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Nourishing Life

The *Qianjin Fang* (Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold) states: The term "nourishing life" refers to the desire to make good habits become one's nature. Once the nature is formed, it naturally tends toward goodness; without practice, there is no benefit. Since the nature is already inclined toward goodness, internal and external diseases will not arise, nor will disasters and calamities have a cause for occurrence. This is the fundamental principle of nourishing life. Generally, cultivating one's nature involves treating diseases before they occur, which is its meaning. Therefore, cultivating one's nature is not merely about taking medicine or consuming cloud mist (a metaphor for alchemical practices), but also encompasses practicing various behavioral norms. If all behaviors are complete, even without taking medicine, one can live a long life; if virtue is insufficient, even drinking jade nectar and consuming golden elixirs cannot extend longevity. Thus, Laozi said: "Those who are good at preserving life do not fear tigers or rhinoceroses when traveling on land." This relies on the power of morality. Why would one need to rely on taking supplements to pray for longevity?

The *Wenzi* states: The highest level of nourishing life is nurturing the spirit (Shen), followed by nurturing the form (Xing). When the spirit is clear and the mind is peaceful, all joints in the body remain tranquil; this is the root of nourishing life. Enriching muscles and filling the intestines, while indulging desires, are the superficial aspects of nourishing life.

The *Yangsheng Yaoji* (Essential Collection for Nourishing Life) quotes the *Shenxian Tu* (Diagram of Immortals): Those seeking the art of longevity should constantly maintain mindfulness during walking, standing, sitting, and lying down, as well as during eating, drinking, sleeping, resting, and excretion. Day and night, they should not forget to protect Jing (Essence), Qi (Vital Energy), and Shen (Spirit). As long as these three remain within the body, one can achieve longevity.

It further states: The *Zhongjing* (Inner Classic) says: Humans inherit the Qi of the Five Elements, possessing natures of stillness/agitation and rigidity/flexibility, which cannot be changed. A quiet person can become agitated, but an agitated person cannot become quiet. Stillness and agitation each have their own nature; violating it leads to losing one's proper place, while indulging it harms life. Therefore, the drawback of stillness is lack of openness, and the drawback of agitation is lack of precision. The way to manage life is to follow one's nature and adhere to one's limits, making stretching and guiding appropriate, and adjusting gains and losses gradually, so that each finds their suitable state. Quiet people live long, while agitated people die young. If one is quiet but fails to nurture oneself, lifespan is reduced; if one is agitated but knows how to nurture oneself, lifespan is extended. However, stillness is easy to control, while agitation is difficult to manage. Following the appropriate methods of nurturing, both stillness and agitation can be cultivated.

It further states: Generally, those who are extravagant and wasteful live long, while those who are stingy and diligent die young; this is the difference between being loose and scattered versus overworking. Farmers live long, while the wealthy and refined die young; this is the verification of few versus many desires. Recluses suffer few illnesses, while travelers suffer many ailments; this is the distinction between simple and complicated affairs. Therefore, worldly people seek profit, while Daoists rarely engage in such pursuits.

It further states: The *Shaoyou Jing* (Classic of Few Things) says: Think little, ponder little, desire little, do little, speak little, laugh little, worry little, rejoice little, be pleased little, be angry little, like little, dislike little. Practicing these "Twelve Fews" is the key contract of nourishing life. Thinking too much exhausts the spirit; pondering too much scatters the will; desiring too much damages wisdom; doing too much fatigues the form; speaking too much causes Qi to contend; laughing too much damages the Zang organs. Worrying too much constrains the heart; rejoicing too much overflows the mind; being pleased too much leads to forgetting errors and confusion; being angry too much makes the meridians unstable; liking too much leads to obsession and neglect; disliking too much causes anxiety and sorrow without joy. If these "Twelve Manys" are not eliminated, they are the root of losing life. One who has neither "many" nor "few" approaches the state of a True Person (Zhenren).

It further states: Peng Zu said: The method of nourishing longevity is simply to avoid harming oneself. Keeping warm in winter and cool in summer, maintaining the harmony of the four seasons, serves to adapt to the body. Beautiful appearances and elegant entertainment, without inducing thoughts of desire, serve to connect with the spirit. Chariots, horses, and dignified demeanor, with contentment and no demands, serve to unify the will. The eight sounds and five colors, used for the pleasure of hearing and seeing, serve to guide the mind. All these, if used for longevity but not moderated properly, instead become sources of confusion and disaster. Therefore, the Perfect Person (Zhiren) fears drifting away and never returning, so they cut off the source. Thus it is said: Superior scholars sleep in separate beds, middle scholars sleep in separate quilts; taking hundreds of fruits is not as good as sleeping alone. Beauty blinds the eyes, sound deafens the ears, and flavors dull the taste. If one can regulate and promote appropriateness, and open and close flow as needed, one will not perish but gain benefits.

It further states: Peng Zu said: Heavy clothes and thick mats, which the body cannot endure, lead to wind-cold diseases. Strong flavors and dried meats, drunkenness and overeating leading to satiety, result in hernia and knotting diseases. Beautiful and seductive colors, with concubines filling the rooms, result in deficiency and damage disasters. Lewd sounds and melodious tunes, pleasing the heart and ear, result in confusion from licentiousness. Galloping and touring, hunting in the wild, result in madness. Strategic victory and exploiting weakness, result in defeat from arrogance and indulgence. These are things sages warn against as deviations from reason. However, these tools for nourishing life are like fire and water; if not handled appropriately, they become harmful.

It further states: Zhongchang Tong said: The North is cold, and its people live long; the South is hot, and its people die young. This is the verification of cold and heat on humans. Consider silkworms: if kept cold and hungry, their growth period is long; if kept warm and full, their growth period is short. This is the verification of cold/heat and hunger/fullness on the lifespan of things. For infants, wearing new silk causes bone-steaming fever; eating fish and meat causes parasites; living in ease and pleasure makes them prone to injury. This is how cold/hardship and movement alter nature.

It further states: Dao Ji said: Human lifespans vary from short to long, not due to nature alone. It is all due to careless self-care, improper diet, excessive sexual activity, violating Yin and Yang, causing the dispersal of Hun and Po spirits, exhaustion of Jing and decline of life, and the emergence of hundred diseases, thus failing to reach the end of one's natural lifespan.

Ji Kang's *Treatise on Nourishing Life* states: There are five difficulties in nourishing life: not abandoning fame and profit is the first difficulty; not eliminating anger and joy is the second difficulty; not abandoning music and beauty is the third difficulty; not abstaining from rich flavors is the fourth difficulty; and the scattering of spirit and essence is the fifth difficulty. If these five exist, even if one hopes to age slowly, recites supreme words, chews essences, and breathes solar Qi, one cannot avoid distorting one's conduct or dying young. If these five are absent from the heart, then trust and compliance increase daily, profound virtue becomes complete daily, one receives blessings without praying, and extends life without seeking it. This is also a major principle of nourishing life. However, some who uphold benevolence and righteousness, without excessive burden of tranquility, are considered secondary.

It further states: Although immortals are not seen with the naked eye, records and histories confirm their existence. They seem to have received unique Qi, endowed by nature, not achievable through accumulated learning. However, if one follows Daoist cultivation principles to fully realize life and destiny, one may live over a thousand years at the upper limit, or several hundred at the lower limit. Yet people today do not understand this deeply, so none can attain it. Why say this? Taking medicine to induce sweat may fail, causing shame; but once emotions gather, sweat flows freely. Not eating all day, one feels restless and hungry; yet Zeng Zi holding a bit in his mouth did not feel hungry for seven days. Sitting past midnight, one feels drowsy; but harboring deep worries keeps one awake until dawn. Brushing hair vigorously or drinking strong wine may only barely induce sleep. A warrior's anger changes his appearance drastically, hair standing up to lift his hat. From this, we see that Spirit (Shen) regarding the Form (Xing) is like a Ruler regarding a State. If the Spirit is agitated internally, the Form perishes externally, just as a昏庸 ruler causes chaos below. In the time of Tang, among crops, only one irrigated; though it eventually withered, it survived longer than those not irrigated. Thus, the benefit of one irrigation is undeniable. People often say one anger does not harm nature, one sigh does not hurt the body, so they act lightly and recklessly. This is like expecting good grain from drought-stricken seedlings without recognizing the benefit of irrigation. Therefore, the gentleman knows that Form relies on Spirit to stand, and Spirit relies on Form to exist. Physiological principles are easily lost; knowing one mistake harms life, one cultivates nature to preserve Spirit, calms the mind to protect the body, ensures love and hate do not distress emotions, and sorrow and joy do not linger in intent, remaining detached and free from grief, so that body and Qi are harmonious.

It further states: Desires, though arising from human nature, are not the正道 (right path) of morality. Like termites in wood, though produced by the tree, they are not beneficial to it; when termites flourish, the tree dies; when desires prevail, the body withers. Thus, desire and life cannot coexist; fame and body cannot exist together; this can be roughly understood.

It further states: There are five difficulties in nourishing nature: not extinguishing fame and profit is the first difficulty; not eliminating anger and joy is the second; not abandoning music and beauty is the third; not cutting off rich flavors is the fourth; and scattering spirit and essence is the fifth. If these five exist, even hoping to age slowly, reciting supreme words, chewing essences, and breathing solar Qi, one cannot avoid distorting conduct or dying young. If these five are absent from the chest, then trust and compliance increase daily, profound virtue becomes complete, one receives blessings without praying, and extends life without seeking it. This is the core of the great principle of nourishing life.

*Bao Pu Zi* states: Those seeking longevity must accumulate good deeds and merit, harbor compassion for all things, blame themselves and forgive others, extend benevolence to insects, rejoice in others' happiness, pity others' misfortune, assist others in emergencies, and save others from poverty. Hands should not harm or kill, mouth should not encourage evil, seeing others gain should be like gaining oneself, seeing others lose should be like losing oneself. Do not value oneself highly, do not praise oneself, do not envy those better than oneself, do not flatter or act treacherously. Only then is one virtuous. Receiving blessings from Heaven, one's actions will succeed, and seeking immortality is hopeful.

It further states: The five tones and eight sounds, specifically Qing Shang and Liu Zheng, rarely damage hearing; bright colors rarely damage sight. Banquets, ease, and comfort, clear wines and fragrant liquors, disturb nature. Beautiful makeup and attire, red flowers and white textures, destroy life.

It further states: Damage is easy to know and fast; benefit is hard to know and slow. If one does not realize the easy, how can one recognize the difficult? Damage is like a lamp consuming wax; unseen, it suddenly runs out. Benefit is like planting saplings; unnoticed, it suddenly flourishes. Therefore, in managing the body and nourishing nature, one must be cautious of details. Do not neglect small benefits because they are not immediate; do not ignore small damages because they seem harmless. Accumulating small things achieves greatness; accumulating ones reaches billions. If one can cherish the subtle and achieve the manifest, one is nearly aware of the Dao.

*Zhuangzi* states: Those good at nourishing life are like shepherds. They look at the lagging sheep and whip it. Shan Bao of Lu lived in seclusion and drank water, sharing no profit with the people. At seventy, he still had the complexion of an infant. Unfortunately, he met a starving tiger, which killed and ate him. Zhang Yi visited high gates and thin walls, going everywhere. At forty, he died of internal heat illness. Shan Bao nurtured his interior but was eaten externally; Zhang Yi nurtured his exterior but disease attacked his interior. These two did not whip their lagging parts. (Whipping the lagging part means removing their deficiencies.)

*Lüshi Chunqiu* states: Sages nourish life by adapting to nature. Large rooms have much Yin; high platforms have much Yang. Much Yang generates wind disorders; much Yin generates flaccidity disorders. Both are harms of impropriety. Many flavors and meats block central Qi; overheating clothes block pores; blocked pores prevent Qi from securing. All these harm life. Therefore, sages build gardens and ponds only for viewing and exercise; palaces and terraces only for avoiding dryness and dampness; carriages, horses, clothes, and furs only for warming bones; drinks and sweets only for satisfying taste and hunger; music and song only for calming life and self-amusement. These five are what sages use to nourish life.

It further states: Fine skin and white teeth, Zheng and Wei music, pursued for self-pleasure, are called axes that destroy life. Fatty meat and strong wine, forced upon others, are called food that rots intestines. (Mi Man: fine skin and weak muscle beauty. Hao Chi: teeth like gourd seeds. *Laozi* says: Five flavors fill the mouth, damaging it, hence called rotting-intestine food.)

*Yanshi Jiaxun* states: Those who nourish life must first consider disaster and fortune, preserve body and nature. Having life allows one to nourish it; do not vainly nourish what has no life. Shan Bao nurtured inside but lost outside; Zhang Yi nurtured outside but lost inside; this is the warning of former sages. Ji Kang wrote treatises on nourishing life but suffered execution due to arrogance; Shi Chong hoped to extend life through elixirs but brought disaster through greed; these are confusions of past generations.