《太平经合校》Vol. 8

This is also a case where people take surface appearances for what is truly “real,” and as a result they all turn away from the mind-and-will that Heaven and Earth originally hold. Thus calamities and poisons often remain in excess—large or small, one after another without end—and that is the plain proof. Therefore those who come later must bear the responsibility of chenfu (inherited burden): the later one is born, the heavier the afflictions one carries. True Person, do you understand?” “Yes, yes.” “Good—you already understand. (Rise) So Heaven sent me down to re-examine and put in order the cultural teaching for the sage of supreme virtue and the Dao; I have gathered all of this in one place: from divine writings and the words of sages and worthies down to commoners, servants, and the Yi and Di peoples, arranged by category in mutual accord, with phrases joined together; what is good is taken as scripture penetrating to the utmost, named Writings on Government Affairs of the Imperial Heaven’s Penetrating Pole (Huangtian Dongji Zhengshi zhi Wen). Only after this can the ‘illness’ that Heaven and Earth suffer be removed altogether. (Stop) True Person, do you understand?” “Yes, yes. Excellent! Excellent!” “Good—True Person, you ought by now to understand worldly affairs and know them; Heaven has already entrusted you with these writings on government affairs; only then can the illness Heaven and Earth suffer be removed altogether. (Stop) True Person, do you understand?” “Yes, yes. Excellent! Excellent!” “Good—True Person, you ought by now to understand worldly affairs and know them; Heaven has already granted you long life and raised you to the rank of superior True Person.” “I dare not, I dare not.” “This is what your own conduct has achieved—not my power; you do good unmatched under Heaven, so Heaven loves you.” “I dare not, I dare not; as a foolish man born in this age I only ask not to incur Heaven’s resentment— I dare not cherish any extravagant hope.” “No need for such modesty.” “Yes, yes. (Rise) May I ask: when the various human affairs are gathered together and follow one another in accord—I wish to hear the essential method and meaning.” “Good—a fine question! Did Heaven send you to ask? Good. Sit at ease; I will explain it for you item by item.” “Yes, yes.” “Good—for example, everyone is just discussing one thing, ‘jia’ (first in sequence)—that is one matter. You are about to gather all kinds of human affairs together and have them follow one another in mutual accord—you wish to hear the essential method and meaning.” “Good—a fine question! …”

(The True Person) is rightly set before all the worthy and clear-minded—this is how the realm’s documents and people’s words ought to be: each has its own way of speaking; this piece is also text and speech that meets no reproach—taking what is good, what fits the people’s hearts, and what can be explained at the first rank, gathering and cross-checking; what can accord with the people’s hearts then accords with the heart of Heaven and Earth.

“By what shall we prove it? I wish to hear the essential method.”

“Good. In all human conduct, examine it in the heart; if it accords with the hearts of all worthy sages and all say it is good, then it is right, and its verification accords with the Heart of Heaven; if doubt still remains in one’s own heart, examine it again against the hearts of all sages and even the minds of petty people—if all say it is not right, that is inauspicious, and Heaven in the end verifies it with inauspiciousness—that is clear proof. Therefore, in gathering these sayings into scripture: only what accords with the people’s hearts counts; what does not accord with the people’s hearts does not. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Go. Every book-text and every affair has its own root—speak according to the root, with the phrasing and rhymes of cultured writers sharing one cause—just so. What accords with the people’s hearts and intent then accords with the spirits; what does not accord with the people’s hearts and intent then does not accord with the spirits.”

“Excellent, excellent! Each has its own root; speak according to the root, with the leaf-rhymes of writers in common cause—just so. What accords with the people’s hearts and intent accords with the spirits; what does not accord with the people’s hearts and intent does not accord with the spirits.”

“Excellent, excellent! I have heard the command.”

“Why does the True Person now say ‘I have heard the command’?”

“Good. Practicing good and holding to correctness, gaining the heart of Heaven means life; doing evil and losing the heart of Heaven means inauspicious death. This life and death is what Ming (fate, mandate) belongs to. Therefore one says one has heard the command.”

“Excellent! What the True Person says is right; I have nothing to add. Hence when Heaven rectifies their words and texts, it is auspicious; when it does not rectify their words and texts, it is inauspicious—therefore I instruct the True Person to rectify and collate them.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Then the qi of the Great Peace Supreme Sovereign can be established and extended years can be established. Heavenly patterns and the words of sages still have length and shortness. Therefore the qi of the Supreme Sovereign was shut in a prison by heterodox phrasing and false speech and has never been obtained.”

Since heaven and earth were first opened, there has never been shanghuang zhi qi (Supreme Sovereign Qi—the highest upright qi that descends in the age of Great Peace to assist emperors in governing the world) to help emperors rule all under heaven. Now heaven intends to reveal and set right everything anew, so it strictly scrutinizes and corrects the scriptures (checking every word and line of the classics and documents). For every extra line of heterodox speech, there is an extra layer of illness; for every heterodox doctrine or mistaken passage, another layer of illness—ten surplus items mean ten illnesses, a hundred mean a hundred, a thousand a thousand, ten thousand mean myriad illnesses, all arising together with those surplus heterodox words, heterodox texts, and wrong phrasing. Heaven and earth fall ill because of this, and people fall ill in turn: when people are not ill, heaven is not ill; when people are half ill, heaven is half ill; when people are ill in every degree, great and small, heaven is wholly ill. Thus making people ill is meant to move them to think clearly and awaken; if they do not awaken, countless dead and wounded will follow. (End of this passage.)

Supplementary text: Question: How can all kinds of things gather and follow one another? Answer: When speech is spoken uprightly and correctly, there is good fortune; when it is not upright, there is misfortune; then Great Peace Supreme Sovereign Qi will arrive at once. When people are sick, they all hope to be cured quickly—that is human nature; when heaven and earth are sick, they likewise hope to be cured quickly.

Question: How can heaven fall ill? Is it because of heterodox speech, heterodox phrasing, and heterodox texts?

Answer: Alas! You have grown even more dim… (As said above) all wish to be cured quickly; when heaven and earth are sick, they too wish to be cured quickly.

Question: I wish to know: why would Heaven “fall ill”? Is it because heretical doctrines, heretical speech, and corrupt texts cause that illness?

Answer: Alas! Why have you become more and more dull and benighted? Come, sit properly; I will explain this clearly to you, Perfected One.

When heretical doctrines, heretical speech, and corrupt texts are used to expound and discuss the Way, they disorder the scriptures of the Way; when the scriptures of the Way are disordered, the patterns of Heaven and the configuration of Earth are disordered; when those are disordered, Heaven and Earth “fall ill.” Then the sun, moon, and stars, wind and rain, the four seasons, and the Five Phases clash with one another and lose their proper order, years turn into years of disaster, emperors are tormented by worry, government offices struggle with chaos, and the people are consumed by resentment, hunger, and cold—is this not exactly the illness summoned by corrupt texts and heretical words? If such things are practiced on a wide scale, disorder will grow until it can no longer be governed. Do you understand?

Answer: Yes, yes.

If corrupt texts, heretical speech, and erroneous words are used to govern the state, then before long it will surely fall into disorder. If heretical words, heretical phrasing, and corrupt texts are believed by the multitude, the state will be thrown into disorder and peril, ministers will violate the law and act recklessly, the people will be impoverished, and together they will ruin the order and disorder of the space between Heaven and Earth. The celestial officials will be greatly angered and will send down teachings day after day without cease; people will cry out in injustice, and that too will not stop. Do you understand?

Answer: Yes, yes.

If heretical words, corrupt texts, and erroneous phrasing are used to govern the household, father and son and husband and wife will lose their proper roles, will hate one another, will quarrel constantly without end, and will finally become a hexed, ill-fated household. Do you understand?

Answer: Yes, yes. How terrible! Hearing the Celestial Master speak this way, I am truly afraid. I was dull; I did not think deeply before and did not know that it was precisely these evil deeds that summoned such consequences.

Perfected One (Celestial Master): You alone have been dull for a very long time. Ordinary people take this as a small matter and do not remove it, yet they do not know that heretical words, heretical phrasing, corrupt texts, and Heaven form a great grievance together—they are the great thieves of the state and fierce ghosts among the people. Should they not be removed with united effort? Therefore Heaven cherishes the sovereign who possesses De, fearing that he will not awaken, and sends down great calamities again; that is why I was dispatched to speak plainly to the bottom of the matter.

Someone praised the Way: “Excellent! The scripture already accords with the oral transmission. Yet you still press for more—why?”

The reply: “Those who are dull and obscured are stubborn; knots form in the heart. Even a little cleverness cannot penetrate the truth. Those who do not value being awakened and admonished again and again remain muddled—and they also disturb the Celestial Master’s (Tianshi) Dao. That is why I dare to ask repeatedly.”

The other said: “Well said. Very well—sit at ease; I shall explain in detail for you True Persons.”

Upright speech, upright texts, and upright discourse are the root of setting heaven and earth aright, the supreme treasure for stabilizing the state, and the “parents” and supreme treasure on which the myriad people rely. The mandate that all ordinary people under heaven and the ten thousand things receive flows from this; therefore one must exert full effort to set it upright.

The disciples answered in unison, “Yes, yes,” and said: “We wish to hear: how are upright speech, upright texts, and upright discourse the root of heaven and earth, the supreme treasure of the state, the supreme treasure and parents of the myriad people, and the source from which all ordinary people and things under heaven receive their mandate—so that one must exert full effort to set them upright?”

(The master) again bade them sit at ease and explained fully to the True Persons: upright speech, upright texts, and upright discourse are the root of setting heaven and earth arright, the precious vessel that stabilizes the state and acts as parent; they are what all ordinary people and the ten thousand things under heaven receive as mandate—therefore one must exert full effort to set them upright.

Questioner: Yes, yes. I wish to hear you explain: What does it mean that “upright speech, upright writing, and upright discourse” (zhengyan, zhengwen, zhengci) are the root of Heaven and Earth, the supreme treasure of the state, and the basis on which the people and the myriad things receive their mandate and settle their hearts?

Zhenren (Perfected One): Alas! Among the perfected, some have heard these words many times. The flowery talk and perverse phrases in my writings are all faults. Why do you still ask again and again?

Questioner: I am dull. From birth I have followed custom; habits piled up over time. I do not know where the line between perverse and upright lies, so I hope to hear your instruction once more. I truly do not understand.

Zhenren: Good. You wish to know how things really stand: When ordinary people all say certain words are good and act on them together, yet calamity does not go away—that is because those are not good writing, not good speech, but discourse that confounds the Dao. For common folk, repeating them on the lips may be tolerable; they cannot truly practice goodness. If someone acts according to them and instead aligns with Heaven’s intent, so that calamities day by day diminish—that is upright speech, upright writing, and upright discourse: inwardly they alone resonate with Heaven, clear proof of having gained Heaven’s mind.

Therefore, when speech, writing, and discourse are all upright, and the emperor acts accordingly, reaching down to the common people, none fail to take pleasure in doing what is upright. Heaven and Earth then become greatly upright; the four seasons, the five phases, and the myriad things at once each obtain their proper place; the sun, moon, and three luminaries keep their measures and each stay where they belong. The state is greatly at peace without trouble, even to the point of communion with the spirits, receiving methods to preserve the countenance and prolong life; wondrous things and favorable responses all appear, and the cunning, the wicked, and harmful forces are wholly extinguished. The people each secure their households and complete their allotted years; the myriad things each finish their span and respond to the seasons—this is the great clear proof that upright speech, upright writing, and upright discourse are the root of Heaven and Earth, the supreme treasure of the state like a parent to the nation, and the great mandate for the people and the myriad things. Do you understand, Zhenren?

Questioner: Yes, yes—wonderful! Wonderful! The root of Heaven and Earth, the supreme treasure of the state, and what all lives depend on—it lies here.

Zhenren: Good. You may count yourself as having grasped the matter and truly understood.

Note: One passage repeats almost the same sentences as above (from “Therefore upright speech, upright writing…” through “the four seasons, the five phases, and the myriad things”). It is likely a copyist’s duplication; this vernacular rendering follows the original tone and does not merge or delete on its own. Where “wuyan” appears alongside “four seasons” and “myriad things,” many editions read “wuxing” (the five phases); here the wording follows the text as given.

The parents of the people, the common folk, and the great precious vessels of the state all depend on the mandate of Heaven and the efficacy of the Great Brightness. Do you Perfected Persons understand?—“We understand; yes! Yes! The root of Heaven and Earth, the state’s great treasures, and the lives of the myriad people—all hinge on this.”

“Good. You truly grasp the matter and genuinely understand. That is why Heaven sent me down: to examine and set right these things in full.Since Heaven and Earth were opened, those who practice upright speech and upright documents (words and writings that accord with the Dao of Heaven and do not deceive superiors or mislead subordinates)—Heaven and Earth are often greatly pleased with them, so much good fortune follows; those who practice devious speech and devious documents—Heaven and Earth are often greatly angry and displeased, so much misfortune, ruin, and collapse follows.

Ordinary people do not know that this is Heaven and Earth’s grave illness, and they even disrupt the governance of emperors and kings. Yet the most foolish among them band together to compose clever, ornate essays, study devious speech and devious documents, vie with one another for superiority while deceiving those above, and defile Heaven’s correct law and disturb Heaven’s correct rites—this is Heaven’s greatest resentment and Earth’s greatest blame, and also the state’s greatest bandits.

Now that Heaven’s resentment and Earth’s blame have been summoned, and they have become the state’s bandits, yet they go on acting together day after day—how can Great Peace and stable order endure? Today the Celestial Master assigns blame for devious speech and devious documents—why is the fault weighed so heavily?

“Alas! Are you Perfected Persons still dull? People today together use devious speech and devious documents to throw Heaven and Earth into disorder; Heaven and Earth are constantly ill because of it—is this not Heaven’s resentment and blame? It is like when someone constantly sickens others by disease—people will resent and blame him too, will they not?”—“Yes, yes.”

“So resentment toward Heaven and blame toward Earth are already clear enough. Devious speech, devious documents, and devious rhetoric have together deceived those above and endangered the state; their governance constantly loses Heaven’s heart, years of life are not extended, and those cut off in succession are not one person alone—is this not the state’s greatest degradation? Do all Perfected Persons know this?”—“Yes, yes.”

“The people of antiquity were mostly foolish; some saw the signs of Heaven (heavenly phenomena and Heaven’s Dao made manifest) yet spoke against them (would not speak truth or follow Heaven’s Dao).”

If anyone speaks in such terms, that is talk dedicated to ruining the state and walking the same path as thieves—it is also the kind of great crime that Heaven and Earth deeply hate, a great calamity for the people, and the most inauspicious ghostly doctrine among the ten thousand things. A ruler of virtue must never use such words; once adopted, Heaven will grow angry because of what is not upright. One should plan deeply for oneself and reflect on the disasters within, so as to be secure for long.

Such talk is the great crime Heaven and Earth deeply hate, the great calamity of the people, and the most inauspicious ghostly doctrine among the ten thousand things. A ruler of virtue must never use it; if he does, Heaven will grow angry because of what is not upright. He should plan deeply and think of the disasters, so as to seek long-lasting peace for himself. Heaven especially favors the ruler of virtue, and for that reason has established methods for him (such as collation of documents) so that he can secure himself and preserve the state. Real Person, do you understand?” “Yes, yes.” “Go. You have already awakened greatly. Be cautious again and again—the majesty of Heaven must not be offended.” “Yes, yes.” “One more admonition to the Real Person: from now on, the virtuous ruler should examine and ponder Heaven’s teaching and Heaven’s patterns, so as to receive the memorial documents that subordinate officials and the people of the Three Ways jointly submit, and in the eighth month gather them for collation, dividing them into three places. The first collation is to the east of the ruler, completing the first pass. Then they are passed to the south of the ruler, completing the second pass. Then they are passed to the west of the ruler, completing the third pass. When transmission and collation are finished, the documents are cast away to the north of the ruler.”

“The collators each stay in a different place and must not meet at the same time—why is this? I wish to hear the reason.” “If they see one another, there will again be illicit dealings—untruth, fraud, and renewed deception—and so again Heaven and Earth will be blamed and angered, and they will become great thieves of the state. Heaven and Earth hate people who make the king’s governance chaotic, so the places are separated and the three sites collate separately; they should jointly verify truth and falsehood, to resolve Heaven’s mind and stabilize the king’s rule.” “Why must collation begin first to the east of the ruler?” “The east belongs to Heaven’s qi and governs the mind of benevolence. Matters at the source of collation should be examined in detail with the heart; one must act with benevolence to accord with Heaven and Earth, and keep in mind stabilizing the emperor—therefore it begins in the east. Benevolence is put into practice and should be seen clearly, so transmission passes to the ruler’s yang position (south).”

After discernment comes judgment according to the Way. Those with merit are recorded as having merit; those without merit as without merit—all of this is written into conduct records (documents that register officials’ and commoners’ conduct, merit, and fault). Once written, they are stored in a secluded chamber on the north side of the ruler’s quarters. By this means the ruler can know the conduct and good and evil of everyone under Heaven, and this institution must not be abandoned. Therefore the ruler of De (Virtue) verifies and appoints people according to these records; such a person is called a great spirit person—one who can sit in place yet know the hearts of all under Heaven, and every sign of change, movement, and stillness. Do you understand, perfected person? “Yes! Yes!” “If you hold reverence for the Heavenly injunction, you will long endure.” “So it is, so it is.” “Henceforth local officers need not submit separate conduct records; all records are gathered here and this alone is the standard. The ruler of De can then rest at ease upon his pillow, without worry. Do you know?” “So it is, so it is.” “The Heavenly injunction on collating documents: for one item missed in collation, thirty strokes of the rod; for ten items, three hundred; for a hundred items, three thousand. The ruler of De should remove such a person from office and employ him no more. One who treats duty lightly is resented and blamed by Heaven and Earth and is a great thief of the state. Resentment, blame, and thieves cannot long share the same service—they will surely provoke Heaven and Earth; therefore remove them quickly.” “Excellent! Excellent!” “I admonish you, perfected person, on one great essential: the Way transmitted in this scripture of mine, from above to below, is inexhaustible. Whoever truly cherishes correct speech, correct words, and correct texts—I descend under deep Heavenly command for such a person. I know for certain that Heaven loves correct speech, correct texts, and correct words; therefore I deeply hate perverse speech, perverse words, and perverse texts. I know rightly that Heaven and Earth hold great resentment and blame toward these; therefore I am commanded to descend and collate, to remove resentment, blame, and thieves, to settle a state that possesses the Way, to long dissolve the inherited burden of punishment since the opening of Heaven and Earth, to let calamity depart entirely and find rest, and to let upright qi advance fully in governance.”

When these things are said, the Imperial Heaven’s Great Peace Qi (the upright qi of great peace) from the six directions and farthest regions will all arrive together; resentment and calamity will depart, states with De (Virtue/Power) will find peace, and the chenfu (the burden of ancestral fault transferred to later generations) accumulated since heaven and earth were opened will be resolved—disasters removed and upright qi able to govern the world from the fore. The Imperial Heaven’s Great Peace Qi from the six directions and farthest regions will likewise arrive together—do you understand? “Yes, yes.”

Therefore the words of my scripture are purely the language of heaven’s intent; their boundaries will not fall into confusion. Heaven hates xiewen (text that departs from the Way), and so I hate it too; heaven loves zhengwen (text aligned with the Way of heaven), and so I love it too. In practicing the Way I uniformly hold to the root, guard the middle, and discard the branches (keep the foundation, shun empty middle ground, cast off twigs and leaves): heaven holds to the root, and I hold to the root; heaven guards the middle, and I guard the middle; heaven discards the branches, and I discard the branches. When I compose text, I share body, heart, intent, division, principle, likes, dislikes, Way, and path with heaven and earth—so the dejun (the ruler of virtue) who acts by the scripture makes no error; for myriad myriad years it must not be abolished. There is only ever greater clarity, never eternal darkness; only ever greater order, never eternal chaos; only ever greater goodness, never eternal evil; only ever greater fortune, never eternal misfortune. Hence it is named Heaven’s Profound Utmost Orthodox Way (tian zhi dong ji zheng dao), embracing the heart of heaven and earth. One who obtains the upper secret may long live; one who obtains the middle secret may assist the state; one who obtains the lower secret may always keep oneself at peace.

(The dialogue continues.) When I have spoken a short passage, whoever still doubts may ask again. “Yes, yes. May I ask: if one omits or miscopies a matter without cause, is the penalty exactly thirty strokes?” “Well asked—is it the angel who makes you ask? Indeed. Number begins at one and ends at ten; to omit one matter is to question the root of ‘one.’ If the slip is wrong and also untrue, with deceit added on top, that again becomes heaven’s resentment and earth’s blame—a great thief against the state. Ten strokes to apologize to earth, ten to apologize to the emperor-king; heaven, earth, and humanity ten each—thirty in all.” “Well asked…” Indeed. Number begins at one and ends at ten; to omit one matter is to question the root of one. If the error is untrue and deceit is added again, that again becomes heaven’s resentment and earth’s blame—the state’s great thief. Ten strokes to apologize to earth, ten to apologize to the emperor-king; heaven, earth, and humanity ten each—thirty in all.

This passage chiefly explains that using flogging to atone for faults and resolve heaven’s resentment and earth’s blame is required; if a ruler refuses, he is treated as a “thief”—provoking displeasure in heaven and earth and the wrath of the spirits. The reason heaven and earth so often fall into disorder and anger lies in “examining and verifying documents”: when people’s reports are vague and full of errors, disasters such as “flowing calamities and inherited burden” (chenfu) arise. If reports stay vague and old habits continue, flogging is warranted; this is not about old private grudges but about setting public affairs straight. Once matters have been deliberated and facts checked (the original text is defective here), a memorial is submitted; if further deliberation and verification are still needed (missing characters), it is called having both upper and lower levels confirmed. If only the lower level is reported true and the upper false, there is no benefit; if only the upper is true and the lower false, likewise no benefit. Only when both levels are verified true can the weather of heaven be settled. When the lower is true and the upper false, the upper wrongs the lower, and the lower also wrongs its own efforts—though one strives to do good, it avails nothing, and heaven’s anger strikes again. When the upper is true and the lower false, the lower wrongs the upper, and earth’s anger strikes again. When both levels are confirmed yet the ruler still will not judge fairly by sincere intent, the spirit officers of the four seasons, Five Phases, and six kin, together with the qi of the six ancestral lineages, turn from harmonizing qi into hostile rage, and baleful qi arises once more. Even if one forces the “three paths” to circulate documents and correct the words and writings of the realm, if one does not personally exert oneself to settle affairs, it still does no good. Therefore I receive heaven’s heart, acting as transformative agent for the supreme virtuous ruler (shanghuang dejun), and dare not fail heaven’s heart; hence I fully uphold heaven’s law, taking the images of heaven and earth as the canon, aligning with yang as the standard, and following the four seasons and Five Phases as commands—unchanging for ten thousand generations. Asked: “Do you understand?” Answer: “Yes, yes; this foolish student has carefully awakened and deeply fears heaven’s law.” Again asked: “Knowing fear, you have already gained lasting fortune—this is a great essential teaching for Zhenren (perfected persons).”

(The original middle section has repeated lines and lacunae □; the thread of meaning is: deliberation and verification, with mutual checking between upper and lower, alone can settle heaven and earth and stop wrongful anger.)

Plain-Language Explanation

When it comes to collating scripture and teaching in accordance with the law, you cannot treat the surface of the shenwen (scriptural “divine text”) as enough—thinking that whatever the book says, saying it that way counts as truth. That is called “longwen” (“deaf text”): the characters are there, but the meaning has not gotten through; it is as if you cannot hear what is really being said.

In speech and action, can there be no root and no reason? How can one preach that empty? This is not denying that scripture exists; it is pressing for the meaning in the words. When the meaning is there, things can be stated clearly. If you only recite characters without grasping the meaning, how can others truly understand? So you must ask clearly how the point of the scripture is to be carried out; otherwise it cannot be put to use. That is “longzhi” (“deaf teaching”)—instruction that is empty too.

If you want to really grasp the scripture’s intent, it is like people’s words always having a reason; affairs must be grounded in a line of reasoning you can rely on. You cannot fix things with a casual “some spirit or lord said so.”

If people want what is clear to verify and what can stand, they all need solid grounds; how can one rely on fabrication and empty talk alone? So for anything to succeed, there should be facts and evidence—only then does it hold.

If you want to know great verification and clear proof, it is like a virtuous ruler teaching and establishing law: both require trial first—see whether there is response—and use response to test whether the words are true. If you act and there is no matching outcome, it is false speech; when scripture stresses “test, establish, and there will be response,” that is exactly the point. (This section repeats in the received text; the core is still: empty talk of omens, displaying classical phrasing without explanation, does not stand.)

How can you set up verification from nothing, display wording alone—classical phrasing with no exposition? Fools instead cling to the letter and ask: why do shenwen from every line look like this? In fact (if used only that way) much of it is language for debate, refuting deadlock, and urgent rescue, not a single utterance that states the whole scripture’s great Way at once.

Shenwen is broad in content, or each passage has its own aim; often only the text is transmitted, not everything need sit in the same fascicle. Fascicles pass down separately and echo from afar; if people do not dig into the knack and original intent, they use it only for refusing difficulty and saving poverty—dragging in everything, talking without end—and think that counts as clear teaching. That is wrong; it all drops “explaining the meaning.” The words of the ultimate Way and the teaching of virtue cannot spread—mostly they are ruined on this one point.

(Q) “Do you understand?”

(A) “Yes, yes. Your disciple respectfully has awakened.”

(Q) “If you still do not awaken like this, you will go on lost. So you must follow this scripture of mine, check scripture against what people say; in the end you must ask through to the meaning; what counts as teaching that gets through must be sorted by kind and compared.”

Note: In your passage, “acting without response is then…” and a long middle stretch repeat what came before—collated editions often show copyist repetition and corrupt readings (e.g. “chi” for “fan,” “he xiong” for “shen hong,” and similar). This plain-language version follows the consistent Taiping Jing emphasis (weight on scripture’s meaning, on trial, rejection of empty “deaf text”). If you want line-by-line collation on a specific corrupt sentence, name the passage and it can be tightened further.

When writings and discourse throughout the world are all traced to their roots and explained with full clarity, the patterns of the Heavenly Dao become visible, and the principles of good and evil can be seen as one continuous thread.

“Excellent, excellent!”

“Go. My Dao is embodied in this. The True Person should reflect from the highest to the lowest, comparing and verifying each point against the rest—then nothing remains obscure. Every affair under heaven can be brought to completion, the Great Dao can be put into practice, Heaven and Earth will rejoice, and the ruler of virtue will enjoy lasting peace and security. When people speak with one voice and confirm one another, no knot of doubt remains untied; when nothing under heaven fails to be accomplished, the Great Dao succeeds, Heaven and Earth are glad, and the virtuous ruler abides in long tranquility. All speak together and say, ‘Excellent!’ One no longer speaks emptily of ‘Heaven’s governance,’ but truly aligns with the intent of Heaven and Earth—hence this is called ‘peace’ (an). When action accords with ordinary human feeling, the world no longer heaps up superfluous debate. Does the True Person understand?” “Yes, yes.”

“Go. If the wording differs slightly and doubt still lingers in the heart, return and ask again.” “Yes, yes.”

Right: Signs of Heaven’s Resentment, Earth’s Blame, and Harm to the State; Establishing the Dongji Scripture

(Title or rubric for material on “signs of Heaven’s resentment and Earth’s blame that harm the state” and on “establishing the Dongji scripture.”)

Taiping Jing Hejiao, juan 92, part ji, section 7

Taiping Jing, juan 92

Formula on the Eclipse of the Three Luminaries (Sanguang Shi Jue), section 133

Someone asked: “May I ask why the three luminaries of heaven—the sun, moon, and stars—undergo eclipses (ri shi, yue shi)?”

The reply was: “Well asked. This is a display of heaven and earth’s great thunderous wrath: when the qi of heaven and earth contend and fall out of harmony, the signs show themselves upon the sun, moon, and stars. An eclipse may happen or not; what matters is whether yin and yang qi are locked in mutual strife.”

They asked again: “Why do they contend?”

The answer: “Yin and yang encroach on each other and take turns prevailing. Yin and yang ought to support one another and together become harmonious qi; when they turn instead to fighting, the fault lies wholly in failure to harmonize.”

The questioner asked: “If harmony is restored and eclipses stop, does that mean they never eclipse at all?”

The answer: “Yes. In the most peaceful and virtuous age of high antiquity, the sun and moon often did not eclipse. Later generations drifted further from heaven and earth’s original intent; yin and yang gradually ceased to cherish each other, and only then did contention arise. If you do not trust these words, let a ruler of virtue carry out my scripture: grasp its meaning fully and the strife will cease; grasp a little and it ceases a little; grasp half and it ceases half. If one refuses to practice earnestly, one can only remain caught in disaster.”

They asked again: “When the sun and moon eclipse, under what ‘cycle’ (yun) and at what hour do they meet so that it occurs?”

The True Person (Zhenren) sighed: “Alas, you are too dull!” (The passage here repeats: the True Person would go on to explain heaven’s wrath and how failure to practice leads to being trapped, and so on.)

They pressed again about the link between eclipses and the “meeting” of yun.

The answer: “Alas, how can you fix the hour by yun alone?”

The student said: “When the dull see a solar or lunar eclipse, it looks as if sun and moon occupy the same place.”

The answer: “Your mind is too murky, dark indeed. If, as you say, one takes eclipse to be nothing but a ‘meeting of yun’…”

They asked again: “Why are there sometimes several eclipses in one year, sometimes none one can make sense of, even years with no eclipse at all? What is this yun?”

(From the thread of the scripture one should understand: eclipses are not merely the overlap of celestial positions in astronomy; they tie to discord between heaven and earth, strife of yin and yang, and whether people can live the Way of Great Peace (Taiping). When qi was harmonious in high antiquity, there were no eclipses; when later ages lose harmony, signs appear from time to time.)

If a ruler frequently practices virtue and moral conduct, the sun and moon will not be eclipsed, and the stars will not stray from their proper courses. Why is that? The text also asks: by nature, yin and yang originally share the same place—they ought to cherish one another—so why do they instead harm each other? Yin and yang should take turns giving birth and completing one another; why do they instead attack and damage each other?

The answer given is: you are being dull. If you want to know how things really are, compare it to people: when people are usually kind to one another but have long been apart, when they meet again they rejoice greatly and help, praise, and bring out the best in each other. When people were never close to begin with, a sudden meeting turns into a fight. When there is great estrangement, they fight to the death; when estrangement is slight, they scuffle briefly. (A repeated passage in the middle restates the same idea about mutual support versus fighting.)

How alarming! How alarming! The student says he now understands, and asks: today we say the sun is the essence of fire and the moon is the essence of yin and water—yet when fire and water do not share the same place and suddenly meet, they extinguish each other. Why? Is it because they are not close?

The reply: excellent! You have hit the mark. Yet fire and water each keep to its own way and follow its own course; only when they can work together can they achieve merit and complete their work. It is like the Five Phases—they cannot lack any one of them, and all turn and generate one another in cycle. If you want the real picture, compare again the five viscera in the human belly, dwelling together in one place: the heart is fire and the kidneys are water—can they, simply because they share one body, fight and eclipse each other day after day? Do you see?

The student assents: yes, yes—I have awakened.

Therefore, when the breath of harmony arrives, the three lights—sun, moon, and stars—no longer (fight and eclipse one another). When the three lights do not eclipse each other, one may then speak of having grasped the heart of Heaven and Earth, and take this as proof.

Therefore, if you wish to know your own strengths and weaknesses and cultivate virtue, yet have not also contemplated this “heavenly verification,” you will only gather passages from various schools and say they mutually erode one another in the same place—thus you merely record the surface wording of “mutual affection” without truly grasping the deeper meaning. Even when there are the immortals’ plain statements, Heaven has not yet deeply scrutinized the actual situation. Do you understand? “Yes, yes.” “Go; you have already gained some awakening. After my scripture appears in the world, emperors and virtuous rulers should reflect on this heavenly intent and not forget these words—these words are precisely for awakening the heart of Heaven and aligning with heavenly intent. If one obtains heavenly intent, one’s mandate will be long-lasting and complete; if one does not obtain heavenly intent, it is the gate of a disordered mandate. Acting without accord with the heart of Heaven is also a great calamity. From high antiquity until now, sage emperors and kings have taken this as a warning, deeply memorizing my words and binding them in the heart; only then do subtle teachings become visible and the Dao can be attained. With this they entrust it to the ruler of supreme virtue, to deliver from the disaster of eclipses of the three luminaries—sun, moon, and stars.” “Yes, yes.” “Go; this short section is finished. If you have doubts, come ask again.” “Yes, yes.”

Someone asked: “Under heaven all share one sun and one moon, and one and the same order of the Dipper (Beidou) and the Pole—symbolizing the celestial heart of heaven—while the great realm beneath heaven is divided into twelve thousand countries. The ‘central’ portion is further divided into eighty-one regions, each forming a small division, that is, one country. Where virtue is highest, the territory may extend to twelve thousand li on a side; the next grade begins from ten thousand li; then nine thousand, eight thousand, seven thousand, six thousand, five thousand, four thousand, three thousand, two thousand… (as virtue grows thinner or thicker, the land shrinks or expands step by step, down to one thousand li, five hundred li, and one hundred li). These are ‘level lands’ (pingtu)—how much ground virtue, high or low, can preserve and unfold. Where virtue is worst, sometimes there is not even an inch of level land; disease is everywhere, so that within one country sun and moon clash and eclipses occur. Among those twelve thousand countries, could they all be eclipsed through and through? If the Dipper-Pole order is unclear, could all twelve thousand countries become unclear together?”

The answer: “Well asked—deep, far-reaching, and fine! Why do you ask only about these strange changes of the present age? If one country changes, what has that to do with all twelve thousand? Must every other place change at the same time?”

The questioner: “Because it seems strange, I did not wait for you, Celestial Master (Tianshi), to speak first—I feared that from antiquity to now no one could explain it clearly, so I came to ask.”

The answer: “Good! Your doubt has truly entered the gate of the Dao. When one country changes, it is only that country’s sun turning dim—called a solar eclipse; neighboring countries, though far off, may still see the omen; but lands still farther on the four sides were never subject to eclipse in the first place. If the Dipper-Pole and the stars are unclear, it is only the direction that has lost heaven’s intent that is unclear—the distant countries on all four sides were never going to be eclipsed all at once.”

The questioner: “Then may I ask: by what obstruction is it that only that one place becomes unclear?”

The answer: “Alas! You are truly like a child still in darkness, much like ordinary folk.”

In the Taiping Jing, a passage in question-and-answer form explains that the Way of Heaven is manifest and clear, and links good government to the brightness of the sun and moon.

Heaven and earth are far apart by nature. In kingdoms that have lost the Way and lack virtue (de), the heterogeneous qi below rises together to veil the sky. The sun, moon, and stars—the “three luminaries”—each follow their own cycles, yet appear dim and obscure, as when one tries to see celestial light through thick fog. Where there is no fog, all is naturally bright and clear.

To clarify further: in yin places alone one cannot see a lunar eclipse; in yang places alone one can see a solar eclipse—each is a matter of position and what is visible from it. Again, when Tai Sui is in the zi year, a kingdom with virtue may enjoy abundance and peace while a kingdom without virtue suffers a bad year; it is the same kingdom and the same year, yet fortune and misfortune differ. So too all people share one heaven and one earth, yet safety and danger differ and customs vary—the principle is the same.

The disciple replies: “Yes, yes—well said!”

It continues: as the sun and moon turn and shine, the twelve thousand kingdoms under heaven all receive the same celestial light, yet brightness and dimness differ from place to place. In a kingdom with virtue, government is upright, peaceful, and free of perversity, so the three luminaries shine especially bright and the heterogeneous qi below cannot rise to obscure them. When they are not clear, the fault lies in the lower levels deceiving the upper together, with all such qi surging upward to block the light. In a kingdom without the Way, government is turbid, treachery abounds, and people blind themselves, so the three luminaries are not bright. To examine closely: it is like squinting at the sun versus opening the eyes wide; or like looking at the sun with clear eyes versus through thin silk— a kingdom without the Way obscuring the three luminaries is like the latter. Do you understand?

“Yes, yes—it truly awakens one!”

“If you can awaken through this and comprehend, you will be in accord with the path of longevity.”

“Yes, yes.”

On nations in decline and peril: The three luminaries (sun, moon, and stars) all seem dim. It is like a blind person who alone cannot see the three luminaries—the luminaries themselves are unchanged; only because that person’s eyes are blind does he alone fail to see them. Again, a person in his prime can see the three luminaries, while an old person alone cannot—this is the sign of flourishing and decline. Is that clear?

Disciple: Clear, clear. I will go at once. What does that utterly secret oral formula say? I still do not clearly know what “the One” really is.

Master: Alas, Real Person, you have studied the scriptures at length—why still doubt here? You remain dim. Know this: in holding to the One, all undertakings are fulfilled. Your questions are too fine-grained; ponder the meaning carefully.

Disciple: Clear, clear.

Master: “The One” is mind, intention, and will; what you attend to is the Shen (spirit) within this body. Nothing under Heaven is accomplished otherwise. From antiquity to the present, the teaching of sages and worthies, forging achievement and establishing a name—all rest on grasping this early and learning their words.

Disciple: Clear, clear.

Master: “The One” is mind, intention, and will; what you attend to is the Shen within this body. Nothing under Heaven is accomplished otherwise. From antiquity to the present, sages and worthies teach and names are made because they grasp this early, learn their intent, direct will toward the good, and hold to wholesome action. Fools are wholly caught in peril for the same reason: what they study and hold is unwholesome action. Heaven and Earth are so by nature; insects, beasts, and all crawling things are the same. Therefore study in the master’s gate if you would gain years of life—what Dao are you learning? Even Heaven and Earth may be followed in practice. To gather myriads of people is not equal to serving one worthy person; myriads of fools only hasten peril and ruin. Truly to hold this “worthy” in the one body (holding to the One)—how could that harm the body? Yet one will not turn back and mirror oneself, seeing thought reflected back upon the self. When intent is cast far, the body sickens, declines, withers, and falls away; when intent stays near (holding to the One), the body gains moisture and luster. What intent accomplishes is too much to list one by one; all affairs under Heaven are this principle. Do you know?

Disciple: Clear, clear.

(Separate passage) I ask: great drought, killing cold that nearly exterminates all, people trapped in hunger and cold dying in masses… (in transmitted copies this overlaps chaotically with the preceding “need not list one by one; all affairs under Heaven are this principle,” and similar lines)… Do you know?

Disciple: Clear, clear.

Someone asked: “When great drought and bitter cold freeze people to death, and the people are worn down by hunger and cold until they die in masses—what is doing the killing?”

The answer: “It is the killing punishment of August Heaven and the qi of the sun. The yang qi of the six directions has long stored up resentment, and so it can harm people.”

The questioner asked: “What does that mean? I would like to hear the details.”

The answer: “It is like this. When the qi of the six directions (above, below, and the four cardinal points) reaches its limit, the fierce qi within them all hates that humans have long stirred up disorder and done evil, so it sends down killing punishment. When it harms people, what is it called? There is no fixed name. It simply happens when the burden of chenfu (the debt whereby descendants answer for ancestors’ wrongdoing) has piled up to the extreme, heaven’s anger flares, and it no longer distinguishes good people from bad—whoever is caught in it meets great misfortune. If you want to know how this really works, compare it to human affairs: when a person is furious beyond measure, they may not spare even someone as good as ‘A,’ and instead hurt B, C, and D. What wrong have B, C, and D done, that they should run into someone else’s rage? When heaven’s anger breaks out, it works the same way. That is why the heaviest chenfu debt brings death, and good and evil are no longer sorted apart. The root of great calamity lies here.”

Therefore this scripture of mine conforms to Heaven’s intent; now the system of chengfu—in which the faults of forebears are borne by later generations—must be cut off completely. Heaven’s own transgressions have been too grave, and many innocent people have suffered because of them. Heaven is deeply troubled by this, and so has commanded me to instruct the Zhenren (Perfected Person) to deliver the scripture to a ruler of virtue, so that the devious, flatterers, and hypocrites may be cut off and the Way of Heaven set right. Do you understand this?

(Disciple) Yes, yes. I wish to ask: Since Heaven and Earth were opened and formed, some people have perished in sudden epidemics, some in floods, and some in the chaos of war—what offenses did they actually commit? Was it because they hit a period when Yin and Yang of Heaven and Earth were in violent exchange? Or was it the calamity of chengfu?

(Teacher) Exactly so. Ancient books often say it was due to the meeting and clash of Heaven-and-Earth Yin and Yang; that is not correct—it is all the calamity of chengfu. When the harmonizing Qi of Heaven falls out of balance and turns to wrath, the spirits contend with one another. Those who die in sudden epidemic are removed by Heaven’s punitive campaign; those who die by water are removed by Earth’s punitive campaign; those who die by weapons of war are removed by the human realm’s punitive campaign.

I would hear why those who die in sudden epidemic are said to be killed by Heaven.

Heaven is lord of the spirits and chief among the divine beings, and therefore sends spirit-ghosts to slay people. Earth is the lowly within Yin; water is the most extreme of Yin and belongs to Earth. Yin presides over gestation and nurturing. Whenever what is being nurtured is harmed, blood must flow; blood belongs to the category of water. When nurturing is injured, wrath and displeasure follow, and filth of blood is used to harm people further. Water is the blood-veins of Earth and the Yin of Earth. Yin occupies the lower position; when it rages it must fight in its own person to kill, like a minister going to capture bandits—he must enter the fray himself to seize them, unlike a ruler who only holds his throne and issues commands. The harmonizing Qi is what the human lord holds in charge; the four seasons and Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) govern together, and people ought to act in harmony with them. When people lose the Dao and cannot follow obediently, (Heaven and Earth) give rise to anger and resentment…

Chengfu and the Three Qi

When the four seasons of heaven and earth run contrary to their proper course and the Five Phases clash and overcome one another, people turn on one another in mutual slaughter. All of this arises from the fullness of the harmonizing qi between heaven and earth being depleted, from ailments that build over long time, and from stagnation in the heart-mind.

Someone asked: What exactly are the calamities of chengfu (inherited burden) and the wrath of the three qi? If one does not die during a period of chengfu, how does one die?

The answer given was: Each person originally has a fixed lifespan—upper, middle, and lower ranks each completing their allotted years. If someone attains the true Dao and can “du shi” (transcend the world and leave mortality behind), there is no fault of chengfu; that is the natural order.

Not Fixed Fate: Mass Death and the Hidden Slaughter Qi

When many people die together in the same period, it is not that each was “fated” to die that way. Rather, the harmonizing qi of heaven and earth is out of balance, the four seasons and Five Phases rage in battle, and the hidden slaughter qi flares up.

Calamities of this kind have existed since antiquity; most people do not know why they occur. Today suffering and illness run deep, and many die though guilty of no crime—heaven is moved by this. Heaven therefore sends down the Celestial Master (Tianshi) to explain the causes. After the celestial pattern (the Way of Great Peace) is put into practice, people and the ten thousand things should each end their lives according to their natural span; there should no longer be gatherings of “bing si”—many dying together under the same temporal fate.

Each Receiving Their Allotted Life

People of later ages should each receive the life allotted to them. Do the perfected ones (zhenren) understand?

Another asked: If death is not due to the cycles of the Dao of heaven having run their course, why do mass-death gatherings so often appear at the juncture when heaven and earth meet? When heaven and earth meet at their border and disorder breaks out—is it the Five Phases meeting at their border and warring? Or is it that the divine calendars of the Five Emperors are exhausted and brought to ruin?

The Celestial Master sighed: Well asked! The perfected one’s question is very difficult. Today let you ask—so that the links among the meeting of heaven and earth, the warring of the Five Phases, the exhaustion of divine calendars, and the mass gathering of the dead may be clarified.

Brief Notes on Terms (as implied in the text)

• Chengfu: Sins and faults of ancestors or earlier generations borne by descendants, bringing disaster and illness.
• San qi (three qi): Here tied to chengfu and disharmony between heaven and earth; often meaning the qi of heaven, earth, and humanity, or three kinds of calamity-bringing qi; the text stresses their “wrath” and displeasure.
• Fu sha (hidden slaughter): Latent, erupting qi of slaughter and calamity, linked to the warring rage of the Five Phases.
• Du shi: Attaining the true Dao and leaving behind worldly birth and death, outside the scope of chengfu.
• Bing si zhi hui: Not death from one’s own lifespan running out, but many dying together under the same temporal fate and the same cosmic juncture.

The memorials they submitted have been incorporated into the Tianxin Che—the prophecies in which heaven’s intent is made manifest. Which of their lines are the essential keys? I attach great weight to this. What Zhen Ruo Zi (the Taiping Jing’s name for the one who receives its teaching) has said—I will now explain it to you item by item. Perfected persons have come from afar to question heaven and earth in detail, and also to ask about what emperors since the opening of heaven and earth have doubted. You should sit at ease and listen to what I say.” “Yes, yes.” “Yet the law heaven has established is to fix the allotted span for the people and the myriad things. It is like the qi of the four seasons: they should only beget one another, pass on in succession, and circulate in turn. It is also like a human life: the young should later grow old and mature, generation handing on to generation. One must not take the path of strife and slaughter that violates the Great Dao, and thereby extinguish every kind of living being in the world. The calamities and wars that the Great Dao sets in motion—floods, drought, pestilence, and the death of the people to the last—often arise because a ruler, inheriting what predecessors and forebears accumulated on their own, little by little departs from the Dao’s original intent; when this has piled up long enough to reach such a juncture, he cannot save himself and destroys himself, and then lineages are cut off to the end. The Three Unities of heaven, earth, and humanity depend on one another to stand and take form together—like a person’s head, feet, belly, and trunk: if one unity turns vicious and is ruined, all three unities are destroyed. If a person lacks head, feet, or belly, and one part is lost, all three are in peril. Therefore when people greatly ruin themselves on the Great Dao, the Three Unities of heaven, earth, and humanity perish, and confusion grows darker still; the myriad things then vanish with them. When the myriad things are wholly gone, they cannot at once be born anew. From this one may know how much is lost by abandoning the Dao and how much is lost by extinction; whether renewal comes quickly or only after long ruin varies—so a small ruin is restored quickly. If you wish to know the truth in greater depth, so that later sovereigns of virtue may see clearly, know how heaven and earth are wronged and the great signs of failure to keep to the Dao.

This is like running a household: those who store grain and goods in abundance can weather a year of inherited burden (chenfu) and poor harvest and still get by; families with large stores often survive even through successive years of famine; those with modest reserves, when harvests fail year after year, starve to the last; those who remain poor hit one bad year and the whole household is gone. It is not that they could not figure out how to survive, but that they are trapped in the world with no way out. The Way of Heaven has fixed patterns; fate is not something you stumble into by chance.

It is like working hard to gather the harvest in summer and autumn and living on stored grain in winter and spring: if you will not gather properly in summer and autumn, in winter and spring you should starve to extinction. The ancient sages’ celestial writings therefore recorded this as “critical juncture (jihui).” What the perfected person must grasp is precisely this. Now the qi of Great Peace (Taiping) has arrived; the age ought to be constantly balanced and peaceful (changping); one should no longer speak of critical junctures that bring death.

Heaven’s mandate appoints emperors to govern so that rulers of virtue may awaken. When the people walk this path, others should see the principle at a glance. If masters and ordinary folk constantly uphold the essential Way and essential Virtue (De), even when a critical juncture comes, they will not die. Heaven’s mandate for emperors to govern the realm takes possession of virtue and the Way as great wealth, and lack of virtue and the Way as great poverty. Those called devoid of the Way and devoid of De may be unable to settle Heaven and Earth and may lose the realm. Masters have gradually abandoned virtue and the Way together; over long ages this has led to mutual chenfu—later generations suffer heavier injustice and disaster, all matching rule without the Way until fate is exhausted and they cannot save themselves. The great calamity lies here.

“Yes, yes. How dreadful! How dreadful!”

“Let me tell the perfected person once more in plain words. Virtue, the Way (Dao), and human beings are what align the heart of Heaven—like a person’s heart: when the human heart faithfully keeps the Way, it is often fortunate; when the heart is wicked and does not keep the Way, it is often in decline and misfortune.”

“Yes, yes. How dreadful! How dreadful!”

“Let me tell the perfected person once more in plain words.”

Virtue (De), the Way (Dao), and human beings align the heart of Heaven—Dao, De, and people are precisely what align with Heaven’s heart. It is like a person having a heart: if the heart faithfully keeps to the Dao, there is lasting good fortune; if the heart turns evil and does not keep to the Dao, there is lasting decline and misfortune. When spirit-mind (Shen) departs, the person dies. Therefore if Dao and De are severed and people die, Heaven and Earth will also fall into disorder and ruin.

Hence, if Dao and De are cut off and people perish, Heaven and Earth too will be thrown into chaos and destruction—so Dao, De, and people must be joined together. Heaven, Earth, and humanity should share the same cares and the same tasks, so they can mutually generate and support one another. If they cannot share cares and tasks and refuse mutual generation and mutual benefit, it will not work. Dao and De bind them into one shared fate.

Thus Dao and De link them so they share one life—when Heaven and Earth see people possess Dao and De and do good, they greatly rejoice; when they see people do evil, they greatly rage and seethe with anger.

Therefore Heaven and Earth, seeing people with Dao and De who do good, rejoice greatly; seeing people do evil, rage and burn with anger—(Question) Does the perfected person (Zhenren) understand? (Answer) Yes, yes. How frightening! The disciple is very afraid. (Zhenren) If you know fear, you can attain long life without misfortune; if you do not know fear, Heaven is already about to leave you—be ever so careful. (Answer) Yes, yes.

Does the perfected person understand this teaching?—(Zhenren) I will explain one more point to the perfected person. The course of fortune and misfortune is like Dao, De, ritual, and righteousness set against punishments and penalties: when people keep Dao, De, ritual, and righteousness, punishments do not arise; when they lose Dao, De, ritual, and righteousness, punishments arise. Those who keep to the good Dao find the path of misfortune cut off by itself—they need not be taught to go there, they naturally will; those who keep to an evil Dao find the path of good fortune cut off by itself. It is also like the sun rising and the stars fleeing, or the stars appearing and the sun setting—not off by a hair’s breadth.

I repeat this important clarification for the perfected person—(Disciple) Excellent, excellent! (Zhenren) This is a great secret for instructing perfected persons. People accumulate very heavy foolish darkness; they pass on the saying that “as the cycle of time turns, fortune and misfortune come”—if that were so, what good would doing good do, and what harm would doing evil? As if fortune and misfortune were purely natural—then what merit in striving to do good? Yet those who are fortunate are often those sages who constantly align with Heaven’s heart and teach people to do good—that is the right view. To speak only of the turning of time and thereby disorder the Dao of Heaven together is empty talk and keeps Heaven and Earth from ever being pleased and joyful.

Some people in the world truly do evil, yet turn around and say: it is not that people are at fault, but that the timing of Heaven and the cycles of fortune have turned ill on their own. They refuse to admit their own wickedness and instead treat Heaven and Earth as harming them. It is like a household where an unfilial, wicked son appears: he will not own his evil and says instead that his parents are bad—precisely that kind of case. Therefore Heaven is often bitter and angry, heavy with displeasure; when such a juncture in the cycles arrives, it sends down chastisement and raises strife, so that the people of this generation may be replaced and the age renewed. Originally it ought not to change merely because people follow suit: the old depart, the young grow up, each according to the end of their lifespan exchanging form and qi—as since Heaven and Earth were opened, human forms have differed, and the principle is the same.

(The questioner said) Excellent; I largely understand from this that though ancient and modern people differ in outward form, the qi they receive is the same.

(He taught again) If you wish to clarify the inner principle further, compare the qi of the four seasons and the positions of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water): though what they receive differs, inwardly it is one and the same qi generating one another. It is like a person’s head and feet not resembling each other, yet joined together they are one person.

(The questioner) Well said, well said.

(He stressed again) Tell the Perfected One again with utmost weight: what Heaven shares in receiving, inwardly shares one qi, turning and generating one another. Again, head and feet do not look alike, yet inwardly they compose one person.

(The questioner) Well said, well said.

(He spoke again) Once more, with redoubled instruction, one word to the Perfected One: the accumulated bitterness in Heaven is because people do evil; people perversely say the times are ill. The qi of the Superior August is about to arrive and should assist the virtuous sovereign in governing the realm, yet there is fear that people’s conduct will not leave old wickedness, disordering upright qi and ruining Heaven’s treasures—therefore I am sent down to the world to produce writings for the virtuous sovereign, instructing the multitude, telling all always to act according to my writings, no longer blaming only Heaven and Earth while also violating Heaven’s prohibitions. From this time forward, practice my heavenly teachings, so that spirits assist the virtuous sovereign in governance. Those who violate the prohibitions are to be executed; if people do not execute them, the spirits will. Do you know where perversity lies?

(The answer) Yes, yes; I dare not violate.

(He said) Good; this short passage is finished. All who read this book should reflect on its essential meaning themselves.

(The answer) Yes, yes.

(Opening) Someone asked the Celestial Master (Tianshi): Under heaven there are twelve thousand kingdoms, each with its own cefu (policy tokens and mandate-charms)—their meanings differ. Where should each be placed? Customs vary from land to land; where should one begin? Some say one should start from the “fire qi” southeast of the Pole Star—he wished to hear the essential teaching: what does that mean?

The Celestial Master replied: Fire belongs to Yang. Its charm now presides over the “Heart of Heaven” (tianxin)—the core of the Way of Heaven. “Harmony” (he) governs giving and concord; “Opening” (kai) governs unblocking; “Clarity” (ming) governs ordering the myriad affairs. Fire symbolizes the heart; the heart hosts shen (spirit). Whoever can “harmonize” may become foremost in transformation and nurture; the myriad affairs will rise, beginning from the heart. The heart presides over upright affairs, leaning on benevolence to be clear, and there is also divine light. Though the twelve thousand kingdoms differ in cefu, memorials and petitions to the court may still follow one pattern; the weather of Heaven will circulate accordingly, and the True Person (zhenren) should strive to rise. Do not go against this, or you harm yourself. This is the descent of joyful writ from Heaven—therefore I speak thus. (Closing)

If you do not trust my words yet seek proof in yourself: if you practice this Way, disasters are removed day by day—that is Heaven’s joy in your practice, hence calamities clear. If you do not practice, illness and disaster multiply—that is Heaven’s anger and displeasure, because you obstruct the Way. Do not only ask others about ominous signs of fire; take effect here, clear as sun and moon. What Heaven intends—you must not be careless. Not practicing, not complying, makes people’s hearts chaotic. When the True Person asks others, take effect here too, clear as sun and moon. What Heaven intends—you must not be careless. Not practicing, not complying, makes people’s hearts chaotic. The True Person must be cautious.

Reply: Yes, yes.

Celestial Master: Go on—I admonish the True Person once more. If Heaven does not wish it practiced and you practice alone, you will fall ill yourself. I take this text as pledge: from now on, it is always so. The text has already repeated; adding more would not help, and would make the Way hard to know.

Reply: Yes, yes.

Celestial Master: Go on—one more admonition: this disaster and illness is not the fault of one lifetime alone; it goes back far in time. Do not turn back and suddenly harm yourself. Only practice the Way of Heaven to extinguish it.

Reply: Yes, yes.

Celestial Master: Go on—I repeat one warning to you… (The following still follows this admonitory pattern: in essence, if Heaven does not wish it practiced and one practices alone, one falls ill; take the text as pledge; disaster and illness accumulated over long ages are not the sin of a single life; one should practice the Way of Heaven to dissolve them.)

Acting in this way is called aligning with Heaven’s intent. If one fails to follow what I have said and instead misuses harsh punishments and severe penalties, calamities will increase day by day, and Heaven will not be pleased. True Person, do you understand?” “Yes, yes.”

Fire Qi and the Correct Spirit Path — Section 135

“May I ask: In antiquity, when the age belonged to the Fire phase, the same conditions should have brought the Great Peace (Taiping), yet the Correct Spirit Path (Zheng Shendao) was not taught. Why does the Celestial Master (Tianshi) now insist that the Fire phase must follow the Correct Spirit Path?”

“You ask well. Among a hundred people there are a hundred minds, among a thousand a thousand minds, among ten thousand ten thousand minds—each devises a different scheme, so for the most part they do not obtain Heaven’s intent. The True Person speaks rightly. Now Fire qi (huo qi) is at its peak, and the qi of the Upper Sovereign (shanghuang) is about to arrive—unlike anything since Heaven and Earth were opened at the beginning of time.”

“When Fire qi is at its height, the Correct Spirit Path must be practiced—why? I wish to hear the meaning.”

“Good. Fire is the heart of Heaven. The heart governs spirit (shen); when the heart is upright, spirit ought to be clear. That is why Heaven sent me down to put the Spirit Path in order.”

“The Spirit Path already has its own numinous powers—why must it be put in order again?”

“Well said. Spirits are Heaven’s upright officials. Today evil spirits (xieshen) are many, and the upright spirits cannot find their proper places; within the Celestial Spirit Path (tianshen dao) there is great disorder, and all have lost their stations. The seasonal qi is out of harmony, emperors are worn down with worry, and yet people do not grasp the essentials. If you would gladly learn the principle within this, it is like the human realm: evil persons occupy the posts, together they disrupt the ruler’s governance, and upright persons cannot find their places—Heaven and Earth lose correctness because of evil qi (xie qi). When evil is many, together they harm the upright; when the upright are many, together they restrain evil—this is the natural law of Heaven and Earth. Do you understand? Therefore I also command the sun to be at its greatest strength—something never known since antiquity. Yang is called spirit, so Heaven is spirit; yin is called evil, so treacherous qi constantly moves back and forth within yin and dares not act in the daylight. If the treacherous act openly by day, it is named yin riding the yang’s road; if illness flares by day, it is named yin flourishing while yang loses its way—the ruler declines, and this condition has lasted long. Hence Heaven’s Dao (Dao) requires me to practice the Correct Spirit Path so that (evil) dare not act again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes. Excellent, excellent!”

Plain Explanation

Duplication of Characters in the Verse on Wormless Qi at the Utmost Level of Universal Peace, Section 136

The Real Person asked: “May I ask: when the qi of utmost universal peace arrives and nothing under heaven goes ungoverned, does the Celestial Master use phenomena such as ‘sores and scabies, worms devouring people’ to verify that state? How should we understand all the other kinds of worms?”

The Celestial Master replied: “Well asked! What you ask today is the right matter. Does heaven especially intend to use your question for this? Heaven most hates people doing evil—crafty officials and commoners who violate the way of heaven and turn from the way of earth, jointly deceiving those above while doing wrong only in secret. How should we understand all the other kinds of worms?” (The original text repeats a sentence here with much the same meaning.)

The Celestial Master continued: “When we speak of worms that harm people, the calamity they bring is among the heaviest, because they disturb and overturn upright qi. Now that the qi of imperial peace is about to arrive, such signs ought not still to appear. Real Person, entrust this principle to a ruler of virtue: to know how to penetrate and govern thoroughly, the people have not yet fully changed the ‘master names of worms’—that is, the names and attributions of every kind of worm that harms people. Those that harm on a large or small scale must all have their master names changed. Where many names are changed, worms below severely harm people; where such worm names are absent, worms below do not harm people; where few are changed, few worms harm people.”

The Real Person replied: “Good! This student is dull and in the dark; seeing worms eat people, I took it as their nature, and therefore thought such retribution and governance were necessary—is that so?”

The Celestial Master replied: “You are too muddled—why fix on only this one thread! In the nature of heaven and earth, the human is most honored and the worm most base, yet worms together turn and devour people—this inverts the upright way. It symbolizes base, wayless people who, like worms, devour others. Therefore heaven, seeing this image clearly, has sages and worthies devise correction. Every calamity and anomaly appears according to its kind; ancient sages and worthies could know on that basis. Without sorting by kind, one cannot reflect or set policy aright. Worms hide inside the body, symbolizing people below jointly doing treachery yet not daring to show it outside. The outer belongs to yang; yang belongs to heaven and to the ruler—and heaven is precisely the emperor. So worms hiding within and secretly devouring people symbolize meritless ministers hiding inside, like worms secretly gnawing the people.”

The Real Person replied: “Truly dreadful! This foolish student is deeply afraid.”

Note: “Qi of utmost universal peace” and “qi of imperial peace” refer to the harmonious qi proper to an age of great peace. “Master names of worms” means systematizing the names and symbolic attributions of each kind of harmful worm to match human treachery below. The whole passage uses “worms devouring people” as a figure for common people or crafty ministers harming others in secret, contrary to heaven’s way that “the human is honored”; hence in an age of peace such images should be changed and the qi set right.

You are right to know that one must revere Heaven; if one did not revere Heaven, one would long since have lost life. The perfected person (Zhenren) must be all the more careful.

“Yes, yes.”

So in governing the realm, the ancients let each domain be ruled by its kind: what ought to be governed by spirits they entrusted to true spirits; what ought to be governed by ghosts, to ghosts; what ought to be governed by things, to things; what ought to be governed by insects, to insects—each according to its category. What was there to fear? I wish to hear the reasoning behind this.

“What spirits do is of one heart with Heaven and one intent with the divine; therefore spirits are dispatched by Heaven, and Heaven cherishes them. What ghosts do is to shun people, hide in yin (the shady, hidden side), and murmur like ghosts in secret—therefore ghosts are drawn in. What things do is to deceive from above, like cunning things—therefore things are drawn in. What insects do is to compete with people for gain from above, like a swarm of mixed insects—therefore insects are drawn in. Heaven responds to such transformations; broadly speaking, it is always thus. The Lord of Great Peace (Taiping de jun), when he received memorials from all under Heaven, answered each in line with the original meaning of the calamity or omen; the effect was truly as if aided by the divine.”

“Excellent! The calamity qi has already been dispelled.”

“How do you know?”

“Seeing the Celestial Master (Tianshi) perform the rites correctly, I know insects will no longer harm people—so I say it is dispelled.”

“You may say you grasp the intent of the Dao!”

“May I ask: in the scripture, when characters are repeated, what does each repetition govern? The governing note is ‘correctness’ (zheng)—using correctness to open divine awareness. When it speaks of rushi (entering the chamber, i.e., formal transmission of the teaching), taking that as a baojuan (credential or pledge of trust)—how is that done in practice? May this be explained?”

“It may. It is easy to understand yet extremely secret; the words are light but the meaning is weighty, and it must not be passed on casually. When a person of refined purity ‘swallows’ it (tun—silent recitation and inward assimilation), that is called divine efficacy; when one who is not refined ‘swallows’ it nonetheless, that is called lack of efficacy. When one who is not refined forcibly ‘swallows’ it, that is called reckless speech. Therefore the Dao succeeds only when entrusted to a suitable person; in all matters, clarity comes only with a suitable person—entrusting them to an unsuitable person is called reckless practice, and the fault will rebound upon the one who transmitted it. Does the perfected person understand?”

“Yes, yes. I dare not act recklessly; I will certainly entrust it only to a suitable person.”

This passage mainly explains a method of cultivation and healing that uses a zi (written character) as the medium, together with how to transmit the method, what results to expect, and how far to keep it secret.

Using the elixir-character and informing others

The master says to the disciple: write a certain character in the form of a dan character (in cinnabar color or in the shape of the dan character). When writing, “the top comes first, then below,” and continue in order with what is to be conveyed, passing it to a suitable person. Does the perfected one understand how the human body relates to this method? Answer: I understand; I dare not act recklessly, and only sincerely entrust it to someone who can be relied upon.

Preparation and orientation before practice

The recipient must bathe, sit upright, and gather the mind. When “informing” with the character, proceed according to orientation: one may face north, west, south, or east to recite or visualize (the text lists the four directions and stresses ritual correctness). In practice, take fine wine as strict observance—drink it as if it were clear water—then single-mindedly visualize that character, and for life take it as the essential of self-cultivation.

Healing and nourishing the form

At the same time one may recite: face the correct direction, face level; good qi will arrive, illness will leave of itself, and the face will be moist and bright. Some can directly “see the character”; then according to where the illness sits in the body, fix the mind on this character. This method is called huan jing yang xing (returning essence to nourish the form). Those without illness may practice it too and gradually grow quiet. If within the body there are stubborn evils or ghostly things and the like, they may instead quarrel with the person; though one sees anger and strife, one must still hold concentration and visualize—do not be misled—and in time the evil submits and departs.

Verification and the Dao of Heaven

After this, heaven and human are in mutual delight, and the person turns toward uprightness. If one changes to other wording to practice this method, the celestial gods also assist from below and come and go as the person intends. A superior practitioner, seeing someone “tun zi” (swallow the character—ingest it physically or visualize swallowing it) and then go home and think of it the same way, can teach the one-character swallowing method from that alone. Hence it is said: once the Dao of Heaven is put into motion, it runs—the proof of heaven’s Dao often appears in single-minded practice.

The heart of practicing the Dao

“What I do as Dao does not imitate fine phrases; it imitates establishing response and harmony with the Dao of Heaven—that is what counts as spirit.” The perfected one should be careful: what matters is not empty talk but establishing practice that resonates with heaven’s Dao; only then is it truly wondrous. Having opened the celestial gods, the Dao returns to the De sovereign (the virtuous lord or the one who presides over De), is given to the worthy and good, so people correct themselves and upper governance is benefited and clarified.

Admonitions and secrecy

The De sovereign and the clear master admonish people with authority; what they declare can heal illness and is verified. Matters seen involving spirit-beings—be careful not to speak of them recklessly outside. Therefore a superior practitioner can reach deliverance from the world; a middling one can reach wuwei (non-action); an inferior one can reach pingping (ordinary peace and stability). Each person’s gain differs in depth and breadth; the celestial gods appoint according to fu shu (talisman texts and registers), hence the warning “do not transmit”—what each thinks and obtains differs, so one must not lightly tell one another.

Closing

What is easy to believe is easy to practice; its core lies in the Dao; and the core of the Dao—even an inferior practitioner can reach pingping, settling body and mind in ordinary centeredness.

What each person receives from the Dao—blessing, insight, depth of understanding—varies in thickness and thinness. Celestial deities arrange and fix allotments according to talismanic writs and mandates, which is why people so often say one must not transmit teachings casually at random. Each person’s inner grasp simply differs; when it differs, the same words cannot fully reach one another.

Trustworthy? In fact it is not obscure. This is the Dao: essential yet simple. This is the path of aspiring to long life: follow it in study and a person naturally grows more aligned and more good; with divine agency present, the heart’s intent is turned so that joy arises within.

Some may only today accept these phrases, yet later teach others through other scriptures, matching ten out of ten, a hundred out of a hundred. Cultivation in a single moment can set spirit flowing through the eight directions and six harmonies; follow that flow to heal illness. From then on, people under Heaven will sooner correct conduct, all delight in true scripture, and no longer do heterodox or false deeds.

The True Person wished people to rest in peace in the way of Heaven and Earth and return to rectitude quickly. What matters most is to put the “three-path running-script documents” foremost.

Question: “I wish to hear what ‘placing the foreword first’ means.”

Answer: “Well asked. Dull and obtuse people are hard to set right—like disorderly folk governing a state, which troubles a ruler of virtue. Therefore place the running-script documents first, so that above and below, great and small, all mutually correct one another; then ordinary people are not harmed by solitary debaters’ words.”

Question: “For the three-path running script, why not simply send one collected running-script document upward? Why must there be many documents before and after?”

Answer: “Well asked. Your words hit the mark of Heaven’s intent. The reason for before and after, for much questioning and challenge, is to make ordinary people deeply know their faults. Relying on one person’s words alone is a grave illness; if one cannot see the harm of isolated phrases and single documents, one cannot see the benefit of collected running-script documents; if error in transmission is not separated out and great loss not distinguished clearly, the human heart cannot be unlocked—and afterward there is no saving. When the heart is not unlocked, one does not know how to act; in time comes great error. Once the human heart awakens, rectification comes easily. Everything I write serves this purpose—not this passage alone. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Go—you understand now.”

The realized master (a cultivator who has attained the Dao) acts with caution in all matters. The scripture has already been written and spoken enough; one must not lightly press question after question. He had intended not to explain further to you, yet feared resentment in your heart; he also wished to teach you a little more. What is transmitted now is the great Dao and the great text, yet the Heavenly Dao (the law and intent of Heaven) cannot be fully conveyed in a few words. If you can grasp its true meaning, Heaven will be greatly pleased; if you cannot, that is going against the Heavenly Dao and instead building resentment with Heaven—so he dares say no more. Having finished, he withdraws.

Right-column title (related to the Great Collection of Difficult Questions)

Heaven and Earth Destroyed and Renewed, Eclipses of Sun, Moon, and Stars, People Dying in Epidemics, and other difficult questions, together with Ten Thousand Two Thousand Characters of State Policy Talisman Script for Opening the Spirit—the gist being: in situations of calamity such as heaven and earth being destroyed and renewed, anomalies of sun, moon, and stars, or people dying in fierce pestilence, the method of using talisman script of roughly twelve thousand characters of state policy to “open the spirit” and penetrate resolution.

Volume note

Taiping Jing Hejiao, fascicle 93, section Ji bu 8; from the Taiping Jing, fascicle 93, Fangyao Yangu Xiangzhi Jue (Formula Medicine for Overcoming and Mutual Treatment), section 137.

There was a man called Yusheng who received documents issued by the Celestial Master (Tianshi). As the Celestial Master required, he gathered various scriptures and recipe books, returned home to live quietly, and worked through the main points one by one. One passage he could not understand, so he reverently asked for instruction:

“The Celestial Master’s rule is this: among all the methods, only formulas that heal ten times out of ten may be entrusted to deities of Heaven to carry out; those that heal nine times out of nine go to earth spirits; those that eal eight times out of eight are handled by human spirit (or numina). Anything worse is not permitted for use. I used to think that as long as there was that kind of overawe and firm constraint (yangu)—deterrence that inspires awe and holds the other party in check—one side could rule the other; without such yangu, one could not control the other.”

The True Person (or Celestial Master) said: “Good! You have hit the hard point. It is like this: everything that fills the boundless (wuji) within and without—what the eye sees, the ear hears, and every crawling, moving life—is born of Heaven; if Heaven did not give birth, none of these would exist. Therefore each has its chief spirit (shenzhang) in charge, and life and destiny (ming) are likewise allotted to them. Take the six domestic animals: their fate is tied to human beings; life and death hang on a human thought—humans are the Fate-determining spirit (siming shen) for the six animals. The twelve thousand kinds of things all move under the order of Heaven and Earth (tiandi tong); if any one kind were incomplete, the heavenly order would be deficient, so they are further made to govern and submit to one another. Each also has rank and a ruler, and only thus can the Way of Heaven mutually restrain. What inspires awe and heals ten times out of ten—its destiny is under Heaven’s charge. Does the True Person understand?”

Yusheng answered again and again: “Yes, yes.”

The other said: “Very well—you already understand.”

Yusheng had another doubt. Feeling he was not quite humble enough, he still spoke: “Please speak plainly without reserve. When bandits rob people, they wear human clothes and look like other people—how can that be called a ruler ordained by Heaven’s mandate?”

The reply: “Well asked! Bandits who rob others are simply without righteousness and oppress others at random—they cannot long remain rulers. Once they wrongly treat people as slaves and servants, they commit a grave offense and local officials pursue them without end—how can that count as a true ruler?”

He asked again: “Good! This question also cuts to the heart.” (The original text here seems to repeat words of praise, meaning the speaker continues to affirm how sharply the question hits the difficulty.)

Plain-Language Commentary

(On Bandits and Forcing Others to Submit)

When bandits plunder others, the root cause is lack of moral principle: they arbitrarily coerce people into submission, and such submission cannot last. Once you unjustly exploit and crush others, you draw heavy guilt upon yourself, and local officials will keep investigating and will not let it go. How can you call that situation “Heaven’s mandate”? If a true king governs in the right way and wins people’s willing allegiance, should he still be driven out and hunted down? People born into the world are naturally meant to take the king as their lord and to take the king’s command as their mandate. The True Person asked: Do you understand? The answer: I mostly understand now. The True Person said: Good, good. Students of the Dao should work hard on this point, and should not ask tricky questions at random—Heaven itself is not a “person” either.

(On Speech and Faults)

(The True Person:) A fault is a fault; be reverent and careful, and do not speak as worldly people do, saying whatever comes to mind.

(The disciple:) Yes. We dull-witted people often make great errors the moment we open our mouths; without someone to point them out, we would never know. I still wish to ask further, yet I dare not speak rashly.

(The True Person:) Speak plainly.

(The disciple:) Now I only wish to ask: Every kind of thing has its lord; do Heaven and Earth also have lords?

(The True Person:) Ah! How deep and how vast your question is!

(The disciple:) I know my question was not humble enough, and I also missed the opportunity of the Celestial Master’s teaching, so I have never grasped the essentials.

(The True Person:) It is so: Heaven takes what is highest at the central pole as its lord; Earth takes Kunlun as its lord; the sun takes the “Wang Day” as its lord; the moon takes the “Great Month” as its lord; stars take the star at the central pole as their lord; among mountains, the Five Sacred Peaks are lords, and among the Five Peaks, Taishan below the central pole is lord; among all rivers, the seas are lords. Among shelled creatures, the divine turtle is lord; among scaled creatures, the dragon is lord; among winged fliers, the phoenix is lord; among furred beasts, the qilin is lord; among “naked insects” (those without feathers, scales, or shells), the human is lord—and among humans, the emperor and king is lord.

In the world, situations like this—where every kind of being has its own ruler—are too many to count. The Perfected One only gives the main outline: winged creatures take the phoenix as their chief, hairy creatures take the qilin as their chief, naked worm-like creatures take humans as their chief, and humans take the emperor as their chief. The world is piled up with such multitudes beyond full reckoning; the Perfected One only lifts the guiding thread and shows the starting point—do you understand?

“Yes, yes.”

“You must yourself deeply ponder the meaning within; you still cannot memorize it all, and it is hard to repay with goods and wealth (meaning the Dao cannot be bought with money).”

“Yes, yes.”

“Now I say again: among crawling creatures with feet, those with awareness, alive within themselves and able to accomplish things without waiting on outside force—you must not kill them recklessly. Why? Because (reckless killing) mainly offends their rulers. Now the qi of Great Peace is about to arrive; you should join with a ruler of virtue in governing together and must not kill wantonly, or you will disturb the qi of Great Peace and make governance and disorder muddled and confused in the world.”

“How can tiny insects move Heaven and make governance and disorder muddled and confused?”

“Alas! You are still like a foolish, unenlightened person and have not yet grasped it fully. Now every kind has its own ruler; just as among distant borderlands there are base petty people beneath the emperor—worse than ants and wicked men, too many to count—if someone for no reason banded together to rob and kill a hundred or so of them, their families would consider themselves wronged and submit memorials to the emperor; the emperor, hearing it, would at once be greatly angered, order investigation according to law, and prefectures, commanderies, and counties would all treat it as a major affair—thus those who suffered guilt and ruin would be more than one person. Do you know?”

“How dreadful, how dreadful!”

“Good—you now know great dread; only then is there hope of long life.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Therefore ancient sage-kings understood celestial patterns and law clearly and did not dare use punishments rashly—this was thinking deeply and planning far to the utmost. Thus when they governed the age it was often Great Peace; they did not exhaust troops and waste warfare yet obtained Heaven’s heart, because they were extremely cautious.”

Plain-Language Interpretation

Someone said: Even if an earlier sage-king had only a small fault, once it was passed down to later generations it would turn into gains and losses in different places—so the realm is hard to keep truly settled. Do you understand?

Answer: Yes, yes.

They said again: Now the qi of great peace has arrived; Heaven cherishes the ruler who possesses De (Virtue/Power), and therefore has made every precept clear—only fearing that someone might violate them. That is why this scripture has been entrusted to the ruler of supreme De, so that he may examine in himself those thoughts that are not good.

Answer: Yes, yes.

Heading on the right (general sense): Collected explanations on prescriptions and formulas, fate and numbers, each thing having its lord, and difficult points such as “Yang is honored, Yin is base”—the one hundred thirty-eighth entry.

Question: Why is Yang alone called honored, while Yin is called base and low?

Answer: Well asked! Your question nearly touches the original meaning of Dao (the Way) and De. Yang is singled out as honored and noble because it keeps to its root and is always full and solid; Yin is singled out as base and low because it is empty and has no support in solid form, and so is regarded as evil and as low.

A dull-willed student, bearing heaven’s mandate, sees little and does not grasp how things work; his understanding stays shut and hard to open. He earnestly asks the Celestial Master (Tianshi) to explain the meaning, point by point.

The Celestial Master said: You study the Dao—why do you not take in the full intent of heaven’s way? Even perfected ones (zhenren) still fail to see it clearly; ordinary people are dim by nature, and that is how it has always been. What heaven names Yin and Yang, male and female, is where primordial Qi (yuanqi) first stirs, and the gateway through which Yin and Yang pass back and forth; the root on which a person receives life and is born lies right here.

Therefore where the man receives his mandate, it is full and has surplus; below and to left and right, there is again in each place a “shi” (substance, a rooted fullness). Fullness above often bestows upon Yin below; where there is surplus that gathers, there is often substance. Bestowing from above accords with the sun and the way of heaven—nothing that cannot be born, nothing that cannot be completed. Gathering below accords with the moon and responds to earth, and there is pattern and order, like the paths between fields. The substance on the left responds to the human; the substance on the right responds to the ten thousand things. Substance means verified reality, having a root; hence Yang can be called honored and noble.

Do you understand? The student answered: Yes, yes.

Yin is female, hence base and lowly, because where she receives her mandate, the gate is empty and hollow, without surplus and without substance, and so she appears base and lowly. The original names Yin, Yang, male, and female are these two matters. In one of them, from the upper body to the lower, there were never other names from the start; the original name Yin-Yang uses these two matters to distinguish them. Consider the woman’s head, eyes, face, ears, and four limbs—they are the same as the man’s; sometimes in inclination toward the good and the Way, the woman is not inferior to the man, yet she is still called base and lowly—the reason lies here. The man’s head, face, and limbs, in inclination toward the good and the Way, are sometimes not equal to the woman’s, yet his name is honored and noble—this is exactly the same principle.

(The Celestial Master) said: Excellent, excellent!

Since this is so, you can be said to have gained some awakening. That is why the Way of Heaven (Tiandao) values the root and holds to the beginning; the sage observes celestial patterns and norms and understands this. One should therefore return to the root and guard primordial Qi (vital energy). Correct the written form and examine the text, using that to clear confusion—so heaven and earth may long stay at peace and the realm be secure and at ease. Those who keep the root and have real substance, and who delight in giving, are good people. Those whose root is empty, with no solid core, who are always wanting yet habitually reach outward to take, are bad people—base and low. That is what this means.

“Now I wish to ask about something that puzzles me.”

“Go ahead.”

“If a woman is pregnant, it is indeed as the Celestial Master (Tianshi) said—then what is meant by ‘no substance’ (wu shi)?”

“Alas! Your inner mind is empty, rather like a person without the Dao (the Way); it is only that Heaven sees you striving with single-minded effort that you were allowed to come and ask. When a woman is pregnant, Yin by nature is empty, yet Yang goes to it and bestows form, placing the solid within Yin—how can that be called ‘no substance’?

“Alas! Your inner mind is empty, rather like a person without the Dao; it is only that Heaven sees you striving with single-minded effort that you were allowed to come and ask. When a woman is pregnant, Yin by nature is empty, yet Yang goes to it and bestows form, placing the solid within Yin. Yin is lowly and in awe of Yang; it submits and nourishes, and does not dare leave. Yang stands for Heaven and for the ruler; Yin stands for Earth and for the minister. So it reveres and follows what Yang gives, nourishes it, and does not dare depart. If you want the real meaning, it is like a lord who has a guest staying in a humble household—the small household feeds him and does not dare drive the guest away. The guest can then be nourished until stout and grown to adulthood; the principle is exactly the same. What people today call ‘Yang generates, Yin completes’ is really Yin submitting and completing Yang’s substance. My book often speaks from the angle of ‘nourishing’ in this way. I see that the Perfected One (Zhenren) is glad to know the core of the true Dao and Heaven’s utmost intent, so I have given you this condensed explanation. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes.”

“Good—you have awakened.”

In this dialogue someone asks: “Is it only human beings who are divided into male and female? Can yin and yang be used to tell what is ‘solid’ and what is ‘empty’? Is that how all things under heaven and earth work?”

The other sighs and says: “Alas! You are like someone lost on the road—you do not understand. Excellent! The perfected one asks a truly hard question. Yet heaven and earth are naturally this way, and so are the ten thousand things. Let me tell you one thing first, from above through below. Listen with full attention and do not miss a single thread.” The questioner answers: “Yes, yes.”

He continues: “When yang qi is still on the outside, the ten thousand things all gestate and bear fruit above, among branches and leaves. At that time heaven’s yang qi is still outward and has not yet returned to the roots below, so outwardly everything appears solid. Crawling creatures and the people likewise gather on the outside. When yang qi returns and enters the earth, what is above becomes empty and not solid; what is solid is all nurtured below, in the earth, nourishing roots and leaves. Crawling creatures and the people also gather their ‘solidity’ within. This is the great clear proof by which August Heaven uses yin-yang, solidity and kernel. Therefore those who follow the yang path and hold to yang have a solid kernel; if one only holds to yin and does not understand yang, one cannot obtain heaven’s solid kernel. For this reason the sages of old in governing the realm always took heaven as their model and did not dare take the earth as their model.”

The question is asked again: “What does it mean to model heaven, follow the yang path, and have a solid kernel? What does it mean to hold to yin yet not obtain the solid kernel? Why did the ancient sages always mirror heaven and not dare mirror the earth?”

The answer: “To mirror heaven is to gather humane, worthy, clear, learned, Daoist, skilled, sage, and wise people—this is called mirroring heaven. To gather wealth, petty people, unworthy types, the ignorant, and those who only know how to twist words on paper—that is called mirroring the earth.”

Again: “How do humane, worthy, clear, learned, Daoist, skilled, sage, and wise people mirror heaven?”

The answer: “Heaven symbolizes the humane, worthy, clear, learned, Daoist, skilled, sage, and wise; heaven can also ride qi and fly. Among these six kinds of people, those whose learning is excellent, whose aim is the true Dao, and who do not slacken can also reach the point of riding qi and flying, so they belong to heaven and mirror heaven. Therefore the sages of old alone deeply understood August Heaven’s intent and did not dare go against it.”

Again: “How do gathering wealth, petty people, and the unworthy mirror the earth?”

The answer: “Wealth sinks downward, gathers into sludge; sludge turns into dung; dung turns again into soil.”

This passage mainly teaches that ignorant people who do not understand Daoist practice, if not properly handled after death, can long harm the order of Heaven and Earth; the Perfected One (Zhenren) uses this to warn disciples to know and fear the law of Heaven, and to understand that fortune and misfortune are mostly self-invited—not arbitrary punishment from Heaven.

Plain-Language Explanation

Those foolish, worthless people are closed off and unclear; they do not understand Daoist practice, yet they enter the gate of danger. After death they should be buried in earth as soon as possible. If they are not buried in time, over time they will deeply harm Heaven and Earth. Such people, like the foolish and dark, disturb celestial signs, geography, and the Five Phases (Wuxing), making Yin and Yang clash day after day, the four seasons lose order, and the three lights—sun, moon, and stars—grow dim. Heaven and Earth abhor them, and the hundred spirits do not protect them. They benefit nothing in the division and ordering of the myriad things; they only end early and leave behind useless “wealth” (meaning the corpse or things wrongly kept). The Perfected One asked: “Do you know this?” The disciple answered: “Yes, yes. Truly dreadful! Dreadful!”

The Perfected One also said: Only those who know what to fear can hope to live long; those who do not know early fear tie themselves to heavy guilt against Heaven and Earth. The disciple answered: “Your disciple is very afraid.” The Perfected One said: If you can revere this heavenly law, Heaven will give you life; if you do not revere it, you go against the principle of seeking life. Good and ill fortune are not fixed by Heaven from the start; mostly they are faults that people bring on themselves. The Perfected One asked: “Do you understand?” The disciple: “Yes, yes.” The Perfected One said: “Go, and pass this warning on to others.” The disciple: “Yes, yes.”

Note on the Section Title (Title Paraphrase)

The collection on the right discusses rank between men and women, the solid core of Yin and Yang, and the secret of the noble person and the petty person (Section 139).

Opening of the dialogue

Ask: “May I ask about one matter.”

Answer (addressed as “Ping Dao”): “Very well. Do you wish to know how many countries there are under Heaven?”

Ask: “I would like to hear.”

Answer:

“Your question is both deep and subtle. The central region has eighty-one districts; beyond that lies another ring, and under Heaven it is said there are ‘ten thousand countries’; farther still, outside Dongxu (the Cavern of Emptiness) and in the realm of Wu Biao (the Unmanifest), if one combines the three domains of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity, the total is twelve thousand countries.”

Ask:

“Why exactly twelve thousand countries?”

Answer:

“Number begins at one and stops at ten; ten multiplied by ten—Heaven’s number reaches five and turns back, hence the phrase ‘ten thousand countries.’ The extra two thousand countries correspond to the number of Yin-Yang alternation, like counting to ten and completing one cycle. In the reckoning of years and months, months alone are twelve; yet within a five-year period one must also place the intercalary month. This matches the alternation of Heaven and Earth in the sky: inside and outside Dongxu, Heaven and Earth should both be included in the count, so twelve months make one year, with an intercalary month in between. These twelve months are the count by which primordial Qi (Yuanqi) in the hidden depths and Yin-Yang successively establish their beginnings—just as the ten thousand things end in the Hai month, and the twelve months again merge into one year, still drawing the remainder from the intercalary month.

It is also like the ten thousand things being extinguished at the Hai hour: the Heavenly Stems take their positions at the outset of establishment at the Gate of Heaven (Tianmen) (Heaven’s entrance), first forming a kernel within Hai, gestating in Ren, then taking shape. Chujiu (initial nine, line 1) begins its return on the Zi day; Jiuer (nine two, line 2) at the Chou hour Yin-Yang turn; Jiusan (nine three, line 3) at the Yin hour—Heaven, Earth, Humanity, and the ten thousand things all wish to turn from yin toward yang, and in Yin they poke their heads out. So the ten thousand things first spread roots in the northeast and show their tips in Yin.

Great things take Wood as their chief growth, so Yin is where wood begins to live; Jia is the first breath of wood Qi, so the ten thousand things appear in Jiayin and end in Guihai.

Wood receives its mandate born from primordial Qi in the water of Great Yin (Taiyin), hence Jiazi is taken as the starting point. Heaven’s way of changing numbers, multiplied by five in a full circuit, so ‘five thousand’ plus the names of the twelve branches exactly makes sixty (the sixty Jiazi cycle), and Guihai is the end of the count. Do True Persons (Zhenren) understand this?”

Ask:

“Yes, yes. I have not yet fully grasped the meaning.”

Answer:

“For now it is like walking in the dark—ponder it long and carefully, and you will understand of yourself. Go, and keep thinking.”

The Real Person (Zhenren) kept asking: How many countries are there in the world?

(Your foolish disciple) said: I act according to the books the Celestial Master (Tianshi) gave me, to repay the great kindness of Heaven and Earth, remove the illnesses Heaven and Earth suffer, and help virtuous emperors and kings clear away the accumulated flowing disasters and calamities since Heaven and Earth were created. The Celestial Master handed the scripture of “Dao as One” to one country that has virtue. Even if that country’s ruler has virtue and all the people turn to him, how could he alone unravel every disaster of yin-yang and the boundless Heaven and Earth? How could he circulate everywhere and heal inside and outside Heaven and Earth, and cut off the illness of Heaven and Earth in the cave-void, cave-distance, and boundless realms?

(The Celestial Master) said: Good! Did Heaven really make you ask this? Alas! How startling! How startling! I did not want to speak, yet I fear your death-sentence guilt would never be lifted. Real Person, how did you come to ask this?

(The Real Person) said: Your foolish disciple received the Celestial Master’s teaching and went back to reflect on each point; where something was unclear, I came to ask.

(The Celestial Master) said: What you asked about is only one country with a virtuous ruler—why did you insist on asking this?

(The Real Person) said: If the Celestial Master’s scripture only resolves the disasters of one country with a virtuous ruler, that is healing one country only—how can that treat the illness of Heaven and Earth and repay the heavy merit owed to August Heaven?

(The Celestial Master) said: Good! You are right; I cannot talk you down. Real Person, say what you mean.

(The Real Person) said: The Celestial Master said that in the cave-void of Heaven and Earth there are twelve thousand countries. Today only one country with virtue receives the Dao—how can that resolve the disasters of all twelve thousand countries and bring peace to all Heaven and Earth?

(The Celestial Master) said: Good! You speak well. Were you truly sent to ask this?

(The Real Person) said: Yes.

(The Celestial Master) said: Now I will explain point by point for the Real Person so you understand, and can thoroughly remove all the world’s illnesses and disasters.

I revere the majesty of Heaven and, in accordance with the Way, dare not withhold anything—please record my words faithfully. The other replied, “Yes, yes.” Then it continued: The root of Heaven’s numbers begins with “one” and ends with “ten.” One multiplied by ten is ten; each is again multiplied by ten to reach a hundred, and a hundred multiplied by ten reaches a thousand and ten thousand.

“One” is the beginning of number; “ten” is its end. “A hundred” refers to states and villages that possess De (Virtue). You need only hold this book of mine and go teach one state of great virtue; the one who transmits my book should take the original text and go, not be stingy, and circulate it widely to a hundred villages of virtue. When one state receives this book, the good people within it will all turn toward it; its De can spread to the four quarters, a hundred states will all be transformed toward goodness, Heaven and Earth will thereby be settled, and disasters will be removed. If this book is given to a hundred states of virtue, the myriad states will be free of calamity, and the afflictions of Heaven and Earth can all be removed.

Question: Why not teach everyone universally, and only teach the common people? Answer: One cannot teach by universal comparison, because states without De are those Heaven declines and gathers against—they cannot practice the true Dao—so they are left to states that possess De. That states without De now all submit to states with De is also the natural order.

Question: Why is the standard exactly a hundred states of virtue? Answer: This is the number of Heaven, Earth, and humanity. Heaven’s number begins at one and ends at ten; the world bestows upon Earth and gives birth, and when the number is complete it emerges, fittingly as a hundred. When Heaven, Earth, and humanity are complete, the three in one heart then form De; if one thing is not in harmony, De and the Dao cannot be achieved.

Question: Why is Heaven’s number exactly one? Answer: One is when primordial Qi (vital energy) is most pure. When Qi combines without the principle of distinction—like wind without the principle of distinction—it is collectively named one. One congeals and becomes Heaven. Heaven has above and below and the eight directions, hence ten.

There is also “five,” which refers to the moment when Qi (vital energy) is purest and most harmonious. When Qi gathers, it has no fixed form—like wind, which has no fixed shape—so when it all comes together it is called “one.” That gathering becomes Heaven. Heaven has above, below, and the eight directions, so it is “ten”; add the five directions, each with its own yin and yang, and the count is again ten. Below, the same applies to Earth: Earth is also counted as “one,” and when the count reaches ten, the myriad things are born—so human form corresponds to Heaven’s number: a person is born only after ten months.

“One” is precisely the time when harmony is spread and nothing is blocked. Once love and harmony have been given, the return must also match Heaven’s number—birth at ten months—so the count stops at ten. Therefore “one” is multiplied by ten.

The earthly way symbolizes the mother; it should align with “Yu” (in calendrical and numerical reckoning), so it is linked with “harmony,” and then linked to human beings. Heaven, Earth, and humanity must match one another before De (Virtue/Power) can be achieved, and only then can virtue extend to the hundred states. Heaven governs birth, Earth governs nourishment, and humanity governs completion. If any one of the three loses the right path, all three turn crooked. Thus when Heaven does evil it is ominous, when Earth does evil it is ominous, and when people do evil it is ominous. When all three do evil together, Heaven, Earth, and humanity are exhausted and the count begins anew; when all three do good together, De penetrates the void and merges into one. Therefore virtue is complete only when the three unite—then it suits the hundred states.

(The Celestial Master): “Excellent, excellent! This is the principle of the myriad states under Heaven, the place where Heaven, Earth, and humanity unite in De. Do you understand?”

(The disciple): “Yes, yes.”

(The Celestial Master): “Therefore the True Person now removes sickness from Heaven and Earth and removes chengfu (the burden of ancestors’ faults passed to later generations) for rulers who possess De. Though you toil to keep and transmit my scripture, going to teach it in the hundred states that have De, the sickness of yin and yang will vanish and the calamities of emperors and kings will be wholly removed.”

(The disciple): “Excellent, excellent! I have not tried hard to ask before and had no chance to know this.”

(The Celestial Master): “You speak rightly. To study without trying hard to ask is almost the same as not studying. Therefore the sages of old, in learning, morning and evening asked their teachers and did not dare slacken—only thus could they know the Way of Heaven.”

(The disciple): “Yes, yes. I will surely try hard to ask and not dare slacken.”

(The Celestial Master): “Good.”

Therefore, in antiquity, when sages pursued learning, they sought instruction from their teachers morning and evening and never dared to slacken; only in that way could they grasp the Way of Heaven.

The disciple replied: “Yes, yes. I shall question you with all my strength and not relax.”

The True Person said: “If you can do this, you already understand the Dao.”

The disciple asked: “I wish to inquire: customs throughout the world today differ from place to place. If one uses the same Dao everywhere to teach and to command, will that not make people doubtful?”

The True Person sighed: “Your words grow ever more confused and benighted—why is this? What the world now calls ritual and propriety is for the most part outward performance, not sincere practice. All people under Heaven alike receive the qi of Heaven and Earth to be born; they take the Five Phases as their viscera and the qi of the four seasons as their movement, and further align with Yin-Yang to continue their line. All rejoice in life and hate death; all must eat and drink to nourish the body; in loving good and hating evil they do not differ. For those who cannot read the True Person’s texts or speak the True Person’s language, when the time comes to transmit the teaching, the True Person should use the plain speech they ordinarily use and adapt to local custom, so that people can take it to heart and apply it by themselves. Then everyone under Heaven will know it and act accordingly, and will not become suspicious. My Dao is like the sun and moon: turning and revolving, it shines over all under Heaven; each place is bright and clear—that is already sufficient. If you still wish to know its reality for certain, consider this: among the myriad things, even crawling insects share one Heaven and Earth; they take the Six Jia, the Five Phases, and the four seasons as their complete pattern, and so are all instructed by the law of Heaven and Earth and Yin-Yang. Do you understand?”

The disciple said: “I understand.”

The True Person said: “Go. If we do not stop here, the words will never end. Nowadays the great text of the Dao is, on the contrary, the hardest to grasp in meaning.”

The disciple said: “Yes. I wish to ask one more thing and then stop.”

The True Person said: “Speak.”

The disciple asked: “Then what about those twelve thousand kingdoms?”

The True Person said: “They too are included in the total count, the same as intercalary months. If you wish to clarify, it is like counting: ten completes one cycle, yet a year must be reckoned through twelve months to finish, and intercalation is inserted among them—sometimes there is a thirteenth month; that is the meaning.”

(Heaven says) If every state conducts itself in accord with Dao and De (the Way and Virtue), then among the myriad lands under heaven there will be no calamity, the “illness” that afflicts heaven and earth will be entirely removed, and all of this will be cleared away together.

(The disciple replies) “Excellent, excellent!”

(The Master) You can apply yourself and use this scripture of mine to circulate it in places among the nations where there is virtue, letting each region explain my book according to local custom; then those twelve thousand states will all be at peace, the great illness of heaven and earth will be largely removed, your lifespan will be extended, and without limit. If you are willing to exert yourself only in part, you will receive only a correspondingly shorter extension of life; if you do half the effort, you gain half the benefit; if you give your heart completely, you obtain longevity without end. Since you, a perfected person (zhenren), already have this good intent, heaven has also sent you to inquire in detail—you should therefore set your mind fully to the task; yet you need not overtax yourself. Heaven is the highest: divine and clear, with nothing above it, and even so it constantly practices the Way and afflicts its own body, turning once each day. The ten thousand things are settled because of it, so heaven can remain constantly auspicious and long-lived. Earth likewise follows what heaven does and nourishes the ten thousand things. If heaven for one day did not practice the Way, the sun, moon, and stars would not move, there would be “unbalanced” partial qi, and heaven would be destroyed. Heaven still practices the Way and dares not stop, and so can be long-lived—how much more so for you? Strive: each of you must bend and labor for your own body and mind; you cannot bear that burden for others. I speak on and on like this also because I bend for my own sake, not only for you. All beings in turmoil within and without the six extremes—every confused living thing—is planning for its own body; none can do it for another. Do you understand?

(The disciple) “Yes, yes. Having received the Celestial Master’s (Tianshi) words, I will go and put them into practice, have the virtuous states record them, and not dare to slacken.”

(The Master) “Go; you already know. Everyone must strive: confused beings each plan for their own body and cannot do it for others. Do you understand?”

(The disciple) “Yes, yes. Having received the Celestial Master’s words, I will go and put them into practice, have the virtuous states record them, and not dare to slacken.”

(The Master) “Go; you already know. Strive, strive again; when the work is done you will follow one another again.”

(The disciple) “Yes, yes. I go. I still wish to ask one thing.”

(The Master) “What is it?”

We six have kept to our proper roles, withdrawn into quiet, and together pondered the Celestial Master’s words. At times we seemed to grasp something great; at times we remained confused and dared not slacken. We hoped the Celestial Master would settle the meaning for us. We often feared troubling the Celestial Master and wanted to hold back from asking, yet we also feared that if we parted from him and never met again in this life, we would have nowhere left to turn for instruction. So we have gathered our courage to step forward once more and ask boldly.

The Celestial Master said: “Speak. Heaven has brought me together with you six to converse; do not hold back.”

The disciples asked: “We wish to know: among the kingdoms under heaven, are there only twelve thousand? Or are there more besides?”

The Celestial Master answered: “Ah! You ask too deeply, too secretly. Since heaven and earth were opened at the beginning, it has never stopped at that number. Still, these twelve thousand kingdoms are only what is recorded in one great register; how many more there are—who could count them all?”

The disciples asked: “Why are there so many?”

The Celestial Master answered: “Ah! What you ask today shows doubt yet also deep knowing. Yet you turn again to blockage and dimness; dullness truly cannot keep pace. Watching how you inquire, you have not yet penetrated thoroughly or understood the way of heaven as you should. You ought to examine step by step and gradually clarify, yet inwardly you alone cannot keep up. Ordinary people are dim and muddled—that is only natural. Compared with perfected persons, I do not blame you. But I will open the teaching further for you six perfected persons. Heaven has no limit above or below; sideways too there is no limit. Coming and going, one cycle forms one realm-boundary; divide again—how could there be an end? To what limit does heaven correspond above? What lies beyond the upper edge, that we only halfway speak of a stopping limit? To what limit does earth correspond below? What lies beyond the lower edge, that somewhere we take the middle and stop and call it the limit? To what limit do heaven and earth extend sideways? Why take the middle upward and then speak of ultimate exhaustion? These six faces—the upper, lower, and the four directions—at what point should they reach an end? Thus the way of heaven is originally inexhaustible: great use is exactly enough, small use is exactly enough; when great use has surplus, small use also has surplus. Do the perfected persons understand this meaning?”

In this passage of dialogue, the speaker first admonishes “Zi”: if he had not pressed his questions so earnestly before, he would never have learned these teachings; now that he has gained a little understanding, he should go quickly and stop probing to the bottom. To startle the Six Perfected Ones and ruin the work would be feared; to insist on asking beyond one’s strength would also be a great harm. Those who teach others often face many difficulties; seeing Zi downcast, the teacher explains further and has him sit quietly and listen.

Next, “one household” is used as a metaphor for the structure of Heaven-and-Earth and good governance: to grasp the great significance, imagine a household with a father, a mother, and a son—like the Way of Heaven assembling one family. The father stands for Heaven, the mother for Earth, and the son for central harmony; the wealth gathered in the home stands for the myriad things, and together they still form one household. The father is the ruler, the mother the minister, and the son the people; goods circulate to sustain life, jointly imaging the myriad things; this household also shares one great calamity. Extend the image: ten thousand households in one county make one family with one great calamity; ten counties form one commandery, still one family and one great calamity; ten commanderies form one large province, still one family and one great calamity; ten provinces form one great state, still one family and one great calamity, completing one great realm.

If the sovereign possesses virtue (de), calamity can reach the twelve provinces; the great calamity can reach thirteen provinces, yet all still merge into one family sharing one great calamity. Distant lands beyond the border, outside the native state, likewise form one family with one great calamity, completing one great realm. Whether outsiders come to the native state depends on whether that state has moral virtue: with virtue, good people come; without virtue, they do not; if virtue is thin, evil people come to harm others.

The “one section” (yi bu) spoken of throughout the scripture is one realm—the boundary marked out by Heaven and Earth—so that the mixed multitudes under Heaven each have their place and do not encroach on or harm one another.

This passage explains the hierarchy of cosmic order and how the multitude and the various states “share one great concern” together.

What do Taiji (Supreme Ultimate), zhongji (middle ultimate), and xiaoji (small ultimate) mean?

Taiji presides over the whole and has nothing beyond it; zhongji presides over the middle stratum; xiaoji each operates only within the boundary it should govern. They may seek alignment and mutual support through Dao and De, but must not greatly harm or seize from one another. If this is violated, Heaven will be displeased. Only then can all truly be “one family” in name and fact—hence the phrase “sharing one great concern.”

How should we understand this “one family”?

It is like father, son, and spouses in one household: they worry only that their own house is not prosperous and do not fret over other households. Extend that logic: the people of one county share concern for their county magistrate—if the magistrate is good, they should recommend him and help him rise, competing to speak and promote the worthy; if he is bad, they wish to remove him together. County, commandery, prefecture, and state follow the same pattern: all “share one great concern”—concern for governance and right and wrong within their own realm and station.

The ten thousand two hundred states and the “great division”

The scripture records that under Heaven there are ten thousand two hundred states, forming together one “great division,” entrusted to the Perfected Person (Zhenren), who with the Perfected Person “shares one great concern and one realm.” Other realm-domains as numerous as ten thousand two hundred states cannot be counted. Therefore when ancient sages composed scriptures, they often recorded only “one small division”; why not record the “great division’s realms”? Because the heavenly emissary at the time need not explain fully; the great transformation (dahua, comprehensive teaching) had not yet unfolded, and what was written differed, so one method of recording could not fit all—hence not everything was written down. Now that the great transformation is to emerge, the ten thousand two hundred states have completed their allotted cycles, and heavenly emissaries and Perfected Persons ask about the scripture of the limitless (Wuji) and governance and teaching that is thorough to the end (dongjing zhi zheng), the text is delivered to one hundred virtuous states—one virtuous state can transform ninety-nine others together. Counting the ten thousand two hundred states together is like taking twelve months as one division in a year, with the thirteenth intercalary month still counted in that division—the same idea.

Answering “weiyi weiyi” in the dialogue means accepting the charge; the further injunction to “revere Heaven’s Way and the spirits who guard it; do not rashly disorder or destroy” and the note that one has received strict instruction from an enlightened teacher and knows something of this—all stress guarding the scripture and not destroying the Way.

(The disciple) said: I have now received the Celestial Master’s (Tianshi) clear teaching. Though I know only the general drift of one section, I still wish to hear a little more. Please explain what the realm of the limitless (wuji) is like.

The Celestial Master replied: Good. I will first give you, the perfected person (zhenren), a brief account; you must record it carefully. I had intended that you accumulate merit and provisions of virtue (de) so that above you could sustain heaven’s sun and moon and below you could sustain the earth, extending across ten thousand li. But I fear those provisions will in the end be limited and often insufficient; one cannot clearly record how many names those realms actually have. Do you understand why?

The disciple answered: Yes, yes. Your disciple dare not probe the Way of Heaven (tiandao) to the bottom. Hearing the Celestial Master speak thus, I am suddenly as if breathless and my spirit unsettled; I dare not question further.

The Celestial Master said: Good. You are a student of the Way who understands how things stand. If you wish to repay the great grace of heaven and earth and obtain a limitless lifespan, you need only complete the circulation through the twelve thousand myriad realms within one section, and your lifespan will already be without limit. In the six directions above and below, to the utmost reaches where all is penetrated, heaven does not single you out alone to worry. What must be worried over naturally has others for it; they are not in the same realm as you, nor will they turn and blame you for faults. Safety and danger, good and evil in those places each have their own overseers. One section has said it all; there is no need to ask again.

The disciple answered: Yes, yes.

The Celestial Master said: Go. You six should strive in your pleas for learning. What the perfected person has learned is only a small penetration (xiaotong); you have not yet fully grasped the deep meaning of the Way of Heaven. You must be more diligent and must not slacken.

The disciple answered: Yes, yes.

The Celestial Master added: To study without mastery is no different from arrogance; to refine your study yet not receive the true transmission is to be called mute and deaf—like asking about the west in answer to a question about the east. Therefore the masters under heaven dispute with one another; though they argue back and forth, it does no good, and they still do not understand the Way of Heaven. It is like an infant still in the womb, dull and unaware, moving only with the mother’s body—how could it know that the Way is vast and deep, without boundary or direction? Thus those petty masters force anger or joy, rant and speak wildly, and in doing so harm the Way of heaven and earth. They turn against the original intent of the Dao (Dao), cannot steady the ruler, and the realm (…)—all suffer because of their faults. What they say differs from one to another, so calamities run rampant and cannot be forbidden or guarded against.

Scriptures are beyond counting, yet disasters in the world still flow on without end. Past and present teachings agree on one point: disasters never stop because people are fond of “forced discourse”—using the Dao as a tool for rivalry, display, and contentious argument, while failing to understand its essentials and what truly matters.

The Dao was originally meant to settle rulers and nurture the world; today it instead unsettles rulers and harms the world, and the blame falls squarely on this misuse. Schools of thought also clash in what they say, calamities spread unchecked, and there is no way to hold them back.

(Q) “Do the Zhenren (perfected persons) understand this?”

(A) “Yes, yes.”

(The perfected person:) “I had meant to explain further for you; the principle is boundless and inexhaustible. It is hard to muster enough means and effort, and I fear being repetitive and long-winded, so for now I will speak only in brief. If you still have doubts, ask again.”

(A) “Yes, yes.”

Right Collection · Difficult Questions and Transmission of Book Secrets · Realms of the Various States

Revering the Spirits · Taiping Canon · Section 140

Someone asked: “I wish to ask about one matter.”

The reply: “Speak.”

The question: “When Heaven is about to send down Great Peace (Taiping), can one know it beforehand?”

The answer: “Yes. By divining whether the vital energy (Qi) of the Five Emperors of Heaven (spring—Green Emperor, summer—Red Emperor, center—Yellow Emperor, autumn—White Emperor, winter—Black Emperor) is at peace, one can know whether that year will be harmonious and secure.”

The question: “What does this mean? I would hear the details.”

The answer: “Spring belongs to the Green Emperor; when his vital energy is at peace, it is peace. Summer belongs to the Red Emperor; when his vital energy is at peace, it is peace. The sixth month belongs to the Yellow Emperor; when his vital energy is at peace, it is peace. Autumn belongs to the White Emperor; when his vital energy is at peace, it is peace. Winter belongs to the Black Emperor; when his vital energy is at peace, it is peace.”

The question: “How is this verified?”

The answer: “What is called peace (ping) is that not a single thing suffers harm—this is the meaning of the energy of peace. When in all affairs not one thing is injured or ill and each attains its proper place, that is called ‘peace.’ If one thing is harmed, it is not peace; if two things are harmed, that is the image of punishment; if three things are harmed, then all things are harmed; if four things are harmed, then the four directions are all harmed; if five things are harmed, then the five directions are all harmed and the world suffers great calamity; if six things are harmed, baleful energy reaches to the six directions; if seven things are harmed, harmful energy runs rampant; if eight things are harmed, the worthy and unworthy each harbor different designs and cannot unite in heart; if nine things are harmed, evil reaches to Yin-Yang and makes the ten thousand things confused and inverted; if ten things are harmed, then the great net is damaged, the count of days is exhausted, and the era must be changed. Therefore the ancient supreme sages, by clearly observing whether the vital energy of the Five Emperors of Heaven was already at peace, knew the gains and losses of the way of governance and whether Great Peace was near.”

The question: “I would hear the meaning of the secret of ‘peace.’”

The answer: “In spring the ten thousand things all live and none is harmed—that is the Green Emperor’s peace. In summer the ten thousand things all grow and none is harmed—that is the Red Emperor’s peace. In the sixth month the ten thousand things are all nourished and none is harmed—that is the Yellow Emperor’s peace. In autumn the ten thousand things all ripen and are harvested and none is harmed—that is the White Emperor’s peace. In winter the ten thousand things are all stored away and none is harmed—that is the Black Emperor’s peace.”

“When each of the Five Emperors is at peace for one year: in the first year, people therefore rejoice and turn toward goodness; in the second year, the earth therefore knows great joy; in the third year, grace extends to Heaven above; in the fourth year, wind and energy flow in order; in the fifth year, the nine spirits do not battle and demons and evil are subdued; in the sixth year, the six nets each find their destination; in the seventh year, the three lights—sun, moon, and stars—grow brighter; in the eighth year, grace reaches the eight directions; in the ninth year, Yin and Yang are both pleased; in the tenth year, the ten thousand things each attain their place. This is the lesser cycle of numbers; the categories of things are thereby complete in the three powers (Heaven, Earth, and humanity), so in thirty years there is Great Peace. Now the energy of the upper sovereign appears, the true Way arrives and governs the age, so in fifteen years Great Peace can be achieved. If one does not practice the true Way, how can one vainly expect Great Peace?”