《太平經》Vol. 101

Volume 101 of the Taiping Jing: Plain-Language Commentary on Instruction Eight

The One Hundred and Sixty-Fourth Picture on the Western Wall

The divine beings and perfected beings of antiquity warned those who came after them: this picture portrays people who do evil, act selfishly, and secretly harm others. They do not follow the righteous Way. Instead, they delight in harming people and giving way to jealousy, bringing others to deadly peril. The Way of Heaven cannot be forcibly seized. To try to seize it by force will bring war, loss of authority, death and ruin, and the defeat of both the Way and the divine scriptures. One intends to profit, yet ends up harmed—this is the nature of how Heaven and Earth respond to one another. Such conduct will therefore draw the scrutiny of the natural order. Only by acting with care can one endure. Remember: do not take pleasure in harming others. The good will prosper of themselves; the evil will fail of themselves. Look at these two pictures and consider the gains and losses they portray.

All things in the world follow their own kind; not even the finest detail can go astray. Yet people do not refine themselves, and assume they do not know what they have done wrong. Once guilt has been established, nothing can be done about it. Those who do not guard themselves may die while their offenses remain. Evil done within calls forth malign Qi from without. First comes the calamity of imprisonment; then evil ghosts arrive to fight. One cannot stop them, and so loses one’s life. This picture is drawn to instruct those who come after: the wise take it as a solemn warning, while fools disbelieve the Way and carry on as before. The written account is accurate in every detail, true to its words without the slightest discrepancy. Those who keep to softness live long; those who love to fight do not remain alive. All things follow their own kind and cannot return to what they were. Regret is useless once the ghosts have attached themselves. When you see this warning, wake up and turn back in time. If you have not yet been harmed, you can still become a good person. The good rise upward; the evil descend. The Way of Heaven is impartial, and its natural order does not fail to uphold its laws. Its workings are like those of spirits. This is inscribed on the western wall.

Note: This is one of the “Pictures on the Western Wall,” using images to warn later generations against wrongdoing, delighting in conflict, and defying Heaven through force. It emphasizes that good and evil each follow their own kind, that Heaven’s Way responds to human conduct, and that keeping to softness leads to long life, in keeping with the other picture and admonition texts in this volume.