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The greatest virtue of Heaven and Earth is life, which is indeed true; however, it must rely on human effort to be accomplished. It is like farming fields: only by weeding can the five grains flourish; if left to nature, weeds will fill the field and it will become barren. Is this because Heaven does not bestow blessings or Earth does not produce? No, it is because the effort of cultivation is insufficient. The same applies to the accumulation of pathogenic factors in the human body. The Zang-Fu organs, sinews, skin, and flesh are endowed with Qi and Blood, nourishing each other beneficially without hindrance, maintaining their original forms. However, when "Ji" (accumulation/pathological deposits) occurs, it is like rust forming on iron, attaching to bones, muscles, Zang-Fu organs, and growing, dividing Qi, Blood, sinews, and fascia to form itself. Initially, it is as thin as a thread, growing but not diminishing; when it reaches its peak, it grows day by day and thickens year by year. Not only are Qi and Blood plundered by it, but even body parts are invaded. Orifices become blocked and filled, myriad diseases arise, and humans can no longer preserve themselves. Nurturing an abscess leads to disaster; who bears the blame? Now that this kneading method has been obtained, accumulations can be eliminated instantly, and diseases will never arise again. This is truly a technique for reviving the dead, suitable as a method for nurturing the形体 (physical body). My own accumulations over sixty-plus years were considerable; after months of effort, great efficacy was achieved, and after more than a year, they were completely cleared away. Can this not be called miraculous speed? I do not know if I am alone in this, or if everyone can achieve this. In this vast world, there are no predecessors, nor successors; who can seek correction from? While still whole, I have written this volume, handing it to my descendants for consultation, asking if there are others like me, and requesting their appraisal. If those with similar aspirations practice self-cultivation, imitating this to protect their bodies, it may also compensate for my shortcomings. It is like digging a well nine ren deep but failing to reach the spring; it remains abandoned work. Everyone should strive diligently. As the proverb says: Those who have not yet succeeded in cultivating immortality must cultivate daily; those who have succeeded especially must cultivate daily. Once interrupted, one ceases to be immortal. This kneading practice is somewhat similar.

On the Day of Liqiu (Start of Autumn), Sixth Month, Bingwu Year
Tianxiuzi writes this postscript, exhorting himself thereby.

The function of the Heart organ is thought; thinking yields results, while not thinking yields nothing. Since people share the same mind and the mind shares the same principle, everyone desires to attain it, yet some do not think. Why? It is not that they do not wish to think, but that they are obscured and cannot control themselves. They are not obscured by external objects, but by the "Ji" (accumulation) generated within themselves. The Heart belongs to Fire in the Five Elements; let us use fire as a metaphor. Humans are like a furnace, food is like charcoal, the Heart is like fire, thought is like flame, and Ji is like ash. Strengthen the furnace, add charcoal, remove the ash, and the fire will naturally prosper, the flame brighten, unexhausted in output and inexhaustible in use. This is called sincere and ceaseless. Currently, there is fire but no flame; this is not due to the fire itself, but because ash obscures it. Without obstruction, the flame is bright; slight obstruction makes it dim; heavy obstruction extinguishes it; removing the ash restores the flame. The Heart's Ji is identical to fire's ash; whether the Heart thinks depends on the presence and severity of Ji. Is there an explanation? Yes. Take stroke (Zhongfeng) as proof: sudden unconsciousness yet ability to eat and drink indicates severe Ji obscuring the Heart; slurred speech yet partial comprehension indicates mild Ji obscuring the Heart. Next comes less clarity and more darkness, then more clarity and less darkness, gradually lightening and clarifying; once clear, one can think, differing only in degree. Extending this, why are some people cruel, harsh, perverse, and stubborn, despite having human hearts? It must be caused by Ji obscuration, varying in severity. This is why the Great Sage practices "precision and unity, sincerely holding the mean." Medical texts say: "Fear discussing illness, fear treating illness; this fear itself is illness," which is precisely this meaning. However, loyalty, reciprocity, self-reflection, and accumulating virtue through past words and deeds vary among individuals. One might say this refers to the Dao Mind (Daoxin), applicable to those who are clear and capable of thought. But for those whose human mind is restored by clearing Ji yet still unable to think, what room is there to discuss the Dao Mind? It has long been regretted that those limited by natural endowment lacked methods to treat the mind; now that such a method is found, removing Ji allows the Heart to regain clarity, leaving no instance where thought fails to yield results. If one can truly knead, the Five Elements will flow without stagnation, nourishing and generating each other, meridians unblocked, orifices exquisite, the Heavenly Ruler (Heart/Mind) tranquil, limbs obedient. Even the foolish will become wise, the weak strong. This is what is meant by "cultivating oneself lies in rectifying the heart."

"Who would willingly rest before death?" These are the words from the Divine Lord's lot. Reciting them in youth, I marveled at the unusual phrasing and astonished at the difficulty of letting go, yearning for them, perhaps hoping to encounter them. At that time, shielded by parents, untouched by worldly ties, seventy years have passed in a blink. Dreams are hazy, as if serving at their knees, vividly present before my eyes. For over forty years, I traveled north and south across Qi, Lu, Wu, Yue, Chu, Yue, Yan, and Yu, stopping everywhere; I experienced local river works and officialdom. Enduring the bonds of fame and profit, suffering greatly, I relied on peace, simplicity, willingness to suffer losses rather than take advantage, and the precept of knowing when to stop and being steadfast. From childhood, my straightforward nature persisted until now. In the winter of the Jihai year, after introduction and further summons, I retired due to mediocre talent; this was Tianxiuzi's first half. Considering myself insignificant as a blade of grass, how could I matter? Yet I received the grace of enlightened rule, fulfilling my desire to retire to forests and springs. Heaven silently blessed me, favoring my talent so deeply. Feathers matured returning to land, tail retreated to the abyss; with one garment and one meal, seeking nothing externally, hearing and seeing nothing, finding comfort and joy in myself, placing all worldly affairs beyond consideration; this is Tianxiuzi's second half. I am not one who deliberately avoids people; discussing dreams with dreamers is futile; expecting to dream again after waking is even more futile. I am not one who deliberately avoids the world; playing along at the scene feels fake; performing a solo play off-stage feels even faker. Rest! Have I rested? Has humanity rested me? Humanity does not rest me, so I rest humanity. Does the world rest me? The world does not rest me, so I rest the world. Rest! Rest where one ought to rest, rest where one delights to rest, rest where one must rest. What is there to say about willing or unwilling rest? Unexpectedly, the person I yearned to meet sixty years ago, I have now become. Is it Principle? Fate? Heaven? Man? That which happens without doing is Heaven; that which arrives without seeking is Man. Thus, I changed my name to Tianxiuzi and appended a verse: Though resting, do not cease; cultivating virtue brings daily rest; the heart rests peacefully; how Heaven rests.

Returning from retirement, I am willing to rest from all worldly affairs before death, except for the vital energy of this body, which cannot be rested. Preserving the mind, nurturing nature, cultivating oneself to await Heaven's rest. For several years, I have even rested from writing, claiming laziness of mind, but actually, I cannot recollect the scattered mind, so how can I employ the thinking mind? Formerly, I had a self-cultivation method called "sun-drying"; now I have one called "kneading." Both are established methods of predecessors, lacking innovative theory and verified clinical effects, so later generations dismissed them as clichés, instead seeking doctors and herbs. Who knows this is a divine art of shedding the mortal frame and reviving the dead? Therefore, I do not shy away from verbose exposition to promote it. Having walked the path, following it confirms my words are not false; here I offer personal testimony. Claiming laziness of mind is not that I am lazy to use my mind, but that my mind is lazy to be used by me; this too is laziness. Why was I so before kneading, and different after? Changes within a month suggest that "laziness itself is illness," as previously stated. Since self-kneading, I do not know if the mind has been recollected or if it is willing to serve. Thus, I wrote "Discourse on the Heart" and a personal verse. The mind no longer lacks direction as before; I wonder if this is due to kneading recollecting it, representing the unity of one and two. Is it so? If so, then laziness is indeed illness. If it can be kneaded away, then any abnormality of the mind is illness, and nothing cannot be kneaded back to normal. My whites of the eyes formerly had many red veins, which disappeared after kneading. By analogy, mental cataracts should also recede; with sufficient practice, verification will surely occur, though I dare not guarantee it now or predict the future.
The above three sections are insights gained after kneading, closely related to the method, so appended at the end.