《太上洞玄灵宝本行因缘经》

In the third year of the Chiwu era of Wu (240 CE), a gengshen year, on the first day of the first month, a renzi day, the Immortal Duke ascended Mount Laosheng, where he observed purification and quiet cultivation, concentrating his mind wholly upon the Dao (the Way). At noon that day, thirty-three earthly immortal Daoists came before his seat, burned incense and paid homage, recited scriptures, and walked in circumambulation. When the rite was finished, the Immortal Duke invited them all to be seated. After a long while, the Daoists rose and respectfully asked:

“We have cultivated the Dao for a very long time. Reckoned to the present, it comes to six hundred jiazi (sixty years making one jiazi, altogether thirty-six thousand years). Long ago we were granted the immortal title of Left Immortal Duke of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate). We ascended to the Jade Capital (the capital of the immortal realm), entered the Golden Towers (the celestial palace), and paid court to the Unsurpassed Void Sovereign (the supreme deity of the celestial realm). Yet we do not know what karmic conditions we planted in former lives, or what merits we performed, that we should receive this celestial office, attain so exalted a station, and become objects of reverence for the Three Realms and Northern Feng (the nether region of the north). We earnestly beg you to explain the origin of our destinies in previous lives, and the fundamental karmic conditions that lie within them.”

The Immortal Duke said, “The question you ask concerns principles that are exceedingly profound. Sit down, and I will tell you. In the beginning, the One Qi (vital energy)—the primordial Qi from before Heaven and Earth had separated—arose out of the void. The two forms of Heaven and Earth were differentiated from this One Qi: clear Qi rose to become Heaven, and turbid Qi condensed to become Earth. Human beings are born by receiving the Qi between Heaven and Earth, and together with Heaven and Earth they are called the Three Powers. At first there was no distinction between ordinary people and sages, nor any difference in the length of life. The myriad things were still an undivided chaos; there was no need for deliberate cultivation, and the Dao (the Way) was naturally present in the human person. Later, when chaos was broken open, that simple, uncarved nature was lost, human affairs grew tangled and complex, and the Dao grew distant.

“In former lives, all of you studied the Dao and received the scriptures (jing), yet the good deeds you did were few. You wished only to obtain deliverance for yourselves, and gave no thought to delivering others; you sought only your own attainment of the Dao, without regard for whether others could attain it. You did not believe the vast and profound teachings of the great scriptures, you did not apply yourselves to purification and abstinence, and you did not revere the masters of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen)—the masters who transmit the scriptures of the Three Caverns of Daoism—preferring instead the Dao of the Lesser Vehicle. Therefore, although you attained the Dao of the terrestrial immortals and could transcend the Three Realms and roam the ten directions, you could only look up toward the Jade Capital and Golden Towers of the Most High (Taishang; the celestial palaces where the Most High resides).

“If you wish the wheel of your cultivation to rise swiftly and fly to the heavens of Highest Clarity (Shangqing), you should establish merit anew, rescuing the state and the people and helping them escape calamity and the sufferings of illness. When great merit has been accumulated to completion, the Most High will of himself grant you a welcome. Pengzu lived eight hundred years, Anqi Sheng a thousand years, and Baishi three thousand years, yet they still wander in the world, all because, when they studied the methods in former lives, their merit was comparatively slight and their roots comparatively shallow. Some have cultivated in mountain caves for more than ten thousand years and still have not ascended to Heaven. You have lived only a few hundred years—how can that be counted as long? Immortals dwell hidden in the mountains and forests, secretly doing good, and only afterward become immortals. As for those who attain corpse-liberation and an entrusted form (manifesting their departure from the world and their becoming immortals by means of a corpse, or of an image in which the form is lodged), most left conspicuous traces in the world, yet those praised by people of the time and recorded in the scriptures and biographies are very few.”

At that time there was an immortal surnamed Ji, whose courtesy name was Facheng. The Immortal Duke looked at him and said, “He has merely lived as long as I have. Can that be counted as long?”

(The latter half of the original text repeats the earlier passage about immortals dwelling in seclusion and doing good, and about corpse-liberation and the entrusting of form.)

At that time there was an immortal surnamed Ji, whose courtesy name was Facheng. The Immortal Duke looked at him and said, “He was my disciple in a former life, only he has not yet seen the roots of his own past existence. I can let you behold the events of your former life.”

Facheng replied, “Yes, Celestial Worthy.” In a little while he came to himself, clasped his hands together in salute, and said, “This disciple is dull and closed off, and does not know the course of his own past cultivation. I earnestly beg you to look on me with compassion and instruct me.”

The Immortal Duke said, “Long ago, in the age of Emperor Yao, you followed me to lofty Mount Song to cultivate and study. Your aspiration was shallow, and you were impatient for quick success. Whenever you heard me speak of distant goals and practices hard to accomplish, you took me to be uttering empty, baseless words. You also often laughed at Xu You and Chao Fu for living in seclusion on Mount Ji, able though they were to decline the throne that Yao offered them; yet you held that their associations were extravagant and that they harbored regret, and so they were not worth approving. I often urged you to cultivate the Way of Shangqing (Highest Clarity, an important Daoist method of practice), but you would not heed me. Even if one drank the sea dry, it would not fill the belly; striking stone in vain yields no jade. Chao and Xu long ago ascended to the Palace of Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), a palace of the immortal realm. I myself have only just taken up the office of Left Immortal Duke, while you alone have become an earth immortal, able merely not to die. In virtue you fall short by nearly several ranks. How could you not be downcast and discontented? Only now do you know that what I said before indeed had a basis, was true and trustworthy, and was not deception.”

Facheng was greatly delighted. Not long after he recalled these matters, his mind suddenly opened in understanding, and he said, “In the past I did not follow your teaching. To obtain such an opportunity again now is truly hard. I wish you would deliver and raise me, so that I may serve you, drive the cloud chariot, and personally pay homage to the Celestial Worthy. This is precisely the affinity this disciple accumulated in a former life.”

The Immortal Duke said, “You have already risen above the ordinary and are able to ascend to heaven—that is all. How could you still follow me into the Taiji Palace to have audience at the Jade Capital and Golden Towers of the Most High, palaces of the celestial realm? It is not that I am unwilling to part with you.”

That immortal then asked the Immortal Duke once more, “Has the whole course of cultivation in the former life now been told? If anything remains untold, please instruct me.”

The Immortal Duke (Xiangong) said, “The causes and effects I passed through in former lives, the sinful karma and the blessed merit I created, and the course of my rebirths and transformations could not be told in full even if I spoke for an entire day. If you wish to know, I can only offer a single brief example.

“I was once reborn as a person of noble station, yet I bullied the poor and the lowly, shielded the strong and oppressed the weak, and when I died I fell into hell. Later I was reborn as a poor and humble person, lonely and wretched in my lot, marred in appearance, and often ill. At times I thought: What did I do in a former life, that I should suffer hardship like this? What virtue did others accumulate in former lives, that they should enjoy wealth and rank? I wished to do good, yet I could not relieve the sorrow in my heart; it was more than I could put into words. When I died, I ascended to the Hall of Blessings.

“Later I was born into a wealthy family, with precious treasures in abundance, yet I cruelly abused the bondservants, and when I died I fell into hell to undergo punishment. After the Three Officials—the divine offices charged with human merit and fault, and with life and death—had examined and fixed my guilt, I was reborn into a poor household. I made my living by waiting on others; the slightest slip brought the whip, and I tasted every kind of toil. At times I thought: What offense did I commit in a former life, that I should sink to such a state? I then used my own goods to relieve the poor, honored Daoist priests, burned incense, and offered oil, hoping only that in the next life I would be born into a family of wealth and rank, and that after death I would ascend to the Hall of Blessings, where clothing and food would of themselves be abundant.

“Later I was indeed born a person of noble station, yet I took the lives of living beings and made fishing and hunting my trade. When I died I fell into hell once more, suffering every kind of cruel torment: walking over knife-mountains and sword-trees, being boiled in seething liquid, and swallowing fire. When the retribution for my sins had ended, I was reborn as pigs and sheep, to repay the debts of resentment incurred in former days. Later I was reborn as a person of low station, my body filthy and foul-smelling, so that others loathed me. I also cheated people and seized their property without returning it, and when I died I fell into hell again. Thereafter I was reborn as an ox, repaying with my labor the debts I owed, and then offering my own flesh for people to eat.

“Later I was reborn as a person of comfortable means, with treasures that could be called sufficient. At this point I began to do good and accumulate merit. I regularly made offerings to Daoist priests, revered the scriptures (Jing) and observed the precepts, treated others with humility, gave alms to relieve those in distress, and in every matter acted according to the Dao (the Way). Whenever I heard of a good deed, I was willing to do it. I lived to the age of eighty and died, ascending directly to the Blessed Abode, where I enjoyed the food and drink of the celestial kitchen.

“After that I was again born into a noble family. I delighted in martial valor and made killing and warfare my occupation, yet I still honored Daoist priests and put my faith in the orthodox teaching. When I died I fell into hell and was about to receive cruel punishment. Taishang—the Daoist title for the supreme honored deity—sent down a decree, saying: ‘Although this person committed the offense of killing and warfare, he has already undergone the punishments of hell. In life he believed in the orthodox teaching, revered the Dao, gave alms, and relieved those in distress. Now let the remaining punishments be remitted, and let him ascend to the Hall of Blessings, to be supplied with the food and drink of the celestial kitchen.’

“Later I was again born a person of noble station. When old enemies were about to come and take revenge, I made a vow toward the Dao, respectfully received the scriptural teachings, secretly practiced goodness, rescued those in desperate straits, conducted affairs according to the Dao, and cherished all living beings with kindness. I served my sovereign with loyalty, and as a minister I treated the sovereign in accordance with ritual propriety. I constantly thought of resigning my glory and stipend, and in the end I was able to avoid that enmity. When my life came to its close, I ascended to heaven.

“Still later I was once more born into a noble family, and my faith in the Dao was all the more devout. While still young I burned incense and made a vow, hoping that in a future life my wisdom would be clear and bright, that I would be able to comprehend the mysterious and subtle principles, and that after death I would ascend to the Hall of Blessings. I was then reborn into a family of middling station and became a Daoist priest. Wearing ritual vestments, I cultivated the Dao. When I expounded the scriptures I was keen and lucid, and the assembly recommended me as a ritual master; patrons honored me as well. At that time, however, I thought: In this life I may not attain the Dao. Better to become a woman, quiet and with few affairs—perhaps then I might live in greater ease and happiness. When my life ended, I was reborn as a woman, of proper and comely appearance, outstanding in talent and intellect, my speech falling into well-formed passages. Later I observed the fast and read the scriptures, and again vowed that in a coming life I would be a man, of vast talent and wisdom, thoroughly versed in the profound principles.

“I also once vowed to become a king, to associate with Daoist priests, to roam mountains and waters as I pleased, to enjoy song and dance, and often to hear the scriptures expounded. When my life ended, I ascended to heaven, where clothing and food were of themselves abundant. I was then born as a king’s crown prince, dwelling at ease in the heir’s palace, and I succeeded to the throne. I liked to invite Daoist priests, worthies, and Confucian scholars, to perform rites and discourse on principle, and also to cultivate the purificatory fast and quiet the mind, acting as my heart inclined. The state was secure, the people well provided, and all under heaven solemn and free of trouble.

“At that time three attendant ministers likewise made a vow together: that in a future life they would become Daoist priests, recluses, or śramaṇas—Buddhist renunciant practitioners—seeking immortality and deliverance from the world, freeing themselves from royal affairs, and after death ascending directly to heaven to enjoy the food and drink of the celestial kitchen. Shi Daowei and Zhu Falan vowed to become śramaṇas; Zheng Siyuan and Zhang Tai vowed to become Daoist priests. We all resolved to seek immortality and study the Dao, setting aside royal affairs. I later became a recluse; Shi Daowei and Zhu Falan became śramaṇas; Zhang Tai and Zheng Siyuan became Daoist priests; and together we entered upon study in search of the Dao.

“Later I became a teacher to the many. I resolved to cultivate the Way of the Great Vehicle, keeping the fast and reading the scriptures year after year. I also took precious treasures to pay respects to a great ritual master, and received the great scriptures of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen, Dongxuan, and Dongshen), the major scriptural corpus of Daoism. I made offerings and paid homage, kept the fast and observed the precepts, cultivated the Dao according to the scriptures, and practiced methods such as ingestion and breath regulation. Because the karmic conditions of former lives were not yet settled, after I died I dwelt for a time in Taiyin, the yin realm, or the dark netherworld. I was then born again into a worthy and virtuous family, and once more became a Daoist priest and a śramaṇa. I also met my former fellow students; we became teachers and disciples to one another, and again received the great scriptures, kept the fast, and cultivated the Dao. For this reason the supreme sages took notice and looked upon me with favor, manifesting the true Dao and bestowing their teaching upon me.

“At that time Shi Daowei, Zhu Falan, Zhang Tai, and Zheng Siyuan all attended in their places, and now they likewise follow in my company. All of this comes of the karmic conditions and the vows of former lives.”

When the assembled immortals heard this, they all suddenly understood. Those present sighed and said, “The Celestial Worthy, that exalted one, has sought the Dao for a very long time, passing through protracted ages and many kalpic turns, and only thus was able to become the Immortal Duke. There is indeed good reason for it. We now see that the merit we cultivated in former lives is slight, and the scriptural methods we have received are few, yet we hasten to seek the high fruits of immortality. This is truly unfitting. From this day forward we ought to receive anew the Dadong Jing (Scripture of the Great Cavern), look up to the Great Dao, cultivate with diligence, and, with a compassionate heart, relieve all who are in distress, in the hope of entering upon the path of ascending to heaven and realizing the Dao.”

The Immortal Duke said, “You revere the supreme Dao (the Way) and study the Cavern Scriptures (Jing, the Daoist classics), grasping the profound root principles within them. Each of you cultivates diligently, widely performs deeds of merit, and helps living beings escape suffering. Since you hold such aspirations, why worry that you cannot soon look forward to the way of ascending to Heaven?”

The Immortal Duke said, “You revere the supreme Dao and study the Cavern Scriptures, understanding their mysterious principles, cultivating with diligence and widely performing deeds of merit, and helping living beings leave suffering behind. With aspirations such as these, what is there still to worry about—that you cannot ascend to Heaven before long? Yet if you wish at once to mount to the realm of the Most High (the supreme heavenly realm of which Daoism speaks), I fear it will not come so quickly.”

The Immortal Duke said, “What I have passed through leaves nothing uncovered, and it cannot be recorded by brush and ink; the toil and hardship within it are likewise hard to put into words. The blessed reward I now enjoy began precisely with that early cultivation.”

An immortal asked, “Earlier I entered Dongting together with the Superior One (an honorific for one who possesses the Dao) and saw the detached palace of the Heavenly King; it was as if we had also ascended Mount Bao. At that time I saw a company of immortals asking to accompany the Superior One on a tour. What immortals were these, and why were there so many?”

The Immortal Duke replied, “Those immortals are all immortals of the grotto-palaces of noted mountains in various places, and their number is not yet great. You have not seen the grotto-palaces within such great mountains as Kunlun, Penglai, Zhongshan, Songshan, Sumeru, and Renniao; the immortals there are too many to count.”

An immortal asked, “I do not know where Dongting leads.”

The Immortal Duke replied, “Dongting reaches the heavenly realms and great mountains spoken of above, and it also leads to the great sea, Beifeng, Daizong, and the Five Marchmounts (the traditional famous mountains of China). There is nowhere with which it does not communicate.”

Five immortals said they would return to Mount Juqu, and asked, “Is that the Superior One’s native place?”

The Immortal Duke replied, “Mount Juqu lies where I can see it by raising my eyes, and it is also a fine mountain of the Jiangnan region. It is the western portal of the Dongting of the Nine Springs. The grotto-palace beneath the mountain extends forty li; its halls and chambers shine as bright as the sun, and it belongs within the Thirty-Six Lesser Heavens. That place is not invaded by defiling Qi (vital energy), and Daoists may dwell there in withdrawal from the world. Sages regularly reside in the mountain. In the past Master Mao attained the Dao here, and to this day he remains in the cavern-palace of this mountain. The cavern-palace stands in the void above the mountain; it is named the Hollow Cavern, and the Abbey of the Mysterious Palace has been built there as a place where immortals dwell.”

An immortal inquired, saying: “Lately I ascended to the Xuanpu Palace on Mount Kunlun—a legendary palace of the immortal realm—to attend the immortal seat, and I saw the Perfected of Zhengyi (Orthodox Unity), the Ritual Master of the Three Heavens, Zhang Daoling, the Celestial Master (Tianshi) revered in Daoism, leave his seat and come forward. The spirits of Fengdu waited beside him in welcome; beings of the Three Realms all bowed to him, and the various heavens came to offer greetings. The dragon carriage he rode lit up the sky; a round radiance rested above his head, heavenly light issued from his body, and his patterned brilliance was dazzling. May I ask what merit he accumulated in former lives that he was able to attain the Dao (the Way)? Can he alone accomplish this? I hope to hear you speak of it.”

The Immortal Duke replied: “What the Celestial Master passed through in cultivation was diligent hardship across countless kalpas. He observed fasts and recited the Jing (scripture/classic), propagated the great Dao, and universally delivered living beings. He set a mysterious, lofty, and pure example, devoted himself to savoring the profound and subtle Dao, and went from place to place in search of the Way; the effort he expended especially surpassed mine, and it cannot all be told. He resolved to study the great scriptures and practice the great Dao, and therefore received the office of Ritual Master of the Three Heavens and the honored title of Most High Perfected of Zhengyi. Is this not remarkable indeed?” At that time, the Azure Lad of Donghua and the assembled immortals were all quietly keeping fasts and reciting scriptures in a cavern of lofty Mount Song. After hearing the Immortal Duke recount the cultivation experiences of the various immortals, all who studied the Dao longed for the great Dao and encouraged themselves with these deeds.

The Azure Lad said: “The principles spoken by the Immortal Duke are subtle and his words far-reaching; the essential matters among them are indeed credible and worthy of reverence.” The immortals bowed and said: “We are willing to abide by these words.” The Azure Lad continued: “Earlier I wrote you a letter and received your reply and kind regard, which I have kept in mind and never forgotten. You have received the mandate bestowed by the Most High, and I ought first to have paid you my respects. Our feelings are close, yet I have all along been unable to come and call on you, and I am often uneasy because of this. I hope I have not failed this intention.”

The Immortal Duke answered: “Previously I was honored by your letter of kind inquiry; the sentiment was especially profound. I was deeply uneasy, and for that reason longed all the more to see you. When can this affection ever be exhausted? My abilities are meager and my De (Virtue/Power) is slight, yet I have been fortunate to receive the clear summons of the Supreme Sage and an illustrious letter of appointment—truly I am unworthy of them. We associate through Dao and De and come and go among the Three Realms. Whenever I think that we may wander freely and roam together in the realm of purity and stillness, I feel this affection is hard to put into words. How could I dare accept the respect you show me? It is only that I am about to be raised to a higher office, and the time of our being apart draws near. Thinking of the separation soon to come, how could I not feel regret and fond attachment?”

Qing Tong (Donghua Qingtong Jun, the Azure Lad, an immortal perfected being venerated in Daoism) replied, “I have long cherished a feeling of admiration in my heart. I am already deeply grateful that you have repeatedly shown me care and inquired after me. The Immortal Lord (Xiangong, an honorific of the immortal realm) is humble in intention—how could this affection ever be fully expressed? Your respect for our whole family is even more than I am able to repay. It is only that, thinking of your imminent departure to take up your post, and of the day of parting drawing nearer day by day, I feel truly reluctant to part and filled with melancholy.”

Qing Tong replied, “I have long cherished a feeling of admiration in my heart. I am already deeply grateful that you have repeatedly shown me care and inquired after me.” The Immortal Lord said, “The Celestial Master (Tianshi, an honorific Daoists use for an exalted adept) has said that if, on the first and the fifteenth of each month, one can set up a purification observance in a quiet chamber and recite the Daoist scriptures (Jing) one has received, together with the cultivation accounts of the various immortals, one can become a person of the Latter Sage (a devotee of the holy Way in later ages). To be born in such an age—is this not a joyous thing?

“On a ding-mao day (one of the days of the sexagenary cycle), one may worship Donghua Qingtong Jun in the jing (a pure, quiet place where Daoists perform Zhaijiao, purification rituals, and cultivate): facing north, one bows three times and prays for the attainment of immortality that one desires. When one’s benming day arrives (the sexagenary day corresponding to the year of one’s birth), reciting the Daoist scriptures and having no dealings with worldly affairs outside are likewise important methods of seeking immortality.

“Methods of cultivation of this kind in the Daoist tradition are many; which one is adopted depends on the particular teaching a person follows. The essential point, overall, lies in the Dan (the core term of Neidan, internal alchemy). Both mind and conduct must accord with the profound and subtle teachings of Daoism; so long as one establishes a vow, there is nothing that cannot be attained.”