Jade Emperors Mind Seal Classic*

[Vajradhara]

Namaste all,

for your edification, here is a bit from the above referenced text, commentary available upon request:

1. The Supreme Medicine has three distinctions:
Ching (essennce), Qi (vitality) and Shen (spirit), which are elusive and
obscure.

2. Keep to nonbeing, yet hold on to being
and perfection is yours in an instant.

3. When distant winds blend together,
in one hundred days of spiritual work
And morning recitation to the Shang Ti,
Then in one year you will soar as an immortal.

4. The sages awaken through self-cultivation;
Deep, profound, their practices require great effort.

5. Fulfilling vows illumines the Heavens.

6. Breathing nourishes youthfulness.

7. Departing from the Mysterious, entering the female.
It appears to have perished, yet appears to exist.
Unmoveable, it's orgin is mysterious.

8. Each person has Ching.
The Shen unites with the Ching,
The Shen unites with the Qi,
The breath then unites with the true nature,
These terms appear to be fanciful exaggerations.

9. The Shen is capable of entering stone;
The Shen is capable of physical flight.
Entering water it is not drowned;
Entering fire it is not burned.

10. The Shen depends on life form;
The Ching depends on sufficient Qi.
If these are neither depleted nor injured
the result will be youthfulness and longevity.

11. These three distinctions have one principle,
Yet so subtle it cannot be heard.

12. Their meeting results in existence,
their parting results in nonexistence.

13. The seven apertures interpenetrate
and each emits wisdom light.

14. The sacred sun and sacred moon
Illumuniate the Golden Court.
One attainment is eternal attainment.

15. The body will naturally become weightless.
When the supreme harmony is replete,
the bone fragments become like winter jade.

16. Acquiring the Elixir results in immortality,
not acquiring it results in extinction.

17. The Elixir is within yourself,
It is not white and not green.

18. Recite and hold ten thousand times.
These are the subtle principles of self-illumination.

(Lu Szu-hsing's appended verses)

19. The two images of the dragon and tiger are unified through Qi;
Chaos blending as One.

20. It is not possible to attain the eternal just through invocations.

21. The Elixir is called Green Dragon and White Tiger;
The Elixir is in the nature of no-nature,
Emptiness of nonemptiness.

22. Even if you are unable to make use of the substance,
You can certainly make use of the function.

23. Frequently both the substance and conditions for the substance
appear together, although these are not always percieved
as identical.

24. The ancients said, "the term *emptiness* embraces the entire
teaching."


metta,

~v

*transliterated by Stuart Olson

[wil]

Originally Posted by Vajradhara

for your edification, here is a bit from the above referenced text, commentary available upon request:

dude

[flowperson]

Namaste Vajradhara:

Absolutely sublime.

It kind of reminds me of the Emerald Tablet sayings from ancient Egypt, supposedly written by Hermes Trisgemestrus. A lot of it also is reminiscent of texts concerning alchemy that I've run across. Many believe that alchemy was an artifact of medieval western society, but it's practice actually has historical roots in ancient India and China going back 4-5,000 years or so, and is related to the art and skills of metalworking.

flow....

[Vajradhara]

Namaste flow,

thank you for the post.

i agree, the practice of Alchemy was well known in ancient China and India and is one of the most difficult to penetrate without understanding the symbology that chinese use.

it is often the case that many of the metaphors are well understood cultural symbols which we, non-Chinese, can easily become confused by. it is an ongoing process in my own case.

metta,

~v

[Blizzardry]

Mmmm... Medicine... [drool...]

That's a really beautiful text, just from a mystic point of view.

Yeah, that's right. Alchemical texts can be found from most ancient cultures, Egypt, India, China, and are the root of a lot of scientific and medical advances in these cultures. The recipe for the stuff that changes your lead into pure gold is a popular one.

I haven't done much reading on Chinese alchemy, so thanks for that one, vajradhara! There's so damn much great stuff you could read it for years!

[alphone]

This translation is great, thank you. Do you know of any other Taoist Scriptures in English?

[alphone]

Originally Posted by Vajradhara

Namaste all,

for your edification, here is a bit from the above referenced text, commentary available upon request:

1. The Supreme Medicine has three distinctions:
Ching (essennce), Qi (vitality) and Shen (spirit), which are elusive and
obscure.

2. Keep to nonbeing, yet hold on to being
and perfection is yours in an instant.

3. When distant winds blend together,
in one hundred days of spiritual work
And morning recitation to the Shang Ti,
Then in one year you will soar as an immortal.

4. The sages awaken through self-cultivation;
Deep, profound, their practices require great effort.

5. Fulfilling vows illumines the Heavens.

6. Breathing nourishes youthfulness.

7. Departing from the Mysterious, entering the female.
It appears to have perished, yet appears to exist.
Unmoveable, it's orgin is mysterious.

8. Each person has Ching.
The Shen unites with the Ching,
The Shen unites with the Qi,
The breath then unites with the true nature,
These terms appear to be fanciful exaggerations.

9. The Shen is capable of entering stone;
The Shen is capable of physical flight.
Entering water it is not drowned;
Entering fire it is not burned.

10. The Shen depends on life form;
The Ching depends on sufficient Qi.
If these are neither depleted nor injured
the result will be youthfulness and longevity.

11. These three distinctions have one principle,
Yet so subtle it cannot be heard.

12. Their meeting results in existence,
their parting results in nonexistence.

13. The seven apertures interpenetrate
and each emits wisdom light.

14. The sacred sun and sacred moon
Illumuniate the Golden Court.
One attainment is eternal attainment.

15. The body will naturally become weightless.
When the supreme harmony is replete,
the bone fragments become like winter jade.

16. Acquiring the Elixir results in immortality,
not acquiring it results in extinction.

17. The Elixir is within yourself,
It is not white and not green.

18. Recite and hold ten thousand times.
These are the subtle principles of self-illumination.

(Lu Szu-hsing's appended verses)

19. The two images of the dragon and tiger are unified through Qi;
Chaos blending as One.

20. It is not possible to attain the eternal just through invocations.

21. The Elixir is called Green Dragon and White Tiger;
The Elixir is in the nature of no-nature,
Emptiness of nonemptiness.

22. Even if you are unable to make use of the substance,
You can certainly make use of the function.

23. Frequently both the substance and conditions for the substance
appear together, although these are not always percieved
as identical.

24. The ancients said, "the term *emptiness* embraces the entire
teaching."


metta,

~v

*transliterated by Stuart Olson

Hi friend of Tao,

This is a remarkable work, and I'd like very much to add it into my site:

Tao Store Index - Taoist scriptures, sacred texts, in English

Am I allowed?

[Vajradhara]

Namaste Alphone,

thank you for the post.

you can certainly add that to your site if you would like

I have a thread there called Secret of the Golden Flower which is a product of the Northern Complete Reality school, it may be of some interest to you and you can find it here:

The Secret of the Golden Flower

i've also posted some excerpts from the Book of Balance and Harmony, which you can read here:

The Book of Balance and Harmony

metta,

~v

[alphone]

Thank you very much dear friend.

[alphone]

Hi dear friend, just two more questions:

1. At the end of the text there is a sentence:


"transliterated by Stuart Olson"

should it be "translated by Stuart Olson"? or who is the translator?

2. Who is "Lu Szu-hsing"? could you please tell me the Chinese?

[Vajradhara]

Namaste Alphone,

thank you for the post.

Originally Posted by alphone

Hi dear friend, just two more questions:

1. At the end of the text there is a sentence:


"transliterated by Stuart Olson"

should it be "translated by Stuart Olson"? or who is the translator?

a transliteration is a translation and explanation of the text not, necessarily, a direct word for word translation. the reson i chose this term was to denote the fact that several of the chinese pictographs have several deriviate pronounciations.

2. Who is "Lu Szu-hsing"? could you please tell me the Chinese?

Lu Suz-hsing was a famous Taoist in this school and, eventually, became the Grand Master. when he did he added his appended verses to the original text.

metta,

~v