Master Zhang Discusses Grains
Master Zhang: Some fellow practitioners have shared a lot about health preservation, but those of you who are here, I believe we share a common goal, which is health and longevity. This is true for everyone in society, whether they are human or animals… Everyone seeks health and longevity, so what will we discuss today?
First, let me introduce myself. I am a Chinese person. I sincerely identify as a Chinese person, a descendant of Yan and Huang, a student of our Daoist ancestors, especially as a student of our Daoist ancestors, I do not speak falsely. Confucius emphasized the importance of trustworthiness, but if a person loses their faith, they lose everything. If you deceive me once or twice, I will not believe you the third time. But I want to speak honestly; as the saying goes, to know the mountain road, one must ask those who have come back. But if you have never been up the mountain, you do not know the way back and forth. We are all Chinese. We do not speak falsely; we cannot deceive our fellow Chinese. Above us are our parents, below are your wives and children. Who are you deceiving? Deceiving others is deceiving oneself.
In the past, there was a person who specialized in making food and drinks. He clearly knew that there was poison in them, and he did not care if other people’s children consumed it, but when he saw his own children eat it, he became afraid. He knew there was poison in it. Now, everyone talks about longevity; why can’t we achieve it? Some foods are first poisoned; he only cares about making money and does not care about your life. This is the most terrifying thing. Are we all Chinese? Why, for the sake of making a little money, would one add poison? This is the most frightening.
So, what will I talk about today? Twenty years ago, I spoke about a formula called Sun and Moon Elixir at the Beihai Fleet in Qingdao. The sun hides in the moon, and the moon hides in the elixir, which is the mother. I spoke for two days and seven hours. In Qingdao, I talked about the character for light, which is like this lamp… If there is no fire, there is absolutely no light.
Now, I am in Jiangxi Longhu Mountain discussing the character for fire, which I spoke about for twenty minutes. The character for fire, what does it mean? In ancient times, every traditional character represents many Daoist principles. Without Dao, a character cannot exist. I spoke about fire and its significance. People talk about longevity; how can one achieve it? We have not found the path of life and death. It can be seen that our Daoist atmosphere has diminished for over three hundred years. There is a saying in Daoism: there are three thousand six hundred side paths, while Buddhism has eighty-four thousand side paths. These side paths also have their successes.
Why? It is a matter of whether the heart is correct or not. A correct heart can find success even in side paths. If the heart is not correct, even the proper path can lead to wrongdoing. Therefore, we must understand that this is truly speaking, representing a saying from Chairman Mao. Without practice, without investigation and understanding, one has no right to speak; this is a truth.
Now, everyone talks about grains. The character for grain cannot be separated from fire. But within fire, there is a person. A person dies from fire, and life also comes from fire. That fire is active, while water is passive. Without fire, nothing can move. The character for fire has two dots above it, representing the sun and the moon. The Dao speaks of the Dao, and above the Dao, if you circle it, that is the center of Wuji (the Ultimate), which is Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate). Therefore, this fire is of utmost importance.
Master Zhang: Today, I will talk about grains, specifically the five grains, which are three types of grains. Everyone here eats five grains; can you name them? What are the five grains (sorghum, wheat, rice, etc.)? Can anyone name the five grains? So, I will talk about these five grains. The first grain is the one we eat, which connects to the water and the earth… etc. This is the five grains.
Now, I will discuss which five grains. The first grain mentioned is millet, rice, and wheat, which is one grain. It is called fire grain, the fire of water and fire. The fruits we eat from trees, like apples, are called hanging grains, which belong to wood. The other one we eat, like watermelon, is called metal grain, which comes from the earth, such as potatoes and peanuts, which are called earth grains. The grains from water are called water grains. Even the water we drink counts as a grain. Everyone talks about fasting; I say, have you not fasted even one grain? I have fasted for eighty-seven days.
Regarding the five grains, we discuss three types: the heavenly five grains, the earthly five grains, and the cosmic five grains. The heavenly five grains are well known: the sun, moon, stars, Milky Way, and blue sky, which correspond to the five elements. The sun is fire, the moon is water, stars belong to earth, and some say stars belong to metal, placing thunder and electricity in the sky. The Milky Way belongs to metal, and the blue sky belongs to wood; these are the heavenly five elements and five grains.
The earthly five elements and five grains are what we just mentioned. What are the cosmic five grains? Wind, clouds, electricity, thunder, and rain. Thunder belongs to earth, electricity belongs to fire, clouds belong to metal, and rain belongs to water. Wind belongs to wood; these are the cosmic five grains. They are divided into three layers: upper, middle, and lower. We have compared heaven, earth, mountains and rivers, water and fire, infants, and the yin and yang… comparing back and forth. Thousands of metaphors, millions of metaphors, all are metaphors. Many who read alchemical texts often get confused by the names, over two hundred names. Where do you find them? Many people misunderstand alchemical texts. I have asked several great practitioners. We have not found the path of life and death, and I once told a joke: a blind person rides a blind horse racing in the mountains. Why?
The horse thinks that since the rider is on it, he must be able to see the road, so it runs wherever the rider directs. But the blind person believes the horse can see the road, so he lets the horse run freely. Thus, this person does not know the road and leads others to a dead end.
I just said, we are all Chinese, right? We leave our parents for just a short while, not even six inches long. We are born. We do not repay our parents’ kindness; what can we talk about? The most important thing is our parents, the great kindness of heaven and earth, only one mother, whose kindness is the greatest. Why? Many children, when they fall ill, their mothers would rather suffer the illness themselves than let their children suffer. An elderly person can support ten children, but now ten children cannot support one elderly person. Do you believe it? A son can throw his father from the third floor to the first floor; this happened last year in Guangxi, where a large village had six elderly people, lonely and isolated, calling their children who did not return. The houses were occupied by others, and the land was not farmed, leading two elderly people to hang themselves. What should we do about this? Let’s reflect on this issue…
Master Zhang: But I speak of the five grains, the heavenly five grains, the earthly five grains, and the cosmic five grains, which exist within us, right? Above us are the five elements. Inside us are the five organs, and the four great continents are all present. We look at this grain. If we remove the top part of the character, it becomes fire. The character for fire has two dots above it, and in the middle is a person. Therefore, we say this person comes from fire. The place of our birth, the door of life, the gate of death. How many are enlightened? This is all done by Master Zhang. As a practitioner, we must also consider well. We have left our parents, our wives, and children to join Daoism; why did we come? As long as one person is born, they should forget their parents’ kindness, so this person has no meaning.
The grain I speak of is within us. Look at the character for person. In the old society, people pointed at their noses and said, “What will you do to me?” Pointing at the nose means me. I am this person. The two dots above the character for person represent this thing. Let’s think again; I spoke at the Eight Immortals Palace about a riddle: above is hair, below is hair, and in the middle is a water grape. Please guess, please look, across the mountain, we do not meet. If you guess my secret, you are either a Bodhisattva or an immortal. Why do some people become trees? The Tathagata sits under the Bodhi tree, and Bodhidharma said he sat under the twin trees. It is better to be a tree; everyone knows the third month of the third month, the Queen Mother’s peach banquet, the Queen Mother has a peach tree, and the peaches are not big, just like grapes. The Golden Mother has a jinglang tree that bears jinglang fruits, which are inside this peach. There is a little one, and in the moon palace, there is a lead tree. Our Longhu Mountain’s Old Lord planted a cypress tree. In front of it, a sword was buried, called the sword tree.
Everyone who recites scriptures knows, the sword tree transforms into a bird, ascending to the Zhu Ling Mansion, descending into the opening light gate, transcending the three realms, directly ascending to the primordial heaven… We recite scriptures; this scripture is not meant for you to recite day and night; this scripture is the great path of cultivating Dao. So, it has been treated as a scripture. Last year, I spoke at the Eight Immortals Palace for nineteen days, discussing the “Quietude Classic” for two days, and the “Essence of the Golden Flower” which we Daoists know, the “Essence of the Golden Flower” was personally taught by Master Lü during the Kangxi era, and I summarized it over eighteen days.
Why are we here today? Are we not riding on the coattails of others? Not knowing our own height and size, the first thing is that we have not studied, which is the most regrettable thing, lacking culture. But we discuss the character for grain; the character for fire has a mouth below it, which is one grain. Look at our seven orifices; we have seven orifices in our body. One nose, look at the character for person, this stroke, this point. Does it not resemble a nose? What does it resemble? Today, some fellow practitioners are here, and there are also good Daoist friends. We are all Chinese. We must diligently and thoroughly study Chinese culture. This culture encompasses a vast amount.
It is a matter of one character. I remember in Nanyue, in Changsha, eight provinces gathered Qi Gong masters and great cultural figures, and I spoke about the character for body for three hours. Just the character for body, the current simplified character cannot be discussed. It is a character for person, a character for root, which cannot be discussed. In the past, the character for body included over one hundred and twenty characters, and it is not yet complete. That character for body hides over one hundred characters.
So, I told them, my book is called “Qi Body Source Flow.” Qi does not leave the body. The body does not leave Qi. No one can separate them. That is to say, the sun does not leave the moon, and heaven cannot leave the earth. Heaven rises from the earth. Everyone knows that the Qian hexagram belongs to metal, and the Kun hexagram belongs to earth, which shows that earth produces metal. Heaven rises from the earth. Therefore, the grain I speak of, we also eat these five grains.
This article represents the author’s views only.
Content sourced from the internet for reference only.
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