《洞玄灵宝玄门大义》

The so-called “Twelve Divisions of the Jing” (scripture/classic) are exquisite classics that run through the cultivation of the Three Vehicles and the broad norms that bring the seven divisions of scriptural texts under a single order. Studying them, one may come to know the truth; turning them over in the mind again and again, one may grasp their principles. They are a bridge for rising beyond life and death, and a road that leads to the great Dao (the Way). The Zhengyi Jing (Orthodox Unity Scripture) says that each of the Three Vehicles of cultivation has its own Twelve Divisions of the Jing.

The principles of the Twelve Divisions of the classics (Jing) run through the Three Vehicles. They are explained here first according to the comparatively elementary vehicle; the rest may be understood by the same reasoning. The twelve divisions are Original Texts, Divine Talismans, Jade Instructions, Numinous Charts, Genealogical Records, Precepts and Rules, Dignified Protocols, Methods, Manifold Arts, Records and Transmissions, Praises and Recitations, and Memorials and Petitions.

What is called the “Original Text” (Benwen) refers to the “Writings of the Three Primes and Eight Assemblies” and to scriptures that recount, in extended prose, the origin of the myriad things. The Zhenji cites Lady Purple Tenuity (Ziwei furen) as saying: “The Writings of the Three Primes and Eight Assemblies are those employed by the exalted Perfected of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate).” Here “original” (ben) means beginning and root. It is the beginning of scriptural teaching and the root of written characters; it is also the source from which principle is realized and the root of the myriad dharmas. “Text” (wen) has the sense of distinction and orderly pattern. It can clarify Heaven and Earth and Yin-Yang and distinguish the various phenomenal forms; it can set the myriad affairs in order, and it can also express and take the measure of the highest principle. The grain in wood is also called “wen,” because the grain itself displays orderly pattern.

Original Texts are also called “Perfected Texts” (Zhenwen). The teachings of the Twelve Divisions run through the Three Vehicles, and in that context “Perfected Text” is a general name for classes of scripture. Particular meanings, such as the Middle Cavern in which the lord of the teaching resides, do not fall under this general name.

“Divine Talismans” (Shenfu) refers to scripts of the dragon-chapter and phoenix-seal kind, and to talismanic writings that bear numinous signs. “Divine” (shen) means what cannot be fathomed; “talisman” (fu) means accord and trustworthiness. Numinous scripts and talismanic writings of this kind possess subtle functions that are hard to plumb. They can benefit living beings and bring people to belief, just as the two halves of a tally fit together.

“Jade Instructions” (Yujue) refers to commentaries that explain the scriptures, such as the commentary of Heshang. They serve to explain the dragon chapters, phoenix seal-characters, and similar scripts found in the golden writings. “Jade” (yu) means pure and undefiled; “instruction” (jue) means words that resolve what is doubtful and enable a person to understand clearly.

“Numinous Charts” (Lingtu) refers to the images of the Five Emperors Who Contain the Radiance (Hanjing wudi), to diagrams that display the forms of the Three Ones (Sanyi), and the like. “Numinous” (ling) means subtle and refined; “chart” (tu) means to trace and to depict. Subtle images are drawn and handed on to later generations.

“Genealogical Records” (Pulu) refers to the Three Lords recorded in the Shengshen, to the Five Emperors set forth in the Benxing, and the like. “Genealogy” (pu) means lineage and sequence; “record” (lu) means a written account. Such records set down the deeds of sages as models for teaching and transformation, and they also trace the origins of things so that people can hold them in memory.

“Precepts and Rules” (Jielü) refers to the relevant precepts concerning the six emotions and the ten evils. “Precept” (jie) has the senses of releasing, demarcating, and restraining: it can undo the bonds of the many evils, mark the boundary between good and evil, and prevent the doing of evil. “Rule” (lü) has the senses of leading, setting upright, and arousing wary fear: it weighs offenses, judges them with impartiality, and causes people to stand in awe.

“Dignified Protocols” (Weiyi) refers to the procedures of fasting and purification, the rites for requesting scriptures, and the like. “Dignity” (wei) means a solemnity worthy of respect; “protocol” (yi) means a fitting norm. Corresponding ritual norms are also to be adopted according to the persons and circumstances concerned.

“Methods” (Fangfa) refers to modes of cultivation such as the contemplative visualization of the Three Primes, the guarding and maintaining of the one Qi (vital energy), the subduing of the po souls, and the confining and gathering of the hun souls. “Fang” means place or direction; “fa” means measure and rule. Both spiritual practice and the regulation and nurturing of body and mind have their corresponding methods and steps.

“Manifold Arts” (Zhongshu) refers to arts such as refining elixirs, refining minerals, transforming the bodily form, and concealing one’s shadow. “Manifold” (zhong) means many; “arts” (shu) means the arts of the Dao (the Way), the various practices that lead toward the supreme and holy Dao.

“Records and Transmissions” (Jizhuan) refers to the original deeds of the Lord of the Dao, the former traces of the August Person (Huangren), and the like. “Record” (ji) means to set down in writing; “transmission” (zhuan) means to pass on and hand down. The original deeds of the sages are recorded and transmitted to those who cultivate and study.

“Praises and Recitations” (Zansong) refers to the Hymns of the Five Perfected, the Ancient Stanzas of the Nine Heavens, and the like. A “praise” (zan) serves to narrate deeds; a “hymn” (song) serves to celebrate merit and virtue. As an old verse says, a hymn is writing that portrays great and abundant virtue; it is also called a gāthā (jisong). A gāthā is usually composed in lines of four or five characters.

“Memorials and Petitions” (Biaozou) refers to prayers of supplication offered at the Six Fasts, requests presented in audience at the Three Assemblies, and the like. “Memorial” (biao) means to express; “petition” (zou) has the sense of conveying upward and submitting. One makes one’s wish plain and presents it to the Great Dao.

In sum, “division” (bu) means class and distinction. Scriptures are divided into different classes according to their principles, and contents that are close to one another are then gathered together.

The explanation of the Twelve Divisions includes both a general sense and separate accounts, as set out above. Among the twelve, however, only “Original Text” has both a general sense and a special sense. Because all twelve divisions consist of writing, and all are fundamental documents that express principle, “Original Text” may also serve as another name for scripture; this is the general sense. If one class is specially distinguished from among these scriptures, it is the Perfected Text in Five Chapters (Wupian zhenwen). It has the power to generate Heaven and Earth and is the root of all dharmas; only this is the special sense of “Original Text.” One must not, merely because in the general sense all twelve divisions are called “Original Texts,” speak of that specially distinguished class as some further kind of “Jade Instruction.” The remaining divisions may be understood in the same way.

Some scriptures are written in extended prose, and others are composed as gāthās; either may be classed under “Original Text.” As for the scriptures of the other two vehicles, they can be understood by reference to the explanation given here.

The Twelve Divisions of the Jing (scriptures) all take writing as their basic medium. Looking more closely at their names, some categories are named entirely according to written form, some according to the principles they set forth, and others according to both writing and principle.

Four divisions are named for their written form: Benwen (fundamental texts), Shenjie (divine verses), Fusong (talismanic hymns), and Lingtu (numinous charts). These four names do not themselves make their respective meanings explicit; they only indicate that writing is their chief medium. Although the Lingtu are not writing but images and symbols, they are still classed under writing so as to be brought within a single framework.

Another four divisions are named according to the principles and affairs they elucidate: Weiyi (dignified ritual deportment), Pulu (genealogical registers), Jizhuan (records and biographies), and Biaozou (memorials and petitions). Weiyi treats the norms of bearing and conduct; Pulu traces the transmission of the ancestral masters; Jizhuan recounts meritorious deeds; and Biaozou presents one’s intentions to the deities. These classes of scripture therefore take principle, affairs, and their functions as their content.

A further four divisions are named with reference to both writing and principle: Jielü (precepts and regulations), Yujue (jade instructions), Fangfa (methods), and Zhongshu (the various arts). Jielü concerns both the inner mind and instructional commands: jie means the mind’s turning toward the good, and may also refer to precepts and admonitions; lü means the standards by which speech is measured, and may also mean holding to uprightness within. Yujue sets forth Daoist affairs together with their principles. Fangfa are the rules for handling concrete affairs; they involve scriptural texts and also include principles and techniques. Zhongshu embraces various kinds of ingenuity and numerological arts, and therefore has both a written aspect and a bearing on principle.

Ming Tongyi, the Fourth (the fourth section, “Distinguishing Sameness and Difference”)

In discussions of the sameness and difference of the literary forms of the scriptures (Jing), four positions are advanced: that they are different, that they are the same, that they are both the same and different, and that they are neither the same nor different.

The position that they are “different” means that each of the Twelve Divisions (Shi'er Bu) of the scriptures has a distinct literary form. The four literary forms each differ from the others, so they cannot be called the same; the meanings of the eight functions are likewise not uniform, and so difference arises naturally. The eight functions, however, do not extend beyond the scope of the four literary forms. That the literary forms of the Twelve Divisions are said to differ rests on two levels of meaning. First, the four literary forms each exist in themselves and do not possess the eight functions. Second, considered in terms of function, if a given function belongs to one literary form, it differs from the other three forms; if it belongs to three literary forms, it differs from the remaining one. All the various literary forms may therefore be said to differ from one another.

The position that they are “the same” means that the Twelve Divisions have not departed from a common overall character, and that their root texts all share the same formal nature.

The position that they are “both the same and different” holds because the root texts possess features that differ and features that they share. With respect to the differing features, the fundamental text (Benwen) contains 1,109 characters. Of these, 256 characters seem in meaning to be the same as the genealogical records (Pulu), the biographical accounts (Jizhuan), and the hymns of praise (Zansong); another 63 characters are the same as the various arts (Zhongshu); and a further 122 characters have no annotation, their specific meaning not yet clearly established. With respect to the shared features, the fundamental text is an ever-abiding scripture, and it is also the fundamental text on which the verse hymns ultimately depend. It is the same in formal nature as the eight functions, yet it differs from the three literary forms. Divine talismans (Shenfu; talismanic characters possessed of numinous efficacy) are sometimes the same in formal nature as the jade instructions (Yujue; the instructional texts of Daoism written in jade characters): if the talismanic characters are rewritten in clerical script, they share the same form as the jade instructions; if the graphic form is not changed, then even though the meaning of the talisman is understood, one cannot say that the formal nature is the same. Other examples may be understood by the same reasoning. If one looks from the perspective of interpreting and annotating the numinous charts (Lingtu), then none of them count as the same in form.

The position that they are “neither the same nor different” holds because the appearances of written characters are originally empty, and there is nothing by which sameness or difference can be determined. Considered more closely, since all these contents are written characters, they may be called the same; yet the contents included in the Twelve Divisions each differ, and so they may be called different. Sameness and difference therefore cannot be fixed, and one cannot say that they are at once the same or at once different. Such is the general sense.

This section explains why the chapters of the whole work are arranged in their present order.

The work begins with the root from which the myriad things are generated, because “number” (shu) stands prior to all things. Once the myriad things have come into being, they must be supported and nourished, and so the text next treats divine talismans (shenfu). The Cloud Seal Script of the Eight Assemblies (Bahui yunzhuan) and the Jade Characters of the Three Primes (Sanyuan yuzi) are all Daoist talismanic writings. If one does not know how to cultivate and apply them, they can hardly take effect, and so the Jade Instructions (Yujue) are also needed to explain the principles and methods they contain.

Sentient beings are dull of understanding, and hearing instruction alone is scarcely enough for them to awaken; images are therefore set up to aid the explanation. After the merits of the sages have been made manifest, lest anyone suspect them of being invented or forged, their lines of transmission from master to disciple and their genealogies must also be set forth—that is, the genealogical registers (pulu).

The five items above have already fully set forth the principles of generation, of teaching and transformation, and of related matters. If cultivation is to be further assisted, good and evil must be clearly distinguished and faults guarded against, and so the text next treats the precepts (jielü). After one abandons secular life, leaves the household to enter the Dao (the Way), and receives the precepts, one has been enrolled under the masters and under the methods of the Dao, and should set one’s bearing in order; the text therefore next treats dignified observances (weiyi). Dignified observances serve to prevent evil deeds, yet the karmic offenses committed in the past have not yet been removed, so one must also follow the ritual procedures of the purification rites (zhai) and repent the evil karma of the past three lifetimes.

Once one’s bearing has been rectified and the karmic roots of former lives have been cleared away, one should go on to further study. The aim of study is to penetrate the truth, and in studying one must rely on the arts of the Dao (daoshu). The subtleties of these arts appear in the relevant records and transmissions, and the contents and sequence of study are likewise handed down in turn. When study has been accomplished and one’s attainment has become evident, the deeds are entered in the written records, and so the text next treats records and biographies (jizhuan).

From the generation of the myriad things to the fulfillment of cultivation, every item deserves praise, and so the text next treats hymns of praise (zansong). Most of the preceding sections are continuous, extended prose; hymns of praise, by contrast, take the form of separate lines composed into verses. After the merit of cultivation has been brought to completion, one must still declare and report it to the place where the spirits abide—as in the practice of reporting merit at the close of a purification rite—and so the text next treats petitions of submission (shenzou).

The twelve divisions of scripture (jing) set out above deal chiefly with cultivation that transcends the world; the memorials (biaozou) that follow are used to remove calamities in the world. Purification rites such as those of the Three Primes (Sanyuan), the Mud and Soot (Tutan), and the Zi–Wu Plea for Life (Ziwu qingming) are all connected with the submission of memorials and announcements.

This section can be explained on twelve levels. First, the original meaning of the passage: from the standpoint of the Dongxuan (洞玄, Mysterious Cavern) level, if its meaning is stated in full, it concerns "emptiness explained" (空释).

The Scarlet Script: Sacred Responses of the Jinghuang True Script (《赤书景皇真文圣应》) was originally a single complete scripture. Later it was divided into five chapters according to the domains governed by the Five Emperors of the five directions. Each emperor and each chapter has its own name, recorded in the first volume of the True Script (《真文》).

The east is governed by the Venerable Lord of Azure Numen, Ruler of the Anbao Flower Grove, whose name is Lingweiyang. The true script under his charge is called the Chapter of the Dongxuan Precious Truth of Generating Spirits (《生神宝真洞玄章》), also known as the Eight-Awe Tally Text of the Divine Incantation of Eastern Mountain (《东山神咒八威策文》).

The south is governed by the Venerable Lord of Cinnabar Numen, Ruler of Fanbao Changyang, whose name is Chibiaonu. The true script under his charge is called the Precious Sash of the Southern Clouds Reaching Heaven (《南云通天宝衿》), also known as the Divine Incantation of the Nine Heavens (《九天神咒》) and the Eight-Awe Tally Text of the Red Emperor (《赤帝八威策文》).

The center is governed by the Venerable Lord of Primal Numen, Ruler of Yubao Yuanling, whose name is Hanshuniu. The true script under his charge is called the Numinous Writ of the Nine Heavens, Pure Cavern of the Precious Kalpa (《宝劫洞清九天灵书》), also known as the Numinous Awe Tally Text of the Yellow Emperor (《黄帝灵威策文》).

The west is governed by the Venerable Lord of Radiant Numen, Sovereign of the Qibao Golden Gate, whose name is Yaobobao. The true script under his charge is called the Chapter of the Golden Truth, Precious Brightness, and Cavern Subtlety (《金真宝明洞微篇》), also known as the Divine Incantation of Western Mountain (《西山神咒》) and the Eight-Awe Text for Summoning Dragons (《八威召龙文》).

The north is governed by the Venerable Lord of the Five Numina and Dark Mystery, Ruler of Dongyin Shuodan Yujue, whose name is Xieguangji. The true script under his charge is called the Text of the Primordial Spirit Generating Truth and Precious Brightness (《元神生真宝明文》), also known as the Divine Incantation of Northern Mountain (《北山神咒》) and the Eight-Awe Text for Governing Heaven (《八威制天文》).

The scriptures recorded in the Jade Folios of the Five Elders (《五老玉篇》) are all writings that arose spontaneously in the void. A detailed explanation of these scriptures is given in the earlier passages; here the discussion concerns chiefly the origin of the heavenly script. Summarizing the evolution of writing from ancient times to the present, there are roughly six kinds.

The first kind of writing took shape at the moment Yin-Yang first divided. At that time the Qi (炁) of the Three Primes, the Five Virtues, and the Eight Assemblies condensed into the flying celestial script, which was later organized as the "Chapters of Bright Light in Eight-Dragon Cloud Seal Script." Master Lu explains that the "Three Primes" refer to the Three Powers (heaven, earth, and humanity); once the Three Powers were established, the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) were also complete. When the Five Phases are matched with the directions, and the Three Powers join with the Five Phases, the result is called the "Eight Assemblies," which is the root of all writing. Furthermore, the Chapters of Bright Light in Eight-Dragon Cloud Seal Script took shape from the condensation of the spontaneous, flying, mysterious Qi. Each character was ten feet square, and they appeared before heaven and earth had formed; they are the foundation from which the myriad things were created.

However, the True Traces (《真迹》) records Lady Ziwei as saying that the Three Primes and Eight Assemblies are the ancestors of writing, while the Eight-Dragon Cloud Seal is the root of writing's origin. Master Lu, by contrast, interprets the Eight Assemblies as the Three Powers and the Five Phases, holding that they appeared after heaven and earth had already formed. The Scarlet Script also says that the Five Chapters of the True Script of the Lingbao Scarlet Script appeared long before the Primordial Beginning. From this it appears that the "Three Primes" here should not be the Three Powers, nor the "Five Virtues" the Five Phases; rather, they should be the three kinds of Qi of the Venerable Lord of the Three Treasures. Apart from the three Qi, there are in addition the Five Virtues.

The Scripture of the Nine Heavens on Generating Spirits (《九天生神章》) says that the myriad things of heaven and earth could not come into being unless they were nurtured by the Three Primes and guided by the Nine Qi; it also says that the three Qi are the root of heaven and earth, and the nine Qi are the source of the myriad things. Therefore, the Three Primes must have existed before heaven and earth were opened and before the Three Powers came into being.

Another interpretation, the same as that of Master Song, holds that the "Eight Assemblies" are the Three Primes together with the Five Virtues. The Three Primes are: the Qi of Supreme Jade Void of the Primal Height of Chaotic Cavern and Great Non-Being; the Qi of Supreme Purple Void of the Primal Source of Scarlet Chaos and Great Non-Being; and the Qi of Supreme Clear Void of the Primal Source of Dark Stillness and Mysterious Penetration. The Five Virtues derive from Yin, Yang, and Harmony: Yin divides into Lesser Yin and Greater Yin, Yang divides into Lesser Yang and Greater Yang, and with Harmony added, these make the Five Virtues.

"Seal" (篆) carries the meaning of compiling or assembling; writing shaped like cloud vapor is called "cloud seal script." The texts of the Three Primes and Eight Assemblies and the Chapters of Bright Light in Eight-Dragon Cloud Seal Script all belong to the heavenly script. The writing of the Three Primes and Eight Assemblies can be illustrated by the five kinds of script and eight forms of characters in the Five Chapters of the True Script; the Cloud Seal of Bright Light can be illustrated by the Five Talismans (《五符》) and the Five Triumphs (《五胜》).

The original text of the Eight Assemblies comprises 1,109 characters in total. Of these, the Five Chapters of the True Script account for 668 characters, which are regarded as the root of the Three Powers: able to generate heaven and establish earth, to enlighten and transform spirits and humans, and serving as the basis from which the myriad things arise. This is why the scripture speaks of the Way of Heaven, the Way of Earth, the Way of Spirits, and the Way of Humanity.

The Jade Instructions (《玉诀》) say that when one practices and applies this method, each of the five chapters has its own function. The characters recorded in each chapter serve four kinds of purposes. First, they are used to summon the Supreme Lords of the Nine Heavens and to verify the charts and registers of the immortals; this is the method for seeking immortality and attaining truth. Second, they are used to summon the star officials of the heavens and to correct the celestial divisions; this is the method for protecting the state and bringing peace to the people. Third, they are used to subdue and govern the Six Heavens of Fengdu. Fourth, they are used to command the Water Emperor and dispatch dragons and fish.

The "inner sounds" of the various heavens total 256 characters: eight characters for each heaven, and thirty-two heavens together make 256. These characters describe the calendrical measures of the heavens, the meeting dates and names of sages and true immortals, the locations of palaces, offices, terraces, and citadels, the order of the transformations, ascents, and descents of immortals, the various kinds of demons, and the causes and conditions of life, death, and rebirth for humans and ghosts. Among them, another sixty-three characters discuss the names of the primordial essences of the five directions, as well as methods of ingesting them to seek immortality, refining the Shen (spirit) to transform the body, and ascending to heaven in broad daylight. The remaining 122 characters have neither pronunciation nor explanation.

The second kind of writing is that in which the Eight Assemblies script evolved into dragon-and-phoenix forms, called "earth sound" or "earth script." The kinds that follow are held to have been written and organized by mysterious sages following the patterns of heavenly writing.

The third kind arose in the time of the Yellow Emperor, when Cang Jie, following the configurations of dragons and phoenixes and gathering the footprints of birds and beasts, created the ancient script to replace the knotted cords used for keeping records.

The fourth kind is the Zhou-dynasty Scribe Zhou's transformation of the ancient script into the Great Seal script.

The fifth kind is the Qin-dynasty Li Si's transformation of the Great Seal script into the Small Seal script.

The sixth kind is Cheng Miao's transformation, after the Qin, of the Small Seal script into clerical script. Some call clerical script "assistant script"; according to this account, Cheng Miao created this style while in prison, and because it was used by the clerks and servants who ran errands, it was called "clerical script" (隶书).

Within the second kind of writing, the Chapters of Bright Light in Cloud Seal Script also include Sanskrit-style scripts written following the shape of their forms, numbering sixty-four kinds, which circulated in the thirty-six heavens. Later, when the scriptures were copied in the human world, people used clerical characters to explain the heavenly script, so that the heavenly script and clerical script came to circulate separately.

The first person to transmit the ancient script was Handan Chun. Ancient writing also comprised eight styles of script: great seal script (dazhuan), small seal script (xiaozhuan), engraved-tally script (kefu), insect script (chongshu), seal-copying script (moyin), placard script (shǔshū), halberd script (shūshū), and clerical script (lishu).

In the time of Wang Mang, the Minister over the Masses (situ), Zhen Feng, was ordered to collate the script, and he further divided writing into six categories: ancient script (guwen), the characters discovered in the wall of Confucius’s former residence; rare characters (qizi), uncommon variant forms seldom seen in antiquity; seal script (zhuanshu); assistant script (zuoshu), that is, clerical script; yuan seal script (yuanzhuan), used for carving seals in imitation; and bird seal script (niaozhuan), used for writing on banners and pennants.

Tradition holds that when Cangjie created writing, the brush already existed. The Classic of Poetry (Shijing) mentions the “red tube” (tongguan), which refers to the brush. Later generations say that Meng Tian invented the brush because Meng Tian, as a general of Qin, was widely renowned and was also skilled at making brushes, and so became especially famous for his excellence in brush-making. Only in the reign of Emperor He of the Eastern Han did Cai Lun begin to make paper; before this, people wrote only on slips (jian) and tablets (die). A die is a document that records and sets forth matters; a jian is a slip-book, and the writing on it was usually comparatively brief.

The scripture (jing) holds that the most fundamental celestial writing (tianshu) was set down on golden slips (jinjian); all other writing in the world, including the eight scripts and the six categories mentioned above, evolved from the True (Zhen). Secular scholars, for their part, have made separate investigations of the matter.

The scripture further says that it can no longer be determined when the present classic was written on paper and compiled into scrolls. If one holds that at the beginning of the kalpa (jiechu, the primordial moment of the cosmos) the brush already existed, and that the Supremely True (Taizhen, the most perfectly true being of which Daoism speaks) did the writing, then how could there have been no paper, and neither the eight scripts nor the six categories of writing? This is because cosmic creation (zaohua) is exalted and complete, and already contains all things and all principles. People of later ages have merely followed the sequence of their own times and gradually adopted these ways of writing.

Explaining the Divine Talismans, the Second (an explanation of the divine talismans, shenfu)

All things and all arts between heaven and earth depend on “Jing-Qi” (Jing, essence, and Qi, vital energy—the subtle energy of life and the breath) in order to take effect. The Two Instruments (heaven and earth) and the Three Luminaries (the sun, the moon, and the stars) therefore move through their midst, and once the myriad things have come into being they likewise rely on Jing-Qi. From this it can be known that the Five Phases (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth) and the six things all contain Jing-Qi as well.

The Jing-Qi of the Dao (the Way) can be set out upon the paper and ink of Fulu (talismans and registers), where it joins the Jing-Qi proper to the myriad things themselves. It is used to drive out the deviant and the false, to uphold the orthodox and the true, to summon the host of spirits, to command life and death, to sustain the cycles of the kalpas (the periods through which heaven and earth revolve), and to settle and garrison the five directions.

Talismanic characters first arose from the void. Taizhen (the supreme true deity) looked up, observed the patterns of heaven, and copied them, then distributed them according to the directions, so that distinct images, talismans, and writings gradually took form. A talisman takes the configurations of celestial phenomena such as cloud-vapors and the sun, moon, and stars; writing distinguishes sounds and phrases and weighs the intent within them; a chart sets down the forms of numinous and wondrous transformation. Talismans, however, also contain written characters and draw on eight kinds of images, while writings also contain graphic forms and make use of both shape and sound. The eight scripts and the six categories of writing therefore reflect one another and bring one another to light.

The six categories of writing are as follows. The first is the pictograph, such as “sun” and “moon,” whose form resembles the thing it indicates. The second is the indicative, such as “above” and “below,” which uses the shape of the graph to mark an abstract position. The third is the phonosemantic compound, such as jiang and he (words for rivers), made up of a semantic part and a phonetic part. The fourth is the associative compound, such as “martial” and “trust,” which expresses meaning by combining graphic forms. The fifth is the mutually explanatory character, such as “deceased father” and “old,” whose meanings communicate and can explain one another. The sixth is the phonetic loan, such as “command” and “elder,” which borrows an existing graph to express another meaning.

The eight scripts are as follows. The first is celestial writing, that is, the characters of the “Eight Assemblies.” The second is divine writing, that is, cloud seal script. The third is terrestrial writing, represented by forms such as the dragon and the phoenix. The fourth is inner writing, said by tradition to have been spat out by the turtle, the dragon, the fish, and the bird. The fifth is outer writing, said by tradition to be borne and revealed by scales, shells, feathers, and the like. The sixth is ghost writing, whose forms are mixed, strange, and minute. The seventh is Xia writing, which takes cloud seal script as its model. The eighth is the writing of the Rong and Yi, whose shapes resemble insects.

Among these six categories and eight scripts, ancient graphs are sometimes identical with modern ones and sometimes close to talismanic forms. By adding to, subtracting from, and transforming one another, they combine into a single set of rules and work together, so that between the forms of characters and the forms of talismans there is no fixed and unchanging distinction. Some talismans in the scriptures of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen—the classificatory system of the Daoist classics) are written in modern character forms because the Ancient-Script Book of Documents also contains graphs identical with modern ones.

Explanation of the Jade Instructions, the Third (title of this piece)

The Yujue (Jade Instructions: essential formulas explaining the Jing [scripture/classic] and methods of cultivation) comprises two further juan. Tradition holds that the Most High Lord of the Dao (Taishang Daojun, a venerated deity of Daoism), at the Upper Abbey of Southern Cinnabar Cavern-Yang (Nandan Dongyang Shangguan), imparted this formula of numinous script and jade characters to the scholar Wang Longci. Whether these characters are in fact the graphs seen today, however, cannot yet be determined; nor is it known from which age the commentator came. Scholars may continue to investigate.

These essential formulas also treat methods of cultivation, diagrams of the five directions (charts of Fulu [talismans and registers] paired with the five orientations), cunsi (cultivation carried out through visualization), and the aversion of calamity (prayer rites offered to dispel disaster). These are precisely the chapters that explain the writing of the “Eight Convergences” (bahui). Within them, the doctrinal meaning of the scriptural text is further clarified: in explaining the Zhenwen (True Script), for example, the principle of sympathetic resonance and mutual communication is also set forth; the Dingzhi draws out the subtle principles of cunsi. Concrete matters likewise receive supplementary explanation: the Yujue, for instance, also discusses the rites of transmitting the scripture, of covenant oaths, and of conferring the scripture. Thus, whatever serves to explain the scriptural text and the essential formulas may all be collectively called “Yujue.”

Explanation of the Numinous Diagrams, the Fourth

Diagrams and writings both arise from physical form and sound. When the Mysterious Sages (Xuansheng, the Daoist honorific for the supreme holy ones) composed their works, each served a distinct purpose: diagrams convey what has form, while writings convey principles that are without form. What is called “without” (wu) refers to speech and doctrinal meaning that leave no concrete trace, as in the Dingzhi and chapters such as the “Ju”; what is called “with” (you) refers to things that possess bodily form and visible traces. [The original text is unfinished at this point.]

Both diagrams and books arise from visible forms and sounds. As for the writings of the Mysterious Sages—the holy ones venerated in Daoism—each serves a different purpose: diagrams convey things that have form, while books convey principles that have no form. What is called “the formless” means that words and principles leave no concrete trace, as in examples such as the Dingzhi ju; what is called “the formed” means things that have physical shape and visible signs, as in examples such as the Eight Effulgences, human beings, birds, and the like. Books and diagrams may also convey formed and formless content at the same time, and this may be understood according to the reasoning set out above.

Some scriptures (jing) are sealed away in the Five Marchmounts in order to safeguard the turning of the kalpas; some are spread through the ten directions to teach living beings everywhere; some are secretly stored in the golden lattices, the treasured repositories of Daoist scriptures, showing that they are strictly protected by the celestial realm; some are hidden in famous mountains and brought out only when the right conditions come together; some are inscribed on palace towers and set in fitting places; some are written in empty, silent forests and wilds so as to display the working of spiritual powers; some circulate among the five kingdoms, showing that the teaching must follow the conditions of each place; some ascend to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the three tiers of pure realms of which Daoism speaks, in order to explain that ascent to heaven and sinking into perdition differ, and that the realms to which beings go are not the same; some were proclaimed in high antiquity to rescue bewildered beings; and some have been transmitted to later ages out of sorrow for the sufferings of living beings. All these measures spring from a vast loving-kindness that prescribes a fitting method for each illness, and from a deep compassion that expounds the teaching in accord with causes and conditions.

Explanation of Genealogies and Registers, the Fifth

For example, the opening of the Shengshen zhang, which records the Three Treasure Lords, revered deities of Daoism, together with the Dao Lord’s own account in the Benye of the root of former lives, is an instance of a “genealogy.” A “register,” by contrast, records separately the classes, ranks, and formal names of the divinities, as in the Eight Effulgences, the Inner Sounds—tonal recitations secretly transmitted in Daoism—and similar contents.

The function of a genealogy is to meet the possibility that living beings may suppose the principle of birth and death suddenly appears and suddenly vanishes, without cause, like grass and trees. A genealogy therefore recounts the causes and conditions of the past, so that people may awaken through them. A register sets the names out item by item, gathers them together, and entrusts them to the practitioner, so that one may receive and keep them and visualize them according to the register, thereby protecting oneself, preserving the human body, and ascending to heaven. What the Dadong (Great Cavern) sets forth belongs to the class of the Jade Register of the Supreme Sovereign.

Explanation of Precepts and Regulations, the Sixth

The precepts are prohibitions against doing evil. “Stopping” means restraining evil thoughts and evil deeds in the mind and in speech, and vowing never to do evil again. The precepts may be detailed or brief. The detailed sets include the one hundred twenty-nine articles in the Daoist fundamentals of the Taiqing, the one hundred eighty articles in the Laojun and the Precepts of the Three Primes, the three hundred articles of the Great Precepts for Contemplating the Body, and the sixty articles of the Taiyi. The briefer sets include the Three Precepts for persons of the Dao, the Five Precepts for register students, the Eight Precepts for Libationers, the Nine Precepts of the Xiang’er, the Ten Precepts of the Supreme Grade of Wisdom, and the Twenty-four Precepts of the Mingzhen Code, among others.

The statutes are also included within the precepts and are not set apart as a separate class. They mainly set forth the punishments and legal standards that follow after an offense has been committed, for example the Statutes of the Mysterious Capital of the Celestial Master (Tianshi) Laojun and the Statutes of Nüqing and others. The precepts mainly concern how to prevent evil before one acts; the statutes mainly concern how, after evil has been done, the offense is determined and punishment is imposed.

The precepts are sometimes sent down from the void and sometimes transmitted face to face by a person. Both are carried out according to the circumstances, and therefore the manner of transmission and the direction faced by the recipient also differ. For example, when receiving the Precepts of the Highest Grade the disciple faces east; when receiving the Precepts for Settling the Will the disciple faces south; in the ritual described in the Slip Texts of the Golden Register, the Heavenly Worthy faces north.

Facing east means turning toward the position of Yang. According to the Precepts of the Three Primes, east and south belong to the officials of the left and pertain to the Great Yang, while west and north belong to the officials of the right and pertain to the Great Yin. At the beginning of the ritual one first turns toward the Great Yin to repent of transgressions and pray for deliverance, which is why there is a rite of facing north; one then turns toward the Great Yang to pray for life and the orthodox Dao (the Way), and therefore faces east to receive the precepts. In the ritual of the Precepts for Settling the Will, the ritual master stands in the south and the disciple faces the master. If one reasons from this principle, the ritual master should ordinarily stand in the north, which agrees with the arrangement in the Slip Texts of the Golden Register. Both the Precepts of the Highest Grade and the Precepts for Settling the Will have the disciple face the direction in which living Qi (vital energy) resides.

Someone asked: In the rituals of the Stanzas on Generating the Spirits and the Charts of the Twenty-four Lives, the ritual master sometimes faces south and sometimes faces north, which differs from the account above—what is the reason? The answer is this: the scripture records that at that time the Heavenly Worthy personally ordered the Perfected of the Three Heavens to transmit the Charts of the Twenty-four Lives to the Lord of the Dao, and also ordered the Marshal of the Nine Heavens and the Jade Lad Who Attends the Immortals to transmit the Stanzas on Generating the Spirits to the Divine King Who Flies through Heaven. The Divine King Who Flies through Heaven and the Lord of the Dao were then facing north as they paid homage to the Heavenly Worthy. The envoys, acting on the Heavenly Worthy’s command, came from where the Heavenly Worthy was to confer the Jing (scripture/classic). This is a ritual for transmitting scriptures, different from the conferral of precepts, and cannot be taken as a model for the direction faced when receiving precepts.

Weiyi—the etiquette and codes of conduct observed in Zhaijiao (purification rituals) and other religious activities—Section Seven

In the Sanyuan (Three Origins) period there were already regulations governing weiyi, that is, deportment in bowing and looking upward and in movement and repose, amounting in all to three thousand four hundred articles. After the Longhan period, most of the related writings survived only in fragmentary and incomplete form. Those preserved today number two hundred and forty articles. Because people of this latter age can hardly bear the full body of regulations, whatever was not transmitted has simply been left out.

As for the merit of Zhaijiao, Master Song’s older account listed six kinds, whereas this tradition draws a clear distinction between two categories: one is the “ultimate Dao” (jidao; Dao, the Way), and the other is “salvation and deliverance” (jidu). The ultimate Dao means the pursuit of the highest realm in cultivating the Dao. The Dongshen Scripture (Dongshen Jing) says, “Fasting the heart-mind and sitting in forgetfulness is the ultimate Dao.” Fasting the heart-mind (xinzhai) is to render one’s thoughts pure and still; sitting in forgetfulness (zuowang) is, while sitting quietly, to forget the physical form and distracting thoughts. Salvation and deliverance means relying on Zhaijiao rites to rescue and liberate all living beings. According to the scriptures, Zhaijiao devoted to salvation and deliverance are divided altogether into three register retreats (luzhai) and seven graded retreats (pinzhai).

The three register retreats are the Golden Register Retreat (Jinlu zhai), which eliminates natural disasters and protects and stabilizes the sovereign; the Jade Register Retreat (Yulu zhai), which comes to the aid of the common people, praying for blessings on their behalf and offering repentance for their faults; and the Yellow Register Retreat (Huanglu zhai), which rescues the souls of the dead in the hells and relieves the sufferings of the kin of the Nine Mysteries (Jiuxuan). “Nine Mysteries” refers to clan relatives, from remote ancestors to descendants of later generations.

The seven graded retreats are the Three Sovereigns Retreat (Sanhuang zhai), for praying to attain immortality and for protecting the state; the Retreat of Spontaneity (Ziran zhai), for cultivating the true Dao so that one’s own person comes into accord with the Dao; the Supreme Clarity Retreat (Shangqing zhai), for ascending into the void and entering the mysterious and wondrous realm; the Retreat of Instruction (Zhijiao zhai), for warding off disasters and curing illness; the Mud and Soot Retreat (Tutan zhai), for repenting of faults and praying for a lengthened life; the Retreat of Illuminating the Perfected (Mingzhen zhai), for delivering the souls of the dead in the dark world; and the Three Origins Retreat (Sanyuan zhai), for confessing and apologizing for transgressions before the Three Officials (Sanguan)—the Heavenly Official, the Earthly Official, and the Water Official venerated in Daoism.

Some of these Zhaijiao last one day and one night, some three days and three nights, and some seven days and seven nights; the concrete procedures are all set forth in the ritual protocols. In addition, there are the six retreats and the Retreat of the Ten Upright Days, as well as retreat methods for the jiazi and gengshen days, the Eight Nodes (bajie), one’s natal day (benming), and periods of a hundred days or a thousand days, all of which are ordinarily performed according to the method of spontaneity. The six retreat months are the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh months. There are further the three long retreat months, namely the first, seventh, and tenth. The ten upright days are the first, eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth, eighteenth, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth of each month. The Eight Nodes are the Beginning of Spring, the Spring Equinox, the Beginning of Summer, the Summer Solstice, the Beginning of Autumn, the Autumn Equinox, the Beginning of Winter, and the Winter Solstice. The other retreat days will not be recounted one by one.

According to older accounts, “methods” fall roughly into nine kinds: coarse eating, vegetable eating, timed eating, ingesting Jing (essence), ingesting sprouts, ingesting light, ingesting Qi (vital energy), ingesting primordial Qi, and embryonic eating.

Coarse eating means consuming foods such as hemp and wheat; vegetable eating means consuming vegetables, eggplants, and the like; timed eating means taking meals at set times. Ingesting Jing means taking talisman water and the quintessence of elixir medicines; ingesting sprouts means consuming the cloud-sprouts of the five directions (sprout-like refined Qi associated with the Qi of the five directions); ingesting light means absorbing the Qi of the sun, the moon, the seven primes, and the three luminaries; ingesting Qi means absorbing the Qi of the six senses as well as the wondrous Qi of heaven, earth, and the four directions. Ingesting primordial Qi means absorbing the Qi of the three primes bestowed on all things—that is, the essential Qi of great harmony present within the Great Void. Embryonic eating takes the primordial Jing and Qi obtained in one’s own person as the primordial basis of the embryo, allowing clear and empty Qi to descend into the four limbs; thereafter one no longer depends on food from outside.

Coarse eating can curb every kind of greedy craving; vegetable eating can reduce fatty richness; timed eating can dispel vexation and turbidity. Ingesting Jing enables the body’s Shen (spirit) to congeal into radiant florescence; ingesting sprouts transforms a person into a sprout, ingesting light transforms a person into light, and ingesting the six Qi transforms a person into the six Qi, so that one roams freely through the ten directions; ingesting primordial Qi transforms a person into primordial Qi and unites one with heaven and earth; ingesting embryonic Qi returns a person to the state of an infant and blends one into unity with the Dao (the Way).

These transformations change along with the cycles of destiny. One no longer needs to abandon this body and receive another, nor to pass again through the round of birth and death. On a present-day understanding, the “methods” spoken of here are not necessarily dietary methods alone; they may also include medicinal formulas, massage, and other practices, and the question remains open to further investigation.

The paths of cultivating the Dao (the Way) can be summarized as five. The first is visualizing the divine beings and holding fast to the true Dao. The second is purifying the mind and forgetting external things through "fasting of the mind" (xinzhai) and "sitting in forgetfulness" (zuowang). The third is "walking the void" (buxu), which means pacing and chanting according to ritual while visualizing ascent to heaven. The fourth is ingesting substances and absorbing primordial Qi (vital energy). The fifth is guiding the "three lights," the essential energies of the sun, the moon, and the stars. All of these methods use the mind and intention to move the breath, so that the Shen (spirit) may communicate with the profound Dao.

The transformations achieved through cultivation fall into roughly three kinds: ascending to heaven in broad daylight, corpse liberation (shijie), and deliverance through extinction (miedu), in which the body suffers no harm. Ascent in broad daylight means that once a practitioner's merit and virtue are complete and their practice fully accomplished, the thirty-six thousand spirits within the body, together with deities such as the "Three Ones" (Sanyi) and the "Emperor One" (Diyi), merge into a single body of "Wondrous Unity" (Miaoyi). The practitioner can then roam with the spirits, and the physical body ascends to heaven along with them. Another account holds that by reciting the Dadong Jing (Great Cavern Scripture) and the Renniao Shan (Human-Bird Mountain), one can be welcomed by a cloud chariot without taking elixirs or similar substances. At that point the body has already been transformed, and it must then go to Zhuling (in Daoist belief, a place of refining) to undergo further tempering.

For the meaning of corpse liberation, see the explanation in the discussion of "rank and attainment." Deliverance through extinction refers to Taiyi (the Great One, a Daoist deity) guarding the corpse. According to some accounts, after a number of years the corpse will even return to human form.

Explaining Records and Biographies, Section Ten

"Records" recount past events, and they can also record events yet to come. The original nature of sages and spirits has, broadly speaking, two origins: some come into being naturally, and others become so through cultivation. The Dadong Jing describes how one passes from death to rebirth, from life to attaining the Dao, from the Dao to immortality, and from immortality to perfection, finally becoming the Lord Huanglao of Shangqing (Highest Clarity). Among the Thirty-Nine Perfected, the Twenty-Four Emperors, the One Hundred and Eighty Dao Lords, the Celestial Venerables, and other supreme sages, some arose through the transformation of spontaneous, wondrous Qi, while others achieved their status through cultivation. In the end, natural generation and acquired cultivation merge into one.

These sages and perfected beings occupy countless different ranks, and only the general outline is given here. For the classification of "rank and attainment," one may consult the biographical genealogies and records of the Dao Lords and others in the Qizhen Lieji (Records of the Seven Perfected).

Explaining Hymns and Praises, Section Eleven

Poems of four characters per line correspond to the four seasons and the four Qi (vital energy). Poems of five characters per line draw on the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) and the five virtues. Poems of seven characters per line draw on the seven primordials and the seven luminaries. The hymns of praise in scriptures such as the Jiutian Shengshen (Nine Heavens Birth of the Spirits) are hymns recorded within the scriptural text itself, and they are rooted in the flying mysterious Qi of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, Dongshen), the Daoist term for a profound and subtle energy. Other Jing (scriptures) also sometimes include hymns of praise by the Daojun (Lords of the Dao), the Zhenren (Perfected Ones), and the many heavens. These were composed by the profound sages and are appended to the scriptures.

Although the jade characters of the celestial writings originally came from Sanskrit sounds (the sacred language of the heavens), they are also explained according to different categories of things when the teachings are transmitted and the scriptures expounded. The True Script, for example, was originally the Brahma sound of the Three Primordials and Eight Assemblies. Now it is recorded in clerical script and transcribed and transmitted through this sound, so that both seal script and clerical script have been preserved. Through translation, the meaning of the Brahma sound becomes manifest, while the original Brahma sound is no longer revealed.

For the Jiutian Shengshen Zhang (Chapter on the Birth of the Spirits of the Nine Heavens), the original text was not handed down, and the Brahma sound was not transmitted either. Only the clerical characters and this sound remain. The Neiyin Yuzi (Inner Sounds in Jade Characters) differs. What it shares with the other is that it also uses clerical characters to transcribe seal script. What differs is that it does not translate the Sanskrit with this sound, so its sentences are sometimes terse and sometimes elaborate, and are hard to understand. The Tianzhen Huangren (Celestial Perfected August One), a sacred figure of Daoist tradition, explained them, still using the Great Brahma sound to interpret the characters and matching worldly things to conditions in Xuandu (the celestial realm where immortals dwell). From this we can see that the sounds of the true sages can be applied broadly to explain all things.

Explaining Memorials and Petitions, Section Twelve

This section deals mostly with matters of the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) school, a Daoist sect. However, the forms in which various governmental affairs appear differ from one another, but in the end they all concern the same kind of matter.

This passage mainly discusses the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) school's Zhaijiao (purification rituals), almsgiving and offerings, and the doctrine of "the Three Vehicles returning to One."

The Zhengyi school has a relatively large body of Keyi (liturgy). Worldly affairs take many different forms, so when the sages established their teachings, they set up rites corresponding to each specific matter. The Dao (the Way) is originally present in the human heart, yet it still must be expressed through means such as memorials and petitions. Because people cannot yet merge silently with the Dao, they rely on ritual to make the heart manifest; once the ritual is clear, the heart becomes clear as well. For this reason, both the forms and the procedures of the rites must be displayed in full.

The human heart has no fixed shape, yet it stirs in response to the circumstances in which it finds itself. When circumstances are pure, the heart is bright; when the heart is bright, conduct is unsullied. Unsullied conduct allows one to commune with the spirits, and a bright heart allows one to comprehend the Way of Heaven. Therefore, ascending the altar to swear oaths and relying on memorials and petitions give expression to both the sincerity within the heart and the outward form of the rite, bringing humans and spirits together.

The Zhangxin ke (Liturgy of Registers and Pledges) says: "Presenting material offerings is a way of showing sincerity; to revere the great Dao, one should give up wealth, and in this way calamity is dispelled and misfortune averted." Almsgiving has many categories, but its essentials are of two kinds. The first is giving to all living beings, with recipients ranging from ordinary people to birds, beasts, and insects. The second is making offerings to three kinds of objects: solemnly presenting offerings to the Three Treasures (the Dao, the Scriptures, and the Masters) and providing relief to sages and worthies. All of these are called offerings.

Clarifying the Teaching, Part One: Explaining the Meaning of the Thirty-Six Divisions

Within each of the Three Vehicles there are twelve divisions, which together make thirty-six. In terms of how they contain one another, the first meaning is this: the Great Vehicle includes thirty-six divisions, the Middle Vehicle includes twenty-four, and the Small Vehicle has only twelve. Why is this so? Because the Great Vehicle can encompass the content of the Small Vehicle. Practice in the Great Vehicle may extend broadly, whereas the Small Vehicle cannot also study the Great Vehicle and is therefore limited to twelve divisions; the Middle Vehicle may be understood by analogy. This is a distinction drawn in broad terms when discussing the paths by which the Three Vehicles teach and transform.

Turning next to the Three Caverns (Sandong, the three categories of Daoist scriptures), the Three Vehicles described above are brought together and returned to a single vehicle, so the Three Caverns are fundamentally all part of One Vehicle. At the same time, the One Vehicle can be opened out into three categories according to the Three Caverns, showing that nothing is beyond what the One Vehicle can contain. Thus, when the discussion below speaks of three, it is still revealing the one. The three are not merely three, and the one is not merely a solitary one or three; this is the correct meaning intended here.

Someone asks: "After the three are gathered and returned to the one, do the Three Vehicles still remain?" The answer: "If the Three Vehicles did not remain, what would be gathered? If they still remain, how can they be said to have been gathered already?"

Clarifying Practice, Part Two

Two classics are spoken of here, and their contents differ from one another.

The first is the Taixuandu Laozi Ziran Zhaiyi (Ritual Manual of Laozi’s Natural Purification of the Great Mystery Metropolis). The “mysterious scriptures” (xuanjing) of which it speaks are of three kinds: the Heavenly Scriptures, cultivated by the celestially perfected (tianzhen); the Earthly Scriptures, studied by those in the grotto-heavens (dongtian); and the Human Scriptures, observed by people of the world. The methods of these three realms interpenetrate one another and are together called the Three Vehicles (sancheng). Each vehicle further has twelve modes of application; intersecting and interpenetrating, they are known altogether as the Thirty-Six Sections.

These twelve modes of application are Wuwei (non-action), youwei (purposeful action), Wuwei that is nonetheless youwei, youwei that is nonetheless Wuwei, prolonging attachment and desire, cutting off attachment and desire, neither prolonging nor cutting off, segmentation (fenduan), non-segmentation, knowing the subtle, knowing the manifest, and general application. Spoken of in terms of their respective realms, they are also called the Twelve Sections; when hidden methods and manifest methods are carried out together, there are seventy-two sections. The three scriptures mentioned first are established as teachings, while the twelve kinds listed afterward are concerned chiefly with methods of cultivation.

The second is the twelve conditions set forth by the Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity): both the inner mind and outward conduct rest in Wuwei; the inner mind is Wuwei while conduct is youwei; the inner mind is youwei while conduct is Wuwei; one abandons the household yet dwells among people; one enters mountains, rivers, lakes, and marshes together with one’s family; one leaves the dusty world and cuts oneself off from others; one keeps company with the secular world, conforming to its ways without showing one’s edge; one cuts off desire; one does not cut it off; one roams through the air; one dwells underground; and one resides in heaven. Each of the Three Vehicles has twelve kinds, and together they make thirty-six. The explanation of these statements has already been given in the section “The Meaning of Rank and Karma” (Weiyi yi).

Although the two classics differ in title and in formulation, both belong to the teachings; each has simply adopted one manner of exposition. The twelve kinds spoken of in the Taixuandu Laozi Ziran Zhaiyi are discussed largely from the inner mind, whereas those of the Zhengyi treat both the inner mind and outward conduct. Among the twelve of the Taixuandu Laozi Ziran Zhaiyi, “segmentation” concerns concrete things and also appears in outward conduct.

The Dongxuan Lingbao Xuanmen Dayi (the Great Meaning of the Mysterious Gate of the Numinous Treasure, Cavern of Mystery) ends here. Before “wufang” (无方), text appears to have dropped out. The original reads “one”; here, on the basis of collation, it has been emended to “two.”