《犹龙传》Vol. 1

Sima Qian established a format for historical writing, using imperial annals, hereditary houses, and biographies to record the deeds of ancient sages, writing as though he had witnessed their actions himself. Historians such as Ban Gu followed this approach. Although accounts of the sages’ births were also included in histories, most were brief, making it difficult for readers to understand the events from beginning to end. Despite my limited learning, I have carefully examined canonical texts both within and beyond the tradition and added material in the hope of giving a fuller account. Some transmitted records, however, contain claims that conflict and cannot corroborate one another. Since they all appear in biographies, I have not dared to omit them; I can only hope that my wording does not distort their original meaning.

Laozi’s surname was Li, his given name Er, his courtesy name Boyang, and his posthumous title Dan. There are different accounts of his birth. One says that in the seventeenth year of King Yang Jia of the Shang, a gengshen year, his mother dreamed while sleeping during the day that the sun turned into a luminous pearl and entered her mouth; afterward, she became pregnant. She carried him for eighty-one years, matching the sun’s number of nine times nine. Later, as she wandered beneath a plum tree, Laozi emerged from her left armpit. At birth, his hair was already white, and he could speak. Pointing to the plum tree, he said, “This is my surname.” Another account says that his father’s surname was Li and his name Lingfei, while his mother’s surname was Yin and her name Yishou. Laozi was born in the ninth year of King Wu Ding of the Shang, a gengchen year, on the fifteenth day of the second month, at the hour of the Rabbit, in Renli village, Wan township (also called Laiqu), in Ku County of the state of Chu, on the north bank of the Wo River.

During the reign of King Zhou of Shang, Laozi lived south of Mount Qi. The Duke of the West, King Wen of Zhou, appointed him Keeper of the Archives, an official responsible for the texts. After King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang, he summoned Laozi to serve as Historian beneath the Pillar. In the twenty-fifth year of King Zhao of Zhou, a guichou year, in the fifth month, Laozi left Zhou in a cart drawn by a green ox, driven by Xu Jia. When he reached the Hangu Pass, Yin Xi, the pass official, who was skilled at observing celestial signs, knew that a sage was coming and purified himself as he waited. On the twelfth day of the seventh month, Laozi arrived at the pass and transmitted the two Dao and De classics—the Daode Jing—to Yin Xi. The two agreed to meet again after roughly a thousand days at the Qingyang market in Shu Commandery, then travel together to the Flowing Sands. During the reign of King You of Zhou, Laozi returned to the Central Plains.

So Confucius went to the Zhou court to consult him about ritual. Later, he lived in an old dwelling near the Wo River. Riding a white deer, he climbed a juniper tree and ascended to Heaven. Some say he was Lao Laizi; others say he was Taishi Dan. Still others say he lived for more than 160 years, prolonging his life through cultivation of the Dao. He once studied with Rongcheng and sought guidance on the Dao from Changcong.

The character shi means “respectful.” The Shuowen Jiezi says, “Song: the leaves cover the trunk.” In an old edition of the Wenzi, the character was written as song, following its popular pronunciation. Writing it as zong is incorrect. People do not know whether this is really so; they simply call him the “recluse gentleman.”

His son was named Zong. He served as a general in the state of Wei and was enfeoffed at Duangan for his accomplishments. Zong’s son was named Zhu; Zhu’s son was named Gong; and Gong’s distant descendant was named Jia. Jia held office during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han. Jia’s son was named Jie. Jie served as tutor to Liu Ang, the King of Jiaoxi, and later settled in Qi.

Where Heaven and Earth exist, there are arts of the Dao. People who cultivate these arts have appeared in every generation, from the time written symbols and tally marks first emerged to the present day. Laozi himself was a person of spiritual insight, and was perhaps the most accomplished among those who attained the Dao. He could therefore communicate with the spirits and perceive the nature of things. He became the patriarch of the Dao, worshipped by the myriad spirits and revered as a refuge by beings in the three realms.

The Nine Elixirs and Eight Minerals, the Jade Liquor and Golden Fluid, preserving the true and guarding the origin, contemplating the spirits and surveying the organs, circulating Qi and refining the body, dispelling calamities and warding off evil, treating ghosts and nourishing one’s nature, fasting from grain, transforming the body, and commanding demons and spirits—all these methods were arts of the Dao that Laozi regularly practiced to save the world. Yet they were not the Dao’s highest level. The highest realm lies in emptiness, serenity, stillness, and Wuwei; in purity and simplicity; and in acting in harmony with the Dao at every turn.

Thus, although Laozi served in the Zhou court for many years, he never rose to a higher rank or status. Perhaps he wished to conceal his brilliance and blend with ordinary people, without appearing different from them. In his book he says, “My words are easy to understand and easy to put into practice, yet no one in the world can understand or put them into practice.” This was because people of that time scorned simplicity and purity, and admired the strange and the marvelous. Thus the ways of the world and the Dao diverged, and in the end both suffered harm.

People do not realize that the sage has existed since the Beginningless (before the universe began), receiving his nature from the Dao of Nature. He manifested his true Dharma body and established a lineage of transmission. Through countless cosmic ages, he created heaven and earth. Later, he ascended to a position of honor, governed the myriad spirits, presided over sacred scriptures, compiled charts of the immortals, transmitted precious secret texts, served as a teacher to emperors, and appeared in the world through successive births. These are the sage’s deeds in spreading the profound and wondrous source and bringing all things to fulfillment.

After coming into the world, the sage left a far-reaching legacy and held distinguished offices. Later, he renounced worldly glory and left the Zhou court, traveling on a blue ox. He departed the capital and went west through Hangu Pass. Using auspicious grass, he tested Xu Sheng, then transmitted the upper and lower books of the Dao De Jing to Yin Xi. Afterward, he ascended to the Purple Palace, the celestial realm where immortals dwell, and fulfilled an old appointment at Qingyang Palace. He then traveled west into the land of shifting sands, teaching its rugged inhabitants. Later, he returned to the Central Plains and met with Confucius, whose courtesy name was Zhongni, on several occasions.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Han, he was known as the Lord of the River. During the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, he transmitted the Taiping Jing to Gan Ji. In the Eastern Han, he also passed down the Fuhan Heshi Jinglu. In the Jiahe era, Ge Xiaoxian lived on Mount Tiantai and obtained secret scriptures of the Chongke tradition. During the Northern Wei, the Daoist Kou Qianzhi inherited this transmission. The Tang court honored and posthumously venerated the sage, calling him the Sacred Ancestor. After the Song dynasty was founded, Emperor Zhenzong ordered people to go and pay homage to him.

“Beginningless” means that the Dao is the root of all things: the Dao gives birth to Taiji, Taiji gives birth to the Three Powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, and the Three Powers in turn nourish the myriad things. Since the sage takes the Dao as his own being, he is everywhere. Looking back to before the Five Grand Stages—the five phases of cosmic generation—is called the Beginningless. When the three primordial Qi gather and flow in primordial chaos, he is regarded as the ancestor of primordial Qi.

“To receive one’s nature from Nature” means that the sage first arose from the Beginningless and later manifested as a true Dharma body. Everything happened spontaneously, yet no one could explain why; for this reason, it is called “Nature.”

Sages understand and follow the Dao’s natural character, and each receives according to their own capacity. In the flow of the Primordial Undifferentiated State—the original condition before Heaven and Earth separated and primordial Qi was distinguished—the innate nature of life is what is called “nature.” People differ in wisdom and folly, and in longevity and brevity of life. When such differences accord with the fundamental nature of things themselves, they are natural; when they depart from their function and actual circumstances, they cannot be called natural.

To see the True Body is to awaken to the source of true mystery. It originally has no form, for the perfectly true Dao has no fixed appearance. Only after Qi gathers and takes shape can it, with some approximation, be described in terms of form. The Lingbao Scripture says, “Above the Dao there is no other source; the Dao itself is the body.” The Dao’s body is the True Body. Below it is called the Dharma Body, the body through which the Dao manifests and in which subtle virtues are fully present. The Dharma Body is complete in its subtle nature and is the most honored throughout the Three Realms—the Desire Realm, the Form Realm, and the Formless Realm. The ranks of cultivation and degrees of spiritual achievement of the Nine Sages, Nine Perfected Ones, and Nine Immortals all unfold from this.

Sages arise in response to the Dao, guiding people and stirring their hearts, and so they establish teachings. Once the teachings are established, rules for transmission between masters and disciples follow. A scripture says, “In learning, one increases day by day; in cultivating the Dao, one diminishes day by day.” To begin with learning and continually add to one’s knowledge is to gain something; ultimately to return to the Dao and continually diminish is to forget. Without learning, one cannot understand; without letting go of attachments, one cannot attain the Dao. Sages therefore set aside the outward traces of what they have learned and do not fall into great delusion. To understand the Dao’s profound mystery, one must also let go of both cherishing and craving, until the distinction between master and disciple dissolves as well.

As for the passage of kalpas, the Three Realms and Nine Lands—Daoist divisions of the different levels of Heaven and Earth—each have their periods of formation and destruction. From the Four Heavens of the Seed People to the Great Luo Heaven of the Three Pure Ones, none are troubled by the calamities of the Yang Nine and Hundred Six, the great disasters that befall Heaven and Earth during a kalpa; nor are they affected by the immensely long spans of time represented by grinding away a stone or filling a city with mustard seeds. Thus, the Compassionate Venerables of the Three Realms and the Seed People of the Four Heavens do not truly come to an end even when a kalpa ends; and though all the sages may seem to perish, they do not vanish completely.

The one who created Heaven and Earth is the Most High, an honorific for the supreme divine being in Daoism.

The Great One (Taishang), the Daoist title for the highest deity who created Heaven and Earth, sent down the three primordial dark breaths. From them came the thirty-six Heavens and thirty-six Earths. Each Heaven has an Emperor of Heaven, and each Earth a Sovereign of Earth, charged with commanding the myriad spirits and governing all things. This is what the Scripture for Rescuing the Suffering means when it speaks of thirty-six above and thirty-six below.

Those who ascend to the imperial throne and rule over all realms model themselves on Heaven and Earth in their Wuwei (non-action). Though Heaven and Earth do not act deliberately, the work of growth throughout the year is naturally accomplished. Though sages do not act recklessly, the duties and undertakings of an emperor can still be fulfilled. The Three Realms and Ten Directions—the many worlds and regions in the Daoist cosmos—are vast and boundless. Without a sovereign who governs them all, or a source at which they converge, they would fall into disorder. The Classic of Changes says, “Once the low and the high are set in order, the ranks of honor and lowliness become clear.” People use distinctions of rank to discern relative standing, and promotion and demotion to mark changes in status. Sages, however, are not like this: they are like Heaven, naturally lofty and far-reaching, and Earth, naturally deep; they cover and sustain everything.

The “Chapter on Numinous Texts” refers to the Great Lord of the Dao entrusting the Great Cavern of Truth Scripture, the Scripture of Wisdom for Subduing Demons, the Precious Register of the Divine Tiger, and texts written on golden slips and jade tablets to the Old Lord to safeguard and transmit to those who seek to study the Dao and practice cultivation.

The “Chart of Immortals” refers to a chart of immortal beings and perfected ones, arranged in twenty-four stages of cultivation. The Compassionate Venerable of the Supreme Method for Ascending to Perfection through the Great Cavern of Shangqing brought forth this chart from the Qi of Dongyang. By cultivating according to its method, the Three Divisions, Eight Luminaries, and twenty-four deities can be made to appear. These belong to Daoist systems of inner cultivation and the conception of divine beings residing within the body.

The “Transmission of the Precious Treasures” refers to the tradition that, at the beginning of the creation of Heaven and Earth, the Celestial Worthy commanded the Celestial Perfected Sovereign to fashion seal script from the clouds. Each character was one zhang across, with rays hanging from its eight corners; these characters were the origin of the celestial writings. To explain the mysterious root, sages wrote them down as scriptures, scriptural registers, Fulu (talismans and registers), and charts. This gave rise to the Three Caverns and Four Supplements, comprising thirty-six divisions of scripture, which became the foundation for spreading the Dao’s teachings.

The entry “serving as an imperial tutor” mentions “being in Fu” and calls it the beginning of the celestial writings. To explain the mysterious root, sages wrote it down as scriptures, scriptural registers, Fulu, and charts. Thus arose the Three Caverns and Four Supplements, comprising thirty-six divisions, which became the foundation for the Dao’s teachings.

During the time of Fuxi, Laozi was known as Master Yuhua; during the time of Shennong, as Master Dacheng; during the time of Zhurong, as Master Guangshou; during the time of the Yellow Emperor, as Master Guangcheng; during the time of Zhuanxu, as Master Chijing; during the time of Emperor Ku, as Master Lutu; during the time of Emperor Yao, as Master Wucheng; during the time of Emperor Shun, as Master Junchen; during the time of Yu the Great, as Master Zhenxing; and during the Shang kings’ era, as Master Xize. In each of these periods, he instructed the rulers in the classics and Daoist arts, helping them promote moral teaching.

Laozi was conceived in the seventeenth year of the reign of Yang Jia, the eighteenth king of the Shang dynasty—that is, the year Gengshen. He was carried in the womb of the daughter of King Xuanmiao, and later was born in Ku County, in the land of Bo, on the fifteenth day of the second month in the ninth year of King Wuding of Shang, the year Gengchen.

As for his family lineage, Lingfei was his ancestor. The family rose to prominence after Zhuanxu, and several dozen generations had passed by the time of Lingfei. Lingfei married a woman of the Yin family from Tianshui; she was the Mysterious Jade Maiden.

Laozi served as a Keeper of the Pillars, an official in charge of records and documents. This shows how sages conceal their sacred nature and appear as ordinary people, taking humble posts to demonstrate the proper role of a subject.

Laozi’s departure from the Zhou court shows how a sage sets aside his status and joins the world in order to practice the Dao among people. When the way of the age was open, he stepped forward to put his aspirations into practice; when the times were unfavorable, he withdrew. His comings and goings were not determined by personal gain or loss, hardship or success.

Laozi tested Xu Jia because Confucius once said, “If someone is praised, they should also be examined.” Even when a sage can understand the truth at a glance, he still puts it to the test—how much more so in Xu Jia’s case? The immortal path has twenty-five trials, and wealth and sexual temptation are the first to arise. Xu Jia failed the trial of sexual temptation.

Laozi tested Yin Xi, the Keeper of the Pass, because Yin Xi had a deep affinity with the Dao, which is why their encounter came about. He passed every trial he underwent. Laozi then gave him the scriptures: to undergo the trials and pass them showed that his character could be trusted and his resolve was firm. A sage knows how to measure such things, so Laozi entrusted Yin Xi with the upper and lower scriptures, hoping he would spread the Great Dao.

The Green Ram Market was the place where the Most High Lord Lao and Yin Zhen (Yin Xi) had arranged to meet. They agreed to meet after a thousand days, and at last they met in a brief moment. Tingyue bowed in homage and, following the command, went with him in the cloud chariot. Afterward, Laozi transformed and guided eighty-one Hu kings.

The ninety-six heterodox sects came from regions around the Flowing Sands where customs differed and people had not heard the teachings. With faces like wildcats and hearts like wolves, they knew only killing. Among them were men and women who, when people bowed before them, would arrive at their command riding on clouds; later, they transformed into eighty-one Hu kings. The term “ninety-six heterodox sects” also refers to these people of unfamiliar customs from the Flowing Sands, who had not received the teachings and were fierce by nature, knowing only how to kill. Others, whether human or nonhuman, shaved their heads and trimmed their beards, wore black clothes and went barefoot, practicing various demonic arts and causing disorder in the region. The Most High (a Daoist title of supreme divinity) therefore commanded Yin Zhen to subdue them with the Orthodox Methods.

Confucius once asked Laozi about ritual. After hearing Laozi’s words, he exclaimed that Laozi was like a soaring dragon. When one sage seeks instruction from another, it shows that their understanding is akin; the sages honor the Dao, and in this way the work of teaching began.

A man known as the Master by the River appeared by the river during the reign of Emperor Wen of Han. He taught people subtle principles and later ascended into the clouds. The person who transmitted the Scripture of Great Peace was Gan Ji, who lived during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han. Gan Ji met the Most High in Langya and received the scripture from him. During the reign of Emperor Shun of the Eastern Han, Gong Chong, a native of Langya, came to court and presented the Scripture of Great Peace. In his memorial, he said that he had personally received the scripture from Gan Ji, who in turn said that he had personally received it from the Most High. The complete scripture comprised one hundred and seventy scrolls.

The figure who initiated the Celestial Master of the Han dynasty is described here as a descendant of the Marquis of Liu, originally a learned Confucian. He set aside his ambition to pursue official distinction and practiced methods for transcending the mundane world. Later, at Weiyue, he met a divine being and received instructions for refining elixirs, then went to western Shu to practice. The Most High descended and expounded the Scripture of the Southern and Northern Dippers, a classic on the worship of the Southern and Northern Dipper constellations, and transmitted the twenty-four ranks of Fulu (talismans and registers), credentials of Daoist religious office and methods of cultivation. The Celestial Master later warned people to guard against the Five Plagues, the Eight Hosts, the malign Qi of the Six Heavens, and other harmful spirits. He also transformed the land into a salty spring and established the practice of Zhaijiao (purification ritual), a rite performed at an altar to invoke the gods, seek blessings, or avert calamity. Many years later, he ascended to immortality in broad daylight at Yuntai.

When Ge Xiangong was practicing on Mount Tiantai, the Most High descended once again and transmitted to him the method of the Six Fasts, a practice of abstaining from certain foods and observing discipline on specified days.

The Daoist Kou Qianzhi lived in seclusion on Mount Song. He also brought down scriptures and ritual registers, and bestowed the honorary title “Perfect Lord of Great Peace.” He reported all these events to Emperor Taiwu, who then changed the era name from “Taiyan” to “Perfect Lord of Great Peace.” That is why.

The sacred ancestor of the Tang dynasty first appeared at the beginning of Emperor Shenyao’s reign, claiming to be the emperor’s forebear. He continued to descend many times, even during Emperor Xizong’s reign; all these events are recorded in the official histories. Our dynasty’s Emperor Zhenzong once prepared the ceremonial procession and went to Jingbo to pay homage to the sacred ancestor of Tang, thereby expressing his reverence.

The Biography of the Dragon’s Companion, Volume One

Compiled by Jia Shanxiang, Left Vice Commissioner, Joint Director of Affairs for the Teachings, and Great Master of Esteemed Virtue and Realized Truth.

Beginning with the Beginningless

Before Heaven and Earth had separated, and before spirits had come into being, there was the Dao, the deep and mysterious source. The root of what is called the Dao cannot be traced to its end, nor can its bounds be measured…

Before Heaven and Earth were divided and the spirits had come into being, the Dao was the deep and mysterious source. Its root cannot be exhausted, nor can its boundaries be measured. A great sage received the Dao and came into being at the time before all beginnings. For this reason he is called “Without Beginning,” that is, the Highest One.

The Highest One was born before all beginnings and arose without a cause. He is the forerunner of the myriad Ways and the ancestral source of primordial Qi, the fundamental breath from which Heaven and Earth first arose. The Dao has no light, image, color, or sound, nor any lineage or point of origin; it is remote and unfathomable. Yet it contains vital essence and Qi, real and not illusory, filling everything without limit. For this reason it is called the Great Dao.

The Dao is the mysterious source of Nature. Within the mysterious, emptiness comes forth; this emptiness is the True One. The True One can be called neither “being” nor “nonbeing.” From this primordial Qi arise the three upper Qi. These three Qi unite as De (Virtue/Power) and together generate the Supreme One. From the Supreme One arise the three middle Qi; these unite as De and together generate the True Ancient One. From the True Ancient One arise the three lower Qi; these unite as De and together generate the Highest One. The Highest One then gives rise to the three Qi that come before; these unite as De and together generate Lord Lao. Lord Lao transforms and brings forth the three Qi that come after, which in turn transform into the True and Wondrous Jade Maiden. The Maiden receives the three Qi, which congeal in primordial chaos and transform into a five-colored, dark-yellow substance. It is as large as a pellet and flows into the mouth of the Mysterious Maiden. When she swallows it, she conceives; after eighty-one years, Laozi is born from her left armpit. At birth his hair is already snow-white, and so he is called Laozi, the Old Master. Laozi is Lord Lao: the embodiment of the Great Dao, the ancestral source of primordial Qi, and the foundation of Heaven and Earth.

The Great Dao is subtle and wondrous, arising from Nature. It comes into being within what is without birth, preceding everything called “first.” It stands forth in emptiness, transforms and nurtures Heaven and Earth, and is called the Supreme One. The Great Dao transforms without constancy and cannot be confined by a name. Thus it is said: “I was born before formlessness, arose before the Great Beginning, grew at the dawn of the Great Origin, moved within the source of Great Simplicity, drifted amid dark, empty space, and came and went within the depths of the distant and still.”

At that time primordial chaos had not yet divided, clear and turbid Qi had not yet separated, the sun, moon, and stars had not yet shone, and the myriad things had not yet taken form. The Great Dao dwelt alone in a realm dim and indistinct, roaming across a vast, boundless wilderness. It stood apart, with nothing able to match it. Look for it and it cannot be seen; listen for it and it cannot be heard; reach for it and it cannot be grasped. This is the state of primordial wholeness, before Heaven and Earth were divided and the myriad things were born; from this, all began.

The Lord Lao, the Daoist honorific for Laozi, received the Dao of Nature. His form is ancient and mysterious. He abides alone in a realm elusive and hard to fathom, roaming through the boundless expanse between Heaven and Earth. He stands apart, immeasurably vast, with nothing that can compare to him. He cannot be seen, heard, or touched. The Primordial Origin—the original state before Heaven and Earth were divided and before the myriad things came into being—begins here.

The Lord Lao is the true nature of primordial Qi, the original energy that forms Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things, and the embodiment of Nature’s creative transformation. “Nature” means the Dao. If one must give it a form, that form is the Lord Lao. The Dao takes emptiness as its foundation and Nature as its inherent character: nothing can make it be as it is, and nothing can make it not be as it is. People understand neither why it is so nor why it is not so; hence it is called “so of itself.”

Even if the Earth were taken as a carriage and the sky as its canopy, and one raced and roamed between Heaven and Earth, flying beyond the eight directions, that would still not compare with the Dao’s vastness. Even if one probed the deepest and most hidden places, down to the tiniest measure, and analyzed the most delicate things, that would still not describe the Dao’s subtlety. The full array of the eight musical tones and the harmony of the five notes, or raging winds, crashing thunder, and surging tides, cannot describe the Dao’s sound. Nor can the brilliant interplay of dark and yellow, cinnabar and blue, with their radiant, splendid colors, describe the Dao’s hues. Shimmering light, mysterious and elusive wonders, the rush of wind and lightning, and the speed of thunderbolts and flying arrows cannot describe the Dao’s swiftness. Even roots reaching down to the ninth layer of Earth, depths sinking into the eight seas, waters congealed and marshes still, springs stilled and mountains standing firm cannot describe the Dao’s stillness.

The Dao sets Yin-Yang in motion and transforms in ways impossible to fathom. It drives creation and nurtures the myriad things, yet its wondrous workings cannot be fully expressed in words. Its radiance penetrates the darkness and sees into the formless. Looking up to observe the source of utmost Yang and down to examine the root of utmost Yin still cannot describe its clear discernment. The Dao can also make traces vanish and sounds cease, scatter the clouds and mists, and return to the root and source, still and unmoving. Yet even this cannot describe its emptiness. It cleanses the universe of its dust, sweeps away the gloom of the celestial river, descends to places without roots, and reaches upward into open space. It embraces the Six Directions and encompasses the Three Realms—the realms of desire, form, and formlessness in Daoist cosmology—yet even this cannot fully express its void.

The Dao has no form and no truly visible appearance. It manifests through emptiness and being, with substance and function appearing in turn; yet these still cannot exhaust its mystery. Thus all ultimately returns to “Nature.” Nature is the ultimate principle: taken as a whole, it is called “Nature”; considered in its distinct aspects, it is called the Dao and De. For this reason, all the sages honor it together, and it has endured from antiquity to the present. A scripture says, “The Dao is honored and De is cherished not because anyone bestowed this status upon them, but because they are so of themselves.” This is precisely what is meant.

Laojun is a supremely refined and numinous being who emerged from “nonbeing.” He can manifest in visible form. In the primordial expanse of the great void, he gathered mysterious Qi (vital energy) and shaped it into a visible body, vast beyond measure and solemn in appearance, perfectly formed. Above him there was nothing to rely on, and below him nothing to set his feet upon.

At times, Laojun appears above the clouds and rosy mists, his body golden and five-colored rays shining from his face. Deities arise spontaneously in transformed form: divine kings, powerful guardians, Azure Dragons, White Tigers, qilin, and lions, arrayed before and behind him. At other times, he transforms into a thousand-petaled lotus, radiant as the sun. He wears a crown adorned with the Seven Luminaries and clouds, a splendid robe in nine colors, and a round halo behind his neck; in his hand he holds the Five Luminaries, a ritual implement symbolizing light and wisdom.

At times, he rides in a jade carriage of the Eight Radiances, drawn by five-colored divine dragons. He holds a vermilion tablet of flowing clouds, while a canopy shaped like a crane and crowned with nine rays rises above his head. At other times, he rides a chariot with jade shafts and adamantine wheels, drawn by nine dragons and guarded on either side by immortals. A jeweled canopy of flying clouds circles above and below, shining as the chariot burns incense and scatters flowers, arriving through the sky. Heavenly music leads the way and follows behind.

At times, he sits in a golden hall beneath a seven-jeweled canopy, covered by pearl banners and a net of precious stones. Immortals and perfected beings sit in attendance, divine generals guard the carriage, and every kind of ceremonial escort fills the great void. At other times, he appears with a golden face and jade-like skin, dressed in yellow robes and an embroidered outer garment. Seated against a support and holding a fly whisk, he receives the homage of immortals and perfected beings. Sometimes he wears a dark crown and plain robes, rides a white horse, and is flanked by attendant immortal youths; his divine radiance shines brightly in every direction. The majesty and wonder of his appearance defy description.

Yet when people of pure and virtuous hearts quiet their thoughts and focus their contemplation on Laojun’s revered image, he appears in response to their devotion. Through this responsive encounter, they receive blessings. Thus Laojun can travel throughout the Three Realms and save countless beings.

The Great Dao is without form, and what is formless cannot be seen by ordinary human eyes. It can connect with beings in response to their thoughts and reveal itself through manifestations. For this reason, it appears in many different ways: sometimes in the wondrous form of an immortal, sometimes in a body of flesh and blood; sometimes flying, sometimes walking; sometimes appearing exalted, sometimes humble.

Whether it is in the mountains or among people, in remote regions or in the lands of Huaxia, the Central Plains, it cannot be measured. It manifests its clear nature in response to a stimulus, yet when it meets with people, it withdraws from sight. No one knows where it comes from when it arrives, or where it goes when it departs. It runs through being and nonbeing and extends everywhere. Those who awaken to the Dao are therefore open and clear in mind; those who lose their way remain sunk in confusion for a long time. The key to knowing the Dao’s true character lies here.

The Dao is inherently invisible. To mistake something seen for the Dao is an error. The Dao cannot be heard; to mistake a sound for the Dao is also wrong. The principles and teachings the Dao reveals are profound and subtle, while the Dao itself is still and unmoving. Yet within that stillness, it can enable those who were unable to see to see, and those who were unable to hear to hear. This shows how outer circumstances and inner wisdom awaken one another, becoming connected through resonance. Manifestation and stillness differ, yet ultimately return to one. Thus it is said: “The Dao constantly acts through Wuwei (non-action), yet nothing is left undone.” Wuwei is the Dao’s essence; leaving nothing undone is its function.

The Jing of the Original Origin says that there are two ways to contemplate the Dao in the mind. One is to envision the Dharma Body, the Dao’s manifested body, complete with seventy-two auspicious marks and eighty-one excellent features, subtle and perfect, supreme among the Three Realms. The other is to envision the True Body, which is like empty space: complete and pure, neither arising nor perishing.

If these images are still difficult to grasp clearly, one can use an image to focus the mind. One may cast an image in purple gold or make one from clay, wood, bronze, or other materials, according to one’s means. One can establish a shrine and provide curtains and a seat, then make offerings of banners, flowers, lamps, and candles. As long as one envisions the image with sincerity, as though personally attending the True Body, the merit is the same. If one can thoroughly understand the “body that is not a body”—the True Body beyond concrete form—one will see that, in principle, an image and the true form are no different.

Thus, when revering a divine image, the measure of the blessings received depends on one’s thoughts. With steady and diligent attention, one can naturally attain the Dao. This is what is meant by saying, “People can be mindful of the Dao, and the Dao is mindful of people.” By cultivating in accordance with the Dharma Body, one can respond to the feelings and aspirations of living beings through the sacred name.

The Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun, one of the highest deities revered in Daoism) was born within the formless, empty void. His transformations arise spontaneously from nature; his wisdom is boundless, and his sacred Virtue complete. His form cannot be measured, and his titles are beyond counting. In the heavens, he is lord of all the heavens; among the sages, he is sovereign of all sages; among the immortals, he commands all immortals; among the Perfected, he stands foremost among all the Perfected. As a star deity, he is the Great Emperor of Heaven; in the teachings, he is the Lord Lao, Supreme High One.

At times he appears under 1,200 titles, at times under 180 names. Sometimes he is called the “Father of Wuwei,” sometimes the “Mother of the myriad things.” He transforms in accordance with the movement of the Dao, and is the foundation of Heaven and Earth. Vast and boundless, he cannot be fully described in words. In brief, he has ten titles. It is said that after he descended into the world, sages from the ten directions of the sky praised him with these ten titles: the Nameless Lord; the Primordial Elder Above All; the Lord Lao, Supreme High One; the Venerable Laozi Above All; the Great Emperor of Heaven; the Great Dharma Master Amid Mystery; the Ancient Master of Being; the Emperor Lord of the Golden Gate; the Supreme High Emperor; and the Great Perfected of the Void.

From this, one may infer that the return from the Dharma Body—the transcendent embodiment—to the True Body, and the joining of the True Body with the mysterious source, both belong to the realm of wondrous manifestations and reciprocal responses.

On Teacher-Disciple Transmission

The mysteries of the Great Dao cannot be sought through form, color, sound, or taste; they must be received through a teacher’s transmission. The sages of antiquity possessed an innate capacity for understanding: grasping a single point, they could comprehend the myriad principles. Thus they ultimately reached a state in which there was nothing left to cultivate and nothing to attain. What is called “having nothing to cultivate” is cultivation brought to its utmost completion. No teacher-disciple transmission is needed…

The mysteries of the Great Dao cannot be sought through outward forms, sounds, or flavors; they must be received from a master. The sages of antiquity were born with the capacity to understand the Great Dao. Once they grasped it, they could thereby penetrate all principles, ultimately reaching a state that required neither deliberate practice nor further seeking of realization. To need no practice is to have brought practice to its utmost; to need no further seeking is to have brought realization to its utmost.

Even so, the sages relied on the guidance of teachers to explain the Great Dao. How much more so for those who are not sages? Thus, the sages offered instruction to the world and established teachings, along with rules for transmission. For people of ordinary ability, these rules serve as a carpenter’s square and measuring stick; without them, there is no way to deepen one’s understanding of the Great Dao.

For example, among the scriptures included in the Three Caverns and Four Supplements, the Shangqing Scripture Registers stipulate that, when transmitting scriptures, one must swear an oath before Heaven using a golden dragon and a jade fish. This shows that the person who transmits a scripture is called a “master,” while the recipient is called a “student.” The ritual expresses sincere reverence, guards against negligence and disclosure, and protects people from the underworld’s punishment for revealing secret methods carelessly. It is clear, then, that cultivating the Dao requires reverence for one’s teacher, and that a teaching requires a lineage founder.

Thus, Lao Jun took the Great Lord of the Dao of Supreme Jade Dawn as his teacher; the Great Lord of the Dao, in turn, was a disciple of the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning. The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning was born countless eons ago and was the founder of the Great Dao. The Great Lord of the Dao was therefore the Celestial Worthy’s disciple and Lao Jun’s teacher. After the two sacred worthies established the lineage, Lao Jun carried it forward.

Why is he called “Lao Jun”? “Lao” is a respectful title for an elder, while “Jun” is a title for one revered as the founder of a lineage. Lao Jun has appeared throughout the ages in Heaven and among humankind, transforming and nurturing living beings without end. He descended to the world countless eons ago and has endured ever since. The heavens revere him, and emperors throughout the ages have taken him as their teacher; thus he is honored as “the Most High Lord Lao.” The three sacred worthies passed the lineage on in succession, setting an example for all ages. To make this transmission clear, they established rites of reverence for teachers. This is the foundation of transmission through the teacher’s way.

The Zhuangzi says: “I take it as my teacher. It sets all things in order yet does not claim righteousness; it benefits all generations yet does not claim benevolence; it is older than antiquity yet does not consider itself old; it covers and supports Heaven and Earth and shapes the forms of all things, yet does not consider itself skillful; it is above the Supreme Ultimate yet does not consider itself high, and below the Six Directions yet does not consider itself deep; it was born before Heaven and Earth yet does not consider itself ancient.” This is the Dao being described.

Moreover, the Great Lord of the Dao and Lao Jun possess the virtue of the highest sages, and every movement and stillness of theirs accords with the Great Dao. Why, then, would they need to rely on a teacher’s lineage? This is the principle by which a sage transmits to a sage: their understanding of the Dao naturally resonates in a profound and subtle way. Yet the beginning of a teaching still depends on transmission. The passing of teachings from master to disciple is a path that connects past and present, and a model followed alike in the human and heavenly realms.

The Lingbao Scripture says, “Protect and harmonize the cycles of calamity, so that Heaven may endure.” There are great and small calamities, and cycles of varying lengths. Grinding a stone until it wears through a city the size of a mustard seed is a metaphor for a small calamity; “Yang Nine and Yin Six” represent a great calamity. The Five Phases—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—govern the cycles. A cycle waxes and wanes; this is the cycle’s change. If a calamity has run its course but the cycle has not yet shifted, or if the cycle has shifted but the calamity has not yet ended, the two do not yet constitute a complete cycle of calamity. Only when they coincide do flourishing and decline become manifest.

Broadly speaking, sages are born together with Heaven and Earth and unite with the myriad things. Thus they can bring Heaven and Earth into being, establish the spirits, and protect and renew the myriad things, without being bound by the end of Heaven and Earth. The one who endures through cycles of calamity is the Lord Lao. He was born at the beginningless beginning, arising without a cause: he existed alone before Qijin and traveled through the world after the opening of the pass. The cycles of calamity he experienced were immeasurably ancient.

“Calamity” refers to the cycles in which Heaven and Earth come into being and are destroyed, and also to the numbers of Yin-Yang reaching their limits. When the Yang numbers are exhausted, they turn into Yin, bringing great floods; when the Yin numbers are exhausted, they turn into Yang, bringing great fires. Nine is the utmost number of Yang, hence “Yang Nine”; six is the utmost number of Yin, hence “Yin Six.” A small calamity lasts 3,300 years, the next spans 9,900 years, and a great calamity lasts 810,000 years. At this point, the calamity comes to an end. The Lord Lao descended into the world and taught through these cycles of calamity, whose number cannot be measured.

The Red Writ says that cycles of calamity are reckoned as follows: thirty days make one interval, twelve intervals make one period, 3,300 periods make a small calamity, and 9,900 periods make a great calamity. Another account calls it a cycle of calamity when the numbers of Yang Nine and Yin Six reach their limits: Yang reaches its limit at nine, Yin at six. When the numbers of Yin and Yang reach their limits, the Three Realms are utterly erased. Raging floods and blazing fires are both consequences of Yin-Yang numbers reaching their end.

After the Great Dao divided, the Five Phases took shape and operated through five periods of calamity. At the beginning and end of each period, the Most High—the Daoist honorific for the supreme deity—descended into the world, established teachings, and saved the beings of Heaven and humanity. The five periods are the Dragon-Han Wood Calamity, the Red Radiance Fire Calamity, the Yan-Kang Earth Calamity, the Kai-Huang Metal Calamity, and the Shang-Huang Water Calamity. Their cycles are governed by the Five Phases, waxing and waning in an endless round. The Scripture on the Western Ascension says, “Since ancient times, the calamities I have passed through have been as numerous as grains of sand and dust. Whenever a change comes, it brings calamity, and I feel deeply weary.”

Heaven and Earth emerged from chaos and differentiated into the Three Powers: Heaven, Earth, and humanity. The light and clear Qi rose to become Heaven, while the heavy and turbid Qi descended to become Earth. Once Heaven and Earth had taken shape, the forms and substances of Yin-Yang Qi were also present. Later, the Qi formed through the harmonious blending of Yin and Yang gathered and became humanity. The scripture’s saying, “The Dao gives birth to One; One gives birth to Two; Two gives birth to Three,” describes this principle.

Someone asked, “Could a single sage have created Heaven and Earth?” The answer was: Heaven and Earth are the greatest of all things with form, and things with form arise from what is formless. It is precisely because it is formless that it can bring Heaven and Earth into being; this formless source is what is called the Dao. Sages, too, have not departed from the Dao. Thus, a sage can fashion talismans from clouds—using cloud Qi as the material for writing them—and spread them throughout the heavens; assess the worthy and the wise, register the Perfected, govern the underworld and the visible world, and have sages instruct sages. How is this different from the beginnings of Heaven and Earth? From this, one can conclude that there is nothing to doubt.

Laojun, the honorific title Daoism uses for Laozi, is the ancestor of chaos and the father and mother of Heaven and Earth. He travels along the path that knows no haste and wanders freely through realms of ease. Riding the Qi of the empty void, he moves up and down; mounted on Yin-Yang Qi, he transforms and nurtures the myriad things. He spreads out the clear and turbid, opens and closes Heaven and Earth, suspends the sun, moon, and stars, and nurtures all things. Heaven and Earth differentiate through the Dao; the sun and moon move by its power, the seasons change by it, and the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) generate one another through it.

At the beginning of the nine hundred and ninety-nine trillion and ninety-nine billion myriads of Qi, Laojun set the Three Qi—Zhen, Yuan, and Shi—in motion and thereby generated Heaven. The upper reaches of Heaven comprise the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and their three realms: the Qi of Shi formed the Yuqing realm, the Qi of Zhen formed the Shangqing realm, and the Qi of Yuan formed the Taiqing realm. Then, from the Qi of each of the Three Pure Ones, three further Qi were generated. Together, these made nine Qi and formed the Nine Heavens. The first heaven is called Yudan and belongs to the Yuqing realm.

The first is Yudan Wuliang Heaven; the second, Shangshang Chanshan Wuliangshou Heaven; the third, Fanjian Xuyan Heaven; the fourth, Jiran Doushu Heaven; the fifth, Boluoni Mijiaole Heaven; the sixth, Dongxuan Huaying Sheng Heaven; the seventh, Linghua Fanfu Heaven; the eighth, Gaoxu Qingming Heaven; and the ninth, Wuxiang Wujie Wu’ai Heaven. Each of these nine heavens is divided into three levels, each counted as one heaven, making twenty-seven heavens in all. Taken together, these nine heavens amount to twenty-six heavens; the four kinds of beings within the Three Realms, up to the highest Three Pure Ones Heaven (Sanqing), are all included in this number.

The lowest six heavens belong to the Realm of Desire: Taihuang Heaven, Taiming Heaven, Qingming Heaven, Yuantai Heaven, Yuanming Heaven, and Qiyao Heaven.

The next eighteen heavens belong to the Realm of Form. In order, they are Xuwu Heaven, Taiji Heaven, Chiming Heaven, Gonghua Heaven, Yaoming Heaven, Huangjia Heaven, Xuming Heaven, Duanjing Heaven, Yuanming Heaven, Jiyao Heaven, Yuanzai Heaven, Tai’an Heaven, Jifeng Heaven, Shihuang Heaven, Taihuang Heaven, Wusi Heaven, Shangdie Ruanle Heaven, and Wuji Tanshi Heaven.

The four heavens above these belong to the Realm of Formlessness: Xiaodu Heaven, Yuandong Heaven, Miaocheng Heaven, and Jinshang Heaven. These twenty-eight heavens are collectively called the Three Realms. They mark the extent affected by the cycles of cosmic change and generated by the Qi of Yin-Yang. Both the cycles of cosmic change and the Qi of Yin-Yang eventually run their course, and human lifespans, too, have a fixed limit.

In the earliest heaven, Taihuang Huangzeng, the human lifespan is nine million years. With each heaven higher up, the lifespan doubles. The total lifespan across the twenty-eight heavens reaches 12,079,775,552,000 years. Further down, as far as the point where the sun and moon meet in their courses, there are 4,404,444,444,000 kalpas; one kalpa is equivalent to three thousand li.

Above this are four celestial levels, collectively known as the “Heavens of the Seed People.” In ascending order, they are Changrong Heaven, Yulong Heaven, Fandu Heaven, and Jiayi Heaven. These four heavens lie beyond the Three Realms, beyond the reach of the sun and moon. The celestial beings there illuminate one another with light that radiates from within. They are therefore neither born nor subject to death; they have no span of life, and no time of destruction. Even when a Great Kalpa arrives, its calamities do not reach them.

The heavens below and the earth, by contrast, perish as the cycles of kalpas unfold. When a new cycle begins, chaos once again divides. At that time, the celestial beings dwelling in the Heavens of the Seed People take up the work of the Most High, who first descended to teach humanity. This is like the beginning of the Kun Kalpa, when the Three Sovereigns successively governed the world.

Higher still are the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing): Taichi Heaven, Yuyu Heaven, and Qingwei Heaven. At the very top is Great Luo Heaven, which encompasses all the heavens and stands supreme. The Jade Capital of the Mysterious Metropolis, a Daoist paradise said to lie at the summit of the heavens, sits atop Great Luo Heaven. It is the abode of the Three Venerable Ones and the place where the myriad sages pay homage. It is regarded as the realm of the utmost Dao and the source of the transformations of all things.

Once the heavens were established, pure Yang Qi formed the thirty-six heavens above, while pure Yin Qi formed the thirty-six earths below. Each level of heaven has a Celestial Emperor, and each level of earth has an Earthly Sovereign. All seventy-two rulers receive their commands from the Old Lord.

The thirty-six earths begin with the Nine Layers, or nine levels of the underworld. The first layer is called Moist-Colored Earth; the second, Firm-Colored Earth; the third, Grease-Colored Marsh Earth; the fourth, Moist Marsh Earth; the fifth, Golden Millet Marsh Earth; the sixth, Vajra Iron Marsh Earth; the seventh, Water-Controlled Earth; the eighth, Great Wind Marsh Earth; and the ninth, Earth of the Colorless Framework of the Cavernous Abyss.

The Nine Layers of Earth, or the nine-tiered underworld, are each made up of three strata: earth, water, and wind—in that order—for twenty-seven strata in all. The “Nine Earths” are these nine layers. Each has a stratum of earth, water, and wind, and the strata support one another. The lowest of the nine layers is called “the Land of the Cavernous Abyss and Supporting Bonds.” It stretches without limit, sunk in a still and shadowy depth that cannot be fathomed.

The Dongzhen Jing (Scripture of the Cavern of Perfection) says that each of the Nine Earths is divided into four regions, with Earth Emperors governing the eastern, western, southern, and northern domains, each attended by many officials and subordinates. Every cavern-palace also has an Immortal King. There are thirty-six Immortal Kings in all, who command the celestial officials and subordinates of the lower realm. Thus the Nine Earths have thirty-six Earth Emperors and thirty-six Immortal Kings: above, they correspond to the thirty-six heavens; in the middle, to the thirty-six caverns; and below, there are thirty-six earths. The Confucian phrase “nine heavens and nine earths” likewise refers to the great number of heaven and earth.

Heaven takes shape through the gathering of clear, light Qi; earth takes form through the accumulation of turbid, heavy matter. Between heaven and earth are also numinous palaces and cavern chambers, situated in famous mountains and extending underground. They are said to connect with the Qi of the Nine Earths. There, in a vast, misty depth, the essences of the sun and moon shine, while immortals and sages each occupy their appointed places and govern. The Liezi says that earth is built up from clods of soil and that such clods are everywhere; this is simply a general description of the form of the land.

Deep beneath the ground, where sunlight cannot reach, all is dark and murky, without any light. This is caused by the accumulation of Yin Qi. Master Zongyuan said, “Above the nine heavens there is no Yin Qi; below the nine earths there is no primordial Yang.” The Qi of Yin and Yang blend and transform, generating the myriad things and giving them life and death. This is the true state of affairs between heaven and earth. His words are indeed well founded.

The Scripture on the Pinyuan Chapter of the Foreign Regions of the Cavern of Truth (Dongzhen Waiguo Fangpin Jing) says: “The first layer of the earth’s domain lies 907,200 li from Heaven. Above the ninth layer, the distance to Heaven is 12,180,000 li.” The Book of Celestial Phenomena and Calendrical Signs says: “The total width between the farthest points in the eight directions is 1,814,400 li, and the distance between Heaven and Earth is half that amount.” These accounts accord with the scriptures. Beneath the ninth layer of the earth’s domain lies the foundation of empty space. The classical texts and diagrams do not record it, so it is difficult to measure further. The Liezi says that beyond Heaven and Earth there are neither boundaries nor an end; since there are no boundaries, there can be no such thing as “the end of the boundless.”

The regions of the various heavens differ enormously in their arrangement. Altogether, there are five hundred million kinds of variation, all generated by the Qi of the thirty-six heavens. Thus, what is clear and light and rises upward is called Heaven; what is turbid and settles downward is called Earth. The brightness of Yang Qi is called the sun, and the essence of Yin Qi is called the moon. What the sun gives rise to is called the stars; what falls is called stone. What is square is called a ring, and what is round is called a halo. What faces the sun is called tuì, and what turns away from it is called shū.

Likewise, what floats upward is called cloud, and what gathers downward is called mist. When Qi surges, it becomes thunder; when Qi clashes, it becomes a thunderclap. What is light and fine congeals into snow, while what is dense and heavy congeals into hail. Steady, continuous precipitation is called rain; Qi that disperses and moves is called wind. Fiery Qi becomes fire, and congealed Qi becomes ice. What is hard becomes metal; what is brittle becomes wood. What flows becomes water; what accumulates and blocks becomes earth. Water that runs freely becomes rivers; water that swirls and gathers becomes springs. Flat places become land, and places raised by accumulated earth become mountains. In Heaven, this appears as the patterns of the stars; on Earth, it appears as the courses of mountains and rivers.

The moon’s first appearance is called the new moon, and the end of the lunar month is called the dark moon. From morning until daytime is called day; from dusk into night is called night. Subtle, wondrous Qi forms spirits; refined Qi forms people endowed with spiritual awareness; declining Qi forms ghosts; turbulent Qi forms insects; mixed Qi forms birds and beasts; and deceitful, perverse Qi forms demons and strange beings. Yin and Yang are distinguished in this way, and the four seasons take turns. As the seasons change, all things are able to grow.

The heights of the Dao are beyond reach, and its depths are hard to fathom. It embraces Heaven and Earth, bringing forth darkness and vital energy. It divides Yin and Yang, which blend to form the four seasons. The seasons change without cease, and all things grow from them.

The heights of the Dao are beyond reach, and its depths are hard to fathom. It embraces Heaven and Earth, perceiving and containing what is formless. When spread out, it can cover the Six Directions (above, below, and the four quarters); when drawn in, it becomes smaller than a handful. It can grow from small to great, move from darkness to brightness, from weakness to strength, and from softness to hardness. It gathers in Yin energy and exhales and draws in Yang energy, accomplishing everything.

Within the earth are thirty-six Grotto-Heavens, sacred grotto realms where immortals are said to dwell; they correspond to the celestial realm as well. The essences of the sun and moon are distributed throughout them, illuminating every place. Thus, celestial patterns and terrestrial geography, the Six Jia (a system for marking time formed from combinations of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches), the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water), and the transformations of Yin and Yang all arise because the Venerable Lord opens the gate to the myriad mysteries and sets the powers of the hundred spirits in motion, causing them to arise, take shape, move, and change.

Thus it is said: the Dao is the source of all transformations and the foundation of profound mystery—the deep and subtle principles spoken of in Daoism. Through the Dao, Heaven becomes clear and bright, Earth becomes peaceful, all things grow, spirits manifest their powers, seas and mountains are stabilized, and rulers bring peace to the world. Through the Dao, Daoist practitioners attain immortality, and even withered, decaying things flourish again.

The Venerable Lord is the sovereign of Yin and Yang, the emperor of the myriad spirits, and the father and mother of primordial Qi. He is also the teacher of the ancient kings and the pivot of all things. From the Nonbeing, he nurtures all things into existence and governs the eight directions. He supports the earth and holds the blue heavens aloft, sets the sun and moon in motion and orders the stars, responds to the Six Jia, governs Heaven and Earth, shifts the seasons of cold and heat, commands wind and clouds, stirs thunder and lightning, governs the waxing and waning of floods and droughts, and determines the calendar’s cycles. The generation and transformation of all things come forth from him.

The Dao has no distinctions of precedence: those who realize the Dao all realize the same Dao. Yet the ranks of the immortals vary, as do the states of realization and the achievements by which they attain the Dao. Thus, the Three Realms are vast, with countless deities distributed throughout them. Without the Dao, all things would fall apart; without a sovereign, order would collapse. There must therefore be a supreme ruler who leads all the gods and gathers all the numinous beings under one authority, whose dominion has no bounds.

In the human world, the noble and the lowly each have their place, and ranks rise and fall. Even the sage kings of antiquity governed the world in this way. How much more so since the opening of the Three Radiant Scenes—the bright manifestations of heaven, earth, sun, and moon in Daoist teaching. Heaven and earth have neither increased nor diminished, while the orders of the underworld and the human realm have continued to rise and fall. If a true sage did not preside over all this through rank and achievement, who could do so?

The Lord Lao (Taishang Laojun) has vast merit and virtue: he brought forth and transformed heaven and earth, and nurtures all things. Why, then, would he need to be measured by ordinary ranks and titles? Yet the honored positions in the celestial realm still have an order: above is the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning, followed by the Lord of the Dao, with Lord Lao ranked after him. Through his achievement in transforming the myriad things, he sets the Three Qi in motion and spreads them throughout the Myriad Heavens, putting the various laws into effect. His merit and virtue are manifest; ultimately, he attained the fruit of the Utmost Dao, took his place among the Three Venerables, inherited the office of the Most High, and became the King of the Dharma.

Lord Lao therefore presides above over the sages of the heavens, governs the Realized Ones in the middle, and commands the immortals below. He oversees the Thirty-Six Heavens, the Thirty-Six Earths, and the Seventy-Two Lords, as well as the many spirits dwelling among the stars, sun, moon, mountains, and waters, along with the transformations of Yin-Yang and all the gods. Whether in heaven or on earth, above or below the ground, throughout the Five Hundred Million Celestial Realms, all beings—sentient or insentient, conscious or unconscious, formed or formless—fall under Lord Lao’s authority.

Lord Lao usually resides in the Cinnabar Terrace, Purple Gate, and Jade Hall of the Palace of the Supreme Ultimate in the Taiqing Heaven. Attending him are three great immortals, nine Great Emperors, twenty-seven Celestial Lords, eighty-one ministers and officials, twelve hundred immortal officers, twenty-four thousand numinous administrators, seventy thousand immortal youths and jade maidens, and five hundred million celestial troops and divine kings, arrayed in service on either side of the Cloud Road. Numinous beasts—including rainbow lions, golden-winged peacocks, and phoenixes—along with heavenly steeds and qilin, guard him at his sides.

At times, Lord Lao attends court before the Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning to report the sins and blessings of living beings; at other times, he visits Yuchen, a revered Daoist deity. He inspects and examines the Nine Palaces, administers the registers of life and death in the Three Realms, and oversees the various divine officials and ghost functionaries. The Ten Great Grotto-Heavens, the Thirty-Six Lesser Grotto-Heavens, the Seventy-Two Blessed Lands, the Thirty-Six Quiet Retreats, the Twenty-Four Administrative Sees, as well as the immortal palaces, numinous caverns, and offices that administer blessings and sustenance—all fall under his authority, however hidden and remote they may be.

At times, Lord Lao also governs the Nine Heavens, dwelling among the six stars of Taiwei and Gouchen. There he is titled the Great Emperor of Heaven, Yaopo Bao. He rides the Three Envoys and Six, holds authority over the Nine Pivot Mechanisms, and governs eleven thousand five hundred and twenty affairs. He oversees the registers of the immortals and commands the divine persons, Realized Ones, immortals, sages, and worthies. Hundreds of millions of Heavenly Kings bow before him, beseeching him to govern wind and rain, floods and droughts, harvests and scarcity, fortune and misfortune, and the good and evil of life and death. Lord Lao travels through all directions, spreading the transformative influence of the Dao far and wide, while his own abode remains in the Palace of the Supreme Ultimate in the Taiqing Heaven.

The so-called precious cases of jade and the golden books inscribed in jade are treasured forms for preserving scriptures. Since these scriptures were first made in Heaven, they have contained words that illuminate the Great Dao and keys that unlock its many mysteries. The Lingbao Jing says, “Without writing, there is no light; without writing, nothing can be revealed, established, or brought to completion.” This is precisely the point.

In ancient times, Lord Lao received these scriptures from the Supreme Lord of the Dao and the August Emperor of the Great Tenuity. He used them to protect himself and deliver living beings. Thus he gained mastery over Heaven and Earth, command of the spirits, the power to aid the dead and transform the living, and ultimately ascended to immortality and attained the Dao. The Supreme Lord of the Dao held authority over the spirit-tiger talisman charts and the Plain Scripture of Wisdom. From the Terrace of Increase at the numinous cliffs of Xiechen, he delivered the Nine Profundities—the ancestors of nine generations—below, and governed the immortals of drought above, recording them on azure slips.

At that time, the Perfected One of Great Subtlety and the Jade-Clear Goddess held fragrant flowers from Vermilion Mound and presented profound, wondrous texts. The Supreme Lord of the Dao rinsed his mouth with emerald waters and breathed forth crimson mystic Qi. With an open heart and still body, he settled his spirit and focused on the wondrous Dao. He wore the spirit tiger on his left and the Golden Perfected on his right, and expounded the Upper Scripture of Wisdom and the Petition of the Upper Chapter on the Spirit Medicines that Dispel Demons. Another account says that the Lord of the Golden Gate attended beside his seat and asked him questions; the Lord of the Golden Gate was another name for Lord Lao. At times, Lord Lao paid homage to the August Celestial Worthy; at other times, he visited the Emperor of Great Tenuity. The scriptures he had charge of recording included the Perfect Scripture of the Great Cavern of Shangqing and the Precious Chapter of Spirit Talismans for Summoning Spirits and Destroying Demons.

These scriptures are numinous writings formed from the naturally arising Qi of Flying Mystery. Their principles are profound and subtle; they are the most venerable of the scriptures, governing all the Perfected and commanding the grass immortals. They are kept in secret at the Palace of Great Being, above the Nine Heavens. There, golden light shines upon purple halls, and jade light illuminates jasper chambers; the scripture slips are cast in gold and the numinous writings engraved upon them. Another account says that the texts are written on white-jade cinnabar books, to make their contents clear. The scriptures are also stored in the jade halls and chambers of the Numinous Capital of Great Tenuity, guarded by seven thousand spirits, including giant beasts, venomous dragons, and spirit tigers. Within the Jade Gate, three thousand Golden-Morning Jade Youths and three thousand Pure-Spirit Jade Maidens stand watch over these numinous writings.

The perfected ones—those who have attained the Dao—preside over the ceremony, while the myriad sages come to pay homage. Ceremonial canopies on the jade steps illuminate the heavenly court, and the Great Thearch bows before the altar table. The Jade Emperor changes his dwelling, guarded by seven thousand divine beings, including monstrous beasts, poisonous dragons, and sacred tigers. Three thousand Golden Dawn Jade Youths and three thousand Pure-Spirit Jade Maidens attend and protect the numinous scriptures.

The perfected ones preside over the ceremony, while the myriad sages come to pay homage. Canopies on the jade steps illuminate the heavenly court, and the Great Thearch bows before the altar table. The Jade Emperor adjusts the calendar to discern the course of events, turning the celestial pivot and directing the Northern Dipper so that the divine beings follow the movements of fate. The Lord of the Great Dao then ascends the Terrace of Cliffs and Gifts. In the Chamber of Nine Turns, he receives the Later Sage, the Nine-Origin Lord of the Golden Gate. The two observe a three-month purification and, in accordance with their covenant, perform the rite of opening and transmission, passing on the scriptures.

When the cycle of great calamities arrives, the Three Ways—three modes of cosmic operation in Daoist teaching—wax and wane, while the two energies, Yin and Yang, separate and combine in changing patterns. After an ending comes a new beginning; the cycles of fate and the measures of time are never in error. As the Tang era approached, the world faced the calamity of Yang Nine, a period of hardship. Heaven removed the wicked and rebellious and sought out the worthy and wise.

At that time, someone practiced the Scripture of the Great Cavern, deeply exploring the subtle gateways of the Feminine Unity. With the Eight Ways, he summoned the perfected ones; among the Three Origins—Upper, Middle, and Lower—he studied the Way of Golden Florescence. In a quiet chamber, he recited the writings of Pure Spirit. He used the methods of the Five Phases to summon and gather the hun and po souls, wore a Golden Spirit talisman patterned with a tiger, and set the seven stars of the Heavenly Pass in motion. He held a hidden name in the registers of the Heavenly Thearch and entered a blue register in Shangqing, one of the Daoist heavens. He formed a numinous network from the Qi of jade essence and nurtured a jade embryo as his inner spirit. Turning away from worldly desires, he kept to stillness alone at Long Mound and returned to his natural state.

Such a person could receive the true transmission of the Eight Effulgences and be granted wondrous instructions in a golden chapter. He could perform the rites for summoning spirits and establish the Huoluo talismans to command the divine beings, deliver seven generations of ancestors from the netherworld, and dispel the Five Sufferings and Eight Hardships at once. Whoever obtained this scripture could ascend through the Nine Heavens and behold clearly the three celestial essences: the sun, moon, and stars. If no worthy recipient could be found, it would not be transmitted even after ten thousand calamities.

How could later students know that the Great Dao is so vast, and that understanding it depends entirely on sincere reflection? Even if their accumulated merits were as countless as grains of sand, mere toil would be in vain if they could never bring the inner and outer realms into resonance. In their ignorance, they would miss their chance, remaining in this life sunk in the cycles of rebirth and decline. For this reason, the jade writings of the High Sovereign have now been gathered and copied to inform the world: the worthy should be chosen to receive the transmission. This treasured teaching is precious and secret; it is the root of the myriad ways.

By observing the clearly laid-down precepts, all the True Immortals will watch over and protect you. If you carelessly disclose or neglect these secret methods, calamity will reach your ancestors and descendants. How could you fail to be cautious?

Creating the Immortal Charts

This method is precious and secret, and is the root of the myriad ways. By observing the clearly laid-down precepts, all the True Immortals will watch over and protect you; if you carelessly disclose or neglect the secret methods, calamity will reach your ancestors and descendants. How could you fail to be cautious?

Creating the Immortal Charts

Scriptures, images, charts, and records come down through the transmission from master to disciple. They are the secret words of the highest sages and an important guide to spiritual practice. Thus, the Three Departments (the three systems of spirits within the human body), the Eight Radiances (the eight sacred realms within the body), and the Twenty-Four Spirits are all present within the human body, each with its own image. By practicing in accordance with these images, one can quickly communicate with the spirits.

In ancient times, the Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning transmitted these teachings to the Sage Sovereign of Later Generations—that is, Lord Lao. By command, the Sage Sovereign of Later Generations spread them among the human and celestial realms. “August Sovereign” is a title from the celestial realm. Some say that the person whom people call “Songci” originated from this title. Those with limited understanding do not know its origins and often reject it.

The Sage Sovereign of Later Generations traveled through the Western River and journeyed across the eight directions, where he encountered the Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning. The King rode in a jade carriage of the Eight Radiances, drawn by a dark dragon of nine colors. Three clouds of pure essence and a retinue of immortals surrounded him, bearing ornate banners. Lions and white swans accompanied them, singing melodiously as they descended together from the sky above the Western River.

The Sage Sovereign of Later Generations bowed and prostrated himself, then asked, “In the past, I received your instruction and obtained the twenty-four charts of the heavenly book in jade script. Though I have received the written words, I still do not understand their subtle principles. Though I have the verses accompanying the charts, I have no images. In my practice, I am bewildered and cannot find the way in. Now that I have encountered the Heavenly Worthy, my joy is beyond words. I earnestly ask you to grant my wish and let me see the true Dao.”

Then the Heavenly King of Primordial Beginning breathed from his mouth the Jade Talisman of the Cavern Origin for Inner Contemplation, used in the practice of inner contemplation, and gave it to the Sage Sovereign of Later Generations. He instructed him to observe a purified retreat for one thousand days, fumigate his body with sacred incense, and face east to ingest the talisman. At that time, both body and spirits would appear, allowing the practitioner to understand the principles naturally and dispelling every doubt at once.

The Sage Sovereign of Later Generations respectfully accepted the talisman and, following celestial rites, observed a purified retreat for one thousand days before facing east to ingest it. The spirits of the Three Departments and Eight Radiances appeared at once. Golden books, jade characters, and the twenty-four charts shone forth in the air, all clear and unobstructed. He then commanded the high immortals responsible for drawing charts to engrave and record the images and texts. Thus the contents of the golden books in purple script and the jade writings and vermilion chapters took their final form.

From that time onward, the true texts and images received by the Lady of the Nine Lights of the Primordial Origin of the Southern Pole, the Two Hua Mountains of the East and West, the True Lords of the North and South, the immortals of the Five Sacred Peaks, and the Perfected Ones of Clear Emptiness were all transmitted by the Lord of the Later Sage Age. An account of his deeds is preserved elsewhere in the Chronicle of the Three Heavens.

The so-called Twenty-Four Illustrations are divided into three groups—the upper, middle, and lower—with eight illustrations in each. The upper group, in order, consists of: Illustration of Bathing in the Eastern Well; Illustration of the True Forms of the Five Sacred Peaks of the Immortals; Illustration of the Eight Histories of Numina and Essence that Communicate with the Spirits; Illustration of the Immortals’ Six Jia and Their Communication with the Spirits; Illustration of the Immortals’ Nine Palaces and Purple Chamber; Illustration of the Immortals’ Primordial Beginning and Great Clarity; Illustration of the Immortals’ True Dao, Formed from the Primordial Mix; and Illustration of the Immortals’ Record of Protection on Their Westward Ascent. The middle group consists of: Illustration of the Immortals’ Subtle Penetration and Numinous Transformation; Illustration of the Immortals’ Nine Spirits Treading the Void; Illustration of the Immortals’ Nine Transformations of Heaven; Illustration of the Immortals’ Constant Preservation; Illustration of the Immortals’ Guarding the One and Nurturing the Body; Illustration of the Immortals’ Guarding the Spirit and Keeping the Luminous Presence; Illustration of the Immortals’ Silent Stillness, Nurturing Essence, and Guarding the Will; and Illustration of the Immortals’ Zhi Plants and Jade Maidens. The lower group consists of: Illustration of the Immortals’ Six Yin Jade Maidens; Illustration of the Immortals’ Nine Origins Guiding the Immortals; Illustration of the Immortals’ Daoyin Exercises; Illustration of the Immortals’ Imperial Treasures Within the Cavern; Illustration of the Immortals’ Transformations and Hidden Forms; Illustration of the Immortals’ Gathering Zhi Plants and Opening Mountains; Illustration of the Immortals’ Bright Mirror; and Illustration of the Immortals’ Limitless Great One.

These twenty-four illustrations came into being through the transformation of the dark Qi of the Primordial Beginning in the grotto heavens, and were then compiled for people to practice. The various sages and Perfected Ones also used their subtle insights to explain their principles to one another. “Responding to things without discrimination” means that the Dao responds to all things without making distinctions. “Answering each response according to its occasion” means that sages teach in accordance with the responses and circumstances of living beings. Sages have always broadly taught living beings through scriptures, images, and precepts. They can also divide and transform their forms, appearing in response to each occasion; their transformations are without limit. The subtle insights of the various sages and Perfected Ones likewise illuminate one another concerning the substance and function of the Most High.

They often use scriptures, talismans and registers, and precepts to teach living beings far and wide. They can also manifest in different forms in response to the beings they encounter, changing without limit and reaching everywhere. Yet the essential nature of the Most High—a Daoist honorific for the supreme sacred realm—is upright, still, pure and empty, and acts through Wuwei (non-action); it neither comes into being nor passes away.

The Meaning of Transmitting the Scriptures

The thirty-six revered scriptures are said to have originated in cloud script, ancient characters like clouds of vapor, at the beginning of the opening of Heaven and Earth. These scriptures are the hidden words of Great Brahma and the maxims of sages. They are therefore regarded as paths leading to the wondrous Dao, and as good medicine for the human and celestial realms. Taken together, they number thirty-six collections; divided into individual texts, they comprise eighteen thousand chapters. Treasured in books of gold and carefully guarded by sages and perfected beings, they are the foundation of written characters and the guiding principles of the myriad methods.

The Later Sage Lord said: “The precious scriptures of the ancient sovereigns are chapters formed naturally. They are used to transmit the way of long life, the methods of immortality, and the talismans, ritual forms, and jade instructions. These teachings were established by the Kings of the Nine Heavens and passed on to perfected beings who had endured successive kalpas. At the time of the Five and Three cycles changing and the Nine Spirits answering, I traced the origins of the scriptures through ninety trillion and nine thousand kalpas. The institutions and canons of antiquity differed greatly from one another. So, in the first year of the Yuan era of the Central Emperor, on the first day of the third month, within the Golden Gate of the Jade Clarity Heaven, I commanded Lord Green Youth of the Eastern Sea to examine the laws governing the movement of Heaven and Earth, verify the celestial patterns, compile numinous texts, and arrange them into three hundred volumes of precious scriptures, seven thousand chapters of talismans and charts, and nine thousand chapters of jade instructions. I entrusted them to the High Minister, Lord Green Youth, to transmit to those who had yet to understand them but wished to bring themselves into accord with the true Dao.”

The Shangqing scriptural teachings are said to have been transmitted by Lord Lao during the era of the Three August Ones of High Antiquity. People’s hearts were then simple and honest. In the first year of the Longhan era, Lord Lao took the title Master of the Mysterious Center and transmitted the twelve divisions of the sacred Shangqing teachings to guide and deliver celestial beings and living creatures.

The Lingbao scriptural teachings are said to have been transmitted by Lord Lao during the era of the Three August Ones of the Middle Period. In the first year of the Chiming era, Lord Lao took the title Ancient Master and sent down the twelve divisions of the True Lingbao Scripture to teach all living beings and deliver the people.

The Dongshen scriptural teachings are said to have been transmitted during the era of the Three August Ones of the Lower Period. By then, people’s hearts had gradually lost their simplicity. In the first year of the Kaihuang era, Lord Lao took the title Emperor of the Golden Gate and revealed the twelve divisions of the Dongshen Scriptures to guide and deliver all beings. Together, these three classes of texts are called the thirty-six revered scriptures.

The three classes of scriptures are, respectively, the first, Dongzhen; the second, Dongxuan; and the third, Dongshen. Each has twelve divisions, making thirty-six revered scriptures in all. In Heaven, they correspond to the Three Pure Ones (Sanqing) and the thirty-six heavens; in the middle realm, to the three realms and thirty-six emperors; and on Earth, to the nine layers and thirty-six Earthly Sovereigns. Within the human body, they correspond to thirty-six palaces. The scriptures further say that the human head has nine palaces, the heart nine openings, the navel nine spirits, and the body nine gates, making thirty-six places in all. These also correspond to the thirty-six kinds of sound found in the outer world.

In the Nanhua Jing, Zhuang Zhou says: “My teacher, my teacher! He brings the myriad things to an end, yet does not consider himself cruel. His kindness extends to all generations, yet he does not consider himself benevolent.” This is Zhuang Zhou’s way of speaking of the Dao as his teacher.

In the celestial realm, Laozi took the Jade Dawn Great Dao Lord (Yuchen Dadaojun), a revered Daoist deity, as his teacher. When he sought the Dao in the human world, he took Chang Cong as his teacher. Even a sage like Laozi received teachings through a lineage of teachers. How much more so must this be true of those less accomplished than Laozi? The Book of Documents says: “If you do not take the ancients as your teachers in your work, it will be hard for that work to endure.” Those who know before others do study the events of the past widely and understand the present, making them worthy examples for later generations. By following such examples in cultivating oneself and governing the world, lasting stability can be achieved.

Thus, from the time of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors onward, the Old Lord changed his titles to suit the times, always with the purpose of supporting the age and establishing teachings, so that the Dao could be transmitted to the people of the world.

In the age of Fuxi, people’s hearts had already grown shallow, but there were not yet laws or institutions. At that time, the Old Lord was called Yuhuazi. He descended into the world as a teacher and expounded the Yuan Yang Jing. He taught people to draw the Eight Trigrams and create written contracts, enabling them to communicate the virtue of the spirits and distinguish the qualities of the myriad things. By observing the patterns of the heavens above and examining the geography below, he laid the foundations for writing and moral instruction.

In the age of Shennong, people hunted birds and beasts, ate plants raw, and drank animal blood and ate animal flesh. At that time, the Old Lord was called Dachengzi. He descended into the world as a teacher and expounded the Yuan Jing Jing, teaching people the ways of nourishing life and reproduction. He had them sow the grains and replace hunting with farming, and had them combine medicines to treat illness. Tradition says that he tested plants such as mulberry, willow, elm, locust, peach, apricot, and trifoliate orange, and discovered crops including millet, rice, broomcorn millet, beans, wheat, barley, and hemp. Once the Five Grains had ripened, people had food to sustain life. His teachings also led people to stop killing birds and beasts indiscriminately, to live together according to their kinds, and to encourage good deeds while restraining evil, thereby preserving life. They no longer ate flesh or drank blood, and so they did not accumulate the karmic burden—the weight of retribution formed by one’s actions—that comes from taking life.

From this point on, Lao Jun revealed methods for cherishing life and extending one’s years. In the age of Zhurong, people ate raw food without cooking it, for they did not know how to use fire to prepare it. As a result, they suffered many illnesses and hardships. Lao Jun, known as Master Guangshou, descended into the human world to teach people. He lectured on the Classic of Massage and the Circulation of Jing, teaching people to calm the spirit and nourish body and mind. Later, he taught them to make fire by drilling wood, and to make pottery and cast tools for preparing raw food. In this way, people learned to preserve their lives, and the methods of making pottery and casting tools also began.

After Fuxi, Lao Jun taught people ways to organize daily life and govern society. He established ritual and music to distinguish ranks, and made clothing to mark differences in status. He built houses to replace life in nests and caves, and made boats and carts to ease travel. He introduced coffins and outer coffins so that the dead would no longer be wrapped directly in brushwood. He made bows and arrows to deter those who refused to submit, and established punishments and prisons to restrain the violent. He created writing and tally contracts to replace the keeping of records by tying knots. He tamed oxen and rode horses to carry heavy loads and travel long distances. He set up midday markets where people could exchange goods and then disperse. He also invented farming tools such as the plow and the pestle and mortar, and established a night watch system of barred gates and striking wooden clappers. These, too, all arose from Lao Jun’s teachings.

In the age of the Yellow Emperor, Lao Jun was known as Master Guangcheng. The Nanhua Jing records that the Yellow Emperor had been emperor for nineteen years, and his decrees were already in force throughout the land. Hearing that Master Guangcheng lived on Mount Kongtong, he went to visit him and asked, “I have heard that you understand the utmost Dao. I venture to ask about its essence. I wish to draw upon the vital energies of Heaven and Earth to help the crops grow and feed the people. I also wish to govern the changes of Yin-Yang so that plants grow in season. How should I do this?”

Master Guangcheng replied, “What you ask about concerns the outward forms of the myriad things, yet what you wish to govern would harm them. Since you began ruling the land, clouds have rained before they gathered, plants have withered before they turned yellow, and the light of the sun and moon has grown dimmer by the day. Your heart is set on seeking fame and controlling the myriad things. How, then, can you speak of the utmost Dao?”

After hearing this, the Yellow Emperor withdrew from public life and gave up governing the land. He built a quiet chamber, spread a mat of white thatch, and lived there in solitude for three months.

The Yellow Emperor resigned from the affairs of state and built a quiet retreat. He spread white thatching grass for a mat and lived there alone in stillness for three months. Then he went once more to visit Guangchengzi.

Guangchengzi was lying down facing south. The Yellow Emperor approached on his knees from downwind, bowed twice, and knocked his head on the ground as he asked, “I have heard that you understand the utmost Dao (the Way). May I ask how I should cultivate my body so that I can live a long life?”

Guangchengzi furrowed his brow, rose, and said, “A good question. Come, and I will tell you about the utmost Dao. Its subtlety is deep and obscure; its ultimate reaches are utterly silent and without trace. Do not look, do not listen. Guard your spirit and quiet your mind, and your body will naturally become upright. You must remain still and pure: do not tire your body or disturb your vital energy, Qi. In this way you can live long. If your eyes do not crave to see and your ears do not crave to hear, and your mind does not cling to knowing things outside you, your spirit can remain within your body, and your body can endure. Carefully guard what is within and draw in your responses to the outside world; knowing too much only brings harm.

“I will take you up to the heights of brightness, to the source of utmost Yang; then I will lead you into the deep and mysterious passage, to the source of utmost Yin. Heaven and Earth each follow their own patterns of movement, and Yin-Yang each have their hidden places. Carefully guard yourself, and the myriad things will naturally grow and flourish. I hold to the pure and undivided Dao and dwell in harmony between Yin and Yang. Thus I have cultivated myself for twelve hundred years, and my body has never grown old.”

The Yellow Emperor bowed down and knocked his head on the ground again. “What Guangchengzi has said is truly the Way of Heaven!”

Guangchengzi said, “Come, I will tell you more. The myriad things have no end, yet people all think they come to an end. They are unfathomable, yet people all think they have reached their limit. Those who attain my Dao may be emperors above or kings below; those who lose my Dao see only what lies before them while alive, and return to dust after death. All living things now spring from the earth, and in the end return to it. So I will leave you and enter the gate of the boundless, roaming through realms without limits. I will shine with the sun and moon and endure together with Heaven and Earth. I will make myself transcendent and exalted, far removed from darkness. People may all perish, while I alone endure.”

The Yellow Emperor followed Guangchengzi’s teachings, and the realm was governed well as a result.

After a long time, the Yellow Emperor traveled to Qingqiu, where he met Master of the Purple Palace, Perfected Man Zhonghuang, Lord Dachen, the Youth of the Yellow Canopy, Master Yusheng of Qingcheng, and the Heavenly Perfected Sovereign of Mount Emei. He sought and received from them the secrets of cultivating perfection. The Yellow Emperor cast a cauldron on Mount Jing, then rode a dragon and ascended to heaven in broad daylight. Seventy-two of his ministers ascended with him.

Hun Yuan also expounded the Jing of Daoist Precepts to the Yellow Emperor and transmitted the Dao to Tian Lao, Li Mu, and Feng Hou. All three received the secret teachings. The Yellow Emperor cast a cauldron on Mount Jing, rode a dragon, and ascended to heaven in broad daylight, accompanied by seventy-two ministers. Hun Yuan also expounded the Jing of Daoist Precepts to him and transmitted the Dao to Tian Lao, Li Mu, and Feng Hou, who all attained the Dao.

The Queen Mother of the West also bestowed five jade images upon the Yellow Emperor, saying, “These are sacred images of the Celestial Worthy of the Primordial Beginning.” She also passed on to him the Diagram of the True Forms of the Two Principles, which depicts the forms of Heaven and Earth and Yin-Yang. After receiving these, the Yellow Emperor placed the jade images in a shrine on a high platform, where he made offerings of rare incense, precious flowers, and various treasures morning and evening without fail. Even his consorts and senior ministers were forbidden to view them. Strange clouds often swirled around the shrine, and the fragrance was rich; for this reason, it was called a “Daoist monastery.” The name “Daoist monastery” began with this. The Yellow Emperor built more than three hundred detached palaces and residences in the caves of famous mountains. He later donated them all to be turned into Daoist monasteries, each of which housed seven Daoist priests who burned incense and cultivated the Dao.

In the time of Emperor Zhuanxu, the Old Lord descended to serve as his teacher under the name Master Red Essence. He lived on Mount Heng and taught Zhuanxu the Jing of Subtle Words, instructing him in loyalty and obedience.

In the time of Emperor Di Ku, the Old Lord descended to serve as his teacher under the name Master Record-Chart. He lived by the river and taught Di Ku the Jing of the Yellow Court, instructing him in uprightness and harmony.

In the time of Emperor Yao, the Old Lord descended to serve as his teacher under the name Master Wucheng. He lived on Mount Gushe and taught Yao the Jing on the Alignment of Governance and Affairs, instructing him in integrity and prudence.

In the time of Emperor Shun, the Old Lord descended to serve as his teacher under the name Master Yinshou. He lived in Heyang and taught Shun the Jing of the Dao and De, instructing him in Wuwei (non-action) and stillness. The two scriptures mentioned below were transmitted from this time.

During the time of Xia Yu, the Old Lord descended to the world and became Yu’s teacher. Known as “Master True Practice,” he lived on Mount Shang and taught Yu the Classic of De (Virtue), instructing him to work diligently and live frugally. The Old Lord also transmitted to Yu the Five Talismans of the Numinous Treasure (Fulu used in Daoism to summon deities), along with methods for issuing proclamations and summoning spirits and ghosts. Only after mastering these methods could Yu clear the nine rivers and bring the many streams together, allowing the waters to flow freely into the sea.

During the time of King Tang of Shang, the Old Lord descended again to serve as a teacher. Known as “Master Bestowed Rule,” he lived on Mount Man and taught Tang the Classic of Long Life, instructing him to be respectful and benevolent. Tang put these teachings into practice, treating others as he would treat himself; his kindness even extended to insects.

Later, in the eighteenth year of King Yangjia of Shang, the year gengshen, the Supreme Old Lord rode nine dragons and descended in a divided manifestation to Qurenli, Laixiang, Ku County, Bozhou, in the land of Chu. He took form in the womb of the Mysterious and Subtle Jade Maiden. After eighty-one years, he was born on the fifteenth day of the second month in the ninth year of King Wuding, the year gengchen. Pointing to a plum tree, he took “Li,” meaning plum, as his surname. Soon after birth, he could walk and speak, and his hair was already white, so he came to be known as Laozi.

Laozi later served as an attendant, explaining the origins of various illnesses and teaching the essentials of medicine, so that people could understand how to preserve their lives. He also taught methods for protecting the Three Luminaries and the Three Origins, as well as methods involving the Five Phases and the Five Teeth. He explained practices for nurturing Shen (spirit) and stabilizing the body, along with the arts of internal and external Elixir Reversion and liquid gold, through which one could attain long life. Practitioners thereby transcended the Three Realms and ascended to the Nine Heavens of Purity, the lofty celestial realms described in Daoism. They rose to the rank of the sages, dispelled the roots of death, and reached a state of enduring existence without beginning or end.

Thus Bian Shao wrote in the Stele of the Holy Mother: “Those who embody true De embrace emptiness and stillness and uphold purity and tranquility. They gladly dwell in low positions and do not seek rank, wealth, or power.” These words describe Laozi’s virtue.

When a sage is born, extraordinary signs often accompany the event, such as thunder and lightning surrounding the place or dragons playing in the courtyard. Such signs do not appear at every birth; they occur only when a sage comes into the world. Confucius’s father, Shuliang He, once prayed on Mount Niqiu and received a response—an auspicious sign that Confucius was born at the appointed time. After Jiang Yuan gave birth to Hou Ji and abandoned him, he remained unharmed, a wonder beyond ordinary human experience. Looking back at the sages of antiquity, most had similar experiences. Yet accounts have never agreed on the precise dates of their births or the order in which they lived. The date of Laozi’s birth, by contrast, is clearly recorded: it appears in the Daoist Canon and can also be checked against biographies of early Confucian sages. These records are arranged here in the hope that later generations will no longer have doubts.

Lord Lao (Laozi), moved by compassion for the decline of the age, wished to descend into the world and restore its moral order. In the seventeenth year of Yang Jia’s reign, the eighteenth ruler of the Shang dynasty—that is, the year Gengshen—he took up residence in the womb of the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden. Around the time of his birth, twenty-one extraordinary events occurred. First, the Great Dao manifested, entrusting its birth to the human world and transforming the essence of the sun into a five-colored precious pearl. This revealed its yang and vigorous De (Virtue/Power). Second, he appeared riding a chariot drawn by nine dragons. As their forms gathered and changed, five-colored radiance shone in interwoven brilliance, then flowed into the mouth of the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden. This symbolized the refined splendor of the nine dragons’ pure yang. Even today, the Heavenly Stillness Palace in Chengfu County, Bozhou, still has a Meteor Altar. Third, Lord Lao’s gestation differed from that of sages of earlier times: he was born only after eighty-one years, reaching the solar number of nine times nine. Fourth, while sleeping during the day, the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden dreamed that she swallowed a five-colored flowing pearl and became pregnant. From then on, she looked younger, and her expression grew calm and serene. Throughout the eighty-one years of her pregnancy, she remained joyful and at ease. These accounts describe the extraordinary signs that heralded a sage’s arrival in the human world.

Fifth, the chamber where the mysteries dwelt enjoyed mild, pleasant weather in every season, with the six Qi in balanced harmony. Winters brought no bitter cold, and summers no scorching heat. Auspicious light filled the rooms, and numinous winds swept through the courtyard. No evil could intrude, and many spirits guarded the place unseen. After living there for eighty-one years, he did not feel that the time had been long. In the ninth year of the reign of Wuding, the twenty-second king of the Shang dynasty—a gengchen year—Laojun was born.

Sixth, Laojun’s birth differed from that of the sages who came before him. Though the Holy Mother conceived him, he emerged from beneath her left armpit. Seventh, at birth he took nine steps. With each step, a lotus flower sprang from the ground, which also exuded fragrance, revealing extraordinary and miraculous signs.

Eighth, at the moment of Laojun’s birth, sunlight shone down, and the Moon Lady, the goddess of the moon in myth, scattered flowers. The Seven Luminaries, the star deities of the Big Dipper, gleamed and turned; auspicious clouds covered the courtyard; and the Four Emblems—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—circled overhead to guard him. Jade Maidens received the infant in their arms. The Holy Mother clung to a plum tree, and suddenly Laojun was born.

Ninth, when Laojun was born, ten thousand cranes flew through the sky, and nine dragons poured out clear water to bathe the sage. The places where the dragons appeared later became nine wells, which still stand at the Taiqing Palace in Weizhen County, Bozhou. If water is drawn from any one of them, all nine wells tremble together.

Tenth, after his birth, Laojun pointed to the sky with his left hand and to the ground with his right, saying, “Above the heavens and below them, only the Dao is most worthy of reverence. In this world, what is there in suffering that deserves to be praised?”

Eleventh, Laojun took pity on the decline of the age and the fact that the Great Dao could not be put into practice. He therefore took birth as a divine being in a borderland, to save the people. Twelfth, because people were ignorant and confused, difficult to teach, and the right path difficult to proclaim, Laojun’s birth was accompanied by many auspicious signs, so that people might believe and awaken. Thirteenth, to show that understanding the wondrous Dao could bring long life, Laojun refined the Golden Elixir and encouraged people to cultivate it. The palace still preserves a well used for alchemical refining and a juniper tree.

Fourteenth, when Laozi taught people to cultivate the Dao, they were to cultivate body and mind inwardly and cultivate meritorious conduct outwardly, giving attention to both. They were to cultivate the Golden Elixir, symbolizing Neidan practice that refines and nourishes Jing, Qi, and Shen, and also to learn the true Qi, the original vital energy spoken of in Daoism. A Hall of Emptiness still stands today. It has been repaired in successive generations and, according to tradition, was where Laozi studied the true Qi.

Fifteenth, those who understand and practice this wondrous Dao will surely ascend to heaven. To show that his cultivation was complete, Laozi rode a deer and rose lightly into the sky. A cypress known as the “Deer-Track Cypress” still stands in the palace grounds. Tradition holds that this was where Laozi ascended to heaven on a white deer.

Sixteenth, Laozi was born on the fifteenth day of the second month in the gengchen year, the ninth year of King Wu Ding’s reign in the Shang dynasty.

Seventeenth, Laozi was born in Ku County, in the ancient state of Chu. Ku County was named after its city, while Laixiang was named after its waters. Qu Renli lay beside Ling Creek, west of the Nine Wells. The county was originally called Ku County; from the Han and Wei dynasties onward it was known as Guyang County. In the first year of Qianfeng under the Tang, it was renamed Zhenyuan County; in the second year of Zhonghe, it was elevated to a county of the imperial domain. Today it is called Weizhen County.

Eighteenth, within nine days of his birth, Laozi had grown to nine feet tall. He possessed seventy-two distinctive marks and eighty-one auspicious features, including “treading five and grasping ten,” handsome brows and eyes, and a square, well-formed mouth. The text also describes his appearance with terms such as “double pillars and three openings” and “sun-shaped brow and moon-shaped hollows.” These are features possessed only by a great sage.

Nineteenth, after giving birth to Laozi, the Holy Mother rode an Eightfold-View Jade Carriage, an immortal vehicle in Daoist legend, attended by grass immortals, and ascended to heaven in broad daylight. During the Tang dynasty, she was posthumously honored as the “Empress Dowager of Primordial Heaven.” Today, a Dongxiao Palace stands north of Taiqing Palace in Weizhen County, and another palace stands on the Ascension Terrace at Louguan.

Twentieth, after Laozi ascended to heaven, emperors of successive dynasties revered the sites associated with him. King Mu of Zhou, the First Emperor of Qin, Emperor Huan of Han, and Emperor Wen of Sui all built or renovated palaces, temples, and shrines, and ordered court officials to engrave steles to commemorate the sage. Thus, the Han dynasty left the Bian Zhao stele, and the Sui dynasty the Xue Daoheng stele; both survive to this day.

Thus, the Han dynasty had the Bian Zhao stele, and the Sui dynasty had the Xue Daoheng stele. Both have survived to the present day.

Twenty-first, an explanation of the sage’s title. The Venerable Lord (Laojun), whom Daoists revere as Laozi, dwelt in the human world in the form of an immortal embryo and was born after eighty-one years. At his birth, his hair was already completely white. The Holy Mother therefore gave him a title to explain the meaning of this to the world.

This section has five points.

First, the sage’s birth differed from that of ordinary people. The Holy Mother wanted to call him “Old,” but he had only just been born; she wanted to call him “Child,” but he was already a white-haired elder. So she combined the two words and called him “Laozi.”

Second, this shows that the Great Dao runs counter to worldly convention. Ordinarily, “old” refers to the aged and “child” to the young. People in the world pass from youth to old age, but the Venerable Lord was old first and young afterward. This shows that he returned from the periphery to the root.

Third, “old” carries the sense of examining and correcting the sages, while “child” carries the sense of bringing forth the myriad things. Thus Laozi is the parent of all things and the model for all sages. His title, “Laozi,” also conveys the meanings of examining the sages and bringing forth the myriad things. The title “Laozi” began at this time, while the name “Laojun” had existed since countless kalpas before.

Fourth, the sage left this title so that people might return from the end to the beginning. “Old” signifies the end, and “child” signifies the beginning. People in the world proceed from beginning to end, but the Venerable Lord went from end to beginning. This is meant to lead people to cultivate the Dao and return from old age to infancy; hence he is called “Laozi.”

Fifth, the sage concealed his brilliance and harmonized with the ways of the world, adapting to life among people. Because his hair was completely white at birth, he was called “Old.” “Zi” is a customary form of address for men, as in the titles Kongzi, Mengzi, Zhuangzi, and Liezi. Some titles are formed from a surname, as with Laozi, Ouguanzi, Baopuzi, and Huainanzi; others are given on account of some particular matter.

The Preface and Instructions says: “The title ‘Laozi’ existed countless kalpas ago. Its origins lie in a remote and profound past; he did not receive this title simply because he was old when he was born. He had endured since countless kalpas before, and so he was called ‘Old.’ It is said that he entrusted his spirit to Mother Li and was born through an opening in her left armpit. His hair was already completely white at birth, and so he was called ‘Laozi.’”

Laozi’s title, “Laozi,” is explained in the Xujue as arising from the fact that he existed before Heaven and Earth took form and never grew old or came to an end; hence he was called “Laozi.” Taken together, the various accounts suggest that this title did not originate at his birth. Rather, it was given because Lord Lao—the Daoist honorific for Laozi—passed through successive cosmic cycles, continually taught the people, and, whenever he appeared in the world, commonly took the form of an old man. For this reason he was called “Laozi.”

Later generations said that Laozi was born in the Zhou dynasty. This claim likely arose after Qin Shi Huang’s book-burning, when historical records suffered considerable loss. Seeing that Laozi taught during the reigns of King Wen and King Wu of Zhou, as well as those of King Ping, King Jing, King You, and King Li, people mistakenly concluded that he had been born in the Zhou dynasty. In fact, he was born in the Shang dynasty. If Laozi had not been born until the time of King Ping, King Jing, King You, or King Li, how could he have served as an archivist during the reigns of Kings Wen and Wu? Xue Daoheng’s Stele of the Great Clarity therefore gives the reliable account: Zhenyuan, an honorific title for Laozi, served as an archivist, or a historian of the pillars, during the reigns of Kings Wen and Wu. Today, consulting the Basic Annals of Lord Lao by Guan Yin, the Inner Biography from the Louguan by Perfected Taihe, and Liu Xiang’s Biographies of Immortals, we find that all say Laozi was born in the gengchen year of King Wuding of Shang. This account is correct.

“To understand the lineage of one’s clan” means to know the origins and course of its generations. The imperial annals and hereditary houses in the Records of the Grand Historian also serve to trace the origins of clans. When people investigate their ancestors’ origins, some find that their surname came from a fief, while others find that it came from an official post. Their descendants thus divided into different branches, each with its own source. In this way, even after thousands upon thousands of years, the lineage of a clan can still be discerned…

The Records of the Grand Historian includes imperial annals and hereditary houses to record the succession of emperors and ruling families. The “ancestral lineage” discussed here likewise traces the origins and branches of a family. In ancient times, people investigating their ancestors found that some had taken their surnames from their fiefs, while others had taken them from their official posts. Their descendants then divided into different branches, each with its own origins. Thus, even after thousands upon thousands of years, their histories remained as clear as things in the palm of one’s hand. How could they not be examined?

A careful reading of the Inner Biography of Lord Lao and various histories shows that they all say Lord Lao was born beneath a plum tree and pointed to the tree himself, taking “Li” as his surname. This account is considered settled. Another account, now found in The Heavenly Mandate and Hidden Strategies of the Great Tang, says that a descendant of Emperor Zhuanxu had a son named Daye, who in turn had a child named Wa. Wa married a woman of the Youqiao clan. She conceived after the moonlight entered her body and gave birth to Jiuxian. Jiuxian had a son, Boyi, whose descendants served generation after generation as shi shi, officials responsible for administering justice. When Licheng came of age, he fled the turmoil under Xia Jie and took refuge at the former residence of the Marquis of Yi. He lived on plums there, and so changed his surname to Li.

According to this account, Jiuxian’s descendants were first surnamed Li because they had earned merit in adjudicating cases. Later, some of their descendants changed their surname to Li. Licheng fled to the former residence of the Marquis of Yi for refuge and changed his surname from Li to Li. Licheng had a son, Lizheng, who lived in the time of King Tang of Shang. Lizheng had a son, Changzu, who served as a grandee in the state of Chen and settled in Ku County. Changzu had a son, Ming, who became chancellor of Chen. Ming was buried north of Laixiang, where a temple was built in his honor; this gave rise to Xiangcheng. Ming had a son, Qingbin, who had a son, Lingfei, also known as Qianhui. Tradition says that both Qingbin and Lingfei ascended to heaven in broad daylight.

The Chen referred to here was the ancient state of Chen, not the state founded in the Zhou dynasty by Hu Gongman, who was enfeoffed by the Zhou. From King Tang of Shang to Yangjia, there were eighteen rulers over a period of more than 250 years. The five generations from Licheng to Qianhui span roughly the same period. By then, descendants of Taihao had already established the state of Chen. When the Zhou enfeoffed a descendant of Emperor Shun, it must have been this Chen. Only after Chen was destroyed did the Zhou enfeoff Hu Gongman as a feudal lord and place him in control of the land.

Tradition says that Lingfei’s wife, the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden, dreamed that the essence of sunlight entered her womb. She conceived through this divine response and gave birth to Lord Lao. This is one account of Lord Lao’s origins.

According to another account in the Basic Record, Laozi was already crying at birth. At that time, this region belonged to the state of Chen. Later, the Zhou court enfeoffed a descendant of Shun to establish the state of Chen here. After Chen fell, the Zhou court enfeoffed Lord Hu as king to govern the region.

One account says that Laozi’s wife, the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden, wife of Lingfei, dreamed that the vital essence of the sun entered her womb and therefore gave birth to Laozi. Another account in the Basic Record says that Laozi could speak as soon as he was born. Pointing to a plum tree, he said, “This is my surname.” Xue Daoheng, a Secretariat Drafting Official of the Sui dynasty, wrote in the Stele in the Courtyard of Laozi’s Shrine: “Laozi responded to the sun and descended into the world; the cause of his conception is difficult to fathom. He pointed to a plum tree as his surname, but the records do not make clear whether his birth was connected with the sounding of pitch pipes.” The Traditions of Master Louguan, meanwhile, says that Laozi’s holy mother grasped a plum tree as she gave birth to him, and that Laozi said to her, “This is your surname.”

All three accounts appear in scriptures and biographies. They are recorded together here to explain the ancestry and origins of this sage.

As for the “holy mother,” the Record of the Hidden Mystery says that during the Shang dynasty, father and son in the family of Li Lingfei passed down the practice of cultivating life. His father, Li Qingbin, was over a hundred years old, yet still looked young. He had traveled widely among the famous mountains of the Five Peaks. One day, while staying at his residence, he was met by a cloud dragon and then ascended to Heaven in broad daylight. After witnessing the extraordinary sight of his father’s ascent, Li Lingfei withdrew from public life and devoted himself to cultivating the Great Dao. He married the daughter of the Yin family of Tianshui and lived in Laixiang.

One day, while sleeping, Li Lingfei’s wife dreamed that the sky split open for several yards and a host of immortals appeared, bearing the sun. After a long while, the sun gradually shrank, fell from the sky, and transformed into a five-colored pearl about the size of a pellet. In her dream, she picked up and swallowed the pearl, then became pregnant. Her pregnancy lasted eighty-one years. Yet her appearance grew ever younger, and she often looked like a girl. After living for more than a hundred years, Li Lingfei also ascended to Heaven. After giving birth to Laozi, she …

After the Old Lord was born, a five-colored cloud chariot came to receive him and carry him up to Heaven. There is another account, however, of the origin of the surname Li. The Inner Biography of the Primordial Lord, the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden records that in the celestial realm the Old Lord is foremost among the sages, and in the human world he is the master of all teachings. He began guiding living beings countless eons ago and has endured ever since, abiding in Wuwei (non-action). For this reason, the Heavenly Worthy Daojun bestowed on him the honorific title “Old Lord.” This title existed before Heaven and Earth began and has remained unchanged through the ages. Though the Old Lord appeared in every generation and served as a teacher to emperors, no account tells of his being born into the human world.

Later, above the Nine Heavens of Purity, the Old Lord ordered the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden to descend into the human world. She became the daughter of the Yin family of Tianshui and married Li Lingfei. One day, while the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden was asleep in daylight, the Old Lord rode upon the essence of the sun, drove a chariot drawn by nine dragons, and transformed into a five-colored flowing pearl. He entered her mouth, lodged in her womb, and was born. After his birth, the Old Lord pointed to the surname Li and said, “This is my surname.”

The Old Lord had nine names in the human world. The first was Er, with the courtesy name Boyang; the second, Ya, courtesy name Bozong; the third, Zhong, courtesy name Boguang; the fourth, Shi, courtesy name Menggong; the fifth, Zhong, courtesy name Ziwen; the sixth, Ding, courtesy name Yuanyang; the seventh, Yuan, courtesy name Boshi; the eighth, Xian, courtesy name Yuansheng; and the ninth, De, courtesy name Bowen. Some accounts say that he had thirty-six honorific titles or seventy-two names. His surnames and names were too numerous to count, and even across countless eons they could not all be recorded. The Old Lord had nine transformations, modeled on the sun’s cycles of movement and change and its power to bring forth the myriad things. He also had seventy-two forms and eighty-one marks of excellence, and was therefore called the sage among sages and the perfected among the perfected.

In the celestial realm, the Holy Mother was known as the Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden. After giving birth to this great sage, she was honored as the Primordial Lord Taiyi. The Primordial Lord Taiyi transmitted to the Old Lord the charge to guide the world and spread the teachings. This included the method of inner cultivation known as the Nine Chambers and Three Ones, precepts concerning good and evil, the secrets of healing and the use of medicines, the principles of emptiness and quietude, and methods of nourishment and refinement through the Nine Wells. These teachings were meant to show people that the study and practice of the Dao are received through a teacher and transmitted through a lineage.

Yet the Most High Great Sage—the supreme sage, meaning the Lord Lao—is the sovereign who transforms and nurtures the myriad things. Would he really need to gain the Dao through study? The account describes the transmission from one sage to another across generations, showing that what was passed down had its own lineage.

After the Dao-transmission ceremony ended, celestial music sounded in the sky and drifting clouds spread across the fields. Ten thousand chariots and horsemen accompanied the procession. The Five Emperors and the High Perfected Ones, honored deities of the heavens, escorted the carriage of Nine Radiances and Eight Sceneries, a splendid vehicle of the immortal realms, as it welcomed the Holy Mother Primordial Lady back to the heights of Jade Clarity, the heavenly realm of Daoist cosmology. She later became known as the Primordial Lady of Great Unity. The Tang dynasty honored her as the Empress Dowager of the Primordial Heaven.

Taken together, the accounts of the various schools suggest that the Holy Mother was originally named Mysterious and Wondrous Jade Maiden and was the mother of the Lord Lao. She was later honored as the Primordial Lady of Great Unity; this account of her life is relatively credible. Her birth is dated to the reign of King Wu Ding of the Shang dynasty. Other accounts contradict one another and give inconsistent dates, so although they are recorded here together, they are not accepted as reliable.

Seventy-two marks and eighty-one signs of excellence.

Sima Jizhu said, “Those who cultivate the Dao and reach the highest depths can keep the crown of the head steady, with a vermilion bird (the divine bird symbolizing the south) appearing above it, and tread upon the Dark Warrior (the numinous beast symbolizing the north). Their bodies are hard as gold, their faces glow like jade, and a round radiance of five colors surrounds them. The crown of the head is purple-black, and true characters appear on the chest. These nine extraordinary signs, together with the seventy-two features described earlier, make eighty-one auspicious marks in all.”

Sima Jizhu said, “The higher one’s cultivation of the Dao, the more secure one’s position; the greater one’s power, the greater one’s danger. This saying is indeed sound. When Confucius served as a minister and Liu Bang, the First Emperor of Han, served as a village head, their thoughts were on helping the people and putting the Great Dao into practice. Did they pick and choose their posts, willing to serve only if they could hold high office? If one scorns a low position and a small stipend, insisting on competing with those of higher rank, the only result is to bring trouble upon oneself. How, then, could one attain sagehood and Virtue, leave a name for later generations, and endure as long as Heaven and Earth? After Laozi came into the world, he acted in just this way.

When King Wen of Zhou served as the Western Earl, he was known as Xieyizi. At that time, King Zhou of Shang was debauched and tyrannical, and the people throughout the realm were mired in suffering. Laozi arrived in a flying maplewood carriage, with the Wind Earl (the deity who governs the wind) leading the way and Pengzu (the legendary immortal famed for his longevity) driving. He descended at the southern foot of Mount Qi. When the Western Earl heard of him, he appointed him Keeper of the Archives, an official in charge of the texts. Laozi wrote the Scripture of Red Essence and taught the way of benevolence and trustworthiness. Zhou put this teaching into practice, honoring the worthy and esteeming righteousness; auspicious beings such as qilin and phoenixes then appeared one after another.

After King Wu of Zhou overthrew Shang, Laozi was known as Yuchengzi. He was transferred to the post of Historian Beneath the Pillar, an archivist who served beneath the pillars, and wrote the Scripture of the Vertical Pivot. He also transmitted the Dao to the Duke of Zhou. Under King Cheng of Zhou, Laozi served as a teacher and was known as Jingchengzi; under King Kang, he again served as a teacher, was known as GuoshuzI, and once more held the post of Historian Beneath the Pillar. By withdrawing and keeping to a low position, he helped support and stabilize the way of governance in Zhou. Under King Zhao of Zhou, the Supreme Lord Lao again ordered Laozi to go west and teach. Laozi therefore resigned from office and transmitted the two-part Dao De Jing to Yin Xi, known as the keeper of Hangu Pass who received the Dao from Laozi.

From the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors onward, Laozi served generation after generation as a teacher to rulers. He taught in many lands, spreading seventy-two methods of instruction and transmitting essential scriptures. Practicing these methods can all prolong life. Yet from the creation of Heaven and Earth until the end of the cosmic cycle, Laozi has at times appeared in the world and at times withdrawn from it, his traces taking many different forms. His conduct cannot be summed up in a single pattern.

In a country with sound governance and clear political order, the worthy come forward to serve. When the country is disordered and without the Way, the worthy withdraw into seclusion. This is the common practice of sages throughout the ages. Consider how they advanced or withdrew in times of peace and turmoil: in retreat, they made their home in the mountains and forests; when they entered public life, they assisted the ruler and adapted to the times; when they left office, they distanced themselves from the world and remained hidden. How much more so was it with Laozi, such a vast and profound perfected person, who could regard life and death as one, abide together with Heaven and Earth, merge with the spirits, roam in freedom, and wield the power of transformation? When he entered the Dao, he became one with the Six Directions (Heaven, Earth, and the four quarters), with no distinction between inside and outside. When he appeared, he responded to all things, great or small.

Someone asked, “Was Laozi a sage who could merge with the spirits, roam in freedom, and wield the power of transformation? Could he enter the Dao and become one with the Six Directions, then appear and respond to all things, great or small? Yet Laozi held no office higher than that of the Keeper of the Archives.” This is merely the worldly view. The Perfected One of the Southern Florescence, Zhuangzi, said, “The root of the Dao can be used to cultivate oneself; its next level of application can be used to govern a state; and a further level can be used to govern the world.” A sage knows how to cultivate himself through the Dao, and so regards the body as a temporary lodging. How, then, could lesser applications obstruct his original mind? For this reason, he accepts advancement and withdrawal, gain and loss, with equanimity. He acts only when circumstances compel him, and takes office only when there is no alternative. How could he be intent on seeking such things?

In the twenty-first year of King Zhou’s reign, the Dingmao year, the Most High (Laozi) lived south of Mount Qi and served as Keeper of the Archives, an official responsible for the classics. After King Wu of Zhou overthrew the Shang, Laozi became the Keeper of the Pillar, an official historian. After serving through the reigns of Kings Cheng and Kang, he feigned illness and resigned. In the twenty-fifth year of King Zhao’s reign, the Guichou year, on the twenty-ninth day of the fifth month, the Renwu day, he left the Zhou domain in a cart drawn by a blue ox, driven by Xu Jia.

The Record of Qingyang Palace says: When Laozi served as Keeper of the Archives, he followed the ways of the world; later, when he became Keeper of the Pillar, he withdrew to a remote place. He left the court and traveled west through the Hangu Pass, riding in a cart drawn by a blue ox and also in a carefree carriage borne by a white phoenix. Xu Jia drove for him, accompanying the Immortal Emperor to this place. Yin Xi saw the signs from afar and knew that the Lord of the Dao would surely arrive. This is what the account refers to.

The sage—here, the Most High Lord Lao—held compassion in his heart and sought to save living beings and help all things. He made no distinctions among people by rank, wealth, poverty, distance, or whether they were in darkness or in plain sight, treating all beings equally. Many therefore received his kindness, though not all remembered it clearly. In ancient times, people knew to repay even the smallest kindness. If someone had been saved from death and given a new chance at life, then broke his promise, that would be hard to forgive even by ordinary human standards—how much more so before the spirits?

Long ago, a man named Xu Jia served as the Most High Lord Lao’s driver. Lord Lao told him, “I am going to the Western Sea, Daqin, Yanbin, Tianzhu, Anxi, and other lands. Drive for me, and I will pay you one hundred coins each day. When we return from those lands, I will pay you the full sum in gold.” Xu Jia agreed and drove with Lord Lao as far as Hangu Pass.

Lord Lao wished to test Xu Jia. He sent him into the wild to tend a green ox, then transformed an auspicious herb into a woman of extraordinary beauty. When she came to the place where Xu Jia was tending the ox, she flirted with him. Enchanted by her, Xu Jia thought that Lord Lao had gone far away into the shifting sands and would probably never return. He abandoned his agreement to drive for him, went to the commandant of Hangu Pass, and made a cunning complaint against Lord Lao, demanding his wages.

Lord Lao said, “You have followed me for more than two hundred years. I should owe you seven million two hundred thousand coins. Moreover, your life had already run its course. I placed the Taixuan Life-Giving Talisman—a talisman used to bring someone back to life—inside your body, and that is what allowed you to live again. Why do you not remember this?” As soon as he had spoken, the life-giving talisman flew out of Xu Jia’s mouth and fell before Lord Lao. Its writing still looked freshly inscribed. Xu Jia immediately turned into a heap of white bones.

The commandant of Hangu Pass pitied Xu Jia, who had died after betraying his own nature, and wanted to see Lord Lao’s art of bringing the dead back to life. He bowed before Lord Lao and said, “I am willing to repay Xu Jia’s wages for him. Please, Great Sage, take pity on him, forgive his offense, and grant him life once more.”

Lord Lao granted the commandant’s request. He cast the life-giving talisman into the dry bones again, and Xu Jia returned to his former appearance. Lord Lao said, “I do not blame you. You broke your original promise, and the Dao within you departed on its own; that is why you died.” Lord Lao paid Xu Jia his wages in full and was about to send him away. But Xu Jia prostrated himself on the ground, striking his own face, and said, “I have received the sage’s generous forgiveness, and my dry bones have been given life again. I will keep this kindness in my heart and wish to follow your carriage.”

In the end, the Most High Lord Lao did not agree.

The human heart is harder to fathom than mountains, rivers, and terrain. Even when we try to distinguish good from evil, we can scarcely glimpse one ten-thousandth of what lies within. For this reason, in ancient times the methods for protecting and transmitting the Dao were taught only after the recipient had undergone twenty-five trials, which served to assess whether they were suitable. A person may be highly disciplined in outward conduct while being quite different within. The trials were therefore used to determine whether inner character matched outward behavior before Daoist teachings and methods were passed on.

The teachings of Laozi and Zhuangzi are the same in this respect: knowing their words without truly grasping them inwardly does not count as understanding their distinctive subtleties. Confucius told his disciples, “If you are to commend someone, you must first examine them.” How much more carefully, then, should one examine the profound and mysterious Dao and the arts of the immortals. Merely knowing what they say, without gaining anything within, is not understanding their distinctive subtleties. Thus Confucius told his disciples, “If you are to commend someone, you must first examine them.”

According to the Inner Tradition, in the twenty-fifth year of King Zhao of Zhou, the gui-chou year, on the ren-wu day of the fifth month, the Lord Lao left the Zhou realm and went into seclusion. Before long, he prepared to travel west to the land of flowing sands, where he would teach people with different customs. It is said that the Lord Lao was going to pass westward through Hangu Pass. Yin Xi, a senior official under King Zhao who was skilled in observing celestial phenomena, knew that a sage would soon pass through the pass and asked to serve as its commandant.

Yin Xi purified himself through fasting and bathing, stationed people along both sides of the road to await the traveler, and burned incense and swept the grounds. On the twelfth day of the seventh month, the Lord Lao arrived slowly in a cart drawn by a blue ox, driven by Xu Jia and accompanied by Master Wuji, Master Guigu, and Master Taiji. As the Lord Lao approached the pass from the west, the commandant first instructed the gate guard Sun Jingyun: “If anyone arrives with a carriage, horses, or clothing unlike those of ordinary people, or with an unusual appearance, do not let them pass.”

On the jia-zi day, the twelfth of the seventh month, an old man with white hair and broad ears indeed arrived at the pass, riding in a simple cart drawn by a blue ox. The gate guard said, “The commandant has given orders. Please wait here for a moment.” He then went inside to report: “An old man in a cart drawn by a blue ox has come from the east and is asking to pass through the gate.”

Yin Xi said joyfully, “The sage has arrived. I should go and pay my respects.” He put on his court robes, went out to welcome him, performed the rites of a disciple, and invited Lao Jun to stay. “I beg you, Sage, to halt your carriage for a while.”

Lao Jun demurred: “I am old, poor, and lowly. My home is east of Hangu Pass, and my fields are to the west. I am only passing through for a short time. Why do you ask me to stay? Please allow me to continue on my way; I have nothing to seek. Since your invitation is so sincere, I can only wait for the right moment to show you my respect.”

Lao Jun’s humble refusal was the first test. Yin Xi bowed again and said, “I suspect you are not going to an estate in the west. I beg you to stay for a while.”

Lao Jun replied, “I am going to Tianzhu to teach its people. There is an ancient master there, a good man who follows the Dao of Wuwei (non-action), without beginning or end, and has endured through countless ages. I am therefore going to meet him. The Dao passes through Hangu Pass. Why do you hold me back without cause?” This was the second test.

Lao Jun repeated that he was going to Tianzhu to visit the ancient master, and that Yin Xi should not hold him back without cause. This, too, was the second test.

Yin Xi said again, “Now that I see your true appearance, Sage, and your extraordinary bearing, you must be the supreme one of Heaven. How could you be going to a remote land? I beg you not to refuse again. Please show me a little compassion.”

Lao Jun asked, “How do you know who I am?”

Yin Xi replied, “Last year, in the tenth month, the stars in the sky moved westward and passed over Xu. Since the start of autumn this year, the autumn winds have risen several times, and clouds in the southeast, shaped like dragons and serpents, have also moved westward. These are all signs that a Perfected One is about to arrive. Since I was young, I have been fond of astronomy and the secret arts of prophecy and omen interpretation. Whatever I observe in the sky or examine on the earth often proves accurate. Yesterday’s celestial signs were the same: they foretold that a sage would pass through the pass. Since then, I have thought of this day and night without rest. Now, it seems that I am destined to encounter the Dao, for I have indeed met your carriage, Sage. I beg you to teach me with compassion and save me from my ignorance.”

Seeing that Yin Xi had passed the three tests, Lao Jun smiled with delight and said, “I knew you were destined for the Dao, so I came expressly to test you. You know me, and I know you.” Only after testing him in this way three times did Lao Jun allow Yin Xi to approach.

So the Four Eminent Ones of Mount Shang, the four recluses, said, “Did Laozi and Yin Xi not secretly grasp what was coming? Laozi’s humble words were meant only to teach and transform the people.” The Warden of the Pass, Yin Xi, then prepared a seat in the official residence, performed the rites of a disciple, and served Laozi facing north.

Laozi asked, “Do you wish to spread the great Dao among the people?” Yin Xi replied, “The great sage is about to withdraw from the world. Please write a work for me.” Laozi then entrusted Yin Xi with the two-part Dao De text, the upper and lower sections. This is the work of more than five thousand characters mentioned in the Records of the Grand Historian.

Sima Qian said that those who studied Yin-Yang spoke at such length that they only confused people; the Confucians’ learning was broad, but they worried too much; the Mohists lived austerely, to the harm of their nature; the School of Names used elegant words, but offered little substance; and the Legalists relied on harsh methods and showed little compassion. Only Laozi’s teaching was called the great Dao: still and empty, it followed things as they naturally were and kept the spirit focused. Its actions accorded with the Dao beyond form, and it could nourish all things fully. It adapted to changing times and responded to the different circumstances of things, never acting inappropriately. Its principles were concise and easy to grasp; it did little, yet achieved much. Its teaching was easy to put into practice, though its words were not easy to understand. It took emptiness as its foundation and followed the natural patterns of things in its workings. It imposed no fixed configuration and had no unchanging form, so it could aid all things. It neither went ahead of them nor lagged behind them, and so could become their master.

For this reason, the author placed the learning of Huang-Lao, the Daoist thought associated with the Yellow Emperor and Laozi, before the Six Classics, and singled out Daoism’s stillness and nobility for praise.

Hangu Pass lies twelve li south of present-day Taolin County in Shanzhou. In the early Tianbao era, it was renamed Lingbao County after a numinous talisman was discovered there. Emperor Zhenzong of the Song personally composed the Inscription on Crossing the Pass, with Preface, which says: “The sage’s understanding is open and unobstructed, without partiality or rigidity; the bounds of wondrous transformation are sometimes hidden and sometimes revealed. If the sage’s enduring influence is truly manifest, the people will look up to him with reverence. Hangu Pass is the road by which Laozi traveled west and ascended. Laozi embraced the true Dao and lofty De, clarified its teaching, yet reluctantly used words to name the Dao. He once cultivated the true Dao while living in the Archive Chamber; later, he crossed the flowing sands and vanished from sight. When Confucius asked him about ritual, Laozi spoke words of subtle meaning; when Yin Xi received the scriptures, he had already sensed the true Qi within them. These events are recorded in the writings of earlier generations and handed down to posterity.”

As for Laozi’s longevity and the Dao of supreme spirit, he had already reached a realm of mystery and subtlety. How could a few words possibly describe it? He once climbed Mount Hua and dwelt in a true realm, then crossed the flowing sands and vanished without a trace. When Confucius sought his guidance on ritual, Laozi replied with subtle words. Yin Xi, the Guardian of Hangu Pass, received the scriptures from him and grasped their true meaning. These events are recorded in the old histories and have been passed down to later generations.

Laozi once visited the outskirts of Mount Hua, in the area of Shuhe. The place where the immortals’ carriage passed still seems to bear its wheel tracks. The passes and bridges here show how rugged the terrain is around Mount Xiao and Hangu Pass. These counties and settlements are recorded to bring the auspicious signs of the Lingbao tradition to light. As the saying goes: though a person has departed, his teaching remains; though the world has changed, its traces can endure.

I have respectfully offered sacrifice to the earth and made this circuit. Looking up to Laozi’s quiet, Wuwei (non-action) example, I have long held him in my thoughts. I also admire governance through stillness and purity, and have always honored this founding master. I shall restore his legacy and have this eulogy engraved on jade.

The inscription says: The founding teacher of the teaching concealed the true Dao, and his De (Virtue/Power) was equal to that of a divine dragon. When he was about to travel far away, he knew it beforehand and silently understood the signs. The teachings of the sage were thereby made clear and became principles for the people to follow. Look toward Hangu Pass: its traces endure on the frontier. The mysterious Dao has no bounds, and its clear radiance is endless. The Daoist scriptures were upheld through purification rites; only after the true traces had faded were they engraved and recorded. This took place in the third year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era (1010).

The Transmission of the Two Dao De Jing Scriptures to the Pass Guardian

Sages establish teachings and set their doctrines down on bamboo slips and silk. They transmit them only to those suited to receive them. The Xici says, “If a person is not suited to receive it, the Dao is not transmitted to them.” That is the gist of the matter.

The Transmission of the Two Dao De Jing Scriptures to the Pass Guardian

Sages established teachings and often had their doctrines written on bamboo slips or silk. They passed them on only when they encountered a suitable person. The Xici says, “If the person is not suitable, the Dao is not easily transmitted.” Huang Shigong passed the Sushu to Zhang Liang, whose courtesy name was Zifang, helping him establish the Han empire. Laozi’s teaching rests on quietude, emptiness, and Wuwei (non-action); it can nourish all things. Its principles for self-cultivation and governing the state are also contained within it. Yin Xi must have had an affinity with the Dao from an early age, which is why he was able to receive Laozi’s teachings in person.

The Guardian of the Pass was a minister of the Zhou dynasty. His surname was Yin, his given name Xi, and his courtesy name Yanggong; another account says his courtesy name was Gongwen. One day, while his mother was sleeping, she dreamed that lightning descended from the sky and circled her body. Before long, a flash of lightning entered her mouth, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Yin Xi. When he was born, two rays of light moved around him like the sun. His eyes were bright, and his bearing was upright and imposing. Besides having broad knowledge of ancient texts, he was well versed in astronomy and secret apocryphal writings. Nothing escaped his understanding as he observed the heavens above and examined the earth below; even the transformations of ghosts and spirits could not elude him. He was broad-minded and exceptional in bearing, and did not cling to worldly conventions. Kind and frugal, he delighted in helping others, even at the cost of his own well-being.

Yin Xi entered the court as a companion to the Eastern Palace and later became Guardian of the Hangu Pass. He often gazed up at the horizon, longing in his heart to ascend into the void. Before Laozi arrived, Yin Xi built a thatched tower at the pass and climbed it to look out in every direction. When he saw purple clouds drifting westward from the east, he knew that a realized person was about to pass through the Hangu Pass. He therefore instructed the gate officers to keep the pass secure, clean the courtyard, burn incense, and wait to welcome this auspicious sign.

On the Jiazi day, the twelfth day of the seventh month, Laozi arrived at the Hangu Pass. Yin Xi bowed respectfully and invited him to rest at his residence, offering him a towel and comb and attending to his washing. Yin Xi then observed purification and asked Laozi to teach him the Dao. On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month, he resigned from his post; on the twenty-eighth, Laozi transmitted to him the two parts of the Dao De Jing. The Supreme One—here referring to Laozi—was preparing to travel west toward the region of the Flowing Sands. Yin Xi kowtowed and asked to accompany him. Laozi said, “You have not yet attained the Dao. How can you follow me? The Flowing Sands are a remote foreign land, and its people are rough and difficult to teach. How will you deal with them? Only the Way of life…”