The Collected Teachings of Zhong and Lu: Translation

A classic Daoist text on internal alchemy and cultivation. In three volumes, it is attributed to Zhongli Quan, compiled by Lu Yan, and transmitted by Shi Jianwu. Divided into eighteen treatises, the book uses a question-and-answer format to give a comprehensive and systematic account of the theories, methods, and results of internal alchemy cultivation. It systematically discusses eighteen questions on the practice of internal alchemy in the form of dialogues. The opening treatise discusses true immortals. It states that people are subject to the patterns of birth, old age, sickness, and death, but by cultivating the immortal way, one can remain at peace without falling ill, stay strong without growing old, and live without dying. "An immortal is not just one kind: pure yin without yang is a ghost; pure yang without yin is an immortal; a mixture of yin and yang is a human being. Only humans can become either ghosts or immortals. Those who fail to cultivate in their youth and indulge their desires will fall ill, die, and become ghosts. Those who understand and cultivate can transcend the ordinary, attain sagehood, shed their mortal bodies, and become immortals." Included as volume 116 of the Daoist Canon.