Health and Mystery Verses 养生咏玄集

The author is unknown.

Judging from its content, it seems to have been written during the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties period.

It consists of one volume and is included in the Methods Category of the Dongshen Section of The Daozang.

Health and Mystery Verses

The book contains thirty seven-character quatrains with attached annotations, which eulogize the way of refining and nourishing the body and spirit as well as cultivating the mind and nature internally. It holds that Ying and Wei Qi are the yin and yang within the human body; when these two types of Qi harmonize, the physical form takes shape and the soul and spirit come into being. It also states that human beings are endowed with spiritual consciousness from birth, yet when they become tainted by mortal desires and attached to material realms, excessive cravings will damage their vitality, leading to the condition of "declining Qi, withered form and lack of vigor". One must atone for mistakes and replenish Qi to return to one’s original state, keep the mysterious gate well closed, and unify spirit with Qi. In this way, the mind will naturally dissolve with the breath, and Qi will be generated along with the breath; mortal attachments will vanish completely, and all fetters will be broken. If one can practice fetal breathing to nurture the primordial Qi, uphold the Oneness and keep to the middle path, subdue the tiger and dragon (symbolizing inner passions), refine yang and dissolve yin, carefully guard the three cinnabar fields, quietly uphold the profound mystery, nourish and close the mysterious gateway of life, and cut off all distractions to focus on the origin, then one can attain clarity of mind and insight into one’s true nature, align with the Dao and unite with the ultimate truth—all of which embody the core tenets of Taoism.