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Concentrating the Vital Spirit

According to Master Wang Liping, the entire course of his training could be divided into nine stages. At this point in the story, he was going into the second stage, which involves collecting the mind and developing essential nature. This work is still concerned with the refinement of the inner essence of mind, but it is at a higher and more difficult level than repentance; its requirements are stricter, and the external conditions of practice are yet more severe. The aim is to get the practitioner to concentrate the vital spirit, using unified concentration of the whole spirit to examine minute changes within the body, producing extraordinary capacities within the ordinary.

For this exercise his mentors moved Wang Liping to a pit in the earth. The pit was narrow, dark, and dank, without good air circulation. Ordinarily one would not think it a suitable place for doing exercises, but the three wizards had a deep reason for finding this spot for their apprentice to sit and do his inner work. It was not just a matter of using a negative environment to develop extraordinary character, as one would usually imagine; the principle of contrary use of the surroundings has a more positive rationale.

The pit, going deep underground, was dark and wet. Could the principle be herein? Earth and depth both correspond to the earth element in the five elements, so the energy of earth is doubled. Shade and darkness are the extreme of yin; and when yin reaches its extreme, yang arises. Moisture corresponds to the water element in the five elements, and it is the source of life. In both the primal and temporal ordering of the eight trigrams of the I Ching, or Book of Changes, earth and water are both below. The Traditions on the Changes says, “Consummate is the creative basis of earth; all beings live on its Concentrating the Vital Spirit sustenance, as it goes along in accord with what it receives from heaven. Earth is thick and supports beings; its virtues are boundless, its embrace is far-reaching, and its glory is great, so all things flourish.”

The Tao Te Ching says, “The Way obeys Nature,” and it recommends quiet emptiness and keeping centered, which are both virtues associated with earth. In the I Ching trigram symbol for water, yin surrounds outside, and yang is in the center, representing “yang submerged in yin, outwardly empty while inwardly fulfilled.” The Traditions on the Changes says, “Going through dangerous straits without losing faith, that mind gets through successfully, by means of firmness and balance.” This seems to be the rationale for the three wizards using a pit in the earth to train Wang Liping. The young apprentice himself, of course, had no idea of his teachers’ purpose in putting him there.

Jumping down into the pit, Liping lit sticks of incense at each of the four corners, according to instructions. The little cavern quickly filled with smoke, and the youth sat down and began to practice his inner exercise.

At first Liping was able to sit calmly and quietly, but before long the smoke got so dense, combined with the wet and cold vapors hanging heavy in the air, that breathing became difficult. Finally his primitive nature lost its patience again, and he shouted, “It’s suffocating me!” He was hoping the teachers would let him out of the pit, but Wang Jiaoming had already told him to follow instructions strictly, without any fuss. At this point he knew that if he didn’t obey, he’d be severely punished. All he could do was follow the course prescribed by his mentor.

Confined in the dark, dank pit, and suffocating, it was hard to sit cross-legged. Figuring that his mentor had already locked up and wouldn’t come back, Liping decided to change positions and relax his body a little. So he leaned against the side of the pit and stretched out his arms and legs.

Just as he was getting comfortable, in a flash an incomprehensible change took place in the appearance of the pit, right before Liping’s eyes. Suddenly it seemed to be as big as a banquet hall, and full of light. The grand master and the two mentors were sitting before him, with the air and appearance of people from the immortal realms. The old master’s face was red. Speaking solemnly, he said, “What nerve! A mediocre little boy like you dares to fool around in front of the likes of us? How can you go on hoodwinking us? Once you have become a disciple, your commitment stands before you. Whether or not a teacher is present, you should take it to heart. The methods of attaining the Way are transmitted verbally by teachers, but you are required to cultivate them seriously in your own body. The way you are now, unless you eliminate the poisons and delinquent tendencies in your heart as soon as possible, collect your spirit and develop your nature, how can you attain the Way?”

Having finished his speech, the old master closed his eyes. One of the mentors raised a disciplinary ruler, but didn’t bring it down. The other mentor pulled out a rope, but stopped there. Wang Liping hurriedly knelt down and cried out an apology and a promise not to be so presumptuous again.

Now when he raised his head again, Liping saw nothing but the interior of the pit, cramped, dark, dank, and suffocating as before. But he felt a pain in the palms of his hands, and he saw that his legs had been bound up tightly. Then he realized that the old master and the two mentors had already administered punishment in some way.

Mortified with shame, Liping now understood how highly developed the accomplishments of the master and the mentors were; he also realized that his mind had not been thoroughly cleaned, and that he was very far from the Way. No longer would he have any illusions and boast of trivial intelligence. He would turn wholeheartedly to the Way, and first he would work on this practice of “collecting the mind and developing the nature,” “keeping to the center, silent and empty.”

When Wang Liping had learned to sit cross-legged for four hours in the pit filled with incense smoke, the old master and the mentors finally began to transmit to him the teaching of the Dragon Gate sect of Complete Reality Taoism known as “The Art of Inner Exercise of Mental Capacities Attained Through the Classical Spiritual Jewels.” As he learned from his teachers, Liping worked on applying the new skills in practice, so his efforts gradually led him into the True Way.

This art of inner exercise of mental capacities according to the classical Spiritual Jewels is one of the ancient Taoist methods of internal work. Its doctrine is “saving one from birth and death is first, comfort and long life come afterward.” Its special features are inclusion of both movement and stillness, and cultivation of both essential nature and life energy. The art has many techniques, which are simple and easy to practice, naturally forming a detailed and comprehensive system for training the capacities of the whole human being.

This teaching has been treasured by specialists in method for a long time and has been passed on only by word of mouth and kept only in memory, transmitted individually from teacher to disciple, kept secret and not publicly divulged.

The Art of Inner Exercise of Mental Capacities Attained Through the Classical Spiritual Jewels is divided into “three exercises” and “nine methods.” The “three exercises” are the “Three Immortalist Exercises,” or quiet sitting exercises, exercises involving external movements known as equilibrium exercises, and sleeping exercises practiced at leisure. The “nine methods” deal with developing mental capacities, stopping illness, curing illness, transmitting awareness, stabilizing mind, settling your birth and death, cutting off the earthly soul, and receiving images.

Among these nine methods, the first four are methods of helping people create happiness; the latter five are methods of overcoming people and methods of controlling people. The fourth method, “transmitting awareness,” also includes methods of overcoming people.

One day the old master and the two mentors called Wang Liping to them and started explaining the first method of the Spiritual Jewel attainments, developing mental capacities. Zhang Hodao, Wayfarer of the Infinite, said, “This method of developing mental capacity is a method of exercise in stillness, mainly cultivated while sitting cross-legged. Now that you have learned the basic essentials of sitting cross-legged, you can practice this method.

“This method of developing mental capacity is itself divided into nine steps. The first step is retrospective gazing, returning to infancy. The second step is clear distinction of the real and the unreal. The third step is developing clarity of spirit. The fourth step is knowing the way one is to go. The fifth step is stopping eating to seek life. The sixth step is changing into new clothing. The seventh step is seeing through the mechanism of Nature. The eighth step is revolving time. The ninth step is gazing practice ascending to the moon. Today you will start your practice with the first step, retrospective gazing back into infancy.”

Although he gave no sign of it, Wang Liping was delighted. “No wonder they had me learn to sit quietly so long. There are so many things to study!”

Now the Wayfarer of Pure Emptiness, Gu Jiaoyi, continued where the old master had left off. “After you enter into quiet stillness sitting cross-legged, once random thoughts are eliminated, when stillness reaches its extreme, it produces movement. Then various sorts of hallucinations will begin to appear in your brain. When you close your eyes, you will see very lifelike images—birds flying in the sky, animals running and bounding on the ground, flowers, plants, and trees growing in the meadows, people involved in work and other activities. When these images have appeared, they are not actually hallucinations. The brain is beginning to represent real scenes you have seen in the past, so it is memory.

“When ordinary people remember past things, they do not see them so clearly and graphically. Only after accomplishment is achieved in the practice of entering stillness is it possible to ‘see’ clearly within the brain.

“Slowly, you should then see things that happened a long time ago, things you could never bring up simply by the power of memory or recollection. Now you will be able to see them clearly. You can keep going back all the way through your childhood, because your thinking has gone into reverse. This is called ‘retrospective gazing back to infancy.’ When thinking has gone back we say it is ‘retrospection,’ but in reality it is ‘gazing,’ a clear viewing of images.

“When these scenes appear, don’t be afraid. You must let them change as they may. It is most definitely necessary, however, to watch them closely and examine them in detail. You must absolutely avoid letting them go too easily, without clear perception.

“All right now,” the mentor concluded, “go sit in your hole in the ground, quiet down your mind, and see what scenes appear.”

Wang Liping went back to the hole in the ground again and shut himself in. Lighting three sticks of incense, he sat on a bunch of straw and went into a condition of stillness. After these few days of practice, Wang Liping understood the advantage of doing these exercises in the pit. The incense smoke no longer suffocated him, but instead it created an ethereal atmosphere.

After sitting quietly for a while, Wang Liping felt his whole body become nothing. Inside his brain was a complete blank. Then, all of a sudden, images began to appear. These images were not the same as those that had appeared before when he was practicing deliberate thinking in the dark room. Those earlier images had been deliberately mentally formulated; these images appeared spontaneously. They were very real, distinct, and clear.

Following his mentor’s instructions, Wang Liping felt no fear, but watched the images closely, observing how they appeared and how they changed, registering all this in memory. He had no idea how time and space could transform this way: space changed into a mirage, and time reversed its flow. As he sat there quietly, Wang Liping actually went through the experience of “retrospective gazing, returning to infancy.”

Liping had no idea how much time passed, but eventually the images faded and disappeared. Then he concluded his exercise and got out of the pit. Outside he saw that it was already late at night; then he realized this sitting had lasted four hours. During his retrospective gazing back into infancy, however, he had seen many places and events spanning several years’ time.

When Wang Liping told his teachers about his experiences in inward gazing during this session of quiet sitting, they saw that he was really intelligent, sincere, and quick to learn. Delighted, they urged him to keep on practicing his exercises, to achieve solid stability.

For his part, after this experience Wang Liping became even more attentive to his study of Taoism. One day when he went into the pit to sit, not long after entering into stillness, both eyes gazing inward, unexpectedly he found that he was able to see everything in his own body, from the outside to the inside. His youthful heart was pure, and he felt no fear, only a sense of wonder. Without getting upset or excited, he continued to gaze, observing every detail. When Wang Liping finished this exercise session, he reported his inner vision to the three masters. Exchanging meaningful glances, the old wizards smiled without saying anything. Realizing that they must have something to tell him about this experience, however, Liping asked the mentors for a pointer.

The Wayfarer of Pure Emptiness laughed and said, “You have again progressed further in quiet sitting. Now you have already entered into the second step of the method of developing mental capacities, which is called ‘clear distinction of the real and the unreal.’ When you gaze inwardly at your own body after entering stillness, even though your eyes are closed and you are in utter darkness, you can see the internal conditions of your own body with perfect clarity. When this happens, you should never be startled or frightened, and you should not engage in any activity. You must observe and make distinctions with accurate precision. See exactly how many bones there are in your head, what shape they are, and how they are joined together. What are the shapes of your internal organs? What colors are they? Are there any spots? When you can see these things plainly and register them clearly, then this becomes useful. This exercise is basic when it comes to diagnosing and curing disease. People may look well from the outside, but when you can see the internal condition of their bodies you know whether or not they are sick, and where the ailment is if they are. So this exercise method is called ‘clear distinction of the real and the unreal.’ Now that you have entered this domain, you should continue to practice, observing the structure of your body, remembering every detail.”

After a moment of silent reflection, the Wayfarer of the Infinite took up the thread. “After these two steps are completed,” he began, “the foundation of your inner work is secure, and you need more understanding of the principles of inner work cultivated by ancient health practitioners.

“Inner work cultivates both essence and life. Essence exercises cultivate the spirit, soul, will, awareness, tranquility, and stability. Life exercises cultivate the energy, blood, vitality, sinews, bones, and skin. The methods of cultivation include both stillness and motion. They are orderly and measured, yet adaptable to accord with natural conditions.

“The health practices of the Dragon Gate sect are based on ancient longevity teachings. They are modeled on the principles of yin and yang and are adjusted to calendrical logic. Yin and yang are constants of the sky and the earth; calendrical logic is the organization of hygiene.

“The inner work of the Spiritual Jewel teaching includes aspects associated with heaven, earth, and humankind, used as a means of mating external yin and yang, the five elements, and the eight trigrams with internal yin and yang, the five elements, and the eight trigrams, in order to cultivate them. This work is the basis for establishing essence and life and cultivating essence and life.

Heaven, earth, and humankind are a universe; the individual human being is also a universe, a microcosm. Changes in the macrocosm, the universe at large, all affect the microcosm, the little universe of the individual, and changes in the microcosm all correspond to changes in the macrocosm.

“Refining practices cultivated on the model of the moon circling the earth result in the microcycle, penetrating the three passes, breaking through the gate of heaven, opening the celestial eye, and descending through the three fields. When the aperture of the celestial eye opens, then inner vision is possible.

“The aperture of the celestial eye consists of three points on one line, from outside to inside, combining to form the ‘higher elixir.’ The ‘aperture’ is between the eyebrows, the ‘eye,’ which is popularly referred to as ‘nirvana,’ is inside that, and the ‘heaven,’ also called the ‘celestial mirror,’ is behind that. The aperture is naturally always open, but the eye has to be cultivated; the celestial is primordial. The aperture is open, but does not perceive objects. The eye perceives things even when closed, seeing back into the celestial. Now that your celestial eye aperture is open, you are capable of inner vision and thus can successfully cultivate refinement in conjunction with the cycles of the sun and moon. This is followed by ‘external radiation of internal energy,’ which can draw small animals to you. This practice links with the work of the third step of the development of mental capacities, which is clarity of spirit.”

As the Wayfarer of the Infinite spoke, Wang Liping listened with rapt attention, in complete inner silence, anxious not to miss a single word. There were still some things, however, that he still couldn’t remember, some things he couldn’t understand. The Wayfarer of Pure Emptiness went over these points with him in detail, until Liping understood them clearly and had committed them to memory.

The Wayfarer of Pure Emptiness said, “The reason I have told you about ‘clarity of spirit’ beforehand is as a precaution. Whatever may appear, don’t let it scare you—you need to have clarity and sobriety of spirit. In the previous two steps, the scenes that appeared to you were all in your brain or were perceptions of inner vision. In this third step, inner energy radiates outward, so sensitive little animals will come to you following the energy, gathering around you. At this time, you must not by any means stir. Don’t be afraid, and don’t mind them— just let them be. Although the animals will come right up to you, they won’t hurt you. When you have finished your exercise, they will leave on their own. These little animals will mostly be rats, weasels, and certain birds. They are quite intelligent and also have an uncanny sensitivity. Some of them can even gaze into the sky and worship the moon, absorbing the vitality of the sun and the essence of the moon, cultivating some of the lesser methods of exercise by following nature. Just act as if nothing were happening. If you don’t provoke them, they won’t bother you.”

Hearing his mentor speak of such things, Wang Liping mused, “What a wonder this world is! Who would have thought that those little animals, which seem so cute to humans, also have this uncanny sensitivity. They too know how to research the mysteries of Nature and have thought of immortality. This is most interesting!”

After that Liping cultivated the “clear distinction of the real and the unreal” for a while. Once he had seen the structure of his body clearly, he then practiced the exercise of external radiation, and small animals actually did come gather around him, crouching nearby, as if they were listening to him tell interesting stories or sing charming songs.

Following his mentor’s advice, Liping paid the little creatures no mind. With thorough clarity of spirit, he firmly continued with his exercise. When he was done, each of the little animals went back to its lair, none of them disturbing another in any way. Every time he saw this happen, Liping felt like laughing, but in his heart he was taking another step toward understanding the mysteries of Nature.

Once the first three steps had been completed, his mentors introduced Liping to the fourth step, “knowing the way one is to go.”

What is the meaning of “knowing the way one is to go”? It is set on the foundation of collecting mind and nurturing essence, so that there are no random thoughts at all, and one has the ability to gaze inward and radiate outward; at this point it is necessary to advance further to consciously train thinking on a higher level.

The thinking done in this stage is not the deliberate constructive thinking done in the dark room, nor is it the imagery seen in the course of the inner gazing of the first two steps of the method of developing mental capacities. In this exercise, rather, a specific issue is taken up, its outcome is determined, and a method of resolution is presented.

This exercise of “knowing the way one is to go” is not random thinking; it is essential to start out by setting up the topic or the focal issue. Before you have gone through training in entering stillness, your brain is full of random thoughts, so even if you want to settle your mind down to think about a specific problem, it is very difficult to accomplish. But after you have gone through training in entering stillness, random thoughts are removed, and your brain power is ten, a hundred, even a thousand times better than what it was before. The topic that is brought up for this exercise is not pursued retrospectively, but rather prospectively. When the problems that come up in the course of life resist solution by ordinary means, and yet require resolution, they are now brought up in this present exercise, and then a way to solve them is sought. This training of brain power, or thinking, is called knowing the way one is to go.

The “way to go” refers to the immediate problem before you that calls for resolution; that is, of course, as a first step. When it comes to determining the way to go with more long-term and more far-reaching issues, further training is required. The first step of “knowing the way one is to go,” nevertheless, is the basic accomplishment, which is extremely important for future development.

The core principle of the method of developing mental capacities is to use it for curing illnesses and helping people, so “knowing the way one is to go” is mainly used for healing. When a daytime examination does not yield a clear picture of an illness or a way of curing it, then this exercise is done at midnight, bringing up the particular problem to make a close examination of symptoms and find a way to treat it.

As Wang Liping put his teachers’ instructions into practice step by step, his brain power developed greatly. He was not merely beyond his peers in this respect, but even more advanced than adults. Not only was schoolwork a breeze for him; he had no trouble considering and resolving real problems of life in the world.

But Liping was not only intelligent; he was smart. Whenever he was with other people, he just went along with the flow cheerfully, keeping his true attainments concealed, so that people thought of him as an ordinary youth.

As for the three old Taoist wizards, they devoted a lot of attention to this process. A hundred years of human development, it is said, still just stabilizes the roots. Although Liping was making progress in learning the inner exercises, he had not yet even begun to learn external exercises.

Inner and external exercises, at their most advanced, both make an issue of subtlety and refinement. The subtle is the recondite, the infinitesimal, the signal of an event, the key to something. The refined is the minute, the profound, the quintessential. The Traditions on the Changes says, “The Changes are means by which sages find out the profound and investigate the subtle.” It also says, “Cultivated people act on seeing the subtle, not waiting all day.” And also, “Cultivated people know the subtle and the obvious, the soft and the hard.” Lao-tzu said, “Skilled warriors of old were subtle, mysteriously effective, so deep they were inscrutable.” Guan-tzu said, “Thought does not only cognize the coarse; it sees into the subtle, so it is the vital essence of development.”

The point of subtlety and refinement is the cultivation of essence and life. Make the slightest error and you miss out completely. If you do not see into the subtle and refined, you cannot reach the sublime realms. With the idea of fostering subtlety and refinement in their young charge, the three old masters next put Wang Liping through more special training.

First Liping was shut inside a large wooden box. This box was constructed specially for this training exercise. It was as tall as Liping himself, with a bit of leeway around the front, back, and sides. The upper part, however, was studded with spikes several inches long. To avoid being stuck by the spikes, Liping had to stand in the center without moving. As if this were not enough, the old masters added yet another obstacle.

When Liping got into the box, he examined it very carefully. Using the ability he had developed in quiet sitting over the past few months, he stood immobile inside the box, thinking this was not so hard as sitting cross-legged in fact, it was more comfortable than sitting. Little did he suspect that the mentors were then going to hoist the whole box up into a tree and let it hang there, swaying in the wind.

There was no room for the youth to divide his attention as he concentrated totally on maintaining his balance inside the box, to avoid getting stuck by the spikes. Carefully studying the subtle relationships among the movements of the wind, the tree, the box, and his own body, Liping gradually discovered a sort of regularity. Then he no longer had to make any physical effort, all he needed to do was concentrate with complete attention.

After two months of this practice, Wang Liping had developed the ability to notice even the slightest movement of the grasses in the breeze. Doing this exercise in the mountains at night, he could physically sense even a rat scurrying by several meters away.

Once Liping had passed this barrier, the three Taoist wizards reduced the size of the box a little, so that Liping could only just fit inside, with no leeway whatsoever for movement. To avoid getting spiked, he was going to have to keep his body absolutely still. Since he already had months of basic training in quiet sitting and quiet standing, however, this exercise was just a matter of enhancing the degree of perfection, so Liping was able to master this exercise completely after a while.

The teachers also used to set “booby traps” for their apprentice, to test his concentration and foster an intelligent capacity of swift reaction. Once Liping crept up stealthily to where the old masters were staying, hoping to see what they were doing. All of a sudden there was a thunderous shout that sent him tumbling backward several yards, raising several lumps on his head. The Wayfarer of Pure Serenity laughed out from inside the shack—“You rascal! Why were you sitting outside our door?” Now Liping realized the old Taoists had been aware of his doings all along. From now on, he knew he had better watch out and not get careless.

Another time, when Wang Liping went to the outhouse, as he squatted over the cesspit he heard someone cry out below. Apparently someone had fallen into the sewage. Just as Liping was going to call out he heard the sound of the three old masters laughing. “I’ve been tricked by the old Taoists again,” he realized, restraining his upset. “I’ll get even! Just wait and see!”

As it turned out, this was one of the schemes of the Wayfarer of Pure Emptiness. His intention was to tune Liping, see to it that he maintained a high level of alertness at all times in the course of daily life, not being careless about details and subtleties. After this lesson, Liping certainly increased his watchfulness.

One day Wang Liping happened to see a thumbtack on the wall and hatched a plot of his own. Taking the tack, he put it on the bed of the Wayfarer of Pure Emptiness. Then, occupying himself with other matters, as though nothing were afoot, he quietly waited for the old wizard to get stuck, in revenge for past pranks. Little did he imagine that he himself would be the one to get stuck, that evening when he sat on his bed to practice inner exercises. Sharp as the pain was, however, he didn’t want to let on.

The Wayfarer of Pure Emptiness saw Liping was in pain, but just vaguely remarked, “Young fellow, you’re still soft!”

Getting his meaning, Wang Liping laughed bitterly and said, “You’re too ferocious!” Nevertheless, these little tests between teachers and disciple added no little amusement to the life of spiritual cultivation.

The next barrier was to practice internal exercise inside a huge urn. When inverted the urn was just large enough for Wang Liping to squat inside with lowered head. There were two bricks inside for him to squat on. The urn was placed over a cesspit, leaving just a seam of opening at the edge of the urn. The weather was very hot at the time, so when the sun was overhead, the urn was really boiling inside; anyone inside it would be running with sweat. The stench of the cesspit, furthermore, and the flies and vermin, all made Liping feel like vomiting. His mentor used this method to get Liping to be able to practice concentration single-mindedly under any conditions. In such an out-of-the-way place, this cesspit may have been the best tool for the purpose. The three old wizards really knew how to make use of the terrain and the items of the locality, taking from them the materials to set up places to practice Taoist exercises. Just as Wang Liping was finding it impossible to enter stillness and practice his exercise because of the disturbing conditions in and around the urn, he suddenly heard a rapping on the urn. Then he heard the coarse, powerful voice of the Wayfarer of Pure Serenity scolding him, “Stop thinking of other things! Focus on your exercise!” After a time, the Wayfarer again came and deliberately spoiled the atmosphere by scraping on the urn with a piece of brick; he wanted to see if the screeching would upset Liping. Feeling this test might not be severe enough, furthermore, he scooped up some slop from the cesspit and dribbled it over the top of the urn, intensifying the stench and causing maggots to crawl up into the urn.

Wang Liping couldn’t stand it anymore and cried out for mercy. He would have been better off not seeking pity, though, because asking for mercy only got him into deeper trouble. Seeing that Liping couldn’t quiet down, the old mentor added oil to the fire, pouring filth through the crack in the urn, fouling the youth with ordure. Liping knew that the Wayfarer of Pure Emptiness was the most severe of the masters in the process of training, never once showing him any quarter. All the youth could do was endure silently.

Ever since the first day in the dark room when he had embarrassed himself by incontinence, Liping had been making sure to prepare himself before each exercise. This time, though, when he needed to relieve himself, it was too much for him to bear. He wanted to tip the urn over and get out of there. But his mentor, seeing movement inside the urn, grabbed a stick and poked inside, jabbing Liping and wounding him in several places.

Liping couldn’t get out, yet he couldn’t hold it in. He had no choice but to relieve himself right there inside the urn. Knowing what had happened, his mentor scolded him for fouling his exercise place, demanding that he clean it up. Liping knew that the rules of conduct do not allow disobedience; since he had already sacrificed himself to the Way, he couldn’t do other than follow his teacher’s commands. He had no choice but to wipe up the mess with his own clothing.

After a few days of this exercise, Wang Liping gradually adapted to these surroundings, and his mentor no longer came to disturb him during his exercises. A truly extraordinary youth, he got through this barrier too, using stillness to master disturbance, master odor, and master filth, collecting his mind and nurturing essence, refining the nature of his mind to even greater purity.

Subsequently, seeing that the nearby cemetery could be used for exercises, the three old wizards added another item to the process of collecting the mind and developing essential nature. This they called “pacifying the spirit and guarding the house.”

Since this practice is hard to do, the three elders first called Liping to them and spoke to him seriously. “You have been practicing the Way for some time now,” they said to the youth, “and you have made great progress. Now we want to add another exercise to strengthen your courage and stabilize your higher soul. Do you dare to undertake it?”

Wang Liping knew only that he had to learn whatever exercise he was given. Without knowing what he was getting into, without any further thought, he replied in the affirmative.

The Wayfarer of the Infinite laughed and said, “Very good! This technique is carried out alone in a graveyard at night. Do you have the nerve?”

“That’s not so hard!” the youth replied.

Feeling that the youth’s spiritual state was favorable, the Wayfarer explained, “The ancients said that the relationship of the vital spirit to the physical body is as that of a sovereign to a country. If the spirit is restless within, the physical body deteriorates externally, just as a country falls into chaos below when the rulership above it is benighted.

“So educated people know that the physical body depends upon the spirit; while the spirit needs the body to remain present. Therefore they cultivate essential nature to preserve the spirit, and pacify the mind to keep the body intact. When body and spirit are intimate with each other, outside and inside are both taken care of.

“Those who live well are clear and open, calm and serene, with minimal selfishness and few desires. They do not keep the burdens of external things on their minds, so their purity of spirit is outstanding. Open-minded and unruffled, peaceful and unworried, maintaining this state by unity, nurturing it with harmony, they take care of daily affairs reasonably, equanimously attaining universal accord.

“Now you have already experienced the effects of collecting the mind and nurturing its essential nature, but you have not realized stabilization of the higher soul and strengthening of the earthly soul. That is why we are giving you another exercise, to stabilize your spirit.”

Liping nodded, getting the general meaning of what the old master said, supposing that all he had to do was practice whatever the masters taught him.

Later that night, when all was still, the graveyard was silent as death itself. There was no moonlight, and dark clouds blacked out the stars in the sky. There was no one in that desolate place but the three old wizards and their youthful apprentice, practicing inner exercises.

The three elders had already picked their spots and sat down. The Wayfarer of Pure Serenity told Wang Liping to choose a place for himself and sit there. He was to sit for four hours, concluding the session at one o’clock in the morning.

As Liping sat down to concentrate, he thought to himself that this exercise wouldn’t be hard, seeing as how his three teachers were right there. Little did he know that the three old wizards had already disappeared silently into the night: two had gone back to their abode, and one had stayed behind to watch over Liping from a distance.

The one who remained to supervise was the Wayfarer of Pure Serenity, who was a great practical joker. After Liping had entered into stillness, the Wayfarer began to produce all sorts of banshee cries and wolf howls to disturb the youth’s exercise. By now Liping had considerable accomplishment, however, and was completely unfazed by the bloodcurdling, spine-chilling shrieks and howls. He heard but didn’t listen, stolidly cultivating his inner work.

At the end of the midnight hour, Liping concluded his exercise. When he opened his eyes and looked, he saw that the three old masters were gone. Without another thought, he turned and set off on his way. Suddenly the youth saw a black shadow flitting back and forth in front of him, not very far away yet not too near, trying to block his way out of the graveyard.

Liping wondered whether he was really seeing a ghost. Even if it was a ghost, he thought, he wasn’t afraid. He just kept on walking, but now the black shadow flitted from side to side, trying to lead him around in circles. Steeling his nerves, circulating primal energy through his body, Wang Liping stretched his right hand out like a sword blade and thrust it with a tremendous shout directly into the black shadow.

Suddenly the black shadow disappeared, and Liping heard a laugh, crystal clear, right by his ear. Distinguishing the voice of his mentor the Wayfarer of Pure Serenity, Liping hurriedly said, “You’re still testing me!” The mentor then appeared, bragged a little about baffling the boy, then took him by the hand and led him back.

As it turned out, this exercise in the graveyard had numerous advantages. After practicing for a while, Liping felt yin and yang harmonize throughout his whole body; filled with pure energy, he also mastered the basis for the practice of stabilizing the spirit and guarding the house. Wang Liping learned that with courage, self-control, and calm assurance, it is possible to bring everything into silence, into absolute stillness. One is thoroughly solitary: both body and spirit are there, the self is their master, and the self enters into stillness, silence, tranquility, calm. “Once the mind is spontaneously quiet, the spirit is untroubled; when the spirit is untroubled, it is forever clear and calm.” Once the mind is quiet and the spirit is at peace, the only realization is emptiness; this emptiness is the Way. This is also an individual universe, an individual realm of experience.

After repeating these practices over and over again, Wang Liping developed further stability and self-possession. He went in and out of the graveyard like going in and out a door; the countless dead buried there didn’t bother him a bit. Spirit and soul untroubled, he had reached a considerable degree of attainment.

The three old wizards formed a powerful team, now devoting their total attention to the work of developing the next Transmitter. The Wayfarer of Pure Serenity was indeed very stern and harsh, but there was no question that he had a good heart. Now past seventy years of age, once again he was at his old work as a drill instructor. By day he would search all over for the best places to have Wang Liping do his exercises, making special spots into instruments to help the training. By night, he would oversee and supervise Liping doing his exercises. Having instructed and guided the youth, he also egged him on and helped him out, devoting a truly extraordinary effort to developing the new Transmitter of Dragon Gate Taoism. He treated Liping as a son; indeed, their relationship was even closer than that of father and son.

And how are ordinary relationships between fathers and sons? Some people are loving and close. Some are loving but unable to provide guidance, leaving children to do it for themselves. There are those who provide everything, including guidance, but with questionable contents and methods. Although they have fine food and clothing, their hearts are not good. Cases of problematic behavior in children of good families are not rare. The work of education is important for the evolution of the human race.

In going through this systematic course of training, Wang Liping passed through one barrier after another. Adding studies of external exercises, he had by now cultivated a solid foundation in both inner and outer exercise. From the point of view of ordinary people, he was already extraordinary, but the old wizards knew that their youthful apprentice was as yet operating in the lower triple world, still quite far from the middle triple world.