1. The Heavenly Heart

1. Master Lu (Dongbin) said, the state of the Self is called Tao. The Tao has no name or form; it is just the essence, just the original spirit. Essence and life cannot be seen. They are contained in the light of heaven. The light of heaven cannot be seen. It is contained in the two eyes.

2. Since ancient times, those who realized spiritual immortality have passed on the Tao by word of mouth, from one to another.

3. Since Lao Tzu became immortal, master Donghua passed on the teaching to me. Then the southern and northern schools of Complete Reality followed, after which the Complete Reality School fully flourished.

4. The movement flourished in the sense that there were many students; at the same time it declined in the sense that the inner teaching deteriorated. This has continued up to the present day, so that now it is extremely superficial and diluted.

5. The degeneration of the teaching has reached an extreme. Extremes give rise to reversions. Therefore master Xu bestowed his kindness to liberate people, especially setting up the teaching of a special transmission outside of doctrine, for those who had the highest capability to understand. For everybody who heard, it was a rare opportunity. Those who accepted it formed a religious association in their time. Everyone should respect and understand the effort of master Xu and firmly hold on to the teaching when dealing with people in one`s daily activities within society. Only then can one cultivate reality and realize one`s essence.

6. Now I am bestowed with the honor to be your guide and will first reveal to you the secret of the Taiyi Golden Flower, and then, I will explain the rest in detail.

7. The Taiyi is the term given to that which has nothing above it. The secret of the elixir of life consists in using action in order to attain non-action. One must not wish to leap over everything and penetrate directly. The doctrine I transmit directly brings up working with essence and does not fall into a secondary method. That‘s why it’s wonderful.

8. The Golden Flower is light. What is light? It is symbolized by a golden flower, which hides the word light in it. It is the true energy of the prenatal Taiyi. This is what is meant by the saying, the lead in the homeland of water has only one taste.

9. The work of turning the light around depends entirely on the method of reversal , to concentrate one`s thoughts on the heavenly heart. The heavenly heart lies between the sun and the moon (the two eyes). The Book of the Yellow Court says: In the square inch field of the square foot house, life can be regulated. The square foot house is the face. As for the square inch field on the face, what can it be other than the heavenly heart? In the middle of the square inch dwells the splendour. In the purple hall of the city of jade dwells the God of Utmost Emptiness and Life. The Confucians call it the empty dwelling in the middle; The Buddhists call it the terrace of the spirit; The Taoists call it the ancestral land, the yellow court, the mysterious pass or the prenatal opening.

10. The heavenly heart is like a house, the light is the master of the house. Therefore once you turn the light around, the energies of the whole body appear at the court, as when a sage king has established the capital and found his throne, the ten thousand states will approach with tribute. Or as when the master is astute, men-servants and maids obey his orders of their own accord and each does his work. Therefore you have only to turn the light around; that is the deepest and most wonderful secret.

11. The light is easy to move, but difficult to fix. If it is made to circulate long enough, then it crystallizes ; that is the Dharma body of the state of Self. This crystallized spirit is formed beyond the nine skies. This is what the Scriptures of the Mind Seal called: Then you may silently contemplate the Supreme Ruler and in twelve years time may wing your flight above. In carrying out this principle there is no other method that brings more progress, one must only concentrate one`s thoughts on it. The Surangama Sutra says: By purifying thought one can fly and will be born in heaven. Heaven is not the wide blue sky but a heavenly palace born of the body. If one keeps this up for a long time there develops quite naturally, in addition to the body, yet another spirit-body.