Guan Yinzi said: "Water can be separated and combined through the Dao; it is refined, but without a person." Fire depends on tallow and firewood; it is spiritual, yet not I. Therefore, the ears can hear sounds from in front and behind even when closed—there is no person; Wisdom is exalted—but there is no person; Unity and the singular—there is no person. Winter withers autumn's produce—there is no person; Blackness cannot be changed—there is no person; The north endures longevity—there is no person; All are refined. The tongue, together with teeth and gums, forms speech—there is no self; Rituals are humble—there is no self. Duality and pairing—there is no self; Summer arises from spring's produce—there is no self; Redness can change—there is no self; The south experiences early death—there is no self; All are spiritual. Because the refined is without self, when rice removes its husk, the essence remains; Because the spiritual is without self, therefore ghosts possess objects, and then spirits become evident. One who possesses complete essence forgets right and wrong, forgets gains and losses; What is here is not what is there. One who embraces the spiritual sometimes experiences obscurity and brightness, sometimes strength and weakness; what is there is not what is here."

Guan Yinzi said: "Essence and spirit are water and fire. The Five Elements mutually generate and extinguish one another; their coming has no beginning, and their going has no end—as the scripture says, "Dao produces one, one produces two, two produces three"." Thus, my essence is merely a single drop with neither existence nor extinction; my spirit is but a momentary flicker without arising or ceasing. Only by being without self and without others, without beginning and without end, can one thus merge with heaven and earth."

Guan Yinuser said: "Essence is water; pò is metal; spirit is fire; hun is wood. Essence governs water, and pò governs metal. Metal generates water, so essence is stored by pò. Spirit governs fire, and hun governs wood. Wood generates fire, so spirit is stored by hun. Only fire, as a substance, can melt metal and destroy it, and can burn wood and consume it; thus it is able to obscure hun and pò. Only essence, in heaven is coldness; on earth is water; in humans is essence; spirit, in heaven is heat; on earth is fire; in humans is spirit; pò, in heaven is dryness; on earth is metal; in humans is pò; hun, in heaven is wind; on earth is wood; in humans is hun. Only by combining my essence with the essence of all things in heaven and earth, just as myriad waters can be combined into one body of water; by combining my spirit with the spirits of all things in heaven and earth—just as myriad fires can be combined into one fire; by combining my pò with the pò of all things in heaven and earth—as metal, for example, can combine different metals and melt them into one piece of metal; by combining my hun with the hun of all things in heaven and earth—for example, as wood can connect different kinds of trees to grow into one tree—then all things in heaven and earth are my essence, my spirit, my pò, and my hun. Who is dead? Who is alive?"

Guan Yinzi said: "The operation of the Five Elements: from essence arises hun; from hun arises spirit; from spirit arises intention; from intention arises pò; and from pò arises essence. The Five Elements cycle endlessly, so my false mind flows and transforms through creation and destruction for nearly countless ages, without ever reaching an end. Yet the seed gives rise to a sprout, which in turn produces more seeds, and no one knows how many ten-thousands of trees this process has generated; although heaven and earth are vast, they cannot sprout a seed suspended in empty space. The female egg gives rise to an offspring, which then produces more eggs, and no one knows how many tens of thousands of birds this process has produced; although yin and yang are wondrous, they cannot hatch an egg from a female without a male. Only by taking what comes to me and unifying it in one breath can I transform external things into myself; Nothing is not me. Who, then, can transform the so-called Five Elements?"

Guan Yinzi said: "Ordinary people use pò to control hun; this is because metal has an excess while wood lacks." Sages use hun to govern pò; thus, wood has an excess and metal lacks. For when pò is stored, hun accompanies it; when hun roams, pò follows. By day, hun resides in the eyes; by night, pò rests in the liver. Residing in the eyes enables sight; resting in the liver enables dreaming. Sight is hun, which does not distinguish or analyze. To distinguish and analyze, calling it heaven and earth—is merely the habit of hun. Dreaming is pò, which does not distinguish or analyze; to distinguish and analyze, calling something "other" or "self"—is merely the habit of pò. Earth generates metal, so intention gives rise to pò. What the spirit moves is not called spirit, but intention; what intention moves is not called intention, but pò. Only sages know that I have no self, and know that things have no inherent substance; all are merely constructs arising from thought and deliberation. Therefore, when myriad things come to me, I respond to them with nature, not with the mind. Nature is the state before the mind has arisen; without a mind, there can be no intention; For just as without fire there is no earth, so too without intention there is no pò. And since without earth there is no metal, if one element does not exist, all five are rendered useless. If one can unify heaven and earth with all things as hun, then one can also unify heaven and earth with all things into pò. All that is wondrous in creation and transformation is my hun; all that exists within creation and transformation is my pò. Thus, there is not a single thing capable of subjugating me."

Guan Yinzi said: "In the written word, 'hun' is cloud and ghost; 'pò' is white and ghost. This is how it appears in characters. Ghost refers to what a person becomes after death; cloud refers to wind, and wind refers to wood; white refers to qi (vital energy), and qi refers to metal. Wind disperses, hence it is light and clear; light and clear things ascend to heaven. Metal is firm, hence it is heavy and turbid; heavy and turbid things descend into the earth. Light and clear substances—pò follows hun upward; Heavy and turbid substances—hun follows pò downward. Those who ascend through benevolence become assistants of the planet Jupiter; those who ascend through righteousness become assistants of the planet Venus; those who ascend through ritual propriety become assistants of the planet Mars; those who ascend through wisdom become assistants of the planet Mercury; those who ascend through trustworthiness become assistants of the planet Saturn; those who descend due to lack of benevolence are devoured by wood; those who descend due to injustice are devoured by metal; those who descend due to disrespect for ritual are devoured by fire; those who descend due to ignorance are devoured by water; those who descend due to untrustworthiness are devoured by earth;

"When hun and pò are half-divided, one remains among humans." Ascending hun is noble; descending pò is base; A spiritual hun makes one virtuous; a malevolent hun makes one foolish; Light hun brings clarity, heavy pò brings darkness; uplifted hun becomes feathers, dull pò becomes hair; Clear hun becomes spirit; obscure pò becomes ghost; Their forms, dwellings, knowledge, and preferences are all determined by the Five Elements. Only because the numbers of the Five Elements vary and differ is it that myriad things multiply endlessly, filling heaven and earth without ceasing. To attribute the five affairs to the Five Elements, and from the Five Elements generate the five creatures—how could this be fully described! It is like divining by cracks on a tortoise shell or counting yarrow stalks—when utmost sincerity arises, the Five Elements respond accordingly. If sincerity is not genuine, then even the cracks and numbers will yield no response at all. Sages use external things to move through the world; thus, the Five Elements cannot help but respond."

Guan Yinzi said: "Each of the five has a hun. The hun is awareness; the eyes are essence; color is spirit; what one perceives as such is called hun. These include the ears, eyes, mouth, nose, and heart. In this life, love becomes essence, becoming the father's root for another life; Observation becomes spirit, becoming the mother's root for another life. Though love and observation differ, awareness is born. The root of birth in the other life lies within that other being; one becomes a father there, thus receiving vital energy from the father, with qi as water; Two becomes mother, hence receiving blood from the mother, with blood as fire. With father and mother present, birth in that other life occurs. Only when love lacks awareness is it like interlocking locks; When observation lacks awareness, it is like a lamp's illumination. If my awareness does not arise, what life could I possibly have?"

Guan Yinzi said: "Like a stick striking a drum. The form of the drum is what I possess; The sound of the drum is my sensation. Once the stick has struck, its movement ceases, yet the echo remains; ultimately, it too will not endure. The form of the drum is like my essence; The sound of the drum, like my spirit; Its lingering echoes are akin to hun and pò. Understanding that things suddenly depart and suddenly arrive, then the qi of the Five Elements—as taught in Omen of Heaven—what do I truly possess?"

Guan Yinzi said: "A fruit has a seed only when water, fire, and earth are all present; then they generate one another endlessly. If these three elements are not complete, such as in great droughts, great floods, or barren land, none of them can give rise to life. Essence, as water; spirit, as fire; will, as earth—these three are originally not interconnected. Only humans unite them through their roots, thus enabling events to appear horizontally within them; It is like the practice of incantations. One can perceive numerous events arising from absolute nothingness."

Guan Yinzi said: "The hun is wood; its roots lie in winter and water, while it flourishes in summer and fire. Therefore, a person's hun is stored during the night and essence, yet manifests during the day and spirit. Combined with essence, hence what one sees is unique to oneself; For essence has never belonged to any particular person. Combined with spirit, hence what is seen is shared by all people; For spirit has never belonged to me alone."

Guan Yinzi said: "One who understands that this body is like a dream-body, appearing according to emotions, can elevate one's spirit and transform into self to wander through the Supreme Clarity. One who understands that these things are like dream-things, appearing according to emotions, can condense essence into forms and ride across the eight directions of the world. This Dao enables one to perceive spirit and essence for a long life, or to forget them entirely and transcend birth altogether. Inhale breath to nourish essence, like metal generating water; Breathe in air to nurture spirit, like wood generating fire; Therefore, one borrows from the external world to prolong essence and spirit. Gargle with water to nourish essence—this is why essence does not run out; Rub fire to nurture spirit—this is why spirit does not run out. Therefore, one relies on the internal self to prolong essence and spirit. As for those who forget essence and spirit and transcend birth—I have spoken of this before."

Guan Yinzi said: "The dung beetle rolls a ball; once the ball is formed, it carefully considers it, and within it there exists something white and wriggling. Soon it leaves its shell and becomes a cicada. If that dung beetle does not think, how could the wriggler be white?"

Guan Yinzi said: "A cook made crab soup and left one claw on the table; though the crab was already cooked, the remaining claw still moved. Thus life and death are merely the gathering and dispersing of a single breath of qi, as explored in Perfect Enjoyment. There is no birth, no death, yet people wrongly assume there to be birth and death."

Guan Yinzi said: "A person diligent in rites will have a spirit that does not stray outward; thus enabling the gathering of spirit. A person diligent in wisdom will have essence that does not shift outward; thus enabling the containment of essence. Merit and virtue (gong de) bring yang and clarity, thus lightening the hun; Righteousness brings yin and obscurity, thus controlling the pò."

Guan Yinzi said: "There are those who die standing, those who die sitting, those who die lying down, those who die from illness, and those who die from medicine. Death is equal; there is no distinction between the first or second person. Those who practice wu wei (non-action) do not see life, and thus do not see death."

Guan Yinzi said: "People who are weary of birth and death or seek to transcend them are all suffering from great afflictions. For example, a transformed being—if it harbors weariness of birth and death or the desire to transcend them, it is merely called an omen, not the Dao."

Guan Yinzi said: "Those who calculate about life and death say either 'death has already occurred' or 'it exists'; or 'death has already passed, it does not exist'; or 'death is both and neither'; or 'death is neither existent nor non-existent'; or 'it should be fortunate'; or 'one should fear it'; or 'one should accept it'; or 'one should transcend it'. The more one changes and seeks understanding, the more emotions race endlessly. They do not realize that my life and death are like a horse's hand or an ox's wings—originally nonexistent, yet also not non-existent. It is like water and fire; though one may encounter them, they cannot burn or drown you."