The way that establishes heaven is called yin and yang; the way that establishes earth is called soft and hard; the way that establishes humanity is called humaneness and righteousness.
So it is that, vast as heaven and earth are, humans are the most spiritually endowed of beings; they model themselves on yin and receive yang, and nothing is more important to them than nature and life. The two images of heaven and earth are set in place, the four seasons turn in succession, and humans dwell between them for a span as brief as a flash of lightning. Whenever one thinks of this, one is overcome with sorrow: life does not come twice, and what has passed cannot return. One must open and awaken the ears and eyes, mold and refine the heart and mind, wash away vexation and evil, and promote the flow of the nutritive and defensive qi. No one has ever become a vessel of worth without study, or benefited his body without practice. That is why the Perfected often said: “My attainment did not come from naturalness; I attained it through study.” So in my seeking the Tao, though I have received and upheld a thousand scriptures and ten thousand arts, everything lies in a sincere heart.
Lord Lao said: Heaven and earth send down essence, yin and yang spread their transformations, and the myriad things are born. Riding on their past karma, they receive a share of spirit from the one Tao, which brings together all the myriad workings. When a person first receives life, in the first month it is an embryo, as essence and blood congeal. In the second month it is a fetus, as the form begins to take shape. In the third month come the yang spirits, the three hun, which move and give life. In the fourth month come the yin spirits, the seven po, which are still and settle the body. In the fifth month the Five Phases are divided among the organs to settle the spirits. In the sixth month the six pitch-pipes fix the six fu organs to support the spirit. In the seventh month the seven essences open the orifices to let light through. In the eighth month the spirits of the Eight Phosphors are complete and the true spirit descends. In the ninth month the palaces and chambers of the body are laid out to fix life. In the tenth month the qi is complete and all features are formed.
The Supreme One, Mysterious and True, dwelling in the head, is called Lord Niwan; he oversees all the spirits, commands the hundred numinous powers to ward off evil qi, and shapes all kinds of things to fix the true origin. Know, then, that in cultivating perfection, one who keeps still and guards calm harmony can preserve long life.
The Perfected said: Those whose spirit is strong live long; those whose qi is forceful die young. To be gentle and yielding and to stand in awe is strength of spirit; to swell with anger and give free rein to one's will is forcefulness of qi. Whenever a person strains to think about what lies beyond his abilities, his will is harmed. When he strains to lift what is beyond his strength, his body is harmed. When he strains to plan what lies beyond his schemes, his intelligence is harmed. When he strains in anger at what lies beyond his power, his qi is harmed. When worries pile up without end the hun spirit weakens; when wrongs pile up without end the po spirit scatters. With too much joy and anger, the spirit does not return to its dwelling; with love and hate unsettled, the spirit does not guard the body. Grasping eagerly after desires makes the spirit agitated; brooding anxiously makes the spirit decay. Talking long and laughing long harm the heart qi; sitting long and standing long damage the sinews and bones; sleeping at the wrong times harms the liver and gallbladder; leaping, running, and panting harm the stomach; shouting, cursing, and raging harm the gallbladder qi. So when yin and yang do not unite, sores and warts appear; when there is no restraint in the bedchamber, consumptive wasting sets in.
A whole human life, at its longest, is no more than thirty thousand-odd days. How can there be no day of repair through practice, and how can there be no day of harm? To complain in vain that the spirit does not stay and the body is not well is like walking backward and hoping to catch up quickly with companions ahead—how could it be done? So the essentials of nurturing life are these: do not spit far, do not walk hastily, do not listen long, do not look long, do not sit until weary, and do not lie down until sluggish. Put on clothes before you feel cold, and loosen them before you feel hot. Do not wait until extremely hungry to eat, and beware of eating too much. Do not wait until extremely thirsty to drink, and beware of drinking too much. Eating too much forms lumps and masses; drinking too much wine gathers phlegm and fluid. Do not idle excessively and do not toil excessively; do not sweat profusely, and do not breathe hard in the wind. When drunk, do not ride a speeding carriage; when full, do not ride a galloping horse. Do not eat much raw or cold food, and do not eat your fill of rich and fresh delicacies. Do not stand in the wind after drinking wine, and do not leave your head uncovered after washing your hair.
In winter do not seek extreme warmth; in summer do not seek extreme coolness. Extreme warmth in winter brings raging epidemics in spring; extreme coolness in summer brings malaria and dysentery in autumn. Do not sleep in the open under the stars and moon, and do not approach corpses and coffins when hungry. Do not fan yourself while asleep, and do not eat with your head uncovered. When overheated, do not drink cold water; when braving severe cold, do not crowd close to a blazing stove; when freshly bathed, do not expose yourself to a strong wind; when very hungry, do not go out into heavy fog. And the five flavors that enter the mouth must not be taken one-sidedly. Too much sour harms the spleen, too much sweet harms the kidneys, too much pungent harms the liver, too much salty harms the heart, and too much bitter harms the lungs. All of these muddy the spirit and soul and disorder the five zang organs. They may not harm a person at once, but over time they accumulate into decline and ruin. They cut down a person's life more than an axe, and eat away at a person's nature more fiercely than wolves and tigers.
For these signs correspond to the Five Phases and secretly connect with the four seasons. Trace them to their source and you will not go wrong; investigate their principles and you will benefit all the more. One should be deeply careful about them in order to keep one's true self whole. Forcing food when not hungry and forcing drink when not thirsty both invite harm. Forcing food when not hungry wearies the spleen; forcing drink when not thirsty bloats the stomach. The body should often work, and the diet should often be small; but work should not go to exhaustion, and eating little should not reach depletion.
In winter, do not go without breakfast in the morning; in summer, do not eat your fill at night. In spring and summer one should rise early; in autumn and winter one should go to bed late. Rise early, but not before the cock crows; rise late, but not after sunrise. When the source of the heart is clear, the true spirit keeps its place; when the sea of qi is still, evil things leave the body. Practice deceit and falsehood and the spirit grieves; practice flattery and fawning and the spirit is dejected. Envying others shortens your reckoned lifespan; killing and harming living things is sure to cut your years. Do one good deed and the hun spirit is glad; commit one evil and the po spirit rejoices.
The hun wants a person to live; the po wants a person to die. Thus the heart is the ruler of the five zang organs, and qi is the messenger of all the bones of the body. The ruler wants to be calm, still, and in non-action; the messenger wants to flow without obstruction. So one rises and retires in accordance with the four seasons, taking care over the hours early and late; and one regulates the six fu organs through food and drink, choosing what is suitably cold or hot. In activity, take great harmony as your horse; in circulation, take profound stillness as your carriage. When the four limbs are tired and strained, lie back and stretch to guide the qi; when the chest is congested, use breathing exercises (tuna) to release it. Block the sources of illness by constantly applying the arts of tonifying and draining; expel evil qi by always keeping to the silent workings within. Thus one restrains anger to overcome yin, and holds back joy to support yang. Lord Niwan wants the hair combed often; the heavenly drum wants to be sounded often. Never tire of looking inward, never tire of swallowing saliva, never tire of a compliant heart, and never tire of harmonious qi. If one can practice like this without stopping, then one may take herbal medicines to first repair one's injuries. Then, if one keeps diligently at it, one can go on to melt metals and minerals and secure one's true self. This is how preserving life has its order and guarding longevity has its bounds; it is truly the wondrous gate of tonifying and nurturing and the profound teaching of extending one's days.
But if one gives free rein to passions and pleasures in galloping and hunting, wears out the spirit and thoughts in cunning and falsehood, values goods and wealth, and indulges in favor and pleasure, without practicing the arts of protection or keeping the rules of careful guarding, then in no time the qi is exhausted in angry striving and the body withers amid sounds and sights. Seeing this, one should be moved to awaken.
People do not know that when the source of the heart is still, the spirit and soul are at peace, and when cravings and desires arise, the true spirit collapses. To wear out one's toiling body with anxious, sorrowful ambitions is like fighting a fire by throwing on firewood—truly lamentable. Therefore the Perfected composed this verse: “Not drawing close to plainness, one has wild abandon for a neighbor. Even if it does not destroy your body, it can ruin your spirit. Ruining the spirit and losing the true—this is the cause of injury and ruin. The cause of injury and ruin—are these empty words?”