If one does not seek after the great Tao (Way) in order to release himself from the wrong

mode of life, he will finally lose is chance of possessing the talent -- and is not to be regarded as a wise man. A hundred years of living is but a transient moment, the length of which resembles only a spark struck from a stone. The fate of life is like a bubble floating on water. Those who know nothing but income, emolument, fame, and rank will soon see their faces turning pale and their bodies degenerating. I suppose that the gain of money is capable of filling the valleys, however this non-permanent possession cannot purchase the things which do not come back. [...] The great medicines which await the search will not search for you. If you have them in hand and do not work at compounding them, you are merely ignorant. If you are learning to be a hsien (immortal), you should learn to be a heavenly hsien. The most accurate means (for the purpose) is chin tan (gold medicine). The two things, when put into contact with each other, will indicate harmonius properties. [...] The wonderfully effective management of the fire will not be (completed) in a single morning. [...] The Tiger is dancing, the Dragon is flying, the wind roars and the storm rates violently. The mysterious pearl forms in teh favored central position. It is like the ripening of fruit on the tree and the birth of the foetus from the womb, for the former is certain to ripen and the latter is certain to be born. [...] The fire and the season are to be maintained day and night so that they will conform to the principle of heaven. It is known that the great work can be carried out in cities, and that it is unncessary to wath over solitude in the large mountain. Everyone has a chance of getting the medicine of long life, but unfortunately most people are unintelligent and allow the medicine to be wasted. [...] Tao when ripened will give a man plenty of gold. One need not then pay too much attention to matters as the cutting of wood or the burning of grass (for the cooking of food). [...] (When you have procured the right lead,) put it into an earthen crucible, close the latter tightly and then add to it the proper proportion of liu chu (flowing pearl). [...] Yin and yang, when they are of the same sort, with interlock with each other. [...] In the vegetable world grass and trees are actuated by yin and yang. They could not grow in the absence of either one of these two forces. At the beginning, yang dominates and is indicated by the budding of green leaves. Then, after the development of the blossoms, yin (destructive) follows. This principle of the Tao of constancy has long been the common practice of nature; but how many can understand (the principle of) chn yan (true spring) which can alter this process (of nature)? I advise all of you, who wish to learn Tao, not to begin your work before you understand the principle of yin and yang. [...] Watch with care the fire and the season of the medicinal pot, and let whatever happens occur naturally and without hurry. The tan will ripen at the moment when all the yin is eliminated -- and (by this achievemen a man) can escape out of the cage (of death) with a life of ten thousand years.

[...] I suppose that you can also practice both breathing and thinking (in order to acquire Tao). All these necessarily differ from the affairs of chin tan [gold medicine]. [...] In blending lead and mercury to produce tan, the amount of each should be such that it does no harm to the other. [...] This kind of precious thing will be found in every house. Nevertheless, ignorant people are not able to recognize it. [...] In the use of lead it is not allowable to employ the vulgar lead. [...] The white Tiger grows angry in the western mountains and the green Dragon is irresistibly fierce in the eastern sea. Capture them with both hands and let them fight to death. They then change into a layer of the powder of purple gold. [...] Even though you know what the red cinnabar and what the black lead are, your efforts will still be in vain if you do not understand the fire and the season. [...] The doors of hsan and pin are seldom know by the people. They are really not the nose and the mouth, as some persons think. Even if you practice breathing for years, how can you make the golden wu (crow) captue to tu (rabbit)? [...] White within black is the mother of tan. Female within male is the sage womb. [...] It is needless to borrow the help of blowing or fanning (the fire): the tan will ripen naturally and emerge from the true womb. [...] If a determined scholar wants to learn Tao, he may live in a city or hold office at the same time without any inconvenience. The work is easy and the medicine is not far away. If the secret is disclosed, it will be so simple that everyone may get a good laugh. [...] Wood possesses obedience and the property of loving gold. Gold is compassionate and also tends to attach itself to wood. Since happily they kiss each other, swallow each other and marry each other, it is found that the man is carrying a womb. [...] The female substance is held within the male. Yin embraces the essence of yang. The medicine will be produced by the harmonious action of the two and converts a man into a soul of a hsien or of a sage. [...] A man who fails to recognize the wu hsing (five elements) and the four signs is certainly one who will be befuddled at differentiate cinnabar, mercury, lead, and silver. He has never even heard of the principle of the fire and the season for compounding tan, and he dares to say that he is a great devotee of Taoism. Never considering his mistake, he teaches others in turn, and teaches mistakenly. He ruins the mercury of others by misleading them into an uncharted port. How can one have the heart to do this? [...] Tan is the supremely priceless valuable medicine of the material body. Successful compounding leads to endless changes; it makes it possible for one to ascend to meet the chn tsung (true men) and further to solve the (problem) of wu shng (non-living) by its skillful use.

[...] Even if you are able to appredhend the true nature of Buddhism (i.e., to become of a Buddha), you will not be able to avoid giving up your body here and aquiring another body there. What can be better than compounding the great tan at the same time? Then you can overcome wu to (no leak) to become a chn jn (true man, hsien). Wu Chen Pien, Essay on the Understanding of Truth by Chang Po-tuan 1078 AD (Chinese) ===================================================== The more the Gold Medicine is heated, the more exquisite are the transformations it passes through. Yellow gold will not be changed even after long heating in the fire, nor will it rot after long burial in the earth. The eating of these two medicines will therefore so strengthen ones body that he will not grow old and die. [...] Upon learning the Art one will feel as if he had just come out of a filthy cesspool into the open sea, or left the firefly for the sunlight and moonlight. [...] Of the numerous things in the world, the Art and the Tao are the most difficult to comprehend. How then can people of ordinary endowment pass the judgement that there cannot possibly be a way to immortality? If one harbors doubts about the Tao merely because of popular disbelief, then he is assuming the mass to be wise people. How numerous then will the wise ones in this world be! Furthermore, those who understand the Tao and work for its attainment -- are they not the most stupid, even more stupid than the common people? Many fear to attempt to seek for immortality, lest they should fail and expose themselves to ridicule as victims of follow and deception. But supposing that the common people are not infallible and that their idea about the Tao is one mistake they make among ten thousand sound judgements, will not those who have laughed by laughed at by the ones who succeed despite discouragement and ridicule? Even the sun and moon cannot shine of everything; how can the peoples mind be so omniscient as to be entirely trustworthy? [...] Although the proper method of breathing and directing the movements of the Chi (ethereal essence) of the body, and the eating of vegetable medicine, may extend peoples life, yet they will not keep people from death. But the eating of the Shn Tan (Divine Medicine) confers immortality on the eater, enabling him to last as long as heaven and earth and ride on clouds and dragons up and down the Tai Ching (Great Clearness). [...] Whoever eats any of the medicines may rise on high or stay in this world according to his desire. [...] In compounding the medicine the chief thing to be guarded against is the ridicule of the disbeliever. On The Gold Medicine and On The Yellow and The White by Ko Hung 4th Cen. (Chinese) =====================================================

Our fellow-workers must be able to recognize the true lead and mercury, which are neither common cinnabar or mercury [...] The scenery of your own garden is beautiful. In the spring there are favorable breezes and rains. It does not cost you must energy to plow and to dig. The whole area will fill up with yellow gold. [...] When the husband and wife live together, clouds and rain are produced in the bridal chamber. A child is born every year, and every one of these children is able to ride on the cranes back. Four Hundred Word Chin Tan by Chang Po-tuan 11th Cen. (Chinese) ===================================================== This (art) is a matter for inference. Our comrades of Tao all know the idea. Yet, after they know it, a number of the followers-of-learning-the-truth still prefer to practice the method of keep-onthinking and of exercising the chi (ethereal essence). (But the art, the preparation of chin tan) is also very easy. Anyone who has taken the dose will realize its incomparable efficacy. It removes any illness at first, then prolongs ones life. It is formed by cooking with fire, and is changed into a body of yang (i. e. into a mass of potency). Those who desire to learn Tao should think the matter over for themselves. Do not permit yourself to be ensnared by the small talismans of other doctrines. [...] The wonderful Tao exists not far away from your own body. It is not necessarily found in the high mountains or in unknown waters. Three Alchemical Poems by Chang Po-tuan 11th Cen. (Chinese) ===================================================== Things in the universe are all produced from the single chi (ethereal essence) which embodies both the will of the clear sky and the will of the clouded earth. [...] When bamboo ware is broken, bamboo is needed for repairing. When a mans energy wears out, lead is required for re-strengthening. Think the matter over. (The medicine) may be found directly in front of your eyes. The trouble is that the common people cannot perceive it. [...] The wonderful pill of longevity occurs in your own house and yard. It may appear in a single moment. [...] Lead and mercury are procured within your own body. Shih Hsing-lin, Disciple of Chang Po-tuan And Hsieh Tao-kuang, Disciple of Shih Hsling-lin 11th - 13th Cen. (?) (Chinese)

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