Fifteen Theses on Quanzhen 重阳立教十五论

Composed by Wang Zhe in the Jin Dynasty, it is a single volume included in the Zhengyi Section of The Daozang.

Divided into fifteen sections, this text uses concise language to elaborate on the foundational tenets of the The Quanzhen Dao and the basic precepts for introductory cultivation. Its content falls into three categories. First, it expounds the daily practice rules for Quanzhen Daoists, covering sections such as dwelling in a hermitage, wandering as a mendicant, studying scriptures, preparing medicinal remedies, building hermitages, and choosing spiritual companions. It stipulates that Quanzhen Daoists must leave their families to reside in hermitages, observe precepts strictly, investigate the nature of life and the innate spirit, dispense medicine to help the needy, live in frugality, and associate with virtuous and wise friends.

Fifteen Theses on Quanzhen

Second, it elaborates on the essential tenets of Internal Alchemy cultivation, including sections on meditation, calming the mind, refining one’s nature, harmonizing the five qi, and unifying life and nature. It holds that the cultivation of the Dao should center on purity, tranquility and freedom from excessive desires, stabilizing the mind and abiding in one’s true nature, and refining qi to nourish the spirit; forging life and nature is the fundamental of Dao cultivation.

Finally, it discusses the realms that Dao practitioners ought to attain, including sections on the sage’s Dao, transcending the Three Realms, methods of nourishing the body, and leaving the mortal world. It argues that only through years of unwavering dedication and the accumulation of merits and virtuous deeds can a Dao practitioner transcend the mortal and become a sage. The so-called transcendence of the Three Realms and departure from the mortal world do not refer to the physical body ascending to immortality and escaping the mortal realm, but rather wandering freely in the heavenly realm in spirit while dwelling in the human world; the body abides in the mortal dust yet the mind is enlightened beyond all material things. Hence it is said: "To forget all thoughts and worries in the mind is to transcend the Desire Realm; to forget all worldly states in the mind is to transcend the Form Realm; to be unattached to the view of emptiness is to transcend the Formless Realm." Transcending these Three Realms allows the spirit and innate true nature to dwell in the immortal realm. This represents a vital revision of the early Taoist doctrine of physical immortality by the Quanzhen Dao, which absorbed the ideas of Chan Buddhism.