Master Zongxuan's Treatise on the Profound Outline: Chapter 27 - Cultivating Nature and Condensing the Spirit
A question was asked: The spirit prefers stillness, so why does the heart have desires? I replied: The spirit is the most spiritual entity without form. The spirit receives its essence from the Dao, being still and aligning with nature. Humans receive their essence from the spirit, being active and aligning with emotions. Therefore, following nature condenses the spirit, while acting on emotions disturbs it. If the spirit is condensed for a long time, it stops; if disturbed to the extreme, the spirit migrates. When it stops, there is life; when it migrates, there is death. All these are shifts caused by emotions, not by the spirit itself.
It was asked: Then, who changes nature into emotion? It was answered: Internally, it is the conflicting energy of the Yin corpse; externally, it is the temptation of sounds and colors. Accumulated habits are vast and overwhelming, making one unable to remain calm. This is not what the spirit desires to move.
Explanation: Someone asked: The spirit requires stillness, yet the heart has desires. What does this specifically refer to? I answered: The spirit is formless and extremely spiritual, receiving its essence from the Dao, using stillness to align with nature. Humans receive their essence from emotions, so following nature allows the spirit to condense, while acting on emotions causes disturbance. If the spirit condenses for a long time, it settles; but if disturbed too much, the spirit migrates away. When the spirit stops, life exists; when it migrates, death occurs. All are caused by emotions, not by the spirit itself.
Analysis: In cultivation, there is a concept of 'stability', such as in the practice of Sword Immortal methods, which emphasizes the three characters 'Stillness, Clarity, Stability'. Stillness is the most fundamental foundation. Clarity represents the clarity of the spirit, and Stability means the spirit stops within the body.
As for Buddhist meditation, due to the Indian religious emphasis on Dhyana, although the Yang Spirit has not been refined and thus is not complete, it is undeniable that it has unique aspects in the cultivation of the Yin Spirit. Therefore, Buddhism describes this area in detail. Although it cannot lead to immortality, it serves as a foundation for entry and should be referenced for understanding.
The first level of entering stillness is the realm of 'One Mind Unmoving'. The Eight Touches phenomenon may appear, namely cold, warmth, movement, itching, roughness, smoothness, lightness, and heaviness. This is the image of movement arising from stillness. Additionally, one may have a scent that the nose cannot smell, or a sound that the ears cannot hear, while simultaneously feeling refreshed and clear. This state is called 'One Mind Unmoving', meaning no sudden consciousness or thought will pull oneself out of the state. It should be noted that the Eight Touches sensations must never be artificially pursued, as this can lead to Yin evil entering the body.
In the realm of 'One Mind Unmoving', some people may have stronger sensations, such as feeling like their skin is being cut or itching all over the scalp and body. All of these are normal phenomena. However, it is important to note that this movement generated by stillness is merely the slight sprouting and activation of Qi mechanism. This is also the moment when the first Yang begins to sprout. The key point at this step is: if various sensations appear, let them be natural and treat them as non-existent.
This realm is easy to reach. Generally, as long as one sits in meditation for a while, it will definitely appear.
The second level of entering stillness is the realm of 'Heart Like Still Water'. The difference between the realm of 'Heart Like Still Water' and 'One Mind Unmoving' is that although 'One Mind Unmoving' exists, after the Eight Touches arrive, the water still ripples and remains turbulent. In the realm of 'Heart Like Still Water', however, it is like dead wood without life, a pool of stagnant water. At this time, what one feels is not the Eight Touches, but a sense of purity and stillness.
At this level, there is neither joy nor sorrow. One only feels that all things are silent like dead objects, devoid of vitality. This is the state of extreme stillness. One only feels the silent place is utterly silent and traceless. However, there may still be a slight sense of joy. This step requires careful contemplation.
The third level of entering stillness is the realm of 'Green Waves Reflecting the Moon'. Unlike the realm of 'Heart Like Still Water', in this realm, the mind is unmoving and the heart is like still water, while all things are projected onto the mind, allowing one to observe all things while keeping the spirit unmoving. Unlike the second level where everything felt lacks vitality, this step is a realm where vitality still exists within extreme stillness.
The fourth level of entering stillness is the realm of 'Heaven and Earth Pure and Clear'. Unlike the realm of 'Green Waves Reflecting the Moon', in this realm, there are no thoughts, no desires, and no mental chatter. Objects transform according to the mind, as if embedded in heaven and earth, achieving action through non-action. This step is relatively profound and requires personal experience.
The key to this step is to truly condense the spirit. One must condense the spirit at all times in daily life. Although simple, the difficulty lies in long-term perseverance. The method of daily spirit condensation can borrow a line from the Diamond Sutra: 'Generate the mind without dwelling anywhere.' The 'without dwelling' refers to the spirit, and 'generating the mind' means the spirit attaches to the mind. Without the mind, the spirit does not attach. All spirits exist because the mind dwells somewhere. Therefore, one must first understand 'non-existence'. If the mind does not generate, the spirit does not dwell. That is, external objects do not generate mind, so the spirit is not disturbed. If not disturbed, it does not move. If it does not move, it becomes still. Thus, it can stop. Once it stops, the spirit can condense.
The spirit is different from the human physical body and does not reside in the physical body. It resides in the heart, but this heart is not the physical heart. The heart is originally void and silent, so there should be no consciousness of 'I', because this 'I' is an 'illusory self', and 'non-self' is the foundation. Because 'I' originally did not exist and was generated from nothing, this is called 'existence arises from non-existence'. At the same time, when entering the Dao in the Xuan school, there are often Q&A sessions: 'Where do you come from?' The answer is 'From the void'. This is the meaning. Here, only 'non-self' is mentioned. There are further concepts later, so to avoid confusion, they are not discussed for now.
The above four levels generally correspond to the Four Dhyanas. However, it should be noted that even if the fourth level is reached, it does not mean cultivation is successful. It only means slight success, which is just the beginning, having just stabilized the spirit.
These four levels are called 'Refining the Self' in Alchemy, which is the most basic cultivation of mind and nature. This is also called the foundation-building功夫 (Kung Fu). Only by achieving this step can a solid foundation be laid for subsequent cultivation.
For example, the Daoist mantra 'A thunderclap from south and north of the mountain' refers to this. It can only be reached in stillness and stability when stillness reaches its extreme. Suddenly, like a thunderclap, it resonates like thunder. Its verification is like encountering thunder in the wild. After the thunder sounds, there is first a dazzling electric light, followed by the booming sound of thunder coming down from the sky, shaking the four limbs, and the Dantian vibrating incessantly.
Many people misunderstand the Eight Touches of the first level as the 'thunderclap from south and north of the mountain' representing the first movement of Yang. This is incorrect. Without sufficient cultivation of stillness and stability, one cannot reach this step. Without reaching this step, the foundation is not well laid, and naturally, Alchemy cultivation is also futile.
Modern people pursue speed and efficiency, so they learn the convenient Alchemy methods of the Ming and Qing dynasties. However, these methods do not require high demands on mental cultivation and entering stillness/stability. It seems like a big bargain to learn them, but one does not realize that without a solid foundation, it will ultimately be just a dream. If the spirit is not condensed and stopped, after death, the soul and spirit will dissipate, and one will inevitably follow the path of ghosts. Therefore, the sages were not idle when they told practitioners that they must first refine the self and build the foundation. These steps in cultivation were exchanged with life.
More importantly, merely achieving the four levels of stillness and being able to condense the spirit in daily life is still not enough for successful cultivation. Although the spirit is condensed, Yin has not been removed. Even if Yin is eliminated and Yang is accumulated through accumulating merit, one can only achieve a relatively high-level Spirit Path, not the Immortal Path.
To achieve the Immortal Path, one must undergo further cultivation. Because all of this is not the natural way of Heaven, but a process of going against nature. One must also cooperate with the Dao following nature, returning to the Pre-Heaven state, to truly achieve success on the Immortal Path.