The Diagram of Borrowed Illusions and True Cultivation

Yan Shu carved the Cultivation Diagram into the Dunhuang caves, alluding to the legacy of the Mogao Caves, and transformed himself into the “Perfect Man” described in the Zhuangzi:

> His body, which “enters water without getting wet and enters fire without getting hot,” merged with the aura of “the true ones of antiquity” described in the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon.

> In the end, he understood: **cultivating the true through the false is not about achieving immortality, but about helping all beings understand the way of “being as careful at the end as at the beginning.”**

> This echoes the ultimate state in the Tao Te Ching: “He who dies but does not perish enjoys long life.”