Changsheng Gong: Longmen alchemy for life, Heart Sutra for nature-of-mind.
“Nature” means clarity of mind; “life” means healthy form and qi. One-sided practice tends toward empty quietism or fixation on the body. Dual cultivation is the stable path.
Our ming practice draws on Longmen Daoist alchemy: breath regulation, foundation building, opening Ren and Du, and running the Small Heavenly Circulation so qi can flow and self-repair.
Our xing practice follows the Heart Sutra: seeing the five aggregates as empty, the mind without obstruction, without fear, far from inverted dreams.
Nan Huai-Chin notes that Chan and Daoism can illuminate each other on mind-nature and form-qi. We take that as an orthodox cultural foundation—not personal deification.
Daoism refines form and qi to fulfill life; Chan points directly to mind-nature to fulfill nature. Nature and life need each other for completion.
Ming moves qi; xing sees through clinging. Together, the mind settles and qi steadies.
Once seated, gather the gaze inward—not by staring hard, but by gently reclaiming outward-roaming spirit.
When breath is even, rest the heart in the center (or dantian). Neither chase thoughts nor fight them—simply know.
This is where the Golden Flower’s “return the light and guard the center” meets the Heart Sutra’s “observing at ease”: light does not flee outward; the mind does not seek outside.
Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, when practicing deeply the Prajñāpāramitā, saw the five aggregates as empty and crossed beyond all suffering.
In deep wisdom, the bodhisattva sees form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness as empty—and thus passes beyond suffering.
Form is not other than emptiness; emptiness is not other than form. Feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness are likewise.
Matter and emptiness are not two; the same is true of the other aggregates.
All dharmas are marked by emptiness: not born, not destroyed, not stained, not pure, not increasing, not decreasing.
Emptiness is originally beyond birth and death, purity and defilement, gain and loss.
In emptiness there is no form, no aggregates; no eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind; no sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, dharmas; no eye-realm up to no mind-consciousness realm.
In emptiness, sense bases and sense objects are not clung to as ultimately real.
No ignorance and no ending of ignorance, up to no aging-and-death and no ending of aging-and-death; no suffering, arising, cessation, path; no wisdom and no attainment.
Even dependent arising and the four truths are not seized; wisdom and attainment are not seized.
With nothing to attain, bodhisattvas rely on Prajñāpāramitā; the mind is without obstruction. Without obstruction, there is no fear; far from inverted dreams, they realize nirvana.
Because nothing is grasped, the mind is free of obstruction and fear, and settles in liberation.
All Buddhas of the three times rely on Prajñāpāramitā and attain complete awakening. Know this prajñā as the great bright mantra that truly relieves all suffering.
Buddhas awaken by this wisdom; it truly relieves suffering.
Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā.
Gone, gone, gone beyond, gone altogether beyond—awakening, fulfilled.
One line per chapter—our public theoretical backbone. Consult transmitted public-domain editions for the full text.
The heavenly heart is the pivot; outward, it scatters; inward, it gathers.
Distinguish clear yuan-shen from clinging shi-shen; turn recognition back to the origin.
Do not cast the light outward; guarding the center is the Golden Flower’s entry.
Returning light and refining breath support each other; fine breath gathers spirit.
Names common mistakes so practitioners avoid force and attachment to forms.
Describes rightful signs for honest verification—without self-deception.
The method is alive; do not freeze into one rigid form.
Ease of heart softens qi.
Build the foundation first; do not skip stages.
Discern true nature-light from clever consciousness-light.
Water and fire balance within; yin and yang consort inwardly.
Heavenly circulation joins Ren and Du in orderly flow.
Practice in daily life; do not leave human ethics behind.
Designed for desk-bound engineers: short, steady, sustainable.
Stand after waking, soften knees and waist, fine breath to the dantian. Seek clarity, not intensity.
Before sleep, gather the gaze inward, rest the heart in the center; recite a Heart Sutra line or simply abide with breath.
Each hour, stand, soften the waist, roll the shoulders, and take three long fine breaths into the lower abdomen.
Orthodox practice values steadiness over spectacular signs.
Attention should be light. Heavy pushing stagnates qi and can cause chest tightness or head pressure.
Lights and sounds may appear—let them pass. Do not take illusions as proof.
Avoid practice within an hour of a full meal or after drinking. During menstruation or after surgery, reduce or pause—follow medical advice.
After rage or deep grief, even the breath before deciding to sit.