《太微仙君功过格》

The Book of Changes says: “A household that practices goodness will surely enjoy a surplus of blessings; a household that practices what is not good will surely leave behind calamity.” The precepts of Daoism likewise say: “Accumulate good deeds, and auspiciousness will descend; commit evil deeds, and disaster will follow.” From this it is clear that the teachings of Confucianism and of Daoism do not differ.

The sages and worthy gentlemen of antiquity, together with lofty adepts who cultivated the Dao (the Way), all established covenants and precepts. Inwardly these served to purify the thoughts of the mind and to temper one’s conduct; outwardly they served to instruct others, and thereby to bring the work of merit to completion.

At the zi hour on the second day of the second month, in mid-spring of the xinmao year of the Dading era (1171 CE), I dreamed that I wandered through the Purple Prefecture (Zifu, the celestial palaces where immortals dwell), paid homage to the Immortal Lord of Taiwei (Taiwei Xianjun, a realized immortal of Daoism), and received this Ledger of Merits and Demerits (Gongguoge, a set of entries for recording and assessing good deeds and faults). The Immortal Lord commanded me to transmit it to those who are sincere and trustworthy. After I awoke, I reflected on matters of merit and fault, and the entries appeared one by one with perfect clarity. I at once put on my robe and sat upright, pondering in silence. Knowing that a lofty immortal had descended and made himself manifest, I dared not be negligent. I set my robes and cap in order, washed the inkstone, spread out the paper, and took up the brush to write. Before long the work was finished. The whole of it was written spontaneously, and was not the product of deliberate composition.

This ledger sets forth thirty-six items of merit and thirty-nine items of fault, each divided into four categories, in order to explain the method of calculating merits and faults. It is entrusted to those who cultivate the Dao, so that they may note the date, record their own merits and faults each day, make a brief reckoning once each month, and a general evaluation once each year. The amount of merit and fault that one records for oneself corresponds, plainly and without the least discrepancy, to the figures kept by the true offices (zhensi) in heaven that preside over examination.

As a rule, when a day comes to an end, it is easy to set down merits with the brush, but difficult to record faults. Even if an intelligent person already understands the causal conditions of transgression and blessing and the distinction between good and evil, should one grasp even half of this, one ought to act with caution so that faults are entirely eliminated. To cultivate oneself according to these entries, turning away from evil deeds and toward good deeds, is truly an important precept. In doing so, one is not far from becoming an immortal.

Preface by Youxuanzi of the Wuyou Pavilion, Huizhen Hall, Western Hills.

The method for keeping this register of merits and demerits is as follows. Ordinarily one places brush, inkstone, and booklet at the head of the bed in the bedroom, first writes down the month, then keeps a day-by-day tally, and under each day sets out two columns, “merit” and “demerit.” Before sleep, one reviews the good deeds and evil deeds of the day and checks them against the categories and counts in this ledger of merits and demerits (gongguoge). Good deeds are entered under “merit,” and faults under “demerit”; one must not record only merits and omit demerits.

At the end of each month the totals of merit and demerit are reckoned and offset against each other: demerit may cancel merit, and merit may cancel demerit. Whatever merit or demerit remains after the offset is to be clearly recorded as a total before the record for the next month is begun. At the year’s end the merits and demerits of the whole year are totaled in the same way. One can thereby know one’s own guilt and blessing, and need not inquire further into good or ill fortune.

The code of merits comprises thirty-six items in all, arranged under such categories as Relief, Scriptural Teaching, Incense Cultivation, and the Conduct of Affairs. The code of demerits comprises thirty-nine items in all, arranged under such categories as Inhumanity, Lack of Goodness, Unrighteousness, and Impropriety.

The category of Relief has twelve items in all. To treat one seriously ill patient by talismanic methods, acupuncture, or medicine counts as ten merits; to treat one mildly ill patient counts as five merits. If a bribe is accepted from the patient’s household, no merit is recorded. Illness caused by malign influences is scored in the same way. Each treatment performed counts as one merit, and each dose of medicine given counts as one merit.

To transmit one talisman, one method, one prescription, or one art, so that others may accumulate good deeds and come to the aid of people, counts as ten merits for each item transmitted. If a bribe is accepted at the time of transmission, or if the person taught is led to accept bribes, no merit is recorded in either case.

Transmitting to others the Fulu (talismans and registers), ritual methods, medicinal prescriptions, and similar means needed to preserve and enhance human life and health records five merits for each item taught. If one transmits them only after accepting a bribe, only one merit is recorded.

Teaching one talisman, one method, one medicinal prescription, or one technique so that another person can accumulate good deeds and come to the aid of others records ten merits for each item. If one transmits them only after accepting a bribe, or teaches others to use them in order to take bribes, no merit is recorded.

Saving one person from the death penalty records one hundred merits. If one is oneself responsible for hearing or disposing of the case and deliberately exempts that person from the death penalty, one hundred merits are likewise recorded. Having one person’s death penalty reduced records fifty merits. Saving one person from penal servitude records forty merits; remitting penal servitude on one’s own authority records thirty merits; reducing the penal servitude records twenty merits. Saving one person from beating with the heavy stick records ten merits; remitting that punishment on one’s own authority records eight merits; reducing it records six merits. Saving one person from beating with the light stick records five merits; remitting that punishment on one’s own authority records four merits; reducing it records three merits.

Here, “saving” means that one is not the person in charge, yet still does everything possible to find a way to rescue the person. “Remitting” means that one has the authority to decide and deliberately grants leniency. If one merely sentences according to the law, it does not count as merit. If, within a private household, one reduces or remits punishment imposed on slaves, maidservants, or servants, the merits are calculated in the same way.

Saving one domestic animal able to repay a human being records ten merits—for example, a camel, mule, ox, horse, donkey, or the like. Saving one animal unable to repay a human being records eight merits—for example, the birds and beasts of mountain and wild, as well as insects, ants, moths, aquatic creatures, and the like. Saving a single insect, ant, moth, or small aquatic creature records one merit.

In giving relief to widowers, widows, orphans, the childless elderly, and impoverished commoners, a gift of one hundred coins records one merit, and a gift of one string of cash records ten merits. If one gives only a single coin each time, once the gifts add up to one hundred coins, one merit is still recorded. Gifts of rice, wheat, cloth, silk, clothing, and the like are converted into their cash value, and merits are calculated accordingly. Reducing or canceling debts for the poor is reckoned in the same way. Giving a hungry or thirsty person a mouthful of water, or giving such a person a meal, records one merit in each case.

Letting someone suffering from the cold stay for one night in a warm room records one merit.

Helping a person or an animal recover from physical exhaustion records one merit for each period of such help.

Burying remains that no relatives have come forward to claim earns fifty merits for each body. Bestowing land on households that have no burial ground, so that they may inter their dead, earns thirty merits for each person. If one thereby requires the other party to pay rent or tax, no merit is recorded.

Burying people, wild beasts, birds, or domestic animals that have died a natural death earns one merit for each life. Burying the remains of birds, beasts, or livestock earns one merit for every sixteen jin.

Repairing dangerous and obstructed places on the roads, as well as places where water easily collects and the ground sinks into mud, earns ten merits for each person each day. Building boats or bridges to help people cross rivers, without taking bribes, earns one merit for every hundred coins spent, and a further ten merits for each person each day.

Seven Articles of the Section on Scriptural Canons

Receiving for oneself the registers of methods and the scriptural teachings used to save others—the Daoist Fulu (talismans and registers) and the classical teachings of the Jing (scripture/classic)—earns twenty merits for each set. Receiving those used to protect oneself earns fifteen merits for each set.

Seeking from a lofty adept, a person of high moral cultivation who is thoroughly versed in the methods of the Dao (the Way), the registers and scriptural teachings for saving others earns eight merits for each set. Seeking those for protecting oneself earns four merits for each set.

Transmitting the ritual arts and serving as a ritual officiant, one who presides over the rites of practice, earns one hundred merits for each person. Initiating someone as a register disciple, a disciple granted Daoist registers and admitted into the Daoist order, earns fifty merits for each person. Initiating someone as a disciple who receives the precepts earns thirty merits for each person.

Transmitting to others the scriptural methods that rescue the many earns five merits for each set. Transmitting the scriptural methods that preserve nature and life earns four merits for each set. Transmitting scriptural discourses that expound principle earns three merits for each set. When friends transmit these to one another, merits are recorded in the same way.

Annotating or compiling oneself the scriptural methods that rescue the many earns thirty merits for each set. Annotating or compiling the scriptural methods that preserve nature and life earns twenty merits for each set. Writing, for those who have attained efficacy in cultivating the Dao, pieces that praise the methods of the Dao earns one merit for each piece. Poems, lyrics, songs, and rhapsodies earn no merit if they contain nothing that exhorts to goodness and moral transformation.

When scriptural methods are transmitted to others, or when friends transmit them among themselves, the merits are reckoned according to the numbers given in the text. The text repeats entries on repairing roads and on transmitting scriptural methods; the account above combines them according to their content.

To compose and compile by oneself a scripture (Jing) and method for the deliverance of all beings is credited with ten merits; to compile a scripture and method for the preservation of nature and life is credited with five merits; to write an essay in praise of the Dao (the Way) is credited with one merit.

For the block-carving and printing of scriptural books and doctrinal canons, one merit is credited for every hundred cash expended, and ten merits for every string of cash. For printing scriptures and distributing them to others, ten merits are credited for each fascicle of a minor scripture—a minor scripture being one of fewer than one thousand characters—and twenty merits for each fascicle of a major scripture—a major scripture being one of more than one thousand characters. The major and minor scriptures spoken of here must all be orthodox classics of the supreme sages and must possess the power to teach and transform; books that discuss the rise and fall or the victories and defeats of dynasties, together with writings that celebrate wind, flowers, snow, and moonlight, are not included.

The Category of Incense Cultivation (merit-and-demerit items of the kind concerned with burning incense and religious practice)

Cultivating one fascicle of a great scripture of the sages is credited with twenty merits. The great scripture spoken of here means a classic of more than one thousand characters that belongs to the orthodox canon of the supreme sages and possesses the power to teach and transform; books that discuss rise and fall or victory and defeat, and writings that celebrate wind and moonlight, do not fall within this category.

For the making or restoration of sacred images, altar precincts, precious standards, ceremonial canopies, banners and flags, offering flowers, ritual implements, couches and seats, and other articles of offering, one merit is credited for every hundred cash spent, and ten merits for every string of cash. If money or goods are given to another person and used by that person to make these articles, then half a merit is credited for every hundred cash, and five merits for every string of cash; one may also reckon by the objects themselves, crediting one merit for each item bestowed.

In daily morning and evening worship, if one burns incense and cultivates on behalf of the state and the multitude, two merits are credited for each morning performed; if one burns incense and cultivates for oneself, one merit is credited for each morning performed.

When a Zhangjiao is held—the Daoist rite of submitting a memorial in prayer and arranging an offering ceremony to the gods—if one prays for the removal of calamity on behalf of the state, the people, ancestors, orphaned souls, or honored elders, or if one performs the deliverance of deceased souls, two merits are credited for each performance; if it is held for oneself, one merit is credited; if it is held on behalf of a patron, one merit is credited. If the patron’s ritual pledge has been accepted—the goods offered in recompense to the Daoist priest—no merit is credited.

For holding rites for homeless and uncared-for orphaned souls, and for submitting a memorial to declare the case and carrying out talismanic commands for the deliverance of the dead (talismanic orders used to release the souls of the deceased), ten merits are credited for each such talisman.

For holding rites of deliverance for ancestors and honored kin, ten merits are credited for each deceased person; for relatives and friends of ordinary closeness, or for those of a younger generation, five merits are credited for each; when deliverance is performed on behalf of a patron, four merits are credited for each. If the patron’s ritual pledge has been accepted, no merit is credited.

Whenever one recites scriptures and prays for blessings on behalf of the state and its people, one’s elders and the deceased, or unclaimed orphaned souls—the dead for whom no one offers sacrifice—each recitation of one juan of a major scripture (Jing) is recorded as six merits, one juan of a minor scripture as three merits, and one hundred repetitions of a sacred name as three merits. When scriptures are recited for relatives and friends of one’s own generation, or for members of a younger generation, one juan of a major scripture is recorded as four merits, and one juan of a minor scripture, or the repetition of a sacred name, as two merits. When scriptures are recited for a patron, one juan of a major scripture is recorded as three merits, and one juan of a minor scripture, or the repetition of a sacred name, as one merit; if the patron’s ritual pledge has been accepted—an offering or a payment in return—no merit is recorded. When one recites scriptures to avert calamity and acknowledge one’s own faults, one juan of a major scripture is recorded as two merits, and one juan of a minor scripture, or the repetition of a sacred name, as one merit.

The Section on Practical Affairs: Twelve Articles

Undertaking good works of every kind and helping one person is recorded as one merit. Explaining and preaching the teachings of the scriptures and words that exhort people to goodness, and thereby instructing those present, is recorded as one merit for every ten persons and ten merits for every hundred; however large the gathering, no more than fifty merits are recorded. Earnestly exhorting people in an essay or a poem is recorded as one merit for each piece. Persuading others to contribute money toward building or accomplishing works of merit is recorded as one merit for each guan, an ancient unit of currency. Persuading people to settle a dispute through the official courts and thereby spare them punishment is recorded as ten merits for remission of the death penalty, five merits for remission of penal servitude, two merits for remission of the heavy rod, and one merit for remission of the light rod, a whipping punishment. Persuading people to stop fighting is recorded as one merit for each person. Recommending worthy persons of ability, insight, and virtuous conduct for office and public service is recorded as ten merits for each person. Praising another’s good deeds is recorded as one merit for each deed. Stopping or covering over another’s wrongdoing so that the evil does not occur again is recorded as one merit for each instance. Exhorting people to abandon conduct that is unlawful, dishonest, unfilial, unchaste, improper, unvirtuous, lacking in kindness, inhumane, or unrighteous is recorded as ten merits when one person, on this account, turns back toward the good.

Wearing one paper garment oneself is recorded as two merits, and wearing one plain, coarse cloth garment as one merit. Merit is recorded here for those who could afford luxurious clothing yet choose not to wear it; wearing fine silk brings no merit. Abstaining from eel—having eel available yet not eating it—is recorded as three merits; giving it up only later is recorded as two merits; keeping to a vegetarian diet while still dining in a relatively refined way is recorded as one merit. The latter part of the original text appears corrupt or incomplete: after the words “a plain vegetarian meal counts as one merit,” there further appears “merit belongs to those who do not wear them; those who wear and cling to silk have no merit,” and the sense is not fully coherent. The general meaning is that a vegetarian diet and plain fare count as keeping the precepts and cultivating goodness, whereas wearing fine silk garments earns no merit.

If one has the means to eat eel and other non-vegetarian foods yet chooses not to, three merits are recorded; if one gives them up only later, two merits are recorded. If one ordinarily keeps a vegetarian diet and eats only coarse, plain, and inferior food, one merit is recorded; if one eats vegetarian fare of middling quality, half a merit is recorded; if one eats vegetarian fare of the finest quality, no merit is recorded.

What this means is that merit is recognized only when fine food or exquisite vegetarian dishes are clearly available, yet one deliberately refrains from them and is content to eat plain, coarse, and inferior food. If no fine food is available and one merely eats food of middling quality, that does not count as merit; if no middling food is available and one merely eats inferior food, that likewise does not count as merit. Merit is counted only when better food is already at hand and one actively chooses not to eat it.

Article 39 of the Code of Demerits

The Category of Inhumanity, fifteen items in all

Whenever a person suffering from a serious illness comes seeking treatment and one refuses to treat them, two demerits are recorded for each such person; if the illness is minor and one refuses to treat them, one demerit is recorded for each person. If the treatment does not accord with medical principle, one demerit is recorded. If the patient is not cured and yet one accepts a bribe of one hundred cash, one demerit is recorded; if one accepts one string of cash, ten demerits are recorded.

If one prepares poison with the intent to harm another person, ten demerits are recorded; if one causes that person’s death, one hundred demerits are recorded; if the person does not die but falls ill, fifty demerits are recorded; if one causes the death of birds, beasts, livestock, and other living beings, ten demerits are recorded; if one harms a person without causing death, five demerits are recorded; if one merely conceives the thought of doing harm, one demerit is recorded.

If one studies malevolent arts such as yansheng, invocatory prayer, and cursing in order to harm others, and intends to do harm, ten demerits are recorded; if one causes a person’s death, one hundred demerits are recorded; if the person does not die but falls ill, fifty demerits are recorded; if one takes the life of a single animal raised by another person, ten demerits are recorded; if one causes an animal to fall ill, five demerits are recorded; if one merely conceives the thought of doing harm, one demerit is recorded.

If one uses yansheng to curse and suppress another household, causing strange phenomena to appear there in order to scheme for wealth, ten demerits are recorded; if one obtains one hundred cash, one demerit is recorded; if one obtains one string of cash, ten demerits are recorded.

“Yansheng” refers to the use of talismans and incantations, ritual techniques, and similar means with the intent to suppress or injure others. In the original text, the item on preparing poison appears twice; the second occurrence additionally specifies the number of demerits for “injuring without causing death” and for “forming the intention to harm.” Both have been translated separately above.

If one deliberately plots to harm another so that the person is sentenced to death, one hundred demerits are recorded when the deed is accomplished, fifty when it is not, and ten when one has only formed the intention and has not yet acted. If one deliberately plots to harm another so that the person is sentenced to penal servitude (imprisonment with forced labor), forty demerits are recorded when the deed is accomplished, twenty when it is not, and eight when one has only formed the intention and has not yet acted. If one deliberately plots to harm another so that the person suffers the punishment of the staff (beating with a rod), ten demerits are recorded; eight if the deed is not accomplished; and five if one has only formed the intention. If one deliberately plots to harm another so that the person suffers the punishment of the bamboo (beating with a bamboo strip or the like), three demerits are recorded; four if the deed is not accomplished; and three if one has only formed the intention. Any official who deliberately convicts a person is judged by the standards above; an official presiding over justice who recklessly finds spirits and ghosts guilty is judged by the same standards.

If one secretly forms the intention to injure another, one demerit is recorded for each person one intends to harm; if one actually injures a person, ten demerits are recorded. If one harbors lewd thoughts, or entertains miscellaneous thoughts of matters contrary to right principle, one demerit is recorded for each such arising.

Whenever one forms the intention to harm another with words, one demerit is recorded for each person one intends to harm; if one actually utters injurious words, ten demerits are recorded. Abusive reviling of a teacher, an elder, or an honored relative is recorded as ten demerits; reviling a good person, as eight; reviling a peer, as four; and reviling a junior or a person of lower station, as one. Breaking faith after an agreement is recorded as one demerit; publicizing another’s evil deeds, as one; and concealing another’s good deeds, as one.

Deliberately killing a person is recorded as one hundred demerits; causing death by accidental injury, as eighty; and bringing about another’s death by words, or instigating another to kill, as sixty.

Deliberately killing livestock capable of retaliating against a person is recorded as ten demerits for each life taken; accidental killing, as five. Deliberately killing animals incapable of retaliating against a person, such as birds and beasts, is recorded as eight demerits for each life taken; accidental killing, as four. Deliberately killing insects, ants, moths, small aquatic creatures, and the like is recorded as two demerits for each life taken; accidental killing, as one. Deliberately killing or injuring animals that can harm people, such as vicious beasts and poisonous insects, is recorded as one demerit each time. Tigers, wolves, snakes, scorpions, poisonous insects, and the like are reckoned by the standards above even when one has someone else kill them.

If one sees a person or an animal being killed and yet does not step forward to save them, the fault is to be reckoned at half the demerit incurred for that killing. Wounding or killing a person or an animal, and directing others to kill fierce beasts or venomous creatures, counts as one fault in each case. The fierce beasts and venomous creatures spoken of here include tigers, wolves, snakes, and the like.

If one sees a person or an animal being killed and does not come to the rescue—when there is no way to save them, and one also fails to arouse a heart of compassion—this counts as two faults; assisting in or approving of the taking of life counts as five faults.

If one is clearly able to save a person or an animal, yet looks on as they die and does nothing, this counts as ten faults. If one truly has no means of saving them and also fails to arouse a heart of compassion, this counts as one fault.

If one sees another person worried and sorrowful and, instead of offering counsel and comfort, deliberately appears pleased, this counts as five faults.

If one sees a person or an animal die and does not give rise to a compassionate thought, this counts as one fault. The “compassionate thought” spoken of here means that, when one witnesses suffering but is powerless to help, one may silently recite a sacred name or a scripture (jing), and thereby form a bond of good affinity.

Driving a person or an animal to labor until utterly exhausted, and still showing no regard for their hardship but forcing them on, counts as ten faults each time; if one also beats them, each stroke of the rod counts as one fault.

Using water on a road to create a place of sinking and drowning, so that people or animals have difficulty coming and going or walking, counts as ten faults each time.

Destroying boats or bridges so that people cannot cross counts as ten faults each time.

Doing ill by the “menba jing” (the sense of the original is unclear here and is suspected to refer to something such as gates, roads, or passages), so that people or animals have difficulty coming and going or walking, counts as ten faults each time.

The faults listed under the “eight articles on gates” are as follows. Destroying establishments of merit, sacred images, altar grounds, pennants and canopies, banners and flowers, vessels, bedding, and every kind of offering: for each hundred coins of value, one fault is counted, and for one string of cash, ten faults are counted. Instigating others, with specious and clever words, to destroy these things counts as half a fault for each hundred coins of value, and as five faults for one string of cash. Seeing such destruction and failing to dissuade it counts as one fault; approving of or assisting in the destruction counts as five faults.

Denouncing or profaning in words the sacred image of a Celestial Worthy (Tianzun) counts as twenty faults; denouncing a Perfected Person (Zhenren) counts as fifteen faults; denouncing a Divine Lord (Shenjun) counts as ten faults. Seeing these sacred images destroyed and not trying to stop it counts as one fault; assisting in the destruction counts as five faults. Destroying scriptures and the teachings is reckoned according to the same rules.

On a day of fasting, a festival, or an auspicious day, if one deliberately fails to pay homage to the divine Perfected, two demerits are recorded. If private affairs delay one so that one cannot attend, yet the day is not a fasting day, one demerit is recorded. If official duties delay one so that one cannot attend, no demerit is recorded. If, because one has consumed wine and meat, fish or other strong-smelling foods, or pungent and acrid foods, or has given some offense, one is unable to pay homage to the Perfected, five demerits are recorded. If one misses homage to the Perfected on a taboo day, one demerit is recorded.

If one eats an evening meal on a festival day or at a festival time, two demerits are recorded. If one eats an evening meal on an ordinary day, one demerit is recorded.

When a Zhaijiao (purification ritual) is held, one demerit is recorded for each item that is lacking among those offered to the sacred, used to secure the altar, or serving as pledges. If a single character in a memorial text is written incorrectly, one demerit is recorded. For each violation of the precepts of the Keyi (liturgy) or of the ritual form, one demerit is recorded. For each instance in which one’s bearing and conduct fail to accord with proper ritual dignity, one demerit is recorded. If the mind is not single-minded while chanting, one demerit is recorded. In the formulary used when the Keyi and documents are read aloud and when reports and petitions are presented to the deities, if a single character is misread or miswritten, one demerit is recorded. If one of the three daily homages to the Perfected is missed, five demerits are recorded. For each offering or item presented that is lacking, one demerit is recorded; for each that is unclean, one demerit is recorded; and for each that does not conform to ritual prescription, one demerit is recorded.

After one has received ritual pledges of money or goods from a donor (a person who supports Daoist priests or Daoist temples), if they are not used for their proper purpose, one demerit is recorded for every hundred coins misused, and ten demerits are recorded for every string of cash misused.

In the talismans, documents, and the like used in rites of deliverance for the dead, if a single character is written incorrectly, one demerit is recorded, and if a single character is omitted, one demerit is recorded. For each place where the talismanic script is written incorrectly or a character is omitted, ten demerits are recorded. If the preparation or copying of texts, or the writing and inscription of Fulu (talismans and registers), does not conform to the proper standard, five demerits are recorded.

(“Homage to the Perfected” means worship of the divine Perfected; “Zhaijiao” is the Daoist rite of fasting and purification in which an altar is established and the ceremony performed; “ritual regulations” refers to ceremonial procedures and precepts.)

When reciting the Jing (scriptures), omitting a single character is recorded as one fault, and omitting a whole sentence as five faults. If a character is mispronounced, or if one’s explanation and understanding depart from the original meaning, one fault is recorded for each such character. If, during recitation, the wording is inverted and disordered so that the sense of the text is damaged, five faults are recorded for each sentence.

If the mind is not concentrated while reciting scripture, five faults are recorded. If one thinks of licentious matters, confused thoughts, or evil deeds, ten faults are recorded. Stopping midway through the recitation to speak of evil matters and then resuming the recitation is recorded as ten faults; speaking of ordinary affairs is recorded as five faults; receiving and accompanying guests is recorded as three faults; and speaking of good deeds is recorded as one fault. Failing to follow the prescribed ritual for reciting scripture is recorded as five faults. Becoming angry while reciting is recorded as ten faults, and bullying or insulting others is recorded as ten faults.

Whenever any of the faults described above is committed during the recitation of scripture, the merit of the recitation is entirely lost, and the recitation is as if it had never been performed. Each fault cancels one portion of merit, and ten faults cancel ten portions of merit. One should therefore not commit these faults while reciting scripture.

Ten Items of the Category of Unrighteousness

Instigating another person to bring a lawsuit before the authorities is recorded as thirty faults if it causes the other party to be sentenced to death, as twenty faults if the sentence is penal servitude, as ten faults if the sentence is beating with the heavy stick, and as eight faults if the sentence is beating with the light stick.

Instigating others to quarrel and fight is recorded as one fault for each person involved.

Instigating others to become greedy for wealth, unfilial, neglectful of moral righteousness, unbenevolent, unwilling to do good, or lacking in kindness, or to do other improper things, is recorded as one fault for each such matter.

Seeing a worthy and capable person yet failing to recommend that person is recorded as one fault; seeing a worthy and capable person yet failing to learn from that person is recorded as one fault.

Meeting an enlightened teacher—a teacher of virtue who thoroughly understands the teachings—yet neither going to pay one’s respects nor seeking instruction and receiving the teaching of the Jing is recorded as two faults. Failing to follow the teacher’s instruction is recorded as ten faults; betraying one’s teacher is recorded as fifty faults; and openly going against the teacher’s teachings is recorded as thirty faults. The same standard applies to respected elders and to one’s parents.

Not associating with good companions and beneficial friends is recorded as one fault.

Failing to relieve people in poverty is recorded as one fault; and if one further bullies and insults them, three faults are recorded for each person so mistreated.

Stealing another person’s property, or teaching another person to steal, is recorded as one fault for every hundred cash stolen and as ten faults for every string of cash (one guan) stolen. Seeing someone steal and failing to dissuade them is recorded as one fault; helping someone steal is recorded as five faults. Stealing rice, wheat, cloth and silk, clothing, and the like is in every case reckoned as faults according to the sum of money into which the goods are converted.

Taking another person’s property by improper means is recorded as one fault for every hundred cash and as ten faults for every string of cash.

Owing someone property yet denying the debt, concealing it, and failing to return it is recorded as one fault for every hundred cash and as ten faults for every string of cash; if one plots harm against the creditor on this account, the faults are doubled.

Six Articles of the Section on Improper Conduct

When transmitting the teachings, concealing the true method and passing off false content in its place so as to deceive disciples is recorded as five faults for each such matter. Accepting the faxin—the goods a disciple presents in order to seek the teaching—is recorded as one fault for every hundred cash; when someone comes seeking the teaching and one does not transmit it, one fault is recorded; transmitting the teaching to an unsuitable person is recorded as ten faults.

Composing licentious biographies, poems, and songs, and using them to deceive disciples, is recorded as five faults for each such matter. If the faxin is accepted, one fault is recorded for every hundred cash; when someone comes seeking the teaching and one does not transmit it, one fault is recorded; transmitting the teaching to an unsuitable person is recorded as ten faults.

Composing licentious biographies, poems, and song-ballads is recorded as two faults for each piece written and as two faults for passing one piece on to a single person; compiling them into one volume is recorded as one fault, and passing a volume on to a single person is recorded as one fault; even merely keeping a single piece in one’s own mind is recorded as one fault.

Eating meat: deliberately killing a living being and then eating the meat is recorded as six faults; buying meat in order to eat it is recorded as three faults; knowingly and deliberately eating meat that is forbidden is recorded as six faults; eating forbidden meat by mistake is recorded as three faults; eating meat on a zhai day—a day for keeping the fast and observing the precepts—is recorded as ten faults; entering the altar precinct after eating meat and reciting the good teachings is recorded as ten faults.

Drinking alcohol: using wine to discuss and pass judgment on evil matters, and drinking one sheng of it together with others, is recorded as six faults; drinking one sheng with a disreputable person without due cause is recorded as two faults; drinking one sheng with an ordinary person for no reason is recorded as one fault; using wine to encourage licentious conduct, and drinking one sheng together, is recorded as ten faults. Drinking with friends in order to mediate a dispute, wine used in sacrifice, wine for entertaining guests, and wine taken as medicine are none of them counted as faults. Drinking on a zhai day until one collapses drunk, or entering the altar precinct after becoming drunk and reciting the good teachings, is recorded as five faults.

Eating the five pungent plants—in Daoist precepts, commonly the strongly pungent kinds such as scallions and garlic—without due cause is recorded as one fault each time. Reciting scripture after eating the five pungent plants is recorded as ten faults for one fascicle of a major Jing (scripture/classic), five faults for one fascicle of a minor Jing, and one fault for reciting a sacred name once; eating the five pungent plants on a zhai day is recorded as five faults.

The phrase “受触极亲” is retained as in the original: after contact connected with “极亲,” entering the altar precinct and reciting the good is recorded as five faults.

Eating the five pungent plants without due cause—sharp, pungent foods such as onions and garlic—is recorded as one transgression each time they are eaten. After eating them, reciting one large scroll of scripture (jing) can offset ten transgressions; reciting one short scripture can offset five; and chanting a sacred name once can offset one. If the five pungent plants are eaten on a day of purification, five transgressions are recorded.

Bodily contact with a person of the closest intimacy is recorded as fifty transgressions; contact with a close relative, as thirty; contact with a distant relative, as twenty; and contact with a woman of good family, as fifteen. After contact of this kind, if one enters the altar precinct to recite the Dao (the Way), to pay homage to the true gods, or to worship the holy perfected, or if the contact is committed on a day of purification, the transgressions are to be reckoned according to the ritual procedure, with five recorded on each occasion.