There are many signs of verification, but they will not come to people with small minds and small capacities who only work for themselves. One must have a desire to help all beings to reach the other shore. You must not practice with a careless and arrogant attitude; you must take the high ground and work for the liberation of all beings.
证验亦多，不可以小根小器承当，必思度尽众生。不可以轻心慢心承当，必须请事斯语。
When there is uninterrupted continuity in quietude, a sense of joy appears as if one is freshly bathed. This is a sign that yang energy is harmonious throughout the whole body; then the Golden Flower begins to bud. Once the ten-thousand flutes are all silent, and the bright moon is up in mid sky, one feels the whole earth as a world of light and luminosity. This is a sign that the mind is open and present, and the Golden Flower is blooming.
静中绵绵无间，神情悦豫，如醉如浴，此为遍体阳和，金华乍吐也。既而万籁俱寂，皓月中天，觉大地俱是光明境界，此为心体开明，金华正放也。
Once the whole body becomes strong and firm, you do not fear wind or frost. When you face situations that make people feel desolate facing them, your vital spirit shines even brighter. This is like a house built of yellow gold with a terrace of white jade. Rotten things in this world become alive instantly with one breath of true energy from me. Red blood becomes milk. The 7-foot physical body is all gold and jewels. This is a sign that the Golden Flower is crystallized.
既而遍体充实，不畏风霜，人当之兴味索然者，我遇之精神更旺，黄金起屋，白玉为台；世间腐朽之物，我以真气呵之立生；红血为乳，七尺肉团，无非金宝，此则金华大凝也。
The first stage of verification corresponds to the signs mentioned in the Amitayurdhyana Sutra (The Contemplation Sutra), which include sunset, great body of water, and trees in rows. Sunset means that through destruction the foundation is set up. Highest good is like water, pure and spotless. It is the ruler of the great polarity, the emperor emerging from the East (the direction of the trigram Zhen 震 ☳). Zhen is symbolized by wood, so the sutra presents it with the image of a row of trees. A sevenfold row of trees represents the light of the seven apertures.
第一段，是应《观无量寿经》云：“凋落大水，行树法象。”日落者，从混沌立基，无极也。上善若水，清而无暇，此即太极主宰，出震之帝也。震为木，故以行树象焉，七重行树，七窍光明也。
The second stage is built upon this; at this point the whole earth becomes a jewel ground of ice crystals; the light gradually solidifies. Therefore a great terrace arises and then the Buddha appears upon it. When the golden essence appears, what can it be if not the Buddha? For the Buddha is the golden immortal of great enlightenment.
第二段，即肇基于此，大地为冰，琉璃宝地，光明渐渐凝矣。所以有蓬台而继之有佛也，金性即现，非佛而何，佛者大觉金仙也。此大段证验耳。
Now there are three signs of verification that can be tested. The first is when you are sitting, the spirit enters into a state of meditation as if you are in a valley. When you hear people talking, it is as though from far away, yet clearly understood; all sounds are like echoes in a valley. You definitely hear it, yet you are not the one who hears it. This is called the spirit in the valley; it can be experienced by oneself at any time.
现在证验，可考有三；一则坐去，神入谷中，闻人说话，如隔里许，一一明了，而声入皆如谷中答响，未尝不闻，我未尝一闻，此为神在谷中，随时可以自验；
The second sign is your eyes seem lighted in the midst of quiet, and everything around you turns incandescent. It’s like opening your eyes while you’re in a cloud – you don’t see your body any more. This is called the empty chamber producing (white) light. Inside and outside are permeated with luminosity. This is very auspicious sign.
一则静中，目光腾腾，满前皆白，如在云中，开眼觅身，无从觅视，此为虚室生白，内外通明，吉祥止止也。
The third experience is when in the state of quietness, the energy of the physical body becomes soft and pure like silk or jade. It feels as though you are floating upward. This is the spirit returning to heaven. Eventually, after a long time, you can ascend there.
一则静中，肉身絪縕，如绵如玉，坐中若留不住，而腾腾上浮，此为神归顶天，久之上升可以立待。
These three experiences can be verified now, yet still it’s impossible to explain them thoroughly. Each person has their own particular verifications, according to their individual faculties and capacities. In the Buddhist text Stopping and Observing, this is called the emerging manifestations of good roots. Such things are like when people drink water, only themselves know how cool or warm it is. In the same way, once can only rely on oneself to see the truth in practice.
此三者，皆现在可验者也。然亦是说不尽的，随人根器，各现殊胜。如《摩诃止观》中所云：“善根发相是也。此事如人饮水，冷暖自知，须自己信得过方真。
If you have experienced the primordial energy from you own practice, the elixir immediately crystallizes. This is a grain of real millet pearl. A grain, then another grain, they appear from vagueness to clarity. There is primordial energy manifested as a pill in every moment; there is also general primordial energy which extends from one pill to infinity. Each grain has each grain’s power. Above all, this requires a strong will and individual fortitude.
先天一炁，即在现前证验中自讨，一炁若得，丹亦立成，此一粒真黍珠也。一粒复一粒从微而至著。有时时之先天，一粒是也，有统体之先天，一粒乃至无量是也。一粒有一粒力量，此要自家愿大，为第一义。
Buddha Mind 