its extreme gives birth to yang. In people, this is the time of beginning
movement when stillness has reached its extreme. This movement from the
extreme of stillness is precisely when the great medicine appears. However,
this movement is not the stirring of emotions at external influences, and it is
not the stirring of thoughts in the mind.
1.
It is the movement of the innate knowledge of the natural mind, the
movement of the real knowledge of the mind of Tao"
8.-9. In psychophysiological Taoist energetics, water is associated with the
genitals, fire is associated with the heart: the intercourse of water and fire is
then defined as placing the attention (associated with the heart) in the lower
abdomen (associated with the genitals). According to The Book of Balance
and Harmony, this practice is in the lower grade of gradual methods. The
attitude toward this practice expressed here by The Doctrine of the Golden
Flower is another typical indication of its purism.
16. The "water-clarifying pearl" is a Buddhist metaphor for enlightenment,
or for the pure mind.
18. The "jade capital" is a Taoist symbol for the supreme spiritual state.
Nine is the number for yang, symbolizing positive energy in full bloom;
dragons represent the inconceivable fluidity of spirit.
