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THE MICROCOSMIC CAULDRON AND STOVE

THE PRECIOUS CAULDRON (yu ting) is a cavity in the centre of the brain (between and behind the eyes) and is the seat of (essential) nature, that is the original cavity of spirit (yuan shen shih or the ancestral cavity, tsu ch’iao); its left and right sides are linked with the pupils of the eyes by two (psychic) channels; and it is also connected with the heart.¹ Hence it is said that essential nature is (in) the heart which manifests through the two eyes.

It is also said that essential nature is in the precious cauldron which originally did not exist. It is only when true vitality develops and unites with essential nature to become one whole that the latter is called the precious cauldron.

It is also said that about 1.3 inches under the navel is the cavity of real vitality (chen ch’i hsueh or lower tan t’ien) which lies between the front and back of the lower abdomen in proportion of seven to three and which is also called the golden stove (chin lu), the seat of (eternal) life.² Hence it is said that life is the generative force which develops in the genital organ. The golden stove originally did not exist but comes into being when the generative force develops and vitality manifests.

Figure 1 The four cardinal points: A bottom, G top, D back, J front 1 Channel of control (tu mo) 2 channel of function (jeu mo) 3 heart 4 stove 5 precious cauldron (See also figure 8)

When the blood reaches the stove it changes into negative generative force which originates from this centre.

Saliva flows from two channels under the tongue. If it enters the jen mo channel (of function) it goes down into the lower tan t’ien centre (under the navel) to change into negative generative force, but a competent master should be sought to teach the proper way of swallowing saliva;³ otherwise it will enter the stomach and intestines to be discharged as waste.

Question Will you please teach me the proper method of swallowing saliva?

Answer This is the quickest way to produce the generative force; it consists of touching the palate with the tongue to increase the flow of saliva more than usual. When the mouth is so full that you can hold no more and you are about to spurt it out, straighten your neck and swallow it. It will then enter the channel of function (jen mo) to reach the cavity of vitality (below the navel) where it will change into negative and positive generative force. When the generative force is full so will be the breath and when breath is full spirit is strong and your body will be robust.

If you have not been taught this proper method by a competent master, when you swallow saliva it will first enter the stomach and, after being digested, it will be driven into the heart and circulated in the blood vessels before reaching the channel of function where the blood gradually becomes grey white and sticky; it will produce the generative fluid which is harmful and disturbs the heart.

Since olden times many men and women have been ruined by the harmful effects of the generative fluid. When the genital duct dilates young women are liable to lose their virginity whereas men succumb easily to sexual desires and commit immoral acts.

When the penis stands during sleep at night this moment is called the hour tsu⁴ and then it is most important to stop all thoughts while gathering (ts’ai ch’u) the generative force (for sublimation). The gathering method differs with the age of each individual.

At puberty when (a youth has not indulged in sexual pleasures and his) body is still unimpaired, it will suffice to hold the vital force in the lower tan t’ien cavity (under the navel) and to concentrate on it for about ten months until its light manifests which is the moment for the macrocosmic alchemical agent’s breakthrough to realise immortality. This is the quick method.

As to the middle-aged man, he should first repair the damage to his body caused by the dissipation of generative force. When the generative force and vitality are full again the light of vitality will manifest and his genital organ will become retractile which is the moment for the breakthrough. This is the slow method.

An old man over sixty-four whose positive principle has stopped developing, should practise the method of ‘adding fuel’ to prolong his life. If he knows it he should, when the penis erects, concentrate on checking it and start the breathing exercise to shrink it in a short while.

Question After the genital organ has not been aroused for a considerable time, what should one do if one does not practise the above method?

Answer This non-arousal shows that the generative force is exhausted; if it is not fully restored vitality will come to an end and death is not far off.

Question If the above method fails to check the arousal and erection of the penis, what should one do?

Answer If after practising it the penis does not shrink, quick and slow fires (i. e. the relevant breath rhythms) should be used with concentration on the cavity of mortality (sheng szu ch’iao) at the root of the penis until the penis is checked and brought under control. After it has shrunk the practiser should breathe in to drive the generative force into the base of the spine and thence up the backbone to the brain; and out to send it down to the lower tan t’ien centre (under the navel). Quick fire is produced by strong and slow fire by gentle breathing. It is most important that each complete breath should turn the generative force back to the source (below the navel) in order to put an end to the arousal of the penis.

My elder brother Kuei I Tsu said: ‘When the positive vibrates and causes the penis to erect, one should breathe in and out to turn it back to the lower abdomen to nurture it.’

The patriarch Liu said: ‘When the arousal occurs, practise the checking method and you will be satisfied with the result.’

Question The Tan Ching says: ‘At eighty and even ninety if one meets a competent master one can still produce the golden elixir (of immortality).’ If a man at sixty-four is devoid of the positive principle which has turned negative due to the gradual dissipation of his generative force over the preceding decades and can still restore his vitality so that he looks like a youth at sixteen, there must be some secret method which can restore the generative force. Will you please teach me?

Answer The patriarch Chang San Feng said: ‘Old people who are impotent may use artificial means (e.g. masturbation) to arouse the genital organ. After its arousal one should gather the generative force from the vitality in the body. A man lives because of this vitality which produces the generative force, and dies when it is exhausted.’

Now study carefully the diagram here which is very clear. As soon as the penis stands breathe in fresh air to fan the stove in the lower abdomen in order to drive the generative force into the channel of control (tu mo in the spine) and put it into microcosmic orbit.

Figure 2 The microcosmic orbit and the channels of control and function A, G, D, J, are the four cardinal points of the microcosmic orbit A–B, A–C, A–E, A–F, are the four phases of ascent of positive fire in the channel of control G–H, G–I, G–K, G–A, are the four phases of descent of negative fire in the channel of function M Heart O Fire (in the stove)

Breathe in nine times to raise the generative force from position A to B.

If the penis continues to stand breathe in another nine times to raise the generative force from A to C. If the erection is not checked, then raise the generative force to D leaving it there for a little (for cleansing) before turning it back to the stove (in the lower abdomen).

Breathe in nine times again, to raise the generative force from A to D leaving it there for a little before sending it up to E.

If the erection is still not checked breathe in a further nine times to raise the generative force from A to D leaving it there for a little before sending it up to F thence back to the stove.

You will thus complete four phases of nine breaths each or thirty-six in all, a positive number which controls the ascent of positive fire.

If in spite of these thirty-six breaths the genital organ is still aroused you should immediately gather the alchemical agent to collect vitality in order to restore the dissipated generative force.

To do this you should breathe in once more so that the generative force rises from A to D where it stops for a little before continuing up to G; no imagination is needed for this ascent. After the force has stopped at G for a little; breathe out imagining the generative force as descending from there to H, thence returning to the stove (via A) in six descents.

Then breathe in to let the generative force rise from A to G and out imagining it descend to I, thence returning to the stove in six descents.

Then breathe in to let the generative force rise from A to C and out imagining it descend to J where it stops for a little for purification before continuing to K thence returning to the stove in six descents.

Then breathe in once more to let the generative force rise from A to G and out to send it down to J and thence to A in six descents.

You will thus complete four phases of six descents each or twenty-four in all, a negative number which stands for the descent of negative fire.

The arousal of the genital organ feeds the inner fire in the stove which transforms the generative fluid derived from digestion of food into negative generative force to fortify the body and enliven spirit thereby lengthening the span of life.

Old and middle-aged people cannot practise alchemy without arousing the genital organ. When the penis stands, (essential) nature seated in the heart should be driven into the seat of (eternal) life below the navel to achieve their union by means of concentration.

Question What do you mean by the union of nature and life through concentration?

Answer This is uniting the negative breath in the heart with the positive breath in the lower abdomen. When the negative comes into contact with the positive breath, both heart and life will be set at rest in one place. When the positive breath in the lower abdomen meets the negative breath that comes down from the heart, the former will grow stronger.

Concentration consists of unifying the faculty of seeing in each eye to look into the lower tan t’ien cavity (under the navel) where (eternal) life will be held at a fixed spot. This is called the cultivation of both (essential) nature and (eternal) life (hsin ming shuang hsiu) to invigorate spirit and vitality. If your practice is successful you will in time experience congenial harmony in the lower abdomen, and all of a sudden the positive fire will soar up from the base of the spine to the top of the head when you breathe in and sink down to the centre of vitality in the lower tan t’ien (under the navel) when you breathe out. This is a full turn of the wheel of the law (or one microcosmic orbit).

You should now gather the aichemical agent for sublimation in conjunction with your concentration and in and out breathing; the penis will shrink and as you look into the cavity of vitality (the lower tan t’ien under the navel) you will in time see the light of vitality springing from this centre like a circle which proves that your body is full of generative and vital forces. This circle (of light) is the Supreme Ultimate (t’ai chi).

Your body came from your parents’ thought of procreation but this circle existed before your body came into being since both your (essential) nature and (eternal) life were in it.

When you were a foetus in your mother’s womb, your hands clasped your ears and your eyes were level with your bent knees. You did not breathe through your mouth and nose, and your breathing as well as your nature and life were subordinated to those of your mother. Although you did not eat you grew gradually. You were linked with your mother’s womb by the umbilical cord. After about ten months in the womb, you were born into the world. Your body was soft like cotton but once the umbilical cord was cut, your prenatal foetal breathing stopped and was replaced by postnatal (usual) breath which then entered and left your body through your mouth and nostrils. From then on your faculty of seeing split into two and your tongue ceased to join up the channels of control and function (tu mo and jen mo). Your (essential) nature was carried by your postnatal breath up to the heart which became its seat, and your (eternal) life down to the lower abdomen to stay there. The space between (essential) nature and (eternal) life was a little over eight inches. Since spirit was displaced by consciousness the latter has controlled you from childhood to adulthood and old age, and alas your nature and life will never unite again.

Since vitality increases in weight by sixty-four chu⁵ every thirty-two months, when a baby is two years and eight months old, he has developed a unit of positive principle (yang) with his vitality weighing sixty-four chu. When he is five years and four months old, the positive principle increases to two units while vitality gains another sixty-four chu. At eight, the positive principle increases to three units with vitality gaining another sixty-four chu. When he is ten years and eight months old, the positive principle increases to four units while vitality gains another sixty-four chu. When he is thirteen years and four months old, the positive principle has five units while vitality increases by another sixty-four chu. At sixteen, the positive principle contains six units while vitality increases by another sixty-four chu. (Thus the total weight of vitality is 384 chu).

If the twenty-four chu inherited from his parents are added to the 360 chu derived from heaven and earth, the total is also 384 chu, or one catty, and he whose vitality weighs 384 chu lives.

But at the age of sixteen his consciousness takes over the control of his life, and his intellect develops gradually. With inner fire soaring up in his body, his (essential) nature is replaced by his heart so that desires and passions fill his being. And in his quest for fame and wealth he indulges in cunning and artfulness and invents all sorts of tricks to deceive others without appreciating that by so doing he harms his real nature. So by troubling his heart and body, he dissipates his vitality and causes his (essential) nature to vacillate.

As a result his span of life shortens, and with his gate of mortality wide open and real nature impaired, his vital force flows out like running water. So gambling away his (essential) nature with wine and sex, he allows his generative and vital forces to drain away and he is dragged into mortality.

Thus his positive (yang) vitality decreases gradually while the negative counterpart (yin) grows in proportion so that he becomes a mortal worldling.

From his sixteenth year onward a unit of negative principle develops every ninety-six months. So at twenty-four another unit of negative principle develops and through not nurturing vitality he loses sixty-four chu of it. At thirty-two the negative principle increases to two units and through not preventing the waste of vitality he loses another sixty-four chu of it. At forty the negative principle increases to three units since he does not repent his foolishness, he loses another sixty-four chu of vitality. At forty-eight the negative principle increases to four units and through not making up for the loss of vitality, the latter is gradually exhausted in his lower abdomen causing his hair and beard to turn grey; he again loses another sixty-four chu of it. At fifty-six the negative principle increases to five units; and since he continues giving way to worldly pleasures and looking for fame and wealth, his liver gradually weakens, his sight becomes bad, his memory fails and his constitution withers; if in spite of this he still refuses to wake up he again loses another sixty-four chu of vitality. At sixty-four the negative principle increases to six units; if he still does not realise his mortality, he continues dreaming until his hair is white, his energy exhausted and his features emaciated, and he again loses another sixty-four chu. Being now unable to reproduce the generative force to sustain his body, all his 384 chu of vitality are exhausted with death fast closing in.

Chapter 1 teaches the method of fixing spirit in its original cavity (tsu ch’iao in the centre of the brain between and behind the eyes) so that when the generative force vibrates in the condition of utter stillness, it can be gathered to fortify the body and prolong life.

If the generative force is gathered for a hundred (successive) days, sixty-four chu of vitality is gained and a unit of positive principle is produced; this is like ‘adding fuel’ to feed and prolong life.

With the same determination, if the generative force is gathered for another hundred days an additional sixty-four chu of vitality are gained while the positive principle is increased to two units; the body now becomes very strong and all ailments vanish.

If the gathering of generative force continues for another hundred days an additional sixty-four chu of vitality are gained with the positive increased to three units; all cavities in the body are cleared for rejuvenation, and the practiser’s steps are light and quick with clear sight and good hearing.

With continuous advance for another hundred days, another sixty-four chu of vitality are gained with the positive principle increased to four units; the practiser now feels very comfortable like a wealthy man who has all the means to enjoy life; his skin is lustrous and his white hair turns black (as before).

After another hundred days, a further sixty-four chu of vitality are gained while the positive principle increases to five units; his spirits are very high and new teeth grow to replace the fallen ones.

After yet another hundred days, another sixty-four chu of vitality are gained with the positive principle increased to six units; he enjoys the cream of life while restoring (his body) fully to its all-positive state in early infancy and regaining the circle of t’ai chi (or Supreme Ultimate) wherein real positive vitality and essential nature unite to emit the light of vitality which is the light of true nature in the precious cauldron (in the head) and that of true life in the stove (in the lower abdomen). Students should ponder over all this carefully.

Question You have said that the method of producing true generative force differs according to the three categories of practisers: the chaste youth, the middle-aged and the old man; will you please teach me how to distinguish the genuine from spurious generative force?

Answer The first step is to fix spirit in its original cavity (tsu ch’iao in the centre of the brain between and behind the eyes) by concentration so that the light of vitality manifests in the ensuing condition of utter stillness. In this absence of thoughts, the positive principle will in time manifest causing the penis to erect. The practiser should now wipe out the concept of the self so as to free his heart from disturbances, and then concentrate on his spirit to drive it into the centre of vitality (the lower tan t’ien below the navel); this is the immersion of fire in water. The element of water in the lower belly is thus scorched by spirit’s fire and thereby transmuted into true vitality. The practiser should gather immediately the true generative force.

If he does not know how to take advantage of the absence of thoughts in this condition of stillness to gather true vitality when the positive manifests (causing the penis to stand up) he will give rise to sexual desire which will transform the generative force into postnatal generative fluid which (is useless and) cannot be gathered. In this event he should breathe in and out quickly through the nostrils to turn back the positive principle (so that it will not scatter). This breathing is not to gather the (flowing) generative fluid (caused by his misuse) of the manifestations of the positive principle. Students should pay careful attention to all this.

If the practiser sets his mind intentionally on gathering the generative force (i.e. if he is mindful of it and so fails to empty his mind of all thoughts) he will never produce the golden elixir.

¹We hope this explanation will put an end to the usual dispute between Eastern and Western scholars, the former insisting that heart, and the latter that brain, is the seat of mind.

²The stove in the lower tan t’ien becomes the golden stove when it starts to transmute the generative force into vitality.

³Cf. The Secrets of Chinese Meditation, p. 206, first paragraph. Rider, London.

⁴According to the ancients the first half of the day is positive and the second half is negative. The first half begins at the hour tsu (between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m.) when the penis stands of itself during sleep in spite of the absence of thoughts and dreams. At the start of Tao practice, it is important to avail oneself of this moment when the penis stands to gather the generative force for sublimation, for the gathering of it during the negative half of the day is ineffective.

⁵Chu = a weight equal to the twenty-fourth part of a tael, which is the Chinese ounce, equal to 1¾ oz. avoirdupois.