Verses of the Return to Source 还源篇
Paul PengVerses of the Return to Source
Composed by Shi Tai, a Taoist priest of the Song Dynasty.
Consisting of one scroll, it is included in the Tai Xuan Section within the Taoist Canon (The Daozang).
A short preface by the author precedes the text. He claims that in his early years, he encountered Zhang Boduan at a post house, who imparted alchemical formulas to him—with verifiable effects achieved in a short time. Thus, he wrote this work to pass down the teachings to later practitioners.
Verses of the Return to Source
The entire text includes eighty-one five-character quatrains, elaborating on the principles of Internal Alchemy (Neidan) as well as essential alchemical elements such as medicinal substances, fire timing, meditation retreats, and transcendence. Its core tenets are all based on Zhang Boduan’s Wu Zhen Pian (Awakening to Truth), regarding innate Qi (Vital Energy)—i.e., lead and mercury—as the alchemical medicines.
It holds that cultivating Internal Alchemy essentially involves uniting spirit and Qi into a mysterious pearl, and that "Qi is not produced by the kidneys, nor does spirit reside in the heart". Spirit and Qi are only hidden in the mysterious "Xuan Guan" (Mysterious Gateway) orifice within the body. One who can locate the acupoint of spirit and Qi, then guide spirit back into Qi, will naturally attain the Dao of Elixir.
The initial practice prioritizes taming the "mind-monkey" and "intent-horse" (calming errant thoughts). As a poem states: "The intent-horse returns to the spirit chamber, the mind-monkey guards the bridal chamber; spirit, soul, ethereal soul, and intent transform into purple-gold frost." Most of the poems use metaphors and cryptic language, making them quite obscure and difficult to read—less systematic and clear than the Wu Zhen Pian.
