《虚皇天尊初真十戒文》

The Celestial Worthy of the Void Sovereign (Xuhuang Tianzun) says: Those who are able to leave household life, cultivate the Dao, and transcend the secular world are all persons who in former lives had already formed good affinities with the Dao, and for this reason they can rise above ordinary people. If one remains careful and unremitting from beginning to end and devotes oneself wholeheartedly to cultivation, blessings will extend to seven generations of ancestors, and auspicious fortune will be handed down throughout the entire clan.

A so-called nine-story terrace is raised from a heap of earth, and a journey of a thousand li must begin with the first step beneath one’s feet. Entering the gate of the Dao and accumulating De (Virtue/Power) must likewise begin from here. When one receives ordination and enters the Dao, one should receive the Precepts of Initial Perfection (Chuzhen jie), the precepts given to those first entering the Daoist gate—ten in all—and you should accept and observe them.

The first precept: one must not be disloyal, unfilial, unbenevolent, or untrustworthy. One should serve the ruler and one’s parents and elders with all one’s heart and strength, and treat all things with sincerity and good faith.

The Text of the Ten Precepts of Initial Perfection of the Celestial Worthy of Vacuous Majesty (Xuhuang Tianzun) says that, although the classics (Jing) of the Dao (the Way) number as many as ten thousand scrolls, they all place loyalty and filial piety first.

Serving the ruler with wholehearted devotion and diligently attending to affairs of government is to repay the grace of the state’s protection. Cultivating oneself, acting with care, and treating one’s parents well is to repay the grace of parental nurture. Serving one’s teacher as one serves one’s parents is to repay the grace of the teacher’s instruction. Human beings receive the beneficence of Heaven and Earth, the ruler, their parents, and their teachers, and ought to repay it with the same sincerity. One must also look up without shame before Heaven and look down without shame before others, revering and having faith in the gods and spirits, so as to repay the grace of Heaven and Earth’s creative transformation. These kindnesses, together with those just mentioned, are collectively called the “Four Graces.”

The ways in which those who have left the household serve the state include praying for blessings and prolonged auspiciousness on the nation’s behalf, dispelling demonic evils and disasters, and teaching the people to turn toward goodness, thereby making up for what royal government and moral instruction cannot reach. This is the loyalty of those who have left the household.

While one’s parents are alive, one should guide them to cherish their blessings and to have faith in the Great Dao. After they have passed away, one should pray for blessings on their behalf so that their spirits may move to a blessed land. For oneself, one should set aside every attachment of affection, cut off the miscellaneous ties of the dusty world, and with single-minded concentration diligently study the Dao. Once the work of cultivating the Dao is accomplished, even ancestors and kin across a hundred million kalpas can all receive deliverance. In this way, above one repays the fourfold grace, and below one relieves the suffering of the three paths (the “three paths” refer to the three evil destinies in which living beings suffer). This is the filial piety of those who have left the household.

Those without humaneness deceive their own conscience, recklessly commit injustice, and violate rites and law. Those without trustworthiness speak falsely and boast of themselves, using ornate words to confuse the multitude. One should understand that true great loyalty is not to cloud one’s own conscience, and not even to deceive a single thing; true great filial piety is not to go against the principles of affairs, and even to care for all the living beings around one. Thus, even a single sentence that deceives the conscience cannot count as loyalty, and even a single act that violates rites and law cannot count as filial piety. Loyalty and filial piety are the foremost principle of the various precepts and the root of the hundred kinds of good conduct; they are what those who study the Dao ought first to practice. If one can act according to the principles set out above, one can serve ruler and parents with complete devotion and integrity, and extend that sincerity to all things.

The second precept: one must not secretly harbor malice and scheme, harming other beings in order to benefit oneself; one ought quietly to do good and broadly come to the aid of living beings.

Scheming in secret and entrapping others means, behind their backs, inciting people to do wrong or stirring up lawsuits and disputes. To bring others under the net of the law while taking pleasure in it oneself—such thoughts and acts of harming others to benefit oneself are truly beyond counting. If one can examine oneself, turn the heart back toward goodness, and exhort others to practice good, one can accumulate hidden virtue unknown to others and widely aid all living beings; this is the most fundamental principle of cultivating the Dao (the Way).

The third precept: one must not kill living beings to satisfy the cravings of mouth and belly. One should harbor compassion and bestow kindness, and even insects are to be cherished.

Not taking life is meant to preserve a heart of benevolence. Birds, beasts, and other animals—creatures other than human beings—possess life just as people do. They too have mates and spouses, the affection of parent and child, the need for nests and dwelling places, and desires for food and drink. They also feel attachment and resentment, joy and fear, and in these respects they differ in no way from human beings. If one can hold compassion in the heart and cannot bear to kill them merely to satisfy the mouth and belly, this is to practice compassion through action. Is this not a good deed?

Some people, though they cherish benevolence and wish to care for all living beings, live among ordinary society and sometimes find it inconvenient to avoid meat entirely. In such cases one may observe what is called the “three purities”: not forming the intention to kill, not killing with one’s own hands, and not witnessing the killing with one’s own eyes. If one eats in this way, according to circumstances, what offense of taking life remains?

Sages and worthies did not necessarily insist on whether or not one eats meat; yet when benevolence extends to all things, one ought not to favor some and slight others. The ancients practiced such things as opening three sides of a bird net, keeping their distance from the kitchen, fishing without a large net, not shooting birds returning to the nest, not killing insects and beasts when they first awoke from winter dormancy, and not plucking or breaking grasses and trees while they were growing. These express a benevolence that regards human beings, animals, insects, and plants alike. Can those of later ages who abstain from meat truly all attain this?

One should also know that whether clothing and food in a human life are abundant or meager is said to depend on how deeply or shallowly merit was accumulated in previous lives; it is the share one is due in the present life. If one can restrain desire and cherish what one has received, the blessings of the life to come will be all the more profound, beyond measure. If one can truly do this, then kindness extended even to insects and other living beings will not be empty talk.

The fourth precept is: one must not engage in illicit sexual conduct, lest one corrupt one’s original nature and profane the numinous Qi (vital energy—the subtle, wondrous qi spoken of in cultivation). One should hold firmly to chastity and upright integrity, and not allow oneself to transgress.

Abstaining from sexual misconduct is meant to prevent the corruption of the norms of human relations. Permission to establish a household is granted in order to continue the line of descendants and carry on the ancestral succession. Marriage should therefore proceed through a matchmaker’s consultation, the exchange of marriage documents, a formal welcoming of the bride, and a banquet of wine and food for neighbors and friends. These rites serve to set right the boundary between men and women. When husband and wife treat each other according to ritual propriety and do not encroach upon the spouses of others, how could this be counted as sexual misconduct?

Prostitutes are called base persons precisely because they couple indiscriminately and throw human relations into disorder. To draw close to such people is to sink to their level. Yet some immortal masters of former generations did frequent brothels: some used this to test the mind of the Dao (the Way), to see whether they could remain unmoved in the face of temptation; others did so in order to teach and transform those with a karmic affinity, leading them to leave the dusty world and turn toward awakening. If ordinary people of later ages seize on these cases to excuse themselves, they are in fact only indulging in dissolute wandering and entering heterodox paths. The circumstances of those who cultivate the Dao differ from those of ordinary people and cannot be treated as the same. A person of upright conduct should keep command of himself and will not necessarily sink into temptation.

Those who leave household life and depart from the secular world are able to rise above the ranks of ordinary people only because they accumulated good causes in the past. If one can thoroughly let go of worldly attachments, cut off sensual desire, and devote oneself single-mindedly to cultivating the Dao, one can realize the way of the immortals, bring blessings upon nine generations of ancestors, and benefit the family through successive generations. The scripture (Jing) says: “Immortals and Daoist priests are not born with a numinous endowment; it is by accumulating Jing (essence) and Qi (vital energy) and by nurturing primordial Qi that they cultivate themselves into Perfected Persons.” This is precisely the principle being stated.

Beginners in the cultivation of the Dao, however, may not yet have a firm resolve. They should examine and correct themselves early, so as to spur themselves not to fail their good causes in the future and to avoid falling once more into the dusty world. They should hold fast to pure and upright conduct and not violate the precepts. In this way merit and blessings will grow day by day, and the work of the Dao can be brought to completion.

The fifth precept is: one must not destroy the undertakings and achievements of others, nor tear apart the bonds of close kin; one should help others through the Dao and through righteousness, so that relatives of the nine degrees of kinship may live together in harmony.

Do not hinder others from accomplishing good deeds. When you hear that someone has performed a good act, you should praise and support them; when you hear that someone has a fault, you should likewise do your best to cover it for them, help them reform and turn toward the good, and not let them thereby lose their De (Virtue/Power). Do not allow kin to grow estranged from one another. If you see relatives at odds—father and son, husband and wife, brothers, or teacher and friend—set apart by conflict as far from one another as the stars Shen and Shang, you should counsel them with reason toward reconciliation, so that they no longer estrange one another. In this way one both upholds the ethical bonds of human relations and gives due regard to moral duty. This is an important path in cultivating the true and learning the Dao (the Way); all who study the Dao ought to understand it and put it into practice.

The sixth precept: one must not slander the worthy and the good, nor display one’s talents or boast of oneself. One should praise the virtues and good deeds of others, and not vaunt one’s own abilities and achievements.

Sincerity is the gateway to entering the Dao. Speech is the voice of the inner heart; false words arise because the heart is not sincere. If the heart is not sincere, and yet one claims to be seeking the Dao, one is seeking the Dao by turning away from the correct Way, and this cannot succeed. To meet the worthy and the good and then slander them, to seize the occasion to display oneself, and to boast of one’s merits—none of this is conduct proper to an upright cultivator of the Dao. One should praise the virtues and good deeds of others; only thus, perhaps, can one bring one’s own merit and virtue to completion. This is a point of which those who cultivate the Dao should be especially watchful.

The seventh precept: one must not drink to excess, nor violate the precepts by eating meat. One should harmonize the nature of one’s own Qi (vital energy), and devote oneself wholly to the practice of clarity, stillness, and emptiness.

Abstaining from alcohol is meant to keep wine from disturbing the mind and innate nature. Wine was originally used in ritual, and drinking served to foster a harmonious atmosphere. When the ancients held banquets, host and guest performed courtesies many times over, and even when the gathering dispersed no one was drunk, thereby showing that drinking was kept within measure. Later people had desires without limit. They drank without restraint and even set out to become drunk. As a result their conduct grew disorderly and they cast aside ritual propriety. Some fell ill because of this, and others brought calamity upon themselves, yet they did not regard it as wrong. If one drinks sparingly according to one’s own capacity and does not allow oneself to drink to excess, how could this disturb the mind and nature?

As for meat that ought not to be eaten, the ox has the merit of its labor, the dog has loyalty and affection, the wild goose observes an order of elder and younger, and carp and eels contend with one another at dawn. How could one bear to eat the flesh of these creatures? If one can extend this compassionate regard to them and refrain from eating meat, one can harmonize body and mind, bring about a response from the true spirit, and devote oneself single-mindedly to clarity, stillness, and Wuwei (non-action). Progress in the work of the Dao will advance day by day, and subtle, mysterious skill will gradually become manifest. All who cultivate and study ought to treat this with care.

The eighth precept: one must not covet without measure, nor accumulate wealth while refusing to give it away. One should live frugally, and show compassion by aiding those in poverty.

A person’s poverty or wealth is the portion of fate endowed at birth, and it is fixed long beforehand. If wealth lies in one’s destiny, more will come even after it has been spent; if one is poor by nature, seeking in every direction may still fail to bring abundance. Once this is understood, the pursuit of wealth should be left to the arrangements of nature.

Wealth that is not one’s own should not be taken at will; wealth that does not accord with the Dao (the Way) and with right conduct should not be obtained by improper means; wealth that one is fated to receive should be taken according to one’s proper station. In this way one will not fall into insatiable desire. Yet even those who have gathered possessions but refuse to give them away may thereby bring misfortune upon themselves.

Those who cultivate the Dao must first see through the illusory unreality of the things of the world, show compassion for the poor and relieve them, live frugally, keep carefully to their station, and pass their days in accord with circumstances. They should not press bitterly or force the constant possession of things, but let the mind grow clear, quiet, and at ease, and lessen the pursuit of material desire. Continued in this way over a long time, one will naturally come into accord with the Dao and reach the state of returning to the root and recovering the true.

The ninth precept is: do not associate with people of poor character, and do not dwell in places that are disorderly and defiled; one should look up to and draw near those who surpass oneself, and choose clear, still, and empty places in which to lodge and gather.

Those who have only just left home to cultivate often cannot yet live and practice on their own. They therefore need to rely on Daoist monasteries and monastic communities—places where Daoist priests cultivate and live together—or to cultivate the Dao (the Way) in company, supporting one another so as not to stray onto a deviant path.

Friends fall broadly into three kinds.

The first are the “cloud companions and roseate friends.” They have moral integrity, strive to cultivate mind and nature, inquire into the retribution of good and evil, cut off attachment to worldly passion and desire, and are willing to transcend the dusty world. People of like aspiration befriend one another and are called cloud companions and roseate friends, because their state of mind is like clouds and roseate mists, unentangled by worldly affairs.

The second are the “good companions and knowing friends.” They study the scriptures (Jing) and enjoy discussing learning. Although they have not yet truly cultivated mind and nature, they will not commit evil deeds.

The third are the “wild companions and strange friends.” They neither cultivate mind and nature nor study the classics, and they disregard the retribution of good and evil. Their speech is absurd and their actions violent. At the slightest offense they fall to fighting, contend to show their strength and prevail, use their power to oppress the good, and band together in cliques.

After death, these three kinds of people each have a destination of their own and receive a corresponding karmic fruit according to the merit of their lives. Cloud companions and roseate friends may ascend to the formless realm, feast and wander in the Jade Capital (Yujing, the celestial palaces spoken of in Daoism), and may become immortals or celestial officials. Good companions and knowing friends, because their worldly minds are not yet fully severed, remain within the ethical relationships of the human world. Wild companions and strange friends, though they received much support and offerings while alive, have no corresponding merit and must repay the debt incurred by enjoying that support; some fall into Fengdu (the underworld spoken of in Daoism), and some are reborn as animals, suffering in the cycle of transmigration. Once that point is reached, regret comes too late.

One should therefore choose carefully among these three kinds of friends. Those who cultivate the Way must reflect earnestly, each seeking a path beneficial to practice, looking up to and drawing near those who surpass themselves, and dwelling at ease in a pure and quiet place. Only thus does one not betray the intention of parents who send their children to leave home, nor the original purpose of the sagely court in establishing the teaching and delivering the many, and only thus can one gradually accomplish the merit of cultivating the Way.

The tenth precept is this: one must not jest lightly or behave without dignity; one should remain composed and sparing of words, and take the cultivation of Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power) as one’s chief concern.

The ancients said that a person who is upright and cautious, dignified and steady, even if not rich and honored, will still attain standing; a person who is frivolous and shallow, even if not dying young, will still fall into poverty. Speaking rashly, shrugging the shoulders to curry favor, forcing a smile, and twisting learning so as to please the world—these are the acts of petty people, and an upright person should not behave in this way. All the more, then, composed bearing, few words, and a manner that accords with proper norms are an important path for cultivating the Dao and advancing De, and they are what a person of clear understanding ought to practice. If one can observe them with care and carry them out with effort, why should one fear that a lofty realm cannot be reached?