2. Essence is open and spacious, like the sky; life is a quantity of energy,
like light. When the text talks about the two eyes guiding attention, it means
that both spacelike awareness and specific perception are operative at the
same time.
3. This passage introduces the idea of a succession of transmitters of the
teaching of the golden flower, to link it with the Way of the ancients.
4. The honorific name Taishang (T’ai-shang) refers to the metaphysical
reality represented by Lao-tzu, legendary author of Tao Te Ching the basic
classic of Taoism. Donghua (Tung-hua) was the teacher of Zhongli Quan
(Chung-li Ch'uan), who was the teacher of Lu Yan (Lu Yen). Lu Yan is the
“Yan" mentioned in our text; he is regarded as the immediate ancestor of
the Completely Real (Quanzhen/Ch’uan-chen) school of Taoism, which was
founded by his disciples and descendants in the eleventh and twelfth
centuries.
.
The teaching of the golden flower itself is attributed to Lu Yan. There are
numerous conflicting stories about the life and times of Lu Yan, but in
Taoist tradition it is widely believed that he attained immortality and is still
alive. Most of the texts attributed to Lu Yan were received by spiritual
communications centuries after the founding of the Complete Reality
school and were not written by Lu himself.
