(Minghui.org) Yin Changsheng was a famous Daoist in the Eastern Han period in ancient China, and many of the accounts about him come from Shen Xian Zhuan (Biographies of Divine Immortals) by Ge Hong in the Jin Dynasty (266 – 420 AD).
He was much respected and honored in the Dao community, not only because he obtained the Dao and became immortal, but also because he continued to help the ordinary people for many years before finally ascending to Heaven in broad daylight. The following are some stories about him based on ancient accounts of this legendary figure.
Yin Changsheng was born in Xinye (in present day Henan Province) into a wealthy, powerful, and prominent family descended from Empress Yin Lihua of Emperor Guangwu (5 BC – AD 57).
Young men from such a family background would usually pursue a career as a high-ranking official or general, but Yin Changsheng was different.
Instead of going after power, status, and wealth, he often stared at the morning dew, thinking: “Wealth is just like the morning dew, which disappears as soon as the sun rises, and privilege is no more than a cloud, which is gone with the wind. People with wealth and status end up as no more than a handful of earth in the end.”
He was unwilling to accept such a fate and began to search for a different way of life. He heard about a path of immortality that was said to enable one to reclaim one’s youth and transcend the cycle of life and death. So he left behind all the wealth and privilege and set out to search for the Dao.
He heard about Ma Mingsheng, a legendary Daoist master who was said to have attained the way of immortals. Yin Changsheng found him and became one of his disciples.
Even though Ma Mingsheng took him in, he never taught him any secrets of the immortal arts.
Day in and day out, year in and year out, Ma Mingsheng only talked about things in ordinary people’s lives and never said a word about alchemy or the cultivation of immortality.
Still, Yin Changsheng served his master with total respect and devotion and diligently carried out daily routines of fetching water, sweeping the floor, tending the fire, and other menial duties.
It’s said that, at the time, over 10 other seekers had found Ma Mingsheng and become his disciples, hoping that they would soon learn the secret to ascending to Heaven.
However, years passed, and their master still only talked about ordinary things. They gradually lost hope and started to complain about their master, saying he was a fraud who had deceived the world and sought fame under false pretenses. One after another, they abandoned Ma Mingsheng.
Yin Changsheng was the only one left in the end, and for over 20 years, he remained unwavering in serving Ma Mingsheng, without any sign of impatience or doubt.
What he didn’t know was that the long stretch of time itself was the most difficult part in the process of refining elixir, as the path to immortality is never lightly bestowed upon someone driven by impatience and the desire for quick achievement.
The true trial was not scaling lofty mountains or traveling arduous roads, but the ability to endure over 20 years of solitude and still remain unwavering in one’s devotion.
One day, Ma Mingsheng said to Yin Changsheng with a big smile, “I don’t remember how many people have come to learn from me, but you’re the only one worthy of the ‘Dao.’”
He then took Yin Changsheng to the top of Qingcheng Mountain and told him to fast and to lay out the cleansed alchemical vessels. Then he taught him Taiqing Shendan Jing (Scripture of the Divine Elixir of Supreme Clarity). When all was finished, Ma Mingsheng drifted away on a cloud to his own immortal destiny.
Yin Shangsheng followed the scripture, built a humble dwelling, and devoted himself to alchemy as the seasons passed. At last, he succeeded in refining a batch of golden elixirs.
He took some and immediately felt his body grow light and vigorous. His white hair turned black, the teeth that he had lost grew back, and the years seemed to fall away.
Most people who accomplished such a feat would ascend to Heaven straightaway, but Yin Changsheng chose to stay in the human world, because he couldn’t bear to abandon the suffering mortals in the mundane world.
Aside from alchemy, Taiqing Shendan Jing also included the art of alchemical transformation. He could turn stone into gold, but never used any for himself. Instead, he helped those in need—giving food to people who were hungry or clothes to those who were cold and quietly offering aid to the poor, the sick, the widowed, and the orphaned.
It’s said that he wandered in the human world for over 170 years, but he always looked youthful, like a young man.
Before he finally ascended to Heaven, he carved his life experiences into stone to inspire those destined to encounter his story.