《元始洞真决疑经》

At this time the Primordial Heavenly Worthy (Yuanshi Tianzun) sat upright on the lofty platform of Xiechen Lingguan, together with the Supreme Lord of the Dao (Taishang Daojun) and one billion two hundred million exalted perfected sages, all seated upon white-jade lion thrones. He expounded the secret essentials in full and opened the profound gateways of the teaching. Those who had not cultivated and traveled the path together with the Heavenly Worthy, and who had not already entered the realm of the Dao (the Way), could not take part in this assembly.

The Heavenly Worthy sent forth a subtle radiance of five colors, illuminating every land throughout the ten directions. From within the light came voices of every kind, each adapted to local custom, so that all who heard could understand. The Heavenly Worthy declared: All things in the world are impermanent. Affliction and defilement keep one from being free and at ease. Everything changes and perishes in an instant, like a dream or an illusion. You should all give rise to a mind of renunciation: even if a life lasts for a hundred million kalpas, if one cannot realize the profound mystery of the Great Dao, one will in the end still die and be destroyed. Even the host of sages of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) keep impermanence in mind with every thought; therefore there is nothing in the world upon which one may rely forever.

For your sake the Primordial Heavenly Worthy has temporarily manifested a response-body (a transformation body appearing in order to teach living beings), instructing you so that you may attain awakening and deliverance. Those not yet delivered are left to form affinity in later ages. When the work of teaching is complete, the vows are likewise fulfilled. Now I shall gather in my Shen (spirit) and return to the realm of Wuwei (non-action), limpid stillness, and eternal unmoving constancy. If any doubts still remain in your hearts, you may all come and ask, and I will explain them for you. This is the solemn teaching I leave at the last. You should inquire while there is still time, and not be left with sorrow and regret.

By the power of Shen the Heavenly Worthy then caused the great earth to quake and revolve, filling living beings with alarm. At that time, beings in the three evil paths (hell, hungry ghosts, and animals) all obtained a temporary respite, while beings of the human world and the heavenly realms each received an increase of blessed reward and were spared affliction, obstruction, and disaster. People from far and near all hastened there at once, in numbers beyond reckoning.

At this moment the whole assembly, of one mind, gazed up at the Supreme Lord of the Dao, their eyes never turning aside. They bowed their heads in reverence and said in sorrow:

“O Primordial Unsurpassed Teacher of Gods and Humans, you now set aside your great compassion and depart from this realm of birth and death…”

That Venerable One returned alone to wholesome quiescence, a state of peaceful stillness, wondrously united with the source of all things, yet he does not abide in the world to relieve the sentient beings of the dusty realm.

His true knowledge is pure and undefiled, free and unobstructed. No metaphor or form of speech, however it is framed, can be set beside it.

This is not something we are able to know or to see. How, then, could we observe him and comprehend the mysterious principle within?

We have only just aroused the resolve to cultivate and study the supreme Dao (the Way). We are like newborn calves, still young and frail, without strength.

We can only rely on the Response Body (Yingshen) that appears in the world and bears the mind of great compassion—the transformation body manifested in order to save sentient beings. Like a calf drinking its mother’s milk, we receive the nourishment of the Dharma-milk, the sustenance of the Buddhist and Daoist teachings, and gradually grow and mature.

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) manifests a peerless bodily form and is the father and mother on whom all sentient beings rely and whom they revere.

Why has the Celestial Worthy suddenly cast aside his original vow, leaving the sentient beings of the world forlorn and helpless, without anyone to depend on?

“Excellent indeed, Lord of the Dao (Daojun), you who discern the world! You fully understand that the True Body (Zhenshen) and the Response Body have neither beginning nor end. We earnestly beg you to intercede and entreat the Primordial Worthy (Yuanshi Zun) to shelter sentient beings as parents protect their children.”

For the sake of sentient beings, the Most High Lord of the Dao (Taishang Daojun) rose from his seat, performed the rite of jishou before the Celestial Worthy—bowing his head in reverence—and spoke with earnest entreaty: “We only wish that the Celestial Worthy will greatly arouse compassion and take pity on all sentient beings, long retain this wondrous Response Body, and constantly abide in the world, teaching and benefiting sentient beings so that they may come to attainment, together receive deliverance, and universally enter the gate of the Dao and its teachings.”

The Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun), an exalted deity of Daoism, spoke with deep compassion to the Lord of the Dao (Daojun): “That you can hold all living beings in compassionate concern, accord with the conditions of the world, and ask me to remain in the world is excellent.

“Lord of the Dao, you must tell those present who have not yet entered concentrated stillness (a state of focused, quiet cultivation): Since I attained the Dao (the Way), I have passed through countless kalpas (immensely long periods of time), remaining always in the world and never departing. Those who are ready to be delivered can constantly see my form; when the fortune of the times and the causes and conditions change, living beings may no longer be able to see me. The beings of this kalpa, according to their respective capacities and karmic conditions, are to be guided by the Lord of the Dao toward liberation. Therefore I now ascend into the mysterious realm. The eyes of flesh of you ordinary mortals cannot see my true body, and so you suppose that I have perished. If one only cultivates correct visualization, one will naturally still be able to see me, no differently than now.

“If one cannot yet understand the aspect of emptiness (the principle that all phenomena lack any fixed inherent nature) and still needs to rely on images in order to cultivate with single-minded concentration, one may cast a purple-gold image, copying my likeness, and when worshipping and making offerings treat it as though facing my true body. With concentrated visualization, as merit day by day becomes complete, one will naturally be able to see me, no differently than now. Doing this yields merit equal to that of seeing the true body in person, because neither the fleshly body nor the image is a permanent and truly real entity. If one can understand ‘the body that is not a body’ (the true body not limited by any particular form), one will know that the image and the true body are, in principle, not different.

“Therefore, whether the blessings gained by revering an image are weighty or slight depends on your own mind. Those who are poor may, according to their ability, shape or paint sacred images in clay, wood, copper, and the like; offerings of halls, curtains, seats, banners, fresh flowers, lamps and candles, and the rest are likewise to be made according to one’s means, just as if serving my true body. By means of such causes and conditions, one will in the end enter the correct Dao and will surely meet me in Daluo Heaven (the Great Canopy Heaven).”

Yuanshi Tianzun further said to the Lord of the Dao: “If among the assembly there are still those who have doubts and have not yet understood, they may freely raise their questions. I will help to expound and instruct them, so that they may awaken as soon as possible and not miss the opportunity.”

The Supreme Lord of the Dao (Taishang Daojun), a revered deity of Daoism, raised his hand and addressed the assembly: “I have received the compassionate command of instruction from the Celestial Worthy, and I have come to teach you what you have not yet grasped. All of you ought to understand.”

At this moment the Perfected Xu Laile, Dharma Master of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), rose from his seat, came before the Supreme Lord of the Dao, knelt in prolonged obeisance, and said: “Your servant has been fortunate to behold your honored countenance, and has further been graced with your exposition of the Three Treasures and the profound ultimate of the Caverns (the Daoist teachings concerning the ‘Three Treasures’ and deep principles). I have also been fortunate to serve as Dharma Master of the Supreme Perfected and to receive your recognition. This favor is truly beyond words. Now I am commanded to seek instruction from the Celestial Worthy—a task that one so dull and clumsy as I am truly unfit to undertake. Yet, since I hold the office of Dharma Master and must proclaim the orthodox Dao (the Way), and since I have received both teaching and command, I dare not conceal the doubts in my heart, and so I venture to inquire. I earnestly beg your compassionate guidance: please set forth the principles one ought to observe in advancing and retreating, in movement and repose, and instruct me.”

The Supreme Lord of the Dao said to Laile: “You have accumulated merit and De (Virtue/Power), and have thereby moved the Supreme Sage to manifest signs; thus you have become a great Dharma Master who guides later students. When you meet with doubt, you seek instruction and resolution—this is precisely what you ought to do.”

Xu Laile composed his bearing and straightened his robes. His steps were serene and dignified, and among the assembly he was composed and without fear, as if a disciple standing in a sandalwood grove (a grove where sandalwood trees grow, often used as a metaphor for a pure and solemn setting). Having received the sacred decree, he went before the Celestial Worthy, prostrated himself with his whole body, crossed his hands in salute, and, moved to tears, reported to the Celestial Worthy: “Just now, within the radiance, I received the command of instruction, and I again paid homage to the Lord of the Dao, who graciously exhorted and urged me on. Disregarding the shallowness of my own insight, I venture to come and inquire. I earnestly beg the Celestial Worthy, in his compassion, to grant permission.”

The Celestial Worthy answered gladly: “Good, good! The question you raise is most timely. Although you modestly speak of your shallow insight, you are still willing to come and ask. I shall certainly grant this with compassion.”

The Celestial Worthy, on hearing this, was greatly pleased and replied, “Excellent, excellent! You have asked at just the right moment, and you have struck the essential point. Now listen carefully to what I say.

“It is like a king who rules the world and possesses the seven treasures together with treasuries of every kind. At times he tours the four quarters, taking delight in this himself while also bringing benefit widely to the people. The crown prince succeeds to the throne and carries forward the great work of the realm, and the king also entrusts weighty responsibilities to his ministers. If a minister of wisdom assists him, that minister can support the business of government, so that the state is well ordered and ruler and subjects live in peace and contentment.

“I am the same. I preside over all things and have become the Great King of the Dharma. I shall proceed to the realm of supreme subtlety and ascent into the Mystery, and with an upright mind of contemplative insight I shall guide the host of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing, the three highest deities venerated in Daoism). I entrust the true and hidden treasury to the Lord of the Dao (the Way), so that he may rescue those who are impoverished and lack the provisions of good karmic conditions, and bestow the corresponding efficacy upon those who cultivate with vigorous diligence. I also wish the perfected ones and great sages to propagate the true Dao together and, each according to the beings they are destined to transform, to expound the teaching, so that all beings obtain their own benefit.

“This is like a king entrusting a weighty charge to a minister: he must first choose someone of profound wisdom who is able to bear the burden, and only then commit the matter to him. You are such a person. Through immeasurable kalpas you have renounced desire and held fast to the true Dao, advancing with courageous diligence, your wisdom clear and penetrating, and you have long cultivated and accumulated merit and virtue. Only thus have you been able to arouse the unsurpassed mind of the Dao and inquire of me concerning the great Dao. I am fully endowed with merit and wisdom, and I can resolve your doubts. I know that you are worthy to receive the profound secret treasury, and that you are also able to assist the Lord of the Dao in propagating the great Dao and benefiting all beings.”

At this, the Perfected One of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) asked the Celestial Worthy, “May I ask: when in the future the true teaching circulates in the human world, the words that are spoken will accord with worldly writings, and celestial demons and heterodox paths may also find their way into the true scriptures. If one is to judge by meaning and principle, how is one to distinguish them? Please indicate the essential points, so that the minds of later generations will no longer harbor doubt.”

The Celestial Worthy said: “The Dao (the Way) originally has neither speech nor writing. It is only because the beings of the world are benighted and foolish—holding the Dao in their hearts, yet finding no path by which to realize it—that the scriptures (jing) of the world were established, to awaken beginners step by step. Speech is used to proclaim the true Dao, and writing is then used to set it down as scriptural texts and images. The words and writing spoken of here serve to express principle; they are not talk that merely follows vulgar custom. If you wish to recognize the true Dao, you should listen with full attention.

“The true teaching has twelve Dharma-seals (the fundamental criteria for distinguishing the true teaching from false doctrines). Among the various teachings, one that possesses these seals is an orthodox scripture; one that lacks them is a false doctrine. What are the twelve Dharma-seals?

“First, all conditioned things in the world (things that arise in dependence on causes and conditions) are impermanent: no sooner do they appear than they change without cease, pass through aging, and finally perish. Flowing water, a flash of lightning, a swift horse at full gallop, and a wind that rises in fury are all inadequate as images of this swiftness. Whether a lifespan is long or short, once its term arrives it vanishes all the same; beings are furthermore carried by the power of karma through the three evil paths (the hells, hungry ghosts, and animals). The ending of life and the destruction of the body are changes easy to perceive; that things shift and are impermanent from moment to moment, however, is not understood by everyone in the world. Beings of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing; the three highest deities revered in Daoism, also referring to the realms in which they dwell) see arising and ceasing, understand the affliction that impermanence brings, and discern it clearly by wisdom. They realize that things have no fixed, unchanging marks, and so they do not cling and do not take this as suffering, and they are able to abide in ease and freedom. Yet if the movements of the mind still rise and fall with the arising and ceasing of things, one has not yet been thoroughly liberated.

“Second, nothing in the world possesses an independent, self-governing, truly unchanging ‘self.’ Things cannot be masters of themselves, nor are they truly unchanging realities; all depend upon mutual relations and conditions.

“Third, all things in the world that possess mind and consciousness undergo suffering. Why? Because they suffer oppression, meet with what does not accord with their wishes, and also change through impermanence and finally disappear. Suffering is of two kinds, coarse and subtle. Coarse suffering is that beings, once born, must pass through aging, sickness, death, and destruction; meeting those one resents, separation from those one loves, and the failure of one’s wishes to be fulfilled also belong to coarse suffering. Subtle suffering is that impermanence occurs unceasingly in every thought-moment, and that things are damaged and transformed at every instant. This itself is affliction, only people often fail to perceive it.

“Fourth, everything in the world is impure and defiled, and this too is divided into coarse and subtle. Coarse impurity can be seen; subtle impurity is not easily discerned. The skin, blood vessels, and every part of the fleshly body are unclean, and after death the corpse rots and stinks: this is coarse impurity. The knots and bonds within the mind, such as afflictions and attachments, are subtle impurity, and those who possess wisdom cast them aside.

“Fifth, the myriad things are all empty, because they have no fixed inherent nature and no truly unchanging substance; all are formed only temporarily in dependence on numerous causes and conditions.

“Sixth, one transcends the secular world, ascends into the profound and wondrous realm, and attains the ever-abiding supreme Dao. Its fundamental body is limpid, luminous, and spontaneous, neither arising nor ceasing, far removed from the various marks of conditioned things.

“Seventh, the wondrous wisdom of True Unity is free and unobstructed, possessed of divine and marvelous power that can be exercised at will; therefore it is called the ‘Great Self.’

“Eighth, far removed from the two kinds of impermanence, and not taking up the various forms of grasping, the activity of the mind returns to stillness; therefore this is called peace and bliss.

“Ninth, true nature is open, luminous, and penetrating, far from every form and appearance, without stain and without defilement; this is called purity.

“Tenth, the supreme Dao is true and not empty. It is not a body of falsity and confusion, but a body as firm as diamond; therefore it is called ‘wholesome existence.’

“Eleventh, both worldly teachings and teachings that transcend the world are established only provisionally in response to causes and conditions. Names are set down reluctantly, and only for a time, in order to disclose an expedient path and to teach and transform beings.

“Twelfth, the true nature of the correct Dao neither arises nor ceases. One can say neither that it exists nor that it does not exist. This is called the Way of the true center.

“These twelve Dharma-seals establish the gate of my teaching. Any exposition that accords with these criteria should be honored and followed; doctrines that lack these criteria must not be taken as a basis for practice. With the eye of the Dao (the supernormal eye that discerns principle), in the realm of stillness, I survey living beings from afar. If there are those who can distinguish and understand these seals and cultivate themselves according to the teaching, I will manifest in various forms and appear among the heavens, humankind, and the six paths, acting according to their needs—now emerging, now withdrawing—and by expedient means guide, shelter, and assist them, so that their practice meets no obstruction. You should make these seals of the true teaching widely known to celestial beings and humans and to the people of the world, so that all may know them and practice accordingly.”

The Perfected One of Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate) bowed his head and received the command.

Tianzhen Huangren, the Imperial Lord of Celestial Perfection, left his seat, bowed in homage to the Celestial Worthy, and said, “Today I have some questions I wish to ask, and I earnestly beg you to hear me put them.” The Celestial Worthy replied, “Very well. Ask freely.”

The Imperial Lord asked, “A beginner has not yet entered the stage of cultivation that is firmly settled and free of regression. What should such a person practice as a ladder for entering the path?”

The Celestial Worthy said, “A good question. That you, Imperial Lord, can raise it on behalf of living beings who have not yet understood the principle will benefit the men and women of the latter age. At the outset, those who cultivate and study must practice ten matters as steps of advancement. Just as a person climbs a ladder from the first rung to the second and, step by step, reaches the top, cultivation too must move gradually from the lower toward the higher. Only by first practicing these ten matters can one enter deeply into correct contemplation.

These ten matters are as follows. First, one arouses faith and a mind turned toward the Dao (the Way); only then can one go forward. Second, one draws near to good companions, people who benefit one’s cultivation; on meeting them, one receives guidance and steadies one’s confidence in the correct Dao. Third, one visits an enlightened teacher, one who has penetrated the essentials of practice; the teacher commands subtle methods, can expound them widely, and can point out the crucial points of cultivation. Fourth, one hears the orthodox teaching and is able to receive it, study it, and recite it. Fifth, one leaves the household to cultivate, casting off every kind of bondage. Sixth, one receives and upholds the correct precepts, using the discipline to restrain and guard body, mind, and speech. Seventh, one dwells in seclusion amid mountains and forests, cultivating alone in purity, far from the clamor of the dusty world, and nurturing an aspiration for stillness. Eighth, one constantly keeps the Great Dao in mind; the Great Dao is the true king of the teaching, able to save living beings and ferry them across the sea of birth and death, just as a boatman rescues those drowning in the water. Ninth, one constantly keeps the scriptural teaching in mind; the Jing (scripture/classic) and its teaching are like a subtle medical formula, able to show living beings how their afflictions may be cured. Tenth, one constantly keeps the master of the teaching in mind; the master is like a true parent, skilled at bringing forth and nurturing one’s dharma-body and wisdom-life, the spiritual life and wisdom formed through cultivation.

By means of these ten matters, the practitioner can increase correct understanding and enter the stage of firmness without regression, just as one climbs a ladder step by step to the top.

The Imperial Lord asked again, “What is meant by cultivating correct contemplation? And when cultivation has reached the summit, what kind of realm appears?”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) replied: Beginners should diligently cultivate the ten practices (the ten kinds of cultivation for entering the Dao (the Way)), taking them as expedient methods, and study the principle of “semblance emptiness.” Practitioners gradually come to understand that sentient beings have no real, unchanging substance; going further, they realize that even a mote of dust has no real, unchanging self-nature, and that everything is illusory and unreal. From this they enter the “gate of the single characteristic” (the method of contemplating all phenomena as returning to one and the same true principle), cultivate with firm resolve and without regression, and this is called “reaching the summit.” It is like climbing a high mountain: once one reaches the peak, one can abide there and no longer fall back.

After the principle of non-regression is understood, cultivation must still continue, so that insight becomes still more penetrating, genuine power of the Dao arises, its functioning gradually strengthens, and one reaches a state approximating desirelessness. Because obstruction and attachment still remain, it is called “semblance”; because one has entered the true dharma-gate, it is called “desirelessness.” Profound and correct teachings can guide sentient beings into the Dao of desirelessness, and are therefore also called the “dharma-gate of desirelessness.”

Practitioners deepen their thorough knowledge of true nature and, observing all phenomena with correct view, understand that phenomena have no fixed forms of arising and ceasing. Thereby they gradually transcend birth and death and subdue the various demonic obstructions. The mind becomes clear, transparent, and unobstructed like lapis lazuli, attaining the state of correctness within correctness, in which obstructions are utterly cut off. This is called “turning the dharma-wheel.”

The root of the dharma-wheel is true wisdom. It can carry practitioners out of the three realms (the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the formless realm), beyond Jade Clarity (Yuqing, the lofty celestial realm of which Daoism speaks), to the realm of constant stillness, and is therefore called the “dharma-wheel.” After the divine worthies obtain this teaching, they further hope that sentient beings will, by means of this correct wisdom, proceed to the sanctuary of the Dao; thus, in accordance with their own realization, they expound the teaching through skillful means. Sentient beings are guided by these expositions and turn from darkness toward light, so this wondrous teaching is also called the “correct dharma-wheel.”

Just as a wheel can carry a person and bring one, according to one’s wish, to a place of peace and ease, the correct dharma-wheel can likewise carry practitioners to the realm of liberation. And just as a king’s wheel-treasure can defeat an enemy army, this teaching can also break the four demons (the four kinds of demonic obstruction that disturb practice and hinder liberation) and the hindrances of heterodox paths; it is therefore again called the “correct dharma-wheel.” All that has been said above is the manifestation of cultivating correct understanding and correct contemplation and of attaining the state of reaching the summit.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning continued:

The August Person asked once more: “If the great beings wish to teach and transform living beings in this defiled world, what method should they use first so that beings may be instructed and gradually brought to maturity? Please give us guidance, so that all may benefit.”

The Celestial Worthy replied: “It is like a skilled physician, who must first know thoroughly the methods of curing disease before he can treat every kind of illness and suffering. This scripture (Jing) is like a skilled physician in the world, for it can point out the essentials and help living beings cure the illness of affliction.

“Why is this so? Without having read this scripture, one does not understand the root from which living beings create evil, nor can one clearly see the state of their inversion and delusion, still less know how to counter and cut off afflictions. When a foolish person is stricken with grave illness and does not meet a skilled physician, he takes all sorts of harmful medicines at random; the illness is not cured, and instead he dies before his time. Those just beginning to cultivate the Dao (the Way) who have not encountered this scripture fare the same: they secretly practice deviant paths, hoping to rely on them for their own deliverance, yet they are not delivered and fall instead into the three evil paths—the hells, hungry ghosts, and animals. One should therefore listen to and receive this scripture and recognize the good remedies for curing illness. Only then can one treat every kind of deluded thought and confusion, transcend the ordinary, and reach the realm of the immortals.

“What is the method of teaching and transforming living beings? If a practitioner wishes to save all living beings, he should first enter meditative concentration, observe each one’s causes and conditions, preferences, and spiritual capacity, and understand how they differ from one another.

“To those in whom craving predominates, one should explain that the body is nothing extraordinary: it is impure, full of filth and every kind of fault, and thereby dispel their thoughts of greedy, defiled attachment. To those whose anger is heavy, one should teach the four minds of equality, such as kindness and compassion—the Four Equalities—so that they learn benevolence, set aside partial love of themselves, and care for all things, thus dissolving resentment and no longer harboring grievance. To those deeply obstructed by ignorance, one should explain the teachings suited to them and guide them with skill, so that they gain wisdom and understanding. To those whose minds are scattered, one should teach them to guard the One with single-minded concentration and to gather in mind and spirit (Shen), so that the mind gradually becomes focused and gentle.

“To those who practice infant-like conduct and cling to various views, one should explain the principle of emptiness, so that the discriminating mind subsides. To those who constantly calculate and scheme and are also proud and arrogant, one should explain that there is no fixed and unchanging ‘self,’ nor any independent power that arbitrarily controls all things: what is there to rely on that would make it worth giving rise to pride? All that belongs to a person will in the end wear away and decay, and death is inevitable. For those pressed by suffering who cannot find peace even for a moment, one should counter the various painful afflictions together by means of the principles of impermanence and suffering; constant recollection of the correct Dao can also heal many kinds of affliction. These are the ways of bringing living beings gradually to maturity.

“Only after living beings have been guided in this manner and are ready to receive the teaching is it fitting to expound to them the principle of Twofold Mystery and joint forgetting, the impartial true teaching, and entry into the realm of reality. This is the method of teaching according to the Great Vehicle. This scripture explains the skillful methods of curing illness in just this way, and so I say that it is like a skilled physician. One who obtains this scripture can distinguish the various predominant afflictions of living beings and also understand the afflictions common to all, and can apply the teaching according to each person’s condition; there is none that cannot be cured. Such a person is also called a King of Physicians.

“In accordance with this scripture one can eliminate every kind of affliction, and so it is also called the ‘medicine of wisdom.’ It gives rise to wisdom and frees a person from the illness of affliction, and for this reason it is called the medicine of wisdom. You should know that names and meanings may be spoken of in more than one way: sometimes a result is named after its cause, and sometimes a cause is named after its result. To teach and transform in accordance with the correct teaching and thereby become the medicine of wisdom is a case of naming the cause by the name of the result. Why? Only what can cure disease is called medicine. This medicine of wisdom is produced by the correct teaching, and so the correct teaching is also called the medicine of wisdom.

“This scripture not only cures the illness of delusion; it also gives rise to wondrous good qualities, so that those who study it reach the realm of everlasting peace and joy, the palace where there is no death. It is like sweet dew: one who drinks sweet dew does not die young without cause, but can prolong life and live long. This scripture is the same. Those who cultivate according to its teaching are sure to obtain a life of everlasting peace and joy.

“But if one does not understand flexible skill and grasps it only according to the letter, becoming rigidly attached and unable to penetrate it, one will instead increase one’s afflictions, and long life cannot be assured either. This is like a person who takes sweet dew yet does not know moderation, impairs its medicinal nature, and is poisoned instead. One should therefore deeply understand the skillful means within the true teaching, select and awaken according to one’s own condition, and realize the Dao of sweet dew. Only this is truly to obtain the benefit of the teaching.”

The August Person bowed and praised him, saying, “Well spoken.” He then returned to his seat.

Lord Qingtong, one of the venerated deities of Daoism, reflected privately to himself: the ten stages spoken of by the Celestial Worthy are expedient methods for guiding those who study the Dao as they first enter the practice of cultivation. Even I have not yet fully understood them—how, then, could those who have only just resolved to cultivate the Dao comprehend them?

Thinking this, he rose, set his robes and cap in order, and came before the Celestial Worthy in a dignified and quiet manner. After bowing, he knelt at length and addressed him: “I have just heard of ten stages of cultivation, but being dull-witted I have not been able to understand them. Please explain them to me once more: what is meant by the ‘mind of wholesome desire’?”

The Celestial Worthy said: “A fine question. The High Minister’s questions take two forms. In one, the mind still harbors doubt and has not yet understood, and so he asks. In the other, he asks on behalf of all who have not yet understood. Since remote kalpas long past, the High Minister has already been adept at comprehending and knowing these principles. That he now still says he has not understood and asks me to explain the ‘mind of wholesome desire’ again is in order to pose the question for those who have not yet grasped it.”

The Celestial Worthy said: “There are two reasons for asking a question. One is that one has doubts in one’s own mind and has not yet understood, and so one asks. The other is to ask on behalf of all those who still do not understand. Since remote kalpas, the Supreme Minister has already heard the true Dharma widely, penetrated its principles and meanings, entered the realm of the Dao (the Way), been bathed in the stream of the Dharma, and is able to contemplate emptiness and existence, knowing how to choose between brevity and fullness when expounding the teaching. It is for the sake of sentient beings that he takes the occasion to ask.

“There are two ways of expounding the teaching: the concise and the detailed. When facing those of relatively dull spiritual capacity, one may be either concise or detailed. To open only a single Dharma-gate and explain it is called concise. If one repeatedly distinguishes a single matter and speaks of it in fine pieces, it is because the listener finds it hard to grasp and needs patient guidance; this is called detailed.

“When facing those of keen spiritual capacity, there is likewise a distinction between the detailed and the concise. To open and explain all the various Dharma-gates is called detailed. When the listener’s power of understanding is strong and there is no need to explain item by item, and a rough account of a single point is enough for one to grasp the whole, this is called concise. When I expounded the teaching for the assembly in the abode of the Imperial Lord, beginners and those of weaker capacity still could not fully understand the principles within it. Out of compassion, the Supreme Minister requested, on behalf of people of later ages, that I explain in detail. I shall now set it forth broadly.

“What is called ‘wholesome desire’ means that, carrying on the habits and causal conditions of the past, one naturally gives rise to a mind of faith and reverence, is willing to draw near to the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), hopes to attain release from the secular world, and grows weary of the world and turns away from it. All that sentient beings do is driven by desire: if one wishes to do good, one inclines toward the good; if one wishes to do evil, one creates evil deeds. The root of desire is bound up with whether a person’s spiritual capacity is sharp or dull. Those whose merit and blessing are profound are endowed with a temperament that is bright and keen, and so they readily give rise to wholesome desire. Those of dull capacity who bear the retribution of wrongdoing are endowed with turbid, darkened Qi (vital energy), and so they readily give rise to evil desire. As desire continually accumulates, it forms a disposition that is not easily changed. This is the condition by which wholesome desire is discerned.”

The Azure Lad asked: “Then what is meant by drawing near to good friends?”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said: Companions, too, are of two kinds. Some lead people into ruin, and some help people attain fulfillment.

If someone urges you, saying, “Everything a person receives in life is fixed by fate; it is best simply to follow the natural course of things. When one’s allotted span runs out, one fails in the end all the same, and this has nothing to do with ordinary daily cultivation. For example, a person’s head is pointed by nature, fire is dry by nature, and water is moist by nature—who made them so? Ordinary people and sages, fools and the wise, as well as the noble and the lowly, the rich and the poor—who arranged them? One need only keep to one’s proper station, accept one’s inborn endowment and destiny, and rest content at ease. Why toil at cultivation and seek to learn good methods? Forcing a change upon one’s nature only harms oneself; one labors and yet gains nothing. Since no benefit can be seen, why speak of the Dao (the Way) at all?” Those who speak in this way are called “evil companions” (friends or teachers who lead people into error). One must not draw close to them, but should at once keep far away.

If someone tells you, “All karmic fruits arise from karma and from causes and conditions. The eyes of flesh of ordinary people cannot see the retribution of past lives, the present life, and future lives, and so they mistakenly suppose that everything is simply so by nature. This does not accord with true principle; do not believe it. You should set your resolve upon goodness, seek out teachers, inquire into the methods of the Dao, cultivate in accordance with the correct Dao, plant good conditions for future lives, let the root of faith gradually grow, and in the end attain the unsurpassed Dao.” Those who speak in this way are called “good companions” (friends or teachers who guide people toward goodness and the cultivation of the Dao). One should often draw close to them. Why? Because such people can help you accomplish the Dharma-body (the pure body attained through cultivation) and the wisdom-life (the root of life obtained through cultivation), and can also bring blessings and ease for this life and for lives to come.

The Azure Lad (Qingtongjun) said: “Only now have I heard that good friends can bring benefits such as these. What sort of person may be called an enlightened teacher who understands how to guide cultivation and handle the affairs of cultivating the Dao, and whom one ought often to draw near?”

The Celestial Worthy said: There are two kinds of masters. One is merely splendid on the surface; the other is truly cultivated. The so-called master who is “ornate but insubstantial” does not understand the principles within, yet outwardly assumes an air of comprehension, using words and bearing to bewilder others until they trust and follow him. Such a person is called a foolish master and is not worthy of taking refuge in. A truly cultivated master understands thoroughly within and is without deficiency in conduct. Though his clothes are worn out and his shoes are worn through, he is modest and unassuming and does not put himself on display. Outwardly he seems ordinary, yet in truth he is a person of De (Virtue/Power). If, through the introduction of a good friend, one comes to know such a master, one should go and serve him earnestly, consult him with an open mind, and accept strict instruction.

If a master expounds only principles in which there is some attainment within the Lesser Vehicle (a teaching that emphasizes personal cultivation and realization), speaking merely of the phenomena of arising and ceasing and clinging to being and non-being, cause and effect, such a master is called a dim master. If a master teaches that the various phenomena need not be clung to in practice and are free of obstruction, that they neither arise nor cease and do not fall to one side of being or non-being or of cause and effect; and if he can further explain that although things undergo change they are not wholly without cause and effect, and is skilled at clarifying causes and conditions, teaching the Middle Way (the principle of not clinging to either extreme) through expedient names and words—only such a master is called a clear master.

The Azure Lad said: “A clear master such as the Celestial Master (Tianshi) is truly very hard to find. What is meant by the appearance of leaving the household?”

The Celestial Worthy said: The meaning of leaving the household is profound, and the benefits it brings are likewise vast. There are two kinds of household. One is family life bound by affection; the other is “the various existences” (the various states of being fettered by desire and by cause and effect).

When a beginner, having met a clear master, can resolve to cultivate and study through diligent hardship, devote himself fully to affairs, serve his teacher, and receive subtle instruction, then if he still remains at home he will be encumbered by the affections of parents, wife, and the like, as though shut in a cage, unable to be at ease. In order to follow his own aspiration and cultivate in tranquility, he accompanies his teacher whether near or far and inquires into the mysterious work of the Dao (the Way). He must therefore seek his parents’ consent, bid farewell to his wife, leave his dwelling, travel far into the mountains and forests, and take up residence in a hermitage (a place where cultivators live and practice). He abandons secular clothing, ornament, and enjoyment, changes into a yellow-brown Daoist robe and puts on a black headcloth, sets aside worldly glory, and cultivates the Dao with a single mind. This is called the first step of leaving the household of affection.

After leaving the household, one must further cultivate purification and precepts with diligence, so as to escape the Three Paths (the three destinations of suffering spoken of in Daoism), establish faith, learn to enter stillness and return to emptiness, free oneself from the craving of the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm), and ascend to the Nine Clarities (the pure and vacant heavens spoken of in Daoism). This is called leaving the household of “the various existences,” and this is what leaving the household means.

The Azure Lad (Qingtong) said, “I have now left the condition of the three evil paths—hell, hungry ghosts, and animals—and I still hope to be freed from the bonds of every realm of Youwei (conditioned action). I do not understand what may truly be called the orthodox teaching.”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said, “Only a scripture (Jing) that possesses the twelve seals—the marks by which the authenticity of a classic is judged—and that corresponds to the Three Caverns (Sandong, the three major classifications of Daoist scriptures) is called an orthodox Jing. Everything else is called a heterodox method and must not be received or upheld. One should personally seek instruction from a master and discern it with care.”

Lord Azure Lad (Qingtongjun) asked, “What are the precepts?”

The Celestial Worthy said, “There are two kinds of precepts: precepts of attainment and precepts of non-attainment. The precepts of attainment include the three precepts, the five precepts, the eight precepts, the nine precepts, the ten precepts, the twenty-seven precepts, the one hundred and eighty precepts, and the three hundred great precepts. These precepts serve to stop evil and prevent transgression, yet they have not penetrated the expedient methods of cultivation, and so they are called precepts of attainment. They can keep a person far from the three evil paths and the sufferings of the human world, but they have not yet entered the sphere of cultivating the Dao (the Way). If one can contemplate that the precepts and all phenomena are ultimately empty and quiescent, this is called the true precept. One clings to neither the distinction between keeping the precepts and breaking them; from this the gateway of correct contemplation is opened. This is the root of cultivating the Dao.”

Lord Azure Lad asked, “What is meant by dwelling in seclusion among mountains and forests?”

The Celestial Worthy said, “This too has two kinds. Those of lesser capacity, whose minds are small, constantly fear being defiled by the dusty world, and so they enter among cliffs, hills, and woods, avoid impurity, sit quietly and upright, and cultivate pure conduct. Those of superior capacity live in the world yet do not fear its toil and defilement; even while dwelling among people they remain undefiled, just as pearls and jade are clear and pure by nature. They remain in the world while their minds rest in the formless realm. Only this is truly to understand the meaning of mountain dwelling.”

Lord Azure Lad asked, “What is the form of contemplating the Dao?”

The Celestial Worthy said, “What is called contemplating the Dao is the ability to penetrate, subdue, and eliminate all evil thoughts and evil deeds, just as adamantine power leaves nothing it cannot cut, and just as a fierce fire leaves nothing it cannot burn.”

The scripture then asks again, “What is the form of contemplating the Dao?” but the wording at the end appears to be incomplete, and the meaning of what follows cannot be determined from it.

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said: Cultivating contemplation of the Dao (the Way) enables one to penetrate and fully comprehend it and to eliminate all evil appearances. It is like the power of diamond, which no hardness can withstand, and like a fierce fire, which leaves nothing unburned. There are two kinds of contemplating the Dao. The first is visualizing the birth-body, that is, the Celestial Worthy manifested in form: fully endowed with seventy-two kinds of physical features and eighty-one auspicious bodily marks, majestic and subtle, the most exalted being in the human world and the heavens within the Three Realms (the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the formless realm), and the one in whom I take refuge and from whom I seek protection. The second is visualizing the Dharma-body (that which transcends concrete form and is the fundamental reality embodying the Great Dao); it is perfectly complete and pure, like empty space. This is the true Dao, also called the “body of the Dao” or the “nature of the Dao.” To keep an upright mind concentrated on the Dao at all times, without allowing other thoughts to interrupt, is what is called “contemplating the Dao.”

Lord Azure Lad (Qingtongjun) asked: Please explain briefly what is meant by “contemplating the Jing (scripture/classic).”

The Celestial Worthy said: The Jing are divided into three kinds: the Great Vehicle, the Lesser Vehicle, and the Middle Vehicle. To receive and uphold the Jing with wholehearted devotion, always cherishing faith and reverent admiration, remaining unwavering in visualization, clearly knowing that the teachings of the Jing are the path that leads one out of affliction toward liberation, and not mixing in any other thoughts—this is called “contemplating the Jing.” If one understands that the various teachings are originally without written words, and can correctly contemplate the true fundamental appearance and grasp the meaning within it, this too is called “contemplating the Jing.” This is what it means to understand “contemplating the Jing” skillfully.

Lord Azure Lad asked: What is meant by “contemplating the teacher”?

The Celestial Worthy said: The teacher is like a father. Without a teacher, I could not attain the Dao. Therefore one should follow the teacher whether near or far, visualize the teacher with single-minded attention so that the teacher is constantly before one’s eyes and is never forgotten for a moment, and not allow other thoughts to stray from this one focus of mind. This is called “contemplating the teacher.”

One should also uprightly recollect all the great sages who have already attained the Dao and the host of the Perfected (divine immortals who have attained the Dao). They are all Treasures of the Teacher worthy of veneration; all of them can instruct me, and they are the field of merit before one’s eyes (objects that can bring the blessings and virtue of cultivation). One should take refuge in them single-mindedly, with each thought succeeding the last without break, and give rise to no deviant thoughts. This is called “contemplating the teacher.”

Lord Azure Lad said: Now that I have received this instruction, I understand the principle, and the doubts in my heart have all been dispelled. In future lives to come, men and women alike will no longer be confused. When he had finished speaking, he completed his bow, returned to his own seat, and sat down.

The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) raised his hand and said to the assembly: “You should know that my true body is pure and unobstructed, like empty space, neither arising nor perishing, forever abiding in the source of wholesome stillness and great wisdom. It is profound and hard to see, yet the subtlety within it is genuine and not illusory. Through measureless kalpas I have realized this true body, steady and unmoving, transcending all things—neither fully knowable by sages nor comprehensible to ordinary people.

“For the sake of living beings, I manifest a response body (a form displayed so as to accord with beings), enter the five paths (the different destinations of beings in the cycle of rebirth), and, according to causes and conditions, guide and deliver them, using fitting methods so that they come to understand. According to each one’s capacity, I expediently display different appearances; therefore it is called the ‘response body.’ The response body likewise has neither arising nor perishing, neither coming nor going, and constantly abides without change. In order to benefit all beings, I sometimes withdraw and sometimes appear, thereby stirring them to diligent practice so that they no longer fall back. Whatever ought to be done has already been accomplished; as for those matters that should not continue to be carried out by me, the Lord of the Dao (Daojun) will understand of himself. All of you gathered here should together follow my teaching, and do not give rise toward me to thoughts of discrimination and attachment.”

When he had finished speaking, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning slowly ascended into the sky. The assembly gazed after him as far as their eyes could reach, but they could see him no more. Then the Perfected (Zhenren) choked with sobs and wept, looking up to the sky and bowing in reverence, grieving as if they had lost their parents. They turned again toward the Lord of the Dao, prostrated themselves, and said:

“The body of true wisdom, supreme, pure, and wondrously subtle, is truly without form, and no one is able to see it;

it only manifests the response body, and then returns to the source, so that all harbor deep sorrow.

We rely upon the Supreme Limitless Worthy, just as, having lost a mother, one depends upon a compassionate father.

Living beings are sunk in the fierce fire of grief; we only wish that you would in due time send down the rain of sweet dew,

to cut off inverted delusion and craving, dispel every partial and clinging view, and extinguish the paths of error.”

The Supreme Lord of the Dao (Taishang Daojun) said to those present: “You should know that the nature of all things is empty and still. The realms of birth and death and of cultivation do not differ in their nature; therefore one should not falsely imagine that there is coming and going. Those who have only just aroused the resolve to practice should recognize that worldly affairs are impermanent, each seek liberation, and depart from the suffering of birth and death.”

The Most High Lord of the Dao (the Way; Taishang Daojun, one of the revered deities of Daoism) told those assembled: “You ought to know that the inherent nature of all things and all principles is empty and quiescent. Although birth and death differ, in essence there is no distinction, and so you should not vainly imagine that you will go from here to there, or come from there to here. From the very start of cultivation, you must recognize the impermanence of worldly affairs, each seeking your own liberation and withdrawing from the suffering of birth and death. The teachings left by the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun), together with the precepts and admonitions, are all stated with perfect clarity; you must cultivate diligently and seek liberation as soon as possible. Do not give way to sorrow and anxiety, lest you squander in vain the meritorious attainments gained through cultivation.”

When these words had been spoken, the Most High Lord of the Dao returned with his attendants to the Jade Capital (Yujing, the celestial capital of the immortals as described in Daoism). The other deities and immortals, and those who had come from the worlds of the ten directions, all paid homage to the Lord of the Dao and then departed together.