\r女功炼己还丹图说\pt146a1.bmp\r
圣师曰∶女子太阴先炼形。初行功，即要意栖乳房，行住坐卧，皆宜如是，行至四十九日；行住
坐卧意守中极（中极者，即心之下，血海之上，当中虚悬一穴是也），行住宜默运天庭，坐卧宜意守中
极、血海，如鸡抱卵，一念不起，百想俱无。但行此功，真阴未动，脉络未通，必多倦睡，须行“指脑
下垂”之功。
指脑下垂者，何也？即回光返照∶以眼观鼻，搭定雀桥，下玄膺，至重楼，归中极，入血海，
以水会火，片刻即醒。此即调药炼心之法。如妄念一动，仍守中极。
少年女子炼至百日，不为外物所扰，血海自潮，真阴自动（动者，非身心动，是血气发潮，似有
不可忍之景象，其乐也融融，难以言语形容，是由无念而自动。此时切不可动念，念动则散，惟宜把
定元神，用法采取），此即“小药”发生，须行采取之法两三度，以机息为止，仍守中极。
采取之法∶以眼观鼻，过雀桥，下玄膺，到重楼，入乳房，游中极，归血海，行分水透玉枕，升
百会，下泥丸，入明堂，仍降下中极而归血海，将真意守定中极血海，入静入定。如其阴生，再行采
取之法，机息
仍守中极血海。
凡行此功，须戒暴怒、风寒暑湿以及生冷瓜果、火煎之物。此时定要检点，倘风寒入窍，药难医治。总
要万缘放下，一尘不染。如果照法行持，一日之间，真阴之气，能动二三次。（此动要分真伪，有气机
之动，有念虑之动。须无念、无虑、无欲而自动，方算真阴发动。）只要百零七日，血尽化气，赤龙
自斩，变成干体，基已成矣，还丹有何难哉。（注云∶女丹经多言女子行功每逢月信一到，便要停功。此
说谬矣，皆由未厘清晰误也。凡女功，所重者气机也。但其中有壬癸之分，如壬水初来，癸未来，此即信
到也。信到彼自知之，或头昏，或腰疼。信至而潮犹未至，此时正宜回光返照，默守乳房血海，用采取
之法，以补脑筑基，则所采者壬水，非癸水也。如癸水一到，自应停功，必至三十时辰两日半，癸尽之
时，仍用采取之法。采至何日而止，其中大有天机口诀，须求真师口传心授，不可妄猜。如果得其传授，
少年百日便可基成。）行功到此，自有考验∶赤龙自斩，乳头自缩，如男子一般，而真阴之气化为
真阳矣。此时须要道侣同时扶持，候真景到时，采小药过关（小药过关之时，亦有景象，果到基成，药产丹
田，有火珠驰骤，血海如汤煎，鼻搐身震，切勿惊惧。此处亦有口诀，要待师方免危险。不然恐真火变成凡
火，一防焚身，二防颠狂）如有得真师传授者，药既入鼎，便要知炼药之法（法待真师口诀）。若不知炼
法，不能结丹，得者必失。
此药既名小药，自宜用“小周天”火候，（小周天火候亦有口诀），进阳火，退阴符，而锻炼之（符
火有候亦有数），炼至一月，小周数足。或药之真伪，丹之结否，自有考验∶如小丹果结，每逢入室静坐，
遍体火发如蒸笼之气一般。只宜默守中宫，呐宫不语，听其变化，霎时之间，见一火球如豆大，从明
堂射出一丈多高，如闪电一样，乃基成得药之真境界也。斯时虽有炼药秘法，总要一念不起，五蕴皆空，
任它天翻地复，雷电震惊，我只将元神稳坐中宫，毫无畏惧，如鸡抱卵，如龙护珠。时当进火则进，时当
退符则退（进火退符有候有数），必炼至大静大定，气足神完，火珠不现，小丹凝结而后已焉。
此系筑基、得药、结丹三层口诀，后尤有四层天机，不能一口道尽。历来仙师授受，皆系如此。果然功行
至此，人仙之果证矣。以后用功与男子无异。但女属静体，后四层虽与男丹同其运用，而其建功更速矣。
真师总批∶凡孀妇、贞女、烈妇，能立定真正志节，始终如一，受魔不退，至死不变，贫富不移，坚
贞不二，乃可授此三层妙法。循序渐进，暗有仙真护持，一切内
外妖魔，不敢扰害，终期大成。至于有夫之妇，人事未了，切勿妄传。只宜劝伊芳养性寡欲，孝姑敬夫，
待时而传。倘恂情轻授，确有可据，无一毫妄诞之语，倘恍之论。实是天机不可轻泄，得其传者俱系前缘。
慎之，珍之！
女功炼己还丹图说
圣师说：女子修炼以太阴经为主，先进行形体（身体基础）的炼化。刚开始行功时，意念就要栖息在乳房部位，无论行走、站立、坐着还是躺着，都应当如此。坚持到第四十九天；之后，行住坐卧时意念要守在中极穴（中极穴位于心之下，血海之上，是中间虚空悬空的一个穴位），行走和站立时宜默运天庭（头部上部区域），坐卧时宜意守中极穴和血海（指下腹部丹田区域，女性生理能量中心），像母鸡孵蛋一样，一念不生，百念俱无。只要练习此功，真阴之气尚未发动，经络脉络尚未通畅，必定会感到疲倦嗜睡，必须练习“指脑下垂”的功法。
所谓“指脑下垂”，是什么呢？就是回光返照：用眼睛注视鼻子，搭好雀桥（鼻下人中沟处），下行经过玄膺（喉部下方穴位），到达重楼（气管/喉咙部位），归入中极穴，进入血海，以水（肾水/津液）来济火（心火），片刻之间即可清醒。这就是调药炼心的方法。如果妄念一动，仍然守住中极穴。
少年女子修炼到一百天，不被外物所干扰，血海自然潮汐涌动，真阴之气自动发动（这里的“动”，不是身心躁动，而是血气如潮水般涌起，有一种难以忍受却又其乐融融的景象，难以用言语形容，这是由无念状态而自然发生的。此时千万不可起心动念，念头一起则气散，只应把持住元神，运用法度采取真气），这就是“小药”发生，需要施行采取的方法两三次，直到气机平息为止，然后继续守中极穴。
采取的方法：用眼睛注视鼻子，经过雀桥，下行至玄膺，到达重楼，进入乳房，游历中极穴，回归血海，运行分水透玉枕（玉枕穴在后脑勺），上升百会穴（头顶正中），下行至泥丸宫（脑部上丹田），进入明堂（眉心深处），再降回中极穴并归于血海，将真意牢牢守定在中极和血海，进入静定状态。如果阴气再生，再次施行采取之法，气机平息后仍守中极和血海。
凡是练习此功，必须戒除暴怒、风寒暑湿等外邪以及生冷瓜果、火煎燥热之物。此时一定要检点自身，倘若风寒侵入窍穴，药物很难医治。总要做到万缘放下，一尘不染。如果按照方法实行，一天之内，真阴之气能发动两三次。（这种发动要分真伪，有气机的自然发动，有念虑引起的发动。必须是无念、无虑、无欲而自然发动，才算真正的真阴发动。）只要一百零七天，经血尽化为气，赤龙（月经）自断，身体变成干体（无月经之身），筑基已成，那么还丹有何难哉。（注释说：女丹经典多言女子行功每逢月信一到，便要停功。这种说法是错误的，都是因为没有厘清概念导致的误解。凡女功，所重视的是气机。但其中有壬水和癸水的区别，如壬水初来，癸水未来，这就是信到（月经将至的信号）。信号到了自己知道，或头昏，或腰疼。信号至而潮水犹未至，此时正宜回光返照，默守乳房血海，用采取之法，以补脑筑基，那么所采的是壬水，而非癸水。如癸水一到，自应停功，必待三十个时辰即两天半，癸水尽之时，仍用采取之法。采至何日而止，其中大有天机口诀，须求真师口传心授，不可妄猜。如果得其传授，少年百日便可基成。）行功到此，自有考验：赤龙自断，乳头自然收缩，像男子一般，而真阴之气化为真阳了。此时须要有道侣同时扶持，等候真景到时，采取小药过关（小药过关之时，也有景象，果到基成，药产丹田，有火珠驰骤，血海如汤煎，鼻搐身震，切勿惊惧。此处亦有口诀，要待师方免危险。不然恐真火变成凡火，一防焚身，二防颠狂）如有得真师传授者，药既入鼎，便要知炼药之法（法待真师口诀）。若不知炼法，不能结丹，得者必失。
此药既然名为小药，自然适宜用“小周天”的火候（小周天火候亦有口诀），进阳火，退阴符，来锻炼它（符火有候亦有数），炼至一个月，小周天次数足。或者药的真伪，丹是否结成，自有考验：如小丹果真结成，每逢入室静坐，遍体发热如蒸笼之气一般。只宜默守中宫（脾胃/中丹田），闭口不语，听其变化，霎时之间，见一火球如豆大，从明堂射出一丈多高，如闪电一样，乃是基成得药的真境界也。斯时虽有炼药秘法，总要一念不起，五蕴皆空，任它天翻地复，雷电震惊，我只将元神稳坐中宫，毫无畏惧，如鸡抱卵，如龙护珠。时当进火则进，时当退符则退（进火退符有候有数），必炼至大静大定，气足神完，火珠不现，小丹凝结而后已焉。
这是筑基、得药、结丹三层口诀，后面还有四层天机，不能一口道尽。历来仙师授受，皆系如此。果然功行至此，人仙之果证矣。以后用功与男子无异。但女属静体，后四层虽与男丹同其运用，而其建功更速矣。
真师总批：凡是寡妇、贞女、烈妇，能立定真正志节，始终如一，受魔不退，至死不变，贫富不移，坚贞不二，乃可授此三层妙法。循序渐进，暗有仙真护持，一切内外妖魔，不敢扰害，终期大成。至于有夫之妇，人事未了，切勿妄传。只宜劝伊芳养性寡欲，孝姑敬夫，待时而传。倘恂情轻授，确有可据，无一毫妄诞之语，倘恍之论。实是天机不可轻泄，得其传者俱系前缘。慎之，珍之！
Diagrammatic Explanation of Refining the Self and Returning to the Elixir in Female Qigong
The Sage Master said: In female practice, one refines the form (physical foundation) first through the Taiyin (Great Yin) channel. At the initial stage of practice, the mind should reside in the breast area; whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, one should maintain this state. Continue until the forty-ninth day; thereafter, while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, the mind should guard the Zhongji point (Zhongji refers to a specific acupoint suspended in the void between the heart below and the Blood Sea above). While walking and standing, it is appropriate to silently circulate energy to the Heavenly Court (the upper region of the head); while sitting and lying down, one should mentally guard the Zhongji point and the Blood Sea (referring to the lower abdominal Dantian, the center of female physiological energy). One should be like a hen brooding eggs: with no single thought arising and all hundred thoughts extinguished. When practicing this method, since True Yin has not yet moved and the meridians are not yet unblocked, drowsiness and fatigue will inevitably occur. It is necessary to practice the "Finger-to-Brain Drooping" technique.
What is meant by "Finger-to-Brain Drooping"? It is returning the light to illuminate the interior: using the eyes to gaze at the nose, connecting the Queqiao (the philtrum area below the nose), descending through Xuanying (an acupoint below the throat), reaching Chonglou (the trachea/throat region), returning to the Zhongji point, and entering the Blood Sea. By having Water (Kidney Water/Saliva) meet Fire (Heart Fire), one awakens within moments. This is the method of adjusting the medicinal material and refining the mind. If deluded thoughts arise, one should continue to guard the Zhongji point.
For young women, after practicing for one hundred days, undisturbed by external objects, the Blood Sea will naturally tide, and True Yin Qi will move automatically (here, "movement" does not refer to physical or mental agitation, but rather the surge of blood and qi like a tide, presenting an indescribable sensation of unbearable yet harmonious joy, occurring spontaneously from a state of no-thought. At this time, one must absolutely avoid generating thoughts; if a thought arises, the energy scatters. One should only hold fast to the Primordial Spirit and employ methods to collect the true energy). This is the occurrence of the "Small Medicine." One must perform the collection method two or three times, stopping when the qi mechanism subsides, and then continue guarding the Zhongji point.
The method of collection: Gaze at the nose with the eyes, pass through Queqiao, descend to Xuanying, reach Chonglou, enter the breasts, tour the Zhongji point, return to the Blood Sea, flow through Fen Shui to penetrate the Yuzhen (Yuzhen is an acupoint at the back of the head), ascend to Baihui (the midpoint of the crown), descend to Niwan Palace (the upper Dantian in the brain), enter Mingtang (the deep space behind the eyebrows), and then descend again to Zhongji and return to the Blood Sea. Firmly fix the true intention on Zhongji and the Blood Sea, entering stillness and meditation. If Yin energy generates again, repeat the collection method; once the qi mechanism subsides, continue guarding Zhongji and the Blood Sea.
When practicing this method, one must abstain from violent anger, wind-cold-summer-dampness pathogens, as well as raw/cold fruits and vegetables, and fire-fried dry/hot foods. At this stage, one must strictly monitor oneself; if wind-cold enters the orifices, medicinal treatment will be difficult. One must let go of all worldly attachments and remain unstained by dust. If practiced according to the method, the True Yin Qi can move two or three times within a single day. (This movement must be distinguished as true or false: there is natural movement of the qi mechanism and movement caused by deliberation. Only spontaneous movement without thought, worry, or desire counts as the true activation of True Yin.) Within one hundred and seven days, the menstrual blood will be transformed into qi, the Red Dragon (menstruation) will cease naturally, the body will become "dry" (free from menstruation), and the foundation will be established. How then could the Returning Elixir be difficult? (Note: Many female elixir classics state that women should stop practice whenever menstruation arrives. This view is erroneous, stemming from unclear distinctions. In female practice, what is emphasized is the qi mechanism. However, there is a distinction between Ren Water and Gui Water. When Ren Water first arrives but Gui Water has not yet come, this is called the arrival of the "signal" (pre-menstrual signs). The practitioner knows this herself, perhaps experiencing dizziness or lower back pain. When the signal arrives but the flow has not yet started, it is precisely the time to return the light, silently guard the breast Blood Sea, and use the collection method to nourish the brain and build the foundation. What is collected is Ren Water, not Gui Water. Once Gui Water arrives, practice should naturally stop. One must wait for thirty hours and a half day (two and a half days) until Gui Water is exhausted, then resume the collection method. Until which day should collection stop? There are profound heavenly secrets and oral instructions involved; one must seek a true master for oral transmission and heart-to-heart instruction, and must not guess arbitrarily. If one receives such transmission, a young woman can establish the foundation in one hundred days.) Upon reaching this stage of practice, there will be tests: the Red Dragon ceases, the nipples naturally retract resembling those of a man, and True Yin Qi transforms into True Yang. At this time, support from a Dao companion is necessary. Wait for the true phenomena to appear, then collect the Small Medicine and pass it through the gates (when passing the Small Medicine, there are also specific phenomena. If the foundation is truly complete and the medicine produces in the Dantian, there will be a fire pearl racing, the Blood Sea boiling like soup, nasal twitching, and body trembling. Do not be afraid. There are also secret instructions here; waiting for the master avoids danger. Otherwise, True Fire may turn into mundane fire, risking burning the body or causing madness.) For those who receive transmission from a true master, once the medicine enters the cauldron, one must know the method of refining the medicine (the method awaits the true master's oral instruction). Without knowing the refining method, the elixir cannot be formed, and what is gained will surely be lost.
Since this medicine is named "Small Medicine," it is suitable to use the "Small Microcosmic Orbit" fire timing (which also has secret instructions): advancing Yang Fire and retreating Yin Symbol to refine it (Symbol fire has its timing and count). After refining for one month, the number of Small Microcosmic Orbits is sufficient. Whether the medicine is true or false, and whether the elixir forms, will have its own tests: If the small elixir truly forms, every time one sits quietly in the room, the whole body feels hot like steam from a steamer. One should only silently guard the Central Palace (Middle Dantian/Spleen-Stomach region), keep silent, and observe the changes. In an instant, one sees a fire ball, bean-sized, shooting out from Mingtang over ten feet high, like lightning. This is the true realm of foundation completion and medicine acquisition. Although there are secret methods for refining the medicine at this time, one must maintain a state of no thoughts and emptiness of the Five Aggregates. Let heaven and earth overturn, let thunder shock; I merely sit steadily in the Central Palace with my Primordial Spirit, fearless, like a hen brooding eggs or a dragon protecting a pearl. When it is time to advance fire, advance; when it is time to retreat symbol, retreat (advancing fire and retreating symbol have their timing and counts). One must refine until great stillness and great stability are achieved, qi is full, spirit is complete, the fire pearl no longer appears, and the small elixir condenses, before stopping.
These are the three layers of instructions for Building Foundation, Acquiring Medicine, and Forming the Elixir. There are four further layers of heavenly secrets that cannot be fully explained at once. Historically, immortal masters have transmitted them in this manner. Indeed, upon reaching this level of practice, one attains the fruit of Human Immortality. Subsequent practice is no different from that of men. However, women belong to the Yin (still) nature; although the subsequent four layers are applied similarly to male elixirs, the achievements are accomplished more rapidly.
General Commentary by the True Master: Widows, chaste women, and martyrs who can establish true resolve, remain consistent from start to finish, do not retreat under temptation, remain unchanged unto death, are not swayed by poverty or wealth, and possess unwavering fidelity, are eligible to receive these three layers of wondrous methods. Proceeding step by step, they are secretly protected by immortals, and all internal and external demons dare not disturb them, ultimately achieving great success. As for married women, whose worldly affairs are not yet concluded, do not transmit this lightly. It is better to advise them to cultivate their nature, reduce desires, respect their mothers-in-law, and honor their husbands, transmitting the teachings only when the time is right. If one transmits casually out of sentimentality, even if there is credible evidence and no absurd or vague arguments, this is indeed a heavenly secret that must not be leaked lightly. Those who receive the transmission share a past-life affinity. Be cautious, cherish it!