Mystical Dialogues in Stillness 静余玄问

Recounted by Bai Yuchan during the Song Dynasty and compiled by his disciples including Peng Si.

Consisting of one scroll, it is included in the Zhengyi Section within the Taoist Canon (The Daozang).

Mystical Dialogues in Stillness

This work collects recorded dialogues on the Dao between Bai Yuchan and his disciples such as Peng Si and Liu Yuanchang, with diverse content falling roughly into four categories: First, discussions on cultivating the Dao. It holds that those who cultivate the Dao "share the same outward traces as ordinary people but differ in their inner minds"—they should blend into the mundane world without distinguishing themselves from others. It also states: "First learn to be mindless, then learn to forget form"; "Only when the mind dies can the spirit come alive, and only when the ethereal soul perishes can the soul flourish." Second, expositions on the Golden Elixir. It argues that the primary mnemonic for refining the elixir is to gather Qi (Vital Energy) and concentrate the spirit: "Constantly maintaining the 'firm grip' (a cultivation gesture) gathers Qi; unceasingly keeping silence concentrates the spirit." It further claims: "The constant convergence of all spirits is called spiritual penetration; the undispersed state of a single Qi is called the treasure"; "The Golden Elixir is the Lingbao (Numinous Treasure), and the Lingbao is the Golden Elixir." Third, accounts of Chen Nan (Zixuzi)’s corpse liberation (shijie) by entering water in the sixth year of the Jiading reign. Fourth, discrimination of classic terms. For example, it holds that the Three Realms should refer to the Desire Realm, Form Realm, and Formless Realm, or the Heaven Realm, Earth Realm, and Space Realm—not the Upper, Middle, and Lower Realms or the Heaven, Earth, and Water Realms.