法苑珠林 31.28

31.28

Pengzu of the Yin had the personal name Keng and was a great-great-grandson of Emperor Zhuanxu. By the end of the Yin, he was already seven hundred and sixty-seven years old, yet was not frail or aged. In his youth, he was fond of calm and quiet, did not care for worldly affairs, did not strive for reputation, and did not adorn his carriages or robes, concerning himself only with nourishing life and cultivating his body. Hearing of his longevity, the king appointed him a grand master, but he constantly claimed illness and lived in leisure, not taking part in government affairs. He was skilled in the arts of supplementation and therapeutic gymnastics (daoyin), and ingested water-cinnamon, mica powder, and deer antler, constantly maintaining a youthful appearance. He held his breath in internal respiration: from dawn until midday, he would sit leaning forward, wipe his eyes, rub and knead his body, lick his lips, swallow his saliva, and circulate the breath several tens of times, only then rising to walk, speak, and laugh. If there was any fatigue or unease in his body, he would practice daoyin and breath-holding to attack the affliction, keeping his mind focused on preserving the body—from the head and face, the nine orifices, the five viscera, and the four limbs, down to the hair, making them all present—and feeling the breath circulate through his body, starting from the nose and mouth and reaching down to the ten toes. The king personally visited to inquire after his well-being, bestowing precious rarities and curiosities totalling tens of thousands over time, all of which Pengzu accepted only to relieve the poor and lowly, keeping almost nothing for himself. There was also the Palace Lady (Cai Nü), who had also attained the Dao in her youth and understood methods for nourishing the form. At the age of two hundred and seven, she looked as if she were fifteen or sixteen. The king served her, building for her a splendid house and purple pavilions in the revolving courtyard, adorned with gold and jade. He then sent the Palace Lady in a light carriage to go and inquire about the Dao from Pengzu. The Palace Lady received all the essential methods and taught them to the king. The king tested them and found them effective, and wished to kill him. Knowing this, Pengzu left, no one knowing where he went. More than seventy years later, a disciple saw him west of the Moving Sands. The king was unable to constantly practice Pengzu’s Way; he attained a lifespan of one hundred and three years, with physical strength as robust as when he was fifty. Later, obtaining a woman of Mao who was seductive and licentious, the king lost the Way and passed away. It is commonly transmitted among the folk that the reason Pengzu’s Way was not taught to others was on account of the king’s prohibition. When Pengzu left the Yin, he was seven hundred years old, and this was not the end of his life. (These two verifications above come from the Shenxian Zhuan.)