《太平经合校》Vol. 9

(Heaven says:) All things will each attain their proper place. According to the reckoning of the “lesser completion,” the three powers of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity are fully in place, so originally it would take thirty years to reach Great Peace. Now the qi of the Upper Sovereign has emerged, and the True Dao has come to govern the world, so fifteen years can bring Great Peace. If one does not earnestly practice the True Dao, how could Great Peace arise from nothing? The fifteen years of Great Peace spoken of here means that from the sovereign down to officials great and small, all act according to the True Dao and together reject what is evil and false—hence peace in fifteen years. Do you understand, Perfected One?

(The Perfected One replies:) Yes, yes. It is truly alarming! Truly alarming!

(Heaven says:) You have already gained some awakening.

(The Perfected One asks:) I wish to ask: If a person practices loyalty, uprightness, and substance, can one know in advance (whether Great Peace is possible)?

(Heaven answers:) A good question. When you deal with someone, if day by day their words and conduct appear harsh and angry, yet others keep this in mind for a long time and after one month they turn toward the good; if for one month they are harsh and angry and others remember it for a full year and they still turn toward the good; if in youth their deeds seem utterly bad yet in old age they become thoroughly good—people trust their words, delight in their conduct, and cherish their way—such a person embodies loyalty and trust, supreme goodness, and a solid core.

(The Perfected One asks:) Excellent, excellent! I wish to ask further: Can one also recognize conduct that is disloyal, untrustworthy, and treacherous?

(Heaven answers:) Yes. In associating with them, observe their words and conduct; you must weigh sun and moon together and measure them against the human heart. If on the surface they seem compliant and good, yet when you remember over time what they are really used for, after a month they make others more wicked and perverse; if for a month they seem good, after a year they turn bad; if in youth they seem good and their words seem loyal and trustworthy, yet when in old age you look back on all they have done and said, they prove most wicked and false—such people are wholly deceptive and treacherous, without loyalty or trust. When in old age one fully examines their words and deeds, they are utterly base. Disaster reaches their wives, and misfortune extends to their descendants.

(The Perfected One replies:) Excellent, excellent!

Section 140 (continued)

This teaching that “only speaking without acting brings disaster” says: if someone lives to old age still only talking and not doing, with words and deeds both at a dead end, that is the basest condition. Disaster will afflict one’s wife and children, and trouble will reach later generations.

Section 141

The Supreme Lord said: From the middle antiquity onward, people have mostly learned the words of Daoist scriptures but not lived by them, so calamities, illness, and accumulated troubles do not lift, and they drive themselves into a corner. Therefore I have solemnly received this teaching from Heaven: trust only real practice, not empty talk. Those who firmly follow the scripture line by line—in later ages they may at first say every day that “this path is useless,” yet month by month they improve; say it useless for a month, and year by year they improve; say it useless for a year, and in old age they are often auspicious and do not part from good fortune for long. Later people take this for ordinary worldly learning and do not know that those who refuse to act quickly only wear themselves out for a lifetime. So I teach the Perfected to stay mindful at all times and never slacken. The Dao is made manifest in this life for the virtuous; among those who come first and those who come later I make no special favor—the transmission to them is the same. Whoever truly practices is the one who should receive it; there is no rank of A above B. Do you understand?

(Answer: Yes, yes.)

Go on. The Way of Heaven shows no partiality; in the end it settles upon people. The virtue of Earth is without private favor; it is entrusted to the careful and the sincere. Among people, acquaintance does not depend on who came first or last—only those with true faith and sincerity are honored. Therefore ancient emperors built palaces and employed the virtuous, and did not use ministers without merit. The virtuous are cherished by Heaven and Earth and can help emperors settle the ten thousand things; the without virtue are detested by Heaven and Earth and are the bane of Yin and Yang.

“Why is it so serious?”

“Do you still think yourself clever? The without virtue have countless misdeeds, oppose Heaven and Earth, and so become enemies of Heaven and Earth; they also disturb Yin and Yang and so are thieves against Yin and Yang. Do you understand?”

(Disciple) “Yes, yes.”

(The True Person) “Go. Ask no more. Good and evil show themselves in verification.”

(Disciple) “Yes, yes.”

(The True Person) “Go. I worry for you. Below I will speak separately of how people of old acted. Everyone says they are clever and understand the Way, yet their conduct runs opposite to their words, and in verification their virtue month by month proves faulty. Every month they claim good deeds and that they have not failed Heaven, yet through the year disasters multiply, fierce and evil, and they die young. In youth everyone boasts of being clever and understanding the Way, yet conduct runs opposite to words, and in verification virtue month by month proves faulty. Every month they claim good deeds and that they have not failed Heaven, yet through the year disasters multiply, fierce and evil, and they die young. In youth everyone praises their own kindness and great worth, saying they surpass their parents in worth, yet living out a lifetime to old age they leave not one trace of good or worthy name and become unworthy offspring. Sharing poverty and low station together, their lives shorten day by day, and not one truly knows the Dao. The good and evil, the worthy and unworthy of people in later ages, are already clear from such verification. Why must they still call themselves worthy and say they understand the Way? Look only at verification and you will naturally understand, see clearly for long, and tell true from false. Why argue and elaborate again and again? Whether things succeed or fail, verification has already spoken (a gap in the original text here). The True Person shows people my writings so they may awaken at once and not remain long in delusion, binding themselves in great resentment against Heaven and Earth. Go; I have spoken this far for now. If doubts remain later, come again and we will discuss together.”

(Disciple) “Yes, yes.”

The divine person told the True Person that when the ancients first studied the Dao, they preserved themselves through “spirit wandering and guarding softness” (shen you shou rou), continually accumulating De (Virtue/Power), until the Dao was complete and they could become immortals—riding clouds and dragons, passing in and out of the Heavenly Gate, turning with heaven’s motion like an endless cycle. When the True Person practices with single-minded devotion, they may enjoy long life; their fate is linked to the Way of heaven. The path of yang qi must be accumulated deeply and held in singleness; day after day there must be the faith of “dan zhi” (utmost singleness and sincerity) before one can reach this. Without striving for fame and glory, one yet occupies a high place; by being filial to parents and reverent toward teachers and elders, the Dao comes of itself. The spirit can know a person’s goodness and speak with people.

The teacher and elder is the opening of ignorance and the gateway into the Dao; the ruler, the father, and the teacher—these three are the “gate of life” (ming men) under heaven. Only by reverently serving these three does the Great Dao fully appear; failing to serve them is like a house with doors shut—good fortune and virtue all flee, and calamity and disorder follow one another. One should examine this matter carefully and not go against the admonitions of the scripture.

In birth and nurture from parents, in instruction from teachers and elders, and in serving kin and holding office—all must be undertaken with care. The finest person under heaven may resign office to seek immortality; the path of immortality is boundless, and life is joined to heaven. A chief official governs the people; an immortal official belongs to the celestial bureaucracy—their tasks differ from those of the world, and each affair has its own lord. Strive to think on goodness, and the body can be preserved; departing in this way, one does not fail one’s ancestors.

My records in diagrams and books are exhausted; there is nothing more to set forth—only to urge students to read the scripture in detail. The divine person is about to depart, and therefore warns the True Person: be cautious, again and again; do not transmit rashly. If you have not found the right person, be careful not to spread it abroad. Store it in the depths, in the hidden and dark. The Dao does not drink blood; there are no “essential words” of demand—inner and outer are already fully known, and nothing remains to be said.

The Perfected One (Zhenren) said to the disciple: You have for some time been memorizing my words and studying the texts of the Way of Heaven—have you already grasped the major divisions and sections of the entire scripture? How many parts does my Way have in all? What counts as an “extreme,” and what counts as the final ultimate?

The disciple replied: The scripture contains the Way and speaks of the six extremes and six ultimates (liu ji liu jing); I am dull, and for now I can only speak in general terms—I still do not clearly know what the six extremes and six ultimates specifically refer to.

The Perfected One said: Alas, you still have not opened your understanding; your study of the Way still stops at the surface and has not gone deep, so you do not know where the Way ultimately leads or where its boundaries lie.

(The scripture also records: One who has faults and bears guilt toward the Celestial Master (Tianshi) falls within the six extremes and six ultimates; that liability absolutely cannot be removed—there is no room for negotiation.)

The disciple asked: The Perfected One reproaches himself, saying his faults are very heavy—why is the penalty so severe?

The disciple also said: I have heard that if a son is unfilial, he cannot fully support and serve his parents; if a disciple is disobedient, he cannot fully honor and clarify the Way of the master (shidao); if a minister is disloyal, he cannot fully join in reverently serving the ruler. Once these three kinds of conduct are spoiled, the charge cannot be erased: Heaven and Earth detest them, ghosts and spirits harm them, and all people together abhor them. After death, liability remains underground; such a person is called “a child of the three conducts that are not good and compliant.” Such people often come before Heaven at month’s end and at dawn of the new moon (yue jin, shuo dan) to answer for themselves; they administer correct Yin-Yang principle as spirit officials (shen li) who regulate high and low rank; their souls and spirits also suffer for it until they are utterly extinguished. Therefore I know my learning is not refined, and my faults toward my master also cannot be removed.

The Perfected One said: Good! Good! Where did you get these words?

The disciple replied: I learned them from former masters; I also once caught sight of the Celestial Master’s teaching, received the Celestial Master’s method, and observed the signs of Heaven—Heaven and Earth are the parents of the Four Seasons and Five Phases (Wuxing). If the Four Seasons and Five Phases do not do their utmost to supply what Heaven and Earth wish to generate and transform, they are unfilial children; in such years the good yield of things is small, and those are inauspicious years.

Human beings are also children of Heaven and Earth. If one does not wholeheartedly nurture and protect everything that Heaven and Earth have brought into being, that is called being an unfilial child.

Therefore, a ruler who loves to abuse punishments will often see his state fall into turmoil, danger, and ruin until it is utterly destroyed. The ten thousand things wax and wane, live and die, according to the four seasons and the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water); each grows and cares for itself in its own way. People ought to be like “disciples,” following the seasonal qi as they grow, mature, and age. If they cannot do their utmost to align with the seasons, in the end they are undutiful disciples. When the harvest is poor and things harm people, people instead push all blame outward. In truth it is that the seasonal qi is out of harmony—the effect of timeliness in qi has been thrown off balance. The common people were originally disciples of sages and worthies; now inferior, dull disciples presumptuously steal and force their own interpretations, and make sages and worthies bear the fault—this is called jointly disturbing and going against the Dao (the Way)—a crime of the gravest kind.

Wind and rain are loyal ministers of Heaven and Earth, receiving their charge to run the qi-commands together with Heaven and Earth. If rain and favor are not evenly distributed, the world is not at peace. This is like a person who receives the charge to serve the king as a minister, yet is partial in heart and cannot keep things in balance: the ministers together are disloyal and untrustworthy, deceive their lord, and make the realm full of change, strife, and lawsuits—so state policy falls into danger and disorder. These three—an unfilial child, an undutiful disciple, an unfaithful minister—their crimes are none that may be pardoned. Heaven loathes this above all; Earth abhors it above all; they count it as great disaster and great blame. Ghosts and spirits also deeply deem it wrong—so this is the most vicious conduct.

The Perfected One (Zhenren) sighed and said: The Perfected One has long held wisdom and insight, yet pretends to be dull—making me speak rashly, saying more than Heaven and Earth would. What I have spoken does not reach as deep as what you say now.

The meaning of the foolish student’s intent has now fully penetrated here; there is nothing more that can be said.

This passage from the Scripture of Great Peace (Taiping jing) is a dialogue between the Celestial Master (Tianshi) and a disciple. It treats humility as a virtue, the “sections and boundaries” (bujie) of the scriptures, and the celestial pattern by which souls and spirits are “brought to account” (jiandui) at the end of the month and the year.

The disciple says that even great humility costs one nothing, whereas failing to be humble while in a lowly position makes the fault all the greater. He repeatedly answers “yes, yes—I dare not,” meaning that as a disciple he had not fully grasped the bujie of the Way his master transmitted, knew his fault was grave, and therefore reproached himself in light of heavenly signs. The Celestial Master agrees that the disciple is right and has little to add. He takes the disciple’s words as a measure: the disciple already understands the scripture’s bujie, yet there are still parts beyond his reach; since the disciple truly still falls short in places, the master will explain further so that each segment in order has its own bujie, never to be forgotten for ten thousand generations. The master also cites what a Perfected Person (Zhenren) said about “when the three human conducts are not in accord,” and asks where such teaching comes from.

The disciple replies that, just as the Celestial Master learned from masters before him, he is only passing on warnings from the ancient Perfected Persons; he speaks as he does because he has seen the same in the master’s scripture and therefore takes it all the more seriously. He asks whether in the age of the ancient Perfected Persons there were also ups and downs, doubts, and difficulties.

The Celestial Master says the ancient Perfected Persons spoke correctly and he has nothing to add. The disciple asks to have the master’s original meaning made clear on this occasion. The master explains that the jiandui at month’s end and year’s end does not apply only to the souls of great rebels who in life were unfilial, disobedient, or disloyal; all spirits of Heaven and Earth follow this rule. Heaven sets fifteen days as one small boundary, so on each fifteenth the moon “folds back in small measure”; one month forms the middle section, one year the great section. (The phrase xing ming ting that follows is a conventional formula asking the listener to attend carefully.)

In brief: bujie means the ordered divisions and limits of scripture and Daoist teaching; jiandui means that souls and spirits are examined and held to account when a cycle ends. The pattern of fifteen days as one boundary, the month as the middle level, and the year as the great level ties the cycles of the heavens to ideas of self-cultivation and of “bearing” and “inheriting” responsibility (chengfu).

Between heaven and earth, the various spirits ought to assist Heaven together and jointly nurture the myriad beings—traditionally counted as the ten thousand and two thousand kinds of things—so that all these spirits may in turn receive stipends and sustenance. This is like worthy ministers jointly assisting the sovereign in nurturing the people under heaven and the myriad things: everyone likewise obtains food and emolument.

People should take Heaven’s Way as their model: on the fifteenth of each month they make a small report to Heaven; at mid-month a medium report; and once a year a major reckoning (a full accounting). Those with merit are promoted and employed; those without merit are dismissed, and some even undergo penal punishment. What chiefly disrupts proper order are evil, malicious spirits at work—such spirits must be checked so they cannot run wild.

Therefore, someone who was wicked in life must still, after death, have their hun and po (soul and corporeal soul) called to account; the hun and po of the good refuse to be driven by the wicked. Those who violate filial piety, loyalty, or obedience have their hun and po, after death, dispatched by evil spirits instead, joining together to disturb heavenly order and defile heavenly governance—so evil spirits come forward to seize them, along with the “guest souls” (po hun that cling to and follow the wicked), and seize those as well. It is like rebellious wicked ministers acting lawlessly, with guilt extending to their retainers—the text means exactly this.

“Good, good! Your disciple understands now.”

“So from birth, as a child one must be filial, as a minister loyal, as a disciple obedient. When filial piety, loyalty, and obedience never leave the person, after death the hun, po, and spirit essence will not be dragged off for cross-examination and reckoning. Do you understand?”

“Yes, yes. It is truly frightening! Now, through the Celestial Master’s (Tianshi) compassionate instruction, your disciple has learned that the names and categories of heavenly law are many and detailed; your disciple prays not to give up halfway and only asks to be shown how far the jurisdictional boundaries under the edict extend. Though your disciple’s questions touch only rough numbers, you should still explain them. If you do not, it would mean begrudging the Dao teaching and stopping after half-learning—thus failing Heaven’s gift.”

“Good. Six Perfected Ones (zhenren), please sit at ease and explain the deployments and arrangements to the disciple in detail.”

All paths of cultivation and scripture can be grouped into six kinds and gathered into one great collection. What is called shou yi (guarding the One) means that categories answer to one another and ancient and modern form one thread—the wording is largely the same. When a great sage reads these scriptures and practices shou yi accordingly, even if he cannot grasp everything at once, as long as he applies himself to inquiry he can still seize the main point—just as at first one can be a filial child, and going further one can be a loyal minister; if one keeps learning all one’s life without stopping halfway or slackening, there is a chance of dushi (crossing beyond birth and death and enduring in the world). If strength remains, one continues without ceasing and can even penetrate the six directions and eight extremes (above, below, the four quarters, and the eight far reaches—an image of the whole cosmos); when all affairs are clear, what could still be beyond reach? Above, one can assist a virtuous emperor and stabilize heaven and earth together, with grace extending down to grass and trees. Every troubled living being can find its proper place. Heaven and earth rejoice for it, emperors enjoy long peace; one hears only the music of qin and se, and worry is no more.

(Q:) “Do you know this?” (A:) “Yes, yes.”

A middle-grade sage who acts through the power of shou yi, morning and evening holding only its meaning in mind, can likewise first be a filial child and in the long run a good minister, aiding the state toward great peace so that all under heaven submit and none speak ill. Outwardly cautious and inwardly sincere, each reflects and corrects himself, not daring to fail heaven and earth or deceive the ruler. Many sages combine their strength in this way, so the sovereign’s rule resembles heaven and they take heaven as their model; kindness reaches down even to grass, trees, mosquitoes, and gnats, each in its place.

(Q:) “Do you know this?” (A:) “Yes, yes.”

If the common people can hold fast to and recite the teachings of the Scripture of Great Peace, all striving together to put them into practice, and moreover transmitting and learning from one another, sharing the same delight and joy in study—even to the point of overflowing joy—then fathers will become loving, mothers tender, children filial, wives harmonious, elder brothers kind, and younger siblings respectful; neighbors will all turn their hearts toward goodness, no longer stealing in secret or harming one another. Everyone will gladly uphold loyalty, obedience, and filial piety, and will wish to look upward and align themselves with the virtue of middling sages and great sages; the people will no longer be accustomed to wickedness. In every household, each person will restrain and rectify themselves, so that the realm can be governed without resort to punishments. When superior, middling, and inferior practitioners alike put this into practice, the world is immediately settled, without delay. Do you understand? Answer: I understand, I understand.

(The following continues section 152 of the Shouyi Rushi Zhishen Jie [Precept of Guarding Unity, Entering the Chamber, and Knowing the Spirit]…) …Thus the realm can be governed without punishments. When superior, middling, and inferior practitioners jointly carry this out, the world at once attains great peace. Do you know this? Answer: I understand, I understand.

This passage explains the Way of Guarding the One—the Daoist practice of single-mindedly holding to the “One”—and how it sorts people into good and bad.

First section

Therefore, in teaching the Way of “guarding the One,” one should gather and compare all who have guarded the One in ancient and modern times, sorted by type. The highest grade of the wise, if they strive to guard it, can transcend birth and death and leave the dusty world behind; middling worthies who strive to guard it can serve emperors well and become good officials; those of the lowest grade who strive to guard it can still avoid easy anger and joy, so that under heaven there is less resentment and fewer faults. This section is the foremost and broadest boundary-marking statement in the book. Fearing that people in the world, long steeped in dull habit and deep confusion, will not trust these words, you are instructed to align and verify them with every kind of text on guarding the One from past and present that matches this teaching.

Dialogue

“Good, good! Your disciple respectfully receives the teaching.”

Second section

The Way of guarding the One: great persons who guard it still have strength to spare; middling persons who guard it also have strength to spare; small persons who guard it likewise have strength to spare. When three people guard and practice it together, their good virtue can reach the six directions and the eight extremes, and their kindness and love can match heaven and earth in measure. If the lowest grade of fools refuse to guard it willingly, they are called the most vicious people under heaven; heaven deeply abhors them, and ghosts and spirits no longer protect them. Though people live together for long ages, they will not treat such persons well. This is how the celestial scriptures distinguish good from evil: those who love to read and love to look are known by heaven as good people; those who still refuse to look even when it is shown plainly are known by heaven as vicious people. Using this method to read hearts, not one judgment in ten thousand misses.

Third section

I composed this text for the sovereign of upper virtue. Above, it does not fail heaven; below, it does not fail earth; in the middle, it does not fail the virtuous lord; it does not deceive the True Person. Whoever guards this and grasps its meaning has finished the Way—it is complete. The Six True Persons should themselves probe its meaning deeply; I cannot record every good point within it in full.

Fourth section

“The One” is even the throat and vital knot of the utmost Dao. Upper shi delight in the virtue of it; middling shi respond and know it; lower shi hate and detest it. Do you understand?

“Yes, yes.”

Fifth section

Therefore upper shi, obtaining it, rejoice greatly and cannot restrain themselves from putting it into practice; middling shi, obtaining it, naturally incline to practice it; lower shi, obtaining it, naturally hate and detest it. Upper, middling, and lower shi are the celestial scriptures’ regular method for sorting people into three grades: upper shi delight in practice, middling shi can practice, lower shi hate practice. The Way of guarding the One runs through all three grades; only heart and conduct differ.

Note on “shi”: In this text, shi (often glossed as “knights” or “gentlemen” in other contexts) means grades of cultivators ranked by how they receive the teaching—not a social class label alone, but upper / middling / lower dispositions toward the Way.

This passage explains how the same celestial scripture elicits three utterly different responses from superior, middling, and inferior persons—by which one can distinguish good from evil under Heaven. It also describes how this classic rectifies the human heart, resolves chengfu (karmic debt inherited from ancestral faults) and “heavenly illness,” and how, within the “second realm,” superior persons read the text, enter the maoshi (hermit’s hut or quiet chamber for cultivation), and transcend the world—with virtuous teachers assisting emperors in bringing Great Peace.

Three Responses to the Celestial Scripture: Superior, Middling, and Inferior Persons

When a superior person (shangshi) obtains this classic, he is overjoyed and cannot help but put it into practice. When a middling person obtains it, he likewise cannot stop—he often delights in explaining its principles to others. When an inferior person (xiashi) sees it, he treats it as a great taboo and dreads it, avoiding it at all costs. Using my (the sage’s) classic to observe these three types, who under Heaven is good and who is evil becomes perfectly clear. Do you understand? The disciple answers: Yes, yes.

The Celestial Scripture Rectifies the Heart, Resolves Chengfu and Heavenly Illness

This classic is Heaven’s credential for correcting the minds of ordinary people, for clearing away the lingering disasters of chengfu from the late ancient age, for resolving “heavenly illness” (calamities and portents when Heaven warns and human affairs are out of balance), and for lifting the punitive exile (tianqian, heavenly censure) that virtuous rulers suffer because of chengfu. Do you understand? The disciple answers: Yes, yes.

The Second Realm: Reading the Text in Harmony with Past and Present, and the Conduct of Superior Persons

Good, good! You have already awakened. Concerning the “second realm”: when people read the Dao passages in my classic, they align with the principles of past and present; gathered by category, each grasp the essential meaning. Superior and worthy persons rejoice and cannot refrain from doing good. Some even dare to enter the maoshi, hold fast without wavering, and are sure to dushi (transcend the world—escape birth and death and ascend as immortals). Their aspiration is in deep harmony (dahedong) with the spirits; they can no longer seek reputation in worldly profit and fame. Their good deeds thoroughly penetrate and connect with Heaven and Earth; their spirits also assist Heaven and Earth, and in turn assist the emperor in transforming evil governance, with grace extending down to the smallest plants and grasses—nothing fails to be covered by their transforming virtue.

Therefore the ancient teachers who were virtuous, wise, and able to assist emperors in realizing Great Peace all obtained persons of this kind (superior persons aligned with the Dao). Thus what they declared was wholly aligned with good and faithful to truth—and this was because the masters from whom they received the Dao were themselves good persons. Does the Zhenren (Perfected One) know this? The disciple answers: Yes, yes.

Middling Persons Reading the Text and Virtuous Teachers Assisting the Emperor

Among them (referring to others within the second realm): those who read the Dao passages in my classic can likewise follow and align with past and present, each grasping the essential meaning. Middling persons who obtain it cannot stop either—they often delight in expounding the principles. Inferior persons who see it still treat it as their greatest taboo. Superior and worthy persons likewise respond with harmonious (xiran) joy and cannot restrain themselves from doing good; some even dare to enter the maoshi, hold fast without wavering, and are sure to dushi; their aspiration is in great harmony with the spirits; they can no longer seek reputation in worldly affairs; their good thoroughly investigates and connects with Heaven and Earth; their spirits assist Heaven and Earth, and again assist the emperor in transforming evil, with grace extending down to the smallest plants and grasses—nothing fails to be enfolded by their transforming virtue.

Hence the virtuous and bright teachers of old who could assist emperors in bringing Great Peace all obtained persons of this kind. Therefore their words and deeds were wholly aligned with good and faithful—and this was because the masters from whom they received the Dao were good.

Men of middling talent join in reciting my scriptures, comparing them with Daoist texts old and new, arranging them by category and reading together without cease. Among them, those who truly have wisdom can become worthy ministers and good officials who assist a ruler of virtue, help a virtuous sovereign transform and remove evil conduct, and extend grace even to the smallest plants and grasses. Yin and Yang are harmonized and no longer contend. The sovereign roams in lasting peace without worry; ministers instruct one another and do their utmost to follow, all turning toward goodness, loyalty, and trust, so that the realm is well governed without punishments—the list of such goods is too long to finish. Do you understand, Perfected One? “Yes, yes.”

The common people also join in reciting my Daoist texts; above and below are linked, all united in one policy, until no one knows how to do evil—again, too much to list. Do you understand, Perfected One? “Yes, yes.”

When the people recite the Daoist texts together, above and below are linked and all share one policy, so that no one knows how to do evil. They collate the Daoist texts of past and present, arrange them by kind and clarify one another, and take this as the learning passed from generation to generation, father to son, without end. If upper, middle, and lower worthies and the common people all verify matters by this standard, the baleful qi of Heaven and Earth will be wholly removed and there will no longer be the calamities of chengfu (inheriting others’ faults and bearing debt for those to come). When goodness can unite Yin and Yang, the harmonious qi of Heaven and Earth and auspicious omens will appear and roam in the capital of the sovereign—this is proof that Imperial Heaven and Earthly Soil rejoice. Therefore those who read my scriptures should ponder them with care; from what is above to what is below, grasp the main points and obtain the inner keys, and they will be no different from the spirits. Do you understand, Perfected One? “Yes, yes.”

The Three Realms (upper, middle, and lower ranks): Once a person attains the Dao, he will often be able to see spirits and command ghosts and gods. Those of upper clarity who fully penetrate affairs succeed ten times in ten—they may become sovereigns or ministers who ward off evil and remove harm; or, after a long time, they may again enter the thatched cultivation chamber, transcend the world and ascend, and no longer seek fame in worldly affairs. Hence one must first practice shouyi (guarding the One), and only then can one fully know where good and evil and faults lie, and only then can one hold fast to the Dao; one enters the thatched chamber for refined cultivation, and only then can one guard the spirit. Thus, after a long time, one may again enter the thatched chamber and depart in transcendence, no longer seeking fame in worldly affairs.

Therefore, one must first guard the One (shouyi — single-mindedly holding to the One as the pivot of the Way) before gradually seeing where good and evil and faults lie; only then can one guard the Dao; and only after entering the Maoshi (thatched quiet chamber used by Daoist adepts for still cultivation) for refined practice can one guard the spirit (Shen). This is thus the third level of practice. Worthies must also collate and verify (juxiao) divine books old and new, checking them against one another. True Person, do you understand? “Yes, yes.”

A middle-grade worthy who guards the One and enters the Way can also gradually perceive spirits and deities on their own; of ten matters treated, nine succeed—they may serve as kings, nobles, or high ministers, jointly driving out evil; with long practice, they may also hope to enter the Maoshi. True Person, do you know? “Yes, yes.”

A lesser worthy who guards the One, enters the Way, and studies the texts may sometimes also see spirits; of ten matters treated, eight succeed—they may become models among the common people, jointly warding off evil and expelling harm. They too should collate ancient and modern Daoist writings and prove them to one another, so that the dull may gradually understand, fully grasp, and trust the Great Way. (Stop.) If they are only made to read one scroll, they will surely not yet believe; instead they will say it is wrong and twist it on their own—then evil will daily flourish and harm people. (Resume.) If great worthies, middle worthies, lesser worthies, and common people all guard the spirit-Way and act accordingly, then the spirits of heaven, earth, and the four seasons will all rise up, and evil will perish of itself. True Person, do you know? “Yes, yes.”

Then the spirits of the world above and below, the four directions, the six domains, and the six kin will all rejoice and vigorously assist what is auspicious, (stop) to remove the harm of evil: above, removing disaster and illness for emperors; in the middle, removing sickness for worthies; below, removing foul qi for the people, so that treacherous evil ghosts and things cannot run rampant. “Excellent, excellent! There must be great precepts and prohibitions, and seeing spirits to divinate affairs.”

When speech hits ten of ten, the method aligns with Celestial Deities (Tianshen); nine of ten aligns with Earth Deities (Dishen); eight of ten aligns with Human Deities (Renshen).

Those statements that follow are not worth adopting.

When someone first receives a response from the spirits, divination often hits ten times out of ten; but as time goes on, it may fail day after day. This is because the spirits are testing whether he aligns with the divine way, and so they let him miss for a while. If he can pull himself together again, straighten his mind, and examine his faults, becoming ever more pure and good in intent and free of wrong thoughts, then in time he may once more accord with the spirits’ intent. His hits may go from one in ten to ten in ten, and grow more accurate day by day. Such a person is improving daily and gradually aligning with the intent of the Dao. This is called “advance” (jin). Using this method to test yourself is entirely reliable.

Some people are inaccurate when they first encounter the spirits, yet become more accurate day by day—they too are those who diligently align with the spirits’ intent and advance daily. Others stay flat, neither advancing nor retreating—they have not put in enough effort and their refined intent has not passed muster. If accuracy worsens day by day, that is called “slackness” (xie); testing yourself this way shows you have not yet aligned with the intent of the Dao.

Those who still do not awaken under testing, but remain stubborn and unchanged in doing wrong, will find all the spirits jointly misleading them and drawing them onto a crooked path. Then good and ill become unpredictable: they may believe wild talk, or fall ill and not rise from bed. Therefore great sages, middling sages, lesser sages, and men and women among the people who cultivate the Way should all use this kind of self-divination—they will not go wrong. This is not only the divine way testing people; in all affairs under heaven, success and failure show themselves through trial. Heaven and earth test people, and people in turn imitate heaven and earth, testing one another.

(Question) “Does the True Person (Zhenren) understand?” (Answer) “Yes, yes, I understand.”

(Further) If you wish to know more deeply this great verification of trust: when the way of heaven, the spirits, and the hearts of the people are in accord and of one mind, sincerity is at its utmost; when they are not in accord, they deceive one another. In antiquity people were sincere and in accord, so between high and low there was no sense of anything special about verification—because the way of heaven, the spirits, and the people were originally of one heart in utmost sincerity. Only when not in accord do they mislead one another.

Therefore, people in high antiquity trusted one another and their hearts were in accord, so those above and below did not deceive each other. People in middle antiquity were only half in accord, so half deceived each other. People in low antiquity completely lacked trust, so those above and below took deception as the norm. Therefore, in high antiquity affairs mostly accorded with the Middle Way; in middle antiquity, half accorded with it; in low antiquity, none accorded with it, and thus came ruin. Therefore the sages of antiquity constantly used these principles to measure themselves, to see whether they accorded with Heaven and Earth, with the Dao, and with people—thus they would not err. Using this to admonish the True Person: I see that you are often toiling, so I deeply use these divine matters to warn you—you are originally the chief envoy sent by Heaven and Earth, to resolve the flowing disasters of Heaven and Earth and to remove harm for the king; your merit is extremely great and few can compare. I only fear that you may slacken in the Dao, so I use these divine matters to warn you.

Since you are the envoy of Heaven and Earth, if each day is auspicious and favorable, that accords with the intent of Heaven and Earth; if each day is inauspicious, declining, and evil, that loses the intent of Heaven and Earth. In communion with the spirits of the Dao, each day auspicious and good is the intent of attaining the Dao; each day inauspicious and declining is the intent of losing the Dao. In communion with people, each day growing thicker in goodness is the intent of mutual accord; on the contrary, each day growing inauspicious, evil, and thin is the intent of mutual loss.

It is like tilling fields: one who alone harvests much grain and produces good fruit is one who applies the mind meticulously and exerts much effort; one who harvests little grain and produces poor fruit is one who applies the mind somewhat slackly and exerts little effort. This is only vegetation, yet it still differs in good and evil according to the mind's intent and the amount of effort—how much more so Heaven, Earth, spirits, and people? Can one not be warned? True Person, take this as a warning: if you feel the words are too few to convey the meaning, ponder them deeply—their weight is indeed great. This is precisely what is called the gateway of safety and danger, auspiciousness and inauspiciousness. Do you understand?

"Yes, yes. This foolish one has already awakened to it; I receive the command, I receive the command."

A virtuous and wise sovereign should gather all kinds of documents left from high antiquity, middle antiquity, and later ages, arrange them by category, and cross-check them against one another. Once the Great Dao is set right in this way, it becomes as clear and dependable as the course of the sun and moon.

The ruler should also widely summon great sages, middling sages, lesser sages, and men and women among the common people, collect their orally transmitted formulas and accounts by category, and again verify them against the written records. When the texts are largely unified, they fit together like overlapping compasses and squares, without error; the Great Dao, once set right, is no different from the sun and moon. The policies concerning the three powers—Heaven, Earth, and humanity—are all brought together into one whole; the principles of Heaven, Earth, and human affairs are all contained therein, and so it is for the myriad things of the world (the so-called twelve thousand kinds of things). Therefore the sovereign of virtue should strive to put this fully into practice: disasters will then vanish in a single morning, the realm will naturally be at peace, and there will no longer be superfluous evil texts and evil words. When everything is penetrated and made clear, and fully set right, no surplus of evil qi remains.

Evil texts and evil words are the root of calamity. To know that this is clear, solid, trustworthy, and effective, take an analogy: if someone uses evil texts to report faults to the ruler, or people use evil speech to hate one another, resentment and blame increase day by day; the multitude also resent and hate one another. If the ruler listens to this, he loses the correct Way, his wisdom no longer penetrates, and Heaven and Earth reject him. The clarity, solidity, trustworthiness, and effectiveness are the same in another case: if someone uses evil texts to address the ruler, or people use evil speech to hate one another, resentment rises daily, the people resent and hate one another, and if the ruler heeds it, he likewise loses rectitude, his intelligence does not reach through, Heaven and Earth reject him, and he dwells in dangerous, inauspicious words. Those below then use evil texts and evil words together to deceive and confuse those above; when those above eventually learn of it, ruler and ministers also blame one another. Thus the daily increase of evil texts and evil speech is the gateway of what is vicious; one should strive to restrain, examine, and remove them. True Person, do you understand? “Yes, yes.”

Therefore when the sovereign of virtue uses only correct words, the calamities borne since the opening of Heaven and Earth can all be cleared away, and disasters will no longer occur. True Person, if you wish to know this great assurance: correct texts and correct words are the true root of Heaven, Earth, humanity, and the myriad things.

Therefore, the great sages and worthies of antiquity acted in accord with correct scriptures and proper discourse (zhengwen zhengci)—reliable canonical texts and upright speech. Since the opening of Heaven and Earth, accumulated calamities and misfortune from age to age could be cleared away, and people no longer suffered disaster. If a zhenren (true person) wishes to grasp more deeply the great trustworthiness in this, they must know: correct scriptures and proper discourse are the fundamental root and authentic standard for Heaven, Earth, humanity, and the myriad things.

When the great sages of old followed correct scriptures and proper discourse, Heaven and Earth were set right because of it; sun, moon, and stars were set right; the four seasons and Five Phases were set right; the people and the ten thousand things were set right. Thus it is clear that correct scriptures and proper discourse are the upright root and great proof for Heaven and Earth, the people, and all things.

If one wishes to know further how trustworthy this is, it is like someone who, before the sovereign, speaks and recommends in correct scriptures and proper discourse: the ruler then appears greatly wise and penetrating, and affairs are handled in accord with the Dao without losing rectitude. Above and below also align with the intent of Heaven and Earth; the three luminaries do not stray from their courses; the four seasons and Five Phases do not fall into disorder; the people are all glad and say “Excellent!”; the myriad things each attain their place. Favor reaches the spirits; fame spreads to distant lands; the host of spirits present auspicious signs and marvelous things appear in joy. Worthy scholars throughout the realm gladly come to assist their lord and do not hide their talents. Immortals and spirits will entrust to him methods of non-aging; portents and omens of ill thereby vanish, and the people are governed by his administration. Because of correct scriptures and proper discourse, mutual hatred no longer arises, and grievances are cut off. Every good in the realm comes forth; every evil hides and does not show itself. The virtuous sovereign (de jun) need only govern through non-interference while all things self-order (chui gong er zi zhi)—what worry would there be of peril and ruin? This is the clear proof and efficacy of correct scriptures and proper discourse as the root of goodness. How could one not uphold it with full strength?

(A later passage repeats the same idea: truth and hatred cut off, grievances ended, good emerging and evil hidden, the virtuous sovereign governing through non-interference without fear of ruin—correct scriptures and proper discourse as the clear proof of the root of goodness, to be upheld with full rectitude.)

Do you understand, zhenren?

The disciple: Yes, yes. How awe-inspiring! Hearing the Celestial Master speak thus, I have awakened greatly; this foolish student knows that the realm is already at peace, and when the virtuous sovereign hears and applies this, life is already extended.

The Celestial Master: Excellent! You may be called a student who understands affairs—you have already seen through it clearly.

How joyful! The calamities in Heaven have been resolved, and the disasters and illnesses on earth have been removed. How does the True Person know this?

It is indeed so: whatever is crooked and perverse ought to be cleared away; then the great afflictions of Heaven and earth, the people, and the myriad things will be entirely removed. Now the main text has been corrected and the wording set right—therefore one knows that the great afflictions of Heaven and earth are gone. Excellent, excellent! You have understood this point: what is crooked and perverse should be removed, the great afflictions are gone—and that is precisely because the main text has been collated and the phrasing corrected.

Excellent, excellent! You have deeply grasped this principle. If a ruler of supreme virtue receives my scripture and carries out its civil teaching in the manner of the “Heavenly Law as model,” he will align closely with Heaven and earth and will no longer meet with ill fortune or calamitous convergences. Excellent, excellent! This is a great essential teaching for the True Person.

When a ruler of supreme virtue obtains my scripture, he should appoint officials according to the “Heavenly Law as model”: from the Spirit Person at the top down to the most humble, there are nine ranks—Spirit, True, Immortal, Dao, Sage, Worthy, ordinary people, slaves, and maidservants. Among these nine kinds, whoever has genuine faith and loyalty, delights in practicing the good Way, and comes to assist the virtuous ruler should be given office according to his strengths; one must never assign a post beyond what he can do, nor dismiss anyone without cause. To appoint or dismiss contrary to this is called “going against people,” and it injures the earnest, devoted sincerity of those who strive.

Heaven is not a human being; it simply appoints people according to their talent and virtue. If one inquires separately into what each excels at, nothing will go ungoverned. The virtuous ruler should test their results: those who daily produce good effects should be promoted—take care not to miss them; those who produce no effects should be removed quickly. Otherwise this is called defiling and disordering the celestial offices, preventing upright qi from arriving—and the guilt lies with these perverse people.

Upright and good people constantly wish in their hearts to assist all affairs in secret; therefore they can draw upright and good people to them. Perverse people harbor perverse hearts and do not wish to assist in secret or benefit all affairs; they will draw what is crooked and perverse—this is the natural law of August Heaven. Therefore they should be dismissed at once; if they are not dismissed, they will also provoke Heaven’s anger and cause killing qi within the earth to go outward—so they must go quickly. This is a matter of great importance. Does the True Person understand?

(Answer:) Yes, yes. Your foolish student is deeply in awe.

If you know how to hold reverence, then even when you understand how to live well, Heaven will protect you. “I dare not, I dare not.” “This is not something I can defer to you about—it is not I who grant you Heaven’s protection; when you do good, you naturally receive it. Therefore the sages of antiquity in their conduct did not dare depart from the rules, because they saw Heaven’s warnings, knew good from evil, and each looked to the safety of self, family, and life. Hence they often sought to govern together with the worthy, fearing to provoke Heaven. When one has offended Heaven, prayer is of no use. So the ancient emperors, clear-eyed and discerning, did not rashly work alongside fools, and thus could long remain auspicious. Does the Perfected Person understand?” “Yes, yes.”

From the middle antiquity onward, half the people were dull-witted; they treated the selection and appointment of officials as a small matter and did not examine candidates carefully. Half the appointments were unsuitable, half corrupted the offices under Heaven, and half of public affairs turned perilous. In later antiquity they inherited the negligence of the middle age, made the process even easier, and still did not investigate in detail; elections mostly failed to yield fit persons. They stained and disordered the celestial offices, so the three luminaries—sun, moon, and stars—were no longer right, and signs appeared in the sky; Heaven was displeased. Thus years of disaster came again and again, ceasing only to return, yet people did not deeply blame themselves and instead said that the season and fate were simply so. There have been such people since ancient times. The Way of Heaven is not a person, yet people turn and lay all fault on Heaven; the deeply foolish do not reflect on their own errors but repeatedly join in shifting blame onto the ruler. Heaven names such people “great rebellious folk”—wrongdoing lies below yet they deceive those above, calling evil good and good evil, jointly inviting this calamity, then pushing responsibility onto Heaven. Those who push it onto Heaven go further and upwardly reproach their sovereign: they are the utterly hollow, calamitous people of the realm, unworthy ministers and subjects.

The general meaning of this passage is as follows.

The spirits of heaven and earth all detest a certain kind of wicked conduct, so heaven intervenes directly and sends down a “De Jun”—a ruler appointed by heaven who teaches the world through virtue—to redefine the standard of goodness, to measure and correct evil against goodness, and thereby to bring down various calamities and portents. Yet people shift blame upward and charge heaven itself. Once heaven is blamed, they in turn scrutinize the ruler’s faults, saying that the whole realm is full of vicious, disorderly commoners and officials.

Heaven and earth likewise detest this attitude, so heaven again intervenes directly and sends the De Jun to reestablish law and regulation, making clear that selecting and appointing officials cannot be done without careful, thorough investigation. If a Zhenren (True Person) wishes to know where such “wicked people and wicked officials” go wrong, he may compare it to the relation between parents and children in one household: the parents bear several children, and the children join together to deceive their parents and do wrong. Though the parents sit quietly in one room at home, how could they know?—yet the children have already gone outside to commit violence, robbery, and theft, while outsiders together blame the parents: “The parents are bad; that is why they bore such wicked children.” When county officers catch the culprits, they do not execute the guilty son directly but turn back and punish the parents.

When parents bear children, they always hope their sons and daughters will be good—when would they willingly want them to do evil? To turn around and blame the parents is the conduct of unfilial, rebellious sons. Likewise, when a ruler treats his ministers, he always hopes they will do good—when does he teach them to do evil? Yet when commoners and ministers together commit violence and rebellion from below, bringing calamities from heaven and earth upon themselves, they turn back and hold the ruler accountable, leaving the people in misery. At that point crafty officials also join in blaming heaven above—in name it is commoners and ministers jointly rebelling, with guilt that cannot be wiped away. Their pursuit of the ruler’s responsibility is already excessive; they must also blame heaven above and earth below. When people are this perverse, should they not have their lives shortened and be put to death all the sooner?

Therefore the later age ought to fulfill the “ba ming” (violent destiny: a fate of force, short life, and death not in one’s own hands): life and death have no fixed time, like a household about to slaughter livestock—one kills whenever the whim strikes. For good beasts people still pity their death; for bad beasts people are glad when they die of disease. Does the Zhenren understand?

The Zhenren replied: “Yes, yes. This foolish student is deeply in awe of heaven’s majesty.”

The Celestial Master said: “Do you understand?”

The True Person said: “Yes, yes. Your humble student holds the celestial majesty in the deepest awe.”

The Celestial Master said: “Good—you have awakened. Take this text and let the virtuous sovereign show it to every worthy scholar. Be most careful not to harbor thoughts of harming them—even if someone wishes them dead, do not act on it. A good beast still cherishes its own life; a wicked beast takes pleasure in watching another sicken and die. Do you understand, True Person?”

The True Person said: “Yes, yes. Your humble student holds the celestial majesty in the deepest awe.”

The Celestial Master said: “Good—you have awakened. Take this text and let the virtuous sovereign show it to every worthy scholar. Do not hide it away. Heaven delights when it is made known as soon as possible.”

The True Person said: “Yes, yes.”

The Celestial Master said: “I will tell the True Person a weighty principle: when a sovereign of great De and ministers already in office each obtain suitable people aligned with the heart of Heaven, they should know how to govern the people and remove calamities. People hiding far away in the four directions are very hard to know. Inferior, foolish folk each chase private gain and together deceive those above. The sovereign of De should work with the wise to correct them; only when all are set right does this match Heaven and Earth’s intent—then Heaven and Earth rejoice greatly and grant the ruler lasting good fortune. Heaven knows well that the inferior ancients were foolish and hard to govern, and so specially composed covenant texts for them, called the Heavenly Book. A book as law means to record and make clear. All under Heaven should use it together to keep records and should jointly follow it; it can register the writings of everyone under Heaven. Thus documents are what all under Heaven ought to read together—not something for one person alone. So the world uses them jointly to record every affair; sages use them jointly to record the patterns of Heaven and Earth; the worthy use them to record the sages’ words. Every person should study and recite them together before grasping their meaning. As a category, books should be jointly investigated, jointly examined, jointly recorded, and jointly recited—only then can wickedness be absent. From antiquity to the present, the writings of the worthy and sages have passed through how many collations, copies, verifications, and shared stabilizations—and still some corrupt passages and wrong phrases remain, so they cannot be applied in perfect purity.”

Therefore great sages and Daoist priests traveled the realm, examining wording and familiarizing themselves with usage, comparing similarities and differences to instruct and transform the ignorant. But to preach their doctrines recklessly is not permissible; to hold office recklessly is not enough to serve as a minister to the emperor. One original text, many chapter-and-phrase versions—hence divergent teachings. That disorder the Way of Heaven and leave it ungoverned, producing the calamity of chengfu (later generations bearing earlier generations’ faults). Do you understand, Perfected One?” “Yes, yes.” “Good—you have awakened. Listen again; I will tell you a great prohibition. In later ages people long lost the Heart of Heaven, so Heaven and Earth were often troubled and uneasy, because rulers used only isolated phrases and one-sided statements to confuse and inspect affairs—out of line with fact, very far from original intent and clear principle. If you use only the reasoning above, you will make all sages under Heaven examine the wording together and still not understand—all become mistaken learning—so portents and anomalies multiply; Heaven greatly detests this and sends turmoil, disease, and yin–yang strife without end. Therefore Heaven taught me to descend from the upper realm to gather and collate the scriptures. Since the middle antiquity people have trusted isolated phrases and single sayings, often treating appended text as disrespect and using that as law to condemn one another—thus perpetuating isolated phrases and single sayings and instead submitting memorials on policy—thereby making enmity with Heaven and rebellion. Heaven’s official documents were meant for people jointly to discuss right and wrong, yet instead one person secretly fixed the wording alone. Even sages cannot fully know the Way of Heaven alone—hence successive sages wrote differently; Heaven says each excels in one part and cannot alone remove all calamity—therefore It taught me to gather and collate them all. Now to trust one person’s word instead—can that be used? Therefore It teaches using three-path writing (copying and circulating through multiple channels): whether great or small, worthy or unworthy, man or woman—all join in cross-checking and mutual proof, jointly discussing right and wrong, so each gets the reality and collation is verified. Now to trust one person’s word instead—can that be used?

Therefore the institution of the Three-Column Writing must be put into practice: whether wise or foolish, male or female, old or young, all must take part together, cross-check one another, and jointly discuss right and wrong in affairs, until the true situation is established—only then may a report go upward. If even one person intends to deceive, the matter must be recorded; in this way the “illness” of Heaven and Earth can be removed, and the sovereign need no longer bear the heavy burden of chenfu (ancestral or self-accumulated guilt and its resulting calamity).

Heaven and Earth rejoice because they are free of this illness; the sovereign rejoices because he can rule in peace; the worthy rejoice because they can rise to prominence; the common people rejoice because they can clear their own grievances and no longer see injustice, because every household grows prosperous; slaves and servants rejoice because they find good masters and no longer do wrong; the four seasons and Five Phases run in order and the people are careful not to break the law; the ten thousand things each find their place and suffer no harm; the spirits and ghosts rejoice because they see the ruler of virtue accumulating good; they rejoice because malign qi no longer veils the sun, moon, and three luminaries; they rejoice because taishang pingqi (the great harmonious qi of the Highest Peace) comes to govern the realm and the king’s use of power is right; they rejoice because malign qi once lies hidden and does not again emerge to be punished; they rejoice because the barbarians of the four directions stay in their lands and no longer repeatedly wage war against Heaven; they rejoice because armies and weapons can rest unused and soldiers do not die in battle.

Between Heaven and Earth, such grounds for joy are too many to count. The Perfected One only states the main points and shows the beginning—you yourself must ponder the deeper meaning. Every matter can be extended by analogy, and the principle can be exhausted. If the ruler of virtue acts accordingly, the realm will submit. Therefore Heaven especially values this Three-Column Writing; it must never again be abolished, or calamity will not depart. If one wishes to cut off the astronomy of Heaven (Heaven’s laws and warnings), reversal will sink one into rule of the deaf and blind. Rule of the deaf and blind is the root of disorder and danger, the disaster that destroys the person—can one fail to be cautious? Wen (scripture, law, and written record) is what all under Heaven should jointly examine and jointly follow; one must not trust a single person’s word alone.

Since heaven and earth were first opened, written texts and human speech have been handed down generation after generation, checked against one another and mutually verified. Unless this sort of collation is carried out clearly, one cannot act on a single isolated saying alone; if people execute policy trusting only one person’s words, the state will fall into danger and ruin. That is a great error and a great calamity for the world. Therefore this scripture does not dare to leave only isolated single lines or fragmentary phrases; it teaches the perfected ones (Zhenren) to collate and compare the writings of high antiquity, middle antiquity, and late antiquity so that earlier and later connect; it also requires collating ordinary people’s statements for mutual verification, so that between heaven and earth things can be set straight and between Yin and Yang there is no sickness or disaster. Using this book to collate astronomical and terrestrial spirit writings and human speech across past and present will inevitably answer like an echo; it will not differ from what the spirits reveal—then the Way I transmit can be trusted. Thus in practicing the Way I do not begin with empty talk; I try it and see whether it works. How do I know my Way accords with heaven’s intent and is worth believing? When one acts accordingly today, it is like conversing with heaven: in ten cases eight or nine, or five out of five, match; nothing falls empty. When the Way is like this, it may truly be called great joy. Do the perfected ones understand? “Yes, yes.” “Go, go and instruct all living beings. Tell the perfected ones one great essential: the root lies in keeping the One (Shouyi), single-mindedly doing good, and grasping its true meaning—only then can one enter the Way; therefore the text on expounding the Way continues next. Practicing the Way must reach ‘entering the chamber’ (Rushi)—entering the true Way; entering the chamber one must know the spirits (Shen), so divine precepts continue next. Having kept the One, obtained the Way, and obtained the spirits, above one can surely assist a ruler of virtue and become a good minister. Ministers must help the emperor and king complete virtue together and jointly settle the six directions and eight caverns of heaven and earth; grasping the meaning, the state can long endure in peace. For peace, one must have correct texts, correct phrasing, and correct speech—hence collating language to achieve great rectification; worthy ministers and superior gentlemen must appear together to assist the emperor and king as his clear-eyed arms and legs—hence the nine ministers in office are written next.

This passage states that the nine persons (who receive teaching or hold office) should each keep their place and together stabilize Heaven and Earth, so that all under Heaven is of one heart. They should constantly communicate and keep in touch, reporting good and evil to one another; hence the institution of the “three-ways writing” system.

When people have all learned to guard the One, entered the Dao, entered the spirit, and entered the orthodox canon, ruler and subject and high and low each in their station, and when documents have been issued and all work together on the six affairs until they are completed, the world jointly upholds this whole set of rules for “three-ways writing.” At that point people already know how to guard the One; they have entered the Dao, entered the spirit, and entered the correct text; honored and humble, officials and subjects each find their place; documents go out and the six affairs are jointly brought to completion; all under Heaven shares one heart, and no one dares to hate one another—they all love and benefit each other as if born of one father and mother. Therefore the virtuous ruler who has virtue deeply accords with Heaven’s heart and takes non-action as joy.

There is also fear that something in the Great Dao might be left out and that the writings of Heaven and Earth might be incomplete, so another chapter, “Great Assembly of Difficulties,” is set forth to resolve doubts. Deep meaning is placed later, to appear when the whole book is complete, when the celestial book is entrusted to the virtuous ruler; once all under Heaven turns toward good government, the response is swift. The ease is like fire burning along dry high ground and water naturally flowing downward—without forced commands it still spreads of itself and cannot be stopped. This is the teaching of the Great Sovereign Heavenly Dao, immediately to be awaited. When the virtuous ruler puts it into practice, he is called the son of the Heavenly Spirit, titled Supreme Sovereign, resembling the primordial qi of Heaven and Earth; therefore the spirits of all under Heaven may all be commanded.

Since Heaven and Earth were opened and formed, there has never been a celestial book of spirit-writing, transmitted by a perfected person, serving as the record of the true Dao; now it is given to the virtuous ruler and is named “Mother of the Dao.” The qi of the sun belongs to the Fire phase; when obtained and put into practice one gains its trust and truth; if one acts without knowing, it is not true. Do you understand, perfected one? The perfected one replied: I understand; I respectfully obey the command and go to deliver it back to the virtuous ruler; I dare not stay long. Heaven again instructed: Go; you have understood; the celestial book must not be kept long.

Opening section

The celestial deities examine people in the world and bring them through hardship and setbacks. You must be careful and act in accordance with what is required.

Scriptures arranged in sequences such as the “six thorough investigations” and “seven full completions” work together with one another; disasters are entirely removed, and the most auspicious purport of the scriptures is attained.

“Bear humiliation like heaven and earth; utmost sincerity responds to the spirits”—Great Precept 253

The Perfected One stepped forward and replied: “Yes, yes.”

(The Celestial Master said:) “I will now first establish a great precept for the Perfected One. My Dao is for governing heaven and earth, stabilizing emperors and kings, and nurturing those whom heaven and earth cherish; you should cherish true Dao and true De (Virtue/Power). Heaven is the substance, norm, and trustworthiness of Dao; Dao operates by borrowing heaven. Earth is the endurance and norm of De; De rests and ceases by borrowing earth. Therefore earth can long endure as the mother of the ten thousand things, always staying below and bearing lowliness, never speaking of its own toil. I, as the Virtue Lord, teach the foolish and lowly—precisely with these two matters of heaven and earth as the root. Therefore you should constantly follow the measure of heaven and earth and not lose the rule of the upright gate. My writings are heaven’s discourse and earth’s speech; with the spirit deities they correspond deeply, one with one, like outer and inner fitting together; every step and every pace mutually matches, like compass and square. Those who follow this obtain heaven and earth’s intent; those who oppose it meet misfortune and decline. Today I use this line to admonish the Perfected One: you must constantly reflect on my words and carry them out with care.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Seeing that in your heart you truly love true Dao and De, love doing good, and have few who can be compared with you, I tell you one thing more. Nowadays upper gentlemen mostly delight in true Dao and good De; middle gentlemen are half inclined; lower gentlemen are unseemly, entirely without Dao and without De—all belong among the greatly rebellious and Dao-less. Those who are greatly inauspicious and without De are inwardly unfit for heaven and earth and mutually unknowing; they are not among those heaven constantly pardons and loves. Therefore people without Dao and De have their fate outside heaven and earth; with birds and beasts they share the same stipend and the same allotted life.”

“We still do not understand; we wish to hear the essential purport within.”

The Six Perfected Ones, listen closely.

“Yes.”

“Good. Heaven in its purity embodies the Dao; Earth in its purity embodies De (Virtue/Power). A person without morality has broken the bond with Heaven and Earth and has no model to measure against. If one learns from Heaven’s way of moving, one should hold the true Dao and cherish life; if one learns from Earth, one should hold good De and cherish nurturing. Today people lack both Dao and De, so Heaven and Earth no longer treat them as their children. Know how real this is: those who have the Dao recognize and gather Dao people; those who have De recognize and gather De people—they take one another in and their fates are linked. Those with Dao delight in supporting those with Dao; those with De delight in supporting those with De. People with morality and people without it are not of one kind, so they will not take one another in, and their lives are not tied to Heaven.”

“Excellent, excellent! We wish to hear what it means to share the same fate as birds and beasts.”

“You ask something hard yet it cuts to the heart. The lives of birds and beasts are bound to the four directions; by nature they love to clash with one another and have no morality—the strong rise to the top. The lowest, most foolish people without morality also love to offend one another; the strong rise to the top. Their qi is the same as that of birds and beasts, so they share the same fate. The Dao of Heaven takes this as its pattern to separate the superior from the inferior among people—therefore it can be known. Throughout the realm, to whom one’s name and fate belong all follow their kind; thus one knows where the life belongs. Those who receive more of the five natures resemble Yang and are humane; those who receive more of the six emotions resemble Yin and are greedy. Those who receive more Yang influence are men; those who receive more Yin influence are women. Those who receive more qi of the “king” and “prime” phases are honored and long-lived; those who receive more qi of rest, decline, and imprisonment meet many disasters and die early, and are also extremely poor. Therefore for anyone born, look at which phase’s qi they inherit and to which of the six jia cycles their life is tied—classify them by kind and you will not miss one in ten thousand. The sages of old looked deeply into all things and knew human feelings by using exactly this. Do the Perfected Ones understand?”

“Yes. Excellent, excellent!”

“Today the people of the lower age inherit their forebears’ mistakes, little by little cutting off morality together, piling it up day by day until they break with Heaven and Earth and vital essence and qi no longer flow—do the Perfected Ones know this?”

“Yes. Excellent, excellent!”

“Today the people of the lower age inherit their forebears’ mistakes, little by little cutting off morality together, piling it up day by day until they break with Heaven and Earth and vital essence and qi no longer flow. They do not know their own fate, yet share the fate of four-legged birds and beasts. Therefore Heaven and Earth abhor them, and the spirits and essences of ghosts and gods do not protect them. Illnesses are beyond count and killing has no fixed season—the great blame lies here. Today the ruler of upper virtue has a life tied to Heaven and Earth and should again take Heaven and Earth as his model and govern the realm with Dao and De. Therefore I have put the Dao of Heaven in order anew and entrust it from above. Heaven is glad when they do good and does not wish them to act like four-legged people any longer. Therefore in this scripture I warn them again and again, wishing them to wake fully—hence I set out this great assembly of the six extremes, hard though it is to hand back in full. Do the Perfected Ones understand?”

“Yes. How dreadful—and how joyful, how joyful!”

This passage explains that the Perfected Person (Zhenren)—a cultivator who has attained the Dao—acts in accordance with the Way of Heaven; therefore the Celestial Master (Tianshi), who transmitted the Scripture of Great Peace (Taiping Jing), repeatedly admonishes in the scriptures, hoping that people will fully awaken. For this reason compilations such as the Six Extremes and One Great Assembly were made—hard to deliver all at once or to grasp entirely. The Celestial Master asks the Perfected Person whether he understands; the Perfected Person answers “I understand,” and marvels that it is both awe-inspiring and joyful.

The Celestial Master asks: How do you know it is both awe-inspiring and joyful? The Perfected Person says: Your humble student heard the Celestial Master say that when true De (Virtue/Power) appears, the people will transform in a short time—all upholding De and modeling themselves on Heaven and Earth, no longer acting like beasts driven only by instinct. When everyone practices the Way and everyone establishes De, one knows this is supreme joy and true meaning. The Celestial Master praises: What the Perfected Person has said is excellent; nothing could be added.

The Perfected Person says: I now wish to ask the Celestial Master one thing. The Celestial Master says: Speak. The Perfected Person says: For people today who seek De and for ordinary people in their daily conduct, what should be grasped most urgently? By what means do they know what to do? By what means do they align with Heaven and Earth? The Celestial Master says: Well asked. One must act with utmost sincerity (zhicheng) and with the inner truth of the heart—only then can one attain it. If one does not act with the genuine intent of the five viscera (the inner sincerity represented by heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys), that is what De detests; seeking good will not succeed, and the spirits will not respond.

The Perfected Person asks: By what means does utmost sincerity move Heaven, Earth, and the spirits? The Celestial Master sighs: On this point the Perfected Person is too dull—you study my scripture; are there not many places where you still cling stubbornly without understanding? He adds: The spirits do not respond… (repeating the question of how utmost sincerity moves Heaven and Earth)

The Perfected Person answers: Your humble student has been foolish and obscured too long; it is hard to open up all at once. The Celestial Master says: You are too modest. Listen—I will explain again what is meant by utmost sincerity moving Heaven and Earth. The Perfected Person: I obey.

The Celestial Master says: What is called utmost sincerity—though named sincerity—means looking upward and acting as Heaven acts, taking the Way of Heaven as one’s rule; looking downward and acting as Earth acts, taking Earth’s De as one’s model. Reflecting that Heaven and Earth are like parents who nurture me and do not wish me to do evil, one then turns inward to examine the heart before acting. The heart is the most hidden and most honored Shen (spirit—the master of consciousness). The heart is sacred pure Yang, the movement of fire. Fire’s nature is to move upward; it shares light with Heaven. Therefore the sun is the sovereign of fire and the correctness of Heaven, illuminating everywhere. Thus when a person is utterly sincere, upright in heart, illness and pain also respond accordingly—or: when the heart is upright, illness and pain respond at once—meaning that utmost sincerity resonates with Heaven and Earth, even manifesting in body and mind.

Note: In Taiping Jing contexts, the phrase “when the heart is upright, illness and pain respond” often means that when sincerity resonates with Heaven and Earth, uprightness of heart is reflected in the body—disasters, illness, and pain may show corresponding signs of resonance; commentaries differ slightly; here it is translated in line with the literal wording and surrounding context.

The spirit of the heart-mind is the most sacred. It reports upward to the sun, and the sun in turn reports upward to Heaven. Therefore, among the five viscera, one who is truly sincere can move the spirits. How could one fail to be careful?

The True Person of “Stop” said: “How dreadful! How dreadful! This dull student comes to ask—I am truly terrified.”

The True Person said: “Knowing fear is the root of staying alive; not knowing fear is the gate of death. Safety and danger lie in yourself, not elsewhere. How could one fail to be careful?”

[The same exchange is repeated in the source text.]

“Though each time I ask the Celestial Master (Tianshi) I am filled with awe, only by asking again do I receive the secret formula and great understanding; if I do not ask, there is no opportunity to know.”

“Indeed. You speak rightly: what is hard to ask in the dark—when will it become clear? Speak—what do you wish to ask?”

“Having now carefully heard that utmost sincerity can move Heaven, I wish to hear the meaning of moving Earth.”

“Excellent! Your words grow deeper day by day; I do not begrudge speaking. Sit at ease, and I will tell you. If I did not speak, I fear it would exceed what you can hold. If Heaven alone grieved that people of later ages would not be sincere, and sent a True Person to preside over these questions—very well. I will tell you now. Listen clearly.”

“Yes, yes.”

“Proceed. When a person is utterly sincere, if something weighs on the heart-mind and causes acute distress, the chest and belly feel ill and one cannot eat. What remembers is the heart-mind; what persists is intention (yi). When heart-mind and intention do not forget, the liver is most benevolent (ren), so the eyes, which it governs, shed tears and weep—that is the essence of refined thought and true sincerity. What belongs to a person as refined spirit (jingming) is the heart-mind. What remembers without letting go is intention (yi), and the spleen. The heart-mind is pure Yang (chunyang) and its place belongs to Heaven. The spleen is pure Yin (chunyin) and its place belongs to Earth. Utmost sincerity can be a single-minded remembrance, until the heart aches and tears flow—the heart-mind sends intention to refine thought with true sincerity. What belongs to a person as refined spirit is the heart-mind. What remembers without letting go is intention and the spleen. The heart-mind is pure Yang, its place Heaven; the spleen is pure Yin, its place Earth.”

Note: “Stop” (zhi) may be a sectional marker within the chapter; the passage on heart/spleen and Yang/Earth repeats in the source, and the vernacular rendering follows the original in retaining that repetition.

As long as one achieves utmost sincerity, one can fix the mind in concentration—even to the point of heartache and tears. Let the heart be ruled by intentional thought, and send the heart’s intent to distant places, reporting upward. Intention belongs to yin; when there is trouble on the yin side, one should respond to yang, and therefore report upward to Imperial Heaven and the spirits. The spleen in the Five Phases belongs to yin and corresponds to earth, so one must also report downward into the earth to the ground. Then heaven and earth will shift for it, and the spirits will act for it.

If you wish to know how great the efficacy is, I will never deceive the True Person. When the True Person sits at ease in a deep, quiet room and fixes the mind in thought of the spirits, the spirits will come of themselves—is that not clear proof? This is the principle I tell you: that utmost sincerity can be trusted; I have never spoken empty words without basis.

Therefore, when ordinary people seek Dao and De, all must rely on utmost sincerity—only then will heaven and earth respond and the spirits come to inform. Without utmost sincerity, one cannot move heaven and earth or stir the spirits.

After chengfu (bearing the faults inherited from predecessors), people of the lower age truly lacked faith and sincerity; they could not move heaven and earth, and instead joined in deceiving heaven and earth together—so the spirits’ harm did not cease.

“I wish to hear what is used to prove this.” (The text breaks off here.)

(Inquirer:) “Good—the great clear proof lies in the sun and moon.” (Reply:) “Now I wish to hear the details.”

(Reply:) “Good. People of later ages are born to their parents, yet mostly neglect them, betray them—among ten thousand, scarcely one fully fulfills filial duty. After a teacher has lifted the veil of ignorance and they have awakened, they again treat the teacher lightly, fail to serve the teacher properly, and leave the teacher to bend and bear hardship. Having risen from poverty to wealth through the ruler’s favor, they then together teach those below to deceive those above—among ten thousand, scarcely one keeps faith; the foolish masses jointly violate the Three Bonds (the three fundamental relations: ruler and minister, father and son, husband and wife), calling it rebellion while lacking trustworthiness. Their guilt is glaring; those below cannot hide it—it all appears above in the sun, moon, and the three lights. Therefore Heaven and Earth deeply abhor this and shorten their lives, causing early death. Without deeply examining how heavy their ten transgressions are, they wail and go on acting, yet say Heaven is cruel—what injustice is there? In truth they invite their own injustice; when would Heaven wrong you?”

(Inquirer:) “How dreadful! Excellent, excellent! This dull student has received your instruction.”

(Reply:) “Good. If you hold to this as a weighty precept, you can be free of calamity for ten thousand generations. …” (Later passages repeat the question-and-answer; the gist is the same: keep the precepts and there will be no trouble for ten thousand generations; it also says the short section is finished, and if the doubtful return to ask again, the answer is “yes, yes.”)

Right column: The great collection on difficult Dao, utmost sincerity, and Heaven’s precepts—shown to the worthy.

Note: This piece belongs to Book Ji of the Taiping Jing, titled “Precept on jealousy toward the Dao and not transmitting it to recluses who assist transformation.” Through question and answer it stresses that sins of unfilial conduct, disrespect for teachers, deceiving superiors, and destroying the Three Bonds are visible to the sun, moon, and three lights; Heaven and Earth therefore hasten short lives; what people call “Heaven’s cruelty” is mostly self-invited—they should keep this as a weighty precept for ten thousand generations. At the end of the scroll are markings from Taiping Jing Hejiao (Collected Collations of the Taiping Jing), scroll ninety-seven, the original scroll ninety-seven, and the sequence of section titles.

I, a person whose ignorance and benightedness grow more severe by the day and who do not comprehend the Great Dao, respectfully bow again and wish to ask about one matter: if I speak of it, I will surely be at fault; if I do not ask, my foolish mind cannot resolve it by itself. The Celestial Master said, “Speak.” The foolish student said: I have privately heard that the essential purport of the secret Dao teachings is the precious treasure of Heaven and Earth, the rare and wondrous thing of the world; therefore it is called “the Ultimate Dao is not transmitted” (the highest Dao is not lightly transmitted), and originally it is not something that ordinary people should hear, speak of, or use. But now the Celestial Master, my teacher, has fully opened “Taiping learning” (the path of teaching and moral transformation advocated in the Taiping Jing), commanding people to write essential texts on Dao and De and not to conceal them; and he says that those who conceal them will suffer heavenly condemnation, that even death cannot exempt them, and that it will extend to later generations. Moreover, he transmits all the true Dao and secret De. Is this not going too far? It makes no distinction between “petty persons” and “gentlemen.” The foolish student believes that the true Dao and secret De should not be heard, spoken of, or used by petty persons.

The Celestial Master rebuked him: “Bah! These words of yours bear a guilt deserving ten thousand deaths before August Heaven and Sovereign Earth (the deities of Heaven and Earth), and it cannot be exempted. Since Heaven and Earth were opened, people of later generations have become increasingly mean and envious of the Dao; petty persons block off the precious treasures of Heaven and Earth—this is a grave fault. Accumulated over time, it produces Chengfu (the cumulative retribution of good and evil that affects later generations), causing unending natural disasters; within Heaven and Earth the years are not peaceful; calamities, anomalies, and banditry are many; and the state is grieved by this—precisely from this it arises. The position you just stated is exactly the root of rebelling against Heaven and Earth, bringing governance into confusion, and making the common people difficult to govern. With these words you are forming a deep and grave enmity with Heaven. Wrong, wrong! They will cause you to lose your merit and fruition.” The foolish student asked, “What does this mean?” The Celestial Master said: “Now, by bringing out the essential Dao and good De to teach and transform, when petty persons receive it they abide by Dao and De, emulate and learn from one another, and dare not do evil; among them, those who have a little worthiness and virtue, having obtained good Dao and De, can become good and compliant people. It is that view of yours—to conceal and not transmit—that is wrong, and it will cause your merit and fruition to be lost.” The foolish student asked again, “What does this mean?”

This passage mainly teaches that the essential Dao and virtuous De should be widely taught and transformed through instruction—not reserved for a few.

August Heaven brings forth the essential Dao (the root Dao, the master plan for ordering the world and cultivating the self) and virtuous De (conduct in accord with the Dao) to instruct all under heaven. Ordinary people who receive them can uphold morality and De, take one another as models, and dare not do wrong. Those of modest worth can serve as compliant, good minor officials; great worthies can assist the state; even the least knowing can at least become good people.

Heaven uses the essential True Dao to generate and transform the myriad things, extending to domestic livestock (horses, oxen, pigs, sheep, chickens, dogs, and other farmed animals) and wild birds and beasts. The Four Seasons and Five Phases (the cycles of spring, summer, autumn, and winter together with the movements of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth) are the “true essential Dao” on which heaven and earth rely, and the “spirit and Qi” that heaven and earth treasure. Livestock and wild creatures all take this as their nature; plants and trees receive it in order to grow. If heaven did not grant this complete essential Dao to the myriad things, how could they nourish one another and grow together?

Yet the True Person (one who has attained the True Dao and teaches on heaven’s behalf) has said: petty people should not hear the essential Dao, should not speak of it, and should not use it. The spirits of heaven and earth wish to preserve every kind of life—are human beings really less able than livestock and plants to make good use of the essential Dao? The True Person knows: to keep insisting that “the essential Dao must not be transmitted to petty people” is a grave offense, for which ten thousand deaths would not atone.

The foolish disciple (a self-deprecating student) says: My time studying under the master has been short; I do not deeply understand the Dao of Heaven. Hearing the True Person’s words, I see how heavy my fault is—above I fail August Heaven, below I fail Sovereign Earth, and in between I fail a sovereign of great De.

The True Person replies: It is right that you withdraw and blame yourself. How can anything be treated without caution? August Heaven constantly watches alone what people speak from their mouths—why does resonance (echo and fulfillment) follow human speech to decide fortune and misfortune? Thus the fulfillment misses not a hair’s breadth. Do you not often observe this “vocal verification” of heaven and earth? You should be cautious with yourself and not speak rashly; the harm is very grave. You also say the supreme Dao is not transmitted to people—then how is knowledge passed on? Can the supreme Dao of “all categories” (every form of life) truly not be transmitted? The Dao of Heaven is without partiality—how could it exist only for one person?

The disciple answers: I will surely be cautious and restrained, and not act without proper form.

The True Person asks: Do you wish to be like vulgar petty people who also incite one another and begrudge the Dao of Heaven?

The disciple: I dare not, I dare not.

The True Person: Be strictly vigilant with yourself. When heaven’s anger strikes once, past offenses are not erased. The Dao of Heaven is on the point of being ruined by such talk—will you still add to it together?

The main point of the whole passage: The essential Dao, virtuous De, and the Four Seasons and Five Phases belong to the shared endowment of heaven and earth and should be spread through universal teaching. To hoard them und transmitted because of the label “petty people” both violates the impartiality of the Dao of Heaven and invites grave guilt on oneself. Those who transmit the Dao must be careful in speech, guard against falsehood, and must not join vulgar people in begrudging the Dao of Heaven or destroying the True Dao.

The reason emperors cannot govern the realm well and calamities are so frequent is fundamentally that (instruction) has all gone astray in just that way. One may speak plainly today: precisely because the true Dao has been cut off and heterodox paths have risen, the realm cannot be properly governed. Do you understand this in your heart? “Yes, yes.” “Having awakened to this, do you feel ashamed before the Celestial Master? You must always act with caution.” “Yes, yes. Now I feel that every word I speak may be wrong; I want to say nothing, yet I do not know what to do.” “Speak truthfully.” “Why is it that what people today ought not to hear, ought not to say, and ought not to use makes every word feel like a fault, so that one wants to say nothing yet does not know (how one should speak)?” “Speak truthfully.” “What are the things people today ought not to hear, ought not to say, and ought not to use?”

“It is this: what ordinary people should never hear in the first place is not the genuine essential Dao, not the genuine essential De. That is why the lowest, dullest teachers in the world, when instructing the young, do not earnestly teach them the secret essentials of the true Dao and true De, but instead use flashy, pretentious rhetoric and clever empty talk to teach common people. If great worthies learn such heterodox and false writings, they will together deceive the ruler from above; if middling worthies learn false writings, they become crafty officials who flatter and deceive the ruler above while jointly harming honest common people below; if the lowest foolish petty people learn them, they do unprincipled deeds—cheating their parents, scheming against neighbors, and some even become incorrigible bandits. Worthy and unworthy officials and commoners together forge fraud and wickedness, and none can stop the others. When they see crooked and perverse customs, they disorder the patterns of heaven above and the lay of the earth below, harm everything the Five Phases have brought into being, violate the nurturing that the four seasons should provide, jointly deceive those in authority, and the state falls into disorder with disasters beyond counting.

Yet the perfected persons (zhenren) say petty people should not hear the essential Dao and De, while they themselves use heterodox, clever, and fraudulent things to teach—making everyone in the realm dazzled and confused, all infected with the false and heterodox without knowing it, until everyone is utterly without the Dao? Therefore the perfected persons bear a crime deserving ten thousand deaths and may never be cleared again. What the realm ought not to hear, ought not to say, and ought not to use is precisely this kind of false writing—heterodox cleverness and great deceit are exactly what arise when there is no Dao. Therefore the perfected persons bear a crime deserving ten thousand deaths and may never be cleared again.”

Under heaven, among things that ought not to be heard, spoken, or used, what ought least to be heard is this kind of pseudo text (wèiwén)—scriptures falsely ascribed to divine intent and cobbled together at random. Crooked, cunning, and grossly deceitful conduct often takes root precisely in such writing. That is why heaven, when it sets law for the world and establishes teaching for a sovereign of De (a ruler who governs the realm by virtue), dares not mix in pseudo texts; it therefore opens the gate of Dao and De on purpose and blocks off the paths of craftiness and trickery.

This scripture takes Dao and De as its foundation, casts aside heterodox texts and artful false methods, and does not include them at all. Are you not struck by how odd that is? These are exactly what heaven treats as a plague and what emperors treat as a disaster. To explain further for the True Person (Zhenren, an accomplished cultivator): one must use the essential Dao and De (the core true Way and virtue) to instruct ordinary people. Superior worthies (shàngxián) can uphold Confucian and good virtue; middle worthies and above can serve the state as ministers of supreme virtue; worthies of the next rank can become officials who follow goodness; those still lower among the foolish can at least be cautious commoners who do not harm one another.

Heaven and earth, the four seasons, the Five Phases (Wuxing), the sun, moon, and stars—all nourish the twelve thousand kinds of things through the true Way and essential virtue, and even the six domestic animals, dung, soil, and plants live and grow only because they submit to this secret Way and essential virtue. If you judge people’s ultimate standing by what the True Person says, are people really beneath the six domestic animals and dung-soil grass? Tell me: do you not know that you still have sins so grave they are hard to wipe away even after ten thousand deaths?

Answer: “There are capital offenses, capital offenses. Do not plead that you do not understand.”

Question: “Since there are faults, what should be done?”

Answer: “To resolve these faults, on a Day of Removal (chú rì, an auspicious day for clearing out the old and making things new, often used for repentance and purification), go to a broad crossroads in open country, face the four directions and confess guilt: at each direction bow five times—first look up toward heaven, then bow your head to the ground.”

Answer: “Yes, yes. Celestial Master, why teach this foolish person so urgently today?”

Answer: “The urgency is because you are not the kind of True Person of high antiquity. When a True Person speaks, he touches what heaven and earth forbid. From the Most High and the middle ancient age onward, much of the world’s teaching has been jealous of the true Way and good virtue; people were taught to hide and cut off the true Way, instructed instead in crooked and crafty paths, and led foolish people to do wrong together.”

Great sages often withdraw from the world and keep to seclusion; what remains in society are lesser sages who take office yet lack the true Dao, and instead disturb the people. The lowest fools, having no Dao, rise up as bandits. Officials and commoners alike go astray, swarming like countless mosquitoes in a thunderous hum, jointly violating the signs of Heaven, ruining the Way of Heaven, and going against the intent of Earth—upsetting the qi of the four seasons and disordering the Five Phases. Then myriad calamities and anomalies arise; the three lights—sun, moon, and stars—lose their proper brilliance; emperors are utterly anguished; the realm falls into chaos; and government cannot find peace—the root of the trouble lies here. True Person, do you know how grave such offenses are? Heaven does not lightly pardon them. If I did not teach you clearly, you ought to make amends.

Therefore, what must be done in the open wilderness should be done in bright, spacious ground; the so-called “great thoroughfare in all directions” is so because the Dao governs and opens the way for all things. Entrusting affairs to the four seasons means Heaven sends qi to help you reach upward and connect with Heaven. The four seasons inherently carry benevolent virtue and generate the myriad beings; they can also, before Heaven and Earth, help you resolve your faults; in days to come, those who err will likewise need resolution as you do. From now on, Heaven will sternly punish human wickedness. Hence the noble person should strive for great goodness and must not sink into great evil. Be exceedingly careful! If even you must be so, how much more the worldly fools? They egg one another on, envy the right path, and hide the Dao—exactly so. You are right to say one should “constantly do good.”

Yet a single mistaken word can be called great rebellion against Heaven and Earth; from antiquity to the present, this has been what rulers most dread. But before a True Person, how could anyone be born a noble person? All are made through learning. Learn with the Dao, and one aligns with the Dao; learn with De, and one gains; learn with goodness, and one becomes good; learn with the utmost Dao, utmost goodness, and utmost De, and one’s goodness still increases without ceasing even in old age.

Plain-Language Explanation

Only those who truly carry the essential Dao and virtuous De in their hearts deserve to be called the kind of reclusive scholar who stays near the emperor yet does not take office—first-rank good people among humans, able to help the gentleman transform others. Those who refuse to serve in office are people who are especially careful and self-respecting.

What you study, you become: study what is bad and you turn bad; study ornament and you turn fond of literary airs; study hypocrisy and you turn false; study clever tricks and you turn slippery. Even among those with great sage reputations, many become people who are both clever and cautious, or clever with words; those steeped in books become clever with rhetoric. If petty people learn this same package, they become a cunning populace. Judging from a disciple’s inborn disposition, can they still be taught—and should they be?

The essential Dao and hidden De were originally meant to receive Heaven’s intent and align with Earth’s intent, so the state would long be stable and the emperor would live at ease. Now the opposite happens: they are cut off and forbidden. If you do not use the power of the essential Dao and virtuous De to transform people, people will suffer Heaven’s punishment, and guilt will not be cleared away.

〈Opening〉 Heaven takes the supreme Dao as what it practices; Earth takes the supreme De as what it returns to. The two together generate the myriad things—nothing is hidden, and there is no private favoritism. So the ancient sages took Heaven and Earth as their standard for action and used the power of the supreme Dao and essential De to transform the foolish, making them cautious and good so they could be governed. Today it is mostly blocked and shut off; the foolish then play tricks together, turn against Heaven’s Dao, and do not even feel they are doing wrong—the crux is that the true Dao and good De cannot be put into practice, many people suffer Heaven’s punishment, and death-deserving guilt cannot be removed.〈Closing〉

The foolish have no Dao; they do not avoid taboos and together offend Heaven and Earth, simply because they do not understand what matters in Dao and De.

I write in the book again and again, urging and stressing, because I fear people’s long habits have made them foolish: with one sentence they will not trust my text, so I write it again. People long accustomed to corrupt ways will even say what I say is wrong; and when the paths of the true Dao and hidden De are cut off and not followed, Heaven’s anger does not stop, the emperor is long in distress, and officials and commoners… (the original here repeats and is damaged; the gist is still: fear that people will not believe, guilt will not be cleared, and Heaven’s Dao will not be practiced.)

Brief Notes on Terms

• Essential Dao (yaodao) and hidden De (mide): Often paired in the Taiping jing; the fundamental “Dao” that should be practiced and the deep “De” that should be kept, corresponding to “supreme Dao” and “supreme De.”
• Transformative teaching by power (lihua): Using the power of the supreme Dao and essential De to transform and reshape hearts and customs.
• Reclusive scholar at the emperor’s court (chuwang zhi chushi): A type of person with talent and virtue who could assist the ruler without necessarily taking office.
• Opening and closing markers (qi / zhi): Signs in the scripture marking where a passage begins and ends, like section headings.

He also commanded that the gate of the true Dao and secret De be shut and no longer practiced; Heaven's anger did not cease, and the Supreme Lord was long afflicted with grief. Officials and common people had nowhere to turn; they followed one another in confusion like clouds and could not rescue one another. Try to lay my words before Heaven as a plea—precisely in order to remove these false writings and restore the correct Way. Everyone was blinded by heterodox texts; ignorance had piled up over time, so I have often charged the perfected ones to bring my Dao into the world, entrust it to the ruler of supreme De, show it to the multitude of worthies, and quickly test my Dao—then they will know my books are trustworthy and akin to Heaven and Earth. Without testing, how could one know their effect? Now, to guarantee that my Dao is not mistaken, what is sought is not trial by a single scroll alone. Perfected ones, be careful! "Yes, yes." "Go. Always heed my words; do not lightly change them or speak rashly." "Yes, yes." "Bring them forth without hiding; let ordinary people, in speech and learning, know where gain and loss lie, and no longer act recklessly." "Yes, yes."

(Above: resolving what people commonly should not hear, should not speak, and should not use—cutting off the false and issuing the true text.)

On Serving the Teacher as One Serves One's Father: When Words Are Spoken, They Become Established as Method and Decree — Section 155

"what the foolish student has said does not hit the heart of the Celestial Master; I often receive heavy punishment and dare not rashly ask more. Again the year ends, and I still cannot know. I wish to ask one more question." "Speak plainly—why be so modest? Not knowing and yet asking is the usual rule." "Now, in teaching ordinary people with the foremost Dao and essential De, do they really not understand it greatly?" "Well said, your words! How could there be one who knows it greatly? Why do you doubt this?" "I have heard: when a disciple's wisdom surpasses the teacher's, or a minister's wisdom surpasses the ruler's, it is called lower worth surpassing the upper— and that is deemed improper."

The master (Xing) said: You wish to understand further the great efficacy involved. By the age of the Five Emperors, the Dao had already begun to decline in small ways, so ruler and minister could no longer consult and uplift one another through virtue and morality. Those of the same school were called companions; those who shared the same purpose were called friends—yet though ruler and minister were still somewhat on equal footing, they could no longer hold each other in the high regard they once did. The essential Dao and hidden De (Virtue/Power) were gradually blocked and no longer passed through, so there was no one fit to serve as a teacher; people could only relate as friends.

In the age of the Three Kings, those who should have been teachers often envied learning and sealed away the true Dao and extraordinary De; disciples grew more foolish and ignorant day by day, while writing ever more florid prose that left rulers’ governance in confusion. Their virtue was too thin to be honored like a father, and too thin to be treated like a friend—so they could only be handled as one handles a son. Their wisdom was insufficient to counsel the sovereign on whether order or chaos, ease or hardship, lay ahead; heaven and earth grew ever more benighted and ever more dependent on empty words, and royal rule grew daily more confused.

When virtue had thinned so much that neither fatherly nor friendly honor was due—only the manner owed to a son—and when wit was so scant that they could not plan for the sovereign’s fortunes, heaven and earth were greatly angered and disasters followed one after another without end. The root of great calamity lies here. Do you understand?

The disciple answered deferentially.

The master said: You have begun to awaken; I will explain further. Today the ministers of the Five Hegemons possess no true virtue or morality. They know only cunning fraud and slippery deceit and cheat one another; as ministers they excel in crooked, slick, and flattering arts, using them to startle and bewilder one another—sometimes even more than their lord. Hence repeated rebellion: sons killing fathers, ministers killing rulers, the lower striking the upper; every heart held faithlessness like that of barbarians, every person possessed tricks of artifice, every one harbored treacherous intent. Without the true Dao, rebellion came again and again. Therefore there were axe-and-drill punishments (execution by torture), and ministers were regarded as names already on the roll of the dead. Those ministers all nursed flattering prose and abundant cunning; the Dao was not weighty enough to command respect, so the ruler looked on them as if each carried treacherous hearts. Without the true Dao, they rebelled time and again—hence axe and drill, and ministers treated as the dead-listed. Ministers nursed flattering prose and abundant cunning; the Dao did not suffice for honor, so they were seen like livestock—this is clear proof.

Therefore the sages of old followed the heart of heaven, sought out bearers of the true Dao, virtuous scholars, and humane persons, and cast aside flattery, falsehood, and slippery fraud, to align with the heart of august heaven.

Opening (dialogue)

For this reason, the Way I teach fully opens the Ji Gate (the auspicious path that accords with Heaven and the Dao) and firmly shuts the Xiong Hu (the baleful portal of going against Heaven and losing the Way); it does not allow hua zhi (crafty small cleverness and stratagems that can overpower the ruler) to pass through.

(Heaven or the master says to the disciple:) “Do you understand?” “Yes, yes.” “Be ever so careful.”

Ministers and rulers in upper, middle, and lower antiquity

In high antiquity, ministers often enjoyed xian shou (long life, even attainment of immortality), and so could also extend their ruler’s life. In middle antiquity, ministers mostly huai daode (held Daode in the heart), so their rulers were often free of worry. In lower antiquity, ministers often lacked the true Dao and were dull and dark, so they frequently left their rulers dull and dark as well.

When the ruler grows foolish, state affairs stay chaotic and muddled, and Tianxin (Heaven’s approval and protection) is not obtained. The ministers of ba jun (lords who rule by force and stratagem) are all ning wei (flattering and false); they abound in hua qiao zha (slyness, artifice, and fraud) and together yinghuo (bewilder) their lord, so the ruler loses Tian zheng lu (Heaven’s right path) and instead enters the Xiong Hu, thereby incurring great resentment from Tian (Heaven).

(Again:) “Do you understand? Therefore such governance is baleful and cannot last long. The Zhenren (True Person who serves Heaven and carries out its charge) who speaks for Heaven must be cautious day by day and must not speak rashly from momentary impulse. What is said should become cheng fa (binding norms and principles that can be followed). If words do not become jing (proper scripture aligned with the Dao), it is better to mo (keep silent). To speak and miss the mark brings deep guilt that is hard to remove.”

“Yes, yes.” “Go; you already know.”

Title and fascicle

Right column: Zhi Xian Guo Qi Jun Nan Jie Jue—a “decree-verse” on “when the worthy minister’s wisdom surpasses the ruler and is hard to make understood” (placed on the right, i.e., the gist of this fascicle).

Taiping Jing Hejiao Fascicle 98, Section Yi, Part 13; Taiping Jing Fascicle 98; Shen Si Ren Shou Ben Yin You Jue, the one hundred fifty-sixth (a related decree on “spirits overseeing people, guarding the root, and yin protection” in the same fascicle).

Summary

• Ji Gate / Xiong Hu: Accords with the Dao of Heaven and the gate of blessing opens; turns against the Dao of Heaven and one enters the baleful portal; ministers must not use “hua zhi” to overpower and mislead the ruler.
• Upper, middle, and lower antiquity: When ministers have the Dao, the ruler lives long and the state is secure; when ministers lack the true Dao, the ruler grows foolish, government falls into disorder, and Tianxin is lost.
• Hegemonic lords and sycophantic ministers: Flattery and falsity dazzle the ruler, who loses Heaven’s right path, bears Heaven’s resentment, and the dynasty cannot endure.
• The Zhenren’s duty of speech: Speaking for Heaven requires daily caution; words must become cheng fa and proper jing; missing the mark brings deep guilt—better to remain silent.

Someone asked the Celestial Master (Tianshi): “I have a very great doubt.” The Master said: “Speak.”

〈Begin〉

The person said: Now that the Celestial Master has opened wide the way of Heaven (tiandao) and collated the words in the ancient books of the Dao one by one, fixing what is truly to be transmitted as secret Dao—the true Dao (zhen Dao) is often rich in goodness, and its written words can enter the spirit (ru shen): they enable a person to resonate with the spirits and to govern together with them (whether in body-and-mind or in affairs). Whatever cultivation can truly enter the spirit is the true Dao. The true Dao is mostly accomplished in hidden places: some cultivate in a quiet chamber (jingshi) and leave the world in transcendence; some enter and leave the quiet chamber for a time and still cannot depart; some can only see the spirits yet cannot leave throughout their whole life. 〈End〉

Those who can truly transcend the world and depart are perhaps not one in ten thousand; those who attain great longevity, not one in a thousand; those who attain modest longevity, not one in a hundred; those who live out a full span of years are roughly in the same proportions. Among all who seek learning under heaven, not one in ten thousand becomes a high official, not one in a thousand a middle official, not one in a hundred a low official. As for supporting a household by tilling the fields, not one in ten thousand amasses tens of millions, not one in a thousand tens of thousands, not one in a hundred a million. In everything it is so: the many are at the root and ordinary; those who transcend the world or gain wealth and rank are few.

I am deeply troubled by this. In cultivating the Dao, what should one take as the great precepts (da jie) in order to “grow up” as a person? In study, what great precepts lead to high office? In managing livelihood and gathering wealth, what great precepts lead to riches? If one does not rely on the Celestial Master’s power to clear up these questions, I fear one will remain in darkness forever, the Dao will not open, and there will be no way to know.

The Celestial Master (or the assembled perfected ones) answered: “Well asked! What the perfected ones ask is exactly the hard point. Heaven sent you to ask. Good.” 〈End〉

Note: In the base text, “one great matter of doubt” and the later “great precepts” may be corrupt; common emendations read the question as being about “great precepts”; here the passage is rendered coherently according to the wording of the scripture as it stands.

The Zhenren (True Person) speaks to the disciple in direct transmission, explaining how to study the True Dao and how to relate to the stirrings and disturbances of Shen (spirit).

The Zhenren asks the disciple to sit quietly and listen with full attention, setting out the teaching clearly so that later generations may follow it in practice. The heart of the True Dao lies in enabling a person to communicate and interact with Shen. Shen chiefly oversees affairs in the human world: they draw near to those who act with goodness, and toward those who do not act with goodness they bring alarm and fear. Shen do not linger at a person’s side to argue or debate; their comings and goings are like a flock of birds—endlessly shifting and transforming. Shen may say that someone is about to depart (meaning the end of life), or that one will become rich and noble or poor and lowly; they may praise others or slander them, or make a person wildly joyful, or keep them trapped in anger and distress. Shen are originally formless and imageless, changing without limit. If a person can hold the mind in single-minded self-restraint, not lightly believing such words—examining them inwardly before acting—keeping the mouth closed and not spreading spirit-speech carelessly, and not following sudden joy, sudden anger, sudden worry, or sudden fear, but firmly guarding one’s proper place without wavering, secretly intending benefit for other people and all things and not wishing to harm anyone, then after one full year of studying the Dao one will habitually practice supreme goodness, seeking only to help others and not to injure them, pursuing the Dao and doing good without slackening even into old age. In such a case, among ten thousand outcomes, fortune prevails and misfortune is rare. The host of Shen will in turn jointly protect and bless this person, so that day by day they delight in goodness and no longer wish to do evil.

The Zhenren then names why learning the Dao easily goes wrong: the human heart is not single and pure, and is quick to joy and anger, quick to shock and confusion; one loves to talk, is sharp-tongued and clever in debate, often judging others’ good and evil, unable to keep things hidden within—whenever there is an opening, one wants to speak and cannot be stopped. In that state, the host of Shen will together come to deceive and unsettle this person.

Plain-Language Reading of Taiping Jing (Collated Edition)

Some people’s conduct is crooked: they spread demonic talk upward and may even lose their lives. Some argue again and again, speak without restraint, and talk nonsense. Some are shaken by ghosts and spirits, then hide and dare not speak. After such things, they want to speak but cannot control themselves. When it is like this, the host of spirits may also join in deceiving them. Other un upright people die because of demonic speech, or because of quarrelsome and reckless words, or go mad from being terrified by ghosts and spirits.

When the mind is overstrained and not single-minded, joy and anger have no steady measure, affairs stray from the right path, and the spirit is unsettled with no fixed standard, one loses the help of the worthy and may come to ruin. Great disaster often comes from “not loving benefit”: those above refuse to let those below share benefit, listen to evil spirits, and instead wish to harm people—so they drive the wise away and lose good assistants.

For petty people, refusing to respect those above while listening to evil spirits’ fraud and wild talk is exactly why the Dao does not take hold and calamity arrives. Failures of this kind pile up beyond full listing. The Perfected Person here only sets out the great Dao’s main lines and beginnings so that the clear-sighted may read the scripture closely and see the details for themselves.

(The Perfected Person asks) “Does the Perfected Person understand?” (Answer) “Yes, yes, I understand.”

(The Perfected Person says) “Good—you have awakened deeply. Keep this text of mine as a solemn warning and act accordingly, and for ten thousand generations you may escape harm. Later generations who read my writings should see the main points from top to bottom and act on them; in ten thousand cases not one will miss. Guard it without casting it away, and completion comes naturally. With a devoted, good heart one can commune with the spirits; with a crooked, ill-willed heart the Dao is sure to be lost.”

Those in high position who do not listen to the Way with full attention often lose their rightful standing; those in low position who do not listen with full attention easily bond with demonic and heterodox influences. All of this truly harms the person—one must be doubly on guard. When ordinary people err in what they do, the fault is mostly self-invited. Calamity and sudden change often arise from within the chest and heart; they do not fly in from nowhere outside. Do the perfected ones understand this?

The disciple replied: Yes, yes. Harm invited by oneself is truly frightening; one cannot but be greatly vigilant and careful. When people err, it is all self-invited; calamity and change are close in the chest and heart and do not come from elsewhere. Do the perfected ones know this?

Answer: Yes, yes. How dreadful! How dreadful!

The perfected one said again: If you can know fear and dread, you may count as having entered the true Way. Dull learners awaken greatly at this point; the worthy should take it as their practice. Act accordingly and you can long enter the gate of fortune and shut the door to misfortune; the paths of life and death become clearer too. Follow this and days of ill fortune grow distant while days of good fortune draw near. Since you already know, there is no need to admonish you again and again.

Disciple: Yes, yes.

Opening Those who walk according to the Way and through study attain high office must fix this mind. Anyone who seeks learning: from the day they enter the gate, they keep one heart and one focus, always intending protection, benefit to others, and benevolence, and do not speak false words; from youth to old age they study without stopping until there is nothing new left to learn—not because gaining office is their joy, but because they love reading in itself and single-mindedly wish to penetrate the Way of the scriptures, accumulating good without cease; their name is established, the Way of the scriptures is fulfilled, and they deeply understand how calamities and changes in ancient and modern times arise. In conduct and study they benefit those above and help those below; the fame of accumulated good must not be hidden—it spreads in all four directions. Clear-sighted rulers favor them and summon them; the people all call it good and call it greatly auspicious—such a person is the one, and others speak joy on their behalf. This is the good person who studies and du shi (delivers the world). Closing Do the perfected ones know this?

Disciple: Yes, yes.

Some teachers further warn their disciples: people who are unqualified and ill-suited may enter the gate of learning today yet not sincerely seek the true Dao or sound teaching (correct, beneficial instruction). They only want wide learning and exposure, imagining that this alone can reach the utmost of the sage. They are unwilling to practice and do good; instead they favor ornate, empty rhetoric to deceive and pose as virtuous.

Some have already entered the way of the scriptures (cultivation according to the classics) yet lack single-minded devotion. They often indulge in false speech (empty or untrue words), take skill in debate as their talent and harming others as their business—disrespectful to those above, unhelpful and unloving to those below. Their conduct does not match the emptiness of the scriptural way; they are unfit to serve as worthy ministers to a ruler, yet they play the part of upright elders (those who keep rules and appear aged and virtuous). They use others’ goods to advance themselves, seek high office and fame, seize profit by theft, and use public trust for private gain—harmful above, exploitative below. Such people corrupt right governance; they are harm to Heaven and Earth, thieves of the state, tigers and wolves among the people, and evil sons in the eyes of their parents.

Heaven and Earth detest them; ghosts and spirits abhor them. When their guilt is exposed, rulers repeatedly execute them to align with Heaven’s heart and remove great harm from the people—this is how those who excel at deception gain office.

Some lack focused intent; inwardly they are empty, without genuine steadfastness (true holding to the Dao), yet they fix their hearts on official rank. Office is a charge overseen by the stellar constellations of Heaven, given to reward the virtuous and meritorious—not handed casually to the undeserving. Those without merit receive no regard from Heaven and Earth and no protection from the spirits. The deeply foolish do not know their own wickedness; they fantasize about receiving celestial office (rank granted by Heaven) again and again. Malevolent spirits and the like descend upon their minds (disturb their hearts), driving them to false speech and then heterodox talk (wild, harmful doctrine) they cannot stop. Sometimes they die because of such talk—this is meant. It is not only that failing to grasp the meaning of cultivation brings misfortune; whatever ordinary people do, if they refuse to delight in good and persist in evil, their false and heterodox words will also bring disaster.

The Scripture of Great Peace — Plain-Language Reading

Main idea of the passage: The same holds for cultivation: if one cannot grasp its true meaning, misfortune follows. In ordinary life, those who are unwilling to gladly do good meet much danger. The True Person (Zhenren)—a guide who has attained the Way—encourages you: you wish to turn toward good and often think of benefiting others and helping affairs; that already counts as a measure of awakening.

〈Stop〉 Even so, the True Person warns: ordinary people who believe they have already been delivered or already obtained the Dao often do so too soon—the decisive point is not how well things began at the start; failure usually comes later, because they do not cherish themselves, think too highly of themselves, and boast that they are already delivered, with the result that they err and are not truly delivered. That is why I must go on speaking today: the True Person (heaven’s intent) compels me not to fall silent. I would rather hold my tongue and seek ease, yet I fear failing the True Person; if the True Person is displeased, the complaint goes up to Heaven, and Heaven in turn sends calamity upon me—so I dare not stop speaking or lightly abandon my study midway. Do you understand?

“Yes, yes.”

“Listen: the misfortunes of ordinary people are often of this kind—they think they understand before they truly understand, which does not accord with the root meaning, and so they fail. You already have great merit before Heaven; you must strive, and strive again.”

“Yes, yes. I dare not lightly abandon my study halfway.”

“Good—you already know the method of delivering yourself; I need add nothing further. Let me set out for the True Person yet another kind of case: there are those who delight in managing the household, storing wealth, and seeking riches and honor. In youth they labor to the utmost; they think long over their actions and only stop when strength is spent. They can praise others’ good and conceal others’ faults, always applying the mind gladly to good; they are respectful, cautious, and deferential to those above. In every doubt they are wary and restrained and dare not act rashly; they also care for those below and do not wish to harm people, do not violate the king’s law, and do not take pleasure in following heterodox rites or vulgar eating and drinking. Whatever is not urgent, they dare not join in; though intelligent, they act in this way and to old age remain as humble as if they knew nothing. Though solid within, outwardly they are as if empty; their mouths do not speak lightly—thus they can gather precious goods and wealth and thereby complete a human life. The worthy and the unworthy differ in what they set their hearts upon.”

Note: This passage belongs to the genre of admonition by the True Person in the Scripture of Great Peace; “True Person” often means one who understands the Way of Heaven and speaks on Heaven’s behalf; “deliverance” (du) means being saved or attaining the Way; “〈Stop〉” is a section break marker in the received text. The second half lists the conduct of one who “manages the household, stores wealth, and gains riches and honor”—unlike the more familiar theme of “ abandoning wealth to cultivate the Way”—and shows how the Scripture of Great Peace values “acting with goodness and accumulating accomplishment into virtue.”

There is a kind of person who is not good: they slight their elders and harm those below them, delight in perverse rites, act in haste and bustle in and out of the marketplace, speak with the mouth in reckless falsehood and cannot endure restraint—such people either head toward disorder, danger, and ruin, or simply are not walking the Dao. Do you understand? “Yes, yes.”

Therefore those who walk the Dao must single-point your heart, govern your mouth, and not speak rashly. The sages of old, because they clearly saw the way of Heaven, were able to walk the Dao and keep De. Heaven is single-pointed: it runs day and night without speaking, and so can alone obtain good fortune. Earth runs day and night without speaking, nourishing the ten thousand things, and so can long remain alone in peace. The four seasons each keep to their own way, day and night without cease, and so can constantly alone bring kingship to flourish without end. The three luminaries each walk the true Dao in singleness, running day and night without speaking, and so can always be bright, following Heaven in their course. The five phases each walk the true Dao without speaking, and so can be as constant as Heaven and Earth.

All in the world who walk the Dao take such principles as their model—more than words can exhaust. Therefore they can cherish and benefit the mouth, not speak falsely, and the Dao can be attained. If anyone wishes to treat these lightly, to neglect them and go against my words, they will be harmed by the Dao—without fail.

The perfected person came from afar to ask about difficulties, and so these things are set forth to admonish you. When you receive the book, ponder it and hold it in mind; I do not fail you. I speak on Heaven’s behalf, using this to warn the sovereign of highest De. A sovereign of De is Heaven’s gift; such a one will surely love the Dao, and the people will also follow their ruler in practice. All should take these words as a great precept, and then they can obtain good fortune and keep far from calamity. Bring this book forth and use it to warn the most foolish among people—by no means hide it away.

“Yes, yes. I will go and put it into practice. How is it that these precepts seem small yet are really great, seem thin yet are really thick? What does that mean?”

“Yes—hold fast to the words of the text: they seem only small talk, yet they keep calamity far away. Bring this book forth and use it to warn the most foolish among people—by no means hide it away.”

Question: “Yes, yes. Please explain. These precepts seem very small, yet in fact they are very great; they seem very thin, yet in fact they are very thick. What does this mean?”

Answer: “It is so. If you look only at the surface of the words, they seem brief; yet the precepts and norms within them carry real weight. If you look only at the phrasing, it may seem like the talk of ordinary debaters—shallow and unworthy of being passed down; yet when you see how it admonishes people and how it helps them attain the Dao, the content runs deep. I, as a True Person (Zhenren), establish the Dao for the world: in the large sense it can reach boundless vastness; in the small sense it can penetrate to the innermost depth. From the divine person above down to the servant below, all must be taken into account. Why? So that when the great person practices it, it holds; when the small person practices it, it holds; when the sage practices it, it holds; when the common people practice it, it holds.”

Question: “Why? I wish to hear the reasoning behind this.”

Answer: “Well asked! You have grasped the main point. This scripture of mine is written for the sovereign of Great Peace (Taiping). A sovereign of Great Peace who governs the realm should take Heaven as the model and cannot be like a small state that cares only for one region. Therefore Heaven, as the object of imitation: there is none more honored than its honor, none more lowly than its lowliness; nothing larger lacks an outer limit, nothing smaller lacks an inner limit. Heaven nurtures twelve thousand kinds of beings; whether good or evil, great or small, it favors and protects them all, bestowing primordial Qi (yuanqi) so they may live and grow, and at the end does not harm them at will. Thus to be Heaven is to be most worthy of being called divine and most worthy of being called the supreme sovereign. Now that the qi of the Upper Sovereign (Shanghuang) has arrived and a sovereign of virtue holds power, legislation and the practice of the Dao should follow this standard. Therefore my Dao rises and falls, sinks and floats, so that all the worthy may examine and discern it together. Hence in the southeast there is the Earth Gate (Dihu), and the pillar-of-heaven waters; it does not go against the force of the smallest stream; good and evil, great and small, all turn toward that place. Do you understand, True Person?”

Answer: “Yes, yes.”

Note: “Qi of the Upper Sovereign” (Shanghuang qi) refers in the Taiping jing system to an auspicious, world-ordering force; “Earth Gate” and “pillar-of-heaven waters” are cosmological terms for the structure of Heaven and Earth and the gathering of water-qi—here stressing that the Way of Heaven embraces everything and does not reject even the finest stream, in line with the sovereign of Great Peace who “takes Heaven as law.”

This passage belongs to a “formula” (jue) style chapter in the vein of the Taiping Jing: though the teaching could go on indefinitely, to preserve the full text it pauses briefly here—each person should take what was heard and read into the heart and turn it over again and again.

If you cultivate the Dao yet never grasp the root meaning, it is like clearly pointing south while asking about the north—mind and method pull in opposite directions. If the heart stays this way, however many years you study, you will still find it hard to truly obtain the fruit. What should be done must not be left undone; at this point in the teaching, you as disciple ought already to understand.

What is marked on the right is the essential formula in the “Collection of Difficult Dao Precepts” (ji nan dao jie) on whether practice of “learning to govern life”—cultivating the person and methods for transcending the world—succeeds or fails, and where auspicious and inauspicious outcomes come from. The same section also bears the title “Formula 158 on Verifying the Text and Long Life” (he wen shou chang jue), a jue chapter on checking the scripture against themes of longevity. Lines such as “for now pause briefly; each return to reflect within the breast” connect with what precedes: read them together as urging a short rest, then inwardly digest whether practice succeeds or fails and what gives rise to good or ill fortune—and do not again “practice the Dao without grasping its intent.”

Someone asked the Celestial Master (Tianshi): I wish to ask about something that has long puzzled me. I would like to inquire of you, Master, concerning the essential teaching on wen—classics and written records: Is there truly someone with whom one can work together for long, from antiquity to the present, without ever growing weary of each other? May I hear such a teaching?

The Celestial Master replied: You may. Do you wish, by checking various documents, to discover where the worthy person truly stands? Very well. Sit at ease; I will explain this for the perfected one (Zhenren).

The Celestial Master then used a series of analogies: Writings may pile up in hundreds of millions of scrolls, yet if they cannot lengthen life, what benefit do they bring to one’s fate and body? Documents may fill the house, yet if they cannot bring peace under Heaven and clear governance, what benefit do they bring to rule? Ministers may fill the court, yet if they cannot bring peace to the realm and secure the sovereign in his place, what benefit do they bring to the emperor? A person may beget a hundred sons, yet if his parents go hungry and cold, what benefit do that bring to father and mother? Prescriptions may fill several cartloads, yet if they cannot extend years, what benefit do they bring to human life? Words may flow without end, yet if they cannot remove calamities for the sovereign, what benefit do they bring to the court? Such cases in the world are innumerable. The Celestial Master only lifts the main rope and shows the beginning of the pattern for the perfected one, so that each worthy person may examine it deeply for himself.

The questioner asked again: I hope to know the practical effect within this. May your disciple learn it?

The Celestial Master answered: Very well. Sit steady, gather your spirit in single-pointed attention, and then I will speak for you.

The Celestial Master said: Though writings accumulate in hundreds of millions of scrolls, only those that can increase human lifespan, benefit one’s allotted life, and settle body and mind are zhenwen—authentic scripture; all the rest are not. Though documents fill the room, only those that align Heaven’s will, bring peace under Heaven, and set affairs in order are authentic scripture; all the rest are not. Though ministers fill the court, only those who secure the sovereign’s ease and help him attain great peace are the sovereign’s true loyal ministers and good officials; all the rest merely fill auxiliary posts. Though a person bears one son, only when the parents constantly enjoy peace and neither hunger nor cold are they a filial and worthy son; all the rest merely make up the count. Though prescriptions pile cart upon cart, only those that truly benefit the years are zhenfang—genuine formulas; all the rest are not. Judgments of this kind throughout the world are many; it is impossible to state them all in advance.

(The dialogue that follows repeats the foregoing; the meaning is the same: the Celestial Master again insists on “raising the main rope and showing the beginning,” requiring each person to discern for himself what counts as authentic scripture, true minister, filial son, and genuine formula.)

The Real Person should reflect deeply on the meaning of the scripture. I, speaking as the Real Person of Great Peace, use “one” to extend to “ten thousand,” and that is enough to make the great Dao of all under heaven clear. For this reason the Real Person was charged to transmit the Dao to the sovereign of supreme De, and to verify and collate every passage written by literati that does not match the sacred books, displaying it plainly for all the worthy to see, so that everyone may awaken together and be freed from confusion.

When every text has been verified and collated, the days of calamity will depart. Heterodox writings and heterodox words are precisely the “masters” of treachery and disaster; orthodox writings and orthodox words are the force that drives away treachery and wicked officials. When writings are orthodox and words are orthodox, fraud has no master and has nowhere to lodge or stand. Heterodox writings and words are like thieves who have a master to hide them; once the master is gone, the thieves can no longer come to rest. Does the Real Person understand this as well?

(Answer: Yes, yes.)

(It is also said:) In practice, the Way of Heaven establishes law by using one to illuminate ten thousand; it is impossible to write everything out in full. When the Real Person receives this, you should ponder its essential meaning for yourself. The mind of the wise has nine openings and is easy to penetrate; upon seeing the scripture you will awaken greatly on your own, and need not ask again.

(Answer: Yes, yes.)

Too much writing in turn confuses people; it is better to raise a single main cord and let the myriad threads arrange and spread themselves. When the myriad people are in turmoil, one emperor is better than that; among the countless stars, one sun’s brightness is better; the babble of the crowd under heaven is not equal to one worthy person in a whole realm; the Way of Heaven is vast and endless, yet nothing surpasses one Qi holding the thread of fate together with heaven and earth. Worthy persons and sovereigns of supreme De who ponder my words deeply will enjoy long life; if later generations all reflect on my words together, fathers will be kind and sons filial, the day will grow broader and brighter, mothers will be loving and daughters-in-law obedient, and the whole realm will rise as one toward worthiness and goodness.

Whether high or low in station, everyone strives to do good; those who come later in the tradition need not compete to prove themselves superior. People in the world often fail to see that perverse doctrines and heterodox teachings also exist, and treacherous flatterers use this to conceal their selfish motives. Only when disasters and calamities have been fully cleared away can the “three lights”—sun, moon, and stars—shine bright. The method of aligning with Ziran (naturalness) is the path that the gods together practice in pure unity. If cultivation can truly reach this, how could great joy be harmed? To set it up as a norm is the very operation of the Dao of Heaven. Who recorded it in writing? The spirits between Heaven and Earth. The scripture used for verification resonates with Heaven and Earth like a seal sent down from above. Rulers above and worthies below should all clearly perceive this together.