歷世真仙體道通鑑 The Comprehensive Mirror of True Immortals Who Embodied the Dao of All Ages

Daoism Series 13

歷世真仙體道通鑑
The Comprehensive Mirror of
True Immortals Who Embodied
the Dao of All Ages
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The following is a dialogue between a Chan Buddhist monk and Zhang Bo Duan, Southern Patriarch of the Complete Realization school, explicating the notion of the Yin- and the Yang-Spirit (translated by Allen Tsaur and Johan Hausen):

嘗有一僧，修戒定慧，自以為得最上乘禪旨，能入定出神，數百里間頃刻輒到。一日與紫陽相遇，雅志契合。
Once there was a Buddhist monk, who was cultivating the precepts, stabilization and wisdom. He himself thought he had obtained the highest degree of Chan realization. He was able to enter stabilization and exit with his Spirit, and travel instantly to any place as far as hundreds of Chinese miles away. One day he encountered Zi Yang, with similar esteemed aspiration, and they got along well with each other.

紫陽曰：禪師今日能與同遊遠方乎？
Zi Yang said: Chan master, today would you be able to travel together with me to a far-away place?

僧曰：可也。
The monk said: Certainly.

紫陽曰：唯命是聽。
Zi Yang said: By your command, I follow.

僧曰：願同往楊州觀瓊花。
The monk said: I wish to go together to Yang Zhou to observe the jasper flowers.

紫陽曰：諾。
Zi Yang said: I agree.

於是紫陽與僧處一淨室，相對暝目趺坐，皆出神遊。紫陽纔至其地，僧已先至，繞花三匝。
Thereupon, Zi Yang and the monk stayed together in one clean room. They sat opposite each other cross-legged with eyes closed. Both exited with their Spirits and travelled outwards. When Zi Yang arrived at this place, [he saw that] the monk had already arrived earlier. They moved around the flowers in three circumferences.

紫陽曰：今日與禪師至此，各折一花為記。
Zi Yang said: Today, I have been together with the Chan master here. Let each of us break off one flower as a keepsake.

僧與紫陽各折一花歸。少頃，紫陽與僧欠伸而覺，
The monk and Zi Yang each broke off one flower to take back. After a short while, Zi Yang and the monk yawned, stretched, and awoke.

紫陽云：禪師瓊花何在？
Zi Yang said: Chan master, where is your jasper flower?

僧袖手皆空，紫陽於手中拈出瓊花，與僧笑玩。
The monk’s sleeves and hands were all empty, while Zi Yang fiddled out the jasper flower from his hand. He and the monk laughed and amused themselves.

紫陽曰：今世人學禪學仙，如吾二人者亦間見矣。
Zi Yang said: Among today’s people who learn Chan and study immortality, to be like the two of us is [rarely] seen, [people like us are] few and far between.

紫陽遂與僧為莫逆之交。
Thereupon, Zi Yang and the monk became the closest of friends.

後弟子問紫陽曰：彼禪師者，與吾師同此神遊，何以有折花之異？
Later, his disciple asked Zi Yang: That Chan master roamed his Spirit together with my master’s, so how could there have been a difference in breaking off the flowers?

紫陽曰：我金丹大道，性命兼修，是故聚則成形，散則成氣，所至之地，真神見形，謂之陽神。彼之所修，欲速見功，不復修命，直修性宗，故所至之地，人見無復形影，謂之陰神。
Zi Yang said: My Golden Elixir’s Great Dao, Inner Nature and Life-Destiny were cultivated simultaneously, which is the reason why:

When it accumulates, so it takes shape.
When it disperses, so it becomes Qi.

In the place at which one arrives, the True Spirit appears in form, which is called the Yang-Spirit. One who only wishes promptly to see Gong-[-results] does not cultivate Life-Destiny, but directly cultivates Inner Nature as the aim. Therefore, in the place at which one arrives, people no longer see the form’s shadow, which is called the Yin-Spirit.

弟子曰：唯。
The disciple said: Yes.
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Post-Scriptum:
This article will appear in the appendix of Purple Cloud Press’ forthcoming publication of 《The 49 Barriers of Cultivating the Dao》 by Xing De/Li Shi Fu, a manual for refining one’s Inner Nature based on Liu Yi Ming’s 50 Barriers. Li Shi Fu is abbot of Five Immortals Temple (www.fiveimmortals.com).

Post-Post-Scriptum: Purple Cloud Institutes webpage is now online, find all our articles on purplecloudinstitute.com