《太上一乘海空智藏经》Vol. 2

Even if one cries out all day long, the voice will not become hoarse. Why is this? Because of this causal condition, the mind does not move along with the body. The Zhenren (Perfected Person)—one accomplished in Daoist cultivation—and the Tongzi (pure child)—a practitioner pure and undefiled—have already departed from sexual desire and all other kinds of dust-stain pollution. Though they dwell within the city of demons (a metaphor for the dusty world full of temptations and disturbances), their minds remain unmoved. Precisely because the mind is unmoved, one should know that the true immortals are free in body and mind and can manifest a bodily form as fine as motes of dust and bearing afflictions. Sentient beings each see it differently.

At this time, Miaosi (the name of the disciple who asks) again reported to the Tianzun (Heavenly Worthy), saying: Just as you have explained, the true immortals and pure children are free in body and mind; though they dwell in the city of demons, their minds are unmoved, yet for sentient beings they manifest an afflicted bodily form as fine as motes of dust. Therefore doubt arose in the minds of the assembly: How did the true immortals and pure children cultivate so as to attain shentong (spiritual power), able to stir sentient beings and cause them to arouse the mind of the Equal One Vehicle (Pingdeng Yicheng; the single, universal path to enlightenment, a term borrowed from Buddhism), the secret treasure of the ocean of emptiness? We earnestly beg the compassionate venerable one to explain this in detail for sentient beings, so that what we have not heard in the past we may hear today, and what we have not seen in the past we may see today. This passage is repeated once in the original text, with the same meaning.

The Heavenly Worthy replied to Miaosi: “Excellent, excellent! Good man, how should the True Immortal Youths (Zhenxian Tongzi) cultivate so as to attain spiritual powers and fully penetrate the Ocean of Emptiness Treasure Store? In the past, those True Immortals offered countries and cities, wives and children, relatives and dependents, the seven treasures (gold, silver, lapis lazuli, and the other of the seven precious substances), and the wealth in their treasuries in service of the scriptures and cultivation. With beautiful voices they also praised and made offerings, recited and pondered the meaning of the scriptures, and expounded their principles and savor. Because of such causes and conditions, they were able to dwell securely in the Wanli world, with body and mind unmoved by external circumstances.

Why so? Because they were far from all attachments: the notion of self (the clinging that takes the self as truly existent), the notion of person (the clinging that divides others from oneself), the notion of dependence (the clinging that relies on external things), the notion of action (the clinging to created deeds), the notion of thought (the clinging to thoughts), the notion of cause (the clinging to causes), and the notion of effect (the clinging to effects). For this reason, even when they were in the City of Demons (symbolizing the city of afflictions and temptations), their minds were not moved.

Good man, if there are sentient beings in the City of Demons who receive and uphold even one phrase or one word from this subtle secret scripture, the One Vehicle Ocean of Emptiness Treasure Store, such people will certainly perfect merit and virtue, abide in enduring happiness, purity, and freedom, and be far from the notions of person, self, action, and thought.

Good man, if there are sentient beings who make offerings of beloved relatives, the seven treasures, and lapis lazuli, the same principle applies. Why so? Such people understand that a cause is not ultimately a real cause; causes arise from causes; and since causes are impermanent, the effects they produce are also impermanent. Therefore they can be far from craving and love for all things and offer to the scriptures with a pure mind.

Good man, if there are sentient beings, whether male or female, who hear even one word or one phrase of the Ocean of Emptiness Wisdom Store, and are not attached to the form of letters, not attached to the form of sentences, not attached to the form of hearing, and not attached to the form of speaking, those who understand this principle see all things in the manner of “signlessness” (wuxiang). Because they act with the mark of signlessness, they can attain eternal joy and freedom, be unobstructed, firm in body and mind, and will certainly give rise to compassion for the True Immortal Youths of the ten directions. This is called the body of eternal joy and freedom: it is neither a body, nor apart from a body, nor without a body.

Therefore, when the True Immortal Youths cultivate this subtle scripture, the One Vehicle Ocean of Emptiness Wisdom Store, they will certainly penetrate deeply into its meaning and attain the body of freedom.

At this time, Miaosi (the disciple who asks questions in the scripture) once again addressed the Heavenly Worthy (the supreme honored deity who expounds the scriptures), saying: Such a mind is what is called the “body of eternal bliss and freedom.” It is not a matter of leaving the fleshly body and seeking another body, nor does it cling to having a body or to having no body. Because of this principle, when the Perfected Immortal Youth cultivates “The Subtle and Wondrous Scripture of the One Vehicle, the Ocean and Emptiness Wisdom Treasury” (“One Vehicle” refers to the single fundamental great path that leads directly to liberation; “Ocean and Emptiness Wisdom Treasury” is a metaphor for wisdom that is vast as the sea and boundless as emptiness), he can definitively comprehend this profound principle and attain the body of freedom.

At this time, Miaosi again addressed the Heavenly Worthy: What you have said is truly extremely profound. Then what should the Perfected Immortal take as a “field of merit” (cultivating merit and virtue is like sowing seed in a field, which then yields a harvest) in order to further and definitively attain eternal bliss and freedom?

The Heavenly Venerable replied: “Good, good! Good man, how should the Perfected Immortal Youth cultivate and plant the field of blessing (futian) so as to attain stable and unchanging peace and freedom?”

Good man, Perfected Ones who uphold the precepts, and all the immortals, may all be called “fields of blessing” (futian: cultivating practice and accumulating virtue is likened to a field; by sowing good causes, one reaps good fruits). If someone says that such persons are the true fields of blessing, one should know that they possess roots of goodness and are the good foundation on which sentient beings rely; immeasurable sentient beings all depend on them.

Good man, the Perfected Immortal Youth regards all sentient beings as fields of blessing. Why? Because sentient beings themselves possess roots of goodness, one should constantly remember that all sentient beings are true fields of blessing. The three fields, six fields, eight fields, nine fields, and other such fields of blessing can in turn give rise to immeasurable fields of blessing. The Heavenly Venerable expounds them individually according to the minds of sentient beings. There are four kinds of fields of blessing: first, the impure field; second, the pure field; third, the both pure and impure field; fourth, the pure-pure field.

What is the impure field? Good man, when a donor upholds the precepts and understands the principle of giving with wisdom, as naturally as water flows toward low ground, but the recipient violates the precepts and clings to wrong views, holding that giving brings no return—for this reason it is called an impure field.

What is the pure field? Good man, when a donor violates the precepts and clings to wrong views, saying that giving has neither wisdom nor karmic reward, but the recipient is pure and upright and widely proclaims the wondrous Dharma, knowing the principle of giving with wisdom and its karmic reward—this is called a pure field.

What is the both pure and impure field? Good man, when both donor and recipient uphold the precepts, possess abundant wisdom, and understand giving with wisdom and its karmic reward, this is called pure. If both donor and recipient break the precepts, violate the pure Dharma-gate, and are foolish and deluded in mind, this is called impure.

What is the pure-pure field? Good man, when a superior donor gives to a superior field of blessing, this is called pure-pure. These are the four kinds of fields of blessing.

If sentient beings cling in their minds to “I have given,” and single-mindedly expect a return for their charity, one should know that such people cling to wrong views, violate various prohibitions, and destroy the mind of the Great Vehicle (Mahayana: a path of practice aimed at saving all sentient beings). If a good person explains and distinguishes these matters so that people understand the principle of giving and receiving, such a person possesses right view. If, relying on the scriptures of the One Vehicle’s treasury of wisdom (One Vehicle: the single path to ultimate liberation; treasury-of-wisdom scriptures: scriptures containing the treasure of wisdom), one skillfully understands giving and its karmic reward, such a person upholds the precepts and constantly practices right view.

Good man, wherever the Perfected Youth directs his thoughts, through long cultivation he can accord with what is seen and clearly perceive sentient beings’ observance and violation of precepts, donors and recipients, and their corresponding karmic rewards. Therefore this is upholding the precepts, this is right view, and one can accordingly distinguish the four kinds of fields of blessing and non-fields of blessing.

Miaosi again asked Tianzun (Heavenly Worthy): What is a qingjing guotu (pure land)?

Tianzun praised him, saying: Good, good, good man! You wish to return to Changle (the great Dao realm of eternal peace and joy), and so you have raised this question; the time is exactly right. There are four kinds of land (the original text writes shi, “officer”; according to context it should be tu, “land”): first, bujing (impure); second, yijing-yibujing (both pure and impure); third, jingzhongzhijing (pure within pure); fourth, feifeijing (non-non-pure).

What is bujing? If beings are greedily attached to desire, hold wrong views, and slander the true path, they are reborn in lower lands. There thorns and poisonous grasses cover the ground, the terrain is uneven, people’s forms are ugly, they produce much evil karma, kill one another, and their lifespans are short. Because of such causes and conditions, they are born in lower lands; this is called bujing.

What is yijing-yibujing? Beings’ thoughts differ: some can purify the three karma of body, speech, and mind, while some still have impure bodily conduct. Such people are born in lands where pure and turbid are mixed together; this is called yijing-yibujing.

What is jingzhongzhijing? For example, Nansheng (here the name of a land) has a surpassing appearance, wonderful and rare; such a land is called jingzhongzhijing.

What is feifeijing? The Miaole land is not “impure”; it is only to convert beings that it is expounded in various ways. The fruit of the Dao is pure, transcends existence and nonexistence, and is neither existent nor nonexistent. If beings cultivate the One Vehicle (the single ultimate method of practice) subtle and wondrous scripture, generate an equal mind, and with these roots of goodness vow to dwell together in this land with xiantong (immortal youths, referring to those who have successfully cultivated the Dao and attained it), with long lifespans, vast power, and the attainment of great spiritual powers, then by the power of the causes and conditions of this vow, when they attain the Dao in the future, the land they see will all be feifei-qingjing (non-non-pure). This is called feifeijing.

These are the four kinds of subtle and wondrous lands. Good man, if a virtuous person contemplates the One Vehicle subtle and wondrous scripture, rejoices in heart, widely saves beings, keeps far from desires, and with these roots of goodness vows to dwell in this land together with all beings, far from desire, anger, and delusion, no longer attached to anything, and without a body of hunger, thirst, and affliction.

Furthermore, good man, one who is born as a person of inferior station receives three kinds of karmic retribution: first, “visible retribution”; second, “principal retribution”; third, “residual retribution.”

What is “visible retribution”? Good man, if sentient beings commit the ten evils (the ten evil karmic actions committed through body, speech, and mind), disobey their parents, and slander the subtle and wondrous scriptures of Mahayana (the practice path whose purpose is the universal salvation of sentient beings), then in this very life they will suffer severe illness, develop sores and ulcers, contract the six kinds of disease, become deaf, mute, blind, lame, or paralyzed, and endure various pains and sufferings. Because this manifests in the present life, it is called “visible retribution.”

What is “principal retribution”? Good man, if sentient beings suffer grave illness while alive and after death fall into hell, then in darkness and gloom they are born each day and die each day, with no time of escape. Such suffering is called “principal retribution.”

What is “residual retribution”? Good man, after leaving hell, they may be reborn as one of the six domestic animals (cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, dogs, and chickens), or as owls, parrots, or evil birds, or be transformed into soft-shelled turtles, fish and turtles, or stinging insects, or be reborn as macaques, river deer, deer, tigers, and leopards. Even if they obtain a human body, they are blind and dim-sighted and much afflicted by illness; they have human appearance but lack human disposition, and are fully endowed with ten kinds of fierce and evil facial features and bearing. Even if they leave home and become monks, they violate various grave precepts and transgress the disciplinary rules—this is “residual retribution.” This category is called “residual retribution of afflictions.”

Such residual retribution can all be eliminated by true persons (those who cultivate the Way and realize the truth) and youths if they practice the “subtle and wondrous scripture of the One Vehicle, the Ocean of Emptiness” (One Vehicle: the single ultimate Dharma gate that leads directly to Buddhahood; Ocean of Emptiness: a metaphor for its vast boundlessness), and they abide in the realm of true emptiness (true emptiness: a state beyond being and nonbeing, pure and undefiled).

Good man, what kind of person qualifies as a pure True Immortal Youth who can uphold the precept against killing? Within such a person are five levels of thought, from lower to higher: lower, middle, upper, upper-upper, and middle-upper; and even right view (upright understanding) is cultivated progressively in this way. These fifty kinds of mental states are called “initial aspiration” (the initial resolve to seek the Dao). If one can remain firm and unwavering, the fifty minds are brought to perfect accomplishment. Accumulating another hundred kinds of mental states in this way is called “a hundred merits and blessings”; when one is replete with a hundred kinds of merit and blessing, one accomplishes one excellent mark. Progressing layer by layer and accumulating in turn, one ultimately becomes replete with seventy-two excellent marks; this is called the “pure and subtle body.”

Good man, the Perfected Youth (Zhenren Tongzi) constantly cultivates a pure body. Why? Because heavenly beings and all sentient beings will trust and revere such bodily marks; therefore the Perfected One cultivates eighty-one excellent marks and secondary marks, with a body stable and unmoving, causing sentient beings, according to their own faith, to bow in reverence, praise and honor, and give rise to an impartial mind. For this very reason, the Perfected Youth cultivates a pure body.

Good man, suppose a worthy minister wishes to welcome a great king: he must first decorate and arrange the palace halls and dwellings, prepare all kinds of delicious dishes and fragrant, wonderful foods, and only then will the great king gladly come. The Perfected Youth is likewise: wishing to invite the Supreme Dharma-Wheel Sage King (a supreme sage king who turns the Dharma wheel and universally saves sentient beings, a metaphor for the unsurpassed Dharma), he must first cultivate and purify himself, making body and mind pure, and only then will the Dharma-Wheel Sage King come to where he is. He makes excellent offerings of pure, fragrant, sweet delicacies from the celestial kitchen; the great king is greatly delighted and praises: “Excellent, excellent! Today I have received offerings of these various fragrant things, and a grand, adorned, subtle jeweled seat has been set out. I reflect that I should give this wondrous fragrance to all impoverished sentient beings, so that they may be satisfied and no longer have thoughts of hunger and thirst.”

Good man, the Perfected Youth is likewise: purifying body and mind, he reverently invites the Ocean of Emptiness realm of the Supreme One Vehicle (the single ultimate Great Vehicle path). That ambrosial Dharma taste can benefit all sentient beings; therefore there are none who are not delighted.

Good man, as in the spring months, when heaven sends sweet rain, all plants and trees, great and small, sprout tender shoots together. The Dharma taste of the Ocean of Emptiness is likewise so.

Good man, if sentient beings have pure minds, in a single thought they can transform their bodies, abide in the land of the Ocean of Emptiness, attain a vajra indestructible body, and cut off all afflictions in the ten directions and thirty-two heavens (a general term for the heavens in Daoism). Why? Because with a vajra-like pure view, they can “see without seeing their marks”: even when seeing men and women, they do not cling to the marks of men and women; even when seeing form-dharmas (material things), they do not cling to form; even when seeing day and night, they do not cling to the marks of day and night; even when seeing afflictions, they do not cling to the marks of afflictions; even when seeing the Ocean of Emptiness, they do not cling to the marks of the Ocean of Emptiness.

Why? Good man, all dharmas originally have no fixed marks; they are like illusions, like dreams, like lightning, like sparks struck from stone, vanishing in an instant. Because of these causes and conditions, the Perfected Youth sees without clinging to seeing and abides without clinging to abiding; therefore it is called “abiding in the land of the Ocean of Emptiness.”

At that time, the fourfold assembly (bhikshus, bhikshunis, upasakas, and upasikas, broadly referring to the faithful), having heard this teaching, all rose and bowed, were joyful and exultant, and respectfully took their leave and departed.

Scripture Title and Fascicle Number

The second fascicle of The Supreme One Vehicle Scripture of the Ocean of Empty Wisdom Treasury (Taishang Yicheng Haikong Zhizang Jing) ends here; next is fascicle three. The chapter title of fascicle three is “Chapter on Dharma Characteristics” (Faxiang Pin). “Dharma characteristics” refers to the manifestation and fundamental nature of all dharmas—that is, the true appearance of things.

Main Text

At that time, Haikong Zhizang—the questioner in the scripture, a cultivator of vast wisdom like an ocean-empty treasury—rose from his seat, adjusted his robe and draped shawl, took up an incense burner, faced the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun, the supreme sacred being in Daoist scriptures), and stood respectfully. He concentrated his spirit and gazed steadily, not letting his eyes look elsewhere, and his mind was free of distracting thoughts.

Then the Heavenly Worthy asked in a gentle tone: “Great Virtue, benevolent one, why are you so reverent and earnest, as if you have something urgent to resolve? Could it be that you have some doubt that cannot be untied? I am the great lord of the Dao for gods and humans, unobstructed in eloquence, thoroughly penetrating the subtle and profound principles, skilled at expounding the boundless treasury of meaning, conversant with all the Dharma-gates of the ten turnings (referring to the ten stages by which the teachings advance layer upon layer), and able to discern the wishes in others’ minds—nothing is beyond my insight. Whatever doubts you have, raise them freely; do not hesitate. I will analyze and explain for you the profound and wondrous root of the great Dao.”

Hai Kong Zhizang (the questioner) replied calmly: Great Wisdom Heavenly Worthy (Dazhi Tianzun), I have a question I wish to ask, but did not dare to speak abruptly. The Heavenly Worthy perceived my intention and first guided me with compassion and goodwill, with merciful joy, soothing my heart. From this I know that the Heavenly Worthy is truly the fundamental father of the world, the reliance of sentient beings and the object revered by all kinds of beings. Now, having received your great majestic spiritual power, and because you pity my ignorance, I dare to disclose my shallow question, hoping you will condescend to consider and accept it.

Great Sage Heavenly Worthy, the great question previously raised by Da Hui was this: among the four paths of cultivation, what differences does each have? Can one attain fruition through them? And in what ways do their attainments differ? Heavenly Worthy, please condescend to consider and accept it.

The Heavenly Worthy answered this, and my obstruction was thereby dissolved, like a clear wind sweeping away clouds and mist; all doubts dispersed, and I no longer hesitated, directly pointing to the root of wisdom. The Heavenly Worthy also answered Miao Si's question, saying: all good and evil arise from causes and conditions, and causes and conditions arise by relying on the mind. He also answered Jue Li's question, saying: the power of the mind is unsettled, and therefore good and evil arise. I have already clearly understood these exquisite discussions. But I still have doubts, and hope the Heavenly Worthy will decide and clarify them for me.

Heavenly Worthy, by what causes and conditions does the root of all dharmas arise? The root of all dharmas—that is, what is called the mark of the conditioned (phenomena that arise and cease depending on causes and conditions)—is it ultimately truly existent, is it empty and nonexistent, or is it neither empty nor truly existent? If it is truly existent, it should be eternal and unchanging, without any alteration; if it is empty and nonexistent, then natures and marks would each be distinct, with differences between this and that. If it is truly existent, there should be no decrease or destruction; if it is empty and nonexistent, there should be no arising. If it is truly existent, it should have bodily form and substance; if it is empty and nonexistent, there should be nothing that can be verified.

If it is truly existent, after all the sages and saints have realized the path, where does the dharma remain? If it is empty and nonexistent, how do all the sages and saints cultivate and attain supreme wisdom? If it is truly existent, when sages and saints abandon this mark of dharma and again obtain this mark of dharma: when they abandon this mark of dharma, does the mark of dharma ultimately remain or perish? When they obtain this mark of dharma, from where does the mark of dharma arise? If it is empty and nonexistent, there is no distinction between abandoning dharma and receiving dharma. If it is truly existent, then in sentient beings, where does the dharma abide? If it is empty and nonexistent, then sentient beings have no dharma that can be obtained; they can neither contain it nor establish it. If it is truly existent, there should be some obstruction in coming and going, going and returning; if it is empty and nonexistent, coming and going, going and returning should have nothing to touch.

Because of these causes and conditions, all marks of dharmas are difficult to fathom, and in both emptiness and existence one does not know their limits. I only hope the Heavenly Worthy will descend and bestow instruction, analyzing and explaining this for me.

The Heavenly Worthy replied to Hai Kong Zhi Zang: Excellent, excellent! You are a True Person and Great Being; inwardly you understand the true reality of all dharmas, are pure and free of entanglement, and so are able to ask this question today. Its purpose lies in benefiting all sentient beings and accomplishing immeasurable merit, and the ford (gateway) to attaining merit has already appeared. I will now explain it for you in detail, so that the assembled multitude here and sentient beings of the future may all understand completely, be liberated from birth and death, and enter the source of the Great Dharma.

Hai Kong Zhi Zang, all marks of dharmas (the various characteristics and phenomena of things) arise through causes and conditions (that is, conditioned dharmas); their root is not real, and their ultimate destination is empty and nothing. Why is this so?

The arising of marks of dharmas is due to sentient beings; since sentient beings are empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is due to ghosts and spirits; since ghosts and spirits are empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is due to the world; since the world is empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is due to gathering teachings (the pedagogical methods that guide and gather sentient beings); since gathering teachings are empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas relies on provisional names (temporarily posited designations); since provisional names are empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is produced by fabrication (human construction and activity); since fabrication is empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is due to good means (good methods and approaches); since good means are empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is due to the arising of evil (the arising of evil thoughts and deeds); since the arising of evil is empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is due to lack (deficiency and craving); since lack is empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty.

The arising of marks of dharmas is due to good means; since good means are empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is due to the arising of evil; since the arising of evil is empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is due to lack; since lack is empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is produced by contentment (the mind of satisfaction); since contentment is empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is due to the eye faculty (the visual organ); since the eye faculty is empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is produced by the ear faculty (the auditory organ); since the ear faculty is empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty. The arising of marks of dharmas is produced by the nose faculty (the olfactory organ); since the nose faculty is empty, the marks of dharmas are also empty.

The arising of dharma-appearances arises from the tongue faculty (the sensory faculty of the tongue). Since the tongue faculty is empty, dharma-appearances are also empty. The arising of dharma-appearances arises from the body faculty (the sensory faculty of the body); since the body faculty is empty, dharma-appearances are also empty. The arising of dharma-appearances arises from the mind faculty (the sensory faculty of thought and mental intention); since the mind faculty is empty, dharma-appearances are also empty.

Therefore we can know that the essence of all dharma-appearances (dharma-appearances: the manifest forms of things and phenomena) is born from emptiness, and from emptiness gives rise to emptiness. Thus it is said that emptiness is precisely emptiness; it is not that there is a real boundary. If one wishes to teach and transform sentient beings, and sentient beings accept the teaching and attain the fundamental purport of all dharmas, they can cross the sea of suffering and cause it to be empty and quiescent. The arising of dharma-appearances arises from the mind faculty; since the mind faculty is empty, dharma-appearances are also empty. Therefore we can know that the essence of all dharma-appearances is born from emptiness, and from emptiness gives rise to emptiness. Thus it is said that emptiness is precisely emptiness; it is not that there is a real boundary. If one wishes to teach and transform sentient beings, and sentient beings accept the teaching and attain the fundamental purport of all dharmas, they can cross the sea of suffering. The dharma-appearances that are cultivated immediately return to emptiness.

Why is this? If they do not return to emptiness, how could they persist? Where would they abide, and where would they be fixed? Because they have no fixed place or direction, they are called empty.

What is meant by “giving rise to emptiness in dependence on emptiness”? Dharma-appearances are not fixed. If they arose from substantial existence, they could not change and penetrate; from this we know that dharma-appearances do not arise from substantial existence. Not arising from substantial existence means arising in dependence on emptiness. Because they arise in dependence on emptiness, they are called empty.

How can the essence of emptiness produce empty dharmas? Therefore it is said that emptiness is not produced outside emptiness; that it emerges from substantial existence is utterly impossible.

Why are dharma-appearances formed by sentient beings? If there were no sentient beings, there would be no dharma-appearances. Because there are sentient beings, immeasurable dharmas arise. From this we know that dharma-appearances arise because of sentient beings.

Why are all sentient beings empty dharmas? All sentient beings are empty in their original nature, and their bodies are also empty. Like a great banana tree, like a flame, like an illusion, they arise in a blink and vanish in an instant—this is emptiness.

Why do dharma-appearances become empty along with sentient beings? Because the principle of arising and ceasing is the same. On account of this causal condition, when sentient beings are extinguished, dharmas are also extinguished; while sentient beings are not exhausted, dharma-appearances are also not exhausted.

The scripture first establishes a principle: all dharmas (wanfa) arise only in dependence on causes and conditions; they arise and cease according to causes and conditions, and are mutually inseparable; therefore all are empty (without self-nature, not permanently real).

Take ghosts and spirits as an example: if there were no ghosts and spirits, there would be no reverence for the law (jingfa); because ghosts and spirits exist, reverence for the law arises. Thus it is clear that reverence for the law is produced by ghosts and spirits. Why, then, are ghosts and spirits also empty? Because all ghosts and spirits are not permanent, fixed existences; they discard their old bodies and receive new ones, and ultimately must return to the True Dao (the authentic Great Dao), and so they are empty. Reverence for the law is empty along with ghosts and spirits because the two arise and cease in synchrony: when ghosts and spirits are utterly extinguished, reverence for the law disappears with them; while ghosts and spirits still exist, reverence for the law remains.

The same principle holds for the world. All dharmas rely on the world to have differentiated appearances (differentiated dharmas, yifa); if there were no world, these differences would not exist. The world is impermanent and subject to destruction, ultimately returning to emptiness, and so differentiated dharmas are empty along with the world: when the world perishes, differentiated dharmas also perish; while the world has not yet ended, differentiated dharmas still exist.

Further, consider shejiao (the teachings and organizations that gather and guide people through edification) and lifa (ritual norms): ritual norms are established by shejiao, and shejiao in turn exists depending on people. People are not truly unchanging entities, and so shejiao is empty. Ritual norms are empty along with shejiao also because their arising and ceasing are the same: when shejiao is utterly extinguished, ritual norms perish with it; while shejiao still exists, ritual norms also remain.

All things arise in dependence on causes and conditions; they arise and cease according to causes and conditions and cannot escape this relation, so they are all empty.

Why is it said that “dharma-aspects” (the modes in which things exist) are established by relying on provisional names? If there were no provisional names (names established for convenience), there would be no expedient methods (provisional means set up to guide sentient beings). Precisely because provisional names exist, expedient methods arise accordingly. From this we know that expedient methods are produced by provisional names.

Why is it said that all provisional names are empty dharmas? Provisional names are all established in response to the needs of the moment, so they are empty.

Why is it said that expedient methods are empty along with provisional names? Because the two arise and cease together. For this reason, when provisional names cease completely, expedient methods also cease completely; when provisional names have not ceased, expedient methods have also not ceased.

All things arise in dependence on causes and conditions; they arise and cease according to causes and conditions and cannot escape this relation, so they are all empty.

Why is it said that “dharma-aspects” are produced by human fabrication? If there were no construction (human making and fabrication), there would be no craft dharmas (methods of skill and making). Precisely because construction exists, craft dharmas naturally arise. From this we know that craft dharmas are produced by construction.

Why is it said that all construction is empty dharmas? Whatever is fabricated will ultimately be worn away, so it is empty.

Why is it said that craft dharmas are empty along with construction? Because the two arise and cease together. For this reason, when construction ceases completely, craft dharmas also cease completely; when construction has not ceased, craft dharmas have also not ceased.

All things arise in dependence on causes and conditions; they arise and cease according to causes and conditions and cannot escape this relation, so they are all empty.

Why is it said that “dharma-aspects” arise from good means? If there were no good means (good methods or paths), there would be no dharmas of benevolence. Precisely because good means exist, dharmas of benevolence naturally arise. From this we know that dharmas of benevolence are produced by good means.

Why is it said that all good means are empty dharmas? Because all good means cannot bring people to complete and ultimate fulfillment, so they are empty.

Why is it said that dharmas of benevolence are empty along with good means? Because the two arise and cease together. For this reason, when good means cease completely, dharmas of benevolence also cease completely; when good means have not ceased, dharmas of benevolence have also not ceased.

All things arise in dependence on causes and conditions; they arise and cease according to causes and conditions and cannot escape this relation, so they are all empty.

Why is it said that “dharma-aspects” arise from the arising of evil? If there were no arising of evil, there would be no dharmas that harm all things. Precisely because the arising of evil exists, dharmas that harm things naturally arise. From this we know that dharmas that harm things are produced by the arising of evil.

Section One: Evil Thoughts and Harm

What is the emptiness possessed by evil thoughts (the arising of wicked thoughts)? If evil thoughts did not arise, there would be no acts that harm the myriad things; precisely because evil thoughts exist, acts that harm the myriad things naturally come about. From this it can be known that acts harming the myriad things originate in evil thoughts. Then why are evil thoughts all empty (empty dharmas, referring to existents that lack self-nature and are illusory and unreal)? Because all evil thoughts ultimately return to the root of goodness, therefore they are said to be empty. Why do acts that harm the myriad things become empty along with evil thoughts? Because the two arise and perish together. Therefore, when evil thoughts are exhausted, harmful acts are also exhausted; when evil thoughts are not exhausted, harmful acts are not exhausted either. The two rely on causes and conditions to arise, arise and perish accordingly, and cannot be separated from each other; therefore both are empty.

Section Two: Insufficiency and Seeking

Why does the mind of seeking arise from insufficiency? If there were no sense of insufficiency, there would be no thought of seeking; precisely because insufficiency exists, the thought of seeking naturally arises. From this it can be known that the mind of seeking originates in insufficiency. Then why is all insufficiency empty? Because all insufficiency has a time when it stops and is satisfied, therefore it is said to be empty. Why does the mind of seeking become empty along with insufficiency? Because the two arise and perish together. Therefore, when insufficiency is exhausted, the mind of seeking is also exhausted; when insufficiency is not exhausted, the mind of seeking is not exhausted either. The two arise depending on causes and conditions and cannot be separated; therefore both are empty.

Section Three: Contentment and Disenchantment

Why do the appearances of all dharmas arise from contentment? If there were no contentment, there would be no mind of disenchantment; precisely because contentment exists, the mind of disenchantment naturally arises. From this it can be known that the mind of disenchantment originates in contentment. Then why is all contentment empty? Because all contentment is not completely perfect and truly ultimate, therefore it is said to be empty. Why does the mind of disenchantment become empty along with contentment? Because the two arise and perish together. Therefore, when contentment is exhausted, the mind of disenchantment is also exhausted; when contentment is not exhausted, the mind of disenchantment is not exhausted either. The two arise depending on causes and conditions and cannot be separated; therefore both are empty.

Section Four: The Eye Faculty and Form-Dharmas

Why do the appearances of all dharmas arise from the eye faculty? If there were no eye faculty, there would be no form-dharmas (visible forms and external objects); precisely because the eye faculty exists, form-dharmas naturally arise. From this it can be known that form-dharmas arise from the eye faculty. Then why is the eye faculty empty? Observed with an unfixed and unattached eye, it can be known to be empty.

This scriptural passage uses the four faculties—eye, ear, nose, and tongue—together with their corresponding objects—visible forms, sounds, scents, and tastes—as examples to explain the principle that all dharmas are “empty.” Here “empty” means lacking an independent, unchanging self-nature; everything arises and ceases depending on causes and conditions.

The Eye Faculty and Form-Dharmas

The scripture asks: why are form-dharmas (visible things) empty? Because they arise and cease together with the eye faculty. When the eye faculty disappears, form-dharmas disappear with it; while the eye faculty remains, form-dharmas also remain. Form-dharmas can manifest only by relying on the eye faculty; the two arise together and cease together, and cannot be separated from each other. Therefore both are empty.

The Ear Faculty and Sound-Dharmas

Sound-dharmas (objects of hearing) depend on the ear faculty. Without the ear faculty, no sound can be heard; because there is the ear faculty, sounds arise. Therefore it is said that sound-dharmas arise from the ear faculty. Then why is the ear faculty also empty? Because the sounds heard and received by the ear faculty are impermanent, arising and ceasing moment by moment, and the ear faculty likewise arises and ceases with them; therefore it is empty. The principle that sound-dharmas are empty along with the ear faculty is the same: when the ear faculty is extinguished, sound-dharmas are extinguished; while the ear faculty remains, sound-dharmas exist. The two arise in dependence on each other and cannot be separated; therefore both are empty.

The Nose Faculty and Scent-Dharmas

The relation between the nose faculty and scent-dharmas is the same as above. Without the nose faculty, there are no scent-dharmas; because there is the nose faculty, scents can be perceived. The nose faculty receives various scents, arising and ceasing moment by moment, so the nose faculty is empty. Scent-dharmas arise and cease together with the nose faculty, and therefore are also empty.

The Tongue Faculty and Taste-Dharmas

Without the tongue faculty, there are no taste-dharmas; because there is the tongue faculty, flavors can be distinguished. The tongue faculty receives various tastes, arising and ceasing moment by moment, so the tongue faculty is empty. Taste-dharmas arise and cease together with the tongue faculty: when the tongue faculty is extinguished, taste-dharmas are extinguished.

When the tongue faculty (the organ that senses taste; in the scriptures, “faculty” denotes a sensory capacity able to contact external objects and give rise to cognition) has not yet been exhausted, attachment to flavors has not yet been exhausted either. These attachments arise through contact between the senses and external objects; they arise and cease along with the arising and ceasing of the two and cannot be separated from one another. Therefore they are all empty.

How, then, does the characteristic of attachment arise from the body faculty (the faculty of touch)? If there were no body faculty, there would be no attachment to tactile sensations; precisely because the body faculty exists, attachment naturally arises. From this we know that attachment arises from the body faculty. Why is the body faculty itself empty? Because it receives various fine and smooth tactile sensations and arises and ceases from one thought-moment to the next, it is empty. Attachment is empty along with the body faculty because the two share the same arising and ceasing.

Therefore, when the body faculty is utterly extinguished, attachment is utterly extinguished; when the body faculty is not exhausted, attachment is not exhausted either.

Likewise, the dharmas of affliction arise from the mind faculty (the root of consciousness, meaning the source of discursive thought and clinging mental activity). If there were no mind faculty, there would be no afflictions; precisely because the mind faculty exists, afflictions naturally arise. Why is the mind faculty empty? Because it takes up various objects of clinging and arises and ceases from one thought-moment to the next, it is empty. Afflictions are empty along with the mind faculty, also because the two share the same arising and ceasing. When the mind faculty is utterly extinguished, afflictions are utterly extinguished; when the mind faculty is not exhausted, afflictions are not exhausted either.

The above sixteen kinds of phenomena manifest only by means of causes and conditions. When causes and conditions disperse, the phenomena disappear with them. From this we know that all conditioned dharmas—phenomena produced by the convergence of causes and conditions and subject to arising and ceasing—are empty.

This is so because conditioned dharmas decay and perish, arise and decline. If all sentient beings can realize the supreme true fruit of the Dao, the substance of the conditioned can return to Wuwei (non-action), the state of neither arising nor ceasing, beyond contrivance.

From this it can be known that all Youwei (conditioned action: cultivation and phenomena that involve fabrication and deliberate seeking) is merely an aggregate of emptiness; all Wuwei (non-action: the state of following nature spontaneously and not giving rise to fabrication) is the clear, still, and true Dharma, beyond the boundaries of emptiness and existence. Therefore, if it is called “empty,” it can yet transform the myriad things; if it is called “existent,” it can yet not be sought. This is the realm of “neither nonexistence nor existence.” In your present cultivation, you should practice the supreme, wondrous method of Wuwei, clear and still, and should not engage in practices of Youwei that cling to outward marks.

At this time, Haikong Zhizang again said to Tianzun (Heavenly Venerable, the title of the supreme honored deity in Daoism): The principles spoken by the Great Sage are truly subtle and profound. Yet in my mind there remains the realm of “neither nonexistence nor existence,” which I have not yet fully understood. Earlier, when Tianzun taught the Youwei dharmas, you said their outward marks are not real; when teaching the Wuwei dharmas, you said their principle is not void. But the various Youwei dharmas before our eyes have clear forms and distinct qualities; every movement and action can be known through reason. Yet Tianzun says they are empty. As for the Wuwei dharmas, they are silent and remote, without image or echo, impossible to fathom with the mind and difficult to measure with feeling-consciousness. Yet Tianzun says they are existent. These are two opposite paths, diverging from each other. Then how should all sentient beings of future generations cultivate so as to realize the ultimate true source of the Dao?

At this time, Tianzun replied to Haikong Zhizang: Do not give rise to distorted doubts. If one clings to “existence” and is bound by outward marks, wishing thereby to seek the supreme, true, and unsurpassed Dao, how could that be possible? Those who truly cultivate the Dao should take this as their refuge. The two paths seem to contradict each other, but in fact both point to the same source of the Dao; it is only that cultivators must first break their attachment to outward marks.

The Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) replied to Haikong Zhizang: “Do not harbor deviant thoughts and doubts. If you cling to the appearances of things and try by this means to seek the highest true Dao, how could you possibly succeed? Those who cultivate the Dao should understand that the nature and appearances of all conditioned dharmas (youwei fa)—things that arise dependent on causes and conditions—will arise, cease, decay, and perish; none is eternal and unchanging. Why is this so? All things in the Three Realms (Desire, Form, and Formless Realms—the entire world in which sentient beings transmigrate) arise relying on the power of sentient beings’ thoughts. The nature of sentient beings changes with each thought, arising and ceasing; conditioned dharmas are likewise this way, arising and ceasing from thought-moment to thought-moment. At the very moment they arise, they already bear the mark of cessation; at the very moment they exist, they are already empty and illusory. Because they cannot endure, they are called ‘emptiness.’

Unconditioned dharmas (wuwei fa)—the reality that is not produced by causes and conditions and transcends arising and ceasing—do not perish and cannot be measured. When there is resonance, it manifests in accordance with things; when there is no resonance, it remains clear, still, and forever present. From this you should understand: what depends on conditioned dharmas bears the marks of arising and ceasing, and because it bears the marks of arising and ceasing, it is called ‘empty.’ What has nothing on which to depend has no destruction, and because it does not perish, it is called ‘existence.’ You should reflect well on this, discern it in fine detail, and find the root of all wondrous dharmas.”

When Haikong Zhizang heard these words, he was immediately awakened in mind and attained the state of Great Illumination (wisdom suddenly opened). He then rose from his seat, knelt upright, bowed his head, and said to the Heavenly Worthy: “What you have explained concerning emptiness and existence is truly wonderful and supreme; the profound and subtle meaning has reached its utmost and is inconceivable. I shall practice it and spread it throughout this dusty world. I only hope that today the Heavenly Worthy will return with me to my country and, with great spiritual powers, teach and guide those who have not yet heard the Great Dao, so that they may all be liberated and attain the most supreme benefit.”

At that time the Heavenly Worthy replied to Haikong Zhizang: “Now is not the time; you should go back first. I myself will know the time, and then I will go to your country, admonish and teach the people, and enable them all to see and understand immeasurable profound meanings.”

Haikong Zhizang reported again: “Now is precisely the time; I only hope that you…” The text then repeats the Heavenly Worthy’s words: “Now is not the time; you should go back first. I myself will know the time, and then I will go to your country, admonish and teach the people, and enable them all to see and understand immeasurable profound meanings.”

Haikong Zhizang (the cultivator who here asks the Tianzun to lead the assembly to the Land of Ultimate Bliss) reported again: “Now is the time. I beg the Tianzun to look down with compassion and go to that Land of Ultimate Bliss, without hesitation or difficulty.” He pleaded earnestly in this way, bowing again and again and refusing to stop.

The Tianzun was silent for a while, then granted his request and turned to instruct his disciples: “You may prepare all the ritual implements and travel provisions needed. Today I will go with you, together with Haikong Zhizang, into the Land of Ultimate Bliss to expound the Dharma and liberate sentient beings. We must make Dharma bridges and Dharma ladders (metaphors for skillful means that guide beings onto the path of liberation), make a great bright candle (the light of wisdom that pierces darkness), and make a great ship (the Dharma vessel that carries people across the sea of suffering), so that all beings in the world may realize the fruit of the unsurpassed true and correct Dao.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the immortal youth Xianqing Tongzi (an immortal attendant beside the Tianzun) stepped forward, bowed, and, kneeling upright, reported: “The Great Sage Tianzun can discern the time and is skilled at assessing the various differences in beings’ cultivation. If there are beings who can be taught and transformed, I am very glad, and I respectfully prepare all kinds of adorned Dharma implements.” Then he stepped forward and, by the power of spiritual penetration, transformed into four hundred million true immortal Daoists. These Daoists were one zhang and two chi tall; their appearance and bearing were especially outstanding, upright and wonderful, seldom equaled in the world. All wore dark crowns and draped green robes. Each Daoist held a seven-jewel lotus (a lotus adorned with seven kinds of treasures), twelve zhang tall, with blossoms fully open, fragrant and radiant, illuminating the entire land; the color of the flowers was all red. From their mouths they recited the hidden-language scriptures of the Numinous Book (secretly transmitted classic), and their voices shook the world. They surrounded Xianqing as his retinue and followers.

After entering the gate of the country, pure-faith lay men and women came to welcome them in immeasurable, boundless numbers, crowding the roads. They scattered flowers until the ground was completely covered, leaving no gaps, each layer several chi thick. The smoke of burning incense gathered densely and formed clouds in midair; travelers felt cool and were freed from heat and affliction.

On that day they entered Baoyu City (Treasure Gathering City). In the city was a king named Shanzhong (Good Seed), who, together with his relatives, ministers, officials, and common people, numbered many hundreds of billions. King Shanzhong’s queen also led the entire harem retinue, totaling one hundred thousand people. The assembly set up high and broad Dharma seats adorned with treasures; the beds, mats, curtains, and canopies were all exquisite and marvelous. The king and his subjects, and the queen and her harem, each sat to one side, silent and quietly listening to the expounding of the Dharma.

At that time, the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) was present together with a multitude of billions. The queen of King Shanzhong (the king in the scripture) also led the entire inner-palace retinue, one hundred thousand people in all. They set up a tall and broad teaching seat adorned with precious treasures; the beds, mats, curtains, and canopies were all exquisitely beautiful and rare. The king, his ministers, and the queen each sat to one side, quietly listening to the teaching.

Then the Heavenly Worthy and all the true adepts ascended the seats and sat down. Their awe-inspiring divine radiance shone forth, illuminating the whole world with a vast and immeasurable light. The immortal youth Xianqing Tongzi (the attendant immortal youth in the Heavenly Worthy’s retinue) came before the assembly and said in a loud voice: The Great Dao (Dao) is not far away. If one holds sincere aspiration and seeks earnestly, it can be attained quickly. You members of the retinue should now focus single-mindedly and carefully observe your own bodies: the body is like an illusion, like a transformation, like lightning, like wind. It has no true sovereign within it and will ultimately perish. Why do you sink into these decaying phenomena, deeply attached to the six emotions (Liuqing: the desires born of the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind), without mindful remembrance of the true Great Dao? Once life ends, the soul and spirit depart far away and fall into the three evil paths (Santú: hells, hungry ghosts, and animals). From then on all is vast and cut off, with no further chance of escape, sinking in the sea of suffering, with countless pains beyond description. You should know how to escape these calamities.

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone present was frightened and alarmed, trembling and sweating, unable to speak. Using this as a skillful means, Xianqing Tongzi immediately conjured a great ocean, vast and boundless, with no shore in sight. He placed the assembly to one side, while the city of Baoju (Treasure Gathering City) remained intact. Looking into the distance, the people saw an island continent, supremely majestic and ornate. A jeweled terrace rose high, reaching the sun and moon above and veiling the clouds and mist below. Xianqing Tongzi stood upon the terrace, his appearance solemn, with countless guards around him. On all four sides of the terrace were bottomless deep pools; wind and waves surged into the sky, shaking the sun and moon. Xianqing Tongzi raised his hand and called from afar: Great King Shanzhong and all the retinue, the water of this great ocean can surely wash away all defilements and obstructions, making people pure and free of outflows, and enabling them to accomplish the supreme teaching. If you are weary of the pollution of the dusty world and wish to seek the Dao teachings, you should throw yourselves into this water and come to me to receive instruction.

Then everyone, men and women alike, took off their clothes and vied to leap into the water. Some, when the water had only reached their knees, turned back, thinking: How can this great ocean be crossed? Before I have seen the principle of the other shore, I would merely drown for nothing, with no benefit at all for cultivating the Dao.

Some, having waded in to waist depth, turned back. They thought to themselves: I have only just entered the water and am not yet far from shore, while that “sage’s pearl” (a metaphor for the supreme Dao realm where sages abide) is still very far away. Why drown myself and needlessly lose my life? So they gave up. Even if they reached the other shore (a term borrowed from Buddhism, meaning the realm of transcendence and liberation), without understanding its principle they would only sink in vain, with no benefit for cultivating the Dao.

Others again waded in to waist depth and turned back, likewise thinking: I have not gone far into the water; that sage’s pearl is too remote and vague; why drown myself and needlessly lose my life?

At that time, among the assembly there were eight hundred thousand people who thought: This body of mine is the root of all kinds of suffering and will in the end perish and rot; why begrudge it? To maintain it for long only strengthens the roots of evil. Even if I cannot reach the other shore and drown amid the waves, that is not worth regretting. So they leaped in. Even if they could reach the other shore, if they could not in due order settle their minds and spirits, they would still be unable to enter the highest Dharma gate (the supreme path of cultivation).

Among those seated there were also seven hundred seventy-two thousand great worthies who thought: I follow the admonitions of the scriptures and obey the teachings of the sages; there is nowhere I cannot go. On the terrace of the other shore are great spiritual powers and the virtue of the sages; if I merely raise a hand as a signal, I will surely be saved. Now my mind is utterly without fear. Joyfully and eagerly they threw themselves into the water with all their strength, and in an instant reached the other shore. By firm and unwavering resolve, they immediately realized the supreme great Dharma of true, correct Wuwei (non-action; here meaning the cultivation realm of following nature and not acting rashly).

After these seven hundred seventy-two thousand great De true adepts (people of high attainment in cultivating the Dao) realized the Dao, their bodies emitted light that illumined distant places. At that moment, the immortal attendant lads (youths who serve the immortals) withdrew their spiritual power, and everything returned to as it was before. Yet the appearance of those who had realized the Dao was no longer the same as before. Seeing this, everyone was astonished and discussed among themselves: “These people earlier threw themselves into the water and sank into the deep pool; how is it that today they have suddenly turned about and become like this?” Each sighed in amazement, for they had never seen such a thing, and all felt doubt: where had that great sea from before gone? As for those who had previously drowned, they actually noticed nothing unusual and instead benefited even more.

This passage of scripture recounts the following:

After a wondrous scene—the seawater suddenly rising to an immeasurable depth and breadth—the Tianzun (Heavenly Worthy) told the assembly not to doubt. This was not a real change in the seawater, but a manifestation of the spiritual powers of immortal officials and divine youths. The Heavenly Worthy manifested in this way so that everyone would know the relative spiritual capacities of all cultivators and how many could be liberated; hence this auspicious sign appeared. The Heavenly Worthy encouraged them: if you truly love the great Dao, do not begrudge your own life, for the blessings obtained through cultivating the Dao are inexhaustible and immeasurable.

Then the Heavenly Worthy recalled the past. At the beginning kalpa of Longhan, there was a world named Changle, “Everlasting Joy,” whose people all practiced diligently, maintained long-term fasts and recited scriptures, and were tireless from morning to night. At that time there was a Heavenly Worthy also named Yuanshi, “Original Beginning,” who dwelt in this world, proclaimed the wondrous Lingbao Dharma, and with a compassionate heart taught and transformed the five directions. He used the Zhenwen Baofu (True Writ Precious Talisman—talismanic scriptures possessing divine power in Daoism) to liberate beings, and all beings received benefit. Later this Heavenly Worthy returned to the Changle world and taught the people there.

Because various karmic conditions had not yet been fully settled, he displayed great spiritual powers: raising his hand, he covered the sky; the light withdrew and became a heap of fire two thousand zhang high, and he manifested himself above the flames. Wherever his spiritual power shone, all four directions could see. In the fire he sang forth the great Dharma sound and told the assembly: “If you wish for long life, enter this fire and come receive my Dharma.” At that time those who were determined to seek the Dao and did not spare their lives threw themselves into the fire to seek the Dao. Yuanshi Tianzun then bestowed the scriptures upon them in the fire, afterward concealed his form, and departed. All of them attained the Dao of long life and deathlessness.

Finally, the Heavenly Worthy admonished the assembly: the ways in which sages teach beings are not singular; all are for liberating the people of the world. But seas of fire and floods are terrifying, and one should not lightly risk entering them.

Key Points: This passage uses the story of “bestowing the Dharma in fire” to show that cultivating the Dao requires firm resolve, but at the same time it reminds people that the sages’ expedient methods differ, and one should not blindly risk one’s life.

If there are sentient beings who can fear no hardship and regard their own persons lightly while regarding the Great Dao (the Way) as weighty, they should understand that the sage’s methods of teaching and transforming all things are not only one, but their aim is always to save and liberate the human order of the world. Why is this said? Places of great fire and flood are terrifying; one cannot rashly risk entering them. If sentient beings can fear no hardship, make light of the body and value the Dharma, and not begrudge their lives, you should know that such people, because of the causal condition of seeking the Dharma, will ultimately spare nothing and can pursue all the way to the source of the Great Dao without slackening or retreating. Precisely because of such causal conditions, those who threw themselves into the water all attained the fruit of the Dao; it was truly because their love for the Dharma was firm and genuine.

The great assembly should know that Yuanshi Tianzun (Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, one of the high deities of Daoism) of former times is today’s Xianqing Tongzi (Immortal Minister Youth). The more than seventy thousand people who attained the Dao at that time also, because in former lives they delighted in seeking the Dharma, had firm resolve when they threw themselves into the fire and never retreated. Now, seeing the great ocean, they were able to throw themselves into it and accomplish that supreme practice, Wuwei (non-action, the state of according with nature without contrivance).

After Tianzun finished speaking these words, all those who had not previously entered the water immediately gave rise to great vows, awoke, and entered the realm of freedom from care; at the same time they sighed and lamented that their former resolve had not been firm enough and that they had lost the fundamental purport of the Great Dao. What use was regret afterward?

At this point Haikong Zhizang (the disciple in the Jing (scripture) who sought instruction from Tianzun) rose, knelt upright with palms joined, and praised: “The wondrous Dharma taught by Tianzun is profound and extraordinary and brings immeasurable benefit; it has enabled all sentient beings to obtain a ladder for cultivating the Dao and to reach directly the realm of stillness. Nevertheless, I still have a small doubt, and the assembly here shares the same confusion. I have therefore repeatedly entreated Tianzun, hoping that you will show compassion and explain it to us gently. Tianzun once said that in the past the Daoist who appeared in the world at the primordial beginning bore the title Tianzun. This title is revered and exalted, majestically supreme, the great model of all things and the object that immortals and sages emulate. Then why has he now withdrawn to the position of a disciple and cannot occupy a high position to deliver and transform the people of the world? For what reason has his status been lowered to such an extent?”

Vernacular Interpretation: The Supreme One Vehicle Scripture of the Sea of Emptiness and Treasure of Wisdom

This passage is the Celestial Worthy’s reply to Hai Kong Zhi Zang’s question, explaining why sages manifest various forms and the relationship between sentient beings’ resonance and the sage.

The Celestial Worthy first says that the sage is originally pure and Wuwei (non-action), but in order to save and deliver sentient beings, he must act and manifest forms. The sage’s mind always abides in stillness and stability; only because sentient beings have resonance does the sage display various appearances.

The sage’s true body cannot be fathomed; according to the level of sentient beings’ resonance, it presents different appearances. When sentient beings’ resonance can reach the “Great Sage Teacher,” the sage appears with the physical form of the Great Sage Teacher; when their resonance can only reach the “Secondary Sage Teacher,” the sage appears with the physical form of the Secondary Sage Teacher; when their resonance can only reach the “Lesser Sage Teacher,” the sage appears with the physical form of the Lesser Sage Teacher. The sage’s original mind has never been differentiated; the difference lies only in the differing results of sentient beings’ resonance.

The scripture uses a great bell suspended in the air as a metaphor: the principle of sound within the bell itself is always present, but it only produces sound when struck; different strengths of striking produce different sounds—heavy force yields a loud sound, medium force a medium sound, light force a soft sound—yet the bell’s substance does not change at all. The sage is likewise: the pure and clear nature is always the same, without distinction, but according to sentient beings’ different “resonance” (like striking), he manifests infinitely varied forms.

The scripture concludes by pointing out that all sentient beings today resonate with the Celestial Worthy as the “Great Teacher” because of past karmic causes and conditions; and they resonate with the immortal ministers and youths as the “Secondary Teacher,” likewise because of past karmic causes and conditions.

In summary, the sage’s nature is like a suspended bell—its substance does not change; sentient beings’ resonance is like striking—different strengths, and so the forms manifested by the sage differ in size and level. This passage explains the Daoist principle of “responsive transformation” (yinghua), namely that sages manifest according to circumstances in order to deliver sentient beings.

At that time, Haikong Zhizang again said to the Heavenly Worthy: The principle you expounded earlier is that the sage fundamentally has no deliberate action; only in order to respond to the thoughts of sentient beings does he manifest various marks of purposeful action. As sentient beings respond, the forms that appear are not the same. This purport is subtle and wondrous, and its meaning is deep and far-reaching. Later in the scripture it also says: Because of their respective karmic conditions, all sentient beings are moved to receive Guo Tianzun as their great teacher; because of their respective karmic conditions, all sentient beings are moved to receive the guidance of immortal ministers and other kinds of beings. This purport is likewise subtle and wondrous, and its meaning is deep and far-reaching. Further on it says again: Because of their respective karmic conditions, all sentient beings are moved to receive Guo Tianzun as their great teacher; because of their respective karmic conditions, all sentient beings are moved to receive immortal ministers and youthful attendants as teachers of the next level.

(Note: Guo Tianzun is a revered deity residing in the heavenly realm in the Daoist pantheon, referring to the heavenly deity who dwells there after cultivating the Dao and attaining fruition.)

Now we wish to hear the causes and conditions involved, and we earnestly request the Heavenly Worthy to explain them to us again in detail and separately, fully clarifying the subtle purport, so that everyone present may understand thoroughly and be left without any doubt.

The Heavenly Worthy told Hai Kong Zhizang: Now you must listen carefully and not be lax, for I will explain it to you in detail. Do you not remember? In the past, extremely long ago, after eighteen thousand kalpas, there was a world named Fangcheng. In that world there was a royal capital named Miaojii. This was the predecessor of today’s Land of Ultimate Bliss, namely the Fangcheng World. Its land was level and even, without hills, pits, sand, stones, or thorns, and it was pure in all four directions. Everywhere in that world grew trees bearing sweet fruit, and all the springs and clear pools were sweet and pleasant. Living beings drank water and ate fruit, and there was no contention or grasping among them. Everywhere there were mountains of the seven treasures. If people wished to obtain something, they went to those mountains, and as soon as their minds stirred, they arrived there and lacked nothing. The living beings there were joyful and free, without illness, and their lifespan was invariably seven hundred years. On the day of death, they each went among the burial grounds and departed one by one.

In the land of Miaole there was a great king named Zhifa, intelligent and penetrating, fully accomplished in talents and arts, handsome in appearance like the full moon, adorned with merit and virtue, and everywhere he practiced good deeds. The great king had a thousand sons, each bright and wise, versed in all kinds of arts. King Zhifa once expounded the wondrous Dao at midday; his sons stood in attendance and guarded him, never leaving, and the common people also came to attend, never growing lax or weary. Among the sons was a prince named Shengyin, the ninth in rank, outstanding in bearing, whose heroic fame surpassed the world, and the assembled princes acclaimed him as foremost.

When the great king expounded various wondrous scriptures, if any in the audience had doubts or blockages they could not penetrate, there was a minister named Jinshan. He would often go on behalf of those with doubts in their hearts to consult Shengyin and ask him to explain and clarify matters for them. Shengyin would then explain them one by one, resolving what people had not understood and enabling everyone to comprehend. If on some day the great king did not expound the scriptures, Jinshan would still go on behalf of those with doubts to consult Shengyin and seek his clear explanation.

Sheng Yin (Prince Sheng Yin, the cultivator in this scripture) explained the teachings by category and by kind, resolving the doubts that people had not yet understood so that everyone could comprehend them clearly. On days when the Great King was unable to lecture, Jin Shan (the minister) would report to the Great King and order Sheng Yin to speak in his place. More than six hundred years passed in this way. The people of the kingdom often said: “We directly receive the instruction and norms of Great King Zhifa (the Law-Maker), who widely propagates Daoism and expounds in detail the superior fruition of Ultimate Truth and Wuwei (the highest truth and the state of non-action). Although we are happy in this way, hearing each day teachings we never heard before and seeing each day states we never saw before, and we are certain to accomplish the root of all that is wondrous, still our minds are sometimes dull and blocked, giving rise to various doubts and obstructions. Some matters we fail to grasp, and some we cannot resolve; because of this we become agitated and clamorous, creating troubles for ourselves. Fortunately, Sheng Yin analyzes for us layer upon layer of difficult questions and clarifies the truth, so that our minds become clear and awake and nothing remains for long in darkness and obscurity. These two sages guide and open us in this way—truly this is great compassion. May they long be masters of the Great Dao for us in the future.”

The Great King is honored and noble, and Sheng Yin is next in rank; all four kinds of beings (those born from womb, egg, moisture, or transformation) will surely escape the hardships of the three evil paths (fire, knife, and blood), the five sufferings, and the nine gloomy underworlds. For this reason, the merit and karmic reward of Prince Sheng Yin are greater than those of Great King Zhifa. Why? Although Great King Zhifa proclaimed subtle and wonderful principles, there were still beings who could not understand them; not only could they not accomplish the work of wisdom, but they also added immeasurable afflictions. Prince Sheng Yin was skilled at eliminating the afflictions of beings and fulfilling the causes of wisdom. Therefore his karmic reward is more excellent. Haikong Zhizang (the title of this scripture, meaning “a treasury of wisdom vast as the sea and empty as space”)—was Great King Zhifa anyone else? He was my former incarnation, namely Prince Sheng Yin; the former incarnation of that Xianqing Tongzi (the Immortal Youth Xianqing) was Minister Jin Shan; and your present identity is Xianqing Tongzi.

Because in former lives he was skilled at eliminating afflictions and benefiting beings, he attained perfect enlightenment one step before me and taught the Dharma in the early period of Longhan (an ancient kalpa era in Daoism). I, by contrast, only ascended to the supreme fruition at the beginning of Kaihuang (also the name of a kalpa era). Xianqing Tongzi formerly assisted me in comprehending the subtle and wonderful principles, and because all beings have made vows, today, in accordance with the wishes of beings, he has again been born in this land.

Hai Kong Zhizang (a figure in the scripture) had forgotten what had come before. After hearing these words, he recalled his former experiences; his mind became clear, and he was no longer deluded. Thereupon he accomplished the Wondrous Dao, attained complete transformation in this very life, possessed power equal to that of the higher realms, and was able to benefit living beings, with immeasurable merit and virtue.

Hai Kong Zhizang bowed again, knelt upright, and asked: “The Heavenly Worthy’s teaching today is truly wondrous and subtle. May I ask how this scripture should be titled? If someone upholds, recites, and reads this scripture, how much blessed karmic cause and reward can they attain?” (Heavenly Worthy, an honorific for the supreme deity in Daoism; blessed cause, the foundation of merit accumulated through cultivation.)

The Heavenly Worthy replied: This scripture came into being through your inspiration and guidance; it should be named The Wisdom Treasury of Oceanic Emptiness (Hai Kong Zhi Zang). It is the gathering place of all treasures, and may also be called The Adornment of the Seven Treasures (Qi Bao Zhuang Yan). If someone in the world receives and upholds this scripture—even a single sentence or a single verse—revering it, making offerings to it, honoring and respecting it, and placing it in brocade pouches, embroidered pouches, or precious caskets, storing each sentence in its own vessel, this too may be called The Adornment of the Seven Treasures. If anyone receives and upholds a single sentence or verse of this scripture, making offerings and honoring it, treasuring and honoring even each word and sentence in this way, that person will be loved and respected by all sentient beings with consciousness in water, on land, and in the air; will be honored by countless deities; will constantly be protected; and will become a fertile field of merit and virtue.

If someone can read and recite one sentence of this scripture, one should know that this person has already stepped into the source of the Great Dao and will surely attain karmic fruition in the future. He will be skilled at understanding countless scriptures and edicts, comprehend the writings of sentient beings, and penetrate the secret scripts of the heavens without any obstruction. If someone can recite from memory one sentence of this scripture, one should know that this person has set foot on the root of the Great Dao and will surely attain karmic fruition in the future. He will be skilled at retaining countless wondrous meanings; he will understand the golden books of the heavens and all true texts, never forgetting them. If someone writes out this scripture, one should know that this person is a true companion in the Dao and will surely attain karmic fruition in the future, possessing wondrous powers of spiritual penetration, able to proclaim the Great Dharma and save sentient beings.

If someone explains this scripture, one should know that this person has entered the realm of the “Nine Revolutions” (Jiuzhuan, a Daoist cultivation term referring to advanced stages of practice) and will surely attain karmic fruition in the future. He penetrates profound and subtle principles, understands wondrous meanings, resolves doubts for all people, benefits immeasurable beings, and accomplishes the Great Dharma. If someone reveres this scripture, one should know that this person has entered a wondrous and mysterious realm and will surely attain karmic fruition in the future, his body endowed with the thirty-two marks (a Buddhist term referring to sublime physical characteristics), majestic in demeanor, with a subtle and wondrous form. If someone bows in worship to this scripture, one should know that this person has clearly awakened to Dharma-nature (the original nature of all things) and will surely attain karmic fruition in the future, his body like vajra, solid and indestructible. If someone praises this scripture, one should know that this person has broadly proclaimed the supreme wondrous meaning and will surely attain karmic fruition in the future, his voice subtle and wondrous, resounding throughout immeasurable great thousandfold worlds. All beings who hear it will obtain the essentials of cultivating the Dao. How much more so for those who can receive and uphold, read and recite, write, explain, revere, worship, praise, and proclaim this scripture: the merit they obtain is immeasurable, noble and towering, worthy to be called the foremost attainment.

Hai Kong Zhi Zang, I recall that over the past three thousand kalpas I have constantly cultivated this method with a sincere mind, never once growing lax or turning back. Because of these causes and conditions, I have obtained today’s wondrous fruit and supreme wisdom. You should now single-mindedly receive and uphold this scripture and accomplish the supreme Dharma-body of Wuwei (non-action)—according with nature without contrivance.

At that time, Hai Kong Zhi Zang asked the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun): “If there are people who have not yet heard and received this wondrous scripture, what method should they follow? I beg you to explain it in detail, so that beings of future generations may all hear and understand and obtain the greatest fruits of goodness and benefit.”

Then the Heavenly Worthy replied: “Great worthy, by asking in this way you strike the great bell of the Dharma for all beings of future generations and seek its supreme resonance; truly this is an act of compassion, with immeasurable benefit. I shall now explain for you the essential meaning. Hai Kong Zhi Zang, this scripture is profound and mysterious, far-reaching and deep. It is treasured and secretly guarded by all the great sages in the Xuandu Jade Capital (the name of the palace courts in the celestial realms); it is exceedingly precious and difficult to encounter casually. Because your mind is diligent and single-minded, today I impart it to you orally. You should receive it solemnly and must not let it be lost. If you wish to proclaim it to people of the world, you must first make selections, so that they all meet the conditions for receiving the Dharma; only then may it be transmitted.

What kind of person, then, meets the conditions for receiving the Dharma? There are broadly six such conditions, as follows.

First, if someone who studies the Dao has from youth entered the treasure-store of the Dao and Dharma, has already received and upheld the Lingbao Zhenwen (the Real Text of the Numinous Treasure, an important scripture of the Lingbao school of Daoism), is skilled in penetrating the subtle purport of the Dongxuan (Three Caverns) category of scriptures (a major category of Daoist scriptures), and can expound their principles without obstruction or doubt, then such a person may be taught.

Second, if someone who studies the Dao does not inwardly cling to the marks of conditioned dharmas (that is, things and realms that have form and appearance and are produced by causes and conditions), is skilled in discerning the emptiness of the ultimate meaning (the most ultimate truth of emptiness), insightfully perceives Dharma-nature (the fundamental nature of all dharmas), clearly understands that all is ultimately empty and quiescent, regards self and others equally, and has no thought of distinction between inner and outer; since his own mind is clear and penetrating and he can also teach others, then such a person may be taught.

Third, if someone who studies the Dao diligently practices and advances with vigor, without slackening day or night, does not seek ease and happiness for himself, single-mindedly converts beings, does not begrudge his own person, and benefits the myriad things, then such a person may be taught.

Fourth, if someone who studies the Dao well upholds the precepts and discipline, is complete in dignified deportment, and is taken as a model by all people; when teaching and transforming disciples, he does not treat them with a mind of clinging and entanglement, but constantly cherishes a mind of great and small Wuwei (non-action), and transmits the various Dharma-gates to others, then such a person may be taught.

If there are students of cultivation who can cultivate and uphold great forbearance (darenru), endure others’ harsh words, insults, and mean or shameful treatment, ascribe good deeds to others while taking defilement and evil upon themselves, and whose minds and resolve are clear and penetrating, without calculating self and other—only such people can be taught this method. If there are students of cultivation who are skilled at comprehending subtle principles, whose power of mindfulness remains continuous and undistracted, who think single-mindedly and earnestly, seek to practice the Dao method, penetrate subtle characteristics, and do not cling to distinctions between self and other—such people too can be taught this method. Haikong Zhizang, you should know that only these six kinds of students of cultivation can be taught the Dao method spoken today. Why is this so? Because these six kinds of people can penetrate subtle characteristics, not cling to self and other, practice this method, magnify the wondrous teaching, and benefit and save sentient beings. Therefore you should transmit this essential instruction to them.

If there are people who cling to conditioned methods (youwei fa—practices of fabrication and seeking), drown in the six contacts (liuchu—the desires produced when the six faculties contact the six dusts), and do not understand the foundation for establishing the supreme great Dao; or who are smug about their own views and deceive themselves—when such people hear this wondrous teaching, they will surely be startled, say it is not true, give rise to various objections, fall into the net of doubt, and not only be unable to practice but also thereby give rise to slander. Therefore, you should not proclaim the Haikong Zhizang to them. The merit of this scripture surpasses that of many scriptures; the wondrous discourses of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and the supreme words of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen) cannot compare with it.

If people in the world do not revere the words of this scripture, treat them with contempt and neglect, or even slander them, saying that this scripture was not spoken by the supreme sage, you should know that such people have already formed ties with the Three Evil Paths (santu—hells, hungry ghosts, and animals) and become their kin. In this life they will surely meet with immeasurable fear, affliction, and bitter suffering; in the next life they will undergo in hell the torments of burning, boiling, flaying, and roasting, enduring pains countless in number, exactly as recorded in the Mingzhen Ke (a Daoist text of precepts and liturgy), without the slightest discrepancy. Then the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun), the general title for honored Daoist deities, praised the handling of this matter as good and spoke a verse.

Hai Kong Zhizang was a Great True Adept perfected in virtue and fully endowed with merit. He descended into this world, taught the Dharma, and saved people in countless numbers. All humans and heavenly beings reverently bowed to him, and heavenly beings praised his good deeds. He could sound the Dharma bell (a ritual implement that gathers the assembly and awakens sentient beings), beat the Dharma drum, guide the Dharma stream (meaning the scriptures and teachings spreading like flowing water), and proclaim the scriptural teachings. He was the root of the Dharma, the bridge of the Dharma, the ladder of the Dharma, and the sap of the Dharma (the essence that nourishes all things); he was the father, reliance, nature and life, and body of sentient beings.

His virtue was complete, and his dignified demeanor was outwardly manifest; his speech and breathing were naturally gentle, refined, and correct. When people came before him, they would request the supreme wondrous Dharma, fearing neither distant roads nor hardship and fatigue, seeking only the Dharma path with no other thought. Seeing their sincerity, he opened his mouth and proclaimed wondrous sounds. He explained the distinction between the two realms of “emptiness” and “existence,” so that listeners suddenly understood clearly, were no longer troubled by doubt or obstruction, and their minds became pure and transparent. Thereupon all sentient beings could realize the true fruit, the hells became cool and refreshed, and the realms of heavenly beings became more vast.

This profound and wondrous Dharma gate is the principle revered by sentient beings; even the high immortals dwelling in the Jade Capital (Yujing) revere and cultivate it. The scripture further says that Hai Kong Zhizang can both transform Perfected Ones and benefit the masses. Disciples under his gate should know that he is your guide and can accumulate great merit and blessing for you; therefore you should reverently pay homage and sincerely, with utmost seriousness, seek to receive the wondrous Dharma. His mind is wise and discerning, and he responds comprehensively to all. Thus this supreme wondrous Dharma was entrusted to Hai Kong Zhizang, to be transmitted by him to the masses and to all future practitioners. If there are doubts, one may ask him and naturally come to understand, no longer beset by doubt or obstruction; then one bows with head to the ground.

(The final phrase, “Taishang yizhou fu,” is a fragment; its general sense is that the supreme realm is comprehensively reached, and no fuller explanation can be given.)

The third fascicle of The Supreme One Vehicle Scripture of the Sea of Emptiness Wisdom Treasury concludes here; fascicle four begins here, under the chapter title “Universal Exposition.”

This passage is addressed by Tianzun (a supreme Daoist deity) to Hai Kong Zhi Zang. Tianzun said: “Good man, countless kalpas ago I traveled in the Bright Seven-Jewel Lotus Grove (a lotus grove adorned with the seven treasures, an idealized immortal realm described in this scripture). At that time, many great sages and incalculable heavenly youths (young deities of the heavens)—such as the Youth of Majestic Light, the Youth of Moonlight, the Youth of Universal Light, and the Youth of Precious Radiance—followed me. I took them as my retinue and expounded the wondrous Dharma for them.”

Then another group of Zhenren (Perfected Ones)—practitioners in Daoism who have attained profound stages through cultivation—likewise came to hear the Dharma, with immeasurable and boundless followers of their kind as retinues. Among them were the Perfected One of Pure Marks, the Perfected One of Pure Precepts, and the Perfected One of Wondrous Penetration.

After that, immortals such as the Great Wisdom Immortal and the Great Brahma Immortal also came to listen to and receive the teaching, with countless companions as their retinues.

At that time, there were also the Great Wisdom Immortal, the Great Brahma Immortal, the Dharma-Following Immortal, the Greatly Bestowing Immortal, the Ever-Protecting Immortal, the Wondrous Practice Immortal, the Wondrous Marks Immortal, the Wondrous Adornment Immortal, the Wondrous Thought Immortal, the Compassionate Immortal, the Flying Immortal, the Wisdom-Light Immortal, and others of this kind. This class of immortals was immeasurable and boundless; all were surrounded by their own retinues and followers, and they proclaimed the essential teachings to the assembly.

At that time, there were also immeasurable earthly immortals (dixian)—those who cultivate in the human world and have already realized the fruit of earthly immortality. They made offerings to ten billion Earthly Immortals of the Wondrous Dao and to Earthly Immortals who received, upheld, and relied upon the true Dharma. This class of immortal multitude was immeasurable and boundless; all were surrounded by their own retinues and followers, and they proclaimed the essential teachings to the assembly.

At that time, there were also Daoist priests (daoshi) of the various heavens, including the High Minister Daoist Priest, the Superior Grace Daoist Priest, the Eloquent Daoist Priest, the Diligent Recitation Daoist Priest, the Faith-and-Practice Daoist Priest, and Earthly Immortals who uphold precepts and the true Dharma. This class of cultivators was immeasurable and boundless; all were surrounded by their own retinues and followers, and they proclaimed the essential teachings to the assembly.

At that time, there were also Daoist priests of the various heavens, including the High Minister Daoist Priest, the Superior Grace Daoist Priest, the Eloquent Daoist Priest, the Diligent Recitation Daoist Priest, the Faith-and-Practice Daoist Priest, the Precept-Upholding Daoist Priest, the Incense-Bearing Daoist Priest, and the Dharma-Proclaiming Daoist Priest. This class of cultivators was numerous; all were surrounded by their own retinues and followers, and they proclaimed the essential teachings to the assembly.

At that time, the great kings and lesser kings in the country, as well as elders, good men, and faithful women, all came before the Dharma seat to hear the teaching. As the scripture says: “Good man, I now proclaim this most profound true Dharma, turn the great Dharma wheel, praise the root of Dao, and reveal and openly proclaim the Dharma rain of great compassion. You, the fourfold assembly of disciples, should dedicate body and life completely, bow your heads in reverence, single-mindedly receive and uphold it, and pray for blessing and protection for all retinues and relatives of the past, future, and present.” Thereupon the fourfold assembly of disciples single-mindedly bowed in homage to the Supreme Heavenly Worthy (Wushang Tianzun). With true faith, they constantly abided in the fruit of Dao; they looked up in admiration and praise, and that state was inconceivable.

Notes: Earthly immortals are cultivators who have attained the fruit of earthly immortality and dwell in famous mountains and great rivers in the human world, as opposed to heavenly immortals. The root of Dao means the foundation and source of Dao. The fourfold assembly is a term common to Buddhism and Daoism, denoting monastic and lay male and female disciples; here it broadly refers to all kinds of faithful listeners. Supreme Heavenly Worthy is a Daoist honorific for the highest deity.

At that time, the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun), moved by great compassion, emitted radiance from his entire body, illuminating all worlds in the ten directions. With a harmonious voice he proclaimed good words, causing the lands to tremble. His voice was like thunder and like a lion’s roar, illuminating boundless worlds. Compassion descended upon the human world, universally nourishing all countless sentient beings; humans and non-humans (ghosts, spirits, and the like) alike received benefit. Thereupon the four assemblies (Daoist priests, Daoist priestesses, and lay believers within the Daoist community) rose one by one, bowed, and praised the Heavenly Worthy’s wondrous merits. The various excellent signs manifested by the Heavenly Worthy had never been heard of in the world. He guided sentient beings toward the gate of the good path, proclaimed secret essentials, and rained the secret Dharma rain—like the treasure of oceanic emptiness—upon the ten directions. His radiant majesty was lofty, like the newly risen sun, like the bright moon among the stars, illuminating lands everywhere, inconceivable.

The Heavenly Worthy joyfully said: “Excellent, excellent, good sons! You and your kin should listen single-mindedly. Universally cultivate the Dharma treasury of the supreme true and correct, and attain the vision of the One Vehicle—the single ultimate great Dao—the Oceanic Emptiness Wisdom Treasury (Haikong Zhizang), so as to seek the highest fruition and realize the Dharma-body (the true body of the Dao), which neither arises nor ceases, neither comes nor goes. If you can contemplate thus, you will return to the supreme Dao and escape the sea of suffering in the cycle of birth and death, interwoven with a thousand poisons; your merits will be inconceivable.”

The Heavenly Worthy’s heart overflowed with great compassion, and he sang in verse:

Oceanic emptiness is boundless and limitless; its forms and responsive transformations are also hard to describe. The essence of true nature is permanently abiding; in its exposition there is both the permanent and the impermanent. Now I open clarity for the deaf and blind, taking refuge in the Great Compassionate One. The Dharma of the Oceanic Emptiness Wisdom Treasury is the gate of the Sugata—a Buddhist epithet for the Buddha, here meaning the saint who skillfully saves sentient beings—who transcends the world. It can become the supreme good medicine, universally bestowed upon impoverished ghosts. Through the power of wisdom and skillful means, humans and heavenly beings, all sentient beings, may be proclaimed and protected. The proclamation of the supreme true Dharma is transmitted to descendants through prophecy. The profound scriptures of the One Vehicle are jointly proclaimed and discussed by the immortal Dao.

This passage begins with a gatha: The Great Dao is without form or shadow, yet it is the root for cultivating blessed virtue. With single-minded contemplation and practice, one will ultimately bear true fruit, as if ripening in the garden of the true Dao. Zhenren (realized persons), youths, and other practitioners proclaim the gate of right Dharma, subdue all heterodox teachings that deviate from the right path, and attain the fruitions of human immortality and child immortality.

With the three karmas of body, speech, and mind, practitioners constantly maintain reverence. They bow to the compassionate holy teacher, honor the Lord of the Great Dao of past, present, and future, and follow the scriptural teachings, understanding and practicing them according to their own capacity. May the holy teacher receive and protect them, enabling practitioners to penetrate both phenomena and principle and forever be without obstruction.

The text then recounts: Among the assembly, the Youth of Great Wisdom, having heard the gatha, was single-minded and reverent. Joining his palms, he bowed and said to the Heavenly Worthy: O benevolent one of great compassion and pity, from distant ages past you have adorned your body, and the subtle light of the seven treasures shines universally upon it. You are skilled at penetrating the nature of all dharmas, neither falling into annihilation nor clinging to permanence. Praising the Treasure of the Dao, its merit is incomparable; praising the Treasure of the Dharma, its merit is the most immeasurable and sublime; and praising the Treasure of the Teacher, you are skilled at guiding all living beings, benefiting them without obstruction, skillfully leading gods and humans, and are a good physician for the world. You deeply understand wisdom and skillfully establish skillful means. All beings who make offerings to you within cyclic existence obtain great benefit.

The following gatha means in essence: Great wisdom can open up ignorance and darkness, like the light of the wisdom sun, distinguishing the false from the true. Universally penetrating equal enlightenment, the attachments of the mind can be completely extinguished. With everlasting merit and perfect wisdom, great compassion and pity accompany them. Pitying the afflictions of living beings, you exert yourself to untie them and guide people toward the right path. Wandering and teaching throughout the worlds of the ten directions, you preach the Dharma so that people’s minds turn toward the right path. Relying on the grace of the Dao, you do not harm the spiritual nature of living beings; understanding supreme wisdom, you do not stagnate within birth and death. Always arousing a mind of great compassion, you do not fall into the dust of evil; extensively establishing skillful means, you naturally move toward the true Dharma. Finally, with the three karmas of body, speech, and mind, I bow to the supreme benevolent one.

At that time, the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun), filled with great compassion, said to Great Wisdom (Dahui): "Good man, what you say is entirely correct. Since before immeasurable kalpas, because your kin obtained the power of wisdom, they have been able to understand well the true Medicine King (the supreme Dharma king who heals the illness of sentient beings’ delusion, a metaphor for the great Dao).

Good man, for example, fragrance can remove all dust and defilement. Since before immeasurable kalpas, your kin obtained the power of wisdom and understood well the true Medicine King. This fragrance does not come from outside, nor is it born from seeds. For this reason it is called "habitual tendencies" (habits and temperament formed through long-term permeation).

Good man, for example, vajra has no obstruction in its mind, and so can break through all delusions. Why? Because the mind is focused on the truth of the great Dao. To be able to understand and remove false delusions is as natural as fragrance.

You should know that the Heavenly Worthies of the Three Times (past, present, and future) manifest sublime appearances and emit great radiance, illuminating countless worlds in the ten directions, yet all sentient beings cannot see or hear them.

Good man, for example, a person blind from birth, even with light, ultimately cannot see. Those who do not practice the good Dharma are likewise.

Good man, all sentient beings are sunk in the sea of suffering of birth and death, clinging to desires of form and feelings of affection. Because of such causes and conditions, afflictions besiege body and mind like city walls; views are inverted, karmic offenses are endless, and they are connected to the root of afflictions. Today I universally proclaim for sentient beings the One Vehicle Dharma Treasury (the single ultimate Dharma gate that leads sentient beings to ultimate enlightenment), so that they may give rise to correct understanding and cut off the defilement of afflictions.

Good man, for example, if someone obtains this wonderful Dharma and transmits it to all good men and good women. Thus it is like the Wheel-Turning King (the ideal monarch who unifies the four quarters): those not yet subdued, he can subdue; those already subdued, he has the power to protect so that they no longer waver.

For example, the wonderful Dharma can break afflictions not yet broken and cause afflictions already broken not to arise again. For the benefit of all sentient beings, it proclaims the merits of three kinds of wisdom; this is the path of expedient means, causing sentient beings’ afflictions to be forever extinguished without remainder.

At one and the same time, for various kinds of sentient beings, with one and the same principle, it universally expounds, hoping to enable each kind of being, whether human or non-human, to obtain wisdom’s understanding, contemplating all immortals as like space, in which all things are fully contained, because emptiness is eternally and uniformly one.

Good man, what these divine worthies do for sentient beings is likewise. The divine worthies always abide in empty stillness and do not use deliberate effort, yet they manifest bodies in the ten directions, reveal various wisdoms, teach the Dharma, and benefit equally. Without hatred or love, without greed or desire, their merit is immeasurable; they are unobstructed with regard to birth and death, accomplish those who accord with them, and cause all sentient beings to attain all wisdom.

At that time, the Heavenly Worthy prepared to speak a verse."

The mark of reality is wondrous beyond compare. The principle of cause and effect differs according to expedient provisional formulations. Cultivating the three trainings of precepts, concentration, and wisdom, and even attaining fruition, all rely on wisdom for accomplishment, yet wisdom has no fixed location.

In the lands of the ten directions, one can see youths attending at either side. If one can enter the Ocean of Emptiness City (referring to the pure dharma realm manifested by the One Vehicle), the faith and benefit one receives are boundless and infinite.

This realm has no beginning and no end, and all dharmas each abide in their own place. If there are those who cultivate the Dao, as well as those endowed with great spiritual powers and great wisdom, all dharmas abide depending on the storehouse consciousness, can bring seeds to maturity, and benefit the world. This is what is called the supreme Dao, which I constantly expound for you.

Those who can grasp the distinctions between coarse and fine cause seeds to flow along with them constantly. I teach the ignorant and ordinary, so do not cling and give rise to anxiety.

Walking alone within ignorance, one takes vast compassion as one’s heart. Expedient methods are originally without distinction, and are also called all-embracing. With no self, no marks, and no clinging, one is not carried away throughout one’s life. Good and evil both return to the neutral state of neither good nor evil, and I should cultivate without ever ceasing.

Being far from the pollution of the mind, no dust or defilement will invade. In all these places, one is neither impoverished nor affluent.

If one can see the true meaning, how can confusion and obstacles grow any further? Always practicing the Dao of the One Vehicle, diligently contemplating without regression—this is the greatest wealth among kings.

The prince of Fangcheng, the youth Sheng Yin Xianqing, heard the Heavenly Worthy proclaim the profound and subtle true Dharma and praised it as a rare Dharma taught by the unsurpassed master, precious as flowers of the seven treasures and purple-gold jeweled flowers. After hearing it, his mind opened and his understanding was released, and he realized the realm of the One Vehicle’s ocean of emptiness: empty yet without emptiness-nature, empty yet without self-mark, eternally blissful and at ease, subtle and complete, inconceivable.

The Heavenly Worthy, with the eye of wisdom, told the youth Sheng Yin Xianqing: Good man, the so-called treasury of wisdom is the One Vehicle’s ocean of emptiness: empty yet without emptiness-nature, empty yet without self-mark, eternally blissful and at ease, subtle and complete, inconceivable.

Vernacular Interpretation: The Supreme One Vehicle Scripture of the Sea of Emptiness and the Wisdom Store (Taishang Yicheng Haikong Zhizang Jing)

Overall Meaning of the Scripture

At that time, Tianzun (Celestial Worthy), observing with the eye of wisdom, told the immortal youth Shengyin Xianqing Tongzi: “Good man, what is called the ‘wisdom store’ is like the great ocean. No matter what rivers and streams pour into the ocean, its taste remains the same; even when all kinds of miscellaneous things gather and adhere within it, the original flavor of seawater does not change because of this. The secret wisdom store of Haikong (Sea of Emptiness) is likewise: it pervades the worlds of the ten directions. Sentient beings come and go according to conditions, and this treasury increases or decreases accordingly, but its essential nature remains unaffected.

Good man, form and formlessness are originally realms of the same kind, some obscured and some unobscured. If one clings only to the afflictions of these two realms, one will ultimately be unable to transcend. Although the Haikong wisdom store is situated in the city of birth-and-death and affliction, in its mind it constantly contemplates the true meaning of the One Vehicle (Yicheng), and explains and expounds the profound and wondrous principle for others, causing body and mind to become pure, as in the formless realm. Even if the three inverted attachments (sanyun diandao) repeatedly invade and trouble it with affliction, the wisdom store will not thereby be defiled or become attached. This is precisely how it is.

Good man, the supramundane Dharma manifested by Haikong brings great benefit and various merits. It is like space: inexhaustible and endless, yet fundamentally without anything of its own. For precisely this reason, ‘emptiness’ is said to be inexhaustible.

Meaning of the Verses

The youth Shengyin of Fangcheng bowed in salute, looked up to Tianzun, stepped forward, and spoke verses: inner and outer originally have no clear boundary; the two are merely designated by provisional names. They are neither real nor substantially existent, yet they are the seed for accomplishing all dharmas. Thought after thought arises and perishes, existing together with their appearances, flowing along with them until finally reaching the nameless. If one decisively contemplates causes and conditions, one understands that all things are like fruit producing fruit within fruit. This nature is firm and indestructible, cannot be defiled, and is forever free from entanglement with forms and sounds. The ultimate pure Dharma is proclaimed for the sake of sentient beings. The six consciousnesses (liushi)—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—all respond, and the three evil paths no longer entangle. Since thoughts do not coexist at the same moment, one clearly sees the city of Haikong. This seed of inner and outer—within the Three Realms (Sanjie), nothing does not flourish because of it. The seeds continue without interruption, and the resulting fruits ripen and become exceedingly abundant.

Glossary of Terms

Tianzun is the general honorific for high deities in Daoism; here it refers to the main deity who proclaims the teaching in the scripture. Shengyin Xianqing Tongzi is the immortal youth who listens to the Dharma in the scripture and asks the questions. The One Vehicle is a term shared by Buddhism and Daoism, referring to the single, ultimate way of attaining the Dao, not divided into lesser and middle vehicles. The three inverted views (sanyun diandao) are false inverted views produced by attachment within the cycle of arising and perishing. The six consciousnesses are eye consciousness, ear consciousness, nose consciousness, tongue consciousness, body consciousness, and mind consciousness—the six kinds of mental awareness that perceive external objects. The three evil paths (santu) are hell, hungry ghosts, and animals. The Three Realms are the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm—the threefold world in which sentient beings undergo cyclic existence.

For example, when seeds are watered and sweet dew falls, none fail to grow. If there is no perfuming habit-energy inside or outside, how could the name “seed” even exist?

If there is no perfuming within the arising of thoughts, the fruit that is formed is the City of Oceanic Emptiness (a state of pure, empty clarity that transcends the false).

These seeds, inner and outer, grow luxuriantly everywhere within the Three Realms (the Desire Realm, Form Realm, and Formless Realm). As the seeds continue without interruption, the fruits they bear are exceedingly abundant.

If there is no perfuming in the mind, karmic retribution transcends birth and extinction. Both what has been done and what has not been done are thoughts of gain and loss; as soon as a mind of gain and loss arises, one falls into the Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) of demons.

My seeds, inner and outer, give rise to sentient beings according to their categories. One is called clinging consciousness (the mind-consciousness that clings to external objects), which receives the welcome of the heavens; another is called receptive consciousness (the consciousness that takes in suffering and pleasure), and the two paths of good and evil are already overturned.

Following what has been taught, one enters the treasury of emptiness (the portion of the Buddhist and Daoist scriptural canon concerning the principle of emptiness), and both consciousness and dharmas return to equality.

A person of penetrating understanding takes the mind as a field; things already arisen and not yet arisen are all produced by this mind. Able to discern cause and effect and to skillfully recognize good spiritual friends, one can leave far behind the city of the five demons (the five demonic obstacles that disturb cultivation).

Responding to beings in order to transform and liberate them is inexhaustible; it is neither annihilation nor permanent abiding. Cause and effect have no difference, and teaching and guidance have no fixed location.

With no attachment in the mind, one can yet accord with all things and penetrate them; those who receive the teaching will forever be without calamity. Where seeds arise from—the principle of coming and going—must both be firmly remembered.

Whether human or non-human, those who receive liberating transformation are immeasurable. This principle is difficult to annihilate and difficult to explain completely; when it is expounded, it causes people to propagate this Dao (the Way).

Cultivators’ minds and natures are each different, and the Dharma teachings are not fixed and unchanging. The pure person, before entering parinirvana, has already ridden a cloud chariot and ascended to the fruition stage.

Having accomplished a pure land country (a pure buddha-field), one can then see the pure Dao-wisdom. Various vow-powers and visions universally see all things without being startled or disturbed.

Those who cultivate contemplative practice can attain results according to their intentions. What is grasped is only the consciousness-mind; the realm of attaining the Dao is profoundly subtle and mysterious.

Form and consciousness: there is consciousness with form and a state without consciousness. If the object known is unsettled, the subsequent consciousness cannot arise, and the preceding consciousness no longer functions.

Dwelling in emptiness without a body, after taming [the mind] one is no longer entangled by affliction. Freed from the bonds of evil demons, the knots of various afflictions no longer arise.

The Heavenly Worthy heard the words of the Immortal Minister Youth Shengyin, prince of Fangcheng, and praised him, saying: “Excellent, excellent! Good man, you are Shengyin, prince of Fangcheng, the Youth, who is skilled at discerning the fundamental essential meaning of the Dao and its teachings. You can free yourself from the bonds of evil demons and prevent the knots of various afflictions from arising again.”

The Heavenly Worthy then said to the Youth Shengyin: “You have accumulated cultivation for a long time, and your merits and undertakings are complete; therefore you are called Prince Shengyin. In right discourse you have realized the emptiness of the ultimate meaning (the most ultimate truth, that all things are empty yet not annihilated), and you quietly contemplate the secret treasury of the ocean and space (wisdom as vast and profound as the ocean and the void), with body and mind settled and unmoved; therefore you receive the name Shengyin. You are also skilled in medical prescriptions, using medicine to cure many illnesses, so that both humans and non-humans (ghosts and spirits and the like) all receive benefit; therefore you receive the name Shengyin. As a guide, you reveal the treasury of the One Vehicle (the single ultimate practice), teach and transform sentient beings, expound for others the ocean-and-void wisdom treasury, recite and ponder its secret and wondrous meaning, penetrate it deeply, and benefit beings like a loving father; therefore you receive the name Shengyin.”

At that time, the Heavenly Worthy slightly opened his lips and smiled, and five-colored radiance shone from his mouth, illuminating throughout the immeasurable lands of the ten directions and the great earth. The great earth then trembled one hundred times, and the five kinds of suffering of sentient beings were all removed. In the hells, lotuses grew; hundreds of kinds of storax fragrance diffused; a thousand pure water offerings appeared; sinners received happiness; and places of darkness received light.

The Heavenly Worthy then told the Great Wisdom Youth, a True Adept (a cultivator who has realized the Dao): “You have already realized in the ultimate meaning the bliss of permanence; this state is inconceivable.” The text that follows basically repeats the scenes described above—the fragrance of the ocean and space, pure water offerings, sinners experiencing joy, and darkness receiving light—showing that the same images are used to describe the excellence and merit of the Dharma assembly.

A Vernacular Interpretation of The Supreme One Vehicle Ocean-Emptiness Wisdom Treasury Scripture

The Heavenly Worthy’s Praise

At this time, the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) again told the True Adept Great Wisdom Youth: You have already realized, within the ultimate truth (the highest truth), the bliss of permanence. This state is inconceivable; it is the profound merit contained in the Ocean-Emptiness Wisdom Treasury (the treasury of wisdom vast like the sea and open and empty like space). Today I receive your teaching and transformation and am born as Heavenly King Great Wisdom. You are most inconceivable; you are skilled at accomplishing merit and able to open the Dharma marks (the various appearances through which truth manifests) and benefit all sentient beings.

Good indeed, Great Wisdom! You are a disciple of the Dao, truly rare, rare indeed! Great Wisdom Youth, you are truly the king of physicians: you can both revive the many children (sentient beings) and cure all kinds of illness. You are like a fine field of blessings, neither barren nor defiled.

Good man, Great Wisdom, you have already entered the pure and fragrant garden (the pure and undefiled realm of cultivating the Dao), and have personally seen the One Vehicle Ocean-Emptiness Treasury (the single ultimate great Dao and the treasury of wisdom contained therein).

Similes

Good man, for example, suppose someone crosses rivers and seas and, without encountering evil winds, safely reaches the other shore. You are likewise: the sick are healed, the freezing receive clothing, the hungry receive food, the dead come back to life, and relatives long separated—parents, brothers, wives, uncles—suddenly meet today and leap for joy.

You are also like this: you have attained the purity of the Dharma eye; your power is unmatched, and your wisdom penetrates without obstruction. What you have penetrated is the Ocean-Emptiness Treasury of the first emptiness principle (the highest principle of emptiness). You can benefit others while suffering no loss yourself.

Great Wisdom, your karmic connections are long-standing; they cannot be fully explained today.

The Gatha

At this time, the Heavenly Worthy spoke a gatha:

Excellent indeed, the supreme immortal path of ocean-emptiness; expounding all dharmas, one attains purity.

(Wonderful! The supreme vehicle immortal Dao of ocean-emptiness proclaims all dharmas and causes people to attain purity.)

Benefiting all who practice the right path, with compassion the wondrous Dharma is made to abide long.

(Benefiting all who cultivate the right Dao, with a compassionate heart promoting the wondrous Dharma so that it long remains in the world.)

Like the light of a bright lamp, sun, and moon, also like the wisdom eye illuminating sentient beings.

(Like the light of a bright lamp and the sun and moon, and like the wisdom eye illuminating sentient beings.)

Relying on the three understandings, one becomes clear and distinct; penetrating without obstruction, the Dao appears bright.

(Relying on three kinds of understanding—hearing, reflection, and cultivation—one understands clearly; when one penetrates without obstruction, the great Dao manifests its light.)

The unsurpassed Heavenly Worthy expounds the right Dharma; wondrous is the city of the Ocean-Emptiness Wisdom Treasury.

(The unsurpassed Heavenly Worthy expounds the right Dharma; its subtle wonder is like the city of the Ocean-Emptiness Wisdom Treasury.)

Excellent indeed, true reality is unfolded according to the time, eliminating afflictions within and without body and mind.

(Wonderful! The principle of true reality is bestowed in accordance with the time; it can remove afflictions inside and outside body and mind.)

Such sacred words and wondrous Dharma can decide the wondrous principle and enlighten sentient beings.

(Such sacred words and wondrous Dharma can resolve doubts and enable sentient beings to understand the wondrous principle.)

If the mind is scattered and one forgets, though such teachings are proclaimed, coming and going, going and coming, one does not perceive or know.

(If the mind is scattered and right mindfulness is forgotten, then even if such scriptural teachings are before one, one will still be unaware amid the coming and going of birth and death.)

Note: In the scripture, before the second stanza of the gatha there is a duplicated fragment (“. Great Wisdom, your karmic conditions are long-standing…”). This is a typographical repetition in the original text and has been omitted in this interpretation.

Men and women who believe in the good path should all be reverent; those who can make the true Dao (the Way) manifest are supreme teachers. Such a teacher, in accord with the City of the Treasury of Wisdom of the Ocean of Emptiness—the wisdom realm aspired to by cultivators—proclaims the immeasurable and supremely excellent good path. The light of wisdom shines through completely, penetrating the truth without omission; when people can discern, they naturally understand.

One should be single-minded and devout, with hands folded and palms joined, and practice reverently. This is the gate to self-realization, firm and immovable. If one violates the Dharma of one’s original mind, becomes confused about the Daoist teaching, or slanders the scriptures of the sages, one will lose the true Dharma.

Such cultivators lose their direction and fall into the three evil paths (the three miserable destinies of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals), revolving there in transmigration. They are like clothes stained with dirt, no longer clean; or like flowers that bloom in the morning and fade by evening, ultimately withering.

In the dark hells there are various sufferings; hunger stretches on and on, and beings become destitute, starving ghostly forms. Their cries and wails resound like thunder and lightning, terrifying humans and nonhuman beings alike.

Out of great compassion I snap my fingers to awaken them, so that beings of the three paths (that is, the three evil paths) and the five sufferings understand at once. They can see the evil causes you created in former lives, and the unbearable burden of karmic guilt is directly removed. Beings in the three paths and five sufferings can at once see the City of the Treasury of Wisdom.

The single principle of the Mahayana (the teaching of universal salvation) that I proclaim abides constantly in the three realms and becomes the law and ordinance of the world.

At this time, having finished speaking this verse, the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) told the youth Fangcheng Shengyin: “Good man, this scripture is profound and wondrous, difficult to conceive. The Dharma of this scripture can heal the various illnesses and sufferings of beings and is transmitted throughout the world. It is as rare as purple radiance, and like sunlight and moonlight it is pure and lovely; it is also extremely rare and truly difficult to encounter.

Good man, you must cause this scripture to be transmitted and circulated. In the future, if even one person receives and upholds this scripture, all powerful ghost and spirit kings and their kind will guard his body and mind and keep him from harm. Why is this? Because this scripture’s power is vast and profound, its strength mighty—like a lion’s roar, like the shaking of thunder, firm as vajra. Those who uphold this scripture—even powerful ghost kings and kings of heavenly demons—will join their palms in reverence, wholeheartedly pay homage, and no longer have afflictions.

This scripture is the One Vehicle of orthodox teaching proclaimed by the Heavenly Worthy of Great Compassion (Da’ai Tianzun)—that is, the single true Dharma that guides beings directly to liberation. For this reason, it can benefit all beings. Why? Because by believing in the orthodox teaching, one gives rise to correct practice; by cultivating according to correct practice, one attains the correct fruit. This Dharma is inconceivable; it enables people to hear the true Dharma, and thus the true Dharma can long remain in the world.

The Heavenly Worthy said: “I am filled with compassion and pity all beings without measure or bound; I extensively perform works of rescue, deliverance, and uplifting, and deliver boundless and limitless dharmas. These three measures are the meaning of truth. Good man, if you do not evaluate by these three measures, it is not the true principle. According to the three seals (the three criteria for judging truth), the Dharma of the Dao should likewise be so.

Good man, all conditioned dharmas and all formations are impermanent; all conditioned dharmas lack a permanent, unchanging self; the realm of quiescent extinction and Wuwei (non-action) universally enables all beings to be complete in right conduct, to be far from the cycle of affliction, and guides them to realize correct awakening and ascend the supreme Dao. Today I shall briefly speak the following verse:”

Plain-Language Interpretation of The Most High One Vehicle, Ocean Void, Wisdom Treasury Scripture

This passage of scripture has a verse (gatha)-like structure, with many repeated passages and obvious lacunae and errors, so it cannot be completely and precisely translated into fluent plain language. The following provides only a brief interpretation of the extant text.

General Summary

The scripture mainly discusses three matters. First, faith in the Three Treasures (Sanbao): taking faith as the foundation, one believes in the Three Treasures of Dao (the Way), Jing (scripture/classic), and Teacher. In Daoism, the “Three Treasures” generally refer to the Dao Treasure, Jing Treasure, and Teacher Treasure; there are also formulations based on “Dao, Dharma, and Person.” Second, cultivation relying on wisdom: practitioners rely on the power of wisdom, do not cling to their own merit, and dedicate the merit they cultivate to the Three Treasures. Third, universal salvation of beings: with the profound and wonderful principles obtained through this cultivation, they broadly teach and transform people, so that all beings can obtain supreme benefit.

Passage-by-Passage Interpretation

The lines about “believing in the teaching of cause as one” and “believing in the fruition of the Dharma as two” emphasize that faith is the starting point of cultivation; what are called “cause” and “fruition” refer to the causes of cultivation and the results achieved.

If one reflects on the teaching of definitive meaning (liaoyi), one establishes faith in the Three Treasures within the wisdom treasury.

From this, establishing the two roots (ergen) of faith and wisdom, one can enter the contemplation of true reality. The “two roots” may be understood as the root of faith and the root of wisdom.

The practices of merit one prepares do not give rise to a mind that claims merit; all is dedicated to the Three Treasures. This is the shared Daoist and Buddhist contemplative view of non-abiding (wuzhu) and non-attachment.

In this way one subdues all heterodox paths and rescues beings from the suffering of the three evil paths (santu)—hell, hungry ghosts, and animals.

Universal teaching without discrimination: when teaching beings, one treats all equally, without distinguishing noble from base, intimate from distant.

Remarks

In the original text, sentences such as “this stream expounds four gathas” and “within the Mahayana Dharma, realizing the supreme wisdom treasury” are repeated many times, and sentences such as “believing in the teaching of cause as one” contain missing or corrupt wording. Therefore the above interpretation can only capture the general meaning. Terms such as “Three Treasures,” “three evil paths,” and “Mahayana” borrow Buddhist vocabulary, indicating that this scripture integrates Daoist and Buddhist doctrines; readers may consult relevant commentaries for further understanding.

At that time, after the Heavenly Worthy had finished speaking this verse, he again told the youth Fangcheng Shengyin (a disciple in the scripture): Good sons, you should cultivate the Dharma of the “True Ground” (the true fundamental realm). When the Perfected and the youth see all dharmas and attain the fruit of Dao, there is neither increase nor decrease. Such wisdom is called “sovereign freedom.” What are the three kinds of sovereign freedom—sovereign freedom over lands, sovereign freedom in refuge, and sovereign freedom in desires?

Good sons, the first sovereign freedom is the land of Dao; the last is the various lands where all sentient beings dwell together. Why is this said? As for the so-called “Dao-realm,” within that realm there is not a single thing: it is neither defiled nor pure, and there is no Dao that can be augmented. Because of these causes and conditions, it is called the “Dharma-ground” (the fundamental ground on which all dharmas rely).

Good sons, for the sake of all sentient beings I expound the characteristics of dharmas, hoping that these beings may all attain the unsurpassed fruit of Dao; therefore I manifest a pure land and call it the “land of sentient beings.” Good sons, if one can cultivate this Dharma, one will obtain various jewel lands, possess this sovereign freedom, enter the true Dharma-ground, and see the “Oceanic Void Wisdom Treasury” (a treasury of wisdom vast as the sea and like space). From then on one is not born and does not die, abiding in peace and joy in Wuwei (non-action). If one does not cultivate the Dharma of the True Ground, one will have sorrow, grief, suffering, and affliction; various illnesses and impermanence; birth and death succeeding one another; and afflictions pressing upon oneself.

Good sons, if there are sentient beings whose minds can comprehend majestic virtue and wisdom, who can subdue thoughts that are hard to subdue, see states that are hard to see, hear the meaning of Dharma that is hard to hear, and cultivate practices that are hard to cultivate, then with respect to all Dharma characteristics they can contemplate with sovereign freedom without giving rise to discrimination. For this reason, though there is no discrimination, they are replete with all merits.

At that time, the Heavenly Worthy again spoke a verse:

“The meaning of the True Ground that I expound is rare and supremely unsurpassed. This Dharma pervades the most excellent principle; it constantly flows abroad and encompasses all. Without any difference, neither defiled nor pure, it is nevertheless explained through various distinctions. The seed-wisdom that neither increases nor decreases is the meaning of sovereign refuge. The action of sovereign freedom brings great benefit; cultivate the radiant, wondrous, supreme Dao. Emptiness and existence, non-distinction and distinction—all are like the nature of the world.”

The final section repeats the preceding text and continues the verse line, “The action of sovereign freedom brings great benefit; cultivate the radiant, wondrous, supreme one. Emptiness and existence, distinction and non-distinction, are just like the nature of the world.” Its meaning is to explain that by cultivating the action of sovereign freedom one may obtain great benefit; by cultivating the radiant, wondrous, supreme Dao, emptiness and existence, distinction and non-distinction, all are connected with the nature of the world.

At that time, after the Heavenly Worthy had finished the verses, he again told the youth Fangcheng Shengyin: Good man, the supramundane scriptural Dharma that I had not previously realized enables practitioners to begin to realize immeasurable causes and conditions, give rise to great joy, and continue uninterrupted. Those who can practice this scripture and contemplate its meaning and flavor can gradually attain the right fruit for all kinds of sentient beings.

Good man, the Ocean-of-Emptiness Wisdom Treasury is established for sentient beings. According to each being’s capacities and dispositions, I use the “rain of Dharma” and the “constant rain” (meaning the ceaseless moistening of Dharma teaching) to eliminate beings’ afflictions and feverish agitation, wash away the dust and defilement of karmic obstacles in the three aspects of body, speech, and mind (the dust and defilement of the three obstructions), grow beings’ roots of goodness in the One Vehicle (the One Vehicle, namely the single ultimate path to Buddhahood), and benefit all humans and non-humans.

Good man, it is like sweet rain falling and moistening all things: whether mountain ridges or low-lying wetlands, whether high or low, no kind of grass or tree fails to receive its nourishment and benefit.

Good man, it is also like rice, which can put forth sprouts and stems, bloom and bear fruit, form full grains, and bestow nectar-like nourishment in the four directions; none of all sentient beings fails to be satisfied.

Good man, now as I expound these good causes and good conditions, universally enabling all sentient beings to grow the One Vehicle’s ocean-of-emptiness treasure store, such is also its meaning.

Good man, you should bestow this Dharma upon others, expound for them the secret treasury of the One Vehicle’s ocean of emptiness, cause them to contemplate its meaning and flavor, and explain the meaning of emptiness, so that all sentient beings, whether good men or good women, give rise to the mind of dedication, bow at the Buddha’s revered feet before the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), give rise to various devout minds, make various vows, and with all they possess, single-mindedly and reverently make offerings of precious jewel flowers and jewel incense, and openly disclose (confess) their faults and sincerely repent.

Good man, when practitioners contemplate in this way, they can obtain great benefits: their bodies attain a state as firm as diamond, forever unshakable; they abide in the heaven of heavens, always delight in pure lands, and obtain subtle and wonderful karmic rewards.

At this time, the Heavenly Worthy again spoke in verse:

Excellent! Good man Fangcheng, the causes and conditions of the Dharma’s victory are supreme. You are skilled at asking about the true Dharma, benefiting both yourself and others.

I now expound this Jing (scripture/classic) for you, and I hope you will reflect on it carefully, receive it well, and uphold it. If there are good men and good women who revere and uphold this Jing, keeping it constantly in mind, this Jing can make the body like sweet dew moistening all of empty space, so that in broad daylight one may ascend to heaven. If men or women, by falsifying their original minds and giving rise to slander, will suffer evil retribution: in life they will contract a red malignant disease, and after death they will fall into the bottomless hell. If anyone practices this Jing, that person will be pure, like a blue lotus rising from mud without being stained.

When faith is born from wisdom, one can bow in homage to the true meaning within the Jing. Teachers who annotate this Jing and widely recite it can transcend the city of afflictions (afflictions are like a city, locking beings in). Therefore one should contemplate that all dharmas are empty; the path of wisdom is purity, and it is the world’s best field of merit (referring to a place of cultivation that can produce blessings, like a good field producing the five grains).

If people hear a teacher of supreme wisdom expound the Dharma, it is like meeting a skilled physician who can cure the sick and eliminate all kinds of illness.

The Victorious Youth in Square City (perhaps here referring to a place of cultivation) is a guide of unsurpassed great wisdom. Because there is the teaching of the ocean of emptiness and the treasury of wisdom, practitioners too are like a king born by transformation, naturally accomplished. This is the foremost rare teaching, and you good men should treasure it. Such causes and conditions have existed for a long time.

I cultivate according to this teaching, and by doing good I can be reborn into it. It is vast like empty space and the great earth, and can bring about the kingly way in the world. As for the pure and subtle fruit that is obtained, you good men should become teachers of the world and bow with sincere minds.

Disciples of the holy path who seek the fruit that leads to the eternal Dao should become a reliance for people of the world and serve as good medicine for the world. If one long sinks into the three paths (the three evil destinies of hell, animals, and hungry ghosts), then even after ten thousand kalpas, regret will be of no avail.

Although the principles you speak have their benefit, the correct principle cannot be proven by words. The Zhenren (Perfected) and the youth, and others, should rely on the radiance that is like sunlight.

Seeing clearly the marks and appearances of all things, one is not shaken by external conditions, whether in the world or beyond it—this is so. I proclaim these principles to you in order to awaken those who are complacent and arrogant. If they fall away from compassion and abandon practice, they will long sink into the three evil paths (san tu: hells, hungry ghosts, and animals); even after ten thousand kalpas, regret will be of no avail.

You say these words are beneficial, but the true principle is not something that can be realized through words. Practitioners such as Zhenren (Perfected Ones) and Tongzi (celestial youths) should rely on wisdom as bright and pure as sunlight.

Seeing clearly the marks and appearances of all things and not being moved by external conditions, whether in the world or beyond it—I proclaim to you the authentic meaning of the true Dharma.

Just as the pure sun and moon can illuminate all kinds of matters and principles, these are what I have spoken based on the scriptures (Jing), enabling those with roots of wisdom to enter the right path.

To let go of arrogance and give rise to reverence is a wondrous Dharma difficult to penetrate. One who is skilled in understanding the principle of non-obstruction can be of benefit in relation to the eight worldly dharmas (ba fa: gain, loss, defamation, fame, praise, ridicule, suffering, and joy) and is not pulled about by them.

With the mind always free of defilement and attachment and without obstruction, one may speak of unobstructed names and appearances. With compassion that universally pities beings and by constantly upholding the scriptures and Dharma, one causes humans, gods, and all beings to know universally.

Bowing at the feet of the Master, one discerns the permanence and impermanence of all dharmas. The scriptures and Dharma are like a rain of sweet dew and like good medicine; practitioners comprehend according to their own roots and levels.

Just as birds fly by relying on their feathers, practitioners read through the scriptures and enter the city of meditative absorption (ding) in sequence. In this way they select and embrace the principles of Mahayana; may these words benefit beings.

For beings drifting in the sea of suffering—whether persons, dharmas, or the meaning of dharmas—their nature and characteristics, names, and the ultimate of the impure and the pure all lie herein.

One is thus able to distance oneself from all the various entanglements of the dusty world. If one can clearly see through those illusory and unreal appearances, one then knows that they were never truly existent. Being able to enter “Wubeng” (No Collapse—a state of indestructibility and immovability), the Zhenren (an accomplished cultivator) can constantly preserve purity and quietude.

Not rejoicing because of external things, nor becoming proud because of external things, one renounces the various outward appearances of the external dusty world. In this way one may enter “Zhizang Cheng” (the City of the Wisdom Treasury—a realm that contains wisdom). After entering, one knows that the things one grasps were originally false and unreal.

Cultivating step by step according to stages and expedient methods, wisdom arises from this; benefits spread universally and meet no obstruction.

At this time, the Tianzun (Heavenly Worthy—a title for a high Daoist deity; here the deity expounding the scripture), having finished speaking this gatha, said to Shengyin (the disciple listening to the sermon): Good man, renounce the marks of external dust, enter the City of the Wisdom Treasury; all that is grasped is non-existent. Arising in accordance with stages and expedient means, benefits are without obstruction.

After the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) finished this verse, he said to Shengyin: Good man, if beings contemplate all dharmas as empty and understand that everything is of the nature of emptiness, then within emptiness there is no self and no world, and certainly no “emptiness of emptiness.” For example, when someone wishes to look upon various forms, as soon as the forms before the eyes vanish, the forms that appear next are also empty; this is called the “emptiness of emptiness.” Such deluded attachments, in the blink of an eye, give rise to immeasurable afflictions; the various attachments in cultivation are likewise so.

Good man, in cultivation one should first begin with the lower path; once the lower path has been emptied, cultivate the middle path; once the middle path has been emptied, cultivate the higher path; after the higher path too has been emptied, only then, because of these successive causes and conditions, can it be called true “emptiness of emptiness.” By thus realizing emptiness, the mind constantly delights and abides in the realm of Wuwei (non-action).

Good man, for example, a goldsmith smelting true gold first removes coarse impurities, then removes subtle dust, and only in the end does it become “true gold refined a hundred times.” Good man, cultivating body and mind and seeking the supreme Dao is likewise refined layer by layer.

Good man, this may be called “expedient means.” Because expedient methods are not fixed, cultivators need not cling to any fixed pattern. The Perfected (Zhenren) and the Youthful Ones, simply following their own wishes, can accomplish subtle Dao methods; whatever circumstances they encounter accord with their wishes, and they can dwell long in the world. In cultivation, what is not yet attained is made attained, what is already attained is made complete, and after completion they no longer retrogress. Whether past, present, or future, in all the various states of taking birth and of cultivation, they obtain great benefit.

Good man, if all beings can cultivate in this way, they are replete with merit. When the Heavenly Worthy descends into the world and beings are able to hear the true Dharma, this is a surpassing birthplace, and this is precisely because of meditative concentration. The Perfected and the Youthful Ones, in a surpassing birthplace, can abide securely in cultivation, employ things at will, without retrogression, and their fame extends throughout the Two Vehicles. All beings, whether human or nonhuman, if with one mind they revere the most surpassing place where the Perfected and Youthful Ones dwell, will surely obtain a free and wondrous land; they can manifest in other lands, neither coming nor going, neither arising nor ceasing, free and unobstructed. They abandon the place of their birth and are reborn at will; after birth they abide therein.

Good man, whether they dwell in the world for long or short, abandon birth or abandon cessation, according to their unceasing succession of births and their wish to be born or to cease, all is distinguished in accordance with causes and conditions, thereby enabling people to possess unobstructed powers of spiritual penetration.

Good man, all sentient beings in the boundless worlds dwell within the fortress-city of afflictions, each seeking endless continuation, craving desires and clinging to beautiful forms. Because of such causes and conditions, they are born and then perish, perish and then are born again, forever transmigrating within birth-and-death. Out of compassion for sentient beings, I therefore display unobstructed spiritual powers; in accordance with the original vows of the Perfected Person (Zhenren), with great power free from discrimination, I manifest spiritual powers as I wish and proclaim the essential meaning of the great Dharma to all sentient beings, so that those who have never seen or heard may be able to see and hear.

Thereupon the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun), with great compassion, composed his countenance, observed the capacities and karmic affinities of sentient beings, and according to each one’s response emitted light that illumined the lands and worlds of the ten directions, enabling all beings with affinity to settle their minds and listen to the Dharma in peace and stability. The light also reached prisoners, hungry ghosts, and beings in the hells; whether kin or not, all could see it. Because of this light, all sentient beings were able to see the scenes of the Nine Dark Hells throughout the ten directions.

Sentient beings also saw the Heavenly Worthy proclaiming the sounds of the Dharma, his voice filling the void; he manifested as various heavenly beings to deliver sentient beings, and according to each person’s capacities and responses, he universally manifested majestic and sacred light. The Heavenly Worthy sat upright upon a jeweled lotus and emitted various lights to teach the Dharma for sentient beings. In order to deliver sentient beings, just as the light of great wisdom illumines immeasurable worlds, he manifested various transformation bodies and saved all from suffering.

These sentient beings were all able to hear and receive the true Dharma according to their own wishes. This wondrous “One Vehicle, the Oceanic Void Wisdom Treasury” has merits lofty and vast, inconceivable.

Good man, the power of the Heavenly Worthy’s awe-inspiring spirit transforms according to the minds and consciousness of sentient beings, swift as lightning, coming and going with utmost speed, beyond compare. If someone can personally behold the realm of reality, tranquil and in Wuwei (non-action), and in a single thought generate the supreme mind of the Dao, with a resolve that never regresses, then all karmic offenses and defilements will be completely eliminated. Good and evil karma both arise from the mind; once the mind is empty and quiescent, consciousness likewise returns to emptiness.

Since mind-consciousness is empty, its changes are also empty. For this reason, the transformations of mind-consciousness are extremely rapid, faster than a rushing wind, hard to see and hard to hear. This is the domain created by mind-consciousness: as soon as a thought arises, form follows. One who holds such mind-consciousness, when contemplating non-self, can encompass all.

Good sons, like images in a mirror, large and small are all empty, yet it can fully reflect all things, all clearly visible. The contemplation of my mind is also so. The myriad things of the world, countless and numerous, all appear within oneself.

Deluded beings cling to delusion and refuse to turn back, holding tightly and engaging in deluded speculation. I then observe their capacities and protect them like vajra (a metaphor for firm, indestructible protective power), enabling them to know past lives (the causes, conditions, and fruits from previous lives) and understand causality and dependent origination. When there is famine or disease in the world, there are medicines to heal. This is like the peace and joy attained by the Zhenren (Perfected Person, one who has attained the Dao), to be universally and equally shared by all beings.

Good sons, if there are those with faith who never tire of good deeds, who spare nothing in seeking the Dharma, I will lend them a hand and proclaim for them the One Vehicle (the ultimate teaching that enables beings to directly reach awakening), the ocean-empty treasury, eliminating the fire of beings’ afflictions. This flame blazes fiercely and is hard to withstand. If beings seek perfection with untiring minds, abandon evil and practice good, single-mindedly receive and uphold, know where to stop with evil, and never tire of good—such is the nature of Dharma—then I will proclaim it for them.

Good sons, you followers should single-mindedly give rise to Mahayana wisdom, departing from both existence and nonexistence. For this reason, existence and nonexistence both return to emptiness and purity; the fundamental consciousness (the root consciousness hidden in the depths of the mind that produces all thoughts) is extinguished, and the fundamental consciousness itself becomes empty. Once the fundamental consciousness is empty, Dharma characteristics arise in continuous succession. Good sons, if beings can cultivate in this way, they can break through all kinds of confusion. Why is this? The Great Compassionate Heavenly Worthy, in accord with all beings’ capacities and afflictive natures, guides them with various subtle Dharma characteristics.

If there are people—whether ordinary worldly folk or other sentient beings—who cling to the view of “emptiness of mind,” believing that the principle of emptiness is inseparable from all dharmas, and yet give rise to doubt toward the true Dharma, then in this present life they will fall into the state of “emptiness without attainment.” If they can contemplate this Dharma and understand that what it teaches is fundamentally no different from “the One True” (the single true way), like a single flavor, then in this present life they will attain stability and accomplish the fruit of the Dao (the Way)—the right fruit realized through cultivating the Dao.

At that time, the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun; the supreme deity of Daoism, here the main honored speaker of the Dharma) again addressed Prince Shengyin of Fangcheng: Good man, in the past, countless kalpas ago, you already cultivated the “One Vehicle, Ocean-Empty Wisdom Treasury” (taking the “One Vehicle,” the single true path, as the principle, and cultivating wisdom as vast as the sea, as open as space, and as deep as a treasury). Because of this causal condition, today you are able to realize the subtle merits of this Dharma. You are truly a “King of Physicians” (a good physician able to cure the afflictions of sentient beings), most rare. You are named “Shengyin” because you are skilled in applying methods and techniques, able to heal all beings, and to explain the roots of goodness (fundamental wholesome actions that produce good fruits).

Good man, you possess vast vows and are complete in all kinds of merits. These vast vows are ten in number. The first is the vow to always make offerings, with a mind of great offering, to the supreme field of merit (the object that produces merit) and to Dharma masters who teach the Dharma. The second is the vow that I and all people may single-mindedly receive and uphold the supreme true Dharma. The third is the vow to turn the great wheel of Dharma (to proclaim the true Dharma, which, like a turning wheel, universally saves sentient beings) and to cause the great assembly always to turn the wheel of Dharma. The fourth is the vow always to cultivate the practice within the mind, always to teach the Dharma for all people, and to enable all sages and worthies, Perfected (Zhenren, those who have attained the Dao), and youths to hear it universally. The fifth is the vow that all sentient beings in the land may attain stability and obtain the roots of goodness of the Three Vehicles (Sravaka, Pratyekabuddha, and Bodhisattva—the different levels of cultivation paths). The sixth is the vow, with a mind of service, to cause the Great Compassion Heavenly Worthy (Da’ai Tianzun) always to dwell in all lands, and to cause all Daoist priests always to hold reverence and hear and receive the true Dharma. The seventh is the vow to attain a pure land, establish the Dharma teachings, cultivate protective mindfulness, and cause all sentient beings to attain stability. The eighth is the vow never to be separated from all sentient beings, never to be separated from the Immortal Dao, and to practice diligently with one heart together with the Perfected and youths. The ninth is the vow to benefit all and universally shelter them, so that merits are not wasted. The tenth is the vow to awaken to the right Dao, transform and save sentient beings, and cause all people together to realize the right fruit.

Good man, if one can cultivate and uphold these ten subtle and supreme vows, one may ascend to a supreme stage and accomplish the right fruit. Why? Because those who make these vows can themselves together attain a pure land. Good man, I have already realized the pure land; therefore I have transcended the defiled, turbid world of birth and death.

Good man, again, as the dragon king has said of the twelve causes and conditions (the principle of dependent origination shared by Buddhism and Daoism, which explains that all dharmas arise from the convergence of causes and conditions): sometimes there is arising yet no arising, sometimes no arising yet arising; sometimes arising and arising, sometimes non-arising yet arising. This shows that the Dharma of dependent origination cannot be fixed as “arising” or “non-arising”; one should transcend dualistic clinging.