this action she then became recognized for her dedication to the Tao. Role for Taoist women Sun Bu'er serves as a model and matriarch for women who follow the tradition of Complete Perfection. She was the only woman to become one of the Complete Perfected. Women who ordained into Complete Perfection Order follow her spiritual path for women. Her determination to lead the life of a female ascetic, devoted to the Tao, and have inspired countless other women. Accomplishments Sun Bu'er wrote a set of fourteen poems and is credited with various alchemical works. She used her poems and verses to give women a general outline of the alchemical enterprise for women. The poems describe the cosmic connection of an individual's qi (energy flow) and the tendency of humans to fall into sensory complications. The poems outline the path to wholeness and how to achieve the "Tao" through meditation, breathing exercises, the reversion of qi, and ending menstruation. Sun Bu'er's poems reflect certain aspects of Taoist spirituality: that the cyclical changes in the human body and cycles of the seasons of the natural world are related. Sun Bu'er wrote about letting nature taking its natural course. This is an example of one of Sun Bu'er's poems used for her teachings: Projecting the Spirit There is a body outside the body, Which has nothing to do with anything produced by magical arts Making this aware energy completely pervasive Is the living, active, unified, original spirit The bright moon congeals the gold liquid Blue lotus refines jade reality When you've cooked the marrow of the sun and moon The pearl is so bright you don't worry about poverty (Cahill, 1996, p.62). Later life Sun Bu'er died in 1182, having predicted the hour of her departure. Before she died, she groomed herself, put on clean clothes, presented herself to her disciples, and recited a poem, therefore she was able to control her body and life. Sun Bu'er realized her original destiny by returning to the realm of immortals, reaffirming her role as a part of the eternal Dao. The surviving writings of Sun Bu'er consist of: "Secret Book on the Inner Elixir as Transmitted by the Immortal Sun Bu'er" (Sun Bu'er yuanjun chuanshu dandoao mishu) "Model Sayings of the Primordial Immortal Sun Bu'er" (Sun Bu'er yuanjun fayu) References Notes Bibliography Boltz, Judith M. (1987). A Survey of Taoist Literature: Tenth to Seventeenth Centuries.