Secret of the Golden Flower
This ancient esoteric treatise was transmitted orally for
centuries before being recorded on a series of wooden tablets
in the eighth century. It was recorded by a member of the
Religion of Light, whose leader was the Taoist adept Lu Yen
(also known as Lu Yen and Lu “Guest of the Cavern”). It is said
that Lu Tzu became one of the Eight Immortals using these
methods. The ideas have been traced back to Persia and the
Zarathustra tradition and its roots in the Egyptian Hermetic
tradition.
1. HEAVENLY CONSCIOUSNESS OF THE HEART
Master Lu Tzu said: That which exists through itself is called
Meaning. (Tao). Meaning has neither name nor force. It is the
one essence, the one primordial spirit. Essence and life cannot
be seen. It is contained in the Light of Heaven. The light of
Heaven cannot be seen. It is contained in the two eyes. Today I
will be your guide and will first reveal to you the secret of the
Golden Flower of the Great One, and, starting from that, I will
explain the rest in detail.
The Great One is the term given to that which has nothing above it. The secret of the magic of life
consists in using action in order to achieve non-action. One must not wish to leave out the steps
between and penetrate directly. The maxim handed down to us is to take in hand the work on the
essence. In doing this it is important not to follow the wrong road.
The Golden Flower is the Light. What color has the light? One uses the Golden Flower as an image. It
is the true power of the transcendent Great One. The phrase, "The lead of the water-region has but
one taste," refers to it. The work on the circulation of the Light depends entirely on the backwardflowing movement, so that the thoughts are gathered together (the place of Heavenly Consciousness,
the Heavenly Heart). The Heavenly Heart lies between sun and moon (i.e., the two eyes).
The Book of the Yellow Castle says: In the field of the square inch of the house of the square foot, life
can be regulated. The house of the square foot is the face. The field of the square inch in the face:
What could that be other than the Heavenly Heart? In the middle of the square inch dwells the
splendor. In the purple hall of the city of jade dwells the god of utmost emptiness and life. The
Confucians call it the center of emptiness; the Buddhists, the terrace of life; the Taoists, the ancestral
land, or the yellow castle, or the dark pass, or the space of former Heaven. The Heavenly Heart is like
the dwelling place, the Light is the master. Therefore when the Light circulates, the powers of the
whole body arrange themselves before its throne, just as when a holy king has taken possession of the
capital and has laid down the fundamental rules of order, all the states approach with tribute, or, just as
when the master is quiet and calm, men-servants and maids obey his orders of their own accord, and
each does his work.
Therefore you only have to make the Light circulate: that is the deepest and most wonderful secret.
The Light is easy to move, but difficult to fix. If it is allowed to go long enough in a circle, then it
crystallizes itself: that is the natural spirit -body. This crystallized spirit is formed beyond the nine
Heavens. It is the condition of which it is said in the Book of the Seal of the Heart: Silently in the
morning thou fliest upward.
In carrying out this fundamental truth you need to seek for no other methods, but must only
concentrate your thoughts on it. The book Leng Yen says: By collecting the thoughts one can fly and
will be born in Heaven. Heaven is not the wide blue sky, but the place where the body is made in the
house of the creative. If one keeps this up for a long time, there develops quite naturally in addition to
the body, yet another spirit-body.
The Golden Flower is the Elixir of Life (literally, golden ball, golden pill). All changes of spiritual
consciousness depend upon the Heart. Here is a secret charm, which, although it works very
accurately, is yet so fluent that it needs extreme intelligence and clarity, and complete absorption and
calm. People without this highest degree of intelligence and understanding do not find the way to apply
the charm; People without this utmost capacity for concentration and calm cannot keep fast hold of it.
2. THE PRIMORDIAL SPIRIT AND THE CONSCIOUS SPIRIT
Master Lu Tzu said: In comparison with Heaven and
earth, man is like a mayfly. But compared to the Great
Meaning, Heaven and earth, too, are like a bubble and
a shadow. Only the primordial spirit and the true
essence overcome time and space.
The power of the seed, like Heaven and earth, is
subject to mortality, but the primordial spirit is beyond
the polar differences. Here is the place whence
Heaven and Earth derive their being. When students
understand how to grasp the primordial spirit, they
overcome the polar opposites of Light and darkness
and tarry no longer in the three worlds. But only he
who has looked on essence in its original
manifestation is able to do this.
When men are set free from the womb the primordial
spirit dwells in the square inch (between the eyes), but
the conscious spirit dwells below in the heart. This
lower fleshly heart has the shape of a large peach: it is
covered by the wings of the lungs, supported by the
liver, and served by the bowels. This heart is
dependent on the outside world. If a man does not eat for one day even, it feels extremely
uncomfortable. If it hears something terrifying it throbs; if it hears something enraging it stops; if its is
faced with death it becomes sad; if it sees something beautiful it is dazzled. But the Heavenly Heart in
the head, when would it have been in the leased moved? Dost thou ask: Can the Heavenly Heart not
be moved? Then I answer: How could the true thought in the square inch be moved? If it really moves,
it is not well. For when ordinary men die, then it moves, but that is not good. It is best indeed if the
Light has already fortified itself in a spirit body and its life force gradually penetrated the instincts and
movements. But that is a secret which has not been revealed for thousands of years.
The lower heart moves like a strong, powerful commander who despises the Heavenly ruler because
of his weakness, and has seized for himself the leadership of the affairs of state. But when the
primordial castle can be fortified and defended, then it is as if a strong and wise ruler sat upon the
throne. The two eyes start the Light circulating like two ministers at the right and left who support the
ruler with all their might. When the ruler in the center is thus in order, all those rebellious heroes will
present themselves with lances reversed ready to take orders.
The way to the Elixir of life recognizes as supreme magic, seed-water, spirit-fire, and thought-earth;
these three. What is seed-water? It is the true, one power (eros) of former Heaven. Spirit-fire is the
Light (logos). Thought-earth is the Heavenly Heart of the middle house (intuition). Spirit-fire is used for
effecting, thought-earth for substance, and seed-water for the foundation. Ordinary men make their
bodies through thoughts. The body is not only the 7 ft. tall outer body. In the body is the anima. The
anima, having produced consciousness, adheres to it. Consciousness depends for its origin on the
anima. The anima is feminine, the substance of consciousness. As long as this consciousness is not
interrupted, it continues to beget from generation to generation, and the changes of form of the anima
and the transformations of substance are unceasing.
But, besides this, there is the animus in which the spirit shelters. The animus lives in the daytime in the
eyes; at night it houses in the liver. When living in the eyes, it sees; when housing itself in the liver, it
dreams. Dreams are the wanderings of the spirit through all nine Heavens and all the nine earths. But
whoever is dull and moody on waking, and chained to his bodily form, is fettered by the anima.
Therefore the concentration of the animus is effected by the circulation of the Light, and in this way the
spirit is protected, the anima subjected, and consciousness is annulled. The method used by the
ancients for escaping from the world consisted in burning out completely the slag of darkness in order
to return to the purely creative. This is nothing more than a reduction of the anima and a bringing to
perfection of the animus. And the circulation of the Light is the magical means of limiting the dark
powers and gaining mastery of the anima. Even if the work is not directed toward bringing back the
creative, but confines itself to the magical means of the circulation, one returns to the creative, If this
method is followed, plenty of seed-water will be present of itself; the spirit-fire will be ignited, and the
thought-earth will solidify and crystallize. And thus can the holy fruit mature. The scarab rolls his ball
and in the ball there develops life as the effect of the undivided effort of his spiritual concentration. If
now and embryo can grow in manure, and shed its skin, why should not the dwelling place of our
Heavenly Heart also be able to create a body if we concentrate the spirit upon it?
The one effective, true essence (logos united with life), when it descends into the house of the
creative, divides into animus and anima. The animus is in the Heavenly Heart. It is of the nature of
light; it is the power of lightness and purity. It is that which we have received from the great emptiness,
that which has form from the very beginning. The anima partakes of the nature of darkness. It is the
power of the heavy and the turbid; it is bound to the bodily, fleshly heart. The animus loves life. The
anima seeks death. All sensuous pleasures and impulses to anger are effects of the anima; it is the
conscious spirit which after death is nourished on blood, but which, during life, is in direst need.
Darkness returns to darkness and like things attract each other. But the pupil understands how to distill
the dark anima so that it transforms itself into Light.
3. CIRCULATION OF THE LIGHT AND PROTECTION OF THE CENTER
Master Lu Tzu said: Since when has the
expression "circulation of the Light" been
revealed? It was revealed by the "true men of the
beginning of form". When the Light is allowed to
move in a circle, all the powers of Heaven and
earth, of the light and the dark, are crystallized.
That is what is described as seed-like, or
purification of the power, or purification of the
concept. When one begins to apply this magic, it
is as if, in the middle of one's being, there was a
non-being. When in the course of time the work
is finished, and beyond the body is another body,
it is as if, in the middle of the non-being, there
were a being. Only after a completed work of a
hundred days will the Light be real, then only will
it become spirit-fire. After a hundred days, there
develops by itself in the middle of the Light, a
point of the true Light-pole. Suddenly there
develops a seed pearl. It is as if man and woman
embraced and a conception took place. Then
one must be quite still in order to await it. The
circulation of the Light is the epoch of fire.
In the midst of primal becoming, the radiance of the Light is the determining thing. In the physical world
it is the sun; in man the eye. The emanation and dissemination of spiritual consciousness is chiefly
brought about by this power when it is directed outward (flown downward). Therefore the meaning of
the Golden Flower depends wholly on the backward-flowing method.
Circulation of the Light is not only a circulation of the seed-blossom of the body, but it is, in the first
place, a circulation of the true, creative, formative powers. It has to do, not with a momentary fantasy,
but with the exhaustion of the circular course (soul wanderings) of all the eons. Therefore a breathpause means a year – according to human reckoning – and a hundred years measured by the long
night of the nine paths (of reincarnation).
After a person has the one tone of individualization behind them, they will be born outward according
to the circumstances, and not until he is old will he turn a single time to the backward-flowing way. The
force of the Light exhausts itself and trickles away. That brings the nine-fold darkness (of rebirths) into
the world. In the book Leng Yen it is said: By concentrating the thoughts, one can fly; by concentrating
the desires, one falls. When a pupil takes little care of his thoughts and much care of his desires, he
gets into the path of depravity. Only through contemplation and quietness does true intuition arise; for
that, the backward-flowing method is necessary.
In the book of the Secret Correspondences, it is said: Release is in the eye. In the Simple Questions of
the Yellow Ruler, it is said: The seed-blossom of the human body must be concentrated upward in the
empty space. That refers to it. Immortality is contained in this sentence and also the overcoming of the
world is contained in it. That is the common goal of all religions.
The Light is not in the body alone, neither is it only outside the body. Mountains and rivers and the
great earth are lit by sun and moon; all that is this Light. Therefore it is not only within the body.
Understanding and clarity, knowing and enlightenment, and all motion (of the spirit), are likewise this
Light; therefore it is not just something outside the body. The Light-flower of Heaven and earth fills all
thousand spaces. But also the Light-flower of one body passes through Heaven and covers the earth.
Therefore, just as the Light is circulating, so Heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, are all rotating
with it at the same time. To concentrate the seed-flower of the human body above in the eyes, that is
the great key of the human body. Children, take heed! If for a day you do not practice meditation, this
Light streams out, who knows whither? If you only meditate for a quarter of an hour, you can set ten
thousand eons and a thousand births at rest. All methods take their source in quietness. This
marvelous magic cannot be fathomed.
But when the work is started, one must press on from the obvious to the profound, from the course to
the fine. Everything depends on there being no interruption. The beginning and the end of the work
must be one. In between there are cooler and warmer moments, that goes without saying. But the goal
must be to reach the breadth of Heaven and the depths of the sea, so that all methods seem quite
easy and taken for granted. Only then do we have it in hand.
All holy men have bequeathed this to one another: nothing is possible without contemplation. When
Confucious says: knowing brings one to the goal; or when Buddha calls it: the view of the Heart; or Lao
Tzu says: inward vision, it is all the same.
Anyone can talk about reflection, but he cannot master it if he does not know what the word means.
What has to be changed by reflection is the self-conscious heart, which has to direct itself toward that
point where the formative spirit is not yet manifest. Within our 6 ft. body, we must strive for the form
which existed before the laying down of Heaven and earth. If today people sit and meditate only one or
two hours, looking only at their own egos, and call it contemplation, how can anything come of it?
The two founders of Buddhism and Taoism have taught that one should look at the end of one's nose.
But they did not mean that one should fasten one's thoughts to the end of the nose. Neither did they
mean that, while the eyes were looking at the end of the nose, the thoughts should be concentrated on
the yellow middle. Wherever the eye looks, the heart is directed also. How can the glance be directed
at the same time upward (yellow middle), and downward (end of the nose), or alternating, so that it is
now up, now down? All that means confusing the finger with which one points to the moon with the
moon itself.
What is really meant by this? The expression, "end of the nose," is very cleverly chosen. The nose
must serve the eyes as a guiding line. If one is not guided by the nose, either one opens wide the eyes
and looks into the distance, so that the nose is not seen, or the lids shut too much, so that the eyes
close, and again the nose is not seen. But when the eyes are opened too wide, one makes the mistake
of directing them outward, whereby one is easily distracted. If they are closed too much then one
makes the mistake of letting them turn inward, whereby one easily sinks into a dreamy reverie. Only
when the eyelids are sunk properly halfway, is the end of the nose seen in just the right way. Therefore
it is taken as a guiding line. The main thing is to lower the eyelids in the right way, and then allow the
Light to stream in of itself, without trying to force the Light to stream in by a concentrated effort.
Looking at the nose serves only as the beginning of the inner concentration, so that the eyes are
brought into the right direction for looking, and then are held to the guiding line; after that, one can let it
be. That is the way a mason hangs up a plumb line. As soon as he has hung it up, he guides his work
by it without continually bothering himself to look at the plumb line. Fixating contemplation is a
Buddhist method which by no means has been handed down as a secret.
On looks with both eyes at the end of the nose, sits upright and in a comfortable position, and holds
the heart to the center in the midst of conditions (on the fixed pole in the flight of phenomena). In
Taoism it is called the yellow middle, in Buddhism the center in the midst of conditions. The two are the
same. It does not necessarily mean the middle of the head. It is only a matter of fixing one's thinking
on the point that lies exactly between the two eyes. Then all is well. The Light is something extremely
mobile. When one fixes the thought on the midpoint between the two eyes, the Light streams in of its
own accord. It is not necessary to direct the attention especially to the central castle. In these few
words the most important thing is contained.
"The center in the midst of conditions," is a very fine expression. The center is omnipresent; everything
is contained in it; it is connected with the release of the release of the whole process of creation. The
condition is the portal. The condition, that is the fulfillment of this condition, makes the beginning, but it
does not bring about the rest with inevitable necessity. The meaning of these two words is very fluid
and subtle.
Fixating contemplation is indispensable, it ensures the strengthening of illumination. Only one must not
stay sitting rigidly if worldly thoughts come up, but one must examine where the thought is, where it
began, and where it fades out. Nothing is gained by pushing reflection further, One must be content to
see where the thought arose, and not seek beyond the point of origin; for to find the heart
(consciousness), to get behind consciousness with consciousness - that cannot be done. We want to
bring the status of the heart together in rest – that is true contemplation. What contradicts it is false
contemplation. This leads to no goal. When the flight of thoughts keeps extending farther, one should
stop and begin contemplating. Let one contemplate and then start concentrating again. That is the
double method of strengthening the illumination. It means the circular course of the light. The circular
course is fixation. The Light is contemplation. Fixation without contemplation is circulation without
Light. Contemplation without fixation is Light without circulation.
4. CIRCULATION OF THE LIGHT AND MAKING THE BREATHING RHYTHMICAL
Master Lu Tzu said: The decision must be carried out with a whole
heart, and, the result no sought for; the result will come of itself. In
the first period of release there are chiefly two mistakes: laziness
and distraction. But that can be remedied; the heart must not enter
into the breathing too completely. Breathing comes from the heart.
What comes out of the heart is breath. When the heart stirs, there
develops breath-power. Breath-power is originally transformed
activity of the heart. When our hearts go very fast they
imperceptibly pass into fantasies which are always accompanied
by the drawing of a breath, because this inner and outer breathing
hangs together like tone and echo. Daily we draw innumerable
breaths and have an equal number of fantasy-representations.
And thus the clarity of the spirit is depleted just as wood dries out
and ashes die.
Should a man have no images in his mind? One cannot be without
images. Should one not breathe? One cannot do without
breathing. The best way is to make a cure out of the illness. Since
heart and breath are mutually dependent, the circulation of the
Light must be united with the rhythm of breathing. For this, Light of
the ear is above all necessary. There is a Light of the eye and a
Light of the ear. The Light of the eye is the united Light of the sun
and moon outside. The Light of the ear is the united seed of sun
and moon within. The seed is also the Light in crystallized form. Both have the same origin and are
different only in name. Therefore, understanding (ear) and clarity (eye) are one and the same effective
Light.
In sitting down, after dropping the lids, one establishes a plumb-line with the eyes and shifts the Light
downward. But if the transposition downward is not successful, then the heart is directed toward
listening to the breathing. One should not be able to hear with the ear the outgoing and inhaling of the
breath. What one hears is that it has no tone. As soon as it has tone, the breathing is rough and
superficial, and does not penetrate into what is fine. Then the heart must be made quite light and
insignificant. The more it is released, the less important it becomes; the less important, the quieter. All
at once it becomes so quiet that it stops. Then the true breathing is manifested and the form of the
heart can be made conscious. When the heart is light, the breathing is light, for every movement of the
heart brings about breathing power. If breathing is light, the heart is light, for every movement of the
breath affects the heart. In order to steady the heart, one begins by cultivating the breathing power.
The heart cannot be influenced directly. Therefore the breathing power is used as a handle, and this is
what is called protecting the collected breathing power.
Children, do you not understand the nature of motion? Motion can be produced by outside means. It is
only another name for mastery. One can make the heart move merely by running. Should one not be
able to bring it to rest then by concentrated quietness? The great holy ones who knew how the heart
and breathing power mutually influence one another, have thought out an easier procedure as a way of
helping posterity.
In the Book of the Elixir, it is said: The hen can hatch her eggs because her heart is always listening.
That is an important magic spell. The reason the hen can hatch her eggs is because of the power to
heat. But the power of the heat can only warm the shells; it cannot penetrate into the interior. Therefore
with her heart she conducts this power inward. This she does with her hearing. In this way ash
concentrates her whole heart. When the heart penetrates, the power penetrates, and the chick
receives the power of the heart and begins to live. Therefore a hen, even when she has left her eggs,
always has the attitude of listening with a bent ear. Thus the concentration of the spirit is not
interrupted. Because the concentration of the spirit suffers no interruption, neither does the power of
heat suffer interruption day or night, and the spirit awakes to life. The awakening of the spirit is
accomplished because the heart has first died. When a man can let his heart die, then the primordial
spirit wakes to life. To kill the heart does not mean to let it dry and wither away, but it means that it is
undivided and gathered into one.
Buddha said: When you fix your heart on one point, then nothing is impossible for you. The heart easily
runs away, so it is necessary to gather it together by means of breathing power. Breathing power
easily becomes coarse, therefore it has to be refined by the heart. When that is done, can it then
happen that it is not fixed?
The two mistakes of laziness and distraction must be combated by quiet work that is carried on daily
without interruption; then results will certainly be achieved. If one is not seated during meditation, one
will often be distracted without noticing it. To become conscious of the inattention is the mechanism by
which to do away with inattention. Laziness of which a man is conscious, and laziness o f which he is
unconscious, are many miles apart. Unconscious laziness is real laziness; conscious laziness is not
complete laziness, because there is still some clarity in it. Distraction comes from letting the spirit
wander about; laziness comes from the spirit not yet being pure. Distraction is much easier to correct
than laziness. It is as in sickness if one feels pains and itches, one can help them with remedies, but
laziness is like a disease that is attended by loss of feeling. Distraction can be overcome, confusion
can be straightened out, but laziness and absent-minded are heavy and dark. Distraction and
confusion at least have a place, but in laziness and absent-mindedness the anima alone is active. In
inattention the animus is still present, but in laziness pure darkness rules. If one becomes sleepy
during meditation, that is an effect of laziness. Breathing alone serves to remove laziness. Although
the breath that flows in and out through the nose is not the true breath, the flowing in and out of the
true breath is connected with it.
While sitting, one must, therefore, always keep the heart quiet and the power concentrated. How can
the heart be made quiet? By breathing. The heart alone must be conscious of the flowing in and out of
the breath; it must not be heard with the ears. If it is not heard, then the breathing is light; if light, it is
pure. If it can be heard, then the breathing power is heavy; if heavy, then it is troubled; if it is troubled,
then laziness and absent-mindedness develop and one wants to sleep. That is self-evident.
How to use heart correctly during breathing must be understood. It is use without use. One need only
let the Light fall quite gently on the hearing. This sentence contains a secret meaning. What does it
mean to let the Light fall? It is the radiance of the Light of one's own eyes. The eye looks inward and
not outward. To sense brightness without looking outward means to look inward; it has nothing to do
with an actual looking within. What does hearing mean? It is hearing the Light of one's own ear. The
ear listens only within and does not listen to what is outside. To sense brightness without listening to
what is outside, is to listen to what is within; it has nothing to do with actually listening to what is within.
In this sort of hearing, one only hears that there is no sound; in this kind of seeing, one only sees that
no shape is there. If the eye is not looking outward and the ear is not harkening outward, they close
themselves and are inclined to sink inward. Only when one looks and harkens inward does the organ
not go outward nor sink inward. In this way laziness and absent-mindedness are done away with. That
is the union of the seed and the Light of the sun and moon.
If, as a result of laziness, one becomes sleepy, one should stand up and walk about. When the spirit
has become clear one can sit down again. If there is time in the morning, one may sit during the
burning of an incense candle, that is the best. In the afternoon, human affairs interfere and one can
therefore easily fall into laziness. It is not necessary to have an incense candle. But one must lay aside
all complications and sit quite still for a time. In the course of time there will be success without one's
getting lazy and falling asleep.
5. MISTAKES DURING THE CIRCULATION OF THE LIGHT
Master Lu Tzu said: Your work will gradually draw itself together and mature, but before you reach the
condition in which you sit like a withered tree before a cliff, there are many other possibilities of error
which I would ;like to bring to your special attention. These conditions are only recognized when they
have been personally experienced. I will enumerate them here, My school differs from the Buddhist
yoga school, in that it has confirmatory signs for each step of the way. First I would like to speak of the
mistakes and then the confirmatory signs.
When one sets out to carry out one's decision, care must be taken to see that everything can proceed
in a comfortable, easy manner. Too much must not be demanded of the heart. On must be careful t
hat, quite automatically, heart and power correspond to one another. Only then can a state of
quietness be attained. During the quiet state the right conditions and the right place must be provided.
One must not sit down (to meditate) in the midst of frivolous affairs. That is to say, one must not have
any vacuities in the mind. All entanglements must be put aside and one must be supreme and
independent. Nor must the thoughts be directed toward the right procedure. If too much trouble is
taken there is danger of doing this. I do not mean that no trouble is to be taken, but the right behavior
lies in the middle way between being and non-being. If one can attain purposelessness through
purpose, then the thing has been grasped. Supreme and without confusion, one goes along in an
independent way. Furthermore, one must not fall victim to the ensnaring world. The ensnaring world is
where the five kinds of dark demons disport themselves.
This is the case, for example, when, after fixation, one has chiefly thoughts of dry wood and dead
ashes, and few thoughts of the resplendent spring on the great earth. In this way one sinks into the
world of darkness. The power is cold there, breathing is heavy, and many images of coldness and
decay display themselves. If one tarries there long one enters the world of plants and stones.
Nor must a man be led astray by the ten thousand ensnarements. This happens if, after the quiet state
has begun, one after another all sorts of ties suddenly appear. One wants to break through them and
cannot; one follows them, and feels relieved by this. This means the matter has become a servant. If a
man tarries in this state long he enters the world of illusory desires.
At best, one goes to Heaven; at the worst, one goes among the fox-spirits. Such a fox-spirit might also
occupy himself in the famous mountains enjoying the wind and the moon, the flowers and fruits, and
taking his pleasure in coral trees and jeweled grass. But after he has been occupied thus for three to
five hundred years, or at the most, for a couple of thousand years, his reward is over and he is born
again into the world of turmoil.
All of these are wrong paths. When a man knows the wrong paths, he can then inquire into the
confirmatory signs.
6. CONFIRMATORY EXPERIENCES DURING THE CIRCULATION OF THE LIGHT
Master Lu Tzu said: There are many kinds of confirmatory
experiences. One must not content oneself with small demands
but must rise to the thought that all living creatures have to be
freed. It is not permissible to be trivial and irresponsible in heart.
One must strive to make deeds one's words.
If, when there is quiet, the spirit has continuously and
uninterruptedly a sense of great gaiety as if intoxicated or freshly
bathed, it is a sign that the Light principle in the whole body is
harmonious; then the Golden Flower begins to bud. When,
furthermore, all openings are quiet, and the silver moon stands in
the middle of Heaven, and one has the feeling that the great earth
is a world of light and brilliancy, that is a sign that the body of the
heart opens itself to clarity. It is a sign that the Golden Flower is
opening.
Furthermore, the whole body feels strong and firm so that it fears
neither storm nor frost. Things by which other men are displeased,
when I meet them, cannot cloud the brightness of the seed of the
spirit. Yellow gold fills the house; the steps are white jade. Rotten
and stinking things on earth that come in contact with one breath
of true power will immediately live again. Red blood becomes milk.
The fragile body of the flesh is sheer gold and diamonds. That is a
sign that the Golden Flower is crystallized.
The Book of Successful contemplation says: The sun sinks in the
Great Water and magic pictures of trees in rows arise. The setting
sun means that in Chaos (in the world before phenomena, that is, intelligible world), a foundation is
laid: that is the condition free of opposites. Highest good is like water, pure and spotless. It is the ruler
of the Great Polarity, the god who is revealed in the sign for that which greatly disturbs, Chen. Chen is
also symbolized by wood, wherefore the images of trees in rows appears. A sevenfold row of trees
means the light of the seven body-openings (or heart-openings). In the northwest is the direction of the
creative. When it moves on one place farther, the abysmal is there. The sun which sinking into the
Great Water is the image for the creative and abysmal. The abysmal is the direction of midnight
(mouse, north). At the winter solstice the thunder (Chen) is in the middle of the earth quite hidden and
covered up. Only when the sign Chen is reached, does the Light-pole come over the earth again. That
is the picture representing the row of trees. The rest can be correspondingly inferred.
The second part refers to the building of the foundation on this. The great world is like ice, a glassy
world of jewels. The brilliancy of the Light is gradually crystallized. That is why a great terrace arises
and upon it, in the course of time, Buddha appears. When the Golden Being appears who should it be
but Buddha? For Buddha is the Golden Saint of the Great Enlightenment. This is a great confirmatory
experience.
Now there are these confirmatory experiences which can be tested. The first is that, when one has
entered the state of meditation, the gods are in the valley. Men are heard talking as though at a
distance of several hundred paces, each one quite clear. But the sounds are all like an echo in a
valley. One can always hear them, but never oneself. This is called the presence of the gods in the
valley.
At times the following can be experienced: as soon as one is quiet, the Light of the eyes begins to
blaze up, so that everything before one becomes quite bright as if one were in a cloud. If one opens
one's eyes and seeks the body, it is not to be found any more. This is called: In the empty chamber it
grows light. Inside and outside, everything is equally light. That is a very favorable sign. Or, when one
sits in meditation, the fleshly body becomes quite shining like silk or jade. It seems difficult to remain
sitting; one feels as if drawn upward. This is called: The spirit returns and pushes against Heaven. In
time, one can experience it in such a way that one really floats upward.
And now it is possible to leave all three of these experiences. But not everything can be expressed.
Different things appear to each person according to his gifts. If one experiences these things, it is a
sign of a good aptitude. With these things it is just as it is when one drinks water. One can tell for
oneself whether the water is swarm or cold. In the same way a man must convince himself about these
experiences, then only are they real.
7. THE LIVING MANNER OF THE CIRCULATION OF THE LIGHT
Master Lu Tzu said: When there is gradual success in producing the circulation of the Light, a person
must not give up their ordinary occupation in doing it. The ancients said: When occupations come to
us, we must accept them; when things come to us, we must understand them from the ground up. If
the occupations are regulated by correct thoughts, the Light is not scattered by outside things, but
circulates according to its own law. Even the still-invisible circulation of the Light gets started this way,
how much more then is it the case with the true circulation of the Light which has already manifested
itself clearly. When in ordinary life one has the ability always to react to things by reflexes only, without
any admixture of a thought of others or of himself, that is a circulation of the Light arising out of
circumstances. It is the first secret.
8. A MAGIC SPELL FOR THE FAR JOURNEY
Master Lu Tzu said: Yu Ching has left behind him a magic spell for the Far Journey:
Words crystallize the spirit in the place of power.
The sixth month the white snow is suddenly seen to fly.
The third watch the disk of the sun sends out shining rays.
The water blows the wind of gentleness.
Wandering in Heaven, one eats the spirit-power of the receptive.
The deeper secret within the secret:
land that is nowhere, that is the true home.
These verses are full of mystery. The meaning is: The most important thing in the Great Meaning is the
four words: non-action in action. Non-action prevents a person from becoming entangled in form and
image (substantiality). Action in non-action prevents a person from sinking into numbing emptiness and
a dead nothingness. The effect is in the two eyes. The two eyes are like the pole of the Great Wain
which turns the whole of creation; the cause the poles of Light and darkness to rotate. The Elixir
depends from beginning to end on the One; the metal in the middle of the water, that is, the lead in the
water-region. Heretofore we have spoken of the circulation of the Light, indicating thereby the initial
release which works from without upon what lies within. This is to aid one in obtaining the Master. It is
for the pupils in the beginning stages. They go through the two lower transitions in order to gain the
upper one. After the sequence of events is clear and the nature of the release is known, Heaven no
longer withholds the Meaning, but reveals the ultimate truth. Disciples keep it secret and hold to it
strictly!
The circulation of the Light is the inclusive term.
The further the work advances, the more can the
Golden Flower bloom. But there is a still more
marvelous kind of circulation. Til now we have
worked from the outside on what is within; now
we tarry in the center and rule what is external.
Hitherto, it was a service in aid of the Master;
now it is a dissemination of the commands of this
Master. The whole relationship is now reversed.
If one wants to penetrate the more delicate
regions by this method, one must first see to it
that the body and heart are completely
controlled, that one is quite free and at peace,
letting go of all entanglements, untroubled by the
slightest excitement, with the Heavenly Heart
exactly in the middle. Then let one lower the lids
of the two eyes as if one received a holy edict, a
summons to the minister. Who would dare
disobey? Then one illumines the house of the
abysmal (water) with both eyes. Wherever the
Golden Flower appears, the true Light of polarity
goes out to meet it. The principle of that which adheres to (lightness), is light outside and dark within; it
is the body of the creative. Darkness enters and becomes master. The results is that the heart
(consciousness), becomes dependent on things, is directed outward, and is tossed about on the
stream. When the rotating Light shines within the heart, it does not become dependent on things, the
power of the dark is limited, and the Golden Flower shines with concentration. It is then the collected
Light of polarity. Things that are related attract each other. Thus does the polarity Light-line of the
abysmal press upward. It is not only the Light in the abyss, but it is creative Light meeting creative
Light. As soon as these two substances meet each other, they unite inseparably, and unceasing life
begins; it comes and goes, and rises and falls of itself, in the house of primordial power. One is aware
of effulgence and infinity. The whole body feels lighter and would like to fly. This is the state of which it
is said: Clouds fill the thousand mountains. Gradually it (life) goes here and there quite quietly; it rises
and falls imperceptibly. The pulse stands still and breathing stops. This is the moment of true creative
unity, the state of which it is said: The moon gathers up the ten thousand waters. In the midst of this
darkness, the Heavenly Heart suddenly begins a movement. This is the return of the one Light, the
time when the child comes to life.
But the details of this must be carefully explained. When a person looks at something, listens to
something, eyes and ears move and follow the things until they have passed. These movements are
all underlings, and when the Heavenly ruler follows them in their tasks, it means: To live together with
demons.
If now, during every movement and every moment of rest, a person lives together with people and not
with demons, then the Heavenly ruler is the t rue man. When he moves and we move with him, the
movement is the root of Heaven. When he is quiet and we are quiet with him, this quietness is the cave
of the moon. When he continues to alternate movement and quietness, one ought to go on with him
unceasingly in movement and quietness. If he rises and falls with inhaling and exhaling, we must rise
and fall with him. That is what is called going to and fro between the root of Heaven and the cave of
the moon.
When the Heavenly Heart still preserves calm, movement before the right time is a fault of softness.
When the Heavenly Heart has already moved, the movement that follows afterwards, corresponding
with it, is a fault or rigidity. As soon as the Heavenly Heart is stirring, one must immediately mount with
all one's feeling to the house of the creative. Thus the Light of the spirit sees the summit that is the
leader. This movement is in accord with the time. The Heavenly Heart rises to the summit of the
creative, where it expands in complete freedom. Then suddenly it wants the deepest silence, and one
must lead it speedily and with one's whole being into the yellow castle. Thus the eyes behold the
central yellow dwelling place of the spirit.
When the desire for silence comes, not a single thought arises; he who is look ing inward suddenly
forgets that he looks. At this time, body and heart must be left completely free. All entanglements
disappear without trace. Then I no longer know at what place the house of my spirit and my crucible
are. If a man wants to make certain of his body, he cannot get at it. This condition is the penetration of
Heaven into earth, the time when all wonders return to their roots.
The One is the circulation of the Light. If one begins, it is at first scattered and one tries to collect it; the
six senses are not active. This is the care and nourishment of one's own origin, the filling up of the oil
when one goes to receive life. When one is far enough to have gathered it, one feels light and free and
need take no further trouble. This is the quieting of the spirit in the space of the ancestors, the taking
possession of former Heaven.
When one is so far advanced that every shadow and every echo has disappeared, so that one is quiet
and firm, it is safe within the cave of power, where all that is miraculous returns to its roots. The place
is not changed but divides itself. It is incorporeal space where a thousand and ten thousand places are
one place. The time is not changed, but divides itself. It is immeasurable time when all the eons are
like a moment.
As long as the heart has not attained complete peace, it cannot move itself. One moves the movement
and forgets the movement; this is not movement in itself. Therefore it is said: If, when stimulated by
external things, one is moved, it is the instinct of the being. If, when not stimulated by external things,
one is moved, it is the movement of Heaven. The being that is placed over against Heaven, can fall
and come under the domination of the instincts. The instincts are based upon the fact that there are
external things. They are thoughts that go on beyond their own position. Then movement leads to
movement. But, when no idea arises, the right ideas come. That is the true idea. If things are quiet and
one is quite firm, the release of Heaven suddenly moves. Is this not a movement without purpose?
Action in inaction has the same meaning.
As to the beginning of the poem, the first two lines refer entirely to the activity of the Golden Flower.
The two next lines are concerned with the mutual interpenetration of sun and moon. The sixth month is
the adhering fire. The white snow that flies, is the true darkness of polarity in the middle of the fire sign,
that is about to turn into the receptive. The third watch is the abysmal water. The sun's disk is the one
polar line in the sign for water, which is about to turn into the creative. In this is contained the way to
take the sign for the abysmal and the way to reverse the sign for the adhering fire. The following two
lines have to do with the activity of the pole of the Great Wain, the rise and fall of the whole release of
polarity. Water is the sign of the abysmal; the eye is the wind of softness. The light of the eyes
illumines the house of the abysmal, and controls there the seed of the great Light. "In Heaven" means
the house of the creative. "Wandering, in Heaven, one eats the spirit-power of the receptive." This
shows how the spirit penetrates the power, and how Heaven penetrates the earth; this happens so that
the fire can be nourished.
This version of the Secret of the Golden Flower was translated by Walter Picca in 1964 as part of his
work with the Church of the Word of God to “explain the doctrine of desire-imagination to win the
promise of God.”
