示门人三首
一思一虑觉分神，怎敢留心惹绊尘。
断制万缘混是假，修完一性泱全真。
Every thought and each worry can be felt dividing the spirit
Letting the mind adhere to them risks being bound by the world.
Assay the true, distinguish from the false amongst confused conditions
And refine to completion the single essence: great complete perfection.
人我关头生死关，劝人推倒我人山，
人我既除心性善，自然跳出死生圈。
The issue of self is the gate of life and death
The personal self is a mountain I urge you to beat down
The real self is nothing but eliminating mind to expose the essence of goodness
The leap beyond the circle of life and death then occurs naturally.
欲要元初一点明，须教猿马两停停。
心清意净三丹结，虎绕龙蟠四象成。
To ignite the primal light
Teach both monkey and horse to stop
Clear the mind, settle thought, and link all three elixirs.
Then tiger circles the twisting dragon,
And all the elements unite.
Ma Danyang taught that avoiding leakage was a key technique, even just for basic health:
Wasted jing, extinguished spirit — these simply lead to premature death. Those who would aspire to the Dao must avoid excess in this regard.
Others, of less intelligence, quip that the span of their life is set by fate, why not enjoy it?
But the old saying warns: when the oil dries up, the lamp goes out; when the marrow is exhausted, a person dies. You must know that jing/essence is the root and basis of your body — how long does a tree last when its root is cut away?
To nourish life, first treasure the jing/essence. When the jing/essence is full, qi will flourish, and then the spirit will be hearty, the body healthy, with few illnesses. The organs inside will function perfectly, the skin outside will glow, your visage will be bright, your eyes and ears and brain sharp! And all of this from reducing the wastage of jing/essence in your youth. If you have done this, and on top of this can reduce desire altogether, you will live a good long life.
But Ma was also a healer. The Grand Compendium of Acupuncture (Zhen Jiu Da Cheng (針灸大成) by Yang Jizhou records a collection of Ma Danyang’s acupuncture methods in a section called “The Poem of Ma Dangyang’s Twelve Heavenly Star Points for The Treatment of Miscellaneous Diseases”(馬丹陽天星十二穴治雜病歌).
The poem outlines a simple method of choosing 12 points from the upper and lower limbs to treat diseases of the whole body. The 12 points are :
ST-36 Zusanli (足三里); ST-44 Neiting (內庭); L.I.-11 Quchi (曲池);
LI.-4 Hegu (合谷); BL-40 Weizhong (委中); BL-57 Chengshan (承山);
LIV-3 Taichong (太沖); BL-60 Kunlun (崑崙); GB-30 Huantiao (環跳);
GB-34; Yanglingquan (陽陵泉); HE-5 Tongli (通里); LU-7 Lieque (列缺).
The Fat Monk 