Three Passes 1 Upper Pass

1. Jade Pillow pass (yü-chen-kuan 玉枕關) derives its name from the ancient Chinese sleeping pillows, which were hard. They were often made of ceramic variously shaped and decorated, while more expensive ones were made from jade. The Jade Pillow is the area on the posterior part of the skull. It is also the name of an associated acupuncture point located at the base of the skull, the ninth point of the Bladder Meridian (BL 9). The point is located in the occipital region, in a depression 1.5 tsun lateral to the superior aspect of the external occipital protruberance.

2. Yang-kung Yü-ching Shan 陽宮玉京山. In the Numinous Treasure (Ling-pao 靈寶) version of the system of thirty-two heavens (san-shih-erh t'ien 三十二天), the Jade Capital (Yü-ching 玉京) is a mountain towering above these heavens. It stands in the Great Canopy Heaven (Ta-lo T'ien 大羅天), the residence of the Heavenly Worthy (T'ien-tsun 天尊) high above all other celestial realms. Therefore the Jade Capital is a Taoist symbol for the supreme spiritual state.

3. Heavenly Pillar (t'ien-chu 天柱) is also the name of an acupunture point, the tenth point of the Bladder Meridian (BL 10). It is located in the nuchal region, on the lateral border of the trapezius muscle, 1.3 tsun lateral to GV 15 at the level between cervical vertebrae C1 and C2.

4. Reading t'ai 太 instead of mu 木.

5. Ta-ch'ui 大椎, the "great vertebra" (or "great hammer") is the fourteenth point of the Governor Vessel (GV 14). It is located below the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra.

6. Some authors emend sui 遂 to ni 逆; with this emendation, the sentence reads, "Truly, it is the upward pathway for moving backward and ascending to Heaven." "[M]oving backward" translates

ni-hsing 逆行; it denotes – along with other terms as "flowing backward" (ni-liu 逆流) – flow in a

direction opposite to the usual.

7. "[A]scending to Heaven" is a translation of shang t'ien 上•天, which can be also read "Ascending Heaven" (Shang-t'ien 上天). Ascending Heaven is the highest tier of the Mount K'un-lun 崑崙, the other two being Cool Wind (Liang-feng 涼風) and Hanging Garden (Hsüan-p'u 懸圃). It is believed that those who ascend the three tiers attain immortality.

8. Inner Yellow Dragon (nei huang-lung 内黄龍) is deity of inner illumination (nei-chao 内照). 9. Emending li 例 to tao 倒.

10. The Hsiang River (Hsiang Chiang 湘江), more commonly known as Yangtze (Yang-tzu 揚子), is the principal river in China. It rises in the Tibetan highlands and flows south and then east for 3,964 miles (6,380 km) through central China before it enters the East China Sea at Shang-hai. The "waters of Hsiang River" designates the ching, which is associated with the water of k'an (k'an-shui 坎水). This sentence indicates that the ching is redirected upward through the Governor Vessel.

Notes to Page 18 (96)

11. The Jade Pillow is often regarded as the most difficult barrier to overcome, therefore it is also referred to as Iron Wall (tieh-pi 鐵壁).

12. Emending "yin" to "yang". Yang spirit (yang-shen 陽神) is cultivated by uniting the three primordial energies (ching, ch'i, and shen). Once the shen is sublimated with no further trace of yin, it is thoroughly free from the workings of the discursive mind and permanently abides in absolute tranquility.

13. True pneuma (chen-ch'i 眞炁; 眞氣) is vital energy which has been purified by the internal alchemical process.

14. Magpie Bridge (ch'üeh-ch'iao 鵲橋), is the tongue which connects the Governor and Conception vessels. See the explanation in note 16 below.

15. "Altair and Vega" is a translation of Niu-nü 牛女. The cowherd (niu-lang 牛郎) corresponds to the Western star of Altair in the Aquila constellation, while the weaving girl (chih-nü 織女) corresponds to the Western star of Vega in the Lyra constellation. According to early Chinese mythology, the cowherd and weaving girl are lovers fated to meet only once a year. They are separated by the Sky River (T'ien-ho 天河), which is the Chinese name for the Milky Way. (The Sky River corresponds to the spinal column or Governor Vessel in the human body.) It is believed that a magpie bridge (ch'üeh-ch'iao 鵲橋) is formed over the Milky Way on the annual meeting day of the cowherd and weaving girl. This myth suggests the meeting of two things that should be united, but which ordinarily remain separated. Meeting of the Altair and Vega stars (or the cowherd and weaving girl by crossing a bridge built by magpies) on the seventh day of the seventh month symbolizes union of bipolar entities such as the yin and yang, lead and mercury, or innate nature and sense/feelings (hsing

ch'ing 性情). The Magpie Bridge is a metaphor for the tongue, which connects the Governor and

Conception vessels when its tip is pressed against the upper palate. 16. Emending kuei 桂 to hsiang 相.

17. In this context, the infant (ying-erh 嬰兒) is synonymous with sacred embryo (sheng-t'ai 聖胎), which has many names in Taoist literature, such as the immortal embryo (hsien-t'ai 仙胎), golden embryo (chin-t'ai 金胎), and embryo of the Tao (Tao-t'ai 道胎). The infant is born of the union of the cowherd (yang) and the weaving girl (yin), symbolized here by the Altair and Vega stars.

5.2. Middle Pass

1. Chia-chi 夾脊 ("Spinal Handle") can be also translated as "Narrow Ridge". It is the second pass, located in the middle of the spinal column where it joins the ribs at chest level (at the shoulder blades). The two characters chia and chi are also found in Chuang-tzu 30 "On Swords" (Shuo Chien 説劍), where they are separately employed to describe the sword of the Son of Heaven that "pierces the floating clouds above and penetrates the weft of the earth below": "The mountains of Ch'i 齊 are its edge. Chin and Wei are its back (chi 脊). Chou and Sung are its hilt. Han and Wei are its sheath (chia 夾)." (齊岱爲鍔、晉衛爲脊、周宋爲鐔、韓魏爲夾。). Expanding on the image of the celestial sword, this pass is qualified as "dual" (shuang-kuan 雙關) as it is not only physically inserted between Earth (yin, lead) and Heaven (yang, mercury). Some texts therefore emphasize that it is located exactly in the middle of the twenty-four vertebrae. From this center, the energy can ascend or descend, climbing to Heaven or plunging again into the abysses.

2. "Divine immortality" translates shen-hsien 神仙, which is also translated as "spirit immortality". The divine immortality is the highest category of immortality.

3. The Kao-huang 膏肓 is the forty-third point of the Bladder Meridian (BL 43). It is located on the upper back, three tsun lateral to the lower border of the spinous process of the fourth thoracic vertebra (T4), at the level of BL 14. Kao-huang also designates the region between the heart and the diaphragm, known as the cardiodiaphragmatic interspace.

4. Windlass (lu-lu 轆轤) is another name for the Spinal Handle. 5. Omitting hsüeh 血.

6. Heavenly Pillar (t'ien-chu 天柱) is another name for the upper pass. See page 39, note 3. 7. Nei shuang-lin 内雙林.

8. Wai shuang-lin 外雙林. 9. Emending chuang 状 to fu 伏.

10. Gushing Spring (yung-ch'üan 湧泉) is the first point of the Kidney Meridian (KI 1). See page 24, note 40.

Notes to Page 18 (96)

11. Emending chiang 降 to chiang 絳.

12. Here, the Flowery Pond (hua-ch'ih 華池) designates the kidneys.

13. The Flowery Canopy (hua-kai 華蓋) designates the rib cage or upper chest, heart region, the area below the two eyebrows, or the lungs. Its meaning in this passage is not clear.

14. Emending ti 帝 to homophonous ti 蒂. See page 38, note 8.

5.3. Lower Pass

1. The Gate of Tail (wei-lü 尾閭) is variously translated as "caudal funnel", "terminal exit", and "maelstrom". It is the first pass, at the level of the coccyx. The term wei-lü refers to a mythical place mentioned in Chuang-tzu 17, an orifice in the Eastern Ocean where water endlessly leaks away without ever being exhausted. In the human body, this place is located in the "aquatic region" of the hip basin that forms the base of the trunk. It represents the pivot of energy presided over by the kidneys, which is the sanctuary of the ching and organs of water. According to some texts, the Gate of Tail is located at the level of the third vertebra above the coccyx and is called by various names such as Long and Powerful (ch'ang-ch'iang 長強), Three-Forked Road (san-ch'a lu 三岔路), or Path of the River Chariot (ho-ch'e lu 河車路).

2. A reference to the lower nine cavities (hsia chiu-ch'iao 下九竅); the seven yang cavities, and two

yin cavities of the lower body, that is, the genitals and the anus.

3. Chiu-t'ou shih-tzu 九頭獅子. It is also name of a plant, the Japanese peristrophe (Peristrophes

Japonicae).

4. The term "Prince Shooting Arrows at the Nine-Layered Iron Drum" (t'ai-tzu she chiu-ch'ung t'ieh-ko 太子射九重鐵鼓) has its origins in an Indian legend about young prince Gautama Buddha engaging in an archery tournament. According to this story, in a test of archery Ananda set up an iron drum, eight miles distant, for a target; another set up one at a distance of sixteen and another at twenty-four miles, while the father of Yasodhara set up another at a still greater distance, and by this drum stood seven palm trees, and beyond them was a demon made of iron. After the others had tried their skill, young Gautama adjusted his arrow and his shaft passed through all of the iron drums, tearing also through the seven trees and the iron demon, and then buried itself in the ground. Chinese sources refer to this incident as "one arrow shot and pierced nine-layered iron drum" ("i-chien she ch'uan chiu-ch'ung t'ieh-ko" 一箭射穿九重鐵鼓). Commenting on this account, some Taoist authors write that the above mentioned "arrow" denotes true ch'i (chen-ch'i 眞氣), while "shooting" designates a method in which the shen and ch'i are circulated together. They also say that the words "nine- layered" is a reference to the nine cavities (chiu-ch'iao 九竅) which designate, in this context, the cavities of the three passes. Each pass has three cavities: in the middle and on the left and right sides. The ancients called the cavities on left and right the "white vessel with double strips" (liang-t'iao

pai-mai 兩條白脈); they were also called the "two roads in red and yellow" (ch'ih-huang erh-tao

赤黄二道). These are the roads upon which the sun and the moon revolve. Thus, the three passes have nine cavities, or rooms (fang 房), in total. When opening the three passes, the energy must flow through the cavity in the middle; if it runs into one of the cavities at the sides, one cannot attain the Tao. The Chart of the Inner Landscapes of the Selected Sayings on the Nine Stages (Chiu-hsü Che-

yen Nei-ching T'u 九序摘言内景圖), written by Ming philosopher Lin Chao-en 林兆恩 (1517-1598)

who expounded a system ultimately based on Neo-Confucianism but closely related to internal alchemy, mentions the expression "she chiu-ch'ung t'ieh-ko" in a passage describing phases of alchemical transformation: "The technique of the Three Islands of P'eng-lai is sometimes called the cavity of the coccyx; it is also called the Palace of Yama (the Underworld). The Taoists state: the external nine cavities are also called the Valley Way. The Buddhists state: Shoot arrows at the nine-

layered iron drum." The term in question here was also the name of a Taoist healing method. In his Perfected Man Ch'ung-yang's Instructions on the Golden Gate and Jade Chain (Ch'ung-yang Chen- jen Chin-kuan Yü-suo Chüeh 重陽眞人金關玉鎖訣), Wang Ch'ung-yang 王重陽 (1112-1170)

mentions the name of the "Method of Shooting the Nine-Layered Iron Drum" (she chiu-ch'ung t'ieh-

ko chih fa 射九重鐵鼓之法), in a passage where he enumerates various methods for curing diseases.

5. It is described as a yin pass because, in general, the lower part of the body is regarded as yin. 6. Reading pi 閉 instead of kuan 関.

Notes to Pages 18-19 (96-97)

8. "[A]scending to Heaven" translates shang t'ien 上•天, which can be also rendered as "Highest Heaven" or "Ascending Heaven" (Shang-t'ien 上天). Ascending Heaven is the highest tier of the Mount K'un-lun 崑崙; its other two tiers are Cool Wind (Liang-feng 涼風) and Hanging Garden (Hsüan-p'u 懸圃). Taoists believed that those who ascend the three tiers attain deathlessness.

9. Earth Pivot (ti-chou 地軸) is the name of a deity. The term ti-chou is also a synonym for the valley way (ku-tao 谷道), the final section of the large intestine between the rectum and anus.

10. Chao-t'ien ling 朝天嶺.

11. San-ch'a (ku) 三叉(骨), emending yu 又 to ch'a 叉.

12. In certain internal alchemical operations, the true ch'i (chen-ch'i 眞氣) – generated by combining lead and mercury – is sent from the lower elixir field, through the spine, into the upper elixir field. This process is known as "ejecting the golden sparks from behind the navel" (ch'i-hou fei chin-ching 臍後飛金晶). The Golden Cauldron (chin-ting 金鼎) is a cauldron (i.e., an energy center) in the kidneys where the refinement of these golden sparks (chin-ching 金晶) take place. Certain Taoist texts also mention a Purple-Gold Cauldron (tzu-chin-ting 紫 金 鼎), which is presumably an equivalent of the Golden Cauldron. The Purple-Gold Cauldron is located between the kidneys, where the sacred embryo is generated. This point is also known as the "place of emergence of the true" (chen-ch'u-ch'u 眞出處).

13. The three paths are jade furnace (yü-lu 玉爐; a reference to the kidneys, or perhaps to the external kidneys, i.e., the testicles), internal kidneys (nei-shen 内腎; i.e., the kidneys), and the Spinal Handle. 14. Emending i 沂 to t'ung 通.

15. See page 40, note 1.

16. Gate of Crown (ting-men 頂門) denotes the aperture at the center of the top of the head by which

yang spirit (yang-shen 陽神) leaves the body. This location is the apex of consciousness, through

which one passes into enlightenment. It is also known as heavenly gate (t'ien-men 天門). 17. The Capital of Hell (Feng-tu 酆都) is the demonic netherworld.

6. Five Cardinal Points