Three Essentials of Supreme Cultivation 上乘修真三要

Originally titled Narrated by the Bright Circle Immortal

The author is suspected to be Gao Yuanming, the second-generation disciple of Ma Yu, a Taoist monk of the The Quanzhen Dao during the Jin and Yuan dynasties.

The original work consists of two volumes and is included in the Method Section of The Dongzhen Section in The Daozang.

Three Essentials of Supreme Cultivation

The first volume contains twelve Odes to the Three Methods, each accompanied by an illustration, expounding the methods of calming the mind and refining one’s innate nature. The second volume includes twelve treatises such as The Unity of the Dao with the Zhouyi Cantong Qi and The Orthodox Application of Heaven and Earth's Essence, each featuring hexagram images, illustrations, poems, songs and mnemonics that elaborate on the principles and practices of Internal Alchemy.

Its elixir cultivation method is the "Unified Sudden Teaching" of the Quanzhen school, which integrates the cultivation of innate nature with life, taking the sudden realization of mind and nature as the essence. It also emphasizes that practitioners must strictly observe the precepts, cut off mortal attachments, practice forbearance and compassion, put others before themselves, and fulfill the three thousand meritorious deeds. This doctrine originated from Ma Yu.