《中道妙法莲华经》

At that time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning was in the Guanghua Heavenly Palace of the Daluo Heaven. He summoned the celestial immortals and expounded the teaching of the “liberation of the ten extremes” and of the “five uninterrupted offenses” (five kinds of extremely grave karmic offenses that bring unceasing suffering).

Among those assembled was a Perfected One named Zuoxuan. Kneeling upright before the Celestial Worthy, he respectfully asked, “What are meant by the ten extremes and the five uninterrupted offenses?”

The Celestial Worthy then answered in verse:

The Limitless fills the whole of empty space, yet living beings have never heard of it. I have gathered the immortals to expound widely the teaching of liberation, so that suffering in the hells may cease; now you celestial immortals have already understood. Songs drift down from the sky, and the sun and moon shine upon the jasper terraces. Hearing the immortals’ teaching of liberation, the true immortals rejoice without end. They then follow the immortals and make offerings and attend upon them according to what is needed. They gather firewood and fruit and supply them at all times; with their minds fixed on the wondrous teaching, they are diligent without slack and, for all living beings, earnestly cultivate the Great Dao (the Way). May this protect and uphold themselves, and also protect the five grains and medicinal substances. Because there was once a great king who prayed that this teaching be upheld and who later attained immortality, I expound it for you today.

At that time the Celestial Worthy told the assembled immortals, “I now expound this wondrous teaching for you. Immeasurable living beings can all thereby attain liberation.”

Thereupon the hosts of celestial immortals, offering powdered flowers, fine incense, sandalwood and aloeswood, bedding and garments, jeweled necklaces, banners and pennants, precious canopies, music and dance, and the like, sang praises and made reverent offerings to the jasper terrace of the seven treasures and to the immortal sages of the ten directions. Immeasurable living beings also took refuge in the Way of the immortals. At this moment the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning again spoke in verse:

As Heavenly Lord (sovereign of the celestial realm), I ought properly to abide in the heavens; yet even while dwelling in the state of Wuwei (non-action), I have still come in order to seek the Teaching. Why do you not diligently seek the Teaching? This gateway of the Teaching is now profound and mysterious, and so I have come here.

By the power of spiritual abilities, I have set out seats of the Teaching for you immortals and arranged this place as a pure and majestic ground, covered all over with lotuses. Beneath the jeweled trees are all manner of rare treasures, giving forth a beautiful fragrance that spreads throughout the celestial realm. Living beings, suffused by it, are so filled with joy that they can scarcely contain themselves, like small branches shaken by a great wind. By means of these expedient devices I have caused this Teaching to be transmitted, and I admonish you great immortals: “After I withdraw into the void, who will be able to uphold, recite, and expound this scripture (Jing)?”

Now, in the presence of you venerable ones, I personally make an oath. Although Zuo Xuanzhen has long remained hidden in the void, he will still give forth the lion’s roar (a metaphor for proclaiming the true Teaching with majesty and force). The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun), a venerated deity of Daoism, by a vast vow assembles his transformation bodies. You ought to understand this intention, and you ought also to understand that I, together with Zuo Xuanzhen, jointly propagate the wondrous Teaching.

You true disciples (cultivators of the Way): whoever can uphold this Teaching can thereby make an offering. I and Zuo Xuanzhen jointly propagate the wondrous Teaching, while Youxuan travels through the worlds of the ten directions; for the sake of this scripture, offerings are likewise made to the transformation-immortals who have come to the assembly. You ought to understand: whoever can uphold this Teaching can thereby make an offering. You transformation-immortals arrive in solemn majesty, your bodies radiating light. In each of the worlds, if someone expounds this scripture, it is as though one personally beholds the transformation bodies of the immortals and the immortal host present.

Chapter Two: Great and Extensive Transformation

At this time, the good men in the assembly all reflected in quiet concentration: to accomplish these things is truly very difficult, and so one ought to make a great vow.

To expound many scriptures (Jing), even in numbers too great to calculate, does not count as difficult; to lift Mount Sumeru (the great mountain in the Buddhist cosmology) and hurl it somewhere else does not count as difficult; to shake the realms of the immortals (the worlds where immortals dwell) with a toe and fling them far away into other lands does not count as difficult; to stand in the Summit Heaven (the highest heaven of the Form Realm) and preach the teaching to the multitudes does not count as difficult. But to expound this scripture in an evil age (an age filled with suffering and strife) is what is truly difficult.

Even if someone holds empty space in his hands and walks about in every direction, that does not count as difficult; after I have returned to Heaven, to copy and uphold this scripture oneself, or to have others copy it, is the difficult thing. To place the great earth upon a toenail and raise it to the Brahma Heaven (one of the heavens of the Form Realm) does not count as difficult; after the immortals have transformed and departed, even to read this scripture for a short while in an evil age is the difficult thing. Thereafter, if one can recite and uphold this scripture and explain it to even a single person, or have others copy it, that too is very difficult.

Even if someone has mastered the eighty-four thousand Dharma gates and the thirty-six honored scriptures, expounds them for others, and causes the listeners to attain spiritual powers and freedom, that does not count as difficult; after the immortals have transformed and departed, to be able to hear and receive this scripture and inquire into its meaning is the difficult thing. Even if someone preaches the teaching so that thousands of millions of beings, too many to count, all come to understand it, that does not count as difficult; after the immortals have transformed and departed, to be able to revere and uphold such a scripture is the difficult thing.

I have cultivated the Dao (the Way) of the immortals in countless lands, and from the past down to the present I have widely proclaimed every kind of scripture; among all these scriptures, this one is the most important. If anyone receives and upholds it, I shall rejoice. That person follows the immortal and attends to everything he needs: gathering fruit, drawing water, picking melons and fruit, collecting firewood, preparing the ritual meal, even offering his own body as a bed and seat; he never feels weary, and neither body nor mind grows slack. In order to obtain this scripture, he serves the immortal for a thousand years, diligent without pause, so that the immortal never lacks anything he requires.

At that time, the Great Dao (Dao, the Way) spoke in verse: “In seeking the teaching, I was willing to make myself a servant and never felt weary. Now that I have become an immortal, my spiritual powers manifest of themselves, and I shall guide and instruct deluded beings, urging them not to plant evil causes, for karmic retribution will surely come.”

At that time, a female immortal named Jintong, before the whole assembly, said to the hosts of the various heavens: “Good and evil in the human world are all produced through the workings of the mind. Falling into hell, rebirth as an animal, and the different forms of life—born from the womb, from an egg, from moisture, or by transformation—all result from causes, conditions, and karmic retribution. If one can cultivate and accomplish the Dao of immortality, one may leave the three evil paths of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals. To save countless deluded beings, bring them all to gather and jointly proclaim this Jing (scripture).

“For example, if someone cultivates good conduct, they will accumulate good karma and obtain good results. If they take an evil path, the karmic causes will appear: they may be reborn as a camel and suffer the burden of carrying heavy loads; or as a python and suffer the accumulation of venom; or as fish or turtles and suffer drifting and sinking; or as birds and suffer capture in nets; or as pigs or dogs and suffer filth and degradation; or as donkeys or mules and suffer the repayment of old debts; or as plow oxen and livestock and suffer the toil of farming; or they may even be reborn in a lowly kind of immortal body.

“Good men, after I have instructed you, if you can carefully receive and uphold, read, and recite this scripture, then please make a vow in the presence of the Great Dao: this scripture is not easy to uphold, yet if anyone upholds it even for a time, I shall rejoice, and the immortals will rejoice as well. Such a person will be praised by the Dao of Heaven, is one who cultivates with courageous vigor, and is one who cultivates the true Dao. By practicing compassion, one can more quickly realize the fruit of the immortal Dao.

“If in a future age someone upholds and recites this scripture, that person is a true immortal, abiding in the realm of pure goodness, taught by the Great Dao and able to understand the meaning of the scripture. Such a person is one of clear sight among the beings of the heavens; even in a world that inspires fear, they can still proclaim this scripture for the multitudes, and therefore they should receive the offerings of all immortals.”

End of Scroll One of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing (the Most High Scripture of the Lotus of Wondrous Dharma of the Central Dao)

Scroll Two

Chapter Three: The Great Dao of the Immortals

At this time the Great Dao of the Immortals, together with the host of immortals, said: “In former times, in order to seek the Miaofa Lianhua Jing, my mind was never remiss. Among the heavens I constantly upheld the Great Dao (Dao, the Way), pursuing carefree freedom, and my resolve never turned back or grew scattered.

“Then an immortal came and said to me: ‘I have a scripture of the Great Vehicle called the Miaofa Lianhua Jing. If you do not disdain me, I will expound it for you.’

“Hearing these words, the Great Dao of the Immortals rejoiced. Contempt, slander, and every other kind of suffering—indeed all suffering—arise from the karmic fruits that each one receives; the causes and conditions involved are not the same.”

At this time the Great Dao of the Immortals spoke in verse:

“The karmic causes that were made still remain there,

and they are not of ten kinds only;

when retribution comes it is swift as a gale—

I urge people not to take the wrong path.”

Chapter Four: Accordant Practice

At this time the immortal Asi exhorted me, so that I attained wisdom that penetrates without obstruction, and with the mind of his vow he instructed me, enabling me to help all deluded beings cut off their afflictions. Afflictions come on as swiftly as a gale; therefore one urges people not to take the wrong path.

At that time, through the counsel of the immortal Asi, I attained wisdom that penetrates without obstruction. The immortal revealed to me the heart of his vow: that I should help all beings who have lost their way to cut off craving and desire and to remove affliction. They constantly commit evil acts—sexual misconduct, false speech, harsh words, sowing discord, hatred and jealousy, loathing and anger, insulting others, killing, slander and abuse, theft and oppression, deliberately nursing resentment, and crafty deceit—and these pile up into every kind of fault, violating the ten unwholesome dharmas. Such people are like those shot by a sharp arrow toward hell, scarcely able to draw near heaven. Beings suffer and cannot escape the round of rebirth. Long sunk in delusion and ever caught in the sea of suffering, they have no chance to see me or the immortals of the heavens. Beyond the Azure Heavens, the jasper terraces and purple palaces are places where golden sands flow and care is left far behind.

At that time the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) stood in dignified composure. White light issued from between his brows, a rare fragrance spread from his mouth, and he spoke wondrous words of free and unfettered ease. Amid the Azure Heaven, wrapped in five-colored auspicious clouds, the Celestial Worthy expounded the Scripture of the Wonderful Dharma Lotus. When the hosts of heavenly immortals heard this scripture, they recalled that countless kalpas earlier they had encountered the way of the immortals, the Dao (the Way). Now was the time for cultivation. Free of sorrow and vexation, at ease and joyful, with auspicious clouds about them, they came together to receive the Celestial Worthy. All joyfully took their leave and withdrew.

End of Scroll Two of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing (Supreme Scripture of the Middle Way of the Wonderful Dharma Lotus).

Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing, Scroll Three

Chapter Five: Following What Is Correct

At that time the Primordial Celestial Worthy summoned the heavenly immortals and the immortals who had come into being through the transformation of divine spirits. They arrived from innumerable worlds, each paid homage to the Celestial Worthy, and then took seats to one side.

Then the Perfected of the Left Mystery came forward and addressed the Celestial Worthy: “We earnestly beg the Celestial Worthy to extend great compassion, to take pity on us, and to expound this wondrous scripture for us. The immortals who have come through transformation are now all assembled, and among them those who have long cultivated also long to hear the Celestial Worthy’s compassionate teaching.”

The Celestial Worthy then said to the Celestial Worthies and heavenly immortals present: “Since I attained the Dao, I had not yet heard this scripture. Once it is heard, one gains free and unfettered ease. Now that you hear and receive it, I hope you may surpass me.” He then spoke a verse.

I will teach and transform all living beings, rescuing those lives trapped in the three paths—hell, hungry ghosts, and animals, the three conditions of suffering—so that all who cultivate immortality may in the end attain the Dao (the Way). Through a thousand million million nights I abide in the void, manifesting terraces and pavilions of precious jade and cloud-roads leading to the Biluo (the celestial realm); celestial music sounds of itself, luan birds call, and phoenixes dance. I further manifest rare fragrances that form carriages among the clouds, touring the world and bringing to rest the sufferings of hell. From then on, living beings are without sorrow or affliction, as if they had drunk sweet dew. The myriad things are generated and transformed by the Great Dao, and immortals assist alongside them, so that beings gain liberation, suddenly awakening from deviant and deluded minds, spared the suffering of cyclic rebirth, and forever freed from the three paths.

Cultivation should be undertaken with a mind of equality; I act only to relieve suffering. The six faculties—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—are kept ever pure, and a thousand forms of deviance and delusion withdraw of themselves; unobstructed wisdom is gained, and the Dao of long life appears from this. The Great Dao bestows profound teachings from on high, and living beings ought to take them upon themselves and put them into practice. When the time of liberation comes, one can penetrate the path of the immortals, body and mind pure and joyful; by methods of compassion one nourishes living beings as rain falls, heals their bitter illnesses, and constantly proclaims wondrous principles.

Chapter Six: Bestowed Instruction

At this time, Yuanshi Tianzun, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, proclaimed to the assemblies of all the heavens the meaning of “Haikong” (the Sea of Emptiness), causing innumerable spirits to manifest their numinous powers of themselves. When I expound the Huangting Jing (Scripture of the Yellow Court), the Left Mystery comes to assist me; when I speak of recondite and mysterious principles, the Right Mystery explains them for me; when I speak of the Dao of Wuwei (non-action), Yin Xi keeps company with me; when I speak of the methods of long life, I make the human lifespan as long as Heaven, and I spread these teachings throughout the human world, so that they become the Dao of the Great Physician who saves the age. I possess a wondrous scripture that can enable living beings to transcend the nine grades (the nine ranks of realms). At this, the Celestial Worthy offered praise in verse, saying:

Some immortals dwell in deep and secluded grotto-abodes, cultivating mind and spirit (Shen) and refining elixirs, in the hope of attaining the mysterious Dao (the Way). Some immortals remain amid the dusty world, exercising unobstructed wisdom to teach and transform the people, and likewise hope to attain the Dao. Some immortals outwardly move through ordinary custom, while secretly practicing subtle methods to rescue all living beings, hoping to attain the Dao.

Some immortals sit beside the Eastern Sea and cultivate for more than ten million years, hoping to attain the Dao. Some immortals are broad in learning and surpassing in wisdom, and have committed to memory the written words of all manner of classics, hoping to attain the Dao. Some immortals do not eat the five grains, taking only plants such as pine and cypress, and further harmonize the water-and-fire Qi (vital energy) of body and mind by playing the qin, hoping to attain the Dao.

Some immortals walk the wild wastes with precious swords in hand, subduing ten kinds of demonic obstacles, hoping to attain the Dao. Some immortals are proficient in Fulu (talismans and registers), arts of prohibition, and incantations, and are able to dispel calamities and command ghosts and demons, hoping to attain the Dao. Some immortals ride the azure luan upon the sea, helping living beings pass through the fortunes of the kalpa and turn toward the path of immortality, hoping to attain the Dao. There are still others who recite the scriptures (Jing) and chant the Dongzhang (Daoist scriptural texts), rescuing ordinary mortals, and they too hope to attain the Dao.

At this time, after the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun, a revered deity of Daoism) had finished the verses of praise, a Celestial Worthy of the Limitless in the assembly said, “I have heard this Jing (scripture). The nine mysterious generations and seven ancestors—referring broadly to a family’s ancestors through successive ages—can all ascend to the celestial palaces. How much more, then, can all living beings now suffering attain liberation? Even if they undergo the five uninterrupted torments—extreme and unceasing suffering—and immeasurable pain, they will still be freed, as fierce sunlight melts frost and snow.

“The scripture says that the blind and the deaf will recover their keen faculties; the poor will gain abundance; the deranged will recover their original nature; those of humble station will be raised; the gravely ill will be cured; the mute will be able to speak; the blind will see light again; the lame will be able to walk; and pregnant women will find their bodies light and easy. Those sunk in lust, ignorance, or anger will each be able to leave these faults behind. Amid the five turbidities—the defiled and disordered condition of the world—living beings will be transformed. The dead will regain vitality; malign spirits will flee far away; depletion will turn to plenty; thieves will give rise to compassion; famine will be met with fullness; fires will subside; and after floods the earth will return to stability.”

At this time, the Celestial Worthy told the celestial immortals, “When I formerly sought the Dao (the Way), people came from the five directions, each expounding the realm of emptiness. Although their teachings differed, their voices were the same. I set forth the Dao, and the sound shook the ten directions, startling ghosts and spirits. I also heard the celestial beings of former ages in the upper realms expound the Dao, and knew that the transformations of the Dao are inexhaustible. Now there are living beings seeking the Dao. I ought to help them, so that they may quickly complete their cultivation.

“At that time, after the assembly had risen, music came of itself through the air to welcome them. Those able to cultivate and attain the fruit of the Dao will no longer cling to hatred and attachment, and will also remain far from ignorance, arrogance, anger, contempt and offense, sexual misconduct, careless speech, and harsh speech. They will act with unobstructed wisdom, relieving the poor and helping those who suffer.”

The Changshou Zhenren (the Perfected One who has attained long life and realized the Dao) respectfully addressed the Tianzun (Celestial Worthy): “May I soon accomplish the Great Dao (the Way), and keep far from delusion and arrogance, frequent anger and resentment, slighting and offense, sexual misconduct, bad faith and false speech, and evil and harsh words. May I practice unobstructed generosity and kindness, relieve the poor, and help those in suffering.”

The Changshou Zhenren again respectfully addressed the Tianzun: “May I soon accomplish the Great Dao.” At that time the Tianzun expounded the teaching for me. Never since my birth had I heard this Jing (scripture), and so I was able to become pure. Now I wish the Tianzun to expound the teaching for me once more, so that together with the Tianzun I may teach and transform all living beings in the world, and they need not pass through the Three Paths (three destinations of suffering, usually the hells, hungry ghosts, and animals).

Some living beings cheat others with scales and speak lies and false words; some slander and slight the Three Treasures (the Dao, the Jing, and the Master); some constantly practice theft and secretly harm others; some kill living beings and take life; and still others commit all manner of unwholesome deeds. May they all abandon deviant conduct and turn toward the correct Dao. Thereafter they diligently cultivate good deeds, come before the sages, and ascend to the heaven of Biluo, the Azure Empyrean, naturally obtaining joy. They can constantly hear the sound of the celestial drum and the singing of music, the sound never ceasing, while celestial beings lead them and accompany them. Living beings will also, time and again, pay homage and offer reverence, forever depart from the Three Paths, long roam the celestial realms, their bodies free and liberated, and be able to assist in cultivating the methods of the Dao, enjoying a lifespan of ten million years.

The celestial gods and holy assemblies of the ritual gathering paid their respects and withdrew.

End of Scroll Three of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing (Supreme Scripture of the Wondrous Dharma Lotus of the Middle Dao).

Scroll Four of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing

Chapter Seven: Liberation

At this time, the Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning addressed the assemblies of the heavens, saying: “From ancient times until now, people have never heard this supreme Jing (scripture/classic). If the beings of the world can act in accordance with the Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power), they may wander free and at ease, enjoying a natural happiness.

Long ago, there was a youth who traveled through many lands. He was clever and full of wisdom, and in every art and skill no one could match him. Sometimes he entered the mountains and forests, sometimes he lived in towns and cities, and he even served as a servant in other people’s households, yet he remained diligent without slackening. Joy was always in his heart, and he often sang the songs of the immortals. He neither grew angry nor harbored resentment.

Later he traveled to a small kingdom and came upon a lofty mountain. Rosy clouds and colored mists circled it on every side, and green waters flowed across the land. The youth then remained in the mountains, taking pine and cypress as his food in the morning and dwelling at night among the rocky cliffs and secluded valleys. As sun and moon succeeded one another, he continually recited the wondrous scripture. One day a white crane flew down from the sky, and the youth kept company with the white crane.

After several more centuries, heavenly youths and jade maidens (the immortal boys and female immortals of the celestial realm) came from the sky to welcome him. He was able to pay homage to the Yuanjun (a revered female immortal deity in Daoism), perfected the true Dao, and returned to the true Dao.

At that time, this youth harbored in his heart no thoughts of stinginess and craving, of jealousy, or of the five poisons (commonly referring to such afflictions as greed, anger, delusion, pride, and doubt). Later he further became an immortal, descended into the human world, rooted out demonic evils and poisonous creatures, rescued the common people, and removed their illnesses. One ought to practice the Dao in just this way.

This immortal is none other than myself.”

He further told the gods of the celestial realms: I observe that the people of the lower world do not cultivate the Ten Good Ways (ten kinds of virtuous conduct), and so I will teach and transform them, setting them on the Dao (the Way) of attaining immortality. Sentient beings in the world cannot escape the cycle of rebirth. Life is like a phantom in the sunlight, like water that has gathered, like the plantain and sparks struck from stone—brief and not enduring. It is also like a candle in the wind, like tender sprouts in a banana vale, like dreams and shadows, vanishing in an instant; and like the myriad forms in which afflictions appear.

Now is the time. The immortals have already attained the Dao, and they should further consider how to teach and transform sentient beings. Jade Maidens and Golden Lads (immortal youths who attend the gods and immortals) drive feathered carriages, coming and going among the Three Mountains, the Jade Terraces, the Purple Palaces, and the Azure Empyrean. They sing amid the radiance of the sun and moon and often roam the deep and mysterious distances. The Limitless Ninth-Rank Senior Minister Perfected, the Limitless Supreme-Rank Flowing-Aurora Perfected, and the Limitless Wondrous-Rank Left-Mystery Perfected were born together with you. They dwell always in the celestial realms and together discuss the affairs of the lower world. Sentient beings who have created evil karma, if they do not cultivate the wondrous Dharma, will in the end never gain liberation.

Chapter Eight: The Measure of Teaching

At this time the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) said to the hosts of all the heavens: It is like the great ocean, which can contain many lesser seas and, however great the volume of water, never overflows. Now the hosts of all the heavens are to go and teach those sentient beings who are lost in delusion. The people of the lower world must not grow slack. They should be diligent day and night, reciting the immeasurable wondrous scriptures (Jing) thousands of millions of times, and contemplating their own minds until the mind is as vast and open as empty space.

They must also display wondrous arts and manifest all manner of transformations: a body ten thousand zhang in height, the head touching heaven and the feet treading the sea; able to raise clouds and send down rain, and also to bring forth water beneath the feet and fire from the head, or water from the head and fire beneath the feet. All these spiritual powers are manifested in order to teach and transform sentient beings.

If someone suffers a grave illness, they transform into a skilled physician; if someone is held in confinement, they transform into one who helps him gain release; if someone walks a perilous road, they transform into a guide; if someone is trapped amid rivers, lakes, and seas, they transform into a boat; if someone is harmed by ghosts and specters, they transform into one who drives out demons and evil. They must also display every kind of transformation that soars through the void, causing flying dragons and mounts to rise aloft, scattering radiance over the Jade Terraces and playing all manner of music so that beings of heaven and humankind alike can hear it. In this way the sufferings in the hells may for a time be stilled, and ghosts, specters, and sprites will withdraw far away to other places.

At this time, within the ritual assembly, everything soared aloft through the void except the various bewitching and baleful beings. Flying dragons and galloping mounts passed back and forth in the air; resplendent colored light spread out into jade terraces, and flutes and songs of every kind arose. When the celestial beings heard this music, the bitterness of the hells was for a time stilled, and all manner of ghosts and spectral creatures hid themselves far away.

At this time, there was in the ritual assembly a Miaoxing Zhenren (a Zhenren who had attained the Dao), who spoke:

Heavenly flowers had fallen throughout the layered heavens, and the ritual assembly appeared along with them. These sights were transformations wrought by celestial beings, and a Dharma-rain moistened the vast sky. Immortal cranes danced in attendance upon the cinnabar halls, and phoenixes cried before the secluded grotto-palaces; numinous omens and auspicious signs appeared one after another from the void, too many to count. Jade Maidens and Golden Lads waited in attendance, and flowing rosy light illumined the purple heavens. The company sang upon the terrace of Biluo, and the Buxu Yuanjun (the female immortal who presides over the Buxu ritual) issued her command to relieve the sufferings of all living beings.

At this time, in the lower realm, certain disciples of the immortals who had heard the Dao and undertaken cultivation made great vows and gathered in the realm of Wuwei (non-action). They recited scriptures within secluded grotto-palaces and studied the arts of the Dao upon ancient lofty terraces. Although they already cultivated beyond the dusty world, they had not yet grasped the mystery of this wondrous scripture, and so they still needed to meet the Yuanjun and hear her expound the subtle principles.

When they heard the teachings set forth in the Xiaoyao Pin (Chapter on Carefree Wandering) and the Huangting Jing (Scripture of the Yellow Court), it was as if rain moistened parched earth, so that grasses and trees gradually gave forth fragrance. Once they heard the truly subtle methods of the Dao, they no longer suffered the pains of cyclic rebirth. Whether shoots great or small, or grasses and trees of every kind, all may grow by the nourishment of rain and dew; all who cultivate immortality, upon hearing the Xiaoyao Pin and the Huangting Jing, can pass beyond the realms of suffering, turn the sinful torments of Jiuyou (the deep places of the underworld) into occasions for ascent to heaven, cause every affliction to disperse, and return to the luminous realm of the host of the Perfected.

Here ends Scroll Four of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing (Scripture of the Lotus of the Wondrous Dharma of the Supreme Middle Way).

Scroll Five: the Jiuyou Pin, Chapter Nine.

At this time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) spoke of what is to be done when living beings in the lower world fall ill. One should devoutly invite a Daoist priest into the home, sweep and arrange the house, and set up an altar. Incense and candles, rare fruits, and famed flowers are offered with reverence; offerings are made according to the ritual, and this wondrous Jing (scripture/classic) is recited—one scroll, two scrolls, up to seven scrolls. The illness will then be cured, afflictions will cease, and one will naturally feel coolness and joy, while every kind of suffering will be removed forever. One may also recite an incantation and then sprinkle water on the sick person, so that he obtains coolness.

When someone is about to depart this life, he should be guided with words, so that the sick person lets go, in his heart, of attachment to the people and things he loves. The articles he used from day to day should be given away as alms. The revered master (a respected Daoist priest), before the Three Treasures—the Dao (the Way), the Jing, and the masters—is to announce in a loud voice, in the presence of all, that these articles will be donated. This is done so that the sick person may understand that impermanence is like a dream, and may avoid, at the point of death, an aching bitterness of pain like that of the hells. In the original text, this passage of guidance at the end of life is repeated once.

The merit of this person’s almsgiving in former lives, even the gift of a single coin, is recorded in full. Blessings and virtue cultivated for the deceased should likewise be carried out with dignity and purity. One should regard the holy Perfected of the Three Treasures with faith and reverence, and must not treat them lightly. Toward all who have left the household to cultivate the Dao in the Void, one should give rise to joy. Only then can the merit thus cultivated be preserved intact, and it will also appear clearly in later lives. Falling into the hells, or being reborn as an animal, is brought about by thoughts and by actions. The transformations of living beings differ in countless ways: some are born by transformation, some from the womb, and some from an egg. Each receives birth according to karma, and the merit obtained differs enormously. However one may accumulate fortunate recompense, in the end one must still receive birth and receive the consequences of karma according to one’s own causes and conditions.

Chapter Ten: The Transformation of the Multitude (Qunhua Pin)

At this time, the Perfected One Miaoyixing (Miaoyixing Zhenren) addressed the Celestial Worthy, saying, “I will exhort and transform all living beings, so that they may quickly attain the Dao and become immortals.” He then spoke a gatha:

All manner of supremely wondrous Jing are praised, and adorned with a hundred treasures and colored patterns; every kind of rare fruit and famed flower is offered, music is played, and the Cavern Stanzas (Dongzhang, the verse passages of the Daoist tradition) are chanted. Holding banners, one circles the altar ground and, with a sincere heart, widely performs offerings; rare and precious objects are solemnly arrayed, all of them presented to the venerable images.

One praises these supreme and wondrous scriptures (Jing), adorned with a hundred treasures and patterned in brilliant colors. Precious fruits and flowers of every kind are offered, music is played, and the Dongzhang (the scriptural hymns and praises of Daoism) are chanted. Holding banners, one circles the revered images in homage and, with a reverent heart, makes offerings far and wide, solemnly presenting every kind of rare treasure to the images.

People give up the wealth they themselves enjoy, and from this the mind that seeks liberation arises. The merit and virtue thus gained surpass the ordinary, as fair and supreme as flowers, filling one with joy. A thousand sages all teach in this way, and every kind of anxious thought is thereby laid aside. The hosts of celestial immortals who come to hear the teaching together recite and uphold this scripture of wondrous Dharma.

They proclaim the scriptural teaching so that people may give rise to delight and fondness. So long as the karmic retribution of living beings is not yet exhausted, they must still suffer; when karmic retribution is exhausted, the recompense of blessings also lightens along with it, and one can forever cut off the fruits of rebirth. Immortal music sounds of itself, welcoming practitioners into the Nine Terraces (Jiutai, the celestial immortal realm spoken of in Daoism). Together they speak of the joy of long life, and vexation can trouble them no more.

In the Biluo (the azure heavens, the celestial realm spoken of in Daoism), truly exquisite song resounds, and immortal flowers bloom as well. Such wondrous music is rare in the world and often reaches the Yaochi (the celestial immortal realm of myth). There the mist and rose-colored clouds stretch deep and secluded, still and without a sound; the autumn wind brushes the night moon, and green bamboo sets off gates of emerald and purple.

At this time the cultivation of the mind is already complete, and one no longer passes through rebirth. The road to the celestial realm is clear and plain; only the people of the dusty world lose their own way. Practitioners roam long beyond the heavens and in the end may still have audience with the Yuanjun (a revered deity of Daoism).

At this time the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) prepares to go to the various heavens to proclaim, for the beings of those heavens, the Scripture of the Limitless Wondrous Dharma Lotus (Wuji Miaofa Lianhua Jing). In the assembly there is a Perfected One (Zhenren) who has once more undergone rebirth. He sighs that the road to the celestial realm is perfectly clear, yet the people of the dusty world lose themselves; practitioners roam long beyond the heavens and in the end may still have audience with the Yuanjun.

At this time the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning prepares to go to the various heavens to proclaim, for the beings of those heavens, the Scripture of the Limitless Wondrous Dharma Lotus. In the assembly there is a Perfected One named Liuxia who steps forward and addresses the Celestial Worthy: “I began to cultivate long ago and attained the Dao (the Way) only after vast ages, yet I had never heard this scripture. Now the Yuanjun proclaims this wondrous scripture, and my heart is filled with joy. Day and night I reflect: so many beings are enduring affliction, yet they do not hear the wondrous scripture—how then can they understand the wondrous Dharma?

“I ought to inform the hosts of the various heavens, and together we should exhort the men and women among beings who cultivate goodness, so that each of them copies and spreads this scripture, from one scroll, to seven scrolls, and on to tens of millions of scrolls. The blessed reward thus obtained is measureless and numberless, and merit too may be accumulated. I will transmit this scripture widely and not allow it to be forgotten. Flowers, grasses, and trees, mountain forests and great seas—even the high mountains—all have a time when they are exhausted; but the merit of spreading this scripture has no limit and does not cease, enduring through the kalpas. This is done in order to save living beings, so that they do not fall into the Youming (the dark netherworld).”

At this time, the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said with joy, “Excellent, excellent! Even after the passage of thousands of myriads of millions of years such as these, afflictions will not again wither away and disappear. This merit is without limit and will not cease; whenever the kalpas change, it will continue to arise. For the sake of saving sentient beings, there will be no falling into the dark netherworld (the shadowy realm of the dead).”

At this time, the Celestial Worthy again said with joy, “Excellent, excellent! Even after the passage of thousands of myriads of millions of years such as these, afflictions will not arise again.”

Thereupon the immortal hosts of the various heavens bowed one after another to the Most High (Taishang) and offered their thanks. They leaped with joy, praised him with reverence, and, after knocking their heads to the ground, withdrew. Each retired to one side, received the teaching, and practiced in accordance with it.

The Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing (Scripture of the Wonderful Dharma Lotus of the Middle Way of the Most High), Volume Six

Chapter Ten: Retribution

At this time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) said, “In remote antiquity, the immortals descended into the mortal world to teach and transform living beings. Demons, devils, and monstrous spirits spread throughout the world. They devoured the common people and gathered filth, so that mountains and rivers everywhere were filled with turbid Qi (vital energy). When the immortals cultivated, they were continually harassed by these beings, and the reek of blood and rank flesh was extremely strong. They therefore reported to the heavens, ‘Hundreds and thousands of holy hosts have long cultivated the ten good deeds and all possess spiritual powers. Please eradicate the ghosts and demons of the world for us, so that the people may be spared from being devoured.’”

At this time, there was in the assembly a Perfected Person (Zhenren) named Taiyi. He bowed his head and reported, “Now is precisely the time. I have long had this intention, yet I have never reported it to the Celestial Worthy. Please bestow upon me a precious sword that can cut down evil spirits and meets with no obstruction when wielded, the water of Wuwei (non-action)—symbolizing the ritual water that accords with the Dao (the Way) of non-action—and divine incantations that cut away demons and evil.”

Thereupon the Celestial Worthy uttered the incantation:

I uphold the Unobstructed Spell (a spell that can penetrate without hindrance). The hundred ghosts will all be driven off, transformed and sent far away to other places, and each one’s forehead will split and crumble like sand and gravel. Do not harass or harm the immortal maidens, and do not devour living beings. When you hear my spell, you must quickly flee to distant regions. Even beyond the seas there is nowhere to hide, unless you take shelter in the hells; otherwise you will forever remain a kind of ghost bound by karmic retribution, and will never again hear the wondrous Jing (scripture/classic). The Yuanjun (a revered deity in Daoism) has already commanded the ghostly hosts not to harass or harm living beings. If you do not obey my teaching and command, your heads will split into a thousand pieces, and you will never hear the wondrous Jing.

At this time the ghosts appeared one after another and paid their respects to the Zhenren (a person who has attained the Dao (the Way)), saying: “We beg your compassion; please hear our account. That we became ghosts was not without cause. Long ago, some of us were living people, yet we did not believe in the methods of the Dao and slighted the Three Treasures (the Dao, the Jing, and the teachers revered in Daoism), giving free rein to greed and desire. We also constantly did evil, taking pleasure in killing living beings, eating flesh and drinking blood, and we slighted and went against the Ten Good Deeds (the norms of ten kinds of virtuous conduct). We further wounded others with our words, stirred up discord, slandered the holy perfected, slighted sacred images, and stole offerings. Because we had previously craved every kind of flavor, we fell into the path of ghosts, and through a thousand kalpas we were unable to be reborn as human beings. Now that we have met the Zhenren, and have moreover received the Yuanjun’s command, we are willing to abandon the Avici karma (grave offenses that lead one to fall into the Avici hell). We earnestly ask the Zhenren to expound for us the Scripture of the Lotus of the Wondrous Dharma. We wish to follow it in cultivating immortality and studying the Dao, and together to enter the ranks of the supreme perfected. We only ask that the Zhenren report this on our behalf to the Yuanjun.”

Chapter Twelve: Transforming Ghosts onto the Human Path

At this time the Yuanjun commanded the ghost kings, saying: “I have heard that you created evil karma, and that in the human world you often defiled the altars of the immortals and devoured rank and bloody things. I ordered the Zhenren to cut down the ghostly hosts and drive them far away so that they would abandon the deviant path, return to the correct Dao, and follow me in studying the Dao. You must comprehend the Dao transmitted by the Zhenren, reach the realm of the sage, cultivate unobstructed wisdom, deliver deluded living beings, and subdue demons. Then, employing the power of spiritual penetration, patrol the world, guarding mountain forests and open wilds, deep mountains and rocky valleys, numinous altars and temple abbeys, and protecting those who cultivate immortality and study the Dao. Since you ghost kings have accepted my command, you should turn toward the Dao of the immortals and seek to learn the methods of long life.”

At this time, the Yuanjun (Primordial Sovereign) offered praise in verse:

The hosts of demons have already turned toward the orthodox Dao (the Way), and every kind of evil ghost has been subdued. Since you ghost kings have accepted my command, you should enter the Dao of the immortals and seek to learn the methods of long life.

At this time, the Yuanjun again offered praise in verse:

The hosts of demons turn toward the orthodox Dao, and the various evil ghosts are brought to submission. Even when the joy of long life is attained, one may still roam free and at ease, in accord with nature. Through the long ages you have assisted in cultivating the Dao, dwelling always in the immortal realms upon the sea. At night and at dawn you attend court in Huaqing Hall; by day you wander the peaks of the Five Sacred Mountains. You drive out baleful influences, cross the Eastern Sea, draw in the smoke and dust, and make the world pure. Holding firelight, you illumine the dark and subtle realms; moving mountains and stirring the peaks is but a minor skill. A breath spreads through the valleys, veiling the moonlight all the way to the immortal palace of Penglai.

At this time, the ghost kings and the others bowed their heads to the ground and knelt at length, reporting to the Tianzun (Celestial Worthy): “Ever since we became ghost kings, we have continually restrained the various evil spirits throughout the world that work harm, not permitting them to injure the common people, and we also protect children. The celestial assembly has expounded for us the teaching of the Jing (scripture) named Miaofa Lianhua (Wonderful Dharma Lotus). All who study the Dao and cultivate the True, we help in their practice. If the people of the world contract illness, we likewise guard them. Should immortals and Daoist priests recite, transmit, and practice this wondrous Jing, the sick will surely recover and find peace; demons will not dare come to harass them; evil will stay far away; miasma—the harmful, pestilential Qi (vital energy)—will be drawn in and contained; and poisons, too, will dissolve and disperse. We will always assist those who uphold this Jing-incantation, not allowing the people to suffer distress, so that they may live in peace and security, and in the end awaken to the Dao of the immortals, cultivate and study the great Dao, and penetrate the profound and subtle realm.”

They paid their respects and withdrew.

Here ends Scroll Six of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing (Scripture of the Wonderful Dharma Lotus of the Most High Middle Way).

Scroll Seven of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing

Scroll Seven of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing

Chapter Thirteen: Attaining the Dao and Returning to the True

The words at the head of the scroll say once more: “The Most High protects all living beings, enabling them to live in peace and security, and in the end to awaken to the Dao of the immortals, to cultivate and study the great Dao, and to penetrate the profound and subtle realm.” Thereupon everyone paid their respects and withdrew.

Here ends Scroll Six of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing.

Scroll Seven of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing

Scroll Seven of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing

The thirteenth section of the chapter “Attaining the Dao and Returning to the True.”

At this time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun, a revered deity of Daoism) sent forth a strange five-colored radiance from between his brows. It shone upon the countless living beings, spirits, ghosts, and demons in the world below, and it also revealed every kind of good deed and evil deed. Living beings commit evil and suffer. They are greedy and stingy, jealous, licentious, and deceitful; they speak harshly to one another, sow discord, and plot to harm others. All manner of evil habits and illnesses tangle together and take revenge upon one another, never ceasing—truly pitiable. The Celestial Worthy said, “I now employ the various ways of transformation and proclaim this unsurpassed wondrous teaching, the Lotus Scripture (Lianhua Jing), so that all the kings of demons and ghosts may cast off their venom, thoroughly let go of evil thoughts and enmity, follow me in studying the methods of the Dao, turn toward the true Dao, and enter the sacred realm. I shall receive them and instruct them.”

At this time the Celestial Worthy came from the Heaven of Primordial Azure, together with the true beings of the heavens and the divine immortals of all the heavens, to the place of assembly, to hear the proclamation of the Scripture of the Wondrous Dharma of the Lotus (Miaofa Lianhua Jing).

Then all the ghost kings abandoned the roots of wickedness, turned toward the true Dao, and studied the methods of the Dao. With one voice they offered this praise:

“Once we glared in fury, as if we would watch the seawater run dry; now we have become children of the true and upright.

Once we could move mountains and uproot trees; now we have become Perfected Ones (Zhenren) of Great Power.

Once our anger was like a raging wind, brandishing a radiance like thunder and lightning; now we have become Immortals of Flowing Rosy Clouds.

Once we severed the true Dao and rooted out demons and evils; now we have become Perfected Ones of Purple Radiance.

Once we aided the weak and withstood calamity; now we have become Asi Immortals.

Now, by command of Yuanjun (a venerable female immortal), the immortals enter our names in the registers of immortality;

now, by command of Yuanjun, we ride feathered carriages to pay court to the assembled perfected;

now, by command of Yuanjun, we rise into the void and scatter the clouds and mists;

now, by command of Yuanjun, we manifest wondrous chapters of the Dao;

now, by command of Yuanjun, we obtain the Purple Texts and receive the primordial and wondrous teachings.

Now, by command of Yuanjun, we shed light upon the sun and moon;

now, by command of Yuanjun, we descend to the world to assist kings and cause their realms to flourish;

now, by command of Yuanjun, we obtain the Purple Texts and receive the primordial and wondrous teachings;

now, by command of Yuanjun, we shed light upon the sun and moon;

now, by command of Yuanjun, we descend to the world to assist kings and cause their realms to flourish.”

At this time, the decree of the Yuanjun (a revered goddess among female immortals) was as follows: to dwell in peace at the altar of Zhaijiao (purification ritual) on the Numinous Mountain—the altar ground where rites of prayer, blessing, and purification are performed; to come to the immortal mountains and live there in company; to practice ritual arts and rescue the common people; to keep deviant demons far from the locality; to summon the host of perfected ones and the assembly of immortals to gather; and to establish a Zhaijiao rite of prohibitions and memorials at the Apricot Altar. If these commands are reverently carried out, the root of the immortal Dao (the Way) can be made forever secure.

The Great Dao Without Attachment, Chapter Fourteen

At this time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning said to the assembly present: “Even in remote antiquity I was without desire and unbound by anything, and so I was able to become a sage. The immortals who now cultivate immortality and study the Dao should roam free and at ease, cast off the five desires (sensory cravings for form, sound, fragrance, taste, and touch), and dwell either in the mountains or within cities and their walls, together expounding the mysterious Great Dao of the Five Thousand Words, so as to relieve the people of grave illness, peril, and suffering.

Some bury or nail another person’s name in a numinous altar or village shrine in order to do harm, leaving the victim trapped and afflicted. When this happens, one need only invite a ritual master or a Daoist priest to recite this wondrous Jing (scripture) sincerely at home—one juan, two juan, up to seven juan—and the curse will disperse of itself, illnesses of every kind will be healed, unexpected disasters will no longer intrude, and lawsuits in the household will stay far away.

If faithful men and women prepare incense, flowers, lamps, and candles, arrange the earth-wheel (an altar implement set out in the rite), and display precious treasures as offerings, the divine hosts of all the heavens and the multitude of perfected ones will come to protect them. Virtuous vows should be stated in full. One must not slight, slander, or insult the scripture and its teaching, but observe them with reverence and sincere faith. Lamps may be kept burning day and night, or offerings may be made throughout the day.

From the beginningless past until now, I have never heard of this scripture called the Scripture of the Lotus of the Wondrous Dharma, nor have I seen anyone able to receive and uphold it. If someone recites it, the sick will recover in peace, and calamities caused by ghosts will be removed as well. Those who follow the immortal Dao should spread this scripture widely, so as to save and deliver the people. If anyone slanders it, they will, life after life, lose the true Dao, remain poor and lowly, lonely and hard-pressed, and constantly beset by malignant illness. Demonic harm will strike them, and disaster will also implicate the nine ancestors—remote forebears together with the later lineage of the clan—and bring ruin upon their living kin.”

At this time, the celestial immortals, sages, and ghosts and spirits of the various heavens, upon hearing this wondrous teaching, were all filled with great joy. They leapt up in delight to pay their respects, devoutly accepted it in faith, and carried it out according to the instruction. All the true immortals of the Great Dao (the Way) bowed their heads in homage to the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun), took their leave, and withdrew.

End of Scroll Seven of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing (Supreme Scripture of the Lotus of the Wondrous Dharma of the Middle Way)

Scroll Eight of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing

Chapter Fifteen: The Images of Heaven, Earth, and All Things

At this time, the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun), in the Forest of the Seven Treasures within the Great Veil Heaven (Daluo Tian), assembled the celestial immortals and the great holy perfected ones (zhenren) and expounded all manner of wondrous teachings. A perfected one named Universal Virtue and Wondrous Practice (Pude Miaoxing) rose from his seat, set his robes and cap in order, touched his forehead to the ground, and knelt in formal homage. Then, holding a set of bamboo slips, he stepped forward and addressed the Celestial Worthy: “Earlier I was favored to hear the Celestial Worthy expound the Hymns of the Dharma Lotus Scripture. I listened with reverence and kept them carefully in mind, yet I have still not grasped the principles within them.

“Now I address the Celestial Worthy once again. We perfected ones come and go day and night, touring the immeasurable worlds of the ten directions and teaching and transforming living beings, yet we do not know the height of heaven and the depth of earth, the depth of the rivers, or the size and patterns of movement of the sun, moon, and stars. We earnestly beg the Celestial Worthy, in compassion, to explain these reasons to us, so that all of us may understand.”

At this time the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said to the assembled Perfected (Zhenren, those who have succeeded in cultivation): “I will now explain these matters to you one by one. Listen with full attention and reflect on them carefully.” The scripture then states that the place inquired about reaches a depth of twenty trillion li; beneath it lies the stratum of fragrant moisture, likewise twenty trillion li deep; beneath that are treasures such as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, giant-clam shell, agate, coral, and amber, to a thickness of forty trillion li; beneath that is golden millet-sand, eighty trillion li deep; the diamond deposits are ten trillion li deep; the silver millet-sand is one hundred trillion li deep; and the deposits of silver adamant are two hundred trillion li deep. At the very bottom, a great wind of the Limitless (Wuji) supports the earth, so that the earth neither tilts nor shakes. The layers of heaven and earth, and the depths of the rivers, have all been set forth.

All things under heaven depend on the earth in order to grow. Mountain forests and trees, rivers, lakes, and seas, pits, channels, springs, and pools, gullies, ravines, brooks, and valleys, wells, marshes, and sources of water, together with mulberry groves and woodlands, every kind of medicinal herb, every sort of fragrance, and the colors blue-green, yellow, red, white, and black—all grow forth from the earth.

Mountains of soil and stone of every kind, including the greater and lesser Iron Encircling Mountains (Tiewei Shan), Mount Milou, the Adamantine Mountains (Jingang Shan), Mount Sumeru (Xumi Shan), and other treasure mountains, are likewise formed from treasures and other substances that surge up out of the earth. Mount Sumeru is assembled from four kinds of treasure and rises higher than the other peaks. The mountains and rivers of the world, and the treasure mountains of the four directions, are in the same way formed by the gathering of treasures and other things that well up from the earth.

Mount Sumeru is formed of four kinds of precious treasures and towers above every mountain in the world. The mountains and rivers of the world lie on its four sides: the south is called lapis lazuli, the west crystal and agate, and the east gold. The light cast by these treasures illuminates heaven and earth in all directions. Everyone regards the place as supremely wondrous, and so it is called the “Four Heavens.” Mount Sumeru is where the Four Heavenly Kings protect the world, guard the four quarters, and make their abode.

On the southern face of Mount Sumeru stand countless palaces built of the seven treasures, ten thousand li above the ground. A heavenly king dwells there, named Virūḍhaka (Biliulecha). He is twenty-five li tall and lives eighty-seven thousand years, and clothing and food are naturally abundant. Men and women also live there, likewise twenty-five li in height, and clothing and food are naturally complete without any labor. If the beings of Jambudvīpa (Yanfouti, a great continent of the human world) can uphold the Three Refuges—taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—and the nine precepts, honor their parents, support their teachers and elders, revere the Three Honored Ones (the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha), and not violate the precepts, they may be reborn there.

On the western face of Mount Sumeru there are likewise countless palaces of the seven treasures, one million li above the ground. A heavenly king dwells there, named Virūpākṣa (Piloubocha). He is twenty-five li tall and lives eighty-seven thousand years, and clothing and food are naturally abundant. If the beings of Jambudvīpa can uphold the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts, honor their parents, support their teachers and elders, revere the Three Honored Ones, and commit no transgression, they may be reborn there.

On the northern face of Mount Sumeru there are countless palaces of the seven treasures, one million li above the ground. A heavenly king dwells there, named Vaiśravaṇa (Pishamen). He is twenty-five li tall and lives eighty-seven thousand years, and clothing and food are naturally abundant. The men and women there are also twenty-five li tall, and their clothing and food are naturally complete. If the beings of Jambudvīpa can uphold the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts, honor their parents, support their teachers and elders, revere the Three Honored Ones, and commit no transgression, they may be reborn there.

On the eastern face of Mount Sumeru there are likewise countless palaces of the seven treasures, one million li above the ground. A heavenly king dwells there, named Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Titoulaizha). He is twenty-five li tall, and the lifespans, statures, and conditions of clothing and food of the men and women are the same as in the other quarters. If the beings of Jambudvīpa can cultivate good deeds, uphold the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts, honor their parents, support their teachers and elders, revere the Three Honored Ones, and commit no transgression, they may be reborn there.

The place where the Wheel-Turning Sacred King (the ideal monarch who governs the world according to the True Dharma) dwells also has countless palaces built of the seven treasures, two million li above the ground. At that time, the Wheel-Turning Sacred King, together with all his ministers and dependents, stands twenty-three li in height and lives for two hundred and fifty thousand years, while clothing and food arise of themselves in full sufficiency.

The Wheel-Turning Sacred King and the princes all ride in great carriages adorned with the seven treasures, touring the four under-heavens (the realms of the four directions) and teaching and transforming living beings. If a person can uphold the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts, cultivate the Ten Good Deeds, do no evil, and receive, uphold, read, and recite the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Dharma, that person may, according to heartfelt wish, be reborn there. There too are countless palaces of the seven treasures; men and women alike stand twenty-five li in height and live for two hundred and fifty thousand years, while clothing and food are naturally abundant, with nothing lacking.

Above Mount Sumeru, the legendary central mountain, there is a heaven called the Trāyastriṃśa Heaven, the first level among all the heavens. The celestial beings there enjoy very long lives and stand twenty-five li in height. Their existence is one of boundless happiness, and clothing and food arise of themselves in full sufficiency.

Among the beings of Jambudvīpa, a region of the human world, if someone observes the Three Refuges—taking refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—the Five Precepts—not killing, not stealing, not committing sexual misconduct, not speaking falsely, and not drinking alcohol—and the Ten Good Deeds, cultivates diligently, makes offerings to the immortals, and receives, upholds, and recites the Lotus Sutra of the Wonderful Dharma, concentrating on it day and night, guarding the scripture (Jing) and its teachings together with the precepts, remaining pure and committing no violation until the end of life, that person may, according to personal wish, be reborn in the corresponding heaven.

The lifespan in the second heaven is two kalpas. Clothing and food arise of themselves in full sufficiency; men and women dwell there, twenty-five li in height. Those who uphold the Five Precepts and cultivate the Ten Good Deeds may be reborn there. The lifespan of the third heaven is four kalpas, and that of the fourth is eight kalpas. Thereafter the lifespans increase in turn to sixteen kalpas, thirty kalpas, sixty-four kalpas, one hundred twenty-eight kalpas, two hundred fifty-six kalpas, five hundred twelve kalpas, one thousand twenty-four kalpas, two thousand forty-eight kalpas, four thousand ninety-six kalpas, eight thousand one hundred ninety-two kalpas, ten thousand kalpas, twenty thousand kalpas, forty thousand kalpas, eighty thousand kalpas, one hundred sixty thousand kalpas, and three hundred twenty thousand kalpas. In each of these heavens, clothing and food arise of themselves in full sufficiency, and the celestial beings are for the most part twenty li in height. Those who observe the Five Precepts and cultivate the Ten Good Deeds may be reborn among them.

In these heavens the celestial beings possess spiritual powers and move in freedom. Body and mind are pure and without obstruction, the same as the Perfected (Zhenren). From the twenty-first heaven up to the Heaven of the Summit, they are together called the Thirty-two Heavens, and among them there is no distinction. Those who dwell there are all Celestial Worthies (Tianzun) and Perfected, and their realm is inconceivable.

The distance between Heaven and Earth is one hundred trillion yojanas (an ancient unit of distance), and the sun and moon lie eighty trillion li from the earth. Mount Sumeru (the great central mountain in the Buddhist cosmology) measures 3,600,000 li in height and in breadth, above and below. Jambudvīpa (the southern continent inhabited by human beings) is 3,300,000 li wide. Western Quyeni, northern Yudanyue, and eastern Fuyudai are respectively 4,180,000 li, 6,640,000 li, and 5,320,000 li wide.

The Adamantine Mountain and the Great Iron-Ring Mountain are each 2,000,000 li high, and the Lesser Iron-Ring Mountain is 1,200,000 li high. The great sea is 5,000 li wide and 3,000 li deep; the lesser sea is 1,500 li wide and 1,000 li deep. The great river is 80 li wide and 40 li deep; the lesser river is 40 li wide and 20 li deep; and Mengjin is 3 li wide and one and a half li deep.

The various suns and moons each have a circumference of 1,700 li; a large star has a circumference of 120 li, and a small star a circumference of 80 li. The fire wheel and the water wheel (the fiery and watery celestial bodies spoken of in the scripture) likewise each have a circumference of 1,700 li.

Under heaven the year has four seasons: winter is extremely cold, summer extremely hot, and spring and autumn comparatively mild. Why is this so? Because the sun travels along three courses: in winter it takes the northern course, in summer the southern course, and in spring and autumn the middle course.

The Jing (scripture) further says that the sun is formed of gold and crystal, the moon of silver and liuli (beryl), and the constellations are all of silver. Sentient beings, according to the size of their own bodies, have dwellings that correspond to them, and all can enjoy happiness, free and unobstructed. In summer the crystal withdraws and the gold appears, while the fire wheel (the force that intensifies heat) assists from the side; upon Mount Sumeru (the central mountain in the Buddhist view of the cosmos), a hundred million million vajras together add to the heat. At this time the sun travels the southern course and stands above the fire mountain, so all under heaven is extremely hot. In winter the fire wheel recedes, the gold withdraws, and the crystal appears, while the water wheel (the force that intensifies cold) assists from the side; the sun travels the northern course and stands above the water mountain, so all under heaven is extremely cold.

The moon hangs high in the midst of heaven and casts its light over the world, and within a single month there is both brightness and darkness. The Jing explains that the moon is formed of silver and liuli: when the liuli is hidden and the silver appears, the world is bright. After the fifteenth day the moon gradually changes; by the thirtieth day the silver is hidden and the liuli appears, and the world grows dark. This uses the appearing and disappearing of silver and liuli to explain the process by which the moon turns from full to waning and from bright gradually to dark.

At this time, the Celestial Worthy said to the Perfected Being of Wondrous Practice: “The beings of the four quarters of the world each differ from one another. Listen carefully, and I shall explain this to you.

The people of Western Quyeni (a continent of the west) are ten li in height and live for a thousand years, enjoying freedom and happiness. They are not conceived and born of parents, but arise by transformation from within lotus flowers. Clothing and food appear of themselves and become fully provided as their bodies grow. At mealtimes, great bowls made of such treasures as gold, silver, lapis lazuli, tridacna shell, agate, coral, and amber appear of their own accord at the proper time, filled with every kind of delicious food from the celestial kitchen. The food is richly fragrant and sweet in taste. After eating it, their Qi (vital energy) and strength are harmonized, their bodies are dignified, they are intelligent and wise, their talents are outstanding and their understanding clear and penetrating, and their supernormal powers and merits are inconceivable.

The people of Northern Yudanyue (a continent of the north) are twenty li in height and live for a thousand years. Although men and women are distinguished there, there is no sexual licentiousness: men are born from beneath their fathers’ armpits, and women arise by transformation from beneath their mothers’ armpits. Clothing and food appear of themselves. The people have ample Qi and strength, their bodies are at peace, they suffer neither illness nor hardship, and their lifespan extends to a thousand years.

The people of Eastern Fuyudai (a continent of the east) are nine li in height and live for five hundred years. Although the people there engage in plowing and planting, they need not pay taxes to a ruler, nor do they suffer from bandits, disasters of flood and fire, illness, or poverty.

Why, then, are the people of Yanfuti (the human continent of the south) short in stature and brief in life, and constantly subject to sorrow, affliction, and calamity? Even the long-lived reach no more than a hundred years, while the short-lived die in the womb or perish young. Even if they are born, they often suffer cold and hunger. This is because people depend on their parents to raise them, rely on their own robust strength, and toil all day to make a living; and because they are stingy and greedy by nature, unable to awaken themselves, slighting the teachings and canons and betraying the true Dao (the Way) of the sages, they thereby incur such karmic results.

The beings of Western Quyeni, Northern Yudanyue, and Eastern Fuyudai are able to enjoy happiness and prolong their lives because they are diligent and vigorous, make offerings to their teachers and elders, purely uphold and recite the scriptures (Jing), and bring the cultivation of merit to completion; thus they obtain the karmic fruit of birth in these places. If the beings of Southern Yanfuti can cultivate good conduct, renounce worldly life and leave the household, carefully guard the scriptural texts and the precepts, and attain purity and completeness, they too may, according to their wish, be reborn in these places.”

At this time, the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) once again affirmed the meaning set out above, and spoke in verse:

Listen carefully. I shall now make the principle clear, so that all of you gathered here may hear it. I now expound the wondrous teaching; when you have heard it, do not fall into doubt.

The great earth reaches a depth of 210,000 li. Beneath it lies a layer of fragrant, moist soil, 200,000 li deep; beneath that again are all kinds of precious substances—gold, silver, glass (liuli), giant clam shell, agate, fine jade, liuli beads, and the like—extending to a depth of forty trillion li. The great seas and the lesser seas, the rivers and the streams and valleys, together with medicinal herbs, forests, and all the myriad things under heaven, depend upon the great earth in order to grow. The Black Mountains, the mountains of earth and stone, Mount Milou, the Iron Mountains, the Great Iron-Enclosing Mountains, the Vajra Mountains, and Mount Sumeru are all borne up by the great earth, and every kind of precious treasure also wells forth from it.

Mount Sumeru is the king of mountains. It is formed together of four precious substances and towers above the world. Which four? Its southern face is liuli, its western face is glass (liuli), its northern face is agate, and its eastern face is gold; it is therefore called the “Four Treasures.”

The Four World-Protecting Heavenly Kings, the celestial deities who guard the four quarters of the world, all dwell on Mount Sumeru. The people there, whether kings or men and women, are all of the same stature and all live for 87,000 years, with clothing and food arising of themselves. The palace of the Wheel-Turning King, the ideal sovereign who rules the world by the true Dharma, stands 200 li above the ground; his lifespan, his stature, and his treasures are likewise without any difference. Riding a celestial treasure chariot, the Wheel-Turning King tours the four quarters of the world and teaches and transforms living beings. Those who are able to cultivate good deeds will surely be reborn there, and their clothing, food, and lifespan will be the same as those of the people of that land.

The holy hosts of the heavens all dwell on the summit of Mount Sumeru. Beings of the celestial realms naturally enjoy happiness; their lives last for a hundred million kalpas, and clothing and food are likewise spontaneously complete. If the beings of Jambudvipa, the southern continent of the human world, strictly observe the precepts and make offerings to the celestial deities, they can be reborn in the heavens. From the first heaven to the forty-eighth, the lifespans of celestial beings gradually lengthen with each higher level; their clothing and food are the same, their spiritual powers are free and unobstructed, and nothing hinders them.

If someone upholds the precepts and is reborn according to his own wish, he can dwell in the heaven that corresponds to that aspiration. How long celestial beings live is hard to measure.

Heaven and earth stand a hundred trillion yojanas apart, the yojana being an ancient unit of length. The sun and moon are 810,000 li above the earth, and the stars are seventy trillion li above it. Mount Sumeru and Jambudvipa each measure 3,360,000 li from east to west and from north to south. The western continent of Godaniya is 4,180,000 li wide. The northern continent of Uttarakuru measures 664 million li in each direction and is pure and without blemish. The Vajra Mountains and the Great Iron-Enclosing Mountains rise 2,000,000 li, and the Lesser Iron-Enclosing Mountains rise 1,200,000 li.

The great sea is 5,000 li wide and 3,000 li deep; the lesser sea is 1,500 li wide and 1,000 li deep. A great river is 80 li wide and 40 li deep; a lesser river is 40 li wide and 20 li deep; the Mengjin ford is 3 li wide and a li and a half deep. The sun and the moon are both round, each with a circumference of 1,700 li. A great star measures 120 li around, a medium star 80 li, and a small star 45 li.

The Perfected One of Wondrous Practice, a perfected being who has attained the Way through cultivation, knows that the world has four seasons and that the sun travels through the sky along three courses. In winter it follows the northern course, and so the world is cold; in summer it follows the southern course, and so the world is hot; in spring and autumn it follows the middle course, and so the climate of the world is mild and balanced. The sun is formed of gold and crystal, the moon of silver and liuli, and the constellations of heaven are all formed of silver. Water, fire, and the wheel of the Three Treasures each measure 1,700 li in circumference.

The beings of Jambudvipa live to about a hundred years. The people of northern Uttarakuru and western Godaniya can live for more than a thousand years, while the people of eastern Fuyudai live to five hundred. The lifespans of beings in these lands therefore differ from one another.

Whoever is able to observe the purificatory fast and the precepts can cultivate just as the perfected beings do. I have now finished this verse; you should believe it and uphold it.

At this time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun, a revered deity of Daoism) convened the immortal hosts of the various heavens in the Forest of Seven Treasures and expounded all manner of subtle and wondrous principles. The Perfected One Who Saves from Suffering (Jiuku Zhenren, a Daoist perfected immortal) stepped forward, bowed in reverence, and addressed the Celestial Worthy: “Your servant is dull of aptitude, yet has been fortunate enough to attend among the immortal assembly and hear these subtle principles, so that the doubts in my heart have suddenly become clear. I venture to ask: why are the suffering and joy of the beings of Southern Jambudvīpa (the human world) unequal? And what brings about wealth and nobility, poverty and low station, and the length or brevity of life? I earnestly beg the Celestial Worthy, in compassion, to instruct me, so that I may understand.”

The Celestial Worthy praised him, saying: “Excellent, excellent! The Perfected One has used a skillful analogy to set forth the principle. I shall now expound it for you.

The circumstances in which living beings find themselves are divided between toil and ease, and their blessings, karmic causes, and retributions likewise differ: some practice good, and some do not; some are born into wealth, long life, and good fortune, while others are poor, lowly, and afflicted. The causes and conditions of living beings lie far apart, some favorable and some adverse, and they cannot all be treated alike.

The sun and moon shine upon all things without partiality; celestial immortals, too, can know everything universally, their wisdom luminous. Living beings take birth among the six paths (the six destinations of rebirth in the cycle of transmigration), each with a different faith and understanding. If one can accept the Jing (scripture/classic) with faith and hear the true Dharma, one may gradually be transformed into a celestial immortal, and wisdom neither increases nor decreases on that account; if one accumulates merit and virtue, one can behold the unsurpassed Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the three highest deities venerated in Daoism. Is the original nature of living beings in any way different? It is like vessels made from the same clay: some are used to hold precious treasures, others to hold filth; the uses of the vessels, and what people like and dislike, are not the same. Cultivation of the Dao (the Way) likewise has different levels—the One Vehicle, the Two Vehicles, and further the Three Vehicles and so on. If living beings can practice the Three Vehicles, take refuge in the true Dao, and cultivate according to their own faith and understanding, they can attain the way of shijie (the Daoist method of casting off the mortal body and accomplishing the way of immortality), and thereafter become great immortals. Therefore I now use an analogy once again to explain it: why do living beings have different likes and dislikes?

Some people can see the sun, moon, and stars, while others cannot—what is the reason for this? This may serve as an analogy for the differing circumstances of living beings in the world. Although living beings are born, they do not recognize the true Dao. Having committed evil karma in the past, they only now begin to fall ill. The illnesses are of four kinds, called wind, yellow, phlegm, and yin (classifications of causes or symptoms in ancient medicine). These diseases bring calamity and may even cause people to die young.

I take pity on living beings, and therefore establish expedient means and expound this scripture for them. If someone upholds the scripture with courageous diligence, neither retreating nor falling away, this scripture is like a fine medicine, able to cure every kind of disease. By inquiring deeply into its principles, one can gradually enter the true Dao, as though obstacles had been removed, so that what is inner and outer, far and near, is all seen clearly. In the past I cultivated and attained deliverance, and thus awakened to the mysterious and subtle principle; later, when my eyes became clear, I penetrated the wondrous Dharma, recognized the principle of emptiness, and brought myself to a state that nothing can surpass. This wisdom differs from the six penetrations (the six kinds of supernatural powers spoken of by cultivators), which include such capacities as the heavenly eye, the heavenly ear, knowing the thoughts of others, and recollecting living beings, as well as the realization of wisdom. I am now able to fathom the mysterious and subtle to the utmost, to aid all things by means of the Dao, and to shelter even the tiniest wriggling creatures.

I see that many living beings lack true understanding: they take darkness for light and light for darkness; they are sunk in indulgence and slackness, and their minds lack wisdom; good thoughts are few and evil thoughts are many. They are as though seated inside a house: though they have eyes and ears, they cannot see things far away, nor hear sounds close at hand. Living beings have both good thoughts and evil thoughts in their minds, yet what they do often strays from the true Dao. The true Dao is plainly before their eyes, yet they set out and cannot arrive; the principle is plainly manifest, yet facing it they cannot see it clearly. By what method can living beings be saved?

If living beings wish to awaken, they should keep far from the seductions of sound and form, let go of defilement and attachment, sit in the empty stillness of the mountains, contemplate subtle principles, and free themselves from every kind of doubt. In this way they can obtain supernatural powers. In order to protect and sustain them, so that they may leave household life to cultivate the Dao, put on the ritual robes, pay homage to the Three Pure Ones, and within the Dao contemplate and practice what they learned before. By virtue of such causes and conditions, every merit can be confirmed; following what they think and hold in mind, they can also come gradually to grasp the subtle principles of the higher vehicle, finally reach the ultimate, enter the essential pivot of the Great Dao, and stand alongside the immortals.

Some living beings are shallow in wisdom, like those blind from birth: they cannot see the fruits that good deeds bring, and know only how to commit evil karma; they do not understand profound principles, are obscured by afflictions, and have not accumulated enough through cultivation. Because their karmic deeds become the conditions of the retribution they receive, they lose long life, good reward, and wealth and honor, and instead incur early death, calamity, and poverty and low station. Such living beings, turning within the cycle of rebirth, cannot escape their bonds, nor can they readily ascend to the wondrous Dao.”

Hearing these words of the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun), the True Person Who Saves from Suffering (Jiuku Zhenren) felt compassion, fearing that living beings would sink forever into evil destinies (evil paths). He again addressed the Celestial Worthy: “I am willing to save them and free them from the cycle of rebirth.”

At this, the Celestial Worthy leaned upon his armrest and said in a raised voice: “Excellent, excellent! That you can give rise to such a vow. When parents cherish their young children, they nurture and care for them; you too ought to aid and rescue living beings in this way. This Jing (scripture) is named the Fahua. Its teaching fills all of empty space and everywhere assists immortals and perfected ones in guiding living beings, receiving the deluded and leading them out of the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm), so that they may behold the superior immortals.

“Some living beings did little good and much evil in former lives. Unable to discern the pure and correct Dao (the Way), they only indulge in greed, hatred, and sensual desire, and so they suffer illnesses such as wind, yellowing, and phlegm-congestion, as well as sudden cold diseases. You must have them apply this Jing in treatment according to the conditions of each place. They will then gradually recover, go on to attain liberation, and become one with the Ultimate Truth.

“Where there is illumination, one constantly penetrates; ignorance is then extinguished. To abide in the good is like being born with eyes and able to see vivid sights clearly. From this one comprehends the Mysterious Origin (the profound source), frees oneself from the Six Dusts (the six external objects that disturb the mind and Shen [spirit]), forever extinguishes the Three Paths (the three evil destinies of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals), and at last leaves the Three Realms, no longer sinking into the cycle of rebirth. Within the teachings of the Three Vehicles (the three paths of practice: hearers, solitary realizers, and bodhisattvas), one can grasp the profound and wondrous truth. Light shines forth from one’s own person, and one arrives at will wherever one wishes. This is called the Wondrous Dao.”

At this time, the Celestial Worthy once again set forth the principles above and composed a verse.

The radiance of the sun and moon shines upon all things, impartial and without bias, and the light of wisdom is equally as bright as the sun and moon. A vessel can hold all kinds of things: treasures and filth alike may be placed in it, and each differs in weight. People, each according to their good or evil deeds, receive the corresponding recompense of suffering or joy. If one understands that all dharmas have their own causes and conditions and each manifests in its own way, this is called zuobianzhi (the resolve of seated transformation).

It is like a person blind from birth, who cannot see the sun, moon, and stars, yet can still use a vessel to hold things. Whether treasures or filth, their weights are not the same, just as a person’s good and evil deeds each bring a corresponding recompense of suffering or joy. If someone claims that the world has no forms and appearances, it is like the person born blind who, unable to see the sun, moon, and stars, says that forms do not exist. Only after receiving good medicine and being relieved of illness and suffering does he come to know forms and flavors. When various medicines are combined to treat disease, they gradually bring the blind into contact with light. Without wisdom, one suffers on the path of suffering; this is precisely the condition of a deluded world.

Such principles apply to all things. The Unsurpassed Zhenren (Perfected Person), the ultimate adept who has attained the Dao (the Way), knows that those able to follow the teachings of a master of the Dao can leave the Three Realms—the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the formless realm. With a compassionate heart, the Zhenren considers that you possess such wisdom: some matters lie hidden within houses, their sounds and traces hard to perceive; people dwell far apart, and you cannot know the good or evil in another’s heart. If you wish to know another’s inner mind, footsteps alone cannot take you there; yet if you constantly keep that person in mind, after cultivating and attaining the Dao you can gain spiritual powers.

If you wish to dwell at ease in a place of purity and stillness, you should contemplate subtle principles and purify your mind and resolve. Upon entering the realm of emptiness and quiescence, the Zhenren can guide you to liberation from the world. When the Six Perfections—generosity, observance of the precepts, forbearance, vigorous effort, meditative concentration, and wisdom—are cultivated in purity, one realizes emptiness and quiescence and has nothing left to seek. One should cultivate every kind of good deed. Though the mountains each have their own form, they have no essential distinction. All dharmas are each empty and quiescent, and all conditioned practices are likewise so. When living beings are taught to cultivate, both celestial beings and beings of the human world will praise and proclaim it. All dharmas are equal, and every living being can give rise to the wisdom of the Dao. To recognize and personally experience this equality is to encounter and accord with the Heavenly Dao.

End of Scroll Nine of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing (The Most High’s Scripture of the Lotus of the Wondrous Dharma of the Middle Way).

Chapter Seventeen: Broadly Investigating Calamities and Auspicious Signs

At this time, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning was expounding all manner of lofty and subtle methods of the Dao (the Way) in the Forest of Seven Treasures. The Perfected of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), the Perfected of Great Mystery, and the other Perfected Ones, the Heavenly Kings of the Four Directions, the Wheel-Turning Sacred Kings, the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, the King of Mount Sumeru, and every kind of celestial deity all arrived together, each bringing countless attendants. They bowed their heads in homage before the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning and addressed him, saying:

“In former times, when we observed heaven and earth and the various worlds—the sun, moon, and stars, the mountains, rivers, cliffs, and caves, and all things of metal, jade, earth, and stone—they seemed to rest in a state of undivided chaos, dim and obscure. Yet then the wind and rain came in their proper season, the years brought abundant harvests, the state was peaceful and the people well provided for, life was content, and illness and hardship were rare.

“Now the ways of the age have decayed. The people suffer many illnesses, and those who are poor and die young have grown more numerous. Between fathers and sons, and between men and women, loyalty and filial piety are disregarded, and the world lacks humaneness and righteousness. Famine often occurs, and sickness and calamity arrive one after another. Why past and present should differ so greatly, we truly do not understand. We earnestly beg the compassionate Celestial Worthy to explain this broadly for us, and to instruct those who are confused.”

The Celestial Worthy then explained: People round up and hunt birds and beasts, and kill living beings. They begrudge their wealth and will not give alms to help others. They slight their parents and keep them at a distance, yet cherish their wives and children to excess. They pay no heed to propriety and righteousness, and indulge in sensual desire. They harbor jealousy and give rise to perverse thoughts.

Some, although they enshrine precious scriptures (Jing), never think of reciting them morning or evening, and allow the scrolls to be damaged or lost. Nor do they reverently call to mind the honored titles of the Celestial Worthy. How, then, can they plant good causes and obtain blessings and good fortune?

All that these people do by day and by night is recorded by the Perfected Offices of Inspection. On days when the Daoist tradition observes fasts or performs sacrificial rites—the Six Fast Days, the Ten Days of Rectitude, the Three Primordial Days, the Five La Days, and the Three Assembly Days—the divine offices examine people’s merits and faults, distinguish good from evil, and accumulate a record of each offense. When retribution arrives, their sins are already grave. They sink into the sea of suffering and drift in torment upon the river of desire.

It is not they alone who meet with disaster and suffering. The consequences implicate the Nine Mysterious Lines (remote ancestors and descendants) and entangle the Seven Ancestors (the ancestors of successive generations). The offices of the dark realm examine their offenses and enroll them in Fengdu (the nether region spoken of in Daoism), so that they endure suffering through ten thousand kalpas, with scarcely any time of release.

At this time, having heard these words, the assembled great perfected ones were all filled with alarm, and they earnestly implored the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) to bestow special deliverance upon them out of great compassion.

The Celestial Worthy said, “I now bear suffering in your place, and this suffering has no end.”

Hearing this once more, the assembled great perfected ones were all filled with alarm, and they again earnestly implored the Celestial Worthy to bestow special deliverance upon them out of great compassion.

The Celestial Worthy said, “I now expound this wondrous scripture for you, so as to save all living beings. You must listen and receive it with undivided attention, transmit the teaching into the world, spread it widely, and have people read and recite it. If, in the mortal world, there are those who revere the methods of the Dao (the Way), then when they study the Dao, cultivate themselves, and uphold and recite the scriptures, they must dress neatly and with solemn dignity; they must not appear in disordered attire or with the body exposed. If their thoughts turn to other aims, their minds are impure, and they moreover treat the scriptures with disrespect, they will be blown by the wind into the hell of inverted suspension, where their sinful suffering will grow heavier and be hard to escape. If they can keep the Dao in mind and contemplate the True, even one recitation, or two, can remove their suffering.

If they can devoutly copy the thirty-six venerable scriptures—the scriptures revered in Daoism—circulate them widely in the world, and urge scholars, common people, and believers who have a destined affinity to recite and uphold this scripture, they will obtain measureless blessings. If they can themselves practice good deeds—building Daoist temples, laying bridges, giving grain, cloth, wealth, and clothing, setting aside their own interests for the benefit of others, showing compassion to orphans and care for widows, and inwardly observing the Ten Precepts and the Twenty-four Precepts (the precepts of Daoism)—this alone is the proper way to accumulate merit and seek blessings.

Some living beings, however, recklessly practice trickery and fraud, harbor the intent to kill, place one-sided faith in deviant methods, and sink into drunkenness and sexual license without distinguishing close kin from distant. They are stingy and greedy, jealous of others, seek only their own advantage, refuse to give, contend with one another, and do not relieve the poor. They commit every kind of unlawful act, create evil karma on a wide scale, and do not observe the precepts. Such beings will be condemned by Heaven above; evil spirits and evil ghosts will single them out and pursue them, shortening their lives, casting them into poverty and low station, and bringing upon them the bitter retribution of five kinds of bodily incompleteness.”

Thereupon, the Celestial Worthy instructed the assembled perfected ones—immortals who had succeeded in cultivating the Dao (the Way)—to protect and support this person, so that whether going or staying, all would proceed smoothly, without obstruction or calamity. In the kingdom where this person dwelt, the king, the royal consorts, the crown prince, the chancellors and high ministers, and the common people would all rejoice in peace and ease, secure by day and by night.

If anyone single-mindedly observes the purificatory fast, bathes to cleanse the body, and recites this Fahua Jing (Lotus Scripture), the hundred illnesses can be removed and a thousand calamities dispersed, and whatever is undertaken will proceed smoothly without hindrance. In the kingdom where that person dwells, the king, the royal consorts, the crown prince, the chancellors and high ministers, and the common people will likewise all rejoice in peace and ease, secure by day and by night.

If anyone grows slack, treats the text with contempt and mockery, slanders the scripture, speaks evil and false words, and does not believe in the scriptural teaching, that person will incur measureless retribution and fall into the Uninterrupted Hell (the hell in which suffering has no pause). If anyone reverently believes in and upholds the various scriptures, that person will obtain measureless blessed reward, be reborn in the human world or the heavenly realm, and enjoy every kind of happiness.

At this time, the Celestial Worthy once more set forth the meaning given above, and said:

“I now proclaim this wondrous gatha; all that the gatha says is true. All living beings ought to believe and put it into practice. If anyone does not believe the scriptural text, that person will fall into the three evil paths (hell, hungry ghosts, and animals). You celestial perfected—immortals of the heavenly realm—have already attained the Dao; how could you fail to turn toward the Great Dao? Now, seeing that the demons have been subdued, you bow your heads in reverence and come forward to welcome and invite. I proclaim this gatha in order to elucidate the orthodox canon of the wondrous Dharma; those who take refuge, revere it, and faithfully accept it will see their merit and wisdom ever increase.”

At this time the Celestial Worthy addressed the assembled Perfected, saying, “In Jambudvipa (the southern continent) and the land of Zhendan (an ancient name for China), you may, after five hundred years, send people to instruct and transform them.” At that time the people of the world did no good deeds and knew only how to kill others. The young were already white-haired, and their temperaments were like those of birds and beasts. Men and women were short in stature, standing little more than one chi tall. They planted no grain, ate only grass seeds, and lived beneath the thickets.

On the ninth day of the ninth month, Heaven sent down calamity: mountains collapsed and rocks fell, and the four seas dried up of themselves. Living beings killed and devoured one another. The great earth seemed to melt and change; grasses, trees, flowers, and leaves all turned into sharp blades, and whoever touched them lost their life. Everywhere were mountains of bones and pools of blood, a chaos of bloody stench that no one could approach. Then the Divine King of Hot Wind, the Divine King of Cold Wind, and the other wind gods blew upon the corpses and gathered them into mountains. In some cases, after anywhere from one year to ten, the Great King of the Yearly Wind blew apart all the foul filth, reducing it to fine dust, until the ground lay as level as the palm of a hand.

Afterward a great flood arose, eighty chi deep and as hot as boiling broth, so that none could draw near to take from it. After five years, or ten, the floodwaters carried the filth away, evil things dispersed, and mud and sand covered the ground. The great waters receded and became dry land, the lesser streams became valleys, and bubbles of water were scattered upon the trees. After the flood of a small chiliocosm (one level of the world in Buddhist cosmology) had scoured the land and the defilement had dispersed, the soil grew firm again, with high ground and low, and it was the same in every other place.

The Celestial Worthy said, “I will first send the golden-crested bird down into the world to patrol and inspect, distinguishing men and women of good and of evil. If anyone has deep roots of goodness and upholds this Fahua Jing (the Lotus scripture/classic referred to here), they ought to be saved and delivered, so that they escape these sufferings. If anyone does not cultivate fasting and the precepts, but indulges in lust; kills, steals, and is stingy and greedy; speaks boastful words and lies, utters vicious speech, and sows discord; is contemptuous and deceitful, foolish and ignorant; grows distant from kin and intimate with outsiders; slanders sages, worthies, and Perfected, and shows no reverence for the scriptures—then their sinful karma is deep and heavy. They will receive measureless bitter retribution and, after death, enter the Avici hell of Fengdu (the underworld), suffering through ten thousand kalpas, long remaining in darkness, unable to escape.

“If there are good and faithful men and women, whether they have left the household or remain in it, whether scholars or cultivators of the Dao (the Way), who can sing, chant, and recite the scriptural text, and perform on instruments such as the qin and se, the sheng and xiao, the zheng and di, drums and cymbals, and who further offer incense, flowers, and fine fruits to the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) and to the host of true immortals and sages, they will obtain measureless blessed reward.

“At that time, in western Godaniya (a continent of the west), there will be a realm of joy like this: every kind of music sounding day and night without cease, while strange beasts, numinous birds, wind and cloud, and the trees all seem to join in offering, the melodies graceful and solemn. All living beings of northern Uttarakuru (a continent of the north) will long for and chant the true Dharma; clothing and food will be naturally abundant, life happy and according to one’s wishes, and after death they will be far from every affliction. The living beings of eastern Purvavideha (a continent of the east) will cultivate the true Dao and good Dharma, dwelling in temples and splendid halls, with music arising of itself all around.”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) once again addressed the assembled Perfected: “I now admonish you. Throughout the world there are many gods and ghosts that follow people and harass them, and everyone should examine themselves both inwardly and outwardly. Among them are the Youxian Loubi afflicting ghosts, the Zaoduo… ghosts, the ghosts of heavenly gods and earthly deities, the mountain… ghosts, and the ghosts that come along the five paths to afflict, as well as every kind of strange and baleful ghost: ghosts that suck a person’s blood and Qi (vital energy), devour a person’s Jing (essence) and Qi together with the brain and marrow, seize a person’s hun and po souls, cheat people of food and drink, slip into the ears, eyes, mouth, and nose, swallow the liver and heart, and enter the five viscera, the ten fingers, the three fields—the sites in the body regarded as storing Jing, Qi, and Shen (spirit)—and the seven orifices. There are also the hundred-day hidden-corpse ghosts, the ghosts of pestilence, ghosts that cause headache and abdominal pain, the ghosts of heavenly plague and earthly plague, the five-colored heart-and-tongue ghosts, and the Southern Asterism Zhuangdou ghosts. Ghosts of these kinds in all ten directions of the world harm human beings.

“If good men and good women can recite, uphold, and put into practice this Fahua Jing (Lotus Scripture), they can dispel the host of ghosts, demons, and evil sprites. Those born in the final kalpa (the age at the end of the cosmic cycle) can also ascend to the Palace of Daluo Heaven (the highest celestial realm spoken of in Daoism). Spirit kings will protect such people, so that they do not die young or meet with sudden disaster, and the other evil ghosts will all disperse. In this life they will be secure and happy, sleep without nightmares, find both public and private affairs proceeding smoothly, and see most of their wishes fulfilled. From this it can be seen that the merit accumulated through cultivation is fully complete.

“The beings of Southern Jambudvipa (the human world in the Buddhist view of the cosmos) are often lazy and base by nature. They turn their backs on the correct Dao (the Way) and incline toward deviant paths, failing the teachings of sages and worthies. They sit in judgment on the scriptures and teachings and benefit themselves at others’ expense; they flatter and deceive, and are stingy and greedy; they kill living beings, indulge in sexual misconduct, envy the good, and defy their elders and kin. Their sins pile up until they fill the sky, and bitter karma heaps up across the earth. They recklessly abandon cultivation and only bring fruitless toil upon themselves. Sometimes the harvest is abundant and sometimes it fails, and both the yield and a person’s standing are unstable. Heaven sees clearly, and ghosts and demons then send down calamity.

“If one can revere the true images (the sacred images of gods and perfected beings), honor the teachings, give alms and make offerings to those who have left the household, dig wells so that people may drink and bring relief to living beings, and practice the ten good deeds (ten kinds of wholesome conduct), one can obtain boundless blessings. Living beings each receive their own inborn nature and take their place in the world; because they differ in the degree of their good and evil, the blessings and karmic recompense they receive also differ. I now set these admonitions before you. You should listen carefully and put them into practice, and you must not pass these words on to those unsuited to hear them.”

At this time the many great Perfected, celestial immortals, holy spirit-kings, and others, having heard this teaching, were all filled with joy. They received it in faith and put it into practice according to the instruction. They paid homage to the Dao (the Way), took their leave, and withdrew.

Here ends the tenth scroll of the Taishang Zhongdao Miaofa Lianhua Jing (Scripture of the Lotus of the Wondrous Dharma of the Supreme Central Dao). The variant readings listed indicate the collation and correction of several passages in the base text.