元精生于肾，仙家借肾府为发生之地，不是用肾，乃向肾中作用。此肾为产药川源也。人或
不知，即谓两肾中间别有一穴，真阳伏藏于内，修丹但用真火，逼出这点真阳以为用耳。岂知身
中所有，皆后天渣滓之物，仙家不用。若果有元气伏于一穴之内，亦是渣滓矣。故经曰∶水者，
大丹之根源也。天一生水，其位在北，其卦为坎，乃吾身药物所产之处也。夫元精生于肾，使非静
翕则不能生，故作丹必心气下交于肾，肾含受而翕聚之，然后能成变化而生元精也。心气下交，
只是凝神入气穴耳。凝者非凝聚也，夫神至灵至妙，潜天潜地，如何凝聚得？但息念而返神，神返
于心而不外驰，则气亦返于身，渐渐沉入于气穴矣。气果有穴乎？葆真子曰∶人之元阳真气，散于
四肢百骸之间，为视听言动之
用，岂有区区藏伏一穴之理？若指一处而注想之，终必成疾，修丹者不可泥于凝神入气穴之言也
。此金丹大道，唯借肾为发生之地，以其为气之会、故曰气海；以其深而在下，故曰气穴；以其
为金华所生，故曰华也。作丹只要气沉到此处，非用魂注想之谓也。元太虚曰∶凝神入气穴之法无
他，只是收视返听、回光内照而已。夫回光内照，非执着所在而用意观照之也，不过静虚以返神
于内。其实观无所观，照无所照，而亦未尝不观照也。下手之功何如？诀曰∶专处致柔，在乎忘情
识。忘情识之捷，在乎心息相根据。心息相根据。则情识不期忘而自忘矣。是息也，出入有声谓之纵，
出入不尽谓之滞，往来频促谓之喘，不纵不滞不喘，绵绵若存，用之不勤，庶乎心息相根据自然矣。然
舍“调”之一字，其奚以？或上机之士，但觉念起，即用调息，略照一照，无念即止，不可太着意
也。如以意照之，则累照者多矣，又须加一忘字。盖忘与照一而二，二而一者也。当忘之时，其心湛
然，未尝不照；当照之时，纤尘不染，未尝不忘，其忘乃真照也。或有随照而昏散者，因平日千思万
虑，纷扰之甚，宅无一主，一旦骤然收拾，把持不定，故随照随乱也。治之如何？才觉妄动，即融
妄归真，归之岂外于忘照这些工夫耶？此正动静之机，神一出即收回之说尽矣。使照之而不胜，不
可强制，且去应事以遣之，亦不可随乱而流，俟其平和，即忘之照之也。夫修炼至此，又岂有他术哉？
只是采取先天之气，以为金丹之丹也。张紫阳曰∶采者，采真铅于肾府；取者，取真汞于心田。钟离
师曰∶肾中藏伏父母之真气，所谓铅也。铅中有真一之水，曰铅中银。肾气传肝气，肝气传心气，心
气自涵而为液，所谓砂也。液中有正阳之气，曰砂里汞。传行之时，以法制之，使肾气不走失，气中
采取真一之
水，心液不耗散，液中采取正阳之气。盖不采而采，采而不采，不取而取，取而不取。陈虚白所谓
身心不动为采药也。至如火候、药物，真火本无候，大药不计斤。白玉蟾师曰∶心者，神也，神即火
也，气即药也，以火炼药而成丹，即是以神驭气而成道也。夫修炼而至于成道，则神气浑融，婴儿显
象。婴儿者，即我一灵真性，纯阳不杂耳。白玉蟾师又曰∶人但心中无心，念中无念，纯精纯气谓
之纯阳。仙家只是教人养神，因人迷溺嗜欲，不能一刀两段，故设为长生之说以诱之。人贪长生乃肯
去做，一心修炼养气，其实借炼精炼气以系此心，养得元神灵妙，非是元神之外，精气别结一个婴儿
也。然必静虚之极，无我之至，始得脱胎神化。李清庵曰∶身外有身，未为奇特，虚空粉碎，方是全
真。旨哉！旨哉。
元精产生于肾，道家借肾脏作为精气发生的地方，并不是直接利用肾脏的功能，而是在肾中进行修炼作用。这个肾就是产生药物（指内丹修炼所需的精气）的源头。有人不知道这一点，就说在两肾中间另有一个穴位，真阳潜伏藏匿在里面，修炼内丹只是用真火，逼迫出这点真阳来使用罢了。哪里知道身体中所有的东西，都是后天形成的渣滓之物，道家是不用的。如果真的有元气潜伏在一个穴位之内，那也已经是渣滓了。所以经书说：水，是大丹的根本来源。天一生水，水的方位在北，对应的卦象是坎卦，这就是我们身上药物产生的地方。元精产生于肾，如果不是通过静定收敛的状态，就不能生成，所以修炼内丹必须让心气下交于肾，肾接受并收敛聚集它，然后才能发生变化而生出元精。心气下交，其实就是将神念凝聚进入气穴。凝字不是指物理上的凝聚，因为神至灵至妙，潜通天地下地，怎么能凝聚呢？只是平息杂念而使神返回，神返回心中而不向外驰散，那么气也会返回身体，渐渐沉入到气穴之中。气真的有一个穴位吗？葆真子说：人的元阳真气，散布在四肢百骸之间，用于视听言动，哪里有仅仅藏伏在一个穴位的道理？如果指着某一处而专注想象，最终必定导致疾病，修炼内丹的人不可拘泥于“凝神入气穴”的说法。这是金丹大道，只是借肾作为发生之地，因为它汇聚气，所以叫气海；因为它深在下部，所以叫气穴；因为它能生出金华（内丹），所以叫华。修炼内丹只要气沉到这个地方，并不是用魂魄去专注想象的意思。元太虚说：凝神入气穴的方法没有别的，只是收视返听、回光内照而已。所谓回光内照，不是执着于某个所在而用心意去观照，不过是处于静虚状态而使神返回体内。其实观无所观，照无所照，但也未尝不是在观照。下手功夫怎么样？秘诀说：专一之处致柔，关键在于忘记情识。忘记情识的捷径，在于心与息相互依托。心与息相互依托，那么情识不期望忘记而自然忘记了。这呼吸，出入有声叫做纵，出入不尽叫做滞，往来频繁急促叫做喘，不纵不滞不喘，绵绵若有若无，使用它不过度，这样心息相互依托就自然形成了。然而除了“调”这一个字，还有什么办法呢？或者有些根器上乘的人，只感觉到念头起来，就用调息的方法，稍微照看一下，没有念头就停止，不可以太着意。如果用意念去照看，那么累赘的照看就多了，又须加上一个忘字。大概忘与照是一体两面，二而一的关系。当忘的时候，心境清澈，未尝不在照；当照的时候，纤尘不染，未尝不在忘，这种忘才是真正的照。或者有随着照看而昏乱散漫的，因为平日千思万虑，纷扰得很厉害，宅邸没有主人，一旦骤然收拾，把持不定，所以随着照看而混乱。怎么治疗呢？才发觉妄动，就融化妄念回归真性，回归难道不在于忘和照这些工夫吗？这正是动静之机，神一出即收回的道理讲尽了。如果照看而不能胜任，不可强制，暂且去处理事务以排遣它，也不可随着混乱而流荡，等到平和之后，再忘之照之。修炼到了这一步，难道还有别的法术吗？只是采取先天之气，作为金丹的原料。张紫阳说：采，是在肾府中采真铅；取，是在心田中取真汞。钟离祖师说：肾中藏伏父母赋予的真气，所谓的铅。铅中有真一之水，叫做铅中银。肾气传肝气，肝气传心气，心气自然涵育而为液，所谓的砂。液中有正阳之气，叫做砂里汞。在传行之时，用方法控制它，使肾气不走失，在气中采取真一之水，心液不耗散，在液中采取正阳之气。大概是不要采而采，采了而不采，不要取而取，取了而不取。陈虚白所说的身心不动就是采药。至于如火候、药物，真火本来没有固定的火候，大药不计较斤两。白玉蟾祖师说：心，就是神，神就是火，气就是药，用火炼药而成丹，就是以神驭气而成道。修炼而至于成道，那么神气浑融，婴儿显现景象。婴儿，就是我的一灵真性，纯阳不杂。白玉蟾祖师又说：人只要心中无心，念中无念，纯精纯气称之为纯阳。仙家只是教人养神，因人迷溺于嗜欲，不能一刀两段，所以设立长生的说法来诱导他。人贪恋长生才肯去做，一心修炼养气，其实是借炼精炼气来系住这颗心，养得元神灵妙，并不是在元神之外，精气另外结成一个婴儿。然而必须达到静虚的极致，无我的至极，才能得到脱胎神化。李清庵说：身外有身，不算奇特，虚空粉碎，才是全真。说得真好啊！说得真好啊。
Yuanjing (Primordial Essence) is generated in the Kidney. The Immortals borrow the Kidney mansion as the place of generation, not using the Kidney itself, but acting within the Kidney. This Kidney is the source of producing medicinal materials (Jing-Qi-Shen). Some people do not understand this and claim that there is another acupoint between the two kidneys where True Yang is hidden inside. They believe that cultivating the Elixir only involves using True Fire to force out this bit of True Yang for use. How could they know that everything possessed by the body consists of postnatal dregs, which the Immortals do not use? If there were indeed Yuanqi (Primordial Qi) hidden within a single acupoint, it would also be considered dregs. Thus, the scriptures state: "Water is the root source of the Great Elixir." Heaven generates Water first; its position is in the North, and its trigram is Kan (☵), which is the place where medicinal materials are produced in our body. Yuanjing is generated in the Kidney. If one does not maintain a state of stillness and contraction (Xi), it cannot be generated. Therefore, when cultivating the Elixir, one must allow Heart Qi to descend and interact with the Kidney. The Kidney receives and gathers it, thereby enabling transformation to generate Yuanjing. The descent of Heart Qi is merely condensing Shen (Spirit) into the Qi Acupoint. "Condensing" does not mean physical aggregation. Shen is extremely spiritual and subtle, penetrating heaven and earth; how can it be aggregated? It simply means calming thoughts and returning Shen. When Shen returns to the Heart and does not scatter outward, Qi also returns to the body and gradually sinks into the Qi Acupoint. Does Qi truly have an acupoint? Baozhenzi said: "Human Yuanyang (Primordial Yang) and True Qi are scattered throughout the four limbs and hundred bones, serving functions of seeing, hearing, speaking, and moving. How could there be a logic of hiding them in just one acupoint?" If one points to a specific location and focuses imagination upon it, illness will inevitably result. Cultivators of the Elixir should not adhere rigidly to the saying of 'condensing Shen into the Qi Acupoint.' This Great Way of Golden Elixir merely borrows the Kidney as the place of generation because it is the meeting point of Qi, hence called Qihai (Sea of Qi); because it is deep and lower, it is called Qi Xue (Qi Acupoint); because it generates Jinhua (Golden Flower), it is called Hua. Cultivating the Elixir only requires Qi to sink to this place, not referring to using Hun (Ethereal Soul) for focused imagination. Yuantaixu said: "The method of condensing Shen into the Qi Acupoint has nothing else; it is merely observing inwardly by closing the eyes and listening inwardly, reflecting light internally." Reflecting light internally does not mean执著 (clinging) to a location and using intent to observe. It is merely returning Shen inward through a state of stillness and emptiness. In reality, there is no object of observation, no act of illumination, yet observation and illumination are never absent. How is the initial work done? The secret formula states: "Focusing on softness lies in forgetting emotional consciousness." The quickest way to forget emotional consciousness lies in Heart and Breath relying on each other. When Heart and Breath rely on each other, emotional consciousness is forgotten naturally without expectation. Regarding breath: if inhalation and exhalation produce sound, it is called Zong (indulgence); if incomplete, it is called Zhi (stagnation); if frequent and hurried, it is called Chuan (panting). Without indulgence, stagnation, or panting, breathing is continuous and seemingly existent, used without excess. Thus, the mutual reliance of Heart and Breath becomes natural. However, apart from the character "Tiao" (Regulate), what else is there? Or, for those with superior capacity, whenever a thought arises, they use breath regulation, briefly illuminating it, and stopping when no thoughts remain. One must not be too intent. If using intent to illuminate, there will be many burdensome illuminations; thus, one must add the character "Wang" (Forget). Forgetfulness and Illumination are one yet two, two yet one. When forgetting, the mind is clear, yet never failing to illuminate; when illuminating, free from dust, yet never failing to forget. This forgetfulness is true illumination. Some may become confused and scattered while illuminating because daily thoughts and worries are very chaotic, the residence lacks a master, and sudden collection leads to instability, causing confusion upon illumination. How to treat this? As soon as delusion moves, melt delusion and return to Truth. Is returning not within the work of forgetting and illuminating? This fully explains the mechanism of movement and stillness, and the principle that Spirit returns immediately upon exiting. If illumination is insufficient, do not force it. Instead, attend to affairs to dispel it. Do not flow with chaos. Wait for peace, then forget and illuminate. Having cultivated to this stage, are there other methods? It is merely adopting Preheaven Qi to serve as the material for the Golden Elixir. Zhang Ziyang said: "Cai (Gathering) is gathering True Lead in the Kidney Mansion; Qu (Taking) is taking True Mercury in the Heart Field." Patriarch Zhongli said: "True Qi from parents hidden in the Kidney is called Lead. Within Lead is True One Water, called Silver in Lead. Kidney Qi transmits to Liver Qi, Liver Qi transmits to Heart Qi, Heart Qi naturally nurtures into fluid, called Cinnabar. Within Cinnabar is Zhengyang (Correct Yang) Qi, called Mercury in Cinnabar. During transmission, control it by method so Kidney Qi does not leak, taking True One Water from Qi; Heart Fluid does not dissipate, taking Zhengyang Qi from Fluid. It is gathering without gathering, taking without taking." Chen Xubai said that stillness of body and mind is gathering medicinal materials. As for fire timing and medicinal materials, True Fire has no fixed timing, and Great Medicine counts no weight. Patriarch Bai Yuchan said: "Heart is Shen, Shen is Fire, Qi is Medicine. Refining Medicine with Fire to form the Elixir is controlling Qi with Shen to achieve the Dao." Upon achieving the Dao through cultivation, Shen and Qi merge completely, and the Infant appears. The Infant is my one spiritual true nature, pure Yang without impurity. Patriarch Bai Yuchan also said: "When the heart has no heart and thoughts have no thoughts, pure Jing and pure Qi are called Pure Yang." The Immortals only teach people to nourish Shen. Because people are lost in desires and cannot cut ties decisively, they set forth the theory of longevity to lure them. People willing to pursue longevity will practice, focusing on cultivating Qi. Actually, this uses refining Jing and Qi to tie down the mind, nurturing the Primordial Spirit's spirituality. It is not forming an Infant outside of Primordial Spirit through separate condensation of Jing and Qi. However, only reaching the extreme of stillness and emptiness, and the utmost selflessness, can one achieve shedding the body and divine transformation. Li Qing'an said: "Having a body outside the body is not remarkable; shattering the void is complete truth." Excellent! Excellent!