Guan Yinzi said: "The Dao is originally ultimate nothingness; those who return to the Dao through worldly affairs attain it for a single breath." Affairs are originally utmost existence; those who manage affairs with the Dao can accomplish all hundred endeavors. He who attains the dignity of the Dao may serve as a helper to the world; He who attains the uniqueness of the Dao can establish himself. He who knows that the Dao is not something time can confine can regard one day as a hundred years, and can regard a hundred years as one day. He who knows that the Dao cannot be obstructed by space can consider one li as a hundred li, and can consider a hundred li as one li. He who understands that the Dao has no qi but is able to move existing qi may summon wind and rain; He who knows that the Dao has no form yet can transform existing forms may change into birds or beasts. He who attains the clarity of the Dao finds nothing burdens him, and his body becomes light; he can ride phoenixes and cranes. He who attains the wholeness of the Dao finds nothing can drown him, for his body is in oblivion; he can use dragons and whales as a mat. Existence is non-existence, non-existence is existence—the interplay of yin and yang; He who understands this Dao can control ghosts and spirits. Reality is emptiness, emptiness is reality; He who understands this Dao may enter metal and stone. Above is below, below is above; He who understands this Dao may attend to stars and constellations. Ancient is present, present is ancient; He who understands this Dao may divine with tortoise shells and yarrow stalks. Others are I, I am others; He who understands this Dao may peer into the hearts and livers of others. Things are I, I am things; He who understands this Dao may transform the dragon and tiger within his abdomen. Knowing that forms arise from the mind's transformation, observing the mind in this way, one can become a female infant. Understanding that qi arises from the mind, drawing in spirits through this method, one may transform into a furnace for smelting. Using this to overcome things, tigers and leopards can be subdued; using this to harmonize with things, one may enter water and fire. Only those who possess the Dao can do these things, yet they are also able to have this power without acting upon it, embodying the principle of wu wei (non-action)."

Guan Yinzi said: "Human power can rival the creative forces of heaven and earth, such as causing thunder in winter, making ice in summer, dead corpses walking, withered trees blooming, capturing ghosts from beans, fishing from a cup, opening painted doors, conversing with earthen spirits—all are accomplished through pure qi; therefore, they can transform all things. The ceaseless emotions of the present moment are also effects of qi. And as for qi itself, it has moments of convergence and dispersion. As for my cultivation of qi, originally I have never converged it, nor have I ever dispersed it. Where there is convergence, life arises; where there is dispersion, death occurs—a theme explored in Perfect Enjoyment. Those who have never converged and never dispersed are beyond birth and death; though guests come and go, the post office remains as it was."

Guan Yinuser said: "There are those who chant mantras, those who serve spirits, those who write in ink, and those who change their fingers; all these can be used to command spirits and control qi, transforming all things. Only the dishonest find it hard to believe in themselves, yet easily believe in external objects. Therefore, they resort to these methods. If one truly knows that sincerity alone suffices, there is no need for those things; it can be so without them."

Guan Yinzi said: "With each breath in and out, a person travels forty thousand li per day; such transformation can truly be called rapid. Only the sage remains unchanging and unaffected."

Guan Yinzi said: "The Qingluanzi lives for a thousand years, yet transforms every thousand years; the peach tree bears fruit five times and its heart changes five times." The sage treats affairs as guests and removes attachments to things—could it be that he does not wish to establish himself in the world? Those who are bound by form and number fear transformation because they cannot know it."

Guan Yinzi said: "Though all things undergo change, even as some hide and others appear, the qi remains one—as taught in Omen of Heaven. Only the sage knows this unity and does not transform."

Guan Yinzi said: "The growth of fingernails, the lengthening of hair, and the circulation of ying and wei qi never cease for a moment. Common people all see these obvious changes but cannot perceive them in their subtle forms. The sage surrenders to transformation, and thus does not transform."

Guan Yinzi said: "There are things in the room that one has never seen or heard. Then, when you go to your gate, your neighbor's house, your village, and your community; then the outskirts, the mountains, the rivers—what one sees and hears varies in each place; preferences and aversions follow, harmony and competition arise from them, and gains and losses are thus formed. Therefore, the sage is always cautious in movement and stillness."

Guan Yinzi said: "For example, like the great ocean, which transforms countless dragons and fish—yet the water is one. I and all things, flourishing together within the great transformation—the nature of all is also one—returning to the root. He who knows this unity of nature has no self or other, no death and no birth."

Guan Yinzi said: "The principles of the world are such that what is right may transform into wrong, and what is wrong may transform into right; benevolence may turn into enmity, and enmity may turn into benevolence. Therefore, the sage dwells in constancy yet considers change."

Guan Yinzi said: "When a person is young, he should heed the teachings of father and elder brothers; when in his prime, he should understand the admonitions of friends; and when old, he should be warned by the words of youth and vigor. Though myriad transformations may occur, they cannot hinder me."

Guan Yinzi said: "The principles of the world indicate that what is light transforms easily, while what is heavy transforms with difficulty. For example, winds and clouds vanish in a moment; the nature of gold and jade remains unchanged through long ages. Those who are light and clear in nature can transform along with the creative forces of heaven and earth without remaining behind, yet perhaps there is something that has never transformed and remains."

Guan Yinzi said: "Two children who were close friends may, when they grow up, not recognize each other upon meeting. Two adults in their prime who become close friends may, when old, not recognize each other when they meet again. Like the transformation of sparrows, pigeons, geese, and doves—there is no past or present."