Scripture of Primordial Chaos and Eight Phases
The author is unknown, and it was presumably compiled between the Tang Dynasty and Song Dynasty.
Comprising five scrolls, it is included in the Benwen Category of the Dongshen Section within The Daozang.
Scripture of Primordial Chaos and Eight Phases
The scripture adopts the form of self-posed questions and answers by the True Person of Primordial Fusion, expounding the path of Internal Alchemy (Neidan) cultivation. The first three scrolls provide an overview of the origin of heaven and earth, as well as the essential secrets of cultivating the body and replenishing vitality. Scroll One states: "Promote yang, eliminate yin, and replenish deficiency; when things reach an extreme, return to the origin for replenishment—let people carefully seek the root and cultivate in accordance with their original nature." Scroll Two argues: "Discussing the cultivation of the body and preservation of life, replenishing Qi (Vital Energy) and completing the spirit—this is the subtle mechanism of heaven and earth and the profound essence of human life." Scroll Three elaborates: "If one wishes to cultivate the body, they only need to align with the seasonal changes of heaven and earth and utilize them in harmony, and results will naturally be verified."
The latter two scrolls detail the method of subdividing the great achievement, supreme medicine, and golden elixir, which is further divided into three stages. The first stage consists of five chapters, discussing the categories of cultivation. It emphasizes that practitioners must first cultivate the body and replenish Qi; only when the body and Qi are unified can they proceed to discuss the preservation of life. The second stage, the stage of life cultivation, comprises eight chapters, expounding the methods of preserving life—primarily focusing on nourishing Qi, completing the spirit, returning essence to nourish the brain. The final stage, the stage of heavenly mechanism, includes five chapters, stating that human cultivation should imitate the operation of heaven, earth, the sun, and the moon, allowing the nutritive and defensive Qi to circulate within the body, thereby naturally attaining longevity and prolonged vision.
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