1.
the person controlling the puppet is like the innermost self. The
movements of the body are not done by the body; it is the mysterious
pass that makes it move. But though it is the action of the mysterious
pass, still it is the innermost self that activates the mysterious pass. If
you can recognize this activating mechanism, without a doubt you can
become a wizard."
3. Midnight stands for the moment of transition from rest to activity; noon
stands for the moment of transition from activity to rest. The whole line
means "all the time " but special attention is called to the transitions
represented by midnight and noon, which occur not only from day to day
but also from hour to hour in action and rest and from moment to moment
in thought.
4. The "primal opening" is described by Chang Po-tuan in his Four
Hundred Words on the Gold Elixir in these terms: "This opening is not an
ordinary aperture: made by heaven and earth together, it is called the lair of
spirit and energy" (The Inner Teachings of Taoism).
5. The "river source that produces the medicine" is an image from Chang
Po-tuan's Understanding Reality, which says, "If you want to know the
location of the river source which produces the herb, it is just in the
southwest, its original homeland." Liu I-ming explains, "The southwest is
the direction of earth, the realm where the new moon returns, where yin at
