Volume 18 Dizhen

Baopuzi said, "I have heard from my teacher that if a person can know one thing, all things will be accomplished." Those who know one thing know nothing. Those who do not know one can know nothing. The Dao originates from one, and its preciousness is unparalleled. Each resides in its own place, symbolizing heaven, earth and man. Therefore, it is called the Trinity. The sky gains clarity, the earth gains peace, people gain life, and gods gain spirit. The Jin Shen and the Yu float, the mountains stand tall and the rivers flow. They are invisible to the eye and inaudible to the ear. If they exist, they will be there; if they are ignored, they will perish. If they approach, they will be auspicious; if they turn their back, they will be inauspicious. If they are protected, they will live in seclusion and confusion; if they are lost, their lives will be carved and their energy will be exhausted. Laozi said, "Suddenly, suddenly, there is an image within it." Hazy, hazy, there was something in it. This is what is meant by "one". Therefore, the Immortal Sutra says: If you wish to live forever, you should be clear and upright. When I think of hunger, I have enough food. Thinking of one quenches thirst, one melts with it. There is a surname, given name and color. For men, it is nine fen long, and for women, it is six fen long. It may be located two cun and four fen below the navel, in the lower dantian, or in the crimson palace and golden gate below the heart, or on the two eyebrows, but one cun is the bright hall, two cun is the bridal chamber, and three cun is the upper dantian. This is highly valued by Taoists, and their names are passed down orally through blood oaths from generation to generation. One can generate Yin and Yang, and push through the cold and heat. In spring, one should grow; in summer, one should grow; in autumn, one should harvest; in winter, one should store. Its magnitude cannot be compared to the six stages, nor can its magnitude be compared to the slightest tip. In ancient times, the Yellow Emperor traveled eastward to Qingqiu, passed through Fengshan, met Mr. Zifu, received the imperial edict from the Three Sovereigns, and summoned all the deities. He then went south to Yuanlong Yin to build a tree, observed the place where the hundred spirits climbed, picked some flowers, and drank the water from Danluan. To the west, I met Zhonghuangzi, received the Nine Blessings, passed through Kongtong, and from Guangchengzi, I received the essence of nature. To the north, I reached the Hong embankment, where I saw the great 隗君 yellow boy, received the divine Zhi map, and then returned to the Zhi Wang House, where I obtained the divine elixir and golden Formula. When arriving at Mount Emei, I saw the True Emperor in the Jade Hall and asked about the True One Way. The emperor said, "Since you rule the four seas, if you wish to seek immortality again, wouldn't that be too greedy?" The comparison is beyond description and can only be described briefly. The only elixir for immortality is the Golden Pill. If one adheres to the form and rejects evil, one will only have the true essence. Therefore, the ancients attached great importance to it. The Immortal Sutra states: The Nine Transformations of the Elixir and the Golden Liquid Sutra, adhering to one principle, are all within the five cities of Kunlun. They are hidden in jade cases, engraved in golden letters, sealed in purple clay, and stamped with central seals. I heard from my master that in the great abyss of the North Pole, there is the Bright Hall in front and the Crimson Palace behind. The grand canopy and the golden dome; Left Gang and right Kui, shock waves rise into the sky; The black mushroom is covered by the cliff, and the red grass is veiled. The white jade is lofty and towering, with the sun and moon shining in its glow. Having endured fire and crossed water, traversing the mysterious and the yellow; The city gates crisscross, and the curtains are dazzling. Dragons and tigers stand guard, and divine beings are by your side. Neither giving nor giving, just stay in one's place. Neither too late nor too fast, just settle down in the room. If one can have leisure time or be leisurely, one will never go. Only by holding fast to the truth can one communicate with God. Have few desires and eat sparingly; first, stay still. A sharp blade at the neck, a thought brings life. Knowing one thing is not difficult; the hard part lies in seeing it through to the end. If one can hold on without losing, there will be endless possibilities. Land repels evil beasts, water repels dragons. Unafraid of evil spirits and venomous insects; Ghosts dare not approach, and blades dare not strike. This is the general outline of the true One." Baopuzi said, "I have heard from my master that among the various scriptures of Daoism and magic, there are thousands of methods that can be used to ward off evil and protect oneself." For instance, the methods of concealing the form within the body, maintaining the form without birth, the nine transformations, the twelve transformations, and the twenty-four births, etc., by contemplating the various deities within the body and seeing them invisibly, are unrivaling and each is effective. However, perhaps one may think of making thousands of things for self-defense, which is very troublesome and can greatly satisfy one's will. If one knows the way of adhering to one principle, then everything will abandon this generation. Therefore, it is said that if one can understand one principle, all things will be accomplished. The formula for receiving the truth is clearly stated: 歃 the blood of the white animal is received on the day of the king's appearance, and it is divided by white silk and silver as a contract. If it is said lightly and spread falsely, the spirit will not be accepted. If a person can hold fast to one, one will also hold fast to the other. Therefore, a sharp blade has no room to measure its sharpness, and a hundred evils have no room to tolerate their fiercness. Even in defeat, one can succeed; in danger, one can only find peace. If one remains vigilant and does not slacken in the temple of ghosts, beneath the mountains and forests, in the midst of a great epidemic, in the leisure of tombs and graves, in the den of tigers and wolves, or in the place where snakes 蝮, all kinds of evil will come far away. If one suddenly forgets to adhere to one principle, one will be harmed by a hundred demons. Or those who lie down in a nightmare will leave the central courtyard and look at the auxiliary star. If they hold onto one, the ghost will depart. If it is a rainy day, one can only stay in the room and think northward about seeing the auxiliary star. If surrounded by bandits and with no place to recover, one must rush into the six Jia Yin and lie down to defend one, then the five soldiers cannot attack. Those who can guard one place will travel thousands of miles, join the military, and cross great rivers without having to predict the day or time. When they start work or move to a new house, they no longer follow the geomancy and astrology, nor do they avoid the gods of the Tai Sui, Tai Yin, General, Yue Jian, Sha consuming, and the inauspicious signs of the year. In the end, they will no longer be worthy of misfortune. The ancient sages have verified the way through trials." Baopuzi said, "The way of Xuan Yi also requires a method." We will explore everything and work together with the truth. The one who ranks first in my inner chapter is Chang Xuan, precisely because of this. It is easier to adhere to the true one by maintaining the profound one. Zhen Yi has surnames, characters, lengths, clothes, colors and eyes. Xuan Yi saw this. At first, I sought it at noon. As the saying goes, "Knowing the white and guarding the black, one desires to die but cannot achieve it." However, one should first observe a hundred days of pure fasting. Only then can one wait to obtain it. It is only obtained in three or four days. Once obtained and maintained, it will never return. Guarding the Xuan Yi and reflecting on his own body, he divided it into three people. Once the three people saw it, they further expanded it, and it could reach dozens of people. All of them were like his own body. Whether hidden or revealed, there were all their own rules. This is what is called the way of fractals. Zuo Jun and Ji Zi instructed Ge Xian Gong to visit dozens of places in a day. There was a host speaking Hakka at the guest hall, another host welcoming guests at the door, and another host fishing by the water. Guests could not distinguish any of these as the true hosts. The master said that while adhering to one principle, one should also cultivate the clear mirror. When the mirror path is accomplished, it can be divided into dozens of forms, with the clothes and appearance all being the same. Baopuzi said, "The master said that if one desires immortality, one should take strong medicine frequently; if one desires to attain spiritual enlightenment, one should take the form of metal and water." When the form is divided, one can see the three souls and seven spirits within oneself. The spirits of heaven and earth can all be received, and the gods of mountains and rivers can all be commanded. Baopuzi said, "It is a pity to be born, but a fear to die." However, to achieve immortality, cultivate one's nature and dispel the dead, one must also start with diligence and eventually succeed through long-term observation. After attaining enlightenment, one has achieved nothing. In the idle time before completion, there is no need to do anything. To dig up herbs from plants and trees, one toils in the mountains and marshes, decoctions and treatments, all using physical strength, braving dangers and treading day and night without slackening. Only with a strong will can one last long. Even if one desires to complete the golden elixir and ascend to heaven, the major drugs used are all directly funded by money and cannot be done in a rush. When the farmers and herdsmen ask for funds and accumulate their efforts over the years, they can then be combined. On the day of cooperation, one should resume fasting, be pure and clean, and cut off all human relations. There are many difficulties, but when combined with the thought of the divine to keep one, to resist the evil of defending oneself, and to always govern the country like a ruler and deal with the enemy like a military general, one can achieve the merit of immortality. With great wisdom and intelligence, one can use the tools for governing the world and benefiting the common people. By cultivating this matter, one can surely achieve success. If you approach the mediocre, even if you have good intentions, you will not be able to overcome them to the end. Therefore, a person's body is the image of a country. The position of the chest and abdomen is like a palace. Among the limbs, it is like a suburb. The distinction between joints and bones is like that among officials. God is like a ruler, blood is like a subject, and spirit is like a commoner. Therefore, if one knows how to govern oneself well, one can govern a country well. A person who loves his people ensures the stability of his country; he who nurtures his spirit ensures the integrity of his body. When the people disperse, the country will perish; when the energy is exhausted, the body will die. The dead cannot come back to life, and the deceased cannot survive. So that people can eliminate diseases that have not yet arisen, treat diseases that have not yet occurred, and cure them before they happen, rather than after they have already passed away. The people are hard to nourish and thus prone to danger; the qi is hard to purify and thus prone to turbidity. Therefore, by examining one's authority and virtue, one can safeguard the state; by cutting off one's desires, one can consolidate one's blood and energy. Then, as long as the truth remains, the three seventies are maintained, all kinds of harm are eliminated, and one's life is prolonged. Baopuzi said, "The master said that if one takes the golden elixir and the powerful medicine, even if one does not die, all kinds of evil will not approach." If one only takes grass, trees and a small amount of eight stones of bait, it can cure diseases, kill lives and benefit the ears, but it is not enough to ward off external disasters. Whether offended by ghosts, trampled upon by the great mountain gods, or violated by the spirits, only by adhering to the true One can one not fear any of these people. Then there are those with divine talismans. If one pursues immortality without knowing these two things, it is truly perilous. If three of the four doors are closed, thieves can still enter. How evil is it if all the doors are open?