岂能复化为精气？况诸香走窜腠理，耗散元精。其不验，宜矣。夫善养生者，岂徒特药物已哉？
王阳明诗曰∶饥来吃饭倦来眠，只此修元元更元。说与世人浑不解，却于身外觅神仙。昔慧海
师，或问修道如何用功，师曰∶饥来吃饭，困时即眠。一切人，吃饭时不肯吃百种，需索睡时不肯睡千
般。计较眠食，不得自如。岂得长生邪？尝举示二则公案于道友，且问百尺竿头更进步，如何？道
曰∶饥食困眠，犹是欲界；须阳长阴消，至气满不思食，神满不思睡，方是究竟。
欲最难制，惟断乃成。姻家董三冈，性刚果，年六旬，始举子。既育之日，曰∶吾将绝欲延寿，观
此子之成立也。诸
姬别馆，自此俱异处。寿七十八而终。余闻严介溪，因阃中不和，年方四旬余，即绝欲。至后贵极
人臣，果八十五终。宝精之验如此。
难道还能再次转化为精气和元气吗？况且各种香料具有走窜之性，能通达腠理（皮肤纹理及肌肉间隙），反而耗散人体的元精。其效果不灵验，是理所当然的。
善于养生的人，难道仅仅依靠药物就够了吗？
王阳明曾作诗说道：“饥饿时吃饭，疲倦时睡觉，只是在此修养元气，元气便更加充盈。”这番话告诉世人，大家却全然不解，反而向身体之外去寻找神仙。
从前慧海禅师，有人问他修道该如何用功，禅师回答说：“饿了就吃饭，困了就睡觉。”然而所有人中，吃饭时不肯专心吃，总是百种需索；睡觉时不肯安心睡，总是千般计较。在睡眠和饮食上如此算计纠结，无法做到自在随心，怎么能获得长生呢？
我曾将两则公案（禅宗祖师言行录）展示给道友看，并问道：“在百尺竿头更进一步，该怎么做？”道友回答：“饿了吃、困了睡，仍然属于欲界（佛教三界之一，指有欲望的世界）；必须达到阳气长久、阴气消退，直到精气充足到不想进食，神气充足到不想睡觉，这才是究竟的境界。”
欲望最难控制，只有断绝才能成功。姻亲董三冈，性格刚强果断，六十岁时才得子。在孩子出生那天，他说：“我将断绝性欲以延长寿命，观察这个孩子成长成人。”从此，他让各位姬妾住在别馆，不再同处。他活到七十八岁去世。
我听说严介溪，因为家中内室不和，年仅四十多岁就断绝了性欲。后来他位极人臣，果然活到八十五岁去世。保养精气的验证就是这样。
How could it possibly transform back into Jing (Essence) and Qi (Vital Energy)? Moreover, various aromatic substances have a penetrating nature that traverses the Couli (skin texture and interstitial spaces), thereby dissipating Yuanjing (Primordial Essence). That their efficacy is unverified is only natural.
Those who are skilled in health preservation, do they rely solely on medicinal herbs?
Wang Yangming composed a poem stating: "When hungry, eat; when tired, sleep. By doing so, one cultivates Yuanqi (Primordial Qi), making it ever more abundant." This message was conveyed to the world, yet people completely failed to understand it, instead seeking immortals outside their own bodies.
In the past, Master Hu Hai was asked by someone how to exert effort in cultivating the Dao. The master replied, "When hungry, eat; when sleepy, sleep." However, among all people, when eating, they do not simply eat but indulge in a hundred cravings; when sleeping, they do not simply sleep but entertain a thousand calculations. To constantly calculate over sleep and food prevents one from acting freely and naturally. How can such a person achieve longevity?
I once presented two gong'an (Zen koans) to a fellow Daoist friend and asked, "If one is already at the top of a hundred-foot pole, how does one take another step forward?" The friend replied, "Eating when hungry and sleeping when tired still belongs to the Desire Realm (Yujie); one must reach a state where Yang qi prevails and Yin qi diminishes, until Jing is so full that there is no desire for food, and Shen (Spirit) is so full that there is no desire for sleep. Only then is the ultimate truth realized."
Desire is the hardest to control; only through severing it can success be achieved. My relative-in-law, Dong Sangang, had a resolute and decisive character. He fathered a child at the age of sixty. On the day of the child's birth, he said, "I will sever sexual desires to prolong my life, observing this son until he comes of age." From then on, he separated himself from his concubines, having them reside in separate pavilions. He lived to the age of seventy-eight before passing away.
I heard that Yan Jiaxi, due to discord within his household, severed sexual desires when he was just over forty years old. Later, he reached the pinnacle of official rank and indeed lived to the age of eighty-five before passing away. Such is the verification of preserving Jing (Essence).