《太上洞玄灵宝业报因缘经》

The Supreme Cavern Mystery Numinous Treasure Scripture on Karmic Retribution and Causal Conditions, Volume One, “Chapter One: Opening the Way to Deliverance”

The Perfected One of Universal Salvation, whose great compassion extended to all beings, asked the Supreme Lord of the Dao about various matters concerning karmic retribution and causal conditions. At that time, the Supreme Lord of the Dao was in the Fragrant Accumulation World in the Heaven of Blessings and Virtue, seated upright on a radiant platform adorned with seven treasures, holding a great assembly to teach the scripture and expound the Dharma.

At this time, Perfected Puji (Puji Zhenren, a Daoist honorific for a revered deity) reported to the Celestial Worthy: “I have served at your side through measureless kalpas, yet never have I seen the Compassionate Venerable One as joyful as today. You have sent down vast clouds of the Dharma and poured out vast rains of the Dharma, enabling beings in the present world to gain understanding and, according to their respective karmic conditions, receive inconceivable benefits. I wish to use my spiritual powers to observe the good and evil karmic conditions in the boundless worlds, reveal what lies ahead, and help beings understand their destinies and the many circumstances of the past, present, and future.”

When he had finished speaking, he bowed low to the ground, then looked up at the Celestial Worthy and listened with reverence.

The Celestial Worthy said to Puji: “Now you are able to make such a vow, give rise to vast good intentions, and benefit all beings. This merit is inconceivable. In response to this good karmic connection, I will release a nine-colored radiance, illuminating the heavens and a hundred billion worlds, reaching down to measureless lands below. My divine might will manifest, and the light will pass through without obstruction, bringing every scene clearly into view, as plainly as if seen in the palm of one’s hand.”

Perfected Puji and the assembled crowd rode this divine radiance and saw the heavens and a hundred billion worlds, reaching down to measureless lands below. Everything revealed by the divine might came through unobstructed and appeared clearly before them, as plainly as if seen in the palm of one’s hand.

By this radiance, Perfected Puji and the crowd saw the good and evil karmic conditions throughout the heavens and the lands, revealed in every aspect, within and without. First they saw the sages above the heavens freely traveling about; then they saw beings suffering beneath the heavens, throughout the various lands. The circumstances of each being appeared distinctly, revealing what lay ahead.

Above the various heavens, one can see many Great Sages and High Realized Ones—saints of exalted status and perfected beings who have attained the Dao. A round radiance shines behind each one’s head; their forms are majestic and complete, and they manifest transformations with ease, making their bodies larger or smaller at will. Some ride the sunlight through the sky, mounted on dragons or cranes; others ride clouds, stroll through the empty sky, travel in chariots drawn by luan birds, or hold aloft canopies shaped like phoenixes.

There are also countless flying immortals, celestial immortals, divine immortals, and numinous beings. They roam freely, unbound, surrounded by radiance and endowed with supernatural powers. Heavenly men and women, jade boys and jade maidens are too numerous to count. Phoenixes, peacocks, lions, pixie beasts, and other numinous creatures stand guard at their sides. Golden halls and jade palaces, jeweled terraces and pearl towers are majestic and splendid. Heavenly music, flowers, fruits, trees, and all manner of wonders are too numerous to describe one by one. Venomous dragons and fierce beasts encircle the city gates, while jeweled pools and golden gardens provide places for immortals to enjoy themselves.

The heavenly kitchens lay out offerings and meals in a hundred flavors. Immortals gather to inquire into the principles of the teachings, while the assembled sages expound the One Vehicle—the fundamental teaching that guides people toward unity. The Heavenly King asks about good and ill fortune. On a hundred, a thousand, or even countless jeweled seats, speakers expound the Great Vehicle, the vast teachings of Buddhism. Flying immortals, divine immortals, celestial immortals, and perfected beings who have only just begun to study the Dao ask others about the teachings and debate them. Banners, flower standards, and canopies are adorned with a hundred kinds of treasure; the earth is made of the seven treasures, gold, silver, pearls, and jade. Gardens, bamboo groves, fruit trees, birds, beasts, and pools appear naturally. Palaces, music, clothing, cushions, and felt rugs, too, are not made by human hands.

The immortals cultivate the Dao, recite, bow, and sing praises without ceasing, day or night. Flying platforms and traveling lodges move through the air; heavenly robes and cloud canopies come through the empty sky to welcome visitors, and halls and towers suddenly appear. The food is fragrant and delicious. Above the various heavens lie realms of abundant blessings, joy, and freedom, with countless palaces, flowers, fruits, and offerings of every kind.

The delicacies of food appear once more, their fragrance filling the air. Above the various heavens, one can see realms of blessed merit: places of joy and ease, with palaces, flowers and fruit, and offerings of every kind—so many that they cannot all be listed.

Beneath the heavens, one sees the great sages of the heavens riding clouds through the air, carrying banners and ceremonial insignia as they inspect the registers of living beings’ offenses. The celestial immortals and sages also manifest in many forms, appearing noble or humble, poor or wealthy, ill or healthy, male or female, old or young, tall or short. They assume all kinds of appearances and come to the human world to teach and transform living beings. Celestial immortals, numinous beings (deities), flying heavenly spirit kings, and youths who record good and evil roam the human world each day, noting people’s good and evil deeds before reporting them to the heavens. The cloud palaces and star offices, the palaces of the sun and moon, and the numinous officials who govern mountains, rivers, and waterways also examine people’s good and evil deeds, merits, and faults.

One also sees kings renounce their own possessions and practice giving, seeking the true Dao and putting their cultivation into practice in the world. The cloud palaces and star offices of the heavens, the palaces of the sun and moon, and the numinous officials who govern mountains, rivers, and waterways all examine the people’s good and evil deeds, merits, and faults.

Some kings relinquish their own possessions and give away their wealth in pursuit of the true Dao. Some humble themselves and make offerings to the Three Treasures: the Dao, the scriptures, and the master. Some practice fasting, follow the Dao, recite scriptures, and perform rites of repentance, seeking their own salvation.

Some kings burn incense in the main hall and invite a great master to teach the Dao, while giving alms and observing the precepts. Some set out many jeweled seats for teaching and expound the Mahayana teachings without pause, day or night, illuminating their profound meaning. Some personally lead their ministers to Daoist temples, offering gold and silver, pearls and jade, brocades and silks, carriages and horses, ornaments, gardens, ponds, orchards, clothing, utensils, and other goods, cultivating merit through these many offerings.

Some kings guide men and women in great numbers to renounce the world and enter religious life. Some bring salvation to the people throughout their lands, so that the orthodox teachings may flourish and spread. Some build Daoist temples on a grand scale and adorn them in many ways. Some spend their treasures lavishly to create images of the Dharma body for worship. Some copy scriptures, recite them repeatedly, and make offerings to them. Some give banners, flowers, canopies, incense, oil, and fine clothing to those who have renounced the world to cultivate the Dao.

Some kings teach and expound the scriptures all day, praising the profound teachings. Some faithfully uphold the precepts of the Great Dao and never transgress them. Some receive and uphold the precious scriptures of the Three Caverns, carrying them on their person. Some keep benevolent thoughts always in mind and devote themselves wholeheartedly and reverently to the Dao.

Some kings yield the throne to their ministers and renounce the world to cultivate the Dao. Some dismiss the palace women, enabling them all to enter the Dao. Some give away all their treasures to aid the poor, the elderly, and the sick in their lands. Some act with humility and harm nothing among the myriad things. Some are dignified and upright in bearing, with profound wisdom and clear understanding. Some live long lives. Some kings teach the people through the Dao, so that they widely enter the Dao; some give away their wealth to aid the poor, sick, elderly, and frail; and some humble themselves and take the lower place, harming nothing around them.

Some kings have a dignified bearing and profound wisdom; some live long lives; and some govern the people through the Dao, bringing them peace and contentment.

Some kings remain pure of heart and do not crave sensual pleasures. They practice compassion and do not kill or harm living beings. They give freely and do not begrudge their possessions. They are joyful rather than angry, and live simply, without extravagance or indulgence. Their hearts are filled with great compassion for all beings. They practice diligently and do not turn back. They keep body and mind pure, abstaining from wine and meat, pungent foods, and anything forbidden by the rules.

Some kings copy scriptures by hand and spread them widely. They give away abundant wealth to support almsgiving and uphold the Dharma-body—the pure nature of the Dharma realized by practitioners. Some speak with Daoist priests every day, asking them about profound principles; each day they hold vegetarian feasts to make offerings to them. They devote themselves to the Dao and seek the path to liberation; they sincerely observe the precepts and pursue a way of cultivation that frees them from the mundane world.

Some kings cultivate all kinds of merit in their quest for immortality. They release living creatures and pray for longevity; light lamps, burn incense, and widely aid all beings. They give up their palaces to build Daoist temples. They travel to famous mountains to seek instruction in profound Daoist teachings. They invite revered figures of virtue to perform rites, confess their faults, and receive the precepts, thereby clearing away the sins they committed in the past.

Some empresses stayed alone in the imperial palace, devoting themselves wholeheartedly to cultivating the Dao (the Way); some left the women’s quarters and entered the Daoist path; others gave away their clothes, bedding, and treasured possessions as alms.

Some empresses urged the emperor to help people enter the Dao and cultivate it, and to spread its teachings. They also asked him to invite highly respected practitioners to lecture on the scriptures and discuss the Dao. Some had scriptures and sacred images made in great numbers to teach and guide living beings. Others regularly sent incense and flowers to Daoist temples as offerings, or gave various precious objects and wealth to ordained practitioners.

Some empresses upheld pure precepts and never broke them. They remained unaffected by the six forms of sensory experience—sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and mental objects—and kept body and mind pure, while making offerings to the Three Treasures: the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters. They also urged the emperor to allow men and women to leave home and enter religious life, to keep the aspiration to cultivate the Dao, and to perform good deeds widely. They gave alms often, sometimes without regard for their own lives; established many lecture gatherings to expound the Mahayana teachings, which liberate living beings on a broad scale; and devoted themselves to practicing many kinds of good deeds.

Some empresses left the palace to study the Dao in the mountains. They asked highly respected practitioners to confer precepts on them and guide them through repentance; devoted themselves to reciting and carrying precious scriptures; prepared meals of a hundred flavors with their own hands as offerings to the Three Treasures; and cultivated diligently, making offerings of scriptures and sacred images, burning incense, bowing, and reciting scriptures. Other empresses followed the emperor’s wishes and gave rise to immeasurable thoughts of goodness.

I saw the princes following the king, each giving rise to wholesome intentions. Some resolved to leave home and pursue the Dao; some gave up splendor and wealth, wore coarse clothing, and observed the precepts. Some devoted themselves to cultivating the Dao without ever slacking; some regularly recited the true scriptures. Some cultivated fields of merit on a broad scale—planting blessings through good deeds and virtuous conduct, and gathering wholesome karmic connections for the future. Some quietly guarded the three forms of action—body, speech, and mind—so that they might remain pure. Some often discussed the subtle principles of the Dao with Daoist practitioners; some went to practitioners to seek instruction in scriptures and teachings. Some regularly visited sacred Daoist temples to pay their respects, burn incense, make offerings, and repent.

I saw the ministers following the king in resolving to cultivate merit on a broad scale. Some donated clothing and various possessions—including fields and houses, servants, oxen and horses, carriages, and bedding—to support those who had left home to cultivate the Dao. Some gave up their own residences to be made into sacred Daoist temples. Some produced scriptures and sacred images in abundance as a way to cultivate merit and virtue. Some, loyal, upright, and wise, helped spread the Daoist teachings and guide the people. Some were always glad and eager to hear the scriptures and teachings. Some ministers resolved to leave home and carry on the work of spreading the Great Dao. Some were distinguished in appearance and complete in blessings. Some established ritual platforms adorned with precious treasures and invited Daoist practitioners of high virtue and renown to expound the Three Caverns’ Great Vehicle—the profound teachings within the Daoist scriptural tradition—and show the people of the realm the path of goodness.

I saw the officials give rise to immeasurable wholesome intentions, follow the king, and cultivate all kinds of merit together. I saw them remain steadfast in their resolve and strive to spread the Great Dao and benefit all beings.

I have seen Daoist priests use scriptures and precepts to counsel kings. Some regularly compose scriptures and sculpt or paint images of the gods, praying for peace in the country. Some teach and guide the people, building sacred temples—places where gods are enshrined and Daoist activities are held—as well as halls and pavilions, each according to their means, to serve as places of refuge for future generations.

I have seen Daoist priests remain ever compassionate, willing to save all living beings. Some set up altars to expound the Mahayana, a teaching aimed at universal salvation, benefiting the people and bringing stability to the country. Some devote themselves to the Dao, reciting scriptures and observing precepts day and night without slackening. Some widely cultivate fields of merit by doing good and accumulating blessings for themselves and others, and build bridges.

I have seen Daoist priests diligently help people, often explaining profound principles and guiding those who are ignorant and confused. Some regularly repent on behalf of living beings and transmit precepts, helping everyone take refuge in the orthodox Dao. Some ring bells and strike chimes, carrying out their daily liturgy throughout the six divisions of day and night, the six periods into which Buddhist and Daoist ritual practice divides a day. Some sit in meditation alone in the stillness of remote mountains, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon and consuming pine resin.

I have seen Daoist priests widely solicit donations to give to the poor and to people suffering from various illnesses. Some use talismanic incantations and prohibitions, as well as medicinal decoctions, to relieve the suffering of the sick. Some are dignified and exceptional in bearing, becoming teachers to both humans and gods. Some remain at Daoist temples, copying scriptures and painting images of the gods. Some keep to quiet dwellings alone, reciting and chanting precious scriptures, never setting them aside for even a day.

I have seen Daoist priests possess penetrating wisdom and skillfully adapt their methods, acting freely and without hindrance. Some joyfully devote themselves to spreading and continuing the Great Dao. Some regularly give rise to compassion and save all living beings. Some buy back captured animals and set them free, aid those suffering from hunger and cold, distribute clothing and food, and perform good deeds widely to cultivate fields of merit. Some dig wells beside roads, build houses and halls, construct bridges, plant bamboo, trees, flowers, and fruit, and show consideration for and comfort those worn down by hardship.

I see female Daoist officiants seated upright in quiet rooms, devoted to cultivating the Dao. Some burn incense and recite scriptures without pause, day or night; some repent and bow in worship, praying to ascend to immortality; some practice diligently and never slacken, hoping to be reborn in a future life and attain the Dao; some awaken a vast compassion, wishing to save all living beings; and some produce scriptures and sacred images on a large scale, teaching those who are destined to encounter the Dao.

I also see female Daoist officiants building halls, terraces, pavilions, and towers, arranging curtains and seats, and hanging banners and pennants to adorn ritual spaces and honor the Heavenly Worthies. Some build ritual altars, halls, and dwellings, equipping them with everything needed and encouraging later generations to turn toward the Dao. Some give away their wealth without hesitation; some harbor neither jealousy nor covetousness and no longer cling to distinctions between self and others; some serve accomplished teachers—those of virtue and spiritual cultivation—without ever faltering; and some recite and study the scriptures, explaining the Mahayana teachings that save living beings far and wide.

Other female Daoist officiants abstain from grain as a practice for purifying body and mind, maintaining fasting and precepts over a long period and sincerely devoting themselves to the Great Dao. Some give away money and goods to relieve the poor; some free captive animals and spare their lives, allowing living beings to dwell in peace; some make clothing and present it to ritual masters and people of virtue; and some cultivate themselves with diligence, keeping their hearts fixed on the Dao like those gazing up at the river of stars, and praying that body and mind may become light and rise to immortality.

Seeing people of virtue devote themselves wholeheartedly to the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the teacher—and never turn back; seeing people give up their lives and wealth to make offerings to the Three Treasures; seeing people spare neither wife nor children as they provide for those who leave home to cultivate the Dao; seeing people burn incense and pray for blessings and long life, and offer reverence and gifts.

Seeing people give up their family estates—including fields, homes, servants, utensils, carriages and horses, precious objects, clothing, and various playthings—to support the Three Treasures; seeing people continually set their minds on the Dao and remain wholly devoted to its teachings; seeing people build spirit sanctuaries, Daoist temples dedicated to the gods, without shrinking from hardship; seeing people copy scriptures and cast images of the gods, spending their entire fortunes; seeing people practice purification rites and observe precepts without interruption.

Seeing people keep the six faculties—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—pure, without craving sensual pleasures; seeing people refrain from theft and robbery and give alms often; seeing people hold joy in their hearts, bearing neither hatred nor favoritism toward others; seeing people cultivate themselves with discipline, drinking no wine, eating no meat, and abstaining from pungent foods such as onions and garlic. Seeing people cut their hair and give up their bodies as offerings; seeing people seek the way of the immortals through the Great and Lesser Refinements of the body; seeing people cut flesh from their own bodies to feed birds and beasts, with compassion for all things.

Seeing people with upright features and long lives; seeing people who are clever and wise, able to grasp the principles of the Mahayana Dao; seeing people who are loyal to their ruler, filial to their parents, and affectionate toward their brothers and relatives; seeing harmony between fathers and sons and warm relations among the six kinds of kin; seeing people who remain generous in giving even when wealthy and eminent.

Seeing people whose six faculties are whole and unimpaired; seeing people live their lives in comfort, free from illness and pain, hunger and cold; seeing people loved and cherished by everyone, valued wherever they go; seeing people make vast vows, so that however many times they give up their bodies and are reborn, they will always encounter the scriptures and teachings, uphold them, and make offerings to them.

I have seen women whose bodies and minds are pure and calm, free from illness and pain and untouched by hunger or cold. I have seen virtuous people cherished and loved by all, honored and treasured wherever they go. I have seen virtuous people make great vows, repeatedly relinquishing an old body and receiving a new one, and often encounter and follow a scripture, upholding and making offerings to it.

I have seen women whose bodies and minds are pure and calm, upholding the scriptures and teachings, bowing in reverence and making offerings. Some sit alone in quiet rooms, apart from worldly affairs; some devote themselves wholeheartedly and sincerely to cultivating the Dao, seeking their own deliverance; some offer themselves in service, giving without reserve; some follow their masters’ instructions without doubt; some give up the clothes they wear for use in accordance with the needs of ritual services; some practice the Daoist teachings single-mindedly and sincerely; some make ritual robes to give in charity; some gather abundant flowers and fruit as offerings to the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the teacher); some keep the subtle precepts at all times and cultivate diligently without slackening; some purify the six faculties (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind), free of all manner of desire; and some have pure, gentle dispositions, untouched by worldly affairs.

I have seen halls blessed with merit and virtue, where life is carefree, at ease in Wuwei (non-action). Some Daoist centers regularly teach the scriptures and teachings; some ritual masters expound the Mahayana, guiding and transforming the people; some people of profound virtue counsel living beings and set them on the right path of cultivating goodness and following the Dao. In some sacred Daoist temples, incense is burned and scriptures are recited without pause, day and night. In some blessed places, people are joyful all day long, with no sorrow or grief in sight. Some virtuous people cultivate diligently at all times, never slackening in their thoughts, and practice the Daoist teachings and recite the scriptures.

If a king is seen wantonly killing living beings, going hunting and harming the people; acting with such cruelty that the people are left in hardship and suffering; indulging in sensual pleasures and giving free rein to his desires; destroying Daoist temples and burning ritual halls; disbelieving in the consequences of good and evil and dismissing them as absurd; violating the scriptures and precepts, or showing contempt for those who have left the household life; taking for himself all the property of the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the teachers); committing various unlawful acts at a mystic altar, where Daoist rites are performed, or in Daoist temple halls; killing living beings within a temple, leaving it awash in blood and stench; killing those who have left the household life to cultivate the Dao, or subjecting them to cruel torture; destroying Daoist images or burning scriptures; committing countless crimes too numerous to record; showing contempt for Heaven and Earth, the sun, moon, and stars; spreading slander by claiming that Daoism has no spirits; or failing to act with compassion and killing excessively.

If an empress is seen indulging without restraint in lust, poisoning the virtuous; inwardly failing to believe in the correct Dao and urging the king to eradicate Daoist scriptures and teachings; refusing to honor the scriptures and precepts and dismissing them as false and useless; committing every kind of evil, too appalling to recount; or envying those who surpass her and killing chaste, virtuous people.

If a prince is seen acting without restraint and destroying Daoist scriptures; trampling Daoist temples and making them gravely impure; engaging in illicit sexual conduct and defiling those who have left the household life to cultivate the Dao; or drinking wine, eating meat, and slandering the Three Venerables (the Dao, the scriptures, and the teachers).

I see ministers lose faith and urge the king to abolish Daoism. I see ministers harbor private motives and use every means to mislead the king, causing him to slight the Daoist teachings and leading practitioners astray. I see ministers who do not believe in karmic causes and conditions across the Three Ages—the past, present, and future—and claim that there are no rewards for virtue or retribution for wrongdoing in this world.

I see men and women slander the scriptures and teachings, and the Dharma body of the Great Dao—the form in which the Great Dao manifests and guides living beings. I see men and women make arbitrary distinctions and choices, falsely claiming that one thing is true and another false. I see them give rise without cause to hatred and attachment, favoring one side and rejecting the other. I see them break their purification vows. I see men and women steal scriptures; drink wine and eat meat in sacred places; engage in sexual acts where the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters—are enshrined; commit sexual acts in Daoist temples, defiling places of purity; engage in sexual acts with monastic practitioners; and slander them. I see men and women wound others with cruel words and spread discord; kill their parents, commit the Five Rebellions, the gravest acts of disobedience, and fail to observe filial duty; act without loyalty or filial piety, betraying their ruler and father; oppress all beings without distinguishing good from evil; show no compassion for the poor and suffering, and shun the old and ill; indulge the desires of the six senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and thought—and fail to cultivate the deeds of body, speech, and mind.

I see men and women fly hawks and unleash hounds to hunt and kill living beings; turn away from the Daoist teachings and their masters, and break their covenants and vows; suffer chains and imprisonment, beatings and interrogation; become deaf, blind, or afflicted with one of the six disabilities, their bodies incomplete; endure poverty and hardship without anyone to care for them; lie ill in bed for a long time, unable either to live or to die; suffer from wasting diseases such as leprosy and from madness; remain ignorant and dull-witted, with bodies impaired; be covered in sores, with pus and blood flowing; encounter weapons, floods, and fire, and be burned, cut down, or struck by arrows; be swallowed, stung, battered, or torn apart by venomous insects and fierce beasts.

I see men and women struck by weapons, caught in floods or fires, burned, cut down, or shot dead. Some are swallowed, stung, or torn apart by venomous insects and ferocious beasts. Some are alone and helpless, enduring hunger, cold, and hardship. Some are separated from their loved ones before their lives are over and never get to remain together; some mothers and children are torn apart and reduced to servitude in other people’s households.

I see men and women who are ugly in appearance and disliked by others. Some have short lives and die young; some spend their entire lives as servants, suffering hunger, cold, and toil. Others are born with physical disabilities: their limbs are cramped or twisted, or they are lame; they are deaf, blind, unable to speak, or afflicted with various illnesses. Some have ruptured bodies, with pus and blood oozing everywhere, their lips and mouths ruined, their noses and eyes damaged, and so are despised by others.

Then, underground, I see people walking on mountains of blades, their limbs severed and mangled. Some cling to sword trees, their bodies pierced and split by blades. Some swallow fire and eat charcoal, smoke rising from their bodies. Some are placed in stone mortars and pounded, or crushed beneath millstones until their bodies are ground to powder. Some embrace copper pillars and are burned black. Some lie on iron beds as their fat melts away amid raging flames. Some are boiled in vats of bubbling broth until their bodies are soaked and rotted. Some have the soles of their feet pierced by blades and needles, while their hands and feet are broken. Some are sawn apart, blood dripping from them drop by drop. Some are trapped between enormous stones, blood flowing from their seven orifices. Some are beaten with iron staves until they are covered in blood. Some are trapped in ice, their bodies split by the cold. Some are confined in volcanic fires, their heads and faces scorched. Some are caught in hot ash and coals, leaping about in agony. Some are pierced with iron awls, enduring unbearable pain. Some are trapped amid filth, a sight too dreadful to behold. Some are mauled by copper dogs, their entrails spilling out. Some have their eyes pecked by iron birds, their flesh torn open. Others are entwined and bitten by venomous snakes, or pierced with spikes, suffering every kind of torment; their bodies are immersed in filth, making them loathsome to behold.

These passages depict the punishments and suffering of hell described in the scriptures. Punishments such as mountains of blades, sword trees, scorching fire, and freezing cold portray the many kinds of suffering endured by living beings.

Pu Qi saw with his own eyes the many kinds of suffering that beings endure because of their sinful karma. Some were bitten by copper dogs, their intestines spilling out; some had their eyes pecked by iron birds, their flesh torn apart. Some were coiled around and bitten by venomous snakes, or pounced on and ripped apart by ferocious beasts. Some had their tongues pulled out and pierced with iron awls; others had their tongues plowed with iron plows. Some were chopped to pieces with rasps, hung upside down, stripped of their clothes, or dragged along in chains and shackles. Others were nailed through the body with iron spikes, broken apart joint by joint, or cut into pieces.

Some were thrown into water; some carried stones on their backs to fill rivers; others were reborn as hungry ghosts. Some were reborn as livestock such as oxen, sheep, chickens, and dogs, or became people of foreign tribes in remote regions, or servants. Some were born deaf, blind, mute, unable to speak, with contracted fingers or lame legs, or with bodies that were incomplete. Others were reborn as venomous snakes, insects, beasts, flies, and maggots; some were even born amid the filth of latrines or in mud, or became various harmful insects, birds, beasts, fish, and turtles.

Now Pu Qi sees that such varied fates exist between Heaven and Earth, and that beings receive different karmic punishments and blessings. He does not understand: What did people cultivate in their previous lives, and what did they do wrong in this life? What blessings did they accumulate before, and what sins did they commit now? Are these fates inborn, brought about by karmic retribution, or shaped by the land and water, or by one’s parents? Are they borne by the person in this life, or do they arise from causes planted in a previous life? Do karmic punishments fall only on the person, or can they also bring misfortune upon their descendants? Can cultivating goodness help people escape suffering, or must everything be left to fate? He earnestly entreats the Celestial Worthy to show great compassion and grant instruction, so that all may understand the causes and conditions linking past and present lives.

The Dao Lord said, “Good, good. Pujì has brought forth such a profound aspiration and opened many teachings that benefit sentient beings, inspiring them to understand the causes and conditions of their past lives and thereby attain deliverance. Is this simply how fate has naturally arranged things? I earnestly ask the Heavenly Venerable, with great compassion, to grant a teaching so that everyone may understand the causes and conditions of past lives.”

The Dao Lord said again, “Good, good. Pujì has brought forth such a profound aspiration and opened teachings that benefit sentient beings, awakening them to the causes and conditions of their past lives. The principles involved are inconceivable. Listen calmly, and I will now explain them to you one by one.”

End of Volume One of the Scripture of Karmic Retribution and Causal Conditions of the Numinous Treasure of the Cavern Mystery of the Most High.

The Scripture of Karmic Retribution and Causal Conditions of the Numinous Treasure of the Cavern Mystery of the Most High, Volume Two

Second Section: Responding Well

The greatly compassionate Perfected One Pujì asks the Most High about karmic retribution and its causes and conditions—the consequences brought about by one’s actions and the reasons behind them.

At this time, the Most High Dao Lord said to Puji: If good men and women widely establish scriptures and images of the gods, build Daoist temples, help people enter the Dao, give generously, observe the fasts and keep the precepts, aid the dead, help living beings escape hardship, and make great vows—widely sowing blessings and De, steadily accumulating roots of goodness and benefiting living beings—then in a future life they will be reborn as a heavenly king or ruler of a state.

Those who observe the fasts and keep the precepts, recite scriptures and bow in worship, focus their minds on contemplating the true appearance of the Celestial Worthy, burn incense and pay homage to the Three Treasures and the Great Dao (the Three Treasures and the Great Dao revered in Daoism), and widely sow blessings and De will be reborn in a future life as an empress or queen mother. Those who make offerings to the Three Treasures will be reborn as a heavenly king or ruler of a state.

Those who observe the fasts and keep the precepts, recite scriptures and bow in worship, focus their minds on contemplating the true appearance of the Celestial Worthy, burn incense and pay homage to the Three Treasures and the Great Dao, and widely sow blessings and De will be reborn in a future life as an empress or queen mother. Those who make offerings to the Three Treasures, burn incense and light lamps, persevere morning and evening, and copy scriptures and cast images of the gods will be reborn as members of a heavenly king’s family.

Those who believe in and cherish the scriptures and teachings, cultivate according to the liturgies, observe the fasts and contemplate the Dao, and give generously and do good deeds will have wealth, intelligence, and a dignified appearance in a future life. Those who uphold the scriptural precepts, recite scriptures and contemplate the Dao, and persevere in their practice will be intelligent and honored in a future life.

Those who delight in cultivating the Dao and keeping the precepts for seven consecutive generations, recite and study the scriptural teachings, give generously to aid the poor, help both the living and the dead, regularly act with compassion, and ceaselessly make offerings to the Three Treasures will leave home to cultivate the Dao in a future life. Those who accumulate goodness and widely sow blessings and De in every generation, observe the fasts and keep the precepts, pay homage to the Three Treasures, read Mahayana scriptures, cultivate themselves and conduct themselves properly without breaking the precepts will become virtuous ritual masters in a future life, revered by all. In later generations, others will also believe in and pay homage to the Three Treasures, cherish the Great Dao, and practice and make offerings. As a result, they will be reborn as heavenly beings and enjoy pure, long, and prosperous lives.

Those who make offerings to the Three Treasures and to monastics who cultivate the Dao will have long lives and dignified appearances in a future life. Those who build Daoist temples and establish an altar to the mysteries—a place for enshrining deities and performing Daoist rites—will be very wealthy and honored in a future life. Those who revere and believe in the Celestial Worthy and the Great Dao, and devote themselves wholeheartedly to them, will possess a perfected Dharma nature, an inherent nature attuned to the Dao, in a future life.

Those who believe in the scriptural precepts and remain steadfast and free of doubt will attain the spiritual capacity to know the nature of past lives and their karmic connections. They will know the causes and conditions of former lives and their destiny, and will be honored and loved by all in a future life. Those who honor the Three Treasures, delight in giving, aid the poor, and accomplish meritorious deeds without holding back will be reborn in the Central Land and enjoy long life and prosperity.

Those who do not kill, steal, or crave meat and wine will have long lives and complete physiques in a future life. Those who love to recite the scriptural teachings, observe the fasts for a long time, and devote themselves to the Dao will leave home to cultivate the Dao in a future life, with reverence and faith. Those who make offerings to virtuous monastic teachers and honor the Three Treasures and all Dharma bodies—people who have cultivated the Dao, attained its way, and embody the true teachings—will be pure and upright in a future life. Those who constantly cherish all living beings, extending compassion even to tiny insects, will be prominent and wealthy in a future life.

Those who become emperors or rulers in this life have, over many lifetimes, practiced fasting and observed precepts for a long time, sown abundant fields of merit through good deeds and helping others, harbored no resentment, and repeatedly sponsored large Zhaijiao purification rituals to deliver all sentient beings throughout the Dharma realm. After death, they are reborn in joyful heavenly palaces, dressed in celestial robes and naturally provided with food and rank. When their heavenly blessings are exhausted, they descend again to the human world, often being born into imperial families. All this is the karmic result of having sown abundant fields of merit in the past.

Good men and good women who widely practice benevolence and make offerings to the Celestial Worthies and the great perfected beings of the Dao may, through accumulating every kind of merit over immeasurable kalpas, be born in this life as empresses or mothers of the realm. Becoming an imperial prince, a royal grandson, a princess, or a royal consort is likewise the karmic result of practicing goodness and cultivating good causes over many lifetimes.

Longevity comes from observing fasts and precepts and compassionately delivering sentient beings. Flourishing descendants, long life, and wealth and status come from making offerings to the Celestial Worthies and the Dao. Fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and men and women are able to remain together because they treat one another with gentleness and harmony; their not being parted is due to bonds of affection formed in the past. Being respected wherever one goes and enjoying abundant food suited to one’s taste come from continually cultivating lasting fields of merit.

High status and the awe of others come from revering and trusting in the Three Jewels—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. Wealth and abundance come from giving, observing fasts, cultivating fields of merit, and relieving the poor. Exceptional intelligence comes from reciting and studying scriptures and upholding the teachings. A dignified appearance comes from making offerings to the Three Jewels and undertaking religious cultivation as a monastic. Pure men and women who leave home to cultivate the Dao and are honored by others have taught and explained the teachings, guided people, observed fasts and precepts, and widely cultivated fields of merit. Lasting wealth, honor, and prominence that do not fade over the passage of many years come from continuing to give and accumulate merit, thereby allowing blessings to endure.

Being respected by others and cherished by benefactors comes from giving, reciting scriptures, and observing the precepts. A pure body and mind, along with wisdom and clear understanding, come from upholding the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), the system of Daoist scriptures. A peaceful life free of calamity comes from releasing living creatures, aiding beings, and not taking the lives of living things. A fragrant, clean body that wins people’s affection comes from abstaining from alcohol, meat, and pungent foods, and from maintaining purity at all times.

Having many descendants and enjoying wealth and honor come from practicing generosity on a broad scale, repairing bridges, widely cultivating fields of merit—that is, accumulating good deeds—and performing other acts of merit. A woman’s giving birth to healthy, distinguished children and being cherished by her husband come from establishing a Daoist altar and teaching and guiding people of faith. A clear, graceful voice throughout one’s life comes from praising and chanting at a Daoist altar and revering and trusting the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the teacher). A joyful life and blessings that come naturally come from listening attentively and wholeheartedly to teachings and scriptures at a Daoist altar, and from giving.

A dignified appearance, gentle speech and laughter, and respectful conduct that earn others’ affection, respect, and kindness come from making offerings to ordained Daoist practitioners, reciting scriptures, and upholding the precepts. An ample supply of clothing and food, frequent gifts of ritual robes—the garments worn by Daoist practitioners—and the ability to wear jeweled ornaments come from giving ritual robes to Daoist masters and virtuous people.

These karmic rewards all arise from spiritual practice and good causes planted in this life or by one’s ancestors. Some people plant good causes in this life and receive their reward within the same lifetime. These teachings should be shared widely with men and women, so that people understand the virtuous ties formed in past lives and thereby receive boundless blessings.

Chapter Three: Retribution for Evil

At that time, the Most High Lord of the Dao said to Pujì and the assembled Perfected Ones: “From now on, if any living being destroys a Heavenly Worthy…” He then instructed Pujì to explain virtuous ties and blessings to men and women, so that they might recognize the causes and conditions of past lives and thereby receive boundless blessings.

At this time, the Lord of the Way, the Most High (a revered Daoist deity), told Puji and the assembled Perfected Ones: “From now on, any living being who destroys images of the Celestial Worthies or the Great Dao will, after death, enter the Ninefold Darkness and Eighteen Hells, the many hells of the underworld, and endure suffering through countless kalpas. Only after these sufferings have run their course will they be reborn as human beings. Yet they will be afflicted with severe skin disease: pus and blood will ooze from their entire bodies, and they will give off a foul, fishy stench that makes people unwilling to come near.

Those who slander the great scriptures of the Three Caverns, the Daoist classification of scriptures, will pass through the Ninefold Darkness after death and then enter Fengdu, the underworld in Daoist belief. Only after hundreds of millions of kalpas may they encounter a sage who saves them and frees them from the underworld. They will then be reborn as beasts. After enduring immeasurable suffering, they will at last regain human form, but their tongues will be ulcerated, they will often suffer from throat ailments, and their eyes will be diseased.

Those who slander the dharma-body of ordained practitioners, the body of cultivation embodied by those who leave home to pursue the Dao, will suffer worm-like leprosy in this life. In a previous life, they were born among the six kinds of domestic livestock.

Those who destroy sacred temples and altars, Daoist places of worship and ritual sites, or holy images will lose the hair of their brows and heads in this life. Their bodies will be impaired, and their hips and waists will be difficult to use. After death, they will enter the Ice Hell; once their suffering has run its course, they will be reborn as venomous snakes.

Those who show no reverence for the Celestial Worthies, the Great Dao, or the dharma-body will suffer retribution in this life in the form of foolishness, short stature, or madness. In a previous life, they were born among the six kinds of domestic livestock. Those who do not believe in the scriptures and teachings or in the principle of karmic retribution will enter the Ice Hell in this life and, after enduring all its suffering, be reborn as venomous snakes.

Those who show no reverence for the Celestial Worthies, the Great Dao, or the dharma-body will suffer retribution in this life in the form of foolishness, short stature, or madness. In a previous life, they were born among the six kinds of domestic livestock. Those who do not believe in the scriptures and teachings or in the principle of karmic retribution will become blind or deaf in this life. In a previous life, they were born as birds or beasts; only after immeasurable kalpas can they escape this condition.

Those who do not believe that sin and blessing arise from causes and conditions will become servants in this life. In a previous life, they were born in a land of the uncivilized, where it is difficult to encounter the true teaching.

Those who slight the dharma-body of ordained practitioners will be lame in this life. In a previous life, they were born as pigs or dogs, constantly searching for food among filth and excrement.

Those who slight the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters—will receive punishments such as these.”

Those who seize the fields and property belonging to the permanent community—land used to support the Three Treasures and shared by the religious community—will, in this life, have foul-smelling, fetid bodies. In a former life they were born amid filth; after millions of kalpas, they will be reborn as fine threadlike worms in polluted water. Those who commit sexual misconduct with members of the monastic community, violating their Dharma body—that is, their pure religious status—will, in this life, be lonely and unsupported, and scorned by others. In a former life they were maggots in a toilet or cesspit.

Those who engage in illicit sex and lust will, in this life, suffer from Wind disorders, madness, and other grave illnesses. In a former life they were fine threadlike worms inside a boar; after several kalpas, they will be reborn as various kinds of wild cattle. Those who steal the property of the Three Treasures—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—will be poor in this life. In a former life they were servants; they will also be reborn as livestock and beasts, and find it difficult to regain human form. Those who steal offerings made by the four assemblies—the monastic men and women and the lay men and women—will, in this life, suffer from madness and be unable to hear the names of the Three Treasures. In a former life they were ignorant and foolish.

Those who eat fruit and vegetables offered to the Three Treasures will, in this life, suffer from a stomach disorder that makes them unable to eat. In a former life they were reborn as starving tigers or venomous snakes, hunted by people and often punished; when reborn as humans, they will suffer from an illness of unquenchable thirst. Those who steal ritual meals, precious vessels used for offerings, or Dharma food—offerings used in religious rites—will, in this life, be struck by thunder and lightning and harmed by evil spirits. In a former life they were pythons, and after death fell into the hungry ghost realm. Those who steal offerings, ritual implements from an altar used for rites of supplication and deliverance, or other such items will, in this life, be low in status, begging for food and often going hungry.

Those who destroy images of the Great Dao—the Dao revered by Daoists—will, in this life, be reborn as starving dogs or venomous creatures, freezing and going hungry, with no one to turn to and no food to sustain them. In a former life they were monkeys, begging for food and never getting enough. Those who steal scriptures, sacred images, or property belonging to them will, in this life, contract leprosy. After death they will suffer in various hells and receive no reprieve, even after ten thousand kalpas and a thousand lifetimes. In a former life they were two-headed venomous snakes or noxious insects.

Those who verbally abuse monastic teachers will, in this life, suffer severe Wind epilepsy. In a former life they were wild badgers. Those who mistreat monastics and damage their pure religious status will, in this life, face shackles, imprisonment, and beatings. In a former life they were fly larvae. Those who break their fasting observances and violate precepts will, in this life, suffer from a disease that blocks the throat. In a former life they were tigers, leopards, or starving wolves.

Those who borrow property belonging to the permanent community of the Three Treasures and fail to return it must repay it at ten times the amount for every ten years. After death they will enter the Fengdu hell—the underworld prison in Daoist lore—where ghost officials will interrogate and torture their souls. They will receive no reprieve, even after ten thousand kalpas. In a former life they were snakes, lions, lice, wall spiders, or other insects. Those who kill or hunt living beings will, in this life, have short lives, suffer chronic Wind disorders, and often face imprisonment and calamity. In a former life they were livestock or ferocious beasts. Those who enjoy eating wild animal meat will, in this life, encounter grave illnesses. In a former life they were elk. Those who are fond of alcohol and lust will, in this life, suffer bouts of madness and be burned by raging fire. In a former life they were born in filthy mud. Those who like eating meat, pungent foods, and other foul-smelling fare will, in this life, have fetid, rank-smelling bodies. In a former life they were born amid filth.

Those whose resolve is unstable and who are obsessed with sexual desire will face calamities in this life from fierce winds and raging fires. In a previous life, they were born amid mud and filth. Those who enjoy eating meat, pungent foods, and impure things will have a foul-smelling body in this life. In a previous life, they were born amid excrement and filth.

Those whose resolve is unstable and who enjoy mocking monastics will suffer the karmic consequence of becoming monkeys in this life. After death, they will fall into the Cauldron-Soup Hell, where sinners are boiled in scalding liquid. After enduring countless kalpas, they will be reborn as various kinds of rats. When they are later reborn as humans, they will suffer the consequences of contracted hands and feet and a limping gait. All this is said to arise from disrespect for the Three Jewels—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—as stated in the scripture. Those with missing or contracted limbs, or one leg shorter than the other, are likewise said to have incurred this because they disrespected the Three Jewels in a past life. Blindness in both eyes comes from not believing in the scriptures and teachings and from slighting the Three Jewels. A rotting tongue comes from slandering the teachings of the Mahayana scriptures of the Three Caverns, the Daoist scriptural canon. The inability to speak comes from slandering monastic teachers of the Dharma.

Those who suffer throughout life from sores and ringworm, abscesses on the back of the head, sores on the back, and leprosy over the whole body—with pus and blood flowing from the pores of their skin and a foul, fishy stench, leprosy worms gnawing at them, and unrelenting pain day and night, so that they cannot live nor die—are said to have deceived and misled the Three Jewels. A blocked nose that cannot smell fragrance or stench comes from enjoying wine, meat, and the pungent, impure foods, and from offending the Three Jewels. A body that rots, with its joints falling apart one by one, comes from slandering the Three Jewels. Split, turned-out lips, falling teeth, and a collapsed, split nose come from destroying Daoist temples. A bent back, a crooked chest, a hunched back, and short legs come from speaking disrespectfully to the Three Jewels and treating them with arrogance.

Those who slight the Three Jewels and look at them askance will suffer madness and illness caused by wind in this life. In a previous life, they were born as eels or leeches. Stupidity in this life comes from not believing in karmic causes and conditions or in the consequences of wrongdoing and merit. Sores and swellings on the face, and an ugly appearance, come from having insulted the Three Jewels. Red eyes, a crooked mouth, and a twisted, misshapen nose come from having mocked monastic teachers of the Dharma. Dullness, chronic illness, and weak resolve come from having deceived and misled the Three Jewels.

Being attacked by bandits, wounded or killed, or having one’s possessions stolen comes from having seized the property of the Three Jewels. Drowning and being swept away come from drinking wine, eating fishy and foul-smelling foods, and treating the Three Jewels with impurity and arrogance. Being burned and scalded by fire comes from having damaged or discarded things belonging to the Three Jewels.

Being swallowed by venomous snakes is retribution for harming or killing monastics. Having venomous snakes and vicious insects enter the mouth or nostrils is retribution for cursing others with malicious words; having them bore into the body’s openings is retribution for indulging in sexual desire. Being devoured by fierce beasts such as tigers and wolves is retribution for secretly plotting harm and harboring malice.

Suffering from hunger and cold, with too little food and clothing, comes from stealing food during a Zhaijiao purification ritual, while offerings are being presented to the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) or before the liturgy at the ritual site has concluded. Stealing offerings made to the Highest Perfected Ones of Daoism leads to falling into an evil realm forever, often being reborn as a hungry ghost and enduring the fate of an asura ghost by the sea. Stealing the permanent property of the Three Jewels—assets set aside for the long-term use of temples and monasteries—and giving it to relatives brings retribution in this life: separation from one’s parents and an inability to remain together with one’s children.

Jealousy and adultery, disrupting others’ harmony and breaking apart their loving relationships, bring separation in this life. Poverty and hardship are retribution for breaking the fast and violating precepts; a life spent as a servant, in a lowly position, is retribution for theft and greed. Being hated and scorned in this life is retribution for arrogance and boastful, self-important speech.

Those who indulge in sexual desire in this life, making no distinction between close or distant relations, beauty or ugliness, were reborn from domestic animals such as pigs and dogs. Those who love alcohol and excess were reborn from aquatic creatures such as fish, turtles, shrimp, and frogs; those who crave meat and enjoy killing were reborn from venomous insects and fierce beasts. A filthy, foul-smelling body comes from having been reborn from tadpoles and insects. A stinking, unclean body results from enjoying the pungent Five Foods—such as onions and garlic—and the flesh of pigs and dogs.

Rebirth as one of the six domestic animals is retribution for taking lives and repaying the debt of life. Rebirth as a wild animal such as a muntjac or deer is retribution for eating meat and stealing; rebirth as a venomous snake or python is retribution for harming others out of jealousy; rebirth as a hungry tiger is retribution for bullying others and seizing their property; rebirth as a toilet worm is retribution for impure sexual desire; and rebirth as a frog or tadpole is retribution for failing to make offerings to the Three Jewels.

Rebirth as a fish, turtle, or other aquatic creature comes from treating the precious scriptures of the Great Dao with disrespect and disclosing them. Rebirth as a small insect or ant comes from violating the teachings of the scriptures. Rebirth as a rabid dog, wild boar, or jackal comes from abandoning one’s teacher and lineage and forgetting one’s roots.

Rebirth as a nestling swallow, a mountain sparrow, or another bird comes from debating the teachings and stirring up disputes. Rebirth as a dove, pigeon, crow, or other bird comes from delighting in novelty and practicing unorthodox magic. Rebirth as a hawk, falcon, owl, or other bird of prey comes from breaking the precepts and going against the scriptures.

Becoming a widower, widow, orphan, or someone who lives alone, or suffering poverty and hardship, comes from violating the celibate precepts of the monastic order through sexual misconduct, harming the Dharma body of a monastic, or aborting or killing children. An ugly appearance comes from slandering the Three Jewels—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—and from arrogance, indulgence, and violation of the monastic precepts. Suffering from wind disorders, leprosy, or deranged speech comes from accepting alms without repaying them, and from aborting or harming children. Having a large belly and a thin neck comes from engaging in sexual conduct at sacred Daoist shrines or altars. Suffering imprisonment and shackles comes from ingratiating oneself through hidden malice and associating with evil people; suffering beatings with whips and rods comes from poisoning living beings and lacking compassion.

Rebirth as a cat, otter, or similar animal comes from eating meat in sacred Daoist shrines or at altars. Rebirth as a “fu-si” [the insect name is unclear in the source] comes from eating the five pungent foods and offending the Three Jewels. Rebirth as a jackal comes from greed and stinginess, and refusal to give alms. Rebirth as a fox or raccoon dog comes from lying, deceit, and cunning pretense. Rebirth as a “shu” [the character is unclear in the source] comes from eating food left over from vegetarian offerings, then drinking alcohol and eating meat.

Rebirth as a centipede or millipede comes from secretly harming others and injuring them out of jealousy. Rebirth as a bee, viper, or scorpion comes from cursing monastics. Rebirth as a gecko or lizard comes from treating the Three Jewels with disrespect. Rebirth as a spider or earthworm comes from stinginess and greed, and from stealing. Rebirth as a mosquito, flea, or louse comes from treating the scriptures and teachings with disrespect and showing contempt for the Great Dao.

Small creatures such as mosquitoes, fleas, and lice that live as parasites on people are said to have been reborn in this form because, in past lives, they slighted the Daoist teachings and scorned Daoist righteousness. People born in remote regions to lowly circumstances, who shave or cut their hair, have deep-set eyes and long noses, or give off a strong odor, are said to have been reborn in this form because, in past lives, they killed living beings, engaged in illicit sex, and did not believe in cause and effect.

These conditions all arise because people commit sins in this life, enter hell after death, and, having endured various punishments, are reborn in such forms. Some also meet their retribution in this life. In short, these are all consequences of wrongs committed in past lives.

Puji, you should devote yourself wholeheartedly and reverently to the Daoist teachings. Explain these karmic consequences to people in later generations, so that men and women may understand the results of evil deeds. Therefore, the verse says:

Those who are miserly and greedy, and refuse to give alms, will be poor in their next life, lacking clothes and food.

Those who show no respect for their teachers and senior members of the Daoist community, and treat them with contempt, will be reborn as lowly servants.

Those who borrow money and refuse to repay it, cheating and bullying their creditors, will be reborn as oxen, sheep, pigs, or dogs.

Those who break their purification fasts should understand the consequences of evil deeds. Therefore, the verse says:

Those who are miserly and greedy, and refuse to give alms, will be poor in their next life, lacking clothes and food.

Those who show no respect for their teachers and senior members of the Daoist community, and treat them with contempt, will be reborn as lowly servants.

Those who borrow money and refuse to repay it, cheating and bullying their creditors, will be reborn as oxen, sheep, pigs, or dogs.

Those who break their purification fasts by drinking alcohol and eating meat will be hungry and cold in their next life, suffering like hungry ghosts.

Those who break the precepts and harbor jealousy will be reborn as birds, beasts, insects, or snakes.

Those who destroy scriptures and divine images, or treat them with contempt, will develop sores and scabs in their next life, their bodies festering and oozing pus.

Those who defile scriptures, divine images, or the Daoist altar (the site where deities are enshrined and Daoist rites are performed) will be ugly and physically deformed in their next life.

Those who slander the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the teachers revered in Daoism) will be reborn as pigs, sheep, or dogs, without anyone to depend on.

Those who steal scriptures, divine images, or other property will be born in remote regions in their next life, in a lowly station.

Those who kill living beings without the slightest compassion will be reborn as fish, turtles, or domestic animals such as oxen, horses, pigs, and sheep.

Those who envy people better than themselves and kill the virtuous will be reborn as fierce wild beasts or venomous snakes.

Those who speak cruelly, curse others, and have no restraint will be reborn as ferocious tigers or suffer from madness.

Those who indulge in sexual desire and lust after beauty, even committing adultery with their relatives, will be reborn as boars or maggots in latrines.

Those who drink alcohol, eat meat, and consume the Five Pungent Plants (onions, garlic, and other sharp-smelling vegetables) will have foul-smelling bodies in their next life or suffer from mental disorder.

Those who destroy images of the Heavenly Worthies will enter the Ninefold Darkness (the netherworld of Daoist belief) after death and suffer retribution such as chronic illness and scabrous sores.

Those who slander the Great Scriptures and Teachings of the Three Caverns will fall into hell after death and later be reborn as wild beasts.

Those who slander renunciants who practice the Dao will suffer leprosy in this life and be reborn as domestic animals in the next. Those who destroy Daoist temples and sacred images will lose their eyebrows and hair, and their bodies will rot.

Those who disrespect the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters—and revile the great scriptures and teachings of the Three Caverns, the Daoist scriptural system, will fall into hell after death and be reborn as wild beasts. Those who disrespect the true sages among the Three Treasures will be foolish and deluded in this life, then become beasts in the next. Those who disrespect the teachings and scriptures, and their past lives and destiny, will be blind and deaf in this life, then be reborn as birds or beasts. Those who do not believe in the causes and conditions of sin and blessing will serve as slaves in this life, then be reborn among the Six Yi, an ancient term for peoples living in distant regions.

Those who do not believe in renunciant practice and look down on renunciants will be lame in this life, then be reborn as pigs or dogs. Those who defile the pure grounds of the Three Treasures will carry a foul stench on their bodies in this life, then be reborn amid filth and dung. Those who engage in sexual misconduct and defile the pure grounds of renunciants will be lonely and without support in this life, then be reborn in the filth of a latrine. Those who lust after illicit sex without regard for kinship or familiarity will suffer wind disease in this life, then be reborn as boars.

Those who seize the property of the Three Treasures will be poor in this life and serve as slaves in the next. Those who steal or damage communal property reserved for the shared use of the monastic community will suffer wind disease in this life, then be reborn as cattle or sheep. Those who misappropriate or steal offerings made by the faithful will be lonely and without support in this life, then be reborn in the filth of a latrine. Those who lust after illicit sex without regard for kinship or familiarity will suffer wind disease in this life, then be reborn as boars. Those who seize the property of the Three Treasures will be poor in this life and serve as slaves in the next. Those who steal or damage communal property will suffer wind disease in this life, then be reborn as cattle or sheep. Those who misappropriate or steal offerings made by the faithful will be delirious and foolish in this life.

Those who consume fruits, seeds, and other offerings belonging to the Three Treasures will suffer wasting thirst in this life and grow thin. Those who steal ritual food or pure offerings will become hungry ghosts in this life. Those who take ritual food for themselves will go hungry and suffer from the cold, unable to eat their fill.

Those who bully or insult renunciants will suffer wind epilepsy in this life and face imprisonment. Those who break the fast, violate precepts, or transgress prohibitions will suffer from an obstructed throat in this life, then become hungry ghosts in the next. Those who harm living beings recklessly will have short lives in this life and suffer the misfortune of shackles and imprisonment. Those who often eat meat and blood will be beset by a hundred illnesses in this life. Those who drink excessively, behave arrogantly and without decorum, and disregard distinctions of rank will be consumed by raging flames in this life or killed by evil ghosts.

Those who delight in eating the pungent Five Foods, such as onions and garlic, and foul-smelling things will be reborn in a future life as animals that reek and dwell in filth, or be born amid dung and earth.

Those who tease monastics with flippant words will be reborn in a future life as monkeys, birds, or beasts.

Having limbs curled up and unable to straighten is the karmic consequence of disrespecting the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

Having malformed hands and feet or incomplete limbs is the karmic consequence of disrespecting one’s revered teacher.

Being blind and unable to see anything is the karmic consequence of not believing in the teachings of the scriptures.

Having a rotting tongue or losing the ability to speak is the karmic consequence of slandering the Mahayana Buddhist teachings.

Stammering and finding it difficult to express oneself is the karmic consequence of disparaging monastics.

Having a blocked nose and being unable to smell fragrance or stench—the original text introduces this consequence here, then explains it later: delighting in the Five Foods brings it about.

Having a rotting tongue or losing the ability to speak is the karmic consequence of slandering the Mahayana Buddhist teachings.

Stammering and finding it difficult to express oneself is the karmic consequence of disparaging monastics.

Having a blocked nose and being unable to smell fragrance or stench is the karmic consequence of delighting in the Five Foods.

Having a rotting body that oozes pus and blood is the karmic consequence of slandering the Three Jewels.

Having crooked lips, protruding teeth, and a sunken nose is the karmic consequence of damaging a place of religious practice.

Having worms throughout the body and rotting, foul-smelling flesh is the karmic consequence of mocking or scheming against the Three Jewels.

Having a bent lower back, an injured spine, and damaged feet is the karmic consequence of deceiving and slighting the Three Jewels.

Going mad, suffering from wind disorders, or becoming mentally confused is the karmic consequence of not believing in causes, conditions, and their effects.

Having an ugly appearance and sores or swellings on the body is the karmic consequence of cursing the Three Jewels.

Having red eyes, a crooked mouth, and a crooked nose is the karmic consequence of mocking the Three Jewels.

Being dull-witted and slow, short in stature, and lacking ambition is the karmic consequence of deceiving the Three Jewels.

Robbing and murdering others to seize their property is the karmic consequence of appropriating the Three Jewels’ possessions.

Being swept away and drowned in a great flood is the karmic consequence of indulging in women and drinking to excess.

Being scorched by blazing fire until the body is burned and blistered is the karmic consequence of wasting the Three Jewels’ possessions.

Being bitten by a venomous snake or injured by a lizard is the karmic consequence of beating and insulting monastics.

Having a venomous snake crawl into one’s mouth or nostrils is the karmic consequence of cursing others with abusive words.

Having venomous snakes and noxious insects crawl into the body’s orifices is the karmic consequence of licentious sexual misconduct.

Being devoured by tigers, wolves, and other fierce beasts is the karmic consequence of secretly plotting to harm others and harboring malice.

Frequently going hungry and cold, with too little food and clothing, is the karmic consequence of appropriating or damaging the permanent property of the monastic community—that is, property held in common by a temple’s Sangha.

Frequent weakness and lack of strength, or failing to observe the fasting precepts and allowing harmful creatures to enter the body’s orifices, are karmic retribution for indulging in illicit sexual conduct.

Being devoured by fierce beasts such as tigers and wolves is karmic retribution for plotting against others and harboring a cruel heart.

Often going hungry and cold, and living in deprivation, is karmic retribution for appropriating the communal property of a Daoist temple or Buddhist monastery—property held for long-term use.

Frequent weakness and lack of strength are karmic retribution for failing to observe the fasting precepts.

Parents, children, and relatives often being separated is karmic retribution for disrupting other people’s harmony and breaking apart their relationships.

Poverty and hardship, with frequent hunger and exposure to the cold, are karmic retribution for violating the fasting precepts.

Serving as another person’s bondservant and laboring hard year after year is karmic retribution for theft, stinginess, and greed.

Being rejected by the world and loved by no one is karmic retribution for pride, arrogance, and unrestrained behavior.

Being reborn as a pig or dog and often eating excrement is karmic retribution for sexual debauchery and violating the boundaries of kinship.

Being reborn as a fish, turtle, shrimp, or frog is karmic retribution for indulging in wine and sex and giving oneself over to reckless excess.

Being reborn as a venomous creature or fierce beast is karmic retribution for gluttony for meat and taking life.

Being reborn as small creatures such as tadpoles or ants is karmic retribution for impure conduct and filthy sexual behavior.

Being reborn as wild beasts such as muntjacs or deer is karmic retribution for theft and killing.

Being reborn as a python or venomous dragon is karmic retribution for envying and harming others and harboring malice.

Being reborn as a starving tiger or a fierce bird of prey such as an eagle or hawk is karmic retribution for bullying others and failing to repay debts.

Being reborn as a rabid dog, fox, or rabbit is karmic retribution for betraying one’s teachers and elders, forgetting one’s roots, and losing one’s virtue.

Being reborn as birds such as doves, pigeons, swallows, or sparrows is karmic retribution for acting against the law and behaving unnaturally.

Being reborn as a fierce bird of prey such as a vulture or goshawk is karmic retribution for disregarding the teachings of the scriptures.

Being reborn as a solitary or widowed person, or as someone without children, is karmic retribution for abortion and harming children.

Being reborn with an ugly appearance and a face that others find repulsive is karmic retribution for mocking and tormenting monastics.

Being reborn with illnesses such as epilepsy or mental disturbance is karmic retribution for accepting alms and failing to repay them.

Being reborn as various birds, owls, or pheasants is karmic retribution for discussing and slandering the teachings of the Dao.

Being reborn and often bound in stocks and fetters is karmic retribution for using flattery and underhanded schemes to entrap the loyal and worthy.

Being reborn and often beaten with rods is karmic retribution for illegally beating and punishing others.

Because they accepted alms from others without repaying them, after death they are reborn as animals such as cats, civets, and leopards.

Because they discussed and slandered the teachings of Daoism, after death they are reborn as various kinds of birds.

Because they were sycophantic and deceitful, and persecuted the loyal and virtuous, after death they are often bound in stocks and chains.

Because they illegally beat and tortured others, after death they are often struck with clubs.

Because they entered a Daoist temple after eating meat, after death they are reborn as animals such as cats, civets, and leopards.

Because they let meat and other impure foods defile scriptures and divine images, after death they are reborn as creatures such as the fufan beetle and the zhumeng. The text is damaged here, so the species names cannot be identified with certainty.

Because they were miserly, hypocritical, and affected, after death they are reborn as animals such as jackals, foxes, and raccoon dogs.

Because they ate meat as soon as their fast ended, after death they are reborn as animals called kuang and tou. The text is damaged here, so the species names cannot be identified with certainty.

Because they engaged in sexual activity in a Daoist temple, after death they are reborn as insects such as the centipede and the tuiniang.

Because they cursed, invoked curses, and spoke cruelly, after death they are reborn as venomous creatures such as bees, scorpions, and vipers.

Because they were arrogant and disrespectful, and behaved and spoke in an absurd manner, after death they are reborn as animals such as geckos and lizards.

Because they were lustful and committed theft, after death they are reborn as spiders and earthworms.

Because they scorned Daoism and treated its teachings with neglect, after death they are reborn as mosquitoes, gadflies, fleas, and lice.

Chapter Four: Suffering in Punishment

The Most High said to Puji: “I explain the causes and conditions that lead to punishment in hell so that men and women in the world may understand the principles of sin and blessing, return to the right path, and put an end forever to the three karmic deeds of body, speech, and mind—the faults of physical conduct, words, and thoughts—so that the six faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind may be purified.” He then spoke this verse:

If in this life people fail to honor the True Way, destroy sacred images of Daoism, or treat with contempt or disrespect the images of the High Sages, Immortals and Perfected Ones, numinous beings, divine beings, Jade Boys and Jade Maidens, Vajra Warriors, and Mighty Ones who attend the awe-inspiring gods—or damage, defile, or otherwise show disrespect toward these images; if they offend and mock the divine images with lewd and improper acts, behaving arrogantly and presumptuously, setting themselves above others; if, when discussing the scriptures and teachings, they forcefully pronounce what is right and wrong; if they violate purification practices and precepts, steal, covet wealth, and in all kinds of ways fail to honor and believe in the True Way, then after death they will fall into the Ninefold Dark Hells, the shadowy depths of the netherworld, and pass through the eighteen levels of hell, enduring every kind of punishment: treading on mountains of blades, climbing trees of swords, embracing copper pillars naked, lying on iron beds, carrying volcanoes on their heads, and bearing iron rods on their backs; eating burning coals when hungry and drinking molten copper when thirsty; being boiled in cauldrons of scalding broth, scorched by fire chariots, pounded in mortars and ground under millstones, hung upside down and drained, sawn apart and chopped with knives; having needles pierce their joints, immense stones crush their bodies, and freezing ice snap their sinews and bones. They must also run and leap through the ashes of charcoal fires without stopping, amid stench and filth. Polluted water from the netherworld is channeled into the Four Rivers; foul birds peck at their eyes, copper dogs tear at them, venomous snakes devour them, and ox-headed demons break their backs. In a single day they die and are reborn ten thousand times. Their suffering is unbearable, and they must endure ten thousand kalpas before they can escape.

Those who violated purification practices in a former life become hungry ghosts after death, able to eat only raging fire when starving. In their next life, they will suffer from a disorder that prevents food from going down, and their bodies will turn to pus and blood. Those who violated the scriptures and precepts in a former life enter the Hell of Blades and Needles after death, where blades and needles pierce them from both sides of the body, causing immense pain. In their next life, they will suffer chronic illness, unable either to live or to die. Those who secretly ate food set aside for purification rites in a former life are thrown into boiling cauldrons after death, where their flesh and bones dissolve and separate, without pause day or night. In their next life, they will live in poverty and hardship, often lacking food and clothing. Those who stole money and possessions in a former life enter the Hell of Blades after death, where their bodies are cut apart. In their next life, they too will suffer chronic illness, unable either to live or to die. Those who secretly ate food set aside for purification rites are boiled in cauldrons after death; their flesh and bones separate, and they find no rest day or night.

If you are often poor in this life and lack enough food and clothing, it is because you stole money and valuables in a previous life. After death, you will fall into the Hell of Knife Mountain, where blades will cut your body apart and sever your limbs joint by joint. In a future life, you may be covered with leprous sores, making others unwilling to come near you.

If your body is impaired or you suffer from chronic illness in this life, it is because you mocked the Three Jewels (the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha) in a previous life. After death, molten copper will be poured into your mouth, and fierce flames will burn every part of your body, leaving your face scorched and mangled.

If you are foolish and ignorant in this life, it is because you failed to respect or believe in the Three Jewels in a previous life. After death, you will fall into the Hell of Sword Trees, where your hands and feet will be chopped off inch by inch, without pause day or night, and the pain will pierce to the marrow.

If you are ugly in this life and people find you repulsive wherever you go, it is because you treated the Three Jewels with contempt, bullying and mocking them in a previous life. After death, you will fall into the Hell of Fire Carts, where your body will be burned and mangled.

If in a previous life you stirred up gossip and slandered monastics, or offended and mocked them through sexual misconduct, after death you will fall into the hells of Niraya, where an iron plow will scrape and till your tongue. In a future life, you may become something filthy or be reborn as a pig or dog.

If you have no nose or tongue in this life and are often despised by others, it is because you slandered the teachings of the scriptures in a previous life. After death, you will be beaten with iron rods without pause day or night, until blood flows from your whole body.

If in a previous life you killed living beings of every kind—cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, dogs, geese, ducks, pheasants, rabbits, sika deer, stags, tigers, leopards, owls, crows, swallows, sparrows, jackals, wolves, foxes, raccoon dogs, monkeys, camels, mules, donkeys, horses, fish, turtles, softshell turtles, alligators, eels, snails, clams, shrimp, mussels, centipedes, millipedes, dung beetles, ants, leeches, mosquitoes, lice, and even bears, leopards, lions, apes, and tigers—in short, any bird or beast, without compassion, harming whatever you encountered, then after death you will fall into various hells and undergo all manner of suffering. You will be tormented day and night, in such pain that you cannot find a place to rest.

All these cattle, sheep, and other livestock came to demand repayment with their lives, saying, “You ate my flesh or took my life. Now there is no way out. At last I have caught you. You must repay the debt you incurred in the past; there is nowhere you can flee.” The King of Demons opened the register of sins and checked the records. When he confirmed that these deeds had indeed taken place, he ordered each person to repay a life for a life. Even after undergoing countless calamities, they could not escape. Later, they were reborn as cattle, pigs, sheep, and even geese and ducks, left to be slaughtered by others to repay the sins they had committed in former lives. It was like sowing grain: in time, the harvest must come.

In a former life, they committed theft, stealing the property of the Three Treasures—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—as well as offerings made during purification rites or by devotees, and the possessions of parents, children, heavenly kings, or common people. Whatever did not belong to them, they would covet as soon as they saw it, and they habitually did evil. They robbed travelers on the road, using threats and intimidation, and even killing them. They broke through walls to enter homes and seize property, lying in wait by day and by night. Cattle and sheep, servants, money, pearls and jade, silk and cloth, toys of every kind, felt rugs, bedding, clothes, utensils, fruits and vegetables, rice and wheat, thread—even the smallest things—they found every means to steal.

After death, such people fell into the Hell of the Fiery Chariot, where sinners are punished in blazing flames. Their bodies were burned and charred, and they suffered unbearable agony. Later they were reborn as oxen or horses to repay their old debts to others: their jaws were pierced, the flesh of their backs damaged, their nostrils and muscles torn open. They were often made to suffer hunger and thirst, could not speak, and were left to be slaughtered by others, thus repaying the sin of theft.

In a former life, they behaved with sexual impropriety and gave free rein to their desires. They had illicit relations with other people’s wives and concubines, breaking up marriages and separating families. Some even committed incest with close relatives and violated monastics, or engaged in sexual acts with all kinds of animals. A letter or any other object could prompt lustful thoughts in them, with no regard for right or wrong. At times, they even indulged their desires in pure and sacred places, such as spirit shrines and Daoist altars—places of Daoist worship and practice—or near scriptures and divine images. They showed no regard for spirits and gods, whether beneath heaven and earth or under the sun, moon, and stars. They also engaged in wanton sexual acts beside famous mountains and great lakes, and in community shrines and temples dedicated to the gods.

After death, they fall into the Prison of Ninefold Darkness, a deep and shadowy hell. Men embrace red-hot copper pillars, while women lie on scorching iron beds. Their whole bodies are seared by smoke and flame until their flesh is charred and ruined and the joints of their limbs are broken and destroyed. They are also thrown into cauldrons of boiling liquid and beaten day and night with iron rods. Then they enter the Prison of Ice, where their bodies and minds are frozen and torn apart. They are pounded in stone mortars, crushed beneath millstones, and then sawed, pounded, filed, and chopped.

Afterward, they are reborn amid filth as maggots in latrines, or as pigs and dogs, crawling through foul places. Even if they are born human again, they suffer from madness and strange illnesses; they are foolish, dull-witted, and ugly, living alone and in poverty, shunned by others.

This is because in past lives they were miserly and greedy, constantly demanding wealth from others, piling up riches like mountains and hungering as though they would swallow the seas, never knowing contentment. Even when people observed fasting and precepts, made images and copied scriptures, built Daoist temples, or burned incense and lit lamps—acts of goodness and the cultivation of De (Virtue)—they would not contribute even the smallest amount. Even when they took part, they were always trying to profit from it.

After death, such people fall into the Prison of Ice, where they freeze until their bodies break and their joints are destroyed. Later they are reborn in remote borderlands or become servants; they may also become livestock such as oxen, sheep, camels, mules, or donkeys. Burdened with heavy loads, they are driven far away; their jaws are pierced, their skin and flesh rubbed raw, and they toil without rest, often suffering hunger and thirst. After death, people eat their flesh. Even after enduring countless kalpas and being reborn again and again, they still receive defective bodies: their hands and feet are curled or lame; they are blind or deaf; their noses are crooked or incomplete, their mouths twisted, their chests raised and their backs bent. Ugly in appearance, they find no compassion anywhere.

If someone often flies into a rage throughout life, harbors malice, and is constantly tormented by resentment, taking offense at men and women, livestock, and servants over the slightest thing, they will suffer from grief and anguish. Holding a knife or some other implement, they think only of harming all living things, and their anger and resentment never fade. After death, they will fall into the Needlepoint Hell, where sharp needles pierce the body from both sides, reaching the heart, liver, and gallbladder, and passing through the intestines, abdomen, and flanks as blood flows without cease. They are then reborn as a frog, staring with bulging eyes but unable to speak; or as a hao fish or chen fish, the kinds of fish named in the original text, glaring as they float at the water’s surface, where birds of prey fight to seize them, tear them apart, and eat them. After dying again, they fall once more into the Needlepoint Hell and endure the same piercing torment. They are then reborn again as a frog or a fish and devoured by birds of prey.

Even if they are later reborn as human, they will suffer the retribution of dullness and foolishness: they will be ugly in appearance, awkward in manner, and tactless in speech. They will often go against what others want and so receive little affection.

If in a past life someone was ignorant and unenlightened, did not believe that good and evil deeds bring corresponding retribution, mocked others for doing good and accumulating merit, and often said there was no predestined fate—that causes from past lives can affect this life and those to come—they will fall into the Eighteen Hells after death and endure every kind of suffering. After countless kalpas, they will be reborn as a snake, harboring venom in their heart, with no internal organs in their belly. Hungry and thirsty, they will be unable to find food, and everyone who sees them will want to kill them. Even if they are later reborn as human, they will suffer the retribution of dullness and stupidity.

If in a past life someone used flowery, insubstantial words that could easily mislead others, or spoke falsehoods, deceiving and lying before the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha) and to parents, men and women, rulers, and common people; if wherever people gathered they spread words to sow discord, falsely accused the loyal and upright, and turned friends against one another; if they envied those who surpassed them, passed on stories that sparked disputes, casually treated right and wrong as fact, presented falsehoods as truth, and called white black; if they also delighted in criticizing others, believed themselves to know everything, stirred up countless disputes, and ultimately caused conflict and division, then after death they will fall into the Tongue-Pulling Hell, where iron awls pierce the mouth and stones crush the body.

After death, one falls into the Hell of Tongue Pulling, where iron awls pierce the mouth and stones crush the body. One must also swallow all kinds of filth. The tongue is stretched a hundred feet long and nailed down as blood trickles out drop by drop. Later, one is reborn as a dog, still eating filth, unable to sleep peacefully day or night, and often barking as it keeps watch. Even if reborn as a human afterward, one may lose the ability to speak or stammer.

This is the result of using cruel words in a former life to hurt others: insulting relatives, friends, and strangers alike, speaking without regard for good or ill, and blurting out whatever comes to mind. It also includes comparing people to livestock, pigs and dogs, insects, venomous snakes and scorpions, and other vile creatures; calling on Heaven and Earth, summoning ghosts and spirits, and even cursing the Three Treasures—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—as well as Heaven and Earth, the sun, moon, and stars. The scripture also lists many methods of curses intended to bring harm: praying and casting spells; writing down a person’s name or drawing their likeness; shaping an image from clay, carving it from wood, or painting it, and using fingernails, hair, clothing, and other objects as links to the person being targeted. Such rites might be performed beside a well, near a stove, at a waterway, by a doorway, on a road, in a temple, beneath the stars or moon, or wherever carts and horses passed or dogs barked. Some also harmed objects representing their victims by piercing them with needles, cutting them with knives, binding them, or whipping them. Through these examples, the scripture shows that no means of cursing and harming others was left unused.

Those targeted by curses might be honest and virtuous people, or rulers, ministers, dukes, marquises, officials, parents, wives and children, servants, or concubines: no one was exempt on account of rank. Whoever became the object of such malicious words would be left resentful. After death, those who committed this kind of evil karma suffer the punishment of molten copper poured over their bodies, which smoke from head to toe. They are then reborn as bees, stinging insects, venomous snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and other poisonous creatures. They may also be reborn as snails or clams, with poison always at their tails, intent only on harming other living beings yet unable to speak; whenever someone approaches, they retreat into their shells. Even if reborn as humans afterward, they may lose the ability to speak or stammer.

Those who often made fun of others and played cruel tricks on them in a former life are pecked by iron birds after death, their eyeballs bursting out and blood flowing from their noses and mouths as they endure unbearable pain. They are then reborn as rabbits, with damaged lips and unable to speak. People drive them away when they see them, while eagles and hunting dogs pursue them. Even if reborn as humans afterward, they may still lose the ability to speak.

In a previous life, they enjoyed drinking wine, eating meat, and consuming the Five Pungent Foods—strongly scented vegetables such as scallions and garlic. They came and went in ritual halls, drawing near to scriptures and divine images, yet defiled ordained practitioners through impure conduct. They roamed through places of purity, such as Xuantan, altars where Daoist deities are worshipped, and Lingguan, Daoist temples. They paid no heed to the karmic consequences of sin and merit. Drunk and unruly, they indulged in reckless arrogance, showed no respect for rank or age, and used cruel words to revile the Three Treasures: the Dao, the scriptures, and the teachers. They also gossiped between Heaven and Earth about people, ghosts, spirits, parents, and men and women, casually discussing others’ reputations, good and evil, and spreading discord.

After death, such people fall into the Filth-and-Dung Prison, where they remain amid foul stench for a long time. Only after enduring ten thousand kalpas can they be reborn. Even then, they take lowly or repulsive forms: some become worms in latrines, their bodies perpetually filthy; others become dung beetles, flies, maggots, or pigs and dogs, or even fupan worms, which live in filth. If they are later reborn as humans, they will be ugly and foul-smelling, rank with the musk of foxes and raccoon dogs. Their teeth will be crooked, and their faces will often be swollen and oozing pus. Wherever they go, people will shun them, and neither men nor women will wish to approach them.

Those who, in a previous life, failed to repay their debts and used their power to oppress and scorn others will fall after death into the Upside-Down Prison, or be placed in the Inverted Tormenting Ground, where suffering may last ten thousand kalpas at a time. They will then be reborn as mules or donkeys, or as diseased dogs that people find repulsive. Later, they will be reborn as cattle or horses, bearing heavy loads and laboring hard for a long time.

Those who, in a previous life, defied the teachings of the scriptures, set up their own rules, abandoned their roots, showed no respect for their teachers, and used lies to mislead both the wise and the foolish will fall after death into a great hell and suffer every kind of torture: blades thrust into their hearts, iron awls piercing their tongues, and iron nails driven into every part of their bodies. They will then be reborn as geese or ducks, or as aquatic creatures such as fish and turtles, slaughtered by people with no way to speak out. Even if they are later reborn as humans, they will be intellectually impaired, deaf, or mute.

Those who in a former life did not believe in doing good, but seized or took for themselves the property held in common—offerings to Daoist temples or Buddhist monasteries, belonging to the Three Treasures—even something as small as an inch of thread, a single hair, or a little fruit, vegetables, rice, or wheat, thereby created evil karma. After death, they will fall into the Eighteen Levels of Hell and endure all manner of suffering. Later they will be reborn as hungry tigers, never able to eat their fill. Even if they are reborn as humans again, they may die in floods, fires, or warfare; suffer chronic illness; or even become insane or develop epilepsy.

Those who in a former life failed to show reverence for the Three Treasures and consumed what belonged to them—even a single grain of rice or one fruit, however little they ate—must bear the consequences. After death, they will fall into the Molten Copper Hell: when hungry, they swallow iron pellets; when thirsty, they drink copper liquid. Afterward, they will be reborn as hungry ghosts, with no food all day long and every part of their bodies seeming to burn. Even fine food turns to fire. Later they will be reborn as hungry dogs. Even if they are reborn as humans, they will be poor and lack clothing and food, or become servants. They may also be reborn as domestic animals, enduring hardship with no rest day or night.

Those who in a former life lacked compassion and hated or resented the poor, prisoners, women in childbirth, the elderly, and the sick, showing them no pity, will after death fall into the Quicksand Hell, from which they cannot escape even after countless kalpas. They will then be reborn as fish or turtles. Even if they regain human form, they will still suffer poverty.

Those who in a former life hunted birds, hawks, and dogs; set fire to mountains and burned through marshlands; spread nets to catch and exhaust the fish in rivers and lakes; cut open the wombs of animals and destroyed birds’ eggs; or even harmed small creatures such as ants, tadpoles, and earthworms; and those who raised silkworms and then boiled their cocoons to obtain silk—all harmed and killed living beings with form, whether born from a womb, hatched from an egg, spontaneously transformed, or born from moisture. After death, they will fall into the Ashes Hell, where the ground is covered in hot cinders and escape is difficult. They cannot make their way out, and their bodies are scorched and left to decay. Later they will be reborn in distant foreign lands, where they will often be cut down by weapons or wounded by arrows, or be reborn as various birds and beasts, only to be harmed and slaughtered again.

Those who in a former life failed to respect the scriptures and precepts, and even slept in the same bed as their teacher.

After death, they will fall into a surging spring or be trapped in ice. They may also be placed on the sharp point of a spike. Their bodies will suffer, covered from head to toe in pus and blood. Afterward, they will be reborn as monkeys, with bodies that are incomplete or deformed.

In a former life, they saw the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the teachers—but were arrogant and unruly, showing no respect. They even sat, lay down, or stood before images of the gods with contempt in their hearts. After death, they will be beaten with iron rods, finding no rest by day or night. Later, they will be reborn as animals, often subjected to injury and punishment by people. Even if they are reborn as humans, their hands and feet may be cramped and twisted, they may limp or be hunched over, with a protruding chest and a hunched back; they may be blind, unable to speak, deaf, or unable to breathe through the nose.

The karma beings create is boundless, and the retribution they undergo has no end. Even when reborn as humans, they remain affected by the causes and conditions of the past. Good men and women in generations to come should carefully consider these words: sin and blessing follow one another like shadows, while good and ill fortune turn like the wheels of a cart. Good deeds bring good rewards; evil deeds invite harmful consequences. Whatever blessings people receive come from themselves; none are not brought upon them by their own actions.

End of Volume Two of the Scripture of the Most High on the Causes and Conditions of Karmic Retribution from the Cavern of Mystery and the Numinous Treasure

The Scripture of the Most High on the Causes and Conditions of Karmic Retribution from the Cavern of Mystery and the Numinous Treasure, Volume Three

Chapter Five: Repentance

At this time, the Perfected One of Great Compassion, who universally aids living beings, heard the Lord Dao explain the causes and conditions of good and evil and their retribution. Joyfully, he bowed and said to the Lord Dao: “Living beings are ignorant and deluded, lost in the net of the worldly realm. They cannot awaken or free themselves from their sins, and can only continue to cycle through birth and death, constantly beset by suffering and distress. I beseech the Heavenly Worthy of Great Compassion to teach them mercifully, so that men and women in generations to come may turn toward the good path and not fall into the Three Evil Paths (the three lower realms, usually understood as hell, hungry ghosts, and animals).”

The Lord Dao said to the Perfected One who Universally Aids: “If good men and good women can bring forth good thoughts from their hearts, come before me to bow and offer incense, and sincerely repent of all the evil deeds they have committed, as well as the sins of the deceased from former times and of countless generations of ancestors, they can inspire them to turn toward the good path and keep them from falling into the Three Evil Paths.”

The Lord of the Dao said to Puji: If a good man or good woman sincerely gives rise to wholesome thoughts, comes before me to pay respects and burn incense, and wholeheartedly repents all the harmful deeds they have committed, they should also repent on behalf of their ancestors who have died throughout the generations, as well as their parents, spouse, children, and family members. They should sincerely repent all the offenses committed across immeasurable kalpas, through births in different places and countless cycles of life and death, up to and including this present life. Then these offenses can be eliminated, body and mind can be purified, and their karmic burden greatly lightened.

Beings in the future and men and women living now may, over immeasurable kalpas, have harbored disbelief and disrespect, slandered, damaged, scorned, defiled, mocked, insulted, cursed, deceived, or arrogantly mistreated the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the teachers honored in Daoism. They may have disparaged the scriptures, made reckless claims about their authenticity, merits, and failings, argued obstinately over right and wrong, or judged the depth, breadth, and length of their teachings. They may have entered a Daoist altar or temple with unkempt appearance, clothes, hands, feet, or shoes; foul breath; after drinking alcohol, eating meat, or consuming pungent foods such as onions and garlic; with filthy speech and no reverence; or without washing their hands, burning incense, rinsing their mouths, or bathing. In doing so, they may have offended sacred images and profaned the perfected sages, immortals, numinous beings, Jade Maidens and Jade Youths, incense officials and messengers, Vajra deities and kings, heavenly soldiers and strongmen, and the awe-inspiring spirits who protect the Dao. They may have shown no reverence before the Celestial Worthies, the Great Dao, the scriptures and teachings, the ordained bodies of the religious community, or virtuous perfected beings; behaved arrogantly and refused to bow, prostrate themselves, or offer their sincere devotion; or listened while lying down as ritual masters and virtuous perfected beings expounded the Three Caverns and Mahayana scriptures. They may also have entered a Daoist place of worship on foot, by carriage, or on horseback while carrying the impurities of alcohol, meat, and pungent foods, then gone straight up to gaze at images of the Celestial Worthies or read the scriptures. All these are acts of disrespect toward the Three Treasures and the sacred place of worship.

Some people see others observing fasts and precepts, yet refuse to believe, accept, or take refuge themselves. They mock the others as falsely devout. Some lie down while listening to a Dharma master or a revered Perfected One expound the Three Caverns’ Mahayana scriptures—the Three Caverns being a classification of Daoist scriptures, and Mahayana referring to teachings that are vast and profound. Some drink wine and eat meat, carrying the filth of impure food on their bodies, then ride in carriages or on horseback straight into a Daoist sanctuary. They push up to the image of a Celestial Worthy to look at it and leaf through the scriptures.

Some mock those who fast and observe the precepts, calling their practice hypocritical affectation. When others explain the scriptures and teach the public, they disrupt them, calling the teachings demonic delusions and heresy. Some incite the people, or barge into a Daoist sanctuary and shout loudly, disturbing those who cultivate the Way. At every turn, in speech and thought, some discuss the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters—spreading rumors and judging what is true or false.

Some use the name of the Three Treasures to devise ways of obtaining money. Some exploit the teachings to deceive the people. Some spend the Three Treasures’ funds and property on their own support. Some intimidate and coerce ordained practitioners, scrutinize their faults, and use the opportunity to extort money to support their wives and children. Some carry scriptures and images of the gods into markets to teach, or claim to be doing good and accumulating merit in crowded public places, but pocket the money they collect. Some rent out or sell scriptures and images of the gods, using the proceeds only to support themselves and their families. Some accept goods such as wine and meat in exchange for selling images of the gods, or rent out and sell scriptures to profit from the Three Treasures. Some ascend a high seat to expound the teachings under the name of “Mahayana,” yet spend the offerings they receive only on themselves.

Some do not study the scriptures, precepts, Fulu (talismans and registers), or ritual texts, yet presume to become other people’s teachers and accept offerings. Some take on large numbers of disciples without discerning whether they are virtuous, then transmit scriptures and Fulu to them, disclosing their secret methods. Some disregard the precepts of ritual procedure and fail to receive instruction from their teachers, instead adding to or cutting from the scriptures and precepts as they please. Some leave images of the gods exposed to the elements, where they become damaged and covered in dust. Some fail to repair Daoist temples and halls, allowing the buildings to collapse and the scriptures and ritual objects to become soiled and damaged. Some destroy banners, lamps, candles, and other objects used to accumulate merit, show no reverence for sacred images, and disclose the scriptures indiscriminately.

Some steal precious scriptures and mix them with secular books. Some copy scriptures privately but refuse to protect and preserve them properly. Some keep scriptures together with ordinary books, showing them no reverence. Some place scriptures on beds, beside pillows, or between mats, or keep them in rooms alongside their sleeping quarters. Some pile dirty and miscellaneous things in the same room, hold wine and meat in their hands, and behave in speech and conduct just like ordinary people of the secular world.

Some people secretly take away or copy scriptures but refuse to protect them properly. Some mix scriptures with ordinary books and never treat them with reverence. Some place scriptures on beds, beside pillows, or among sleeping mats, even keeping them in rooms where people sleep together. Some discuss the true scriptures while in filthy, impure places and holding wine and meat. Some speak of the Three Treasures—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha—while engaged in sexual desire. Some read the scriptures of the immortals with their mouths full of meat or other impure things. Some betray the Daoist tradition and disobey their teachers’ instructions, breaking their own sworn vows. Some pass secret methods from person to person and reveal sacred scriptures. Some treat scriptures as precious possessions and use them to deceive the ignorant and worldly.

Whenever thoughts arise or actions are carried out in ways that violate these explicit rules, the precepts have been broken. Such offenses are without end. If offenses from past lives and this life have never been confessed and repented before the Daoist tradition, then all may be cleansed: the nine generations of ancestors and seven forebears—a general term for many generations—as well as parents, spouses, children, and karmic kin from past and present. If they can bring forth even a single thought of confession and repentance before me, their offenses can be erased, and their bodies and minds, within and without, restored to purity.

The Dao Lord said: If a good man or good woman, from countless eons ago until today, has undergone innumerable deaths and rebirths, along with relationships as parents, spouses, and children, and can confess and repent all the bodily, verbal, and mental karma—their physical actions, words, and thoughts—created in past and present lives, then their offenses can be erased and they can be purified within and without.

The Lord Dao says: If a good man or good woman, from countless eons ago until today, has passed through life after life and had parents, spouses, and other relatives, they may have committed various wrongs in body, speech, and mind, and through the six faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind, in both past and present.

They may have acted cruelly and without compassion, killing living beings and eating their flesh. Or, for the sake of their parents, themselves, their brothers, wives and children, or other relatives, they may have gathered friends, family, and neighbors and killed living beings in great numbers, almost every day, without measure.

The animals killed may have included domestic livestock such as cattle, sheep, donkeys, horses, dogs, chickens, and pigs; wild animals of the mountains and forests such as muntjacs, deer, foxes, rabbits, tigers, leopards, jackals, and wolves; birds such as geese, crows, magpies, doves, pigeons, thrushes, owls, wild ducks, mandarin ducks, and egrets; insects and reptiles such as worms, snakes, scorpions, bees, centipedes, house centipedes, and ants; aquatic creatures such as softshell turtles, crocodiles, fish, tortoises, snails, mussels, clams, toads, and crabs; small creatures such as dung beetles, bagworms, caterpillars, and earthworms; and tiny beings such as mosquitoes, horseflies, fleas, lice, and mayflies. Some may have released hawks and driven dogs to hunt and kill living beings, set nets and traps to catch them, or set fire to mountains, searched the forests bare, or drained ponds and marshes to kill them. Others may have killed with bows and arrows, knives, or staves, or harmed living beings by squeezing them with their hands, trampling them underfoot, or crushing them by sitting or lying on them.

Moreover, everyday work—plowing fields and planting crops, building walls and houses, digging pits and taking soil, pulling down fences, clearing weeds and leveling the ground, gathering firewood and felling trees, picking flowers and pulling up plants—may also cause living beings to die.

When raising silkworms, people sometimes kill the pupae by scalding them. Lighting lamps or holding candles can harm living beings; so can channeling water into caves or splashing hot soup onto the ground. Washing one’s hair or body, drinking water, eating, and processing rice or wheat may also harm life. Cutting open a womb, destroying bird eggs, swatting flies, or brushing away fleas are all ways of killing living beings. Even simply opening one’s mouth, closing one’s eyes, raising a hand, or stamping one’s foot may inadvertently cause harm. This can happen while paying respects to a Celestial Worthy, reciting scriptures and teachings, meeting a ritual master, or even while inside a Daoist temple or ritual altar.

Harming living beings out of anger, sorrow, joy, or through song and dance also counts, as does causing injury or death while making offerings to gods and ghosts or preparing medicinal soups. Some beings die at human hands or are placed on a butcher’s block and slaughtered. Some have their heads or feet cut off, their skin or fur stripped away, or are burned over fierce flames or scalded in boiling water. Some mothers and young are torn apart while still alive, depriving the unborn of the chance to be born. Others are deliberately deprived of life, made to perish completely.

Those killed may be sages, Daoist practitioners, or ordinary people—men and women, young and old—as well as creditors, enemies, or kind people from any region. The ways of killing are also many: frightening someone to death, killing through robbery, poisoning with drugs, or causing death through spells or insults; killing out of joy or anger, taking one’s own life, or ordering another to kill. Whether intentional or accidental, whether done through words, hands, or feet, or brought about by thoughts and intentions, all of these count as killing living beings.

Some people witness others being killed with their own eyes; others pass on the orders that send people to kill. Killing life in this way, whether by raising a hand or taking action, harms countless living beings. As soon as one turns sincerely toward repentance, all these karmic offenses can be erased.

The Lord of the Dao says: If a good man or good woman, from beginningless kalpas up to the present, together with their present spouse and dependents, themselves, their parents, their nine generations of ancestors and seven branches of descendants (a general term for many generations of ancestors), and all relatives connected by blood or circumstance, has often harbored thoughts of or committed theft—whether in a body from a past life, a body receiving rebirth, or a body in this present life—such as stealing the property of a Celestial Worthy, scriptures and teachings, ritual masters, or monastics; stealing objects offered to Celestial Worthies, true scriptures, ritual masters, or monastics; stealing offerings used at Daoist sacred sites, scripture lectures and teachings, mysterious altars (places where Daoists establish altars and perform rites), numinous temples (Daoist temples), vegetarian assemblies (religious ceremonies held with vegetarian offerings), or observances of vegetarian discipline; stealing materials used to make revered images or scriptures and teachings, offerings for ritual masters or for building mysterious altars and temples, objects used for vegetarian offerings and purification rites, or property donated by those who uphold the precepts and by the faithful; or stealing property held in common by the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters) and Daoist communities in the ten directions, or property held in common by the four groups of followers and the Three Treasures…

Some steal objects from above the precious radiance of the Celestial Worthy, the supreme deity revered in Daoism. Others steal objects from the Celestial Worthy’s throne, canopy, jeweled parasol, palanquin, net, banner, standard, crown, mirror, tree, flowers, palace, or sacred steed, or steal the Celestial Worthy’s ritual shawl or ritual robe, Daoist ceremonial garments.

Others steal objects from the thrones, treasuries, caskets, or repositories of the true scriptures; or from the places of the high-ranking venerable ones, wondrously accomplished perfected beings, spirit immortals, immortal youths and jade maidens, Vajra spirit kings, and lion guardians who ward off evil. They steal oil and fire used for lamps, pure offerings for burning incense, or possessions belonging to the resident community of a Daoist temple, the Daoists who live there. They also steal from the state granaries, from the people and from others, or from temples and the ghosts and spirits enshrined there.

Some steal in the presence of the Celestial Worthy, before the scriptures and ritual teachings, or inside a sacred temple dedicated to the spirits. Others steal when their parents, male and female family members, or the king are away.

Some people acquire property through smooth talk, threats, abusing their power, legal proceedings, deception, false claims, acting against morality, forceful suppression, secret fraud, falsification, or playing tricks on others. Others take possession of what belongs to someone else through greed, borrowing, exchange, or borrowing without returning it. Refusing to repay, fraudulently claiming something, or appropriating another person’s property through concealment or deception all count as theft.

Anything that does not belong to you—even the smallest amount, such as flowers, fruit, plants, or a leaf of a vegetable—counts as theft if you form the intention to possess it. This includes things found on the road or in the wilderness, or brought by the wind, carried by birds, or sent by ghosts and spirits. Clothes, bedding, utensils, toys, carts, horses, cloth, rice, wheat, and other things are included, no matter how much or how little—even if fine as dust or light as a thread. If, across immeasurable kalpas, you have kept such things for yourself without ever confessing, you should now bring each of these offenses to light, repent before me, and beg the Heavenly Worthies of the ten directions to receive you with compassion.

All those gathered here today repent together: May every offense committed by the disciples of a certain household, from the time of their nine ancestral generations onward, and never brought to light, be confessed before the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters—with a sincere resolve to repent at this very moment. May all these offenses be erased.

The Dao Lord says: If virtuous men and women, along with their parents, brothers, wives, and family members from measureless kalpas past, have repeatedly indulged in sexual desire through cycles of birth and death and rebirth in various realms, this includes desire arising in the presence of a Heavenly Worthy, the scriptures and teachings, or a ritual master, as well as desire stirred by seeing men and women, clothing, flowers and fruit, mountains and forests, palaces, birds and beasts, cattle and horses, fish and turtles, and other such things.

If anyone has engaged in sexual misconduct in the presence of a Heavenly Worthy, the scriptures and teachings, or a ritual master; at a Mysterious Altar—a site where Daoist deities are enshrined and Zhaijiao purification rituals are performed—or in a Daoist temple, a ritual ground, beneath a ritual master’s seat, in a pure place, a private room, or a shrine; or has seduced another person’s wife or concubine, harmed others, broken up their families, or taken their children; or has driven apart people bound by affection and obstructed their feelings for one another; or has committed incest with relatives, or had intercourse with servants or animals; or has forced men or women into sexual relations, regardless of their beauty, ugliness, virtue, or foolishness, or separated spouses; or defiled monastics, bared the body disrespectfully before the sun, moon, and stars—the Three Lights—or bullied people of any kind; or has indulged in all manner of sexual desire toward men, women, or even living animals, including fantasies in the mind and intercourse in dreams, doing anything without restraint and giving free rein to the Six Passions—the senses and desires of the human being—thereby accumulating immeasurable, boundless offenses, hidden deep within body and mind and never repented—

All those gathered in the ritual ground today should sincerely resolve to confess their offenses openly before me. In this way, they may receive the compassion of the High Perfected and the mercy of the assembled sages. You must also bow until your whole body touches the ground for the immeasurable offenses accumulated since the time of your nine generations of ancestors. Prostrate yourselves before the exalted sages with the sincerity of a mountain collapsing, and all offenses will be dispelled.

The Dao Lord says: If a good man sincerely repents, the exalted perfected beings will take pity on him, and all the sages will show compassion. The immeasurable offenses accumulated by your ancestors over nine generations can all be erased, provided you prostrate with all five parts of the body touching the ground and bow to the supreme sages with the fervor of a collapsing Mount Tai.

The Dao Lord says: If good men and women, from the immeasurable eons of the past until today, whether their parents, siblings, and other relatives in the past or present, or they themselves through countless cycles of birth and death, have often given rise to stinginess and greed—whether before the Heavenly Worthy and the Great Dao, before Mahayana scriptures, before ritual masters, before virtuous perfected beings, in places where monastics practice, where fasting and offerings are made, where incense is offered on account of momentous causes and conditions, or while a Daoist temple is being built; or if, while alive, they would not give even a single coin, and after death could not take a coin with them, yet, though death comes in an instant and all things are left empty, they foolishly cling to their wealth—if now they openly confess these faults and repent with quiet minds before me and the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters revered in Daoism), together with the assembly gathered to bow and repent, then all the karmic hindrances created by themselves and their relatives of the same clan through the generations can be erased.

The Dao Lord says: If good men and women, from the immeasurable eons of the past until today, then all the karmic hindrances created by their relatives of the same clan in past generations can be erased.

The Lord of the Dao said: If a good man or woman, from measureless kalpas ago until today, has often become angry—whether the anger was felt by parents, brothers, or relatives who have died or are still living, or by the person themselves through countless cycles of birth and death; if they have become angry in the presence of a Heavenly Worthy, the scriptures and teachings, ordained teachers and elders, virtuous perfected beings, emperors and rulers, or their parents; or if they have felt anger on seeing images of Heavenly Worthies, the exalted perfected beings of the ten directions, or the holy sovereigns, or on seeing Mahayana scriptures and teachings; if they have been angered by masters teaching the highest doctrine, by senior ritual masters and Daoist officials at Golden Register ritual sites performing rites to pray for blessings and long life for the sages, by masters conducting Lingbao rites to liberate the dead, or by seeing large-scale purification rituals and abundant offerings;

if they have become angry on seeing people observe the precepts, establish a great Jade Register fast, burn precious incense to honor the countless worthy sages of the ten directions, and offer universal aid to sentient beings in the six realms of rebirth; if they have been angered by seeing beggars, the poor, the elderly, the sick and frail, the lonely, prisoners, travelers, or cattle, sheep, birds, and other animals; or if they have harbored resentment toward Heaven and Earth, the sun, moon, and stars, their ruler, their parents, spirits and gods, servants, or livestock;

then, whether the one toward whom their anger was directed was guilty or innocent, close or distant, human or nonhuman, male or female, if anger arose at the first thought or intention, they may now sincerely turn to the Lord of the Dao and beseech him with remorse and repentance. All these karmic offenses and obstacles can then be dispelled.

The Lord of the Dao said: If a good man or good woman, throughout countless kalpas, has felt stinginess and greed while accumulating merit and cultivating blessings; or has felt stinginess and greed toward emperors and rulers, parents and children, worthy people and elders; or, on seeing wealth and possessions, food and drink, fields and houses, carriages and horses, dwellings, servants, mountains and forests, flowers and fruit, palaces, cities, or people in poverty, has been unwilling to give.

If they see the old and sick but refuse to help or provide medical care; see prisoners but refuse to rescue them; or see travelers who are hungry, thirsty, exhausted, or ill but refuse to provide food, drink, or medicine, these too are expressions of a stingy heart.

Even if it is their own property, another person’s property, something held in common, or government property, they cling to it and refuse to give—even when it is as small as a hair or thread, a blade of grass, a flower or fruit, or a few grains of rice or wheat. They also refuse to give toward offerings to the Celestial Worthies, the scriptures and teachings, ritual masters, and monastics; vegetarian offerings and fasting; lighting lamps and burning incense; receiving precepts; teaching scriptures and expounding the Dao; holding large-scale ritual assemblies; building sacred altars, celestial halls, numinous temples, and splendid palaces; making images of the gods; copying scriptures; making offerings on a broad scale; or reciting scriptures and practicing the Dao.

Some people often create fields of merit—opportunities to accumulate De and do good—and treat this as a lasting undertaking, yet refuse to give alms. They see the halls, bells, chimes, and covered walkways of Jiuhua Palace falling into disrepair, but will not pay to restore them. They see people building temple halls and asking for donations, or criminals imprisoned behind bars, but refuse to give. Their money piles up like a mountain, yet they remain unsatisfied: they provide only for a single day’s life before them, while scheming for wealth a thousand years in the future.

From birth until now, in life after life of transmigration, one’s parents, spouse, children, and oneself—whether from the past or the present—may all have repeatedly acted foolishly. Some behave foolishly before the Heavenly Worthy and the Great Dao; some do so before Mahayana scriptures and virtuous, accomplished teachers of the Dharma. Some scorn those who have left home to cultivate the Dao; others act foolishly toward their parents, ruler, spouse and children, ghosts and spirits, numinous beings, or the worthy sages in the void.

Some insult Heaven and Earth and curse ghosts and spirits. Some betray their ruler and disregard benevolence, righteousness, and filial piety. Some perversely commit evil and cause disorder, make laws that violate what is right, engage in incest with close kin, or kill others. They do not believe that sin and blessing arise through causes and conditions, nor do they believe in destiny and retribution. They think everything happens of itself and that they can endure forever, undying. They cannot distinguish good from evil or discern the worthy from the foolish. All such conduct is called foolishness.

If one awakens to one’s actions and repents sincerely, these karmic offenses can all be erased, and the mind can remain pure at all times.

The Dao Lord says: If a good man or good woman, from countless kalpas ago until the present day, has ever entertained thoughts or spoken ornate but untruthful words to their parents, past or present; their spouses, children, and relatives; or the many forms of life they themselves have experienced; or has spoken such words to the Three Caverns, the collective name for Daoist scriptures; to Dharma Masters and people of great virtue; to emperors and rulers; to parents and honored elders; to worthy people and elders; to the poor, lowly, or foolish; to the blind, deaf, or physically disabled; to people of high rank; or to the wealthy; or has spoken such words relying on age, power, intelligence, wisdom, learning, or insight; or has spoken ornate yet untruthful words whenever a thought arose concerning the heavenly beings and holy ones, the immortals of the ten directions, the stars, sun, moon, or any spirit—if they can recognize this in themselves, feel remorse, and come before me to confess, then all these offenses can be absolved.

The Dao Lord says: If virtuous men and women, together with their parents, children, siblings, and relatives, have, throughout immeasurable kalpas and after abandoning their former bodily forms, harbored thoughts or spoken and acted in ways that included boastful falsehoods, lies, cruel words, or divisive speech; or if, before the Heavenly Venerable, the Great Dao, the true scriptures and wondrous teachings, their masters, parents, emperors and rulers, worthy people and Daoist practitioners, the celestial stars, holy beings in the empty expanse, or any realm, visible or invisible, they have spoken boastful lies, cruel words, or words that set one side against another—whether to humans or nonhumans—

if they have envied those greater than themselves, stirred up conflict and muddled right and wrong, estranged their own flesh and blood, called falsehood truth and fabrication fact, and deceived all living beings, thereby failing to know the way back to the lofty perfected ones of the Great Dao, then, if they reveal these immeasurable offenses and repent sincerely, the Dao Lord will know of it, purify them, and enable them to enter the foundations of faith in the Great Dao.

The Dao Lord says: If good men and women, from countless kalpas in the past through their present lives, have used the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—the six faculties of perception and thought—to commit every kind of wrongdoing: killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct and debauchery; greed and stinginess, anger, ignorance and delusion; lying, using flattering and exaggerated speech, speaking cruelly to hurt others, and sowing discord; envying those who surpass them; drinking wine and eating meat, violating the teachings of the scriptures, destroying sacred images, failing to observe purification practices, and showing no respect for teachers and elders; turning away from the right path to follow falsehood, believing heterodox doctrines and holding inverted views, making offerings to ghosts and spirits but failing to honor the Three Treasures of the Dao, the scriptures, and the teachers; slandering and making a commotion, acting disrespectfully and without restraint, indulging in sensual pleasures, craving fragrances and flavors, and becoming attached to touch and all manner of things. Thoughts arise in the mind and actions take place in the world; each gives rise to the next. The six faculties—the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind—stir one another, bringing one fault after another. Their karmic offenses keep accumulating, and every thought strays from the right path. Such grave offenses are numberless, as countless as grains of sand. Long habit has rooted them deeply in body and mind; they extend from past lives into this one, and from one kalpa to the next, beyond all counting. Yet with the arising of a single thought, these offenses can all be purified.

This is like a bright mirror covered by dust from the past, the present, and countless ages, even coated with grease and all kinds of grime. As the dirt builds up over time, it obscures the mirror and dims both its inner and outer surfaces. But if a skilled mirror maker comes, brushes away the grime bit by bit, then carefully polishes the surface, the mirror will shine clearly inside and out. It will reflect what is near and far, regain its clarity and brightness, and become as it was at the beginning. How can this be? Because the mirror’s nature was pure from the start.

Living beings are the same: their spiritual nature is originally pure and free of defilement. But once they take on a body, the six thieves—the six faculties’ craving for external things—the six dusts, or objects encountered by the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, the six desires, and the six forms of consciousness—the discriminating awareness that arises when the six faculties meet external things—give rise to deluded thoughts and actions. These obscure body and mind, causing beings to lose their original nature and wander through birth and death. They continually incur offenses through their actions, and their karmic consequences draw them into hell, where they endure every kind of suffering and languish for a long time.

Out of compassion for living beings, I have wandered through the human world continuously since countless kalpas ago, born sometimes in the lands of Xia, sometimes among the Yi peoples; sometimes old, sometimes young; sometimes ordinary, sometimes sage; sometimes female, sometimes male; sometimes noble, sometimes humble. I have appeared in many forms, using skillful means to teach living beings and lead them to liberation. I have caused the teachings of the scriptures to spread, awakening living beings so that they may leave suffering and be freed forever from the mud of the underworld. Yet living beings’ wisdom is shallow, and they cannot understand or awaken. So now I explain these matters to you in detail, setting out their causes and conditions at length, so that all living beings may attain liberation.

The Dao Lord says: If good men and women can regularly recite and uphold this scripture, burn incense, and repent, they can dispel the many afflictions burdening them, purify body and mind, and help immeasurable beings eliminate the harmful karma accumulated in the past. The holy beings of the heavens, accomplished adepts, immortals, and numinous beings all hope that people will burn incense and repent. In this way, benevolent spirits will protect them, and the assembled sages will assist them.

When karmic offenses cling to a person and distress them within and without, they may be harmed by malevolent spirits, beset by illness, or face calamities such as floods and fires, weapons and warfare, poisonous insects and fierce beasts, chains, or imprisonment. Ordinary people know only to adorn their faces, put on clothes, and wash their hands and feet. They use only worldly water to cleanse the outside of the body, yet do not know to use “Dharma water”—a symbol of the power of Daoist teachings and repentance—to wash away the roots of sin and harmful karma from within. Is this not delusion? If diligently washing the face, hands, feet, and clothes were enough to attain the Dao and become a perfected being, then cultivating the Dao would be far too easy.

The Scripture of the Supreme One on the Causes and Conditions of Karmic Retribution in the Cavern Mystery Numinous Treasure (Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Yebao Yinyuan Jing), Volume Three, ends.

The Scripture of the Supreme One on the Causes and Conditions of Karmic Retribution in the Cavern Mystery Numinous Treasure (Taishang Dongxuan Lingbao Yebao Yinyuan Jing), Volume Four

Chapter Six: Upholding the Precepts

The Perfected One of Great Compassion and Mercy, Universal Deliverance—a title expressing the perfected one’s commitment to compassionately saving all beings—asked the Supreme Dao Lord about the causes and conditions of karmic retribution. The Dao Lord then said to the Perfected One of Universal Deliverance: “From the beginningless past, I have continually taught and transformed beings in the human world and expounded the Dao. In this way, heavenly beings and ordinary people, sages and mortals, throughout the past and future and across the Ten Directions and Three Realms, may all hear the Dao’s teachings, return together to Wuwei (non-action), enter the true and everlasting Dao, and reach the state of neither birth nor death, with nowhere to come from and nowhere to go.”