Written By Jun Heo(許浚, 1539~1615), Translated by Namil Kim, Wung Seok Cha et al., Published by Ministry of Health & Welfare (Korea)
01 The Spirit Is the Master of the Body 神爲一身之主 신은 우리 몸의 주인이다
① The Inner Classic (內經) says, “The heart is the king of organs from which bright spirit originates.”
② Someone said, “Heaven gives birth to Water, which becomes essence in humans, and Earth gives birth to Fire,
which becomes spirit in humans.”
③ The Recovery from the Myriad Diseases (回春) says, “The heart is the master of the human body, and it is a pure place surrounded by the pericardium. Of th at, in which the glorious essence is gathered is called the spirit. Spirit helps the flow of yin and yang, looks after the tiniest things, and yet there is no disorder in it.”
④ Shao Kangjie (邵康節) said, “The heart controls the spirit, the kidneys controls qi, and the head controls form. Spirit controls the exchange of form and qi in the center; this is the way of the Triple Gifts.”
⑤ The Inner Classic (內經) says, “The top priority of life nurturing is to nurture spirit, and the next priority is to nurture form. Therefore, one who nurtures spirit must be familiar with the fattening and emaciating of form as well as the rise and decline of
nutrient-defense qi and blood-qi. Because blood and qi are the spirit of a person, one should nurture it with great care.” Annotation say, “One lives long if one’s spirit is stable, but one’s form collapses if the spirit is gone. Therefore, it should be nurtured with great care.”
02 The Spirit Comes from the Five Flavors 五味生神 오미에서 신이 생긴다
The Inner Classic (內經) says, “Heaven feeds humans with the five qi, and earth feeds humans with the five flavors. The five qi enter the nose and are stored in the heart and the lungs. They ascend upward, lighten and make abundant the five colors, and make the voice come out cheerfully. The five flavors enter the mouth and are stored in the intestines and stomach. Each of them nurtures the qi of the five viscera. When the qi of the five viscera is created harmoniously, fluid and humor are formed, and spirit is created automatically.”
03 The Heart Stores Spirit 心藏神심은 신을 간직한다
① Quxian (臞仙) said, “The heart is the house of the bright spirit. Its inside is empty, and although its diameter is not wider than 1 chon, bright spirit stays in it. The way the bright spirit takes care of things is very smooth, as if untying the complexly twisted or crossing great water that seethes. During the day, when one is afraid, alert, pleased, or thinks deeply, the bright spirit burns like fire from the diameter of 1 chon. Moreover, if even a tiny bit of desire springs up, the bright spirit sends it back and does not accept it; this is when a person is fighting his or her conscience. This is how the seven emotions and six desires are created in the mind. Therefore, if the heart is calm, it connects with the bright spirit and so one knows even before things happen. One understands the world even before stepping outdoors, and understands the way of the heavens even before
looking out of the windows. The heart is like water; if kept calm for a long time, precipitatation sinks so one can look into its bottom clearly. This is called superconsciousness. Therefore, when the heart is calm, genuine qi gets stronger and various diseases will not be contracted, enabling one to live long. If even a tiny bit of thought comes to mind and spirit escapes, qi is
dissipated inside and blood flows after qi, bringing disorder to nutrient and defense qi. Thus all kinds of diseases attack. All this comes from the heart. Generally, if one nurtures the heart with joy, diseases will not be contracted; this is the way to control the heart.
② The Inner Classic (內經) says, “The heart stores spirit. If the spirit is excessive, the person cannot stop once laughter bursts out. If the spirit is deficient, one becomes gloomy.” The Annotation says, “The heart keeps the vessels and the spirit stays in the vessels. Therefore, if heart qi is deficient, one becomes sorrowful, and if heart qi is excessive, one cannot stop laughing.”
③ Huangfu Shian (皇甫士安) said, “One becomes sorrowful when the heart is deficient. To be sorrowful means to worry. One laughs when the heart is excessive. To laugh means to be pleased.”
04 The Names of Spirits in the Body 人身神名우리 몸에 있는 신의 이름
① The Scripture of the Yellow Court (黃庭經) says, “The name of the liver spirit is Yongyeon (龍烟, smoke of dragon) and its alias is Ham-myeong (含明, hidden brightness). It has the height of 7 chon, wears bluish silk clothes, and carries a bell on which a picture of a phoenix is drawn. The name of the heart spirit is Danwon (丹元, top red) and its alias is Suryeong (守靈, to
protect divinity). It has the height of 9 chon, wears reddish silk clothes and a loose skirt. The shape resembles that of a dangling lotus flower that has not yet bloomed, and its color is red. The name of the spleen spirit is Sangjae (常在, existent at all times) and its alias is Honjeong (魂停, where ethereal spirit stays). It has the height of 7.6 chon, and it wears yellow silk
clothes. The shape resembles that of an upside-down jar, and its color is yellow. The name of the lung spirit is Hohwa (皓華, white flower) and its alias is Heoseong (虛成, to achieve deficiency). It has the height of 8 chon, wears an upper garment and skirt made of white cloth, and also wears a belt on which yellow clouds appear. Its shape resembles that of a perianth or an upside-down bell, and its color is reddish white. The name of the kidney spirit is Hyeonmyeong (玄冥, black and dark) and its alias is Yukyeong (育嬰, to raise baby). It has the height of 3.6 chon, and it wears dark blue silk clothes. The shape resembles that of a round stone, and its color is black. The name of the gallbladder spirit is Yong-yo (龍曜, bright dragon) and its alias is Wimyeong (威明, bright dignity). It has the height of 3.6 chon, and it wears a nine-colored silk upper garment and a gorgeous green skirt. The shape resembles that of a dangling gourd, and its color is blue.”
② In the Complete Compendium of the True Principles of the Golden Elixir (正理), it is written as the following; “Scripture of the Yellow Court (黃庭經) says, ‘The ultimate Tao (道) is not complicated. When one keeps wisdom, spirit is created in the mud ball palace and the entire body.’ There are too many names of spirits for me to list here. There are three positions in the body.
For the eight areas of the upper position, there are the hair spirit, chest spirit, eye spirit, nose spirit, ear spirit, mouth spirit, tongue spirit, and tooth spirit. For the eight areas of the middle position, there are the lung spirit, heart spirit, liver spirit, spleen spirit, left kidney spirit, right kidney spirit, gallbladder spirit, and pharynx spirit. For the eight areas of the lower position, there are the kidney spirit, large intestine spirit, small intestine spirit, intestine spirit, stomach spirit, diaphragm spirit, hypochondrium spirit, left yang spirit, and right yin spirit. In the body, there exist Gugungjinin (九宮眞人, the hermit living in nine palaces) [Ganggungjinin (絳宮眞人, the hermit named Ganggung (crimson palace)) for the heart, Danwongung jinin (丹元宮眞人, the hermit named Danwongung (top red palace)) for the kidneys, Nandaegung jinin (蘭臺宮眞人, the hermit named Nandaegung (orchid stand palace)) for the liver, Sangseogung jinin (尙書宮眞人, the hermit named Sangseogung (auspicious book palace)) for the lungs, Hwangjeonggung jinin (黃庭宮眞人, the hermit named Hwangjeonggung (yellow garden palace)) for the spleen, Cheonryeonggung jinin (天靈宮眞人, the hermit named Cheonryeonggung (heavenly and divine palace)) for the gallbladder, Hyeonryeonggungjinin (玄靈宮眞人, the hermit named Hyeonryeonggung (black and divine palace)), the small intestine, Malryeonggungjinin (末靈宮眞人, the hermit named Malryeonggung (last divine palace) for the large intestine, and Okbanggungjinin (玉房宮眞人, the hermit named Okbanggung (jade room palace)) for the bladder], and in the head also exist Gugung jinin (九宮眞人, the hermit living in nine palaces). [Because there are nine discretions in the brain, there are nine palaces in the head: the first is ssangdangung (雙丹宮, double cinnabar palace), the second is Myungdanggung (明堂宮, bright house palace), the third is Iwhangung (泥丸宮, mud ball palace), the fourth is Yujugung (wandering marble palace, 流珠宮), the fifth is Daejegung (大帝宮, great king palace), the sixth is Chunjunggung (heavenly yard palace, 天庭宮), the seventh is Gugjingung (極眞宮, ultimate truth palace), the eighth is Hyundangung (Black cinnabar palace, 玄丹宮), and the ninth is Daehwanggun (Great yellow palace, 大皇宮)]. Moreover, there are Geumru (金樓, golden tower), Jungmun (重門, heavy door), and Sipyijeongjang (十二亭長, twelve long arbors). There are 18,000 yang spirits outside the body and 18,000 yin spirits inside the body. That which commands these is Ganggung jinin (絳宮眞人, the hermit named Ganggung (crimson palace)), i.e., the master heart. There also exist the three bodies spirit, four wisdom spirit, three ethereal spirit spirit [Sangryeong (爽靈, refreshing divinity), Taegwang (胎光, birth light), Yujeong (遺精, remaining essence)], seven corporeal spirit spirit [Sigu (尸狗,
dog corpse), Boksi (伏矢, lying arrow), Jakeum (雀淫, cunning sparrow), Bidok (飛毒, blowing poison), Cheonjeok (天賊, sky enemy), Jeye (除穢, removing the filthy), Chwisa (臭師, smell master)], seven sources, and eight knowledge spirits. Their pseudonyms or aliases are innumerable. The master heart is the king of the body, and all spirits take orders from it. Therefore, when one empties oneself and becomes superconscious, one becomes wise and spiritually awakened, and one changes oneself ten million times.”
05 The Five Viscera Store the Seven Spirits 五藏藏七神오장은 칠신을 간직한다
① The Inner Classic (內經) says, “What the five viscera store are as follow: the heart stores spirit, the lungs store the corporeal soul, the liver stores the ethereal soul, the spleen stores ideation, and the kidneys store will.” It also says, “The spleen stores ideation and wisdom and the kidneys store essence and will; they are called the seven spirits.” The Annotation says, “Spirit is
the result of a change in essence qi. The corporeal soul helps essence qi to work properly. The ethereal soul assists spirit qi. Ideation means to remember and not forget. The will is to keep one’s mind consistent and not to change.”
② Divine Pivot (靈樞) says, “That which comes into being when the essence of two people bind together is called spirit. That which follows spirit in and out is called the ethereal soul. That which comes in and out with essence is called the corporeal soul. Remembering by one’s mind is called ideation. That which embraces ideation is called will. Handling things by thinking first is called wisdom.”
