《洞玄灵宝天尊说十戒经》

The Celestial Worthy said: Good men and good women, if you can naturally give rise to the mind that seeks the Dao (the Way), enter the gate of the Dao, and receive the ten precepts and the fourteen norms of self-cultivation that I set forth, you become pure-faith disciples of the Great Dao—people who devoutly revere Daoism. So long as you press forward with courageous vigor, cultivating as diligently as those who soar through the heavens, never slackening and never turning back, you will be able to transcend the Three Realms—the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm—and become a Perfected of Supreme Clarity, a high-ranking immortal perfected being as spoken of in Daoism.

The ten precepts are these. First, do not kill living beings, and constantly hold all sentient beings in mindful regard. Second, do not recklessly give rise to deviant thoughts. Third, do not take wealth that is unrighteous. Fourth, do not deceive, and do not invert right and wrong or good and evil. Fifth, do not sink into drunkenness, and constantly intend to maintain pure and clear conduct. Sixth, live in harmony with clan, kin, and friends, and do not grow distant from your relatives. Seventh, when you see others doing good, help them in your heart, commend them, and rejoice on their behalf. Eighth, when you see others in distress, give them support and assistance so that they may obtain blessing and benefit. Ninth, if others come to harm you, resolve in your heart not to retaliate. Tenth, whatever you have not yet obtained, do not seek it with unrestrained greed.

Next are the fourteen norms of self-cultivation. When speaking with a ruler, keep in mind what benefits the state. When speaking with a father, urge him to be loving toward his children. When speaking with a teacher, urge him to care for the many. When speaking with subordinates, urge them to be loyal to those above them. When speaking with an elder brother, urge him to be affectionate toward his younger brothers. When speaking with sons and daughters, urge them to be filial toward their parents. When speaking with friends, urge them to associate in good faith. When speaking with a husband, urge him to keep the household in harmony. When speaking with a wife, urge her to remain faithful to her husband. When speaking with a younger brother, urge him to be respectful and observant of ritual propriety. When speaking with people of the countryside, urge them to be diligent in farming. When speaking with people of worthy virtue, urge them to devote themselves single-mindedly to seeking the Dao. When speaking with people of foreign lands, urge each side to keep to its own territory. When speaking with male and female servants, handle affairs with care and caution.

In the original text, after the words “next are set forth the fourteen good deeds,” several sentences from the end of the ten precepts are repeated, and only afterward are the fourteen norms listed. Here, in accordance with the sense of the passage, those repeated sentences are treated as a duplication arising in transmission or in the arrangement of the text.

The Celestial Worthy said: By cultivating and upholding pure precepts, one can constantly accord with the will of Heaven. One should always cherish a heart of great compassion, willing to help all living beings and to deliver universally those in the world who suffer; one should humbly and reverently honor the teachings, and must not grow lax halfway. Better to die while keeping to the good than to cling to life by doing evil. Persisting in this way without retreat, one can be delivered from the cycle of rebirth among the five paths and will no longer fall into the three evil destinies; the heavens will bestow blessings, and the gods will hold one in esteem. Through long observance of fasting and upholding of the precepts, one can naturally transcend the mundane world.

The Celestial Worthy further spoke in verse:

All who cultivate and study the methods of the Dao (the Way)

Should vow to realize the true Dao.

With a compassionate heart, keep the text of the precepts in mind,

And let the voice of the Dao bring afflictions to rest.

The Celestial Worthy said: Good men and good women, if you can arouse an aspiration that accords with the natural Dao, enter the gate of the Dao, and receive the ten precepts and the fourteen norms of personal conduct that I transmit, you become pure-faith disciples of the Great Dao (disciples who sincerely believe in the teachings of the Dao), and your merit may equal that of the valiant flying celestials. If, on the path of cultivation, you can press firmly forward without turning back, you can transcend the Three Realms and become a True Person of Shangqing (a high-ranking immortal perfected being, as spoken of in Daoism).

Thereupon the disciples faced their master, prostrated themselves, and received the precepts.

The first is not to kill, and always to keep living beings in mind. The second is not to be licentious, and not to violate the wives and daughters of others. The third is not to steal, and not to take wealth contrary to what is right. The fourth is not to deceive, and not to invert or distort good and evil. The fifth is not to drink to excess, and always to think of pure cultivation. The sixth is to live in harmony with one’s clan, relatives, and friends, and not to grow estranged from one’s kin. The seventh is, on seeing others do good, to approve of it in one’s heart and rejoice in it. The eighth is, on seeing others in worry and hardship, to help them accumulate blessings and practice good. The ninth is, when others come to do one harm, to resolve not to retaliate. The tenth is, before one has attained the Dao, always to think of pure cultivation and not to harbor improper, extravagant hopes.

Next we turn to the “fourteen norms of self-cultivation.” When speaking with the ruler, one should discuss how the state may be benefited. When speaking with one’s father, one should urge him to cherish his children with kindness. When speaking with one’s teacher, one should urge him to care for everyone. When speaking with one’s elder brother, one should urge him to act according to the way of fraternal amity. When speaking with a minister, one should urge him to be loyal to his sovereign. When speaking with one’s children, one should urge them to be filial and respectful toward their parents. When speaking with friends, one should urge them to treat one another with sincerity and good faith. When speaking with a husband, one should urge him to live in harmony with his family. When speaking with a wife, one should urge her to be faithful to her husband. When speaking with disciples, one should urge them to be reverent and to observe ritual propriety. When speaking with the common people of the countryside, one should urge them to be diligent in farming. When speaking with shramanas (Buddhist monastics) and Daoist priests, one should urge them to devote themselves single-mindedly to cultivating the Dao (the Way). When speaking with foreigners, one should urge them each to guard well the territory of their own country. When speaking with male and female servants, one should urge them to be careful in their work.

The Celestial Worthy said: If one cultivates and upholds the pure precepts, one will constantly accord with the mind of Heaven. One should always practice compassion widely, resolve to keep all living beings in mind, and universally deliver those who dwell in this world of suffering. One should reverently and carefully follow the teachings, and must not be disloyal or remiss in diligence. Better to hold to the good and die than to do evil and cling to life. If one persists in this without turning back, one can leave the cycle of rebirth through the five paths, no longer enter the three evil paths, and receive the protection of the heavens and the reverence of the myriad spirits. By long upholding the precepts, one will naturally be able to gain deliverance from the mundane world.

The Scripture of the Ten Precepts (Shijie jing) says: This teaching is truly profound and wondrous; it can spare your nine ancestors (nine generations of forebears) the suffering of servitude. If someone is unwilling to accept it, that person will enter the three evil paths. Those who receive the protection of the heavens and the reverence of the myriad spirits, and who long uphold the precepts, will naturally be able to gain deliverance from the mundane world.

The Scripture of the Ten Precepts further says: This teaching is truly profound and wondrous; it can spare your nine ancestors the suffering of servitude. If someone is unwilling to accept it, that person will be cut off from the Dao. If one who has not been authorized to receive the teaching nonetheless takes it up and accepts it without leave, that person will incur punishment in the present life. After death, such a person will fall into the three paths of suffering (hell, hungry ghosts, and animals—the three evil destinies). The final phrase, “可切阻□益,” has a missing or corrupt character in the original, and its meaning cannot be determined from the wording now available.

In the tenth year of Tianbao of the Great Tang, the year being xinmao, the first day of the first month was a yiyou day, and the twenty-sixth day was a gengxu day. In the Kaiyuan Abbey (Kaiyuan guan) of Fengyi Ward, Yuguan Township, Dunhuang County, Dunhuang Commandery, there was a male lay disciple devoted to the Dao (the Way), Zhang Xuanshi, then twenty-seven years old. He described himself as nothing more than an ordinary person of shallow understanding. Having been born a human being, his body was subject to the six emotions and desires (liuqing). Once the six emotions stain and cling, a person readily gives rise to all manner of faults and defilements: sometimes failing to discern what is before the eyes, sometimes clinging to the things one likes. Worldly affairs and causal conditions arise one after another, drawing in transgressions and impurities that accumulate from one lifetime to the next. He wandered in transmigration through the Three Realms (sanjie)—the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm—forgetting how to return, and circulated through the Five Paths (wudao), the five destinations of sentient rebirth, long sunk without awakening.

I have heard that the Heavenly Worthy, the Great Sage, taught the Ten Precepts and the Fourteen Rules of Personal Conduct, and that if one cultivates according to these teachings, one can pass beyond the Three Realms and ascend to the realm of Shangqing (Supreme Clarity). Although Xuanshi is dull by nature, he was still willing to seek, receive, and observe these precepts. He therefore went respectfully to Master Ma, the Zhongyue xiansheng, a Master of the Three Caverns (Sandong fashi), to receive the Ten Precepts and the Fourteen Rules of Personal Conduct, to cultivate and make offerings, and to treasure them forever as his own. Should he violate the covenant, he would long fall into hell and would not dare to hope for pardon.

The repeated passage later in the original is missing text. What survives reads: “…and thereby of oneself attain deliverance from the world. Master Ma, having respectfully received the Ten Precepts and the Fourteen Articles for Regulating the Body, cultivating and making offerings, forever taking them as a treasure of the person; □ violating the covenant, the hell of eternal night, not daring to hope for pardon.” Elsewhere only this remains: “…and thereby of oneself attain deliverance from the world.”

In the third year of Jinglong of the Tang dynasty (709 CE), a jiyou year, the first day of the fifth month was a dingsi day. On the eighteenth day, a jiaxu day, at Chongxu Abbey (Chongxu Guan) in Changsha Village, Hongguan Township, Dunhuang County, Shazhou, the female official and pure-faith disciple Tang Zhen, at the age of sixteen, made this vow.

I am an ordinary person, foolish and ignorant. Once I had a bodily form, I came under the influence of the six passions (liuqing), the six kinds of human feeling and desire. As soon as the six passions take hold, conduct easily becomes disordered and defiled; at times one cannot clearly discern what lies before the eyes and clings to the things one likes. Worldly affairs and all manner of causal conditions arise one after another, bringing transgressions and defilement that accumulate without cease through successive lives. Thus I transmigrate within the Three Realms (sanjie)—the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm—drifting and wandering, forgetting the way of return; and I revolve among the Five Paths (wudao), the different destinations of rebirth, long sunk in them yet unawakened.

I have heard the Great Saint, the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun), proclaim the Ten Precepts and the fourteen rules for regulating the person: those who cultivate according to this teaching may rise beyond the Three Realms and attain the highest realm of Shangqing (Highest Clarity). Therefore, though I am foolish, I am still willing to seek and receive these precepts. I have respectfully prepared the tokens of faith (faxin), the offerings presented when the precepts are received, and go to the ordination station of the Master of the Northern Marchmount (Beiyue Xiansheng), the place where the precepts are conferred, to receive the Ten Precepts and the fourteen rules for regulating the person, and to cultivate and make offerings in accordance with them, wishing that they may forever be treasures of my own person. Should I violate this covenant or betray this pledge, I shall be long confined in the hells, and I dare not hope for pardon.

The first day of the first month in the Tai-sui year Jiayin was a Gengshen day. Li Wushang, a male official and disciple of pure faith from Chang’an li in Longle township, Dunhuang county, Shazhou, twenty-seven years of age, prepared the required pledge tokens according to regulation and went to Wuqiong li in Xiaogu township, Dunhuang county, Shazhou. There he paid his respects to Zhang, Master of the Central Peak and ritual master of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen), seeking to receive the Ten Precepts and the “Fourteen Articles for Maintaining the Person” (precepts that regulate the conduct of body and mind).

Li Wushang said: “As an ordinary mortal, since I have received a body possessed of form, that bodily form is stained by the six passions (the six kinds of human emotion or sensory desire). Once the six passions are stained, thoughts and actions become impure: at times I cannot clearly discern what lies before my eyes, and at times I cling to the things I love. The affairs of the world and all manner of causes and conditions arise one after another, bringing on transgressions that accumulate over many lifetimes. I drift in transmigration through the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm) and cycle through the Five Paths (the five destinations of sentient beings in rebirth), long sunk without awakening. Therefore, in accordance with the Keyi (liturgy), I have prepared the pledge tokens and earnestly beg to receive and uphold these precepts, to practice them and make offerings, and to treasure them forever as my own. If I violate the oath or betray the agreement, I shall long be confined in the dark hells and dare not beg for leniency.”

The original text is damaged. At the end only such wording as “attaining deliverance from the world” (transcending the secular world and obtaining liberation) survives, and the missing content cannot be restored on this basis.

In the second year of Zhide, a dingyou year, on the fourteenth day of the fifth month (the first day of that month being wushen, and the fourteenth day xinyou), Wang Yuzhen, a man of Hongwen Ward, Pingkang Township, Dunhuang County, Dunhuang Commandery, a disciple devoted to the teachings of the Dao (the Way), sixteen years of age, brought pledges in accordance with the prescribed rites. He now goes to Anchang Ward, Pingkang Township, Dunhuang County, Dunhuang Commandery, to petition Master Zhongyue, a ritual master of the Three Caverns (Sandong), requesting to receive and uphold the Ten Precepts and the fourteen regulations for governing the body.

As a person of tangible flesh and form, Wang Yuzhen, having already been born into the world, is subject in his bodily form to the influence of the six passions (the six human senses and the desires they arouse). Once the six passions are stirred by external things, thoughts and conduct readily become clouded by affliction and defilement. At times, faced with what he sees, he becomes absorbed and attached to it; the various affairs and causal conditions of the world then arise one after another, inviting transgression and impurity, which accumulate across many lifetimes. Thus he drifts in transmigration through the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm), forgetting to return to the correct Dao; he circulates among the Five Paths (the five destinations through which living beings pass in the cycle of rebirth), long sunk without awakening.

Therefore, in accordance with the Mysterious Statutes (the precepts and ritual norms of Daoism), he brings pledges with due propriety and requests to receive the Ten Precepts, vowing to cultivate, uphold, and venerate these precepts so that they may forever become a treasure of his own person. Should he violate the covenant and betray the agreement, he will be long confined in the darkness of the hells, unable to gain release from rebirth in the Three Realms, and will still drift among the Five Paths, long sunk without awakening. Therefore, in accordance with the Mysterious Statutes, he brings pledges with due propriety and requests to receive the precepts, to cultivate and venerate them, forever honoring them as his own treasure; should he violate the covenant and betray the agreement, he dares not presume to hope for forgiveness.

Note: One character is missing in the original at “□盟负约”; in light of the context, the translation understands this as “violating the covenant and betraying the agreement.”

In the first month of the Tai-sui year Jia-yin, the first day of the month falling on a geng-shen day, on the twenty-second day, a xin-si day, Yin Zhiqing, a female Daoist priestess (nüguan) of Shennong Li in Hongchi Township, Dunhuang County, Shazhou, and a disciple who devoutly revered the Dao (the Way), prepared the prescribed tokens of faith. She went to Wuqiong Li in Xiaogu Township, Dunhuang County, Shazhou, and petitioned Zhang, Master of the Three Caverns (Sandong) and Zhongyue Xiansheng (Gentleman of the Central Peak), to receive the “Ten Precepts” and the “Fourteen Articles for Upholding the Person” (norms for cultivating oneself and observing the precepts).

As a person of flesh and blood, Zhiqing, having received a bodily form, was subject to the influence of the six passions (the six senses and the desires and feelings that arise from them). Once the six passions are stirred by external things, conduct readily gives rise to faults and defilement; faced with what one sees, if one cannot keep the precepts and restrain oneself, the mind and spirit (Shen) become lost in the objects of attachment. The various affairs and causal conditions of the world then arise one after another, bringing guilt and impurity that accumulate across many lifetimes. Thus one wanders in transmigration through the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm), forgetting to return, and sinks in the cycle of the Five Paths (the five destinations of sentient beings in rebirth), long unable to awaken.

Therefore, in accordance with the Mysterious Statutes (Xuanke, the precepts and ritual norms of the Dao), she prepared the prescribed tokens of faith and earnestly requested to receive the precepts, resolving to cultivate them, make offerings, and uphold them, so that these precepts would forever be treasures of her own person. Should she violate the covenant or betray the agreement, she would be long confined in the hells and would not dare to beg for forgiveness.

In the second year of the Jingyun era of the Great Tang (711 CE), the Tai Sui stood in the year Xinhai. In the eighth month, on a jisi day—the first day of the third month, whose cyclical sign was bingwu—there lived in Chuntai Ward of Longquan Township, Lietang County, Yongzhou, a disciple of pure faith named Jingxian, twenty-seven years of age.

Jingxian said: I am only an ordinary person, shallow in knowledge and insight. Once one has a bodily form, one cannot avoid being swayed by the six passions (the six senses and desires of human beings). Once the six passions are stained by contact with external things, one’s conduct readily gives rise to faults and defilement. At times, faced with what one sees, one cannot clearly discern what one clings to. Worldly affairs and every kind of causal condition arise one after another, drawing in guilt and impurity, which accumulate ever more through lifetime after lifetime. Thus I have wandered in transmigration through the Three Realms (the Realm of Desire, the Realm of Form, and the Formless Realm), forgetting how to return; and I have cycled through the Five Paths (the five destinations of sentient beings in rebirth), long sunk in them without awakening.

I have heard that the Celestial Worthy, the Great Sage, proclaimed the Ten Precepts and the Fourteen Rules for Regulating the Person. Those who cultivate according to these precepts may rise beyond the Three Realms and attain the realm of Highest Clarity (Shangqing). Although Jingxian is foolish, he is still willing to receive and uphold them with reverence. I carefully make this vow and, following the ritual procedure, go to Dongming Abbey in Huaiyin Township, Chang’an County, Yongzhou, to request from a certain Zhang—Master of the Central Marchmount and a Master of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen)—the Ten Precepts and the Fourteen Rules for Regulating the Person, to cultivate and reverently uphold them, and to treasure them forever as my own. Should I violate this covenant or betray this pledge, I shall long be confined in the dark hells of the underworld and shall not dare to seek forgiveness.