Daoism Series 32: Chen Xiyi’s ‘Poem on Encouraging the Sleeping [Gong]’

Daoism Series 32:

二．陈希夷《励睡诗》
(2) Chen Xiyi’s ‘Poem on Encouraging the Sleeping [Gong]’

 

The following is one of eight poems about Sleeping Gong by different authors such as Chen Xiyi, Zhang Sanfeng, Bai Yuxhan and Li Daochun:

常人无所重，
In common people, nothing is of importance.

惟睡乃为重。
Only sleep is of importance

举世皆为息，
Throughout the world each and every person regards it as rest,

魂离神不动。
While their ethereal souls depart, their spirits remain motionless.

至人本无梦，
Attained people are fundamentally without dreams.

其梦本游仙。
Their dreams are essentially their roaming in the immortal [realm].

真人本无睡，
Realized Ones are fundamentally without sleep,

睡则浮云烟。
When they sleep, they float on the mist and clouds.

炉里近为药，
Inside the furnace they are near the medicine,

壶中别有天。
Inside the vessel, there is another heaven.

欲知睡梦里，
One would suppose that within a dream,

人间第一玄。
it is the foremost mystery in the human world.

Post-Scriptum: The full article will be published as part of a book, entitled ‘The Arts of Daoism’ about meditation, stillness cultivation, abstention from grains [bi gu辟谷], sleeping gong [shui gong 睡功], dreams, vegetarianism and diet in Daoism, formulae for fasting and meditation incense, including several chapters from the alchemical classic The Essentials of the Shortcut to the Great Achievement [da cheng jie yao 大成捷要]. It will be a mixture of anecdotal and oral transmissions from my teacher Li Shi Fu and translations of a number of chapters from ancient texts. It is set to be released early 2021, and the editing process has reached the final chapter..