《赤松子中诫经》

The Yellow Emperor paid his respects to Chisongzi, a legendary immortal, and asked for instruction: “I see that the destinies of the people are not the same. Some are wealthy and noble, others poor and lowly; some live long, others die young; some suffer imprisonment without cause, some are ill for a long time, some have no disease yet die suddenly, and still others live long and enjoy blessings and emolument. Why are there such differences? Please explain this to me.”

Chisongzi replied: “Each person corresponds to a star, and the stars differ in size. They bear upon a person’s bodily form, and they also affect length of life, the rise and decline of fortune, wealth and poverty, and life and death. One who does good is sheltered by good Qi (vital energy); blessings and virtue follow, evil Qi withdraws, spirits stand guard, and others respect him, so calamity stays far away. One who does evil is enveloped by baleful Qi; disasters come one after another, good fortune turns aside, inauspicious stars shine upon him, people detest him, and decline and sickness gather upon him.

From morning to night each day, what a person thinks in the heart and what he actually does, whether good or evil, may secretly offend the prohibitions of Heaven and Earth, draw down Heaven’s punishment, and accumulate sins and faults. If a person does evil day after day, the spirit who presides over lifespan reports his conduct to the stars and reduces his years. The Qi of Heaven departs from him and the Qi of Earth attaches to him; therefore it is said that he moves toward decline.”

The Yellow Emperor asked again: “In principle, how long a lifespan should a person have in one lifetime?”

Chisongzi replied: “When a person is born, Heaven bestows a lifespan of forty-three thousand eight hundred days, amounting to one hundred and twenty years. One year corresponds to one year of age, so when each person receives his allotted life, one hundred and twenty is the span. If he offends the prohibitions of Heaven and Earth, that lifespan is reduced. The Qi of Heaven departs and the Qi of Earth attaches, and therefore he declines.”

The Yellow Emperor asked again, “How many years can a person ordinarily live?”

Master Red Pine replied, “When a person is born, Heaven bestows a lifespan of forty-three thousand eight hundred days, that is, one hundred and twenty years. One year corresponds to one year of age, so the span received at birth is in every case one hundred and twenty years. If one violates the prohibitions of Heaven and Earth, that lifespan is reduced until it comes to an end.”

The Yellow Emperor asked again, “Some die while still in the womb, and some live only a few years before they die. They have not yet done anything—what prohibition have they violated?”

Master Red Pine replied, “This is calamity left by the offenses of the ancestors, which implicates later generations. From ancient times, the worthy and wise established teachings and admonitions and set them down in the Scripture of the Immortals (Xianjing), a Daoist classic. All of them urge people to do good and to recognize the various kinds of evil. Only such people can leave a good name that endures, and can also bring blessing to their descendants.

“Human beings live between Heaven and Earth and are endowed with the two Qi (vital energy) of Yin and Yang (Yin-Yang). Heaven seems lofty and remote, yet it responds to the human world; Earth seems lowly, yet it communicates with Heaven. Heaven does not speak, yet the four seasons proceed in their proper time. Though no words pass between Heaven and Earth, the myriad things continue to grow. Standing between Heaven and Earth, a person’s thoughts, feelings, and desires, and every single action, are all known to Heaven and Earth. Thus it is said that Heaven and Earth know all things.

“People do not repay the kindness of Heaven and Earth; instead they often speak in resentment against them. Heaven gives life to the myriad things and nourishes them, and through the celestial image of the Qian hexagram it is likened to parents. The sun and moon are like the eyes, and the stars are like the nine orifices of the human body. The stirring of the wind and the heat of fire are transformed into a person’s warm breath. When life comes to an end, the body at last returns to the soil.

“The Three Terraces (Santai, stellar officials) in heaven, the North Star (Beichen), the Director of Lifespan (Siming, the deity who governs the length of life), and the Director of Records (Silu, the deity who records merit and fault) dispatch the envoy tally-clerks of the Great One (Taiyi). These constantly keep watch above a person’s head, inspect offenses, and deduct years from the lifespan. If one year is deducted, the starlight above the head dims somewhat, and that person meets many hardships. If ten years are deducted, the starlight gradually becomes broken and incomplete, and that person encounters calamity, decline, and illness. If twenty years are deducted, the starlight grows dim, and that person falls into distress and grave sickness, and may also suffer punishment and imprisonment. If thirty years are deducted, the starlight scatters and goes out, and that person dies. If the allotted years are deducted entirely, so that one cannot live out the span fixed by Heaven, the calamity extends to later generations as well. Descendants suffer misfortune without end, and this may even bring the lineage to extinction.

“People do not know what fault they have committed, and say only that life is short. In truth, Heaven does not deceive human beings, but gives warning through every kind of sign. The alternation of day and night and the changes of Yin and Yang, thunder and lightning, rain and snow, rainbows and halos around the sun and moon, eclipses of the sun and of the moon, comets and meteors—all these are the portents of Heaven. Earth likewise does not deceive human beings. It manifests portents through resonance and through the growth of the myriad things. Rivers flow, and they also run dry. The collapse of mountains and the quaking of the earth, strange winds and unusual trees, flying sand and rushing stones, floods and insect plagues, famine and drought, miasma and epidemic disease—all these are the portents of Earth. Ghosts and spirits, for their part, make things known to people through fortune and misfortune, strange anomalies, and signs of disaster or good auspice. If a ruler governs properly, Heaven and Earth are harmonious, the stars move in due order, calamities recede, the four quarters submit, and the people are at peace. This, too, is the confirming sign of a sovereign’s government.

“In a person’s conduct, speech, and intention, nothing can be hidden from Heaven and Earth. Therefore the sages say, ‘August Heaven has no partiality; it assists only those who possess De (Virtue/Power).’ One should revere the mandate of Heaven, revere great persons who possess De and hold high station, and also revere the teachings of the sages. Of the good and evil that ordinary people do in secret each day, Heaven and Earth know the circumstances in full. When living beings are killed in secret, the divine spirits can see the traces of the act. Words in the heart, words from the mouth, and words in one’s intention—ghosts and spirits can hear them all. When violations of the prohibitions reach one hundred, ghosts and spirits seize and draw in a person’s Jing (essence) and Qi. When they reach one thousand, the underworld records that person’s bodily form. If one does evil day after day, the cangue and chains will soon be fastened upon the body. This is the retribution of Yin and Yang. August Heaven warns the people of the world with these principles. If one still transgresses, the ghosts and spirits of Heaven and Earth will send down disaster.”

The Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) asked again, “When immortals do good or do evil, what signs appear? And what is it like to receive the recompense of blessings? Please explain this to me in greater detail.”

Chisongzi (Master Red Pine) replied, “The method of cultivating oneself, settling one’s destiny, and nurturing mind and nature is to be practiced with persistence every morning: let the mind and Shen (spirit) concentrate on auspicious and good matters, keep good words in mind, do good deeds, and treat others with goodwill. If, throughout an entire day, no evil thoughts arise and no evil deeds are committed in the three aspects of body, speech, and mind, then within three years a star of blessing will descend from heaven. This is the recompense of good fortune.

“On the contrary, if someone every morning speaks evil words, does evil deeds, regards others with ill will, and even incites others to do evil, then as this accumulates day by day and month by month, within three years calamity will fall upon that person. Wealth will be lost, the members of the household will grow fewer, the place where one lives will take on an added Qi (vital energy) of the demonic and the strange, and the person will decline.

“What heaven calls the ‘Nine Uglinesses’ are the ‘Nine Violent Misfortunes’ of the human world, referring to all manner of disasters and misfortunes. Good is the omen of evil, and evil is likewise the warrant of good.”

Sanye, the “three karmas,” is a common expression in Buddhist and Daoist texts, referring to the deeds and thoughts of body, speech, and mind. The final sentence of the original, “the good is the tally of the evil, and the evil is the pledge of the good,” is rather ambiguous in meaning; it is rendered literally here.

A good person can become a teacher to an evil person, and an evil person can likewise serve a good person as a cautionary example. Auspicious fortune contains within it the signs of danger, and within danger there also remains the possibility of turning toward good fortune.

Some good people often meet with calamity and hardship; this is caused by disasters left behind by their ancestors. Thus a person who practices goodness throughout life need not specially choose lucky days and auspicious hours. When the time comes to attend to affairs, such a person can naturally turn peril into good fortune, receiving the unseen protection of the many spirits, while fierce and baleful spirits keep away. By contrast, a person who does evil throughout life, even after selecting an auspicious day and fortunate hour, may, when the matter is actually undertaken, encounter danger concealed within good fortune: evil spirits come to do harm, while the spirits of blessing stay away and do not arrive.

If people in the world cultivate good conduct day after day, they will naturally increase their blessings and their lifespan, and an air of harmony and good omen will appear upon them. This is the principle that form and shadow accompany one another. If one wishes blessings neither to decline nor to be diminished, and to receive the lasting protection of Heaven and Earth, the taboos of Heaven and Earth, the gains and losses of fortune and misfortune, and the methods of cultivating oneself and establishing one’s destiny are set forth together below.

Doing one good deed settles the mind and spirit. Doing ten good deeds makes Jing (essence), Qi (vital energy), and physical strength full and abundant. Doing twenty good deeds leaves the body seldom afflicted by disaster or illness. Doing thirty good deeds makes what one seeks easy to fulfill. Doing forty good deeds renders the household prosperous and life peaceful and happy. Doing fifty good deeds causes sons and grandsons to flourish. Doing sixty good deeds means one is not implicated on account of faults, nor easily entangled by wicked people. Doing seventy good deeds allows what one has learned to become eminent. Doing eighty good deeds brings the benefits of land and property. Doing ninety good deeds secures the protection of the heavenly spirits. Doing one hundred good deeds brings a stipend bestowed by Heaven, together with the chance to meet worthy and enlightened persons.

Doing two hundred good deeds causes one’s reputation to be transmitted to later ages, and one’s sons and grandsons to enjoy wealth, honor, and advancement. Doing five hundred good deeds brings enfeoffment to descendants across five generations, their noble rank surpassing that of ordinary people. Doing six hundred good deeds makes the descendants of generation after generation loyal, filial, wealthy, and honored. Doing seven hundred good deeds brings forth worthy and capable persons in successive generations. Doing eight hundred good deeds brings forth persons of moral virtue among later descendants. Doing nine hundred good deeds brings forth sages among later descendants. Doing one thousand good deeds brings forth immortals among later descendants. Good governance from of old is recorded by the Dao (the Way) of Heaven: those who practice goodness receive increase and promotion in this life and accomplish the immortal Dao, and the blessing also extends to sons and grandsons, so that worthy persons and sages appear among later generations.

If a person accumulates one evil deed, the mind grows uneasy. With ten evil deeds, Qi (vital energy) and strength begin to fail. With twenty, the body becomes prone to frequent illness. With thirty, what one seeks is hard to obtain. With forty, one meets hardship, decline, and loss, and one’s affairs often go badly.

With fifty evil deeds, one finds it hard to have a companion throughout life. With sixty, the line of descendants is cut off. With seventy, one suffers harm plotted by Yin ghosts. With eighty, one encounters disasters of water and fire, and may be burned or drowned without cause. With ninety, one falls into poverty and weakness, and may also suffer sores and scabies, wind illness, or madness. With one hundred evil deeds, one is struck by heavenly calamity, caught up in unforeseen trouble, and dies a wretched death for breaking the law.

With two hundred evil deeds, one is harmed by earthly Qi and meets bandits or fire. With three hundred, people of humble birth appear generation after generation. With four hundred, descendants remain poor and lowly for generations and live by begging. With five hundred, the line of descendants comes to an end. With six hundred, generation after generation they are implicated in accidents and die wretched deaths for violating the law. With seven hundred, there arise descendants who are rebellious and unfilial and who offend against the law. With eight hundred, there appear traitorous ministers and rebellious sons, bringing execution upon their kin. With nine hundred, there appear persons of demonic strangeness and perversity, bringing ruin upon the whole clan. With one thousand evil deeds, descendants for generation after generation have abnormal forms, even resembling birds and beasts, their bodies incomplete and maimed.

When evil deeds accumulate to the full, calamity extends across several generations. This is the circumstance in which Siming (the deity who governs human lifespan and destiny) cuts short one’s allotted years, the stars fall and the person dies, ghosts and spirits interrogate the offender under torture in Bangdu (the seat of the underworld), and disaster is passed on to later generations.

The Yellow Emperor asked again, “When the Director of Destinies (Siming) shortens a person’s life, what offense have people of the world actually committed to bring this punishment upon themselves?”

Chisongzi (Master Red Pine) replied: People in the world commit faults themselves, yet say that the Way of Heaven (Dao) is unjust. When they suffer a wrong, they make no effort to plead their case, and only curse and resent Heaven. When they meet with prohibitions and shackles, or suffer hunger, poverty, and illness; when they encounter cold and heat, frost and snow; or even when the length of day and night does not suit them, they resent Heaven in every case. Though they have plainly done evil themselves, they still pray to Heaven and call down curses.

They go against the four seasons and violate the Five Phases (Wuxing)—the regular movements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Before the sun, moon, and stars, the Three Luminaries, they go naked and relieve themselves wherever they please. When they see the sun and moon obscured, in solar and lunar eclipse, they show no reverence and think only of their own pleasure. They do not revere Heaven, Earth, ghosts, and spirits, and they are not filial to their parents. They berate the wind and rain, destroy the scriptural teachings (Jing) of the sages, damage the altars of the soil and their temples, dig up graves, and steal the belongings of the dead. They deceive the blind, the deaf, and the mute; steal gold and silk; splash filth into other people’s homes; ruin houses and clothing at will; and serve food and drink in unclean vessels.

They curse the living and bury talismanic curses in the ground. They envy the worthy and capable, and raise gu insects—poisonous creatures believed to be used to harm people. They kill living beings, write documents that falsely accuse others, slander the innocent, and expose other people’s private affairs. They block roads and fill in ditches, take what belongs to others, and throw medicines away. They allow others to cut down trees, crops, flowers, fruit, and gardens, and they harm livestock. They defile wells, stoves, Daoist abbeys, and temples. When a household is holding a funeral and wearing mourning clothes, they sing and play music. They also set mountains on fire, destroy other people’s property, drain ponds and marshes, and catch turtles, soft-shelled turtles, fish, and other creatures of the water.

After forming ties with others, they break their covenants and treat the gods with contempt. They are cunning and deceitful, saying one thing while meaning another. They speak malicious words to stir up strife, deliberately provoke lawsuits, and incite others to bring charges again and again. They bare their bodies in public and eat and drink with their hair unbound. They encourage evil deeds and damage good works, seeking only their own profit while injuring others. They blindly trust deviant teachers and teach people to break the law. They kill the innocent and call what is right a wrong. Relying on their power, they bully others and confound right and wrong, treating light offenses as heavy crimes. In spring they set killings in motion; in summer they slaughter living beings. In autumn, seeing evil, they refuse to correct it; in winter they dig the earth as they please.

They sow discord among others’ flesh-and-blood kin. They delight in killing and loathe life. They exalt themselves and look down on others, bully orphans and widows, harm others to benefit themselves, and put others in danger in order to keep themselves safe. They borrow money and goods and do not return them. They boast of themselves and vilify others, draw close to the wicked, chase after power and position, and flaunt their authority. Outwardly they seem kind and gentle; inwardly they are dark and cruel. Seeing killing, they do not stop it, but grow angry instead. Knowing they are at fault, they do not change; seeing good conduct, they will not follow it. They turn their backs on kin and friends, treat others with arrogance, and will not accept the counsel of parents, teachers, and friends. They set wives and concubines against one another, heed base slander, and readily cast their kindred aside.

After showing a kindness, they regret it. They like to see others in want and hardship, pry into others’ private affairs, and make indecent jokes about other people’s wives and concubines. Their conduct does not accord with the proper Way. They seize the affection that belongs to others and steal others’ good deeds to claim as their own. When they themselves have committed a grave crime, they drag in innocent people to testify. They treat others with no regard for high or low station. Relying on wine, they bully others, misuse goods, throw food away, and hold clothing cheap. They seek what is beyond their station without regard for danger. Gaining something new, they forget the old. They abandon the root and chase after what is peripheral. Knowing they have received a kindness, they do not repay it, and they deceive and make sport of others.

Recorded transgressions number more than eight hundred kinds. What is set down here is only a rough enumeration; they cannot all be written out. Whenever people of the world commit any violation, they offend against the fundamental laws. The stars report these matters to the Celestial Emperor and examine them according to the laws of the stars, the Six Pitch-pipes (liulü), the Four Seasons, the Eight Winds, the Nine Palaces (jiugong), the Five Phases (wuxing), and the like. The celestial realm first orders the deity Siming (Director of Destinies) to reduce people’s lifespans, causing them to die young, and further brings all manner of calamities down upon their descendants.

The Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) asked, “When people violate the taboos of Heaven and Earth, the gravity of their offenses is not the same in every case. How is this to be understood?”

Master Red Pine (Chisongzi) replied, “Human beings are the root of the myriad things of Heaven and Earth, and they ought to do good. Yet people of the world sometimes appear mild on the outside while secretly harboring jealousy within, and thus they violate the taboos; their offenses are of more than one kind. All these crimes are recorded one by one by the deity Siming and reported upward. When people of the world are killed, or die in the ranks when two armies clash, some cases arise from grievances they themselves formed in the past, while others are bound up with the alternation of the Five Circuits (wuyun), the descending chastisement of Taiyi (the Great Unity), and with changes in allotted fate and the coming of calamities and kalpas.”

The Yellow Emperor asked again, “Master, you say that when people of the world violate the taboos, they can find peace neither in sleep nor in food. Can the offense, then, be removed?”

Master Red Pine replied, “Some offenses can be removed, while others cannot be undone. If people of the world occasionally do something that does not accord with the proper Dao (the Way), and if they are able to repent in their hearts, the offense may be lifted. If they hear admonition and still do not believe, if they know they are at fault yet do not reform, and instead go on doing evil without cease, so that evil thoughts grow more intense day by day, then it cannot be removed.”

Chisongzi (Master Red Pine) said: If a person does good, Heaven and Earth, together with the ghosts and spirits, will bestow blessings, helping him to lengthen his years and extend his life so that he meets with no manner of evil. Since this is so, why should one not do good?

People of the world ought to revere Heaven and Earth and the sun, moon, and stars, and not violate taboos; they should be filial toward their parents and affectionate toward their brothers; they should pity the orphaned and those without support, and relieve the poor and the sick; they should respect their teachers, the sages of antiquity, and the elders of the locality, follow instruction without opposing it, and treat others with humility and reverence. Whenever wind and rain, severe cold, or intense heat occurs, or when baleful stars and strange omens appear, or when the sun and moon show halos, suffer loss and deficiency, or grow dim in eclipse, one should harbor good thoughts, stand in awe of the ghosts and spirits, and offer sacrifice to Heaven and Earth. In this way, good deeds will be recorded in the heavenly register, and blessings and emolument will also increase.

When one sees another doing evil, one should urge him to turn from evil and do good; when one meets a good person, one should respect him and learn from him. If someone falls into danger and distress, one should do one’s utmost to rescue him, even taking the hardship upon oneself. In dealing with others one should be fair, taking the lighter tasks oneself and bearing the heavier labor for them. One should urge people not to bring suits against one another over litigation and quarrels of words. One should repair public wells and ditches and level the roads; one should neither neglect great matters because of small faults, nor abandon small matters because an affair is weighty. Seeing another meet with loss, one should grieve for him; seeing another obtain a gain, one should rejoice for him from the heart. One should support the distressed and the weak, bestow kindness, and aid orphans and the poor; one should be reverent, careful, and modest, and yield one’s stipend to others. In this way the heavenly register will record one’s merit, one’s lifespan will be prolonged, and one’s descendants will also receive the bounty of blessing.

If a person is firm in conviction and strictly keeps to the correct path, honoring the Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue/Power) in his heart; if he does not shrink from danger when he meets it, and is willing to rescue those who have fallen into the water; if he does not covet improper relations between men and women, does not seize others’ houses and property, and does not wrongfully harm others’ belongings; if he cherishes life and loathes the taking of life, never fails in ritual respect, and often reads the scriptures (Jing); if he does not forget to repay kindness received and does not regret kindness bestowed, is generous and patient under humiliation, and fulfills loyalty and filial piety to the utmost; if he does not flaunt an imposing air, does not use wealth recklessly, does not covet splendid clothing, and does not slaughter living beings indiscriminately in order to enjoy food and drink that he ought not to enjoy—then the merit recorded in the heavenly register will increase, and his lifespan will likewise be extended.

Beyond these good deeds, those of still greater merit are also able to serve their sovereign with complete loyalty and their parents with complete filial piety, without arrogance. They honor their teachers and elders, enlighten children still untaught, and praise and assist their teachers. They cultivate themselves, yield modestly to others, live in harmony with those above and below, care for all impartially, give no credence to slander and deviant talk, and conduct affairs with uprightness. A woman, for her part, should be filial to her parents and parents-in-law, respect and obey her husband, and preserve her purity and chastity; even when she has been wronged, she can restrain her speech, greet her elders morning and evening with a kindly countenance, and serve the household without selfishness. Such persons, too, will receive still greater blessings.

By contrast, to kill one’s sovereign, for a son to kill his father, to defy one’s teachers and elders, to forget one’s teacher once one’s studies are complete, to be perverse, rebellious, and without propriety, to refuse to acknowledge one’s kin, and to act willfully and recklessly—all these are evil deeds. If a woman defies her parents, is unfilial to her parents-in-law, slights her husband, stirs up gossip, sows discord among relatives, steals and is lazy, and joins her neighbors in doing evil, her blessings and lifespan will likewise be diminished. She will be beset by malign illness, hated by others while she lives, and, after death, fall into hell.

The Yellow Emperor asked further, “In the human world, is there a most subtle and profound principle that you can explain to me?”

Master Red Pine replied, “Whether a person cultivates good or commits evil, it all begins with a thought in the mind. The mind is the first sprout of every fault and the root of all evil deeds. When the heart intends to do good, the spirits of goodness already know, even before the deed is accomplished; when an evil thought has only just arisen, the baleful spirits have already perceived it, even before the evil act occurs. Thus, even if a person of noble character practices good for a thousand days, that person still feels the good deeds are not enough; yet if evil is done for a single moment, it may outweigh all the good previously accumulated. Overstepping one’s proper station, seizing what belongs to others, and appropriating wealth and property likewise all begin in the thoughts of the mind. Whether one gains or loses is in the end decided by the Dao (the Way) of Heaven. Even if a thought of harming others has not yet been put into action, the baleful spirits already know of it. Whether a person dies or lives, declines or flourishes, is also shaped by destiny and the circumstances of the times.

“The scriptures (Jing) say: ‘Heaven has five thieves. Those who can see them clearly and accord with them will prosper; those who lose them will decline and perish. In teaching and transforming the human heart there are five De (Virtue/Power). Those who practice them will prosper; those who go against them will decline and perish.’ The five De refer to gentleness, goodness, humility, frugality, and courteous yielding, together with humaneness, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. To go against the five De shows itself as defiance, greed and jealousy, cruelty and killing, violent disorder, deception, and flattery.

“Some people in the world constantly do what violates the five De, and in their hearts they keep turning over nine kinds of evil thoughts. Seeing others eminent, wealthy, and honored, they say those people were once destitute and hope to see them demoted and rebuked. Seeing others held in high regard and living in abundance, they mock them for having once been poor and hope their family fortunes will collapse and scatter. Seeing others with plentiful wealth and goods, they form the intent to send someone to rob them. Seeing that others’ wives and concubines are beautiful, they hope the creditor will die, so that they may seize the chance to take possession. When they seek to borrow wealth or goods from others and do not get what they wish, resentment arises in their hearts. Seeing others meet with danger and hardship, they dig up those people’s former faults and reproach them. Toward their own parents, they even hope the parents will die early, so as to obtain their property and houses. All these are the nine evil thoughts of the foolish. The ghosts and spirits of Heaven and Earth loathe such people and will send down calamity and cut short their lives.

“Those who practice the five De, by contrast, constantly harbor nine kinds of self-examining thoughts. Seeing others eminent, wealthy, and honored, they reflect that their own blessings and accumulated good deeds are not yet sufficient. Seeing others with granaries full of grain, they reflect that they themselves have not tilled diligently or managed their affairs with care. Seeing others in possession of gold, jade, and wealth, they reflect that these things are not their own. Seeing that others’ wives and concubines are beautiful, they reflect that men and women should each keep to the proper bond of marriage and give rise to no improper thoughts. Seeing others’ residences spacious and grand, they reflect that, although their own dwelling is plain, they should still rest content in their station. Seeing someone who once owed them a debt caught up in a lawsuit, they give rise to a wish to help. Owing a debt to others that they cannot repay for the moment, they keep the obligation constantly in mind and strive to repay it. When they wish to borrow wealth or goods from others, they reflect that in the past they themselves never showed those people kindness or assistance. Seeing others serve their parents, they reflect that they themselves have failed to repay their parents through toil and hardship.

“If people in the world can hold to these nine self-examining thoughts throughout the day and set aside the nine evil thoughts just described, they are persons of wisdom and discernment. In this life they will receive blessings, and that favor will extend to their descendants; sudden misfortunes and unexpected calamities will hardly be able to befall them.”

The Yellow Emperor asked the master once more, “Into what grades are people of wisdom divided?”

The master replied, “They fall into three grades, yet all of them belong among the benevolent and the good.

Those of the highest wisdom understand the patterns of Heaven and discern the configuration of Earth. They grasp matters without study and comprehend them without instruction. What they have once heard they can silently retain. They know how to distinguish musical pitches, and they can also tell the worthy from the foolish. Compassion dwells in their hearts, and they do not look down on others. They know how to judge success and failure, how to time advance and retreat, and how to distinguish survival from ruin. Such people, though poor for a time, will in the end grow prosperous; though low in station for a while, will in the end rise to eminence. These are people of superior wisdom.

Those of middling wisdom are well versed in the Jing (scriptures and classics) and constantly keep a heart of ritual reverence. When they see the worthy, they aspire to equal them. They support those in danger and relieve the weak, bestow kindness without regret, and never fall short in the way of loyalty and filial piety. Their speech does not injure others, and in conduct they are humble and gentle. Such people, though they may not have completed their learning at the outset, will in the end come to understanding; though not yet eminent for a time, will in the end attain success. These are people of middling wisdom.

Those of lesser wisdom are people capable of cultivating goodness. They correct the faults of the past and strive to do well in what is to come. They devote themselves to their proper duties and set their minds on learning. They firmly believe that good and evil each receive their due; they do not encroach upon the property of others; they cherish life and the body; they understand the principles of affairs and know the proper norms. They can distinguish the strong from the weak, and they also know how to guard against calamity and decline. Acting with such caution, they commit few errors and do not meet with sudden disaster. These are people of lesser wisdom.”

The Yellow Emperor said, “Well spoken! Well spoken! The merit contained in these words is beyond reckoning. I shall carefully follow what the master has said, set it down in writing, and make it known to everyone, taking it as an important path by which to guide the people.” The ministers bowed their heads in formal salute and withdrew, and thereafter they practiced in accordance with the teaching.