《洞玄灵宝九真人五复三归行道观门经》

Devout men and women who cultivate the correct Dao (the Way) should cast off desire, contemplate themselves, discern the true mind, and make the state of mind clear and pure. All kinds of purposeful thoughts appear within the mind; one should not give rise to some further mind that does the observing, nor cling to any particular method of contemplating the mind. It is enough to understand the condition of the mind and its mental phenomena; one should not then produce the further thought, “I am now understanding the mind and its mental phenomena.” It is enough to let the mind grow quiet; one should not cling to the idea, “I must make the mind quiet.” One should understand that stillness itself is not a state that can be grasped, and one should not cling either to “non-stillness” or to “not being still.”

The scripture further uses wood, fire, earth, the mind, and knowing as an analogy: wood itself contains no fire, and earth itself contains no fire; there is no person within the wood, and there is no cognition within the mind; mind and wood alike are without cognition, yet mind and wood are not the same kind of thing. These statements show that they can neither be simply lumped together nor split apart. If, where they are alike, one confuses their differences and clings to that as the truth, one’s understanding will be mistaken; if, where they differ, one cuts them cleanly apart and clings to that as the truth, one will likewise come up empty.

Within the vast, undifferentiated fundamental reality there are innumerable seed-natures. These seed-natures all depend upon the correct nature—the true and fundamental nature—and, through sympathetic response, manifest as every kind of thing, just as wood meeting conditions gives rise to fire and the mind meeting conditions gives rise to cognition. As they change and appear in the world, they are all impermanent, arising and ceasing; yet the correct nature of the true Dao in fact has neither arising nor ceasing. If a person can purify the mind and unite it with the Dao, this is to return to the root and recover the truly constant nature.

At this point Xuanzhong composed a verse, saying:

Cognition arises because of the objects of experience, and fire kindles because of conditions. Each of the two has its true source, yet both turn with the changes of manifestation and so lose the original source of the Dao. If one stirs a thought in order to bring cognition to rest, the very stirring of thought only makes one more agitated; if one understands that the nature of cognition is originally empty and still, cognition itself becomes the gateway to the myriad wonders.

The Dao (the Way) says: The Great Dao is plain and as yet undivided; once it disperses, it forms all manner of things. Following the transformations of things, one comes to recognize the various realms. In recognizing these realms, four kinds of delusive cognition appear: cognition belonging to the inner mind; cognition aroused by external objects; cognition produced by the interaction of inner and outer; and cognition that takes mind-consciousness to be annihilated and empty. What is called delusive knowing is only a provisionally established name; apart from these four kinds of delusive knowing, there is no separate, independent “true knowing.”

Why is this so? Because cognition is not divided into inner and outer, to split it into inner knowing and outer knowing is a false view; nor is cognition a single unity, so to posit yet another cognition between inner and outer is likewise a false view. Cognition is not wholly nonexistent, and so to regard it as annihilated is a false view; nor is cognition a real and unchanging entity, and so to regard it as eternally unchanging is also a false view. Thus the realms that are known are like dew and like bubbles—all temporary appearances.

The scripture further says: Ordinary people take strange phenomena for conjuring, while the spiritual powers of sages are called “transformation.” Shadows, echoes, and dreams are illusory, and to take resembling appearances for what is real is also a mistake. Only by means of wisdom can one clearly discern the reality of things. When one understands that the nature of the mind is the Dao, one knows that the true and the false are not sharply separated; yet one cannot abandon the distinction of inner and outer and insist that the true and the false are entirely the same. Realms appear in accordance with mind-consciousness, and mind-consciousness arises in dependence on realms; between mind-consciousness and realms, one cannot simply decide which side exists and which does not. They have no absolute order of before and after, nor are they eternally unchanging or utterly annihilated. In ultimate purity, resting in stillness without fabrication and according with what is natural, one can realize the Fruit of Taiyi (the supreme perfect realm spoken of in Daoism). This is called “returning to the Dao,” that is, returning to the primordial and constantly true Dao.

At that moment a verse sounded in the air:

The plain and undivided differentiates into the myriad things; forms appear out of the formless. Holding an unshaken conviction in the mind, one follows transformation through birth and death. Mind-consciousness and realms arise in mutual dependence; false views of inner and outer are formed thereby. Understanding the relation of the true and the false returns the mind to the Dao and unites it with the Dao.

The Dao says: The various colors, from blue-green to yellow, change like waves; when these colors enter the eyes, they are taken into the body’s perception. Passing from eye-consciousness to ear-consciousness is called “revolving consciousness”; abandoning these discriminations and returning to stillness is called “completion through relinquishment.” Understanding that the true and the false are not two returns the mind to the Dao and unites it with the Dao.

The Dao (the Way) says: Color changes gradually from blue to yellow, like waves rising and falling. To set aside blue, yellow, and all the other colors, and no longer let them enter the eyes, is “returning to the body.” To pass from visual consciousness to auditory consciousness is the continual shifting of sensory recognition. To let go of the discriminations of the eyes, the ears, and the other senses and return to the inner mind is “returning to Shen (spirit).” Thoughts arise one after another and then disappear. To let go of attachment to the number and changes of thoughts and return to stillness is “returning to life.” By returning to life, one can unite with the Dao, and the Dao likewise unites with the person. When both the inward and the outward have returned to what is real, one can move freely and without obstruction. This unobstructed nature pervades the whole realm of phenomena and becomes the eye of the Dao that reaches all things, illuminating the forms of every kind of thing. Forms such as blue appear within the eye of the Dao; the eye and the forms it sees can be said neither to be wholly the same nor to be separate from one another. Cultivating with equanimity, one realizes true nature—a nature that is neither discontinuous nor eternally unchanging.

Thereupon a verse is offered on this principle:

When the mind is pure, the true root appears; when the root is pure, the subtle realm becomes clear. When the realm is subtle, it can reach through to the mind; when the mind is pure, one can return to one’s original life and abide there constantly. The mind of the Dao is originally without discrimination, yet it remains together with the five destinations (the five realms into which beings are reborn according to their karma). One transcends attachment to external things and also transcends birth and death, clinging neither to the status of a human being nor to any so-called sanctuary of the Dao.

The Dao says: To go from the land of the Yi to the land of Qin symbolizes wandering and migration; to pass from the human path to the ghost path is a swift change of circumstance; to enter the realm of the immortals from the worldly realm is to be freed from death; to enter the sagely realm from the ordinary realm is to return to the constant Dao. Returning to the constant Dao, one can revert to one’s original life; reverting to one’s original life, one can realize the great Dao. The nature of the Dao is clear and pure, universally pervasive, perfect and luminous, and therefore able to sustain contemplation and illuminate every form, such as those of the land of the Yi and the land of Qin. Form and nature depend upon each other: within that dependence thoughts arise, yet thoughts do not remain; form and thought arise and cease together. Yet the nature of this arising and ceasing is itself neither born nor extinguished. Therefore one can say neither that it is merely false nor that it is a fixed and unchanging reality. From this, every realm of the Dao is gathered into the nature of the great Dao, surpassing purposeful contrivance and leaving behind the bonds of the forms that arise through causes and conditions.

Thereupon a verse is offered on this nature:

The various realms, such as the land of the Yi and the land of Qin, are all places of belonging formed by perception and shared karma. Destinations such as the human path and the ghost path differ, yet being and non-being do not obstruct one another. Freed from death, one cultivates and returns to the Dao; reverting to one’s original life, one returns to the true and constant Way. When the mind is limpid, the eye of the Dao is clear, and every wondrous realm appears of itself.

The Dao says: These are the four gates of practice cultivated by the Perfected Person (one who has attained the Dao). Celestial beings and worldly people, men and women alike, if only they can cultivate without slackening, can ascend into the realm of Wuwei (non-action) and unite with the Dao, becoming real.

The De (Virtue/Power) manifested by the Dao (the Way) is subtle and far-reaching, taking primordial Qi (vital energy) as its basis and knowing no bounds. It sets Yin-Yang Qi in motion, condenses numinous Qi, and thereby brings Heaven and Earth into being; it disperses Jing (essence) and Qi, determines the kinds of beings, and causes the myriad things to assume different forms. Each form arises according to its own resonance, yet is not governed by the contrivances of acquired action.

Human conduct and innate nature respond to one another, and from this all manner of change arises. If one can recognize the root by which one communicates with the dark and hidden primordial Qi, there is no further increase or decrease; only birth and death remain. Sentient beings are then stained by causes and conditions, and karmic causes take shape. The Nine Hells (Jiuyu) and the Five True Ones (Wuzhen) are the circumstances one undergoes according to cultivation and conduct. What, then, are the Nine Hells?

First, one turns against the great Dao and departs from the profound and mysterious natural Way, so that the nature of true constancy is concealed. Ghosts harm the human body, and the person suffers retribution and falls into the Qingzhen Hell (Hell of the Pure and True). The Jade Emperor (Yuhuang) presides over this hell, and those undergoing punishment are in the charge of Ji (Stillness) and others.

Second, one violates the De of the dark mystery, so that the original source is affected and loses its clarity; the pure is taken for the turbid, and the nature of utmost truth is shaken as well. Deluded ghosts harm a person’s seed-consciousness (the life-seed and consciousness), and the person suffers retribution and falls into the Sanjie Hell (Hell of the Three Knots). The Celestial Sovereign (Tianhuang) presides over this hell, and those undergoing punishment are in the charge of Zao (Agitation) and others.

Third, one goes against one’s own nature and gives rise to defiled desire; mysterious and subtle Jing is lost, and true wisdom sinks away. Aberrant ghosts harm a person’s conditional body (the body and mind formed by causes and conditions), and the person suffers retribution and falls into the Zhongfu Hell. The Earthly Sovereign (Dihuang) presides over this hell, and those undergoing punishment are in the charge of Wang (Delusion) and others.

Fourth, one violates both principle and innate nature, falling into disorder and affliction; the mind is confused and the nature of consciousness is impaired. Deceitful ghosts harm a person’s square body (the physical form), and the person suffers retribution and falls into the Wulun Hell (Hell of the Five Relationships). The Human Sovereign (Renhuang) presides over this hell, and those undergoing punishment are in the charge of Ku (Suffering) and others.

Fifth, one violates good faith and acts deceitfully; speech goes astray, and body and mind are injured. Ghosts of the Azure Heaven harm a person’s will and intention, so that body and mind decline; one suffers the retribution of universal plunder and falls into the Pulüe Hell (Hell of Universal Plunder). The Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) presides over this hell, and those undergoing punishment are in the charge of Zhang (the Staff) and others.

Sixth, one violates humane virtue and takes life; the eyes grow dim and the liver is damaged. Ghosts of the Plain Heaven (Sutian) harm a person’s hun soul, so that the hun scatters and the body wastes away; one suffers the retribution of wind and thunder and falls into the Fenglei Hell (Hell of Wind and Thunder). The Green Emperor (Qingdi) presides over this hell, and those undergoing punishment are in the charge of the Blade and others.

Seventh, one violates moral rightness and acts by plunder and seizure; the nasal passages are blocked and lung Qi is exhausted. Ghosts of the Cinnabar Heaven harm a person’s po soul, so that the po leaves the body and the body wastes away; one suffers the retribution of the vajra and falls into the Jingang Hell (Vajra Hell). The White Emperor (Baidi) presides over this hell, and those undergoing punishment are in the charge of Fen (Burning) and others.

In the transmitted text this scriptural passage contains repetitions and textual disorder. For example, the wording for “the fifth” appears more than once, and a repeated passage is inserted after the fourth item. The original speaks of the “Nine Hells,” yet what survives here extends only through the seventh; the reading above therefore follows the text as it presently stands.

The eighth sin is to violate ritual and law by committing licentious acts. It disorders the tongue-root and fills the mind and spirit (Shen) with alarm. Ghosts of the Mysterious Heaven then seize the chance to intrude, so that Shen and vital energy (Qi) disperse and the body declines and perishes. After death one receives retribution in the Prison of the Fiery Veil, governed by the Red Emperor, while those of the Ice class carry out the corresponding punishments.

The ninth sin is to act foolishly in defiance of clear understanding. It brings deafness and exhausts the Qi of the kidneys. Ghosts of the Stabilizing Heaven then seize the chance to intrude, so that essence (Jing) and Qi dry up and the body declines and perishes. After death one receives retribution in the Prison of Dark Cold, governed by the Black Emperor, while those of the Pressure class carry out the corresponding punishments.

People who suffer in these hells endure, if their offenses are grave, vast ages reckoned in kalpas, and even if their offenses are light, many years. The length of retribution depends on each person’s karma; only after one full round of punishment does one move on in turn through the cycle of transmigration. To escape karmic retribution, one should cultivate the Five Victories. What are the Five Victories?

The first is to begin by contemplating the Five Knowledges, to understand the Ten Practices, and to enter the Gate of Undeluded Being and Non-being. The second is to go on and observe mind and discernment, to realize that all things are impermanent and subject to arising, ceasing, and transformation, and to enter the Gate of Arising, Ceasing, and Transformation. The third is to cultivate faith and wisdom still further, to purify the field of karma, and to enter the Gate of Stillness in the Return to Destiny. The fourth is to penetrate with subtle refinement the mysterious root, to accord with the profound and arcane principle, and to enter the Gate of Dongzhen Illumination (Dongzhen, Cavern of Perfection). The fifth is to be imbued with and covenanted to the Dao (the Way), to illuminate oneself with the light of the Dao, to ascend to the realm of thorough clarity, and to enter the Gate of Verification in the True Cavern.

These five practices are the path cultivated by the Five Perfected. When body and mind have penetrated the mysterious and merit and conduct are complete, one leaves impermanence and realizes the Dao of True Constancy. This Dao of True Constancy reaches throughout the infinite. One cannot say that it really exists, nor that it is wholly nonexistent; it is neither eternally unchanging nor annihilation into nothingness. This is the fundamental nature of the True Dao, given over entirely to spontaneity.

The scripture then sets forth a verse:

The Dao of True Constancy runs through the Six Paths (the six realms of sentient beings’ transmigration) and likewise through every kind of realm, yet confusion arises when the constant Way is violated. Bright and luminous, it nonetheless comes to rest in a realm of stillness and hidden depth; within that darkness and far-reaching profundity, the myriad phenomena differentiate. Sentient beings receive bodily form through the resonance of karma, and the stirring of form in turn gives rise to mind and spirit. Spirit and form act upon each other, manifesting the fundamental nature of the True Dao, all of it utterly spontaneous.

The Dao (the Way) of True Constancy embraces the Six Paths (the six destinations of sentient beings in transmigration), runs through every realm, and can also display transformations unlike ordinary patterns. Luminous and clear, it rests upon a secluded stillness, yet is profound and hard to fathom, and from it the myriad phenomena divide and come forth. Influenced by karma, sentient beings are endowed with bodily form, and bodily form in turn responds by giving rise to mind and Shen (spirit). Shen and bodily form depend upon each other, and everyday actions become the karmic causes of what is yet to come. Commit the nine kinds of faults, and the corresponding hells are incurred; perfect the five supreme practices, and one may ascend to the realm of the True Person. The subtlety of the Dao can reach the sea of the mind, and the subtlety of the mind can of itself accord with the great Dao. To move in Wuwei (non-action) is not to cut off one’s innate nature; to recognize that the myriad things exist is not to fall into the two extremes of being and non-being. Dwelling among the myriad things, one is not bound by birth and death; letting go of attachment to the myriad things is not the pursuit of some eternally unchanging existence.

The Dao says: Good men and faithful women, if you can cultivate the five supreme practices and enter the gate of the True, you will leave the nine hells, ascend to the unsurpassed realm, fully perfect the Dharma Realm (the realm upon which all phenomena commonly depend), and realize the True Constancy of the Dao. At that time the assembly of immortals, hearing this teaching, rejoiced in their hearts and praised it in verse:

The boundless, limitless worlds of the ten directions all return to the one Dao; within the one Dao, every sentient being is contained. Sentient beings sink in the six destinies (the transmigration of the Six Paths), as if drifting on a sea of suffering; now they come to completion, now they fall to ruin, going and returning without cease. The true and the false are not cut off from each other, nor are offense and blessing empty names. Only by personally realizing the substance of the Dao can one understand that the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm) are the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing), the pure realms in which the revered deities of Daoism dwell.

Hymn of the True Persons Practicing the Dao and Realizing It According to Their Capacity

The Dao says: Good men and faithful women, if you wish to leave every affliction wholly behind and ascend to the realm of Wuwei, you should cultivate the Nine True practices of advancing in the Dao. What is called cultivating the Dao is upholding the precepts and stilling scattered thoughts, purifying the inner mind and guarding the One (concentrating solely on guarding the spirit and settling the mind upon the Dao), not being drawn outwardly by various views, clearing away inwardly every defilement, departing from the Three Existences (Existence of Desire, Existence of Form, and Formless Existence—that is, the modes of life in the Three Realms), and realizing entry into Wuwei. Reaching this realm does not depend on forced contrivance, but follows what is naturally so, until at last one ascends to the unsurpassed station.

At that time the True Persons, hearing this teaching, felt liberation arise in their hearts and came to the sanctuary of the Dao. Whether their practice was shallow or deep, all received benefit, and each, according to the degree that could be attained, chanted a verse:

The verse of the first True Person:

Thoroughly understanding and passing beyond every partial view, the mind within is quiet, and the defilements without are cleared away with it. The six kinds of deviant falsity are all exhausted, and the pure, undivided Dao manifests of itself. From this one realizes the principle of no-self, and reaches a state of solitary clarity without any feeling of loneliness. Thereupon one ascends into the gate of all wonders, and for long penetrates the unobstructed realm of empty stillness.

The verse of the second True Person:

The perfected person—one who, in cultivating the Dao (the Way), has reached a profound attainment—realizes that all phenomena are fundamentally empty, that the nature of the mind is pure, and that within there is no defilement. Once desires have been removed, one is neither stained by external things nor attached to anything at all. Liberation is thereby attained, and one is no longer constrained by the various feelings. Arriving at the realm of Wuwei (non-action), one constantly cherishes it and takes the “Mother” as nourishment. In the Daoist Jing (scriptures/classics), the “Mother” commonly refers to the source of the myriad things.

Hymn of the Third Perfected Above

The perfected person realizes that all phenomena are fundamentally empty, that the nature of the mind is pure, and that within there is no defilement. Once desires have been removed, one is neither stained by external things nor attached to anything at all. Liberation is thereby attained, and one is no longer constrained by the various feelings. Arriving at the realm of Wuwei, one constantly cherishes it and takes the source of the myriad things as nourishment.

The Hymn of the Third Perfected Above Says

There is no fixed place, nor any beginning or end; there is neither extinction nor dependence on anything. There are no delusive thoughts, nor any clinging to form, appearance, and desire; in hidden depth one merges with Xiyi (the realm of the Dao that is hard to perceive and cannot be put into words). One attains the realm of equality and True Unity, roaming freely at will; its transformations cannot be fathomed. The realm is empty, luminous, and open, without form or image; one ascends into the mysterious and subtle and returns to that which cannot be spoken.

The Hymn of the Fourth Perfected Above Says

There is neither emptiness nor formlessness; there is no cognitive thought, nor the habit of clinging to what is seen and heard. There is no mental thought, nor the thought of no-thought; there is no fixed self-nature, nor any gathering of grasping and clinging. Shen (spirit) and form do not pursue one another; though they depend on each other, they do not restrain one another. The cycle of birth and death is forever cut off, and the many sufferings cannot touch one.

The Hymn of the Fifth Perfected Above Says

The substance of the mind has no fixed location; true nature abides within emptiness and stillness. Once the habitual tendencies of desire have been thoroughly eliminated, the spirit penetrates a profound realm without gap or interval. One neither remains in any realm of form or of empty stillness, nor departs from the gate of Taiqing (Taiqing refers to the pure and lofty realm spoken of in Daoism). Spontaneously and of itself, one penetrates the mysterious root, roaming and dwelling in the true and pure celestial realm.

The Hymn of the Sixth Perfected Above Says

Upright and true nature neither grasps nor rejects; the habit of clinging to form and appearance perishes of itself. One neither indulges in contrived action nor clings rigidly to the ritual sanctuary. One constantly abides in a boundless realm, according with the myriad things without displaying discrimination. There is no obstruction, nor any drawing of boundaries; in hidden depth one accords with the essential principles of the supreme Dao.

The Hymn of the Seventh Perfected Above Says

With lucid wisdom one contemplates dependent arising (the arising of things in dependence on conditions); the spirit is radiantly clear and merges into the vast depth of the Great Void. The habit of clinging to form and appearance has already been eliminated, and the entanglements of former days have thoroughly dissolved. One can then come and go freely in the sea of birth and death, resting at ease in the realm of liberation. In great meditative concentration, delusive thoughts do not arise; wisdom is brought into play, and the realm is vast without limit.

The Hymn of the Eighth Perfected Above Says

(The original text is unfinished here.)

Mind and the Dao (the Way) are originally one, with no distinction between them. The Dao has no boundary and does not dwell in any fixed place; though it manifests in its activity, it remains ever clear, still, and silent. It does not arise, nor is there any master who governs it. The real and the false issue from a single source; they appear and change according to causes and conditions, and have no fixed, unchanging form. The various meanings of the teachings become evident of themselves, and the three cultivations of body, speech, and mind (the “three mysteries”) are likewise clearly displayed.

Above, the Ninth Perfected (Zhenren) eulogized the Dao:

By means of the wisdom of emptiness (the wisdom born of realizing that the myriad things have no fixed inherent nature), one can freely wield power; through sympathetic response one attains realization, and thereby accomplishes the Dharma-body (the pure fundamental essence realized through cultivation). Appearing and transforming according to conditions, it has from the outset no fixed place. The various meanings of the teachings become evident of themselves, and the three cultivations of body, speech, and mind are likewise clearly displayed.

The two truths of ultimate truth and conventional truth (which set forth truth from the ultimate and the everyday levels) originally both return to stillness. The realms of the three times—past, present, and future—are all reflected in perfect, precious clarity. Ancient and present admit no distinction of earlier and later; what is able to act is sometimes a human being and sometimes not a human being. The seven transformations have no constant, unchanging form, and the six spiritual powers (the six extraordinary capacities of which cultivation speaks) do not come from different spirits.

At that time, when the assembled Perfected had each finished their eulogies, they all respectfully returned to their own places. With joy in their hearts they composed their bearing and ceremonial dignity, paid homage to the Lord of the Dao (Daojun), and departed.