《太平經》Vol. 43

Taiping Jing, Scroll 43: Receiving the Five

The Method of Minor and Major Admonitions (Chapter 59)

The Perfected One, who had received the Dao and cultivated its practice, bowed and said: “I am dull and unenlightened, and truly do not understand the Great Dao. Now, having received Heaven’s trust to observe the dangers, safety, good fortune, and misfortune of the world, I dare to ask in detail about the essentials of the Dao. Do the methods of the spirits and deities today also include admonition and correction? I pray that the Celestial Master will instruct and guide me, so that I may understand the meaning of the Utmost Dao.”

The Celestial Master said: “How subtle, vital, and far-reaching is your question! I have observed people in the human world admonishing and correcting one another, and so I wondered whether Heaven, too, has admonitions. Is that not a good question? What you ask accords with the Way of Heaven and is indeed well-founded. The essence of Heaven has now emerged, and the spirits and deities are pleased. I will explain the general meaning to you in detail; be sure that it is never forgotten for ten thousand generations.”

The Perfected One replied: “Yes, yes,” and respectfully assented.

The Celestial Master said:

Heaven: A minor admonition is a change in the sky’s colors, an unusual change in celestial appearance. A major admonition is Heaven’s movement and the splitting of the earth, its very body breaking apart. If the admonition is not heeded, extinction will follow.

The Three Luminaries (the sun, moon, and stars): A minor admonition is a small disturbance or a change in the colors of the stars. A major admonition is for the Three Luminaries to lose their proper order and grow dim, without light. If the admonition is not heeded, extinction will follow.

The Earth: A minor admonition is trembling. A major admonition is the collapse of mountains and soil, and the splitting of the earth. If the admonition is not heeded, extinction will follow.

The Five Phases (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth): Minor calamities and strange events arise. A major admonition is this: when the eastern phase is active, insects kill people; when the southern phase is active, poison kills people; when the western phase is active, tigers and wolves kill people; when the northern phase is active, water creatures kill people; and when the central phase is active, officials and commoners poison and kill one another. If the admonition is not heeded, extinction will follow.

The Four Seasons: A minor admonition is a slight imbalance between cold and heat. A major admonition is for cold and heat to exchange places, leaving the seasonal energies without any order. If the admonition is not heeded, extinction will follow.

The vital essences of the six directions (the essences of the four quarters, above, and below) together give minor admonitions: calamities and disorder recur; insect plagues appear, flying or crawling; clouds and wind abound, but no rain falls; all is empty and without substance. Major admonitions are unpredictable floods and droughts, and bandits and invaders killing and injuring all creatures and the people. If the admonition is not heeded, extinction will follow.

Flying and walking birds and beasts (birds and land animals): A minor admonition is calamity falling upon people. A major admonition is birds and beasts eating people, and locusts rising in great swarms. If the admonition is not heeded, extinction will follow.

The essences of ghosts and spirits (ghosts, spirits, and numinous beings): A minor admonition is their repeatedly bringing illness and harm upon officials and commoners. A major admonition is death by tearing apart and the destruction of entire households. If the admonition is not heeded, extinction will follow.

The six directions (Heaven and Earth, and the four quarters above and below): A minor admonition is wind and rain breaking into disorder, with frenzied forces and harmful poisons striking people together. A major admonition is the violent overturning of what is right, with tiles and stones flying through the air. Earth…

(The scripture breaks off here. The following passage would presumably continue with the Earth’s major admonition and the consequences of failing to heed admonitions.)

Plain-Language Interpretation

The passage in brief:

When a pillar is raised from the earth, Heaven responds by shaking houses and mountains. This is a minor admonition. If it is not heeded, people will perish as a result.

The sounds made by Heaven and Earth are minor admonitions: thunder and lightning are small warnings. When the admonition is loud, people revile one another in large numbers, and thunderbolts strike repeatedly. If this is not heeded, people will perish as a result.

Among officials and ordinary people, a minor admonition appears as a change in their expressions; a major admonition appears as widespread mutual harm and injury. If this is not heeded, people will perish as a result.

The major admonitions of Heaven and Earth in all six directions and eight extremes—the four directions and the eight points of the compass—seek to set things right. Documents from the Yellow River and Luo River appear, heavenly light provides clear proof, auspicious signs are fulfilled throughout the realm, and written texts come to light to admonish and correct the ruler. The whole realm responds. If this is not heeded, people will perish as a result.

The passages of the Heavenly Dao should be put into practice in sequence. Thus, when the sages of antiquity encountered events, they reflected on their meaning and dared not become lax or negligent. They missed nothing, down to the finest detail, and from small signs they understood what was to come. In this way they remained true to the will of August Heaven, preserved themselves, and lived securely in their place, free from worry and from the approach of danger or ruin.

To calculate events and check one’s tallies is truly to accord with Heaven’s intent. Excellent, excellent! I, a foolish student, now understand. I only hope that since the Celestial Master has set forth the principles, I may hear what is meant by perishing as a result.

On the factions of good and evil:

Excellent, excellent! Such is your heart. Heaven’s Dao supports those who are easy to instruct, those who are utterly sincere, those who are careful and obedient, those who are easy to enlighten, and those who are easy to admonish. It seeks to make rulers steadfast and substantial, and so it instructs them. If a ruler is unwilling to become steadfast and substantial, Heaven will not instruct him.

The proof is like this: when people are close and devoted to one another, they teach one another about matters. When they are not deeply connected, they are unwilling to offer instruction. If someone is taught but does not listen, disregarding the advice by failing to put it to use at the proper time, the advice is set aside and left alone; it is not offered again. Then disasters and strange occurrences arise, but no further warnings are given to admonish people.

In this way, even the sages become deaf, dim, and unaware, their intelligence shut off. Heaven, Earth, and the spirits of the land and grain no longer offer admonition or correction. Strange signs increase day by day and do not disappear, while people steadily decline, perish, and abandon their duties.

Therefore, the sages of antiquity sat with folded hands in the morning and evening, thinking deeply and carefully. They never dared to stray from Heaven’s intent. Thus they served August Heaven as a father, August Earth as a mother, the Sun as an elder brother, and the Moon as an elder sister. They set right the protection of Heaven the Father, kept the Five Phases in accord with the four seasons, observed their advances and retreats as a mirror for themselves, and corrected their conduct so as to understand deeply Heaven’s gains and losses.

Heaven and Earth alone keep to the essential Dao, with Heaven’s protection responding through the charts and documents.

Core idea: This passage emphasizes the correspondence between Heaven and humanity. Heaven and Earth send warnings to the human realm through disasters and omens. If rulers fail to heed them, they move toward decline and ruin. Sages observe subtle changes to discern Heaven’s intent; by following the Heavenly Dao, they preserve themselves and the state.

Those who act to fulfill Heaven’s mandate all receive a response from the spirits. This is what it truly means to understand Heaven’s intent deeply. It is like a mirror held up to a measuring rule: the spirits are moved by the reflection. If a ruler refuses to heed words of admonition and correction, he will go against Heaven’s intent, bringing disorder to Heaven and Earth and confusion to the Five Phases and the four seasons. His actions will all be out of order, bringing great calamity. Do you understand?

The disciple replied, “I understand.”

The nature of Heaven and Earth is this: those below may correct those above, and those above may correct those below. Each has strengths and weaknesses, and so they make up for one another. In this way, the Dao of Heaven and all things can each find their proper place. Thus, although august Heaven is sacred, it has shortcomings and cannot match the strengths of the Earth. All things receive their mandate from Heaven, yet rely on the Earth to nourish their bodies. The three lights—the Sun, Moon, and stars—are divine, but they too have shortcomings and cannot match the strengths of fire. Though divine, the three lights cannot illuminate a darkened room, while fire can shine within it. Even the Great Sage has shortcomings and cannot match the strengths of the worthy. Human beings, too, have shortcomings and cannot match the strengths of the myriad things. Thus, through mutual correction, not even the smallest detail strays from the Dao of Heaven, and Heaven’s heart is attained. Heaven brings all things into being and causes them to change at the proper time, all to correct the ruler and reveal the signs of supreme De. This must be treated with the utmost care!

This is the principle behind the transformations of Heaven, Earth, and the myriad things.

The disciple replied, “I understand.”

The Celestial Master has now made the matter clear. I am willing to take human beings as my model.

The ruler replied, “Listen carefully to my words and ponder them deeply. When a minister is loyal, virtuous, and trustworthy, and offers the ruler corrective counsel, the ruler may refuse to heed it and instead seek to harm him. Afraid, the minister then keeps silent and becomes mute; communication in all six directions is cut off. Worthy scholars, too, fear trouble and hide their loyalty and trustworthiness, so the ruler cannot recognize the true Dao. Though the ruler may be wise and worthy, he hears and learns nothing, and so becomes deaf and blind, unable to see extraordinary events. As the days grow darker, the ruler deaf and the ministers mute, calamity can no longer be prevented. The ministers are foolish and the ruler blind, and treachery runs rampant. The ministers are mute and the ruler deaf; good and evil can no longer be distinguished throughout the realm. Heaven’s disasters will then descend, the six extremes will bring war and upheaval, and the whole realm will fall into calamity. How could this be treated lightly?”

The disciple replied, “I understand.”

Therefore, the sages of antiquity took disasters and strange events seriously and used them to correct themselves; in this way, they avoided every error. This is indeed in accord with the essential texts and the Great Dao. If one serves with complete loyalty in all one’s undertakings, there will be no danger. I urge you once more: be cautious!

Be sure to remember my words—never forget them. The heavens are lofty, vast, and clear; no sage’s careful reflection alone could bring this about. Nor can an emperor govern in accord with Heaven’s will through the efforts of a single worthy minister. What I have explained here is only an outline, a first indication of the way. It is impossible to set everything down in a book and explain it all in detail. You must reflect deeply on its meaning for yourself. Never forget. Go now, and put it into practice. What more is there to say? There is no need to come back and ask again. Never forget.

(Above: Instructions on the Essential Secret of the Heavenly Admonition Scripture)