The Hundred Words Stele

by Lu Dongbin
and commentary by Zhang Sanfeng
Translated by Akrishi, 2007/3/26
1.1

1.2

2.1

Nourish prana by holding to giving up speech,

The practitioner should first nourish prana. The method is to give
up speech and hold to One. Giving up speech, then prana will not
be dissipated; Holding to One, then spirit will not be outward.
The knack says: "Tie your tongue and be silent, embrace the
spirit to be settled".
and subdue mind in acting and not acting.
The mind of a mortal man is always turbulent. If the practitioner
desires to quieten his mind, what is important is to subdue the two
eyes. The eyes are the doors of the mind, need to lower the
eyelips to block sensation. To deal with the main part of all things,
take the mind sharp as a sword. Think of worldly affairs as not
beneficial to me, then the raging fire of desires will be removed
immediately. But do not depart from desires. The knack says,
"With the eyes, look at the nose; Aiming through the nose,
look at the navel. Looking both back up and down, with mind
and breathing mutually depending. And put attention at end
of the collapse, then one can subdue thoughts."
Know the ancestor throughout silence and dynamism,
Silence and dynamism is one of Yin and one ofYang. The
ancestor is where the body is born from. The practitioner should
know the parents, from which one is born, i.e. the female Hsuan.
Up and down our body, where Qian [i.e. heaven], Kun [i.e.
earth] and the eight trigrams, the five steps and the four
phenomena get together, is namely the Tai Chi, which is formed
by the one light of the soul, before heaven and earth are divided.
Under the heart, and above the kidneys, in an instant and in an
flash, where idea ceaselessly rise, is the ancestor. So called
throughout dynamism and silence, is to regulate and harmonize
real prana, settle and make orderly our real primordium. Because
exhaling connects the heavenly root, and inhaling connects the
earthly root. Namely closing the door is called Kun, and opening
the door is called Qian. Exhaling then the dragon whoops and
clouds rise; Inhaling then the tiger howls and wind generated. And
in opening or closing, dynamism and silence, what is important is
for the intention of the mind not to move, and let the real prana
come and go, continuing like a cotton thread, barely existing.
When breath is regulated to breathing ceased, integrated as one


2.2

wholeness, then the spirit can congeal, and the elixir can be
accomplished.
and with nothing in mind who else to seek?

If one can nourish prana and hold to giving up speech, and

subdue the mind and body. Then let spirit return to the den
of prana, intention attends to the centre of the circle. Fuse into
one prana, like a chicken embracing her eggs, or like a dragon
nourishing his ball. Keep mind now in here, not departing even for
an instant. In time when work done deepens, naturally will appear
the millet pearl, blazing like the sun, and silently manifesting
the primordial spirit. Unmeasurable spiritual brilliance is in this.

The real ordinary mind should response to object sensed,

but in responding should not get lost.

This path is the real ordinary Way. Because in responding to

things, one's mind easily get dull and lost, so in contacting
objective things, one should not get lost in dusty things. But if not
responding to things or not contacting objects, then mind is in
empty silence and in vagueness. One should respond to things
when it comes, and not to leave a trace when it pass away. With
fairness, then one will not get lost. If the realinnate nature of our
mind is in clarity and tranquillity, then the primordial spirit will
congeal. The knack says, "Put attention then all wrong, let go
again come to nothing".

Not get lost then the true nature of one's mind will reside
by itself,
and when mind's innate nature resides, then prana will
revert by itself.

The innate nature of the mind of a mortal man is raging like a fire,
with attitudes changing constantly - feelings of pleasure, anger,
sorrow and joy, love and hatred, antipathy and desire. When
triggered, will generate Self-forgetting thoughts, and is difficult to
quieten our mind's nature. One must really guard against anger,
then fire surrenders; Really have few desires, then water rises.
Body not moving is named as refining essence. Refining essence,
then breaths like the tiger howls, and the primordial spiritcongeals
and solidifies. Mind not moving is named refining prana. Refining
prana, then breathes like the dragon whoops, and primordial
prana keeps its existence. Intention not moving is named
refining spirit. Refining spirit, then the two prana mates, the three
primordia blends, and primoridal prana reverts by itself. The three
primordia are essence, prana and spirit. The two prana
are Yin and Yang. If the practitioner does not get lost in
responding to objects, then the primordial spirit will return by
itself, and the nature of his mind resides by itself. When mind's
nature resides, then the pre-heavenly prana of the body will revert

by itself. So, what so difficult to return to life and back to its root?
The knack says, "Revert light to shine backwards, let mind be
undivided in middle. Inner thoughts not emerging, outer
thoughts not entering."