Taiqing Zhenren Luoming Jue — Attributed to the Perfected One of Great Clarity
This is a short instructional text of uncertain authorship, catalogued in the Daoist Canon under the name of "the Perfected One of Great Clarity" — a title of veneration rather than a record of authorship; the canon's own headnote calls the compiler unknown and places the text loosely in the Six Dynasties period (roughly the fourth through sixth centuries CE). It belongs to the genre of body-spirit visualization literature that flourished in that period: instructions for holding in the mind's eye the spirits that inhabit the viscera, the elixir fields, and the body's other loci, so that they do not wander off and take life along with them.
The text is prose throughout, built from teachings voiced by several speakers in turn — the Yellow Emperor and Lord Lao together, a quoted "Chart of the Divine Transcendents," an unnamed master, the body's own indwelling spirit, and the Dao itself in dialogue with that spirit — with one hymn-like passage of looser verse near its end, on the "Three Ones" of the three elixir fields. Its purpose is practical rather than philosophical: a manual of visualizations, timed to the day and the hour and keyed to color, meant to keep the hun and po souls, the resident spirits of the five viscera, and the "Ones" of the body's three elixir fields at their posts, warding off sickness, forgetfulness, and death. The Chinese Wikisource editors who transcribed it note that the text is corrupt in a number of places and that its ending is very likely incomplete; this translation follows their marks and is honest about the same difficulties below.
A note on the title. Luo 絡, rendered here "binding," properly means to net or enmesh — the same root that names the body's channel-network (經絡) — so that "binding life" describes holding life fast within the net of the body rather than letting it come undone.
Translated for the Good Works Library directly from the classical Chinese of the Daoist Canon, printed in full below the translation. The two standard bibliographies of Daoist texts in Western translation held by this library show no entry for it, and a live web search for a prior English translation could not be completed at the time of preparation; to our knowledge, no published English translation of this text yet exists, though this is stated as the limit of our search, not as a certainty.
Translation
The Yellow Emperor and Lord Lao said: As for the hun, it does not mean merely the hun-soul as usually understood; of itself it is my ghost. The ghost is what precedes the person: only once there is qi is there hun. The hun, being ghost, is what guards my hun [an old note suspects this should read "guards my po"]. The po is my bodily form; the person is my po. When a person dies, the hun departs and the po alone remains in the form; the po returns into the earth, the hun ascends to heaven. Hence it is said: the po is the Inner Domain, the hun is the Outer Domain. One who practices the Way must know how inner and outer answer each other — only then does one reach through to the spirits and their brightness. One who does not know inner and outer comes to ruin: unclear about the Outer Domain, such a one wanders through the five viscera and six bowels, never resting day or night. The hun and po are the sun and moon — how can this be explained?
The Yellow Emperor and Lord Lao said: Heaven has sun and moon; these are heaven's hun and po. If one practices the Way after this pattern, how then should one proceed? In heaven they are sun and moon; in the person they are hun and po. If the will resolves to accomplish this, how then does one attain the reality of the Way and rise together with heaven — from what point does one begin within the Inner Domain? The Outer Domain is the hun; the Inner Domain is the po. By night one guards the Outer Domain, hence it is called "guarding the hun." By day one guards the Inner Domain, hence it is called "guarding the po." The sages say: one yin and one yang, joined as husband and wife — this is named the Way.
By day one guards the yang — how is this to be explained? At the hour of dawn, when the sun emerges, the hun governs the self, and at that time one should use the hun to guard the po. When the sun sets and the hun departs from the self, one then uses the po to guard the hun. The two gain and follow each other, delighting that yin and yang govern jointly — what more could be wanted? Hence it is said: one yin, one yang, clearly joined in bodily form. The sun travels by day, the moon travels by night; the sun is the person — how is this to be explained? Sun, moon, hun, and po are the solitary spirits proper to heaven and earth, though most do not know this of themselves; they correspond with heaven and earth, being of a single principle. It is said the kidneys are the moon, the heart is the sun, the liver is the hun, the lungs are the po — yet it is not simply so. Heaven, looking down, beholds sun, moon, and the mansions of the stars; clearly it is seen that human beings have death and life, and the moon too has death and life. The sun is the one [the source reads "continent" — almost certainly a copyist's error], the moon is the two, the body is the three. Hence Lord Lao says: "The one begets the two, the two begets the three, the three begets the ten thousand things." But if one does not know this of oneself, one cannot attain the Way, and cannot give birth to the ten thousand things. When the moon comes it is the White Tiger; when the sun comes it is the Green Dragon. To practice the Way is like this — let the practitioner take care never to neglect it.
The Yellow Emperor and Lord Lao said: The hun governs the po's bodily form and shares its light with sun and moon. Essence and spirit abide within, yet one does not, of oneself, know where, first of all, the five viscera and six bowels lie — this is not yet to speak of transcending the world, though it can make the bodily form robust and flourishing. Ghost, yet not merely ghost — this is called the person's hun. The po is called my bodily form.
The Chart of the Divine Transcendents says: I am the Dao. Divided into three spirits of yin and yang, I dwell in the Mud Pellet; made to appear through meditation, I may become a Celestial Treasure. Of old the Dao asked the spirit, saying: "Heaven expressly sends you down to dwell with humankind, to preserve and guard the bodily form, that essence and spirit not be lost, the five viscera remain calm and at peace, and hun and po ever abide." Yet spirits depart to wander, unwilling to assist the numinous soul; going far off, they do not return, or ascend to heaven outright, and the body dies, its life cut off. Daily one hears the sound of weeping; the blood vessels rot and decay; the bones sink into the springs below. Each person should know how to heal sickness and bring it toward recovery, and, whether sitting or rising, summon a traveling banquet. It is like a great palace treasury: for a thousand li one need not carry provisions; all attend at one's left and right. The true master bestows this great grace — let one exert full effort in return.
The Master said: As for the method of serving the Way — one must first confess one's transgressions, petition for their pardon and remission, repent one's faults and correct oneself, turn from evil and follow good. Only then may one have audience with the celestial officers, whose rank is ten thousand bushels, who take their salary-grain from the Celestial Granary, more honored than the Supreme Emperor, more noble than kings and lords — how, then, could one return to evil-doing?
First: visualize the Five Animals. The Five Animals are the Green Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, the Dark Warrior, and the Yellow Dragon.
Second: pass through the viscera, from head to foot, visualizing their spirits, nourishing their roots, circulating their vital breath, and calling out their names.
Third: guard the Earthly One, named the Elixir Field — bright white as snow, yet also of the five colors, dark and yellow entwined; the dwelling of the Mother of the Way, within the womb of the Weak Water.
Fourth: guard the Human One, named the Crimson Palace — the Great One of the Southern Culmen, a crimson child, a small lad; sun and moon to left and right; hun and po joined as one.
Fifth: guard the Heavenly One, the Purple Palace — large as a hen's egg, its five colors mingled with yellow; the Twin Dippers govern it; the stars and calendar are its guiding thread.
Sixth: feed the Elixir Field — practiced on the third, fifth, seventh, and ninth days, and the mid-month jiawu day is auspicious.
Seventh: feed on the Golden Liquor, essence of the Dark Water — to be practiced on the fifteenth, at the hour that joins with midnight.
Eighth: feed on the gathered five colors, gold and yellow — practiced at the morning meal, at dusk, at noon, and at midnight.
Ninth: feed on the Great Ultimate's Purple Cloud — spreading beyond the heavens, rising through what is above and below, chaos without form.
If you would concentrate wholly on the three sectional Ones, you must know form, and yet return to guard the formless. If you would visualize the Upper Section's One, it is yellow as a tangerine; visualize also the Middle Section's One, red as blood; and guard the Lower Section's One, white as snow. Within it there is a spirit-person clad in red robes, nine inches tall, crowned with the Cap of Nine Virtues, wearing a headcloth strung with green jade, named Xuxu. Constantly visualize and behold him: this sharpens a person's ears and eyes, increases the eyes' bright essence, clears blurred and streaming sight, and dispels blindness and dimness. If excessive thought and worry, or long hours spent poring over documents and writings, dim the eyes and confuse the heart-mind, this too should be remedied through this practice.
The liver is wood. It lies beneath the left ribs; its color is pure blue-green, like a drake's crest. Its six lobes have the gallbladder suspended between them, its color like a knotted pouch filled with blood. Within the liver there is a spirit-person, clad in blue-green robes, eight inches tall, named Lanlan. Within the gallbladder there is a spirit-person, three inches tall, clad in white robes, named Huhu. Constantly visualize and behold them: this keeps a person from being startled, and steadies fear, anger, and excess joy. When the heart-mind is startled, the gallbladder's spirit is injured; visualize the appearance of liver and gallbladder to restore it. Illness that comes from one's own excessive joy or anger, or from violence suffered and dread endured, should likewise be remedied through this.
The spleen lies beneath the right ribs, girding the stomach above it, straight and upright, colored like yellow gold. Within it there is a spirit-person, clad in yellow robes, six inches tall, named Bibi. Constantly visualize and behold him: this brings joy without harm — in a man, prudence as well; in a woman, calm serenity. If sorrow and brooding arise, the spleen's spirit is injured; visualize the spleen's appearance to restore it. Whenever sorrow and pain arise, hold this likewise in mind, to call the spirit back.
Within the chest, three inches below the liver, is what is called the Stomach; its color is yellow; it governs the fullness of the five flavors. Within it there is a spirit-person, clad in red robes, five inches tall, named Dandan. When eating and drinking bring on bloating and distension: first lie down and straighten the belly, stretch out the hands and feet, distend the belly fully, exhale the breath at length through the mouth, call out the spirit's name, and with the hand press and stroke two inches below to calm it. In a little while it will be relieved — the spirit is said to drive the food's trapped breath out.
The kidneys lie at the waist, flanking the spine, shaped like a crouching rat, netted over with yellow-white fat, often marked like large beans, glossy black on top like lacquer. Within the kidneys there is a spirit clad in white, four inches tall, named Piaopiao. Constantly visualize this: it harmonizes and regulates a person's yin and yang, and keeps the ears from deafness. If one listens to something too long, the kidney spirit is injured; constantly visualize the kidney's appearance to restore it. Deafness, too, should be remedied through this.
This is transmitted to later students: exert your utmost effort. You live in a perilous age; you should cultivate my Way. Light lies within the crimson course; looking within, there are the nine nines. The Five Jades illumine the central hall; guard the One, and you may long endure. In learning the Way there is no early or late — one need only practice and cultivate. Attaining the Way is vast and boundless, truly as though the belly held a treasury, amid gold gathered above and below; contemplate the Three Palaces whether sitting or rising, hold the thought without forgetting, alone, and it will long abide. Learning the Way asks no more than words spoken from a halted carriage.
Whether unworthy or sage-like, each must answer for himself. If the self holds harmony that is natural of itself, nothing need stumble into error. Honored and lowly each serve one another; take care never to envy or resent the spirits and luminous ones, for they promptly record every transgression — a loss of a hair's breadth at the start becomes, in the end, a difference of tens of thousands of li. The Three Corpses oversee a person's faults at every month's dark; all of it arises from you and your spouse — the matter lies in your own feelings, when the heart is without benevolence.
The spirit said: I dwell among people, and it is ever thus unsatisfying. I dwell with a person, thinking to benefit him, yet he himself grows careless and does not cherish his own body. He pushes me away and diminishes me; he shames me and wounds me; he thwarts me through women, wears me out through lust; he disturbs me, abandons me, deals with me recklessly, and does not use the Way to preserve me — so I, too, abandon him. It rests entirely with the person. How could it lie with me?
The Dao asked the spirit, saying: As for the birth of human beings — male or female alike, all contain the sovereign qi of yin and yang. Yet if one wishes to nurture the inner nature and preserve essence and spirit, enduring long without dying, surveying the whole world — how is this to be done? The spirit answered, saying: As for a person's dwelling in the body, the qi received at birth is of the utmost dignity; the four limbs and five viscera each have their own spirit; the heart is red, the lungs are white, and they interpenetrate each other. Those who go against this die; those who follow it live. Gather your thought upon the five viscera and call out their names: below, this removes sickness; above, it makes one a transcendent. This is truly the whole of the Way — only then may it be further transmitted.
The spirit said: Constantly hold in mind that the left eye is the Crimson Palace and the right eye is the Jade Hall, and that within them dwells a crimson-robed person. This makes the eyes clear and keen, seeing by night with a brightness like day. If facing into the wind while walking brings sudden eye trouble, or walking at dusk brings harm, lie down and rest, close the eyes, and hold this in mind; inward vision will heal it of itself. By night one may thereby see well enough to spot fish in the water; by day, to read books.
The spirit said: Constantly hold in mind that atop your hair and forehead there is a person five inches tall, clad in robes of the five colors. At times, release this and instead hold in mind, three inches before the forehead, something purely yellow, round as a disc. This fills the hair and forehead with refined thought, and evil spirits dare not contend with you.
The spirit said: Constantly hold in mind a person emerging from beneath the nose, two inches out, clad in yellow robes, sitting upright within a bright, gleaming chamber. This lets one clearly distinguish fragrance from stench, and one no longer suffers the ailment of blocked passages.
The spirit said: Constantly hold in mind the Begetting of Bright Offspring: this settles and stabilizes the five viscera, harmonizes and opens the blood vessels; in a woman it brings a lovely complexion, in a man uprightness and strength.
The spirit said: Constantly hold in mind that to your left is a blue-green light, to your right a white light, before you a red light, behind you a black light — all converging to settle upon yourself, this light, once seen, never ending. Hence it is called the constant Begetting of Bright Offspring.
The spirit said: Always, at the hour of the cock's crow, visualize the east as pure blue-green; once the mind has settled, visualize your own body as pure blue-green. From the hour of chen to the hour of si, visualize the south as pure red; once settled, visualize your own body as pure red. From the hour of wei to the hour of shen, visualize the west as pure white; once settled, visualize your own body as pure white. From the hour of xu to the hour of hai, visualize the north as pure black; once settled, visualize your own body as pure black. At the hours of wu and ji, visualize the center as pure yellow; once settled, visualize your own body as pure yellow. Never neglect this through the four seasons, and of itself you will rise higher. When a woman practices this and the mind settles, her milk comes easily, her monthly courses keep their proper season, and she is free of the ailments that come from a want of yang.
The spirit said: As for the five viscera — constantly hold in mind, within the belly, the names of the five viscera, each replete in its own right. The five viscera each hold their own charge: the liver, blue-green, governs the housing of the hun, and within it is a blue-green person; the lungs, white, govern the housing of the po, and within them is a white person; the heart, red, governs the housing of the spirit, and within it is a red person; the kidneys, black, govern the housing of the will, and within them is a black person; the spleen, yellow, governs the housing of intent, and within it is a yellow person. Hence they are called the five viscera. Constantly hold in mind the spirits within them: this keeps the belly free of stagnant-blood ailments and the qi of accumulated masses, gives full flesh and well-nourished bowels, and regulates the body's workings smoothly. If invoked on behalf of a living person who has lost essence and spirit, hold this likewise in mind, to restore it.
The spirit said: Constantly hold in mind that you yourself are the Five Jades. The method of the Five Jades: on jia and yi days, hold in mind that you are blue-green jade; on bing and ding days, that you are red jade; on wu and ji days, that you are yellow jade; on geng and xin days, that you are white jade; on ren and gui days, that you are black jade. Practiced this way, settled at rest, holding the thought throughout, eyes closed and turned inward — only take care not to stir the hands, feet, or limbs — the body loosens and dissolves for a time, until suddenly you seem to yourself without form. Essence and spirit grow settled and calm and no longer wander far; lying down, one is untroubled by nightmares or evil spirits, for it is said that ghosts fear the Five Jades.
The spirit said: To settle essence and spirit, hold in mind the Six Dragons. What is meant by the Six Dragons? The liver is the Green Dragon, the lungs the White Tiger, the heart the Vermilion Bird, the kidneys the Dark Warrior, the spleen the Yellow Dragon, and the gallbladder the Flying Serpent. A scripture says: "When dragon and serpent join their essence, held fast and free of desire, the mind's intent may wander at will."
The spirit said: In every person, the face, the four limbs, the five viscera, the hands and feet all have their own essence and spirit, each named for the place where it resides. So, for instance, the nose's spirit is named "Nose"; the heart's spirit is named "Heart" — this is how the way of heaven has ordained it. Within the course of a single day, one should hold these spirits in mind and visualize them: then the bones and joints grow firm and strong, the qi and strength full and vigorous. If their names are unknown, hun and po will not know how properly to come and go. When about to perform moxibustion or needling, first press the place with the hand and say: "Essence and spirit, both move aside — let needle and fire go to their proper place" — and they will withdraw at once and keep clear of harm.
The spirit said: The throat runs from the root of the tongue down to the heart, one foot in length, entering the heart at its central joint, like stacked rings of jade, their number beyond counting; amid them is a red-robed presence, with two spirits to left and right, fully guarding it. Constantly visualize and behold this: it keeps a person from forgetfulness, free of coughing and choking ailments; if given to forgetfulness, remedy it through this.
The lungs [the source says "liver," evidently in error, since what follows describes the lungs] are colored like plain white silk, wrapped in pure blue-green, with jade-leaf lobes lying in front, covering the upper heart, and three lobes lying behind, embracing the heart. Within the lungs there is a spirit-person, pure white, seven inches tall, holding a jade halberd, dwelling among the lobes, named Chui. Visualize and behold him: this keeps a person free of affliction, free of retching and vomiting, the face taking on the sheen of jade. If one sees death and flowing blood, the stinking shape of a dead rat, or other such ill-omened sights, then this spirit is injured; constantly think of the lung spirit's form to restore it. By "ill-omened sights" is meant whatever the heart-mind judges to depart from its ordinary, settled state.
The heart is fire, its color a lustrous red, like a flower, broad at its base and narrowing below; it lies above the diaphragm, directly in line with the breast.
The Upper One lies beneath the Grand Canopy;
the Middle One is at the Dipper Door;
the Lower One is where sun and moon wander.
The Three Ones dwell within a person,
bright and clear as a pearl of the moon —
guard them with diligence, and what more is there to seek?
Would you visualize the Earthly One? It is where sun and moon wander.
Would you visualize the Human One? It is at the Dipper Door.
Would you visualize the Heavenly One? It is beneath the Grand Canopy.
The primal qi flutters and drifts, drawing all things into motion;
within it a spirit-tortoise rises, towering high.
If you wish to know the One, you should ask of me —
ask me where it dwells, where indeed it is.
It is not only a male One that exists;
there is also a female One, dwelling in formlessness, exceedingly hard to know.
If you do not know the One, ten thousand things are lost.
Large as a pellet, yellow as a tangerine,
seen by Li Lou at the gauze door, in a chamber of pearl and jade —
emerging, it becomes two halves; entering, it becomes one;
flowing forth, it lights all beneath heaven, red as the sun.
Guard it, and the ten thousand things are accomplished.
The Lower Elixir Field lies two inches below the navel, three inches in breadth and depth: white above, black below, blue-green to the left, yellow to the right, and at the center a crimson child, like the yolk within a hen's egg.
The Middle Elixir Field is the heart: broad above and narrow below, red as fire at its center; within it is the Lord of the Great One, eight inches tall, wearing a red headcloth. The spirit of the Hall of Wu-and-Ji stands at the upper margin of the heart, colored crimson, red, and white.
The Upper Elixir Field lies beneath the Grand Canopy, that is, between the two eyebrows: sun to the left, moon to the right, each reaching half an inch inward, and at the very center the crimson child, the Yellow Lord Lao; to his left and right, the two Jade Lads of the Kidneys attend Lord Lao's headcloth and sash. Large as a pellet, yellow as a tangerine — guard it with care, never letting it slip away; seen by Li Lou at the gauze door, in a chamber of pearl and jade — emerging, it becomes two halves; entering, it becomes one; flowing forth, it lights all beneath heaven, red as the sun. Know it, and take care never to let it slip away.
Especially visualize it as taking the form of stars: beneath the Grand Canopy are three stars, covering Lord Lao — his head round, in the image of heaven; his hair long, blue-black; his brow-ridges perfectly square; his eyebrows like a powerful drawn crossbow; his ears spread wide to the four quarters; below he wears jade pendants; his left eye is the sun, his right eye the moon.
Emerging from the left kidney is the Upper Numinous General, seventy-two zhang tall, wearing a red headcloth and grand cap, a crimson lower-robe and cinnabar upper-robe, holding a golden tally in his right hand, commanding an army of three hundred thousand who emerge clad in red — he resides at my left. Emerging from the right kidney is the Lieutenant General, seventy-one zhang tall, wearing a red headcloth and grand cap, a crimson lower-robe and single upper garment, holding a jade halberd in his left hand, commanding an army of three hundred thousand who emerge clad in red — he resides at my right. Emerging from the spleen is the General of One's Own Body, eighty-one zhang tall, wearing a red headcloth and grand cap, a crimson lower-robe and single upper garment, grasping the tally-staff in his left hand, commanding an army of three hundred thousand who all emerge clad in red — he resides before me.
[The transcription's own editors note that the text is corrupt in many places here, and that further text very likely once followed which is now lost.]
Here ends the Instructions of the Perfected One of Great Clarity on Binding Life.
Colophon
This Good Works Translation was prepared for the Daoist shelf of the Good Works Library. The English was translated independently from the classical Chinese text printed below; no English translation of this text was found to exist, so none was consulted, and every rendering was worked out directly from the source characters. The text is prose throughout — a set of teachings passed between several named and unnamed speakers — except for one hymn-like passage of looser, irregular verse describing the "Three Ones" of the three elixir fields, which is set here as verse to keep its chant-like rhythm visible; a nearly identical run of lines recurs shortly afterward inside the prose describing the upper elixir field, and is left as prose there, matching how the source itself presents it. Paragraph divisions follow the source's own, one for one.
Before the claim below was written, the translation-status check the library prescribes was carried out as far as it could be. The two local bibliographies held by this library — Komjathy's Daoist Texts in Translation and the 2023 Purple Cloud survey of Daoist texts in Western languages — were searched under the Chinese title, its romanization, and its component characters, and neither shows an entry for this text or any close variant of its title. A live web search for a prior English translation could not be completed at the time of preparation, so the check could not be extended beyond these two bibliographies. We know of no published English translation of the Luoming jue. This is stated as the limit of our search, not as a certainty, and no firstness claim is made.
A few notes on the text itself. Its title word luo 絡, rendered here "binding," properly means to net or enmesh — the same root that names the body's channel-network (經絡) — and a rendering nearer "the net of life" would be equally defensible; this translation chose the verb sense. Two passages appear to carry scribal errors the transcription's own editors did not flag: "the sun is the [continent]" almost certainly should read "the sun is the one," continuing the count that follows it (one begets two, two begets three…), and a passage describing the lungs is introduced by the character for "liver," where every clause that follows describes the lungs; both are marked in place above. Two further phrases — a line likening the teaching to "words spoken from a halted carriage," and a pair of characters describing a facial feature of the visualized Lord Lao — resisted confident translation and are rendered as literally as English allows. One recurring phrase, "the gauze door," names Li Lou, a figure proverbial in early Chinese sources for the keenness of his sight; the source spells the second word of this phrase two different ways in two otherwise near-identical passages, which this translation renders alike. The transcription's own editors note, and this translation preserves the note, that the text is corrupt in a number of places and that its final section is very likely missing material that once followed it.
Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation and editorial work.
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Source Text: 太清真人絡命訣
Classical Chinese text of the Daoist Canon, in the Chinese Wikisource transcription. Presented complete for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above. 〔 〕 marks a small-type note or an editorially supplied character, as formatted in the transcription.
經名：太清真人絡命訣。撰人不詳，約出朴南北朝。言存守身神法術。一卷。
太清真人絡命訣
黃老曰：魂者非謂魂也，自吾鬼也，鬼者人之先也，有氣乃有魂。魂之為鬼也，為守我魂 #1 。魄者是我形，人者是我魄也。人死魂去，魄獨在形，魄歸土中，魂上天去。故言魄為內國，魂為外國。為道者當知內外相應，乃通神明，不知內外者即敗，不明外國之人，徘徊五臟六腑，晝夜不休息。魂魄者，日月也，何以言之？
黃老曰：天有日月，天魂魄也。行道如是，為當何行也？在天為日月，在人為魂魄。志欲為之，今何得道真，與天相舉，當何從內國也？外國者魂也，內國者魄也。夜守外國，故言守魂。晝守內國，故言守魄。聖人言：一陰一陽，是為夫婦，名為道。 晝守陽，何以言之？平旦之時日出，魂治於己，當以魂守魄。日入魂去於己，即以魄守魂。二人相得相從，喜陰陽合治，何當得他。故言一陰一陽，明合於形容。日晝行，月夜行，日為人，何以言之？日月魂魄，為天地獨神，而不自知，與天地相應，同一致耳。謂腎是月，心是日，肝為魂，肺為魄，非如是。天照見日月星宿，明見之人有死生，月亦有死生。日者州也，月者二也，形者三也。故老君云：一生二，二生三，三生萬物。而不自知也，即不得道，即不得生萬物。月來為白虎，日來為青龍，行道如是，其人慎勿忽也。
黃老曰：魂制魄形與日月通光，精神存而不自知五臟六腑，第一在何許，非謂度世也。但可以形壯盛，鬼之非鬼，謂之人魂也。魄謂我形也。
神仙圖曰：吾者，道也。分為陰陽三神，在於泥丸，兆而存思，可為天寶。昔道問神曰：天故使子下與人居，存守身形，使精神不失，五臟安平，魂魄常在。離於遊行，不肯輔靈，遠去不歸，或遂上天，軀死命絕，日聞哭聲，血脈腐敗，骸骨入泉，各當知治病所向愈，坐起致行厨。譬如大宮府，千里不持糧，人皆侍左右，淳師遺大恩，可盡力矣。
師曰：夫欲事道之法，當先首服罪過，當啟白赦除，悔過自正，改惡從善，乃可拜謁者天吏，位秩萬石，祿食天倉，尊乎上帝，貴乎王侯，豈可復為惡乎。第一先存五獸。五獸謂青龍、白虎、朱雀、玄武、黃龍是也。第二歷藏，從頭至足，存其神，養其根，行其炁，呼其名也。第三守地一，名為丹田，皓白如雪，五色玄黃，道母所居，弱水胞中。第四守人一，名為絳宮，太一南極，赤子小童，左右日月，魂魄合并。第五守天一，為紫宮，大如鷄子，五色混黃，雙斗治之，星歷紀綱。六食丹田，治生三五七九，及以月半甲午為吉。七食金液，玄水之精，當用十五時加夜半。八食累五色金黃，朝食、晡時、日中、夜半。九食太極紫雲，褊天外，隆上下，混沌无形。子欲專三部一也，當知有形，還守无形。子欲存上部一黃如橘，還存中部一赤如血，守下部一白如雪。其中神人，衣赤衣，長九寸，冠九德之冠，著綠璫之幘，名曰呴呴。常想視之，令人耳目聰明，益目精光，去流泯，除盲乏。如多思慮，君久覩文書，目不明，心迷惑，亦責之於此。
肝者木也，在左脇下，色正青，如雄騖冠，其六葉膽懸中，色如結囊之盛血。其肝中神人，衣青衣，長八寸，名曰藍藍。膽中有神人，長三寸，衣白衣，名護護。常想視之，令人不驚，恐怒喜之。心如有驚，即膽神損，想視肝膽狀以復之。病然若自喜怒，殺行畏怖，亦責之於此也。脾在右脇下，帶胃上正端直，色如黃金，中有神人，衣黃衣，長六寸，名曰裨裨。常想視之，令人歡喜无傷，男子亦審，女子安詳。若悲思，即脾神損，想視脾狀以復之，即有悲痛，亦念之以還神也。胸中肝下三寸，名曰胃，其色黃，主盈五味。其中有神人，衣赤衣，長五寸，名曰旦旦。食之飲脹大，先正腹卧，伸手足，極脹腹，以口長出炁，呼其神名，以手二寸下撫抑之，有頃輒愈矣，言其神驅出食炁也。腎在腰上夾脊居，狀如伏鼠，絡以黃白脂，往往見如大豆，正黑上如漆者。腎中有白人，長四寸，名曰漂漂。常想之，令人陰陽和調，耳不聾。如久有所聽，即腎神損，常想腎狀以復之。耳无所聞，亦責之於此也。
傳告後學者，致努力，子在危世，當修吾道。光在赤行中，視裹有九九，五玉明中府，守一可長久。學道无早晚，但當修行耳。得道浩浩蕩蕩，真若腹有藏，於金積上下，思三府坐起，念无忘獨，久存矣。學道要住車語耳。不賢如聖，各自當為己，己含和自然，无不可蹉跌，尊卑各相事，慎无妬忌神明，輒記之罪過，乃在後失之以毫厘間，差以數萬里。三尸司人過月晦，都自汝夫妻，務在子情心不仁。
神曰：吾與於人，常未可乎。吾與人居，思有益之，人自忽略，不愛其軀，推我損我，辱我傷我，遏我以婦，勞我以色，擾我棄我妄我，而不以道存我，我亦棄之。各自在人，豈在我哉。
道問神曰：夫人之生，无男无女，皆含陰陽王氣，而如欲養性，保精神長久不死，覽觀世間，為之奈何？神對曰：夫人之居，受炁至尊，四肢五臟，各有其神，心赤肺白，相貫穿。逆之者死，順之者生，綜念之五臟，呼其名，下以除病，上以為仙。誠為悉道，後可得傳也。
神曰：常念左目為絳宮，右目為玉堂，其中有赤人，令人目聰明，夜視有光如晝。目迎風行，目暴疾，暮行安卧，合目念之，內視自愈。夜可以照魚，晝可以讀書。
神曰：常念己頭髮顙上，有五寸之人，衣五綵之衣，時解念顙前去三寸，其色正黃，圓盤矣，令人髮顙多精思，惡鬼不敢論也。
神曰：常念一人從鼻下出，二寸，衣黃色衣，正坐人皓皓廨舍中，令自知香臭，无復不通利之病也。
神曰：常念生子明，令人五臟安定，血脈和通，女子色好，男正強。
神曰：常念己之左有青光，右有白光，前有赤光，後有黑光，皆來著己，能見之光常不終，故曰常生子明。
神曰：常以鷄嗚之時，念東方正青，意定念己身正青也；至辰止到巳，念南方正赤，意定念己身正赤也；至未止到申，念西方正白，意定念己身正白也；至戌止到亥，念北方正黑，意定念己身正黑也；戊己之時，念其正黃，意定念己身正黃也。四時不知忘，忽然自高。婦人念之者意定，生乳易出，月候時節，无陽之疾。
神曰：夫五臟者，常念腸中五臟之名，自盛也。五臟各自有所盛，肝色青，主盛魂，中有青人；肺色白，主盛魄，中有白人；心色赤，主盛神，中有赤人；腎色黑，主盛志，中有黑人；脾色黃，主盛意，中有黃人。故曰五臟。常念其中神，令人腹內无留血之疾，積聚之氣，大肌膏腸，調利機關。如為請生人失精神，亦念於此，以復之也。
神曰：常念己之為五玉。五玉法，甲乙日念己為青玉，丙丁日念己為赤玉，戊己日念己為黃玉，庚辛日念己為白玉，壬癸日念己為黑玉。如是徧安居念之，合目內，唯勿搖手足四肢，散解有頃，忽然自謂无形矣。精神安定，不復遠遊，卧不惡夢邪鬼，言鬼畏五玉也。
神曰：欲安精神，念六龍。何謂六龍？肝為青龍，肺為白虎，心為朱雀，腎為玄武，脾為黃龍，膽為螣蛇。經曰：龍蛇合精，固守无欲，遊行意。
神曰：凡人面部、四肢、五臟、手足，皆有精神，其名也各自號所部著。假令鼻神也，名曰鼻；心神也，名曰心，天道使然。一日之間，當念存諸神，即骨節堅強，氣力盛壯耳。不知名，魂魄不知出入。如欲灸刺，皆先以手拊曰：精神俱移，針火適方，追即避人。
神曰：喉嚨從舌本而去，下至於心，長一尺，入心中節，自如累環玉，多少无限數，中間有赤服，左右有神兩人，備守之。常想視，令人不知忘，无咳逆病，如喜忘，責之於此。肝者，令色如白素執裹正青，而玉葉居前，覆心上半，三葉居後，抱裹心。其肺中有神人，正白，長七寸，持玉戟，舍止葉間，名曰炊。想視，令人无所患，不知逆吐，面類玉澤。如見死流血，臭鼠惡形，即其神損，常思肺神狀以復之。惡形者，謂人心所非於常素矣。心者火，色赤澤，如華，大本小下，在膈上直於乳。
上一華蓋下，中一在斗戶，下一日月所遊。三一在人，耿耿如明月珠，子勤守之復何求。欲存地一，在日月所遊；欲存人一，在斗戶；欲存天一，在華蓋下。元氣翩翩相引移，中有神龜正頗峨，子欲知一當問我，問我所在安在。不但有雄〔一〕 #2 ，復有雌一，在无形，甚難知。子不知一萬事失，大如彈丸黃如橘，離婁錡戶珠玉室，出為兩半入為一，流照天下赤如日，子而守之萬事畢。
下部丹田在臍下二寸，廣縱三寸，上白下黑，左青右黃，中央赤子如鷄子中黃。中部丹田，心也，上大下小，中央赤如火，中有太一君，長八寸，著赤幘。戊己之堂神，在心上際，紅赤白。上部丹田在華蓋下，是兩眉間，左日右月各半，入一寸，唯中央為赤子黃老君，左右兩腎玉童，侍老君巾綬。大如彈丸黃如橘，唯爾守之慎勿失，離婁綺戶珠玉室，出為兩半入為一，流照天下赤如日，子而知之慎勿失。辟存作星，華蓋下三星，覆老君，頭圓象天，髮青黑長，二雄正方，眉如強弩，張耳四方，下乘璫，左目為日，右目為月。
出左腎為上靈將軍，長七十二丈，著赤帻大冠，絳裳丹衣，右手持金符，將士三十萬衆，出衣赤衣，住在吾左。出右腎為偏將軍，長七十一丈，著赤幘大冠，絳裳單衣，左手持玉戟，將士三十萬衆，出衣赤衣，住於吾右。出脾為己身將軍，長八十一丈，著赤幘大冠，絳裳單衣，左手執節，將士三十萬衆，出皆赤衣，住在吾前 #3 。
太清真人絡命訣竟
1 『守我魂』，疑當作『守我魄』 。
2 『一』字據上下文補 。
3 本篇中文字訛脫甚多，篇末亦當有缺文 。
Source Colophon
The Chinese text follows the Chinese Wikisource transcription of the Daoist Canon edition of this text (article 太清真人絡命訣, revision of 13 July 2009), inspected from a witness copy captured on 8 August 2026. Chinese Wikisource transcriptions are published under CC BY-SA 4.0 and the GFDL; the text itself is ancient and in the public domain. The wiki header and license templates have been removed; the text is otherwise complete and unaltered.
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