《太平經》Vol. 36

Chapter 36 of the Taiping Jing: The Method of Guarding the Three Essentials (Chapter 44)

The Perfected One said, “Yes, yes. Among the things ordinary people do in this world, how many are matters of great urgency? How many are of lesser urgency? And how many bring calamity and misfortune day after day, yet are not treated as urgent at all?”

The disciple replied, “Yes, yes. I will speak honestly, as far as my understanding reaches, and conceal nothing.” Then he said, “In general, among the affairs of the world, useful things are urgent; useless things are not.”

The Perfected One said, “What you say sounds right, but in truth it is not. I am asking about matters that are urgently necessary at all times and cannot be set aside even for a moment. If they are abandoned, the world will come to an end and be left without people; celestial phenomena and human affairs will no longer accord, and even names and realities will cease to be upheld. These are matters of great urgency.

“What you just spoke of concerns only small, immediate affairs. They suit people’s wishes for the moment, but instead encourage idleness and give rise to the first signs of all kinds of calamity. I am asking: what are the matters that are always urgent and must never be abandoned?”

The disciple said, “Please, Celestial Master, explain them one by one and enlighten us, who are shallow and unenlightened.”

The Perfected One said, “Good. Listen. There are two matters of great urgency in the world and one of lesser urgency; none of the rest are urgent. They only irritate people and disturb their ears and eyes. They seem pleasant in the moment, but in the long run bring calamity upon people. People are ruined by them, yet still think themselves clever. How tragic!

“The first matter of great urgency is this: Human beings are born by the mandate of Heaven and share a portion of Qi with Heaven and Earth. In their natural state, they embrace the Original Qi, needing neither food nor drink. They live by drawing in and breathing out the Qi of Yin-Yang, without knowing hunger or thirst. Later, they drift ever farther from the divine Way and gradually depart from their original nature. Those who come after no longer know the true Dao. They spend their lives in emptiness and fall into falsity and delusion. Then hunger and thirst arise anew: without food and drink, they die. This is one matter of great urgency.

“Heaven and Earth took pity on humankind and made it possible for people to eat and drink. Once they began to eat and drink, they should carry on the rightful lineage of Yin-Yang from Heaven and Earth, passing it down from generation to generation without interruption. To interrupt it would be to sever the lineage of Heaven and Earth. This transmission should proceed in the same way as Heaven and Earth, paired as one Yin and one Yang…”

(The scripture is incomplete from this point; the translation ends here.)

Plain Language Reading of the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace)

Yin and Yang are why Heaven gave people men and women, whose appearances attract one another, so that they can have children.

Why should there be one Yin and one Yang? When Yang reaches its utmost, it can give rise to Yin; when Yin reaches its utmost, it can give rise to Yang. They alternate, like cold giving way to heat when it has run its course, and heat giving way to cold. This is the natural order. Because of this, people can continue to have children through the generations without end. This is the lineage of the heavenly spirits. If men and women could not be joined, the generations would cease and the world would have no people. How then could there be husbands and wives, fathers and children, rulers and ministers, teachers and students? What could give rise to life or bring order? If there were no female and male between Heaven and Earth, how could life be passed on? All would become empty and still. These are two matters of the greatest urgency. Yin and Yang pass on the lineage of Heaven and Earth, making it endless; rulers and ministers bring order to troubled times; sages, teachers, and students guide the teachings that link humanity to Heaven and help emperors transform the world. Thus food and drink, and the union of men and women, are equally urgent necessities.

The Way of Heaven has cold and heat. It does not shield people from them, and they can injure or kill a person before their time. Heaven gives life and growth to all things, making it possible for people to have clothing. Without clothing, a person merely occupies a place and hides there; though this is almost like being alive, there is the fear of being injured before one’s time and dying before one’s allotted years are complete. This is called “a matter of lesser urgency.” What is meant by the “great urgency” of the Way of Heaven is extinction and death; nothing is more urgent than these. A person without clothing cannot properly eat and drink or join in Yin and Yang. If people do not make good clothing for the common folk, the worthy and the unworthy will arise. Clothing is therefore used to ward off cold and protect against harm. The sages of old did not pursue fine silks in mysterious colors.

Food and drink, and Yin and Yang, must not be cut off; if they were, the world would have no people and could not be governed. Holding fast to these three things is enough to complete one’s allotted years and pass on Heaven’s lineage. When one cycle ends, another begins, without end. The sages of old used these things to govern the state. They discarded everything else that was not urgent and instead brought misfortune. What does this mean? These three things follow Heaven’s way: man is Heaven, woman is Earth, and clothing is what people depend on. Heaven and Earth are like parents; clothing sustains and protects people’s physical bodies. Beyond these three, the other curious and artificial things are unnecessary: people can live and pass on their kind without them. In excess, however, they invite deceit, treachery, and wickedness. They make governance unjust, prevent the vital force of the sovereign from arriving, and throw the Way of Heaven into disorder. This is why the noble-minded are deeply concerned. The desires of the six emotions bring pleasure to everyone, who cannot help themselves; their interests become ever more deeply absorbed in them.

《Taiping Jing》: A Plain Language Interpretation

(First section: Pursuing empty show and keeping to the three urgent needs)

Chasing after these nonurgent matters brings disaster. It leads rulers to lose control of their commands, while common people steal, rob, and kill. Poverty and suffering spread throughout the world, calamities arise one after another, and those below deceive those above. These “nonurgent matters” have long been a great source of harm. This did not begin only with people in later ages: generation after generation has passed them on, turning away from what is genuine and single-mindedly pursuing empty show. In the end, people bring sorrow and harm upon themselves and fail to enjoy their allotted years.

The disorder and troubles of later generations often arise because people treat nonurgent matters as important, thereby bringing danger upon themselves and keeping constantly on the move. In high antiquity, people governed through Wuwei (non-action), accorded with the meaning of the Dao (the Way), and won the heart of Heaven because they kept to the root and did not lose sight of the “three urgent needs.” In the middle antiquity, affairs grew somewhat more complicated because minor concerns multiplied. In later antiquity, troubles increased because major concerns proliferated and gave rise to deceit and falsehood. People competed to outdo one another and caused one another distress, giving rise to treachery. They lost inner sincerity and turned away from their roots, then harmed one another and plunged people into confusion. Even when rulers wished to uphold what was right, the things they had to deal with numbered in the millions; they could not make sense of them all, and government fell into disorder. The Perfected One pondered this deeply. How well said, how well said!

(Right column heading: Keep to the three genuine needs; let balanced Qi come; remove deceit and falsehood; put an end to treachery and cunning.)

The Method for the Fortune and Misfortune of the Three Urgent Needs, Chapter 45

The Perfected One asked: Among creeping and walking creatures—such as insects and animals—how many “great urgent needs,” how many “minor urgent needs,” and how many “nonurgent needs” are there? Each has its own needs, thousands upon thousands, with different names. Can they all be named one by one? The Perfected One already felt bewildered. “I, your disciple, am dull-witted and truly fall short of you; I admit that I cannot match you. How much less can ordinary people, who have lost their bearings, understand this? I only ask the Celestial Master to explain it for those who are ignorant and in the dark. Since creeping and walking creatures are born under the governance of Heaven and Earth and Yin-Yang, do they likewise have ‘two great urgent needs and one minor urgent need’? What does this mean?”

When creeping and walking creatures first receive the governance of Yin-Yang, they too breathe in and out, taking in the natural Qi, and do not yet know food and drink. In time, however, they also leave their roots and move away from the Great Dao. The Qi of Heaven can no longer protect them constantly, so they become hungry and thirsty. Heaven therefore produces food and drink for them, and they too must pass on the governance of Yin-Yang. Thus they have males and females; mating and reproduction are also urgent needs.

Note: This chapter continues the theme of the “three urgent needs”: when people neglect them, disorder and calamity arise. All things receive their being from Heaven and Earth, and each has its own needs and priorities.

Realized people should grasp the principle here and hold to these three things; only then can they accord with the “harmony and balance” of Heaven and Earth. Those who depart from them and multiply side issues often meet with calamity.

After the Celestial Master had given his teaching, someone wished to ask one more question: “How should we understand plants and trees, rooted in the earth with branches hanging down and leaves spread out? They neither eat nor drink, and wear no clothes.”

The Celestial Master sighed. “Your learning is not advancing day by day; instead, you grow more ignorant. How confused you are! Plants and trees, too, have ‘two great urgencies and one lesser urgency.’ Listen carefully.

“All things depend on rain to grow; this is their ‘food and drink.’ They also need the alternation of day and night: Yang Qi warms them by day, and Yin Qi nourishes them by night, so that they can grow. Being rooted and settled in their place is their union with Yin-Yang. Their spreading branches and leaves are their ‘clothing.’ Some bear fruit with many leaves, others with few. This concerns the difference between substance and ornament; the number of branches and leaves does not determine whether they live or die.

“Without rain at the proper time, nothing in the world can sprout and grow. If not a single thing under Heaven can live, that is the first great urgency. If day and night, Yin and Yang, cannot alternate, things cannot form and ripen. If nothing under Heaven can bear mature fruit, that is the second great urgency. Some plants bear fruit with sparse leaves, others with dense leaves. Both can bear fruit; there is no need to seek many leaves in particular. The seed within the fruit is what matters at the root.

“Thus the sages of old kept to the ‘three fruits’ and thereby brought about great peace, accorded with the heart of Heaven, and enjoyed long life. They valued substance; they did not insist on an abundance of variety, with black and yellow intermixed. Those who lose themselves in the peripheral should return to the center; those who lose themselves in the center should return to the root. Those who lose themselves in ornament should return to substance; those who lose themselves in substance should return to the root. The root shares its origin with Heaven and Earth. To govern the confusion of the lower antiquity, one should seek a return to the middle antiquity; when the middle antiquity is in disorder, one should seek a return to the high antiquity.”

After the Celestial Master had given his teaching, someone wished to ask one more question: “How should we deal with things that put down roots and hang out branches? They do not eat, drink, or wear clothes.”

“Alas! Your learning does not advance day by day; instead, you grow more ignorant. Why is this? They, too, have two great urgencies and one lesser urgency. What are they? Listen carefully.”

All things need rain in order to grow; that is their food and drink. They also need an alternation of day and night, one warming and the other nourishing: by day, Yang Qi provides warmth; by night, Yin Qi provides moisture, and so they grow. Remaining in their place is their union with Yin-Yang. Their hanging branches and spreading leaves are their clothing. Some grow with many leaves, others with few; this is the distinction between substance and ornament.

Without rain at the proper time, nothing in the world can grow. If not a single thing under Heaven can live, that is a great calamity: the first great urgency. If things cannot unite with the Yin-Yang Qi of day and night, they cannot come to maturity. If nothing under Heaven can bear ripe fruit, that is a grave calamity: the second great urgency. Some plants bear fruit with sparse leaves, others with many leaves. Both bear fruit; one need not have many leaves in particular. The fruit’s seed is what matters.

Therefore, the sages of old kept to the three fruits, governed so as to bring about great peace, won the heart of Heaven, and enjoyed good fortune throughout their allotted years. They valued substance alone; they did not insist on many forms, with black and yellow intermixed. Those who lose themselves in the peripheral should return to the center; those who lose themselves in the center should return to the root. Those who lose themselves in ornament should return to substance; those who lose themselves in substance should return to the root. The root shares its origin with Heaven and Earth. Thus, to govern the confusion of the lower antiquity, one should seek a return to the middle antiquity; when the middle antiquity is in disorder, one should seek a return to the high antiquity.

Plain Language Interpretation of the Taiping Jing

Upper Section: All Things Keep to Their Roots; the Three Urgent Matters

When the world fell into chaos in ancient times, people would think of returning to the original laws of Heaven and Earth. Those who doubted these laws would also wish to return to nature as it was in its original state. The sages of high antiquity governed the world by taking in Qi through breathing practices. Those who lived in quiet rooms, devoted themselves to contemplating the Dao, and weighed gains and losses did not dare to violate the limits set by the Way of Heaven and its punishments. Those who lived in tranquil places and had grasped the true meaning within could bring peace at once through their governance, drawing close to the Way of Heaven and Earth.

The Perfected One pondered deeply on the Dao I have described. How could ordinary people understand it? Excellent. Now that you have awakened, follow the guidance in my book to bring order out of chaos. You can put it into practice immediately; there is no need to delay. Do not hide this text. Let ordinary people recognize for themselves where simplicity and refinement each go astray, reflect deeply on its meaning, and return to the three truths (the original truth of Heaven, Earth, and humanity). They should not torment themselves with what is false and perverse. The Perfected One should be careful and obey these instructions without question.

(Explanation: When all things keep to their roots and attain the three urgent matters, there is good fortune. When they lose the three urgent matters, calamity follows.)

One Should Not Exceed the Care Given in Life When Serving the Dead (46)

The Perfected One led the discussion, and a filial son asked: After one’s parents die, should we make offerings to them and serve them as we did while they were alive, or should we do more than we did in life? Why?

The Perfected One replied: People are born and raised by their parents. They witness their parents’ deaths and know they will never see them again. They cannot forget, even for a moment, how their parents guided them day and night in life and expected them to report in whenever they went out or returned. Their longing is so deep that some wish to make funerals and offerings more lavish than anything they did for their parents while they were alive. The Perfected One says this is a grave violation of the true Way of Heaven, taking people even farther from the Dao. The Perfected One speaks this way, yet ordinary people remain blind and ignorant, having lost sight of the Way of Heaven. What is there to wonder at?

The Celestial Master (the Perfected One) also said: Life is an image of Heaven and belongs to Heaven; death is an image of Earth and belongs to Earth. Heaven is the father, Earth the mother. One must not serve one’s mother more than one’s father. The living belong to Yang, the dead to Yin. One must not serve Yin more than Yang. Yang is the ruler, Yin the subject; one must not serve a subject more than a ruler. If one serves Yin more than Yang, rebellious Qi arises, a condition called rebellious governance. When minor matters go too far, the rebellion is minor; when major matters go too far, the rebellion is great. The harm is that Yin Qi overcomes Yang, and those below oppress those above. Ghosts, spirits, and malign beings rise up in great numbers, joining forces against the human way. They roam the world in broad daylight without avoiding people, and illness never ceases.

Note: This passage stresses that funerary rites, lavish burials, and excessive offerings should not exceed the care given to the living. Otherwise, Yin and Yang are reversed, bringing rebellious Qi and rebellious governance. This accords with the Taiping Jing’s emphasis on “keeping to the roots” and the “three urgent matters,” and its opposition to extravagance and falsehood in governing the world.

Plain-Language Interpretation of the Taiping Jing (Scripture of Great Peace)

The student asks: The continual appearance of ghosts and spirits is the greatest transgression here. Do you understand? Have you understood, my disciple?

The student replies: I am dull-witted and truly cannot keep up. I do not know whether I have committed a transgression.

The student continues: Now that I have heard the Celestial Master speak, I have suddenly awakened, and my heart is filled with sorrow. I beg the Celestial Master to forgive me and continue teaching me with patience, showing me what I have yet to understand. This transgression seems minor. Why should it bring such consequences?

The Celestial Master replies: To serve Yin more than Yang, and those below more than those above—this is a grave transgression, carried to its extreme. How can you call it “minor”?

The Perfected One stresses the point again: You still do not understand well enough. Know this: the living belong to Yang, while ghosts and spirits belong to Yin; the living belong to daytime, and the dead to nighttime. If you wish to understand the deeper meaning—

When Yang Qi flourishes, the night grows shorter; when Yin Qi flourishes, the day grows shorter. When Yang Qi is strong, it can suppress Yin Qi, which lies dormant and dares not stir. Then ghosts and spirits remain hidden. When Yin Qi is strong, it can suppress Yang Qi, which lies dormant; this is why ghosts and spirits can appear in the daytime.

The living accompany the sun, while wicked spirits and ghosts accompany the stars. The sun belongs to Yang, and the stars belong to Yin. So when the sun appears, the stars fade; when the stars appear, the sun sets. When Yin gains the upper hand, ghosts and spirits cause trouble together, bringing harm so profound it defies description. This is called “strengthening Yin and weakening Yang”: bolstering Yin Qi and diminishing Yang Qi, throwing government out of order and thereby harming the living. This is an extremely serious transgression. Think carefully about it.

The student replies: Yes, yes.

The Celestial Master continues: Therefore, Heaven’s Dao establishes this rule: Yin’s role must always be subordinate to Yang, just as a minister must be subordinate to the ruler so that the minister may serve the ruler obediently; children must be subordinate to their parents so that they may serve them with filial devotion. If one forces those in a subordinate position to become strong and unyielding, the harm will be immense. Thus, even a filial child who loves their parents must not serve the dead more devotedly than they served them while alive.

The Perfected One asks: Do you understand?

The student replies: Yes, yes. I must be careful! Nothing should be done recklessly.

The Celestial Master says: If you wish to serve the dead more devotedly than the living, you go against Heaven’s Dao. Why? Because this shows disrespect toward Yang and reverence toward Yin. It is called “turning your back on those above and submitting to those below”—defying those in the higher position and yielding to those in the lower—and thus transgressing Heaven’s Dao.

The student replies: I am dull-witted and have truly failed to live up to the Celestial Master’s instruction. I beg the Celestial Master to forgive me.

The Celestial Master says: No. Think carefully for yourself. Everything you say should accord with the rules.

The student replies: Yes, yes. I beg the Celestial Master to explain: in burial, funeral processions, grave goods, and the conduct of mourning rites, one should not exceed what was done for a person while they were alive. I would like to hear why these things must not exceed what was done in life.

An Interpretation in Plain Language

Governance and Funeral Rites

This is all because those in power have turned away from the right Way and have blindly promoted practices centered on serving the dead. As a result, officials are punished and demoted. If funerals and mourning rites do not follow the customs appropriate to the region, superiors investigate harshly and often find that appearances do not match reality. What was meant to show respect instead becomes fraud, bringing further punishment. Excessive pomp at funerals and excessive reverence for the dead can invite calamity: ghosts of the dead grow powerful, spread disease, harm people, and cause all manner of strange occurrences. How can this be explained?

The Practices of the Sages of High Antiquity

A good question! The sages of high antiquity performed funeral rites only to express their heartfelt intentions; they did not dare make a great spectacle of them. Death and funerals are the most inauspicious and harmful things under Heaven. Making a great display of misfortune harms people. So the ancients expressed their feelings sincerely, arranging food and other offerings as they had been in life, but without extravagance or waste. In those days, people were mostly safe and free of illness, and most lived out their allotted years.

Changes After the Middle Antiquity

By middle antiquity, funerals had begun to stray somewhat from proper practice. People could no longer focus solely on expressing their heartfelt intentions; their feelings became distorted, and they began fussing over minor details and chasing empty display. They wanted their funerals to outshine the living, and spent most of their wealth on the dead. The ghosts of the dead also came to share in the offerings. If a funeral departed even slightly from what was sincere, evil spirits were immediately drawn to it. No one knew what kind of ghosts and spirits they were; they would gather to eat the offerings and then stay behind to cause trouble. As a result, people suffered one minor illness after another.

Excesses in Later Antiquity

Later generations inherited the minor failings of middle antiquity and made them into major abuses. They neglected the care they owed their relatives, yet wanted to stage grand funerals that would outshine the living and display their family’s prestige to posterity. They violated proper practice, turning the rites into empty pretense that could not move Heaven. The ghosts of the dead could not regularly come to partake of the offerings either. Instead, people made lavish sacrifices beyond what was permitted. When Yin affairs—funerals and sacrifices—were carried out to excess, they harmed Yang energy. All sorts of ghosts and spirits gathered to feast on the offerings, then gave free rein to violence, robbery, and murder. Some saw that no one was punished for holding funerals and wondered why they should not go all out. Thus evil influences grew more numerous and turned against the bereaved household. The ghosts grew accustomed to the offerings, followed the living wherever they went, and refused to leave. As Yin flourished and Yang declined, the dead were honored above the living; ministers defied rulers, and children defied fathers. Government fell into disorder, but the people did not wake up to what was happening, and the evil influences grew ever more rampant, beyond control.

Conclusion and the Perfected One’s Instruction

Thus the sages of old did not dare serve the dead more than they served the living: they understood the reason behind the prohibitions. Could the Perfected One already understand this? How frightening! How frightening! If the Celestial Master had not given this instruction earlier, dull-witted people would have had no way to know it. The Perfected One had earlier shared this understanding with the disciples and must surely remember it.

The Celestial Master (Tianshi) said to his disciple: “You cannot decide this matter on your own or deal with it casually. That is why I have explained the principles to you.

“Why? Because the Qi of Liang and Ping is about to arrive, and all things should follow this current of upright Qi. If they go against it and the upright Qi cannot arrive, what does that amount to? The Way of Heaven should allow Yang Qi to flourish. If Yin Qi gains the upper hand and Yang Qi is suppressed, that is going against the natural order and will bring danger. The disorder or stability of the realm, and the displacement of rulers and ministers, are no small matters.

“A Perfected Person would not keep this book hidden. They would bring it out so that ordinary people could understand where they have gone right or wrong. The world’s failure to be well governed is not entirely Heaven, Earth, or the ruler’s fault. Every person among the people bears some responsibility, and these faults accumulate from one generation to the next. They grow ever greater because people fail to uphold the Real—the genuine and fundamental—and instead turn away from the root to pursue the False, the fabricated, without even realizing it.

“What does this mean? The living person is the root. What is set out after death is the fabricated. Why call it fabricated? Because the person can no longer be seen, so the living invent an image at will, making it even more exaggerated than the person was in life. They cling to what is empty without checking it against reality. When someone dies, the hun and shen return to Heaven, while flesh and bone return to Earth and decay. The spirit cannot be summoned by fanciful imaginings, much less be made to enjoy offerings. The flesh and bones are gone; they belong to Earth. Earth is humanity’s true mother. People live between Heaven and Earth, yet they do not understand that what follows death is fundamentally different from life, or what duty they should uphold.

“Therefore, when filial children perform rites for their ancestors, they should take the root—the reality of life and the fundamental Way—as their guide, so that they may attain what is Real. What someone disliked in life should not be contrived in the rites after death. To overstep the bounds of life and act without restraint will produce strange transformations and bring deep calamity. Do you understand, Perfected Person? Take the utmost care.”

The disciple replied again and again: “Excellent, excellent. The Real has been explained completely, and your disciple now understands. I take my leave.”

Right column: The Essential Instruction on How Beginning and End, Root and Branch, Should Correspond from Life to Death

(The right column’s title: From life to death, beginning and end should correspond—an essential instruction.)