《高上玉皇本行经集注》Vol. 3

This scripture praises the Dharma body (fashen) of the Jade Emperor, the supreme deity revered in Daoism who commands the gods of the heavenly realms. The saying “the Emperor’s body is the body of the Dao” means that the Jade Emperor’s body is not a mortal fleshly body but a sacred form united with the Dao. The Dao is originally without form; it is called a “body” because, although the Dao is empty and void, it can transform and give rise to the myriad things, bring all things to completion from beginning to end, and set Yin-Yang in motion without ever pausing. Thus within emptiness there is reality, and it is not a complete nothingness. The Jade Emperor’s merit and virtue are vast like empty space and as wondrous as the Dao itself; therefore it is said that his body is the body of the Dao.

This body’s merit and virtue are immeasurable and inexhaustible, pure and natural, and unconstrained by form or appearance. The deeds of ordinary people are limited and their virtue finite, so it is difficult to describe them fully; but the Jade Emperor transforms and nurtures all worlds, unchanging from remotest antiquity, without limit. Things that have form and appearance will ultimately decay, and only empty space endures forever. What can be destroyed is not firm and is not truly divine; since the Great Void endures forever, it is the most real emptiness. The Jade Emperor’s spiritual penetration remains unharmed throughout ten thousand ages, and his mysterious wondrous light is not extinguished through vast kalpas. He is indestructible and never decays, the eternally abiding, indestructible, incomparable wondrous Dharma body, which is the sacred body transcending images and embodying the great Dao.

His awe-inspiring virtue and spiritual radiance are profound and boundless, impossible to fathom. His name and renown fill the ten directions, illuminating everywhere, so that even the darkest corners are lit by his light.

The divine powers are profound and wondrous, lofty and magnificent, immeasurable, vast and boundless, difficult to describe, and impossible to praise in words.

In my understanding: human nature is numinous and luminous, inherently wondrous and free. The Three Bodies are complete—the Dao-body, the body of merit and virtue, and the body of pure naturalness—the Four Wisdoms are perfect, and the vast upright Qi (vital energy), the pure and unified true Jing (essence), and all kinds of good deeds and wondrous functions—which of these is lacking? Within this small body, the positions of the Three Talents each have their responsibility; they operate ceaselessly, without a moment’s rest.

The human body is originally not an eternally unchanging entity; it is the “Dao-body,” a body formed by immeasurable merit and virtue, a body of purity and naturalness, a body in which Shen (spirit) is firm and luminous—the indestructible true emptiness, the supreme Dharma-body (referring to the true body whose substance is the great Dao). Yet worldly people indulge their passions and desires, vainly betraying this body; their minds are ensnared, their spiritual thoughts scatter, their Jing and Qi are depleted, their primordial Qi dissipates, and they understand neither their original nature nor the great Dao. Who then still pursues the principle of nature and life? They are utterly ignorant of the essential meaning of the great Dao; this illusory transformed body will in the end perish completely, and they will have passed through this life in vain. Existence and death are like a dream, of which they know nothing—how then can they penetrate the transformative workings of creation?

Someone asks: Some, though they have already understood virtuous conduct and fully realized their nature, may still not be able to preserve its fruits at all times. Therefore, if one cannot exhaust the wondrous and penetrate creation, one cannot return to the Void and become an immortal, or unite with the Dao to become a Zhenren (Perfected Person). The highest name is indestructible; only the Jade Emperor takes the great Dao as his body, has immeasurable merit and virtue, is pure and natural, firm in Shen (spirit), indestructible in true emptiness, and is the supreme Dharma-body.

All those who have just entered the stream of the sage’s Dao have not yet penetrated it for the time being; even if it is pointed out directly before their eyes, they cannot awaken. Their minds cannot yet thoroughly comprehend the principle of nature and life; they do not know wherein “Shen” is truly Shen, and their learning has not yet penetrated the relation between Heaven and humanity; they do not know wherein “transformation” is truly transformation. Because the Dao of Heaven is difficult to know, those superior people who can penetrate the wondrous principle are extremely rare. Yuanshi Tianzun (Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning), out of compassion for sentient beings who have long been deluded, proclaimed the vast operation of the imperial De (Virtue/Power), striving to open the deaf and mute and the benighted in the world, so as to manifest the wondrous function of spiritual transformation. This is truly great compassion and profound benevolence, hoping that sentient beings may enter the wondrous realm. At the same time, he expands his majestic spiritual power, spreads his name everywhere, and causes his light to shine through hidden and subtle places; he is wondrous and lofty, and the abundance of his virtue is beyond description.

Note: In the original text, before “the wondrous function of spiritual transformation” and “wondrous and lofty,” there are repeated passages; these should be interpolations from copying and have been understood only once in this interpretation.

The Heavenly Worthy’s great vow is this: Alas, the world is sinking, and human hearts are drowning. People cannot follow the laws of the Heavenly Emperor; how then can they inherit the teachings of Yuanshi (Yuanshi Tianzun, one of the honored deities of Daoism)? Alas, Heaven and humanity share this one principle; sages and ordinary people share this one mind. If one cannot admire the sages, emulate the Heavenly Dao, and accord with the Dao of spontaneity, one is truly unworthy of the true scriptures, the Great Dao, one’s parents, and the grace of one’s own birth. Those with resolve should be vigilant.

Chapter Thirty: The Chapter on Divine Powers

This passage says that the Emperor’s (referring to the Jade Emperor, that is, the Great Jade Emperor) divine powers did not come from deliberate action or from cultivation that accumulates merit. In former times, although the Emperor descended and was born into the human world, passed through many kalpas teaching and transforming sentient beings, and displayed great divine powers, he himself remained pure and had never left the Golden Palace in Heaven (the celestial palace where the Jade Emperor resides). Yet he could divide his body and transform, responding and appearing according to place, saving sentient beings and enabling them to escape the sea of suffering and reach the other shore. He universally spread the teachings, guiding later generations and causing people to practice according to the teachings, realize the true fruit, and accomplish the Great Dao. It is precisely because of the majesty of this merit and virtue that his light constantly fills all the heavens; his divine wisdom is subtle and penetrating, beyond measure.

Miaoxing Zhenren (a Daoist immortal) says: This Jade Emperor, wondrous and exalted beyond full description, did not attain his majesty through deliberate fabrication or the forced accumulation of merit in cultivation and realization. Therefore his light constantly fills all the heavens, and his divine wisdom is subtle and penetrating, beyond measure.

Miaoxing Zhenren said: This Jade Emperor is wondrous and exalted, and his virtue is difficult to describe fully. He did not attain it through human contrivance or forced merit, nor did he need accumulated cultivation to realize it.

In the past, before the kalpas, although he descended and took birth in the human realm, through many kalpas he extensively carried out transformative activity and displayed great spiritual powers. His ways of transformative activity included renouncing the throne to cultivate, cutting off love and desire to study the Dao, gathering herbs to heal illness, expounding the Great Dao and promoting teaching, practicing patience and delighting in giving, realizing the fruit of the Golden Immortal, and teaching and liberating Bodhisattvas and others, through many kalpas. Thus Buddhist scriptures record the causes and conditions of the Buddha’s descent and birth, saying that he descended from Tushita Heaven riding a white elephant, entered Lady Maya’s womb, and was then born as Shakyamuni Buddha. This too is a manifestation of the Jade Emperor adapting to local conditions and establishing teachings according to region.

In addition, he also attended the Fuli Assembly and the Baozhu Assembly, manifesting as scholars and common people, manifesting as cultivators; whenever he met people with spiritual capacity, he would liberate them, universally saving beings without ever ceasing, becoming a king among the various heavenly honored ones, with immeasurable great spiritual powers. These many kalpas of transformative activity displayed his great spiritual powers; yet his Dharma body is pure, majestic, and unmoving, never leaving the golden treasure palace.

When Yuanshi Tianzun was about to proclaim the Jade Scripture, the Jade Emperor emitted great light and immediately divided his body, pervading the great heavenly palaces of the ten directions. In all worlds—the heavens above, the earth below, and the human realm—all saw this light, each received benefits, all obtained happiness, and together heard the wondrous Mahayana Dharma. This transformation of divided bodies appeared according to the opportunities of each direction, benefiting and saving beings and ferrying them across to the other shore of the Dao. The merits he accomplished were not limited to one time or place, but universally bestowed teachings and guided and awakened later generations. If one can follow the scriptures and reverently carry out the Emperor’s command, one may ascend to the fruit of Zhenren and accomplish the Great Dao.

The Jade Emperor adorns himself precisely with this greatest and most supreme wondrous merit, and so the light he emits constantly fills all the heavens. His great wisdom is wondrously penetrating and cannot be measured or conceived. The wondrous penetration of wisdom shows that the great light is not empty or arbitrary: it is the excellence of light from perfect virtue. The immeasurability of the light shows that wondrous wisdom is not superficial: it is the manifestation of the wonder of the Dao and of divine clarity.

Notes: The Jade Emperor is a high Daoist deity who resides above the Three Realms and governs the heavens. Yuanshi refers to Yuanshi Tianzun, one of the highest Daoist deities. The Jade Scripture refers to the Daoist classic the Jade Emperor Scripture. The Golden Immortal is a high attainment of cultivation, a rank of those who transcend the mundane and attain the Dao. Tushita Heaven is one of the heavens of the Buddhist desire realm and the dwelling place of Bodhisattvas.

At this point, it becomes even clearer that the Jade Emperor did not attain such a realm by relying on deliberate cultivation and accumulated merit. In my view, a person’s primordial spirit (yuanshen, the most fundamental spiritual essence within the human body) passes through vast kalpas yet remains ever the same; its great divine radiance and wondrous function are profound and far-reaching, difficult to describe in words—how could they be accomplished by intentional fabrication? Hearing, seeing, sensing, and knowing; walking, standing, sitting, and lying down; eating, resting, speaking, and remaining silent—one responds to and deals with the external world. Although wondrous functions appear according to conditions, the pure and tranquil original essence never departs from the elixir palace (danque, the palace within the body where the internal elixir resides); thus it can congeal the mysterious Qi and produce the divine infant (shenying, the sacred embryo formed through cultivation, symbolizing spiritual accomplishment). Truly real and ever thus, it never leaves the original essence. With hundreds of billions of transformation bodies, it bestows salvation everywhere, crosses to the other shore of the Dao, widely proclaims the profound mysteries of the wondrous and numinous, and guides and teaches people of the postnatal condition. Guarding the secret formula, preserving the true nature, transcending the ordinary, and realizing the sagely fruit, it can accomplish all manner of transformation and nurture—nothing is beyond its reach.

With this wondrous practice it adorns itself, and the primordial spirit then reveals a single ray of mysterious light, filling all around, irresistible. How could the efficacy of nature and the Dao be measured or calculated? Seeing that the Jade Emperor’s sagely virtue and spiritual power do not depend on cultivation and are difficult to measure—is this not consistent with this principle?

Although human nature is the same, many people abandon themselves, so that the pure and correct nature is obscured by sensual desire and delusion, just as a bright mirror covered and buried in dust cannot reveal its light; thus beauty and ugliness cannot be distinguished, and the mysterious meaning cannot be made manifest. If one can scrape away the filth and polish it to brightness, renewing day by day and advancing month by month, then when responding to stimuli one acts without intentional fabrication, and Suchness (zhenru, the inherently real nature) spontaneously appears. Within the Golden Portal and Purple Mansion (jinque zifu, the dwelling places of the deities within the body), the primordial spirit forever abides in peace. Always responding, always still, it is disturbed by nothing. In wondrous observation it can unite the one with the ten thousand; in manifest action it accords with all things without attachment. Its compassionate great vows never retreat, and its various adornments of wondrous function are beyond counting. Accumulating cultivation without bound or limit, the true light naturally shines universally, and its merit is inconceivable.

Alas, these are originally inherent in the cultivator of the Dao; they are not obtained through intentional conditioning and cultivation, nor can they be reached through stubborn emptiness. They are neither existent nor nonexistent.

Chapter Thirty-One, “Spiritual Powers”: A Vernacular Interpretation

Those skilled in learning the Dao (the Way) should realize these principles within their own persons.

This passage says that the human person intrinsically possesses light, and each kind of light has its wondrous name. The scripture enumerates seventeen kinds of light: the light of great spiritual power, the vast and boundless light of wondrous spiritual penetration; the light of great compassion, the light that gives beings peace and joy and removes their suffering; the light of great joy and relinquishment, the light that rejoices in giving and does not cling to gain or loss; the light of great forbearance, the light that endures all adversity and humiliation; the light of great equanimity, the light that regards all things equally without discrimination; the light of great gentleness, the light that is mild and compliant, not rigid or aggressive; the light of great freedom, the light of a mind without hindrance that comes and goes freely; the light of great benefit, the light that brings benefit to all beings; the light of great wish-fulfillment, the light that fulfills the heart’s desires and brings complete accomplishment; the light of great wisdom, the light that comprehends matters and pierces delusion; the light of great auspiciousness, the light that brings blessings and peace; the light of great liberation, the light that escapes affliction and bondage; the light of great refuge, the light on which beings rely and to which they turn; the light of great merit, the light of accumulated good deeds and perfected merit; the light of great perfection, the light that possesses all and lacks nothing; the light of great non-obstruction, the light that passes unobstructed and cannot be veiled; and the light that none can overcome, the light that no force can surpass or conquer.

These names progress layer by layer, from virtues of self-cultivation such as compassion, forbearance, and equanimity to stages of practice such as wisdom, liberation, and perfection, and finally culminate in “the light that none can overcome.” The meaning of the scripture is that those who cultivate the Dao should recognize and practice these luminous virtues within themselves, rather than seeking them outwardly.

Perfected Great Wisdom said: The great radiance emitted from the body of the Jade Emperor all bears extremely sublime names. What are the names of these lights? They are the seventeen great lights, beginning with Great Supernatural Power. Through subtle cultivation the Jade Emperor continuously accumulated verification, possesses great majestic spiritual power, and is endowed with the six supernatural powers (the six powers of supernatural penetration spoken of in Daoism). The light of supernatural power is majestic and blazing, illuminating all things. This is the first light, named the Light of Great Supernatural Power.

Next, the Jade Emperor possesses great loving-kindness and great compassion; his compassion is immeasurable, and his light is wonderful and vast. This is the Light of Great Compassion, the second. Again, the Jade Emperor truly accomplishes joyous giving and relinquishment (joyful giving and the abandoning of attachment); his joyous giving and relinquishment are immeasurable, and wondrous light shines universally. This is the Light of Great Joyous Giving and Relinquishment, the third.

In his cultivation through immeasurable kalpas, the Jade Emperor also possesses great patience and forbearance; his patience and forbearance are boundless, and his light cannot be stopped. This is the Light of Great Patience and Forbearance, the fourth. In his early cultivation, the Jade Emperor practiced great equanimity; his mind of equanimity never ceases, and his light cannot be resisted. This is the Light of Great Equanimity, the fifth.

In past kalpas the Jade Emperor also possessed great gentleness and harmony; gentle, compliant, peaceful, and harmonious, he remained unchanged throughout vast kalpas, universally radiating light without end. This is the Light of Great Gentleness and Harmony, the sixth. The Jade Emperor’s virtue is stable and secure, transcendent and free; his light is vast, clear, and forever inexhaustible. This is the Light of Great Freedom, the seventh.

The Jade Emperor’s benevolent virtue is vast and greatly benefits all things, forever benefiting sentient beings with inexhaustible benefit; the radiance of the Dharma shines universally. This is the Light of Great Benefit, the eighth. The Jade Emperor’s bodily virtue universally realizes wondrous enlightenment (the highest enlightenment), pure and natural, and he is named Dharma King Tathagata. Only after cultivating for billions of kalpas did he attain the imperial position. Therefore his supreme merit wondrously arises from no-mind, and his miraculous transformations follow his will; the light of fulfillment of wishes is endless. This is the Light of Great Fulfillment of Wishes, the ninth.

The Jade Emperor has great wisdom and great insight. His wisdom surpasses all, and his light is incomparable.

The Jade Emperor’s lights of great wisdom are ten in number. The Jade Emperor’s nature is supremely good; he is forever great and auspicious. Because there is such light, it shines universally upon all things and never ceases. The Light of Great Auspiciousness is the eleventh. The Jade Emperor long ago fully awakened to the Great Dao, attained great liberation, cast off all bonds, and naturally transcended; his golden radiance shines forever. This is the twelfth kind, the Light of Great Liberation. The Jade Emperor is united with the Great Dao; the wondrous Dharma operates naturally; he forever firmly upholds right faith and never retreats. Beings of later ages in the ten directions (the four cardinal directions, the four intermediate directions, above and below—that is, all worlds) forever revere and serve him and take refuge in the deities and the Great Dao (refuge means turning toward and relying upon); they are forever bright and never dim. This is the thirteenth kind, the Light of Great Refuge. The Jade Emperor universally saves countless beings, bringing them to fulfillment through every twist and turn without omitting a single one; his merit and virtue are the most vast, and his radiance shines without ever being exhausted. This is the fourteenth kind, the Light of Great Merit and Virtue. When meritorious practice is perfected and the Dao and Dharma are complete, the Jade Emperor’s virtue is fulfilled; the universally shining light is enduring and excellent, because his work has already been accomplished. This is the fifteenth kind, the Light of Great Perfection. The defilements of the dusty world have long been washed clean; wondrous function penetrates everywhere; the light shines perfectly everywhere; marvelous transformations encounter no obstruction; the Jade Emperor’s light shines forever. This is the sixteenth kind, the Light of Great Non-Obstruction.

Among divine beings the Jade Emperor is the most honored; among sages he is the most revered. He commands the myriad heavens and is the teacher of all Buddhas. Within vast kalpas (an extremely long unit of time) and the Dharma realm (all worlds), none can compare with the Jade Emperor. Therefore his light constantly fills all realms, and his marvelous transformations cannot be measured. Is the Light of Invincibility not the seventeenth kind of great light? The wondrous meaning of these seventeen kinds of great light only the Jade Emperor can now see in full; how, then, could his spiritual powers be measured?

In my humble opinion: People live in the world and take the preservation of their original, true nature as fundamental; therefore the true teaching transmitted by the immortals takes this as the seed of great light. Everyone possesses this true seed, but few can preserve their original truth, and so they fall into confusion and need the causal conditions of cultivation, purification, and meritorious practice. Thus, each supreme good cause produces a corresponding kind of wondrous light. The Jade Emperor has passed through countless rounds of cultivation and accumulation; his wondrous practices are inexhaustible and involve more than seventeen good causes. Why, then, are only seventeen kinds of great light mentioned? Probably because the causal conditions of cultivation and purification are so numerous that they are difficult to comprehend one by one.

In general, the heavenly secrets are profound and abstruse, and people often find them difficult to comprehend; once the principles are elaborated, they become obscure and hard to understand. The Emperor possesses the “Seventeen Radiances,” just as the Buddha manifests a sixteen-foot golden body (the Buddha’s standard Dharma body, roughly one zhang and six chi) and emits a great auspicious light from the crown of his head. How much more so the Emperor’s radiance, which is profoundly wondrous and transcends all—who can follow his wondrous conduct and comprehend the seventeen great principles within it? Alas, this is truly difficult to accomplish and exceedingly rare. The Great Dao is originally within oneself: with negligence it becomes dim; with diligent effort it becomes bright. One need only diligently cultivate Wuwei (non-action—following nature without deliberate contrivance) and not seek quick results; then the Great Dao will naturally be attained.

Chapter Thirty-Two: The Chapter on Supernatural Powers

Therefore, when you wish to see the Emperor but cannot, it is because old habits still linger in your body and speech, and you do not relinquish accumulated habits, afflictions, and karmic actions. These are precisely the obstacles that prevent you from seeing the Emperor’s compassionate countenance with your own eyes. I now proclaim to the great assembly at this Dharma assembly the method for cutting off obstacles; each of you should practice it accordingly. At that time the assembly was overjoyed and leaped with delight; all bowed before the Supreme Venerable and with one voice requested to hear.

Thunder Master Haoweng said: The Jade Emperor emitted seventeen great radiances; his spiritual powers are vast and unfathomable. That is why you Heavenly Lords of the High Void and Pure Brightness and others wish truly to see the Jade Emperor but cannot. The reason is this: although you are unstained by the dust of the world and have realized the station of heavenly emperor, you have not yet truly comprehended the supremely wondrous Great Vehicle Dao through and through. In body and speech you still cannot let go of the habitual tendencies accumulated over many kalpas, of ignorance and affliction, and of mundane faults and evil karma. It is precisely these things that obscure you, so that you cannot behold the Jade Emperor’s compassionate countenance with your own eyes.

(Note: “Knotty habits” refers to desires and worldly thoughts. All delusion and entanglement are not things to be craved in themselves; only because wisdom is insufficient and clinging is too heavy, as soon as a single thought arises one gradually becomes tainted, is drawn along by external things, accumulates ever more deeply, forms poison, and becomes habitual tendency. It is like a person tying a knot with rope: for a time it is very hard to untie. Once old defilements have been perfumed, they are difficult to remove all at once; if the seeds of evil and the roots of karma have not been fundamentally purified, greed and affliction will continuously breed, faults and evil deeds will continuously accumulate, and new karmic conditions may be planted. Scattered and unsettled, with afflictions unresolved, all kinds of karmic actions have accumulated and long since become an obstruction.)

Although you govern the Brahma heavens, you have still not understood completely and have not penetrated the principle of Chongxuan (Twofold Mystery); how then could you gaze upon the supreme and most exalted Jade Emperor? This is precisely why you cannot see the Jade Emperor immediately. I now, for you, the great assembly of this Dharma gathering, proclaim and make clear the method for cutting off obstructions and stagnations. All of you should each receive and uphold it and put it into practice.

At that time the assembly was joyful and exultant. Each bowed their heads in salute before the jade table of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning and paid reverent homage, all hoping to hear the secret essential discourse on cutting off obstructions. (Note: “I” is the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning’s own self-reference; “ji” means a table or desk.)

(Comment: People are born each with karmic conditions from past lives. Although at the first opening of a cosmic cycle they received the Qi of Great Harmony, the habitual tendencies cultivated during past kalpas are also difficult to forget instantly. Thus the scripture’s use of “innately bearing karmic conditions” as a metaphor for accumulated harm is indeed well founded. Therefore, those with good karmic conditions, even if in foreign lands, can communicate in mind; those with evil karmic conditions, even face to face, are as if separated by a thousand li.)

Some denounce the merit cases in the Daoist Canon and the accounts in the Buddhist records as heterodox doctrines. Even in Confucian classics, Yan Ying (a minister of Qi in the Spring and Autumn period) once obstructed Confucius, and earlier worthies attributed this to Heaven’s mandate. Great Confucians such as Cheng Yi and Su Shi were also divided, because of school disputes, into the Shu faction (Su Shi was from Shu) and the Luo faction (Cheng Yi was from Luoyang). They needed each other deeply, yet when they met they could hardly avoid estrangement; people ancient and modern have regretted this. How, then, could the doctrine of yinyuan (causes and conditions) be entirely discarded?

Exactly for this reason, the ten consciousnesses (the various cognizing minds spoken of in Buddhism) are hard to eliminate completely; the five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness—the five elements that constitute body and mind) are hard to exhaust; the thirteen followers, the twenty-five demon-seeds, and the seven provisional and three combined—all the inner mechanisms that pull at one—who can easily escape them? The Qingming Heavenly Lord (Lord of Pure Clarity), a revered deity in the scripture, realized the imperial throne. Though already detached from dust and defilement, the kalpa-karma accumulated over long ages had not yet been completely transcended and dissolved; the realm in which he dwells falls within the high void, and so he is titled Qingming (Pure Clarity). The good causes of former times had not yet escaped from voidness. As for the Jade Emperor (Yudi), who is empty and luminous and wondrously existent, how could he be easily seen?

When Buddhist scriptures examine bodhisattva practice, there are still cases of seeing the face but failing to recognize Shakyamuni Tathagata. When Wen Fo (Manjushri Bodhisattva) expounded the supreme wondrous meaning, the bodhisattvas listened in silence—this too is the same principle. How could the realm of the Supreme Sage be easily seen? And how could the obstacles produced by accumulated habits of body and speech be easily removed? Yet this principle is the hardest to see through: to see the Emperor does not lie in seeing his face; to understand what the Emperor does and to accord completely with the Emperor’s De (Virtue/Power) is what counts as truly seeing him. It is like the school of Confucius: those who truly received the mind-method transmitted by Xuansheng (Confucius) were in mutual accord of mind; even though times differ and worldly affairs vary, the principle remains the same. Only in spiritual communion and mental convergence is what is seen real. Even someone as intelligent as Yan Hui (Confucius’s most beloved disciple) had not yet penetrated this level; so what doubt is there that the Qingming Heavenly Lord cannot see the Jade Emperor?

The method transmitted by Yuanshi Tianzun (the Heavenly Worthy of Primordial Beginning) for cutting off obstacles and breaking formations: when the mind and spirit are clear and bright, through daily practice one can verify the root of one’s mind-nature; barriers and obstructions naturally dissolve, and then nothing in the external world can become an obstacle. Thus one may see the Jade Emperor (Yuhuang Dadi). That is why everyone wishes to hear this principle. Ah, breaking obstacles and shattering formations depend entirely on the one mind. When one’s thoughts are unobstructed and one focuses on one’s own Yuanshen (the fundamental spiritual nature within the human body), reverently connecting with the Heavenly Dao without slackening; as for the coarse, superficial traces transmitted by mouth and ear, if one is not hindered by them, is the Great Dao not present within oneself? Please strive to practice this.

Chapter Thirty-Three: The Chapter on Divine Powers

The Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun, the most revered title for deities in Daoism) said: The method for cutting off obstacles is that one should give rise to great wisdom and not give rise to doubt, not give rise to greed and anger, not give rise to unrestrained lust and jealousy, not give rise to the intent to kill, not give rise to ordinary worldly emotions and thoughts, not give rise to ignorance and defilement, not give rise to indulgence in sounds and sights, not give rise to disputes over right and wrong, not give rise to hatred and attachment, not give rise to a mind of discrimination and dualistic treatment, not give rise to arrogance and self-importance, and not give rise to clinging.

Guangchengzi said: Yuanshi Tianzun (one of the highest deities of Daoism, dwelling in the Yuanshi Heaven and the supreme sovereign at the beginning of heaven and earth), in response to the assembled people’s request for the subtle essentials of eliminating obstacles, revealed: Only by cutting off obstacles can one personally behold the Jade Emperor’s (the supreme deity of Daoism) subtle transformations and luminous, solemn countenance. There is no other secret on this path; the crux is to give rise to wondrous great wisdom, to believe firmly in the orthodox Dao (the Way), not to give rise to doubt, not to produce a divided mind, and not to be deluded or disturbed.

The great Dao is perfectly orthodox, pure and undivided, and originally has nothing to doubt. If one’s insight is insufficient, one will waver between two extremes and lack a settled view, and demonic thoughts will take the opportunity to enter. Since one understands that the Dao is within oneself, that wisdom is clear and conduct firm, one should not be half-hearted or mix in other thoughts—what else is there to doubt? When doubt does not arise, the mind is not deluded, and only then can one enter the gate along the Dao. Therefore, to dissolve the habitual tendencies of clinging and give rise to great wisdom, one must begin with not giving rise to doubt.

Those who seek the Dao must not calculate utilitarian gain, nor seek anything outwardly; anger, resentment, and a sense of injustice should all be absent. The second step in cutting off obstacles is not to give rise to greed and anger: with the mind focused on the Dao, inner sincerity naturally appears. If one indulges private desires and fosters greedy seeking, deluded thoughts easily proliferate; even a trace of a thought of sensual indulgence and craving will severely disturb the original truth.

The third step in cutting off obstacles is not to give rise to sexual desire. The great Dao encompasses all things; the worthy and the unworthy can both be our teachers and friends. If one feels the slightest jealousy or hatred toward the worthy and capable, or aversion toward the mediocre and dull, these are great errors. The fourth step in cutting off obstacles is not to give rise to jealousy. The great Dao is perfectly benevolent and cannot bear to harm even a hair. If, because others do evil, one gives rise to thoughts of cutting them off and exterminating them, this likewise severely departs from the Dao. The fifth step in cutting off obstacles is not to give rise to thoughts of killing.

Although the Yinfu Jing (Scripture of the Hidden Talisman) speaks of the “mechanism of killing,” it actually means being able to illuminate and subdue evil demons so that the Dao of ultimate truth may abide freely. It is like the austere, killing Qi of autumn causing plants and trees to return to their roots: this is to gather and conceal vitality and nurture the coming year, precisely manifesting the benevolence and virtue of heaven and earth, not the slaughter spoken of in worldly terms. The scripture also says: “Grace arises from harm.”

It is also simply that what he sees is the mind and intent of Heaven and Earth; it is not the “harm” of which the world speaks.

This means that what this person (the cultivator) sees is only the mind and intent of Heaven and Earth, and not the kind of “harm” that worldly people speak of.

The Great Dao is Wuwei (non-action); it does not act through emotional consciousness (the intentions and knowledge of ordinary people). As soon as even a trace of an ordinary thought stirs, errors become endless. Therefore, in cutting off the six kinds of obstacles, one should not give rise to ordinary emotional thoughts.

The essential purport and pivotal juncture of the Great Dao require that all miscellaneous thoughts be purified. If there is even a trace of dusty worldly deliberation, the harmful consequences are boundless. Therefore, in cutting off the seventh obstacle, one should not give rise to ordinary worldly deliberation.

The Great Dao is originally pure, correct, bright, clean, and undefiled. If one is slightly contaminated by even a bit of obscurity or dust, one loses one’s utmost true nature. Therefore, in cutting off the eighth obstacle, one should not give rise to obscurity and defilement.

The Great Dao has no sound and no smell (“sound and smell” refers to sounds and odors, and broadly to everything accessible to the senses). If one seeks it through sounds and colors, one strays far from the Great Dao. For one who embodies the Dao, not only do external sounds and colors not obstruct him, but he also has nothing to do with the worldly realm; the Dao’s influence, echoes, and boundaries—none of these are sought or clung to. Therefore, in cutting off the ninth obstacle, one should not give rise to attachment to sounds and colors.

The Great Dao is originally a great harmony without distinction. To say “yes” one moment and “no” the next is to lose the original truth of Taixuan (the Great Mystery). Therefore, in cutting off the tenth obstacle, one should not give rise to a mind of right and wrong. Although Mencius said, “The sense of right and wrong is possessed by all people,” why should one who is greatly wise as if foolish bother to distinguish right from wrong? The Great Dao has no taking and no rejecting. Once love and hatred arise, the true nature is obscured. The eleventh method of cutting off obstacles is this: regard all alike, forget everything, and give rise to neither hatred nor love.

Truth is originally without duality; to use wisdom to discriminate is not the Great Dao. The method for cutting off the twelfth obstacle is not to give rise to a discriminating mind.

If one sees the Dao clearly and then considers oneself elevated above the dusty world, disdains worldly affairs, and gives rise to arrogance, that seriously violates the Great Dao. The thirteenth method of cutting off obstacles is not to give rise to thoughts of self-exaltation and contempt.

The Great Dao is lively and dynamic and cannot be fixed or possessed. Once the preceding thirteen obstacles are cut off, the Great Dao becomes manifest. Although nominally it is called “attaining the Dao,” in reality there is nothing to be attained. Once one clings to “there is something attained,” the obstacle of principle (the hindrance of attachment to principles) has not been removed, and one becomes bound by dharmas. The endpoint of the fourteenth method of cutting off obstacles is not to give rise to attachment.

Note: The Dao exists within the human body and is originally without obstruction. It is only that worldly people are obscured by thoughts concerning both affairs and principles, and thereby lose the Dao. Therefore the Celestial Worthy of Original Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun), out of compassion… (the original text is incomplete here and repeats the earlier “methods of cutting off obstacles,” so it cannot be fully interpreted on this basis).

The Dao is present in the human body and originally has no obstruction. It is only because entanglements on the two sides of worldly “affairs” and “principles” obscure the original mind that people gradually lose the great Dao. Therefore, the Celestial Worthy of Original Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun), out of compassion, revealed the chapter “The Gate of Severing Obstacles for the Pure Assembly,” enumerating various obstacles in order to inspire people to rouse their resolve, advance bravely, and not be stopped by difficulties. Once you escape the “obstruction of affairs” (the entanglements of worldly business) and leap beyond the “dharma barrier” (attachment to and limitation by dharmas), then the Jade Emperor will receive you with a kindly countenance. By this wondrous function of mine, when you meet him face to face tomorrow, what is there that you will not see? Nevertheless, escaping the “obstruction of affairs” and the “obstruction of principles” is only the gateway to entering the great Dao. As for awakening to divine transformation and Chongxuan (Double Mystery—the Daoist ultimate truth that is profoundly mysterious and beyond verbal expression), this will be discussed later.

Chapter Thirty-Four: The Chapter on Divine Powers

Concentrate the mind, clarify thoughts, and bring the ten thousand spirits into harmony and subjugation; let the mental state be empty and bright like vast space, pure and white within and without, excluding nothing and rejecting nothing. Do not let external evil thoughts disturb your ultimate Dao, pull you away from the true teaching, damage your spiritual root, or steal your most precious original nature. If this happens, you will sink forever amid the myriad kalpas into the stream of ordinary people, fall into the net of the world, be attacked by ten thousand demons, and for hundreds of thousands of kalpas never hear the wondrous Dharma; ghosts and spirits will carry out punishment, and from birth to death you will revolve without cease. Therefore you should be single-minded and carefully guard this true teaching, not letting it be lost. As was said before, all these various obstacles you should each remove and cut off, so that body and mind become pure and you transcend all sufferings. This is called the “Treasure of the Dao,” and it is the pillar that upholds the Dharma.

Liu Haichan (a Daoist of the Five Dynasties, traditionally regarded as one of the Northern Five Patriarchs of Quanzhen Dao) said: Yuanshi Tianzun (Celestial Worthy of Original Beginning) indicated the method for cutting off obstacles, which can generate great wisdom and thereby cut off the wrong paths to which the fourteen kinds of karmic obstacles lead. What exactly is this method? When obstacles are cut off and obscurations dissolved, the spirit (Shen) becomes pure, clear, and luminous. Cultivators should silently guard Yuanling Xuanshi (the fundamental source of the Dao), condense the original spirit (Yuanshen), clarify all distracting thoughts, and cause the ten thousand spirits to be harmonious, stable, and hidden within. The mind should be like the vast open sky and the empty, still Taixu (Great Void), firm and pure within and without, white and unstained. All sentient beings and myriad things in the world—nothing is not contained, nothing is not encompassed. One must firmly stabilize what has been seen, firmly uphold what is held, and remain unchanging from beginning to end, not allowing external evil thoughts to invade, to disturb the supremely correct great Dao, to draw people away so that they lose the true Xuanzong (the fundamental purpose of Daoism), destroy the wondrous Linggen (the innate spiritual foundation inherent in human beings), and steal the supreme treasure that is originally possessed and never destroyed. Otherwise, even if you accumulate ten thousand kalpas, you will still forever sink among the ordinary and vulgar, fall into the net of the dusty world, and various yin demons (yinmo) will collude with one another and come to attack. In hundreds, thousands, and ten thousands of kalpas you are deluded by demonic karma and do not hear the supreme, most excellent, true and wondrous Dharma; then ghosts and spirits seize the opportunity to take hold and kill, causing you to go from the path of birth-and-death samsara into the place of death.

Therefore, everyone in the Dharma assembly should concentrate wholeheartedly, uphold with devotion, and carefully protect the original true teaching, not letting it be lost, just as stated above. Doubts and all kinds of obstacles you should each eliminate and cut off. Among all obstacles, the fourteen obstacles, as well as external evils, birth-and-death, and other matters—their essential meaning all lies in the mind. Once obstacles are completely removed, body and mind attain true purity and true cleanliness, transcend the samsara of the Three Realms (the Desire Realm, Form Realm, and Formless Realm), and are freed from karmic offenses, disasters, and all kinds of hardships.

The method of cutting off obstacles is called the supreme treasure of the Dao and the great pillar that supports the true Dharma. Pavilions, towers, temples, halls, gates, and dwellings cannot easily be built without pillars; in cultivating the Dao and attaining truth, entering sagehood and transcending the ordinary, if one does not cut off obstacles it is likewise difficult to be liberated. Only by cutting off all obstacles can one ultimately avoid destruction and sinking, and the true Dharma be greatly practiced. Therefore Tianzun regarded cutting off obstacles as the root of protecting the true Dharma.

To cultivate the Dao and become a Zhenren (Perfected Person), to transcend the ordinary and enter the sage realm, one must cut off obstacles; otherwise complete liberation is difficult. Only by cutting off all obstacles can one escape destruction and downfall, and only then can the true Dharma spread widely. Therefore the Heavenly Worthy (Tianzun) takes “cutting off obstacles” as the fundamental pillar of cultivation.

I believe that the true-nature Yuanshen (original spirit)—the intrinsically present, pure, undefiled spiritual essence—endures ten thousand kalpas without being destroyed. It is fond of purity, stillness, peace, and harmony, has never lacked numinous clarity, and is no different in nature from the sage and the Perfected. If one can always keep the original nature clear and undimmed, how could the Jade Emperor’s wondrous radiance of divine transformation—the highest divine light spoken of in Daoism, symbolizing the manifestation of the pure original nature—fail to be seen? It is only because various thoughts entangle the mind, layer upon layer following one another without change; and some beginners are eager for quick results, so old habitual tendencies are hard to eliminate completely, afflictions cannot be abandoned, and the Emperor’s light is naturally hard to see.

If one is truly clear and mysteriously penetrating, firm, vigorous, and resolute, knowing that nature and life are real and understanding that all things are illusory, then one first forgets external things when seeing the Dao, next forgets others when practicing the Dao, next forgets the self when attaining the Dao, next forgets mental thoughts when completing the Dao, and next forgets pursuit when delighting in the Dao. Then one forgets even “forgetting” itself, taking the forgetting of attachment to the real as the endpoint. Phenomena and principle merge into one; the true and the false are both dispelled; one no longer falls into the distinction between sage and ordinary. Where then would there still be any need to distinguish host and guest?

Attaining it as if not attaining, preserving without clinging, being empty yet not falling into emptiness, not displaying supernatural powers yet being naturally wondrous—then the habitual tendencies of former lives are purified and brightened, accumulated karmic obstructions are cut off from dusty defilement, all subtle defilements are eliminated, and one can transcend into the realm of the highest vehicle. One need not be bound to silently worshipping Shangdi (the Supreme Emperor), yet one can share in Shangdi’s wondrous spirit; one need not be bound to ritual techniques, yet one naturally becomes one with the Dao and attains the real. What then remains of the distinction among the Three Vehicles (Sravaka, Pratyekabuddha, and Bodhisattva—the three stages of practice), or of higher and lower grades? The state of the supreme among sages is incomparable in merit.

Everyone can do this, provided that the roots (the six roots: eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind) and the dusts (the six dusts: forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touch, and dharmas) all return to purity. The effort is mysterious and wonderful; the cultivation is refined and subtle. There is no need for deliberate contrivance, nor for seeking outward. Those who borrow external appearances and falsely adorn themselves certainly cannot attain liberation; if integration is not yet achieved and edification has not reached the wondrous realm, one still counts only as having entered sagehood without being sufficiently exalted. Compared with the earth immortals of the Mysterious Gate, the bodhisattvas of Buddhism, and the great worthies of Confucianism, one is still one level lower. Those who seek the Dao today should take the Supreme Sage as their standard for emulation and should not think that Mahayana cultivation is already sufficient.

The Scripture of the Original Conduct of the Most High Jade Emperor (Gaoshang Yuhuang Benxing Jing) is an important Daoist classic. This passage discusses the attitude and merit involved in cultivating and upholding this scripture.

Original Passage One

One should cultivate, maintain, and practice this scripture as if drawing near to the Heavenly Emperor, giving rise in the mind to thoughts of reverence and respect and visualizing his noble countenance. In such a state of cultivation, even figures at or above the level of the Earth Immortals in the mysterious realm (those who cultivate the Dao (the Way) and attain the rank of “Earth Immortal”), the Bodhisattvas of Buddhism (the great Bodhisattvas in Buddhism), and the great worthies of Confucianism (Confucian worthies of the highest moral learning and scholarship) should do likewise. People today who seek the Dao should model themselves on the Supreme Sage and should not assume they have done enough simply because they practice the Mahayana (the Mahayana teachings of Buddhism).

Original Passage Two

Likewise, one should cultivate and uphold this scripture as if drawing near to the Heavenly Emperor: giving rise in the mind to reverence, visualizing his noble countenance, and praising and extolling his honored title. In this way you will personally behold his compassionate countenance, you will all receive protection and deliverance, universally hear the supreme wondrous Dharma, personally uphold it and make offerings, and forever escape the revolving cycle of rebirth.

Donghua Mugong (Lord Wood of Donghua) said: Yuanshi Tianzun revealed to the great assembly the method for cutting off obstacles. Since he called this the “treasure of the Dao” and the “pillar that upholds the Dharma,” and further exhorted the assembly with the principle of upholding it for a long time and keeping it firmly in mind: You pure followers of the Dao, having heard this true Dharma, should all the more cultivate, uphold, revere, and honor this scripture, the Yuhuang Benxing Jing (Scripture of the Jade Emperor’s Original Deeds).

To recite this scripture oneself is like drawing near the Jade Emperor, giving rise in the mind to reverence and treasuring. One who knows to respect the scripture will not profane the Way of Heaven; one who knows to value the scripture will not treat the Heavenly Treasure with disrespect. By revering it forever, one will never oppose or neglect it, and the Great Dao may naturally be attained. This is just as the Analects says: “Stand in awe of Heaven’s decree; stand in awe of the words of the sage.”

“Like drawing near this emperor”: in the first place, it is not that one has truly seen the Jade Emperor. If for even a moment one cannot face him uprightly and connect with him devoutly, then for that moment one cannot achieve reverence. Therefore one should use the mind to reverently visualize the Jade Emperor’s noble and beautiful countenance; this principle does not stop at imagination alone. As if the Jade Emperor were right before one’s eyes, one reveres the Supreme Sovereign; in this way one can accord with the virtue of Heaven and Earth and become the most sagely and enlightened person.

Praise and proclaim the Jade Emperor’s supreme honorific title, and then you in the assembly will be able to see the Jade Emperor’s compassionate countenance, all receive the Jade Emperor’s protection and uplifting deliverance, universally hear the unsurpassed and utmost true wondrous Dharma, and be able personally to revere, practice, and make offerings to this emperor and this scripture, never again suffering the fault of samsaric destruction or transmigratory change.

Another interpretation is this: seeing this scripture, hearing this wondrous Dharma, and gazing upon the Jade Emperor’s countenance, if one can intimately and sincerely revere and make offerings, one will forever transcend the dusty world of ordinary mortals and no longer endure the suffering of rebirth. Yet another interpretation is this: the mind never retreats, and by also probing deeply, one’s understanding will become more thoroughly penetrating.

A textual-critical query says: The Confucian classics say, “The divine cannot be reached by thought”; Daoist scriptures say, “Divine transformation has no intentional mind; leave it to spontaneity”; Buddhist scriptures say, “If one seeks me through form or seeks me through sound, that person walks a heterodox path and cannot see the Tathagata.” Now it is said that by concentrating the mind on the Jade Emperor’s honored countenance and extolling his honored title, you will then be able to see his compassionate countenance—is this statement of Yuanshi Tianzun perhaps deceiving us! This statement does not mean indulging in fanciful imagination and longing, or stopping at what is merely heard by mouth and ear.