Supreme Yellow Court Outer Scenery Jade Scripture, Part One

閑居作七言，解說身形及諸神。上有黃庭下關元，後有幽闕前命門。呼吸廬入丹田，玉池清水灌靈根。審能修之可長存。

At leisure and with nothing to do, I have composed this seven-character verse to explain the human body and the spirits within it. The names used below, such as Yellow Court, Guanyuan, Youque, Mingmen, Dantian, Jade Pool and Spirit Root, are all borrowed from the names of palaces, rooms and plants to refer to parts and functions inside the body; they do not point to external things. Above is the Yellow Court, below is Guanyuan; behind is Youque, in front is Mingmen. Breath enters from the Spirit Hut in the nose and reaches the Dantian, while the clear water of the Jade Pool in the mouth irrigates the Spirit Root. If one can truly practice this way, one may live long without decline.

黃庭中人衣朱衣，。幽闕之高巍巍，丹田之中精炁微。玉池清水上生肥，靈根堅固老不衰。

The master within the Yellow Court wears a vermilion robe (the base text has ",。" after this line, and a passage seems to be missing). Youque stands high and towering, and in the Dantian the essence and qi are subtle and hard to detect. The clear water of the Jade Pool rises to moisten and nourish; when the Spirit Root is firm, a person grows old without declining.

中池有士，三寸神所居。中外相距重閉之，神廬之中。膺炁管受精，急固子精以自持。

In the Middle Pool there lives a scholar; the space of three inches square is where the spirit dwells. Inside and outside are separated, closed off layer upon layer, right within the Spirit Hut. The windpipe in the chest receives the vital essence; hurry to guard your essence firmly and use it to sustain your own body.

宅中有士常衣絳，子能見之可不病。橫長尺約其上，子能守之可無恙。呼吸廬間以自償，完堅身受慶。方寸之中謹蓋藏，精神還歸老復壯。幽闕流下竟，養子玉樹令可壯。

The scholar in the dwelling often wears a crimson garment; if you can see him, you will be free of illness. About a foot across lies just above; if you can keep hold of him, you will be safe and sound. Breath goes in and out of the Spirit Hut, making up for itself, and when the body is sound and solid it receives blessings. Guard and store carefully the square-inch space; when essence and spirit return to their places, a person turns from old to strong. The qi of Youque flows down to its very end, nourishing your jade-tree body and making it robust.

至道不煩無旁午，靈臺通天臨中野。方寸之中關下，玉房之中神門戶。是公子教我者。

The Supreme Way is neither fussy nor tangled; the Spirit Terrace reaches up to Heaven and looks down upon the central plain. The square inch lies just below Guanyuan, and within the Jade Chamber is the gateway of the spirit. This is what the Young Lord taught me.

明堂四達法海源，真人子丹當吾前。三關之中精氣深，子欲不死修崑崙。

The Bright Hall opens in all directions, modeled on the source of the great sea, and the Perfected Person Zidan is right before me. Within the Three Passes essence and qi are stored deep; if you wish not to die, you must cultivate Kunlun (meaning the Niwan palace at the crown of the head).

絳宮重樓十二，室之中五集。赤之子中池立，下有長城玄谷邑。長生要房中急。

The Crimson Palace has twelve stacked stories, and within its chamber the five qi gather. The red child stands in the Middle Pool, and below are the Great Wall and the town of the Dark Valley. To live long, moderation in matters of the bedchamber is the most essential.

棄捐專精，寸田尺宅可生。子長留心安寧，志遊神三奇靈。無事心太平。

Set aside miscellaneous affairs and concentrate your spirit single-mindedly, and the square-inch field and the foot-wide house can be made to flourish. If you only keep your attention steady and calm for a long time, your mind roams free and your spirit meets the numinous power of the Three Wonders. When the heart has no affairs, there is naturally peace.

常存玉房神明達，時太倉不飢渴。役使六丁女謁，閉子精可長活。

Constantly visualize the Jade Chamber, and the spirit-light passes through without obstruction; visualize the Great Granary at the proper times, and you will feel neither hunger nor thirst. Command the Six Ding Jade Maidens to carry messages for you, and seal your essence tight, and you can live long.

正室神所，洗身自無。歷觀五臟視節度，六腑修治潔如素。虛無自然道之。

The Main Chamber is where the spirit dwells; wash your own body and naturally nothing will be defiled. Observe the five viscera one by one and examine their measure; the six bowels, well tended, are as clean as white silk. Emptiness and naturalness are exactly where the Way lies.

物有自然不煩，垂拱無為身體安。虛無之居在幃間，寂寞然口不言。恬淡無欲遊德園，清淨香潔玉女，修德明達之門。

All things have their own nature (being so of themselves, as they originally are, not "Nature" in the sense of the natural world) and are not troubled; let the robes hang and the hands fold, abide in non-action (not forcing things by one's own will, letting them run according to their nature; it does not mean doing nothing at all), and the body is naturally at ease. That realm of emptiness dwells within the curtains, still and silent, without a word. Be tranquil and free of desire, and roam in the garden of virtue; be pure, fragrant and clean like a jade maiden, and this is the gateway to attaining virtue.

作道優遊深獨居，扶養性命守虛無。恬淡何思慮，羽翼已正扶。長生久視乃飛去。

The one who cultivates the Way lives at ease, dwelling deep and alone, nurturing his own life and holding fast to emptiness. In tranquility, what thoughts remain? When his wings are upright and full, with long life and lasting vision, he rides them and flies away.

五行參差同根，三五合炁本一。誰與共之鬥日月，和子室。子能萬事畢，子自有之持失，不死金室。

Though the Five Phases are uneven, they come from one root; the three and the five unite to form qi, and were originally one. Who can share this with me? Only the Big Dipper, the sun and the moon. Harmonize your cinnabar chamber. If you can do so, all affairs are concluded; this was originally yours, and if you hold to it you will not lose it, for the golden chamber of the deathless lies within.

出日入月是吾道，天七地迴相守，昇降進退合乃久，玉石是吾寶。子自有之何不守？心曉根基養華釆，服天順地合藏精。

The sun rises and the moon sets; this is my Way. The heavenly seven and the earthly numbers return and keep one another; rising and falling, advancing and retreating, matched properly, endure long. The supreme treasure like jade is my treasure. This was originally yours; why not guard it? When the heart understands where the root lies, it can nurture radiance and spirit; take in the qi of heaven and follow the qi of earth, and bring them together to store your essence.

。蔽以紫宮丹城樓，俠以日月如珠，萬歲昭昭非有期。外本三陽自來，內三可長生，魂欲上天魄入，還魂返魄道自然。

The base text begins this line with "。", and a passage seems to be missing. Take the tower of the Purple Palace and Cinnabar City as a screen, with sun and moon flanking it like twin pearls, bright and clear for ten thousand years without any appointment. Outwardly the qi of the three yang comes of itself; inwardly the three qi can bring long life. The hun soul is imagined ascending to heaven, the po soul sinking into earth; if you can make the hun return and the po come home, the Way is accomplished of itself.

，金籥完堅。地懸天周乾坤，象以四時赤如丹。前仰後卑門，以還丹與玄泉。象龜引炁靈根。

The base text begins this line with ",", and a passage seems to be missing. The golden lock is firm and secure. Earth hangs below and heaven wraps above, joining as Qian and Kun, modeled on the four seasons and red as cinnabar. The front is raised and the back lowered; this gateway is used to turn cinnabar and the Dark Spring back again. Guide the qi like a tortoise, to nourish the Spirit Root.

中有真人巾金巾，負甲持符開七門。此非枝葉實是根，晝夜思之可長存。

Within it is a Perfected Person, his head wrapped in a golden scarf, wearing armor on his back and holding talismans in his hand, opening the seven gates. This is not the tip of the branches but truly the root; visualize him day and night, and you can live long.

仙人道士非，積精所致。人食穀與五味，獨食太和陰陽炁，故能不死天相。

Immortals and Daoists have no different art; it is entirely a matter of accumulating essence and qi. Ordinary people eat the five grains and five flavors, but they take in only the qi of Supreme Harmony, yin and yang, and so they do not die and are in accord with Heaven.

說五臟各有方。心為國主五臟，動靜炁得行，道自我光，晝日夜自守，，經歷六腑藏卯酉，轉陽之陰藏於九，常能行之。

Now let us speak of how the five viscera each have their place. The heart is the ruler of the realm and commands the five viscera; when movement and stillness are both fitting, qi flows without hindrance and the Way naturally shines forth from me. Day and night each keep their hold (the base text here has two commas joined, and a passage seems to be missing), passing through the six bowels, stored in the positions of mao and you, turning from yang into yin and hidden in the Nine Palaces. If one can practice this constantly, that is good.

肝之為炁修長，羅列五臟三光，上合三焦，精候天地長生道，我神魂魄在中央。精液流泉，立於玄膺明堂，通我華精調陰陽。伏於門候天道，近在身還自守，清無為神留止，精氣上下分理。七孔已通不知老，還坐天門候陰陽，下於喉嚨，過華蓋下清且涼。入清見吾形，期成還可長生，還過華動腎精，於明堂丹田，將使諸神開命門，通利天道靈根，陰陽列布流星，肝氣終無端。

The qi transformed by the liver is long, spread out among the five viscera like the three lights shining, and above it joins the Triple Burner. Essence and qi respond to heaven and earth, and this is the way of long life; my spirit, hun and po are all at the center. Fluid is like a flowing spring, standing between the Dark Breast and the Bright Hall, reaching my vital essence and harmonizing yin and yang. Lie hidden at the gateway to await the Way of Heaven; it is close to your own body, and you must guard it yourself. In purity and non-action the spirit stays and does not leave, and essence and qi above and below each find their order. When the seven orifices are open, one does not feel old; sit back at the Heavenly Gate to await the qi of yin and yang, which goes down the throat and passes the Flower Canopy, cool and pleasant. Entering the pure realm you see your own original form; hoping for accomplishment, you can still live long. The returning qi passes the Flower Canopy and stirs the essence in the kidneys, gathering in the Bright Hall and Dantian, about to make the spirits open Mingmen and open up the Way of Heaven and the Spirit Root; yin and yang spread out like shooting stars, and the circulation of liver qi has no end in the end.

肺之為炁三焦起，天門候故道。液醴泉通六府，隨鼻上下開二耳，窺視天地存童子，調和精華髮齒。顏色光澤，下於何落落，諸神皆會相求索，下入絳宮紫華色。隱藏華蓋，專守心神相呼。觀我諸神辟邪，脾神還歸依大家，，閉塞命門玉都，壽傳萬歲有餘。

The qi transformed by the lungs rises from the Triple Burner, reaching the Heavenly Gate to await the old passage. Bodily fluid, like a sweet spring, reaches the six bowels, going up and down through the nose with the breath and opening both ears; look out at heaven and earth while visualizing the child in the pupil, and harmonize the essence to nourish beard, hair and teeth so that the complexion becomes glossy. Downward, one does not know where it falls; the spirits all come gathering and seeking one another, and together descend into the Crimson Palace, showing a purple radiance. Hidden beneath the Flower Canopy, hold fast with a single mind, and heart and spirit answer each other. Contemplate the spirits within my body and you can ward off evil; the spirit of the spleen returns and turns back to its master. Seal Mingmen, this jade capital, and the lifespan can be passed on for ten thousand years and more.

脾中之神中宮，朝會五三光，上明堂，通利六府調五行。金木水火土為王，通利血脈汗為漿，。

The spirit within the spleen dwells in the Central Palace, holding court with the five viscera, shining like the three lights up to the Bright Hall. It opens the six bowels and harmonizes the Five Phases; metal, wood, water, fire and earth each act as king. It frees the blood vessels and turns sweat into a fluid. A passage seems to be missing after this line in the base text.

。出入二黃庭，呼吸虛無見吾形，強我筋骨血脈。恍惚不見過靈，坐於廬下小童，神明光，出於門入無。恬淡無欲養華，服食玄炁可遂生。還七門飲太淵，我過靈，問於仙道與奇，。頭戴白素足丹田，沐浴華池靈根，三府相得開命門，五味皆至善炁還。

The base text begins this line with "。", and a passage seems to be missing. Going in and out of the two Yellow Courts, breathing within emptiness, you see your own original form and strengthen your sinews, bones and blood vessels. In the haze and blur, no form is seen, yet one has already passed through the numinous realm; sitting upright beneath the Spirit Hut, the little child is the light of the spirit, going out through the gateway and entering into nothingness. Be tranquil and free of desire to nourish your radiance; take in the Dark Qi and you can preserve your life. Turn back through the seven gates and drink the waters of the Great Abyss; I pass through the numinous realm and seek instruction from the immortal Way and wondrous arts. On the head wear white silk, and below the feet lies the Dantian; bathe in the Flower Pool to nourish the Spirit Root. When the Three Mansions find one another and open Mingmen, and the five flavors are all adjusted just right, good qi returns to the body.

，吾言畢矣勿妄傳。

The base text begins this line with ",", and a passage seems to be missing. My words are finished; do not rashly pass them on to those who should not receive them.