Personal Guidance Part 8.

5th
Morning: Woke up and the Macro orbit started on its own, so I straightened my legs and lay on my bed to let it run for about 40 minutes.
The night before, I dreamed a giant snake that had beautiful pattern on its body. I was a bit scared so I threw a rock at it, it chased after me so I ran away. It caught up with me though but at that moment, a beautiful tiger appeared and bit the snake at the 7th-inch position, the tiger seemed to be hesitating and so it stopped. I thought, did the snake also bite the tiger? The dream ended at that point.
Afterward, full lotus for about an hour, I used the spirit light to link up with the spirit light from Qi Zhen Dian, after a few minutes the temple’s light appeared and I collected it to my lower field. Not long after, true breath appeared. After more than 10 minutes, qi slowly flowed into the lower field. Qi moved strongly inside my lower field and it was very hot. I could also feel granular shaped qi in the lower field, probably because it wasn’t dissolved completely. Then I did five-element cycle three times and took qi back to the lower field. I still felt that the qi wasn’t completely dissolved but my legs hurt too much so I stopped.
Shen laoshi’s plan was that after coming down from the mountain, the focus would be shifted to the discussion of the three classics: Zhong Lu Zhuan Dao Ji, Ling Bao Bi Fa and Taiyi Jinhua Zong Zhi. I had read the three books before I arrived at Lanzhou, the words weren’t so hard to understand but the actual practice and their true meaning were of course hidden and I was really not so sure I understood them at all. I read it again after I got back to the city and this time, especially the verification parts, I felt that I really do understand them especially since some of verifications had happened in my own body.
After Shen laoshi had arrived, I asked him about dream, he said just go and read the third chapter of Ling Bao Bi Fa. The third chapter is the Mating of Dragon and Tiger and then I understood, isn’t snake a small dragon?
Today, we mainly discussed the first chapter of Ling Bao Bi Fa, the Matching of Yin and Yang.

6th
Morning: Half lotus for 90 minutes, pretty much the same as the day before, nothing new.
Today we discussed the second chapter, the collection and dispersion of water and fire.
Night time: Today was the Dragon Boat Festival, I ate too much in dinner, my belly was swelling. I sat down and try to dissolve the qi in my stomach, after some noises from my stomach, I felt more comfortable. I continued the practice and retrieved the spirit light from Qi Zhen Dian into my lower field. Two cycles of five elements and I felt plenty of qi. I did two times ancestral chamber and then two more times of five elements. After collecting the qi to the lower field, the qi raise up and it looked like a 4 inch long light band, I tried to force it back down to the lower field but wasn’t able to, so I just let it be. I felt the qi raise up from my back and flowed down in front, the strength and speed of the movments were unprecedented. I felt like it was moving at 2 or 3 times the speed of the Macro orbit. My whole body was very hot and sweating. After I finished up, I felt very comfortable.

7th
Morning: Half lotus, light shifted and spun in front of my eyes. After collecting it down to lower field, qi started moving between the middle and lower field.
Today, we discussed the third chapter, the mating of dragon and tiger.
Evening: Full lotus, light appeared immediately, collected it to lower field. One cycle of five elements and the macro orbit started running. After that, I did the five-element cycle again, when it reached my lungs, the macro orbit started again. Not long after that, there were big movement up my back and down my front, the movement was very fast. In between, several meridians and channels were also moving. But I felt that the speed and hotness weren’t as good as the day before. After 90 minutes, I changed into half lotus and then did five elements twice. I finished up then and the session was 140 minutes. Afterward, I felt that my skin was especially smooth.
Night time: full lotus, retrieved the light from Qi Zhen Dian to lower field. After two cycles of five elements, the macro orbit started running. Then after ancestral chamber practice, after retrieving the spirit light, true breath speared and lower field started breathing. It expanded and contracted regularly like a balloon and the expansion got bigger and bigger and I felt like I was about to float up. My whole body sweated and I thought suddenly, what if I exploded? So I decided to ask Shen laoshi before I continued. I slowly reduced the movement and finished up after another two times of five elements.
8th
After midnight: When I was sleeping, I felt that the macro orbit was spinning, so I woke up and meditated. Half lotus, took light back and then did 2 cycles of five elements. Ancestral chamber practice, took light back to lower field, two cycles of five elements, took qi back to lower field. My lower field felt empty and it seemed there were a lot of space in there, I thought where was my Dan? Then I finished up but the lower field started spinning again, I thought what was going on? Why does it happen again?
I asked Shen laoshi later and he said,”In college, the junior year ended and the vacation began, the senior year hasn’t started yet, and that’s the happiest time.” I thought about what it meant.
Morning: Cross-legged, linked up with the old divine tree, the light I got back was fairly weak, took it back to lower field. Two cycles of five elements and then Macro orbit started. Two more cycles of five elements and I finished up.
There was a new phenomenon, whenever I was meditating or resting, as soon as I moved my feet or stimulate the yong quan points, the macro orbit would start running. It was a headache, but a blissful one.
Today we discussed the forth chapter, the Cooking of Cinnabar medicine.
Nighttime: Full lotus, light appeared immediately, took it to lower field. Macro orbit started running. Two cycles of five elements, ancestral chamber practice, I felt that my ability to control the light got better, two cycles of five elements, macro orbit, latitudinal orbits, entire meridian system moved up and down. 80 minutes in total.
9th
Morning: Half lotus, true breath appeared. Saliva pouring out from under my tongue, I swallowed them to the lower field. Macro orbits, entire meridian system were running. I used my intention to contract some of the latitudinal orbits, they got smaller and smaller but their speed increased. Two cycles of five elements and then I finished up. 90 minutes in total.
Today, we discussed the fifth chapter, the golden crystal flying up from the side.
Nighttime: Full lotus. Light appeared immediately, took back to lower field, then five elements twice, then macro orbits and latitudinal orbits. After ancestral chamber and five elements, the macro orbits ran again. Then I tuned the latitudinal orbit and following my regulations of my breaths, the orbit got smaller and smaller while the speed increased. This time the upper, middle and lower field were connected in one line. The broken line is no longer broken! It was just like a meridian and starting running. Afterward, my legs hurt so I finished up. 70 minutes in total.
Night time: Crossed legged. Light appeared immediately, took it to lower field. Five elements and then macro orbit, latitudinal orbits and entire meridian system started moving. I decreased the size of the latitudinal orbit to make it run faster. The broken line then also started moving. I was worried that the qi might burst out from the Tian Men so I use the body universe and personal universe to regulate it. Qi moved up and down between the upper and lower field. Afterward, I saw the sky, clouds and mountain ranges just liked with my eyes open. Then, I saw a flood of light, it was transparent and golden color, liked a curtain. I was going to finish up but the Macro orbit and latitudinal orbits just wouldn’t stop. So I continued to sit. 200 minutes.
10th
Midnight: Half lotus. Light appeared, took it to lower field. Five elements and then macro orbit, the speed was much faster than before. Latitudinal orbit, broken line started moving. Used body and personal universe to regulate the movement. Qi moved to lower field. Then I saw the edge of the personal universe, I was sitting inside a big sphere, very bright, liked the scene when I opened my SHO but just without the stars.
Morning: Half lotus, light appeared, took it to lower field. Five elements, macro orbit, latitudinal orbit. Qi to lower field, then it wanted to go up. Lower field spinning, five elements again. Finished up.
In the afternoon, I left my place of rebirth, Lanzhou. I went home happily and a changed person.

Conclusion


A limited lifetime and an unlimited universe.
How can a human obtain a lifespan that is as long as the heaven and earth? The ancients observe the movements of the heaven and earth, they understood the transformation of yin and yang, the movements of the sun and the moon. And using these observations, they revealed the rule of the great Dao inside the human body. This is Dandao, ordinary people only used their normal eyes to see man, things and the universe, but they don’t know how to use the Heaven eyes to see the world behind the ordinary world.
Life is short, normal people don’t know how to escape the pain of living, like birth, old age, diseases and death. Living only in the material world, there is no escaping these pains. But if they looked back and read the wisdom of the old sages and started learning and practicing dandao, then there is a possibility to escape. The “On true immortals” chapter in Zhong Lu Zhuan Dao Ji is excellent, and one should study it carefully.
Through the personal guidance of Shen laoshi, I was able to experience firsthand the pre-heaven movements of qi (SHO, macro, latitudinal orbits) and also the shining brightness of the original spirit and ling xing. I have changed completely as a person, from inside to outside. I understood what is meant by “Dao is not far from human”. By studying the three classics and the verifications in them and the things that happened inside my body, I was able to understand the Zhong Lu Dandao is the complete method and perfect integration of theory, method and verification. It helped me reaching a new level of consciousness and a deeper appreciation of traditional Chinese culture. This ended my 15 years of study in China at a high note and I hope a full ending would be possible with my own further tireless effort.
June 10th 2011 at Lanzhou.

Brief Introduction to the Secret of the Golden Flower

The Daoist classic Tai Yi Jin Hua Zong Zhi (known as the "Secret of the Golden Flower" (SOGF) in the west) was initially based on the lyrics of "Xiao Yao Jue" (Ode to True Freedom) and "Quan Shi Ge" (Song of Persuasion) by Lu Dongbin, it began to be circulated in the late Song Dynasty. Later disciples who obtained the manuscript had edited the content over time and it was being transmitted in hand-copied manuscript format. During the Kang Xi period of the Qing Dynasty, it was disclosed and published for the first time by Jingming Pai and Longmen Pai separately. While it was passed down from generation to generation, new contents were added, these contents include fantastical materials obtained from divination and references from Confucius and Buddhist ideas to reflect the influences of these sects in the Chinese society. All these materials had no doubt put the SOGF under a veil of heavy mysticism.

The spiritual world of human being can be divided into three levels: Shi Shen (Conscious Spirit), Yuan Shen (Original Spirit) and Ling Xing (Soul Spirit). Ling Xing came from the Heaven and Earth, Yuan Shen came from your parent, Shi Shen came from the post-heaven world. The relationship between these three levels of spirits is that: Ling Xing is surrounded by Yuan Shen which in turn is surrounded by Shi Shen. Under normal circumstances, when one is awake, Shi Shen is active and Yuan Shen is dormant. When one is asleep, Shi Shen is dormant and Yuan Shen is active. Shi Shen and Yuan Shen does not communicate with each other directly. Ling Xing is the root of life, it's only active at the moment the human life is created or at the moment when the life is ended.

After Lu Dongbin had completed the cultivation as outlined in Ling Bao Bi Fa, he had understood the nature of Shi Shen, Yuan Shen and Ling Xing. Looking from such a high level plane of existence, Ancestor Lu described several specialized topics dealing with Ling Xing and its usages in Ling Bao Bi Fa, the result was SOGF. That is why SOGF is a part of Ling Bao Bi Fa, it described the portions of Ling Bao Bi Fa that dealt with "Tai Yi" (Ultimate Unity). So what is ultimate unity? What can it do? What can it accomplished?

What is "Ultimate Unity" ? Ultimate Unity is also known as the "Ultimate One", i.e. the "one" as in "Dao gave birth to one" in Daodejing. Before there was human being, there was the "one", after human being has disappeared, the "one" will still be aound. To human being, "one" is absolute, eternal and immutable. When a human life is created, "one" enters the body, it's called Ling Xing. Ordinary people do not know about it, whereas the immortal uses it, it's also called the Wondrous Gate, the Ancestral Chamber and the Heaven Heart, it has many names but they are actually all "one". When a human dies, "one" will leave the body.

What can "Ultimate unity" do? "Dao gave birth to one, one gave birth to two, two gave birth three and three gave birth to the ten thousand things". Human being is part of the ten thousand things, if human can understand "one", then "two", "three" and "ten thousand things" can all be easily understood. In Ling Bao Bi Fa, "Ultimate Unity" first appeared in the first segment "Tai Yi Han Zhen Qi" (The ultimate one containing the true qi) of the second method "Collection and Dispersion of Water and Fire". "Jin Hua" (Golden Flower) means the golden cinnabar, i.e. the third segment "The Golden Purple Cinnabar" in the eight method "Return to the Origin to Refine Qi". Therefore SOGF is the principles behind the methods from "Tai Yi Han Zhen Qi" to "The Golden Purple Cinnabar", the ultimate unity can also be added to the various methods between these two levels. In other words, one must at least attain the "Ultimate Unity" in the second method "Dispersion and Collection of Water and Fire", and then utilize it to connect the various levels and segments in Ling Bao Bi Fa in order to finally attain the Golden Cinnabar.

One can imagine that qi is energy, it can't be seen not touched. By using the conscious mind, how much can one condense the qi? "Tai Yi Han Zhen Qi" means that using the "Ultimate Unity" to condense qi, only by this method can one continuously condense qi to higher and higher level of density, from "gaseous" state to "liquid" state and finally to "solid" state of the cinnabar. These states correspond to the levels "Human Immortal Method", "Terrestrial Immortal Method" and "Celestial Immortal Method" in Ling Bao Bi Fa.

What can "ultimate unity" accomplish? To put it simply, the verifications in DanDao are all "seen" using the ultimate unity. Looking it from another way, the ancient Chinese Civilization is based on the objective reality from what is "seen" using the ultimate unity: for examples, the "Yellow Emperor Classic" is the classifications based on what has been "seen", the "Zhou Yi" (I Ching version in Zhou dynasty) is the generalization of what has been "seen". Daodejing is the refinement of the conclusion from what has been "seen". SOGF is the method to practice how to be able to "see".

SOGF originated from Ling Bao Bi Fa, the two classics complements each other and fuse into one, using first level of qi to utilize the Shi Shen, the second level of qi to utilize the Yuan Shen and the third level of qi to utilize the Ling Xing. Through cultivation of Shi Shen one can then stimulate and control Yuan Shen and Ling Xing, which can then leads to the complete understanding of the spiritual world. Obviously, SOGF cannot reveal everything about the "Tai Yi", but if one can understand a little piece of it, one should know to be satisfied.

Brief Introduction to Ling Bao Bi Fa

Ling Bao Bi Fa is divided into three volumes, it was collected and published in the Supreme Pureness section (Tai Qing Bu) of the "Authentic Daoist Canon" (Zheng Tong Daocang). In the prologue of Ling Bao Bi Fa, Ancestor Zhongli quan stated that he had studied classics and consulted with many friends to learn about the great Dao, later he had found 30 volumes of "Ling Bao Jing" in Mount Zhongnan. In it "the first section called the Golden Words, written by the Jade Pure One; the middle section called the Jade Book, written by the Supreme Pure One ; the last section called True Origin, written by the Grand Pure One. Together made of several thousands words." Ancestor Zhongli ponders deeply on the materials and ultimately discovered the true meaning within: "To transcend the mundane and achieve Sainthood, which can be summarized in three levels of methods." He named it "Ling Bao Bi Fa" and transmitted it to Ancestor Lu Dongbin.

"The Daoist Teachings of Zhong and Lu" had mentioned that "Ling Bao Bi Fa" is divided into 10 volumes on 12 topics. Each topic has Six Yi, six ways of explaining the topic, they are : Golden Words (Gin Gao), Jade Book (Yu Shu), True Origin (Jhen Yuan), Analogy (Bi Yu), True Code (Jhen Jyue) and Essence of Dao (Dao Yao).

The content of Ling Bao Bi Fa can be divided into three volumes of ten gateways (or three levels of ten methods):

The first Volumes is called "Minor Methods for Good Health and Well Being", the four methods are Pairing the Yin and Yang number one, Collection and Dispersion of Water and Fire number two, The mating of Dragon and Tiger number three and Cooking the Cinnabar Medicine number four. This is the foundation method of building the neidan, following the methods can leads to good health and well being.

The second volume is called "Intermediate Methods for Longevity" which contains three methods, The Golden Crystal Flying Up from the Side number four, the Jade Liquid Restorative Cinnabar number five, the Golden Liquid Restorative Cinnabar number seven. These are the method to complete the neidan cultivation. The method can leads to longevity.

The third volume is called "Great Methods for Transcending from the mortal Realm" which contains three methods, Facing the origin to refine the qi number eight, Internal Viewing and Swapping number nine and transcension and Subdivision number ten. These methods can lead to transcendency.

In each method, it is explained from six different angles called the Six Yi, they are different ways to interpret and explain the method. Golden Words, Jade Book and True Origin were written by the Three Pure Ones who use the great Dao, the Heaven and Earth to explain the method. Analogy use the the ten thousands things as analogies to explain the qi and shen of the human body. True code and the essence of Dao summaries the methods and important points to watch out for during the practice.

From the practice point of views, the three volumes of Ling Bao Bi Fa is explaining the 45 segments of actual practice in the Three Immortal Methods. By following the TTIM, one should be able to archived the corresponding goals stated in Ling Bao Bi Fa. It is called "Bi Fa" because it is a complete and systematic methods of the Great Dao.

Dandao is also called neidan, it came from Waidan (external cinnabar), by referring to the methods of creating the external cinnabar, one can then easily comprehend the neidan system. The main process in waidan is the following: choose a auspicious location, setting up the stove and the cauldron, put the medicine and water into the cauldron, start the fire in the stove, boil the water and cook the medicine. The medicine will then move in the water, when the water have been completely evaporated, the medicine condensed and form the cinnabar.

Neidan method is very similar the waidan methods. It uses yin and yang to create the dan (cinnabar). The difference is that in neidan, one need to condensed and create the dan three times. The first time the dan is created, it can be used to refine into dan medicine ; the dan medicine can then be used to create a refined dan ; keeping cooking the refined dan more and one can create the golden dan. The three levels of cultivation in Ling Bao Bi Fa, "Human Immortal Methods", "Terrestrial Immortal Methods" and "Celestial Immortal Method", are precisely the methods to create and refine the dan three times.

The "Human Immortal Methods" use the body as the cauldron, the qi as the medicine, the heart as the fire, the kidney as the water, nine restorations and seven reversals, Kan and Li combine and the Golden Elixir Restorative Cinnabar created.

The "Terrestrial Immortal Methods" use the shen as the cauldron, the qi as the medicine, the sun as the fire, the moon as the water, seeking treasure in the deep ocean, walking in the sky to see the moon, Yin and Yang perfectly matched.

The "Celestial Immortal Methods" use the shen as the cauldron, the true-self as the medicine, the wisdom as the fire, the stillness as the water, the nine palaces indestructible, the heaven and earth circulate forever and the heaven and man become one.

Practicing neidan is a way to refine yin and yang for creation, the process for rebirth.

Ling Bao Bi Fa is a systematic method to build the bridge between the mortals and the immortals. It is the pinnacle and the greatest of all methods in neidan. It is a ladder to the understanding of the Dao as told by Laozi 3000 years ago.

Finally Ling Bao Bi Fa showed us the Youwei method of using the shen to refine the qi, the Wuwei method of us the the qi to refine the shen and the Wubuwei method of combining the shen ling. All this theory must be put into practice, using real and tangible results to verify the content of Ling Bao Bi Fa. To study Ling Bao Bi Fa require very a meticulous and flexible mind.

Brief Introduction to the "Daoist Teachings of Zhong and Lu"

The "Daoist Teachings of Zhong and Lu" (DTZL) recorded the daoist transmissions from Zhongli Quan to Lu Dongbin in a questions and answers format. The earliest historical record of this text can be found in the Northern Song Dynasty, in "Xuan He Shu Pu" volume 19 stated that Lu Dongbin was a disciple of Zhongli Quan and "there exits books of their dialogue and poems etc", the "dialogue" should be referring to this classic. The "Dao Shu" In the Song dynasty has collected this classic and called it "Collection of Daoist Transmissions". The 14th to 16th chapters of the "10 books on Cultivation" in the Doaist Canon, "Collection of Ancient and Modern Books" (Gu Jin Tu Shu Ji Cheng) and "Essentials of Daoist Canon" had also a copy of this classic.

"Daoist Teachings of Zhong and Lu" consists of the questions and answers between the two ancestors on the 18 specialized topics in cultivation ( "On true Immortals", "On Great Dao", "On Heaven and Earth", "On the Sun and the Moon", On Four Seasons", "On Five Elements", "On Water and Fire", "On Dragon and Tiger", "On Cinnabar and Medicine", "On lead and mercury", "On Extraction and Deposition", "On River Car", "On Restorative Cinnabar", "On refining the form", "On returning to the origin", "On internal viewing", "On Demonic Obstacles", "On verifications"). The book fleshed out the concepts clearly, revealed the different layers in each topic and it is full of wonderful discussions. This book had revealed to the world previously closely guarded daoist secrets. It is not an exaggeration to call this book the most important classic of the five ancestors and the seven sages and all the saints that followed them. DTZL is a more comprehensive discussion of the dandao of Zhong and Lu than any other publicly available classics.

To get to know the Zhong and Lu dandao better, the 18 topics of DTZL can be divided into 6 sections.

1. The Purpose. The goal of Zhong and Lu dandao is to become an immortal through cultivations. So what is an immortal? How to cultivate it? The answer is in "On true Immortals".

2. The Theory. Dandao is the fruit of the fusion between the great dao and the daoist culture. So how can we understand dandao from the point of view of the great Dao? The answer is in "On Great Dao".

3. The Theory from Yijing. Dandao culture was built on the backdrop of the idea "Heaven and Man become one". The "Heaven" in this idea consist of at least two levels of meaning. The "pre-heaven" (xiantian) stage of the universe and human, these had all been incorporated in the theory of "Zhou Yi". Secondly, how can we get to know the laws of the Yijing from observations of the circulation between of the heaven and earth, the movement of the Sun and the moon and the transitions between the 4 seasons and use these observations to help us understand the practical aspects of dandao. The different stages of the process in "Heaven and Man become one" are method of earth, method of heaven and method of Dao and they are explained in "On Heaven and Earth", "On the Sun and Moon" and "On the four seasons".

4. The theory of alchemy. The main idea in dandao is the theory of creation and rebirth, i.e. the creation of embryo from yin and yang, the embryo is nurtured until rebirth is possible. "Dao give birth to One, One gives birth to Two, Two gives birth to Three, Three gives birth to the ten thousands things". Creation is not possible without Yin and Yang. Yin and Yang is from "One", then where does "One" comes from? See "On the five elements". And how does "One" gives birth to Yin and Yang? See "On Water and Fire". How does Yin and Yang give births to the yang within yin and the yin within yang ? See "On Dragon and Tiger". How does Yin and Yang give birth to "Three", the embryo? And how do we nurture the Embryo ? See "On Cinnabar and Medicine". And how about the yin and yang in the embryo? See "On Lead and Mercury".

5. The theory on the cultivation method. Cultivation methods follow the laws of the nature, the theory in Yijing and the circulation between heaven and earth. How does one get the yin and yang, and how do we use the yin and yang? See "On extraction and deposition". How do we make the ying and yang follows the rise and fall (circulation) between the heaven and earth ? See "On River Car". How does one refine the quality and increase the volume of Yin and Yang? See "On restorative cinnabar". How does one cleanse the body with Yin and Yang? See "On Refining the form". How does one achieve transcension? See "On returning to the Origin". How does one see the process? See "On internal viewing". How does one overcome psychological obstacles? See "On demonic obstacles. The 10 methods and 45 segments of Ling Bao Bi Fa are precisely the practical methods to complement these theory.

6. On verifications. Since one has the methods, so we should also have verifications of the methods. To know the verifications in each stage, see "On Verifications". How does one assess the result and the achieved level of the immortality? See "On true immortals". How does one understand the great dao through cultivation ? See "On the Great Dao".

Looking at the content of DTZL, we can see that Ancestors Zhongli and Lu were standing and teaching us at a level unimaginable to mortals, they taught us true neidan and true methods, they told us that there are 5 levels of immortals: ghost immortal, human immortal, terrestrial immortal, shen immortal, celestial immortals. There are three levels of cultivation, minor cultivation, medium cultivation and great cultivation. Minor cultivation can grant one human immortal status, to live well and healthy on earth ; medium cultivation method can grant one terrestrial immortal status, to enjoy longevity; great cultivation method can grant one the shen immortal, celestial immortal status, to transcend from the material world. The method of neidan came from the great Dao, it states that the human body is a universe in itself, that's why one needs to imitate the circulation of the heaven and earth, the conversion of the 5 elements, the interactions of the sun and the moon in the body. To extract the Xiantian yang from the kidney water as the ingredients of dan, to mate the true yin and true yang, to mix and merge them, to circulate in the 3 fields, using yang to cook the yin and use the yin to refine the yang. By conversion of essence to qi, qi to shen, shen to the void and refine the void to Dao, then the golden dan can be formed and the yang shen can transcend. Jump out of the gate of heaven into the world of the three pure ones. The classic had detailed the 12 levels of internal refinement methods, they are Pairing the Ying and Yang number one, Collection and Dispersion of Water and Fire number two, The Mating of Dragon and Tiger number three, Burning and cooking the cinnabar medicine number four, The golden sphere flying up form the side number five, The jade liquid restorative cinnabar number six, the jade liquid refinement of the form number seven, the golden liquid restorative cinnabar number eight, the golden liquid refinement of the form number nine, returning to the origin to refine the qi number ten, internal viewing number eleven, transcension and subdivide number twelve. Combining sixth and seventh into one method, and the eighth and ninth into one method, reducing the twelve methods into ten, this is Ling Bao Bi Fa.

DTZL has established the venerable position of Zhong and Lu dandao: it inherited from the three pure ones and bequeath this treasure to the mortals in next one thousand year. It is the pinnacle achievement of the ancient daoist tradition; it wakes up the internal shen and ling of man and connect them to the external space and time. It is a comprehensive system of dandao cultivation, it revealed to the world the extraordinary wisdom of the daoist tradition and give people a glimpse of it's effective health and wellness method.

Therefore when we read DTZL, we need to ourselves in between the heaven and earth, time and space, to view and think about them from mutiple angles, the corporeal and concrete, the corporeal and formless and the incorporeal and formless. To see how can "heaven" and "man" become one? How does the "heaven" and "man" correspond to each other? What is being merged from "heaven" and "man" ? etc ..etc...

2002 - Annotations of the Three Classics

The first time I read Ling Bao Bi Fa was in 1987, then I read the Taoist Teachings of Chong and Lu, these two books complement each other. When I wrote Walk on the Great Path, I had read the relevant classics I had found. Beginning in 1995 when I was concentrating on researching Channel SHO, I started a detailed study of these two classics. In my specialized seminars, I also tried to use the two classics to explain the methods and the applications. After I had completed "Channel SHO study from 100 persons", I began to study these two books exclusively and I attempted at my own annotation of them.

It was a most awe-inspiring endeavor, when you really tried to understand the explanations of Ancestor Lu with your heart, you will find that each word has great meaning, each sentence is brilliant. To interpret the books from the point of view of the great Dao, they were written as tools to help you tackle "Dao De Jing". From the point of view of Yijing, the two books are demonstrating the world as described by Yijing. From the point of view of the theory of qi, they are talking about the Xiantian qi. Combining them with "Huang Di Nei Jing", they underpinned the traditional Chinese medicine theory. From the point of view of the theoretical aspects of practical methods, the two classic bridge the mortals to heaven, as long as there is an authentic teacher to lead you...

The two classics were full of wonders, I always exclaimed in admiration whenever I read the particularly brilliant sections. The wisdom of the great ancestors far exceeds the capability of our imaginations, it showed you the amazing level of achievement of our civilization. Tears fill my eyes whenever I am reminded of the compassion of the great ancestors, they have left us with great treasures, always hopping that we will be led to transform our lives into higher level.

I sent my annotations to Master Wang, he was very pleased with it. He told me more about Ling Bao Bi Fa on the phone and suggested that I also annotate "Tai Yi Jin Hua Zong Zhi" (*). I updated my manuscripts with Master Wang's suggestions. Later I annotated Tai Yi Jin Hua Zong Zhi and I sent the complete manuscript of the three annotations to Master Wang. After he was satisfied with it, the book was ready for publication. (**)

Translator's notes:

(*) An important longmen pai classic, translated in the west as "The Secret of the Golden Flowers"
(**) The book was published in Aug. 2008. (Only available in Chinese)

1996 - Studying the Classic texts

Even though I knew about the Channel SHO before and I had seen Master Wang helping other to attain that level. But I was even more interested in it since I came home from Shanghai in 1995. I told myself I must understand it completely.

I began to study Longmen Pai classics "Ling Bao Bi Fa" (Spiritual Jewels Exercises) and "The Daoist teaching of Chong and Lu". "Chong and Lu" was an annotation of "Ling Bao Bi Fa" and "Ling Bao Bi Fa" was written to explain the Three Immortal Methods (TTIM). TTIM consists of Three Stages, 10 methods and 45 segments of actual practice intructions. Three Immortal Methods is the actual methods buried in "Ling Bao Bi Fa". Master Wang at that time had only revealed the three segments of the first method "Matching the Yin Yang". The three segments are "Exchange Yin and Yang", "Matching Yin and Yang" and "Restore Yin and Yang". I analyzed the structure, the limit and boundary described by the three segments. I strived to unravel the logical connection linking the three segments in order to extract the theory, method and result. I got a first glimpse of the basic model of the cultivation passed down from the great ancestors Chong and Lu.

Secondly, I also began to investigate the "Nu Dan gong" (female practice). Master Wang revealed the actual methodology of Nu Dan Gong in 1988. I included it in "Walk on the Great Path". The Nu Dan Gong was passed down from Ancestor Sun Bu Er. Sun was a student of Ancestor Wang Chongyang who was a direct lienage holder passed down by Ancestor Lu. It is believed that Ancestor Lu had taught many women in different times in history. So it's not hard to believe that Ancestor Lu created the Nu Dan Gong from the premises of the Three Immortal Methods, obviously this is just my own speculation, it was never recorded in any daoist literature.Ancestor Sun passed down the Nu Dan Gong and it was refined and improved over time by other Masters.

Since man and woman have different physiology and so the actual cultivation methods are also different. I got many inspirations by analyzing the differences between the male and the female practices and also from the parts where they overlap.