《赤松子中誡經》

This passage recounts an ancient parable about the importance of virtuous conduct:

There was once a wise scholar named Gongming Zigao who traveled through the state of Song. Passing by the residence of Minister Xue Yuan, he noticed that of the official's ten sons, six were physically disabled, one had died in prison, and three were deaf and mute. Zigao inquired, "What actions have you taken in your life to incur such misfortunes?"

Xue Yuan confessed: "When I served as prime minister, I never recommended worthy individuals—seeing talented people filled me with enmity. I rejoiced at others' losses and envied their gains, always seeking to monopolize benefits for myself."

Zigao responded gravely: "Such conduct invites the destruction of one's lineage. These calamities befalling your descendants are the karmic consequences of your misdeeds." Pale with terror, Xue Yuan begged for guidance.

Zigao counseled: "Though Heaven seems distant, it observes the smallest details. Evil brings retribution while virtue attracts blessings. It's not too late to reform." He then transmitted to Xue Yuan the Scripture of Admonitions by Chisongzi (Red Pine Master), instructing him to practice its teachings.

Years later when Zigao revisited, he found all of Xue Yuan's sons restored to health. The minister had completely transformed—he now grieved at others' misfortunes and rejoiced in their prosperity, actively recommended worthy candidates, distributed his wealth to aid the poor, and treated all with magnanimity.

(Note: Chisongzi is an immortal in Daoist lore, and his Scripture of Admonitions teaches self-cultivation. This karmic narrative illustrates the vital importance of abandoning vice and embracing virtue.)

“To offer posthumous rites and pray for deliverance for a deceased ruler or father” means to pray and perform deliverance for a deceased ruler or father; “not indulging in clothing and adornment” means not being extravagant or unrestrained in dress; “not coveting fine flavors” means not greedily seeking delicious food; “revering Heaven and Earth” means honoring Heaven and Earth; “believing in ghosts and spirits” means having faith in ghosts and spirits; “knowing contentment and being frugal and restrained” means being content and thrifty; “his sons each recovered on their own” means his sons each became well. Zigao (the master mentioned in the text) said to the grandee (that is, Xue Yuan): “How swift, how swift! Heaven’s recompense for good deeds is faster than an echo answering a sound or a shadow following a form.” “Now that the grandee wholeheartedly does good, all the men and women have recovered from every illness—how much more so if he performs more than a thousand good deeds?” Xue Yuan then offered a thousand pieces of gold and bowed in thanks to Zigao, recompensing him for the grace of bestowing the scripture and asking the master to accept it. Zigao said: “Even if I received the grandee’s gold, it would be of no use to me; you may keep it yourself and secretly bestow benefits on others.” “Simply copy this scripture and transmit it to those who have not yet awakened—this will be the grandee’s ultimate way of repaying the kindness.” Thereupon the master took leave of the grandee and departed.

The Central Admonitions Scripture of Chisongzi.

The Xuanyuan Yellow Emperor bowed his head and asked Chisongzi (a Daoist immortal): “I see all people receiving life—why is it so uneven? Some are wealthy and noble, some poor and lowly; some long-lived, some short-lived; some unexpectedly suffer shackles and imprisonment, some are long afflicted by illness, some die suddenly without illness, some are long-lived and possessed of rank and emoluments. Such inequality—please explain it for me.” Chisongzi said: “All people, solitary and insignificant, each carry a star; stars are great or small, and each governs a person’s physical form, early death or longevity, flourishing or decline, poverty or wealth, death or life.” “Those who do good are covered by good Qi; blessings and De follow them, all evils leave them, spirits protect them, people respect them, and they are kept far from disaster.” “Those who do evil are covered by inauspicious Qi; calamities follow them, auspiciousness avoids them, evil stars shine upon them, people detest them, and decline and misfortune all gather upon them.” “Whatever people think and do, morning and evening, whether good or evil, they secretly offend the taboos of Heaven and Earth, and the punishments and accumulated sins they receive are more than one.” “When people commit evil day and night, the human spirits and Siming (the deity who governs the allotted lifespan) report it to the stars, and their allotted lifespan is taken away; Heavenly Qi departs and Earthly Qi attaches to them—this is called decline.” The Yellow Emperor asked again: “How much lifespan should people receive?” The answer was: “When a person is first born and touches the ground, Heaven grants a lifespan of forty-three thousand eight hundred days, totaling one hundred twenty years; one year corresponds to one year of age, so humans should all receive a lifespan of one hundred twenty years; because they offend the taboos of Heaven and Earth, their allotted lifespan is taken away and their lives end.” He asked again: “Some die in the womb, and some live only a few years and die—why is that?”

This passage expounds on the correspondence between human conduct and cosmic resonance, illustrating the principle of karmic retribution. The ancient immortal Chisongzi explains that while people may not currently commit transgressions, they might still bear the karmic consequences of their ancestors' misdeeds. Since antiquity, the scriptures left by sages and worthies have consistently advised cultivating virtue and avoiding evil, for such conduct brings enduring renown and blessings to future generations.

Human beings exist between Heaven and Earth, formed from the interplay of Yin and Yang energies. Though Heaven resides loftily above, it resonates with human affairs; though Earth lies humbly below, it sustains all creation. Without uttering a word, Heaven and Earth maintain the cycles of seasons and nurture myriad beings. Yet every human action, thought, and intention is clearly perceived by the cosmos—this is what's called "Heaven's Fourfold Awareness." People often forget to repay Heaven and Earth's benevolence, instead complaining about perceived cosmic injustice.

The scripture employs vivid analogies: Heaven and Earth resemble parents, the sun and moon function as eyes, stars and constellations correspond to the body's nine orifices, while wind and fire maintain bodily warmth. At death, all ultimately return to dust. The Three Platforms constellation (significant in Daoist astrology) and the Great Dipper Deity (who governs lifespans) dispatch emissaries from the Supreme One (Taiyi, a revered Daoist deity) to constantly monitor people from above. According to the severity of transgressions, lifespan deductions occur:

• One-year deduction: manifested by dimmed celestial light above one's head and turbulent fortune
• Ten-year deduction: marked by fractured stellar patterns, bringing frequent illness and misfortune
• Twenty-year deduction: shown by vanished starlight, resulting in grave illness or imprisonment
• Thirty-year deduction: evidenced by scattered constellations, terminating one's lifespan

Such retribution may extend to descendants, even causing familial extinction. Yet people often remain unaware of their faults, blaming only their shortened lives.

Heaven and Earth manifest warnings through natural phenomena: the alternation of day and night, thunder and lightning, rain and snow, solar and lunar eclipses, comets and meteors—all reveal the Dao's operations. Earth displays omens through earthquakes and landslides, floods and droughts, pestilence and plagues. Spirits and deities portend through calamities and auspicious signs, while enlightened rulers demonstrate virtue through national prosperity and public welfare.

The text concludes emphatically: no word, deed, thought, or intention escapes cosmic observation. Therefore the sages taught... (the original text breaks off here, implying that both rulers and commoners should maintain reverence for the Heavenly Dao).

Heaven is without partiality and only aids those who possess De (Virtue). One should revere the Mandate of Heaven, revere people of lofty virtue and honored station, and revere the words of sages.

When people privately do good or evil each day, Heaven and Earth know the truth of it.

When one secretly kills living beings, the spirits see the traces; the words issued from the mind, mouth, and intent—ghosts can hear the human voice.

If one violates the prohibitions a full hundred times, ghosts take away one’s Jing and Qi; at a full thousand times, the underworld registers one’s form.

If one performs all kinds of evil every day, shackles immediately form—this is the retribution of Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang.

Heaven admonishes people with commandments; if they deliberately violate them, ghosts, spirits, Heaven, and Earth send down misfortune upon them.

The Yellow Emperor (Huangdi, a legendary ancient sovereign) asked again: “May I have you examine and recount in detail the immortals’ signs of good and evil and the circumstances of receiving blessings?”

Chisongzi (Master Red Pine, a Daoist immortal) replied: “The methods of cultivating the body, regulating life (mastering life), and governing nature (cultivating the mind-nature) are to constantly practice auspicious Qi in the early morning and single-mindedly keep in mind good words, good deeds, and good sights.

If within a day the three karmas of body, speech, and mind do not arise, then within three years Heaven will send down stars of blessing—all are blessed rewards.

If someone in the early morning constantly practices evil words, evil deeds, and evil sights, teaches others to do evil, and creates evil every day,

then within three years calamity will come upon the body: wealth will be broken, household members diminished, baleful Qi increased on earth, and the person will certainly decline.

Heaven’s nine kinds of ugliness and inauspiciousness are the nine unexpected calamities of the human world.

Good is the verifying tally of evil; evil is the evidence of good.

It also says: good people are the teachers of evil people, and evil people are the warning reference for good people; auspiciousness is the verification of inauspiciousness, and inauspiciousness is the lingering remainder of auspiciousness.

Some good people often meet with disaster, decline, and various misfortunes; this is the leftover calamity bequeathed by their ancestors.

Therefore, one who cultivates good for a lifetime need not choose auspicious times and lucky days; whenever one acts or puts things to use, one naturally obtains good within the inauspicious, the hundred spirits (all the gods) secretly protect one, and shensha (spirits of auspiciousness and inauspiciousness) avoid one.

One who does evil for a lifetime, even if choosing lucky days and auspicious times, on the day of action will instead meet inauspiciousness within the auspicious; evil spirits harm him, and blessing spirits avoid him.

But people in the world who constantly cultivate good deeds all day long—naturally Heaven increases their blessings and longevity and manifests harmonious Qi and radiant clouds; this is the principle of the shadow following the form.

If one wishes not to decline or dissipate but to be preserved together with Heaven, then regarding the taboos of Heaven and Earth, gain and loss, and the way of cultivating the body and regulating life, I shall now explain in detail.

When a person performs one good deed, the heart-spirit is settled; performing ten good deeds, Qi and strength become strong; performing twenty good deeds, the body has no harm; performing thirty good deeds, whatever is sought is fulfilled; performing forty good deeds, one is wealthy and joyful; performing fifty good deeds, descendants flourish; performing sixty good deeds, one reaches the good realm denoted by the word ‘not.’”

In the Chisongzi Zhongjie Jing (Scripture of Central Admonitions), Chisongzi (a Daoist immortal) says:

To encounter mistaken offenses and be implicated by wicked people is seventy good deeds. His studies bring distinction and honor—eighty good deeds. He gains the benefits of land—ninety good deeds. Heavenly deities protect him—one hundred good deeds. Heaven grants him emoluments and he meets sages and worthies—two hundred good deeds. His name is spread to later generations and his descendants receive emoluments—three hundred good deeds. For three generations his descendants are wealthy, honored, prosperous, and happy—four hundred good deeds. For four generations his descendants are wealthy, honored, and promoted in rank and salary—five hundred good deeds. For five generations his descendants receive enfeoffment and surpass noble ranks—six hundred good deeds. For generation after generation his descendants are loyal, filial, wealthy, and honored—seven hundred good deeds. For generation after generation wise and sagely people appear—eight hundred good deeds. People of Dao and De appear—nine hundred good deeds. Sages appear—one thousand good deeds. Hosts of immortals appear; his historic traces and good governance are recorded by the Heavenly Dao; in this life his allotted lifespan (suan, lifespan) is increased, his rank is advanced, and he ascends to immortality, with blessings reaching his descendants, worthies being born and sages emerging.

If a person commits one evil, his mind and intentions are unsettled. With ten evils, his Qi and strength become weak and depleted. With twenty evils, his body suffers many illnesses. With thirty evils, what he seeks is not fulfilled. With forty evils, he meets setbacks, decline, and loss, and all his affairs go contrary. With fifty evils, he has no spouse for life. With sixty evils, his descendants are cut off. With seventy evils, yin ghosts plot to harm him. With eighty evils, water and fire bring disaster, and he suffers unexpected burning and drowning. With ninety evils, he is poor, cold, trapped, and weak, with sores, scabies, and wind-madness. With one hundred evils, heavenly Qi harms him; unexpected affairs drag him into criminal punishment, and he dies a wretched death. With two hundred evils, earthly Qi harms him, and robbers and thieves bring disaster. With three hundred evils, generation after generation lowly and base people appear. With four hundred evils, generation after generation his descendants are poor, lowly, and begging. With five hundred evils, his descendants have no heirs. With six hundred evils, generation after generation his descendants are blind, deaf, mute, and idiots and madmen appear. With seven hundred evils, descendants appear who commit the Five Rebellious Acts (Wuni), are unfilial, and break the law. With eight hundred evils, rebellious ministers and unfilial sons appear, and his kin are exterminated. With nine hundred evils, monstrous people appear, and his clan and kind are wiped out. With one thousand evils, generation after generation his descendants have strange forms and transformed bodies, becoming incomplete shapes of birds and beasts. When the calamity of accumulated evil is full to overflowing, the misfortune reaches several generations. This is Siming (the deity who governs human lifespans) seizing his allotted years, his star falling and his body dying, his soul tortured in Fengdu (the Daoist underworld), and calamity flowing to later generations.

The Yellow Emperor (an ancient sovereign) asked again: When Siming takes away people’s lifespans, what crimes committed by people in the world bring this about? Chisongzi replied: I respectfully consider the circumstances of people in the world.

When people themselves commit faults and bring disaster and blame upon themselves, they instead say the Dao of Heaven is unjust; when they suffer injustice, they do not defend themselves and clear their name but instead curse and resent Heaven; when imprisoned and put in cangues and shackles, they resent Heaven; when they suffer hunger, poverty, and illness, they resent Heaven; when they encounter cold and heat, frost and snow, they resent Heaven; because of the lengthening and shortening of day and night, they resent Heaven; after doing evil themselves, they pray to Heaven and make vows; they violate the order of the Four Seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter); they violate the constant principles of the Five Phases (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water); they stand naked before the Three Luminaries (sun, moon, and stars); they urinate and defecate before the Three Luminaries, the stars, and community earth-god shrines; seeing a solar or lunar eclipse, they fail to perform rescue rites; they seek only their own pleasure; they do not respect Heaven, Earth, ghosts, and spirits; they are unfilial to their parents; they shout at and curse wind and rain; they destroy sagely scriptures and teachings; they damage community shrines; they dig up graves; they take the property of the dead; they deceive the blind, deaf, mute, and other disabled people; they steal gold, silver, cloth, and silk; they throw filth onto other people’s houses; they carelessly destroy clothing in public; they use unclean vessels to hold food and drink; they use Yansheng curse magic to curse living people; they bury talismans in the ground; they envy the worthy and capable; they keep and cultivate various gu poisons; they kill living beings; they circulate unsigned documents; they harm innocent commoners with slander; they expose others’ private matters; they block roads; they fill and obstruct ditches and canals; they steal others’ property and discard it; they misuse medicines, cut down others’ trees, grain shoots and crops, flowers, fruit, and gardens; they harm the six domestic animals (horse, ox, sheep, chicken, dog, pig); they defile wells, stoves, Daoist temples and abbeys, and shrines; they wear mourning garments yet sing and make merry; they set fire to mountains; they destroy others’ property; they drain ponds and marshes; they catch water creatures such as large soft-shelled turtles, Chinese alligators, turtles, and fish; they make friends or alliances but break oaths; they treat the Dao of the spirits with contempt; they are treacherous and deceptive; they say one thing and mean another; they use evil words and slander to incite strife; they use crooked coercion to create lawsuits; they incite others to litigate and repeatedly file complaints; they appear naked before others; they eat and drink with their hair loose and disheveled; they harm the good and encourage evil; they benefit themselves and harm others; they are excessively superstitious about false teachers; they teach others to do unlawful things; they attack and kill the innocent; they treat uprightness as error; they rely on power to practice evil cunning; they turn minor offenses into grave crimes; in spring they carry out killing and felling; in summer they execute and kill various living beings; in autumn they see evil conduct but do not correct it; in winter they dig up things stored in the earth; they separate others’ flesh and blood; they love killing and hate life; they value themselves and despise others; they bully orphans; they oppress widows; they ruin others to complete themselves; they endanger others in exchange for their own safety; they borrow and do not repay; they praise themselves and slander others; they echo evil people and chase power; they flaunt the power of others; they are inwardly vicious but outwardly kind; they become angry at the sight of killing; they know their faults but do not change; they see good deeds but do not follow them; they turn away from kin and become close to strangers; they disrespect those of high status; they are arrogant toward those of low status; they do not accept the teachings of parents, teachers, elders, and friends; wives and concubines engage in slander and strife; they believe the words of petty people and servants; they easily abandon flesh-and-blood kin; they bestow kindness on others but demand repayment.

Withdrawing from and regretting good intentions; taking pleasure in exposing others' shortcomings and mocking their poverty and stinginess; prying into others' secrets; joking and wantonly violating others' wives and concubines; not walking the righteous path; seizing the affection others enjoy; stealing others' good deeds and claiming them as one's own; implicating common people in grave crimes and acting as guarantor for others; treating superiors and inferiors with disrespect and failing to distinguish rank; bullying others under the influence of alcohol; using objects improperly; discarding food and drink; treating clothing with contempt; seeking things beyond one's due; not avoiding danger and death; forgetting the old upon gaining the new; abandoning the root and pursuing the branches; failing to repay kindness; deceiving and hoodwinking others.

The transgressions recorded above number more than eight hundred; in brief, they cannot all be recorded. When people of the world violate them, they offend the star that governs their natal destiny, and this is reported to the Supreme Lord (Shàngdì). The Seven Stars, Six Pitch Pipes, Four Seasons, Eight Winds, Nine Palaces, and Five Phases—the Supreme Lord first orders the Director of Destinies (Sīmìng, the deity in charge of lifespan) to deduct from their lifespan allotment, causing them to die young and bringing various disasters upon their descendants. The Yellow Emperor (Huángdì, an ancient emperor) asked again: When people offend the taboos of Heaven and Earth and their lifespan is deducted according to a fixed number, how are their sins judged? Master Red Pine (Chìsōngzǐ, an immortal) said: Humans are the root of Heaven and Earth and should do good; it is only because people of the world appear gentle outwardly but harbor secret venom and jealousy inwardly, offending taboos, that their sins are not limited to one item and are recorded and reported one by one by the Director of Destinies. Whenever people of the world suffer execution or die in battle when two armies face each other on the field: first, they themselves have transgressed, and past karma brings mutual enmity; second, when the Five Movements (Wǔyùn) intersect, Taiyi (Tàiyī, a deity and star name) launches a punitive campaign, and when their fate coincides with a transitional calendrical cycle, they are due to endure the calamity of annihilation. The Yellow Emperor asked Master Red Pine again: I have heard you say that when people of the world offend taboos, they cannot sleep peacefully; can their sins be absolved? He replied: Sins can be absolved or not absolved. When people of the world occasionally act improperly but can repent in their hearts, this is absolvable; if they hear but do not believe, know their faults but do not change, commit more evil, and their hearts are filled with venom, then it is not absolvable. Master Red Pine said: If people practice the good path, Heaven, Earth, ghosts, and spirits bestow blessings and assistance, increasing and prolonging their lifespan; since there are no various evils, why not practice the good path? As long as people of the world respect Heaven, Earth, and the Three Luminaries (Sānguāng, the sun, moon, and stars) and do not offend taboos; honor and love their parents and live in harmony with their brothers; take pity on the orphaned and solitary and aid the poor and sick; respect teachers, elders, the sages of antiquity, and the village elders, and do not contravene their teachings; and are humble and reverent. Whenever there are wind and rain, cold and heat, evil stars and strange phenomena, or the sun and moon are eclipsed or occulted (eclipses and such), one should harbor good thoughts, be reverent and keep away from ghosts and spirits, and sacrifice to Heaven above.

In the earthly human realm, people’s merit and virtue are recorded, adding to and extending their allotted emolument and lifespan—their fortune, blessings, and years of life. When seeing others do evil, one should observe and take warning; when seeing others cultivate goodness, one should observe and learn. When meeting good people, respect them and follow them; when seeing others in danger, harbor the intention to rescue and protect them; take hardship upon oneself and give others stability and ease; exchange one’s own light tasks for others’ heavy labor. Persuade people not to engage in quarrels and lawsuits over official affairs; repair and maintain public wells and irrigation ditches; repair and fill in roads. Do not lose the greater principle because of a small fault, and do not abandon small acts of goodness in the name of the greater principle. When seeing others suffer loss, feel keen pain for them; when seeing others gain, rejoice inwardly. Support the weak; bestow kindness and relief upon orphans and the poor; be respectful and cautious, humble and yielding; yield blessings and emoluments to others. The celestial administration records the merit in this and also increases lifespan; descendants receive blessings.

If someone has resolve and trustworthiness and does not violate the original heart, reveres morality and virtue, does not avoid danger, and saves drowning people in rivers and lakes; does not covet external beauty, does not encroach upon others’ houses and property, does not harm living beings without cause, loves life and hates killing, is never lacking in ritual respect, constantly studies the Jing (scriptures and classics), does not forget to repay kindness received, does not regret conferring benefits, is broad-minded and endures insult, fulfills loyalty and filial piety to the utmost, does not flaunt ceremonial display or pomp, does not misuse goods and property, does not crave ornate clothing, and when preparing food and drink does not kill living beings beyond what is proper. By leading by example, there is no one who does not draw near to him; he does not consider himself worthy, does not consider himself good, does not make excuses for himself, does not rely on wealth, does not boast, does not act arbitrarily, does not praise himself, does not raise his own status, does not exalt and magnify himself, does not look down on others, does not assume he is right, and does not think he is always correct. The Great Record of the celestial administration notes these merits; all increase the lifespan allotment. For those with many merits, the lifespan allotment is increased doubly.

If a person can serve the ruler with full loyalty, serve the father with full filial piety, be not arrogant, respect teachers and elders, enlighten ignorant children, glorify and praise the teacher, cultivate oneself with humility and yielding, maintain harmony between superiors and subordinates, care for all with fairness, not listen to slander and evil, and act with an upright heart. A woman is filial and obedient to her parents-in-law, respectful and compliant to her husband, pure and chaste in conduct, swallows her anger and endures silence, inquires after their well-being morning and evening, with a gentle countenance and pleasant face, and supports her elders selflessly. All such people receive an increase in lifespan and prolonged years, augmented blessings and emoluments, removal of disasters and misfortunes, and their sons and daughters are intelligent.

Those who suffer shortened lifespan and scant blessings do so because ministers kill rulers, children kill fathers, they disobey in serving teachers, forget the teacher after completing their studies, are rebellious and disorderly and lacking propriety, fail to distinguish close from distant relations, and indulge their willfulness. A woman who defies her parents, is unfilial to her parents-in-law, despises her husband, slanders with her tongue, throws the six relations into disorder, steals, is greedy, gluttonous, and lazy, and does evil with neighbors. All these will have blessings and lifespan taken away, be beset by severe illness, be hated by others while alive, and after death fall into suffering.

The “Yellow Emperor of Hell” in the scripture also asked: “Are there in the human world still more subtle and wonderful principles that I may hear?” Chisongzi said: “People’s cultivation and maintenance of good and evil both arise from the mind. The mind is the sprout of the ‘Five Thieves’ (wuzei)—the five kinds of thoughts that plunder the heart-nature—and the root of all evil. When a person’s mind intends to do good, even though the good deed has not yet been accomplished, the good spirits have already responded to it; when an evil thought arises in the mind, even though the evil deed has not yet sprouted, the inauspicious spirits already know it. Therefore, though a gentleman practices good for a thousand days, good still seems insufficient; in a moment he creates evil, and evil is already more than enough. As for usurpation and seizure, and swallowing up others—these too all arise from the human mind. Gain and loss originally return to the Dao of Heaven. Again, when one raises the mind to harm others, one may not necessarily succeed; people’s death and life, withering and flourishing, are also determined by fate and destiny. The scripture says: Heaven has Five Thieves; those who can discern and grasp them flourish, those who lose them perish. The teaching speaks of the Five Virtues (wude); those who practice them flourish, those who violate them perish. Practicing the Five Virtues means gentleness, goodness, respectfulness, frugality, deference, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness; violating the Five Virtues means evil, disobedience, greed, envy, killing, fierceness, violence, disorder, deceit, lying, fraud, and flattery.

People of the world often practice five kinds of perversity and constantly harbor nine evil thoughts in their minds: seeing others’ glory, wealth, and honor, they say that in former days such people were lowly and dusty, and they raise the wish that they be exiled and demoted; seeing others rich and noble, they laugh at their former poverty and wish them ruin and dispersal; seeing others with abundant wealth and silk, they raise the thought of having others plunder them; seeing others’ wives and concubines beautiful, they raise the thought of committing adultery; seeing others’ houses grand, they raise the thought of wanting to burn them; when owing others debts, they raise the wish that the creditor die; when they ask others for loans of property and do not get them, they raise thoughts of vexation and much resentment; seeing others occasionally in danger and hardship, they speak of their former faults; and toward their own birth parents, they early wish them dead, so as to obtain their property and houses. These are the nine thoughts of fools. Therefore Heaven, Earth, ghosts, and spirits detest them, bestow calamity and misfortune upon them, and take away their allotted lifespan.

Those whose minds practice the Five Virtues constantly harbor nine kinds of reflection: seeing others honored and noble, they reflect that their own blessed karma and causes are thin; seeing others’ granaries full of grain, they reflect that they themselves did not work diligently to cultivate and plant; seeing others’ gold, jade, and wealth, they reflect that these are not things they possess; seeing others’ beautiful wives and concubines, they reflect that each has a spouse, and they do not give rise to licentious thoughts; seeing others’ houses grand, they reflect that their own shabby dwelling is also sufficient for shelter; seeing that someone formerly owed them something and later encountered trouble with the authorities, they raise a heart to rescue and take them in; when they owe others debts and for the moment have no way to repay them, they long ponder and worry about the debt, and diligently repay it. The final phrase, “or desire,” can be understood as: sometimes yet another kind of desire arises.

This scripture recounts a dialogue between the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) and the immortal Chisongzi, primarily discussing the hierarchy of human wisdom and principles for navigating life.

The main ideas are:

Regarding lending possessions to others, one should constantly reflect on whether one has shown kindness to others in the past. When observing how others serve their rulers and parents, one should examine whether one has been equally diligent. One should always contemplate how to repay the world. If one can practice these "Nine Reflections" throughout the day while abandoning the previous "Nine Distractions" (various stray thoughts), one becomes a supreme sage who receives blessings in this life, extends fortune to descendants, and remains untouched by misfortune.

The Yellow Emperor then asked: "What are the different levels of wisdom?" Chisongzi replied that there are three grades:

The highest wisdom belongs to those who are born with innate understanding of astronomy and geography, comprehend without being taught, distinguish musical tones, recognize worthiness and foolishness, maintain compassion without belittling others, and grasp the principles of success and failure, advancement and retreat, survival and demise. Such individuals may temporarily experience poverty but will ultimately attain wealth; though humble for a time, they will eventually achieve prominence.

The middling wise are those who understand the classics, maintain reverence, emulate the virtuous when encountering them, aid the distressed, delight in charitable deeds, embody both loyalty and filial piety, speak gently, and remain modest and courteous. Though they may not have studied extensively, they will eventually awaken; though not immediately successful, they will ultimately achieve their aims.

The lowest grade of wisdom belongs to those who can reform and turn toward goodness. They learn when engaged in their work, firmly believe in the retribution of good and evil, do not seize others' property, cherish life, comprehend principles, understand rituals, and remain content with their lot to avoid misfortune. By acting with such caution, they avoid transgressions and unforeseen calamities.

The Yellow Emperor praised: "Excellent! These teachings bring immeasurable merit and should be recorded to instruct the masses, serving as a bridge to ferry the world." The assembled ministers bowed and withdrew to follow these teachings.

Through this three-tiered classification of wisdom, the scripture teaches people to maintain constant self-reflection, emphasize moral cultivation, and accumulate virtue through good deeds. The highest wisdom emphasizes innate enlightenment, the middling focuses on acquired refinement, while the lowest stresses reform and turning toward goodness—demonstrating that all people can attain wisdom through different paths.