《吕祖全书》Vol. 11

Having vowed to deliver all sentient beings, the Great Vow could no longer be taken back.

Tradition holds that heaven and earth are the loftiest of all, their subtle workings without end. Heaven is high and earth is deep; within mystery, mystery is born again. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism share one truth, yet deluded people do not inquire into it. From emptiness arises “nothingness,” yet in the end one must return to the source and recover what was originally there.

I received from Patriarch Zhengyang (Zhongli Quan) the teaching of the Golden Elixir (Neidan, internal alchemy); after one cycle of twelve years I ascended, paid homage to the Highest Lord, and by His grace and mercy was commanded to descend to the human realm and universally save those lost in delusion. Because people clung to illusion and would not awaken, I manifested and left behind the Eight-Grade Immortal Scripture: two grades at Guangling, two at Jinling, two at Biling, plus Linjiang and Xinzhou—eight grades in all. Later I was again commanded to descend at the Ji River and guide ordinary hearts. When people did not recognize this, spirit-writing (fuji, planchette descent) was granted; in the wuzi year disciples were instructed at once to obtain the Nine-Grade Immortal Scripture and the Heart-Purifying Precious Repentance Sutra. Five places had first received the eight grades; one grade was still missing. Later Pan Yanji of Huaiyang completed it into nine grades; in addition there was the Heart-Purifying Repentance. The jade text was bestowed upon the Qingling Immortal, brought back from the Ji River, to lead sentient beings into the Way:

One must revere heaven and earth, ruler, parents, and teachers, and uphold benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness.

Those who do not revere heaven and earth will be struck by thunder and lightning and perish in violent rain;

Those who do not revere the earth will have their corpses fall into water and their forms reborn among ducks and the like;

Those unfilial to parents cannot be tolerated by heaven and earth and will not escape even through myriad kalpas;

Those disloyal to their ruler, ruining the state and deceiving their lord, will sink into perdition hereafter;

Those who do not follow their teacher’s instruction, within the cycles of heaven and earth, will find it hard to escape even when they later awaken.

What heaven bestows is one’s original nature; it cannot be separated from principle (li). Apart from principle there is no Dao. When principle and conduct are both followed, one has truly fulfilled the rites of being human.

Righteousness (yi) means revering heaven and earth, honoring and serving one’s superiors, and avoiding the five transgressions.

Propriety (li) lies in propriety, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame: not failing one’s community above, not failing the people below; revering heaven, honoring earth, being filial to parents, and cherishing the young—only thus does one fulfill human propriety through ritual.

What is called righteousness (yi) is reverence for Heaven and Earth, honoring and serving those above in rank, and avoiding the five kinds of fault—this is righteousness.

What is called ritual propriety (li) is holding fast to ritual, righteousness, integrity, and a sense of shame: toward those above, not failing one’s townsmen and kin; toward those below, not failing the common people; revering Heaven, respecting Earth, being filial to parents, and cherishing the young—this is ritual propriety.

What is called wisdom (zhi): the highest wisdom lies in realizing emptiness (xu) and the primordial One Qi (yuanqi, the undifferentiated vital breath before Heaven and Earth were divided); middle wisdom is used to govern the state; lower wisdom is used to manage human relations—this is wisdom.

What is called trustworthiness (xin): being trustworthy toward Heaven and Earth, toward the state, toward kin and fellow townspeople, and not failing one’s juniors and children below—this belongs to human relations.

When benevolence, righteousness, ritual propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness are complete, I instruct those who are confused and ignorant so that they leave the mundane world (fanjie) and I lead all beings into the gateway of mystery (xuanmen, the door of Daoist cultivation). First reverence Heaven: Heaven then sends down auspicious signs and the sky is clear. Reverence Earth: Earth then nourishes the myriad things and the land is at peace. Then the hundred kinds of crops sprout on their own and the five grains are abundant. Within human relations one must keep a good heart in mind, avoid the gate of the underworld (yumen), leave the path of delusion, depart the mundane world, ascend the path of awakening (juelu), penetrate the Great Dao, leave the shore of the dusty sea, and clearly comprehend emptiness (xu). By gradually adding effort in cultivation, one may ultimately rise into the ranks of immortals (xianban).

I personally composed the preface to the Nine Grades Immortal Scripture. Disciples of the Huai Zhen Association—virtuous persons such as Zhen, Zhang, and Zhao—vowed in the year jiawu to print this immortal scripture at Baihe Guan (White Crane Abbey). If people in the world wish to seek the Dao, they need not fret over how far the road may be; with sincere devotion in cultivation, why speak of Zhongnan Mountain as ten thousand miles away! Those who reverently obtain this immortal scripture find that what they seek is fulfilled and every benefit flows smoothly. In Lingnian they vowed again to print the scripture at Baihe Guan. Seekers of the Dao do not turn back because the path is long; with a sincere heart one may advance on the Way. Having obtained this scripture, plans succeed and benefits accord.

The ninefold spirit talismans (lingfu) sweep away demons in vast power, uproot calamity from the human realm, and lead people into the profound gate between Heaven and Earth. One must honor human relations and embody benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness; trusting in the Dao and contemplating the Great Dao, one cultivates upward through Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and Shen (spirit). Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism all teach this; let the heart be free of doubt. Printing the scripture is printing one’s own heart; publishing the scripture is spreading the Great Dao. When the human way is fulfilled, the immortal way may be cultivated to completion. Then one may rest secure between Heaven and Earth and leave this teaching for later generations still lost among ordinary people. Toward what is lofty, do not rashly guess at abstruse meaning; toward what is humble, do not stray from ritual and law. When one’s name is entered on the immortal register, nine generations of ancestors may ascend to Heaven—what joy! I stand among the ranks of immortals; this preface was written in my own hand.

Supreme Mystery Origin Scripture of Opening Transformation — Ninth Grade

At that time, the Pure Yang Great Emperor sat in full lotus upon a banana-leaf cushion in the Clear Void Hall of the Tushita Heaven, holding a ruyi scepter in quiet repose. All heavenly immortals and gods, the departments of thunder and fire, and the city and village tutelary deities stood in solemn attendance at his side.

The Great Emperor (an immortal who, by command of the Heavenly Emperor, proclaimed the scriptural teaching) said: By command of the Heavenly Emperor I have traveled through the Nine Provinces, universally saving beings who had lost their way, expounding the Great Dao so that all might attain right awakening. Because sentient beings are deluded and do not awaken, I now broadly proclaim the scriptural teaching in eight ranks: the first at Guangling (the region of present-day Yangzhou), the second at Jinling (present-day Nanjing), the third at Piling (present-day Changzhou), the fourth at Xinzhou (the region of present-day Shangrao), the fifth at Linjiang—together forming eight ranks as a bridge by which people may attain liberation.

Among sentient beings, those who believe are at most one or two in a hundred; those who slander are beyond counting. I obey the Emperor’s command, observing Heaven’s virtue of cherishing life and broadly extending the benevolence of relief, admonishing again and again and explaining plainly. Yet sentient beings are like the deaf and blind—they hear but do not listen—so that the Supreme Lord was moved to anger. Floods, fires, war, plague, and locust plagues followed one after another; the people could not sustain their lives; fathers and sons, brothers, husbands and wives, and kin were scattered and driven into exile. Sentient beings did not know to be wary and reform, but instead blamed Heaven and resented others. Seeing them so stubbornly blind, I pitied and grieved for them all the more; therefore, not shunning the turmoil of the red dust, I manifest the Dao and its methods in countless billions of forms, uprooting the roots of suffering. Sentient beings do not understand the mystery within; they speak wildly and act rashly, slandering the Dao and the Law. I pity them and do not reproach them, but admonish them still more sharply. Yet sentient beings are bewitched by profit, desire, and attachment, losing their original face—unfaithful and unfilial, unkind as siblings, unjust and unfair, untrusting and unrighteous. They know only to seize benefit for themselves, not knowing they harm others; they seek only their own food and warmth, heedless of lord, parents, and brothers; they cruelly harm widows, orphans, and the alone; they go against the sages and scorn the people; great faults they do not amend, small good they will not do; idle and ornate speech, harsh words that wound, and divisive tongues that stir strife. Such karmic offenses plunge them into a deep pit, while they still do not understand that birth and death are the great matter and that impermanence comes with extreme swiftness. Once they fall into the turning of rebirth, a human body will be hard to obtain again; in the three evil paths and the six realms of rebirth they may sink into Avici (the hell of uninterrupted torment). Then, even if they wish to repent and hope for someone to save them, it will be too late.

In the boundless realm of suffering, only the Dao can lift people out. When the inner mind is pure, clear, and empty—like the vast sky, limpid and still—and free from the fixation of self and other, one can behold the primordial origin of the Great Dao. Sentient beings dwell in darkness; when they wish to repent and hope for rescue, how can it not be too late? They drift in dullness, as if drunk or dreaming. The drunk can sober, the dreamer can wake—why do sentient beings remain oblivious and fail to reflect? The Dao is present everywhere before one’s eyes. The three teachings share one insight: Confucianism speaks of “holding the center,” Buddhism of “emptiness in the middle,” and our Dao speaks only of “guarding the center.” Thus Confucianism stresses “preserving the mind and nurturing nature,” Buddhism “illuminating the mind and seeing one’s nature,” and Daoism “cultivating the mind and refining nature.” Cultivating the mind is fulfilled through loyalty and filial piety—toward ruler, parents, and siblings, each in their proper place. Refining nature requires accepting one’s lot with forbearance, not broadcasting others’ faults, and not relying on one’s own strengths. Applied to governing the state and ordering the family, one seeks only fairness. Sincerity and reverence can move the Lord on High (Shangdi); fire and water do not harm, bandits cease, plague does not arise, weapons of war are stilled forever, fathers and sons are reunited, flesh and blood are not parted, crops flourish, wind and rain come in season, blessings and rank follow in succession, calamities are removed, the realm enjoys lasting peace, and the people know constant joy. Listen carefully to my words: only by cultivating truth and entering the Dao can you together ascend to the other shore (the place beyond suffering) and transcend birth and death.

In former times at Guangling (an ancient place name, in the region of present-day Yangzhou), some slandered my Great Dao, insulted the Lord on High, reviled immortals and cursed the Buddha, belittled sages and rejected the worthy—until Heaven sent down punishment. I wished to save them but could not; deeply grieved, I traveled especially through the Huai and Hai regions to ferry those lost on the wrong path. Sentient beings must remember: strive earnestly to do good; do not fail yourselves, or your guilt will weigh like mountains. Be ever so careful, turn from evil and act accordingly.

Qingxuzi (the seeker of the Dao) knelt and asked: “Why is the Dao given this name? I beg you to explain clearly so that sentient beings may awaken and have a path of entry.”

The Great Emperor (the lord who transmits the teaching) said: “This question is weighty! Listen carefully; first cleanse the heart and wash away distracting thoughts.”

All the immortals and spirits of the celestial realm bowed in homage in the Crimson Court—the vermillion hall of the Sovereign.

The Great Emperor radiated a great light and manifested the signs of the three flowers gathering at the crown (Jing, Qi, and Shen converging at the head) and the five Qi returning to their origin (the vital energies of the five viscera returning to the primordial source). Standing within the celestial realm of thunder-fire cities and altars, he said: “What is called the Dao: it establishes heaven and earth and nourishes the ten thousand things—that is the Dao; it hangs high the sun and moon and generates the Five Phases—that is the Dao; it exceeds the sands of the Ganges in number—that is the Dao; it alone is luminous, without companion—that is the Dao; it opens the primordial chaos and returns to the deep primordial breath—that is the Dao; it seizes creation and transcends birth and death—that is the Dao; though dwelling in what is low and humble, it is supremely noble—that is the Dao; though abiding in what is dark and hidden, it is supremely clear—that is the Dao; as fine as it can enter the finest dust—that is the Dao; as vast as it can embrace heaven and earth—that is the Dao; from form it enters formlessness—that is the Dao; it enables people to become Buddhas and immortals—that is the Dao. The Daodejing says: ‘The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao; the name that can be named is not the eternal name.’ Every line of this scripture of mine is profound truth. You should investigate it carefully and proclaim it widely to the world, so that deluded sentient beings may awaken.”

Then he spoke in verse:

The Dao, supremely great, generates heaven, earth, and the ten thousand things. Filial piety, fraternal duty, loyalty, and trustworthiness are the great constant principles of human conduct. Practice them diligently without slackening; when the root is firmly established, the Dao arises of itself. The calamity of weapons and war will never come again; the harm of water and fire will not invade. Tigers lie at ease in the southern mountains; dragons sink into sleep in the northern sea. Let the spirit drive the Qi, and use Qi to refine and nourish true Jing. When Jing transforms into Shen and Shen returns to emptiness, they guide you to bow before the Supreme Clarity (Taiqing—the highest realm of purity). Transcending the three realms, not falling within the Five Phases of the world. At each step, wind and clouds gather; in every word, ghosts and demons submit in awe. When the mind is clear and still as deep water, nine generations of ancestors are all elevated. Treat my words with care—the Great Dao is to be found within them.

When the Great Emperor had finished the verse, all the heavenly generals, ministers, and immortal maidens rose and paid their respects, filled with great joy.

The Great Emperor said: “This scripture of mine has eight sections. It has been transmitted for a long time, yet people have not yet widely embraced it with faith. Now Pan Yanji of Shanggu (an ancient place name) wishes to proclaim the subtle mystery and spread the Great Dao, to receive and uphold this scripture and cause it to circulate in the world. Wherever this scripture is present, the immortals and gods of heaven, the generals of the Thunder Department and the Fire Department, together with local spirits such as city gods and neighborhood tutelary deities, will on their own accord extend their protection.”

The various heavenly gods and generals bowed in salute, accepted the command, and then withdrew.

The hymn of praise says: Deliverance from calamity and extension of life—blessings lasting as sun and moon; the soul returns and life finds refuge in the Purple Cloud Realm (the land of immortals). The Fulu treasure register (talismans and registers) accords with Hongjun (the cosmic creative force of heaven and earth); the wondrous Dharma is as precious as fine jade (fanyu), beyond measure. The Dao of the Limitless—Yuanshi, King of Dharma (Yuanshi Tianzun, the Celestial Venerable of the Primordial Beginning); a single pearl-jewel rests at the center; in preaching the Dharma radiance of auspicious light shines forth, expounding the golden scripture to the multitude; the ten thousand sages bow in homage to the Void Sovereign (the supreme celestial emperor). (From “beyond measure” through “homage to the Void Sovereign,” one line is sung again.)