上药三品The Three Supreme Medicines
上药三品，神与炁精。恍恍惚惚，杳杳冥冥。
存无守有，顷刻而成。回风混合，百日功灵。
默朝上帝，一纪飞升。知者易悟，昧者难行。
存无守有，顷刻而成。回风混合，百日功灵。
默朝上帝，一纪飞升。知者易悟，昧者难行。
The three grades of supreme medicine: Spirit, Qi, and Essence.
Vaguely, indistinctly; dimly, obscurely.
Preserve the non-existent, guard the existent — accomplished in an instant.
The returning wind blends and merges; after a hundred days, the effort proves efficacious.
Silently attend upon the Supreme Lord — in twelve years, one ascends in flight.
Those who know easily awaken; the deluded find it difficult to practice.
Vaguely, indistinctly; dimly, obscurely.
Preserve the non-existent, guard the existent — accomplished in an instant.
The returning wind blends and merges; after a hundred days, the effort proves efficacious.
Silently attend upon the Supreme Lord — in twelve years, one ascends in flight.
Those who know easily awaken; the deluded find it difficult to practice.
《心印经》为道教内丹修炼的核心经典。"上药三品"指精、气、神三宝，是内丹修炼的根本要素。"恍恍惚惚，杳杳冥冥"描述修炼入静时的恍惚状态。"回风混合"指内丹修炼中精气神合一的功法。"一纪"为十二年，指修炼飞升所需的时间。
The Heart-Seal Sutra is a core text of Daoist inner alchemy (neidan). The "Three Supreme Medicines" — Essence (jing), Qi, and Spirit (shen) — are the foundational elements of neidan cultivation. "Returning wind blending" refers to the technique of uniting the three treasures. "One cycle" (twelve years) represents the time needed for transcendence.
The Heart-Seal Sutra is a core text of Daoist inner alchemy (neidan). The "Three Supreme Medicines" — Essence (jing), Qi, and Spirit (shen) — are the foundational elements of neidan cultivation. "Returning wind blending" refers to the technique of uniting the three treasures. "One cycle" (twelve years) represents the time needed for transcendence.
修炼要诀Essential Techniques of Cultivation
履践天光，呼吸育清。出玄入牝，若亡若存。
绵绵不绝，固蒂深根。人各有精，精合其神。
神合其气，气合体真。不得其真，皆是强名。
神能入石，神能飞形。入水不溺，入火不焚。
神依形生，精依气盈。不凋不残，松柏青青。
绵绵不绝，固蒂深根。人各有精，精合其神。
神合其气，气合体真。不得其真，皆是强名。
神能入石，神能飞形。入水不溺，入火不焚。
神依形生，精依气盈。不凋不残，松柏青青。
Treading in the heavenly light, nurturing clarity through breathing.
Exiting the mysterious, entering the feminine — as if vanishing, as if existing.
Continuously without interruption, firmly rooted deep.
Each person has their own Essence; Essence joins with Spirit.
Spirit joins with Qi; Qi merges with the body's truth.
If one does not attain the true, all names are merely forced.
Spirit can enter stone; spirit can make the body fly.
Entering water without drowning, entering fire without burning.
Spirit relies on form to manifest; Essence relies on Qi to be full.
Neither withered nor damaged — like the evergreen pine and cypress.
Exiting the mysterious, entering the feminine — as if vanishing, as if existing.
Continuously without interruption, firmly rooted deep.
Each person has their own Essence; Essence joins with Spirit.
Spirit joins with Qi; Qi merges with the body's truth.
If one does not attain the true, all names are merely forced.
Spirit can enter stone; spirit can make the body fly.
Entering water without drowning, entering fire without burning.
Spirit relies on form to manifest; Essence relies on Qi to be full.
Neither withered nor damaged — like the evergreen pine and cypress.
"出玄入牝"出自《道德经》第六章"谷神不死，是谓玄牝"，指出入于玄妙的生死之门。"神能入石，入水不溺，入火不焚"描述修炼有成者所具有的神通，类似佛教"六神通"的概念。"松柏青青"比喻修道者得道后身心如松柏般长青不衰。
"Exiting the mysterious, entering the feminine" echoes Dao De Jing ch.6 about the "Valley Spirit" and "Mysterious Female." Descriptions of spirit entering stone, walking through water and fire describe supernatural powers (shentong) attained through cultivation. The pine and cypress metaphor represents the practitioner's eternally vital body-mind.
"Exiting the mysterious, entering the feminine" echoes Dao De Jing ch.6 about the "Valley Spirit" and "Mysterious Female." Descriptions of spirit entering stone, walking through water and fire describe supernatural powers (shentong) attained through cultivation. The pine and cypress metaphor represents the practitioner's eternally vital body-mind.
心印之旨The Purport of the Heart-Seal
三品一理，妙不可听。听之不闻，视之不见。
无为之理，天道自然。一得永得，自然身轻。
太和充溢，骨散寒琼。得丹则灵，不得则倾。
丹在身中，非白非青。口诵真经，妙在至诚。
心心相印，是为心印。持诵万遍，妙理自明。
无为之理，天道自然。一得永得，自然身轻。
太和充溢，骨散寒琼。得丹则灵，不得则倾。
丹在身中，非白非青。口诵真经，妙在至诚。
心心相印，是为心印。持诵万遍，妙理自明。
The three grades share one principle — wondrous beyond hearing.
Listening, one hears nothing; looking, one sees nothing.
The principle of non-action: the Way of Heaven is naturally so.
Once attained, forever attained — the body naturally becomes light.
Supreme Harmony overflows; bones scatter like cold jade.
Obtain the Elixir, and it is efficacious; fail to obtain it, and all is lost.
The Elixir is within the body — neither white nor blue.
Recite the true sutra with utmost sincerity.
Heart seals heart — this is called the Heart-Seal.
Recite ten thousand times; the wondrous principle will naturally become clear.
Listening, one hears nothing; looking, one sees nothing.
The principle of non-action: the Way of Heaven is naturally so.
Once attained, forever attained — the body naturally becomes light.
Supreme Harmony overflows; bones scatter like cold jade.
Obtain the Elixir, and it is efficacious; fail to obtain it, and all is lost.
The Elixir is within the body — neither white nor blue.
Recite the true sutra with utmost sincerity.
Heart seals heart — this is called the Heart-Seal.
Recite ten thousand times; the wondrous principle will naturally become clear.
"三品一理"总结精气神三宝归于一个根本原理。"心心相印"是"心印经"得名之由来，意为以心传心、不假文字的直接体悟。"丹在身中，非白非青"指内丹无形无色，不可以外相求之。"持诵万遍，妙理自明"强调修持功夫的渐进性和必然性。
"Three grades, one principle" summarizes the unity of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. "Heart seals heart" is the source of the sutra's name — direct mind-to-mind realization beyond words. "The Elixir is neither white nor blue" means the inner elixir has no form or color. "Recite ten thousand times and the principle becomes clear" emphasizes the gradual yet inevitable nature of cultivation.
"Three grades, one principle" summarizes the unity of Essence, Qi, and Spirit. "Heart seals heart" is the source of the sutra's name — direct mind-to-mind realization beyond words. "The Elixir is neither white nor blue" means the inner elixir has no form or color. "Recite ten thousand times and the principle becomes clear" emphasizes the gradual yet inevitable nature of cultivation.
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