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The *Suwen: Tianzhen Lun* (Plain Questions: Discourse on Natural Truth) states: When the mind is tranquil and void, Zhenqi (True Qi) follows; when Jing Shen (Spirit and Mind) are kept within, how can illness arise? Laozi said: Human life is limited to a hundred years, but through moderation and protection, one may reach a thousand years. It is like the difference between a small wick and a large wick in an oil lamp. When others speak loudly, I speak softly; when others are troubled, I remember little; when others are fearful, I am not angry. Being calm and non-action-oriented, Shen Qi (Spiritual Energy) becomes naturally satisfied. This is the medicine for longevity.

Liu Hejian said: Xing (Form/Body) is the dwelling of life, Qi (Energy) is the origin of life, and Shen (Spirit) is the master of life. The form is filled by Qi; if Qi is depleted, the form becomes ill. Shen stands upon Qi; when Qi and Shen combine, life exists. Those who cultivate themselves follow Yin and Yang and harmonize with Shu Shu (techniques and numbers). They maintain fullness and control their Spirit, focusing Qi and embracing Oneness. Using Shen as the chariot and Qi as the horse, when Shen and Qi combine, one can achieve longevity. He also said: The method to preserve life requires that Xing and Qi be peaceful, so they have order and do not become chaotic. Jing and Shen must be preserved, so they have essentials and do not dissipate. Therefore, the way of preservation initially does not depart from Xing, Qi, and Shen.

Bodhidharma said: The mind should not follow external conditions but reside in its source. Intentions should not scatter but guard internal breath. Shen should not be overworked externally, avoiding fatigue and injury. People know that Xin (Heart/Mind) is the master of Qi, and Qi is the root of Xing. Xing is the house of Qi, and Shen is the vessel of Xing, allowing humans to exist interdependently. If even one thing is lost, it does not accord with the highest principle, how can it stand for long?

Laozi said: Do not see what arouses desire, so the mind will not be disturbed.

*Zhizhi* states: Qing (Clear) means clearing the source of the Heart; Jing (Quiet) means quieting the Sea of Qi. When the Heart source is clear, external affairs cannot disturb it, nature stabilizes, and Shen Ming (Spiritual Clarity) arises. When the Sea of Qi is quiet, evil desires cannot arise, Jing (Essence) is complete and solid.

*Zhi Gui* states: Wandering the mind in emptiness and stillness, fixing aspirations in subtlety, entrusting thoughts to desirelessness, and pointing towards non-action. Thus, one can understand life, extend destiny, and remain long with the Dao.

*Miao Zhen Jing* states: Humans often lose the Dao, not the Dao losing humans. Humans often leave life, not life leaving humans. Therefore, those who nourish life must not lose the Dao; those who practice the Dao must not lose life. Let Dao and Life guard each other, and Life and Dao protect each other.

*Yuan Dao Zhen Jing* states: Life can be hoped for, death is to be feared. Plants grow from roots; remove the soil and they die. Fish and turtles live in water; remove the water and they die. Humans live by form; remove Qi and they die. Thus, sages know where Qi resides and treasure it as the body's jewel.

*Xian Jing* states: Jing, Qi, and Shen are the Three Internal Treasures; Eyes, Ears, and Mouth are the Three External Treasures. Constantly ensure the Internal Treasures do not flow away chasing objects, and the External Treasures do not tempt and disturb the center.

He also said: Do not labor your form, do not shake your essence. Return the mind to silence and stillness, and you can achieve longevity.

*Ding Guan Jing* states: Only let the upper part of the settled mind be豁然 (open and unobstructed); let the lower part be 旷然 (vast and unblocked). Old karmic obstacles dissolve daily, new ones are not created. With no hindrances, one breaks free from worldly diseases.

He also said: Only extinguish the moving mind, do not extinguish the illuminating mind. Only condense the emptying mind, do not condense the abiding mind.

Chongyang Zushi (Grandmaster Chongyang) said: For the elderly, during the twelve two-hour periods, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, in all movements, keep the mind like Mount Tai, unmoving and steady. Guard the four gates (eyes, ears, nose, mouth), preventing entry and exit. This is called nurturing longevity, which is crucial.

*Zhen Ren Da Ji* states: Extravagance and lazidity lead to longevity; stinginess leads to premature death, due to the difference between dissipation and toil. Farmers are long-lived; those rich in food and drink die young, proving the effect of desires. Recluses have few illnesses; wanderers have many ailments, due to the difference in simplicity and complexity of affairs. Thus, common people compete for profit, while Daoists rarely manage it.

*Tang Shu* states: Much remembering damages the Heart; much speaking depletes Qi. Internal damage to Heart Qi causes external scattering of Form and Spirit. Initially unnoticed, it becomes a detriment over time.

*Yuanshi Zhen Jing* states: Joy and anger damage Nature (Xing); sorrow and happiness injure Spirit (Shen). Damage to Xing harms life. Therefore, nourish Xing to complete Qi, preserve Shen to settle the body. When Qi is complete and the body peaceful, the spirit is safe and at ease. This is the secret to preserving life.

*Dong Shen Jing* states: Nourishing life by causing no damage is the art of extending years; causing no damage is the classic of supplementing and protecting health.

*Tianzhen Lun* states: Externally, do not labor the form with affairs; internally, have no worries of thought. Make tranquility and joy your task, make self-satisfaction your merit. The form remains unbroken, and Spirit does not scatter.

*Zhuangzi* states: Those who can follow life generation, though wealthy and noble, do not let nourishment harm the body; though poor and lowly, do not let profit burden the form. He also said: My life has a limit, but wisdom has none. To pursue the limitless with the limited is perilous. For the wise, it is merely perilous.

*Qiu Sheng Fu* says: Why worry about what your strength cannot reach and fear what your wisdom cannot handle? It is fitting that ruddy cheeks become dry wood and black hair turn white. This is a common ailment of scholars. He also said: A hundred sorrows touch the heart, ten thousand tasks labor the form. Movement within inevitably shakes the essence. People often suffer from excessive thinking and worrying; becoming strong, they suddenly age; becoming old, they suddenly decline. Reversing this is also a method of longevity.

Sun Simiao said: Much thinking exhausts Shen; much memorizing scatters intelligence; much desire dulls wisdom; much business labors the form; much speech depletes Qi; much laughter injures the Zang organs; much sorrow frightens the Heart; much joy causes excessive speech; much delight causes confusion and disorder; much anger makes the joints unstable.

*Xiao You Jing* states: Thinking strongly beyond one's capacity causes injury; lifting strongly beyond one's strength causes injury; deep sorrow unresolved and heavy joy unreleased both cause injury.

*Huainanzi* states: Excessive joy sinks Yang, excessive anger breaks Yin, thus gentlemen have moderation.

*Xuan Zhu* states: Irregular living habits and excessive effort damage meridians. Damaging Yang causes epistaxis; damaging Yin causes lower bleeding.

*Shu* states: Walking without speaking prevents Qi damage; if speaking too much, pause and then speak again. Laughing too much causes kidney rotation and back pain.

*Shen Xian Zhuan* states: The way to nurture longevity is simply not to injure oneself.

*Suwen* states: Eat and drink with moderation, have regular daily routines, do not exert yourself improperly. Thus, Form and Spirit remain together, and one completes their natural lifespan.

*Zhen Xun* states: Eyes are the mirror of the body, ears are the windows of the physique. Seeing too much dims the mirror; listening too much closes the window. The face is the courtyard of Spirit, hair is the flower of the brain. Sorrowful hearts make faces wither; reduced brain matter makes hair white. Essence is the spirit of the body, clarity is the treasure of Spirit. Too much labor scatters essence; exhaustion eliminates clarity.

*Miao Zhen Jing* states: Those who look beyond their eyes lose brightness; those who listen beyond their ears lose essence; those who love beyond their hearts lose Spirit; those pulled by profit feel fear in movement.

*Zhen Gao* states: Mirrors reflect the face, wisdom reflects the mind. If the mirror is bright, dust and grime do not stain; if wisdom is bright, evil does not arise.

*Yin Fu Jing* states: Indecent sounds and beautiful colors are axes and saws that break bones. People of the world cannot hold a spiritual candle to illuminate confused emotions or wield a sword of wisdom to cut off attachments and desires. Wandering in the sea of life and death, harm arises from grace.

*He Tu Di Shi Meng* states: Those who insult Heaven and Earth face disaster; those who follow the seasons of Heaven find auspiciousness. In spring and summer, enjoy high mountains; in autumn and winter, dwell low and hide deeply. Auspiciousness brings much fortune, and longevity is endless.

*Xishan Ji* states: The fullness and emptiness of the whole body connect to Heaven and Earth and respond to all things. Harmonize at the beginning, harmonize at the end, calm the Spirit and eliminate disasters; this is the way of life.

*Wei Sheng Jue* says: Ordinary people breathe 13,500 times a day and night. Reducing one breath causes cold; adding one breath causes heat. Disharmony of Zang-Fu organs generates various diseases. Thus, Yuan Qi (Original Qi) needs preservation, and Gu Shen (Grain Spirit) needs guarding.

Lu Dongbin said: Speak little to nourish Qi, think little to nourish Shen, desire little to nourish Jing. Jing generates Qi, Qi generates Shen, and Shen becomes naturally spiritual. Therefore, if Jing is exhausted, Qi is exhausted; if Qi is exhausted, Life is exhausted. Thus, Jing, Qi, and Shen are the Three Internal Treasures of the human body.

Qiqiu Zi said: Qiao Song could withstand frost and snow because he stored Zheng Qi (Upright Qi); fine jade could withstand fierce fire because it accumulated supreme Jing (Essence). Thus, great men move spiritual banners by day and record divine mushrooms by night, perceiving what is imperceptible and thinking what is unthinkable. They can resist wind in winter without cold and fire in summer without heat. Thus, gentlemen store Zheng Qi, distancing themselves from ghosts and spirits, subduing treachery. Accumulating supreme Jing protects living beings, elevates fortune and longevity, hence the value of nourishing Qi.

*Suwen* states: Carefully harmonize the Five Flavors, bones straighten and tendons soften, Qi and Blood flow, pores close tightly, and one enjoys a long destiny.

He also said: Those who eat wind are spiritual and extend their lifespan; those who eat grain are intelligent but labor Form and Spirit; those who eat grass are foolish but strong; those who eat meat are brave and coarse but prone to anger; those who swallow Qi survive constantly and attain the Dao.

*Zhuan* states: Those who eat mixed foods attract hundreds of diseases and evil influences. The less one eats, the more open the Heart, the more beneficial the years; the more one eats, the more blocked the Heart, the more damaged the years. Thus, those who swallow Qi do not die for a thousand years, flying their bodies to heaven; those who eat grain all die in thousands, returning their forms to earth.

*Bai Yuchan* said: Eat light flavors to nourish Qi, remove anger to nourish Xing (Nature), stay humble to nourish De (Virtue), keep pure and quiet to nourish Dao.

Xueshan said: Eat and drink with moderation, and Pi Tu (Spleen Earth) does not leak; regulate breath and speak little, and Fei Jin (Lung Metal) preserves itself; move and rest with reverence, and Xin Huo (Heart Fire) settles itself; do not be shaken by favor or disgrace, and Gan Mu (Liver Wood) calms itself; be tranquil and desireless, and Shen Shui (Kidney Water) is sufficient.

Old Man of Yizhou said: To have a disease-free body, one must first rectify the Heart, ensuring it does not seek chaotically, think wildly, crave desires, or attach to confusion. Then the Heart Monarch is peaceful. If the Heart Monarch is peaceful, even if the limbs have diseases, they are easy to treat. But once this Heart moves, it invites a hundred troubles. Even if Bian Que and Hua Tuo were beside you, they would not know what to do.