《太上一乘海空智藏經》Vol. 10

The Supreme Dao Ancestor (the highest deity in Daoism, known as Laozi the Most High Lord) manifested his divine powers in the Jeweled City, transforming it into an exquisitely wondrous Mystic Platform. Adorned with seven kinds of precious jewels and hung with colorful banners and canopies, the platform radiated solemn majesty. From this seat, the Dao Ancestor emitted a brilliant light that illuminated all ten directions, making every realm in existence transparently bright.

At this moment, all manner of divine beings gathered around the Mystic Platform to hear the Dharma. Celestial kings who soar through the heavens, primordial deities like the Vermilion Spirit of the Beginning (Dangling Shilao, an innate Daoist divinity), the Great Emperor of Fusang, the Jade Dawn Supreme Sovereign, and other exalted immortals assembled alongside perfected beings (Zhenren), terrestrial immortals (Dixian), demon kings from the three realms, dragon kings from the underwater palaces, and devout lay followers. When they learned the Dao Ancestor would expound the "Ocean-Void Treasury of Wisdom of the One Vehicle" (the supreme wisdom encompassing all), they rejoiced and offered rare celestial incense and heavenly music, praising the immeasurable virtue (De) of the Dao Ancestor.

Just as the Dao Ancestor prepared to withdraw his divine light and return to the Everlasting Joy Palace on Mount Jade Capital (a Daoist paradise), he specifically instructed his disciple Ocean-Void (Haikong): "If there remain any doubts, ask them quickly, for this supreme wondrous Dharma is about to withdraw." At this, a Daoist named Jeweled Light (Baoguang) could not hold back tears, fearing that after the Dao Ancestor's return to the celestial realm, practitioners below would lose their guiding light.

Then a divine child named Vision (Shen'guan Tongzi, a practitioner of exceptional spiritual capacity) reverently bowed to the Dao Ancestor, requesting answers to his questions. The Dao Ancestor praised the child's profound merit, capable of teaching sentient beings through wisdom. The child then asked: "After the Dao Ancestor withdraws from the world in the future, when beings can neither see your true form nor hear the genuine Dharma of Ocean-Void, how will they fare in the Dharma-Ending Age when human hearts grow increasingly shallow and virtuous teachings decline?"

This scripture passage depicts the solemn scene of the highest Daoist deity expounding the Dharma, illustrating the fundamental importance of the "Ocean-Void Treasury of Wisdom of the One Vehicle" as core doctrine, while raising profound questions about transmitting the true teachings during the Dharma-Ending Age. Here, the "Unmoving Ground" refers to the eternal realm beyond birth and extinction, while "Ocean-Void" metaphorically represents how the Dharma of Dao is as all-encompassing as the sea and as boundless as empty space.

In this age when unwholesome practices prevail, guiding sentient beings to perform virtuous deeds and accumulate De (Virtue) is most sublime, as it helps liberate people from afflictions. However, one must be mindful that merely spending great wealth on superficial displays while achieving little actual merit is insufficient.

If someone makes devout offerings to the Celestial Venerables (the highest deities in Daoism), Great Sages, Perfected Ones of the Three Heavens (enlightened adepts), or terrestrial immortal Daoists, such offerings are indeed praiseworthy. Yet they pale in comparison to one who, moved by compassion, offers even a single morsel of food to an animal, saving its life and bringing it peace. Such compassionate giving generates far greater merit—its blessings surpass the former by hundreds and thousands of times. This boundless heart of compassion creates immeasurable and inexhaustible merit.

I have emphasized the significance of charity in many scriptures to guide novice Daoist practitioners, whether ordained or lay devotees, in cultivating an ocean-like compassion through acts of giving. The recipients of such benevolence include the impoverished, the lonely, the elderly and sick, the distressed, prisoners, and those suffering from hunger and cold—providing them warmth and sustenance. This form of charity serves as a true bridge, aiding beings in transcending the cycle of life and death.

Yet, future generations may misinterpret my teachings, focusing solely on the "Field of Reverence" (offerings to the Celestial Venerables and the Three Treasures—Dao, scriptures, and teachers) while neglecting the "Field of Compassion" (acts of mercy toward all beings). What is the Field of Reverence? It is when sentient beings pay homage to the Celestial Venerables of the Three Realms and make offerings to the Three Treasures, thereby accumulating blessings. What is the Field of Compassion? It is when sentient beings give with a compassionate heart, without discrimination—even toward animals. Such deeds belong to the Field of Compassion. Between these two fields, the latter is far more sublime. If one practices compassionate giving, the merit generated is so vast that even the void cannot contain it.

If a wealthy person gives generously alone, persisting from youth to old age without pause, their merit is certainly not small. Yet it cannot compare to those who, regardless of social status, wisdom, or religious affiliation, unite to inspire others, pooling resources to aid the poor, the orphaned elderly, the severely ill, and the desperate—treating all equally. Such collective compassion yields the most boundless merit. Even if one cannot give materially at a given moment, merely maintaining the intention to give ensures the continuous growth of merit, limitless and inexhaustible.

However, in ages to come, some of my disciples and novice Daoists may succumb to craving fine robes and delicacies, pursuing material offerings while hoarding wealth. Such attachments run counter to the Daoist path and must be vigilantly guarded against.

The Supreme One-Vehicle Scripture of the Ocean-Void Wisdom Treasury describes several common pitfalls in spiritual practice:

Some practitioners lack all compassion, harboring only resentment. When they see others performing good deeds, they respond with jealousy and mockery, claiming such acts are motivated by fame and profit rather than genuine cultivation. The sight of someone giving alms to beggars or the poor fills them with irritation. Such attitudes are utterly unbecoming of those who have left worldly life. Though outwardly following religious practices, their hearts remain stingy and greedy, clinging to material possessions while scheming to secure offerings for their own sustenance. Not only do they lack faith in true Daoist teachings, but they actively slander them.

Others, when guiding lay practitioners, teach only superficial minor practices (referring to elementary cultivation focused on personal liberation) and empty rituals. Why trouble and confuse people with such pointless displays?

Here the Celestial Lord (Tianshi, the highest Daoist deity) addresses the disciple: "Your inquiry about building bridges and stairways of cultivation is commendable. Future generations will indeed be pitiable—though they may possess faith and practice diligently, they won't understand the true principles. However much good they do, their accumulated merit will be meager. Whether Daoist priests, officials, kings, ministers, wealthy families, men and women, young or old—even non-human beings—all will disparage the Dao, disrespecting the Three Treasures (Dao, scriptures, and teachers). Their good deeds will stem from desires for fame and profit, from competition with others, with none sincerely seeking transcendence beyond this world."

"Like actors performing tricks to please audiences while finding no joy themselves, so too will practitioners in the Dharma-Ending Age (a period of spiritual decline). After my departure, true teachings will disappear, demons will manifest, wicked thoughts will prevail, people will scheme against each other, and disasters will multiply."

"What constitutes unwholesome conduct? Some practitioners and laypeople, ignorant of the teachings, organize vegetarian feasts (Zhaijiao) inviting only their personal teachers while stationing guards to exclude other masters. They turn away the poor and sick who come seeking food. Such feasts waste provisions without generating merit. Others focus solely on personal cultivation, refusing to help liberate beings, never rejoicing in others' virtuous deeds. Their merit remains negligible. Worse still are those who see damaged temples, statues, or scriptures yet refuse repairs—instead hurling insults, claiming these aren't the Patriarchs' legacy, that broken items should stay broken, preferring new construction over restoration."

(This scripture passage enumerates various misguided behaviors to warn practitioners against jealousy, hypocrisy, and worldly ambition, emphasizing the importance of authentic practice. Concepts like the "Dharma-Ending Age" and "Three Treasures" reflect Daoist concerns about spiritual degeneration, resonating with similar Buddhist notions of decline.)

This scripture reveals the true meaning of charitable giving (alms) by contrasting two approaches to spiritual practice.

True cultivators understand that external acts like crafting divine statues or copying scriptures pale in comparison to cultivating the merit of one's original heart. Such practitioners can truly behold the face of the Dao and enter the "Sea-Void Wisdom Realm" (referring to an ethereal, mystical state of cultivation). Yet some people blindly imitate others' good deeds upon witnessing them—exhausting their family fortunes in charity merely to seek fame, while speaking harshly to those who are genuinely impoverished. Such hypocritical giving not only lacks merit but will cause one to fall into hell realms, reborn as beasts or in destitute circumstances through the cycle of rebirth.

The scripture clarifies that the Ten Directions Celestial Worthies (venerated deities of all celestial realms) attained realization precisely because they sincerely relieved the suffering of the poor. Just as a person with crippled legs cannot travel far, a stingy Daoist priest—even if practicing in ritual robes for millennia—will never reach genuine spiritual attainment without practicing charity.

Authentic cultivation requires the Four Immeasurable Minds: equanimity, compassion, sympathetic joy, and relinquishment. Practitioners lacking the heart of generosity are like birds with broken wings, forever unable to reach the far shore of truth. Such cultivation not only fails to bear fruit but makes one an accomplice to demonic paths (heretical ways), ultimately descending into the wretched cycles of rebirth.

This scripture primarily discusses the severe consequences that arise when practitioners lose compassion, and how to discern genuine from false cultivators.

The text first states: Losing compassion leads to the loss of endurance in facing humiliation; without endurance, diligent practice becomes difficult; without diligent practice, one cannot attain skillful means (upaya); and without skillful means, wisdom cannot arise. Thus, one becomes trapped in endless afflictions—driven like cattle or horses, unable to speak, reduced to walking on all fours, stripped of human spirituality, and condemned to eternal suffering.

It then highlights the supreme merit of spreading the Dharma: If someone can propagate the teachings, the Ten Directions Celestial Worthies (the highest deities in Daoism) will praise and revere them, revealing the ultimate truth of the One Vehicle (the highest teaching). Among all virtuous deeds, spreading the Dharma is the most sublime.

The scripture explains that the Celestial Worthies employ diverse methods to guide beings: sometimes manifesting as ascetics practicing in fire, other times descending to the ocean to liberate dragon kings, appearing as the sick to receive healing, or taking the form of the poor to form karmic bonds with sentient beings. They may use talismans (fulu) to vanquish malevolence, encourage precept-keeping to protect the Dharma, teach forbearance to cultivate the mind, or extol wisdom—employing all skillful means to liberate beings from suffering.

It then sternly rebukes "evil priests" who fail to realize the true Dao: In the future, some practitioners will misunderstand the true meaning, clinging to their own views, boasting and deceiving the masses while consumed by mutual jealousy. These individuals corrupt the true Dharma, distorting the doctrine of emptiness (a core Buddhist teaching). When expounding the teachings, they lack profound understanding, arrogantly slandering the wisdom treasury of the One Vehicle's vast emptiness, opposing truth while believing themselves correct. Such people belong to the retinue of demons, practicing only the Lesser Vehicle (referring to lower-level cultivation), eternally sinking into the Three Wretched Realms (hell, hungry ghosts, and animals) to endure endless torments. Even after countless kalpas, if reborn as humans, they will be deaf, mute, or blind—retaining human form but devoid of human nature.

Finally, it identifies the traits of these evil priests: Seeking fame and profit, they mock sincere practitioners as foolish, claiming "the Dao is in the heart, why study scriptures?" Such individuals are wicked, belonging to heretical demonic factions, and true cultivators should avoid them.

This scripture primarily critiques those who distort the true meaning of Daoist practice and mislead devotees, while elucidating how genuine adepts of the Dao should skillfully guide beings according to circumstances.

Those practitioners who slander each other, disregard canonical teachings, stubbornly cling to personal views, and confuse right with wrong—though incapable of distinguishing orthodoxy from heresy—presume to declare their discernment to both monastic and lay communities. Such individuals actually destroy the true Dharma, becoming "evil acquaintances" (harmful spiritual guides) who should not be approached. Some Daoist priests, possessing only superficial understanding of the scriptures' profound meaning, falsely claim that the Great Vehicle teachings permit meat-eating—this too constitutes heretical views not to be lightly believed.

True attainers of the Dao comprehend the empty nature of all phenomena, recognizing no fixed or permanent forms. They adapt to beings of varying capacities through skillful means: manifesting desire-laden forms to guide those requiring such teaching, appearing as ordinary people to save those needing mundane examples, or assuming sickly bodies, royal forms, or Daoist appearances as circumstances demand. While constantly teaching and liberating beings, their minds remain unmoved—manifesting myriad forms without attachment to form, saving countless beings without clinging to notions of salvation.

Such great masters eternally abide in the "Seven-Jeweled City of Sea-Void" (symbolizing transcendence of dualistic distinctions), expounding the wondrous Dharma of ultimate emptiness. The scripture mentions how assembly members perceive different manifestations: some see me sitting motionless on Mystic Metropolis Mountain, others observe me teaching in the worldly realm; some behold my golden sixteen-foot form or bodies that shrink and expand, while others witness me seated on jeweled lotuses or guiding beings into treasure troves. These variations arise solely from differences in beings' spiritual capacities.

Authentic teaching should manifest according to conditions—engaging the world without being stained by worldly appearances. Sometimes a single verse, a line of text, or even one phrase, if resonant with the wondrous Sea-Void Dharma that brings joy to people's hearts, creates immeasurable merit. Such orthodox teachings benefit all beings and make the Daoist tradition flourish. Those wicked priests who distort scriptural meaning and mislead devotees should be kept at a distance.

This scripture discusses several erroneous attitudes in Daoist practice and prophecies concerning the rise and decline of the Dharma's fortune.

It first points out that those who fail to grasp the true meaning of the teachings, mechanically practicing according to the literal interpretation of the Three Caverns (Dongzhen/Dongxuan/Dongshen) and thirty-six divisions of scriptures while stubbornly clinging to dualistic views of "existence" or "non-existence," are actually undermining the genuine Daoist methods.

The text then criticizes three types of boastful practitioners: self-proclaimed "Dharma Masters" (Fashi) who claim mastery of teachings, "Salvation Masters" (Dushi) who profess the ability to deliver others, and "Scripture Masters" (Jingshi) who allege comprehensive knowledge of classics. These individuals slander and accuse one another, persisting in their ways even when facing hellish consequences—a truly pitiable state. Upon hearing this, the assembled audience was moved to tears and offered reverent bows.

A superior Zhenren (perfected being) inquired of the Celestial Worthy (Tianzun): "When will these wicked priests who destroy the true Dharma disappear?" The Celestial Worthy replied: "After my departure, the true Dharma will flourish universally for eight thousand years, during which people will live in peace and kings will govern according to the Dao. But thereafter, corrupt practices will gradually arise—rulers will abandon the Way, and people will succumb to mutual envy and harm. After another eight hundred and seventy years, wicked priests will fill the world. Greedy for wealth and violating precepts, they will accept the eight impure offerings (referring to wealth obtained against monastic rules), fabricate their own teachings, and recklessly compose scriptures, causing people to disrespect the Three Treasures (Dao, scriptures, and teachers) and blaspheme the divine."

This deterioration will disrupt cosmic order: the sun and moon will lose their radiance, Yin-Yang balance will collapse, crops will fail, and seasonal winds and rains will become erratic. Human morality will degenerate as people glorify violence, chase wealth and status, and abandon benevolence and righteousness. Even if some maintain good intentions—building monasteries, making offerings to deities, or preserving scriptures—their efforts cannot reverse the overall decline.

Through the Celestial Worthy's words, the scripture prophesies the gradual decline of the Dharma after its initial flourishing, warning practitioners against self-righteousness, fame-seeking, and other misguided behaviors.

This scripture describes the degenerate behavior of certain Daoist priests and laypeople during the Dharma-Ending Age (a period of spiritual decline), while highlighting the rare virtue of true practitioners.

Those who dwell in lavish halls show no reverence toward the Dharma Master (an accomplished Daoist teacher), refusing to make offerings yet coveting the Master's food and clothing. They never consider that in future lives they may fall into the Three Wretched Realms (hell, hungry ghosts, and animals). Some worldly people perform good deeds outwardly but secretly seek to plunder the wealth of the Three Treasures (Dao, scriptures, and teachers)—such individuals will ultimately descend into the realm of hungry ghosts.

In future ages, worldly people bearing false official titles will neither believe in karmic retribution nor revere the Three Treasures. They will seize the food, clothing, and possessions of Dharma Masters, forcibly levy taxes, and even seize temple servants, cattle, and horses, pressuring monastics to return to lay life and marry. These people never reflect on the hellish torments of copper pillars and iron beds awaiting them, nor do they understand that human life is as fleeting as a dead dog by the roadside, as illusory as a dream or a flash of lightning.

Yet even in this corrupt age, those who skillfully guide sentient beings, cultivate compassion and wisdom, and diligently recite the Scripture of the Oceanic Wisdom Treasury of the One Vehicle (Yicheng Haikong Zhizang Jing) day and night without cease—these are the true practitioners. The scripture prophesies that after the "Three Dragons" (possibly referring to three specific dynasties), a Dharma King (an enlightened ruler) will appear to instruct sentient beings.

The reason Daoist priests of the Dharma-Ending Age are disdained is their attachment to worldly pursuits: wearing Daoist robes yet chasing fame and profit—some running shops, others working as painters or artisans, some practicing fortune-telling, and others deceiving people with false miracles to gain worship. They indulge in wine and revelry, singing and dancing; some flatter devotees with pleasing sermons, while others exploit healing spells for profit. Even those dwelling in mountains still employ unorthodox divination or peddle medicine for a living.

This passage expounds the principle of karmic retribution, enumerating several types of evil deeds and their consequences:

When those who commit evil under the guise of religion vanish, the true Dharma will also disappear. After my departure (referring to Lord Laozi), it will take eight hundred million kalpas (an immeasurably long time) before all wicked Daoist priests completely vanish.

In future ages, there will be monastics and laypeople who manufacture Taoist deity statues from various materials (gold, silver, bronze, wood) for profit. Ignorant people, unaware of karmic cause and effect, purchase these statues for worship—both buyers and sellers will accumulate sin, reborn for three lifetimes as slaves subject to beating and abuse.

Those who create statues with minor good intentions but leave them incomplete (such as half-finished or missing limbs), or make multiple incomplete statues in different locations, will fall into the three evil realms (hells, hungry ghosts, animal rebirth), reincarnating as limbless serpentine creatures.

Those who forbid beggars from seeking alms in kitchens will descend to the three evil realms, eternally consuming filth as four-legged beasts.

Those who misappropriate the Three Treasures' (the Dao, the Scriptures, the Priesthood) property for personal use, take offerings outside prescribed times, or falsely claim monastic status while socializing—such people will forever stray from human and celestial paths, reborn in barbaric borderlands where the true Dharma remains unheard, ultimately falling into the three evil realms without deliverance.

Monastics dwelling with such evil-doers, even with good intentions, cannot accumulate merit—after death they'll burn in the Great Fiery Chariot Hell beyond repentance. Those who rally others to protect such evildoers will likewise incur retribution.

Those who mock compassionate Daoists practicing life liberation (animal release), accusing them of fame-seeking, will suffer sudden death—their souls transforming into starving mountain eagles.

In this degenerate age, those who cultivate great compassion, endure others' transgressions, and diligently recite scriptures should contemplate thus: Since beginningless kalpas, all beings have been my parents and siblings (referring to the karmic connections of mutual kinship throughout rebirth).

This scripture expounds a profound teaching on compassion and universal equality. It begins by stating that all brothers, sisters, spouses and children are kin, and through such karmic connections, all sentient beings are as our own flesh and blood, as our very life. Practitioners should resolve to eradicate thoughts of killing, cultivate great compassion, abstain from meat and pungent foods, eat only one midday meal daily, refuse other offerings, and single-mindedly relieve the suffering of beings—employing all means to help others, even at the cost of one's own life.

Hearing this, the celestial deities and earthly kings and ministers rejoice, vowing to protect such practitioners with their spiritual powers. They ensure the practitioner's cultivation remains unshaken, shielding them from malicious interference and material loss. The scripture emphasizes that those who generate impartial compassion and indiscriminately aid all suffering beings will accumulate the most sublime merit.

The Celestial Worthy (Daoism's supreme deity) reveals to the assembly: All worldly phenomena are impermanent—what flourishes must decay, what is gained must be lost. He challenges his disciples: "Why do you weep upon seeing my form? Why do you lose your fundamental awareness when observing sentient beings? Why cling to appearances and suffer?"

The Perfected Youth (an advanced disciple) dries his tears and responds: "We understand you, Celestial Worthy, neither originate from the past nor belong to the future, neither permanently dwell in the world nor completely cease to exist—transcending all dualities of being and non-being." This expresses Daoism's transcendent wisdom of "neither existence nor non-existence," teaching disciples to release attachment to appearances and realize the formless, imageless truth of the Dao.

This scripture explores the profound relationship between "form" (material phenomena) and "emptiness." Material phenomena are neither truly existent nor completely void; they neither belong to the realm of birth and death nor to eternal constancy. Like empty space, they are without distinguishing characteristics—from the initial attainment of Dao to final nirvana, nothing can be grasped.

The Great Compassionate Celestial Worthy (a revered Daoist deity) has never actually spoken any Dharma methods to liberate sentient beings. What people perceive as the appearance of the Celestial Worthy, his teachings, or his acts of salvation are merely illusions—the realm of eternal bliss where the Celestial Worthy resides transcends conceptual understanding and cannot be grasped through ordinary cognition. Precisely because of this realization, practitioners cannot help but shed tears and beseech the Celestial Worthy for guidance.

Sentient beings cling to the "Four Great Elements" (earth, water, fire, and wind that constitute the material body), mistakenly believing in a real "self." In truth, all phenomena are as illusory as floating clouds in the sky, the shimmering heat of summer, fleeting lightning, reflections in water, images in a mirror, or echoes in an empty valley. The mental formations (activities of consciousness) of sentient beings are equally inconceivable—beyond the comprehension of ordinary practitioners.

The manifestations of sentient beings revealed by the Great Compassionate Celestial Worthy are also like this: neither coming nor going, neither existing nor not existing, neither within nor without, without origin or destination. The reason sentient beings suffer in the cycle of rebirth is their endless clinging to the concept of "self" since beginningless time, continuously nurturing the roots of negative karma. In reality, the original nature (Shen) of sentient beings is inherently pure and undefiled—all phenomena arise from this pure source. Both virtuous and negative karmic retributions are created by this single mind, with no other cause.

At this point, the Celestial Worthy praises the enlightened disciple (an accomplished practitioner), saying: "Your words are excellent! You have truly realized the true nature of sentient beings—your teaching is no different from mine. This understanding benefits sentient beings and accomplishes the supreme fruit of Dao. What is called the 'Dharma Treasury of Oceanic Emptiness' (a wisdom treasure as vast as the ocean and unobstructed as space) is precisely the realization that sentient beings fundamentally have no characteristics of coming/going or existence/non-existence."

When practicing generosity, one should regard both virtuous fields (those worthy of offerings) and non-virtuous fields with equal mind. Upon encountering the poor and sick, one should impart wondrous medicine equally to all. True generosity must embody the "threefold purity of emptiness": without attachment to the giver, the receiver, or the gift—only when these three are empty is it truly equal generosity.

This passage expounds on the wisdom of "non-self" (transcending individual attachments) and the "emptiness of phenomena" (the intrinsic void-nature of all things). When practicing generosity, cultivators should not seek rewards or future blessings, but solely aim to help sentient beings attain liberation. One must realize that the Three Realms (Desire Realm, Form Realm, and Formless Realm) and the three periods of time—past, present, and future—are all illusory, and even the concept of "self" is empty. This awakening resembles the "Oceanic Void" (a metaphor for the boundless realm of wisdom), which grants supernatural powers (siddhi) and reveals the true nature of all phenomena.

It is like someone dreaming at night—first dreaming of being arrested and tortured by officials, then awakening only to dream of becoming a king enjoying luxuries, but upon truly waking, realizing both suffering and joy were illusory. So too are all worldly phenomena: seemingly real yet ultimately empty. Only those who perceive the essential nature of sentient beings in this way possess correct understanding.

The Infinite Youth (symbolizing the pure-hearted cultivator) who comprehends this truth may enter the "Treasury of One-Vehicle Wisdom" (the supreme repository of wisdom). Whether ordained monastics, lay donors, men, women, or even non-human beings—all can attain supernatural powers through this realization.

The Celestial Worthy (Tianzun, the supreme Daoist deity) concludes: In the future, any being who hears this scripture with joyful reverence will accumulate immeasurable merit. Those who memorize it, contemplate it day and night, and propagate it to benefit others are true cultivators. This scripture universally delivers solitary souls, and those who transmit this wisdom become incarnations of the Celestial Worthy. Though the written words are finite, they carry infinite truth. The Celestial Worthy will now return to the silent origin, entrusting the Dharma lineage to the Youth out of compassion for the helpless.

The core teaching is: see through worldly illusions, practice virtue with selfless mind, and attain liberation through awakened wisdom. Cultivation lies not in outward forms but in the awakening of one's innate nature.

A king sought to universally deliver all beings and propagate the true Dao. Just as a monarch, when touring his realm to understand his people's condition, entrusts the treasury and governance to the crown prince to inherit the throne, so now I shall entrust the Dharma lineage to you. Upon hearing this bequest, the assembly wept bitterly, prostrating themselves with foreheads to the ground, their lamentations shaking heaven and earth. Both celestial beings and mortals could not help but exclaim: "How heartbreaking! Why must our Most Venerable depart? We are about to lose the very root of the Dharma!"

At this moment, among the assembly appeared an immortal youth named Tuxiang (a realized immortal child), who respectfully chanted a hymn before the Venerable One:

"O Most Honored Celestial Worthy since beginningless time, your manifested Dharma forms are profoundly wondrous beyond measure. You expound the Dharma equally for all beings, yet ultimately reveal impermanence. Now you entrust the Dharma lineage to the king (symbolizing the successor) - may these precious teachings be firmly remembered. We disciples of the fourfold assembly (monastic and lay practitioners alike) are overwhelmed with grief. Why must the Great Compassionate Venerable abandon us? We are like calves who've lost their mother, deprived of the nourishing Dharma milk. We pray you shower all beings with the nectar of the Ocean-Void wondrous Dharma (supreme truth), eradicating the three poisons of greed, hatred, and delusion, that beings in heaven, earth, and even hell may transcend birth and death, ascending together to the immortal realm."

The youth further entreated: "We beseech the Ocean-Void True Sage (a realized Daoist master) to manifest great compassion and petition the Celestial Worthy to remain in this world. May your teachings perfectly pervade the ten directions, that demonic obstacles in the Three Realms (Desire Realm, Form Realm, and Formless Realm) may forever vanish." At this, celestial maidens scattered flowers in praise, auspicious signs manifested on Mount Baotai, fragrant blossoms filled the sky, and all heavenly beings reverently bowed. Suddenly, the Celestial Worthy ascended through the nine heavens to Mystic Metropolis (a Daoist celestial realm), gazing down upon the human world, wishing all beings might receive this supreme wondrous Dharma like an ocean-void treasure.

After completing his hymn, the immortal youth remained kneeling with bowed head before the Celestial Worthy. This scripture passage, through vivid metaphors and moving imagery, reveals the solemnity of Dharma transmission, the disciples' profound devotion to their master, and emphasizes the crucial importance of true Dharma for delivering all beings.

The Great Compassion Celestial Worthy (a revered deity in Daoism), in order to save all sentient beings, deliberately returned from the realm of impermanence to expound the truth of "non-self." Yet to help us comprehend the profound meaning of "non-self," he first taught the principle of "self." Through this dialectical approach, he illuminated relative concepts such as permanence and impermanence, joy and non-joy, birth and non-birth, sovereignty and non-sovereignty, emptiness and non-emptiness. Precisely based on this karmic connection, the Celestial Worthy entrusted the great mission of teaching sentient beings to the Dharma King (the inheritor of the Dharma), charging him to continue guiding beings in diligent practice.

We practitioners deeply realize: the Great Compassion Celestial Worthy had already transcended birth and death, yet manifested birth and cessation to save us; he already abided eternally in nirvana, yet returned to this world to liberate beings. Ultimately, he guides all to enter the Oceanic Void Wisdom Treasury (referring to the wisdom state beyond dualities), abiding in the inconceivable realm of eternal bliss.

Hearing the practitioners' realizations, the Celestial Worthy praised them and said to the disciples: "Noble ones, your wisdom has surpassed even mine, and you are fully capable of inheriting the Dharma King's position to continue teaching sentient beings. You shall guide beings to dwell in the Oceanic Void City (metaphor for liberation), becoming the fundamental source of wisdom for all. Please wait a while, and soon you will behold my true form." After these words, the Celestial Worthy suddenly vanished, leaving only an empty, ownerless Dharma seat.

The fourfold assembly of disciples, witnessing this, wept uncontrollably. Gazing around desperately, they could no longer find any trace of the Celestial Worthy. Lamenting to the heavens, they cried: "How bitter! We are like orphans who have lost their shelter, severed from the root of the Dharma lineage; like newborn infants bereft of their compassionate mother, cut off from nourishment in our prime. O Great Compassion Celestial Worthy, this is our condition now—bereft of your guidance, severed from the nourishing milk of the Dharma."

After hearing these teachings, the fourfold assembly of disciples each snapped their fingers (a Buddhist gesture of respect), paid homage, and withdrew respectfully.

This scripture passage vividly depicts practitioners' profound devotion to the Celestial Worthy's teachings and the arduous process of realizing the "non-self" state. The Celestial Worthy's pedagogical method of using "being" to explain "non-being" embodies the Daoist wisdom of "teaching according to capacity," while the Oceanic Void Wisdom Treasury—representing the state beyond dualities—is the ultimate liberation goal for practitioners.