Chong Yang Li Jiao Shi Wu Lun (重陽立教十五論) · Volume 1

凡出家者，先須投庵。

Everyone who leaves home to cultivate the Dao must first find a hermitage in which to settle.

庵者舍也，一身依倚，身有依倚，心漸得安。炁神和暢，人真道矣。

A hermitage (an) is simply a dwelling, a place on which the body can rely; once the body has a place to rely on, the mind gradually settles. When qi and spirit are in harmony and flow freely, a person can advance into the true Dao.

凡有動作，不可過勞，過勞則損氣;不可不動，不動則氣血凝滯。須要動靜得其中，然後可以守常安分。

In whatever you do, never overtax yourself, for overexertion injures the qi; yet do not stay wholly inactive either, for without movement the qi and blood stagnate and fail to flow. You must keep movement and stillness each in due measure, and only then can you hold to the constant rule and rest content with your lot.

此是住庵之法。

The above is the rule for living in a hermitage.

凡遊歷之道有二:一者看山水明秀，花木之紅翠。或玩州府之繁華，或賞寺觀之樓閣，或尋朋友以縱意，或為衣食而留心。如此之人，雖然萬里之途，勞形費力，遍覓天下之景，心亂氣衰，此乃虛雲遊之人。二者參尋性命，求問妙玄。登險之高山，訪名師之不倦;度喧轟之運水，問道無厭。若一句相投，便有圓光內發。了生死之大事，作全其之丈夫。如此之人，乃真雲遊也。

There are two kinds of wandering. In the first, a person goes to see the beauty of mountains and rivers and the crimson and green of flowers and trees, or to enjoy the bustle of prefectural cities, or to view the pavilions of temples and Daoist abbeys, or to visit friends for pleasure, or to fret over food and clothing. Such a person may walk ten thousand miles, wearing out the body and spending all his strength, and see every sight under heaven, yet the result is only a scattered mind and a depleted vital essence. This is called wandering in name only. In the second kind, a person goes to investigate the study of nature and destiny (xing and ming) and to seek out the profound principle: he climbs steep mountains and seeks famous teachers without weariness, and wades through roaring waters to consult the great Dao without tiring. If a single saying fits exactly, a perfect radiance shines forth from within his chest; he settles the great matter of life and death and becomes a true man who has fulfilled himself. Only such a person is a true wanderer.

學書之道，不可尋文而亂目。

In the way of reading and study, do not merely hunt through the wording of sentences until your eyes are dazzled and confused.

當宜採意以合心，舍書探意採理。合理採趣，來得趣則可以收入之心。

Take the purport of the book and use it to test your own mind; set the words aside and seek the principle within them; once you have grasped the principle, savor its meaning, and when you have the meaning, you can gather in your own mind.

久久精誠，自然心光洋溢，智神踴躍，無所不通，無所不解。

If you keep on in this way with sincerity over a long time, the light of the mind will naturally overflow, wisdom and thought will leap up and flourish, and there will be nothing you cannot penetrate or understand.

若到此則可以收養，不可馳騁耳，恐失於性命。

When you reach this point, you should withdraw and nourish yourself, and not go galloping outward without end, lest you suffer some loss to your nature and destiny.

若不窮書之本意，只欲記多念廣。人前談說，垮訝才俊。無益於修行，有傷於神氣。雖多看書，與道何益。

If instead you do not probe the book's real intent, and think only of memorizing and reciting more and reading widely, so as to talk before others and boast of your talent (the received text reads "kua ya cai jun" (垮讶才俊); the two characters "kua ya" are probably a miswriting of "kua xu" (夸诩), and are copied here unchanged), that does your practice no good and only harms spirit and qi. However much you read in that way, what help is it to the Dao?

既得書意，可深藏之。

Once you have grasped the purport of a book, you should store it deep in your heart.

藥者乃山川之秀氣，草木之精華。一溫一寒，可補可瀉；一厚一薄，可表可托。肯精學者，活人之性命；若庸醫者，損人之形體。

Medicines are formed from the fine essence of mountains and rivers and the finest substance of plants and trees. One is warm in nature, another cold, and they can be used to tonify or to purge; one has thick qi, another thin, and they can be used to release the exterior or to support the interior. One who studies them with care can save lives; a mediocre physician will ruin people's bodies.

學道之人，不可不通。若不通者，無以助道。

A student of the Dao must not be ignorant of medicine. Without understanding it, he has nothing to assist his cultivation.

不可執著，則有損於陰功。外貪財貨，內費修真。不足今生招愆，切忌來生之報。

But one must not cling to it either, for clinging harms the hidden merit one has accumulated. Outwardly craving money and goods consumes inwardly the effort of cultivating truth. Not only will you invite offenses in this life; you must also take care to fear retribution in the next.

吾門高弟，仔細參詳。

My eminent disciples should study this principle carefully.

茅庵劃舍，須要遮形，露宿野眠，觸犯日月。

Thatch a hut for a hermitage and mark out a plot for a dwelling; it is enough if it covers the body. To sleep in the open and lie in the wilds would instead offend the sun and moon.

苟或雕梁峻宇，亦非上士之作為；大殿高堂，豈是道人之活計。斫伐樹木，斷地脈之津液化道貨財，取人家之血脈。

To build carved beams, painted rafters and towering buildings is not the conduct of a superior practitioner; and how are great halls and lofty chambers the proper business of a Daoist's life? Felling trees cuts off the fluid of the earth's veins; begging for money and goods takes the sweat and blood of others (the received text runs these two clauses together as "duan di mai zhi jin hua dao huo cai" (断地脉之津液化道货财); they are divided here according to the sense).

只修外功，不修內行，如畫餅充飢，積雪為糧，虛勞眾力，到了成空。

To cultivate only outward merit and not inward virtue is like drawing a cake to ease hunger or piling up snow as grain: it uselessly wears out the strength of the multitude and in the end comes to nothing.

有志之人，早當覓身中寶殿，體外朱樓。不解修完，看看倒塌。

A person of resolve should promptly seek the treasure hall within his own body and the vermilion tower outside it; if he does not know how to repair and secure them, he will see them about to collapse.

聰明君子，細細察詳。

Intelligent gentlemen, examine this closely and with care.

道人合伴，本欲疾病相扶，你死我埋，我死你埋。

The original purpose of Daoists keeping company is to support one another in illness: you bury me when I die, and I bury you when you die.

然先擇人，而後合伴。不可先合伴，而後擇人。

But you should choose the person first and then form the partnership; you must not form the partnership first and only afterward pick the person.

不可相戀，相戀則系其心；不可不戀，不戀則情相離。戀欲不戀，得其中道可矣。

Do not be too attached to each other, for attachment ties down your own mind; yet do not be wholly distant either, for then affection grows cold. Take the middle way between attachment and non-attachment, and all will be well.

有三合三不合：明心，有慧，有志，此三合也。不明、著外境，無智慧、性愚濁，無志氣、幹打關，此三不合也。

In keeping company there are the "three fits" and the "three misfits". A clear mind, wisdom and resolve are the three fits. A mind that is unclear and sticks to outer things, lacking wisdom so that one's nature is foolish and murky, and lacking resolve so that one merely wastes away (the received text reads "gan da guan" (干打关), whose meaning is unclear and which is copied here unchanged), are the three misfits.

立身之本，在叢林合憑心志。不可順人情，不可取相貌。唯擇高明者，不上法也。

The root of establishing oneself: in the monastic community, keeping company depends on each person's own aspiration. Do not go along with others out of mere sentiment, and do not judge by outward appearance; choose only the discerning (the received text has "bu shang fa ye" (不上法也) after this sentence, whose meaning is unclear and which is copied here unchanged).

凡打坐者，非言形體端然、瞑目閤眼，此是假打坐也。

Sitting in meditation does not mean arranging the body upright and shutting the eyes and calling it done; that is only false sitting.

真坐者，須要十二時辰，行住坐臥，一切動靜中間，心如泰山，不動不搖，把斷四門眼、耳、口、鼻，不令外景入內。但有絲毫動靜思念，即不名靜坐。

True sitting means that throughout the twelve double-hours, whether walking, standing, sitting or lying, in all movement and stillness, the mind stays steady as Mount Tai, neither stirring nor swaying; the four gates of eyes, ears, mouth and nose are shut, and no outer object is allowed to enter. As long as there remains the slightest thought of movement or stillness, it cannot be called sitting in stillness.

能如此者，雖身處於塵世，名已列於仙位。不須遠參他人，便是身內賢聖。

One who can do this, though his body lives in the dusty world, already has his name entered among the immortals; he need not go far to visit others, for within himself there is a sage.

百年功滿，脫殼登真。一粒丹成，神遊八表。

When a hundred years of practice are fulfilled, he sheds the shell of the body and ascends into the true realm; when a single grain of inner elixir is refined, his spirit can roam beyond the eight directions.

凡論心之道，若常湛然，其心不動。昏昏默默，不見萬物；冥冥杳杳，不內不外。無絲毫念想，此是定心，不可降也。

As for governing the mind: if the mind is constantly clear and still, quiet and unmoving; dim and silent, seeing none of the myriad things; dark and remote, neither within nor without; without the least thought, then this is a mind already settled and does not need to be subdued.

若隨境生心，顛顛倒倒，尋頭覓尾，此名亂心也。速當剪除，不可縱放，敗壞道德，損失性命。

But if the mind follows outer things and raises thoughts, topsy-turvy, now seeking this head and now hunting that tail, this is called a disordered mind. You should hurry to cut it off and not let it run free, or it will ruin your virtue and cost you your life.

行動坐臥常勤降，聞見知覺為病患矣。

In walking, moving, sitting and lying, you must always work diligently to subdue it; once you are led along by what you hear and see, know and sense, that becomes an illness.

理性如調琴，弦緊便有斷，慢則不應，緊慢得中，琴可調矣。

Tuning the mind and nature is like tuning a zither: if the string is drawn too tight it snaps, and if it is let too slack it will not sound; only when tension and slack are balanced is the zither well tuned.

則又如鑄劍，鋼多則折，錫多則卷，鋼錫得中，則劍可矣。

It is also like casting a sword: with too much steel it breaks easily, with too much tin the edge curls; only when steel and tin are properly proportioned can the sword be cast.

調煉性者，體此二法，則自妙也。

One who refines the mind and nature, by reflecting on these two comparisons, will naturally grasp their subtlety.

五氣聚於中宮，三元攢於頂上。青龍噴赤霧，白虎吐烏煙。萬神羅列，白脈流沖。丹砂晃朗，鉛汞凝澄。身且寄向人間，神已遊於天上。

The five qi gather in the central palace, and the three origins converge at the crown of the head. The Azure Dragon spits out red mist, and the White Tiger breathes out black smoke (Azure Dragon and White Tiger are names the inner-alchemy schools borrow as images for the two currents of qi, one rising and one descending, within the body; they do not refer to actual beasts). The myriad spirits stand in ranks, and the blood vessels flow in harmony. Cinnabar shines bright, and lead and mercury congeal and settle (lead and mercury are likewise names borrowed from outer alchemy's drugs, referring to the essence and spirit within the body). Though the body still dwells in the human world, the spirit already roams in the heavens.

性者神也，命者氣也。

What is called nature (xing) is spirit; what is called destiny (ming) is qi.

性若見命，如禽得風，飄飄輕舉，省力易成。陰符經云：“擒之制在氣”是也。

If nature can see destiny, it is like a bird catching the wind: it rises lightly and gaily aloft, saving effort and achieving easily. The Yinfu Jing (Scripture of the Hidden Talisman) says, "The control of capture lies in the qi", which is exactly this meaning.

修真之士，不可不參。不可洩露於下士，恐有神明降責。

One who cultivates truth must not fail to investigate this level; but neither should he lightly reveal it to people of shallow capacity, lest he bring down the punishment of the spirits.

性命是修行之根本，謹緊鍛鍊矣。

Nature and destiny are the root of practice; refine them with care and secrecy.

入聖之道，須是苦志多年，積功累行。高明之士，賢達之流，方可入聖之道也。

The road into the sacred realm requires you to apply your will with hardship, year after year, accumulating merit and cultivating virtue bit by bit. Only the discerning and the worthy can travel this road into sagehood.

身居一室之中，性滿乾坤。普天聖眾，默默護持；無極仙君，冥冥圍繞。名集紫府，位列仙階。形且寄於塵中，心已明於物外矣。

Though his body dwells in a single room, his nature fills heaven and earth. The holy hosts of the whole sky silently protect him, and the Lords of the Limitless Immortals surround him unseen. His name is recorded in the Purple Palace and his rank placed on the immortals' steps. Though his body is still lodged in the dusty world, his mind is already clear beyond all things.

欲界、色界、無色界，此乃三界也。

The realm of desire, the realm of form and the formless realm: these three levels together are called the Three Realms.

心忘慮念，即超欲界。

When the mind forgets thoughts and cares, one transcends the realm of desire.

心忘諸境，即超色界。

When the mind forgets all outer objects, one transcends the realm of form.

心著空見，即超無色界。

When the mind no longer clings to the view of "emptiness", one transcends the formless realm (the received text reads "xin zhuo kong jian" (心着空见), which does not match the pattern of the two preceding "the mind forgets" lines; perhaps a character meaning "not" has dropped out before "clings", or "clings" is a miswriting of "forgets"; it is copied here unchanged).