Observations placeholder

Extract from the  Guanzi (管子) : THE INNER ENTERPRISE (Neiye內業) - translation by Robert Eno

Where essence is stored there is spontaneous life:
externally it blooms in contentment,
internally it is stored as a wellspring.
Flood -like, it is harmonious and even,
the fountainhead of the qi.

When the fountainhead never runs dry,
the limbs are firm.
When the wellspring is never exhausted,
the nine bodily orifices are penetrating.

Thereupon one may exhaust heaven and earth
and cover the four seas.
Within, there are no confused thoughts,
without, there are no irregular disasters.

The heart complete within,
the form is complete without:
encountering neither disasters from Tian,
nor harm from man.

This is called: the sage

When a man is able to attain balanced tranquility,
his skin is sleek, his flesh full, his eyes sharp, his ears keen,
his muscles taut, his bones sturdy.
And so he is able to carry the great circle of heaven on his head
and tread upon the great square of earth.

He finds his reflection in the great purity and sees by the great light.
Attentive and cautious, he never errs,
and every day renews the force of his virtue.
Knowing everything in the world and exhausting the four poles of the earth,
he attentively nurtures his plenitude:
this is called: grasping within.

To be so and never to revert
is life without error.