Inner Alchemy Verses Quanzhen Poetry 仙乐集

Composed by Liu Chuxuan in the Jin Dynasty.

It consists of five scrolls and is included in the Taiping Section of The Daozang.

Inner Alchemy Verses

This work is a collection of poems and eulogies by Liu Chuxuan, a great master of The Quanzhen Dao, containing more than 560 poems and eulogies, all of which propagate the tenets of the Quanzhen Dao. It holds that life is fleeting and the cycle of reincarnation is inescapable; only by early awakening to the profound mysteries of the Dao and cultivating the Dao to pursue immortality can one and one’s family ascend to heaven together, free from the sufferings of birth, old age, illness, death, and karmic retribution in reincarnation.

The essential theme of cultivating the true self expounded herein is the cultivation of nature and mind through Internal Alchemy. It states that one should keep the mind always pure and tranquil in walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, not clinging to existence or non-existence, forgetting both motion and stillness. Eventually, the mind blends with the worldly realm yet remains unperturbed in the midst of chaos; when the qi and spirit unite, the life is stabilized and the nature is affirmed, then the true self is fully realized and the great elixir is achieved.

It also emphasizes ethical norms, exhorting people to practice loyalty, filial piety, and benevolence, to be upright and clean in officialdom, to be humble and modest in dealing with the world, and to frequently perform vegetarian rituals and altar ceremonies to save sentient beings. Furthermore, it advocates the unity of the three teachings, urging people to read the classics of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, which is consistent with the teachings of his master Wang Chongyang.