《太上玄一真人說三途五苦勸戒經》

Interpretation of the Scripture on the Three Paths and Five Sufferings, as Expounded by the Most High Mysterious Unity Perfected Being

The Most High Mysterious Unity Perfected Being (a high-ranking Daoist immortal) observed the principles governing the movement of heaven, earth, and all things from the formless realm of primordial chaos. He saw that the cycles of creation and destruction, life and death, mirrored one another—just as the seasons wax and wane, and the sun and moon alternate in their phases. Human beings are born from the primordial Qi of the cosmos, yet due to differences in the refinement or coarseness of their thoughts and the right or wrong of their actions, they accumulate corresponding merits and transgressions. All of these are meticulously recorded by the celestial and earthly mechanisms.

The Perfected Being witnessed sentient beings endlessly cycling through birth and death in the wheel of reincarnation, with their souls transmigrating and their present circumstances shaped by the karmic consequences of past actions. Thus, from the void, he opened the Eight Gates (eight paths of cultivation) to teach and guide deluded beings toward the correct path of practice and realization of their karmic destiny. Yet now, he sees many people disregarding cause and effect, violating precepts, and after death, falling into the Three Paths (the three wretched destinies: the Path of Fire, the Path of Blood, and the Path of Blades) and the Five Sufferings (the five agonies, including birth, aging, sickness, and death). Their forms decay, and they endure torment as retribution for past misdeeds.

With particular sorrow, the Perfected Being describes the horrors he witnessed in the East: some with faces festering and bleeding, necks as thin as hanging threads, bellies swollen like suspended drums, bodies pierced by iron spikes, mouths filled with fire, dragging one another along a path of burning coals. They tread upon mountains of blades and bear the weight of iron staves, suffering unbearably. The Flying Celestials (heavenly messengers) explain that these beings committed sins in past lives—harsh speech, slander against the Dao and Virtue (De), attacking teachers and elders, scheming against one another—or engaged in cruel slaughter of living beings, envying the worthy, and suppressing the virtuous. These evil deeds have led to their present suffering.

The Perfected Being established these teachings precisely to save such beings, admonishing humanity to be cautious in speech and action, to understand the laws of karma, and to cultivate in accordance with the precepts.

The Most High Mysterious Unity Perfected Being (a revered Daoist deity) expounded a scripture on the three evil paths (hell, hungry ghosts, and animals) and five sufferings, exhorting people to cultivate virtue and accumulate merit (De).

The Perfected Being said: "While traveling through the celestial realms, I once exited through the Western Gate and witnessed common men and women transformed into ox-headed beasts with their tongues stretched out and pierced by iron spikes. Celestial guardians beat them incessantly with iron rods until their bodies became unrecognizably mutilated, standing in agony upon mountains of blades. I inquired: 'What crimes have these people committed to deserve such punishment?' The flying immortals of the Western Extremity replied: 'These are sinners who in past lives disobeyed the Dao's laws, defied their masters' teachings, disrespected the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha), spoke falsely with duplicitous hearts, deceived teachers and betrayed ancestors, cursed divine beings, indulged in drunkenness and lust, slandered virtuous people, maligned the worthy, and took human lives. Such grave offenses condemn them to ten thousand kalpas of suffering, with future rebirths among barbarian tribes - possessing human form but devoid of human nature.'"

The Perfected Being instructed: "These beings may be led to reflect on their past misdeeds, reform themselves toward goodness, and receive teachings of the Dharma Wheel (Buddhist doctrine) as admonition. Thus they may be reborn again in the Central Lands to cultivate the true path (Dao) and resolve their karmic debts. By widely planting fields of blessing (performing good deeds and accumulating merit), when their virtue becomes complete they may enter the celestial Western Gate to enjoy their reward."

The Perfected Being continued: "When exiting through the Southern Gate, I saw common men and women naked, swallowing fire and eating charcoal, their bodies scorched and festering from flames, wearing iron cauldrons on their heads while standing on volcanic mountains in unbearable torment. These sufferings represent the karmic retribution for evil deeds committed in past existences."

This scripture expounds the Daoist teachings on karmic retribution, presenting a dialogue between celestial immortals (high-ranking deities) from the northern and southern polar realms that describes the corresponding hellish punishments and reincarnation consequences for various evil deeds.

First addressing southern sinners: These individuals committed past-life transgressions including:

1. Sowing discord and slandering Dao practitioners

2. Attacking virtuous scholars

3. Showing filial impiety toward parents and cruelty toward kin

4. Slaughtering livestock for gluttonous pleasure, wantonly harming living creatures

5. Working as butchers, mass-killing animals

These evil deeds now condemn them to endure:

• Torment in boiling cauldrons
• Suffering in the frozen hells
• Punishment spanning countless kalpas (eons)
• Rebirth as livestock to repay karmic debts

Yet the scripture offers redemption: If they repent and turn to goodness, accumulating abundant merit, they may still be reborn as humans, even gaining potential access to the Southern Heavenly Gate (portal to immortal realms) to form auspicious karmic connections.

The northern sinners carried heavier past-life transgressions:

1. Regicide and patricide, murdering teachers

2. Bullying the weak and betraying friends

3. False accusations creating wrongful convictions

4. Desecrating deities and destroying Daoist temples

5. Stealing scriptures for unauthorized transmission

6. Defiling sacred texts and disparaging the true Dao

These offenders will suffer:

• Being dragged naked into scalding oil vats
• Immersion in toxic fluids causing bodily decay
• Shackled torment in frozen hells
• Eternal confinement devoid of sunlight
• Rebirth as disabled or lowly beings

Through this polar comparison, the scripture illustrates the graduated severity of punishments corresponding to different misdeeds, emphasizing the cosmic law that "good and evil inevitably receive their due." It concludes by noting that those who heed its warnings and cultivate virtue may still attain deliverance.

This scripture describes the celestial journey of the Supreme Mysterious Unity Perfected Being (a high-ranking Daoist deity), witnessing the punishment of sinners in different heavenly directions while teaching methods of liberation through repentance and virtuous deeds.

At the Eastern Heavenly Gate, the Perfected Being observed multitudes of men and women with shaved heads, shackled and carrying mountain stones as they traversed iron needles, toiling ceaselessly day and night. These were individuals who in past lives, empowered by wealth and status, oppressed the poor, seized property, committed murder, engaged in banditry and mutual slaughter, stole spouses, separated mothers from children, or even committed incest with relatives. Such grave transgressions condemned them first to endure the "Three Torments" (triple-layered hellish punishments) before rebirth as oxen or horses to suffer further. Moved by compassion, the Perfected Being instructed celestial beings to guide these sinners in recalling their past misdeeds, urging reformation through virtuous acts like temple-building and almsgiving to atone for their sins, ultimately allowing passage through the Eastern Gate for rebirth.

At the Southwestern Heavenly Gate, the Perfected Being witnessed sinners embracing red-hot bronze pillars while fire needles pierced their naked bodies, their feet chained with iron as fierce beasts devoured their flesh. These were individuals who in previous lives stole food, murdered innocents, and committed "cardinal rebellions" (unpardonable crimes). Celestial beings explained each torment directly corresponded to their earthly transgressions.

The core teaching revolves around the doctrine of "Three Paths and Five Sufferings": using vivid hellscapes to warn mortals of karmic retribution. Liberation requires: 1) recognizing one's sins 2) sincere repentance 3) upholding precepts 4) accumulating virtuous deeds. The "Dharma Wheel" symbolizes salvific teachings, while "Northern/Eastern Gates" represent different paths of liberation. "Karmic destiny" denotes cause-and-effect across lifetimes. Through graphic depictions of punitive justice, the scripture emphasizes that present wickedness inevitably begets future suffering—only timely repentance can transcend the wheel of rebirth.

This scripture expounds the Daoist teachings on karmic retribution, describing the punishments awaiting those who commit evil deeds and the path to redemption through repentance.

First, it enumerates various wicked acts: refusing to repay debts, bullying the weak, insatiable greed; harboring resentment and seeking revenge when desires go unfulfilled; disrespecting elders, mocking the poor and sick; exposing one's naked body to defile the sun, moon, and stars (the Three Luminaries); showing irreverence toward Heaven and Earth, and fearing neither spirits nor deities. These grave sins condemn one to rebirth as a servant to repay their debts.

Next, it depicts the harrowing scenes witnessed by celestial immortals (flying transcendents): sinners confined in dark prisons, enduring daily tortures, their souls forced after death to carry stones and fill the seas, suffering the Five Agonies. These punishments stem from heavy transgressions in past lives—killing, performing dark rituals, slandering Daoist priests and realized masters (enlightened adepts), betraying one's teacher, cursing the virtuous, blaspheming deities, disrupting feng shui, grave-robbing, and ridiculing those who do good.

Finally, it offers a path to salvation: out of compassion, the immortals instruct the flying transcendents to help these sinners recall their past lives and reform. Sincere repentance, virtuous deeds, cultivation of the true Dao (the Way), and the accumulation of merit can dissolve past karmic burdens. Notably, redemption is said to come through the "Gate of the Southwest" (a symbolic direction of deliverance), leading to rebirth and ultimately the attainment of "non-action (Wuwei)"—the highest state in Daoism.

The text repeatedly emphasizes the concepts of "predestined fate" (past-life karma) and "karmic retribution," reflecting core Daoist beliefs in moral accountability and reincarnation. Yet it also highlights Daoism's compassionate side: even sinners may find redemption through genuine repentance.

The Scripture on the Three Paths and Five Sufferings Expounded by the Most High Mysterious Unity Perfected Being recounts how the Mysterious Unity Perfected Being (Xuanyi Zhenren), after observing the karmic retribution of sentient beings, urged people to cultivate goodness and accumulate virtue (De).

The Perfected Being described his celestial journeys, during which he witnessed countless men and women suffering excruciating torments at the Northwest Gate of heaven: some had their hair shaved and limbs severed, others climbed sword-trees while being lashed by winds from all directions, and still others traversed mountains of blades, their hands and feet festering and bleeding in unbearable agony. When the Perfected Being inquired about their transgressions, celestial flying beings (Feitian) explained: These individuals, in their past lives, were obsessed with fame and profit. Though they studied the Dao, they hoarded treasures and refused to make offerings. They recklessly transmitted scriptures without adhering to proper lineage protocols, divulging secret teachings to the unworthy. They treated sacred texts with disrespect, defied their masters’ instructions, and acted arrogantly. Their fasting rituals were insincere, and their cultivation lacked dedication. As a result, after death, they fell into wretched realms, enduring endless kalpas without hope of regaining human form—either reborn as dull-witted beings or afflicted with blindness, deafness, and other maladies.

Moved by compassion, the Perfected Being told the celestial beings: Though these souls broke precepts, they once encountered the Dao’s teachings. They should be allowed to recall their past wrongs, repent, and turn toward goodness—redeeming themselves through meritorious deeds and sincere devotion to their masters. Only then may they be liberated from the Northwest Gate, regain human form, and resume cultivation, ultimately ascending to the realm of perfection.

The Perfected Being further revealed: Through the Eight Gates, he observed the mortal world and saw multitudes heedless of karmic consequences, committing endless evils. After death, their souls plunged into the Three Paths (fire, blood, and blades) and Five Sufferings (birth, aging, sickness, death, separation from loved ones, etc.), enduring ceaseless torment in the Eight Calamities. The most grievous offenders were dragged by demonic wardens to face punishment.

This scripture primarily expounds the methods by which the Most High Mysterious Unity Perfected Being (Taishang Xuanyi Zhenren) guides sentient beings to transcend the Three Paths (the path of fire, the path of blood, and the path of blades) and the Five Sufferings (the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death; the suffering of separation from loved ones; the suffering of encountering hatred; the suffering of unfulfilled desires; and the suffering of the five aggregates). Below is a modern interpretation:

The first section explains:

Sentient beings have long been trapped in the cycle of suffering, unable to attain liberation. Thus, the Perfected Being reveals the path to salvation, imparting admonitions for people to reflect on the karmic transgressions from past lives and reform toward goodness. By cultivating the inner contemplation method (Dharma Wheel), one can swiftly attain rebirth as a human. One should widely perform virtuous deeds, practice charity to aid the poor, establish merit fields (Futian, "fields of blessings"), revere teachers and elders, and offer filial support. When merit is perfected, past karmic obstructions can be resolved, and blessings will follow. Upon entering the Daoist sanctuary to cultivate practice, one will comprehend past-life causes and conditions and achieve the true Dao. This method is universally applicable—those who encounter this scripture, by virtue of their virtuous roots, can transcend the Five Sufferings and Three Paths, avoid the Eight Hindrances (eight obstacles to cultivation), enjoy peace in this life, and attain prosperity for generations.

If one can maintain prolonged fasting and purification, burn incense in reverence, extensively save all beings, benefit sentient beings, practice charity beyond ordinary capacity, endure what others cannot, and cultivate in accordance with the Dao, one may attain the realm of a superior immortal, riding clouds and dragons to soar through the heavens.

The second section, "Verses on the Three Paths, Five Sufferings, and the Lack of Virtuous Life Roots," describes:

When the Perfected Being journeyed through the celestial realms, he witnessed countless souls wailing in suffering amid the Eight Hindrances. Some were burned by fire or forced to swallow embers; others carried mountains of stone or walked through forests of blades, their bodies torn by wind-blades until they were no longer human in form. Upon inquiry, he learned their suffering stemmed from ignorance of the root of life (Minggen, "life root") and persistent indulgence in sin without repentance. The Perfected Being pitied them for enduring countless kalpas of torment, long confined to darkness.

The third section, "Verses on the Sublime Awakening Wheel Transforming Karmic Destiny," states:

Through the teachings of sublime awakening (Miaojue, "wondrous enlightenment"), the soul will not be lost in the cycle of birth and death. In heaven and earth, retribution for sin and reward for virtue follow cause and effect. Without awakening to past misdeeds, one can never escape the suffering of the Three Paths. The celestial immortals proclaim admonitions—through the Eight Gates (paths of cultivation), one cycles and transforms, contemplating the root of life and accumulating virtuous deeds to transcend the self. Now reborn as humans, they begin to understand the ceaseless flow of destiny. By widely establishing virtuous deeds and universally saving sentient beings, when merit is perfected, they will surpass ordinary people, enjoying boundless blessings, with body and mind at ease, wandering in absolute freedom.

(Note: "Fields of blessings" (Futian) refers to performing good deeds like sowing seeds of merit in a field; the "Eight Hindrances" refer to eight obstacles to cultivation, such as encountering the Buddha or hearing the Dharma; "life root" (Minggen) refers to the fundamental causes and conditions of life.)

This scripture contains the admonitions of the Supreme Mysterious Unity Perfected Being (Taishang Xuanyi Zhenren) on how to avoid the "Three Paths and Five Sufferings" (referring to the three wretched realms of hell, hungry ghosts, and beasts, along with the five afflictions of birth, aging, sickness, death, and separation from loved ones). The main teachings can be understood as follows:

The opening describes the carefree state attained by practitioners who transcend transgressions—through cultivation methods, one can uproot the roots of sin and elevate their state of being. The scripture reveals that human fortune and misfortune both originate from one's own mind; only the awakened can comprehend the true meaning of the Dao. The Perfected Being expounded these teachings to deliver sentient beings, thus revealing this sacred text.

The scripture emphasizes: those who follow these admonitions will attain glory even after enduring calamities spanning countless eons. By studying the scripture, one can trace past karmic connections and transcend the "Three Calamities and Eight Difficulties" (referring to various trials). Upon reaching profound stages of cultivation, the ethereal and corporeal souls stabilize, the spirit ascends, and one is reborn like an infant leaving its mother's womb. Ultimately, one penetrates the "Eight Purities" (the highest celestial realms in Daoism) and transforms into an immortal.

Accomplished practitioners will manifest the "Thirty-Two Auspicious Marks" (signs of perfection), with seven-jeweled radiance crowning their heads, riding eight-scene cloud chariots through the heavens, entering the Mysterious Gate to enjoy eternal bliss.

The scripture concludes by explaining: these three verses originated before the Primordial Heavenly Worthy (Yuanshi Tianzun, the supreme deity in Daoism) created the world, possessing supreme power to deliver all beings. Devotees who reverently uphold this scripture will attain wealth, peace, and wise descendants in this life, avoiding disasters. After death, they will not fall into hell but ascend directly to blessed realms. Those who maintain long-term fasting, honor teachers and the Dao, and practice widespread charity will, upon completing their merits, become immortals—roaming freely through the cosmos and entering the highest celestial realms.

This scripture particularly stresses: only high-ranking immortals can fully comprehend its depths, but ordinary people who respectfully venerate it will still receive blessings, escaping the cyclical suffering of the Three Paths and Five Afflictions.