The Scripture of Calming Observation from the Profound and Sacred Numinous Treasure
The Heavenly Venerable said to the True Person of Left Mystery: To cultivate the Dao, one must first learn to let go of worldly affairs. Cut off all external concerns, so that nothing disturbs your mind. Then sit peacefully and inwardly observe the arising of thoughts. If you perceive even a single thought emerging, you must eliminate it, striving to keep your mind tranquil. Next, even if there are no explicit attachments—only wandering, random thoughts—you must also dispel them entirely. Practice diligently day and night, without a moment of slack.
Only subdue the restless mind; do not extinguish the illuminating mind. Concentrate solely on the empty mind, not on a mind fixated on objects. Do not cling to any single doctrine, yet let your mind abide always.
Now, the ordinary mind is prone to restlessness and craving. For beginners, stilling the mind is extremely difficult: even if you manage to still it temporarily, you soon lose that state. The struggle between "letting go" and "holding on" rages within, stirring the entire body. Only through prolonged, focused reflection can you gradually attain mastery. Do not abandon the karmic work of a thousand lifetimes just because you cannot still your mind briefly.
Once you achieve a measure of calm, you must then intend to remain peaceful in all moments—whether standing, walking, sitting, lying down; in the midst of tasks or in noisy places. Whether busy or idle, always maintain a mind of non-attachment. Whether in stillness or chaos, keep your will unified.
If you constrain your mind too tightly, it will lead to affliction: erratic energy and manic behavior are signs of this. Yet if your mind is not stirred, you must also allow it to be unforced. Find the right balance between looseness and restraint, and your mind will naturally adjust. Control without clinging; let be without disturbance.
To remain free of aversion amid chaos, and free of annoyance amid tasks—this is true calm. Do not seek more tasks just because you feel no annoyance in doing them; do not force yourself into noise just because you feel no aversion to it. Treat "being free of tasks" as your true abode, and "engaging in tasks" as a response to circumstances. Be like a water mirror: it reflects forms only as objects appear before it.
Skillful means lie solely in entering samādhi (meditative concentration). The speed at which wisdom awakens is not within human control. Do not urgently seek wisdom while in concentration—urgency harms your nature, and harming your nature destroys wisdom. If you do not seek wisdom in concentration, yet wisdom arises spontaneously, this is called "true wisdom."
Possess wisdom yet do not flaunt it; let your true insight resemble ignorance. Nourish both concentration and wisdom, and their mutual perfection will be boundless.
If during concentration you harbor excessive thoughts, you will attract numerous evils: goblins, spirits, and all manner of phantoms will appear in response to your mind. The visions of Heavenly Venerables, immortals, and true beings that you see—these are auspicious signs.
Only let the concentrated mind be utterly unobscured above, and the concentrated mind be utterly ungrounded below. Old karmic debts will fade daily, and no new karma will be created. Free from all attachments, you will break free from the cage of worldly dust. Practice this consistently, and you will attain the Dao naturally.
Those who attain the Dao will manifest seven signs:
- The mind easily enters concentration, and one perceives all the "leaks" of worldly dust (defilements).
- Old illnesses are completely cured, and body and mind feel light and refreshed.
- Lifespan deficiencies are replenished, restoring vitality and extending life.
- One lives for thousands of years and is called an "immortal" (xianren).
- One refines the physical form into vital energy (qi) and is called a "true person" (zhenren).
- One refines vital energy into spirit (shen) and is called a "divine person" (shenren).
- One refines spirit to unite with the Dao and is called a "supreme person" (zhiren).
Their power of insight grows clearer with each sign. When ultimate realization of the Dao is achieved, wisdom becomes fully complete.
If one studies long to calm the mind but shows none of these seven signs—if one’s lifespan remains short, one’s body impure, and one fades away like a passing cloud—yet claims to have awakened to wisdom and attained the Dao, this is far from the true principle of seeking the Dao.
A verse says:
Wisdom arises from sensory objects;
Fire ignites from a spark (causal conditions).
Each is rooted in true nature,
Yet straying from this source, one loses the Dao.
To still the mind, one tries to stop cognition—
But the more the mind stirs, the greater the confusion.
Awaken to the emptiness of cognition’s nature:
Cognition itself is the gate to all wonders.
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