Timing and Taboos of Taking Drugs, the Pace of Yu, and Short Recipes

22 Someone asked: “When taking medicinal substances, is there a proper order of before and after?” The Master Who Embraces Simplicity replied: “According to the rules for taking medicines in the Book of Zhonghuangzi, drugs for curing disease should be taken before meals, while drugs for nurturing the nature should be taken after meals. I asked Master Zheng why this should be so. He said: ‘It is easy to understand. If you wish to attack illness with a drug, you should take it before eating, while the inside is empty, so the drug’s power can circulate readily. Taken after a meal, the drug will spend its strength attacking the grain instead. But if you seek to nurture your nature and take the drug before eating, its power has yet to work when the grain drives it down and out, without allowing it to remain; it does no good.’”

23 Someone asked: “It is said that there are suitable and unsuitable medicines for people taking drugs to nurture their nature. Is this true?” The Master Who Embraces Simplicity replied: “According to the Record of the Jade Tablets and the Classic of Illumination, the five notes and six classes reveal where a person’s allotted life belongs. Zi and wu belong to geng; mao and you to ji; yin and shen to wu; chou and wei to xin; chen and xu to bing; si and hai to ding. Those obtained by the first designation belong to gong and earth; by the third, to zhi and fire; by the fifth, to yu and water; by the seventh, to shang and metal; by the ninth, to jue and wood. If your natal allotment belongs to earth, you should not take blue-green drugs; if to metal, not red drugs; if to wood, not white drugs; if to water, not yellow drugs; if to fire, not black drugs. In the five phases, wood overcomes earth, earth overcomes water, water overcomes fire, fire overcomes metal, and metal overcomes wood. But for the great medicine of the golden elixir there is no longer any question of suitability.”

24 First designation, gong: gengzi, gengwu; xinwei, xinchou; bingchen, bingxu; dinghai, dingsi; wuyin, wushen; jimao, jiyou.

25 Third designation, zhi: jiachen, jiaxu; yihai, yisi; bingyin, bingshen; dingyou, dingmao; wuwu, wuzi; jiwei, jichou.

26 Fifth designation, yu: jiayin, jiashen; yimao, yiyou; bingzi, bingwu; dingwei, dingchou; renchen, renxu; guisi, guihai.

27 Seventh designation, shang: jiazi, jiawu; yichou, yiwei; gengchen, gengxu; xinsi, xinhai; renshen, renyin; guimao, guiyou.

28 Ninth designation, jue: wuchen, wuxu; jisi, jihai; gengyin, gengshen; xinmao, xinyou; renwu, renzi; guichou, guiwei.

29 The method of Yu’s pace: first lift the left foot, pass the right beyond the left, bring the left up beside the right. Next lift the right, pass the left beyond the right, bring the right up beside the left. Next lift the right, pass the right beyond the left, bring the left up beside the right.

30 These three steps should cover a full two zhang and one foot, leaving nine footprints behind.

31 A minor divine recipe: combine three jin of genuine cinnabar with one jin of white honey, expose them to the sun and simmer until the mixture can be made into pills. Take ten pills the size of hemp seeds at dawn. Before a year is out, white hair turns black again, fallen teeth grow back, and the body becomes lustrous. Taken over the long term, it makes an old man young again; taken continually, it grants long life without death.

32 A minor recipe for taking gold: melt gold over fire and plunge it into clear wine, withdrawing it two hundred times and immersing it two hundred times; it will then boil. Squeeze it in your fist until it comes out between your fingers like mud. If it neither boils nor comes out between your fingers, melt it again and put it into wine as many times as needed. Once prepared, take one pill the size of a pellet; one may also make a pill from the liquid and divide it into smaller pills. Take it for thirty days: one feels neither cold nor heat, and divine beings and jade maidens descend. Silver too can be taken, prepared in the same way as gold. Take either substance while living in a stone chamber on a famous mountain and after a year you will rise weightlessly. Those who take it among ordinary people are called earthly immortals. Do not pass this on indiscriminately.

33 Liangyizi’s method of taking dissolved gold: take three jin of fat from beneath the skin of a pig’s back, one dou of strong sour wine, and five liang of gold. Put the gold into a vessel and heat it, remove it from the furnace, and immerse it in the fat a hundred times, withdrawing it a hundred times; do likewise with the sour wine. Eat one jin of gold and live until heaven and earth wear out; eat half a jin and live two thousand years; five liang brings one thousand two hundred years. However much or little there is, one may take it. Prepare it on a day of ascendance and prosperity and it will be miraculously effective. Do not transmit the recipe to others: if you do, the medicine will neither come to completion nor work wonders. If you wish to take a medicine to expel the corpses, take cinnabar.

34 A method of taking cinnabar: pound and sift one jin of cinnabar, then add three sheng of strong sour wine and two sheng of pure lacquer. Mix these three thoroughly and simmer over a low fire until the mixture can be made into pills. Take three pills the size of hemp seeds twice a day. After forty days, all illnesses in the belly heal and the Three Corpses depart; after a hundred days the flesh and bones grow strong; after a thousand days the Controller of Fates erases your name from the register of the dead. You endure with heaven and earth, face the sun and moon, change your form and appearance, transform without limit, cast no shadow in the sun, and instead shine with a light of your own.

22 Someone asked, “When taking medicines, does it matter whether they are taken before or after meals?” Baopuzi answered, “According to the instructions for taking drugs by Zhong Huangzi, medicine for treating illness should be taken before eating; medicine for nurturing one's nature should be taken after eating. I asked Master Zheng why. He said, ‘That is easy to understand. If you want a drug to attack disease, take it before eating, while the stomach is empty, so its force can travel easily. Taken after a meal, it will spend all its force attacking the grain instead. But if you want to nurture your nature and take the drug before eating, the food will drive it out downward before it can act or stay in place. Then it does no good.’”

23 Someone asked, “It is said that when people take drugs to nurture their nature, some are suitable and others are not. Is that true?” Baopuzi answered, “According to the Record of the Jade Documents and the Classic of Opening Brightness, the five musical tones and six groups of correspondences reveal the location of a person's allotted life. Zi and wu belong to geng; mao and you to ji; yin and shen to wu; chou and wei to xin; chen and xu to bing; si and hai to ding. Those assigned the number one correspond to the gong tone and earth; the number three, to the zhi tone and fire; five, to the yu tone and water; seven, to the shang tone and metal; nine, to the jue tone and wood. If your birth element is earth, do not take blue-green drugs; if metal, do not take red drugs; if wood, do not take white drugs; if water, do not take yellow drugs; if fire, do not take black drugs. This follows the five-element principle: wood overcomes earth, earth overcomes water, water overcomes fire, fire overcomes metal, and metal overcomes wood. For the great drug of the golden elixir, there is no further question of whether it suits you.”

24 Number one: gong tone. Gengzi, gengwu; xinwei, xinchou; bingchen, bingxu; dinghai, dingsi; wuyin, wushen; jimao, jiyou.

25 Number three: zhi tone. Jiachen, jiaxu; yihai, yisi; bingyin, bingshen; dingyou, dingmao; wuwu, wuzi; jiwei, jichou.

26 Number five: yu tone. Jiayin, jiashen; yimao, yiyou; bingzi, bingwu; dingwei, dingchou; renchen, renxu; guisi, guihai.

27 Number seven: shang tone. Jiazi, jiawu; yichou, yiwei; gengchen, gengxu; xinsi, xinhai; renshen, renyin; guimao, guiyou.

28 Number nine: jue tone. Wuchen, wuxu; jisi, jihai; gengyin, gengshen; xinmao, xinyou; renwu, renzi; guichou, guiwei.

29 Method for Yu's steps: First lift the left foot; pass the right foot over the left, then bring the left beside the right. Next lift the right foot; pass the left over the right, then bring the right beside the left. Next lift the right foot; pass the right over the left, then bring the left beside the right.

30 These three steps should cover two zhang and one chi and leave nine footprints behind.

31 A short divine recipe: Mix three jin of genuine cinnabar with one jin of white honey. Set it in the sun and cook it until it can be made into pills. Each morning take ten pills the size of hemp seeds. Before a year is over, white hair turns black, lost teeth grow back, and the body becomes smooth and healthy. Taken for a long time, it turns an old man into a young one; taken regularly, it grants eternal life.

32 A short recipe for taking gold: Melt gold over a fire and plunge it into clear wine, taking it out two hundred times and putting it in two hundred times, until it bubbles. Squeeze it so that it comes out between your fingers like mud. If it does not bubble or will not squeeze out between your fingers, melt it again and plunge it into the wine as many times as needed. When ready, take a pill the size of a pellet. You can also take one softened pill and divide it into smaller pills. Take it for thirty days; you will feel neither cold nor heat, and divine beings and jade maidens will descend to you. Silver too can be taken, by the same method as gold. If you take these two substances while living in a stone chamber in a famous mountain, you can rise lightly into the air after one year. Taking them while living among other people makes you an earthly immortal. Do not pass this on carelessly.

33 Liangyi Zi's method for taking melted gold: Use three jin of fat from beneath a pig's hide and one dou of strong sour wine. Take five liang of gold and heat it in a vessel. Remove it from the furnace and put the gold into the fat a hundred times, taking it out a hundred times; do the same with the sour wine. Consume one jin of gold and your life will last as long as heaven and earth. Eat half a jin and live two thousand years; five liang gives 1,200 years. Whatever the amount, you can take it. Make it on a day when the favorable powers of growth and strength are present; then it works wonderfully. Do not pass the method on. If you pass it on, the drug will not form and will not work. If you want to take a drug that expels the corpse spirits, take cinnabar.

34 Method for taking cinnabar: Pound and sift one jin of cinnabar. Add three sheng of strong sour wine and two sheng of pure lacquer. Mix these three ingredients well, cook them over low heat until they can be made into pills, and take three hemp-seed-sized pills twice daily. After forty days, all illnesses in the belly heal and the three corpse spirits leave. After a hundred days, flesh and bones become strong. After a thousand days, the Director of Fate removes your name from the death register; you last as long as heaven and earth and face the sun and moon. Your shape and appearance change in countless ways, and in the sunlight you cast no shadow but shine with a light of your own.