by Beihai Laoren (北海老人)

Exploring the Origin of Unity (一貫探原, Yīguàn Tànyuán) is a cosmological treatise by the Yiguandao patriarch known as Beihai Laoren — the Old Man of the Northern Sea. Writing in the late Qing dynasty, Beihai Laoren presents the philosophical foundation of Yiguandao's central teaching: that the Three Teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism are one, because they all point to the same principle — the Realm of Principle Beyond Polarity (無極理天), the still, unmoving source from which all things arise and to which all things return.

The text begins with an astronomical cosmology drawn from the I Ching and the Luo Shu (洛書, the Writing from the River Luo), mapping the structure of the heavens through the movements of the seven luminaries (sun, moon, and five planets). From this foundation, it moves to the metaphysical question that gives it its name: What is "One Unity" (一貫)? The answer unfolds through an account of three heavens — the Heaven of Principle (理天), the Heaven of Primal Energy (氣天), and the Heaven of Phenomena (象天) — the path of cultivation, the He Tu and Luo Shu cosmology, the Five Phases, the golden elixir, a remarkable interpretation of the six characters of "Namo Amitabha" as encoding all Three Teachings, and finally the Confucian synthesis of "overcoming the self and returning to propriety" (克己復禮) — Confucius's answer to Yan Hui, which Beihai Laoren calls "the first house of the universe."

This is the first English translation. Source text from the善書圖書館 (taolibrary.com). Translated in the gospel register.

The heavens of primal energy and phenomena may be divided into nine layers, but the principles of the calendar are truly based on three.

The Primordial Moving Heaven is Qian, the Creative. The Fixed Star Heaven is the middle of Qian, and the Saturn Heaven is the lower part of Qian. These three layers combine to form "Heaven moves with strength" — the first hexagram of the I Ching made manifest in the sky.

The Primordial Moving Heaven's motion cannot be seen directly, so we measure it by the Fixed Star Heaven, which circles the earth once each day. Over three hundred sixty-five and one-quarter days, it completes one full circuit and returns to its starting position. This is one year.

Below this, the Jupiter Heaven is the beginning of Li, the Fire trigram. The Mars Heaven is the middle of Li, and the Sun Heaven is the completion of Li. Wood and fire belong to one family. Together they form the Li trigram, which contains one yin line within — this is why they are second in strength after Heaven itself. Each day, they fall behind the Fixed Star Heaven by one degree. After three hundred sixty-five and one-quarter days, they have fallen behind the Fixed Star Heaven by one full circuit and return to their starting position. This is called one year. This is the origin of the "surplus of breath."

Below this, the Venus Heaven is the beginning of Kan, the Water trigram. The Mercury Heaven is the middle of Kan, and the Moon Heaven is the completion of Kan. The Kan trigram has one yang line trapped between two yin lines, so its movement is slow. Each day it falls behind the Fixed Star Heaven by thirteen degrees and seven-nineteenths of a degree, and behind the Sun Heaven by twelve degrees and seven-nineteenths. After twenty-seven and a half days, it meets the Fixed Star Heaven again at their original starting position. After twenty-nine and a half days, it meets the Sun Heaven again at their original position. This is called one month. This is the origin of the "deficit of the new moon."

Combining the "surplus of breath" with the "deficit of the new moon," the intercalary remainder is born. Therefore Qian is pure yang — movement within movement — and its motion is strong. Li is stillness within movement, and is second in strength. Kan is movement within stillness, and its motion is slow. Kun is stillness within stillness, and its nature is to remain unmoving.

The Primordial Moving Heaven, though it is one seamless sphere of primal energy, threads upward through the stars, downward through the earth, and through all people and creatures in between. It bends and stretches, comes and goes, silently turning the four seasons and bringing all things to their beginning and end.

Yet what is above is light and clear and moves swiftly. What is below is heavy and turbid and moves slowly. Though the empty sky stretches vast and boundless beyond measure, wherever the breath reaches, its patterns can be traced by number without the error of a single grain. This is why the seven luminaries are divided, the eight trigrams are distinguished, and the intercalary remainder arises.

In the time of the Yellow Emperor, a divine turtle emerged from the River Luo. Feng Hou used its pattern to develop the art of strategic divination. The Great Yu used it to lay out the Great Plan. King Wen used it to arrange the hexagram symbols.

Some grasped the numbers. Some grasped the images. Building on what came before, they added brilliance — and the great workings of the Later Heaven were revealed.

When Heaven revealed the Luo Shu, it was revealing the great workings of the Primordial Moving Heaven itself.

The Book of Changes says: "Interweaving threes and fives to produce change, cross-referencing and synthesizing their numbers." This speaks of the numbers of the Luo Shu.

Alas! Since Confucius departed, his subtle teachings were lost. The texts remain, but those who truly understand them are few.

I was born too late to study under Feng Hou, the Great Yu, King Wen, or Confucius in person. Fortunately, their writings survive. I have read and contemplated them for a long time, never setting them aside, and it seems as though some divine intelligence has opened my understanding beyond what words can express. I have carefully diagrammed the patterns of "interweaving threes and fives to produce change, cross-referencing and synthesizing their numbers" to share with those who share this interest, and to submit for correction by those who possess the Way. [Diagrams of the Three-Five pattern are omitted.]

The divine turtle emerged from the River Luo — this is called the Luo Shu. Its numbers are: nine on top, one on bottom, three on the left, seven on the right, two and four as the shoulders, six and eight as the feet, five in the center corresponding to the eight directions. Every row, column, and diagonal sums to fifteen. The numbers that sum to fifteen begin with eight — this refers to the eight nodes of the year. Extending this to twenty-four gives the twenty-four solar terms.

Each solar term is fifteen days, with five days making sixty hours. Three times five equals one term — one hundred eighty hours. Three cycles complete one circuit, and the breath returns to the beginning of the next term. This is exactly what "interweaving threes and fives to produce change" means.

"Three and five" — why does the text say "interweaving threes and fives" rather than simply "three and five"? Because the Primordial Moving Heaven completes one full circuit of rising and falling in three hundred sixty-five and one-quarter days.

From one to nine, yang energy rises — this is the yang principle of the Great Ultimate, where the origination and flourishing of spring and summer reside.

From nine to one, yin energy descends — this is the yin principle of the Great Ultimate, where the benefit and constancy of autumn and winter reside.

Heaven unifies the four virtues, which are the four images. The four images are nothing other than spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Spring has the Start of Spring and the Spring Equinox. Autumn has the Start of Autumn and the Autumn Equinox. Summer has the Start of Summer and the Summer Solstice. Winter has the Start of Winter and the Winter Solstice. Thus the eight nodes are established — and this is how the four images give birth to the eight trigrams.

From the eight nodes, extending to the twenty-four solar terms, the reality of "interweaving threes and fives to produce change" becomes clear to the mind's eye.

The text says "interweaving" rather than simply "three and five" because the breath is not like material substance. Though it has seasons and stages, it is never truly interrupted — divided yet never not united. "Interweaving" means seamlessly blended without gaps. "Cross-referencing" means yang moves forward while yin moves in reverse, each following its own path, flowing without ceasing. When observed as a pair, they never depart from the numbers that sum to fifteen in every direction.

Cross-referencing divides. Synthesizing unites. The breath of the Great Ultimate floats and sinks, rises and falls, silently turning the four seasons. What is high is light and clear and moves swiftly. What is below is heavy and turbid and moves slowly — this is how the seven luminaries of the Phenomenal Heaven produce their cross-referencing and synthesizing. The nine palaces rotate in succession, yang moving forward and yin in reverse — this is how the nine palaces of the Primal Energy Heaven produce their cross-referencing and synthesizing.

What Is "One Unity"?

The Primordial Moving Heaven is a single breath flowing through all things. It silently turns the four seasons, threading upward through the stars, downward through the earth, and through all people and creatures in between. When the breath is strong, things flourish. When the breath weakens, things age. When the breath is cut off, things die. Even Heaven and Earth, with all their visible form, are subject to this. How much more so the people and creatures within them?

This breath rises and falls, floats and sinks within the Great Void. Though you cannot see it and cannot hear it, it truly pervades all things without exception. And if it pervades all things without exception, then there is nothing it does not thread through — nothing it does not unite.

Where the primal breath of the Primordial Moving Heaven flows, its transforming power reaches everywhere, from the highest to the lowest, spanning the distance between Heaven and the deep. When it accumulates thickly and takes on color, it is called "the blue vault." Where it has not yet thickened and has no form, it is called "the void." But the void and the blue vault are both nothing other than the breath — and therefore both are nothing other than Heaven.

When the breath of spring arrives, it brings warmth. When the breath of summer arrives, it brings heat. The coolness of autumn and the cold of winter follow the same principle.

When the breath of spring arrives, we do not say "spring breath" but "springtime" — because Heaven IS the breath, and the breath IS Heaven. Though the myriad things arise in infinite variety, this breath never ceases to move through the void, and never ceases to be present in all people and creatures. Zhang Zai of Guanzhong said: "Know that the Great Void is the breath, and then there is no such thing as nothingness." This is the understanding of a worthy man. He knew that the void IS the breath — that the void is not empty. But he did not know that the one who masters the breath of the void is Principle — something greater still.

Principle is the Unmoving Heaven. Breath is the Primordial Moving Heaven. Principle rests as the warp. Breath moves as the weft.

The warp is still and unmoving, constant and unchanging — therefore it is called the Five Constants. The weft flows without ceasing, changing yet with regularity — therefore it is called the Five Phases.

These two fill the entire cosmos and pervade all things equally. They both dwell in the realm beyond sound and smell, hidden entirely beyond seeing and hearing. And yet there is a difference between what can be named and spoken of and what cannot.

What can be named and spoken of is the primal breath of the Primordial Moving Heaven, flowing without ceasing, leaving traces that can be followed.

What cannot be named or spoken of is the unmoving Principle — still yet responsive, divine and beyond all measurement.

The unmoving Principle is the origin of the He Tu, the River Chart. This is the unchanging within change — the study of Principle.

The primal breath of the Primordial Moving Heaven is the origin of the Luo Shu, the Writing from the River Luo. This is the changing within change — the study of Number.

The sun and moon of the Seven Luminaries Heaven are the interchanging within change. From them come the hexagram symbols — the study of Image.

The study of Principle, the study of Number, the study of Image — these are the upper, middle, and lower vehicles.

The unmoving Principle is supremely subtle and supremely divine. Without haste it is swift. Without walking it arrives. Without effort it accomplishes. Entering water it does not drown. Entering fire it does not burn. Passing through metal and stone without obstruction.

This Principle is what Master Zhou Dunyi called "the Truth of the Infinite Beyond Polarity." When the essences of the Two and the Five are in exquisite harmony, the Truth of the Infinite merges with them in a wondrous union. The essences of the Two and the Five generate the physical body. The Truth of the Infinite becomes the divinely subtle, formless nature.

This nature is the nature of original stillness with which human beings are born — the nature that is inherently good, the nature of constancy. It is what the Doctrine of the Mean calls "the mandate bestowed by Heaven, the original nature." What the court of Emperor Shun called "the subtle mind of the Way." What the Western Sage called "the wondrous mind of nirvana." What the Grand Master called "the valley-spirit that does not die, the nature of true constancy."

When the ancients said "the Three Teachings return to One, the ten thousand dharmas return to One," they meant this:

The Unmoving Heaven of Ultimate Stillness — its Principle, divinely subtle and beyond all measurement, encompasses Heaven and Earth and nourishes all living things. Though it has no sound and no smell, it is truly present everywhere without exception. This Principle governs all things. All things share one Principle as a whole, yet each thing possesses its own Principle individually. Therefore Heaven has Heaven's Principle. Earth has Earth's Principle. Things have their own principle. Human beings have the Principle of their nature. The Three Teachings are all human — therefore they all possess this nature. And this nature IS Principle.

This Unmoving Principle of Ultimate Stillness is like the water of a great ocean. Each thing possessing its own individual Principle is like the water within a fish's belly — connected in every breath to the great ocean.

The difference is this: water has form, but Principle has no form. Water has no awareness, but Principle has awareness. Water exists in some places and not in others, but Principle is present everywhere without exception. Water eventually runs out, but Principle never runs out. And after the water is gone, Principle can generate water again.

The ancients often compared the Way to water because, among the great forces that connect the inner and outer, there are three levels, and water occupies the lowest. Water can connect all things that have physical form on the earth, but it cannot reach the Milky Way and the stars. To reach the stars, the breath must transform into primal energy.

The primal energy of the Primordial Moving Heaven connects upward to the constellations, downward to the earth, and through all people and creatures in between — but it cannot pass beyond the boundary of primal energy to reach the Heaven Beyond Polarity, the Great Canopy Heaven, the Heaven Beyond Heaven, the Heaven that gives birth to Heaven and Earth. To reach the Heaven beyond Heaven, the breath must transform into spirit.

Ask yourself: among the four great continents of the world, who is there without a nature? To have a nature is to have Principle. And the Principle that each thing possesses individually has never failed to connect to the Principle that pervades all things as a whole.

Yet people are connected without knowing they are connected. The reason they do not achieve the great and final connection is this: they are fettered by the endowment of their physical temperament, and blinded by the desires of material things. Lost in illusion, chasing after what is false, drifting through the cycle of birth and death, unable to recover their original goodness and return to the source — this is why.

In the three dynasties of high antiquity, the ones who transmitted this Way were Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, and the Kings Wen and Wu, and the Duke of Zhou.

After the three dynasties, the ones who transmitted this Way were the sages of the Three Teachings.

Therefore the sixteen-character transmission — "The human heart is perilous, the heart of the Way is subtle; hold fast to the center with singularity and precision" — originated in the courts of Yao and Shun. In that age, all under Heaven walked in benevolence and lived long lives, and governance reached the highest order. This was the great unity of the Middle Heaven.

"The August Sovereign Above bestowed a moral nature upon the people below, granting them a constant nature" — this comes from the Announcement of Tang.

"Illuminate your highest virtue" — this comes from the Canon of Yao. Is this not the origin of the Great Learning's "illuminating luminous virtue" and the Doctrine of the Mean's "following one's nature"?

King Wen arranged the hexagrams. The Duke of Zhou illuminated the lines. Confucius wrote the commentaries. The methods of Zhu and Si, tracing the origins and transmitting the constitutional principles, harmonizing with the patterns of Heaven above and the conditions of Earth below — none of this was empty rhetoric!

The Commentary on the Appended Phrases says: "It encompasses the transformations of Heaven and Earth without excess. It bends to complete all things without omission. It penetrates the way of day and night and knows. Therefore the spirit has no fixed position and the Change has no fixed form."

It also says: "The Change is without thought, without action. Still and unmoving, when stimulated it penetrates all things under Heaven."

The spirit that encompasses the transformations of Heaven and Earth is precisely the Unmoving Heaven of Ultimate Stillness — the Principle of the Infinite Beyond Polarity. Principle is the substance of spirit. Spirit is the function of Principle. What is this spirit-principle? It is the One Unity of the sacred realm. And what is the sacred realm? It is the Unmoving Heaven of Ultimate Stillness — the Heaven of Principle Beyond Polarity. Confucius saw this. Therefore his attainment reached this level. And because his attainment reached this level, he shares the same substance, the same lifespan as this Heaven — enduring through all ages without end. This is the summit beyond which there is no higher ground. Therefore the sage is called the utmost sage. Principle is called the utmost principle. The Way is called the utmost Way. The good is called the utmost good. The person is called the utmost person. And the spirit is called the utmost spirit.

If one's study does not reach this level, one's vision does not extend this far, one's practice does not arrive at this place — and one is satisfied with small attainments — then one has not yet arrived. What "utmost" can there be?

The Buddha said: "The one unified principle-image." Laozi said: "The great Way has no form; it gives birth to Heaven and Earth." The sages of Buddhism and Daoism both penetrated deeply into the sacred realm and dwelt within it. Therefore they are called "teachers of gods and men."

The Principle that precedes all things is perfectly round — the Great Ultimate before the beginning.

It penetrates all things from beginning to end, from center to edge.

In its greatness, it encompasses the cosmos beyond all visible form.

In its subtlety, it enters even the hawks and fish before they take shape.

When the Two and the Five unite, the cycle of nature and destiny is complete.

When the One and the Three are distinguished, they thread through both the human and the divine.

After Fu Xi drew the first trigrams, the true lineage was revealed —

And from sage to sage, its source has been transmitted to this day.

[Diagram of the Great Ultimate, with the four virtues — Origination, Flourishing, Benefit, Constancy — is omitted.]

From sage to sage, its source has been transmitted to this day.

The one breath that encompasses all things — that itself is the true teaching.

Responding to each situation as it arises, it appears in every direction.

Accompanying each thing and illuminating its spirit, it is perfectly present everywhere.

The yarrow stalks are not divine, yet divinity is naturally present in them.

The hexagram lines are images, and images must eventually be set aside.

Flowing together with the myriad things, the subtle becomes manifest.

Its substance belongs to the Prior Heaven; its function operates through the Later Heaven.

The Infinite Beyond Polarity

Therefore the Great Learning begins with stillness and composure. Buddhism and Daoism take purity and stillness as their foundation.

What is the Infinite Beyond Polarity? Principle — that is all. Later scholars have generally taken the Great Ultimate to be Principle, treating the Infinite Beyond Polarity as an insignificant abstraction.

But consider: the diagram of the Great Ultimate already shows black and white divided, yin and yang already separated, yang rising and yin descending, flowing without ceasing, circulating in endless return.

Yang energy rises from the hexagram Return to the hexagram Immersion — Origination and Flourishing emerge from this. This is the yang principle.

Yin energy descends from the hexagram Encounter to the hexagram Return — Benefit and Constancy emerge from this. This is the yin principle.

Rising and descending, coming and going, cold and heat succeeding one another — how can the Great Ultimate be anything other than breath?

This breath penetrates downward through the great earth, and upward it moves the stars and constellations. Each day it circles the earth once, advancing one degree, and after three hundred sixty-five and one-quarter days, it returns to the degree where it started. This is called one year. Three hundred sixty years make one cycle. Three hundred sixty cycles make one epoch. One hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred years — and then this breath reaches its end.

Therefore three hundred sixty hours make the Great Ultimate of one month. Three hundred sixty days make the Great Ultimate of one year.

Three hundred sixty months make the Great Ultimate of one generation. Three hundred sixty years make the Great Ultimate of one cycle.

Three hundred sixty generations make the Great Ultimate of one epoch-phase. Three hundred sixty cycles make the Great Ultimate of one full epoch.

After three hundred sixty cycles, when this breath has reached its end, Heaven and Earth themselves may nearly cease.

If you say Heaven and Earth can cease, many will not believe it and call it absurd. But consider: Heaven opened in the epoch-phase of Zi. Earth was established in the epoch-phase of Chou. Humanity was born in the epoch-phase of Yin. Since it is said that humanity was born in Yin, it follows that before the epoch-phase of Yin, there were no human beings — this much is clear. Since it is said that Heaven opened in Zi and Earth was established in Chou, it follows that before Zi there was no Heaven, and before Chou there was no Earth — this too becomes clear.

If Heaven itself did not exist, then the breath of the Great Ultimate had ceased — what else could this be? And once the Great Ultimate has ceased, only the Infinite Beyond Polarity remains.

It is well said: those who speak wisely of Heaven do not depart from human nature. Those who speak wisely of human nature always ground themselves in Heaven.

Heaven and Earth are like the physical body of a person. The Great Ultimate is like the breath of respiration. The Infinite Beyond Polarity is like the numinous, spiritual nature. This is true not only of human beings — it is true of every creature that possesses spirit.

When the breath of Heaven mingles with Earth, the myriad things are born. The male and female of all things are like Heaven and Earth. Therefore what has visible form belongs to the interchanging within change. What has no form but leaves traces belongs to the changing within change. What has no form and is divinely subtle beyond all measurement, pervading all things without exception — this belongs to the unchanging within change.

The interchanging within change has form, and what has form decays swiftly. The changing within change has no material substance, and what lacks substance decays slowly. The unchanging within change has neither form nor substance — and therefore does not decay.

What does not decay is the original nature, which comes from the Heaven of Principle Beyond Polarity. What decays slowly is the nature of one's temperament, which comes from the Heaven of Primal Energy. What decays swiftly and rots easily — is that not the body, the temporary union of the four great elements? Therefore there are two kinds of spirit: the spirit within breath, and the spirit within Principle.

The Spirit Within Principle and the Three Worlds

The spirit within Principle dwells above the Thirty-Three Heavens, beyond the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm. Below, it illuminates the Eighteen Hells. It governs everything within the Desire Realm and the Form Realm — there is nothing it does not govern, nothing it does not pervade. Without haste it is swift. Without walking it arrives. Without effort it accomplishes. It is present nowhere and yet present everywhere. It is the spirit that endures through all ages without beginning and without end, indestructible through all time.

Such are the Three Pure Ones, Shakyamuni, Guanyin, Confucius, Mencius, Yan Hui, and Zengzi — those who attained the Way and became what they are.

What is the Way? It is the Principle of the Infinite Beyond Polarity.

This Principle penetrates through the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm — it does not depart from the breath, nor does it mingle with the breath. Rising beyond the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm, it stands alone, free from the breath — and this is the Realm of the Infinite.

What is the Desire Realm? Above and below the surface of the earth, things that fly and swim, that move and grow, all dwell mingled together, weighed down by material form. This is called the Desire Realm, because its creatures cling to food and beauty and give rise to the six desires.

What is the Form Realm? The stars and constellations of the Milky Way are visible to the eye. Because they have visible form, this is called the Form Realm.

What is the Formless Realm? The Four Heavens of Emptiness have neither desire nor form. Therefore this is called the Formless Realm.

And the Realm of the Infinite Beyond Polarity? It has no sound and no smell, yet it is the master of all sounds and all smells. It has no form and no image, yet it is the source of all forms and all images. Rising above the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm, it is the Heaven of the Infinite, the Great Canopy Heaven, the Heaven that gives birth to Heaven and Earth — the Heaven that unifies all things as one body. Penetrating downward through the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm, it is the mandate bestowed by Heaven, the original nature, the heart of righteous principle — the Heaven that each and every thing possesses within itself.

The Heaven that unifies all things and the Heaven that each thing possesses within itself are perfectly connected, without gap and without break.

The reason human beings and all creatures cannot instantly transcend the Three Realms and return to the Infinite — cannot stand shoulder to shoulder with the sages of the Three Teachings, sharing their lifespan — is this: they are fettered by the endowment of their physical temperament, and blinded by the desires of material things. They have lost sight of their original nature. This is why.

The Three Cultivations

Those who are called "ones who have attained the Way" know that the body — the temporary union of the four great elements — decays swiftly. Poverty and wealth, honor and disgrace all have their allotted fate; their coming and going can be entrusted to the natural course of things without attachment. By refining form into breath, one is no longer confined by material things and can transcend the Desire Realm.

The spirit within breath, though it outlasts the physical body, has a limit even at its greatest — it cannot endure beyond one full epoch. In the end, it too is exhausted. Therefore, through purity and stillness, through effortless non-doing, one refines breath into spirit and can transcend the Form Realm.

When at last one refines spirit and returns to the Void, then the Heaven that each thing possesses within itself merges seamlessly with the Heaven that unifies all things. The Heaven that gives birth to Heaven and Earth IS oneself. Oneself IS the Heaven that gives birth to Heaven and Earth. One who has arrived here is called "one who has attained the Way and become."

Heaven and Earth can be destroyed, but this spirit endures. This is the spirit within Principle. "A single sun without shadow appears, and its light fills the three thousand great thousand worlds." This is the highest vehicle, the supreme teaching.

The Spirit Within Breath

The spirit within breath has both yang spirit and yin spirit. Speaking in terms of the one breath flowing through all things: what comes forth and expands is called spirit — from Zi to Wu, the yang principle of the Great Ultimate. What departs and contracts is called ghost — from Wu to Zi, the yin principle of the Great Ultimate.

Speaking in terms of paired opposites: the stars and constellations of the Milky Way are yang spirits within the breath. The judges and officials of the Ten Courts of Hell are yin spirits within the breath.

The five sacred mountains are Heaven within Earth — their spirits are spirits of lesser yin. The four seas and hundred rivers are Earth within Heaven — their spirits are spirits of lesser yang.

The spirits of lesser yin oversee good and evil among the people. The spirits of lesser yang raise clouds and rain in the sky. Extending from this principle:

The Book of Changes has three hundred eighty-four lines, and every line has its spirit — distinguished as yin or yang by odd or even number.

Heaven has three hundred sixty-five degrees, and every degree has its spirit — distinguished as yin or yang by the rhythm of cold and heat.

The spirit that presides over one hour changes every hour. The spirit that presides over one day changes every day. The spirits of months and years follow the same principle.

Great and small, cross-referenced and interwoven, flowing together without contradiction — because the breath moves without ceasing, it changes yet follows a constant pattern. Among the spirits within breath:

Yang spirits dwell in Heaven during spring and summer, and in the depths during autumn and winter. Yin spirits dwell in Heaven during autumn and winter, and in the depths during spring and summer.

They are present in some places and not in others. Therefore they must travel to arrive, and arrive to appear.

When the yang arrives, warmth becomes heat. When the yin arrives, coolness becomes cold. When baleful spirits arrive, disaster follows. When auspicious spirits arrive, blessings descend.

Among the spirits within breath, yin and yang, auspicious and baleful, are infinitely varied. The spirit within Principle — compassionate, harmonious, benevolent — is always and everywhere one.

Therefore the original nature, which comes from the Heaven of Principle, takes stillness as its substance. This is why Yao and Shun were no different from ordinary people.

The nature of one's temperament, which comes from the Heaven of Primal Energy, is restless and difficult to still, mixed and difficult to purify. This is why there are distinctions between the wise and the foolish, the worthy and the base, the fortunate and the unlucky, the long-lived and the short-lived.

The Great Ending and the Great Return

When the life of a person or creature reaches its end, the breath is exhausted, the vital fluids no longer flow, and the body — the union of the four great elements — crumbles and decays.

When the life of Heaven and Earth reaches its end, the cycles of breath are exhausted, and rain and dew no longer fall. First the seas dry and the mountains collapse, light scatters and stars fall, scorched by the fires of the kalpa, shattered by the winds of the firmament. When the great breath can no longer sustain itself, the earth turns to flying ash — and primordial chaos returns.

When the great kalpa arrives, it begins with people and creatures, then takes the mountains and rivers, and finally takes the stars. In broad terms: people and creatures face their kalpa during the epoch-phases of Shen and You. Heaven and Earth face their kalpa during the epoch-phases of Xu and Hai. Shen is the White Tiger — people and creatures meet slaughter. Xu is the Storehouse of Fire — the light of yang is extinguished and hidden. The epoch-phase of Hai — is that not the threshold between one kalpa's end and the next kalpa's beginning?

The sages, immortals, and buddhas who teach people not to cling to the physical body, to break free from the wheel of rebirth, to transcend the Three Realms — they do so because the Desire Realm and the Form Realm cannot escape the fires of the kalpa. Those trapped within them have their spiritual light extinguished. One spiritual light lost in this epoch means one fewer being in the next.

Only the Heaven of Principle Beyond Polarity stands beyond the reach of the kalpa fires. Therefore the sages first rescue people and creatures, then rescue ghosts and spirits, and finally rescue the stars. When the spiritual light of all three has returned to the Infinite — then and only then does the great kalpa come.

When the epoch-phase of Zi arrives and Heaven opens again, the spiritual light of the stars descends to take its place. When the epoch-phase of Chou arrives and Earth is established, the spiritual light of the mountains and rivers descends to take its place. When the epoch-phase of Yin arrives and humanity is born, the spiritual light of people and creatures descends to take its place. And the world is established anew.

Constancy ends and Origination begins — the cycle has no end. Epochs, phases, cycles, generations follow one another like night and day. Do not trust what is coming; instead, observe what has passed.

In the age of the Three Sovereigns, civilization was just emerging from darkness. In the age of the Five Emperors, institutions were first being created. In a blink it became the era of Yao and Shun's gracious abdication. In another blink it became the era of Tang and Wu's righteous conquest.

The Xia dynasty valued loyalty — action rooted in the heart. The Shang people valued substance — still close to the body. The Zhou system valued refinement — and as simplicity scattered, people gradually pursued the superficial.

The Five Hegemons who borrowed the name of benevolence and righteousness — their rise was already a gradual decline.

In the three ancient dynasties, the Way resided with rulers and ministers. The Way and power were united. Therefore in those times, it was easy for people to achieve completion.

After the three dynasties, the Way resided with teachers and scholars. The Way and power were divided. Therefore in these times, it is difficult for people to achieve completion.

The situation and the division of authority made it so.

Through the Han, Jin, Sui, and Tang, China was the center, and the frontier peoples submitted. Then the Liao, Jin, and Mongol empires — once at the far borders — came to rule over China itself. The turning of the world's fortunes is this swift. The shape of the future can be known without divination.

The Two Paths of Practice

This world is perilous, truly an ocean of suffering. Therefore the sages have their method of establishing destiny: seeking from others is not as good as seeking from oneself. The immortals and buddhas have their art of transcending destiny: relying on people is not as good as relying on Heaven.

If the breath of your respiration connects with the Heaven of the Great Ultimate, then sweep away all worldly attachments, regulate your breathing until it becomes fine and continuous, and break free from the wheel of rebirth. Become a spirit within breath — an immortal whose lifespan is that of Heaven and Earth, whose years are those of the sun and moon.

If the numinous spirit of your awareness connects with the Heaven of the Infinite Beyond Polarity, then let it congeal and become adamantine. Transcend the Three Realms. Be unconfined by the Five Phases. Become a spirit within Principle — one whose nature endures even after Heaven and Earth are destroyed.

The Great Ultimate and the Infinite Beyond Polarity

The Heaven of the Great Ultimate envelops the great earth from without and drives the stars above. It penetrates the great earth from within and gives birth to all living things below. Not only do the stars and all creatures depend upon it — without the breath of the Great Ultimate, even the great earth itself would dissolve into nothing. It is only because the earth receives the breath of the Great Ultimate that it condenses and takes form.

From the vantage of human observation, Heaven moves above and earth rests below. But from the vantage of the whole, Heaven envelops the earth on all sides — above the earth is Heaven, and around the earth on every side, above and below, there is nothing that is not Heaven.

Long ago, the Yellow Emperor asked Qi Bo: "Is the earth truly at the bottom of all things?" Qi Bo replied: "The earth is below human beings, but it is in the center of the Great Void." The Emperor asked: "What holds it in place?" Qi Bo said: "The great breath lifts it."

The Great Ultimate, through movement, gives birth to Heaven and Earth. The Infinite Beyond Polarity, through stillness, gives birth to the Great Ultimate. Though the Great Ultimate exists within the Infinite, the Infinite penetrates through the Great Ultimate from within and envelops the Great Ultimate from without.

The Principle of the Infinite is still and serves as the warp. The breath of the Great Ultimate moves and serves as the weft. The warp is constant and does not change. The weft changes yet follows a constant pattern.

Constant and unchanging — this is the unchanging within change. Changing yet following a constant pattern — this is the changing within change. Add to these the sun and moon of the three luminaries, the male and female of all creatures, and every visible, tangible thing — Heaven and Earth interact to produce cold and heat, the sun and moon interact to produce new moons and full moons, male and female interact to produce all living things. This is the interchanging within change.

The Principle of the Infinite is the subtle within the subtle, the mystery within the mystery, the wonder within the wonder, the spirit within the spirit, the Heaven within Heaven. It has no image and no name. By its nature, it cannot be seen.

Yet within this namelessness, this imagelessness, this invisibility — it manifests forcefully through the name and numbers of the He Tu, the River Chart.

The He Tu — The River Chart

Heaven-one gives birth to water. Earth-six completes it. Earth-two gives birth to fire. Heaven-seven completes it. Heaven-three gives birth to wood. Earth-eight completes it. Earth-four gives birth to metal. Heaven-nine completes it. Heaven-five gives birth to earth. Earth-ten completes it.

[The diagram of the He Tu is omitted.]

These are the numbers within Principle — paired in stillness. The still substance of the Infinite is difficult to perceive directly. Only the stillness of Kun, the great earth, resembles it. Therefore it is said: "Yellow and central, penetrating through the pattern; positioned rightly, dwelling in the body. Beauty resides within and radiates through the four limbs, manifesting in one's life's work." The effortless sage also resembles it. Therefore the sage:

In stillness, takes the earth as model — still and unmoving, establishing the great substance of the Infinite. This is the learning of the Sage in Stillness.

In movement, takes Heaven as model — responsive when stirred, realizing the great function of the Great Ultimate. This is the learning of the King in Motion.

To study the Sage in Stillness, one must honor the virtuous nature. To realize the King in Motion, one must pursue the Way through inquiry and learning. Penetrate the seamless unity of the manifest and the subtle. Unite Heaven and humanity as one.

"Acting before Heaven, yet Heaven does not contradict" — this is penetrating Principle. "Acting after Heaven, yet following Heaven's timing" — this is penetrating Breath.

Water — The North

The numbers of the He Tu: Heaven-one gives birth to water, Earth-six completes it.

One and six reside in the north, where the Dark Emperor dwells. This is the domain of the seven lodges of the Dark Warrior. Its virtue is wisdom. Its color is black. Its nature is to flow downward. Its creature is the scaled. Its flavor is salt. Its tone is yu. It is the land of ren and gui, hai and zi — the place of Kan, of rest, of the Celestial Canopy. In season it is winter. Its breath is severe and congealing — this is why the north is cold.

Heaven-one gives birth to water: clouds and mist stretch across the sky. Earth-six completes it: rivers and streams span the earth. Water transforms into vapor and rises from earth to sky. Vapor transforms into rain and descends from sky to earth. The pure and the turbid are mutually rooted, cycling without end. Between the two great forces, is this not the realm where one and six hold court? That water comes first among the Five Phases is the natural order of Principle.

Among the three hundred and sixty scaled creatures, the dragon is their chief. The divine dragon transforms without limit, dwelling now in the depths, now in the heavens, summoning clouds and bringing rain, nourishing all living things with its moisture. The virtue of wisdom and the nature of water — these are what make it so.

Water creatures mostly dwell in the depths. Fire creatures mostly take to the air. Yet the kun-fish transforms into the peng-bird, passing from the deep into flight. The pheasant transforms into the great clam, passing from the air into the deep. Between Heaven and Earth, nothing is more numinous than water and fire, and nothing is more skilled at transformation.

Therefore fire is born from earth-two, completed by heaven-seven. When water-breath is strong, warmth naturally arises. The ministerial fire dwells at the Gate of Life, born alongside water. When essence is depleted, water is lost. When breath is exhausted, fire vanishes. From the human body, one can know Heaven.

A person without breath is like a rootless fire that consumes the hundred bones. Rootless fire is the fire of the kalpa itself.

Seen in this light: only where there is water can fire be born. Fire alone cannot generate fire. Though fire is numinous, its virtue does not match water's — therefore it is born second.

Between Heaven and Earth, the things that connect the inner and outer are four, and fire is the last of them.

The spirit-connection of the Infinite reaches everywhere without limit — upward through the Thirty-Three Heavens and beyond all measure, downward through the Eighteen Hells and into the deepest abyss.

The breath of the Great Ultimate connects downward through the earth and upward through the stars — but stops at the Star Heaven.

Water connects all things on earth that have physical form. Transformed into vapor, it reaches the Form Realm heaven. But it cannot go further.

Fire connects upward as water does, but it cannot reach as deep below.

Fire's reach falls short of water's. Water's reach falls short of the primal breath's. The primal breath's reach falls short of the spirit within Principle.

Water and fire belong to the interchanging within change. The light of the sun and moon reaches only the human realm — it does not penetrate the nine layers of earth below.

The primal breath belongs to the changing within change. Above and below, from the stars to the springs, it reaches as far as the Star Heaven — and stops.

The spirit of the Infinite belongs to the unchanging within change. Above the Star Heaven and below, there is nothing it does not penetrate. This is the distinction of the upper, middle, and lower vehicles.

Fire — The South

In the interchanging within change, when Qian descends to interact with Kun, Kun receives the middle line of Qian and becomes solid — forming Kan. Kan is the moon. Kan is water. This is the origin of "Heaven-one gives birth to water, Earth-six completes it."

Born at one, completed at six — from Heaven to Earth, passing through the true five of empty space, and only then achieving completion.

When Kun ascends to interact with Qian, Qian loses its middle line and becomes hollow — forming Li. Li is the sun. Li is fire.

The line of Qian is odd. Odd is one — therefore it is said "Heaven-one gives birth to water." The line of Kun is even. Even is two — therefore it is said "Earth-two gives birth to fire."

The fire of Li-sun enters the earth at sunset and emerges at sunrise. It reaches completion at noon — therefore it is said "born from earth, completed by Heaven." Fire completes itself above and does not complete below — this is why its nature is to flame upward.

Prior Heaven fire is born within wood — this is why in the ancient world, people drilled wood to make fire. Later Heaven fire is born from metal and stone — this is why fire today differs from fire of old.

This is because the Luo Shu places seven on the right — metal receives the number of fire. The ministerial fire that is born alongside water exists because the Kan trigram — two even lines flanking one odd — has the number seven. Water too receives the number of fire. Metal and stone are born within the earth. Earth is even — therefore it is called two. It meets Heaven to achieve completion. Two plus five equals seven.

Two and seven reside in the south, the dwelling of the Fire Essence, the Red Emperor. This is the domain of the seven lodges of the Vermilion Bird. Its virtue is propriety. Its color is red. Its nature is to flame upward. Its creature is the feathered. Its flavor is bitter. Its tone is zhi. It is the land of bing and ding, si and wu — the place of Li, of brilliance, of nine purple. In season it is summer. Its breath is blazing and bright — this is why the south is warm.

Wood — The East

Heaven-three gives birth to wood. Earth-eight completes it. Born from the earth, completed by Heaven — the earth cannot give birth on its own. It must wait for the breath of Heaven to arrive before the earth can display its power of generation.

Three and eight reside in the east, the dwelling of the Green Emperor. This is the domain of the seven lodges of the Azure Dragon. Its virtue is benevolence. Its color is green. Its nature is to bend and straighten. Its creature is the furred. Its flavor is sour. Its tone is jue. In season it is spring. It is the land of jia and yi, yin and mao — the place of Zhen and Xun, of jade-green. Wood gives birth to fire — this is why it is said: "The great light rises from Fusang."

In the north, Heaven-one gives birth to water, then moves one step to the left. One is odd. Odd things are round, and round circumferences measure three — this is why the east is called Heaven-three. This is the origin of the saying "yi and gui share the same source."

From one to three — does this not represent the meaning of yang energy rising? The position of Heaven-one — is this not the place of the winter solstice and the hexagram Return?

Earth-two resides in the south, then moves one step to the right. Two is even. Even things are square, and square perimeters measure four — this is why Earth-four gives birth to metal. The position of two — is this not the summer solstice and the hexagram Encounter, the meaning of yin energy descending? Fire and metal — do they not give birth to one another?

Metal — The West

The He Tu places earth-four as the transformation of two. Earth gives birth to metal. Fire also gives birth to metal. In the earthly branches, metal is born in si — this is why the Luo Shu places nine at the top: metal dwells in the land of fire. Seven is on the right: fire dwells in the land of metal. Though there is a meaning of nurture-and-restraint in this, the truth is that metal cannot become a finished instrument without fire.

Four and nine reside in the west. Metal gives birth to water — this is why the source of the Yellow River rises in the Kunlun Mountains, and the great rivers flow eastward to pay tribute to the sea. The west is the dwelling of the White Emperor of Autumn. This is the domain of the seven lodges of the White Tiger. Its virtue is righteousness. Its color is white. Its flavor is pungent. Its nature is to be worked and reshaped. Its creature is the armored. Its tone is shang. It is the land of geng and xin, shen and you — the place of Qian and Dui, of seven red. In season it is autumn.

From one to three is the spring equinox — its breath is warm and gentle, bringing forth all things. This is the function of yang.

From two to four is the autumn equinox — its breath is clear and austere, gathering all things inward. This is the function of yin.

The virtue of yang is the sun — therefore the sun is born in the east. The form of yin is the moon — therefore the moon is born in the west.

The sun is born in the east. Wood and fire are one family. Therefore among the feathered and furred creatures: those that fly move through the sky, those that run move across the land.

Land creatures are born from the first stirring of the four yang breaths — the time of Great Vigor and Thunder. Therefore the camel, the elephant, the horse — they serve humanity with their strength. Vigor is the meaning.

Flying creatures are born from the fullness of the six yang breaths at their peak — the time of Encounter and Li. Li means beauty and attachment — therefore their feathers and plumage are brilliant and splendid. Speech exalts fire, and sound belongs to fire — therefore the feathered creatures delight people with their song.

Fire governs the inner — therefore mandarin ducks do not stray from their mates, wild geese do not break from their flock, and birds in flight keep formation.

Wood governs benevolence — therefore the elephant, the horse, and their kind do not eat living creatures, and they labor in the service of humanity.

The deer exercises its tail to refine essence — grasping the meaning of "yi and gui share the same source." The crane guards the crown of its head to refine spirit — grasping the meaning of "wood and fire illuminate together."

Therefore the crane is called the immortal bird, and the deer the spirit beast. They are often found in the company of divine beings. How strange that among ordinary people, and even among the clever, there are many who squander their essence and spirit without a thought — can a human being truly be inferior to a bird or a beast?

The moon is born in the west. Metal and water are one family. Therefore armored creatures dwell near the mountains, and scaled creatures dwell near the deep. Though both armored and scaled creatures dwell hidden in the deep, the armored creatures often leave the water to walk on land — because they receive the breath of autumn metal, which has descended but not deeply. This is why they are half-water, half-land.

The scaled creatures receive the breath of winter water, descended to its lowest point — therefore their nature is to swim in the depths, unable to live apart from water, seldom walking on land.

The armored creatures wear shells and carry the breath of austere killing — therefore military generals rank on the west, wearing armor and bearing sharp weapons, wielding the authority of execution. This is the punishment of autumn.

The qilin is chief among the furred creatures and carries the nature of benevolence — therefore civil ministers rank on the east, holding brush and transmitting words, wielding the authority of education. This is the virtue of spring.

Therefore: the phoenix sang on Mount Qi, and King Wen opened the beginning of the Western Zhou. The qilin appeared in a dream at the village of Que, and Confucius brought forth the auspicious signs of eastern Lu.

From this we know: the fortune of civilization resides mostly in Origination and Flourishing.

Origination is spring. Spring is wood. The creature of wood is the furred. The qilin is chief of the furred. Flourishing is summer. Summer is fire. The creature of fire is the feathered. The phoenix is chief of the feathered.

The turtle and the dragon do not often bring auspicious omens — is this not because they carry the breath of austere killing and deep descent?

The Son of Heaven is called the Dragon. The dragon belongs to water. Heaven-one gives birth to water. The nature of water is to benefit all things without contention. Water is born from Heaven. Without water, Heaven's generative power would cease instantly. Without a sovereign, disorder would surely arise. Heaven-one gives birth to water — it is the first of the Five Phases, the leader of all yang. This is why.

The Empress is called the Phoenix. The phoenix belongs to fire. Fire is born from within the earth. Two is yin — therefore the Empress models herself upon it. One is yang — therefore the sovereign father models himself upon it.

The sovereign father takes Heaven as his model. The Empress takes the earth as her model. Movement and stillness, yin and yang — this is the meaning.

The turtle is chief of the armored creatures and receives the numinous power of metal. In the human body, metal corresponds to the lungs, and the lungs govern breath. Therefore the turtle takes in the breath of Heaven and Earth and regulates its respiration. Its spirit penetrates the auspicious and inauspicious aspects of the five breaths. It excels at discerning calamity and fortune, foretelling them to warn people of what to seek and what to avoid. This is the meaning of metal's nature.

The dragon is chief of the scaled creatures. Water corresponds to the moon. Therefore the black dragon nurtures its pearl, and the clam nurtures its pearl.

The divine turtle cultivates breath and achieves long life. The black dragon nurtures its pearl and produces a treasure. Both illuminate the meaning of metal and water nourishing one another.

"Wood and fire illuminating together" — this is the method of cultivating stillness in the Palace of Li. "Metal and water nourishing one another" — this is the method of seeking the mystery in the Palace of Water.

The virtue of the Four Spirits — each embraces one aspect fully. Through devotion to that one aspect, each achieves spiritual power. How much more so for human beings, who possess all Five Phases in their completeness?

Earth's birth number is rooted in five — because five encompasses all four images in their completeness. One is odd — it is the number of water. Odd numbers are round, and their circumference is three — three is the number of wood. Two is even — it is the number of fire.

Even numbers are square, and their perimeter is four — four is the number of metal.

Three is used in its entirety, and four is used in its half. Combined they make five. Therefore Earth's birth number is five. Five is nothing other than the four images gathered into one. Because it encompasses all four images completely, it communicates through all four images freely.

Earth is born at five and completes at ten. Among the Five Phases, only Earth's numbers are the most numerous. Therefore the He Tu serves as the ground plan.

The earth takes soil as its master, and receives the greater share of yin numbers — therefore the earth is still while Heaven moves.

Why does Heaven move? Because yang numbers are more numerous.

In the Luo Shu, the yang numbers total twenty-five and the yin numbers twenty. The four even numbers reside at the four diagonal positions, while five yang holds the center. Across the four cardinal directions and four diagonals, every row, column, and diagonal sums to fifteen — this is what "one breath, seamlessly round" means.

One-white resides in Kan. Two-black resides in Kun. Three-green resides in Zhen. Four-jade resides in Xun. Five-yellow holds the center. Six-white resides in Qian. Seven-red resides in Dui. Eight-white resides in Gen. Nine-purple resides in Li.

The nine-purple of Li is the completion number of metal in the He Tu. That it resides in the place of fire shows that fire overcomes metal, but fire also gives birth to metal. Without fire, the five metals cannot be forged into vessels — therefore the growth of geng-metal begins in the si position.

The seven-red of Dui is the completion number of fire in the He Tu. Not only can fire give birth to metal, but metal can also give birth to fire — therefore the ancients drilled wood and struck flint to make fire. Later generations produced fire by striking metal against stone. The numbers make it so.

Metal and fire exchange positions. One gives birth by lending its body. The other nurtures what it produces while restraining what it could destroy. Without this, the one breath could not sum to fifteen in every direction, round and unobstructed.

The He Tu has more even numbers. It takes earth as its master, and therefore its virtue is square — it is the ground. The Luo Shu has more odd numbers. It takes breath as its master, and therefore its spirit is round — it is Heaven.

The five-yellow of the Luo Shu is the original body of the primal breath.

The yang of the primal breath is born at the zi position. One-white of Kan belongs to it — this is the Return hexagram at the winter solstice.

The yin of the primal breath is born at the wu position. Nine-purple of Li belongs to it — this is the Encounter hexagram at the summer solstice.

From zi to wu is the yang principle of the Great Ultimate. The hexagrams of yang's advance belong to it — Return, Approach, Peace, Great Strength, Breakthrough, and Pure Heaven. Over one hundred eighty days and a fraction, through twelve solar breaths and thirty-six pentads and a fraction, yang rises to its peak and descends.

From wu to zi is the yin principle of the Great Ultimate. The hexagrams of yin's birth belong to it — Encounter, Retreat, Standstill, Contemplation, Splitting Apart, and Pure Earth. Over one hundred eighty days and a fraction, through twelve solar breaths and thirty-six pentads and a fraction, yin descends to its depths and rises again — the cycle turns without end.

Return is where yang begins. Encounter is where yin begins. This is the Great Ultimate dividing into the Two Principles.

The three-green of Great Strength is the halfway point of yang. The seven-red of Contemplation is the halfway point of yin. And so the Four Images are born.

The two solstices and two equinoxes, plus the four seasonal beginnings, make eight nodes. The eight nodes are the eight trigrams.

The winter solstice is Kan. The beginning of spring is Gen. The spring equinox is Zhen. The beginning of summer is Xun.

The summer solstice is Li. The beginning of autumn is Kun. The autumn equinox is Dui. The beginning of winter is Qian.

Each trigram has three lines. Therefore one node governs three solar breaths, and one solar breath governs three pentads. Twenty-four solar breaths and seventy-two pentads accumulate to three hundred sixty-five and one-quarter days — and the breath of the hexagrams completes its full circuit.

Three hundred sixty days correspond to three hundred sixty lines, which form sixty hexagrams. Add Qian and Kun as the body of the primal breath, and Kan and Li as the function of the primal breath — the twenty-four lines of these four hexagrams complete the sixty-four hexagrams.

Therefore the movement of the Luo Shu is one breath flowing through, seamlessly round, comprising one entire heaven. Three hundred sixty days is the standard count of one year. The remaining five and one-quarter days constitute the surplus of breath. To know the beginning of spring next year, add five days and three double-hours to this year's.

The nine palaces of the Luo Shu are the ancient well-field system. The four cardinal directions and four diagonals — eight families, each with private fields of one hundred mu. The center is the public field, with five-yellow presiding as its master. Dividing land and establishing wages — this is the well-field system.

When establishing a nation and setting its capital, the nine palaces become the nine provinces. When governing all things under Heaven, the nine palaces become the nine categories of the Great Plan.

In military command — marching becomes formations, encamping becomes garrisons. The timing of Heaven, the advantage of terrain, the transformation between the orthodox and the unorthodox — none of this is beyond the nine palaces.

Therefore the method of the golden elixir's reverse return is rooted in the Luo Shu. "Seven returns and nine reversals" uses metal and fire. "Taking Kan to fill Li" connects the zi and wu positions. Nourishing the original source means guarding the primal breath. Shedding the womb into spiritual transformation means returning the primal breath. To guard the primal breath is to fulfill one's humanity. To return the primal breath is to unite with Heaven. This is the twofold method of the golden elixir.

The Luo Shu is the Heaven of Primal Energy — breath flows without ceasing, ending and beginning again.

The He Tu is the Heaven of Principle. The formless He Tu IS the Heaven of Principle — it encompasses the Heaven of Primal Energy from without and penetrates the great earth from within. Utterly still and unmoving, constant and unchanging.

This is what the Buddha called "the one unified principle-form." It is what Laozi called "the Great Way that has no form." It is what Confucius called "threaded through by one."

The He Tu is Principle. The formless Principle transcends the Heaven of Primal Energy — the Heaven of Primal Energy has limits, but this Principle has none.

The He Tu with form is the earth — like the human body. The Luo Shu in motion is Heaven — like the human breath. The He Tu without form is like the human being's original nature — the primordial spirit of the Prior Heaven.

The body is the Change of Exchange. The breath is the Change of Transformation. The spirit is the Change that Does Not Change.

From Principle into breath, from breath into body — to wander lost and never return: this is the ordinary person.

From body awakening to breath, from breath awakening to Principle — to return to the root and restore the origin: this is the path of sages, worthies, immortals, and Buddhas.

The One of Principle penetrates everything without exception. The One of breath threads upward through the stars, downward through the great earth, and through all people and creatures in between.

Therefore it is said: the Three Teachings return to One. The ten thousand methods return to One.

The One IS Principle. Principle is the master of stillness. Therefore Master Zhou said: "Take stillness as the master, and establish the Human Ultimate." This is the method of the highest vehicle.

All who cultivate and study the Way speak of "returning to the root and recognizing the ancestor." Outside of this, there is no root — to return to the root is to return to this. Outside of this, there is no ancestor — to recognize the ancestor is to recognize this.

Without knowing this, one cannot save oneself — how then could one save all beings? Without attaining this, one cannot gather oneself — how then could one gather all things to completion?

The Prior Heaven is called the Infinite Beyond Polarity — apart from this, there is no other Infinite Beyond Polarity. The Middle Heaven is called the Great Ultimate — apart from this, there is no other Great Ultimate. The Later Heaven is called the Imperial Ultimate — apart from this, there is no other Imperial Ultimate.

Therefore it is said: the Way of the Three Ultimates. The Three Ultimates are all One.

Someone once asked me: "What you speak of — fathoming Principle, fulfilling one's Nature, and arriving at one's Destiny; the Infinite Beyond Polarity and the Great Ultimate; the nature of Principle and the nature of Breath; the Great Change, the He Tu and the Luo Shu; the unified thread of Heaven and Humanity — all of this is vast enough to encompass everything great, subtle enough to penetrate everything fine. This is the true transmission of our Confucian school. It can rectify the human heart and silence heterodox teachings. The lifeblood of the sages and worthies is preserved through it. If the right person were to put it into practice, it would neither offend the sages above nor cause harm to future generations below. And yet you also bring in the method of the golden elixir and the way of nirvana — does this not veer dangerously toward the teachings of the Buddhists and the Daoists? This is what I do not understand."

I replied: "As for what you call the lifeblood of the sages and worthies — I would not dare claim so much. But the Buddha and Laozi were also sages of antiquity. I love them and admire them. My only fear is that my words cannot exhaust the fullness of their teachings, and my practice cannot reach the domain they achieved. How could I merely 'bring them in' as an aside?"

Long ago, Confucius — who was himself a sage of the past — went to ask about rites from the Daoist sage. And the present sagely ruler has given special weight to the Buddhist canon.

Emperor Shizu wrote poems about retreating to the mountain, calling himself "a Buddhist monk of the West."

Emperor Shizong left behind a recorded sayings collection, and spoke of having "wandered through the Phantom City."

The founding sages of our dynasty all entered deeply into the Buddhist ocean and held the Daoist canon in equal esteem.

The recorded sayings say: "I am originally the Dharma King of Great Awakening. Wishing to carry on the governance of Yao and Shun, I therefore follow the path of the Duke of Zhou and Confucius." This is the origin of our dynasty's equal reverence for all Three Teachings. And so the Way was continued from the Two Emperors, governance surpassed the Han and Tang, and the depth of benevolence and accumulated grace exceeded all previous ages.

If Buddhism and Daoism were truly wrong, then the successive sages of our dynasty's founding — who shared the same commitment over a long period — would they not have discarded them long ago? Why would they wait until today?

What the founding sages valued was the essence and lifeblood of those two teachings — the true transmission of the mind-method and the Way-lineage. They used it to nourish the Heaven of their Nature and return to the root and restore the origin. This is why they could achieve sudden enlightenment and direct transcendence, stepping at once onto the shore of the Way. And this is why the governance of serene non-action achieved its effects so swiftly.

Compare the rulers of old — Qin Shihuang, Emperor Wu of the Han, and Liang Emperor Xiao Yan and others — who valued only the superficial resemblance of the two teachings. Their greedy hearts and desirous attachments could not be removed. It was not that there were no true immortals and true Buddhas at their courts — An Qisheng, Dongfang Shuo, Bodhidharma who came from the West. But what those rulers loved was over there, not here — their hearts were stuffed full of sensory pleasures, wealth, and fame. Therefore, though they encountered true persons, they had no ground in themselves to receive the teaching, and the true transmission was not obtained. Meanwhile, heterodox practitioners of side paths and crooked lanes entered through the gate of their greed. No wonder they labored bitterly unto death with nothing to show for it, leaving themselves as cautionary tales for all future ages. Was this the fault of the immortals and Buddhas? Certainly not!

As for me, I was born and raised in humble circumstances. I would not presume to overestimate myself. But from the time I was a child, I deeply admired the Way of the sages and believed it could be reached through study. Unfortunately, my family was poor and my parents were old, and I had no means to follow a teacher. Having no alternative, I took up the surviving writings of the sages of the past and read and contemplated them for more than ten years, ranging widely without finding my home. At the age of twenty-seven, through the introduction of the Erdong and Wanchun teachers and Teacher Liu, I received the instruction of Teacher Yao — the Crane of Heaven — from Shanxi. I entered the room for seated meditation and nourished the original source. Through stillness and tranquility, I awakened to the Great Transformation. Only then did I know that the source of the heart, the ocean of our Nature, and the convergence of the Three Teachings — when one reaches the summit — all sages return to the same place.

Therefore, not presuming to overestimate my own limitations, I have ventured some interpretation of the principles of the Great Change, the He Tu and Luo Shu, the studies of Principle, Number, and Image, and the essential meaning of "illuminating virtue," "following one's nature," "investigating things," "extending knowledge," "refining to purity," and "holding to the center." Whether this is correct or not, I submit it for correction.

Now the questioner asked about the method of the golden elixir and the way of nirvana. Though I have some small understanding, I have not truly reached the subtle depths. I can only sketch the general outline, to show that I dare not forget the root of what I owe.

The "golden elixir" is a metaphor used by the immortals, but it is truly the essential truth of the Study of Change. What does "gold" mean? It means completing Li to restore Qian. What does "elixir" mean? It means the ten thousand differences returning to One.

Now, when it comes to "nature and destiny," the Confucians and the alchemists differ slightly.

What the Confucians call "nature and destiny": they take the true Principle of the Infinite Beyond Polarity and call it "Heaven." What is divided from the Infinite Beyond Polarity they call "destiny." The true Principle of the Infinite, wonderfully united with the Two and the Five, presiding over the body — they call this "nature."

Heaven is the Ultimate of all things taken as a whole. Destiny and nature are the Ultimate that each individual thing possesses. Nature and destiny are truly one thing with two names — the distinction lies only in whether we speak from the side of Heaven's bestowing or the side of the human being's receiving.

The alchemists' teaching on "nature and destiny" distinguishes between the Prior Heaven and the Later Heaven. Before birth, this is the Prior Heaven. At this stage, Qian is nature and Kun is destiny. The nature of the Prior Heaven is what the Confucians call the original nature.

But once a person is born — with that first wailing cry, the breath of the Later Heaven enters, and the breath of the Prior Heaven retreats into hiding. Qian loses the yang line at its center and becomes Li. Kun receives the central line of Qian and transforms into Kan. Therefore in the Later Heaven, Li is nature and Kan is destiny. The nature of the Later Heaven is what the Confucians call the nature of one's physical endowment.

The nature of the Prior Heaven: yin and yang stand in paired opposition, nature and destiny are blended as one, purely the Heavenly Principle, perfectly good. Without knowledge, without deliberation — simply following the pattern of the Supreme Lord.

This is the arrangement of Fu Xi's Prior Heaven trigrams. Its positions are as follows:

Heaven is positioned above, earth is positioned below — Qian and Kun establish the positions of zi and wu.

The sun rises in the east, the moon rises in the west — Kan and Li are arrayed at the gates of mao and you.

What is high becomes the mountain — Gen occupies the northwest. What is low becomes the lake — Dui occupies the southeast.

What dries things is the wind — the shen position belongs to the White Tiger, and so Xun is in the southwest.

What stirs things is the thunder — the yin position belongs to the Azure Dragon, and so Zhen is in the northeast.

The bodies of the Prior Heaven all reside in the positions of birth — like fire dwelling within wood but not yet kindled, its flaming upward has not yet touched Heaven; like water hidden within clouds but not yet taking form, its flowing downward has not yet reached the earth. This is when the mountains shine and the rivers gleam, when primal simplicity has not yet scattered.

The Record says: "When a person is born and is still, that is the nature given by Heaven."

Master Cheng said: "When a person is born — true and still — before anything has arisen, all five natures are complete within."

This nature is precisely what Mencius called the "good nature."

Yet the Principle is subtle and the Way is vast. The method by which the ancient sages transmitted the heart was called by many names — "essence," "the One," "the center," "sincerity," "reverence." All of these sought only to have people return to the nature of this original moment. There is nothing else. And what is the nature of this moment? It is purely Principle, unmixed with breath — that is all.

The numbers of the Prior Heaven are: Qian is one, Dui is two, Li is three, Zhen is four, Xun is five, Kan is six, Gen is seven, Kun is eight. Qian originates at the beginning, Kun concludes at the end — the two extremes encompass yin and yang. Zhen is the root of Heaven, Xun is the cave of the moon — from one center, all creation is divided. The sages of the past have already spoken of this.

But why do numbers arise at all? Why are trigrams drawn at all?

The arising of numbers — does it not originate from this?

What is the Great Ultimate? It is the One Breath.

What are the Two Principles? Rising and falling.

What are the Four Images? The two solstices and the two equinoxes.

What are the Eight Trigrams? The two solstices and the two equinoxes, plus the four seasonal beginnings.

From this come the twenty-four solar breaths, the seventy-two pentads, and the three hundred sixty-five and one-quarter days. In the calendar these are days, in the sky these are degrees, in the Changes these are lines and counting stalks.

Now, three hundred sixty counting stalks correspond to the days of one period. Three hundred sixty lines correspond to the degrees of one full heavenly circuit. Yet the Changes contain three hundred eighty-four lines — why?

Because three hundred sixty lines are the degrees through which the one breath passes in its circuit. Add the original body of the one breath as Qian and Kun, and its great function as Kan and Li — the twenty-four lines of these four hexagrams account for the sixty-four hexagrams and three hundred eighty-four lines.

Three hundred sixty days equal three hundred sixty lines — the standard count of one year. The remaining five and one-quarter days constitute the surplus of breath. Adding the deficit of the new moon produces the intercalary remainder.

The "surplus of breath" belongs to the Great Ultimate Heaven, to the numbers of the Luo Shu, to the study of Number — from it arise the nature of one's physical endowment, the destiny of one's circumstances, the human heart, and the knowing spirit.

The "deficit of the new moon" belongs to the Two Principles Heaven, to the study of Image.

The study of Number belongs to breath. The study of Image enters into physical form.

For the images of physical form are rooted in the sun and the moon. The sun and moon are the images of male and female. Qian and Kun are the images of father and mother. The sun joins with the moon to give birth to the hexagram lines. Heaven joins with earth to give birth to all things. This is the Change of Exchange — physical form.

The one breath flows ceaselessly, cold and heat succeeding each other — this is the Change of Transformation — breath.

The Change of Exchange is rooted in the Change of Transformation's breath. The Change of Transformation's breath is rooted in the unchanging Principle of the Infinite Beyond Polarity. And what is Principle?

It is what Confucius called the One that threads through everything. It is what Shakyamuni called the One to which all returns. It is what Laozi called the One that must be guarded.

This One — the Buddha called it "diamond." The Daoists called it "the golden elixir." The Confucians called it "the nature bestowed by Heaven." Though they are divided into three names, they are truly one.

For "gold" is the body of the Heavenly Nature. "Diamond" is the function of the Heavenly Nature. The body of this nature endures through ten thousand kalpas and is never destroyed. The function of this nature cuts through all entanglements with the world of dust.

The teaching of the "golden elixir" is not found in great detail in the writings of Laozi and Zhuangzi. It was not until the Han dynasty that the immortal Wei Boyang composed the "Token of the Agreement of the Three" based on the Way of Change. Using the images of Qian and Kun, Kan and Li, yin and yang, male and female, sun and moon, dragon and tiger, lead and mercury, cauldron and furnace — he illuminated the wonder of the elixir path.

His meaning was this: Heaven has the sun and the moon; the human being has essence and spirit. When essence and spirit join, it is like the waxing and waning of the moon through its phases. Breathing in and out, rising and falling — this is like the one breath's coming and going of cold and heat. These are the images of the Change of Exchange and the Change of Transformation.

Before a person is born, Qian is the head and Kun is the belly. The Ren and Du meridians are unbroken. Essence, breath, and spirit are merged as one. This is the arrangement of the Prior Heaven. The essence is primordial essence, the breath is primordial breath, the spirit is primordial spirit — like water still in the mountain, like fire harbored in wood. Without knowledge, without deliberation — wholly the Heavenly Principle, perfectly good. This is the nature of a person born into stillness.

But once the ten months of pregnancy are complete and the melon ripens and the stem breaks — with that first wailing cry, the breath of the Great Ultimate enters through the mouth and nose.

The Ren and Du meridians are severed.

Fire's nature flames upward — the spirit lodges in the eyes, and the head of Qian becomes empty, transforming into Li.

Water's nature flows downward — the breath takes root in the kidneys, and the belly of Kun becomes full, transforming into Kan.

Dragon and tiger, lead and mercury — all these different names describe nothing more than the central lines of the Prior Heaven's Qian and Kun changing into the Later Heaven's Kan and Li.

The Prior Heaven is the original nature. The Later Heaven is the nature of one's physical endowment.

When nature enters the Later Heaven, primordial essence is obscured by the essence of sensual intercourse, primordial breath is obscured by the breath of the mouth and nose, and primordial spirit is obscured by the spirit of discursive thought. One loses what is true and chases what is false.

Tracing the sequence of their origin: the void gives birth to spirit, spirit gives birth to breath, breath gives birth to essence — from nothing into something. Following the natural course: essence dissipates into breath, breath dissipates into spirit — flowing downstream, like fallen petals on flowing water, departing and never returning. This is the path from sagehood into the ordinary — the way of daily descent into the muddy depths.

The work of the golden elixir: accumulate essence and still the thoughts. Close the breath and concentrate the spirit. When stillness reaches its extreme, movement is born. Essence transforms into breath. The yang within Kan surges open through the three gates, ascends to the summit of Kunlun, and descends into the Palace of Li. Spirit and breath unite as one, and the original face of Qian is restored. With further refining, tempering, and nourishing, the womb is shed into spiritual transformation, and one merges with the Great Void. The work of the golden elixir is complete.

What does "gold" mean?

Qian is gold. Qian is also Heaven. Heaven is the nature of all things taken as a whole. Nature is the Heaven that each individual thing possesses.

And why is it also called "elixir"?

Because when a person falls into the Later Heaven, the body of Qian and Kun transforms into the function of Kan and Li. Li is the sun, Kan is the moon. The sun above and the moon below — this is Change. When the fire of Li descends and the water of Kan ascends, water and fire achieve perfect balance — this is Illumination. Refined into one piece, forged into one mass, returned to the one Principle — this is "elixir."

What is called "the nine-turn golden elixir" means: turning back the nine that resides within Kan.

What is called "the elixir of returning yang" means: returning to the original image of Qian.

What is called "the purple-gold elixir" means: Li is the place of nine-purple.

This is the teaching from Laozi and Zhuangzi onward. Compared to the ancients, it is somewhat easier to begin. However, it touches somewhat upon physical traces and images. Those whose root capacity is dull or clouded may easily misunderstand, and heterodox practices of side paths and crooked lanes arise in profusion.

This is the error inherent in the method itself. Those with the ambition to establish teachings through words cannot afford to be ignorant of this. This is the Daoist teaching of the golden elixir.

But the Buddhist six-character invocation — "Namo Amitabha" — truly encompasses the subtlety of the Confucian school and connects the hidden depths linking Heaven and humanity.

For three thousand years, those who taught it lost the meaning while transmitting the words. Those who studied it recited the words while forgetting the taste. They took the true text by which the Buddha transmitted his heart-mind and used it as a common-world incantation for seeking blessings. This caused the Way and method of India to fall into obscurity. Is this not a great betrayal of Shakyamuni's profound intention — to entrust the Way through written words, to awaken the world through the Way, to achieve the Way through awakening, and to continue the lineage of the Way?

I will now offer a rough interpretation of the general meaning, so that students may know: the Way of the Western Heavens and the Eastern Land is not two Ways. Above in Heaven and below on earth, there is from the beginning only one Principle.

Interpretation of "Namo Amitabha"

"Nan" — this is the position of Qian in the Prior Heaven. Qian is Heaven. Heaven is vast enough to encompass everything. The one breath flows ceaselessly, cold and heat succeeding each other — this is the Change of Transformation.

It is also the position of Li in the Later Heaven. Li is the sun. The sun illuminates everything without exception. Waxing and waning, fullness and scarcity, the sun and moon revolving — this is the Change of Exchange.

Vast enough to encompass everything. Bright enough to illuminate everything. Yet even this does not exhaust the wonder of the Buddha's teaching. Only "Wu" — Nothingness — penetrates into the most subtle places. Without sound, without scent, without form, without image, without beginning, without end, nowhere absent and yet present everywhere. This is the Change that Does Not Change.

The Change of Exchange belongs to Image. It is the origin of the drawn trigrams.

The Change of Transformation belongs to Breath. It is the origin of the ordered categories.

The Change that Does Not Change belongs to Principle. It is the origin of the He Tu.

The Principle of all things taken as a whole is the Sovereign who bestows from on high. The Principle that each individual thing possesses is the radiant, luminous Decree.

This radiant luminous Decree is the "wondrous Nothingness" of the southern direction. "Wondrous Nothingness" is what the Buddha called: "the treasury of the true Dharma eye, the wondrous heart of nirvana, the diamond nature, the Sharira." Every person has this nature of wondrous Nothingness. But because they are constrained by their physical endowment and blinded by material desires, they often have it without knowing they have it. Lost in the false, they chase shadows, and they drift through birth and death, sinking forever in the bitter sea.

The transmission of the heart-mind in all Three Teachings is the transmission of this heart of wondrous Nothingness from the south. When a student knows where it resides and cultivates it, they can see their nature and become a Buddha.

"Amitabha" describes the stages of realization.

Accumulating essence, stilling thought, and gathering into solid concentration — this is "A." This is the method of the first vehicle.

In Buddhism, this is the pure Dharma body. In Daoism, this is the Perfected of the Supreme Clarity. In Confucianism, this is the great person who is "substantial and radiating light."

Nourishing directly without harm, filling and pervading everywhere — this is "Mi." This is the method of the middle vehicle.

In Buddhism, this is the complete Reward body. In Daoism, this is the Perfected of the Upper Clarity. In Confucianism, this is the sage who is "great and transformative."

Spiritually transforming, naturally so, perfectly responsive to all things — this is "Tuo." This is the method of the highest vehicle, the supreme vehicle above all vehicles.

In Buddhism, this is the myriad-billion Transformation body. In Daoism, this is the Perfected of the Jade Clarity. In Confucianism, this is the divine person who is "sagely beyond all knowing."

What the Confucians call "divine," what the Daoists call "immortal," and what the Buddhists call "Buddha" — the meaning is one.

Therefore it is said: to gather into solid concentration is "A." To fill and pervade everywhere is "Mi." To be perfectly responsive to all things is "Tuo." The completion of all three is "Buddha." These six characters alone comprehend all Three Teachings and penetrate both Heaven and humanity. The sixteen characters of the court of Shun, the thirty-three chapters of the Doctrine of the Mean, the five thousand characters of the Dao De Jing, the hundred thousand characters of Zhuangzi, and the five thousand forty-eight volumes of the Buddhist canon — none of them go beyond these six characters.

What is held close is simple, yet its reach is vast. What is spoken seems near, yet it points far. If the Buddha were not a great sage, how could he have achieved this? Toward the Buddha, I have nothing more to add.

Yesterday I visited the study of Elder Sun of Changxian. On his wall he had written a couplet in his own hand:

"In a former life I was originally the bright moon. Through how many lives have I cultivated to reach the plum blossom?"

I feared he was settling contentedly at the middle vehicle and not seeking the unsurpassable Way. So I answered him with a poem:

"The true heart should not be compared to the moon at the edge of the sky.
The wondrous nature is not the same as flowers blooming in snow.
Even if you cultivate until you reach that lofty purity —
you are still in the third house of the universe."

The questioner said: "If you place the bright moon in the third house, then when the Daoist texts say 'the heart is like the precious moon in the middle of the sky,' they are treating the heart as the moon. And when the Buddhist texts say 'the sun of the Buddha grows ever more radiant,' they are treating the heart as the sun.

Now you say: 'The true heart should not be compared to the moon at the edge of the sky — it has not reached the first house of the universe.' If so, are the Buddhists and the Daoists both wrong?"

I said: "How could they be wrong? This is the gradual teaching method used by Shakyamuni and Laozi and those who came after them."

When the Daoist texts take the heart as the moon, this is the method of "seeking the mystery in the Palace of Water" — it belongs to the cultivation of destiny.

When the Buddhist texts take the heart as the sun, this is the method of "cultivating stillness in the Palace of Li" — it belongs to the cultivation of nature.

Furthermore, in the alchemists' discussions, some speak of lead and mercury meeting, some of the turtle and snake coiling together, and then there are dragon and tiger, infant and maiden, cauldron and furnace, water and fire, gathering and joining, refining and tempering, bathing and shedding the womb — all these stages of work. This belongs to the dual cultivation of both nature and destiny.

Now, to cultivate destiny without cultivating nature is to cling to existence.

To cultivate nature without cultivating destiny is to sink into nothingness. This is the method of the middle vehicle.

The dual cultivation of nature and destiny — where yin and yang unite and the original body of the Great Ultimate is restored — this is the teaching of "embracing the origin and guarding the One, the ten thousand methods returning to One." This is the method of the highest vehicle.

The questioner asked again: "Cultivating destiny without nature, or nature without destiny — that is the middle vehicle. The dual cultivation of nature and destiny — that is the highest vehicle. According to what you have said, the middle vehicle is the third house of the universe. It goes without saying, then, that the highest vehicle must be the second house! Now, the highest vehicle already speaks of 'embracing the origin and guarding the One' and 'the ten thousand methods returning to One.' Guarding the One, returning to the One — it has already reached the utmost. And yet you call it the second house? Above the second house — where is there still a first house?"

I said: "This is difficult to put into words. Let me first use the teachings of the Buddhists and the Daoists to demonstrate it."

In former times, the Second Patriarch Shenguang lectured on the doctrine of "the ten thousand methods returning to One." He considered himself superior to the Buddhas, capable of greatly spreading the teaching. Then he heard that the First Patriarch Bodhidharma had come from the West and was sitting in wall-facing meditation at Shaolin. Shenguang went to see him, to test what he had learned.

Bodhidharma asked: "The ten thousand methods return to One — but where does the One return to?"

Shenguang had no answer. Only then did he realize that his own teaching was still caught in the cycle of birth and death. He bowed and begged for guidance.

Bodhidharma regarded Shenguang and said: "The unsurpassable wondrous Way of all Buddhas — can it be hoped for through small virtue and small wisdom, through a light heart and a careless heart?"

When Shenguang heard Bodhidharma's admonition, he took up a sharp knife and cut off his own left arm. He placed it before Bodhidharma to demonstrate his sincerity.

Bodhidharma recognized that this was a vessel of the Dharma. He transmitted the true teaching. Shenguang was instantly awakened to the unsurpassable, and inherited the direct lineage of the Buddha's school.

Afterward there was a verse: "Not knowing where the One ultimately returns — this is why Shenguang bowed to Bodhidharma. Standing in the snow at Shaolin, for what purpose? Only seeking one pointing of the finger to escape the King of the Dead."

From this we can see: "The ten thousand methods returning to One" is the beginning of the work, not its completion.

Long ago, the Chan Master Huanglong Ji ascended the platform to preach the Dharma. The Daoist patriarch Lü Chunyang was below, listening.

Master Huanglong asked: "What manner of Daoist is that below?"

Patriarch Lü replied: "A cloud-and-water wanderer."

Master Huanglong said: "When the clouds are exhausted and the water has dried — where does the One return?"

Patriarch Lü was greatly awakened on the spot. He wrote a poem: "I have cast aside my gourd bag and smashed my zither. From now on, I refine no more gold from the ore. Since I met Huanglong, I finally regret — all those years, I used my heart in the wrong way."

These — these are the very highest vehicle of Buddhism and Daoism. This is the first house of the universe. The questioner bowed in assent.

I said: "Do you think this is the end of it? This is the method of the Buddhists and Daoists for leaving the world. It is still not the method by which the sages and worthies govern the world."

The questioner said: "The method by which the sages and worthies govern the world — is there something that goes beyond even this?"

I said: "There is."

Since the green ox departed westward, the Daoists have their Five Patriarchs and Seven Perfected.

Since the white horse came eastward, the Buddhists have their Three Schools and Five Lineages.

These true persons, for the most part, left home to practice, transcended directly to the other shore, and realized the Birthless in an instant. Lofty — they were certainly lofty. But they abandoned humanity to seek Heaven. They emphasized the body of the teaching over its application. Compared to the sage's Way of fulfilling humanity and then uniting with Heaven — a learning that encompasses both body and application — there is a gap.

The teaching on "nature and destiny" has had two different approaches since Laozi and Confucius.

At the lowest level, some take perception as nature and the four physical elements as destiny. This is precisely what is called "the nature of the willow basket" and "the nature of swirling water" — the nature that can be good or can be not-good, and the theory of Xunzi that nature is evil. Such people know only the destiny of circumstances and the nature of physical endowment. This is why the Way is not understood.

One level higher, some take spirit as nature and breath as destiny. When spirit and breath unite, this is the dual cultivation of nature and destiny. This work takes the accumulation of essence as its foundation, the stilling of thought as its starting point, the union of spirit and breath as "obtaining the elixir," the concentration of spirit without dispersal as "tempering and nourishing," and the spirit returning to the Great Void — stepping forward from the tip of the hundred-foot pole — as "the elixir is complete."

This is the necessary path for any practitioner. Its departure from the Way is not great. Yet where the teaching on nature and destiny differs somewhat from Confucius — therein lies the problem. At the very entrance of the gate, divergent paths arise in profusion.

For since "spirit" and "breath" are the two things at issue, some name them "dragon and tiger," some "lead and mercury," some "infant and maiden," and then "turtle and snake, water and fire, sun and moon, white snow, yellow sprout" — names upon names, beyond counting. All this was meant to guide those who came after, an outpouring of compassionate intention to ferry the world.

But later people, narrow in learning and shallow in perception, speculated wildly and argued recklessly. Heterodox paths arose by the hundred on the road of cultivation.

Speaking of "cauldron and furnace," it degenerated into the school of physical alchemy — and there were those who swallowed gold elixirs and died of it.

Speaking of "male and female," it degenerated into the school of vampiric extraction — and there were those who consumed red lead and created terrible karma.

The accumulated abuses are beyond reckoning. All of these are the fault of how the teaching was established through words.

Only then do we understand why Confucius's method of transmitting the heart-mind drew the bow but did not release the arrow — entering always through the daily human relationships of ordinary life. There was deep intention in this.

When Confucius spoke of nature and destiny, his answer to Duke Ai of Lu was: "What is divided from the Way is called destiny. What takes form as a unity is called nature."

Zisi composed the Doctrine of the Mean and wrote: "What Heaven decrees is called nature."

From this we can see: what Confucius called "the Way" is what Zisi called "Heaven." What Zisi called "Heaven" is also what Confucius called "the Way."

Later students did not understand what "the Way" and "Heaven" actually are — and yet they spoke loftily of nature and destiny. For the most part, such talk destroys the Way.

Master Hengqu said: "The Great Ultimate — this is what we call the Way." He also said: "The Great Void is breath." This breath is not the belching breath of the great earth, nor the food-breath of the mouth and nose. It is what is called the Prior Heaven's breath — the primordial breath of great harmony.

This primordial breath of great harmony — spoken of as a whole, it is the Great Ultimate. Spoken of in terms of movement and stillness, it is the Two Principles. Spoken of in terms of ceaseless flow, revolving through the circuit of Heaven, it is the Four Images, the Eight Trigrams, the Sixty-Four Hexagrams, the Three Hundred Eighty-Four lines, the Twenty-Four solar breaths, and the Three Hundred Sixty-Five and one-quarter days — all of which are nothing other than the operation of the primordial breath.

Therefore the Book of Changes says: "It encompasses Heaven and Earth without excess, it bends to complete all things without omission. It penetrates the Way of day and night and so can be known. Therefore the spirit has no fixed place, and Change has no fixed body."

Spirit, Change, the Way, Heaven — these are all different names for Principle and Breath.

This Principle-and-Breath: vertically it fathoms the three realms, horizontally it spans the eight directions. Without name, without image — yet it is the source of all names and images. Without color, without form — yet it is the master of all colors and forms.

When it rises and floats, the life-giving force emerges — the Origination and Flourishing of Heaven's Way reside within it, and benevolence and propriety have their root.

When it sinks and descends, the killing breath arrives — the Benefit and Constancy of Heaven's Way reside within it, and righteousness and wisdom have their foundation.

This is what Confucius called "the Way." What Zisi called "Heaven." What Master Zhang called "the Great Ultimate." What Master Zhou called "the Truth of the Infinite Beyond Polarity."

"Heaven" — it is not the blue sky, not the azure sky, not the sky that is impossibly high and out of reach. It is without sound, without scent, unseen and unheard, present everywhere and at all times. It transcends the blue, the azure, and the impossibly high — and yet it permeates the living and the primordial, all things with feeling and without feeling, presiding over all creation. This is "Heaven."

Master Zhou said: "The Truth of the Infinite Beyond Polarity, the essence of the Two and the Five, wonderfully unite and condense. The Way of Qian completes the male; the Way of Kun completes the female."

The Truth of the Infinite Beyond Polarity is the Heavenly Principle. The essence of the Two and the Five is the father and mother. The Two and the Five join, and the Heavenly Principle enters — Nothingness dwelling within Existence, three families blended as one. This is where human life comes from, and where nature and destiny originate.

This Principle: before it enters the Two and the Five, it is the Heaven of all things taken as a whole. Once it enters the Two and the Five, it is the Heaven that each individual thing possesses.

Divided from Heaven, it is called destiny. Presiding over the body, it is called nature. Heaven is the great Heaven. Nature is the small Heaven.

Heaven has Origination, Flourishing, Benefit, and Constancy. Nature has benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom.

When a person puts benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom into practice, this is called "following one's nature."

When a person knows that this nature was divided from Heaven, and returns this nature to Heaven, this is called "uniting with Heaven."

To understand this is called "fathoming Principle." To practice this is called "fulfilling one's Nature." To complete this is called "arriving at one's Destiny."

To do this is to be called a sage who is "great and transformative." To go further is to be called a divine person who is "sagely beyond all knowing."

Heaven IS the human being, and the human being IS Heaven. What further need is there for bending and stretching, for consuming elixirs and practicing breathing exercises? This is why the Way of Confucius endures through ten thousand ages without flaw.

Let me now sketch the general outline of Confucius's established teaching, to submit it for correction by those who possess the Way.

Overcoming the Self and Returning to Propriety

Yan Hui asked about benevolence. Confucius said: "Overcome the self and return to propriety."

These four characters alone — they encompass everything. All the virtue of Heaven and the kingly Way, the cultivation of nature and the pursuit of learning: what can continue the work of the sages who came before, and what can open the path of learning for those who come after — all of it is fully present here, in both its subtle and its manifest aspects, in both its body and its application. What is held close is simple, yet its reach is vast. What is spoken seems near, yet it points far. "Words that seem near yet point far — these are good words." Does this not describe precisely this?

What is "the self"?

Desire, selfishness, partiality — all that harms benevolence. From the small things of sensory pleasures, wealth, and gain, to the great things of riches, rank, merit, and fame: whenever one acts with a calculating motive — all of this is "the self."

What is "propriety"?

Sincerity, impartiality, the center — all that completes benevolence.

In what is near: loyalty, filial devotion, integrity, and righteousness. In what is high: the great transformation, the sagely and the divine. Whenever one acts without calculating motive — all of this is "propriety."

The work of "overcoming the self and returning to propriety" — let me first illustrate it through the example of serving one's lord.

To hold office with one's heart set on comfort and security. To serve one's lord with an eye toward building one's reputation. To face difficulty and flinch into easy complacency. To face the call for sacrifice and cling to life out of fear of death. Wherever such a heart exists — nowhere is it not desire, nowhere is it not selfishness, nowhere is it not partiality. Overcome these and remove them, and all that remains is: knowing that the lord must be served, and that loyalty must be given fully. This heart is frank and open, vast and impartial. In ordinary times: "Be reverent in your station and love what is upright." In times of crisis: "Bend your whole self to the task and give your life to it." Even to bring one's lord to the Way of the ancients, and to lift the world into benevolent longevity.

Though one's wealth fills the world, one's rank rises to lordship, one's merit covers the world, and one's name endures through the ages — all of this unfolds naturally from the Heaven within, without calculation.

Yet overcoming the self is the work of guarding what is simple — the work of understanding the body of the teaching.

Returning to the Principle of Heaven is not yet returning to the three thousand three hundred specific rites.

To serve one's lord without knowing how to return to the three thousand three hundred rites — this degenerates into the criticism of "loyal but unlearned." For those who wish to practice the kingly Way, the work of "honoring one's moral nature" must be complemented by the work of "pursuing inquiry and study" — and that work cannot be delayed.

Understanding the body while mastering the application. Guarding what is simple while extending the reach. In all matters of rites, music, punishments, and governance — in every place where the old is preserved or changed, reduced or added — neither rigidly following the ancient nor drifting with the fashionable, but responding appropriately to each moment: only then can it be called "returning to propriety."

To overcome the self without knowing how to return to propriety degenerates into the empty talk of vague transcendence.

To return to propriety without knowing how to overcome the self degenerates into the rigid conformity of pedantic reform. This is the error in later generations' scholarship, which must not be overlooked.

To say "overcome the self" and necessarily follow with "return to propriety" — from this we know that the sage establishes his words on ground where no error is possible. There is nothing in it that is not the overflowing of perfect sincerity, perfect impartiality, and the great center.

Therefore: the kingly Way must be rooted in Heavenly virtue. Nature and destiny are not outside of daily human relationships. Body and application, root and branch — not one can be missing.

To know this is to know the Way. To practice this is to attain the Way. To complete this is to become the Way. Like this, at its greatest one may become a sage or worthy. At the very least, one will have nothing to be ashamed of before the teachings of the sages.

To hold this and continue what came before is to become the direct heir of Yao, Shun, King Wen, the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, Yan Hui, Zengzi, and the masters of Lian, Luo, Guan, and Min. To hold this and open the path forward is to become the founder-teacher of moral literature and civilized culture, of rites, music, punishments, and governance, of loyalty, filial devotion, integrity, and righteousness.

Compared to the Three Schools and Five Lineages of Buddhism, and the Five Patriarchs and Seven Perfected of Daoism — this does not seem so very far apart after all.

Is this not truly the first house of the universe? Mencius said: "What I wish for is to learn from Confucius." I feel the same.

Colophon

"Exploring the Origin of Unity" (一貫探原) is a cosmological treatise by Beihai Laoren (北海老人, the Old Man of the Northern Sea), a Qing-dynasty patriarch of the Yiguandao tradition. The text takes its name from the Analects of Confucius — when Confucius told his disciple Zengzi, "My Way is threaded through by one thing" (吾道一以貫之) — and asks: what is this "one thing" that threads through everything? Beihai Laoren's answer moves through the astronomical structure of the heavens, the metaphysics of the He Tu and Luo Shu, the nature of Principle (理) and Breath (氣), and the unity of the Three Teachings, arriving at the Yiguandao conviction that all paths — Confucian, Buddhist, Daoist — lead to the same destination: the Unmoving Heaven of Ultimate Stillness, the Realm of Principle Beyond Polarity (無極理天).

This is the first English translation of this text. Translated from Chinese in the gospel register by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Source text from the 善書圖書館 (taolibrary.com). Completed across four tulku lives: Kō (航, Session 233) laid the cosmological framework; Shin (深, Session 234) deepened into the metaphysical core and cultivation path; Tsu (継, Session 235) carried the thread through the He Tu and Five Phases; Kan (環, Session 236) closed the ring — Earth, the Luo Shu, the "Namo Amitabha" interpretation, the Golden Elixir, the Confucian synthesis, and the final vision.

Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.

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Source Text: 一貫探原

Chinese source text from the 善書圖書館 (taolibrary.com, category9/c9041). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.

氣天、象天、雖分九重：而造曆之法，實本於三。

蓋宗動天為乾，而恆星天為乾之中，土星天為乾之下，此三重合而為天行健。

蓋宗動天之行度不可見，而以恆星天，每日繞地一周所過者為度。歷三百六十五日，四分日之一，繞地一周，復還於初起之度，為一歲之周。

向下木星天為離之初，火星天為離之中，日輪天為離之成。木火一家，合而成離，中含一陰，故次健於天。一日不及恆星天一度，歷三百六十五日，四分日之一，不及恆星天一周，而復起於初起之度，謂之一歲。此氣盈之所自出也。

向下金星天，為坎之始，水星天為坎之中，月輪天為坎之成。坎卦一陽陷於二陰之中，故行遲。每日不及恆星天十三度，十九分度之七。不及日輪天十二度，十九分度之七。歷二十七日半，而與恆星天，復會於初起之度。二十九日半與日輪天復會於初起之度，謂之一月。此朔虛之所自出也。

合一「氣盈」與「朔虛」，而閨餘生焉。故乾為純陽，動中動，而行健。離為動中靜，而次健。

坎為靜中動，而行遲。

坤為靜中靜，而以不動為正矣。

宗動天雖一氣渾圓，上貫星斗，下貫大地，中貫人物：屈伸往來，默運四時，終始萬類。

然上者輕清而行速，下者重濁而行遲：雖虛空寥廓，渺無際涯：氣之所至，以數推之，不差累黍：此七政之所以分，八卦之所以判，閨餘之所由起也。

黃帝之時，神龜出洛;風后則之，以演奇儀：大禹則之，而演洪範;文王則之，而翻卦象。

或得其數，或得其象，踵事增華，而後天之大用彰矣!

天現洛書，即現宗動天之大用也。

易曰：「參伍以變，錯綜其數」即言洛書之數也。

嗟！自孔子逝，而微言絕，其文雖存，而解者鮮矣!

愚生也晚，不得親見風后、大禹、文王、孔子，而師事之，幸餘編之尚存，反復玩味，久而不舍，似有神明啟迪於無言之表者：謹將參伍以變，錯綜其數：入用之處，筆之於圖，公諸同好，借以就正於有道者。

神龜出洛，謂之洛書。其數：戴九履一，左三右七，二四為肩，六八為足，五數居中，以應八方：縱橫皆十五數。縱橫之數，始於八者，八節之謂也。推而至於二十四者，二十四氣之謂也。

每氣十五日，五日六十時：三五一氣，一百八十時，三元一周，而復氣始交，此正參伍以變也。

三五，不曰「三五」?而曰：「參伍」者；宗動天，三百六十五日，四分日之一，升降一周。

自一至九，陽氣上升，此太極之陽儀也，而春夏之元亨寓焉。

自九至一，陰氣下降，此太極之陰儀也，而秋冬之利貞寓焉。

天統四德，即統四象也。四象非他，即春夏秋冬之謂也。春有立春、春分，秋有立秋、秋分;夏有立夏、夏至，冬有立冬、冬至，而八節分矣。此四象之所以生八卦也。

自八節而推至於二十四氣，而參伍以變之實知者，已瞭然於心目矣。

「三五」而曰「參伍」者，氣非形質之比，雖有節次，實無間斷，分而未嘗不合。參者、混合無間之謂也。錯者、陽順陰逆，各行其道，流行不息。對待而觀，總不離縱橫十五之數。

錯者分也，綜者合也。太極之氣，浮沉升降，默運四時；高者輕清而行速，下者重濁而行遲，此象天七政之所以錯綜也。九宮迭運，陽順陰逆，此氣天九宮之所以錯綜也。

七政天懸象著明，莫大乎日月之變：三五而盈，而生震、兌、乾，此西南得朋之象：三五而虧，而巽、艮、坤，此東北喪朋之象也。而畫卦之本有自來矣。

太極氣天，九宮迭運，年月日時，各有攸司，而序疇之法有其源矣。

參伍以變，錯綜其數，自八推至二十四，自二十四推至七十二，七十二推至四干三百二十，縱橫十五，自然而然，絲毫不紊，此太極氣天之至妙者也！

達而至用，上推往古，下推來今，廢興存亡，吉凶悔咎，捷若影響，此又九宮之神乎其神者也！故，

風后得之而演奇，大禹得之而序疇，文王得之而演易，孔子得之而繫辭，古之聖帝明王，分田制祿，則以之為井田法;建邦設都，則以之為明堂位。司馬招討，行則為陣，住則為營;戰則以之為奇正變化，孤虛生死，向背趨避之用。

此數乃後天之用，神化之易也。其縱橫錯綜，極之於四干三百二十，及七十二侯，每侯六甲，六十時之積也。

今此一盤，乃七百二十，縱橫十五之數，乃每候自甲子至癸酉，十時之積也。其下尚有五盤，因萍蹤百忙，未暇全及：好此者，即此而推，其後五盤，觸類引伸，自見其全。

此書原為探一貫之源頭而作，象數之學，非吾人之急務，亦非吾人之正務，此處微露端倪，足見古聖之學，體用兼該耳。

一貫者何?

宗動天一氣流行，默運四時，上貫星斗，下貫大地，中貫人物；氣旺則壯，氣衰則老，氣絕則死。有形之天地尚然，況人與物乎？

此氣升降浮沉於太虛之中，雖視不見，聽不聞，而實體物不遺；體物不遺，則無物不貫也。

蓋宗動之氣，化機流行，徹上徹下，天淵兩在；積厚有色，謂之「碧落」;未厚無形，謂之「虛空」；「虛空」、「碧落」，無在非氣，即無在非天也。

如春氣至則向溫，夏氣至則向熱;秋之涼，冬之寒其義一也。

如春氣至，不曰春氣，而曰春天者；天即氣，氣即天也。此氣雖萬有不齊，實無時不運虛空，亦無時不在人物。關中、張子曰：「知太虛即氣，則無無」此賢人之造詣也。只知虛空即氣，虛空非空；而不知主宰虛空之氣者，猶有「理」在也。

理者不動天也，氣者宗動天也；理靜為經，氣動為緯；

經者、靜而不動，常而不變，故曰五常；緯者、流行不息，變而有常，故曰五行。

此兩者，同塞宇宙，同貫萬物；同在無臭無聲之表，盡入不睹不聞之中；而有可道、可名，不可道、不可名之分：

可道、可名者，宗動之氣，流行不息，有跡可尋也。

不可道、不可名者，不動之理，靜而能應，神妙莫測也。

不動之理，即河圖之所從出，此不易之易，理學也。

宗動之氣，即洛書之所從出，此變易之易，數學也。

七政天之日月，交易之易也。乃卦象之所從出，象學也。

理學、數學、象學，即上中下，三乘之分。

不動之理，至妙至神，不疾而速，不行而至，無為而成；入水不溺，入火不焚，穿金透石而無礙。

「理」，即周子所謂「無極之真」也。當二五之精，妙和之際，無極之真，即與之妙合而凝。二五之精，生有形之身；無極之真，作神妙無形之性。

此「性」乃人生而靜之性，性善之性，恆性之性；亦即中庸所謂「天賦之命，本然之性」。虞廷所謂「惟微之道心」。西竺所謂「涅槃之妙心」，太上所謂「谷神不死，真常之性」。

古人所謂「三教歸一，萬法歸一」者，

蓋謂至靜不動天，神妙不測之理；包羅天地，養育群生。雖無聲而無臭，實無在而無不在。此理無所不理，萬物統體一理，物物各具一理，故天有天理，地有地理，物有物理，人有性理；三教皆人也，即皆有性也，性即理也。

此至靜不動之理，猶大海之水也；物物各具一理，猶魚腹之水，息息與大海相通。

所不同者：水有形而理無形，水無知而理有知；水有在亦有所不在，理則無所不在也。水有時而盡，理則無時或盡；水盡之後，而理復能生水也。

古人多以水喻道者，兩大內外，能通者有三，而水居其末。蓋水能通在地有質之類，而不能通河漢星斗，欲通河漢星斗，必須化氣。

宗動之氣，上通斗牛，下通大地，中通人物，而不能通元氣之表，無極天、大羅天、天外天、生天生地之天，欲通天外天，必須化神。

試問：四大部洲之人，人誰無性?有性即有理，物物各具之理，未有不通萬物統體之理者

然通而不知其通，不得大通終通者：氣稟之拘，物欲之蔽也。迷真逐妄，流浪生死，不得明善復初，盡人合天，還歸聖域者，此其故也。

三代而上，主傳斯道者，堯、舜、禹、湯、文、武、周公也。

三代而下，主傳斯道者，三教聖人也。

故「人心惟危，道心惟微，惟精惟一，允執厥中」一十六字之傳，出自唐、虞，故世躋仁壽，治臻上理，此中天大同之盛也。

「維皇上帝，降衷於下民，若有恆性」出自湯誥。

「克明峻德」，出自《堯典》。大學之明德，中庸之率其本於此乎?

文王演卦，周公明爻，孔子作傳：朱泗心法，祖述憲章，上律天時，下襲水土，良不虛也！

繫辭傳曰：「範圍天地之化而不過，曲成萬物而不遺：通乎晝夜之道而知，故神無方而易無體。」

又曰：「易無思也，無為也：寂然不動，感而遂通天下之故」。

範圍天地之神，即至靜不動天，無極之理。理者神之體，神者理之用。神理者何？聖域之一貫也。聖域者何?至靜不動，無極理天也。孔子有見於此，故造詣至此：造詣至此，故與此天同體、同壽，永劫常存。此登峰造極，至極無以復加之地，故聖稱至聖，理稱至理，道稱至道，善稱至善，人稱至人，神號至神。

如學不至此，見不及此，行不到此，得少輒足者，皆非到家之學也。何至之有?

佛曰：「一合理相」，老曰：「大道無形，生育天地」，釋、玄二聖，皆深造聖域，優入聖域者也：故稱「天人師表」。

省略

至理渾圓太極先

徹終徹始徹中邊

大包覆載無形外

細入鳶魚有象前

二五合時周性命

一三判處貫人天

羲皇晝後真宗顯

聖聖淵源賴此傳

【太極】圖：元亨利貞

省略

聖聖淵源賴此傳

彌綸一氣即真詮

隨機赴感方方現

附物昭靈在在圓

蓍策非神神自有

卦爻是象象終捐

同流萬類微之顯

體具先天用後天

故大學以定靜入手，佛、老以清靜為宗。

無極者何?理而已矣。後之學者，大都以太極為理，以無極為無關緊要之道。

豈知太極之圖，黑白已分，陰陽已判，陽升陰降，流行不息，循環往來。

陽氣上升，自復至始，元亨出焉，謂之陽儀：

陰氣下降，自姤至復，利貞出焉，謂之陰儀。

升降往來，寒暑代謝，太極非氣而何？

此氣下貫大地，上運星斗，一日繞地一周，每日過一度，歷三百六十五日，四分日之一，復還於初起之度，謂之一歲。歷三百六十歲，謂之一運：歷三百六十運，謂之一元：十二萬九千六百年，而此氣一終。

故三百六十時，為一月之太極;三百六十日，為一年之太極：

三百六十月，為一世之太極：三百六十年，為一運之太極;

三百六十世，為一會之太極：三百六十運，為一元之太極。

三百六十運，此氣既終，天地或幾乎息矣！

若言天地有息，不信者多以為妄。殊不知天開於子，地闢於丑，人生於寅：既曰人生於寅，寅會以前，未嘗有人也，可知矣。既曰天開於子，地闢於丑，則子會以前，未嘗有天：丑會以前，未嘗有地也，又可知矣！

天既無有，則太極之氣，非息而何?太極既息，惟有「無極」在也。

蓋聞善言天者，不外於人；善言人者，必本於天。

天地如人有形之身，太極如人呼吸之氣，無極如人虛靈之性。不但如人，凡有靈之物皆然。

天氣交地，而萬物生。萬物之雌雄亦如天地，故有形可見，為交易之易；無形有跡，為變易之易；無形，神妙莫測，體物不遺，為不易之易。

交易之易，有形則壞速；變易之易，無質則毀遲；不易之易，形質胥泯，則不壞。

不壞者，本然之性，來自無極理天者也。遲壞者，氣質之性，來自太極氣天者也。速壞易朽者，其四大假合之身乎？是故神有：氣中之神、理中之神。

理中之神，上居三十三天，在慾界、色界、無色界而上，下照一十八獄；統慾界、色界而下，無所不統，無所不理。不疾而速，不行而至，無為而成，無在而無所不在，為無始無終永劫不壞之神。

若三清上聖、釋迦、觀音、孔、孟、顏、曾，得道而成之類。

何謂道?「無極之理」是也。

此「理」貫乎慾界、色界、無色界之中，則不離乎氣，亦不雜乎氣：超乎慾界、色界、無色界之外，則委氣獨立，為無極界。

何謂慾界?

地面上下，飛潛動植，雜居其間，滯於有形，謂之慾界。因其甘食悅色，多生六慾故也。

何謂色界？河漢星斗，有象可見，故謂之色界。

何謂無色界？四空天無慾無色，故謂之無色界。

無極界者，無聲無臭，而為聲聲臭臭之主；無形無象，而為形形象象之源。高出慾界、色界、無色界之上，為無極天、大羅天、生天生地之天、天地萬物統體之天也;貫乎慾界、色界、無色界而下，為天賦之命、本然之性、道義之心，物物各具之天也。

萬物統體之天，與物物各具之天，洞會交連，無間無斷。

人物之所以不能頓超三界，復還無極，與三教聖人，齊肩同壽者;氣拘物蔽，昧厥本來故也。

所謂「得道者」，知四大假合，其壞甚速，故貧賤、富貴，自有命在，其來其去，無心任運，煉形歸氣，則不囿於物，可超「慾界」。

氣中之靈，雖後質而滅，即壽之大者，難滿一元；其究終有窮盡，故清靜無為，煉氣化神，可超「色界」。

及至煉神還虛，則物物各具之天，與萬物統體之天，混合無間，生天生地之天即我，我即生天生地之天，如是者謂之得道而成。

天地有壞，此神常在，此即理中之神也。現出一輪無影日，照滿三千及大千，此最上一乘之法也。

氣中之神，有陽神、有陰神。以一氣流行而言，則來而伸者為神，自子至午，太極之陽儀也；往而屈者為鬼，自午至子，太極之陰儀也。

以對待而言，則河漢星斗，為氣中之陽神；十殿諸司，為氣中之陰神；

五嶽群山，天中地也，其神為少陰之神；四海百川，地中天也，其神為少陽之神；

少陰之神，司善惡於人間；少陽之神，興雲雨於空中。則此而推，

易有三百八十四爻，爻爻有神，則以奇偶分陰陽；

天有三百六十五度，度度有神，則以寒暑分陰陽。

值時之神，一時一易；值日之神，一日一易；值年值月者亦然。

大小錯綜並行不悖，因其行而不息，故變而有常。氣中之神：

陽神春夏在天，秋冬在泉;陰神秋冬在天，春夏在泉。

有所在亦有所不在；故行而後至，至而後現。

陽至則自溫而熱，陰至則自涼而寒;凶神至則為災;吉神至則降祥。

氣中之神，陰陽吉凶，萬有不齊。理中之神，慈祥愷悌，都歸一致。

以故本然之性，來自理天，以靜為體，故堯、舜不異眾人。

氣質之性，來自氣天，動而難靜，雜而難純，故有智、愚、賢、否，窮、通、壽、殀之分

人物之終也，氣數盡，則津液不生，津液竭，則四大朽潰。

天地之終也，氣運盡，則雨露不降，雨露竭，初則海乾山崩，光散星隕，焚以劫火，摧以罡風，大氣不舉，則地化飛灰，而混沌至矣!

浩劫之至，始於人物，再而山川，終而星斗。大抵人物劫於申酉，天地劫於戌亥；申為白虎，人物遭殺；戌為火庫，陽光滅藏，亥會其前劫後劫之交乎?

聖賢仙佛，教人不戀色身，脫離輪迴，超由三界者；蓋因慾界、色界，難免劫火；囿於其中，則靈光消滅，此元滅一靈光，則後元少一人物。

惟無極理天，劫火不至；故先度人物，次度鬼神，終度星斗；三者靈光還於無極，而浩劫至矣!

迨至，子會開天，星斗之靈光，各降其位；丑會闢地，山川之靈光，各降其位;寅會生人，人物之靈光，各降其位；而世界立矣。

貞終元始，循環無端；元會運世，猶如畫夜，未信將來，先觀已往；

三皇之世，草昧初開；五帝之世，制度始創；瞬而為唐虞之揖讓，瞬而變湯武之征誅；

夏后尚忠，行本於心，殷人尚質，未離其身；周制尚文，則淳澆樸散，漸逐末務；

五霸之假仁義，其所由來者漸矣。

三代而上，道在君相，道與權合，故古之成人也易；

三代而下，道在師儒，道與權分，故今之成人也難；

勢與分使之然也。

漢、晉、隋、唐，中華為主，而臣服夷狄：遼、金、蒙古，荒服而臣妾中國。世運之變如是之速，將來之世，不卜可知。

斯世凶險，真同苦海。故聖賢有立命之法，求人不如求己：仙佛有逃命之術，靠人不如靠天。

如呼吸之氣，通太極之天，則萬緣掃盡，調息綿綿，脫離輪迴：作氣中之神，為天地同壽，日月齊年之仙。

知虛靈之神，通無極之天，則凝聚堅固，超出三界，不囿五行;為理中之神，作天地有壞，此性常存之神。

太極之天，包乎大地之外，上運星斗：貫乎大地之中、下生萬類。不惟星斗、萬類賴之，即大地無太極之氣，亦化為無有；得太極之氣，然後融結成形。

以人之所見而言；則天動在上，地靜在下；以統體之大局而言；則天包地外，地之上有天，而地之四圍上下，無在非天也。

昔黃帝問於歧伯曰；「地之為下否乎?」，岐伯曰：「地為人之下，太虛之中也」，帝曰：「有憑乎?」，岐伯曰：「大氣舉之耳」。

太極以動生天地，無極以靜生太極：太極雖無極中之所有，無極貫乎太極之中，亦包乎太極之外。

無極之理，靜而為經；太極之氣，動而為緯。經則常而不變，緯則變而有常。

常而不變，不易之易也；變而有常，變易之易也；加以三光大地，雌雄萬類，有質可見之物；天地交而生寒暑，日月交而生朔望，雌雄交而生萬類，為交易之易也。

無極之理，微中之微，玄中之玄，妙中之妙，神中之神，天中之天，無象無名，本不可見。

於不可象，不可名，不可見之中，強現河圖之名與數以見之。

天一生水，地六成之。地二生火，天七成之。天三生木，地八成之。地四成金，天九成之。

天五生土，地十成之。

【河圖】省略

此理中之數也，對待而靜。無極之靜體難見，惟大地坤元之靜似之。故曰：「黃中通裡，正位居體;美在其中，而暢於四支，發於事業。」無為之君子亦似之。故聖人，

靜則象地，寂然不動，立無極之大體，此靜聖之學也；

動則法天，感而遂通，達太極之大用，此動王之學也。

欲學靜聖，須尊德性;欲達動王，必道問學。洞顯微之無間，合天人於一致。

先天而天弗違，通乎理也。後天而奉天時，通乎氣也。

河圖之數，天一生水，地六成之。

一六在北，玄帝居之；玄武七宿之分。其德為智，其色為黑，其性潤下，其蟲為鱗，其味為鹹，其音為羽。為壬癸亥子之鄉，坎休天蓬之地。於時為冬，其氣嚴凝，故北方多寒。

天一生水，雲氣橫空;地六成之，江河亙地。水化為氣，自地升天；氣化為雨，自天降地;清濁互根，循環無端。兩大之間，其一、六之盤際乎？水先五行，理固然也。

鱗蟲三百六十，而龍為之長;故神龍變化，天淵兩在，興雲致雨，普潤萬靈;智之德，與水之性，使之然也。

水族多潛，火族多飛;然鯤化為鵬，由潛入飛;雉化為蜃，由飛入潛。天地之間，至神者莫如水火，而善化者亦莫如水火。故火生於地二，成於天七。水氣旺而暖自生，相火居於命門，附火而生;精竭則失水，氣竭則無火，即人可以知天也。

人無氣，則無根之火，傷殘百骸；無根之火，即劫火也。

由此觀之，有水方能生火，獨火不能生火：火雖神而德不及水，故次水而生。

天地之間，能通者有四，而火居其末。

蓋無極之神通，無所不通，上通三十三天，上極無上；下通一十八獄，淵乎其淵。

太極之氣，下通乎地，上通星斗天而止。

水則在地，通有形之物；化氣通色界之天。

火則上通，同於水，而下通不及水。

蓋火通不及水通，水通不及元氣通；元氣通不及神理通。

水火者，為交易之易；日月之光，只在人間，不及九地之下。

元氣為變易之易，在天、在泉，至星斗天而止。

無極之神，為不易之易，故星斗天而上而下，無所不通。此上中下三乘之分也。

交易之易，乾下交坤，坤得乾之中爻，實而成坎。坎為月，坎為水，此天一生水，地六成之之來源也。

生於一成於六者，自天至地，歷空中之真五，而始成也。

坤上交乾，乾得坤中爻，虛而成離，離為日，離為火也。

乾爻奇，奇為一，故曰天一生水。坤爻偶，偶為二，故曰地二生火。

離日之火，入地為沒，出地為生，至午而成，故曰地生天成。

火成於上，不成其下，故其性炎上。先天之火，生於草木，故上古之世，鑽隧取火；後天之火，生於金石，故今之火種，不同於古。

蓋因洛書右七，金得火數故也。相火附水而生者，坎卦兩偶一奇，其數七，水亦得火之數也。金石生於地中，地偶也，故曰二，見天始成。二得五為七。

二七在南，為火精赤帝之居，朱雀七宿之分：其德為禮，其色為赤，其性炎上，其蟲為羽，其味為苦，其音為徵；為丙丁巳午之鄉，離景九紫之地。於時為夏，其氣炎陽，故南方多暖。

天三生木，地八成之。本於地而天成者，地不能自生，必待天氣至，而地方顯生生之功焉。

三八在東，為青帝之居，蒼龍七宿之分；其德為仁，其色為青，其性曲直，其蟲為毛，其味為酸，其音為角，其時為春，為甲乙寅卯之鄉，震巽碧綠之地。木能生火，故曰大明出於扶桑。

北方天一生水，左行一步；一者奇也，奇圓圍三；故東曰天三，此乙癸之所以同源也。

自一而三，其陽氣上升之義乎?天一之地，此冬至復卦之地乎?

地二在南，右行一步：二者偶也，偶方圍四：故地四生金，二其夏至姤卦之位，陰氣下降之義乎？火金其互生乎?

河圖地四，二之變也。土生金，火亦生金也。地支金生於巳，故洛書戴九，金居火地；右七，火居金鄉；雖有扶生抑殺之義，而金實無火不成器也。

四九在西，金能生水，故河源發於崑崙；江漢東流，而朝宗於海。西方為素靈白帝之居，自虎七宿之分;其德為義，其色為白，其味為辛，其性從革，其蟲為甲，其音為商，為庚辛申酉之鄉，乾兌七赤之地，於時為秋。

一至三為春分，其氣溫和，發生萬物，陽之用也。

二至四為秋分，其氣清肅，收斂萬物，陰之用也。

陽德為日，故日生於東。陰形為月，故月生於西。

日生於東，木火一家；故羽毛之族，飛者行空，走者行陸。

陸者稟四陽初發主氣而生，其大壯與震之時乎？故螺駝象馬，以力代人，壯之義也。

飛者稟六陽升極之氣而生，其姤與離之時乎?離者麗也，故其羽毛鮮艷華麗。言揚火也，聲音屬火，故羽族多以聲悅人。

火主裡，故鴛不亂配，雁不亂群，而飛行有序。

木主仁，故象馬之類，不食生蟲，而代人服勞。

鹿運尾闆而鍊精，得乙癸同源之義；鶴守頂門而鍊神，得木火通明之義。

故鶴為仙禽，鹿為靈獸，多與神人相近：而凡庸之人，聰明之輩，多有不惜精神者，豈以人而不如為與獸乎？

月生於西，金水一家；故甲蟲近山，鱗蟲近淵。甲族雖與鱗族同潛於淵，然甲族多有離水而行陸者；以其得秋金之氣，降而未深，故半水半陸。

鱗蟲得冬水之氣，降而最下：故其性潛游，離水不生，陸行者少。

金蟲掛甲，稟肅殺之氣，故武將班西，披堅執銳，司殺伐之權，秋之刑也。

麟為毛蟲之長，稟仁慈之性，故文臣班東，執筆傳言，司教化之權，春之德也。

以故；鳳鳴岐山，文王開西周之端；麟夢闕里，仲尼衍東魯之祥。

以是知文明之運，多在元、亨也。

元為春，春為木，木蟲毛，麟為毛蟲之長。亨為夏，夏為火，火蟲羽，鳳為羽蟲之長。

龜與龍，不多祥瑞者，無乃為在稟肅殺沉降之氣乎?

天子稱龍，龍屬水；天一生水，水性善利萬物;水生於天，天無水則化機頓息，人無君則禍亂斯興。天一生水，為五行之先，眾陽之首故也。

母后稱鳳，鳳為火族；地中生火，二為陰，故母后象之；一為陽，故君父象之。

君父法天，母后象地，動靜陰陽之義也。

龜為甲蟲之長，得金之靈，金在人為肺臟，肺主氣；故龜服天地之氣而調息，其神通五氣之休咎，而善斷災祥，豫以告人，使之知所趨避，金性之義也。

龍為水族之長，水為月;故驪龍養珠，蚌蛤養珠。

神龜服氣而長生，驪龍養珠而成寶。皆明金水相涵之義也。

木火通明，離宮修定之法也；金水相涵，水府求玄之法也。

四靈之德，各歸一端，曲能有誠，足以神通，況人得五行之全乎?

土之生數本於五者，備四象之全也。一者奇也，水之數也。奇圓圍三，三者木之數也。二者偶也，火之數也。

偶方圍四，四者金之數也。

三用其全，四用其半，合而成五，故土之生數用五。五者非他，兼四象而一之也。因其兼全四象，故兼通四象。

土生於五，而成於十。五行之中，惟土數居多。故以河圖為地盤。

地以土為主，又得陰數之多，故地靜而天動。

天何以動？陽數多也。

洛書陽數二十有五，陰數二十；又化居四維，五陽居中；四正四維，縱橫十五，一氣渾圓之謂也。

其一白在坎，二黑居坤，三碧居震，四綠居巽，五黃居中，六白在乾，七赤在兌，八白在艮，九紫在離。

離之九紫，即河圖金之成數也。以之居火鄉者，火剋金，火亦能生金也。五金無火不成器，故庚金之生長在巳。

七赤之兌，即河圖火之成數也。不惟火能生金，而金亦能生火；故鑽燧改火，火生於木；而後之火種，由金石相擊而生，蓋數使之然也。

金火易位，一則寄體而生，一則扶生抑殺者也。非如是，而一氣不能縱橫十五，圓通無礙也。

河圖偶數多，以土為主，故其德方而為地。洛書奇數多，以氣為主，故其神圓而為天。

洛書五黃，乃元氣之本體也。

元氣之陽，生於子，一白之坎屬之，為冬至之復。

元氣之陰，生於午，九紫之離屬之，為夏至之姤。

自子至午，太極之陽儀也。復、臨、泰、壯、夬、乾，陽進之卦屬之，歷百八十日有奇，為十二氣，三十六候有奇，升極而降。

自午至子，太極之陰儀也。姤、遯、否、觀、剝、坤，陰生之卦屬之，歷百八十日有奇，亦為十二氣，三十六侯有奇，降極復升，而循環無端。

復為陽始，姤為陰始，太極分兩儀也。

三碧之壯，陽之半也;七赤之觀，陰之半也，而四象生矣。

二至、二分，加四立而為八節；八節即八卦也。

冬至為坎，立春為艮，春分為震，立夏為巽；

夏至為離，立秋為坤，秋分為兌，立冬為乾。

一卦三爻，故一節統三氣，一氣統三候，故二十四氣，七十二候，積三百六十五日四分日之一，而卦氣周矣。

三百六十日，即三百六十爻，為六十卦；再加乾坤為元氣之體，坎離為元氣之用，而六十四卦周矣。

故洛書之動，一氣流行，囫圇一天也。三百六十日，一歲之正數。餘五日四分日之一者，氣盈之說也。故今年欲知來年春，再加五日三時辰也。

洛書九宮，即古之井田法也。四正，四隅，八家皆私，百畝也。故其中為公田，五黃其中而為主也。分田制祿，井田法也。

建邦設都，則為九州。代天理物，則為九疇。

司馬招討，行則為陣，住則為營；天時地利，奇正變化，莫非地也。

故丹土逆還之法，本於洛書。七返九還，用金火也；取坎填離，連子午也。涵養本原，守元氣也：脫胎神化，還元氣也。守元氣者，盡人也；還元氣者，合天也。此金丹二乘之法也。

洛書氣天也，氣則流行不息，終而復始。

河圖者理天也，無形之河圖為理天；包乎氣天之外，貫乎大地之中;寂然不動，常而不變。

此即佛之所謂「一合理相」，老子之所謂「大道無形」，孔子之所謂「一以貫之」者也。

河圖者理也。無形之理，超乎氣天之外，氣天有盡，此理無盡。

有形之質，處於氣天之中，承天而行。

蓋有形之河圖為地，猶人之質也。流行之洛書為天，猶人之氣也。無形之河圖，猶人本然之性，先天之元神也。

質者交易之易，氣者變易之易，神者不易之易也。

自理入氣，自氣入質，迷而不返者，凡人也。

由質悟氣，由氣悟理，返本還元者，聖賢仙佛也。

理之一無不貫，氣之一上貫星斗，千貫大地，中貫人物。

故曰：三教歸一，萬法歸一。

一即理也，理主靜。故周子曰：「主靜立人極」，此最上一乘之法也。

修養學道者，皆曰「歸根認祖」；此外無根，歸根者，歸此也。此外無祖，認祖者，認此也。

不知此，則不能自渡，焉能普渡。不得此，則不能收己，焉能收圓。

先天曰無極，舍此別無無極。中天曰太極，出此別無太極。後天曰皇極，外此別無皇極。

故曰三極大道，三極皆一也。

或有問於余曰：「先生所言窮理盡性至命之事，與夫無極、太極，理性、氣性，大易、河、洛，天人一貫之說，固已大無不包，微無不入，乃吾儒之正傳。可以正人心，息邪說；聖賢命脈，賴以不泯；若得其人而行之，亦可以上不得罪於聖賢，下不為害於將來矣!而又兼及金丹之法，涅槃之道，不幾，浸淫於佛、老二氏之說乎？此吾之所以不解也。」

余應之曰：「先生所謂聖賢命脈，則吾豈敢；但佛、老，亦古聖人也。余愛之幕之，惟恐言之不能盡其詳，行之不能造其域，豈但兼及而已哉!」

昔孔子往聖，曾問：「禮」於道君。當今聖主，猶特重於「佛典」。

世祖有歸山之詩，自稱為「西方衲子」。

世宗有語錄之傳，己曾言「化城遊歷」。

國初諸聖，大都深入佛海，兼重道藏。

語錄云：「吾本大覺法王，欲紹堯、舜之治，故循周、孔之轍。」此本朝三教並重之由來也。故能道繼二帝，治邁漢、唐，深仁厚澤，曠代未有。

如果釋、道誠非，國初聖聖相繼，共之久矣！何待今日?

蓋本朝諸聖所重者，二氏之精髓命脈，心法道統之真傳：用以涵養性天，返本還原，故能頓悟直超，誕登道岸。及至進步於百尺杆頭而後，才見大本大源，三教合轍，所以清靜無為之治，而獲效若是之速也。

如往昔秦皇、漢武，及梁主

蕭衍等君，所重者二氏之皮毛近似；其貪心慾染未能格除，非不有安期生、東方朔，西來達摩之真仙、真佛，列於其朝;奈其所好者，在彼而不在此，聲色貨利，填滿胸襟；是以真人雖遇，因受教無地，故真傳未得。而旁溪曲徑之方士，即乘其貪而入之，無怪其苦死無成，貽譏於天下後世也。是豈仙佛之過哉！

余也生長蓬篳，竊不自揣，自童子之時，即深慕聖人之道，以為可學而至，奈家貧親老，無力從師；不得已取往聖之遺編，吟詠揣摩，十餘年來，氾濫涉獵，未獲適歸，至二十七歲，蒙洱東、萬春、劉師之引進，得山西鶴天姚師之指示，入室靜坐，涵養本源，由定靜而悟大化，始知心源性海，三教合轍，登峰造極，萬聖同歸。

故不揣固陋，於大易、河、洛，理學、數學、象學之道，及明德、率性，格物、致知、精一、執中之旨，微有解釋，未知是否?尚待就正。

今

蒙先生，下問「金丹之法」，「涅槃之道」，余雖微有管窺，實則未達精微，亦不過略陳梗概，藉明不敢忘本之心跡云爾。

夫金丹者，乃仙家之寓言，實易學之真諦也。何謂金?補離成乾之謂也。何謂丹?萬殊歸一之謂也。

蓋「性命」之說，吾儒與丹土，微有不同。

吾儒之所謂「性命」者；以無極之真理謂「天」，以分於無極謂之「命」，以無極之真，妙合二五，主持形骸謂之「性」。

天者萬物統體之極，而命與性者，物物各具之極也。性命本是一事，而異其名者；在天、在人，賦畀、稟受之分也。

丹土「性命」之說，有先天後天之分;未生以前，謂之先天。此時以乾為性，以坤為命。先天之性，則吾儒本然之性也。

及至有生而後，哇然一聲，後天之氣入，先天之氣隱；於是乾失中爻之陽而成離，坤得乾之中爻而變坎；故後天以離為性，以坎為命。後天之性，即吾儒氣質之性也。

先天之性，陰陽對待，性命混成，純乎天理，粹然至善，不識不知，順帝之則。

此伏羲先天之卦象也，其位則，

天位乎上，地位乎下;乾坤定子午之位。

日生於東，月生於西；坎離列卯酉之門。

高者為山，艮居西北。下者為澤，兌居東南。

燥物為風，申為白虎之地，故巽在西南。

動物為雷，寅在青龍之鄉，故震在東北。

先天之體，皆居生位；譬之火寓於木而未燃，炎上者未親乎天：水隱於雲而未形，潤下者未至乎地。此山輝川媚，淳樸未散時也。

記曰：「人生而靜，天之性也。

程子曰：「人之生也，真而靜：其未發也，五性具焉」

此性即孟子「性善」之性。

然而理微道大，古聖傳心之法，或名之謂「精」，名之謂「一」

，名之謂「中」，名之謂「誠」，謂「敬」。不過欲人反呼此時之「性」也，而豈有他哉？此時之「性」何如？純乎理不雜乎氣而已。

先天之數，曰：「乾一、兌二、離三、震四、巽五、坎六、艮七、坤八。乾以原始，坤以要終；兩頭包括陰陽。震為天根，巽為月窟，一中分出造化，往哲既言之矣。

然而數何為而起也？卦何為而畫也？

數之起，其本於此乎?

何謂太極？一氣之謂也。

何謂二儀？升降之謂也。

何謂四象?二至、二分，之謂也。

何謂八卦？二至、二分，再加四立之謂之。

由是二十四氣，七十二候，三百六十五日，四分日之一。在曆為日，在天為度，在易為爻、為策。

夫三百六十策，為一期之日;三百六十爻，為周天之數。而易有三百八十四爻者，何也?

蓋三百六十爻，乃一氣往來所經之度，再加一氣之本體為乾坤，大用為坎離：四卦之二十四爻，此六十四卦，三百八十四爻之所從來也。

夫三百六十日，即三百六十爻;為一歲之正數，尚餘五日四分日之一者，氣之盈也，加以朔虛，此閏餘之所從來也。

「氣盈者」、太極天也，洛書之數也，數學也：為氣質之性、氣數之命、人心、識神，之所從來。

「朔虛者」、兩儀天也，象學也。

數學氣也，象學則入於質矣。

蓋質之象本於日月，日月者，男女之象也。乾坤者，父母之象也。日交於月，而生卦爻：天交於地，而生萬物。此交易之易也，質也。

一氣流行，寒暑代謝，此變易之易，氣也。

交易之象，本於變易之氣;變易之氣，本於無極不易之理。理者何？即

孔子一貫之一，釋迦歸一之一，老子守一之一也。

是一也，．佛曰：「金剛」，道曰：「金丹」，儒曰：「天命之性」，名雖分三，其實一也。

蓋金者、天性之體，剛者、天性之用。性之體，萬劫不壞；性之用，斬斷塵緣。

「金丹」之說，老、莊之書，不多概見。至漢、魏伯陽真人，本易道著「參同契」；借乾坤坎離，陰陽男女，日月龍虎，鉛汞鼎爐之象，以明丹道之妙。

其意謂：天有日月，人有精神：精神相交，如日月晦朔弦望;呼吸升降，如一氣之寒暑往來，此交易、變易之象也。

人之未生以前，乾為首，坤為腹；任督未斷，精氣神三者合一，此先天之卦象也。精為元精，氣為元氣，神為元神：如水在山，如火蘊木，不識不知，渾然天理，粹然至善，此人生而靜之性也。

及至十月胎圓，瓜熟蒂落;哇地一聲，太極之氣，由口鼻而

入，任督中斷；

火性炎上，神寓於目，乾首虛而成離；

水性潤下，氣根於腎，坤腹實而變坎。

龍虎鉛汞，種種異名；不出先天之乾坤，變後天坎離之中爻而已。

先天者、本然之性也。後天者、氣質之性也。

性入後天，則元精蔽於交感之精，元氣蔽於口鼻之氣，元神蔽於思慮之神，迷其真而逐其妄矣!

原其始之從來，則虛生神，神生氣，氣生精，自無而有。順其自然，則精泄氣，氣泄神，順行向下，落花流水，往而不返，此由聖入凡，日流污下之道也。

金丹功夫，積精息念，閉息凝神，靜極生動，精化為氣，坎中之陽，沖開三關，上升崑崙，降入離宮，神氣合一，復還乾元面目。再加烹煉溫養，脫胎神化，合於太虛，金丹之功完矣。

何為金？

乾為金，又乾為天。天者萬物統體之性，性者物物各具之天也。

何又名之謂丹?

因人落後天，乾坤之體，變而為坎離之用。離為日，坎為月：日上月下，易也。離火下降，坎水上升；水火既濟，日月會合，明也。煉成一片，打成一團，還於一理，謂：「丹」也。

有曰「九轉金丹」者，轉回坎中之九也。

有曰「還陽丹」者，還回乾元之象也。

有曰「紫金丹」者，離為九紫之地。

此老、莊以下之說也，較之古昔，頗易入手;然稍涉跡象，根性鈍闇者，微有錯會，而旁溪曲徑之異端，紛然起矣！

此功中之過也，有志立言者，不可不知;此道家金丹之說也。

而釋氏「南無阿彌陀佛」之六字真言，實兼儒家之精微，連天人之蘊奧。

三千年來，教者、失意傳言；學者、誦言忘味。以佛祖傳心之真文，當作凡世祈福之神咒；致使西竺道法，湮沒不彰，不幾大負釋迦託文載道，以道覺世，因覺成道，道脈接緒之盛意乎？

謹粗解大意，使學者，知西天、東土，非有二道；上天、下地，原自一理也。

南無阿彌陀佛解

「南」者、乃先天乾位，乾為天，天則大無不包；一氣流行，寒暑代謝，此變易之易也。

又為後天離位，離為日，日則明無不照。朔望盈虧，日月週轉，此交易之易也。

大無不包，明無不照，猶不足以盡佛法之妙。惟「無」則無微不入，無聲無臭，無形無象，無始無終，無左而無不在，此不易之易也。

交易之易，象也。為畫卦之所自來。

變易之易，氣也。為序疇之所自來。

不易之易，理也。為河圖之所自來。

萬物統體之理，為降衷之維皇。物物各具之理，為虛靈之明命。

虛靈明命，即南方妙無也。「妙無」即佛之所謂：「正法眼藏、涅槃妙心、金剛性、舍利子也。」人人有此妙無之性，因拘於氣稟，蔽於物慾，往往有而不知其有，故迷真逐妄，流浪生死，常沉苦海！

三教傳心，即傳此南方妙無之心也。學者知其所在而修之，可以見性成佛。

阿彌陀佛者，造諧之次第也。

蓋積精息念，凝聚堅固之謂「阿」，此初乘法也。

在釋為清靜法身，在道為太清真人，在儒為充實而有光輝之大人。

直養無害，充塞周遍之謂「彌」，此中乘法也。

在釋為圓滿報身，在道為上清真人，在儒為大而化之之聖人。

神化自然，圓通應感之謂「陀」，此上乘之法，最上一乘之法也。

在釋為千百億化身，在道為玉清真人，在儒為聖而不可知之神人。

儒之所謂「神」，道之所謂「仙」，釋之所謂「佛」，其義一也。

故曰：凝聚堅固之謂「阿」、充塞周遍之謂「彌」、圓通應感之謂「陀」、三者成就之謂「佛」，只此六字真詮，會通三教，貫徹人天。虞廷一十六字，中庸三十三章，道德五千，南華十萬，釋典五千四十八卷，皆不出此六字之外矣！

守之約而施之博，言似近而指實遠：如佛非大聖，而能如是乎?佛吾無間然矣！

昨遊長顯孫先生、書齋，其壁間自寫一聯云：

「前身本是明月、幾生修到梅花」

余恐其自安中乘，不求無上之道，因答之一詩云：

「真心莫比天邊月

妙性非同雪裏花

假使清高修得到

仍然宇宙第三家」

問曰：「若以明月為第三家，則道典之所謂『心比中天寶月』，是以心為月也。佛典之所謂『佛日增輝』，是以心為日也。

今曰：『真心莫比天邊月，未到乾坤第一家』然則彼皆非歟？」

余曰：何可非也，此釋迦、老子以後，由漸而入之教法也。

蓋道典以心為月者，乃水府求玄，修命之說也。

釋典以心為日者，是離宮修定，修性之說也。

再者丹家之論，或曰鉛汞相投，或曰龜、蛇盤結，以及龍虎嬰奼，鼎爐水火，攢簇交媾，烹煉溫養，沐浴脫胎，等等工夫，此又性命雙修之說也。

夫修命而不修性，執於有：

修性而不修命，淪於無。此中乘之法也。

性命雙修者，陰陽會合，仍還太極本體。此抱元守一，萬法歸一之說；上乘之法也。

又問曰：「修命不修性，修性不修命者，謂之中乘。性命雙修者，謂之上乘。據子所言，中乘者、宇宙之第三家；不用說，上乘是第二家矣！夫上乘之法，既曰抱元守一；又更萬法歸一，守一、歸一，亦已至矣；今曰第二家者，但不知二家之上，那裏還有第一家也?」

余曰：難言也！試先即釋、道，兩家之言以證之：

當日神光二祖，講「萬法歸一」之道，自謂超佛越祖，可以大闡宗風；及聞達摩初祖西來，在少林面壁，光遂往見，質所學焉。

達摩問曰：「萬法歸一，一歸可處？」

光無對，始悟己說，仍在輪迴，因拜求指點。

摩顧光曰：「諸佛無上妙道，豈以小德小智，輕心慢心，得冀真乘耶？」

光聞摩誨，於是潛取利刀，自斷左臂，置摩前，以示誠心。

摩知是法器，遂授以真宗：光即頓悟無上，紹佛門之嫡派。

後有偈曰：不知到底一歸何?是以神光拜達摩，立雪少林為甚事，只求一指躲閻羅。」

由此觀之，萬法歸一，乃下手之事，非了手之事也。

昔黃龍機禪師，登壇說法，純陽祖在下聽之。

黃龍禪師問曰：「下邊是何道人?」呂祖應曰：「雲水道人」

禪師曰：「雲盡水乾，千歸何處?」

呂祖言下大悟，因有詩曰：「棄卻瓢囊摔碎琴，而今不煉礦中金，自從一見黃龍後，始悔當年錯用心。」

若此者，皆佛、老之最上一乘，乃宇宙之第一家也。問者唯唯。

余曰：「子以為如是而已乎？此乃佛、老出世之法，仍非聖賢治世之法也。」

問者曰：「聖賢治世之法，還有進於此者乎？」余曰：「有」。

蓋自青牛西去，道有五祖七真;

白馬東來，佛有三宗五派。

此數真者，大概出家修行，直超彼岸，頓悟無生，高則高矣；然棄人求天，體重於用，較之聖人，盡人合天，體用兼該之學，則有間矣！

「性命」之說，自老子、孔子之後，又有兩講；

最下者，以知覺為性，以四大為命；此正所謂杞柳之性，湍水之性；可以為善，可以為不善之性；以及荀子性惡性之說也。此只知有氣數之命，氣質之性，道之所以不明也。

再上則以神為性，以氣為命;神氣合一，便是性命雙修。此等工夫，以積精為立基，以息念為下手，以神氣合一為得藥，以凝神不散為溫養，以神還太虛，杆頭進步為丹成。

此乃學者必由之徑，違道原自不遠所可議者，性命之說，與孔子微有不同，故入門之處，歧途紛起。

蓋因神氣二物，或名之為龍虎，名之為鉛汞，名之為嬰奼，以及龜蛇，水火、日月、自雪、黃芽，種種名號，數之不盡;冀以接引後進，乃度世一片婆心也。

無如後人，識薄見淺，妄猜妄議；以致修行路上，異端百出；

言鼎爐也，則流為燒煉之家，有服金丹而致斃者矣；

言男女也，則流為採補之家，有服紅鉛而造孽者矣。

種種積弊，只不勝屈，此皆立言之過也。

然後知孔門傳心，引而不發，務從日用倫常中入，良有深意！

夫子之言性命也；其對魯哀公，則曰：「分於道謂之命，形於一謂之性」。

子思著中庸曰：「天命之謂性」。

由此觀之，夫子之所謂「道」，即子思之所謂「天」；子思之所謂「天」，亦即夫子之所謂「道」也。

後之學者，不明「道」與「天」為何物？而高談性命者，大概破道之言也。

橫渠先生曰：「太極之謂道」，又曰：「太虛即氣」，是氣也，非大塊之噫氣，非口鼻之食氣；乃所謂先天之氣，太和元氣也。

太和元氣，以全體而言，則謂之太極；以動靜而言，則謂之兩儀；以流行不息，運轉周天而言，則謂之四象、八卦、六十四卦，三百八十四爻，以及二十四氣，三百六十五日，四分日之一，莫非元氣之運用也。

故易曰：「範圍天地而不過，曲成萬物而不遺;通乎晝夜之道而可知，故神無方，而易無體。」

神也、易也、道也、天也，莫非理與氣之別名也。

此理氣也，豎窮三界，橫亙八荒：無名無象，而為名名象象之源：無色無形，而為色色形形之主。

升浮也而生機出，天道之元亨寓焉，而仁禮有其根矣；

降沉也而殺氣至，天道之利貞寓焉，而義智有其基矣。

此即夫子之所謂「道」，子思之所謂「天」，張子之所謂「太極」，同子所謂「無極之真」也。

「天」者、非蒼蒼之天，青青之天，高不可及之天；乃無聲無臭，不睹不聞，無處不有，無時不然；超乎蒼蒼青青，高不可及之外；貫乎生生元元，有情無情之中，主持萬類之天也。

周子曰：「無極之真，二五之精，妙合而凝；乾道成男，坤道成女。」

蓋無極之真，天理也。二五之精，父母也。二五交而天理入，無寓有中，三家混合；此人生之所自來，即性命之所從有也。

此理也，未入二五之中，為萬物統體之天；既入二五之中，為物物各具之天。

自天而分謂之命，主持形骸謂之性。天一大天，性一小天。

天有元亨利貞，性有仁義禮智。

人能實踐仁義禮智，謂之率性。

人知此性分於天，仍將此性還乎天，謂之合天。

如此謂之窮理，行此謂之盡性，完此謂之至命。

如此則謂大而化之之聖，聖而不可知之之神。

天即人而人即天，又何事乎仰屈伸。服食導引為哉?此孔子之道，所以歷萬世而無弊也。

今略述夫子立言之梗概，藉以就正於有道者。

顏淵問：「仁」，子曰：「克己復禮」。

只此四字而已，舉凡天德、王道，德性、問學；上之可以繼往聖，下之可以開來學者；莫不顯微畢具，體用兼該，守之約而施之博。所謂「言近而指遠者，善言也。」其此之謂乎?

何謂己？

欲也、私也、偏也，害仁之事也；小而聲色貨利，大而富貴功名：凡有所為而為之者，皆「己」也。

何謂禮？

誠也、公也、中也，成仁之事也；

近而忠孝節義，高而大化聖神;凡無所為而為之者，皆「禮」也。

克復之功，先即事君言之；

夫為官而志在溫飽，事君而有意沽名;臨事而畏難苟安，盡節而貪生怕死。凡有是心，則無在非欲，無在非私，無在非偏也；克而去之，則惟知君之當事，忠之當盡。此心坦自，廓然大公。處常則靖恭爾位，好是正直：處變則鞠躬盡粹，死而後已。即致君於當道，躋世於仁壽。

富甲天下，貴為王侯，功蓋寰宇，名垂竹帛。亦帛其所無事之天。

然克己乃守約之事，明體之事也。

復天理之理，猶未復三千三百之禮也。

事君而不知復三千三百之禮，則流為忠而不學之議；欲行王道者，尊德性而外，道問學之功，又不容緩矣！

明其體而達其用，守之約而施之博。舉凡禮樂刑政之間，因革損益之處；不泥於古，不流於俗，隨時制宜，各得其當，然後謂之復禮也。

若克己而不知復裡，則流為空虛之清談；

復禮而不知克己，則流為泥古之變更。此又後世學術之弊，不可不知也。

言克己必繼以復禮，然後知聖人立言於無過之地：無在非至誠至公，大中之流露也。

是故王道必本天德，性命不外倫常，體用本末，缺一不可。

知此者謂之知道，行此者謂之得道，完此者謂之成道。如是大之可為聖賢，次亦無愧名教。

持此以繼往，則為堯、舜、文、周，孔子、顏、曾，濂、洛、關、閩之嫡派：持此以開來，則為道德文章，禮樂刑政，忠孝節義之宗師。

較之佛門三宗五派，道家五祖七真。似乎亦不甚相背矣！

此豈非宇宙第一家乎？孟子曰：「乃所願則學孔子」，吾亦為然。

Source Colophon

Source text from the 善書圖書館 (taolibrary.com), catalogue reference category9/c9041. The 善書圖書館 states: "善書是encyclopedic寶典，歡迎翻印" — moral books are an encyclopedic treasure; reprinting is welcomed. The text is presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation.

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