《靈寶天尊說祿庫受生經》

Interpretation of the Scripture of Lingbao Tianzun on the Treasury of Destiny and the Debt of Rebirth in Vernacular Language:

At that time, Lingbao Tianzun (one of the Three Pure Ones in Daoism) was seated beneath a jeweled tree in the Mountain of Accumulated Virtue, within the Pure Bright Land of the Fuluo World. Surrounded by countless celestial kings and immortal sages, he expounded the profound Dharma. Radiating nine-colored light that illuminated all beings across the ten directions, he revealed the disparities of nobility and poverty among mortals—all arising from the karmic consequences of their good and evil deeds. Though the assembled immortals harbored doubts, none dared to voice them.

Then, the Perfected One of Luminous and Wondrous Sound, a high-ranking immortal, bowed reverently and inquired: "Why do men and women in the mortal world differ in fortune—some wealthy and noble, others poor and suffering?"

Tianzun replied: "The destinies of all beings are governed by the celestial offices of Heaven, while their physical forms are subject to the underworld’s jurisdiction. At the moment of rebirth, every soul borrows ‘wealth from the Treasury of Destiny and the Debt of Rebirth’ from the underworld’s courts. This debt transforms into their blessings and prosperity in this life. Those who are wealthy and noble in this life repaid their karmic debts in past lives, while the poor and lowly have defaulted on their underworld debts across countless kalpas, resulting in their earthly blessings being deducted to settle their yin debts."

Tianzun further explained: "I once entrusted a sacred tree to the Northern Emperor of Fengdu (ruler of the underworld), planting it in the capital of the netherworld. When beings are reborn, they shoot three divine arrows and draw three celestial bows toward this tree: striking the eastern branch grants noble rank and long life; the southern branch bestows health and longevity; the western branch brings wealth and glory; while the northern branch condemns one to poverty and hardship. This tree, in truth, reflects the mirror of karma—manifesting the fruits of one’s deeds."

"If, during one’s lifetime, one reveres the Three Treasures (the Dao, the scriptures, and the masters), practices charity, observes purification rituals (zhaijiao), recites scriptures, cultivates virtuous connections, and—following my teachings—recites this scripture while burning offerings to repay the debt of the Treasury of Destiny, they will attain the blessing of three lifetimes as a man. After death, they will bypass the hells and be reborn directly among humans. The courts of Fengdu will then use these bows and arrows to..."

The Scripture on the Treasury of Destiny and Rebirth Debt as Spoken by Lingbao Tianzun (one of the Three Pure Ones in Daoism) reveals:

Lingbao Tianzun uses divine power to protect the sacred tree (symbolizing the tree of destiny), preventing souls from being reborn on its northern branches (representing misfortune), so they may obtain lives of prosperity. However, those who in life are miserly and greedy, foolishly rejecting sacred teachings, defaulting on debts, consumed by envy, or persistently committing evil deeds will have their transgressions recorded in the ledgers of sin. The celestial bureaucracy (Tiancao) will shorten their lifespans, while the underworld authorities (Mingsi) will reclaim the "rebirth funds" (the spiritual capital borrowed for reincarnation). Such individuals will fall into hell after death, suffering countless kalpas before being reborn as beasts. Even if they regain human form, they will live in poverty and lowliness.

A Daoist adept inquired of the Tianzun: To which treasury should people repay the rebirth funds borrowed from the underworld treasury officials during reincarnation? The Tianzun explained in detail: Each person's birth year corresponds to one of the twelve earthly branches, with twelve treasury officials overseeing the destiny treasuries (repositories of blessings). Specifically:

• Those born in the Year of the Rat (Zi): owe 13,000 strings of coins to Official Li of the First Treasury
• Those born in the Year of the Ox (Chou): owe 280,000 strings to Official Tian of the Second Treasury
• Those born in the Year of the Tiger (Yin): owe 80,000 strings to Official Lei of the Third Treasury
• Those born in the Year of the Rabbit (Mao): owe 80,000 strings to Official Liu of the Fourth Treasury
• Those born in the Year of the Dragon (Chen): owe 50,000 strings to Official Yuan of the Fifth Treasury
• Those born in the Year of the Snake (Si): owe 70,000 strings to Official Ji of the Sixth Treasury
• Those born in the Year of the Horse (Wu): owe 260,000 strings to Official Xu of the Seventh Treasury
• Those born in the Year of the Goat (Wei): owe 100,000 strings to Official Zhu of the Eighth Treasury
• Those born in the Year of the Monkey (Shen): owe 40,000 strings to Official Che of the Ninth Treasury
• Those born in the Year of the Rooster (You): owe 50,000 strings to Official Zheng of the Tenth Treasury
• Those born in the Year of the Dog (Xu): should deposit 25,000 strings with Official Cheng of the Eleventh Treasury
• Those born in the Year of the Pig (Hai): owe 9,000 strings to Official Kang of the Twelfth Treasury

The Tianzun emphasized that these twelve treasury officials each maintain precise accounts of rebirth debts. This scripture reflects the Daoist concept of "inherited burden" (karmic retribution), teaching that humans must repay debts from previous existences during reincarnation, or face adverse consequences in their current lives.

This scripture reveals the teachings of Lingbao Tianzun (one of the Three Pure Ones in Daoism) concerning the "Rebirth Debt." When each person is born into human form, they have borrowed a sum of money from the underworld, recorded in the ledgers of the Lu Treasury (the underworld's financial repository).

The Celestial Venerable meticulously enumerates the twelve zodiac signs with their corresponding Benming Yuanchen (guardian deities) and respective Rebirth Debt amounts:

• Rat year birth: Guardian deity Liu Wenzhen, owes 7,000 strings of cash
• Ox year birth: Guardian deity Meng Xia, owes 9,000 strings
• Tiger year birth: Guardian deity Zhong Yuan, owes 6,000 strings
• Rabbit year birth: Guardian deity Hao Yuan, owes 10,000 strings
• Dragon year birth: Guardian deity Li Wenliang, owes 6,400 strings
• Snake year birth: Guardian deity Cao Jiao, owes 1,000 strings
• Horse year birth: Guardian deity Zhang Si, owes 9,000 strings
• Goat year birth: Guardian deity Sun Gong, owes 4,000 strings
• Monkey year birth: Guardian deity Du Zhun, owes 8,000 strings
• Rooster year birth: Guardian deity Tian Jiaoyou, owes 5,000 strings
• Dog year birth: Guardian deity Cui Jianjin, owes 5,000 strings
• Pig year birth: Guardian deity Wang Shuang, owes 6,000 strings

The Celestial Venerable instructs devotees: those who faithfully uphold this scripture may prepare ritual offerings and establish a sacred space (daochang), practicing according to the scripture's prescribed methods. Through zhaijiao purification rituals (Daoist ceremonial offerings), by burning memorial petitions (documents addressed to deities) and spirit money to repay the underworld treasury, one may attain blessings of wealth and nobility in this life while avoiding suffering in future rebirths.

However, those who disbelieve these principles and instead create negative karma will fall into the Nine Nether Hells (considered the deepest hell realms in Daoism), continuing to endure the suffering of samsaric rebirth. The Celestial Venerable ultimately admonishes all to heed this fundamental principle of karmic cause and effect.

This passage depicts the scene when the Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure (Lingbao Tianzun, one of the Three Pure Ones in Daoism) expounded the Scripture of the Treasury of Blessings and Rebirth (Luku Shousheng Jing). Present at this sacred assembly were the Perfected Being of Luminous Wondrous Sound (Guangmiaoyin Zhenren, an immortal in Daoist tradition), numerous celestial beings, as well as deities from the underworld including the Northern Emperor of Fengdu (the Daoist netherworld), King Yama, officials of the underworld bureaucracy, and the Registrar of the Treasury of Blessings (the underworld institution recording human fortunes). Also in attendance were the Guardian Deities of Natal Destiny (Benming Yuanchen, spirits overseeing one's birth hour).

All these divine beings paid reverent homage to the Heavenly Worthy of Numinous Treasure, beholding his majestic dharma appearance before respectfully withdrawing. Subsequently, the Perfected Being of Luminous Wondrous Sound transmitted this sacred scripture to the human realm for the salvation of departed souls and the deliverance of all sentient beings. The scripture concludes by emphasizing that people should extol the merits of this classic, disseminate it widely, and practice it with sincere faith and devotion.

(Note: The Scripture of the Treasury of Blessings and Rebirth primarily explains the karmic principles governing how beings receive blessings and provisions from the underworld treasury when reincarnating.)