Post by Andrei on Aug 24, 2013 19:04:52 GMT 2
Principiile dublei cultivari a naturii innascute si a destinului vietii
Prefaces
1a. Dedicatory Inscription on the Complete Edition of the Perfected Yin’s Principles of the Innate Disposition and the Lifespan
This book came from the brush of the high disciple of the Perfected Yin. [It] sets forth his Master’s ideas and fully expounds them. The various illustrated explications which are recorded therein, as well as the [presentation] of the stages of the Work in cultivating one’s conduct, could be called detailed and exhaustive. The books of the Mystic Lineage are enough to make the oxen pulling a cart of them sweat and to fill a house to the rafters,230 but nothing is better at directly pointing out the boundaries and subtleties231 than this compilation. Those who perch in perfection,232 supposing they can use this and enter the Dao—would this not be a rare event? My friend Yu Changji is a clan descendent of [Yu] Dezong . In regards to the Mystic Teachings (Xuan jiao ) he is not lacking in minor accomplishments.233 He is of the opinion that this book emphasizes one’s own body, accordingly lengthening life and extending vision, ultimately [containing] nothing other than [that evident in] the physiognomy of a long- lived person. These insights are solid. Only in the patient guidance of this text [can one find] a pointer for men to transcend in one [step] and enter [enlightenment] directly, thereby continuing the class of teachers of both mortals and celestials.234 How could it be that it is disseminated without reason? If there was someone who received [these teachings] then they would progress from long life to producing life, from producing life to evidentiating no-birth.235 Where is this impermissible?
Different paths return to the same point. A hundred thoughts all of one mind— how could the Dao be divided? Discussing the Three Teachings, the Eminent Emperor236 said: “Under heaven there are not two ways; sages are not of two minds.”237 How great are these august words! This is its ultimate!
In all cases those people who are subjects of the emperor are united in their ideas regarding the charter. None of them dare to turn their backs on the ruler. Alas, people of the world roam in life and death [saṃsāra], always placing innate disposition and endowment in a category of unconcern.238 If they get this then because of it they will have one startled awakening. Among those people who had an attainment with regards to body and the mind [it?] is not insignificant. It is in circulation among the academies.239 The Perfected Teachers and disciples will certainly recite and praise it!
234 Tian ; devas.
235 I.e., 1) escaping the cycle of rebirth or 2) the pre-heaven state in which one was never born and is thus
undying
236 Gao Huang , a common way to refer to Zhu Yuanzhang , the founder of the Ming Dynasty, in the 16th century revival of Three Teachings thought (e.g., Langlois and Sun 1983: 138). This revival prompted new editions of the founding emperor’s works: “prior to this his writings had been poorly omission in Dardess 1993: 791-93. This is one of only two of the five essays revealing the founder’s syncretic thought which can be found in the Inner Palace (Neifu edition of the emperor’s works (Langlois and Sun 1983: 120). Yu zhi wenji 11.9b. (1965 Taibei edition cited in Ibid.: 106).
238 Lit: “never glance back at or hear of it.”
239 Variorum (hereafter “Var.”): the Baiyun guan edition states “already” ji , rather than “academy” yuan . circulated,” (Ibid.: 137-38).
1c. Postscript to Principles of the Myriad Spirits Dual Cultivation of the Innate Disposition and the Lifespan
It’s not like when Zhihe [i.e., the author] still had my hair in a topknot, I admired the Perfected of the Way then in [the home of] my maternal grandfather the Grand Archivist Tang [whose cognomen] was the Gentleman Xin’an,241 I subsequently obtained the collection Principles of the Innate Disposition and the Lifespan. It is said a family of eastern Zhe[jiang] had originally stored it away. I treasured it for more than twenty years. Although I couldn’t immediately match myself up to242 this profound [device for obtaining perfection]243 I gradually awakened to the realm of man and heaven.
This yimao [1615] year I took it out to show the layman Feng Gan , who was immensely gratified. He asked for permission to show it to like-minded companions. I, thinking that to obtain the [life-]counters of a crane and the years of a turtle, those who cultivate perfection still look back to [emulating] bears’ alignment and the head-turning of owls, valuing them more the further [their origin] recedes into posterity,244 how much more so [will they value] this [collection], [which provides one with the means to] cast off the physical body, directly transcend dharmadhātu, exhaust the Sea of Suffering, and find superlative joy in the repose body? Would there be one in a mass of millions and billions who not take refuge in the Buddha [if they saw this work]? Those who are ignorant of this Way, some speak in condemnation of both.245 They are called ones who take note of an autumn hair but can’t see Mount Tai; of a drop of water but not the azure sea. It is not the Way that is far from men, but men who are far from the way. I wrote this at the end [of this collection] for this reason.
43rd year of the Wanli era of the August Ming 15th day of the 5th month [June 10, 1615], sincerely composed postface by Wu Zhihe
241 Lit: “new hut” . In preface 1b She Yongnian writes the homophonous , “new peace,” for the same individual
242 Qi . The analogy is of ancient contracts which were made my breaking a strip of bamboo and distributing the two pieces to the committed parties.
243 Quan . An allusion to a passage the “External Things” (Waiwu ) chapter of Zhuangzi: “A quan is that which, when fishing, one discards after catching the fish.”
244 Wu is deriding those who practice exercises described in Zhuangzi. See I. 5.
245 This is a tentative reading, primarily because it isn’t clear what the “both” might refer to. Possibly the innate disposition and the lifespan, but they’re mentioned nowhere else in this composition.
1d. Preface
Principles of the Innate Nature and the Lifespan doesn’t have an author. It was transmitted by the brush of a high disciple of the Perfected Yin. Hitherto the copies in circulation were very rare.246 Only the Gentleman Yin had a copy of the scripture
which has been in existence for some years. Master Cao Ruoji saw it and delighted, carried it over to show Master Zhou Yuxian . Happily they appreciated it and together commissioned these printing blocks. Then Master Qian Yuzhen supervised its completion. When the book was finished he asked me for a preface. I said: “Although I yearn to be able to do it, how dare I add a word?” Even so, this is what I have to say.
The Three Teachings are equally established; deviant doctrines unpleasant to the ear are concealed like an enemy. We encounter them every day. This book reveals only the Great Way, as well as the subtle meaning of the Ruist and Śākyaist teachings which are elaborated in tandem. What is essential is put into the center, joined as the One [to do justice to] the principle of exhausting one’s innate disposition and living out one’s lifespan.247 Different tracks have the same point of origin. Were it not for the Imperial Archivist’s 5,000 [Character Scripture]248 [by what means could one uphold] this standard of discarding and perserving? The same applies to the 64 hexagrams and the 42 chapters, which invariably are strung together like a thread of pearls. As for Daoist discourse there are 96 kinds of deviant paths, 3,600 heterodox schools.249 Disciples fond of material goods, those who enjoy talking about alchemy, lecherous disciples, those who compose fine words about other lineages,250 [that is, practices like] the “bear’s alignment and bird’s flexibility,”251 or “the dragon’s sigh and tiger’s roar,” may all be clarified as formalities which bear no relation to the original substance taught to people.
Recently a master of esoteric methods (fangshi ) taught people to subdue the qi by twisting their fingers, rapidly opening the Pass, suddenly laughing, suddenly crying, limbs shaking. Those who see them fear that they are mad, while they themselves boast of divine arts. How sad! This book sweeps away all ornate obstacles. [It] strives to eradicate [the illness] symptom and root by devotion to the void and preserving quiescence, by concentrating and gathering in the atemporal realm. Its turning of the heterodox into the orthodox is the true earth. Extreme movement results in stillness. This meaning belongs to yin. It is ji-earth. Extreme stillness results in movement. This meaning belongs to yang. It is wu-earth. Refine the ji-earth and achieve the mercury of Li and the sun. Refine the wu-earth and achieve the lead of Kan and the moon. With lead and mercury returned the Golden Elixir comes together of its own accord. Wu and ji are an image of “earth” doubled.252 Is this not taken from Principles (Guizhi )? The author pondered deeply, it is directly related to the Yellow Court -the center.
Master Zhou published and publicized it. “The deaf drummer dispels confusion.”
The achievement is immense. The Masters Yin and Cao are both excellent practitioners of nurturing the procreative aspect and I invoke “Feng Gan is a chatterbox.” This is also what Zhuang[zi] [meant when he] said: “Those who speak don’t know.”
Written by You Tong in the Wu Gate in the third month of summer253 in the jiyou year of the Kangxi reign [i.e., between May 30 and June 27, 1669]
246 You Tong is discussing the way in which the edition of 1669 came about, not that of 1615 whose gestation is described in prefaces 1a-c.
247 This phrase is the title of I. 17.
248 I.e., Laozi and the Daodejing.
49 These figures are those of the Perfected Yin, quoted in I. 5. 250 Ta jia . Also see I. 5.
251 Deviant technique 27 in I. 5.
252 Wu and ji are the two Heavenly Stems that correspond to the center (the yang and yin aspects, respectively). The center is represented by earth in Five Phases cosmology (See I. 24). You Tong is pointing out the code in the title of Principles: the untranslatable gui is “the image of ‘earth’ [tu ] doubled,” reflecting the concern with combining the yin and yang aspects in the center.
1e. Preface to Principles of the Innate Disposition and the Lifespan
I have admired the Dao from an early age. Inside the Seas254 is Principles of the Innate Disposition and the Lifespan. I have often heard of, but never seen, this book. What could I do? In late spring of this gengxu year [1670] I received the favor of two elder brothers, Yu Xian and Ruo Ji , who showed me the illustrated volume. In
my moments of respite from reciting [it] I was impressed by the calligraphy of the highest disciple of the Perfected Yin. (Otherwise, how could I recognize this book’s providence?)
I have on occasion discussed the Dao. Each time I use [Li Daochun’s Collection of] Central Harmony and [Chen Zhixu’s Shang Yangzi’s Great Essentials of] The Golden Elixir [ ] ,255 two collections sought out by perfected transcendents. I think the texts of the Mystic Order (Xuan zong ) [are sufficiently numerous] to make the oxen pulling a cart of them sweat and to fill a house to the rafters, with an increasing number constantly coming into being. [Yet] I’ve never seen a book with diagrams that includes the order of the Work and whose seminal meaning is so outstanding, brilliant like the sun and the stars; they do not have the same intriguing quality as this book. Truly it resembles The Dragon-Tiger [Scripture], Concordance of the Three, and Awakening to Perfection, three scriptures which are parallel tracks on the same road.
Alas! A jade envelope for a secret letter. Study it and begin in earnest. Why should you worry if you do not transcend it immediately and directly enter [enlightenment]? You have already encountered the teachers of mortals and celestials. From the physical body then evidentiate the dharma body, from continuous propagation256 to ending the cycle of rebirth. The mutual according of the principles is fundamentally like this. Chou Ke said: “It’s a minor improvement.” Although this is
so, if someone knows it and practices it he is called a sage. If he knows it and does not practice it he is called a fool. The attention to detail of my two elder brothers Yu Xian and Ruo Ji is like this. [Applying themselves] from dawn to dusk they come to fully comprehend miraculous truths. They discussed it quickly and took it to have the blocks carved, the only means by which to reach everyone and treat the entirety of the patient,257 to clear away the inferior schools and corrupt customs and drive [the undeserving] out of the three residences.258 Assigned to write this preface I have set forth a few words to respond to him with this.
Composed by Li Pu (Purple Center ?) in the Preserving the Center Hall on a pleasant day259 in the third month260 of the gengxu year261 of the Kangxi reign [April 20-May 18, 1670]
254 “Inside the Sea” is an allusion to the ancient Chinese belief that the “Central Kingdom” was closed in by seas in each direction. For a visual depiction, see: Strassberg 2002: 40-41.
255 DZ 249 and DZ 1067.
256 Sheng sheng . This is a phrase that appears in the commentaries to the Yijing and in the Laozi, verse 50.
257 Ding zhong xia zhen . Lit.: “provide acupuncture from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet”; i.e., heal the country.
258 San she. Divisions of the Imperial Academy (Taixue ]) (upper [shang ], inner [nei ], and outer [wai])
259 Gou dan
260 Bing yue
261 Shang zhang yan mao . Shang zhang means geng
Prefaces
1a. Dedicatory Inscription on the Complete Edition of the Perfected Yin’s Principles of the Innate Disposition and the Lifespan
This book came from the brush of the high disciple of the Perfected Yin. [It] sets forth his Master’s ideas and fully expounds them. The various illustrated explications which are recorded therein, as well as the [presentation] of the stages of the Work in cultivating one’s conduct, could be called detailed and exhaustive. The books of the Mystic Lineage are enough to make the oxen pulling a cart of them sweat and to fill a house to the rafters,230 but nothing is better at directly pointing out the boundaries and subtleties231 than this compilation. Those who perch in perfection,232 supposing they can use this and enter the Dao—would this not be a rare event? My friend Yu Changji is a clan descendent of [Yu] Dezong . In regards to the Mystic Teachings (Xuan jiao ) he is not lacking in minor accomplishments.233 He is of the opinion that this book emphasizes one’s own body, accordingly lengthening life and extending vision, ultimately [containing] nothing other than [that evident in] the physiognomy of a long- lived person. These insights are solid. Only in the patient guidance of this text [can one find] a pointer for men to transcend in one [step] and enter [enlightenment] directly, thereby continuing the class of teachers of both mortals and celestials.234 How could it be that it is disseminated without reason? If there was someone who received [these teachings] then they would progress from long life to producing life, from producing life to evidentiating no-birth.235 Where is this impermissible?
Different paths return to the same point. A hundred thoughts all of one mind— how could the Dao be divided? Discussing the Three Teachings, the Eminent Emperor236 said: “Under heaven there are not two ways; sages are not of two minds.”237 How great are these august words! This is its ultimate!
In all cases those people who are subjects of the emperor are united in their ideas regarding the charter. None of them dare to turn their backs on the ruler. Alas, people of the world roam in life and death [saṃsāra], always placing innate disposition and endowment in a category of unconcern.238 If they get this then because of it they will have one startled awakening. Among those people who had an attainment with regards to body and the mind [it?] is not insignificant. It is in circulation among the academies.239 The Perfected Teachers and disciples will certainly recite and praise it!
234 Tian ; devas.
235 I.e., 1) escaping the cycle of rebirth or 2) the pre-heaven state in which one was never born and is thus
undying
236 Gao Huang , a common way to refer to Zhu Yuanzhang , the founder of the Ming Dynasty, in the 16th century revival of Three Teachings thought (e.g., Langlois and Sun 1983: 138). This revival prompted new editions of the founding emperor’s works: “prior to this his writings had been poorly omission in Dardess 1993: 791-93. This is one of only two of the five essays revealing the founder’s syncretic thought which can be found in the Inner Palace (Neifu edition of the emperor’s works (Langlois and Sun 1983: 120). Yu zhi wenji 11.9b. (1965 Taibei edition cited in Ibid.: 106).
238 Lit: “never glance back at or hear of it.”
239 Variorum (hereafter “Var.”): the Baiyun guan edition states “already” ji , rather than “academy” yuan . circulated,” (Ibid.: 137-38).
1c. Postscript to Principles of the Myriad Spirits Dual Cultivation of the Innate Disposition and the Lifespan
It’s not like when Zhihe [i.e., the author] still had my hair in a topknot, I admired the Perfected of the Way then in [the home of] my maternal grandfather the Grand Archivist Tang [whose cognomen] was the Gentleman Xin’an,241 I subsequently obtained the collection Principles of the Innate Disposition and the Lifespan. It is said a family of eastern Zhe[jiang] had originally stored it away. I treasured it for more than twenty years. Although I couldn’t immediately match myself up to242 this profound [device for obtaining perfection]243 I gradually awakened to the realm of man and heaven.
This yimao [1615] year I took it out to show the layman Feng Gan , who was immensely gratified. He asked for permission to show it to like-minded companions. I, thinking that to obtain the [life-]counters of a crane and the years of a turtle, those who cultivate perfection still look back to [emulating] bears’ alignment and the head-turning of owls, valuing them more the further [their origin] recedes into posterity,244 how much more so [will they value] this [collection], [which provides one with the means to] cast off the physical body, directly transcend dharmadhātu, exhaust the Sea of Suffering, and find superlative joy in the repose body? Would there be one in a mass of millions and billions who not take refuge in the Buddha [if they saw this work]? Those who are ignorant of this Way, some speak in condemnation of both.245 They are called ones who take note of an autumn hair but can’t see Mount Tai; of a drop of water but not the azure sea. It is not the Way that is far from men, but men who are far from the way. I wrote this at the end [of this collection] for this reason.
43rd year of the Wanli era of the August Ming 15th day of the 5th month [June 10, 1615], sincerely composed postface by Wu Zhihe
241 Lit: “new hut” . In preface 1b She Yongnian writes the homophonous , “new peace,” for the same individual
242 Qi . The analogy is of ancient contracts which were made my breaking a strip of bamboo and distributing the two pieces to the committed parties.
243 Quan . An allusion to a passage the “External Things” (Waiwu ) chapter of Zhuangzi: “A quan is that which, when fishing, one discards after catching the fish.”
244 Wu is deriding those who practice exercises described in Zhuangzi. See I. 5.
245 This is a tentative reading, primarily because it isn’t clear what the “both” might refer to. Possibly the innate disposition and the lifespan, but they’re mentioned nowhere else in this composition.
1d. Preface
Principles of the Innate Nature and the Lifespan doesn’t have an author. It was transmitted by the brush of a high disciple of the Perfected Yin. Hitherto the copies in circulation were very rare.246 Only the Gentleman Yin had a copy of the scripture
which has been in existence for some years. Master Cao Ruoji saw it and delighted, carried it over to show Master Zhou Yuxian . Happily they appreciated it and together commissioned these printing blocks. Then Master Qian Yuzhen supervised its completion. When the book was finished he asked me for a preface. I said: “Although I yearn to be able to do it, how dare I add a word?” Even so, this is what I have to say.
The Three Teachings are equally established; deviant doctrines unpleasant to the ear are concealed like an enemy. We encounter them every day. This book reveals only the Great Way, as well as the subtle meaning of the Ruist and Śākyaist teachings which are elaborated in tandem. What is essential is put into the center, joined as the One [to do justice to] the principle of exhausting one’s innate disposition and living out one’s lifespan.247 Different tracks have the same point of origin. Were it not for the Imperial Archivist’s 5,000 [Character Scripture]248 [by what means could one uphold] this standard of discarding and perserving? The same applies to the 64 hexagrams and the 42 chapters, which invariably are strung together like a thread of pearls. As for Daoist discourse there are 96 kinds of deviant paths, 3,600 heterodox schools.249 Disciples fond of material goods, those who enjoy talking about alchemy, lecherous disciples, those who compose fine words about other lineages,250 [that is, practices like] the “bear’s alignment and bird’s flexibility,”251 or “the dragon’s sigh and tiger’s roar,” may all be clarified as formalities which bear no relation to the original substance taught to people.
Recently a master of esoteric methods (fangshi ) taught people to subdue the qi by twisting their fingers, rapidly opening the Pass, suddenly laughing, suddenly crying, limbs shaking. Those who see them fear that they are mad, while they themselves boast of divine arts. How sad! This book sweeps away all ornate obstacles. [It] strives to eradicate [the illness] symptom and root by devotion to the void and preserving quiescence, by concentrating and gathering in the atemporal realm. Its turning of the heterodox into the orthodox is the true earth. Extreme movement results in stillness. This meaning belongs to yin. It is ji-earth. Extreme stillness results in movement. This meaning belongs to yang. It is wu-earth. Refine the ji-earth and achieve the mercury of Li and the sun. Refine the wu-earth and achieve the lead of Kan and the moon. With lead and mercury returned the Golden Elixir comes together of its own accord. Wu and ji are an image of “earth” doubled.252 Is this not taken from Principles (Guizhi )? The author pondered deeply, it is directly related to the Yellow Court -the center.
Master Zhou published and publicized it. “The deaf drummer dispels confusion.”
The achievement is immense. The Masters Yin and Cao are both excellent practitioners of nurturing the procreative aspect and I invoke “Feng Gan is a chatterbox.” This is also what Zhuang[zi] [meant when he] said: “Those who speak don’t know.”
Written by You Tong in the Wu Gate in the third month of summer253 in the jiyou year of the Kangxi reign [i.e., between May 30 and June 27, 1669]
246 You Tong is discussing the way in which the edition of 1669 came about, not that of 1615 whose gestation is described in prefaces 1a-c.
247 This phrase is the title of I. 17.
248 I.e., Laozi and the Daodejing.
49 These figures are those of the Perfected Yin, quoted in I. 5. 250 Ta jia . Also see I. 5.
251 Deviant technique 27 in I. 5.
252 Wu and ji are the two Heavenly Stems that correspond to the center (the yang and yin aspects, respectively). The center is represented by earth in Five Phases cosmology (See I. 24). You Tong is pointing out the code in the title of Principles: the untranslatable gui is “the image of ‘earth’ [tu ] doubled,” reflecting the concern with combining the yin and yang aspects in the center.
1e. Preface to Principles of the Innate Disposition and the Lifespan
I have admired the Dao from an early age. Inside the Seas254 is Principles of the Innate Disposition and the Lifespan. I have often heard of, but never seen, this book. What could I do? In late spring of this gengxu year [1670] I received the favor of two elder brothers, Yu Xian and Ruo Ji , who showed me the illustrated volume. In
my moments of respite from reciting [it] I was impressed by the calligraphy of the highest disciple of the Perfected Yin. (Otherwise, how could I recognize this book’s providence?)
I have on occasion discussed the Dao. Each time I use [Li Daochun’s Collection of] Central Harmony and [Chen Zhixu’s Shang Yangzi’s Great Essentials of] The Golden Elixir [ ] ,255 two collections sought out by perfected transcendents. I think the texts of the Mystic Order (Xuan zong ) [are sufficiently numerous] to make the oxen pulling a cart of them sweat and to fill a house to the rafters, with an increasing number constantly coming into being. [Yet] I’ve never seen a book with diagrams that includes the order of the Work and whose seminal meaning is so outstanding, brilliant like the sun and the stars; they do not have the same intriguing quality as this book. Truly it resembles The Dragon-Tiger [Scripture], Concordance of the Three, and Awakening to Perfection, three scriptures which are parallel tracks on the same road.
Alas! A jade envelope for a secret letter. Study it and begin in earnest. Why should you worry if you do not transcend it immediately and directly enter [enlightenment]? You have already encountered the teachers of mortals and celestials. From the physical body then evidentiate the dharma body, from continuous propagation256 to ending the cycle of rebirth. The mutual according of the principles is fundamentally like this. Chou Ke said: “It’s a minor improvement.” Although this is
so, if someone knows it and practices it he is called a sage. If he knows it and does not practice it he is called a fool. The attention to detail of my two elder brothers Yu Xian and Ruo Ji is like this. [Applying themselves] from dawn to dusk they come to fully comprehend miraculous truths. They discussed it quickly and took it to have the blocks carved, the only means by which to reach everyone and treat the entirety of the patient,257 to clear away the inferior schools and corrupt customs and drive [the undeserving] out of the three residences.258 Assigned to write this preface I have set forth a few words to respond to him with this.
Composed by Li Pu (Purple Center ?) in the Preserving the Center Hall on a pleasant day259 in the third month260 of the gengxu year261 of the Kangxi reign [April 20-May 18, 1670]
254 “Inside the Sea” is an allusion to the ancient Chinese belief that the “Central Kingdom” was closed in by seas in each direction. For a visual depiction, see: Strassberg 2002: 40-41.
255 DZ 249 and DZ 1067.
256 Sheng sheng . This is a phrase that appears in the commentaries to the Yijing and in the Laozi, verse 50.
257 Ding zhong xia zhen . Lit.: “provide acupuncture from the top of the head to the bottom of the feet”; i.e., heal the country.
258 San she. Divisions of the Imperial Academy (Taixue ]) (upper [shang ], inner [nei ], and outer [wai])
259 Gou dan
260 Bing yue
261 Shang zhang yan mao . Shang zhang means geng