《太上洞玄灵宝诫业本行上品妙经》

The Most High said: In the past, upon the Jade Terrace in the Cavern-Bright Cinnabar Mound Heaven, I received the scripture (Jing) and method entitled “The Supreme Grade on the Causal Conditions of the Precepts, Karmic Deeds, and Fundamental Practice of the Primordial Unity Golden Perfection Dharma Wheel,” and was granted the honorific title “Unsurpassed, Most High, Cavern-Bright Great Dharma King.” I abide constantly in the Great Park Capital-Opening Flying Heaven of the exalted Jade Clarity. The Dharma Wheel is a method that sets forth the fundamental precepts and good conduct. It can lead all beings out of the suffering of birth and death, clarify the causes of transgression and blessing for heavenly beings and human beings, and convey practitioners of differing levels so that they gradually ascend into the Shangqing. It can also enable practitioners to become Perfected Persons, illumine the dark places, teach the beings of the ten directions, turn back the roots of the ten evils, guide people to practice the ten goods, and bring all directly to the boundless Great Park Heaven. Those able to cultivate in accordance with it will in the end realize the truth of the Dao (the Way).

The Most High said: I constantly accord with the movement of the times and descend to the Cavern-Bright Precious Court of the Great Blessing Hall of Primordial Birth in the Flying Heavens of the ten directions, where I proclaim this Dharma Wheel and the method of the ten goods, so that beings may correct the ten evils according to the method. Those who cultivate this Dharma Wheel will in the end realize the truth of the Dao.

The Most High said: I constantly accord with the movement of the times and descend to the Cavern-Bright Precious Court of the Great Blessing Hall of Primordial Birth in the Flying Heavens of the ten directions, where I proclaim this Dharma Wheel and the method of the ten goods, so that beings may correct the ten evils according to the method. Those who cultivate according to this Dharma Wheel and ascend into the heavenly realms all attain a subtle and penetrating understanding, and come to know broadly their own fundamental practice—the conduct they originally ought to cultivate. When I observe the causal conditions of past karma between Heaven and Earth, I find such persons to be exceedingly few. If one is not a person of the very highest De (Virtue/Power), how could one practice this method?

The Dao (the Way) says: Only those of lofty virtue and vast, far-reaching aspiration can renounce evil karma and cultivate in accordance with the true Dao. Following the fundamental practice of Jinzhen (the pure true Dao spoken of in Daoism) is the root of enduring existence. Practitioners should set their thoughts upright, and demonic obstacles will not dare to harass them; they must cut off every kind of delusion and disturbance, so that the deities of all the heavens come to pay homage to the true Dao.

If others give rise to evil thoughts, do not follow them. To do so accumulates deep and heavy roots of transgression, and one will in the end enter the Falun (the method of proclaiming the true teaching and transforming living beings) of which I speak. If others stir up misfortune, do not contend with them; otherwise one will oneself fall into the three evil paths (hell, hungry ghosts, and animals), and turning back will be very difficult. Those who obstruct cultivation of the Dao do so because of foolishness and ignorance in the heart; those who envy others will in the end harm themselves; those who slander others have only just emerged from the animal path. Those who delight in licentious desire for women are drawn by the karmic force of former lives; if they still do not renounce it, the roots of transgression grow deep and heavy, and they will in the end enter the Falun to receive instruction. If others stir up misfortune, do not contend with them, or one will fall into the three evil paths and find it hard to turn back. Obstructing cultivation, envying others, and slandering others all bring suffering upon oneself; those who delight in licentious desire for women have not yet exhausted the animal habits left from former lives. Greed and cruelty harm oneself, and craving fine flavors is like swallowing poison. All these are the roots of bitter calamity, and practitioners should keep far from them.

The Dao says: When the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Unity (Yuanyi Tianzun) expounded this “Admonitions on Karma and Fundamental Practice” (Jieye Benxing), he pointed with his hand into the void of the ten directions and summoned the Flying Heaven Sovereigns of the ten directions, the August Persons of Supreme Truth, the Boundless Divine Kings of the Flying Heavens, the Perfected of Wondrous Practice (Zhenren), the Exalted Jade Emperor, the Boundless Great Holy Venerable Gods, the Thearchs of the Thirty-Six Heavens, the Supreme Perfected of the various heavens, the Perfected of the Nine Palaces, the Five Elders of Upper Truth, celestial perfected beings and earthly immortals, the divine immortals and jade maidens of the boundless worlds, the measureless hosts of great sages, the numinous officials of the Three Realms, the Orthodox True Ones of the Three Primes, and the law-enforcing officers who administer the precepts—countless divine assemblies.

Together they came riding through the void and proceeded to the Jade Capital. There the light of heaven shone bright on every side; purple ceremonial canopies circled and turned; the ritual bearing was solemn and majestic; numinous Qi (vital energy) spread through the ten directions, and radiance illumined all the heavens. The gods burned incense and scattered flowers, walked upon the void, circled three times, and returned to their places. They bowed in homage to the true Dao and together entered the ritual arena of the Jinzhen Falun. Looking upward, they listened as the Celestial Worthy proclaimed the sound of the teaching; all rejoiced without exception, and together they praised the admonitions as well spoken.

The Most High Ancestor of the Dao (the Way) said: The supreme and unsurpassed Golden Perfect precepts are the root by which good deeds are universally brought to completion, and they are the embodiment of the subtle principles of Heaven and Earth. Only the superior perfected who have attained the Dao can put them into practice. Sentient beings of the celestial realms of the ten directions and of the human world often vainly create calamities and commit all manner of evil deeds. The pivot of misfortune and blessing lies in the mind. If one can establish a sacred precinct and widely turn the wheel of the Law—expounding and propagating the methods of the Dao—one can illuminate the six paths (the six destinations through which sentient beings revolve in rebirth), rescue celestial beings together with lonely souls and suffering spirits, and enable them all to ascend to the blessed heavens and enjoy lasting peace and happiness. All of this is the gracious merit of the wheel of the Law and the supreme precepts.

At this time, the many great sages of the celestial realms praised the precepts together, circumambulated three times, saluted with hands crossed, and reverently received the words of instruction.

The Celestial Worthy told the holy assembly of the various heavens: I open the Golden Perfect wheel of the Law and set all manner of causes and conditions in motion. Among them are many things difficult to obtain, and the most difficult of all is a human body. One whose virtue and conduct are complete also regards his own person as a realm; if the body is used at will and calamity is thereby invited, the root lies in the contrivances of the mind. Therefore one must understand and restrain the sphere in which body and mind abide, for both good and evil arise from here. Only the ultimate person can discern the principle within this, attain the Dao, and rest in Wuwei (non-action). If you are able to follow this, you must receive it in earnest and must not forget it.

The Celestial Worthy further told the holy assembly of the various heavens: Primordial Qi (vital energy) is faint, and its circulation is impure; the karma of this life (the deeds created in the present existence) is very easily formed, and a single thought or movement may endanger life. Once the five mental factors (the five psychological elements that give rise to the activities of body and mind) are set in motion, the ten evils arise from them. Sentient beings long remain sunk in the harm of evil karma, yet often remain entirely unaware, and in the end can only bear suffering. For the celestial beings and sentient beings of the ten directions I proclaim the method of turning away from the root of birth and death: establish and fully complete the ten goods, and understand future lives and all causes and conditions; if one reverently observes the precepts and one’s deeds, one can attain the Dao and become a perfected being.

The Celestial Worthy told the Lord of the Dao: I open the supreme wheel of the Law and proclaim the Golden Perfect precepts and deeds. The ten goods are the way of setting the root aright, and they are also the gateway of the myriad forms of cultivation. If you are willing to follow them, you should all listen and receive them with reverence. Practicing the precepts and one’s deeds in this way, one can attain the Dao and become a perfected being.

The Lord of the Dao thereupon bowed in salute and reverently received this scriptural text of the precepts (Jing).

The so-called Ten Grades of Correct Contemplation consist in successively setting right the visualization, hearing, cognition, speech, observance of the law, thoughts, reflection, conduct, power of concentration, and body and mind of one who cultivates the Dao (the Way). Practiced in this way, they bring forth the corresponding wondrous functions of spiritual power: from contemplating the inherent wonder of all things, to hearing the mysterious sound and entering into resonance with the ten directions; from discerning fragrant light and preserving and nurturing numinous Qi (vital energy), to opening the wondrous gate with correct sound and benefiting living beings; and on to keeping the law and practicing the precepts, taking to heart the sufferings of living beings, concentrating without confusion, and practicing great compassion—until at last one reaches a state in which body and mind are settled, the wondrous principle is awakened to, and form and spirit are upright, luminous, and resolute.

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said that the ten correct practices of the supreme grade of Golden Perfection (Jinzhen), together with the precepts and admonitions concerning spiritual power, are the root of every kind of cultivation. By holding to the correct Dao, one can reach through the ten directions and advance toward wondrous awakening; this is also the foundation for obtaining a vast and subtle resonance. The Celestial Worthy therefore proclaimed this Jing (scripture/classic), to help living beings escape calamity, the bondage of birth and death, and every kind of obstruction, so that they may thereby enter the enduring Dao, realize the truth of the Dao, and throughout their lives remain far from the ten evils.

The ten grades of the fundamental practice of Golden Perfection are a cultivation of the utmost good. First, one cuts off the conditions that give rise to craving for the five colors and for profit, rectifies one’s views, and does not look with a deviant gaze. Second, one cuts off greedy pursuit of the five sounds and the six dusts—the external objects contacted by eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—so that neither within nor without is one lured by deviant sounds. Third, one cuts off the causes of the six contacts—the feelings that arise when the senses meet external objects—so that deviant Qi cannot intrude. Fourth, one does not speak empty falsehoods or groundless arguments, nor deviant words and showy, frivolous speech. Fifth, one cuts off conduct that invites harm, so that the various deviant specters cannot harass one. Sixth, one cuts off attachment to the five aggregates—the five factors that constitute the human body and consciousness: form, sensation, perception, volition, and consciousness—so that evil has no way to interfere. Seventh, one does not do what is improper and does not fabricate evil deeds, and thus does not call down deviant disaster. Eighth, one cuts off every kind of confusion and disturbance, and does not allow deviant thoughts to injure oneself or external things. Ninth, one cuts off reckless action undertaken without proper cause, so that deviant illness disperses of itself. Tenth, one cuts off the karma of the ten evils and constantly keeps the Dharma wheel—the method symbolizing the turning of the correct teaching—within the mind. In this way the myriad demons and deviant spirits naturally withdraw and dare not encroach.

The Celestial Worthy told the Lord of the Dao (Daojun): this is the supreme grade of the fundamental practice of unsurpassed Golden Perfection. The practitioner should clarify and purify original truth and personally refine and nurture it, so that the mind returns to empty stillness and penetrates the Dharma wheel. Thus the myriad demons and deviant spirits naturally withdraw and dare not encroach.

The Celestial Worthy told the Lord of the Dao: “This is the higher method of cultivating the unsurpassed Golden Perfected (Jinzhen). It concerns clarifying and purifying one’s original nature and, through one’s own practice, reaching a state of emptiness and stillness; together these are called the highest meritorious work. Whoever can accomplish them may hope to realize the Golden Perfected. Among the celestial and human beings I observe, such a person is one in ten thousand; unless one has reached the very highest realm of cultivation, very few are able to do so.”

The Celestial Worthy said: “The contemplative practice of the Golden Perfected is divided into ten grades. If one constantly cultivates according to them, one can come to possess every kind of good conduct.

“The first grade: on seeing beautiful sights of the five colors, one does not cling to them, and the winds of lustful desire do not arise.

“The second grade: on hearing the wondrous sounds of the five tones, one does not become enthralled, and the winds of demonic obstruction disperse of themselves.

“The third grade: on smelling various fragrant scents, one does not crave them; the six repositories (the collective term for the internal organs) suffer no injury, and perverse winds also withdraw.

“The fourth grade: when faced with fine foods of the five flavors, one does not seek after sweetness, and worldly desires do not stain one’s person.

“The fifth grade: on hearing various kinds of music, one does not fix one’s attention on admiring them, and the harmful influences of the external world cannot disturb one.

“The sixth grade: one guards the One (the method of cultivation that keeps the mind singly focused), gives rise to no vain imaginings of any kind, remains unstained throughout life, and deviant Qi (vital energy) does not arise.

“The seventh grade: one’s every movement and action follows the precepts and one’s fundamental practice; worldly desires then disperse of themselves, and one’s bodily form and complexion become pure and luminous.

“The eighth grade: on seeing wealth and treasure, one does not take what has not been rightfully obtained; abundant good fortune then arrives, and one’s whole life is at peace.

“The ninth grade: one calms one’s original nature, neither envying nor resenting, and remains unmoved by whatever occurs; myriad blessings then descend, and numinous demons also come to pay homage.

“The tenth grade: one settles body and mind, quiets thought and reflection, and with compassion bears in mind the destined conditions of all beings (the causal ties of former lives); the spirits of the ten directions then protect one, and the gods on high also report one’s merits, so that the practitioner ultimately attains the rank of a Supreme Perfected.”

The Celestial Worthy told the Lord of the Dao: “I now set forth the Dharma Wheel of the supreme grade of the Golden Perfected, and explain the causes of precept-karma and fundamental practice. If the celestial beings of the ten directions can deeply recognize their destined conditions, they will receive the protection of the ten directions; the gods on high will report their merits, and they will ultimately attain the rank of a Supreme Perfected.”

The Celestial Worthy further told the Lord of the Dao: “I set forth the Dharma Wheel of the supreme grade of the Golden Perfected, and explain the causes of precept-karma and fundamental practice. If the celestial beings of the ten directions can cultivate in this way, their merits will equal those of the ten sages; they will enter the ever-abiding Dharma realm and spontaneously attain the Dao (the Way). Luminous throughout life, they will share in celebration across millions of kalpas; their blessings will be transmitted for ten thousand generations, and they will forever continue, unbroken, with the Dharma Wheel.”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said: “I set in motion and expound the Dharma Wheel (Falun)—proclaiming and propagating the orthodox teaching—and thereby manifest ten kinds of sacred realms. Each time a practitioner advances one grade, a different capacity of penetration is gained, and the successive realms of awakening are reached in turn.

In the first grade of turning and penetration, one can understand in the mind the relative weight of things within a given world; this rank is called the Sage of Discriminating Awakening (Biejue Sheng). In the second grade of turning and penetration, one can know the auspicious and the inauspicious, fortune and misfortune, in the world; this rank is called the Sage of Attained Awakening (Dejue Sheng). In the third grade of turning and penetration, one can fully comprehend transgression and blessing, know where the lives of sentient beings go in past, present, and future, and the destinations of each one’s karmic retribution; this rank is called the Sage of Correct Awakening (Zhengjue Sheng).

In the fourth grade of turning and penetration, one can, by means of mind and spirit (Shen), perceive the thoughts of sentient beings, foresee events that have not yet occurred, and the fortune and misfortune taking shape in secret; this rank is called the Sage of Penetrating Awakening (Tongjue Sheng). In the fifth grade of turning and penetration, one can universally know the tendencies of every kind of causal transformation throughout the boundless worlds of the ten directions, together with the flourishing or decline of things; this rank is called the Greatly Awakened Sage (Dajue Sheng). In the sixth grade of turning and penetration, one can, through mysterious contemplation, penetrate the territories of the worlds of the ten directions and the places where the host of sages dwell, as clearly as if looking at one’s own palm; one can also divide the body and project shadow-forms, moving without obstruction through empty space; this rank is called the Sage of Wondrous Awakening (Miaojue Sheng).

In the seventh grade of turning and penetration, one can universally know the mechanisms and numerical principles of the movements and transformations of Heaven and Earth; whether near or far, existent or nonexistent, nothing stands in the way; this rank is called the Sage of Fathoming Awakening (Dongjue Sheng). In the eighth grade of turning and penetration, the bodily form seems at once securely settled and transcendently forgetful of form, like a shadow in the sunlight; all things can be contemplated through and through; this rank is called the Sage of Contemplative Awakening (Guanjue Sheng). In the ninth grade of turning and penetration, one can broadly open forth radiance, causing the precious light within the body to appear and illuminate the worlds of the ten directions; everything can be seen, and above and below there is no place that is not penetrated; this rank is called the Universally Radiant Greatly Awakened Sage (Puming Dajue Sheng).

In the tenth grade of turning and penetration, one can universally observe, examine, and clearly illumine all things, so that no dark or hidden place remains; one can thoroughly comprehend Heaven and Earth, causing radiance to manifest throughout the ten directions, while at the same time remaining silent, limpid, and still, enduring forever; this rank is called the Great Sage of Thorough Illumination, Great Awakening, and Utmost Perfection (Dongming Dajue Zhizhen Dasheng).

All these achievements of cultivation are brought to completion by relying on the turning of the Dharma Wheel. The eighty great sages who have attained penetration possess a De (Virtue/Power) that is lofty, profound, and mysterious; without the efficacy of the Dharma Wheel, such realms could not be reached. The causes and conditions of the ten sacred realms are these: only after passing through measureless kalpas, as numerous as the sands of the Ganges and immensely long, continually accumulating merit and practicing good deeds, until virtuous achievement fills Heaven and Earth and spreads through the ten directions, can one gradually rise in rank, enter the cultivational achievements of the Ten Sages, and obtain the wondrous penetration of the highest grade. If the celestial beings and the people of the ten directions can reach such a realm, they have truly accomplished the Great Dao (the Way).”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) immediately commanded the Unsurpassed and Supremely Exalted Dongming Great Dharma King to recite the Unsurpassed Jinzhen Dharma-Wheel Jade Chapter on Precepts and Karma, Original Practice, Wondrous Penetration, and the Transfer of Rank. The Unsurpassed and Supremely Exalted Dongming Great Dharma King then rose, paid homage to the True Sages, and circumambulated three times to the left.

The hymn for reciting the Dharma-Wheel Precepts-and-Karma Jade Chapter says:

The Unsurpassed and Supremely Exalted Dongming Great Dharma King said, “Recite the Unsurpassed Jinzhen Dharma-Wheel Jade Chapter on Precepts and Karma, Original Practice, Wondrous Penetration, and the Transfer of Rank.” The Unsurpassed and Supremely Exalted Dongming Great Dharma King immediately rose, paid homage to the True Sages, and circumambulated three times to the left.

The hymn for reciting the Dharma-Wheel Precepts-and-Karma Jade Chapter says:

The profound and silent principle of the Dharma contains true merit; contemplative practice reaches the realm of the Great Vehicle (Dasheng). Within Jinzhen (the realm of ultimate perfection revered in Daoism) there are all manner of wonders, and the heavens in their proper stations all come to pay homage. The Dharma Wheel (Falun, symbolizing the turning and propagation of the teaching) possesses unsurpassed merit, returning all things to the Unsurpassed True Dao (the Way). Spiritual powers surpass the Six Perfections (six methods of cultivation), and the flying celestials are all persons of profound blessing and virtue. They instruct and deliver the Great Brahma immortals, enabling beings of the ten grades all to cultivate into Perfected Persons (Zhenren). The Dao of spontaneity is lofty and vast, allowing one to wander freely in the Heaven of Great Light. Contemplation and cultivation extend through kalpas as numerous as the sands of the Ganges (an exceedingly long span of time), as one surveys and observes every cause and condition. If one has not oneself accomplished merit of the highest grade, by what means can the root of suffering be uprooted?

The hymn of the Dharma-Wheel Original-Practice Highest-Grade Jade Chapter says:

Comprehensively contemplating the ten fundamental sources of the Dharma, the mind-ground grows clear and bright and condenses into the True Dao; the ten evils (ten kinds of evil conduct) are cut off, so that one’s character enters the orthodox way of the Dharma Wheel. Fragrance and light arise both within and without, and in the blink of an eye one ascends into the realm of Jinzhen. As soon as one ascends the Palace of Cloud Brilliance (Yunming Gong), awesome radiance illuminates all the heavens. All of this comes from the daily cultivation of original practice (benxing). One knocks the head and pays homage to the Celestial Worthy:

Comprehensively contemplating the ten fundamental sources of the Dharma, the mind-ground grows clear and bright and condenses into the True Dao; the ten evils are cut off, so that one’s character enters the orthodox way of the Dharma Wheel. Fragrance and light arise both within and without, and in the blink of an eye one ascends into the realm of Jinzhen. As soon as one ascends the Palace of Cloud Brilliance, awesome radiance illuminates all the heavens. All of this comes from the daily cultivation of original practice. One knocks the head and pays homage to the Celestial Worthy.

The hymn of the Dharma-Wheel Contemplative-Practice Jade Chapter says:

Gazing upward at the cultivation realm of Jinzhen, one transcends worldly appearances and remains unstained by dust and vulgarity. One’s bodily form and bearing display the majestic adornment of the Seven Treasures, and the light of Cloud Brilliance illuminates all the heavens. Dwelling in the soaring realm of the Great Vehicle, the flying celestials turn the Dharma Wheel. Myriad blessings and virtues together bring rejoicing to fulfillment, and then turn to deliver those trapped in the ten kinds of suffering. One oneself ascends the Jade Pool and, through bathing and refining nurture, becomes an immortal. The worlds of the ten directions are left without lonely, unsupported souls, and grace as vast as the sands of the Ganges is widely bestowed. With the mysterious, wondrous, and penetrating merit of ultimate perfection, one bows the head in worship before the Heavenly Treasure (Tianbao).

The hymn of the Dharma-Wheel Turning-Penetration Ten Sages Dongming Jade Chapter says:

The unsurpassed Dao (the Way) opens the mysterious gate of teaching and transformation, and the merits of its operation all correspond with the early morning. The Dharma Wheel—symbolizing the method of proclaiming and turning the Great Dao—pervades the realms of the ten directions, and within the Daluo Heaven there are various methods of cultivation. These methods are known collectively as the “Chapter of Great Light,” and are jointly upheld by ten sages and exalted perfected ones. Wondrous De (Virtue/Power) turns the ten kinds of spiritual powers, and the ten pure, profound, and far-reaching flying celestials appear in response. Peace and joy have no end; universal light illuminates the causal conditions of the past. Lifespan accords with the heavenly mandate and thus endures for long; one penetrates the myriad things and follows what is natural. Its mystery is profound and far-reaching, difficult to equal. Practitioners should pay homage to the Celestial Worthy in the six periods—the times of ritual recitation into which a day is divided.

The Celestial Worthy told the Lord of the Dao: “These four jade chapters are the opening text of the precepts and karmic works of the unsurpassed Golden Perfected, and the root of the turning of the Dharma Wheel, of reaching wondrous awakening, and of fundamental practice. The Jing (scripture/classic) is sealed and stored in the Palace of Flowing Brightness in the unsurpassed Jade Capital, guarded and treasured by the Primordial Lord of the Golden Perfected. The Golden Numinous Youth and eight thousand four hundred perfected ones constantly recite the scriptural chapters; their voices spread through the ten directions and resound through all the heavens. The host of perfected ones join their palms and proclaim it good, and the utmost perfected come forward to pay homage. Thereupon the Exalted One opens the superior chapter of the Dharma Wheel, transforms and guides the great sages of the ten directions who have already attained the Dao, and causes them to ascend to the realm of the unsurpassed Golden Perfected.

“If beings of heaven and humanity can know this scriptural chapter, receive and uphold it, practice purification, guard it with sincere devotion, and worshipfully recite the numinous text, the wondrous sound of reciting the scripture will rise to the ten directions. The nine heavens will celebrate together, and the Exalted One will also offer praise, then open the chapters of the Dharma Wheel, transform and guide this person, and bring them to ascend to the unsurpassed sacred field of the utmost perfected Dao. This method of the Dao is lofty, deep, and mysterious; were it not that the Great Light opens and moves through the ten directions, it would be difficult to hear.”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said: I have proclaimed ten kinds of good conduct, as the field and the pathway for widely propagating the true teaching.

The first is loving-kindness and filial devotion, treating others with harmony and gentleness; the second is caring for all living beings and regarding every one of them as oneself; the third is faith in the scriptures (Jing) and the precepts, for both offense and blessing arise from them; the fourth is the ability to give away one’s wealth and bestow it upon the many throughout the world who meet with poverty and distress; the fifth is broadly cultivating merit, establishing ritual sanctuaries, and leaving a foundation of blessed virtue for later generations; the sixth is persisting in good deeds, so that even in the face of death one can endure humiliation and keep the precepts, neither killing nor stealing; the seventh is rescuing living beings in urgent peril, saving their lives, and doing one’s utmost to release captive creatures so that their lives may be preserved; the eighth is making offerings to the Three Treasures—the Dao (the Way), the Jing, and the masters—worshipping and reciting scripture morning and evening, holding the precepts and cultivating through purification and abstinence, never growing slack; the ninth is constantly instructing celestial and human beings, revering and cherishing the ruler of the realm and wishing him lasting blessing and long life, and regularly bringing forth wealth to help the poor, the lonely and the aged, and those who suffer every kind of hardship, without the least stinginess; the tenth is holding fast to these good deeds from beginning to end, neither advancing nor retreating, and practicing goodness with a single mind.

If celestial and human beings can accomplish these, they may be said to be fully endowed with the merit of the ten goods. This is the root whereby all manner of good deeds are accomplished together and blessings are universally received. All of this is the source of the unsurpassed precepts and the fundamental practice transmitted by the Imperial Persons of Utmost Perfection of the Limitless Flying Heavens of the Ten Directions (exalted deities of Daoism). If celestial and human beings can follow and practice them, they can attain merit equal to that of the Limitless and Utmost Perfect of the Flying Heavens of the Ten Directions.

The Hymn of the Jade Stanzas of Wondrous Penetration, on the Unsurpassed Flying-Heaven Dharma Wheel Turning the Ten Goods, says:

The scriptural text of the “Chapter of the Great Norm of Flowing Light” opens boundless merit in attaining the Dao. It can transform and guide those who cultivate the Ten Goodnesses, enabling them to ascend to the pure and luminous heavens, to roam at ease and dwell in the Palaces of the Seven Treasures, and to look up to the King of the Dharma Wheel. The Celestial Worthy’s countenance is numinous, wondrous, and supremely beautiful, and he often descends to the sacred arenas of the ten directions; riding the chariot of the Three Treasures, he conveys the beings of the various heavens. Suddenly cloud-light appears, and the many bodily forms all display a golden radiance. All these blessings arise from this, so that people receive high rank and become Superior Perfected (exalted perfected immortals who have attained the Dao). They rest and roam upon the Terrace of Celestial Treasure, celebrate the completion of the turning of the kalpas, circumambulate three times to pay homage to the Lord of the Dao, and bow their heads in reverence to the Celestial Worthy.

The Celestial Worthy tells the Lord of the Dao: this jade chapter is a precious numinous scripture, guarded in the Celestial Treasure Palace of the Flying Heaven’s Dharma Wheel by the unsurpassed Golden Light Youths of the ten directions together with ten perfected spirits of each quarter, and it is protected and cherished. It constantly turns in accord with the “Chapter of the Dharma Wheel and the Ten Goodnesses.” Reciting this scriptural chapter can ferry and transform those throughout the heavens of the ten directions who uphold and practice boundless good deeds, guiding them to mount the precious vehicles of the Three Vehicles (symbolizing methods and vehicles of practice at different levels of cultivation). They chant the scripture aloud in a high voice; the host of perfected beings joins in praise, and the sound shakes the ten directions; none of the heavens fails to bow in reverence. The fords of the Three Realms are thereby opened; three perfected spirits come to welcome them, escorting the good with incense, flowers, music, and dance, so that they ascend directly to the various sacred arenas of the Dharma Wheel.

The Celestial Worthy said to the Lord of the Dao (the Way): “I have set in motion the wheel of the teaching that proclaims the supreme grade of the ten virtues, so that the heavens of the ten directions and all people of the world may keep far from every place where evil is done. If someone commits these ten kinds of evil, do not follow him in doing them; if someone proclaims that doing evil is a joy, you should avoid him. If someone comes intending to harm you, you need only devote yourself wholly to upholding the Jieye, holding the true Dao in your heart; even if you are killed, you will not on that account lose the body of the Dao. The one who harms you will in the end bear the retribution for taking a life. If a worthy or a sage appears, you should seek him out and behold his countenance in person; in this way, through myriads of kalpas, you may constantly receive his protection. This principle is exceedingly subtle, and so the scripture sets the ten halls of blessing in heaven in correspondence with the ten fields of evil in the world.”

“Wheel of the teaching” means proclaiming and propagating the doctrine; “holding the true” means keeping the true Dao in the heart. Upholding the precepts in cultivation and drawing near to worthies and sages are the essentials of practice set forth here.

The Celestial Worthy said: Once the Dharma Wheel (the teaching that proclaims the correct Dharma and guides all beings in cultivation) is opened, it can universally deliver sentient beings from the ten evils. The ten evils are as follows. First, one does not practice the Dao (the Way) of loving-kindness and filial respect, observes no ritual propriety toward elders and juniors, and among one another there is constantly no heart of harmony and compliance. Second, one does not cherish or pity living beings, and the heart forever harbors cruelty and violence. Third, one keeps neither good faith nor a heart of belief, acts wholly at the dictate of passion and desire, creates evil karma, and even betrays the sovereign. Fourth, one does not draw near to good deeds, and is willing neither to abandon craving nor to give in charity; one constantly damages the property of others, takes this as a pleasure, and has not the least compassionate heart. Fifth, one does not establish a heart intent on merit, but instead delights in doing wrong and bringing on calamity. Sixth, one cannot endure humiliation, habitually deceives others and harms what belongs to them, regards this as pleasurable, shows no compassion at all, and is untrustworthy in every matter. Seventh, one is unwilling to rescue those who meet hardship and urgent distress, is stubborn in disposition, and often hopes that others will fall into evil destinies. Eighth, one does not revere the Jing (scriptures/classics) and the precepts, constantly slanders the celestial perfected (the perfected persons or divinities of the heavenly realms), falls into heterodox teachings, and uses living creatures as sacrificial offerings. Ninth, one holds no mind to benefit others, and regularly uses wealth and profit to exploit the poor, orphans, and the elderly, caring only to seize gain for oneself. Tenth, one constantly kills countless living beings, indulges desire without restraint, and leaves no kind of evil undone; though hesitant and indecisive about advancing or retreating, one always goes on doing evil as before. Such persons may be said to have committed the ten evils.

These deeds are neither made so by Heaven nor caused by Earth; their root lies only in one’s own heart. Those whose De (Virtue/Power) is lofty and who have attained the Dao take the ten goods as their meritorious practice, and constantly cultivate their hearts until they become like the halls of blessing in which the flying celestials of the ten directions (the divinities of the heavens in every quarter) dwell. Following the causes and conditions indicated by the Dharma Wheel, they hold fast to sincere cultivation, seek out the subtle profundity of their fundamental practice, and pursue the karmic fruit of attaining the Superior Perfected (perfected beings of high rank in Daoism). Therefore they do not undergo the ten sufferings, do not fall into the eight difficulties, are not entangled by afflictions, and do not set foot upon the Three Paths (the three evil destinies of hell, hungry ghosts, and animals).

Those whose De is low, by contrast, constantly turn their hearts into a place obsessed with killing, go straight toward hell, and in the cycle of rebirth endure every kind of retribution. They turn away from the ten goods and incline toward the ten evils, suffer the ten sufferings, fall themselves into the eight difficulties, chase the root of affliction, enter the gate of the Three Paths, sink deeper day by day, endure long suffering through myriads of kalpas, and grow ever farther from blessings and De. I open the Dharma Wheel and universally save all people.

The Supreme Flying-Heaven Dharma Wheel (Wushang Feitian Falun)—a method by which the flying heavens revolve and departed souls are saved—transforms the ten evils and enables one to penetrate the wondrous Dao (the Way). The Jade Chapters of the highest grade, superior numinous writings, offer this praise: The realm of Jade Clarity is clear, refined, secluded, and profound, spontaneously generated within the Great Non-Being. Its radiant shelter extends throughout the ten directions, opening the ford by which the Dharma Wheel ferries beings to salvation, rescuing sentient beings who encounter the eight adversities, and transforming the blessed recompense of the many heavens. Brilliance spreads abroad, covering beings as a cap and sash cover the body; it releases stagnation and obstruction, and purifies the root of the womb. It allows the accumulated corpses of lifetime after lifetime to receive refinement and deliverance, extinguishes evil karma, and opens the way to the true Dao. The Jade Emperor issues an order of summons, pardoning the offenses of those who practice the ten virtues; the heavens rejoice, the Five Elders stand in attendance at dawn, and the Sovereign Lord, holding the talismanic mandate, escorts beings together onto the path. The Great Enclosure of the Flying Heavens—the vast domain inhabited by the deities of the flying heavens—saves beings without measure. Age after age and kalpa after kalpa they receive the teaching; it bears the Three Vehicles, methods of cultivation at differing levels, raises people to the rank of Dharma King, and brings them to the unsurpassed realm of utmost truth. The Three Primes—the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water—remove evil karma, and light appears through the nine nights; the body is gathered within the Celestial Treasure, and the physical form is able to endure. Wondrous De (Virtue/Power) stands lofty, penetrating and clearly illuminating the Dao of Golden Truth.

The Celestial Worthy tells the Lord of the Dao: This Jade Chapter stands guard in the right palace of the Flying-Heaven Dharma Wheel. The jade lads, jade maidens, and perfected beings of the ten directions all protect and treasure this numinous writing. It constantly accompanies the Dharma Wheel of the highest grade, transforming the realms where the ten evils dwell, transferring and saving the departed souls of celestial beings and of all beings, so that through countless kalpas they continually receive transformation and deliverance and remain ever bound in affinity with the Dharma Wheel. If celestial beings come to know this Jade Chapter, and practice purification retreats, offer incense, worship, and recite it, the Dharma King will descend, and the day of attaining the Dao will not be far off.

The Celestial Worthy tells the Lord of the Dao: I open the Dharma Wheel and transform the realms where the ten evils dwell; the blessed merit of the highest grade is measureless. To still and settle the mind and Shen (spirit), and to cut off stray thoughts, is the highest practice of De. To hear music yet not become enthralled by it, and to face vain splendor and sensual beauty yet not crave them—these desires are the root of the ten evils. The body cannot endure for long, nor can wealth and possessions be kept forever; the true realm of the Dao is supreme, and therefore I open the Dharma Wheel. If anyone in the world wishes to seek the true Dao and set aside worldly affairs, that person should nourish primordial Qi (vital energy), settle the mind and spirit, and return to simplicity and spontaneity. If demonic obstacles come to disturb one, speech must be guarded and nothing said rashly; if evil thoughts arise and one falls into delusion, one will in the end fall into the realms that the Dharma Wheel is meant to save. Those who obstruct the cultivation of the Dao will suffer bitter retribution, and so it will be in the life to come.

The Celestial Worthy says: When the Dharma Wheel is opened, it saves the ten realms of suffering. The first is to ascend the mountain of knives and suffer there; the second is to climb the tree of swords and suffer there; the third is to enter the boiling cauldron and suffer there; the fourth is, in a future life, still to undergo the same suffering.

The Celestial Worthy said: Once the Dharma Wheel (Falun)—symbolizing the universal turning of the teaching and the method by which all beings are saved—is set in motion, it can deliver beings who undergo ten kinds of suffering. The first is walking across mountains of knives; the second is climbing trees of swords; the third is entering boiling cauldrons; the fourth is embracing copper pillars; the fifth is lying on iron beds; the sixth is being carried by fiery chariots into freezing pools; the seventh is being seized and having the tongue torn out; the eighth is swallowing fire and eating charcoal; the ninth is being locked in instruments of punishment by the Three Officials (Sanguan)—deities who oversee the affairs of heaven, earth, and water—forced into hard labor, and beaten with golden mallets and iron staves; the tenth is being bound and confined by locks and fetters even while still alive, tormented in body and mind by afflictions, and even subjected to cruel injury. These ten sufferings extend throughout the ten directions, and all are brought about by causes and conditions accumulated in former lives. Seeing beings suffer a misery beyond words, I therefore set the Dharma Wheel in motion, universally delivering the many heavens, bringing joy to the ten directions, and pardoning all beings. The Six Paths (Liudao)—the six destinations through which beings transmigrate—are thereby illumined; the Dharma bridge leading to the true Way is opened and made passable; all beings rejoice together; and the truth of the Dao (the Way) descends.

The hymn of the Jade Chapter, “The Supreme Soaring-Heaven Dharma Wheel Turns to Deliver from the Ten Sufferings,” says:

Looking throughout the ten directions, one sees countless roots of sinful karma drawing beings through the round of transmigration and causing them to suffer the ten hardships, their bodies scorched and rotting. Adults and children implicate one another and remain long sunk in suffering; poisonous blades wound the body, and they sink into darkness, so that return to the true Way is exceedingly difficult. Only then do beings think of cultivating the Ten Good Deeds and understand that all these sufferings have their causes and conditions. As they endure pain, wind-borne knives cut and pierce back and forth; they swallow Yin Qi (vital energy) and poisons, and their souls and spirits (Shen) find no peace. Beings look up to the supreme soaring-heaven Dharma Wheel. When the Dharma Wheel opens the gate of deliverance, beings of the highest grade turn and ascend, entering the Jade Court in glory, wondrously penetrating the ten heavens and the boundless worlds, and discerning every kind of cause and condition. May beings cultivate sincere good deeds and bow reverently before the Dao.

The Celestial Worthy told the Lord of the Dao: When this Jade Chapter is installed and settled within the soaring-heaven Dharma Wheel, it can cause beings to turn and ascend, enter the Jade Court in glory, wondrously penetrate the ten heavens and the boundless worlds, discern every kind of cause and condition, cultivate sincere good deeds, and bow reverently before the Dao.

The Celestial Worthy further told the Lord of the Dao: This Jade Chapter is installed and settled in the central palace of the soaring-heaven Dharma Wheel. The Cinnabar-Numinous Youths (Danling Tongzi)—spiritual officials of the Daoist tradition—of the ten directions each have ten perfected deities who guard and treasure this numinous text, so that it constantly accompanies the Dharma Wheel, delivering beings who undergo the ten kinds of suffering and guiding celestial beings and people of the world out of the sufferings of birth and death, that all may obtain the opportunity to cultivate the Dharma. If celestial beings recite this hymn, their voices reach the Nine Heavens, and the Dharma King will command perfected deities to come and deliver them.

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said to the Lord of the Dao (Daojun): “I set in motion the wheel of the teaching in order to save and deliver living beings caught in the eight kinds of hardship. The merit of the highest grade embraces innumerable methods. If a person’s heart is pure, it calls forth the Ten Good Deeds; if greed arises and evil karma is created, the nature of the mind becomes impure. When others harbor ill will, you should meet them with good will. The Three Primes (Sanyuan)—the officers of Heaven, Earth, and Water in the Daoist tradition—preside over the method of scrutiny and remain close beside each person; everything done in secret is recorded and reported upward to the various heavens. The examining officials will soon arrive, and evil conduct will also bring on disaster and illness. You should cultivate according to the scriptures and methods of the highest grade, choose the good and practice it, and not give credence to mistaken views. Set body and mind aright, and morning and evening offer sincere reverence; then the truth of the Dao and its divine perfected ones (Daozhen) will descend and bestow blessings upon you.”

The Celestial Worthy spoke again: “The wheel of the teaching can open the gate of salvation and free people from eight kinds of hardship. The first is to be reborn in a remote land among foreign peoples. The second is to fall into the condition of a slave, bondservant, or lowly laborer. The third is to be born poor, solitary, and shallow in understanding. The fourth is to suffer from many diseases. The fifth is to be dull and foolish, with the six faculties—eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind—impaired. The sixth is to be imprisoned, bound in cangue and fetters, or driven into servitude by affliction. The seventh is to be born into circumstances without filial piety or parental kindness, in which one’s kin die young. The eighth is to be born in a country that lacks the correct Dao.

“These eight hardships are all brought about by deeds accumulated in former lives. Even after a person has emerged from the ten sufferings, that person may still be reborn among these eight difficulties. Those of lofty virtue constantly take the Ten Good Deeds as their support for what is to come and, after death, are reborn in the innumerable halls of blessing throughout the ten directions. Those obscured by ignorance, whose views are inverted, constantly take the Ten Evils as their root, remain far from the Ten Good Deeds, and through the cycle of birth and death undergo the afflictions of a hundred million kalpas, being reborn again and again into the eight difficulties to receive their retribution. I set the wheel of the teaching in motion precisely in order to save and deliver such people.”

The Hymn of the Jade Stanzas of the Highest Grade, on the Unsurpassed Flying-Heaven Wheel of the Teaching That Turns the Eight Hardships, says:

Raising one’s gaze to the portals of the eight directions, the fields of sinful karma turn in response, and sentient beings therefore suffer every kind of affliction; body and soul find no peace. If in life one has not accumulated the merit of sincerely cultivating goodness, one will meet the Eight Difficulties, fall into countless gates of sinful karma, cycle back and forth between birth and death, and commit the Ten Evils. Thus one long remains sunk in darkness, enduring all manner of suffering.

The Great Pardon of the Flying Heavens (Feitian) descends and universally turns the Dharma Wheel (the symbol of proclaiming and setting the teaching in motion), and the eight lofty methods of contemplation thereupon appear. The Jade City opens clear and wide, and palaces and terraces of the Seven Treasures come into view. Sentient beings are received according to the turning of the times; cloud-light shines brightly, and the great courts of the ten directions blaze with splendor. The golden Dharma-body of the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) is majestic and wondrous, naturally emitting a twofold radiance. Sentient beings ride dragons and phoenixes, roaming at ease in the Jade Capital (the capital city of the immortal realm); precious trees stand in ordered ranks, and light also shines forth from within the body. The Three Nets (the three nets that give rise to obstruction) are thereby released, and the Eight Difficulties are eliminated together.

The Celestial Worthy tells the Lord of the Dao (Daojun): This jade chapter is installed and secured upon the mysterious terrace to the right of the Dharma Wheel of the Flying Heavens. The Jade Lads and Jade Maidens within the numinous lights of the ten directions, each accompanied by ten perfected immortals, guard and treasure this numinous text; they constantly attend the scripture (Jing), bringing release from the Three Nets and the removal of the Eight Difficulties.

The Celestial Worthy further tells the Lord of the Dao: This jade chapter is installed and secured upon the mysterious terrace to the right of the Dharma Wheel of the Flying Heavens. The Jade Lads and Jade Maidens within the numinous lights of the ten directions, each accompanied by ten perfected immortals, guard and treasure this numinous text. Practitioners who regularly recite this chapter in accordance with the superior Dharma Wheel can transform and deliver sentient beings trapped in the Eight Difficulties, so that the souls of celestial beings and of sentient beings in the human world, through birth and death, are eased and set free, all obtain light, and everywhere behold the conditions for cultivation. If celestial and human beings come to know this scriptural chapter, they can save both the living and the dead, freeing them from the sufferings in which they are detained. If one recites it after fasting and purification, the various heavens will descend, helping sentient beings alter the registers of birth and death, enter the everlasting halls of blessing, and obtain enduring felicity.

The Celestial Worthy further tells the Lord of the Dao: I open the Dharma Wheel and transform the realms of the Three Evil Paths (the three destinations of suffering: the hells, hungry ghosts, and animals), so that the multitudes of sentient beings all obtain blessings of the highest grade, are reborn in the halls of blessing of the ten directions, and through the cycles of transformation ascend to heaven. The evil karma that sentient beings have created is deep and heavy, all because in former lives they killed living beings and harmed the lives of countless creatures; thus they are reborn into the evil paths in order to repay the causal bonds formed before. The going and returning of birth and death are entirely the work of karmic power. Now, if one can transform oneself, widely plant roots of goodness, and awaken to the way of rebirth, then sentient beings in every nexus of causes and conditions will receive grace, and beings who pass through birth and death will all rejoice on this account.

The Celestial Worthy said: Once the Dharma Wheel—a metaphor for expounding and propagating the true teaching—is set in motion, it can save the beings of the three evil paths. The first are those confined in the hells and subjected to torment; the second are hungry ghosts, who devour one another and endure affliction and suffering; the third are animals, who harbor resentment among their own kind and attack one another. If beings are reborn into the three evil paths through the karmic force of former lives, the first will be reborn as insects, the second as birds, and the third as beasts.

These sufferings arise from the roots and faults of actions in previous lives. Only when sinful karma is deep and heavy does one incur such evil retribution; when sinful karma has accumulated over a long time, one must bear the corresponding karmic results. I set in motion the highest-grade, measureless Dharma Wheel, universally rescuing these suffering beings and returning them to the gate of merit and virtue.

The Jade Stanza Hymn of the Upper Grade of the Three Evil Paths of the Unsurpassed Flying-Heaven Dharma Wheel says:

Surveying the beings throughout the boundless worlds of the ten directions, some dwell in wealth and high station yet do not fear sinful karma, seeking only a moment’s gratification while harming others; they even raise armies to wage war and defy the ruler of the state, without regard for what they will suffer in the life to come. When their sinful karma has accumulated to the full, they come to the land of knife-mountains and walk upon the blades; raising their hands, they climb the trees of swords, and blood scatters like points of stars; they then sit waiting to be cast into the boiling cauldron, their bodies pierced through by iron awls.

Afterward they are reborn as hungry ghosts and hear only sorrowful weeping on every side; looking up, they see an iron net, and beneath their feet they stand upon a land of flowing fire. They are reborn again as the six kinds of livestock, suffering slaughter, cutting, and flaying, and thereby repay the karma they created in the past.

Yet there are still beings who come to behold the Ten Blessing Heavens—sacred realms associated with the merit and virtue and the celestial spheres of the ten directions—riding upon radiant light, bearing on their backs a brightness like the full moon, wandering freely beyond the Three Realms, and reciting the scriptures of the Three Treasures. The Dharma King—in Daoism, a venerable deity who proclaims the true teaching and carries out moral instruction—widely performs every kind of good deed, opens measureless merit, and in turn saves the beings of the three evil paths, so that through refining and deliverance they become the Immortals of the Ten Heavens, celestial immortals and perfected beings. Five-colored light shines forth from their bodies; they awaken to and dispel every kind of evil condition. Once they pass beyond a single level of attainment, they may ascend in succession and dwell at ease in the realms of the Flying Heavens of the ten directions.

The Celestial Worthy said to the Lord of the Dao: “This jade chapter is placed in the superior jade city of the Flying Heaven Dharma Wheel (the dharma wheel of the method of ascension). The jade lads and jade maidens of the dharma wheels of the ten directions each have ten perfected persons who guard and treasure this numinous writ. They constantly recite the jade chapter in company with the Most High superior dharma wheel, and thereby transform and deliver the souls of the dead who have fallen into the three evil paths (hells, hungry ghosts, animals, and other places of suffering), so that corpses bound and stalled by suffering are purified and shine with light, and all ascend into the Blessed Halls of the Ten Heavens. If celestial beings can know this jade chapter and, on the day of death, observe a purification fast and recite it, their hun and po souls will not pass through the three evil paths, but will be able to ascend directly into the ranks of the ten directions and enter the dharma wheel.”

The Celestial Worthy said to the Lord of the Dao: “I open the dharma wheel and set it revolving, universally receiving and guiding living beings to ascend into the Blessed Halls of the Ten Heavens. If celestial beings can know this jade chapter and, on the day of death, observe a purification fast and recite it, their hun and po souls will not pass through the three evil paths, but will be able to ascend directly into the ranks of the ten directions and enter the dharma wheel.”

The Celestial Worthy said to the Lord of the Dao: “I open the dharma wheel and set it turning, universally saving those who have fallen into the ten kinds of evil and improper paths, so that they may cultivate the superior Dao (the Way). Living beings are tangled in greedy desires and never satisfied; they constantly cast their own bodies and lives into the ten evils. Body and mind are bound up in affliction, and they themselves create all manner of sinful karma, their offenses filling heaven and earth. They take the false and deviant for the correct Way, violate the norms and act recklessly, sink into licentiousness, and are contaminated by deviant Qi (vital energy). In life they have no good teaching to guide them; after death they must undergo trial after trial. Through a hundred million kalpas they still suffer the pain of slaughter and dismemberment, cycling back and forth between life and death, long trapped in the path of blindness and delusion, speaking perverse words all their lives, fully enduring illness and pain, and finally entering the Eight Gates (the gateways leading to realms of suffering). I open the dharma gate and universally guide them to turn back and return once more to the true realm of the Great Dao.”

The Celestial Worthy said: “The dharma wheel opens and saves those who have fallen into the ten kinds of evil paths, enabling them to leave the realms of suffering. These people turn away from the correct Way and enter the path of ghosts, and therefore undergo trials; through a hundred million kalpas they still suffer the pain of slaughter and dismemberment, cycling back and forth between life and death, long trapped in the path of blindness and delusion, speaking perverse words all their lives, fully enduring illness and pain, and finally entering the Eight Gates. I open the dharma gate and universally guide them to turn back and return once more to the true realm of the Great Dao.”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said: The Wheel of the Law (Falun)—symbolizing the gate of teaching that proclaims the true Law and guides all beings toward liberation—expounds the deliverance of living beings and sets forth ten kinds of evil ways.

The first is to turn away from the true Dao (the Way) and fall into the path of ghosts, to be entangled by evil specters throughout one’s life, and to suffer long from every kind of illness and pain, with retribution that has no end.

The second is to slight and vilify the methods of the Dao, to take the deviant path, to heed heterodox teachings, to slander the Great Dao, and to deceive one’s teachers and elders.

The third is not to believe in the reality of the Dao, to abandon the true Way, and to cast oneself among ghosts and demons.

The fourth is benighted inversion and mistaken views. In the minds of beings the Five Turbidities (Wuzhuo)—five factors that delude and defile—are constantly present; they further cling to demonic and spectral matters, call themselves sages, and thereby throw the true Dao into disorder.

The fifth is constantly to kill living beings and take life, to sacrifice to ghosts and demons, falsely claiming to follow the true way of the gods, craving fine flavors, and acting in every kind of absurdity.

The sixth is to exploit the good and ill fortune, calamity and blessing, that befall others, falsely claiming to be a true deity, demanding offerings from Heaven and from human beings, taking with insatiable greed, and knowing no restraint in food and drink.

The seventh is to delude beings by means of demons and specters and to wander the human world, at times singing deviant songs and speaking the words of ghosts, calling oneself a deity of the Dao, watching for others’ distress, and recklessly practicing divination and fortune-telling.

The eighth is that beings fall foul of deviant rites and hold deviant views, turning with a single mind away from the true Dao and toward delusion, making offerings to images of ghosts and spirits, and following shamans and their kind.

The ninth is to commit licentious acts with members of one’s clan and kin, to give rise to evil thoughts, and to do what is improper.

The tenth is to cast aside the true Law and enter the demonic way and the deviant path, to collude with one another, and to deceive and entice celestial and human beings and all living creatures; to call oneself a worthy or a sage, to act without restraint and violate laws and statutes; to plot in secret and turn right and wrong upside down; to utter curses and oaths on behalf of others and to practice nightmare-sorcery, ritual suppression, and imprecations against the king; to point at Heaven and score the earth and to slaughter beings without restraint, yet to confound the true and the false and call oneself a Heavenly True One (Tianzhen).

People such as these bring upon themselves the ten sufferings and the eight hardships. Through evil deeds they accumulate karmic causes, take birth amid affliction, and sink into the Ninefold Darkness (Jiuyou)—the deepest reaches of the underworld—where they are bound by punishment and cannot obtain new life.

I open the boundless grace of the soaring heavens, universally uprooting every cause of transgression within the birth and death of all beings, so that all may leave the root of the ten evil ways, ascend throughout the ten directions, dwell long and at peace in the blessed heavens, receive majestic light upon the body, and forever transcend the bonds of the Wheel of the Law.

O remote Flying Heaven (the immortal realm that transcends the dusty world), radiant and bright, illumining Shangqing (the lofty celestial realm of which Daoism speaks)! The King of Radiance sends down precious treasures, so that the Heaven of Blessing endures forever; cultivators receive the awesome light upon their bodies and forever transcend the Dharma Wheel (Falun, the wheel in Daoism that symbolizes the turning of the teaching and the deliverance of beings).

As the unsurpassed Flying Heaven Dharma Wheel turns and delivers beings of the ten kinds of evil paths, the jade stanzas of the highest grade sing in praise:

O remote Flying Heaven, your radiance illumines Shangqing. The King of Radiance descends in a precious conveyance and arrives at the teaching grounds of the ten paths. One sees living beings caught in every kind of evil path and fallen into the hells: they are forced to drink scalding molten copper and walk naked across the peaks of sword-trees; they are slashed by great flying blades, and iron awls are driven into their hearts and livers; when hungry they can only swallow streaming fire, and, bearing stones upon their backs, they tread the mountains of knives. There is no blessing or joy there—only the cries of those who suffer.

Looking up toward the ten kinds of orthodox paths, one sees bodily forms of light, bearing perfect radiance upon their backs; seated at ease amid jeweled groves, they naturally manifest appearances of wondrous majesty. The Honored One on High turns the Dharma Wheel, universally delivering beings sunk in evil paths and opening the realms of the Five Paths (the five destinations through which beings revolve in rebirth), so that people may transcend and enter the Court of the Southern Mound (an immortal realm). Cultivators come to the Jade Pool to refine and nurture themselves, and precious light then arises from within the body; lightly they ascend above the Great Void, circle three times, and pay homage to the true Jing (scripture/classic).

The Celestial Worthy tells the Lord of the Dao: This jade stanza is enshrined as a guardian in the upper palaces of cloud-brightness of the Flying Heavens of the ten directions. The cinnabar lads, jade maidens, and all the perfected beings of the ten directions together protect and treasure this numinous text. Constantly accompanying the turning of the Dharma Wheel, they recite the jade stanzas, transforming and liberating beings among the ten kinds of evil paths, so as to release the accumulated sufferings of celestial beings and living beings and bring them universally into the gate of the teaching. If celestial beings can know this jade stanza, hold in mind the sufferings borne by the living and the dead, and recite it while observing the purification fast, then suffering souls can gain transcendence and ascend to the ten directions.

The Celestial Worthy further tells the Lord of the Dao: I open the Dharma Wheel and establish the teaching grounds of the ten kinds of orthodox paths; this is the beginning of the original practice of the highest grade. The profound principle is vast and hard to make plain; it becomes manifest only through such meritorious cultivation. To clarify the original truth is not easy, and few are those who can devote themselves to receiving the teaching, cultivate with earnest diligence, and thereby apprehend the mysterious images of the great Dao (the Way). The principle that accords with the great Dao and answers to the realm of the perfected is subtle and concise; it may be called what is so of itself. Only after ninety thousand kalpas does it descend into the world once; you should ponder this with care. I open the true treasure and turn the Dharma Wheel; even when a kalpic disaster occurs, it cannot be shaken, and heaven and earth thereby endure forever.

The Celestial Worthy says: the Dharma Wheel—a metaphor for proclaiming and spreading the true teaching—sets forth ten kinds of correct paths, enabling sentient beings to enter every sort of sanctuary of the Dao (the Way).

The first is to keep far from evil deeds and deviant ways, to contemplate and practice the way of Wuwei (non-action), and to plant widely the causes of merit and blessing; inwardly one holds to clarity and uprightness and does nothing that harms others in secret. The second is to seek the truth and cultivate the Great Dao, to receive with faith and turn toward the important scriptures (Jing), to observe the precepts and enter the methods of the Dao, and to practice widely good deeds that seek no reward. The third is neither to act in crooked or perverse ways nor to speak what is false, but constantly to practice the true teaching and to guard the Dao with an undivided mind. The fourth is to cherish sentient beings so that they may always find peace, and together with them to enter the correct path to which the Dharma Wheel leads. The fifth is, with a compassionate heart, to care for all things and to revere the king, so that the world may flourish and the Three Treasures—the Dao, the scriptures, and the Master—may spread their teaching far and wide.

The sixth is to cultivate the higher methods of the Dao, to let go of attachment to one’s personal lot and to the dusty world, to harbor no vain or delusive thoughts, and not to be obstructed by confusion. The seventh is, in action, to follow the precepts and, in speech, to utter no false words. The eighth is to instruct heavenly beings and humans, to spread the flowing sound of the teaching, and to proclaim the Daoist teaching widely so that its transformative influence ever expands. The ninth is to bring all affairs and all things back to the correct path, to propagate it broadly throughout the ten directions, and to treat all with kindness. The tenth is that the Dharma Wheel opens wide and universally saves heavenly beings and sentient beings; all beings rejoice together and all enter the correct path. This is the way practiced by cultivators whose hearts are steadfast and bright.

These ten correct paths belong to the highest grade; only those lofty in De (Virtue/Power) and profound in attainment can practice them. I open innumerable gates of the teaching that lead toward the ten directions and relieve sentient beings impartially. Once one enters the correct path, one day by day draws farther from deviant ways. The Great Dao is supremely true and unsurpassed, and all who form an affinity with the Dao and its methods can benefit thereby.

The Jade Stanza Hymn of the Highest Grade, in Which the Unsurpassed Heaven-Soaring Dharma Wheel Opens the Ten Correct Paths, says: In the purple void, vapors rise, and within them stands a mysterious lofty terrace. Radiance streams over palaces of jasper and jade, and the seven treasures appear of themselves. Brilliance illuminates the ten directions and overspreads all the heavens. The unsurpassed Dharma Wheel turns, saving sentient beings throughout the ten directions. The light of the correct path opens wide; this is the talismanic mandate issued by the Prime Sovereign (Yuanhuang), the august ruler of the celestial realm. The heaven-soaring perfected—those who have attained the Dao and ascended to the celestial realm—course through the void, praising the path of goodness. Attendants stand beside the Jade Emperor, and golden lads are arrayed to left and right. Surveying the causal conditions of all beings, the mysterious teaching sets the Great Dao in motion, so that sentient beings advance together with the true Dao.

The Celestial Worthy told the Lord of the Dao: This jade chapter is housed in the Unsurpassed Mysterious Palace of Golden Perfection (the supreme sacred palace). Of the Golden Lads and Mysterious Maidens of the ten directions, ten perfected spirits of each guard and treasure this numinous text. It constantly follows the movement of the great cosmic cycles, turning throughout the ten directions the Dharma wheel of the orthodox Dao (the Way)—proclaiming and setting in motion the teachings of the orthodox Dao. When this jade chapter is recited, its sound spreads through the ten directions; the Primordial Sovereign of the Nine Heavens then clasps his hands in congratulation, and the Unsurpassed Jade Emperor bows in reverence. It is a vast and luminous Dharma gate, able to deliver the myriads of living beings in the various heavens and the limitless worlds, so that all may enter the Halls of Blessing of the orthodox Dao of the ten directions and ultimately unite with the Dao in perfected truth.

If the great saints and the gods of utmost perfection of the various heavens understand this jade chapter and can recite it after purification and abstinence, they will all be able to open the Dharma gate of saving living beings and relieving every kind of suffering; they will also be able to uphold the kalpic cycles without their being shaken, and make the spiritual root (the foundation of cultivating the Dao) stable and secure.

The Celestial Worthy further told the Lord of the Dao: I expound the Dharma wheel and turn the assemblies of the ten directions; the fundamental merit of the supreme, measureless, and utmost perfection cannot be set in motion without the Dharma wheel. By preserving and nourishing true nature and upholding the orthodox Dao, one thereby awaits the deliverance of living beings. Since the earliest kalpic cycles, those who have attained the Dao...

The Celestial Worthy said to the Lord of the Dao: “I set forth the tenfold Dharma wheel and expound the fundamental path of cultivation that is of the supreme grade, boundless, and utterly true. Unless the Dharma wheel is turned, no one can fully penetrate these teachings. Preserving and nurturing true nature and holding fast to the great Dao (the Way) are for the sake of guiding all beings. From the earliest kalpas onward, all who have attained the Dao have entered the gate of the Dao, cultivated lofty De (Virtue/Power), and in the end risen to the rank of the utterly true. I have never seen anyone content with extravagance and clinging to rank and honor who nevertheless hoped to ascend to heaven and attain the Dao.

I look upon the beings of the ten directions, and their minds are bound by many attachments. Wealth and treasure, however precious, can never bring one to the Dao; amassing jewels only invites misfortune. To rest content in pure poverty and to take joy in guarding the Dao is what is truly precious. On the day the Dao is achieved, the Lord of the Dao will descend to receive you.

At that time you will be draped in a precious mantle of ninefold light and wear a flying-gauze skirt of seven colors, with a precious crown that reaches to heaven upon your head and lion slippers traced with jade patterns upon your feet. Two rays of celestial light will rest across your neck, and a precious canopy of streaming radiance will hover above you. You will ride a carriage of the seven treasures drawn by golden dragons, rising beyond into the supreme and unsurpassed realm of the Dao. The procession will be grand, radiant and solemn, moving through the Great Void, with celestial Perfected attending on left and right and spirit banners of the ten perfections borne in hand. The heavens will each offer celestial music, burn incense, and scatter flowers, so that incense and blossoms fill the ten directions. The host of the Perfected will descend to welcome you and install you within the Celestial Treasure of Jade Clarity, making you an everlasting Golden Perfected. Then you will naturally rejoice.

All such persons come to this only because they were content in pure poverty and held firmly to the great Dao. However flourishing a household’s estate may be in the world, it is not worth craving. If one lets oneself fall into the ten evils, wealth will in the end be scattered; even possessions counted in the hundreds of millions may ultimately become a source of disaster.

I turn the Dharma wheel and proclaim to the ten directions: the Utmost True of the Flying Heavens will open deliverance throughout the boundless worlds of the ten directions, so that all beings may accomplish the merit of purification and become Perfected Persons cultivated through the ten turnings.”

The Heavenly Worthy said: The dharma wheel of cultivation (the teachings and methods of Daoist practice) is divided into ten grades. One who receives and upholds the precepts of the first grade can become an Earth Immortal; one who can cultivate according to the dharma-precepts and advance to the second grade can become a Wandering Immortal; one who turns still further toward a rectified mind and advances to the third grade can become an Immortal; one who carries out the good deeds required by the precepts and advances to the fourth grade can become a Flying Immortal; one who constantly follows the Jing (scripture/classic) and the precepts and does not violate the various norms of conduct, advancing to the fifth grade, can become a Numinous Immortal; one who cuts off the craving for fine flavors, keeps a long purificatory fast, recites the Jing, and upholds the precepts, advancing to the sixth grade, can become a Divine Immortal; if one can be free of lust and desire, practice every kind of merit impartially, cast off selfishness, and preserve a plain and simple nature, advancing to the seventh grade, one can become a True Immortal; one who resolves to care broadly for the worlds of the ten directions, constantly rescues those in peril, commits no fault in speech, and aids living beings without partiality, advancing to the eighth grade, can become a Flying-Heaven Perfected; one who guards the One without wavering, carries out the myriad good deeds, reveres and observes the dharma-precepts, and is always as cautious as if face to face with the divinities, advancing to the ninth grade, can become a Supreme Perfected; and one who throughout is able to dine on roseate mists and drink Qi (vital energy)—a way of nourishing life that takes auroral vapors and primordial Qi as images of cultivation—who cultivates the Dao (the Way) with arduous effort, recites the Jing and performs the incense rite (reciting the classics and burning incense in ritual), pays homage to the true numina, teaches and transforms the ten directions, universally relieves measureless living beings, extends grace to heaven and earth, and never slackens, advancing to the tenth grade, can become an Unsurpassed Perfected of Upper Clarity.

The myriad things are originally without mind. If one can only observe the eight precepts, one may obtain merit equal to that of the flying celestials of the ten directions; how much more so if one upholds the ten precepts and practices the fundamental conduct? Yet the living beings of the final kalpa know only how to break the precepts—how could they still cultivate? People of the world dwell amid the five turbidities (a general term, in Buddhist and Daoist texts, for a defiled and disordered world), and careless, improper acts are many. Those who have attained the Dao receive and uphold the precepts and treat them as a lifelong treasure; shallow people accept the precepts, yet wish only to use them to seek high station in the world. They destroy the practice of the ten good deeds and instead suppose that they will long walk the path of the ten evils. In truth it is people who fail the Dao, not the Dao that fails people; never has one seen a person who sincerely seeks the Dao and in the end fails to attain it.

The Hymn of the Jade Stanzas of the Upper Grades of the Ten Turnings of the Unsurpassed Golden Perfect Dharma Wheel says:

After the Great Enclosure (Dayou, the vast celestial realm spoken of in Daoism) opened and was transformed, a precious city lay within it. There, order was kept by the Dao (the Way) of the Mysterious Void, and the Qi (vital energy) of Primordial Unity ran through, bright and clear. Jade trees stood throughout the eight directions, and the seven treasures were set out in interwoven array. Numinous winds blew in season, and many musical tones sounded together in harmony. At the center was a Dharma wheel called the Dharma King, a treasure cherished by the lofty divinities above. The Exalted Jade Emperor and the Wondrous De (Virtue/Power) of Golden Perfection (Jinzhen) descended as flying celestials, toured the ten directions, and examined the boundless karmic conditions of sin. With the unsurpassed Dharma wheel they turned and delivered living beings, freeing them from the root of suffering, sparing them the retribution of the ten evils, and bringing them into the gate of the Dao. Their bodies no longer suffered the harm of blades and weapons, and in clarity they realized true immortality. The unsurpassed Dharma wheel, turned ten times, enables one to commune wondrously with the spontaneous Natural (Ziran); when cultivation reaches the realm of the Utmost True, one may abide forever in the Dao.

In touring and surveying the various heavens, one may see the Three Nets (Sanluo, the realms of nets and punishment spoken of in Daoism): iron nets spread on all sides, streaming fire and flying chariots, blades set upon the body, whips that bring searing pain—every kind of extreme agony striking at once, head and body split apart. Those who suffer grieve and wound themselves; through one life and one death they turn about in the evil paths, weeping blood, no longer bearing human form. Long sunk in realms of suffering, they even forget the root of life. The lives of each lifetime are bound to one another, and causes and effects of every kind draw one another along.

By cultivating the ten virtues and keeping the mind pure and still, one may leave the evil realms far behind and enter the pure and still ten heavens. Robes of the Dao of Wuwei (non-action) protect layer upon layer and save the many beings who have no karmic affinity for deliverance. Golden Perfection opens the Dharma gate and everywhere releases awesome light; the light flows through heaven and earth and illumines the ten directions. With a sincere heart the wondrous Dharma is proclaimed, the many are converted, merit is brought to completion, and people are freed from the ten kinds of suffering, bathed in the radiance of the Dharma-body of Golden Perfection, and brought to penetrating awakening of their fundamental practice (the root wholesome deeds accumulated through cultivation across the three lifetimes). The realm of the Three Nets suddenly opens through; one ascends and passes into a higher immortal rank, the body mounts to the precious palace, one has audience with the Lord of the Dao, and one bows in reverence for three circuits.

The hymn of the Upper-Grade Jade Stanzas on the Precepts, Karmic Deeds, and Fundamental Practice of Golden Perfection says:

The cloud Qi (vital energy) is bright and lovely, layered in graceful beauty, its radiance flowing and circling to shine upon the ten directions. Golden morning light reflects in mutual splendor, and the jade halls are wrapped in soft, luminous Qi. The seven treasures gather and coalesce; the Eight Assemblies are limpid, clear, and numinous. Mysterious and wondrous Qi covers the Three Realms of heaven, earth, and humanity, so that heaven and earth are naturally pure and bright. The light of heaven is lucid and transparent, illuminating all things.

The various ways of cultivation of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun) take the observance of precepts and the rectification of conduct as their foundation: one holds the Wheel of the Law, widely practices teaching and transformation, and brings every kind of merit to completion. Immeasurable fundamental practices and the myriad methods all arise from causes and conditions. Through these, the Dao (the Way) of Ultimate Truth receives its common name, and all methods find in them their numinous root. Cultivators ride the void and tread emptiness, entering into communion with the Dao. The supreme treasure of the Primordial Sovereign (Yuanhuang) thereby guards the Wheel of the Law and opens a path for the Three Realms. Riding roseate light and purple mist, with feathered canopies draped overhead, they ascend to heaven to pay homage to the Celestial Worthy.

The Celestial Worthy said to the Lord of the Dao: “These three verses and jade chapters are kept under guard in the Jade Capital of Unsurpassed Great Existence. The Unsurpassed Golden Perfected Youths, with one hundred and twenty thousand perfected Shen (spirit), protect and treasure this numinous text. Turning with the course of the kalpas, it becomes the supreme Wheel of the Law for the heavens of the ten directions and for the Perfected of the Ten Revolutions. Whenever anyone recites these jade chapters, the wondrous sound surges and resounds, and the exalted perfected of all the heavens in the boundless worlds of the ten directions simultaneously pay homage toward the Jade Capital of Unsurpassed Great Existence. The Unsurpassed Supreme Perfected praise this chapter as good. The King of the Law summons all beings, universally opens the gates of the teaching, and, according to kind and grade, guides and delivers the myriad things, so that all beings may attain the Dao and become perfected.

“The great sages of the various heavens and the Shen of ultimate truth know this jade chapter. If someone recites it after purification and abstinence, the celestial perfected of the ten directions will descend, coming at the six periods of day and night to pay court. Every kind of entanglement will disperse, and before long one will attain the Dao.”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun, the honorific title for the supreme deity in Daoism) said to the Lord of the Dao (Daojun): “I set in motion the unsurpassed Wheel of the Law (Falun, a metaphor for proclaiming and turning the true teaching), precious as the Golden Perfect (Jinzhen), and expound the twelve kinds of boundless, supreme causal conditions of the Scripture on Precepts, Karma, and Fundamental Practice. The teaching of this scripture can reach the realm of ultimate truth and extend everywhere. It is a higher method of cultivation, able to take effect universally: like the Wheel of the Law pouring forth deep and vast principles, it turns toward the ten directions, guiding and saving countless beings so that they are freed from transgression and enter realms of blessing.

To cultivate by following the precepts of the Golden Perfect is to attain enduring existence. This Dao (the Way) is lofty and subtle beyond compare, and it can save beings everywhere. It is a supreme treasure transmitted by the flying celestials (Feitian), not given casually to the various immortals, but naturally revealed in response to the right conditions. The light of the scripture is profound and mysterious, and nothing lies beyond its reach. The movements and transformations of heaven and earth all depend on the working of the Wheel of the Law. Its meritorious De (Virtue/Power) is supreme; unless one is of lofty virtue and deep realization, it is difficult to practice. When the highest sages transform realms and attain the station of exalted Perfected (Gaozhen, Perfected of high rank), they likewise rely upon the scripture. Turning the many evils into good conduct, releasing obstructions, uprooting suffering, eliminating sinful karma, and bringing forth blessed reward—all of this depends on this scripture. It broadly relieves the ten directions and spreads the teaching among the various heavens. Its De is vast and far-reaching, its principle universally true; employing the Three Vehicles (Sancheng, methods of cultivation at different levels), it delivers countless beings.

I proclaim this scripture and entrust it to you to uphold. It descends and is transmitted once every nine kalpas. In the Jade Court of the Feitian it is disclosed according to rank and used to save beings, and this is not difficult.”

The Celestial Worthy further said to the Lord of the Dao: “I open the various supreme methods of the unsurpassed Feitian Wheel of the Law, in order to meet the kalpa of the Five Turbidities (Wuzhuo, the calamitous age in which the world is in disorder and beings suffer). The first is the turbidity and disorder caused by disaster, warfare, and slaughter throughout the boundless worlds of the ten directions; the second is the turbidity and disorder caused by a shortened kalpic course and by the sun and moon waxing and waning out of their proper measure; the third is the turbidity and disorder caused by the imbalance of Yin and Yang (Yin-Yang).”

The Celestial Worthy told the Lord of the Dao: “I open the supreme methods of the Unsurpassed Flying Celestial Dharma Wheel, so as to meet the kalpa of the Five Turbidities. The first is the turbidity in which the boundless worlds of the ten directions encounter disaster, war, and slaughter. The second is the turbidity in which the kalpic destiny is shortened and the courses of the sun and moon fall into disorder. The third is the turbidity in which the movements of Yin-Yang are reversed, the constellations lose their regular measures, and the myriad things cannot grow. The fourth is the turbidity in which ghost soldiers of the five directions gather and join battle, killing celestial beings and humans and causing the death of countless living beings. The fifth is the turbidity in which the governance of states is violent and chaotic, harassing celestial beings and humans, with warfare unceasing and the people in hardship. If you see such an age of the Five Turbidities, you should follow the teachings of each grade of the Dharma Wheel, open the gate of deliverance, turn back the course of the kalpa, protect and uphold the myriad things, restore heaven and earth, the sun and moon, and the constellations each to its own place, settle the various states, and enable living beings to continue in existence.”

The Celestial Worthy further told the Lord of the Dao: “I open the supreme methods of the Unsurpassed Flying Celestial Dharma Wheel, so as to meet the kalpa of the Three Calamities and to deliver the living beings of the boundless worlds of the ten directions, sparing them all from the disaster of the kalpa; therefore I save them by means of the treasure store of the Three Vehicles (the methods of differing levels by which Daoism delivers people). The first calamity is the spread of kalpic fire, in which the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm) are all burned. The second is the flooding of great waters, so that heaven and earth in the eight directions seem joined into one expanse, with huge waves surging to the sky. The third is a fierce disaster of wind sweeping through the kalpic age, splitting heaven and earth and rushing straight into the clouds, so that the worlds of the ten directions sink and not one is spared. These are the calamities that duly come when the great kalpic destiny arrives, and they are called the ‘Three Calamities.’ At such a time you must concentrate on turning the Dharma Wheel, open the supreme methods of the Three Vehicles, and save celestial beings and humans from disaster, so that all of them may rest in safety and be able to behold Taizhen (the realm of ultimate truth spoken of in Daoism).”

The Celestial Worthy told the Lord of the Dao: “If the Six Dusts (form, sound, scent, taste, touch, and dharmas—the objects engaged by the senses) now hide and now appear, touching the mysterious root, and demonic Qi (vital energy) manifests in visible form, those who hear should turn the Dharma Wheel with an emptied mind, open the supreme methods of the Three Vehicles, save celestial beings and humans from disaster, and let them rest in safety and behold Taizhen.”

The Celestial Worthy further told the Lord of the Dao: “When the Six Dusts hide and appear, touching the mysterious root, and demonic Qi shows itself in form, if those who hear give rise in the mind to emptiness and stillness, they should practice morning and evening at the Cloud Gate (the place of cultivation or of performing the methods). In the evening, murky shadow envelops body and mind, and one keeps no thoughts directed toward external things; if the mind harbors extreme suffering, it will invite misfortune. The spirit youths understand this principle and therefore remain unmoved; evil deeds cause those who commit them to suffer the harm themselves. To act contrary to the established norms, and to be false and cunning, are all the same kind of evil conduct; once the myriad virtues are cast aside, they can hardly be made good even over a whole lifetime. To harm one person is an offense equal to harming ten; even after passing through ten thousand kalpas, a day of liberation is hard to find. To kill with one’s own hands and to harbor the thought of killing are both offenses—how much more so actually to take another’s life? The precepts and standards of practice of the supreme grade of the Golden Perfected should be carefully observed. To obtain praise of every kind rests fundamentally on first cultivating well one’s own original practice.”

The Celestial Worthy told the Lord of the Dao: When performing the rite of “Turning the Wheel of the Law and Delivering the Highest Grade,” one is to use ten golden dragons, each weighing one liang, to secure and protect the ten directions respectively—east, south, west, north, the four intermediate directions, above, and below. In each direction one must also set out, according to orientation, patterned silk (silk bearing decorative patterns) of the corresponding color and length: for the east, azure silk nine chi long; for the south, crimson silk three chi long; for the west, white silk seven chi long; for the north, black silk five chi long; for each of the four intermediate directions, purple silk eight chi long; for above, blue silk one zhang and two chi long; and for below, yellow silk one zhang and four chi long. For each of the ten directions, an incense table and ten incense burners are provided.

The method of setting up the altar follows the rite of the “Mud and Soot of the Three Primes”; acts of worship and the confession of sins follow the liturgical protocol of the Chapter on the Three Primes’ Removal of Sins. Lamps are to be lit once more: ten lamps on each of the four sides of the outer altar, eight lamps on each of the four sides of the middle altar, and nine lamps on each of the four sides of the upper altar, all arranged according to the prescribed rite.

With the Three Treasures guarding the altar precinct for three days and three nights without interruption, the ritual assembly (the Daoist priests who preside over the ceremony) offers incense and recites the scriptures (Jing), frankly declares offenses, and solemnly repents. They conduct the rite according to the luminous code of the Flying Heavens’ Wheel of the Law (the regulations concerning the rite of the Flying Heavens’ Wheel of the Law), and thereby deliver the beings of the ten directions, enabling them to free themselves from the roots of sinful karma and from prolonged suffering, to leave the various evil realms brought about by the ten evils, and to ascend into the immeasurable halls of blessing of the Flying Heavens in the ten directions.

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) told the Lord of the Dao (Daojun): “Those in the heavens and in the human world who cultivate the true Dao (the Way) may establish the purification ritual according to this method. This rite can deliver the souls of the dead who suffer the hardships of birth and death in the dark nether regions of the ten directions, and it can also deliver the guilty souls of one’s ancestors, enabling them to be reborn and enter the ‘Hall of Ten Blessings’ (Shifutang, symbolizing the realm in which blessings are received).

When the cycles of Heaven and Earth shift, one should perform this great work of merit. When the sun and moon are seen to wax and wane, the stars move out of their proper course, the lands of the various heavens are unsettled, ghost armies rise in disorder throughout the world, great numbers of people die, Yin and Yang fall out of balance, master and disciple meet with peril, or the day arrives on which a kinsman dies—on all these occasions this purification ritual should likewise be established.

This method belongs to the purification rites of the highest grade, and its merit is immeasurable. All who have attained the Dao in the ten directions cultivate by means of it, and through it reach the realm of the true Dao. When the highest sages practice this work of merit, they can rise in rank and become Golden Perfected Ones (Jinzhen, the high-ranking perfected beings spoken of in Daoism). When the various heavens establish this purification rite, the true immortals can spontaneously deliver all beings and widely propagate the teachings of the Dao.

The causes and conditions of birth and death are all bound up with the Dharma Wheel (Falun, symbolizing the method by which the workings of the Dao turn). This method is lofty, wondrous, and unsurpassed, and exceedingly precious. Once every nine kalpas it revolves, and Heaven and Earth suddenly grow clear and bright. Beings amid measureless births and deaths all together receive blessings and joy; light shines throughout the ten directions, so that beings everywhere may long endure. Among heavenly beings and humans, those of lofty virtue who have reached the state of the Ultimate Person (zhiren), if they can know, receive and uphold, and propagate this method and cultivate this work of merit, will be able to realize the truth of the Dao.”

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) said: This supreme Dharma Wheel (Shangpin Falun)—a method symbolizing the proclamation of the Great Dao (the Way) and the universal deliverance of all beings—is able to bear the worlds of the ten directions. It is the supreme and unsurpassed true Dao and its precepts, vast and boundless, able to awaken all living beings. Its fundamental practices and every kind of causal condition extend throughout heaven and earth and can penetrate deeply into every teaching.

Those who have created evil karma and done evil deeds, whose bodily form and Shen (spirit) have sunk into the Ninefold Darkness (Jiuyou, the obscure nether realm), I set the Dharma Wheel turning so that all of them may attain the Dao and become immortals. Living beings are thereby transformed and gain new life, rising into the human world and the heavenly realms.

The Dharma Wheel bears the Great Dao and is transmitted only once in ninety thousand kalpas. Unless one is a venerable deity of the rank of the Most High Jade Emperor, one cannot personally descend to bestow it. I now impart this method to you. Treasure it in the Central Palace (Zhonggong, the center of a temple or sacred space), receive it with single-minded attention, and put it into practice. You should prepare to meet the calamities of the kalpa and, following the supreme method, turn the Dharma Wheel to save all living beings in the various heavens and in the endless worlds of the ten directions, so that all may form a bond with this teaching, universally behold the light when the Great Dao opens and its transformative working begins, and perceive and come to know the truth of the Great Dao.

The merit of this method is vast and luminous. It propagates the Three Vehicles of the Great Dao (Sancheng, methods of cultivation at different levels). It is the root of all teachings, the honored station of the Dao of Utmost Truth, the light that illumines the ten directions, and the ancestral source of every method of the Dao between heaven and earth. The blessings it brings are unsurpassed, and its purity and stillness endure. When the great kalpa descends, living beings will still universally behold the truth of the Great Dao, receive salvation, and together ascend into the worlds of the ten directions, dwelling long in the blessed heavens.

Since you have accepted the honored station of the Dharma King (Fawang), you ought to apply yourself with diligence and care.

At this the Lord of the Dao (Daojun) rose, crossed his hands in salute, and reverently received the Supreme Grade of the Precepts, Deeds, and Original Practices of the Golden Perfect Dharma Wheel (Jinzhen Falun). When the rite had ended, the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Unity (Yuanyi Tianzun) commanded the great sages to mount their carriages and depart. The various heavens each returned to their proper stations, to endure for a hundred million kalpas.

The Dao (the Way) says: I have received the method of precepts, karmic deeds, and fundamental practice belonging to the Unsurpassed Golden Perfect Dharma-Wheel (the supreme dharma-gate of the Golden Perfect Great Dao), and therefore I have long abided in the realm of the highest grade. By means of immeasurable causes and conditions, ever since the Dongming Kalpa (the beginning of the opening of the cosmos), I have set in motion the power of transformative operation, delivering beings as numerous as the sands of the Ganges throughout the boundless worlds of the ten directions, including the departed souls who suffer the hardships of birth and death; causing them to transform the ten evils, uprooting the sources of every kind of karmic offense, releasing bonds and obstructions, and freeing them from the condition of affliction, so that in the end they may all proceed together to the Jade Pool to refine their forms (purifying and tempering the body in the immortal realm), don crowns and precious robes, radiate light from their bodies, and enter the Blessing Halls of the Ten Abodes (the ten levels of the realm of blessed merit).

This merit turns with the movement of the kalpas. Unless one is a person of subtle and mysterious awakening, one cannot cause it to descend. As for the various methods of the Dao recorded in the older Jing (scriptures), only when their momentum is about to be exhausted does this Way begin to be put into practice. When the Morning Radiance Eight Assemblies (the celestial assembly periods of which Daoism speaks) arrive, that is precisely the time of its circulation in the world; Yunming descends in order to protect living beings from the calamity of the kalpa. If there is a land whose merit and virtue are deep and abundant, it will be the first to obtain the true Dao.