《太上洞玄灵宝安志智慧本愿大戒上品经》

The Most High Dongxuan (Cavern of Mystery) Lingbao (Numinous Treasure) Scripture (Jing) of the Great Precepts of the Superior Grade on Settling the Will, Wisdom, and Original Vows

This scripture is also known as the Most High Dongxuan Lingbao Scripture of the Great Precepts of the Superior Grade on Wisdom, Intention, and Original Vows, and it is further called the Most High Scripture of the Great Precepts of the Superior Grade on Dispelling Demons, Protecting the Body, Settling the Will, Wisdom, and Original Vows. Its author is unknown. Composed around the Eastern Jin period, it is one of the early Lingbao scriptures, in a single scroll. The extant base text comes from the Original Texts category of the Dongxuan division of the Zhengtong Daozang (Orthodox Daoist Canon) and has been collated against Dunhuang manuscripts P.2468, S.6394, and P.2400.

The Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) Immortal Duke Inquires of the Taiji Master of the Law

The Taiji Immortal Duke, an honorific title for an immortal, quieted his mind, observed the fast and the precepts, and meditated on the Great Dao (the Way) at Mount Tiantai. After bowing with his head to the ground, he respectfully inquired of the Mysterious Master of Lingbao, the Perfected Being of Taiji and the Great Void, a venerated deity of Daoism:

“This disciple is fortunate to be able to attend the Heavenly Worthy. With subtle words you thread together the principles that extend across myriads of kalpas and see into the original source of the Great Dao. Nothing can compare with this extraordinary joy.

Thinking back, I have long delighted in the way by which divine immortals ascend in broad daylight. In my heart I have always looked up to the sages, yet I have only ever imitated them vaguely. The classics of the Great Dao are profound and remote, and their fine, hidden subtleties are hard to comprehend. I am about to receive your oral instructions. Please explain for me these deep and obscure principles, so that I may thoroughly penetrate the realm of emptiness and non-being and understand the principles of being and non-being.

I have not, however, fully understood the karmic conditions of previous lives, nor the origin of the conduct originally followed in this life. I now earnestly beg the Heavenly Worthy to instruct me in what I have not yet grasped.”

At this time, the Most High Perfected of Exalted Mystery, a venerated deity of Daoism, intoned the Cavern Stanzas of Pacing the Void—pacing the void being the walking and chanting of Daoist ritual. His manner was joyful and unhurried, his face shone with a golden radiance, and with a smile he said, “This child has passed through many kalpas, his heart bent wholly upon the Dao (the Way), and therefore his name is listed in the jade registers of Taiji (the Supreme Ultimate). Sojourning in a human world possessed of wisdom, he will in time walk unrivaled through Yujing, the celestial capital of Daoist legend, transcend the Three Realms, and become the Most High Immortal Duke, lofty in virtue and renown. Precisely for this reason he loves the beings of heaven and of humankind, keeps later students in his thoughts, and often forsakes himself to save all living beings, possessed of virtue yet seeking no fame. Xuandu’s appraisal of him—Xuandu being the celestial administration of Daoist legend—is, one may well suppose, truly not unfounded.”

He then said to the Perfected of Taiji, “You received the command of the Most High Vacuous Sovereign Lord of the Dao and serve as his tutor and guardian; you too often forsake yourself to aid beings, and possess virtue without seeking fame. Xuandu’s appraisal of you is, one may well suppose, truly not unfounded. You must also teach him the whole of the profound and subtle Dao of the Exalted Great Cavern. Why wait for him to make a lengthy appeal? I am fortunate to hold the office of Chief Instructor of the Teaching; as for taking the scrolls in hand and conferring the teaching, that shall be left to you.”

The Perfected of Taiji replied, “This child is pure and without guile, and his name is engraved upon the golden slips. His endowment is clear, pure, and lofty, his brilliance graceful and fair, worthy to match the Most High. He fully comprehends the principles of mystery and of the empty void, and so in the future he ought to assume the office of Immortal Duke, exalting the Great Dao and broadly delivering all living beings. I am fortunate to bear the charge of teaching, yet I am ashamed that I am not adequate to be his ancestral master. Since the Most High has given the command, how dare I not pour out all that I know? The transmission of the Dao of the myriad wonders must still rely upon the Instructor.”

The Perfected of Taiji continued, “The Dao is originally nothing. It suffuses and penetrates all things, without limit and without end. If you wish to seek it, what is near at hand lies in my own person; yet it also seems as if it were something…”

The final passage of the original, “And so. The unifying thread of the myriad wonders depends upon the Instructor,” is broken in sense and repeats what precedes it; there may have been a slip in copying or a loss in the text. It is rendered here according to the wording that survives.

The Perfected One of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) said: The Dao (the Way) appears empty and void, yet it pervades and penetrates everything, inexhaustible and without end. If you wish to seek it, it is in fact close at hand, within your own person, and this is precisely the aspect of "being." One must use "being" to enter "non-being," and through accumulated, single-minded intention come to grasp the profound principle. The myriad things of the world, in all their profusion, are like illusions and in the end all return to stillness and emptiness. The human body is the same: when the body dies, the Shen (spirit) disperses along with it. To use an analogy, the body is like a house; when the house is ruined, a person has nowhere to stand, and when the body decays, the Shen has no place to dwell. Therefore one should restrain stray thoughts and settle the will, nourish the body in stillness so as to give the Shen a resting place, and treasure Qi (vital energy) so as to preserve Jing (essence). Forget all anxious thinking, close the eyes, concentrate the mind and turn the gaze inward, and so body and Shen become one. When body and Shen are united, one draws near to attaining the "True Body" (the body of one who has attained the Dao).

All of this in fact originates in what one did in previous lives: long-accumulated intentions and responses, benefit brought to all living beings, and virtue that shelters the myriad things. Through the turning of causes and conditions, sin and blessing answer one another, life and death replace one another, the noble and the lowly command one another, the worthy and the foolish undermine one another, the poor and the rich oppress one another, and good and evil reveal one another. Countless kinds of suffering are all summoned by one's own actions and vows. They are not created by the Dao, by Heaven, by Earth, by other people, or by the myriad things; they come from one's own mind. Once such retribution has taken shape, it is very hard to escape.

Those who are weak of will and have lost their original nature rarely believe in the Dao, and far more often believe only in fate. They do not accumulate good deeds, settle their intentions, or cultivate their own De (Virtue), yet they want to cast aside virtue and forget themselves, stubbornly pursuing external things. How could they ever obtain them? And since they cannot obtain them, there is none who does not end up harming himself or herself. For this reason, those who possess the Dao all begin by working on themselves and make no harsh demands of others. As the scripture says, "When the Dao is cultivated in one's own person, one's De is genuine." This is what it means.

A student of the Dao who does not receive the Great Wisdom Superior Precepts of the Original Vow and Practice of the Dao has no affinity for becoming a high immortal. You have an affinity from a previous life, and so you have been able to see this Jing (scripture). Its contents are secret and may be transmitted only after the recipient has established faith and sincerely commits to follow it; it must not be casually shown to those who do not believe. Since they do not believe, they will surely develop doubts, and once doubt arises, both parties incur guilt. Therefore it is hidden in "non-being," and is revealed only when someone destined to become an immortal sovereign appears.

At the time of transmission, cloud-dragons leap, the heavens scatter fresh flowers, fragrant smoke drifts and swirls, the waves of mountains and seas grow calm, and all beings fall quiet. Ghosts and demons vanish, spirits and fiends are subdued, the five kinds of suffering are all removed, and living beings are forever released from hell. Evildoers turn toward goodness, and those who believe and obey receive blessings. Then the Perfected One of the Taiji commanded the scripture-attending immortal Liu Wenjing (an immortal official in charge of scriptures) to descend on the clouds, proclaim the text, and bestow this Jing.

The Perfected of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) said: In a previous life one reverently honored the masters of the Jing (scripture/classic), reciting them with the mouth and putting them into practice with the body; relieved those in hardship and took joy in faith in the Three Treasures; was loyal to the sovereign and filial to one’s parents; yearned for mountains, forests, and waters and drew near to the worthy and to Confucian scholars; sought the Dao (the Way) with a humble mind; burned incense and scattered flowers; protected and rescued all living beings; cultivated virtuous conduct and made amends for faults; believed in destiny and accorded with it; and quieted the mind in reflection while restraining the emotions. Those who act in this way may, at the higher level, ascend as immortals and transcend the world, and, at the lower level, be reborn into a wealthy and noble household, become persons held in respect, with outstanding appearance and lofty talent and wisdom, and possess every blessing proper to a human life.

Conversely, one who in this life is wealthy and noble yet mocks the poor and lowly will suffer poverty and low station in the next life; one who in this life delights in killing living beings will die young or be injured in the next; one who in this life has an outstanding appearance yet ridicules the ugly will be ugly in appearance in the next; one who in this life is intelligent yet unwilling to teach others will be dull and obstructed in the next; one who in this life enjoys health and ease yet mocks those who are distressed and often ill will be beset by disease in the next; one who in this life does not believe in the Dao and mocks the teachings of the Jing will be ignorant and base in the next, long cut off from the Dao; one who in this life takes another’s husband will be widowed in early years in the next; one who in this life entices the wives and daughters of others will be solitary and without a companion in the next. One who in this life once vowed to be joined as husband and wife, yet afterward cannot be reborn together as a human being and after death becomes a lowly ghost, will in the next life contract a deviant illness because of those former thoughts. Unless one cultivates the Great Method, there is no way to undo the entanglements left from previous lives and dispel this deviant illness.

Relations such as those of parents, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, sovereigns and ministers, teachers and elders, and friends are all affinities formed by the thoughts and vows of previous lives, giving rise to one another in turn; among them, no one is wholly unrelated to anyone else. Therefore it is said that misfortune and good fortune depend upon each other, and their transformations can hardly be exhausted. Only those who cultivate and study the way of the immortals ought to let go of attachment to these affinities, sever the bonds of the cycle of birth and death, return to the mysterious and wondrous Dao, and thereby enter the wondrous gate of the Dao. Only when one can do this may one speak of truly learning the Dao.

If one sees a husband and wife with their children, one should wish that all people may soon free themselves from the bonds of family affection and desire, gather in their thoughts, and observe the precepts. If one sees someone drinking wine, one should wish that all people may restrain desire and discipline themselves, so as to remain far from calamity and disorder. If one sees singers, dancers, and courtesans, one should wish that all people may uphold purity, endure, and exercise restraint, and look up to the worthy, the good, and the chaste. If one sees those who indulge their desires, one should wish that all people may cast off deviant thoughts and devote themselves wholly to keeping the prohibitions. If one sees a woman, one should wish that all people may resolutely relinquish vanity and finery, delight in cultivating the Dao (the Way), and find joy in it. If one sees a Zhenren (one who has attained the Dao), one should wish that all people may practice sincerity and good faith, receive the teaching of the orthodox Dao, and enter the gate of the Dao day by day.

If one sees the multitude, one should wish that all people may practice benevolence and love and not contend with one another, hold the great Dao in their hearts, and bring peace to the world. If one sees good people, one should wish that all people may constantly keep good deeds in mind, look up to them, and follow their example. If one sees wicked people, one should wish that all people may abandon evil and turn to good, and not transgress the laws of the king. If one sees the poor, one should wish that all people may not spare themselves but bestow kindness and help others, and later obtain great blessings. If one sees the rich, one should wish that all people may relieve the myriad beings and enjoy fortune and emolument life after life. If one sees those of high rank, one should wish that all people may heed their instruction and conform, one by one, to the statutes and admonitions. If one sees those of low station, one should wish that all people may cultivate diligently and without slack, each accomplishing what they undertake.

If one sees an emperor or king, one should wish that all people may revere the royal way with the same respect shown to father and mother. If one sees a chief minister, one should wish that all people may accept his teaching and governmental orders, so that the common people of the four quarters return to benevolence and De (Virtue/Power). If one sees weapons and armor, one should wish that all people may each cherish a humane heart, so that all under heaven yield humbly to the worthy. If one sees a prince, one should wish that all people may daily sing the praises of great peace, so that the state is secure and the family estate endures. If one sees a worthy person, one should wish that all people may practice his virtuous conduct, so that the Dao becomes the standard for the people of the world. If one sees a Master of the Teachings (one who transmits the doctrines), one should wish that all people may understand the rules and measures and realize the Dao of Wuwei (non-action). If one sees a Daoist priest living in seclusion amid mountains and forests, one should wish that all people may thoroughly know the regulations of the Daoist order and soon attain the Dao and ascend as immortals. If one sees moral instruction, one should wish that all people may personally receive the teaching of the sages and become broadly learned. If one sees a sage, one should wish that all people may honor and treat him with courtesy, serve him, and look up to him, so that every land may gaze toward sagely virtue. If one sees an immortal, one should wish that all people may cultivate and perfect the true Dao and ascend in flight to the heavenly realms.

If one sees city walls, one should wish that all people may keep them strictly and properly maintained, taking the Dao as their foundation. If one sees a great state, one should wish that all people may turn in reverence to virtuous conduct, as the hundred rivers flow into the sea. If one sees a small state, one should wish that all people may know contentment and humbly withdraw, dwelling at ease where they are. If one sees the marketplace and the court, one should wish that worthy scholars gather like clouds and together propagate the orthodox Dao. If one sees a pure and quiet abbey (a place of Daoist cultivation), one should wish that the merit of all people may stand lofty, so that heavenly beings and the human world each find their proper place. If one sees purificatory fasting and the offering of incense, one should wish that the Dao and De of all people may be renewed day by day, and that ritual deportment may be upright, dignified, and pure. If one sees the recitation of scripture, one should wish that all people may enter the gate of the Dao and hear the profound intent of the Jing (scripture/classic). If one sees scriptures and teachings, one should wish that all people may each receive and uphold them, recite them, and study them with ritual reverence, and widely carry out instruction.

If one sees towers and belvederes, one should wish that all people may see clearly into the ten directions, so that nothing can remain hidden. If one sees a high mountain, one should wish that all people may establish virtuous conduct as steadfast as the mountain and never turn back. If one sees the great sea, one should wish that the wisdom and reflection of all people may be boundless, and that they may assist family and state. If one sees rest taken amid dense woods, one should wish that all people may dwell at ease and in freedom, sheltering all living beings. If one sees those who study diligently, one should wish that all people may become teachers and masters of the tradition, gathering disciples and transmitting the teaching. If one sees the washing of the hands, one should wish that all people may constantly hold the scriptures in their hands, without interruption. If one sees those skilled in speech, one should wish that all people may delight in chanting the Dongxuan Jing (a Daoist scripture of the Cavern of Mystery, one of the Three Caverns, Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen), gaining new understanding day by day and never growing weary. If one sees someone striding forth, one should wish that all people may transcend the Three Realms and ascend in flight to the celestial realm of Shangqing (Highest Clarity). If one sees stillness and quiet sitting, one should wish that all people may erase the traces of the dusty world and return at leisure to emptiness and stillness. If one sees food and drink, one should wish that all people may cast off entanglements, return to purity, and taste the flavor of attaining the Dao.

If one sees goods stored in a warehouse, one should wish that all people may dispel disasters and use wealth for giving and for planting blessings and virtue. If one sees illness, one should wish that all people may settle body and mind by means of the Dao and be spared suffering and hardship. If one sees funerals and burials, one should wish that all people may study the Dao of lasting existence and deliver beings from the Three Paths (the three realms of suffering: the hells, hungry ghosts, and animals). If one sees hunting, one should wish that all people may no longer create the causes and conditions of taking life, and so be spared the punishment of the uninterrupted hell. If one sees the Yi and Di (an ancient designation for peoples of the borderlands), one should wish that all people may be born in the central lands and not in remote regions. If one sees the young, one should wish that all people may study early and accomplish learning and renown. If one sees the aged and the sick, one should wish that all people may nurture life by means of the Dao and no longer decline into senility and confusion.

If one sees the sun, moon, and stars, one should wish that all people may universally send forth a numinous and luminous radiance, so that darkness is dispersed. If one sees clouds and rain, one should wish that grace and moisture may be abundant and fitting in every place. If one sees white snow, one should wish that all people may ever preserve purity and whiteness and roam in freedom. If one sees a numinous wind, one should wish that all people may open their hearts and let virtuous conduct spread far. If one sees clear water, one should wish that all people may wash away defilement, return to clarity and emptiness, and hold an impartial mind. If one sees precious incense, one should wish that all people may receive its pure fragrance and cleanliness, so that all filth is dispersed. If one sees beautiful flowers, one should wish that all people may delight in revering the many sages and be endowed with majestic and auspicious marks. If one sees carriages and horses, one should wish that all people may attain the Dao and Wuwei, riding phoenixes and driving dragons. If one hears the music of strings and the sound of song, one should wish that all people may recite scriptures and praise the teaching, taking joy in the Dao.

If one sees abundant food offered in worship, one should wish that all people may be fully satisfied and, life after life, partake of the provisions of the celestial kitchen; that virtue and grace may flow through the world as the hundred rivers enter the sea; that clans may continue through the generations and ever dwell in honor and prominence; and that, life after life, they may be born in royal households together with the Four Classes (a term in Buddhist and Daoist writings for four kinds of practitioners). If one sees the giving of alms, one should wish that all people may dispel grave calamities, so that blessings extend throughout the ten directions; that virtuous conduct may be as vast as mountains and seas, and all affairs flourish; that the Seven Ancestors (the ancestors of seven generations) may be born in heaven, and sons and grandsons be worthy, intelligent, loyal, and good; that wealth and rank may be illustrious and every wish be fulfilled; and that they may study the Dao, become immortals, and ride the clouds and mount dragons.

Whether sitting or lying down, a Daoist priest should constantly make this vow: May the Four Great Elements of our body and mind (the four basic constituents of the human person) be in harmony, and may we become one with the truth of the Dao, abiding forever in Xuandu (the immortal realm of which Daoism speaks), taking the Dao of spontaneity as teacher and companion, saving living beings of the ten directions so that all under heaven receive grace; roaming free in Wuwei, and seeing through to the mysterious and wondrous gate of the teaching.

When paying ritual homage to the scriptures (Jing), one may recite three invocations.

The oral formula of the perfected—immortal perfected who have attained the Dao (the Way)—says: the immortal lads and jade maidens who attend the scriptures, on hearing these invocations, will all rejoice and will protect and bless the one who recites them. Therefore, whenever one pays homage to this great scripture, these invocations are to be recited. If one worships with a quieted mind, one may also recite the invocations silently in the heart. These are secret invocations transmitted by the higher immortals (immortals of high rank).

The first. Take the cultivation of the methods of the Dao as your companion, and treasure the scriptures as pearls and jade. Hold to the precepts and restrain the six emotions and desires; set the mind on the Great Dao and set every desire aside. Let the heart be plain and detached, let upright Qi (vital energy) settle, and let your bearing be pure, still, and silent. Even the demons of heaven will honor and guard you, and for generation after generation you will enjoy great blessings.

The second. May the country flourish, and may the scriptures and the methods of the Dao spread far and wide. May Heaven and humankind together fulfill the vows that have been made, so that one may drift lightly into the Great Vehicle (a vast and profound realm of cultivation). With a devout heart, cultivate merit and blessing, and may the wheel of the Dao’s methods turn without cease and prosper. May seven generations of ancestors be born in heaven, and may I myself ascend to immortality in broad daylight.

The third. The Great Dao is far-reaching, deep, and mysterious; so long as there is a wish in the heart, there is nothing that cannot accord with the Great Dao. Cultivate the bodily form, enter the realm of immortals and perfected beings, and at last achieve a body as firm as diamond. Transcend the sufferings of the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm), and be released from the five sufferings of the hells. All is given over to the scriptural methods of the Most High: with a quiet mind, recite in silence and bow in reverence.

This scripture of precepts is titled The Precious True Chapter of the Supreme Precepts of the Original Vow of Practicing the Dao, in the Scripture of Hidden Wisdom. The Most High Sovereign of the Void transmitted it to the Most High Lord of the Great Dao; the Lord of the Great Dao transmitted it to the Imperial Lord of Grand Tenuity; the Imperial Lord transmitted it to the Great Perfected of Ninefold Subtlety; and the Great Perfected in turn transmitted it to the Great Ritual Master of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) and the Lofty Immortal Prince of the Taiji. It is not transmitted to ordinary immortals of the middle rank. It is passed on only three times, at intervals of a thousand years. Without an immortal name on a golden slip granted by the Most High, one will never encounter this scripture and its precepts.

If a Daoist priest should by good fortune obtain this scripture, it must be kept strictly secret and upheld with reverence. The Most High sends ten immortal lads to attend in person, to safeguard the precepts, and to protect the disciple. Should virtuous Confucian scholars, or men and women who have faith in the methods of the Dao, obtain the sacred text, they are not to be turned away. If, in the year of one’s root destiny, on a jiazi day or a gengshen day, or at one of the Eight Nodes (Beginning of Spring, Spring Equinox, Beginning of Summer, Summer Solstice, Beginning of Autumn, Autumn Equinox, Beginning of Winter, and Winter Solstice), one observes the purification fast and recites it once through.

The Taiji Zhenren (Perfected Person of the Supreme Ultimate) said: In studying and cultivating the Dao (the Way) of ascending to immortality, one should accumulate one thousand two hundred good deeds and seek no reward for them; if one accumulates three thousand good deeds, one can ascend to heaven in broad daylight. These good deeds all include rescuing people who have met with death and disaster, and bestowing kindness on others is especially precious. Those who study the Dao should make every kind of conduct accord with the methods of the Dao, widely sow the field of merit (accumulating good deeds and cultivating blessed virtue), arouse a vast compassionate heart, and keep the intent of the Dao in mind at every moment. If one can do these things, and moreover persist all one’s life without slackening in tuna (regulating the breath and circulating Qi (vital energy)), taking medicines, wearing talismans, reading the Jing (scriptures/classics), and contemplating the Dao with single-minded devotion, how could one fail to become an immortal? If one lacks such De (Virtue/Power) and merely takes medicines, wears talismans, reads the Jing, and observes fasting and abstinence, there will be no effect even when one’s life comes to an end. Those who study the Dao should carefully ponder these essentials.

The Taiji Zhenren said: If one accumulates three hundred good deeds, one can become an earth immortal who endures without dying (an immortal who dwells in the human world or upon the earth). If even one good deed is not completed, one must begin all over again, and the merit accumulated before is entirely lost as well. So long as this thought is constantly present in the mind, it counts as having been accomplished. If you guide others to do good, that too counts as accumulating meritorious deeds.

The Taiji Zhenren said: One should often practice xiaoyong (whistling and chanting) and act with a heart of great compassion; attend to others first and consider oneself only afterward; proclaim good deeds and dispel evil deeds; cut off every kind of attachment, eliminate distracting thoughts, and maintain emptiness and stillness; let the state of the mind be like Taixuan (a realm of secluded depth and mysterious remoteness), and seek the Dao with undivided purpose. Only then can one be said truly to understand the Dao of the immortals.

The Perfected of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), a Daoist immortal, said: “In the past, before the Void Sovereign of the Exalted Great Dao (the Way), I received and upheld the ‘Taiji Wisdom Precepts of the Ten Virtues of Exhorting Assistance and Merit’ (precepts concerned with urging people to do good and with supporting Daoist affairs). Observing them generation after generation and cultivating the Great Dao makes the deliverance of others easy. This is a spontaneous field of blessings (a way of accumulating merit and virtue).

The Most High (Taishang, the Daoist honorific for the supreme deity) universally instructs the beings of the heavens and the human world, so that each person may fulfill an original vow, begin to enter the gate of the Dao, and long abide in the Way of Wuwei (non-action), no longer suffering the ten sufferings and eight hardships. Karmic offenses and grievances disperse, the hells come to rest, and the Three Officials (the divine offices governing Heaven, Earth, and Water) are clear, tranquil, and at ease. Life after life one enjoys peace and eminence; all are released from bondage, and the life to come is secure and favorable. One’s innate nature is calm and gentle, and what one wishes can also be realized. The foregoing are these precepts, and they should be transmitted to those who are worthy in De (Virtue/Power) and sincere.”

The “Precepts of the Ten Virtues of Exhortation” say: Urge people to pay reverence to the Three Treasures—the Dao, the Jing (scripture/classic), and the Master—and to support the Master of the Law (one who transmits the methods of the Dao and whose conduct serves as a model for others). This enables people, generation after generation, to become persons of De, worthy, good, and filial, outstanding in talent and wisdom, of honored station, respected from birth, with flourishing families.

The Three Treasures are the Dao, the Jing, and the Master. One who can nurture life, teach people to turn toward goodness, and whose conduct is sufficient to serve as a model for others is called a Master of the Law.

The precept says: Urge people to contribute funds to collate and copy the scriptures. This enables people, generation after generation, to be intelligent, broad in what they have seen and heard, and conversant with the subtle methods of the Dao, often to meet an age of sagely illumination, to read the various scriptural teachings, and to recite the scriptural texts.

The precept says: Urge people to help establish purification rites and to set in order a pure and quiet ritual space. This enables people, generation after generation, to have illustrious households, themselves to ascend to the halls of heaven, to have food and drink abundant of themselves, and constantly to dwell in the realm of Wuwei.

The precept says: Urge people to donate incense and oil so as to relieve the want of the many. This enables people, generation after generation, to enjoy a fair reputation and flourishing prosperity, bodies and minds pure and bright, appearances outstanding, and an innately refined bearing.

The precept says: Urge people to support the ritual robes of the Master of the Law. This enables people, generation after generation, to remain refined and enduring, to live at ease in the central lands and not to drift into remote foreign regions; the men and women of the household will be upright and outstanding and will enjoy honors like those of official caps and jade pendants.

The precepts teach people to exhort and assist kings, parents, and the common people, so that they are loyal and fulfill their filial duty. In this way, generation after generation, people have many descendants; their sons and daughters are worthy, good, and learned; and they no longer undergo all kinds of suffering.

The precepts teach people to exhort and assist others in observing fasts and calming the mind, and in reciting the scriptures (Jing). In this way, generation after generation, people do not fall into hell, but ascend to heaven, worship and come into the presence of the host of sages, swiftly cast off their former bodily forms, and are reborn in the households of kings and nobles. Whatever they desire in their hearts is granted, and the precious objects they delight in are theirs in full. Ancestors of seven generations rejoice together with them; every good condition is complete; and from beginning to end life is glorious, peaceful, and at ease. When the wheel of the teaching—the turning and dissemination of the doctrine—reaches its proper place, they will attain the immortal Dao (the Way).

The precepts teach people to exhort and assist everyone in studying the scriptures. In this way, generation after generation, people are penetrating in talent and intelligence; their conduct in advancing and withdrawing is courteous and measured; and they often become teachers to others.

The precepts teach people to exhort and assist every good deed of charitable giving and of remonstrance. In this way, generation after generation, people enjoy long life, prosperity, and ease, and are ever free of resentment and vexation.

The precepts teach people to exhort all the common people to put away jealousy and abstain from desire, so that their conduct in advancing and withdrawing is courteous and measured, and they often become teachers to others.

The precepts teach people to exhort and assist every good deed of charitable giving and of remonstrance. In this way, generation after generation, people enjoy long life, prosperity, and ease, and are ever free of resentment and vexation.

The precepts teach people to exhort all the common people to put away jealousy and abstain from desire, and to practice every kind of good deed. In this way, generation after generation, people live in peace and ease, and disasters and upheavals do not arise. The sick recover of themselves; those who hold office rise in rank and become distinguished, and are looked up to by all. Everyone receives auspicious protection; the household stands pure, upright, and honored, loved by heavenly beings and by all living beings of the human world, and also revered and guarded by spirits and by the hosts of demons. They are often reborn in lands of blessing.

This precept is named the Upper Grade of the Essential Precept of the Most High on Wisdom and Exhortation to Advance, and it appears in the upper scroll of the Scripture of Great Wisdom. This method was transmitted to the Perfected of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), a revered deity of the Daoist tradition, to be used in ordering the teaching of the Dao and in carrying out moral instruction. If you possess blessings accumulated from former lives and so come to encounter this passage of scripture, you should treasure it and reverently uphold it. If you rashly show it to others and cause them to disbelieve, misfortune will descend in this life; after death you will become a low-grade ghost, confined in hell and repeatedly enduring the five sufferings; and in the next life you will lose a human body. Those who destroy scriptures and precepts will suffer the same consequences.

The Perfected of the Taiji said: Among the evil deeds of human beings, none are more serious than jealousy, killing, greed, extravagance, arrogance, and licentiousness. If any one of these remains in the heart, it will certainly harm your lifespan. To harbor these evils and still wish to cultivate and study the Dao of the divine immortals—is that not lamentable?

The Perfected of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) said: The five thousand characters of the Daodejing, the classic of Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power), form one of the weightiest works among the Daoist Jing (scriptures/classics). The Dao runs through heaven and earth and the human world; the myriad things all arise by following it, and likewise come to their end by following it.

Those of superior capacity who receive, uphold, and recite this scripture may become Most High Immortal Kings; those of middling capacity who receive and recite it may become flying immortals; those of lesser capacity who receive and recite it are reborn into the households of sage-kings, do not pass through the hells, and are often born in lands of blessing. When life ends, the Celestial Emperor rides a cloud chariot to welcome their soul and Shen (spirit) and settles them in the Hall of Blessings. This scripture can save and deliver countless people; its merit cannot be told exhaustively, item by item.

In former times there was a woman who received and recited this scripture. Her husband was always angered because of it, yet she never gave it up. Later the woman ascended to heaven in broad daylight, but after her husband died he fell into hell and suffered punishment for many years. The woman flew to hell to visit him and told him to recite the Daodejing, saying that in this way he could obtain deliverance.

At that moment, celestial beings flew down from heaven. The Lord of Mount Tai—the deity who presides over investigation and over reward and punishment in the underworld—then summoned the woman’s husband and questioned him. He answered, “In the past I was often instructed by my wife to pay reverence to this scripture. My wife has already ascended as an immortal. It is out of remembrance of her former kindness that I beg for rescue.” The Lord said, “Although you did not study the scripture yourself, you always paid reverence to the Great Dao and reverently trusted the scriptures and the methods of the Dao. You may therefore be sent to the Hall of Blessings and supplied with food and drink. After a thousand years you will be reborn as a human, and then you may receive and recite this scripture.”

The man said, “If I can be reborn as a human, I will certainly revere and study this scripture, so as to transcend the dusty world.” After a thousand years he was reborn as a human. At the age of thirteen he began to love the Daodejing and followed a teacher in learning its recitation and oral formulas. He was innately quick and intelligent, and outstanding in talent and learning. The king invited him with ceremonial courtesy, yet he was unwilling to take office, and later he ascended as an immortal in broad daylight. That he had first held the scripture in reverence, and that a virtuous wife had helped to save him, was all because of good affinities formed in a previous life.

Long ago there was a wise Daoist priest who fasted and cultivated in a pure, quiet chamber, yet he could not take his midday meal at the proper time. At that time a lay couple, a man and a woman, revered and loved the Great Dao (the Way). Seeing the priest recite scripture while enduring hunger, they were moved at heart, and every day they prepared his midday meal and often went to hear the scripture. Cherishing their devotion and faith, the priest transmitted the scripture to the couple and taught them the oral formulas, having each of them recite it fully ten thousand times. Later the Most High descended in a dragon carriage to welcome them, and they ascended to heaven in broad daylight. Such cases are many and cannot all be recorded one by one.

Even if ordinary people cannot cultivate the way of becoming immortals, they may all reverently receive and uphold the Five Thousand Characters (that is, the Daodejing), and thereby tend toward the way of Wuwei (non-action). While in the world they may prolong their lives and keep their households at peace; after death they go directly to the heavenly realms and are not reduced to prisoners in the hells of the Three Officials. What matters is to hold faith in the heart and to delight in putting it into practice; if one does this, blessings of this kind may be obtained.

The Great Scripture of Dongzhen (Dadong Zhenjing) and the Precious Scripture of the Hidden Writings of the Most High of Dongxuan (Taishang Dongxuan Yinshu Baojing) must not be transmitted to ordinary people, and should be cultivated and recited only by those resolved to cultivate immortality. If they are rashly transmitted to ordinary people, the one who transmits the scriptures will be confined in hell together with seven generations of ancestors and with his parents, and will suffer the trial-punishments of the Five Poisons (cruel tortures in hell). In this one must be exceedingly cautious.

The True Person of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) said: The bewilderment of people in the world lies in estranging themselves from their ancestors while vying to serve ghosts and spirits; they even take life in order to pray for longevity. In doing so, are they not all the farther from true longevity?

While alive they do not cultivate goodness, do not restrain themselves, and cannot bear to let go of desire, yet after death they hold lavish funerals for their bones. They do not know that the hun and po souls have long since suffered every kind of hardship, confined in the underworld, enduring the torments of the three paths (the three evil destinies of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals), and still transmigrating through the five paths (the destinations of living beings in the cycle of rebirth).

Human life is brief, yet people endlessly accumulate possessions and never know contentment, turning wealth into a burden they themselves must bear. Once their store of blessing is exhausted and their sinful karma descends, the person dies, the reputation vanishes, and the wealth scatters as well, like a fierce wind blowing dust away.

That Daoist priests keep the fast, burn incense, and in clarity and stillness read the Jing (scripture/classic) is a rare and excellent thing in the world, yet people are unwilling to look upon it; even when they see it, it is as if they had not seen it. Hearing shamans recount the words of ghosts and spirits, they instead exhaust the wealth of their households and serve them with lavish offerings. Keeping the fast and preserving stillness can bring blessing, while the songs and dances of shamans invite disaster. This is the root of calamity, yet people are still unwilling to look upon it, and even when they see it, it is as if they had not seen it. Hearing shamans recount the words of ghosts and spirits, they still exhaust the wealth of their households and serve them with lavish offerings.

When disaster descends, the souls of both the shamans and those who made offerings are punished. The retribution of the grievances between them has no end; they can only pass back and forth among the three evil paths (hell, hungry ghosts, and the animal path), and the suffering is hard to escape. After the retribution for their offenses is finished, some are reborn as one of the six domestic animals (the six kinds of livestock) and lose their standing as human beings. Even if they are born again as humans, they may come of lowly birth; some have maimed bodies, ugly features, and a foul smell, or are dull and foolish, arousing disgust and being cast aside, struggling all their lives and still suffering hunger and cold at the moment of death. All such people are receiving the retribution of offenses from former lives, having only just returned to the human world from the animal path.

If in this life they can endure hardship and rest content in poverty, repent their past faults, cultivate goodness and accumulate virtue, and strive to practice the methods of the Dao (the Way) in order to seek liberation, they can gradually remove the karmic retribution of this life, and in the next life they will also obtain great blessing. They will be born into wealthy and eminent households, with proper features and outstanding bearing, radiant and pleasing to others; their natures will be kind, benevolent, and generous, honest and trustworthy, of outstanding intelligence and full of strategy. Whether they are later born as men or as women will also accord with their own wishes. If they can constantly seek out good friends and take them as the causes and assisting conditions for cultivating the Dao, then naturally, in the unseen…

People gather together and all become brothers and descendants. Later generations therefore succeed one another without break, and worthy, filial persons continually appear, the line of transmission never ceasing. This is what is called yifu yinyuan (fortune and misfortune depending upon each other, causes and conditions continuing in succession)—who can know where it ends? When the scripture (Jing) further says that sons and grandsons offer sacrifices generation after generation without interruption, it is speaking of precisely this principle.

The Perfected Person of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate)—an immortal perfected being in Daoism—says: “As for the Way of Xuan and Su (the Daoist arts of the bedchamber for nourishing life), when the ancients practiced it they could prolong their years and even attain long life; when people today practice it, they instead shorten their lifespan and harm their nature and life, bringing on an early death. Can one still blame this art? The fault lies with oneself—is that not deeply lamentable?”

The Perfected of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) says: Those who cultivate and study the methods of the Dao (the Way) must first be filial toward their kin, loyal to their sovereign, considerate of those in their service, faithful to promises made to friends, and able to fulfill what they have said. They should urge others to correct evil conduct and praise good deeds, making no distinction between close and distant or between self and other, harboring no selfish mind of discrimination, and not violating the ethical norms proper to the world. Only when these are accomplished may one be said to have fulfilled the duties of being a person.

Next, one must abstain from drinking, indulgence in sound and sensual pleasure, jealousy, killing, extravagance and greed, and pride and slackness; and further give up the five pungent foods (strongly scented vegetables such as onion, garlic, and other pungent plants), rich and greasy meats, and a diet that craves fine flavors. One then lets thought return to stillness, so that the mind draws near to clarity, quiescence, and empty calm.

One must also practice the method of ceasing grains (a cultivation method of stopping or reducing the ordinary diet of cereals), observe and uphold the great precepts, and make firm one’s conduct and resolve; practice daoyin and embryonic breathing (methods of regulating the breath and nourishing Qi (vital energy)), and through exhalation and inhalation harmonize the Qi within the body; and broadly cultivate merit. One must endure what others cannot endure, relinquish what others cannot relinquish, do what others cannot do, dwell at ease where others cannot dwell at ease, wear what others cannot wear, eat what others cannot eat, keep precepts that others cannot keep, and study methods of the Dao that others cannot study.

Only when cultivation has reached this point may one go further and, with the aid of numinous medicines, steady and nourish body and mind, and ingest cloud sprouts (immortal foods of the kind that Daoism describes as the essential florescence of cloud Qi). In this way the corpse-worms within the body (inner foul impurities which, in the conceptions of Daoist cultivation, harm a person’s body and mind and bring about decline) will subside and disperse; filth and leakage will be eliminated; the Three Palaces (sites of cultivation within the body associated with Jing (essence), Qi, and Shen (spirit)) will be cleansed; and the five viscera will be peaceful and at ease.

Thereafter one must also maintain prolonged fasting and observance of precepts, engage in extended quiet contemplation, recite with a still mind the Dongjing (Cavern Scriptures; Jing, scripture or classic), enter deeply into their mystery, and join this with the cultivation of the elixir fluid. If one can accomplish these things, how could there be any reason that one would fail to attain the Dao and ascend as an immortal?

The Celestial Worthy said to Taiji Zhenren (the Perfected of Taiji, the Supreme Ultimate, a title of Daoist perfected beings): “If a person does not cultivate the proper Dao (the Way) of being human, shows no loyalty to the sovereign or to his parents, wallows in wine and sensual pleasure, delights in killing, and is greedy and cruel, arrogant, extravagant, and unrestrained, if he deceives and entices the worthy and the good, and borrows things or money without returning them—then these ways are already his in youth. Grown to adulthood, he still cannot reform, and his heart pays them no heed at all, yet he still wishes to keep ritual abstinence and study the Dao, hoping to reach the state in which the physical body ascends in flight. Is this not lamentable? Is this not lamentable?

“Such a person will long remain in the hells, suffering the torments of the five poisons, passing over mountains of knives and forests of swords, burned by boiling broth and raging fire, his body boiled and scalded; he may wish to die, yet cannot die. When hungry he eats iron; when thirsty he drinks fire. Coming out, he then faces bitter ice: his flesh is wounded and his bones crack with cold. Afterward he is handed over to the Three Officials (the Daoist divine offices that govern Heaven, Earth, and Water) for judgment, sentenced to labor among the mountains and seas, hauling earth and carrying stones, and subjected to whipping and interrogation. He must also endure punishments such as the three penal servitudes and the five paths, passing back and forth through the ten sufferings and the eight hardships. The pain is beyond measure and cannot be told in full.”

Taiji Zhenren said: “Such a person is, on the contrary, inferior even to ordinary people who pursue worldly learning. They practice benevolence and righteousness, revere and put their faith in the Dao and in De (Virtue/Power), and do whatever is good. They accord with change, live at ease amid the shifts of worldly affairs, dwell contentedly in the world, and remain clear and self-possessed. After death they may enter a place of blessing, without undergoing confinement and hard labor; some even become ghosts and spirits. If later they are born again as human beings, they do not lose their original good aspirations. They can gradually give rise to a heart of faith, form affinities with the worthy and the sages, day by day cast off defilement and the burden of offenses, and in the end enter the way of the immortals.”

Taiji Zhenren said further: “What is troubling is that a person is granted a complete human body, yet does not cultivate De or nurture his nature, and cannot preserve his own life. What is troubling is that, after hearing the scriptures (Jing), he nevertheless…” The original text is fragmentary at this point, and what follows cannot be determined.

To obtain a complete human body and the conditions for cultivating the Dao (the Way) is in itself a rare thing; yet some people do not cultivate De (Virtue/Power) or nurture their nature, and so cannot preserve their nature and life. They hear the Jing (scripture/classic) yet will not believe; having come to believe, they cling to wealth and will not accept it; having accepted it, they do not expound, study, and recite it; having expounded, studied, and recited it, they do not practice in accordance with its meaning; having begun to practice, they cannot persevere for long; they serve their teachers and elders yet cannot maintain that commitment for a lifetime; they take elixir medicines yet stop halfway, before the effects appear; their attainment in the Dao is not yet complete, yet they boast of seeking ascent to immortality; they quiet the mind, observe fasting and purification, and recite the scriptures, yet they cannot bear the loneliness and hardship of living in secluded mountains. All ten of these faults may befall a person; without vigilance, it is hard for one to be saved. Thus the scripture says, “The greatest calamity is that I have this body.” This is precisely the point. How can one fail to ponder it carefully? How can one fail to ponder it carefully?

When the Perfected of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) had finished transmitting the scriptural methods and expounding the precepts, he chanted a song lamenting the suffering of living beings in the three paths and the five destinies. The words of the song say:

Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, the Three Powers, together with the myriad things, all come into being and pass away according to their allotted spans. Birth and death, ending and beginning, are governed by the reckoning of kalpas; when the store of blessing is exhausted, even Heaven and Earth will overturn. Living beings pass back and forth among the five destinies, undergoing death and birth again and again, in truly great suffering; they also turn about among the three paths, and their going and coming are always attended by disaster.

Those of great wisdom should carefully observe these precepts, restrain their dispositions, and strive to cut away attachments. The foolish do not put their faith in the methods of the Dao, and so often bring guilt and suffering upon themselves. My concern for the people of the world is without end, and so today I solemnly admonish them once more: if you wish to be free of these calamities, turn your heart and rely upon the scriptures of the Most High.

Neither guilt nor blessing is brought by others; they truly arise from oneself. Those of great wisdom are therefore cautious and sparing of speech, wishing to cut off every evil connection; they dispel delusive thoughts and return to self-forgetting, so that the shifting interdependence of calamity and blessing gradually subsides. They spread the great Dao and bring peace to the world, and in the end they are able to behold the correct Way and the truth.

Lust and jealousy are the root of calamity and a grave harm to oneself. If one harbors and lets such thoughts grow in the heart, they will likely bring on early death and crippling injury. To know that something is evil and yet not reform—how can that be the conduct of one who rests in the Dao? To nurse inwardly thoughts of venomous harm, while outwardly fasting and holding to rectitude day after day, is truly a cause for long sighing.

Karmic connections from former lives (the karmic conditions of past lives) are indeed real; yet people of the world, like those who lost their support in childhood, often forget them. Everyone wishes to see them with their own eyes, but the moment they look away and can no longer see them, they say that such things are remote and hard to believe. The great worthies understand the principles of the Dao (the Way) as taught in Daoism. They grieve deeply for the ignorant and pity them. They constantly keep your sufferings in mind, earnestly exhort you, and are troubled at heart on this account.

Once a person’s life is exhausted, it is like oil burned out and a lamp extinguished. The four great elements—earth, water, fire, and wind (the four basic constituents of the human body)—are only temporarily assembled, and the five substances (the five material components of the body) are only temporarily borrowed. In the prime of life one ought to study diligently and hasten to seek a way of release from one’s own suffering; the great worthies urge this again and again, and their hearts are anxious.

Once a person’s life is exhausted, it is like oil burned out and a lamp extinguished. The four great elements are only temporarily assembled, and the five substances are only temporarily borrowed. In the prime of life one ought to study diligently and hasten to seek a way of release from one’s own suffering. When one’s store of blessings is exhausted, the body and spirit-consciousness (Shen) scatter apart, and one falls into the dark hells. The supreme sages therefore hold this in fear, seek the Great Dao, and thereby escape this calamity.

Cultivating immortality and studying the Dao is a matter of urgent priority. One should uphold the precepts and restrain desires and the movements of the mind. Let the upright Qi (vital energy) of emptiness, stillness, and harmony abide in the body, and immortals and sages will naturally respond and come to receive and guide the practitioner. If one does not believe these teachings, why dwell in the mountains and forests to cultivate?

The great worthies take delight in studying the Jing (scriptures/classics) and the precepts, and they receive and honor the scriptures and precepts as treasures of their own persons. At the beginning of study one always feels that it is already too late, and in cultivating oneself one regrets not having begun earlier. By the time one is about to open and read the profound and subtle principles, in the turn of an eye one has already grown old; taking up the scripture scrolls, one finds that one’s days are nearly spent, and one can only face the pain and distress of death. For this reason, while still young I left the secular world and devoted myself wholly to studying the Dao.

The Perfected Person of the Taiji (Supreme Ultimate) said: “When I formerly studied the Dao, I received these precepts from the Most High Sovereign of the Void (a revered deity of Daoism), upheld and cultivated them, and in the end became a Perfected Person. If a Daoist priest wishes to receive the text of my great precepts (precepts of a high order), the master should first recite it through once, so that the one seeking the precepts understands its intent. The seeker must be a person resolved upon the study of immortality, and must go to the master’s gate bearing a token of faith; only after three days of fasting and purification, with the mind fixed on contemplating the Dao and reflecting on the precepts, may the transmission be given. These precepts are of the utmost importance. Each has majestic spirits and companies of attendants who protect the one who receives them. Be cautious—be most cautious.”

The Immortal Duke said: “This set of great precepts is transmitted to Daoist priests who study immortality. One should constantly inquire into the principle of the world’s impermanence: all things will in the end return to emptiness and stillness. These teachings may be relied upon to help a person pass through the suffering of the three paths (the suffering of the three evil destinies—hell, hungry ghosts, and animals) and ultimately attain the Dao. To encounter these precepts is the vow and karmic affinity of your former lives. The great precepts are transmitted to Daoist priests who study immortality. One should constantly inquire into the principle of the world’s impermanence: all things will in the end return to emptiness and stillness. These teachings may be relied upon to help a person pass through the suffering of the three paths and ultimately attain the Dao. To encounter these precepts is the vow and karmic affinity of your former lives. After receiving them, one should follow them and cultivate them diligently, and must not grow lax.”

The Immortal Duke received the precepts on New Year’s Day (the first day of the first lunar month) and composed a hymn, saying:

I dwell in seclusion amid the still solitude of a renowned mountain, gazing afar at lofty rocks that rise tier upon tier. Pure white snow covers the ground before the courtyard, and a fierce cold wind blows through the woods to the east. Facing the countenance of the Celestial Worthy (a revered deity of Daoism), I immerse myself in profound and mysterious principles, and my mind and Shen (spirit) ease and open. When I think of how people of the world fall through the karma of their offenses, compassion fills me and will not leave me for a long time.

They turn their backs on the scriptures (Jing) and the precepts, and instead put their trust in deviant spirits; they abandon a life of fasting, abstinence, and pure stillness, yet sink into indulgence in fine wine and music. Thus they pass back and forth between the Five Paths (the five destinations of sentient beings in the cycle of rebirth) and the Three Routes (three kinds of paths leading to suffering), undergoing the dark and deep sufferings of the hells. Such pain, once spoken of, is hard to withstand, and the cycle of birth and death is even harder to endure. Only the Way of Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power) can bring relief to all beings—must one wait until caught in hardship before seeking it?

The Immortal Duke admonishes his disciple Zheng Siyuan: Such dark realms of suffering are pain beyond words; the cycle of birth and death is even harder to withstand. Only the Way of Dao and De can bring relief to all beings—must one wait until caught in hardship before seeking it?

The Immortal Duke (Xian’gong, an honorific title for an immortal) said to his disciple Zheng Siyuan:

When I was young, I wandered among the famous mountains and walked through steep and perilous places, with birds and beasts often at my side, and I endured every hardship. I restrained passion and desire, cast aside distracting thoughts, ate little and spoke little, and practiced generous giving. Later, reborn as a human being, I held the methods of the Dao in my heart and hoped to bring peace to the world. I constantly cultivated a compassionate heart, never forgetting the Great Dao in any thought, guarding my true nature, and never growing slack.

I kept fasting and cultivation for a continuous year, and it was not yet finished. That year, at the winter solstice, a Celestial Perfected (Tianzhen, a perfected being of the heavenly realm) descended and bestowed on me this great scripture (Jing) and the Way of the superior immortals. The Celestial Perfected instructed me to maintain prolonged fasting, to preserve clarity and stillness, to practice the methods and recite according to the scriptural text, and then to study and cultivate in proper sequence. After that, I at last became a Perfected (Zhenren).

The scriptural methods I formerly received are treasured by the Most High (Taishang); they are not what ordinary immortals of the middle rank cultivate. From remote kalpas onward they have been transmitted to superior immortals. Immortal dukes, immortal kings, and immortal ministers have all received the transmission—not I alone.

In a former life I made this vow together with you: to practice good deeds widely and to accumulate them diligently, never slackening. Thus our immortal names were recorded in the Mysterious Capital (Xuandu, the celestial palace of immortals spoken of in Daoism). Now we have become teacher and friend, and so I transmit these scriptural methods to you.

After I leave this world, a lay devotee who delights in the Dao and harbors compassion will be reborn into my household. You should transmit completely to him the methods of the Dao that you have now learned. According to the rules of transmission, these methods ought to be recorded and passed down from generation to generation. This is because in a former life I shared an old bond of kindness with him, and the working of causes and conditions has brought him to my door.

You must follow the rules of transmission and pass the scriptural methods on in full to a suitable disciple. If there is no suitable person, seal the methods and deliver them to the famous mountains of the Five Marchmounts (Wuyue) for safekeeping. This is the oral instruction of the Perfected of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate)—the secretly transmitted essentials of cultivation and transmission. You must keep it strictly secret, treat it with care, and bear it in mind at all times.

In the Dunhuang manuscript P.2468 (hereafter “the Dunhuang text”), this scripture (Jing) bears the title Taishang Xiaomo Baozhen Anzhi Zhihui Benyuan Dajie Shangpin (Upper Chapter of the Great Precepts of the Most High for Dispelling Demons, Treasuring the True, Settling the Will, Wisdom, and the Original Vow). This title is close to those recorded in the Song-dynasty Wenming Lingbao Jingmu (Catalog of the Lingbao Scriptures of Wenming), Lingbao Zhongmeng Jingmu (Catalog of the Lingbao Scriptures of the Middle Covenant), and Zhaitan Anzhen Jingmu (Catalog of Scriptures for the Pacification and Stabilization of the Purification Altar).

In the scripture, “Lingbao Xuanshi Taiji Taixu Zhenren” (Mysterious Master of the Numinous Treasure, Perfected of the Supreme Ultimate (Taiji) and the Great Void) is written in the Dunhuang text as “Taiji Fashi Zhenren Xu Laile” (Perfected Ritual Master of Taiji, Xu Laile); “容豫” is written “容与.” The character “耳” is supplied from the Dunhuang text, and a character written “故” in the base text is emended to “愧” according to the Dunhuang text. The character “韫” is everywhere written “蕴” in the Dunhuang text; this will not be noted case by case below.

A number of graphs and phrases are emended according to the Dunhuang text: “谕” is changed to “喻”; “经云” (the scripture says) reads “道言” (the Way (Dao) says); “鬼魅” reads “鬼魁”; “绝秀” reads “绝易” (here “易” describes a beautiful appearance); and “或” is changed to “今.” Where the text above has “下鬼,” the Dunhuang text has “鬼神”; “前世” reads “先身”; and “展转” reads “辗转.” The line “守清忍志慕在贤贞” appears in the Dunhuang text as “守情忍色，志慕在贤,” which is smoother in meaning, and the collator considers the Dunhuang wording preferable.

Other collations include the following. “令” is changed to “合.” “法师” appears in the Dunhuang text as “沙门尼” (a Buddhist nun), which the collator believes was probably rewritten by Buddhists. “得道无为” (attaining the Dao and non-action (Wuwei)) reads “得道如佛” (attaining the Dao like the Buddha); “静观” reads “静寺”; “尽入法门” reads “尽上高座”; “普行” reads “普见,” and the Dunhuang reading is preferable; “师宗” reads “儒宗.”

“不为始终免无闲罪” reads in the Dunhuang text “不为罪始，终入无为” (not becoming the origin of transgression, and in the end entering Wuwei). Where the text above has “畋猎,” the Dunhuang text has “鱼猎.” “得生” reads “宾王,” and the Dunhuang reading is preferable; “边境” reads “边地”; “学名” reads “盛令”; “受兹芳诤” reads “受姿芳盛”; “叹法” reads “敬说”; “其” reads “期” and “契” reads “启,” and in both places the Dunhuang readings are preferable. “随侍” reads “随传”; “常念哺咏” reads “常念斋笑咏”; “始入法门” reads “妙入道门”; “静治” reads “静寺”; “玩好” reads “玩服”; and “法轮” reads “转轮.”

Further phrases are supplemented or emended according to the Dunhuang text. “及” is changed to “以”; “挟之” reads “协之”; a superfluous character “生” before “转轮” is deleted; and in “无数量” the character “数” is deleted, giving “无量.” “常” reads “尝,” and where the text above has “具答,” the Dunhuang text has “具言.” In “时俗姓男女,” the character “俗” ought to be “族”; the Dunhuang text reads “时族姓男子.” The character “经” is supplied from the Dunhuang text; “殡葬” is emended to “厚葬” according to the Dunhuang text; “难脱” reads “难说”; and “不辗” reads “不让.”

The Dunhuang text lacks the two characters “太极.” The character “为” is supplied from the Dunhuang text. In each of the two lines “割人不能割” and “学人不能学,” five characters are supplied from the Dunhuang text. “三宫涤荡” reads “三官调畅,” and the Dunhuang wording is preferable. The Dunhuang text lacks the five characters “天尊告太极” (the Heavenly Worthy addresses Taiji). “凡人” reads “凡贤”; “仁义” reads “人道”; “道德” reads “道经” (a scripture of the Dao), and the reading “道经” is preferable. The character “矣” is supplied from the Dunhuang text; “为我有身” reads “及我身也”; “辈” reads “害”; and “及” is changed to “乃.” In one place the graphs of “邪魅” are emended according to the Dunhuang text, and a superfluous character “更” before “岂” is deleted according to the Dunhuang text.