《太上灵宝元阳妙经》Vol. 4

When people cannot see the true nature of things, they take illusory appearances to be real. Good son, this is like children who see heat shimmering in the summer and mistake it for water. The wise know that it is only an illusion created by the heat, which deceives the eyes; it is not real water. Ordinary people and disciples cultivating immortality often view things in the same way, assuming that they are all real. The perfected beings of the heavens—those who have attained the Dao—understand that no thing has a fixed, unchanging reality of its own.

It is also like an echo in a valley, which arises when a sound reverberates. Ordinary people hear it and take it for a real sound. The wise know that an echo has no fixed substance: the appearance of a sound simply deceives the ear. Ordinary people and disciples cultivating immortality often make the same mistake when they look at the myriad things, supposing that they possess a true, unchanging nature. The perfected beings of the heavens understand that the myriad phenomena have no fixed reality. They see that things are impermanent, empty and still, without a fixed nature of arising or ceasing. Thus, perfected Daoist adepts know that all things are impermanent.

Yet there is also a principle that may be called “settled.” What is certain? True, lasting happiness exists within the Primordial Yang teaching—the fundamental Great Dao described in this scripture.

Good son, the fruit of the natural Way—the natural state attained through cultivation—is not fixed and unchanging either. Precisely because it cannot be established as something truly existent, practitioners must pass through one hundred thousand kalpas to attain the natural mind of the unsurpassed Great Dao. This fruit of the Dao is likewise not truly existent or unchanging; precisely because it has no fixed reality, one must pass through eighty thousand kalpas to attain the natural mind of the True and Correct Great Dao. The attainment of a perfected being is also not truly existent or unchanging. It takes sixty thousand kalpas to attain the unsurpassed Dao-mind; for an immortal, forty thousand kalpas; and for a lucid perfected being, twenty thousand kalpas.

Good son, the Celestial Worthy now manifests power, numinous abilities and wisdom beneath a jade-green forest tree in the great city of Sweet Dew. In this way, disciples cultivating immortality and ordinary beings are inspired to practice the teachings sincerely and devote themselves wholeheartedly to the True Way. They recite the profound and wondrous scripture, the Supreme Grade Great Vehicle Scripture of Primordial Yang, and comprehend its subtle meanings. Thus they attain the unsurpassed, true and correct natural Great Dao, undertake the practice of the sages, and never turn back.

Good son, when ordinary people fail to keep their six faculties—the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind—well restrained, they give rise to all kinds of afflictions and faults. They are pulled along by harmful karma and led toward unwholesome states. This is like a spirited horse carrying its rider into dangerous territory. In the same way, those who cannot restrain the six faculties and create harmful karma move away from the wondrous Primordial Yang Dao and toward evil places. It is also like an untamed, raging elephant: once mounted, it refuses to obey and carries its rider away from places of goodness and safety, into danger. So too, those who cannot restrain the six faculties are drawn by harmful karma away from the wondrous Primordial Yang Dao and into the perilous cycle of birth and death.

It is like a treacherous minister urging a ruler to do evil. When the six faculties are left unchecked, they too act like treacherous ministers, constantly tempting beings to create countless harmful deeds. It is also like a disobedient child who ignores the instruction of parents and teachers and commits all kinds of misdeeds. Those who cannot tame the six faculties likewise ignore good advice and correction, and may do any kind of wrong.

When ordinary people fail to restrain the six faculties, they are harmed by the evil destinies of hell, animals and hungry ghosts, as though enemies and thieves were attacking the virtuous. They let the six faculties run unchecked, chasing after the six objects of perception—forms, sounds, smells, tastes, tangible things and mental objects. This is like a herdsman who fails to watch over his cattle, allowing them to stray off and trample someone else’s crops. When ordinary people fail to rein in the six faculties, they continually wander through the various states of existence and endure many sufferings.

Good son, when perfected Daoist adepts cultivate the sacred practices of the Supreme Grade Great Vehicle of Primordial Yang, they are always careful to tame and restrain the six faculties. They guard against desire, anger, jealousy and pride so that they may understand all phenomena. To restrain the six faculties is to restrain the mind; to restrain the mind is also to restrain the six faculties. This is like protecting a country and defending its territory: defending the territory is also a way of protecting the king. The perfected Daoist adepts are the same. Hearing this Supreme Grade Great Vehicle Scripture of Primordial Yang enables them to gain wisdom, and with wisdom they can focus their minds on restraining the six faculties.

Good son, even when a skilled herdsman sees cattle wander off and eat other people’s crops, he quickly drives them away so they do not cause harm. In the same way, perfected Daoist adepts use mindfulness and wisdom to restrain the six faculties and keep them from running unchecked.

Perfected Daoist adepts who possess mindfulness and wisdom do not cling to the image of a self, the image of beings, or the things they use and enjoy. Instead, they see that all phenomena share the nature of the Dharma—the common nature of all phenomena. Mountains, plants, tiles and stones, like houses, are formed through the gathering of causes and conditions; they have no fixed, unchanging nature. Ordinary beings, too, are formed from the union of the four great elements: earth, water, fire and wind. Examined closely, they likewise have no fixed self-nature. The perfected understand this and therefore do not become attached to such things. Ordinary people, however, take beings to be truly existent and so give rise to afflictions. Perfected Daoist adepts who cultivate the Primordial Yang Scripture possess mindfulness and wisdom. They do not cling to the image of beings, and they can apply different teachings according to the circumstances.

Good son, this is like a painter who uses many colors to depict forms such as cows, horses, men and women. Ordinary people without wisdom see the painting and assume that real men, women, cows and horses are present in it. The painter knows that no real men, women, cows or horses exist in the picture. In the same way, perfected Daoist adepts discern the nature shared by many different appearances. They do not cling to beings as truly real, because they possess mindfulness and wisdom.

Even when perfected Daoist adepts cultivate the Supreme Grade Great Vehicle Scripture of Primordial Yang and see a beautiful woman, they do not give rise to craving or attachment, because they are skilled at observing appearances. Good son, perfected Daoist adepts know that the five desires—the desires prompted by forms, sounds, smells, tastes and touch—hold no true happiness and cannot provide lasting contentment. The five desires are like a dog gnawing a dry bone, a person carrying a flame against the wind, bubbles on the water, lines drawn on the surface of water, or prisoners being led to execution. They are also like enjoying power that is false and cannot last: all are full of dangers.

Perfected Daoist adepts observe that, from time without measure, ordinary beings have continually suffered for the sake of desires for forms, smells, tastes and touch. The bones each being has accumulated in a single kalpa, piled together, would rise as high as Wonderful Joy Mountain. The milk they have drunk would equal the waters of the four seas, and the blood they have shed would be beyond measure. The tears they have wept at the deaths of their relatives exceed the waters of the four seas. Even if every plant and tree on earth were used as a tally to count the generations of their parents, they could not be numbered. Through countless kalpas, beings have at times fallen into the three paths of hell, animals and hungry ghosts and endured innumerable sufferings. Perfected Daoist adepts contemplate beings in this way and understand that they undergo boundless suffering because of desire. Therefore, as they cultivate amid the cycle of birth and death, they do so with care, never losing mindfulness and wisdom.

Good son, there was once a great crowd of people stretching for thirty li. King Zhuangyan ordered a minister named Fulin to carry a basin of oil through the crowd without spilling a single drop; if he spilled any, he would be beheaded. The king also sent a minister named Yinlin to follow behind, holding a sword and keeping watch. The minister carrying the oil obeyed the order and took great care to protect the basin. Even when he saw beautiful women along the way, he did not dare look at them. His heart remained fearful: if he gave himself over to distraction and became captivated by desire, the oil would spill from his hands, and he would lose his life. Because he stayed alert, he did not spill even one drop.

In the same way, perfected Daoist adepts uphold the precepts and, amid the cycle of birth and death, do not lose mindfulness and wisdom. Because they remain mindful, they do not give rise to craving or attachment even when they encounter the five desires. When they see pure and beautiful forms, they do not cling to them; they observe only the suffering within them. They likewise avoid clinging to arising, ceasing, causes or conditions in the other aggregates—feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness—and instead observe that all phenomena arise through the coming together of causes and conditions. Thus the six faculties of perfected Daoist adepts are pure, and their observance of the precepts is complete.

The restless and unrestrained condition of the six faculties in ordinary people is called “outflow through the faculties”—the afflictions and faults that flow out through the six faculties. Perfected Daoist adepts forever sever every kind of outflow, and so they are called “without outflows.” The Celestial Worthy removes the karma they have created through the six faculties and makes them forever pure.

At that moment, the perfected being Yin Miaolin, having heard these words, rejoiced in his heart and spoke this verse:

Ordinary people and all sentient beings do not understand the path shown by the Mahayana—the Buddhist teaching that saves all beings. Thus they sink into the cycle of birth and death, passing through the turmoil of affliction. With every thought they do wrong, and doubts continually arise in their hearts. Demons seize the opportunity to harass them, while enmities repeatedly give rise to lawsuits. In the end, they suffer retribution and fall into hell, as though imprisoned in a dark dungeon.

Their accumulated misdeeds are beyond counting and beyond the reach of metaphor. They should constantly keep the Yuanyang Jing (Scripture of Primordial Yang) in mind and uphold its teachings and precepts. In this way, faults can be cleared away and merit will continue to grow. They will thereby enter the Mahayana gate of liberation and follow the pure path of Wuwei (non-action). Celestial immortals will often come to guide them, and earth spirits will continually protect them.

By reciting passages such as these each day, they can remain free from affliction through many kalpas and avoid sinking into ruin or suffering harm year after year. Even in danger, they can remain fearless. They should earnestly receive the “Verse of the Five Powers,” which describes the cultivation of spiritual powers, and steadfastly practice the Six Perfections: giving, keeping the precepts, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. This verse is proclaimed today as a hymn celebrating a long life of peace and joy.

After the Perfected Yin Miaolin finished reciting this verse, he continued:

“Good man, some Perfected Daoist practitioners seek to attain the unsurpassed Dharma realm of sweet dew, the pure and complete state. To do so, they must keep away from all evil deeds and faults. How can they do this? If they cultivate the Scripture of the Primordial Yang, Supreme Mahayana, receive and uphold it, recite it, and reflect on its meaning, they will approach the Dharma realm of sweet dew and keep away from evil deeds. This is what is meant by ‘leaving behind.’

“Good man, I have examined all thirty-six honored scriptures, and none can remove evil deeds as this Mahayana scripture can. Just as a good teacher instructs a disciple, who then stops making mistakes, so Perfected Daoist practitioners who cultivate this Mahayana Scripture of Primordial Yang can stop committing transgressions. It is also like certain spells in the world that protect people from poisonous snakes: when ordinary people read and recite this scripture, they too can remain free of transgressions until the end of their lives.

“The Great Scripture of Primordial Yang and Mystery works in the same way. Any being who hears it even once will not fall into an evil destiny, a place of unwholesome rebirth. Those who copy it, praise it, recite it, explain it, and clarify its subtle truths can attain the unsurpassed, true, and natural Great Dao and realize the characteristics of the Dharma. They will taste the flavor of the Dharma’s sweet dew, as the sages do. By cultivating and reciting this scripture, they can attain this fruit of the Dao. Such is the power of the Great Scripture of Primordial Yang.

“Good men and good women who faithfully copy and recite this scripture, explain its meaning, clarify it for others, and guide living beings are truly my disciples. They understand the teachings well and teach ordinary people to recognize the Dao. I approve of them and take pity on them. Such people truly understand the Scripture of Primordial Yang that I have taught. Whether they dwell in mountain forests and open wilderness, in towns and villages, or in houses and palaces, I am always by their side, abiding without change. I will appear before them as one who receives their offerings, or take the form of a Daoist or a Daoist nun, so they will know that the Celestial Worthy has accepted the goods they have given.

“Sometimes such people will dream of the Celestial Worthy, a sage, a Perfected One, or a Wheel-Turning Sage King, a holy ruler endowed with the virtue to govern the world and uphold the true Dharma. They may also dream of rivers, mountains and seas; the sun, moon and stars; gold, silver and treasures; or clothing and bedding. They should know that the Celestial Worthy has accepted their offerings. When they wake, they will feel joyful. In time, they will receive the things they need, cease committing transgressions, and turn their wishes toward what is true and good. The Great Scripture of Primordial Yang brings about blessings that are immeasurable and inconceivable.

“Good man, you should receive and uphold these subtle teachings. If a good man cultivates wholesome practices, honors me, follows the principles of the Dharma, and keeps to the essentials of this scripture, seeking to overcome the teachings represented by evil demons—that there is no permanence, no joy, no self, and no purity—and to attain freedom and happiness in heaven and among humankind, then when he sees someone upholding, copying, or reciting the Scripture of Primordial Yang, or explaining its meaning to others, he should draw near, bow to that person, praise and honor him, and provide what he needs so that he does not go without. This scripture is so profound and subtle that nothing can compare with it. One should make offerings to it with all one’s heart, never turning away or growing weary. In this way, one can attain the fruit of the natural Dao.

“Good man, I recall that countless eons ago, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges, there was a world called Purity. In that world lived a sage named the Celestial Being Wenshi. He possessed great spiritual powers and exceptional wisdom, and his heavenly sight was supreme. He taught the Scripture of the Primordial Yang, Supreme Mahayana to an assembly. At that time, I heard that this sage would explain to the assembly the unsurpassed principles of the Great Dao. I was overjoyed and wished to make offerings, but I was poor and had no possessions, so I thought of selling myself. I worried, though, that I was not strong enough and no one would buy me.

“Soon afterward, I met someone on the road and asked whether he would buy me. He said there was a task at home that no one could do, and that if I could do it, he would buy me. I asked what the task was. He said he was gravely ill, and the remedy prescribed by a good physician required him to eat human flesh, two liang each day. If I cut off some of my own flesh each day and gave it to him for his medicine, he would pay me ten coins.

“When I heard this, I was glad. I told him to give me the money first and that I would return after five days, once I had finished what I needed to do. He said five days was too long and that he could wait only one day. Good man, I accepted the money then and went to the Celestial Worthy. I bowed respectfully, offered all the possessions in my home, and then devoted myself to hearing and receiving this scripture.”

At that time I was dull-witted. Although I heard this scripture, I still made a vow to uphold a verse like this:

The Supreme Venerable’s most essential teaching is called the Primordial Yang Scripture. It can save living beings from the karmic retribution of birth and death and dispel the darkness of the underworld. If someone practices it with utmost sincerity, the mind becomes clear and one attains unsurpassed peace and joy. It is as though, with a single step, one arrives at Xuandu, the Daoist realm of immortals, roaming freely, transforming alongside the immortals, and coming and going among the cloud palaces. After passing through the cycles of rebirth, one returns to stillness and emptiness, then suddenly sees one’s true nature. The Southern Cinnabar Realm, a Daoist paradise or place for internal cultivation, helps one ascend to new life; the Northern Dipper dispels the star of death and calamity. Whoever comprehends the wondrous Dao that I have realized will retain a fragrant good name through countless kalpas.

After reciting the verse, which expresses the essentials of practice in poetic form, and gaining insight in my heart, I returned to the sick person’s home. Good man, although two taels of flesh were cut from me each day at that time, I felt no pain because I recited the verse. As a result, the sick person recovered, and I too returned to normal: my body and flesh were whole, with no wounds or putrefaction. From this I gave rise to the unsurpassed mind of the true, perfect, and natural Dao. If even the verse had such power, how much greater must be the merit and benefit of the complete Great Vehicle Scripture of Primordial Yang, spoken by the Supreme Venerable, the Great Sage? If one receives, upholds, reads, and recites it with utmost sincerity, the benefit is greater still. I have seen for myself the benefits of this scripture. Therefore, I should resolve to recite it all the more, and vow that, in every age—past, future, and present—I may realize the fruit of the natural Dao. It is also through the conditions created by the verse that I am now able to explain the Wondrous Primordial Yang Scripture to the disciples gathered here.

This great scripture of Primordial Yang is inconceivable. It can bring about immeasurable true and wholesome conditions, and is the profound, hidden treasury of the heavenly sages. Those who receive, uphold, read, and recite it can put an end to all manner of harmful defilements—the afflictions that lead beings to do evil, suffer, and sink further into misery. Such dangers include raging elephants, vicious horses, unruly oxen, ferocious dogs, cliffs and ravines, venomous insects and wild beasts, dangerous rapids and waters, and people of wicked character. If these become conditions that lead to wrongdoing, a realized Dao practitioner should avoid them; if they do not lead to wrongdoing, there is no need to shun them. If an affliction grows stronger, one should leave; if it does not grow, there is no need to avoid it. If someone acts wickedly, one should keep away; if they can act virtuously, there is no need to distance oneself. Always use wisdom to protect yourself, practice wholesome teachings, and avoid evil deeds.

A realized Daoist should examine himself: this body is filled with suffering and is the source of all kinds of harmful karma. Why care for it, when it is so impure? Not out of attachment to the body, but in order to practice wholesome teachings and cultivate the Way of Primordial Yang. What one seeks is the joy of the eternal and true, not a state that is impermanent and without self; what one seeks is genuine purity and the presence of the Dao, not its absence. What one cultivates is the One Vehicle, the single ultimate Way, rather than the teachings that divide the path into three vehicles.

Good man, a realized Daoist should protect his body. If he does not, it will be difficult to preserve his life; without his life, he cannot read, recite, write, uphold, or make offerings to the Supreme Great Vehicle Scripture of Primordial Yang. Nor can he explain it to others or reflect on its meaning. He should therefore care well for his body, so that he may avoid all harmful defilements. Just as a person crossing a river must protect the raft, a traveler must care for his mount, and a farmer must attend to the fertilizer when sowing, so too should a cultivator. Though he knows the body is full of impurities, he should cherish it for the sake of upholding the Primordial Yang Scripture, neither becoming lax nor tiring of wholesome deeds.

A realized Daoist understands that both a raging elephant and a wicked person can harm the body. Yet there is no need to fear the elephant; one should instead be wary of an evil companion, someone who leads others toward wrongdoing. An elephant can harm only the body, not the mind, while a wicked person can corrupt both body and mind. An elephant can harm only one body, but a wicked person can destroy the wholesome bodies and minds of many. An elephant damages the physical body; a wicked person can ruin the Dharma body, the pure nature attained through cultivation. Being killed by an elephant does not cause one to fall into the Three Destinies, the lower realms of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals. But being led into wrongdoing by a wicked person may cause one to fall into those realms. An elephant is an enemy of the body; a wicked person is an enemy of the wholesome teachings. A realized practitioner should therefore keep away from bad companions.

Ordinary people cannot avoid these harmful conditions, and so harmful defilements arise in them. Realized practitioners can avoid them and so do not give rise to such defilements. If realized practitioners are free of these afflictions, how much more so must the Primordial Heaven Venerable, endowed with great spiritual power, be free of them? Ordinary people crave clothes, food, bedding, medicine, and delicacies for the pleasure of body and mind. They thereby create afflictions, remain ignorant of the taste of the Dharma, and wander through the Three Destinies. Seeing the harm in this, realized practitioners turn away from craving. If they truly need clothing or food, they may accept offerings, but not to indulge the body: they do so for the sake of cultivating the Dao. They do not become proud or dismissive, but remain gentle and humble. They accept clothing not for its finery, but to cover the body and preserve modesty. They accept food without attachment, not for the pleasure of the palate, but to sustain the practice and benefit living beings. Even when the food is delicious, they do not crave it; they eat only to ease hunger and thirst and maintain their strength. They should accept clothing in the same spirit, letting neither greed nor pride remain in the heart. They use what is offered only in the service of the true teaching, not out of attachment to a long life.

A realized practitioner reflects in this way: if I refuse the offerings I need, my body will grow weak. If it is not strong, it will be difficult to endure the hardships of practice; without enduring hardship, I cannot cultivate the true path or accumulate genuine wholesome karma. Yet if I cannot endure suffering, anger will arise; when I encounter pleasure, attachment will arise; and when I seek pleasure but fail to attain it, ignorance will arise. Thus ordinary people easily create harmful defilements when they accept offerings. Realized practitioners look deeply into this and do not give rise to defilements of craving; for this reason they are called undefiled. Sages should not be called defiled.

Good man, even when ordinary people believe they are guarding body and mind, evil thoughts still arise in them. Even if they eliminate some afflictions and rise to the Station of Neither Perception nor Non-Perception, a meditative state in the Formless Realm, they may still eventually fall into the three paths of hell. It is like someone crossing the great sea to reach the far shore, only to sink and die just as land is near. So it is with deluded ordinary people: they seem close to escaping the Three Realms of desire, form, and formlessness, yet in the end fall into hell because they lack wholesome wisdom.

What is wholesome wisdom? The scripture calls it the “Six Recollections.” Ordinary people have little wholesome thought, while unwholesome thought is strong; their wisdom, too, is shallow. When wisdom is lacking, harmful defilements continue to grow. Realized Daoists have clear wisdom-eyes and can see the many kinds of danger. Ordinary people, by contrast, cannot see the marks of the Dharma. For as many kalpas as the sands of the Ganges, they remain deluded, imagining that the heavenly sages have no joy that is eternal and true, and that they possess only purity; they also suppose that the Supreme Venerable will ultimately return to emptiness. Thus they hold distorted views of all things as impermanent, joyless, impure, and without self, while wrongly believing that there is a real, lasting joy.

A realized Daoist should observe in this way: when circumstances arise, he must alert himself and guard against evil thoughts, just as an upright and clean person refuses to be soiled, or as no one would willingly take hold of a red-hot iron ball. Those who wholeheartedly honor the Dao should be equally vigilant.

A realized Daoist should also reflect: ordinary people regard me as a great field of merit, someone through whom they can accumulate blessings. How can I accept unwholesome teachings? If I do evil, I cannot be a field of merit for living beings. Even if I do not call myself a field of merit, people will see my actions and think I have given rise to evil thoughts; that would be to deceive them. If I accept offerings through deception, I will wander through birth and death for countless kalpas and fall into hell. If I accept the offerings of others while harboring evil thoughts, I may diminish the donors’ blessings or even prevent them from receiving any fruit. To act this way is to incur a grave enmity with the donors.

Living beings often regard me with kindness. How can I deceive them and harbor evil thoughts? I call myself a Daoist, and a Daoist should do no evil. If I give rise to evil thoughts, I do not deserve to be called a Daoist. A Daoist’s words and actions should agree; otherwise, he is not a true Daoist. I have left behind affection, family, and old friends to enter religious life and study the Dao. I should cultivate wholesome thoughts with right mindfulness, not indulge in evil ones.

This is like someone who crosses the sea in search of treasure but ignores the pearls and takes only metal ore; like abandoning beautiful music to listen to noise, leaving a good wife to dote on a concubine, giving up gold vessels for clay bowls, rejecting the nectar-like taste of the Dharma to consume poison, forsaking good friends to associate with bad ones, turning away from a skilled physician to trust in sorcery, and spurning the nectar-like Dharma food of the Primordial Heaven Venerable to consume the many bitter flavors of demonic foes. I have now encountered the pure and rare treasure of the Primordial Yang teaching and have already heard it, like a one-eyed turtle finding a floating log. Human life is fragile, vanishing in an instant like autumn leaves. I can cultivate the Dao today, but what will happen tomorrow is impossible to know. How can I indulge my six senses and commit evil deeds? Youth and vigor pass in the blink of an eye; how can I become proud of them?

Evil demons are always watching for people’s faults, and the four great demons shake the body, their “master.” All of them wait for me to make a mistake. How can I allow an evil thought to arise? A house will eventually collapse, and human life is the same. I call myself a Daoist, who should understand the ways of the world; yet I now commit evil karma. How can I deserve to be called a Daoist? I call myself one who has left home, and such a person should cultivate the wholesome path; yet I do evil. How can I deserve to be called one who has left home? I call myself a true practitioner, who should break through afflictions; yet I refuse to overcome evil thoughts. How can I deserve to be called a true practitioner?

The scripture then lists six rare conditions: encountering the Great Dao is difficult; seeing the true teaching is difficult; giving rise to a wholesome mind is difficult; being born in the Central Land, a place suited to cultivating the Dao and hearing the true teaching, is difficult; obtaining a human body is difficult; and having a sound, healthy body is difficult. I now possess all these conditions, so I should not give rise to evil thoughts.

A realized practitioner of the Primordial Yang Scripture should constantly examine evil thoughts. Ordinary people do not see the harm in such thoughts, and so suffer all kinds of defilement. Realized practitioners see the harm and neither accept nor become attached to it; therefore, they are not subject to defilement. From this it is clear that all sages are free from defilement.

After hearing this teaching, the realized beings, immortals, and Daoist practitioners of the heavens rejoiced. They bowed reverently and said together to the assembly:

We who are gathered here are fortunate to hear these profound and subtle principles. Each of us has realized the nature of suffering and emptiness and gained a deep understanding of the wisdom of primordial Yang. How could anyone distinguish truth from falsehood without attaining the highest level of learning and cultivation? People should cast off every kind of affliction and dispel anger from their hearts. Men and ordinary people alike should listen attentively to this true and beautiful parable, using it to cleanse the ills of body and mind and clear away defilement, evil thoughts, and every kind of burden. All the immortals bow low in homage, praising this auspicious virtue of nature and gaining a deep understanding of the wisdom of primordial Yang.

How could anyone distinguish truth from falsehood without attaining the highest level of learning and cultivation? People should cast off every kind of affliction and dispel anger from their hearts. Men and ordinary people alike should listen attentively to this true and beautiful parable, using it to cleanse the ills of body and mind and clear away defilement, evil thoughts, and every kind of burden. All the immortals bow low in homage and praise this auspicious virtue.

End of Volume Eight of the Supreme High Scripture of the Numinous Treasure on Primordial Yang and Its Subtle Wonders.

Volume Nine of the Supreme High Scripture of the Numinous Treasure on Primordial Yang and Its Subtle Wonders: “The Chapter on Noble Virtuous Conduct.”

At that time, the Celestial Worthy of Original Beginning said to Perfected One Yuanyang: “Good men and good women, if someone practices and makes offerings to this supreme scripture, the Wondrous Scripture of Yuanyang, they can attain ten inconceivable merits. Those who hear of them are often astonished and puzzled. The principle is neither hidden nor revealed; it neither departs nor arrives; it neither arises nor ceases; it is neither difficult nor easy. It has no fixed form, yet it is not entirely formless. This Dharma principle has no concrete appearance and cannot be found among ordinary things in the world.”

Of these ten merits, five are given first. First, one can hear now principles that one had never heard before. Second, after hearing subtle and wondrous principles, one can benefit from them. Third, one can dispel doubts and understand the fundamental principle. Fourth, one’s mind becomes clear and upright, without deviating into error. Fifth, one gains deep understanding of the secret treasury of Yuanyang—the profound principles of Yuanyang’s Dao teachings. These are the five merits.

“Hearing now what one had never heard before” means hearing profound and wondrous principles: all beings possess the capacity to attain the Dao, and the foundations of the various scriptures and Dao teachings do not differ. If good men and women sincerely turn toward the Dao, devote their minds to practicing its teachings and seeking ultimate truth, they can enter the supreme, true, and right Dao, abide in it without change, and persevere without slackening or turning back.

The Dao cannot simply be described as active or inactive, conditioned or unconditioned, with form or without form, empty or not empty, named or nameless, with attributes or without attributes, existent or nonexistent, a cause or not a cause, an effect or not an effect, light or dark, emerging or not emerging, constant or subject to cessation. Nor can it simply be assigned to the past, the future, or conditions and causes. These principles are profound and subtle. They had never been heard or seen before, but through this scripture one can now hear, see, and understand them. One can also come to understand profound teachings in various scriptures, methods of practice, arts, and precepts, as well as the secret essentials of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and the seven volumes of divine diagrams. This is what it means for good men and women to hear now what they had never heard before.

After hearing, one can gain great benefit. If one can read and recite the scripture, receive and uphold it—that is, commit it to memory and put its teachings into practice—one can cultivate the natural intention toward the Dao and understand the various methods of practice and the profound meaning of the Mahayana scriptures. The scripture compares this effect to a bright mirror: a mirror clearly reflects all forms without obstruction. So too, the jeweled mirror of Yuanyang allows practitioners who hold it to see the profound principles of Yuanyang’s scriptures. It is also like someone carrying a torch through a dark room and thereby seeing everything clearly. The torch of the Yuanyang Dharma likewise illuminates the depths of the scripture’s meaning. And just as the rising sun sheds light far into the distance, the pure wisdom sun of Yuanyang illuminates remote and hidden places, enabling beings to see the true Dao. All who hear and receive this supreme, excellent, and wondrous Yuanyang scripture can attain the supreme fruit of the Dao.

If one sincerely reads and recites the subtle and wondrous scriptures of Yuanyang, one can understand the names and wondrous principles of the various Dharma gates, then explain them widely to others, inspiring ordinary people to understand the fundamental principles of Yuanyang’s teachings. Even those who hear and receive this scripture and remember its words without yet understanding their deeper meaning can inspire the confused and help them understand the scripture by writing it down, upholding it, reading and reciting it, and explaining it. To understand the scripture in this way is a great benefit, and it broadens the bridge that leads to the true Dao.

Those who hear this scripture may have heard of the Dao’s teachings without yet encountering them directly. If they sincerely seek the Dao and give it their full attention, they can gradually come to understand. Writing, reading, reciting, explaining, and reflecting on the scripture can also help one encounter the Dao’s teachings directly. Those who have heard of spiritual powers without yet witnessing them can, if they aspire to the immortals and seek the Dao with single-minded devotion, understand the Dharma gates, develop an intention toward the Dao, and reach its source. Even in terrifying places inhabited by heavenly demons, evil ghosts, tigers, wolves, and poisonous beasts, they will be without fear. They can also explain jade tablets and golden writings, cinnabar chapters and purple script—terms for Daoist scriptures and talismanic documents—and clarify their meaning without departing from the scripture’s teachings. Without relying on instruction from others, they can understand the intention of the supreme, true, and right Dao. This is what it means to “gain benefit after hearing.”

Next comes “dispelling doubts.” There are two kinds of doubt: doubt about names and doubt about principles. Hearing the scripture can dispel doubts; reflecting on its meaning can resolve doubts about principles. The scripture also lists five doubts: whether the Dao truly exists; whether, though elusive and hard to fathom, it can truly be eternal; whether, though hidden, it can truly bring peace and joy; whether, though profound, it is pure; and whether, though it appears and disappears, it has any real significance. Hearing, writing, reading, reciting, explaining, and reflecting on the scripture can gradually dispel these doubts.

There are also three further doubts: whether the supreme, true, and right Dao exists or does not exist; whether the thirty-six honored scriptures exist or do not exist; and whether the various wondrous teachings exist or do not exist. Hearing the scripture, explaining it, and reflecting on its meaning can dispel these doubts and make clear that all beings possess Dharma-nature—the capacity to realize and attain the Dao.

Those who do not hear this scripture often have many other doubts, such as whether things are permanent or impermanent, joyful or not joyful, pure or impure, whether there is a self or no self, whether there is life or no life, whether one is an ordinary person or not, whether anything is ultimate or not, whether the future exists or not, whether there is existence or nonexistence, suffering or no suffering, the Dao or what is not the Dao, cessation or no cessation, Dharma or what is not Dharma, truth or what is not truth. Hearing the scripture can help one dispel these doubts.

People may also wonder whether the body, feelings, and cognition are the “self”; whether it is the eyes that see or the “self” that sees; whether it is the faculty of cognition that knows or the “self” that knows; and whether the body and feelings receive the results of karma or the “self” receives them. They may ask whether the components of body and mind—form, feeling, perception, mental formations, and consciousness—can go elsewhere, and whether birth and death have a beginning and an end or neither. Hearing the scripture can help dispel these doubts as well. Some may wonder whether those who hold wrong views, violate the precepts, commit the grave offenses known as the five heinous acts, or slander Daoist scriptures still possess Dharma-nature. Others may wonder whether the world has boundaries or whether the realms of the ten directions exist. Hearing this scripture can dispel these doubts in turn. This is what it means to dispel doubt in the mind.

“Having a wise and upright mind, without deviation,” means that when the mind is full of doubt, one is liable to see things askew. If beings have not heard this supreme, excellent, and subtle Yuanyang scripture, their views and thoughts may fall into error. Even those who have attained a lower level of the immortal Dao and gained some realization may still hold mistaken views.

What counts as error? In conditioned things—that is, things still subject to affliction and the cycle of birth and death—one mistakes what is impermanent, painful, selfless, and impure for what is permanent, joyful, possessed of self, and pure. Conversely, in the realm of the Celestial Worthies and the Dao, one mistakes what is permanent, joyful, possessed of self, and pure for what is impermanent, painful, selfless, and impure. One mistakes the varying lengths of ordinary human life, or states that have or lack attributes, for the palace of Yuanyang. One also clings to views of existence or annihilation in one’s cultivation of the Dao. All these are errors. If good men and women hear and practice this Mahayana scripture, they can abandon mistaken views. Writing, reading, reciting, explaining, and understanding the scripture can also set their views right. If they practice this supreme Yuanyang scripture sincerely over a long period, they can enter the supreme, true, and right Dao.

Deeply understanding the hidden principles of the supreme Yuanyang scripture, explaining them to others, and inspiring beings enables one to recognize the principles and dispel thoughts of slandering the true Dharma. Only after turning away from evil and rebellious deeds can one attain the fruit of the supreme, true, and right Dao. This is the profound and secret meaning spoken of in the scripture.

This profound meaning also includes the following: although beings have no fixed, unchanging “self,” they will not thereby lose in the future the results brought about by karma. Although the faculties of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind perish with this body, the karmic force of good and evil does not disappear. Although there is a source of karma, no fixed agent who creates it can be found. Although there are exalted realms, there is no fixed person who “goes” to them. Although bondage occurs, no fixed person who is bound can be found. Although there are eons and the defilements of an eon, there is no eternally unchanging, independent “destroyer of the eon.” This is the meaning of the noble, profound, and hidden De of Yuanyang’s Dao teachings.

At that moment, Perfected One Yuanyang addressed the Celestial Worthy: “A moment ago, you spoke of the principle of ‘hearing a teaching one had never heard before.’ I find this difficult to understand. If the Dao exists, then its existence should be certain; if it does not, its nonexistence should be certain. Nonexistence should not give rise to existence, and existence should not turn into nonexistence. What I hear is called hearing; what I have not heard is called not hearing. How can one claim to hear something never heard before? If the Dao of the Celestial Worthy cannot be heard, then it has not been heard. If it has already been heard, one cannot say that it has not been heard. Once the Dao has been heard, how can one still say that one hears a Dao never heard before and sees a Dao never seen before?

“Consider someone traveling to a certain place: once there, they are no longer on their way; while still on their way, they have not yet arrived. Someone who has already been born cannot be said to be in the process of being born; one who has already heard cannot be said not to have heard. If ‘hearing without having heard’ is possible, then beings who have not yet given rise to the mind of the Dao should already possess that mind; those who have not yet attained corpse liberation—a Daoist form of release from the body—should already have attained it; and those who have not yet seen Dharma-nature should already have seen it. Since beings possess Dharma-nature from the beginning but have not yet understood it, how can this be called ‘hearing without having heard’? If the Perfected One understood the Dao in the past, from whom did he hear it? If he heard it, why say he had not heard it? If he had never heard it, why was he given the title Yuanyang? If one can see the supreme Dao without hearing this scripture, then all beings should also see the Dao without hearing it.”

The Celestial Worthy replied: “The body can sometimes be seen and sometimes not seen; sound, too, can sometimes be heard and sometimes not heard. The Dao of great transformation is neither form nor sound. How could it be measured by seeing and hearing?”

Perfected One Yuanyang then suddenly understood. He said: “The past has vanished and can no longer be heard; the future has not yet arrived and cannot be heard either. Even while hearing in the present, one cannot call it a fixed act of ‘hearing.’ Once a sound has passed, it can no longer be heard; nor does it belong to the past, future, or present. If it belongs to none of the three times, it cannot be fixed in words. And if it cannot be fixed in words, how can one say that a Perfected One who practices this Wondrous Scripture of Yuanyang hears a Dao never heard before?”

The Celestial Worthy joyfully praised Perfected One Yuanyang and the gathered assembly: “Well said! You have deeply understood the wondrous principle and reached the subtle, mysterious depths. All things are like illusions and transformations, wind, lightning, and bubbles; they are also like the hollow interior of a banana tree. There is no fixed subject of life or self, and no unchanging, real form.”

At that moment, a light suddenly appeared among the assembly and shone throughout the entire realm. The light was neither blue, yellow, white, nor black. On seeing it, everyone felt at ease in body and mind, as if they were practitioners who had just attained the fruit of the Dao for the first time.

Perfected One Yuanyang asked the Celestial Worthy: “Where does this light come from?” The Celestial Worthy remained silent. The Perfected One grew fearful and uneasy, bowed his head, made a respectful obeisance, and looked up at the Celestial Worthy, asking him to explain why the light shone upon the assembly. Many Daoists in the sky, immortals versed in the precepts, and hosts skilled in the dharani teachings also asked, but none received an answer.

Perfected One Yuanyang earnestly requested instruction, hoping the Celestial Worthy would guide later generations. The Celestial Worthy smiled and said: “This kind of light is called wisdom; wisdom is the true Dao. The true Dao does not arise from any particular cause or condition, so it is inappropriate to ask from what cause or condition it comes. This light is also called the Wondrous Dharma of Yuanyang, the Wisdom of Original Beginning, great kindness and compassion, and contemplating truth and keeping the Dao in mind. All of these names speak of the Dharma of the true Dao. The methods by which practitioners swallow essence and imbibe Qi, practice breathing, and take in and regulate vital energy may also be included within the true Dao. The Dharma of the true Dao does not arise from causes and conditions, so there is no need to ask what causes and conditions produced it. This light is the Lamp of the Dharma of the supreme Yuanyang.”

The Heavenly Venerable told the Perfected One, “Do not now understand the principles of the various teachings as something crude and defiled. In the worlds as numerous as the sands of the Ganges to the east, I have spoken of a place called Immovable. Its land is level and vast, without gravel or ravines. The ground is adorned with the Seven Treasures; trees grow in abundance, and flowers and fruit are always in season. When living beings smell the flowers, their bodies and minds become pure, and they understand the principles of the Great Vehicle, just as immortals realize the fruits of the Dao.

“There is also a great river there. Its waters are fragrant and sweet, and possess eight flavors. When living beings bathe in the river, their bodies and minds are purified and they understand the principles. Various flowers grow in the water, giving off many kinds of fragrance. When living beings smell their scent, they too become pure in body and mind, awaken, and understand the Dao. Though the land is home to countless tigers, wolves, lions, and fierce birds and beasts, they treat one another with the closeness of infants. The people there do no evil, slander neither the Dao nor its teachings, and commit no offenses such as defying their proper duties.

“The climate of that land is gentle and comfortable. There are no miasmas, epidemics, afflictions, greedy desires, or jealous people. There are no sun or moon, no day or night, and no changing seasons, as though it were the era of Longhan, the distant primordial cycle of calamity described in Daoism. The people are intelligent and upright, free of arrogance. Everyone can awaken to the Dao and possesses great merit. They honor the Correct Dharma, cultivate, cherish, contemplate, and protect the Great Vehicle. When their cultivation is complete, they attain the Great Dharani, the wisdom and capacity to gather in and uphold all teachings. Their hearts are always filled with compassion, and they pity all living beings.

“There is also a Perfected One of profound understanding named Radiant Wondrous Sound, who deeply comprehends the Orthodox Teaching of Original Yang. He is a guide who trains and instructs heavenly beings. Wherever he goes, he proclaims the teachings, and living beings can all hear him. He expounds this Great Vehicle Scripture to the assembly of utterly perfected great sages in the ten directions. Good men, if you and your retinues can cultivate the Wondrous Scripture of Original Yang of the Great Vehicle, you will hear the supreme essentials of the Dao, which you have never heard before.

“To the west of here, beyond twenty lands as numerous as the sands of the Ganges, lies a world called Great Hall. Its mountains rise and fall, and the land is strewn with gravel and thorns. The people often suffer from hunger and thirst, endure hardship in all four seasons, and have long known no peace. They are ignorant and unenlightened, do not honor the Correct Way, crave improper things, practice deviant teachings, and do not believe in the Correct Way. Therefore, their lives are short. They often deceive others and suffer punishment under the laws of the kingdom. Though the king rules a country, he is never content. He covets what belongs to others, wages war, and attacks other lands; many people die unjustly. The king promotes deviant teachings, displeasing the heavenly spirits. They send drought, crops fail, and the people go hungry and fall ill. The country is in turmoil.

“Perfected One of profound understanding Radiant Wondrous Sound pitied the living beings. Traveling through the worlds, he came to this land of famine and disease, where the people’s lives were unsettled. He manifested a fragrant forest of the Seven Treasures, a magnificent sight displaying all kinds of wondrous transformations. There, with the great sages who had attained the Dharani and the peerless immortals, he expounded the Wondrous Scripture of Original Yang, Supreme Grade. He awakened the living beings, opening their wisdom and leading them to take refuge in the supreme, true, and perfect Way. When the people of that land heard the scripture, they were astonished and puzzled, and exclaimed one after another, ‘Why have we suddenly heard a sage proclaim this wondrous scripture? Where has it come from? We are truly delighted—at last we have encountered the true Dao!’

“At that time, Perfected One of profound understanding Radiant Wondrous Sound came with seven thousand four hundred perfected immortals in his retinue. They carried banners and canopies, flowers and incense, as well as various musical instruments and implements for offerings. They arrived among the jeweled trees of the Qian Forest in the Land of Ultimate Bliss. With the items they had brought, they made offerings to the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, bowed their heads in homage, respectfully circled him three times to the left, and then withdrew to one side.

“The Celestial Worthy asked Perfected One of profound understanding Radiant Wondrous Sound and the good men gathered there, ‘Have you come from afar, or have you not come?’

“Perfected One Radiant Wondrous Sound replied, ‘To say that we have come is also to say that we have not come; to say that we have not come is also to say that we have not failed to come. When I examine this matter, I find no definite “coming.” Celestial Worthy, if conditioned phenomena were permanent, they would not come; if conditioned phenomena are impermanent, then no entity comes or goes. Only those who believe living beings have fixed natures speak of coming or not coming. I see no fixed, unchanging nature in living beings. How, then, can one speak of coming or not coming?

‘Those who harbor disdain see coming and going; those who harbor no disdain do not cling to coming and going. Those who grasp at the appearance of cultivation see coming and going; those who do not grasp at it do not cling to coming and going. If one believes a Perfected One has fully realized the supreme Dao, one speaks of coming and going; if one does not believe this, one speaks of no coming and going. Those who do not understand the nature of the Dao cling to coming and going; those who understand it do not. Those who are doubtful and have little cultivation cling to coming and going; those without doubt do not. If one regards a Perfected One as lacking permanence, bliss, self, and purity, one speaks of coming and going; if one realizes that a Perfected One possesses permanence, bliss, self, and purity, one does not cling to coming and going.

‘Celestial Worthy, let me set these matters aside. I have questions to ask you, and I ask you in your compassion to grant me permission.’

“The Celestial Worthy said, ‘Good man, ask whatever you wish. Now is the right time. I will explain each point in turn so that you may resolve your doubts. The principles of the teachings are difficult to perceive. It takes a thousand years of karmic conditions to have the chance to encounter the numinous writings of the Three Pure Ones and the Seven Divisions. How could such an encounter be easy? You should strive diligently and listen with full attention.’

“Perfected One Radiant Wondrous Sound, Perfected One Original Yang, and the others received the Celestial Worthy’s permission and instruction, and asked, ‘How should a Perfected One cultivate the Supreme Grade of Original Yang in order to hear teachings never heard before?’

“The Celestial Worthy replied, ‘Excellent, excellent! Good men, you uphold the Wondrous Scripture of Original Yang, and now you have met me to explain it to you. If you have difficult questions, I am the great physician king and can analyze your profound doubts. If you still do not understand the nature of the Dao, I have a lamp of the Dharma that can shine light for you. If you wish to cross the great river of afflictions, I can be your boat and oars. You regard me as your parents, and I regard you as my infants. Now you long for the treasure of the Correct Dharma. Listen carefully, listen carefully, and reflect well. I will reveal it to you in turn, so that your doubts will end.

‘Perfected Ones, good men, if you wish to hear the teachings, now is the right time. After hearing the Correct Dharma, you should recite it with reverence and sincerity, and honor the Correct Dharma. Do not look for faults in the one who teaches it. Do not let greed, anger, or delusion fill your thoughts, and do not use having seen the teacher with your own eyes as an excuse to indulge in evil deeds. After hearing the scripture, do not treat it lightly. Do not seek the teachings for fame or gain; regard them as the nectar and medicine that save the world. Do not feel aversion or attachment, and do not give rise to doubt.

‘After hearing the teachings, first save yourselves, then help others; first awaken yourselves, then awaken others; first bring yourselves to rest, then bring others to rest. When cultivating the Dao, keep right mindfulness and recognize the great suffering of birth and death. Seek the Great Vehicle, and do not fall into narrow views. Do not cling to any of the teachings, and do not hold fast to their various forms. Do not covet the teachings, but always keep in mind the understanding and seeing of the teachings. Good men, you must diligently recite this scripture if you are to leave the sea of suffering of birth and death forever and reach the shore of compassion. You should honor and follow it without doubt.’

“Perfected One Radiant Wondrous Sound bowed to the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning and asked, ‘If a defiled teaching, one still subject to affliction and the effects of karma, arises, is this arising permanent or impermanent? If arising is permanent, defiled teachings should not arise again. If arising is impermanent, then defiled teachings would seem to be permanent. Celestial Worthy, if arising can occur by itself, yet arising itself has no independent nature, and if it can cause other things to arise, why can it not also cause undefiled teachings, which are free from the bonds of affliction, to arise? If arising already exists before a thing is born, why do we call it “arising” only now? If arising does not exist before a thing is born, why do we not say that space also arises?’

“The Celestial Worthy said to the assembly, ‘Excellent, excellent! Good men, you have deeply understood the characteristics of the teachings and penetrated the source of the Dao. What does not arise yet arises cannot be called arising. What has already arisen cannot be said to possess an independent arising. What does not arise cannot be called “the arising of non-arising.” Why? Because of what is attained through cultivating the Dao.

‘Why can arising not be spoken of? Because it has no independent arising. Why can non-arising not be spoken of? Because something is realized. Why, then, speak of causes? Because there are causal conditions. Therefore, one may also speak of the ten causal conditions as causes of arising. In keeping with this principle, one may still speak of “arising.”

‘Good men, do not enter a state of emptiness that is too profound, for the capacities of the assembly are not yet sufficiently keen. Conditioned phenomena, which are made and changed through causal conditions, may be called permanent in terms of the nature of their arising, yet impermanent in terms of their abiding and changing. Arising itself is impermanent, while abiding may also be called permanent. But because arising follows arising in succession, abiding too changes. Once something passes from its original state to destruction, it is likewise impermanent. Good men, from the standpoint of its nature, arising seems permanent; yet because it ceases in every moment, it cannot be called permanent. The true and correct Dao removes these attachments, and for this reason is called impermanent.

‘Good men, before a defiled teaching arises, it already has the capacity to arise, so when causal conditions come together, it can arise. Undefiled teachings do not originally possess this capacity for arising, so they cannot arise in this way. It is like fire, which has the nature of burning and will blaze when conditions are present; or like the eyes, which have the capacity to see, and whose vision appears when they meet forms, enabling them to see living beings. The arising of all things is the same: because they possess the capacity to arise, they are born when the corresponding conditions come together and their parents unite.’

“After Perfected One Radiant Wondrous Sound, Perfected One Original Yang, and the assembly of seventy-four million people had heard this scripture, their hearts filled with joy. With reverence and diligence, they bowed their heads in homage, held jade tablets in their hands, and together addressed the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning: ‘Thanks to your instruction and explanation, we have begun to understand the hidden treasury of Original Yang and have heard teachings never heard before. You have also enabled the seventy-four million people in this assembly to understand deeply the principles of the teachings, such as “not arising yet arising.” Celestial Worthy, our doubts have been cleared. One Perfected One in the assembly, named True Settled Light, still wishes to ask you something. We beg you to grant permission.’

“The Celestial Worthy said to True Settled Light, ‘Good man, ask whatever you wish. I will explain each point to you.’

“True Settled Light and his disciples rose together, straightened their robes, knelt upright, and bowed their heads before asking the Celestial Worthy, ‘What karma must the living beings of this land create in order to be reborn in the world of Immovable? How can the Perfected Ones there gain wisdom, become honored among people, possess great power and virtue, cultivate all kinds of practices, and have keen, swift intelligence so that they understand a teaching as soon as they hear it?’ The Celestial Worthy then spoke in verse:”

All beings possess an innate nature that leads to the Great Dao. Those who accept and practice this wondrous scripture can enter a state of lasting bliss, purity, and stillness. Give generously to all beings and help those who are poor or ill. Dispel doubts in the heart, bringing the mind to peace and clarity. Keep the Yuanyang Jing in mind and recite it morning and evening, persevering without fail. In this way, one can freely leave the dusty world beneath the Nine Heavens and wander to the realm of the Eight Rightnesses, the pure realm signified by the right path.

Good spirits will protect practitioners, and the Heavenly Perfected—the true immortals of the celestial realms—will appear with them in radiance. Practitioners can escape the Three Calamities and transcend the Nine Unforeseen Misfortunes. Those who copy and uphold the scripture should practice diligently. The Celestial Worthy takes pity on devout men and women, granting them the full span of their allotted years. Through cycles of rebirth, they will at last become exalted Perfected Ones and, through wholesome connections, encounter the worthy and the sages. By understanding suffering and emptiness—the truth of suffering and the impermanence and lack of inherent nature in all things—one can forever put an end to the restless pursuit of gain and rivalry.

After the Celestial Worthy had finished reciting this verse, everyone present came to understand. Their hearts were free of doubt and obstruction.

Then the Perfected One of Primordial Yang, Zhen Dingguang, reported to the Celestial Worthy: “I now understand what kinds of actions create the causes that lead people to be born in that realm. I also understand how the noble beings of Primordial Yang cherish compassion for all living beings. The wondrous teaching the Celestial Worthy has just explained can bring benefit and peace to beings in the human and heavenly realms.”

The Celestial Worthy said to the Perfected One of Primordial Yang: “Well said, good man. You are compassionate toward all living beings. I will now explain, one by one, the matters you asked about. Some conditions are called ‘not yet arrived and not arriving’; some are called ‘not arriving yet arriving’; and some are called ‘arriving.’

“What is meant by ‘not yet arrived and not arriving’? The noble beings of Primordial Yang are beyond the reach of ordinary people. Ordinary people have greed, anger, and delusion; their actions of body, speech, and mind are impure. They also accept impure things, commit the grave offenses of the five acts of rebellion, and slander the true and good teachings. For these reasons, they do not reach that realm.

“What is meant by ‘not arriving yet arriving’? It means being free of greed, anger, and delusion, and of evil conduct in body and speech; refusing impure things; committing none of the four grave offenses; not slandering the Supreme Way; harboring no crooked or doubtful thoughts; and committing none of the five acts of rebellion. When these conditions are present, this is called ‘arriving without having arrived.’

“Why, then, is it also called ‘arriving without having arrived’? Here, ‘arriving’ refers to the twenty-five realms of existence in which beings cycle through rebirth. All beings are obscured by immeasurable afflictions and entanglements of mind. They pass back and forth among these realms without release, like a wheel turning without pause. This is called ‘arriving.’ Manifesting in these realms to save living beings is also called ‘arriving.’

“What is meant by ‘arriving and arriving’? Here, too, ‘arriving’ refers to the twenty-five realms of existence. Ordinary people cycle through them because of afflictions, so this is called ‘arriving and arriving.’ A similar pattern applies to hearing what is ordinarily unheard: there is ‘hearing without having heard,’ as well as ‘not hearing’ and ‘hearing what has been heard.’ In ‘hearing without having heard,’ ‘not heard’ refers to the Great Primordial Yang. It is not something made through deliberate action; it is not a sound and cannot be expressed in words. That is why it is called ‘not heard.’ Yet people can hear its name and hear the words ‘constancy, bliss, self, and purity.’ That is why this is called ‘hearing without having heard.’”

The Perfected One of Primordial Yang and those gathered there paid their respects to the Celestial Worthy. Kneeling, they said: “The noble beings of Primordial Yang described by the Celestial Worthy are an unfathomable, secret reality that cannot be heard. Why, then, do you say that ‘constancy, bliss, self, and purity’ are present in it, as though they could be heard? Only when all afflictions have been ended can one be called a noble being of Primordial Yang; if they have not been ended, one has not yet attained it. By this reasoning, the noble beings of Primordial Yang seem to have been nonexistent before and to have come into existence only now. In the world, anything that did not exist before but came to exist later is called impermanent. For example, we did not exist at first and came into existence later; since we exist, we will eventually disappear. Thus we are impermanent. If the noble beings of Primordial Yang are like this, why do you say they are constant, blissful, self, and pure?

“Moreover, anything brought about through conditions and adornment is called impermanent. If the noble beings of Primordial Yang are also brought about through conditions, they should be impermanent. The thirty-six honored scriptures, the secret treasury of the Three Pure Ones, the seven books of truth, and the like all come about through various conditions. It seems that everything that exists is impermanent. The many wondrous scriptures the Celestial Worthy taught before the beginning also undergo change, and are therefore called impermanent. Things that can be seen are also called impermanent. The Celestial Worthy once said that cultivating the noble beings of Primordial Yang can end all afflictions. This seems to mean that they come into existence only through cultivation.

“Consider the empty sky: it obstructs no living being, so it is called constant. If the noble beings of Primordial Yang are also constant, why do some attain them while others do not? If they do not belong equally to all living beings, they should not be called constant. Again, suppose a hundred people all hate one enemy. Once they kill that enemy, they can all be happy. If the noble beings of Primordial Yang are a teaching shared equally, then when one person attains them, everyone else should attain them too; when one person ends their afflictions, everyone else should end theirs at the same time. If this is not so, how can they be called constant? A person may honor the Three Treasures, make offerings to the scriptures, and praise them without tiring; in this way, kings, princes, parents, and teachers receive offerings and benefit. This, too, cannot be called constant. If one must respectfully read and recite this scripture in order to end afflictions and gain immeasurable bliss through the noble beings of Primordial Yang, they too seem unable to be called constant. Celestial Worthy, if ‘constancy, bliss, self, and purity’ are names that apply to Primordial Yang, then it cannot be truly constant. If they do not apply, how can you speak of them in this way?”

The Celestial Worthy said to the Perfected One of Understanding: “The essential nature of Primordial Yang did not fail to exist before and then come into existence later. If it had come into existence later, it would not be an untainted and everlasting reality. Whether or not anyone cultivates the Way, its nature and characteristics remain constant. Living beings are obscured by afflictions and do not study the true Way, so they believe Primordial Yang does not exist. When perfected ones diligently cultivate their minds through precepts, meditative stillness, and wisdom, they can end their afflictions and see it. You should understand that the true Way is everlasting; it did not arise from nonexistence. That is why it is called constant.

“Good man, imagine a dark room containing many kinds of treasure. People know the treasures are there, but cannot see them in the darkness. A wise person knows a skillful way to help: they light a lamp and bring it in. Once the room is illuminated, everyone can see the treasures. Those who see them do not therefore think the treasures were nonexistent before and have only now come into being. The true Way is like this. It has existed all along and has not just appeared now. Living beings cannot see it because they are covered by the darkness of affliction. Greatly wise perfected ones skillfully use methods to kindle the lamp of wisdom, enabling everyone to see the true Way and its constancy, bliss, self, and purity. Therefore, the wise should not say that the true Way did not exist before and has only now come into being.

“You say that the true Way must be brought to completion through adornment and cultivation, and is therefore impermanent. This, too, is mistaken. The true Way’s essential nature neither arises nor ceases, and cannot be fashioned. It is not a defiled or conditioned thing. It is not an object heard by the ear or seen by the eye; it does not fall within birth and death, nor is its foundation characterized by difference or sameness, coming or going, cause or effect. Therefore, the true Way remains constant and unchanging. Only after cultivating good deeds for immeasurable eons to adorn themselves can living beings understand and clearly see it.

“Imagine sweet water beneath the earth. Living beings may not be able to reach it directly, but a wise person can dig diligently and draw the water up. The true Way is like this. Or imagine a blind person who cannot see the sun or moon. A skilled physician heals their eyes, and they are then able to see. The sun and moon did not come into existence at that moment. The true Way is like this, too: it has existed all along and did not first appear today. Again, imagine someone who commits a crime and is imprisoned. After a long time, they are released and return home to see their family. The true Way is like this as well.”

The Celestial Worthy continued: “You believe that, since the true Way depends on causes and conditions, it must be impermanent. This, too, is mistaken. There are five kinds of causes and conditions: first, the generating cause; second, the combining cause; third, the sustaining cause; fourth, the growth cause; and fifth, the remote cause.

“The generating cause brings things into being, as with various afflictions and doubts, or the seeds of plants and trees. The combining cause brings things together in a corresponding way: good thoughts combine with a good mind, evil thoughts with an evil mind, and neutral thoughts with a neutral mind. The sustaining cause enables something to remain in place. A house does not collapse because it has supports beneath it; mountains, rivers, and trees stand upon the earth. A living being’s body is made up of the four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind—and is also sustained under the influence of afflictions. The growth cause makes things grow. Food and utensils can nourish living beings; seeds can keep growing if they are not burned by fire or eaten by birds. Daoist practitioners and the four assemblies of men and women grow through the support of perfected ones and those who nurture them; children grow through their parents. The remote cause is one that can bring about a result despite being far removed from it. For example, the Celestial Worthy taught this scripture in the past, planting conditions for beings in the future and helping them dispel their doubts. The vital energies of parents and changes in the seasons can also be called remote causes.

“The true Way’s essential nature is not produced by these five causes and conditions. How, then, can you say that it arises from conditions and is therefore impermanent?

“Moreover, there are two kinds of causes: the making cause and the revealing cause. The making cause produces something, as when a potter uses a potter’s wheel and a cord to make a vessel. The revealing cause makes something that already exists become evident, as when a lamp illuminates objects in a dark place. The Scripture of the Noble Beings of Primordial Yang does not come into existence through a making cause; it has only a revealing cause. A revealing cause means understanding the profound meaning of the Supreme Primordial Yang. The scripture becomes a great boat, a great bridge, and an important condition for beings in later generations. It also becomes a vast field of merit, through which everyone present can attain the supreme, true, and perfect Way.”

The Perfected One Guang Miaoyin of Primordial Yang and Understanding paid his respects to the Celestial Worthy and said: “We are grateful for the Celestial Worthy’s teaching. By guiding living beings in many ways, instructing them carefully, and explaining the principles, you have filled us with joy. Yet my old doubts have not entirely vanished. I dare not let fear of my own limited understanding keep me from troubling the Celestial Worthy, so I bow and ask: What virtuous deeds should living beings cultivate to be free of hardship? What should they give in alms to gain abundance? What field of merit should they nurture to prosper? What aspiration should they make to attain the true Way?”

The Celestial Worthy said: “Imagine someone planting a tree in order to gain its shade, flowers and fruit, and wood. If practitioners devote themselves to their work, reflect in silence, and contemplate deeply, they will naturally cultivate abundant merit: giving to the poor, cherishing living beings, treating all things with kindness, not begrudging their treasures, and devoting themselves wholeheartedly to the Way. Through such practice, they can deeply understand the wondrous teachings, attain the true Way, and help living beings end the obstacles of karma.

“Good man, imagine someone who falls into the sea and escapes drowning by clinging to a corpse. A perfected one who cultivates the Supreme Way and practices giving is like this: through giving, they find salvation. Or imagine someone confined in a deep prison, with strong doors and windows, who escapes through a small opening in the latrine and reaches a place without obstruction. A perfected one who cultivates the Way and practices giving can escape hardship in the same way. Or imagine a noble person overwhelmed by danger and fear, with no one to rely on, who resolves to hold the Scripture of Primordial Yang in mind and so finds safety. A perfected one who cultivates the Way and practices giving does likewise.

“Good man, everyone present should understand that the secret treasury of Primordial Yang is the supreme, true, and perfect Way. If you practice in accordance with the scripture, sincerely hold it in mind morning and evening, establish a separate sanctuary or meditation chamber in your home, burn incense and make offerings, and persevere year after year without turning back, then your sincerity will bring its natural reward. In this life, you will be freed from hardship, danger, and affliction.”

The Perfected One of Primordial Yang and the seven thousand four hundred million divine immortals and their retinues present praised the Celestial Worthy’s words and composed a verse.

The substance of the True Dao is wondrous beyond measure, and its highest methods are profound and mysterious. Its mysteries appear in the Ziwei Palace, their radiance illuminating the Great Luo Heaven. The learned cultivators of the Mysterious Capital are pure, still, and empty; they are always in harmony with nature. Riding celestial swans, they roam the blue heavens; mounted on phoenixes, they pass through the azure clouds.

They pay court to the Great Sage at the Golden Gate and meet the worthy and wise at the Jade Portal. At the time of Primordial Yang, people from all four quarters happen upon this auspicious encounter. The Three Pure Ones have already revealed the truths hidden deep within, and the seven collections of scriptures have been passed down. In this way, people can resolve the doubts in their hearts and understand the causes of their former worries and vexations. All virtuous men can purify body and mind, cultivating themselves as one tends a field. They roam freely along the righteous ways in all four directions and ascend, unrestrained and at ease, to the summit of Jiuhua. Flute music carries beyond the clouds, while sacred chants travel farther than the wind. Now that the time has come for the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning to spread his teachings, there is no need to envy the years of the era of the August Sovereign.

The Teacher of Heaven and Humanity subdues and instructs living beings. He helps me sever the entanglements of affection and attachment, dispel every kind of doubt, and let go of anger and ignorance. People from all four quarters bow their heads in reverence and offer their thanks to the Great Immortal. Having received your instruction and deliverance today, may you always look upon us with great compassion.

After the Perfected of Primordial Yang had finished reciting the verse of praise to those present, they all bowed reverently and departed.

End of Scroll Nine of the Supreme Lord’s Wondrous Scripture of Primordial Yang of the Numinous Treasure.

Scroll Ten of the Supreme Lord’s Wondrous Scripture of Primordial Yang of the Numinous Treasure

Chapter on Ascending to the Great Luo Heaven

Here is what I heard.

Once, the Heavenly Venerable was in the Yuan Yang Palace, beneath a fanhua tree in the kingdom of Pu Lin. Gathered there with him were millions of people: great sages, perfected beings, seekers of the immortal Way, and officials, men and women alike. They surrounded the Heavenly Venerable on every side.

At that time, the Heavenly Venerable was scheduled to ascend to the Upper Palace of Great Luo on the seventh day of the seventh month. He settled his mind and entered meditation. Displaying his numinous power, he sent out rays of light in many colors—blue, yellow, red, white, and others. They illuminated the three thousand great thousand worlds, reaching to the farthest bounds of the empty space in the ten directions. When the beings of the six realms of rebirth—heaven, the human realm, asuras, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings—encountered this light, the four kinds of defilement and affliction were all dispelled.

Seeing these wonders, the beings felt grief and sorrow and wept together. They urged one another, “Let us hold back our grief for now and not give way to despair. We should hurry to the Yuan Yang Palace to see the Heavenly Venerable.” When they arrived before him, they touched their heads to the ground and bowed in supplication, asking him not to go to the Upper Palace of Great Luo. They begged him to remain in the Yuan Yang Palace, even if only for a hundred or a thousand years.

Holding one another by the hand, they said, “The world is about to be emptied, the blessings of living beings are running out, and unwholesome deeds are increasing. We must hurry to see the Heavenly Venerable, for he will soon depart. Once he is far away, we will have no one to protect or rely on. We will be alone and destitute; when doubts arise, whom can we ask for guidance?”

Many great sages, perfected beings, Daoist practitioners, officials and functionaries, men and women alike, as well as faithful laymen and women who practiced the Way and kept its precepts, saw the Heavenly Venerable’s radiance. Their bodies trembled and they could scarcely contain themselves; their minds grew confused, and they felt dazed and unsettled.

At that time, the Perfected Ones Songling, Guangmiao, Yuluo, and hundreds of thousands of others were inwardly at ease. Their practice was complete, they had left afflictions behind, and they had brought their bodies, minds, and senses under control. They were like dragon kings endowed with majestic virtue. They had realized the wisdom of emptiness, gained the benefits of their own practice, and acquired many kinds of merit. All this was the accomplishment of the Heavenly Venerable’s disciples.

At sunrise, the disciples left their places of residence carrying incense burners. When they saw the Heavenly Venerable’s radiance, they said to one another, “We should hurry to rinse and cleanse ourselves.” As soon as they said this, their hair stood on end and they could scarcely contain themselves. Tears filled their eyes, and sorrow filled their hearts. To benefit and bring ease to living beings, complete the first practice of the Great Vehicle—the cultivation of emptiness through wisdom—make the Great Way manifest, apply skillful and profound teachings without allowing the many teachings to fall into disuse, and guide living beings, they hurried to the Heavenly Venerable. They prostrated themselves at his feet, circumambulated him a hundred times, paid their respects, and sat to one side.

There were also Daoist practitioners, male and female officials, male and female functionaries, the leaders of the twenty-four offices and their followers—hundreds of thousands of people in all—whose afflictions had ended, whose hearts were at ease, and whose practice was complete. At sunrise, they too saw the radiance. Their hair stood on end, tears streamed down their faces, and grief filled their hearts. They likewise hurried to the Heavenly Venerable to benefit and bring ease to living beings, complete the Great Vehicle’s practice of emptiness, make the Great Way manifest, teach skillful methods, and keep the many teachings alive. They bowed their heads at his feet, circumambulated him hundreds of thousands of times, paid their respects, and sat to one side.

There were also “dragons among humanity” who had attained the Ten Stages, the levels of bodhisattva practice. They remained unmoving, yet skillfully manifested themselves in many forms. Foremost among them were the Great King, the Perfected One Naxian, the Perfected One Jueli, the Perfected One Zuisheng, the Perfected One Miaosi, and the Perfected One Dahui. They honored the Great Vehicle and abided in it; they understood it deeply and delighted in practicing it. They also guarded its teachings and skillfully adapted to the ways of the world. They vowed, “We will bring across to liberation all living beings who have not yet been liberated.”

Throughout innumerable eons in the past, these people had cultivated pure precepts and lived by them. They helped those who did not yet understand to grasp the Way, keeping the transmission of the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the teachers—unbroken. They would turn the wheel of the Dharma by proclaiming the teachings. Adorned with vast and splendid merit, they had cultivated immeasurable virtue and regarded all living beings equally, as their own children. At sunrise, when they saw the Heavenly Venerable’s radiance, their hair too stood on end, tears streamed down their faces, and grief filled their hearts. To benefit and bring ease to living beings, they hurried to the Heavenly Venerable, bowed their heads, circumambulated him hundreds of thousands of times, paid their respects, and sat down.

There were also many faithful laymen and women who kept the Five Precepts and conducted themselves with dignity. Foremost among them were Weide, Ganji, Yuanyou, Dong Shuangcheng, Xu Feiqiong, and Wanlinghua. They examined closely the many teachings used to counter attachment: suffering and pleasure, permanence and purity, self and no-self, truth and falsehood, what should be taken as refuge and what should not, living beings and non-beings, constancy and impermanence, security and insecurity, conditioned and unconditioned things, cessation and non-cessation, and what is constant and what is not. They delighted in hearing the unsurpassed Great Vehicle, and after hearing it, they could teach it to others. They kept pure precepts and aspired to the Great Vehicle, satisfying their own desire to seek the teachings while helping others who sought them. They were skilled at taking up unsurpassed wisdom; they loved and protected the Great Vehicle and adapted to the ways of the world. They helped those who had not yet been liberated or who did not yet understand, kept the transmission of the Three Treasures alive, and would in time turn the wheel of the Dharma. They adorned themselves with vast merit, took joy in pure observance of the precepts, and cultivated many kinds of virtue. They held great compassion for living beings, treating all alike as their own children.

At sunrise, to adorn the Daoist teachings, everyone brought ten thousand bundles of fragrant wood, including sandalwood, aloeswood, cow-head sandalwood, and heavenly incense wood. The grain and every knot in each piece shone with the wondrous light of the Seven Treasures, as though painted with five-colored designs. Through the power of the Dao, the wood appeared in pleasing shades of blue, yellow, red, white, and other colors. It was smeared with turmeric incense, aloeswood incense, resin incense, and other fragrances, then decorated with assorted flowers and jeweled lotuses. Soft, fine banners in five colors hung from it, like heavenly garments and brocades. The fragrant wood was loaded onto jeweled carts that shone blue, yellow, red, white, and other colors. The shafts and wheels were inlaid with the Seven Treasures. Each cart was drawn by four fine horses that galloped like the wind. Fifty wondrous standards made of the Seven Treasures stood before each cart, covered with nets of pure gold. Each cart also bore fifty exquisite jeweled canopies adorned with blue, white, and red lotuses, golden lotuses, and dark blue lotuses. Their petals were made entirely of pure gold, their centers ornamented with diamond, and black bees flitted and played among the flower seats.

The carts also gave forth wondrous sounds, proclaiming impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and no-self, and telling of the deeds of perfected beings who had cultivated the Way in ages past. There was also singing and dancing, accompanied by zithers, flutes, harps, panpipes, se, and drums. Amid the music came cries of “Suffering, suffering! The world is about to be emptied!” Before each cart, a good man carried a table made of the Four Treasures, holding assorted fresh flowers, turmeric incense, and other fine fragrances.

Faithful laymen and women, young and old, each did their utmost to prepare food and drink for the Heavenly Venerable and his disciples. The provisions were complete. They cooked with sandalwood and aloeswood for fuel, using water infused with eight flavors. The food was fragrant and delicious, with six tastes—bitter, sour, sweet, pungent, salty, and bland—and three qualities: light, soft, and pure in accordance with the Way.

After making all kinds of splendid arrangements, the people came to the Yuan Yang Palace and covered the ground in gold, laying colored silks and garments over it and setting jeweled canopies above. The entire palace was carefully arranged. They placed lion thrones made of the Seven Treasures for the Heavenly Venerable and his disciples, each as lofty as Mount Yu Jing. Jeweled canopies were set over the thrones, with necklaces and banners hanging from them. The seats were anointed with various fragrances, and precious fresh flowers were scattered among them.

The faithful laymen and women thought, “If living beings need food, clothing, or even a body, a head, eyes, or limbs, we should give them whatever they need.” When they gave, they harbored no greed, anger, impurity, or malice, nor did they seek worldly happiness and blessings. They sought only the unsurpassed pure precepts. Though they abided in the Way of the perfected beings, they also thought that once the Heavenly Venerable had accepted the offerings, he would leave for the upper realm of Great Luo and depart from them. Their hair stood on end, tears streamed down their faces, and they were overcome with grief.

Carrying their offerings, they traveled by cart to the Heavenly Venerable’s residence and presented him with fragrant wood, standards, canopies, and food. They then circumambulated him a hundred times and wept aloud. Their cries shook heaven and earth, and their tears fell like rain. They said to one another, “How sorrowful, O compassionate one! The world is about to be emptied!” Some threw themselves down before the Heavenly Venerable and said, “We beg you, Heavenly Venerable, show great compassion and pity us. Accept our offerings and our confession, and dispel the wrongs we have committed in the past. Since beginningless time, through hundreds of thousands of eons and countless rounds of birth and death, we have been bound by the fetters of the six desires and the five aggregates. We have known only craving, stinginess, and the making of transgressions; we have not understood the Great Vehicle. Now, through the light and power of the Heavenly Venerable’s Great Vehicle, each of us reproaches ourselves.”

They contemplated their own bodies and said, “The body is like four poisonous snakes gathered together. Countless worms are always gnawing at it. It is filthy and foul, bound by desire, loathsome like a dead dog, with filth constantly flowing from its nine orifices. The body is like a city: flesh, blood, sinews, bones, and skin wrap around it; the hands and feet are its defenses; the eyes are its lookout holes; the head is its palace, and the king of consciousness dwells within. Good and kind perfected immortals abandon this city of the body, while foolish and ordinary people remain attached to it. Evil thoughts such as greed, anger, and delusion dwell within it like rakshasas.

“This body is not sturdy. It is like a reed, an ilan tree, water foam, or a plantain trunk. It is impermanent and does not endure; it changes from moment to moment like lightning, bubbles, and illusions. It is like drawing on water: the lines close up as soon as they are made. It is easily destroyed, like a tree beside a riverbank at the edge of a steep drop. Before long it will be devoured by foxes, wolves, owls, vultures, crows, and hungry dogs. The body is impermanent, impure, and foul-smelling, with more defects than can be counted. We should therefore cast off attachment to it, as one spits out saliva.”

Thus the male and female faithful cultivated their minds through the three gateways of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. They delighted in asking about and receiving the scriptures of the Great Vehicle, and after hearing them, they could teach them to others. They guarded their own vows, abhorred the body’s many faults, and constantly practiced right contemplation to break through the boundless cycle of birth and death. They aspired to the Great Vehicle, satisfying their own desire to seek the teachings while helping others who sought them. They delighted in practicing and protecting the Great Vehicle. Though they appeared in this kind of body, their true nature belonged to the company of perfected immortals. They were skilled at adapting to the ways of the world and helped those who had not yet been liberated or who did not yet understand. They kept the transmission of the Three Treasures alive and would in time turn the wheel of the Dharma. They adorned themselves with merit, held fast to the precepts, and cultivated many kinds of virtue. Toward all living beings they held equal and impartial great compassion, regarding them as their own children.

The people made a shared vow: “We beg the Heavenly Venerable to accept our offerings and our confession, remain in the human world for a long time, guide and save living beings, and teach the scriptures so that we may gain the benefit of the Dharma. Please do not abandon us and go to the upper realm. If parents leave before their children have grown up, the children are left without care, alone and destitute. If the Heavenly Venerable returns to the upper realm and leaves us, the same will happen to us. We beg you to remain in the world for a while, complete the various teachings, and protect us.” As they wept and pleaded, their sobbing did not cease, and their eyes brimmed with tears.

Then the Heavenly Venerable sent forth many kinds of light from his face, illuminating the assembly. Seeing this, the people recognized it as an auspicious sign and told one another, “The Heavenly Venerable has shown such an omen; he must soon return to the upper realm. Everyone should present their offerings to the Heavenly Venerable and the assembly.” The Perfected One Songling and the others knew that the Heavenly Venerable’s radiance had appeared for a reason, and they remained silent for a long time.

The Heavenly Venerable said to the Perfected One Songling, “You are making offerings to the Heavenly Venerable and the assembly. Now is the time. I will soon return to the upper realm.” He said this twice, then a third time. On hearing him, the Perfected One Songling and the others wept aloud and cried out between sobs, “How sorrowful, how sorrowful! The world is about to be emptied!” They then said to the assembly, “We should all prostrate ourselves together now and, with one voice, ask the Heavenly Venerable to remain in the human world for a while and protect us. We beg him not to abandon us and return to the upper realm.”

The Heavenly Venerable said to the Perfected One Songling and the others, “Do not weep loudly and disturb your minds. You should contemplate the body: it is like a plantain trunk, a mirage in the heat, a bubble, an illusion, a city of the gandharvas—a phantom city that appears in the sky and vanishes in an instant—a broken vessel, lightning, a picture drawn on water, a prisoner awaiting execution, a ripe fruit, or meat tossed up and down in a stone mortar. You should also contemplate all things fashioned through causes and conditions: they are like food mixed with poison. Conditioned things, brought into being through causes and conditions, are subject to many faults.”

The Perfected One Songling again said to the Heavenly Venerable, “The Heavenly Venerable will soon leave the human world. How can we keep from weeping? How sorrowful, how sorrowful! The world is about to be emptied! We beg the Heavenly Venerable to pity us and all living beings, remain in the lower realm for a long time, and not return to the upper realm.”

The Heavenly Venerable told the Perfected One Songling, “You should not ask me to remain in the human world for a long time out of pity for me. It is precisely because I pity you and all living beings that I am returning to the upper realm today. Why? This is the law that governs the honored ones, and conditioned things are like this as well.” Then the Heavenly Venerable spoke this verse:

All things brought about through causes and conditions are by nature subject to change. Once they arise, they do not remain for long; returning to quiescence is peace.

“Songling, Perfected One, why do I say this? The principles of the venerable deities are so, and all things brought about through causes and conditions are the same. Therefore, the Celestial Worthy spoke this verse:

“All things brought about through causes and conditions are by nature subject to change. Once they arise, they do not remain for long; returning to quiescence is peace.

“Perfected One Songling, you should now contemplate all things that arise: no phenomenon has a self that is constant and unchanging. Things are impermanent and cannot remain for long. This body is beset by countless faults, like a bubble on water, so you should not weep.”

At that time, Songling again addressed the Celestial Worthy: “Indeed, it is as the Venerable One has taught. Although we know that the Celestial Worthy is appearing through skillful means and preparing to return to the realm above, leaving us behind, we cannot help but grieve. Yet when we reflect on this ourselves, joy arises.”

The Celestial Worthy praised Songling, saying: “Well said, well said! You understand that the Celestial Worthy appears like other sentient beings in order to teach through skillful means. The comings and goings of all phenomena are like illusions; the great sage dwells among them, using the power of skillful means without being tainted by them. Why? All acts of teaching sentient beings should bring benefit in ways suited to each place. To save sentient beings from the sufferings of birth, aging, illness, and death, and enable them in the end to attain an unmoving fruition—a stable, irreversible result of cultivation—and enjoy lasting peace. Why? Because I am a fertile field in which sentient beings can accumulate merit. If you, too, wish to become a field of merit for sentient beings, you should quickly prepare what is needed for the offering. Do not delay.”

At that time, wishing to help sentient beings attain deliverance, Songling bowed his head and, with tears in his eyes, addressed the Celestial Worthy: “Well said, well said! If I can take on the role of a field of merit for sentient beings, then I will be able to know whether the Celestial Worthy is indeed returning to the realm above or not. We, together with the Perfected Ones and Immortals, are like mosquitoes and gnats; we truly cannot fathom whether the Celestial Worthy is returning to the realm above.”

Then Perfected One Songling and his disciples grieved and wept. They circled the Celestial Worthy, burned incense, scattered flowers, and served him with wholehearted reverence. Afterward, they rose from their seats and departed with the other Perfected Ones to prepare food for the offering.

After Songling departed, the Divine Continent of Chixian—the legendary human realm—and the worlds throughout the Three Realms shook violently. All sentient beings heard, saw, and sensed that the Celestial Worthy was about to return to the realm above; therefore, the earth shook. When sentient beings throughout the Three Realms heard these words, their hair stood on end. They all wept together and spoke this verse:

The assembly bowed to the Master Who Tames and Guides, the revered one who guides living beings and brings their minds under control, and said, “We now earnestly beg you to stay. If you leave us ordinary people and those who cultivate immortality, we will never again receive your protection and deliverance.

“Now that you are returning to the upper realm, we remain sunk in the sea of suffering, grieving and distressed, like calves bereft of their mothers—lonely, helpless, and beyond anyone’s aid. We are also like people gravely ill with no physician, left to decide for ourselves and eat what we should not.

“The afflictions of living beings are like illnesses, and they are often harmed by all manner of mistaken views. Far from the Dharma Physician King, the revered one who heals living beings through the true Dharma, they take the poison of false views. Therefore, Great Sage Immortal, you must not abandon us.

“It is like a country without a ruler: the people will go hungry and suffer. We are the same. We have lost our protection and the nourishment of the true Dharma. When the Celestial Worthy returns to the upper realm, our hearts will become confused and unsettled, as though the earth were shaking and we could no longer tell the directions apart. How could we not grieve as the Great Immortal departs for the upper realm today? If the Celestial Worthy leaves us behind, it will be like casting away something useless.

“Consider the sun just risen: its light shines brilliantly and fiercely. It illuminates all things and dispels every darkness. The radiance of your divine powers can also remove our suffering. Standing among the assembly, you rise majestically like Jade Capital Mountain.”

The Heavenly Venerable said, “This is like a king who has many sons and cherishes them constantly. He teaches them benevolence, righteousness, loyalty, and filial piety, so that they all understand these principles; only then does he let them act freely. If, unaware of it, the sons learn what is bad, the king will abandon them.”

The Heavenly Venerable said to Songling, “I now teach you the true Dharma and have enabled you to attain right understanding. I hope you will not abandon the true Dharma. If you do, you will be like those princes.”

Someone else said, “It is like a person who earnestly studies many different treatises, but later grows fearful of what he has learned. The Heavenly Venerable is the same: after understanding the principles of the various teachings, he has become afraid of them. If the Heavenly Venerable could remain in the world for a long time and expound the wondrous Dharma of ambrosia, nourishing all living beings to their full, they would no longer fear falling into hell.”

Someone else said, “It is like a person who has only just begun a task when the authorities seize him and imprison him. Someone asks, ‘What happened to you?’ He replies, ‘I am now enduring great suffering. If I can escape, I will find peace and happiness.’ The Heavenly Venerable, too, practiced all kinds of austerities for our sake. We have not yet escaped the suffering of birth and death; how can the Heavenly Venerable find peace and happiness alone?”

Someone else said, “It is like a renowned physician who knows many prescriptions but passes his secret remedies only to his own son, refusing to teach the others who come to study with him. The Heavenly Venerable is the same: he passes the profound, secret treasury of the Dharma only to Laozi, leaving us aside and showing us no concern. The Heavenly Venerable should not conceal any part of the teachings. That physician withheld his full instruction because he harbored thoughts of superiority and rivalry. The Heavenly Venerable has no such thoughts, so why does he not teach us as well? We earnestly ask the Heavenly Venerable to remain in the world for a long time and not ascend to the heavens.”

Someone else said, “It is like the old, the young, and those who suffer from illness: they abandon a distant, level road and instead take a dangerous path. The difficult path is full of obstacles and brings them all kinds of suffering. If, at that point, an extraordinary person takes pity on them, he will show them a level, easy road. Heavenly Venerable, I am the same. ‘The young’ refers to those whose Dharma body has not yet grown; ‘the old’ refers to those weighed down by deep afflictions; ‘the ill’ refers to those who have not yet escaped birth and death; and ‘the dangerous path’ refers to the twenty-five states of existence through which beings transmigrate. We earnestly ask the Heavenly Venerable to show us the true path of ambrosia and remain in the world for a long time, rather than journey far above.”

At that time, the Heavenly Venerable said to the assembled Dharma community, “Do not grieve and weep like ordinary people and the gods. You should strive diligently and keep your mindfulness focused.” Hearing his words, the gods and the assembly stopped weeping, just as someone who has lost a beloved child might hold back their grief and stop crying once the funeral rites are over.

Then the Heavenly Venerable recited a verse for the assembly.

After hearing the Celestial Worthy’s teachings, you stopped weeping, just as someone who has lost a beloved child might hold back their tears once the funeral rites are complete. Then the Celestial Worthy spoke this verse to the assembly:

“Open your hearts and do not grieve excessively. The laws of the Great Dao are simply this way, so be still. Take joy in practicing diligence without heedlessness; guard your thoughts and maintain right mindfulness. Keep away from all conduct that departs from the right path. In this way, you can console yourselves and peacefully enjoy the Dharma’s bliss.”

Then the Celestial Worthy said to Songling and the others: “If you still have doubts, you may raise them now. Whether they concern emptiness and non-emptiness, permanence and impermanence, suffering and the absence of suffering, reliance and freedom from reliance, departure and non-departure, return and non-return, constancy and non-constancy, annihilation and non-annihilation, sentient beings and non-beings, existence and nonexistence, the real and the unreal, truth and untruth, quiescent extinction and its absence, the hidden and the revealed, duality and nonduality, or any other such principles, ask now about whatever you do not understand. I will resolve your doubts in response to your questions. I will also first teach you the Dharma of ambrosia, and only then return above.

“Assembly, when the Celestial Worthy appears in the world, he often laments: It is difficult to obtain a human life; it is difficult to encounter the Great Dao and have faith in it; it is equally difficult to endure. To uphold the precepts without a breach, and thereby attain the supreme fruit of the Dao, is rarer still. These rare things are as difficult to obtain as gold, jade, precious jewels, and wondrous flowers. It is also very difficult to escape the Eight Difficulties—the eight conditions that obstruct cultivation—and obtain a human life.

“Since you have encountered me, you must not let this opportunity pass in vain. I endured all kinds of austerities in the past, and only now have I obtained this supreme skillful teaching. For your sake, through immeasurable kalpas I have given up my body, hands and feet, head, eyes, and brain. Therefore, do not indulge in laziness and neglect.

“Assembly, the true Dharma is like a treasure city, filled with precious virtues and guarded by walls and moats made of precepts, Samadhi, and wisdom. Now that you have encountered this treasure city of the Great Dao, do not take away only false and useless things. Imagine a merchant who finds a true treasure city but gathers only rubble to take home. You have encountered the treasure city, yet you have taken what is false. Do not think that what you have gained is enough just because it is meager.

“Though you have entered monastic life, you have not yearned for the Mahayana Dharma. Though your bodies wear ocher-dyed robes, the pure Dharma of the Mahayana has not yet permeated your hearts. Though you beg for food everywhere, you have never sought the Mahayana’s Dharma food—the teachings that nourish the wisdom of cultivation. Though you gather together, you have not yet used the true Dharma to free yourselves from the bonds of your afflictions.

“Now I solemnly admonish you: while I am still here and the assembly is united, the nature of the Dharma is true and unfailing. You should cultivate diligently, gather your minds with courage, and shatter the many bonds of affliction. Once the wisdom sun of the ten directions has set, you will be veiled by ignorance.

“Assembly of the Dharma, mountains, rivers, and medicinal plants on earth nourish living beings and cure illness. My teaching is the same: it gives rise to the exquisite flavor of ambrosial Dharma, a remedy for the many afflictions that sicken living beings. I will cause all living beings, as well as my disciples and the fourfold assembly—the ordained men and women and the lay men and women—to dwell in the Hidden Treasury. I myself will dwell there too, and then return above.

“What is the Hidden Treasury? It is like the past, present, and future: the three periods follow one another without interruption. Why is this so? The past has not truly gone away, the present does not remain fixed, and the future does not come from any particular place. When things come, they have no fixed source; when they go, they have no fixed destination. The same is true of above, middle, and below: there is no fixed above, no fixed middle, and no fixed below. There is going without a fixed departure and abiding without a fixed place to abide. This is how all things are. The three kinds of Dharma each have their differences, yet none moves toward some substantial place above. You should contemplate them in this way. The time has come; I must return above.”

When the assembly of the Dharma heard that the Celestial Worthy truly intended to return above, they were filled with sorrow. Their bodies trembled, and their tears flowed without cease. They bowed at the Celestial Worthy’s feet and circumambulated him many times, then said:

“Celestial Worthy, you have taught wondrously about impermanence, suffering, emptiness, and non-self. Among the tracks of all animals, the bird’s track is the most distinctive. Among all contemplations, the contemplation of impermanence—seeing that all things are changing—is likewise the most important. Diligently cultivating this contemplation can remove attachment to the desire realm, attachment to the form and formless realms, ignorance, and pride; it can even lead one to relinquish the contemplation of impermanence itself.

“Great and holy Celestial Worthy, if you have already gone beyond the contemplation of impermanence, you should not return above now. If you have not gone beyond it, why do you say that cultivating this contemplation can free one from attachment to the three realms, ignorance, and pride, and even lead one to relinquish the contemplation itself?

“Celestial Worthy, just as a farmer who deeply plows the land in autumn can remove the weeds, so the contemplation of impermanence removes attachment to the desire realm, attachment to the form and formless realms, ignorance, and pride, until at last the contemplation itself is relinquished. Just as autumn is the best season for plowing, the bird’s track stands out among the tracks of animals, and the contemplation of impermanence is foremost among all contemplations.

“Celestial Worthy, imagine an emperor who learns that he is about to die. He pardons the prisoners throughout the land, opens the prison gates, and sets them all free before he passes away. The Celestial Worthy should do the same now: first free living beings from the prisons of unawareness and ignorance, and liberate them all; only then should you return above. We have not yet been delivered. Why are you leaving us?”