《道教义枢》

The title Essentials of Daoist Doctrine means “An outline explaining the principles of Daoism.” The work is included in the section on the Three Caverns scriptures and teachings in the Chinese Daoist Canon.

The work is divided into ten scrolls, with the following topics in order:

Scroll One: Dao and De, the principles of the Dharma Body, the Three Treasures, and ranks and functions.

Scroll Two: The Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), the Seven Sections, and the Twelve Sections.

Scroll Three: the Two Halves, the principles of the Dao, the Ten Good Deeds, and cause and effect.

Scroll Four: the Five Aggregates (five categories of elements that constitute the human body and embodied experience), the Six Emotions, the Three Actions (bodily, verbal, and mental conduct), and the Ten Evils.

Scroll Five: the Three Ones, the Two Contemplations, and the Three Vehicles.

Scroll Six: the Six Supernatural Powers, the Four Penetrations, the Six Perfections, and the Four Immeasurables.

Scroll Seven: the Three Realms, the Five Paths, and Primordial Chaos.

Scroll Eight: principle and teaching, object and wisdom, naturalness, and Dao-nature.

Scroll Nine: fields of merit, Pure Lands, the Three Ages, and the Five Degenerations.

Scroll Ten: movement and stillness, stimulus and response, being and nonbeing, and the provisional and the real.

The preface is titled “Preface to the Essentials of Daoist Doctrine” and bears the attribution “compiled by Meng Anpai, Daoist of Qingxi.”

The Dao is the most tranquil and still of all existences, yet it is real and wondrous. Though it seems to be nothing, nothing lies beyond its reach; though it seems silent, it responds to all things. Thus the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, one of Daoism’s revered deities, appeared in response to primordial Qi. Stillness gave way to activity, and the true substance of being gave rise to a response. The Celestial Worthy appeared as chaos first opened, in a place too deep and hidden to see, nurturing the harmonious Qi of the Origin and bringing forth and harmonizing Yin-Yang.

Thus the Daode Jing of Lord Lao says, “Within the deep and obscure there is essence and Qi; within the indistinct and elusive there are forms.” It also says, “There is a single, undifferentiated existence, generated before Heaven and Earth. Still and vast, it stands alone without changing; it circulates and moves without ceasing, and can serve as the source of all things beneath Heaven.” These words explain that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning appeared in response to primordial Qi within chaos, and that this is how the undifferentiated existence came into being.

The Lingbao Scripture of Limitless Salvation, an important scripture of the Lingbao school, records that through the long, endless cycles of the kalpas, Heaven and Earth remained in chaos, with neither form nor abyss above or below; a diamond like wondrous substance bore the movement of Heaven. At that time there were no bodies or images. Only in the era of Red Brilliance did the patterns of Heaven and Earth open, and all things begin to move according to the principles of nature. The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning stabilized Heaven and Earth and transmitted the five scriptures. From this we learn that, through the diamond like wondrous substance, the Celestial Worthy followed the movement of Heaven and its Qi, carried out instruction, brought forth the myriad things, and established the laws and natural patterns. The phrase “the female diagrams spread and stabilized” in the scripture refers to the spreading and stabilization of the relevant diagrams, texts, and laws.

The Record of Classics in the Confucian Canon states that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning was born before “Great Nonbeing,” received the Qi of nature, and was profound and vast beyond measure. Even when Heaven and Earth are destroyed and the kalpas come to an end, the Celestial Worthy’s true substance remains forever, indestructible. Whenever Heaven and Earth first open, the Celestial Worthy may be above the Jade Capital, the celestial immortal city in Daoist belief, or in one of the pure lands of the five directions, teaching beings the esoteric Dao. This is called “opening a kalpa to save beings”: transmitting the Dao and delivering beings when a new cycle of Heaven and Earth begins. Such openings of kalpas have occurred more than once, hence names such as Yanquang, Red Brilliance, Longhan, and Kaihuang; these are names for cycles or eras. Among the countless beings saved by the Celestial Worthy are the highest classes of beings, including celestial immortals and sages.

All those who were delivered were immortals and sages from the various celestial realms, belonging to the highest ranks beyond measure. Among them were the Most High Lord Lao, the Celestial Sovereign of Heavenly Truth, the Emperors of the Five Directions, and the various immortal officials. They received the scriptures and teachings one after another.

The scriptures that were transmitted also received the Qi of Primordial Unity—the original vital energy of the cosmos. They appeared spontaneously and naturally, rather than being made by human hands. Like the Celestial Worthy, they endure forever and never perish. Before Heaven and Earth were destroyed, the texts remained hidden and were not disseminated. When a cosmic age began, the words appeared of their own accord. This celestial text had only eight characters, yet contained the profound principles of the Dao, and was therefore called a “heavenly book.” Each character was a zhang square, with light streaming from its eight corners. Its radiance dazzled the eyes and filled those who saw it with awe. Even the immortals of the various heavens could not look upon it clearly.

When the Celestial Worthy ushered in a new cosmic age, he commanded the Celestial Sovereign of Heavenly Truth to sound forth and transmit the voices of the celestial realm, then distinguish and explain them. Immortals below the Perfected Ones passed the teachings down in stages, each to the next rank. Only after the immortals had received the text did they begin to let people in the human world see it. The scripture also says that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning appeared during the Dragon-Han era and used the Dharma to deliver living beings. After the Celestial Worthy departed, a cosmic age passed and Heaven and Earth were destroyed. Light vanished; men and women were reduced to ashes and perished, sinking into the darkness of the Yan-Kang era. After countless ages had elapsed, Heaven and Earth reappeared and order was restored in the Red Bright era. The Celestial Worthy appeared once more, bearing the title “Lord Without Name.” He transmitted the Dharma, taught and delivered living beings, and saved those in the various heavens. After the Celestial Worthy departed, another cosmic age passed, and Heaven and Earth were destroyed again, returning to darkness. In the first year of the Kaihuang era, the Celestial Worthy appeared in the Primordial Blue Heaven. Taking the title Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, he spread the Dharma and delivered the Perfected Immortals of the various heavens.

The Scripture on the Deeds of Delivering Humanity says: “From the time the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning opened the way to light until the first year of the Red Bright era, nine thousand nine hundred hundred-million myriad cosmic ages had passed.” The Scripture on the Origin of Delivering Humanity says: “For your sake, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning specially manifested his form as an expedient means, to teach and guide you across.”

The Scripture on the Origin of Delivering Beings says: “For your sake, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) temporarily manifested a body, teaching and guiding living beings so that those who have not yet been delivered may form the conditions for deliverance in a later life. Now you should gather your thoughts and return to Wuwei (non-action), purity, and the state of constant stillness and immobility.”

The scripture also says: “Since attaining the Dao, I have passed through immeasurable kalpas, remaining continually in the world and never departing from it. Those who are ready to be delivered can see my form at all times. As the conditions of each age shift, living beings can no longer see me. The beings of this kalpa, in response to their faculties and conditions, should be delivered and liberated by the Lord of the Dao (Daojun). Therefore, I now ascend into the mysterious realm. Because your physical eyes cannot see my true form, you assume that I have vanished completely. If you practice correct contemplation, you will naturally be able to see me; I am no different from how I am now.”

If you still cannot understand the aspect of emptiness—the idea that things have no fixed, unchanging substance—and need images to gather your thoughts, you may cast an image in purple gold or sculpt and paint my true likeness. You may bow and make offerings before it as though before my actual form; focused remembrance and sincere prayer bring the same merit. Those who are poor may make an image from clay, wood, bronze, or other materials according to their means. Offerings such as a hall, curtains, seats, banners, flowers, lamps, and candles should likewise be made according to one’s means, as if offering them to the true Celestial Worthy. Through these conditions, one can ultimately turn toward the Highest Way.

From this we can understand that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning was born from wondrous Qi, the mysterious primordial vital energy, and suddenly manifested an image, responding to circumstances through transformations without end. He reveals his traces and takes on a body without depending on any external condition. His teaching, however, has a beginning and an end. The Lord Lao’s deliverance of living beings explains how the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning manifests an image in response to things; The Supreme Origin traces the source of true stillness; The Original Conduct discusses the passage of kalpas; and the Lingbao identifies his titles. The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning does not pass through defiled realms, so he is called Pure and Empty, and for this reason he is also called Mysterious and Wondrous. How can this be the same as the claim that the figure revered by Buddhists was born from the right side, or that Lord Lao must have descended into the world from the left armpit? Those with shallow understanding have failed to investigate the root and essential meaning: those who favor Confucian learning study only the ancient classics, while those who revere Suchness, the true nature as understood in Buddhism, read only Buddhist texts.

Daoist scriptures are profound and mysterious, and few people study them seriously. They neither understand their purpose nor know their contents, so each judges them only by what they have seen and often dismisses the Heavenly Worthies (the deities revered in Daoism) as unreal. Just as a frog at the bottom of a well cannot speak of the sea, and an insect of summer cannot speak of ice and snow. There is truth in these words!

Later, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (the primordial deity revered in Daoism) ascended into the wondrous realm, and divine images gradually appeared. Daoist scriptures and teachings spread widely; mysterious teachings reached across the world, and profound principles gathered in the treasury of the classics. People then sought their deeper meaning through the images of the trigrams, while Confucian texts and histories also drew upon their subtle teachings. Translators, too, indeed took these essential principles as their basis. Thus, Confucian texts and Daoist scriptures are connected in some matters; the mysterious writings that illuminate ultimate principles all return, in the end, to the same fundamental truth. One who understands the root will forget distinctions between them; one who knows only the branches will stir up arguments over right and wrong. Most people in the world pursue the branches, and few return to the root. It is therefore hard indeed to make them dispel the disputes in their hearts—a cause for regret! Zhuangzi said that the whole world is deluded. Though I may pursue something, how could I bring it about?

The ten rounds of debate by Master Zhi and Zhong Sheng’s discussion of the four foundations, though concerned with mysterious principles, remained caught up in contests over who was right. The Eight Parallels of the Wang family, the Four Negations of the Song school, the Mysterious Writings of Zhe Daozheng, and Master Liu’s Comprehensive Treatise likewise set up opposing hosts and guests to debate back and forth. As for the Two Contemplations, the Three Vehicles, the Six Supernatural Powers, the Four Immeasurable Qualities, and the essential teachings of the many scriptures, although these are kept secret and not explained in detail, the great principles of Daoism’s mysterious tradition address them fully. Yet these writings are so extensive that few scholars can study them deeply. As a result, practitioners fail to distinguish the stages of cultivation and realization from the grades of karmic retribution, while those who expound the teachings do not understand how principles and methods of instruction differ in depth. Now, drawing on relevant discussions, I have removed what is cumbersome and redundant, cited scriptures from many traditions, and arranged the material by subject. I have titled it The Pivot of Daoist Teachings.

The teachings that reveal the supreme Dao (the Way) clarify the essentials of fundamental truth. The book is arranged in ten volumes and thirty-seven sections, so that even those who once scorned Daoist teachings may suddenly understand them, and those who devote themselves to practice may grasp their profound purpose. Is this not a wonderful thing? Is this not a wonderful thing?

Essentials of Daoist Teachings, Volume One

Section One: The Meaning of Dao and De; Section Two: The Meaning of the Dharma Body; Section Three: The Meaning of the Three Treasures; Section Four: The Meaning of Stages and Practice.

Section One: The Meaning of Dao and De

“Dao and De” refers to the most profound fundamental purpose and the highest realm of the subtle transformation and nurture of all things. The workings of its wondrous power are hidden, yet the principles by which all things come into being are contained within it. The supreme De is subtle and all-pervading, and its principles encompass the nurturing and growth of all things.

To reach this realm is to transcend the distinction between being and nonbeing and to forget the boundary between self and other. This is its far-reaching significance. Thus, the Dao De Jing says: “The Dao gives life to and nurtures all things; De stores up and sustains them.” It also says: “The Great Dao flows everywhere, vast and far-reaching; its mysterious De is deep and enduring.” The Jing of Western Ascension says: “Dao and De blend together, reaching the realm of primordial, mysterious unity.”

“Dao” means principle: the fundamental principle that is real yet formless and empty. The Scripture on Dispelling Demons says, “Dao is nonbeing.” Here, “nonbeing” does not mean sheer nothingness; it means that the Great Dao has no form or name.

“Tong” means to guide and to flow freely without obstruction. The Great Dao connects all things and brings forth the myriad ways of transformation; its changes and workings meet no impediment. Thus the Lord of the Riverbank says, “Dao reaches in all directions.” It also guides those who are attached to let go of their fixations, and leads ordinary people toward the realm of the sages. The Scripture of Naturalness says, “Guide the branches back to the root.” This means guiding people away from external, illusory feelings and perceptions and back to the root. The root is one’s true nature; the branches are deluded emotions.

“De” has several related meanings: “attainment,” “fulfillment,” and “not losing.” “Attainment” means attaining the fruition of Dao. The Scripture of Great Peace says, “De is when things accord with one another and attainment follows.” “Fulfillment” means bringing things to completion and saving living beings, helping them reach the Supreme Dao. In terms of the result of cultivation, it means attaining the Supreme Dao; in terms of the process, it means helping bring about pure cultivation. The Scripture of De says, “Cause it to be fulfilled; cause it to ripen.” “Not losing” refers to people of highest De who do not lose their De; hence the term “not losing.” The Scripture of Great Peace says, “Constantly attaining, without losing.”

Yet Dao and De are subtle and profound, beyond words and names, and originally had no fixed names. Names were imposed on them only as a necessary measure for establishing teachings and guiding ordinary people. These names, which do not belong to them by nature, are therefore used to explain the true principle. To understand that what the names refer to is in fact the nameless Dao is to grasp the subtle teaching. The Lingbao Scripture says, “Emptiness and nonbeing endure forever, arising of themselves; names are imposed, and it is called the Great Dao.”

“Dao” and “De” can be discussed in terms of essence and function. In speaking of the Dao, the emphasis is on “nonbeing”: taking nonbeing as its root, it can remove faults when governing things. In speaking of De, the emphasis is on “being”: it manifests in ordinary life, enabling people to govern worldly affairs without becoming confused.

Master Lu says that emptiness and stillness are the essence of the Dao: being empty, there is nothing it cannot pervade; being still, there is nothing it cannot respond to. Dharma Master Xuánjìng, by contrast, holds that wisdom is the essence of the Dao, and spiritual powers are its function.

Dao and De are originally one, though they have two meanings. To say they are one does not mean they have no distinctions at all; to say they are two does not mean they are separate from each other. So it is too simple to say that they have essence and function, or that they have neither. They take nonbeing as their essence, yet have essence without clinging to it; they take functionlessness as their function, acting without clinging to their actions. No teaching falls outside their essence, and no principle fails to express their function.

In probing the essence of the Dao, we find that it is apart from both “emptiness” and “being,” and belongs to neither Yin nor Yang. The eyes cannot see it, the ears cannot hear it, and the hands cannot touch or make it out. In probing the Dao’s function, we find that it can adapt freely while also upholding what is true; it can be on the left or on the right; it can contain the great within the small, and make the great abide within the small. Its essence has no limit, and so cannot be assessed in words; its function, too, is inexhaustible, and can therefore appear in response to different circumstances.

The scripture also speaks of two kinds of Dao, the “constant” and the “accessible,” and two kinds of De, “higher De” and “lower De.” An old commentary holds that, in principle, the “Dao of constant stillness” is Wuwei (non-action), and that it has four aspects. First, it does not belong to the mind’s activities of grasping at external objects, deliberating, and making distinctions; hence it is called “mindlessness.” Second, it has no fixed form or substance and is not confined by distinctions or directions, so it can manifest anywhere.

Regarding the “constant Dao,” the “Dao that can be spoken,” and the two kinds of De, higher and lower, an earlier commentary says: “The ever-still Dao” refers, in meaning, to the Dao of Wuwei (non-action). It has four characteristics. First, it does not reach out toward external objects or make discriminating judgments, and so is called “mindless.” Second, it has no obstruction or distinguishing form, and so is called “formless.” Third, it cannot be defined by names or words, and so is called “nameless.” Fourth, it is not subject to change over time, and so is called “timeless.” A Dao with these four characteristics is called the “constant Dao.”

Master Jia holds that, once the response body—the form that appears to guide and save people according to their needs—begins to change, all teachings such as those of the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) belong to the “Dao that can be spoken”: they can be expressed in words and described, and therefore are not eternal and unchanging. Higher De means forgetting the marks of De and not clinging to it; lower De means clinging to De. People often become attached, believing there is a Dao that remains constant and unchanging for them to pursue, yet failing to understand its principle. As a result, they become bound by doctrine. The Lord Lao explained Dao and De precisely to correct this misunderstanding.

When the scripture says, “The Dao that can be spoken is not the constant Dao,” it does not mean that there is some other constant Dao. Rather, it means that any Dao that can be spoken is not fixed and unchanging, and should not be clung to as constant. The scripture deliberately calls it “not constant” to dissolve people’s attachments. The Dao spoken of here is medicine for delusion. Once delusion is dispelled, what kind of Dao cannot be reached? If one understands that “not taking it as something attained is true attainment,” one may also say, “not clinging to it as constant is true constancy.”

The Meaning of the Dharma Body, Part Two

The Dharma Body is the pure and wondrous, utterly true and unerring substance of the Supreme Dao. It manifests four virtues and responds to the needs of beings in the ten directions. It appears according to circumstances, in both activity and stillness, and saves beings by manifesting in multiple forms. This is the meaning of the Dharma Body.

The Scripture of Ascending the Mystery says: “I establish primordial Qi and set it flowing through the eight directions. At times I am called Primordial Beginning; at times, Lord Lao; at times, the Most High; and at times, I serve as a teacher in the world. I follow the preferences of the people and manifest the Dharma Body for them.” The Scripture of the Original Foundation says: “In clear and pure contemplation, one can behold the Dharma Body.” It also says: “Incense, flowers, and music all reflect the Dharma Body.”

A commentary says: “‘Dharma’ is a rule that can be followed; ‘body’ is an appearance or presence. The presence manifested by the Perfected One can serve as a rule, and so it is called the Dharma Body.” As for how the Dharma Body responds to circumstances and changes, it appears in different forms and under different names. Incense, flowers, and music can all reflect the Dharma Body.

Here, “Dharma Body” means that “Dharma” is a standard one can follow, while “body” is a form that appears. The presence of a perfected being can serve as a model, so it is called the Dharma Body.

When the Dao, revered as supreme, manifests in response to beings, it takes many forms and names. Taken together, its root nature and its manifestations comprise six kinds: the root nature has three names, and its manifestations have three as well. The Jing of the Original Beginning says that the Dao Body is the still, quiescent root nature. It also says that although the root nature and its manifestations differ in movement and stillness, their functions are distinct; and that the body of the root nature can bring forth and transform the myriad things. The scripture further says that the born body belongs to the manifestations: it is a body-form that appears.

The three names for the root nature are Dao Body, True Body, and Reward Body.

First is the Dao Body. The Scripture of Great Peace says that the Dao guides and brings forth all things without exception. The Scripture for Deliverance of Humanity says that only the Dao takes the Dao as its body. The Jing of the Original Beginning says that the Dao itself is the True Dao, also called the Dao Body.

Second is the True Body. The Jade Latitude Scripture says that “true, pure, and firm” describes a root nature that is wholly true and steadfast, free from defilement and contamination, and constant without change. The Scripture for Dispelling Demons says that what is close to the Dao’s root nature is called the True Body. The Jing of the Original Beginning says that the True Body of the Dao’s supreme lord is pure and unobstructed.

Third is the Reward Body. “Reward” carries the meaning of recompense; it refers to a body attained through cultivation over countless kalpas. The Scripture of Original Practice says that the karmic reward attained today is revered by the heavenly honored ones. The Jing of the Original Beginning says that the Primordial Heavenly Worthy’s true body was attained through countless kalpas and the prolonged cultivation of wondrous practices.

The three names for manifestations are Responsive Body, Divided Body, and Transformation Body.

First is the Responsive Body. “Responsive” means answering or meeting; it refers to taking form according to the capacities of living beings, in order to meet their needs. The Scripture of Questions says that the Dao’s supreme lord responds to living beings without a mind of discrimination. The Jing of the Original Beginning says that different forms appear according to the innate capacities of living beings, and for this reason the body is called the Responsive Body. The Responsive Body is also called the born body, meaning that it conforms to the laws of the world by descending into birth and taking on physical form.

Second is the Divided Body. “Divided Body” means dispersing a single bodily form across many places. Though the manifested forms are more than one, they do not differ in appearance. The Jing of the Original Beginning says that forms can be divided without limit; because people see only one of them, it is said that there are a hundred billion manifested bodies. The scripture also says that the Divided Body is the unobstructed function revealed by the Reward Body. The Lingbao Scripture says that the Heavenly Worthy can divide into a million bodies at once, appearing everywhere. Some take male form and others female form, yet all are regarded as the Heavenly Worthy, as though they were present in the same place.

Third is the Transformation Body. “Transformation” means changing unpredictably, appearing and disappearing; it can manifest many different forms and is no longer the original bodily form. The Scripture of Settled Intent says that the Heavenly Worthy once transformed into an ordinary person and passed through a crowd. The Jing of the Original Beginning says that the Dao’s supreme lord also appears as a Transformation Body, changing in response to circumstances among human beings, in the heavens, and among the beings of the six realms. At times the lord suddenly appears, and at times withdraws from view, taking different forms as circumstances require.

“Root and Manifestation, Essence and Meaning” discusses the relationship between the fundamental and its manifestations, between the Dharma Body and the bodies it manifests. Daoist scriptures explore the fundamental principles of the Dharma Body, holding that root and manifestation can be said to be neither entirely the same nor wholly different. The three manifested bodies each have their own form; the three names for the root share one essential nature but carry different meanings. What is pure wisdom and eternally unchanging is called the “True Body”; what is pure and open to the profound is called the “Dao”; what responds through the signs of Qi and merits is called the “Reward Body.” These names explain distinct meanings in terms of Qi, Jing, and Shen. Their profundity is inexhaustible, yet they all arise from the same source.

Since it is called the Dharma Body, it must have a mysterious nature. But when we call it a “body” or an “essence,” does that necessarily mean it has neither form nor mind? Earlier teachings called it “the original body of the Still Realm,” with “the wondrous wisdom of the True One” (the profound wisdom of the True One) as its essence. The Lingbao Scripture says, “Mysterious communion is the source of great wisdom.” Form belongs to things that cause bondage and obstruction; beings below the Nine Sages remain burdened by desire, and therefore all have form. When the burdens of the Dao have been exhausted, only the mysterious mind remains. This wondrous mind contains every virtue; it is still and cannot be seen, and so it is called “wondrous nonbeing.”

When the wondrous mind acts and manifests, it can take form in accordance with the myriad things. Though both mind and form are mysterious, the myriad things can still perceive it; therefore it is called “wondrous being.” Viewed from the root, manifestation has no essence independent of the root: what is perceived is in fact the root itself. Stillness and function together are called “essence.”

This explains the root of the Dharma Body: originally, it has neither form nor thought. Yet when the scriptures say it has form and thought, they do so to dispel attachments and teach living beings; they do not claim that it inherently has or lacks anything. To help beings who crave form relinquish their attachment to it, the scriptures say that the highest Dao has no form. The Scripture on the Ascent to the West says, “The Dao’s appearance has no trace of form.” To beings attached to thoughts, they say that the highest Dao is without mind. The Scripture of Questions says, “The Dao takes mindlessness as its principle.” To beings attached to annihilation, who believe that everything is nothing, they say that the highest Dao has both mind and form. The Scripture of the Original Limit says, “Because it knows all things, it is also called mind; because the Dao-Eye can see it, it is also called form.”

The Shengshen Zhang Jing says that form and spirit exist together and are never separated; together they return to the true realm of the Dao. If one understands this as referring to beings who are doubly attached to their physical bodies, one would call it “formless and mindless.” The Benji Jing therefore says: because it does not depend on objects and conditions to give rise to thought, it is called “non-mind”; because nothing obstructs it, it is called “formless.” In other words, it is neither mind nor physical form in the ordinary sense, yet it can manifest as mind and as physical form. It takes “non-mind” as mind and “non-form” as form. Since it takes an unattached mind as mind and unattached form as form, it also takes what cannot be grasped as its De (Virtue/Power), and the absence of fixed form as its substance.

The Dharma Body (the true substance manifested by the Dao) inherently possesses all virtues in their fullness. The four qualities presented here praise it; they do not mean that the Dharma Body has only these four fixed and unchanging properties. This account is simply meant to inspire beings to yearn for and seek to behold the Dharma Body. To become attached to these descriptions would instead violate the principle they express.

What are the four qualities? The first is permanence, the second joy, the third freedom, and the fourth purity.

“Permanence” means that the Dharma Body is clear and tranquil, neither moving nor wavering, and is not governed by the changes of impermanence; hence it is called permanently abiding. Both the Baoxuan Jing and the Dao Jing say, “It abides, tranquil and constant.”

“Joy” means peaceful delight. The Benji Jing says that the Dharma Body smiles with joy, and that its whole being is at ease and filled with delight. It also says that it is secure and joyful.

“Freedom” means that the Dharma Body is unobstructed in every circumstance and acts as it wishes; hence it is called free. The Baoxuan Jing says that it freely transforms as it comes and goes. The Benji Jing says that the wondrous wisdom of the True One is free and unobstructed. The Haikong Jing also names freedom as the third quality.

“Purity” means that its wisdom is lucid and able to see things clearly, while its substance is without flaw; hence it is called pure. The Benji Jing says that freedom from defilement and impurity is called purity. It also says that the Dharma Body abides forever and is pure.

The Dharma Body and the state of attaining the Dao, however, are taught to remedy the many forms of delusion among beings. In their confusion, beings take a hundred-year lifespan to be eternal, the realm of the Five Desires to be true happiness, their bodies to be the “self,” and their delight in various forms to be purity. None of these views accords with the principle described here.

Impermanence, suffering, no-self, and impurity are four truths that sages point out to teach living beings. When a sage explains that the world is impermanent, he uses his own circumstances to awaken people, so they will let go of their attachments. The Scripture of the Western Ascension (Xisheng Jing) says, “Even I have white hair and grow old; who can escape aging?” This shows that the world is impermanent. The scripture also says, “The body is the root of suffering. Pain and itching, cold and warmth all constrain me. I am bound by the body and know this to be a great calamity.” This shows that the world is full of suffering. Among the people and things between Heaven and Earth, who can act entirely on their own and remain unchanged forever? This shows that there is no self. The scripture also says, “I have long since renounced the world and grown weary of it.” This shows that the body in this world is impure. The troubles and revulsions caused by worldly things can also be understood in terms of impurity; those who cling to doctrine simply have not understood this.

Sages point out impermanence, suffering, lack of an independent self, and impurity to dispel people’s deluded attachment to seeing the world as permanent, pleasurable, self, and pure. Yet some conclude that the fruits of the Dao are not worth seeking, and must also possess these four qualities: impermanence, suffering, no-self, and impurity. To correct this view, it is said that the fruits attained through cultivating the Dao are permanence, bliss, self, and purity.

On the doctrine of original essence and manifested achievement—the innate foundation and the results that appear through cultivation—one teacher says that living beings inherently possess the Dharma Body, their fundamental body beyond physical form, and already have every virtue complete within them. Permanence and bliss have always been present, but delusion obscures them, so they cannot be seen. It is like being unable to see clear water when it is mixed with mud, or being unable to see what lies beneath the sand in a pit ten thousand feet deep. When it finally becomes visible, its essential nature has not changed.

Another school says that living beings do not inherently possess these virtues. They have only the principle that they are certain to attain them; this is why their nature is said to be clear and tranquil, and to endure forever.

The text then questions both views. If living beings already possess every virtue, how can delusion obscure them? And if they can be obscured, what is there in these virtues to revere? If living beings do not originally possess these virtues but acquire them only now, then they must be impermanent. Moreover, if the principle itself has existed from the beginning, the principle might be said to endure forever. But since the virtues exist in reality only later, they must be impermanent.

If we say that both principle and phenomena are constant and unchanging, then both must be fundamental, and this claim does not hold. We now explain that the Dharma Body—the fundamental body realized through the Buddha’s Way—is not bounded by the three ages of past, present, and future. How, then, can we say that it once existed? Nor can we say that it has a fixed state or an outward form. It was never “nonexistent,” so how can we speak of it as concealed or manifest?

The claim that “spirit is originally clear” means only that it is pure from the beginning. Ultimately, there is no substantial entity that can be grasped. To lose sight of this principle is called “delusion’s obscuration”; to understand it is called “the nature’s manifestation.” This does not mean that there is some separate principle within the minds of sentient beings, which is why the Dharma Body is called constant and pure.

Some say that the manifested body is impermanent, while the original body is constant. Others say that what is constant should function through manifestation, and that manifested function may also be called constant. Here we explain that such claims hold only provisionally, in response to differing conditions. When constancy and impermanence are considered in their ultimate sense, both belong to the realm of function and manifestation—that is, to the “trace.” What is neither constant nor impermanent may be called the “source.” By gradually dispelling the four kinds of attachment, all manner of mistaken distinctions can be brought to rest.

The Meaning of the Three Treasures, Chapter Three

The “Three Treasures” are the pillars of Daoist teaching, the bridge that guides sentient beings across the ford of delusion, the support on which all things receive blessings, and the right path leading to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing). Taking refuge in the fundamental right Way begins here. The Scripture on the Generation of the Spirits of the Nine Heavens says, “The Three Treasures are honored and of great importance; they are the utmost true Way of the Nine Heavens.” The Scripture of Orthodox Unity says, “When afflictions reach their height, one should take refuge in the Three Treasures.” The Scripture of Original Interconnection says, “The Three Treasures ceaselessly move and function.” It also says, “The Three Treasures are profound and subtle.”

The Scripture of Questions and Requests states that the Three Treasures are, first, the Treasure of the Dao; second, the Treasure of the Supreme One’s Scriptures; and third, the Treasure of the Great Master. The Treasure of the Dao can reach and set all things in motion, and its function never ceases. It also says that the Three Treasures are profound and subtle.

The Asking Scripture says that the Three Treasures are: first, the Treasure of the Dao; second, the Treasure of the Supreme Scripture; and third, the Treasure of the Great Master.

“Dao” means to reach through. It enables oneself to reach through, and enables others to do so as well. It helps ordinary people understand the principles of the Way and guides all things toward peace and well-being.

In “Supreme Scripture,” “supreme” means vast beyond measure, encompassing every kind of principle; “upper” means exalted and preeminent, surpassing other teachings. “Scripture” means a rule or constant way, and also suggests both words and a path. Rules are the standards followed by all things; the constant way is the model followed by all the sages. A scripture points out the route to understanding truth and the path into the Great Dao.

The commentary on the Scripture for Dispelling Demons says that a master can preserve life, teach people to do good, and set an example for others. Master Meng says that “master” carries the meanings of harmony and gathering: one who leads disciples will necessarily bring people together, and one who deals with others should do so harmoniously. The Scripture of the Covenant’s Might also says that “master” means harmony, though harmony has both a practical and a principled dimension. Practical harmony means being able to accommodate others and bring people together so that they get along like water and milk blending together. Harmony in principle means yearning for the true Dao and moving toward the sacred realm, without violating its profound and mysterious principles.

The Three Treasures are also called the Three Venerable Ones. The Chart, Rites, and Precepts of the Zhengyi Scripture says that “venerable” means supreme in status, while “treasure” means beyond all measure in value. The Teachings of the Scripture of Lord Lao says that when people turn back from delusion to the right path and understand the One, they should honor and believe in the Three Treasures. The Asking Scripture also says that the Three Treasures are the Three Venerable Ones. According to the scriptures, “venerable” is a name earned through exalted status, while “treasure” is a name earned through priceless value. The Three Treasures are precious and venerable in themselves, and they also serve as metaphors.

In their own right, the Supreme One is honored as the sovereign of the Dao and its teachings. The Scripture of Ascending to the Mystery says that the Supreme One is the father of all sages and the mother of all things. The Supreme One is called father and mother because he gives rise to the Dharma body and the life of wisdom; he is called the Dharma King because all beings turn toward him and honor him. This describes the inherent exalted status of the Three Treasures. In the world, only gold and jade are considered treasures. A person’s form may be compared to a golden body and jade-like substance, while the scriptures are like words carved in jade and writings in gold. This describes the inherent preciousness of the Three Treasures. As metaphors, “venerable” is like parents, and “treasure” is like pearls and jade.

Regarding the nature and meaning of the “Three Treasures,” the Diagram and Instructions for Great Preservation says: “The Treasure of the Dao is formless form—that is, the Most High.” This takes the responsive, transforming body as the essence of the Treasure of the Dao. The Treasure of the Master is a person who has attained the Dao and can serve as one’s guide. The Scripture of the Covenant of Majesty says: “When the Lord of the Dao, the Most High, uses an image to proclaim the teachings, this is called the Treasure of the Master; when he responds to living beings through Qi, this is called the Treasure of the Dao; when he explains the principles through subtle and wondrous writing, this is called the Treasure of the Scripture.”

The “Chapter on Teaching” says that there can be only one Most High in the world. Thus there cannot be two Kings of the Law, and there is only one sovereign who transforms and teaches living beings. For this reason, the Lord of the Dao is called the Treasure of the Dao, while the subtle and wondrous writing that proclaims the principles is called the Treasure of the Scripture. The Lord of the Dao is precisely the Treasure of the Dao, the supreme sovereign. Hong, a figure in Daoist legend, was born from a womb, entered a precious pearl, and ultimately attained perfect fruition. His body and wisdom therefore constitute the essence of the Treasure of the Dao.

The essence of the Treasure of the Master comprises the bodies and wisdom of practitioners ranging from those just beginning to cultivate the Dao to the highest of the Nine Sages, as well as the Three Treasures’ true sages at the initial stage and groups of five who perform rites. If someone manifests spiritual powers or appears in multiple transformed bodies, that person too belongs to the Treasure of the Master, according to their standing in cultivation. The requirement that a great rite be performed by at least five people comes from the Ritual Manual for the Yellow Register Retreat, which sets five as the minimum number. The Perfected One of Mysterious Unity also says that the Most High once sent three Perfected Ones and the Celestial Master to oversee Xu Laile as he transmitted the scripture for delivering people to the Immortal Duke. This shows that five people are needed to conduct a great rite.

There are three accounts of the essence of the Treasure of the Scripture. The first holds that its essence is “principle”: written words can disappear, so the words themselves do not count as scripture; principle endures unchanged, and is therefore what makes a scripture. The second holds that scripture consists of both words and principle: principle accords with the eternal Dao, while the words conform to the teachings. The third holds that written words are the essence of scripture: if principle has not been expressed, it cannot be called scripture; only when the teachings are spoken or written down does scripture acquire its name.

If one clings rigidly to any single account, each of the three has its limitations. Explained provisionally according to different circumstances, however, all three interpretations are reasonable. In keeping with the usual understanding, the third has a slight advantage, since “scripture” in discussions of the teachings generally refers to written words.

One should also understand that the Lord of the Dao is the “root” in the Dao’s origins and unfolding, and the “trace” in its manifestation and transmission; for this reason, he belongs to the Treasure of the Dao. Scriptures contain principles and also serve to teach and transform. Teachings spoken by the revered sages themselves, written on jade tablets, then printed and copied onto silk and paper for transmission, are the orthodox Treasure of the Scriptures. If the Nine Sages descend and teach in person, or direct others to teach; or if a scripture is spoken by another person, printed as a book, and written on silk and paper, then, so long as it clarifies the principles, it may be classified according to its degree as a scripture and called a “transmitted treatise.” This is the Treasure of the Scriptures established in accordance with circumstances.

For example, when the Five Perfected Ones descended and taught the Immortal Lord, he became an orthodox Treasure of the Masters. If people are merely beginning to seek the Dao and ordinary Daoist priests perform a ritual together; or if there are fewer than five monastics cultivating the Dao, or if there are five but no Treasure of the Masters that meets the full requirements, these are all Treasures of the Masters established in accordance with circumstances. Painting images or depicting appearances to stand in for realized beings also belongs to this category.

As for why the Most High Lord of the Dao is a treasure: in outward form, he has seventy-two marks and eighty-one auspicious features; in inward mind, he comprehends the four directions and possesses the six supernatural powers, with wisdom brought to perfection. With these adornments of body and mind complete, he becomes the Treasure of the Dao.

The purpose of the Treasure of the Scriptures is to lead people to do good and refrain from evil. Sometimes one or two sentences suffice; at other times, many chapters and verses are needed to explain the matter fully. For example, “Better to die while keeping to goodness than to live by doing evil” contains the whole principle in a single sentence. By contrast, the Treatise on the Victory of Goodness discusses “the True One,” while the Two Questions to the Perfected discuss “the root of Shen.” These require analogies, detailed exposition, and a thorough unfolding of their principles; only many passages together can make them clear.

Ordinarily, a four-character phrase may already suffice to explain a principle and its function, and may therefore count as an orthodox scripture. Some say that if a text begins with a single character, it is a true scripture. Others say that every character can independently explain a principle, so that one character constitutes a whole true scripture. This view is not accepted here. For instance, the character “better” by itself does not yet express the meaning of “keeping to goodness even unto death.” What, then, does this isolated character “better” explain? Its principle and function are incomplete, so it does not count as a true scripture. If a single character can fully explain a principle, then it does count as a true scripture—for example, the character “Dao.”

The Treasure of the Masters has three aspects: leaving one’s family and worldly life; cultivating goodness and learning wisdom; and gathering people together to perform rituals. Regarding departure from family and worldly life, earlier accounts list five things to show its outstanding merit.

There are five things involved in cultivating the Dao: first, live in a quiet and beautiful place; second, take guidance from an enlightened master; third, devote yourself to practicing the Daoist teachings; fourth, promote Daoism; and fifth, set your outer life apart from the secular world.

As for living in a secluded place, the Jing of the Fundamental Origin says that one may withdraw to the mountains and forests or make use of a retreat—a place where practitioners live and cultivate the Dao. The Jing of Ascending the Mystery says that spacious, quiet halls and houses may be called abodes of the immortals. The purpose is to live freely and at ease, naturally inclining toward the good Dao.

As for taking guidance from an enlightened master, once a suitable place for cultivation has been found, one should follow someone of profound virtue. The Jing of the Fundamental Origin says one should be willing to meet an enlightened master, ask for guidance, and receive the higher Daoist teachings; it also says to follow the master’s example. The Lingbao Jing says that without a master’s transmission, the Daoist teachings cannot be passed down.

As for devoting oneself to the teachings, after finding an enlightened master, one should ask to receive subtle and profound methods. The Jing of the Fundamental Origin says to seek out an enlightened master and request instruction in essential cultivation methods and the wondrous texts of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), the Daoist classification system for scriptures. The Lingbao Jing says that everything one does should center on the Daoist teachings.

As for promoting Daoism, after receiving profound teachings, one should use them to guide others. The Jing of the Fundamental Origin says one should be willing to use the spoken teachings of the Dao to awaken those who are unenlightened. The Jing of Requesting Instruction in the Higher Scripture says to open the gates of the teachings wide; the Jing of Settling the Will says to strengthen and make manifest the path of the Daoist.

As for setting one’s outward appearance apart from the world, one wears a yellow-brown robe—the plain garment worn by Daoist practitioners—and a black headcloth, along with Daoist vestments, so that one’s outward appearance differs from that of ordinary people. One’s inner life, too, should shed worldly habits. The Jing of the Fundamental Origin says that even if one’s clothes are worn and one’s shoes are threadbare, one should remain humble and restrained, leaving no trace; it also says to give up worldly finery and playthings. Wearing a yellow-brown robe and a black headcloth uses outward conduct to guide the heart and free a person from worldly constraints. In practice, leaving home to become a monastic is the most complete way to do this.

The scripture also says that when one first undertakes the Five Thousand Words (Daode Jing), one may still attend court and retain one’s official robes. The practice of the Lingbao lineage further shows that until one has fully received the scriptures of the Three Caverns, one has not yet fully entered the line of transmission.

Second, those who cultivate goodness and pursue wisdom are people who follow the methods of the Dao. They take cultivation and understanding of the Dao’s methods as their foundation, gradually rising beyond the ordinary world toward the realm of the sages. Of all this, true wisdom is the most important.

Third, people gather to cultivate the methods of the Dao. For example, the Five Perfected Ones descended and instructed Ge Xian, while people from the ten directions gathered to transmit the Way of the Most High. The Scripture on Ascending to the Mysterious says, “Third, one should recognize that the gathered people are a good field of merit.” Here, “teacher” refers to the gathered people; the meaning is clear. Yet these three meanings of “teacher” are sometimes all present and sometimes not.

In the human world, some people leave home to become Daoist renunciants, wear yellow Daoist robes, cultivate the methods of the Dao, realize the truth, and attain wisdom. Disciples gather around them, and through them attain a true understanding in the human world that reaches the upper realms. In this case, all three meanings are present. From the heavens above to realms beyond the world, one need not necessarily wear yellow robes or a black headscarf. Often, the crown is made of the seven treasures and the sash of radiance in nine colors. This is because beginners have a weaker resolve, so they rely on different outward forms to support their cultivation. The upper realms have no fixed location; it is enough to grasp the principles and awaken to understanding. Thus, even when immortals wear yellow, it is simply one customary form of dress.

Fourth: The Meaning of Rank and Cultivation

“Rank and cultivation” refers to the differing levels and achievements of those who study the Dao and become immortals. After attaining the fruit of the Dao and becoming Perfected Ones, they too hold ranks of varying degrees. This explains the scriptures’ references to the “three vehicles and seven titles,” and provides a basis for distinguishing accounts such as the “ten transformations and nine palaces.” The Scripture of the Origin says, “The divine officials have ranks; Perfected Ones and sages have stages of cultivation.” The Lingbao Scripture says, “The rank rises to that of an Immortal King.” It also says, “Achievements may be great or small.”

“Rank” refers to stages of cultivation, while “category” refers to types of virtue. Different traditions explain the divisions among these grades in different ways.

Master Xu cites the Scripture of the Cavern of Spirits (Dongshen Jing), which says that divine beings, perfected beings, immortals, adepts of the Dao, sages, and worthies are collectively called “the Dao.” The Code of Great Truth (Taizhen Ke) says that beings of the ghost realm who establish merit and virtue and thereby become ghostly immortals are all called “numinous beings.”

“Divine” means wondrous and unfathomable; “perfected” means firm and pure, without any falsity; “immortal” means ascending and transforming; “adept of the Dao” means open and unobstructed; and “sage” means establishing correct names and setting standards. These explanations mostly infer the practices that lead to a given attainment from the attainment itself. Others say that a sage is someone who keeps right conduct in their heart, a worthy is someone skilled in discernment and endowed with intelligence, and a numinous being can perceive what is subtle and hidden. The first six titles refer to worldly people after attaining the Dao; “numinous being” refers to ghosts and spirits after attaining the Dao.

Another view holds that there are seven titles but only three actual ranks: the rank of immortals, the rank of perfected beings, and the rank of sages. Although “divine,” “adept of the Dao,” “worthy,” and “numinous” are distinct titles, they have no separate ranks of their own and still fall within these three. Judging by the titles that appear in the scriptures, there are far more than seven. Other examples include the most consummate, the wise, the superior, and the great.

Master Lu says that those who cultivate the Dao begin as ordinary people. Through long accumulation of virtue, they attain the Dao: their first transformation is called “immortal,” the transformation from immortal to perfected being comes next, and the transformation from perfected being to sage follows. This account encompasses cultivators in the Nine Palaces within the realm and in Great Clarity beyond it, considering them all part of the immortal grade, with immortal, perfected, and sage forming three stages.

Since the various interpretations differ, none can readily be taken as definitive. Here we follow the central ideas of the two masters Yaoliang and Xuanjing in the Treatise on the Mysterious Gate (Xuanmen Lun). They propose two areas of discussion: the rank beings occupy when they receive life, and the grades attained after completing the cultivation of the immortal Dao.

The rank at which beings receive life refers to their being born in response to desires and conceptions. Within the realm there are thirty-two categories. Among them, those born through wholesome karma in the Realm of Desire belong to the ranks of the four classes of people within the Three Realms. Beyond the realm, beings are born in response to conceptions free of desire.

“Life endowment positions” refers to the different levels at which beings exist according to the life and realm they have received. Within the Three Realms, desire is present, and beings are born through contact with the external world and the sensations it produces. These positions are divided into thirty-two grades. Those belonging to wholesome karma are the positions of the Four Classes of Beings in the Three Realms—that is, the four kinds of beings who live within them. Beyond the Three Realms, there is no desire, yet beings are likewise born through sensation. These positions are divided into twenty-seven grades and belong to the One Vehicle of the Three Pure Ones, a realm that honors the Three Pure Ones and returns to the One Vehicle.

The “Grades of Realization Positions” describes the stages of cultivating the Dao and attaining its fruits. From first arousing the aspiration to reach the ultimate Dao, there are five positions: first, arousing the aspiration; second, subduing the Dao; third, knowing the Real; fourth, liberation; and fifth, the unsurpassed Dao. Taken together, these five positions of mind are divided into four stages: the first two belong to the Ten Turns, the third to the Nine Palaces, the fourth to the Three Pure Ones, and the fifth to the position of ultimate fruition. The first four are causal positions in the cultivation of the Dao; the final one is the fruit attained.

The first two positions of mind are collectively called the “Ten Turns.” Arousing the aspiration counts as one turn; subduing the Dao—overcoming deluded thoughts and setting out on the path of cultivation—comprises nine turns. Together, they make ten. The initial arousal of aspiration is also called the “Wandering and Scattered Position.” It is the first turn: breaking the bonds of birth and death, resolving to return to the place of the Dao, turning from delusion toward awakening, and leaving the secular world to enter the Daoist tradition.

The Great Precepts Scripture says that if a good man or good woman can bring forth a natural aspiration for the Dao, enter the Dharma gate, and uphold the Ten Precepts, then they become a faithful lay disciple of the Great Dao, whose merit can equal that of a valiant flying celestial. The “flying celestial” mentioned here has still not attained the Dao, and is therefore called one “who has not attained the Dao.” The Ten Turns are stages of cultivation through which disciples enter the first turn. The scripture also says that if a faithful lay disciple, while in the first turn, cultivates diligently without slackening or retreating, they can become a flying celestial. Continuing to advance in cultivation, they can then transcend the Three Realms. Thus, arousing the aspiration is the first turn.

The scripture further says that although faithful lay disciples live in the human world, they can pass through all manner of suffering; their bodies shine with light, their form and spirit are pure and upright, and they can subdue demonic essences. This shows that they have turned from the deviant to the correct and entered the right path. Yet the flying celestials spoken of here still belong to the position of subduing the Dao. They have not truly attained the Dao realm of knowing the Real, which is why they are said to have “not attained the Dao.” As for “driving the chariots of the various heavens,” this refers to the true position of the Nine Palaces: being able to drive the chariots of the various heavens.

The teaching known as “following the Dao” concerns changes after death and entering the Dao to become an immortal. It describes “Nine Transformations,” divided into three modes of liberation, each with three grades, making nine transformations in all. The three modes are martial liberation, literary liberation, and corpse liberation.

The Four Poles Clarifying Regulations and the True Records both say that martial liberation belongs to the domain of ghosts and spirits beneath the earth. Literary liberation involves recording one’s physical form and transforming it. The immortal scriptures say that when someone first dies and then sheds their old form, this is called corpse liberation.

Martial liberation has three grades. The Four Poles Clarifying Regulations and the True Records say that those who attain martial liberation become commanders of ghosts. They advance one grade every two hundred years, for a total of three grades. Another account says that those who cultivate merit and accumulate virtue during life, and whose names are entered in the registers of Donghua, do not fall under the authority of the Three Offices, the divine bureaus governing the realms of Heaven, Earth, and Water. Those who are supremely loyal, filial, honest, and true can change their form, regain life, and become officials among the ghosts.

Literary liberation also has three grades. The Clarifying Regulations say that those who oversee literary liberation fall into three grades. The first grade lives dispersed in outer residences and is entered in the registers of the Three Offices. Another account says that those who are supremely loyal, filial, honest, and true can change their form, regain life, and become officials among the ghosts. Among those who attain literary liberation, another first grade resides in grotto heavens, the paradises of immortals, living at ease with few duties. They advance once every one hundred and forty years and serve at the immortals’ command. Those of the second grade can move freely among the ranks of immortals and serve them; they are promoted every one hundred and forty years to fill posts that oversee prohibitions, much like the unattached officials of the human world. Those of the third grade can enter the halls of immortals, travel through the immortal realm of the Divine Continent, and attend banquets in Donghua.

Corpse liberation has three grades. Some in the lowest grade die by weapons, while others undergo “passing beyond” (a Daoist term for the disappearance of the body and departure from the world); for a time, they wander in the Great Yin, the realm of the dead. The Great One, a Daoist deity, protects their corpses; the three souls guard their bones, and the seven Po souls protect their flesh. Their spiritual energy gathers and does not disperse, so before long they can return to life. Those in the middle grade are like cicadas shedding their old shells, or use another object in place of their own bodies. Even if their remains are buried, they can still conceal their form and depart. Later, when the coffin is opened, only a walking stick and a pair of shoes are found inside.

Those of higher cultivation can use a sword or staff in place of a corpse, then quickly ascend and transform, vanishing in the blink of an eye to roam through the empty expanse. The scripture’s “ten turns” refers to the karmic result summoned by binding obstructions. Though practitioners occupy corresponding ranks, they remain as if in a vacant position and have not yet attained true realization. They are therefore still at the threshold and have not reached the corresponding vehicle rank.

Master Song says that karmic results are divided into ten turns. The first nine remain among the eight directions of the human realm. Those in the central category can attain wealth and honor, and their names are recorded in Donghua. The tenth turn allows one to rise beyond the Three Realms and become a flying immortal. If one cultivates the precepts of the six senses and the six perfections for saving beings, the merit attained in a single turn can equal that of a flying immortal. The Mingzhen Jing says: “When one’s merit equals that of the ten turns, the rank of the resulting karmic reward can reach the station of a flying immortal.”

The precise meaning of the precepts for saving beings mentioned here is difficult to determine. Before practitioners have truly achieved realization, they merely occupy a provisional, similar rank. Some advance swiftly because their insight surpasses others; others rise only after passing through each rank in sequence. This depends on whether their innate capacities are keen or dull, and also on the depth of their understanding. Once this similar understanding is fully realized, they can ascend to the corresponding rank. Thus, through the ten turns, one can enter the Nine Palaces. The Duren Jing says: “One may thereby become a perfected person of the Nine Palaces.” This shows that once true realization is attained, one can ascend to this rank.

The ten turns described in the Haikong Jing are: the Turn Beyond Worry, the Turn of Purified Mind, the Turn of Releasing Stagnation, the Turn of Broad Learning, the Turn of Understanding, the Turn of Clear Vision, the Turn of Adapting to Things, the Turn of Realizing the Occasion, the Turn of Great Illumination, and the Turn of Fulfillment. Here, “turn” refers to a change in understanding, not an ascent through ranks of cultivation; this scripture offers a different interpretation.

The ranks of the Nine Palaces are divided into three tiers. The lower three palaces are terrestrial immortals, corresponding to the three grades of the Lesser Vehicle. The middle three palaces are celestial immortals, corresponding to the three grades of the Middle Vehicle. The upper three palaces are flying immortals, corresponding to the three grades of the Greater Vehicle. Each vehicle is divided into three grades according to whether one’s innate capacities are keen or dull, making nine palaces in all. The terrestrial, celestial, and flying immortals mentioned in the Jinlu Jianwen are these three categories.

Earthly Immortals can travel among famous mountains. Celestial Immortals and Flying Immortals ascend beyond the Three Realms. The Scripture of the Eight Purities says that below the Great Clarity, the next level is the rank of Flying Immortals in the Nine Palaces.

These ranks of immortals are still within the realms. They have shed worldly desires and have begun to enter the state of true emptiness, but their insight into the mysterious Dao has not yet reached complete, empty stillness. Though they no longer possess the power to be stirred into rebirth through response, their level of cultivation is still worthy of reverence, and so they attain these ranks of immortality.

The lower six of the Nine Palaces belong to the practice of the Two Vehicles. Their states are close to the twenty-eight heavens within the Three Realms; when a great kalpa cycle reaches its end, they still cannot escape birth and death. The higher three palaces belong to the practice of the Great Vehicle and hold the same rank as the Four Folk Heavens. Although they have not yet ascended to a higher state, they have already gone beyond the Three Realms and will not suffer calamity when the great kalpa cycle turns.

Thus the Taizhen Code says: those who have already left the Three Realms but have not yet ascended, together with those enrolled in advance among the Seed People, will never regress. When the cycles of the age open and they are needed to teach and transform others, they respond and descend to be born. They conceal their radiance and mingle with the world, without diminishing their own De, and guide people in later generations while spreading Daoism.

From this we can understand that when a kalpa falls into ruin, Flying Immortals ascend to a higher state, hence the name “Flying Immortals.” When a kalpa comes into being, they manifest in response as Seed People, hence the name “Seed People.” The spiritual capacities of practitioners of the Three Vehicles differ: some can transcend and advance directly, while others must cultivate step by step. This is a general outline of the matter.

Next are the ranks of immortal, perfected, and sacred beings beyond the Three Pure Ones’ realms: Great Clarity immortals are divided into nine grades, Highest Clarity perfected beings into nine grades, and Jade Clarity sages into nine grades, making twenty-seven grades in all. These practitioners follow the same path of cultivation, all belonging to the One Vehicle; yet their understanding of the Dao varies in depth, so doctrine distinguishes them into different ranks. Why is this so? The Taizhen Code says that the immortals of the Lesser Vehicle are divided into nine grades: first, Superior Immortal; second, High Immortal; third, Great Immortal; fourth, Divine Immortal; fifth, Mysterious Immortal; sixth, Perfected Immortal; seventh, Celestial Immortal; eighth, Numinous Immortal; and ninth, Ultimate Immortal.

In the Middle Vehicle, “Perfected Ones” are divided into nine grades: Supreme Perfected, High Perfected, Great Perfected, Divine Perfected, Mysterious Perfected, True Perfected, Immortal Perfected, Numinous Perfected, and Utmost Perfected. In the Great Vehicle, “Sages” are also divided into nine grades: Supreme Sage, High Sage, Great Sage, Divine Sage, Mysterious Sage, True Sage, Immortal Sage, Numinous Sage, and Utmost Sage.

Comparing the nine titles of the Middle and Great Vehicles, we find that they are largely alike, but the names at the sixth, seventh, and eighth positions differ. At the grade of Immortal, the title uses “Perfected”; at the grade of True, it uses “Immortal”; and at the grade of Sage, it uses “True.” Here, “True” means occupying a middle position, and so it can connect the names above and below it. Also, the seventh grade of Sage uses “Immortal” rather than “Heavenly,” to show that a greater level can encompass a lesser one.

The remaining titles are the same to show that these categories can be understood in relation to one another. Why can they be connected? Each of the three has nine grades. Though their ranks and names differ, they share freedom from desire as a defining feature. They differ, however, in how deeply they perceive the Dao’s essence, and are therefore classified as Immortals, Perfected Ones, and Sages. Among the nine grades of Sage, Supreme Sage, High Sage, and Great Sage belong to the upper grade; Divine Sage, Mysterious Sage, and True Sage to the middle grade; and Immortal Sage, Numinous Sage, and Utmost Sage to the lower grade. The Immortal and Perfected categories follow the same pattern.

Viewed as a whole, the Great Vehicle’s levels include beings who have entered from within the realms; each of the three categories can itself be divided into three grades. The scriptures explain them in different ways according to their levels. Earlier, when discussing the Three Vehicles, the three were brought together and summed up as the Way of the One Vehicle. Here, their individual titles are explained separately.

“Supreme” means surpassing other levels and standing above the rest of its grade. “High” refers to exalted virtue. “Great” concerns the vastness of one’s nature and the depth of one’s spiritual illumination; it may also mean that a practitioner has cleared away accumulated obstacles and can naturally understand the language of the Way of Heaven. “Mysterious” means unconfined and unimpeded. “Utmost” means reaching the beginning level of one’s own grade. The meanings of “Immortal” and “Numinous” were explained earlier.

There are two ways to determine the ordering of ranks: one is the level at which an Immortal rank is attained; the other is the rank of existence received through spiritual response—that is, the form of life or abode one is granted.

To explain the ranks attained by immortals, those below the “Nine Sages” are divided into three categories: first, the Three Pure Ones rank; second, the Nine Palaces rank; and third, the Ten Transformations rank. Their details were described earlier.

The ranks of beings’ rebirths are broadly divided into four categories.

First is the Three Pure Ones rank beyond the Three Realms, comprising twenty-seven grades—the number known as “three nines.” Immortals, perfected beings, and sages all dwell at this level and are equal to one another. They have no desires and are born in response to their good deeds.

Second is the Four Heavens of the People rank between the Three Realms. Beings at this level have eliminated habitual tendencies but still have desires; they are born in response to their good deeds.

Third is the Twenty-Eight Heavens rank within the Three Realms. Beings at this level purify the three forms of action—body, speech, and mind—but still have desires; they are born in response to their good deeds.

Fourth is the human realm rank. Its standard of cultivation is observance of the Five Precepts. Beings here still have desires and are born in response to their good deeds.

This account does not discuss rebirth in the three evil destinies, since true sages and perfected beings create only good karma and do not enter evil destinies. Manifestations undertaken to teach and transform beings belong to another category. Here, the aim is to examine where immortals are reborn according to their rank. The grades within the Three Pure Ones rank beyond the Three Realms are not clearly specified. The Four Heavens of the People correspond to the upper three palaces among the Nine Palaces; the four heavens of the Formless Realm correspond to the middle three palaces; and the upper six heavens of the Form Realm correspond to the lower three palaces. Thus Master Song explained that these six heavens are “neither engaged with nor entered.” By this reckoning, the upper level of the Form Realm comprises thirteen heavens. Measured against the stages of genuine attainment, these heavens belong to the rank of true realization. The twelve heavens of the Form Realm below them correspond to the rank of apparent understanding.

The six heavens of the Desire Realm, along with beings in the middle who have accumulated substantial karma, are reborn in response to good deeds of a more diffuse kind. True sages and perfected beings, however, often take up residence in the human realm in order to cultivate and learn. For this reason, all the levels below the twelve heavens of the Form Realm are also grouped under the wandering and dispersed rank. “Wandering and dispersed” applies in three cases: one has not yet entered the path of subduing afflictions, one has not yet attained genuine realization, or one has not yet taken on the corresponding office. Any one of these conditions qualifies as wandering and dispersed.

The correspondences between immortal ranks and places of rebirth nevertheless vary. The account here gives only a general measure, not a fixed standard. Some are reborn in a very high realm without attaining genuine realization; some remain close to the human realm yet have attained the Dao; and others dwell at a rank that accords with their contemplative practice. These two systems of classification therefore cannot serve as absolute and unchanging rules.

The Scripture of Feathered Flight says: “Jade Clarity” is the highest-ranking deity among those of “Highest Clarity,” while “Great Clarity” is the highest-ranking among the flying immortals. The True Scripture of the Eight Forms says that the lower perfected beings in the Palace of Jade Clarity are equal in rank to the higher perfected beings in the Palace of Highest Clarity; the higher perfected beings in the Palace of Supreme Ultimate are equal to the lower perfected beings in the Palace of Highest Clarity; and the higher perfected beings in the Palace of Great Clarity are equal to the lower perfected beings in the Palace of Supreme Ultimate. Below these are the flying immortals of the Nine Palaces. It appears, then, that both scriptures place the flying immortals below Great Clarity.

The Master Who Embraces Simplicity quotes an Immortal Scripture: “Those who practice the Dao at the highest level ascend bodily into empty space and are called heavenly immortals. Those who practice at the middle level roam and dwell in famous mountains and are called earthly immortals. Those who practice at the lowest level die first and then shed their mortal bodies; this is called corpse liberation.” Here, heavenly immortals, earthly immortals, and immortals of corpse liberation are distinguished according to whether they ascend to heaven, dwell on earth, or shed the fleshly body.

The Instructions on the Scripture of Naturalness says: “The highest immortals ascend to heaven in broad daylight. The middle immortals dwell in famous mountains such as Kunlun and Penglai, and build palaces in the air. The lower immortals reside permanently in mountain grottoes throughout the land, governing the beings born down from the upper realms, as well as their lives and deaths.”

The Code of Great Truth further says: “After the Great Jia-Shen comes the beginning of a heavenly era. At every stage of this era, from its beginning to its end, the circumstances of those who practice the Dao are the same. So too are the goodness and wickedness of living beings, and the conditions of people and things. In each heavenly era, only one person becomes the Most High, one becomes an Emperor Lord, one becomes the Old Lord, and one becomes a Celestial Master. Those who practice the Dao are as numerous as hairs on an ox, but those who truly attain the Dao are as rare as the single horn of a qilin. Among them, some become sages, perfected beings, or immortal people; others remain among the scattered immortals, awaiting the welcome of the Later Sage. Such cases are countless. Those who attain the Dao may also manifest in other heavenly realms or other worlds.”

The author considers these claims to have no fixed, unchanging conclusion; they should be understood in light of each person’s circumstances. The Blue Lord says that the refined Qi of the Nine Heavens condenses into the ranks of the Nine Palaces. According to this account, the Nine Palaces describe the ranks of the perfected immortals.

The Eightfold Purity Scripture says, “‘Taiji’ is a palace in the Taiqing realm.” The Scripture on the Chapters of Generating Spirit mentions “the Three Sovereigns, Dongshen, Taiqing, and the Taiji Palace,” which can serve as confirmation of this statement.

In cultivation, there are two paths of seeking the Dao: making vows and practicing. The Scripture of Questions on the Upper Scripture says, “Everything comes from aspiration; without aspiration, nothing can be accomplished.” The Scripture of the Fundamental Origin says, “All practices are skillful means for guiding people into the Dao.”

Vows have two meanings. To strive for the fruit of the Dao while teaching and transforming all beings, and to hold the “four immeasurable states of mind”—compassion, mercy, joy, and equanimity—is to make a Mahayana vow. To seek only escape from the Three Realms and one’s own deliverance is to make a Hinayana vow.

Practice has four aspects: methods, precepts, concentration, and wisdom. “Methods” refers to practices such as consuming substances and refining and nourishing oneself, including making elixirs and medicines, reciting incantations, and offering prayers. Hinayana practice is largely confined to this aspect; Mahayana practitioners also use these methods as aids to cultivation. The Scripture of Ascending the Mystery says, “Refining stones and consuming fungi and herbs—even if one lives for a thousand or ten thousand years, after death one will still undergo suffering again.” The Scripture of the Fundamental Origin, by contrast, says, “Taking medicines and consuming the essences of fungi and herbs can prolong life and preserve its vital root.”

“Precepts” prevent transgressions and restrain wrongdoing; they are the foundation from which wisdom arises. The Lingbao Scripture says, “Wisdom arises from the root of the precepts; the true Dao takes the precepts as its guiding principle.”

“Concentration” means contemplating the Three and holding fast to the One, visualizing the divine beings and keeping the perfected ones in mind. In other words, it means calming the mind and spirit through visualization, sitting meditation, and similar methods. The Scripture of the Fundamental Origin says, “Cultivate stillness through practice.” The Lingbao Scripture says, “Visualize the hidden subtleties and steady the mind and will.”

“Wisdom” includes two ways of understanding emptiness and existence, and two ways of contemplating desire and desirelessness. The Scripture of the Fundamental Origin says, “With clear and penetrating wisdom, one can perceive and understand emptiness and existence.” Expounding and explaining the meaning of the scriptures also count as cultivation of wisdom. Master Xu says that the mind has two states, settled and distracted: when settled, one can visualize the Three and hold fast to the One; when distracted, one can study wisdom and expound the meaning of the scriptures. The Scripture of Jade Capital Mountain speaks of “expounding the Dao and quietly realizing the truth,” while the Scripture of Questions speaks of “clarifying the profound meaning.”

These four methods can be used to regulate body and mind. Broadly speaking, cultivating body and mind can be divided into outer and inner practice. Cultivating wisdom and upholding the precepts are inner practices; releasing animals, giving alms, and building temples are forms of outer practice.

The cultivation of body and mind can also be divided into two kinds: inner practice and outer practice. Cultivating wisdom and upholding precepts belong to inner practice; releasing living creatures, giving alms, and building halls belong to outer practice. These are also called “scattered good deeds,” meaning good deeds performed in separate acts. Although four kinds of practice are listed here, the scripture’s meaning in fact concerns only two.

The eleventh chapter of the Dongshen Jing says, “All the sages together honor only the Dao and the arts. The arts are the scriptures, precepts, and methods of practice; the Dao is freedom from desire and penetration into emptiness.” The scripture also says, “In learning the practice, freedom from desire is fundamental; in cultivating the methods, the scriptures and precepts come first.” It further says, “Freedom from desire and penetration into emptiness cannot be attained all at once. Therefore, reduce thoughts and desires, hold to the hidden and mysterious, turn the mind toward stillness and emptiness, and persevere over time. Only then can you unite with the Dao and realize the truth.”

These passages appear to discuss two kinds of wisdom: the wisdom of emptiness and the wisdom of being. Taken separately, they are sufficient to encompass all forms of practice. The Dao belongs to the wisdom of emptiness; the arts belong to the wisdom of being. If so, the good deeds and vows discussed above can also be encompassed by these two kinds of practice when considered directly in terms of wisdom. Preaching and explaining the scriptures belong to the wisdom of being. The Dongshen Jing says, “Preaching and teaching are important methods of secret practice.” It also says, “The arts are within the mouth.”

Master Song says, “By upholding the ten highest precepts, if the karma of speech is purified, one can be born in the Realm of Desire; if the karma of the body is purified, one can ascend to the Realm of Form; if the karma of the mind is purified, one can ascend to the Formless Realm.” This view holds that as long as desire remains, even good karma merely suppresses afflictions for a time and cannot be called truly pure. To eradicate them completely requires deeper realization through practice. Only after attaining true contemplation can one eliminate the desires that pervade body and mind. Master Xuanjing says, “One must continue to contemplate the mind right up to the moment of death in order to remove this fundamental desire.”

The contemplation of emptiness, which is free from desire, differs from the purification of mental karma, which still involves desire. Contemplation of being can support contemplation of emptiness, and contemplation of emptiness can guide contemplation of being. When contemplation of emptiness guides contemplation of being, being is no longer grasped as being. And within contemplation of being, one does not cling to contemplation itself. This is called “true contemplation.” True contemplation, too, returns to emptiness and stillness; only then can it be called the Dao.

End of Volume One of The Essential Meaning of Daoist Teachings. Editorial note on the title: “Ming” should be “Ming.”

Volume Two of The Essential Meaning of Daoist Teachings

Compiled by the Daoist Meng Anpai of Qinghan

The Meaning of the Three Caverns, Chapter Five; The Meaning of the Seven Sections, Chapter Six; The Meaning of the Twelve Sections, Chapter Seven

Chapter Five: The Meaning of the Three Caverns

In terms of doctrine, the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), the three major divisions of Daoist scriptures, consist of the sacred sounds of the Eight Convergences, legendary celestial writings, and embody the subtle teachings of the Three Luminaries, the celestial sights of the sun, moon, stars, and other heavenly phenomena described in Daoism. They are written on golden slips in jade characters. Studying these scriptures can lead one back to the source; practicing their ritual methods and talismanic forms, such as phoenix seal script and cloud script, can also bring realization of the Great Dao. This is the purpose of the Three Caverns.

Thus, the Hidden Commentary on the Jade Scripture says, “The scriptures and talismans of the Three Caverns are the guiding principles and laws of the Dao.” The Scripture of Orthodox Unity says, “The wondrous methods of the Three Caverns embrace and integrate all teachings, returning them to the Dao of the One Vehicle.” The Scripture of the Original Foundation says, “If a scripture contains the teachings of all twelve divisions and accords with the laws of the Three Caverns, it is called the Orthodox Teaching.”

This passage explains the names, shared features, and presiding deities of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), the three major divisions of Daoist scriptures and teachings.

The first is Dongzhen, the second Dongxuan, and the third Dongshen. “Zhen” means pure and undivided; “xuan” means penetrating and unobstructed; “shen” means wondrous and difficult to fathom. In their shared meaning, the three names can be used interchangeably: the scriptures of all Three Caverns belong to the profound teaching of the Great Vehicle. They are therefore pure and undivided, and their principles are penetrating and unobstructed. The subtle aims of the Three Caverns are inherently beyond thought, and so they are also unfathomable.

When each name is used to express a distinct feature, “zhen” refers to what is wondrous, secret, essential, pure, and undivided; “xuan” refers to generating Heaven and Earth and acting without obstruction; and “shen” refers to summoning and directing ghosts and spirits, with effects that are hard to predict.

All three are called “caverns” because “cavern” conveys penetration and sameness: each of the three teachings enables ordinary people to reach the realm of the sages, and all belong to the Way of the Great Vehicle.

The manifested forms and fundamental origins of the Three Caverns’ presiding deities differ. The presiding deity of Dongzhen is the Lord of Heavenly Treasure, whose origin is “the Qi of the Primal High Jade Emperor, arising from the Great Nonbeing of Chaos.” The presiding deity of Dongxuan is the Lord of Numinous Treasure, whose origin is “the Qi of the Primal Jade Void, arising from the Great Nonbeing of Red Chaos.” The presiding deity of Dongshen is the Lord of Divine Treasure, whose origin is “the Qi of the Supreme Jade Void, arising from profound stillness and mysterious communication.” The relationship between these deities’ manifested forms and their origins is explained in detail in the Scripture on the Generation of the Nine Heavens and Spirits and the Great Treatise on the Mysterious Gate.

Here, the titles of the three presiding deities and the stages of cultivation associated with them are briefly explained. “Heaven” carries the sense of mystery; “numinous” carries the sense of subtle excellence; and “divine” indicates freedom from entanglements. A cultivator first enters the ranks of the immortals and reaches a state free of entanglements, hence the title “divine.” As the cultivator proceeds to the middle realm, wisdom gradually advances, hence “numinous.” Upon ascending to a higher realm, wisdom becomes still more penetrating and unobstructed, hence “Heavenly Mystery.”

The three presiding deities are collectively called the Lords of Treasure. “Treasure” means worthy of reverence, while “lord” here refers to the people as a whole: they are the figures whom all beings honor and look up to together.

One need only know that the Dongzhen methods correspond to the Lord of the Heavenly Treasure, who dwells in the Jade Clarity realm; the Dongxuan methods correspond to the Lord of the Numinous Treasure, who dwells in the Highest Clarity realm; and the Dongshen methods correspond to the Lord of the Divine Treasure, who dwells in the Great Clarity realm. The Scripture of the Supreme One’s Register of the Azure Origin says that the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) are Jade Clarity, Highest Clarity, and Great Clarity.

“Jade” signifies purity without admixture and names the realm according to its essence. “Highest” signifies ascending upward and names it according to its function. “Great” conveys openness and peace, encompassing both essence and function. If we proceed from what is manifest to what is subtle and compare these meanings with the Three Pure Ones, the names become understandable. Those who have just ascended to the immortal realms possess wisdom and abilities that are open and at peace; their titles, too, gradually tend toward higher realms. Thus “Great” may also be understood in a sense close to “Highest.” One may also say that all three realms lie beyond the ordinary world and can all be called “highest,” which is why one of them bears that name. The realm in the middle encompasses the upper, middle, and lower regions. All three are free from the stain of desire, but the upper realm is supreme, so the word “Jade” marks its honored and exceptional status. These explanations derive the names from the dwellings and their inhabitants. Alternatively, the Three Pure Ones are realms manifested through the wondrous workings of the Great Dao, and their names are based directly on their own nature; each therefore has its particular meaning.

In general, “clarity” means purity. The three pure lands—realms cleansed of all defilement—are free from every kind of impurity, and so all are called “clear.” Their palaces are numerous and their transformations difficult to fathom, so they will not be described one by one here.

Next, consider the meaning of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen). The beings, teachings, and realms associated with them all originally arose from a single Qi (the primordial vital energy of Daoism). They came to be distinguished by three names because of differences in response and circumstance. Accordingly, the names of the realms, teachings, and beings are not fixed: sometimes a realm is named after its inhabitants, sometimes a teaching is identified by a realm, and their names are determined by circumstances as convenient ways of speaking.

The Scripture of the Jade Latitude says: “Dongshen, Dongxuan, and Dongzhen” are names for the realms of the Three Pure Ones. Here, the scriptures are named after the realms, and so they are called the Dongshen and other scriptures. An examination of the titles in the Three Caverns shows that the Dongshen category is called “Dongshen, the Two Sovereigns,” the Dongxuan category “Dongxuan Numinous Treasure,” while the Dongzhen category includes various titles. “The Three Sovereigns” is named according to the circumstances of those receiving the teaching, since the Three Sovereigns are precisely its recipients. “Numinous Treasure,” by contrast, is named after the teaching’s lord: because the Lord of the Numinous Treasure gives rise to wondrous workings, “Numinous Treasure” is used to refer to him.

The title of the Dongzhen (Grotto of Truth) is not fixed, and other scriptures also go by various names. This illustrates that the wondrous Dao has no fixed location and cannot be confined by a single name.

From one perspective, the fundamental substance of the Three Caverns’ teachings is instruction through words, and so they take forms and sounds as their substance. More deeply, they are subtle workings of wisdom beyond comprehension and may also be said to take the “Three-in-One” as their substance. The Three Pure Ones’ realms (the three levels of pure immortal realms in Daoism) may, from one perspective, be understood as places or states of existence and described in terms of Qi and form. More deeply, they are wondrous workings of the wisdom of the Great Dao, beyond comprehension. People and the teachings are not separate from one another; they therefore also possess the substance of the “Three-in-One”—that is, the unity of Jing, Shen, and Qi. The ritual master said, “Although the realms have three levels, this does not prevent them from being one in essence.”

The numbers of volumes and titles of the Three Caverns scriptures are recorded in works such as Master Lu’s Catalogue of the Three Caverns Scriptures, Ritual Master Meng’s Catalogue of the Seven Sections of the Jade Latitude, Tao the Recluse’s Catalogue of Scriptures, the Catalogue of the Supreme One’s Many Scriptures, and the Catalogue of the Venerated Scriptures of the Thirty-Six Sections. I will not examine them one by one here, but will discuss only how these scriptures first descended in response to divine influence and the circumstances through which they later spread and taught.

The Dongzhen Scripture was transmitted by the Lord of Heavenly Treasure. Ritual Master Meng’s Jade Latitude quotes the Scripture of Orthodox Unity as saying: The Jade Emperor, Exalted and Supreme from the Beginning, received the naturally arising Way of the Mysterious Ancient One. He composed three hundred volumes of the Precious Scriptures of Shangqing, nine thousand chapters of jade instructions, and seven thousand chapters of talismans and diagrams, and stored them secretly in the Palace of Great Being above the Ninth Heaven. The Jade Emperor passed these texts down through generations, entrusting them in jade script to the Minister of the Left, Lord Azure Lad, who sealed them away in the Jade Radiance Palace of Azure. In the Yuanjing era, the Jade Emperor, Exalted and Supreme from the Beginning, composed another work and sealed it away in the mountains of Xicheng. In addition, the Lord of the Great Emperor commanded the Great Emperor of Fusang, the King of the Spirits of Yanggu, to compose the thirty-one volumes of the Instructions for Solitary Attainment and three hundred chapters of the Upper Scripture. The Instructions for Solitary Attainment are also in circulation today.

In ancient times, the youth of Xiangcheng practiced the Shangqing method of pacing the Celestial Dipper, a ritual art performed by walking according to the star patterns of the heavens. Wang wrote thirty-one volumes of secrets for solitary cultivation, along with three hundred chapters of upper scriptures. The methods of solitary cultivation have continued to circulate in the world. The youth of Xiangcheng once used the method of pacing the Celestial Dipper according to the steps of the Seven Origins and Six Cycles, the patterns of the celestial stars and their cycles, and taught it to the Yellow Emperor. But the method later had no successors.

On the seventh day of the seventh month in the first year of the Yuanfeng era of Emperor Wu of Han, the Queen Mother of the West and the Lady of the Upper Origin descended together to the Xianyang Palace and taught Emperor Wu The Twelve Matters of the Five Emperors’ Numinous Flight and Six Jia of Shangqing. The following year, a heavenly fire destroyed the Bailiang Terrace, and the scriptures scattered into the air. From then on, they were lost among the people.

The Perfected of Great Origin, Mao Ying, took Lord Wang of Xicheng as his teacher and received the Shangqing Way of the Jade Pendant, Golden Dang, and Three Luminaries’ Circling Steps, a Shangqing cultivation method. In the third month of the fourth year of the Diji era of Emperor Xuan of Han, he ascended to heaven and became an immortal. The Upper Minister of Xuanzhou, Su Lin, took Juanzi as his teacher and received the Shangqing method of the Three Ones. He too ascended to immortality, on the sixth day of the third month in the second year of the Shenjue era of Emperor Xuan. These methods likewise were not transmitted among the people.

During the reign of Emperor Ping of Han, the Perfected of Xicheng transmitted the thirty-one volumes of Shangqing scriptures to the Perfected of Pure Emptiness, Lord Bao of Lesser You Heaven, on Mount Yanggu. During the reign of Emperor Cheng of Jin, Lord Bao transmitted these scriptures to the Lady of Purple Emptiness and wife of Mount Heng, Wei Huacun, in Wuxiu County, Jixian. In the ninth year of the Xianhe era, Wei Huacun ascended to heaven in a wind-riding celestial carriage, entrusting the scriptures to her son Daotuo, who later passed them on to Yang Xi. Yang Xi was a teacher to Emperor Jianwen of Jin. He took Wei Huacun as his teacher and received the thirty-one volumes of the Shangqing Great Cavern True Scripture. In the thirteenth year of the Taiyuan era of Emperor Xiaowu of Jin, he ascended to immortality.

Master Xu Mai, courtesy name Shuxuan and childhood name Ying, later changed his name to Yuanyou. He took Bao Jing, the governor of Nanhai, as his teacher and received various Shangqing scriptures. He later crossed the Yangzi River and entered Mount Chicheng, never to return. Yuanyou’s younger brother, Xu Mi, served in the Jin court as Chief of the Palace Guard and Attendant Gentleman of the Cavalry. He too practiced the Way and received several scriptures. Later, he concealed himself and withdrew from the world.

Mi Ziyufu, whose given name was Chang (“Ten Feathers of the Year”) and whose courtesy name was Daoxiang, received from his master the Orthodox Teachings of the Three Heavens of Shangqing and thirty-one scrolls of the Qusu Fengwen. He later withdrew into seclusion. Yufu’s son was named Huangmin, and Huangmin’s son was Yuzhi. In the twelfth year of the Yuanjia era under Emperor Wen of Song, Yuzhi lived in seclusion on Mount Xiaobai in Shan County and entrusted the Shangqing Lingbao Jing and the wondrous texts of the Three Caverns to the household of Ma Lang in Shan County.

Toward the end of the Taishi era under Emperor Ming of Song, the Daoist Lou Hua secretly entered through the rear hall. The Daoist Shu Xiaozhen secretly reported this to Emperor Ming, who then compelled them to retrieve the scriptures. The emperor ordered someone to open and inspect them. Suddenly, five-colored purple light appeared and illuminated the space before him. In the first year of the Yuanhui era, Ma Lang came forward with a petition asking for the return of the scriptures he had previously entrusted. The emperor ordered that his request be granted. Once the Heavenly Treasury had been opened, the sun’s radiance could no longer be concealed. People carried the precious scriptures to Ma Lang’s home, and visitors arrived one after another. These texts were said to have been annotated in the hand of the High Perfected Ones, and not to have been composed by ordinary people. People copied and transmitted them, calling them “true traces.” The contents described in the catalog preface are the same.

The Dongxuan scriptures were transmitted by the Lord of Lingbao and compiled by the Great Sage on High. Drawing now on what the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning told the Queen Mother of the West, and on the golden registers and jade books in the Supreme One’s Purple Tenuity Palace, we record the titles of the true Lingbao texts: ten collections of wondrous scriptures, comprising thirty-six scrolls. The Clear Rules of the Four Poles of the Great Mystery Metropolis states: “The Dongxuan scriptures appear only once in the course of ten thousand kalpas.” One collection is now sealed away on Mount Tai, and another on Mount Laosheng.

In ancient times, the Yellow Emperor ascended Mount Emei and paid a visit to the Celestial Perfected Man. He asked to receive this teaching and the ten collections of thirty-six scrolls of wondrous scriptures, then ascended to Heaven riding a dragon. In the time of Emperor Yu, the True King of the Nine Heavens arrived at the Terrace of Nurtured Virtue in a carriage drawn by nine dragons and bestowed this teaching upon the Yellow Emperor. The Yellow Emperor later sealed the scriptures away on Mount Beizhong. The scriptures obtained through Xia Yu’s spiritual communion likewise appeared and disappeared in extraordinary ways.

According to the True One’s Natural Scripture, the Perfected Taiji, Xia Yu, understood the sacred Way and its truths. The Supreme One ordered him to copy the Lingbao Scripture of Naturalness, distinguish the cycles of minor and major kalpas, and organize the invocations to mountain deities found in the scripture.

The Scripture on the Eight Powers for Summoning Dragon Deities also records that, at noon on the first day of the first month in the year jimao, the three Perfected Ones Xu Laile and his companions transmitted the teachings of the scriptures to the Immortal Lord Ge Xuan on Mount Shangyu in Kuaiji Commandery. Ge Xuan, whose courtesy name was Xiaoxian, later transmitted them on Mount Tiantai to Zheng Siyuan, the ruler of Wu, Sun Quan, and others. After the Immortal Lord ascended to heaven, he divided the Three Caverns’ true scriptures he had received into three portions: one for his disciples, one to be stored in a famous mountain, and one to be given to his family’s descendants.

Ge Xuan’s younger cousin, Shaochuan Xi, had a son named Ge Ti, who served as a general of the guard. Ge Ti’s son, Ge Hong, later met Zheng Siyuan on Mount Maji, made a covenant, and received the teachings. Ge Hong was known as Baopuzi. On the third day of the third month in the second year of the Jian yuan era of the Jin, he transmitted the teachings on Mount Luofu to his disciples, including Lord Hai’an and Wangshi. They were later passed down to his great-grandnephew Ge Chaofu. At the end of the Long’an era of the Jin, Ge Chaofu transmitted the Daoist teachings to the Daoist priests Ren Yanqing, Xu Lingqi, and others. From then on, they were passed down from generation to generation through these priests and remain unbroken to this day.

The Cavern of the Spirits Scripture was transmitted by the Lord of Divine Treasure and compiled by the Perfected One of the Western Numinous Realm. It was kept in the Jade Repository within the Heaven of Lesser Being. The Preface and Catalogue says that the Three Sovereigns’ Writings kept in the Heaven of Lesser Being originally came from the Heaven of Greater Being. They were books received by the Three Sovereigns in ancient times, and many immortals also received and stored them in famous mountains. Mount Xicheng and Mount Emei in Shu Commandery both hold scriptures of this kind.

The Baopuzi records that the Yellow Emperor once traveled east to Qingqiu and passed through Mount Feng. There he met Master Zifu and received the Inner Writings of the Three Sovereigns from him.

In the Jin dynasty, Bao Liang studied the Dao on Mount Song. During the Yongkang era of Emperor Hui of Jin, he fasted and meditated in Liu Jun’s stone chamber. Suddenly, he received the Three Sovereigns Text, an ancient Daoist scripture, whose writing appeared clearly before him. Following the scripture’s instructions, he used four hundred feet of silk to swear an oath before the realm of the unseen, and then received the scripture. Later, he passed it on to descendants of the Ge family. According to the Preface to the Three Sovereigns Scripture, the text Bao received in the stone chamber differed from the version circulating in the world; Ge Hong may also have obtained another recension. The text received by Master Lu was first passed to his disciple Sun, and later to Master Tao. Master Tao then divided it into different lineages, and so it has been handed down to the present day.

The Meaning of the Seven Sections, Chapter Six

The “Seven Sections” appear in response to the conditions of the world, preserve the scriptures, teach according to people’s differing capacities, encompass all kinds of methods, and guide all beings. If one can penetrate these subtle teachings, one will naturally come to understand their principles. This is the purpose of the Seven Sections.

The seven divisions of scriptures, in the order given in the Zhengyi Jing, are the Dongshen, Dongxuan, and Dongzhen divisions, followed by the Taiqing, Taiping, Taixuan, and Zhengyi divisions. The first three before the Zhengyi division have already been explained through the teachings of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, Dongshen). Here, the remaining four are discussed.

Regarding “Taiqing,” Master Meng says that it is formed when the Qi of the Great Dao condenses. Because this Qi is pure and its nature vast, it is called “Taiqing,” with the name of the scripture taken from the realm it refers to. Here, however, the view is that the scripture is named for the realm it helps practitioners attain: it teaches the art of the Golden Elixir, and those who cultivate and consume the Golden Elixir can ascend far into the Taiqing. Hence it is called “Taiqing.”

In “Taiping,” “tai” means utmost greatness, while “ping” means peace. The term suggests that the six directions of heaven and earth—the entire cosmos—are joined in free passage, allowing upright and harmonious Qi to circulate. The Taiping Jing says, “Now the Qi of peace and harmony is in motion.” Some explain that Taiping is when the Three Terraces stars are properly aligned; others take the appearance of the Jing Star as a sign of Taiping. The interpretation given here is that when this scripture is transmitted through the world, it can bring the six directions to use a single script and the myriad states to follow one system of law. When rulers are enlightened and all things have their proper measure, this may be called Taiping.

Regarding “Taixuan,” an older account says that Laozi once lived in seclusion in the land of Taixuan, but does not explain where that place was. The view presented here is that “Taixuan” need not refer to withdrawing from the world and returning to the root, using the name “Taixuan” to express a state beyond the mysterious. The scripture is called Taixuan because it honors the teaching of profound mystery: the mysterious principles it expounds are deep and expansive, and so it is called “Taixuan.”

Regarding “Zhengyi,” the Mengwei Jing says, “Zheng is used to govern what is deviant; yi is used to bring the myriad things under one.” It also says, “In the standards and writings, standards harmonize what is scattered, while writings distinguish its patterns.”

Living beings depart from their source because they turn away from the Great Dao. That is why the text below says: “Turn back, break free of separation, and reunite; accord with what is true and cast aside what is false, and you can rely on the Dao’s teachings to attain your goal.” “Gathering the myriad” means bringing everything together so that living beings can return to what is real. Thus the text goes on to say: “All who study the Dao must understand how to lessen their desires. When desires are few, one draws near to the root of the Dao; the key to following that root is to hold fast to the One.”

As for “governing what is deviant,” the text says that living beings have shallow capacities and are far removed from the Great Dao. The Great Dao, moved by compassion for them, established teachings and precepts to guide and govern them, so that their minds might gradually awaken and the two separated parts might come together again as one. Once united, they will no longer fall into ruin. Because this brings people back to the constant Dao and into accord with what is true, the text is called the Scripture of Orthodox Unity (Zhengyi).

Now let us explain the two words “Orthodox Unity.” “Orthodox” means free from deviation; “Unity” means undivided. This scripture sets out the Orthodox Way to dispel heretical views and delusion. Though it discusses many different paths, they ultimately converge on a single principle; hence it is called “Orthodox Unity.”

“Section” means a category or division. Three sections are all called “Supreme,” while Orthodox Unity alone is called “Orthodox.” The reason is that the three sections support the Great Dao’s teachings in the Three Caverns, and so all use the word “Supreme.” Orthodox Unity, by contrast, expounds the Three Vehicles broadly and distinguishes them from heretical ways; hence it is called “Orthodox.”

Next, let us discuss the origins of the scriptures in the Four Sections. Their volume counts and titles have already been set out in other catalogs, so here we will recount only their origins. The Supreme Clarity section takes “Supreme One” as its central teaching. It was expounded by Lord Lao, and nine divine lords clarified the essentials of the Dao. The Central Scripture of Supreme Clarity, it is said, was transmitted by the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning and passed through the Nine Elders to Lord Lao. Generation after generation, perfected beings inherited and continued its transmission, all in connection with this divine lord. The Scripture of Orthodox Unity says: “The Supreme Clarity Scripture of the Golden Liquids, a classic concerning astronomy and geography, consists of forty-six scrolls. It deals largely with the essential methods of the Golden Elixir and with calendrical portents and ritual methods; there is no need to examine it further here.” The records in the Mo Register recount its transmission: in the first year of Han’an, the Most High entrusted this scripture to the Celestial Master. It has been transmitted continuously ever since.

“Taiping” refers here to scriptures devoted to the doctrine of the “Three Ones”—an important Daoist teaching that three things return to a single unity—and proclaimed by Lord Lao. According to the first section of Part A, those who study the Dao learn to use this text and seek out its foundations; its central teaching is the Three Ones. Accounts differ, however, on how many volumes the scriptures comprise. The versions of Parts A and B now in circulation together contain 170 volumes.

The Zhengyi Jing records a scripture called the Taiping Dongji Jing, in 144 volumes. It discusses in detail the way of governing, spiritual practice and the attainment of its fruits, the accumulation of conditions for practice, and the prohibition of evil conduct and various forms of magic. On the origins of the Dongji Jing, the Zhengyi Jing says that in the first year of the Han’an era (142 CE), the Most High personally transmitted the scripture to the Celestial Master. It has been passed down ever since.

As for the ten parts of Parts A and B, the Baishiba Jie records that during the reign of King Nan of Zhou, Lord Lao transmitted the scripture in Shu to Gan Ji, a man from Langya. During the reign of Emperor Shun of Han, Gan Ji’s disciple Gong Chong presented the court with the divine book his teacher had received. It contained 170 volumes and was called the Taiping Jing. The emperor did not believe in it, and the scripture consequently disappeared from circulation.

Later accounts say that the scripture was hidden in a stone coffer on Haiyu Mountain. From the Song and Liang dynasties onward, people went looking for it many times but never found it. Each time they set out, storms and darkness arose, accompanied by thunder and lightning. In the early years of the Chen dynasty, people searched repeatedly without success. Emperor Xuan of Chen was deeply devoted to the Daoist arts, so he sent Master Zhou Zhixiang to retrieve the scripture. After reaching the mountain, the master observed purification for seven days but still did not try to open the coffer. Soon clouds and mist filled the sky, and darkness fell. The master felt apprehensive; as he approached the stone coffer, the sky suddenly cleared. He ordered his attendants to open the coffer and take out the scripture, but dozens of men together could not move it. The master merely laid a hand on it, and the coffer opened at once. They took out the scripture and brought it back to the capital, Taicheng.

The emperor personally welcomed and honored the master, placed the scripture in Zhizhen Abbey, and invited the master to lecture on it there. According to tradition, after the scripture began circulating, peace came to the realm and the country enjoyed an age of prosperity. From then on, the scripture spread widely. Because Emperor Xuan of Chen had obtained it through the master, he called him the “Taiping Master.”

The Taixuan takes “layered transcendence” (recognizing the Great Dao through successive acts of transcendence) as its central teaching. It was spoken by Lord Lao. At the Zhizhen Abbey, a master was once invited to lecture on this scripture. At the time, expounding it was said to help bring stability to the realm and peace to the state. From then on, its teachings spread widely. Because the emperor received this scripture through the master, he called him the “Master of Great Peace.”

The Taixuan takes layered transcendence as its central teaching and was spoken by Lord Lao. The Preface and Instructions of the Dao Lord says, “Mystery upon mystery is the central teaching of the Dao.” The Taixuan Jing also says, “The Great Dao is explained through successive levels of ‘nonbeing’; the key to its meaning lies in mystery upon mystery.” The teachings received by Yin Sheng consisted only of five scrolls, including the Daode, Miaozhen, and Xisheng. According to the Zhengyi Jing, the Taixuan Jing personally bestowed by the Most High upon the Celestial Master (Tianshi) comprised 270 scrolls. Records indicate that the scripture was transmitted in the seventh month of the first year of the Han’an era, and has been passed down through the generations ever since.

The Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity) tradition takes “true unity” (the genuine, undivided Dao) as its central teaching and was spoken by the Most High. The Zhengyi Jing says that Zhengyi expounds the Three Vehicles, different levels of cultivation, in broad detail. It also says that the Celestial Master declared he had received instruction from the Most High Lord Lao and obtained newly transmitted Daoist teachings. Fearing that later generations would alter the teachings of the masters, Wang Chang compiled a record of the transmitted texts and named it the Zhengyi. It contains forty-two scrolls of newly transmitted ritual methods.

The Yuwei Jing says: In ancient times, at the hour of Bingwu on the seventh day of the seventh month in the first year of the Kaihuang era, the Primordial Heavenly King sent the Three Heavens’ Jade Youths to transmit to the Sovereign Lord the texts known as the White Tablets and Azure Registers. This method manifested of itself and was passed by the Master of Emptiness to Tang Yao. Later, the Rear Sage Emperor ordered the King of Xiaoyou Heaven to compile and disseminate these teachings.

At the end of the Han dynasty, the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling devoted himself to cultivating the Dao in western Shu. The Most High personally descended and, on the first day of the fifth month in the first year of the Han’an era, bestowed upon him the Three Heavens’ Orthodox Teachings, appointed him Celestial Master, and transmitted the Zhengyi liturgy, ritual methods, and important Daoist texts. On the seventh day of the seventh month that same year, the Most High bestowed upon him the Zhengyi Mengwei Miaojing and essential instructions concerning the three actions of body, speech, and mind, as well as the six spiritual powers. He again appointed him a Master of the Three Heavens and a True Person of Zhengyi.

According to the record, on the first day of the fifth month of the first year, someone received the Three Heavens Orthodox Methods (the methods of the Celestial Master tradition), was appointed Celestial Master, and was given the Essential Daoist Methods of the Orthodox Unity Rituals and Techniques. On the seventh day of the seventh month that same year, he was also granted the Wondrous Scripture of the Orthodox Unity Covenant and oral instructions on the three forms of action—body, speech, and mind—and the six supernatural powers. He was again appointed Master of the Three Heavens and Perfected One of Orthodox Unity.

The Ink Record of the Governance and Transformation Chapter in the Orthodox Unity Scripture states that the Correctly Ordered Scriptures comprised 930 scrolls, while the talismans and diagrams comprised 70, making 1,000 scrolls in all. They were entrusted in their entirety to the Celestial Master. After the Celestial Master ascended to Heaven, he passed these methods on to his successor and others. Among the disciples who practiced and transmitted them, many who held sincere faith both inwardly and outwardly attained the Dao. They are not listed here one by one. This text has therefore also been handed down.

The so-called “principles and classifications of the seven divisions” are categories established as a provisional means of explaining the teachings. They arose in particular periods and may also disappear with the passage of time. Although they once guided scholars and their work, they did not depart from the orthodox purpose. When the wording and the underlying meaning do not accord, they must be brought together and explained.

The Chapters on Rituals, Methods, Diagrams, and Precepts in the Orthodox Unity Scripture states that the important scriptures within and beyond the realm, from the opening of Heaven and Earth to the end of the kalpa, numbered 123,000 scrolls in China, while the peoples of the four directions—the Yi, Man, Rong, and Di—each had 84,000 scrolls. Most of these scriptures share common principles, differing only in how fully they explain them; the number of scrolls was not fixed. From the Three Sovereigns through the Three Dynasties, the Most High Old Lord, as revered teacher, selected the essential texts, which amounted to 13,000 scrolls. That is the general picture.

It should also be understood that the Three Caverns and Four Supplements support one another and together form the Daoist canon. The Chapters on Diagrams, Rituals, Methods, and Precepts in the Orthodox Unity Scripture states that the Scripture of Great Clarity supplements the Dongshen section, recording the ranks of immortals from the Golden Elixir onward; the Scripture of Great Peace supplements the Dongxuan section, recording the true practices from the Ten Categories of Jia and Yi onward; and the Scripture of Great Mystery supplements the Dongzhen section, recording the sacred practices from the Five Thousand Words onward. The Orthodox Unity Methods and Texts takes the Dao and De as its guiding principles, honors the Three Caverns, and comprehensively expounds the Three Vehicles—the different levels of cultivation. The Scripture of Great Peace explains that “supplement” carries the meanings of “father” and “support.”

The Zhengyi school takes the Daode Jing as the foundation of its methods, honors the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen) scriptures, and explains the teachings of the Three Vehicles in broad detail. The Taiping Jing says that fu means both “father” and “support.” The phrase “the Three Great Teachings support the Three Caverns” means that the teachings of the Three Great Traditions assist one another, enabling practitioners to awaken their powers of contemplation and grasp the doctrines, just as a father brings up his children. Ordinary beings are slow to understand; when they hear profound teachings, they often cannot comprehend them. Further explanation and guidance are therefore needed to help them understand. This is the meaning of “supporting and elucidating.”

Thus, the Ta Qing tradition supports the Dongshen teachings. The Dongshen methods summon and command spirits, and their practice requires cultivating the Ta Qing methods, visualizing and maintaining Taiyi—the primordial deity honored in Daoism—and ingesting the Golden Elixir. These practices help bring the path to completion and make its spiritual powers effective. The Dongxuan methods seek to harmonize the way of Heaven, bring stability to the earth, defend the state, and settle the people; the aims of the Taiping teachings correspond to these. The Dongzhen methods involve transformations without limit and freely exercised spiritual power, so the Taixuan teachings are needed to explain the principle of emptiness and enable this kind of practice to succeed.

Once the mind of Chongxuan—one that transcends oppositions and returns to the mysterious—is clear, the Way of myriad transformations can be realized. Thus, Chapter Thirty-Nine speaks of Daoism’s teaching of non-arising, while the wondrous scripture Xisheng Jing shows people how to enter the Way of Wuwei (non-action) and attain its fruit. After one has realized the mysterious realm, the Way of non-arising can also be fulfilled by penetrating through and letting go of attachments.

The Zhengyi teachings are said to explain the Three Vehicles in broad detail because they possess scriptures that enable them to understand and expound the principles of all three. “Expound” means to make clear and set forth: people in the latter age are slow to understand and have lost sight of the principles of the Three Vehicles, so the Zhengyi teachings explain them widely. Moreover, the Three Caverns, taken together, all belong to the teaching of the One Vehicle. Zhengyi says: “Though the Three Caverns are of three kinds, they include and encompass one another; all are unified in the One Vehicle.” Taixuan belongs to the Mahayana, Taiping to the Middle Vehicle, and Ta Qing to the Hinayana; Zhengyi runs through all three vehicles.

All teachings arise among human beings. Those who fall into the three evil paths—hell beings, hungry ghosts, and animals—suffer and are not in a position to receive the Daoist teachings. Those absorbed in the pleasures of the Three Realms—the desire realm, form realm, and formless realm—are likewise unable to practice diligently. If sages sever their afflictions and are born in the heavens, they can cultivate contemplation on their own, without relying on teachings. To hear the teachings, however, one must come to the human world. The Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and the Two Forms—Daoist terms for revered heavenly deities and their manifested forms—embody principles that are transmitted without words. Only human beings are suited to the cultivation of the Dao and can take up its practice. Therefore, Daoist scriptures manifest and proclaim themselves in the human world.

When discussing how sages teach and transform living beings, there is no fixed method, and their changes follow no regular pattern. Neither in Heaven nor in the human world is there an unchanging standard. Yet, viewed in terms of universal and practical principles, teaching and transformation tend to arise more readily in the human world. The Scripture on Contemplating the Body says, “Skillfully present methods of expedience, then go on to clarify the ultimate truth.” The Scripture on the Fundamental Reality says, “‘Ultimate’ means to cut off; ‘complete’ means to exhaust. When habitual afflictions are cut off, all afflictions are entirely extinguished, and liberation is fully attained, this is called the ultimate.”

The Treatise on the Mysterious Gate says, “‘Ultimate’ is a term used to describe whether an undertaking succeeds or fails; ‘expedient’ refers to skillful methods. Only by means of skillful conditions can an undertaking be brought to completion.” Thus the Scripture on Ascending to the Mystery says, “Acts of merit and virtue, and deeds of wrongdoing, once completed, return to what is constant and unchanging.” From one perspective, the Two Vehicles—the Śrāvaka Vehicle and the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle—are expedient, while the Great Vehicle is ultimate. From another perspective, the Three Vehicles are expedient, while the One Vehicle is ultimate. Pursuing the matter further, both the One and the Three are expedient; what is neither One nor Three is ultimate. Even the teacher, the place of teaching, the methods of teaching, and the conditions for teaching can each be understood in terms of the expedient and the ultimate.

The Scripture of the Numinous Writ also records that the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning told the Lord of the Dao Most High: “During the Longhan era, I appeared in a formless and eternal state to teach and transform. After I departed from the world, immeasurable kalpas passed, and Heaven and Earth were plunged into darkness. In the Chiming era, I appeared again, bearing the title ‘Lord Without Name,’ and taught living beings through the Dao of Lingbao. In the Kaihuang era, the Numinous Treasures’ True Writ opened the Three Luminaries of Heaven and Earth: the sun, moon, and stars. In the Primordial Blue Heaven, I was called the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. I now proclaim this scripture to save those who are able to be saved.” From this we can understand that, at the beginning of this kalpa, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning was the supreme teacher. In the first year of Shanghuang, he abdicated the position of teacher to the Lord of the Dao Most High, making him the Heavenly Flower King of that age.

Thus, the Jing of Original Deeds says: “When the Red Radiance opened the new cycle, in the year jiǎzǐ, someone was born at Fudao.” The Celestial Emperor of the Western Heaven’s Nayu Kingdom and the Lingbao all came in response to the work of delivering people. Because the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning saw that he had practiced over many lifetimes and accumulated merit, he bestowed on him the honorific title “Most High” and invested him as the Celestial Emperor King of Yuyue Nalin Changyu Terrace, placing him among the highest sages to govern the Mysterious Capital and Jade Capital.

“Red Radiance” here refers to the beginning of the current cosmic cycle, which is why it is called Red Radiance; it does not refer to the earlier Red Radiance kalpa. The text does not mention the “August Sovereign” because it is speaking in general terms about the current cosmic cycle.

The Meaning of the Twelve Sections, Chapter Seven

The explanation says: The “twelve sections” refers to the scriptures’ encompassing the seven divisions, while their teachings take the Three Vehicles as their foundation. By investigating their principles, one can transcend life and death; by gaining insight, one can attain a state of lasting peace and joy. This is the aim of the teachings of the twelve sections. The Zhengyi Jing says that each of the Three Vehicles has twelve sections of practice. The Jing of the Original Ground says that all methods of teaching, taken together, fall into just twelve categories. Each section is distinguished according to its category, and also varies according to the practitioner’s capacity.

The “meaning of the twelve divisions” discussed here runs through the Three Vehicles—the three Buddhist paths of practice: that of the hearers, the self-awakened, and the bodhisattvas. The explanation below follows the Jing of the Original Beginning (Benji Jing). The twelve divisions are: first, foundational texts; second, divine talismans; third, jade instructions; fourth, numinous diagrams; fifth, registers; sixth, precepts; seventh, rules of conduct; eighth, methods; ninth, arts; tenth, records and biographies; eleventh, praises and hymns; and twelfth, memorials and petitions.

First, foundational texts refers to the “writings of the Three Origins and Eight Assemblies,” as well as extended passages in scriptures that recount the origins of things. The Declarations of the Perfected (Zhengao) records the Lady of Purple Tenuity as saying, “The writings of the Three Origins and Eight Assemblies are used by the high Perfected of the Supreme Ultimate.” Here, “foundation” means beginning and source: it refers to the beginning of scriptural teachings and the root of writing. In terms of doctrine, it is also the foundation of the myriad things. “Writing” means distinguishing and expressing. It explains doctrine, differentiates the two forms of Heaven and Earth, clarifies the characteristics of things, analyzes the myriad affairs, and expresses profound principles.

Second, divine talismans refers to writings such as dragon chapters and phoenix seal script, as well as talismanic texts endowed with numinous efficacy. “Divine” signifies what is difficult to fathom; “talisman” means a token or proof of trust. In other words, these writings and talismanic texts have subtle, unfathomable powers that can benefit living beings, and their trustworthiness is like that of matching tally halves.

Third, jade instructions refers to writings in which Lord Heshang explains the works of Laozi, also known as the “Historian at the Pillar.” It also includes the format of using jade instructions to explain golden books. “Jade” signifies purity without stain; “instruction” means words that are definitive and beyond doubt. Jade instructions enable people to understand the principles with certainty and leave them free of doubt.

Fourth, numinous diagrams includes diagrams such as images of the Five Emperors who relinquished their forms and depictions of the Three Ones. “Diagram” means to measure and portray: it refers to rendering subtle, mysterious principles as images so they can be transmitted to later generations.

Fifth, registers includes material recorded in the Creation of the Spirits (Shengshen), as well as accounts describing the deeds of the Three Lords.

“Genealogies” means outlines or records. It refers to recording the deeds of the sages as a means of instruction, and also to tracing the origins of things so that people can record and preserve them.

The sixth category is “precepts and rules,” including such topics as the six passions and the ten evils. “Precept” means to release, distinguish, or prohibit: precepts free people from the bonds of evil, distinguish good from evil, and prevent wrongdoing. “Rule” means to lead, to be upright, and to inspire caution. Rules measure offenses and judge them impartially, prompting people to be vigilant.

The seventh category is “ritual deportment,” including the procedures for purification rites and the liturgy for requesting scriptures. “Majesty” means solemn dignity that inspires reverence; “deportment” refers to ceremonies and standards that accord with proper norms. It also means responding to particular circumstances by establishing the appropriate ritual forms.

The eighth category is “methods,” including practices such as “preserving the Three and guarding the One”—a method of cultivation involving visualization of the Three Primordial Ones and maintaining the Primordial One—as well as techniques for controlling the Po and binding the Hun. “Direction” means an orientation or method; “method” means rules and measures. These terms indicate that cultivation and self-regulation each have their corresponding methods and standards.

The ninth category is “various arts,” including refining elixirs and minerals, transforming the body, and concealing one’s form. “Various” means many; “arts” means Daoist arts. The term refers to the many paths of cultivation, all of which offer an initial entry into the true Dao.

The tenth category is “records and biographies,” including the original deeds of the Lord of the Dao and the past actions of the Sovereign of Humanity. “Record” means to document; “biography” means to recount. Together, they refer to recording original deeds and passing them on to later generations.

The eleventh category is “eulogies and hymns,” including the New Eulogies of the Five Perfected and the Ancient Hymns of the Nine Heavens. “Eulogy” sets forth deeds; “hymn” sings of virtue. The Book of Odes says that hymns portray magnificent virtue. “Gāthā” also carries the sense of a pause or rest: each line has four or five characters and is read with the brief pauses of someone resting.

The twelfth category is “petitions and memorials,” including documents of prayer and supplication used in the Nine Purifications, and documents of audience and petition used in the Three Assemblies. “Petition” means to make something clear; “memorial” means a submission to a superior. Together, they refer to declaring one’s wishes and presenting them to the Great Dao.

“Section” generally means a category or division: content is separated according to meaning, and related material is grouped together.

The phrase “the twelve divisions of the prefaces” refers, according to the Upper Scroll of the Lingbao Zhenwen, both to categories of scriptures and to the order in which different scriptures are distinguished and classified according to their meaning.

The Upper Scroll of the Lingbao Zhenwen says that the original root text was called the “Red Script of the Empty Cavern” or the “True Writ of the August Radiance.” At first, it consisted of a single scripture. Later, it was divided into five scriptures according to the subjects governed by the Five Emperors of the Five Directions.

In the East, it was governed by the Imperial Lord of the Azure Numinous, Elder Beginning, of the Peaceful Treasure Flower Grove, named Ling Weiyang. The True Writ is called “The Chapter on Generating Spirits, Treasure, and the True Cavern Mystery.” In the South, it was governed by the Imperial Lord of the Vermilion Numinous, True Elder Beginning, of the Brahma Treasure of Flourishing Yang, named Chi Bianu. Its title is “The South Cloud’s Heavenly Passage, Treasure Collar.” In the Center, it was governed by the Imperial Lord of the Original Numinous, Elder Beginning, of the Jade Treasure, named Han Shuniu. Its title is “The Treasure Kalpa’s Cavern-Clear Book of the Nine Heavens.” In the West, it was governed by the Imperial Lord of the Bright Numinous, August Elder Beginning, of the Seven Treasures Golden Gate, named Yao Pobao. Its title is “The Golden True Treasure’s Bright, Subtle Cavern Chapter.” In the North, it was governed by the Imperial Lord of the Dark Numinous, Elder Beginning, of the Five Spirits, in the Cavern Yin and the Northern Solitary, named Ye Guangji. Its title is “The Primordial Spirit’s Generation of the True Treasure’s Bright Writ.” The jade chapters transmitted by these Five Elders are all texts that emerged naturally from the emptiness.

The changes in written characters from antiquity to the present can be broadly divided into six types. The first is heavenly writing. When Yin and Yang first began to differentiate, principles such as the Three Origins, Five Powers, and Eight Assemblies took shape, giving rise to the flying heavenly script, which was later compiled as “The Radiant Chapters of the Cloud Seals of the Eight Dragons.” Master Lu explains that the “Three Powers” are the Three Origins. Once the Three Origins were established, the Five Phases were also complete. When the Three Origins and Five Phases were aligned according to the Five Phases, they were called the “Eight Assemblies,” the source of all written characters.

There is also “The Radiant Chapters of the Cloud Seals of the Eight Dragons.” Its images arose naturally and soared aloft, mysterious and unfathomable; they condensed out of emptiness into written characters, each one a zhang square. This text came into being before Heaven and Earth had formed, and from it all things were transformed and established.

According to the Zhen’gao, Lady of Purple Tenuity said, “The Three Primordials and Eight Assemblies” are the source of literary forms and written characters, while the “Cloud Script of the Eight Dragons” is the foundation from which writing arose and its beginning. Another account says that the original “characters” were each a square zhang in size. They appeared before Heaven and Earth had taken shape, and from them all things came into being and were established.

The Zhen’gao also records that the Eight Assemblies are the Three Powers—Heaven, Earth, and humanity—and the Five Phases—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. These appeared only after Heaven and Earth had separated. Yet the Red Book says that the Five Chapters of the Numinous Treasure Red Book of True Writings appeared before the Primordial Beginning. It follows that the Three Primordials should not be equated with the Three Powers, nor the Five Chapters with the Five Phases. A more fitting interpretation is that the Three Primordials correspond to three kinds of primordial Qi, the fundamental energy from which Heaven, Earth, and all things are formed, and that these three kinds of Qi themselves possess five virtues.

Thus the Scripture on the Nine Heavens’ Generation of Spirits says, “The transformations of all things between Heaven and Earth cannot come into being unless they are nurtured by the Three Primordials and guided by the Nine Qi.” This shows that the Three Primordials existed before Heaven and Earth opened and before the Three Powers took shape.

The Three Primordials are, first, the Primordial of the Great Nonbeing of the Undifferentiated Cavern, the Qi of the Most High Jade Emperor; second, the Primordial of the Great Nonbeing of the Red Mixture, the Qi of the Supreme Jade Void; and third, Mysterious Penetration in Stillness and Obscurity, the Qi of the Unsurpassed Jade Void. The five virtues have three roots: Yin, Yang, and Harmony. Yin divides into Lesser Yin and Greater Yin; Yang divides into Lesser Yang and Greater Yang. Together with the Harmony that arises from the union of Yin and Yang, these make the five virtues.

“Script” refers to the compilation and gathering of numinous, wondrous characters, which are called “Cloud Script.” The characters of the Three Primordials and Eight Assemblies are all celestial writings. Later, people transformed the Eight Assemblies into characters shaped like dragons and phoenixes, called “earthly writings.” These were used by the mysterious sages of later generations to record the patterns of Heaven. A third kind of writing, according to tradition, was created in the time of the Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan: Cangjie drew on the forms of dragons and phoenixes and devised ancient characters from the tracks of birds and beasts, replacing the practice of tying knots to keep records. A fourth kind arose when the Zhou historian Shi Zhou adapted the ancient characters into large seal script. A fifth came when Cheng Miao of the Qin dynasty adapted large seal script into small seal script. A sixth arose after the Qin, when small seal script was adapted into clerical script.

It is also said that in the Han dynasty, clerical script was called “assistant script.” Some believe that clerical script was created by Cheng Miao while he was in prison. Since it originated with the prison laborers, it came to be called “clerical script.” These are the six forms of writing. Beyond them, there are also the “eight styles and six scripts,” which will not be discussed one by one here.

Paper was first made by Cai Lun during the reign of Emperor He of Han. Before that, people wrote only on bamboo and wooden slips. A die was a document for recording or presenting matters; jian conveyed the sense of brevity and simplicity. One should understand that the foundation of Daoist scriptures was originally heavenly writing. The eight styles and six scripts used in the human world later all evolved from the True Script, the writing of the celestial realm.

It is also said that the brush made by Meng Tian was fine and strong, and so he is credited with inventing the brush. When scriptures first began to be written on paper scrolls, however, is now difficult to determine. If brushes already existed at the beginning of the aeon, when Heaven and Earth were first formed, and the Great Perfected—the supremely true divine beings revered in Daoism—wrote with them, how could there have been no paper, or no writing in the eight styles and six scripts? This is because the Celestial Worthy, in creating and transforming the myriad things, possessed every method. Only later, when people took up these things, did they appear in a particular sequence.

The term “divine talismans” means that everything between Heaven and Earth works through the activity of Jing-Qi, the subtle forces of life. Jing-Qi circulates in Heaven and Earth, and among the sun, moon, and stars. Since all things exist, Jing-Qi also moves through them. Thus the Five Phases and the six categories of things all contain Jing-Qi. When the Dao’s Jing-Qi is infused into bamboo and wooden slips and ink traces, it can unite with the Jing-Qi inherent in things themselves. It can then drive out evil and falsehood, support the righteous Dao, summon the spirits, govern life and death, sustain the cycles of the aeons, and secure and guard the five directions.

These talismanic characters were originally formed in empty space. The Great Perfected looked up at the celestial patterns and wrote them down. The celestial writings were arranged and distinguished according to direction, giving rise to different forms such as diagrams, images, talismans, and scripts. “Talismans” generally draw on the shapes of clouds and stars; “scripts” select sounds and written forms to express and measure the principles of things; and “diagrams” strive to portray the forms of numinous transformation. A talisman may contain writing and incorporate images; writing may also contain diagrams and combine shapes with sounds. Talismans in the Three Caverns scriptures, the three major categories of Daoist classics, are sometimes written in characters current at the time. This is like the ancient-text Book of Documents, which also contains characters whose forms match those used today.

The Jue of Jade also has two additional scrolls. They contain a secret teaching in numinous writings and jade characters, which the Most High Lord of the Dao delivered to the scholar Wang Long at the Upper Lodge in the Southern Cinnabar Grotto of Yang. Here, the only question is which generation of commentators produced these explanations. The book also discusses methods such as cultivating talismans, performing Zhaijiao purification rituals, and contemplating the five directions to shift calamities. These are, in fact, secret methods for explaining the texts of the Eight Assemblies.

“Numinous diagrams” convey things with form, while “writings” convey principles without form. “Without form” means that the principles and teachings have no concrete traces—for example, material concerning the settling of the will and the arrangement of diagrams. “With form” refers to things that have shape and traces, such as the Eight Radiances, the celestial scenes described in Daoism, and images of humans and birds. At times, numinous writings guard the Five Sacred Peaks and protect and govern the cycles of calamity; at other times, they spread throughout the ten directions to teach and transform all beings. Sometimes they recount events from high antiquity to dispel the delusions of all things; sometimes they are transmitted to later generations to answer the suffering of living beings. All of this expresses great compassion: prescribing the appropriate remedy for each affliction, and teaching in response to circumstances with a heart of profound compassion.

In “genealogies and registers,” “genealogy” means a lineage, such as the account in the Chapter on Generating the Spirits, where the first Three Treasure Lords—revered Daoist divinities—and the Lord of the Dao of Original Practice describe the foundations of their former lives. “Register” means a record of the ranks, titles, and personal names of the divine perfected ones, as in the Eight Radiances and the Inner Sounds. Genealogies explain the origins of living beings and the former lives of the Lord of the Dao of Original Practice. People may imagine that the principles of life and death arise and vanish without cause, like plants and trees. Their origins and former-life connections are therefore recounted so that people may awaken to them. A register is like a roster of practitioners: it records and confers titles and ranks on students, enabling them to cultivate and contemplate in accordance with the register, protect themselves, and ultimately cultivate human form together and ascend to heaven.

In “precepts and rules,” “precept” means restraining oneself and following good practices. To restrain oneself is to discipline one’s mind and speech, vowing to do no evil. Precepts vary in detail. The extensive collections include the 129 articles among the innumerable methods listed in the Taiqing Daoist Foundation, the 180 graded precepts of Lord Lao and the Three Origins, the 300 articles of the Great Precepts for Contemplating the Body, and the Sixty Precepts of the Great One, among others.

A brief overview of the precepts includes the Three Precepts for Daoist adherents, the Five Precepts for the Recorded Students, the Eight Precepts for the Libationers, the Nine Precepts of Xiang’er, the Ten Upper-Grade Precepts of Wisdom, and the Twenty-Four Precepts of Illuminating Truth. There are also the 180 Precepts of Lord Lao and the Three Primordial Ones, the 300 Great Precepts for Contemplating the Body, and the Sixty Precepts of Taiyi. In the case of the laws, other categories are generally not established; they deal mainly with provisions for the consequences of offenses and punishments, such as the laws concerning the Celestial Master’s subjugation of ghosts and the laws of the Mysterious Capital and Lady Qing. This shows that precepts primarily address conduct before an act occurs, urging people to guard against wrongdoing, while laws primarily address what follows, setting out how offenses are to be stopped and responsibility for them borne.

Ritual deportment refers to ceremonial and behavioral rules, such as how to bow or raise one’s body. According to tradition, during the Three Primordial eras there were originally 3,400 rules of ritual deportment. After the Longhan era, many related texts were lost. Since people in the latter age could not manage such a large number of rules, these teachings were no longer transmitted in their entirety.

The merits of fasting rites fall broadly into two categories: seeking the highest Daoist state and delivering the dead from suffering. The Dongshen Jing says that cultivating the fasting of the mind and attaining sitting in oblivion lead to the highest Daoist state. The Benji Jing likewise says that after cultivating the fasting of the mind and sitting in oblivion, one can roam through the void and walk through the air.

Fasting rites for deliverance are divided in the scriptures into three registers and seven grades. The three registers are:

First, the Golden Register Fast: dispelling natural disasters and protecting and stabilizing the emperor.

Second, the Jade Register Fast: delivering the people, praying for blessings on their behalf, and repenting for their faults.

Third, the Yellow Register Fast: rescuing the souls of the dead from hell and relieving the suffering of one’s relatives through nine generations.

The seven grades are:

First, the Three Sovereigns Fast: praying for immortality and protection for the state.

Second, the Natural Fast: cultivating one’s true nature and learning the Daoist teachings.

Third, the Highest Clarity Fast: ascending to the wondrous realm of the void.

Fourth, the Instructional Fast: warding off calamities and treating illness.

Fifth, the Mud and Ashes Fast: repenting for one’s faults and praying to preserve one’s life.

Sixth, the Illuminating Truth Fast: rescuing the souls of the dead from the Ninefold Darkness.

Seventh, the Three Primordials Fast: repenting for offenses before the Three Officials, the Daoist deities who govern Heaven, Earth, and Water.

These fasting rites are performed according to ritual procedures and may last for one day and one night, three days and three nights, or seven days and seven nights.

In addition, there are the Six Fasts, the Ten Fasting Days, and fasting practices observed on Jiazi and Gengshen days, at the Eight Seasonal Nodes, on one’s birth day, and for periods of one hundred or one thousand days. All of these follow methods of cultivation that accord with nature. The six fasting months are the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth, and eleventh months of the year; the three long fasting months are the first, seventh, and tenth. The Ten Fasting Days fall on the first, eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth, eighteenth, twenty-third, twenty-fourth, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth of each month.

The practices of the Six Fasts and the Eight Seasonal Nodes can be understood from this. Fasting methods fall broadly into nine kinds. First, eating coarse foods such as hemp and wheat. Second, eating only vegetables. Third, limiting one’s food and eating only at midday. Fourth, taking medicinal preparations, talismanic water, and the essences of elixirs. Fifth, ingesting the “Cloud Sprouts of the Five Directions,” the essence of cloud Qi symbolizing the numinous Qi of the five directions. Sixth, ingesting the Seven Origins and Three Lights of the sun and moon, a cultivation practice associated with the light of the sun, moon, and stars. Seventh, ingesting the Qi of the Six Directions—the subtle Qi of Heaven, Earth, and the four quarters. Eighth, ingesting primordial Qi: the Qi received from the Three Origins, the refined, harmonious Qi that exists in the Great Void. Ninth, embryo feeding: using the primordial essence and Qi one has obtained as the foundation of an embryo, so that clear, empty Qi descends through the limbs and body and is no longer dissipated outward.

Eating coarse foods is meant to curb craving; eating vegetables is meant to reduce rich, oily foods; limiting food is meant to dispel agitation and turbid Qi. Nurturing essence and Qi can make the body’s spirit whole and the body itself dense with essence. Ingesting Cloud Sprouts is meant to transform oneself into sprouting Qi; ingesting the light of the sun and moon is meant to transform oneself into light; ingesting the Qi of the Six Directions is meant to transform oneself into the Qi of the Six Directions and roam through the ten directions; ingesting primordial Qi is meant to transform oneself into primordial Qi and merge with Heaven and Earth.

By consuming fetal Qi—the prenatal Qi acquired and transformed through cultivation—one can return to an infant-like state and become one with the Dao. As this transformation continues to unfold, one no longer undergoes the process of leaving one body behind and taking another through rebirth, nor travels back and forth between life and death.

The cultivation methods discussed here may not refer only to consuming substances; they may also include medicines, massage, and other practices. The examples mentioned earlier are all found in the Upper Scriptures, the Scripture of the Purple Writings of the Numinous Book and the Zhengao (Declarations of the Perfected). Related accounts also appear in the records of Pei Jun, a perfected adept in Daoist tradition, when he received the Dao.

The various arts of cultivation encompass a wide range of practices, which can broadly be grouped into five kinds. The first is contemplating the spirits and preserving the Real: envisioning deities and maintaining the true Qi. The second is the fasting of the mind and sitting in oblivion: purifying body and mind and forgetting distracting thoughts. The third is pacing the void and soaring through the air: seeking to ascend aloft through rites or practices such as pacing the void. The fourth is consuming and inhaling the six Qi: taking in six kinds of breath. The fifth is guiding the Three Luminaries: using daoyin techniques to envision or absorb the Qi of the sun, moon, and stars. All these methods bring mind and Qi into interaction, allowing the spirit to commune subtly with the divine Dao.

The transformations that follow cultivation can be broadly divided into three kinds.

The first is ascending to heaven in broad daylight. Once cultivation is complete and one’s Dao practice fully developed, the thirty-six thousand spirits unite with the “Three-One Emperor,” a Daoist deity associated with the spirits within the human body, reaching the state called “Wondrous Unity.” One can then travel with the spirits, and the physical body ascends to heaven as well.

The second is corpse liberation. This refers to a cultivator leaving the physical body by extraordinary means and departing after attaining the Dao. Some use a sword, bamboo, or wood in place of the corpse, then rise into the sky and vanish. Some leave behind an empty shell; in other cases, after burial, an opened coffin is found to contain only a staff and shoes. Some roam among the Five Sacred Peaks, while others ascend to heaven. In the Southern Palace is a court of flowing fire, and at the Golden Gate are waters for refining. Those who ascend through inner refinement while still alive must first go to the fiery court to refine their body and spirit. Those who ascend after death must first go to the courtyard pool to refine their souls and remains. The precise process depends on each person’s spiritual achievements.

The third is extinction and transcendence. The corpse does not decay or dissolve, as though Taiyi were guarding it; sometimes, after many years, it can even return to human form.

Accounts of such events may recount things that happened in the past or record in advance what is yet to come.

Here, “transmission” means compiling and passing down teachings so that they may continue. The essential nature of sages and divine beings is generally realized in two ways: through spontaneous generation, or through study and cultivation. The Scripture of the Great Cavern says that those who obtain the Cavern Scripture first pass from death to rebirth, then from life to the Dao; from the Dao they become immortals, from immortals they become perfected beings, and finally they reach the realm of Highest Clarity.

The Lord of the Yellow and the Old (Huanglao Jun), the Thirty-Nine Perfected Ones, the Twenty-Four Emperors, the One Hundred and Eighty Lords of the Dao, and the Celestial Worthies and supreme sages came into being in different ways. Some were transformed through the wondrous Qi of spontaneous generation; others attained their state through cultivation. Spontaneous generation and later cultivation together form the paths to becoming sages and perfected beings. Yet the ranks of sages and perfected beings have many levels, branches, and categories, which will not be listed here one by one.

The forms of praise also carry distinct symbolism. Four-character verses symbolize the four seasons and the four Qi; five-character verses take their model from the Five Phases and the Five Virtues; and seven-character verses follow the Seven Origins and the Seven Luminaries. The praises originally found in scriptures first appeared in works such as the Scripture of the Nine Heavens on Generating the Spirit. They take the Qi of the Three Caverns’ Flying Mystery as their foundation; these are the praises found within the scriptures. Later, other scriptures also included praises composed by Lords of the Dao, perfected beings, and the various heavens. All were composed by mysterious sages and gathered into the scriptural collections.

Memorials and petitions are formal documents commonly used in Zhengyi practice. The affairs of the world are numerous and take many different forms, so the sages established corresponding rituals and regulations. Although the Dao is within the human heart, practitioners must also express it through concrete rites, such as submitting memorials. When they have not yet merged silently with the Dao, they use ritual to make their inner state manifest. The human heart is formless by nature, yet it is affected by external circumstances. When those circumstances are pure, the heart becomes clear; when the heart is clear, conduct becomes upright. Only with upright conduct can one communicate with the divine beings, and only with a clear heart can one accord with the Way of Heaven. This is why practitioners ascend the ritual platform and perform the rites.