---
type: article
status: Published
slug: "huangting-inner-landscape"
title: "The Yellow Court Scripture, Inner Landscape (Huangting Neijing Jing)"
author: "Anonymous (Daoist scripture)"
tradition: "alchemy"
language: "lzh"
genre: "Daoist inner-alchemy scripture"
period: "Wei-Jin, 3rd–4th c. CE"
source_url: "https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/太上黃庭內景玉經/全覽"
certainty: observed
source: "https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/太上黃庭內景玉經/全覽"
unknowns: none known
---
# The Yellow Court Scripture, Inner Landscape (Huangting Neijing Jing)

## Original

### The Yellow Court, the Gods of the Body, and the Five Organ Palaces (chapters 1-13)

1.上清紫霞虛皇前，太上大道玉晨君，閑居蘂珠作七言，散化五形變萬神，是為《黃庭》作內篇。琴心三叠舞胎僊，九氣映明出霄間，神蓋童子生紫煙，是曰玉書可精研。詠之萬遍昇三天，千灾以消百病痊，不憚虎狼之兇殘，亦以卻老年永延。

2.上有魂靈下關元，左為少陽右太陰，後有密戶前生門，出日入月呼吸存。元炁所合列宿分，紫煙上下三素雲。灌溉五華植靈根，七液洞流衝盧間，迴紫抱黃入丹田，幽室內明照陽門。

3.口為玉池太和宮，漱咽靈液灾不干，體生光華氣香蘭，卻滅百邪玉煉顏。審能修之登廣寒，晝夜不寐乃成真，雷鳴電激神泯泯。

4.雷鳴電激神泯泯，黃庭內人服錦衣，紫華飛裙雲氣羅，丹青綠條翠靈柯，七蕤玉籥閉兩扉，重掩金關密樞機。玄泉幽闕高崔巍，三田之中精氣微，嬌女窈窕翳霄暉，重堂煥煥揚八威，天庭地關列斧斤，靈台盤固永不衰。

5.中池內神服赤珠，丹錦雲袍帶虎符，橫津三寸靈所居，隱芝翳鬱自相扶。

6.天中之嶽精謹修，靈宅既清玉帝遊，通利道路無終休。眉號華蓋覆明珠，九幽日月洞虛元，宅中有真常衣丹，審能見之無疾患。赤珠靈裙華蒨粲，舌下玄膺生死岸。出青入玄二炁煥，子若遇之昇天漢。

7.至道不煩訣存真，泥丸百節皆有神，髮神蒼華字太元，腦神精根字泥丸，眼神明上字英玄，鼻神玉壟字靈堅，耳神空閑字幽田，舌神通命字正倫，齒神崿鋒字羅千。一面之神宗泥丸，泥丸九真皆有房，方圓一寸處此中，同服紫衣飛羅裳。但思一部壽無窮，非各別住居腦中，列位次坐向外方，所存在心自相當。

8.心神丹元字守靈，肺神皓華字虛成，肝神龍煙字含明，翳鬱導煙主濁清，腎神玄冥字育嬰，脾神常在字魂停，膽神龍曜字威明。六腑五臟神體精，皆在心內運天經，晝夜存之自長生。

9.肺部之宮似華蓋，下有童子坐玉闕，七元之子主調氣，外應中嶽鼻齊位。素錦衣裳黃雲帶，喘息呼吸體不快，急存白元和六氣，神僊久視無灾害，用之不已形不滯。

10.心部之宮蓮含華，下有童子丹元家，主適寒熱榮衛和，丹錦飛裳披玉羅，金鈴朱帶坐婆娑。調血理命身不枯，外應口舌吐玉華，臨絕呼之亦登蘇，久久行之飛太霞。

11.肝部之宮翠重裏，下有青童神公子，主諸關鏡聰明始，青錦披裳佩玉鈴，和制魂魄津液平，外應眼目日月精。百疴所鐘存無英，同用七日自充盈，垂絕念神死復生，攝魂還魄永無傾。

12.腎部之宮玄關圓，中有童子冥上玄，主諸六腑九液源，外應兩耳百液津，蒼錦雲衣舞龍幡。上致明霞日月煙，百病千灾急當存，兩部水王對生門，使人長生昇九天。

13.脾部之宮屬戊己，中有明童黃裳裏，消榖散氣攝牙齒，是為太倉兩明童，坐在金臺城九重，方圓一寸命門中。主調百穀五味香，辟卻虛羸無病傷，外應尺宅氣色芳，光華所生以表明，黃錦玉衣帶虎章，注念三老子輕翔，長生高僊遠死殃。

### Gallbladder and Spleen Elders, the Three Passes, Breath, and Guarding the Essence (chapters 14-26)

14.膽部之宮六腑精，中有童子曜威明，雷電八振揚玉旌，龍旗橫天擲火鈴。主諸氣力攝虎兵，外應眼童鼻柱間，腦髮相扶亦俱鮮，九色錦衣綠華裙，佩金帶玉龍虎文，能存威明乘慶雲，役使萬神朝三元。

15.脾長一尺掩太倉，中部老君治明堂，厥字靈元名混康，治人百病消榖糧，黃衣紫帶龍虎章，長精益命賴君王。三呼我名神自通，三老同坐各有朋，或精或胎別執方，桃孩合延生華芒。男女徊九有桃康，道父道母對相望，師父師母丹玄鄉，可用存思登虛空，殊途一會歸要終。閉塞三關握固停，含漱金醴吞玉英，遂至不飢三蟲亡，心意常和致欣昌。五嶽之雲氣彭亨，保灌玉盧以自償，五形完堅無灾殃。

16.上睹三元如連珠，落落明景照九隅，五靈夜燭煥八區。子存內皇與我遊，身披鳳衣銜虎符，一至不久昇虛無。方寸之中念深藏，不方不圓閉牖窗，三神還精老方壯，魂魄內守不爭競。神生腹中銜玉璫，靈注幽闕那得喪，琳條萬尋可蔭仗，三魂自寧帝書命。

17.靈臺鬱藹望黃野，三寸異室有上下，間關營衛高玄受，洞房紫極靈門戶。是昔太上告我者，左神公子發神語，右有白元併立處，明堂金匱玉房間，上清真人當吾前。黃裳子丹氣頻煩，借問何在兩眉端？內俠日月列宿陳，七曜九元冠生門。

18.三關之中精氣深，九微之內幽且陰，口為天關精神機，足為地關生命扉，手為人關把盛衰。

19.若得三宮存玄丹，太一流珠安崑崙，重中樓閣十二環，自高自下皆真人。玉堂絳宇盡玄宮，璇璣玉衡色蘭玕，瞻望童子坐盤桓，問誰家子在我身？此人何去入泥丸，千千百百自相連，一一十十似重山。雲儀玉華俠耳門，赤帝黃老與我魂，三真扶骨共房津，五斗煥明是七元，日月飛行六合間，帝鄉天中地戶端，面部魂神皆相存。

20.呼吸元氣以求僊，僊公公子似在前，朱鳥吐縮白石源，結精育胞化生身，留胎止精可長生。三氣右徊九道明，正一含華乃充盈，遙望一心如羅星，金室之下可不傾，延我白首反孩嬰。

21.瓊室之中八素集，泥丸夫人當中立，長谷玄鄉繞郊邑，六龍散飛難分別。長生至慎房中急，何為死作令神泣？忽之禍鄉三靈歿。但當吸氣錄子精，寸田尺宅可治生，若當決海百瀆傾，葉去樹枯失青青，氣亡液漏非己形。專閉御景乃長寧，保我泥丸三奇靈，恬淡閑視內自明，物物不干泰而平，愨矣匪事老復丁，思詠玉書入上清。

22.常念三房相通達，洞視得見無內外，存漱五芽不飢渴，神華執巾六丁謁。急守精室勿妄泄，閉而寶之可長活。起自形中初不闊，三官近在易隱括。虛無寂寂空中素，使形如是不當污。九室正虛神明舍，存思百念視節度，六腑修治勿令故，行自翱翔入雲路。

23.治生之道了不煩，但修洞玄與玉篇，兼行形中八景神，二十四真出自然，高拱無為魂魄安，清淨神見與我言，安在紫房幃幕間，立坐室外三五玄。燒香接手玉華前，共入太室璇璣門，高研恬淡道之園，內視密盼盡見真，真人在己莫問鄰，何處遠索求因緣。

24.隱景藏形與世殊，含氣養精口如朱，帶執性命守虛無，名入上清死録除，三神之樂由隱居。倏歘遊遨無遺憂，羽服一整八風驅，控駕三素乘晨霞，金輦正位從玉輿，何不登山誦我書。鬱鬱窈窈真人墟，入山何難故躊躇，人間紛紛臭如帑。

25.五行相推反歸一，三五合氣九九節，可用隱地回八術，伏牛幽闕羅品列。三名出於生死際，洞房靈象斗日月，父曰泥丸母雌一，三光煥照入子室。能存玄真萬事畢，一身精神不可失。

26.高奔日月吾上道，鬱儀結璘善相保，乃見玉清虛無老，可以回顏填血腦。口銜靈芝携五星，腰帶虎籙佩金璫，駕歘接生宴東蒙。

### Refining Spirit, Abstaining from Grain, Liver and Lung Qi, and the Rite of Transmission (chapters 27-36)

27.玄元上一魂魄煉，一之為物叵卒見，須得至真乃顧眄，至忌死氣諸穢賤，六神合集虛中宴。結珠固精養神根，玉𥫽金籥常完堅，閉口屈舌食胎津，使我遂煉獲飛僊。

28.僊人道士非有神，積精累氣以為真。黃童妙音難可聞，玉書絳簡赤丹文。字曰真人巾金巾，負甲持符開七門，火兵符圖備靈關，前昂後卑高下陳。持劍百丈舞錦蟠，十絕盤空扇紛紜，火鈴冠霄墜落煙，安在黃闕兩眉間，此非枝葉實是根。

29.紫清上皇大道君，太玄太和俠侍端，化生萬物使我僊，飛昇十天駕玉輪。晝夜七日思勿眠，子能修之可長存。積功成煉非自然，是由精誠亦由專，內守堅固真之真，虛中恬淡自致神。

30.百穀之實土地精，五味外美邪魔腥，臭亂神明胎氣零，那從反老得還嬰？三魂忽忽魄糜傾！何不食氣太和精，故能不死入黃寧。

31.心典一體五臟王，動靜念之道德行，清潔善氣自明光，坐起吾俱共棟樑，晝日曜景暮閉藏，通達華精調陰陽。

32.經歷六合隱卯酉，兩腎之神主延壽，轉降適斗藏初九，知雄守雌可無老，知白守黑急坐守。

33.肝氣鬱勃清且長，羅列六腑生三光。心精意專內不傾，上合三焦下玉漿。玄液雲行去臭香，治蕩髮齒煉五方。取津玄膺入明堂，下溉喉嚨神明通。坐侍華蓋遊貴京，飄飄三清席清涼，五色雲氣紛青葱，閉目內眄自相望，使諸心神還自崇，七玄英華開命門，通利天道存玄根。百二十年猶可還，過此守道誠甚難，唯待九轉八瓊丹，要復精思存七元，日月之華救老殘，肝氣周流終無端。

34.肺之為氣三焦起，視聽幽冥候童子，調理五華精髮齒，三十六咽玉池裏，開通百脈血液始。顏色生光金玉澤，齒堅髮黑不知白，存此真神勿落落，當憶紫宮有座席，衆神合會轉相索。

35.隱藏羽蓋看天舍，朝拜太陽樂相呼，明神八威正辟邪，脾神還歸是胃家。耽養靈根不復枯，閉塞命門保玉都，萬神方胙壽有餘，是謂脾建在中宮。五臟六腑神明主，上合天門入明堂，守雌存雄頂三光，外方內圓神在中。通利血脈五臟豐，骨青筋赤髓如霜，脾救七竅去不祥，日月列布設陰陽。兩神相會化玉英，淡然無味天人糧，子丹進饌肴正黃，乃曰琅膏及玉霜。太上隱環八素瓊，溉益八液腎受精，伏於太陰見我形，揚風三玄出始青。恍惚之間至清靈，戲於飆臺見赤生，逸域熙真養華榮，內盼沉默煉五形。三氣徘徊得神明，隱龍遁芝雲琅英，可以充飢使萬靈，上蓋玄玄下虎章。

36.沐浴盛潔棄肥薰，入室東向誦玉篇，約得萬遍義自鮮，散髮無欲以長存。五味皆至正氣還，夷心寂悶勿煩冤。過數已畢體神精，黃華玉女告子情，真人既至使六丁，即授隱芝大洞經。十讀四拜朝太上，先謁太帝後北向，黃庭內經玉書暢。授者曰師受者盟，雲錦鳳羅金鈕纏，以代割髮肌膚全，携手登山歃液丹，金書玉景乃可宣。傳得審授告三官，勿令七祖受冥患，太上微言致神僊，不死之道此真文。

## Translation — Mouseia

> Mouseia’s complete machine-assisted Musean translation, made directly from the Chinese Wikisource full-view transcription of the Daozang text (revision 2690821), collated by its editors with the Daozang jiyao and Dong Dening texts, covering all 36 chapters, 3,066 characters (the preface and the commentary are not included), for fidelity, clarity, imagery and cadence.

### The Yellow Court, the Gods of the Body, and the Five Organ Palaces (chapters 1-13)

1. Before the Void Sovereign in the purple glow of Highest Clarity,
the Lord of the Jade Dawn, of the Most High and Great Way,
at leisure in Stamen Pearl, composed these lines of seven words;
he scattered and transformed the five forms, changing them into ten thousand spirits,
and so made the inner chapters of the Yellow Court.
The lute-heart folds threefold, and the embryo immortal dances;
nine breaths blaze forth in brightness from the heights of heaven;
the spirit canopy and the child bring forth purple smoke.
This is called the Jade Book, and it can be studied with utmost care.
Chant it ten thousand times and you will rise to the Three Heavens;
a thousand calamities will melt away, a hundred illnesses be healed;
you will not fear the savagery of tigers and wolves,
and you will hold off old age and lengthen your years without end.

2. Above lies the numinous soul; below, the Gate of Origin;
on the left, Lesser Yang; on the right, Great Yin;
behind, the Secret Door; before, the Gate of Life;
out with the sun, in with the moon, breathing, and holding them in mind.
Where the primal breath comes together, the ranked constellations part;
purple smoke above and below, and the three plain clouds.
They water the five blossoms and plant the numinous root;
the seven fluids run clear through and rush into the throat;
circling the purple, embracing the yellow, they enter the Cinnabar Field;
the secluded chamber glows within and shines on the Gate of Yang.

3. The mouth is the Jade Pool, the Palace of Great Harmony;
rinse and swallow the numinous fluid, and calamity cannot touch you;
the body puts forth radiance, the breath is fragrant as orchid;
a hundred evils are driven off and destroyed, and the face is refined like jade.
If you can truly practice this, you will climb to the Vast Cold;
by day and night without sleep you will become a True One;
thunder roars, lightning strikes, and the spirit fades into stillness.

4. Thunder roars, lightning strikes, and the spirit fades into stillness.
In the Yellow Court the inner people wear robes of brocade,
skirts of purple blossom that fly, gauzy with cloud vapor,
cinnabar and azure, green sashes, emerald boughs of the numen;
a jade key of seven tassels bars the two doors,
and twice over it veils the golden gate and its hidden pivot.
The Dark Spring and the Secluded Gate-Tower rise high and towering;
in the midst of the Three Fields, essence and breath are subtle;
the delicate maiden, graceful, veils the radiance of the heavens;
the Double Hall blazes, raising the Eight Awes;
at the Heavenly Court and the Earth Gate, axes and hatchets stand in ranks;
the Numinous Terrace stands coiled and firm, and will never decline.

5. The spirit within the Central Pool wears crimson pearls,
a cloud robe of cinnabar brocade, a tiger tally at the belt;
the Transverse Ford, of three inches, is where the numen dwells;
hidden fungus and dense shade uphold one another.

6. Tend with essence and care the peak at the center of heaven;
once the numinous dwelling is clear, the Jade Emperor roams there;
the roads and paths run open and free, and never cease.
The brows, called the Flowery Canopy, cover the bright pearls;
the sun and moon of the Nine Secluded Realms pierce through to the Void Origin;
in the dwelling is a True One who always wears cinnabar;
if you can truly see him, you will be free of sickness.
Crimson pearls, a numinous skirt, flowered and radiant scarlet;
beneath the tongue, the Dark Breast, the shore of life and death;
the two breaths, green going out, dark coming in, blaze forth;
if you meet them, you will rise to the River of Heaven.

7. The supreme Way is not complicated; its secret is to hold the true in mind.
The Mud Pellet and the hundred joints all have their spirits:
the hair's spirit, Azure Blossom, is styled Great Origin;
the brain's spirit, Essence Root, is styled Mud Pellet;
the eyes' spirit, Bright Above, is styled Dark Bloom;
the nose's spirit, Jade Ridge, is styled Numinous Firmness;
the ears' spirit, Empty Leisure, is styled Secluded Field;
the tongue's spirit, Open Destiny, is styled Right Order;
the teeth's spirit, Cliff Edge, is styled Thousand Ranks.
The spirits of the whole face take the Mud Pellet as their head;
in the Mud Pellet the Nine True Ones each have a chamber,
and in a space an inch across, square or round, they dwell,
all wearing purple robes and skirts of flying gauze.
Only contemplate one part, and your years will be without end;
it is not that each lives apart, in a separate place in the brain;
they sit in rows in their order, facing outward;
what you hold in mind in your heart answers to them of itself.

8. The heart's spirit, Cinnabar Origin, is styled Guardian of the Numen;
the lungs' spirit, Gleaming Blossom, is styled Void Complete;
the liver's spirit, Dragon Smoke, is styled Holding Light;
Dense Shade and Smoke Guide govern the turbid and the clear;
the kidneys' spirit, Dark Obscurity, is styled Nurturing Infant;
the spleen's spirit, Ever Present, is styled Soul at Rest;
the gallbladder's spirit, Dragon Radiance, is styled Awesome Light.
The six bowels and the five organs, spirit and body alike pure,
all within the heart turn the heavenly course;
hold them in mind by day and night, and long life comes of itself.

9. The palace of the lungs is like a flowery canopy;
below it a child sits on the jade gate-tower;
the Son of the Seven Origins governs and tunes the breath;
outwardly he answers to the Central Peak, the nose, in its own place.
He wears a plain brocade robe and a belt of yellow cloud;
when you pant and gasp and the body is ill at ease,
quickly hold the White Origin in mind and bring the six breaths into harmony;
you will be a spirit immortal who sees for ages, free of calamity and harm;
practice it without pause and the body will not stagnate.

10. The palace of the heart is a lotus holding its blossom;
below it is the home of the child, Cinnabar Origin;
he governs the balance of cold and heat, and the harmony of the nourishing and the guarding breaths;
in flying skirts of cinnabar brocade, a mantle of jade gauze,
with golden bells and a vermilion belt, he sits swaying at ease.
He tunes the blood and orders life, so that the body does not wither;
outwardly he answers to the mouth and tongue, which put forth jade blossoms;
even at the brink of death, call on him and you will rise and revive;
practice it long, long, and you will fly to the Great Glow.

11. The palace of the liver is wrapped in layer on layer of emerald;
below it is the Azure Child, the spirit young lord;
he governs all the gates and mirrors, where keen hearing and clear sight begin;
in an azure brocade mantle, with jade bells at his belt,
he harmonizes and restrains the spirit-soul and the body-soul, and levels the fluids;
outwardly he answers to the eyes, the essence of sun and moon.
Where a hundred maladies gather, hold Bloomless in mind;
use it together for seven days and you will fill to fullness of yourself;
at the point of death, think on the spirit and the dying will live again;
draw in the spirit-soul and bring back the body-soul, and you will never fall.

12. The palace of the kidneys is a round Dark Gate;
within it is a child, Obscurity Above the Dark;
he governs the source of all the six bowels and the nine fluids;
outwardly he answers to the two ears, the ford of a hundred fluids;
in azure brocade and a cloud robe he dances with dragon banners.
Upward he brings the bright glow, the smoke of sun and moon;
for a hundred illnesses and a thousand calamities, hold him in mind at once;
the two divisions, kings of water, face the Gate of Life,
and they let a person live long and rise to the Nine Heavens.

13. The palace of the spleen belongs to Wu and Ji;
within it is a bright child, wrapped in a yellow skirt;
he dissolves grain, spreads breath, and holds the teeth in his keeping;
these are the two bright children of the Great Granary,
who sit on a golden terrace, a city of nine tiers,
an inch across, square or round, within the Gate of Destiny.
They govern and tune the hundred grains and the fragrance of the five flavors;
they ward off weakness and emaciation, and no illness or injury comes;
outwardly they answer to the Foot-Long Dwelling, its color and breath fragrant;
the radiance that springs from them makes all this plain.
In yellow brocade and jade robes, with a tiger emblem at the belt,
fix your thought on the Three Elders and you will soar lightly;
you will live long, become a high immortal, and stay far from the woes of death.

### Gallbladder and Spleen Elders, the Three Passes, Breath, and Guarding the Essence (chapters 14-26)

14. The palace of the gallbladder is the essence of the six bowels;
within it is a child, Radiant Awesome Light;
eightfold the thunder and lightning shake, raising jade pennants;
dragon banners stretch across the sky and hurl bells of fire.
He governs all strength of breath and commands the tiger soldiers;
outwardly he answers to the pupils of the eyes and the pillar of the nose;
brain and hair sustain one another, and both are bright and fresh.
In a brocade of nine colors, a skirt of green blossom,
gold at his side, jade at his belt, patterned with dragon and tiger,
if you can hold Awesome Light in mind, you will ride the clouds of good omen
and send the ten thousand spirits to pay court to the Three Origins.

15. The spleen is a foot long and covers the Great Granary;
in the central division the Elder Lord governs the Hall of Light;
his style is Numinous Origin, his name Blended Ease;
he cures a person's hundred illnesses and dissolves grain and food;
in a yellow robe and purple sash, with the emblem of dragon and tiger,
to lengthen the essence and add to life, one relies on this sovereign lord.
Call my name three times and the spirit opens to you of itself;
the Three Elders sit together, each with his companions;
some for the essence, some for the embryo, each holds a separate method;
the Peach Child joins them to prolong life and bring forth a blossoming radiance.
Men and women, circling through the Nine, have Peach Ease within;
the Father of the Way and the Mother of the Way face each other;
the Father-Teacher and the Mother-Teacher dwell in the country of cinnabar and dark;
by holding them in mind and contemplating them you may climb into the void;
the paths differ, but they meet in one and return to the end that matters.
Shut and seal the Three Passes, hold fast, and be still;
rinse the mouth with golden nectar and swallow the jade bloom;
then you will feel no hunger, and the Three Worms will perish;
with heart and mind always in harmony, you will reach joy and flourishing.
The cloud vapor of the Five Peaks swells and billows;
guard and water the Jade Throat, and so make yourself whole;
the five forms will be complete and firm, without calamity or harm.

16. Above, you see the Three Origins like a string of pearls;
far and wide their bright light shines on the nine corners;
the five numinous ones, lamps in the night, blaze across the eight regions.
You who hold the Inner Sovereign in mind, roam with me;
in a phoenix robe, bearing the tiger tally,
arrive but once, and before long you will rise into the void and the nothing.
Within the square inch, let thought lie deeply stored;
neither square nor round, shut its windows and shutters;
the three spirits restore the essence, and the old grow strong again;
the spirit-soul and the body-soul keep guard within and do not contend.
The spirit born within the belly bears a jade pendant;
the numen pours into the Secluded Gate-Tower—how could it be lost?
Boughs of fine jade, ten thousand fathoms tall, give shade and support;
the three spirit-souls are calm of themselves, by the Emperor's written command.

17. The Numinous Terrace, thick with haze, looks out on the yellow plain;
within three inches lie strange chambers, some above, some below;
through the winding passes the nourishing and guarding breaths are received by the High Dark;
the Cavern Chamber and the Purple Pole are the doors and gates of the numen.
This is what the Most High told me long ago:
on the left, the Spirit Young Lord utters spirit words;
on the right, the White Origin stands beside him;
between the Hall of Light, the golden casket and the jade chamber,
the True One of Highest Clarity stands before me.
The Child of Cinnabar in his yellow skirt, his breath thick and quick—
may I ask where he is? At the tips of the two brows?
Within, flanked by sun and moon, the ranked constellations are laid out;
the Seven Luminaries and the Nine Origins crown the Gate of Life.

18. In the midst of the Three Passes, essence and breath lie deep;
within the Nine Subtleties it is secluded and shaded;
the mouth is the Gate of Heaven, the pivot of essence and spirit;
the feet are the Gate of Earth, the door of life and destiny;
the hands are the Gate of Man, holding the balance of flourishing and decline.

19. If you can hold the dark cinnabar in the Three Palaces,
the Great One's flowing pearl will rest on Kunlun;
within the layers stand towers and pavilions in twelve rings;
from the highest to the lowest, all are True Ones.
The Jade Hall and the crimson eaves are all Dark Palaces;
the Turning Pivot and the Jade Beam gleam the color of orchid jade.
Look up: children sit lingering there;
I ask, whose children are these that dwell in my body?
Where do these people go? They enter the Mud Pellet;
by thousands and by hundreds they join one to another,
one by one and ten by ten, like mountain upon mountain.
Cloud Regalia and Jade Blossom flank the gates of the ears;
the Red Emperor and the Yellow Elder are with my spirit-soul;
the Three True Ones support the bones and share the fluid of the chambers;
the Five Dippers blaze with light—they are the Seven Origins;
sun and moon fly through the Six Directions;
the Emperor's country lies at the center of heaven, at the head of the Earth Door;
in the region of the face, souls and spirits are all held in mind together.

20. Breathe the primal breath in and out, and seek immortality;
the immortal lord and the young lord seem to stand before you;
the Vermilion Bird breathes out and draws in at the source of the White Stones;
bind the essence, nurture the womb, and a living body is born by transformation;
keep the embryo, stop the essence, and you may live long.
The three breaths circle to the right, and the Nine Paths grow bright;
the Upright One holds its blossom, and all is filled to fullness;
gaze far to the one heart, like stars spread out;
beneath the Golden Chamber you will not fall;
it lengthens my life, though my head is white, and turns me back to infancy.

21. In the Chamber of Gems the Eight Plain Ones gather;
the Lady of the Mud Pellet stands in the center;
the Long Valley and the Dark Country circle the outskirts and the towns;
six dragons fly scattering, hard to tell apart.
For long life, the utmost caution is needed—in the bedchamber, most of all;
why bring on death by your own act and make the spirits weep?
Neglect it, and you are in the country of disaster; the three numens perish.
Only draw in the breath and keep the register of your essence;
the Inch Field and the Foot-Long Dwelling can order life;
if the sea were breached, a hundred channels would pour out;
the leaves leave, the tree withers, the lush green is lost;
breath gone, fluid spilled, the form is no longer your own.
Seal it with a single mind and rein in the light, and you will know lasting peace;
guard my Mud Pellet and its three wondrous numens;
in calm and plainness, look at leisure, and within you grow bright of yourself;
things one by one do not intrude; all is serene and level;
be sincere and free of affairs, and the old become men in their prime again;
contemplate and chant the Jade Book, and enter Highest Clarity.

22. Keep in mind always that the Three Chambers open into one another;
seeing through them, you can perceive with no inside or outside;
hold in mind and rinse with the Five Sprouts, and you will neither hunger nor thirst;
Spirit Blossom carries the towel, and the Six Ding come to pay their respects.
Guard the chamber of essence at once, and let none of it spill in folly;
keep it shut and treasure it, and you can live long.
It rises from within the form, at first not wide;
the Three Offices lie close at hand and are easy to rein in.
Void and nothing, silent and still, the plain within the empty:
let the form be so, and it will not be defiled.
The Nine Chambers, truly empty, are the lodging of the spirit-light;
hold in mind and contemplate through a hundred thoughts, watching the measure;
tend and order the six bowels, and let them not grow old,
and you will go soaring of yourself onto the road of clouds.

23. The way to order life is not burdensome at all;
only cultivate the Cavern Dark and the Jade Chapters,
and together with them practice the Eight Radiances, the spirits within the form;
the Twenty-Four True Ones will come forth of their own accord.
With hands folded high, doing nothing, spirit-soul and body-soul are at peace;
in pure stillness the spirits appear and speak with me.
Where are they? In the Purple Chamber, amid curtains and hangings;
outside the chamber they stand and sit, the dark ones, in threes and fives.
Burn incense, and join hands before the Jade Blossom;
together enter the Great Chamber by the gate of the Turning Pivot;
on high, in calm and plainness, study the garden of the Way;
look within, gaze in secret, and you will see all the True Ones.
The True One is in yourself—do not ask the neighbors;
why go far afield to search for a destined tie?

24. Hide your radiance, conceal your form, and be set apart from the world;
hold the breath, nourish the essence, and your lips are red as cinnabar;
with nature and destiny held at your belt, keep to the void and the nothing;
your name enters Highest Clarity, struck from the register of death;
the joy of the Three Spirits comes from dwelling in seclusion.
In an instant you roam and wander, with no worry left behind;
once you have settled your feathered robe, the eight winds are driven off;
take the reins of the three plain clouds and ride the dawn glow;
the golden carriage takes its station, and the jade coach follows;
why not climb the mountain and recite my book?
Lush and dim, the haunt of the True Ones;
what is hard about entering the mountain, that you hang back?
In the human world all is bustle and stench, like the reek of a treasury.

25. The Five Phases press one another on and return to the One;
the Threes and Fives join their breath in nine times nine joints;
you may use Hidden Earth and turn the Eight Arts;
the Crouching Ox in the Secluded Gate-Tower spreads out its ranks in rows.
The Three Names emerge at the border of life and death;
the numinous images of the Cavern Chamber are Dipper, sun and moon;
the father is called the Mud Pellet, the mother the Female One;
the Three Lights blaze and shine into your chamber.
If you can hold the Dark True One in mind, all affairs are done;
the essence and spirit of the whole body must not be lost.

26. Speeding high toward sun and moon, I take the upward Way;
Yuyi and Jielin, guard one another well;
then you will see the Elder of Void and Nothing in Jade Clarity,
and you can restore your face and fill blood and brain.
With a numinous fungus in your mouth, carrying the five stars,
a tiger register at your waist, golden pendants at your side,
you ride out in an instant to meet the banquet of life at Dongmeng.

### Refining Spirit, Abstaining from Grain, Liver and Lung Qi, and the Rite of Transmission (chapters 27-36)

27. In the Dark Origin, the Supreme One, spirit-soul and body-soul are refined;
as a thing, the One cannot be seen at a glance;
you must attain the utmost truth before you may cast it a look.
What you must shun above all is the breath of death and every foul and mean thing;
the Six Spirits gather together and feast in the void.
Bind the pearl, make the essence firm, nourish the root of the spirit;
the jade bolt and the golden key stay whole and firm;
close the mouth, curl the tongue, and feed on the embryo's fluid,
so that I may finally complete the refining and gain flight as an immortal.

28. Immortals and masters of the Way are not spirits by nature;
by piling up essence and heaping up breath they become true.
The wondrous voice of the Yellow Child is hard to hear;
the jade book, the crimson tablets, the writing in red cinnabar.
He is styled True One, in a golden kerchief;
in armor, bearing the tally, he opens the seven gates;
fire soldiers, tallies and charts stand ready at the numinous pass,
some raised in front, some low behind, ranked high and low.
Wielding swords a hundred rods long, they dance in coils of brocade;
the Ten Severances wheel through the sky, fanning and swirling;
bells of fire crown the heavens and fall as smoke.
Where? At the Yellow Gate-Tower between the two brows:
this is no branch or leaf; it is the root.

29. The Supreme Sovereign of Purple Clarity, the Lord of the Great Way,
with Great Dark and Great Harmony attending on either side,
transforms and gives birth to the ten thousand things, and makes me an immortal;
I fly up through the Ten Heavens, driving the jade wheels.
Seven days and nights, think and do not sleep;
if you can cultivate this, you may endure forever.
Merit piled up and refining achieved do not come of themselves;
they come from utmost sincerity and from single-mindedness;
guard within, firm and unshaken, the truest of the true,
and in emptiness, calm and plain, the spirit comes of itself.

30. The fruit of the hundred grains is the essence of the earth;
the five flavors, fair outside, are the rankness of evil and demons;
their stench confuses the spirit-light, and the embryo's breath dwindles;
how then can one turn back old age and become an infant again?
The three spirit-souls grow faint and hurried, the body-soul wastes and collapses!
Why not eat breath, the essence of Great Harmony?
So you may never die, and may enter the Yellow Repose.

31. The heart presides over the whole body, king of the five organs;
in motion and in stillness, keep it in mind, and the Way and its Virtue are practiced;
pure and clean, the good breath is bright and radiant of itself;
sitting or rising, I am together with it, sharing the ridgepole and the beam;
by day it shines in radiance, at dusk it shuts and stores itself away;
it opens the way to the blossoming essence and tunes yin and yang.

32. Passing through the Six Directions, it hides in Mao and You;
the spirits of the two kidneys govern the lengthening of life;
turning and descending, it meets the Dipper and stores the First Nine;
know the male, keep to the female, and you may be free of age;
know the white, keep to the black; sit and guard it at once.

33. The liver's breath billows up, clear and long;
spread among the six bowels, it gives birth to the Three Lights;
the heart's essence and the mind's focus hold within, unshaken;
above, it joins the Three Burners; below, the Jade Brew.
The dark fluid moves like cloud, dispelling stench and leaving fragrance;
it cleanses and sweeps hair and teeth, and refines the Five Quarters;
take the fluid from the Dark Breast and bring it into the Hall of Light;
it waters the throat below, and the spirit-light passes through.
Seated, you attend the Flowery Canopy and roam the Noble Capital;
drifting, drifting, on the mats of the Three Clarities, cool and clear;
clouds of five colors swirl, fresh and verdant;
close your eyes, look inward, and let them gaze upon one another,
and let all the spirits of the heart return and stand exalted of themselves.
The bloom and blossom of the Seven Darks open the Gate of Destiny;
the Way of Heaven runs clear and free, and the dark root is held in mind.
For a hundred and twenty years you can still return;
beyond that, to keep to the Way is truly hard;
only wait for the Nine-Turn Cinnabar of the Eight Gems,
and once more, with fine concentration, hold the Seven Origins in mind;
the blossom of sun and moon rescues the old and the failing;
the liver's breath circles and flows, and has no end.

34. The lung is breath, and it rises from the Three Burners;
in sight and hearing, in the dim and dark, watch for the child;
it tunes and orders the five blossoms, the essence of hair and teeth;
thirty-six swallows within the Jade Pool
open the hundred vessels, where blood and fluids begin.
The complexion gains radiance, glossy as gold and jade;
the teeth firm, the hair black, and white unknown;
hold this true spirit in mind, and do not be slack;
remember that in the Purple Palace there are seats,
where the many spirits gather and in turn seek one another.

35. Hidden beneath the feathered canopy, look upon the halls of heaven;
pay court to the Great Yang, joyfully calling to one another;
the bright spirit, with his Eight Awes, rightly drives off evil;
the spleen's spirit goes back home, to the house of the stomach.
Delight in nourishing the numinous root, and it will not wither again;
close and seal the Gate of Destiny, and guard the Jade Capital;
then the ten thousand spirits bestow their blessing, and life is more than enough;
this is what is meant by the spleen standing established in the Central Palace.
It is the master of the spirit-light of the five organs and six bowels;
above, it joins the Gate of Heaven and enters the Hall of Light;
keep the female, hold the male in mind, and bear the Three Lights on your crown;
outside square, inside round, with the spirit in the middle.
It clears the vessels of the blood, and the five organs grow rich;
bones green, sinews red, marrow like frost;
the spleen rescues the seven openings and drives away ill omen;
sun and moon are set out in ranks, and yin and yang established.
The two spirits meet and become jade bloom,
tasteless and plain, food of the heavenly;
the Child of Cinnabar serves the dishes, the meats a pure yellow;
they are called lang-gem cream and jade frost.
The Most High's Hidden Ring, the gem of the Eight Plain Ones,
waters and enriches the eight fluids, and the kidneys receive essence;
crouched in the Great Yin, my own form appears;
raising the wind of the Three Darks, it comes forth first green.
In the trance between being and not being, it reaches utmost clarity and numen;
playing on the Whirlwind Terrace, it sees the scarlet arise;
in the carefree realm it thrives, nourishing the true and the blossoming splendor;
gazing inward in silence, refine the five forms.
The three breaths linger and wander, and the spirit-light is gained;
hidden dragon and vanishing fungus, cloud and lang-gem bloom
can fill the hunger and command the ten thousand numens;
above, roofed by Dark upon Dark; below, the tiger emblem.

36. Bathe, make yourself thoroughly clean, and put away rich meats and pungent herbs;
enter a room facing east and recite the Jade Chapters;
after some ten thousand recitations the sense grows fresh of itself;
with hair unbound and free of desire, you will live long.
When the five flavors have all come, the upright breath returns;
level the heart, be silent and still, and let no vexation or grievance in.
When the count is past and complete, body and spirit are refined;
the Jade Maiden of Yellow Blossom will tell you the truth of it;
once the True One has come, he sets the Six Ding to work,
and then bestows the Great Cavern Scripture of the Hidden Fungus.
Read it ten times, bow four times, and pay court to the Most High;
first present yourself to the Great Emperor, then face north;
the Inner Scripture of the Yellow Court, the jade book, flows on unimpeded.
The giver is called the master; the receiver swears a covenant;
cloud brocade and phoenix gauze, wrapped with golden knots,
are used in place of cutting the hair, so that the flesh stays whole;
hand in hand they climb the mountain and sip the liquid cinnabar in oath;
only then may the golden writings and jade radiance be proclaimed.
If you are to pass it on, give it with care, and report to the Three Offices;
do not let the Seven Ancestors suffer the afflictions of the dark;
the subtle words of the Most High bring one to spirit immortality;
the way of deathlessness: this is its true text.

## Translation — Mouseia

> Mouseia’s complete Plain English edition, made independently and directly from the same original, covering all 36 chapters, 3,066 characters (the preface and the commentary are not included).

### The Yellow Court, the Gods of the Body, and the Five Organ Palaces (chapters 1-13)

1. Before the Void Emperor, in the purple clouds of Upper Clarity, the Most High lived at ease in Stamen Pearl. He is the Lord of the Great Way and the Jade Dawn, and he composed these seven-word verses. He scattered the five forms and changed them into ten thousand spirits. This is the inner text he made for the Yellow Court. When the heart is tuned like a lute, three times over, the immortal embryo dances. The nine breaths shine brightly and come out among the clouds. The spirit's canopy and the child bring forth purple mist. This is called the Jade Writing, and it is worth close study. Chant it ten thousand times and you will rise to the Three Heavens. A thousand calamities melt away and a hundred illnesses are healed. You need not fear the fierce cruelty of tigers and wolves. You will also push back old age and stretch out your years for good.

2. Above is the soul-spirit, and below is the Gate of Origin. On the left is Lesser Yang, and on the right is Great Yin. Behind is the Secret Door, and in front is the Gate of Life. As you breathe out and in, picture the sun going out and the moon coming in. Where the primal breath joins together, the constellations are set apart. Purple mist lies above and below, with clouds of the three whites. They water the five flowers and plant the spirit root. The seven fluids flow all the way through and rush through the skull. They turn the purple, embrace the yellow, and enter the Cinnabar Field. In the dark chamber it is bright inside, and the light shines on the Gate of Yang.

3. The mouth is the Jade Pool, the Palace of Great Harmony. Rinse your mouth with the spirit fluid and swallow it, and calamity will not touch you. The body gives off a glowing light, and the breath smells sweet like orchids. It drives away a hundred evils and refines the face like jade. If you can truly practice this, you will climb to the Vast Cold. Go day and night without sleep, and you will become a true being. Thunder rolls and lightning strikes, and the spirits fall still and dim.

4. Thunder rolls and lightning strikes, and the spirits fall still and dim. The inner people of the Yellow Court wear brocade robes. Their skirts of purple flowers fly, draped in gauze made of cloud breath. The colors are cinnabar red and azure, with green sashes and jade-green spirit branches. The jade key with seven tassels locks the two doors. The golden pass is covered twice over, and the secret pivot is kept hidden. The Dark Spring and the Hidden Tower stand high and steep. In the three fields, the essence and breath are faint. The lovely maiden, slender and graceful, veils the light of the sky. The Double Hall glows brightly and raises the eight powers. Heaven's Court and Earth's Gate are lined with axes and hatchets. The Spirit Terrace is coiled and firm, and it will never decay.

5. The spirit inside the Middle Pool wears red pearls. It wears a cloud robe of cinnabar brocade, with a tiger tally at the belt. The spirit lives in the Crossing Ford, which is three inches across. Hidden Fungus and Dense Shade grow thick and hold each other up.

6. The Peak in the Middle of Heaven should be tended with care and purity. Once the spirit house is clean, the Jade Emperor comes to roam there. The roads are open and clear, and they never stop. The eyebrows are called the Flower Canopy, and they cover the bright pearl. The sun and moon of the Nine Depths shine through the empty source. In the house lives a true one who always wears red. If you can truly see him, you will have no illness. The red-pearl spirit skirt is bright, rich and glowing. Under the tongue, the Dark Breast is the shore between life and death. Breath goes out green and comes in dark, and the two breaths glow. If you meet it, you will rise to the Milky Way.

7. The highest Way is not complicated. The key is to hold the true in mind. In the Mud Pellet and in the hundred joints, every part has a spirit. The hair spirit is Azure Flower, whose formal name is Great Origin. The brain spirit is Essence Root, whose formal name is Mud Pellet. The eye spirit is Bright Above, whose formal name is Radiant Mystery. The nose spirit is Jade Ridge, whose formal name is Firm Spirit. The ear spirit is Empty Leisure, whose formal name is Hidden Field. The tongue spirit is Life Connector, whose formal name is Right Order. The teeth spirit is Rocky Edge, whose formal name is Thousand Ranks. The spirits of the whole face look to the Mud Pellet as their chief. In the Mud Pellet, all nine True Ones have rooms. Each lives in a space one inch across, inside it. They all wear purple robes and flying gauze skirts. Just think of any one part, and your life will have no end. It is not that each lives separately in the brain. They sit in rank order, facing outward. What you hold in mind is in the heart, and it matches them on its own.

8. The heart spirit is Cinnabar Origin, whose formal name is Guard Spirit. The lung spirit is Shining Flower, whose formal name is Empty Completion. The liver spirit is Dragon Smoke, whose formal name is Holds Brightness. Dense Shade and Guiding Smoke rule over the cloudy and the clear. The kidney spirit is Dark Obscurity, whose formal name is Nurture the Infant. The spleen spirit is Ever Present, whose formal name is Soul Rests. The gallbladder spirit is Dragon Gleam, whose formal name is Majestic Light. The spirits of the six hollow organs and the five solid organs have bodies of pure essence. All of them are within the heart, turning the heavenly course. Hold them in mind day and night, and you will live long on your own.

9. The palace of the lung region looks like a flower canopy. Beneath it a boy sits in a jade tower. The Child of the Seven Origins governs the regulation of breath. Outside, it answers to the Central Peak, and the nose holds the matching place. He wears white brocade clothes with a belt of yellow cloud. If you gasp, if breathing is hard and your body feels unwell, quickly picture White Origin and bring the six breaths into harmony. You will become a spirit immortal with long life, free of calamity and harm. Keep using it without stopping, and your body will not grow stuck.

10. The palace of the heart region is a lotus holding its flower. Beneath it is the boy, in the house of Cinnabar Origin. He governs cold and heat, and he brings the nourishing and guarding energies into harmony. He wears a flying robe of cinnabar brocade, draped with jade gauze. With golden bells and a red belt, he sits swaying. He tunes the blood and orders life, so the body does not wither. Outside, it answers to the mouth and tongue, which give out jade blossoms. Even at the edge of death, call to him and you will revive. Keep doing this for a very long time, and you will fly into the Great Rosy Cloud.

11. The palace of the liver region is wrapped in layers of green. Beneath it is the Green Boy, the divine young lord. He governs all the passes and the mirror, where keen hearing and clear sight begin. He wears green brocade clothes and carries jade bells. He harmonizes and controls the hun and po souls and keeps the fluids even. Outside, it answers to the eyes, the essence of the sun and moon. Where a hundred ailments gather, picture Without Blossom. Use them together for seven days, and you will fill up on your own. When you are near death, think of the spirit and the dying will live again. Gather the hun soul and bring back the po soul, and you will never be overturned.

12. The palace of the kidney region is a round Dark Gate. Inside is a boy, dim and high in the darkness. He rules all the six hollow organs and is the source of the nine fluids. Outside, it answers to the two ears, the spring of a hundred fluids. He wears dark-green brocade cloud clothes and dances with a dragon banner. Above, he brings bright rosy clouds and the mist of the sun and moon. For a hundred illnesses and a thousand calamities, hurry to picture him. The two kidney palaces, kings of water, stand facing the Gate of Life. They make a person live long and rise to the nine heavens.

13. The palace of the spleen region belongs to the earth signs Wu and Ji. Inside is a bright boy, wrapped in a yellow robe. He digests grain, spreads out the breath, and controls the teeth. These are the two bright boys of the Great Granary. They sit in a golden tower inside a city of nine layers. It is one inch across, within the Gate of Life. They regulate the hundred grains and make the five flavors sweet. They drive away weakness and frailty, so there is no illness or injury. Outside, it answers to the face, the foot-wide house, where the color of the breath is healthy and fragrant. The radiance it produces shows itself clearly on the outside. He wears yellow brocade and jade clothes, with a tiger emblem at the belt. Fix your thoughts on the Three Elders, and you will soar lightly. You will live long, become a high immortal, and stay far from the misfortune of death.

### Gallbladder and Spleen Elders, the Three Passes, Breath, and Guarding the Essence (chapters 14-26)

14. The palace of the gallbladder region holds the essence of the six hollow organs. Inside is a boy called Gleam, whose other name is Majestic Light. Thunder and lightning shake eight times as he raises the jade banners. Dragon flags stretch across the sky, and he hurls bells of fire. He governs all strength and commands the tiger troops. Outside, it answers to the pupils of the eyes and the pillar of the nose. The brain and the hair support each other, and both stay fresh and bright. He wears nine-colored brocade robes and a skirt of green flowers. He wears gold and jade, with belts patterned with dragons and tigers. If you can picture Majestic Light, you will ride auspicious clouds. You will command ten thousand spirits, and they will come to pay court at the Three Origins.

15. The spleen is one foot long and covers the Great Granary. In the middle region, the Old Lord rules the Bright Hall. His formal name is Spirit Origin, and his given name is Blended Health. He cures people of a hundred illnesses and digests their grain and food. He wears a yellow robe and a purple belt, with an emblem of a dragon and a tiger. To grow the essence and add to life, you depend on this lord and king. Call my name three times, and the spirit will answer on its own. The Three Elders sit together, and each has companions. Some hold the essence and some hold the embryo, and each keeps to a different method. Peach Child joins in and lengthens life, bringing out a flowering glow. Men and women circle through the nine, and Peach Health is there. The Father of the Way and the Mother of the Way face each other. The Teacher-Father and the Teacher-Mother are in the land of Cinnabar and Dark. Use visualization to climb up into the empty sky. The paths are different, but they meet as one and come back to the same essential end. Close the three passes, make the firm-grip fist, and stay still. Swish the golden nectar in your mouth and swallow the jade blossoms. In the end you will not be hungry, and the three worms will die. Heart and mind will stay in harmony, bringing joy and prosperity. The cloud breath of the five peaks swells and fills. Guard and water the jade skull, and you repay yourself. The five forms will be whole and firm, with no calamity.

16. Looking up, you see the Three Origins like strung pearls. Bright lights shine one by one on the nine corners. The Five Spirits light lamps at night, glowing over the eight regions. Picture the Inner Emperor, and he will roam with me. You wear a phoenix robe and carry a tiger tally. Once he arrives, before long you will rise into the Void. Within the square inch of the heart, hold your thoughts deep inside. Neither square nor round, it keeps its windows shut. The Three Spirits restore the essence, and the old grow strong. The hun and po souls stay guarded within and do not fight. A spirit born in the belly carries jade pendants. The spirit pours into the Hidden Tower, so how could it be lost? Jade branches ten thousand fathoms tall give shade and support. The three souls settle themselves, at the written command of the Emperor.

17. The Spirit Terrace is thick with mist, looking out over the yellow fields. Within its three inches are separate rooms, upper and lower. The nourishing and guarding energies wind through the passes, and the High Dark receives them. The Cave Chamber and the Purple Apex are the doors of the spirit. This is what the Most High told me long ago. The divine young lord on the left spoke divine words. On the right, White Origin stands beside him. Between the Bright Hall, the golden cabinet and the jade room, the True Person of Upper Clarity stands before me. The Cinnabar Child in his yellow robe breathes thick and fast. I ask, "Where is he?" At the tips of the two eyebrows. Inside, the sun and moon stand on both sides, and the constellations are laid out. The Seven Luminaries and the Nine Origins crown the Gate of Life.

18. Within the three passes, the essence and breath run deep. Inside the Nine Subtleties, it is dark and shadowy. The mouth is the Gate of Heaven, the trigger of essence and spirit. The feet are the Gate of Earth, the door of life. The hands are the Gate of Humans, holding rise and decline in their grasp.

19. If you can hold the Dark Cinnabar in the three palaces, the flowing pearl of the Great One rests on Kunlun. Inside the layers are towers and pavilions in twelve rings. High and low, all are True Ones. The Jade Hall and the Crimson Roof are all dark palaces. The Jade Pivot and the Jade Beam are the color of orchid jade. Looking up, I see the boys sitting and lingering. I ask, "Whose children are these in my body?" Where do these people go? Into the Mud Pellet. By thousands and hundreds they link to one another. By ones and tens they look like mountains piled in layers. Cloud Form and Jade Blossom stand beside the ear gates. The Red Emperor and the Yellow Elder are with my hun soul. The three True Ones support the bones and share the fluid of the chamber. The Five Dippers blaze bright, and they are the Seven Origins. The sun and moon fly through the six directions. The Emperor's home is in the middle of heaven, at the point of Earth's Door. In the region of the face, all the souls and spirits keep each other alive.

20. Breathe the primal breath in and out to seek immortality. The immortal lords and young lords seem to stand before you. The Red Bird spits out and draws back at the source of the White Stone. Gather the essence, nourish the womb, and a body is born by transformation. Keep the embryo and hold back the essence, and you can live long. The three breaths circle to the right, and the nine paths grow bright. The True One holds its blossom and is then filled to the full. Looking far off at the single heart, it is like stars set out in order. Below the Gold Chamber, you will not fall. It lengthens my white-haired age and turns me back into a baby.

21. In the fine-jade chamber, the Eight Whites gather. The Lady of the Mud Pellet stands in the middle. Long Valley and the Dark Land wind around the towns. Six dragons scatter in flight, hard to tell apart. To live long, be extremely careful. Being careful in the bedroom is urgent. Why bring about death and make the spirits weep? Neglect this, and you end up in the home of disaster, and the three spirits die. You should only breathe in the breath and hold on to your essence. The Inch Field and the Foot-wide House can be used to govern life. If the sea is breached, a hundred streams pour out. When the leaves fall, the tree withers and loses its green. When the breath is lost and the fluids leak, the body is no longer yours. Seal it up completely and steer the lights, and you will be at peace for a long time. Protect my Mud Pellet and the three marvelous spirits. Be calm and plain, and look gently, and you will be bright inside on your own. No outside thing disturbs you, and you are at ease and even. Be sincere and do not strive, and the old become strong young men again. Think on the Jade Writing and chant it, and you will enter Upper Clarity.

22. Always think of the three chambers as connected. See through them, and you will see with no inside or outside. Picture the Five Sprouts and swish them in your mouth, and you will not be hungry or thirsty. The Spirit Flower holds the towel, and the Six Ding come to pay their respects. Quickly guard the essence chamber, and do not let it leak carelessly. Close it and treasure it, and you can live long. It starts inside the body and at first is not far off. The Three Officials are near and easy to keep in order. In the silent void, within the emptiness, is plainness. Make your body like this, and it will not be soiled. When the nine chambers are properly empty, they are the home of the bright spirits. As you picture them, watch your hundred thoughts and keep to the right measure. Tend the six hollow organs and do not let them grow old. Then you will soar on your own along the road of clouds.

23. The way to govern life is not troublesome at all. Just practice the Cavern Mystery and the Jade Book. Also work with the spirits of the Eight Lights inside the body. The twenty-four True Ones come out on their own. Fold your hands high and do nothing, and the hun and po souls will rest. In purity and stillness, the spirits appear and speak with me. Where are they? In the Purple Chamber, among the curtains and screens. They stand and sit outside the room, in threes and fives, in the Dark. Burn incense and join hands before the Jade Blossom. Enter together the Great Chamber, the gate of the Jade Pivot. Study deeply in the calm and quiet garden of the Way. Look inward, glance secretly, and you will see all the True Ones. The True Ones are in yourself, so do not ask the neighbors. Why go looking far away for a connection?

24. Hide your light and conceal your form, and be different from the world. Hold the breath and nourish the essence, and the mouth stays bright red. Hold your nature and your life close, and guard the void. Your name will enter Upper Clarity and be removed from the records of death. The joy of the Three Spirits comes from living in seclusion. Quick as a flash you roam and wander, with no worry left behind. Once you straighten your feather robe, the eight winds drive you along. You steer the three whites and ride the morning glow. The golden carriage takes its place, followed by the jade cart. Why not climb the mountain and recite my book? Dense and deep is the dwelling place of the True Ones. Entering the mountain is not hard, so why do you hesitate? The human world is a noisy crowd, and it stinks like a treasury.

25. The five phases push one another along and return to one. Threes and fives join their breath in nine-times-nine sections. You can use the eight arts of hiding in the earth and turning back. The Hidden Ox at the Dark Gate spreads out and arranges the ranks. The three names appear at the border between life and death. In the Cave Chamber are spirit images: the Dipper, the sun and the moon. The father is called the Mud Pellet, and the mother is the Female One. The three lights blaze and shine into the child's chamber. If you can hold the Dark True One in mind, everything is done. The essence and spirit of your whole body must not be lost.

26. Race high through the sun and moon: this is my way upward. Yuyi and Jielin protect each other well. Then you will see the Elder of Jade Clarity, of Void and Nothingness. You can bring back your youthful face and fill the blood and brain. With a spirit mushroom held in your mouth, you carry the five stars. A tiger register hangs at your waist, and gold pendants at your belt. You ride in a flash to join the banquet of life at Dongmeng.

### Refining Spirit, Abstaining from Grain, Liver and Lung Qi, and the Rite of Transmission (chapters 27-36)

27. Through the Dark Origin and the Highest One, the hun and po souls are refined. The One is a thing that is hard to see all at once. Only when you reach the Utmost True will it turn and look at you. What you must avoid most is the breath of death and everything filthy and vile. The six spirits gather and feast in the emptiness. Form the pearl, secure the essence, and nourish the root of the spirit. The jade key and the gold key stay whole and firm. Close the mouth, curl the tongue, and swallow the embryo's fluid. So I can finish the refining and become a flying immortal.

28. Immortals and masters of the Way are not gods by nature. They pile up essence and gather breath until they become true. The wondrous voice of the Yellow Boy is hard to hear. There are jade writings, crimson slips, and red cinnabar script. His formal name is True Person, and he wears a gold cap. In armor and holding a tally, he opens the seven gates. Fire weapons, tallies and charts guard the spirit passes. They are raised in front and low behind, arranged high and low. He holds a sword a hundred zhang long and dances with coiling brocade. The ten cutting strokes circle in the air, fanning out in swirls. Bells of fire rise to the top of the sky and fall down as smoke. Where is he? In the Yellow Tower between the two eyebrows. These are not branches and leaves. They are the root.

29. The Supreme Emperor of Purple Clarity, the Lord of the Great Way, has Great Mystery and Great Harmony standing at his sides as attendants. He changes and gives birth to the ten thousand things, and he makes me an immortal. I fly up to the ten heavens, driving a jade wheel. Day and night for seven days, think and do not sleep. If you can practice this, you can last forever. Piling up effort and finishing the refining do not happen on their own. They come from pure sincerity and from focus. Guard within, firm and solid: this is the true of the true. In emptiness be calm and plain, and the spirit will come on its own.

30. The fruit of the hundred grains is the essence of the earth. The five flavors are sweet on the outside, but they are demonic and rank. Their stench confuses the spirit's clarity, and the embryo's breath dwindles. How, then, could you go from old back to being an infant? The three souls grow faint, and the po soul is ruined and topples! Why not feed on the breath, the essence of Great Harmony? Then you can escape death and enter the Yellow Peace.

31. The heart manages the whole body and is king of the five organs. In movement and in rest, keep it in mind, and the Way and Virtue will act. Pure, clean, good breath brightens on its own. Sitting or rising, I am with them, and together we are the beams of the house. By day it shines with light, and at dusk it closes up and stores it away. It reaches the flowers of the essence and brings yin and yang into balance.

32. It passes through the six directions and hides at Mao and You, the east and west points. The spirits of the two kidneys govern long life. Turn and go down to the Dipper, and store the first Nine. Know the male and keep to the female, and you can be free of old age. Know the white and keep to the black. Sit at once and keep watch.

33. The liver's breath rises thick and vigorous, clear and long. It spreads through the six hollow organs and gives birth to the three lights. When the heart's essence and the mind are focused, the inside does not fall. Above, it joins the Triple Burner, and below it brings the jade nectar. The dark fluid moves like clouds and drives out foulness, leaving fragrance. It washes the hair and teeth and refines the five directions. Take the fluid from the Dark Breast into the Bright Hall. Below, it waters the throat, and the brightness of the spirits flows through. Sit and attend the Flower Canopy, and roam in the noble capital. Drifting, you come to the seats of the Three Clarities, cool and clear. Five-colored clouds swirl, green and lush. Close your eyes and look inward, and see each other. Then all the spirits of the heart go back and raise themselves up. The Seven Dark Blossoms open the Gate of Life. The Way of Heaven flows freely, and the dark root is kept. Even at a hundred and twenty years, you can still turn back. Beyond that, keeping to the Way is truly very hard. Wait only for the Nine-Turn Elixir of the Eight Fine Jades. You must again focus your thought and picture the Seven Origins. The flowers of the sun and moon save the old and worn out. The liver's breath circulates all the way around and never comes to an end.

34. The lung's breath rises from the Triple Burner. Sight and hearing, in the dim depths, wait for the Boy. It tunes the five flowers, the essence, the hair and the teeth. Thirty-six swallows go into the Jade Pool. They open the hundred vessels, where blood and fluid begin. The face gives off light, with the sheen of gold and jade. The teeth are firm and the hair is black, and you never know white. Hold this true spirit in mind, and do not be careless. Remember that the Purple Palace has seats. The many spirits meet and call for one another in turn.

35. Hidden under the feather canopy, look at the house of heaven. Pay homage to the Great Sun, and call to each other with joy. The bright spirits of the eight powers rightly drive off evil. The spleen spirit returns, and the stomach is its home. Devote yourself to nourishing the spirit root, and it will not wither again. Close the Gate of Life and protect the Jade Capital. Then the ten thousand spirits grant their blessings, and life is more than enough. This is called the spleen standing firm in the central palace. It is the master of the bright spirits of the five organs and six hollow organs. Above, it joins the Gate of Heaven and enters the Bright Hall. Keep to the female, hold the male, and carry the three lights on your crown. Square outside and round inside, the spirit is in the middle. The blood vessels flow freely and the five organs are rich. The bones are blue, the sinews are red, and the marrow is like frost. The spleen helps the seven openings and takes away bad omens. The sun and moon are laid out and set up yin and yang. The two spirits meet and change into jade blossom. Bland and without taste, it is the food of heavenly beings. The Cinnabar Child serves the dishes, and the food is truly yellow. It is called gem cream and jade frost. The Most High's Hidden Ring is the Eight Whites, fine jade. It waters and adds to the eight fluids, and the kidney receives essence. Hidden in the Great Yin, it shows my form. Stirring up the wind, the three dark ones come out, green at first. In the dim and hazy moment between, the purest spirit arrives. Playing on the Whirlwind Terrace, you see red arise. In the realm of ease, the true ones flourish and nourish blossom and glory. Look inward in silence and refine the five forms. The three breaths pace to and fro and win the light of the spirits. There are the hidden dragon, the fugitive fungus, the cloud, and the gem blossom. They can fill your hunger and let you command the ten thousand spirits. Above is the canopy of dark upon dark, and below is the tiger emblem.

36. Bathe, make yourself fully clean, and give up rich food and strong smells. Enter the room, face east, and recite the Jade Book. After about ten thousand recitations, the meaning becomes clear on its own. Let your hair down, be free of desire, and you will last long. The five flavors all arrive, and the upright breath returns. Keep your mind even, quiet and still, and do not be irritated or resentful. When the count is finished, your body and spirit are pure. The Jade Maiden of the Yellow Blossom tells you the truth. When the True Person has come, he sends the Six Ding to work. Then he hands you the Great Cavern Scripture of the Hidden Fungus. Read it ten times, bow four times, and pay homage to the Most High. First greet the Great Emperor, and then face north. The Inner Scripture of the Yellow Court, the Jade Writing, is set forth in full. The one who gives it is called the teacher, and the one who receives it takes an oath. Cloud brocade and phoenix gauze are bound with gold clasps. They take the place of cutting the hair, so the skin stays whole. Take hands, climb the mountain, and take the liquid cinnabar to your lips. Only then may the golden writings and the jade lights be spoken aloud. When you pass it on, make sure you give it correctly, and report to the Three Officials. Do not let your seven ancestors suffer misery in the dark world. The subtle words of the Most High lead to spirit immortality. The Way of deathlessness is this true text.