《混元圣记》Vol. 3

Can the principle of wondrous transformation be heard?

Laozi said: "All living breath and physical form are illusory transformations. The beginning of the creation of the ten thousand things, and what arises from the interaction and change of Yin and Yang, is called birth and death; what passes through the transformation of qi and migrates with changes in form is called change and transformation. The creative force and physical form are both in a state of change.

The workings of creation are subtle and its power profound, so they are hard to fathom; the cleverness of visible things is obvious but their effect is shallow, so they come and go with birth and death. Only when one understands that transformation and birth-and-death are not different can one speak of the way of change. If you can earnestly cultivate this way and merge body and mind with nature, I can together with you perform transformation and travel through the lands."

After another twenty-eight days, Yin Xi (Guardian of the Pass in the Zhou dynasty, said to have welcomed Laozi) again burned incense and bowed, requesting: "Yin Xi has been fortunate to hear the supreme Dao; my joy is beyond words. I beg you to bestow a written work that sets forth the aim of the great Dao and passes it to later generations."

Laozi said: "Good. You will become the leader of the true ones; you should in this realm of Wanli and the world that abandons worthies spread the great Dao and pass it to posterity." Thereupon Laozi gave him the Daode in five thousand words (i.e., the Daodejing) and said: "I do not lightly pass on this book; usually it is transmitted once in a thousand years. You must cherish and preserve it with effort."

Yin Xi received it with a bow, read it with joy, and put it into practice. From then on his cultivation succeeded, and later he passed the great Dao to later students.

According to Liu Xiang’s record of his editorial work on the Laozi, the text circulated in more than one chapter arrangement: some copies had two parts, others a single part. Liu Xiang collated internal and external copies and obtained five parts and one hundred forty-two chapters; after removing three duplicate parts and sixty-two chapters, he fixed the text at two parts and eighty-one chapters. The upper part was titled the Dao Jing, with thirty-seven chapters; the lower part was titled the De Jing, with forty-four chapters. This was the first stabilized form of the Laozi in the course of editorial work. What exactly was “removed” in the text and where the boundaries of each chapter were drawn can no longer be determined with certainty. Both the internal copy and Liu Xiang’s edited version are said to have been divided into two parts, which suggests that a two-part standard text may already have existed before his collation.

Another view holds that the Laozi has eighty-one chapters because that number matches the extreme limit of the sun’s annual cycle. The Dao Jing was placed in the upper part, modeled on Heaven; Heaven’s number is odd, hence thirty-seven chapters. The De Jing was placed in the lower part, modeled on Earth; Earth’s number is even, hence forty-four chapters. Ge Hong and others could not alter the original chapter order, so they moved the chapter in the Dao Jing that speaks of “constantly practicing wuwei (non-action)” to the end of the De Jing. Thus the upper part became thirty-six chapters, corresponding to the four seasons of Heaven; the lower part became forty-five chapters, corresponding to the five phases (wuxing) of Earth; the two parts together still totaled eighty-one chapters, in accord with the number “nine times nine.”

Yan Junping held that the number of the yin way is eight and the number of the yang way is nine; eight times nine yields seventy-two, and on that basis he divided the Laozi into forty chapters in the upper part and thirty-two in the lower part. But this division does not agree with the Heshanggong version, and there is no other evidence by which it can be verified.

When we examine the various editions today, some copy the full text continuously without dividing chapters; others mark out eighty-one chapters as one might divide lines in classical poetry. If every chapter were separated and given its own title, the presentation would become cumbersome. Once suitable breaks are chosen, readers can see the chapter sequence without needing a separate title for each chapter.

According to the Liezi, which quotes the phrase “the valley spirit does not die” and attributes it to the Yellow Emperor’s Book, Laozi’s work of roughly five thousand characters may derive from an even earlier text. The Laozi also says, “what the ancients called ‘what is bent becomes whole’” was not empty talk; it reflects how old books circulated and how people selected passages from them. For that reason, not every chapter in the book need carry a title.

Confucius said he “transmitted but did not create, trusted and loved antiquity,” and compared himself to Lao Peng—an attitude of revering the ancients and handing down old teachings. When we examine other classics that cite the Laozi, some call it the Xuanjing (Mysterious Classic); when Han Fei discusses the Laozi, the wording he quotes differs slightly from today’s standard text. This is like the Analects having Qi and Lu recensions, or the Book of Documents having ancient-text and modern-text versions: because what was seen and heard differed, variant wording is hardly surprising.

In the Tang, Fu Yi surveyed many Laozi manuscripts and counted their characters. It is said that in the fifth year of the Wuping era of Northern Qi, a man from Pengcheng opened the tomb of Xiang Yu’s concubine and obtained a copy of the Laozi; in the Taihe era of Northern Wei, the Daoist Kou Qianzhi received the version transmitted by the Old Man of the Riverbank (Heshang Zhangren). A version handed down in the house of Qiu Yue, a recluse of Qi, had 5,722 characters, and can be cross-checked against what Han Fei’s Illustrating Laozi quotes. The Luoyang official archive copy had 5,635 characters; Wang Bi’s text had 5,683 (some records say 5,610); Heshang Gong’s had 5,555 (some say 5,590). The word counts of the various commentarial editions also disagree.

These versions had circulated for a long time; people each trusted the copy they inherited and sometimes collated against other versions, so textual discrepancies abound. In the Records of the Grand Historian, Sima Qian says that Laozi wrote a book expounding the meaning of Dao and De, totaling more than five thousand characters.

The text falls slightly short of six thousand characters—roughly five thousand or so. For this reason, Daoists have long referred to the Laozi as the “Five Thousand Words” (Wuqian Wen), using a round number.

Lu Xisheng of the Tang dynasty wrote in his commentary on the Dao De Jing (Daode Jing): When the Great Dao (Dao) is concealed and worldly teaching declines, the realm is about to fall into great disorder. Heaven then sends down a sage. The sage fears that the people cannot live in peace under good government, and so he revives what is failing and mends what is broken. The late Zhou was just such an age. Confucius clarified the ritual, music, and cultural teaching of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties to support a declining world; Laozi drew on the plain, original nature of the ancient age of the Three Sovereigns to rescue a chaotic age. What the two men did was fundamentally the same.

Confucius’s teaching flourished through ritual adornment and music, using culture and teaching to harmonize human feelings; Laozi’s teaching took root in plain, original nature, using that to lead people back to their true nature. When nature (xing) and feeling (qing) reach their utmost, what the sage sees does not differ; the pattern of change between refinement (wen) and substance (zhi) is what never changes through the ten thousand generations. The Book of Changes (Yijing) says “display it in benevolence”—meaning to teach through culture so that the Way becomes visible; the matters that cultural teaching explains are clear, and therefore Confucian classics treat them at length. The Changes also says “conceal it in function”—meaning to teach people through plain, original nature. The reasoning of this plain teaching is subtle and hard to grasp deeply; for that very reason, those who misinterpret it are also many.

Laozi’s doctrine takes the Dao as its root and “names” (ming) as its application, advocating Wuwei (non-action) yet leaving nothing undone, and taking conformity with the highest standard as its goal. Yang Zhu honored the root of Laozi’s teaching but did not go far enough, and in the end valued the self and slighted external things. Zhuang Zhou misunderstood the application of Laozi’s teaching and went too far, and therefore advocated abandoning sages and discarding wisdom. Shen Buhai and Han Fei strayed from the “names” Laozi spoke of and ended in harsh, pressing legal methods. Wang Bi and He Yan strayed from Laozi’s Dao and finally sank into empty indulgence.

These six men were all offenders who distorted Laozi. Later generations therefore believed Laozi’s teaching did not accord with Confucius: they charged that his doctrine would weaken benevolence and righteousness and discard ritual instruction; they also criticized his Dao as concerned only with pure stillness and Wuwei (non-action), unsuitable for governing a state. Alas, people’s misunderstanding of Laozi has been long-standing, so that for a thousand years he bore false blame, and discourse on the Dao and De could not be put into practice in his own time—there were indeed reasons for this.

Laozi traced the origin of Heaven and Earth, examined change through the ages, first expounded the Dao and De, then discussed benevolence and righteousness, and went on to point out the defects of ritual teaching and the harshness of punishments and governmental orders. He was showing that these problems all arose from gradual failure in governance. Laozi grasped the root and looked to the ultimate of human feeling and innate nature; therefore his Dao began with cultivating body and mind, was applied to the family and the state, and finally extended to all under Heaven—its content was fully complete. Yet the confused still had much to say against it—is this not a grave distortion of Laozi?

Fuxi (the legendary ancient sage-king) drew the Bagua (Eight Trigrams) to symbolize the changes of the myriad things, thereby investigating the myriad things, probing the principle of nature and life (Xingming), and harmonizing with the Way of De (Virtue/Power). Laozi traced the source before Heaven and Earth, took Yin-Yang as foundation, sought the principle of nature and life, and explored the subtlety of the Dao and De—this shares one source with Fuxi’s teaching.

King Wen observed the changes of the nine and six lines in the Great Yi, valued firm strength, honored adaptability, and took centrality and correctness as essential; Laozi examined the constant way of the seven and eight lines in the Great Yi, advocated reaching softness and preserving stillness, and used the vast Dao to encompass the myriad things. This shows that Laozi’s thought was fundamentally connected with King Wen’s.

Confucius honored Yao and Shun, took King Wen and King Wu as models, and taught the people through benevolence and righteousness; Laozi emulated Fuxi, blended the Way of the Yellow Emperor, and taught all under Heaven through the Dao and De. Their modes of teaching differed, yet the principle of flexible application agreed.

These three exemplary figures represent the utmost of the sage’s realm. Laozi integrated their thought and in turn brought it back to unity, probing deeply into the pivot of transformation and tracing where the subtlest Dao ultimately returns—this is what is meant by “supreme spirit.” Wang Bi held that the sage can become one with the Dao, while Laozi had not yet truly realized the Great Dao; Ruan Ji therefore called Laozi a man of “superior worth, sub-sage” rank, largely in agreement with Wang Bi. Did they judge him so because Laozi’s deeds in governing the world did not fully embody the doctrine he taught? Not at all.

Alas, when sages lived in the world, some pressed forward and some withdrew. When the Great Dao could not be put into practice, some risked danger and traveled about persuading rulers, taking the world’s troubles as their own burden; others hid their names and kept aloof from turmoil, showing that worldly affairs could not entangle them. The paths seem different yet finally converge on one point—this is precisely the gateway of Dao and righteousness, not mere opposition.

Why Confucius took office and Laozi withdrew; why Laozi was silent and Confucius spoke—all are extreme expressions of advance and retreat, hiding and revealing. How could Wang Bi and Ruan Ji truly see through this? Sima Qian arranged the schools of thought and placed the Daodejing first—he can be said to have grasped root and branch. Ban Gu compiled the Table of Ancient and Modern Persons yet demoted Laozi to the third rank; even if Laozi’s nominal standing could be lowered, could the Dao he embodied be lowered on that account?

Confucius personally met Laozi, marveled that Laozi’s Dao was unfathomably deep and hard to grasp like a dragon; he also asked Laozi about ritual—this is indeed beyond doubt. Later recorders and transmitters failed to probe the deep meaning, so various divergent accounts arose. Likely the transmitters did not trace back to the source and thus could not exhaust the author’s intent. Alas, without this transmitted account, Laozi’s central aim might have been lost. Therefore I will clarify the subtlest points within it, so that its agreement with the thought of the sages stands out clearly. If one can realize the Great Dao and employ the name “Dao,” steering present affairs by ancient principle, governing rightly becomes as easy as turning the hand. Among those who defended Laozi from antiquity, only Grand Historian Sima Qian came closest to Laozi’s intent; as for the art of governing the state, those who truly understood and applied Laozi’s Dao have been few—probably no further than that.

For this reason I set forth the subtle points of the Dao as clearly as I could, so that they would align with the intent of the sages. If someone can awaken to the Great Dao and govern the realm by it, meeting the present with the ancient Way, then right governance would be as easy as turning the palm. Among writings on Laozi from antiquity onward, only Grand Historian Sima Qian comes closest to Laozi’s original meaning. Among those who have governed the realm, the one who grasped even a little of the Dao was probably Emperor Wen of Han alone. Other views that violate the classics and stray from the right path are not worth trusting.

In the second year after Lord Lao departed—that is, on the twenty-eighth day of the fourth month in the jiayin year—he prepared on the hill south of the “Joyful Residence” to take leave of Yin and ascend to heaven. Yin grieved and could not bear to part, and begged Lord Lao to stay.

Lord Lao did not at once go west and ascend again because he wished to wait until Yin had achieved success in cultivation, and then go together to teach the barbarian lands.

Lord Lao again admonished Yin to cast off defilement, still restless thoughts, quiet the mind, and hold to unity (shouyi—fixing the spirit in the One). He instructed Yin: “After a thousand days you may find me at the Green Goat Market in Shu.” When he had finished speaking, Lord Lao rose into the air, seated himself upon clouds and mist, his face emitting five-colored light and his body showing golden radiance that shone through the four directions. He ascended slowly; the light filled the lodge in green, yellow, and the other colors, and only after a long while did it fade. Yin gazed into the clouds until Lord Lao was no longer visible, still weeping as if to hold him back. That day the rivers and streams swelled and mountains and valleys shook; a beam of five-colored light pierced the Taiwei (the celestial region where the emperor star resides) and illuminated the four quarters. In the Records of the Grand Historian, Taiwei is written as Ziwei.

Yin then arranged into thirty-six chapters the essentials Lord Lao had spoken on governing the state and cultivating the person, and on removing extravagance and reducing desire. Because these teachings were given as Lord Lao was about to ascend to the far west, the book is titled the Scripture of Western Ascension (Xisheng Jing).

The simple cart that Old Lord Laozi rode has been treasured through successive generations and is still preserved today. The Ascension Terrace lies south of Louguan; among the people it has long been handed down as “Old Lord’s tomb.” The Erya says: “A small hill is called a ling (mound).” People at the time did not understand this and mistakenly took the place for Laozi’s burial site. Historical records also do not note where Laozi died; only the Zhuangzi mentions Qin Shi’s mourning visit—and that is largely an allegory for treating life and death as one.

Only an emperor’s grave is called a ling (mausoleum). Hunyuan (Old Lord Laozi) withdrew from the world and took kindness and frugality as his root—how could anyone have built for him a tomb five li around and more than ten zhang high? In the Qin region, high, level open ground is called a yuan (plain); yuan is also called ling. The name here likely comes from Hunyuan’s ascension at this spot, hence the association with the Old Lord.

When Old Lord Laozi ascended, five-colored light pierced straight through the Taiwei (the celestial enclosure), and its radiance reached the four quarters. King Zhao asked the Grand Historian what this omen meant; the Grand Historian said: “A sage will go west; after a thousand years his teaching will return here.” The king ordered the matter recorded at the suburban altar. This was the sign of the westward transmission of the teaching. From King Zhao’s jiayin year to the Yongping reign of Han, it was indeed a full thousand years.

Yin Xi, keeper of the pass, then built a grass hut, purified his heart in fasting, and cut off worldly affairs. Within three years he completed his cultivation: mind and spirit settled, the body seemed released—no longer hungry or thirsty, neither cold nor hot; he fully grasped the subtleties of fate and transformation, and the principle of body as one and spirit vast without bound, reaching a refined realm. He then personally composed nine treatises, entitled Master Guan Yin (Guan Yinzi). In the dingsi year he went to western Shu to seek the “green sheep market.”

Lord Lao ascended to heaven in the year jiayin; in the year yimao he divided his form from the Taiwei Palace (a celestial palace) and descended to be born into the household of Li the Grand Officer in Shu. Earlier he had urged the azure dragon of the Qing Emperor (the deity of the east) to transform into a sheep. The sheep’s wool was pure and splendid, like green gold; it often stayed beside the infant, loved to eat, and did not quarrel.

One day the sheep vanished without warning, and the master’s child wept without stopping. The Grand Officer sent the shepherd boy to the market to search, and at last the sheep was found. Yin Xi the recluse saw the shepherd and asked what had happened. The boy told the whole story in detail. Yin Xi suddenly understood and said with joy, “The holy teacher’s appointment—could it be here?” He asked the boy, “Please tell the Grand Officer’s child for me that Yin Xi has come.” The boy went in and reported as he was told. The elder brother inside at once straightened his robes and rose, saying, “Let Yin Xi enter.”

When Yin Xi entered, the hall suddenly grew vast and bright, and a lotus throne appeared. Lord Lao manifested a body of white-gold, several zhang in height, radiant as the sun, with a circular halo at his neck, wearing the Seven Luminaries crown (symbolizing sun, moon, and stars), dressed in robes of morning essence and a nine-colored li-luo garment, seated upright on the lotus throne. The whole family was astonished. Lord Lao said, “Taiwei is my dwelling; Zhenyi (True Unity) is my true body. The breath of Taihe (Supreme Harmony) gathers into essence; Yaopo (the luminous soul) takes human form. Host and guest respond to each other—what is there to marvel at?”

Yin Xi prostrated himself, weeping with joy and sorrow, stirred and glad beyond measure. He kowtowed and said, “I never thought such a reunion could happen, to behold the celestial countenance again. Between your comings and goings, hidden and revealed, is your daily life well?” Lord Lao answered calmly, “After we parted, what have you gained or lost? Have you kept to the Dao and guarded the One, and received some benefit?” Yin Xi kowtowed and said, “Since I received the secret essentials, I have slightly grasped their subtlety; my ancestors too have received grace and all enjoy immeasurable blessing and joy.”

Lord Lao said, “Very good. The reason I have kept you here is that you live among people, deeply bound by affection; though you once received the scripture formulas, you had not yet completed cultivation, so I waited for you here.”

You have now preserved your body and cultivated your essence and qi; three years of practice have come to full completion. You have lived long in the human world and were deeply bound by family ties and desire; when you first received the scriptural instructions, you had not yet attained completion, so I had you remain here to cultivate. Now you have reached a wondrous state: purple channels have formed within your heart, and divine light shows on your face; your name is already inscribed on the mysterious register of the celestial realm, and the jade book is stored in the Purple Chamber. You have been enrolled in the immortal roster of Taiwei Heaven, shed the mortal body, and become one with the True Dao.

Xi kowtowed again in thanks and said: “The holy master’s grace is as weighty as Heaven and Earth, and surpasses my parents. Heaven and Earth can cover and sustain me, yet cannot bring me to the Dao; my parents could give me birth, yet cannot grant me long life.”

Laojun said: “This is the mysterious affinity ordained for you by fate.” He then ordered that the spirits and perfected immortals of the three realms be summoned. Before long, the heavenly lords of all heavens, the spirit kings of the ten directions, and immortals from every path arrived soaring through the air, each holding incense and flowers, kowtowing as they awaited his command.

Laojun asked the Five Old Gods and the Overseer of Truth of the Four Poles to grant Xi a jade register and golden text, and to bestow upon him the title “Wenshi Xiansheng” (Lord Wen the Beginning). Because the five thousand words of the Daodejing were transmitted through Xi and later spread in the human world, he is called Wenshi Xiansheng. He was enfeoffed as a Supreme Perfected Person, and given a purple hibiscus crown, azure feather robe, red outer garment and green sleeves, rainbow girdle and iridescent skirt, and a yellow nine-colored insignia embroidered with patterns; fifty golden lads and jade maidens also attended him. His rank stood above the twenty-four heavenly kings, and he commanded eighty thousand immortal officers.

Xi bowed low and kowtowed, saying: “I am only an ordinary junior in the dusty world; to meet a sage and have dead bone put on living flesh again is a fortune rare in a thousand lives. If I could remain at your side as one who sweeps and cleans; when you travel, serve as guard and charioteer—that would be my wish and my honor. Now you grant me so lofty a station and such rich favor; I truly lack the virtue to bear it and dare not accept.”

Laojun said: “You have long yearned for the Great Dao and quietly accumulated De; your virtue has reached the ears of Heaven; you have also cultivated diligently and already achieved mysterious merit. This is not partial favor on my part—you need only keep striving.”

Unable to decline further, Xi kowtowed again and accepted the appointment.

From that time on, Taiguan Shengmu was at last able to rise into the air, attend Laojun’s carriage, and travel in every direction. Laojun then expounded the Yuanyang Jing (Scripture of Original Yang) for her. More than two hundred people in her household, young and old alike, ascended to heaven with her at once.

Laojun judged that the Taiguan family had built up merit generation after generation until their fame reached the heavens and they met the conditions for ascent; for that reason he took bodily form and was born into her home.

Sites associated with this story still survive in Chengdu: Qingyang Palace (Palace of the Green Ram), the Birth Platform, and Yuanyang Terrace. Le Penggui, Hanlin academician, recipient of imperial orders, and drafter of edicts, was ordered to record that the Taiguan clan had long accumulated virtue until their name was heard in heaven, fulfilling the conditions for ascent, and that Laojun therefore manifested and was born in their household.

The sites of Qingyang Palace, the Birth Platform, and Yuanyang Platform still survive in the Chengdu region. Hanlin Academician, Chief Protocol Officer, and Director of Imperial Edicts Le Penggui was ordered to compose this summary:

Eighty-one days correspond to half the lifespan of the Supreme Lord (Tai Shang); six million years mark the very beginning of the Primordial Beginning (Yuan Shi). The Great Dao is too deep to exhaust; its form is too subtle to fathom. It abides in the realm without form or image, existing already before the ages of Great Beginning and Great Change. The two numinous powers arrived together and opened the way to create and nurture the myriad things; the three original breaths (san qi) surged and mingled, the primordial qi dispersed, and the embryo of the ten thousand things was conceived. Heaven-and-earth qi had not yet settled; pure and turbid qi began to separate and congeal. The Dao is the root of all breaths; De (Virtue/Power) is the ancestor of the ten thousand things.

It is also said: The Supreme Lord rode the chariot formed from De and moved beyond chaos; he held the scepter that symbolizes longevity and directed the myriad things before heaven and earth were opened. Still and without deliberate action, detached and self-sufficient. He made what was originally unchanging change, and the myriad forms thereby took shape; he gave life to what originally had no life, and living beings thereby multiplied.

It is also said: After the deep origin was opened, the nine harmonies ceaselessly steamed and transformed; when the Mysterious Origin (Xuan Yuan) was greatly unfolded, the six directions of space turned without pause. The Supreme Lord established the supreme teaching that admits no second, tracing back to the one true root. He first appeared in the Green Cycle (Qing Yun); when the Green Cycle ended, he came and went in the Red Brightness (Chi Ming), until the Red Brightness too came to an end. Ages of ninety-nine trillion years were gathered into a pellet; five thousand five hundred layers of heaven were hidden within an eggshell.

When King Wu Ding of Yin (Shang) held the throne and King Wen of Zhou expounded the Yijing, divine light entered the jade womb and auspicious qi condensed into bones of gold. His body was whole and unimpaired, and his lifespan exceeded eighty years; he descended with auspicious signs at birth, and his years surpassed those of ordinary people by more than twenty thousand days and nights. He practiced the principle of non-extinction and held the text of long life; he looked down before the Qi Ford and gazed below beyond the undifferentiated chaos (at the juncture between cosmic chaos and the opening of heaven and earth). In accord with the times he established teaching and became the model for all antiquity; in responding to change he had no fixed limit and became the standard for successive emperors. Thus it can be known that the Great Dao is the head of the Three Teachings, and supreme De is the common foundation of emperors through the ages.

Qingyang Market (Qingyang Ji), according to historical records, is the place where the Supreme Mysterious Primordial Celestial Emperor—that is, Laozi—was born a second time. When the Yin dynasty’s rule declined and the Zhou dynasty’s virtue waned, Laozi served as Keeper of Archives, moving among the world without showing his full stature; later he left his post as Master of Archives and hid his traces. He departed the court, crossed westward beyond Hangu Pass, riding in a cart drawn by a green ox, with his attendant Xu Jia as driver. Yin Xi read the winds and knew the Lord of the Dao was coming.

After a brief parting they passed long ages; when they met again, they long followed the way of Huang-Lao (the Yellow Emperor and Laozi). Laozi secretly transmitted esoteric formulas and quietly entrusted subtle words, agreeing to meet again after a thousand days. He then paid a brief visit to the Lord of Primordial Beginning (Yuanshi Tianzun), then ascended to the highest heaven, forever upholding the way of the founding master, returning to a realm beyond image and speech.

Thereupon the Green Emperor (Qing Di), sovereign of the east, sent the Azure Dragon to take the form of a green sheep and appear in Shu Commandery; he also rode purple clouds to the Purple Palace (Zi Fu) in heaven and brought purple qi down upon the royal palace. Legend says the child’s crying ceased at that moment; when Yin Xi heard the good news, the infant no longer wept. At first the child appeared as a newborn; later he changed into an old man with white hair, and so on.

The inscription reads: At the first opening of the source of the cosmos, countless kalpas passed. The great Dao is dim and hard to grasp—deep and subtle, prior to the sovereign of all things. In utmost beginning the Dao could lie hidden; in utmost inception it came to be inherited again. Heaven and earth were still in chaos; clear and turbid qi had not yet divided; before heaven and earth took shape, myriads of years had already elapsed.

The Dao established teaching, adapting to different capacities; responding to change without obstruction. Thus the Three Sovereigns grew more enlightened and the Five Emperors more wise; the realm was at peace and all living beings were relieved. Louguan (the platform where Laozi is said to have taught the Dao) opened the path of spreading the teaching; Hangu Pass preserved the trace of Laozi’s journey west. Yin Xi received guest and host ritual and expounded the teaching; the Dao was carried further to Shendu (ancient India), bestowing benefit on people.

The Dao has no fixed form, yet is the root of the forms of all things; it has no sound, yet is the root of all sounds. When it departs, none can send it off; when it comes, none can welcome it. We strain to call it “Dao,” strain to give it a name. Above the Grand Emptiness (Taixu) stands a city of gold; in depth and remoteness lies the White Jade Capital (Baiyu Jing); its radiance is inexhaustible, embracing the eight directions. All lands draw from it; all streams gather into it, yet it is neither drained nor overflowed.

Those whose practice is shallower may long dwell in upright peace and calm; those whose practice goes deep may long reach a state of great peace.

All nations draw from here; myriad streams converge into a vast flood. The wellspring of the Dao (the Way) is inexhaustible and never spent in use, nor does it brim over from fullness. Those who practice the Dao in a shallow way can dwell in stability for long and hold to the correct path; those who practice it deeply can bring enduring great peace.

It is also said: The Dao opens heaven and earth, gives embryo and form to the ten thousand things, governs the courses of sun and moon, and embraces heaven and earth entire. After every phenomenon has perished, the Dao alone endures. The Three Teachings—Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist—dispute which is highest; only the Dao is most exalted.

In the ninth month of the fourth year of the Zhonghe reign of the Tang (884), Jie, military governor of Xichuan, erected a stele at Qingyang Palace; that stele still stands today.

Here ends Volume Three of the Chronicle of the Sage of the Primordial Unity (Hunyuan Shengji).

〔Textual notes〕 The character read as ru (“like/as”) was originally zhi (“know”), emended following the Jiyao edition; mu (“mother”) is probably a mistake for wu (“do not”); ling (“order/command”) was originally jin (“now/today”), emended following the Jiyao edition.

Laojun said to Yin Zhenren: “You once wished to follow me on a distant journey; now that your Dao has been perfected, you may travel and behold the lands at the eight extremities.” Thereupon Laojun breathed forth the hidden script of the eight directions—the mysterious glyphs that open the way to the eight quarters—and transmitted them to Yin Zhenren.

After Yin Zhenren received them with reverence, he summoned the Eight-Scenery Cloud Carriage, a chariot woven from cloud vapor. Laojun mounted it, drove five-colored divine dragons, and raised the Flowing Firmament Yellow Heaven Cinnabar Banner, the ceremonial staff and pennant that mark passage through the celestial realm; a canopy of ninefold radiance and crane feathers covered the vehicle. Twelve guardian officers went ahead as guides, with divine soldiers bearing standards to clear the path; ninety thousand flying immortals followed in attendance. Lions led the way, phoenixes guarded the carriage, and the company soared through the air. Yin Zhenren traveled together with the Four Heavenly Kings.

They came to Mount Changyang in the Sun’s Grotto, broke off red branches from the fusang tree, and plucked vermilion blossoms from the ruo tree; they viewed the Blue Sea, encircled the Well of Binding, and passed the Palace of the Dense Pool. The Sun Valley Spirit King, the Blue Youth of the Bound Sea, and the immortals laid out cinnabar branches, crimson fruit, golden ford, and jade nectar—the golden sweet springs and azure wine of the immortal realm—to feast them.

Next they ascended the Ancestral Mountain, viewed the fields of spirit fungus, gathered nourishing herbs, and rested at the Penglai Palace. Then they traveled south to Mount Feng, climbed Green Mound, and passed through the Purple Mansion. Lady Taiyuan and Master Zifu offered ninefold-radiance sweet dew, white-patterned royal essence, and green-forest white seeds—treasures of the immortal halls. Green Mound is also called Xiao Mound; it yields ninefold-radiance spirit blossoms and cloth from the Fire Court.

They climbed Mount Changli, crossed Red Ford, and entered the Great Cinnabar Palace. The Lady of the Southern Pole set out jade flowers, jade wine, and red spirit fire dates to entertain them. At Crimson Mountain they viewed the land of flowing fire and rested at the Gate of the Vermilion Mound. Supreme Lord Huagai of the Great Harmony laid out cinnabar marrow from the Flame Ridge, flying cinnabar purple peaches, and liquid from the Leimai waves for the company.

Then they went west to the Tortoise Terrace, entered the Garden of Seven Treasures, and viewed flying dark-purple script. Passing the Flowing Essence Gate, the Golden Mother of Nine Spirits, Lady Taisu of the Primordial, offered jade-patterned dates, each fruit as large as a jar; she also had her attendants set out soul-returning spirit incense, dark-radiance jade peaches, and golden-purple interwoven dates.

The company crossed the Weak Water, ascended Phoenix Mountain, encircled the Jade Pool, and rested on Mount Kunwu. The White Emperor Heavenly Lord gathered seven-name stone fungus, flowing-essence jade paste, and golden-light cinnabar nectar and presented them.

Traveling north, they visited Mount Kongtong and passed the Palace of Cavern Yin. The True Lord of the Northern Pole offered thousand-knot divine grass, dark-cloud plums, and hollow-cavity melons—melons that ripen only once every four kalpas. Then they climbed the Dark Mound, viewed the eight refining pools of the northern yin, and rested at the Broad Cold Ruins. the Immortal Lord of Great Mystery offered crimson-tree cinnabar fruit and three-dark purple fruit.

At last they ascended again the Central Peak, Mount Kunlun.

What is meant here is not the Five Sacred Mountains as people speak of them in the human world, but divine mountains on the sea: the Eastern Peak is called Guangsang, the Southern Peak Changli, the Western Peak Linong, the Northern Peak Guangye, and the Central Peak Kunlun.

On Kunlun stand the Mystic Park (Xuanyuan) and the Jade Terrace (Yaotai). Entering them, one can hear the wind and see groves of the seven treasures; one hears the phoenixes of nine auspicious signs calling; looking up, sun, moon, and stars shine together; looking down, the four quarters of the world (as scriptures of Buddhism and Daoism call the entire realm) seem to lie in the palm of one’s hand.

There are golden platforms, jade towers, and palaces of the seven treasures, bright day and night—the place where the Celestial Emperor and divine kings roam and dwell. On each of the four sides of the palace are one hundred and forty gates; all around are groves fashioned from pearls, jade, and the seven treasures, bearing purple flowers, red fruit, green leaves, and blossoms like fine jade. Zithers and lutes play in harmony, every note in tune. True persons (Zhenren) of the Nine Chambers of Grand Mystery live here. The celestial kitchen (tiancu) naturally provides food and drink, and one may come and go without restriction; the ceremonial regalia and music and dance are surpassingly fine, beyond full description. This is indeed the pure capital of heaven and earth, and a grand gathering place where gods and true persons assemble.

When True Person Yin first served in the office of Celestial Child (Tianzhen), he accompanied Laojun (the Grand Supreme Elder) on travels to this place. They also toured the Five Sacred Mountains and famous peaks of the world, grotto-heavens and palace-temples, and the four seas, rivers, and water palaces at the sources of the abyss. The chief deities of these places are called either Sacred Emperor (Shengdi) or True King (Zhenwang), and some are titled Duke or Marquis. When people sought instruction from them, the topics often included heaven and earth, sun and moon and stars, yin and yang and seasonal qi, the length of cosmic cycles (jieyun), the allotted span and lifespan of emperors, the safety or ruin and rise or fall of states, the fortune and misfortune of the multitude, and the ranks and ascent or descent of those who study the Dao and attain immortality. They also spoke of methods to harmonize yin and yang qi and to restrain and dissolve the disasters of Yang Nine and Bai Six; or they inquired into the root of De (Virtue/Power) and the subtle, hidden purport of the teaching. Laojun answered according to what was asked, but his words were profound and elusive, hard to fathom.

The Scripture of Constant Clarity and Stillness was once transmitted when Xiwangmu (Queen Mother of the West) visited Guatai in the western realm. Ge Xiangong said: “Long ago I passed this scripture to the Emperor Lord of the Eastern Flower (Donghua Dijun); he in turn passed it to the Emperor Lord of the Golden Gate (Jinque Dijun), who passed it to Xiwangmu. Xiwangmu had always transmitted it orally and had not written it down; only now have I set it in writing.”

Laozi said to Yin Xi: “I will take you up to attend at Yuchen and wander through the immortal lords’ realm.” As soon as he finished speaking, ethereal immortal music sounded from all eight directions, dark clouds gathered from every side, and they rose slowly into the heights. They then traveled through the Nine Heavens; the emperor lords of all heavens came forward to welcome Laozi. Laozi entered their palaces, where were laid out treasures like jade, nectar like sweet dew, lingzhi fungus and immortal fruit; radiance filled the banquet hall. Celestial music played in full array, and immortal songs were surpassingly fine. The various heavenly emperors and perfected ones all bowed to Laozi and asked him about the Way of nature’s supremacy, the mystery of utmost truth, and the unity of the sovereign (Diyi zhi dao).

After that, the Perfected Lord of Great Presence of the Upper Origin (Shangyuan Dayou Zhengong), the Immortal Lord of the Supreme Ultimate of the Middle Origin (Zhongyuan Taiji Xiangong), and the Immortal Patriarch of the Grand Clarity of the Lower Origin (Xiayuan Taiqing Xianbo rode chariots of jade-green clouds and yellow mist, driving azure rainbows, qilin, and lions; canopies were spread by birds of flowing radiance—luan, phoenix, and crane. They held banners and regalia symbolizing sun, moon, and stars, capable of summoning perfected immortals, commanding demon spirits, and calling forth transcendent persons; at their sides followed one hundred fifty thousand immortal officials and spirit officers. Of these, seventy thousand attended the Upper Origin, fifty thousand the Middle Origin, and thirty thousand the Lower Origin.

Fifteen thousand people came to welcome him: seventy thousand from the Upper Origin (Shangyuan), fifty thousand from the Middle Origin (Zhongyuan), and thirty thousand from the Lower Origin (Xiayuan). Their chariots, canopies, ornaments, banners, and tally-staffs likewise differed according to rank. Holding incense and fresh flowers, they arrived through the air, bowed their heads, and escorted Lord Lao up to the Shangqing realm’s Rique Dancheng Yaozhu Palace (a celestial palace in Daoist cosmology). Lord Lao ordered Yin Xi (Laozi’s disciple) to pay homage to the High and Sublime Jade Dawn Great Dao Lord (Gaoshang Yuchen Taishang Dadao Jun). The Dao Lord bestowed upon Yin Xi twelve items, including Huangang danguo (firm ring elixir fruit), yinfu longzhi (hidden dragon fungus), and zhuying yuli (pearl essence jade nectar).

Yin Xi then followed Lord Lao to descend upon the Spirit Mountain at Tianshui, and afterward they went on to the Western Regions. Today’s Qiling Mountain in Qinzhou is that same Spirit Mountain. Below the cliffs still stand the Xisheng Platform and the Hall of the Sacred Countenance.

When Lord Lao first left the Zhou state, he went west to teach in the lands of Da Qin, Parthia (Anxi), Yuezhi, Wuhu, and Zhugan (India), styling himself the “Ancient Master” (Gu Xiansheng). The kings and subjects of those countries believed his teaching, practiced goodness and accumulated merit, turned away from violent and crude customs, and honored humility and courtesy—after which Lord Lao returned to China.

The Tang Huiyao (Institutional History of the Tang) records that Great Qin was also called Lixuan and Fulian, and lay forty thousand li from Chang’an. The land was level, with more than four hundred walled cities, and dozens of small states attached to it. The people were tall in stature and resembled the Chinese in appearance. Their kings had no fixed rule of succession; the people would choose a worthy man as king.

Laojun had long ago gone to various countries to teach and transform the world, but people did not know this, so the official histories do not record it. Only now, through the story of Perfected Yin (Yin Xi, who in tradition traveled with Laozi) going abroad to teach, have related accounts reached China. Liu Xiang’s Biographies of Immortals says that Laojun was skilled at nurturing essence and qi, dwelt in Zhou for a long time, and later left Zhou for Great Qin. The Biography of Perfected Yin says that Yin Xi at that time traveled with Laozi through the region of the Flowing Sands, and only afterward was able to set out on journeys together with Laozi.

Ge Hong’s Preface to Alchemy records that in his youth Ge Hong wished to go to Fucai (Fulian), so as to hear of the customs of lands beyond the seas. He said that Great Qin was quiet and reverent toward the Dao, the people were simple and good-natured, and the laws were strict and upright; when locals saw merchants, they all called them “men of Zhou.”

In Tang times, Great Qin once sent envoys to court. The envoys wore caps and clothing made of birch bark, also paid homage at an image of Laojun, donated funds to build a Daoist temple, and brought back annotations on the Daodejing and the Yellow Emperor’s Hidden Talisman Classic composed by Emperor Tang Minghuang. The scripture therefore holds that Laojun once reached Great Qin.

On this occasion Laozi again traveled with the Supreme Perfected Yin Xi to spread the teaching in Kucha (an ancient region of the Western Territories), where they stayed for a time in a mountain valley on the outskirts.

Long before, the King of Qinghe—that is, the ruler of the Eastern Pole Shilao Kingdom—had been reborn in a former life as Miaofan Heavenly King. Whenever Laozi passed by on his journeys, he would worship from afar and make this vow: “May the compassionate lord save and guide me, so that in life after life I may always take you as my teacher and in the end become a perfected immortal (a true person who has attained the Way).” Later, when his celestial blessings were exhausted, he was reborn in the human realm; by virtue of his remaining merit he became lord of the Qiang and Hu peoples—that is, Fantuo Lishi of Kucha.

After Fantuo Lishi was born as a human being, he forgot everything of his past lives and gave himself over to slaughter, often going out to hunt. Laozi could not bear to set aside his former vow, and so came to this place to instruct him. On one occasion the king went hunting in the mountains, saw a column of five-colored luminous qi (vital energy) rising straight toward the sun, marveled at it, and followed the light to find its source—thus he met Laozi. The king asked, “Who are you?” Laozi answered, “I am one who cultivates the Dao.”

A perfected person who has attained the Way fathoms the subtle and sees into the hidden, can adapt to the speech of every land, and even understands the voices of other kinds of beings. So when Laozi spoke with the Hu king, he used the local language. The attendant perfected immortals (zhēn among the hosts) wrote the exchange down and then rendered it in the language of the Central Plains (Zhongxia); later generations gave this work the title Huahujing (Scripture on the Conversion of the Barbarians).

It is like someone from Qi who can speak the language of Chu: meeting a person from Chu, he talks in the accent of Chu; when the conversation is put into writing on a scroll, he records it again in the language of Qi. One and the same person handles the whole matter—there is no need to call in someone else to translate.

The king asked: “What exactly is the Dao? I ask you to tell me truthfully.”

Lord Lao replied: “The Dao is primordial Qi—the original vital energy from which heaven and earth and the myriad things are formed—and emptiness (xuwu). It is chaotic and spontaneous, without outer form or inner substance, and without high or low. Heaven and earth are born from it; the ten thousand things take shape through it. It cannot be named with precision, so we call it ‘Dao’ only as a makeshift label.”

The king asked: “Since I founded this state, I have never heard of such a thing. Where do you come from, and why do you dwell here?”

Lord Lao said: “I am the spiritual root of the ten thousand breaths and the source of the path of immortals. In heaven I am honored by the multitude of sages; on earth I am teacher and sovereign to the myriad lands. Spirits of heaven and earth all fall under my governance. I roam in the boundless void, enact creation and transformation, array the sun, moon, and stars, measure heaven and earth, and fix the scriptural canon. The life and fate of all things in heaven and earth depend on the Dao Lord; whatever has form arises from the Dao. I was born from the formless and grew in the nameless; later I descended to become the imperial teacher, adapting to the ways of the age to teach the people—now I have come to the land of Zhou.”

Lord Lao knew the king’s nature was stubborn and rough, hard to instruct, and that he could not grasp modest, indirect speech. Therefore he spoke plainly, hoping to awaken him so he would understand the karmic ties accumulated in his past lives.

The king asked again: “May I ask: in that land of yours, by what methods do you teach the people?”

Lord Lao answered: “In the Central Lands I constantly adapt to the ways of the age to teach the people; now I have come to the land of Zhou.”

Lord Lao knew the king’s nature was stubborn and rough, hard to instruct, and that he could not grasp modest, indirect speech. Therefore he spoke plainly, hoping to awaken him so he would understand the karmic ties accumulated in his past lives.

The king asked, “I am not clear what method I should use in this country to teach and transform the people.”

Laozi replied, “In the Central Kingdom I have habitually used the way of the Dao to teach and transform the multitude.”

The king asked, “What is the way of the Dao?”

Laozi said, “The way of the Dao is the Supreme Numinous Treasure (Taishang Lingbao)—the highest sacred Way venerated in Daoism. It existed before Heaven and Earth were formed; in its vastness nothing lies outside it, in its subtlety nothing fails to be held within it. Without it, Heaven could not shine forth; without it, Earth could not manifest form; without it, spirits could not enter the hidden depths; without it, human beings could not come into being. Thus the myriad things flourish and grow, all taking the Dao as their root. When a serpent attains the Dao it becomes a dragon; when birds attain the Dao they become phoenixes; when beasts attain the Dao they become qilin; when ordinary people attain the Dao they become immortals. If one can cultivate it, one may roam freely in the void, transform the five viscera and six bowels, change one’s appearance, command ghosts and spirits, and appear and vanish, shifting without fixed form. This is the way of the superior immortals (shangxian).”

The king said, “The Numinous Treasure you describe is indeed rare and sublime, but my wisdom and capacity are shallow; I cannot undertake such cultivation. I still do not know what method I should use today in this country to teach and transform the people.”

Laozi said, “Observing the customs of your realm, people harbor perversity, kill one another, harm living beings, indulge in lust and greed, and daily accumulate evil karma—only to sink themselves in the end. If you wish to preserve life and extend your years while alive, and after death avoid calamity and punishment, you should cultivate the dharma of the Buddha (Futu zhi fa).”

The dharma of the Buddha can cut away evil conduct from within and without without injuring the human body; for this reason it is called “Futu” (Buddha).

Laozi said: “Those who leave home to cultivate the Buddha’s way shave head and beard, wear plain-colored robes, bare one shoulder, and go on foot to discipline the body; they keep precepts, cease wrongdoing, eat at fixed times and repent, and often practice cessation and contemplation (methods of quieting the mind and observing thoughts) to discipline the mind. One who cultivates thus can, above, preserve oneself and protect the state, and below, avoid falling into realms of suffering.”

The king said: “That is indeed excellent, but my understanding is shallow and old habits long accumulated; I can neither keep precepts and practice cessation-contemplation nor wear coarse robes and go on foot. Still, military and state affairs are heavy, and I still wish for blessing and protection. Might I first practice zhongshi (eating only at midday), gradually reduce killing and hunting, and use this to teach the people?”

Laozi said: “You may.”

The king said: “I do not yet understand how to do it in detail; please instruct me.”

Laozi wished to transform this country so that all would believe in and turn toward the Way of the Dao, and said to the king: “Now allow me to set up a zhongshi gathering for you. I hope the king will lead ministers and people to attend, and thereby see how the rite is conducted.”

The king said: “Even if you have great spiritual power, how can you supply so many people for the whole country?”

Laozi said: “Please the king deign to lead the multitude here; do not worry.”

The king returned home, chose a date, and summoned everyone. Laozi spread five-colored clouds in valleys of the five directions; the clouds according to each direction’s color became palaces, with curtains and canopies inside; billions of flying immortals came to serve, and celestial food was beyond counting. The king secretly sent people to look and was greatly astonished; he then led the whole country to the gathering. When the seven days ended, Laozi again bestowed various treasures and colored silks on the king and distributed them to ministers and people.

The king reported to Laozi: “We have now seen how the rite is conducted; we wish to hold a zhongshi gathering—please lead your disciples to come as well.”

Laozi said: “My disciples are many; I fear the king cannot supply them.”

The king said in surprise: “Our country is vast and has everything—how could we not supply them? Set the date; we will gather then.”

Laozi said to Master Yin Xi (a legendary Daoist immortal): “The nature of the Hu people is strong and their hearts are not yet convinced. We may use this gathering to teach them by suitable means.” He then summoned immortals from throughout the world to attend this gathering.

People kept arriving to take part in the ritual feast, coming in an unbroken stream along the roads for more than a month. The Hu king supplied them with food and drink and set a date for the assembly. Laojun said to Yin Xi, the Perfected One: “The Hu people’s nature is hard and strong; their hearts are not yet won. We can use this gathering to find a way to teach and transform them.” So Laojun summoned the immortals of the world to the feast; they came without end along the roads, and for more than a month the flow did not stop.

The Hu king’s storehouses gradually emptied. Before the feast was even half over, he began to regret it. He called his ministers together and said: “How can there be so many Daoist masters and followers? I established the midday offering (zhongzhai) to pray for the nation’s blessing, and now it is draining my granaries. I suspect this is a plot by a neighboring state, sending people on purpose to ruin our country; otherwise they must be demons and ghosts. If we do not act quickly, the loss may be greater still. You must burn them at once to preserve my realm.”

The Hu people heaped firewood outside the city; flames and thick smoke rose to the sky. They also sent soldiers to surround Laojun and the immortals with him and forced them to walk into the fire. Laojun and the host of immortals went into the flames in peace; their forms appeared and vanished in the smoke and fire, and their bodies shone all the brighter. The Hu king then had them cast into a deep abyss. When Laojun entered the water, he stirred the waves and crossed the rushing current, and light still radiated from his whole body.

The Hu king grew angrier still. They set up great cauldrons and boiled water to death-cook Laojun. Laojun willingly entered the boiling liquid and talked and laughed as if at ease. The Hu king was finally struck with fear and knew he could not kill him; yet having gone so far, he felt it shameful that Laojun would not die. He hurriedly sent envoys to tell the neighboring states: “There is a demonic being who is now old, now young, changing without fixed form, hiding in the valleys of our country. We cast him into fire and water and could not kill him. He may yet raise demons and harm every state—send troops quickly to join in slaying him together.”

After about ten days, Hu soldiers from many lands gathered and surrounded Laojun together. They blew horns and beat drums, drew bows and held swords, and closed in on him from all sides. Laojun sat calmly in the center of the encirclement, at ease in countenance, without worry or anger. Before long, wind and thunder gathered from the four directions and heaven and earth shook. Arrows shot by the Hu soldiers and stones they hurled turned back and struck themselves; spears and halberds broke and fell; weapons and war drums lost their sound. The Hu soldiers were terrified and fled in all directions at once.

King Hu was seized with terror and trembling. He summoned his ministers and asked, “How could this elder not be a great sage? I now wish to serve him—what do you all think?”

They replied, “Your Majesty previously tried to burn him with fire and boil him in water, and shot arrows at him, yet could not harm him—is this not proof of a sage? We only fear that he harbors resentment and will in the end destroy the kingdom. We beg Your Majesty to take countermeasures at once.”

The king said, “That is so. I will go to him in person now, beg for mercy and for my life to be spared, and hope to obtain forgiveness.”

Thereupon King Hu bound his own hands and came before Lord Lao. He prostrated himself fully on the ground and kowtowed countless times, begging Lord Lao for pardon. At that moment, to strengthen their faith, Lord Lao said to King king, “I am the Supreme Venerable Sovereign (Taishang Laojun). I was born before the Wuji (the limitless), passed through innumerable kalpas, and delivered measureless beings. I am the honored deity of the thirty-six heavens, presiding over the three realms and governing the myriad numina; reward and retribution for good and evil in the world are none other than what I oversee. I pity you for the offenses you have committed, and therefore came to instruct you. You relied on power and acted arrogantly, would not follow the correct Way, yet still invited me to a feast and then humiliated me in return. Your sins are grave and have accumulated upon you; by now, however deep your regret, it is too late. The divine troops of heaven are about to destroy your state and cut off your line.”

Before he had finished speaking, King Hu and the others saw countless heavenly warriors, divine kings, and armored soldiers arrive. Riding dragons and tigers, they gathered in the air; their roars shook the earth. King Hu and the crowd cried out in terror and pleaded for mercy, kowtowing until their foreheads bled. Kneeling, they confessed their guilt: “We were born in a remote borderland of barbarians, by nature wild and foolish. We did not believe in the Way and its teachings, and even offended and insulted the Heavenly Worthy. When we weigh this offense, death ten thousand times would still be too light; to execute the whole country together would not suffice to atone. We only ask that you forgive our crimes and grant us life again. We are willing to follow your earlier teaching and never change until death. From top to bottom of the realm, all wish to practice the teaching and dare not slacken.”

Laojun said: “Stop, stop. Even if you knock your head until it bleeds, that still may not guarantee you will not regret this later. What will you offer as proof of your vow?”

The king said: “If the Celestial Worthy and the great sages forgive my sins and let me begin anew, I vow that men and women throughout the realm shall not marry in this lifetime, shall shave their hair and beards, and shall follow the teaching. If I break this vow, I am willing to die as witness.”

Laojun said: “Very well. You have now sworn a weighty oath, and that truly deserves compassion. Yet you have done evil for a long time, and strictly speaking you do not deserve forgiveness. To destroy your state and land, sink it ten thousand fathoms into the earth, and reduce it to fine dust would be, for me, no more than a flick of the fingers—not difficult at all. But I cherish life, and therefore I pardon you. You must fully keep my commands and must not turn away again.”

The king bowed and said: “I respectfully obey your command.”

Then the divine soldiers vanished, and heaven and earth returned to stillness and peace. Laojun admonished the king: “Now that I have pardoned your sins, you should practice the Buddhist teaching, enjoy blessings for long, and be reborn again and again in the human realm.”

The king and all the foreign peoples were both afraid and glad; they bowed low, pressed their palms together, and thanked him. Laojun then sent forth a light of kindness and mercy that shone upon the king. The king suddenly recalled his past karmic ties, repented in grief, wept without end, and bowed again, saying: “From countless kalpas until now, my evil roots have never been uprooted. Even when I gained a better rebirth, I soon fell again, like the rope of a well bucket going up and down—again and again I sank. Had I not met the Celestial Worthy, this greatly compassionate one, who pitied my old affinity and came especially to save me, I would have ended in evil paths with no day of release. Now I wish to renounce the throne, enter the mountains to cultivate, uphold the Great Precepts, and pray for the people of my country; in the end I hope to transcend the dusty world and leave the cycle of rebirth forever.”

Lord Lao said: “Very well. You wish to dwell in the mountains and cultivate the Way. Your wife, children, and ministers may decide for themselves whether to stay or go. Those who remain should practice the five precepts and ten good deeds; those who enter the mountains with you should observe the six precepts.”

The Hu king replied: “Yes—I have exactly that wish.”

Lord Lao said: “If you truly wish to hear the Way, first purify body and mind and keep ritual abstinence (zhaijie). When the fast is complete, assemble together and I will transmit the Way to you.”

The Hu king bowed in thanks and withdrew. He then renounced the throne and passed it to his son. He led twelve thousand five hundred men and women among his subjects who had resolved to turn toward goodness. They came before Lord Lao, kowtowed and knelt, and waited to receive the teaching.

At that time Master Yin the True Person (Yin Zhenren) had just returned from attending the midday feast at the Celestial Emperor’s court. A circular halo shone behind his neck and he trod upon lotus flowers. Immortals, jade lads, and jade maidens descended from the sky with incense, flowers, and celestial music. Lord Lao pointed to Master Yin and said to the Hu king: “This is my disciple, the Supreme True Person (Wushang Zhenren). I appoint him to be your teacher.”

Lord Lao had the Hu king and all who accompanied him first repent the karmas of body, speech, and mind, and the offenses committed through the six roots—eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind: hidden wrongs and open faults from beginningless time, the ten evils and five rebellious acts, adherence to heterodox paths and external teachings, and every kind of karma—including that of parents and kin through successive generations. All of this they were to confess together.

When repentance was finished, Lord Lao said: “Each of you gather your thoughts and settle your spirit. Listen carefully. I now transmit to you the five precepts and ten good deeds.

“The five precepts are: first, do not kill; second, do not drink alcohol; third, do not steal; fourth, do not commit sexual misconduct; fifth, do not speak falsely. Those who can keep these five precepts will have twenty-five precept-protecting spirits to guard them.

“The ten good deeds are: first, filial piety; second, loyalty; third, kindness; fourth, forbearance; fifth, giving and bestowing; sixth, diligent effort; seventh, offering and support; eighth, faith and devotion; ninth, exhorting others to reform; tenth, quiet stability. Those who practice these good deeds will have ten benevolent spirits of heaven to protect them.”

After transmitting these, Lord Lao further expounded for the Hu king and the others the ten precepts, the eighteen precepts, and the twenty orientations (twenty xiang).

After the ordination rites were complete, Laojun went on to expound for the various kings the Ten Precepts, the Eighteen Precepts, the Twenty-four Precepts, the Two Hundred and Fifty Precepts, and the Five Hundred Precepts that women were to uphold.

Laojun further laid down that the first, fifth, and ninth lunar months were the “Three Long-Month Fasts” (san chang yue zhai)—the three months in which one should observe fasting. On the first, eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth, twenty-eighth, and twenty-ninth days of each month were the “Six Fasting Days” (liu zhai), also called the “Four Heavenly Kings Fast” (si tianwang zhai). In addition, each month had the “Ten Direct Fasting Days” (shi zhi zhai); on these days celestial deities were believed to inspect human good and evil, and the faithful were to fast and recite scriptures.

On each of the Ten Direct Fasting Days, a specific supreme lord was to be invoked, and a corresponding hell torment was to be averted: on the first, recite Wuliang Taihua Tianzun and be spared the iron-cart hell; on the eighth, Xuanshang Yuchen Tianzun and the Mingling hell; on the fourteenth, Duxian Shangsheng Tianzun and the cauldron hell; on the fifteenth, Yubao Huangshang Tianzun and the wind-and-thunder hell; on the eighteenth, Haosheng Duming Tianzun and the bronze-pillar hell; on the twenty-third, Xuanzhen Wanfu Tianzun and the fire-shroud hell; on the twenty-fourth, Tailing Xuhuang Tianzun and the dismemberment hell; on the twenty-eighth, Taimiao Zhiji Tianzun and the diamond hell; on the twenty-ninth, Zhenhuang Dongshen Tianzun and the universal-plunder hell; on the thirtieth, Yuxu Minghuang Tianzun and karmic retribution throughout the three realms.

On these days, spirits of the ten directions and all heavens descend to observe people’s deeds. The faithful should abstain from meat for a full day and night and recite scriptures, thereby escaping the nine hells and guilt from retribution in the three realms. Those unable to keep the full fast might still eat flesh only from animals that had died of natural causes.

Laojun then addressed the Fourfold Assembly (the four classes of Daoist devotees): “The great king has now received ordination; I shall go to every land to teach the people.” The king bowed again and pleaded: “Holy Celestial Lord, you are about to depart on a distant journey; we may not meet again so easily. The whole realm has received your grace and cannot bear to part. We beg you to remain with us—master and disciples practicing the Way together—for thirty days; only then will we send you off. We earnestly ask your consent.” Laojun said, “Very well.” Thereupon the king, together with the crown prince, ministers, and common people, established a great ritual arena on a grand scale, laid out abundant offerings, and intoned hymns of praise.

The assembly had reached its appointed end, yet the King of Hu still wished to keep the True Person with him. The True Person said, “Very good—a fine offering of support. Good.” Thereupon the King of Hu, together with the crown prince, ministers, and people, established a great ritual ground on a vast scale, laid out rich offerings, and sang hymns of praise. When the assembly was finished, the King still wanted to detain the True Person. The True Person said, “The support has been excellent. I must attend my Master and go among the various lands to teach and transform; I cannot stay.”

The King straightened his robes, rose, advanced on his knees, bowed twice, and knelt with palms joined, saying, “Master, you are about to leave me, and I have not yet had the chance to ask you for instruction. Please transmit the essential meaning so that I may follow it all my life.” The True Person said, “I tell you: precepts are not the highest Dao, yet they are the stairway into the gate of the Way. If you can persist without slackening, a settled mind arises from this, and wisdom opens from this. A terrace nine layers high is raised basket by basket of earth; a tree big enough to embrace grows from a tiny shoot; a journey of a thousand li begins with the step beneath your foot.”

The True Person added, “The customs of your country are rough and perverse, and the temperament of the Asuras (spirits inclined to strife and contention) has not yet been cleared away. My Master established his teaching on softness, humility, and yielding. If you simply do not contend with others, then under heaven no one can contend with you. If you can achieve non-contention, in this life’s cultivation you may become foremost among people, and in a future life you may attain a wholesome fruition.” The King listened to the teaching, bowed his head, and thanked him.

The True Person said further to the King, “Come here. Do you know that the bodily form is illusory and that nothing in the world is truly real? If you wish to seek the peace of quiescence and extinction, you should remove defilements, still wandering thoughts, and not chase after desires. Whenever you cling to any single thing, you will drag down your original nature.” When the King heard this, he awakened on the spot, bowed his head, and said, “Yes, yes.”

After this, the True Person, together with the immortals and attendants, escorted Lord Lao as he departed from the guest realm. The people throughout the land grieved and could not bear to part, kneeling and bowing as they saw him off. The King of Hu then led his people into the mountains to cultivate the Way, instructing one another. Lord Lao next arrived in the land of Tiao-zhi. The king of Tiao-zhi honored an outsider teacher, a demonic master, whom he regarded as a sage; his disciples numbered more than three thousand, all supported by the state. The master had practiced various arts of magic there for twelve years, and the king trusted him deeply.

One day the king said to the sorcerers, “A great mountain in our realm blocks the roads, hinders travel, and dams the waterways, often causing floods. Can you remove it?” The sorcerers replied, “We can. Tomorrow we will move the mountain for Your Majesty.”

At that moment Laozi (the Supreme Lord venerated in Daoism) happened to arrive and sat beneath a tree, watching the sorcerers perform their arts. They formed hand seals with their fingers, and the mountain trembled slightly. Laozi knew the king might be convinced by the spectacle, so he said to Yin Zhenren (his disciple), “The sorcerers intend to move this mountain by magic. If they truly succeed, the king will surely believe they are holy men, and it will then be hard to guide him further.” Laozi therefore had Yin Zhenren use his spiritual power from a distance to block them, and the mountain ceased to move.

The sorcerers said to one another, “The mountain had already begun to shift—why has it stopped again? Perhaps someone with unusual power is interfering.” They climbed to the summit and searched in all directions, spotted Yin Zhenren from afar, pursued him, seized him, and brought him before the king.

The king asked, “Who are you?” Yin Zhenren answered, “I am a disciple of the Supreme Lord.” The king asked, “Who is the Supreme Lord?” Yin Zhenren said, “The Supreme Lord is a sage.” The king asked, “Where is your Supreme Lord now?” Yin Zhenren replied, “He set out from the land of Bin, teaching along the way until he reached here. He is now at the foot of the mountain.” The king immediately sent attendants to welcome Laozi.

When Laozi entered the palace, the king invited him to sit and said, “People say Laozi is a sage. We have a mountain blocking the roads, and the people suffer because of it. The sorcerers could not move it either. I beg the sage to remove this mountain for me.” Laozi answered, “It can be done.” The king asked, “How many men will it take?” Laozi said, “It is a small matter; no labor is needed.”

The sorcerers feared the king would no longer trust them, so they asked to try once more to move the great mountain that blocked the roads and made the people suffer. The king agreed. Three thousand sorcerers then worked their arts together, exhausting every technique, yet in the end they could not budge the mountain.

The king said, “I have exhausted my arts; please, Old Master, remove the obstruction.” Laojun then used his nine-section staff to push aside the barrier, and it was as if a clod of earth had been shifted away. The water flowed freely once more, and the ground was level again.

The king bowed and kowtowed, asking to take Laojun as his teacher and to serve the demonic master no longer. The people of the whole realm could scarcely express their reverence; everyone wished to take refuge in Laojun and receive his teaching. Laojun returned to the tree beneath which he had been sitting. The king invited him to live in the royal palace, but Laojun did not agree. The king grew still more devout and crawled on his knees to Laojun’s feet, kowtowing as he asked, “I have heard that sages do not go against people’s wishes. I beg you to teach me the wondrous method.”

Laojun said, “I have heard that those who become kings are no ordinary persons. Their virtue shelters all things; their conduct accords with the way of Heaven and Earth; they teach and transform the human realm and are sovereigns of a nation. If a king can follow the Great Dao, the state will long endure in peace, warfare will cease, and the people will live in security and benefit. If he does not follow the Great Dao, the state will decline and fall, disasters will strike again and again, and calamity will reach ministers and common people alike.

“A king should devote his heart to following the Dao and seeking truth. Then he himself will be spared harm, his line will continue, the realm will long be stable, fighting will stop, and the people will be well. Neighboring states will stand in awe and submit; the wicked will not invade; life will be long, as enduring as Heaven and Earth. The moon will not lose its light at night, nor the sun grow dim by day; fathers will not weep for sons, nor subjects turn against their lord. The king should take this as his standard, honor the Great Dao, and reverence Heaven.”

The king said, “I beg you to pity me, attend to my plea, and show me the essentials of the Great Dao.”

Laojun said, “I fear the king may grow proud and self-satisfied and easily lose heart, so I cannot lightly transmit the Dao to you.”

The king then assembled ministers and people and for seven days and seven nights observed fasting and made offerings. The multitude presented colored silks and gold as tokens of sincerity, held incense and flowers, kowtowed a hundred times, and earnestly pleaded again and again: “We have heard that the Great Sage spreads teaching far and wide, and the surrounding lands have all received the true Way. Our virtue is shallow, and we have not yet received your compassionate instruction. We beg you to expound the Great Dao, enlighten the ignorant people, and let the whole nation follow it for life.”

Knowing that the King of Hu’s heart was sincere and devout, Laojun said to him: “I have already sent my disciple the Supreme True One (Wushang Zhenren) to be teacher to the kings of many lands and to expound the scriptures and precepts for them. He clarifies the mind and restrains the body, so that in life people may be secure and at ease, without untimely death or sudden disaster, and after death may attain deliverance (transcending birth and death) and not fall into evil destinations (unwholesome realms). If a king reverently follows this, the merit and blessing gained are beyond measure.”

The King of Hu answered again and again, “Yes, yes.” Laojun said, “Good. Your Majesty may return to your official residence, burn incense, quiet the mind, and recite inwardly.”

Then the Supreme True One appeared in a transformed body at the royal palace, seated on a precious lotus, and transmitted to the King of Hu the Eighteen Precepts. The king rejoiced, joined his palms in homage, and declared that he was willing to give up his kingdom and worldly life, keep these precepts, and never break them. The True One also taught the Three Precepts to the king, celestial beings, and ministers who were just beginning to cultivate the Way, and the Five Precepts to those who had already subdued the desires of the heart.

The King of Hu asked again: “Supreme sage, when you went to the East in the past, was the way you taught and transformed people the same as what you teach today?”

The True One replied: “My teacher sets forth teachings in accord with the age. Long ago in the Divine Land (Shenzhou—the land of China), he taught all under Heaven through the way of immortals. From the Three Sovereigns to the Five Emperors, those who practiced this Way could become immortals.”

The King of Hu asked: “What is the difference between Buddhist practitioners (Futu) and immortals?”

The True One replied: “Buddhist practitioners turn the heart toward the Way, cut off the six roots (the stirrings and desires arising from eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind), and take emptiness and stillness as their aim. When they reach wondrous awakening and manifest their spiritual nature, they attain Buddhahood. Yet after the physical form dies, they ultimately return to extinction, leaving only a hidden spiritual presence. Immortals, through refining the true and verifying the Way, bring both body and spirit to a sublime state. They can manifest, ascend, pass in and out of being and non-being, and live on without perishing.”

The King of Hu asked: “Why not transmit this teaching to us foreigners so that we too can reach such a state?”

The True One replied: “The Way of long life is exceedingly precious; it is a method Heaven keeps secret. Unless one has long planted the roots of the Dao, how could one lightly hear of it?”

The King of the Western Regions bowed in gratitude, then built a hermitage for cultivation and residence and installed an image of Lord Laozi for veneration. After that, he traveled with the True Person (Zhenren) to teach in various lands and came to the kingdom of Khotan.

Khotan had long heard that Lord Laozi was on his way. The king led the whole realm’s officials and people south to Mount Qushan to welcome him. Qushan was also called Mount Tante. The people built a hermitage there and invited Lord Laozi to stay. He dwelt peacefully in the hermitage, neither drinking nor eating. The king and his close ministers came morning and evening to seek instruction and to receive the Way he transmitted. Lord Laozi then taught them the methods of purification fasts and precepts (zhaijie).

The king asked, “Holy Master, is what you teach only fasting and precepts? Are there other teachings as well?”

Lord Laozi said, “My Dao is vast and boundless. One must follow the world and suit the age, teaching each person according to who they are and when they live. In the land of China I transmitted the supreme orthodox truth and the limitless great Dao (Dao). Those who practice can leave the dust of the world behind and extend their years; when cultivation is complete, they can attain the immortal path, ride dragons and black clouds, and ascend in broad daylight.

“I also expounded the scriptures of the Three Caverns (San Dong)—the classic tripartite division of Daoist canon—together with their thirty-six sections, and the supplementary teachings of the greater vehicle, one hundred eighty thousand scrolls in all. From emperors down to common people, all who study and uphold these teachings receive rewards matching the depth of their practice and may realize the immortal path: some become highest sages, some attain exalted immortals. The ranks of immortals and perfected beings are high and low, thirty-seven grades in all; all can fly at will and transform without limit.

“There are also methods for refining the golden elixir and divine cinnabar, oral formulas for breath work and swallowing vital radiance to nourish qi, and practices for softening the body, harmonizing spirit (shen), and guiding and pulling (daoyin). There are scriptures on the three ascents and five refinements and on rinsing and governing the breath, as well as arts for gathering and eating spirit fungi and divine herbs and for refining gold and jade. As for hiding heaven and concealing the moon, transforming appearances, refining the form, commanding ghosts and spirits, and mastering heaven and earth, along with talisman charts, precious seals, jade registers, and golden writs—myriad precepts and thousands of classics—all are means to instruct later learners.

“These methods are to be passed only to those whose roots from former lives are pure, whose nature is simple and calm, who love the great Way and the true Way, whose sincerity never falters, and in whom body and mind accord. Only when these conditions are met is one fit to receive transmission. The people of your country have for many lifetimes been strong in temperament; they are suited to Buddhist methods (fotu zhi fa) to temper body and mind. If they practice diligently without slackening, when life ends they may enjoy blessed rebirth in the heavens.”

The principles of the Dao are subtle and profound. Even if they were explained to you, you might not fully grasp them. This is not because I begrudge passing them on, but because sentient beings, since beginningless time, have been greedy and indulgent, eating and drinking without restraint, so that their bodies accumulate impurity and their roots of karma grow deeper. Birth, aging, sickness, and death, together with all kinds of harmful influences, allow the hundred ailments to invade whenever weakness appears.

When sentient beings receive life, their endowments differ. Life turns day and night through countless births and deaths: some die in the womb before birth, some perish at the moment of delivery, some live only a year or two before constant change and decline, without a moment’s peace in a single day. This comes from eating too much and taking in impure things, so that the body is harmed inside and out, the viscera are injured, essence and qi are dissipated, and the body cannot long endure.

I do not eat or drink; I embrace the Dao, follow nature, and transform without fixed rule, and so I can live long without dying. I constantly expound scriptures and teachings to instruct and save sentient beings. Ordinary people, confused, often cannot believe and accept; I have long been anxious and compassionate on their account. Therefore I teach people to hold fast (abstinence and purification of body and mind) to lighten illness and suffering; those who can practice this gain immeasurable merit and blessing.

The king asked: “I have heard that a Buddha appeared in Jibin (an ancient region of the Western lands), teaching the Dharma and saving people—is that perhaps the holy teacher?”

Lord Lao said: “That is the teaching of the Buddha (Futu, Buddhism). Kings and common people in the countries of the Western lands have already taken refuge in the Buddha-Dharma. The Buddha-Dharma teaches abstention from killing and from sexual misconduct, so that the temperament becomes peaceful and gentle, and through this one receives the fruits of action, often being born among humans or in the heavens. Now that you already practice it, do not slacken. Inner and outer purity, a bright and clear mind—karmic offenses no longer arise, and blessings naturally increase; through many kalpas you may still often find peace and joy.”

The king believed deeply, paid respect, and received the teaching.

End of Scroll Four of Hunyuan Shengji (Chronicle of the Sage of Primordial Unity).

At this time, Lord Lao (Laojun), in the kingdom of Khotan, said to the perfected Yin (Yin Zhenren): “The teaching I have carried out has already spread throughout the Western regions, bringing heterodox paths to submission and guiding them back to the correct Dharma. Among all the lands, those who have already attained deliverance and those who have not yet attained it—I shall now gather them all together, awaken them, and lead them to enter the gate of the Dao.”

As soon as he had finished speaking, nine-colored divine light shone across the boundless lands of the West; whether near or far, in the blink of an eye the city of Pimo naturally became broad and level, the earth turned golden, and a great Dharma throne adorned with jewels was raised. Perfected ones of the three realms and spirits of the heavens likewise came at once to assemble.

The king of Khotan, together with the kings of Jibin, Tiao-zhi, Parthia (Anxi), the Great Yuezhi, Zhujuban, Kepanto, Humadu, Ghuldu, Kumi, Jiesu, Wuna, Jiuyuede-jian, Yeda, Wulah, Sphahan, Khuttal, Hedaluozhi, Persia, Shule, Suyab, Kucha, Fulin, Yanqi, Gongyue, Seni, Kang, Shi, Cai, Simopan, Cao, He, Greater and Lesser An, Muhu, Wunage, Xunwu, Khwarazm (Huoxun), the Western Women’s Country, Daqin, Varanasi, Dinawu, Jiamolu, Gandhara, Uddiyana, Tanling, Duolejian, Dashi (Arabia), Zhifu, Shuman, Tarm, Juyao, Cuogu, Kashmir, Karo, Buluoluo, Nepal, Sri Lanka (the Lion Country), Kushinagar, Vaishali, Kapilavastu, Shravasti, Zhanbala, Samatata, Wucha, Sujizha, Sindh, Ulisi, Huli, Segali, Mantuman, Niba, Yuediyan, Shemi, Xiaoren, Xuanqu, Tuoluoyiluo, Langjieluo, Shravasti (Sravasti), Magadha, Linni, and India (Tianzhu)—eighty kingdoms in all—came to the gathering.

The Tongdian records that the king of the Seres (Sai) resided in the state of Shuxi, in the Seres lands west of the Dushan range. The Seres were split among several polities; tribes such as the Xiuyan and Shendu in the region northwest of Shule all belonged to the ancient Seres. Shendu was the Brahman country, sometimes called Magadha; Han writers called it Shendu, also known as Shendu in another form (India). Yan Shigu explained that Shendu was Tianzhu (the old name for the Indian region), and that the Seres (Sai zhong) were the Shakya clan (Shijia); these names may differ only because of lighter or heavier stress in foreign speech. Shendu comprised dozens of small states, such as Shravasti and Varanasi. Local usage varied slightly, but all were grouped under Tianzhu, hence the phrase “Five Tianzhu,” also called the “Five Lands of India.”

The chieftains and tribes of the Qiang peoples were too many to count. From afar they saw the radiance and solemn, wondrous form in which Lord Lao (Laojun) appeared; they regarded it as rare and precious, and day and night they looked up, rejoicing and praising. Lord Lao displayed divine power, gathered them all in, and brought them before the Great Dao (Da Dao). Seated on his throne, Lord Lao received the kings, queens, and retinues of the various foreign states, who burned incense, scattered flowers, and played music, circling him in worship and offering; day and night they gazed upward, rejoicing and praising, and asked to hear the teaching. Lord Lao then expounded the doctrine for them. When the teaching was finished, he admonished them again: “You should constantly take refuge in the Great Dao and revere the Buddha (Fotuo).” At that time the king of Shravasti, the king of Magadha, and others…

The Tongdian also records that Magadha was a dependent state of Tianzhu, with its capital near the Heng River (Ganges). There is a mountain called Lingnu Mountain, known in foreign speech as Qijue Mountain. On its summit is a bluish stone shaped like a startled crow, whence the name.

They stepped back from the ranks, bowed again, then knelt and asked: “For those who take refuge in the Great Dao and put faith in the Buddha, how should they cultivate, and how should they reverently uphold the teaching?”

Lord Lao said: “Well asked. To practice my Dao, you should keep a pure dwelling, maintain reverence and solemnity, and let no doubt arise in your mind. Burn incense morning and evening, transmit the teachings of the scriptures, and never cease cultivating the Dao—clarifying it for yourself and helping others to understand. Perform good deeds widely and accumulate merit; explain fasting and precept observance to guide the multitude; stay close to enlightened teachers and care for those who come after you. Turn away from worldly entanglements, do not boast of your own merit, and always aim to deliver sentient beings. Welcome times of clarity and peace, dispense the medicine of the Dharma, and let the Dao be passed on. Do not scheme for profit, do not crave glory, and do not bully the lowly. Show respect to everyone; cherish the aged and pity orphans; treat kin and strangers alike. Do not kill wantonly; cut off evil deeds for good; and let your conduct constantly accord with the Dao.

“If you can do this, you will receive blessings in this life, ascend to heaven after death, and your merit will reach your descendants.”

Kings of Śrāvastī, Ujjayinī, Magadha, and other lands were willing to give up their thrones and devote themselves to the Way. Countless people present also aroused good resolve, kowtowed in assent, and declared their faith and willingness to practice.

Master Yin was about to accompany Lord Lao back to the Central Plain. The crowd clung to him, unwilling to part, and begged him to remain and teach sentient beings there. After hearing their pleas again and again, Master Yin said: “You think I am here because you see my form. In truth I am never moved—what coming or going could there be? If you must see me through a form, use five-colored earth, wood, gold, jade, and colored stone to make my image, worship it, and make offerings; I will respond and appear to preach the Dharma for you.”

He further admonished the assembly: “You all alike receive life from the One Primordial Qi (yiyuan zhi qi—the fundamental Qi from which heaven, earth, and the myriad things arise), and each of you has a true, constant nature. In the end you will be able to realize the supreme, perfect, omniscient Dao. Guard yourselves well and do not break the precepts. Do not eat after noon. When you have finished a meal and are about to rise, first recite silently: ‘Though the body dwells in the world, the mind is vast as empty space; like the lotus untouched by water, the inner mind is pure and free.’ Then bow to the supreme venerable one. Only after that should you stand.”

All present rejoiced, bowed, and pledged to accept and practice this teaching.

At that time there were also ninety-six kinds of outer paths (waidao—religious or cultivation lineages outside the correct Way), skilled at bewitching people so that the deception was hard to see. Lord Lao converted them all and led them onto the correct path.

When Laozi was about to return to the Central Plains, he took leave of the various non-Han peoples in those regions. They were reluctant to part with him; Laozi could not bear to go against their wishes, so he told them: “For now I shall return to Heaven. In Heaven there are sixteen kinds of things that excel at bewitching people’s hearts, yet people do not notice them. I will resolve them all and bring people back to the right path.”

When Laozi was again about to return to the Central Plains, he once more bid farewell to the non-Han peoples. They were unwilling to let him go, so Laozi comforted them, saying: “For now I return to Heaven to register and arrange the rolls of names for the human world and for ghosts and spirits; before long I shall descend again among humans. More than a hundred years from now, I will cause the Buddha to be born in your lands to teach later generations.” With that, Laozi mounted the Eight Scenery cloud chariot—the cloud vehicle on which immortals ride—while the Perfected Man Yin rode a white deer and the assembled immortals rode cranes. Immortal music filled the sky; celestial deities went ahead to escort them, and in this way they ascended and departed.

According to the Tang Comprehensive Institutions, General Account of the Western Regions, Khotan lay more than two hundred li north of the Pamirs, some nine thousand eight hundred li from Chang’an, with thirty-two thousand households. It was two thousand eight hundred li northeast of the seat of the Protectorate General and one thousand five hundred li east of Shanshan; among the large states east of the Pamirs, only Khotan and Shanshan ranked as such. From Later Han, Wei, Liang, Later Zhou, and Sui through the Zhenguan reign of Tang, envoys were repeatedly sent to and from the Central Plains. West of Khotan, most peoples had deep-set eyes and high noses; only the people of Khotan did not look very much like “Hu,” and resembled Central Plains people more closely. Since the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, imperial edicts, documents, and tally-credentials from the Central Plains court had been carried by envoys to Khotan, where the locals preserved them reverently. Five hundred li west of Khotan stood Pimo Temple, said to be the place where Laozi taught and transformed the non-Han peoples.

People of various Hu ethnic groups looked up to Laojun (Lord Lao), bowed again, and wept in grief. In the blink of an eye Laojun vanished; they could no longer see his form or hear his voice, and each returned to his own country.

Only the king of Chubin (Kushin?) named Fantuo entered the mountains to dwell in a jingshe (a quiet retreat where practitioners live in seclusion). For a long time he cultivated arduously, strictly kept the precepts, and taught the people of his realm to abandon evil and practice good. After death he was reborn in Brahma Heaven (the celestial realm spoken of in Indian religions).

Born in that heaven, Fantuo could know his previous lives and often recalled his former karmic ties, longing to hear the Great Dao (the Way). Laojun did not go against his wish and therefore commanded Yin Zhenren (Perfected Person Yin, a immortal lord honored in Daoism) to descend to the human realm and transmit to him the Way of empty void and eternal stillness (tiwu kongji changcun zhi dao — the path of realizing voidness, abiding in stillness, and what eternally endures) and the methods by which immortals achieve liberation and transformation (xiulian chengxian, changing form, or transcending the physical body).

The Hou Han Shu (Book of the Later Han) records that Pei Kai submitted a memorial to Emperor Huan, saying: I have heard that within the palace there are shrines dedicated to the worship of Huang-Lao (the Yellow Emperor and Laozi) and Futu (Buddha). These teachings are pure, quiet, and empty; they honor wuwei (non-action); they cherish life and abhor killing; they reduce desire and reject extravagance.

Legend says that Laojun (the Daoist honorific title for Laozi) went west into the lands beyond the Central Plains and began to teach Futu. Futu would not stay under a mulberry tree for three consecutive nights, because he did not wish to foster long-lasting attachment and affection; his spiritual discipline was carried to the utmost extreme. Heaven bestowed upon him a beautiful woman, but Futu said, “She is nothing but a skin-bag filled with blood and flesh.” Therefore he did not draw near her. By thus concentrating his mind and holding to oneness, he was able to attain the Dao. From this one can know that at the very beginning of Futu’s teaching, King Fantuo was the first to abandon his kingdom and enter the mountains to cultivate; he was also able to keep his resolve firm and not violate the precepts, until in the end he heard the Great Dao and realized Buddhahood—which is then not surprising.

The Laozi Hua Hu Jing Zan (Eulogy on the Scripture of Laozi Transforming the Barbarians), composed by Emperor Ming of Wei, states: Before primordial chaos (hunyuan—the state before heaven and earth were divided and before the myriad things had taken form) had even begun, Laojun already existed. He endured from before the dark, undifferentiated age of the Grand Beginning (taichu); without teacher or ancestor, he arose spontaneously from nature. The breath of true simplicity gradually dispersed and transformed, subtle and abstruse. Looking up at him, his radiance illumined the high heavens; looking down upon him, he was deep as a distant spring. He carried out teaching and transformation so that the two modes (liangyi—Heaven and Earth) could unfold, and again he illumined the three luminaries (sanguang—the sun, moon, and stars), arranging the patterns of heaven.

His nature was without desire, pure and singularly refined; he remained empty and still, holding to simplicity, with subtleties beyond words. Stir him and he would not become turbid; clarify him and he would not become clear; make him obscure and he would not grow dim; make him manifest and he would not thereby blaze forth. Who says heaven is high? The stars in the sky can mark it; who says earth is thick? Water from deep springs can be drawn from it. Yet even when the Dao is marked, it does not thereby become higher; even when it is drawn upon, it does not thereby become deeper. The myriad things receive form, yet none can exhaust its origin; humans likewise receive the Dao within them, yet none can know it in its entirety.

How truly beautiful is the Dao—the root of the myriad things and the beginning of Heaven and Earth! I wish to write it down, yet there is no brush or ink that can record it; I wish to embody it in person, yet there is no image by which it can be compared.

It also says: Laojun deeply pitied later generations, and therefore was born in the land of Chen, serving as the archivist-librarian (zhuxia shi—the office charged with keeping the canonical records) under the Zhou. After nine hundred years, at the boundary of the limitless, he said he would return to Kunlun. Afterwards his teaching spread throughout the Hu lands (the regions west of the Central Plains), and was transmitted further to Jibin (the region or people named in the scriptures as lying to the west), and later still to Tianzhu (ancient India). Thereafter he transformed and departed; the writings he left behind circulated in later ages, enduring without perishing.

After Laojun (Supreme Lord Lao, also known as Taishang Laojun) had finished his teaching in the guise of transforming Hu, he ascended to heaven. In the jiashen year of the fourth year of King Mu of Zhou, he came down to travel the Eastern Sea, reached Fusang, met the Great Emperor, and fixed and gathered the ranks and grades of the many immortals.

Laojun then sent forth another embodiment and descended to the Su Kingdom on the Western Sea, styling himself the “Great Physician King of Long Life, Sweet Dew, and Unsurpassed Light, the Emissary of Great Illumination,” to teach and deliver humans, celestial beings, and ghostly hosts. Wherever the Daoist teaching had not yet arrived, he enabled the beings there to gain deliverance. Before long he ascended once more.

When Zhou Mu Wang was young, he loved the way of immortals. The Queen Mother of the West descended to his palace, and he also obtained eight fine steeds. The king rode out in his chariot, with Ben Rong as charioteer on the right and Zaofu driving; they crossed the Weak Water, using fish and turtles to form a bridge, then ascended Mount Chun. He hosted a banquet for the Queen Mother of the West at Jasper Pool, then returned.

Mu Wang reigned for fifty-four years and lived to one hundred and four. By then Yin Xi had already gone to the drifting sands. The thatched pavilion he had built at the northern foot of Mount Zhongnan was still there. Mu Wang, longing for traces of the immortals, sent men in chariots to build a Daoist temple and ancestral hall for Yin Xi, and invited seven people including Du Wai to serve as Daoist priests in charge of offerings.

Chong, styled Xuanyi, lived alone in a quiet chamber, reciting the Daode Jing. He regularly regulated and nourished the “black fluid” (the vital essence within the body in Daoist cultivation) and practiced breath circulation. After more than twenty years of this, an immortal suddenly descended to his quiet room, with two attendants holding a jade-green casket standing at his left and right. Chong bowed and prayed; the immortal granted him a casket containing the Jiuhua Dan Jing (Scripture of the Nine Flower Elixir).

The immortal said to Chong: “Lord Lao and Master Wen Shi summoned the great emperors at Mount Bating in the Eastern Sea to collate and register the immortals. Immortals from mountain rivers and cave grottoes throughout the world came from however far to attend. At that time the Earth Bureau recommended you for your diligent cultivation, so Lord Lao ordered me to deliver the immortal formula to you.” Chong took it according to the method; his body then shone like jade, his five viscera were full, and his breath grew long and steady.

Later Chong again received from the immortal Lord Li the Taishang Suling Dongxuan Dayou Miaojing, continued his practice, and achieved notable results. He thereby loosened the bonds of the womb, cleared stagnation, preserved life and condensed true qi, commanded the host of spirits and penetrated the subtle; he could drive tigers and leopards, command the hundred numina, and connect the hidden and the manifest—his spiritual power was unfathomably deep, and he lived more than a hundred years.

In the nineteenth year of Mu Wang, year jihai, Lord Lao sent the Shangqing Primordial Lord down to welcome Chong, granted him immortal writings, enfeoffed him as Perfected One of the Grand Ultimate, and appointed him immortal king of Mount Wangwu.

Master Wen Shi’s disciple Mao Gui, styled Gongdu, studied astronomy in his youth and was also versed in chenwei—the art of inferring fortune and misfortune from hidden sayings and omens. Master Wen Shi transmitted to him more than a hundred Daoist scriptures together with secrets of elixir-making, and personally instructed him with oral formulas. After Master Wen Shi ascended as an immortal, Mao Gui was appointed immortal king of Mount Wangwu.

Mao Gui then cultivated together with recluses such as Du Chong at Louguan, a center of Daoist practice. At that time he was twenty-eight. He abstained from food, practiced qi circulation, and refined a divine elixir. When his cultivation bore fruit, he ascended as an immortal. Lord Laojun (Laozi as deified sage) enfeoffed him as the Perfected One of Great Harmony and charged him to oversee the immortal officials at Duyang Palace. Mao Gui often traveled abroad, carrying the divine elixir as he moved through the world to aid those with karmic affinity: sometimes he refined gold and silver to relieve the poor, sometimes he applied elixir medicines to save people in peril. All who came seeking help received the blessings that matched their situation.

Li Tuo studied the way of longevity. In the time of King Mu of Zhou, he came to the foot of Longqiao Peak on Jintang Mountain in Shu, where he refined the Nine Splendor Elixir. After the elixir was complete, he traveled the Five Sacred Mountains and the ten grotto-heavens for more than two hundred years; he also met Lord Feiyang at sea and learned from him the method of “water jade.” Later Li Tuo returned to that mountain to refine medicines; when that work was finished he left the foot of Longqiao Peak and refined the golden-cauldron returned elixir (a hallmark of internal alchemy). When that elixir was perfected, he was already eight hundred years old. People in Shu saw him generation after generation, so they called him “Li the Eight Hundred.” He cultivated on this mountain three times, which is why people call the mountain “Mount Threefold Study.”

Li Tuo’s younger sister was named Zhenduo. She followed her brother in the Way and lived at Mianzhu. Lord Laojun and the Three Masters of Primordial Antiquity descended and transmitted to her the method of flying ascent. She preceded her brother, ascending in broad daylight eight hundred years before him; for that reason the mountain there is called “Zhenduo Transformation.” That place is also the ancient Fushan Zhi of legend—a famed immortal domain or seat of immortal governance in tradition.

In the twenty-first year of King Li of Zhou, the year Jiachen, Song Lun of Luoyang lived at Louguan, devoted to guarding “embracing the One and harmonizing the vital breath” (baoyi chonghe—keeping body and mind unified and serene), and kept no company with the world. Each day he recited the two parts of the Daodejing and took herbs such as huangjing and baimu; thus he passed more than twenty years.

One day Laojun descended to Song Lun’s dwelling, with six immortal youths in attendance bearing documents. Song Lun prostrated himself and begged for instruction. Laojun said to him: “I possess the Way of the Central Radiance and the scripture of penetrating truth; they arose at the beginning of the Three Primes and issued from the court of the Nine Mysteries. By cultivating this Way one may unite the Five Virtues and gather the six qi, preserve true nature, and prolong life. If you can cultivate it, you will swiftly attain the immortal Way—moving in and out of being and non-being, penetrating the hidden and discerning light and dark, sharing the radiance of sun, moon, and stars and merging with yin and yang; transforming as the heart wills and ascending to Shangqing (the upper clarity—the immortal realm of Daoism). Now I transmit it to you.”

Song Lun bowed in thanks and received the teaching. Laojun then opened the treasured casket of scriptures, took out the Lingfei Liujia Suzou Danfu (Daoist talisman registers used in cultivation) and handed them to Song Lun. After Song Lun cultivated them, he naturally resonated with the Dao; six immortal youths in turn came to welcome and attend him. He could see things ten thousand li away and perceive the myriad things as if he were a spirit; he could gaze at distant cliffs and step toward them, and could tread water through peril without needing a ford or road. At times he transformed into an auspicious deer, at times into a turtle-dove, flying over the wilds, using such changes to test people’s hearts. Song Lun lived to more than ninety years; in the time of King Jing of Zhou he transmitted the scriptures, was appointed True Person of the Great Clarity (Taiqing zhenren), and was put in charge of the register of immortals of the Central Peak.

Peng Zong began learning the Way at twenty, took Du Chong as master, and received instruction in the five thousand words of the Daodejing, cultivating the “feminine-One Way” (ciyi zhi dao—a Daoist practice gate). He could go three days and three nights on a single breath, or recite the Daodejing twice in one exhalation. In the time of King Li of Zhou, Peng Zong was already one hundred fifty years old; Laojun summoned him and made him True Person of the Great Clarity.

In the time of King Xuan of Zhou, Feng Chang served as archivist under the pillar (zhuxia shi—a Zhou office in charge of documents and records). At forty he resigned his post and entered the Way, often reciting the Daodejing, and dwelt on Mount Zhongnan. Laojun sent the true person Peng Zong, riding a white tiger, to descend to his dwelling and transmit to him the Taishang Yinsui.

During the reign of King Xuan of Zhou, Feng Chang served as Keeper of the Archives under the Pillars, an office charged with the state’s written records. At forty he resigned his post and entered the Way. He often recited the Daodejing and lived on Zhongnan Mountain. Laojun sent the perfected man Peng Zong, riding a white tiger, to his dwelling to transmit to him the Taishang Yinshu (Supreme Clarity Hidden Scripture), a secret classic of the Daoist tradition. In the time of King Ping of Zhou, Feng Chang ascended as an immortal and became the perfected person of the Western Peak (Mount Hua).

In the forty-third year of King Xuan’s reign, Laojun passed through the Wei River region. The Zhou king went to pay his respects. Laojun said, “When the Year Star (Jupiter) moves north into the territory of Yan, the Zhou dynasty will decline.” Two years later, King You of Zhou took the throne. Today there is a Boyang Stream on the banks of the Wei—said to be the place where Laojun passed through in those days. Boyang was Laozi’s style name.

At that time, a woodcutter in the outskirts walked along singing:

“With a golden kerchief on the head, enter the Gate of Heaven;

Call upon the long essence, draw in the dark spring;

Strike the celestial drum, nourish the Mud Pill.”

No one at the time understood the words. Laojun said, “These are words that can keep a state alive; their meaning is hidden. They speak of cultivating the supreme and most perfect Way.” The phrases belong to the language of Daoist practice; in general they concern breath, inner contemplation, and nourishing and refining body and spirit.

In the second year of King You of Zhou, an earthquake struck the Western Zhou. The regions where the Jing, Wei, and Luo rivers flowed all shook. Laojun said: “The Zhou dynasty is about to perish. The movement of Qi between Heaven and Earth has its proper order; when that order is lost, it is often a sign that the people are about to rise in disorder. Yang cannot rise because it stays hidden; Yin presses down and cannot steam upward, and so the earth trembles. Now all three river regions have quaked—this means Yang has lost its proper place and fallen into Yin. When Yang occupies Yin’s position, the waterways block up; when they block, the state must fall. When water and earth flow freely, the people can make use of them; when they cannot, the land loses its usefulness and the people lack wealth. If Zhou does not perish, when will it? In the past, when the Luo dried up, Xia perished; when the Yellow River dried up, Shang perished. Is the De—the virtue and mandate—of Zhou today as decayed as in the last days of Xia and Shang? The sources of the rivers are blocked again; once blocked, they must dry up. A state relies on its mountains and rivers; when mountains collapse and rivers run dry, that is the omen of a state’s end. When rivers dry, mountains will crumble; if Zhou is to fall, it will not take more than ten years—that is the limit of its allotted span.”

That year all three rivers dried up, and Mount Qi collapsed. Three years later, King You traded jade disks for Bao Si. Laojun said: “Zhou has perished.”

In former times, when the Xia dynasty was in decline, two dragons halted in the palace court and said: “We are the two lords of Bao.” The Xia king prepared offerings and divination records, prayed to the dragons to leave, and stored the saliva they left behind in a wooden casket. For three dynasties no one dared open it. In the time of King Li of Zhou, he opened it to look inside; the saliva turned into lightning. A young palace maid was startled and later gave birth to a girl. Fearing discovery, she abandoned the infant.

In the time of King Xuan of Zhou, a song ran: “Bows and sack-shaped quivers will bring Zhou to ruin.” Xuan heard that a couple was selling such things and ordered them seized and killed. Terrified, the couple fled by night. On the road they heard an abandoned girl crying and took pity on her; they adopted her and escaped to Bao territory. Later, when men of Bao were punished for a crime, they offered this girl to atone—it was Bao Si.

King You favored Bao Si; she bore Bo Fu. You made Bo Fu crown prince and deposed Queen Shen and the former heir, Yijiu. Laojun said: “The calamity has already taken shape; nothing can undo it.” Before long, Zhou was indeed destroyed by the Quan Rong.

In the thirty-third year of King Ping of the Zhou, Lord Lao again passed through the pass and traveled to the various states to preach and teach. He then journeyed to the Western Sea and visited places such as Liuzhou and Linzhou, gathering more than eighty thousand beings: immortals from the ten directions, newly enlightened lords who dwelt beneath the earth, wandering recluses who roamed freely, and those who had been tested and granted salvation to become immortals through supreme filial piety and loyalty. He assessed each person’s merit and cultivation, and according to their level appointed them to five grades of immortal office and twenty-seven ranks of immortal posts, then ascended to heaven and departed.

More than a hundred years had passed since Lord Lao had taken leave of the Hu peoples in the various regions. By then King Fantuo—who in legend had been subject to King Binhu—had been reborn in the land of Shendu (ancient India) as a prince and was known as the founder of the Buddhist teaching (Futu). Tradition holds that on the seventh day of the fourth month in the ninth year of King Zhuang of the Zhou, in the year Guisi, at midnight, he was born from the right side of his mother, Lady Maya.

According to the Tongdian, the fourth month in the Zhou calendar corresponded to what is now the second month. Buddhist scriptures do not agree on the date of Shakyamuni’s birth: the Guoqu Xianzai Jing places it on the eighth day of the second month, the Yinguo Jing on the seventh of the third, and the Ruiying Jing on the eighth of the fourth, at midnight.

The Futu Jing cited in the Tongdian records that the king of the state of Linni fathered the prince Futu; his father was named Litouye and his mother Moye. Futu had golden skin and hair black and fine as silk. Moye conceived after dreaming of a white elephant, and when the child was born he emerged from his mother’s right side. He was born with a cranial protuberance on his head and, as soon as he touched the ground, walked seven steps. Linni lay within the land of Tianzhu (India), where there was also a divine being named Shalü.

The Shilao Zhi (Treatise on Buddhism and Daoism) in Later Wei states that Shakyamuni was the son of the king of Kapilavastu in Tianzhu; “Tianzhu” is the general name, and “Kapila” is one of its alternate designations. Shakyamuni was born from his mother’s right side on the night of the eighth day of the fourth month, his form adorned with thirty-two extraordinary physical marks, while thirty-two auspicious signs in heaven responded in kind—the Benqi Jing describes this in detail.

The account further says that Shakyamuni was born in the ninth year of King Zhuang of Zhou, which was the fourth month of summer in the seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu. There were celestial phenomena in which stars vanished and the night sky shone unusually bright, also noted in the Spring and Autumn Annals. From that time until the eighth year of Wuding of Wei was a span of 1,237 years.

The Bibliographic Treatise in the Book of Sui likewise records that Shakyamuni was born on the eighth day of the fourth month in the ninth year of King Zhuang of Zhou, emerging from his mother’s right side with the thirty-two marks and eighty minor characteristics. Later he renounced his status as crown prince, left home to cultivate the Way, practiced with diligence, and realized the wisdom of all modes (yiqie zhongzhi), and for this reason he was called “Fo” (Buddha). “Fotuo” and “Futu” are both foreign terms; rendered into Chinese they mean “pure awakening” (jingjue).

His beard and hair were curly, he was very strong, and he excelled at archery. At seventeen, his royal father arranged for him to marry three wives—Quyi, Yashu, and Luye—and he had two sons: the elder named Rahula and the younger named Kaundinya.

Twelve years later, when he traveled abroad, he witnessed the realities of birth, aging, illness, and death. Suddenly shaken and filled with dread, he recalled the karmic ties of his previous lives. He therefore left his home, went to Yucheng, and then went straight into the snow mountains, where he lived beneath an Alanhua tree and practiced the Way that Immortal Yin had once transmitted to him. Non-Chinese peoples called this tree bodhi; in the Central Plains it was rendered as “the Way.” After enduring every kind of hardship, he cultivated for six years and attained the Way. His body turned golden and his appearance resembled that of a Buddha, so he was known as Shakyamuni. In the fourth year of King Kuang’s reign, the renzi year, on the fifteenth day of the second month, he passed away in liberation.

At that time, the month jianzi was treated as the first month of the year. The old term “erti” was likewise translated in the Central Plains as “the Way.” He underwent hardships and, after six years of cultivation, attained the Way. His body turned golden and his appearance was like that of a Buddha; he was called Shakyamuni. In the fourth year of King Kuang’s reign, the renzi year, on the fifteenth day of the second month, he passed away in liberation.

In antiquity, people took “Jianzi” (the Zhou calendar, which made the zi month—lunar November—the first month of the year) as the first month. Thus the “second month” spoken of in old texts corresponds to today’s twelfth month. In India and the Western Regions, the Buddha’s passing is called nirvāṇa (a Buddhist term for the Buddha’s entry into extinction). The Suvarṇaprabhāsottama Sūtra (Golden Light Sūtra) asks: “Why is the Tathāgata’s lifespan so brief, that he passed away at the age of only eighty?”—that is what this refers to.

Some say Lord Lao (Laozi) was born on the fourteenth day of the ninth month in the third year of King Ding of Zhou; the Buddha was born in the twenty-fourth year of King Zhao of Zhou and entered nirvāṇa in the thirteenth year of King Mu of Zhou. On this reckoning, the Buddha’s birth and death both fell before Laozi went west through the pass. Some advance this view to show that the legend of “Laozi transforming the barbarians and becoming the Buddha” cannot stand.

But according to Liu Xiang’s Biographies of Immortals, Laozi was born in the Shang dynasty. The Shiben (Genealogies) also states that in the Shang he served as Keeper of the Archives (an official in charge of written records), and in the Zhou as Archivist under the Pillars (a Zhou court historian). An inscription by Xue Daoheng of the Sui likewise says Laozi served as Keeper of the Archives and Archivist under the Pillars in the time of King Wen and King Wu of Zhou. If Laozi were truly born in the reign of King Ding of Zhou, how could he already have been Keeper of the Archives for the Western Earl (King Wen of Zhou) in the Shang?

The birth and death dates of Shakyamuni are also recorded in both ancient and modern sources and cannot be altered at will. The History of the Wei (Treatise on Buddhism and Daoism) and the History of the Sui (Bibliographical Treatise) both say Shakyamuni was born in the ninth year of King Zhuang of Zhou. In that year, in the fourth month of summer in the seventh year of Duke Zhuang of Lu, the Spring and Autumn Annals records the omen “the star Dan vanished; the night was bright” (the star disappeared and the sky was luminous at night). Down to the eighth year of Wuding of Northern Wei, 1,237 years had passed since his birth.

Moreover, the Toutuo Temple Stele composed by Wang Jianqi of the Qi says: “The two lords Zhuang of Zhou and Lu personally witnessed the bright night; the Ming emperors of Han and Jin both left written records of it.” At that time the temple and stele still existed.

Temples and stele inscriptions from that era still survive in the Ezhou region (present-day Wuchang and surrounding areas in Hubei). Crown Prince Ziaotong of the Liang dynasty, Xiao Tong, once incorporated related texts into the Wen Xuan (Literary Selections). The Five Commentators’ note on the Wen Xuan states that the Buddha was born in the reigns of King Zhuang of Zhou and Duke Zhuang of Lu, and that the Dharma entered China under Emperor Ming of Han and flourished under Emperor Ming of Jin—hence the phrase “the two Zhuangs and the two Mings.”

Xiaotong himself was a devout Buddhist. If these claims were wrong, why would he have included them in the Wen Xuan? Later people, ignoring ancient books, invented new theories at will and even tried to shift the dates of the Buddha’s birth and parinirvāṇa earlier by thirteen reigns and more than three hundred forty years—a gross deception. Since the Eastern Han, many foreign monks (monks from the Western Regions and similar areas) had entered China, and they had all reported the matter accurately. By the time of the Later Qin under the Yao clan, more than three hundred years had passed without any conflicting accounts being heard. Yet people eager to outdo others now suddenly wished to discard the evidence of earlier generations entirely and accept only their own views—who would believe that?

In the Tang History, Bibliographic Treatise, the catalog of the Masters section lists Daoist works first, then texts on immortals, and at the end groups Buddhist scriptures together under the Daoist category without a separate division. When Ouyang Xiu compiled the Tang History, his notices on Laozi and Buddhism were very brief; only the Record of Tianzhu (India) mentions that in the Zhenguan era Tianzhu presented exotic objects and maps of its lands and requested that an image of Lord Lao be enshrined. Some who do not understand this still ask in puzzlement: Why did Lord Lao fail to convert the “barbarians” to the Dao, so that they became Buddhists instead? In fact, the Sanskrit word bodhi is rendered in Chinese as Dao (the Way); Buddhist scriptures also say that Śākyamuni entered the mountains to cultivate the Way and attained the Way after six years. From this one can see that “Buddha” and “Dao” can be used interchangeably—just as in China those who succeed in cultivation and ascend to perfection are usually not said to have “attained the Dao” but rather to have “become immortals.”

The Lotus Sutra, Devadatta Chapter, records the Buddha saying: “In countless kalpas long ago, I was once a king. To seek the Dharma, I renounced my throne and served an immortal (xianren) for a thousand years. That immortal then expounded the Wonderful Dharma Lotus Sutra to me. Today I have fully cultivated the six paramitas—the six practices that help a practitioner reach the shore of liberation—and am endowed with the four immeasurables (kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity), as well as the thirty-two major marks and eighty minor signs of a Buddha’s body, the purple-golden hue, and supreme perfect enlightenment.”

Thus an ancient Chan master wrote in the Mí Xù Fēn (Preface to the “Confusion” Section): Shakyamuni himself recounted how, in the past, he had given up kingdom and splendor to serve an immortal and learn the Way—hence the Lotus Sutra includes the Devadatta Chapter. Zhang Wujin’s Hélùn (Collected Commentary) likewise says that the Buddha’s serving the immortal shows how hard it is to meet a good spiritual friend (one who can guide practice); the immortal’s teaching the Buddha shows that the Dharma is passed from mouth to ear, while the Buddha understood with the mind and personally realized it.

Gautama had already served an immortal in the distant past—so the Way of immortals (xiandao) runs deep and long. The immortal preached to him until he completed the six paramitas and at last attained perfect enlightenment, which shows that the immortal was fully qualified to be the Buddha’s teacher. The Buddha appeared in the world because of a great causal condition and taught this sutra; he would not speak deceitfully. He did not deceive his own mind or betray his teacher, but truthfully traced the origin of his practice—precisely why he became a Buddha.

Fu Dashi of Shuanglin—honored as Maitreya in the world—still honored the Way (Dao) before honoring the Buddha (Shì), so he wore a Daoist cap and a Buddhist kesa. Hanshan of Tiantai, said to be a manifestation of Mañjuśrī, also wrote: “My home lies below green cliffs; the weeds in the courtyard are never trimmed; I have a scroll or two of immortal books, which I often read under the trees.” He also said: “Hanshan is like a tiny insect, white-headed and black-bodied; in his hands are two scrolls—one on the Way (Dao), one on Virtue (De); he often wields the sword of wisdom, ready to cut down the thieves of affliction.”

There is also a “Lament for the World” verse that says: “I am buried beneath wild grass and artemisia thickets; the dusk sun offers no light. Even if my mouth were hard as iron, I could not preserve this body. The body is already white, the hair still black; in my hands I hold two scrolls—one on the Dao, one on De; I often grasp the sword of wisdom, intending to cut down the bandits of affliction.” Another “Lament for the World” verse likewise says: “I am buried beneath wild grass and artemisia thickets; the dusk sun offers no light. Even if my mouth were hard as iron, I have no chance to read the classics of Laozi.” Privately considered, sages of former ages all understood how to honor Laozi and value De; scholars of later times do not probe the root, but instead discard their lineage and turn away from the Great Dao—a thing truly lamentable.

After Shakyamuni (the founder of Buddhism) entered nirvana, he ascended to the Thirty-Two Heavens, entered the Trayastrimsha Heaven (Jiaoyi Heaven), dwelt in Yanzhen Palace, and became lord of the Seed-People Heaven (Zhongmin Tian), with the title True Person of Kind Blessings (Shanhui Zhenren).

The Benxiang Jing says: When the attachments formed through cultivation are exhausted and mind and consciousness are forgotten together, one then transcends the three realms and ascends to the Seed-People Heaven. The Benshi Jing says: After the Buddha’s parinirvana he ascended to the Thirty-Two Heavens and constantly dwells at the position of the Kui star in the Plain Nurturing Heaven. The Kui constellation has thirty-six stars; the Buddha’s place is one among them. The Thirty-Two Heavens are the scope of the Seed-People Heaven; this layer of heaven is called the Plain Nurturing Trayastrimsha Heaven (Pingyu Jiaoyi Tian). Within that heaven there is another palace named Yanzhen. The “Xi” of Jiaoyi Heaven corresponds downward to the Kui lodge. The History of Buddhism and Laozi of Later Wei also says that the Buddha long ago attained the Way in Xihu (the ancient term for western regions) and now in the Thirty-Two Heavens serves as master of the Yanzhen office. Li Chunfeng of the Tang, commenting on the Golden Lock and Flowing Pearls, said that the True Person of Kind Blessings is the subsequent body of the Buddha of Tianzhu (India). Could such statements be entirely without basis?

Chronicle of the Sacred Sage of Primordial Unity (Hunyuan Shengji), juan 5, complete. At the end of the juan the text again repeats “serves as master of the Yanzhen office in the Thirty-Two Heavens” and Li Chunfeng’s remark on the True Person of Kind Blessings.

Chronicle of the Sacred Sage of Primordial Unity (Hunyuan Shengji), juan 6

Compiled by Master Guanfu, eminent scholar Gao Shi Xie Shoubin of the Song dynasty.

Wenzi, a disciple of Laozi (founder of the Daoist school), was also known as Xin Ping and by the name Jiran; he was the teacher of Fan Li. His Daoist sobriquet was Wenzi, and the book he authored is titled Tongxuan Zhenjing (True Scripture of Penetrating the Mystery). His ancestor was a prince of the state of Jin.

Wenzi once asked the Lord Laozi (an honorific title for Laozi): “What are Dao, De, benevolence, righteousness, and ritual propriety?”

The Lord Laozi replied: “Wuwei and formlessness (acting in accord with nature without forced contrivance; the Dao itself cannot be seen or touched)—inwardly they are used to cultivate the self; outwardly they are used to govern others. When merit is achieved and undertakings established, one draws near to Heaven; this is Dao.

“Nourishing and supporting the myriad things, helping them grow and flourish, spreading benefit broadly without picking and choosing, in harmony with Heaven and Earth—this is De.

“Occupying a high position without boasting, not treating small matters carelessly; broadly caring for others without selfishness, persisting long without decline—this is benevolence.

“When in high office, supporting the weak; when in low office, holding fast to integrity; when successful, not indulging the heart; when in hardship, not changing one’s principles; always acting according to constant principle, not distorting or obstructing fairness out of private motive—this is righteousness.

“When above, being reverent and dignified; when below, being humble and yielding; retreating, being harmonious and modest, dwelling in softness below, willingly taking the weaker, yin-like position; not daring to show force, and not assuming one is capable—this is ritual propriety.

“Therefore, those who cultivate Dao find that those below draw near to them; those who cultivate De find that those below heed their commands; those who practice benevolence find that those below do not contend; those who follow righteousness find that those below are fair and upright; those who value ritual propriety find that those below are respectful and observant of decorum. When all five are realized, family and state are secure. This is the sage’s way of ordering the myriad things.

“Without Dao, those below turn away; without De, those below resent; without benevolence, those below contend; without righteousness, those below become violent; without ritual propriety, those below fall into disorder. When none of the five is present, yet one does not head toward ruin—there has never been such a case.”

Wenzi asked again: “What is the root of governing the state?”

The Lord Laozi replied: “I have never heard of one whose personal conduct was well ordered while the state fell into chaos. Quietly cultivating the self, living frugally and nurturing life—then those below are not harassed, and the people do not resent. Therefore Heaven covers and protects the myriad things with Dao; Earth bears and carries the myriad things with De; the four seasons run without missing their sequence; wind and rain do not bring disaster; sun and moon are clear and bright; the five planets move in accord with their proper courses. Thus in governing the state, what one constantly hears is this: when personal cultivation is good, the state can be well governed.”

Calming the mind can cultivate body and spirit; frugality can preserve life. Thus those in lower stations are not disturbed, and the people do not harbor resentment. Heaven accordingly covers the ten thousand things through the Dao; earth accordingly bears the ten thousand things through De (Virtue/Power); the four seasons run without disorder; wind and rain do not bring disaster; sun and moon are bright and clear; and the five planets move in accord with their courses.

Therefore the root of governing the state lies in settling the people; the root of settling the people lies in making their daily needs sufficient; the root of sufficiency lies in not plundering the people; the root of not plundering lies in economizing expenditure; the root of economizing lies in reducing governmental vexation; the root of reducing vexation lies in wuwei (non-action).

Wuwei here does not mean calling someone who then does not come, pushing someone who then does not move, or failing to respond when pressed or when summoned. Nor does it mean stubborn stagnation, inability to adapt, or clutching things tightly and refusing to release them. Wuwei means not mixing personal selfish aims into impartial governance, and not letting cravings and desires harm proper law; acting according to how things develop, establishing achievement when the time is right, assigning duties to subordinates and requiring their completion, not doing useless work, and letting each thing function according to its name and kind. Affairs arise naturally; they do not all spring from the ruler’s personal power alone. Therefore when affairs succeed, the ruler does not boast; when achievement is established, he does not claim it as his own.

This is like using boats on water routes and sleds on mountain paths, opening fields on high ground and storing water in pools on low ground—all following terrain and conditions, not the deliberate forcing meant by “willful action.”

When ancient emperors governed, they too followed nature and did not credit everything to themselves: when affairs were done they did not boast; when achievement was established they did not keep it for themselves. Just as boats are used on water and sleds on mountains, and planting and storing water follow high and low ground, none of this is deliberate forced action.

In antiquity emperors were established not to satisfy the ruler’s private desires; when sages ascended the throne it was not so they could rest in ease and pleasure. Under heaven the strong bullied the weak, the many oppressed the few, the clever deceived the dull, and the brave intimidated the timid; those with ability refused to teach others, and those who hoarded wealth refused to share—so a Son of Heaven was set up to harmonize and coordinate. One person’s insight could not illuminate all under heaven, so the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers were appointed to assist him; remote regions differed in custom and were hard to reach with court favor, so feudal lords were established to guard and pacify them. Thus wherever the Son of Heaven’s orders reached could be governed; seasons did not miss their timing; officials’ talents were not buried; and the state’s resources were not left idle.

Therefore the former kings made laws: do not kill young in the womb, do not take eggs before they hatch; do not drain marshes to fish, do not burn forests to hunt. Before wolves and jackals have held their “beast offering”—the season when they catch prey, display it, then eat—hunting nets should not be spread in the wild. The whole passage stresses hunting by season and protecting reproduction.

Before otters have begun hunting and laying out their catch, one must not cast nets to catch fish; before hawks and eagles have begun hunting, one must not spread nets in the valleys to catch birds. While plants and trees have not yet shed their leaves, one must not enter the mountains to cut timber. While insects have not yet entered hibernation, one must not set fires to hunt, nor lay snares in the open country. Do not kill animals that are pregnant or about to give birth; do not take eggs from nests; do not catch fish below a certain size; do not eat dogs or pigs under one year old. Such practices allow the myriad things to breed and grow, flourishing like rising steam. The ancient sage kings followed the seasons in this way, made proper stores, and thereby enriched the state and benefited the people.

When water is muddy, fish become distressed; when government orders are harsh, the people fall into disorder. When those above have too many desires, those below harbor deceit; when those above demand too much, those below fight one another. Once cunning takes root, thieves and bandits multiply. To seek order only at the branches without treating the root is like digging a channel yet blocking the flow, or like carrying kindling to put out a fire—effort wasted to no avail.

The sage expends little effort, yet the state is well governed; his desires are few, yet provisions are ample; he does not deliberately bestow favor, yet people feel his kindness; he does not talk much, yet people trust him; he does not grasp for things, yet what he needs comes to him; he does not act rashly, yet people gladly submit. The sage keeps to his original nature and holds the Dao in his embrace, and the people of the world follow him like an echo answering a sound or a shadow following a form—this is called Wuwei (non-action).

Wenzi asked: “I have understood governing through Wuwei. May you explain the ‘teaching without words’ to me?”

Laojun replied: “Heaven shows itself as lofty, earth as substantial, sun and moon shine, stars are bright—none of this is accomplished through speech. When heaven and earth hold to the Dao that keeps them upright in their course, the myriad things grow of themselves. Yin and Yang and the four seasons do not intentionally create the myriad things; rain and dew fall in season without intending to nourish plants and trees; the breath of spirit intermingles, Yin and Yang harmonize, and the myriad things grow of themselves. The Dao means storing refined essence within and settling spirit in the heart, abiding in quiet, simplicity, and accord with what is natural. Yin and Yang and the four seasons do not intentionally create the myriad things; rain and dew fall in season without intending to nourish plants and trees; the breath of spirit intermingles, Yin and Yang harmonize, and the myriad things grow of themselves.”

Daoist scriptures hold that the Dao stores essence and qi within the body, allowing the original spirit to dwell peacefully in the heart, so that a person’s inner state is quiet, detached, and at ease, while outwardly broad and without fixed form, calm and unassuming. Under such governance, the offices seem free of vexatious business, and the court as if untouched by the press of human affairs: no one hides in reclusion, no one is driven to flee; there is no crushing corvée labor, no unjust punishment. All under heaven look up to the ruler’s virtue and submit to his rule. Even distant states and regions of unlike custom come to attach themselves after many layers of translation—not because the ruler visits every household to explain, but because sincere intent is extended throughout the realm.

Thus reward for good and punishment for evil depend on governmental orders; that orders can truly be carried out depends on utmost sincerity. Even when orders are clear, they cannot work alone; there must be genuine virtue as their foundation. When sincerity emerges from within, it enables those outside to grasp it in their hearts—this is the “path that does not speak,” teaching without words. The sage in high position holds the Dao in the heart and does not speak much, yet grace reaches the four quarters; therefore wordless teaching is vast without limit.

Hence when the ruler reflects, the spirit is not restless in the chest, and wisdom does not roam beyond the four directions at will; instead, storing sincerity within and embodying it in action, timely sweet rain falls and the five grains flourish abundantly. Nourishing the people from public-mindedness, authority need not be deployed; laws are kept simple and do not harass the people, prisons stand empty, customs under heaven are unified, and people do not harbor deceitful hearts.

When sincerity moves heaven, auspicious stars appear, along with the yellow dragon and the phoenix; sweet springs gush forth and fine grain grows; rivers do not overflow, and the sea does not churn with storms. If one goes against the Dao of heaven and harms the myriad things, the sun and moon grow dim or are eclipsed, the five planets run off course, the four seasons lose their order, day turns dark while night gives light, mountains collapse and rivers dry up, thunder rolls in winter and frost falls in summer—such celestial anomalies appear, and the state moves toward ruin. Between heaven and humanity there is mutual responsiveness and interconnection.

Matters concerning spirits and the divine cannot be achieved through clever scheming, nor can they be forced by sheer strength. Only the sage can align with the virtue of Heaven and Earth, respond to the brightness of sun and moon, communicate with the subtle power of ghosts and spirits, and harmonize with the cycles of the four seasons. He holds in his heart the mind of Heaven’s Way (Tiandao), keeps to the deep and subtle Dao (the Way), and maintains a state of emptiness, stillness, and peace. Even without leaving his hall, he can transform the four directions, change customs, and lead people toward goodness—as if good conduct arose naturally from within themselves. This is called “spiritual transformation” (shenhua): teaching and transforming through silence, without words.