness of nature found in a child, a return to the
beginning. The character for child (Zi) also means master, as in Laozi and Zhuangzi.294
Summary: Transcending Life and Death
Transcendence of life and death or immortality is a return to the original undifferentiated state, to the
Dao. This is accomplished through remaining still and quiet without thought of merit and glory. He
Shang Gong tells us that Dao preceded the birth of the Emperor of Heaven and has existed to the
present because it is quiet, peaceful and still, without troubling. That is why humans should take the
Dao for their model.295
Subversion is the Dao’s movement.

Weakness is the Dao’s use.296

Within the world all things originate from existence.

Existence originates from no-existence.297

Dao De Jing – Chapter 40

Summary of the Teachings of the 12 Sleeping Immortals
The teachings of the 12 Sleeping Immortals contain many overlapping concepts and ideas related to
Daoist meditation and inner alchemy. These ideas can be summarized as stages of development in the
practice of meditation, internal transformation and transcendence.

Stage1: Laying the Foundation – Zhen

Regulating Thoughts, Emotions and Breath
1. Subduing the Dragon and the Tiger
The stillness and tranquility of meditation begin to calm the heart and spirits aiding the practitioner in
letting go of their impulses and judgments. This allows the Tiger - representing one’s passions,
emotions and inclinations - to return to its mountain lair and rest peacefully, so that the head and heart
are calm. Simultaneously, the Dragon – representing one’s true nature and character – returns to the
watery depths of Dantian and Mingmen. The body and mind become harmonious and calm, and
Original Jing (Tiger) and Original Qi (Dragon) can begin to harmonize.
2. Refining the Hun and Po
The Hun (Etheric Soul) is associated with the Three Treasures (Jing, Qi and Shen). The Hun helps
engender the spiritual awareness that allows the individual to see beyond their life and body.
Normally the emotions and passions of the Po (Corporeal Soul) control the Hun. When the Po is in
control, the life force gradually decays. By concentrating the vital forces within the body through
meditative practices, one attempts to reverse this dynamic - one’s emotions, passions and desires then
become ruled by the Hun, and one is not ruled by dreams and desires. The integration of the Hun and
Po prevents thoughts, emotions and desires from unconsciously arising and controlling our life. When
the Heart-Mind is quiet and calm, and united with the breath, the Yin and Yang forces of the body can
begin to unify and integrate
3. Regulating Zhen Qi
The Zhen Qi (True Qi) is refined through uniting the Heart-Mind and the breath, and avoiding
scattered and discursive thoughts. This in turn attunes the Five Energies so that they return to the
origin of one’s being. When Passion (Po) and Nature (Hun) unite, this is the union of Metal (Tiger)
and Wood (Dragon). When Generative Force (Jing) and Shen (Spirit) unite, it is the union of Li-Fire
(Yang) and Kan-Water (Yin). Stabilizing and clarifying thought and intention, the Five are able to
unify (in the central position - Earth).
4. Transporting and Transforming Yin & Yang
The breaths of Heaven and Earth are the foundation of Yin and Yang. Inner quiescence and stillness
allow Yin and Yang harmonize and become one. This is another way of discussing merging of the
True Nature (Xing) and the emotions, impulses and judgments (Qing), or the Hun and Po. It is also
another way of discussing the unification of the Heart-Mind and the breath (Qi ), and of subduing the
Dragon and Tiger.
Stage 2: Refining Jing (Essence) & Transmuting it into Qi (Breath)
Small Heavenly Circulation (The Waterwheel)
5. Yin and Yang in the Fu & Gou Diagrams
The Fu and Gou diagrams have symbolic relationship to the circulation of Qi and breath through the
Central Channel (the Ren and Du channels). This is called Small Heavenly Circulation, the
Microcosmic Orbit, or the Waterwheel. Through meditation and the circulation of breath and Qi
through the Ren and Du channels, one begins to perceive the subtle changes occurring within the
ongoing coupling and inter-transformation and of Yin and Yang. Jing transforms to Qi and Qi to Shen,
creating an ongoing revitalization of Yin and Yang. This in turn restores the body and spirit to their
original state, able to access the body’s ability to revitalize and replenish, and able to access the
Original Spirit and Innate Wisdom.
6. Silently Cultivating the Fire Times
In quiet stillness, movement is generated in the form of a vibration or heat. This is Yang-Fire and
Ming (Life) returning. It means a stirring of the sexual energy contained in water, which in men may
be accompanied by an erection. The moment that Yang returns, concentration, stillness and
harmonization of the breath will move Jing (Essence), the generative life force upward through the
Du Channel and down the Ren Channel, so that Jing, Qi and Shen inter-transform and circulate freely
through the body. It is easiest to do this at the time of the “living breath” – the twelve hours between
Midnight and Midday, when the Yang Qi is ascendant. The Fire Times refers to this movement and
transformation occurring naturally in its proper time, unforced and without constraint.
7. Guarding the Furnace and Tripod
In Sleeping Meditation one connects the energies of reproduction stored in the kidneys, Dantian and
genitals with the energies of the head and Heart-Mind, through the alignment of the body and the
positions of the arms (pillowing the head and touching Dantian or the genitals) and by suspending
thought and cultivating inner stillness. This allows the internal circulation and transformation to take
place. Correct regulation of the body and the Heart-Mind fuses and integrates the Primordial Qi and
Spirit, and integrates Xing and Ming. This integration is achieved through inner concentration and
careful cultivation of the Original Qi and the Heart-Mind. The alchemical images of the
tripod/cauldron and the furnace/stove are used to illustrate the nature of this fusion and
transformation.

Stage 3: Refining Qi (Breath) and Transmuting it into Shen (Spirit)

The Mysterious Pearl
8. Refining & Cultivating the Mysterious Treasure
The Mysterious Treasure (Lingbao) refers to the creation of a Treasure, the “Mysterious Pearl,”
inside the body. The “pearl” is the embodiment of the energies of Heaven and Earth that is created
through the sublimation of the breath and the unification of Jing, Qi and Shen. Through the practice of
meditation, the subtle spirit of the Dao, the energy that exists before becoming thoughts is nurtured
like a jewel inside the body. The pearl resides inside the body, where it radiates an inner light and
clarity. This is the beginning of awakening one’s true nature and true mind - the mind within the mind -
manifesting as Spirit. The poem advises the practitioner to “hold fast to and preserve the One,” in
order to still the mind, so that no thoughts, emotions or desires arise.
9. Firmly Fastening Monkey & Horse
Polishing character and essential nature through purifying one’s speech, controlling behavior and
desires and freeing the mind from disturbance and scattered thoughts allows one to subdue the Crazy
Monkey (unsettled heart) and Restless Horse (restless mind). When the mind is empty and clear, then
one is immediately aware of the slightest disturbance and its negative effect on one’s energy and
spirit. In general, Firmly Fastening Monkey & Horse advises controlling desires and thoughts in daily
life in general. More specifically, this phrase refers to avoiding restless thoughts while guiding the
True Vital Breath (Zhen Qi) through the Small Heavenly Circulation.
10. Gathering & Releasing the Elixir Pivot
The image of the Immortal Child, the Pearl and the Grain of Millet represent the unification Qi and
Shen through regulation of the breath. This unification is a gathering and storing of true awareness, so
that it becomes solid and stable and does not scatter. Gathering and unification of Qi and Spirit is the
Elixir Pivot - the process of transformation that connects one to the undifferentiated Original Mind
and Spirit. As true inner awareness gathers and solidifies, one’s perceptions are enhanced and can
expand (releasing) to encompass the phenomenal world or contract (gathering) to the size of a grain
of millet stored deep within the body.

Step 4: Refining Shen (Spirit) and Returning it to Emptiness (Xu)

Transcendance and Emptiness
11. Vast and Unfettered Penetrating the Mystery
Once there is expansion and clarity, thoughts and pre-conceptions fall away. Then there are no
barriers. One can see through to the origin and return to the root: the Original Mind and Original
Spirit. The return to the Pre-Heaven state is achieved by eliminating obstacles to one’s internal
awareness through inner stillness and emptiness.
12. Transcending Life and Death
Transcendence of life and death, or “immortality,” is a return to the original undifferentiated state, to
the Dao. One remains still and quiet without thought of merit and glory.

The highest Achieved One’s sleep,

Is within the Golden Breath.
Intake the Jade Liquid,
 The Golden Gate is closely shut and cannot be opened.
The Earthly Window is also shut, and also cannot be opened.
The Green Dragon guards the Green Palace,
The White Tiger calmly stays in the west room.
The True Energy, True Qi moves and generates in the Red Pond,
The Godly Water circulates within the Five Interiors.
This is using sleep to refine oneself, to accomplish the great
Internal Medicine.298
-Poem attributed to Chen Tuan
_________________
117Evidence for Stages of Meditation in Early Taoism. Harold Roth (Bulletin of the School of
Oriental and African Studies, 60, 1997) p 295-314.
118Traité d’Alchimie et de Physiologie Taoiste: Weisheng Shenflixue Mingzhi by Zao Biche.
Catherine Despeux, trans, et notes (Paris: Les Deux Océans 1979) p. 55-56.
119 Foundation of Internals Alchemy: the Taoist Practice of Neidan. Wang Mu. Fabrizio Pregadio,
trans and ed. (Mountain View, CA: Golden Elixir Press, 2011) p.13.
120 Ibid, p. 101
121 Evidence for Stages of Meditation in Early Taoism. Harold Roth
122Traité d’Alchimie et de Physiologie Taoiste: Weisheng Shenflixue Mingzhi by Zao Biche.
Catherine Despeux, p. 74
123 Evidence for Stages of Meditation in Early Taoism. Harold Roth
124Traité d’Alchimie et de Physiologie Taoiste: Weisheng Shenflixue Mingzhi by Zao Biche.
Catherine Despeux, p. 74.
125 The Philosophy of the Daodejing by Hans-Georg Moeller, p.16.
126 Integrating Inner Alchemy into Late Ming Cultural History, by Daniel Burton-Rose, p. 137
127 The Philosophy of the Daodejing by Hans-Georg Moeller, p.134.
128 Life and Teaching of Two Immortals Volume II: Chen Tuan, by Hua-Ching Ni, p.40-41.
129 Original Tao by Harold Roth. New York: Columbia University Press, 1983 p. 82
130Integrating Inner Alchemy into Late Ming Cultural History: (Xingming guizhi (1615)
By Daniel Burton-Rose, p. 127.
131 Normally in the cycle of the five Agents, Wood produces/ generates Fire.
132 In Chinese, all metal is sometimes referred to as “gold”
133 Normally Metal produces/generates Water.
134 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, 1950, p.
25.
135 Ibid, p. 26.
136Le Moelle Du Phénix Rouge: Santé & Longue Vie dans la Chine du XVI Siécle, Catherine
Despeux, p. 243.
137 Awakening to Reality: The “Regulated Verses” of the Wuzhen Pian, a Taoist Classic of Internal
Alchemy, Translated with introduction and notes by Fabrizio Pregadio, Mountain View CA: Golden
Elixir Press, 2009, p. 65.
138 Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings, translated by Burton, p. 73-74.
139 The Seal of the Unity of the Three: A Study and Translation of the Cantong Qi, the Source of the
Taoist Way of the Golden Elixir, translated by Fabrizio Pregadio, p. 103.
140 Wu Xing: translated variously as Five Agents; Five Powers; Five Processes; Five Phases;
Five Elements.
141 The Imperial Guide to Feng Shui & Chinese Astrology: The Only Authentic Translation from
the Original Chinese, by Thomas F. Aylward, p. 33.
142 Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality, by Lu Kuan Yu, pp. 30-31.
143 Awakening to Reality: The “Regulated Verses” of the Wu Zhen Pian, a Taoist Classic of
Internal Alchemy, pp.28-29.
144 The Imperial Guide to Feng Shui & Chinese Astrology: The Only Authentic Translation from
the Original Chinese, by Thomas F. Aylward. London: Watkins Publishing, 2007, p.176
145Ibid, p. 137.
146 The Seal of the Unity of the Three: A Study and Translation of the Cantong Qi, the Source of the
Taoist Way of the Golden Elixir, translated by Fabrizio Pregadio, pp. 71-72.
147 Awakening to Reality: The “Regulated Verses” of the Wuzhen Pian, a Taoist Classic of Internal
Alchemy, translated by Fabrizio Pregadio, pp. 29-30.
148 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, p. 80.
149 Two Visions of The Way: A Study of Wang Pi and the Ho-shang Kung Commentaries on the Lao
Tzu, by Alan K.L. Chan. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991. p. 126.
150 Nei Gong: The Authentic Classic, p. 9.
151 Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The Daoist Practice of Neidan by Wang Mu, translated and
edited by Fabrizio Pregadio, pp.45-46.
152 The Philosophy of the Daodejing by Hans-Georg Moeller, pp.44-45.
153 Ling Shu or The Spiritual Pivot, translated by Wu Jing-Nuan, p. 39.
154 Rooted in Spirit: The Heart of Chinese Medicine, translation and commentary by Claude Larre,
S.J & Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallée. Barrytown, NY: Station Hill Press Inc., 1995, p.19.
155 Rooted in Spirit: The Heart of Chinese Medicine, p. 23.
156
Daoism Explained: From the Dream of the Butterfly to the Fishnet Allegory, by Hans-Georg
Moeller, p. 76.
157
Heaven and Earth in Early Han Thought (chapters three, four and five of the Hainanzi) John S.
Major, p. 32.
158 Ibid, p. 67-68.
159 The Daodejing of Laozi, translation and commentary by Philip J. Ivanhoe.
Indianapolis/Cambridge: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 2003, p. 7.
160 The World Upside Down: essays on Daoist Internal Alchemy by Isabelle Robinet, p. 26.
161 Ibid, p.28
162 The phrase “turn away from yin” can also mean to “shoulder” or “carry on one’s back”
163 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, p. 80.
164 Yin Yang in Classical Texts, Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallée, pp. 51-52.
165 Ibid, p.54.
166 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, p. 54.
167 Zhuangzi:The Essential Writings with Selections form Traditional Commentaries, translated by
Brook Ziporyn, p. 86.
168 Tian Zhen: “Heavenly Truth” or “Heavenly Perfection.” Can also mean “innocent” or
“artless.” This can also mean that one becomes an Immortal or a Sage.
169 Yi Jing by Wu Jing Nuan, Washington DC: The Taoist Center, 1991, p. 114.
170 Ibid.

171The Complete I Ching, by Alfred Huang. Rochester VT: Inner Traditions International, 1998 and
2004, p. 213.
172The Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth, by Hua-Ching Ni. Santa Monica, CA: Seven
Star Communications, 1997, p.337.
173 Ibid, p. 342-44.
174 TheClassic of Changes: A New Translation of the I Ching, as interpreted by Wang Bi, translated
by Richard John Lynn. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994, p. 286.
175The Complete I Ching, by Alfred Huang. Rochester VT: Inner Traditions International, 1998 and
2004, p. 353.
176The Laws of Change: I Ching and the Philosophy of Life. By Jack M. Balkin. Branford, CT:
Sybil Creek Press, 2002 and 2009, p. 449.
177 TheClassic of Changes: A New Translation of the I Ching, as interpreted by Wang Bi, translated
by Richard John Lynn. New York: Columbia University Press, 1994, p. 411.
178 Yi Jing by Wu Jing Nuan, Washington DC: The Taoist Center, 1991, p.161.
179 Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The Daoist Practice of Neidan by Wang Mu, translated and
edited by Fabrizio Pregadio, p. 57.
180 The Inner Teachings of Taoism, by Chan Po-tuan, translated by Thomas Cleary, 2013, p. 14.
181 Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The Daoist Practice of Neidan by Wang Mu, p.57-58.
182Huo Hou: Huo in Chinese means “fire,” and Hou means “moment,” “time.” Huo Hou (due
moment) means to follow the guidelines of cultivation and the natural movements of Yin and Yang and
Spirit and breath.
183 Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The Daoist Practice of Neidan by Wang Mu, pp.75-77.
184 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, pp. 37-38.
185 Ibid.

186 The Daodejing of Laozi, translation and commentary by Philip J. Ivanhoe, p. 16.
187 The Classic of The Way and Virtue: A New Translation of the Tao-Te Ching of Laozi as
interpreted by Wang Bi, translated by Richard John Lynn, p.76.
188Xing and Ming also refer to two “schools” of Daoist cultivation: Xing Gong and Ming Gong.
Xing Gong refers to self-cultivation, which employs quiet seated meditation to cultivate the mind,
while Ming Gong trains the body through Qi cultivation exercises. These two methods or schools are
complimentary and it is common to employ both methods of cultivation.
189 Harmonizing Yin and Yang: the Dragon Tiger Classic, by Eva Wong, p.19.
190 Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The Daoist Practice of Neidan by Wang Mu, p.75-77.
191 Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality, by Lu K’uan Yu, pp.38-39.
192 The Secrets of Chinese Meditation, by Lu K’uan Yu, p. 17.
193Referring to the Chinese fable about a farmer who pulled on rice shoots to help them grow more
quickly only to succeed in killing the plants.
194 San Guan (“Three Passes” or “Three Gates”) refers to three important places on the Du Channel.
These three areas are the places where it is most difficult for the Qi/Breath to circulate, where it can
become impeded. Guan can mean a “mountain pass,” a “barrier” or “bottleneck,” “to close” or to
“shut off.” The ideogram contains the gate radical with numerous strokes inside like threads being
woven. The first pass is the Wei Lu Guan (Tailbone Pass). The second is the Jia Ji Guan, located
along the sides of the spine at the area around Mingmen, and proceeding upward on either side of the
spine along the thorax (mid- back). Jia Ji means to “squeeze the spine” and is also sometimes a name
for the area around the 6th thoracic vertebra, which lies just behind the diaphragm. The third is the Yu
Zhen Guan (Jade Pillow Pass) at the occipital region.
195 Chinese Medical Qi Gong, Editors: Tianjun Liu, OMD and Kevin Chen Ph.D., p. 316.
196 Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The Daoist Practice of Neidan by Wang Mu, translated and
edited by Fabrizio Pregadio, p. 58.
197 The Classic of The Way and Virtue: A New Translation of the Tao-Te Ching of Laozi as
interpreted by Wang Bi, translated by Richard John Lynn, pp.60-61.
198 Ibid.

199 The Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism, Vol 1: A-L, edited by Fabrizio Pregadio, p. 361.
200Harmonizing Yin and Yang: the Dragon Tiger Classic, by Eva Wong. Boston and London:
Shambhala, 1997, p. 9.
201 The crow in the sun (Kan) and the hare in the moon (Li).
202 Huang Dao: “Yellow Path.” Another name for the Small Heavenly Circulation (Micro-
Cosmic Orbit), also known as the “River Chariot” (He Che
203 Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The Daoist Practice of Neidan by Wang Mu, translated and
edited by Fabrizio Pregadio, Mountain View CA: Golden Elixir Press, 2011, p. 86.
204 Ba Gua Quan Zhen Chuan (Genuine Transmission of Ba Gua Zhang) by Sun Xi Kun
translated by Tom Bisio and Huang Guo Qi.
205 Jing (Essence), Qi and Shen (Spirit).
206The Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism, Vol 1: A-L., p.362.
207The World Upside Down: essays on Daoist Internal Alchemy by Isabelle Robinet. Mountain
View, CA: Golden Elixir Press, 2011, pp. 34-35.
208Ba Gua Zhen Chuan (Genuine Transmission of Ba Gua Zhang) by Sun Xi Kun. Translated by
Huang Guo Qi and Tom Bisio. From Decoding the Dao: Nine Lessons in Daoist Meditation by Tom
Bisio.
209The I Ching: or Book of Changes, Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes. New York: Bollingen
Series XIX Princeton University Press, 1950. 24th printing: 1990, p. 193.
210 Yi Jing by Wu Jing Nuan, p. 179.
211 The Complete I Ching, by Alfred Huang, p. 398.
212 TheClassic of Changes: A New Translation of the I Ching, as interpreted by Wang Bi, translated
by Richard John Lynn, p. 452-53.
213 The I Ching: or Book of Changes, Richard Wilhelm and Cary F. Baynes, p.194.
214This statement references the character Zheng which can mean straight, true, correct, orthodox,
or upright. In this context, “correct” can also mean “aligned,” referring to the alignment of body and
mind.
215 Great Mountain, can also refer to Mount Tai Shan.
216 (Xin Wu Qi Wu) may literally mean “heart without its heart” or “no heart within the
heart”. In context it means that there is emptiness inside the heart or “no mind within the mind” and
“no intention within intention.”
217 The Zi time (First Earthly Branch: 11pm to 1 am) is associated with the Fu Hexagram and the
return or stirring of True Yang.
218
Ba Gua Quan Zhen Chuan (Genuine Transmission of Ba Gua Zhang) by Sun Xi Kun
translated by Tom Bisio and Huang Guo Qi. From Decoding the Dao: Nine Lessons in
Daoist Meditation by Tom Bisio.
219
The Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism, Vols: I (A-L), edited by Fabrizio Pregadio. London and
New York: Routledge, 2008, p. 362.
220 Yu Ding: Jade Tripod/Cauldron
221 The Ancestral Cavity or Ancestral Aperture is the Cavity of the Ancestral breath or Original Qi
(Yuan Qi)
222 The “Psychic Channels” are another name for the Eight Extraordinary meridians.
223 Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality, by Lu K’uan Yu, pp.9-10.
224 Zhen Qi Xue: Cavity of the True Qi)
225 Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality, p. 10.
226 The Routledge Encyclopedia of Taoism, Vols: I, p. 663.
227 Ibid, p. 662.
228 Inward Training, translated by Louis Komjathy, p. 18.
229Le Moelle Du Phénix Rouge: Santé & Longue Vie dans la Chine du XVI Siécle, Catherine
Despeux, p. 257-58.
230 "Be Here Now" - Perfecting the Practice of Presence, by Daniel Reid. http://danreid.org/daniel-
reid-articles-be-here-now.asp
231The Shambhala Guide to Taoism by Eva Wong, Boston & London: Shambhala Publications Inc.
1997, p. 201.
232 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/laozi/

233A composite from various translations by D.C. Lau, Arthur Waley, Eduard Erkes and Richard John
Lynn.
234 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, pp. 25-26.
235 Ibid.

236Two Visions of The Way: A Study of Wang Pi and the Ho-shang Kung Commentaries on the Lao
Tzu, by Alan K.L. Chan. p. 143.
237 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, p. 26.
238 Taoist Meditation: The Mao-Shan Tradition of Great Purity by Isabelle Robinet, p. 123.
239 Dark = mysterious or profound.
240 Taoist Meditation: The Mao-Shan Tradition of Great Purity by Isabelle Robinet, p. 123.
241 Scripture for Daily Internal Practice, translated by Louis Komjathy, p. 22.
242 The Classic of The Way and Virtue: A New Translation of the Tao-Te Ching of Laozi as
interpreted by Wang Bi, translated by Richard John Lynn, p. 52.
243 Dao De Jing: The New, Highly Readable Translation of the Life-Changing Ancient Scripture
Formerly Known as the Tao Te Ching, translation and Commentary by Hans-Georg Moeller, p. 3.
244Daodejing, “Making This Life Significant”: A Philosophical Translation, Roger T. Ames and
David L. Hall, p. 77.
245 Dao De Jing. Hans-Georg Moeller, p. vii.
246 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mind_monkey

247 Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings, translated by Burton, p. 54

248Transforming Emotions with Chinese Medicine: An Ethnographic Account from Contemporary
China, by Yanhua Zhang, p. 41.
249
Huangdi Neijing Lingshu Books I-III with Commentary. Vol. 1 English Edition by Nguyen Van
Nghi, Tran Viet Dzung and Christine Recours- Nguyen, p. 150.
250Rooted in Spirit: The Heart of Chinese Medicine. Translated by Clause Larre & Elisabeth
Rochat de La Vallée, p. 52
251 Transforming Emotions with Chinese Medicine, p. 41.
252 Yuan Dao: Tracing Dao to its Source, translated by D.C. Lau and Roger T. Ames, p. 46.
253 Yuan Dao: Tracing Dao to its Source, p. 50.
254 Chuang-Tzu: The Inner Chapters, translated by A.C. Graham, p. 159.
255 Taoist Yoga: Alchemy and Immortality, by Lu K’uan Yu, p. 48.
256 http://www.wudangtao.com/content/index.php/diciplines/wu-ji/the-meditation-cushion/457-cage-
the-monkey-tie-up-the-wild-horses
257 Discourseon Transforming Inner Nature. Wang Feng Yi. Translated by John Hausen and Jonas T.
Akers. Phoenix, AZ: Valley Spirit Arts, 2017) pp. 45-51.
258 Yang Jizhou, The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion (Zhenjiu Dacheng), The
translator notes that this paragraph appears in the chapter on the lung channel, and is marked as a
quote from an older Daoist source, The Original Classic of Guiding the Breath (Daoyin Benjing).
http://www.itmonline.org/5organs/lung.htm
259 Scripture for Daily Internal Practice, Louis Komjathy, trans. p. 19.
260 Fa Jie: The phenomenal world. A Buddhist term designating critical limitless space. It is an
immutable, dynamic matrix, which arises, unfolds and disappears.
261 Foundations of Internal Alchemy: The Daoist Practice of Neidan by Wang Mu, translated and
edited by Fabrizio Pregadio, p. 101.
262 The Inner Teachings of Taoism by Chan Po-tuan, translated by Thomas Cleary, p.100.
263 Lao Tzu Tao Te Ching, translated by D.C. Lau, p. 116.
264 The Philosophy of the Daodejing by Hans-Georg Moeller, p. 24.
265 The
Inner Teachings of Taoism by Chan Po-tuan, translated by Thomas Cleary. Boston & London:
Shambhala Publications Inc. 2013, pp.23-24.
266 Life
and Teaching of Two Immortals Volume II: Chen Tuan, by Hua-Ching Ni. Santa Monica CA:
Seven Star Communications, 1993. P. 45.
267 Chinese Medical Qi Gong, by Tianjun Liu, and Kevin Chen, pp.189-90.
268 Ibid, p. 190-91.
269 Original Tao by Harold Roth. New York: Columbia University Press, 1983, p. 78.
270 Tan Zi Ran: “Tan the Natural” or “Tan of the natural world.”
271 Kuo Ran: Kuo - vast; wide open; broad; expansive. Ran - thus; like that; correct. Kuo Ran:
unrestricted, free unbiased.
272Le Moelle Du Phénix Rouge: Santé & Longue Vie dans la Chine du XVI Siécle, Catherine
Despeux, p. 267.
273Evidence for Stages of Meditation in Early Taoism by Harold D. Roth Bulletin of the School of
Oriental and African Studies, p. 309.
274To Live as Long as Heaven and Earth: A Translation and Study of Ge Hong’s Traditions of
Divine Transcendents, by Robert Ford Campany, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California
Press, 2002, p. 262.
275 http://en.daoinfo.org/wiki/The_Blue_Sea_Changes_into_a_Mulberry_Field

276 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, p.52.
277 Ibid, He Shang Gong’s commentary on Chapter 25 of the Dao De Jing.
278 Ibid, p. 53.
279 i.e.: “to become immortal.”
280 Hong Meng Qiao: “Misting Aperture”: Another name for Hun Tun, an undifferentiated
luminous cloud, a void with no boundary, emptiness, a potential state. The Hun Tun is sometimes
considered a state of chaos in that it is undivided, whole - a state where everything is mixed together.
This potential undifferentiated primordial state is also called Wu Ji. Wu Ji means literally “no limit”
or “no polarity.” It is the “One,” the place one is trying to get close to in meditation.
281 Catherine Despeux (Le Moelle Du Phénix Rouge p. 269) and Huang Guo Qi.
282 The Original Ancestor who separated Heaven and Earth thereby also separated the primal unity.
(The Way and Its Power, A Study of the Tao Te Ching and its Place in Chinese Thought, by Arthur
Waley. p. 146).
283 TheWay and Its Power, A Study of the Tao Te Ching and its Place in Chinese Thought, by Arthur
Waley, p. 146.
284 Zhuangzi Chapter 11: Involvement, Acceptance or Control, translation by Nina Correa
http://www.daoisopen.com/ZZ11.html
285 Chuang-Tzu, translation by James Legge: http://ratmachines.com/philosophy/chuang-tzu-
legge/chapter-11
286 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Meng

287 Richard Wilhelm

288 John Blofield

289 Alfred Huang

290 Richard John Lynn
291 Wu Jing-Nuan

292 The Laws of Change: I Ching and the Philosophy of Life. Jack Balkin. p.143
293 The Laws of Change: I Ching and the Philosophy of Life. Jack Balkin. p.143.
294 Yijing
Wondering and Wandering, by Jane Schorre and Carrin Dunne. Houston TX: Arts of China
Seminars, 2003, p. 36.
295Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes:
commentary on Chapter 4 of the Dao De Jing, p. 19.
296 In He Shang Gong’s commentary on this line, he says that: Adaptation to conditions is the
movement of the Dao. Weakness chooses tenderness and stillness. Stillness is the saint’s remaining
within reality. To stay within reality is the eternal use of Dao. Therefore it is said: weakness is the
Dao’s use. (Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, p.
77).
297 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, pp. 77-78.
298 Life and Teaching of Two Immortals Volume II: Chen Tuan, by Hua- Ching Ni, p. 27-28.
Daoist Medical Nei Gong
Scattered throughout Chinese texts on Nei Gong, like the Chi Feng Sui, there are many references to
Chen Tuan and Sleeping Gong, which present variations of this practice for the treatment of specific
medical conditions. This “Medical Nei Gong” gives further insight into the practice of Sleeping
Gong, and may be of interest to Chinese medical practitioners.
Daoist practices are particularly concerned with diseases that affect the body’s basal energy. This
energy resides in the kidneys, which are the reservoir of Jing and the place where the Original Qi
(Yuan Qi) resides. These respectively Yin and Yang foundational Pre-Heaven energies are sometimes
referred to as kidney Yin and Yang. They can, to some degree, be thought of as the inherited energies
from one’s parents. The loss of Jing, or the diminution of Yang Qi can have serious consequences for
the body’s health, and are stumbling blocks for Daoist transcendental methods, which rely on
transmuting and transforming these energies.
The loss of Jing is particularly damaging, as it is the base substrate for the production of blood, qi
and fluids. In men, Jing is often lost through sexual activity, particularly upon ejaculation. Having sex
when drunk or fatigued increases its loss, as do dreams of sex with nocturnal emissions. Although
excessive sexual activity can deplete a woman’s Jing, loss of Jing in women occurs more from
multiple, difficult childbirths and menstrual irregularity involving heavy bleeding. However Jing can
also be depleted through overwork and insufficient rest. One sign of Jing depletion is feeling fatigued
after intercourse.
Yuan Qi is the Pre-Heaven Original Qi of the body, the underlying pilot light that activates and
sustains life and the activities of the body. It is also referred to as the True Yang. Yuan Qi can be
depleted through excessive sex and overwork, and is also susceptible to cold. Qi warms the body and
circulates blood and other nourishing substances to all the tissues. The life force of the body is yang
and is warming. The body is a warm entity that becomes cold upon death. Diseases classified as
cold299 invariably obstruct and damage the True Yang and can cause a host of diseases. Cold disease
can be externally contracted from exposure to wind and cold. The kidneys and lungs are particularly
susceptible to external cold. Because cold can block the movement of Yang, cold can also manifest
with symptoms of heat such as fever. So from a Chinese perspective, many of the illnesses that in the
West are called “colds” or “flu,” are in fact due to a cold pathology.
The broader meaning of cold diseases relates to the idea that the life force is warm. Conditions
characterized by heat are not necessarily due to hot pathogens, but are rather due to the body’s own
life force or Yang failing to move properly. Qi is Yang and is responsible for all movement and
transformation in the body. Lack of movement and transformation can then be thought of as a lack of
Yang and is classified as a “Cold” Disease, whether the “cold” is due to an “external invasion” of
cold or due to an internal lack of Yang.
There are many treatments in traditional Chinese medicine for cold diseases. Many of these
treatments involve ingestion of herbal medicinals and are based on the seminal text: Shang Han
Lung: On Cold Damage. Other treatments employ moxibustion, fumigation therapies, massage,
warming liniments and warming soaks. Ultimately, activating and restoring the True Yang addresses
the root of diseases caused by cold damage.
Qi and Medical Nei Gong
Although there is only one Qi in the body, it can manifest in different ways. Therefore it is convenient
to divide Qi into three general categories. These three manifestations of Qi are all part of the One Qi,
which is also called the Yuan Qi (Original Qi) or Zhen Qi (True Qi):
1. Qi of Human Beings: This is Pre-Heaven congenital Qi, which is dependent on the natural
endowment of the parents and the strength of the kidneys in storing Jing (Jing Qi; Yuan Qi).
2. Earthly Qi: The Essential Qi of Water and Grain (Grain Qi; Gu Qi. Earthly Qi is dependent upon
the transforming and transporting capabilities of the spleen, stomach and intestines.
3. Heavenly Qi: The clear Qi of Heaven, which depends upon the harmony of the body with the
cosmos and the natural world. Heavenly Qi is intimately connected to respiration. This Qi
Mechanism (Qi Ji) includes the flow of different cosmic emanations such as sunlight, atmospheric Qi
and oxygen
The diagram below shows the interaction of the three Qi and their relationship to the Three
Treasures: Jing, Qi and Shen. Four key statements sum up these interactions:
1. The Qi of Human Beings is Pre-Heaven, inherited Qi.
2. Heavenly Qi and Earthly Qi are Post-Heaven Acquired Qi.
3. Pre-Heaven Qi relies on Post-Heaven Qi for nourishment and replenishment.
4. Post-Heaven Qi relies on Pre-Heaven Qi for promotion and activation.

The diagram and the four statements above reiterate something we are well aware of as human
beings. Food and air are essential to life. Therefore, in order to preserve essence, and to stimulate
and activate the Original Yang Qi, one must also harmonize and balance the Post Heaven Qi that is
derived from food and drink, and from proper breathing and oxygenation. Breath regulation is a part
of Sleeping Meditation. By regulating and refining the breathing process we maximize our ability to
oxygenate and energize the body. By eating properly we nourish the body and replenish our reserves.
The outer arrows that form a diamond shape in the diagram above also illustrate the way that Jing, Qi
and Shen, can inter-transform and endlessly replenish themselves, if proper habits of mind and body
are observed.

Principles of Medical Sleeping Gong

The Five Sleeping Gong exercises that follow are succinct and direct in their approach to addressing
problems that stem from loss of Jing, improper breathing and poor functioning of the digestion. These
three things are the root of many diseases. In the list below it is easy to see that the five exercises
specifically direct their attention to one or more of the following principles:
1. Preserving essence
2. Activating the yang and dispelling cold
3. Restoring correct digestive function

Five Sleeping Immortals Medical Nei Gong

1. Qiong Shu Sleeps on Stone
Described as the “Essence Gathering Method,” this Sleeping Gong prevents the loss of Essence
through ejaculation.
2. Zhuang Zi' s Butterfly Dream
Treats nocturnal emission during dreams.
3. Xiu Yang Gong Lies on a Stone Couch
Cures damage by cold that is either externally contracted or internally generated.
4. Song Xuan Bai Sleeps in the Snow
Cures indigestion - the “five grains not digesting.”
5. Chen Xi Yi Sleeps Deeply on Mount Hua
Cures fatigue after intercourse.
 1. Qiong Shu Sleeps on Stone

Qiong Shu Sleeps on Stone

The Essence Gathering Method. When the Essence is [about to] flow out, use the fingers of your left
hand to cover the right nostril. With the right hand, block the essence at the Weilu acu-point. Circulate
Qi for six mouthfuls (six breaths) and Essence will turn back.

Qiong Shu
Qiong is short for Qiong Lai, a mountain in Sichuan. Shu means: neglect, careless, lax. Thus this
Immortal’s name is “Lazy Qiong Mountain.” Qiong Shu was an immortal from the Zhou dynasty.
Qiong Shu was able to circulate the breath, sublimate his body and lived several hundred years. He
stayed in the Taishi Mountains in Henan Province, where you can see his stone bed and pillow.300

Wei Lu
Wei Lu refers to the tailbone. This is another name for the Changqiang (“Long Strong”) acu-point (Du
1), which is in the depression between the tip of the tailbone and the anus. However in this case it
probably refers to the area between the anus and penis, which one presses to stop the flow of sperm.
This is a classic method used in Daoist sperm retention techniques.

Another text refers to this exercise as Chen Xi Yi Imitates a Cow Grasping the Moon. 301 The
illustration of the exercise in this second text more correctly matches the instructions above.
 2. Zhuang Zhou’s Butterfly Dream

Zhuang Zhou's Butterfly Dream

For treating nocturnal emission during dreams, lie down supine. The right hand holds up the head
[like a pillow]. The left hand does the work.302 The left leg is extended and the right leg is bent.
Accumulate and sense the Qi as you circulate [it] for twenty-four mouthfuls (24 breaths).

Note: Although the text says that one is supine, it is clear that one is lying somewhat on the right side.

Zhuang Zhou – Zhang Zi

Zhuang Zhou was known as Zhuang Zi (Chuang Tzu) - “Master Zhuang.” Little is known about Zhuang
Zi, except that he lived around the 2rd and 3rd century B.C.E. and was a native of the state of Meng.
He was presumably a minor official. It is not clear if Zhuang Zi’s writings, known simply as the
Zhuangzi, are actually the work of the man himself, or the work of various authors.
Zhuang Zi’s butterfly dream is a classic of Daoist literature and thought. Brook Ziporyn’s translation
of this passage is reproduced below.
Once Zhuang Zhou dreamt he was a butterfly, fluttering about joyfully just as a butterfly
would. He followed his whims exactly as he liked and knew nothing about Zhuang Zhou.
Suddenly he awoke, and there he was, the startled Zhuang Zhou in the flesh. He did not know
if Zhou had been dreaming he was a butterfly, or if a butterfly was now dreaming it was Zhou.
Surely Zhou and the butterfly count as two distinct identities! Such is what we call
transformation of one thing into another.303
Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly should have some distinction between them, but in the dream and upon
awakening this distinction cannot be known. It may be that Zhuang Zhou is the butterfly or that the
butterfly is Zhuang Zhou. The transformation of one into the other illustrates their oneness.304
Commentators on this passage, like Guo Xiang, say that the distinction between waking and dreaming
is the same as the distinction between life and death. The reason he [Zhuang Zhou or the butterfly]
could flutter about joyfully following his whims just as he liked, was because these distinctions
and the temporary roles that go with them, are in each moment fixed, not at all because there is a
distinction between them.305
It is worth reading Hans-Georg Moeller’s excellent discussion of the Butterfly Allegory in Daoism
Explained: From the Dream of the Butterfly to the Fishnet Allegory.306 Moeller explains that the
perspective of Zhuang Zi or Master Zhuang, the narrator, is the perspective of the Daoist Sage.
The Daoist sage is in the midst of Zhuang Zhou and the butterfly, in the midst of dreaming
and being awake, in the midst of life and death. Zhuang Zi’s perspective is, so to speak, the
“zero-perspective.” He tells the story out of the center of the empty center of the process of
change, out of the axis of the “pivot of Dao” (Dao Shu) as the same chapter of the Zhuangzi
put it. The Daoist Sage dwells unchanged at the center of the process of change.307
 3. Xiu Yang Gong Lies on a Stone Couch

Xiu Yang Gong Lies on a Stone Couch

Cures damage by cold during the four seasons. Lie on your side, and bend your knees. Chafe the hands
until they are warm and then hold the scrotum as you circulate Qi for twenty-four mouthfuls (24
breaths).

Xiu Yang Gong

Xiu Yang Gong is a legendary character who is said to have lived in the Han Dynasty. He lived on
Mount Hua Yin in a stone chamber and slept on a bed formed by a stone.308
Cold Damage
Cold Damage, or diseases caused by cold, references the Shang Han Lun by Zhang Zhong Jing309
perhaps the seminal work of Chinese Medicine herbal treatments. The term “cold damage” (Shang
Han) has both broad and narrow meanings. There are five [types of] of cold damage: wind stroke,
cold damage, damp warmth, heat disease, and warm disease. According to Zhang Zi He: “In
spring, it is warm disease. In summer, it is summer-heat disease. In fall, it is malaria and diarrhea.
In winter, it is cold Qi and cough. In the four seasons, all Qi that is not the right Qi is called cold
damage.” The broad meaning of cold damage is all externally contracted disease; the narrow
meaning is external contraction of wind-cold and resultant diseases.310

4. Song Xuan Bai Sleeps in the Snow

Song Xuan Bai Sleeps in the Snow

To cure the five grains not digesting (indigestion), lie face up with the body straight. The two hands
massage back and forth between the chest and the abdomen - turn back the river and stir the sea.
Circulate Qi for six mouthfuls (six breaths).
Song Xuan Bai
Song Xuan Bai’s name literally means “Song Dark/Mysterious White.” Song was a Daoist Immortal
who purportedly slept in the snow in winter, wearing only a simple garment. A warm breath
surrounded his body and melted the snow for ten paces around him.311

Turn Over the River and Stir the Sea

In meditation sexual vitality withdraws. It rises into the Dantian, the “Sea of Qi.” This is sometimes
called, "the river reverses its course" or “reversing the river wheel.” “Stirring the sea,” refers to
letting Heart- Fire move under Kidney-Water – Heart-Fire descends and Kidney- Water moves
upward; Yang and Yin join, Fire and Water meet. The unity of opposites, the meeting of Fire and
Water, creates steam or vapor (Qi), which then fills the lower Dantian.

5. Chen Xi Yi (Chen Tuan) Sleeps Deeply on Mount Hua

5. Chen Xi Yi Sleeps Deeply on Mount Hua312
Cures fatigue after intercourse. Rest the head on the right hand. The left fist rubs up and down on the
[lower] abdomen. Cover and press the right leg with the left. Gather and regulate the breath as you
practice sleeping. Gather Qi [and breath] in the abdomen for thirty-two mouthfuls (breaths). Circulate
Qi this way for ten or twenty mouthfuls. After long practice, the disease will go away automatically.

Note: Fatigue after intercourse is sign that the Jing (Essence) is depleted. This method of Sleeping
Gong gathers and replenishes the Jing.
Perfected beings do not dream,
They sport with the immortals.
Realized ones never sleep,

They float up with the clouds.313

-Poem attributed to Chen Tuan
_________________
299 Shang Han: “Cold Damage.”
300Le Moelle Du Phénix Rouge: Santé & Longue Vie dans la Chine du XVI Siécle, Catherine
Despeux, p. 137.
301 The Beverages of the Chinese: Kung Fu or Taoist Medical Gymnastics: the Population of
China: A Modern Chinese Anatomist; and a Chapter in Chinese Surgery – Primary Source Edition,
by John Dudgeon.
302 The left hand firmly holds the yin (the genitals).
303 Zhuangzi:The Essential Writings with Selections from Traditional Commentaries, translated by
Brook Ziporyn, p. 21
304 Zhuangzi:The Essential Writings with Selections from Traditional Commentaries, translated by
Brook Ziporyn, commentary by Wang Xian Qian, p. 163.
305 Ibid, commentary by Guo Xiang, p. 162.
306
Daoism Explained: From the Dream of the Butterfly to the Fishnet Allegory, by Hans-Georg
Moeller, pp. 44-55.
307 Ibid, p. 53.
308Le Moelle Du Phénix Rouge: Santé & Longue Vie dans la Chine du XVI Siécle, Catherine
Despeux, p. 151.
309In the Daoist Pantheon, Zhang Zhong Jing is one of the “Three Gods of Medicine” along with Hua
Tuo and Sun Si Miao.
310 ShangHan Lun: On Cold Damage, translation and commentaries by Craig Mitchell, Feng Ye and
Nigel Wiseman, p. 9.
311Le Moelle Du Phénix Rouge: Santé & Longue Vie dans la Chine du XVI Siécle, Catherine
Despeux, p. 177.
312 Chen Xi Yi is Chen Tuan.
313 Chen Tuan Discussions and Translations, by Livia Kohn, p, 82.
Lu You (1125–1209) was a prominent poet of China's Southern Song Dynasty. After several
promotions and demotions in his governmental career, Lu You finally resigned his civil-service
commission in 1190 and retired to live in seclusion in his rural hometown. He began to enjoy keeping
in good health, and liked eating pearl barley and “tree ear” mushrooms.314 Purportedly, this preserved
his vision and his hearing until his death.315 Lu wrote a poem that some Daoist commentators say
relates to Sleeping Gong. The poem has a number of hidden implications which can give the reader
further insight into the practice of Sleeping Gong.

Stretched out facing each other in delicious sleep,

Host and Guest forget each other.
Time is up, the guest leaves and the host awakes,
 No longer does the evening sun shine through the Western
window.316
-by Lu You from Jiannan Shijiao
In life, one is a guest and the universe is the host. As a guest in the vast world, one must pay attention
and be sensitive and receptive to the surrounding world.317 This receptive attention is known as Wu
Wei, attending to things without interfering with the patterns and rhythms of nature and without trying
to impose one’s own intentions on the organization of the world.
Host and the guest are mentioned in Chinese books on military strategy, and these books are indirectly
referred to in Chapter 69 of the Dao De Jing.
Military strategists have a saying:
“I dare not play the host, but instead play the guest.
I dare not advance and inch, but instead retreat a foot.”

In other words campaign in such a way that there is no campaign.”318

One must be cautious and receptive to the changing circumstances like a military commander who
should not underestimate his opponent. However, the guest (the warrior) does not take the lead in
order to force a victory. Instead, he fluidly adapts to the situation. Lead in such a way that you face
no opponent.319 If there is no opponent, there is no one to grapple with and no resistance to push
against. The warrior must conform to Heaven and only move afterwards. He Hang Gong refers to
this as “How to Use the Dark One.”320
Sinologist D.C. Lau explains this in another way in his commentary on the Dao De Jing: When I can
focus on my work without regard to ideals or results, but just pay attention. This is doing my duty
in the purest sense. I especially experience this during Yoga; my deepest practice is when I’m
marching forward when there is no road. Roads lead to an end, a goal. To be here in the moment,
alive, is road-less and goal-less. The means is the end.321
In Lu You’s poem, both the guest and the host are the same sleeper. The poem implies that when one
awakens (during and after practicing Sleeping Gong) the “guest” - the aspect of the sleeper that is
constantly “doing,” judging, and imposing its individual ideals and intentions on the world by
dividing things into good and bad - has left. The host - the part of the sleeper that is receptive,
connected and in some sense unified with the surrounding world - awakes. The setting sun is no
longer shining through the window. This means ordinary temporal movement has stopped – Yin and
Yang are unified and whole, returning to the One. The sleeper is connected to their original mind and
primordial consciousness.
As D.C. Lau points out in the following passage, we can see life as a series of battles, or we can
realize that the battles are usually of our own making:
 Life is a cornucopia of problems (“enemies”). When I’m looking for one, I’ll always find one.
The irony in this is that I only take on a problem with the aim of resolving it. But, as there is
an endless supply of problems, there is never any lasting resolution. I find the deepest sense
of resolution in accepting the problematic nature of life. It is a matter of perspective. Once I
realized that ‘problem’ and life were synonymous, it became much easier to let it (problems,
enemies, etc.) be. Is this what is meant by transcendence?322
_________________
314 Two foods that are believed to promote longevity.
315 http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Lu_You

316
The Revival of Qi: Qi Gong in Contemporary China, Chapter 11 by Kunio Miura in Taoist
Meditation and Longevity Techniques, edited by Livia Kohn, p.346.
317Commentary on Chapter 69 of the Dao De Jing, by D.C. Lau. http://www.centertao.org/tao-te-
ching/dc-lau/chapter-69-commentary/
318 The Classic of The Way and Virtue: A New Translation of the Tao-Te Ching of Laozi as
interpreted by Wang Bi, translated by Richard John Lynn, p. 176.
319 Ibid.

320 Ho-Shang-Kung’s Commentary on Lao-Tse, translated and annotated by Eduard Erkes, p. 119.
321Commentary on Chapter 69 of the Dao De Jing, by D.C. Lau. http://www.centertao.org/tao-te-
ching/dc-lau/chapter-69-commentary/
322 Ibid.
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