火有人火。有相火。人火者。所谓燎原之火也。遇草而 。得木而燔。可以湿伏。可以水灭。可以直折。
黄连之属可以制之。相火者。龙火也。雷火也。得湿则 。遇水则燔。不知其性而
以水折之。以湿攻之。适足以光焰烛天。物穷方止矣。识其性者。以火逐之。则焰灼自消。炎光扑灭。古书
泻火之法。意盖如此。今人率以黄柏治相火。殊不知此相火者。寄于肝肾之间。此乃水中之火。龙雷之火也。
若用黄柏苦寒之药。又是水灭湿伏。龙雷之火愈发矣。龙雷之火。每当浓阴骤雨之时。火焰愈炽。或
烧毁房屋。或击碎木石。其势诚不可抗。惟太阳一照。火自消灭。此得水则炽。得火则灭之一验也。
又问龙雷何以五六月而启发。九十月而归藏。盖冬时阳气在水土之下。龙雷就其火气而居于下。夏时阴气
在下。龙雷不能安其身而出于上。明于此义。故惟八味丸桂附与相火同气。直入肾中。据其窟宅而招之。同气相
求。相火安得不引之而归原。即人非此火不能有生。世人皆曰降火。而予独以地黄滋养水中之火。世人皆曰灭
火。而予独以桂附温补天真之火。千载不明之论。予独表而出之。高明以为何如。
震本坤体。阳自外来交之。有动乎情欲之象。是以圣人于。卦中。凡涉乎震体者。取义尤严。 雷震。君子
以恐惧修省。在复则曰先王以至日闭关。欲其复之静也。在随则曰向晦入晏。
意欲其居之安也。在颐则曰慎言语。节饮食。欲其养之正也。明乎此义。而相火不药自伏矣。
Fire is divided into human fire (Ren Huo) and ministerial fire (Xiang Huo). Human fire refers to the so-called prairie fire. It spreads when encountering grass and burns when encountering wood; it can be subdued by dampness, extinguished by water, or directly suppressed by bitter-cold herbs. Herbs such as Coptidis Rhizoma (Huanglian) can control it. Ministerial fire is dragon fire and thunder fire. It becomes more vigorous when encountering dampness and burns fiercer when encountering water. If one does not understand its nature and attempts to extinguish it with water or attack it with dampness, it will only cause flames to reach the sky until the fuel is exhausted. Those who understand its nature drive it away with fire, causing the scorching heat to dissipate naturally and the blazing light to be extinguished. The methods of purging fire recorded in ancient texts are likely based on this principle. Nowadays, people generally use Phellodendri Cortex (Huangbai) to treat ministerial fire, unaware that this ministerial fire resides between the Liver and Kidney. It is fire within water, namely dragon and thunder fire. If one uses bitter-cold herbs like Phellodendri Cortex, employing the method of extinguishing with water and subduing with dampness, the dragon and thunder fire will become even more vigorous. Dragon and thunder fire, during times of dense clouds and sudden rain, becomes extremely intense, sometimes burning houses or shattering wood and stone; its momentum is indeed irresistible. Only when the sun shines does the fire vanish. This is a verification of "becoming vigorous with water and vanishing with fire."
It is further asked: Why does dragon and thunder fire emerge in the fifth and sixth lunar months and hide in the ninth and tenth? Generally, in winter, Yang Qi is below the water and earth, and dragon and thunder reside below, attaching to the fire energy. In summer, Yin Qi is below, and dragon and thunder cannot settle there, thus emerging above. Understanding this principle, only the eight-ingredient pill (Ba Wei Wan) containing Cinnamomi Ramulus (Guizhi) and Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (Fuzi), which share the same qi as ministerial fire, can enter the Kidney directly, occupy its lair, and attract it. Like attracts like; how could ministerial fire not be guided back to its origin? Indeed, without this fire, humans cannot have life. While the world speaks of lowering fire, I alone advocate nourishing the fire within water using Rehmanniae Radix (Dihuang); while the world speaks of extinguishing fire, I alone advocate warming and tonifying the innate fire using Cinnamomi Ramulus and Prepared Aconite Root. This is a theory unclear for a millennium, which I alone bring to light. What do the wise think?
The Zhen trigram has the structure of Kun, with Yang Qi entering from outside to interact, symbolizing movement arising from desires. Therefore, the Sages took strict meanings from any hexagram involving the Zhen trigram. In the Zhen hexagram, it says: "The superior person, in fear, cultivates self-reflection." In the Fu hexagram, it says: "The former kings closed the passes at the winter solstice," intending to restore stillness. In the Sui hexagram, it says: "Entering peace at dusk," intending to ensure safe dwelling. In the Yi hexagram, it says: "Be cautious in speech and moderate in diet," intending to cultivate righteousness. Understanding this meaning, ministerial fire will naturally subside without medication.