Daoist Cultivation, Book 22

A landmark of Daoist inner alchemy, Xìng Mìng Guīzhǐ-full title 《性命雙修萬神圭旨》-sets out a clear, authoritative standard ("Touchstone") for the dual cultivation of Xìng and Mìng.

Xìng Mìng Guīzhǐ is arranged in four parts named after the four virtues of the Qián hexagram (元亨利貞):
Yuán Collection (元集: Original / Prime) - Book 21
Hēng Collection (亨集: Flourishing / Pervasive) - Book 22
Lì Collection (利集: Beneficial / Advantageous) - Book 23
Zhēn Collection (貞集: Correct / Constant / Persevering) - Book 24

This volume presents the Hēng Collection (亨集) of Xìng Mìng Guīzhǐ-a late-Ming classic of Daoist inner alchemy (neidan) voiced through a Chan-forward sensibility. Where Book 21 (the Yuán Collection, 元集) laid the ground, Book 22 teaches how that ground pervades: how to circulate like a wheel around a still pivot, carry one seat through walking/standing/sitting/reclining, and use night practice to seal the day.

What's inside:

• Three Oral Instructions (口訣), each with diagrams and chapters:
• Nurture the Root; Safeguard the Treasure of Ming (命).
• Settle the Spirit at the Ancestral Aperture; Converge the Pre-celestial.
• Hibernation in the Qì-Cavity: The Myriad Wonders Return to the Root.
• Iconic diagrams explained in plain, precise English: Washing the Heart, Walking/Standing/Sitting/Reclining Contemplation, Method for "Refining the Form with Jade Liquid," Dharma Wheel Turning by Itself, Dragon-Tiger Conjoining, Hibernation in the Qì-Cavity, and more.
• A concise "About the Text" and a new chapter on Authorship & Transmission to orient first-time readers.

• Practice-first commentary. Step-by-step posture, attention placement ("place and leave"), and inner work cues you can test today.
• Clear maps, zero theatrics.
• Chan influence, cleanly integrated. "Mind abides nowhere," "no second push," "Ordinary mind is the Buddha-mind" framed within Daoist body-maps and Confucian heart-method.
• Safety first. Red-flag diagnostics (heat, tightness, panting, jaw clamp) with quick resets (widen, soften, slow by a half-beat).