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It is said in the ancient texts: "Food and sex are the greatest desires of human beings." Whenever I ponder this, I feel that sexual desire is of great significance; while dietary desire is even more closely related to the body. There are indeed not a few people in the world who have sunk and drowned in these desires! If one aspires to pursue the Great Dao (Great Way), one must first devote oneself to investigating these aspects. Therefore, I composed two admonitions on "Diet" and "Sexual Desire" to instruct my younger brothers and nephews, and to inform all like-minded friends!

The preciousness of the human body lies in the fact that it is the legacy left by one's parents. Because of desires for taste causing harm to the body, such cases are everywhere. Once a person has this body, hunger and thirst arise, leading to the preparation of food and drink to sustain life. Those who are ignorant indulge their palates; excessive consumption of the Five Flavors leads to diseases arising like swarms of bees. The mechanism of disease onset is very subtle; being led astray by craving saliva, one often neglects to reflect upon it. When the disease becomes established, both food and drink are abandoned, causing worry for one's parents, and hundreds of schemes are employed to seek medical help and pray. People in the mountains and countryside, who are poor and lowly, are accustomed to bland diets; their movements do not show signs of aging, and their bodies remain peaceful. Although we all receive Qi from Heaven and Earth and share the same physical form, I alone suffer from many illnesses. Once the realization of repentance arises, it is like dust clearing and a mirror becoming clean; one regulates diet daily. The Image Statement of the *I Ching* (Book of Changes) states that nourishing the small (oral appetite) causes the loss of the large (fundamental vitality). As criticized by Mencius, oral indulgence can cause disease and also corrupt virtue. Guard the mouth like a bottle; practice this without weariness.

Human life participates with Heaven and Earth. The Kun Dao (Earth Principle) forms women, and the Qian Dao (Heaven Principle) forms men. Coupled as husband and wife, reproduction is entrusted to them; when Blood and Qi are vigorous, it is the appropriate time. Marriage is established through propriety, and intercourse occurs at proper times; the key to the intimacy between father and son lies here. Those who are ignorant follow their emotions and indulge in lust, fearing they will fall short, and further compound this with dry and toxic substances. Qi belongs to Yang, Blood belongs to Yin; the Spirit of the human body thrives when Yin is balanced and secreted, allowing the body to enjoy long health. How much Blood and Qi are there? Yet one does not cherish them! The body from which one was born becomes one's own thief. Women indulging in love have abundant desires. Reverence in the inner chambers brings harmony to the household. Men indulging in love see their families neglected; having lost their virtue, their bodies also become exhausted. Keeping away from curtains and screens allows the wandering mind to be gathered; with pleasant food and drink, the body remains safe and diseases heal.

Humans are born receiving the Qi of Heaven and Earth. The Yang Qi of Heaven transforms into Qi, and the Yin Qi of Earth transforms into Blood. Thus, Qi is often in excess, while Blood is often deficient. Why say this? Heaven and Earth are the parents of all things. Heaven is vast and belongs to Yang, moving outside the Earth; Earth resides within Heaven and belongs to Yin, held up by the great Qi of Heaven. The Sun is solid and belongs to Yang, moving outside the Moon; the Moon is deficient and belongs to Yin, deriving its brightness from the light of the Sun. The Yin Qi in the human body fluctuates according to the waxing and waning of the Moon. Therefore, at birth, males achieve seminal emission at sixteen years old, and females begin menstruation at fourteen years old. After the formation of the physical body, one still relies on milk, food, and water for nourishment until Yin Qi matures enough to pair with Yang Qi, enabling adulthood and parenthood. In ancient times, marriage was only arranged around thirty or twenty years of age, showing the difficulty of Yin Qi maturation and the ancients' skill in preservation. The commentary on the *Book of Rites* states: "Only after fifty can one add methods to nourish Yin." The *Nei Jing* (Inner Canon) says: "When one reaches forty, Yin Qi naturally halves, and daily activities decline." It also says: "Males cease sperm production at sixty-four, and females cease menstruation at forty-nine." Given the time required to form Yin Qi, it only supports thirty years of hearing, seeing, speaking, and moving, already being depleted beforehand. Human emotional desires are boundless; how can this difficult-to-form and easy-to-deplete Yin Qi supply them?! The Classics state: "Yang is Heavenly Qi, governing the exterior; Yin is Earthly Qi, governing the interior." Thus, the Path of Yang is solid, and the Path of Yin is deficient. It also says: "When Yin is extremely deficient, Heavenly Qi is cut off; when Yang is extremely excessive, Earthly Qi is insufficient." Observing where deficiency and excess lie, this is not my overstatement. The Zang organ responsible for closure and storage is the Kidney; the one responsible for dispersion and excretion is the Liver. Both Zang organs contain Ministerial Fire (Xiang Huo), and their connections ascend to the Heart. The Heart is the Sovereign Fire (Jun Huo); easily stirred by external stimuli, when the Heart moves, Ministerial Fire also moves. Movement causes essence to leak spontaneously. When Ministerial Fire rises suddenly, even without intercourse, essence secretly flows and is excreted. Therefore, the sages merely taught people to gather and nourish the Heart; the purport is profound. Heaven and Earth form the four seasons through the alternating rise and fall of the Five Elements; the human Five Zang and Six Fu organs correspondingly rise and fall. The fourth month corresponds to Si, and the fifth to Wu, indicating strong Fire. Fire is the controlling element of Lung Metal; when Fire is strong, Metal weakens. The sixth month corresponds to Wei, indicating strong Earth. Earth is the controlling element of Water; when Earth is strong, Water weakens. Moreover, Kidney Water often relies on Lung Metal as its mother to supplement its deficiencies; thus, the *Nei Jing* earnestly emphasizes nourishing its source of transformation. In summer, the ancients certainly lived apart and ate bland foods, diligently caring for their bodies. Preserving the Metal and Water Zang organs is precisely to avoid the excess of Fire and Earth. The *Nei Jing* states: "Those who do not store Essence in winter will surely suffer from Warm Diseases in spring." The tenth month corresponds to Hai, and the eleventh to Zi; this is when Fire Qi is latent and stored, cultivating its original true Qi, serving as the root for the rising and movement of the coming spring. If one indulges in desires and harms the body during this time, when spring arrives and Qi rises, there will be no root below, and Yang Qi will float lightly, inevitably leading to Warmth diseases. The excess of Fire and Earth in summer and the latency of Fire in winter discuss the deficiency of a year. The period before the upper half-moon and after the lower half-moon, when the moon is empty, represents a monthly deficiency. Strong winds and heavy fog, rainbows and lightning, sudden cold and heat, solar and lunar eclipses, sorrow and anger, fear and grief, drunkenness and fullness, fatigue from labor, planning and exertion—all constitute a daily deficiency. If a patient has just recovered, or sores are actively appearing, this is especially more than a daily deficiency. Nowadays, many suffer from headache and leg weakness, reduced appetite, and body heat in late spring and early summer. Zhang Zhongjing stated that symptoms worsen in spring and summer and improve in autumn and winter, with a wiry and large pulse; this is exactly what the secular world calls "Zhu Xia Disease" (Summer Sickness). If one encounters these four types of deficiency, one seems unable to avoid this illness. One may exhibit the demeanor of an old man while still in prime youth, ruining all duties of supporting elders and raising children. Speaking of this, one should be deeply alarmed and fearful. The ancients said, "Do not see what arouses desire, so the heart does not become disordered." With tenderness overwhelming the body, sounds filling the ears, colors captivating the eyes, and fragrances assaulting the nose, who is an iron man whose heart would not move? Those skilled in preserving life should reside outdoors during these five months. If encountering a monthly deficiency, one should also temporarily stay away from curtains, cherish oneself, preserve Heavenly Harmony, and hope not to fail the teachings of respecting the body. This would be fortunate!