Translation by Sifu John A. Fey
1 manifesting the tao way of life requires you to emulate the great river under the heavens
2 and flow with the watercourse of seasons
3 surrendering to the natural ordering brings you to the repository of all knowledge and wisdom that only the original mind can see or use
4 magic words will not gain you entrance good deeds will only shape your intention but will still not let you in
5 open your back and front open the waist
open the arms and legs
6 play freely without judging your gifts and your deficits for your entire being is a treasure
7 stretch upward with your crown and see yourself sitting peacefully and ordered
8 within the three
golden elixir fields of cinnabar in their peaceful order
9 hold your heart gently for it is a round jade disc with a hole in the center
10 presented to the task at hand as a great gift
offered to the tao source of life
11 move your arms and legs restrained at the cliff
demonstrating your nobility, power, and inner
strength
12 hold your symbol of the tao source of life high above your head
as if holding a hammer that will never fall
13 and the vast and mysterious repository will open and flow into you
1-2 MIND and HAND: It is not unusual for ancient Chinese to be preoccupied with the image of a great river. For good and ill, the Chinese experience was historically greatly influenced by rivers that not only provided an abundance of food and commerce, but also regularly overflowed their banks with devastating results. Learning when it was safe to be near the rivers and when it was best to be far away from them was an ancient and essential survival skill.
Surrendering to the natural flux and flow of the river for physical survival became a metaphor for spiritual survival as well.
3 MIND and HAND: Surrendering to the flux and flow of the Tao Way of Life yields great wisdom that can only be understood by the authentic, innocent mind.
4-6 MIND and HAND: Taoists know that the beneficence and love extended by the Tao Source are the only real securities in life. Good works, spiritual trappings, and complex rituals are not sufficient to allow that love and beneficence into your life. You must open up to the totality of the Tao Source.
Furthermore, you must use your essence, energy, and spirit to experience it as completely as possible.
7 HAND: This is a technique for surrendering to the Tao Source.
8 HAND: Imagine that the three dan tiens are aligned one over the other.
9-10 HAND: Strive to not be overwhelmed emotionally as the Tao Source flows through you. Jade is an archaic image for the essence of expressiveness.
The hole in the middle of it is the symbol for receptiveness. Together they represent abundance through a balancing of the creative and receptive energies of the Tao. The Cultivator sees his heart as the essence of this abundance that he offers as a sacrifice of human spirit to the Tao Source.
11 HAND: Engage in Transformative Movement as a means of refining and managing the mystic experience.
12-13 HAND: Imagine that the spinning and oscillating forces of the universe are coalescing above your head, sending pulsating waves of energy down through your bodymind. Eventually, you will perceive a small opening in space appearing over your bodymind, as well as a downward flow of mystic energies.