GUANZI SELECTIONS FROM “INWARD TRAINING” (“NEIYE")
The Vital Essence
I
The vital essence of all things:
Generates the five grains below and becomes the constellated stars
above.
When flowing within Heaven and Earth we call it daemonic and
numinous.
When stored within the chest of a man we call him a sage.
Therefore this vital energy is
Bright!-as if ascending to Heaven; dark!-as if entering an abyss.
Vast!-as if filling an ocean; lofty!-as if residing on a mountain
peak.
Therefore this vital energy
Cannot be stopped by force, yet can be secured by inner power (de).
Cannot be summoned by speech, yet can be welcomed by the
awareness.
Diligently hold onto it and do not lose it: this is called “developing
inner power.”
When inner power develops and wisdom emerges the myriad things
will to the last one be grasped. (16/la5-10)
I1
When the vital essence is present it vitalizes on its own,
And on the outside there is a healthy manifestation.
Stored within, we take it to be the wellspring.
Floodlike (haoran), it harmonizes and equalizes and we take it to be the source of the vital energy.
When the source is not dried up, the four limbs are firm.
When the wellspring is not drained, it (the vital energy) freely circulates through the nine apertures.
One can then exhaust Heaven and Earth and spread over the four seas.
When one internally has no false awareness, externally there will be no disasters.
One who internally keeps his mind unimpaired, and externally keeps his body unimpaired,
Who does not encounter Heaven’s disasters nor meet with harm at the hands of other men:
Call him a sage. (16/3a8-bl)
The Way
III
Clear! as though right by one’s side.
Vague! as though one is not going to get it.
Indiscernible! as though beyond the limitless.
The test of this is not far off daily we make use of its inner power.
The Way is what infuses the structures [of the mind], yet men are unable to secure it.
It goes forth but does not return, it comes back but does not stay.
Silent! none can hear its sound.
Sudden! so it rests in the mind.
Obscure! one cannot see its form.
Surging! it arises along with me.
We cannot see its form, we cannot hear its sound, yet we can put a
sequence to its development.
Call it “Way.” (16/1b2-9)
IV
The Way has no fixed position; the good mind, in its calmness, gives it a location.
When the mind is tranquil and the vital energy is structured, the Way can thereby be stopped.
That Way is not distant; the people get it for sustenance.
That Way is not separate; the people follow it for harmony.
Intense! as though one could be roped together with it.
Indiscernible! as though beyond the positionless.
The true state of that Way: how could it include ideas and pronouncements?
Cultivate your mind, make your awareness tranquil, and the Way can
thereby be grasped. (16/lb10-2a2)
V
The Way is what the mouth cannot speak of
The eyes cannot look at
And the ears cannot listen to.
It is that by which we cultivate the mind and align the body.
It is what a person loses and thereby dies, what a person gains and is thereby born.
When undertakings lose it they fail; when they get it they succeed.
The Way never has a root or a trunk, leaves or flowers.
The myriad things are born by means of it and by means of it
develop.
We name it “Way.” (16/2a2-4)
The Numen
VI
The numen: no one knows its limit.
It intuitively knows the myriad things.
Hold it within your core, do not let it waver.
Do not let external things disrupt your senses,
Do not let the senses disrupt your mind.
This is called “grasping it in your core.” (16/2b8-9)
VI1
There is a numen residing on its own [within]:
One moment it goes, the next it comes,
And no one is able to conceive of it.
If you lose it you are inevitably disordered;
If you attain it you are inevitably well-ordered.
Diligently clean out its lodging place [the mind]
And [its] vital essence will come on its own.
Still your attempts to imagine and conceive of it.
Relax your efforts to reflect on and control it.
Be reverent and diligent and [its] vital essence will stabilize on its own.
Grasp it and do not let go
Then the eyes and ears will not overflow
And the mind will have no image apart from it.
When a properly aligned mind resides in your core,
The myriad things will be seen in their proper context. (16/2b9-3al)
The Practice of Self-Cultivation
VIII
If you can be aligned and be tranquil, only then can you be stable.
With a stable mind at your core, with the eyes and ears perceiving clearly,
And with the four limbs firm and fixed
You can thereby make a lodging place for the vital essence.
The vital essence: it is the essence of the vital energy.
When the vital energy circulates freely it is generated, but when it is
generated there is thought,
When there is thought, there is knowledge, and when there is knowledge there is a cessation.
When the structures of the mind are filled with knowledge, one loses the ability to generate it. (16/2a5-bl)
IX
When the physical form is not aligned, inner power will not come.
When in your core you are not tranquil, the mind will not be well ordered.
Align the body, carefully reach for inner power,
And then flowinglyit will arrive on its own. (16/2b6-8)
X
If you can be aligned and tranquil,
Your flesh will be relaxed, your eyes and ears will perceive clearly,
Your muscles will be supple, and your bones will be strong.
You will then be able to hold up the Great Circle [of Heaven] and tread over the Great Square [of Earth].
You will thus reflect the ultimately transparent and contemplate the ultimately luminous.
Diligently be aware; do not waver, and you will daily renew your inner power,
Thoroughly understand the world, and exhaust the Four Directions.
To bring forth diligently that which fills you (vital energy): this is
called “grasping it within.”
If you do this but fail to return, this will cause a wavering of your
vitality. (16/3b1-5)
XI
In this Way [of breathing]:
You must coil, you must contract, you must uncoil, you must expand,
You must be firm, you must be regular [in this practice].
Hold fast to this excellent [practice];do not let go of it.
Chase away the excessive [in sense perception]; abandon the trivial [in thought].
And when you reach the ultimate limit [of this practice]
You will return to the Way and its inner power. (16/3b6-7)
XI1
By concentrating your vital energy as if numinous, the myriad things will all be contained within you.
Can you concentrate? can you unify [your awareness]?
Can you know good and bad fortune without resorting to divination?
Can you stop? can you halt?
Can you not seek it without, but attain it within?
You think and think and think further about this.
You think, yet still cannot penetrate it.
The daemonic and numinous in you will penetrate it.
It is not due to the inherent power of the daemonic and numinous,
But rather to the utmost refinement of your essential vital energy.
When the four limbs are correctly adjusted and the blood and vital energy are tranquil,
Unify your awareness, concentrate your mind and the eyes and ears
will not be overstimulated.
Then even the farthest will be like the nearest. (16/4a2-7)
The One
XIII
One who can transform while seeing the unity in things, we call “numinous”;
One who can alter while seeing the unity in events, we call “wise.”
To transform without changing your vital energy; to alter without changing your wisdom:
Only the noble person who holds fast to the One is able to do this.
Hold fast to the One; do not lose it and you will be able to master the
myriad things.
The noble person employs things, and is not employed by them:
The noble person grasps the pattern of the One. (16/2b1-3)
XIV
When you broaden the mind and relax it, expand the vital energy and
extend it,
And when your physical form is calm and unmoving,
You can guard the One and discard the myriad vexations.
You will not be lured by profit nor will you be frightened by harm.
While extremely empathetic and humane, when alone you delight in your own person.
This is called “revolving the vital energy”: your thoughts and deeds
resemble Heaven’s. (16/4b7-5a4)
Conclusion
XV
The vitality of all people inevitably comes from their peace of mind.
When anxious, one loses this guiding thread; when angry, one loses this basic point.
When one is anxious or sad, pleased or angry, the Way has no place to settle.
Love and desire: still them! Folly and disturbance: correct them!
Do not push it! do not pull it! And its blessings will return on their own.
And that Way will come to you on its own to rely on and take counsel with.
If you are tranquil then you will attain it; if you are agitated you will
lose it.
That mysterious vital energy within the mind, one moment it arrives, the next it departs.
So fine nothing can be contained within it, so vast nothing can be outside it.
The reason we lose it is because of the harm caused by agitation.
When the mind can adhere to tranquility, the Way will become stabilized on its own.
The person who has attained the Way:
The pores are permeated by it; the hair is saturated by it.
Within the chest, is unvanquished.
[Follow] this Way of restricting sense-desires and the myriad things
will not harm you. (16/5a4-9)
The Way
XVI
The Way is not far off but it is hard to reach its limit.
It rests together with human beings, but it is hard to grasp. (13/la1011)
The Way lies within Heaven and Earth. So great there is nothing beyond it; so
small there is nothing within it. Therefore the text says it “is not far off but it is hard to reach its limit.” Rest in it and there will be no gap between the Way and human beings. Only the sage is able to rest in the Way. Therefore the statement says it “rests together with human beings but is hard to grasp.” (13/ 2b5-8)
XVII
That which is empty and formless, we call it the Way.
That which transforms and nourishes the myriad things, we call inner power. (13/lb2)
The Way of Heaven is empty and formless. Empty, then it does not submit.
Formless, then it is nowhere obstructed. It is nowhere obstructed and so it universally flows through the myriad things and does not alter.
Inner power is the lodging place of the Way. Things attain it and are thereby
generated. Human awareness attains it and thereby directs the vital essence of
the Way. Therefore inner power means “to attain.” “To attain” means to attain
the means by which it is so.
To act without effort, this characterizes the Way. To lodge it, this charac
terizes inner power. Therefore there is no gap between the Way and inner
power. Thus to speak of them is not to differentiate them. That there is no gap
between them is the reason why the Way lodges in inner power. (13/3a2-8)
XVIII
The Way can be secured but cannot be explained. (lb6-7)
The Way: it moves, but we do not see its form; it bestows, but we do not see its inner power. The myriad things by means of it get to be so. No one knows its zenith. Therefore the statement says it “can be secured but cannot be explained.” (13/3b1-2)
Self Cultivation
IX
The position of the mind in the body is analogous to that of the ruler [in the state]. The functioning of the nine apertures is analogous to the responsibilities of the officials.
When the mind rests in its Way,
The nine apertures will comply with natural guidelines.
When lusts and desires fill the mind to overflowing,
The eyes do not see colors, the ears do not hear sounds.
When the one above departs from the Way,
The ones below will be mistaken in their duties.
Therefore we say, “the techniques of the mind are to take no action and yet control the apertures.” (13/1a5-8)
“The position of the mind in the body is analogous to that of the ruler [in the
state]. The functioning of the nine apertures is analogous to the responsibilities
of the officials.”
The eyes and ears are the organs of seeing and hearing. When the mind does
not interfere with the work of seeing and hearing, the organs will be able to
fulfill their duties. When the mind has desires, things pass by and the eyes do
not see them; sounds are there but the ears do not hear them. Therefore the
statement says: “When the one above departs from the Way, the ones below
will be mistaken in their duties.”Therefore the statement calls the mind “ruler.”
(13/2a7-2b 1)