Tao of gaining health, longevity, immortality. The teachings of the immortal Zhongli and Lu. Eva Wong

1. True Immortality.
Lu asked:
What should we do if we want to be healthy and not sick, young and not old, alive and not dead?
Zhongli said:
A man is conceived when his father and mother come together in loving intercourse and two couples meet.
The embryo is formed from the reproductive fluid and blood. After the original source of things arises, the original substance is formed. Yang starts this process - Yin completes it. As the vapor in the female womb grows, the fetus develops.
After 300 days, the fruit takes on a finished shape. Then a light-bearing spirit enters it, and the fetus is separated from the mother's body.
After the spirit has emerged from the depths of the original source, its breath begins to rise and fall, and yellow sprouts begin to grow. After 500 days, the steam reaches its greatest strength.
If the numbers amounted to 81 - development is completed, puberty has been reached. At the age of 15, half of Yin is already Yang, and a person is as bright as the rising sun. After puberty, Yang begins to subside. When the true steam of life is wasted over the years, illnesses overcome us and death comes. Indeed, due to our own ignorance, we damaged the light of the spirit.
And bad deeds shorten our years, affecting the term of the future life. For we die after we are born, and when we die, we are born again. There was a birth - death will follow.
But, despite countless cycles of incarnations, a person continues to persist in his ignorance, therefore, with each new arrival in this world, he gets deeper and deeper into samsara, so that he can no longer even be born in human form. And once a lost spirit takes on the shell of an animal or plant, its original nature is greatly distorted, which means that it will be very difficult to be born again as a human being.
Thus, trapped in endless cycles of incarnations, he will never free himself again. If he climbs, he will meet an immortal, who, having lightened the burden of karmic retribution, will take the spirit into a different shell. Then again there will be a chance to be born human.
If, when incarnating not in the world of people, you take care of the accumulation of good deeds, then as a result you can ascend to a higher level of existence. Even if we were born lame, or if we spent our whole lives beggars, and yet reclaiming our human form. However, if we return to our old habits and begin to do bad deeds, then an endless cycle of birth and death will take possession of us.
Lu said:
People who were born in the Middle Lands in times of peace know no need for food or clothing. However, it worries them that the years of life fly by so quickly. Everyone would wish himself good health, no one likes to be sick; Everyone values ​​life and fears death. Today I was lucky to meet a great teacher. I would like to take advantage of this good fortune to ask you about life and death. I dare to hope, enlighten me how to prolong the years of life and gain immortality.
Zhongli said:
If people want to avoid being born in the lower realms, they must overcome sickness and old age, death and suffering. They should become their heads to Heaven, their feet to be rooted in the Earth. Let them live, holding Yin, embracing Yang - then after death they will not become incorporeal ghosts. If one cultivates the Tao while in human form, there is a chance to achieve true immortality. Having become immortal, if they continue to follow this path, they will join the host of celestials.
Lu asked:
A person dies - and becomes a ghost. Comprehends Tao - and acquires immortality. Isn't immortality the greatest goal of cultivation? Why, then, being immortal, one still has to ascend to the celestials?
Zhongli said:
Not all immortality is the goal of cultivation. A being that is completely Yin and has no Yang at all is a ghost.
A being who is completely Yang without any Yin is a true immortal. People are always half Yin, half Yang. Therefore, their fate is either to become a ghost, or immortal. If we indulge our desires all our lives and do not cultivate the Tao from a young age, then when we die, we become ghosts. And if we practice diligently, over time we leave the limitations of human existence, we cross the hall of the kingdom of the blessed saints and, throwing off the human shell, we become true immortals. There are five types of immortals in total, one above the other, and three cultivation paths.
Lu asked:
What are the three paths of cultivation and the five levels of immortality?
Zhongli said:
The three paths of cultivation are the Lesser Path, the Middle Path, and the Grand Path. And the five levels of immortality are the immortality of the ghost, man, Earth, Sky and Spirit.
Ghosts have their own realm;
The immortal man free to leave the human world;
The earthly immortal is imprisoned within the earth;
The spirit resides in the realm of spirits;
And the abode of heavenly immortals is Heaven.
Lu asked:
Who are immortal ghosts?
Zhongli said:
These are the lowest of all immortals that got rid of death, being in the realm of the dead. Their spirit is weak, dim, and they have no name or title. Although they do not need to be born again, they cannot enter the country of Peng Lai. So they wander between the kingdoms of the living and the dead, until they decide to reincarnate among people.
Lu asked:
How does a person become an immortal ghost? What methods did he follow when he was alive?
Zhongli said:
Many try to cultivate the Tao, but the Tao itself is not understood. Wishing to reach the goal as soon as possible, they speed up the practice. As a result, their bodies become brittle, like dry wood, and their minds are dead, like cooled ashes. Hoping to keep the spirit inside, they persist in their intention. And so, when they enter a state of rest, only the spirit of Yin is released. That is why they become spiritless ghosts, but they cannot become immortal pure Yang. The Yin spirit does not dissipate after the death of the body, which is why such a person is called an immortal ghost. However, although there is talk of immortality here, in fact, this is just a ghost, devoid of spirit. All those who unfoundedly classify themselves as Buddhists, incorrectly practicing sitting meditation, usually end up with this.
Lu asked:
Who then are immortal people?
Zhongli said:
They ascended to the second level of immortality. Such people are engaged in cultivation, but they do not fully understand the laws of Tao. Knowing only one method, they spend their whole lives working on only one aspect of cultivation.
As a result, pairs of five elements interact at random and it is impossible to control the transformations in the body.
However, despite such mistakes, the body is still very strong, and no illnesses take it after, which allows you to enjoy excellent health and longevity in the world of people.
Lu asked:
And what methods are practiced by immortal people?
Zhongli said:
When they started cultivating, they knew about the principles of the Great Dao. But bad karma and demons that nest in the mind led these beginners astray. As a result, little benefit comes from practice. Although the methods are executed correctly, the change of seasons is not taken into account at all.
Maybe this he is a novice and abstains from the five tastes, but knows nothing about the six pairs. Maybe he subdued the seven senses, but he doesn’t know about ten abstinences. And so it happened: the one who practices the swallowing of saliva - blackens those who control the breath. The one who extracts Qi through intercourse considers those who walk the solitary path to be just fools. Who collects the pairs of Heaven and Earth - refuses to abstain from cereals. Those who practice visualization and absorb the essences of the Sun and the Moon refuse rubbing and massage. Also, many in sitting meditation try to slow down their breathing. Violating their body with unnatural postures, do they know that they need to practice following nature? Can we say that they are familiar with the principle of non-intervention?
There are many who do not understand that absorbing the Yin of a woman is not the same as pressing the scrotum to the perineum during meditation. And that the practice of sucking a woman's breast does not at all mean cultivating an inner elixir. I am not even able to enumerate all the methods that the ignorant use, hoping that one of them will give them immortality. Although each technique, albeit modestly, works, it is still not a holistic path. One small part of any one method inside one of the paths - that's what it is. The biggest thing you can count on here is health and long life. However, it is worth practicing this smallness incorrectly - and trouble is not far off. Instead of health, diseases will pile up; instead of longevity, premature death will come. Such cases are by no means rare.
Lu asked:
Who are earthly immortals?
Zhongli said:
The earthly immortals are halfway between the earthly and heavenly kingdoms. There is both the opportunity and the strength to become immortal of the spirit, but since Tao is not fully comprehended, only this level is available. Such cultivation does not reach full perfection, and the