The Difference Between Cultivating the Yin Spirit and the Yang Spirit

Zhang Boduan, from Tiantai (present-day Tiantai County, Zhejiang Province), was a renowned Daoist master during the Northern Song Dynasty. At the age of eighty, he met the Elder of Qingcheng Mountain in Chengdu, who passed on the secrets of internal alchemy to him. Only then did he awaken to the true Dao. After years of cultivation and accumulation, he reached a profound and mysterious state. Among his friends was a Chan Buddhist monk who was highly skilled in meditation; during deep meditation, his spirit could travel hundreds of miles away. One day, Zhang Boduan said to the monk, "Master, can we travel far together today?" The monk replied, "Yes." Zhang Boduan added, "Wherever you wish to go, I will follow." The monk said, "I would like to go to Yangzhou to view the Qionghua (jade flowers)." Zhang said, "Good," and together they entered a pure chamber, sitting opposite each other with eyes closed, both sending their spirits out. When Zhang Boduan arrived at the Qionghua, the monk had already arrived. The two circled the flower three times. Zhang Boduan said, "Today, let each of us pluck a flower to take back as a souvenir." Thus, each plucked a Qionghua. A while later, both stretched and woke up. Zhang Boduan asked, "Master, where is the Qionghua?" The monk felt in his sleeve—it was empty. Zhang Boduan, however, produced the Qionghua, and they laughed together while admiring it. Later, Zhang's disciples asked, "Master, when you and the monk traveled in spirit to pluck flowers, why were the results different?" Zhang Boduan answered, "Our Great Dao of Golden Elixir cultivates both nature and life, meaning it practices both spirit and qi methods together. Therefore, when gathered, it takes form; when dispersed, it becomes qi. The true spirit manifests its form at the place reached, which is called the 'Yang Spirit.' What they practice seeks quick results, neglecting the cultivation of life (qi) and focusing directly on the cultivation of nature (spirit). That is, they do not practice qi methods but only refine the spirit. When their spirit travels, others cannot see its form or shadow, which is called the 'Yin Spirit.' The Yin Spirit is insubstantial and naturally cannot bring back the Qionghua." The disciples then understood the truth. After attaining the Dao, Zhang Boduan changed his name to Yongcheng, with the courtesy name Pingshu, and the pseudonym Ziyang. His work, Wuzhen Pian (Awakening to Reality), was revered after the Southern Song Dynasty as one of the most important works on internal alchemy, comparable to Wei Boyang's Zhouyi Cantong Qi (The Kinship of the Three) from the Han and Wei dynasties. He lived to be ninety-nine years old before passing away, and his disciples all传说 that he had become a true immortal.