VIII. The Secret of Freedom
Wilhelm translates the title of this section as "A Magic Spell for the Far
Journey." He tends to read weird and superstitious ideas into the text. Then
again, it was not unusual for people of his time to expect Eastern ideas to be
exotic and mysterious. The word translated as "magic spell" actually means
a spoken teaching, or a secret teaching. It also comes to mean "secret" in the
everyday how-to sense of what is essential for success in accomplishing
something. As for "the far journey," this expression, which literally means
"roaming" and really means "freedom of action" is the title of the opening
chapter of Chuang-tzu, one of the most popular Taoist classics.
1. Jadelike purity is one of the "three purities" which are said to be realms
of higher awareness to which Taoist adepts and immortals ascend. Thus
they are representative of sources of inspiration for latter-day Taoist texts
received through mediums in trance.
According to Liu I-ming, "White snow symbolizes the energy of the
primordial unity; this is like the metaphor of ‘white light arising in the
empty room.’" That this white snow flies in "midsummer” means that
it is manifested in the "fire" of consciousness.
The "sun blazing" symbolizes positive energy, "water" stands for real
knowledge hidden within, and "midnight" represents profound
