The work entitled Awakening to Reality (Wuzhen pian ), written by Zhang Boduan around 1075, has been included in the Taoist Canon, in the Buddhist Canon, and in several collections compiled by Confucian scholars under imperial decree. 1 The Siku tiyao (Descriptive Notes on the Books of the Four Repositories ) states that, with Wei Boyang’s Cantong qi (Token for the Joining of the Three), Awakening to Reality contains the orthodox transmission of the Taoist alchemical methods. In the table of contents of his Daozang jinghua lu (Record of the Essential Splendors of the Taoist Canon), Ding Fubao (1874–1952) praises Awakening to Reality saying: “Its words are smooth and fluent, and its meaning is deep and profound. This work contains the golden rule to cultivate the Elixir, the jade principle to give nourishment to life.”
This shows that Awakening to Reality has been held in high esteem within all the Three Teachings: Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. With regard to Neidan (Internal Alchemy), Zhang Boduan’s work inherits and transmits the principles of self-cultivation of the Cantong qi , and provides a synopsis of the doctrines of the period prior to the Song dynasty (960–1279). However, Awakening to Reality is addressed to those who have already attained a rather deep level of attainment in the practices of Neidan (Internal Alchemy). Therefore Zhang Boduan’s work does not begin from the basic methods, and does not provide a systematic arrangement of the stages of the alchemical practice. In addition, its poems are obscure and do not follow a precise sequence. This is done intentionally, so that those who read the text for the first time may perceive its profundity.
While Awakening to Reality does not deal with the initial stage of the practice, details on this subject are found in three other works by Zhang Boduan. One of them, the Secret Text of Green Florescence (Qinghua biwen ), contains a systematic exposition of oral instructions on the foundations of the practice. The other two, namely the Four Hundred Words on the Golden Elixir (Jindan sibai zi ) and the Book of the Eight Vessels (Bamai jing ), give concrete details on the initial stage. 2
These works supply what is missing in Awakening to Reality . The present book will look at the four texts together and present their content in a systematic way. This will make it possible to proceed without ambiguities from the surface to the core, and present an outline of Zhang Boduan’s alchemical practice. The broader integration of these notions lies in the hands of the reader: the present book can do no more than providing some clues, and should be used only as a source of information.
Nature (Xing) and Life (Ming) . With regard to the alchemical practice, Awakening to Reality maintains that the cultivation of Ming (Life) should precede the cultivation of Xing (Nature), and that “doing” (youwei ) should precede “non-doing” (wuwei ). Of course, this does not mean that, at the beginning of the practice, one receives only instructions on compounding the Elixir, and that nothing at all is conveyed on the cultivation of the mind: each stage of the practice gives emphasis to one or the other aspect, but neither should be cultivated on its own.
Zhang Boduan’s works show that, in his view, the first stage of the alchemical practice (“laying the foundations”) consists of the dual cultivation of Xing (Nature) and Ming (Life). The second stage (“refining Essence to transmute it into Breath”) emphasizes the work on Ming. In the third stage (“refining Breath to transmute it into Spirit”), the work on Xing has priority on the work on Ming. Finally, in the fourth stage (“refining Spirit to return to Emptiness”) one works only on Xing. Whether the cultivation of Xing or of Ming has priority depends, in other words, on the progress of one’s practice. However, while the first stage is described in Zhang Boduan’s three other works, Awakening to Reality begins from the second stage. In this work, therefore, the practice of Ming comes first, and the practice of Xing comes second. Then, in the “Outer Chapters” (“Waipian”) of Awakening to Reality , Zhang Boduan presents a series of poems based on the principles of Chan (Zen) Buddhism. He uses those principles as metaphors for the practice of Xing, in order to assist the students in their comprehension of the ultimate foundation.
Imagery and language . Before we begin, a few remarks are necessary on the approach required to read Awakening to Reality . This text cannot be studied on the basis of the superficial meanings of its words. In his Sizhu Wuzhen pian (Four Commentaries to Awakening to Reality ), Fu Jinquan (1765–1844) says:
丹經有微言，有顯言，有正言，有疑似之言，有比 喻之言，有影射之言，有旁敲側擊之言，有丹理，有口訣，似神龍隱現，出沒不測，東露一鱗，西露一爪，所以讀者必須細心尋求也。
In the alchemical texts there are subtle words, plain words, clear words, allusive words, metaphoric words, murky words, as well as circuitous and cunning words. There are doctrines on the Elixir, and there are oral instructions. It is as if a divine dragon first hides itself and then emerges, only to vanish and become invisible again, leaving a scale on the eastern road, and a claw on the western road. This requires much attention from the reader.
Awakening to Reality itself says:
卦中設象本儀形，得象忘言意自明，舉世迷徒惟執象，卻行卦氣望飛昇。
The images of the hexagrams are established on the basis of their meanings:
understand the images and forget the words — the idea is clear of itself.
The whole world delusively clings to the images:
they practice the “breaths of the hexagrams” and hope thereby to rise in flight. 3
This tells the readers that they should not try to to understand the core by looking at the surface, or they would be caught in a maze. They should, instead, look at the front, the back, the cracks, and the edges to find the true meaning; and they should draw the main gist from the “metaphoric, murky, and allusive words.”
Weng Baoguang (fl. 1173) lists several dozen synonyms of Essence and Spirit. 4 The synonyms of Essence (jing ) include the following:
Kan ☵ 坎
Geng 庚
4 四
9 九
Metal 金
Po -Soul of the Moon 月魄
Hare’s Lard 兔脂
Old Gentleman 老郎
Male Kan ☵ 坎男
True Lead 真鉛
White Snow 白雪
Golden Liquor 金液
Water Tiger 水虎
Golden Flower 金華
Black Lead 黑鉛
Mother of the Elixir 丹母
Jade Pistil 玉蕊
Breath of the Tiger’s Moon-Quarter 虎弦氣
Lead of the Yellow Sprout 黃芽鉛
Essence of the Black Turtle 黑龜精
Red Sun in the Pool’s Bottom 潭底日紅
Gentleman in Plain Silk 素練郎君
White-haired Old Man 白頭老子
White within the Black 黑中有白
Half Pound of Hare’s Marrow 兔髓半斤
Born at Ren and Gui 生于壬癸
Gentleman of 9 and 3 九三郎君
Half-pound of Metal in the First Moon-Quarter 上弦金半斤
Moon-Essence of Wu in Kan ☵ 坎戊月精
The synonyms of Spirit (shen ) include the following:
Li ☲ 離
Mao 卯
Jia 甲
East 東
3 三
8 八
Wood 木
Hun -Soul of the Sun 日魂
Marrow of the Crow 烏髓
Lovely Maiden 姹女
Green Beauty 青娥
True Mercury 真汞
Liquor of Wood 木液
Mercury of Fire 火汞
Fire Dragon 火龍
Metal Crow 金烏
Female Mother 雌母
Flowing Pearls 流珠
Red Lead 紅鉛
Vermilion Sand 朱砂
Joined Peaches 交梨
Jade Mushroom 玉芝
True Fire 真火
Silver in Water 水銀
Crow in the Sun 日中烏
Breath of the Dragon’s Moon-Quarter 龍弦氣
Marrow of the Red Phoenix 赤鳳髓
Mercury in the Sand 砂裡汞
Ji within Li ☲ 離之己
White Moon on the Mountain’s Peak 山頭月白
Woman in Green Attire 青衣女子
Barbarian with Jade-Blue Eyes 碧眼胡兒
Eight Ounces of Crow’s Liver 烏肝八兩
Born at Bing and Ding 生于丙丁
Lovely Maiden of the Two Eights 二八 姹女
Vermilion Sand in the Tripod 朱砂鼎內
Half-pound of Water in the Last Moon-Quarter 下弦水半斤
In fact, those listed above are only a small part of the code names of Essence and Spirit; but they clearly illustrate the fact that the large variety of terms used in the alchemical texts serves to intentionally conceal the true teachings. Now, if the main purpose of a religious teaching is drawing people to faith, why are the alchemical texts so obscure? Essentially, the Taoist alchemical methods are kept secret within closed groups; the selection of disciples is severe, and the methods are transmitted under oath. The most important points are not committed to writing: they are handed down in person from master to disciple, and are transmitted by word of mouth. Therefore when the alchemical masters write their books, they are extremely cautious. As the saying goes, they hide the mother and talk of the son, and leave the root to pursue the branches. Their writings are more complex than riddles.
Nevertheless, if a reader effectively understands the points of crucial importance, and discerns the clues that reveal the overall pattern, the alchemical texts are not too hard to comprehend. This is because the metaphors used in the texts consist only of the images of the eight trigrams (bagua ), the sequences of “generation and conquest” (shengke ) of the five agents, the numbers of the Chart of the Yellow River (Hetu ), and the terminology of Waidan (External Alchemy); they include terms related to the alchemical laboratory and to the vegetal world, borrow from the transformations of Yin and Yang displayed by the Sun and Moon, and refer to the features of the cycle of the four seasons during the year.
Below the surface, when the alchemical texts provide the true instructions, they simply take Essence, Breath, and Spirit as the foundation. By means of the practice, Essence, Breath, and Spirit are transmuted; they gather in the Cinnabar Field, and coagulate and coalesce together. Afterward, by “sitting in quiescence” and “harmonizing the breathing,” and by using the Intention (yi ) as a guide, one’s practice progressively deepens, and this allows the internal organs and the bones to be filled with energy. Breath and blood flow unobstructed, the natural potential of one’s own life force develops, and this can heal from illnesses and defer decline and aging. Therefore, although the alchemical texts use a large number of metaphors to provide their discourse with a spiritual quality, the discourse itself is not otherworldly. It consists, rather, in a method for Nourishing Life (yangsheng ) based on a hard practice of inner refining.
Taoist thought is idealistic, but its spirit is positive: it resides in an attempt to regulate the cosmos and control nature. The saying, “inverting the course generates an Immortal” (nixing chengxian ) does not only apply to one’s own practice, but to the whole view of the cosmos: “inverting the course” means reversing the ordinary patterns, so that all things return under the command of the alchemical master.
The Taoist ideal is calling the wind and summoning the rain, transforming the four seasons, giving commands to the spirits, and returning to life after death. With regard to the human body, Taoism considers that we can use our natural functions to heal from illness, and a self-cultivation practice to defer aging and reach a long life. In the words of the Yinfu jing (Scripture of the Hidden Agreement):
宇宙在乎手，萬化生乎身。
The cosmos lies in your hands, the ten thousand transformations are born from yourself. 5
Awakening to Reality is filled with this religious spirit. While this may be called a fantasy, it is because of that spirit that, in the view of Zhang Boduan’s work, one can attain a long life, provided that the alchemical practice is performed in the appropriate way. A poem in Awakening to Reality says:
藥逢氣類方成象，道在希夷合自然，一粒靈丹吞入腹，始知我命不由天。
Only when the Medicines meet in breath (qi ) and kind do they form an image:
the Dao is inaudible and invisible, and is joined to What is so by Itself.
Ingest the one grain of numinous Elixir, let it enter the belly,
and for the first time you will know that your destiny does not depend on Heaven. 6
This poem reflects the positive spirit of the entire text. We cannot deny that this attitude amounts to a form of subjective idealism; but in spite of that, the poem shows that, while the final goal of Taoism is “non-doing” (wuwei ), the process of self-cultivation involves actual and substantial “doing” (youwei ). In the alchemical methods of the Southern Lineage (Nanzong), this corresponds to the view that the practice should first use a “gradual method” (jianfa ), which follows a definite sequence of steps and stages; and then use an “immediate method” (dunfa ), by which, after a certain stage, it produces instantaneous results. Concerning this point, Awakening to Reality says:
始於有作人難見，及至無為眾始知，但見無為為要妙，豈知有作是根基。
It begins with doing , and hardly can one see a thing,
when it comes to non-doing , all begin to understand.
But if you only see non-doing as the essential marvel,
how can you know that doing is the foundation? 7
The entire alchemical practice is inspired by and revolves around this way of seeing. The practices of Awakening to Reality consist in restoring, replenishing, augmenting, and furthering the bodily functions in order to reach a higher state of health.
Among the alchemical texts attributed to Zhang Boduan, Awakening to Reality is certainly his own work. Two other texts, namely the Secret Text of Green Florescence and the Four Hundred Words on the Golden Elixir , are included in the Taoist Canon, while the Book of the Eight Vessels was incorporated by Li Shizhen (1518–93) in his Bencao gangmu (Pharmacopoeia Arranged into Headings and Subheadings). The origins of the latter three texts are clear, and their transmission is identical: all of them belong to the Pure Cultivation branch (Qingxiu pai) of the Southern Lineage of Neidan. Yu Yan (1258–1314) was the first to suspect that the Four Hundred Words was composed by Bai Yuchan (1194–1229?), and some believe that the Secret Text of Green Florescence was actually written by Li Buye during the Ming period. These assumptions, however, are devoid of sufficient testimony and are not supported by adequate evidence.
On the whole, the Taoist alchemical practices constitute one type of methods of Nourishing Life (yangsheng ). If one not only studies, but also performs those practices, removing the religious coloring and the fantasies of “long life,” then the specific methods of operation are worthy of attention.