Dongui Bogam_20_Sayings of the Early Sages

[先賢格言]
[Sayings of the Early Sages]

眞人養生銘曰, 人欲勞於形, 百病不能成, 飮酒勿大醉, 諸疾自不生, 食了行百步, 數以手摩肚, 寅丑日剪甲, 頭髮梳百度, 飽卽立小便, 飢則坐漩尿, 行處勿當風, 居止無小隙, 常夜濯足臥, 飽食終無益, 思慮最傷神, 喜怒最傷氣, 每去鼻中毛, 常習不唾地, 平明欲起時, 下床先左脚, 一日無災殃, 去邪兼辟惡, 如能七星步, 令人長壽樂, 酸味傷於筋, 苦味傷於骨, 甘卽不益肉, 辛多敗正氣, 醎多促人壽, 不得偏耽嗜, 春夏少施泄, 秋冬固陽事, 獨臥是守眞, 愼靜最爲貴, 錢財生有分, 知足將爲利, 强知是大患, 少慾終無累, 神靜自常安, 修道宜終始, 書之屋壁中, 將以傳君子.
It is said in Son the Wise Man's Inscription on Nurturing Life (眞人養生銘): All diseases do not occur if people work using their bodies, and if people do not drink until drunk. One must rub his abdomen with his hands and walk 100 steps after having meals. On In days and Chuk days, cut the fingernails and toenails, and comb the hair 100 times. Urinate while standing if full, and urinate while sitting if hungry. Do not walk around when it's windy and stay in a room with no holes. One must lie down with cleaned feet before going to sleep, and not eat until full. Too much thinking harms the spirit; too many emotions damage qi greatly. Cut the nose hair often and do not spit on the ground. When one wakes up in the morning, step with the left foot first to prevent troubles, pathogenic qi, and evil spirits. When one practices the Seven Star Walk (七星步, A type of training that was modeled after the Big Dipper), one lives long and becomes happy. A sour taste hurts sinews, a bitter taste hurts bones, a sweet taste hurts flesh, a hot taste hurts essence-qi, and a salty taste hastens death. Therefore, one must not purposely take one taste. One must not let go much during spring and summer and abstain from sexual intercourse during autumn and winter. Sleeping alone protects genuine qi, and calmly restraining oneself is the biggest treasure. Money and wealth have their places among humans; therefore, one must know how to be satisfied. Effort on trying to know by force is the biggest worry; eventually, there would be no trouble if one lets go of desire. Keeping the spirit calm and being comfortable all the time are the two things one must always keep in mind when training the Dao. I am writing this on the wall to let the wise men know." 

孫眞人枕上記曰, 侵晨一椀粥, 晩飯莫敎足, 撞動景陽鍾, 叩齒三十六, 大寒與大熱, 且莫貪色慾, 醉飽莫行房, 五藏皆翻覆, 火艾謾燒身, 爭如獨自宿, 坐臥莫當風, 頻於煖處浴, 食飽行百步, 常以手摩腹, 莫食無鱗魚, 諸般禽獸肉, 自死禽與獸, 食之多命促, 土木爲形像, 求之有恩福, 父精母生肉, 那忍分南北, 惜命惜身人, 六白光如玉.
It is said in the Records on Sleeping (孫眞人枕上記) by Son the wise man: "One must eat a bowl of porridge in the early morning, and not eat too much for dinner. Click the upper and lower teeth together 36 times when Gyeongyangjong (景陽鐘, a bell for announcing the start of dawn) sounds. One must avoid extreme heat or cold; one must not hover over sexual desires or have intercourse after getting drunk or eating too much as this will lead the five viscera turning inside out. Moxibustion is not as good as sleeping alone. Do not sit or lie down at a windy place. Take a warm bath often. Walk 100 steps after eating fully and rub the abdomen often with your hands. Do not eat fish without scales and meat of all kinds of animals. Eating the meat of an animal that has died naturally will hasten death. There will be favors and luck if one seeks luck by making figures with soil and wood. How can the essence from the father and body from the mother be divided? A person who cares for one's life and body has the glow of six white lights like jade." 

孫眞人養生銘曰, 怒甚偏傷氣, 思多太損神, 神疲心易役, 氣弱病相因, 勿使悲歡極, 常令飮食勻, 再三防夜醉, 第一戒晨嗔, 亥寢鳴天鼓, 寅興漱玉津, 妖邪難犯已, 精氣自全身, 若要無諸病, 常須節五辛, 安神宜悅樂, 惜氣保和純, 壽夭休論命, 修行本在人, 若能遵此理, 平地可朝眞.
In the Inscription on Nurturing Life (孫眞人養生銘) by Son the wise man, it is said: "Too much anger hurts qi; too much thinking hurts spirit. When the spirit gets tired, the heart is also likely to get tired; when qi gets weak, diseases occur. Do not grieve or enjoy too much, and eat various foods evenly. Do not get drunk at night; do not get angry in the early morning. Play the heavenly drum when going to bed at hae time (9:00 pm 11:00 pm), clean the teeth with saliva waking up at in time (5:00 am 7:00 am) to prevent pathogenic qi and let essence qi spread over the body. One must always restrain from the five spicy foods (refers to spring onion, garlic, chives, scallion, and ginger) if one does not want to get any disease. One must always live happily and joyfully to put one's spirit in a comfortable state. One must retain one's placid and pure nature to save one's own qi. One must not argue over the fate of long life and young death and keep training oneself. The training is up to oneself. If one keeps these methods, the essence can be met even in daily life." 

常眞子養生文曰, 酒多血氣皆亂, 味薄神魂自安, 夜漱却勝朝漱, 暮飡不若晨飡, 耳鳴直須補腎, 目暗必當治肝, 節飮自然脾健, 少思必定神安, 汗出莫當風立, 腹空莫放茶穿.
In the Writings on Nurturing Life (養生文) by Chang Zhenzi, it is said: "Too much alcohol scatters blood qi, and eating lightly flavored foods puts the spirit and ethereal soul in a comfortable state. It is better to clean the teeth at night than in the morning, it is better to eat in the morning than at night. One must tonify the kidneys if the ears ring, and tonify the liver if the eyes are blurry. Restraining from drinking wines naturally leads the spleen to become healthy, and less thinking always comforts the spirit. Wind should not be faced when sweating and tea should not be taken too much on an empty stomach."

東垣省言箴曰, 氣乃神之祖, 精乃氣之子, 氣者, 精神之根蔕也. 大矣哉, 積氣以成精, 積精以全神, 必淸必靜, 御之以道, 可以爲天人矣. 有道者能之, 予何人哉, 切宜省言而已.
In the Discipline of Self-examination (省言箴) of Dongyuan, it says: "Qi is the grandfather of spirit, and essence is the son of qi; therefore, qi is the origin of essence-spirit. How great it is! Stack qi to gather essence, and stack the essence to complete the spirit. Following the Dao calmly with a pure mind, one will be able to become the heavenly man. What kind of person am I? Here I am, earnestly reflecting on myself." 

丹溪飮食箴曰, 人身之貴, 父母遺體, 爲口傷身, 滔滔皆是. 人有此身, 飢渴洊興, 乃作飮食, 以遂其生. 睠彼昧者, 因縱口味, 五味之過, 疾病蜂起, 病之生也. 其機甚微, 饞涎所牽, 忽而不思, 病之成也. 飮食俱廢, 憂貽父母, 醫禱百計. 山野貧賤, 淡薄是諳, 動作不衰, 此身亦安. 均氣同體, 我獨多病, 悔悟一萌, 塵開鏡淨. 曰節飮食, 易之象辭, 養小失大, 孟子所譏. 口能致病, 亦敗爾德, 守口如甁, 服之無斁.
In the Discipline of Intaking Food and Drink (飮食箴) by Danxi, it says: "The precious body from parents easily gets damaged from food; this is also the tendency of present days. Hunger and thirst appear continuously in the body; that is why one must always cook and eat as one lives. The people who are foolish eat delicious food as much as they please; that is why so many diseases occur like a swarm of bees and people get sick. Although qi and flavor are weak, if one eats too much as one pleases, diseases occur without notice. Then the person will not be able to take in food, causes worries to parents, and needs much help from the doctors. Poor from the mountains are not sluggish and are in a comfortable state since they are used to lightly flavor food. If one realizes one of the reasons why he has so many diseases despite the same qi and same body as others, it would be like the mirror cleaned of the dust and becoming clean again. The saying 'restrain on your food' is a line in the Book of Changes(易之象辭), and the saying 'save little things to lose big things' is a satire of Mencius. The mouth causes diseases and damages the virtue of men. Closing the mouth like the mouth of an alcohol bottle and eating healthy food will bring comfort in eating food." 

丹溪色慾箴曰, 惟人之生, 與天地參. 坤道成女, 乾道成男, 配爲夫婦, 生育攸寄, 血氣方剛, 惟其時矣. 成之以禮, 接之以時, 父子之親, 其要在玆. 睠彼昧者, 徇情縱慾, 惟恐不及, 濟以燥毒. 氣陽血陰, 人身之神, 陰平陽秘, 我體長春, 血氣幾何, 而不自惜. 我之所生, 翻爲我賊. 女之耽兮, 其慾實多, 閨房之肅, 門庭之和. 士之耽兮, 其家自廢, 旣喪厥德, 此身亦悴. 遠彼帷薄, 放心乃收, 飮食甘味, 身安病瘳.
In the Discipline of Sexual Desire (色慾箴) by Danxi, it says: "The life of a human corresponds to the universe. The Dao of Gon creates female and the Dao of Geon creates male. They couple to become spouses for each other; giving birth and raising children starts from the couple. There is a right time for the blood-qi to reach its peak; therefore, one must marry according to the custom and have intercourse according to the right time. The secret of the close relationship between parents and children can be explained by this. Those who are foolish only follow after their desires and fear only of their lack of essence and take dry and toxic medicines. Qi is yang and blood is yin, and together they form the spirit of a human. One must balance yin and store yang well to keep the youth of one's body. Why should one not save one's blood-qi when there is so little? The act that led to my birth might harm my own health. When the wife enjoys the intercourse too much, her desire for it might be uncontrollable. It is important for the peace in the family that the wife is chaste and virtuous. When a scholar craves sexual pleasure, the family will fall, the virtue will be lost, and the body will weaken. Scholars should keep their distance from women's quarters and reinforce the passion towards study and eat well, and then the body will be healthy and the diseases will be gone."