Pregadio - Fifteen Essays to Establish the Teaching: A Founding Text of Complete Reality Taoism (Kindle Neidan Texts Book 4)

Fifteen Essays to Establish the Teaching

Chongyang lijiao shiwu lun

A Founding Text of Complete Reality Taoism

by Wang Chongyang

(111370)

Translated from the original Chinese

by Fabrizio Pregadio

Golden Elixir Press

This ebook is excerpted from:

Taoist Internal Alchemy: An Anthology of Neidan Texts

by Fabrizio Pregadio (Golden Elixir Press, 2019)

Golden Elixir Press

Mountain View, CA

www.goldenelixir.com

2019 Fabrizio Pregadio

All rights reserved

Cover : Wang Chongyang.

INTRODUCTION

Wang Chongyang was the founder of the Northern Lineage (Beizong) of Neidan, or Internal Alchemy. Also known as Wang Zhe, he apparently led a rather turbulent life until 1159, when he is said to have met Zhongli Quan and L Dongbin (two illustrious Taoist immortals, related to several Neidan lineages) and to have become an ascetic. From 1167, he begun preaching with his followers in the northeastern province of Shandong. In the strict sense, the Northern Lineage consists of Wang Chongyang and his seven main disciples, among whom Qiu Chuji (11481227) is the most important for the later history of Neidan.

The Northern lineage is the original nucleus of Quanzhen (Complete Reality), which continued to develop and is in the present day, with Tianshi dao (Way of the Celestial Masters), one of the two main branches of Taoism, headquartered in the Baiyun guan (Abbey of the White Cloud) in Beijing. Within Neidan, the Northern Lineage is especially important for its teachings on inner Nature (xing ) and Existence (ming ), on the equivalence between inner Nature and the Golden Elixir, and on the practice of clarity and quiescence (qingjing ).

Xing (Nature) and ming (Existence) are two of the main terms in Neidan. Xing can be understood and translated as nature, in the sense of human nature, inner nature, or inborn nature. Ming is in several respects a more complex concept. In addition to the literal translations as order, command, mandate, this term means destiny, fate, existence, and has also been understood as vital force.

As we read in the present text, Nature and Existence are the root and foundation of self-cultivation. In another work, Wang Chongyang states that the original True Nature is called Golden Elixir, and that the only important things are the words clarity and quiescence, which are found within ones heart. Nothing else is a practice of self-cultivation. These and several other statements, some of which reveal a clear relation to Buddhism, reflect the main points of distinction between the Northern and the Southern lineages of Neidan.

While there are reasons to doubt that the Chongyang lijiao shiwu lun , which combines doctrinal teachings and advice on lifestyle, is actually Wang Chongyangs own work, it is nevertheless deemed to be an original Beizong/Quanzhen document. The text is entirely translated below. Section numbers and titles are found in the original Chinese.

LIVING IN A CLOISTER

All those who leave their families should first seek shelter in a cloister. A cloister is a dwelling place on which one can rely. When there is a place on which one can rely, the mind gradually attains peace. When Breath (qi ) and Spirit are in harmony and at ease, one enters the True Way.

In anything you do, you should not strain yourself: if you strain yourself, this will decrease your Breath. But you should not be motionless: if you are motionless, your Breath and blood will become stagnant. It is essential that movement and quiescence are balanced: only then can you embrace constancy and be secure in all circumstances. This is the way to reside in peace.

WANDERING IN THE CLOUDS

There are two ways of traveling. One way is to look at mountains and rivers, beautiful sceneries, and the red and green colors of flowers and plants. Some enjoy bustling and lively towns and cities, others admire the buildings and pavilions of temples and monasteries; some visit friends at random, others are absorbed in clothes and food. Those who are like this may travel ten thousand miles but will only exert and wear out themselves. They may see all the sights in the world, but their minds will be confused and their energy will wane. They are people who travel in vain.

The second way is to look for the principles of ones Nature and Existence,

STUDYING FROM BOOKS

In the Way of studying from books, you should not confound your eyes by pursuing the words. You should, instead, extract the meaning and accord with it in your heart. Then put the book aside and investigate the meaning in order to extract the principles. Then put aside the principles in order to extract the true import. When you have been able to extract the true import, you can absorb it in your mind.

After a long time, the radiance of the mind will naturally overflow and the spirit of wisdom will leap; you will comprehend everything and understand everything. If you arrive to this point, you should foster it. Do not be in a rush, or you will lose hold of your inner nature and life.

If you do not thoroughly understand the meanings of books, and you just want to read and memorize a large quantity of things in order to have discussions with other people and show off your expertise, this will be of no advantage for your practice and will harm your life force. You may read many books, but what is the advantage with regard to the Dao?

When you have understood the meaning of a book, you can deeply store it within you.

COMPOUNDING HERBAL MEDICINES

Herbal medicines embody the finest breaths (qi ) of mountains and rivers, the pure essences (jing ) of plants and trees. Some are warm, others cold: they can serve to supplement or to drain. Some are thick, others thin: they can be used externally or internally.

Those who become skilled in their study enliven the other peoples inner natures and lives; the mindless healers, instead, only damage the other peoples bodies. Those who study the Dao should be competent in this: without this competence, there is no way to assist the Dao. However, one should not become attached to this pursuit, as this would cause harm to ones hidden merit. Coveting wealth and property outside causes a loss in the cultivation of Reality within. Not only would this be a source of faults in this life, it would also cause retribution in future lives. My advanced disciples should carefully reflect on this.

ON BUILDING

A reed-thatched hut or a grass-thatched hut is needed to protect the body: spending the night outdoor or sleeping in a field is an affront to the Sun and the Moon. Sumptuous mansions and high buildings, instead, are not fit for a superior person. How could a large palace or a tall residence be the livelihood of a person of the Way?

Cutting down trees breaks the flow of the fluids in the Earths vessels, just as asking for goods or money when giving teachings on the Dao takes away from the peoples blood vessels. If you only cultivate your outward operation and do not cultivate your inner practice, it is like painting a cake to satisfy hunger or collecting snow to serve as provisions. You spend much effort vainly, and at the end there is no result.

Those who have determination should hasten to seek the precious palaces within themselves: one may incessantly repair and restore the vermilion towers outside ones body, but sooner or later they will collapse. An intelligent person should examine this closely and in detail.

JOINING COMPANIONS IN THE DAO

The people of the Way join together as companions. They do so in the first place because they want to assist one another in sickness and disease: If you die, I will bury you; if I die, you will bury me.